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Passenger Disembarking From The Cruise Ship Hit By Hantavirus; Iran State Media: Response To Latest U.S. Proposal Sent To Mediators; Congress Aims To Ease Burdensome Childcare Regulations; This Week: Trump And Xi Meet Against Iran War Backdrop; Rising FIFA World Cup Ticket Prices Too Steep For Many Fans; Trump: "Iran Has Been Playing Games With The United States". Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 10, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:31]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this breaking news.

A passenger evacuated from that cruise ship hit by hantavirus, now experiencing symptoms on the flight back to France. This comes as more passengers are disembarking from the ship heading to their homes, spanning at least ten countries.

Plus, Iran responds to the latest peace proposal from the U.S. What we're learning at this hour as a fragile ceasefire holds on.

And the World Cup kicks off in North America in just one month. And if you thought the game tickets were high, well, wait until you find out how much it's going to cost you to make it to the match.

Hello, everyone. And thank you so much for joining me. Happy Mothers' Day.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

At this hour, passengers are disembarking that cruise ship at the center of a deadly hantavirus outbreak. And we've just learned that a French passenger showed symptoms of the virus on the flight home to France. That flight took off earlier today after the vessel anchored near the Canary Islands, and 117 passengers and crew began disembarking.

Since the outbreak began, three passengers have died. Multiple others were sickened and evacuated after contracting the virus, which is typically spread by rats, rodents. We were told no one on the ship had been suffering any symptoms of the deadly virus.

The 17 Americans on board will be met by a team from the CDC and then flown to a quarantine facility in Nebraska to be checked out, and then will be monitored at home by the CDC.

That agency is also keeping tabs on the seven other Americans who landed in the U.S. two weeks ago. We've got a team of correspondents and experts covering these

developments. Rafael Romo is at the CDC in Atlanta.

Let's begin with Melissa Bell in the Canary Islands, where the ship has now anchored.

Melissa, what more do we know about the status of this French passenger showing symptoms and the operation overall to repatriate the other passengers?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, all we've seen ever since about 8:00 a.m. local time over the course of the last few hours is this steady stream of passengers being taken off, Fredricka, five at a time.

This little boat takes them from the ship itself onto the shore Here, through a tent, onto a bus, and then onto the plane that waits for all of the nationals from a particular country to be on that flight before heading off.

And so it began with Spaniards. They were the first off this morning. There was a Dutch that came off. Then the French.

What's significant about what we've just learned from the French prime minister is that we were speaking earlier to an epidemiologist from the World Health Organization. What they've been seeing as a result of the study of these particular cases on this ship is that they -- it appears that this is a virus that is transmitted once someone is symptomatic.

It doesn't appear to have been transmitted by people who are asymptomatic. So once you've got symptoms and you are at close proximity, that is when you're likely to transmit this virus.

So the fact that this French passenger started demonstrating, feeling these symptoms when he was on that flight back to Paris is hugely significant and extremely worrying.

Clearly, he is at least part of a group that was being very closely- monitored as all of these high-risk cases, as they're being called by the World Health Organization that are coming off this ship, have been categorized.

Now, what we understand, Fredricka, is that the very next batch of passengers to come off that ship will be the Americans. It's been quite a steady stream of people that's been coming off the ship. But there are, after all, 23 nationalities.

The last will be the Australians, we understand tomorrow. But in a few moments, we expect the Americans to come off of the ship. We understand that that biocontainment plane, the kind that was used during COVID times, is on standby at Tenerife Airport and ready to fly them back to Omaha, Nebraska, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Melissa Bell, we'll check back with you. Thank you so much. And now to the CDC in Atlanta. Let's go to Rafael Romo. Rafael, walk

us through what we know about the CDC plans for these Americans, how they'll be observed, monitored, et cetera. especially after they arrive in Nebraska.

[14:04:53]

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, initially, it appeared that U.S. health officials were considering a quarantine for all 17 Americans who were on the cruise ship at the center of the outbreak. But that doesn't appear to be the case anymore.

National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, who is currently also serving as acting director of this institution behind me, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told CNN earlier today that those passengers returning to the United States will be given several options, including returning home.

According to the acting CDC director, those options include staying in Nebraska, where the National Quarantine Unit, which is a federally- funded facility, is located.

Another option, Fred, according to Bhattacharya, is allowing the passengers to, quote, "safely drive home without exposing other people on the way". Those people would be monitored by their state and local public officials and agencies.

One point that the acting CDC director seemed eager to emphasize is that even though the memory of COVID is fresh in people's memories, it would be wrong, he said, to assume we're dealing with similar risks, as he told Jake Tapper on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JAY BHATTACHARYA, ACTING DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: This is not COVID, Jake. And we don't want to treat it like COVID. We don't want to cause a public panic over this. We want to treat it with the hantavirus protocols that we -- that we're again -- we're successful in containing outbreaks in the past. And so we follow those protocols.

The key message I want to send to your audience is that this is not COVID. This is not going to have -- lead to the kind of outbreak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Fred, we're hearing similar assessments by global health officials who have emphasized that the public health risk remains low from hantavirus, saying human to human transmission is generally considered rare and that the virus does not spread in the same way as flu or COVID 19.

The Trump administration faced scrutiny last year after making deep cuts to staffing at the CDC, including layoffs of disease detectives and outbreak forecasters, as part of a larger effort to cut government spending. But the CDC acting director said that if the threat from hantavirus

were higher than the health officials here at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, would have reacted differently, adding that he thinks this has been a, quote, "absolutely professional response to this by the CDC".

Fred, now back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo at the CDC in Atlanta, thank you so much.

All right. Joining me right now to talk more about these developments is Dr. Syra Madad. She is the infectious disease epidemiologist at the Harvard Belfer Center and the chief bio preparedness officer for the New York City Health System. Doctor, great to see you.

DR. SYRA MADAD, INFECTIOUS DISEASE EPIDEMIOLOGIST, HARVARD BELFER CENTER: Thanks for having me on.

WHITFIELD: So the French prime minister says one of their passengers from the ship showed hantavirus symptoms during the flight home. Does that give you any concerns about how this repatriation process is going to be played out?

DR. MADAD: Well, first, you know, we know this is a highly complex multi-country effort. It's both a public health response as well as a humanitarian response. And there's three objectives here.

The first is the safe and humane transfer of all the passengers and crew members on board.

The second is the protection of all the community members and everyone else kind of around them.

And the third is those that are responding to this incident.

Now with the confirmed -- with the symptomatic case, that's not surprising because all of these individuals are still within their incubation period.

So this is not a failure of response. This is just showing surveillance is actually working.

WHITFIELD: Because it can take up to right, six or maybe even eight weeks for symptoms to actually show up. And in light of this French passenger showing symptoms of the virus today, do you agree with the CDC plans to, you know, allow these American passengers to travel to the U.S. and then be at least under observation in the Nebraska facility before eventually they may self-monitor?

DR. MADAD: This is certainly a risk-based approach, and it's appropriate with the disease that we're dealing with, which is hantavirus.

And so what's important is that, as you know, these 17 passengers are disembarked and safely transferred over and repatriated to the United States they're going to go through an additional assessment looking at their exposure and symptoms. And then based on that, the appropriate path will be followed for high-risk contacts as well as low-risk contacts.

So there is a plan in place. There is a protocol and it includes public health oversight. So I am comfortable and confident in the process. And we'll see this play out in the coming days.

WHITFIELD: So we just heard though that, you may pass on this virus potentially once you're symptomatic. So if people go home, say, for instance, any of those 17 Americans who do eventually go home, they self-monitor then now they do show some symptoms.

[14:09:48]

WHITFIELD: Those who are in the home with them, are they now susceptible to the spread?

DR. MADAD: Well, based on, you know, if they have any symptoms, this would be a higher risk you know, pathway. And so they would most likely be quarantined away from others, away from family members, away from the general public. And so that is what the game plan is.

And so once that assessment is done, the most important thing is based on their risk and their symptoms, they are, you know, part of that public health pathway. And they're married with health care resources and support that's needed.

You know, I will also mention this is why public health capacity is so important and making sure we have this not in the middle of a crisis, but beforehand and maintaining that capacity is so extremely important.

And so here in the United States, with this active dismantling of public health, you know, that is certainly a wake-up call to everybody that we need to maintain these infrastructures in place.

And I commend everybody that's part of this multi-effort. This is across borders, time zones, legal frameworks. So there's a lot of work happening behind the scenes with a lot of amazing and competent people that are working around the clock to really make sure that this continues to go as planned.

WHITFIELD: What concerns, if any, do the folks in the Canary Islands or in the mainland of Spain, what concerns should they have or might they have as a result of people disembarking, even though it is anchored offshore off the coast there of the Canary Islands? What kind of concerns do you believe they have that should be addressed?

DR. MADAD: Well, certainly, you know, there's a lot of anxiety and fear, and I completely understand that. But this is where having a good plan and preparedness and transparency and communication are key.

And so this is a highly-controlled disembarkment (ph) process, step- wise fashion. And they're at no point is going to be, you know, you know, in touch with the community or the general public there. And so this is a highly-controlled process. So I feel confident and

comfortable with what the World Health Organization, along with multiple other agencies have put in place.

WHITFIELD: All right. You became a very familiar face here on this network during the COVID pandemic. I mean, health officials have been saying that this is not like that time period or even experience.

But how do you allay the concerns or fears? There's so much that comes with, you know, people's unfamiliarity with the hantavirus. What do you want to stress in terms of how it differs or how do you allay the fears that it too could become a pandemic related kind of virus?

DR. MADAD: It's a serious public health threat, but not all public health threats are pandemic level. And so, you know, having, you know, questions and anxiety, that's completely normal.

But what's important is that we know hantavirus is at least five decades old. We have some information, and we're going to continue to learn more about this virus in the coming days to weeks.

And so just making sure that we continuously provide transparent, open communication and good science communication as we learn more and we understand more, that's really going to be the key here.

And the goal, as I mentioned, is the protection of everybody -- the general public, the responders, our health care workers, everyone working together and understanding what the situation is.

And so there is a game plan. We know hope is not a plan. There's a strategy in place. And this strategy is being executed as we speak.

WHITFIELD: All right. Dr. Syra Madad, thank you so much. Always great to see you. Appreciate it.

DR. MADAD: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, Iranian state media says Tehran has responded to the latest U.S. peace proposal where negotiations stand right now as a fragile ceasefire continues to hold.

Meanwhile, plans are still moving forward for President Trump to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing this week. What's at stake at this high-level summit, straight ahead.

[14:13:28]

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WHITFIELD: All right. We have breaking news now.

Iran says it has sent its response to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war, that's according to Iranian state media. And moments ago, we heard from President Donald J. Trump.

Let's bring in CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook at the White House. Julia, what is the president saying?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have reached out to the White House, Fred, for more information on this response from Iran to the United States proposal to bring the conflict to an end.

Looking to see what is included in it. Does it address Iran's nuclear ambitions the way that leaders here want it to?

As you mentioned, we did hear from President Donald Trump just moments ago. He took to his social media site, Truth Social, but he did not comment specifically on the response to this proposal or if he had reviewed it.

Instead, he aired some of his old grievances. I want to read part of it for you now.

He started off this post by saying, "Iran has been playing games with the United States and the rest of the world for 47 years. Delay, delay, delay."

But like I said, we are still waiting to learn more about what is in this response, which, according to Iran's state media, was sent through Pakistani mediators.

And once we learn what's in it, we'll be able to see -- administration officials will be able to see if this puts the United States in a serious place for negotiations.

Now, earlier today, we did hear from the U.N. Ambassador to the United Nations -- the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, as he said that the president has repeatedly tried to give diplomacy a chance and that he is continuing to do that.

When it comes to the ceasefire specifically, there was a question about that because the United States and Iran have traded fire in recent days.

[14:19:51]

BENBROOK: I want you to listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Look, that's up to President Trump as commander-in-chief to determine what constitutes a violation, when to go back to military action, or when to continue to give diplomacy a chance.

And when the mediators, in this case Pakistan, ask us -- head of state to head of state -- to give this negotiation another chance before we go back to bombing Iran, then I think that's a completely appropriate choice for President Trump to make.

He is putting -- giving diplomacy every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So there again, he said that the president is giving diplomacy every chance that he possibly can before going back to hostilities.

As far as other discussions that are taking place, we do know that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff had a lunch yesterday in Miami with the Qatari prime minister. And according to a source familiar, they did discuss the bilateral relationship between the two nations, which included ways to support the Pakistani mediation efforts here to bring the conflict to an end.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook at the White House, thanks so much.

All right. Let's go to Jerusalem now to Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann. So, Oren, the response was delivered to Pakistani mediators. What more do we know from there.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: At this point, we know very little about what response Iran gave and what were their -- the points on which they would not compromise and what they were willing to compromise on.

But I will point to one line according to Iranian state media, where they say, and I'll read this here, according to the proposed framework, negotiations at this stage will focus on the issue of ending the war in the region.

And that's key because Iran's stated goal to this point has been to deal with this in phases.

First, there's the end of the war, then there's the Strait of Hormuz. Then there's the nuclear issue. This and what seems and certainly what the U.S. is interpreting as a way of drawing this out and dealing with one issue at a time. Each of these issues are very complex. And Iran is very clearly taking its time here.

President Donald Trump said the U.S. was expecting the response on Friday. Well, here we are on Sunday, and we finally see that response.

So Iran has signaled that it's not in a rush to get these negotiations over with. And it shows that they at least feel they're negotiating for a -- from a position of strength.

They've also made clear that they're not willing to compromise greatly on the Strait of Hormuz. And they see it as one of their own strategic assets.

And that, of course, may be an incredibly difficult negotiating issue for the United States. And that gets to the gaps between the U.S. and Iran.

Although Pakistani mediators and Trump himself have signaled some optimism here about negotiations, it's not clear that anybody has been able to find some sort of compromise or working solution, especially not on a compressed Trump timeline, to bring about a complete ceasefire and find an agreement that works both for the U.S. and for Iran.

WHITFIELD: All right.

And then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" and talked about what he thinks it will take to end the war. What is he saying?

LIEBERMANN: What's interesting here is he says there's more work to be done. He says it was a terrifically important mission and a successful mission to this point that degraded Iran's capabilities. But there is more work to be done.

And what's interesting here is he acknowledges that the stated goals at the beginning, that is, the removal of highly-enriched uranium, the destruction of Iran's nuclear capabilities, the destruction of its ballistic missile capabilities, Iran's stopping support for proxies. None of that has been accomplished.

He acknowledged there's more work to do on all of this. So the stated goals at the beginning, two months ago are still very much there, even if Iran's military and its regime have been weakened and to some extent decapitated. The overlying issues that led to this war are still very much at the forefront of trying to find some sort of end to it.

Netanyahu also said that he believes Iran's highly-enriched uranium, some 400-plus kilograms, can be removed physically, whether that's through negotiations or military force.

WHITFIELD: All right. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, back in this country, a new house bill takes aim at what some lawmakers call a necessary child care regulations. How some daycare centers could soon have an easier time serving fresh fruit to kids.

[14:24:11]

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WHITFIELD: All right. In a rare show of bipartisanship, Congress is aiming to make it easier for many child care programs around the U.S. Currently, some day care center workers are not allowed to say, for example, peel bananas for toddlers because of federal food preparation guidelines.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is joining us right now about what some of these restrictions are, what's being eased, what's being -- I don't know, more reinforced. Camila, bring us up to date.

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fred, at this point in time, a really big conversation is being had on Capitol Hill just this past week.

They passed this bipartisan bill that was really a part of a bigger Republican-backed farm bill.

And we're told it's a really pressing issue because at this point in time, there are some states where daycare workers face more hurdles serving fresh fruits like peeling a banana or an orange, than handing out a prepackaged snack. And there's a bipartisan group that's really trying to change that.

Now, this bill was sponsored by Democratic Congresswoman Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and the purpose of this is really to ease some of these regulations by creating a separate category for low-risk foods, like peeling a fruit or vegetable so child care providers are not really penalized for serving them.

[14:29:51]

DECHALUS: And this is something that a lot of people don't realize that's going on. Because a lot of -- when you peel a banana or orange, it's considered food preparation and these daycare facilities need to abide by certain regulations.

And this could really trigger more of them to have health and kitchen requirements; for example, requiring them to have an extra sink or upgrading their kitchen facilities.

[14:30:13]

Now, I spoke to a number of daycare providers in Washington, and they say that they really support this measure because its going to strip some of these unnecessary regulations, and they say that it makes it harder for them to provide healthier food options for children. Now, other child care experts I talked to say that the goal here really isn't to weaken these food safety standards, but it's better to distinguish between high risk food preparation and simple, low risk items like fresh fruit.

But critics really argue at this point in time, Fred, that's more complicated than saying that these regulations really do are in place and exist to really protect children. So the question here is just how really this legislation can help. But if there's more legislation that needs to be introduced in congress to really address some of the challenges that daycare facilities face on a day to day basis. But at this time, what we do know is that this measure now heads to the Senate, but its still unclear when theyre going to vote on it.

WHITFIELD: All right, Camila. Keep us posted when you know.

All right. Coming up, President Trump is due to head to China this week to meet with key leaders there, including his counterpart, President Xi Jinping. We'll talk about how the war with Iran and the issue of Taiwan may add tensions to crucial talks between the two leaders.

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[14:35:55] WHITFIELD: Today, a newly released video is showing the person who walked onto the runway before being struck by a Frontier Airlines jet during takeoff on Friday. You can see someone walking on the left side of your screen on this thermal imaging video. The individual eventually makes it to the runway and is then fatally struck by the passenger plane, according to the Denver International Airport.

It's all still under investigation. The identity of the pedestrian has not yet been revealed.

All right. We are now days away from President Trump's critical summit with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping in Beijing. This will be the first visit to China by a U.S. president in nearly nine years when Trump traveled there during his first term in 2017.

Here's what we know so far. Trump is scheduled to leave Wednesday for the Beijing summit, which has already had a six-week delay because of the war with Iran. The two leaders are expected to discuss the situation in the Middle East, bilateral trade, Taiwan and technology.

Joining me right now for more perspective is Julian Gewirtz, former senior director for China and Taiwan affairs at the National Security Council under President Biden.

Julian, great to see you.

So why meet in China and not at a more neutral location? Is that a fair question?

JULIAN GEWIRTZ, FELLOW, HARVARD BELFER CENTER AND COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Yeah. Well, it's great to be with you. And I think it's a crucial question. President Trump and President Xi met in South Korea, a more neutral location, late last year, to kind of declare a truce to the U.S.-China trade war that we've seen, you know, spike in tension at various points over the past year and a half.

But this trip is something different because going to China, a U.S. president is, you just said, has not gone to China since 2017, when President Trump went early in his first term. It's a big deal because for Xi Jinping, he gets to play host. He gets to set the terms of the engagement. And of course, President Trump has said that he's very excited for the pageantry and the show that she is going to put on.

WHITFIELD: The U.S. State Department just sanctioned three Chinese companies, accusing them of aiding Iran in the war. If you add that with the six-week delay, this trip has already experienced, how is China viewing this summit, and what might it reveal about its interest in the conflict between the U.S. and Iran?

GEWIRTZ: Well, China heads into this summit in an extraordinarily confident position. It's really remarkable to see the degree of self- assurance that Beijing is projecting. They see President Trump as having folded in the trade war, having come to the negotiating table after China imposed a new export control regime on the critical minerals that help power modern technology. And that was going to be the case six weeks ago. But the war with Iran

has, I think, from Beijing's perspective, shown a beleaguered president who has a real crisis on his hands and who's going to Beijing to try to get a win. And they know that President Trump is seeing this trip to China as a win that he needs to show that his foreign policy is going well. And that gives China quite a lot of leverage heading into the negotiations.

WHITFIELD: And the White House reportedly invited multiple CEOs from major companies like Apple, Boeing, Citigroup to be on this trip. What does this suggest to you in the White House's prioritization of what this trip is all about?

GEWIRTZ: Well, it's a really remarkable thing to have the president of the United States go to China with a bunch of major company CEOs, because, of course, for much of the past decade, the core dynamic in U.S.-China relations has been economic competition and trying to de- risk the U.S. economy from exposure to China.

But P Trump, I think, sees this quite differently. He wants to sell more American products to China. He's interested in potentially even Chinese investment in the United States.

And so for him, getting a big top line deal number, an economic number that he can tout as a victory, as we were just discussing while he's in China, is really important. And having those CEOs is something he likes in his other trips around the world. He's done this as well.

So it's a very revealing indication of the mindset of the U.S. president wanting to make economic deals with a country that is, in a way, our chief strategic competitor. It's very different than I think any of his predecessors would have done.

WHITFIELD: And then one has to wonder about security. Often, the White House would want to be tight lipped about the kind of conversations it has with an ally or adversary, but then you cant have that same level of control over corporations and corporate CEOs that are coming for a very different objective, right?

GEWIRTZ: That's right.

And so, you have to wonder, you know, as I mentioned a moment ago, the Chinese are going to be the ones who set a lot of the protocol, a lot of how the different meetings unfold. When I worked in the White House, this was something you spent a lot of time negotiating with your Chinese counterparts, who goes where and who's in the meeting.

And in this case, we know President Trump likes a much more freewheeling style. He likes to call people into meetings, kick them out, all the rest of it. The Chinese don't do business that way. So we have to imagine that if the CEOs do go, as has been reported, there'll be some very big meetings that they'll be a part of.

But where the really most sensitive stuff will be discussed is in small sidebar conversations, potentially even one on one between President Trump and President Xi. That's very unusual, too. And I think we should all, you know, ask questions about what those private conversations may cover on Taiwan, on technology, other topics.

WHITFIELD: Very fascinating. All right, Julian Gewirtz, thank you so much.

GEWIRTZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, this year's biggest event in world sports comes to the United States and its next month. Can you believe it? Where's the time gone? The sticker shock many fans are seeing to attend a FIFA World Cup match.

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[14:46:45]

WHITFIELD: Okay. Hard to believe, but we're just a little more than a month away from the first matches of the FIFA World Cup. And if you want to attend any of those games in person, will you may be in for some sticker shock to see Spain play Cape Verde in Atlanta. The cheapest ticket is $444. That's from seatgeek and that includes fees.

And brace yourself. FIFA's official resale marketplace lists a seat to watch the final in New Jersey for more than $2 million, after factoring in travel and hotel. Many fans may find attending the World Cup just too steep.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is in New York at Penn Station.

All right. Leigh, I mean, you took a look at what it will cost to take a train to some of these stadiums. And then there's that cost. You got to get there.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, you're absolutely right. So if you're shelling out thousands, maybe even millions of dollars for a ticket, hopefully you save some money because if you want to take the train from here in Manhattan at Penn station over to Met Life, that's going to run you $105. That's nearly 12 times the normal $12.90 that that ticket generally costs you so well into the triple digits there.

This is because New Jersey transit says it will cost them $48 million to transport all of those fans to the stadium while these eight games are taking place. And that final game is played at Met Life Stadium. That's a discount from the $150. It was just a few weeks ago. This is not making New Jersey governor very happy. A spokesperson for New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill sent us a statement.

It said, quote, Governor Sherrill has been clear that FIFA should contribute to transport its fans to World Cup games, since it hasn't. She's directed New Jersey transit to seek private and non taxpayer dollars to significantly reduce the fare. The governor appreciates all the companies that have already stepped up to lower the cost for ticket holders. She will continue to ensure that the World Cup is an experience that benefits fans and all New Jerseyans.

And she doesn't want to raise taxes there, but FIFA, they also don't want to contribute here and say, hey, it's up to the fans to get themselves to the stadium. But the New York governor and New York City's mayor, Zohran Mamdani, have weighed in. Take a listen to what Mamdani had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: The decision of what to charge for these tickets is a decision made by New Jersey transit, and it's a decision that they're making because of the cost that comes with the host duties. And I empathize with the fact that what we see oftentimes is municipalities being left with a cost of a tournament that will generate $11 billion in revenue.

What I can say is that what is within New York City's control. We are going to ensure it is the most affordable experience it can be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: So if you don't want to pay $105 to take a train from here to New Jersey, you don't have a bunch of other options. You can get an $80 bus ticket, or you can spend over $200 to get a parking spot nearby the stadium. But let's look at those other host cities.

If you're in Atlanta, Fred, you are in luck here. Atlanta said. No fare increase. Train tickets cost 250 per ride. Los Angeles is partnering with metro transit 175 each way.

[14:50:03]

Houston, no fare increase. Light rail tickets cost $125 one way.

The only other city experiencing this massive increase in cost. We have to look at Boston, the Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority has raised their prices to $80 for a World Cup game ticket. That's up from the normal $20 that fans would pay.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness, people better start setting aside some ducats right now if you plan to attend any of these games, but at least no fare increase in some of those other cities that you mentioned. That's good.

All right. Leigh Waldman, thank you so much.

All right. Just moments ago, another group of people from being on board that cruise ship with the hantavirus, they've just left the ship. We'll take you live to the Canary Islands in minutes.

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[14:55:35]

WHITFIELD: All right, this week's back to back finale of "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR FRANCE" takes viewers from the iconic coasts of Brittany and back to Paris on a cruise on the famous River Seine, with some of the country's greatest chefs.

John Berman sat down with Eva to talk about the butter and the seafood that Brittany is most famous for, as well as the history of the traditional seven course meal that that was pioneered on France.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWS CENTRAL: 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 XIV. 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.

We 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 some wine. Go back to work.

BERMAN: If all my meals -- if all my meals were like this in the middle of a work day, I would -- I would take some more time.

To France.

LONGORIA: To France. Vive la France.

BERMAN: Vive la France.

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WHITFIELD: Cheers.

All right, back to back final episodes airing tonight at 9:00 on CNN, and the next day on the CNN app.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And this breaking news, Iran says it has sent its response to the latest U.S. proposal to end the war. That's according to Iranian state media.

Let's get right to CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook at the White House.

We heard from President Trump a short time ago. What is he saying?

BENBROOK: Well, we have reached out to the White House for specifics on this Iranian response to the United States proposal to end the conflict, asking what's included? Does it go far enough to address Iran's nuclear ambitions? But it is still a waiting game here.

Now, Trump, as you mentioned, he did post on social media his Truth Social site about Iran just about an hour ago, but he did not specifically address the proposal or if he had received it yet. But he did air some old grievances.

He started the post by saying, quote, "Iran has been playing games with the United States and the rest of the world for 47 years.