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Passengers of the Hantavirus-hit Cruise Ship Safely Disembarked, Some Tested Positive for the Virus; Trump calls Latest Iran Peace Proposal Unacceptable; New Bill Aims to Cut the Red Tape on Childcare Providers by Lifting Fresh Food Restrictions at Daycares. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired May 11, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT AND ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, ahead on "CNN Newsroom."

At least one American is headed to Nebraska from that Hantavirus-hit cruise ship that is presumed to be positive for the virus.

Meanwhile, health officials are trying to trace the origins of the outbreak aboard the ship.

And another rejection. President Trump calls the latest peace proposal from Iran unacceptable.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Hong Kong, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Ivan Watson.

WATSON: It is 8:00 in the morning in Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands, where the remaining passengers aboard the cruise ship at the center of the Hantavirus outbreak are set to disembark and head home to the Netherlands and Australia.

Meanwhile, a plane carrying 17 Americans evacuated from that ship is expected to land soon in Nebraska. One of the Americans tested mildly positive for the virus, and another has mild symptoms. They were among 94 people of 19 nationalities who left the ship on Sunday.

Reuters is reporting that one French passenger has tested positive for the virus. The World Health Organization chief spoke about that case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: I know the French experts will do all that's needed to manage this. And that's why we say when you see it from different angles, this may not be a concern. But at the same time, all the preparations also gives us confidence.

And the behavior of the virus also, which is not, I've said it many times, is not COVID. So if you add all that, I think that's where it comes. When I say not worry, it doesn't mean that there are no issues here.

But it means we can handle it and it can be handled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: All right, to get more on this situation, I'm joined now by CNN's Melissa Bell, who is live from Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Good to see you, Melissa. Look, this is sounds like a pretty complicated process of evacuating people.

Can you bring us up to date? How many people are still left on the ship, crew included? Where are people moving right now?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So what they did manage to do over the course of yesterday with remarkable efficiency, Ivan, when you consider the difficult logistics of this and the risks generally about this kind of operation, the world's media was here watching closely.

They'd really wanted to give us this sort of transparency, which also brought with it risks. We watched this a delicate operation, it could have gone wrong. We spoke to Dr. Tedros at the end of yesterday, who'd overseen the thing, and he was really pleased with how it had gone, because most of the passengers on board had been successfully evacuated now, almost back in their home countries for some or back for others.

Inside the boat, still on the boat, still there remain the Australian passengers, but also the crew that will then accompany the boat back to Rotterdam, 30-odd crew that will stay on board until it gets back to the Dutch port for its disinfection process. But the Australian passengers will be the last off today. We understand that doesn't happen until the afternoon, just because of when the flight will be able to repatriate them.

But to the question now of what we've learned since last night and those successful departures of so many of the planes, of course, on that American plane, we now know one passenger with symptoms and another now confirmed to be carrying the virus. And in the French plane, we'd heard that one of the passengers had been starting to show symptoms on the way back to France, they were one of the first groups evacuated here yesterday morning, that flight back on its way to France by the afternoon.

We'd understood that one passenger had begun exhibiting symptoms, that's now been confirmed by France's health ministry as being a confirmed case. So one confirmed case now in the United States, one confirmed case in France. And I think, Ivan, that's a reminder of the need for the World Health Organization to take control of this operation and to put in place these remarkable logistics.

[03:05:02]

Yesterday, this is a virus that could -- that did continue to be transmitted and that would have been brought back to other parts of the world in very different circumstances had this operation not been carried out. Instead of that, the positive patient is now in the hands of the Bichat Hospital to the north of Paris in those very particular circumstances where someone who is positive to the antivirus will be contained, isolated and treated.

Similarly, in Nebraska now, the one person who's been identified as being positive will go to that quarantine unit. The others, including the one with symptoms, will be kept at a Nebraska medical facility for close observation and isolation. Ivan.

WATSON: All right. Melissa Bell, live from Tenerife. Thank you very much for bringing us up to date. And I know you're going to stay across this story as it continues to progress.

Dr. Charlotte Hammer is an assistant professor in health security and infectious diseases at the Center for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge. And she joins me now from Cambridge, England. Thank you so much.

Can you bring me up to date? Can you explain the symptoms of this illness and how the transmission is taking place?

DR. CHARLOTTE HAMMER, ASSISTANT PROF. IN HEALTH SECURITY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE-CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF EXISTENTIAL RISK: Certainly. So as most people by now have heard in various forms, we are talking about the Andes version of the Hantavirus here. Hantaviruses are broadly split into old world and new world Hantaviruses and these two groups present in different ways.

Now, the initial symptoms are really unspecific. They are sort of flu- like. You feel a bit achy, a bit feverish, there are some potentially some gastrointestinal symptoms.

So very unspecific, which is also why when we have someone who is presenting with those, we call them a suspected case and we really wait for that lab confirmation to consider them a confirmed case.

Now, later on, what is the dangerous thing about Andes Hantavirus and indeed about all the new world Hantaviruses is that this progresses to something known as Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which really affects your respiration quite severely and which can lead to death, particularly if you don't receive the medical attention needed at that point.

Now, in terms of the transmission, this is not easily transmitted from human to human. So it's a rodent-borne virus. So the first transmission usually is from rodents to humans via feces, urine, saliva, usually dried up in enclosed places, and then disturbed by feed or brooms or something similar, and then you can breathe that in.

With the Andes strain, there is some potential for human-to-human transmission, which is very likely what we've seen here in this case. And that is then through what we call close and prolonged contact, which obviously a ship is quite a likely scenario. WATSON: Dr. Hammer, I understand that your specialty, your research focuses on pandemic preparedness and health security. So I'd like to get your thoughts based on this somewhat complicated evacuation process that's now underway in the Canary Islands. How would you assess how the health authorities are dealing with this challenge right now?

HAMMER: Now, while this situation is obviously hugely tragic for the people involved and what is really, really important with all of the reporting, all of the commentary, we don't lose track of that human element.

It is in some ways almost reassuring because it shows us a global public health machinery working at its best. We see an incredibly complex situation logistically with just the sheer number of countries involved. The fact that this originally started on a moving entity, moving from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

But we are seeing a level of coordination that is very impressive. We are seeing coordination globally, mainly spearheaded by the World Health Organization. We're also seeing immense coordination on the European side.

So we're seeing the E.U. Health Task Force in action. We're seeing all the changes made post-COVID really in action. And so far, that looks very impressive.

WATSON: Alright, you know, the World Health Organization director has tried to tamp down concerns and said that this is not another COVID- 19. Do you agree with him?

HAMMER: Yes, absolutely. And what he's speaking to there is really the nature of this virus, the transmission potential.

[03:10:06]

So if you think back to COVID, you really have that transmission in transient situations, high transmission potential from human to human. Whereas here, it takes quite a lot for this to be transmitted from human to human. And that is what makes it not such a risk in terms of pandemics.

WATSON: Okay. Dr. Charlotte Hammer, thank you so much for sharing your expertise on this health challenge. I really appreciate it.

HAMMER: Thank you.

WATSON: All right. We're following the latest developments on the Iran war.

President Donald Trump is calling Tehran's response to a U.S. proposal to end the war, quote, "totally unacceptable." Iranian state media says the counter-proposal includes recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and a demand for compensation. But there's no mention of the country's nuclear program. Meanwhile, Iranian state media reports its supreme leader has met with

a senior military commander and received a report on the readiness of Iran's armed forces.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from Abu Dhabi with the latest. Great to see you, Paula.

There is still this ceasefire, in effect, from the full-fledged bombing campaign that the U.S. and Israel were conducting over Iran, but there's still an awful lot of activity taking place, including in the UAE, where you are over the past couple of days. Can you bring us up to date on that?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ivan, what we saw here in the UAE really over the past week has been a resumption of these missile and drone attacks from Iran. Just on Sunday, the Ministry of Defense said that there were two drones that they engaged.

We know that last week that the airspace had to be closed, airlines had to just travel in certain routes and schools became distance learning. Now, schools and universities have gone back to in-person schooling from today, this Monday, and this is, as far as we know, the end date of the partial closure of the airspace.

But this is a recurring issue for residents here, for the government. We know also in Kuwait that they said there were a number of hostile drones that were incoming to their airspace as well. So, this ceasefire, while holding, is certainly manifesting itself in the UAE, in Kuwait, certainly on the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.S. and Iran still trading fire every so often.

And it comes, as we heard from the U.S. President Donald Trump, his response to Iran's latest proposal, it really was a bit of a reality check because we have been hearing positive notes from the U.S. President and from Pakistani mediators that they could be close to a deal.

We're now hearing from President Trump saying, I don't like it, it is totally unacceptable, saying that Iran has been playing games with the U.S. and the rest of the world for 47 years.

Now, what we know of this proposal at this point is from Iranian state media. It does appear to call for a recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz for Iran, something that the U.S. and Israel will not accept and something, quite frankly, many other countries around the world, including the Gulf nations, are very unlikely to entertain as well.

It also calls for compensation for war damages and end to fighting, including in Lebanon, where over the weekend we have been seeing hostilities sparking once again. And the key thing here is there was no mention, according to state media, of Iran's nuclear program.

This is not acceptable to the United States. They want to make sure, and we heard again from some of Trump administration officials on Sunday, that that is a red line, that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. One of the reasons that they said they started this war in the first place.

But we are seeing that Tehran would much rather talk about the Strait of Hormuz and talk about war reparations than the nuclear program itself.

So although we haven't seen the exact proposal, we're hearing this through state media, we do see the response from the U.S. President. And it does appear as though the two sides do have significant gaps in what they are willing to agree to. The U.S. wants specifics about the nuclear program. Iran has not even mentioned that, Ivan.

WATSON: Trump may say this is not acceptable. The question is, what will Washington do about that? And I guess that's what we're going to be watching moving forward.

[03:15:08]

Paula Hancocks, live from Abu Dhabi, thank you very much.

All right. Israeli sources say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with President Trump on Sunday. Netanyahu told CBS there is, quote, "much work to be done in Iran and also talked about Hezbollah's role in the conflict."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR GARRETT, CBS NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Is it possible, Mr. Prime Minister, that the war with Iran could end, but the war with Hezbollah could continue? That these would be separate and divergent battlefields?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: They should be. What Iran would like to do is to say, no, you know, if we achieve a ceasefire here, we want a ceasefire there.

GARRETT: They do. Clearly.

NETANYAHU: You know why? Because they want Hezbollah to stay there and continue to torture Lebanon, continue to hold its people hostage and continue.

GARRETT: Will you accept that?

NETANYAHU: No.

GARRETT: Even if President Trump asks you to?

NETANYAHU: Well, look, he understands what I'm saying. I mean, we are, we want to get rid of that danger to our communities, to our cities. They rocket our cities all the time.

They rocket our communities. And of course, would you want to live like that?

(END VIDEO CLIP) WATSON: Israel has carried out its own strikes in the region as well. Lebanon's national news agency reports at least 22 people were killed in strikes on Sunday in the southern part of the country.

Now, just ahead, the outcome of Russia and Ukraine's ceasefire and what that means for the chance of a long-term peace. That's coming up next. Stay with CNN.

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WATSON: Welcome back to the program.

Today marks the third and final day of the brief ceasefire deal between Russia and Ukraine. But both governments are accusing each other of violations over the seven Ukrainian drones on Sunday and has, quote, "responded in kind on the battlefield."

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials say three people were killed in Russian drone strikes near the front lines. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia has not stopped its attacks on the front.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): There were no massive attacks today, no missile or airstrikes, but there was no peace in the frontline areas and communities near the front. The Russians continue their assault activity in directions that are key for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Russia and Ukraine had announced separate ceasefires earlier this week, with Moscow hoping to avoid disruption of its World War II Victory Day parade on Saturday.

Earlier, we asked CNN contributor and former Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty whether the temporary truce was meant to advance larger peace negotiations and if it could hold longer.

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JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR AND FORMER MOSCOW BUREAU CHIEF: I think it was really a temporary measure at a very delicate moment. I mean, that parade was symbolic in so many ways, especially to Vladimir Putin. And to have, you know, drone attacks by Ukrainians on Moscow would be an utter disaster.

So I don't think, you know, really, President Trump, certainly, who apparently asked both sides, he says, to have some type of, you know, ceasefire, that it was a request simply to make sure this did not turn into a disaster. But in terms of long term, no. Immediately, both sides were accusing each other of violating. And in

fact, today, I think the Russians were saying that Ukraine violated it 16,000 times. So that's kind of where we are at this point.

Again, it didn't really solve much of anything, that the fact that they are going to trade prisoners is a very good thing. That would be 1000 on each side, and that's important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: All right, Jill Dougherty there.

Now, passengers evacuated from the Hanta virus hit ship are now returning home. After the break, CNN tracks the origin of this strain of the virus. This and more coming up next.

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[03:25:00]

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WATSON: Welcome back, I'm Ivan Watson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

U.S. President Donald Trump is calling Iran's latest peace proposal, quote, "totally unacceptable." Iran's state media says Tehran sent its latest proposal through Pakistani mediators on Sunday. The counter proposal includes recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and a demand for compensation.

Seventeen Americans are arriving in the U.S. right now after being evacuated from the cruise ship at the center of a Hantavirus outbreak. The group left Spain's Canary Islands Sunday night. One of the Americans has tested positive for the virus and another has mild symptoms, the passengers are expected to be taken to a treatment center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center for assessment and monitoring.

Russia's President says he thinks his so-called special military operation in Ukraine is, quote, "moving toward a conclusion." However, Vladimir Putin does not specify what he means by that, he also told reporters that he would be willing to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only after a peace agreement was reached.

All right. U.S. President Donald Trump will be visiting Beijing this week. China's foreign affairs ministry confirmed the trip where he's expected to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the visit comes amid differences on major issues, including trade and national security, and also as President Trump tries to broker a peace deal with Iran.

CNN's Julia Benbrook has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really was a waiting game here at the White House this weekend, but the United States has now received a response from Iran on their proposal to bring the conflict to an end. And President Donald Trump says he doesn't like it.

I want to pull up that post for you now. In it, he said, quote, "I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'Representatives.' I don't like it - totally unacceptable."

This response came later than some in the administration had predicted. In fact, Trump and other officials said on Friday that they expected to hear from Tehran that day. At the time, Trump was pressed on the timing of this. And if he thought that Iran was slow rolling their response to that, he said, we'll see soon enough.

Now, there are still a lot of questions about what is in that response. What is clear is that Trump thinks it doesn't go far enough to address his concerns. We have reached out to the White House for more details, what was included and how far did it go when it comes to addressing Iran's nuclear capabilities.

In an interview with "Axios," Trump confirmed that he did speak on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the Iranian response and other matters. The two have been in close contact throughout these peace negotiations. He did say that it was a good call.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: The man accused of trying to kill President Trump during last month's White House Correspondents' Dinner will be arraigned in federal court in Washington in the coming hours. 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen is expected to enter his plea at that time, he faces several charges and they include assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon and firearms charges.

[03:30:04]

The images on screen now are the weapons that were in his possession at the time of the incident. Prosecutors say Allen planned the attack for weeks. He was arrested after rushing past security outside the main event, an exchange of gunfire followed.

Alright, a group of 17 Americans have arrived back in the United States from Spain's Canary Islands. They were evacuated from a cruise ship hit by a deadly Hantavirus outbreak. They're headed to a specialized quarantine facility in Nebraska where they will receive additional care and monitoring.

According to officials, one American has tested mildly positive for the virus and another is among several passengers who are showing symptoms. Prior to leaving Spain's Canary Islands, they were among the 94 people across 19 nationalities who were evacuated from the ship. The final two flights evacuating passengers will leave the Canary Islands later today bound for Australia and the Netherlands.

Now, as much of the world awaits to see what happens to those with the Hantavirus, you may be wondering exactly how the virus is spread. Well, CNN's Ben Hunte takes a look at the origins of this strain of the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Tracing the origins of an outbreak, health officials are zeroing in on parts of South America to try to find out how some passengers on the M.V. Hondius cruise ship contracted a rare strain of Hantavirus.

GHEBREYESUS: Prior to boarding the ship, the first two cases had traveled through Argentina, Chile and Uruguay on a bird watching trip, which included visits to sites where the species of rat that's known to carry Hantavirus was present.

HUNTE (voice-over): Just one type of Hantavirus, the Andes strain, is known to be able to spread from person to person and is primarily found in Chile and Argentina, carried by long-tailed pygmy rice rats. But authorities in Tierra del Fuego, the Argentinian province where the ship originated, say there are currently no recorded Hantavirus cases there.

And so far, worldwide attention on the port town where the ship was docked hasn't fazed some residents. At least one tour operator in Ushuaia says he's gotten some questions about Hantavirus, but it hasn't affected business.

ADONIS CARABAJAL, TOUR OPERATOR (through translator): Beyond inquiries, it has not altered any reservation, has not altered any movement and everything is going as well as we expected in the low season.

HUNTE (voice-over): But Argentina's health ministry says Hantavirus is on the rise in the country, with overall cases of Hantavirus almost doubling in the past year, with more than 100 cases so far in the current season. That's compared to 57 in the previous one.

The ministry also says teams have been sent out to try to capture and analyze rodents in areas where the infected passengers traveled.

The Chilean health ministry says it doesn't believe the passengers were infected in Chile based on the timing of their travels, but doctors say there are risks of Hantavirus across the region, especially in rural areas where there are crops, tall grass or a subtropical climate.

CESAR BUSTOS, INFECTIOUS DISEASE DOCTOR (through translator): The virus is where it is supposed to be with rodents in nature. When does a human being become infected? When people enter areas that naturally belong to rodents.

They are in the countryside, in rural areas, they are where they are supposed to be, doing what they are supposed to do. HUNTE (voice-over): Experts say climate change and human activity are

causing rodents to move to new areas, which could be driving up the number of Hantavirus cases.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: All right, when it comes to feeding children a snack, most people would probably prefer serving up an apple to junk food like a bag of chips, but in many daycare facilities, the fruit can't even be an option. Details on a new push to end what critics say is a banana's food safety rule. That's coming up next.

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[03:35:00]

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WATSON: Welcome back to the program, I'm Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Let's get a check of the business headlines.

Oil prices are up after talks between the U.S. and Iran stalled again. Global and U.S. crude oil rose more than 3 percent on Sunday. Brent crude is nearly $20 more expensive than it was before the war, and U.S. crude is about $10 more expensive.

The U.S. may consider suspending the federal gas tax. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says the Trump administration supports all measures to try and lower gas prices for Americans. Wright says the White House has already delved into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and revised EPA regulations on gasoline blends to combat rising fuel prices.

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to visit China in the coming days to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is leading preliminary talks ahead of the President's arrival on Wednesday. The meeting will take place amid the war with Iran, a global oil crisis, and other important issues between the U.S. and China.

All right, I want to turn now to some breaking news coming out of Nebraska. You're looking at the arrival of a plane there, that's where a group of Americans who were on that cruise ship hit by a Hantavirus outbreak, is now just arriving in Omaha.

In total, there are 17 U.S. citizens on board and one British national who resides in the U.S. You can see the plane taxiing there on the runway upon arrival there.

And in just the last few hours, we have learned that one of the Americans has tested positive for the virus and another has mild symptoms. And we'll bring you up to date on any other developments as we continue monitoring this story. Okay, let's turn now to something that might be important for some parents. At daycare centers in some parts of the U.S., it is perfectly fine for a teacher to open a bag of potato chips for a child. But get this, it's illegal for them to peel a banana and hand it over.

Our Camilla DeChalus explains what's behind the strange regulations and how one group of lawmakers is trying to change things.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAMILLA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, in some states, daycare workers say they face more hurdles serving fresh fruit like bananas and oranges than handing out pre-packaged snacks. But a bipartisan group of lawmakers are trying to change that.

Now just this last week, the House passed a bill that was backed by Democratic Congresswoman Marie Glusenkamp-Perez.

[03:40:05]

And the purpose of this bill is really to ease some of the regulations that daycare workers face when they receive federal dollars. And they say that this legislation would create a separate category for low- risk foods like peeled fruits and vegetables. So child care providers are not penalized for serving them.

And this is something that a lot of people may not realize is happening, that in certain states, at daycare facilities that receive federal money, peeling a banana or an orange, that can legally be considered food preparation, which can trigger additional health and kitchen requirements for daycare centers, often requiring them to have, for example, an extra sink or an upgrade their kitchen facilities, depending on the state regulations. But now the real issue that daycare centers face is that this is something that happens that really impedes their day-to-day.

Now, I spoke to a number of daycare providers in Washington state and some across the country that say that they really are supporting this measure and say that the way that regulations currently stand, it makes it harder for them and their daycare facilities to provide healthier food options for children.

Now, health care experts that I spoke to that focus on child care, they say that the goal here really isn't to weaken food safety standards, but to better distinguish between high-risk food preparation and simple low-risk items like fresh fruit.

And some of the critics that I also spoke to argue that the issue right now is a little bit more complicated and that these existing regulations are really there to help protect children. And the question really here is how much of this will have an impact on this legislation and what are more needs to be done to really address what daycare facility workers are facing.

Now this measure was passed in the House and heads to the Senate, but at this point in time it's really unclear when a vote is going to be taken up on the Senate side to pass this measure.

Camilla DeChalus, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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[03:45:00]

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WATSON: Welcome back to the program.

A family in West Hollywood, California is speaking out about their disturbing encounter with a MAGA influencer whose homophobic stunt went viral. Anthony and David Vulin says the debacle shows that a culture of hate and bigotry is becoming more prevalent in the U.S. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan spoke with them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MILLER-ROBINSON, GAY PARENT: We were making our way across the Rainbow Crosswalk and he spotted us, said, hey, can you do a few questions for CNN?

RYLEY NIEMI, CONSERVATIVE INFLUENCER: Is this your guys' son or daughter?

ANTHONY VULIN, GAY PARENT: Son.

NIEMI: Awesome. And are you guys a couple?

VULIN: Yes.

NIEMI: That's awesome. Cool.

VULIN: As soon as he asked the first question, we knew that they weren't with CNN, that this was something different.

NIEMI: So have you ever heard about the statistics coming out that gay men are statistically much more likely to commit child molestation?

VULIN: No.

NIEMI: You've never heard about that? That's crazy.

VULIN: Yes.

MILLER-ROBINSON: In that instant, I realized that we were manipulated into having this interaction with someone who was exploiting us for viral content.

NIEMI: So you had a surrogate. You paid a woman $50,000 to be pregnant and build an emotional connection to a baby.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New parents Anthony and David Vulin were approached in West Hollywood by someone they say was falsely claiming he was with CNN. The man then provoked the couple with a false statistic about gay men.

MILLER-ROBINSON: When someone inserts themselves into a specific community with the intention of triggering people, it's not freedom of expression. It's an exploitation.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): That someone is Ryley Niemi.

NIEMI: What makes somebody a woman?

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Fashioning himself as a MAGA influencer, he takes to college campuses and to the streets to create RageBase.

NIEMI: This got bent by a non-binary faculty member at UCLA actually. It's on video. It's got millions of views.

O'SULLIVAN: I'm just trying to figure out how much of this stuff is you intentionally just trying to get a rise out of people, trying to create content versus like, what, how serious you believe this stuff.

NIEMI: I think it should be illegal to be transgender.

O'SULLIVAN: You think it what?

NIEMI: I think it should be illegal to become transgender for even adults.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Niemi says he's motivated by politics, but what he is doing can also be profitable.

NIEMI: The rate at which my social media is growing, I could easily live off of it in probably four or five months from now.

O'SULLIVAN: What's your message for him and do you sort of hope that he might change his ways maybe?

MILLER-ROBINSON: I don't really think this is about him.

This isn't about one specific content creator. This is about an incentivized institution. This is about large platforms telling youthful audiences what works and not being held accountable.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Anthony David and their three-month-old son, Ante, were swept up in Niemi's viral circus. Niemi says David Vulin assaulted him.

The Vulin's lawyers say the couple was deliberately targeted with some of the most revolting hate speech imaginable, all on camera for clicks. Adding, David Vulin did what any father would do and protected his family. The wrong person spent the night in jail.

MILLER-ROBINSON: I think that across the board, regardless of political identity, people need to extend grace to one another. People need to extend kindness to one another, be nicer to themselves so that they can be nicer to other people. (END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: So beautiful baby there.

Now, Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives are scrambling to figure out what's next after Virginia's Supreme Court handed Republicans an advantage in the next election. The court struck down a redistricting plan that had been approved by voters and could have helped Democrats win up to four more House seats.

It's the latest effort to reshape congressional maps in a way some critics say racially discriminates against voters of color. That ongoing redistricting battle is escalating ahead of this year's midterms.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten runs the numbers on where things stand right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Look, the redistricting wars for the 2025-2026 cycle have taken a drastic turn over the last two weeks or so. And now I think it's fairly safe to say that Republicans will in fact win them when it comes to this cycle.

[03:50:09]

But what exactly does that mean? Does that mean it's a nightmare for Democrats? Well, sort of, but not really. Why do I say that?

Well, let's just take a look at what it actually means. We can best see this in terms of what we think Democrats will need to win the national House vote by in order to win control come November.

You know, under the current lines, what we'd essentially think is they'd have to win the national House popular vote by less than a point. Basically, you win the national House vote and then you win control of the U.S. House. That's what we would think under the current lines.

But under the redistricting lines, right, the redistricted lines, well now with Virginia, Florida, Tennessee, the Supreme Court ruling, we think that Democrats would have to win the national House vote by, let's say, between three and four points in order to win House control come November.

Now, that's a significantly wider margin, a significantly wider margin than what we'd expect under the current lines, the ones that, of course, the elections were for under in November of 2024. But it's three to four points.

It's not anything like ten points or anything like that. It just makes the road significantly harder for Democrats.

But there is good news for Democrats, and that is you see this three to four point margin right here. And what do they lead right now by in the national House vote polls?

Well, their average lead, well, it's about six points, which you don't have to be a mathematical genius to know that six points is significantly wider than, well, three to four points. But that leaves Democrats with a much smaller margin for error, right?

It leaves them at the upper end of this range that if the polls, let's say the election were held today, if the polls were off by just two points, or if I would actually draw that so that our viewers could actually see it, two points, well, that means if there was an error at two points in the wrong direction, Democrats all of a sudden might not win back the House at all. And more than that, on the eve of the election, we still have months and months to go. So these polls can change.

But even on the eve of the election, you look, historically speaking, the real margin of error, you know, you look at all the errors, historically speaking, we're talking about closer to plus or minus seven points. So what that essentially means is, yes, Democrats would be favored going into the elections today, if in fact this were the polling average nationally, this six point lead, but they'd be significantly, the favorite would not be, they would not be anywhere near as big of a favorite as they were just, say, let's say a few weeks ago.

And you can actually see this pretty well in the prediction markets, right?

Because let's just take a look at the chance Democrats have to win the House in 2026. When you go back about a month ago and look at that, Democrats had an 86 percent chance. You look at it now, well, that advantage is down to about a 74 percent chance.

And that, of course, makes a whole heck of a lot of sense, given that the lines are going to be redrawn heading into the election, heading into the 2026 election, in a much less favorable way for Democrats than we thought that they were going to be.

So the bottom line is this, Democrats and the catbird seat, still, but not nearly the favorites that they once were, or at least what we thought they were going to be, just say, a month ago.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: Let's check in on some sports now.

The New York Knicks are on their way to the NBA Eastern Conference finals after beating the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, Deuce McBride ran up the score for the Knicks, hitting seven three-pointers. The Sixers outscored the Knicks in the first half, but that turned around in the second half. The Knicks won 144-114, catapulting them back to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year.

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Timberwolves came out on top in their matchup against the San Antonio Spurs. But it wasn't until the fourth quarter that the T-Wolves were able to pull away and secure the win, it only came after the Spurs star player Victor Wembanyama was ejected from the game after drawing a flagrant foul for elbowing Minnesota's Naz Reed. The final score was 114-109, Minnesota.

And with just one month to go before the start of the 2026 World Cup, fans around the world are getting excited for the start of the competition. And for one man, it brings an opportunity to add to the massive World Cup souvenir collection he's been building. Our Valeria Leon gives us a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, these items were kept in the dark. Now, for the first time, they're being brought back into the light.

Mexican collector Francisco Javier Lopez delves into his archive. His collection of more than 2000 pieces started more than five decades ago with a single sticker album from the 1974 World Cup.

[03:55:04]

FRANCISCO JAVIER LOPEZ, WORLD CUP SOUVENIR COLLECTOR (through translator): A true collector should not just accumulate. You have to become a historian and rescue the narrative behind each piece.

LEON (voice-over): And the stories here span generations. From pennants of the 1962 World Cup in Chile to bottle caps featuring players from Mexico's first domestic World Cup in 1970 to official gear worn by sports journalists in Argentina in 1978.

JAVIER LOPEZ (through translator): This vest is certified. Photographers had to wear it to access the field. It even has the registration number.

LEON (voice-over): And through it all, one thing has never changed.

LEON: What does a collector need?

JAVIER LOPEZ (through translator): You can never lose your sense of wonder. If you do, your collection becomes mere material.

LEON (voice-over): He's also preserved tickets from matches played during Mexico's two previous World Cups in 1970 and '86.

JAVIER LOPEZ (through translator): This was the game of the century. Germany versus Italy. They gave everything.

LEON (voice-over): Now as Mexico prepares to co-host this year's World Cup, his collection is approaching its final chapter.

LEON: What's the future of this collection?

JAVIER LOPEZ (through translator): In life, you have to learn how to close cycles. This is a perfect one. It begins with Mexico 1970 and can end with dignity in Mexico 2026. LEON (voice-over): His archive will be put on public display for the first time this summer in Mexico City, a lifetime of football preserved one piece at a time.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATSON: All right, thanks for watching. I'm Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, and I'll be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after this break.

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