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San Diego Authorities Investigate the Shooting at the Largest Mosque as a Hate Crime; Q-Day Could Trigger Cybersecurity Crisis. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired May 19, 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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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hey, everybody, great to be with you. This is "CNN Newsroom," and I'm Polo Sandoval. Here's what's coming your way.

President Trump says that the U.S. will be holding off on attacking Iran for now. But even as negotiations to end the war continue, a fragile ceasefire is again being put to the test.

Plus, withdrawn warfare now a daily reality in Ukraine, CNN taking you to the front lines, and showing you how Ukrainian forces are adapting to a changing battlefield.

And is Q-Day closer than anyone expected? Here why experts fear a quantum computing threat could break the Internet as we know it, and it could happen sooner than we think.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Well let's begin with the war in Iran, where a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran is still in place after being put into place about six weeks ago.

U.S. President Donald Trump says that he will hold off on Tuesday on a plan to attack Iran as negotiations to end the war grow more serious. But President Trump says that he's instructed his leadership to be prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault of Iran on a moment's notice in the event that an acceptable deal cannot be reached.

This as a source is telling CNN that the U.S. believes that Iran's latest proposal to end the war did not offer big enough concessions on some critical sticking points, like Tehran's nuclear enrichment program. Meanwhile, Iran's President is vowing to defend his country's interests, saying, and I quote, "dialogue does not mean surrender."

For more now, let's go to Leila Gharaghoghzlu joining us from Abu Dhabi. Leila, in terms of what's happening right now, are Iranians still hoping for a path of dialogue and diplomacy? LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, the Iranians are definitely

looking for a path towards diplomacy. Now, we did hear over the weekend at the end of last week at the BRICS summit from Abbas Aragchi, the Iranian foreign minister, who said that they were open to negotiations, but that this really comes down to an issue of trust.

And this is something that the Iranians have said time and time again, that this really is a trust issue. He said that the biggest obstacle, the main obstacle, is trust and the U.S.'s contradictory messaging, which we have seen over the course of the last couple of months, the U.S. keeps shifting what they want from these negotiations.

We've even seen that over the last week or so. Now, we did hear from Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson. Listen to what he said.

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ESMAEIL BAQAEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESPERSON (through translator): We approach every diplomatic process with deep distrust and serious skepticism in order to safeguard the national interest of Iran. Iran is aware that given the United States' track record of undermining negotiations, it may repeat the same actions at any moment.

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GHARAGOZLOU: The Iranians are very wary of how things have gone in the past. They say that every time they come to the negotiating table in good faith, the U.S. either moves the goalposts for what they want from them, or they end up attacking them. So they are going into any sort of discussion very aware of how President Trump kind of moves when it comes to these kind of things, and how quickly he can change his mind.

That being said, President Trump did tell White House reporters that he thinks that there have been positive developments around these negotiations, and he sees that this time is a bit different.

Now, what that means is unclear. We're not quite sure what has been put in all these back-and-forth proposals. As you mentioned, the U.S. says that not enough concessions have been offered around Iran's nuclear program.

But kind of like what the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said, it all comes down also to national right and national sovereignty. And the Iranians do view their nuclear program in particular as part of their national right. So while they might be willing to put curbs on it the way we saw with the JCPOA, they're very unlikely to go too far beyond that or even dismantle it the way the Trump administration has suggested in the past.

So we're just going to have to see how things play out over the next couple of weeks. But as far as Trump says, things are moving in a positive direction. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Leila Gharagozlou with that live report. Thank you, Laila. Similar to Southern California now, where authorities are

investigating a deadly shooting at San Diego's largest mosque, they're investigating it as a hate crime. Three people were killed, including a security guard whose actions have been described as heroic.

[03:05:04]

The police chief says the two teenage suspects were found dead in a car near the mosque from self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and we're now learning that one of them was a high school wrestler in an online schooling program.

A law enforcement source identifying him as Cain Clark, San Diego's police chief, also says that one of the suspects took three weapons from his mother's home before the attack. Let's go now to CNN's Kyung Lah for the latest.

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KYUNG LAH, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: The San Diego police chief says that the investigation here really kicked off when the mother of one of the suspects, a 17-year-old suspect, reached out to police. She said that her son was missing, her car was missing. She believed that her son was with a companion, they were dressed in camo, and that she was concerned about what her child might do.

CHIEF SCOTT WAHL, SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: She believed her son was suicidal, and she began to share information that several of her weapons were missing, her vehicle was missing, in addition to her son.

LAH: At this point, they said the motive appears to simply be hate. They don't have anything more specific than that, they pointed out two writings left on one of the weapons. The mother's suicide note that she recovered from her son also had some writings about racial pride.

As far as the people who were killed, there were three men who are associated with the mosque, and one of them, who has not been identified yet by name, but he is someone that this entire community knew.

A lot of the children who came here thought of him as their protector, a big man who they saw every day as they entered this school, passing through the mosque, going into their primary school. And I want you to listen to what the father of one of the children had to say.

UNKNOWN: I truly know in my heart, from knowing that man, that he was sacrificing his life, and took that bullet knowing that I'd rather take it than the kids, and that is what makes me emotional.

LAH: He ended what he had to say to us by saying he wasn't sure what would happen had that security guard not been there to protect the children. Investigators say that they will continue to chase all the leads. They expect to have much more throughout the day.

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Diego.

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SANDOVAL: Millions of dollars in foreign aid and several tons of emergency medical supplies, they are pouring into Central Africa amid a global effort to contain a deadly Ebola outbreak. The U.S. State Department says that it's working closely with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and with the U.S. military as well on this case, working on the potential repatriation of Americans affected by the crisis.

And on Monday, the CDC confirmed that an American working in the Democratic Republic of Congo tested positive for Ebola, but they did not name him. However, an international charity called Surge reported that a Christian missionary physician, Dr. Peter Stafford, caught the virus while treating patients at a hospital in the region.

According to the Africa CDC, there are now more than 100 suspected deaths linked to the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The World Health Organization yet to declare this a pandemic, but it is warning that the spike in cases could indicate a much larger outbreak. Your CNN's Larry Maduro with more.

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LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This remote corner of the Democratic Republic of Congo, now the epicenter of a deadly outbreak. More than 100 deaths so far, authorities suspect from Ebola. The U.S. CDC is scrambling to evacuate, quote, "a small number of Americans who are directly affected."

When we heard about Ebola, we were terrified, this man says. Even though the disease has affected us before, here it is again.

As authorities rush to stop the spread of the virus, there is currently no approved treatment or vaccine for this strain. The relatively rare Bundibugyo strain kills an estimated 25 to 40 percent of those who catch it, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Like other Ebola strains, it's highly infectious, transmitted through direct contact with bodily fluids of infected people. It's also frequently spread at the funerals of its victims. This clinic in the affected region is already treating one suspected case and is preparing for more.

A doctor there telling CNN supplies of vital PPE are already starting to run low.

DR. PATIENT MAZIRANE, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, UNIVERSELLE CLINIC (through translator): This is a major battle which requires enormous resources in order to save all those who can still be saved from this illness.

MADOWO (voice-over): The World Health Organization has declared this outbreak a public health emergency of international concern, but stopped short of calling it a pandemic. Experts warn cutbacks in funding by the Trump administration may limit the response.

[03:10:00] DR. AHMED OGWELL, CEO AND PRESIDENT, VILLAGEREACH: We'd reduced assistance into the health sector, it means we have less resources and therefore it is a difficult time when it comes to responding to an outbreak like this.

MADOWO (voice-over): There are fears this new outbreak could be much larger in scale than authorities are currently aware of. The first suspected case was reported around a month ago.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

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SANDOVAL: And still ahead on "CNN Newsroom," you're in Russia using its drones to turn a vital supply road in eastern Ukraine into a deadly gauntlet. Coming up, how Ukrainian forces are adapting.

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SANDOVAL: Ukrainian forces are proving their ability to adapt to new battlefield challenges, and that includes the constantly evolving technology of warfare. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh shows you how they do it, and also gives you an up-close look at the dangers that they face.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They call this the Road of Life, but it's about survival, not living. It is safest on foot, undisguised, ruled by tiny killer drones targeting any vehicle. The nets trying to block the horror from above.

If you can make the robot your friend, your quarter. Their machines are normally the enemy here.

PATON WALSH: Now, pretty much all over the front lines. Tiny bits of fiber optic cable used to connect drones to their controller and go on for tens of kilometers, stopping the jamming before.

PATON WASH (voice-over): A Russian drone above.

The Ukrainians open fire.

They hit it.

PATON WALSH: That's the impact.

And you have to split out, because the drone will try and target groups and individuals.

Sometimes one, two, three you find.

PATON WASH (voice-over): We're doing Sasha and Bogdan's usual walk along this road between two Ukrainian positions. But it takes five hours, and we are buzzed by attack drones 14 times.

The threats change every month. Here, looking for loitering drones, they hover low and wait for you.

A radio alarm. The trees aren't just a place to hide, but somewhere the drones can't fly.

Russian drones circle, targeting vehicles, but also dropping explosives on troops. You have to keep moving, because they may swarm around you.

PATON WALSH: The battlefield has completely changed in a matter of a year. Nobody drives cars on this road, unless you have to. Nobody drives tanks.

That's outgoing artillery. These robots used for resupply. Up ahead we can see people repairing the nets, a kind of key protection.

But these used to resupply food, ammunition, all around the front line.

PATON WASH (voice-over): Gunfire means run, again.

PATON WALSH: This is a pretty constant. And the only move is to hide into the trees.

There it lands, not far.

PATON WASH (voice-over): You might be thinking, why not walk inside the nets?

UNKNOWN (translated): To maneuver if there is a drone.

UNKNOWN (translated): Their speed is high, you need to get away and not group up.

PATON WALSH: This is part of the problem here. I mean, after an hour of this, you don't quite get numb to it. But, unless they see something here, you get slightly too comfortable and tired.

PATON WASH (voice-over): The next one is right on top of us.

PATON WALSH: There it is.

UNKNOWN (translated): It is ours?

PATON WASH (voice-over): They hit it. That gray streak.

And it falls. Rowing down.

UNKNOWN (translated): What a good hit.

PATON WASH (voice-over): But it hasn't detonated.

Debris drifts. There's been no blast. So we are alive.

It may have been a recon drone, but flew like a Russian attacker.

Down the road is the Konstantinovka front, where the Kremlin's advance has been slowed to a crawl. At the enormous cost, across the front, of 35,000 Russian dead and wounded a month, says Ukraine.

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This is the 10th attack.

PATON WALSH: They caught fire briefly, and it's becoming closer now. That's the intense fire. I can hear it.

I see it up.

PATON WASH (voice-over): Drones also target heavy gunfire.

Their friend, a lieutenant, killed when this car was hit just two days ago.

UNKNOWN (translated): Roman, this is where it happened. Rest in peace.

PATON WASH (voice-over): We are nearing their bunker position.

There are moments here to rest, see the trophies of drones that failed, but we have to get back. This is a full-scale war.

PATON WALSH (translated): Did you expect there to be so many robots and drones?

AFINA, 24TH MECHANIZED BRIGADE (translated): No, to be honest, I didn't.

I actually joined the army before the full-scale war and didn't expect anything like this at all. It's a bit tough at the moment. Over time, you get a bit burned out by all of this.

You realized you have to do it.

PATON WASH (voice-over): As soon as we emerge, they are above us again. This is the new warfare.

Hide. Shoot at the sky. Run.

Fire drones back.

The impact is just as deadly as shelling. The accuracy, horrific.

PATON WALSH: I have to walk in, but also walk out.

UNKNOWN (translated): Monakh, it is above the trees.

UNKNOWN (translated): Plus. Hear it.

PATON WASH (voice-over): The blast stays with you, ringing in your ears for hours later. No respite.

The grey smoke. Perhaps it hit the net.

PATON WALSH: That was close. Loud. You could hear the shrapnel landing on the tarmac, clearly targeting that armored vehicle.

PATON WASH (voice-over): It is hard to see how this grind is a win, but it is. Ukraine on foot, robots in support, automation replacing scarce troops. Holding ground.

The drones never stop. But neither does Ukraine. Adapting, learning, engineering this new warfare. And hoping any edge sustains long enough to put Russia in reverse.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Druzhkivka, Ukraine.

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SANDOVAL: Well ahead at this hour, Vladimir Putin heads to China. We're live from Beijing with a preview of the Russian President's visit.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, and these are today's top stories.

President Donald Trump announcing that he will hold off on a plan to strike Iran at the request of Gulf allies. He says the negotiations to end the war with Tehran are growing more serious. But he's also instructed his military leadership to be ready on a moment's notice, as he put it, if a deal can't be reached.

Congolese officials, they have just given a fresh update on the Ebola outbreak. They now report at least 131 deaths connected to the variant in the Democratic Republic of Congo. They've also confirmed more than 500 suspected cases.

Three people have been killed in a shooting at the Islamic Centre of San Diego, which is the city's largest mosque. Authorities there are investigating this as a hate crime, the police chief says that two teen suspects were found dead in a car near the mosque from self- inflicted gunshot wounds. A law enforcement source has identified one of those suspects as Cain Clark, officials say he was a high school wrestler that was involved in an online schooling program.

Well, the U.S. will be allowing the sale of some Russian oil for another 30 days. That's marking now the third time that the Trump administration has waived sanctions on seaborne crude, and that's since the war started with Iran.

A Treasury secretary says that the move aims to provide vulnerable nations the ability to temporarily access Russian oil. But critics say that the sale of sanctioned oil is doing little to bring down prices, but it is benefiting Moscow as it continues its war against Ukraine.

And this news comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to kick off a two-day visit to China today. Putin will be holding talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping just days after U.S. President Donald Trump made a visit of his own to Beijing.

So let's head over to CNN's Mike Valero joining me from Beijing. Mike, help us preview this upcoming visit, but also speak to the timing of this. Why it's happening now?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the timing is wild. I mean, this meeting was planned months in advance. This is ostensibly for the 25th anniversary of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship, which was signed 25 years ago this July in 2001.

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But, of course, happenstance and fortuitousness play into this with just days ago Donald Trump was here. So this plays into the optics that Beijing wants to project of what other world leader on our global stage can host the American President and the Russian President within a week's time on Xi Jinping's home turf or the leader's home turf.

There isn't really anybody. I mean, maybe Mohammed bin Salman, Erdogan in Turkey, Modi in India. But none of those leaders come to the diplomatic, economic, and technological might that China can project on the world stage.

So there's a lot going on here. China wants, A, that diplomatic flex, B, to project both of these strong and authoritarian leaders on the world stage, presenting perhaps an alternative world order to the United States in how they perceive the United States runs things.

But in terms of the agenda, this meeting hasn't happened yet. He's coming into town later this evening, and then the events begin tomorrow, our time, around 11:00 a.m., with the welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People where we saw Donald Trump's welcome ceremony.

So let's go through the order of what we're expecting. First and foremost, discussing the Trump summit. Both of these world leaders are known to talk about how they interact with the American President, who said what to whom.

The Strait of Hormuz also being closed. Both of these nations are in talks with Iran. So the Strait of Hormuz being closed, certainly likely to come up in conversation with the added tributary of perhaps does this mean that China buys more Russian energy while this choke point is still closed off.

And according to the great journalism of our senior China reporter, Simone McCarthy, and the members of the Beijing Bureau here, there are data points, Polo, that are starting to suggest that China is buying more Russian energy. 32 percent increase. Very big increase in China's Russian liquified natural gas imports from March into April when the war started. And then we have a 36 percent increase in China's imports of Russia's

Sokol crude, which is the biggest volume of that kind of import within the past two years. Sokol crude is a specific type of crude oil that comes from Russia's far eastern coast, very close to Japan, much closer to Tokyo than the oil fields are to Moscow.

So the potential of buying more Russian energy also leads into what's going to happen with this Siberia 2 -- power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which is a natural gas pipeline that's been on the drawing board, very much a drawing board wish for Russia for many years. The goal of turning this into reality would be to create this gas pipeline, which would flow from Siberia through Mongolia into China, redirecting where natural gas supplies went from Europe and then putting them instead into China. So the diplomatic flicks, a lot of economic goals.

We're going to see what happens when Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives with a cadre of CEOs as well. Interesting mirroring of the Trump administration and who he brought to the table. So a lot to watch for over the next 24 hours, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Yes, I'm certainly looking forward to see what the dynamic is like between the two leaders in the next couple of days and compare that with what you saw there between Trump and the Chinese President just a few days ago. Mike Valero, as always, grateful for your reporting.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is currently in South Korea for a summit with the South Korean President. The meeting is currently being held in President Lee's hometown and mirrors a summit earlier this year characterized as drumstick diplomacy in which the two leaders literally jammed on drums to some K-pop songs in Takaichi's hometown. Well reports in Japan now say that they're expected to sign an agreement on securing crude oil supplies.

And experts are warning that a major cybersecurity threat may be closer than expected and say that the world may not be prepared for risks to everything from bank accounts to even your medical records. Just ahead.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and here are your business headlines.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk says that he will appeal the outcome of his lawsuit against OpenAI after a jury in California ruled in the company's favor. Their advisory verdict found that Musk's lawsuit took too long to be filed and that it was beyond the statute of limitations. Musk accused OpenAI and its executives of abandoning their non-profit practices for their current lucrative business model.

A talib deal has been reached to end a three-day strike that shut down the largest commuter rail system in the United States. Workers from the Long Island Railroad went on strike on Saturday after negotiations with their unions broke down. The terms of the deal are not publicly known, but New York's governor says that it will increase workers' pay without having an impact on riders or taxpayers, rail services are expected to be phased back in on Tuesday.

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NextEra Energy will buy Dominion in a deal worth nearly $67 billion. This is one of the largest deals in the U.S. power industry, and it also comes as demand is currently surging for electricity for A.I. data centers. Dominion shares a sword after news of the merger.

Well Google is warning that a major cybersecurity crisis could happen sooner than expected. The hypothetical event known as Q-Day would mark the moment when quantum computers can hack some encryption systems. These are basically digital safeguards that help protect everything from your bank accounts to personal medical records from hackers.

CNN's tech reporter Clare Duffy breaks it all down and tells us what may be at risk.

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CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: That's right. Experts are warning that Q-Day, this point at which quantum computers could break the encryption that protects much of our information on the Internet, could be coming sooner than expected, potentially within the next five to ten years.

You can think of this sort of like the next Y2K, the next milestone that experts are concerned about when it comes to cybersecurity. But this Q-Day has the potential to be much more disruptive. And that is because quantum computers are not just better traditional computers, they fundamentally operate differently on the principles of quantum physics.

That means that they can process information much more quickly. They have been in development, but experts now say that development is accelerating, perhaps faster than they previously realized.

And this is expected to lead to some good things like breakthroughs in science and finance. But it could cause a problem for the Internet's security, which is essentially protected by complex math equations that classical computers would take years and years to break.

But quantum computers could break much more quickly. And if we are not prepared for this, this could put at risk our sensitive communications, business information, financial information that is currently protected on the Internet.

Now, the good news is that companies and governments are working to get ready for this milestone. You've got Google and the cybersecurity company Cloudflare that now say they are targeting 2029 to secure their systems, which with what's known as post quantum cryptography. The White House is recommending that businesses adopt post quantum cryptography by 2035.

Still, there is data to suggest that 90 percent of businesses are not yet prepared for this. So much more work to do to prepare for this Q- Day milestone. Back to you.

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SANDOVAL: All right. So not to worry about an asteroid the size of a bus or two that just flew safely past Earth, but at its closest, it was about a quarter of the distance between the Earth and the moon.

Now this photo is showing the giant space rock as it made its way just past us. In fact, just a few hours ago, asteroid 2026 JH2 was only discovered last week. And it might seem fairly alarming that it was flying so close to Earth, but scientists actually say that it never posed a danger to us.

And thanks to new sensitive asteroid detection surveys, we're able to see just how often these close passes could actually happen.

I really appreciate you joining me the last 42 minutes of news. "World Sport" is next, and I'll join you again at the top for the next hour.

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