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DOJ Settlement Now Bars IRS From Auditing Trump, Family; Vance Defends $1.776 Billion Anti-weaponization Fund; Cost of Living, Affordability Rank Top Issues for Voters; WHO Says Central Africa Ebola Crisis Warrants Serious Concern; FBI Says Teen Suspects of San Diego Mosque Shooting Appear to Have Been Radicalized Online; Piece of Eiffel Tower Staircase to Be Auctioned This Week; Arsenal Wins First English Premier League Title in 22 Years. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired May 20, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:38]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, strong election victories by Republicans backed by the U.S. president. We will take a look at the major races and what it could mean for the midterms.

Another red carpet welcome, this time the Chinese leader hails ties with Russia as a force of calm.

Plus, the bidding war for a piece of iconic French history.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Results are coming in from the latest round of high stakes primaries here in the United States. They set the stage for the big showdowns and the crucial November midterms, which could change the balance of power in Washington. Some of the votes in these six states are still being counted, but we have projections for the most closely watched races, including right here in Georgia.

The Republican race for governor is headed for a runoff next month, since no candidate crossed the 50 percent threshold. Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones will face off against health care billionaire Rick Jackson, who is self-funding his campaign.

Jones has President Trump's endorsement and served as a false elector in the 2020 election. The winner of that runoff will face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who won the Democratic nomination for Georgia governor.

And it wasn't even close. Bottoms could become the nation's first Black woman governor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), GUBERNATORIAL NOMINEE FOR GEORGIA: My name is Keisha Lance. We are going to fight for every single vote in every county in every corner of this state. We are going to knock on doors and have conversations with people across the communities of the state, and we are going to build a Georgia that works for all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And the Republican Senate race is also heading to a runoff. Trump-backed Congressman Mike Collins will advance, along with Derrick Dooley, who is endorsed by Georgia's outgoing governor.

Well, another contentious race unfolded in Kentucky's fourth house district. Republican Thomas Massie, who's been a thorn in Donald Trump's side, was up against the president's hand-picked challenger, but Massie fell short and conceded. The projected winner of that race, Ed Gallrein, said his focus is on advancing the agenda of President Trump and the Republican Party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED GALLREIN, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: I want to thank President Trump for his support, his endorsement, and his counsel as I navigated this campaign, which is a journey of unto itself, and for his courageous leadership of our nation at this critical time, I want to emphasize that, this critical time and juncture in history. Thank you, Mr. President.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Massie is the latest in a series of Republican rivals steamrolled by the President's revenge campaign. CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports from Kentucky.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: President Trump's retribution tour continues with a stop in Kentucky, taking out Congressman Thomas Massie after serving 14 years in Washington, he was handily defeated Tuesday night right here in Kentucky by a farmer and former Navy SEAL named Ed Gallrein, but make no mistake, this was a race between President Trump and Thomas Massie. The President spoke about this congressman again and again, right up until the very closing hours of election day, but after conceding defeat, Massie made clear he's going nowhere.

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): It started out as an election, and it turned into a movement. We stirred up something. There is a yearning in this country for somebody who will vote for principles over party, and we have to figure out what was the purpose of having the biggest fight ever, biggest fight ever.

[02:05:15] Why did it -- why did it converge on one of 435 congressional seats right here in Kentucky? What was God's purpose? What is He showing us tonight?

ZELENY: Now, Massie does have more than six months left in his term in Congress, but after that remains an open question. But in a concession speech that sounded anything but, Massie praised his young supporters as they chanted 2028, 2028. Of course, it's far too early to know if Massie will actually try and run for president in 2028 but he made clear that he believes this is the very beginning of a movement.

So, even though he lost his congressional race falling to President Trump and his retribution tour, Massie made clear he's just getting started.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Hebron, Kentucky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: I want to bring in Mike Madrid, who is co-founder of The Lincoln Project, a political action committee founded by Republicans who oppose Trumpism, and Maria Cardona is a Democratic strategist and CNN political commentator. Welcome to you both.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Rosemary.

MIKE MADRID, CO-FOUNDER, THE LINCOLN PROJECT: Thanks for having us.

CHURCH: So, we start with the biggest race of the night, Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie losing to Trump-endorsed challenger Ed Gallrein in yet another test and display of Donald Trump's influence over the GOP, despite his historically low approval numbers.

So, Maria, to you first, what does this signal to you, and could these big wins for Trump-endorsed candidates actually end up helping Democrats?

CARDONA: I do think they could end up helping Democrats, Rosemary, because, as you said, while it still shows that Donald Trump has an iron grip on the Republican Party, it's really just the MAGA part of the Republican Party that still bows down to anything and everything that Donald Trump says and does.

Because what we've seen in recent poll after poll after poll is that he is losing massive support among Independents and among the groups that actually voted for him in 2024, not MAGA, but others who voted for him because they believed him when he said that he would lower the costs of groceries, gas, and rent, that he would focus on getting rid of inflation, that he would not get us into any forever wars, and get guess what he's done. He's done completely the opposite, Rosemary. And he has underscored to the American people that he actually doesn't care about their financial situations. He said as much when he was talking about the Iran war.

And so, while Americans see him wasting money on ballrooms on a war that nobody wanted and nobody needed, and he says things like he doesn't care about the financial situation of Americans, you know, the Republican Party is focused on trying to do anything and everything that he says, and that's why I think that in November, Democrats are going to have a very good night, and they're going to take back the House and probably the Senate as well.

CHURCH: Mike, your response to that?

MADRID: I think that's largely right. I mean, what we're witnessing is probably one of the lowest levels historically of support amongst independents that I have ever seen in my professional career, watching this very closely for 3-1/2 decades, I don't think any time in modern polling have we seen a sitting president of any party doing as poorly as Donald Trump is right now, in large part because of the prioritization of issues where his administration has really gotten off the rails.

But the real underlying problem that he has is economic conditions are bad and getting worse, even though he is in a lower position than he was in 2018 historically bad numbers for his first midterm. The prognosis for the economy is that it's likely to get far, far worse before any time better. So, very bad news heading into the midterms.

CHURCH: And, of course, we have seen other Republicans knocked out of races when they dared to defy Donald Trump, Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana on Saturday night, five Indiana state Republicans who recently defied Trump on redistricting, and now President Trump is endorsing Ken Paxton over four-term GOP incumbent John Cornyn for next week's Texas GOP runoff election, but some Republicans are not happy about it.

So, Maria, is this another case of a Trump endorsement helping Democrats?

CARDONA: Yes, I think that's that could actually be the case, Rosemary, because what we've seen in Texas is that a lot of attention is going into that race, and I think one of the reasons is because there's a real possibility that James Talarico can win, and there's a couple reasons for that.

[02:10:07]

One is exactly what you said. Now we have seen Trump endorsing the most extreme candidate on the Republican side, and what we have seen and heard is that independents are disgusted by what Ken Paxton represents, and again, Republicans can't win races without Independents.

And the other group that is, I think, very much affected by this is Latinos, and this is a group that we saw went for Trump in '24, way too many of them, especially young Latino men. But we're now seeing in Texas that Latinos, well, not just in Texas, really everywhere, they are also turning away from Trump in droves because they feel like he has betrayed them on the promises that I mentioned earlier, focused on economics and also focused on immigration in the extreme way that the Trump administration has focused on enforcement in terms of the violence of the ICE raids in Latino communities.

And so, all of this is playing out in Texas, and what we're seeing, for you know, this time around for Democrats is a lot of enthusiasm going into the James Talarico race, the Gina Hinojosa race for governor, and a lot, lot of it is focused on this issue that Trump and Republicans are becoming way too extreme, independents are disgusted by the Trump administration's focus on things like the ballroom, things like the arc that Trump wants to build, things like the Iran war, things like the Trump Kennedy Center, nothing having to do with the personal economics of American families, which is what Trump and Republicans promise to focus on.

And so, all of that is playing out in Texas, and Trump's endorsement of Paxton underscores that he doesn't really care about the promises that he made to Americans. He only cares about retribution and about people that are a hundred percent loyal to him.

CHURCH: So, Mike, what's your response to Trump's Paxton endorsement, and does it help Democratic challenger Talarico, with many suggesting that race will be an uphill battle for Paxton and the GOP?

MADRID: I mean, look, James Talarico is still the underdog here, but I think he stands a better chance of winning that state more than any time I've looked at it in the past 25, 30 years, and I've done a lot of work in Texas, especially with the Latino community.

I think what was just articulated is on point. It was basically that what's happening is younger people, younger men specifically, working class people, Latinos, other people of color are leaving the Republican Party in the same way they left the Democratic party in 2024. You'll notice I'm not saying they're moving towards proactively or aspirationally towards the Democratic party. That's kind of the missing link that we're seeing. We saw it in Georgia tonight too. You can have some of these really big turnouts, especially with Latinos and with people of color, but unless there is an aspirational framework, especially on the economy, these victories are very pyrrhic. That's what I think the lesson for the Democrats they needed to learn in 2018 and didn't quite figure out. That's why they lost so significantly in 2024. They've got this incredible second chance, which you don't get very often in politics. They're going to have to start articulating what they're for, not just what they're against.

It's enough to be against Trump heading into November. That's absolutely true. The Democrats are going to have a good night regardless. The real question, the real test is going to be, have they fixed that working-class problem, and it's just being anti-Trump enough to carry them into 2028 and that's what I think a lot of very politically astute observers are looking for to see if they fix that problem or not. The jury is still very much out, especially with tonight's results.

CHURCH: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Maria Cardona, Mike Madrid, many thanks to both of you for joining us. Appreciate it.

CARDONA: Thank you, Rosemary. CHURCH: Well, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is hailing ties with Russia as a force of, "Calm amid chaos," as he sits down with Vladimir Putin in Beijing. The two leaders have been meeting over the last few hours during Putin's state visit in the Chinese capital. The trip coming just days after Xi hosted U.S. President Donald Trump.

A welcome ceremony helped kick off the summit between Xi and Putin. The Russian president says relations between the two countries have reached, "An unprecedentedly high level."

CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Steven Jiang joins us now live.

So, Stephen, with Vladimir Putin's visit coming straight after the US President's trip to China, it's hard not to make comparisons, isn't it?

So, what's been said so far, and what's expected to come out of this trip overall?

[02:15:03]

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Rosemary, one line already stood out during their opening remarks when Putin said to Xi Jinping, one day apart from you feels like three autumns has passed. It's a very famous product line from the ancient Chinese book of songs, but it's also, if you need any more proof, their romance, bromance, very much alive, and well, so that starts in contrast to the personal dynamic between Xi and Trump.

Remember, just a few days ago, when Trump said Xi was all business, there's no chit chatting, there's no small talk.

So, the difference is not only reflective of the personal bond between the two pairs of leaders, but also a reflection of the geopolitical reality of today's world.

Remember, Trump once famously said during his campaign that the last thing you want to see is China and Russia uniting, so he's going to try to end unite the two countries, but his foreign policy and his actions so far seem to be doing exactly the opposite as these two countries continue to get closer and more aligned on many international issues, many of them, of course, will be discussed during this meeting between their two leaders, including the war on Ukraine, but also the war in Iran.

But this so-called no limits partnership, of course, is also very much about trade and economy, as bilateral trade exceeding $240 billion last year. So, that is very much on the agenda, as well as the two leaders talked about continued expansion in that partnership, but also coordination and cooperation across the board on education, culture, media, but also in the fields of nuclear and space as well.

So, it is really interesting that now, because of Trump's own, you know, policy of upending traditional alliances and international trade norms, Putin and Xi are trying to project China and Russia as stabilizing forces of the world, and their partnership is very, very much beneficial to world peace and global justice, even as Putin continues to wage his four year old war on Ukraine.

But the other side of the coin, though, is Russia's economy, especially growing reliant -- more and more reliant on Chinese imports of consumer and industrial goods, while Russia is sending primarily still natural resources to China.

So, a lot of these transactions are almost now exclusively conducted in Chinese currency renminbi. So, you combine all that with this backdrop of continued Western sanctions against Russia and China's industrial dominance. That's why some analysts are saying this is increasingly a vicious cycle for Putin and a virtuous cycle for Xi.

So, the key question out of this meeting, Rosemary, is how China is going to use its massive leverage over Russia and its implications for the rest of the world, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Steven Jiang in Beijing. Many thanks for that live report, appreciate it.

Still to come, President Trump says he's holding off on plans to renew strikes on Iran, this as the Senate challenges his war powers, we will go to Abu Dhabi with the latest developments.

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[02:22:00]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. President Trump is getting pushback on the war with Iran. The U.S. Senate advanced a measure aimed at restricting his war powers by requiring congressional approval for any future military action in Iran. The measure advanced 50 to 47 with four Republicans voting with the Democrats. The vote comes as President Trump says he was on the verge of launching new strikes on Iran and postponed the attack at the request of several Gulf nations, but he says the pause is only temporary.

Well, for more, Leila Gharagozlou joins us now from Abu Dhabi. So, Leila, President Trump says a pause in the military action is only temporary at the request of some of these Gulf nations, but he's also seeing cracks in support for the war at home, so what more are you learning about this, and of course any diplomatic efforts to end the war.

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, so as you mentioned, President Trump is starting to see pushback on this war, both on Capitol Hill and from the American people. This hasn't been a particularly popular war, and Americans are starting to feel the economic pain associated with this war now.

When it comes to diplomatic negotiations, President Trump struck a decidedly positive tone earlier this week, saying that he felt that there had been positive developments, and we saw this echoed from J.D. Vance, the vice president, yesterday, who said that he felt that things had been moving in a good enough direction for them to continue. He did, however, say you never know until you know. All we can do is negotiate in good faith. Now, President Trump, just a day after saying that he wouldn't be

attacking Iran again for a limited amount of time, did set a deadline. He said that that deadline would be two or three days, maybe Friday, Saturday, Sunday. He said even early next week.

So, the next couple of days are going to be really critical for getting any sort of deal or negotiation over the line, and we're going to have to see how things play out.

As far as we know, as of now, there's still some pretty big gaps when it comes to the Iranians and Americans over those key issues like Iran's nuclear program, enrichment, and control of the Strait of Hormuz, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Leila Gharagozlou in Abu Dhabi. Many thanks for bringing us up to date on that.

Well, drivers across the world are already dealing with rising gas prices ahead of the busy summer travel season, and they're about to get hit in another way. The war with Iran may have created conditions for a motor oil supply crunch. Now some industry experts are warning of shortages.

CNN's Matt Egan has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: This is just the latest shoe to drop in the supply chain turmoil caused by the war in the Middle East. Wholesale prices for motor oil are surging, and some industry executives are warning of an imminent shortage.

Here's the problem: manufacturers are struggling to get their hands on the key raw material used to make motor oil. We're talking about something called Group Three base oil. Normally, it's imported from the Middle East, but that's not happening right now, because the Strait of Hormuz remains closed. Not only that, but a key facility producing those base oils was damaged during the war, and some of the backup options, like turning to refineries in South Korea, that's not an option right now, either, because those refineries in Asia, they're focused on making as much jet fuel and diesel as they can. They're not focused on base oil.

[02:25:28]

So, look, this is a perfect storm for a small but critical part of the global oil market. And I talked to the CEO of the trade group representing independent motor oil and lubricant manufacturers, and she told me it's just a big mess. She said, "We're looking at shortages. I have no doubt in my mind."

Now, the main concern is those low viscosity motor oils that are very common in cars on the road today. In particular, the industry is warning of a potential shortage of 0W-8, 16 and 20, and that last one -- that last one is the most important motor oil on the market. It is the go-to oil for newer vehicles. And this supply chain crunch, it's already lifting prices. Wholesale prices for some motor oils are going up six times faster than on a normal year, six times faster. That's according to Tom Glenn. He's the publisher of an industry publication called JobbersWorld. And Glenn told me he's been in the industry since 1979. He said he's never seen anything like this. He said that the magnitude and the frequency of the price increases today are, "Stunning and unheard of."

Now, I reached out to the White House, and a spokesperson says that the president and his team, they did anticipate short-term disruptions to the global energy market, and they are in touch with the industry and the private sector around these concerns.

And the Energy Department says that they are ready to take additional action if needed to avoid supply chain disruptions.

Now, Tom Glenn, the industry veteran, he told me that he suspects that workarounds will be found here because it's not like America is going to stop driving cars. For instance, automakers, they could change how often they recommend cars get their oil changed. They could also recommend some suboptimal oils as well, for the time being.

Of course, there's cost to that as well. If it ends up damaging engines, all of this is just another reminder of how fragile global supply chains are, and how the war in the Middle East is raising the cost of living here in America. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Right, we want to take you live now to these pictures in Beijing. We've just been watching a signing ceremony. In fact, Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin have been meeting in Beijing. The two leaders have been holding this signing ceremony. They've been having bilateral talks over the last few hours during Putin's state visit in the Chinese capital.

Now the trip comes just days after Xi hosted U.S. President Donald Trump. The Russian president has said relations between the two countries have reached, "An unprecedentedly high level," and we'd heard earlier that Chinese leader Xi Jinping had been hailing those ties as well. He was saying a little jab at the United States here that this was calm amid chaos.

So, we'll continue to watch this very important meeting between these two leaders coming, as we said, just on the heels of the meeting and the visit by U.S. President Donald Trump.

All right, still to come, how the U.S. Justice Department has granted Donald Trump and his family near total immunity from IRS audits. Back with that and more in just a moment.

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[02:32:05]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The Internal Revenue Service is now barred from prosecuting or pursuing claims against Donald Trump for past tax issues. That language unveiled Tuesday as part of the Justice Department's settlement with Trump to resolve his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the alleged mishandling of his tax records. The addendum also covers Trump's family, trusts, companies, and other affiliates.

Congressional Democrats call it outright corruption. Democrats are also denouncing the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund in that settlement, which would give taxpayer money to people who claim they were unfairly investigated by past administrations. The Trump administration says it's meant to be non-partisan. Critics say it's merely a way for the president to enrich his allies.

Vice President J.D. Vance is defending the fund.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, (R) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is about compensating Americans for the lawfare that we saw under the last administration. The people that would get the money are people, some of whom have been prosecuted completely disproportionate to any crime they've ever committed or circumstances.

Let's say a person is accused, let's say hypothetically, a person is accused of doing something that they never actually did, that they got a kangaroo court, that they had a judge who mistreated them. I think that we should look at those things case by case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: White House officials, including Vance, are not ruling out that the fund could be used to pay people who violently rioted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, even those who attacked police. Now, this comes as Americans grapple with the rising cost of living.

A recent CNN poll shows two things. The economy is the top issue on the minds of voters, and the majority don't agree with how President Trump is handling it. Just 30 percent of Americans currently approve of how Trump is handling the economy. Disapproval sits at 70 percent.

As for how the president's economic policies have affected the U.S., 22 percent believe economic conditions have improved, while 65 percent say they've become worse.

Rana Foroorhar is a CNN Global Economic Analyst. She's also a Global Business Columnist and Associate Editor at the Financial Times. Appreciate you joining us.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, Rana, primary races, of course, are one thing, but we're not going to get a true reading of how American voters feel about the top issue of affordability until the midterms. How big a motivator do you expect sky-high gas prices and soaring grocery bills will be come November? FOROOHAR: Well, I think they're going to be a really big deal.

[02:35:00]

You know, just taking the energy piece of that, even if you were to see some kind of a halt to the Iran crisis, you know, in the next few weeks, it takes months, maybe even years for these sorts of supply chain disruptions to work their way through the system. Many analysts think we might see high oil prices and gas prices for as much as three years out from now.

So if you think about oil and gas as the one price that Americans see every day at the pump, you know, most people are driving by a gas station, they're filling up. It's something that really can't be overstated.

And then, you know, the number two issue is food. These are the two things, food and fuel, that people really can't cut out of their budgets. You know, you can say I'm not going to take a fancy summer vacation. You can say, I'm going to shop at a thrift store. But you really can't not fuel your car and not go to the grocery store.

So these things are going to be with us. And I just don't see really any disinflationary pressure on the horizon that would make those prices a lot lower come fall when the midterm voting happens.

CHURCH: Right. And of course, as you mentioned, the Iran War and of course, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is causing these gas prices to rise to historic levels. But even if a deal comes in the next few days, what difference could that make in terms of gas prices and affordability in general?

FOROOHAR: You know, not as much as quickly as you would like to see. A gas tanker takes months often to get to its destination and then for that fuel to be sent to factories, to homes, et cetera. So, you know, we are talking a long-term issue here.

You know, if you remember going back to COVID, going back to the war in Ukraine when it first began, supply chain disruptions happen quickly, but they take a long time to resolve. And I think that that's one of the issues that the president was, you know, President Trump was a little bit sanguine about in the beginning when he started the Iran conflict, saying this is going to be over quickly. You're not going to even feel any pain at the pump. Well, people are feeling it and they're going angry.

CHURCH: And Rana, we also know, of course, about this $1.8 billion fund paid for by taxpayers, available to allies of the president after a DOJ settlement. And there are new terms that now bars the IRS from investigating Donald Trump, his family or businesses. What do you make of it? Will it add to voter frustrations, do you think?

FOROOHAR: I think so. I mean, to be honest, the sense that the Trump administration, particularly in Trump 2.0 has been really playing fast and loose with rule of law, with rewarding compatriots, allies, family members, friends, as opposed to, you know, really fair dealing. It's a strong felt sense that the public has. It's a bit of a drip, drip, drip problem.

You never know quite when it's going to hit. But I think when you add all these things together, the fact that you have an administration that's clearly playing favorites, you know, may not have to answer for any misdeeds, even perceived misdeeds. You know, that's a big deal.

I think that that really does stick in voters' craw. And you know, you can see it in the incredibly low approval ratings across the board for the president, particularly his handling of the economy.

CHURCH: But just how bad is the issue of affordability for the Trump administration, especially when we see President Trump having an extraordinarily high level of influence on the outcome of these primary races and, of course, over the GOP in general?

FOROOHAR: Well, you know, Rosemary, you're raising a great point. It is true that money still talks in U.S. politics, and you've seen in some of the primary races -- in Indiana, for example, there was a state primary race recently. Some Indiana Senators had stood up to the president, said we don't want gerrymandering. You know, we want to we want to keep things the way they are.

Trump then really fought back against these state Senators. This wasn't even a federal primary issue. Quadrupled the amount of money in that particular primary ad campaign and defeated the people that had opposed him.

So there's definitely a kind of a sense that do not get on the wrong side of this man, he will make it personal and you will pay. And I think that people understand that. Whether that's going to carry the day in a primary season where there's so much anger and where, again, there's no reason to think the prices are going to go down, I'm skeptical of that.

I still think we're going to see a Democratic sweep of the House, possibly even the Senate.

CHURCH: Rana Foroohar, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

FOROOHAR: Thank you.

CHURCH: The deadly Ebola outbreak in Central Africa is growing worse by the day.

Coming up, how global health organizations are responding to the spike in suspected cases. Back with that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:43:01]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The head of the World Health Organization says the scale and spread of the deadly Ebola outbreak in Central Africa warrants serious concern. It's now estimated that more than 130 deaths are linked to the virus, among more than 500 suspected cases.

One of those cases is an American citizen who reportedly contracted the virus while working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. That individual is now being taken to a treatment facility in Berlin after a diplomatic request from the United States.

A senior U.S. State Department official also confirmed that a Disaster Assistance Response Team has been deployed to the DRC and Uganda. The move comes as part of a larger international effort to contain the outbreak. CNN's Larry Madowo has the latest.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The concern from public health experts in the region is that there's a likelihood that many people could have been exposed to Ebola. They're just not showing symptoms yet. It might take until three weeks before that begins to happen.

This area in Ituri, northeastern DRC, which is the epicenter of the outbreak, has a lot of insecurity. About 100,000 people are displaced. It's a mining town. There's a lot of border traffic between this area in Bunia to Uganda across the border.

So even though Uganda says there's no local infections in the country, the two people who were confirmed were Congolese. One died and was sent back across the border, and the other is receiving treatment.

The people move back and forth. Some may be asymptomatic right now, but in a few days or a few weeks, they might begin to show symptoms, and they might have come into contact with a lot of people. We've seen the numbers rise to more than 513 suspected cases, more than 130 deaths associated with Ebola.

So as they do more lab testing, contact tracing, and surveillance, the numbers might as well skyrocket, and that affects a huge number of people within these countries -- Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and possibly South Sudan as well.

[02:45:00]

And you've seen these reported even in Kampala, which is a few hundred kilometers away. So that is why the WHO and many other experts say this could be much deeper of an outbreak than they currently know, and it could have already been spreading for a few weeks in the community before it was detected and confirmed.

CHURCH: Back here in the United States, new details on the investigation into the deadly shooting at a San Diego mosque. The FBI says two teen suspects who died of apparent self-inflicted gunshot wounds appear to have been radicalized online, and a manifesto has been recovered by law enforcement. We're also learning the suspects had shared a live video of Monday's attack that killed three people at the Islamic Center.

CNN's Kyung Lah is following developments from San Diego.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Were it not for the actions of three men, a security guard, a man who's married to a teacher here at the school, and an elder who has been here since this mosque was first formed, it could have been so much worse, said the police chief of the San Diego Police Department.

These three men put their bodies between violence and hatred and 140 school children who had managed to lock the doors of all of their classrooms. Take a listen to the police chief.

CHIEF SCOTT WAHL, SAN DIEGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: Individuals that did this heinous act ran past the security guard, most likely not knowing he was there. You can see the security guard reach for his radio and put out the lockdown protocol. His actions, without a doubt, delayed, distracted, and ultimately deterred.

IMAM TAHA HASSANE, DIRECTOR, ISLAMIC CENTER OF SAN DIEGO: They tried to do something. They were hiding in the parking lot next to the kitchen. They tried to do something to protect. But unfortunately, they sacrificed their lives to protect the entire community inside the Islamic Center of San Diego.

LAH: And here's a look at those three men -- Mansour Kaziha, he is the elder here at the mosque; Amin Abdullah, the security guard; and Nader Awad, a member married to that teacher here at the school. There has also, according to the police chief, there was a manifesto along with that suicide note that was recovered and that what it expressed was generalized hate.

They aren't sure if this mosque is the intended target because the hatred expressed in all of the writings left behind basically was against everyone. The teens, as far as how they were radicalized, it happened online, according to the police department. They met online.

They realized that they both lived in San Diego, and then they met in person and then began their planning. There were approximately 30 guns recovered, all of those guns belonging to one of the parents. There could be further charges, said the police department, depending on where this investigation goes against those parents.

Kyung Lah, CNN, San Diego.

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CHURCH: "CNN Newsroom" continues after a short break.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, about seven million people visit the iconic Eiffel Tower in Paris each year. And for almost a century, many people used a spiral staircase to climb to the top. Now, a part of the original steps is expected to fetch up to $175,000 at auction this week.

CNN's Melissa Bell is there.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the very staircase that the man who created the Eiffel Tower, Gustave Eiffel, used to use every day to get up to his office at the very top of the tower. Now, this little piece of that very staircase is being sold at auction.

But at 1.4 tons in weight, whoever acquires it is going to need a pretty big apartment and a pretty sturdy floor. Ever since 1983, the staircase has given way to these elevators that take you all the way up to 280 meters above the ground. So, less exercise, but a lot easier to get to the very top.

SABRINA DOLLA, DIRECTOR OF THE ART DECO DESIGN DEPARTMENT, ARTCURIAL: We will start at EUR 100,000 and we will try to obtain the best price.

BELL: This is such an iconic monument and such a draw towards Paris. And yet, whoever ends up acquiring this little piece of Parisian history will never get this view.

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CHURCH: Arsenal is back on top of the English Premier League, winning their first championship in over 20 years. Meanwhile, in the English Football League, Southampton has been expelled from the Championship playoffs after admitting to spying on other clubs.

CNN World Sports' Don Riddell has the latest on the scandal and the celebrations.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: It has been a wonderful day for Arsenal who are celebrating what has been a really elusive Premier League title.

(CROWD CHEERING)

RIDDELL: It is the Gunners' first since their Invincibles team of 2004 and it arrived without them even having to kick a ball. Here's why.

For some time this season, Manchester City have been the only team who could stop Arsenal and they needed to win their penultimate game on Tuesday night. Otherwise, the challenge was over. City away at Bournemouth.

Bournemouth, one of the hottest teams in the league right now, and it was the Cherries who took the lead shortly before half-time. A terrific strike there from Eli Junior Kroupi. Great celebration too.

City's domestic success has meant a pile of fixtures. They won the League Cup, they won the FA Cup on Saturday, but now they needed two goals and although there was a late flurry of excitement as Erling Haaland thundered an equalizer in off the post, it was too little too late. That was all they could muster. 1-0 the final score. [02:55:00]

Man City will finish second. Arsenal and their fans celebrating in North London. And the question now turns to Pep Guardiola's future. The City manager was rumored to be leaving at the end of the season, but he's keeping it rather vague.

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PEP GUARDIOLA, MANCHESTER CITY MANAGER: Listen, I have one-year (ph) contract. This is different. I will not tell you here, because I have to talk with my chairman, with my players, and with my staff. Because when we played for the FA Cup, when we played to -- before qualification of Champion League, we played for the Premier League. It's just one thing in my mind and focus is to try to winning the team in the highest point. That's all we have to do.

I'm the happiest man on the planet to be in this club. This club is just extraordinary. So there is a moment, of course, the season is over for us, so we won't arrive in the last game without our fans. But I know they will come, because I see an intense season, really good in many, many moments. And that is what we have to do until the end.

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RIDDELL: Meanwhile, serious drama ahead of the championship play-off final this weekend. This is the annual game to decide the third team promoted into the Premier League. And it should have been played between Hull City and Southampton at Wembley.

But on Tuesday, the English Football League expelled Southampton from the game after the Saints had admitted spying on three of their opponents this season. One of those teams, Middlesbrough, who had lost to Southampton in the play-off semi-final, will now take their place in the pivotal game.

It has an extraordinary turn of events ahead of what is known as the richest game in football. Back to you.

CHURCH: And I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next, after a quick break. Stay with us.

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