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Potential US-Iran Deal; California Chemical Plant Crisis; Pope Leo Takes On AI. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 25, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:30]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much for starting your week with us. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. This is CNN NEWSROOM. And here's what's coming your way.

Donald Trump says that he is in no rush to make a deal with Iran as the details of a potential agreement to end the war seem to emerge. And in California, crews are working right now trying to prevent a toxic chemical tank from exploding. We'll discuss the risks to the local community and to the environment.

Plus, Pope Leo takes on AI what we can expect from his first encyclical letter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: All right, everybody, let's begin with the war in Iran. And officials from Tehran and Washington now signaling that they are closing in on an agreement to turn the current ceasefire into a long lasting resolution to this conflict. Both sides, they are currently talking about a memorandum of understanding that will address all the outstanding issues.

But what's in the framework? That is still unclear at this hour. President Donald Trump already boasting about the possible deal, saying in part, if I make a deal with Iran, it will be good and a proper one, not like the one made by Obama, he wrote. Well, he also added that he will not rush into a deal with Iran.

Here's what the top US diplomat had to say about the latest negotiations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, US SECRETARY OF STATE: We're either going to have a good agreement or we're going to have to deal with it another way, we'd prefer to have a good agreement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's go live now to my colleague Nada Bashir, who's in London. We've heard this before from the White House that a deal was on the horizon. Is there anything that you're hearing that suggests that this may actually be close to peace potentially?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's certainly the indication that we are still hearing from White House officials, although we did hear from the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio saying that while they had hoped to have some good news by the end of the weekend, things are taking a little bit more time. But he also did caution reporters not to read too much into that.

He described the current agreement on the table as being, in his words, pretty solid. But of course, as you mentioned, this is a memorandum of understanding, not a final peace agreement. The hope would be amongst negotiators and mediators that this would allow for an allotted period of 60 days for those finer details to be ironed out, for the terms of the agreement to be upheld and put in place in order to lay the path forward for a full peace agreement between Iran and the United States and, of course, Israel.

Now, in terms of what is actually in the deal, some of that remains unclear. Of course, it's understood, according to sources and officials have spoken to CNN, that among the key focuses of the deal is of course, a cessation of hostilities in Iran. Crucially for the United States, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz to allow for that shipping route to be opened and operational in a freeway up to pre war levels. That would be the key goal here for the United States.

And for Iran, they want to see the blockade lifted on their ports. Now, according to one US official, there has been some indication that the blockade being lifted would be proportional to the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. So clearly there is some push there to see the results from firsthand before there is any move forward on the finer details of that peace agreement.

And of course, part of this is also expected to focus on the nuclear issue as well. The United States want to see Iran in a position where they are unable, in the perspective of the US to build a nuclear weapon, to develop a nuclear weapon. Rather, they want to see Iran give up all of its uranium enrichment program. So that will be a key focus.

But according to the US President, that might be something that is hammered out closer to that final agreement, not necessarily as part of the memorandum of understanding. And of course on the Iranian side as well, we have heard some positive indications but there's also been some suggestion by state media that, of course, there are still some key terms that have not been agreed upon that might make the deal take longer to get agreed upon. Including issues such as the unfreezing of Iranian assets in foreign banks, so that would be a key issue to hammer up.

[04:05:07]

At this stage, there does appear to be positive indicators of both sides, but of course, until there is that agreement, that all remains up in the air. Polo?

SANDOVAL: It very much does. That's live reporting from CNN's Nada Bashir. Well, officials say that a crack in an overheating chemical tank at an aerospace facility in Southern California may be relieving some of the pressure inside, but that there's still a very real risk of a potential catastrophic explosion.

It's about 1:00AM on the West Coast where crews are currently working at the site to confirm the extent of a crack on the tank, and the effect that it's having on the temperature and the pressure on that tank. About 50,000 residents of the surrounding area, they are currently under evacuation orders due to the risk of exposure to the toxic and highly flammable chemical inside that facility, inside that tank.

Evacuees at a nearby shelter sharing their ongoing anxiety as they wait for updates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICIA RIVERA, EVACUEE: I'm scared because I don't know what's going to happen, and I don't know if anything that already is in the air is going to affect us, or if it blows what's going to happen, you know. That's -- the unknown is really scary.

ROBERT PARMER, EVACUEE: We got an evacuation notice and we had to get out, you know, so we did. I've worked in refineries my entire life so I know the danger of the chemicals that they're talking about. What I don't understand is why they haven't been able to contain this. If this was in a refinery, this would have been contained already.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: We just heard from some of these residents that are spending their holiday weekend at this shelter. The hazardous chemical known as MMA is used to produce plastics and can cause major respiratory issues as well as dizziness and nausea. The EPA currently leading efforts to monitor the air for any signs of the chemical, they say that no leak has been detected.

Andrew Wilton is an Engineering Professor at Purdue University, and his expertise actually includes environmental chemistry and disasters. So he's the perfect person to speak to. Professor Wilton, thank you so much for joining us.

ANDREW WHELTON, ENGINEERING PROFESSOR, PURDUE UNIVERSITY: Thank you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Local fire officials, they've said that a crack in the chemical tank is, as they put it, a step in the right direction. I'm curious if you can start off by telling us why. You know, why a scenario in which we would potentially see tank failure may actually surface to help authorities. That is, of course, if the right circumstances are in play, if the surroundings are kept clear of people.

WHELTON: Well, the issue in Southern California is really serious. This chemical called methylmethacrylate is present and its pressure is building up in this tank . Kind of like soda can that you leave in your car. And if you leave that soda can in your car too long, it will explode if it gets hot enough.

So what we're trying to do is hoping that there is a leak in that tank that relieves the pressure so there is no explosion, and there's more controlled release of the chemical, which can be cleaned up fairly quickly.

SANDOVAL: Got it. And I'm curious if you could just expand on what's actually in that tank. Just tell us a little bit about MMA and also what makes it so volatile?

WHELTON: Well, methylmedacrylate or MMA is what's called a volatile organic compound. And that's a chemical that, when it's present in liquid form, it doesn't really like to be in liquid form. It likes to be in the gas or likes to be in air. And so, what happens is they have the tank and I think about 50 or lower temperature, but they haven't been able to cool it down, and so the temperature is building and that's why the pressure is building up.

SANDOVAL: In term of possible, I mean, we know that some 50,000 people have been asked to steer clear of the area as authorities try to essentially get a handle on this. I mean, what kind of amounts would people have to be exposed to in order for it to impact their health? How concentrated?

WHELTON: Well, first, one of the issues that we know is that there are worker safety limits. So the firefighters and the other emergency responders that are in the area making sure that it's evacuated could be exposed. And those individuals have certain personal protective equipment to help them.

The other people that we need to worry about are just the general public, the people that may not have evacuated or went back in. And these individuals can be exposed to MMA at lower levels that could cause harm. And then finally, the last kind of group of individuals that we really need to protect are the infants, children and immunocompromised individuals. People that are super susceptible to chemical exposure, we need to protect them from any exposure.

SANDOVAL: And, professor, you mentioned that exposure could cause harm. I'm curious if you could just elaborate on that, really, just to emphasize to people the importance of heeding those warnings from authorities. How could that actually impact a person's health if they're exposed?

[04:10:10]

WHELTON: Well, if the chemical does reach where people are at, first of all, there'll be a -- sometimes an odor. You can smell that chemical. But also there can be higher levels of the chemical that can cause ear, nose and throat irritation. It can also cause, you know, headaches and other types of consequences.

And if it's such an intense amount, you can actually pass out just from the overwhelming odor of it. So it's really important that people follow the directions of local officials to evacuate, to be ready and to be asking them questions, if they have any. SANDOVAL: And, professor, before we let you go, I'm just curious if we could explore different sort of scenarios. As you watch this unfold in California, what do you see as the perhaps not best but the most ideal scenario and what could be a catastrophic result?

WHELTON: Well, the ideal scenario as kind of spelled out by Orange County, was that the tank springs a leak, it relieves the pressure and they're able to then go collect all the liquid and prevent as much as possible from going into the atmosphere. Really the worst scenario is that the tank explodes and there is shrapnel and other physical materials that move away from the site.

There will likely be buildings destroyed or building destruction and damage. And also there will be contamination spread throughout. And so, it's really important that officials are able to keep working on this and we support them in what they do.

WHELTON: Yes, it is an unpredictable situation. We know authorities are trying to make sure that everybody stays safe. Professor Andrew Whelton, as always, thank you so much for letting us tap into your expertise. And thank you for your time.

WHELTON: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: President Donald Trump is back to talking about his ballroom. He says that this weekend shooting near the White House is further evidence of the need for this ballroom that he wants constructed. He made the connection on a social media post on Sunday. And now law enforcement sources have revealed to CNN the name of the suspected gunman.

CNN's Brian Todd with the latest on the investigation.

BRIAN TODD, CNN ANCHOR: We're here near the scene of the White House shooting on Saturday night. We can give you a logistical update. It looks like at least the processing of evidence here could be complete because the streets around the White House have since been reopened.

Pennsylvania Avenue here now open to traffic. It had been closed in the hours right after the shooting. The shooting occurred straight down the block there. We're at 18th and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. The shooting occurred straight down there at 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue.

And it could be a point where the gunman could have gotten about as close as he could to the White House complex because Lafayette Square Park to the left there and the walking plaza in front of the White House have been closed for several months due to construction. So that could have been about the closest point that the gunman could have gotten to the White House complex when he opened fire on Saturday evening.

We have an update on the suspect himself. According to law enforcement sources who spoke to CNN, he's identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best. According to our sources, he has had previous contact with the Secret Service, including in June of 2025 when he blocked an entry lane at the White House. At that time, according to our sources, he claimed he was God and then was later admitted for psychiatric evaluation.

About a month later, in July of 2025, our sources tell us he was arrested for attempting to enter a White House complex driveway. Our sources are also telling us that he has made several statements on social media, including at least one where he voiced a desire to harm President Trump.

And speaking of the President, the President has responded to the shooting with a posting on Truth Social thanking the Secret Service officers for their quick response to this event. And also saying this, "This event is one month removed from the White House correspondents dinner shooting and goes to show how important it is for all future presidents to get what will be the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington DC. The national security of our country demands it."

That an apparent reference to the White House ballroom complex that he is attempting to get constructed on the White House grounds. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

SANDOVAL: Still ahead, Republicans are battling it out in Texas hoping to secure a nod for Senate. How President Trump's endorsement of a controversial candidate is impacting this race. Plus a sign of the times at the Vatican, Pope Leo will soon be delivering his first encyclical letter as pontiff. Why he's chosen to focus on the rise of AI?

[04:14:54]

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[04:00:00]

SANDOVAL: The candidates vying for the Republican Senate nomination in the State of Texas are making their final pitches ahead of Tuesday primary runoff. Incumbent Senator John Cornyn trying to fight off a challenge from the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton appearing to have an edge after securing the endorsement from Donald Trump.

The US President took to social media on Sunday, urging voters to pick Paxton over Cornyn in this upcoming vote. Meanwhile, Cornyn seems to be downplaying this White House snub.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I really don't think it was about me. I think it's very different from the Cassidy and Massie situation because I've been a Trump ally, as you point out. I think he got frustrated with the Senate not able to get what he wanted when he wanted it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: President Trump's endorsement of Paxton, it has some Republican lawmakers worried that his liabilities as a candidate may actually end up benefiting Democrats come the November midterms. Outgoing Senator Thom Tillis had some pretty harsh words to share about his fellow Republican.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): To call Paxton ethically challenged is to call Jeffrey Dahmer suffering from an eating disorder. This guy is an empty suit and will do us no service by being in the US Congress. I hope the Texans realize how tough John Cornyn is, how pro-Second Amendment he is, how pro-limited government he is, how pro-America first he is.

[04:20:13]

And when they go to the polls on Tuesday, I hope that they know that they've got a great American who deserves reelection. And the other guy is going to be nothing but an anchor on our conference for as long as he's in the US Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: President Trump's so called anti-weaponization fund. It is now facing two illegal challenges and it could soon face an effort from Congress to block it. Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick argued that the statute that created the fund basically bypasses Congress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BRIAN FITZPATRICK (R-PA): Congress appropriates money. The Executive Branch does not have a dime of money in its own right. Every dollar that goes to the Executive Branch emanates from Article 1, emanates from Congress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: You recall the nearly $1.8 billion fund was announced last week after President Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. And that was over the unauthorized release of his tax returns.

Well, Trump says it's for people unfairly targeted by the previous administration. There appear to be few constraints on who can apply for some of this compensation. And the administration has refused to rule out that payments could go to those who stormed the Capitol on January.

We talked to a former White House ethics lawyer from the George W. Bush administration who says that this fund is not legal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD PAINTER, FORMER WHITE HOUSE ETHICS LAWYER: There's no legal footing whatsoever. Congress needs to set up funds like this and administer funds like this. And if Congress wants to appropriate funds for specific purposes, Congress could do that. They could vote a bill for reparations for slavery, or if they instead want to vote for reparations for January 6th rioters or whatever Congress, I guess, wants to do, they can do it. But Congress has the power to tax us and also to appropriate the money. That is the fundamental framework of the United States Constitution. That's an Article 1 power of Congress. The President of the United States can't just simply take our money, our tax money, and hand it out to his cronies.

And he also can't hand it out to himself, which is what he's doing with this IRS settlement. If he's going to settle out all of his tax situation, money he owes to the IRS. The founders anticipated that too in the domestic emoluments clause of the Constitution, which says the President cannot receive any profit or benefit or advantage from the United States Treasury in excess of the salary appropriated to him by Congress.

That's in the Constitution that's what the framers intended. And President Trump needs to understand that he is in office pursuant to the Constitution. He is not a king. And he can't simply dip his hands into the treasury and do with our money whatever he wants to do with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: About an hour from now, Pope Leo will be presenting his first encyclical letter as pontiff entitled Magnifica Humanitas, which is Latin for magnificent humanity. Vatican sources say that it will be addressing the protection of human dignity in an era of artificial intelligence.

The letter is expected to focus on the impacts of AI on warfare, workers rights, and also on the ethical risks of the growing technology. Pope Leo is expected to break from tradition and present the letter himself.

So let's get more of what we can expect in the hours ahead and head over to CNN Vatican correspondent Christopher Lamb, who joins me live from St. Peter's Square. Christopher, tell us a little bit more about how we expect the head of the Catholic Church to take on AI.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, for the last decade, the Vatican has been engaged with a dialogue with Silicon Valley executives about the development of AI. And whilst the pope and the Vatican see opportunities for this technology to help humanity, there are also major risks that they also are concerned about.

And we are expecting Pope Leo to talk about those, particularly the use of AI in warfare. But I think what's really interesting about this encyclical is it is the Pope's attempt to make a major intervention into a kind of huge challenge of our time. And an encyclical document is one of the highest forms of papal teaching.

And the Pope will, for the first time, when it comes to one of these documents, an encyclical, present it personally to the world. And he will do that alongside Chris Olah, a co-founder of Anthropic AI, one of the companies that is, of course, developing this technology.

And it is the Pope's attempt, I think, not just to sit on the sidelines of the discussion, but to try and influence the debate. He does want to see AI developed in an ethical way, in a way that serves as many people and supports many people as possible. And he is, of course, a Pope who is quite tech savvy.

[04:25:09]

He's known to be very good with technology. And he's also someone who studied mathematics at college. So he isn't someone who comes with no understanding of how these things work. So that I think is another sign of his attempt to try and influence the discussion.

But I think his main priority will be how, despite developments in technology, the human person must remain at the center and that no machine can replace humanity. I think that is going to be a key concern for him with this document. It's not just the technology, it's how it impacts on humanity.

And of course, we're going to see this unprecedented moment when the Pope himself presents this encyclical, this major theological document to the world.

SANDOVAL: Absolutely fascinating. Christopher Lamb will be looking for your reporting in the coming hours. That's Christopher Lamb reporting from Rome, from the Vatican.

Artificial intelligence, it could b also coming to a cockpit near you. The startup Merlin Labs wants to eventually fly your plane. And it seems that the aviation industry is actually warming up to the idea of. CNN's aviation correspondent Pete Muntean hopped in the passenger seat to show you what an AI flight looks like.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN'S AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: I'm in the co-pilot seat of a Cessna.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One, two, three, good.

MUNTEAN: And I'm about to find out what happens when the pilot flying is not human, but artificial intelligence.

MUNTEAN: Tim Burns is the Chief Technology Officer at Merlin Labs, a Boston startup developing a system that can be bolted into existing airplanes. Merlin says its system can fly the plane, talk to air traffic control, and even help make decisions about weather and routing.

TIM BURNS, CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, MERLIN LABS: We're trying to capture the judgment and abilities of a real aviator.

MUNTEAN: Merlin says it has completed hundreds of test flights to see how the system performs in real world conditions. Though it is likely years away from carrying passengers.

In the back of the plane, one of the company's engineers is monitoring what the AI is doing in real time. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if I know exactly what I'm in for you.

MUNTEAN: Alongside me is test pilot Matt Diamond, who on this flight won't be doing much piloting at all.

So this is just a manual takeoff?

MATT DIAMOND, TEST PILOT: This is going to be an automated take off.

MUNTEAN: Oh, this is an automated.

DIAMOND: Yes.

MUNTEAN: Meaning the AI system is flying the airplane from the very start. Nicely done.

The next part of the demonstration, communicating with Air Traffic Control. Merlin's system displays its language processing on an iPad as it listens to a mock controller, repeats the instruction and then flies the airplane to match it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Magic 01, turn left heading 090. Descend 2000.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Left 090 and down 2000 Magic 01.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Clear to authorize.

MUNTEAN: We're at about 1,500ft now over Newport, Rhode Island, and we just turned on to the final approach here at Quantum State Airport. Now, this is going to be an automated landing, and the system will fly the airplane all the way down to the pavement.

DIAMOND: It's a challenging problem for the automation. But once you crack the code, it's so much easier on the pilot.

MUNTEAN: You seem pretty confident over there.

DIAMOND: Oh, yes.

MUNTEAN: You seem pretty relaxed. Should I be this relaxed?

DIAMOND: Yes, absolutely.

MUNTEAN: All right.

As a pilot and a bit of a control freak, this is not exactly easy for me. But the system lines up with the Runway and flies a gradual descent all the way to touchdown.

Smooth, easy, right on centerline.

Even still, putting AI in control of an airplane raises big questions about safety and trust. Merlin CEO Matthew George.

MATTHEW GEORGE, CEO, MERLIN LABS: What we're building is certainly very sci-fi, but we're doing it in a responsible, incremental way. MUNTEAN: Will this put pilots out of jobs?

SANDOVAL: It won't. This is sitting alongside pilots, not necessarily replacing pilots, and enabling those pilots to do more of what they do best, which is operate aircraft safely.

MUNTEAN: That could be appealing to airlines worldwide, which will need to hire more than 600,000 new pilots over the next 20 years, according to Boeing. Merlin has already secured $100 million contract with the US Air Force to eventually fly cargo planes without pilots on board at all, but convincing passengers may be the hardest part.

MIKE TANNENBAUM, PASSENGER: As long as it's safe and more efficient and tested out in advance, I'm for it.

MEG MCKNIGHT, PASSENGER: I don't know if I trust AI in the air. I doubt I trust it.

STEVE COLEMAN, PASSENGER: I like the idea of humans having control. I don't like the idea of machines having control.

MUNTEAN: Pete Muntean, CNN, Quonset, Rhode Island.