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Trump Proposes Changes To Text Of Iran Peace Deal; Mexico Steps Up Medical Precautions Ahead Of World Cup; New Pill Nearly Doubles Pancreatic Cancer Survival Time. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 01, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: A U.S. Central Command says that it's carried out self-defense strikes in Iran over the weekend. Iran, for its part, it says that it attacked a U.S. air base without specifying which one, and all of this comes as U.S. officials say that President Trump has asked for new changes to this peace proposal. CNN's Julia Benbrook explains what that means for the rest of the negotiations.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials have told our team that President Donald Trump sent back changes to the proposed deal with Iran. This comes after he held a high-level meeting in the Situation Room on Friday with top advisors, including Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Going into that meeting, Trump said that he would use it to make a final determination on a tentative agreement, but we have yet to receive an official update from him on that.

Officials, though, have told us that he has asked for tougher language when it comes to Iran's nuclear commitments and its pledge to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. allies in the Gulf have been briefed on the discussions, and one foreign official tells our team that the changes center around the U.S. desire for assurances on those issues. Sources have told us that the Memorandum of Understanding, which is under consideration, would likely include a 60-day time frame to fully address some of the big issues, like Iran's nuclear capabilities, which includes the fate of the stockpile of highly enriched uranium.

When pressed over the weekend for where things stand and more details there, a White House official reiterated what Trump has been saying for weeks now, that he is only going to make a deal if he believes that it is a great deal and addresses his red lines, adding, "Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon." Still a lot of questions here about how and when this conflict could come to an end.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

SANDOVAL: The head of the World Health Organization says that there is hope for patients suffering from a deadly outbreak of Ebola in Africa. And he's now set to meet with leaders in the Democratic Republic of Congo today. The WHO is reporting that four nurses have already been discharged from a hospital in the DRC after recovering from Ebola. And the group is now pushing for greater access to medical care in the affected countries, which together have reported more than 270 confirmed Ebola cases. At least 43 people have died in the outbreak so far.

And amid global concerns over Ebola, Mexico's government is now strengthening its response to possible health risks ahead of the World Cup, and the country is now pouring millions of dollars into added resources to make sure the travelers from near and far feel safe while they're in Mexico. Here's CNN's Valeria Leon with details.

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VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just days before the World Cup kicks off, Mexico is preparing for something far less visible than security threats, a potential disease outbreak. Health officials are now on alert as the Ebola outbreak raises global concerns.

I met with Jalisco State Health Secretary Hector Perez to talk about the preparations.

HECTOR PEREZ, JALISCO HEALTH SECRETARY (through audio translation): We need to be prepared for epidemiological contingencies. To protect the population of Jalisco, but also all visitors. We estimate approximately 3 million people will come during the tournament.

LEON (voice-over): The new health measures include airport screenings, reviews of travel itineraries, and recommendations for isolation.

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through audio translation): At the airport, they received all the necessary instructions for isolation procedures and health screening. Visitors are advised through travel agencies to isolate for 21 days beforehand.

LEON (voice-over): The DRC team is currently in isolation in Belgium and is set to play in Jalisco on June 23rd. Authorities are also preparing for more common medical issues, with drills simulating large-scale medical emergencies and rapid response scenarios ahead of the tournament.

MONTSERRAT OLVERA, HEALTH MINISTRY NURSE (through audio translation): Dehydration, heat stroke, diarrhea, we are also focused on prevention because weather conditions can cause people to become dehydrated, and we want to avoid overwhelming hospitals.

LEON (voice-over): Secretary Perez says Jalisco has invested around 4 million dollars to expand its medical capacity ahead of the tournament.

PEREZ (through audio translation): We're going to have two mobile hospitals, including one at the Fan Festival location, where we expect up to 80,000 people a day. LEON (voice-over): Mexico's main focus had been security for fans and teams. But the Ebola outbreak has also led to an increased focus on public health preparations ahead of the World Cup.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Guadalajara, Jalisco.

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SANDOVAL: A major breakthrough in pancreatic cancer treatment now. A new study showing an experimental drug is helping patients with the deadly disease live longer. The pill it's called daraxonrasib, also referred to as Dara, and it also helps block a mutated protein that accelerates tumor growth in more than 90 percent of pancreatic cancer cases. In a clinical trial, researchers randomly assigned the pill or chemotherapy to 500 participants whose cancer was unresponsive. Well, they found that those who took this pill, that it doubled their survival rate. So what does this mean long-term?

We're joined now by a co-author on that study, Dr. Andrew Hendifar. He's also the medical director of pancreatic cancer at the Samuel Oshing Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Hendifar, thank you so much for joining us.

DR. ANDREW HENDIFAR, PROF. OF MEDICINE/DIR. OF GASTROINTESTINAL ONCOLOGY & CANCER CLINICAL TRIALS OFFICE: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Just to share with our viewers around the world some numbers instead of our conversation. In the U.S. alone, more than 52,000 people are likely to die from pancreatic cancer this year alone, and that's according to numbers from the American Cancer Society. The overall survival rate is averaged 13 percent. We know in some cases even lower, so that makes it now one of the deadliest forms of cancers. Doctor, how soon do you expect this drug to be offered to patients now that we know that the FDA is currently essentially expediting this review?

HENDIFAR: Yes, we're so hopeful, especially with this expedited review, that it could get to the clinic in as soon as two to three months. Hoping. Fingers crossed.

SANDOVAL: Tell us just a general view of what this drug is. What makes it so revolutionary? How it's administered? How it works? Some of the side effects, but then also how it may have a substantial advantage over chemotherapy treatments.

HENDIFAR: Yes, you know, the KRAS gene, which you were just talking about, that's mutated in almost all pancreas cancer patients, was considered undruggable, and despite all these advances you would hear about in other tumor types, our poor pancreatic cancer patients were kind of left behind, and this has led to the poor outcomes in this disease.

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What's so ingenious about this medication is that it acts like a Trojan horse, binding a protein that naturally goes to KRAS, so it kind of jumps on as a passenger to another protein and therefore is able to bind the mutation. Binding a protein that naturally goes to KRAS, so it kind of jumps on as a passenger to another protein and therefore is able to bind the mutated KRAS. It works very well as the results demonstrated that came out earlier today.

Patients are doing much better, and the kicker, the best part about it is that it's a pill, and for the last 20 years or so, we've been giving patients IV chemotherapy, so this is just a huge and welcome breakthrough for our patients.

SANDOVAL: Doctor, some of the side effects with this experimental drug, especially if you compare it to existing therapies, what are they?

HENDIFAR: Yes, so you don't get any of the, you know, bone marrow toxicity, low counts, you don't have nausea or vomiting, but you do have a kind of a unique skin rash, which is manageable. We're learning how to manage it as time goes on. As the trial developed over time, we got better at it, so you will, if you do take this medicine, you will need to take prophylactic medications and other creams and lotions in order to help control this rash.

SANDOVAL: And just to remind our viewers, I mean, what makes pancreatic cancer so difficult to tackle? We know what makes it so deadly because of how silent it essentially is until those symptoms take over, but what has made it such a challenge for you and your colleagues to try to improve treatment for patients who are fighting this battle?

HENDIFAR: Yes, you hit the nail on the head. It's silent, and by the time we catch it, I tell my patients, and they're always shocked to hear this, that they've had it for like five to 10 years because you don't feel it growing, you don't know it's there until it's a very mature tumor. And add to that, that KRAS, until now, was really undruggable for our pancreas cancer patients. So this really brings kind of a new era, and not only do we have a new medicine, but this whole field of KRAS will now open up. We'll have more scientists involved, more research, more clinical trials. It's already happening. It's just an amazing time.

SANDOVAL: It's certainly our hope that this leads to meaningful treatments for those who are fighting these battles and achievements such as this. I know that's certainly done in the memory of those who have lost similar battles in the past. Dr. Hendifar, thank you so much, and thank you and your colleagues as well for this break there. Thank you for your time.

HENDIFAR: Thank you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Many New Yorkers, they're facing food insecurity as grocery prices rise throughout the U.S. We'll be showing you a mobile food market that's helping families in need.

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[04:45:50] SANDOVAL: The rising cost of food is now forcing more New Yorkers to depend on free food markets. These mobile markets, they're helping distribute free produce and pantry staples to families facing food insecurity. And all this comes as inflation hits a three-year high. Here's CNN's Maria Santana with more.

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MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (through translator): The line keeps going and going and going, wrapping around an entire city block.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I've been here since 9:00 in the morning.

SANTANA (voice-over): In the Bronx, dozens of people wait for hours, carrying carts, bags and backpacks, hoping to take food home.

MONICA LOPEZ, BRONX RESIDENT (through translator): It's gotten really hard because prices have gone up so much and what we make is barely enough anymore.

SANTANA (voice-over): It's a scene becoming more and more common across New York City.

PEDRO URBAEZ, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY DISTRIBUTION, CITY HARVEST: It all comes down to the affordability crisis that we are seeing here in New York City and most folks have to decide how they want to spend their money and usually food is the last thing they think about.

EDITH SOPERANES, MOTHER OF TWO (through translator): Yesterday I went grocery shopping, bought maybe three or four things and it was already $90.

SANTANA (voice-over): This mother of two says coming to City Harvest's mobile food markets is no longer a choice. It's a necessity to help feed her kids.

SOPERANES (through translator): I see they're giving out eggs, that helps for breakfast and bananas for snacks for the kids.

SANTANA (voice-over): Martina Santos is now a City Harvest volunteer but says she's also experienced hunger.

MARTINA SANTOS, CITY HARVEST VOLUNTEER/ BRONX RESIDENT (through translator): I've had to skip meals. If I eat breakfast, then I can't eat lunch because I don't have enough. So, I save it for dinner so I don't go to bed hungry.

SANTANA (voice-over): A situation she fears could put her health at risk. I'm diabetic. I have high blood pressure.

SANTOS (through translator): I have to eat healthy to keep my condition under control.

SANTANA (voice-over): According to City Harvest, more than 1 million New Yorkers, including one in every four children, live in households struggling to put food on the table.

SANTANA: And on a national level, more than 48 million people in the United States live in homes where food is not enough.

URBAEZ: Our mobile market serves somewhere between 500 and 600 families per distribution. Most families will be receiving between 20 and 25 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables.

SANTANA (voice-over): While Martina Santos now helps distribute that food, she says programs like this have saved her life.

SANTOS (through translator): For me, this has been a blessing, helping me through my depression and helping me put a decent plate of food on my table.

SANTANA (through translator): Thank you for volunteering and I appreciate everything that you do.

SANTANA (voice-over): Maria Santana, CNN, New York.

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SANDOVAL: The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, it is officially underway. An average season, it produces about 14 named storms. But with the anticipated return of El Nino, that phenomenon, this year's forecast, it now looks a little different. Here's CNN's meteorologist Allison Chinchar to explain.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Today marks the official start of Atlantic hurricane season, and it's actually expected to be a slightly slower one, which is fantastic news. Now, the official forecast from NOAA calls for about a 35 percent chance of having a near normal season, but a more than 50 percent chance of having a below average season. Now, what does that mean in terms of numbers? Well, in a normal year, you would have 14 total named storms, seven of which would reach hurricane strength and three getting up to major hurricane strength, which is a category three, four or five storm.

But this season, those numbers are a little bit lower. The total named storm forecast is eight to 14, whereas we only can expect about three to six named hurricanes going into the upcoming season based off that forecast. And one of the biggest factors really has been the expected El Nino event that is going to ramp up throughout hurricane season.

Typically in an El Nino year, you get wind share that kind of increases across this red area here, focusing mainly over areas of the Caribbean as well as the Atlantic. And basically what happens there is it inhibits further development of those tropical systems. In addition to that, you also have fewer storms that move off of the coast of Africa.

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Now, peak hurricane season typically runs from August 15th to October 15th, but that is the exact same time in which we really anticipate seeing El Nino ramp back up. In fact, we could end up getting to a strong El Nino event come September and October of this year.

SANDOVAL: Allison, thank you.

And still to come here on CNN Newsroom from YouTube to the big screen, some of the latest box office hits, they're making some serious profits. I'll tell you why.

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SANDOVAL: So right now the two top films in America are challenging the Hollywood establishment and also proving that young creators with passion can actually beat the big studios at their own game. CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more on how YouTube is responsible for producing the next generation of top filmmakers.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey there, yes the YouTube revolution has officially hit Hollywood. This was a historic weekend at the box office with the top two movies in America being "Backrooms" and "Obsession." Both these horror films were made by 20-something directors who honed their craft on YouTube, who made their movies with low budgets, who marketed those movies mostly online to their existing fan bases, and the formula in both cases worked astonishingly well.

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Hollywood studio bosses are now studying what just happened, hoping to replicate it as many times as they can. Now "Obsession" came out first on May 15th. It's directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker. It costs less than a million dollars to make. So far it has earned more than a $150 million, not just in the U.S. but around the world. That's a jaw- dropping return on investment.

And then this past weekend came "Backrooms," directed by 20-year-old Kane Parsons. Yes, 20-year-old. He developed the project for years on his YouTube channel. He won the backing of some independent studios. He had about $10 million to make the movie. And still, it absolutely crushed expectations. It opened number one over the weekend, both in the U.S. and in other markets, making about $120 million so far just in ticket sales. And those sales have been driven by young people.

A24 says Parsons now ranks as the youngest filmmaker in Hollywood history to release a film that finished number one at the weekend box office. And as for "Obsession," it's been growing week after week. It ranked number two overall this past weekend, pushing the new "Star Wars" movie, "The Mandalorian and Grogu," down to third place.

This is a wake-up call for Hollywood studios that are now going to be thinking even more about the YouTube-to-film pipeline, trying to find the next great director somewhere online and then nurture that director, try to create a success like "Obsession" or "Backdoors." It may not be easy, but you can see why Hollywood bosses are going to try. We've already heard from a lot of movie critics saying they hope that these Hollywood studios spend a little bit less money on the next big franchise or the predictable sequels and make more bets on these up-and-coming stars. In other words, this is going to be the movie industry's next obsession. Back to you. SANDOVAL: Thank you so much, Brian Stelter, and thank you so much for joining me the last hour of news. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Our coverage continues with CNN Headline Express, next.

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