Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

U.S. Military to Begin Guiding Ships Through Hormuz; U.S. National Average Gasoline Price $4.45 Per Gallon; Rudy Giuliani Hospitalized in Critical Condition; United Airlines Plane Hits Truck; Iranian State Media: U.S. Naval Vessel Hit by Two Missiles. Aired 6- 6:30a ET

Aired May 04, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: That does it for CNN Headline Express. I'm Brad Smith. CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: OK. This is the moment a truck was hit by a jumbo jet that was coming in for a landing. How did the driver and everyone on the plane avoid serious injury? Plus, a risky new mission for U.S. troops today guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Will Iran follow through on a promise to attack?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything. Everything more expensive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, gas prices hit a new war era high, along with the president's disapproval rating. Can the White House afford to keep this war going? And what's going on with Rudy Giuliani? A spokesperson says he is in critical condition at a Florida hospital this morning.\

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we now have to add this list to something that could come in and rip through a cruise ship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: A dangerous outbreak at sea kills three cruise ship passengers. What happens now to the rest of the people who are being kept on board?

So, the U.S. and Iran playing a high-stakes game of chicken on the high seas. President Trump promises to guide ships. Iran promises to attack.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish.

And President Trump is calling this a humanitarian gesture. Starting today, the U.S. will begin guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz. But notice they're not using the word escort. U.S. Central Command says this operation, which is called Project Freedom, will include guided missile ships and planes. How they will be used has not been defined as of yet. But we know that the White House has this problem. High gas prices because of this oil tanker bottleneck in the Strait.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gas going up every single day now. From $3.16, now it's $4.45.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're only, like, putting small amounts of gas in at a time in hopes that the prices are going to come down again soon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Once the Strait opens, you'll see prices come down, come down immediately. And, again, there's going to be a tail to that. It's going to take time to get back to where we were before this conflict began. But you're going to see, I think, immediate relief once the Strait opens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, I'm bringing in CNN Business Correspondent Eleni Giokos in Abu Dhabi. And, Eleni, I always want to know what insurers think about it, right? It's one thing to say you're going to open it. It's another thing for the people who, you know, make it possible for these ships to move through to agree.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you and I have been talking consistently since the start of the war. And we've, you know, seen that any kind of risk, any notion of any danger in the Strait of Hormuz keeps shippers away. And insurance companies are taking notes of the attacks. And we had one recently just yesterday where a vessel was struck by an unknown projectile.

And, you know, just hours later, we also saw the U.K. MTO saying that the condition in the Strait still remains critical. This is after President Trump announced Project Freedom. And take note, this isn't about naval escorts to help vessels get through the Strait of Hormuz, but rather guiding them through the Strait. I also want to remind the viewers that the Trump administration at the beginning of the war was saying that they were going to consider naval escorts to try and get traffic moving. That never materialized.

We also had heard about, you know, insurance guarantees from the Development Finance Corporation, the U.S.-based development organization. We haven't really seen any of that occurring. And if we had, we would have seen a lot more traffic already through the Straits.

In the meantime, there are 20,000 seafarers that are trapped in the Persian Gulf and around 800 vessels that remain there waiting to get a cue to leave. I want you to listen to an exchange with one of our colleagues, Isobel Yeung, speaking to a captain about their reality being trapped for two months now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How close to the war have you been?

CAPTAIN ISTIQUE ALAM, STRANDED NEAR THE COAST OF OMAN: I saw one of the fighters attack one drone.

YEUNG: It must be scary.

ALAM: Yes. A lot of people ask every (INAUDIBLE) because we don't trust (INAUDIBLE) leaders.

YEUNG: What is your message to the world? What do you want people to know about the situation for seafarers?

ALAM: If you want to fight, no problem. Fight with each other, but please open the Hormuz. Then normal life will begin again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And, Audie, just an absolutely scary reality that these people are facing, waiting to see if anything will change.

[06:05:00]

The question is, is Project Freedom going to offer this sort of change in scenario? Iran has vowed to retaliate, and frankly saying they see what the U.S. stance is with regards to these guided escorts as a violation of the ceasefire.

CORNISH: Eleni, can I get a quick clarification? When you say guiding, is this information sharing? Meaning, hey guys, according to our GPS, this is where the mines are, or is this overhead coverage? Like, I just don't know what guiding means.

GIOKOS: We don't even know what that actually means. Like, where are these anti-missile vessels going to be placed? Are they in the other side of the Strait of Hormuz, helping them cross the Strait? Is it information sharing? Is it, you know, it's clear for you to move? We don't actually know what this pertains.

And every single expert I spoke to say implementation is going to be key. And, frankly, there's only one vessel today that has crossed the Strait. So, I think it's very indicative of how dangerous the situation remains, Audie.

CORNISH: OK, Eleni Giokos, thank you for that detail. We're going to turn to the group chat now. Sara Fisher, CNN Senior Media Analyst and Senior Media Reporter at Axios. Courtney Subramaniam, White House Correspondent at Bloomberg. And Seung Min Kim, CNN Political Analyst, also White House Reporter with the Associated Press.

Can I turn to my White House folks for a minute there? Because, you know, there's -- it's the Project Freedom. It's humanitarian. And then when we listen, we're like, what it is not a lot of detail. So, what is the White House trying to message around this moment?

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND WHITE HOUSE REPORTER, ASSOCIATED PRESS: Well, I think it shows just how desperate the White House and the president are to find creative solutions to get the Strait of Hormuz open and functioning because we know how gas prices are soaring so high, really resulting to political problems for the Republican Party, obviously.

CORNISH: And the peace talks haven't exactly moved forward, right?

KIM: Correct.

CORNISH: So, that's not one of the solutions on the table.

COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG: Yes. And, oh, I was just going to say, I think that the Strait of Hormuz is at the center of this stalemate with these peace talks, right? And so, the president, the White House, they're trying to show some sense of progress or at least the appearance of progress to countries who have been affected by this, facing some of the economic strife that has come out of this or have commercial ships in the Strait.

CORNISH: Yes. And for those of us who are not like caught up on our Lloyd's of London's reports, we're just seeing it at the gas prices, right? We're just seeing all of a sudden price hitting. I think this is an average of 4.45, which means some people are seeing it much higher, some maybe a little lower. And then his disapproval ratings are matching that, right, and people's frustration in terms of his disapproval ratings going up.

I remember when we used to talk about Biden, gas prices, vibe session and how people feel. When these numbers hit this like metric, what are we learning?

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST AND SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER, AXIOS: Well, for one, the economy continues to be the number one issue, not just for voters, but for American citizens writ large. They're concerned about inflation and the cost of goods continuing to be high, as well as the gas at the pumps. The thing that stands out to me about these numbers, Audie, is that we're still in early innings here. When these ships have to travel from the Strait of Hormuz over to the United States, it can take weeks, if not months.

So, what you're going to find is there's a lag between where some of these cost pressures are going to come down that we're not going to feel.

CORNISH: Sean Duffy is saying like, hey, we're going to feel it right away, like as soon as things get moving.

FISCHER: No, I don't agree with that. I think that you're going to see that there's going to be a lag, which is going to impact the economy for months well into the spring and the summer. And so, if you look at numbers like this, I'm sure Sean Duffy would love that this could magically flip as soon as the Strait opens. But I don't think that's what's going to happen. I think we're going to continue to have a lag even if they were to open the Strait, which, by the way, I don't think that's coming anytime soon, which means that these numbers aren't going to get better.

CORNISH: Yes, which is interesting because you were saying in your notes that people's wages have risen, right? Like there's good numbers out there to be excited about. But as always, they're not raising as fast as prices, right.

SUBRAMANIAN: I think it is just the legacy of inflation that people are bothered by. They do not appreciate that prices are high across the board, right? And so, Trump came in promising to fix this, to bring the prices down. And even though, you know, earnings did rise last year, people still feel like we're in more of an affordability crisis than we were.

CORNISH: And we have those numbers. I just want to show those as we're leaving. In terms of the president's approval rating when it comes to the economy, inflation and the cost of living, the numbers of people who think he is being helpful in those areas is low. Cost of living, 23 percent. So, we're going to talk more about this, especially when we look at what's going on with MAGA versus not MAGA Republicans.

But in the meantime, I want to talk about this business story, the fallout after the sudden closure of Spirit Airlines. So, who's to blame for the stranded travelers and the thousands of people who are now out of work?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:10:00]

Plus, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is actually in the hospital this morning. We're going to have the latest on his condition.

And one more thing, these terrifying moments, this plane crashes into a truck in New Jersey.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CORNISH: All right. We're going to talk about this developing story this morning. We're keeping an eye on the health of a former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

[06:15:00]

A spokesperson tells CNN he's in the hospital in critical but stable condition. The statement doesn't say why the 81-year-old is in the hospital. He was last seen on a streaming show, which is called "America's Mayor Live." This was on Friday, where he told viewers that his voice was a little under the weather. President Trump posted on social media, calling Giuliani, quote, "a true warrior and the best mayor in the history of New York City."

We're also following developments from Newark Airport. That's where a United Airlines plane clipped the top of a tractor trailer and a light pole as it approached the runway. So, this Boeing 767 was carrying more than 200 passengers. You can see it here flying low over the New Jersey turnpike, and this was just outside the airport.

Here's what's happened next, captured on dash cam video from inside the truck driving below.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The driver was taken to the hospital, treated for minor injuries, and somehow no one on board the plane was hurt. Now, a preliminary investigation found it was a tire from the plane's landing gear that clipped a light pole and then the truck.

So, joining me now, retired FAA air traffic control agent Harvey Scolnick. Harvey, this is the kind of video that people are going to be astounded by all day, especially learning that nobody was hurt. I want to come to you to get a sense of how something like this could happen. Do you have any, I don't know, theories about what could have happened here?

HARVEY SCOLNICK, FAA AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL AGENT, RETIRED: Well, in all my years working in towers, it never happened to me where I've seen an aircraft hit an obstruction before it was landing. Now, landing at runway 29 there at Newark, which the runway 29 is given because the runway heading is about 290 degrees, could have been one of three types of landings.

There's an instrument landing system or an ILS approach, which is a precision approach because it gives -- it's a ground-based system, which gives both altitude and course guidance. It could have been a GPS approach, which is a more of a satellite-based approach, which gives course guidance, but not altitude guidance other than recommended altitudes, or it more likely would have been a visual approach where the pilot makes the approach to the airport using visual references to the surface. More likely that.

But, you know, I haven't seen a transcript yet or heard of recording. And I understand they have collected the -- both black boxes, the cockpit voice recorder and applied data recorder. So, I guess we'll find out more today.

CORNISH: You're talking about the approach and what air traffic control could do. Is there anything systemic? Is this runway long enough? I'm trying to understand sort of how it could end up even clipping the light pole.

SCOLNICK: Well, it's a good question. they said, someone said, listening to what you were just broadcasting that it was a tire that clipped it, that's the first I'm hearing that. I thought perhaps it might have been part of the underbody of the fuselage or maybe the gear door.

But, you know, the runway certainly long enough. The 767, that runway certainly long enough. I'm not aware that it's shortened by any amount due to construction or anything like that at this time, but I just don't know about that. So -- but I'm sure the runway is locked up.

CORNISH: You know, Harvey, I feel like every time we talk we're in the midst of a no good, very bad 12 months for air traffic controllers and I wanted to know from you if things have eased up, so to speak. Everything is more or less funded. But do the shortages, the hours and these other concerns still weigh heavy?

SCOLNICK: So, I was -- just got a message this morning from a controller at a very busy Midwest facility who said he's been working six days a week now for more than a decade. No, I don't think things have eased up. I think it's the same thing. The only thing that will ease things up perhaps would be more controllers. And we're a long way away from that.

I think they're doing a better job maybe at hiring and then getting people to take the test more quickly than they have in the past. They're talking about, you know, upgrading some of the systems. None of that's going to change the job that controllers do. So, I think it's pretty much status quo.

CORNISH: Though I wonder if there will be fewer flights. When I look at these airlines who are raising prices because of the war's effects on jet fuel costs, Delta, United, JetBlue, then we've had Spirit just go under. So, maybe things will end up easing just by default, right, if the airliners stop running more flights?

[06:20:00]

SCOLNICK: Well, less flights would certainly make the controller's job a little easier. I do remember this, that in 1981, when the members of PATCA walked off the job, yes, the airlines reduced flights by a significant amount. That only lasted for a few days.

But the FAA started a program where they allowed furloughed pilots to come to air traffic facilities and qualify in flight data positions, assistant positions. They were quite helpful. Maybe some of these Spirit Airline pilots who know the system, know how things work, are part of the industry, maybe they could be of some help to the air traffic control industry. Just a thought.

CORNISH: No, I appreciate the idea. Harvey Scolnick, thanks so much.

SCOLNICK: Thanks for having me.

CORNISH: Now, after the break on CNN This Morning, there is a suspected viral outbreak, which has killed three cruise ship passengers. We're going to talk about what we know about this virus.

Plus, is the MAGA movement imploding from within? What the polls show as we inch closer to the midterms. And a quick look at the sunrise over New York City. Good morning to the Big Apple. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:25:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

CORNISH: OK. We're just learning this breaking news out of the Middle East. Iranian state media is reporting that Iran claims to have hit a U.S. naval ship with two missiles.

I'm going to bring in Mina al-Oraibi, Editor in Chief for The National. I want to talk to you about this because there have been these double blockades, and we know that the IGRC has been pushing very hard to prevent any movement from ships. Can you give us the context here?

MINA AL-ORAIBI, EDITOR IN CHIEF, THE NATIONAL: So, this announcement by Iranian state media comes at a time when it's a test of wills. As you said, there's a double blockade. Iran started, of course, by blocking ships trying to come through the Strait of Hormuz and threatening any ships coming through. Then, of course, the U.S. is also stopping ships that are servicing Iran. And this is, of course, mainly about energy flows. But in general, all ships there are being targeted by Iran, and the U.S. is trying to force the Iranians to change their course of action.

This breaking news that the Iranians are claiming that they've hit, not only targeted, but hit an American Navy vessel comes at a time hours after President Donald Trump said that they would ensure that vessels would be taken care of and allowed to pass the Strait of Hormuz so that they would be an escort.

Now, the Iranians are responding by saying, not only will we threaten vessels, we will actually attack the U.S. Navy itself. This could be a moment of military escalation if there is damage to the vessel. We're yet, of course, to hear from CENTCOM, American command here, in terms of the sort of damage that may have happened to the ship.

CORNISH: As we said, this is all coming from Iranian state media. But I'm curious, because are we talking about these small ships? I think the president of the U.S. has talked a lot about how much they have decimated Iran's Navy. So, what kind of military power does Iran have right now when it comes to the sea?

AL-ORAIBI: So, its Navy is, in large part, weakened. However, they're able to create quite a lot of damage through missiles, through explosive drones, and attacking ships that are passing through. So, it's much more asymmetrical warfare. Of course, the U.S. Navy is incredibly stronger than the Iranian Navy. However, the Iranians have geography and the land control that they have, and they're able to target vessels, which is, again, what's causing havoc globally, with Iranians basically trying to take the Strait of Hormuz hostage. And they really are trying to test any American power to try to force the Strait open to the world.

CORNISH: It's interesting. I'm hearing here and there about a ship that may pass through, right? Like a Russian superyacht. I was hearing about just a few days ago. So, help me understand who Iran, other than the U.S., is targeting. Are they trying to prevent all traffic, or is Russia, China, where they -- you know, have some flexibility?

AL-ORAIBI: One of the difficulties of this war has been the amount of misinformation that's out there, and actually being able to track vessels. There is also spoofing, where vessels are not claiming to represent the countries that they are representing. So, there's a lot of confusion about what's happening in the Strait of Hormuz.

What we do know is that the Iranians say that they will allow countries that they don't see as aggressors. They are trying to create a wedge globally, trying to say countries, some European countries, some Asian countries, that would include China, would be on par with Iran, and they would allow them to go through. However, the reality is not true.

First of all, insurance is incredibly expensive for any ship trying to pass the Strait of Hormuz now, because it's too much of a risk. And also, you have had one or two ships that are affiliated with Greece and other European countries that have been able to go through. It's not necessarily that they will be taken out directly militarily. It's the threat, and the threat itself puts lives in danger. There's the fear of economic devastation that would happen if a tanker, for example, carrying fuel is targeted. And of course, also the military flare-up that could happen.

So, you have had some ships come through. But again, the U.S. now, with its blockade, will stop any ships that Iran has allowed, in order not to allow the Iranians to have control of the Strait of Hormuz, be the ones determining which ships can or cannot pass.

[06:30:00]