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WHO: Hantavirus is "not the next COVID"; U.S. launches strikes after Iran fired at warships; AAA: Gas Prices Nearly $4.55 a Gallon of Regular; Multiple Dead in Indonesian Volcano Eruption. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired May 08, 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: Downright incredible. The Phoenix School District says a senior has earned the largest amount in scholarships for any student in its district. That amount is $5 million. And not only that, Joseph Parra Miguel got accepted into nearly 50 colleges too. He has decided to stay close to home though and attend Arizona State University.

All right. That does it for CNN Headline Express. I'm Brad Smith. CNN This Morning with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: A deadly virus on a cruise ship has doctors in five states tracking passengers. Is the Hantavirus the new COVID?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They tell us to stay inside this time. Stay inside 30 percent. That's one out of three for the people that can't do math.

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CORNISH: Plenty of people are freaked out. So, is this just a bad case of deja vu for most of us? And breaking news this hour, a rescue operation underway after a volcano explodes. A dozen hikers are stranded on a mountain.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'll let you know when there's no safety. You won't have to know.

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CORNISH: More missile fire between the U.S. and Iran. Why the president is calling the latest exchange a love tap.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're calling this a special session. I'm calling it a white power rally. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Anger boils over as Tennessee redraws the voting map and dismantles the state's only black district. And Kash Patel drops a new A.I.-generated FBI hype video. Did he just rip off the Beastie Boys? CNN This Morning starts right now.

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DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, DIRECTOR FOR EPIDEMIC & PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS & PREVENTION AT WHO: This is not the start of a COVID pandemic. This is an outbreak that we see on a ship. There's a confined area. We have five confirmed cases so far. This is not the same situation we were in six years ago. It doesn't spread the same way like coronaviruses do. It's very different.

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CORNISH: Health officials say don't panic as they try to track down people who were on that cruise ship. Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish.

And we begin with the race to trace and contain the outbreak. Right now, the ship is en route to the Canary Islands, and then from there, the remaining 146 passengers will be flown back to their home countries. Three people died at the start of all of this. None of the remaining passengers or crew right now are reportedly symptomatic. And the problem this morning is that dozens of passengers disembarked the ship in late April. They've already gone home.

So, now health officials across four different continents are tracking down passengers and the people that they've come in contact with. In the U.S., that means five states are monitoring travelers who have returned home. And here's the president about all this just a few hours ago.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: It's very much, we hope, under control. It was the ship, and I think we're going to make a full report about it tomorrow. We have a lot of people. It's a lot of great people studying it. It should be fine. We hope.

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CORNISH: So, we're bringing in CNN's Salma Abdelaziz with the latest on this. Can you talk about this mission, which we said is, you know, intercontinental?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A mammoth task, of course, across dozens of countries to try to contain and contact, trace this virus. And, of course, it is time-sensitive. We are talking from Singapore to France to the Netherlands to here in the U.K. Top health officials are scrambling to contain the virus.

Let me give you the U.K. as an example, Audie, if I can, just because there's so many different strands to this. As you mentioned, dozens of people had left the ship in the previous weeks. And two of those individuals, two Brits, are here self-isolating. Authorities say that they've shown no symptoms, but they've chosen to isolate. There's also several other Brits that British authorities are monitoring that are in various locations around the world, including one who's in critical condition in a hospital in Johannesburg.

But it's not just about the people who have disembarked the ship, Audie, because, as you mentioned, of course, that cruise ship is on the way to the Canary Islands, and everyone on board will need to be repatriated. You have more than 140 passengers from 23 different countries. Spanish authorities are working with other countries, including, of course, the U.K. here, to repatriate those individuals.

So, the expectation is that there will be British authorities at the port in the Canary Islands in Tenerife to repatriate those individuals. They will be asked to isolate once they are home for a period of 45 days. What other contact tracing is happening? Well, perhaps one of the key bits of information that is needed right now for health officials is contact tracing around that Dutch couple.

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So, a Dutch couple did die of Hantavirus in previous stays. The wife in that couple actually departed from Johannesburg, moved through commercial flights, moved through public airports to try to get home to the Netherlands, and collapsed on her way, attempting to make her way home. Dutch authorities now trying to figure out who she was in touch with.

But the key question, of course, Audie, is, where did this originate? That's down to Argentine authorities. The WHO is working on the assumption that that Dutch couple may have picked up the virus in Argentina. They are following their steps bit by bit. They were sightseeing in the country before they boarded the ship. So, they are following their steps bit by bit, collecting rodents, collecting samples, and sending those on to labs to try to find where this originated.

Of course, the question we're all asking right now is, should we be concerned? Should we be worried? Are these the hallmarks of a new pandemic? The World Health Organization says, absolutely not. This still remains low risk.

CORNISH: And we're actually going to have a medical professional on later to talk about that and that concern. Salma, thank you so much.

I want to turn to this, that shaky ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran that appears to be holding. And that's even after both sides exchanged fire with each other. So, in a video posted to state media, Iran claims to have opened fire on U.S. warships, which were passing through the Strait of Hormuz Thursday.

The U.S. says that their ships weren't hit. The military responded by striking sites inside Iran. U.S. Central Command said they, quote, "do not seek escalation." President Trump called it, quote, "just a love tap." He is warning Iran could be hit harder if they don't agree to a proposal soon.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mr. President, has Iran officially responded to the one-page offer?

TRUMP: Well, it's more than a one-page offer. It's an offer that's basically said they will not have weapons. They're going to hand us the nuclear dust and many other things that we want. Yes. When they agree, it doesn't mean much because the next day they forget -- they forgot they agreed. And, you know, we're dealing with different sets of leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How close would you say that you are to a deal right now with Iran?

TRUMP: It could happen any day. It could. And it might not happen, but it could happen any day. I believe they want the deal more than I do.

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CORNISH: Joining me now to discuss Peter Bergen, CNN national security analyst and vice president for global studies and fellows at New America. I'm glad you're here. First, because the ceasefire has an awful lot of firing going on in it. And I understand they're saying it's not an escalation, but it means a lot of questions for the rest of us trying to understand where this sort of peace proposal is actually moving. Something Trump said there was that they're dealing with different people.

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST AND VICE PRESIDENT FOR GLOBAL STUDIES AND FELLOWS, NEW AMERICA: Yes, I mean --

CORNISH: What does that mean? Like, who's the U.S. dealing with right now?

BERGEN: Well, I think it's a little unclear. Ultimately, Audie, the supreme leader, I think, would have to sign off on a deal. Obviously, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is sort of in charge now. They would have to sign off on a deal. I mean, which, by the way, I mean, in American politics, we have disagreements. I mean, even within the Trump team, we have Vance sort of --

CORNISH: yes. But this is supposed to be a regime that was, you know, decimated militarily, et cetera. But I just -- it caught my ear when he said sort of like what some of the difficulties are.

BERGEN: Yes, I mean, I -- and of course, there's communication issues. Some of these people are living underground. That was true during the Hamas War, where it was hard to know the military side of the Hamas leadership where they were at because they were literally hiding underground. That seems to be true of the supreme leader, Khamenei. We haven't seen him.

But you know, that said, I don't think there's like a massive difference of opinion between the people that are running Iran right now about what to do. I mean, there -- you know.

CORNISH: Is what to do hold out? Because I'm looking at a mix of responses, one setting up a website that says welcome to the Persian Gulf Strait Authority. So, they're their new authority that's going to make it a toll road, basically, if they had their way. And also telling the public, I think this was from President Reza Aref that we will soon hold our victory celebration and the sanctions and pressures that have been imposed on the Iranian nation over recent years will be lifted with the great victory of the Iranian nation.

I understand propaganda on both sides, but help me understand their position here going into an attempt at a proposal.

BERGEN: Well, I think what we're going to end up with is something not dissimilar to the Obama agreement of 2015, when all said and done.

CORNISH: But is this a sign that they're just like, we can continue to hold out, we can continue to have these little exchanges, and the fact that the U.S. isn't pounding us harder means we can play this game for a long time?

BERGEN: The Washington Post reports a CIA assessment that they can hold out for certainly three or four months before they're seriously economically damaged. Now, on their side, they do have 67 percent inflation.

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You know, their economy is not in great shape. However, you know, I think that they realize that their real nuclear weapon is a straight- four moves that gives them considerable leverage. It's something that they've discovered. I doubt they're going to completely give that up. So, our United States maximalist demands, no nuclear weapons, complete freedom of navigation on the straight-four moves. I doubt we're going to get there, Audie.

And I -- unfortunately, I think that this is going to take months, not weeks or days as we hear from the president for these things. It took 18 months at least for the 2015 nuclear agreement to be hammered out. And that included negotiations with the Chinese and the Russians who were part of the agreement.

CORNISH: And Iran just had a meeting, diplomatic exchange with China.

BERGEN: Yes. Well, and of course, you know, Trump is going to China next week. It seems that trip is still on. You know, Napoleon's famously said, never interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake. And so, the Chinese certainly are very dependent on Iranian oil. However, they also have a billion barrels of oil reserves. It's the largest amount of oil reserves in the world.

So, they -- you know, they can let this play out a bit. They know it hurts the United States, the American consumers. It's hurting the Republican Party. You know, they read the polls. So, they know that they can spin this out, I think, a little bit. They can put pressure on the Iranians, but they may choose not to. CORNISH: OK. Peter, thank you so much. We hope to have you back, especially next week if this meeting happens. And then coming up on CNN This Morning, we're following this breaking story. Rescuers looking for survivors after several hikers died in a volcano eruption in Indonesia. And Americans are paying the price for this war with Iran. Gas prices surge. And is the president missing the point? Plus, Tennessee Republicans carve up Memphis and spark a fight over voting rights.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is going to serve as trying to take advantage of uninformed constituents. In November, people are going to be scrambling.

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[06:15:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I don't hardly drive anymore. You know, I have to walk and take the train now. It's tough.

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CORNISH: OK. So, AAA is saying that the national average for the price of gas is about $5.55 a gallon. That is the national average. And that guy - oh, it's $4.55. Sorry about that. And that guy we just heard from talking about walking or taking the train, I mean, it's Vegas, so that's not easy.

Others are filling up their tanks with their credit cards. White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett was asked about the economy. And here's how he described it.

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KEVIN HASSETT, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISER: I had the head of one of the big five banks in my office yesterday going through the credit card data. And just as Secretary Bessent said, credit card spending is through the roof. They're spending more on gasoline, but they're spending more on everything else, too.

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CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Elliott Williams, president and executive editor of The Daily Signal Rob Bluey, and co-host of the podcast and radio show "Today, Explained," Noel King.

I understand this messaging in that you're an oil company. You're also having a big windfall. You know what I mean? Do we consider that a success? And do we look at an economy where people are spending more on gas as a success?

ROB BLUEY, PRESIDENT AND EXECUTIVE EDITOR, THE DAILY SIGNAL: Audie, I'll say and I've said this during the Biden years, I've said it during the Trump years. One of the most important numbers that you have to look at if you're a politician is how people view their personal finances. And if they think that personal finances are getting worse, that's usually bad for the party that's in power.

And I think that President Trump needs to take that to heart and remember that a lot of the effect that we're seeing in terms of the price of gas and I think subsequently the price of food because fertilizer costs and everything else is only going to get worse before it gets better. As long as --

CORNISH: While you're speaking, do you mind -- keep talking because NPR at PBS did a poll. And one of the questions they asked was right now, how do you think the economy is working for you personally? And the Republicans in the poll, 61 percent said working well, which isn't it's above. Independence, 33 percent is working well. That's not great. And that's to your point.

BLUEY: Yes, it's not it's not a great number because --

CORNISH: And it's not a vibe session like what Biden was dealing with, right? Like people feel like they can directly point to a policy, Iran War rather than the vague sense of do presidents really control gas prices? Which we do hear a lot.

BLUEY: Yes. Well, I mean, things were trending in the right direction after President Trump office. Obviously, he will often go back and blame Biden for inflation and, you know, the limited domestic energy production and all of those things. But obviously, the war is having a huge impact on a lot of these prices that Americans are feeling day in and day out.

NOEL KING, CO-HOST AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "TODAY, EXPLAINED" PODCAST: It's the messaging that's so confusing to me. So, like, Kevin Hassett is making a good point in a consumer economy, which we live in. Consumers spending money is a great thing. It means we're doing well. But you don't say that out loud.

CORNISH: Yes.

KING: You don't say that in front of a camera, you say that behind closed doors. And so, I think the thing that's very confusing to me is who is guiding the messaging from this administration and why are they saying things that are so upsetting?

CORNISH: Yes, yes. It's funny. That made me think of 9/11 and the Bush administration saying, like, kind of like you have to keep shopping or the terrorists win.

KING: Yes. Not now.

CORNISH: And people were like, uh, I don't really think that's the message we need right now. And I wanted to get a point of view from you while I put up this number.

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How much strain, if any, are currently gas prices putting on your household budget? This is a super specific question. Major strain, 30 percent. And then minor strain, 48 percent. Put those numbers together. That's a lot of percent of people who are feeling it.

ELLIOTT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS, DOJ AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: And that 19 percent is quite low. A very small portion of the people think they're feeling no strain at all.

You know, Audie, at the top of the program, when you showed the gas prices over the last year or so, the number that jumped out at me wasn't the $4.55. It's the fact that it went up 40 -- or almost nearly 40 cents in the last month. You know, in many regards, people might be thinking about what they paid for gas a year ago or six months ago. But really, what they paid last week is affecting them.

And as they drive down the block, they see the gas signs on every single block. People are reminded of this, how much it's gone up in real-time --

CORNISH: So, imagine if you drive down the block by the Trump National Doral Miami golf course and you see this gold statue.

WILLIAMS: OK.

CORNISH: And you think to yourself, let me go fill up my tank. Like what are we doing? I understand he wants to reshape the landscape in his image. Just about everything that can have his name on has it. I mean, I have a National Parks card with his face on it. But is this like a read the room moment?

BLUEY: Well, this is a president who, from the time he was in the real estate business, as you indicated, has always wanted to, you know, is focused on branding.

CORNISH: Yes.

BLUEY: I mean --

CORNISH: I'm surprised that statue doesn't have wings. That feels like that's where this is heading.

BLUEY: I mean, there's one thing that's been consistent about Donald Trump pre-presidency, and that is the fact that he loves the marketing aspect of the Trump name. And so, I think that this is just an extension and continuation of that. You see it at the Kennedy Center here in Washington, D.C.

WILLIAMS: Well, that's a whole different discussion, I think. But no, you know, I think it's one thing for the president to put his name and face on things. Fine. He wants a statue of himself. Have at it. It's the big spending when people are suffering. It's the displays of wealth or the displays such as, you know, the ballroom next to the White House, which costs a lot of money. And it's gilded. And so, I think that's the kind of stuff that makes people more upset than statues.

CORNISH: Yes. We're going to talk more about this later. And, Noel, I want to get your point of view, because you and I always joke that the stock market is not the economy.

But after the break, we've got to turn to this sort of breaking news. We're hearing about this hiking trip that turned into a disaster in Indonesia. There was a volcano eruption, and that turned deadly for some hikers. And the Qatari jet that's now Air Force One is actually closer to being here in the States. And I want to say good morning to viewers in Baltimore. I know you had a rough time with those Orioles. Maybe they will have better luck against the A's tonight.

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CORNISH: I want to bring you this breaking news out of Indonesia. At least three people have been killed after a volcano eruption that happened earlier this morning. And it's triggered a frantic search and rescue operation for 20 hikers who were near the volcano when smoke and ash started flying.

We're bringing in CNN's Will Ripley, joining us from Taiwan. First, can you talk about what search and rescue officials are saying? Even in terms of, is everyone accounted for?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, we know that there may be some people still on the mountain. There were two porters who stayed behind to look for the bodies that are still believed to be lying there right now. We're getting mixed information in these early hours about the status of the search and rescue.

But the latest numbers that we have right now, out of those 20 hikers who were on the volcano despite a climbing ban, we know at least five of them were injured. We also know that nine Singaporeans were part of that hiking group, along with 11 Indonesians. So, there were 11 locals, nine foreigners, all the survivors' locations believed to be accounted for. There was a Garmin device believed to be emitting SOS signals from the mountain. So, they're looking into that.

Also, the volcano's still shooting ash and rocks during this rescue operation. So, that, those ongoing blasts, are hampering the body recovery. But here's the big question this morning. Authorities say that Mount Dukono has been closed for the last two weeks. And there were plenty of warnings posted both online and signs at the trail entrances telling people not to get anywhere near this active volcano, which has actually erupted about 200 times just since March.

So, now officials are not just looking for survivors, but also investigating what they call possible negligence. They're not saying by whom. But the fact that hikers may have been able to use unmonitored access routes to get so dangerously close, and then all of a sudden, this massive eruption sending a 33,000-foot plume of ash raining rocks down on them, absolutely terrifying and, frankly, pretty incredible that more of those hikers were not injured or killed. But the latest numbers this morning, Audie, at least five people in hospitals and three hikers confirmed dead.

CORNISH: And that search and rescue continues. Will Ripley, thank you so much for that news out of Indonesia. And straight ahead on CNN This Morning, we're going to ask what a lot of people might be asking. Is Marco Rubio running for president in 2028? We're going to show you the video he just dropped that looks a little bit like a soft campaign launch.

And a growing Hantavirus scare is putting Americans on edge. Coming up, a doctor joins us to calm some of the panic.

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