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CNN This Morning

Passengers Disembarking From Hantavirus-Stricken Cruise Ship; American Passengers To Head To Nebraska For Monitoring; Health Officials On Hantavirus: This Is Not COVID-19; Iranian State Media: Iranians Urged To Limit Electricity, Gas Use; Funeral Held For 8 Children Killed In Louisiana Mass Shooting; Person Killed After Being Hit By Frontier Flight During Takeoff. Rubio and Witkoff Meet Qatari PM; Passengers Disembarking from Hantavirus-stricken Cruise Ship; Study Warns Parts of Louisiana Could Become Uninhabitable; Trump to Meet with Chinese Leader Xi Jinping This Week. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 10, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

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[07:00:32]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. Here's what's happening today. First up, passengers have started to get off of a cruise ship carrying people stricken with hantavirus. Medical professionals are now evaluating all of those passengers. Our Melissa Bell is standing by with the latest.

Plus, a new warning from the Iranian military to any country that enforces sanctions. The new threat they're leveling today. And also new this morning, we're getting a look at the moments before a Frontier Airlines flight hit a pedestrian on the runway. The chaotic moments after.

Plus, a new study says parts of the Louisiana coastline, including New Orleans, could soon be uninhabitable. Thanks to climate change. One of the authors of that study joins us live later on CNN This Morning.

It is Sunday, May 10th. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell.

We begin here this morning. Passengers are starting to disembark the hantavirus stricken cruise ship now anchored at the port of Granadilla in the Canary Islands. Spanish passengers are getting off first, then followed by Dutch. Now, authorities say no one on board the ship is exhibiting any symptoms at this time. And World Health Organization officials say the overall risk of the virus spreading is low.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, ACTING DIR., DEPT. OF EPIDEMIC & PANDEMIC MGMT, WHO: So the risk to the general public is low. The risk to the people in the Canary Islands is low. So we do need to continue to contextualize this because of all the attention right now, people may think that the risk is growing. It's not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: However, authorities from all countries are taking precautions as their citizens return home. They currently don't have symptoms, but 17 Americans will be escorted to a special facility in Nebraska for monitoring. After that, they will self-monitor for six weeks at home.

CNN's Melissa Bell has been live from us from the Canary Islands of Tenerife all throughout the morning as this massive operation has been taking place. Melissa, what more are you learning?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Danny, it's been going remarkably swiftly. We've had the Spanish now taken off the ship, the Dutch, the French, I understand. And what's been happening is that over the course of the morning, these little boats have been ferrying them over here onto a bus. And then the bus takes them, groups of five at a time towards their waiting aircraft.

And once the aircraft is full of its citizens, it can then take off to its destination. Whereas you suggested when you consider the American operation that's about to begin, each one has its own protocols, its own way of taking them in, receiving them, ensuring they get quarantined.

Oftentimes, in sort of several cases, in military hospitals in Europe or in the United States, in a special quarantine facility in Nebraska. In the case of the Spaniards, for instance, Danny, who were the first ones off the ship, they're being taken to a special military hospital in Madrid, even now, where they will quarantine for seven days with no visits allowed at all and a continuing sort of checking process.

So this part of their ordeal is over, but none of them are going to get back to their ordinary lives anytime soon. In fact, one of the remarkable things about this virus we've been hearing from someone here who's helping in this operation from the World Health Organization, is that it has been so rare that it is relatively little known.

And these health specialists are figuring out how it transmits, how it circulates, how to prevent it from circulating, even as this thing has developed. So, for instance, those 30-odd passengers who got off in St. Helena, and we've been talking these last few days, Danny, together about these contact cases in seven different countries that have resulted from people being on flights with some of these people or in airports with them, at a time when they were traveling and contact cases without knowing that they were, they've been able to see, and the conclusion, he says, appears to be that this is a virus that transmits through very close proximity when someone -- the person transmitting has the symptoms.

So this is not like COVID, when you could -- when you were asymptomatic or remaining asymptomatic, transmit the virus to someone else. It doesn't appear that this anti-strainer, the hantavirus, functions like that. So that is very good news for the wider world.

And again, this particular operation that we've been watching this morning, Danny, is not only being carried out very carefully, it's being carried out very transparently, I think, to really, really assure people who in a post-COVID world are obviously very worried about what happens next.

FREEMAN: Yes, indeed. Those are the words we like to hear, carefully, transparently, and swiftly.

Melissa Bell, thank you so much for that reporting. Really do appreciate it.

[07:05:01]

And, of course, be sure to tune into the State of the Union this morning. Acting CDC Director Jay Bhattacharya will be among the guests joining Jake Tapper. That's going to be coming up at 9:00 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

And joining me now is Professor of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo. Doctor, thank you so much for joining us on a very, very dynamic morning.

Let's talk about the monitoring process here for the patients once they're going to be returning here to the states. What will that look like for monitoring, let's say, at that Nebraska facility?

JEANNE MARRAZZO, FORMER DIR., NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Yes, thanks. Great to see you this morning. Just a correction, I am no longer in Alabama. I'm the CEO of the Infectious Disease Society of America.

FREEMAN: Forgive me. Perfect.

MARRAZZO: So the monitoring, as Melissa mentioned, is really a bit complicated by a couple of things. First of all, the symptoms of this particular virus start out as relatively nonspecific things, typical of a viral infection like flu, for example. So people might get backache, they might get fever, upper respiratory things. So monitoring has to take into account that there are lots of things that can present like that.

The second thing, as she mentioned and many people have been emphasizing, is that the incubation period for this virus, remember, that's the time from exposure to when you start to look or feel ill, can actually be quite long, up to seven weeks. And that's why the authorities are erring on the side of caution and recommending this 42-day quarantine period.

What will be involved during this monitoring, I think, will be careful symptomatic review, probably daily and multiple times a day with these people. And I imagine they're going to think about using laboratory tests to screen. We haven't really heard very much about that.

There is a PCR assay, which is the kind of test that we use often to detect viral infections. You can apply it to blood, you can apply it to nasal secretions, for example, and that's available. But its utility in screening to see whether people are going to show the infection very early before symptoms is not really well worked out. So this will be a really important opportunity to start considering some of those things.

FREEMAN: Doctor, I'm curious, once these folks are able to actually go home, they still have to be monitoring. But will they have to quarantine away from their families, basically hold up in a room? Because I know that the transmission, according to Melissa Bell, she was saying it can be person-to-person, but you have to be very close, much more so than COVID. What more can you tell us about that?

MARRAZZO: Again, it's a great question. So we're dealing with a lot of unknowns here, right? What we know about this particular hantavirus, which is the Andes virus, is that there have been documented cases of human-to-human transmission. And when those were documented and observed, those happened when the infected person had symptoms.

So that's the supposition that we're making. But we really don't know whether transmission can occur before those symptoms happen. I think to be absolutely safe, if I were going home from this cruise and I had had a significant exposure, I probably would not have sustained close contact with my family members.

That means sleeping with someone, kissing someone, that sort of thing. Could you eat at a table with someone? We don't really know. It's probably safe, but again, every time we say that advice, we're really making suppositions that we don't have the data for yet.

FREEMAN: Yes. And it seems like still there is some sort of risk involved. I'm curious, though, why is the monitoring period for hantavirus so long, nearly six weeks?

MARRAZZO: Yes, that is a great question. Again, it's because that incubation period that I mentioned has been documented to be as long as actually seven weeks, OK? So you can get infected and be perfectly fine for up to seven weeks.

When you look at the outbreaks that have happened, most of the cases, about half of the cases have happened within the first few weeks. But there are a significant number that have happened, presented with symptoms, I should say, after 24 days.

So that's why people are nervous about this. Then -- and it's also a feature of many viral infections, right? You get infected, and more so non-respiratory viral infections, right? You get infected with a virus, for example, let's just say mono or a herpes virus, you may not show symptoms for several weeks. So that's exactly what we're dealing with here.

FREEMAN: Wow, a lot to consider and a lot of moving parts as we move forward to this next phase. Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, thank you so much for joining us this morning and sharing your expertise. Really do appreciate it.

MARRAZZO: My pleasure. Thank you.

FREEMAN: Now, when the American passengers get back to the U.S., they'll head to Nebraska at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. There is a national quarantine unit there. And here's a look at what that facility is like.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:11]

DR. H. DELE DAVIES, INTERIM CHANCELLOR, UNIV. OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: This place is a 20-room unit that looks pretty much like a hotel room. However, it's specially designed with what we call negative pressure rooms so that any kind of deadly disease is kept inside the room. And then we have specially engineered controls so that any air that leaves the room is filtered through high-efficiency particulate air filtration. And then the rooms themselves, because we expect that people may have to stay there for prolonged periods of time.

I like a hotel room, actually more than a hotel room, because in the rooms we have equipment where the people living there can have -- do exercises. They have room service there to help them have the activities of daily living. They have monitors, WiFi, so they can communicate with their families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: And again, we want to be clear that none of these passengers or any others on board at this moment are exhibiting any symptoms.

And we also have this new reporting just in, British Army medics are parachuting onto a remote island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean to treat a U.K. national with suspected hantavirus. Six paratroopers and two military clinicians, along with aid, dropped onto the island of Tristan da Cunha, it's Britain's most remote inhabited territory overseas.

And this is the first time the U.K. military has ever parachuted in its medical personnel for humanitarian support. We're going to keep an eye on that.

All right, coming up next on CNN This Morning, we saw the first Qatari tanker cross the Strait of Hormuz overnight since the war with Iran began. We'll break down the significance of that coming up after a quick break.

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[07:16:31]

FREEMAN: We have more now on our breaking news. Passengers on that cruise ship carrying people with hantavirus have begun heading home. Moments ago health officials were asked if people in their home countries should be concerned. Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not another COVID. And the risk to the public is low. So they shouldn't be scared and they shouldn't panic.

This is based on how the virus is behaving now, because this virus is well known. And there are assessments that have been done. But not only that, this -- you know, for several years, there were assessments on the behavior of the virus. So that's why we say the risk is low.

So I want them to really take that because based on scientific assessment and based on evidence, as minister said, the risk is low. So they shouldn't worry. But the other part is all countries are taking --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: And of course our Melissa Bell is in the Canary Islands where that ship is docked. We'll check in with her in just a few minutes.

New this morning in the war in Iran, the first Qatari tanker has traveled across the Strait of Hormuz since the Middle East conflict began. The ship's cargo is liquid natural gas. Tracking data shows the vessel is headed to Pakistan.

On the diplomatic front, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were in Miami yesterday. The two met with the Qatari Prime Minister. The State Department said the unofficial launch focused on security and stability across the region. Talks also included U.S. efforts to try to reach an agreement with Iran to end the war.

After the U.S. attacked two vessels on Friday, Iran threatened to go after U.S. military assets in the Middle East. That's if Iranian vessels face, quote, "any aggression."

CNN's Leila Gharagozlou joins us now with more. Leila, what can you tell us on this update?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, so at the moment we're not seeing any indication of an Iranian response to the deal. We are seeing these incremental updates when it comes to the Qatari's role in negotiations. I think it's notable that this tanker is headed to Pakistan, another country that is helping facilitate these negotiations.

Now, in the meantime, we are waiting to see what happens with the Iranian response. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted this just a couple of days ago, saying that "Every time a diplomatic solution is on the table, the U.S. opts for a reckless military adventure." And he's saying that as we see these escalations in the Strait of Hormuz and we see these Iranian vessels attacked.

Now, as you pointed out, they are saying that they will respond militarily if vessels continue to be attacked. And what this really goes to show is that this is actually a fundamental issue of trust. The Iranians don't trust the Trump administration to get a deal.

They don't trust the Trump administration not to violate, in their view, the ceasefire. And this is something that goes back to when President Trump pulled out of the JCPOA, which Iranians viewed as a breach of trust. And then again, the subsequent negotiations and subsequent military escalations.

So we're seeing this loop go through. The Iranians haven't responded yet. We're going to have to see what they say to this MOU.

[07:20:04]

I do want to point out that it is just a one-page document that is essentially a framework of a framework. And it still means we have a very long road ahead to any sort of tangible deal around the nuclear program or the missile program. Danny?

FREEMAN: Yes, still waiting for that response. And, of course, all eyes still on the Straits.

Leila Gharagozlou, thank you so much, as always, for your reporting.

All right, here are some other headlines we're watching this morning. First up, a community in Louisiana held a funeral yesterday for the eight children killed in last month's mass shooting. Their ages ranged from 3 to 11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR TOM ARCENEAUX, SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA: Whereas in the quiet spaces of our hearts, we hold the tender memories of these precious young lives lost in our Cedar Grove community. Children whose laughter once danced freely through homes, classrooms and playgrounds. And whereas our precious angels were sons and daughters, grandchildren, classmates and friends, their presence was a gift, gentle, vibrant and full of promise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: They were killed on April 19th when the father of seven of the children, Shamar Elkins, shot and killed all eight kids with an assault-style weapon. His wife and another woman were also wounded in the shooting.

And to this now, the State Department has begun revoking U.S. passports by the thousands for parents who owe a significant amount of unpaid child support. The first round of revocations will focus on parents who owe $100,000 or more in child support. Under the new expanded policy, the State Department will revoke the passports of all parents who have passed due payments of more than $2,500.

And if you have ever dreamed of partying on a superyacht like Jackie O or Winston Churchill, now may be your chance. The legendary superyacht Christina O was owned by Aristotle Onassis, who later married a widowed Jackie Kennedy.

And today, it's officially on the discount rack. Its price slashed to a mere $60 million. The historic vessel features a mosaic pool-turned dance floor and those infamous whale-leather bar stools. But with a choppy global economy, finding a buyer is proving to be a tough sell. Just a few tens of millions short for me.

And to this now, a person was killed in Colorado after jumping the fence at Denver International Airport and walking across an active runway. The victim was hit by a Frontier plane as it was taking off. The takeoff was quickly aborted, and everyone on the flight was forced to evacuate after an engine fire.

There were 224 passengers and seven crew members on that flight that was headed to Los Angeles, one passenger showing what it was like to evacuate the aircraft.

Fire crews had to extinguish an engine fire after smoke filled the cabin. Twelve people reported minor injuries. Five of them were transported to local hospitals. The victim at this point has not been identified, but the airport says they are not an airport employee.

Right now, passengers on board that ill-stricken cruise ship are making their way off. You're looking at live photos right here of that cruise ship. We're going to take you back live to the Canary Islands for an update after a quick break.

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[07:27:52]

FREEMAN: Passengers are now getting off the antivirus stricken cruise ship anchored off the coast of the Canary Islands. Authorities say no one on board the ship is exhibiting any symptoms at this time. There are 17 Americans on board, and they will be escorted to a special facility in Nebraska for monitoring.

CNN's Melissa Bell is live from the Canary Island of Tenerife. Melissa, what more are you learning? We understand officials just gave an update.

BELL: Well, as far as we understand it, Danny, the Americans are still on board. We've seen so far the Spanish, the Dutch and the French be taken in little groups of five off of the ship, on these little boats that bring them here through a tent where people in hazmat full costumes receive them, deal with them, put them on buses. They're taken to the airport, which isn't far away.

The planes then wait for all of the nationalities to arrive, all of those, that group to arrive in order then to take off and take them onwards. But really, imagine for them more than five weeks on that ship with all of that uncertainty. Because although the first passenger died on April 11th, Danny, and this virus wasn't declared or identified until May 2nd, since then they've been confined to their own cabins.

There's been all of this uncertainty about where or if or when they'd be able to dock and what would happen to them in the meantime. And would anyone else fall sick? As Dr. Tedros, the head of the World Health Organization, remind the people of -- reminded the people of Tenerife in a special direct message to the most unusual yesterday, thanking them for their humanity, these are people who have not only been scared for their own lives, but some of them have been grieving the loss of those who've passed along the way.

So a terrible ordeal, a nightmare really, for the people who have finally set foot on the firm earth again today, those who've had the chance to do that at least. Because, of course, most of the nationalities are still on board. I mentioned the Americans, but the very last we understand who'll get off, and this won't be until tomorrow, will be the Australians.

So those last few hours will undoubtedly feel very long, Danny.

FREEMAN: Yes, certainly, and this ongoing process continuing apace. But that human element is so important to point out.

Melissa Bell, thank you so much for that reporting.

All right, we want to turn now to the war in Iran. We're learning more about a meeting between U.S. officials and the Qatari prime minister, as the U.S. waits for a response to its latest proposal to end the war. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were in Miami for that meeting yesterday. And here's CNN Correspondent Julia Benbrook with more.

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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: According to a source familiar with the matter, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with the Qatari prime minister in Miami on Saturday. This lunch, while not official in nature, lasted for roughly an hour, and included discussions about the bilateral relationship between the two nations, which included ways to --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: And we want to take you now to the WHO because they're speaking again in the Canary Islands right now. Let's listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- pain. And the ones that are included in the case definition. No testing in the ship has been done. It's a clinical assessment, and what we are reporting here is that all the passengers and the crew are currently asymptomatic, so no fever or symptoms have been detected so far. Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone been tested -- everyone from (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We should say that when the epidemiologist from the European Center for Disease Control was entering the boat in Cape Verde, and they were doing this epidemiological survey, they were doing some swabs, some tests to the highest risk contact, and these were resulting negative. So, after that, the people who are traveling to their countries, it will depend on the national contact programs and surveillance programs that they have.

So, at least I can speak for the Spanish one. All the 14 people who have been traveling back to Madrid, when they arrive into the Hospital Gomez Ulla in Madrid, they will receive a clinical evaluation, and afterwards also a PCR test, a swab test, now when they're arriving and seven days after. If they are not symptomatic, if clinical symptoms arrive, then there will be a clinical test, a clinical swab, a PCR in the moment, and if it's negative but symptoms persist, every 24 hours later, if the clinical symptoms persist, every 48 hours. So, that would be in Spain, but every country has differences.

I may say that, for instance, from the United States, they were asking us if they could do some extra clinical evaluation for their passengers, and we were saying that they could, but inside of the plane, so that's under their competences. For instance, from the U.S. or for the Great Britain, they were the only ones asking for that, you should ask them.

We have been also working together with the European Commission and the ECDC in order to coordinate at European level, at least trying to achieve a certain degree of coordination and not a high variation among the different countries, but every of the countries has its own competences.

About the number of the Great Britain, we can give you the concrete number afterwards, because they are now doing this comprobation, we are doing this check of the final number of the passengers, also because of the correlation with the crew members. So, afterwards, we can get back and we can tell you specifically.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, thank you. What do you think about America not enforcing a mandatory quarantine?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think that it's the mandatory of the measures of the contact management is very related to the legal framework of every country, in my opinion, as a health authority here in Spain, I think that quarantine should be mandatory and the legal framework should be adapted to be able to guarantee the health of all the population and very especially understanding that in general, quarantines consensus -- are under consensus of the different organizations.

For instance, as in Spain, after talking together with the ECDC of the WHO, we have agreed to state the 6th of May as the last contact day and afterwards the quarantine would be from the day.

[07:35:00]

So, I don't think it's like the best practice from an epidemiological point of view. And I think that they would answer about the technical and scientific justification for that decision.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. If I could just ask you a question about the Canadians. Do they have their own plane? I know there was discussion that at some point they might share with the U.S. Can you clarify that? And also, obviously they're spending very little time on the ground here before they get on the bus. Can you take us through exactly what happens from when they get off that boat to when they get on the bus?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, they are taking off with their own plane. They are, in the beginning of the discussions, we talk about the beginning, but it was three or four days ago. One of the things that was on the table was the possibility of coordinating this operation together with the United States.

The thing was, I think it was mainly because the United States were the first stepping up in order to offer a plane. But a couple of days after that, they were saying that they were sending their own plane. So, they are going directly, I guess, to Canada.

For the -- about the second question, well, just to explain to you, once that we know that the plane is already ready at the airport to depart, we, I myself, give the order, I am communicated from the airport, and I give the order to the people from foreign health to disembark the people who are going to go in this concrete plane. Once they are being disembarked, they are taking just one bag, one bag under a plastic bag, and it's done because the rest of the luggage is moving to the Netherlands, and it will be disinfected there, and afterwards it will be given to the passengers, wherever they are in the world.

So, they are taking this bag, and they are disembarking. They are passing through the foreign health tent that we have, and they are assessed, the clinical assessment, and afterwards, they are, the documentation, the police, the national police, is doing this comprobation of the documents they have, because at least this is a border, an international border, so we have to warranty also these issues.

And after that, they are passing directly, they are like disinfected hands and so on, and they are passing directly to the bus, and it's like 10, 12, 15 minutes just to the airport. They are taking to the airport, just to the position where their plane is, and they are taking, they are going. They are using personal protection equipment, that it's being, they are wearing it from the boat, and they are taking into the boat, into the little boat, already with the equipment.

FREEMAN: OK. We've been listening to the WHO giving an update on screening those passengers that they're taking off of that cruise ship that was stricken with hantavirus. A lot of very interesting challenges, including the logistics, but also of dealing with so many countries, and their own individual policies here. We're going to stay on top of those updates, and bring them to you as we get them. For now, we'll be right back.

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[07:40:00]

FREEMAN: A new climate study warns parts of coastal Louisiana could become unlivable by the end of this century. The findings were published in the journal Nature Sustainability. The authors warn that rising sea levels and fast erosion are eating away at the coast and New Orleans could eventually be surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico. Joining me now is Jesse Keenan, one of the study's co-authors. He's also the director of the Center on Climate Change and Urbanism at Tulane University and author of the book, "North: The Future of Post- Climate America." Jesse, thank you so much for joining us this morning to talk about this really startling study. Tell me, how much time are we really talking about before these parts of Louisiana could become unlivable?

JESSE KEENAN, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, TULANE SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND URBANISM, TULANE UNIVERSITY AND AUTHOR, "NORTH: THE FUTURE OF POST-CLIMATE AMERICA": Well, timing is a major question that's still open to science. What we know currently is that temperatures globally and atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases are fairly consistent with where they were during the last interglacial period about 125,000 years ago. And what we show in the paper is that at that period in time, which by the way, wasn't that long ago, the shoreline was well far north of where it is today, leaving not just New Orleans, but much of Southern Louisiana in facing really ultimately inundation by the seas. So, timing is a major question. What we argue is that we really have generations now left to begin the process of beginning a transition.

FREEMAN: Now, Jesse, the study mentions that some areas you think we'll have to relocate. I mean, how feasible is that when you're talking about millions of people?

[07:45:00]

KEENAN: Well, it's important to recognize that there is already a within the region, particularly away from the coast, not just in New Orleans, but really throughout Southeast Louisiana. The land is sinking and sea levels are rising. It's the -- one of the fastest rates of sea level rise anywhere in the world. So, it is a function of quite literally land loss.

What we are proposing in many ways is the devaluation development of policies and plans that begin to move not just populations and housing and physical infrastructure, but to really think about all the services that go along with that. How do we begin to transition the industrial core around the Mississippi River? And to, in many cases, reinforce that. I think it's critically important to remember that we're not calling for the abandonment of New Orleans or the region.

What we're calling for ultimately is a reinvestment in adaptation investments that can buy time. And in the recent several decades, there's been significant and very important coastal master planning in Louisiana that has developed projects, including what we call sediment diversion, that moves some of the water or diverts some of the water from the Mississippi River that's richly laden with sediment and basically to build land.

So, you move the waters, the Mississippi deposits that land and it deposits that sediment rather and builds land. That was canceled last year by the governor of Louisiana. And we believe that that was a major mistake because that land development will buy an awful lot of time for the region. And that's critically important as we move forward.

FREEMAN: And, Jesse, do you expect leaders to be receptive to these sort of mitigation plans or these plans like you just mentioned to slow this down?

KEENAN: Historically, this has been, it has had very strong bipartisan response and support over really many decades. This has not been a partisan issue. This is fundamentally a core economic issue. We have the ports in Louisiana, the industry in Louisiana provides food and fuel for the world. And the land development that we're talking about that's so critical to buying time for the region is also critical for economic stability in the region.

FREEMAN: All right. Well, a fascinating study. I encourage our viewers to go take a look at it. Jesse Keenan, thank you so much for sharing some of the important takeaways from your research. Really do appreciate it.

KEENAN: Thank you for having me.

FREEMAN: All right. Coming up next in sports. The reigning NBA champs are one win away from sweeping LeBron and the Lakers. We have the highlights. They're coming up next.

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[07:50:00]

FREEMAN: Let's catch up on today's top stories. First up, passengers aboard the cruise ship with the antivirus outbreak have been disembarking from the vessel. That's according to Spain's health ministry. At this hour, the MV Hondius is at the port of Granadilla in the Canary Islands. Passengers are expected to return to their home countries. That's after they are tested to see if they are remaining without symptoms.

And Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, is expected to be arraigned tomorrow. He's facing multiple charges. They include attempting to assassinate the president and assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon.

And President Trump will be heading to Beijing to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week. The U.S.-China summit was originally scheduled for March, but it was delayed due to the Iran war. Recently, U.S. officials have urged China to use its influence with Iran to try to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened.

Sports now. The reigning NBA champs have LeBron and the Lakers on the ropes. Coy Wires here with much, much more. Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, Danny. LeBron James famously once came back from a 3-1 deficit to help his team win a championship. He may have to do it again, but first, the Lakers have to win just one. 19 points for LeBron in this game, but the Thunder are beating the Lakers like a drum. The reigning MVP SGA had what he called an off night, 23 points. But Ajay Mitchell had a career playoff high, 24 points and career high 10 assists. Oklahoma City remains unbeaten in this playoff run after a 131-108 win, now one win away from another Western Conference finals appearance.

The Cavaliers said not so fast to the Pistons party. Donovan Mitchell came out hotter than your car seats in July. 20 points, five boards in the first half alone, first cap to do that in the playoffs since LeBron. He finished with 35 as Cleveland grabbed a 116-109 win to cut Detroit's series lead to 2-1, this series officially simmering.

Stanley Cup playoffs now, the Hurricanes brought the broomsticks. Carolina sweeping the Flyers right out of the playoffs thanks to Jackson Blake who played overtime hero just five minutes in. Blake scored twice in this one. The Hurricanes headed into the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight season after a 3-2 win.

We've got a new home run queen in college softball, Megan Grant from UCLA launching her 38th homer of the season, most ever in a single NCAA Division I season. She made history at the Big Ten Championship against Nebraska and the celebration at home plate simply awesome. Nebraska won this game 7-2 but this moment belongs to Megan Grant.

Now, the defending WNBA champs Las Vegas Aces unveiled their new rings and they have all the bling. Three one-carat diamonds for three titles. It has black diamonds, 14-carat white gold.

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And the ring opens up to reveal a removable fashion ring that's inside. Yes, championship jewelry with a plot twist. A first of its kind. Danny, those things are stellar.

FREEMAN: Those are absolutely wild. All right. Coy, here's my question for you. Do you think that the Sixers can pull off any magic in their game against the Knicks today? Because it's been looking pretty rough.

WIRE: Well, chances are slim to none I'd say. And it seems like slim has gone for a hot dog breaks. And so, yes, good luck, Danny.

FREEMAN: Come on, Coy. All right. All right. Still rooting on our Philadelphia Sixers either way. All right. Coy Wire, thanks so much. Appreciate you.

WIRE: Thank you. You got it.

FREEMAN: And thank you all so much for joining us for CNN This Morning Weekend. Again, happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there including my own. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju, that's coming up next.

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