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CNN Headlines: Source: Iran Expected To Respond To U.S. Proposal Today; Officials Conducting Tracing For Sick Tourists From Cruise Ship; Judge Unseals Purported Jeffrey Epstein Suicide Note; Extensive Damage At Mississippi Trailer Park Following Tornado. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 07, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:23]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: Pending response. Right now, U.S. officials are waiting for Iran's response to a plan to end the war. And we're seeing gas prices inch up even more this morning.
And, an overnight path of destruction. Tornadoes and powerful storms slammed the South. So, what can we expect today? We've got your forecast coming your way.
And --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And on the other side --
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SMITH: A sinking boat full of people. A father and son, spring into action and come to the rescue.
And if you're not getting a good nights sleep, it could be fogging up your brain more than you know. What researchers just found out?
Good morning, everyone. It is Thursday, May 7th. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
Don't worry, I've got plenty of sleep. We're going to help you get some more, too, a little bit later on.
Here's the big story that we begin with. Could today be the day that we see a final deal to end the war with Iran? A source says that Iran is expected to reply to a U.S. proposal imminently and both sides are said to be closing in on an agreement on a short memorandum aimed at ending the Iran war.
Details to be worked out in the days and weeks to follow. President Trump expressed cautious optimism on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, and they wont. And they've agreed to that, among other things.
They want to make a deal. We've had very good talks over the last 24 hours, and it's very possible that we'll make a deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: But earlier, he issued a new threat. If Iran doesn't agree to a deal. Now, as for the Strait of Hormuz, Iran says safe passage is possible under, quote, "new procedures without saying what those procedures are".
Relief at the pump couldn't come soon enough for Americans. Nationwide, gas prices continue to go up, rising another two cents since yesterday, and now at the highest level since the start of the war.
We're also tracking this. All three sick passengers who were evacuated from that cruise ship at the center of the Hantavirus outbreak are now seeking treatment. Officials are currently working to contact and track anyone that they've been in contact with. Three Americans are back home and being monitored. Two returned to Georgia and another to Arizona.
Right now, officials say that they aren't showing any signs of infection and are following CDC recommendations. The MV Hondius is currently en route to the Canary Islands after spending days off the coast of Cape Verde.
Spanish officials have shared mixed reactions to the cruise ships impending arrival.
CNN's Will Ripley has more.
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WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There were reports that the ship, even after the first passenger died, did not take any safety precautions. In fact, the captain told passengers the death was from natural causes. That captain, who's now been medically evacuated.
That passenger from Switzerland in the hospital. All the people on his plane being contacted right now, and the ship is trying to go to the Canary Islands, but there are local officials there who are really pushing back, afraid that there could be a risk to public safety, even though the Spanish government has said that they will receive the ship.
More than 150 people believed to be still on board, or nearly 150 people, including perhaps more than a dozen Americans.
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SMITH: And we will have more on what officials know so far on the source of the virus later on this hour.
Well, a federal judge has unsealed a purported suicide note that Jeffrey Epstein's former cellmate claims that he found after Epstein's first reported suicide attempt in 2019. The document is unverified, undated and unsigned, but now part of the federal court record.
It reads in part, quote, it is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye. Epstein's cellmate said he discovered the note after Epstein was injured, with a strip of cloth wrapped around his neck. Just weeks later, Epstein was found dead in his cell while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. A medical examiner ruled that he died by suicide.
But as CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller tells us, there are still plenty of questions left to be answered.
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JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The questions that emerge from this are, number one, how do we validate that note? Is it in his handwriting? And if so, who says? Is there DNA or fingerprints or other forensics that can be matched to him to prove that?
Let's assume that it is authentic. Does that give us an indication that he was trying to kill himself and waiting for another opportunity? Does that wash away many of the conspiracy theories about how he was found in his cell dead later and glitches in videos and stories about people coming and going.
[05:05:10]
All of which have caused controversy, but none of which have been proven.
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SMITH: And coming up, we'll hear more from Epstein's cellmate, a former police officer convicted of quadruple murder.
At least two violent tornadoes ripped through southern Mississippi last night. They caused widespread damage and created dangerous travel conditions. You're looking at a man walking on a major highway in the city of Brookhaven. Parts of it were blocked after trees toppled on top of it.
And this morning, we have a lot of destruction video coming in.
Let's get to meteorologist Chris Warren.
Chris, you have video of mobile homes destroyed as well here.
CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah. And, Brad, you see the damage from the ground as you were showing just a second ago, and you see how chaotic it is. You get a little bit better perspective, perspective when you get above and you look down and you can see nearby structures and comparable structures that have been absolutely obliterated by these very strong tornadoes.
And part of the problem with the storms we are watching with last night is that they were long lived. So, the longer they are in progress, the better chance they have of hitting stuff, including this mobile home park here where you look at that, Brad, you can see just all of the destruction, the debris just tossed all around. It's really hard to make sense of what you're seeing on the ground. But again, from the air, you get a little bit better perspective there, as the search was ongoing at the time.
Storms are ongoing right now. A lot of lightning showing up here throughout the south. The video was taken right in here. Those storms have moved out. There is still a tornado threat this morning. Tornado watch is in effect until about mid morning or so for these areas.
As the storms move through large hail, flooding and damaging winds a possibility. There is a severe thunderstorm warning right here in Mississippi with a tail end of this kind of a semi structured line there that's moving through the southeast, large hail, damaging winds and a few tornadoes possible.
Brad, as we look at the future radar, we see these storms will be kicking out by this evening.
SMITH: All right. Quite a lot to keep tabs on there with that system. Chris, thank you.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is expected to meet with Pope Leo XIV this morning. Rubio is rejecting the idea that his visit with the pope is an attempt to smooth over relations with the Vatican. That's after President Trump has repeatedly criticized the pontiff for voicing his objections to the war with Iran.
There is an outpouring of both grief and gratitude this morning, and it's for Ted Turner, the legendary founder of CNN, an extraordinary philanthropist, died yesterday at age 87 after a long battle with Lewy body dementia. Employees are leaving messages attached to our beloved big red CNN letters that sit just outside the building that I'm in right now. The notes thank Ted for the lasting legacy that he built and vow to carry it on.
Meantime, staffers like Christiane Amanpour are reflecting on Ted's earliest days at the helm. Take a listen
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CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: There was very little sort of barrier between him and us. Not that we were all friends, and on first name basis we worked for him, but we knew that he was absolutely in love with CNN, loved the creation that he made and loved the impact that it was having.
JUDY WOODRUFF, FORMER CNN ANCHOR: Ted managed to turn this into a significant player and frankly, to change journalism.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SMITH: The president is remembering Ted Turner as a friend, And on his Truth Social media site, said, quote, "Whenever I needed him, he was there, always willing to fight for a good cause.
And finally, there is Jane Fonda, Ted's third wife, who wrote a deeply personal and loving tribute on her Instagram. We'll share that tribute with you later on this hour.
Also ahead, this morning calls for one of Trump's top cabinet members to resign over what he revealed about his ties to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in a closed door hearing.
Plus, the FBI raided several businesses of an outspoken Trump critic and Virginia state lawmaker. We've got the details on that raid ahead.
And sleepless nights could be doing major damage to your brain function. But there's one thing that could reverse that.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:13:53]
SMITH: On Capitol Hill, some Democrats are calling for Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to resign over his past ties with Jeffrey Epstein. House lawmakers grilled Lutnick for more than four hours behind closed doors yesterday. Republicans had some questions of their own.
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REP. JAMES COMER (R-KY): At the end of the day. I haven't seen wrongdoing in the email correspondence, but he wasn't 100 percent truthful with whether or not he had been on the island. So, we'll see and we'll obviously release the transcripts and everyone can -- can see for themselves.
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SMITH: In 2012, Lutnick visited the convicted sex offender's infamous Caribbean island, even though he claimed to cut ties back in 2005. Afterwards, Democrats put Lutnick's credibility under scrutiny.
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REP. SUHAS SUBRAMANYAM (D-VA): Howard Lutnick should resign. That was absolutely mind boggling. What we just heard in the room. He was evasive, nervous. He was dishonest. He would not admit to lying, which he clearly did in the podcast.
He said he was never in the room with Jeffrey Epstein ever again. After the first time he met him. Yet he then admitted that he was in the room with Jeffrey Epstein.
I had to ask him whether he and I were in the same room just now, because I couldn't understand his meaning of we were in the same room together.
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SMITH: Lutnick is the highest ranking Trump administration official, prominently named in the Epstein files outside of the president himself.
Months after the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of "Today Show" host Savannah Guthrie, FBI Director Kash Patel is criticizing how the investigation was handled in its early days, 84-year-old Guthrie was last seen January 31st and is presumed to have been kidnaped from her home.
CNN's Sherrell Hubbard has the latest on tensions between the agencies tasked to find her.
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SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: New revelations in the Nancy Guthrie investigation. FBI Director Kash Patel took to Sean Hannity's podcast this week and said the FBI was kept out of the investigation early on.
KASH PATEL, FBI DIRECTOR: When we were finally let in, Sean, look what we did. We went in and got the Ring doorbell and we said, hey, is anyone talking to Google?
HUBBARD (voice-over): He said the FBI was not let into the case for four days, which in turn slowed down the finding and release of crucial doorbell camera footage.
PATEL: That's why you have that image, because the FBI worked with Google to put that image out.
HUBBARD (voice-over): Patel went on to say that DNA found in the investigation could have been analyzed faster, and a legal expert says the timing of the FBI's increased involvement brought critical resources.
MILLER: The negotiators that that are expert in dealing with abductions and negotiations on ransom, the specialized lab people.
HUBBARD (voice-over): The Pima County sheriff's department released a statement saying the FBI was promptly notified by both our department and the Guthrie family. While the FBI director was not on scene. Coordination with the bureau began without delay. Patel had another criticism. The decision by local authorities to use a private lab as opposed to Quantico, the main FBI laboratory.
SEAN HANNITY, PODCAST HOST: Why did they send the DNA to a lab in Florida, not Quantico?
PATEL: That's the other thing you hit on, right? Again, we were saying we'll process it.
HUBBARD (voice-over): Experts following the case say the lab used processes DNA the same way the FBI does.
MILLER: The real question here is, why is Kash Patel doing this?
HUBBARD (voice-over): I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.
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SMITH: Next week Tuesday will mark 100 days since Nancy Guthrie vanished and the investigation is still ongoing. Local and federal partners are involved in the investigation, and the recent comments have the potential to have a damaging effect on coordination efforts.
Well, still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS: a massive manhunt for a special forces veteran accused of shooting his wife ends tragically, the latest later on in the hour.
And do you have a lot of social media friends but still feel lonely? There's a reason why. We'll dive into next.
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[05:22:26]
SMITH: A federal judge has denied a request by officials in the Atlanta area to return 2020 election ballots, which were seized by the FBI in January. The judge said that the request simply didn't meet the high legal bar, which might have allowed him to intervene, although he did call the whole situation unprecedented.
The Justice Department has been looking into what it has described as irregularities in how Fulton County handled the 2020 vote. President Trump has repeatedly claimed that the election was rigged, but there is no evidence to substantiate that claim.
A CNN KFILE investigation uncovered deleted social media posts from president Trump's new surgeon general nominee. Dr. Nicole Saphier repeatedly broke publicly with the president and RFK Jr. on some of the administration's most politically sensitive health issues, including vaccines and autism.
CNN's Andrew Kaczynski has the details.
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ANDREW KACZYNSKI, CNN KFILE SENIOR EDITOR: CNN uncovered deleted posts that President Trump's surgeon general pick apparently didn't want you to see.
Meet Nicole Saphier, a former Fox News contributor, podcast host and radiologist, and actually his third pick for the role after the first two nominees flamed out.
Before her nomination to be the nation's leading voice on public health, she wiped away years of posts criticizing Trump and his health agenda. For instance, she called an argument between Trump and Elon Musk petty, loud and obnoxious, and likened them to grown adults acting like toddlers in a tiara fight.
She accused Trump's administration of waiting until after the midterm elections to admit that measles is spreading again in the U.S. and weeks before her nomination, she warned that Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s overhaul of the federal vaccine system had turned reform into, quote, "chaos".
When Trump and Kennedy promoted an unproven link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism --
TRUMP: You have to tough it out also. Don't take Tylenol. Don't give Tylenol to the baby.
KACZYNSKI: Saphier pushed back, telling him, "Words matter. Facts matter, too." And then she deleted them all.
Saphier has also locked her X account, and she's still going to have to be confirmed by the United States Senate.
Meanwhile, the White House is standing by her, telling CNN she will be a powerful asset for President Trump and work tirelessly to deliver on every facet of his MAHA agenda.
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SMITH: In this morning's health express, a new study suggests that people with lots of so-called online friends who they've never actually met are lonelier.
[05:25:04]
It also shows that connecting with close friends on social media did not ease loneliness.
Now, it's unclear if loneliness causes people to seek more friends online, or if connecting with strangers online was the source of the loneliness. Those surveyed are between 30 and 70 years old. That study is in the journal Public Health Reports.
And it turns out that even one sleepless night can hurt your working memory and ability to learn new things. This is according to a recent study published in the IBRO Neuroscience Journal. Researchers looked at brain functions such as memory and reaction times of 50 participants after a period with no sleep.
The good news from the study is that the damage from sleep deprivation is temporary. Results show that a 30-minute nap can partially reverse the decline in brain function and activity.
Making the case for some night pods at your local office, perhaps.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, concerns grow over the deadly hantavirus outbreak on that cruise ship now in route to the Canary Islands. Officials hoping to curb any possible spread of the illness. We've got much more coming your way.
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