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CNN Headlines: Republicans Revolt Over Trump's $1.8 Billion "Anti-Weaponization" Fund; Suspected Ebola Deaths Rise In DRC, Countries Ramp Up Containment Efforts; Colbert Bids Farewell On Final Episode Of "The Late Show." Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 22, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:31:35]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.
Stephen Colbert took his final bow at "THE LATE SHOW" last night on CBS. In his opening remarks Colbert began by saying it had been a joy to do the show and thanked everyone who made it possible.
Also, gasoline prices higher now than they've been in nearly four years and millions will feel it when they hit the road for Memorial Day weekend. When the war with Iran started the national average was under $3.00 a gallon and now it's above four bucks in every state, and over $5.00 or even over $6.00 in some places.
We're also continuing to follow a growing rift inside the Republican Party as Senate GOP leaders are holding off on a major funding push as concerns rise over a nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization compensation fund backed by President Trump's Justice Department. Now some Republicans are questioning who could benefit from all that money and the political risks that come with it.
CNN's Manu Raju has more from Capitol Hill.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The House and the Senate are leaving town until June. Why? Because of a Republican revolt against the White House. This after the Justice Department announced this week a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who say they've been victimized by the Justice Department under Joe Biden, and that could potentially include January 6 rioters.
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I do not support the weaponization fund as it has been described.
SEN. JOHN KENNEY (R-LA): But I just don't know how this puppy dog will work.
SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): This is bad policy, it's bad timing, and it's bad politics.
RAJU: Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, came and met with Republican senators for nearly two hours on Thursday afternoon and he was grilled I'm told about this fund. Many of them demanding answers and many of them unsatisfied as they left that meeting, and many of them saying they could not vote to advance a bill dealing with immigration enforcements. Tens of billions of dollars that Donald Trump demanded to be on his desk by June 1 unless there were changes to that DOJ program.
REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I think it's a gutless move by the Senate. I think they ought to be ashamed of themselves.
RAJU: But are you worried about November?
BURCHETT: Of course. I'm very much worried about it. I'm worried about our country. I'm afraid we could lose everything.
RAJU: Now I asked Speaker Johnson whether or not the White House should drop this fund in order to get this bill passed. He sidestepped that question and also sidestepped the question about whether January 6 rioters should have access to that taxpayer money.
Why don't you just drop the weaponization fund?
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): It's not my call. We're waiting to see what the Senate sends us. They're working through that. So --
RAJU: It's obviously a problem -- a political problem and you guys are leaving town without passing this major priority.
JOHNSON: I'll process whatever the Senate sends me, and they need, obviously, a little bit more time to build consensus. So that's what they've decided to do. So --
RAJU: But the way the White House has handled this has caused enormous frustration among Republicans who wanted to get that immigration bill passed.
One senator, Ron Johnson, told me it was a "galactic blunder" by the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: In Minnesota, the Justice Department charging more than a dozen people in a long-running multimillion-dollar fraud investigation in the state. They're accused of defrauding several taxpayer-funded programs, including Medicaid and the Federal Child Nutrition Program. Federal prosecutors say that there will be more charges to come.
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COLIN MCDONALD, ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL, FRAUD ENFORCEMENT DIVISION: This is the beginning of our work in Minnesota. The fraud here in Minnesota is shocking.
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[05:35:05]
SMITH: These charges come just three weeks after federal agents served 22 search warrants across Minnesota as part of this massive ongoing fraud investigation.
And "Feeding Our Future" founder Aimee Bock was sentenced to nearly 42 years in prison Thursday. Prosecutors call her the mastermind of a massive fraud scheme to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in government aid.
Now to the latest on the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As the death toll rises in central Africa, countries around the world, including the U.S., are tightening rules to keep Ebola from spreading.
CNN senior analyst -- or CNN senior international correspondent, excuse me, Melissa Bell is tracking this story and joins us live with more from Paris. Melissa, what do we know?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Brad, it appears as the picture that health specialists are getting of this outbreak that things are worse than they had feared at first. So this particular strain of the Ebola virus is now spreading in eastern Congo but has also been found in some cases across the border in Uganda and now spread beyond the epicenter in which it began.
They are also saying now -- the World Health Organization, Brad -- that they believe that this outbreak may have started sometime ago -- a couple of months maybe, even. And what we're seeing now is a geographical spread and a rise in the numbers that some people are suggesting is just the tip of the iceberg. So there could be many more than the 600 suspected cases that have been identified so far.
The added difficulty is the strain of the virus. There are no vaccines for it. And this particular region, Ituri province in northwestern Congo -- it's been plagued by about 30 years of violence and conflict. It's difficult to get to.
And even now we're hearing from some of the clinics on the ground and the health professionals that they simply don't have the protective gear that they need to protect -- to prevent its further spread, Brad.
SMITH: This is a national concern. We will continue to monitor all of the countries' efforts.
Melissa Bell, thank you for joining us this morning.
The White House is making a sharp U-turn on U.S. troop deployments in Europe. Yesterday President Trump announced that another 5,000 American troops will be sent to Poland just after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly blocked a planned combat deployment to Eastern Europe. It's still unclear where the additional troops will come from.
Well, last night Stephen Colbert gave us his farewell episode of "THE LATE SHOW." Colbert has hosted "THE LATE SHOW" for 11 years and over that time making quite a few jokes at the expense of President Trump, CBS, and its parent company, Paramount. But tonight he went out with a smile and gratitude for his staff, the studio audience, and his viewers in the final show.
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STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, CBS "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": On night one of the Colbert Report back in the day, I said anyone can read the news to you. I promise to feel the news at you. And, uh, I realized pretty soon in this job that our job over here was different. We were here to feel the news with you. And I don't know about you, but I sure have felt it.
And I just want to let all of you all know in here and out there how important you've been to what we have done. The energy that you've given us. We sincerely need that to have done the best possible show we could have for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Colbert is the second host of "THE LATE SHOW" over its tenure after the iconic David Letterman.
CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter breaks down the final episode.
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BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Paul McCartney, of The Beatles, who performed in the Ed Sullivan Theater on that stage back in 1964, he returned to help bid farewell to "THE LATE SHOW." And, you know, you mentioned Letterman. Between the Letterman decades and now the Colbert decade, "THE LATE SHOW" was an American institution -- one of only a handful of late-night television shows that stood the test of time.
But times are very much changing and now the Ed Sullivan Theater emptying out. Colbert's set being donated to a museum in Chicago. No new performance moving into that theater in Midtown Manhattan either. And CBS going a very different direction in late-night, citing financial pressures.
But it is, of course, the political backdrop that everyone has been talking about. President Trump railing against Colbert for years. CBS, Paramount -- CBS parent company Paramount trying to appease Trump in various ways for the past year-plus. A lot of Colbert fans believe that Colbert was canceled for political reasons.
And so there was something really striking to me about the final episode and that's the lack of any mention of Trump. Colbert didn't want to make this a show where he was railing against the administration. Where he was continuing to have a feud with the president. He decided to focus much more on his staff, on his viewing audience at home, bringing out his family and friends at the very end.
[05:40:00] But no mention of Trump during the episode. I think that's kind of a telling statement by Colbert about how he wants "THE LATE SHOW" to be remembered even though it was inevitable that his show and his commentary was pulled into the political fray for, well, the past decade at his point.
You know, you played a clip a moment ago of Colbert explaining how he viewed his role on the show. He said he was there to feel the news with the viewers. To make sense of the senseless. And that's why his fans loved him. It's why his detractors wanted him off the air. And now we're all going to kind of wait to see a while what he's going to do next or if he even has a plan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: It is time for Buzz Express, the stories that have people talking.
Harry Styles is currently on tour and some of his fans are not happy. They say that they paid way too much money for his concert just for their views to be obstructed. Take a look at this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Harry Styles fans are mad about this one thing on this current tour. Imagine paying 350 euros for an obstructed view. That's the complaint fans are posting about Harry Styles' new concert, showing how their VIP tickets close to the stage have an obstructed view, apparently due to the stage's layout made up of these bridges.
Acknowledging the backlash, Harry Styles' HQ says they're changing the bridges to improve visibility. CNN has reached out to Styles' representative for comment. The layout of the concert allows fans to be immersed in the show and stand between the stage's various parts. The fans standing further away from the stage shared videos of their great views.
Styles opened his latest tour "Together Together" in Amsterdam in mid- May and is scheduled to hit New York in August.
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SMITH: Speaking of concerts, starting this summer Spotify is making it easier for fans to snag concert tickets. It's called Spotify Reserved and it's a partnership with Live Nation. So here's how it works. When an artist is on tour Spotify will look at streams and shares to decide who the biggest fans are. Now once those fans are chosen, Spotify will set aside concert tickets for the selected people, and they will have a set amount of time to buy the tickets if they choose to do so.
All right, and Pokemon fans, get ready. Your favorite creatures are coming to life in a whole new way. A new Pokemon fossil museum is making its North American debut at Chicago's Field Museum. The exhibit -- it blends the world of Pokemon with real science, showing how actual fossils inspired some of the franchise's most popular characters. Visitors can explore interactive displays with museum scientists even stepping in as Pokemon professors. The exhibit opens today and runs through next April.
All right. Next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS a rally expected outside the U.S. Embassy in Cuba today just as the government -- the U.S. government moves military ships closer to the island. We've got the details there.
Plus, hundreds of climbers make it to the summit of Mount Everest all in the same day, but the amazing feat is coming with concerns. We'll explain.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:47:27]
SMITH: Let's go around the globe here.
The Cuban government is planning to hold a rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Havana this morning. That's according to a post from the embassy as tensions grow between the two countries.
And this week's announcement of the indictment of Cuba's former president Raul Castro has many remaining on high alert.
And now Cuba's foreign minister accuses Secretary of State Marco Rubio of trying to incite military aggression. He spoke hours after Rubio said that he doesn't have much faith that diplomacy will work with Cuba and that the current regime is opposed to changes that the country needs.
Here's what he said.
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MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Right now there just doesn't seem to be people over there in charge of the regime who are in any way open to any of those changes. And the things they talk about economically are cosmetic in nature. They're not real. Because that's what they've gotten used to all these years is just buying time and waiting us out. They're not going to be able to wait us out or buy time. We're very serious. We're very focused.
As I told you a moment ago in the context of Iran the president's preference is always a negotiated agreement that's peaceful. That's always our preference and that remains our preference with Cuba.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Earlier this week the U.S. deployed the Nimitz Carrier Group to the Caribbean. President Trump says that the move is not meant to intimidate Havana.
And Pope Leo is set to inaugurate and bless a new tower at the tallest church in the world. The pope will celebrate mass at the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, Spain on June 10. The ceremony marks the 100th anniversary of the death of its architect Antoni Gaudi. Construction started in 1882 and was finally completed just this year. This project was worked on in his life until he died in 1926 -- Gaudi.
And a new record broken on Mount Everest this week. Hundreds made it to the top of the world's highest peak all on a single day. A great accomplishment for the individual climbers but added together it highlights longstanding overcrowding concerns.
CNN's Ben Hunte explains.
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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The number of climbers scaling Mount Everest has reached a new high. On Wednesday a record 274 people reached the summit of the world's tallest peak in a single day from the south side in Nepal.
This video shot the day before of one group who made that record summit push. Hiking officials say climbers took advantage of the clear weather conditions.
[05:50:00]
The previous record was set almost exactly seven years ago when 223 people summitted from Everest's south side in a day, and even more trekked to the top from the mountain's north face in Tibet.
Nepal has issued 494 permits to climb Everest this year, each costing $15,000, and implemented tighter controls to try to reduce overcrowding on the mountain. Nepal's Expedition Operators Association says the climbers were spread across different camps and areas but that more may need to be done to manage such high volume days.
RISHI BHANDRAI, EXPEDITION OPERATORS ASSOCIATION OF NEPAL: In one day better to not move more than 250 people in a day. This is our experience and we are going to control on this in future expeditions.
HUNTE (voiceover): Eighteen-year-old Bianca Adler was one of the climbers to summit on Wednesday. Her tour company says she's the youngest Australian to climb to the top of Everest. She was accompanied by her parents for some of the trek and aid it was part of the plan to avoid the crowds.
BIANCA ADLER, MOUNT EVEREST CLIMBER: Well, I left, so I knew there was going to be a lot of people. So I left a lot earlier than most of them so I could get ahead and not be stuck in the big queues, same as the day before we left earlier.
HUNTE (voiceover): The climbing season got off to a late start this spring because of ice blocking the path -- a shorter window for climbers to reach the summit. Hundreds of climbers achieved that dream this week, yet again raising questions about how much is too much to be on top of the world.
Ben Hunte, CNN.
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SMITH: Thank you, Ben.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS high gas prices are not deterring people from hitting the roads this holiday weekend. Millions are expected to hit the highways in the coming days.
And the biggest famed and controversial restaurant, Heart Attack Grill, known for its bypass burgers, is closing its doors. We'll tell you why on the other side of the break.
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[05:56:25]
SMITH: In today's Money Express, Starbucks may have a new hit and it's not a drink. The coffee giant launched a weighted vest as part of its fitness push and it's already sold out. The vest cost $22.00 and it's a nod to the 22 grams of protein in its new coffee drink. Starbucks is also teaming up with the fitness app Strava, challenging people to move for 22 minutes a day.
And millions of people are already getting ready to hit the road for the unofficial start to summer, Memorial Day weekend.
Let's go to Maribel Aber who is live at the Nasdaq MarketSite. Maribel, we could see some record travel this weekend from what we hear, yeah?
MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: We really could -- yeah, Brad. AAA is, in fact, predicting record travel by road and air this Memorial Day weekend. More than 39 million people are expected to drive through Monday. Another 3.6 million will fly. And national gas prices are ticking higher and rising fuel -- jet fuel costs are putting pressure on airfares too. The agency says the average gallon of unleaded is $4.55 today.
And the U.S. Commerce Department plans to invest $2 billion in American quantum computing companies. Nine firms are expected to receive funding with IBM receiving about half. The goal, build fast supercomputers to accelerate breakthroughs in areas like drug development, clean energy, and national defense. Now, unlike traditional computers, quantum systems can process highly-complex problems much faster. The Wall Street Journal reports funding will come from the CHIPS and Science Act.
Rising costs are forcing the Heart Attack Grill in Las Vegas to close. The restaurant became famous for menu items like the 6,000-calorie bypass burger and flatliner fries. Customers were called patients. The servers dressed like medical staff. Diners who couldn't finish their meals were publicly spanked, and people could weigh themselves to win free food. The concept also drew criticism after some customers were hospitalized. The owner says nearby casino competition and rising costs squeezed the business but he's looking for investors to reopen elsewhere.
Brad, talk about larger than life. I mean, I love a good burger, but I think I'll bypass that one.
SMITH: Oh, easily, easily. Y'all got that. That is the definite file folder -- y'all got that.
Maribel Aber --
ABER: Yes.
SMITH: -- thank you so much.
Let's take a look at some other stories making news across the country.
We start in Texas. Last-minute issues forced SpaceX to wave off the launch of its Starship megarocket. The upgrade version of the vehicle was set to take its inaugural test flight on Thursday but as the countdown clock reached under the minute mark problems with the propellant line and the water deluge system -- it puts things on hold. SpaceX can try again tonight if the issues are sorted out in time.
OK, and how did this happen? Officials say that this video shows a fire truck that swerved, hit a parked car, and then crashed into an H&R Block office in Los Angeles. So according to the Los Angeles Fire Department, the firefighters were responding to a building fire Tuesday when it happened. No one was inside the parked car, thankfully. The two firefighters and the truck sustained minor injuries there. There is no word on what caused the crash there. Serious injuries for that truck, too.
[06:00:00]
And in Arkansas this furry dumpster diver needed extra hands to get his way out of this situation. A racoon got stuck -- go this head stuck, in fact, after squeezing into a small hole at the bottom of a dumpster. Oh, no my furry fellow. Firefighters -- they got animal services to sedate the little guy who they nicknamed "Rocket." Crews managed to cut and expand the metal opening just enough for Rocket to move free without getting him hurt. Thank goodness. Rocket, live your best life.
That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
