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CNN Headlines: A Crack in a California Chemical Tank has Thousands of People Under Evacuation Orders; U.S. and Iran Signaling Progress in Efforts to End the War; Emotional Tribute Held for Late Two-Time NASCAR Cup Champion Kyle Busch. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired May 25, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This reminds me of the burn pits in Iraq, you know, the smell is just ridiculous that we have to just sit here and not knowing.
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BRAD SMITH, ANCHOR, CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS: A crack in a California chemical tank has thousands of people under evacuation orders, but it may be relieving some of the pressure inside. We dive into the risk that it still poses.
And the U.S. and Iran are signaling progress in efforts to end the war. What Secretary of State Marco Rubio is saying about the deal. Plus, how the oil markets are now responding to these talks and --
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STEVE O'DONNELL, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, NASCAR: Samantha, I want you to know that this sport stands with you, and that you and your children are NASCAR family forever.
(CHEERS)
(APPLAUSE)
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SMITH: An emotional tribute held for the late two-time NASCAR Cup Champion Kyle Busch. Tens of thousands of fans honored his life and the legacy he leaves behind. And today, we honor our nation's fallen heroes. Those who paid the ultimate sacrifice while serving.
Good morning, everyone, I'm Brad Smith, this is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, glad that you are with us this morning. Let's get this started as we've got a lot to get to right now. First and foremost, we need to talk about what's taking place in California.
This morning, crews in California are racing to stop an overheating tank filled with toxic chemicals from possibly exploding. Hundreds of first responders are on the scene, while tens of thousands shelter outside the potential blast zone.
Now, over the weekend, a major discovery, a potential crack in the tank. And now, an operation is underway to figure out if it goes all the way through. So, if so, that might relieve the pressure and make an all-out explosion less likely. Here's the full explanation from one expert.
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ANDREW WHELTON, ENGINEERING PROFESSOR, PURDUE UNIVERSITY: The issue in southern California is really serious. This chemical called methacrylate is present and its pressure is building up in this tank.
Kind of like a soda can that you leave in your car, and if you leave that soda can in your car too long, it will explode if it gets hot enough. So, what we're trying to do is hoping that there is a leak in that tank that relieves the pressure, so, there is no explosion and there's more controlled release of the chemical which can be cleaned up fairly quickly.
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SMITH: Now, as for the numbers and the impact here, a staggering 50,000 people who live nearby are forced out of their homes this morning. Many are in shelters sharing their ongoing anxiety as they wait for updates.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This reminds me of the burn pits in Iraq. You know, the smell. It's just ridiculous that we have to just sit here not knowing.
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SMITH: We will share more stories from evacuees later on in the show. Let's turn now to the war with Iran, as officials from Tehran and Washington are now signaling that they're closing in on an agreement to turn the current ceasefire into a long-lasting resolution to the conflict.
Both sides are talking of a memorandum of understanding. It's going to address all the outstanding issues, they say. But Secretary of State Marco Rubio says that the deal is still a work in progress.
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MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: We're either going to have a good agreement or we're going to have to deal with it another way. We'd prefer to have a good agreement.
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SMITH: But what's in that framework remains unclear. A senior U.S. official tells CNN, the blockade of Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz would loosen pro-proportionally in response to Iran adhering to the proposed deal.
So, President Trump is already boasting about the impending deal, writing in a Truth Social post that you see on your screen, "if I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of cash and a clear and open path to a nuclear weapon.
Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it or knows what it is. It isn't even fully negotiated yet." Oil markets have responded positively. Brent Crude; the global benchmark, it fell to about $99 a barrel yesterday.
U.S. crude that dropped almost 5 percent to roughly $92 a barrel. Well, growing uncertainty over the war with Iran is also dividing lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Republican Senator Thom Tillis telling CNN that he believes President Trump's possible deal with Tehran doesn't make sense.
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SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): There are a lot of things that need to be explained. And as I've said before, any agreement with Iran that isn't subject to ratification by Congress is going, I think, going to be doomed to fail just like the agreement we're trying to replace.
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SMITH: His comments come after House GOP leaders suddenly canceled last week's vote to limit President Trump's war powers in Iran. Now, at the time, Republicans appeared to be on the verge of losing the vote due to absences.
Secret Service officers shot and killed a man near the White House. As the agency says, the suspect approached the security checkpoint Saturday and opened fire. Here is CNN's Reid Binion with the details.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest --
REID BINION, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Emergency crews responding after gunshots rang out near the White House over the weekend.
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BINION: It happened just before 6:00 p.m. Eastern on Saturday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: EMS 7, medic one respond for shooting at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest.
BINION: According to a Secret Service spokesperson, an individual approached a checkpoint just outside the White House complex and opened fire on officers. Secret Service agents returned fire and hit the suspect who was hospitalized and later died.
A law enforcement official said a bystander struck by gunfire in the incident was in critical condition. It's not clear if the bystander was hit by the suspect's initial shots or during the subsequent exchange of gunfire.
No Secret Service agents were injured. President Donald Trump was in the White House as the shooting was unfolding nearby.
ED DAVIS, FORMER BOSTON POLICE COMMISSIONER: There are heavily-armed White House police there around the corner in the driveway. There's not a shot that you could fire towards the residence from 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue.
BINION: Still, the action to secure the White House was swift.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move! Attendees(ph), move!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go in the zone!
BINION: The Secret Service initially put the White House complex on lockdown and rushed reporters on the North Lawn into the White House briefing room, where they sheltered in place. The lockdown was lifted after about 40 minutes. I'm Reid Binion reporting.
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SMITH: Thank you, Reid. Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as 21-year-old Nasire Best. They say that he's had at least two previous run-ins with the Secret Service and was committed to a psychiatric hospital for an evaluation after one of them.
Another one of them led to an order demanding that he stay away from the White House grounds. Taking you to a health crisis, as the World Health Organization is teaming up with Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to coordinate a response to the deadly Ebola crisis.
The W.H.O. estimates that there are now more than one -- more than 900 suspected cases. Now, the announcement, it comes as the agency's executive board is set to host meetings in Switzerland today.
Over the weekend, the Democratic Republic of Congo tightened health- screening checkpoints around Bunia. Now, officials are also managing a regional conflict, it's being fueled by concerns over potential cross- border transmission, and thousands have been displaced as a result.
Well, despite higher-than-normal gas prices, millions of Americans, perhaps even you, taking a road trip this holiday weekend. According to AAA, 39 million people expected to drive in the national average for a gallon of gas, unleaded regular, $4.51.
It's up nearly 50 cents from a month ago. And gas prices have surged nearly 53 percent since just the start of the war, since just before the war started when the national average was $2.98 a gallon.
Wildfire season has been far from mild this Spring. From coast-to- coast, wildfire activity has hit historic levels. Experts say that it's only going to get worse. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar breaks it down for us.
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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Wildfire season is off to a historic start. You can see all across the maps, each one of these little red dots indicates where we already have a fire so far this year. The total number of fires across the U.S., nearly 30,000.
That is the highest we've had in roughly two decades. Even when you compare it to what the ten-year average would be, that's closer to 20,000. It's not just the total number of fires either, but the total area that is burned.
We are looking at more than 2 million acres so far. Typically, we would only have just a little more than 1 million acres burn. What's fueling a lot of that is the drought that has been impacting so much of the country.
In fact, one-fifth, roughly 20 percent of the country has been dealing with level three out of four, or the extreme category of drought. Nearly, many areas over the country. You're talking the southeast, the central U.S., and even out into the west.
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The concern has really been across portions of the southeastern portion of the country where we don't usually see this much widespread drought already so early into the year. The one bit of good news is, as we continue through the holiday weekend, rain is expected across much of the eastern half of the country. This should not only help with the ongoing fires, but also the drought conditions as well.
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SMITH: Thank you Allison. Well, last night's Coca-Cola 600 became more than just NASCAR's biggest Memorial Day weekend race. It became a tribute to Kyle Busch. Nearly 95,000 fans packed Charlotte Motor Speedway as the sport honored the fallen racing legend with a black number 8 on the tracks field.
Now, in the moments before the race, Busch's wife, Samantha was brought to tears during a tribute during -- for the two-time NASCAR champion. And fittingly, it was one of Busch's closest proteges, Daniel Suarez, who captured the emotional rain-shortened victory.
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DANIEL SUAREZ, COCA-COLA 600 WINNER: It's been a very tough week. You know, Kyle, he was special, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, thank you, man. Tell a joke(ph) -- SUAREZ: We won it for Kyle. For Kyle, for Samantha, for Brexton, for
Lennix, for all his family.
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SMITH: Kyle Busch died on Thursday at the age of 41 from complications of severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. A 9-1-1 call obtained by CNN indicates that he needed medical attention on Wednesday after coughing up blood and experiencing shortness of breath.
Our thoughts are with his family and the entire NASCAR community. We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS including this.
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SMITH: People at a festival took off running, leading to a stampede. So, what exactly set this off? We've got the details for you. Plus, a big election in Texas and the high-profile candidate who didn't get President Trump's endorsement thinks he knows why?
And new videos of UFOs. The mystery behind what has been seen in the skies. We've got some of those visuals for you. Stick around.
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SMITH: Final pitches in round two of the primary fight between big- name Texas candidates. So, Tuesdays runoff election sees incumbent Senator John Cornyn facing challenger Ken Paxton. President Trump endorsed Paxton; who is currently the Texas Attorney General.
That may give him the edge as seen in other primary battles where GOP incumbents lost to Trump-backed challengers. The President took to social media to rally Texans behind his pick. But Cornyn is downplaying the snub.
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SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I really don't think it was about me. I think it's very different from the Cassidy and Massie situation because I've been a Trump ally, as you point out. I think he got frustrated with the Senate not able to get what he wanted when he wanted it.
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SMITH: You heard the senator mention fellow Republican Thomas Massie there. The outgoing congressman says bipartisanship surrounding the Epstein files cost him his seat. Massie reflected on his recent primary loss to Ed Gallrein; the Trump-backed candidate. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I think the biggest crime I committed against the swamp was showing the American people that somebody on the right could join somebody on the left and get something done, which is releasing the Epstein files that everybody knew needed to be done.
That's probably the only bill that's passed Washington D.C. in the last ten years that lobbyists haven't written. It was written by me and Ro Khanna, and we used the pressure of the American people to cross the aisle and get things done.
That's when they decided I had to be taken out, that I was becoming effective. So, they wanted to eliminate me. And by the way, they couldn't buy my vote in 14 years, so, they bought this seat.
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SMITH: When asked if a run for the White House could be in his future, Massie said that he would not rule anything out. Well, today is the last Monday in May, officially, Memorial Day. The federal holiday was established in 1868 and honors those who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the U.S. military.
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SMITH: We'll be right back on the other side.
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SMITH: Today, we will hear Pope Leo as he presents his first encyclical letter as pontiff, and the focus will be on A.I. It's titled Magnifica Humanitas or Magnificent Humanity.
The Vatican says that it will address the safeguarding of human dignity in the era of artificial intelligence, and the letter will focus on the impacts of A.I. on warfare, workers' rights and the ethical risks of the technology. Pope Leo will break from tradition and present the letter himself from the Vatican.
The Pentagon has released a second wave of declassified UFO files. It includes new documents and fresh videos that capture unidentified flying objects appearing across multiple regions of the world. And here's a look at what we've learned.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Pentagon has released a second batch of declassified UFO files. One newly-released video shows an F-16 operated by the U.S. Air Force, Air National Guard shooting something down over Lake Huron in 2023, according to the Pentagon. The government calls these UAPs or Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.
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Another video from October 2019, almost 18 minutes long, caught what appears to be a formation in the skies above the Persian Gulf, per the Pentagon. And an infrared sensor aboard a military craft in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, operating around the Middle East and south Asia likely took this video of black dots rapidly flying in the sky in September 2019, according to the Pentagon.
The first round of files was posted earlier this month after a directive from President Donald Trump. However, government officials stressed they could not come to a, quote, "definitive determination on the nature of the objects seen in the files.
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SMITH: Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, evacuation orders for thousands this morning as crews try to prevent a chemical tank from exploding. We've got those details. Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you had any alcohol today?
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SMITH: Video of the traffic stop that ended with Britney Spears arrested. We've got that coming your way shortly. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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