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CNN Headlines: U.S. Launches "Self-Defense" Strikes As Washington, Tehran Work Out End To War; Cornyn, Paxton Battle In Texas Republican Senate Runoff; ICE Protests Escalate After Governor Denied Access To Newark Detention Facility. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired May 26, 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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[05:30:18]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.
A stark message from Iran's supreme leader comes just hours after the U.S. launched strikes targeting Iranian missile launch sites and boats around the Strait of Hormuz in what CENTCOM is calling self-defense. Now this comes as the sides negotiate a deal to end the war, but disputes remain over Iran's nuclear program.
Also here it is decision day in Texas. John Cornyn is fighting to hold on to his Senate seat from his Trump-backed opponent Ken Paxton in the Republican primary runoff. The winner will face Democratic State Rep. James Talarico in the midterms in November.
And President Trump will have his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center today, but it is his third medical checkup in about months. Trump visited in October for what he initially called a semi-annual physical. The president was previously diagnosed with chronic veinous insufficiency, which is a condition where certain veins don't work the way that they should, which can allow blood to pool in the veins.
Now more on today's top story. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters earlier today that an Iran deal is being held up by disputes on wording, including issues over Iran's nuclear program.
CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins us now. What are we hearing, especially as the U.S. strikes against Iran are happening as we're trying to make sure that progress doesn't get derailed right now?
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, depending on who you ask and what the hour is you'll get a different answer. The U.S. may be on the precipice of full-blown war with Iran again or it might be about to reach a peace deal.
Let me begin with that possibility of war. Of course, just in the last few hours we've heard from U.S. forces that they did carry out what they are calling "self-defense" strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. We heard from Iranian state media that there were several explosions around the key port of Bandar Abbas. Now we did hear additional details from CENTCOM, which says that U.S. strikes included targets such as missile launch sites in Iranian boats that were attempting to place mines.
Now, of course, a ceasefire agreement is in place and there have been violations in the past of that ceasefire agreement. There has been an exchange of fire in the past and the ceasefire agreement has carried on, but this is happening at an extremely sensitive time, of course.
There was those negotiations that took place in Qatar with Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the helm for the United States. He says it's just a matter of wording -- a matter of a few sentences until Iran and the United States reach a peace deal.
But if you ask Iranian officials, they'll give you a very different answer. They say they're very far from reaching a deal and that the talk over giving up enriched uranium will not begin until a memorandum of understanding -- until the war is concluded -- and only then will they discuss that issue.
Look, there's two things that we need to watch out for here with these negotiations.
The first I've mentioned for you already, enriched uranium. We heard U.S. officials over the weekend starting to use that "no dust, no dollars" phrase, meaning that Iran would have to give up its more than 900 pounds of highly enriched uranium for it to be destroyed in some capacity before it would see any financial rewards from the end -- the conclusion of this conflict.
And then, of course, the second issue on the table -- the key one here -- is the Strait of Hormuz. Will it reopen? How will it reopen? What will be the deal or the status quo around it? Iran seems to be loosening its position but says it still wants to maintain some semblance of control. The United States, of course, digging in its heels and saying it needs to see that strait open and it needs to see that strait open now.
It's all about what takes place in these next few hours, of course. After those strikes around the Strait of Hormuz on these Iranian sites, will negotiations continue as normal or will that cause a bump in the road?
SMITH: Yeah. The world stage certainly hoping that those details aren't derailed by what is being claimed as self-defense right now.
Salma Abdelaziz joining us from London. Thank you so much.
Now to the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. An Israeli source telling CNN that the Israeli military is preparing to expand its operation in Lebanon in coordination with the U.S.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted this video on social media on Monday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We are not taking our foot of the gas pedal -- on the contrary. I said we need to push the gas pedal even harder. We will strike them. But what this now requires from us is to intensify the blows to increase the force. We will strike them decisively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[05:35:00]
SMITH: A U.S. official has also signaled that the White House supports Israel's continued operations against the Iran-backed militant group.
Well, as we mentioned, Republican voters in Texas -- they're going to be casting their ballots today in a primary runoff between incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton. An endorsement from President Trump and a string of new nicknames for the Democratic candidate have really shaken up the race here.
CNN's Arlette Saenz has more.
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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A Republican duel in Texas heading to its final faceoff.
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I think Ken Paxton's flaws and the baggage he brings to the general election is going to be exploited to the fullest by James Talarico and by Democrats.
SAENZ (voiceover): Senator John Cornyn in his last stand against state Attorney General Ken Paxton who received President Donald Trump's endorsement despite concerns raised by GOP leaders in Washington.
KEN PAXTON, (R) TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL: I don't know if you all noticed this, but Donald Trump endorsed me this week.
SAENZ (voiceover): In a Sunday appeal to Texas Republicans the president writing on Truth Social Paxton was "Very loyal to your favorite president, ME" while Cornyn "was very disloyal to me, as president."
Despite Trump's opposition, Cornyn is pressing forward to keep the Senate seat he's held since 2002, insisting he is on the president's die.
CORNYN: 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. I think he got frustrated with the Senate not able to get what he wanted when he wanted it.
SAENZ (voiceover): Many GOP senators are not falling in line with Trump's support for Paxton, who has survived a series of personal and political scandals. SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): This guy is an empty suit and will do us no
service by being in the U.S. Congress.
SAENZ (voiceover): And some Republican voters say they're not swayed by Trump's pick.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to stay with Cornyn and vote for him. I think that stability is the name of the game right now.
SAENZ (voiceover): Paxton is ready to turn the page. He's stopped airing negative ads against Cornyn and is targeting James Talarico, the Democratic nominee.
PAXTON: Look, the party is an open door. We have to unite. We have a common enemy, James Talarico.
SAENZ (voiceover): The GOP is testing out lines of attack against Talarico, starting these over a common breakfast taco order --
JAMES TALARICO, (D) TEXAS STATE REP. RUNNING FOR SENATE: Do you have breakfast tacos?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Potato, egg and cheese?
TALARICO: That's right.
SAENZ (voiceover): -- and his past comments about reducing meat consumption.
TALARICO: How about "Tofu Talarico?" How about "Talifrico?" I -- "Talifrico?"
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And he's a vegan. He's a vegan in Texas and you can't get elected as a vegan in Texas.
SAENZ (voiceover): Talarico, who is not a vegan, has pushed back and argued Texas is primed to turn blue in November.
TALARICO: They're going to throw everything they have at us. They'll call our movement un-Texan, un-American. They'll call us a threat. The only truth is we are a threat. We're a threat to their corrupt system.
SAENZ (voiceover): For now, Republican voters, even Cornyn supporters, still feel confident Paxton would defeat Talarico.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're red enough that it doesn't matter, um, whether it was Paxton or Cornyn. Whoever the Republican is is going to win.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think he would fare well against Talarico. I think it would be a good race.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Let's take you out West as officials in Southern California say that the worst-case scenario has been avoided after fears of a catastrophic chemical tank explosion eased dramatically. Authorities say that a crack in the tank actually helped release dangerous pressure without triggering a leak. Much of the chemical inside is now cooling and starting to solidify or gel up, as they say. Experts say no unsafe toxin levels have been detected in the air so far.
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DIVISION CHIEF CRAIG COVEY, ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY: What we essentially were shooting for in layman's terms is to boil an egg, OK? That's what we wanted. You know you have to control that temperature to get that egg done right and not crack the shell, OK? The shell did crack but just enough to release that pressure without causing a leak or an explosion. That was our huge moment in this incident that we were able to capitalize on and take control of it and start mitigating it and go what we would call offensive.
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SMITH: Evacuation orders have now been scaled back from 50,000 people to about 16,000 as crews continue monitoring the tank.
Well, protesters and federal immigration officers -- they clashed outside of an immigration detention center in Newark, New Jersey yesterday. Detainees spoke to local reporters detailing inhumane conditions inside the facility. Federal authorities turned the governor away but allowed some members of Congress inside.
WCBS reporter Christine Sloan spoke with families who have loved ones inside as well.
[05:40:00]
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CHRISTINE SLOAN, REPORTER, WCBS (voiceover): ICE agents in riot gear showing up late Monday afternoon at Delaney Hall. Our cameras capturing those agents removing protesters blocking the immigration detention facility's exit as protesters could be seen throwing objects at them.
Amid the chaos, U.S. Sen. Andy Kim.
SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): We see how much that they have tried to hide what's been happening here. She intentionally tried to do that.
SLOAN (voiceover): Less confrontational earlier as a congressional delegation got inside the facility where a pregnant woman has been demanding her detained husband be released.
GABRIELA SOTO, WIFE OF ICE DETAINEE: They lied to him. They told him that he was getting released and then I bear witness to him getting kidnapped -- shoved and thrown in a van.
SLOAN (voiceover): Gabriela Soto telling her story to Gov. Mikie Sherrill who talked to other family members and a detainee by phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Recommend that you can come inside and be with us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immediately.
GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL (D), NEW JERSEY: This type of facility shows exactly why we should not have private mass detention facilities.
SLOAN (voiceover): The Democrat says she was denied a request to go inside the facility. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson calling Sherrill's visit to Delaney "nothing more than a political stunt on Memorial Day when visitation is currently suspended due to riots outside the facility."
DHS adding of Soto's husband, "An illegal alien charged with assault was scheduled for a transfer to another ICE detention facility, but agitators obstructed the vehicle's path."
We caught up with Congressman Robert Menedez Jr. at the detention facility in Elizabeth.
REP. ROBERT MENENDEZ JR. (D-NJ): There is nothing that ICE says that you should believe and anything they say you should doubt immediately.
SLOAN (voiceover): Democratic lawmakers and family members claim some detainees are not receiving proper medical attention.
ANGELICA MARTINEZ, COUSIN DETAINED: We come here every single day. He's diabetic. They don't allow us to give him medication.
REP. ANALILIA MEJIA (D-NJ): A pregnant woman who was in pain and gripping her stomach and wasn't receiving care.
SLOAN (voiceover): This 9-year-old, speaking to us with her mom's permission, asking just to see her dad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want him to get our because he didn't do anything wrong.
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SMITH: It is time now for Buzz Express where we take a look at the stories that have people talking.
And this morning it's all about the American Music Awards. Queen Latifah returned as host for the first time in more than 30 years. BTS helped her kick things off with this opening performance.
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BTS, BOY BAND: Singing "Hooligan."
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SMITH: That's quite the way to open a show as BTS performed their hit song "Hooligan" from their new album. They also won Artist of the Year.
We also saw some other big performances last night, including from rock legend Billy Idol.
BILLY IDOL, SINGER: Singing medley of "White Wedding," "Eyes Without A Face," and "Dancing with Myself."
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SMITH: Idol was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award and performed several of his hit songs.
And one of the biggest awards of the night, Song of the Year -- that went to Golden from K-Pop Demon Hunters.
And KATSEYE fans were surely dancing along with this one. The group not only killed it performing their latest hit "Pinky Up" but they also took home three awards.
And Karol G had a bonita night. She won the International Artist Award of Excellence and then was visibly shocked when she won Best Latin Album just minutes later.
Congratulations to all of those performers and winners.
Next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS a portable battery caused a flight to be diverted. How airlines are trying to keep up with the risk of those lithium ion batteries that power many of our devices.
And crews are trying to reach seven people trapped in an underground cave for nearly a week. What's happening in that rescue mission coming up.
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[05:48:20]
SMITH: A portable battery checked inside luggage forced a London-bound flight to divert home -- to Rome, rather.
CNN's Pete Muntean reports that airlines are now racing to address the growing fire risk linked to lithium ion batteries.
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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: A portable battery like this one caused an emergency landing. An Easy Jet flight to London had to divert to Rome last Tuesday because a passenger told the crew that their portable battery was in their checked bag and charging their phone. Easy Jet says the captain made that call as precaution.
The concern is something called a thermal runaway. That's when lithium ion batteries overheat uncontrollably. The FAA showed me the truly explosive results at its lab in Atlantic City last year.
(Lithium battery explosion)
MUNTEAN: Wow. Airlines are scrambling to keep up with this problem. In-flight fires of portable batteries are happening more all the time. The best rule of thumb is to keep your portable batteries in your carry-on bags and within reach in case something does go wrong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Let's go around the globe to see what else is making headlines, beginning in Ukraine. That's where Russia says its bombardment of Kyiv this weekend was the start of "systematic strikes" against the military facilities in the city. Moscow fired more than 600 drones and 90 missiles overnight Sunday, killing at least four people and wounding dozens. Moscow is also warning foreign nationals, including diplomats and international organization, to leave Ukraine's capital as soon as possible.
Here's what Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to say.
[05:50:00]
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MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: Right now there is no active, like, scheduled negotiations ongoing with Ukraine but the U.S. is always prepared to play a constructive, helpful role if that opportunity presents itself. Look, every time we see these big strikes from one side or the other it's a reminder of why this is a terrible war that has now gone on longer than the Second World War and it needs to come to an end. And the U.S. stands ready and prepared to help do whatever we can to help facilitate the end of this war.
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SMITH: More than 70 diplomats visited a heavily damaged neighborhood in Kyiv on Monday, laying flowers and paying respects to the victims of Sunday's strikes.
An urgent rescue to reach seven people trapped underground in a cave in Laos. Now they've been there for nearly a week as crews have been squeezing through narrow, flooded pathways trying to reach them. Some pathways are just 23 inches wide. According to the Associated Press the seven had gone into the cave to look for gold but flooding blocked the exit. Quite the effort there.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS we've got this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be advised the car is going towards the creek. We've got an infant in the car.
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SMITH: A baby was rescued from flooding, and the officer's bodycam captured the entire thing.
And this Ferrari is unlike any other Ferrari ever made. The price tag, $640,000 there. I can't wait to take a look at that.
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[05:55:55]
SMITH: In today's Money Express some customers are finally getting their hands on the $500 gold-colored Trump mobile phone months behind schedule. And the device appears to be arriving with some notable changes here. Its screen is smaller than originally advertised and the marketing has shifted as well. What was once promoted as a phone made in America is not described as being designed with American values in mind.
Well, Eli Lilly says it's one step closer to filing for approval of a next-generation weight loss drug. Let's go to Maribel Aber for more details. Maribel, what do we know?
MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: So Brad, indeed, Eli Lilly says its next-generation obesity drug has cleared a late-stage trial bringing it one step closer to regulatory approval. Retatrutide is a weekly injection that works differently from other Lilly treatments. Patients lost an average of 28 percent body weight over 80 weeks with nearly half losing 30 percent or more. Now side effects were similar to other obesity drugs, mainly digestive issues at higher doses. Lilly now plans to submit the drug for FDA review.
A Ferrari is racing into the EV market and unveiled its first fully- electric luxury sports car Monday. The four-door Luce, which is Italian for light, has four electric motors, one at each wheel. It delivers more than 1,000 horsepower, about 300 miles of range, and a top speed of 193 miles per hour. U.S. sales are expected to begin next year with a price tag starting around $640,000.
Dating is getting more expensive, especially for millennials. A new BMO Financial Group survey finds millennials spend an average of $252 on a night out. Gen Z spends $205. Gen X, $173. And baby boomers, $126. Across all ages the average date now costs $189. That includes grooming, gas, and the actual date itself. BMO says dateflation is up nearly 13 percent from a year ago.
And Brad, dinner and movie, that kind of tracks.
SMITH: Uh, yeah. We're bringing the snacks for sure. It is coming from --
ABER: Yeah, we are.
SMITH: -- Costco or coming from home.
Maribel Aber, thanks so much.
Officers in Texas saved a baby who was trapped in a car during flooding, and that starts our look at stories from across the country. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be advised the car is going towards the creek. We've got an infant in the car. We're going in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are we going?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you get my kid?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Give me the baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to get stuck here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold on. Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got the baby out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: This is a low-water crossing in Beeville, Texas. And police say that the driver did not see the fire chief waving -- trying to get them to stop. But crews managed to get everyone safely out of the car.
All right. We are not to Washington State. Authorities are investigating a deadly midair collision between two skydivers. Investigators say that a man and a woman collided during a group jump. The man appeared to become unresponsive and could not control his parachute. Witnesses say that he seemed slumped as he drifted back to the ground. The woman landed safely and was taken to the hospital.
And in Mississippi police said, "See you later, alligator" to this reptile blocking the street over the weekend. And as you can see the animal was clearly not happy about it. It was just trying to chill out. Officers used their SUV to drag it out of the turn lane on a major road. For now, that street is reportedly clear and gator-free.
Also in Mississippi, 11,000 pounds of strawberry KitKats all over the interstate after this 18-wheeler overturned. I didn't even know they made strawberry KitKats. Officials say that it happened after the truck's tractor disconnected from the cab and then rolled over. No injuries were reported and we assume that includes the KitKats too. Hopefully, somebody was able to scoop those up.
[06:00:15]
That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
