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Trainer of Kentucky Derby Winner Speaks Out; California Wildfire Investigation; Trump Comments on Iran War; Federal Workers Investigated For Attending Alex Pretti Vigil?. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 05, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

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[11:32:55]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: And now to a CNN exclusive.

Several workers for the Department of Veterans Affairs were the focus of an internal investigation after they attended vigils for Alex Pretti. You may remember him as the ICU nurse who worked with sick veterans at the Minneapolis VA and was killed by federal agents earlier this year during an immigration crackdown in the city.

Well, one VA employee went to this memorial in Georgia and spoke with CNN affiliate WRDW on camera. That interview landed her in hot water.

CNN's Brian Todd is here in THE SITUATION ROOM with us with more details on your reporting.

So, you spoke with this recreational therapist about the investigation. What did she tell you, Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, this lady's name is Becky Halioua.

She is a recreational therapist, as Pamela mentioned, at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta, Georgia. On January 28, four days after VA nurse Alex Pretti was killed, Becky Halioua went to a vigil for Pretti outside that VA facility.

Becky is the president of the local chapter of the union the American Federation of Government Employees. That union and two other unions helped organize the vigil. Now, while she was there, she did a short interview with a local TV station, CNN affiliate WRDW.

Here's what she told the station.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY HALIOUA, RECREATIONAL THERAPIST, VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT: It's scary for me to think about a fellow VA employee being murdered by the same government that they work for. That's terrifying for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now, Becky Halioua made it clear at that event she was not speaking on behalf of the VA.

A few days later, though, Becky Halioua learned that an internal investigation had been launched into whether she violated VA rules regarding employee interviews with the news media. As part of the probe, she was asked if she had gotten authorization to speak to the media from the VA's public affairs arm.

She was e-mailed photographs of herself at the vigil from the news coverage. Someone had drawn a line around her image in the photographs and labeled her name, which she says gave her a very uneasy feeling.

Now, the VA rules state that employees who are not authorized to speak officially on behalf of the agency, need to refer the media requests to their administration communications office. And the rules say anyone not authorized to speak on behalf of the VA needs to make clear they are speaking in a personal capacity.

[11:35:06]

Becky Halioua says she made it very clear she was not speaking on behalf of the VA. She says she didn't coordinate with the agency because she was very careful about not speaking on behalf of them and also because the vigil was held off of the VA campus. She attended it in her off-hours. She did not wear her VA badge or any clothing with a VA logo on it.

Here is what she said to me about the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Why do you believe the VA investigated you?

HALIOUA: I think that it's a scare tactic.

But, truthfully, I don't intend to do much different. I intend to continue speaking up. I don't intend for this to stop me in any way. So, if that was their intention or their thought behind initiating it, they were sorely mistaken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: We contacted the VA for response to Becky Halioua's claims.

VA press secretary Quinn Slaven said he could not comment, citing privacy concerns. His e-mail to us said -- quote -- "Privacy laws prevent VA from publicly discussing specific details about its employees without their written consent."

He did not address CNN's more general questions about the VA's media policy and how often it conducts these types of investigation. Also, Becky Halioua is not alone. Several sources familiar with the matter tell CNN at least three other VA employees have been investigated for their interactions with the press, including at least one other related to an Alex Pretti event -- Pamela.

BROWN: So has there been any discipline for her or anything done as a result of the investigation?

TODD: Well, Becky Halioua says the VA has found that she did violate their media policies, which she denies doing. She says that they have told her, as a result, her boss will review the policies with her.

She is pressing her bosses on whether there will be any other discipline forthcoming, Pamela, so we will be keeping track of that.

BROWN: Excellent reporting.

Brian Todd, thank you so much.

And just ahead: Prosecutors are sharing brand-new details about the man accused of starting one of the worst wildfires in California history, all of this ahead of his federal trial.

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[11:40:03]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I want to go to the White House, the president answering questions on what's going on involving the war in Iran. Let's listen in.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And they're fast. They're so fast that they had eight of them, and they're all gone.

And they're fast, but they're not fast like a missile. A missile is slightly faster. They're all gone. So they're looking around for little boats to try and compete with our great Navy. We have a Navy that's unbelievable.

When you set up a blockade, as you know very well, not one ship -- a couple tried, and they got their engine shot out. You remember -- I think it was one of them. It was a great display. A ship wanted to go through, break the blockade. They were warned not to.

And then they were warned again by a young Annapolis captain of the ship with a great look, central casting. These people are central casting, I will tell you. And he said, don't do it. Then he said, evacuate your engine with this unbelievable loudspeaker that goes over water.

He said, you have 10 seconds to evac. And then from four miles, with one bullet, it went right into the engine. And, Gary, the ship stopped very quickly. They hit the engine with one shot. It wasn't a missile. They don't want to waste a missile. It's too easy.

And we had another one, a 2,000 -- one of the biggest ships in the world. They were warned. And he said, go back now. Go back right now. You will be shot at within 10 seconds. Yes, yes, I am going back to Iran. I am going back, and that was the end of that. He went. It takes -- it took them 10 miles to -- the ship was so big. But they respect us. They didn't used to respect us, but they respect us more than we have ever been respected. Our country now is the hottest country anywhere in the world. We had a country that was dead when we had that group of people that ran this country with their open borders, letting anybody come in from the Congo, from countries all over the world.

They came in from prisons and mental institutions. We had a country that would have been a dead -- if they won the election, this country would have been a dead country. Now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world.

Go ahead.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.

You said recently that if Iran -- Iranians were armed, they could take over their regime. Do you plan to arm them soon?

TRUMP: Well, I don't want to say that.

But, yes, I mean, people say, why aren't they protesting? They want to protest. But they don't have any guns. So you could have 200,000 people protesting and have five or six sick people with guns. And when they start shooting them right between the eyes, and you see a guy fall and another one fall and you have no guns, very few people would be able to stand there and do it.

I mean, I understand. I tell them not to. Don't forget, they killed 42,000 people last month, 42,000 unarmed protesters. They had no guns. So they had a 250,000-people crowd. And they had snipers. They had like four or five snipers in buildings up high. And you're standing there, and, all of a sudden, the guy on your left goes down and somebody -- that's what happened with the woman protests.

They had 200,000 women protesting a year ago. And everybody thought that was the end of Iran. And then all of a sudden a woman dropped dead with a bullet right there, always right there. Then another woman dropped. And then the word started to spread.

And then there was panic. And then they ran. And so I don't want that to happen. We don't need that. We don't need it. But the only reason they're not -- they want to protest so badly, but they don't have weapons.

Yes.

QUESTION: Thank you, Mr. President.

Next week, we have a very important meeting with President Xi in Beijing. Secretary Bessent has said that a top priority on the agenda will be Iran. What do you hope to achieve with President Xi as it relates to Iran?

TRUMP: Well, I have a very good relationship with President Xi. You know, I find him to be a tremendous guy. And we get along well. And you see how we do. We do a lot of business with China and making a lot of money. We're making a lot of money. It's different than it used to be.

But I will be talking about that. That will be one subject. But he's been very nice about this, in all fairness. He gets like 60 percent of his oil from Hormuz. And he's been -- I think he's been very respectful. We haven't been challenged by China. They don't challenge us.

And he wouldn't do that. I don't think he'd do that because of me. But I think he's been very respectful. And we have offered, if he wants to send the ships to the United States. I think one of the big things that's happened is, I made a statement, send your ships to Texas.

It's not that much further. Send your ships to Louisiana. Send your ships to Alaska. Alaska is actually very close to a lot of the Asian countries. People don't realize it. Japan is back and forth. It's like -- it doesn't seem it, but it's a very short...

[11:45:06]

BLITZER: All right, we're going to continue to monitor the president's Q&A with reporters. Stand by for more of that.

But there's other important news we're following right now, including this story that's new, prosecutors alleging that the man accused of starting those deadly Palisades Fires last year in the Los Angeles area was upset that he didn't have plans for New Year's Eve.

They also say 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht ranted about being angry at the world. The fire killed 12 people and did tens of billions of dollars in damage. Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty.

CNN security correspondent Josh Campbell is joining us right now.

You're working the story, Josh. What more are you learning about the suspect?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, in this new court filing, prosecutors paint the picture of a man who was allegedly motivated by a series of grievances, as you mentioned, a lot of this coming down to New Year's Eve.

Authorities say that, in the days before New Year's Eve, he had exhibited anger and frustration over not being able to find what they call companionship for New Year's Eve. He had allegedly had an issue with a former co-worker. He then reached out to someone else, trying to make plans. The person didn't remember who he was.

Authorities say he then reached out to someone else who said they already had plans and he was not invited. Authorities say that he was driving on New Year's Eve for Uber and he had dropped off his last passenger in the Pacific Palisades area and drove to a nearby neighborhood, where he allegedly started a fire that would continue to burn underground and then erupt days later into the deadly Palisades Fire.

But, interestingly, Wolf, in addition to the alleged relationship issues, prosecutors revealed something else. I will read you a couple sections of that new court filing. They say that, "In the weeks and hours leading up to the fire, the defendant fixated on Luigi Mangione," who, of course, is accused of killing a health insurance executive in New York.

They say: "Many of the defendants Uber passengers on December 31 and January 1 described him as angry and tense, driving erratically, ranting about being -- quote -- 'pissed off at the world' and Luigi Mangione, capitalism and vigilantism."

So, just incredible new alleged insight there. Of course, his attorneys say that he's being used as a scapegoat for the L.A. Fire Department's failure to extinguish the blaze earlier. He is set to go on trial next month.

But, of course, we talk about the court cases. This is also very much a human case. This was a tragedy here in Los Angeles of epic proportions. Our colleague Erin Burnett actually spoke last year with a firefighter whose own home burned down.

Let's remind our viewers about that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEN YU, FIREFIGHTER: I just wanted normalcy. So that's why I came back to work. But it's never going to be the same for the kids.

I think they're doing as best as they can, you know, but they do moments, like when my wife puts them to bed. They've talked about, you know, like, I want to go home. I want to go back to school.

This is my garage.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: This is your garage.

YU: Yes. We are just -- like I said, we had just cleaned it up. Yes. This was the front door, little porch area.

BURNETT: Now, you're not going to take the boys back here, right?

YU: No.

BURNETT: No.

YU: Yes. We, initially, thought maybe we can come back and give them closure, but I don't think they need any of this.

BURNETT: No.

YU: Yes.

BURNETT: No, they -- I mean, they know, right? So, they... YU: Yes. Yes. we evacuated, so they know. And we told them that that's burned down. Our house is burned down. The school is burned down.

BURNETT: Yes.

YU: So they're trying to figure it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, even over a year later, it's still just so raw, Wolf.

As you said, there were at least a dozen people that were killed. There were thousands of buildings and homes in the L.A. area that were destroyed, as well as the separate fire, the Eaton Fire, so many lives that were upended here in the Los Angeles area that we have to mention.

And I will just tell you, Wolf, personally, because it's been over a year, but where I am here in L.A., I still will run into people in my neighborhood that I have never seen. I will stop and I will ask them who they are. So many of these people, Wolf, are still people displaced from the Palisades and Eaton fires who continue to bounce from home to home, from apartment to apartment, just trying to pick up the pieces, really a tragic story.

BLITZER: Tragic, indeed.

All right, Josh Campbell, thanks for that update. Appreciate it very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, finally on a lighter note this morning, it is a comeback that will go down in history.

Golden Tempo was dead last going into the final turn at Saturday's Kentucky Derby before mounting a furious comeback. He weaved through the field, passing 17 other horses to gallop straight to Derby glory, and it was a thrilling race to watch. I can tell you, I was right there.

But few were as excited as Golden Tempo's trainer, Cherie DeVaux, as she watched him carry her into the history books. Cherie is now the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner.

And she joins us now. First of all, huge congratulations. What a ride. I hope you have been able to really let it soak in. I know it's probably shock at first with the whirlwind of everything.

[11:50:02]

I want to show this picture, Cherie, that my friend took at the Derby of you reuniting with Golden Tempo and his jockey, Jose Ortiz, on the field after that huge win. Your joy is palpable.

Take us back to that final stretch. What was going through your mind?

CHERIE DEVAUX, GOLDEN TEMPO TRAINER: I -- like, I said on the broadcast that I blacked out. And I kind of did.

I picked him up, picked Golden Tempo making his run at the top of the stretch. And as he was getting closer and closer, it starts to set in that this is very real that he could win the race. And then he -- when he got to the front, I just couldn't -- I really couldn't believe that he did it.

BROWN: I have chills just hearing you talk about it, just being there in the stands as this was going on.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: And I love in the video we're showing right now when you're like: "Come on, Jose. Come on, Jose."

It was just such a beautiful video to watch, and then that moment when you realize, oh, my gosh, he pulled it off. Jose pulled it off with Golden Tempo, right?

(LAUGHTER)

DEVAUX: Right.

BROWN: So Golden Tempo had the odds against him. He was a 20 -- I think it was 23 maybe to one underdog in the moments before the race.

But you also say he's what's called a deep closer. Tell us more about that.

DEVAUX: So, Golden Tempo, he likes to come from way back out of it. So he lets everybody else do the hard running and the heavy lifting, and then at -- he does his best running late.

So the positive of that is, he's so far behind that he can't get himself in trouble in the race, but the negative is, everything has to go right for him to win a race. So, in the Derby, there's a lot of horses, and you usually get a fast pace, which those are speed horses.

And the fractions were very fast. And so that's good, because that means they're going to slow down and come back to him. But, again, there's a lot of horses in the way. So, Jose did a great job of piloting Golden Tempo to the outside to make sure, when he did make his run, he didn't incur any traffic issues.

And then Golden Tempo -- I had all the faith that Golden Tempo was going to get there, but Jose had to make it happen and give him the trip to get there.

BROWN: Once he went wide on that final stretch, Golden Tempo just -- he had -- he went for it, and he won by a neck. It was really incredible with -- and the second place winner was Jose's brother on Renegade. It was just an incredible story there as well.

I want to pull up this photo of Golden Tempo back at your barn. You posted this picture of him snoozing and said "Being a celebrity is hard at work." I think we have that picture somewhere. Right now, we're showing video. Here he is.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: So I have been looking back to see what you had said about him and his jockey, Jose, talking about how he's a pretty chill horse. And Jose even said sometimes he could be a little bit lazy. You sort of alluded to that. He starts off sort of slow, but then likes to make up for it at the end.

DEVAUX: Yes.

BROWN: Tell us more about his personality and why you think he was able to show up in that moment that counted the most.

DEVAUX: Well, his personality is really what makes him very effective, and to get results on big days, because there's a lot of hoopla. There's a lot of people. There's a lot that he hasn't done in the past.

We call it schooling. We take them over to the paddock and walk him around. But there's not 150,000 people in the stands cheering for these horses and walking on the track for a good 10 minutes before we do the walkover. So, his demeanor, it, like, really makes it easy for me as a trainer to focus on what I have to do.

Because one thing that's nerve-racking is when you're trying to saddle a horse and there's a lot of people around and the horse isn't cooperating. And he didn't turn a hair. He kind of just took it all in like a professional.

BROWN: Took it all in stride.

And you made history at the Derby being the first woman to train a horse that won the Kentucky Derby. What would you say to other girls and women who dream of working with horses?

Because, from what I understand, this wasn't necessarily a dream, right? Like, you were in premed, and then you were an assistant trainer. And then you thought about leaving. But your husband said -- really encouraged you to bet on yourself, and you did. Quite the message from your story here, Cherie -- Cherie.

DEVAUX: Well, it's -- my story is, it's persistence. It's hard work. It's falling down and getting back up.

There have been a lot of points in my life where things have happened. Some were my own decisions that I might have made or some just the hand that's dealt to you. And you just got to do the best with what's given to you. It -- you fall down, you get back up.

And no matter what, as long as you learn the lesson and you use that going forward, then you can do anything with your life. And I don't think that's just in horse racing. I think that's in life in general.

BROWN: I love that. I think that that's a beautiful way to put it.

[11:55:00]

And just very quickly, what's next for you two? The 2026 Preakness Stakes are in 10 days. Are we thinking about a Triple Crown run? Have you made any decisions on that front?

DEVAUX: Not yet.

I just got back to Lexington last night after midnight. I'm averaging four hours of sleep right now since before the Derby. It's a long week. But he will go back to the track tomorrow. We will make a decision in the next 48 hours.

We're going to try to get that out to let the horse see how he's doing, but we will discuss kind of the pros and cons of running in the Preakness.

BROWN: All right, well, I hope you can get some more rest. And I'm glad to know you're in my hometown of Lexington.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: I hope you enjoy it. And just enjoy all of this fanfare around you and Golden Tempo and Jose. It's a beautiful story all around. We appreciate your time, Cherie. Thank you.

DEVAUX: Thank you for having me on.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And, to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning.

BROWN: "INSIDE POLITICS" with our friend and colleague Dana Bash starts after a quick break.