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Source Says, Iran's Response to U.S. Proposal Expected Today; Rubio and Pope Leo Meet Amid Tensions With Trump; Judge Releases Jeffrey Epstein's Purported Suicide Note. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 07, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, race to trace. Officials are urgently working to contain further spread of the rare Hantavirus as this virus-hit cruise ship now makes its way to the Canary Islands.

Plus, easing papal tension. Secretary of State Marco Rubio meets with Pope Leo just weeks after President Trump and the pontiff traded pointed attacks.

And later, one-on-one with Maria Shriver. I'll speak with her about her push for more research on women's health and what you can do to decrease your risk of Alzheimer's.

Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf Blitzer is off today, and you're in The Situation Room.

And we begin with that breaking news. At any time today, Iran is expected to respond to a U.S. proposal that could end the war. That's according to a CNN source in the region. But tensions remain high around the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military says it disabled an Iranian-flagged tanker that tried to violate the U.S. blockade and sail toward an Iranian port. Now, Iran says it will allow safe passage through the critical shipping route under, quote, new procedures.

So, let's go live now to CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson. He's in Islamabad, Pakistan. What more are you learning, Nic?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it does feel, Pam, as if we've been here before, this expectation. President Trump sounding very positive, although doubling down on the possibility of going back to war if he doesn't hear, doesn't get what the United States is going to need from the Iranians. But the expectation is that it will come today, that it will be relatively short. You know, the one-page memo, that idea still seems to hold, the idea that whatever it is could bring the two sides together in talks.

Although, I have to say, that's not quite the mood music I'm getting here. The hope is just to kind of hold the process together, I think, rather than a real belief that whatever Iran comes up with today could suddenly jumpstart a hope of getting into face-to-face talks in the short-term.

That said, some of the mood music coming from Iran has been, you know, not -- I would not say positive, but not hugely negative. For example, yesterday, when the president signaled his willingness to go back to war, there wasn't a backlash in the Iranian media against that from the hardliners. There was messaging from the hardliners to the foreign minister, who's been the main negotiator, and will be the one handing back the -- Iran's proposal to the mediators, that the foreign minister in Iran needs to stick to the tough lines. One article was even suggesting he needs to go into talks wearing combat fatigue. So, he's really under pressure from the hardliners still to keep within Iran's red lines.

So, it does seem to be, what is it that Iran is going to say that's going to bring the two sides closer? And the hope of the mediators still is that if Iran can just keep whatever it puts in the reply to the simplest terms and be willing to say that it's ready to engage with what the United States wants to engage with, without trying to push off or get into detail, that's the thing that could move the process forward.

But, again, we've been here before in the middle of optimism, and there are plenty of tensions in the region that mitigate time being on the side of the mediators.

BROWN: All right. Nic Robertson, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there.

And meantime, many Americans are feeling gas prices squeeze even tighter. The national average of gas prices, it's inched up yet again to $4.56. That's 26 cents more than a week ago, and 42 cents more than the average one month ago.

And happening now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wraps up his meeting with Pope Leo and other top officials at the Vatican. This right here is new video of Rubio, a practicing Catholic, meeting with the first American pope.

Rubio has said that the meeting was never intended to diffuse historic tensions between the White House and the Vatican. President Trump has attacked the pope several times for criticizing the Iran war. The president has called Pope Leo, quote, weak on crime, and falsely claimed the pontiff supports Iran having a nuclear weapon.

All right, let's go now to CNN Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb. He joins us now from Rome.

So, Christopher, what more can you tell us about this meeting?

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think broadly speaking, the meeting was productive. I mean, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was inside the Vatican for, you know, around two hours, so it wasn't just a meeting with Pope Leo, it was also a meeting with other Vatican officials.

[10:05:06] I saw a Vatican official just a few moments ago, and I asked him how he thought it went, and he said, good. And I think the fact that this meeting happened is going to be of some encouragement for the Holy See and the pope, who clearly want to have a channel of dialogue with the Trump administration. Pope Leo, after all, is the first American pope, and he is someone who does seek common ground with leaders from across the world.

We know from a readout from the secretary from the State Department's office that the meeting discussed, the situation in the Middle East and a shared commitment, quote, to peace and human dignity. And I think, you know, there is something that perhaps the Vatican feel it can work with.

But there is, of course, these unprecedented tensions between the pope and the president of the United States, who has launched really extraordinary attacks against Pope Leo, mainly because of his opposition to the war in Iran. And, of course, the meeting today will probably need to be followed up by other meetings to try and mend fences and rebuild the relationship.

Of course, a lot depends on how President Trump reacts. Will he continue to attack the pope or will there now be more harmony? I think that's still very much in the balance, but clearly today a meeting that has in some ways reestablished a channel of dialogue at a time of extraordinary tension between the papacy and a U.S. administration.

BROWN: All right. Christopher Lamb, thank you so much for bringing us the latest there from Rome.

And still ahead here in The Situation Room, a federal judge releasing the purported suicide note from Jeffrey Epstein. Why did it take so long?

Plus, it's a race against time as health workers around the globe scramble to trace those who may have had contact with the Hantavirus.

You're in The Situation Room, and we'll be right back.

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BROWN: Well, new details this morning after a federal judge unsealed a purported suicide note from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The document, which is unverified and undated, says in part, quote, they investigated me for a month, found nothing. It is a treat to be able to choose one's time to say goodbye.

The note was said to be found after Epstein's first suicide attempt in 2019. His former cellmate says he found the note in a book after Epstein died.

With us now is CNN Legal Analyst Elliot Williams. So, the main question here is, Elliot, why did it take so long for this to be publicly released? ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's common, Pam in any sort of court proceeding for sensitive documents to be sealed during -- while the proceeding's going on.

Now, there are many questions about all things Jeffrey Epstein related, and the public is certainly hungry for more information. But that initial period of not having the document come out isn't that abnormal.

BROWN: So, a medical examiner ruled that Epstein died by suicide on August 10th, 2019. What is the significance of the letter coming out now, and how can it be verified that it actually did belong to Jeffrey Epstein?

WILLIAMS: And the most important thing in your tease at the beginning of this was undated and unverified. We don't know exactly what this letter is.

Now, I mean, common sense says it's Jeffrey Epstein's suicide note, but, again, it's an unverified piece of evidence. So, that's an important thing to note.

Now, number one there's a narrative in the public that Jeffrey Epstein may not have killed himself at all, that it was a homicide within the prison or whatever else. And if this letter is real, that debunks that somewhat. But beyond that, there isn't a lot of legal action to be taken on account of this letter. It doesn't name victims, it doesn't name, you know, tactics or methods or anything like that.

I would also note this letter was found prior to Jeffrey Epstein's first suicide attempt where he was found unresponsive, and then he ultimately succeeded in the act a little bit later on. But I think it's important, you know, for viewers to make that distinction.

BROWN: The timeline on that. I want to play what Epstein's former cellmate said about finding this note. He talked about it in a podcast.

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NICHOLAS TARTAGLIONE, EPSTEIN'S FORMER CELLMATE: It was in my book, yes, when I got back into the cell I opened my book to read and there it was. And he wrote it and stuck it in the book. And that was, I believe, the reason why he stopped saying because he didn't want to go to suicide watch because I think his first thing was, oh, yes, he tried to blame me for attacking him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So, what do you make of all of this?

WILLIAMS: So, two things. One, just to clarify, what I'd meant was it was found after his first suicide attempt before his successful suicide attempt.

Now, what I would note here to regard everything with a little dose of skepticism, this is an incredibly compromised source. This cellmate of Jeffrey Epstein was a dirty cop convicted of quadruple homicide, where if he were to go in court and testify about something, prosecutors would say, don't believe anything this man says.

Now, look, he did share a cell with Jeffrey Epstein. He must have known him personally. He claims he found the note, and this is the kind of thing that, frankly, prosecutors or investigators can look into. But we should also with regard everything he says with a little bit of skepticism.

BROWN: Fair enough. All right, I want to ask you about something else related to Jeffrey Epstein. Howard Lutnick testified before House lawmakers about his ties to Epstein. This was behind closed doors. He did it voluntarily. He is one of the highest profile cabinet members to come under scrutiny in connection to Epstein. How significant is his testimony?

WILLIAMS: Right. Unless he lied under oath to Congress, it's not that significant legally for him.

[10:15:00]

It's -- the bigger issue here for Howard Lutnick is it's embarrassing. This is a matter of public concern. People care about it. He's a high- profile individual, and the public is skeptical about everything they're hearing about folks connected to Jeffrey Epstein. That's the thing. There's potential embarrassment here. But, you know, unless he's charged with perjury or something like that, which is highly unlikely, I just don't think it's going to happen.

BROWN: And just to remind our viewers, part of the controversy is he had said that he had cut off ties with Epstein in 2005. And then I believe it was seven years later, it came out in the Epstein file dump that he had actually had lunch with him on his island.

WILLIAMS: Yes. Unless he is found to have knowingly misled Congress, went to Congress, and with the information that he had said, and prosecutors can prove that he knew that information and didn't just make a mistake, but intentionally lied before Congress, you have a really high bar for prosecuting him for lying.

So, yes, it's embarrassing. It's not good. It is bad form for a cabinet secretary or one of, you know, the most successful businessmen in the United States to be making statements like that in front of Congress. But I think the legal exposure for him is quite low.

BROWN: And to be clear, he was in a separate hearing on a separate issue and did admit to having the lunch, but said he had no relationship with him. It was very quick, really downplayed.

WILLIAMS: Absolutely.

BROWN: Really downplayed that.

I want to ask you about another topic. This morning, lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center will appear in court following this 11- count indictment. Now, the civil rights group was charged with defrauding donors.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

BROWN: Tell us more about the significance of this case and what it looks like for an organization to be arraigned like this.

WILLIAMS: Yes. The tricky thing behind this case is that members you know, certainly the Justice Department, the president, and so on, have made an issue of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which complicates prosecutions. We've seen this playbook before over the course of the last few years, where the public statements come out about, we are going to prosecute these people or we don't like these people, and then the indictment comes. So, that undermines the indictment a little bit. But that said, the Southern Poverty Law Center is being accused of financial irregularities and how they took money, and did they defraud their investors, right?

Now, what it looks like when an organization is charged with a crime is sort of odd, because it's not a person. A representative of the organization will come into court and speak on behalf of the Southern Poverty Law Center. He or she will be advised of the charges, will plead guilty or not guilty, and then everything will happen as if the Southern Poverty Law Center were a person. It can go on trial with representatives being witnesses or being asked for information or whatever else.

BROWN: All right. Elliot Williams, thank you so much, always great to have you on.

WILLIAMS: Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: Coming up here in The Situation Room, the World Health Organization says Hantavirus cases are now suspected in five different countries as the search is on for others who may be infected. The very latest coming up.

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BROWN: Happening now, health officials around the world are racing to contain a deadly outbreak of Hantavirus that's linked to this cruise ship in the Atlantic. The Dutch airline, KLM, says one of the ship's passengers, who later died after contracting the virus, boarded a flight in South Africa before the plane's crew decided she was too sick to travel.

The Georgia Department of Public Health says two people who returned home to the state after getting off the ship are being monitored right now, and one Arizona resident who was also on board is also being watched by officials there. And according to The New York Times, California residents were on the ship as well.

CNN's Randi Kaye looks now at how this virus may have spread.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DR. MARIA VAN KERKHOVE, DIRECTOR, WHC'S EPIDEMIC AND PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS PREVENTION: This was an expedition boat, and many of the people on board were doing birdwatching.

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It turns out a birdwatching tour may be the source of this Hantavirus outbreak. According to the Associated Press, two Argentine officials investigating how this started said their government is leaning toward the idea that a Dutch couple contracted the virus while birdwatching in the city of Ushuaia, Argentina, before boarding the ship.

The A.P. reports the couple visited a landfill during the tour and may have been exposed to infected rodents.

That 70-year-old Dutch man was the first to die on the ship days after they left port in Argentina. His 69-year-old wife died about two weeks later. The rest of the people on board, including nearly 150 passengers, are now on a three to four-day journey from Cape Verde to Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Spain has agreed to receive the ship there.

Upon arrival, the plan is for all passengers to be taken to a nearby airport and sent back to their home countries. The 14 Spanish citizens will be examined and go directly into quarantine at a Madrid hospital.

KASEM HATO, PASSENGER: This is the country of Cape Verde in front of us, but it is forbidden to go down to it.

KAYE: This travel vlogger on board posted on social media about the predicament they now find themselves in.

HATO: Today was supposed to be the last day of our 35-day trip on the Atlantic, but it is clear that our journey will not end here because Cape Verde refused to receive us on its coast.

KAYE: Earlier today, this medical evacuation boat removed three sick people from the ship. On their way to the Netherlands, a source from Spain's Health Ministry told CNN that Morocco refused to let the plane carrying two of the evacuees land to refuel. Instead, it made an unscheduled landing at Gran Canaria Airport to do so.

KERKHOVE: People are usually infected through contact with infected rodents or their urine, their droppings, or their saliva. Human-to- human transmission is uncommon.

KAYE: Yet, in this case, the World Health Organization believes the virus may have been transmitted person-to-person on board, and just today, following lab tests, confirmed this is the Andes strain of the virus, which has spread among close contacts before.

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KERKHOVE: We're also working with authorities for anyone that has left the ship.

KAYE: In fact, the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health has confirmed that a passenger who traveled on the first leg of the voyage and disembarked at St. Helena on April 24th has now tested positive for Hantavirus. That passenger, according to the cruise company, is being treated at a hospital in Zurich. His wife, who was with him, has not shown symptoms but is self-isolating as a precaution.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

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BROWN: And today, a German woman who may have been exposed to the virus on board that ship was picked up by a convoy of emergency vehicles after being flown to Amsterdam. Doctors say the woman is in stable condition, but remains quarantined.

For more on what life is like for the 150 people still on board the infected ship, I want to bring in CNN's Melissa Bell.

Wow, I mean, personally, this would be my worst nightmare, to be on this ship knowing what's going on with this virus that can incubate for up to eight weeks, right, Melissa?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. With all the confusion and uncertainty that has gone on the ship itself, you know, we've now seen the video of the initial captain's announcement that was made the day after that first patient, the Dutch man, died, explaining that he died and that they believe that it was from natural causes and so on. And it was only later, much later, that it was understood that this virus had been at play.

The company that runs the ship has put out a statement explaining that it wasn't known at the time. It took them some time to figure out that this was a virus and that everyone needed to quarantine.

And, of course, as we just heard, people then disembarked in Saint Helena. There was another disembarkation in Ascension Island. Three more people disembarked at Cape Verde, because by then we knew the virus was going around, and these were suspected or confirmed cases.

For those still on board, what we understand is happening, Pamela, is that they're being quarantined in their own rooms. They're staying inside their cabins. Their food is being brought to them there, and all the precautions are being taken so that there are no further infections or transmissions of this Andes strain of Hantavirus.

Now, at least, they have a port in sight, and this had been unclear for some time. Really, until yesterday, we didn't know what port would accept taking in this ship and dealing then with what will be a very complicated operation to get these 147 passengers off, all the crew members off as well, to quarantine them and to successfully take them to where they need to go.

You showed a moment ago, that convoy in Germany, that is just one passenger suspected, confirmed, but still one passenger getting from the ship to Amsterdam and onwards to a hospital that can treat them. Imagine that multiplied by the number of people who are going to get off the ship. We've just been hearing, however, from the World Health Organization, and they say that beyond the five confirmed cases and the three people who sadly died, there has been no further identified transmission on board. So, that is the good news.

But, again, this is a strain of the virus that has an incubation period of eight weeks, which substantially complicates things for anyone who's been in contact with either people who've left or for those who are still on the ship or will be in contact with them when they get off. Pamela?

BROWN: Wow. Melissa Bell, thank you so much.

There's so much interest in this story. So, tomorrow, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join us for a Situation Room half-hour special devoted to learning more about Hantavirus and this very rare strain of the virus that appears to be at the center of the outbreak on this cruise ship.

We'll be answering your questions about Hantavirus, and you can submit them using the Q.R. code on your screen right here.

Just ahead, the fight overseas, presidential election ballots from Georgia takes a new turn. I'll talk to the head of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners up next.

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