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The Situation Room

Nike Lawsuit; Hantavirus Quarantine; Epstein Survivors Speak Out; Pete Hegseth Testifies on Capitol Hill. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired May 12, 2026 - 11:00   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 HOST: Happening now, breaking news: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth back on Capitol Hill, facing tough questions about the Pentagon's trillion-dollar budget request and the war with Iran.

Also, new cases, the WHO reporting even more cases of the hantavirus, as we hear from cruise ship passengers quarantined here in the U.S.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And Nike sued. The new class action lawsuit from customers demanding payback over President Trump's tariffs.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin this hour with the breaking news.

Up on Capitol Hill right now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, are facing a new round of questioning from the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Earlier this morning, they appeared before members of the House over the defense budget in Iran.

BROWN: Lawmakers raised their concerns about spending across the Defense Department amid its request for an additional $1.5 trillion to its budget.

Last hour, Chairwoman Betty McCollum ended with this message:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BETTY MCCOLLUM (D-MN): The Iran war has cost Americans at least now, if I have got it right, Mr. Hurst, $29 billion to date without -- a lot of things haven't been accounted for yet.

And the department's requesting more money from munitions outside of the base budget. So, bottom line, I want your takeaway message to be, I'm deeply concerned that the department can't seem to manage $1 trillion that Congress provided last year.

So, gentlemen, we need information. We mark our bill up on June 11. And we need to be able to justify to do our fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers any increased funding that you see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: CNN correspondent Brian Todd is here in THE SITUATION ROOM with the very latest.

So, what have we heard so far this morning, Brian?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Pamela, opening statements still under way in the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee. They're going to be facing some tough questions, as they did in the House a short time ago, about the cost of the war, the direction of the war, how they're justifying some of the costs in this $1.5 trillion budget request for fiscal year 2027.

Now, just a short time ago, during opening statements, Senator Chris Coons, a Democrat, kind of basically did a wrap-up of all the controversies that Pete Hegseth has faced since he took office last year and voiced his concerned about -- concerns about those controversies.

Take a listen to what Senator Coons had to say.

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SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): I am concerned that we have a distracted administration and a distracted department.

From your written testimony, Mr. Secretary, it seems at times you're more passionate about fighting culture wars than winning the real war that we're in, at banning books, at cleaning alleged DEI off of Web sites, at taking on an anti-vaccine position, rather than continuing the longstanding public health policies, and interfering with promotions.

I'm stunned that you have fired the 44-year chief of staff of the Army in the middle of a hot war and dismissed the secretary of the Navy in the middle of a naval blockade.

As dozens of senior flag-ranked officers have been dismissed, I am worried about what that does to focus and morale.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: And Senator Coons was referring to General Randy George, the Army chief of staff, who was fired by Pete Hegseth on April 2. That's a very controversial movie. He also, Hegseth moved out Navy Secretary John Phelan around that same time, both very controversial moves.

Some other news made in this hearing late -- well, excuse me -- in the House hearing, Jay Hurst, the acting comptroller of the Pentagon, giving an updated figure on the total cost of the war so far, Jay Hurst saying it cost about $29 billion.

About a week-and-a-half ago, he said it was $25 billion. But, guys, we're getting figures from our sources, reporting of our colleagues Haley Britzky, Zachary Cohen and Natasha Bertrand, saying our sources saying that is a lowball figure, that the cost is really between $40 billion and $50 billion so far.

He is going to face a lot of tough questions in the Senate. I think, just by the tone that Senator Chris Coons just set there that you heard, I think the questions in the Senate are going to be tougher than what he just faced in the House this morning.

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BROWN: And we will be watching it closely.

Brian Todd, thank you so much, Wolf.

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BLITZER: And we have more breaking news we're covering right now.

The World Health Organization says there are now 11 cases of hantavirus linked to the cruise ship Hondius. A French woman who became sick after being evacuated is in intensive care, but in stable condition.

In the U.S., 16 passengers are quarantined in Nebraska. One is in the biocontainment unit after testing positive. None are displaying symptoms. Two other people, a couple, are in a biocontainment unit in Atlanta. At least one is showing symptoms.

Today, we are hearing from some of the passengers as they begin weeks of monitoring.

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JAKE ROSMARIN, QUARANTINED AMERICAN PASSENGER: My plan right now is to stay for the 42 days. I think that is the best decision that's for me and for my family. And I know that, here, I'm in the best care possible.

QUESTION: How are you feeling?

ROSMARIN: I feel great. I feel great. I don't have any symptoms. I mean, this room is spacious. We have exercise equipment. I have a stationary bike back there. So I will be making use out of it over the next month or so.

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BLITZER: CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in Omaha, where that man and 15 other passengers are in quarantine right now.

Dianne, what's the latest information you're getting today? DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so, Wolf, we do

not have any new updates from officials here in Nebraska on the status of the condition of those passengers.

But, look, they still have about 48 hours remaining of that 72-hour initial assessment period in that quarantine unit, where they're basically going to be interviewed by the CDC,by officials here in Nebraska at the medical center, going through their close contacts, retracing their steps on that cruise ship as they were evacuated here back to the United States, and just generally trying to get an idea of how they are feeling.

There's also medical monitoring that is ongoing. They're taking their temperature, evaluating them for different kinds of symptoms that they may be displaying of hantavirus.

Now, it's important to note that everybody here in Nebraska right now is asymptomatic, including the person who is in the biocontainment unit. That person had a positive test, according to U.S. officials, before they came to the United States.

Spanish health officials said that, first test, they considered not conclusive. Spanish officials believed that at that time, but U.S. officials thought that it was a weak positive. The second test was negative, but they are being considered a positive test out of the utmost caution.

Now, look, after the assessment period is done here, some of these passengers may elect to go back to their homes and continue this sort of 42-day quarantine period there. Now, there's a whole list of stipulations that they would have to adhere to, including being away from other people, of course, but also being able to do daily monitoring with a medical facility that is capable of doing so.

So, not everyone may have that option even, but you heard Jake there speaking that he thinks he's going to choose to ride it out here just because of those safety measures.

Now, the World Health Organization has said that the number of cases linked to that cruise ship has risen to 11 at this point. Three people have died. Those cases are included in that total there. No new deaths have been reported since May 2.

Globally, the World Health Organization says that the risk to the general public is low. That sentiment is echoed by officials here in the United States, who basically insist, they urge people to understand that this is not COVID-19. This is a virus that requires prolonged close contact to transmit from someone who is showing symptoms at that time.

BLITZER: Dianne Gallagher reporting for us.

Dianne, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, still ahead, Wolf, Epstein survivors speaking out. A so-called field trial -- a field hearing, we should say, organized

by House Democrats is under way in West Palm Beach, Florida, as Congress continues investigating the late sex offender's crimes. Their harrowing testimony just ahead.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM, and we will be right back.

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BROWN: Happening now, Democrats on the House Oversight Committee are holding what they're calling a field hearing in Palm Beach County, Florida, as part of their investigation into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

Survivors of the late convicted sex offender's abuse are appearing before that panel of lawmakers. As we know, Palm Beach is where many of the allegations against Epstein first surfaced and where officials reached that controversial non-prosecution agreement with the disgraced financier.

A short time ago, one of Epstein's victims, Courtney Wild, spoke at the hearing.

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COURTNEY WILD, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: My case against the government for violating the rights of at least 40 of us Palm Beach kids was happening from 2008 to 2019.

Do you know how many other girls Jeffrey abused in that time period? I bet the FBI knows. But the point is that Epstein continued to abuse other girls in New York, New Mexico, around the world and even still here in Florida.

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If he had been in jail, like any other man who did the same thing as him, he would have been, and there wouldn't have been a single victim after 2009. But he wasn't, and he did. He abused so many girls after 2009, at the same exact time that I was asking the government why he got the deal and why they violated my rights. That is the real injustice here.

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BROWN: Joining us now in THE SITUATION ROOM is CNN's M.J. Lee.

Some heart-wrenching testimony there. What else are we learning from the survivors...

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M.J. LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this has already been a pretty emotional hearing in West Palm Beach. House Oversight Democrats clearly wanting to give some of these

Epstein survivors not only an opportunity to share their stories, but also talk about what accountability actually looks like for them. The first survivor testimony came from Maria Farmer, who, of course, was the first known Epstein survivor to actually report the abuse to authorities.

She argued that nothing actually ever came from her reporting the abuse back in 1996. We also saw her not testifying in person because she has had so many health issues that she says comes from the abuse and the stress of everything that she has endured.

There were other survivors, like Dani Bensky, Jena-Lisa Jones. And then we heard from a woman named Roza, who is not sharing her last name. She has never publicly shared her story. She said, in 2008, she was an aspiring model who came to the U.S. and eventually was introduced to Jeffrey Epstein.

And then she says she was repeatedly raped by Jeffrey Epstein while he was on house arrest. Listen to a part of what she said.

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ROZA, EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: I kept my identity protected as Jane Doe. I woke up one day with my name mentioned over 500 times.

While the rich and powerful remained protected by redaction, my name was exposed to the world. Now reporters from across the globe contact me. I cannot live without looking over my shoulder. I can only imagine the long-term impact this mistake will have on my life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Really hard to watch.

And when I was texting a little bit with Roza yesterday, she told me, "To go back to West Palm Beach is something I never wanted to do," given that this is where the abuse took place. She told me she was extremely nervous, but was hopeful that this experience could be a little bit empowering for her.

And when I heard her saying the words "I am no longer Jane Doe" in front of this committee, I wondered whether she was hopefully getting that moment for herself. And, just lastly, I just think it's important for us to talk about what accountability does look like for these survivors.

Millions of files have been released by the DOJ, but they're obviously wanting the rest of the millions of files to be released as well, and then just I think reminding people at every opportunity that, here in the U.S., Ghislaine Maxwell is the only person who has ever been prosecuted related to Jeffrey Epstein.

They want to see more interviews, more prosecutions. They want more accountability in the form of people who helped Jeffrey Epstein being brought to law enforcement.

BROWN: Yes. And her case really speaks to also just the release from DOJ and the mess over the redactions, right?

LEE: Right.

BROWN: Because her name was supposed to be redacted, and it wasn't. And now here she is.

(CROSSTALK)

LEE: And there are some survivors who have chosen to publicly share their stories. But, in the case of Roza, up until now, she hasn't wanted that.

She has wanted to be a Jane Doe. And the DOJ, by failing to redact her name properly, sort of took that choice away from her.

BROWN: All right, M.J. Lee, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And up next: new class action lawsuit against Nike, how it handled pricing and refunds tied to President Trump's tariffs. Why customers are demanding their money back.

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BLITZER: Happening now: Nike is being sued.

A new proposed class action lawsuit accuses the company of double- dipping by first passing the cost of tariffs on to consumers and then could stand to pocket tariff refunds after the U.S. Supreme Court said they were illegal.

Let's go live right now to CNN senior business reporter David Goldman, who's in New York.

David, how strong is this case and how much money is actually on the line here?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, it's $166 billion dollars that the Trump administration charged to businesses for tariffs.

Now, that's not obviously all consumers. Consumers got about a $1,000 increase in their taxes last year because of that. So, obviously, consumers want money back because of that. Now, it's not as easy as it might seem. It's not as simple as you just saying, well, I paid this much in tariffs, I get that amount back, because it's not totally clear who paid the tariffs in the first place.

Remember, tariffs are charged to importers. And so an importer, in the case of Nike, probably paid the tariff and then passed that cost on to Nike, Nike says about a billion dollars in added cost from tariffs alone last year. [11:25:04]

But it's not all clear that they passed all those costs on to consumers. They raised prices by about $5 to $10 per item. And so how do you break that down? Who gets a refund? It's not totally clear, Wolf.

BLITZER: What have we actually heard from Nike about the tariffs? And have they responded to this lawsuit?

GOLDMAN: So they haven't responded yet, and they aren't commenting.

But what's clear is that Nike, we know, raised prices last year. They said that they were going to do it. Now, they didn't say it was because of tariffs, but they also gave that $1 billion tariff cost. So we know that they said that they had a big hit. And, certainly, most of their products are made in Vietnam, Cambodia, Southeast Asia. That's where most footwear comes from.

That was an industry that was really hit very hard; $166 billion went out yesterday -- well, not all of it. It started to go out yesterday, but there are a number of companies that have sued to get their piece of that. Costco, FedEx, Essilor, all of them have -- are now facing their own lawsuits, where customers are going after them, looking for that money.

As Amy Coney Barrett said, the Supreme Court justice, this is a big mess. That was a great prediction. She's right. This is going to be a very, very difficult thing to sort out, Wolf.

BLITZER: David Goldman, working the story for us, thank you very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, coming up: Is Iran recruiting operatives online to carry out attacks on Jewish communities in Europe? CNN went undercover to investigate one online group, the SITUATION ROOM special report just ahead.

Stay with us.

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