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The Situation Room
NBA Playoffs Continue; Hormonal Condition Impacting Women Gets New Name; President Trump in China; Plane Crash Survivors Rescued at Sea. Aired 10:30a-11a ET
Aired May 14, 2026 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Everyone on board the raft began crying and celebrating because they were terrified they would never be found. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say: "Lord, save us. Lord, save us. Let someone see us, Lord. Let someone see us, because to be out in the sea, to be out in the water and to be out there for five hours, and ain't seeing no land and just seeing all black water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MUNTEAN: Auton (ph) also called the pilot a hero, saying he made sure everyone got out of the plane and into the life raft safely before leaving the aircraft himself.
Of the 11 passengers on board, nine have since gone home. The Federal Aviation Administration says it's not investigating this crash, meaning this investigation will now be led by authorities in the Bahamas.
A couple other incredible details here. Auton (ph), the woman we just heard from, said that she could not swim.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Wow.
MUNTEAN: Thankfully, she was pulled onto the wing as the airplane was still floating. But it seems like this plane sank, because we're hearing from rescuers, that Air Force crew that first was deployed to this accident, that they only saw the raft with the survivors in it.
They never saw the plane itself.
BROWN: Wow.
MUNTEAN: So, the fact that they made it in is really pretty incredible.
BROWN: Just there are so many incredible aspects...
MUNTEAN: Yes. Kind of reads like Hollywood. BROWN: ... and just the confluence of things that went wrong...
MUNTEAN: Yes.
BROWN: ... right, and then went right after that.
MUNTEAN: Yes.
BROWN: Wow.
Pete Muntean, thank you so much.
MUNTEAN: Any time.
BROWN: Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Miraculous, I would say, indeed.
MUNTEAN: Indeed.
BLITZER: All right, thanks very much.
Meanwhile, dramatic new video just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. This is the moment a small plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Central Phoenix last month after experiencing engine issues. The pilot managed to avoid power lines and traffic signs to get the plane on the ground.
Watch this incredible video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE TRAGARZ, PILOT: I looked down, and I saw Seventh Street, and it was clear. I mean, who sees Seventh Street like that? Never. But Sunday, it just happened to be all the -- all the dots were connected.
And I looked down there and saw Seventh Street, and I said, well, that's where we're going, because there was no cars, believe it or not, none, almost none.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Three people were on board the plane at the time. None were seriously injured, thank God.
BROWN: I always wonder what those other drivers are thinking, like, wait, is that a plane landing in front of me?
BLITZER: Yes. Yes.
BROWN: My goodness.
All right, just ahead: fiery rescue. We will bring you the story of one police officer who ran toward an inferno to rescue a family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're OK. (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:36:57]
BROWN: Happening now: A huge wave of Russian strikes hit Ukraine, killing eight people. Ukraine's president says Moscow fired 1,500 drones, damaging this residential building, where authorities found the body of a 12-year-old little girl.
And, right now, the commander of U.S. CENTCOM is testifying on Capitol Hill. Admiral Brad Cooper is answering senators' questions about defense funding.
And fiery rescue. Incredible video shows a police officer in Chattanooga running toward a fire to rescue a family. And when he arrived at the house, neighbors told him there were still people trapped inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. Come here. Come here. You're OK. (INAUDIBLE)
(SCREAMING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Wow. He helped save those two children and their mother. Thankfully, no one was injured.
And, next hour, that officer will join us live. Looking forward to that -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Really amazing.
Also happening now, new details are emerging from day two of President Trump's trip to China. At a state banquet in Beijing today, President Trump praised the Chinese president, toasting what he called the close and historic ties between the two countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome.
The relationship between the American and Chinese people goes all the way back to America's founding; 2.5 centuries later, that first connection has grown into one of the most consequential relationships in world history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And joining us now to help break all of this down, CNN political analyst and "New York Times" White House correspondent Maggie Haberman.
Maggie, thanks so much for joining us.
As you know, President Trump has spent years railing against China. Does it surprise you at all to see how he's praising the country right now?
MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It actually doesn't, Wolf.
I think that if he -- yes, he has often criticized China and he has often described China as taking advantage of the U.S., particularly on trade. But the reality is that if you listen to things that he has said over time, he has spoken admiringly of President Xi Jinping for some time.
He has described him as ruling with a -- quote, unquote -- "iron fist." That is one of the -- President Trump's highest accolades. He is not really much of a China hawk and he does recognize China's strength in the world and to some extent the points of leverage that it has that he simply can't do much against.
But, no, this is not a surprise. And, as we have seen, China is doing what many other world leaders have done when President Trump has visited which is roll out an incredibly elaborate greeting. That is something that President Trump responds to well.
BLITZER: A beautiful welcoming ceremony indeed.
While President Trump praised President Xi, the Chinese president warned President Trump today that the U.S. and China could clash over Taiwan if the issue wasn't handled properly. Are both leaders further apart on the issues that Trump would like to acknowledge?
[10:40:17]
HABERMAN: Certainly, on that one, Wolf, there's no question, at least historically on the U.S. posture.
We have not heard President Trump say much about what he thinks of what could happen with China and Taiwan and the U.S.' role going forward. And, so, it's interesting that President Xi made this quite clear at the outset the prospect of a clash of China taking over Taiwan or attempting to take over Taiwan, and then, what does the U.S. do?
And it has all kinds of implications in terms of semiconductors, in terms of chips manufacturing and so forth, that we don't quite know what this looks like in a Trump 2.0. I will be interested to see if President Trump discusses much of what he actually thinks on that front publicly.
As much as President Trump often seems unable to help himself from blurting certain things out, there are areas where he tends to keep his own views a little more closely held. And I suspect this is going to be one of them, but we will see.
BLITZER: We will see soon, sooner, rather than later, when he makes some public statements.
President Trump told the Chinese president that the American tech executives who are traveling to China with President Trump, including Apple's Tim Cook and Tesla's Elon Musk, came -- and I'm quoting him now -- "to pay respect and build business."
How do you expect some of the president's supporters will react to all of this?
HABERMAN: There have been a bunch of President Trump supporters like Steve Bannon who have been pretty vocal about being against this and considering this to be undermining what President Trump campaigned on.
I don't know how much that's ultimately going to matter to the average voter, but there are certainly aspects of the MAGA base that don't look at this favorably, are not happy with it. And President Trump has not done a ton to publicly explain to those supporters or to people who didn't support him why he is doing things that appear to directly contradict some of what he ran on.
BLITZER: Before I let you go, Maggie, I want to ask you about the redistricting wars currently playing out between Democrats and Republicans.
Several red states across the South, including South Carolina and Alabama, are on the verge of redrawing their maps to get more Republican seats. Will this help or hurt President Trump in this year's midterm elections?
HABERMAN: Certainly, structurally, Wolf, I mean, putting aside the issues involved in taking apart aspects of the Voting Rights Act in terms of representation for communities that have been underrepresented over time in this country, but in terms of the politics of it, the -- obviously, this gives the Republicans a structural advantage, just looking at all things equal on the map.
What that ultimately translates to, is it a lesser loss of the House to Democrats of a handful of seats, as opposed to 10 or 15 or even 20, or is it that there are some districts where, because President Trump's popularity is quite low, which almost everybody in his party will privately acknowledge, even if they won't publicly, are there some surprises in there, where Republicans should win and they don't?
And I just don't think we know. Obviously, Republicans are much happier right now than they were, say, a month ago in terms of their prospects.
BLITZER: Yes.
HABERMAN: But we will see.
BLITZER: We will see sooner, rather than later, in November, in the midterm elections.
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: Maggie Haberman, as usual, thanks very much for joining us.
And, by the way, an important note. Maggie and her "New York Times" colleague Jonathan Swan have a new book coming out in June. It's called "Regime Change: Inside the Imperial Presidency of Donald Trump."
I think all of us will look forward to reading this book, Maggie. Thanks so much for writing it.
HABERMAN: Thanks, Wolf.
BLITZER: Pamela.
BROWN: Look forward to it as well.
All right, coming up here in THE SITUATION ROOM: A condition impacting millions of women now has a new name. So what's behind this change and the new research to find treatment? We will discuss after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:48:24]
BROWN: In our "Women's Health Watch" this morning: It's a condition millions of women deal with and millions more don't even know that they have.
But doctors are hoping this name change will help more patients receive care. After 14 years of collaboration between patients and experts, polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is now polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS.
While ovarian cysts may be present for some women, experts say that's not the case for everyone, and that PCOS, with that name, it's not very descriptive of the actual hormonal condition, which impacts an estimated one in 10 women. That is a lot of women.
Here to discuss is emergency physician and former Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen.
So, first of all, what is this exactly? And why is this name change such a big deal?
DR. LEANA WEN, EMERGENCY ROOM PHYSICIAN: This name change, Pamela, has been years in the making, as you mentioned.
And this is because many people have thought that PCOS, which focuses on cysts, is a misnomer. A lot of women who have this condition do not have extra cysts in their ovary.
And while it does impact their reproductive system -- so, for example, there may be struggles with fertility and there may also be irregular, heavier, more painful periods -- there are also impacts on the rest of the body, and specifically the metabolic, the endocrine system. And so, for example, insulin resistance is a hallmark of this
syndrome. And also there are associations with other conditions down the line, for example, increased risk of heart disease, of liver disease. And so this name change ideally can then help clinicians and patients recognize this condition more, help them to get the diagnosis sooner, and then put them on the path to more appropriate treatments.
[10:50:08]
BROWN: So what is the root cause of this condition? And how often are patients overlooked historically because of the name?
WEN: I think that many people have the misunderstanding that the root cause is with the reproductive system. And that may not be the case.
It may be, again, something to do with insulin resistance. It may have to do with the metabolic syndrome that we understand to be obesity, diabetes, connected to high cholesterol, connected to heart disease. And we should not just be treating the symptoms that people are experiencing, but also the root cause.
So, for example, the diagnosis can be made through things like hormone level testing. But the treatments may involve things like physical activity, improving diet, weight loss, all these things that are fundamental, not just, for example, having birth control pills, which may be important in regulating periods or helping with fertility, but are not really addressing the underlying issues.
And as to how many women are overlooked, some studies suggest that it could be as many as 70 percent are not getting the correct diagnosis.
BROWN: Wow, 70 percent, that is a large number.
So, then do you think that this name change will help with getting more research and funding for PMOS to better understand it and to help more women actually get diagnosed?
WEN: I certainly hope so.
I think this is something that we're seeing a shift in recent years, as more people are paying attention, for example, finally to perimenopause and menopause. I also hope that there's a lot more attention on women's health conditions that for so long have been stigmatized and really been relegated to reproductive system, rather than understanding it as something that affects the woman's body as a whole.
BROWN: That's such an important point.
And I just wonder, just to carry on with that point, do you think this will spur a new interest in other women's health conditions like premenstrual dysphoric disorder, or PMDD?
WEN: Absolutely.
And I think that mind-body connection is something else that has also been overlooked and that we need a lot more attention to. For so long, people have labeled women as having mental health issues or as having depression or anxiety, when, actually, that may also be very closely linked to things like fatigue, to hormonal imbalance, to -- again, to issues with insulin resistance, to -- and to metabolic syndrome.
And so we need to understand this a lot better. We need to also treat women's health issues with the same seriousness as we would treat any health issues.
BROWN: Right, exactly, funding, research, all of the above. And I think that mind-body connection is such an important point.
Dr. Leana Wen, thank you. Always great to have you on.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:57:25]
BLITZER: A truly thrilling overtime win over the Detroit Pistons gives the Cleveland Cavaliers their first road win of the NBA playoffs and a 3-2 series lead.
BROWN: All right, let's go live now to CNN sports anchor Andy Scholes.
What a wild game, Andy.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf and Pam, this is one of those games that it's very tough to recover from.
The Pistons, they had it on home floor, but they let it slip away at the end. Now they've got to go on the road and win game six in Cleveland. Cavs have not lost a home game so far in these playoffs.
We'll show you how it all happens. So, Tobias Harris hit a three right here, put Detroit up by nine with three minutes to go. But, from there, the Cavs went on a 9-0 run to close out the fourth quarter. And off the turnover, Evan Mobley, he hit a huge three right here for the Cavs.
The game ended up going to overtime. That's when Donovan Mitchell finally came alive, scored seven in O.T. He finished with 21. James Harden finished with 30 points, his best playoff game as a Cav. Cleveland takes game five 117-113 to take a 3-2 lead in that series.
Now, the second golf major of the year has teed off this morning, as the PGA championship is Underway at Aronimink just outside of Philadelphia. Can anyone stop Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy right now? They've won four out of the last five majors.
They are the two favorites coming into this tournament. Rory, he is even through seven this morning. Scottie's going to tee off at 2:05 this afternoon. Elsewhere, FIFA announcing this morning that Madonna, Shakira and BTS
will headline the first ever World Cup Final halftime show. Madonna's done a Super Bowl halftime back in 2012. Shakira did it as well with J.Lo back in 2020.
BTS now back performing together after serving their mandatory military service in South Korea. That final in 2022, it drew more than 500 million viewers worldwide. Could be even more this time around with a musical performance at halftime. The final is July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
All right, and we had a crazy comeback in the Stanley Cup playoffs last night as well. Minnesota was trying to stave off elimination. They went up 3-0 on the Avalanche in this game, but Colorado comes roaring back.
Jack Drury's goal made it 3-2 here late in the third. The Avs then pull their goalie, and Nathan MacKinnon comes through in the clutch. Two goals in two minutes sent this game to overtime, then the extra period, Brett Kulak sending all the fans home happy.
His goal wins the game 4-3. Avs take the series in five and book their ticket to the Western Conference Finals. They now await the winner between the Golden Knights and the Ducks. Vegas can close out that series tonight.
We also have, Wolf, your Sabres and the Canadiens tonight, pivotal game five. And, you know, that bounce -- bounce of that puck in game four, where it fluked in and scored for -- there may have saved the Sabres' season.
You confident going into this one?
