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Supreme Court Lets Vermont Sue Meta Over Social Media Addiction; Iran Warns of Retaliation for U.S. Ceasefire Violations; Russia Fires Powerful Ballistic Missile on Kyiv; Train Slams into School Bus. Aired 11:30-12p ET
Aired May 26, 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]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, California officials are reducing the number of people in the evacuation zone around an overheated chemical tank. They say the risk of a large explosion is gone, but there's still potential for a smaller blast or a toxic leak.
And we're expecting brand new details from NASA today about its plans to build a permanent settlement on the moon. The agency wants to put humans on and around the moon over the next decade, and the base is key to that effort.
And chaotic scenes outside a federal immigration detention facility in New Jersey after protesters clashed with federal agents. Homeland Security says the crowds blocked a vehicle and agents used, and I'm quoting now, "minimum amount of force." Tensions outside the facility have flared amid a reported hunger strike among detainees.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And Wolf, we have breaking news. The Supreme Court has just released new summary rulings, including a major loss to Instagram. The court is letting the state of Vermont sue over the issue of social media addiction. It is among more than a dozen cases brought by state attorneys general in an effort to hold Meta and other platforms responsible for allegedly harming young users.
CNN Chief Supreme Court Analyst Joan Biskupic is here in the Situation Room. So, what more can you tell us about the decision here?
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Sure. You know, Pam, people are likening this moment for big tech to big tobacco's moment for liability. And here's another order from the Supreme Court that goes against big tech.
The State of Vermont had sued Instagram and its parent company Meta under state consumer protection laws for the harm that it says it was causing young people in the state. You know, the addictive nature of social media. Instagram encountered, well, the company shouldn't be able to be sued in Vermont because it doesn't have the requisite connection, the right jurisdiction.
None of the products were developed in Vermont. There was not a Vermont specific plan that Meta had had and the Supreme Court. But the Virginia -- the Vermont Supreme Court had said, no, this case can go forward. And today, the Supreme Court -- U.S. Supreme Court, without any dissent, without any written or commentary, said, yes, that case can go forward. It just rejected out of hand the way so many other courts have been doing big tech's argument here for why these trials should not be held.
You know, we had just seen in March in California there had been a big jury award for liability also for Meta and for YouTube. And this is this is just going to continue, at least in Vermont. This one's going forward. There were no dissents from denials.
BROWN: And there was this other case involving racial discrimination in the NFL. What did the justices decide?
BISKUPIC: Yes, this one took them a little bit longer. This one, it had sat with the justices for several weeks. This was brought by Brian Flores, the defensive coach on the Minnesota Vikings. And he, back in 2022, had sued the NFL and several teams for race discrimination. And the league had said he shouldn't be able to go to federal court on this. He should have to bring his case through arbitration.
But the way the NFL arbitration is set up, it's that the league commissioner actually can be the main arbiter and decide this. And lower courts had said, no, that's not fair. That's not fair to Flores. And today, without with one justice objecting, the court said that the case should be able to go forward and it wouldn't take it take up the appeal from the NFL. And only Brett Kavanaugh said he that he would have had the case heard.
BROWN: Wow. All right.
BISKUPIC: Well, let me just do -- I just want to tell you kind of -- exactly what the argument from Flores was to the idea that you shouldn't have the league commissioner be in control here. He said, an employer, whether professional sports league, restaurant, retail store or otherwise, cannot force employees to arbitrate statutory employment discrimination claims before the employer's own chief executive. That was essentially the fundamental principle that was at issue here, Pamela.
BROWN: Seems logical. All right. Joan Biskupic, thank you so much.
BISKUPIC: Sure.
BLITZER: And now, to the breaking news on Iran and new tensions amid negotiations to end the war. Tehran is threatening to retaliate after the U.S. carried out what it called self-defense strikes around the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says it has a legitimate right to respond to what it called any violation of the ceasefire.
CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen is here with us in the Situation Room. Do these new U.S. strikes and threats of retaliation put negotiations that are ongoing right now and the ceasefire in jeopardy?
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I don't think so, because we've seen other violations of the ceasefire. I mean, there's a lot of firing in the middle of this ceasefire. So, I don't think it really does. I mean, and of course, we have, you know, IDF saying that they took 100 strikes in Lebanon just within the last 24 hours. And we've seen other violations of the ceasefire.
[11:35:00]
So, I think this -- you know, unless it was to escalate very much further, I think negotiations will continue.
BLITZER: At this point, negotiations are continuing and they're aimed at reaching a deal to try to end the war. This morning, the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said the talks are down to a sentence. That's his words, to a sentence. On one hand, he's saying it's a matter of words and sentences. But he also says there could end up not being a deal at all. What do you read into all of this?
BERGEN: I mean, that's mystifying. But maybe that sentence is rather important. For instance, we will totally unilaterally disarm. We'll never have a nuclear weapon again. I mean, that kind of sentence would be an important sentence. So, it's a little unclear what that means.
BLITZER: One of the huge sticky points, of course, is still Iran's enriched uranium. President Trump says he expects Iran to hand it over or destroy it in front of neutral witnesses. How do you think this issue is going to play out?
BERGEN: Well, Wolf, there is a precedent in the 2015 agreement. The Iranians did transfer some of their uranium to a third party. So, they've done this before. It's not out of the question. I mean, excavating this under, you know, basically under a mountain of rubble, obviously, that's going to be complicated. Who's going to do that and how remains to be seen.
I don't think it's out of the question that they would give it up. I mean, they've said a bunch of different things about it. But there is a precedent in the past for them handing over uranium to a third party.
BLITZER: At the same time, all of this is going on. Separate negotiations are continuing to try to end the war. And Israel is escalating its attacks on Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants in Lebanon. Does that potentially, potentially undermine the deal with Iran?
BERGEN: I think it was potentially might have undermined it a few weeks ago, but it seems to be in sort of a non-issue. The Iranians haven't really been bringing it up of late. I mean, it sort of seems to be like issue number six of the laundry list on the Chinese menu of issues they're concerned about. They haven't -- before they made it a precondition to have the negotiations, as you recall, Wolf, that there would be a real ceasefire in Lebanon. But they don't seem to be pushing it right now.
BLITZER: We'll see what happens. Peter Bergen, as usual, thank you very, very much. Pamela. BROWN: Happening now, Vladimir Putin is threatening more new strikes on Ukraine after Russia hit the key region with a rare and powerful hypersonic ballistic missile that's so fast it's almost unstoppable. Ukrainian officials say at least four people were killed and several others, including children, were injured. It was one of the biggest strikes since this war even began, with Ukrainian officials saying Russia fired some 600 drones.
CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh has the Situation Room special report from the front lines.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): They call this the road of life, but it's about survival. It is safest on foot under skies ruled by tiny killer drones targeting any vehicle.
WALSH: This no pretty much all over the front lines, tiny bits of fiber optic cable used to connect drones to their controller and go on for tens of kilometers. Stopping the jamming before.
WALSH (voice-over): A Russian drone above. The Ukrainians open fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Follow him. Stay in the doorway.
WALSH (voice-over): They hit it.
WALSH: That's the impact. And you have to split out because the drone will try and target groups of individuals. Sometimes one, two, three, you find.
WALSH (voiceover): We're doing Sasha and Bogdan's usual walk along this road between two Ukrainian positions, but it takes five hours and we are buzzed by attack drones 14 times.
WALSH: The battlefield has completely changed in a matter of a year. Nobody drives cars on this road unless you have to. Nobody drives in tanks. That's outgoing artillery. These robots used for resupply. Up ahead, we can see people repairing the nets, a kind of key protection. But these used to resupply food, ammunition all around the front line.
WALSH (voiceover): The next one is right on top of us. They hit it. That gray streak. And it falls, whirling down, but it hasn't detonated.
[11:40:00]
Debris drifts. There's been no blast. So, we are alive. It may have been a recon drone, but flew like a Russian attacker.
Down the road is the Constantinople front, where the Kremlin's advance has been slowed to a crawl at the enormous cost across the front of 35,000 Russian dead and wounded a month, says Ukraine. We arrive at the bunker to rest a moment and see the drone trophies. But we have to get back. As soon as we emerge, they are above us again. This is the new warfare. Hide, shoot at the sky, run, fire drones back.
WALSH: Have to walk in, but also walk out.
WALSH (voiceover): The buzz stays with you, ringing in your ears for hours later. No respite. The gray smoke. Perhaps it hit the net.
WALSH: That was close. Loud. You could hear the shrapnel landing on the tarmac, clearly targeting that armored vehicle.
WALSH (voiceover): It is hard to see how this grind is a win, but it is Ukraine on foot, robots in support, automation replacing scarce, troops holding ground. The drones never stop, but neither does Ukraine adapting, learning engineering this new warfare and hoping any edge sustains long enough to put Russia in reverse.
Nick Paton Walsh, Druzhkivka, Ukraine
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much for that incredible report. We also want to thank his cameraman, Mark Phillips, and his field producer, Natalie Wright. Incredible reporting overall.
BLITZER: They did a great, great job.
BROWN: Yes.
BLITZER: Amazing. All right. And coming up, there's more breaking news. Authorities in Belgium now say several children were among those killed when a train hit a school bus. What we're learning about the deadly crash, we'll have details right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
BLITZER: We're following breaking news. Four people, including two children, have been killed after a train hit a school bus this morning. Officials say that five children were also injured and are now in stable condition. The collision happened in northern Belgium. Investigators say the minibus appeared to plow through a barrier at the crossing.
CNN's Nada Bashir is following the story for us. Nada, officials are now investigating the cause of this tragedy. What more are you learning?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are certainly a lot of questions, Wolf, as to how this tragic and deadly collision could have taken place. We've just had yet another update from police officials in Belgium in just the last few moments. They have confirmed that according to DNA, according to testing, rather, the driver tested negative for alcohol and drugs. But there are still many questions as to how, of course, this vehicle, this minibus carrying schoolchildren was able to pass through a barrier which had gone down, preventing, of course, oncoming traffic and making way for that train to pass through the tracks. Now, we did have an update a little earlier from police. Take a listen to this statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AN BERGER, SPOKESPERSON, BELGIAN FEDERAL POLICE: At 8 past 8:00, a bus -- school bus passed here. It was driving along the railroad. The driver wanted to cross the railroad, which was closed at that time, 8 past 8:00. A train came from Bruges and drove into the bus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do we know if it was a human mistake or maybe a decision by the driver?
BERGER: At this moment, it's too early to say anything, so the only thing we know is it was 8:00 o'clock, 8 past 8:00, and that the railway was closed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: All right, we just lost --
BLITZER: Nada Bashir, thanks for that report. Pamela.
BROWN: Such a sad, sad story. Well, happening now, Goldman Sachs says that artificial intelligence has reduced monthly payroll growth in the U.S. by roughly 16,000 jobs just in the past year, and this comes as several major companies have recently announced mass layoffs, often citing A.I. But the technology can't replace every job. CNN senior national correspondent Ryan Young explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARIAN MORENO, PORSCHE TECHNOLOGY APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM: A car requires a human touch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to have that human interaction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A.I. cannot do what a trained technician can do.
STEPHANIE ALSTON, CEO BGG ENTERPRISES/EMPLOYMENT RECRUITER: People are concerned, and rightfully so.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Workers across all industries are growing anxious as advances in artificial intelligence and automation technologies move deeper into the workplace.
YOUNG: Goldman Sachs estimates that as many as 300 million full-time jobs are exposed globally over the next decade as automation technologies from robotics to algorithmic systems evolve.
ALSTON: People are afraid because they don't know if their job will be next.
YOUNG (voice-over): But Porsche believes their well-paid technicians will stay in high demand.
[11:45:00]
JOSHUA FINKBEINER, PORSCHE TECHNOLOGY APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM: Even if an A.I. advances further in the future, I just personally don't see A.I. ever taking over our jobs.
YOUNG: How important is it for you to be able to put your hand in the spaces and be able to touch all the --
RANDY BURNSWORTH, AFTERSALES TECHNICAL TRAINING MANAGER, PORSCHE CARS NORTH AMERICA: Well, it's very important. Something is starting to deteriorate. You know, there's normally kind of, like, a pliability to some of these rubbers, right?
YOUNG: Right.
BURNSWORTH: And if you can touch it and you start to feel that it's hardening, then you know. And one of the things, too, that's super important is smell. It's an instant clue that something's not right.
MORENO: I can never see a robot, you know, bending their, you know, parts to get into a crevice or a little point where a human could, you know? A human touch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A robot can't go through and notice some things, like noises, even just small things that you might overlook. You have to go back through, kind of go back and forth. It's never always cut and dry.
YOUNG: That's fast and fun.
MARC PISCITELLI, ASSISTANT CHIEF INSTRUCTOR, PORSCHE EXPERIENCE CENTER: Keep going, keep going. And lift. And then just hop on the brake. This car is like a scalpel to a surgeon.
YOUNG: What could you say to someone who's even thinking about the car industry or being a high-level technician?
PISCITELLI Do it. Even when I was younger growing up, kind of, the trades didn't have a bad, you know, stigma to them, but they were always kind of pushed to the side, whereas right now, the people that are getting into the automotive industry have so much more growth ahead of them.
YOUNG (voice-over): The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that employment of auto technicians and mechanics is projected to grow around 4 percent over the next eight years, just under 34,000 jobs.
ALSTON: I don't think there's really such thing as an A.I.-proof job. It's just those jobs that are A.I.-resilient, and even when you think about mechanics and those jobs in the skilled workforce, I personally believe that right now they're not going to replace the worker. They're just going to help improve efficiencies and make the tools better.
YOUNG: There's no way that you couldn't make money doing this. The demand is there for them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very nice knowing that when I get out of here, I'll pretty much have a guaranteed job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Our thanks to Ryan Young for that report. And we'll be right back.
[11:55:00]
BLITZER: Happening now, according to AAA, gas is averaging $4.49 per gallon this morning. That's more than $1.50 higher than it was before the war with Iran began.
BROWN: But rising fuel costs aren't just affecting drivers and flyers. The high cost of diesel is clawing at a summer seafood favorite. CNN's Randi Kaye explains why the price of lobsters is red hot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. One more bite.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are you willing to shell out big bucks for a lobster roll?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not today I'm not. So, I got a $7 clam chowder instead.
KAYE (voiceover): Lobster rolls are usually a popular summer item on the menu, but here in New England, some customers can't believe how expensive they are now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The great thing was that it was given to me.
KAYE: If you had to pay for it, upwards of $40 a lobster roll, is it worth it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it that? Is it that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't even know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.
KAYE: Maine's lobster supply has been dwindling for years. And last year, according to Maine's Department of Marine Resources, they saw the lowest supply of lobster since 2008. All of that drives prices up.
PAUL BARKER, OWNER, PAULI'S: Yes. I remember when Lobster rolls was 16, 1799. At some places in the city, we're at $50. It just blows my mind. KAYE (voiceover): Restaurant owners here say they are dealing with soaring wholesale prices and rising labor costs. And the price of catching a lobster has also put a squeeze on supply.
KAYE: In Maine, where about 80 percent of the country's lobster comes from diesel fuel, prices are up 52 percent over this time last year, according to AAA. So, for lobster fishermen, they have a decision to make. Do they really want to go that far offshore, that much expensive fuel in search of a lobster?
KAYE: Oh, my goodness. I have never seen a lobster roll like this.
BARKER: Fantastic. And you can see this is big chunks of lobster. This is the lobster tution.
KAYE: The lobster-tution.
BARKER: Exactly.
KAYE: How much lobster is in the lobster-tution would you say.
BARKER: Almost a pound and a half of lobster right there.
KAYE: Oh, my gosh.
STEVE BARRESI, WULF'S SEAFOOD SUPPLY: Fuel costs are so high. Bait is so high. Labor is so high. Maintenance of their traps is so high. So, by the time they get out, they're already in the red. Live lobster are up around $2 a pound compared to last year, which translates to the higher meat prices.
KAYE: Which translates to more expensive lobster rolls.
BARRESI: More expensive lobster rolls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It definitely impacted us this winter, and it just drove the cost through the roof.
KAYE (voiceover): At row 34 in the Boston Seaport, chef Jeremy Sewall says they serve about 200 lobster rolls a day in the summer months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our warm butter lobster roll, which is by far our most popular lobster roll. So, it's just warmed up in whole butter and stuffed into a toasted bun.
KAYE: What do these go for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, currently they're on the menu for $48.
KAYE: Does a higher cost change your mind about ordering a lobster roll?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not in this case, because it's a special treat. So, I'm OK with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to pay for gas, but I also would love to eat a lobster roll.
KAYE: It's a tough choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is.
KAYE: In an economy like this, people may be choosing between a delicious lobster roll and filling their tank.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. And I would say go half a tank and come have a lobster roll.
KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning.
[12:00:00]
