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The Situation Room

North Carolina Police Officer Fired; Status of Trump's Health?; Iran Suspends U.S. Talks. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired June 01, 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]

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: When Serena Williams walks back onto the court, the sporting world will be watching. She's a true legend that has the power to bring everything to a standstill. Incredible, incredible news that just came through moments ago.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Yes, so exciting. And I just -- I love that, 45 years old, getting right back out there on the court.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: I have seen her play. She's amazing.

BROWN: Oh, she...

BLITZER: Yes.

BROWN: As you said, Coy, she's an icon.

BLITZER: All right, Coy Wire, thank you very, very much.

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: And just ahead here in THE SITUATION ROOM: meteoric booms.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) was that?

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BROWN: Can you imagine? A meteor shocking the Northeast. We're going to explain the phenomenon just ahead.

And, later, new information on President Trump's health. What we're learning from the new result of the president's physical. Dr. Jonathan Reiner will join us live just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:16]

BROWN: Happening now: why a former Mexican official is in federal court in Manhattan right now. Gerardo Merida Sanchez faces charges that he and others accepted bribes to help the Sinaloa cartel smuggle massive amounts of drugs into the U.S. And a Virginia bus driver is now facing charges of involuntary

manslaughter following this fatal crash. Five people were killed and dozens of others were injured after the 48-year-old driver allegedly failed to slow down before plowing into six cars. The driver is currently in custody in the hospital recovering from his own injuries in this crash.

And shock and curiosity after a three-foot-wide meteor entered Earth's atmosphere, and it sounded like an explosion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) was that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: That would probably be my reaction too. Scientists say it's unlikely the meteor actually hit the ground, but some people filed reports with the U.S. Geological Survey, thinking what they felt was an earthquake.

Wow -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Can imagine how scary that is.

We have other breaking news we're following. The U.S. now says Iran fired two ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Kuwait. Both were intercepted, and now Iran says it's suspending talks with the U.S. in protest of Israeli strikes in Lebanon.

With us here is CNN national security analyst and former deputy director of national intelligence Beth Sanner.

What's your reaction, Beth, to Iran's latest move to suspend all these talks?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, we have had now three cease-fire violations in the strait, according to the -- in terms of U.S. strikes and retaliation, over the past weeks, since last Wednesday.

But what we're seeing today is really Iran reacting to the escalation on the Lebanese front. And I don't know if viewers remember or not, but Lebanon and a cessation of hostilities, a cease-fire in Lebanon, was supposed to be part of this package deal with the cease-fire that's going on in Iran between the United States and Iran.

And, at the same time, the Lebanese front has really been heating up. And during this whole cease-fire period, the Israeli Defense Forces have killed 800 to 900 Hezbollah fighters, they have struck Beirut, and, today, Netanyahu announced they're going to strike Beirut again.

Lebanese are driving out of that southern part of Beirut, which is a Hezbollah stronghold. And so there is a lot going on in that front. And it's a key barrier to getting an agreement now.

BLITZER: Well, given all these developments, Beth, could we see a return to all-out fighting right now between the U.S. and Iran?

SANNER: We can't rule it out.

I think, at this point, Iran is using what it has as real leverage, right? Iran has always had leverage on multiple fronts. They added a new one with the Strait of Hormuz, and they have said now publicly that now they could forcibly close the entire strait again, blockade it.

Over the last three weeks, the United States has helped guide 70 ships through there. That's about three a day, versus over 100 a day before the war. They're saying we could shut that down, and we could also shut a nearby choke point, which is controlled by kind of an overlook by the Houthis.

And that's the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. That would close the traffic that would go through the Suez. So they have that. They have the proxies. And then we have new reports of them digging out their underground missile sites, where probably 1,000 missiles still remain.

So, Iran is telling the United States, look, you sent back this tougher deal. We're hearing reports. We don't know what the details are. But we have leverage too, and we're not going to capitulate. We want the cessation of the Israeli growing offensive in Lebanon.

BLITZER: The Israelis say that -- they earlier said that they were preparing to strike what they call Hezbollah strongholds in the Beirut suburbs.

SANNER: Yes.

BLITZER: Is Iran's declaration a way of trying to derail those plans?

SANNER: Could very well be. I mean, a deal in Iran, this MOU for 60 days and then leading on to a nuclear agreement, leaves out major, major issues that Israel went to war over and believes are key to their security.

[10:40:15]

It doesn't deal with the proxy forces, and they're dealing with that right now in Lebanon. It doesn't deal with the missile program and the forces that they have. And we don't know where the nuclear program will go. So, such an agreement only a few months before an Israeli election due no later than October 27, this for Netanyahu would be a nightmare.

So he has every reason not to want such a deal. And the Iranians are playing along with that program. They don't look too eager right now either. So, now the United States, which has been holding these military-to-military negotiations between the Lebanese government and Israel to try to figure out how to disarm Hezbollah, those become more important than ever.

And President Trump is going to have to put his fist on the table and force Netanyahu to pull back. That will not look good ahead of these elections either, so not in a good place for Netanyahu.

BLITZER: All right, we will see what happens.

Beth Sanner, thank you very, very much -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, Wolf, still ahead: Public health concerns are growing, as millions of people are expected to travel to the U.S., Mexico and Canada for the World Cup. Will this be an Ebola super- spreader event?

We will explore coming up.

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[10:46:08]

BROWN: Well, this morning, questions are swirling around President Trump's latest medical exam and why the White House waited three days before releasing the report near midnight Friday. It mentioned the president is in excellent health, but recommended he lose weight, and it didn't address a recent skin rash on Trump's neck.

For more insights, we're joined by CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, who was the late Vice President Dick Cheney's cardiologist for years.

Dr. Reiner, in your view, why do you think the White House sat on this report for three days before it was released? Because, just historically, it's usually a little bit sooner or later.

DR. JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, the only reason not to release a rosy report right away is that maybe it's not so rosy or there's some information you don't want the public to hear.

So I have read this report multiple times, and, every time I read it, it actually seems to be thinner and thinner. And I'm actually not sure what testing the president underwent last week.

At the outset of the note, Dr. Barbabella basically states that this report includes essentially all testing the president has had in the last year. And there are very few tests that are disclosed.

And what was confusing to many of the physicians who reviewed these reports is that it appeared that the president had underwent repeat testing, and I'm not sure that's true. They say the president had a C.T. scan. Well, we know he had a C.T. scan in the fall, and it was not clear why they would repeat it.

They said he had an echocardiogram, which was performed last summer. And, again, it was not clear why they would repeat it, and they may not have. And they also described this really non-useful A.I.-assisted EKG, which we know he had last year. And, again, it doesn't make much sense to repeat that.

So there's very -- but the president was at Walter Reed for three hours. So what actually was conducted there? I think the only thing we know for certain that was done, because the president has said it was done, was a repeat MoCA cognitive exam, which the patient states that for the fourth time he aced.

So I don't know actually what testing the president underwent, but he was there for three hours. So my question for the White House is, did the president have imaging testing that is not included in this report or any significant testing not included in this report?

BLITZER: Let me just follow up on that, Dr. Reiner, because, as for Trump's health involving his heart, the White House doctor, Sean Barbabella, said -- and I'm quoting him now -- "A.I.-enhanced electrocardiogram analysis estimated his cardiac age to be approximately 14 years younger than his chronological age."

Is that realistic?

REINER: No.

And in the cardiology world, when we first read that last year, that created a big chuckle, because that is not really a thing. So it may be flattering for the president to be told that, but it's not really a clinical tool.

But the information about his heart that we would love to know, which we don't, is, what is his ejection fraction? That's data obtained by the echo. What exactly did the C.T. scan look for, and what did it find? Did it measure his aorta? Did it examine his coronary arteries in detail?

We know that he has presence of coronary artery disease, because, in the past, they have disclosed two coronary artery scans which have detected calcium, which is essentially deposited in atherosclerosis. So we know that he has some coronary disease, but the level of data is very sparse.

One other thing, "The Wall Street Journal" reported that the White House has said that the list of medications is -- was shortened or abbreviated for readability and relevance. I'm not sure what readability means, but every medication the president is taking is relevant.

[10:50:11]

And they only released two cholesterol medicines and aspirin. So is the president taking more medications than has been listed on this report?

So, I was really underwhelmed by the level of detail. One thing I'm glad about is that Dr. Barbabella at the end certifies that the president is fit for duty as commander in chief and head of state. And that is important to know, and I'm glad to hear that.

But how he gets to that conclusion is not really evident from the level of information provided in this annual report, or, as the president now calls it, semiannual report. BLITZER: Very quickly, Dr. Reiner, I looked at some of the numbers.

I'm always looking at the numbers when we get these reports. His blood pressure is 105 over 71 and his cholesterol level is 143. Are those numbers pretty normal, or what?

REINER: Those numbers are great.

And the specific number in the cholesterol panel that I like is his LDL, which is the adverse cholesterol, which is in the 50s. And that's achieved by the combination of rosuvastatin, a statin drug, and ezetimibe, a drug that helps prevent cholesterol absorption in the gut.

And the combination of those two drugs can often get the LDL below 60. And now our goal, frankly, for people with demonstrated coronary disease is to get the LDL into the 50s, and I'm happy to see the president's numbers are right there.

BLITZER: Yes, good.

BROWN: All right, quickly, I want to pivot to the FIFA World Cup. It's set to kick off in North America.

And you have heard these public health officials really sounding the alarm around its potential threats, given the Ebola outbreak. What do you see? I mean, do you think this is going to be a super-spreader event?

REINER: No, and for a couple of reasons.

First of all, unlike COVID-19 or measles, Ebola is not spread through respiratory transmission. So the ability to infect a wide swathe of people is very limited. Ebola is spread through direct contact with contaminated body fluids or even maybe with soiled bed linens and through contact during burial practices.

So it's difficult to transmit that just sort of being in an arena or even being in an elevator perhaps with someone. And the other important issue is that Ebola is not transmitted before people have symptoms. So, one doesn't have to worry that somebody who is sitting next to them who appears well is likely to transmit Ebola to them.

So I think the likelihood of this becoming a super-spreader event is very, very small.

BLITZER: That's encouraging to hear that.

Dr. Reiner, thank you very much for joining us.

BROWN: Thank you.

REINER: My pleasure.

BROWN: And here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour.

New changes begin today for SNAP recipients -- how soon families could lose their federal assistance if new work requirements are not met.

Plus, growing concerns about a tick bite that could make you allergic to red meat.

And THE SITUATION ROOM's all-new series, "Decoding Artificial Intelligence." Today's question, should A.I. be allowed in political ads?

That's all new next hour.

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[10:56:38]

BROWN: Well, new this morning: An officer in North Carolina was fired after a home security camera showed him repeatedly punching a black woman who was asking for mental health care. It's unclear what happened in the moments leading up to this video.

BLITZER: Let's go live right now to CNN national correspondent Dianne Gallagher in Charlotte, North Carolina. She's got details.

What more are we learning from the woman's family about this?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

And, Wolf, I do want to be clear that we don't know what happened in the moments leading up to this video that was captured by a neighbor on home security video. But I want you to see it for yourselves, and I do want to warn you that it is very difficult to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let go! Let go! Let go!

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got her. I got her. I got her. I got her.

(SHOUTING)

(CROSSTALK)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands on your back. Put your hands on your back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands behind your back.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands behind your back!

(SHOUTING)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Call (INAUDIBLE) crisis center. Call my daddy.

I'm not on medication. You can call my daddy (INAUDIBLE). Like, call him. Call him. Excuse me. Can you (CROSSTALK) my daddy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: Now, just in case you couldn't make out what she was saying, she does tell the officers that she's off her medication. She asked for mental health care and for them to call her father.

CNN has spoken with her father, who tells us that his 34-year-old daughter has a broken nose, black eyes, a cut lip, and she still needs to be tested for a possible concussion. He says that she has mental health and substance abuse issues.

She is currently safe and resting, but she is sore and doesn't want to talk about what happened. He believes that she will -- quote -- "be scarred for life."

Now, an arrest warrant alleges that she entered a building illegally and resisted arrest by running away. She was released without bond, but she still is facing charges of breaking and entering, resisting arrest, and assault of a government official, according to her attorney.

Now, that officer was immediately placed on administrative leave. And after the police department's review, a day after the arrest, he was fired. The Shelby police chief addressed his community.

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BRAD FRASER, SHELBY, NORTH CAROLINA, POLICE CHIEF: I care deeply about the residents we serve and the reputation of this department. While this incident does not reflect the values of the Shelby Police Department, it does reinforce the importance of holding ourselves to the highest standards of conduct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: In the initial statement, the police chief called the actions -- quote -- "disturbing and inappropriate."

Now, we have reached out to the police department and the police union for a comment on that firing. We have also attempted to reach the fired officer for comment. The state Bureau of Investigations is conducting an independent review right now to determine if there is any kind of criminal violation that occurred.

[11:00:00]