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Passengers Being Monitored for Hantavirus in Nebraska and Georgia; Rage-Bait MAGA Influencer Targets Gay Couple in West Hollywood; Nike Sued Over Tariff-Related Costs. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 11, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We continue to follow our breaking news. One of those American passengers who was evacuated from that cruise ship struck by Hantavirus is giving us the first behind-the-scenes look at where he's being quarantined. In a post on Instagram, Jake Rosmarin uploaded a selfie from his quarantine room at this medical facility in Nebraska where he says, he's OK and feeling well. CNN continues to try and reach him for an interview.

We're also seeing our first images of two other Americans evacuated from that cruise ship arriving at the airport in Atlanta. One of those passengers is experiencing symptoms of the virus, and both are now being observed at a biocontainment unit at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is with us now. She's in Omaha, where 16 of those passengers are being monitored. Dianne, what can you tell us about this facility and how long these passengers could be there?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so Brianna, we have two separate facilities here on the University of Nebraska Medical Center campus. The one behind me is the National Quarantine Center in the basement, where 15 of those passengers are currently staying. And that's what you're seeing in that picture that Jake posted online.

We're going to show you some handout video that we have as well of what these rooms look like. The medical officials today described it as kind of like a hotel room, except it has negative, excuse me, it has negative pressure and a really good ventilation system, along with access to excellent medical care and officials who are going to continue monitoring them throughout the day.

Now, there is also one person who did have a positive test for Hantavirus. They're being held in a biocontainment unit. That is in a different part of the campus at the hospital.

[14:35:00]

That's a slightly different type of room as well with its own ventilation system and some other things with a more aggressive type of monitoring from those medical officials. It is important to note that that person is asymptomatic and based on what the doctors tell us, they know about this. They do not think that Hantavirus, this variant is transmitted by asymptomatic people.

But if we can go back to those who are the quarantine unit right now, you can see it's kind of like a hotel room. And what they're going to do is handle these assessments today. They got in the wee hours of the morning.

They wanted to let them sleep some and they're basically going to interview them, take their temperature, do some other things to determine exactly how close they may have had contact with somebody who tested positive or another individual who is exhibiting symptoms as we talked about, who is in Atlanta and sort of take a step through their calendar, through their days, what they've been doing, where they were and get a read on how they feel. And really that's how they'll figure out when their sort of day one is of this light quarantine, if you will.

Right now, that assessment is paramount. That's what they have to do first. They'll do some monitoring and then the people can potentially determine if they want to continue this 42 day period, maybe even back at their home, if their hometown has an adequate medical facility and they're able to continue the daily monitoring, there'll be an escorted transport to that area where they can finish that 42 days. What's interesting, Brianna, is everybody might have a different 42 days here depending on when their day one is.

This is a very individualistic approach that the doctors are taking saying every case is different and unique and it's all determined on where your contact was, how close it was, how long you were in contact and how you're feeling at the moment.

KEILAR: Very interesting look there. Dianne, thank you for that live for us from Nebraska -- Omar.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Let's get some perspective now. Here with me, to talk more about Hantavirus, is Dr. Leana Wen. She's an emergency physician and a former health commissioner for the city of Baltimore. Good to see you.

I just want to start with, now that the passengers are off the boat back in the United States, how do you assess the risk of Hantavirus spreading?

DR. LEANA WEN, EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN: The risk to the general public remains very low and that's because we're not dealing with a new virus here. We've known about Hantavirus for decades. Generally, the strain in the U.S. is not spread person to person.

The strain, the Andes virus, the Andes strain that is implicated in this case of the cruise ship can be spread person to person, but it requires prolonged close contact. And right now, these passengers from the cruise ship are being carefully monitored. They are being tested.

Their symptoms are being monitored. If they are to be released back to their home communities, their whereabouts will be known. Local public health officials will be following them and any contacts will be identified as well, therefore stopping the transmission. So I do not believe that we're going to see much further spread. We may see a few more cases, but it seems very likely that these sets of Hantavirus cases will be contained as Hantavirus has been before.

JIMENEZ: And you mentioned that we've known about Hantavirus for a while and a lot of what's talked about is sort of that virus reproductive number, meaning how many people an infected person typically infects. This is much lower than COVID-19, right?

WEN: That's exactly right. So with COVID, with measles, with flu, we're talking about something that's very highly contagious that you can get even from breathing the same air as someone or from being in close proximity for a short period of time. Based on what we've known in the past with this strain of Hantavirus, it requires prolonged close contact.

So living with someone, sharing drinks or being with someone for long periods of time, not just being in the same general vicinity of that person.

JIMENEZ: And you know, you mentioned some of those other diseases and viruses as well. Obviously, most recently, we've seen outbreaks of measles on a serious level here in the United States. But I wonder, are you seeing lessons at least at this point in what we know in Hantavirus?

Are you seeing lessons learned or applied from the COVID-19 pandemic, not just in terms of public health, but also in communicating with the public as well?

WEN: Well, I think one lesson that we learned from COVID is that you have to communicate what you know when you know it in a transparent way, and that you also have to communicate what you don't know and what you're following. I think in this case, the World Health Organization has been very good in this regard. They have had to coordinate what's been happening around the world, this global response.

We have passengers from more than 20 countries who are now going back to their home countries.

[14:40:00]

All that needs to be coordinated, the testing, the subsequent follow- up, the number of cases that emerge, that all needs to be communicated in a way that reassures the public and lets people know what to expect. I do worry about what's happening here in the U.S. We know that there are thousands of workers in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who no longer work there, including many people involved in outbreak response. We know that the U.S. is no longer a part of the World Health Organization. And so there might be less coordination and less efficient coordination as there used to be before.

And we have not gotten as timely of information here in the U.S. as we may have expected in the past. And so I hope this is a call to action for us to really prioritize public health, prevention of public health, and monitoring. Look, I don't think that Hantavirus this time is going to be the virus that the general public has anything to worry about.

But there may be another virus in the future that we have to worry about. And I do worry that we have not learned appropriately the lessons from COVID, including communication, but also the importance of investing in local public health, because right now as these individuals are returning back to their home communities, it is the health workers on the ground who are doing the outreach, who are doing the contact tracing, who are helping to keep communities safe.

JIMENEZ: And that's part of what I was going to ask you, because look, we've heard from the acting CDC chief saying this isn't COVID. I've heard that from you as well in terms of transmissibility and what we know right now. But I wonder moving forward, what are you looking for?

What is going to be the most critical portion of managing Hantavirus here in the United States? And obviously it's contained at these facilities as far as we know right now, but what will be most important moving forward?

WEN: Well, we need to see how many more cases are going to come. And there may well be more cases that arise, because now these are individuals who are being tested. They are in facilities where they can get that treatment.

And also, we know the incubation period is long. The time between exposure and symptoms can be as long as eight weeks. And so people can start testing positive.

The question then becomes, are we going to see cases of asymptomatic transmission? Right now we believe that transmission only is occurring when people are symptomatic. So we do not believe that there's asymptomatic transmission.

If there is, that would change things. Also, it might change things too if we see cases in people who do not have a direct connection with that cruise ship. For example, if there are passengers on board the flights, but who are not on the cruise ships, or family members, if they start testing positive.

None of that has happened, but I think that requires careful monitoring. And again, underscores why that public health response is so important.

JIMENEZ: Yes, and obviously a lot to watch for moving forward. Dr. Leana Wen, appreciate your perspective. Thanks for being here.

WEN: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: And before we go, I just want to clarify, we showed a picture of Jake Rosmarin who uploaded a selfie from his quarantine room at a medical facility in Nebraska. He has not tested positive, just as we've been covering all of this. Just wanted to clarify that before we go to break. But I also want to preview what we're going to talk about coming up. A

gay couple says they were swept up in a MAGA influencers viral stunt. We're going to show you what they say happened next.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A gay couple in California is now speaking out after they say they were swept up in a MAGA influencers viral stunt in West Hollywood. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan sat down with them and he's here with us now. Donie, what did they tell you?

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey Brianna. Yes, on social media, algorithms, as we know, oftentimes reward controversy, tension, and that's exactly what happened. This couple, Anthony and David Vullen, on the receiving end of a MAGA influencers search for clicks.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MILLER-ROBINSON, PARENT AND VICTIM OF VIRAL STUNT: We were making our way across the rainbow crosswalk and he spotted us. He said, hey, can you do a few questions for CNN?

RYLEY NIEMI, CONSERVATIVE INFLUENCER: This is your guy's son or daughter?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Son.

NIEMI: Awesome. And are you guys a couple?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

NIEMI: That's awesome. Cool.

ANTHONY VULIN, PARENT AND VICTIM OF VIRAL STUNT: As soon as he asked the first question, we knew that they weren't with CNN, that this was something different.

NIEMI: So, have you ever heard about the statistics coming out that gay men are statistically much more likely to commit child molestation?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

NIEMI: You never heard about that before?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That sounds crazy. Yes.

MILLER-ROBINSON: In that instant I realized that we were manipulated into having this interaction with someone who was exploiting us for viral content.

NIEMI: So, you had a surrogate? You paid a woman $50,000 to be pregnant?

MILLER-ROBINSON: Who are you?

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

NIEMI: And build an emotional connection to a baby.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

NIEMI: Hey, don't take my mic.

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): New parents, Anthony and David Vulin were approached in West Hollywood by someone they say was falsely claiming he was with CNN. The man then provoked the couple with a false statistic about gay men.

MILLER-ROBINSON: When someone inserts themselves into a specific community with the intention of triggering people, it's not freedom of expression, it's an exploitation.

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): That someone is Ryley Niemi.

NIEMI: What makes somebody a woman?

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Fashioning himself as a MAGA influencer, he takes to college campuses and to the streets to create rage bait.

NIEMI: And this got bent by a nonbinary faculty member at UCLA actually. It's on video. It's got millions of views.

O'SULLIVAN: I'm just trying to figure out, like, how much of -- how much of this stuff is like you intentionally just, you know, trying to get a rise out of people, trying to create content versus like, what, how serious you believe this stuff.

NIEMI: I think it should be illegal to become transgender.

O'SULLIVAN: You think what?

NIEMI: I think it should be illegal to become transgender for even adults.

[14:50:00]

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Niemi says he's motivated by politics, but what he is doing can also be profitable.

NIEMI: The rate at which my social media is growing, I could easily live off of it in probably four or five months from now.

O'SULLIVAN: What's your message for him, and do you sort of have hope that he might change his ways maybe?

MILLER-ROBINSON: I don't really think this is about him. This isn't about one specific content creator. This is about an incentivized institution. This is about large platforms telling youthful audiences what works and not being held accountable.

O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Anthony, David and their three-month-old son, Ante, were swept up in Niemi's viral circus. Niemi says David Vulin assaulted him. The Vulin's lawyers say the couple was deliberately targeted with some of the most revolting hate speech imaginable, all on camera for clicks. Adding, David Vulin did what any father would do and protected his family. The wrong person spent the night in jail.

MILLER-ROBINSON: I think that across the board, regardless of political identity, people need to extend grace to one another. People need to extend kindness to one another. Be nicer to themselves. So that they can be nicer to other people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): And the couple say that since this video went viral, they've received online threats, that they've been both fearful. And West Hollywood is traditionally a very gay neighborhood, gay-friendly part of Los Angeles. They said that they were always so proud to walk as two gay men with their son, Ante, through that neighborhood.

And I mean, I guess the one upside of all of this is just how much the community in West Hollywood and beyond have come to support Anthony and Davis. They have a GoFundMe with a legal defense fund up there, which they're hoping to not have to use.

KEILAR: All right, Donie O'Sullivan, thank you for that report.

Next, Nike finds itself at the wrong end of a lawsuit. Why shoppers are coming after the athletic apparel company.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Want to get you to a quick headline we're following. Pop superstar Dua Lipa is suing Samsung for $15 million. And here's the reason why.

The singer alleges Samsung used her image on its television packaging without her permission. And her legal team says Samsung exploited Dua Lipa to boost sales and ignored repeated demands to pull the boxes. Samsung has yet to comment, but we've got to keep track of what Dua Lipa's doing.

All right, the first of many refunds related to President Trump's overturned tariffs are being sent to American importers today. And obviously, American consumers want a piece of the $166 billion pie. As a result, Nike, among other companies, is facing a class action lawsuit from shoppers who say it passed on the cost of tariffs in the form of higher prices. Now they want their money back.

CNN business reporter, senior reporter -- don't want to shortchange you there -- David Goldman following this story. So David, how likely is it that consumers will actually get any money back here? DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Well, you can just call me Dave, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right.

GOLDMAN: But I think that the important thing for people -- the important thing for people to understand is that on average, there was about $1,000 per American household in added tariff costs last year. And like you said, it's really understandable that people want some of that back, but it's really, really complicated, right? I mean, there's $166 billion, as you noted, that has been declared illegal by the Supreme Court.

The Trump administration now needs to reckon with that with those refunds. But are you going to get a refund? Well, there is a low probability of any of that, and here's why.

So there's a group of people that have said, I want my refund because I paid Nike about five to 10 extra dollars every time that I bought a piece of apparel or sneaker. This is according to Nike's own numbers. They have shelled out about a billion dollars in added tariff costs.

So what do you get? Well, a group of consumers said, well, I want to sue Nike, maybe make this a class action lawsuit. And now they're trying to go to extraordinary lengths to kind of claw some of that back.

JIMENEZ: Well, what is Nike saying about all this right now?

GOLDMAN: Yes, well, Nike isn't commenting on this to us, but they have said that, you know, in addition to that $1 billion in costs, that they are going to sue the government to try to get their part of this back. And actually, there are a number of lawsuits that are similar against Costco, FedEx, a bunch of other consumer companies have said that they want to get that money back. But, you know, it's also not that simple, right?

Because the people -- the companies that are actually paying the tariffs are the importers, not necessarily the retailers where you went and bought the stuff from. So the importers need to get that money back, and then the retailers need to claw that money back from the importers. And then if they're very kind, those retailers might start to lower prices for you. Now you're getting a sense of why that's not so likely.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett in the Supreme Court case called this a mess, and she is right. This is not going to be easy. It's going to be a long, long time before this is all resolved, and a really long time before any consumers actually see anything.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

END