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Duffy's Reality Show Criticism; Inflation Rose 3.8 percent in April; Hegseth and Caine Testify Before House; New Hantavirus Cases Reported Overnight; Dr. Deb Houry is Interviewed about Hantavirus; Nebraska and West Virginia Vote; Former Acting FBI Director Speaks to CNN. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 12, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): And gasoline prices way up amid the U.S. fight with Iran, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg posted, "this is brutally out of touch. Regular families can't afford road trips anymore because Trump and his war put gas prices through the roof."

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Someone has to pay for this operation. I got to go to work.

FOREMAN (voice over): Duffy says no taxpayer dollars were involved. Neither he nor his family were paid. And sponsors picked up the production tab.

But looking at some of those corporate backers, government watchdogs warn that the secretary is enjoying a road trip that appears to have been funded by the very industries his agency oversees.

RACHEL CAMPOS-DUFFY, FOX NEWS: I wore my boots at John Rich gave me.

DUFFY: They're very sexy.

FOREMAN (voice over): The Duffys are pushing back, posting that the "radical, miserable left just hates the show because it's too wholesome, it's too patriotic, it's too joyful."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think (INAUDIBLE) kind of mad.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, you're mad.

DUFFY: We're not going to fight on the trip. Put your seatbelts on.

FOREMAN (voice over): Still, critics say the power couple is on thin ice. Although the project was reportedly shot mainly on weekends and holidays, it took seven months.

DUFFY: There's a crisis, and Pete Buttigieg decides to ignore it. FOREMAN (voice over): And back when Buttigieg led transportation, both

the Duffys attacked him for doing anything other than his government work, even for taking paternity leave when his twins were born.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: What the hell was he doing? And we were in the middle of a supply chain --

DUFFY: But it's vacation time, right? So, he's not doing his job.

CAMPOS-DUFFY: Exactly.

FOREMAN: So, some who heard the Duffys complaints back then say what they're hearing now sounds an awful lot like hypocrisy, no matter where you go on the map.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news moments ago. A new read on inflation, now the highest it's been in three years. And new CNN polling just out revealing the anxiety and pain that Americans are already feeling because of the economy. A breakdown of all of the numbers coming for you.

And the defense secretary facing lawmakers and tough questions today about the war with Iran. We are tracking this one for you live.

We're also tracking new developments with the hantavirus. New cases reported with all of the American passengers now under quarantine and back in the United States.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, for the first time in three years, American's wages are no longer outpacing inflation. New data just in a few minutes ago shows inflation is up to 3.8 percent, the highest in three years. And new CNN polling just out gives a fresh look on how Americans feel about the economy overall. The numbers reveal deep anxiety about affordability and growing warning signs for President Trump. Seventy-three percent describe economic conditions in this country as poor.

CNN's Matt Egan joining us now to break down the brand-new inflation report.

There is a reason why Americans feel this bad about their personal economies and how they're able, or not able, to buy things that they normally could buy. What are you learning from the inflation report?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Sara, look, this is another inflation setback. And it's being driven in large part by the war. So, consumer prices soaring by 3.8 percent year over year in April. That is worse than expected. And that is the highest level in almost three years. Now, on a monthly basis, inflation did cool to 0.6 percent. But that

is way too hot to try to get inflation where it needs to be.

Now, when you look at the trend for annual inflation, you can see that it had been moving in the right direction for the past two years or so. And then, boom, the start of this year, you can see, as the war began, inflation going almost straight up towards four percent.

Now, core inflation, which excludes food and energy, that was also worse than expected. That heated up to 2.8 percent. Highest level since last fall. That's key because that's looked at as a better indicator of underlying inflation, and where it's really going.

So, what happened? Well, the biggest driver for headline inflation, as expected, is gasoline, 5.4 percent. Right, a lot of people are paying $4, $4.50. There's some fears of $5 a gallon gas nationally.

But this is not just gas, Sara. Airfare as well. Airfare going up sharply. That's because jet fuel has skyrocketed. And we might be getting some early signs that the war and the impact of the war is spilling over into the grocery store aisle. Because, look at this, fresh fruit and vegetables, up by 2.3 percent on the month. That's the most since 2010. Groceries overall increasing by 0.7 percent. That's the most since August of 2022. And then shelter, 0.6 percent. Economists are going to probably look past that one because that's likely a statistical anomaly related to the fact that the government was shut down last fall and they couldn't take some of these surveys.

[09:05:07]

But still, it does seem like not only is life getting more expensive, but it's getting more expensive in large part because of the war. Now, as you mentioned, this is having the effect of making people feel like they can't keep up, right, because wages are going up, but they're not going up as much as prices, right? So, the red line here shows price -- shows the price increases. And back in 2023, prices were going up faster than paychecks. Then you had this really positive reversal for years and now there's crossed again. And so, no wonder, Sara, why people feel like they can't keep up. In many cases they literally can't.

SIDNER: Yes. That's why they feel that way because they know their own budgets and what's happening with their own budgets.

Let's talk more about the new polling that is out this morning on the economy. It is not a good outlook. Once considered President Trump's really strongest point. It is one of the -- it was the top issue in the election. One that he really won on. And now this looks really different.

EGAN: Yes, he promised to fix the cost of living. But Americans are increasingly souring on this economy. Just 27 percent of Americans in this new CNN poll say that they would rate economic conditions today as good. Just 27 percent. Far more, 73 percent, describe conditions as poor. And the president is getting the blame here in this poll. You look at

Trump's handling of the economy, only 30 percent are approving. Seventy percent disapprove of him on the economy. That is a new career high for disapproval for the president on the economy.

And you're also seeing people really blame his policies. This same poll shows that 77 percent say that Trump policies have made the cost of living in their own communities worse. And, Sara, that includes a majority, 55 percent of Republicans. And so, this is a reflection of frustration over high gas prices, over tariffs as well. And I think it just shows that a lot of people are feeling anxious about this economy right now.

SIDNER: Yes. And meantime, there's still questions about this war. It is still ongoing. And there is no clear end in sight. We will wait and see what happens over the long haul.

Matt Egan, thank you so much for those new numbers. Appreciate it.

EGAN: Thank you, Sara.

SIDNER: John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Look, in the war in Iran, the major driver of the rising prices across the country, those big, steep increases just reported on there. You're looking at live pictures of Capitol Hill. That is Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He is facing questions on the war, along with the chair of the Joint Chiefs, Dan Caine.

Let's get right to CNN's Brian Todd, who has been watching these hearings.

Brian, how's it been going so far?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, they've been up for about an hour with these questions on the opening statements. Secretary Hegseth and Dan Caine starting to get some tough questions about the real cost of this war and where the war is going. Do they have plans for escalation or de-escalation? Because as we've been reporting, you know, CNN reporting that we are at a real crossroads right now in this war. CNN's sources telling us that President Trump is getting increasingly frustrated with Iran's response to the negotiations and is more seriously considering a resumption of combat operations.

Secretary Hegseth was grilled on that by Congresswoman Betty McCollum, a Democrat from Minnesota, basically asking him, look, if this -- if this committee does not appropriate at least some of the money that you may need for this war, do you have a plan b for escalation or de- escalation? What's your plan b? Here's that exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BETTY MCCOLLUM (D-MN): Do you have a plan b?

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Ranking member, I would say we have a plan for all of that. We have a plan to escalate if necessary. We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets. Certainly in this setting, we wouldn't reveal what the next step may be considering the gravity of the mission that the president is undertaking to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear bomb.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So, look for Secretary Hegseth to face questions like that pretty much all morning long in both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. Interestingly enough, Secretary Hegseth also addressed the question of munitions because CNN and others have been reporting the U.S. has severely depleted their supply of munitions. Just a few moments ago, John, Secretary Hegseth said that the munitions issue has been, quote, "foolhardily overstated." That basically we have everything that we need. CNN is reporting, of course, that the munitions have been pretty severely depleted in the first weeks of the Iran War, that THAAD missile stockpiles, precision strike missile stockpiles, Patriot interceptor stockpiles have been depleted. But Pete Hegseth stressing that they are aggressively building back those munitions.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Brian Todd, the hearing is still going on. You will keep on watching it for us. Thank you so much.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: An update for you from the World Health Organization, that there are now 11 confirmed cases of hantavirus. This as the Americans who were on board that cruise have now been evacuated back to the United States and are adjusting to quarantine life that could last some 40 days

[09:10:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE ROSMARIN, QUARANTINED AT UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA MEDICAL CENTER: So, my plan right now is to stay for the full (ph) 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. I feel great. I feel great. I don't have any symptoms.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good.

ROSMARIN: I mean this room is spacious. We have exercise equipment. I have a stationary bike back there. So, I'll be making use out of it over the next, you know, month or so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: That man is among the 18 people who are now being cared for in special facilities at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, which is where CNN's Jacqueline Howard is for us this morning and joins us now. What's the latest that you're picking up, Jacqueline? JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The latest that we're hearing

among the two passengers that are here in Atlanta at Emory Hospital, one of them is showing symptoms. And they're currently being treated in Emory's Biocontainment Unit. And the other passenger is actually that first passenger's close contact. And they are not showing symptoms, but they are being closely monitored in Emory's Serious Communicable Diseases Unit.

And just to give an idea of what these units may look like, here's a diagram of Emory's Special Isolation Unit. And you should see there, in area number one, that's where staff enter the area, put on their protective gear. Area number three is an example of what a patient room may look like.

And just in general, Kate, earlier this morning the World Health Organization's director general, Dr. Tedros, he did remind the public that, still, the risk to the general public remains low. And this is not another Covid-19 pandemic.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: At the moment, there is no sign that we are seeing the start of a larger outbreak. But of course, the situation could change. And given the long incubation period of the virus, it's possible we might see more cases in the coming weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD: Kate, because of that long incubation period, passengers are being told to watch for symptoms for about 42 days. So again, we could possibly see more cases emerge in the days to come. So far, like you said, Kate, 18 passengers are being monitored here in the United States. The two here in Atlanta at Emory, 16 others in Nebraska. And in general, so far in this outbreak, 11 cases have been identified. Sadly, among them, three people have died. But again, Kate, as time goes on, health officials are bracing themselves for the possibility of more cases to come.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Jacqueline, thank you so much for the latest update from Atlanta. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much.

Joining us now is Dr. Deb Houry, a senior fellow at the Yale School of Public Health and professor at Emory University.

Good to see you.

We just saw our Jacqueline Howard outside of Emory there. The WHO says more cases are expected because this -- of this long incubation period. Based on what we know today, I mean, should the regular population who are not near any of those affected be concerned?

DR. DEB HOURY, SENIOR FELLOW, YALE SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF HEALTH POLICY AND MANAGEMENT, EMORY: No, because what we know about this virus is, is it requires close contact to somebody who has hantavirus. So, right now, everybody that has been exposed to hantavirus from the cruise ship is being contained and monitored closely. There were a few people on that one airplane who are also being monitored through home monitoring and through health departments. But to you and me, we are OK.

SIDNER: There is a bit of a debate right now over whether the current response has been aggressive enough over these past few days and weeks. The former surgeon general, Jerome Adams, wrote this, "lessons from Covid. By the time you realize that you need mandatory quarantines and mass testing, it's too late for those measures to be fully effective. Waiting until people become symptomatic to test/isolate is a band-aid on a hemorrhage."

Others are saying, look, the current monitoring strategy is completely appropriate. What are your thoughts on this as a person who is in the place where some of these folks who have symptoms are being held?

HOURY: So, what is different about hantavirus than COVID is, we have experience with hantavirus. There was an outbreak in Argentina a few years ago where they have the data on 30 patients. And so, we know that people that transmit the hantavirus, it's when they're symptomatic versus asymptomatic.

The other difference is, COVID was an entirely new virus to where we didn't know how it mutate, we didn't know how it would present. With hantavirus, there's been about 900 cases in the United States. So, we have a much better sense of how to manage it, how to track it and how to contain it.

[09:15:02]

Where I do have criticism is just that, I'd love to hear more from CDC on a regular basis. The scientists that are there are excellent. We still have experts on hantavirus. But for them to speak, they have to have the political approvals to do so. And I'd like to be able to see them answering a lot of these detailed questions, drilling down on the data and explain why guidance gets updated.

SIDNER: Also there's this question of whether or not all passengers should be fully quarantined away from others because I don't think that happened in this case.

HOURY: So, right now, you know, the people who were on the cruise ship are in Nebraska or at Emory and they're being examined and evaluated. I think then the determination will be whether they can monitor at home. And, you know, you had the one person who said he prefers to be in Nebraska. And I think that that will be a decision that people will be able to make if they have the appropriate home environment, which means they're able to isolate from others. They've got that separate bathroom. There's a close health care facility. They're able to do temperature checks. So, it'll really be a case by case decision. There are a few people that left the ship earlier when they had

disembarked on a planned, you know, departure.

SIDNER: Right.

HOURY: And they are being monitored at home through health departments.

SIDNER: Dr. Deb Houry, thank you so much for your expertise and interesting to note that you want to hear more from the CDC, just on some very detailed information to give out to the public. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: On the subject of Nebraska, it is election day in America. Part of it. Including Nebraska. The red hot contest for what Democrats think is a super important blue dot. One of their key pickup opportunities in the race for Congress.

And then a CNN exclusive. Who do you vote for? The former acting FBI director speaks out for the first time about his firing. What he witnessed inside the bureau, and his take on FBI chief Kash Patel.

And then the DUI case against Tiger Woods in court today. Why his prescription records might be at the center of it all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:21:19]

BERMAN: It is election day in America. Primaries in two states, Nebraska and West Virginia. One of the most closely watched races in the country is in the Omaha area to replace Republican Congressman Don Bacon. That seat had been controlled by a Republican for nearly a decade, but Kamala Harris won the district in 2024, and Democrats want to flip the congressional seat blue.

With us now is the pride of Exeter, Nebraska, CNN chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny. No one knows Nebraska like you. This is a big race.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: John, there is no doubt it is a big race. And this is why. You said Don Bacon is retiring. He's one of the many Republicans, in fact a record setting number of Republicans who decided that, look, we are not going to run again. So, that made this race very competitive because he is one of three House Republicans, only three House Republicans in the entire country that won despite Kamala Harris winning their district.

So, this is sort of setting the table for a competitive race in the general election. But, of course, today is the Democratic primary. And it is a messy Democratic primary. There's sort of a layer upon layer of intrigue here.

So, John Kavanagh, a state senator, is running against Denise Powell. And there are about four other candidates in the race. But this has basically become a contest of the blue dot. What is the blue dot, you say? Well, this is the electoral college system that allows the electoral college votes to be divided district by district. Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the whole country that have systems like this. So, this is why the blue dot, you see right there, there are yard signs all over the place in Omaha that (AUDIO GAP) saying to protect the blue dot.

Denise Powell has made this race about the blue dot. It's not about that necessarily. It's about so much more. Affordability, of course, is a central issue in the race. The Iran war has become a central issue. But this is about the electability of the Democrat in the fall campaign.

So, we will see who wins the primary today. But it is a very expensive more than $6 million has been spent on this race. It's unclear who is the stronger general election candidate. But one thing is clear, there's only one Republican who is running there. It's an unopposed primary. So, the mess is on the Democratic side, if you will. The president has endorsed in the Republican primary. Brinker Harding is his name. He's a member of the Omaha City Council.

So, come November, this will be one of the most closely watched races because it's been held by a Republican. It's for an open seat. But for now, at least, it's the fight for the blue dot in Omaha. So, it's been a decade since Nebraska has elected a Democrat to Congress. We'll see if this fall changes that or not, John.

BERMAN: All right, Jeff Zeleny for us in Washington. All the intrigue in Nebraska. Appreciate it.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Thank you, sir.

Up in flames. Two guys caught trying to literally light up a weed shop and then accidentally light themselves on fire.

And Padma Lakshmi joins the show ahead of the season finale of "America's Culinary Cup," revealing why she pushed so hard for the show to offer the eye-popping prize of $1 million.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PADMA LAKSHMI, HOST AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "AMERICA'S CULINARY CUP": It is so high caliber. It is so, you know, just intense because it's like Wimbledon.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

LAKSHMI: You know, you're not going to give Serena Williams a crappy racket, right?

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

LAKSHMI: You're going to give her the best of the best. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:29:00]

BOLDUAN: For the first time, the Trump administration's former acting FBI director, Brian Driscoll, is talking about his firing from the FBI. Driscoll served as acting director for 31 days, capping a 21-year long career in public service. Now he's talking exclusively with CNN about what he saw and says he tried to stop inside the bureau as the Trump administration took over and ultimately forced him out.

Joining us now is Anderson Cooper, who sat down with Driscoll exclusively.

What did he tell you?

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Brian Driscoll is a legendary CIA official, CIA agent. Served nearly 18 years -- excuse me, CIA, FBI. Served nearly 18 years with the FBI. He was the commander of the hostage rescue team. He worked organized crime. He's really done it all. He's very well respected among rank and file within the FBI. He was picked to be the acting director of the FBI by the incoming Trump administration before Kash Patel would be sworn in.

[09:30:01]

And he is revealing what he saw and what he was asked to do by incoming Trump administration officials.