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WHO: Hantavirus Cases from Cruise Ship Remain at 11; 1,700 People Held on Cruise Ship Over Potential Acute Stomach Bug; Interview with Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL): China Believes Iran War Gives It Leverage in U.S. Talks; China's Economic Ties with Iran Loom Over Trump-Xi Summitt. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 13, 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]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: So another U.S. State is now monitoring for Hantavirus but health officials say the risk to the general public remains low. After the break, an infectious disease doctor is going to join us to discuss what you need to know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: The CDC is expected to give an update in just minutes on the deadly Hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. In the meantime, we're learning another U.S. state is monitoring for Hantavirus.

[14:35:00]

The World Health Organization says the number of people infected remains at 11, including three patients who died. All cases involve passengers or crew from the NV Hondius. We're now learning Minnesota joins a string of states that are watching people who were not on the ship but were exposed to a confirmed case.

Another five states are also monitoring passengers. That includes Nebraska, where 15 Americans are now in a special quarantine facility. A 16th, Dr. Steven Kornfeld, is the only one housed in a biocontainment unit there. And he explained to CNN that's because he did not test negative.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. STEPHEN KORNFELD, MV HONDIUS PASSENGER WHO TESTED POSITIVE FOR HANTAVIRUS: They did it in two different labs. One lab was negative and one lab was faintly positive. So I was told the test was intermediate.

But I think since it wasn't a negative, it's sort of being looked at as a potential positive. And the Dutch authority communicated these results to the CDC, and here I am. It's still possible that that test represents evolving disease, and I will get symptoms down the road. This is why I'm in the biocontainment unit.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANCHEZ: Joining us now is Dr. Carlos del Rio, Professor of Infectious Diseases, Global Health, and Epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health. Doctor, thanks so much for being with us. What do you make of the doctor's assessment here, that he was told that he was an intermediary between positive and negative for hantavirus?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL HEALTH AND EPIDEMIOLOGY, EMORY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, thank you, Boris. First of all, I want to really congratulate and thank Dr. Kornfeld, because he was a passenger in that cruise. He was not working there as a physician.

But when the physician in the ship became ill, he rapidly stepped up. He was not afraid, and he started doing what physicians do, which is take care of people with the risk, obviously, of becoming infected. And that needs our recognition, our thanks to him.

What he is stating is that a lot of things that we don't know, right? One of the tests was positive. One of the tests was negative. That could be what we call a false positive. It could also be a false negative. It could be early in the disease process, the different tests were used.

The reality is, out of abundance of caution, they have him isolated. He still doesn't have symptoms. But I think what he's showing us is, you know, he's willing to help us try to figure out the natural history of the disease and understanding, really, when do you become symptomatic?

When do you develop viral anemia? When does the virus begin to spread? And more importantly, how, then, it spreads from person to person.

So this outbreak is going to allow us to understand a lot more about this virus that we know, quite frankly, very little about because there's not very many cases globally.

SANCHEZ: Yes, he's awaiting some PCR and serology test results, some of which were sent to the CDC. What are you going to be watching for in those test results?

And more broadly, what do you make of how the CDC has handled all of this?

DEL RIO: Well, you know, a PCR test is a test that is done to measure the DNA or the RNA, in this case, of the virus. And it's a special kind of test in which you can identify very small pieces of the virus. A serological test is a test that you detect antibodies that the person has made to an infectious agent.

So serological tests tend to become positive much later than the PCR test. The PCR test becomes positive, and later the serological test becomes positive. So we need to see what he develops and when he develops them.

It could be negative to both. It could be positive on the PCR but negative on the serological test. Or he could be negative on the PCR and positive on serological, or positive to both.

And I think depending on that, we would know at what stage of the infection he is and if he is infected or is not infected. You know, I think the CDC has a lot of really good people, a lot of expertise in hantavirus. I think what we have really seen is the unfortunate consequence of the CDC and the U.S. government sort of pulling out of WHO. WHO really has done a great job, and CDC could have been hand-in- hand with WHO working on this outbreak, and unfortunately, they were not until the very end once they landed in Tenerife. I really think that the expertise of CDC needs to be strengthened, needs to be respected, and we need to support our colleagues at CDC.

SANCHEZ: You're a physician at Emory where those two additional passengers, one with symptoms but a negative test, are now in a bio unit. What is that kind of monitoring like for them and obviously for Dr. Kornfeld as well?

DEL RIO: So Emory has one of the biocontainment units that was set up back many years ago. The CDC set it up in 2002 as a way to have a place for eventually, if a CDC employee became sick with a high- consequence pathogen like smallpox, to have them taken care of. It wasn't really used at all or very little for many, many years until 2014 when that specialized unit was activated to take care of patients with Ebola.

[14:40:00]

And if you remember, we took care and successfully took care of four patients with Ebola that did quite well. Since then, that unit has become part of a network of 13 other units throughout the country that are highly specialized units ready to be activated in a case like this one.

They're staffed by highly trained personnel, very much like fire department personnel. They're trained regularly. They have exercises. They're ready to go. They know how to manage these cases, and they really do a fantastic job.

So if you have a high-consequence pathogen, this is the place you want to be, a place like the Emory University, serious communicable disease units is where you want to be. And as taxpayers, we need to be aware that the U.S. government funding these units is really important because this is where the expertise resides, and this is the type of units you need to respond to an outbreak like this one.

SANCHEZ: Doctor, there's a separate case that I want to ask you about because we're learning that as many as 1,700 passengers are being held on board a cruise ship in southwest France. Up to 50 passengers on board were affected by symptoms of gastroenteritis. That's an acute stomach sickness.

There's an important note, too, from regional authorities in France saying that there's no reason to link this with a hantavirus outbreak, but I wonder what you're watching for there, and how much more easy is it for these kinds of pathogens to spread on cruise ships?

DEL RIO: Well, let's put it this way. What happened in this cruise in France is actually not uncommon. This is called norovirus.

Norovirus, as opposed to hantavirus, is a highly transmissible virus. It causes outbreaks of gastroenteritis, and in fact, in 2025, there were 23 outbreaks of norovirus in cruise ships, and they're reported to the CDC and to health authorities. So it is very important to be aware that this, actually, norovirus is actually one of the things that can happen in cruise ships.

And this requires strict hygiene. This requires frequent cleaning. This requires frequent hand washing, and this is why it's very, very important to have sanitation teams regularly visiting cruise ships and ensuring there's outstanding and the highest level of hygiene possible, because norovirus is really a reality, and it's actually something that happens in cruise ships, and if I was going on a cruise ship, I'd worry more about norovirus than I would worry about hantavirus.

SANCHEZ: Dr. Carlos del Rio, thanks so much for sharing your expertise.

Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Jason Collins, the NBA's first openly gay player, has died at the age of 47. His family said yesterday that he battled an aggressive form of brain cancer for eight months.

Collins became a pioneer for inclusion in pro sports after he publicly revealed that he was gay in 2013. Over his 13-year career in the NBA, Collins played for six different teams, also serving as an NBA ambassador, helping communities in need. In the words of Collins' family, Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar.

A hormonal condition impacting millions of women now has a new name that experts hope will lead more people to receiving care. PCOS, or polycystic ovarian syndrome, can affect a woman's fertility and include symptoms like diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

It will now be referred to as polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome, or PMOS. The WHO estimates that 10 to 13 percent of reproductive age women around the world are impacted but may not even know it.

Netflix is being sued by Texas for allegedly spying on its users, including kids. Netflix is firing back, saying the case is based on inaccurate and distorted information that it will fight in court. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuits this week, accusing the streaming service of collecting data from users without their consent and designing the platform to be addictive. The claim also says that Netflix has been selling users' information for billions of dollars a year, when for years it has told users that it did not collect nor share their data.

President Trump is arriving in Beijing with the war in Iran overshadowing his summit with Xi Jinping, while some are saying that China could use that as negotiating power. Don't go anywhere. We'll see you on the other side of a quick break. [14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: China appears poised to use the U.S. war with Iran to its own advantage now. Sources tell CNN that China views the current stalemate in the war and its unpopularity with American voters as points of leverage for President Xi in negotiations, as President Trump may be overeager to strike new deals.

Let's discuss with Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. She's a member of the Armed Services Committee. Senator, thank you so much for being with us this afternoon. Do you believe that China has leverage over President Trump as this visit kicks off?

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: I really do think they do. And in fact, Trump goes into this meeting at a significant disadvantage. You know, gas prices are up in our country by well over a dollar a gallon. We see people who are struggling to make ends meet.

And so he has an economy that inflation went up by 3.8 percent just last month alone. And frankly, too often, you know, Donald Trump has made a habit of cozying up to dictators and callously handing over concessions but even thinking twice about what it would mean for Americans and our allies. And so I do think Xi comes into this in a stronger bargaining position than Donald Trump does.

SANCHEZ: Beijing has ordered its companies to ignore U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil purchases. It's also, as you know, been reported that Beijing continues to deliver components that Tehran uses in its missiles.

[14:50:00]

Do you think that President Trump needs to follow through on his threat to impose a 50 percent tariff on Chinese goods to get Beijing to stop?

DUCKWORTH: Well, I think, you know, it would be good if he would try, but I don't think that he would do it. I mean, this is the TACO president, right? Trump always chickens out, and that's what he's probably going to do. And frankly, we can't afford a pattern that we've seen from this president of talking really big, but then not following through. And in fact, I think he is a fan of dictators around the world, whether that's Xi or Vladimir Putin. And frankly, all that he's done with this war of choice of his in Iran is make the situation worse for Americans here at home and strengthen the hand of brutal dictators like President Xi of the PRC.

SANCHEZ: To your assertion that President Trump has a habit of talking big and not following through, we're now a month and about a week into this ceasefire, no closer to a deal. If the president doesn't follow through on his threat to resume strikes on Iran, does that diminish not only the U.S. negotiating position, but its standing in front of adversaries like China. DUCKWORTH: Well, he's already diminished our position around the world, and in fact, he's frustrated our allies. You know, he's launched this war of choice. It has made the situation worse globally. He talks about how his end goal was to have regime change in Iran, and yes, he got regime change, but the Ayatollah that's in power now is worse than the one that there was before.

He wants to sit -- now he says he wants to open the Straits of Hormuz, and yet he's blockading it, it's mined, and the Strait of Hormuz was opened before, and again, gas prices are through the roof. And so, he has again and again weakened America's position on a global scale. And by the way, pushed away our allies who would stand with us.

And frankly, that is why we need to make sure to pass -- and we lost a vote again today, the War Powers Resolution that would reign in Trump's illegal war in Iran.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it was the seventh attempt, and I believe that the final vote was 49 to 50 with several Republicans voting alongside Democrats. I wonder, Senator, then what your position is on what Trump should do. Because if we've reached this point, do you think the United States is going to be worse off if it winds up reaching a deal that doesn't wind up taking the potential for enriched uranium to become a nuclear weapon out of the hands of the Iranians?

Is this a situation where the U.S. has put itself in a difficult position and now has to effectively commit to this conflict? Or do you see the potential for backing out as still something feasible that wouldn't hurt American power around the world?

DUCKWORTH: Well, Donald Trump has already hurt American power around the world. He has expended now, the latest figure that I've heard was $29 billion. And that's not counting the lost military equipment like C-130 aircraft or our damaged infrastructure of U.S. bases overseas. So that doesn't even go into the $29 billion amount that he's blown on munitions for this war. We still have to restock our stockpiles.

And by the way, that uranium deposit is still buried underground under, you know, thousands of feet of concrete. So nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. And in fact, everything is worse now than it was before Trump launches war of choice. And what he needs to do is to end this war on behalf of the American people because people are suffering across the country right now.

SANCHEZ: Wouldn't that diminish the U.S.'s ability to keep peace in the region? And if you walk away now without a more secure deal, doesn't that put allies at risk?

DUCKWORTH: He's already put the allies at risk. He's already put Americans at risk. We have 13 dead heroes. and thousands more who were wounded. The Straits of Hormuz is mined. So we are already in worse position than where we were before Trump launched this war without even coming to Congress and explaining to us why this was necessary.

And frankly, the longer this administration fails to engage in meaningful diplomacy and continue this incompetence in terms of waging this war, you know, the longer our ships and service members and personnel, they're the ones at risk, and it's really insulting to them that the administration would claim that the ceasefire is holding and the war is over. When we still have service members in harm's way with no plans to get them home safe and no plans to make things better for Americans here at home full stop. So he needs to move forward in a significant way and frankly we are already worse off than where we were before Trump launched this war.

SANCHEZ: Senator Tammy Duckworth, we have to leave the conversation there we do appreciate your time and perspective thanks for joining us.

DUCKWORTH: Thank you

SANCHEZ: The woman convicted of murdering her husband, who then wrote a children's book about dealing with grief, will soon find out her fate behind bars. We'll go inside the courtroom as Kouri Richins is awaiting sentencing. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Soon, a Utah mom convicted of murdering her husband is expected to speak at her sentencing. It's happening on what would have been the 44th birthday of the victim, Eric Richins. A jury convicted Kouri Richins of aggravated murder for fatally poisoning Eric in 2022 with an overdose of fentanyl. She later wrote a children's book about coping with grief. Today, Eric's family spoke at her sentencing hearing in Park City, Utah, urging the judge to put her away for life.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE RICHINS-BENSON, MURDER VICTIM'S SISTER: Today is Eric's birthday ...

END