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CENTCOM: Iran Missile Launch at Kuwait Egregious Ceasefire Violation; DOJ Launches Criminal Probe into Trump Accuser E. Jean Carroll; Legal Loophole Alarming Addiction Experts About Prediction Markets. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired May 28, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:07]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just moments ago, the U.S. military said Iran committed an egregious violation of the ceasefire overnight. We have an update on the latest exchange of fire and what the White House is now saying about prospects for peace.

We're standing by for a release on new numbers on inflation. This data could have a huge impact on the midterms.

And the extraordinary effort to dig out a Yorkshire Terrier trapped under a deck. Thank goodness it was successful.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: All right, let's get to that breaking news JB was just talking about. U.S. Central Command accusing Iran of an egregious ceasefire violation this morning. This is after launching -- Iran launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait. That missile was intercepted by Kuwaiti forces.

Kuwait's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called it a dangerous escalation. Now, U.S. officials say this attack came hours after Iran had, as it described, posed a clear threat by launching attack drones near the Strait of Hormuz.

And CENTCOM says that U.S. forces intercepted those drones and then launched its own attack and prevented another drone from launching from a site in Bandar Abbas. Iran says that it then launched a retaliatory attack targeting an unmanned U.S. base. Now, just to sum up, what ceasefire -- is a good question to be asking this morning.

Meanwhile, just moments ago, Iran's supreme leader is now speaking out, praising the strength of the Iranian people and now calling for greater unity.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House. Kevin, there's a lot of moving parts this morning. Start with, I don't know, the message we just heard from U.S. Central Command.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I think bottom line, it all adds up to a lot of questions about how these two sides are going to come up with any kind of deal, despite the president's, you know, recent optimism that they were heading in the right direction. This all is very clearly on quite shaky ground as both sides accused the other of violating the ceasefire, as both sides appear to harden their negotiating positions. And it's not at all clear how this is going to be resolved.

You know, CENTCOM saying that this ballistic missile that Iran fired in retaliation towards Kuwait is, quote, an egregious ceasefire violation. You have had officials over the last several weeks describing these skirmishes as something more minor, something that doesn't necessarily violate the ceasefire, even though it has become evident that the firing is not ceasing in any way.

And just to give you a little bit of a tick tock of how this all unfolded overnight, the U.S. detecting Iran firing these one-way drones towards a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. They take those drones out. They also take out the ground facility that they say was preparing to fire an additional drone. And then Iran responding by firing this ballistic missile.

This is the second incident that we've seen occur in the Strait of Hormuz just in the last 48 hours. It does raise some questions about the capabilities that Iran has retained over the course of this conflict, despite President Trump's claims that Iran has been obliterated militarily. You see them digging out some of the missile launch sites.

You see them maintaining the drone facilities along the strait, continuing their ability to cause havoc in that waterway, which when you talk to officials behind the scenes, is quite a major concern. And so all leading to some complications on these ceasefire talks and these peace talks. You know, we heard from President Trump yesterday, I think, really trying to appear reluctant to seem overeager to reach a deal.

He says that he's doesn't concerned about the midterms. He's not feeling any pressure. And in fact, threatening another country, the Gulf state of Oman, which is a top U.S. ally, if they get into a partnership with Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz.

BOLDUAN: Yes, Kevin, there's so much to it. I really appreciate it. Thank you so much for putting it together.

[08:05:00]

Let's see what comes from the White House on this today -- John.

BERMAN: All right. We do have a CNN exclusive. The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll, the former magazine columnist who accused President Trump of sexual assault. The Department is examining whether she committed perjury regarding outside funding for her legal fight. Separate juries awarded Carroll more than $88 million.

They found the president liable for sexually abusing her in a New York department store in mid-1990s and defaming her in 2019 when he repeatedly denied the assault. The president is appealing -- pursuing appeals in both cases.

With us now, CNN political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin. She was communications director for the Trump White House.

E. Jean Carroll won these cases against the president. The jury found him liable for sexual abuse. Now she is being investigated herself. What message does that send?

ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first and foremost, from a PR perspective, because that's my background, I will never understand why this administration wants to put some of the worst associations of the president back in the headlines. Most of us have kind of forgotten about the E. Jean Carroll suit, the allegations, which he was ultimately found liable for.

And now it puts it front and center. It's very similar to the January 6th cases. DOJ wants to keep rehashing them.

But then Republicans also say, oh, Democrats keep talking about January 6th. No, this president keeps talking about the election lies, January 6th. So from purely a standpoint of wanting to focus on his domestic agenda and move forward, this makes zero sense.

BERMAN: That was so interesting because that was my follow up question here, which is what do they get out of putting this out there months before midterm?

GRIFFIN: Absolutely nothing. It's not a headline that they want. And we've seen a number of these cases go forward, James Comey and others, where they overreach.

DOJ was not able to get the outcome that they wanted. And I suspect this will be a similar case. I'm not from a legal perspective, but based on what we know, this should be the last thing Donald Trump wants to talk about in the twilight of his presidency.

He should be focusing on the economy, gas prices, the war in Iran, not relitigating this.

BERMAN: You know people either who worked for the White House or who were connected with them who then split. And I'm just wondering how much fear there is out there among people who do have a rift with the administration about being investigated.

GRIFFIN: I don't know if I'd frame it as fear, but sort of an acceptance that folks are going to be investigated. I think of Chris Krebs, of Miles Taylor, other critics of the president who are already going through those legal proceedings now. And I think folks knew to lawyer up and be ready because this is a president who was very clear that he was going to be doing a bit of a revenge tour.

I would just hope that advisors around the president, I know this is something Susie Wiles pushed, this is not what you won on. You may have talked about it on the campaign trail, but it's not why people entrusted you with the American presidency. Focus on actually delivering for the American people.

BERMAN: So it's so interesting because there's another story in the Washington Post today which on its face has nothing to do with the Department of Justice investigating anybody. It sounds frivolous. It's the Post reports that there are advisors within the White House who want to put the president's face on a new $250 bill.

But the reason I think there could be a connection and what I want your take on here is when there's a headline like this in one of the big national papers, again, what good does this do for a midterm election? If you're a Republican in the House in one of the very few swing districts left, are you like, yay, I'm going to run on the $250 bill?

GRIFFIN: Or when people are saying $250 is what it costs for me to buy my groceries and I can't afford that right now. It's the wrong focus. It's similar to the passport.

I think the White House is going to say this is in honor of the 250th anniversary of America. Listen, we're all for celebrating patriotism, America, our 250th anniversary, but don't keep making it about the president's face and things that cost a lot of money to the American taxpayer.

BERMAN: Did I read that Milli Vanilli is one of the bands that's going to be performing on the National Mall for the 250th?

GRIFFIN: Not our finest, like not representing the greatest that is America.

BERMAN: I'm going to take the other side of that argument. I saw Milli Vanilli in concert. I will let you know that.

So it makes me feel proud to be an American. Alyssa Farah Griffin, thank you very much for being with us -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: You really did?

BERMAN: I did. Girl, you know it's true.

BOLDUAN: That's all I can say. I mean, you know it's true. Here we go.

President Trump -- Alyssa, you can run. Yes, exactly. President Trump is now vowing to protect prediction markets to ensure that they quote unquote thrive.

This morning, though, there's also a new warning that the popular sites could pose a danger to public health. We've got this new detail coming in.

And a new sign of just how big and how expensive that Texas Senate race is becoming. New fundraising numbers just came out. The Democratic nominee says that he brought in a whopping $3 million in just 24 hours.

And video shows a fire igniting inside a garbage truck. We have details about what happened and what happened next.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: New this morning, there's new concern over who can use prediction markets and at what age. In most states, you have to be 21 to legally gamble. But platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi classify themselves as financial markets offering event contracts, making them available to users as young as 18.

Now, addiction experts and state regulators are now warning this so- called loophole could fuel an emerging public health crisis. And it comes as the president endorsed keeping the federal government in charge of regulating these sites.

Let's get to CNN senior reporter Marshall Cohen with the latest on this. Marshall, what have you learned here?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: John, good morning. Some are indeed calling this a potential public health crisis. As you mentioned, we're talking about prediction sites like Kalshi and Polymarket where you can bet on nearly everything from sports to elections and entertainment and beyond.

But most folks probably don't realize that these are not actually considered gambling platforms. They are regulated like financial markets under federal law, and therefore they are available to anyone over 18.

[08:15:00]

Critics say this is a loophole because in most states, you must be 21 to use a sportsbook and bet on the same exact games.

Now, we've heard from young people, some still in high school, who say that they've become addicted to prediction markets. At first, it was fun betting on things that they're passionate about to earn extra cash to pay for vacations and nice dinners.

But addiction specialists told us that the brain just isn't fully developed by age 18. You take more risks. You might not think through all the consequences. And experts have warned that this is especially true among younger men.

Now, this week, President Donald Trump said he fully supports the prediction industry and his administration is working very hard to stop states from regulating these platforms like gambling. In the meantime, Kalshi has voluntarily imposed some safeguards that they say will protect younger users, like encouraging deposit limits or requiring proof of funds.

I recently spoke about this with Kalshi's head of product, Catherine Sullivan. And here's what she said. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CATHERINE SULLIVAN, HEAD OF PRODUCT, KALSHI: It's more so in terms of suggestions and gentle guardrails, more so than policing our users, which we never want to do. If we see that our donor users are losing a certain amount of money, we start triggering alerts to them. Who are we to really like police what people can do once they turn 18?

Like these are the principles with which the country was founded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: Now, Kalshi says only 4 percent of its trading volume comes from this 18 to 21 cohort. But consider this -- Kalshi saw $4 billion in spot trading volume last week alone.

Meanwhile, their biggest rival, Polymarket, became widely available in the U.S. earlier this month. They've been on a marketing blitz. Their ads are all over social media.

I've been getting them nonstop on my TikTok. They've partnered with the very popular influencer Logan Paul, who has a massive following with younger Americans. Polymarket declined to comment for this story about its safeguards.

And for full disclosure, CNN has a partnership with Kalshi, we use its data to cover major events, but CNN employees are not allowed to use prediction platforms -- John.

BERMAN: You know, Marshall, we got great reporting on many of the questions surrounding these markets. Thank you so much for being with us this morning, Marshall. Appreciate it.

We're just minutes away from the release of brand new inflation data. There have been signs that the war in Iran is boosting prices. So where do things stand this morning?

And a new investigation over World Cup ticket prices -- talk about inflation. Maybe this is why there are still so many unsold seats for huge games.

[08:20:00]

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BOLDUAN: So Republicans are poised to finish this year's kind of coast to coast redistricting war, 10 seats ahead of Democrats. That could be a big boost in efforts to protect their razor thin GOP majority in the House. And especially as that Texas -- when you look at the Senate and what could be happening there, that Texas Senate seat that we've been talking so much about, it could be up for grabs by Democrats for the first time in a long time after Senator John Cornyn's historic primary loss.

How historic is it? CNN's Harry Enten has been running the numbers on it. He's here with me now.

How historic was Cornyn's loss? HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I feel like we're on The Tonight Show. How historic was it? How low do we go?

It was historic to a degree that we have not seen since my mother was born. And I'm not going to give the exact age, but you'll be able to figure it out because just take a look here. OK, the worst GOP senator primary loss by the margin, the worst ever for a Republican senator.

It now belongs to John Cornyn. His 28 point loss on Tuesday night was the worst, the worst since at least World War II for a Republican senator. We have seen this over and over and over again.

When a Republican goes up against Donald Trump or Donald Trump really goes up against them, it doesn't end too well for that Republican senator. We saw it just a few weeks ago with Bill Cassidy getting what, just 25 percent of it, which was the lowest vote share total for any senator, incumbent senator. And now when looking at the margin, again, breaking history, the 28 point loss for John Cornyn, the worst for a Republican senator since at least World War II, Kate Bolduan.

That is how historic it was.

BOLDUAN: That is, yes -- that fits into historic.

So Cornyn, Cornyn is kind of if you wouldn't say, like a Bush-era Texas Republican. How much has the party shifted from the Bush era, if you will, since Trump has come into the --

ENTEN: Yes, I mean, look, John Cornyn was first elected back in 2002. And I will just tell you that the George W. Bush era of the Republican Party is simply put, it is dead. It is dead. And this was the capstone to it.

And Donald Trump's Republican Party is very much alive. He is the leader of the Republican Party.

I just want you to look here. I mean, this just tells you everything that you need to know, which is the net favorable rating with the GOP. You have Donald Trump, you have George W. Bush. Before Donald Trump declared back in May of 2015, look at this, George W. Bush's net favorable rating was plus 58 points.

Donald Trump was 45 points underwater with Republicans. Look at this. This is an over 100 point shift, I do believe. Donald Trump is now at plus 61. That is an over 100 point shift in the positive direction for Trump.

And look at what happened to George W. Bush. He dropped by 40 points from plus 58 to plus 17. So George W. Bush has fallen through the floor since Donald Trump, of course, first really appeared on the political scene, first ran for president for the Republican nomination back in 2015 -- declaring in June of 2015. While George W. Bush simply put, as I said -- his Republican Party -- is that Republican voters are very lukewarm on him and Republican voters are still very hot to trot on Donald Trump. And you saw that in George W. Bush's home state of Texas on Tuesday night with John Cornyn, of course, a Bush era Republican going down to a historic defeat.

The bottom line is that Donald Trump, it's his party across the political map, even in George W. Bush's backyard.

[08:25:00]

BOLDUAN: One thing you see in the numbers, one thing we heard from voters on election day there was that they're going with Trump. Trump had accused Cornyn of not being loyal enough and they were going with Trump when they were going to be supporting Paxton. That begs a question of how loyal do Republican voters want their elected to be to President Trump?

ENTEN: Yes, I think when you see this over 100 point shift towards Donald Trump, I mean, that's just crazy. But then you just ask the Republican voters, what do they want? What do they want from their members of Congress?

GOP voters want congressional GOP to do more to work with Trump. 80 percent, four and five, just 13 percent want them to do more to stand up to Trump. When 80 percent plus of the party is with you on any particular question, you know you own the party.

This is, as I said, Donald Trump's Republican Party, and it's George W. Bush that simply put that Republican Party is dead. It's in the graveyard.

BOLDUAN: It's really another interesting look through the numbers at what Tuesday meant for politics today.

ENTEN: Yes, it's historic.

BOLDUAN: Thanks, Harry. Really appreciate it.

Coming up for us, former Attorney General Pam Bondi is preparing to head to Capitol Hill, where she's going to face tough questions. Finally, it seems, according to members of Congress, about the Epstein investigation and the Justice Department's handling of that document release. Survivor of Epstein's abuse is our guest next.

Also ahead, we're standing by for a new report on inflation, set to drop minutes from now. We will bring you those numbers as soon as we have them in.

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