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DHS Threatens to Stop Processing International Flights Into Sanctuary City Airports; Ex-CIA Official Charged With Stealing More Than $40 Million in Gold Bars From Government; Sources Say U.S. & Iran Reach Tentative Deal to Open Strait and Start Nuclear Talks, but Trump Must Still Sign Off; Suspected Georgia School Shooter Returns to Court for Status Hearing. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 28, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Yeah, because even people who look at this and say, well, I don't like sanctuary cities, the economy is all connected, right? So this isn't something that you can just sort of like wall off these cities and the economic impacts from. There's also, I guess, this question. Someone might say, well, why can't you just send some of this traffic into a non- sanctuary city airport?

I'm sure you could, you know, just send it into a small airport in --

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: No?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Let's talk about LAX for a second. So some of the longest ultra long-haul flights --

KEILAR: That's right.

MUNTEAN: -- coming here from Singapore. We're talking like 17 hours.

KEILAR: These are huge. You see them coming in --

MUNTEAN: Yes.

KEILAR: -- in the morning.

MUNTEAN: And so, that's on the edge of range capability for a modern U.S. airliner, and so you can't just reroute it to Houston, say, or Dallas. It's just not that easy. And airlines build out their international schedules, we're talking years and years of planning, and they usually have an international schedule fully baked about 12 months out.

And by the way, these airports are huge for connections as well, so they build that connection network in, in a big way. So you can't just flip a switch. It's not so easy as saying, OK, we are going to take the flight from L.A., we're going to take it to Houston. Can't do that, airlines would. It's a non-starter for them KEILAR: Also, if you want to fly into Los Angeles, let's say, for a World Cup game.

MUNTEAN: There you go.

KEILAR: Or you want to, for some other reason, you want to go have a beach vacation or something, and then you go to Texas, don't you then --

(LAUGH)

MUNTEAN: You have to backtrack, yeah. And so --

KEILAR: OK.

MUNTEAN: It becomes a bit of a sticky wicket here. And so we're hearing now -- I'm hearing now from airlines saying, well, hopefully, this doesn't ultimately come to pass. This is something that this administration has really pressed on before. They have used TSA and customs as a pressure point. We saw it during the most recent limited government shutdown. I was there, the huge lines at BWI where people were waiting for hours in line just to get through security. You know, this is something where the rubber really meets the road when it comes to funding and it's something that the administration can pull the strings on very easily.

KEILAR: Might make that pale in comparison though, I think, it would be even worse than that. Pete, thank you so much for taking us through that.

MUNTEAN: Anytime.

KEILAR: Appreciate it.

Next, the latest on that dramatic cave rescue in Laos. Crews are hoping to get five villagers, who have been trapped underground for more than a week, to safety tonight. This is an ambitious plan to get them out. We have more on that, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:36:13]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": A former senior CIA official is arrested after the FBI says it found millions of dollars worth of gold bars stashed in his home. David Rush was taken into custody last week in Virginia on a charge of theft of public money. The FBI says that Rush also lied about being a Navy pilot and having advanced degrees, but still got hired and promoted by the CIA, where he worked for 17 years.

Court documents say that from last November until March, Rush received a significant quantity of foreign currency and tens of millions of dollars in gold bars for work-related expenses. Before the arrest, the FBI searched Rush's Virginia home, finding over 300 gold bars worth an estimated $40 million, according to court filings. FBI agents also found $2 million in cash and 35 luxury watches, many of them Rolexes. Rush has not yet entered a plea and remains in jail pending a hearing. Brianna?

KEILAR: Back now to our Breaking News, a potential breakthrough in talks between the U.S. and Iran. U.S. officials telling CNN the two sides have reached a tentative deal. We're now waiting to see if President Trump will give his final approval.

We are also standing by at the White House where Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent is expected to hold a press briefing at the top of the hour. We're joined now by former Defense Secretary and CIA Director under President Obama, Leon Panetta. And I wonder because as I said, we're waiting to see what President Trump thinks about this.

We're also waiting to see what Iran's supreme leader thinks about this. Does this seem like a real deal of sorts to you, or is this just like a trial balloon to see if the desire for like an air quotes deal eclipses the public desire for more than a deal in name only?

LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, it certainly doesn't look like the kind of deal that would produce an end to the war. Rather, it's kind of an agreement to negotiate for another 60 days, another eight weeks on some of the thorniest issues that are involved here.

Not only the nuclear issue, the missile issue, the sanctions issue, and probably the Straits of Hormuz issue as well. So the toughest issues are basically going to be postponed until they are able to sit down and negotiate on those issues. So I'm a little concerned that what they're going to agree to is an agreement to finally negotiate, which is something that they should have arrived at a long time ago.

KEILAR: Is there any way to put a positive spin on that, though? I mean, it's better than talks falling apart, I guess. Right? If they're -- if they agree to continue talking, is that half the battle?

PANETTA: Well, I think anything they can agree to probably helps at this point only to kind of show the public that, in fact, they may ultimately be willing to sit down and really negotiate on the issues that have to be addressed if we're really going to end this war.

So, yeah, it's -- after being told for a number of weeks that we were within a few days of ending this war and not have it happen, in the very least here, you've got something signed by both of the parties. But a fundamental problem, Brianna, is that, you know, I think there is a lack of trust here between these parties.

We're dealing with a hard-line regime. That hard-line regime is not to be trusted.

[13:40:00]

They may say they don't want a nuclear weapon, but they've said that before and they continue to work at getting a nuclear weapon. They may say that they'll try to open the Straits of Hormuz, but as long as they're in control of the Straits of Hormuz, we're going to have problems in terms of transportation. So there are a lot of issues that need to be addressed.

I hope the parties ultimately have both the will and the experience and the capability to negotiate those tough issues.

KEILAR: How do you see the president's desire to come to a deal and to have this be over? Because when you look at the polls, it is incredibly unpopular. Even as he makes the case for Iran not having a nuclear weapon, the American public isn't behind this war.

How do you make his sensitivity to what the American public wants? And he's looking for an off-ramp. How do you put that into the context of whether he's in a position of strength here compared to Iran? They're also not walking away from the table.

PANETTA: Yeah, you know, I think the president has developed a problem with credibility on this issue because he's constantly said that we were within a few days of ending the war, that negotiations were going well, that we were about to get an agreement.

How many times have we heard that? And so, I think the American people have kind of lost some trust in what the president is saying. And the result is that they still go to the gas station and are paying very high prices for gas. The cost of living continues to go up.

Inflation is really a great concern for the American people. And the fact is that even if they do agree to negotiate, the American people are going to look at that and say, wait a minute, what does that mean for what I'm paying right now? And how long do I have to wait until we finally get some relief? That's going to be the fundamental question the American people are going to ask.

KEILAR: I have to ask you about this story about this CIA officer. You are formerly the Director of the CIA. I know that you are talking to your former colleagues all the time about Iran, but I suspect that over the last hours, your text chain has been blowing up about this story, as I'm sure so many people in your position and who've worked at the CIA are seeing that happen.

What do you make of this, a former CIA officer in Virginia being charged with stealing tens of millions of dollars in gold bars and foreign currency, or I should say, accused of that and facing some charges in federal court?

PANETTA: Well, without obviously knowing the full story here, and it'd be interesting to see what the defense is in terms of, you know, holding on to 300 gold bars. Something went terribly wrong here. That's the one thing I think you can't help but conclude. You have somebody whose background checks were not made.

He basically lied about his education, lied about his military experience, and somehow that was never checked out when he was being hired, big mistake. And secondly, when somebody is able to make off with 300 bars, gold bars, it means that the process of being able to check that and to make sure that never happens broke down. So there's a lot of questions here that raise questions, not just about the individual arrested, but whether the CIA, in terms of their process, failed to do what was necessary.

KEILAR: Yeah, and this is someone with a long career, right? So there's questions about years after years. Secretary Leon Panetta, thank you very much.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

KEILAR: Boris?

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

A Georgia teen accused of shooting and killing four people at his high school returned to court this morning. Colt Gray is facing 55 counts in the September 2024 attack in the city of Winder, which injured nine people and killed two students and two teachers.

Today, a judge suggested his trial should begin sometime in the fall and be moved to a venue in a different city. His father, Colin Gray, was convicted of murder and manslaughter charges in March for allowing his son access to weapons and ammunition despite repeated warnings.

Also, the Coast Guard has asked officials in the Bahamas for permission to send divers in a new search for missing American, Lynette Hooker.

[13:45:00]

She went missing in April while sailing with her husband. An official familiar with the investigation says there are inconsistencies between what her husband has said about where to search for his wife and his GPS location data. Brian Hooker told authorities she fell off an eight-foot dinghy into rough waters as they were heading back to their yacht. He has denied any wrongdoing.

And some health experts are slamming the Trump administration's plan to send Americans in need of Ebola treatment to Kenya, with one calling it offensive and another "insane." The White House says the state-of-the-art facility set up in Kenya is designed to provide high- quality care for Americans needing to leave the Democratic Republic of Congo without the risk of a lengthy transport back to the U.S. A source says the acting CDC director advised against the plan.

Last week, an American doctor working in the DRC who tested positive for Ebola was sent to Germany for treatment, another with a high-risk exposure was sent to the Czech Republic. Stay with "CNN News Central." More headlines straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:21]

SANCHEZ: Divers racing to evacuate five men trapped inside a flooded cave in Laos are aiming to get them out as soon as today. The team is currently working to pump out as much water as possible so the men can crawl out on their own. If that doesn't work, the rescue operation could be delayed.

And we are seeing more images of the moment when cave divers found the villagers yesterday, safe and sound. The young men recorded messages to their families telling them not to worry and how much they love and miss them. The search, though, continues for two other people that remain missing that rescuers believe may have entered the cave separately.

CNN's Mike Valerio has the latest.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'd say the primary aim to get these people out of the cave system is to pump as much water as possible out of there because rescuers figure that the five men and the two people who still remain missing were able to get into the depths of that cave before the floodwaters came rushing in.

If they're able to get the water that came rushing in more than a week ago out of there, amazingly, the team is saying that these five men who have been found should be able to get themselves out of there with the assistance of the cave divers.

We want to share with you some of the most compelling moments that came through Facebook today with one of the cave divers from Thailand, Norrased Palasing. He's a veteran of the 2018 Thai soccer team rescue. He shared on his Facebook page what it was like to meet the five men for the first time when they were perched on that ledge. Let's watch and then listen to what one of the survivors said to that rescuer. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENZ NORRASED PALASING, VETERAN CAVE DIVER (through translator): There are people here to help now. The important thing is that you're alive. It's OK. It's OK. You've done really well, don't cry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): OK, OK. My name is Ing. Don't worry mom, the rescue team has reached us now. We're safe. I miss mom and dad so much. We will probably get out tomorrow or the day after.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So I want to show you one of the reasons why this is going to be so challenging. 60 centimeters, 23 inches, this is one of the smallest cave entry points which rescuers are going to have to try to squeeze themselves through. And they've told us that in order to get through that small space, they've had to exhale as much oxygen as possible, squish their bodies through that space and also take off their equipment, reach through the opening and then put the equipment back on again.

Making things even worse are also pockets of hydrogen sulfide, which is a toxic compound and makes it more difficult for you to breathe, even in high quantities, working to shut down your respiratory system. So we're told that when the moment is right, oxygen tanks will have to be put throughout this cave route so that when these five individuals and, hopefully, the two others will be found as well. When all of these men are able to make their way out of the cave, they will have clean oxygen from those tanks to breathe.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Mike for that. The app for those so-called Trump accounts is now live. What parents need to know, right after a quick break. Stay with us.

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[13:59:09]

SANCHEZ: The Trump Accounts app is now live for parents to start setting up IRA-style savings accounts for young kids. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, who we will hear from shortly at the White House press briefing, says that nearly 6 million accounts have already been set up.

KEILAR: But you can't start transferring money just yet. CNN's David Goldman is with us now. All right, David, what do people need to know about these accounts?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, we've been talking about these for quite some time. And the government is going to deposit $1,000 into people's accounts if they have an eligible child. Obviously, the free money machine is working, and so people want to know what they need to do to get that.

First of all, let's talk about who is eligible. So you need to be born between the beginning of 2025 and for now, 2028. We'll see if that gets extended. You also need to be a U.S. citizen. And of course, you need that valid Social Security number for the deposit to work. But there's more to know than that.

So you can deposit $5,000 a year into these accounts tax-free. That is really important. We're going to come back to that. Now, you can make it in any kind of stock investment or ETF, as long as it's a broad- based fund, right? You're not betting on a particular stock. You're trying to diversify your investments.

That's always good advice. You can't withdraw it until they're 18- years-old. Also very important, because this is going to be either a retirement account, right, 59.5 (ph), or you can use it for college or if you're going to buy a home. Otherwise, you've got to pay that 10 percent penalty plus tax. So be careful about that.

Now, why is the government doing this? Well, good question, because people don't have savings when they're about to go to college. So let's just say you took the $1,000 and you never touched it again. Now, let's be super conservative and say that you're going to get a seven percent annual growth rate --