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U.S. President Donald Trump to Meet Chinese Counterpart Xi Jinping in His Second Visit to Beijing; Iconic Rooftop and Building where The Beatles Performed Their Final Concert to Become a Museum of Beatles' Unreleased Materials. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired May 12, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hey everybody, it's wonderful to be with you. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and here's what's coming your way, here on "CNN Newsroom."

The U.S. President says that the ceasefire with Iran is on massive life support.

Is Donald Trump heading to China soon to meet with President Xi Jinping? We'll look at the President's agenda.

And all the passengers have now been evacuated from that cruise ship that was hit with the Hantavirus outbreak. We'll look at what's next for them, and what's next for the ship.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: All right, so let's begin with the war in Iran, as the White House weighs a critical decision that could break the fragile ceasefire.

Sources are telling CNN that President Trump is now giving serious thought to resuming major combat operations in the region. While they say that the President has been voicing his frustration and his impatience with how Tehran is handling the negotiations to end the war, as for Iran's top negotiator, he took to social media to warn against any aggression, saying in part, "we are prepared for every option, they will be surprised," he wrote.

CNN's Oren Liebermann joins me now from Jerusalem with the very latest. Oren, so we got a sense of how the Iranians are responding. What else is the President saying, President Trump?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, President Donald Trump, as you pointed out, is considering resuming major military operations against Iran, that is, restarting the war against Iran, according to Trump aides who have spoken with CNN, and that's because of where the talks stand now, the complete and utter lack of progress, and the difficulty in seeing a diplomatic path forward to try to get to a ceasefire agreement.

Trump called Iran's response to the latest U.S. proposal completely unacceptable, and if you look at what Iranian state media says is in that Iranian response, it's not hard to see why. Take a look at this, what's in the Iranian proposal from Iranian state media.

First is an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, that at least makes sense, this is supposed to be a permanent ceasefire agreement, but after that, Iran is demanding a compensation for war damages, an end to sanctions and blockade, resumption of Iranian oil sales, a guarantee of no further attacks, and then, finally and perhaps most crucially, Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical waterways.

That amounts to what would be complete victory for Iran, and largely a surrender by the U.S. if they agreed to these terms that Iran is laying out. Nevertheless, Iran lays this out as a reasonable and generous proposal to the United States, so you see the enormous gaps between what the U.S. is willing to accept and what Iran has put on the table, and that makes negotiations that much more difficult here.

Obviously, Trump is feeling the pressure, and that's because, take a look at oil prices and gas prices, those are rising here, and that has caused domestic gas prices to rise and is putting pressure on Trump to find some sort of a way forward. But given Iran's proposal, it's difficult to see a viable path right now with U.S. questions about how effective Pakistan is being as a mediator.

Crucially, Iran is not acting or putting forward a proposal that suggests they're anywhere near a compromise or believe that they're losing this war. They are negotiating from what they see as a position of strength, and what they put here on the table in their counterproposal clearly reflects that, and that likely is why Trump has so much difficulty in accepting this, and it's unacceptable to the U.S. position. But the path forward is difficult.

There are different camps within the Trump administration, some especially officials in the Pentagon, are pushing for the aggressive option, a resumption of military strikes on Iran, while others are trying to keep that diplomatic track alive. Trump's envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, met with Qatari officials in Miami recently to try to back-channel and make that Pakistani channel more viable, but it's unclear that that had any real effect here.

Trump also said in the White House on Monday that he has the best plan ever to end the war, so we'll see what that is and when he puts it into effect and why he hasn't. He also said you have to do different plans in different days; he said that in the White House, so I guess we'll see what today's plan is, and crucially what the plan is after Trump meets Chinese President Xi Jinping in China later this week. Polo.

SANDOVAL: Yes, Oren, as you were speaking, we're showing our viewers some of the latest pictures coming from inside Iran, where civilians face, as you point out, so much uncertainty. Oren Liebermann, we appreciate that live report. [03:05:10]

Now to Donald Trump's high-stakes appearance on the world stage this week. He is scheduled to leave today for Beijing and talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Well, the war in Iran will undoubtedly top their agendas, as President Trump may have to choose between diplomatic off-ramps or renewed military action.

Trump and Xi, they are also expected to discuss tariffs and tensions with Taiwan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Look, I have a great relationship with President Xi. We're doing a lot of business, but it's smart business. I respect him a lot, and hopefully he respects me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And the White House says that more than a dozen business leaders will be accompanying the President to Beijing, and that includes Apple CEO Tim Cook and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Let's bring in Ali Vaez now, Iran Project Director at the International Crisis Group. He joins us from Geneva, Switzerland. Ali, thank you so much for coming back.

ALI VAEZ, IRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Good to see you there, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So, as President Trump gets ready for his postponed trip to China, just curious what you see as any prospects for any potential significant, hopefully positive developments in the war this week?

VAEZ: Well, unfortunately, the talks are at a stalemate diplomatically, and therefore, there will be no breakthrough there. There is also, I think, very little risk of the President starting the war, restarting the war before his trip to China.

So, the likeliest scenario is that he's going to try to push President Xi to put pressure on Iran, given the tremendous amount of leverage that China has as the sole purchaser of Iranian oil. But even on that front, it's hard to be hopeful of why would President Xi try to bail the U.S. out and resolve this problem that he didn't start.

SANDOVAL: So, there's the possibility, although unlikely possibility, as you mentioned, that he could restart the bombing campaign. That's one potential outcome here. What else? What are the potential options that the President has before him at this stage in the war?

VAEZ: Well, again, we've ended up in a really bad place where the President basically has two options in front of him. One is to escalate in a war that will be unwinnable at the end of the day, because the only way to bring down the Iranian regime and to make it to surrender to U.S. demands is basically to put half a million troops on the ground, to invade the country, to topple the regime. And that's just an unpalatable option.

The second solution for the President is to get a deal that would, at the end of the day, very much look like the Obama administration deal that he reneged on in 2018, a deal that would allow Iran to have a degree of limited but rigorously monitored enrichment on its soil. And that would also be a very tough sell for the President. So, he has ended up in a strategic deadlock.

SANDOVAL: Can you give your assessment of Iran's current capabilities right now, and also, especially with the administration's desire to reach a deal that would be favorable to them?

I mean, in your opinion, who holds the upper hand right now? Iran's regime, though debilitated, they certainly seem not only resilient, but also almost overconfident at this stage.

VAEZ: Well, I would argue that this dynamic is lose-lose for both sides. But their own perception is that they have the upper hand.

The Iranians believe that they have the very powerful card of Strait of Hormuz, where they still continue to basically be blockaded and therefore put an enormous amount of pressure on the global economy, energy flows. But they also still have a stockpile of highly enriched uranium that gives them a pathway to nuclear weapons.

According to U.S. intelligence community, they have been able to preserve and restore about 75 percent of their ballistic missiles.

They still have their proxies. Hezbollah is fighting Israel every single day. The Houthis in Yemen, the militias in Iraq.

So, the Iranians have a lot of cards to play. The United States also has its naval blockade on Iran that is putting an enormous amount of pressure on the Iranian economy. And, of course, has the escalation domination when it gets to use its conventional military capabilities.

But the reality is that neither side is really able to achieve its objectives through force. They have to come to the negotiating table and compromise. And that's painful.

But mentally, it appears that they're still not there yet.

[03:10:02]

SANDOVAL: Ali, also important not to lose sight of the people inside of Iran, the civilians. I'm curious if you can give us a sense of what the situation is like there for the general population. I mean, they have not had constant access to internet for, what, about six months now.

Is there an increased sense of frustration at this point?

VAEZ: There is a sense of despair within the population. They were hoping for some kind of radical positive change. But, in fact, this war has made a bad situation worse. The regime is more radical, more repressive than it was before the

war. It's now two months that the country has been cut off from internet. The economic situation has also deteriorated significantly, the currency has lost almost 100 percent of its value, inflation is sky high, unemployment is sky high.

It's just a very miserable situation for the Iranian people. Unfortunately, again, with no light at the end of the tunnel.

SANDOVAL: Yes, a reminder of some of the people that are caught in the middle. Ali Vaaez, as always, I really appreciate you coming back on.

VAEZ: Great pleasure.

SANDOVAL: Well, health officials, they are now monitoring 18 passengers who arrived back in the United States from a cruise ship at the center of this Hantavirus outbreak. 16 of them, they are at the University of Nebraska. They flew in aboard this aircraft.

Two others were flown to Atlanta for further assessment and care at Emory University. The American passengers are among dozens who were evacuated from this ship off of Spain's Canary Islands. Well, that ship now headed to the Netherlands, where it will be disinfected.

The final passengers disembarked on Monday. CNN's Melissa Bell asked the head of the World Health Organization just how worried he is about what may happen next.

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DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: As you know, the incubation for Hantavirus or Andes virus ranges six to eight weeks. So we expect more cases to come, actually. But I hope they will be as small as possible.

We already have one confirmed, you know, the passenger from France. And I expect actually more because of the long incubation period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN's Rafael Romo following developments in Atlanta and has more on the cruise ship passengers who were taken to Emory University.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Emory Health Care has confirmed that this medical institution, Emory University Hospital, has received two passengers from the M.V. Hondius cruise ship following a hantavirus outbreak on board. In a statement, Emory Health Care said that one symptomatic individual is receiving care in Emory's biocontainment unit and one asymptomatic individual identified as a close contact is undergoing evaluation and monitoring.

What we know is that a total of 18 Americans were flown to Omaha, Nebraska overnight on a charter flight. According to health officials, 16 are at the University of Nebraska's medical center which houses the national quarantine unit. One of them was placed in the biocontainment unit there after testing positive for hantavirus.

The other 15 are now in the quarantine unit and all have received initial medical assessments.

Initially, officials said that two people were being transferred here to Atlanta's Emory University Hospital for what they called further assessment and care. Now we know that at least one has symptoms.

Governor Brian Kemp said earlier today, Georgia is well positioned to monitor and take care of any cases of hantavirus because of its medical institutions and experience dealing with past infectious outbreaks.

GOV. BRIAN KEMP (R-GA): We're doing like we've done in the past with COVID-19. If you remember, we took patients and our fellow Georgians off of cruise ships at Dobbins Air Force Base, the Georgia National Guard.

ROMO: Also on Monday, a top official with the U.S. Health and Human Services Department said that the risk of hantavirus to the general public remains very low. Admiral Brian Christine, Assistant Secretary of Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also said that the Andes variant of this virus does not spread easily and it requires prolonged close contact with someone who's already symptomatic.

Even so, he stressed, quote, "we had taken this situation very seriously from the very start."

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And in the next hour, I'll be speaking to Scott Miskovich, he's a doctor in Hawaii. I'll get his assessment on the potential for transmission with this hantavirus outbreak. So you'll want to join us then.

[03:15:02]

But first, Vladimir Putin's comments about the end of his war in Ukraine. They are raising some questions. We'll get into that and more when we come back.

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SANDOVAL: Britain's Prime Minister currently facing some growing pressure from his own party to resign.

More than 70 Labor MPs have publicly urged Keir Starmer to step aside or lay out a timeline for his departure. Last week's local elections, they were a disaster for his governing party, which lost more than 1400 seats across English councils and control of the Welsh Parliament.

[03:20:01] But the Prime Minister says that a conservative government would be worse. If he were to step aside, his successor would become Britain's seventh Prime Minister in a decade.

Vladimir Putin says that he thinks his so-called special military operation in Ukraine could end soon. This cryptic comment comes as Russia faces a stalled front line, a deeply strained economy, and also far-reaching Ukrainian drone attacks.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh explains the significance of that statement.

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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A peculiar parade for a peculiar admission.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think that the matter is coming to an end, but it is a serious matter.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): President Putin has almost never talked about the end of his war in Ukraine, unless in the context of an unlikely total victory. But after a massively and embarrassingly reduced Victory Day parade on Red Square, with absolutely none of the hardware that in past years marked Russia's display of military might, he went a little further, suggesting an old German friend, a former Chancellor, might be a mediator for direct talks with Europe.

PUTIN (through translator): Personally, I would prefer the former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Gerhard Schroeder.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): And even calling the man he loathes and has refused to meet for talks, unless it's here, Mr. Zelenskyy.

PUTIN (through translator): I simply heard once again that the Ukrainian side, Mr. Zelenskyy, is ready to hold a personal meeting.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Why the change of tone, or even heart? Putin has long faked it when it comes to peace talks. Perhaps this was aimed at an audience of one, Trump, who had declared the ceasefire Putin wanted for his parade.

TRUMP: I'd like to see a big extension.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Protecting this show from Ukrainian aerial attack.

Zelenskyy seized the moment to issue a decree, trolling Putin that he, quote, "authorized the Kremlin's parade by ordering his forces to pause attacks on central Moscow for its duration."

The ceasefire itself was, as in previous iterations, barely observed outside of the parade.

PUTIN (through translator): There was no silence on the front line today.

There were hostilities. We have documented all of this. We can also see that Russia has no intention of ending this war.

And we are preparing for new attacks, unfortunately. But there must be peace.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine may lack manpower, but now has robots. Thousands of them.

Zelenskyy announcing in April the first robot capture of a Russian position. And they offered their anti-drone technology to Arab Gulf nations wheeling under Iranian attacks.

Even if it is, like here, a drone shooting a Russian drone with a shotgun strapped to it. Putin, instead, has mounting problems.

Airstrikes leaving Moscow feeling vulnerable, internet blackouts to stifle dissent, economic warning lights blinking red.

And so comments about an end may not just be designed to placate Trump, but also his own elite, that an unpopular and savagely costly war may have an end in sight. Just don't expect him to say how yet.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Warsaw.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Taiwan will be high on the agenda when Donald Trump visits Beijing this week. Just ahead, the island's opposition leader explains how she wants to avoid armed conflict with mainland China.

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[03:25:00]

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and let's take a look at today's top stories.

Eighteen passengers from the Hantavirus hit a cruise ship, they are now back in the United States and are being monitored at medical facilities in Nebraska and Georgia. The ship at the center of the outbreak is now en route to the Netherlands, where it's expected to be disinfected. There are still 25 crew members and two medical professionals on board, all remaining passengers disembark that ship on Monday.

Sources say that President Trump is considering resuming combat operations in Iran. This comes as Trump rejected Iran's response to the White House's proposal to end the war. On Monday, the President voiced his frustration to reporters, saying that the current ceasefire with Tehran is on massive life support, he said.

President Trump also leaves Washington today for Beijing. He'll be meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, discussing the war with Iran, U.S.-China trade, and Beijing's relationship with Taiwan. More than a dozen business leaders will accompany the President, including Apple's Tim Cook and Tesla's Elon Musk.

President Trump says that he doubts tensions between Taiwan and Beijing will erupt on his watch. One of the island's most outspoken lawmakers wants more discussions with the mainland. Taiwan's opposition leader telling CNN that dialogue with Beijing is the only way to avoid war, she spoke to our senior international correspondent, Will Ripley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As President Donald Trump heads to Beijing for a high-stakes meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, with Taiwan expected to be high on the agenda, the island democracy that China claims as its own seems to be sending a divided message on defense.

After months of political fighting, and with Chinese fighter jets and warships routinely circling around Taiwan, the opposition-controlled legislature approved a dramatically smaller military package.

[03:30:10]

Many blamed the gridlock on the leader of Taiwan's largest opposition party, KMT, Cheng Li-wun, who has called for less military spending.

RIPLEY: What's your response to calls from U.S. lawmakers that Taiwan needs to spend this money on its defense to send the message to the global community that Taiwan is serious about its defense?

CHENG LI-WUN, KMT CHAIRPERSON: Actually, we're very serious. We have been serious all the time, and that's why we keep explaining.

CHENG (translated): Most of it ($40 billion budget) is too vague and lacks details, so we can't give a blank check authorization.

CHENG: We are trying our best.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Some fear her best may not be enough to deter China's mounting military pressure campaign. The opposition plan funds U.S. weapons, but trims domestic programs like drones. Taiwan's ruling party, the DPP, has accused Cheng's KMT of taking orders from China. Just weeks ago, she went to Beijing for a rare meeting with Xi Jinping, who refuses to engage with Taiwan's elected leader, seen by China as a diehard separatist.

RIPLEY: You obviously have your critics that accused you of being a pawn while you were in Beijing, saying that you and Xi Jinping had almost the same language.

CHENG (translated): Although it may seem I have a common language with Xi Jinping, but it is precisely because there are so many differences between the two sides of the strait, it is critical that we find a common foundation for peaceful dialogue. Otherwise, war is unavoidable.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Next month, Cheng heads to the U.S., hoping to convince lawmakers and Trump allies Taiwan does not have to choose between Washington and Beijing.

RIPLEY: You've said publicly you're worried about Taiwan being treated like a pawn. Are you talking about the United States treating Taiwan like a pawn?

CHENG (translated): I believe it is the DPP government's wrong policies that have reduced Taiwan to a pawn. Being friendly with the U.S. does not mean there is hostility towards China.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Cheng dodges questions about her presidential ambitions, but does make a bold promise if her party wins in the 2028 elections.

CHENG (translated): A KMT administration would make the possibility of war totally preventable.

RIPLEY: How can you guarantee it won't happen if Taiwan doesn't have what your military leaders say are enough weapons to deter military action by China?

CHENG (translated): When the KMT is in power, Taiwan's defense capabilities, its deterrence will still exist.

RIPLEY (voice-over): But China's military pressure around Taiwan continues, even during Cheng's recent trip to Beijing. And now, as Trump prepares to meet Xi Jinping face-to-face, Taiwan confronts two radically different visions for avoiding war.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And right now, day two of the Africa-France summit is getting underway in Nairobi, Kenya. More than 30 African leaders are currently gathering for meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Paris, seeking new deals and partnerships on the continent. And Kenya, hoping to attract French investors looking to take advantage of the Pan-African free trade area. Kenya's President is currently calling for industrial independence amid the war with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: We do not want to be held hostage anymore by the Strait of Hormuz. We do not want to be held hostage by wars that are started by other people.

We have our own resources here. And we are saying we are going to use our African resources to industrialize our region.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Well, Nike customers said that they are paying the price for tariffs. Now they want their money back. We are going to have those details on this class action lawsuit when we return. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:35:00]

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SANDOVAL: And welcome back. Let's get you your business headlines.

Oil prices are rising after President Donald Trump dismissed Iran's latest terms to end the war. Brent crude, which is the global benchmark, is at more than $106 a barrel. The U.S. Energy Department has announced the release of more than 53 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in an effort to stabilize prices.

In the meantime, President Trump says that he wants to suspend the federal gas tax. So our gas prices at the pump, they're making Americans even more pessimistic about the current economy. According to AAA, the national average gas price is $4.52 a gallon, but experts say that pausing that gas tax, which is just over $0.18 a gallon, won't bring much relief.

The Texas Attorney General is suing Netflix for allegedly spying on children and designing its platform to be addictive. The complaint, accusing the streaming giant of collecting users' data and selling it without their consent.

[03:40:02]

It's demanding that Netflix erase data that it collected illegally and also pay civil fines of up to $10,000 per violation, Netflix denying these allegations.

Nike facing a proposed class action lawsuit claiming that the company owes its customers refunds for passing tariff costs on to them by hiking their prices. CNN's David Goldman explaining why the suit could have larger implications for businesses and shoppers alike.

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DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SR. REPORTER: All right, so tariffs added $1000 in expenses to the average American household last year. And $166 billion of tariffs now need to be refunded and consumers obviously want their piece of the pie.

And so a group of consumers, customers of Nike, are suing in a proposed class action lawsuit saying that they are owed the money that they were charged extra by Nike that they say was because of tariffs. Now it was about $5 to $10 per piece of apparel last year. Nike didn't necessarily say that it was because of tariffs, but it coincided with Nike saying that it was $1 billion of extra tariff costs that it paid last year.

So what does this mean?

Well, it's first of all not really clear that consumers are owed anything because they didn't pay the tariffs. It was the importers that brought in the tariffs, brought in the goods that were tariffed. They had to pay for those items in the form of tariffs.

And then oftentimes they would send that cost along to the retailer. And then sometimes the retailer would send that cost along to the consumer. So if consumers paid, it was maybe third hand.

So certainly this is the mess that Amy Coney Barrett, the Supreme Court Justice, said it would be when she was talking about this big case that overturned the bulk of President Trump's tariffs.

So what does this mean for consumers? A lot of uncertainty. It's not really clear where any of this goes.

There's a lot of legal action, both between companies and consumers. It's going to be a long time before all of this is settled. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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SANDOVAL: That, of course, is the Beatles performing what would be their final public gig at London's 3 Savile Row back in 1969. And now that famous rooftop, it'll be turned into a museum that's dedicated to the band. And it's set to open next year.

The museum will feature archived material from the Beatles' record label and also a recreation of the studio where they recorded their hit, "Let It Be."

So expect another amazing stop in Beatles tourism come next year, and expect us with more of your headlines in a little over 15 minutes. For now, though, it's "World Sport."

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