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CNN Headlines: President Trump Enroute To China, Due To Arrive This Morning; Number Of Hantavirus Cases From Cruise Ship Rises To 11; Sources: CIA Escalates War On Cartels Inside Mexico. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired May 13, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:08]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.

President Trump is on his way to Beijing for two days of talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. The war with Iran is expected to be top of their agenda but he downplayed the need for China's help in ending that conflict.

And the number of hantavirus cases linked to a cruise ship is now up to 11. The World Health Organization says all of those cases are among passengers or crew and include three deaths reported early in the outbreak. All passengers now are off the ship, including more than a dozen Americans now being monitored here in the U.S.

And the Department of Homeland Security is announcing a new ICE director. Longtime immigration official David Venturella is expected to take on the role. The former private prison firm executive is assuming is assuming leadership as the agency tries to take a different approach following a turbulent year of immigration crackdown.

Well, President Trump due to arrive in Beijing later this morning for two days of talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Let's go live to China's capital and CNN's Beijing bureau chief Steven Jiang. Steven, what do we know about this trip, this visit, and this meeting?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yeah, Brad. There is certainly a sense of growing anticipation on this very hot and humid day here in Beijing and also heightened security in parts of the city where the president is supposed to.

But this summit has been described by many as high stakes but low expectations. Now one sign of that is less than 24 hours before the two leaders meet, Scott Bessent, the treasury secretary, just wrapped a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in South Korea, presumably trying to hash out some of the last-minute details of any deliverables from the summit. Now, as you mentioned, Iran, of course, loom large over everything. Even though the president has said he doesn't need China's help it's all but certain he's going to ask Xi Jinping to do more to pressure Iran, one of China's closest partners in the Middle East.

What's unlikely to change, of course, is this increasingly competitive nature of this relationship. So in a sense, both sides are trying to buy more time to address their own strategic vulnerabilities. For the U.S., it's a supply chain risk, for example. And for China, it's -- their challenge is to achieve so-called tech self-reliance to free itself from the U.S. chokehold.

So it's not hard to foresee China agreeing to spend billions of dollars to buy more agricultural products and Boeing jets from the U.S., so they could offer Trump some deliverables ahead of the midterm elections.

But at the end of the day, at this stage, both sides are just incentivized to prolong -- to extend their fragile trade and tariff truce so they could inject some stability in this very complex relationship -- Brad.

SMITH: Yeah. Really interesting, Steven, especially considering the Strait of Hormuz and the countries in that region that are reliant on the liquified natural gas exports that move through that region as well.

Steven Jiang in Beijing. Thank you so much for breaking this down ahead of the president's arrival this morning.

We're hearing more now from the Americans who were on that cruise ship hit by an outbreak of the hantavirus. Travel blogger Jake Rosmarin has not tested positive but he is in quarantine and shared this video from inside. He talked about how he felt when he first learned of the outbreak.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE ROSMARIN, FORMER MV HONTIUS PASSENGER NOW IN QUARANTINE: It was -- honestly, it was extremely terrifying for me. Um, obviously, it's not a virus I knew much about. I know that Gene Hackman's wife had passed way from it, but it's -- and I remember that happening, but I don't remember the virus itself. When I started to learn more about the virus it became a little less scary, especially knowing that human-to-human transmission was relatively low.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:00]

SMITH: Dr. Stephen Kornfeld is the American passenger who tested positive for hantavirus. He was among those evacuated from the ship on Monday and he is now the only person isolated in biocontainment at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

He was called on to treat other passengers while on the ship. And he talked with our Erin Burnett about getting sick himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. STEPHEN KORNFELD, AMERICAN HANTAVIRUS PATIENT: Really, in April, maybe the 10th or so, a number of us on board came down with what felt like a flu-like illness or the ship's flu. I had three days of night sweats, a lot of chills, some mild respiratory, and a lot of fatigue. And while the night sweats and the respiratory stuff cleared up pretty quickly, the fatigue lingered for 2 1/2 weeks. I was still able to do all the ship activities and eventually I became completely asymptomatic.

At the time it was felt like this is just some virus and now in retrospect there is the question, could it have been hantavirus? But it's just speculation. There's no way to really know.

And while people talk about all these different serology lab tests that should be capable of answering that, what I hear from the experts who I'm seeing daily is that the lab tests may not be that straightforward to interpret. So it may never be known if that illness, which others also had, was hantavirus or a typical virus got -- circulates through a cruise boat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Three passengers have died since April 11. There are several other confirmed or probable cases according to the World Health Organization, which has reiterated that the risk to the general public is low.

A CNN exclusive. The Trump administration has asked the FAA to evaluate the risk of building President Trump's proposed Triumphal Arch. It's less than two miles from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. FAA regulations require a review of structures above 200 feet and the total height of the arch will be at least 250 feet.

This airspace is already complicated. Pilots have to avoid close encounters with the Pentagon, the Washington Monument, and other landmarks, and has been the site of high-profile accidents, including last year's collision between an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter.

Well, Elon Musk's attorney asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, "Are you completely trustworthy?" He was testifying in the trial over Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI.

And CNN's Hadas Gold tells us exactly what played out here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sam Altman spent hours on the stand today testifying against Elon Musk in this massive trial that could really determine the future of the ChatGPT maker and of the AI landscape if Elon Musk wins.

Sam Altman testified that Elon Musk just wanted to gain control of OpenAI, which Elon Musk did help co-found and fund. Altman testified that Musk, at one point, wanted to fold OpenAI into Tesla.

He even went on to say that at one point Musk was asked, "If you were to gain control of OpenAI, what would happen to it if you would die?" And Sam Altman says that Musk said that his control would pass on to his children. Sam Altman called this a hair-raising possibility and saying that he was just not every comfortable with that possibility.

Musk attorneys -- for their part, they spent most of their time questioning Sam Altman about his character. Their first question out of the gate was "Are you completely trustworthy?" They then went down a laundry list of allegations from former OpenAI board members and former OpenAI executives who have called Sam Altman a liar. Sam Altman's response is that he believes he is an honest businessperson and he chocked up those accusations to misunderstandings.

But the question is even if the jury does believe Musk's attorneys' accusations that Sam Altman is not completely honest, does that translate to Elon Musk's allegations, which are that Musk was deceived? That OpenAI breached a charitable trust and was unjustly enriched when they transitioned OpenAI from a nonprofit to its current for-profit structure overseen by a nonprofit foundation?

OpenAI says Musk, himself, always wanted to have a for-profit structure of some kind and that Musk is only bringing this trial now because he couldn't gain control of OpenAI and because he now has his own AI competitor in the form of xAI.

This trial is expected to wrap up within the next few days and then the jury will deliberate. And then it will be up to the jury who will advise a judge who will decide whether Elon Musk will get what he wants and whether it will completely change the future of the AI landscape.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Two bystanders wrestled an alleged gunman to the ground in the deadly Nevada grocery store shooting. It happened at Smith's Food and Drug in Las Vegas Tuesday morning. Witnesses say that the bystanders knocked the gun out of the shooter's hand. That is after they tackled him to the ground.

A witness describes the terrifying scene.

[05:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS DABOY, WITNESS: All of a sudden, we hear the shot -- like maybe three shot or four shot. One, two, three, four. Then everybody panicked inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.

DABOY: Everybody tried to exit. It's just a split second. Then after maybe a few seconds another shot again. Bam, bam, bam, bam. I think that's for the second person that got shot. Then all of a sudden, it was -- it was quiet and then -- because we

cannot see. I was facing this way; the shooting is that way. So I tried to sneak in the front to make a view on the shooter but then I cannot see the shooter because I think he already went outside at that time. Then I tried to follow the bullets. So when I saw the bullets by the aisle four, I saw the body down. And then another one right next to -- a little bit further.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The bystanders held down the suspected gunman until police were able to arrive.

We go now to Buzz Express.

A "TED LASSO" star now lacing up his cleats for a real-life soccer team. Cristo Fernandez, who plays Dani Rojas on the show, just signed with the El Paso Locomotive FC. He played soccer while growing up in Mexico but stopped because of an injury. He says the dream of competing professionally never left his heart.

Music royalty has entered the stage. Queen Latifah is joining "THE VOICE" as a coach for the upcoming season. She will sit on the red chair panel with fellow coaches Adam Lavine, Kelly Clarkson, and country singer Riley Green. Season 30 launches this fall.

And Conan O'Brien will return to host the Oscars for a third year in a row. Disney, which holds the rights to the show until 2028, made that announcement. The 99th Academy Awards is scheduled for March 14.

Well, next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS oil prices tick down a bit -- but gas, as you may have noticed, still high. The average price now hovering around $4.51. More on that later in the hour.

And how an undercover wing of CIA operatives are working to bring down leaders of Mexico's most notorious cartels. That's coming your way.

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[05:46:40]

SMITH: CNN has learned from several sources that the CIA has been conducting covert and lethal operations inside Mexico. Sources say that this includes participating in deadly attacks on members of a cartel, and the CIA is pushing back.

CNN's Natasha Bertrand has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: This car explosion carried out against an alleged cartel operative in broad daylight just outside of Mexico City was actually a targeted assassination facilitated by American CIA officers, according to multiple sources. The state of Mexico's attorney general's office told CNN that an explosive device had been hidden inside the vehicle. Francisco Beltran, an alleged member of the Sinaloa Cartel known as El

Payin, was killed instantly, along with his driver. In video and pictures of the attack on March 28, which are shown here, you can see a quick burst of flames before the car drifts off the highway.

It's part of an expanded and previously unreported CIA operation inside Mexico spearheaded by the agency's elite and secretive Ground Branch to dismantle Mexican cartel networks, many of which have been designated as foreign terrorist organizations by President Donald Trump.

Since last year, CIA operatives inside Mexico have directly participated in deadly attacks on several, mostly mid-level, cartel members according to our sources. But the operations may also be illegal under Mexican law, which requires explicit permission for foreign operations on Mexican soil. And it could further strain Trump's already tense relationship with Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Prior to publication of this story, CNN presented the CIA with details of its reporting and the CIA declined to comment. After publication, CIA spokesperson Liz Lyons released a statement saying, "This is false and salacious reporting that serves as nothing more than a PR campaign for the cartels and puts American lives at risk." -- without specifying what aspect of the reporting is false.

Mexico's security minister, meanwhile, denied in a post on X that foreign agents are conducting lethal, covert, or unilateral operations inside Mexico.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Let's go around the globe to see what else is making headlines.

We begin in the Philippines. That's where a former drug war police chief tried to run to avoid an international arrest warrant. Senator Ronald dela Rosa was once a powerful enforcer of a bloody drug crackdown. He's now a wanted criminal.

Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court -- they accuse him of conspiring to commit crimes against humanity during a brutal anti-drug campaign that killed thousands.

The situation now at a stalemate. He is under protective custody, according to the government-run Philippine news agency, effectively shielding him from arrest.

And in the U.K., Britain's prime minister is making it clear that he has no intention of resigning despite a revolt from inside his own party. More than 80 Labour members of Parliament have called on Keir Starmer to step down. And three junior ministers have resigned citing a lack of leadership. However, more than 100 other Labour MPs -- they signed a statement backing the prime minister saying, "This is no time for a leadership contest."

[05:50:00] Catherine, the Princess of Wales, is making her first official international trip after recovering from cancer. She'll be in northern Italy today. Kensington Palace says that her two-day visit will spotlight early childhood education. She was diagnosed with cancer more than two years ago.

Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS the man accused of stealing unreleased music from Beyonce takes a deal.

And a dream for Lego and "Lord of the Rings" fans. Details on a collab -- 8,200 bricks and a hefty price tag -- when we return. Stay with us.

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[05:55:00]

SMITH: In today's Money Express, oil prices back around $100 a barrel as the cost for the war with Iran skyrockets.

Maribel Aber joins us from the Nasdaq MarketSite with that and the rest of your top Money Express headlines. Hey, Maribel.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: Hey, Brad.

So U.S. oil prices trading higher, around $100 a barrel this morning with international crude closer to $107. The Middle East ceasefire remains fragile after the U.S. rejected Iran's latest peace proposal. Both countries have blockades near the Strait of Hormuz stranding hundreds of oil tankers. National gas prices are moving higher again. AAA shows a gallon of unleaded at $4.51 today.

Federal food safety officials are expanding a recall notice regarding possible salmonella contamination. The risk is linked to dry milk used in a wide variety of products sold nationwide. Now, two types of frozen breakfast pizzas by the brand Mama Cozzi's have been added to this growing list. Others in the recall include some Utz snacks and Ghirardelli chocolate. A complete list of products and retailers can be found on the USDA's website.

Lego is releasing the biggest "Lord of the Rings" set ever this summer. The Lego version of Minas Tirith, the White City capital of Gondor, contains just over 8,200 pieces. The company says the launch marks the franchise's 25th anniversary. Lego insiders get early order access on June 1 before it opens to the public on the fourth. The set goes for $649.99 and includes 10 mini figures and the legendary horse Shadowfax. What a beauty, Brad.

SMITH: Yeah. I'm not a massive "Lord of the Rings" fan but Maribel, you had me at Lego. Huge Lego fan.

Maribel Aber, thank you so much.

A game warden stocking fish is dead after his plane crashed. That story starts today's look at the other headlines making news across the country. We start in Maine. A witness says that the plane that 50-year-old Joshua Tibbetts was piloting seemed to be fighting strong winds just before crashing into a rural area. Officials say that Tibbetts was the only person on board the Cessna 185F at the time. The NTSB and the FAA are both investigating.

And police in Colorado are sharing a video of a rescue from a house fire. A dog was actually trapped inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on. Come on, puppy. Come on. Come on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The man who lives there said that he had escaped with one of his dogs but couldn't get to the other one. Thankfully, police in Westminster came through.

And in California, a mother now faces an involuntary manslaughter charge after her teen son allegedly killed an elderly man in an e-bike crash. So prosecutors there -- they're saying that she let her son illegally ride the e-bike despite multiple warnings from deputies. They say that the teen was doing wheelies at the time when he allegedly hit the 81-year-old war veteran. The mother's attorneys say that their client is "anguished" over the terrible accident.

And we take you to Atlanta now -- the case of a man accused of stealing Beyonce's unreleased music. We all heard about this. This was all over our feeds. Well, he will actually spend two years in prison and three on probation. That is after he pleaded guilty to criminal trespassing-related charges. Prosecutors say that he stole hard drives and suitcases from an SUV that contained Beyonce's unreleased music.

Authorities say that they were able to find Evans with the help of surveillance and tracking signals from stolen Apple devices. The stolen items were never found.

And how about this? Remember K.I.T.T., the iconic talking car from the classic '80s series "KNIGHT RIDER?" Well, now it's accused of putting some serious pedal to the metal in a New York school zone and it got a ticket for it.

CNN's Jeremy Roth has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY ROTH, CNN PRODUCER, WRITER, VOICE TALENT (voiceover): Someone must be red in the face after mistakenly sending a speeding ticket bill to K.I.T.T. from "KNIGHT RIDER." Yes, that "KNIGHT RIDER." The Volo Museum in Illinois received a $50 citation claiming their replica of the famous talking car was spotted speeding in New York City. And while K.I.T.T. is certainly capable of excessive speeds, the museum says their car has been on display inside the building for years. They believe it's a mistaken identity mix-up likely linked to someone else's vanity plates and have requested a hearing about the ticket.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Wow. OK, we're going to keep close tabs on those speeding zones for sure here.

That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.