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Trial Begins for Palisades Fire Suspect; Israel & Iran Halt Strikes Against Each Other After New Attacks; Judge Orders DOJ to Respond to Suit Seeking to Halt UFC Fight at White House; Security Tightened as Trump Set to Attend NBA Finals in New York; Police Searching for Suspects After 12 Shot Near Ohio Festival. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired June 08, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: called "Un Zder, Un The" which is a joint and tea. Now, Rinderknecht's lawyer says it's about a guy smoking weed and drinking tea. This is not about arson. So trial is going to last about two weeks. Jury selection back on tomorrow. Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Nick Watt, thanks so much for bringing us up to speed on that case.

A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": The strikes stop, but what's next? Iran and Israel halt their attacks on each other, but will a truce hold? And tapping out, a lawsuit seeks to shut down the upcoming UFC fight at the White House and it accuses the president of personally benefiting from the match.

And outrage in Kenya, protesters furious over a U.S. plan for an Ebola ward for Americans abroad in a country that has never reported a single case of the often fatal disease.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

We're following new warnings from Iran and Israel after they traded their worst strikes in months. President Trump stepping in multiple times. Here's a quick recap. Less than 24 hours ago, am U.S. official says President Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to not retaliate after Iran unleashed a barrage of missiles. But Israel did strike back and then, overnight, Iran responded again.

Hours later this morning, President Trump demanding both Iran and Israel stop shooting. Officials telling CNN the president spoke with Netanyahu a second time and a short time after that Iran suspended its operation against Israel, but warned Israel not to strike Lebanon. According to Lebanese state media though, an Israeli strike hit less than an hour after that warning.

And while Netanyahu has said that he now has agreed to not strike Iran, Israeli sources say strikes against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon will continue. Still, President Trump insists a peace deal is close. We're joined now by CNN Political and Global Affairs Analyst, Barak Ravid.

Barak, tell us what you're learning about this second phone call between Trump and Netanyahu today and also just more broadly about their relationship.

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: So first, there were several phone calls over the last 24 hours between Trump and Netanyahu, and between Netanyahu and other senior members of the Trump administration. I spoke to President Trump earlier today and he said that during those 24 hours, other than his calls with Netanyahu, at least five regional countries who are involved in the mediation between the U.S. and Iran called him to ask him to stop the Israeli strikes and resume the negotiations on a deal.

And one of the things President Trump told Netanyahu -- one of the things President Trump told me that he told Netanyahu is that if he continues and this turns into an all-out war, Israel could find itself facing Iran on its own. And Trump told me, he told Netanyahu, you should be careful because if you continue down this road, you might find yourself alone against Iran very soon. And I think this was one of the messages that Trump told Netanyahu -- gave Netanyahu in order to get him to, at the end of the day, stand down and stop the strikes.

And from what I hear from Israeli officials is that when President Trump spoke to Netanyahu on Monday morning, the IDF was about to launch the most intense and massive wave of strikes against Iran since this escalation started. And basically, the IDF just waited for the order from Netanyahu. And Trump told Netanyahu in that call that he needs to stand down and that the Iranians gave messages to the U.S. that they're ready to stop if Netanyahu stops.

And after Trump told this to the Israeli prime minister, he got the OK from him. And basically, then he put out this Truth Social post saying that both sides are ready for a ceasefire.

KEILAR: Any kind of discord between Israel and the U.S. will be something that Iran welcomes. How is the IRGC seeing this current moment, do you think?

RAVID: So I think that, at the end of the day, I think what the Iranians saw from this incident or from those 24 hours is that, in some ways, they had some success. They, for the first time, retaliated for an Israeli strike in Beirut by firing missiles at Israel which is, I think, it's the first time they did it since this war started. And they tried to set a new equation.

It did not work 100 percent because the Israelis retaliated and then the Iranians retaliated.

[14:05:00]

At the end of the day, the U.S. managed to get both sides to stand down. But I think that the question, the big question mark is, what happens the next time that Israel strikes Beirut? I think both on the Israeli side and on the Iranian side, there will be a lot of thinking before such a thing happens.

KEILAR: Yeah, no doubt. It'll be a critical question. Barak Ravid, thank you so much, really appreciate it. Boris?

SANCHEZ: This just in to CNN, a federal judge is ordering the Justice Department to respond this week to a new lawsuit seeking to stop President Trump's plan for a UFC fight on the White House lawn. It's set to happen this coming Sunday on the President's 80th birthday, being billed as part of celebrations marking the nation's 250th birthday.

The lawsuit, filed by the Public Integrity Project, alleges the location violates federal law because it didn't receive congressional approval, nor an environmental review required for federal parkland. The plaintiffs also argue that using White House grounds to stage a private, for-profit sporting event could improperly benefit private interest.

We're joined now by CNN Legal Analyst, Elliot Williams. Elliot, thanks so much for being with us. So the lawsuit claims the match isn't authorized without -- or has not been authorized by Congress. Do they need lawmakers' approval to hold this event?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Folks suing seem to think so, but you know, Boris, the easy way to understand this suit, think of the White House not as the president's house, but as a national park, not unlike the Grand Canyon or Shenandoah or Smoky Mountains. There are all sorts of procedures that one must follow to build a structure or anything else on those spaces.

And it's actually a trivia question, almost. What's the name or what? It's actually a national park called the President's Park and the White House. For that reason, they feel that this, no process was followed in building the structure that we see behind us here or any of the other things that were done.

SANCHEZ: A judge may have to determine whether this event is being held to honor --

WILLIAMS: Yes.

SANCHEZ: -- the anniversary of America's founding, or as the lawsuit alleges, this is a celebration of the UFC's brand and the 80th anniversary of Donald Trump's birth.

WILLIAMS: Right.

SANCHEZ: How do they go about doing that?

WILLIAMS: And they go about that in meticulous detail, noting that, wait a second, this is on June 14th, the president's 80th birthday, not July 4th. This takes place on a Sunday and UFC fights almost typically always happen on Saturday. There hasn't been a Sunday UFC fight since, I believe, 2019.

So the timing is suspicious and they note, look, the president owns, at least according to the lawsuit, $50,000 in UFC stock. There is a personal connection here that they think is leading to the founding of this. They even note in the lawsuit that the president himself came up with the idea to do this, not a government entity that was planning the 250th celebration.

So there's a host of reasons why it just does not appear to be run (ph). One other thing they note, there are 250th anniversary organizations that are planning functions.

SANCHEZ: Sure.

WILLIAMS: This is not one of them. This is a private entity, at least according to the lawsuit.

SANCHEZ: The plaintiffs argue that the event is for-profit. What evidence would they have to show to prove that?

WILLIAMS: Right. So back to the point I was making just a second ago, this idea of who's planning it, it's called, I believe, UFC Freedom 250, but it's not sponsored by whether it's the National Park Service or any of the official 250th anniversary organizations. It's being put on by UFC.

Now, the point that they make is that when a private entity is seeking to put a for-profit event on private land, there's an entire process they have to go through, through permitting and so on. They also note that at least the weigh-in for the UFC fight has to happen at the Lincoln Memorial, which can't have events. There's law that says that you can't put a special event on the Lincoln Memorial.

So for a host of reasons, they at least raise these questions for the judge to sort out.

SANCHEZ: If the judge decides that this event can't go forward, I mean, do we see the White House and UFC dismantle the structure that they've already put on the South Lawn?

WILLIAMS: Legally, they would have to if a federal judge says that an event cannot take place on the day on which it was planned to happen. That can't be. Now, what the White House is saying, or what the president is saying, is that this is no different than any other federal event that happens on property all the time. And it's just a structure. It'll be taken down and we can fix the White House Lawn.

The argument that the lawsuit raises is that this is $750,000 of damage to the White House Lawn. This is permanent damage being quite serious. And so, if they win -- if the plaintiffs win this lawsuit, the event technically could not happen on June 14th.

SANCHEZ: So is that damage one of the only differences between this event and having, say, Elon Musk and the president show off a Tesla? Musk, who was a special government employee for a certain period, I can't remember the exact amount of time, but several months under DOGE --

WILLIAMS: Right. SANCHEZ: -- promoting a brand that he owns.

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WILLIAMS: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: The president saying, oh, it's all computer, I can buy one or whatnot. That's seemingly a promotion?

WILLIAMS: Well, there's a couple different things here. One is the using government property to promote private interest. That's a separate thing. The damage question is a very specific one that when construction happens on federal property, there's an environmental process that has to happen.

If you were building, frankly, a new office building anywhere, you would need to go through a process. SANCHEZ: Or ballroom, perhaps.

WILLIAMS: Or -- oh, touche, Boris. But no, but there's an environmental process that should have happened there, which is what will happen to the ground? How permanent is the structure? Might it damage things around it? Might it damage, you know, whatever, water flow, whatever else. That, for any construction, regardless of whether it's just a temporary UFC octagon or something permanent, would need to happen. And the lawsuit is making the case that, wait a second, this is building happening on a national park property. There's just more process that should have been followed here. So we'll see how the judge treats it all.

SANCHEZ: We'll see what the judge decides and then how the White House responds. Elliott Williams, thank you so much.

WILLIAMS: Thanks, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Of course. Still to come, President Trump attending tonight's NBA Finals game between the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs. We'll talk about the unique security challenges that come with having a president at Madison Square Garden.

Plus, new CDC modeling warning the Ebola outbreak could become the largest on record. And protests are growing in Kenya over a new U.S. isolation ward there. The details straight ahead.

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[14:16:10]

KEILAR: President Trump's attendance at the NBA Finals tonight in New York will be a first for a sitting president, and it creates a big challenge for the Secret Service and security personnel charged with keeping the president safe in an arena that seats nearly 20,000 people. We're joined now by retired Secret Service Agent, Robert McDonald.

He's a former Senior Director of Global Event Security for the NBA, though he is not working for the league currently. He's also a Lecturer of Criminal Justice at the University of New Haven. So given your background in the Secret Service, with the NBA, Robert, just give us a sense of the magnitude of these security challenges with this event tonight.

ROBERT MCDONALD, RETIRED SECRET SERVICE AGENT: Well, good afternoon, Brianna. Nice to be back with you. Yeah, there's a lot going on here at Madison Square Garden tonight.

You've got obviously the excitement with the Knicks fans being in the finals and having a two game to nothing lead over San Antonio. You've got a number of different issues that are now going to come with the president attending that venue. But New Yorkers are used to these type of events.

They're used to the U.N. every year. They're used to political conventions at their arenas. They're used to papal visits and things of that nature. So I think what you're going to see is an augmented perimeter in and around the area of Madison Square Garden.

But you've got plenty of capabilities with respect to infrastructure and the various ways for people to get in and around that area. Is it going to be a little disruptive? Yes, but I think all in all, with the information that's put out, everybody's going to be able to get through tonight and hopefully without any difficulties.

KEILAR: OK, so you have this ongoing war in Iran. There were six people who were injured in a stabbing at Penn Station last night which for, you know, a lot of people, if they haven't been there, that is right underneath Madison Square Garden. There's a planned watch party outside of Madison Square Garden that's been scrapped because of security requirements. And there's no doubt fans who will not have tickets, who like at many sporting events may try to get close

. How does Secret Service, how do these partner agencies deal with all of these different things?

MCDONALD: Well, thankfully, we're in an area of New York where all of the entities, both state, local and federal and the Secret Service work very well together every day. So those lines of communication, those needs to meet and put together a robust security plan happen all the time.

They're going to want to make sure that not only is the president safe in that venue, but also the entire venue and the people over there, the fans, coaches, players, officials. The NBA has been at the tip of the spear with respect to professional sport security for about the last 12 years. They will continue to also work in partnership with everybody that's involved in the presidential security as well as at the arena.

So again, there will be some disruptions outside, but I think you're going to see a heavy presence of law enforcement personnel who will be there with personnel assets and other tools to make sure that order is maintained there this evening.

KEILAR: What lessons from the White House Correspondents' Dinner assassination attempt need to be incorporated tonight?

MCDONALD: Well, I think you're going to see that based upon that information and what happened there and how the Secret Service, I hope, has continued to take all these incidents and reset itself, they've got to be ready for whatever type of incident could come their way tonight.

The Correspondents' Dinner, I think, we were quite lucky in that there was just one perpetrator. Had that been a number of perpetrators in a planned event, I think we would have been talking about a different outcome right now. So, the Secret Service needs to be taking all of that intelligence that is out there from its, again, state, local, and federal partners and implementing that into its security plan while still maintaining the ability to have an NBA Finals game at Madison Square Garden tonight.

KEILAR: Yeah, great questions, concerns that you raise about what happened there at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. So many factors that did not play out. But had they, could have been a very different story, and that has to inform other events. Robert McDonald, we thank you so much for your expertise.

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And still to come, some new developments after a chaotic scene in Toledo, Ohio. What police are saying about a shooting that injured a dozen people near a popular festival. Plus, a country music superstar joining the fight to shut down plans for a data center in Music City. We have that and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

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SANCHEZ: It is now Day 3 of the search for the people responsible for a mass shooting near an Ohio music festival over the weekend.

[14:25:00]

People could be seen running for their lives as chaos unfolded.

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SANCHEZ: At least 12 were wounded. Fortunately, all are expected to survive.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino joins us now with the latest. Gloria, what are you learning?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris, the ages of those victims you've just mentioned, 12 people struck by gunfire, ranging from 14 years old all the way to 61 years old. This happened at what was supposed to be a summertime festival in Toledo, Ohio.

This is an annual two-day event, a historic event that happens in the city of Toledo. It takes place in the city's historic district, and it had started on Saturday with a live concert, a parade, family entertainment, and then shots rang out. People running for cover, eyewitnesses describing it as a chaotic scene, pandemonium, people running for cover, and as you said, Boris, police still have not been able to capture any suspects.

There's an investigation ongoing. They are asking the community to go through their cell phone videos, to go through their photos, in case they have captured something that might help them capture the suspects or suspects believed to have been involved in this shooting. As I said, this happened in Toledo, Ohio during this annual festival.

The festivities for Sunday were canceled as a result of this shooting and 12 people injured. This is now the 170th mass shooting in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Gloria, do police have an understanding of how this all started?

PAZMINO: Yes. The preliminary investigation, Boris, even though they have not been able to narrow down the suspects, they do believe that this started when two people opened fire against each other. Two people shooting at each other is what is believed to have started all this.

And frankly, the fact that 12 people were injured and none of them were killed is a small miracle, considering some of the images that we have been seeing. There are people walking away from this festival with their gunshot injuries, and as I said, very young victims, 14 to 61 years old.

SANCHEZ: Gloria Pazmino, thank you so much for that update.

Still to come, Israel and Iran halting attacks on each other after trading strikes for the first time since their April 8th ceasefire. CNN is on the ground in Tehran. We'll take you there next.

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