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Source Says, Acting Spy Chief Bill Pulte Begins Mass Firings; Millions Across Central U.S. Under Threat of Severe Storms; Montreal Shooting Leaves Officer, Civilian and Suspect Dead. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired June 23, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, the mass firings have begun, the new acting director of National Intelligence slashing jobs at the agency, making large-scale layoffs while the president's permanent pick for the job is in limbo.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: New details this morning about one of the ransom notes sent to the family of Nancy Guthrie claiming that she died.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And a sheriff's office answers the question I know you've asked. What happens when you attach a high-powered magnet to a drone? Well, it's bad news for the suspect.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

SIDNER: This morning, mass firings are underway in the intelligence agency created to prevent another 9/11. CNN has learned that this man, Bill Pulte, the president's acting director of National Intelligence, is ordering the job cuts. This is just his first full week on the job. And he's not the president's permanent pick for the position.

CNN first reported that Pulte showed up early last week and asked for a list of every employee in the office of the DNI, which oversees 18 intelligence agencies. The president installed Pulte, who was in the Oval Office Monday, despite his lack of any intel or national security experience. He's a housing official known for making mortgage fraud allegations against the president's political enemies. And now, top Democrats raising the alarm over his sweeping intel cuts.

CNN's Kevin Liptak is live this morning at the White House. What do you know about the firings, how many there are, and any reaction from the White House?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. The scale of the firings at this point is still unknown, although we are getting a better picture of where within the DNI some of these terminations are happening.

We understand that the National Counterterrorism Center and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center are among the offices that will be hardest hit, which I think is going to cause a measure of concern given not only the geopolitical situation with Iran, but also these large events that are set to take place over the next couple of weeks, including the World Cup, the America 250 celebrations.

And so, clearly, Bill Pulte coming into this job knowing exactly what President Trump wants him to do in this position, despite these concerns that you hear from certainly Democrats but also some Republicans that this is an ally with no national security experience who has used his current job to go after the president's perceived enemies.

Now, it was clear that he has been very eager to get started. As you mentioned, he showed up on the job even before his position began, asked for lists of employees. That actually caught the incumbent DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, off guard, all of this, I think, in service of what President Trump hopes him to do -- hopes he will do in this position. He had made that explicitly clear.

Listen to what President Trump said just a few days ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Bill Pulte's very good. He's very talented, done a great job at Fannie Mae-Freddie Mac.

REPORTER: And you want him to cut the number of people working there?

TRUMP: I wouldn't mind. I've heard that's way too high for way too long. Yes, I wouldn't mind. If he cut, I wouldn't mind that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, Trump is not the only person who thinks DNI should be smaller. There are even some Democrats who think it's become inefficient in the decade since it was created after 9/11. Tulsi Gabbard had already cut about 40 percent of the office.

The concern is who is doing the cutting and how he's going about it. And just yesterday, two Democrats, the top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence Committee wrote to Pulte with their concerns. They said, given your lack of experience within the Intelligence Community, it is difficult to imagine that in such a short amount of time you have already developed fully informed views as how to shrink ODNI without incurring risks to national security.

They go on to say, making significant structural changes to ODNI to include a reduction in force is not an appropriate course of action for anyone in an acting capacity, let alone without consultation with Congress, and you should refrain from doing so. Clearly, Pulte not heeding that advice.

Now, Trump has said that he does not want Pulte to serve in this job permanently, but just last week, he pulled back his own nominee for the permanent position, which essentially ensures that Pulte will be in this job for at least some amount of time, allowing him to carry out the president's objectives. [07:05:13]

Sara?

SIDNER: Kevin Liptak, thank you for your reporting on this. I appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right. With us now, Punchbowl Senior Congressional Reporter Andrew Desiderio. Andrew, good to see you this morning.

On Bill Pulte, you write this morning about a meeting that President Trump is going to have tomorrow with Senate Republicans who've had some issues with the president lately. One of those issues, frankly, was Bill Pulte. They were -- leadership was trying to work out a deal where he wouldn't serve at all as acting DNI. Now he is. How do you think these mass firings and everything that he's trying to do very quickly will go over?

ANDREW DESIDERIO, SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL REPORTER, PUNCHBOWL NEWS: Well, as Kevin mentioned, this idea of shrinking or downsizing ODNI has long been a bipartisan sort of goal over the years. The Senate Intelligence Committee has debated it very extensively behind closed doors. However, there hasn't been a bipartisan agreement to actually get that done and get that enacted into law.

Now, what Republicans or Republican leaders at least want from the president is for him to stop blocking his permanent nominee, Jay Clayton, of course, from appearing for his confirmation hearing, which you'll recall last week the president abruptly in the middle of the night caught every Senate Republican leader off-guard, blindsided them by ordering Jay Clayton not to appear for his own confirmation hearing. And as a result, FISA Section 702, that warrantless surveillance authority, is still in limbo, has been dark since the night of June 12th. And, frankly, if this stalemate continues past this week, it looks like 702 will be dark into July.

BERMAN: Which is something I know that Senate leaders do not want. Perhaps it will come up tomorrow in those meetings that you write so extensively about this morning.

Also this morning in Punchbowl, you talk about primary day here in America. I think some of the most closely watched races, Democratic primaries, here in New York City, which you write about, for Congressional districts, and there are some embattled Congressional incumbents, Dan Goldman, a Democrat, Adriano Espaillat, a long-serving Democrat. They face challengers from the left.

What are you watching for this morning, and what are you hearing from Democratic leaders about maybe their concerns over what could happen today?

DESIDERIO: Well, they're absolutely concerned, right? Hakeem Jeffries, of course, from the same state, he could be the next House speaker, and his job is to protect his incumbents. And in this case, you have both Dan Goldman, as you mentioned, and Adriana Espaillat being challenged by progressives from the left. And both of them are endorsed by, of course, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

This will be a major test of Mayor Mamdani's political power, not just within the state of New York and New York City specifically, but more broadly because these are obviously federal races.

BERMAN: Watching those very, very closely.

Thank you so much, Andrew Desiderio. Say hi to your dad for us. Always appreciate you being with us.

DESIDERIO: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate?

BOLDUAN: Let's get to some breaking news. We are monitoring market futures right now. Take a look at this and keep a close eye throughout the morning, markets reacting to a global tech sell-off that is accelerating today.

And brand-new details on a deadly ambush that killed a veteran police officer and a civilian. Sources now say it looks like a targeted attack on law enforcement.

And beware of bees. The warning to one community after a truck crash set free two million bees.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: Today's another day to watch the weather. Millions across the Rockies and Central Plains are facing a real threat of severe thunderstorms.

Let's get to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar, who's been tracking all this for us. Allison, what are you watching for and where?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We've got a couple different systems that we're kind of keeping an eye on, and they're both entirely in different portions of the country. So, you've got what's left kind of wrapping up here across portions of the eastern half of the country, but also a newer system that's going to be starting to spread a little bit farther into areas of the Central U.S.

Now, in the last 24 hours, we've had a pretty significant amount of severe storm reports, over 260 of them in just the last 24 hours. But, again, you notice kind of this area of the Mid-Atlantic, northeast down through the southeast, and then that secondary region that kind of includes portions of the Rockies and the High Plains. That's really where the big focus is going to be today in terms of severe storms.

And you can see that here. You've got a level three out of five and that does include areas around Cheyenne and then the greater Denver metro area. Here you can also see it extends down into portions of Oklahoma City and even the northern suburbs of Dallas. The main threats here are going to be damaging winds, the potential for some large hail, and even some isolated tornadoes.

But we also still have additional storms that are going to be impacting areas of the Mid-Atlantic. And you can see this very elongated system right down through here, bringing storms not only to the northeast and the Mid-Atlantic, but stretching down through much of the southeast and the Gulf Coast region.

You've still got some showers right now across the Cape, starting to wrap up things here across the Boston area. But then you've got more showers starting to slide in through areas of Virginia and into North Carolina, down to the south. This is where we've actually had some active warnings earlier this morning.

Right now, we don't have any, but that could change in the coming hours, especially as the sun comes out, starts to heat things back up.

[07:15:00]

So, you've got a lot of lightning here though, right around that ArkLaTex region and moving through Shreveport.

Now, back farther out to the west, this is where we do have some active warnings. You can see pretty much up and down areas of South Dakota, down through portions of Kansas, Nebraska. This is where we're looking at some of these areas and that strong line of thunderstorms. That will continue through the afternoon hours.

Same thing across areas of the Mid-Atlantic, here you can still see, 2:00 this afternoon, some pretty intense storms. D.C., Baltimore, stretching down through the Raleigh area and then out to the west. Again, you've also got some of those stronger thunderstorms.

Now, the most intense thunderstorms out to the west are really going to be late this evening and through the overnight hours. You're talking 10:00, 11:00 in the evening all the way through about 4:00 to 6:00 A.M. So, it's going to be pretty late. Make sure you have that way to get those emergency alerts on your phones if you do end up getting some of those warnings overnight. Also looking at the potential for flooding, since we could be adding an extra two to four inches of rain.

BOLDUAN: All right, keeping track of it for us. Thank you so much, Allison. We'll be checking in with her throughout the morning. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. We've got some new details coming up about that deadly Tesla crash where the owner of the car says it was on autopilot when it launched into a 76-year-old's home, killing her. What we are learning this morning.

And a fire now burning for six days, crews say frozen food is making it harder to get it under control. We'll explain ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00] BERMAN: New details this morning about a deadly ambush that killed a civilian and veteran police officer in Montreal. A moment saw it -- a witness saw it all unfold.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is he walking? What is wrong with him?

Guys, what the (BLEEP)? He's just shooting the cops. Holy (BLEEP).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Investigators say they are reviewing a 100-page document that appears to have been written by the suspected gunman. He has not yet been identified. Authorities say the writings reportedly contain incel ideology, a misogynistic online movement linked to several acts of violence in recent years.

Police believe the shooting was a targeted attack on law enforcement. Montreal police say the officer who was killed is a 34-year-old veteran officer who had been with the department since 2021. The other victim has been identified as a, quote, beloved member of Montreal's Jewish community. Police say a second officer remains hospitalized in critical condition.

This morning, a Tesla official is pushing back against claims made by a driver who reportedly told investigators his car was on autopilot when he crashed into a Texas home, killing a 76-year-old grandmother. The driver told investigators an advanced driver assistance system was engaged at the time of the crash.

But in a social media post, the director of Tesla's autopilot software said the driver manually overrode the system by pressing the accelerator. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration tells CNN they are investigating.

Security video from a neighboring home appears to show the car speeding down the street moments before a loud crash was heard. Police say the driver showed no signs of intoxication. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, now to California. What is stopping firefighters from putting out an enormous fire in a 500,000 square foot warehouse that's been burning for six days? It turns out frozen food. Crews say it's been hard to get it under control because there are 50-foot high metal racks filled with 85 million pounds of frozen food inside.

They are, they say, making progress now. The company that operates the warehouse says the fire started last Wednesday while contractors were testing rooftop solar panels. The L.A. Fire Department says they've used excavators to remove walls and access the seat of the fire, as they put it. They say smoke will continue, though, to be a problem for several days.

All right, quarantine now over for the last six American passengers from that cruise ship hit by the deadly Hantavirus outbreak. They spent the past 42 days at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. None of them became infected.

The outbreak happened on a cruise ship that began sailing from Argentina in April. Three people died, you'll remember that, and 13 other people from the ship got sick. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Also new this morning, a federal investigation has now found that the columns at the towers in Surfside, Florida, were failing for weeks before that condo tower collapsed. That tragedy, that happened five years ago now, and 98 people, you'll remember, were killed.

The building came down when the pool deck gave way, fell into the underground parking garage. Federal investigators say decades of corrosion and modifications added extra weight to that pool deck, leaving it compromised. A final federal report is still to come.

Also ahead, still to come for us, federal aviation officials are turning now to A.I. for help with air traffic control. What they believe it will help prevent and the risks now associated with this move.

And there's also new details from one of the ransom notes in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

SIDNER: New this morning, Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his way right now to the Middle East to discuss the U.S.-Iran agreement with key American allies in the region, like the United Arab Emirates, the UAE, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

Iran has repeatedly attacked those nations since the war started. Now, the U.S. is hoping these Gulf countries will play a major role in implementing elements of the agreement and ensuring that ships can get through the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, Rubio's trip comes as new data shows that traffic through the strait has started to pick up, albeit slowly.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich joining us now. What are you learning, Vanessa?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Well, arguably, no one is watching what is happening more closely than the shipping companies in the Strait of Hormuz. Is it open? Is it closed?

[07:30:00]

It does change day-to-day. But shipping companies are looking for windows of safe passage.

And here's what we've seen over the last five days. You've actually seen a pickup in the number.