Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Trump Admin Making Plans to Send Military into Chicago; Interview with Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL); Trump to Host South Korean Leader for First D.C. Meeting; Kim Jong-un Admits North Korean Troops Died in Ukraine War; U.N. Says Gaza in the Midst of a Man-Made Famine; Orlando Officials Condemn Removal of Rainbow Crosswalk; Musk Fans Meet Up at Tesla Diner in Los Angeles. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 24, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:17]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in Los Angeles.

And tonight, new CNN reporting, two officials telling CNN the Trump administration has been making plans for weeks to send National Guard troops into Chicago. Trump has already deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., despite a new poll showing an overwhelming majority of people who live there are strongly opposed to that move. Meantime, Chicago's mayor is rejecting the idea of the president sending National Guard troops into his city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D), CHICAGO: You know, there are some political differences, certainly, that we do have in Chicago. But I think in this regard, we're all very clear that the Trump administration is clearly in violation of the Constitution. And it's pretty straightforward for us. You either support the Constitution or you do not. That's -- those are the only two positions that you can take.

And again, whether it's legal actions as well as the community as a whole coming together to push back in a very dramatic way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook is joining us now with more on this.

Julia, we have this new reporting indicating that the president has or the administration has been planning for weeks now. What more has the president said?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, I'm here in Washington, D.C., and it is clear that President Donald Trump wants to expand those efforts from the district where they have already started. You know, just a few weeks ago, we saw Trump take control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police temporarily. And then there's this constant presence of National Guard around the district. It's important to note that he does have more authority here to

implement these things than he does in the states. But while speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump made it clear that he plans to expand these efforts, and he took aim directly at Chicago, saying that he's looking there now. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Chicago is a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent. And we'll straighten that one out probably next.

And the people in Chicago, Mr. Vice President, are screaming for us to come. They're wearing red hats just like this one, but they're wearing red hats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Officials who spoke with CNN have said that the plans to send troops there has been in the works for weeks, but there's still a lot up in the air. It's unclear how many would be sent and when that deployment would start.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has really pushed back against this. We heard him a little bit in that clip there, but he also said in that interview that the Trump administration has not been speaking directly with his team or with the governors. He has accused Trump of, quote, "stoking fear," and he says this is not the way to bring down crime in his city.

Recent data from the Chicago Police Department shows that violent crime in Chicago is currently on a downward trajectory. You can see there, homicides down 32 percent, shootings down 37 percent, and robberies down 43 percent.

In a statement, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker said this. He said, quote, "The safety of the people of Illinois is always my top priority. There is no emergency that warrants the president of the United States federalizing the Illinois National Guard, deploying the National Guard from other states or sending active duty military within our own borders."

While it's not uncommon for federal authorities like the National Guard to help out in emergency situations like natural disasters or civil unrest, it is, though, unusual, experts say it is unprecedented, for the president to send in the National Guard in a blanket order to combat crime and to implement his immigration policies.

And while Trump has focused here in Washington, he says Chicago is next. He is then taking a look at New York. And in recent weeks, he has called out several other major cities that he says are, quote, "very bad," including Los Angeles and Baltimore -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook, with the latest reporting. Thank you so much for that.

And we are joined now by Democratic Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida.

Congresswoman, thank you for being here on a -- on a Sunday evening. We appreciate your time. I do want to start there where Julia was just reporting with this potential move by President Trump to deploy National Guard troops to other cities, including Chicago, and our new reporting that they've been planning that move for weeks now.

I want to see what your reaction is to that.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): I mean, my reaction first and foremost is that -- and thanks for having me, as always, Jessica. My reaction first and foremost to the idea that President Trump would deploy National Guard troops anywhere he chooses to, apparently the next target is possibly Chicago, is that this is all part of his mass distraction movement.

[18:05:15]

They just took in their big ugly bill 15 -- they cut 15 million people off of their health care. Prices are skyrocketing. People can't afford their groceries. His tariff policy is driving costs up even further. He's given billionaires, you know, the lion's share of tax cuts. And you know we have an angry public who believes that the direction that the president is taking this country on those issues is the wrong direction.

So he's headed towards a pretty big election loss where Democrats are likely to take the majority. That's why they're engaging in trying to redraw districts to favor Republicans and have legislators choose their voters rather than the other way around. The bottom line here is that the president thinks that he was elected as an autocrat, and can just, you know, I mean, the next thing you know, is it martial law? Because Governor Pritzker has made clear he hasn't requested any help.

There's not an emergency that needs -- that has been declared. And if the president is going to march the National Guard into cities, that is the action, those are the actions of an authoritarian that I am confident would not survive legal challenge.

DEAN: And so that is my question is, what can Democrats do to push back against this if they're of the mind that you've just -- of the situation, viewing the situation as you've just laid it out, they'll -- they want to push back against this. Obviously, the Chicago mayor has said they intend to file a lawsuit if this does happen. But what beyond that can they do or is that -- is that what they do?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: I mean, that's certainly, you know, we've been as Democrats across the country combating Republicans at every turn in Congress, in the courts and in the community. And, I mean, that's why you're seeing at the town halls that many Republicans have been ordered not to do, but because they are being attacked by their own constituents, because they are extremely angry at the policy decisions that they are just rolling over and supporting that Donald Trump is pushing.

I mean, for 15 million people in this country to lose their health care, that's a lot of people that are going to end up dead, Jessica. And, you know, I just came out of my supermarket to shop for groceries, to prepare dinner for my family tonight, and it was $100. I mean, I bought a normal amount of ingredients that is was mostly just to prepare dinner tonight. And that's a kick in the -- kick in the stomach for a family that is struggling to put food on the table and make sure they can pay their rent.

So the weapons of mass distraction that Trump is engaged in includes, you know, marching into cities and engaging in redistricting and, you know, doing everything he can to be able to amass power so that he can essentially roll over the American people instead of making sure that we focus on their priorities, which are they just want their life to be more affordable. They just want to make sure that they can make ends meet. And that's where our focus should be. But that's certainly not where Donald Trump and his MAGA supporters' focuses are.

DEAN: I want to go to your -- to your home state of Florida, where you are right now, where federal and state, the state government, are trying to appeal a judge's decision that would effectively shut down the so-called Alligator Alcatraz, this Florida detention center.

I know you've long fought to protect the everglades. There have been real environmental concerns around this, as well as concerns about how people are being treated inside that detention center. Tell us about what the main issue is there for you. Is it -- is it those two -- those two issues?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Now going all the way back to the 1970s when there was a proposed very significant airport, it would have been the largest in the country that would have gone on that site. That's why there's a, you know, a narrow airstrip there, just, you know, a runway. But that never happened because that area of the everglades was deemed so environmentally sensitive that that was, you know, completely incompatible with the environmental sensitivity.

And since then, we have spent billions of dollars on everglades restoration. I mean, the state, neither the state nor the federal government has the right without careful environmental review as environmental organizations that pursued this lawsuit insisted upon. No public input.

[18:10:02]

I mean, this is an infringement on tribal lands. No consultation with the Miccosukee or Seminole tribes with this for the land around this area, which is sacred. So the judge made the right decision to say, look, first, halt construction. Now get this place shut down. An hour and a half into the everglades is the last place that an everglades detention site where they are engaging in human rights abuses belongs.

It's one thing if they're going to put a detention center somewhere in the state that's appropriate. But this was just a stunt. And that's what it came down to. And one that had horrific human rights implications like caging human beings and not giving them access to legal counsel, which is a separate lawsuit. DEAN: And obviously, the Trump administration and the government in

Florida has disputed some of that. But I do want to ask you an additional legal question around this, which is there were a lot of questions about who was in control of this. Is it a federally run detention center or a state run detention center? Were you able to figure that out?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, when we were granted access, but, you know, with notice instead of the access that were supposed to be given as members of Congress where we can just show up and be given access anytime we ask. It was not that clear. They've made it muddy on purpose, but what was clear was that they were not sending detainees that were criminals, which is -- which they said they originally were, that was what they were going to do with that site.

They were very muddy about, you know, who was responsible for sending the teenage detainees, who was responsible for the deportations. It was pretty clear that this is an ICE detention center, that they are having the state government run. That's not legally allowed. And that's what the subject of that -- a third separate lawsuit that has just been filed.

This is a complete mess. That was a political stunt from the beginning. That has had human rights abuses that are incomprehensible, that are absolutely harming the environment. And really unraveling progress that we've made over 30 years to restore the everglades. And at the end of the day, we need to make sure that we respect tribal lands.

All the MAGA Republicans and Ron DeSantis care about is the abuse of human rights because, I mean, they have declared war on people of color, whether it's in education and the erasure of their history with the efforts to whitewash, dismiss the history in the Smithsonian museums, rounding up people with masked ICE detainees, detention center employees and kidnaping them, not giving them access to counsel.

It shouldn't and doesn't have to be this way. It's outrageous. And Democrats are going to continue to push back, give voice to people who need to make sure that they get due process and that they are treated humanely in these detention centers.

DEAN: All right. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Thank you so much.

DEAN: Still ahead, China looming large as President Trump prepares for a critical meeting with the leader of South Korea. We are live from the White House with a look ahead at that. Plus, a rare show of compassion from one of the world's most ruthless dictators. The emotional tribute North Korea's Kim Jong-un paid to his country's fallen soldiers.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:18:27]

DEAN: In just a matter of hours, President Trump is set to host the president of South Korea at the White House. The summit comes with some strain on the relationship hurt by Trump's tariffs and demands for South Korea to pay more for hosting U.S. troops. And it comes days after North Korea test launched two new air defense missiles.

Let's bring in CNN's Betsy Klein, who's live at the White House.

Betsy, walk us through the agenda for these two leaders tomorrow.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, South Korea is such a critical ally for the United States because of economic, national security, as well as geographic reasons. So this is going to be a key moment as President Trump hosts South Korean President Lee here at the White House on Monday.

Now, you may recall that Lee was elected and inaugurated just in June, coming to office after South Korea President Yoon was removed from office for declaring martial law. So this is going to be a key opportunity, his first visit to Washington and a moment for him to cultivate closer ties with President Trump amid so many questions for the future of the South Korean and United States alliance.

And one of the major topics that they're going to be discussing is trade. This comes just weeks after the U.S. and South Korea struck a trade deal in which the U.S. placed 15 percent tariffs on South Korean goods. And when he announced that deal, President Trump saying in a post to social media that there would be some investment. He said, quote, "South Korea will give to the United States $350 billion for investments owned and controlled by the United States and selected by myself." Now, that is also going to include $150 billion for the shipbuilding industry.

[18:20:05]

There are other key topics for discussion on Monday, including the nuclear threat from North Korea. And as you mentioned, North Korea test launched a series of missiles just on Saturday in a sign of escalation ahead of this meeting there, as well as the possibility over a conflict over Taiwan. And we have seen military escalation and activity from China in recent months.

But this meeting also comes after a key summit, just this weekend between President Lee of South Korea and the Japanese prime minister in Japan. Now, you may recall that Japan colonized South Korea so the fact that these two leaders were able to come together and showcase very warm and close relations and expanding relations shows how they are trying to work together amid all of this uncertainty abroad -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Betsy Klein with the latest at the White House as we look ahead to what's to come this week. Thanks so much. Tonight, the colors of the Ukrainian flag shining brightly on major

landmarks across Europe. And you can see it here on the Eiffel Tower in Paris. And they were also on the Colosseum in Rome, a symbol of solidarity as Ukraine celebrates its Independence Day today, despite the ongoing war with Russia.

And also today, there were tears of joy in Ukraine as Ukrainian prisoners of war stepped foot on their homeland for the first time in years.

This latest prisoner exchange with Russia just happened to take place on Ukraine's Independence Day. Ukrainian officials did not say how many people were released from Russia, but said at least eight of those were civilians.

And it's not just Russians and Ukrainians whose lives have been forever changed by this war. This week, North Korea's Kim Jong-un paid a rare and emotional tribute to the North Korean soldiers who've been killed fighting for Russia.

CNN's Will Ripley has details on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia unleashing one of its heaviest bombardments in weeks. Hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles slamming into Ukrainian cities.

And more than 4,000 miles away, North Korea, for the first time admitting its own soldiers died in Vladimir Putin's war, staging a high-octane performance, complete with a military band visually illustrating the death and destruction.

Once a national secret, now a national spectacle, Kim Jong-un's troops hailed as heroes.

Stories glorifying soldiers who shot themselves in the head or pulled grenade pins to avoid capture.

The message, dying for their leader, even by suicide, is the ultimate sacrifice.

For nearly a year, Pyongyang rarely acknowledged that its troops were even fighting for Russia, despite estimates of more than 11,000 sent into battle. Western officials say as many as 4,000 killed or wounded.

Now they're remembered in public ceremonies. Kim pinning medals on portraits, consoling grieving families. More than 100 faces on this memorial wall, each one tied to a war North Korea barely acknowledged until now.

Why do you think it's taken so much time for North Korea to publicly acknowledge what the rest of the world has known?

COLIN ZWIRKO, SENIOR ANALYTIC CORRESPONDENT, NK NEWS: Kim Jong-un has to completely control the narrative inside the country because he's very afraid of backlash against himself.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine shows no sign of slowing, even as U.S. President Donald Trump pushes for a face-to-face peace deal that so far is going nowhere. Instead, Moscow is tightening its wartime alliance with Pyongyang. Kim sending troops and artillery, Putin sending money and missile technology.

The Center for Strategic and International Studies uncovered this. A secret North Korean missile base under construction for two decades, potentially capable of hitting any city in the U.S.

Seth Jones with CSIS says Russia may be helping bankroll it.

SETH JONES, THE CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Russia is providing missile technology to the North Koreans and North Korea is now gaining battlefield experience.

RIPLEY: Kim's meeting with returning generals suggests this may be just the beginning. Propaganda preparing his country for more war in Ukraine and perhaps beyond.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And that was Will Ripley reporting for us. Thanks for that.

A dire warning from the United Nations as families and children inside Gaza are struggling to survive without access to food. We're going to talk to a UNICEF official about the challenges of getting aid into Gaza.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[18:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: The United Nations says Gaza is now in the midst of a man-made famine. A new food security report finds hundreds of thousands of Gazans are going days without anything to eat, and that cases of child malnutrition in Gaza have tripled in the past six months. Humanitarian workers are urging Israel to lift its restrictions on groups bringing food and medical supplies into that region.

And joining us now, Joe English, emergency communications specialist for UNICEF.

Joe, thank you for being here. I'm reminding everyone that UNICEF focuses on protecting and caring for children, specifically, across the globe. Can you tell us what life looks like for children in Gaza right now?

[18:30:01]

JOE ENGLISH, UNICEF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST: Yes. Good to be with you, Jessica. I mean, it's really hard to describe at this point because we have been warning for so many months about how catastrophic the situation has become. And we have been warning of this threat of famine and all of the signs have been there, you know, especially over the last few weeks and months, we've seen, you know, children too emaciated to even be able to feed or drink or cry.

We've seen parents turning up at clinics with nothing to give their children. We've seen these images, all of us have seen these images of children wasting away. And so on Friday, we had this confirmation. You know, we had this classification that Gaza is now experiencing a famine. And what we know is that once this happens, it is already too late for far, far too many children.

DEAN: Also this week, the IDF told medical officials and aid organizations to prepare for mass evacuations from Gaza City. And I'm curious what this means for the children who are in the hospitals there.

ENGLISH: Yes, Gaza City is where this famine was classified, you know. And so the idea of an escalation in military activity in a place which is experiencing a famine is unconscionable. You know, these children, many of them and their parents as well, you know, it's not just the children who are malnourished, it's parents, it's grandparents. It's entire families sometimes. You know, they are the most vulnerable.

And so the idea that they can pack up what little is left of their lives, many of them have been displaced multiple times already and go to somewhere like Al-Mawasi, where they're being told to evacuate to, where there are barely any services. Regardless, you know, it is not possible. You know, imagine being a mother of a child who is malnourished. Imagine being a mother who has lost your husband, and you have three or four children to feed, and now you're being told to leave the one place where you don't have safety, but at least you have a sense of stability. It's impossible.

DEAN: And you and I have spoken a number of times during this war. Help people understand. You just noted the report that we got this week. But help people understand how the current situation for the children there in Gaza compares to other times in this conflict. Just give us some context here.

ENGLISH: Yes. You know, I've been speaking with my colleagues in Gaza, many of whom are Palestinians themselves. They grew up in Gaza. They've lived in Gaza their whole lives. And the situation is worse than it has ever been. But not just that. I speak to colleagues of mine who have been doing humanitarian work around the world for many, many years, decades, in some instances. And they say that this is -- this is as bad as anything they've ever seen.

But the fact is, is that food, plentiful food, humanitarian supplies, drinking water, all of this is a matter of miles away. You know, often we see these kind of conditions, hundreds and hundreds of miles away from support. But here it's a matter of, you know, you could drive it in normal times in under an hour. You know, that is the difference between life and death for these children. So we need to see the borders open.

We need to see the entryways open up and let humanitarian aid in at scale. But we also need to see the situation on the ground in Gaza, within Gaza, allow us to do our jobs. And for that to happen, it has to be a ceasefire. All parties have to stop fighting.

DEAN: And again, I believe, and we've talked, you've said that the only way to fix the malnutrition, the starvation that some of these kids are facing is to just flood the zone with aid because there is this concern, if there's aid trickling in, that's when you get, you know, problem areas. We've seen a lot of, you know, we've seen people killed trying to get aid, trying to get to aid. It's about flooding the zone. Is that right?

ENGLISH: It is. It's about removing that sense of desperation for families where when they see something, you know, when they see aid coming in, they think it's the only chance that they're going to have to get any food for weeks. But it's not just that. For these children who have malnutrition, they require a specialized medical care. You know, and I've seen this around the world. I've seen it in places like South Sudan. I've seen it in places like Syria.

You know, when you see these children, malnourished children who are too weak even to cry often, but after a few days of this high energy peanut protein paste, you start to see the color come back into their cheeks. You start to see them start to cry and start to gurgle and start to, you know, make all of those noises that babies should make. And it is -- honestly, it's like a miracle. I've seen it over a matter of days.

It takes six weeks for this full course, but we have to be able to get to these children where they are, and we have to be able to give them this sustained course. And for that to happen, it has to be, you know, not just a pause here or there, you know, within certain days, but it has to be a long term ceasefire and ultimately an end to this conflict. But for all children, for children in Israel, in Gaza, in Palestine, we have to see an end to the fighting.

DEAN: Yes. And for these children who are suffering right now, what are the long term effects medically of experiencing something like this as a baby or even as an 8 or 9-year-old?

ENGLISH: Yes. That huge, you know, so chronic malnutrition, both in terms of severe acute malnutrition, which is where you see children wasting away, but also just the lack of food over a long term, which leaves children short for their height.

[18:35:05]

It has long term implications for their development, for their future opportunities. But we also have to remind ourselves that this generation of children in Gaza have been out of school for the last two years, as well, you know, so any parent, you know, what do you want for your kids? You want them to be happy. You want them to be healthy. You want them to be educated, you know. And for too many children in Gaza, are they educated? No. They've missed two years of school.

Are they healthy? No. Disease is rampant. Malnutrition is rampant. Are they happy? Every child in Gaza right now needs psychosocial support to deal with the traumatic experiences that they've had. You know, and so no wonder parents are telling us we're exhausted. Enough. we need an end to the fighting.

DEAN: All right, Joe English, it's great to have you. Thank you for being here. We appreciate it.

ENGLISH: Thanks so much, Jessica.

DEAN: Still to come, outrage in Florida after state officials remove a rainbow crosswalk honoring the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting. We'll take you there after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:37]

DEAN: The site of one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history is now a point of political tension between the state of Florida and the Orlando community. This after the state painted over a rainbow crosswalk outside the Pulse Nightclub that honored the 49 people who were killed there in 2016. Protesters using chalk there this week to add color back to the crosswalk.

The removal is part of an effort by the state and the Trump administration to cover what's known as asphalt art, calling it a safety measure to remove distractions from roads.

CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is joining us now.

Rafael, what more can you tell us about this?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Jessica. Well, the effort to remove pavement surface art traces back to at least June when the Florida Department of Transportation issued a memo prohibiting crosswalk markings, including rainbow crosswalks and others. The memo said that pavement art, that is, quote, "associated with social, political or ideological messages or images and does not serve the purpose of traffic control, would be prohibited."

CNN affiliate WESH in Orlando witnessed the moment Wednesday night into Thursday morning when Florida state workers removed the rainbow crosswalk in Orlando outside the Pulse Nightclub. The rainbow crosswalk was painted to commemorate the 49 people killed at the LGBTQ friendly nightclub in 2016. Orlando marked the ninth anniversary of the tragedy only two months ago.

And Jessica, Orlando officials and members of the LGBTQ community in the area have condemned the state's actions. One of those criticizing the move is Florida state senator Carlos Guillermo Smith, the first out LGBTQ Latino elected to the Florida legislature.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLOS GUILLERMO SMITH, FLORIDA STATE SENATE: They illegally vandalized city property without providing the city of Orlando notice or getting their approval to remove this rainbow crosswalk that was painted here not only to remember the lives of the 49 mostly LGBTQ people of color who were murdered here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis responded directly to the senator's post on X, saying the following, quote, "We will not allow our state roads to be commandeered for political purposes."

Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer also condemned the removal of the rainbow crosswalk. "This callous action of hastily removing part of a memorial to what was at the time our nation's largest mass shooting, without any supporting safety or discussion, is a cruel political act," he said.

This weekend, people opposing the removal of the rainbow crosswalk converged at the site and symbolically colored it again, using sidewalk chalk. And then on Sunday, Florida Highway Patrol troopers were photographed at the crosswalk. A state elected official told CNN they were there to deter people from using chalk on the crosswalk. We reached out to the Highway Patrol, but there has been no response so far.

The removal of pavement art seems to be part of a national directive from the Trump administration in June. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to governors in all 50 states saying intersections and crosswalks should be kept from what he called free -- should be free, I should say, from distractions.

Jessica, now back to you.

DEAN: All right, Rafael, thank you very much.

Let's stay in Florida now where a judge has denied bond for a truck driver accused of causing an accident that killed three people last week. The Trump administration saying that truck driver was in the U.S. illegally. However, the driver, originally from India, obtained a work permit and a California driver's license. He is now facing three counts of vehicular homicide and immigration violations.

Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin has called issuing a commercial license to someone in the country illegally, quote, "asinine."

"Soprano's" actor Jerry Adler has died at the age of 96. Adler portrayed Tony Soprano's adviser, Hesh Rabkin, across all six seasons of that show, as well as law partner Howard Lyman on the TV drama "The Good Wife." Before he pivoted to acting in his 60s, he spent decades serving behind the scenes on more than 50 Broadway productions as a stage manager, producer or director. He later returned to Broadway starring on stage in multiple shows, including Larry David's writing debut "Fish in the Dark" back in 2015.

Evacuation orders are in place right now as a dangerous wildfire burns in Napa County, California. The fast-moving Pickett Fire has burned more than 6800 acres. It's only 11 percent contained. [18:45:06]

CalFire says crews are working around the clock to hold the fire within the control lines, but weather conditions are challenging. Red flag alerts are posted again today as a major heat wave has spread out across the west.

Still to come, from cars to carbs, we're going to take you inside Tesla's first retro themed diner in Los Angeles.

Stay with us. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:01]

DEAN: Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March could be deported to Uganda within days. The Department of Homeland Security sending a notice to Abrego Garcia minutes after he was released from criminal custody in Tennessee, where he was being held on human smuggling charges.

The government is offering a plea deal in exchange for his deportation to Costa Rica instead of Uganda. One of Abrego Garcia's immigration lawyers spoke with CNN this morning about the plea deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN OSORIO, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY FOR KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: The U.S. government knows they have an offer on the table from Costa Rica. So if you have an offer of asylee status to the U.S. government for an individual you say you want to deport, who is a Spanish speaker and has a family here in the United States, why would you not take that over sending him to a country where he doesn't speak the language and is thousands of miles away from his family? So the only reason that you would choose Uganda over Costa Rica is to try to punish him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Abrego Garcia's attorneys say he has until Monday to respond to that offer.

Next hour, SpaceX is planning to launch its Starship mega rocket on an hour long test flight. It's the most powerful rocket system ever built, but it does have a spotty past. The spacecraft has exploded twice over islands east of Florida, creating debris that hit roads in Turks and Caicos, and it spun out of control on a May test flight. In June the Starship vehicle exploded on the ground before launching. SpaceX says it's learned from those failures and is prepared for today's test flight.

It's not like a diner you've ever been to before. The new Tesla Diner has both retro elements that harken back to the 1950s, and futuristic elements that might make you think of the Jetsons.

CNN's Hadas Gold takes us to Los Angeles and shows us what it's all about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the middle of West Hollywood, futuristic structure dominates this corner of Santa Monica Boulevard. The brand new Tesla Diner serves the classics. But it's also charging station, drive-in movie and merch shop.

So the Tesla Diner here in Los Angeles has become really a hub, not just for Tesla fans, but also for supporters of Elon Musk himself. It's become a center point where people have meetups. People bring all their Teslas and their Cybertrucks and do these sort of joint light shows. And it's really become a place for them to meet, to hang out with one another and show their support for Elon Musk, whose image has gone through a lot over the last few months.

(Voice-over): Here Musk's stint as White House adviser, his fallout with the president, and Tesla's falling sales are all background noise. The diner is a shrine to all things Tesla and Musk. From Cybertruck food boxes to the Optimus robot.

So up on the roof of Tesla Diner, you've got a great view of these huge screens that show movies and shows and clips. And if you're sitting in your Tesla, you actually can connect directly to the audio.

Now normally there's supposed to be an Optimus robot who stands here and serves people popcorn. But staff tell me that he's been out of service for a couple of weeks.

(Voice-over): Jacob Towe, a high end lighting designer.

JACOB TOWE, TESLA OWNER: I'm Jacob.

GOLD (voice-over): Says he owns multiple Tesla, Starlink and Tesla solar and power all systems. A big supporter of Elon Musk's universe.

TOWE: It's pretty rare to have someone come along and kind of innovate, regardless of naysayers or even having enough supporters.

GOLD: How do you feel about his foray into politics? The third party he's planning?

TOWE; I mean, his whole life has been set up like how many, how many choices can I take on a hard path and pursue it? It's almost like at this point I feel like he's actively finding difficult paths to do to outdo himself on difficult paths, which is pretty impressive.

GOLD: Do you worry that his recent disagreements with President Trump might hurt his businesses, might hurt his ability to innovate in the future?

TOWE: Those two guys are the two alphas, you know. You put two alphas in a room, they're always going to disagree with each other at some point. Two of them have very thick skin. So I have no doubt in my mind that either of them can heal their relationship very quickly.

GOLD (voice-over): Other fans at the diner, though, want Musk to drop the politics for good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's doing a great job overall, but I think Tesla needs him at the moment.

GOLD (voice-over): Not everyone in the neighborhood is pleased with the diner. Some neighbors have complained about their views being blocked and the noise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Elon Musk, for all that you're doing.

GOLD (voice-over): Musk enthusiasts, meanwhile, recently sending him a video of support even as his favorability ratings have tanked.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you for being Elon Musk.

GOLD (voice-over): Hadas Gold, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Hadas, thank you.

Tonight at 8:00 p.m., after this next hour of NEWSROOM, CNN's Victor Blackwell will host CNN's special coverage of Hurricane Katrina 20 years later. And then at 9:00, we'll have a new CNN Original Series exploring the role the New Orleans Superdome played in the city's recovery. "REBIRTH OF THE SUPERDOME, NEW ORLEANS SOUL OF A CITY" premieres tonight on CNN.

Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, Republicans taking dramatic steps to keep control of Congress. We're going to talk to California State Assemblyman Marc Berman about the redistricting arms race taking center stage in California now.

[18:55:06]

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean here in Los Angeles.

And tonight, officials telling CNN the Trump administration has been planning for weeks to send National Guard troops into Chicago. President Trump signaling on Friday that Chicago could be next in what he says is a broad effort to curb crime in major cities.