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CNN This Morning

U.S., Iran Peace Talks To Get Underway In Switzerland; Iran Closes Strait Of Hormuz, Blames Israeli Attacks On Lebanon; FAA Probes Close Call Between Planes At Boston Logan; DHS Drops Plans To Turn Warehouse Into Mega ICE Facility In Georgia; World Cup Critical Match Day To Decide Who Goes To The Knockout Stage; Los Angeles Declares Emergency As Warehouse Fire Burns On; Extreme Heat Blamed In Deaths Of Three Hikers At Grand Canyon; Paraglider In China Rescued After Mid- Flight Crane Collision; Colombia To Hold Presidential Runoff Election On Sunday; Landmines Remain A Persistent Danger In Colombia; Colombia's War On Drugs A Key Issue In Presidential Election. Iran Closes Strait Of Hormuz, Blames Israeli Attacks On Lebanon; Concerns Over Noise Pollution, Environmental Impact Of Data Centers; "This Land" New Episodes Tonight At 9P (ET/PT); Storms Bring Flooding From Midwest To Gulf Coast; "State Of Union" Airs Today At 9AM ET/PT. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired June 21, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:30]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. Here's what is new this morning. JD Vance is in Switzerland. He's leading the U.S. delegation, obviously. Negotiations are expected to start between the U.S. and Iran. We'll see if they get to the table.

And days after a massive warehouse fire erupted in Los Angeles, firefighters are still struggling to get it under control. There are big concerns for people who live nearby. Officials are warning this could become a major environmental disaster.

Plus, the World Cup is heating up. Several big matches are on deck today, and teams are fighting to stay alive in the group stage. Just ahead, the standout performances, the surprise storylines and what to watch as the tournament rolls on.

Also, the A.I. boom is bringing more than convenience. People who live near these massive data centers say there is something strange in the air. We'll explain.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLACKWELL: It's Sunday, June 21st. Thanks for joining us. I'm Victor Blackwell.

We're starting this morning with that breaking news. The talks between the U.S. and Iran, they're about an hour away from starting in Switzerland. The vice president, along with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will be meeting with the Iranian delegation. A diplomat tells CNN, the first agenda item will be an emergency session on Lebanon. That's after fighting broke out between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, just hours after a truce in that conflict. That prompted Iran to, again, close the Strait of Hormuz yesterday. The key waterway had briefly reopened once the 14-point framework agreement started the U.S. -- between the U.S. and Iran. But Iran blamed the new closure on Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

So let's go now to CNN's international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, in Switzerland. This emergency session, the ceasefire includes Lebanon. That's important to the Iranians. We'll see how much they get done.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. And it's all taking place behind high security in that mountain top hotel. You see over my shoulder there, the Burgenstock.

This is going to be a real test today. Iran is coming into this saying that the ceasefire in Lebanon must be settled. But they're not just walking in empty handed. They're bringing a big diplomatic stick. And that stick is closing the Strait of Hormuz because they know that has a big economic, global impact. And they know President Trump is sensitive to that, he said so just a couple of days ago.

So their position is this, President Trump and the Iranian president signed up to the 14-point memorandum of understanding. Point number one says that there should be a ceasefire in Lebanon. They say if the president has to be able to deliver that and they're taking away something that they agreed to, which was keeping open or reopening, if you will, the Strait of Hormuz.

This is a huge meeting. Let's think about it this way. The Iranian delegation, led by the speaker of parliament, will meet with Vice President JD Vance, as you said, just over an hour's time up there in that mountain top resort. This will be the first time that they met face to face in more than two months. They last met in Islamabad. The talks there failed.

I think we've all become used to the continuing discussions through mediators between the United States and Iran arriving at -- after two months of a memorandum of understanding. It seems almost incredible in that context to think that this really is the first time they will get face to face together again. And it was supposed to be about implementing the 14 points, but what they're actually trying to do at the moment is rescue the memorandum of understanding. We've heard from the spokesperson on the Iranian side, from the Iranian foreign ministry, saying they think that they can do what they need to do in the space of today.

Certainly, the failure for the talks to start on Friday. And now here we are Sunday, very quickly over the issue of Lebanon, getting into the talks. That seems to indicate that behind the scenes, there's confidence that progress can actually be made.

But the big issues, the nuclear issue is going to be on the agenda here. The vice president said that, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose inspectors, as part of the memorandum of understanding, would be expected to be in Iran overseeing part of whatever is agreed on the nuclear issues there is also up at that meeting.

[06:05:11]

JD Vance now already through his first meeting, the bilateral with Pakistani delegation. So, things already moving here.

BLACKWELL: Nic Robertson, there in Lucerne, thanks so much. This morning, the FAA is investigating a close call between two planes at Boston Logan Airport. Officials say a Delta flight was coming in for a landing, while an American Airlines flight was taking off yesterday on an intersecting runway. Well, they came within just a few hundred feet of one another. Audio from air traffic control captures the confusion. Listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Delta three -- 2351 going around because American --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: American 3161 where are you going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He cleared you to take off 3161.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Flight data shows the Delta crew aborted its landing and climbed back into the air to avoid the other plane. The aircraft later landed safely and passengers were able to get off the ground without getting hurt. The FAA is now working to determine what went wrong. And while experts say flying is safe, this is the latest in a series of close calls raising some serious concerns.

After significant opposition, the Trump administration says that it will not turn an Atlanta area warehouse into a migrant detention center. The Department of Homeland Security planned to use the facility to hold up to 10,000 detainees, but the plan immediately drew backlash. CNN's Rafael Romo reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Officials here in Social Circle told me that they first learned about the Department of Homeland Security's plans to build a detention center for migrants the day after Christmas. Social Circle is a town of fewer than 6,000, about 45 miles east of Atlanta.

The plan called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to open the detention center in a local 1 million square foot warehouse to hold as many as 10,000 migrants, nearly tripling the population. And that's without counting 2,000 to 2,500 employees. The plan drew fierce opposition in Walton County, where President Donald Trump won more than 72 percent of the vote in 2024. Social Circle leaders said their main concern was the potential impact to their water and sewer infrastructure, which lacks capacity the concern, they say, they tried to convey multiple times to federal officials. And then, unexpectedly, the city of Social Circle learned only two days ago the Trump administration is now backing away from its plans, and they learned that not from DHS officials, they say, but from Congressman Mike Collins.

And apparently this is not happening only here in Georgia. "The New York Times," citing documents it has obtained, reports that DHS is scrapping plans for conversion of a total of seven of 11 recently purchased warehouses into detention facilities from Roxbury, New Jersey, to Salt Lake City, Utah. What changed? Well, this is what Social Circle city manager Eric Taylor told me earlier.

ERIC TAYLOR, SOCIAL CIRCLE CITY MANAGER: I just have to believe that they came to the same conclusion that what we've been trying to tell them all along that Social Circle is not the right place for this type of facility. And, you know, they went in and looked at it with a fresh eye under the new administration and came to the same conclusion.

GLENDA BROWN, SOCIAL CIRCLE RESIDENT: Relief, pure relief, because we love our town just like it is.

ROMO: What was your main concern?

BROWN: The water mainly in the bathrooms. If you only have maybe 5,000 people, how can you accommodate 10,000 more?

ROMO: DHS told CNN in a statement that it is still focused on removing what it calls the worst of the worst criminal, illegal aliens. These heinous criminals, once arrested, the statement says, should be removed at lightning speed and not housed on American soil at the taxpayer's expense. DHS is moving swiftly to utilize existing detention space with our state and county partners.

Several crucial questions remain. The deed shows that the federal government paid more than $128.5 million for the Social Circle property, more than four times the 29.4 million it sold for in 2023. A source told CNN in April that DHS began rethinking the more than 700 million program to expand immigration detention after Markwayne Mullin succeeded Kristi Noem as Homeland Security secretary. But the administration is still not publicly giving specifics on where the program goes from here.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Social Circle, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: It is a critical day for World Cup matches. Group H and group G teams play today, and all their matches have ended in draws, so they'll be fighting hard to make it to the knockout rounds.

[06:10:00]

Spain plays Saudi Arabia first, hoping for redemption after a shocking draw against Cape Verde in their first appearance. That game is followed by Belgium versus Iran, Uruguay versus -- against Cape Verde, and New Zealand plays Egypt to wrap up the night.

And most of Saturday's wins were much more decisive. Japan played into the early morning hours today and shut out Tunisia four-nil. The Netherlands, absolutely, decimated Sweden five-one. Germany beat Ivory Coast.

Now one of the more talked about games was that Netherlands game, and not because of the goals. We all know by now that host cities have been absolutely packed and transportation is struggling to keep up at times. So the Dutch and the Swedish fans, they've gotten a little creative.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

You know, they say, you know, we'll just walk. We'll just march home after the game. The Dutch fans followed behind that iconic double decker orange bus, as you saw. The Swedish fans, they created their own parade and walked from Helix Park to the Houston Stadium.

They are certainly having a good time in the U.S. I love the videos of them like tasting U.S. and American food for the first time. Find those online.

All right. Next on CNN THIS MORNING, we're covering that thick smoke that's still overtaking parts of Los Angeles. That massive warehouse fire continues to burn. How the mayor is working to get some help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:16:17]

BLACKWELL: This morning, parts of Los Angeles are under a state of emergency. That massive warehouse fire is still burning. The fire started Wednesday at a cold storage facility in Boyle Heights, just east of downtown L.A. Mayor Karen Bass, along with Governor Gavin Newsom, declared an emergency to bring in more resources as the thick smoke spreads across the city. People who live nearby are being told to stay inside, to close the windows and doors and turn off air conditioning as they work through those biohazard challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YSABEL JURADO, LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCILMEMBER: Boyle Heights is dealing with more than a structure fire. This is a prolonged incident involving heavy smoke, hazardous debris concerns, environmental cleanup needs, and ongoing public health monitoring.

I know people are tired. I know people are worried. And I want people to know that they will get clear answers about what is in the air and what they should do to protect themselves, and what support is available right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Firefighters say the building's layout and the materials inside are making it hard to reach the fire, and there are millions of pounds of food still inside. Crews are working around the clock as officials focus on public health and preventing, of course, further damage.

Extreme heat is being blamed for the deaths of three hikers in the Grand Canyon. Park officials say they died on separate days in the inner canyon, where temperatures can exceed 100 degrees in the shade. Park officials say a 72-year-old man became ill on June 12th and died before help could reach him. Four days later, a 67-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman died on a different trail. Officials are now urging hikers to avoid the trails during the hottest parts of the day.

A paraglider in China was left dangling mid-air after accidentally getting caught on a construction crane. Look at this video. Rescuers worked into the night Friday, climbing a fully extended ladder in order to reach him. Officials say the paraglider was eventually safely brought down.

Voters in Colombia will head to the polls today to cast their votes in a presidential runoff election. Colombia has fought a decades long drug war, and now voters are being asked to pick a path towards ending the violence. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Colombia is at a crossroads between two different visions for how to put away half a century of violence and a far-right populist with Trump's backing, who promises to go after criminal groups with all guns blazing.

To understand Colombia's conflict, we joined a demining unit from the army. A legacy of decades of guerrilla warfare, Colombia is one of the countries most affected by landmines in the world.

Last year, Colombia recorded 137 landmine incidents. Everyone working here must wear protective gear as a precaution. A deminer can clear only 10 square meters of forest every day, and this unit has 37,000 to deal with. In this location alone, a quick fuse, and the landmine is taken care of.

In town, even the children learn about landmines. The army sends instructors to primary schools every month to hold classes like this.

(on camera): They're using puppets and videos and cartoons. It can all seem very funny, but actually, the core of the lesson is that in this part of the world, touching or even poking with a stick a weird object can be very dangerous.

[06:20:09]

(voice-over): While landmines have been used in Colombia for decades, attacks have grown in recent years. The war on drugs and the violence stemming from it are at the core of this week's presidential election. Behind armored glass, firebrand candidate Abelardo de la Espriella promises a new offensive, including joint operations with the U.S. military.

Colombia is the largest cocaine producer in the world, and production remains at record levels despite government efforts to replace coca with legitimate crops. Farmer Maria Pena says the state must support people like her, who started growing cocoa beans instead of coca.

MARIA PENA, COCA FARMER (through translator): We saw criminal actors entering our territory, and we didn't want to go back to the same violence as before. I bet against coca for my children.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Outgoing President Gustavo Petro tried a new approach to the war on drugs. Dubbed Total Peace, it meant engaging in negotiations with the insurgents rather than prosecution. Nine thousand hectares of coca have been cleared in the last year, he claims, but many believe this is too little, too late.

(on camera): If this strategy is so successful, why have the U.S. criticized it? Was it a diplomatic defeat that you couldn't present this new plan to go beyond the war on drugs?

PRESIDENT GUSTAVO PETRO, COLOMBIA (through translator): The Trump administration decided to decertify Colombia because they saw cocoa crops explode. The beginning of my mandate and not my program in action.

POZZEBON (voice-over): This month, Trump endorsed de la Espriella, who has managed to turn this election into a vote on Petro's peace efforts. Colombians will decide whether to give him a strong mandate to resume the conflict or stick to peace negotiations with Petro's ally, Ivan Cepeda.

Teacher Karen Martinez, who sees the scars of war every day in a town surrounded by minefields, says that neither option convinces her. She has a dream of a Colombia free from conflict but how to get there remains an open question.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks to Stefano Pozzebon for that report. Next hour, we're going to go live to Colombia for a report on those voters heading to the polls.

Next, the talks between the U.S. and Iran are expected to get underway in Switzerland. What's on the table and can they first solve the issue of the fighting in Lebanon? We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:27:22]

BLACKWELL: This morning, the talks are expected to begin in the next hour in Switzerland between the U.S. and Iran. Vice President JD Vance is in Switzerland to lead the U.S. delegation. Special envoy Steve Witkoff is also there, along with the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. A diplomatic source tells CNN the negotiations will begin by focusing on Lebanon. Now, Iran says that it closed the Strait of Hormuz again yesterday. They said Israel had violated the ceasefire with strikes on Lebanon and that the U.S. was not following through on their commitments either.

Vance says that the Lebanon ceasefire is one priority, along with making progress on the nuclear issues. With us now to give us the latest, Leila Gharagozlou. So, what do we know about what is within reach today?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes. So, the Iranians have made it clear over the last couple of hours that they really want to just focus on Lebanon and resolving what's going on in Lebanon. As you mentioned, they say that Israel has violated the ceasefire that's built into that very first point of the memorandum that was signed just about a week ago. And in that memorandum, they say that there will be a ceasefire on all fronts, including Lebanon by the U.S., Iran, and their allies.

So, the Iranians really want to resolve this before they move forward. And they have said very clearly that if it's not resolved, this will impede talks. So in the next hour, we're going to see JD Vance sitting down with Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian lead negotiator and speaker of parliament, alongside the Pakistanis and the Qataris, not to talk about technical negotiations around the nuclear program, but really to resolve this Lebanon issue.

And the Iranians are, for their part, are going to really be focused on how the U.S. can guarantee that Israel won't continue its behavior in Lebanon. And I think this is a really important point to focus on, because it's going to be critical for getting any sort of more substantial deal done.

They want to know that the U.S. can guarantee Israel won't restart a conflict either with Lebanon or with Iran. Once that's resolved, they're likely to turn to nuclear negotiations. But the Iranians have said that will come down the line, maybe they'll set a framework, but none of that can go anywhere without Lebanon being solved, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Leila Gharagozlou reporting, thank you so much. Let's discuss now with Behnam Ben Taleblu. He is the senior director of the Iran program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Good to see you again. So, let's pick up where Leila left off, is that the Iranians want to know that the U.S. can guarantee that Israel will not strike Hezbollah in Lebanon and won't strike Iran.

[06:30:09]

They can't do that, can they? I mean, Netanyahu has been clear about the sovereignty of Israel and the defense of the state.

BENHAM BEN TALEBLU, SENIOR DIRECTOR, IRAN PROGRAM AT THE FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Great to be with you, Victor, and Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there. I think this one will be a nail-biter because we've seen many

ceasefires in the north of Israel and in the south, Lebanon, and very little has changed. I think, in fact, part of the negotiating strategy, both on the battlefield as well as at the negotiating table of the Islamic Republic for the past few months now, has been to link up Lebanon with this ceasefire precisely so that Hezbollah can continue low-intensity attacks, continue to keep things on a slow boil, and then have Israel respond, and then have the Islamic Republic call out Israel's response and force America to put pressure on its ally, Israel, rather than on its adversaries, Hezbollah or the Islamic Republic of Iran.

And the point there about sovereignty is quite key, because while the sovereignty of Lebanon is specifically mentioned in the MOU, in the Memorandum of Understanding, the right to any state to defend itself should not be impeded or precluded by this MOU, particularly states that aren't a party to the MOU.

BLACKWELL: So let's talk more about this. I mean, just like the delegations in Geneva -- in Switzerland today, we have to talk about the Lebanon issue before we can get to the nuclear issues. The President and Vice President have repeatedly publicly subordinated Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu. You'll remember that the president told Axios, they do as I say.

Talk about those domestic political issues for Netanyahu. He needs a good relationship with the U.S. administration, but also these strikes that are coming from Hezbollah, he can't just simply let those go unanswered. So what position does this leave him in as the U.S. sends this request to stand down?

TALEBLU: Well, it's a geopolitical tight spot for sure, because while no doubt there is the rhetoric to the Prime Minister's right, there is what the folks in the center and folks on the left in Israel want in terms of action, which is, you know, a real piece of northern Israel. And again, the ability of Hezbollah, the ability of the Islamic Republic, even though both of these entities are weak, they still slow roll America and Israel and still engage in these low-intensity asymmetric attacks, including more recently for the past few weeks with these FPV drones, which have been harder to detect by more advanced air and missile defenses.

So they still sense, the citizens of Israel, particularly those in the north, that there is an active war going on. In fact, things have flipped in the past few years from an active front in the south to an active front in the north. And to that end, you know, geopolitically, as much as, you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu tries to engage in this balancing act, in terms of rhetoric, at least alone by the Vice President and even by the presidents, it hasn't been a welcoming moment. It hasn't been a, we understand what you're going through moment. It's actually been a, you need to rein it in because we're trying to deal with something bigger and broader in the region.

BLACKWELL: The announcement by the Iranians that they have shut down the Strait of Hormuz again, this is the lever that experts of the region and foreign policy analysts have said that Iran will use over and over now that they know it works.

Is there anything behind that more than just saying we're doing it? Do they have to use some drone, military might, to show that they've put something behind it?

TALEBLU: Well, up until we get to have a full mine sweeping mission in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, these threats will be credible.

Sure, in a post-mine sweeping world where, you know, you have a full resumption of traffic through the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, and really 20 percent of the world's seaborne oil trade goes back to normal. Yes, the regime would have to get caught as, you know, putting more mines in this part of the water, or perhaps harassing more vessels, bigger tankers with smaller unmanned drones, or trying to do a combination of these and potentially escalating with mines, drones, and then missile attacks even.

But right now, you have a war of the press releases. You have Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters, Iran's IRGC Navy, saying the strait is closed, or we had closed the strait. And then in response you have CENTCOM saying, no, the Iranians don't control the strait, the strait seems to be open. The Iranians haven't provided data to support their claim. Obviously, the U.S. CENTCOM has.

But going forward, this is a switch they're going to try to turn on and off, like a light switch, precisely because they're trying to spook two things, media and markets. So that has a constraining effect on the U.S. and on everyone who is reliant, again, on Persian Gulf energy.

So I expect to see more, not less, of these threats as negotiations and potentially deals or conflict comes our way.

[06:35:06]

BLACKWELL: Behnam Ben Taleblu, always good to have you. We'll see if there can be any progress today.

A push for data centers is raising new concerns. Residents say noise and environmental impact could come at a cost where they live.

We'll dig deeper into that conversation, next.

And if you're heading out, remember you can stream my show from anywhere in the U.S. right from the CNN app. Also, check out CNN.com/Watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:17]

BLACKWELL: The rise in artificial intelligence has sparked this building spree across America, but that growth is not welcome everywhere more than 3,000 data centers are up and running across the U.S. with another 1,500 in development. That's according to the Pew Research Center. And in the past week, a federal regulators ordered grid operators to fast-track power to those new data centers, but we've also seen protests and pushback across the country. A lot of communities have raised concerns about the amount of energy and water those data centers consume, and of course the noise and air pollution they produce.

Joining me now to discuss those is Les Blomberg, Executive Director of the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse. Les, thanks for being with me.

Let's focus in on your expertise.

LES BLOMBERG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NOISE POLLUTION CLEARINGHOUSE: Thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: Certainly. Your expertise of the noise. Just so we understand what we're talking about, can you help everyone understand the scale of the noise pollution that these massive data centers create?

BLOMBERG: Sure. Yes, I mean what one thing to think about him is you're -- to make as much noise as these big data centers make you would need like maybe a thousand to 2,000 cars driving around that building to be the same noise level. It's just unfathomable. The footprint, the noise footprint of these data centers is measured in square miles.

You know, most of the noises we do with our you can be heard about in acres, you know, you would measure it in acres, but the footprint of the data centers would be in miles.

BLACKWELL: Yes, there was a woman I saw -- actually we had a clip of her interview on yesterday where she said it sounded like a jet engine behind her house, 24/7 just humming all the time. But some of the noise is also --

BLOMBERG: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- below the frequency that that registers for human hearing. What's the significance of that as well?

BLOMBERG: Well, we can hear from about 20 hertz to 20,000 hertz and the noise is from a data center is in that range with most of it is below a thousand hertz, which is on the lower end of the frequency spectrum and some of it is even below that 20 hertz that we can hear.

You could -- depending on the loudness, you can still hear that but it's not a clear cut off right at 20 hertz. But the low frequency noise is problematic because it's the noise that goes through walls. It travels farther. It goes through the walls of our homes. It's very hard to stop. And so, it's a very problematic noise.

BLACKWELL: And so, we've now seen their communities that are complaining about this, some are suing. If I have a party and it goes a little too late and it's a little too loud and someone calls the police, the police come to my house to tell me to turn it down because I'm violating some ordinance.

What mechanisms do local communities the municipalities have to regulate this?

BLOMBERG: Yes. I mean, I think you hit the problem right there really well, because our noise ordinances and our zoning regulations are really well suited to address that nighttime party at your house, for example. But they're really not well suited to deal with a noise like data centers that is just constant and very loud and just never goes away. It's there on the in the evenings. It's there in the nighttime. It's there on the weekends. It just does not go away.

BLACKWELL: And so, what's the viability of these complaints and lawsuits that say this is disturbing quality of life?

BLOMBERG: Yes. I mean that the problem has been that once you cite things you're chasing, you know, you're behind, you know, you've already lost. And what we really need to do is we really need to cite them well to begin with and avoid these lawsuits. And that means we need better environmental regulations. We need better zoning regulations and we better need better noise ordinance. We need noise ordinances that can address the low frequency issue, noise ordinances that can address the problems of evening nighttime and weekend noise.

BLACKWELL: Les Blomberg, thanks so much for being with us.

Some of these data centers, they say that they're trying to innovate their way out of this noise pollution. We'll see if they get there.

Good to have the conversation.

[06:45:00]

Tonight, an audacious plan to carve a canal to Lake Erie puts New York State on the map as a global trading superpower.

Here's a preview of "CNN's ORIGINAL SERIES: THIS LAND."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE MCKEEVER LOUGHMAN, DESCENDANT OF PATRICK COONEY: Patrick Cooney was my relative who came over from the coast of Ireland. He was one of the laborers who was actually doing a lot of the digging of the original canal.

We don't have any idea what Patrick Cooney looked like, there were no pictures or sketches or portraits. There aren't very many records of the laborers along the canal, I think a lot of their names have been lost to time.

SINEAD MAC NAMARA, PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY: We know the first shovels went in the ground in 1817.

I just don't think you could have comprehended the scale. It must have seemed like they'd gone to the end of the world, must have seemed like they'd gone to the absolute wilderness, and it was incredibly dangerous work. There would be overwhelming illness and significant numbers of deaths.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Two new episodes of the "CNN ORIGINAL SERIES, THIS LAND," air tonight at 9:00 p.m. on CNN and tomorrow on the CNN app.

Allison?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on-camera): We have about a half a dozen flash flood warnings just here along the Gulf Coast, but it's not the only region that's dealing with warnings.

We'll take a look at a few other states, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:48]

BLACKWELL: President Trump says several people have been arrested for allegedly vandalizing the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. One of them told CNN that he was just touching a piece of peeling blue material from this $14 million renovation.

On social media, the President says the pool will be drained and repairs made. The arrests come as questions continue about the project, which has faced problems with the algae and the peeling material.

A woman in New Jersey says her dog saved her life after a fire at her home. Listen to this. Aida Kelly, she told WCBS that her poodle, Squilliam, woke her up at 1:00 a.m. by barking. And it happened right before a fire tore through her home.

As she escaped safely with the dog, the house, as you see, was destroyed.

A unique Juneteenth celebration took to the waves off the coast of California. Hundreds of surfers, families and community members paddled out into the ocean in Santa Cruz to honor the holiday and reflect on its meaning.

Organizers told KSBW the annual event is about more than surfing. It's about community, connection and celebrating freedom for everyone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESABELLER BONNER, FOUNDER, BLACK SURF SANTA CRUZ: Because of the ways that black bodies have been disconnected from their connection with water.

And so, to be able to hold a space where we're able to come back, be in community together and really reclaim that space in the water while honoring the history of Juneteenth is really important.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Powerful storms have been hitting all over the country for more than a week now from the Midwest down to the Gulf Coast.

Let me take you to Mississippi. You see here emergency crews rescuing people from a flooded RV park. In Louisiana, pigs swimming through flooded areas after heavy rain. More storms on the way there.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me now.

Pigs swimming. I knew they could swim.

CHINCHAR (on-camera): I knew they could fly. I did not know they can swim.

BLACKWELL: Oh, well, there you go.

CHINCHAR (on-camera): You know. Yes.

BLACKWELL: But seriously, there are some warnings passing through at the moment.

CHINCHAR (on-camera): Yes. And several different states because we have two separate systems that we're keeping an eye on now. One, has mostly flooding. The other component also has severe thunderstorms.

So, let's kind of break down what we're talking about. This is the area of the central U.S. where we're looking at some of those thunderstorms. But yes, we even have some flash flood warnings mixed in with these storms as well. And even a severe thunderstorm warning. This is the area where we're likely going to see some of those strong to severe thunderstorms continue throughout the day.

Then we shift farther down to the Gulf Coast region where we also have several flash flood warnings in effect. Those red boxes that you see on the map. Keeping in mind that a lot of these areas, this has been day five, even six or seven in a row of very heavy rainfall.

In addition to that, as we mentioned, we've also got the component of strong to severe thunderstorms. That's mainly going to be across the Ohio Valley, dipping back to the Mississippi Valley and into the Central Plains. The main concern here is going to be damaging winds, but we could have some large hail golf balls, maybe even up to baseball size and even a few isolated tornadoes, some of which could end up being strong tornadoes.

Now you'll see we already have that cluster that's been ongoing this morning. That's going to continue to make its way eastward into portions of the Ohio Valley as we get to about lunchtime today. So around St. Louis, Chicago, Des Moines, those are going to be the target points around lunchtime.

Then we get into the evening. Keeping in mind, we still have all of these ongoing showers and thunderstorms across the southeast too, but that first wave is going to start to make its way into the northeast by the time we start off the Monday morning commute. So places like Cleveland and Pittsburgh, it could be a soggy start to the day.

BLACKWELL: OK. Happy first day of summer. CHINCHAR (on-camera): Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right. Thanks, Allison.

So today is also Father's Day. Happy Father's Day to all the pops out there. And CNN Jake Tapper sat down with Senators Mark Kelly, Tim Scott, former Senator and former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney. They talked about how their relationships with their dads has helped shape their approach to fatherhood.

Senator Scott talked about growing up without his dad, how he was able to recover from that and take on his role as a stepfather.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: You reconciled with your father --

SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): Yes.

TAPPER: -- in your late 20s, early 30s.

SCOTT: Thirties.

[06:55:00]

TAPPER: So how did that happen?

SCOTT: Yes, I think it was just time. And so, we kept coming together during special occasions or during visits. And over time, you learn that even your dad was never perfect.

And as kids, you see your parents through these rose-colored glasses.

TAPPER: You saw your dad through rose-colored glasses?

SCOTT: Absolutely. Even though he wasn't there, absolutely.

TAPPER: Really?

SCOTT: Yes, absolutely. It's hard to --

TAPPER: That's surprising to me.

SCOTT: Really?

TAPPER: Well, just because he wasn't there. And I would think you would feel sad and maybe mad at him, no?

SCOTT: Not really. You're mad when you get older, but you're not really mad. The truth of the matter is, I don't know very many kids who don't want to make their dads proud.

TAPPER: Yes.

SCOTT: So, I think that there's a misnomer and a misperception that a kid who's separated from their father does not yearn for their father's approval. That's just the way it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: More of that conversation coming up at 9:00. He looked just like his father, didn't he?

All right. Ahead, behind closed doors in Switzerland, U.S. and Iran are back at the negotiating table.

We'll talk about what's at stake in a live report, coming up.

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