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One World with Zain Asher
61 Candidates on the Ballot in California Governor's Race; Former Reality Star Spencer Pratt Shakes Up L.A. Mayor's Race; Trump Administration Signals It Will Back Off $1.8b Fund for Now; Rubio Testifies Before Senate Committee Amid Iran War; Trump Names Pulte as Acting Director of National Intelligence; Proposed U.S. Ebola Facility in Kenya Sparks Protests. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 02, 2026 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Right now, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "One
World" starts right now. This is the scene in Beirut right now as Israeli forces continue to fight in Southern Lebanon, even after a call between
Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump that is said to have been quite heated.
A frightening night in Kyiv as Russia unleashes one of the deadliest attacks on Ukraine in months. And protests in Kenya as President Ruto
defense plans to host an Ebola facility for Americans in his country. All right, coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. Bianna is off this
hour. This is "One World".
Iran is signaling that diplomacy with the U.S. may be back on track, even as President Donald Trump claims he's getting bored with the negotiations
one day after Tehran threatened to suspend peace talks to protest Israel's expanding military operation in Lebanon. Iranian media reports that
discussions are ongoing, but the country's top negotiator also threatened escalations if Israel's attacks on Lebanon continue.
On Monday Trump said he couldn't care less if the talks are over, while also saying he believes an agreement with Iran could be reached over the
next week or so. CNN's Nic Robertson joining us live now from London. So, obviously, the president showing some optimism there, but obviously we've
seen this movie before, just in terms of a back and forth as it pertains to negotiations. What more do we know at this point where things stand Nic?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, I think we get a little more insight, at least the philosophy of the negotiations from the
U.S. position. Of course, we've heard from the Iranians over the past couple of days say that that they weren't going to negotiate because the
United States was, or rather, because Israel was continuing to attack Hezbollah inside of Lebanon, that seems to have been dealt with.
But another issue the Iranians were troubled with was President Trump, the U.S. side, coming back to the table with points that they wanted. And the
Iranians saying that sometimes they wanted something, then they didn't want it, they were going backwards and forwards, indecisive.
So, what we heard just now from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, I think, gave us some insight and some detail as to how the U.S. is setting about
these conversations with the Iranians over the final sort of wording and details in the memorandum of understanding.
And I think one of the key things, the takeaways that broadly would understood it before Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying that the Strait
of Hormuz, that Iran needed to lift its blockade, that that would open the door to phase two of negotiations that the United States is still looking
for some specific language from Iran in that memorandum of understanding over their current holding of highly enriched uranium on their aspirations
to enrich uranium in the future and their aspirations towards having a bomb, which Iran denies, but that doesn't hold water with most of the
international community.
So, one of the things Marco Rubio was challenged on was, is the United States prepared to offer sanctions relief, unfreeze frozen assets to just
get that first phase done to get the Strait of Hormuz opened. And he said the United States wasn't. And we've heard from the Iranian side previously
that this is a very important issue.
They want raw reparations; they want money paid for the damage caused by the war. They want their assets that have been frozen over the past number
of years to be released. Marco Rubio laid it out this way, he said that those sanctions that have been placed will came from various different
organizations, various different parts of the U.S. political system.
But he said that they have been put in place because of Iran's enriching of uranium, because of their what they've done with uranium to that point, he
gave the indication that there potentially was some kind of sanctions relief if Iran followed the right track in negotiations and commitments on
not to enrich uranium and have stockpiles of highly enriched uranium in the future.
[11:05:00]
He didn't give a lot of detail, but I think that was a point of concern for some that President Trump might offer essentially Iran money to lift the
blockade on Strait of Hormuz. And the Secretary of State saying that wasn't about to happen, and indicating that the talks were still continuing.
ASHER: All right Nic Robertson. Thank you so much. All right, a truce announced by President Trump has not stopped the fighting between Israel
and Hezbollah. Israel continues to launch attacks on Southern Lebanon and has issued new evacuation orders to people in one of the area's largest
cities.
Hezbollah meantime says that it attacked an Israeli tank earlier today. Israeli and Lebanese officials are meeting in Washington now for another
round of U.S.-brokered talks. On Monday, President Trump held a heated phone call with the Israeli Prime Minister and said afterwards that Israel
and Hezbollah had agreed to halt attacks.
Netanyahu responded by saying the Israeli military would continue fighting in Southern Lebanon, but indicated that it would hold off on striking
Beirut. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us live now from Jerusalem.
So, Jeremy, just in terms of this heated phone call between the U.S. President and Netanyahu, obviously what Iran said yesterday in terms of
halting peace talks until Israelis sort of pulled back or de-escalated in Lebanon, put President Trump in an interesting position. Walk us through
what was said on this phone call and what Netanyahu's response was?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. Well, according to sources familiar with the conversation, clearly President
Trump was upset with this planned move by the Israelis to escalate their attacks in Lebanon, and in particular to carry out a major series of
strikes in Beirut.
And over this phone conversation, according to these sources, President Trump reminded the Prime Minister of his stalwart support for Israel, of
his support for the Israeli Prime Minister personally, and warned him that bombing Beirut, the Lebanese Capital, could isolate Israel further.
And following this conversation, it seems like there was an agreement that was reached here whereby Israel would halt its planned strikes on the
Lebanese Capital in exchange for Hezbollah no longer carrying out strikes on Israeli soil proper, following a week during which we saw intensified
Hezbollah drone and rocket attacks on Israeli towns and cities in Northern Israel that go beyond the kind of immediate border areas as far as Nahariya
and Ako, two major cities in Northern Israel.
And so, while you know there is this halt in attacks by Israel on the Lebanese Capital, we haven't seen any Hezbollah strikes again deeper into
Northern Israeli territory, although as early as this morning we did see sirens going off in those closest communities to the Lebanese border.
What we are continuing to see is a continuation of Israeli strikes in Southern Lebanon, and also Hezbollah attacks on Israeli troops in that area
as well. And so, we're kind of back to where we were a week ago, which is, you know, this ceasefire in name only, effectively, but attacks continuing
between Israel and Hezbollah, although again not at the level of strikes in the Lebanese Capital, not at the level of Hezbollah attacks against
Israel's major population centers in northern or in central Israel.
So, you know that seems to be where things are, and what that has allowed is two things: one, it's allowed the diplomacy with Iran to continue at a
moment when it seemed like perhaps these planned Israeli attacks in the Lebanese Capital, with evacuation orders already issued, risked upending
the broader diplomacy between the United States and Iran as they are on the cusp, it seems, of a potential preliminary agreement.
And what it has also allowed is for the fourth round of talks between Israel and Lebanon to take place today, happening as we speak in fact, in
Washington right now. That diplomacy very much continuing, but again all of it kind of on the backs of what happens between the United States and Iran.
And also, in terms of what Lebanon's actual capacity is to ultimately disarm Hezbollah and cast that militant group aside, recapture some of its
sovereignty over Lebanese territory, and for Israel to, you know, if not halt altogether, then at least pare back its attacks on Lebanese territory.
ASHER: Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. All right, voters in six U.S. states head to the polls today in primary elections that could shape the
national political landscape in November midterms. Some of the races to watch: California, for one, more than 60 candidates are actually running
for governor. The winner will be on the November ballot to replace Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass is facing tough competition from a city council member and a former reality star.
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And in Iowa, two candidates are facing off the Democratic primary, hoping to replace retiring Republican Senator Joni Ernst. Iowa voters will also
call primary ballots today. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more from Des Moines.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: We have been talking to voters as they've been casting ballots for the last hour or so.
A steady stream of voters, of course, there is early voting, so not everyone votes on election day.
But the voters that we have been talking to say they certainly are driven here today because the anxieties in the economy here in Iowa, and other
things. But talking to a Democratic voter just a few moments ago, she said that she sees an opening in Iowa that she has not seen for quite some time.
Well, that is exactly what party leaders are hoping here. And as you said, Senator Joni Ernst, the Republican, is retiring, so that is creating one of
the open seats in the U.S. Senate, so a very competitive Democratic primary for that is folding right now. And electability has been a central concern
in this contest.
Josh Turek, who is a state representative, a Paralympian in the men's wheelchair basketball team back in the day, is running against a State
Senator named Zach Wahls. Well, electability has been hanging over all of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH TUREK, U.S. DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: I think that I have a unique ability, proven ability to reach out and connect with independents and
moderate Republicans that I think that my opponent would struggle to do, and that is what it is going to take to be able to win a state like Iowa.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ZELENY: So, this is always one of the questions, trying to expand the map by reaching out to independents and moderate Republicans, or firing up the
base. And Zach Wahls, the state representative, is really running hard against Chuck Schumer, saying that if he was elected, he would not vote for
Schumer as Democratic Leader.
But all eyes also are on the governor's race here. Not since 1968 has there been an open Governors and Senate race in the same year. And the Governor,
Kim Reynolds, is also retiring. That has created a major opening here. There's been quite a messy Republican primary playing out.
Five candidates have been in the running, and the White House stayed out of this until late Friday. The president weighing in, endorsing Randy
Feenstra, a member of Congress here, but there are many voters here who say he's not MAGA enough. So, we're keeping an eye on that primary, is this
going to be an example of the president once again being able to get someone over the finish line, or is it not?
If the Republican candidate does not win 35 percent tonight, it goes to a state convention, so all of this is going to be coming into play. But
Democrats believe that they have a rising star on their side, name of Rob Sand, he's running unopposed today. So, the bottom line to all of this, in
a midterm election year, it creates an opening for Democrats in Iowa, possibly in the first Trump midterm election year, back in 2018 Democrats
won three House seats.
So of course, we also know the House majority is at play. So, will this prove if Iowa is still a purple state, or has it become a red state? We'll
know more on that, of course, in November, but the clues also become apparent tonight.
ASHER: Jeff Zeleny, thank you so much. Right, the Trump Administration is signaling it will back off a controversial $1.8 billion so-called anti-
weaponization fund, at least for now. Publicly, the Department of Justice would only say it will abide by a federal court ruling that paused the
fund.
The money was meant to compensate those who claim they have been wrongly targeted by past administrations, which would include the January 6th
rioters. It was created in part to settle President Trump's massive lawsuit against the IRS, but in a rare move, even many Republicans are pushing
back, calling it essentially a slush fund.
Let's take a closer look at this with Senior Political Analyst and Bloomberg Columnist Ron Brownstein. He joins us live now from Los Angeles,
which is exactly where I want to start. Actually, I'm going to start with California more broadly, then we can talk about the mayoral race for L.A.
I think it's important for our international audience to know that California has what is called a jungle primary, right? So, all sort of
different candidates across the ballot, regardless of party, can appear on the ballot, and that really makes for very interesting political dynamics.
You've got more than 60 candidates running, just walk us through it, Ron.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: The ballot, I mean, the ballot was pages of governor candidates. Yeah, you know, back when Arnold
Schwarzenegger was Governor, he pushed a whole series of reforms designed to kind of take some of the partisan venom out of politics in California.
One of them was that independent redistricting commission that voters temporarily suspended last year with Prop 50, another was this top two
primary, and the idea was that everybody from all parties run in one primary, and the top two finishers go on to the general election, and the
thought was it would encourage people to pursue broader coalitions to reach out to the center, reach out beyond the party base. And in fact, it has
done that in some lower ballot races, like U.S. House contests.
[11:15:00]
But in the Governor's race, we're kind of watching this strange geometry where you have a Democratic primary and a Republican primary operating in
parallel under the same roof. And in the final polling you basically have three candidates, the Democrats, Xavier Becerra, who's running as a
mainstream kind of centrist Democrat, Former State AG, Former Secretary of Health and Human Services for Biden, Tom Steyer, a billionaire who is
running as kind of a born-again Bernie.
Bernie Crack (ph) Bernie Sanders kind of Democrat, and then a Republican, Steve Hilton, a Former Fox Host Trump endorsed, who is the leader on the
Republican side, and they're kind of elbowing their way into who -- two of those three are very likely to make it to the general election certain to
make it the general election and the question is which ones?
ASHER: And just in terms of the city where you're at right now.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
ASHER: Los Angeles is obviously a really interesting mayoral race and two of the sorts of key issues in L.A. are homelessness, one and also the
response to those fires, those dreadful fires that we saw at the beginning of last year.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
ASHER: And you have this outsider, Former Reality Star Spencer Pratt, who has come out being sort of very vocal and sort of critical about the
mayoral response.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
ASHER: Just walk us through how his candidacy is doing, and how those two key issues, the fire response and homelessness, is really sort of shaping
this race.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, people don't talk about it that much, but it's essentially the same alignment in the governor race and the mayor
race. You have kind of an older mainstream Democrat, Karen Bass, the Mayor who is not really that inspiring, facing a challenger from the left, city
council member, and this kind of insurgent from the right, Spencer Pratt, one on from the right.
So, you know very similar to the governor race with Becerra in between Steyer and Hilton. One on one, Bass would probably beat either of them,
Raman is, I think, too far to the left, particularly on those issues, and Pratt has definitely touched a chord, but there's a ceiling to how much a
Trump-admiring Republican is going to pull in a city as blue as California.
But her challenge, once again, is similar. I mean, could she be squeezed out by both of them? I think if she gets the general election, she will be
strongly favored against either on homelessness. The situation actually is better overall than when she took office. Eric Garcetti, the previous
mayor, kind of checked out on that front, but not nearly good enough.
There's still a lot of pushback against the sense of disorder in urban communities that contributed to recalls of prosecutors in San Francisco,
and the defeat of the prosecutor here, and the fires, she wasn't here, and there -- and the -- and you know, and really took a heavy political blow
for that, and the rebuilding has been tough, fighting with the insurance companies have been tough, people who live in the Palisades, and Altadena
say everything has been tough.
So, she's dealing with a lot of discontent, I still think if she gets the general, she's the favorite, but she does risk being squeezed out between
this left-right pincer move.
ASHER: Another state that all eyes are on, of course, Iowa, and the sort of key issues there.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
ASHER: As I mean, obviously we know that agriculture is a major part of the Iowa economy, and we've had on our show farmers who have talked about how
the war and the tariffs have really affected them. Just explain to us how Trump's plummeting popularity, or the perceived plummeting popularity of
the wars and the tariffs, is really affecting voters' calculations.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, you know, Iowa, along with Ohio, really are the emblematic states of Trump's realignment of American politics, they are
both heavily white, blue-collar states with small minority populations. Iowa, it's only about 10 percent of Iowa, it's about 20, where most of the
voters are white voters without a college degree, and those are the voters that have really been the core of Trump's coalition from the outside.
He's won two thirds of them on a national basis in all three of his races, but his approval rating among them is lower now, really, than it's ever
been in either term. Multiple, multiple polls showing only around 50-50 with those voters. And in agricultural communities, where he's been, you
know, astronomically popular in all three races.
You do have all of the effects, not only of the tariffs, but of the war, in terms of high diesel costs and higher fertilizer costs, so has all of that
changed the equation enough? Are there enough white blue-collar voters? Because you can't really run around it in Iowa, you can't find a
substitute, you kind of have to go right through and be competitive with working class white voters.
Are there enough of them disillusioned with Trump that Democrats can now compete? They have a very strong candidate for governor, and Rob Sand, they
have a good candidate for Senate, and Josh Turek, who's likely to win the primary, but the Republican candidate is quite good too, Ashley Hinson.
So, the Democratic opportunity may be more in the House races, you know, three Republican-held House seats that they are targeting there.
[11:20:00]
And this governor race of Rob Sand win is kind of a planting the flag for Democrats trying to restore competitiveness in the heartland. Same thing in
Ohio, where they have a good shot at the governorship there. That would really be a dramatic statement if Democrats can win either, much less both
of those governorships this year in states that Trump have really Trump has really pushed to the right.
ASHER: And just quick question on this so-called anti-weaponization fund. I mean, obviously, you've got the Trump Administration backing off of it.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
ASHER: But just the fact that this was conceived of in the first place. The fact that this administration was going to sort of set aside $1.8 billion
to compensate people that this administration perceived were wrongly targeted by the previous -- the fact that it just became so political, and
you know, yours, I mean, just, yeah, your laugh says it all, Ron.
BROWNSTEIN: Yeah.
ASHER: Just walk us through where we are in terms of democracy.
BROWNSTEIN: Well, you remember the interview that Trump gave on foreign policy, "The New York Times", in January, where he said, you know what,
what constrains you? The only thing constrains me is my own mind, my own morality. He doesn't feel any limits of international law.
It's pretty much the same story within the Continental 48 as well. I mean, we have never seen, I think, this president between the combination of the
Supreme Court decision on immunity and the kind of supplication of Republicans in Congress, Mike Johnson essentially turning over the House to
the White House basically believes he is operating without constraints, right?
And you know that pride goeth before a fall in politics as profoundly as anywhere else. So, the internal gyroscope of this administration is not
really attuned to the idea that they may be tripped up at any point. And when you're in that, I mean, you go too far, and here you know the
Republicans in Congress have pushed back so rarely on Trump.
It was not unreasonable for them to think that they would hit the White House to think they would swallow this as well. But the fact is, we're now
only six months away from the midterm, and you know the president's approval rating is in the 30s. Really bad things happen to the president's
party in midterm elections when his approval rating is down that low.
And you add to the fact all of these Republican senators who he's alienated, you know, by endorsing their opponents or forcing them out, and
you've got more willingness to step, push back against him. An idea that it's just inconceivable would get off, you know, get off the ground in any
kind of administration that was operating in with a normal sense of being attuned to public opinion now is in retreat.
And I think it's revealing, Zain, that the Republican Senators, Zain, well, these -- this is not necessarily good enough, we want more ironclad
assurances that you are not going to go forward with this if we advance the reconciliation bill with your immigration funding, without specifically
stopping you.
So, we may not see the last legislative act on this. Democrats certainly want to make them vote on it.
ASHER: All right, Ron Brownstein, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much. All right, let's go straight now to Secretary of State Marco Rubio,
who is testifying on Capitol Hill about the Iran war. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): Last year, he told the country Iran's key enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated. Was
that false? Let's face it, Mr. Secretary, the Trump foreign policy has become a dumpster fire. This is the same president who is more interested
in flattering Vladimir Putin than in protecting Ukrainian sovereignty.
The president who lifted restrictions on the transfer of sophisticated U.S. chips to China, but came back from his trip there with nothing but ballroom
envy, tweeted about that the other day. This is the president who brought on Elon Musk to take a chainsaw to AID, which has enabled the current Ebola
outbreak in the DRC.
We've also witnessed corrupt crypto deals with the UAE royal family that have enriched the Trump family at the expense of our national security. We
have seen an administration engage in extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean, hijack Venezuelan oil, threaten to invade Greenland, and weaken
the NATO alliance.
Here at home, a Reagan-appointed judge said that you and former Secretary Nome abused your powers when you locked up and still seek to deport
students for protesting the destruction of Gaza. The Reagan-appointed judge said you did that quote, primarily on account of their First Amendment
protected political speech.
Speaking of Gaza, the so-called Board of Peace seems to have run around. Meanwhile, while Senator Rubio once proclaimed that the U.S. must quote,
work to ensure that refugees who flee war, torture, and persecution are provided safe environments to live and thrive in.
Now, as Secretary of State in this administration, you have capped refugees at a record low of 17,500 and white South Africans Afrikaners have
comprised roughly 99 percent of those slots, Mr. Secretary, a race-based refugee system.
[11:25:00]
The same time the president is preventing Cuban political refugees from entering the United States, even as you've imposed a near oil blockade on
that repressive regime. The stated goal is to change the government there, but the only real change is humanitarian crisis inflicted on millions of
people, not members of the regime.
And in that regard, Mr. Secretary, I have a question for you regarding the designation of Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism. On the very first
week, at least, of this administration, you reinstated the administration, reinstated that, and in a recent January 26th EO, you made statements
suggesting connections to Hezbollah and Hamas.
The previous administration did a thorough review with the intelligence community and community and concluded that there was no evidence that Cuba
was engaged in ongoing state sponsor of terrorism. Did you find new evidence to support that conclusion?
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, first of all, let me just say that was that your question, but you made this long statement, of which I
disagree with most of it. We won't have time to address every point that you made, so let's stick to Cuba specific, because that's the question that
you asked.
Cuba has sponsored terrorism and supported groups, for example, virtually every left-wing radical violent terrorist group in the Western Hemisphere
has at some point relied on support from Cuba, the ELN, the FARC, the FARC dissidents, including them, have been involved there.
We also know, for example, that Cuba continues to host a pretty substantial collection intelligence sites on behalf of the Chinese and the Russians,
but you look at the region and you look at all of these leftist, Marxist terrorist organizations, all of them, many cases --
HOLLEN: Mr. Secretary, I can move on. I noticed you did not answer my question, because my question specifically related to whether there was new
evidence. New evidence to support that conclusion. I can just tell you --
RUBIO: Why would I need new evidence?
HOLLEN: Because you're claiming that they're a state-sponsored terrorism.
RUBIO: They do.
HOLLEN: Suggesting they're ongoingly involved in that. My final question to you, Mr. Secretary, relates to the Al-Aqsa Mosque Complex. There have been
reports that the United States is working with Israel to take away the Kingdom of Jordan's custodianship over the Al-Aqsa Mosque Complex in East
Jerusalem. Can you confirm today that there's no --
RUBIO: I'm not even aware of those reports --
HOLLEN: There are reports, so I was hoping you could --
RUBIO: -- media reporter.
HOLLEN: There have been several media reports.
RUBIO: Oh, well, you know, the media is always accurate.
HOLLEN: No, they're not, and that's why I'm --
RUBIO: Yeah, no, I've never even heard the first time I even hear anybody discussed.
HOLLEN: All right. Well, I'm glad to hear that, Mr. Secretary --
RUBIO: But we have a great relationship with Jordan, you know. We're very helpful. I've just never heard that before. You should -- I don't know what
article you're referring to, just give it to me. I'll look --
HOLLEN: I'm happy --
RUBIO: Is it a credible website?
HOLLEN: I'm glad to hear you say, Mr. Secretary. There's no truth. Thank you.
RUBIO: I've never heard that discussed by anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- You're up next. Oops, I'm sorry. Senator Daines was here earlier. I apologize, Senator Daines.
SEN. STEVE DAINES (R-MT): Chairman, thank you. Ranking member Shaheen, good to see you as well. One of the underreported successes of -- for your
diplomacy in this administration is what's happened through the peace agreement, a landmark agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
I know, Mr. Secretary, you just were in the region most recently, a major step forward for a region long beset by conflict, nearly 40 years of a hot
war, and through your leadership and President Trump's leadership, you've brought true peace to an area of the world sandwiched in between Russia and
Iran.
It was creative thinking that led the establishment of the Trump route for international peace and prosperity as a solution to some of the stickier
issues in that negotiation. The program promises to be a boon not only for Armenia and Azerbaijan, but also many neighboring countries.
As Brzezinski once said, talk on the global chess board, his book that Central Asia is the wine bottle, and Azerbaijan is the cork. You uncork the
wine bottle, suddenly you've got oil and gas and critical minerals flowing back towards the west, instead of to Russia, to China, and to Iran.
Mr. Secretary, can you tell us a little bit about how you plan to implement the trip framework agreements and deliver major economic benefit to both
the United States in a very historically troubled region?
RUBIO: Thanks. Actually, as you said, I was there last week, what was it, Tuesday, maybe we signed the trip agreement between the U.S. and Armenia,
and this is described as a corridor, which look, I know it's the anchor of a peace agreement with Armenia and Azerbaijan, and that's critical, but
it's much more than just the anchor of a peace agreement.
[11:30:00]
It really has the opportunity to revolutionize Armenia's strategic location and become a central hub for trade in the region. It solves the issue of
access that Azerbaijan cared about --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, you've just been listening to Marco Rubio, U.S. Secretary of State, testifying for the Foreign Relations Committee, and this is
actually supposed to be about an annual budget request, but obviously it turns into a wide-ranging Q&A on U.S. foreign policy.
It is a very busy time as it pertains to U.S. foreign policy, including obviously issues surrounding what the U.S.'s policy is in Cuba, as well as
the state of the ceasefire with the U.S. and Iran, as well as Israel and Hezbollah. Let's bring in Jennifer Hansler, who is in Washington, D.C. for
us.
So, just walk us through, I mean, obviously, as I mentioned, it is a wide- ranging conversation and they brought up a whole host of issues in the last sort of five minutes, where we just sort of dipped into it. But walk us
through some of the key points that Marco Rubio has made this morning, because he has been very heavily, sort of directly involved in the
negotiations and deliberations with Iran.
What are the key points that he's been making to the colleagues there on the Senate?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Zain, obviously, a lot of this conversation has been focused on Iran, primarily
because it is, of course, a key topic in the U.S. foreign policy, but also because Rubio himself has not been in front of these committees in any sort
of public capacity since the start of the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.
So, this is the first time these lawmakers have had the chance to publicly press the top U.S. diplomat on this element of foreign policy. He noted
that these negotiations are ongoing with the Iranians. He repeated what we have heard from a lot of the members of the Trump Administration on the
issue of dealing with what they have described as a fractured system within Tehran when it comes to negotiations.
He did acknowledge that the Ayatollah, they do believe, is alive, and there are indications that he is going to be increasingly present in these
negotiations. He also, Zain, talked about how the issue of the Strait of Hormuz is the predicate for these negotiations moving forward.
He said that Iran must affirmatively say that the strait is open for these negotiations to move forward into what he described as a second phase
focused on their nuclear program. I think we have what he said on that. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBIO: Phase two is they have to commit to very specific negotiations on highly enriched, the disposition of the highly enriched uranium that still
is buried deep in a mountain somewhere, they have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations, and or cancelation of enrichment --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- second --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANSLER: And one thing that's interesting on that point, Zain, is he did acknowledge that that would not be a fast process to discuss the details on
that phase two, if Iran were to agree to discuss those points. He said that this would be highly technical and involve teams of experts.
It could take 30, 60, even 90 days to work out the details around that nuclear program. So, this is a far cry from this quick resolution that we
have seen voice from a lot of these Trump Administration officials. So, a lot to watch in this hearing, Zain.
ASHER: All right, Jennifer Hansler, live for us there. Thank you so much. In Ukraine, one of the deadliest Russian offensives in months. You're
looking at scenes from the Ukrainian capital Kyiv one of two major cities hammered by more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles overnight that is
according to Ukraine's military.
This was the aftermath in the City of Dnipro. Ukraine officials say a total of at least 21 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded. Sebastian
Shukla is on the story for us. So, what we're seeing, Sebastian, is the fact that Russia basically is launching one of the biggest drone and
missile attacks on Kyiv in months.
Does this signal a broader shift in strategy? And then, do they have the capacity to actually attack Ukraine at this kind of sustained levels?
SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, Zain, this attack last night follows hot on the heels of two other attacks that have taken place in the period
of the last month that have been at this level of ferocious intensity. And of course, even though this country and the people and residents of Kyiv
and Dnipro, this other city that was attacked last night have been under this intense psychological pressure of this war for years now.
It still leaves marks that are both human and also physical on buildings and lives, Zain, in this particular attack last night, we've seen the death
toll now rise to 22 people, 6 in the capital city, Kyiv, 16 in that Central Ukrainian City of Dnipro, and it's left some 100 other so people injured.
[11:35:00]
What the Russians did last night, Zain, is launched a huge wave, as you described, 600 drones, several dozen missiles, also including the Zircon
ballistic missile, which is a nuclear capable missile that's incredibly difficult to shoot down with any form of air defensives, no matter how
sophisticated.
And all of it left, as we can see from those images on the screen, an incredible amount of damage. Our teams in Kyiv even reported this morning
as they heroically turned up to work after a night like that, that the smell of acrid smoke was lingering in the air. That's quite rare for
Ukraine, or for Kyiv in particular.
And take a listen to what some of those residents had to say about what it was like being under that barrage last night, Zain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KARINA KASAMARA, KYIV RESIDENT: It's just unbelievable. We got home and went to bed 15 minutes before the explosions. The dog ran out into the
hallway, and then all hell broke loose. Windows were blown out, and the whole flat was shaking. Thank God, we managed to find shelter between two
walls and sat down with all the animals.
Haven't sat for two days now. My hands are shaking, and I can't seem to stop it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of the cats has gone missing. I can't find it. Maybe it's somewhere under the rubble. The other one is lying over there in
the corner. It won't come out, and it isn't making a sound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SHUKLA: Zain, the question is, why is this level of sustained attacks like this happening now? And I think we got a little bit of a flavor of that
from the Ukrainian President, who tweeted overnight after these attacks. That assistance from the United States in supplying missiles for patriot
systems is absolutely necessary.
We are counting on the support of our partners and on the effective responses to today's attack. Ukraine cannot purchase missiles directly from
the United States, Zain. It relies on European partners through a NATO mechanism to buy them. The question now, is whether the United States has
these missiles in order to be able to fill the requests for Ukraine, or have they been depleted because of the war in Iran, Zain?
ASHER: Yeah, and that's something that a lot of people are talking about, the fact that the U.S. is clearly distracted militarily, diplomatically,
strategically by what's happening in the Middle East. Sebastian Shukla live for us. Thank you so much. All right, let's take you live to Kyiv, which is
obviously the scene of those aerial attacks.
Olexsiy Sorokin is Deputy Chief Editor of "The Kyiv Independent" and joins us live now. So, as we heard from Sebastian, I mean, obviously Ukraine,
Kyiv, and various other cities are facing this enormous barrage, or have faced this enormous barrage of missile and drone attacks from Russia, the
largest that we've seen in months.
Just talk to us about what that actually does to a population, not just in terms of damaging building and the lives that are sadly lost, but from a
morale perspective, the sort of psychological pressure that Ukrainians feel right now.
OLEKSIY SOROKIN, DEPUTY CHIEF EDITOR OF THE KYIV INDEPENDENT: Well, obviously those kinds of attacks are really damaging to the people's mental
health as well, right? And as we know, those attacks are now continuing every 10 days. This is the third attack on this scale over the past month.
There were 24 people killed on May 14th. There were half a dozen people killed 10 days after, and now around 20 people, 21 were killed yesterday,
right? And so, obviously, people are now more and more waiting for these attacks to continue. They know that Russia will keep up the pressure, and
if you look at the streets, you can see that people don't sleep, people take shelter, and people are nervous.
ASHER: Obviously, Ukraine's air defenses, and given what's happening with the way that Russia is stepping up attacks. Ukraine's air defenses are
under so much strain right now, and as Zelenskyy has said repeatedly, that one thing that they desperately need is the patriot systems from the United
States, given the state of play right now.
Do Ukrainians believe that victory is still possible?
SOROKIN: I'm not sure about victory per se, but right now Ukrainians are thinking about the next day. They're not thinking about a year's time,
right? We have been living in a full-scale war for over four years. Right now, people are thinking of, OK, how will they have a good night's sleep.
How will they survive the next attack? And obviously, the thing that is the most pressing right now is the lack of air defense systems and missiles.
There's a major problem, right? Russians have missiles, they continue to produce missiles.
[11:40:00]
Russians will be able to produce more and more missiles while Ukrainians don't produce air defense systems, right? And Ukraine is really relying on
the state. And unfortunately, there is no understanding in Ukraine, will we be able to count on the White House and on the Americans to provide us with
the defenses that we need.
ASHER: And if they don't, you know, I mean, I was just speaking to Sebastian Shukla, Reporter, who was essentially saying that, look, there is
concern among the Ukrainians that the United States is clearly distracted right now. They are distracted right now. They have another war that they
are thinking about that is front and center.
So just in terms of Russia's strategy here, Russia, I believe, sees an opening where it is clearly trying to simply overwhelm the Ukrainian air
defenses by just simply bombarding the Ukrainians with a high number of drones and missiles constantly. What does that tell you about Putin's
goals?
I mean, obviously he sees this window of opportunity, right? So, what does it tell you about his goals over the next 6 to 12 months?
SOROKIN: Well, I completely agree with you. Right, Putin also sees that the U.S. is distracted. He understands that Ukraine doesn't have air defense
systems and missiles. So right now, it's his window of opportunity to pummel Ukraine with missiles and force it to conduct peace negotiations on
Russian terms, right?
Ukraine won't do that, but right now it seems that this is Russia's only chance to win this war, right? Because if we look at the battlefield,
Russian troops are advancing really, really slowly. They still are advancing, but it's really marginal. They're not going to be able to
conquer Ukraine on the battlefield.
So, their main goal right now is to force Ukraine into submission, and I think that by bombarding Ukraine every 10 days, every 5 days with hundreds
of drones, with dozens of missiles is their best chance of achieving this, and he, Mr. Putin, understands that.
ASHER: Yeah, and it's going to be very difficult for Ukraine to intercept these missiles at this -- right? If Russia keeps up this pace. Olexsiy
Sorokin, thank you so much, appreciate it.
SOROKIN: Thank you.
ASHER: All right, oil traders are placing their bets on the big question of the day, war or peace in the Middle East. Just ahead, how markets are
getting on. As President Trump says he's hopeful of getting the Strait of Hormuz open again.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
ASHER: All right, let's get you more on today's headlines. One day after U.S. President Donald Trump said Israel and Hezbollah have agreed to halt
attacks, both sides continue to exchange fire, though a planned Israeli attack on a Beirut suburb has apparently been shelled.
The ongoing violence is threatening to derail peace talks between Washington and Tehran. Earlier, however, Iranian media reported that
negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are ongoing. The race to rescue two men trapped in a flooded underground cave network in Laos intensifies
today.
Emergency teams are searching dense jungles surrounding the caves for new ways in, but so far there is little progress, with bad weather hampering
their efforts. Five men who had been stuck underground for more than a week have now emerged. Moscow has launched one of its deadliest assaults on
Ukraine in months.
At least 21 people have been killed in the cities of Kyiv and Dnipro, with more than 100 wounded. That's according to officials. These were the scenes
in Kyiv where medical facilities and residential blocks were destroyed. Moscow says it was in retaliation for quote, terrorist acts committed by
Kyiv, according to state media.
Right, Donald Trump has just named a controversial top housing official to be the Acting Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte has played a
leading role in stoking the president's retribution campaign against his perceived enemies. President Trump said that Pulte will also retain his
current role at the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The move comes after Tulsi Gabbard announced last month that she would be stepping down. Senior White House Reporter Kevin Liptak joins us live now.
So, obviously, in the U.S., you need Senate confirmation, so he's just acting right now, just in terms of being DNI, either temporarily or he will
go for Senate confirmation.
But what's interesting is that he's wearing many hats at once, he has multiple roles that he's juggling. And also, as I mentioned, he has been
very sorting of supportive of the president going after Democrats or perceived enemies, Kevin.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, not only supportive but actively facilitating some of those attempts. What he doesn't have is
any experience in an intelligence capacity. And you know the statute that created the Director of National Intelligence after 9/11 actually
stipulates that anyone nominated to serve in that job has to have extensive national security experience.
Now he has not been nominated to serve in the job permanently, he's going to be in an acting capacity, but because he was Senate confirmed for his
current position, he could potentially serve in this job for quite some time. You know, the law says he can be in the job for 210 days, which is
plenty of time if the president is putting him in this job to sort of continue some of what he has been doing as the housing agency head, which
is to go after some of the president's perceived enemies.
And when you look at how he has sort of made his position known to the president, and has been to try and use the information that he has access
to as the head of this mortgage agency, and to try and allege mortgage fraud against some of the president's perceived foes, whether it is Letitia
James, the Attorney General of New York State or Lisa Cook, the Federal Reserve Governor, both of whom he alleged had committed mortgage fraud.
And so, it seems evident that the president views this job, the Director of National Intelligence, not as one who is going to be focused solely on
these foreign threats to the United States, but as someone who could potentially advance his own campaign of retribution.
And, you know, campaign to try and dismiss, for example, allegations of Russian meddling. That's something that you saw Tulsi Gabbard do in the
position during her tenure. You also saw her try and advance claims of voter fraud. Remember, she sorts of materialized down in Fulton County,
Georgia, at an election facility there as she tried to down, or as she tried to advance some of the allegations that there had been widespread
fraud during the 2020 election.
That seems to be where the president's focus is here, you also, as DNI, would potentially have the ability to declassify some documents that, in
the president's mind, could advance some of those theories, and that seems to be at this point where the president sees this position heading.
You know, he did not really rely on Tulsi Gabbard for a lot of foreign policy input. On the intelligence front, he has relied far more on John
Ratcliffe, the CIA Director, and so as he installs Bill Pulte in this job, that appears evident the direction that he seems to be heading.
[11:50:00]
It will, I think, create a degree of consternation among senators and congressmen, both Republicans and Democrats, who will question why someone
who has extensively zero experience in this field is being put in what is quite an important job, and already you've heard that from Democrats.
It remains to be seen whether you'll hear that from Republicans as well, but I think a controversial appointment here, and one that will raise a lot
of questions, I think, for the White House today, and in the coming days.
ASHER: All right, Kevin Liptak, thank you so much. Right, the World Health Organization says at least 49 people have died in the Ebola outbreak in
Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda as authorities battle to contain the disease. More than 320 cases are now confirmed in the DRC.
Hundreds of suspected cases have turned out to be negative in the past five, past few days, rather. Meantime, there have been protests in Kenya
against the U.S.'s plan to set up a facility for Americans who have been exposed to Ebola. Donald Trump requested that it be built in Kenya.
And President William Ruto says that he approved it, but a Kenyan court has extended an injunction restraining from the government from going ahead.
Let's bring in CNN's Larry Madowo, joining us right now from Nairobi. So, Larry, you know, I think it's understandable why Kenyans would be triggered
and outraged by this sort of proposed facility, this 50-bed facility, housing -- potentially housing Americans who have been exposed to Ebola,
because I'm sure a lot of Kenyans are asking, well, why here, why this country?
Just walk us through what people are saying, specifically the fears about the health risks, and also how President Ruto is defending this?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, this is a PR disaster for the United States and for Kenya. The Kenyan public and the legal system both telling
President Ruto not to do this, but his government is going ahead with it anyway. Most Kenyans fear that allowing Americans exposed to Ebola to come
into the country will import Ebola into the country.
And they protested outside this military facility in Laikipia, that's about 125 miles outside of Nairobi. And it also kind of highlighted the
difference between how the military deals with public protests and the police, because they went to the gate and the military de-escalated, talked
down to them, and they left.
But when they went to the city, the police ended up killing two people, because, ironically, on Independence Day, people fighting for their
independence, for a right to live, ended up getting killed in that fight to not allow this American facility to take place here. But President William
Ruto says this is a long-standing partnership with the United States.
They have supported Kenya for a long time, and this is how he justified it when he said President Trump asked him to do it, and he agreed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM RUTO, KENYAN PRESIDENT: I gave the OK, because it was an agreement and a partnership with friends who have worked with Kenya for 30, 40 years.
The American government has supported us. They have deployed huge resources in Kenya.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: And a court has told President Ruto's government not to go ahead with this practice another three weeks, and to declare all the documents
related to the agreements, the United States. And the one of the questions here that many Kenyans have, Zain, is why are so many Americans in the DRC?
Are they there as mercenaries, defense contractors, or are they involved in mining? Because the epicenter of this current outbreak is in the Northeast
DRC, which is a mining rich region, Zain.
ASHER: Good questions. All right, Larry Madowo, live for us there. Thank you. We'll be right back with more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:55:00]
ASHER: All right, finally, this hour, a way to save on gas without skimping on style -- an artist from Florida has actually packed himself inside a
giant pear-shaped scooter to ride across the country. Sharing the highway with the pair is the Shaman Art Car. Both can be seen cruising around the
Southeastern United States.
That is certainly one way to save on high gas prices right now. All right, stay with CNN. I have more "One World" with my colleague Bianna Golodryga
after the short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
