Return to Transcripts main page
One World with Zain Asher
Iran Condemns U.S. Attacks, turns on Kuwait and Bahrain; Trump Says He Was "Perturbed" With Netanyahu Over Beirut Strikes; Ukraine Claims to Have Hit Warship, Other Russian Assets; Ukraine Fires Hundreds of Drones on Several Russian Cities; Ukraine Targets St. Petersburg as "Putin's Davos" Gets Underway; Pratt, Raman Competing for Second in L.A. Mayor's Race. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired June 03, 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]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: A fresh round of strikes by the U.S. and Iran put a fragile ceasefire under more strain. "One World" starts right
now. CNN is on the ground in Iran as a ceasefire with the U.S. hangs in the balance. Ukraine's ambitious strike on Russia hitting St. Petersburg with
drones ahead of Vladimir Putin's flagship economic forum, and Ebola causes controversy in Kenya.
Protest is pushing back on Trump's plan to open a quarantine center for Americans there. All right, coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain
Asher. Bianna is off today. You are watching "One World". The U.S. and Israeli war in the Middle East, is expanding, even as President Trump says
that he remains optimistic.
He'll have a deal fairly soon, and claims that one of the key issues has been resolved. Kuwait says that one person was killed and 63 injured in
Iranian drone missile strikes overnight. And for the first time in more than three months, Bahrain came under attack as well.
U.S. meantime struck an Iranian military station on Qeshm Island in one of the most intense exchanges of fire since the April truce. Tehran now says
it's holding Gulf countries responsible for attacks on Iran. But in an interview released a short time ago, President Trump says that peace talks
are evolving rapidly, and that Tehran has agreed to never have a nuclear weapon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're working on a deal, and that happens fine, or it doesn't happen, that's OK too. We'll do
it the other way. They've already agreed they're not going to have a nuclear weapon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have that?
TRUMP: Oh yeah, they've agreed to that. I mean, they can change their mind, but that was one of the things they had to agree. They've agreed to that.
That was the big thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, do you think the blockade is still be in place by labor?
TRUMP: I don't know. I mean, I think it could be, but I think it's unlikely. I think that we'll have it. I think this will resolve itself
fairly quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: It all comes as the ceasefire comes under even greater strain. CNN's team has just entered Iran. It's able to operate in the country only with
the permission of the government that maintains full editorial control. Here's our Fred Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've just entered Iran, and we're currently driving towards Tehran. I would say that
the drive is probably going to take well north of 12 hours. And we come here at a pretty decisive time as the United States and Iran are trying to
inch closer to a memorandum of understanding that would at first, end the hostilities between the United States and Iran.
But also pave the way for negotiations for a broader peace agreement that could then happen maybe a month, maybe two months down the line. At the
same time, the security situation, especially in the Persian Gulf area, between the U.S. and Iran remains fragile, and it remains volatile.
Just overnight, there have been attacks that went back and forth. The United States hitting some targets on some islands in the Persian Gulf. The
Iranians responding with ballistic missile strikes targeting American installations in places like Bahrain and Kuwait.
So, all of that, of course, makes for a very difficult situation, as the two sides say they are committed to try and reach some sort of agreement to
end this war.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is back on the Hill for a second straight day, this time testifying before a House committee on the State
Department's budget, but of course he is sure to face questions about the war in Iran. Rubio testified before a Senate committee on Tuesday, his
first appearance before Congress since the conflict began.
In one exchange, he described the war, as over. As Iran steps up its rhetoric, threatening to hold Gulf countries accountable, the U.S. appears
to be dialing down its threats. In the interview Donald Trump gave earlier, he said there doesn't need to be American boots on the ground now, and that
he and Iran's Supreme Leader seem to be getting along.
The U.S. President also signaled that he's not in any hurry to end the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz. CNN's Alayna Treene joins us live now at
the White House. A lot of mixed messages here, especially when you consider that at the beginning of this war one of Donald Trump's main goals was
regime change.
Now he's talking about the fact that he and the supreme leader are getting along, and that you know he might even be willing to meet the supreme
leader at one point, depending on how it all works out.
[11:05:00]
He also did admit that he uses some very, shall we say, choice words to confront Netanyahu as well. Just walk us through what was said in this
podcast with the "New York Post".
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think there were really three key things that stood out to me, at least on the Iran issue in
this interview. One, I will start with that phone call, that very tense phone call that we and other outlets have reported that the president had
with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on Monday.
He confirmed that it was not a very pleasant call. He wouldn't go as far to say that he was angry with the Israeli Prime Minister, but he said he was
perturbed at his constant fighting with Lebanon, and essentially told Bibi, the Israeli Prime Minister, to stand down.
He said, "Bibi, we've got to stop this, is the words that Trump used. And that's very reflective of how we know the president has really been viewing
this relationship with Israel thus far. Obviously, Israel remains an incredibly close ally of the United States and of President Trump
specifically.
But he's also been frustrated throughout many different points in this war, Zain, that Netanyahu, in his mind, has been far too aggressive to the point
where he is threatening to up end these very careful and fragile diplomatic talks. And I'd remind you that just a couple weeks ago I had asked the
president directly, you know, many people in your administration note that at some point, the objectives between the U.S. and Israel with this war are
going to diverge.
Will Netanyahu be ready to end this war when you are? And Trump essentially said he will do what I'm telling him to do, and that's exactly what I think
happened on Monday. The president said you need to stand down in order to have these negotiations between Washington and Tehran be successful.
So, he did address that. The other point, I think, of course, is what he said about not anticipating or wanting or expecting really to send boots on
the ground or U.S. service members to Iran. I think that's a reassuring thing for many people, including many of the president's supporters, who
have long been very wary of a potentially long and drawn-out conflict with Iran, but also the potential toll and casualties that sending troops into
Iran could have.
And he essentially said he believes that the U.S. military has been successful thus far in what they have been doing, which is their bombing
campaign, most of their airstrikes and naval operations, and said if diplomacy does fail, of course, he still prefers an agreement to work out
on this memorandum of understanding.
But if that doesn't, if that falters, then they would resume military operations, but not with U.S. service members there. And then lastly, as
you mentioned, Zain, what he said about the new supreme leader, the new Khamenei. He essentially argued that he believes he said if you believe the
stories the new supreme leader is quote, missing a lot of different parts.
Kind of shows that Trump actually doesn't physically know of the or doesn't know the physical, you know, state that the new supreme leader is in, but
acknowledges that he's not in a good place, as Trump put it. But did say that we seem to be getting along quite well, and he wants to meet him.
We'll see if that's actually ever anything that would come to light. Trump has said these comments before. I find it unlikely that he will actually
meet with Iran's Supreme Leader in the future, but hey, you never know. I know that's something that he has been considering if they are to sign a
deal down the line that he would want to meet with the leaders of Iran.
But clearly, I think on that point, and to your point, Zain, about regime change, he does believe that some of the new leadership in Iran is a little
bit easier to work with, perhaps than who was in, in-charge before, and so that's kind of where this is from, but very interesting statement there
from the president indeed.
ASHER: All right, Alayna Treene, live for us there. Thank you so much. Russia says it downed more than 350 Ukrainian drones overnight as Ukraine
attacked Moscow and several other Russian cities, the targets included strategic infrastructure, including this oil terminal in St. Petersburg,
which handles Russian fuel exports.
Ukraine also claimed to have struck a Russian warship, which it says is armed with guided missiles and operates as an escort for Russia's shadow
fleet of oil tankers. The attack comes as an international economic forum gets underway in St. Petersburg. Sebastian Schukla joins us live now with
more on these developments.
So, Sebastian, obviously this comes just shortly after Russia actually launched one of its hardest and most difficult sorts of offenses in months
on Ukrainian people. Just explain to us where things now stand in terms of the battlefield and who really does have the upper hand here?
SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yeah, good afternoon, Zain. I mean, we spoke this time yesterday, and we were talking about a large-scale attack
that had taken place on the Ukrainian capital city.
[11:10:00]
What we're talking about 24 hours later, Zain, is the inverse here. What we now have is the Ukrainian army launching a major and devastating attack on
largely Russia's second city, that northern city of St. Petersburg, where, as you said, in just a couple of days' time, President Putin is going to be
addressing the St. Petersburg Economic Forum, a forum that's largely dubbed as Putin's Davos.
And of which he will lay out and talk about various Russian economic policies, but will also undoubtedly also touch on the geopolitical
implications, and particularly about the war, or the special military operation, as Russia calls it, in Ukraine, Zain. I don't think that there
is any hiding behind the fact here that this was a very coordinated attack that was designed to send a message, if it had not already been delivered
by the Ukrainians, that Kyiv is able to hit Moscow where it hurts.
And in the space of just a month, we now have a potential security situation surrounding two Russian events, of which President Putin plays a
central part in them. On the ninth of May, you'll remember, Zain, that there were threats of a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow around the Victory
Day celebrations parade.
And now we have this attack today in the days that this conference over, or hours that this conference opened, and just before the president speaks
himself. President Zelenskyy, for his part, who is still in Kyiv and has been speaking alongside the NATO Secretary General today, Mark Rutte.
We've just had some comments that have come from him, which say that that attacks like this, the Russians must know that if they use drones and
missiles against us, we will do the same, and it's only a matter of time before we increase the scale of our responses. Zain, we are in almost now a
slinging competition as that battlefield stalemate in the Donbas really appears to be almost at a complete and utter standstill.
I think that we are in a new phase of this war now, which is seeing these aerial bombardments of key infrastructure targets designed to inflict as
much pain both on civilian people, but also on economies and militaries in order to slow down productions of weapons, recruitment and replenishments
of supplies and money that go into both sides war machines.
And I just think that this now, over the last little period of time that we've been looking at this and analyzing these attacks, is the cadence that
we're going to continue to see, because the Ukrainians believe in what Western officials have been telling us and been telling me is that attacks
like these are really hurting Russia and President Putin where it hurts the most, and at the moment that's in his pocket, Zain.
ASHER: Sebastian Shukla, thank you. Thank you so much for that. Right, votes are still being tallied in some crucial races after six states in the
U.S. held primaries on Tuesday. Here are some of the key takeaways in Iowa's Governor race arrest setback for President Donald Trump.
The candidate that he endorsed, Randy Feenstra, lost narrowly. In California, where dozens are vying to be governor as well. Trump endorsed
the Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat Xavier Becerra is currently leading the pack. And in the race to be the Mayor of Los Angeles, CNN
projects that Current Mayor Karen Bass will advance to the general election in November.
Former Reality TV Star Spencer Pratt, registered Republican, is just behind -- Arlette Saenz joining us live now from Los Angeles. So, I think this is
interesting, because previously we had talked about how, when Donald Trump puts his thumb on the scale, especially among Republican candidates, trying
to sort of get rid of the Republicans that he deemed as disloyal, it actually worked in his favor.
Now the story is changing. What are we learning here, especially about the results in Iowa?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, this is one of those rare circumstances where President Donald Trump's endorsement so far
has not carried its weight in one of these races. The president had gotten behind Randy Feenstra in this race to replace the outgoing Republican
Governor Kim Reynolds.
But ultimately that was not something that Iowan voters decided to go with. Instead, opting for his opponent in this contest. It speaks to potentially
the shifting nature of Iowa, and whether they still completely, the Republican voters, they are fully completely feeling beholden to President
Donald Trump's wishes or not in this state.
It's going to be really interesting to see how Iowa progresses come November, because now you have two consequential races, not just for
governor but also for senate.
[11:15:00]
The Democratic nominee for governor, Rob Sand, is quite well known in Iowa. He's run statewide and won before, and he's really presenting some hope for
Democrats in that state that they could potentially flip this seat in the November election, and then you have the results coming out of Iowa as it
relates to the Democratic primary for senate, where Josh Turek, a Former Paralympian.
He won in his primary against the progressive candidate Zach Wahls, who became famous years ago when he spoke in defense of same-sex marriage, as
he was raised by two gay lesbian mothers. One thing that with Turek is that he was really backed by a lot of the party establishment in this race, and
overcame this progressive challenger.
That the fact that there is a more moderate Democrat who is being put forward in Iowa is something that Democrats are hoping could play come
November as they prepare to take on Congresswoman Ashley Hinson, who is running as the Republican to replace Senator Joni Ernst, who is retiring.
Democrats believe that some of the just overall mood of the country, the political environment right now, could potentially work in their favor,
especially when you think about Iowa's strong reliance on their agriculture sector. That is an area that has been heavily hit by President Trump's
tariff policy.
And so, they are hoped -- Democrats are hoping, seeing some glimmers of hope that this could be a state that could come on the map a little bit
later in the race, and they could potentially flip come November.
ASHER: And Arlette, aside from whether or not President Trump has sway over the Republican Party, I mean, clearly he does, but as you point out, Iowa
is a bit more of a unique case, because it's such an agricultural state, and of course, when you're dealing with tariffs and the Iran war, that has
really led to some economic pain in that particular state.
But if you look at other races more broadly, I mean, you're in Los Angeles, the mayoral race, there, we are seeing, you know, outsider sort of non-
establishment candidates in Iowa, as well, but also in the L.A. mayoral race with Spencer Pratt, really doing quite well. Walk us through that.
SAENZ: Yeah, there's been a lot of focus on how this race for mayor is playing out in Los Angeles. The Incumbent Mayor, Democrat Karen Bass, is
breathing a sigh of relief. She has advanced to the runoff, but now the big question is, who will be joining her in that general election matchup?
Former reality TV star Spencer Pratt has really had a lot of momentum in this race. He has tried to tap into some of the frustration and anger in
this city relating to the homelessness issue, but also the issue of the fire recovery. Pratt is someone who lost his home during the Palisades
fire.
And he really has based a lot of his campaign on criticizing Bass' response to those wildfires that devastated so many communities here in Los Angeles.
The question is whether Pratt -- one thing with Pratt also is that he has really gone viral for a lot of his campaign ads. You have seen him be very
forceful in calling out Bass.
You have also seen a lot of AI-generated ads that have been promoted by his supporters, but the question now is whether the views on social media is
something that's actually going to translate into votes. Pratt, right now is in second place. It's still very early as these results continue to come
in.
There could be some potential narrowing between him and the current person, who in third place, Nithya Raman, especially in Los Angeles, where there
are a lot of Democratic voters, and there are still ballots coming in. They can come in until seven days after the election.
Many of those ballots are expected to skew Democratic. So, the question is whether the two, whether Pratt and Raman will kind of narrow there, but
Pratt certainly has presented a big outsider perspective in this race as he's trying to challenge Karen Bass in her mayoral candidacy at this
moment.
ASHER: All right. Arlette Saenz live for us there. Thank you so much. Right, let's take a deeper dive into primary politics with Jacob Rubashkin.
He's the Deputy Editor of Inside Elections and joins us live now from Washington, D.C. I just want to start with what Arlette and I were talking
about with governor race in Iowa.
This the fact that Donald Trump did endorse Randy Feenstra, but he endorsed him quite late, I believe it was on Friday that he endorsed him. So, there
was no time to sort of make ads around it and really promote it. You had the election literally four days later. Was that a factor in why Randy
didn't do as well as I'm sure the Trump folks had hoped?
JACOB RUBASHKIN, DEPUTY EDITOR OF INSIDE ELECTIONS: Absolutely, this was too little, too late for Randy Feenstra. The problem that Feenstra faced
throughout the course of his campaign was that he didn't have the Trump endorsement, and that was a very conspicuous absence from his slate.
[11:20:00]
Last year, Trump had actually expressed his hope that a different candidate would run for the Republican primary, Brenna Bird, the state's attorney
general. When she opted not to run there, he very notably did not endorse Feenstra. So, for most of this race, the narrative was actually, why hasn't
Trump endorsed Randy Feenstra is Feenstra not as strong as he seems to be, and that got a lot more play among Iowa voters than the last couple days of
Trump endorsement.
When you couple that with Zach Lahn, the candidate who won, coming in and spending a lot of his own money, at least $2 million on the airwaves to
promote his conservative message and maneuver himself to Feenstra's right, it becomes clear that the Trump endorsement may have given Randy a late
boost, but it was too little, too late, and Republicans are now going with an untested and relatively unfamiliar standard bearer in what could be the
one of the biggest gubernatorial races of this cycle.
ASHER: So how much is Iowa in play right now for Democrats, for the midterms?
RUBASHKIN: It's highly competitive. Democrats have a strong candidate in Rob Sand. He is the sitting state auditor. He is the last remaining
statewide Democratic elected office holder in a state that used to elect Democrats up and down the ballot, he's the last man standing. He's won
statewide before.
He's a very good fundraiser, and he comes from a wealthy family, so he's got resources that he can put in himself as well. He didn't have a primary.
He's been the general election candidate for the Democrats for quite some time, and as we look at election results in Iowa, special election results
over the last 18 months, we can see something is happening in the state.
Democrats are winning state legislative races, local races by margins that far outpace where they have been in recent years. We've got a competitive
senate race going on at the same time, even as Iowa voted for Trump three times in a row, there's a lot of hope for Iowa Democrats at this point in
time.
The party is more energized than they have been, certainly since 2018 and arguably since 2008.
ASHER: And that's partly because, as Arlette was saying, that there's just the sort of state of the economy in Iowa, and some of Donald Trump's
policies, as it pertains to, I mean, it's an agricultural state, right?
RUBASHKIN: Yeah.
ASHER: So, when you think about the impact of tariffs, when you think about the impact of the Iran war and fertilizer, and the costs of that, all of
that is having such a deep local impact that it's forcing people to reconsider who they would normally vote for.
RUBASHKIN: Absolutely. Agriculture is such a big part of the Iowa economy. The state has really been hit hard first last year by the tariffs. There's
a reason why Governor Kim Reynolds and Joni Ernst, the two statewide office holders, decided not to run for re-election, and it's because Iowans were
very unhappy, even last year, about the direction of the state and the direction of the country.
You layer on top of that the war in Iran and the supply shock that that has caused. The price of diesel fuel, which powers agricultural industry, is
even higher than the price of the fuel that most Americans are using to gas up their cars. That is another thing that Republicans have to contend with.
The state level economics of Iowa make it uniquely frustrating for Republicans at this point in time. We heard directly from Ashley Hinson,
the Republican nominee in Iowa for that senate race, a couple of days ago in a secretly recorded comments that she made that the war in Iran was
really beginning to hurt her politically, and she hoped that it wrapped up in a couple of weeks.
Otherwise, it was going to be a big issue. Now, I think she's underselling it. I think it is a big issue right now for Republicans in Iowa. The only
question is, will it wrap up in time for them to recover, or will things look like they do now for the rest of the election cycle?
And if that's the case, Republicans in Iowa and some of these other agriculture-heavy states in the Midwest, in the Great Plains, are going to
find themselves in uniquely competitive races in states that haven't been so competitive for Democrats in recent years.
ASHER: And talk to us about the dynamics for the California race for governor, because the two top municipal jungle primaries, so you had so
many people, I think over 60 jumping into the race, but just in terms of the two, the folks who took the top spots on both -- with both political
parties, you have Steve Hilton, you have Xavier Becerra.
And what's interesting about this is that in the United States, obviously money is a factor in terms of how well you do in political races, Tom
Steyer, he is, of course, a billionaire. He spent, I believe, more than 200 -- like an eye-watering sum of money, $200 million, which is a sum that
most people cannot get their head around, and yet, you know, he did OK, right?
[11:25:00]
But it wasn't as if that sum of money made a huge difference for him, just in terms of money not being able to really buy you love when it comes to
politics. Just give us your take on the dynamics here.
RUBASHKIN: This was a clown car of a primary here in California. The leading candidate right now, Steve Hilton, probably more familiar to
viewers on your side of the Atlantic than to viewers necessarily in America made his bones as a political adviser in the UK to David Cameron before
moving to California and becoming an American citizen, and now becoming the likely Republican nominee for governor in California.
The question that remains right now is how much Democratic vote is there yet to be counted? Because Hilton is in the lead, but he's followed very
closely by Xavier Becerra, and then a little further back, as you said, by Tom Steyer. Now, at this point, the most likely outcome here is a general
election between Hilton and Becerra, that would be an easy win for Becerra, given how Democratic leaning a state California is.
But there's a possibility. It's not the most likely outcome, but there's a possibility that the remaining votes that haven't been counted yet will be
so Democratic that Tom Steyer will be able to pull himself into that second-place spot. If that happens, it'll be a Democrat versus Democrat
general election, and will continue for the next five months, seeing hundreds of millions of dollars of Tom Steyer ads.
But look, as you said, ultimately these dollars hit a point of diminishing marginal returns. Every voter in California knew all there was to know
about Tom Steyer. They just didn't know if they liked him well enough to vote for him, and that's a challenge that self-funding candidates often run
into.
Once you get as well-known as possible, if voters don't like what they're hearing, if they don't like what you're offering them, it can be very
difficult to ultimately get across the finish line.
ASHER: Right, Jacob Rubashkin, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
RUBASHKIN: Thank you.
ASHER: All right, still to come on "One World", as the battle to lead the way in AI intensifies, the Chief of OpenAI heads to Washington. What he's
hoping to achieve just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: A source tells CNN the CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman, is scheduled for high-level meetings at the White House today, and will also meet with
members of Congress while he's in Washington as well.
[11:30:00]
The visit comes a day after President Trump signed an executive order that calls on developers of AI models to give the government an early look at
each version before it is more widely launched. CNN's AI Correspondent Hadas Gold reports on what's happening, what's potentially at stake.
HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: -- Altman is no stranger to Washington, he's been several times before, but he's coming to Washington today.
There's one day after president -- signed that executive order on the artificial intelligence. Most important aspect of that executive order was
that it asks AI companies that make these frontier models.
These models that have amazing cyber security capabilities that have really sent shock waves through critical infrastructure industries, because it's
like having either a million hackers working against you or a million cybersecurity defenders working for you. The government wants to have a
look at these models up to 30 days before they are released to others.
Now, the government says that this will be a voluntary program, and they have emphasis that this is not mandatory. So, these conversations that Sam
Altman will be having with people in Washington, including at the White House, will likely involve sort of the details of how this works, because
there's no definitions that need to be made about what is considered a frontier model.
I also understand that Sam Altman will be having bipartisan meetings with people on Capitol Hill, especially with those who are working on
legislation that specifically targets the AI industry. We're talking about people like Senator Bernie Sanders, who has introduced the American AI
Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, which would give the public a 50 percent ownership stake in AI companies.
He's also pushing for a federal moratorium on data centers. And AI companies are so hungry for more data centers, or even talking about
sending data centers into space, because we need those data centers to not only develop these AI models, but to also run them. Every time you ask an
AI question, that inquiry has to go through a data center before it can be brought back to you.
So, you'll be having conversations with people like Senator Sanders. We'll be talking about safety policy, where the models are going next,
cybersecurity policies, and so on. But again, this is just one of several meetings that Sam Altman regularly has in Washington, especially as we're
seeing AI companies becoming such a force, not only, you know, as we're looking to these IPOs in the stock market, but really touching every single
aspect of our laps. Back to you.
ASHER: Hadas Gold reporting now. Right, still to come, the U.S.-backed Ebola facility is facing strong pushback in Kenya. The latest from Nairobi
ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:35:00]
ASHER: Right, welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some of the headlines we are watching for you today. The UAE is calling
for United Gulf response to Iranian strikes after Kuwait and Bahrain came under attack overnight. Kuwait says one person was killed and dozens
injured.
The attacks were part of the largest exchange of fire between the U.S. and Iran since the April ceasefire began. President Trump, meantime, says that
peace talks are rapidly evolving. Ukraine says it struck a Russian war strip, warship rather, and an oil terminal in St. Petersburg overnight, as
its drones targeted several Russian cities.
The attacks came a day after Russia launched a major assault on Ukraine, killing at least 23 people in Kyiv and Dnipro. Votes are still being
counted after six U.S. states held primary elections on Tuesday in the California Governor race, Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton and Democrat
Xavier Becerra lead the field.
In Los Angeles, CNN projects that Mayor Karen Bass will face a runoff for her job in November with Republican Spencer Pratt. The World Health
Organization Chief has just returned from the Democratic Republic of Congo where he observed first hand efforts to fight the Ebola outbreak there.
He says that he is encouraged by the level of commitment from health care workers and others but warns that there are challenges ahead. The W.H.O.
says that there are at least 60 confirmed deaths and 344 cases of Ebola in the DRC. Meantime, the U.S. says it will re-engage with the Global Vaccine
Alliance, GAVI, after cutting funding last year.
Larry Madowo joins us live now from Nairobi. So, just in terms of Tedros leaving the DRC, he was there, he observed firsthand as he talked about
just so much education and commitment to containing this virus, but he did point you to some specific challenges that he witnessed as well, Larry.
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, and Dr. Tedros making his first comment since returning from the epicenter of the outbreak in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, saying that the outbreak got out faster than the response, but he praised the response from the Democratic Republic of
Congo, the government there, that they've done a lot to try and contain it.
And so far, the cases that are suspected has reduced significantly from over 1000 to just a few 100, because they've ramped up the testing there,
but there are still challenges that Dr. Tedros mentioned, one, is that there's no vaccines, there's no treatments available for the Bundibugyo
strain of Ebola that they're seeing in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The other one is testing. There are not enough testing kits available, and that has slowed down when they can confirm a case. They also have the
blanket travel restrictions that he says do not work, they hinder the response, they disrupt supply chains. That's a pointed message to the
United States, to Canada, some of those countries that have essentially blocked anybody coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, from Uganda,
and from South Sudan.
Dr. Tedros also said the community mistrust is a major problem there. Some of the people he met in the DRC told me they don't think Ebola is real,
they think it's been created by NGOs to make money. Some of them think it's a white man's invention, and that's leading to these attacks against
hospital facilities, sometimes funerals are getting disrupted because people want to touch the body, which is not recommended. Listen to Dr.
Tedros.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: Although vaccines and therapeutics would be a big help, the
key to ending this outbreak is not biomedical, its leadership, ownership, partnership, and trust.
Government leadership, community ownership, strong partnership between the many actors involved, working with one budget, one plan, and one report,
and building trust in the affected communities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: The international community has surged personnel and equipment to the DRC to handle this outbreak, but yes, the fear is still that this was
spreading in the community for a while, possibly months, before it was detected and confirmed. But the World Health Organization says that their
risk assessment has not changed.
It is very high at the national level, high in the regional level, but for the rest of the world it's low. So, if you're not in this part of the
world, the risk of Ebola getting to you, according to the W.H.O. is quite low at this time, Zain.
ASHER: Right, Larry Madowo, live for us there. Thank you so much. A court in Kenya is hitting the pause button on a planned U.S.-backed Ebola
quarantine facility there and has ordered the Kenyan government to be more transparent about its plans.
[11:40:00]
The proposed facility would house Americans exposed to the Ebola virus in the current outbreak centered in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Kenya's
President defends the agreement with the Trump Administration, saying the site is part of a broader preparedness plan and would actually serve both
Kenyans and foreign patients as well.
The proposal has fast, sparked rather fierce opposition, with protests turning deadly this week in the East African country. Let's keep the
conversation going with Lawrence Gostin. He's a Professor at Georgetown University Law Center and a Global Health Expert.
So, your thoughts first and foremost about this sort of planned proposed rather facility by the U.S. in conjunction with Kenya to house sort of 50
beds, quarantined facility 50 beds, mostly despite what the Kenyan government is saying about it being for Kenyans as well as foreigners.
The idea behind it is that it would be for Americans who have been exposed to Ebola, that they would be housed in Kenya first before being sent back
to the United States. Your thoughts on that?
LAWRENCE GOSTIN, PROFESSOR AT GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW CENTER: Yeah, that's exactly right, Zain. We've been told repeatedly that this was for
U.S. citizens only. And I think it's probably predominantly United States citizens. I worry on several levels.
First, I think that, as an American, if I were exposed to Ebola, I would want to be brought back to a specialized facility in the United States,
that's what Democratic and Republican administrations have done before, and it's really saved lives. The death rate, if you stay in the region, is
much, much higher than if you are brought home.
If you ask any American who's been exposed, he or she would not want to be in a makeshift military facility in Kenya. They would want to be in Atlanta
or Nebraska or one of our premier institutions, and that's likely to save lives. This may cost lives.
ASHER: That's an important point, but there's also another point to this, and that is a lot of Kenyans who have been out protesting in the streets
are saying that it's putting ordinary Kenyans under risk as well, because they're now being exposed. There's no, as I understand it, there are no
Ebola cases right now, confirmed Ebola cases at all in Kenya.
So, why, you know, a lot of young sorts of Kenyan people who are protesting are saying, why are we now being put in the middle of this? Why are we now
being exposed to this unnecessarily?
GOSTIN: Yeah, that's a great point. I mean, if you put yourself in the eyes of a Kenyan, you've got the United States, the most powerful country in the
world with excellent biocontainment units. We're not going to accept the risk here, but we'll offload the risk, we'll just, we'll treat our patients
with you.
This has caused outrage among ordinary Kenyans and civil society. There have been protests, and very sadly, two Kenyan protesters were shot dead by
the Kenyan police. So, this is not going to build trust in the Trump Administration in Africa. It's only going to erode it, and we need to treat
our allies better than that.
ASHER: You bring up such an important point, this idea of offloading the risk. You know, we're not willing to take the risk, but we'll send it,
we'll keep the risk in Africa. We're not going to take the risk here in the United States. When you think about the different sort of iterations, I
guess, of this one-sided relationship that the Trump Administration has with Africa.
I mean, obviously you think about cutting back on foreign assistance, you think about cutting back on USAID, for example, you think about this
refugee program that the administration has repeatedly defended that prioritizes white South African refugees coming into the United States, and
now this idea that we are not willing to take the risks.
We're going to offload our risks to an African country. What is the message that is being sent here? Do you think?
GOSTIN: Yeah, I mean, this is -- I don't think Americans should be proud of it. I mean, we have such a wonderful history in terms of providing global
health assistance in Africa. We have been, you know, we have violated their sovereignty in the past, but this is worse.
In fact, the America First global health strategy is precisely transactional. Basically, it says if we give you global health assistance,
we want something from you.
[11:45:00]
It might be, we want your data, we want you to take our Ebola patients and treat them, or we want your minerals, and that's exploitive. That's what
China has done in global and foreign aid for a long time, and it's sad to me to think that the United States has become so mercenary the way China
has been. We should be better than that.
ASHER: Lawrence Gostin, thank you so much for your perspective. We appreciate it. Right, tensions are boiling over in the south of England as
details emerge about a murder committed late last year. Protestors are turning their rage on the police over the killing of an 18-year-old man.
Officers who responded to last December's incident handcuffed the victim, Henry Nowak, who was dying from stag rooms, while Nowak's attacker falsely
accused him of a racist assault. A warning you may find this video of that incident disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
-- you been stabbed, whereabouts --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: This man, Vickrum Digwa, was sentenced to prison for -- on Monday for the murder. Digwa lied to police, saying that Nowak had made a racially
motivated attack on him. The police's handling of the situation has sparked a political storm and raised tensions across the country.
All right, still to come, there is more turmoil at CBS News after the network just fired longtime "60 Minutes" Correspondent Scott Pelley, whose
scathing reaction we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: CBS News has fired veteran "60 Minutes" Correspondent clock to Pelley after he clashed with management. It all went down in a heated staff
meeting on Monday, Pelley confronted Nick Bilton, the New Executive Producer of the Flagship News Magazine, in front of staff.
He called out last week's firings of two of top producers and two correspondents, and he also accused CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss of
quote, murdering "60 Minutes". The firings could trigger more scrutiny of vice and her controversial efforts to overhaul the network's news division.
CNN's Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter joins us live now. Just walk us through what was said in this meeting. And obviously this brings a lot more
turmoil to "60 Minutes" and CBS more broadly.
[11:50:00]
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Absolutely, you know, Scott Pelley was at "60 Minutes" for more than 20 years. He felt he had earned the right
to speak up on Monday and say that he believes the CBS bosses are unqualified and are not working in the best interests of the program.
He said in a statement last night, after he was fired, that he believes that "60 Minutes" is being blown up by Paramount in order to, quote,
apparently, curry a moment of favor with the Trump Administration. So, Pelley is suggesting this is political. However, people like Bari Weiss,
her inner circle, they're making the case this is cultural, that she is trying to change an old-fashioned, archaic news organization and a program
that, yes, is very popular, but needs to move into the digital age.
So, you have a tug of war here, very much a war of words, and Pelley's words carry a lot of weight because of the credibility he's earned over the
decades at CBS. So, this is a very unusual, very ugly public dispute between one of the biggest stars who's now been fired and the new owners at
CBS.
And ultimately this is about David Ellison, the Paramount CEO, who gave Bari Weiss a mandate for change last year, and who I'm told did sign off on
Pelley's termination. So, it's a real overhaul of "60 Minutes", and it's about something much bigger than just "60 Minutes".
This is about another American institution coming under severe pressure in the Trump era. We know President Trump has a lot of opinions about "60
Minutes". He sued the program almost two years ago. Paramount settled with him. Been a lot of drama involving Trump, and some efforts by Paramount to
appease Trump in recent months.
So, in this environment, we've seen many institutions be challenged, be pressured, and now today it happens to be "60 Minutes".
ASHER: All right, Brian Stelter, thank you for that. Appreciate it. We're right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: From a woman eating alone at a table to fishermen hauling in their nets. The World Food Photography Awards highlight the central role that
food plays in all of our lives. Lynda Kinkade shows us some of the photographs that won top prizes this year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A ceremony performed in solitude, the color and chaos of abundance, and the simple pleasures of
sharing a meal. Just some of this year's winners in the World Food Photography Awards, sponsored by Bimi, a broccoli brand.
[11:55:00]
Top prize went to this photo showing a woman pouring herself a cup of tea with a simple breakfast spread a ranged before her. Taken at a Soviet-era
sanatorium in Tajikistan, one of the few still in operation. It won Photographer Jo Kearney almost $7,000. From cheeky close-ups to richly
saturated portraits to sunrise-tinged tributes to early morning fishermen.
This year's judges had to sort through nearly 9000 submissions from more than 50 different countries to pick the winners. Some found their subject
in the hustle and bustle of a market, like this photo capturing the vibrancy of a market in Kyoto, Japan. Others leaned into the intimacy of a
scene, like this winner from Hungary, that highlights some of the everyday shared rituals we have around food.
And some simply embrace the easy joy of sharing a snack with someone you love. Lynda Kinkade, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Right, a bizarre mystery is unfolding under the streets of New York City. Surveillance video in Queens shows a group of people opening a
manhole and then going into the sewer in the middle of the night. And apparently this is not an isolated incident.
Security cameras have recorded at least two other such incidents at manholes in Brooklyn. New York police are investigating, but they say they
don't believe there is any threat to public safety. Just a bit odd, I guess. All right, stay with CNN. I'll have more "One World" after this
short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
