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CNN Headlines: Several Protesters Arrested on the First Full Night of Curfew at an ICE Facility in New Jersey; A United Airlines Flight Forced to Turn Around After What Someone Named Their Bluetooth Device; Meteor Explodes Over Massachusetts, Causing Loud Sonic Boom. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired June 01, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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(MAYHEM)
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BRAD SMITH, ANCHOR, CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS: Several protesters arrested on the first full night of curfew at an ICE facility in New Jersey. We've got the full story there. Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be returning back to Newark because we have one passenger that seems to be making a funny joke that isn't so funny.
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SMITH: A United Airlines flight forced to turn around, and it was all because of what someone named their Bluetooth device. And --
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(SONIC BOOM)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the --
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SMITH: Indeed. A sonic boom heard and felt by hundreds across New England. What we're learning about it this morning. And shattering expectations. "YouTubers" top this weekend Box Office and Hollywood is taking notice.
Good morning, everyone, I'm Brad Smith, this is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, glad that you're with us this morning. Let's get things started. This morning, the U.S. and Iran are exchanging fire again, even as talks to end the fighting continue. CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now with the latest. Paula, what do we know right now? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brad, it's not
the first time that we've seen the U.S. and Iran exchanging fire since the ceasefire has come into place. We heard from U.S. Central Command that they have been targeting the drone infrastructure in Tehran -- in Iran, I should say.
And that is after one of its raptor drones was shot out of the sky, they say, over international waters. Now, Iran says that they have targeted a U.S. Air Base. They don't specify the country, but we have heard from Kuwait that its military in the early hours of this morning were engaging hostile missiles and drones.
And it comes as we are still waiting to hear whether or not this Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries will be agreed upon. We do understand that President Trump has sent it back. He has suggested changes, the exact changes we don't know.
But officials say that he wants stronger wording when it comes to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and also stronger wording when it comes to nuclear commitments by Iran. Now, from Tehran's point of view, we have heard them say that they want concrete concessions before they're willing to sign this memorandum, which would bring into being a 60-day ceasefire, where there would be nuclear negotiations underway.
We've also heard from the Foreign Ministry just in the last hour saying that exchange of messages is going back and forth, but it is amid deep skepticism, Brad?
SMITH: Yes, certainly been a ceasefire by pretty much any other name here. We're continuing to track, of course, these negotiations. Paula Hancocks, thank you for breaking down the current situation for us.
Well, tensions rising overnight at a New Jersey ICE detention center.
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SMITH: Law enforcement outside Newark's Delaney Hall moved in to arrest demonstrators after they refused to follow newly-imposed curfew. Now, protests have ramped up in recent days over allegations of inhumane conditions inside that detention center.
Now, the curfew went into effect after earlier clashes on Saturday night, Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey spoke on these growing protests Sunday morning on CNN.
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SEN. ANDY KIM (D-NJ): A lot of people are angry. A lot of people are frustrated, feeling like they're seeing and hearing about things happening on our soil with our taxpayer dollars. That is not in -- not in line with our values as a nation. I feel it, too. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: One woman whose husband is being detained in Delaney Hall says he has bruises from when he was detained by ICE agents.
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GABRIELA SOTO, HUSBAND HELD IN DELANEY HALL: I was able to see my husband yesterday. He's just -- he just wants to be out. He's tired of being in solitary confinement for doing nothing wrong. His bruises are going away, but it's still not justified for him having them in general.
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SMITH: Wow. A representative for DHS is disputing the allegations of inhumane conditions at Delaney Hall. As for last night's arrest, CNN has reached out to law enforcement for comment. Well, voters are off to the polls in six states tomorrow.
And some of these contests could change the political landscape ahead of the Midterm elections in November. Races in California and Iowa, they are getting the most attention. So, let's start things in California. Voters have more than 60, yes, you heard that right.
Sixty candidates to choose from. California's primary candidates all run together regardless of party. And then the top two vote-getters will go into the general election. Now, right now, the latest polling shows a very close race at the top, with Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, plus Democrat Tom Steyer leading the pack.
Meanwhile, in Iowa, both parties are closely watching the race to replace retiring Senator Joni Ernst, Republican. The Democratic primary lineup is between Josh Turek and Zach Wahls. Now, as for the Republicans, Ashley Hinson is considered the frontrunner and has the valuable drum -- the Trump endorsement to back it up.
And speaking of President Trump, well, President Trump is set to host the Great American State Fair opening ceremony after a wave of artists backed out of the Freedom 250 Concert Series. The event is part of the nation's 250th birthday celebration.
The White House says that the President will personally kick things off. But the lineup has taken a major hit. The Commodores, Martina McBride, rapper Young MC, they are among those who have all pulled out. They say they were misled about the event and did not know that it was tied to the Trump administration.
The President has pushed back, mocking those who left and suggesting that he could step in himself. And the Interior Secretary is pushing back on accusations of partnership over -- partisanship over the events. Now, he says it's appropriate for the President to help kick off these events, and a few artists are still set to perform, including Vanilla Ice. Flo Rida has not made a statement about whether he will still perform.
The driver in a deadly Virginia bus crash that killed five people has been charged with involuntary manslaughter. He is accused of failing to slow down in a work zone and slamming into traffic.
Investigators say that the bus hit multiple cars, triggering a chain reaction crash. Dozens more were hurt and several remain in critical condition. Officials are still trying to determine what led up to the crash.
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TOM CHAPMAN, SAFETY BOARD, NTSB: One of the things that we do as a matter of course, is we do a 72-hour look-back to see what the driver's activities were during the days leading up to the crash. So, we're looking for, you know, sleep issues, distraction issues, potential drug and alcohol issues.
I'm not saying that there's any of that involved here, but those are the sorts of things we want to look at and see what the activities of the driver were during the days leading up.
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SMITH: Investigators are asking for the public's help. They want dash-cam video and any recordings from those who saw what happened. That unsettling explosion you may have heard if you were around Boston, Saturday afternoon, no big deal. Just an exploding space rock. Take a listen to this.
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(METEOR SLAMS INTO BOSTON AREA ATMOSPHERE)
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SMITH: So, that is a meteor hitting the atmosphere above Massachusetts at 75,000 miles an hour. Now, if you're hoping to find the debris, you better bring a wet suit. Scientists say that the fragments likely splashed down in the middle of Cape Cod, but it surely left behind some memories like this one.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What the --
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SMITH: It is the 1st of June, and that means it is the start of a new hurricane season. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has what to be on the lookout for this season.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: Today marks the official start of Atlantic hurricane season, and it's actually expected to be a slightly slower one, which is fantastic news. Now, the official forecast from NOAA calls for about a 35 percent chance of having a near normal season, but a more than 50 percent chance of having a below-average season.
Now, what does that mean in terms of numbers? Well, in a normal year, you would have 14 total named storms, seven of which would reach hurricane strength and three getting up to major hurricane strength, which is a Category 3, 4 or 5 storm.
But this season, those numbers are a little bit lower. The total named storm forecast is 8 to 14, whereas we only can expect about 3 to 6 named hurricanes going into the upcoming season based off that forecast.
And one of the biggest factors really has been the expected El Nino event that is going to ramp up throughout hurricane season. Typically, in an El Nino year, you get wind shear, that kind of increases across this red area here, focusing mainly over areas of the Caribbean as well as the Atlantic.
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And basically, what happens there is, it inhibits further development of those tropical systems. In addition to that, you also have fewer storms that move off of the coast of Africa. Now, peak hurricane season typically runs from August 15th to October 15th, but that is the exact same time in which we really anticipate seeing El Nino ramp back up.
In fact, we could end up getting to a strong El Nino event come September and October of this year.
SMITH: All right, thank you, Allison. We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. What happened aboard a flight that had passengers having to hold someone down. We've got the full story there. Plus, a new pill could offer hope for people who have one of the deadliest forms of cancer. That new update is coming up.
And a baby deer was in trouble. It's a rescue that has gone viral. It is coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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SMITH: A United Airlines flight that was bound for Spain had to turn around after a potential security threat. Take a look.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be returning back to Newark at this time, unfortunately, because of one person who doesn't want to comply with the instructions and because of the foolishness of this one person that wants to make a joke, and it's not funny. And it's compromising the integrity and the safety of not only this crew, but all the other passengers. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: OK, so the plane left from Newark's airport on Saturday. It got back on the tarmac just a couple of hours later. And according to Air Traffic Control, someone had named their Bluetooth device, quote, "a certain four-letter word".
No official confirmation on what that word was, but it was something that triggered a security issue. Crew members asked everyone repeatedly to turn off all Bluetooth devices, but two stayed on. Eventually, passengers had to get off the plane and go through security again before boarding a replacement flight on Sunday morning.
Now, on a different United flight, crew members say that a passenger tried more than once to get into the cockpit during a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis. It landed in Madison, Wisconsin, instead, and other passengers held him down on board.
Then police took him into custody after landing. No one was hurt, and the FBI is investigating. And this morning's HEALTH EXPRESS, a new pill is giving hope to those diagnosed with one of the deadliest types of cancer.
Researchers say that this experimental drug helped patients with advanced pancreatic cancer live longer, nearly doubling survival time. The pill blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor growth in more than 90 percent of cases. Listen to how one of the authors of the study describes this breakthrough.
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ANDREW HENDIFAR, DIRECTOR OF CASTROINTESTINAL ONCOLOGY & CANCER CLINICAL TRIALS OFFICE: What's so ingenious about this medication is that it acts like a trojan horse, binding a protein that naturally goes to K-Ras.
So, it kind of jumps on as a passenger to another protein, and therefore it's able to bind the mutated K-Ras. It works very well as the results demonstrated that came out earlier today. Patients are doing much better. And the kicker, the best part about it is that it's a pill.
And for the last 20 years or so, we've been giving patients IV chemotherapy. So, this is just a huge and welcome breakthrough for our patients.
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SMITH: Pancreatic cancer is hard to detect and has a low survival rate. Researchers admit that this new drug is not a cure, but it is a major step forward. Also, the U.S. is focusing on fighting Lyme disease and other tick-related illnesses.
On Friday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a multimillion-dollar pilot program that will be based on tick control. Just under 500,000 Americans are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year. Well, still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, a woman was getting gas when she heard tires screeching.
The next minute, flames were everywhere. We have more on her story. And after this weekend, 20-something directors from YouTube are turning out to be Hollywood's biggest success stories. That's coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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SMITH: Officials have recovered the body of the ninth and final worker at the Washington Paper Mill. That's where a chemical tank was ruptured last week. Eleven people are believed to have been killed. Officials are continuing to evaluate the environmental impact of the rupture as some of the highly caustic liquid entered the Columbia River.
Fishing and recreational activities in the river have been deemed safe. City officials say that residents should not be concerned with a rotten egg smell near drainage ditches in the city. The smell is an indication that they're flushing to dilute the spill is working.
Kenya is pushing ahead with an Ebola facility, even after a court order tried to stop it. The project is a partnership with the U.S. and is meant to quarantine Americans exposed to the virus and not treat patients in Kenya. U.S. personnel have already arrived at the Air Base where the site will be built.
But the plan is facing strong pushback. Doctors and activists warn that it could bring the virus into Kenya, and now a legal fight is underway as the government moves forward anyway. This comes as an outbreak in Central Africa has killed more than 200 people, and it continues to spread.
CNN's Clarissa Ward gets rare access inside what is called an Ebola red zone, where doctors are fighting to contain the virus.
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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We are now getting ready to go into the so-called red zone of this hospital. That is the area where all suspected Ebola patients are put, and there is a lot of protective gear unsurprisingly, that one needs to wear to go inside.
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One of the things that makes this so challenging for these healthcare workers is that it becomes unbearably hot --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
WARD: To wear these for honestly, even just 10 or 15 minutes. It's actually quite hard to breathe normally in these things. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, now -- WARD: OK, they go -- another pair of gloves.
(Voice-over): He tells me to pull the gloves over the sleeves of the suit.
(On camera): Ebola is not actually airborne. It's contracted through fluids, but still, healthcare workers have to take absolutely every precaution before they can treat the patients. Because, of course, to treat the patients, they need to touch them.
(Voice-over): The doctors write our names on our backs so they can recognize us, and then it's time to go in.
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SMITH: Looking towards more of that reporting from Clare as well. Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, new clashes outside an immigration facility after a new curfew goes into effect. We have the full story for you there.
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