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CNN Headlines: Curfew Imposed At New Jersey ICE Facility After Days Of Protest; Georgia Democrats Hold Joint Rally As GOP Prepares for Runoff; Rescuers In Laos Return To Cave To Locate Two Missing Men. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 01, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:52]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories here.

Overnight, law enforcement in New Jersey arrested a group of protesters outside of Newark's Delaney Hall immigration facility. This is after they refused to comply with a new curfew. And that clash was just the latest sign of tension at the center. That's where protesters have been gathering for days alleging inhumane conditions inside the facility.

Also, voters in half a dozen states are going to be casting their ballots in primary elections tomorrow. Races in California and Iowa -- they're getting the most attention. Now, some of these races could change the political landscape ahead of the midterm elections in November.

Also today, a judge is set to decide whether to limit access in the case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson's defense says that media coverage could bias jurors and wants cameras and some evidence kept out of view. The judge will also decide whether to hold a state prosecutor in contempt over comments made to the media.

Let's return to our back -- our top story this morning. Protests continuing to move forward here, especially outside this newly imposed curfew. This is outside a facility near New Jersey here.

Take a listen to what we're hearing there on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER DAVENPORT, NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are especially committed right now to the steps necessary to ensure we do not see an ICE surge in New Jersey.

REED BENYON, CNN REPORTER: New Jersey's attorney general addressing the public amid clashes between protesters and police outside Delaney Hall, an ICE facility in Newark. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The conditions are -- in there are horrible.

BENYON: Protesters have gathered for days outside the facility where inhumane conditions have been alleged for months. The Department of Homeland Security has pushed back against those allegations.

On Friday, the operator of the privately owned facility painted yellow lines on the sidewalk and posted "private property" and "no trespassing" signs outside the main entry points to reduce tensions.

Officials said state police would take over public safety operations from ICE agents outside Delaney Hall. Governor Mikie Sherrill said there would be a peaceful protected protest zone just outside the facility.

But after more clashes between protesters and police Saturday night, a curfew was enacted. On Sunday, the governor addressed the continuing unrest and called for calm.

GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL, (D) NEW JERSEY: Last night we saw masked individuals attack the barrier, taking aggressive, dangerous actions against Newark and New Jersey State Police.

BENYON: I'm Reed Benyon reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: This morning fighting between the U.S. and Iran is picking back up even as talks continue.

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now with the latest on those strikes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The latest we have is that Central Command has said that they have carried out measured and deliberate strike, they call it, on Saturday and Sunday. They say that they have -- the U.S. military was targeting Iranian radar and command and control sites as regards to their drones. The say that was in retaliation for a Predator drone having been shot down, which they say was over international waters.

Now what we're hearing from the Iranian side, they say that they have -- that they have struck a U.S. air base in the region after it targeted a telecoms tower on one of the Iranian islands. Now, they don't name the country that they have targeted. We have seen from state media IRIB that they have released what they claim was the launches of these strikes.

But we have heard from Kuwait early this Monday morning saying that they have been engaging hostile drones and missiles in the early hours of the morning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: And meanwhile, the economic impact continues as talks move forward. Officials say that there are still billons of barrels of oil in reserves to help ease some of the prices, but even if a deal is reached it could take weeks for supplies to stabilize.

A developing story to bring you this morning. Police say that multiple people have died and an officer was shot after a standoff in Oregon. It happened yesterday when police officers responded to a call about a shooting and domestic disturbance. That's when someone starting firing at them, leading to a standoff. Everyone who lives nearby was told to stay inside for hours.

[05:35:10]

The suspect was eventually arrested, and police are not giving many details about when or how the multiple victims died. The officer who was shot is expected to survive.

Well, Georgia Republicans are just over two weeks away from deciding who will appear on the November ballot. Runoff races for both governor and U.S. Senate remain unsettle while Democrats have already lined up behind their nominees.

Here is CNN's Rafael Romo from Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Ossoff campaign called the rally the first major event of his re-election campaign following the May 19 primary here in Georgia. Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff took the stage just before 5:00 p.m. to address a crowd of supporters here at the Tabernacle, a midsized concert hall in downtown Atlanta built as a church more than 100 years ago.

He spoke for about 40 minutes relentlessly attacking the record of the Trump administration, especially when it comes to the war in Iran, voting rights, and affordability. He also criticized President Donald Trump specifically for what he said where the more than 52 messages on social media he posted over six hours last night, which Ossoff said included attacking the pope and posting his own face on Mount Rushmore.

He called President Trump "a failed president and a national disgrace," but he placed special emphasis on moves in Republican-led states to redraw electoral maps -- diluting, he said, minorities' political power.

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): We see the Voting Right Act eviscerated. And the like clockwork, as if they'd been lying in wait, 61 years since the moment the ink dried from President Johnson's pen, the president's allies set out to remove Black elected officials not by defeating them at the polls but by manipulating maps to dilute minority power.

ROMO: Earlier in the program a cafeteria worker spoke about rising health care premiums, and two young parents who highlighted the impact of inflation on their family.

Keisha Lance Bottoms also got on stage. The former Atlanta mayor won the Democratic primary earlier this month to run for Georgia governor in November.

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, (D) GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: This White House is making lives of Georgians more stressful. They're making it difficult for families across Georgia with rising grocery prices, health care prices, and gas costs. And Georgians certainly will not sit by as those same leaders threaten the voting rights.

ROMO: On the Republican side, Congressman Mike Collins and Derek Dooley, a former football coach at the University of Tennessee, won the right to run against each other in Georgia's runoff election on June 16 after the state's primary on May 19. The winner will run against Ossoff in the November midterm elections.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Thank you, Rafael.

Let's take you out to California. That's where voters have more than 60 candidates to choose from. It's called a "jungle primary" and here's how it works for you. The top two finishers, regardless of party, will go on to the general election. Some Democrats are worried that this crowded field could split the vote on the left and lead to one or two Republican candidates getting on the November ballot.

Right now the latest polling shows a very close race at the top with Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton, plus Democratic Tom Steyer leading the primary field overall.

Time for Buzz Express, the stories that have people talking.

The biggest movies in the U.S. right now were made by YouTubers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Clip from "Backrooms," a film by YouTuber Kane Parsons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: That was "Backrooms" and it was the number one movie at the box office over the weekend. It cost about $10 million to make but it made $120 million globally. The director is just 20 years old, and he developed this story idea for years on YouTube.

And then there's "Obsession." I had a smaller budget here, but it did well. Around $750,000 was the budget. So far -- get this -- it has made $150 million.

So these movies were heavily marketed online targeting Gen Z. So all of this is getting Hollywood's attention.

[05:40:00]

Today movie legend Marilyn Monroe would have turned 100 years old. And take a look at how here superfans celebrated in Palm Springs, California. Yes, that is more than 1,000 Marilyn Monroe look-alikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a huge Marilyn Monroe fan, so when I heard that there was going to be this many of them here in Palm Springs, I had to come here. I know that she was big on Palm Springs so that means I'm big on Palm Springs, too. And I spent all my money to be here, and it's absolutely been worth it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The fans also set a new world record for the number of people gathering to dress like Marilyn. The event also helped raise money for the LGBTQ+ community.

And today CNN turns 46. The network launched under the late founder Ted Turner on June 1, 1980, becoming the world's first live 24-hour news channel. Turner died last month at the age of 87 but his legacy lives on with CNN networks and services reaching two billion people worldwide.

Next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, crews have shifted their focus at the site of that dramatic cave rescue as two people remain missing.

And the outlook for summer jobs this year -- it's the lowest it's been in decades. We've got the full story for you.

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[05:45:40]

SMITH: Let's go around the globe.

We begin in Myanmar. That's where rescue operations are underway after an explosion killed at least 45 people and injured more than 70. Officials say that six children are among the dead. The blast happened in a building storing mining explosives in a village near the border with China. Authorities say that the cause remains under investigation.

And rescuers in Laos have discovered a 100-meter vertical shaft dropping down to a deeper part of the cave where five men were rescued last week. Now they hope that it will be a shortcut to find two more missing men. You may remember four of those other men walked out of the cave on Saturday after being trapped for over a week.

Here's CNN's Will Ripley.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I didn't see this coming. When I was chatting with the rescue divers here in central Laos, they told me it would be a miracle if all five villagers made it out alive, and then a miracle happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. (Speaking foreign language). OK. RIPLEY: I get goosebumps thinking about it. The rain stopped for just long enough and the pumps worked just well enough, and the men inside the cave were just brave enough to go for it, and they did it. They crawled and climbed their way out --

(Cheers)

RIPLEY: -- and shocked everybody. Shocked me.

I do believe in a higher power, and I feel like I felt that power standing there watching this incredible community of people from Laos, from Thailand, and all over the world come to this remote place in the middle of the mountains come together in a fete of engineering, technology, willpower.

Congratulations!

And the monsoon rains that held off just long enough to make this possible.

We traveled a long way -- many hours -- to come here and I feel like it was a blessing and a privilege to witness this miracle here on Laos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: A remarkable rescue there.

In Italy, scorching temperatures sent people to the beaches over the weekend. The nation's Health Ministry is activating its heat monitoring system. It tracks conditions in 27 cities and provides forecasts up to three days ahead. Record high temperatures have been set across western Europe.

And take a look at this, rare blue moon rising above Greece's Temple of Poseidon. A blue moon is the second full moon in a calendar month, and it only happens every two to three years. This year's blue moon also marks the end of spring.

And in China it appears that six legs are better than two. Runners competed in a two-mile road race with their dogs. It was divided into small dog and large dog categories. And the winners -- they received ski tickets and hotel accommodations, and the dogs got a nice long run in the sun.

And in Hong Kong, fans of comics and anime -- they gathered over the weekend for the city's first-ever Comic-Con.

CNN senior international correspondent and self-proclaimed nerd Ivan Watson was there and he takes us inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh my goodness, it's Colonel Sanders with big muscles and fried chicken. Uh, just an example of the random stuff that I'm seeing at Hong Kong's first Comic-Con. And the crowd here is in form and it's fun. Where else do you get to see Rick with his portal and I don't even know what that machine is. And over here you've got Brut wandering around waving at people, and statues of Spiderman showing his hind quarters.

This is a venue where people get to nerd out and celebrate nerd culture, and I love it. I confess that I'm a bit of a kid in a candy store right now because I grew up reading Marvel Comics, superhero comics, and I wouldn't let anybody at middle school see my issues of uncanny X-Men because I was a little bit ashamed of it.

But here, this kind of culture is being celebrated. It has gone fully mainstream. The whole point at these things is to be a fan. To dress up, to have people take photos of you, and to take photos.

[05:50:05]

Hey, Freddy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey!

WATSON: How's it going, man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just wonderful.

WATSON: How's your first Comic-Con in Hong Kong?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes.

WATSON: Digging it. All right.

And that is my report as I geek out at Hong Kong first Comic-Con.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: All right. Ivan giving me some early ideas for October already.

Still to come here on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, a fire erupts at a gas station after a car barrels into a gas pump while a woman was standing there. She recounts the harrowing ordeal.

And you've got to see this video. A crying deer floating away in floodwaters until a firefighter came to the rescue. That story on the other side of this break.

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[05:55:08]

SMITH: In today's Money Express, oil prices on the rise again following renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran.

Maribel Aber joins us with that and the rest of your stop Money Express headlines. Good morning, Maribel.

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: Hey, good morning, Brad.

So U.S. oil prices are back to $90 a barrel and above after renewed strikes in the Middle East. American and Iranian forces exchanged missile attacks over the weekend. The U.S. also backed away from Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

So gas prices continue to edge lower. According to AAA, the national average for unleaded is $4.32 a gallon, down from $4.51 a week ago.

Teenagers looking for a summer job are facing one of the toughest hiring seasons on record. Research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas predicts employers will add about 790,000 jobs this year. That's down from last summer's record low of 801,000 and the steepest drop since tracking started in 1948. So higher business costs, AI adaption, and older workers delaying retirement are also cited as main factors. Fewer teens are also applying with sports, internships, and other activities taking precedence.

Hey, did you know that National Donut Day is Friday, but Dunkin' is starting the celebration early. Limited edition Dunkin' totes are available today at participating stores with the purchase of a half- dozen donuts or more while supplies last. That could be a short window since each location just gets 20 bags. And on Friday customers can get a free donut with the purchase of any beverage.

Brad, you know, Munchkins are my thing. Somehow it doesn't seem like a big cheat, but then I eat eight.

SMITH: This bag looks wildly familiar, Maribel, and I imagine that Trader Joe's is out there saying now wait a minute. That looks --

ABEL: Hey.

SMITH: -- eerily similar to ours. I mean, it's almost like Dunkin' donuts said Lord, I've seen what you can do for others, and we want that for us, too, here at Dunkin' donuts.

ABEL: And limited.

SMITH: And limited. So we will see. You let me know if you are able to get your hands on one.

Maribel Aber --

ABER: OK.

SMITH: -- thank you so much.

Let's take a look at some of the other stories that are making news across the country.

We start with this. Authorities have arrested a man accused of shooting and killing a Virginia deputy who was doing a welfare check. Investigators arrested Michael Puckett Sunday in Surry County, North Carolina. This is as he was ringing someone's doorbell. Authorities say that Puckett opened fire on deputies Friday at his home. One of the deputies died and the other is in stable condition.

A North Carolina police officer has been fired after now viral video shows him throwing a Black woman to the ground and punching here repeatedly. We do want to warn you that this video is disturbing. This happened on Friday.

And the video starts with the officer and the woman standing. And then the officer slams her to the ground as she is heard saying "I don't have a warrant." He then punches her multiple times before another officer pulls them apart as they handcuff her.

Police say that the women asked to receive mental health care. It's not clear what happened before the video started. CNN has reached out to the Shelby County Police Department and police unions for comment.

And a routine stop for gas -- it turned into a nightmare for a woman in Columbia, South Carolina. Olivia Finch says that she was getting gas when a car came barreling towards her, slamming into the pump that she was using. She was pinned between the vehicle and the pump when her clothes caught fire. And now she's talking about the terrifying ordeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLIVIA FINCH, GAS STATION FIRE SURVIVOR: Since I've been driving, I'm always watching my surroundings while I'm at a gas station. And before I was about to get back in my car, I heard a loud tires screech and I thought I was going to die. Like, I thought that was it for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Finch has severe burns to her hand, leg, and feet.

Investigators say that a driver was fleeing from a road rage incident and ended up crashing at the gas station. No arrests have been announced.

We take you out to Indiana. That's where a firefighter came to the rescue to save a crying baby deer from flooding.

CNN's Jeremy Roth shows us exactly what happened here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY ROTH, CNN PRODUCER, WRITER, VOICE TALENT (voiceover): A baby deer's wild ride went viral when video captured brave firefighters saving it from brisk floodwaters. The fawn's cries could be heard as a tethered Madison Township firefighter quickly waded in and plucked it from the swift-moving current. Crew members then toed the lie bringing the pair back to dry land where they snapped some utterly adorable shots of tiny animal safe and sound in the arms of its human heroes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[06:00:00] SMITH: After 66 years of turbulence, takeoffs, and tray tables, it's finally time to land. Delta says Joan Prince Crandall, believed to be the airline industry's longest-service flight attendant, is retiring. She started flying in 1959 on propeller planes carrying just a few dozen passengers during an era when flight attendants faced strict rules on age, appearance, and even marriage. Crandall says she plans to keep traveling.

That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.