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Witkoff and Kushner in Doha but No Talks With Iran Scheduled; Supreme Court Rules States May Ban Trans Athletes in Girls Sports; Alaska Supreme Court Orders Second Dan Sullivan Added to Senate Ballot; Britain May Challenge $110 Billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger; LeBron James Leaving the Lakers, Entering Free Agency; NJ Rep. Tom Kean Says Depression Led to Four-Month Absence. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired June 30, 2026 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: -- the mediators on all sides, the Qataris, the Pakistanis are playing this -- playing this down, if you will, talking about it as technical level. So it really seems to be that they're focusing on just trying to keep the process going. I mean, I think if we just take a step back and remember that the MOU, the Memorandum of Understanding, was a document that was designed to sort of fudge issues with a lack of clarity. There was ambiguity.

It was necessary to get the sides to the table. But the ability to actually bring the sides into talks where the result is made public, that's not happening. Qataris insist technical talks are going on, they say, not just in Qatar, in other places. We don't know where those may be. And that delegations come and go. We're not aware of who those delegations are, who's involved, how much talking they're doing. It still feels very ambiguous all ways around.

ERICA HILL, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Yeah, Nic, really appreciate it. Thank you.

Still ahead here, the Supreme Court rules that states can, in fact, ban transgender athletes from playing on girls' sports teams. We have new reaction just coming in. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:26]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": Today, the Supreme Court handed down its long-awaited ruling on transgender athletes competing in women's sports. In a 6-3 decision, the court upheld state bans and restrictions. Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh stressed that boys and girls should be separate, but that no one deserves to be ostracized or vilified. Right now, a majority of states have bans on trans youth participating in school sports.

Let's discuss with Chris Mosier. He's the first known transgender man to represent the United States in international competition, also the first to compete in the Olympic trials in a category different than their sex assigned at birth. Chris, thank you so much for joining us. Again, what is your reaction to this ruling?

CHRIS MOSIER, TRANSGENDER ATHLETE: Obviously, heartbreaking for the two young women in this case, and deeply hurtful and harmful for trans youth, their families, and I think our community.

SANCHEZ: What does it mean for trans athletes moving forward?

MOSIER: Well, the good news in this case, if there is good news, is that the states that have inclusive policies that do allow trans athletes to participate in accordance with their gender identity actually can continue to allow those athletes to participate, which is great news for trans youth just looking to have connection with their peers.

The states that have bans right now, obviously, are able to continue to have those bans. And so I think for trans athletes, it really is a matter of us continuing to show up, continuing to try to find pathways to participate because we know that trans people play sports for the same reasons as anybody else. It's to be in community with others, to enjoy sports, and to have fun, and especially in the school setting, every young person should have that opportunity.

SANCHEZ: One of the plaintiffs, Becky Pepper-Jackson, had a unique argument suggesting that her situation was different because she never went through male puberty. She took puberty blockers. The court ruled that out as a factor. I wonder if you think it should be one, and why.

MOSIER: You know, it's interesting. I don't know the legal reason for that. I'm not a lawyer. I don't play one on TV. But I know as an advocate, as a trans athlete myself, and as somebody who's been tracking these policies and laws for over a decade, this is an argument that states have used time after time to say that there is some sort of "biological advantage" for people who have gone through a testosterone-driven puberty.

And Becky's case flipped that completely on its head. And so it's interesting to me that that was not considered because I believe, if it was, the argument wouldn't stand. Essentially, Becky is the same as any other girl in her class when it comes to a sporting context, and she deserves the opportunity to participate.

SANCHEZ: Notably, the dissent didn't say that she has no advantage, rather that the science was undecided, that a court could sort that out. What do you think it would take to settle that question, and what gets lost if it remains unsettled?

MOSIER: Well, it's an interesting question. When you are banning transgender athletes, it becomes difficult to have the data to study transgender athletes. And so when we are looking at the studies that exist out there, they are largely performed on cisgender men and adult cisgender men. And it's unrealistic and unreasonable.

It's unreasonable to say that we should be applying those studies to kids, and particularly to someone like Becky, who has not gone through a testosterone-driven puberty, and essentially, again, is the same as the other girls in her class.

SANCHEZ: Now, some analysts argue that this ruling is going to reach beyond sports, that it might make other forms of trans exclusion harder to challenge. Are you worried about that?

MOSIER: I don't believe that this case does that forthright. So, again, the ruling is about the states that Becky and Lindsay were in, and whether or not the states that have bans are able to continue to have those bans in place. But the difference here, or the issue here, is the rhetoric that comes with challenging transgender people's existence and our ability to participate with our peers.

And sports has been the entry point to this conversation, which we know has expanded out into our classrooms, into our healthcare system, into our shelter system, and on and on and on.

[13:40:00]

And so I am concerned that every case, every conversation, every "debate" that folks are having about trans athletes is going to lead to further discrimination against our community because we've seen that be the case. We know that these cases are not actually about trans people in sports. This is about power and this is about control.

And this is about trying to make it so that we cannot show up and live authentically as the people that we are. And every person, again, deserves the right to be their authentic self and be able to participate in sports and in after-school activities and in their classrooms and their workplaces and their lives in society as the person that they authentically are.

SANCHEZ: Chris Mosier, we have to leave the conversation there. We very much appreciate you sharing your time and your perspective.

MOSIER: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still to come this afternoon, the reason for his months-long absence from Congress, a huge mystery until now, Republican Congressman, Tom Kean revealing what kept him from the Capitol.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:38]

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Alaska Supreme Court ruling that two Dan Sullivans can appear on the state's primary ballot, ending a bizarre political drama. The court says that Dan J. Sullivan, who shares the same name and party affiliation as incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan, should not have been kicked off the ballot.

Republicans had argued that the lesser-known Dan Sullivan was not running in good faith and instead attempting to confuse voters and keep them voting -- from voting for the Senator Dan Sullivan. Alaska's elections division must now decide how to distinguish between the two Dan Sullivans on the ballot. Also, there could be another complication in the proposed mega merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Skydance. The British government says it will likely challenge a $110 billion deal. The U.K.'s culture minister sent a letter to both entertainment companies citing concerns about its potential impact on media diversity and the public interest.

Warner Bros. and Paramount Skydance have a week now to respond. Their deal has already cleared regulatory hurdles in the United States. Of course, full disclosure, Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN.

And it is Le Decision 2.0. NBA superstar LeBron James moving on from the L.A. Lakers, reportedly looking for a new team. James leaving the Lakers after eight years. His tenure began with an NBA championship in his second year in L.A. The 41-year-old will be entering his 24th NBA season, extending the record. In addition to the Lakers, James has also played for the Cavaliers and the Miami Heat. Maybe a reunion might be in the works, Erica.

It's beautiful in South Beach. You should take your talons there.

HILL: You would like to see him back in South Florida, my friend?

SANCHEZ: Why not?

HILL: We'll see. New Jersey Republican Congressman, Tom Kean is back on the Hill after that mysterious four-month absence. Kean revealing today from the House floor, he had been diagnosed and treated for severe depression. Now, he previously said he was dealing with a personal medical issue but didn't offer any specifics. Members of his own party say they too were in the dark.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill for us this hour. So what more has he revealed about those months and his absence, Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, Congressman Tom Kean stepped on the House floor for the first time in nearly four months to reveal that he was diagnosed with depression and that is why he was out of Congress for these past four months.

But he has yet to answer why exactly he waited this long to make this diagnosis public. I actually just caught up with him as he was entering the Capitol right now to go vote and he refused to answer my repeated questions on this topic. But I want you to take a listen to what Congressman Kean said when he appeared on the House floor earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM KEAN, (R-NJ): Several months ago, due to health concerns, I entered the hospital for some testing. I did not believe that this would result in a long-term stay. I was given the diagnosis of depression. Now when people hear the word depression, many people think simply feel -- it means feeling sad but depression is so much more than that. It is physical. It is emotional and until you experience it yourself, it is difficult to fully understand how powerful this illness can be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now Congressman Kean there explained that there is no timeline for healing, no timeline for recovery. He said that he had hoped to be back at work here in the Capitol just a few weeks after he had received that initial diagnosis, but that recovery period for him did take a longer period of time.

Now, Kean still likely will have to face more questions going forward about why he kept his constituents in the dark about this matter for such an extended period of time. If you think back to 2023, Senator John Fetterman, he had actually checked himself into a hospital at Walter Reed Medical Center, here near Washington, D.C. for treatment for clinical depression.

He was out of Congress for about two months but he had made that disclosure public within a matter of days of checking into that hospital. So this is something that Kean likely will continue to face questions on, especially as he runs for re-election in the November midterm elections. Erica?

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Arlette, really appreciate it. Thank you.

[13:50:00]

Coming up here, alligator attacks, they're rare, it's important to note. But there have been three in just the last week in Florida. So is there something happening there? The great Ron Magill joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:00]

SANCHEZ: Three people have been injured, one fatally so, in a string of alligator attacks in Florida. Experts say that these attacks are rare, but all three have occurred within days of each other.

HILL: So, the most recent one was on Sunday. A woman stopped for a swim with her boyfriend. This was just north of Orlando. She was bitten on both arms. She ultimately died on the way to the hospital.

SANCHEZ: Just 24 hours earlier and about 100 miles away, a boy was bitten by a nearly nine-foot gator while fishing with his dad. A few days before that, a snorkeler was attacked while swimming at nearby Rainbow River.

Let's discuss with Ron Magill, Conservation Liaison for the Zoo Miami Foundation. Ron, always great to see you. Thanks for joining us.

What do you think could be driving these attacks?

RON MAGILL, CONSERVATION LIAISON, ZOO MIAMI FOUNDATION: Well, a little bit of coincidence, but another thing is that it is the final part of the mating season. It's also nesting season for these alligators. They're territorial. They're protective in this area. And also, it's hot and heat is a biological engine for these animals. So, they're more active.

They're burning more calories. They need more food. So, they're becoming much more active looking for those types of things. At the end of the day, this is an anomaly, but it is something that can be contributed to the heat, to the fact that it is nesting season, the end of breeding season, where these animals are much more active.

HILL: So, it's the heat and the breeding season that's a large part of it. Is there anything that you notice when it comes to the areas where these attacks have taken place?

MAGILL: Not really. Listen, alligators, there are over a million of them in the state of Florida right now. You can find them anywhere from your swimming pool in your backyard, to a little pond on a golf course, to any body of fresh water, especially during this time. Females are looking for nesting areas. Males are looking for females.

So, they're moving quite a bit. You can find them almost anywhere. I wouldn't look at an area and say, oh, you know what, this is not a good place to be because it's more likely to have an alligator. That being said, I would avoid swimming during the evening or during the dawn and dusk hours because that's when they're most active and can be most dangerous.

SANCHEZ: They are just about everywhere --

HILL: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: -- in Florida, Ron, but that makes it notable that attacks by alligators typically are extremely rare. Why?

MAGILL: Thank you, Boris, because they don't want anything to do with people. Generally speaking, most of these "attacks" are mistaken identity. They see something swimming. They hear something splashing. They don't think it's a human being. They think it might be a duck. It might be a possum. It might be a raccoon, part of their normal diet. They go. They bite it.

It's very similar to shark bites. You know, when you have these shark attacks, more often than not, the person survives, gets out. They have a pretty bad bite and, you know, it can look really bad, but the bottom line is the shark bit and went, you know what, that's not what I want.

I can promise you, if sharks and alligators wanted to eat the person they bit, that person would never have gotten out of the water.

HILL: So if you do encounter an alligator, which I'm also going to go off your sort of the underlying point of what you said earlier, which is maybe stay out of the water, maybe not just early and late at this point. But if you do encounter an alligator, I mean, what do you do? Is there anything you can do? MAGILL: You know, of course, if you can get away from the alligator, that's great. But once an alligator gets a hold of you, the only real sensitive areas of the alligator are going to be the eyes and right around the tip of the snout. I know it's easier said than done, but you need to focus on pounding on that as much as you can, maybe using your thumbs to get into the eyes.

I know this sounds horrific, but it's a life-saving technique that may just work. It's certainly going to work more than just trying to pull away.

SANCHEZ: You've got to do what you've got to do, and that's great.

HILL: A hundred percent. In that situation, I'm ready. Gouge the eyes.

MAGILL: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: I've heard this before from growing up in Florida to as an adult sometimes you hear it, and I wonder if it's true, Ron. Do you zigzag? Do you run in like a Z formation away from it? Is that at all?

(LAUGH)

MAGILL: Boris! Boris! You're killing me, Boris!

HILL: No.

SANCHEZ: I think it is nonsense. Personally, I think it is nonsense, but you hear that sort of thing. We want to inform the viewers.

MAGILL: I know. No, it's a total myth. Just run as fast as you can. If you're not in the alligator's snout already, just run as fast as you can in whatever direction you're running in. The zigzag thing, it doesn't -- it's a myth.

(LAUGH)

HILL: I like that you made Ron laugh, but if it's a myth that Boris heard too --

(LAUGH)

HILL: I would imagine a lot of other people. So, very important that we're clearing it up this afternoon.

SANCHEZ: Well --

MAGILL: No, no, listen, Boris. It is a very, very strong myth. It's an urban legend that's been going on for years, but it's not true.

SANCHEZ: Glad we cleared that up.

HILL: Yeah. Ron, it's always good to see you.

(LAUGH) SANCHEZ: Thank you so much, Ron.

MAGILL: Always good to see you guys too. Take care.

HILL: A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.