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Trans High School Student Athlete At Center Of Trump Funding Threat Advances To CA State Finals; Trump Ramps Up Trade War, Doubles Tariffs On Steel To 50 Percent; Supreme Court Allows Trump Admin. To Suspend Parole Program; 250 Million Honeybees Escape Overturned Truck; Smoke Pours Into U.S. As Wildfires Blaze Across Canada; Musk Leaves White House On Good Terms With President Trump. Softball League Kicks Off Inaugural Season Next Week; Trump: "Disappointed" At Putin's Recent Attacks On Ukraine; Footage Captures Sound Of 2023 Titan Submersible Implosion. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired May 31, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

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TED TURNER, FOUNDER, CNN: -- Anti-American, we were just pro-truth.

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[12:00:03]

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, what words. What a leader. That is all we have time for today. Don't forget, you can find all our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London. Thank you for watching and see you again next week.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, we begin today with new developments in a political controversy centered around a transgender high school student athlete in California. A.B. Hernandez was thrust into the national spotlight this week after President Trump threatened to pull federal funding from California if she were allowed to compete in the state's track and field championship.

In the preliminary round on Friday, Hernandez placed first in the long jump, high jump, and triple jump, which means she advances to today's finals in all three events.

CNN's Julia Vargas-Jones is live for us in Clovis, California, where the finals are taking place. Tell us more about what's happening.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's set to be a very interesting award ceremony here today, Fred. Those -- the California Interscholastic Federation has changed the rules based on this controversy earlier this week. They added an extra slot for a cisgendered girl to qualify for the finals in events where a transgender athlete competes.

That means that in every event that A.B. Hernandez has qualified for today, there will be an extra girl competing for that same spot. And then in the award ceremony, we are set to see a second medal given to a girl who does -- would have qualified for the podium and doesn't if Hernandez places in the podium in those three events that she's set to compete in today.

That, of course, California has, since 2013, by the way, allowed transgender athletes, student athletes, I should say, to compete in the category of the gender they identify with. So this controversy has just pushed the federation to make these changes kind of last minute in the heels of this championship that people have been waiting to compete in in many training for years.

You know, President Trump said that this was unacceptable, but Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, said that this was actually an acceptable compromise, even though Newsom himself had earlier this year said that just having a trans girl competing in girl sports would raise an issue of fairness, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then other than Newsom and Trump, what has been the reaction to Hernandez's participation?

JONES: Well, we saw a handful of protesters here yesterday saying girls' sports need to be protected, about 10 or so of them. We spoke to some of them. Basically, what they're saying is these rules don't go far enough to protect girls' sports and that they want to see Hernandez in a separate category or competing with the boys.

But we also spoke with some parents who said that they don't want this to be politicized. Take a listen.

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DAN USHER, FATHER & COACH: It's terrible for the kids, and it's something that they're going to have to decide so that we don't have controversy when we come to the state meet and everybody wants to focus on the excellent performances. And instead, you know, there's some distractions.

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JONES: And that's what A.B. Hernandez and her mother have been saying as well in public comments, defending her right to participate in the sports. And saying that she is a girl like any other girl in her team, which she has said, have been very supportive in loving her through this whole round of championships, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, keep us posted. Thanks so much.

All right, President Trump is once again escalating this global trade war. He's now doubling tariffs on steel imported into the U.S. from 25 percent to 50 percent starting Wednesday. Trump made the surprise announcement in front of a crowd of steel workers at a factory in Pennsylvania on Friday. He traveled there to celebrate Japanese steelmaker Nippon's plans to buy the iconic American steelmaker U.S. Steel.

It's a takeover Trump opposed on the campaign trail, but recently reversed course, announcing he would approve the controversial deal. He described the merger as a partnership and not an outright purchase of U.S. Steel by Japan.

[12:05:01]

CNN's Betsy Klein is joining us right now up from the White House. So what more can you tell us about this unexpected now, you know, tariff announcement and this new deal?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, really just another week of tariff whiplash, Fredricka, President Trump announcing plans to double tariffs on foreign-made steel as he visited that Pennsylvania U.S. Steel plant. He was there to celebrate the Japanese Nippon Steel acquisition of U.S. Steel, something that he says is a deal that is not yet finalized, but something he characterized as a partnership, claiming that the U.S. would still have control of the company.

But announcing there that the U.S. would tariff steel at 50 percent, a move that he says is aimed at bolstering domestic steel production. Take a look.

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DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are going to be imposing a 25 percent increase. We're going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent, the tariffs on steel into the United States of America, which will even further secure the steel industry in the United States.

Nobody's going to be able to steal your industry. It's at 25 percent, they can sort of get over that fence. At 50 percent, they can no longer get over the fence.

I said to the group, would you rather have a 40 percent increase? Because I was thinking about 40 when I came. I said, would you rather have a 40 percent or a 50 percent? They said, we'll take 50. I said, I had a feeling you were going to say that.

So congratulations.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

KLEIN: Now, while this move could have a positive impact on the American steel industry, it could ultimately raise prices for American manufacturing and construction industries, could also have the potential to raise prices on cars.

Now, all of this comes as the president's broader economic agenda is facing so much uncertainty this week after a panel of judges voted to block the president's global tariffs and appeals court ultimately reversing that, buying the president some time and keeping those tariffs in place for now while this plays out in the courts.

Now, White House officials have called this judicial activism, a judicial coup going after the legal system there. But the president is preparing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary.

Now, there are two major questions coming out of this week. Number one, what happens to those trade deals that are already being negotiated, some of them ready to be unveiled in the coming days? And U.S. officials are trying to tell their counterparts, bear with us, let's keep negotiating, while their counterparts, meanwhile, are saying, hey, let's let this play out in the courts.

And secondly, what happens to the president's so-called big, beautiful bill that passed the House? It really relies on revenue from these tariffs to pay for the president's tax plans. Very uncertain future going forward, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Betsy Klein at the White House, thanks so much.

All right, the U.S. Supreme Court handed President Trump a legal victory in his ongoing immigration crackdown. The court ruled Friday that the administration may temporarily suspend a Biden-era humanitarian parole program that allows immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to temporarily live and work in the U.S.

CNN Correspondent Rafael Romo is following the latest on this. Rafael, this ruling is not final, but what now?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, not final by any means, Fred, and it's going to continue in the lower courts, but this is the second time this month the high court has sided with President Trump's efforts to revoke temporary legal status for some immigrants.

The Supreme Court had previously cleared the way for the administration to revoke another temporary program that provided work permits to hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. The Supreme Court's brief ruling was not signed, and more importantly, Fred, did not offer any reasoning behind the order, as is often the case on its emergency docket.

Though the decision isn't final and the underlying legal case will continue in lower courts, the ruling allows Trump officials to expedite deportations for an estimated 530,000 immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, as you mentioned, who received temporary protection status during the Biden administration.

The immigrant community reacted with great concern for those affected, especially in Florida, where many of the immigrants from those countries live.

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PAUL CHRISTIAN NAMPHY, FAMILY ACTION NETWORK MOVEMENT: Terrible, terrible, terrible uncertainty for our community members, people who came here legally.

MAUREEN PORRAS, DORAL VICE MAYOR & IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: This is a very devastating decision. And now we're going to see a lot of businesses whose employees had work permits under this parole program not show up to work tomorrow. It's really going to have a chilling effect.

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[12:10:01]

ROMO: On the other hand, Fred, many Republican political leaders applauded the high court's decision, including Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez. Let's take a listen.

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REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R), FLORIDA: I think the Supreme Court actually ruled in the right way. Anything that can be implemented by executive order can actually be, I think, taken away by executive order.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: Two liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented from the decision. In her dissenting opinion, Justice Jackson wrote that it "undervalues the devastating consequences of allowing the government to precipitously upend the lives and livelihoods of nearly half a million non-citizens while their legal claims are pending," she said.

And Fred, this kind of protection for immigrants fleeing violence or persecution was first used in the 1950s when the Eisenhower administration allowed tens of thousands of people flee in Hungary during a Soviet crackdown after World War II.

Now back to you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, it's been over two weeks since 10 inmates escaped from a Louisiana jail. Two remain on the run. We'll have the latest on that case.

And we've seen some pretty crazy truck spills before, right? Milk, fruit, beer, even cows on the run. But this one is a little trickier. A quarter million bees. Quarter billion, that is, with a B. Bees, buzzing around. What authorities are doing to get them back.

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[12:16:17]

WHITFIELD: All right, we're getting new details today about the number of people who helped 10 inmates escape from a New Orleans jail. According to court documents, the escapees received help from at least 14 people. They allege many of those who helped were friends and family who provided food, cash, transportation, and shelter.

The audacious escape occurred in the early morning hours. On May 16th, two of the 10 escapees are still on the loose, and Louisiana state authorities say tips from friends and family remain essential to locating them.

An escape of a different type is creating quite the buzz in Washington State. This one involves 250 million honeybees. A commercial truck carrying the bees overturned yesterday near the Canadian border. Sheriff's deputies responding to the accident had to actually run for their squad cars to avoid being, I don't know, swarmed by the bees.

The road was closed as bee experts were called in to help with the cleanup. Local beekeepers also helped recover and reset the hives, hoping the bees will actually return in the next few days to find their queen.

All right, smoke from Canadian wildfires is now threatening air quality in several northern U.S. states. Right now, nearly 200 wildfires are raging across multiple Canadian provinces, with conditions becoming more extreme this weekend.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here with more on this, because these are fires that have been burning for a very long time.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and it's a very large amount of fires. I want to emphasize the amount that's burned is roughly the size of the state of Delaware. So again, just to kind of put it in perspective, we're not talking about just a couple small fires here and there.

This is a look at the map, so you can see all of those fires. Roughly 200 of them spread out over half a dozen provinces right now. The concern is this cold front right here. It's taking a lot of that smoke from the fires and pulling it down as that cold front descends down into the U.S. So you've got some areas where that smoke is quite thick, especially across the Dakotas, Minnesota.

This is what you're looking at now. And then as we go through the evening hours, it not only spreads pretty far south, even states like Tennessee and North Carolina could end up seeing a little bit of a nice colored sunset tonight from some of that smoke, but it also is going to spread it a little bit farther east.

So Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, all of these states likely to start to see some of that smoke beginning to spread into those areas as we head into the latter half of the weekend. Now, the one thing these areas desperately need is rain, not just the areas where the smoke are, because it would help clear the air out, but also for the fires themselves.

Now you'll see we do have a little bit of some rain that does start to appear. That's going to be on Monday. The concern is ahead of this system that's coming in, it's also going to kick the winds up a little bit. And we all know that's not a good thing because when the winds come in, it helps to fan some of the flames that are already there. Not to mention the amount of rain that's coming in is not going to be that much. You're looking at maybe a half of an inch at best.

Again, at this point, they'll take anything they can to help put out some of those fires. But the winds, as they start to gust up, especially late in the day Sunday, and as we head into early Monday, that's going to be a big concern too, because again, it's going to not only move a lot of the smoke around into some different places, but it's also could in turn fan the flames.

The only other thing that is good news on this front is that that same front that's going to bring the winds and potentially some rain is also going to drop the temperatures back. And that's certainly going to help the firefighters out, makes it a little bit more tolerable when they're fighting the fires.

Now, it's still expected to be very, very warm. You're talking 10 to 15 degrees above average across the weekend. But then you start to see that big dip.

[12:20:02]

This is for Winnipeg, but this would be the same, Fred, even over other parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan. You'll see those temperatures beginning to cool back down as we head into early next week.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

CHINCHAR: And hopefully, some decent rain chances.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that would be nice.

All right, Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, big hopes that it'll be a big hit. Just days now away from the newly launched season starter of the Women's Professional Softball League, the league's commissioner, will join me live next.

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WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Elon Musk is out of the White House in an official capacity, but he's not gone for good.

[12:25:05]

Musk is heading back to the private sector, but the president made it clear that he is welcome back anytime. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more details on the last day and the future plans of Elon Musk.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The world's richest man, Elon Musk, takes his leave from President Trump's orbit on Friday at the White House in a very fond farewell in the Oval Office. It was really quite something. These two men have been essentially joined at the hip for most of this administration, and even before going back to the election last summer when Elon Musk invested some $275 million with the help of electing Donald Trump as president.

Once again, he played a key role in shaping the Cabinet and other agencies, and of course, he led the Department of Government Efficiency. There are many questions about the actual fallout and the after effect of Elon Musk's role in government. He pledged at one point to trim some $2 trillion from the government coffers. That did not happen.

He scaled that back to $1 trillion and then much less than that. Of course, there was significant fallout in terms of tens and tens and thousands of government employees decided to leave on their own or their agencies were closed.

But on Friday in the Oval Office, the president and Elon Musk had nothing but kind words to say for one another.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TRUMP: We're totally committed to making the DOGE cuts permanent and stopping much more of the waste. Elon's really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth, I think. I have a feeling. It's his baby.

ELON MUSK, TRUMPA ADVISER: I expect to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like an advice.

TRUMP: I hope so.

MUSK: If he -- I mean, yes, it's -- I expect to remain a friend and an adviser. And certainly, if there's anything the president wants me to do, I'm at the president's service.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ZELENY: Now, in recent weeks, there's no doubt that Elon Musk's influence has been waning here at the White House. He was less visible than he was before. That's largely because his own private enterprises were punishing him, essentially.

The stock on Tesla, for example, SpaceX as well, they wanted him to make a choice between serving in the government and working in the private sector. So he did make that choice. And on the way out the door, he was somewhat critical of the president's administration and the agenda as well, saying the big budget bill passed by the House pending in the Senate would not do enough to reduce government spending.

But, again, on Friday, all smiles in the Oval Office, the president saying Elon Musk will be welcomed back as an adviser at any point. Of course, he is still the world's richest man.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, at the White House. WHITFIELD: All right, Russia launches a fresh round of strikes on Ukraine, even though two senior U.S. senators met with President Zelenskyy just yesterday in Kyiv. We'll look at the chances for peace or even a ceasefire next.

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[12:32:35]

WHITFIELD: All right, a milestone moment for women's sports. We're just a week away now from opening day of a brand new professional women's softball league, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League or AUSL. And now Major League Baseball has announced a huge investment in the AUSL that according to ESPN, includes purchasing an equity stake worth more than 20 percent of the company.

We're joined now by Kim Ng. She made history as the first ever female general manager in the MLB. And she is now the commissioner of the AUSL, the Athletes Unlimited Softball League. Get used to the -- the new sporting league name. Congratulations to you, Commissioner.

KIMG NG, COMMISSIONER, ATHLETES UNLIMITED SOFTBALL LEAGUE: Thank you, Fredricka, so much. Really happy to be here.

WHITFIELD: Well, this is amazing and so exciting, you know, but I'm wondering how does that MLB investment change or even enhance the game in your view?

NG: You know, I think it -- it helps on a number of different fronts. I think visibility, clearly, amplification, and considering all of the support and help they're going to be giving us across all of their platforms, MLB network, MLB TV, on social, doing articles, coverage. I think the amplification is just going to be immense. So, so, so happy about this. This is -- this is a great thing for the sport, really.

WHITFIELD: And all of that is so important, that kind of amplification, as you put it. You know, I -- I read that you told your husband that you feel more pressure as commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League than you did as general manager of the Miami Marlins. Why and how is this pressure different?

NG: Well, I know it is different. I, you know, I feel in this position, I really am a -- a shepherd of the sport, right? And there are so many little girls, young women, athletes who are looking for this league to succeed. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday and he said, he's got, you know, so he has two daughters and he said, they are just so incredibly jazzed up. He said, I really didn't realize. I said, you're a friend of me. How could you not realize?

And he said, I -- I just didn't. And it really is. I mean, it's amazing, you know, and -- and we did a -- we did a program called the Golden Tickets where we went to all of our college draftees campuses to give out a golden ticket and basically tell them that they were drafted.

[12:35:11] And the just the -- the, you know, the welcoming that we got, the applause that the players got, really helped us to connect to the college world and to really just, it gave us an understanding of just how -- how -- how needed this league is and how much that these women would love the opportunity to continue their careers after college.

WHITFIELD: It is so exciting and inspiring. I mean, just watching college level softball, women's softball these days, it's just phenomenal. And, you know, your season is beginning next Saturday, right? And there are four teams, I love the names, the Bandits, Blaze, the Talons, the Volts. And with this touring, you know, schedule of 24 games each across 10 U.S. cities, I mean, you said it's really important for this league to succeed.

What is it going to take? You know, how are you measure success? Will it be by the fan base? I mean, obviously all of these young ladies who've been recruited, as you just mentioned, you know, I mean, they are top notch, but how are you going to measure success? Is it, you know, the fan base, the ticket sales, the financial support that you are now getting a commitment from the MLB? I mean, how will you measure it?

NG: Yes, So I think it's all of that. I think it's the attendance, I think it's viewership, I think it's fan engagement over social. You know, I know our chief partnerships officer is going out and -- and talking to people about sponsoring the league. It's all of those metrics.

You know, I can tell you that from our social metrics on the announcement the other day, we have 97 percent positive ratings. So, I mean, it really is just, it is just -- it is so amazing to watch and -- and, you know, watch people get behind this league. So incredibly important.

WHITFIELD: I can't wait to watch. I can't wait to be in the stands and cheering on these ladies. And I'm wondering, you know, what you learned, you know, from your assistant GM days at the New York Yankees, where the general manager at the time, you know, said that you were indispensable, all the way to your Miami Marlins general managing days. From that experience, what are you hoping to draw or apply to this league to ensure the kind of success that you're looking for?

NG: You know, I think number one, this is -- this is about leadership, you know, making people understand what your message is, what your vision is. And then I think secondly, in terms of my skillset, it would, you know, bringing systems and having seen what has worked and what hasn't worked. And then relations I think is also one of my strong suits.

So hoping that all of that combined with our business folks who will drive -- who will drive revenue and drive engagement, I think all of that together will spell success.

WHITFIELD: Very nice. And you know, and overall, you know, do you kind of assess this and look at this as, you know, yet another defining moment for women in sports, from the AUSL to the WNBA and the kind of success that it's really enjoying, you know, on a whole new level right now, women's soccer, women in tennis, and a variety of, you know, Olympic athletes, you know, who are pushing the limits, who are also monetizing unlike ever before.

NG: Absolutely. I mean, we -- we've talked about this being a moment. This is not a moment. This is a movement for women's pro sports. And it's been a long time coming. I mean, I remember when the WNBA first started and, you know, them just trying to garner support along the way. It's finally happened where people are understanding that women's pro sports is -- is just as good as the men's sports. And, you know, really in some ways it could be better.

So it really is -- it really is a wonderful moment in time for -- for all of us. You know, I -- I've worked in men's sports for -- for 30 years, and I -- I always say that I'm hopping on the women's sports bandwagon, but it's -- it really is an exciting time.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, you're a trailblazer, I mean, and you are celebrated in so many circles and corners from being a University of Chicago softball player yourself to rising the ranks in Major League Baseball, and now this incredible, very impressive, exciting Women's Softball League. Kim Ng, thank you so much. I love that you said, this is not a moment, but this is a movement. And I think we're all so happy to be witnessing and being part of this movement in any way we can.

[12:40:13]

NG: Thank you so much for having me.

WHITFIELD: Thank you. All right, we'll be right back.

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[12:44:59]

WHITFIELD: Officials in Ukraine say Russian drone strikes across the country have killed at least nine people over a 24-hour period. At least two dozen others were injured. It happened just hours after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.

The senators pledged to advance a bill to slap 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and other products. This is happening as the next round of direct talks between Russia and Ukraine remains up in the air. Kyiv says the Kremlin is still withholding its framework for a possible ceasefire.

Let's bring in now former California Congresswoman Jane Harman. She served as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee and is now President Emerita of the nonpartisan Wilson Center. Hello to you, Congresswoman. Always great to see you.

So we saw these senators, Blumenthal and Graham, in Kyiv Friday. They're sponsoring this bill to slap even bigger sanctions on Russia and other countries that do business with it. Will that be effective?

JANE HARMAN (D-CA), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE: You bet it will. There are 82 sponsors out of 100 senators. I call that an overwhelming majority and a veto-proof majority. And if that bill gets called up, it will pass the Senate. And I would be surprised if it didn't pass the House, if it gets called up. This is a game that is unfortunate.

This bill is exactly right. Kudos to Lindsey Graham for authoring it. But he needs to push his leadership to have it on the House floor, on the Senate floor. President Trump can then say if he wants to, well, the Congress forced my hand and I had to act. But let's understand that secondary sanctions, which is what this bill is about, plus high tariffs will cripple Russia's economy.

When its economy is crippled, then it will come to the table with a meaningful proposal for ending the war. Russia is the aggressor here. We're not giving the victory to Russia. Ukraine is the victim here. And everyone up until now has wanted to help Ukraine win and at least win on its terms. And I can't imagine why the Senate doesn't move this week. It would be a great conversation.

It's also considering a budget bill. And we've been operating for years under continuing resolutions. But this is an achievement for the Senate. And I've been writing that President Trump risks being a loser, he hates that word, in Ukraine. So does the Senate, if the Senate doesn't act.

WHITFIELD: Well, speaking of President Trump, have a listen to what he said recently about Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you look at this and see Putin as the good guy or the bad guy?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So I've known him very well. We were going to solve a problem and then all of a sudden rockets got shot into a couple of cities and people died. So I'm very disappointed in that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: How do you read that?

HARMAN: I think Trump misreads Putin. Putin has played five administrations since he came to power in the early 90s. He's a trained KGB agent. He's not a real estate guy from New York. He's not even, you know, some other form of political deal maker. He doesn't want a deal. He wants what he has said he wanted all of this time, which is to re -- re -- retake or -- or reacquire or acquire Ukraine as part of greater Russia, make Russia great again.

He can't have Ukraine. He's pledged to abide by its sovereignty. His invasion was totally illegal and violation of international law. And most of the world is on his side. It's on -- it's on Ukraine's side. A problem is, as this goes on and on and on, North Korea, which remember Trump talked about his love letter from Kim Jong-un in his first term, North Korea is now providing equipment, soldiers, and actually building drone factories, it's reported, in Russia to help Russia re- equip for the war.

So a ceasefire on the wrong terms just allows Russia to re-equip and -- and possibly, as Trump would put it, get more cards. But right at the moment, the cards are with Ukraine and the cards could be with the United States Senate if it acted to pass a overwhelmingly supported, excellent piece of legislation authored by Republican Senator Lindsey Graham.

WHITFIELD: All right, I can hear your optimism throughout. Former Congresswoman Jane Harman, thank you so much. Always a pleasure to see you.

HARMAN: Thank you.

[12:50:43]

WHITFIELD: All right, coming up, nearly two years after the Titan submersible imploded, killing all five on board, we're seeing new footage of the moment the people monitoring its descent realized that something was wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, it's been nearly two years since the Titan submersible imploded as it headed for the Titanic wreckage. Five people on board died. And new footage from that day caught the moment when OceanGate realized something was wrong.

Investigators releasing video now from inside the sub's mothership where a crew was tracking the Titan's descent. In the video, the CEO's wife is the first to acknowledge a faint pop, like a door slamming shut. And then the crew pauses before getting a message from the sub. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[12:55:20]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four hundred meters to go.

WENDY RUSH, WIFE OF OCEANGATE CEO STOCKTON RUSH: Yes, yes. They should be 500 meters. What was that about? Drop two weights. Titan, drop two weights.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy, Titan, drop two weights.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: About six seconds later, the mothership crew lost contact with the Titan, according to investigators. Analysts say the message may have been sent before the implosion, but was delayed because it was transmitted through water. All five voyagers on the submersible were killed. A lawsuit filed by the family of one victim claims the message was an indication the crew might have known something was wrong and were trying to abort the mission. The search for answers is now the focus of a new documentary released this week.

Joining me right now is Pamela Gordon, the director of "Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster." The two-hour special is out now on the Discovery Channel, which is also owned by CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery. Pamela, great to see you.

Good to be here, thank you. So this special looks into more than just how this happened, but people want to know why as well. Will they get those kinds of answers?

PAMELA GORDON, DIRECTOR, "IMPLOSION: THE TITANIC SUB DISASTER": When I was given the opportunity to make --make the film, I was one of the people, I mean, the story had captured the world's attention and I was one of those people that heard that the sub had gone missing. And then we had that long wait of four days whilst we were doing the oxygen countdown as to whether they could have survived, whether it could still be down there. And then of course the very tragic news that it -- it had indeed imploded.

So I was as fascinated as everybody else to find out why it had happened, how that could have happened. With the submersible industry has an amazing safety record. You know, submersibles and submarines don't -- don't implode. You know, they have -- they have an incredible safety record. It's a self-regulating industry.

They have a vested in interest in -- in the submersibles being safe. Obviously they're taking them down into deep ocean. So we luckily had unprecedented access to the U.S. Coast Guard investigation, which really gave us, and I think gives the film much more of an inside track on what happened and why it happened.

And I hope that viewers by the end of the film will be able to make their own judgments on how -- how this -- how this happened over the number of years it did.

WHITFIELD: This documentary also includes an interview with Discovery Channel host, Josh Gates, who was actually filming an episode of his show, "Expedition Unknown," in 2021 on the Titan submersible. Let's take a look together at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH GATES, HOST, "EXPEDITION UNKNOWN": The way that Titan was designed, it had no top hatch. You can't interrupt that hull with a hatch. The only way to get in or out of Titan was through the front.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir. Copy that.

GATES: And so when you climbed inside of it, and they closed that door, they seal you in from the outside.

OK, the door is closed. Now what's happening to it?

STOCKTON RUSH, CEO, OCEANGATE: They're bolting it in.

GATES: Literally bolting it in. How many bolts go around it?

RUSH: Four bolts.

GATES: Four bolts. So, so we're in.

RUSH: You're in.

GATES: I mean, the only way out of this is if someone lets you out.

RUSH: Yes.

GATES: We're -- we're sealed up.

RUSH: You are a prisoner. Am I prisoner?

GATES: Stockton just didn't see, even psychologically, the need for a way out of this sub.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So this interview with Rush, paired with a problematic test drive, you know, ultimately caused Gates to -- to halt production on this episode. Why was it important now to include it in the special?

GORDON: He -- the -- they didn't. They -- they were doing a test dive because they were thinking that they wanted to do a film, a special about Titan and about Stockton Rush and OceanGate. But as soon as Josh took the test dive and spent the weekend with Stockton, he realized that not only did he not want to -- to take the risk of going down in Titan, but he didn't want to make a film that would then promote Titan where other people might -- might make the decision to go -- to go down into it and then something bad happens. So, you know, it was just an extremely responsible.

[13:00:17]

WHITFIELD: That was fortuitous, right?

GORDON: Yes, it was fortuitous. But also it was -- it was kind of, you know, great respect for Josh -- to Josh for doing that and to have -- for having the courage to go back to the network and say actually we can't do this. And obviously he was proven to be so, so right. I think that it -- it forms a really important part of the documentary in a way. It's just one of the warnings in this whole series of warnings which go on heated.

I mean, obviously Josh acted so didn't make the special, so therefore didn't make another promotion for Titan. But nevertheless, you know, Stockton continued and a few months later he took the Titan into the North Atlantic and they started diving down to the Titanic. Just a few months, after have Josh decided that he couldn't -- he couldn't back the -- the project. WHITFIELD: Wow. Incredible. Pamela Gordon, thank you so much. The director of "Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster" now on Discovery. Thank you so much.

GORDON: Thanks very much. Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely.