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U.S. Envoy: Hamas Response To Ceasefire Plan "Totally Unacceptable"; Elon Musk Formally Ends His Time Working In Government; Tech CEO Predicts A.I. "Bloodbath" For White Collar Jobs; U.N.: Iran Has Amassed Ever More Near Weapons Grade Uranium; China Pushes Back After Hegseth Warns Of "Imminent" Threat; CDC Appears To Contradict Health Chief RFK Jr. On COVID Vaccine. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired May 31, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:28]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And new tonight, President Donald Trump's special envoy to the Middle East. Steve Witkoff calling Hamas' response to the latest U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, quote, "totally unacceptable".

Hamas has agreed to some aspects of that proposal, releasing hostages and returning bodies of the deceased hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners. But the group's political arm says the framework does not respond to its demands, primarily a permanent end to the war.

Joining us now, CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein. Betsy, I think the big question is what does this response mean for negotiations?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: And that's certainly something that I've been asking the White House and awaiting some answers on where they go from here.

But it was just yesterday that President Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he believed that Israel and Hamas were very close to reaching a deal. Clearly, a major setback today.

Steve Witkoff has been leading the president's negotiations on a number of some of the thorniest geopolitical issues, including between Israel and Hamas.

He expressed some optimism last week about the new proposal that the U.S. was putting forth. He told reporters he had very good feelings about the possibility of a long-term resolution to this conflict.

The U.S. and Israel-backed proposal that had been put forth -- it had half of the remaining hostages set to be released and a 60-day ceasefire. But what it did not have, and some of the key sticking points for Hamas, were an intrinsic guarantee of a permanent end to this war, which was a key Hamas demand, or any assurances that the ceasefire would be extended as long as negotiations continue.

And we got this statement from Special Envoy Steve Witkoff just moments ago. He said, quote, "I received the Hamas response to the United States' proposal. It is totally unacceptable and only takes us backwards."

He goes on to say that Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week. Of course, it's hard to see how those talks could proceed in earnest, but Israel has been really intensifying its military operation in Gaza.

We are now more than 600 days into its war with Hamas after the October 7th attacks. And the world is watching this rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, the enclave's population, facing starvation.

And on the topic of another one of those thorny issues that Witkoff has been working with. We have seen him over the course of the past several weeks host multiple rounds on behalf of the U.S. with Iran on nuclear negotiations, all moderated by the country of Oman.

Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, announced in a statement moments ago as well that special envoy Witkoff, quote, "has sent a detailed and acceptable proposal to the Iranian regime". She said it's in their best interest to accept it.

She declined to provide additional details on what might be in that proposal. But according to "The New York Times", this does mark the first time that any kind of formal proposal on paper has been exchanged between the U.S. and Iran. And we'll be watching very closely how they respond to that, Jessica.

DEAN: One more issue I do want to ask you about, Betsy, President Trump's tariff trade war has a new target tonight, that steel -- Trump is planning to double tariffs on steel and aluminum to 55 percent starting June 4th. What more can you tell us about this?

KLEIN: Yes, the president made that announcement yesterday in Pennsylvania as he unveiled -- he was there ostensibly to celebrate a deal for Japan's Nippon Steel to acquire a majority stake of U.S. steel, something that has not yet been finalized. But he said the U.S. would continue to control the U.S. steel company.

But President Trump, announcing plans to double steel tariffs from 25 to 50 percent starting this Wednesday. This is something that drew immediate criticism this morning from the European Union, from the United Kingdom, who say they will take countermeasures. And it could raise prices on steel for things like cars and American manufacturing, Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Betsy Klein at the White House with the latest from this weekend's news. We really appreciate it.

Also, the world's -- the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, standing by in one last press conference from the Oval Office alongside President Trump. Take a look.

[17:04:51]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, CEO, TESLA: I'm confident that over time, we will see $1 trillion of savings and a reduction in -- $1 trillion of waste and fraud reduction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What was the biggest roadblock from your work?

MUSK: It's mostly just a lot of hard work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So that was Musk explaining what will happen to DOGE after he leaves Washington. Of course, he promised $2 trillion in saving, then dialed it back to $1 trillion.

But even after slashing spending and laying off a number of federal workers, DOGE and Elon Musk never came close. According to DOGE's own estimates, it cuts -- its cuts saved just $175 million.

And we should note CNN was only able to verify less than half of that figure. During Musk's time in Washington, there were protests across the country many outside Tesla dealerships. Musk now says he will put his focus back on his tech companies, but will continue to advise President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSK: I expect to continue to provide advice whenever the president would like advice.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I hope so.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN media analyst Sara Fischer is joining us now. Sara, good to see you.

Of course, Musk has become quite a polarizing figure in Washington and beyond. Do you expect to see him return to D.C. or politics anytime soon, or do you think he's going to kind of go away for a bit and be out of the spotlight?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I think he's going to not be out of the spotlight, Jessica. Come on, this is Elon Musk that were talking about.

But I do think he is going to retreat from Washington for a few reasons. One, I think he sees that in government, it's really hard to move fast and break things.

You know, every time they were trying to make big cuts at one department or one agency, they were being tripped up by courts. It had huge headlines. It became very bureaucratic and difficult for him to cut as fast as he would have liked to.

You know, at least with his private companies, he has a lot more autonomy to move really quickly and innovate. And I think he likes that. There's a part of me that thinks he was probably getting a little bit tired of some of the red tape in D.C.

And then two, from a reputational perspective, there's a lot of pressure on him from shareholders of Tesla, from other folks who are looking at his other companies. If you think about Starlink, if you think about all the things he does outside of what he's been doing with DOGE and the White House, they want him active.

Remember, Tesla shareholders sued a couple of years ago when he took over X, saying, we don't want a part time CEO. I think Elon Musk recognizes that he's got to get ahead of that. He's got to start putting his attention back towards where shareholders want him to be.

DEAN: Yes. And there are also reports that some Trump officials are not mad that he's going back to Tesla and leaving Washington and going to kind of be less in the president's orbit.

What do you know about his relationship with Trump officials, kind of what that dynamic was like?

FISCHER: I mean, everyone knows that Donald Trump values Elon Musk, and rightfully so. Elon Musk controls one of the most important social discourse platforms in the world. Donald Trump has like 90 million followers on X.

And so you don't want to get on Trump's bad side by going out publicly against Elon. But we've heard and seen from reporting that there have been tensions there.

You'll recall that pretty infamous New York Times" report from a few months ago about the standoff between Musk and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on budget cuts. You know, Marco Rubio felt like he was being slighted, like he didn't have control over his agency.

And so I think a lot of people in the Trump administration are going to be happy to see Elon Musk go. but don't expect them to be cheering that departure out loud. That's not great for them politically, Jessica.

DEAN: Yes. And during that same press conference that we just played a clip from, Musk was asked about this "New York Times" story that alleges drug use during his time on the campaign trail last year. This is -- this was his response to that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MUSK: "New York Times" -- is that the same publication that got a Pulitzer prize for false reporting on the Russia-gate? Is it the same organization?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got to check my Pulitzer --

MUSK: I think it is. It is.

So I think that I think the judge just ruled against "New York Times" for their lies about the Russia-gate hoax, and that they might have to give back that Pulitzer prize.

That "New York Times", let's move on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So just to be clear, Elon Musk's claims about the "New York Times" are not accurate. The president, though, has made those attacks before, but clearly he's deflecting here. What kind of -- what do you make of his response.

FISCHER: All right. So one it's a very easy win in front of President Trump to just rag on "The New York Times". We know that that's something President Trump agrees with. It's a tactic he takes himself. So it's an easy dodge.

But then two, it's an interesting thing because Elon Musk in the past has sort of openly talked about and admitted to some of his drug use. And so you would think that this is not something that's so damning to him.

[17:09:45}

FISCHER: However, what is, damning Jessica is being in the presence of Donald Trump while having to answer that type of question.

For all that anyone will say about Donald Trump, you got to give it to him, he is the most sober president we've probably ever had.

This is somebody who is very adamantly against drinking and drugs. He said that to his kids very, very much so.

So if Elon Musk were to address rumors about his ketamine use in front of Donald Trump, I think he knows that's not going to sit very well. So a dodge was the perfect play. He wins Donald Trump.

You know, there's not much that the press corps can really do to press him in that moment. They tried. And so of course, that's what he did.

DEAN: Yes. I do also want to ask you about another story that's driving so many headlines and getting a lot of attention, which is this warning about artificial intelligence from one of the world's most powerful A.I. creators.

The CEO of the A.I. company, Anthropic, thinks that A.I. could wipe out nearly half of all entry-level white-collar jobs in the next 1 to 5 years. This is what he told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DARIO AMODEI, CEO, ANTHROPIC: I think it's eerie the extent to which the broader public and politicians, legislators I don't think are fully aware of what's going on. A few of them are. But I think for the most part, they don't really see what's coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: He's gone on Sara, to say that he believes this could spike unemployment up to 20 percent, and this -- his warnings really shook people. Why do you think he's coming out now and saying this? And do you think the American public is actually read-in on how significant these changes could be related to A.I.?

FISCHER: I'll take the second part of that question first. I think the American public recognizes that there's a fundamental shift happening because unlike some of the other major technologies that have rolled out in the past few years, Jessica, if you think about AR and VR, they don't have mass adoption from people the way that ChatGPT does and some of these A.I.-focused chat apps. So people understand very clearly what A.I. is.

In terms of how it's going to disrupt their jobs, I don't think people understand that fully yet. And part of the reason is because a lot of the workforce, as it's trying to automate a lot of its jobs, they need to do a process before they do that. Actually audit what are the friction points in their supply chains to be able to introduce automation.

Companies are not quite done with that process yet. Once it is done in that, you know, 2 to 5 years that that CEO warned about, I do think it's going to have some very big disruption.

Now, you asked why would someone come out and say this if you're the CEO of an A.I. company. The bearish take on it is it's like an ad for his company, right?

Ok. A.I. Is going to come. It's going to eat all the jobs. But we do A.I. best. So -- and we know A.I. best, right. Like regulators, you know, we are the people you should trust to learn about it. So that's one case if you want to have a cynical perspective.

But then the more optimistic perspective is if you are an A.I. company and you see that the world is heading in this direction, it might benefit you to just try to get the whole world in your tailwind, behind your back as you're trying to move this entire movement forward.

If you're the one that's trying to create the technology, don't you want people eager to adopt it?

DEAN: That is a good question. All right, Sara Fischer, as always, really good to see you. Thanks so much.

FISCHER: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Still ahead, the Health Secretary's own CDC is contradicting him days after he promised a change that blindsided that agency.

Plus, family and friends, how those closest to the men who escaped New Orleans jail are getting pulled into the massive dragnet to capture them.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:13:12]

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DEAN: We are following developments in the negotiations over a U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza. A source familiar with the talks tonight telling CNN Hamas' response is, quote, "positive, but requires further clarifications" though U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff is calling it, quote, "totally unacceptable".

Hamas has agreed to the return of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, but is repeating calls for a permanent end to the war, which is not guaranteed in this plan.

Joining us now is CNN's senior military analyst and former NATO supreme allied commander, Admiral James Stavridis. He's also a partner at the investment firm The Carlyle Group and author of "The Admiral's Bookshelf".

Admiral, thank you so much for being here with us this evening.

Do you think there will be a deal without guarantees it will lead to a permanent end of this war? And does Israel even agree to any deal that includes that?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS, CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, I feel like Jessica, how many times have we seen this movie now. It's again and again and again.

There is Hamas. They simply want a way to continue on and retake control of the Gaza Strip. And it's, in my view, it's not going to happen. They need to kind of wake up and smell the tea here.

I think they're getting the best deal they can possibly get. Unfortunately, I'm pessimistic. I'd say there's a one in four or one in five chance, but not much above that.

And if you look at Jerusalem and Benjamin Netanyahu, he is talking consistently about occupying at least the northern part.

I think the chances of a ceasefire are not very good right now. I wish that weren't the case, but that's my assessment.

DEAN: Israel's military tonight also confirming Hamas -- Hamas leader Mohammed Sinwar was recently killed in an Israeli airstrike.

[17:19:50]

DEAN: How what does that mean for the negotiations? And also, what do we know about who's in charge of Hamas?

STAVRIDIS: It is a good thing for the negotiations that the brother of the original leader, Yahya Sinwar, has now been confirmed to be dead. The good news is he was a hardliner. There was, I think, very low chances of a ceasefire.

In terms of who's running it now, unclear. And this often is the case when you go after terrorist organizations, you cut off 1 or 2 -- the number one, the number two, the number three -- but someone else jumps up and takes their place.

So bottom line it's a confused command/control network inside Hamas. But none of that is encouraging in terms of getting to a ceasefire, unfortunately.

DEAN: I also want to ask you about this report by the United -- by the United Nations nuclear watchdog that has found Iran is increasing its stockpile of uranium to near-weapons grade levels.

As of two weeks ago, Iran had 900 pounds of uranium enriched, up to 60 percent -- that's almost a 50 percent increase since the last report in February.

So my question to you is how much of a concern is this information? And are these the type of numbers where we're talking about a functional nuclear weapon?

STAVRIDIS: Let me take the second part first because it's better news. No, they're not at the point where they could immediately have a functional nuclear weapon. And then that it would take them another year to develop the means to deliver it anywhere. So certainly we have time here.

But the bad news is, I think the mullahs are playing with fire here as follows. Netanyahu has been very clear about his desire to roll in and take out as much of the Iranian nuclear program as he can at this moment, because Iran is so weak, its air defenses are so weak.

So on the one hand, you've got the Israelis really chomping at the bit to go in and strike. And on the other hand, with the Trump administration, at the moment President Trump and Envoy Witkoff are very clear that they would much rather have a diplomatic outcome here.

But when there are credible reports like this that Iran is enriching, think how that lands in the Oval Office, think how that lands for President Trump. He looks at that as real defiance on the part of the mullahs.

I think Tehran is on the road to a whole series of strikes against them if they don't wake up to the realities of what is happening and get to the negotiating table quickly.

DEAN: Yes. Because obviously there's a lot of talking that can be done. But if, in fact, this is what's going on in real time, it makes a deal pretty difficult to do. STAVRIDIS: Exactly. Let's hope Tehran understands that. And again,

I'll close where I said a moment ago, they are playing with fire here, almost literally.

DEAN: Wow. I also want to ask you about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is in Singapore this week, reassured the Indo-Pacific allies that they're not going to be left alone in the face of Chinese aggression.

Now China is pushing back on those remarks, warning the U.S. should not quote, "play with fire over Taiwan".

Is this a warning sign? What do you think about this back and forth?

STAVRIDIS: I read Secretary Hegseth's comments and I agree with him. What he's trying to do is, as you said, encourage our allies, notably Japan and South Korea, but also the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan. All of them take encouragement from his quite forthright stance here.

And number two, he is sending a signal to China that we're going to work hard to bring together our allies and partners and friends in the region.

Overall, I think the tenor and tone of his remarks, particularly as delivered at this very important annual Shangri-La conference, I've attended it many times myself. I think he hit the right notes there.

And as far as China's response, I think that's predictable. And the best way to avoid getting into a war in the Pacific is for our allies, partners and friends to increase their defense spending, which they are doing, and to continue partnership with the United States.

[17:24:40]

STAVRIDIS: Overall, I'm less concerned about what China says, more concerned that we continue to build those alliances, those partnerships, those friendships in the Pacific. That creates deterrence. That's what will avoid war.

DEAN: And then there's this aspect, obviously, of the talks with China that the U.S. is having. And this one aspect of those talks, which is about exporting their rare earth minerals.

And first, we saw Trump pursuing this in a deal with Ukraine, now China. Rare earth minerals keep coming up. Is this a next battlefront? Is this -- why are we hearing more and more about this?

STAVRIDIS: Because these minerals are absolutely critical not only to defense technologies, but also very broadly to the creation of many things in the high-tech end of all of our economies.

China has been very methodical in cornering the market on these and ensuring that they have the strongest controls. So the United States is waking up to this and is moving out on a variety of fronts, including one you may not have thought of, I think few have, which is deep seabed mining. DEAN: Yes, I had thought of that one.

STAVRIDIS: On the floor of the oceans, yes, on the -- you know, the admiral's going to bring it up. Go to sea.

And it's frankly, there are nodules on the bottom of the ocean that can be harvested. There are some challenges -- environmental, legal, et cetera. But it's an example of how the United States needs to broaden its view of how we get after strategic minerals, be it in Ukraine, with other allies and partners, our own sources or looking to the deep seabed in our exclusive economic zone offshore.

DEAN: Really interesting stuff. Admiral, thanks so much for being here with us.

STAVRIDIS: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Still to come, mixed messages. Why the CDC is recommending COVID-19 vaccines for children even after Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. pledged to drop the shot for them.

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[17:26:45]

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[17:31:10]

DEAN: The CDC and direct contradiction of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is recommending the COVID vaccine for children on the new child and adolescents immunization schedule which was released Friday?

COVID 19 vaccines are listed as a recommended vaccine -- vaccination based on shared clinical decision-making. Meaning, if parents and doctors agree, children should be vaccinated. This is what RFK Jr. said this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE: As of today, the COVID vaccine for healthy children and healthy pregnant women has been removed from the CDC recommended immunization schedule.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

DEAN: Dr. Paul Offit is joining us now. He's the director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and a member of the FDA Vaccine and Advisory Committee. Dr. Offit, thanks so much for being here with us. Who's right? What is the science show and who should be getting this shot?

DR. PAUL OFFIT, MEMBER, FDA VACCUNE ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Right, so RFK Jr. is ignoring his own CDC's data. In April, the CDC presented to the Advisory Committee for immunization practice what's going on with COVID? So what you learn was it over the past year, 6,700 children have been admitted to the hospital with COVID most less than four years of age.

152 children have died from COVID, again, most less than four years of age. About half were previously healthy, virtually, none were vaccinated. So do children benefit from a primary series with the COVID vaccine? Of course, they do.

What he did when he said that, you know, we don't recommend this vaccine at all, he made it such that even if people wanted that vaccine for their child. It would be unlikely that insurance companies would pay for it or that the vaccine for children's program would pay for it.

What the CDC did in pushing back was he said, OK, let's find a middle ground. Let's say shared clinical decision making between you and your doctor. That made it so that the vaccine for children's program will ensure it and other companies also will ensure it.

But it still didn't go far enough, because what should be the recommendation based on the current data is children should receive a primary series for COVID vaccines. And I think that we don't have a recommendation that's strong enough because that's what the recommendation was, because that's what it should be.

DEAN: And listen, we just -- you just explained it all to us, that took a minute though. And I think there are a lot of people out there that are confused now. Is that dangerous?

OFFIT: I think it's confusing. I think you're absolutely right. I think that is Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s goal. It's to create chaos and confusion I think it's a lot actually for all physicians in this country to know those data that were presented by the CDC. That's why we look to advisory committees, which who at least all know those data and then can give a recommendation.

But if you look at Project 2025, the goal for the CDC was to make it so that they weren't a recommending body. And that to some extent has happened here by making a shared clinical decision making issue. It should be, this vaccine is recommended for children as a primary series.

In terms of yearly dosing, you can argue certainly not all children need a yearly dose. But a primary series they certainly need. By six months of age, all children are susceptible to this virus. This virus continues to circulate.

Last year, 165,000 people were hospitalized with COVID and 40,000 died. This virus isn't going anywhere. And if you -- if -- we're not going to be able to ignore it and hope it goes away

DEAN: I do want to ask you too about this measles outbreak that we are still in the middle of, that we continue to see happening. And now, you know, people obviously will be traveling for summer if school's out maybe taking their children somewhere to see relatives or going vacation, whatever the case may be.

How safe are kids traveling this summer? What kind of risk are they at for catching the measles especially if you've got, like, a baby obviously is going to be different than probably a 12-year-old?

OFFIT: Well, typically, measles is a winter and spring disease. I mean, we had an outbreak in Philadelphia in 1991 where we had 1,400 cases of measles and nine deaths over a several month period.

[17:35:05]

We vaccinated down to six months of age. We isolated, we quarantined, we had compulsory vaccination for people who were refusing vaccines. It was that bad. But when May came and then June came, for the most part, it abated.

Now, that may happen again here. It's hard to know. But I think that's likely what would happen. I'd be surprised if it circulated to this level over the summer, but then again, you should never make predictions about viruses because all of us have been wrong at some point about SARS-CoV-2.

DEAN: What is your recommendation to parents though if they're worried about this or thinking about this?

OFFIT: I think that the first dose of vaccine which is given between 12 and 15 months of age gives you between 93 to 95 protection. So that's excellent. I certainly wouldn't push that second dose earlier. And I think the only reason to push the first dose earlier down to six months of age like we did in Philadelphia in 1991 would be if you were in west Texas. And there was a massive outbreak.

I mean if you're in a state that has a handful of cases, I certainly wouldn't try and get that vaccine earlier than 12 to 15 months of age because you're still going to need to get it at 12 to 15 months of age, and again at four to six years of age.

So I would say that if you're in a massive outbreak situation like we were in Philadelphia, vaccinate down to six months of age. But otherwise one dose is highly effective.

DEAN: All right, that's the beauty of vaccines, highly effective.

Dr. Paul Offit, thank you so much for being here with us. We appreciate it.

OFFIT: Thank you.

DEAN: And coming up, Arkansas law enforcement pulling out all the stops to track down a convicted murderer who broke out of prison but bad weather and rugged terrain are complicated that search.

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[17:41:18] DEAN: Let's go now to the latest in the Louisiana manhunt. Two inmates who escaped from New Orleans jail are in a Louisiana facility. They were caught in Texas earlier this month. Of course, 10 prisoners broke out of the jail setting off a massive manhunt in that area.

And while eight of the fugitives have been caught, two remain on the run. Authorities now increasing the cash reward for information to $50,000 for each escapee. 13 people have also been charged with helping those inmates break out of jail.

And a different manhunt is underway in the state of Arkansas in the wilderness there where authorities are looking for this man. Grant Hardin, a former police chief who escaped from prison Sunday where he's been serving a decades-long sentence for the -- for rape and murder. The FBI announcing a $20,000 cash reward for any information on his whereabouts.

Joining us now, Rob D`Amico, he is a former deputy operations chief of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team. Rob, thanks so much for being here with us.

Look, you talk about what I just laid out. Obviously, he's a former police chief. He has a lot of, I would assume, knowledge about, you know, not that that means he worked in prisons but like in that whole system. Does that contribute to his ability to escape? How does someone who's serving for such serious crimes get out?

ROB D`AMICO, FORMER DEPUTY OPERATIONS CHIEF, FBI HOSTAGE RESCUE TEAM: It does. Just being around law enforcement, you start understanding how things are done. He didn't come from a big department like he had a lot of training. He came from, you know, constable and then the police chief of a very small town, but he does have some training.

And I think in prison, him having the job in the kitchen really helped him understand how things were done. If you're in your cell and the yard all the time and you're not getting out in the prison and seeing things, you don't have a situational awareness how things are done.

So I think the job in the kitchen was helped him actually understand how deliveries happen and could see the complacency in certain folks, and then figured out. Also gave him access to other material to maybe make that uniform. But, again, why a convicted murderer and rapist was in a minimum security prison even if he was caught in the high security part of it doesn't make sense to me.

DEAN: Yes, a lot of questions about that as well. So now they are searching for this man. And this is some challenging terrain that they're having to go over where this search is unfolding. We're talking about caves and deeply rural parts of an already rural state. How difficult is that?

D`AMICO: Oh, it's very difficult. I've hunted for Eric Rudolph several times up in the mountains of North Carolina, and that's kind of what this is. There was caves. There's a lot of hunting cabins and fishing cabins out there that people don't occupy. They just kind of -- some of them leave them open because you can just break in. So I think he's probably looking something like that for food and shelter, maybe even try to pick up weapons if they're in there. If they're locked, it gives him time. He could use caves. So he definitely has a lot out there to go on as far as staying hidden.

And then with the weather, the weather is really hard and hard rain in the spring here to keep a track in the -- you know, a lot of times when you're patrolling for him, you're listening for noise. If you're close to him, you move a little bit, you stop, you listen.

Well, if it's pouring rain, you can't hear him if you -- even if he's running by you. So the weather is really difficult. It harms the dogs being able to get on a scent. If he just left it and it hasn't rained, that's one thing. But it's really difficult right now with the weather and the canopy.

DEAN: Yes. And so what does it come down to? Does he have to make a mistake? Is it a lucky break? Is it all of those things? How do they find this man?

[17:45:05]

D`AMICO: It is all of them. It is a lucky break. It is pressure on him to make a mistake if they get close to him and the pressure builds. Someone sees something that he doesn't, you know, he didn't anticipate someone seeing him.

He does know if he does something that, like, say, he tries to take a car. Once that car is identified as stolen, then it's easier actually to track him. He's in a vehicle. He's moving. You can get helicopters up. You can put roadblocks out and you're looking for a vehicle.

Unfortunately, though, that means if he tries to carjack a vehicle, he knows he either has to take the person who had the vehicle or do something with them so that they don't run and tell the police that they have the car.

So, again, same thing if he breaks into a house looking for food and weapons. There is that potential that if he lets anyone go, that they're immediately going to call the police. And then that focus goes down to a very small area and then that's when the pressure really turns on.

DEAN: All right, Rob D`Amico, thanks for your context and giving us kind of an inside look at that. We really appreciate it.

D`AMICO: Thank you.

DEAN: Straight ahead, we're going to take you to Munich where a pair of soccer heavyweights clashed in European club soccer's biggest match.

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[17:50:59] DEAN: History was made tonight in the Champions League Final. Paris Saint-Germain winning 5 nil taking home the trophy for the very first time. And CNN's Sports Anchor Amanda Davies is there in Munich. What a stunning result, Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, absolutely, Jessica. A five- star performance from French champions Paris Saint-Germain who can now proudly call themselves European champions for the first time. And this is the one they unashamedly have been wanting to win for the last 14 years since the Qatar sports investments took ownership of the club.

It is all about being getting their hands on this European football's club's biggest prize. There'd been perhaps some question marks heading into this game against Inter Milan, a team with more experience, with more miles and years on the clock. How were this new young exciting dynamic group of players going to react to the pressure?

Well, they answered that question with bells on. It's all about being about the collective. You know, we've had the David Beckham Era. There's Zlatan Ibrahimovic era, the Carlo Ancelotti era, Thomas Tuchel, Laurent Blanc, Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, those superstar names have come and then gone since Luis Enrique took over as manager in 2023.

He has said this is now about the team. It is about the collective. A banner was held up just ahead of kickoff by the PSG ultras translated. It said, "Together, we are invincible". And this group of players this evening most certainly were that.

It almost seems a little bit too easy for Achraf Hakimi to score PSG's first goal after 12 minutes. He was a little bit embarrassed celebrating having scored a goal of such importance against the side. He actually helped win Serie a couple of seasons ago.

And from there, the majesty, the creativity, the speed with which we've come to expect this group of players to perform was there with the bells on you. Suspect in years to come, we might be talking about this being the night.

Desire Doue, 19-year-old Desire Doue really put himself on the map on the international stage 12 months ago at his former club. He wasn't even a regular in the starting 11. Over the last 12 months, he's forced himself into this PSG starting 11 and into the French national squad.

He set up the first for Hakimi. He then scored another couple. And from there, really PSG could not be stopped. You have to feel for Inter two years ago. This is their second final in three years. Two years ago, they went home from Istanbul feeling they were hard done by.

They perhaps hadn't made the most of their chances. This evening, they really even struggled to create those chances. But it's interesting, Luis Enrique, the PSG manager said earlier in this campaign, it could be the stuff of a movie, maybe a thriller or something along those lines.

Well, tonight, had the perfect Hollywood to ending, didn't it? The script went exactly to plan. And with Tom Cruise watching on, you could say mission impossible has become mission complete.

DEAN: Yes, those are some excited faces.

Amanda, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

The CNN Original Series, "My Happy Place" takes viewers on personal and immersive journeys all around the world. And this week, academy award-winning actress Octavia Spencer takes us to New Orleans, where she explores the city's unique traditions and international flair.

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OCTAVIA SPENCER, ACTRESS: My first sense of travel was through books, I mean, through books, you explore galaxies that you've never been to you. Explore places that you wouldn't afford to be able to see but you were transported through books I was as a child.

[17:55:16]

And books have played a very important role in my life because I didn't realize I was a dyslexic child. And so, my first grade teacher saved my reading life by introducing me to Mysteries because I'm one of those active readers. I have to be, you know, a couple of chapters ahead trying to figure out the main story.

For me, reading books many and often, was an essential part of becoming a storyteller. I even wrote a mystery series for children. Many of my trips to New Orleans have connected me with writers.

I met Kathryn Stockett, author of "The Help" right here.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

DEAN: Join Octavia Spencer as she finds comfort in New Orleans on a new episode of "My Happy Place." It's tomorrow night at 10:00 Eastern Pacific only here on CNN.

We'll have more news when we come back.

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