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U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Says Iran Has Even More Near Weapons- Grade Uranium; Trump's Legal Battles Ramp Up; Trump Blasts Longtime Conservative Activist Leonard Leo; U.S. Envoy Calls Hamas' Response To Ceasefire "Totally Unacceptable"; More Chaotic Scenes As Aid Arrives In Southern Gaza; CA Trans Student Athlete Advances To Finals Amid Controversy; Sen. Ernst Tells Town Hall Crowd: We're All Going To Die; Wildfire Exposure And The Unknown Impacts Of Health. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired May 31, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

BETSY KLEIN, CNN WHITE HOUSE SENIOR CORRESPONDENT AND WRITER: But at the same time, there is a lot of urgency here. We are learning from this new confidential report from a United Nations nuclear watchdog that Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to nuclear weapons grade levels. So according to this report from the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has amassed about 900 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60 percent.

Now that is about a 50 percent increase just from this past February. So just a few months a major, significant increase in the amount of enriched uranium Iran has in its stockpile. This report said that this is of serious concern to the international community, but it's also a source of major concern for Israel and a reminder that it was just earlier this week that President Trump said that he had warned Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, against interfering or disrupting these U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, saying he told his counterpart that such a move, Jessica, would be inappropriate.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: All right, Betsy Klein, with the very latest from the White House. Thank you so much.

Also tonight, has President Trump met his match in the judicial system? The president sounding off against judges, including one he himself appointed after that bombshell ruling this week, striking down many of Trump's tariffs. While an appeals court is allowing the tariffs for now, the president publicly went after a powerful conservative legal group and its former leader, who have long influenced Republican judicial picks.

Trump posted, the Federalist Society was, quote, "under the thumb of a real sleazebag named Leonard Leo, a bad person who in his own way probably hates America."

And it's not just the tariffs. Several key Trump policies are facing court battles. Late last night, an appeals court ruling his mass firings at some federal agencies may not go through yet, and Trump's attempt to ban Harvard from enrolling international students was put on hold by another federal judge earlier this week. But he did see a win yesterday when the Supreme Court ruled the administration can suspend deportation protections for some immigrants.

CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is joining us now.

Let's focus in on that ruling there, the win for the Trump administration, Rafael. What does the ruling mean for these migrants?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Jessica. Well, it means that almost certainly they face imminent deportation in the next few weeks or months. This is, let's remember, the second time in less than a 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, Jessica, and more importantly 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 who received temporary protection status during the Biden administration.

The immigrant community reacted, as you can imagine, with great concern for those affected, especially in Florida, where many of the immigrants from those countries live. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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 AND IMMIGRANT 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And on the other hand, Jessica, many Republican political leaders applauded the high court's decision, including Florida Congressman Carlos Gimenez. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CARLOS GIMENEZ (R-FL): 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 orders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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.

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 fleeing Hungary in Eastern Europe during a Soviet crackdown after World War II -- Jessica.

DEAN: Rafael Romo, thank you so much for that.

And here to break down what all of this means is CNN legal commentator and former Trump White House lawyer Jim Schultz.

Jim, thanks so much for being here with us on a Saturday night. I want to start first with the Supreme Court's decision yesterday. How significant of a win is this for the Trump administration?

[19:05:00]

JAMES SCHULTZ, CNN LEGAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's a very significant win. So the Biden administration put that into effect by executive order allowing 530,000 folks to come into this country. And the reasoning behind it at the time was that folks were trying to come across the border and were successfully coming across and put in danger trying to illegally come into this country.

And what did President Trump do? He closed the border. So now there are some significant concerns about whether these folks are national security threats, whether they are threats to the communities, whether they were properly vetted. You know, there's a lot of questions surrounding whether the vetting was appropriate, as it related to these folks.

And the Trump administration made those arguments successfully and the Supreme Court at least agreed for now. But I think this is a signal that they're going to agree when the case finally makes it there that I think there's a good chance that they're going to go his way on this one.

DEAN: All right. And he -- I also want to talk about some of these other court cases because, for example, with his economic policies, he's pinned so much of those policies on these tariffs that now, as of this week, are in legal jeopardy. We don't know where exactly that's going to land. Where does that leave him? How do you see this playing out?

SCHULTZ: So what they did with the tariffs in this instance, the ones that were struck down, is they did it under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, which specifically gives the executive branch the ability to trade embargoes, sanctions and the like. But tariffs wasn't specifically included in the language of that statute. The administration is arguing that it's implicitly permitted in that statute and that they were permitted by and through that statute to execute on the tariffs that they put forth.

Instead of going through Section 232, which specifically allows for specific materials, specific products to have tariffs on them, where there's a national security threat or there's a threat to the United States or certain countries in order to respond for overly burdensome tariffs in Section 301. But those two sections require a lot of regulatory hurdles in order to make it there. This was a way for the Trump administration to use the leverage of the IEEP in order to execute so that they could use leverage against these countries to make the trade deals that we're seeing come to fruition now.

DEAN: And so, do you think that that means that these tariffs are going to be able to be enacted moving forward, or is it going to be kind of like what we're seeing where, you know, he wants to now do these steel tariffs which are separate and apart and allowed under the law and it might be that these other types of tariffs aren't?

SCHULTZ: Look, he has those two sections that I mentioned earlier, 301 and then the specific tariffs on products.

DEAN: Right.

SCHULTZ: And using 301 against countries at his fingertips. It may take a little more time. But for now I, you know, you know, there's a big question as to whether he can use the law that he did in order to effectuate the tariffs in this instance. But rest assured, he's going to use every tool that he has in the toolbox, including the other two, in order to execute on the tariffs, to make sure that we're not getting ripped off by foreign countries.

DEAN: I also want to ask you about him going after the Federalist Society and major conservative activists Leonard Leo for their judicial recommendations after that three-judge panel, including one of the judges that Trump himself did appoint during his first term struck down his tariffs.

I want to read what the "Wall Street Journal" editorial board wrote about this. They said, quote, "Mr. Trump claims the decision must have been motivated by purely a hatred of Trump. What other reason could it be? Well, how about the law and the Constitution? The panel's 52-page opinion explains that the emergency act doesn't give the president unlimited authority to impose tariffs as he sees fit. This is what federal judges are supposed to do. But in Mr. Trumps universe, the only good judge is one who always rules in his favor."

Do you think it's wise for him to go after the judges like this and more broadly, the Federalist Society, which was, you know, they did look to that group for a lot of -- I mean, you're very familiar with them.

SCHULTZ: So clearly the president is frustrated with the Federalist Society, which did have a role in making suggestions for judges, mostly the circuit court judges, not so much the district court judges. That's just not how that plays out because the Senate plays such a primary role in picking the district court judges.

So you'll see judges in Massachusetts, for instance, that were Trump appointees that were really the nominees that were hand-picked by the senators, from those -- from states like Massachusetts and Oregon and the like in the district court, whereas the White House has more say and more deference is given to the White House as it relates to circuit court judges.

[19:10:00]

And sure, he's frustrated and he is coming after the Federalist Society on those judges that seem -- that are seemingly disagreeing with him in these cases. That's Donald Trump being Donald Trump. And that's, you know, that's the president's prerogative to make those statements if he wants to. But he's going to have to be before these tribunals time and time again, with the aggressive stances that he's taking on policies when liberal organizations are going to be attacking those policies in the courts.

DEAN: Yes. And it is a bit ironic just in that the Federalist Society is known for being so conservative, being a real bedrock of conservatism within the judiciary. For Trump to go after them is a bit ironic.

SCHULTZ: Sure. He's, you know, the Federalist Society has been an institution in Washington that's pushed forward conservative judges for decades. And I do believe he's just frustrated with it. Remember, Donald Trump came to Washington to clean up the swamp, if you will, right? And the Washington insiders show him taking a stance against kind of an organization that is a Washington insider organization, comes as no surprise at this point, especially when he's frustrated with the folks that they recommended.

DEAN: I do want to ask you before we go about these recent pardons that we've seen from the president as well. We've just seen him rewarding essentially allies, someone tied to an ally. What message do you think these pardons are sending? What are Americans to glean from those pardons?

SCHULTZ: Look, I think as we look back on pardons, and I hate doing whataboutisms, but we just saw some very disturbing pardons coming out of the Biden administration, including his own family. So I think that, look, this is a presidential prerogative for a president to, you know, execute constitutionally his job to issue pardons. It's within his discretion to do it. He can do it as he sees fit.

So I think most recently I think as we've seen in recent years, you know, the message it's sending has really hasn't factored in much to how pardons are issued by Democrats or Republicans historically at this point.

DEAN: Yes. And I hear you on the Biden pardons with his family members. There was a lot of criticism, even from within his own party on that. But putting that to the side, just these pardons in particular really do seem to be about, you know, saying nice things about Trump, cozying up to Trump and trying to get yourself out of legal trouble.

SCHULTZ: I mean, are we really going to be so naive that supporters of presidents for the last two decades haven't been pardoned at the last minute in each administration? I mean, that's something that's been somewhat of a time honored tradition from administration to administration. So, as it -- you know, this is just a continuation of that, the fact that you have supporters that are being pardoned or folks that agree with the president, issues that are being pardoned isn't something new.

It happened in the Clinton administration. It happened to Biden administration, happened to Bush administration, had happened significantly in the Biden administration. So, you know, the hypocrisy continues.

DEAN: All right, Jim Schultz, thank you so much. We appreciate your time.

SCHULTZ: Thank you.

DEAN: Still ahead, President Trump's Middle East envoy is slamming the latest response from Hamas as he works to broker a ceasefire in that war, and the desperation for survival in Gaza leads to chaos around aid trucks. What are the hopes for peace in that region? We'll talk about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:18:13]

DEAN: New tonight, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff is calling Hamas response to the latest U.S. proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, quote, "totally unacceptable." Hamas in its response is calling for a permanent end to the war, which isn't guaranteed in that U.S. proposal.

Now take a look. This was in Rafah in Southern Gaza earlier today. We are seeing more chaotic scenes as people try to secure desperately needed basic necessities.

Here's CNN's Salma Abdelaziz with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is not a no, but it is not a yes. Hamas has responded to a U.S. ceasefire proposal that was issued earlier this week. Hamas said in its response that it was ready to release 10 living hostages and 18 other deceased hostages in exchange for a certain number of Palestinian prisoners.

Now, that does match with the draft proposal, but the group also outlined their reservations with this ceasefire proposal and again repeated demands they've made time and time again. Hamas says it wants to have a permanent ceasefire. It wants to see a full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip, and it wants guaranteed flow of humanitarian aid to the people in the enclave.

Now the ceasefire contains no intrinsic guarantee of a permanent end to the war, and it holds no assurances that the ceasefire will be extended as long as these negotiations continue. One Israeli official told CNN that they see this response from Hamas as a rejection of the Trump administration's proposed ceasefire. Meanwhile, the United Nations is warning that the enclave is on the

brink of famine. But this is what an aid distribution looks like in Gaza.

[19:20:02]

Just take a look at the chaos as the hungry and desperate descend on an aid site where there appears to be very little organization, as you can see there, and more images, these are also from Saturday, show people fighting for a bag of flour. At another site gunfire was heard. Nearly 80 aid trucks traveling through Gaza were looted. That's according to the World Food Programme, which says that most of the food was taken by hungry people trying to feed their families.

One U.N. officials says it is no shock that these images are playing out in Gaza after a nearly 11 week blockade has deprived families there of the very basics for survival.

Salma Abdelaziz, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Joining us now is UNICEF emergency communications specialist Joe English.

Joe, thank you so much for being with us here on this Saturday night. I first just want to have you help people understand what the situation is on the ground there in Gaza when it comes to especially children, which is what you all are focused in on getting access to food, to water, to true necessities that they might need.

JOE ENGLISH, UNICEF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST: Yes, it's absolutely devastating. I mean, a ceasefire cannot come soon enough. And sadly, we know that it already has not come and will not come soon enough for so many children. 50,000 children have now either been killed or injured in this conflict. Like these numbers are staggering. That is one in every 20 child in Gaza.

And so now for children, for parents, you know, crucially the situation now is worse than it has ever been over the last 19 months. I think that is what really is staggering. Usually as humanitarians, what we hope is that we can draw attention to these crises and it will improve. You know, we will see an outpouring of international action and fundraising, and we can get in and we can change the situation for children. But here we are having to watch the situation get worse and worse with every day that passes.

DEAN: Yes, and we did, we saw, we had reports of these trucks being ransacked today. Our colleague Salma was just walking through some of the video that we had of just how chaotic, how desperate it really is for so many people there to, you know, get food for their family.

ENGLISH: It is. You know, I mean, we are seeing what 19 months of devastation does. And for any parent, for anyone, you can imagine that sense of absolute terror, you know. And whilst we only have this small amount of aid that is able to get in, it is a case of not supply and demand, not supply and desperation, but supply and survival.

And so the way to stop this happening, the way to address this, is to flood the Gaza Strip with enough aid so that people know that these trucks are able to reach not only those who are able to get to them, and potentially, you know, take part in this absolute chaos of trying to get food for your family.

But also the most vulnerable because that is who we are most concerned about. The mothers of five or six children, the disabled children, the elderly, the weak, the malnourished, they are not able to get out and get this aid. And that's why UNICEF and the U.N. and organizations like us, we meet people where they are. We don't expect them to come to us in search of survival. We go to them. We go that last mile.

DEAN: And so what are you hearing and seeing from families like that? From mothers with multiple children or with newborn children? You know, what are they most in need of right now? It sounds based like on what we are reporting, but also what you're saying, really basic, basic necessities.

ENGLISH: It is. You know, I mean, it's been 600 days now, more than 600 days. And, you know, I was thinking about this. I'm a parent, and I think any parent out there can understand that sense of, you know, especially with young children, it is exhausting. It is, you know, every day you are doing everything you can to make sure they're happy, they're healthy and that they survive. And the idea of spending every day for 600 days not knowing whether you're going to have the food for your child, not knowing whether when you put your child to bed at night, they will wake up safely in the morning.

The torment that this puts on parents and children is staggering. But they persevere and they persevere in the hope of a ceasefire so that they can start to rebuild their lives. And that's why UNICEF and the U.N. will continue to persevere with them. We have to seek and we continue to ask the international community to do everything they can to find a ceasefire, to open the gates and allow humanitarian aid in, to release the hostages and to allow us to do what anyone would want for their children, which is to provide them with the basics of life and provide them with a sense of hope for the future.

DEAN: And what are UNICEF's capabilities at this moment in time?

ENGLISH: It's incredibly difficult, but we have hundreds of kilos of supplies that are ready to get in.

[19:25:03]

You know, last week with the trucks that were able to get in, we got 500 pallets of nutrition supplies which treat severely, acutely malnourished children. Now, these are children who, without these dedicated supplies, really are unlikely to survive. You know, and when we see these food boxes that are going in from new functionalities, new modalities, and it's dried pasta and it's grain.

This is not what is needed for children who are on the verge of starvation. They need specialized nutrition supplies, medical care. And it can't just be, you know, one offs. It has to be sustained. No parent is going to be satisfied with the idea of I fed my child today, let's wait and see what happens tomorrow.

We have to have a ceasefire. We have to have the ability to get in and do the work that we do all around the world. We just have to do our jobs.

DEAN: Joe English, thank you for joining us. We really appreciate it.

ENGLISH: Thanks so much.

DEAN: When we come back, we are live in California where a high school state track and field championship finals is drawing protests and the attention of President Trump.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:30:27]

DEAN: A political fight is taking center stage at a high school track and field competition in California, and that's because a transgender student athlete is competing in the state championship finals, despite President Trump threatening to pull federal funding from California.

Back in February, President Trump signed an executive order banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is joining us now from Clovis, California. That's where these championships are taking place.

Julia, I know you've been talking to some parents there, to others -- what are you hearing?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the vast majority of the parents who are here with their kids are competing today, Jessica. They say that they don't want there to be a political focus on this. They want to focus on the sport, on this athletic championship that their kids have been training for months to compete in. But there is a small group of protesters that is here today that was here yesterday, and some of them who actually have been following A.B. Hernandez as she moves through each qualifier round for months.

We spoke with one of them just outside the stadium a few moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: What do you think of the solution that the CIF has put forward now where there is an extra slot? So basically --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's ridiculous. Once again you're having special accommodations for someone, why? Women, we got our spaces because we had to fight for it. We had to fight for our space so that we could compete and have our own thing. This is for women. This is for girls. He is a biological boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So pretty harsh words there for a 16-year-old, a junior in high school who's competing here today. Again, this is a small group of protesters, who is here, Jessica.

And California law since 2013 actually defends the ability for teen athletes to compete in the category of the gender they identify with. That is why the DOJ is actually investigating the state law to see if it is in violation of Title IX, the federal law that prohibits sex- based discrimination from federally funded learning institutions from taking place.

But Governor Gavin Newsom has come out and said that this compromise that the California Interscholastic Federation has come up with of adding an extra slot for the competitions where a transgender athlete is competing in for a cisgender athlete to compete in is fine. It's something that he has said despite his previous comments about how unfair it is for trans girls to compete in girls' sports.

This, of course, after all of the comments from President trump where he threatened to pull funding from California and even asked local authorities to intervene in today's race, which so far we have not seen.

DEAN: And Julia, what have the athlete and her family said about this?

JONES: Well, they have very much defended her ability to be here today, to participate. They have said in an interview recently with Capital & Main, they said that she doesn't think about these hecklers and protesters when she is racing, and that she's very much supported by her teammates who have helped her along the way, supporting her and loving her as they move from qualifier to qualifier. And today they are cheering for her in this state championship final -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for that. Joining us now, White House correspondent for "The New York Times," Luke Broadwater.

Luke, thanks so much for being here with us. This issue of banning transgender athletes from competing in women's sports has become a focal point for the White House. It was obviously a huge piece of Trump's campaign -- campaigning on the campaign trail. You know, how do you see this kind of playing out in now, in real time, now that this executive order has been signed?

LUKE BROADWATER, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES": Right, we'll, Donald Trump has said he plans to use this issue as a political wedge issue and to bring it out whenever he sort of needs a surge of support.

He has boasted both publicly and to his allies internally, that this is not an 80/20 issue, but a 99/1 issue that he thinks the majority of Americans agree with him on. And he said, you know that he plans to bring it out right before elections every time because he thinks this is, you know, can distract from a lot of the other issues that may be less popular with his voting base and with swing voters. You know, Democrats have really struggled with how to deal with this issue. In their view, trans athletes and trans students have a hard time. They're often picked on in school, they're bullied, they want to be sympathetic to these people. They don't want to add to the bullying and the picking on these people. So they want to try to find a way to make their lives as good as possible.

And so, you know, California has come up with this solution, which they view as a compromise here. And yet you can see they're still getting small numbers of protesters. And of course, the President is going to try to capitalize politically on it.

[19:35:40]

DEAN: Yes, I also want to ask you about something unrelated. I want to take us to Iowa, because last night, Republican Senator Joni Ernst addressed concerns about the GOP spending bill from her constituents, which includes a lot of cuts, some changes to Medicaid. But it's her response to these people's concerns that's getting a lot of criticism. So here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): So people are not -- probably all are going to die -- okay, no, but what you don't want to do is listen to me when I say that we are going to focus on those that are most vulnerable. Those that meet the eligibility requirements for Medicaid, we will protect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Again, questions about Medicaid. Now, she just posted a response to all of this on Instagram, this is from just a little bit ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNST: And I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this Earth.

So, I apologize and I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Listen, Luke, clearly she thinks this is the people overreacting and she's going with real sarcasm here, talking about the tooth fairy. Constituents are concerned. There are people concerned out there about their Medicaid coverage, about people's Medicaid coverage. Do you think playing it kind of in this sarcastic way is, is politically smart?

BROADWATER: Yes, you know, most politicians would take a different tack. They would say it's best to empathize with the concerns of their constituents. Obviously, Democrats see a huge issue here in the kind of Medicaid cuts that Republicans have put on the table with their spending proposals this year. You know, we are talking about $880 billion in cuts.

And so, just the very fact that those have been discussed, right, that people are possibly going to be losing some protection by these proposals, is many Democrats see a winning issue for them and a losing issue for Republicans.

So, I think as long as this keeps going, it's not great for Senator Ernst. And, you know, for her to, I guess, sort of joke at the idea that there are concerns that some people might die you know, is not, I would say, not the typical response a politician would have where you're supposed to show that you, care a great deal about your constituents and their concerns.

DEAN: Yes, and I think we have the front page of "The Des Moines Register" that we just got. But obviously, yes, well, were all going to die there on the front page. I mean, obviously, this is going to get a lot of pickup and has gotten a lot of pickup there in Iowa.

And, Luke, look, Democrats are trying very hard to find their way out of the wilderness. They're trying to find a way to do well in the midterms. They're hoping that maybe this bill is going to give them an opportunity to do so. But, you know, that remains to be seen, who's going to be able to capitalize on this?

BROADWATER: Yes, you're exactly right. Democrats have been on such a losing streak. This is a midterm election. They should historically win. They should have gains in the House. They should retake the House. Usually a President's Chambers of Commerce -- Congress -- the other party wins, if the other party does better.

And so this is a right time for Democrats. But they've got to find an issue they can rally voters around. And if it's that Republicans are being callous with health care for the poor and for the needy, well, that that historically has been a winning issue for Democrats. So, I would expect to see a lot of campaign ads quoting this Ernst comment. And I bet it doesn't even limit itself to Iowa. I bet you'll see these ads in other states as well.

DEAN: Yes, I did have that thought, which is you have to think we're going to see this again during the midterms. That to your point that Democrats would want to try to make the case that this is a callousness, while obviously Republicans are saying, you know, oh, no, no, we're just, you know, this is about waste, fraud and abuse, and it's about what Americans are actually going to believe, right?

BROADWATER: Yes, exactly. Yes, the Republicans say we're only looking at waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid. That said, when you're cutting real dollars out of the system, that scares a lot of people. And so, you know, I fully expect the Democrats to capitalize on that.

DEAN: All right, Luke Broadwater, great to have you. Thanks so much for being here.

BROADWATER: Thank you.

[19:40:51] DEAN: Five months after wildfires tore through parts of Los Angeles, those impacted aren't just dealing with mounds of debris, but also possible exposure to dangerous toxins. More on this when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:45:40]

DEAN: Several provinces in Canada are under extreme fire danger this weekend, including Manitoba and Saskatchewan, both in Southern Canada bordering the U.S. Nearly 200 wildfires are raging across the country, sending temperatures soaring 10 to 15 degrees above normal. The intensifying fires sending hazardous smoke to many cities here in the U.S., while weather conditions are expected to remain hot and dry this weekend, rains are expected to bring some relief next week.

In California, efforts are underway to understand the long-term effects of wildfires. It's been almost five months now since the Eaton and Palisades wildfires ravaged parts of Southern California. More than 5,000 properties have been cleared of wildfire debris, and now residents and researchers are saying they're concerned about the impacts of pollutants.

Marybel Gonzalez takes us to Altadena.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At first glance, Tiprin Follett, could be considered one of the lucky ones.

TIPRIN FOLLETT, ALTADENA RESIDENT: All I thought was we survived the fire.

GONZALEZ (voice over): Her Altadena, home with its lush and manicured garden seemingly untouched from the Eaton Fire that ravaged this community in January. But --

FOLLETT: When the fire came through with the winds, it was so strong that it broke windows in the house and blew open doors. Arsenic and lead and asbestos and all of those things are covering my house.

GONZALEZ (voice over): Then the wildfire cleanup. Began, But just steps away from her front yard --

FOLLETT: That is the golf course right there.

GONZALEZ (voice over): The Altadena Golf Course partly burned in the Eaton Fire itself turned into a temporary site where vegetation, metal and concrete from charred structures are received and processed.

FOLLETT: What is that going to do to us? Will we be in a place that we can't leave but we can't live in?

BRIG. GEN. WILLIAM HANNON, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Safety is our number one priority. GONZALEZ (voice over): Brigadier General William. Hannon from the Army Corps. of engineers. Has led the cleanup efforts for the Eaton and Palisades Fires.

HANNON: We used the method. So we, keep all the dust down, and we want to keep everything down so we don't get that in the air. We have air monitors that are located on the four areas around the golf course here and those stats are live streamed to the website.

GONZALEZ (voice over): Hannon said more than 400,000 tons of debris have been processed. As for what's not brought to the golf course --

GONZALEZ (on camera): The toxic materials are sorted at the properties themselves. And are taken to a separate landfill.

GONZALEZ (voice over): In the Altadena neighborhood, researchers like Mike Kleeman are working to understand the long-term effects of wildfires on human health.

MIKE KLEEMAN PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, U.C. DAVIS: This one happened where there's 18 million residents in the Los Angeles basin. And they were exposed both in the immediate disaster, but then also in the cleanup phase.

GONZALEZ (voice over): With air quality tracking equipment mounted to his electric truck, Kleeman is tracking air pollution and toxins like arsenic and lead.

KLEEMAN: Once I know from these measurements what the particles look like, what the pollution looks like, I can then put that into a model and predict where the pollution will go, who will be exposed to how much.

GONZALEZ (voice over): But it will be years before researchers like Kleeman will scientifically understand the extent of wildfire exposure.

KLEEMAN: The best way to protect yourself, of course, is just to not be in the area.

GONZALEZ (voice over): For residents like Follett, it's not that simple.

FOLLET: I wish my house had burned as much as I love my home and my garden. I could start to make plans to build. I could decide to move on to a new home. We are paralyzed in the unknown and the possible risks to us, to our neighbors, to our friends.

GONZALEZ (voice over): In Altadena, I'm Marybel Gonzalez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And were going to have more CNN NEWSROOM when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:54:00]

DEAN: In this week's episode of "Searching for Spain," Eva Longoria takes us through Galicia, a hidden gem on the country's northwestern coast. She explores the region's history and its trademark fresh seafood and beef.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA LONGORIA, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND FILM PRODUCER (voice over): Spanish cows eating French bread as treats.

LONGORIA (on camera): Okay, he's eating all of them.

LONGORIA (voice over): This ain't Texas.

LONGORIA (on camera): They're so big. (Speaking in foreign language)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

(EVA LONGORIA speaking in foreign language.)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

LONGORIA (on camera): Wow, so, what is the benefit of these living longer than other cows?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

LONGORIA (on camera): They're like a fine wine. With age, they get better.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Exactly.

LONGORIA (voice over): There are only 20 blonds in the herd and if they're ravenous appetite doesn't give it away, they're all males.

LONGORIA (on camera): Why not use the female cows?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: The females have calves. They are always more stressed.

(EVA LONGORIA speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: The women are more stressed?

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Yes.

LONGORIA (on camera): Our meat doesn't taste as good. It's because were stressed out, because we're raising children and doing everything.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TRANSLATION: Exactly.

LONGORIA (on camera): They just eat and walk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[19:55:15]

DEAN: It is the most unspoiled region of Spain and home to some of the best surf and turf in the world.

Join Eva Longoria in Galicia for a new episode of "Searching for Spain." It's tomorrow at 9:00 Eastern Pacific only here on CNN.

In the meantime, thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean. I'm going to see you again tomorrow night starting at 5:00 Eastern." Real Time" with Bill Maher is up next. Have a great night.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:00:00]