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Trump's Tariff Plans In Limbo As Court Battles Escalate; Trans High School Athlete Wins 2 Of 3 Events In California; 2025 Expected To Be Another Busier-Than-Average Year; Business Owners Confront Masked Agents Detaining Gardener; Health Ministry, Doctors: At least 31 Shot And Killed Near Gaza Aid Site; Trump Pulls Nomination Of Musk Ally To Lead NASA; Ukraine: Drone Strikes On Bases Deep Inside Russia Caused $7B In Damage; Paces Headed To NBA Finals For 1st Time In 25 Years. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 01, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:33]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with another pivotal week for President Trump's expanding trade war, which faces growing uncertainty amid ongoing legal battles. On Wednesday, Trump's new tariffs on imported steel will double from 25 percent to 50 percent.

That increase coming just days after an appeals court temporarily reinstated most of the president's global tariffs. But that victory could be short-lived. The administration is now awaiting a looming court decision over his use of emergency powers to pursue the trade war.

Despite the court challenges, White House economic leaders said today that they are confident the president's tariffs are here to stay.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: We're going to take that up to higher courts. The president's going to win like he always does. But rest assured tariffs are not going away.

He has so many other authorities that even in the weird and unusual circumstance where this was taken away, we just bring on another or another or another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Betsy Klein is joining us now from the White House. So Betsy, what more are Trump officials saying on top of that?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well look, despite all of the legal whiplash this past week, top Trump economic officials are making clear that the president's tariff policies are going to continue.

We saw that Wednesday ruling temporarily blocking the president's global tariffs. And then an appeals court ruling that the temporary -- the tariffs can temporarily stay in place while this plays through the judicial system.

But Howard Lutnick, the president's Commerce Secretary, said moments ago this morning that the administration has other tools. And the plan for the president is to keep the tariffs in place through other means.

Now, the sign of that is that the president is proceeding with those planned doubling of steel tariffs from 25 to 50 percent. The president and his top officials have defended that as a matter of national security, even as experts say that this could raise the price of things in the American manufacturing and construction industry. It could also potentially raise the price of cars.

Now, all of this comes as the Trump administration appears to be escalating tensions with China. We saw that yesterday in Singapore as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that China poses a real and imminent threat to Taiwan. And also as top Trump officials and the president himself have said, that China isn't holding up their end of the trade deal negotiated in Geneva a few weeks ago.

All of this leading up to what officials say will be a very high stakes call in the coming days between President Trump and China's President Xi. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: President Trump, we expect, is going to have a wonderful conversation about the trade negotiations this week with President Xi. That's our expectation.

But the bottom line is that we've got to be ready in case things don't happen the way we want, because if we have cannons but not cannonballs, then we can't fight a war. And if we don't have steel, then the U.S. isn't ready and we're not preparing ourselves for something. And if were not strong, then that's when bad things happen.

So we have to show strength. We have to have a steel industry that's ready for American defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now all of these moves taken together, threaten to really destabilize what has been a relatively successful period for the American economy.

This week, we got an inflation report that showed signs that inflation is cooling, and economists are predicting strong GDP numbers coming out later this week. So Trump and his team are taking a risk here by keeping their tariff plans in place.

WHITFIELD: All right. Betsy Klein at the White House, thanks so much. All right. So despite the distractions of protests and threats of

federal funding cuts for California from President Trump, a transgender athlete took first place in two of her three competitions in the state's high school track and field championships this weekend.

A.B. Hernandez's participation drew national attention and sparked last minute rule changes from California's high school sports governing body.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has been following this for us. Julia, tell us more about the outcome and then what's ahead.

[14:04:48]

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was a slightly different podium, really a first, Fred. As we see there, Hernandez sharing that spot with her competitors.

Even after that scramble from the federation, the CIF to change the rules, they said that they would allow then an extra athlete to go on to the finals on Friday and then award that extra medal to any cisgendered athlete that would have placed in the podium had Hernandez not made it on herself.

Now, we did see lots of sweet moments of Hernandez with her podium colleagues there, but not all of it was like that in that stadium. We saw parents complaining and we heard from protesters who said that these changes were just not enough and that they wouldn't address the biological differences between boys and girls, repetitively calling Hernandez a boy, saying that she didn't belong there.

We did hear from Hernandez from KNBC yesterday. Take a listen to what she said about these last-minute rule changes, Fred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEREYDA HERNANDEZ, MOTHER: When you see how happy this kid is being herself. You know, the first time I saw her come out dressed as a girl, that she didn't have to hide it from me, I saw it in her face. I was like, this is it. This is what she wants. I'm going to support it. I'm not losing my child because of my stubbornness.

And for me, being close-minded like I rather embrace our times together. Even if it's been this difficult, than going to a cemetery and crying because I couldn't accept something.

A.B. HERNANDEZ, TRANS ATHLETE: They should have just left it alone this year and try and fix it next year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: A very emotional interview there with her mother as well, who had to face all those protesters, Fred, as they came over to say that her daughter didn't belong in this championship.

It's unclear what will happen going forward, as we haven't really seen -- there is no precedent for trans athletes, especially at this level, to go on. There's very different kinds of rules in athletics for college sports for trans athletes. And it's unclear if A.B. will even go on to get to that level.

But we did see a lot of joy as well in celebration of her achievements yesterday at this championship final.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, quite a range of emotions.

Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.

All right. Hurricane season is here, officially. It's expected to be a busy one as well. The above average season is coming just as weather forecasting and disaster relief agencies are in turmoil having lost thousands of experts and staff from the Trump administration's cuts.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has more on how many hurricanes forecasters are expecting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Today is the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. And the official forecast from the National Hurricane Center calls for 13 to 19 total named storms, 6 to 10 of which are expected to be hurricanes and 3 to 5 are expected to become major hurricanes, which is a category three or stronger storm.

Now, to put this in perspective, a normal year would include 14 named storms, seven hurricanes and three total major hurricanes. Now, when you look at the percentages of the forecast overall, you're looking at a 60 percent chance of this year to be an above average season. About a 30 percent chance for this to be right around normal, but only a 10 percent chance that this would be below normal for this season.

Now we've got the new list of names for this season, and there is one brand new one on the list, and that is the name Dexter. It's taking the place of the name Dorian from the very devastating storm that happened back in 2019.

Now, a look ahead to the forecast. Already, the Gulf and the Caribbean are very warm. Temperatures there in the low to mid 80s, that's roughly 2 to 4 degrees above average for this time of year.

Keep in mind, I know that may not sound like a very large number, but that makes a difference in terms of ocean temperatures. That's just enough of a difference to really become fuel for a lot of these storms.

And early into the season, say June, for example, most of the activity really does take place in the Gulf, maybe the western Caribbean. And right there along the southeastern coastline, especially along the Carolinas or to the Georgia coast.

Once we transition into July, you really start to see things ramp up along the Atlantic coast, but still maintaining some activity in both the Gulf, as well as the Caribbean. But statistically, the peak of hurricane season really doesn't take

place until September 10th. But you really start to see things ramp up in both August and September.

So both of those are time periods that we'll keep a close eye on as we head into this year's season.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:09:47]

WHITFIELD: All right. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right. Coming up, the shocking arrest of a Colombian man in western Massachusetts by masked men who said they were federal immigration agents. We'll have a live report.

Also, chaos in Gaza. Dozens of Palestinians reportedly killed near a distribution aid center. That report straight ahead.

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[14:14:52]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're learning new details about an immigration arrest this week involving several federal agencies and a gardener. And the arrest, all caught on camera.

Two business owners in Massachusetts say they started recording after learning that federal agents were in the parking lot.

CNN correspondent Rafael Romo is here with more details. Walk us through what happened.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is amazing to watch that video that you just showed us, Fred. And the arrest had many similarities with operations targeting immigrants that we've seen across the country in multiple locations during the current administration.

Agents from seemingly multiple law enforcement agencies showed up at a business in Great Barrington, Massachusetts Friday morning. The agents had their faces covered.

A statement from ICE confirmed that they were in fact, federal law enforcement officers, citing their badges and body armor. They were there to arrest a man from Colombia, and according to the business owners who shot the following video, they refused to identify themselves as we will see in this clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have asked for IDs. Can you please tell me that you refuse to give us your ID?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't need to give you IDs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't need to give us IDs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're federal. We do not need to give you IDs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So how do we know you're federal? How do we know you're federal?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Fred, earlier we spoke with the two business owners who witnessed the operation to arrest the immigrant. This is what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH STINER, BUSINESS OWNER: And I just kept asking him if they had a warrant. If that's the -- that was private property. That was our office. And they said they didn't need a warrant. And we asked for their ID. And they said they didn't have to give their ID.

LINDA SHAFIROFF, BUSINESS OWNER: It felt like we weren't dealing with a real federal agency, you know, like they showed up and some of them had black vests, some of them had tan vests, some of them had hoodies on, some of them had baseball hats. Some of them had jeans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Of course. CNN reached out to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A spokesperson for ICE told us that the officers were conducting a, quote, "routine immigration enforcement operation and conducted themselves in a manner that ensured both operational success and officer safety".

In a statement to CNN, ICE also said the following about the arrest. "The video depicts ICE officers arresting an illegally present Colombian alien who violated the terms of his release by failing to report to immigration authorities as ordered. Ice approves of the tactics employed by the officers conducting this enforcement operation, as they are highly trained at conducting such actions in a safe, professional manner."

And Fred, the identity of the men who was arrested has not been revealed. ICE has not disclosed if he had committed any crimes in the United States, other than being in the country illegally.

But again, these two business owners really had a problem because this happened in their property. This is private property. They said they failed to identify themselves and they were from multiple agencies. They just didn't know who they were.

WHITFIELD: Right. And that it was private property. And they demanded or asked --

ROMO: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- you know, if there was some kind of warrant. And we just heard from them that there was no warrant. So still a lot of questions to be answered.

ROMO: A lot of questions.

WHITFIELD: And where the person who was arrested is now. Has that person been transported to a detention facility similar to -- as we've seen in other cases?

ROMO: Right. We'll hear, I assume, in just a few days.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.

ROMO: Thank you.

All right. Straight ahead dozens of Palestinians reportedly killed near a distribution aid center. Live to Jerusalem next.

[14:18:22]

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WHITFIELD: All right. New this afternoon, the Palestinian health ministry says at least 31 Palestinians were shot dead in a chaotic scene near an aid site in Gaza run by a U.S.-backed private foundation. The health ministry blamed the Israeli military for the deaths.

The Israel Defense Forces said that it did not fire on civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid zone.

With us now is CNN's Oren Liebermann. Oren, you're there in Jerusalem. What are you hearing about this incident?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: So let's say what we do know and what we're still trying to understand here. This all unfolds early Sunday morning in southern Gaza near Rafah, where there are aid distribution sites set up by the controversial U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. Thousands of Palestinians come to these sites to get aid.

It is in this site or near this site on Sunday morning that the Palestinian Ministry of Health says 31 Palestinians were killed, at least, and scores more wounded.

The Red Cross, which runs a field hospital in Rafah in southern Gaza, says its 60-bed facility there was quickly overrun by the casualties coming in suffering from gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

They said it was the single highest weapon-wounded from a single incident that they have seen since they opened their facility more than a year ago.

Now what's harder to understand is exactly what happened here. The Palestinian Ministry of Health says Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinian civilians as they were on their way into the aid distribution site to pick up the aid that was being given out. They say those that were killed had suffered gunshot wounds to the head and the chest.

Doctors at Nasser Hospital in the area, as well as paramedics, say those they treated had suffered gunshot wounds. Now the Israeli military, the Israel Defense Forces or IDF, denies that they opened fire on Palestinian civilians as they were at or near a humanitarian distribution zone. They say allegations that they did so are false reports.

[14:24:49]

LIEBERMANN: The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is the organization that runs these sites backed by the U.S. and Israel, says there was no incident of fire at or near any of their distribution sites today, or frankly, any other day. They said reports that there was fire near the site are quote, "untrue and fabricated".

But an Israeli military source says there was an incident a kilometer away from a distribution site in which suspects approached an Israeli military position. The Israeli forces fired warning shots towards those suspects that were approaching.

The Israeli military says it was unrelated to the accusations and reports that they opened fire on civilians heading towards a distribution zone.

Video from the area on Sunday shows the chaos in the aftermath of the scene, as Palestinians rush the wounded and the killed for treatment or to hospitals.

The head of the UNRWA, the U.N. agency that treats Palestinians says going to these sites has, quote, "become a death trap". And that's not only because of today's incident, but because of the chaos and the thousands or tens of thousands of Palestinians who approach these sites when they give out the aid they have.

And we have seen video from these sites that shows the throngs and the crowds that quickly tried to approach, grab a box of food that's supposed to feed a family for half a week, and then leave. It is in that chaos that Sunday morning's shooting unfolded, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Oren Liebermann from Jerusalem. Let us know when you learn more. Thank you.

All right. Back in this country, President Trump is rescinding his nominee to lead NASA. In a social media post, the president announced he is moving on from tech billionaire Jared Isaacman after a quote, "thorough review of prior associations". The shakeup comes just days before the Senate was expected to vote on the nomination of Isaacman, who has twice traveled to space on private missions and has close ties to SpaceX chief Elon Musk.

Joining me right now to talk more about this development and more is will Sommer. He is a senior reporter for Bulwark. Great to see you.

So this nomination of the tech billionaire Jared Isaacman to lead NASA now withdrawn with Trump posting on his social media outlet, thorough review of prior associations now lead him to withdrawing the nomination. What does that mean, exactly?

WILL SOMMER, SENIOR REPORTER, BULWARK: Yes. That appears to be a reference to the fact that Jared Isaacman had donated in the past to Democrats, to Mark Kelly in Arizona, various Democratic senators in just the past few election cycles.

But one wonders how much of that is really what happened or maybe that this is sort of a factional thing now that Elon Musk, who he was allied with, is gone, and that now that Musk is gone, that Isaacman is getting the boot as well.

WHITFIELD: So possibly that correlation. I mean -- and why would that be? Because still even Trump during that great fanfare of that, you know, sayonara to Elon Musk on Friday, they pledged that they were still friends. Musk would still be his advisor if ever needed. That even Trump said, you know, one day he'll probably come back to the White House.

So if they're still cool, then why would that breakup or temporary, you know, departure, if you will, why would that impede Isaacman's journey to NASA?

SOMMER: Yes, it's a great question. I mean, on one hand, I think this would have been a big win for Elon to get this Isaacman, in charge of NASA, potentially very lucrative as well because of SpaceX. And I think perhaps with Elon sort of facing waning influence in the White House that we've seen this happen before, where someone sort of slips a dossier in front of Trump that says, you know, well, you know, this guy donated to Democrats in the past, for example, or this guy was in a previous administration, a Democratic administration, and then suddenly that person is iced out.

So that appears to be what's going on here.

WHITFIELD: Ok. And speaking of Elon Musk, something else that's rather interesting. He has felt, I guess, free now to kind of criticize Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill. He did so in a CBS interview that was done before that big Friday, you know, White House, Oval Office see you later.

So listen to what Musk said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: So you know, I was like disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I actually thought that when this Big, Beautiful Bill came along, I mean, like everything he's done on DOGE gets wiped out in the first year.

MUSK: I think -- I think a bill can be, can be, can be big or it can be beautiful, but I don't know if it can be both. My personal --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:29:44]

WHITFIELD: So while that interview was done earlier in the week, it was on CBS Sunday morning today in kind of the full context of other things that Musk said.

So now, do you think there -- this might impact the relationship between he and Trump?

SOMMER: Yes. Well, I mean, you know, we saw those comments were made public right before suddenly this this announcement that Elon was leaving the administration.

[14:30:06]

And so, you know, you have to wonder, was this sort of the final straw for the rest of the Trump administration, this criticism of the bill that took so much effort to pass? And meanwhile, Musk at DOGE is saying, you know, while he, he did a lot of cuts and he got rid of USAID and he -- and that's going to cause a lot of damage. At the same time, he didn't get anywhere near the billions and maybe hundreds of billions of dollars cuts that he promised.

And so, you know, it's sort of a defeat for him. And he's, you know, I don't know if he's complaining on his way out.

WHITFIELD: DOGE will carry on, however, even though Elon Musk may not have the same kind of presence that he did in Washington or even in the White House. Who would be leading DOGE and how?

SOMMER: Yeah, I mean, right now I think it's up in the air. How much power DOGE is going to still have. I mean, I think this was obviously a very hyped operation. And you know, this was sort of a cornerstone of the first 100 days or so of the Trump administration. And yet, you know, Elon Musk is obviously the face of it.

Everyone else we know, most people involved are or the most famous members are, you know, in their 20s. And sometimes in some cases, they have sort of lewd screen names, as they're known to the public. And so, I think it's really unclear how much you know, the administration is promising some of these cuts will be codified later in legislation. You know, I think that remains to be seen.

WHITFIELD: All right. It's been interesting and will continue to be so for sure.

All right. Will Sommer, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, this breaking news, Ukraine drone attacks on air bases deep inside Russia. We'll have a live report on the destruction, next.

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[14:36:12] WHITFIELD: We've got this breaking news. Ukraine says it carried out large scale drone attacks on multiple air bases, including some thousands of miles inside Russia. It says Operation Spider Web caused $7 billion in damage. A Ukrainian military source said multiple combat planes were destroyed in the attack. Russia has confirmed there was an attack but is giving few details.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla is following the developments for us.

Sebastian, what are you learning about this attack?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN FIELD PRODUCER: Yeah, Fred, this is a really audacious attack which has been carried out by Ukraine's intelligence services known as the SBU. And it appears on Sunday, they launched from multiple places inside Russia. The key here being inside Russia, attacks on Russian air bases, housing, strategic military aircraft, things that would go into the sky for surveillance and monitoring purposes and reconnaissance above the skies of Russia and over Ukraine to gather intelligence.

What the Ukrainians are saying is that this has been a highly coordinated attack with swarms of drones attacking these Russian air bases all at the same time. And those videos that have been coming out on social media show the devastation and damage that has been wrought on these aircraft, many of them on the tarmac there. Theres one in particular. I don't know if were able to show it. You can see a first person view from the drone that shows these planes and drones hitting these planes on airfields or on in airfields inside Russia.

It is a truly astonishing attack, because what the Ukrainians have managed to do is damage some 40 aircraft, as you say, left billions of dollars of damage here for the Russians. And most surprisingly, these have taken place not on the borderlands or the areas of Ukraine where the fighting is going on. One of these, in particular, Irkutsk, is in Siberia. Thats 4,000 kilometers away from Ukraine.

And so, this talks to a much broader, systematic, well-planned, coordinated attack by Ukrainians intelligence -- by Ukrainian intelligence, which has really stepped up now and delivered a crucial, crucial blow here to the Russians, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then how does this attack compare to previous attacks by Ukraine against Russia?

SHUKLA: Yeah, well they are this is a big one. And the difference, though, is that this has happened from inside Russia. We have all seen the videos of drone attacks hitting Russian military and infrastructure targets for the past many months, and it has been a coordinated campaign from the Ukrainians, but those have been launched, by and large, if not all of them from inside Ukraine.

You know, I have been part of a Russian. A Ukrainian military intelligence operation to launch drones into Russia. But those drones took off from inside Ukraine. So, this marks a major change.

We've also seen the Ukrainians been able to push back the Russian navy in the Black Sea, which has also allowed them to protect their coastline. The Ukrainians protect their coastline and attacks coming from sea into Ukraine. But this coming from inside Russia is a real game changer.

And it -- and it will send a message to the Kremlin, Fred, that our operations now are becoming more sophisticated. We have the equipment, we have the hardware, we have the military know how. And crucially here, we have the intelligence that allows us to operate inside the Russian Federation.

And all of this coming at a time, Fred, where the Russians and the Ukrainians are due to meet tomorrow in Turkey to try to hash out or at least make some sort of progress towards bringing into a ceasefire to stop the fighting in Ukraine, which was supposed to be and is hopefully going to lead to finally the ending of this conflict which has been going on now, Fred, since February 2022.

[14:40:23]

WHITFIELD: All right. Sebastian Shukla, thank you so much.

All right. Let's bring in Jill Dougherty right now. She's a CNN contributor, former CNN bureau chief for Moscow and adjunct professor at Georgetown University.

Great to see you.

So, you just heard Sebastian. He used the word audacious to describe this attack. How would you describe, I guess, the risk or reflection of improved intel from Ukraine?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah. I mean, when you look at the map of Russia and you see where they hit, it's quite astounding. I mean, I think everything that he said is correct, especially from launching it inside of Russia, that meant that they had to get these drones in there. And some details are coming out in the media that will probably have to be confirmed, but it's actually -- I could almost use the word creative in the way they did it. Very innovative.

I think that it is a very big blow to Russia. If you have 40 planes and these are bombers and intelligence, you know, planes, et cetera., that is really huge. And I think also, you know, you have to again, put it in context, tomorrow both sides will be meeting in Istanbul. And this attack comes just days after Russia launched the biggest attack on Ukraine since the war began. I mean, they had drones and ballistic missiles.

So, we have enormously, you know, increased fighting right now. I was talking to a friend of mine who is Russian, talking to a relative in Moscow and saying that even the psychological effect of this is, is quite big because that that friend in in Moscow was saying the war has come to Moscow. You know, it's no longer something that's far away in Ukraine. It is now hitting, striking the homeland and thousands of kilometers and miles into the homeland. That's really significant.

WHITFIELD: And this is happening on the eve of, loosely speaking, of what is supposed to be continued peace talks involving Ukraine and Russia, this time in Turkey, again. So, might this impact that?

DOUGHERTY: Well, it probably will because of the, again, audacity of this attack. But it's very hard to say where those talks are going to go, because the Ukrainians have set out their position and what they think, you know, ceasefire first and then a long-term solution to the conflict. The Russians have yet to really be precise, but we pretty much know what they're going to say. It's not the cease fire. First, it's this, you know, root causes, as they call it.

And what they want is all of Ukraine, essentially. I mean, they want to neuter Ukraine. It won't be able to join NATO, it won't be able to have a substantial military. They want territory. The Russians want territory that they claim in kind of a legalistic way, but they don't even hold it.

So this is -- I don't know where they will go. Apparently, it's the same negotiating team from the Russians that they had at the last meeting. And that came up with essentially nothing.

I think the question is, you know, what does President Trump do with all of this? Because you have on capitol hill, not far from where I am, you have senators who are talking about. Excuse me, increased sanctions and really very serious sanctions. And it's a bipartisan push for new sanctions. But the question is, will President Trump do that? And that's the huge question.

WHITFIELD: Right. And if he does do that and, you know, really give you know, some credence to what the senators who visited Kyiv last week, you know, are proposing with these sanctions, how will that further cripple, if at all? Russia.

DOUGHERTY: I think if they did what they're talking about, which are called secondary sanctions, in other words, other countries that would buy energy, oil, gas, et cetera., from Russia would be sanctioned. Now, who are those countries? China and India primarily, that could really hurt Russia. Right now, it's hard to imagine this, but the entire economy of Russia is now militarized. It is. Everything for the fight.

[14:45:01]

And you have approximately 40 percent of the economy now devoted to either producing weapons, tanks, et cetera, or to mobilizing people, paying for those people who are being mobilized 40 percent.

And so they, you know, this is -- and it's an economy that relies very heavily on the sale of energy. So, this is very serious, and the economy is surviving, but it's increasingly being affected by these sanctions.

So, the new ones could really hurt if they are carried out in coordination with the Europeans. And of course, if President Trump were to really, you know, do it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jill Dougherty, great to see you. Thank you so much. All right. Coming up, the Indiana Pacers eliminate the New York Knicks

to advance to their first NBA Finals in 25 years. Sports roundup is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:39]

WHITFIELD: Okay, let's talk some sports. The Indiana Pacers advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in 25 years. History was made when they beat the Knicks in a very tight game last night. The Pacers will face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first game of the finals on Thursday.

This guy right here knows a whole lot more about it than I do. But, you know, I just kind of setting it up for you.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. I appreciate it.

WHITFIELD: Patrick Snell now here in the House.

SNELL: Not a good night, Fred, for the Knicks with their fans falling 17 points short in the end. The team after another hard fought battle. I will say, between these two teams in game six of the Eastern Conference Finals.

So, Pacers-Oklahoma City Thunder, as you say in the NBA Finals. They're coming up quick -- the finals coming up really quick because they start on Thursday. Seven players scoring in double figures for Indiana. Cameroonian star Pascal Siakam setting the tone early on. Offensively speaking, he put up 31 points, becoming the first player in franchise history with at least 30 points, five rebounds and three blocks in a series clinching game.

Tyrese Haliburton, the difference in the fourth quarter, he finished with 21 points, 13 assists. The Pacers sealing their place in the finals, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Well, that was tough. But you know, you can't -- you can't really predict these. I mean, it's really putting everything on the line and the surprises is what makes it so fun.

So, I should have said tip off and not really serve because that's more like volleyball. But hey, what were they serving at the French open? How about?

SNELL: Very nicely to some tennis at Roland Garros.

WHITFIELD: OK.

SNELL: The defending women's champ Iga Swiatek cruised through to the quarterfinals, though not without a scare on Thursday. I will say the Polish star was facing Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan and she found herself in real trouble. At one point. She was a set and two love down, but that's when Iga comes storming back and just in time, raising her game very impressively indeed. She wins the next two sets and she got it level, then won the decider.

This now takes 25th straight victory, 25 straight wins there on the tier two in Paris. Iga, seeking her fifth title and her sixth major crown overall. She'll face Elina Svitolina of Ukraine next on Tuesday in the last eight.

Now this is an incredible moment from Roland Garros from a little earlier, reigning men's champ Carlos Alcaraz, showing wonderful sportsmanship here during his match with the USA's Ben Shelton. Incredible stuff here. Really amazing because the point seemed as though the Spaniard actually calling himself out for breaking the rules at a crucial moment, right at the start of the second set.

The key is the racket here, Fred. Alcaraz, at full stretch, throws his racket at the ball, mate. What? It looked like an amazing volley winner. But the point is actually awarded initially to Carlitos as they call him.

But the 22-year-old, what does he do? He then goes and tells the chair umpire he didn't have the racket in his hand. Shelton is left perplexed. Therefore, if you don't have the racket in your hand, it's not a point.

He was so honest there, and he would go on to win in four sets. Just incredible.

And, Fred, we do stay in the French capital, where the newly crowned European champs Paris Saint-Germain have been celebrating a first ever tournament triumph for star of the show. There, 19-year-old, this kid is a superstar in the making. Desire Doue now the youngest player ever to both score and assist in a European Cup or Champions League final? Just for good measure, he scored two.

Why score? Why just leave it at one when you can score two. PSG turning on the style to beat Italian giants Inter Milan five-nil. Then we had the victorious team on Sunday afternoon, parading through the heart of the French capital. That trophy is known as old big ears. It was an hour long open top bus journey. It took PSG stars and their coaches as well, along the famed Champs Elysees as Luis Enrique, the really famous now head coach of that team. A heavy police presence, I will say, with the crowd limited to 100,000 people.

And here's why, this is a somber tone, Fred, because unfortunately, Fred, "Reuters" reporting overnight the aftermath of the team's victory seeing more than 500 people arrested by police during those overnight celebrations, which took place right across France. Two people reported dead as well. Sadly, 192 injured. Thats according to the nation's interior ministry.

And we just saw the Champs Elysees there. The bus shelters were smashed overnight.

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Objects aimed at riot police. More than 200 vehicles as well burned. It's a concerning note to end on there, Fred, really had putting up such -- such sad scenes on a victorious weekend for the team. I

WHITFIELD: Yeah, I mean, so much going wrong there.

All right. Well, Patrick Snell, thanks for bringing all the other good things that were going pretty right and very fun in the sports world. Thanks so much.

All right. We'll be right back.

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WHITFIELD: George Clooney stars in Broadway's "Good Night and Good Luck" --