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Ukraine Drones Strike Bases Deep Inside Russia; Trans Athlete Wins 2 Of 3 Events In California Track And Field Finals; Trump's Tariff Plans in LIMBO As Court Battles Escalate; Business Owners Confront Masked Agents Detainer Gardener; Health Ministry, Doctors: At Least 31 Shot And Killed Near Gaza Aid Site; Mounting Health Concerns In Aftermath Of Devastating Blazes; How Pilots Train Air Traffic Control Outages. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired June 01, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:00]
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EVA LONGORIA, ACTOR: The other thing I drank in Galicia was Queimada, which is the drink that they light on fire and you have to say this incantation in Gallegos that burns off evil spirits, and so I got to make that, mix it, pour it in a cup and burn away any negative energy.
BERMAN: You know, we could all burn away some evil spirits.
LONGORIA: Yes. Exactly.
BERMAN: It's something we could all use a little bit of.
LONGORIA: Yes. Exactly. And, you know, Galicia was the only region I had never been to. I had always wanted to go to Galicia because it's the end of the Camino de Santiago, which is a Catholic pilgrimage that could start in France and ends at the cathedral in Santiago, Galicia. And so to be there in Galicia, in front of the cathedral, and you see all of these groups, they arrive and they're in tears and they're praying at the cathedral that they made this pilgrimage, it was really beautiful to watch. And I want to do it. I want to do the pilgrimage one day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And now I do, too. I want to do that. All right. Be sure to tune in to a new episode of "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR SPAIN." That's tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
And we begin this hour with this breaking news. Ukraine says it carried out largescale drone attacks on multiple air bases, including some thousands of miles inside Russia. It says Operation Spider Web caused billions of dollars 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.
Let's get more now on these major developments. With us now is Admiral James Stavridis. He is a CNN senior military analyst and former NATO Supreme Allied commander. Also CNN senior political commentator and former congressman Adam Kinzinger. He's also a former member of the House Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committee, and served in the Air National Guard.
Good to see both of you. Thank you so much.
Congressman, you first. Do you think this is a game changer or of some other significance that Ukraine could pull this off?
ADAM KINZINGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, I mean, look, this is a huge deal. This is -- I would actually say this is right there with when Ukraine had their very successful counter offensive. Keep in mind, we've recently had, you know, the president of the United States say that Ukraine doesn't hold any cards. This is cards. This is a serious amount of cards, by the way.
Potentially taking out a third of Russia's bomber force is what this could potentially be is a hit like no other. And keep in mind, Ukraine is actually winning this war. As a defending country, all you have to do to win is keep defending until the attacker runs out of combat power. At the beginning of the full scale invasion, Russia occupied 30 percent of Ukraine. Today it's 18 percent. They've lost a million men, casualties in that process, and now potentially a third of their bomber force.
This is a really big deal, potentially going into negotiations. And keep in mind, up until this point, Russia has been attacking indiscriminately civilian targets in Ukraine all week, all month, and frankly the entire war.
WHITFIELD: So, Admiral, what does this say about Ukraine? Is it heightened intelligence gathering or is it a new directive or strategy?
ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: It's all the above and I'll add a couple. It is a clever, clever tactic. What they did was put these drones, quadcopter drones, into trucks. They got them deep, deep inside Russia.
A way to think about these strikes, this would be like launching from Washington, D.C. and attacking targets in Los Angeles. I mean, this is -- Russia is a huge country, largest in the world. These strikes are at distance exactly as congressman -- and by the way, you left out his most important credential for this conversation. He's an Air Force pilot, so he really understands the air distance equation and how remarkable this is.
So, Fred, put together the unmanned technology, the intelligence of the locations and the military savvy to load it on trucks, get it across this vast country, launch it at scale and at distance. I think it's a remarkable strike. I'm Greek American, so I've got to give you this. It's kind of the Trojan horse. It's this wooden, these wooden crates that got pushed into the country and suddenly sprouting forth from it are these warriors destroying all of these planes. None of them human beings. It's really quite a remarkable military feat.
WHITFIELD: So then, Congressman, clearly Ukraine is likely preparing for some sort of retaliation, but at the same time, what does this kind of successful, you know, attack from their standpoint do to the morale for Ukrainian fighters?
[16:05:03]
KINZINGER: This is huge for Ukrainian morale. This is devastating for Russian morale. Now, keep in mind, in this process, you know, we're going to see, so Ukraine is going to see how Russia responds to this. They've seen how Russia does or does not, in this case does not defend their military bases. And they're going to adjust from that. There may be more. There likely could be many more attacks like this kind of on the perch ready to go in Russia.
And now all of a sudden, Russia has had to go from defending its air bases and its military stuff, basically, within whatever, 500 or 1,000 kilometers of the front line to the entire amount of Russia. And keep in mind, they're already almost out of air defense as it is. They've had to move almost all their air defenses to Moscow just to defend their parade. So this is a big deal.
And for Americans, it's important to remember this. We have a choice. We can either help Ukraine defend itself, and if we do, we'll have a bit of a say in how Ukraine defends itself. If we don't, Ukraine has got to do what they can do. And again, it's important to keep in mind, every one of these targets today was a legitimate -- under the rule of war, legitimate target for Ukraine to strike.
What you will see in the Russian response is an attack on schools, on hospitals, on civilian infrastructure because that's what Russia does. Ukraine fights fair. Russia goes after civilians.
WHITFIELD: And then now, Admiral, all this taking place, you know, on the eve, you know, give or take a few days, of, you know, this meeting that is supposed to be taking place in Turkey between Russia and Ukrainian representatives. How might this either change the dynamic, apply more pressure, or might it mean a complete retreat from even having talks like this, meaning Russia retreating?
STAVRIDIS: I wouldn't be surprised to see the Russians put a freeze on things. On the other hand, more likely they'll try and kind of brazen their way through it and say, we caught all the people who did this. There'll be a bunch of round up the usual suspect operations. Ukraine, by the way, was very careful to point out that everybody involved in this is already back in Ukraine. So anybody you arrest, Russia, is wrong. I believe that, frankly.
And then secondly, again, the innovation on display here, I think is really what you have to focus on. And so I would say the talks probably freeze momentarily. Then they'll move forward.
A final thought for you, as I watch this, as a former Supreme Allied commander of NATO, people ask me a lot, you know, hey, do we really want to take Ukraine into the alliance? You know, when this war is over, this is going to be a country manufacturing two million, maybe three million drones a year. They'll have the most highly blooded, motivated military force on the continent. Do we want them on team NATO? Man, I do.
WHITFIELD: Congressman, as the admiral was saying, you know, this really is a display of innovation, too, in terms of this strategy. How do you think that will land with President Trump, who, you know, has not been completely supportive of Ukraine, if you want to put it that way, you know, and he has claimed, however, he was disappointed, though, in the behavior of Putin? But how might this potentially influence a more definitive point of view coming from the president?
KINZINGER: Well, let me just say, I couldn't have said better than what the admiral said about the importance of Ukraine and how they would be an asset to NATO. Look, what does this mean for President Trump? You know, look, I don't know. He, again, he has yet to really attack Putin. I would not be surprised, I would be saddened, but I would not be surprised if he somehow blames Zelenskyy for the stalling of the negotiations in this case.
Again, I hope he doesn't. Because keep in mind, this is a crazy thing. This is a massive attack, right? Again, against legitimate military targets. All week leading up to today, Russia has been sending drones and ballistic missiles into Ukraine after civilian targets but for some reason, they never get blamed for stalling negotiations. So my hope is the administration and President Trump, you know, finally kind of turns the corner here and at least gets out of Ukraine's way and allows Ukraine and Europe to defend themselves.
Of course, I would love to see the United States once again support our allies and go against, you know, not just Russia, by the way. Ukraine is fighting Russia, Iran, China and North Korea. They're like all enemies of the United States. So it might be really good to support Ukraine at this moment.
WHITFIELD: Admiral, I do want to shift gears, you know, talk about another conflict, because we did just learn that Hamas is now saying it is ready for indirect negotiations to reach a truce in Gaza. And it comes a day after the U.S. called out Hamas for essentially rejecting the last U.S. proposal. Are you hopeful to hear this?
[16:05:04]
STAVRIDIS: I hate to say it this way, but, boy, have we seen this movie already. It's been again and again walk up to the edge. And we ought to remember, yes, there was a six, I think it turned into eight to 10-week ceasefire, and about half the hostages were released. So we ought to be hopeful. We ought to do everything we can to encourage getting to the ceasefire.
But if you're asking me what are the odds of closing that switch, I think it's 1 in 4 at best. A positive aspect of this moment is that Hamas is really rudderless with, say, in the Navy business. Sinwar, both Sinwar brothers have now been killed. My view, that's a good thing. These are two hardened terrorists who are the masterminds of this horrific attack on Israel. So Hamas, I think, kind of feels the walls closing in.
Let's hope they will accept this ceasefire. I kind of think this offer on the table for Hamas is last exit before the tunnel because if they don't take it, I think Israel is just going to go in and smash what's left of the place and effectively occupy it. So Hamas, wake up. Here's, I think, your last, best chance to get to a negotiation.
WHITFIELD: All right. We'll leave it there for now. Gentlemen, Admiral James Stavridis, Congressman Adam Kinzinger, great to have you both. Thank you so much.
KINZINGER: You bet. Yes, thanks.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, a transgender high school track athlete competes in California's state championship despite a threat by President Trump to cut state funding and despite the protests also taking place at the event.
Also, hurricane season kicking off today and the storm outlook is predicted to be a very busy -- above average busy year. We'll tell you how many storms are expected.
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[16:16:38]
WHITFIELD: California's track and field state high school championship may be over, but controversy surrounding one of the transgender athletes may be ongoing.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has been following this. She's joining us live now.
You were there at the championships yesterday. Now we know who actually was on the podium quite a couple of times. Tell us more about what happened and what is next.
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, it was a different kind of podium, right? This is because of the rules changing just the week before this final of the track and field championship in California. The federation, California's Interscholastic Federation, they changed the rules to allow for an extra athlete, a cisgender girl, to go on to the finals and compete against A.B. Hernandez. And then they also allowed an extra medal.
So what we saw on this championship was pretty much unprecedented. Having a cisgender girl going on the podium because A.B. was also there. So she took first place in two of her events and then tied, a three-way tie for first in another one of those events. This happening after President Trump threatened to pull funding from California, federal funding from California, if she was able to compete, if local authorities, as you said, did not step in.
That did not happen. And in part it was because of a California law that dated back to 2013 that basically said that these teen athletes at a high school level can compete in the category of their gender identity. And what we did see, though, was protests, Fred. We heard from parents and just concerned citizens, as they called themselves, who were there, saying that these changes were not enough.
They said that they did not account for the biological differences between boys and girls, and they said that they wanted to see A.B. Hernandez competing in a completely different category, or competing against boys. We saw these protesters even yelling from a megaphone at one point, making the meet come to a pause and the announcer having to ask them to please respect the athletes. This is what A.B. said about these changes in the rules.
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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: She also said, Fred, that these protesters did not bother her, that she just focused on her own performance in these events when they happened because they have been following her for quite a long time. In that same interview with NBC, we heard from A.B.'s mother talking about how difficult it's been even for her to accept her daughter's full identity.
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NEREYDA HERNANDEZ, A.B. HERNANDEZ'S 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'd 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.
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[16:20:07]
JONES: Such an emotional soundbite there from her mother. Really, it was a roller coaster of emotions this weekend, Fred, as we saw parents there supporting their kids and going through these finals. But eventually, you know, it did end in a celebration in more ways than one not just for this family, but for all the families that got to support their kids on that podium.
WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.
All right. Still to come, the White House says President Trump will soon talk with Chinese President Xi, but also that tariffs are not going away. What that means for consumers caught in the middle of this trade war.
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WHITFIELD: President Trump is warning of ramifications if courts strike down his tariffs. In a social media post this afternoon, the president writing, quote, "If the courts somehow rule against us on tariffs, which is not expected, that would allow other countries to hold our nation hostage with their anti-American tariffs that they would use against us. This would mean the economic ruination of the United States of America."
Those comments coming from the president. That post comes as the president's trade war faces growing uncertainty amid ongoing legal battles. On Wednesday, Trump's new tariffs on imported steel will double from 25 percent to 50 percent. Top Trump economic officials defended those tariff increases today, claiming they are needed for national security.
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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 we're 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.
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WHITFIELD: CNN's Betsy Klein joining us now from the White House.
Betsy, what more is the Trump administration saying about the president's agenda on trade?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN WHITE HOUSE SENIOR CORRESPONDENT AND WRITER: Well, despite all of the legal whiplash, the president's post there just moments ago, as well as top Trump officials hitting the airwaves this morning, making clear that his tariff policies are here to stay. Now, on Wednesday, a federal court issued a decision blocking the president's global tariffs. An appeals court later said that the tariffs could remain in place while this plays through the judicial system.
But Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick says that the president has a number of other tools in his toolbox he can use to keep those tariffs in place. Listen.
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HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: We're going to take that up to higher courts. The president is 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.
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KLEIN: And we saw one sign that the Trump administration is pressing forward with that strategy. On Friday, as the president announced a doubling of tariffs on foreign made steel from 25 percent to 50 percent set to take effect on Wednesday. Now, administration officials defended that move this weekend, saying it was a matter of national security, even as experts say that this could raise prices for the construction and manufacturing industries, could also potentially raise the price of cars.
And all of this comes as the administration is ratcheting up pressure on China. We saw Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in Singapore over the weekend say that China is posing a real and imminent threat to Taiwan, and of course Trump economic officials have been saying that they believe Trump, or excuse me, China isn't holding up their end of the deal that they struck in Geneva just a few weeks ago on trade.
All of this leading up to what is expected to be a very high stakes call expected potentially in the coming days between President Trump and China's President Xi. Now, all of these recent moves taken together represent the threat to destabilize what's been a relatively successful period for the U.S. economy. We saw a key inflation report released last week that showed that inflation is cooling.
We are also expecting GDP numbers out this week that economists say should show solid growth. But Trump and his team making clear here they're willing to take the risk and keep their tariff policy in place -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Betsy Klein, at the White House, thanks so much.
All right. We're also now learning of new details about an immigration arrest this week involving several federal agencies and a gardener. The arrest 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 details on this.
Walk us through what happened.
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is a video that is catching the attention of many people across the nation because of the way it happened, and the arrest had many similarities, Fred, 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.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have asked for I.D.s. Can you please tell me that you refuse to give us your I.D.s?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We don't need to give you I.D.s.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't need to give us I.D.s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. We're federal. We do not need to give you I.D.s.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, how do we know your federal? How do we know your federal?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: And earlier, we spoke with two business owners who witnessed the operation to arrest the immigrant and he told us that, by their count, there were about six agents in four different cars. This is what they have to say about how the operation was conducted.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH STINER, BUSINESS OWNER: And I just kept asking them 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 I.D.
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, quote, a 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."
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, Fred, illegal.
WHITFIELD: And --and we don't know where that person is right now.
ROMO: No idea so far.
WHITFIELD: All right. Rafael Romo, thanks so much.
All right. Coming up, chaos in Gaza. Dozens of Palestinians reportedly killed near a distribution aid center. That report, straight ahead.
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[16:35:49]
WHITFIELD: All right. More now on one of our top stories today. We're learning new details about a shooting game that took place near an aid distribution center in Gaza.
CNN's Oren Liebermann has more on what happened.
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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: A deadly day near an A distribution site in southern Gaza on Sunday when the Palestinian Ministry of Health says 31 Palestinians were killed and scores more were wounded.
The Red Cross, which has a 60-bed field hospital in Rafah, says their facility was quickly overwhelmed by the number of people who came in with gunshot and shrapnel wounds. The Red Cross says they had to send the casualties to several other facilities in order to be treated. They called it the single highest weapon wounded event that they've dealt with since the beginning of their facility more than a year ago.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says it was Israeli forces who opened fire on Palestinians as they went towards an aid distribution site. They said those killed had suffered gunshot wounds to the head and to the chest.
Doctors at Nasser Hospital and paramedics, as they all -- say they also treated the gunshot wounds, many of them from this mass casualty incident.
Israel denies any involvement here, saying that they did not open fire on Palestinians at or near an aid distribution site. They said accusations that Israeli soldiers did so were, quote, false reports.
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is the controversial U.S. and Israel-backed organization that runs these sites, says there was no fire at or near any of their four sites, either during the distribution of aid or throughout the morning at some of those other sites that were closed. They said reports otherwise are untrue and fabricated.
One medical official in Gaza did tell CNN that it was very difficult, especially in the chaos like these moments, to tell who was firing upon whom and -- and who it was that was responsible for the shooting.
Now, an Israeli military source did tell CNN that there was an incident several hours before the distribution site opened a kilometer away from the site, in which suspects approached an Israeli position.
The Israeli forces opened fire towards the suspects that were approaching with warning shots, but the military source says, this is not connected to reports of Israel opening fire on civilians near a distribution site.
Video from Rafah in the aftermath of the scene shows the -- the chaos of the moment, as Palestinians rush the wounded and killed for treatment or to hospitals.
The head of UNRWA, which is the U.N. agency that works with Palestinian refugees, says the distribution sites are, quote, death traps because of what unfolded today. And the challenges over the course of the past week since these new distribution sites opened.
The GHF has been up and running for about a week now with the plan being there to open four different sites. Several of those have been up and running over the course of the last several days.
And in the videos from these scenes, you see thousands, if not tens of thousands, of Palestinians rushing in the moment they're open, rushing to get boxes, and then taking whatever food is in those boxes. Each is supposed to be able to feed a family for about a half a week and leaving the scenes.
[16:40:02]
It is in this scene of chaos that this mass shooting occurred.
Oren Liebermann, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Oren.
Coming up, in light of the recent technology concerns inside air traffic control tower at Newark's airport, we'll take a look at how pilots are training.
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[16:45:59]
WHITFIELD: All right. This week, rain and cooler temperatures are expected to bring relief to parts of Canada, battling nearly 200 wildfires across the country. But concerns remain over high winds, threatening to help spread the wildfires.
Multiple Canadian provinces are under extreme fire danger. And smoke from those fires is also pushing south, putting millions of Americans under air quality alerts. All right. It's been nearly five months since the Eden and Palisades Fires destroyed parts of Southern California. At least 30 people were killed in those wildfires. And now, residents and researchers are concerned about possible health risks connected to air pollution.
Marybel Gonzalez has more.
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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 -- 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 -- 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 -- are livestreamed to -- 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: 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)
WHITFIELD: Air traffic controllers at Newark have experienced at least four blackouts since April 28th, which left them unable to see planes on their screens.
CNN's Pete Muntean has a look at what it's like for pilots when that happens and how they prepare for it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAPT. MILES MORGAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF FLIGHT TRAINING, UNITED AIRLINES: Ready to go?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm at the controls of a Boeing 737 MAX simulator here at United Airlines Flight Training Center in Denver to see what pilots experience when air traffic control goes dark.
It's the latest challenge for them, after flights in and out of Newark faced repeat failures of radar and radio earlier this month.
AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: We don't have a radar, so I don't know where you are. MUNTEAN (voice-over): Along with me is Captain Miles Morgan, who heads training for United.
MUNTEAN: Would you say that these issues at Newark have caused any sort of degradation of safety?
MORGAN: Not at all. Safety for us, if you've got pilots that are operating into the airspace, it is safe for us to do so. We are 100 percent confident in that.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): This is some of the busiest airspace in the country. If air traffic controllers lose their radar scopes.
MORGAN: Traffic, traffic.
MUNTEAN: Morgan says pilots can fall back on the plane's Traffic Collision Avoidance System or TCAS. It calls out collisions in the making and can even issue instructions to climb or descend.
MORGAN: It was --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Traffic.
MORGAN: So now -- OK. I've stopped doing what I'm doing. I look -- I see it on the screen, 700 feet above. I acquire it visually.
MUNTEAN: Yes.
MORGAN: And now I'm monitoring. I'm making sure, hey, I'm -- this is good. I'm -- we're -- we're at a good airspace. We're safe.
MUNTEAN (on camera): The reason you're showing me this is to show that there are other layers here, there are other systems.
[16:50:03]
MORGAN: Exactly correct. We have a lot of different layers. And a lot of them rely on the external world, but we all have this internal system that our airplanes will talk to each other.
MUNTEAN (voice-over): But when controllers can't reach flights via radio, Morgan says pilots would try a previously used radio frequency.
MORGAN: Push this button, the previous frequency pops back up.
MUNTEAN: Try the emergency backup frequency.
MORGAN: This would be a -- a backup if we couldn't raise it any other way.
MUNTEAN: Use data link text messaging to communicate with the airline.
MORGAN: And I can say, need frequency. And I --
MUNTEAN: And dial in a transponder code that signals that communication has been lost. Decades old redundancies that air traffic controllers are trained for too.
NICK DANIELS, NATIONAL AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT: We were always prepared for it. The pilots were always prepared for it. Unfortunately, we're having to use those safety nets.
MORGAN: So, I'm going to start putting some flaps in for you.
MUNTEAN: Maybe to prove that flying is safe, Morgan even let me do the landing.
MORGAN: A little flare. Perfect. Boom.
MUNTEAN: Not my worst, as airlines insist the worst will not happen when air traffic control fails.
MORGAN: I don't really worry when something is a little abnormal. We're -- we're trained for all these abnormalities. It's not just this. It's -- we're constantly training for whatever could be going wrong and how to make a decision to rectify that.
MUNTEAN: This is especially pertinent since Newark is one of United's biggest hubs and the FAA has scaled back flights there in order to not overwhelm air traffic control. United says that actually led to it canceling no flights on Memorial Day or the day before.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday that the federal government has taken steps to harden Newark air traffic control systems, but even still, there needs to be a nationwide overhaul of air traffic control, he says, something that could cost tens of billions of dollars.
Pete Muntean, CNN, Reagan National Airport.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Pete. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[16:55:36]
WHITFIELD: All right. The CNN original series, "My Happy Place," takes viewers on personal and immersive journeys across the world, where celebrity hosts show us places where they go to escape and film most at peace.
This Sunday Academy Award-winning actress, Octavia Spencer, takes viewers to New Orleans where she explores the unique traditions and international flair reflected in the city's culture, art and food. Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OCTAVIA SPENCER, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Mardi Gras is pretty spectacular. One of the things that I love about New Orleans is the fact that it is an artist community, whether you're a performer, a musician, or an artist who is participating and -- and creating these very unique experiences. I love that this exists.
Look at these unbelievable works. Got everything from the frog prints to blue whales to this handsome guy.
I know him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know him. We've got --
SPENCER: He's my friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
SPENCER: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this -- this is -- this is paper mache. And so this is -- this is a traditional process that goes back to the beginnings of carnival, but it's still something that we do today.
SPENCER: Oh, my God. This is gorgeous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
SPENCER: It's a pretty beautiful work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
SPENCER: And as an artist, this is something that you get to do every day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's a joy. Yes. It's like dream come true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Exciting. A new episode of "My Happy Place" with Academy Award-winning actress, Octavia Spencer, airs tonight at 10:00 P.M. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.
And happy birthday to us all here at CNN. This incredible global reaching network founded by Ted Turner turns 45 years old today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED TURNER, FOUNDER, CNN: I dedicate the news channel for America, the Cable News Network.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Hard to believe it's only 45 years considering the many breakthroughs created by CNN and breaking news covered by the one and only CNN on June 1st, 1980.
Ted Turner revolutionized it all with his bold and courageous invention of a 24/7 cable news network.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: Take a letter my cue. Cue New York.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good afternoon from the World Trade Center at --
TURNER: Standby. Ready three, take three mike. You're free to slow zoom in a little bit. You're all safe. Take three.
Ready 13 full. Ready camera three, one center up.
DAVID WALKER, NEWS ANCHOR: Good evening. I'm David Walker.
LOIS HART, NEWS ANCHOR: And I'm Lois Hart. Now, here's the news.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And so there it was. And so many other CNN ventures would follow, CNN International, CNN Radio, Sports, Business. And over the years, including the 23 years I've been working with this network, CNN and its amazing assortment of talent, skill, and professionals of all realms, bring transformative information of global importance to you in your homes, businesses, on your phones, in your cars, on airplanes and beyond.
Thank you, Ted Turner, for your vision and dedication. Thank you to the entire CNN family, past and present, giving it all are all throughout.
And thanks to you, our viewers and followers, for your shared dedication and thirst for truth, fearless reporting and innovation.
And thanks so much for joining me today. I'm for Fredricka Whitfield. The "CNN Newsroom" continues with Jessica Dean right now.
