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Crowd Clashes With Authorities After L.A. ICE Raids; Abrego Garcia Facing Criminal Charges After Return To U.S.; Sources: Trump Administration Plans Major Cuts To California's Federal Funding; Russia Carries Out Intense Strikes Across Ukraine. Trump: Will "Take A Look" At Canceling Some Musk's Federal Contracts; U.S.-Backed Gaza Aid Group Hasn't Said If Aid Was Distributed Today. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired June 07, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00]

DAVID YAZBEK, COMPOSER, "DEAD OUTLAW": -- the actor there as a silent witness to all this stuff is very poignant. It can also be very funny.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: It is a very funny show, I must say.

Good luck to David Yazbek and everyone else this weekend at the Tonys.

Well, that's all we have time for today. Don't forget, you can find all of our shows online as podcasts at CNN.com/audio and on all other major platforms.

I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you again next week.

Hello, everyone, thanks so much for joining me. I'm Bianna Golodryga in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin this hour with anger over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown boiling over onto the streets of Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, they're removing that --

(END VIDEOCLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Protesters and police clashing Friday after immigration raids in multiple locations across the city. Authorities in riot gear used tear gas and flash bangs to break up the crowds.

CNN Correspondent Julia Vargas Jones joins me now from Los Angeles. Julia, what more can you tell us about some of these really alarming images that we saw?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alarming and an extraordinary show of force there, Bianna. Riot gear, military-style rifles, military-style vehicles through downtown Los Angeles. These protests came after 44 people were arrested in three different raids across the downtown core of Los Angeles that took place over throughout the day, I should say, starting in the morning.

I want to show you one of these videos. It shows from above an aerial view of one of these raids just finishing up what seems to be a government van leaving a parking lot. And then one person getting in front of that vehicle, running with it for quite a while, and then falling onto the ground before that vehicle is able to drive away and come back into that line of vehicles that seem to be from the government exiting one of these locations.

Another location that federal agents raided was a Home Depot in Westlake, Los Angeles, still really close by in the downtown core, an area where typically we see workers offering up services to customers in the parking lot. Another raid took place in the Fashion District, again, neighboring that area, where agents served a search warrant after a judge determined that this one business had been using fictitious documents to some of the workers, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Now, as the news of these raids started to spread around Los Angeles, we started to see gatherings, large gatherings of people, protests that eventually escalated to what we saw there at the beginning of the show, all of these against these immigration enforcement actions.

And we heard from community members, one of them explaining why she was still out there. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ANGELICA SALAS, DIRECTOR, COALITION FOR HUMANE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS: Our community is under attack and is being terrorized. These are workers. These are fathers. These are mothers. And this has to stop.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

JONES: In Bianna, one of the people arrested was David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees Union of California. Allegedly, he was attempting to obstruct entry to one of the businesses, one of these work sites, according to the U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli.

He said later on a post on X that, quote, "Let me be clear. I don't care who you are. If you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted. No one has the right to assault, obstruct or interfere with federal authorities carrying out these duties."

All of this, Bianna, is a very clear escalation and continuation, really, of these kinds of operations. California, according to some estimates, is home to about 10 million undocumented migrants, and about a third of them live in Southern California. This is according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

So it has the actions installed a lot of fear in these communities, especially those that are located in downtown Los Angeles. Bianna? GOLODRYGA: Yes, this comes as the war of words between the White House and California specifically only heats up the Trump administration threatening to withhold aid for the state, now federal funding.

Julia Vargas Jones, thank you.

Well, Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man mistakenly deported to El Salvador, is now back in the U.S.

[12:05:05]

After a sudden return on Friday, he appeared in court in Tennessee, where he is facing federal criminal charges. His return is a striking about-face from the Trump administration, which had long maintained that he would not be brought back to the U.S.

CNN's Rafael Romo is in Nashville. Rafael, what more are you learning about these charges that he's now facing here?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Bianna. Well, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is spending his first full day back in the U.S. and in federal custody. The Salvadoran national will remain held by authorities, at least until next Friday, when there will be an arraignment and a detention hearing here at the federal courthouse in downtown Nashville.

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Friday afternoon that Abrego Garcia has been indicted on two criminal counts in the middle district of Tennessee, conspiracy to unlawfully transport illegal aliens for financial gain and unlawful transportation of illegal aliens also for financial gain.

According to the indictment, Bianna, which was unsealed Friday, Abrego Garcia and others are accused of being part of a conspiracy going as far back as 2016, in which they, and I'm quoting now, "knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorization to be present in the United States, and many of whom were MS-13 members and associates".

But Abrego Garcia and his family say he fled gang violence in El Salvador and have denied allegations he's associated with MS-13. This is part of what Attorney General Bondi said about the case when she announced Abrego Garcia had been returned to the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Our government presented El Salvador with an arrest warrant and they agreed to return him to our country. Abrego Garcia has played a significant role in an alien smuggling ring. They found this was his full-time job, not a contractor. He was a smuggler of humans and children and women.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: And Bianna in March, when Abrego Garcia was mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement official told CNN he was mistakenly sent there due to what the official called an administrative error. The Trump administration has been locked in an intense standoff with the federal judiciary over court orders for the government to facilitate Abrego Garcia's return from El Salvador.

Multiple Trump administration officials had said it was not up to them but the government of El Salvador to return him to the United States. An attorney for Abrego Garcia told CNN how his legal team found out he was returned to the country.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

SIMON SANDOVAL-MOSHENBERG, ATTORNEY FOR KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA: We learned about it on TV just like the rest of the country. What's clear -- this just makes crystal clear what we've been saying, frankly, for the past two months is that they've been playing games with the court. It just goes to show that they've been more interested in dragging his name through the mud than in actually sort of going through with proper court proceedings, just like it's been since day one.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: And finally, Bianna, Federal Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes in Nashville, here in Nashville, determined that Abrego Garcia will be held in custody until at least next Friday when there will be an arraignment and detention hearing here at this courthouse.

Now back to you.

GOLODRYGA: And Rafael, what happens once Abrego Garcia's legal case is completed here in the U.S.?

ROMO: Well, federal officials are saying that he is going to be deported regardless. Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons confirmed this morning that there's a current deportation order to Abrego Garcia, which is enforceable whether he is convicted or not. This is what Lyons told Fox News. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TODD LYONS, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: Yes. So after his sentence, after he has his due process and these charges for human trafficking go forward, based on his conviction and the outcome of that case, he will be sent back and deported from the United States. And that judge's order will be affected.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So even if he's found not guilty of these charges, he's being deported somewhere?

LYONS: Yes, we will go ahead and affect that lawful judge's deportation order.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: And in addition to all this, Bianna, there's a 2019 order from a judge who said, Abrego Garcia could not be deported to his home country because of fears that he would face gang violence. Bianna?

GOLODRYGA: All right, Rafael Romo, thank you.

Joining now is Democratic Congresswoman from California, Laura Friedman. Now, Congresswoman, thank you so much for taking the time.

So Attorney General Pam Bondi says Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the U.S. to face justice. What does justice in his case look like to you? And do you agree with the New York Times assessment that his return, albeit months later, does suggest that the administration was, at least in some ways, feeling the heat of not one, not two, but three court orders that it was facing to facilitate his freedom?

[12:10:13]

REP. LAURA FRIEDMAN (D), CALIFORNIA: Yes, the flip-flopping from this administration is pretty astounding. First, they say that they have no ability to bring him back, then they bring him back. First, they say he was deported in error, by a clerical error, and now they're trying to act like he's some kind of drug lord or, you know, human trafficker.

And what justice looks like to me and what justice looks like to other Democrats is what justice should look like from everybody, which is due process. That if you pick someone up and accuse them of a crime, they get a trial. Even if you think they're guilty, they still get a trial.

Whether or not they're documented, whether they're a U.S. citizen, they still get a trial, because that's what the U.S. Constitution says they get. And this administration should do what they're asking everyone else to do and follow the law.

GOLODRYGA: Let me ask you about the scenes, the developments overnight in Los Angeles, just blocks away from a federal detention center --

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: -- from -- in your district, where riot police used tear gas to disperse crowds who gathered to protest multiple arrests by ICE agents yesterday. Do you have any plans on how to protect immigrant communities from some of these aggressive tactics that we've seen play out?

FRIEDMAN: Well, first of all, we do believe in due process, and everybody has the right to due process. And that's what I would expect ICE to give individuals and what we expect the U.S. government to give individuals. And we'll keep asking the courts to make sure that that's enforced.

And that's what the Democratic plan is, is to literally use the U.S. Constitution and use the court system just as our founding fathers intended. We have a set of checks and balances in this country. And, so far, the courts, including the Supreme Court, have over and over again said that the Trump administration is acting unlawfully, that they are acting outside of the bounds of the Constitution. And it's up to all elected representatives, Democrat and Republican, to make sure the Constitution is followed. We all swore the same oath on the Constitution, and we expect this administration to follow them.

But in terms of what happened yesterday in Los Angeles, look, it's very clear that the Trump administration is waging a war against California. They believe that California doesn't share their extremist views, that we, as a group, didn't vote for Trump. And he's vindictive, and he wants California to pay the price.

So we heard this week, through CNN and other reporting, that they plan on trying to defund the state of California, to cancel every federal grant that they can cancel. This is unprecedented. And when you consider that California sends $80 billion more to the federal government than we get back in our own taxes, that we send our money to the federal government to be used by other states and by the federal government, the idea that they're going to say that they're going to cut us off from federal grants is not just shocking, but it's something that's going to hurt all Californians, whether you're Republican or Democrat.

And all Americans, because where does that money go? It goes to supporting cancer research. And as a cancer survivor, I know very well how important that is. It goes to supporting children through Head Start. It goes to hundreds of programs that support all Californians.

And that this administration is so vindictive that if you don't support them or you speak out against them or go through the court system to hold them accountable to the Constitution, that they're willing to defund an entire state and to hurt everyone in that state and to hurt the whole country is really outrageous and something that should not be tolerated by anyone in this country.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, you're right. Per our reporting as well, parts of the large-scale cuts to the federal funding includes that of research grants and disaster relief. But what is your response to claims from the Trump administration that it's California's sanctuary policies and progressive positions that somehow justify the funding cuts?

FRIEDMAN: I don't see how having a policy disagreement is going to lead to wanting to hurt millions of Americans through these kinds of cuts, how it's -- how they're willing over policy disagreements to defund research and destroy the U.S. economy, which is what it would do given the outsized role that California plays in the U.S. economy, to hurt American businesses, large businesses and small businesses.

Think of what a bizarre concept that would be and what a terrible precedent it would be if states were punished because of the -- because of policy disagreements. And, you know, it's my view that any single policy that Trump throws out as a reason to defund California is just an excuse, an excuse for him being angry at a state that doesn't support him and his extremist agenda.

You know, like you said, you could come up with 10 different policy disagreements that he could use, and he fluctuates, flip-flops from day to day over which one is the reason why he's willing to hurt Republicans and Democrats who happen to live in the state of California.

[12:15:08]

GOLODRYGA: Congresswoman Laura Friedman, we'll have to leave it there. Thank you. We appreciate your time.

FRIEDMAN: Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: And still ahead for us, more than 60 million people across the U.S. are under threat for severe weather today. We'll have details on where to expect flooding, hail and possible tornadoes.

Plus, Russia striking Ukraine's second largest city with bombs and missiles in the most powerful attack of the entire war. That is according to the city's mayor. This as a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine gets put on pause.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:17]

GOLODRYGA: New today, Russian attacks target Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city, reportedly killing at least three people. The city's mayor calls it the most powerful attack since the war began. Video from the scene shows rescuers desperately trying to help survivors.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla is joining us live with more. Sebastian, what more are we learning about this deadly strike?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, good afternoon, Bianna. What we're seeing out of Kharkiv is incredibly disturbing. And in the last few minutes, we've also learned that a new attack has taken place across the city, which has left one person dead after an attack that appears to look like it struck a children's playground.

And that would so, therefore, bring the total of dead to four people in the last little while after those attacks that hit overnight in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city right on the border there with Russia, just some 20 miles away. And this appears to be the second consecutive day now of these reprisal attacks that President Putin vowed following that Ukrainian intelligence services attack, which struck those airfields and various different airfields across the Russian Federation, deep and far away from the Ukrainian battlefields.

And all of this, Bianna, is coming in what has been an incredibly busy and often topsy-turvy and confusing prisoner exchange, which was due to take place today, according to the Russians, where some 6,000 Ukrainian soldiers' bodies were due to be exchanged.

But what appears to have happened now is that the Ukrainians have not held their end of the bargain, according to the Russians. The Russian Ministry of Defense posting videos, some of which are very graphic, on Twitter show what they say to be 1,200 bodies of dead Ukrainians in the backs of those refrigerated, articulated lorries.

The Ukrainians, for their part, say, no, no, that's not what happened here. We have agreed to an exchange, but we didn't agree the day. So the Ukrainians, for their part, saying, "Unfortunately, instead of constructive dialogue, we are again forced with manipulations and attempts to use sensitive humanitarian issues for informational purposes, and that we call on the Russians to stop playing dirty games."

An incredibly confusing picture that appears to have taken place at this undisclosed location for this prisoner exchange, Bianna. But I think talks to the wider issue at the moment that both sides have a deep mistrust for each other, the attacks and the prisoner swap, just bringing that, encapsulating the picture as a whole.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, the prisoner exchange was the one agreed upon area following those talks in Turkey as well, and it seems like the two sides are not clearly in agreement now on this issue as that has unfolded, as you've described.

Sebastian Shukla, thank you.

Let's continue the conversation. With us now is Bill Taylor, he's the former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, is now the Distinguished Fellow at the Atlantic Council. Ambassador, thank you so much.

So per the conversation that we know President Putin had with President Zelenskyy following that daring attack by Ukraine against Russian military sites and aircraft and bombers with scores of drones that took out multiple bombers, President Putin said that he vowed to retaliate, called the Ukrainians terrorists.

President Trump acknowledged that he would be responding, and thus we see the response, one of the worst aerial assaults we've seen thus far throughout the course of the war. A big difference, though, Ambassador, is Ukraine seems to be targeting military sites. That's not the case for Russia. Where do you see this going?

WILLIAM TAYLOR, FMR. U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: You're exactly right, Bianna. That is, the Russians attack cities, they attack playgrounds, as you just reported. The Ukrainians attack military targets, attack military airfields and military aircraft. So that's the difference.

But the other interesting issue, the comparison, is when they want to agree on a prisoner exchange or some kind of either prisoners or bodies of dead soldiers, they can do it. It is not impossible to have this conversation when the Russians are willing to make a deal to come to an agreement, they can do it. They've shown it.

However, they're not willing to make a deal and not willing to come to an agreement on a ceasefire. That's the big difference.

GOLODRYGA: What do you make of the analogy in the statement from President Trump when he was greeting last week on Thursday the chancellor from Germany about the current situation there between Russia and Ukraine, comparing it to children, young people fighting in a field and somehow just needing it sometimes, according to the president, to just fight it out?

That's the best outcome, using the analogy of comparing it to, I believe, hockey at one point. What do you make of that?

[12:25:22]

TAYLOR: So, Bianna, people are dying and the president has acknowledged this. And he has, President Trump, has the ability to pull this together, to put some pressure on Putin and then sit them both down. And he's done that. He's gotten the two sides to agree to meet and talk in Istanbul, as you've reported.

And they've had some conversations, not at the senior level, but as the president points out all the time, people are dying. Ukrainians are dying. Civilians are dying. And President Trump, if he puts pressure on President Putin to come to the table and to stop this war, to stop this killing, he has -- President Trump has the ability to do that, has the leverage on President Putin to do that. And I expect that that will happen.

GOLODRYGA: Why do you think it hasn't happened yet? Because the president was asked about that. He said he has a potential even date in mind for retaliatory sanctions against Russia, perhaps secondary sanctions. We know that a bipartisan bill in Congress is ready for his approval. And that would specifically hurt Russia in terms of its economy and dependence on oil sales.

The president hasn't done this yet. It's pretty clear the direction Russia is taking in this war. Evidence suggests that they are mounting a summer offensive imminently. Why not do it now?

TAYLOR: He absolutely should do it now. There's no reason not to. As you say, he's got political cover. He's got a bipartisan bill, 80-some co-sponsors for Senator Graham's bill that puts sanctions on nations that buy Russian oil. Serious anti-Russian legislation, pro-Ukrainian legislation. There's no reason not to pull that trigger right now, put the pressure on Putin, bring this war to a stop, bring it to a ceasefire.

GOLODRYGA: One of your former colleagues also had the job of U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, recently resigned. And you know that in her view, she said that she believes President Trump in a way through his actions is appeasing President Putin.

I'm wondering, given their phone conversation over the weekend where President Trump said, President Putin said, I have to respond following this attack on military bases in Russia, what should President Trump have told Vladimir Putin on that call?

TAYLOR: President Trump should have, and he may have, Bianna. He may have told Putin, don't retaliate. Don't do these big attacks after those deep strikes that the Ukrainians executed against you. And President Putin apparently said, I'm going to retaliate anyway. So that's what he should have done.

And President Trump should then realize, acknowledge, understand, come to the conclusion that Putin is not a good -- is not a credible negotiator. He's not a credible person. Putin is going to drag this out. It's what he's doing, exactly as you've said. He's dragging this out so that he can continue to make minor gains on the battlefield. He wants to try to wait us out. And President Trump has the ability to call that, to stop that, and to put the pressure on Putin to come to the table.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, it seems like the Europeans are very well aware at this point of the threat that Putin poses not only to Ukraine, but to Europe. We'll see if indeed President Trump follows up on what even some in his own party are telling him to do, and that is be more aggressive in sanctions level against Russia.

Ambassador Bill Taylor, thank you for the time.

TAYLOR: Yes, thank you.

GOLODRYGA: Coming up for us, sources telling CNN that President Trump is now raising questions about Elon Musk's alleged drug use amid his feud with the world's wealthiest man. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: Today, more fallout from that explosive public breakup between President Trump and Elon Musk. Trump now saying that he will take a look at canceling some of Musk's federal contracts. While publicly, the President has maintained he is not thinking about Musk. A source tells CNN that Trump is privately asking aides if Musk's behavior had anything to do with his alleged drug use.

Betsy Klein is following this story for us. Betsy, it was just over a week ago, perhaps a week and a half ago, where we had that mutual goodbye between the two of them in the Oval Office, saying they're going to continue to work together. The relationship would continue to thrive with Elon Musk, even out of his position there at the White House.

Wow, what a difference a few days will make. I remember a reporter specifically asking Musk about this "New York Times" report about his alleged drug use and he quickly shut him down. Now it appears the President's asking more questions about it. What is he saying?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, life comes at you fast, Bianna. The President and the White House spent the better part of Friday trying to defuse and de-escalate what had really become an explosive breakup between President Trump and the billionaire, Elon Musk. And this all started because of a disagreement over President Trump's sweeping domestic agenda that is currently working its way through the Senate.

[12:35:04]

That soon devolved as the two exchanged barbs over dueling social media platforms that both of them owned. But that really threatens to have two major impacts. Number one, Musk at one point endorsing this idea of impeaching the President and installing Vice President J.D. Vance. But he has pledged previously massive support to Trump-aligned candidates in the 2026 midterm elections. All of that now in some level of question. Number two, Trump has threatened to review Musk's businesses' federal contracts. This could have an impact of billions of dollars in federal support for his many businesses.

Now the President has encouraged his staff to stay focused on this so- called big beautiful bill that is currently in the Senate. He told Vice President Vance to speak diplomatically about this situation. And he himself has stayed relatively muted when asked about it. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your view on Elon Musk as of today? I mean are -- have you heard from him at all? Has your team --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Honestly, I've been so busy working on China, working on Russia, working on Iran, working on so many things. I'm not thinking about him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any plans to speak with Mr. Musk? This was one of your closest advisers.

TRUMP: No. I don't have any plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: And yet this feud has spawned gossip across Washington and the West Wing. One former Trump staffer said, "everyone is talking about it." And though he says he doesn't care, President Trump has privately been asking aides and advisors if they believe that Musk's behavior this week could be related to that reported drug use. Of course, all of this coming at this very critical moment for the President's signature legislation that faces very thin margins in the Senate and key deadlines coming up, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: And we're also learning that the President may be traveling to Camp David tomorrow with -- with some other members of his administration. What more do we know about that?

KLEIN: That's right. This was not on the President's public schedule that was released for this weekend by the White House. But we are learning that the President is set to depart Bedminster, where he is spending the weekend and travel to Camp David.

Well, he will spend Sunday with a number of top aides and advisors, including the vice president, J.D. Vance, as well as the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It is what the White House is describing as a -- what will be a regular off campus retreat of principals. They will meet on a number of issues and topics, Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: All right, Betsy Klein, thank you so much. Good to see you, my friend.

And still ahead for us, the body of another hostage recovered from Gaza amid growing confusion about the distribution of lifesaving aid.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:42:31]

GOLODRYGA: Right now, 1.5 million people are under a tornado watch across parts of Arkansas as severe weather makes its way toward the Carolina coast.

Large hail and tornadoes are also likely to hit the Texas panhandle, which could intensify Sunday. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the latest forecast. Allison, where is the biggest threat right now?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. More than 60 million people are under the threat for severe storms today, mainly across the southeastern U.S. But it's not just damaging winds and the potential for tornadoes. We're also looking at the threat for flooding as well. And it's two separate areas for flooding.

One across the southeast, but another in portions of New England. And it's all from these storms that have already been ongoing throughout the day today because they're going to continue through the evening and into the overnight hours as well. By 8 o'clock tonight, looking at some very strong storms in and around Atlanta as well as Chattanooga.

But also a little bit farther north, you'll start to see them sliding into portions of Cincinnati as well. Through the overnight, you're still going to see that main line of storms continuing across the southeast. But you also have that other cluster that's going to start spreading into the mid-Atlantic as we make our way through the rest of the day Sunday.

By the time we get to Sunday afternoon and into the evening, we have redevelopment back out across portions of not only the Midwest, but also into the central and southern plains. So you're looking at a multi-day severe threat here, not just for the rest of Saturday, but also on Sunday where we still have a level three out of five risk. But then even into Monday, it just transfers a little bit farther to the east. But you still have the potential there for a lot of those strong to severe thunderstorms to continue even into early next week.

GOLODRYGA: The system with us for a few days. All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you.

[12:44:12]

And still to come for us, a new audio recording played in the trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs telling his then-girlfriend to get on her job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: In Gaza, the body of a Thai hostage kidnapped on October 7th in Israel has been recovered. Israel says that he was found in southern Gaza during a military operation. It was just two days ago that two bodies of an Israeli-American couple were also recovered in Gaza.

Also in Gaza, the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation hasn't said if any food aid was distributed today. In a statement, the aid group is blaming Hamas for making direct threats against its operations. Now, it suspended aid for a day earlier in the week after dozens of Palestinians were killed as they tried to access the aid sites in southern Gaza.

James Elder is the global spokesperson for UNICEF. The GHF, James, these distribution sites, as we know, are in southern Gaza. And you say that aid is being used as bait to get Palestinians to southern Gaza. So, given what we've just heard from GHF about their claim that -- that Hamas is threatening the organization, how do you respond to that?

[12:50:03]

JAMES ELDER, GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON, UNICEF: Bianna, I can't speak to their claims. It's a private contracted company. I can certainly speak to the -- the idea is all levels of the United Nations have said you can't deliver aid in just a few pockets, which is what they're doing.

There's 2.2 million people here, more than a million girls and boys who need aid across the Gaza Strip. When the ceasefire was on, when those hostages went home, we had 400 distribution points. That's what humanitarian aid is, Bianna.

It's going to the sick, to the elderly, to children, to women. It's not making them, you know, walk 30, 40 miles. It just simply doesn't work. It's not possible. We have far too many amputees, far too many elderly. So, humanitarian aid at its very best is about going to where people need it.

Humanitarian aid, of course, is also not just these boxes of food. It's hygiene kits for young women, it's medicines, it's painkillers, it's water, it's vaccinations. It's a whole range of things. So, this privately contracted -- privately contracted group, Bianna, unfortunately, they're seeking to circumvent something that has worked in war zones around the world for more than half a century.

GOLODRYGA: I'd like to get you to respond to something that Dennis Ross, who's a former Mideast negotiator and well-versed, obviously, in this region and advised numerous U.S. administrations. He just posted this a moment ago. He said, the reality in Gaza is heartbreaking. Hamas cares little about Palestinian suffering and exploits it.

Israel should care about it and do more to ease the hunger. The U.N. did nothing as Hamas seized and resold the aid. It can help. The U.S. should press the U.N. to work with GHF productively. Do you see a scenario in which UNICEF and some of the other partners within U.N., the humanitarian groups, could work with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation?

ELDER: What I see working is what did just work. As I say, not just what's worked in war zones around the world, in places with a lack of governance. Gaza's not unique to the United Nations like that, Bianna. What worked was during the ceasefire, when we had 500 trucks a day, 400 distribution points, malnutrition of children plummeted, medicines in hospitals increased, safe water increased.

So we know what works, and we don't have to look historically. We can just look to two months. So circumventing this aid system as a way of trying to move people to the south is both against principles. It's also against practicality.

I mean, the worst fears have been realized. Not only will this feed into the malnutrition of children, but we've seen children killed around these sites. Now, these sites are utterly chaotic. They are militarized zones. Humanitarian principles saying you can't deliberate in -- in human -- in -- I beg your pardon, in militarized zones. It's not a nice to have. It's because when you do that, children get killed, and that's what we've seen.

In fact, we don't even know how many children have been killed because these sites are militarized. So there's a very simple solution to this. We shouldn't complicate it. It's doing what's been done a couple of months here, what was done in Afghanistan, in Sudan, what's been done in Ukraine. Let those experts -- these are experts, too, Bianna. These are nurses, technicians, logisticians.

These are not private contractors with soldiers nearby. Humanitarianism is a -- is a long-term project, and it needs to be allowed to -- to do what it does. Give us the -- give us the scope in Gaza, and the U.N. will save lives. It's time and again been -- been the truth, and it's a -- it's the same situation here right now if we are allowed to do our job.

GOLODRYGA: James, I believe, and correct me if I'm wrong, this is your fifth time in Gaza since the October 7th attack and the subsequent war. What are you seeing there now during this fifth visit, and what aid is UNICEF able to distribute today?

ELDER: So UNICEF, we're fortunate, our mandate -- sorry, I'm a bit distracted there level of -- one of the things, again, the consistent thing I've seen in my five missions, Bianna, is that ferocity of -- of attacks last night. For anyone within miles of here, it was a sleepless night. It was a ferocious night. I could hear people screaming in tents.

I think that's one of the things I've noticed the most. I've seen way, way too many children with missing limbs. A little girl a couple of days ago who's got a double amputation. At her hips -- at her hips, what -- what I noticed this time around is the lack of painkillers. So I'm not just seeing these wounds this time around. I'm hearing them.

So we're unable to deliver those painkillers because it's not just a denial of -- of, as I say, humanitarian aid. It's not just food. It's medicines. It's painkillers. Those are being restricted. In terms of what UNICEF can do, we're fortunate, Bianna, our mandate's so broad, so we still do cash transfers.

The -- the desalination plants, the water that is a lifeline here, UNICEF keeps those running. We've managed to distribute some nutritional supplies, but we know it's not enough.

[12:55:06]

GOLODRYGA: Yes.

ELDER: We got so many supplies in during that ceasefire, but the urgency is huge. We don't hold on to them. We deliver them. So we're -- we're working at a very low capacity, and that's going to set -- that's going to cost more children's lives.

GOLODRYGA: James Elder, we appreciate your time. We appreciate your commitment to this cause. And please, please stay safe.

And we'll be right back.

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EVA LONGORIA, EVA LONGORIA: SEARCHING FOR MEXICO HOST: So one thing I got to do --