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LAPD Clashes With Protesters Amid Immigration Raids; Kilmar Abrego Garcia Returns to THE U.S. To Face Criminal Charges; Russia Bombs Ukraine's Second Largest City With Massive Strikes; Coco Gauff Wins French Open Title; Coco Gauff Wins French Open; Trump And Musk Feud Still Brewing; Appeals Court Backs White House In AP Feud; Big Week In Sean Combs Trial. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 07, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:16]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

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

We are following breaking news as protests boiling over for a second day in the streets of Los Angeles amid the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

CNN correspondent Julia Vargas Jones joining us now from Los Angeles with the very latest.

Julia, what's unfolding right now?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, these operations are still ongoing in Paramount, California. That's just south of Los Angeles, Jessica. Take a listen to what is going on just now.

(VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, a woman who took another video of this same scene near the Home Depot there, she said that she could smell the tear gas in the air that officers, federal officers had come to this Home Depot where generally people gather to offer services, and that it was unclear if anyone was arrested. But we did see a response there from the community trying to impede those officers from carrying out this raid.

We did hear from the Department of Homeland Security just moments ago. A statement from them saying that, quote, "The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable. And Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end. The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens."

That again, just now we're receiving this, Jessica. This as we're going into day two of these kinds of clashes. Yesterday, raids took place in downtown Los Angeles. At least three different locations, one of them, another Home Depot, and the other one was in the fashion district at a business that was allegedly using fictitious documents for some of their workers, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

That, again, so we have that going on yesterday and today. And then as the news continued to spread yesterday of these raids, that's when we see protests swelling in downtown Los Angeles, part of the city being paralyzed by these protests as the community was coming together to say that they oppose these kinds of targeted raids and that they were indiscriminate. They were angered by this. Frankly, Los Angeles, a city that has so many immigrants, about 10 million undocumented immigrants in California, a third of them are here in Los Angeles County. So this kind of reaction is to be expected.

DEAN: Yes, this is a developing story, Julia. We'll continue to keep an eye on it as things continue to escalate there in Los Angeles. We will certainly keep an eye out for any more developments.

Julia Vargas Jones, thanks so much.

Also tonight, new developments in the case of the Maryland man who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration. Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to El Salvador back in March, is now back in the United States and facing criminal charges here. He has been indicted on two criminal counts related to allegedly transporting undocumented immigrants. His attorney accusing the Trump administration of playing games with the legal system, adding Abrego Garcia should appear in immigration court, not criminal court.

CNN correspondent Rafael Romo joins us now.

Rafael, the question is, where do things go from here for Abrego Garcia?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jessica. Well, Kilmar Abrego Garcia remains in federal custody after he appeared in court last night here at the federal courthouse in downtown Nashville. He will have his next court appearance next Friday for his arraignment and detention hearing.

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. According to the indictment unsealed Friday, Abrego Garcia and others are accused of being part of a conspiracy going as far back as 2016, in which they, quote, "knowingly and unlawfully transported thousands of undocumented aliens who had no authorization to be 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.

[16:05:06]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: What has changed is Donald Trump is now president of the United States, and our borders are again secure. And thanks to the bright light that has been shined on Abrego Garcia, this investigation continued with actually amazing police work, and we were able to track this case and stop this international smuggling ring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Jessica, 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 sent there due to what the official called an administrative error. 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 VIDEO CLIP)

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 VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And Jessica, in a new development this afternoon, President Trump said it was not his decision to bring Abrego Garcia back to the United States. The Department of Justice decided to do it that way, and that's fine, Trump said in a phone interview with NBC, adding that he expects it will be a very easy case he said for federal prosecutors -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Rafael Romo, thank you for that update.

And joining us now, defense attorney and former federal prosecutor Shan Wu.

Shan, thanks so much for being here with us. These are serious charges against Abrego Garcia. How would you assess the case that the administration has so far put together against him? We saw that indictment come down yesterday.

SHAN WU, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it's a little hard to tell just from the paper indictment because the paper indictment and the papers should look quite strong. I would note there seemed to be some discrepancies already just in some of the documents with the government at one point saying that Mr. Garcia had lied when he was stopped back in 2022, I think it was, saying he hadn't told that officer that he was coming from Texas. But there's another document from DHS indicating that he had told the officers coming from Texas.

So there're already some discrepancies. I think, you know, from a legal analysis standpoint, Jessica, there's a legal ethics component, and there's going to be an evidentiary component here. Ethically, there's some big problems here the way they've been sort of prejudging this in public. That may transform into difficulties for them in the case when the defense attorneys use that saying there's been prejudice, improper prosecutorial conduct.

And then there's the evidence question, which, you know, we don't know yet. I mean, indictments always should look very strong. And we'll have to see just what kind of witnesses and what kind of evidence develops here.

DEAN: I'm also curious how the fact that he was sent to El Salvador without being charged with anything, and when the administration admitted that it was a mistake. Does that play into this case? Is that something the defense will use?

WU: They'll certainly want to try to use that. From an evidence standpoint it's a little bit hard to figure out how to do that. Certainly in pretrial motions they can use that as much as they want, saying that there's something improper here and how they've targeted him. Frankly, Attorney General Bondi's statement that thanks to the light being shown on Garcia, I think is exactly the ethics problem, right? Because as former Attorney General Jackson once said, then later, Justice Jackson said DOJ prosecutors, you don't investigate a person, you investigate a crime.

And as she's saying, we investigate this person looking for something and the defense may make a lot of hay with that saying in pretrial types of motions that this is misconduct. This is tainting the jury, the statements they've made. They'll challenge the basis of the investigation. But that's all before they get to trial. If that doesn't work, then they got to go to court and show it.

DEAN: Yes. We also know a career federal prosecutor and the chief of the Justice Department's Criminal Division in Nashville resigned the same day this indictment came down. He posted on LinkedIn, it did not mention the Abrego Garcia case, but his post read in part, quote, "It has been an incredible privilege to serve as prosecutor with the Department of Justice, where the only job description I've ever known is to do the right thing in the right way for the right reasons."

Do you think there's anything to read into this? Is that reading too much into the tea leaves?

WU: Well, we're definitely reading tea leaves. Certainly that timing makes it very suspicious that perhaps he didn't like what had been done, that he was objecting to it. We can't know for certain. Certainly history in the Trump administration of career people resigning over actions that they're being ordered to take or that the higher ups have taken. So it is a reading of the tea leaves. But, you know, there is a little bit of smoke to that potential fire.

[16:10:07]

DEAN: Yes. Abrego Garcia's attorney, as we just heard from, is accusing the DOJ of, in his words, playing games with the legal system. He's made this argument that his client should be appearing in immigration court, not a criminal court. What do you make of that argument?

WU: I think it's a fine argument to make. The immigration process here is pretty convoluted because Garcia was not originally granted asylum. He was granted what's called a withholding. Specifically, he couldn't be deported to El Salvador, which is, of course, exactly where they sent him to. Absent the criminal charge now, it's a little bit unclear where in that process he should be. It certainly makes sense for the immigration attorney to want to be in the immigration court. His attorney would rather be there than facing these very onerous federal criminal charges.

I don't know how that's going to play out. Again, this is going to be actually not a very easy case, as the president was alluding to because procedurally, it's going to be terrifically gummed up. And that's one of the questions that's going to have to be addressed first is what court should they be in first.

DEAN: All right. Shan Wu, thanks. Yes. Thank you. Thank you for your time. We really appreciate your analysis there.

Still ahead, Russia launches an intense new round of attacks tonight at Ukraine. This is just hours after at least 40 explosions rocked Ukraine's second largest city. Plus, how the Trump-Musk fight is affecting some of the president's most devoted supporters.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:14]

DEAN: Russia today launching intense attacks on the city of Kharkiv. The city's mayor saying a strike on a playground in the early evening killed one person and injured several more. At least 40 explosions were reported across the city overnight, killing three people.

Russia's latest strikes are seen as retaliation for these Ukrainian drone strikes from last weekend. Ukraine's surprise attack on Russia's air bases landing a major blow on its strategic bombers.

And joining us now, CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk. He served as a senior adviser to the last four presidents.

Brett, thanks for being here with us. You are one of the few people who has negotiated with Russia, Iran, Hamas, all big stories I do want to get to, but I want to start first with Russia hitting Kharkiv tonight again. Trump saying that Putin told him Russia would respond.

Do you think there's a point where Trump says that's enough?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Jessica, again, it's really great to be on your program to talk about these important issues. I think we're going on five months now into the Trump administration, I think one thing is very clear. There's not going to be a ceasefire anytime soon. It's very clear. That is a stated objective of the administration. Ukrainians signed on to an unconditional 30-day ceasefire back in March.

The Russians have just met every entreaty diplomatically, with escalation. And I think that is basically where we are. So, I mean, I would advise the president sometimes you got to step back and say, you know, do we want to try to still continue to try to reach our objective of ceasefire? I think the answer is yes. And you look at what is coming up on the calendar. I actually think the president has some cards if he chooses to play them. And I would just -- there are three.

Number one, Jessica, there's a bipartisan, huge bipartisan consensus on the Hill and a pending legislation in the Senate to impose very significant sanctions on Russia. I think it would be I would advise the president to let that bill pass. That doesn't mean he has to trigger sanctions right away, but it demonstrates a strong bipartisan consensus in Washington to put some more pressure on the Russians.

Second, in about 10 days, the president will be with G7 allies in Canada. That is a very, very important meeting. And I would again advise the president try to come out of that meeting with a unified front when it comes to supporting Ukraine against the Russians. I don't think the president is likely to do that, but that would be the right play, because the next week he goes to the Netherlands, the president does, for a NATO summit.

So if you kind of look at this holistically, use those three opportunities, you can come out of June in a very strong position, and the war is likely to continue through the summer, but you will get back to the table. And I think it's very, very important not to back off and say, let these children fight in a playground, as the president, I think, unfortunately, said the other day, but actually try to put some more pressure on the Russians. So when you get back to the table, you can actually have a chance of getting to a ceasefire, which we all want to see.

DEAN: Yes. And look, he did make that analogy. He said that he saw this as two kids fighting each other and you have to kind of let them fight it out. And you can't always get in between them. They have to kind of tire themselves out essentially. But it sounds like what you're saying is he is in a position to make some -- to even just begin to put some consequences down from Putin, and that that's what it's going to take to get to an actual ceasefire.

MCGURK: Yes. The president has cards here. There's leverage. I think the Ukrainians demonstrated in their attack, the drone attack against the Russian strategic bomber fleet. Again, that's an attack against military targets, unlike what the Russians are doing, attacking civilian cities. But in any case, the Ukrainians demonstrate they are still in this. The Russians are taking a significant, significant beating in this war. Almost a million military casualties. Enormous.

Their economy is suffering. And that sanctions bill in the Congress would be very important. And again, having a united front with allies is important. It's something the president, generally speaking, doesn't, isn't inclined to do.

[16:20:05]

But I would really advise him here. I think June is a critical month. Come out of these, come out of the month with a unified front, and say, look, we tried to get a ceasefire. The Ukrainians signed up to one. Putin has just escalated the war. So we are going to stand with Ukrainians. We don't want the war to continue. It looks like it will. And we'll try to get back to the table with the united front.

But I'm worried about the position of Ukrainians, Jessica, because the president also has not reauthorized military support for Ukraine. This is just ammunition. The stuff Ukraine needs to defend itself, that will start running out over the course of the summer. I think the Russians know that. So Putin wants to string this out. Bottom line, it's an important three weeks coming up. Really watch what happens in Canada. And then the NATO summit at the end of the month. I'm hopeful on this issue we can have some unity with our allies.

DEAN: Yes. I also want to ask you about the president's phone call with Putin earlier this week. He says that they also discussed Iran and that Russia offered to help in these nuclear talks with Iran, that the U.S. is currently undergoing. Does that work? Does Trump go for that?

MCGURK: Again, Jessica, here, I've negotiated with the Iranians. You have to have leverage behind you. I actually give the administration pretty high marks on how they've handled the Iranians so far. They've posed significant sanctions on the Iranians, that is continuing. They've demonstrated they are prepared to settle this issue militarily if it comes to that. We hope not. But this issue of Iran's nuclear program is a serious, serious national security crisis. And let me just tell you why.

The IAEA issued a report last week which demonstrated their program continues to massively escalate way beyond any need for a civilian nuclear program. And all eyes this week when it comes to this issue will be in Vienna, because the IAEA Board of Governors is meeting, they are likely to find an issue, a resolution finding Iran in noncompliance with its nonproliferation obligations. First time they've done that in 20 years.

The Iranians are saying if that happens, they will respond and further escalate the program. And this negotiation, unlike the Ukraine negotiation, Jessica, that has a clock and something you'll hear discussed more here over the coming weeks is called snapback because the Obama-era nuclear deal, even the critics of it, there's one provision they like. It's called snapback. Any member of that deal, including the U.K. and France, can, and the Security Council, reimpose all international sanctions on Iran.

They have that authority now. The U.K. has said they're prepared to do it. France has said they're prepared to do it in August, and they have to do it in August because that power expires under that old deal in October. And again, Iran knows this. They want to get out of that. So snapback is a significant point of leverage. I think the next few months in this Iran negotiation will be critical. And I go back to my first point. It's always helpful to have a united

front with allies. Iran will be a topic of the G7 here in Alberta in a couple of weeks, and I'm hopeful that we can have a united front on this most important issue.

DEAN: Yes. I also, lastly, do want to touch on Israel and the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is defending arming local militias there in Gaza in what they say is an effort to counter Hamas. How risky is that strategy? What could it potentially mean for any ceasefire talks in that conflict?

MCGURK: Look, Jessica, this war has to stop. And the fastest way for it to stop, the fastest way for it to stop, I know this issue intimately, all my respect to Steve Witkoff who's dealing with this, is for Hamas to release hostages. There is an offer on the table now for a two-month ceasefire. 60 days. The war stops, aid pours in, Gazans can have peace, which they desperately need. All for Hamas releasing 10 hostages. And Hamas has said no.

Again, talk to your allies, President Trump. Get a united front. There should be an international call on Hamas to take this deal. And right now, I'm not seeing that. What's happening in Gaza right now is just horrific. I think what the Israelis are trying to do is to separate the population from Hamas because what Hamas wants, and I know this intimately, having done the negotiation that led to the last ceasefire, Hamas wants a deal by which the war is over, and they come out of the tunnels and reestablish their control over Gaza. That is what they want.

And the Israelis just will not accept that. And that's what makes this so hard. But there's a U.S. proposal down now. Hamas should take it. It's the fastest way to stop this awful war.

DEAN: All right. Brett McGurk, always great to have you. Thank you so much for talking through some of these key issues and conflicts around the world. We really appreciate it.

MCGURK: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Also tonight we are going to take you to France where Coco conquered on the clay. The American tennis star taking home her first French Open title.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:29:25]

DEAN: A huge day for Coco Gauff, as the 21-year-old earned her second grand slam singles title by beating top ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the thrilling Women's French Open Final. Gauff is the first American to win the title since Serena Williams a decade ago.

And joining us to talk more about it, Christine Brennan, CNN sports analyst, sports columnist for "USA Today," and author of the upcoming book "On Her Game."

Christina, thank you so much for being -- Christine, thank you for being here with us. It's always so good to see you. This was such a fun match. Just incredible day for Coco Gauff.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: It was. And the way she was able to come back after losing basically an 80-minute first set, which is incredibly long, grueling, losing it in a tiebreaker. Sabalenka, of course, is a very powerful player, has won multiple Grand Slams. She's three inches taller than Coco Gauff. So, there's that advantage for her.

[16:30:19]

And what did Coco Gauff do? She came right back and won the second set. Third set. Absolute confidence. Domination. Never give up. The -- everything you would hope for in an athlete when facing adversity to come back and win her second Grand Slam title. The first since the U.S. Open in 2023. Just a terrific moment for someone who is -- as we all know, is still so young. Just turned 21 years old a few months ago.

She is on her way to super stardom. I think she's probably already there. But the way she was able to pull this out, it was an extraordinary effort by a great athlete who was also so humble and so kind, and learned French so that she could thank the French in French. And just a lovely obviously human being and one of the top athletes now in any sport in our country, and of course internationally.

DEAN: I know. We're all -- I think we're all so proud of her. She's the first American to win the women's title, the French Open since Serena Williams, as you noted. And I know that there's this comparison, the next Serena, that she might be the next Serena. Do you think that's a fair comparison?

BRENNAN: Probably not yet. Only because, of course, Serena had 23 Grand Slam titles and is considered the greatest of all time. And of course, Coco Gauff now has two. But the comparison does work when you look at their age. I was lucky enough to cover Serena at the U.S. Open at Wimbledon's as she was coming up. And she was winning right at the end of those teenage years and into her early twenties, exactly what Coco Gauff has done.

Now, there was also the very interesting dynamic that I, again, was so lucky to chronicle in my career with her bigger sister, older sister, Venus Williams. And of course, the battle and the rivalry between the two. So, Serena was able to come along and win, but also there was a bit of the spotlight on her sister, in fact, quite a bit that she could share that spotlight until Serena just literally took off. And of course, kept winning all the way into just basically what's eight, nine years ago.

And so, the difference is that Coco Gauff is going to get a lot of the spotlight, but also, you know, can she pull it off for the length of her career the way Serena Williams did? I do think though that beginning of the career that we're now seeing, there is a similarity, and that, of course is wonderful news for Coco Gauff.

DEAN: It sure is. And I think it kind of starts to beg the question, why are U.S. women's tennis players just so good?

BRENNAN: One of the things that happened very early on in this country with women's tennis, thanks to Billie Jean King in particular, is that there's equal pay for the women athletes at the U.S. Open. That happened in 1973 when Billie Jean King fought for equal pay. 1973. It took the Australian Open till 2001. The French Open until 2006 and Wimbledon until 2007.

So, you had a nation, United States telling its female tennis players, you are equal to the men a good quarter century before that was happening around the rest of the world. I think that's a huge advantage. And also, we see black players, wonderful, wonderful young players like Coco Gauff coming up, tennis was so much more welcoming to women of color and men of color too than say the other country club sport golf, which has definitely been much more restrictive.

And tennis is opening those -- the gates to African Americans, to black players, to women of color, men of color. You now see the results. What a wonderful message that is.

DEAN: It's so fun to see her so excited. What an incredible day. And man, did she earn it. All right. Christine Brennan, thank you so much. Good to see you.

BRENNAN: You too, Jessica. Thank you.

DEAN: A federal appeals court is backing the White House in its feud with the Associated Press, keeping the wire service out of the Oval Office. We'll talk more about what that means. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:00]

DEAN: More fallout from the explosive breakup between two of the world's most powerful men, CNN Senior Correspondent Donie O'Sullivan taking a look at how the Trump-Musk feud affects the president's most devoted supporters, also known as the MAGA Faithful, including right- wing conspiracy theorist, Alex Jones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think a lot of people expected the Elon thing to blow up at some point or another, but hopefully it doesn't get worse.

CHARLIE KIRK, MAGA ACTIVIST: But it didn't have to happen like this. I mean, accusing of the Epstein files, I mean --

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The MAGA verse reels as it comes to grips with a big breakup. Musk, alleging Trump, is in the so-called Epstein files.

ALEX JONES, CONSPIRACY THEORIST: This is the equivalent in the information sphere of a full-out nuclear war.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): The right has long been obsessed with the idea that there are so-called Epstein files, and for years they've fantasized about them incriminating Democrats.

DONALD TRUMP JR., SON OF PRESIDENT TRUMP: How is it that my father can be convicted of 34 crimes, but no one on Epstein's list has even been brought to light?

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Now they're expecting Trump to deliver and prove their conspiracy theories correct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Would you declassify the Epstein files?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Yes, yes, I would.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

TRUMP: I guess I would. I think that less so, because, you know, you don't know. You don't want to affect people's lives if it's phony stuff in there.

[16:40:00]

PAM BONDI, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Tomorrow, Jesse, breaking news right now, you're going to see some Epstein information being released by my office.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi invited right-wing influencers to the White House where she claimed some of the Epstein files would be released. But there were no big bombshells, and the stunt backfired.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think big picture, DOJ is making a huge mistake, huge mistake, in promising to reveal things and then not revealing them.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Many in MAGA World believe without evidence that Epstein didn't kill himself and that instead he was murdered so he would not be able to incriminate some of his powerful former friends.

DAN BONGINO, FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR: He killed himself. Again, you want me to -- I've seen the whole file.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Dan Bongino, who once peddled conspiracy theories about how Epstein died --

BONGINO: This Epstein thing, there's more than meets the eye there.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): -- is now Deputy Director of the FBI, and he's trying to tell MAGA World that Epstein really did kill himself.

GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE COMMENTATOR: I want to hear from Dan Bongino and say to him, Dan, specifically, what did you see? Because I know you. You didn't believe this either. O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Musk has tapped into the growing suspicion and discontent, and it's left conspiracy theorists who are loyal to both Trump and Musk scratching their heads.

JONES: I believe Musk has integrity. I'm sure he was told that by some sources. He thinks they're accurate. How much saying Musk is wrong? We have to coolly investigate this and look at this.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Steve Bannon, a longtime Musk critic, didn't mince his words.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP ADVISER: I happen to believe, given the facts that I've been shown, that he's an illegal alien. An illegal alien's got to be deported.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Musk denies he ever worked in the U.S. without authorization.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, Steve, what can I say? It's a hot day on X, but I'm staying frosty.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): MAGA influencer Jack Posobiec struggled to put a positive spin on it.

JACK POSOBIEC, RIGHT WING INFLUENCER: No, this is a throwdown. This is how men communicate. This is how men talk.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Asked a question about Musk, Posobiec deflected.

BANNON: Jack, if somebody in your unit had that type of drug -- had that type of drugs and they had a security clearance, what would happen to them, sir?

POSOBIEC: Well, Steve, remember that Hunter Biden popped positive, I believe, for cocaine on his very first weekend in the Navy Reserve.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): But in MAGA World --

KIRK: I actually -- I think this is going to be reconcilable.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): All hope is not lost.

KIRK: I mean, look, J. D. Vance called Trump, you know, compared him to Hitler back in, like, 2017, 2018, and now he's the vice president of the United States.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

DEAN: All right. Donie O'Sullivan. Thanks for that. A Federal Appeals Court will let the White House continue to ban the Associated Press from accessing the Oval Office, Mar-a-Lago, and Air Force One. According to a court order in the ongoing legal battle over press access, the decision hangs on a court finding that some White House spaces are not open to public or large groups of press. So, the Trump administration can choose which journalists it wants to admit. CNN Media Analyst and Axios Media correspondent Sara Fisher is joining us. Now, Sara, thanks for being here. First, what did you think about this court decision?

SARA FISHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I was surprised Jessica, because a U.S. District Court decided just a few weeks ago that it would be inciting with the A.P. So, this is a huge reversal. We thought that there was going to be positive momentum for this case on the side of the freedom of the press.

What was interesting about this was that it was a two to one decision. The two Trump appointed judges basically said that not all spaces within the White House are public and open to the press. The one Obama appointed judge Dissented. What this means is that if moving forward, future administrations, if by the way, this ruling is not contested and it doesn't continue to be litigated, which we expect it to be, but if this is what the precedent that is set, it means that future White House administrations, they can bar reporters from places that are not deemed public spaces.

Now, according to this ruling, a public space would be something like the East Room, but not necessarily something like the Oval Office.

DEAN: Very interesting. And obviously, like you said, more to come on this. I do want to talk to you too a little bit about the Elon Musk of it all, of course, as he has con -- you know, attacked President Trump using his own platform of X. What do you think his end goal is? Where does this go from here? And again, it pulls in -- obviously it puts X in the spotlight, but also Tesla, Starlink. There's a lot of implications here.

FISHER: Elon Musk, when he gets pressure from his public shareholders at Tesla tends to step back in line. We saw this when they sued, basically alleging we don't want a part-time CEO. Elon Musk returned some of his attention at that time to Tesla. This was right after he bought X. And he hired a full-time CEO, Linda Yaccarino, for X to do that job.

[16:45:00]

You know, Tesla and Elon Musk's business Empire has lost an estimated $34 billion, Jessica, with this fight. I predict that after a few weeks after this calms down, Elon Musk starts to feel that pressure from shareholders, from business partners, and starts to reroute his energy there. I don't think that this relationship is completely lost. If you listen to what Donald Trump had to say, you get the sense that he sort of pities Elon, that he thinks that Elon has something that's going on and that he's probably disturbed, but you don't get the sense that Donald Trump is extremely angry.

Now, he did threaten to pull back some of the government subsidies for Elon Musk's companies. You know, Elon Musk's SpaceX gets billions of dollars in government contracts. Tesla benefits a lot from federal subsidies for electric vehicles. That could have a really serious implication for Elon Musk and that relationship. But I don't think this is the last that you're going to hear from the two of them. Remember, Jessica Elon Musk controls the world's most powerful social discourse platform in which Donald Trump has, you know, over 90 million followers. I don't think this is the end of the relationship.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Sara Fisher, as always, really good to see you. Thanks so much.

FISHER: Thank you.

DEAN: And another big week in the Sean Diddy Combs trial, including audio messages by Combs played in court. Those messages of an argument with an ex-girlfriend who testified on the stand. More on this. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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DEAN: To celebrate the CNN original series, "My Happy Place," CNN's own anchors and reporters take us to their favorite destinations, their own happy places. And tonight, CNN Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir brings you alongside as he wades through waist-deep water in the narrow slut canyons of Buckskin Gulch, Utah. His guide specializes in ultralight backpacking, and explains that when it comes to hiking through this hidden gem, less is more.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to one of my very favorite happy places. I got a bunch of them on mountains and swamps and coral reefs all over the world, but this place is special. This is Buckskin Gulch, Utah, one of the longest slot canyons anywhere in the world.

WEIR (voice-over): On a satellite map, it looks like a snake, 16 miles long. But down in it is another world made of rock and light, time and silence.

WEIR: It is so quiet that the only sounds are the buzz of a fly and maybe a commercial airliner 35,000 feet above.

WEIR (voice-over): Through alleys as wide as your shoulders and high as skyscrapers, each bend in the rock reveals a new surprise.

WEIR: This is all created by eddies of water spinning and boring over eons to create these incredible sculptures. Look at this.

WEIR (voice-over): But to enjoy the wonders of Buckskin Gulch, one must also enjoy crotch-deep ice-cold puddles.

WEIR: And then if you're lucky, right around the time your toes are frozen numb, you find a little pocket of sunshine, like a little oasis of warmth.

WEIR (voice-over): I first backpacked here right before the pandemic, thrown in with an eclectic group that included Mr. All right, all right, all right, Matthew McConaughey, and that's Dan Buettner of the Blue Zones getting a lesson in quicksand.

WEIR: Well, thanks for setting up this trip, Dan.

WEIR (voice-over): But on that amazing trip, we were all most impressed with the man who led the way, Glen Van Peski. This guy is a legend in the world of ultralight backpacking and so-called true hikers.

GLEN VAN PESKI, FOUNDER OF GOSSAMER GEAR: You're on the trail for, you know, a week or a month or a year, depending on the trail.

WEIR: I don't know about you, Glenn, but my happy places usually involve some threat of danger. What are they here?

VAN PESKI: You could twist an ankle, you could run out of water, hypothermia.

WEIR: Snakes, scorpions, any of those?

VAN PESKI: Some rattlesnakes down here, scorpion once.

WEIR (voice-over): A former engineer, Glen spent decades shaving every spare gram of weight from his pack until his garage became a company called Gossamer Gear, and his philosophy became take less, do more.

VAN PESKI: Yes, that's my sleeping pad.

WEIR: You find that's enough, Glen?

VAN PESKI: I do with the right skill. And this is, you know, true in a lot of life. If you have the knowledge and skills, sometimes that can take the place of stuff.

WEIR: And your brain doesn't weigh any more no matter how much you pack in it.

VAN PESKI: I think especially in our culture, there's so much focus on, well, to be happy, to be fulfilled, we need to get more stuff. You know, another car, another vacation house, more stuff for the kitchen, whatever this stuff is.

But ultralight backpacking reminds me of, like, how little I actually need. And that the things that make me happy isn't the stuff, it's the places.

WEIR: It's the experiences.

VAN PESKI: It's the experiences, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[16:55:00]

DEAN: Wow. That's pretty majestic. Be sure to tune in to the full episode of "My Happy Place" with award-winning actor Simu Liu. It airs tomorrow night at 10 Eastern and Pacific only here on CNN. President Trump now says his friend, the world's richest man, would, quote, "pay the consequences" if Elon Musk started funding Democrats. We're going to have the latest on their feud. It's coming up in the scene in the CNN Newsroom.

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