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FBI Investigating Los Angeles Protests Over ICE Raids; Interview With L.A. Assemblyman Jose Luis Solache; Trump: Musk Will "Pay Consequences" If He Funds Democrats; Sean "Diddy" Combs Trial; At Least Five Killed As Russia Bombs Kharkiv With Massive Strikes; Government Relies On SpaceX, Awarded More Than $20 Billion In Contracts; Playbills, The Heartbeat Of Every Broadway Experience. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 07, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:14]

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

and we start tonight with breaking news out of Los Angeles, where the FBI says it is investigating clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators.

These clashes began Friday when crowds gathered around federal law enforcement officers carrying out immigration raids in that area. And today, right now, we're seeing police using tear gas and flash bangs to clear the crowds.

California assembly member Jose Luis Solache, who witnessed what was unfolding there, is joining us now on the phone.

Assemblyman, thank you so much for being here with us. I know you represent the area, Paramount, where we've been seeing some of this happen. Explain to us, describe to us what you saw today.

JOSE LUIS SOLACHE, LOS ANGELES ASSEMBLYMAN, (via telephone): Correct. I've been here since 9:00 a.m. when we first saw these agents drive up to my community.

I was actually on the freeway with one of the vans from border patrol. And then I did a U-turn type of situation. I followed them and they were here in my community. There were seven agents waiting to open the fence.

Throughout the morning, there were about 60 different vehicles that have driven in there. 21 -- 25 of them, plus are border patrol logo vehicles, and then about 30 plus vehicles were unmarked vehicles, SUVs.

And right now I'm here in the -- in with my community. There's about 60 border patrol agents that are there with guns. They're you know, they're having a staging process. Of course, communities out here strong opposing these raids in our

community in Los Angeles. I represent this district. And our community is strongly here opposing this.

DEAN: And we are looking at live video while you're talking. I see a lot of smoke. There were some like --

SOLACHE: Yes.

DEAN: -- small fires, it looked like in the distance from where we're looking at on this video. We can see people who appear to be gathered together, and we're seeing some sort of agents as well.

We had a spokesperson from DHS saying that these protesters were in a, in a sense, violent, that that's what they're trying to push back against. Has that been your experience?

SOLACHE: There's definitely a variety of demonstrators. I have to be objective here. And there are some people that are, of course, are angry. They're passionate about why, they're -- why, you know, agents are here and you have a variety of folks that obviously are here peacefully. And there are people that are a little more aggressive, and that's just being objective.

But of course, community is upset of why they're even here in our community.

DEAN: Right. And -- go ahead.

(CROSSTALK)

SOLACHE: And I represent a very high-immigrant, high-undocumented community in my district, which we're proud of the -- of the work that we all contribute to this country.

These are not criminals. These are people that are hardworking people that are contributing. And of course, that's what people are angry about. You're going to come and take, you're doing raids or looking for people that are at their workplace, at their -- contributing to this country. And they're not criminals.

So that's what people are upset about, including myself.

DEAN: And its roughly its 2:02 there, Los Angeles time in your -- where you are. How long do you expect this to go on? Does it appear that this is going to continue?

SOLACHE: I've made my own calls to, of course, the governor's office, to folks that we need to deescalate this. They need to send these people home so that our community can go home and stop -- stop this. We need to deescalate the situation because people are upset.

I don't know how long it's going to be here. I came here since 9:00 a.m. myself with community. And they've been standing there, staged there, and we've seen throughout the morning different vehicles leaving the facility. And so we have a feeling that they're doing raids throughout the L.A.

-- the L.A. -- Los Angeles area.

DEAN: And we have word now that the FBI is investigating what's going on. Have you seen any FBI agents or anyone like that where you are?

SOLACHE: Not as of now. Again, I've seen border patrol vessels and uniforms that they're wearing -- the agents. With the police have been gassing people as they get close to them. Anytime that vehicle leave the facility or the parking lot, they throw these gas, they're gassing people so they can move away from the area. And so these vehicles leave the premises. And I have not seen anyone from the FBI here yet.

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: Yes. How often would you say you're hearing these flash bangs or seeing this, this tear gas deployed?

SOLACHE: It's been throughout the morning, to be honest with you. I actually was close to them, just monitoring the situation.

I was affected myself earlier because some -- they were shooting toward the area where I was standing. Of course I ran through that. And it was the first time I ever got gas in my eyes. And of course, the coughing.

So it's my first time experiencing it. It's not a good feeling.

DEAN: And have you seen anyone be detained or arrested?

[17:04:49]

SOLACHE: We did see about four people that were arrested that were demonstrators. They were on this side of the fence demonstrating. Again, I can't justify why they were -- why they were being detained, but obviously they were demonstrating against them being -- against the agents being here physically in our community.

DEAN: Yes. And again, just to underscore what you were saying, it sounds like, based on your description, that the demonstrators that are gathering range in peaceful -- peaceful demonstrators to some who are being more aggressive, who are physically pushing back.

SOLACHE: They've -- they've -- they've been upset. They get closer to the agents, of course, right. So of course, the agents are doing their part to, to show their, their part, right.

But people are demonstrating and there's a lot of peaceful demonstration. But there are people that obviously are just upset and they're showing their anger through that.

I have encouraged people through my social media to please be peaceful as they're demonstrating, do not use violence. That's not what we want to do. We don't want to add to the narrative. We want to make sure that people are demonstrating. We live in a democratic process where people can express their, their,

their feelings and how they're feeling. But of course, in a peaceful manner.

DEAN: Yes. And just again, to underscore as we're talking to you, were looking at live video. And look, there's a lot of law enforcement there. Just the posture that we're seeing from law enforcement in, in your neighborhood. This is a big response, it seems.

SOLACHE: Yes. We definitely don't have any local authorities because we don't -- we don't engage with supporting entity of ICE, you know strategies that they do. So we don't have any local or state agencies collaborating with them.

They're working on their own, at their own merit at this point.

DEAN: All right.

(CROSSTALK)

SOLACHE: The federal agents.

DEAN: Yes. Assemblyman Solache, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

SOLACHE: Thank you so much. And thank you for reporting this. And we have to make sure we, you know, keep the community safe.

DEAN: All right. Thank you very much.

We are also following breaking news out of the White House this evening. President Donald Trump reportedly issuing a new warning for Elon Musk tonight, telling NBC News Musk would, quote, "pay the consequences" if he -- if Musk funds any Democrats challenging Republicans who are supporting Trump's so-called Big Beautiful Bill.

I want to bring in CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein. And Betsy, let's start first with the latest in this still simmering breakup between Musk and Trump. What is the latest?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, White House officials and the president himself have really spent the last days trying to defuse and downplay this explosive breakup between President Trump and the tech billionaire Elon Musk.

And all of this started because of disagreements over the president's sweeping domestic policy agenda bill that is currently working its way through Congress. Musk has said that he believes the bill would add too much to the deficit.

But soon that devolved. The two began exchanging barbs that turned increasingly personal on dueling social media platforms owned by both men.

Of course, this really has the potential to have real world serious impacts despite all of the drama and palace intrigue. Now, Musk had said that he would endorse the possibility of impeaching

the president, removing him from office and installing Vice President J.D. Vance in his stead. And while that might not come to fruition, he has, of course, said that he would pledge millions of dollars to 2026 midterm Trump-aligned candidates. The future of that is now in question.

So the president, asked about this in that interview today with NBC News, said there would be, quote, "serious consequences" if Musk ends up funding Democratic candidates who run against Republicans who do vote in favor of this bill, that is a signature legislative option for the president.

Separately, the president is threatening to review the federal contracts for Musk's companies, many businesses here -- this could impact billions of dollars of federal contracts.

Now, the president has told his staff to stay focused on that so- called Big, Beautiful Bill that is currently in the Senate with some key deadlines. He also told his Vice President J.D. Vance, to speak diplomatically about this situation. And he himself has been quite muted when asked about it saying he's not thinking about Elon, Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Betsy Klein, for us in New Jersey this afternoon. Thank you so much.

And joining us now, entrepreneur and investor Kevin O'Leary. He's also the chairman of O'Leary Ventures and a shark tank investor.

Kevin, thanks so much for being here with us.

I want to talk to you about the Musk-Trump thing, because while there is a lot of drama playing out, there are real things at stake here for both men.

For Musk, he's got clearly multiple businesses. He's got his net worth, his brand, his image. But these businesses have government contracts. He's gone back to Tesla at the -- at the behest of Tesla investors, who wanted him to come back and focus on the company.

Do you think he needs to pull back and try to reconcile with the president here?

[17:09:44]

KEVIN O'LEARY, CHAIRMAN, O'LEARY VENTURES: I think it's good for America if they reconcile. After all, a lot of the industries that have been developed under Musk are a competition of nations, if you think about it.

Space, what we're doing in neuroscience with him, Tesla EVs, all of this technology, robotics. This is what makes American technology desirable all around the world.

And you know, Elon's a genius. I think everybody understands that. He's very eclectic, we know that with certainty. But this is not productive at all.

Remember how this all started, though? Ron Johnson was the first senator to point out very simply that before and even in Trump's first term, the deficit was under $1 trillion. And of course, we went through the pandemic and then both administrations, including Biden and now Trump again, are over $2 trillion.

And you think about really what this disagreement -- let's call it a disagreement -- is about the philosophy of spending, because Musk was brought in with the DOGE brand, which they developed together to say, look, I'm going to find $2 trillion, I'm going to cut it. That's exactly the deficit right here.

And then he gets caught in the swamp of Washington, you want to call it that, or the politics of this bill. And he's frustrated. That's not what he's used to as an entrepreneur.

He has great executional skills. He gets stuff done. So that's how this narrative started about that $2 trillion.

Now, having said all that, let me explain where we're at with this bill, because I'm working on it this weekend right now. I read it, not everybody's read these telephone books. I did. I looked at it.

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: Wait, so why are you working on it? That's so interesting. Tell -- yes, tell us about that.

O'LEARY: Well, I read the bill in the context of small business because they create 70 percent of jobs in America, 5 to 500 employees. I read every bill and I'm always looking for -- I see all the big money for the S&P 500 companies and intel and everybody else in the Chips and Science Infrastructure Act. I don't see anything for small business where 70 percent of the jobs are created.

So I read the bill and I found some very disturbing elements to it. So I called up some senators that I know support small business. They're advocates, as I am, and I pointed it out to their staffers and we're working on it.

But let me tell you the tone this weekend of where we're at. This bill is not going to go through a major change. It's tweaking on the edges here. What's going to happen here? The staffers that do the work, and they're working right now, some of them will put their pens down Wednesday night and the rest Friday night of next week. And this thing is going back to the House.

So the idea that were going to do some massive change to it, this is a personal opinion, but I'm right in the weeds as we speak this hour isn't going to happen.

So we're going to vote on this thing long before there's any kind of a break. I think this is going to go back to the House very shortly with some tweaks. My guess tonight, and this is a personal opinion, this right now has a

70 percent chance, maybe better of passing. And I think there are maybe three votes that are noes. But I think one of those votes, I'm not naming any names, is going to come back in.

I don't want to name names of the senators I'm working with. That would be very stupid of me to do that.

DEAN: I know, I mean, I have to ask you, but you're not going to do it, right?

O'LEARY: No, I'm not going to do it. But I'm frankly, I'm working with the staffers and they do all the work, and they're telling me what's going on.

(CROSSTALK)

DEAN: Kevin let me ask you --

O'LEARY: And right now the tonality -- go ahead.

DEAN: What's the hang up? What are the hang ups right now on that bill?

O'LEARY: Well, first of all, this idea, I mean, that we're going to take a swipe at the $2 trillion. In other words, do something massive with Medicare, not going to happen. Do something with interest paid on bank reserves, not going to happen. That's $1 trillion, that's the score over ten years.

That's a cruise idea. It's an interesting idea. Not going to happen. And look, this is a personal opinion, ok? But I think I'm right. None of that's going to happen.

You're going to get some fringe stuff. Let me give you an example of a tweak. This idea that we're going to audit small business for nine years, I predict that's going to be removed. That was a holdover from two years ago.

There's lot of stuff in here that's small stuff. That's what's being worked. Because they don't want to turn it back to the house with so many drastic changes that it's not going to pass.

I mean, this is -- this is how sausage is made. And so, you know, I'm learning my way through Washington. I'm kind of getting hip to how it works. And I -- and I can -- I'm feeling, I'm reading the room for you. I'm reading the room this hour.

This bill is going to pass. Now, it's not what Elon wants because it doesn't deal with the $2 trillion deficit. Trump is telling his team we'll deal with that later. Let's get this done, and they are listening to him. And it's going to happen that way.

So everybody just chillax. This thing is coming and it's not going to change much. DEAN: Let me ask you this because you make a good point, which is as

it works in Congress, it's got to go back to the House because any tweaks they're going to make, the House is going to have to vote on that as well.

[17:14:50]

DEAN: There were some real holdouts on the House that were very concerned about the deficit, that are very concerned about not enough cuts, in their view.

Do you think that with Elon, kind of the wind at their back, that this gets harder when it goes back to the House again? Mike Johnson is going to have to do this one more time.

O'LEARY: Again, a personal opinion attributed to me. The answer is no. I've met with the House. I went in there two weeks ago. They read me the riot act.

You know, I was I was trying to make changes at the House. They said not going to happen. This bill is moving through like a train through a tunnel right now. I don't see anything stopping it.

It's got, you know, a lot of weight behind it, a lot of momentum. Trump wants it done. Everybody's got these ideas -- save a trillion here, save a trillion there. That will happen. But not on this bill.

Mark my words, this thing's going to pass and faster than you think. I think pens down Friday night next week. Then it's over.

DEAN: Yes I mean they have a July 4th deadline they've set for themselves.

I do want to ask you quickly, more broadly on the economy. Elon Musk also has predicted a recession due to Trump's tariffs. He posted, "The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of the year." What do you say to that?

O'LEARY: No, I don't see it. I mean, look, I'm a huge supporter of Elon. I love what he does. He's the modern day da Vinci. I mean, da Vinci. He really is an incredible guy with executional skills that are incredible.

He just got -- you have to learn the hard way when you go to Washington. It's a nasty, nasty place. And he just -- when you fly too close to the sun, I've said this a couple of times, you burn your wings a little bit. You fall out of the sky.

You have to get used to that. You got to be very careful. You want to keep your friends there. You don't want to make enemies.

These guys have to make up. There's just too much at stake for America. All of the things that matter. This is not a good -- and I know what has to happen. They got to talk privately.

And on this Epstein thing, he's got to apologize. I mean, that was just too crazy. I mean, I'm just being pragmatic. Say you're sorry. I'm sure he didn't mean it.

As far as I look at it, Epstein is still dead, so I'm not worried about any of this stuff coming out. It doesn't matter. This is such noise compared to the business of the nation that's got to get done.

These two men are really important. You got the richest man on earth, the greatest industrialist we've ever seen in decades. And you've got the most powerful man on earth. They should not be fighting. That's just bad. So let's get this thing worked out.

But I think the way to do it, in the little that I know Trump and spent some time with him, I think he's pissed about the Epstein thing. And I think Elon should apologize. That's what I would do.

Listen, I would call him up and say, look, I'm sorry I was out of my mind. Why? I don't know, it doesn't matter. I mean to say, he's eclectic. He is eclectic. That's what geniuses are. They're -- they're out there. And he said something I don't think he should have.

This is again, a personal opinion, but I think it's the path. And Trump's been a little mute on it. I'm very impressed that he's held back. He doesn't do that very often. He's holding back and waiting for this to get resolved because it should be resolved. Then they got to get back to work.

Elon is not a Democrat. He's a Republican. He's not going to write any checks to Democrats.

This Republican bill is going through the way it is, and then Elon can work on reducing the path forward. If we can -- if you look at how it was scored, they scored it a 1.8 percent GDP growth rate.

This nation can grow at 3 percent. So there's a way to get out of this mess. Just pass the bill, get the tax thing worked out. Let's move on.

I have 54 companies in all 11 sectors. I look at the tear sheets every Tuesday. I don't see a recession. The economy is doing really well. I mean, let's not screw it up.

And I think we got -- this China thing on Monday. That's great news. You know, I'm a hawk on China. I want to squeeze Chinese heads until we solve this IP stuff. There's just so much work to be done that matters.

DEAN: There is a lot, yes.

O'LEARY: The Epstein crap does not matter.

DEAN: All right.

(CROSSTALK)

O'LEARY: Time to go to work.

DEAN: Kevin O'Leary, thank you. Thank you for your time. We really appreciate it. O'LEARY: Take care. Bye-bye.

DEAN: Still to come, an accuser of Sean "Diddy" Combs caps another week of gripping and sometimes graphic testimony about her time in a relationship with Combs.

[17:19:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Another shocking day of testimony in court at the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking trial. The jury hearing from another ex- girlfriend for a second day, testifying under the pseudonym "Jane". The woman described drug-fueled sex parties with other men, known as hotel nights, that she says Combs directed.

Jurors also heard audio messages from Combs, including this one after Jane testified the two had an argument about those hotel nights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS, RAPPER: Hey, I really don't know what's going on with you, but I just wanted to just give you a heads up that I'm about to really disappear on you. You feel me?

I'm not going to be playing these games with you at all -- at all. So, I don't know. You think you silent treating me -- treating me, and you think I'm going to be.

[17:24:47]

COMBS: No, you'll have a rude awakening. You'll just have silence. And nobody threatening you. And I'm not even trying to go back and forth with no woman. You know what I'm saying?

I'm telling you, I got no time for no (EXPLETIVE DELETED) games. Where my life is at right now, I don't have no time for no games, baby girl.

Me and you could be mad. I could have a spat. We could have whatever. Then after that, you better get on your job. That's really -- that's all it is. Because you got me on my job. No, it isn't going to -- it isn't never going to work like that over here, you know what I'm saying?

I was trying not to leave this message, but you have left me no choice. So how do you -- you go in the direction of, like, moving on like that, or you like, just like, have me just keep moving.

Isn't no threat. I'm just being clear. I can't do this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with you. Every time you get upset.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN correspondent Kara Scannell has details from outside the courthouse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sean Combs' former girlfriend was testifying under the pseudonym "Jane" was on the stand all day Friday, an emotional testimony.

She told the jury about how she'd taken several trips to New York, Miami, Turks and Caicos under the promise of romantic weekends with Combs.

She said she thought they might go shopping and out to dinner. But she said in every one of those trips, it turned into those hotel nights where they used drugs and she had sex with other men.

She told the prosecutor that she never would have gone on the trip to Turks and Caicos if she knew that that was going to happen.

This all fits into the prosecution's theory of the case that she was sex trafficked by fraud, by these promises that they say were never meant to happen. They were just intended to lure her into having sex with these men in the hotels.

They also showed the jury a text message that she sent Combs in 2023, where she said she didn't want to have these hotel nights anymore. She text Combs, I feel like it's the only reason why you have me around and why you pay for the house, because Combs was paying $10,000 a month for the home she lives in, and he's still currently paying that rent.

Jane also testified about drugs. She said she had used drugs only twice before she met Combs. But now, in these hotel nights, she said that she was taking ecstasy multiple times in these nights.

She said also to the jury that Combs had asked her to travel with drugs, that she'd arranged with his security and his personal assistant to bring a package to Miami. And that was her traveling with those drugs for Combs.

Another part of this case is the transportation for prostitution. That's one of the counts in the charges. She testified that she helped arrange travel with one of Combs' travel agents to move some of these men to meet up with them for these hotel nights.

Now, Jane is expected to be on the witness stand for most of next week, and testimony resumes on Monday.

Kara Scannell, CNN -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And criminal defense attorney David Oscar Markus joins us now. David, thanks for being here with us.

We are now through another full week of testimony in this case. I'm curious what stood out to you and what you were thinking as this is all unfolding.

DAVID OSCAR MARKUS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Hey, Jessica.

Huge, huge week for both the prosecution and defense. And one of the biggest moments, I think, was not when the witness was on the stand, but during a moment when the judge scolded Diddy and his lawyers for Diddy nodding and looking at the jurors. It was a really interesting moment.

There's of course, nothing wrong. Trials are dramas, we have to remember. Jurors are watching everything going on from the defendant to the prosecutors to the witnesses. They want to see what clothes people are wearing, whether the defendant opens the door for the lawyers, those types of things.

So there's nothing wrong with a client or defendant looking at the jury or even nodding. But the judge got very upset about it.

I can understand if "Diddy" was making a disruption, he wasn't, when the judge could get upset with that. And of course, the witnesses, the latest witness Jane was sobbing on the stand. And prosecutors prep her for how to act on the stand and things like this. And the judge didn't get upset with that.

So this was a big moment. Diddy now has to sort of stay stoic and not make reactions with the jury. And apparently one of the jurors was kind of engaging him with, with eye contact. So it's really interesting to see that back and forth with the jury and Diddy.

DEAN: It is fascinating. And the judge threatening to throw him out if he kept doing it. It seems you know, listen, as a defense attorney, I can imagine that is not what you want. You want your client in the courtroom. You don't want to have to explain that to the jury.

MARKUS: Yes, the judge is not going to throw him out. That's not going to happen. He was just trying to make a point that Diddy needs to stay calm and not -- not react.

You know, there's a great story. There was a trial in Miami, Pedro Guerrero, the all-star baseball player, was on trial. The great Milt Hirsch (ph), my former partner, was representing him and the defense at this drug conspiracy trial was that Guerrero was not smart enough to do the deal.

So Milt told Guerrero, just look at your shoes the whole time. Don't look at the jury. Don't do anything. Make it seem like you're really, really dumb. And the jury acquitted him.

So, jurors look at these things during the trial. They look at the defendant to see how he's reacting.

[17:29:49]

DEAN: And then just lastly we played that clip of the audio that was shared with the jury. When you have audio clips, when you hear a defendant in their own voice, how persuasive is that to a jury.

MARKUS: Yes. It's really, really important obviously. But I didn't see that audio clip as all that bad for the defense. You know, Jane testified that she wanted to be in this relationship at the beginning, wanted to do the hotel nights and then wanted her rent paid. The question is, are these types of transactional relationships, do they rise to the level of RICO? The defense, of course, is going to argue they're consensual.

We see the same thing going on, by the way, in the Harvey Weinstein trial, which just wrapped up. The jury has that case now with the defense lawyer, Arty Aidala, arguing, you know, that the women used Harvey Weinstein as much as he used them. So, these types of arguments are going on with jurors right now and we're going to have to see how the cross comes up with Jane this week about her wanting that rent paid, her continuing with the relationship, and so on.

DEAN: Yes. Okay, so more starting on Monday. David Oscar Markus, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.

MARKUS: Thank you.

DEAN: Russia is escalating a string of deadly attacks on Ukrainian cities, pounding them with drones, bombs, and missiles. All of this as President Trump appears to step back from ceasefire efforts.

And we're still following this breaking news out of Los Angeles where protesters are clashing with law enforcement over immigration raids in that area.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:35:00]

DEAN: Russians strikes on Ukraine's second largest city have killed at least five people. That is according to local officials, and one strike tonight hitting a children's playground. Russia has launched intense attacks in what is being seen as retaliation for last weekend's surprise drone attack on air bases deep inside Russia.

And joining us now is CNN Contributor and former Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty. Jill is also the author of the new book, My Russia, What I Saw Inside the Kremlin. Jill, thank you for being here with us.

Ukraine has long accused Russia of targeting civilians. Is tonight's evidence, tonight's strike evidence of that targeting this playground?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I think you'd have to say that although the Russians, as usual, say we only hit military targets. But, you know, when you look at what the Russians have actually done, there are a lot of civilian casualties and they are hitting civilian targets.

You know, in a way, this reminds me of the early times of Putin's presidency when he had the second Chechen war. Remember Chechnya, that breakaway republic. And what he did there, especially to the capital of Grozny, was this massive bombing. I mean, I was there after that. You know, they were trying to pull it back together and it looked like Dresden after World War II. So, I think, you know, there's a military purpose to this, but there's also psychological and to just make the people of Ukraine believe this is never going to end and to weaken their resolve. And, you know, I think you have to note the comment by President Trump just the other day, you know, they're like kids fighting. Maybe they ought to keep on fighting, which is kind of allowing this to go on.

DEAN: Yes. And, look, Ukraine has been bracing for retaliation since its surprise attack last weekend. And I think the question remains, to what end? Does this keep going? Does Russia keep these attacks up? Does it escalate them? Can Ukraine's defenses hold up? What's their next move?

DOUGHERTY: Well, that's what we don't know. I mean, if you look at the pattern right now, we're obviously involved at the same time in this political side to it, which is the negotiations to find some type of, you know, pre-peace ceasefire resolution of some type brokered by President Trump, or at least it appeared that. Now, he seems to be pulling back again, but, you know, where they go with this.

I don't think there's any question about Putin. I think he is going to continue. He said directly to President Trump that I will retaliate. And President Trump noted that. He did not say whether he tried to dissuade him from doing that. But I think Putin's intent on just continuing this assault and getting as far as he can get, and then we'll see whether we get to negotiations at that point.

DEAN: Yes. All right, Jill, thank you as always, lovely to have you. We appreciate it.

DOUGHERTY: Sure.

DEAN: Still ahead, the limited alternatives for NASA. President Trump makes good on his threats to cancel contracts with SpaceX, a company our government relies pretty heavily on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:00]

DEAN: In SpaceX terms, the fallout of President Trump and Elon Musk was a rapidly unscheduled dissembly (ph). In the heat of their argument, Musk threatened to decommission its Dragon Capsule, which is used to ferry astronauts and supplies to the International Space Station. Later, Musk walked that back and has since deleted that post.

SpaceX is one of the largest federal contractors with more than $20 billion in government contracts.

And joining us now is CNN Space Analyst and creator of The Endless Void on YouTube Kristin Fisher. Kristin, great to have you here with us.

How closely connected our NASA and the Pentagon was SpaceX?

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE ANALYST: Jessica, at this point, they're truly inextricable, right? I mean, Elon Musk is without a doubt the most powerful person in the global space industry. And his company SpaceX can do things that not only no other company can do, but no other country can do. And that's true of the United States too. Right now, SpaceX and its Crew Dragon Capsule is the only way that NASA astronauts can get to and from the International Space Station other than hitching a ride on a Russian Soyuz rocket, which they had to do for many years before SpaceX's Crew Dragon was available. So, for Elon Musk to make a threat like that, that shook people within NASA very deeply.

And just think about what that does to the astronauts that are waiting for their chance to finally go into space. It throws their whole lives into uncertainty.

And then, you know, Jessica, from the Pentagon side, it's the same there.

[17:45:02]

You know, the Pentagon relies on SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Falcon heavy rockets to deliver the bulk of the United States' spy satellites and military payloads up into orbit. So, the U.S. government, NASA, DOD, they know this is an issue. They knew this was an issue long before this spat blew up, Jessica. They've been trying to encourage other companies, like Boeing, Blue Origin, United Launch Alliance, to hurry up and catch up to SpaceX. The problem is, Jessica, so far, nobody has been able to come close to what SpaceX is doing.

DEAN: And that leads us to where we are now. Could the feud though help us adversaries get the competitive edge in space? Is that a concern?

FISHER: It's a huge concern and now an even more real possibility than it already was before this spat blew up. Jessica, right now, the United States is in a very tight race with China to return astronauts back to the surface of the moon. The U.S. did it, of course, back in 1969. China's never done it. But there is a very -- there was a real chance that China could beat America, NASA, back to the Moon, American astronaut boots on the moon.

Now, if Elon Musk were to pull out of its efforts to help NASA with Artemis, it could send China over the top.

And then you also have to look at Russia. Russia's former head of Roscosmos, its space agency, just invited Elon Musk to come to Russia and start building rockets and spaceships for Russia. I'm not saying Elon Musk would ever do that or defect, but it goes to show you the kind of wedge that U.S. adversaries are now trying to drive between the most powerful man in the global space industry and the president of the United States.

DEAN: It's really a huge piece of all of this too as the drama unfolds to remember these implications as well.

Kristin Fisher, great to see you. Thanks so much.

FISHER: Thanks.

DEAN: And coming up, ahead of CNN's special live performance, live broadcast of a Broadway performance, we are talking to the father-son duo behind the one memento every theater goer wants to leave with, a Playbill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEX BIRSH, PRESIDENT AND COO, PLAYBILL: What makes Playbill itself so great is that it is almost always completely tied with joy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:50:00]

DEAN: The Tony Awards are tomorrow in New York honoring the best of Broadway. And there is something magical about going into a live show in the theater, including that Playbill that you're handed right when you go to your seat. It's more than just a program. It is a piece of Broadway you get to take home.

And CNN's Harry Enten has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA REPORTER: What is the magic of Broadway?

ANNABEL MCCONNACHIE, WAITING ON LINE FOR BROADWAY TICKETS: I just think there's like nothing like seeing performers live in a room.

ENTEN (voice over): If there's anyone who knows about Broadway, it's father son duo Philip and Alex Birsh, the CEO and COO of Playbill. That's the company that creates the programs you see at every Broadway show.

It's been around for over 140 years, but run by the Birsh family since 1973.

A. BIRSH: Broadway, all of it is all live. It is all right in front of you. It is a primal thing that we need is to be entertained by others in front of us in full.

ENTEN: And when you go to Broadway, there is one memento that every theater-goer gets to hold onto.

PHILLIP BIRSH, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, PLAYBILL: It's a time capsule that people really appreciate because there's so much change in the world, yet we remain staunch in our devotion to giving people an accurate Playbill that is their souvenir and is their time capsule and celebrates the work that people are doing on the stage and who created it.

A. BIRSH: And what makes Playbill itself so great is that it is almost always completely tied with joy. ENTEN: We have this tremendous plant around us. How the heck does this work?

P. BIRSH: So, the first thing we do is we use this Heidelberg press to print the insides of the Playbill, and it changes every week. Once we print the inside of the Playbill, we also have printed the outside of the Playbill, which is the cover of the show. So, now we have both ends of it. And then we have a common section called the Wrap, where we have articles about all things going on in Broadway, and then we take it over to the bindery and we bind all those pieces together to have a finished Playbill.

ENTEN: In a given month, the factory can make more than 300 different additions of Playbills because they can change so much. And fans, well, they gobble them up.

And do you hold onto your Playbills, keep your Playbills once you get them?

DEBBIE LEBEL, WAITING ON LINE FOR BROADWAY TICKETS: I frame them because I have an antique shop and there's where they go.

KAYDE MASON, WAITING ON LINE FOR BROADWAY TICKETS: I have every Playbill of every show I've ever been to because it's a memory. It's frozen in time. It takes you right back to that moment where you experience something new and saw something amazing on stage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: That is true. All right, thanks to Harry Enten for taking us to Broadway and taking us through what makes a Playbill.

Still ahead, we're going to take you back to our breaking news out of Los Angeles, where crowds of protesters are going back and forth with law enforcement there as federal agents carry out immigration raids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:55:00]

DEAN: You're in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

And we begin this hour with breaking news as protests erupt for a second day in Los Angeles over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown there.

We want to go now to CNN Correspondent Julia Vargas Jones live in Los Angeles. And, Julia, the FBI says it is now investigating these protests.

[18:00:01]

What more can you tell us?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Jessica. We did hear from the FBI this afternoon.