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Trump Deploys 2,000 National Guard Troops To L.A. Amid ICE Protests; Trump Administration Imposes New Travel Restrictions On Cuba; Interview With Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-IL). Aired 3-4p ET
Aired June 08, 2025 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
GLEN VAN PESKI, FOUNDER OF GOSSAMER GEAR: Yes, that's my sleeping pad.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: You find that's enough length?
VAN PESKI: I do with the right skills. 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 and your brain doesn't weigh any more, no matter how much you pack in it.
I think especially our culture, there is 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 that stuff is, but ultralight backpacking reminds me, like how little I actually need and that the things that make me happy isn't the stuff, it is the places --
WEIR: It's the experience.
WEIR: It's the experiences. Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SCIUTTO CNN HOST: Well, that looks just beautiful.
A new episode of "My Happy Place" with award winning actor, Simu Liu, airs tonight at 10:00 P.M. Eastern only on CNN.
[15:01:06]
SCIUTTO: Hello, good weekend to you. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Jim Sciutto in today for Fredricka Whitfield.
We begin this hour with the breaking news we've been covering, the National Guard, as you see there now on the ground in Los Angeles, this, after President Trump authorized 2,000 guardsmen deployed there. The move follows two days of protests and some confrontations between ICE protesters and local police.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
SCIUTTO: Video from Saturday shows officers in riot gear using teargas and flashbang grenades to break up a crowd in Paramount, California, just outside of Los Angeles. That's where we saw the first clashes between police and protesters and where they were the most intense. In nearby Compton, a car was set on fire as protesters gathered at an intersection.
CNN's senior investigative correspondent, Kyung Lah is on the ground in Los Angeles.
Kyung, we've been checking in with you there. Where one of those guard units has been deployed. When we spoke to you last hour, the situation seemed mostly calm. Has it continued to be so?
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There haven't been any arrests that we've seen. We've seen some of the protesters getting a little mouthy, getting a little closer to the National Guard. But right now, there just appears to be a growing number of them. There are more of these soldiers who have come out. They are also backed up, if you could show, Mike, the gentleman in blue, they are Homeland Security.
We saw a number of Homeland Security members come out of that area as the National Guard was talking to one of these mouthy protesters. And then I want you to take a look at what these Guardsmen are carrying. You can see these large sticks, we saw them about 15 minutes ago, pull them out and take a more aggressive posture, as if to be prepared to push back the crowd.
But then the weapon that they're holding are standard issue M4 weapons. They're military M4 rifles, and take a closer look at that magazine. Those are magazines suggesting that they are indeed loaded with ammunition.
And I want you to take a larger look at this crowd that we have. This isn't a sizable crowd. It is a growing crowd, but this is what they are seeing here in downtown Los Angeles, an incredible militarized force.
It actually brought Congresswoman Maxine Waters, this image, brought her down here to the Metropolitan Detention Center. She tried to get inside to talk to the president of SEIU. He was detained. She could not get in the door and indeed was slammed in her face, and then, here is what she said about the militarization she is seeing here in downtown Los Angeles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA): We will end up being used. I don't know why we have guns. What are those guns for? Are they to shoot protesters?
I mean, there is no reason to be here with the National Guard.
The President of the United States is cruel, dishonorable human being who would just assume they'd shoot somebody down. But I don't want that to happen. I do not want -- I want the elected officials to do everything that we can to dissuade them.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LAH: Here is the concern. It is the cauldron that has been created today by the deployment of the National Guard, by how people are feeling about these ICE arrests that occurred on Friday, what that clash could mean today here on the streets of Los Angeles.
And one thing you asked me, Jim, I just want to return to it. You asked what has the LAPD said about what happened last night?
What happened last night, in the words of the LAPD was the entire protest wrapped "without incident." So this is the response that we are seeing after that LAPD press release -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Kyung Lah, thanks so much for bringing us the view from the scene.
Senior White House reporter, Betsy Klein. She is in Bridgewater, New Jersey, near President Trump's Bedminster resort.
So Betsy again, another hour. The National Guard deployed there, the LAPD saying that they had this under control last night. No signs of at least in Kyung Lah's position, increasing or continuing violence today. What is the administration saying today?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: Well, Jim, all of this really adds up to what is becoming an increasingly intensifying standoff between the Trump administration and the state of California. There is so much pressure on the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration. It is something that President Trump campaigned on, this idea of mass deportation efforts.
And in the first days of his second term, he had really been falling far short of his stated goals from the campaign trail. So we have been seeing increased enforcement operations by ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a major crackdown, all leading to these protests that we have seen in recent days in California.
President Trump making that decision on Saturday to deploy 2,000 members of the National Guard to the Los Angeles area because in the White House's view, California officials are not doing enough to tamp down that violence.
Now, we have learned that President Trump spoke by phone on Friday with California Governor Newsom. Of course, the two of them have had a very contentious relationship, a White House official told me just moments ago that the President told Newsom to get the police in gear because the situation was getting out-of-control.
But all of this is an intrinsically political move. A president hasn't unilaterally called in the National Guard since the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, and Newsom has warned that this would exacerbate tensions. It also comes as the Trump administration is weighing massive cuts to federal grants for the state of California, including to the U.C. and CSU systems that could take place in the coming days.
But Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem says that this is a matter of National Security. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: These 2,000 National Guard soldiers that are being engaged today are ones that are specifically trained for this type of crowd situation.
National Guard soldiers are there to provide security for operations and to make sure that we have peaceful protests. So that's what their work is, and I won't get more specific on that just because we never do when it comes to law enforcement operations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: Now, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says that active duty Marines stationed at nearby Camp Pendleton are on "high alert" to support the National Guard if needed, and all of this comes as the President is set to depart his Bedminster property just moments from now for a meeting with top officials at Camp David -- Jim.
SCIUTTO: Betsy Klein, just outside Bedminster, thanks so much.
Joining me now is Mayor Peggy Lemons, the mayor of Paramount, California for more insight into the protests as well as the response.
Mayor, thank you so much for taking the time this Sunday.
MAYOR PEGGY LEMONS, PARAMOUNT, CALIFORNIA: Thank you for having me, Jim.
SCIUTTO: First let me ask you, is the National Guard in Paramount right now in your jurisdiction?
LEMONS: To my knowledge, no, they are not.
SCIUTTO: Okay. Has there been any coordination between law enforcement in Paramount and federal authorities in terms of the response to the protests and any clashes with law enforcement?
LEMONS: If there was communication between L.A. County Sheriffs and the National Guard or the federal government, I am not aware of it and our Sheriff's Department had everything under control, and we really had no need for the services of the National Guard.
SCIUTTO: What is your reaction to the President doing something that hasn't been done in this country for 60 years, which is to deploy the National Guard without the request demand from local authorities? What's your reaction?
LEMONS: Well, I think that there is a reason that protocols are set up because they're time tested and that they should be followed. So I think that that's disappointing.
SCIUTTO: Very basic question. Does seeing armed uniformed soldiers on the ground there with M4 semi-automatic weapons, does that calm the situation from your perspective? I know the pictures we are showing right now there in Los Angeles, not in Paramount, California, but is that a scene you want to be repeated in your own town?
[15:10:08]
LEMONS: It is not a scene that we want to see repeated here in our town, and I don't think it has a calming effect. I think it has just the opposite effect.
SCIUTTO: Trump's border czar, as he is known, Tom Homan, told NBC that any California official that stands in the way of impending ICE raids could get arrested. Have a listen to his comments. I want to get your reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THOMAS HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: I will say about anybody, you cross that line, it is a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It is a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job.
JACOB SOBOROFF, NBC NEWS REPORTER: Do you think that the mayor of L.A. is doing that?
HOMAN: Well, you know, if she crossed that line? We will ask the DOJ to prosecute. Do I think she's crossed the line? I don't think she has crossed the line yet. But I am telling you, the warning we are sending is we are not going to tolerate people attacking our officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Are you concerned that officials in Paramount could be arrested under similar circumstances?
LEMONS: I am not concerned at this time. I don't think that there is any desire to, you know, interfere directly with law enforcement. As I said, we did have the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, we were coordinating with to see that the residents in our city, you know, we were there for their protection and to see, you know, the traffic was under control and to see that nobody was harmed and to keep the peace.
And I don't see any reason for us to have to engage with them and hope it would never come to that.
SCIUTTO: How about for the residents of Paramount? What are you telling them? This population, your city is 85 percent Latino. I imagine that some of them are at least uncomfortable with some of the raids that have been taking place. What advice have you been giving them?
LEMONS: Our advice to them has been to remain calm. We are doing everything that we can via social media to make sure that they have access to any kind of information or services that we could provide.
We want them to know their rights and we want them to be safe. We don't want them to engage in any negative way that could mean imminent harm to them.
SCIUTTO: Do you find that some residents are going to ground, as it were, to avoid them or anyone in their family from being targeted?
LEMONS: I don't have personal knowledge of anyone who is doing that, but it certainly would not surprise me. I am confident that there are undocumented individuals in our city, but I don't think that they are the types of individuals that the administration said that they were out to, you know, get out of our country, you know, criminals.
These are hardworking blue-collar people who are just going to work every day to provide for their families.
SCIUTTO: The thing is, the administration has not purely gone after violent criminals, right? They're going after people who overstay their visas, et cetera. And there has been some reporting that people who have mixed situations say, for instance, some members of the family who are illegal, some who are not, or even situations where perhaps one parent is legal, one isn't and the children are citizens, that they then avoid school or hospitals because they don't want to get found or have anybody get found.
Have you seen any of that in Paramount?
LEMONS: As I said, I don't have any personal knowledge of it. Do I doubt that its happening? No, I don't doubt that it is happening, they are afraid, and I think that they are understandably afraid. The constant threat is out there. We are coming to get you. We are coming to get you.
SCIUTTO: Well, Mayor Peggy Lemons, we hope for peace in the city of Paramount. We appreciate you joining us this Sunday.
LEMONS: Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: Still to come, a look at how violence and the Trump administration's rollback of LGBTQ+ rights has cast a shadow after Pride events, and we will tell you what to know about a salmonella outbreak that has made dozens of people sick.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Just hours from now, midnight Eastern Time, President Trump's order banning citizens from 12 countries around the world from traveling to the U.S. takes effect. Seven additional countries face partial restrictions. Cuba's Foreign Minister says the partial travel ban President Trump imposed on the Caribbean Island has "racist undertones." He also believes it will damage future exchanges with the U.S.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more on how Cuban communities are now grappling with these new travel restrictions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice over): As dawn breaks at the U.S. embassy in Havana, Cubans get in line for increasingly scarce visas, already for Cubans to travel to the U.S. under the Trump administration was becoming difficult. Soon, it may be all but impossible.
Starting on Monday, the U.S. is banning travel from 12 countries and implementing a partial ban on an additional seven countries, including Cuba. Zoila (ph) received her visa just hours after new restrictions were announced.
(ZOILA speaking in foreign language.)
[15:20:06]
OPPMANN: "I was lucky, very lucky," she tells me. "But I will be nervous until I can get onto the plane."
The partial ban on Cubans impacts both immigrant and non-immigrant visas. It's still unclear if Cubans who already have been granted visas will be allowed to travel.
MARIA JOSE ESPINOSA, EXEC. DIR. CENTER FOR ADVOCACY AND ENGAGEMENT IN THE AMERICAS: This is hundreds of thousands of American citizens who won't be able to see their grandparents, who won't be able to see their uncles, no exceptions. Even if it's confusing, it's going to impact families.
OPPMANN (voice over): The partial ban deals another blow to Cuba's crumbling economy.
OPPMANN (on camera): Many Cubans go to the United States to bring back items that are increasingly hard to find in communist-run Cuba -- food, medicine, even car parts. It's a vital lifeline that would be endangered if visas are greatly reduced or even cut off.
OPPMANN (voice over): The Trump administration says this slashing the number of visas issued to Cubans to force the island's government to accept more deportees and cooperate with U.S. law enforcement. But Emerio, who has applied for a visa to reunite with his son in Miami, tells me people like him could pay the price.
(EMERIO speaking in foreign language.)
OPPMANN: "Family is everything in life," he says. "Some go this way, some go that way but God created families to be together."
These Cubans hoping to obtain a visa to the U.S. aren't giving up. Some have waited months, even years, for an appointment and this should be the final step. But time may have already run out.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Well, a salmonella outbreak has now sickened dozens of people in this country. The outbreak, linked to eggs from a California distributor, but it has spread to at least seven states.
The CDC says 1.7 million dozen cage-free eggs that have the potential to be contaminated were recalled on Friday by a distributor. The eggs were sold under multiple brand names at several stores, including Walmart, Safeway and Ralphs, at least 21 people have been hospitalized.
And back to our breaking news: National Guardsmen deployed inside Los Angeles. We are going to take you there for an update in minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:26:43]
SCIUTTO: Welcome back. Further update on our top story from Los Angeles.
President Trump has now deployed the National Guard there after two days of protests and clashes between police and protesters who are opposed to immigration raids carried out at multiple locations around the city. We should note that order is an extremely rare one, to federalize the National Guard without the request or permission of state authorities. It hasn't happened in this country in some 60 years.
CNN senior investigative correspondent, Kyung Lah is in Los Angeles.
And Kyung, we've been checking in with you periodically. Tell us what you're seeing now. It looks like LAPD forces are there now as well.
LAH: No. No. It is the Department of Homeland Security.
Let me kind of bring you up-to-date with what has been happening since the last time I joined you, Jim.
In this amount of time, we've seen a slow escalation, whether they be in numbers on both sides, creating a very, very tense situation. We saw some of the Department of Homeland Security officers hand out this flier, and basically, it is warning people to behave, to listen to the rules that are set here.
And I am just going to have you sweep through. What you're looking at is, we have seen this frontline of soldiers from the National Guard. They are carrying sticks. They are carrying their issued standard issue M4 rifles. It does look like they have magazines on them, which suggests that they are carrying ammunition.
Behind them in blue, who, you can be forgiven, Jim, that it does look like the same blues of the LAPD. Those are officers from the Department of Homeland Security, those yellow attached items, they look like they are preparing to deploy teargas. And then I want you to look at the next wave.
The officers standing behind DHS, there is another group of officers holding a type of weapon I can't quite decipher. They also have handguns on their side. It looks like I can't tell if it is a handgun or a taser, and then beyond them, it is impossible for photographer, Mike Love to see, but that entire black hole I can see with my naked eye a number of soldiers, they do look like Army National Guard. They are wearing shields. They are carrying those large body shields. So we are looking at waves of law enforcement in order to deal with potentially a crowd and at that point, I want you to turn, Mike, if you could just give us a look at this crowd. It is not a very large crowd. I've covered a lot of protests in Los Angeles, both in local news as well as here at CNN, and this is not anything resembling what I've seen in previous times, where the LAPD has handled it, where -- we have not seen the deployment of the National Guard at this level and certainly haven't seen the Department of Homeland Security or waves of law enforcement.
This is something that I've never seen before. So, what we are doing is watching to see what is happening. Tempers are flaring. But right now we haven't seen anyone taken into custody. Though people are shouting at each other, there hasn't been any sort of physical contact.
[15:30:07]
SCIUTTO: Kyung, let me ask you just to do some math for us, because it is hard to count. But if you count the number of uniformed federal law enforcement officers there, quite well-armed compared to the number of protesters, have any of the -- are any of the protesters carrying weapons of any sort? Have they approached those law enforcement officers? Are they outnumbered?
LAH: They, to the naked eye, and I couldn't possibly just gauge a guess here, but to the naked eye, it certainly appears that there is a lot more uniformed law enforcement and military here than there are protesters.
I am looking at some of these protesters' faces. They are really -- they are young, you know, they are college-aged, some in their early 20s. There appear to be some older folks as well, members of the community. They are engaging in their protected First Amendment right of protest, of freedom of protest. And it is -- you know, you can see for yourself, it certainly appears to the naked eye that they are absolutely outnumbered by the number of soldiers and officers from DHS that I am looking at, and I haven't seen anyone pull out a weapon.
SCIUTTO: Are any of the officers there or a spokesman for the various agencies represented there, which from what I can tell, you mentioned DHS, you mentioned the National Guardsmen, have they explained why that ramp up in the number of forces just in the last hour since we last spoke?
LAH: No, all they've done is hand out this -- here are the rules and regulations that they want the protesters to follow. That's the only engagement that we've really seen. And, you know, they've just told them, look, don't come onto the property, stay on the sidewalk. And, you know, while there are certainly people trying to push forward, we haven't seen any, like, large scale attempt to try to enter this building.
SCIUTTO: Well, it is a lot of weaponry just from the catalogue you were doing prior.
Kyung Lah, we appreciate having you there. Please keep yourself and your team safe.
As that continues to escalate, well, let's discuss now with Congressman from Illinois, Democratic Congressman Eric Sorensen, a member of the House Armed Services Committee.
Let me first ask you for your reaction to that scene we just witnessed there. In the moment, you have a number of it appears peaceful protesters. We didn't see any weapons or sticks or anything that stood out and you have several layers of uniformed federal law enforcement that have not been requested by state law enforcement. And, of course, LAPD has its own law enforcement officers, including those trained in crowd control and riot control.
What is your reaction to seeing that show of force?
REP. ERIC SORENSEN (D-IL): Well, look, I mean, it is -- I am so grateful that we have a free press that is going to be able to tell us the story. You know, I am thinking about the safety of those storytellers that need to get this information out. I am thinking about the safety of our law enforcement, that everyone stays safe.
We need a de-escalation here and what President Trump is doing is, he is escalating the situation. You know, we need tempers to calm down. You know, we need to make sure that that people aren't scared to be out in their own communities.
But then also, understanding that the First Amendment does give us the right as American citizens to make sure that we are standing up for those rights. You know, and so my hope is that there is a de- escalation.
SCIUTTO: Your own district is home to the Peoria Air National Guard Base. Having spoken to a lawyer earlier in this broadcast, one of the takeaways from President Trump's order is that he is reserving the right, even preemptively claiming the right to federalize National Guardsmen in other states if he so chooses to do so.
What would your reaction be if you saw a scene such as this with Illinois National Guardsmen deployed in response to protests?
SORENSEN: Well, look, you know, it is not just my constituents, it is my friends who serve in the Air National Guard in Peoria, but then also in the National Guard. They are working to make sure that we are bringing about peace around the world. And here is a case example where the Executive Branch wants to militarize, you know, our peacekeeping mission against its own citizens.
You know, this is wrong. You know, I think that we, as Americans, we have to decide today. What are our American values? You know, what do we believe in America that we stand for? You know, I think that's going to be a test for a lot of us here.
[15:35:09]
But look, as a member of the Armed Services Committee, I want to make sure that we are doing what is right around the world, not playing politics with a President that just wants to stoke division and hatred, which is on full steam today.
SCIUTTO: Given that members of American -- of U.S. Armed Services are being federalized, we are seeing that now in California and the President, as I said, reserving the right to do so in other states, is this an issue that you or fellow Democrats on the Armed Services Committee, perhaps fellow Republicans, will pursue or investigate?
SORENSEN: Well, look, you know, I will be flying back to Washington, D.C. very early tomorrow morning to meet with my colleagues on the Armed Services, to understand what are the apparatus that we have in front of us to make sure that we are actually doing the work of a democracy, that we are making sure that not only does democracy work in the United States of America, but that democracy works around the world.
Because we are the leaders in the world, we have to understand that the rest of the world is looking at what is happening in Los Angeles today, and are we putting ourselves forward and saying that America is the leader? Because there are a lot of people around the world that are watching this broadcast, that are watching live news, and we need to make sure that we are doing what is right, not just by our citizens, but by humanity.
SCIUTTO: I do want to, before we go, switch gears for a moment, touch on another topic, because you have introduced a new bipartisan bill just this week called the Weather Workforce Improvement Act, which intends to fully staff the National Weather Services heading into the busiest severe weather season.
You're a former meteorologist yourself, tell us what you hope this bill will do, but also why you think there is a need for it.
SORENSEN: So we need to make sure that we are understanding that the National Weather Service meteorologists are there to care for our communities, but they are essential. They are as essential to our safety as TSA and air traffic controllers are, you know, and so I am so thankful as being the only meteorologist in Congress that we are able to work across the aisle.
Congressman Flood from Nebraska and myself realized that, hey, we are in severe weather season. We are going to be ramping up into hurricane season, we need to make sure that we have the staffing levels that are needed. We have too many people that have been let go, Jim. But this administration needs to hire them back so that we don't see a loss of life due to doing the wrong thing.
SCIUTTO: Are you concerned about another issue because there have been questions, concerns about the ability of the Weather Service and other agencies, such as NOAA, to collect climate data that influences the weather, the intensity of storms, for instance, which you know better than I. Are you concerned that -- that those resources and staff are being impacted as well?
SORENSEN: Right. So as a long time meteorologist, you know, in my district for 20 years, you know, I was one of the first broadcast meteorologists to even talk about climate because we needed to communicate it from the basis of science and data as we were understanding it.
And now what is happening here, if we are curtailing the availability for meteorologists to get the data to make the conclusions, there is a bigger problem at foot here.
The administration needs to understand that even if they want to say that the United States is not going to collect this data, they have to understand the rest of the world is collecting the data. Right?
We are going to understand more and more clearly what is going on with our changing climate, but we need to build resilience into this and make good decisions, because our kids and our grandkids are depending on it.
SCIUTTO: Congressman Eric Sorensen, thanks so much for taking time this Sunday.
SORENSEN: Always good to be with you, Jim.
SCIUTTO: And we will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:43:47]
SCIUTTO: Some Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill are now raising their own concerns with Trump's massive policy and spending bill after Elon Musk openly criticized the bill as, "a disgusting abomination."
GOP leaders are trying to downplay Musk's influence over the bill, but House Speaker Mike Johnson does say he intends to serve as a peacemaker between Trump and Musk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): What I am trying to do is make sure that all of this gets resolved quickly, that we get the one Big, Beautiful Bill done and that hopefully these two titans can reconcile.
I think the President's head is in the right place, and he said a couple of days ago he is moving on because he must, he has a huge number of responsibilities on his plate and he can't get caught up in a Twitter war.
JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: Yes.
JOHNSON: The tweets are something that --
KARL: Whatever we call them now.
JOHNSON: X, I know I get lost in all of that.
KARL: But he -- you know, these were incredibly personal. I mean and suggesting that Trump should be impeached and replaced, removed from office and replaced by J.D. Vance. I mean, he crossed a line here, didn't he? I mean, this is not just being disappointed. JOHNSON: Well, look, my way is in what I've encourage our colleagues on Capitol Hill all the time to remember is that policy disputes are not personal. It shouldn't be. It can't be.
I mean, if we took everything personal, we'd never get anything done. So I think all this would resolve. I think there was a lot of emotion involved in it, but it is in the interest of the country for everybody to work together and I am going to continue to try to be a peacemaker in all this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:45:15]
SCIUTTO: The White House is denying reports that a fistfight broke out between Musk and the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, back in April. Here is more from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: When this story originally broke, I said from the podium that there have definitely been. disagreements amongst the Cabinet and Elon Musk. There were times in which they got frustrated with one another. But I think that really speaks to the heart of this Cabinet and the President's team, that they can have these robust disagreements and then still come together to do what's right for the people they are serving.
And you saw when President Trump graciously sent Elon Musk back to his companies, Secretary Bessent was there in the Oval Office, along with Secretary Lutnick and Stephen Miller. I was there, the Chief-of-Staff was there, and we were all hoping for the best for Elon.
And I think it is unfortunate that now that he has gone back to his companies, he is lambasting this bill that he was very much supportive of by all accounts.
MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS NETWORK HOST, MORNINGS WITH MARIA": Did he actually get physical? Was there a fistfight that he body checked the Treasury Secretary?
LEAVITT: I certainly wouldn't describe it as a fistfight, Maria. It was definitely a disagreement. Although I was not there, I didn't witness it with my own eyes. I heard about it through secondhand reporting. But again, we've moved on from that. The President has moved on from it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Interesting.
The Kremlin is reacting to that fallout between Trump and Musk. Some foreign leaders are even mocking the feud by offering to broker their own peace deal. CNN chief global affairs correspondent, Matthew Chance has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On Russian state media, of course, the big beautiful break is being ridiculed.
(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)
CHANCE: "It's only one stop from love to hate," says this pro-Kremlin T.V. host. "President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk are now at war." This amid countless memes depicting U.S. rivals Russia and China watching with glee as the world's most powerful man and its richest fall out in spectacular fashion.
Officials in Moscow are openly mocking the chaos, like Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of the Russian Security Council, joking that the Kremlin will help broker peace between Trump and Musk. "We're ready to facilitate the conclusion of a peace deal for a reasonable fee and to accept Starlink shares as payment," Medvedev wrote on X. "Don't fight, guys," he added.
His post comes after tensions between Trump and Musk erupted on Thursday, with Musk accusing Trump of having connections to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. And Trump, who denies any wrongdoing, threatening to cancel federal contracts for Musk's companies.
One Russian lawmaker, Dmitry Novikov, sarcastically suggested Russia could offer Musk political asylum if he needs it, while the Kremlin itself dismisses the falling-out as an internal U.S. matter watching its old adversary being thoroughly ridiculed plays into the Kremlin's hands.
Matthew Chance, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Back now to our breaking news. Hundreds of National Guard troops now deployed inside Los Angeles amid days of immigration protests.
The former mayor of Los Angeles will join me shortly as we see that presence there expanding.
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[15:53:36]
SCIUTTO: In this week's episode of "Searching for Spain," Eva Longoria takes viewers to Asturias, a rugged, mountainous region on the Northwest Coast of Spain known for its dairy products. There, Eva ventures to an underground cheese cave and breaks bread with her ancestors in the town of, well, Longoria. Here is a preview.
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EVA LONGORIA, CNN HOST, "SEARCHING FOR SPAIN" (voice over): Cider to the Asturians is like wine to the French or tequila to the Mexicans. It has been their favorite drink of choice for over 2,000 years, and they even have their own word for the way you pour it, "escanciar."
The bottle is served with just one glass, traditionally, all that families could afford.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I do it?
(UNIDENTIFIED MALES speaking in foreign language.)
LONGORIA (voice over): So everyone gets a turn at pouring.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You put your arm as high as possible.
LONGORIA: Right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Then you put back the glass.
LONGORIA: Why like that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you want the liquid to cross over here.
LONGORIA: You want it to crash?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LONGORIA: Got it.
LONGORIA (voice over): As the cider crashes down, carbon dioxide is released, producing a momentary fizz.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. Higher, higher, higher.
LONGORIA: I am sure that's as high as it goes.
LONGORIA (voice over): Even with my arm to glass ratio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then you need to drink. Do you like it?
LONGORIA: Yes, but it's a lot. I have to drink it all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LONGORIA: It tastes like kombucha. Like something fermented.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes.
LONGORIA: But you can taste the apple. That would be dangerous. We drink too much.
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SCIUTTO: Looks pretty good. A new episode of Eva Longoria "Searching for Spain" airs tonight at 9:00 P.M. only on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SCIUTTO: Hello. Thank you so much for joining me this weekend. I am Jim Sciutto, in for Fredricka Whitfield.
Breaking news that we've been covering out of Los Angeles, the National Guard, as well as other federal law enforcement officers now on the ground in Los Angeles after President Trump signed a presidential memorandum deploying 2,000 Guardsmen without, we should note the state's request or consent.
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