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Downtown L.A. Curfew in Effect for Second Night Amid Unrest; Cheers, Boos as Trump Attends Performance of "Les Mis"; Demonstrators in New York Protest Against ICE Raids; U.S. to Move Some Diplomats Out of the Middle East; Downtown L.A. Curfew In Effect For Second Night Amid Unrest; LAPD Chief: Role Of Marines & National Guard "Still Not Clear"; Trump Launches $5 Million Immigration 'Gold Card' Visa Signup Site; Red-Hot Scheffler Targets First U.S. Open Triumph; Ancelotti's Brazil Secure Spot With Win Over Paraguay. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 12, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

MJ LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm MJ Lee, and you are watching CNN NEWSROOM.

And we begin tonight in Los Angeles where a curfew is in effect for a second straight night. The city grappling with protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement raids and his deployment of federal forces, something California did not ask for and does not want.

On the first night of the curfew, L.A. police arrested more than 200 people for failure to disperse. And we've seen more arrests carried out in the past hour. We'll remind you that this curfew affects a small slice of downtown L.A., just one square mile where the demonstrations have been concentrated.

In the hours ahead, a federal judge will hear California's bid for an emergency restraining order to block what the governor calls the unwarranted and illegal militarization of L.A. The Trump administration is urging the court to reject the state's challenge.

Appearing at the Kennedy Center, Donald Trump once again claimed that his military orders are what has saved Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we weren't there, if we didn't bring in the National Guard and the Marines, then you would probably have a city that was burning to the ground just like it was a number of months ago with the housing. You would have had a big problem there if we weren't there. In fact, the police chief said so much. If you look at what his statements were, he said, we're very lucky to have had them. If we weren't there, that city would have been burning to the ground. Would be burning right now. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: L.A. police declared an unlawful assembly outside city hall. Authorities say demonstrators threw fireworks and rocks at officers who fired rubber bullets to break up the crowd. The Los Angeles mayor has been pushing back on descriptions of protests as widespread riots, and she said the Trump administration has misled the public.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: We started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons, gang members, drug dealers. But when you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you're not trying to keep everyone safe. You're trying to cause fear and panic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And protests denouncing ICE raids and President Trump's immigration policies continue to spread throughout the country. The National Guard has been activated in two states so far, the first being the controversial deployment in California and Tuesday's activation in Texas, ahead of planned protests there this week. New York City Mayor Eric Adams says he told the state's governor the National Guard is not needed to respond to protests there. About 2500 protesters marched through the city on Tuesday. The NYPD says they've made so far 80 arrests.

And this was the scene in San Antonio, Texas, on Wednesday where crowds gathered outside city hall. San Antonio officials have pledged their support to, quote, "maintain peace and order." And this is the scene right now in Spokane, Washington. The mayor has just issued a curfew for parts of the city. It will be in place until 5:00 a.m. local time.

I want to bring in Nancy Meza with the National Day Labor Organizing Network. She is the group's Los Angeles organizer.

Nancy, what are you hearing from your network of organizers so far tonight? It is the second night that a curfew has gone into effect.

NANCY MEZA, NATIONAL DAY LABORER ORGANIZING NETWORK: Yes, well, we're hearing on the ground is that immigrant workers, specifically day laborers, are continuing to be the focus of these attacks by DHS and ICE. Just this morning, we were able to confirm yet more raids at Home Depots, including Downey, right, and other parts of the city. So what we're seeing is that immigrant workers, specifically day laborers, continue to be a target for this administration.

LEE: And you're talking about these kinds of raids that are continuing. I'm particularly interested to hear from you the kinds of tactics that people have been seeing. The protesters, I should say, from LAPD, from the National Guard, and other law enforcement as they try to tamp down these protests and try to keep order. MEZA: Yes. So what we know of like, one, right, why folks are out

there. We know that folks in Los Angeles are currently on the street as a result of this increased ICE activity that began on Friday morning, right, where, you know, I've been doing this work for a long time, close to 15 years. And I personally have never seen the tactics of raiding a workplace where immigrants are there for work.

You know, I think it's important to understand that in the context of white folks are out in the street. What we're seeing is the deliberate persecution of immigrant workers. And folks in Los Angeles just are not standing for it.

[00:05:07]

You know, I think it's important that we don't normalize what we're seeing in the streets. For example, just this week in Huntington Park, we saw again day laborers at the Home Depot being literally chased and tackled to the ground by DHS and ICE agents. It was not a targeted action or enforcement, right. What we're seeing in the streets is that at this point, anyone who is deemed to be an immigrant worker or right to be undocumented, it is a target.

So I think that's important for folks to understand. Right? This is the reason that folks are out in the streets, but are also doing other things, right, are showing up to day labor sites, are showing up to their nearest place where they know immigrant workers are at, and offering support and guidance. So I just think that's important within the context of why folks are out in L.A. tonight.

And I would say what we've seen from law enforcement, you know, I was out there on Friday, you know, when we called the first protest, it was majorly peaceful. I was also out there on Sunday. I've been out there Monday and Huntington Park in various areas of the city. So what we're seeing is that everywhere that ICE has conducted activities, there is going to be organized resistance, right, or there's going to be a response from the community members who are rightfully outraged at the tactics we're currently seeing by the Department of Homeland Security that at this point isn't offering a warrant, right at this point, isn't conducting targeted arrests.

It's really blanket arrest that I, again, I have never seen this kind of action before. So it is, you know, new tactics that we're seeing. And as the Day Laborer Organizing Network, one of the things that we're asking supporters, right, especially right now, folks are like, how can I passively or peacefully join, right, this immigrant rights movement? For folks who want to join peacefully, what we're asking is for folks to go to the Home Depots, you know, go to your nearest place of work, go to the courts, go where you know immigrant workers gather.

Be eyes on the ground, offer support, offer assistance. And if ICE arrives, like, help us document right now as Andalon. We actually had to launch a hotline because we ourselves haven't been able to locate all of the day laborers that have been taken as part of these raids, specifically at the Home Depot. So we are asking the general public who wants to continue to show their solidarity for immigrants to go to the Home Depots, right? If you don't have a morning practice with your friends, you know, your

morning walk, now you do, right? You could make that practice going to the Home Depots and making sure that workers are safe.

LEE: And we are now seeing protests cropping up in a number of other cities across the country. Tell me what ultimately needs to happen for these protesters to put their signs down, stop marching, call it quits?

MEZA: You know what I keep saying again and again is that, you know, every day ICE is in the streets of Los Angeles, so will the people, right? The people want ICE out of L.A. I said right in our community they are bringing chaos, unprecedented chaos. Right? Just blanket, these are not targeted arrests. They are attacking or, you know, kidnaping literally community members who seem to look undocumented. Again, like what is their criteria, right? So what will make the protest signs go down is ICE and these militarized police presence leaving our communities.

LEE: Nancy Meza in Los Angeles, thank you so much for joining us.

MEZA: Thank you so much for having us.

LEE: L.A., of course, remains the epicenter of this movement and the unrest. And that's where CNN's Michael Yoshida is live.

Michael, after the first night of this curfew, how are things looking tonight?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, MJ. We're just about an hour into the second night of this curfew. You can see still a visible law enforcement presence here in this downtown area where the curfew applies. But you can see no real protesters or no protesters at all here, the street wide open. This is where throughout the last few days, we've seen a lot of protests throughout the day. Even during the night, some of those nights.

But at this point, we still have law enforcement. We have some helicopters flying over. But again, everyone cleared out of this area earlier today. There you can see one of those helicopters we've seen just circling, but no real activity at this point that we've been able to see. And I can tell you about 20, 30 minutes ago, we were a few blocks away at city hall, and there we saw maybe two, three dozen protesters still out about 30 minutes after the curfew took effect.

There was law enforcement in the area. No real interactions between them. And then those protesters just kind of started walking away. So whether they were following the curfew or just kind of walking to another part of the city, not quite sure. But again, at this point you can see night two of the curfew.

[00:10:01]

No real activity happening in this part of downtown. Again, it's about a one mile square area that's impacted by this curfew and at least everything we're seeing people seem to be following it. And it remains very calm here.

LEE: Yes, certainly see that right behind you.

Michael, is there anything you're learning about the Marines that were deployed to L.A. and the role that they have been playing?

YOSHIDA: Yes. So a lot of interest in the 700 or so Marines that were mobilized, deployed to this area. We know from our last reporting they remain outside of the L.A., outside of L.A., outside of the city, going through more of their training, learning and going through training for that less lethal force and interactions, how to de- escalate situations, how to potentially detain individuals.

So a lot of that is still going on. No real insight yet into how long that training could take. But again, obviously a lot of focus on the Marines, a lot of focus on the National Guard, and the various roles they are playing or could potentially play in everything that we've seen play out over the last few days here in L.A. But again, at this point tonight, very calm here in L.A., which is a comforting sign, especially for those living here.

LEE: Michael Yoshida in Los Angeles, thank you so much.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suggested Wednesday that President Trump's order to federalize California's National Guard was intended to create a precedent, meaning the tactic could be replicated in other states. Hegseth made these comments during a Senate subcommittee meeting on Wednesday. The president's order over the weekend was quite broad and was likely vague for a reason.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Part of it is getting ahead of a problem. So that if in other places, if there are other riots in places where law enforcement officers are threatened, we would have the capability to surge National Guard there if necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Hegseth also told lawmakers there are currently 13,000 U.S. troops deployed to the southern border with Mexico. The most recent deployment there was in May.

Donald Trump was greeted with cheers and boos as he attended a performance of "Les Miserables" at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

A few months ago that the president launched a conservative takeover of the performing arts facility, calling it too liberal. His appearance was part of a fundraiser for the center. Trump said donors had raised $10 million. Before the show, President Trump said he's a fan of "Les Mis." Ironically while protesters are in the streets of some U.S. cities the legendary musical tells the story of French citizens rising up against their government. He told FOX News Digital he loves the songs and the musical.

Kristen Holmes has more on his night at the Kennedy Center. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump going to see a performance of "Les Mis" at the Kennedy Center on Wednesday. This is the first time he's seen a performance at the cultural center since he effectively took it over. He got rid of most of the board members, replaced them with Trump loyalists, who then in turn voted him to be the president of the board.

Now, he's been pretty fixated on the Kennedy Center for some time. We know he's visited there. He has tried to talk about rebuilding it. We know he's tried to put $250 million into that spending bill that's currently in front of the Senate.

Now, tonight was billed as partly a fundraiser. They were tickets for $2 million, $1 million, $100,000. We heard from the head of the Kennedy Center, Ric Grenell, who said that they believed that they had raised around $10 million. Now for $2 million we reported earlier you could essentially get a seat in the box next to the president. We also know that a lot of members of the administration and supporters were buying some of those tickets.

Now, there have been some concern because last month CNN reported that several members of the cast of "Les Mis" were planning on boycotting the president's performance. The director, Grenell, was asked about that as well. He said that was a long time ago, and there has been a lot of pushback to Donald Trump's takeover of the cultural center, which has been really an iconic piece of Washington, D.C., for decades.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Protests against ICE raids are expanding to cities across the U.S., including New York. We're watching developments there as our coverage of the ongoing demonstrations continue next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:18:55]

LEE: A curfew is now in place for a second straight night in downtown Los Angeles, as protests against immigration raids continue. Earlier, police declared an unlawful assembly outside city hall, where a CNN crew saw officers using rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Police said people had thrown fireworks and rocks at officers during a march through downtown to the steps of city hall.

And protests are taking place well beyond California. In Indiana, a large group of anti-ICE demonstrators gathered outside the Pacers Arena in Indianapolis, where an NBA Final Game was underway.

Another day of protests as well in New York City, where about 200 demonstrators gathered downtown to voice their opposition to the ICE raids. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is there and filed this report a short time

ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I just want to show you what's happening. I mean, we've been out here now for about five hours. These are the NYPD officers. They've been out here just as long as we've been out here. And now basically what's been happening, I'm going to have Emilio (PH) turn around here and show you.

[00:20:01]

There are some protesters that still remain. This is a very, very much a smaller group than what we saw earlier tonight. They have now essentially just stopped here on the sidewalk and kind of sometimes a confrontation with police at times trying to bait the police. And then the police would come in onto the sidewalk and threaten an arrest. And then it's actually been remarkable to watch as the bosses, the white shirt, the chiefs and the lieutenants and the captains move in and try to deescalate, tell the officers, move back, let's go.

Let's move out and make sure that they don't make an arrest and they want to de-escalate. And that's kind of in the back and forth here tonight. As we were out here last night, this area is so significant because this is where the ICE offices are. The New York City ICE offices. This is where they detain people that they take into custody. And what happened earlier was one of the vans came out. It was empty, but they didn't know that.

It's a prisoner van. And the group started chasing after the van. And then the NYPD moved in and the van wound up leaving. But that's been kind of what's been happening here over the course of the past several days. But for now, we're just at this standoff here. The police are allowing them to remain on the sidewalk, and we'll see at some point they're going to have to leave, as we saw last night. So let's see how this develops here as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: The State Department is preparing to order nonessential personnel from U.S. embassies in Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and other parts of the Middle East, according to U.S. officials. And President Trump confirmed the news.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, they are being moved out because it could be a dangerous place. And we'll see what happens. But they are, and we've given notice to move out and we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: An official told CNN that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from across the Middle East.

CNN's Kylie Atwood explains what's behind this move.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The State Department and the Department of Defense moving to draw down non- essential U.S. diplomats in the Middle East and the families of U.S. Military officials in the Middle East. This comes due to heightened security concerns in the region, with U.S. Central Command saying that they are monitoring developing tensions in the Middle East, not specifically citing what those tensions are.

But CNN has reported on the increased tensions over recent weeks and months between Israel and Iran, with U.S. officials concerned about Israel drawing up plans, preparing for a strike on Iran's nuclear program. And this also comes as the Trump administration has been trying to reach an Iran nuclear deal with the country. They have been engaged in five rounds of nuclear talks with Iran. They are expected to have their sixth round of talks this coming weekend.

A senior administration official said that for now, those talks remain as scheduled. But earlier today, President Trump said that he is less confident about the possibility of reaching that deal. The Iranians have said that they will be presenting a response to what the U.S. put on the table, and it wouldn't be a distinctive no, but we'll have to watch and see where that goes as the security concerns are on the top of the U.S. officials' minds.

Kylie Atwood, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Escalating tensions in the Middle East could impact critical shipping routes. The alert comes from a U.K. marine tracking agency that warns the risk of heightened military action there could pose a threat to ships. The agency is advising ships to use caution when passing through the Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz. The warning comes as the White House continues to pursue a new nuclear deal with Iran.

Protesters face off with police amid growing demonstrations against immigration raids in Los Angeles. We'll take you directly to the streets to give you a close look at the standoff.

Our breaking news coverage continues after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:28:58]

LEE: Welcome back. I'm MJ Lee. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The State Department is preparing to order the departure of nonessential personnel from U.S. embassies in Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and other parts of the Middle East. An official told CNN that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from across the region amid rising tensions in the Middle East.

And protests against the U.S. president's immigration raids have now spread to more than a dozen cities nationwide. After a day of large gatherings, the mayor of Spokane, Washington, has just declared a state of emergency and ordered a curfew for certain areas until 5:00 a.m.

And meanwhile, a curfew is now in effect in parts of downtown Los Angeles for a second straight night. Police say about 400 people have been arrested there as protests continue. Most of the demonstrations have been peaceful, but police have described some protesters as anarchists.

And we now want to give you a firsthand look at how tense the situation is on the ground in Los Angeles.

Earlier, CNN's Nick Watt was just meters away as police face off with protesters. Take a look.

[00:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What has happened is the police have moved the protesters away from City Hall. Police officers mounted on horseback with batons raised moved the protesters up into this little park where they are now. The protesters are carrying signs, "Get ICE out of L.A.," "Get The Troops Out Of L.A." They've been chanting at the police, Shame, shame, shame, shame.

Look, we're seeing another phalanx of police officers coming up here now armed with non-lethal, less lethal weapons, moving in to try and I suppose disperse what they call an unlawful gathering. Now, I've also seen signs amongst the protesters saying protesting is not illegal, but clearly they do not want the protesters that close to City Hall.

Again, important to note, these are all LAPD. These are not National Guard, these are not federal, these are local Los Angeles Police Force. And right now they have the protesters pegged up there. Now as you mentioned, the curfew is due to kick in 8:00 p.m. local time, that's 11:00 p.m. on the East Coast.

What we saw last night when the curfew kicked in was the LAPD very methodically, very slowly moved in and did begin making arrests. They -- yeah, yeah, yeah, OK, OK, OK, OK, OK. So the police are asking us now to move even further back. They've been -- this has been a constant all day of them moving us out of the way. So let's just come back down here just a little bit.

So as you see, we're now shooting straight into the sun, so it's very difficult for you to see what's going on here, Abby. But right now, more LAPD officers just massing, facing off against these protesters. So far today, the protests have been pretty calm. There has not been violence.

The police are clearly getting a little anxious. I just saw a police officer about five minutes ago when we were walking up here. There was a man on a bicycle who went under a police line. Not in a threatening manner, the police officer pulled him off the bicycle, threw him to the ground. As you can see up here, Jerry, we've got more police vehicles waiting, more officers waiting.

I mean, OK, we've listened to everything that you've said, OK? We've listened to everything you've said. OK, so again, the police don't appear to know where they want us to be because they keep on telling us to move. Just another sign of just the kind of anxiety levels that have risen here.

OK, this whole phalanx is now moving in as we are getting pushed further back. There's no point in arguing with the police at this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: For more, let's bring in Los Angeles City Councilmember, Adrin Nazarian. Councilmember, thank you very much for being here. On the first night of the curfew, L.A. police arrested more than 200 people for failure to disperse. What are you seeing and hearing so far tonight?

ADRIN NAZARIAN, LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCILMEMBER: Thank you MJ for this opportunity as well to make sure that in Los Angeles we get our side across. It's been devastating to see what the city is going through for the past five nights. But I just want to reiterate the point that if L.A. police officers and the mutual aid that we have of other police agencies in the area can do their work, they can peacefully address issue. And what you're seeing is right now unfortunately at night time some of the folks that come out want to cause chaos and create disturbance.

LEE: I mean, speaking of, do you think the curfew has been effective and how long do you think the curfew will be necessary just in the coming days.

NAZARIAN: The I'm glad the curfew is in place and I hope that it achieves what it is aimed to achieve, which is just to make sure we're de-escalating the situation. Let's not forget, the federal government's responsibility here was to uphold and regulate immigration. And this administration and President Trump, all they've tried to do is create chaos, fear, and place fear among people. And in reaction to these tactics, we've had protests erupt in Los Angeles -- starting in Los Angeles, now it's spreading all over the place as well, all over the country as well.

So this is what dictators do in order to try to take control of situations. And I say it this way because my family fled Iran in 1981 when the country went through its revolution and war. So I saw firsthand what happened to a freedom loving nation where people and residents had all the freedoms and minorities like my family, Christian Armenians, were treated very well. [00:35:00]

Same things I'm seeing unfold here. Families are being torn apart from one another. Families are being picked, individuals are being picked up from the streets and being put in custody and detained.

LEE: And Councilmember, as we've been discussing President Trump's decision to send in the military to Los Angeles, I wonder if over the last week you've seen anything to suggest that military presence is necessary or helpful in your city?

NAZARIAN: No, no. In fact, I've been making video posts of this myself. Today, I had taken my son to a soccer practice and I created a post to show nothing is happening in the San Fernando Valley. In fact, a lot of folks, it's an ordinary Wednesday night and everyone is out and about enjoying the night.

I did similar posts as well. I was just at the Pride Parade on Sunday morning. I was in Hollywood having some meetings with entertainment industry folks on Monday. And there was a movie premiere where I was driving by. So most of everything has been very normal here.

First of all, what is being shown on many of the news stations is -- we're talking about a quarter of a mile radius or half a mile radius area. It's primarily in Downtown Los Angeles. And that's just to put into context a small sliver of the 469 square miles of the city. So just to put things into context, it's a very small part of Los Angeles that is facing this.

LEE: Yeah, that's something the mayor has been emphasizing as well in her public comments. You represent Council, District 2. Your office has been sharing resources with your constituents about how to prepare for these immigration raids, trying to educate people about legal options that they have, documents that they should perhaps carry with them. What are you hearing from your constituents about just the worries that they have about a possible run in with ICE?

NAZARIAN: Well, there's constant concern and fear, and you even see it in the events and gatherings. When I host the resource event, many people do not want to attend the event, even though there are beneficial programs for them to be able to take advantage of, but they don't want to attend out of fear of not knowing what can loom around the corner.

So this kind of fear, this kind of a circumstance of raising the family is nothing any American has ever wanted or aspired to. This isn't American. This isn't what we've -- this isn't who we are. And whether it's individuals listening to this in Chicago or in Ohio or in Minnesota, anywhere else around the country, I believe I'm speaking to many friends who believe in the same values and share the same moral compass.

We've all come to the United States because we've had the opportunity to get a second chance, whether it was our generation, our parents' generation, our grandparents' generation. And we've all worked very hard to make this country the great nation that it is today. Why are we going to go back on this? Why are we going to be stoking fear among family members? The people that are getting picked up on the streets are not criminals, as many of these videos and tapes have shown already.

LEE: All right, L.A. City Councilmember Adrin Nazarian, thank you very much for joining us.

NAZARIAN: Thank you.

LEE: Donald Trump is fast-tracking the process for foreigners hoping to become legal U.S. residents and potentially citizens. That is, if you have $5 million to spare. The Commerce Secretary says the waitlist is now open for Trump's Gold Card Visa program. It gives those willing to pay the high price for the right to live and work permanently in the United States. The card would replace the government's EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa program, which grants Green Cards to immigrants who invest nearly $2 million into the U.S.

And meanwhile, Brian Wilson, Co-Founder and creative force of the musical group the Beach Boys, has died at the age of 82. Wilson wrote timeless songs such as Surfer Girl, Good Vibrations and God Only Knows and created the legendary Pet Sounds album. His work was so groundbreaking that singer Tom Petty compared him to Beethoven.

Wilson formed the Beach Boys with their surf sound in the 1960s with two brothers, a cousin and a friend becoming America's answer to the Beatles. He overcame childhood abuse, was partially deaf and struggled with substance abuse and mental health disorders. Wilson called his music and his children the greatest loves of his life. His family said they are sharing their grief with the world.

[00:40:00]

Thank you for watching "CNN Newsroom." I'm MJ Lee. For our international viewers, "World Sport" is next. And for our viewers here in the U.S., I'll be right back with more news after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:00]

LEE: Welcome back to our viewers here in The United States. I'm MJ Lee. A curfew is in effect in Downtown Los Angeles for the night in a row until 6:00 a.m. local time. Police have been arresting demonstrators who refused to clear out. More than 200 people were taken into custody a day earlier for failure to disperse.

The mayor says the curfew aims to stop bad actors who are taking advantage of President Trump's chaotic escalation, demonstrators are rallying against his immigration raids as well as his decision to deploy the National Guard and Marines.

California governor Gavin Newsom is speaking out against president Trump, suggesting he's making things worse in Los Angeles by sending in the Marines and National Guard. The clash is the latest in their longstanding feud. CNN's Tom Foreman has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Governor Gavin Newsom is on the attack, saying Los Angeles Police had trouble in the city contained and winding down days ago.

NEWSOM: But that that's not what Donald Trump wanted. He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety.

FOREMAN (voice-over): After months of Democrats hungering for anyone to lead opposition to Trump, Newsom's social media following is skyrocketing. He has trolled right wing lawmakers over seemingly performative patriotism. He responded to a Trump accusation of protesters disrespecting the National Guard with, you sent your troops without fuel, food, water, or a place to sleep.

And he has met Trump's chatter about cutting aid to states by noting California pays billions more in federal taxes than it receives in funding.

NEWSOM: So if Donald Trump's going to continue to threaten 40 million Americans that live in California, maybe we should consider withholding those resources.

CHRIS VAN HOLDEN, U.S. SENATE DEMOCRAT: I think governor Newsom is stepping up to meet the moment.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Some top Democrats are delighted. Some Republicans?

MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: He ought to be tarred and feathered.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Are clearly disturbed.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's an incompetent governor.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The wildfires that scorched L.A. signaled the skirmish of the year as the president threw roundhouse insults and the governor punched back hard. They touched gloves long enough to get disaster aid flowing.

TRUMP: I appreciate the governor coming out and meeting me, Gavin. But the clash only intensified the spotlight on Newsom, who frequently does what Trump seldom dares, debating folks on the other side of the political divide.

NEWSOM: I want comprehensive immigration reform. I want to actually address the issue more comprehensively just like Ronald Reagan did in 1989. FOREMAN (voice-over): Sometimes he battles the right. Sometimes he bruises the left. For example, by telling a conservative media host trans athletes don't belong in women's sports.

NEWSOM: I think it's an issue of fairness. I completely agree with you on that.

FOREMAN (voice-over): But as widening protests show Trump enraging some voters, Newsom appears to be engaging others with a simple call reaching far beyond California, resist.

NEWSOM: What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.

FOREMAN (voice-over): There is no doubt that Newsom is getting under Donald Trump's skin, but there's also no doubt that a lot of other politicians in other states who are watching closely to see if this form of opposing Donald Trump works.

FOREMAN (on camera): Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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LEE: The mayor of Omaha, Nebraska says, immigration operations are causing the city, quote, "unnecessary fear." That's after officers with Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a meat packing plant on Tuesday, prompting protests outside the facility. The company that was raided says it had followed the law.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher has more.

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DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Intense scenes outside a Nebraska meat packing plant, as protesters throw rocks at government SUVs, dozens of workers crammed into white buses.

A surprise immigration rate at Glenn Valley meat packing plant in South Omaha as seen on this edited video provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. CNN has not reviewed the raw footage, but this does show a coordinated effort that employees say happened during a morning meeting.

ESTEFANIA FAVILA, SUPERVISOR, GLENN VALLEY FOODS: Well, they just came in and said that it was a raid and we had to get everybody out of production, and I just went inside production and told everybody, hey. Immigration is here, start running. So they just started hiding everywhere, and then they found everyone.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Scanning faces, checking fingerprints, and demanding ID.

FAVILA: So they guard me to my car and, I showed them my ID. And that's when they were putting these bracelets to identify you if you were a U.S. citizen or not, and then they did let me go.

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GALLAGHER (voice-over): ICE telling CNN it was, quote, "executing a federal search warrant at Glenn Valley Foods into the large scale employment of aliens without legal work authorization," adding that during the raid, an undocumented man from Honduras, quote, "brandished a weapon and assaulted federal agents and officers."

More than 70 people in total were detained. The state's Republican governor issuing a statement supporting federal partners, while local officials tried to ease the community's concern.

MAYOR JOHN EWING JR. OMAHA, NEBRASKA: This does impact our community and it does create fear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My community is being terrorized by immigration rates at this moment.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Douglas County Commissioner Roger Garcia says the human impact is wide reaching.

ROGER GARCIA, DOUGLAS COUNTY NEBRASKA COMMISSIONER: It's a tight knit community here in South Omaha specifically.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Touching even his own family, his wife's aunt is detained.

GARCIA: She's been here for at least a couple decades, if not longer. She's raised family here. Republican congressman Don Bacon's office says ICE verified that Glenn Valley Foods complied with E-Verify 100 percent and is a victim in this as well. DHS says this was the largest worksite immigration operation in Nebraska under this Trump administration.

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GALLAGHER (voice-over): The chilling effect of one big raid and rumors of more already being felt in Omaha.

GARCIA: A typical normal day with thriving culture and people is now in fear, and many have closed down shop for now.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Dianne Gallagher, CNN.

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LEE: President Trump says a U.S. deal with China includes access to valuable rare earth minerals, and the U.S. will allow Chinese college students to keep attending U.S. universities. In a social media post, President Trump said, quote, "Our deal with China is done." But as CNN's Phil Mattingly explains, there's still a long way to go.

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PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF DOMESTIC CORRESPONDENT: When it comes to the bilateral relationship between China and the U.S., the world's two most powerful countries, largest economies in the world, the primary takeaway at this point is the worst case scenario hasn't actually played out.

That was the goal of the 20 hours of talks in London between the two sides. The second round of trade negotiations between president Trump's team and their Chinese counterparts. It was to try and prevent a rapid and potentially very dangerous escalation.

The reason why is this. Obviously, this is the round of talks. The first round of talks that led to the initial very significant tariff escalation also created the seeds for real tension in the four weeks that followed. That was over the issue of rare earths. These are elements really controlled almost entirely by China in terms of supply, and that's a problem given their centrality in critical components that U.S. population uses every single day.

So this U.S. military, automakers were at the point where they were going to have major supply chain issues within a matter of days. U.S. officials frustrated that the supply had essentially been locked down by the Chinese, started countering with their own moves, including student visas and potential crackdowns on Chinese students in the United States, their own export controls as well.

So the goal going into this was not some dramatic detente or completely new trade deal. It was to try and remove the issue that had the very real potential of serving as an accelerant to another dramatic escalation. So that's the takeaway. The worst thing didn't happen.

As for where things go from here, it's an open question. It's obviously going to be a slow process. When you talk to U.S. officials they don't expect some big sweeping trade deal anytime soon. But the fact that the points of tension, the friction areas were taken off the table again for a time, that they see as a positive signal over the long term.

As to what happens next, we expect talks probably a round at some point soon. But in terms of any tangible agreement, even if President Trump and President Xi have a great phone relationship, that seems a little bit longer in the offing.

Phil Mattingly, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: New Zealand's government is facing a lawsuit from two climate law groups who say its plans to cut emissions is inadequate. They argue the strategy relies too heavily on high risk off sets like tree planting and claim the government slashed policies without public consultation.

With just 5 million people, New Zealand is a small player when it comes to global carbon emissions, but it's still feeling climate change impacts from coastal erosion to extreme weather.

A love letter from John Lennon to his future wife, Cynthia Powell, is now headed to the auction block. The four page letter was written by a 21 year old Lennon while he was away in Germany before Beatlemania launched the group into superstardom.

In the letter, nestled among longing words like I love you and I'm missing you like mad is also a bit of descriptive and racy language, and Lennon even takes a shot at Paul McCartney in it. The sale at Christie's starts on July 9 with the letter expected to fetch more than $50,000.

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Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm MJ Lee. I'll be back with much more news at the top of the hour.

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