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LAPD: 200 Plus People Arrested During First Night Of Curfew; U.S. State Department Dodges Question On Two-State Solution; Trump Says China Deal Includes Rare Earth Minerals; Hegseth Suggests National Guard Order Could be Extended; ICE Raids Across U.S. Putting Communities on Edge; Public Disorder Continues in Ballymena for Another Night; Trump: Doubt Putin Cares about Human Cost of War; Austrian Authorities Search for Answers in School Killings; Inside Japan's Elevated 7-Eleven Snacking Experience. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 12, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:30]

MJ LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm MJ Lee live in Washington.

Ahead on CNN Newsroom, a curfew seems to be working in downtown Los Angeles as the streets are relatively quiet at this hour following a sixth day of protests. But things are heating up in New York as the anti-ICE movement spreads to more than a dozen cities across the U.S.

And President Trump takes in a show in D.C. doubling down on his immigration crackdowns and National Guard deployment.

We begin in Los Angeles where a curfew is in effect for a second straight night. The city is grappling with protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement raids and his deployment of federal forces there. 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 few hours. This curfew affects a small slice of downtown just one square mile where the demonstrations have been concentrated.

According to the U.S. military, some 700 Marines mobilized near L.A. and are expected to deploy sometime in the next two days and will conduct the same mission as the National Guard. In the day ahead, a federal judge will also 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 federal court to reject California's lawsuit. Appearing at the Kennedy Center, Donald Trump once again claimed that his military orders have actually 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, 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: Before the latest curfew kicked in, 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)

KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES MAYOR: 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 anyone safe. You're trying to cause fear and panic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: CNN's Michael Yoshida is following all of this live from Los Angeles. Michael, what have you seen the past few hours as the curfew went into effect for the second night in a row?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN REPORTER: Hey, good morning, MJ. You mentioned we're about two hours into this second night of a curfew here in downtown Los Angeles, again, about roughly a one-mile square area. You can see we do have law enforcement behind me.

These California Highway Patrol officers, they've been here during the day and the night just blocking off the on and off ramps from the 101. But you can see the streets are open here. No protesters. A very calm evening here in the downtown L.A. area near that federal detention center.

If we pan over, you can see that's the detention center right there. That's where we've seen the activity over the last few days at times during the night as well. But last night when we first had the curfew, we were talking to you about how we saw police in this area pushing some of the few protesters we had left. They eventually walked away.

And now tonight, we never even really saw protesters in this area at all. So much calmer scene and something that obviously we've been watching play out over the last few nights, the last few days. And again, tonight, it seems people are following the curfew, at least where we've been throughout this part of downtown L.A. And obviously, we'll be keeping an eye on it as the night goes on.

LEE: And Michael, as you've been taking the pulse there in Los Angeles, what are the residents telling you as these protests continue on?

[01:05:07]

YOSHIDA: Yes, I think you touched on it a little bit ago, talking about how this is really just a small area within L.A. When we've been out and about covering these protests, obviously where we've been, we've seen activity at times. There have been those clashes with law enforcement.

But broadly speaking, when we move beyond this one square mile area in downtown, at times you can't even tell some of this has even been going on. This morning, talking with people in and around where we're staying, they talk about they're going to and from work without any issues. They're seeing and hearing about all of this on the news, on social media.

But they're really trying to emphasize, as those who live here, that again, it's a very small part of their city. Obviously, they don't want to see some of the actions that they have. But again, that's the point that we've been hearing from those who live here, that again, a lot of this taking place in this small part of downtown area.

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

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 the protests there. About 2,500 protesters marched through the city on Tuesday. The NYPD says they've made more than 80 arrests so far.

In the meantime, the mayor of Spokane, Washington, has declared a state of emergency and curfew in specific areas of the city. At one point during the protests, police used a smoke device on the crowd, which prompted people to scatter. And this was a 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. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is tracking protests in New York City and filed this report earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN 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 Evilio turn around here and show you. 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 abate 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 deescalate.

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: A federal judge says the Trump administration cannot continue to detain Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. The Columbia University graduate student was one of the first arrested as the Trump administration started cracking down on anti-Semitism on college campuses. The judge ruled Khalil cannot be detained any longer solely on the basis of the Trump administration's claims that he is a threat to U.S. foreign policy. Khalil has been detained since March, missing the birth of his first son and his Columbia graduation.

President Trump says a trade deal with China is done, but will explain why it might not be as simple as the President says.

[01:09:30]

And plus, Donald Trump makes his first appearance at the Kennedy Center since giving the legendary arts facility a conservative overhaul, and he gets a mixed reaction.

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LEE: The State Department is preparing to order the departure of non- essential personnel from U.S. embassies in Iraq, Bahrain, and other parts of the Middle East. An official tells CNN Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents. CNN's Kylie Atwood explains what's behind the move.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The State Department and the Department of Defense are 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 nuclear deal with the country.

[01:15:08]

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 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.

LEE: Tehran is warning there will be a price to pay for the U.S. if Iran becomes a target of any military action. A source familiar with the discussion says President Donald Trump told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to stop talking about possible strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. It reportedly happened during their phone call on Monday, but President Trump himself has in the past threatened military action if nuclear talks with Iran were to fail. The Iranian defense minister issued this warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AZIZ NASIRZADEH, IRANIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): God willing, it won't come to that, and the talks will yield results. But if they don't, and conflict is imposed upon us, the enemy's losses will undoubtedly be greater than ours. In that case, America will have to leave the region because all its bases are within our reach. We have access to them, and without hesitation, we will target all of them in the host countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And the U.S. State Department is dodging the question of whether the U.S. still supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestinians. That's been Washington's policy for decades, until U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee recently suggested otherwise. Oren Liebermann has more. OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Remarkable comments here from U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, effectively saying the U.S. is no longer pursuing a two-state solution, that is the plan for a state of Israel to live and exist next to a state of Palestine.

This has been U.S. policy for decades under both Republican and Democrat administrations. Huckabee effectively saying the U.S. is walking away from that in a series of interviews he gave. One of those was with Bloomberg.

And in that interview, according to Bloomberg, he says, unless there are some significant things that change the culture, there's no room for it, it being a Palestinian state. He says instead that a Palestinian state should be carved out of some of the neighboring Muslim countries. Perhaps not a surprise that these comments come from Huckabee.

He is an evangelical Christian who has supported Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and years ago even said that he believed there's no such thing as a Palestinian. Still, the key question, is he setting U.S. policy here, or is this only his belief? This is what State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAMMY BRUCE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: The person that makes the policy regarding foreign policy is President Trump. This is a fluid, dynamic situation. President Trump is the one, of course, it's a one guiding hand for the country on all of our issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: Huckabee's comments come just a week before a conference at the U.N. meant to advance support for a two-state solution. France is considering recognizing a state of Palestine next week at the U.N. conference. It wouldn't change anything on the ground, but it is a massively important symbolic move that would make France just the latest state to recognize a Palestinian state.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in Jerusalem.

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.

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN CHIEF U.S. 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 second 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 does U.S. military.

[01:20:03]

Automakers were at the point where they were going to have major supply chain issues within a matter of days. U.S. officials, population uses every single day.

So does 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 such a bit 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 attention, the friction areas were taken off the table again for a second time, that they see as a positive signal over the long term. As to what happens next, we expect talks, probably a third 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.

LEE: And joining us now is Rana Foroohar, CNN global economic analyst and global business columnist and associate editor with the Financial Times. Rana, so we've had two days of talks in London and there's now a framework for an agreement. Would you call this, for starters, a breakthrough or is this closer to a walking things back to what had been the status quo? I mean, either way, there's certainly going to be lots of investors and businesses feeling pretty relieved.

RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Yes, I think so. I mean, are we walking things back to where they were? Yes, for sure. But trade has been a moving target really since Trump came into office. And so I think any sense that we're going in the right direction rather than the wrong direction is going to make markets feel better. Let's note, though, that they weren't up the way they had been, you know, a few weeks ago, months ago, when there was a sense that, oh, OK, you know, we have Liberation Day and now we're done, you know, as Trump would move the goalposts. It kind of reminds me of when the Fed post financial crisis was doing quantitative easing and, you know, you'd get a market hit every time rates were lowered, but eventually they went down and down and down.

And I think what's happening is chaos is being normalized. And so I think the market is actually reacting less strongly than I would have predicted and with some good reason.

LEE: Yes. And I would really like to have you help us dig in a little bit on these rare earth minerals that were a major component of these talks. I mean, explain to us why it is, for starters, that China has a virtual monopoly on these materials. And ultimately, I mean, do you think that ended up meaning that Beijing had far more leverage than Washington did?

FOROOHAR: Absolutely. You know, MJ, the first time I think I read about China ring fencing the rare earth minerals industry must have been 20 years ago. You know, this is something that did not happen overnight. It has been on the radar of global investors, global leaders for some time now, and it fits China's model. It's a very strategic model.

It's a very long term model. It's about industrial strategy. It's about basically deciding what's important to the state and going for it. China puts out five year plans at regular intervals. It rarely diverges from those. And we have known for some time that this was an area of strategic interest.

The only thing that's amazing to me is that in the U.S. and in the West in general, people are still talking about what to do. You know, rather than saying five years ago, 10 years ago, well, you know what? Maybe we need to have multiple supplies of something that could potentially be a choke point when it comes to a global trade paradigm.

LEE: And Rana, if you look at what President Trump posted on Truth Social about this deal, he also referenced something that he says the U.S. will be giving China, and that is Chinese students using our colleges and universities. He also wrote that that has always been good with me. What do you make of the fact that these economic issues have become so intertwined with the issue of these Chinese students and whether they can get visas?

FOROOHAR: Well, for starters, let's call the President out on it's always been fine with me. Not really. Harvard is under attack for even enrolling foreign students. You know, Trump, I don't think, has an ideology. I think he's very opportunistic. I think this issue has gone away for the moment. Whether it might not come back another time, we'll see.

[01:24:58]

I'm very happy that we are back to the status quo, because if there's one thing that matters in terms of just the entire global paradigm in America's competitiveness, it's having the best talent from wherever. I mean, my father was an immigrant, started a business here. You know, many, many American businesses, in fact, over half of the S&P 500 were started by immigrants.

This is something that I have found outrageous, the efforts to limit immigration, even Chinese immigration. Are there some threats to national security? Sure, there probably could be. I think that there's a way to allow smart Chinese students to come and enjoy U.S. education and facilities and still take care of security issues. And I'm sure we can get there.

LEE: Rana Foroohar, thank you so much for joining us.

FOROOHAR: Thank you for having me.

LEE: Donald Trump was greeted with cheers and boos as he attended a performance of "Les Miserables" at the Kennedy Center in Washington. It was just 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 big fan of "Les Miz." 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.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump going to see a performance of "Les Miz" 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.

There were tickets for $2 million, $1 million, $100,000. We heard from the head of the Kennedy Center, Rick Grinnell, 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 Miz" were planning on boycotting the President's performance. The director, Grinnell, 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.

LEE: Amid the ongoing ICE raids, some undocumented immigrants are facing the difficult decision of whether or not to self-deport. A closer look at that issue with our guests just ahead.

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[01:33:15]

LEE: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm M.J. Lee.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth suggested Wednesday that President Trump's order to federalize Californias 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, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: 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.

And joining me now, Mario Russell is the executive director at the Center for Migration Studies of New York. Mario, it's great to have you.

We've been discussing, as you know, the immense pressure that ICE has been under to round up undocumented immigrants. With that as the backdrop, what are you seeing recently in terms of the number of individuals who are choosing to self-deport?

MARIO RUSSELL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MIGRATION STUDIES OF NEW YORK: You know, first of all M.J., thank you so much for having me on your show. I appreciate it. And thank you for covering this important issue.

You know, I think were living in an incredibly difficult and chaotic time.

[01:34:45]

RUSSELL: We hear reports, of course, of the exaggerated, you know, operations -- the very willful, very deliberate, in a sense, overreaching operations to essentially deport, arrest, detain millions of people.

You know, we have of course, also begun to hear about these concepts of self-deportation which I think, frankly, is putting on a very Victorian soft language on what is essentially not a real choice for human beings who have found safe haven, who have found a community, who have been in fact, in many instances given authorization and protection by this government over the past decade if not more and are essentially being leveraged with detention as a way of forcing them to "make a choice" -- and I put that in quotes -- to leave the United States on their own.

We don't have numbers at this point. We hear it happening. We're aware of it happening in and out of the courtrooms and courthouses and other places around the country.

But it's clearly becoming sort of a pattern that allows, I think, the administration to put, if not a good spin on something that is unbelievably tragic, but at best, frankly, a fig leaf.

LEE: And so for those that are choosing to self-deport, are you saying that they're doing it because they ultimately just fear that going back to their home country is better now than the consequences that they might face here?

RUSSELL: That's exactly right. You know, I've been in this field for 30 years. I practiced immigration law for 20 years in detention facilities. And when you are indefinitely detained, when you're detained for prolonged periods of time, and these aren't people who, you know, are criminals, who have experience in the system, who belong in these places that are essentially fairly squalid.

When you are in that situation, you're separated from your family, it's not really a choice. Frankly, I would say that this -- what this is, M.J., is really moral and existential extortion.

And so -- yes, people are forced to make a choice. They can't bear being in this situation which leaves them separated from their families anyway. Little due process. Little if no access to a lawyer. What chance -- what hope is there?

In fact, I think the government is expecting them to fold and to give up and to go back to a place that they chose years ago often, perhaps months, to leave for a particular reason. Their homes they left with their spouse and children and families because of political, economic, social and other circumstances and situations that were so unbearable that they had to leave their country.

So it's really not a choice, right? It really is moral and existential extortion.

LEE: And you know, with these ice raids making entire communities fearful, you know, we're talking about people who are unsure about what could be waiting for them in their workplace, worried whether a family member might suddenly be targeted. They might be worried that an immigration check-in could turn into detention.

Tell us a little bit more about what you've been seeing and hearing in terms of just family separation.

RUSSELL: Absolutely. And I think this is the fundamental space into which the administration -- and this administration is, in a sense, playing and exacerbating the wound and the tragedy, which is precisely that, M.J. family separation.

That's the high cost. It's a painful and high cost. We're talking about from CMS studies that we've done 5.5 million U.S. citizen children that could experience, you know, the trauma of being separated from one or both of their parents.

We believe that about 1.8 million children are -- U.S.-born children are in families that have two undocumented parents. So what can a mother, what can a father do to be safe under these circumstances?

Every choice they make -- going to church, going to the grocery store, certainly going to work is fraught with anxiety, fear, uncertainty. So the idea and what we speak of obviously often with the undocumented is living in the margin and being in the margin has taken on an incredibly powerful and painful meaning under the circumstances now.

And I want to reiterate one idea, as I said already, is that well over half of the undocumented -- and we just released a report on this a couple of weeks ago -- well over half of the undocumented in the United States have protection and authorization temporary from the government.

[01:39:47]

RUSSELL: Whether it's DACA, TPS, parole, right, the Ukrainians, the Salvadorans -- the Ukrainians, the Afghans, the Venezuelans. And of course, many have their case in the asylum process system.

That's about 6 million. It's about 6 million out of 12.2 or so million that are termed to be undocumented. These 6 million were assured, in a sense, by the government that there was some vehicle, some opportunity for safe haven.

And for many this is now being rescinded, taken away, stolen, you know, dissipated into thin air. So they're just left with essentially nothing but the shadows. And I don't think this is metaphoric. This is actually quite literal for them.

LEE: Mario Russell in New Jersey, thank you so much.

RUSSELL: Thank you, M.J.

LEE: Parts of Northern Ireland saw a third straight night of violent public disorder. Video shows police using water cannons on demonstrators outside the station in Ballymena, and people in the crowd throwing rocks at officers. The chaos began when a protest over a sexual assault allegedly committed by two teenage boys.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: For a second night, anti-immigration rioters faced off with police in the small Northern Ireland town of Ballymena. Dozens of mostly young men threw petrol bombs and rocks at the police. Police responded with water cannon and baton rounds, ramming their armored vehicles through burning barricades.

Seventeen officers were injured, two more than the previous night.

RYAN HENDERSON, ASSISTANT CHIEF CONSTABLE, NORTHERN IRELAND: This violence was clearly racially-motivated and targeted at our minority ethnic community and the police. It was racist thuggery, pure and simply.

ROBERTSON: The violence also spreading to other towns, including the regional capital, Belfast. This Belfast lawmaker's own district was impacted by racist violence just a few months ago.

CLAIRE HANNA, MP, BELFAST SOUTH AND MID DOWN: I am really worried about the potential for this unrest to spread. It is wanton aggression, violence, destruction of property and intimidation of people.

ROBERTSON: Ballymena's tiny handful of migrants became the target Monday. Masked gangs smashing windows, kicking in doors. At least, one family burnt out of their home. Their vehicle torched. Others in shock.

What had begun as a peaceful protest for a young woman who said she'd been sexually assaulted, turned violent following the charging of two teenage boys through a Romanian interpreter.

The BBC reported some immigrant families putting flags on their doors, hoping to keep attackers away.

HANNA: We've seen the horrific sight of ethnic minorities putting flags and explanations on their door, saying that they're healthcare worker or that they work in a local factory and effectively, you know, pleading mercy.

ROBERTSON: Police now calling for reinforcements from mainland U.K.

HENDERSON: As part of my forward planning therefore, I have now activated the request for mutual aid resources from policing colleagues in Great Britain.

ROBERTSON: Fueling concerns the riots will continue, the so-called "Marching Season" is beginning. A hangover from the region's bloody sectarian past, and is often the most violent month in the year.

Nic Robertson, CNN -- London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: President Trump says he's starting to believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn't care about the human cost of the war in Ukraine.

The U.S. President gave himself a two-week deadline to determine whether his Russian counterpart is serious about ending the war. That deadline has now passed with little progress towards peace.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov is downplaying the lack of progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESMAN (through translator): As you can see, the dialog continues. It is being carried out by the diplomatic departments as part of the understandings that have been reached between President Putin and President Trump.

Well, let's just say that there are a lot of blockages in bilateral relations. Of course, we can hardly hope for any quick results, but this is exactly the kind of complex, step by step work that has begun and will be continued.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Ukraine is reeling from another massive drone attack on its second largest city. Officials say Russian drones hit apartment blocks in Kharkiv Wednesday night. At least three people were killed and 59 others were injured.

[01:44:47]

LEE: At least 49 people have been killed in south Africa during some extreme weather. Among the dead, 13 people, including children, when floodwaters swept away their school bus. An intense cold front triggered the torrential rain and snow in parts of the country. Officials from Eastern Cape, one of the hardest hit provinces, described the scene.

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OSCAR MABUYANE, EASTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA PREMIER: Four learners are still missing that are still being looked for. Our rescue teams are on the ground.

The rest of deceased people are citizens of different ages. Search and recovery operations are continuing across all affected areas, particularly within the OR Tambo (ph) district municipality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Authorities in Austria say they are still searching for a motive after a gunman went on a rampage at his former high school on Tuesday, killing ten people. The suspect then shot and killed himself.

As CNN's Fred Pleitgen reports, police have been searching his home, turning up some crucial evidence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The pain and the agony still is very real and very deep here in Graz after that school shooting that took place, leaving several dead. You can see here in the city center, there's still a lot of people who are coming out and lighting candles, also laying flowers.

And, you know, the people that we've been seeing, many of them are just standing in silence, taking a moment. But others certainly also have tears in their eyes.

And the police have now come out as far as their investigation is concerned, and talked a little bit more about the victims of the shooting. They say that nine students were killed in this between the ages of 14 and 17, and that also later a female teacher also succumbed to her wounds as well.

One thing that might be a little bit of good news is the fact the police is saying that no one of the injured people, the wounded people, are in any danger for their lives anymore.

There's apparently one person with facial wounds that will require more surgery, but at the same time, they say that those people are at least out of life's danger.

As far as the shooter himself is concerned, the police also saying the investigation there is ongoing. They've already talked a lot about the weapons that were used, but they also say that they found what appeared to be farewell messages as well.

Here's what a police spokesman told me.

SABRI YORGUN, POLICE SPOKESMAN (through translator): We are able to start the investigation immediately after the killing spree. In the meantime, we have also carried out a house search at the home address of the 21-year-old suspect from the district of Graz and the surrounding area, and have been able to establish that there was a suicide note, both in digital form, via video message and in handwritten form.

We were also able to find and secure a pipe bomb, albeit a nonfunctioning pipe bomb, at his home.

PLEITGEN: The police obviously saying that they conducted extensive searches at the property where the shooter lived. At the same time, one thing that remains a mystery to them that's not clear, is the motive in all of this. It's something the authorities say is being investigated.

As far as the community here is concerned, what we're hearing from folks here is that obviously right now, for them, the pain is very real. The pain is very bad.

But they say the fact that so many people are coming out voicing their support, also supporting those who were affected, shows that this community here is strong and will remain resilient.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN -- Graz, Austria.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: We'll be right back.

[01:48:08]

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LEE: The Nintendo Switch 2 is now the fastest-selling console in the gaming company's history. It sold more than 3.5 million devices in just four days despite the $450 price tag.

Excitement has skyrocketed because its Nintendo's first major console launch since the original about eight years ago. The Switch 2 comes with major upgrades, including a larger screen, and new social features.

Since 7-Eleven came to Japan in the 1970s, they've taken the convenience store business to new heights. They turn out an amazing assortment of snacks unlike anything here in the U.S.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery got a look at the entire process, from tasting to wrapping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a good friend who always got me, yes. Like even at late at night, they got a beer for me, some snacks. It's always great. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got to hit the convenience stores for sure every day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. More than the gym.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly. Oh, yes. Forget the gym.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gym takes a break.

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: 7-Eleven was born in America but clearly Japan has taken these snacks to the next level. I mean, look at all these sweets.

7-Eleven crossed the Pacific in the 70s, and now Japan has more stores than anywhere on earth, coming out with delectable new snacks at a dizzying pace.

But have you ever wondered how exactly does 7-Eleven churn out these tasty delights?

Apparently, this meeting is key. Snack design is a serious business. 7-Eleven's top minds meet weekly to taste, test and outdo the competition. On todays agenda is the cream puff. They call in their best subcontractors to come up with fresh recipes. And after weeks of trial and error, they finally land on the perfect puff.

[01:54:49]

MONTGOMERY: Then it's time to get baking. Of course, sanitation is key.

7-Eleven cream puffs get a revamp every six months to stay fresh. But this is the first ever double cream puff, which promises double the cream, double the flavor.

Once sealed in plastic, they hit the shelves and if you're lucky straight into your stomach.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: Thank you for watching. I'm M.J. Lee.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Rosemary Church after a short break.

[01:55:28]

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