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Manhunt Underway For Suspect In Shootings Of Minnesota Lawmakers; Military Parade Honors 250th Anniversary Of U.S. Army; Israel, Iran Take Damage as Missile Strikes Escalate. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 15, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

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BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: Hello to our viewers here in the US and around the world. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta.

We are following three breaking news stories this hour, a manhunt underway for the suspect. Officials say, shot two Minnesota lawmakers killing one of them, and what the governor calls a politically motivated assassination. We also have new details of a manhunt underway for the suspect, and then there is the call from the governor saying this is politically motivated. We also have what police say is a suspect identified as a 57-year-old Vance Boelter. They believe he may have been disguised as a police officer during the attacks.

SWAT teams and officers from multiple agencies have been searching his property, but the sheriff says he was not there.

Earlier, CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller broke down what he sees in the wanted poster for the suspect.

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JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: If you take a closer look at that picture, and I don't know if we have the ability to zoom into it, I've zoomed into it after talking to Danny Friedman (ph), who took a very close look at it, it appears that is very possibly a mask, one of those rubber masks that you pull over your head. Because if you notice the eye sockets, there's just a hole there, and if you notice the ear there is just a hole there, which does not appear the same as his other photograph.

He's got the pistol in a front holster, the flashlight like law enforcement would use, pointing at the door, and then below that, the thing that appears to be glowing, that's a taser. So, you're looking at a guy who's got a pistol, a taser, a flashlight, he's got a bulletproof vest, he's dressed in blue. You know, they probably assumed, oh my God, it's another swatting call, not realizing that they were staring into what is probably the masked face of an assassin.

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ABEL: We will be continuing to monitor this manhunt and we'll bring you any updates as soon as we get them.

A 21-gun salute honored U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday during a massive military parade in Washington, D.C, celebrating the Army's 250th birthday. Saturday was also Mr. Trump's 79th birthday. The parade included thousands of soldiers and dozens of Abrams tanks. It highlighted eras of Army history, going back to the Revolutionary War. It was the largest display of military might seen in the nation's capital in decades. The president praising the Army when he spoke late in the day.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The Army keeps us free. You make us strong, and tonight you have made all Americans very proud. They're watching from all over the world, actually, made them all very proud. Every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time America did too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: CNN's Natasha Bertrand has more.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Army parade in Washington, D.C., the first that the city has seen in decades, appeared to go relatively smoothly on Saturday with massive Abrams tanks rolling down the streets of D.C., as well as heavy fighting vehicles. And none of them appeared to have left any significant damage on the roads at first glance.

Now, that is largely because of all of the work that the Army put in over the last several months trying to mitigate any potential damage that the roads and the infrastructure here in D.C. might suffer because of these very heavy tanks.

All of them weighing -- each of them weighing around 70 tons on the roads, which are not typically equipped for that, of course. And we are told that the Army Corps of Engineers worked for several months to ensure that metal plates were put down on the road, that there were pads on the equipment so that they would not directly hit the asphalt and all appears to have gone up fairly smoothly.

Now, of course, the Army only had several months to prepare for this because it was a last-minute request by the White House. The Army had been preparing to celebrate its birthday for several years now, its 250th birthday. But that parade element was only added after conversations began with the White House about what the celebration would look like. And, of course, President Trump has wanted this kind of massive military parade dating back to his first term.

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So, his supporters were out in force at the -- around the capital. They were particularly impressed by the flyovers of the military aircraft that occurred, as well as the parachute team, the Golden Knights that let into the parade, and there were only a few protesters here and there. And so, by and large, I think the Army is going to be breathing a sigh of relief given how little preparation and planning time they had for such a major event.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN, in Washington.

ABEL: Demonstrators rallied throughout the U.S. before and during that military parade. They denounced what organizers called President Trump's authoritarian policies. Organizers say they wanted demonstrations to be peaceful in contrast to the military parade.

CNN's Rafael Romo has more from the protests in Atlanta, Georgia.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're standing in the middle of Liberty Plaza here in downtown Atlanta. As you can see behind me, this is the state capitol. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people are here for this protest that has more of a feel of a rally.

Something that we have heard throughout the morning was No Kings, No Kings in 1776. They are criticizing the Trump administration immigration policies. I saw a sign that says, ICE only belongs in margaritas.

And a lot of people here are also criticizing the fact that the Trump administration has put together a military parade to celebrate not only the 250th anniversary of the Army, but also that this is happening on the day that President Trump turns 79.

I had an opportunity to talk earlier to a couple of protesters and this is what they had to say. Let's take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I absolutely do not agree with that. People are hungry, people are hurting. We need that money in other places. Let's -- how about funding education? How about feeding people? How about offering healthcare?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like Trump is doing it just to -- what is it? It's like just to make himself feel bigger and better, and to also threaten us. Like to have the military go through the streets of our country, it feels like a threat to me. Like he's saying, don't speak up. Don't stand out.

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ROMO: Now, this is only one of more than 2,000 protests happening across the country some of the places that we have heard that our staging protests are cities like Phoenix and Arizona, Houston, Texas, New York many, many other cities, different kinds of protests. This is, again, more of a festive environment where people are talking about the way they feel. They also wanted to express themselves when it comes to some of the Trump policies that they are completely against.

It was a cloudy day this morning, but then the sun came out and many people showed up in the end.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta. And Leah Wright Rigueur is an associate professor of history at Johns Hopkins University, as well as a CNN political historian and analyst, and she has joined us from Washington, D.C. Thank you so much for being with us.

Can you just give us some context to this historically, like when was the last time the U.S has seen something like this and what was actually happening around the U.S. and the world back then?

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND HISTORIAN: So, we haven't seen a military parade like this since 1991, very specifically after the end of the Gulf War when George H.W. Bush, President George H.W. Bush held a military celebration to essentially commemorate the victory of the United States in the Middle East.

I also think it's really important to think about, one, the anniversary of the Army, which, you know, the United States is trying to celebrate right now, but also what the two events were doing. 1991 was trying to show the world the strength and the might of the U.S. militaries, as if to say to the world, look how powerful we are. We had this quick war week. We're triumphant and now we're celebratory, right, the pomp and circumstance.

There's something going similar going on right now with Donald Trump. There's this attempt. Trump has been very interested in military, kind of large, grandiose military parades ever since he attended Bastille Day in 2017. But the world is slightly different right now. The world is much more fraught. The country, the United States is much more fraught. And so, in a way, this ceremony isn't so much about the anniversary of the founding of the American Army so much as it is to say and to try and project onto the American people, hey, look, America is mighty in a point of turmoil and uncertainty.

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ABEL: So, it sounds like there are some parallels, but a whole bunch of differences. Given this moment, as we have the protests, both of the president's use of military in L.A. and the immigration enforcement there, along with the No Kings protests against the president, what do you see this parade doing for the country for its morale, its patriotism and its politics?

RIGUEUR: Well, I actually think that this per this parade, this celebration, ended up being far more divisive than anyone would've wanted it to be. We are in the midst of a point where the country is extremely upset with the presidency of Donald Trump. And it's not just upset in a partisan sense or polarized sense, although that's really important too, but there are a number of in indicators, particularly economic indicators that suggest that all of these promises that Donald Trump made before he became president haven't exactly come through.

On top of that, the immigration crackdown that President Trump promise during his campaign, during the 2024 campaign, as he's acting on it, has been met with mass resistance. And then we've had over 2,000 protests around the country, No King day, millions of people showed up to participate. And so when we see this kind of victory parade, this celebratory military parade, it actually seemed to fall flat. I don't think it helped that it rained in Washington, D.C., today, but we saw that turnout was down, that people seemed really muted about the event, the actual march, for all it costs, you know, millions of dollars, was actually very short.

And so in 1991, the last time we see a parade like this, or in places like France or the United Kingdom, where we see celebratory military parades often, we actually didn't see that kind of turnout. And to be honest, I think if we're thinking about celebrating the Army's 250th anniversary, the Army actually deserved better.

ABEL: Well, what do you think in terms of recruitment, Leah? For people that maybe were watching this from other parts of the country, even though it was diminished in D.C., was there any connection there that would lead somebody to go and enlist?

RIGUEUR: Well, you know, military -- Donald Trump talks a lot about military recruitment numbers being low, but actually in the last two years, military numbers have been creeping up. So, actually, that downward trend everybody has been talking about has actually been on the up and up.

I don't actually think that the kind of parade that we saw today actually helped with recruitment or with numbers for the military. In fact, it's probably a wash considering the number of protests, including a number of veteran protests that happened during the, a number of people, a number of veteran protesters were arrested happened during the proceeds.

One of the things that is most effective at increasing recruitment for the military is a sense that veterans are getting the services and the resources that they need, but also the promise that the military will offer resources and opportunity. And so I think when people tune in and they watch the pomp and the circumstances, but they also see the protests, they also hear about veterans who have an astronomical rate of homelessness and suicide, who see these long lines at Veterans Affairs, and dealing with that kind of thing, that actually ends up being a turnoff.

And so I think in a moment where the country is very, very much upset about the direction of the country, about the -- how we exist as a united nation, I think this was exactly the opposite kind of thing to do in a moment that should be about celebrating the military, but also about the kind of resources and protection in an international space that the military can provide.

ABEL: Leah Wright Rigueur in Washington, D.C., for us, Leah, thank you.

RIGUEUR: Thank you.

ABEL: To Los Angeles now, where police use tear gas and horses to try to clear out people protesting federal immigration raids. Police say some protesters threw pieces of concrete, fireworks and bottles at officers. City officials say more than 20,000 people rallied in Los Angeles during the day.

Both sides are suffering damage and casualties as Iran and Israel ramp up missile strikes on each other. Still ahead for us, a growing death toll among civilians in Israel and devastating attacks on the heart of Iran's military.

Plus, Iran and the US canceling the next round of nuclear talks, why the Trump Administration says it's still committed to the discussion, next.

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ABEL: You are looking and hearing one of a series of Iranian strikes on Israel in recent hours. Officials say at least 8 people have been killed and about 140 injured. And some missiles got through Israeli air defenses. Tehran claims it used its new guided or maneuverable ballistic missile, which was unveiled just last month.

Iran is also taking fire with this oil depot near Tehran burning after Israeli attacks. Iranian media is reporting the country's defense ministry in Tehran has been struck along with the world's largest natural gas field in Southern Iran. Sources are telling CNN that Israeli operations will likely last, quote, weeks, not days.

Nada Bashir is monitoring those developments and she joins us now from London. What's the latest, Nada?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, once again, we have seen that overnight crossfire between Israel and Iranian, more rockets missiles landing in Israeli territory. And the same can be said, of course, for Iran. We have seen huge targets across Tehran being impacted by Israel's military operation.

Of course, as you mentioned, we've been hearing that warning now from Israel, that this is an operation that they have described as taking weeks, not days. So, that is, of course, a huge point of concern considering the level of escalation that we've already seen just in the last 48 hours.

But, of course, there are fears that this will continue to escalate further as Israel threatens to increase and expand its targets.

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We've heard from the Israeli military saying that they have targeted over 150 objectives, they say, over the last two days. And, of course, what we have also seen, as well as the expansion of those targets, they have, they say, targeted high ranking officials, nuclear sites, but we've also seen now that oil depot being struck and just overnight Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters.

Of course, yesterday we did also see strikes in the surrounding areas of Tehran's International Airport, though no damage is said to have been sustained by the main airport building or runways. But, again, there is concern around the potential for this to expand to more strategic civilian locations and targets as a result of this expansion. That certainly seems to be the indication from the warnings that we have been hearing from Israeli officials.

But then, of course, we've also seen overnight the targeting of Israeli territory, the officials in Israel confirming that several buildings in parts of Central Israel were directly impacted by Iranian missiles. And as you mentioned, Brian, we have had that confirmation claim from Iranian officials that they are seemingly using newly developed missiles, which clearly seem to be in some ways able to bypass what we have seen as Israel's air defense systems. That is at least the claim from Iranian officials.

And, clearly, many of those missiles have had an impact on the ground, including in residential areas. Of course, we've seen that death toll overnight now rising to at least eight in a number of casualties as well, according to Israel's Emergency Services.

And, of course, this has sparked concern once again for regional assets as well. We've heard that threat from Iranian -- from Iran's envoy to the United Nations around the potential for Iran to begin targeting the regional assets of any nation, which provides military support to Israel in its ongoing operation and targeting Iran, namely, of course, the United States, which has a number of military assets in the region, of course.

And what we've been hearing from sources both in Israel and in the United States is that this Israeli operation against the Iranian regime appears to be moving forward with implicit support from the United States, although the U.S. says that it did not partake directly in that initial attack in the early hours of Friday morning local time. But, again, there are questions around how far the U.S. may go in its involvement and support for the Israeli military in its continued operation and attacks on Iranian territory.

And what this, of course, means for any hope of some sort of diplomatic off- ramp, particularly when it comes to questions over whether or not there is any hope of salvaging some sort of negotiations or diplomatic discussions around Iran's nuclear program, that was certainly the suggestion from U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday where he appeared to warn and put pressure on Iran to come back to the negotiating table and to fulfill and meet the demands of the United States when it comes to its nuclear program and the deal currently on the table.

But, again, what we've been hearing from Iran and Iranian officials, in response to these continued attacks, is that there seems to be very little hope of salvaging those talks at this stage. Brian?

ABEL: Nada Bashir in London, Nada, thank you.

And to reiterate what Nada just reported, the next round of talks between the U.S. and Iran have been canceled following Israel's attacks on Iranian nuclear and military targets. The Trump administration says it's still committed to the talks. The White House wants Iran to dismantle its uranium enrichment program. It is not yet clear when or if discussions will resume.

We are also following breaking news in Minnesota where a manhunt is underway after two state lawmakers and their spouses were shot. That's next.

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ABEL: An update on our top story as police in Minnesota search for a man accused of impersonating an officer and shooting two state lawmakers along with their spouses, killing one of the couples. They identified Vance Boelter as a suspect, and investigators have been searching his property.

Officials, say the suspect targeted State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, but they survived the shooting and have now undergone surgery. Melissa Hortman, who was the top Democrat in the Minnesota House, was killed in her home Saturday, along with her husband in the morning. And one of her colleagues spoke to CNN earlier remembering the lawmaker as a friend.

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STATE REP. SYDNEY JORDAN (D-MN): Sitting next to her, I think about my friend that was very funny. I think she had a very raw sense of humor and was a very direct person. She could tell you very -- she was not someone who was going to, you know, candy coat what you needed to do.

She was somebody who gave you that direct advice and told you what you needed to hear in that moment. And some of that guidance and that gentle but firm ideas that she would give people is the kind of leadership that is rare and is so needed, and it's an unspeakable loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Minnesota's Governor Tim Walz is calling the attack a politically motivated assassination.

CNN's Whitney Wild is following the latest development.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: This started at 2:00 in the morning Saturday when that first 911 call came in for that shooting at State Senator John Hoffman's home. And police say that Vance Boelter looked so much like a real police officer, that when he knocked on the door state Senator John Hoffman answered. And that's when he and his wife, Yvette, sustained multiple gunshot wounds.

And what police say happened next was that a neighboring law enforcement agency was called into help with that first shooting at State Senator Hoffman's home, and it was an astute sergeant from that neighboring police jurisdiction who said, let's go check on Representative Melissa Hortman's home.

And so they went there. This was about 90 minutes after that first shooting. They went to Representative Horman's home. And it was in that moment that they saw Vance Boelter coming out of the home, still dressed like a police officer, and he opened fire on the real cops who were coming to check.

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And police have not seen him in person since that moment, according to the multiple law enforcement updates that were ongoing throughout the day, Saturday. They still don't know where Vance Boelter is. But there are many outstanding questions as we learn more about him.

CNN's investigative team has done a fantastic deep dive on him. And what they found was that he worked for a security company called the Praetorian Guard Security Company that offered random armed patrols of residents' homes. And so that suggests that that might have been how he was able to acquire what really looked like police gear and this SUV that looked like a legitimate squad car.

Again, law enforcement is on this massive manhunt. There are multiple law enforcement agencies engaged in trying to track this man down. Again, CNN has done this very deep dive on him. And in addition to his work as a security guard, CNN has also learned that he was an Evangelical Christian who had traveled to Africa and gave sermons there.

And multiple people who've spoken with reporters from our affiliates at KARE 11, our affiliate reporters at KARE 11 to, you know, multiple CNN reporters, there is this feeling of shock among people who knew him.

And so as we're learning more about him this big question remains is what happened? Where along the timeline from these people who knew him who said that they would've never seen this happen to what we know happened on Saturday? Again, there's this massive manhunt underway and law enforcement is hoping to update with other details, and they say that they need the public's help.

So, if we can go ahead and show that photo of him, he has a -- the last photo that they had of him, it showed him with a cowboy hat in civilian clothes and, you know, law enforcement really wants the public to make sure that they take, you know, careful note of what he looks like because they're really relying on the public's help to try to track down Vance Butler again, or Boelter, as they continue this investigation.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Blaine, Minnesota.

ABEL: Steve Moore is a CNN law enforcement contributor and retired FBI supervisory special agent joining us now from Los Angeles. And, Steve, what do you make of everything you've seen today from the assassination, the murder, the other attempted murders in a different location, to the shooting confrontation, to the suspect giddy house side of the perimeter? What stands out most to you?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, what stands out most is, is the planning. He has obviously decided on this one. I mean, some people who do these political killings or these other cause motivated killings, they tend to accept the fact that they're going to die in the attempt. This guy did not.

This seems to be extremely well-planned. Obviously, he knew where everybody lived. He did it at a time when he felt that there wouldn't be patrols around the area. He actually had an overhead -- a complete head mask on anticipating cameras. So, this guy planned to live through this and escape. So, I would assume that his escape plan is no less complete.

ABEL: This is not the first time officers have been impersonated for these kinds of ends, but have we seen anything to this sophistication, if that's the right word for this, the SUV with the lights, the taser, the flashlight, good enough that if he were in the press conference room, according to the police chief, you'd think he was law enforcement?

MOORE: Yes, it's not hard to do. You know, the equipment that are on that police officers carry are not generally, with the exception of the firearms, they're not restricted. Civilians can go buy that stuff. So, yes, it's not that hard. I think right now. It would help if we knew motive.

ABEL: Steve, what's happening behind the scenes right now? We saw the Brooklyn Park lockdown this morning, police saying they were only approaching people in pairs to assure people they are not the suspect. Can that really continue with such a wider net now? What should people be aware of?

MOORE: Well, right now, you have to make at least the educated assumption that he has left the area. It's been almost 24 hours. If he planned the escape as well as he planned the killing, then he's out there. And he could be well away from this area. He could be in Wisconsin. He could be in Iowa. He could be in so many places. He could be in the Dakotas. He could be trying to get out of the country.

And so what the FBI and the police have in their favor is, number one, the FBI has a national network that they can work with on this.

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Number two, they can -- have allegedly a manifesto and they tend to lay things out on that. And, you know, it's a very confusing motive because this guy was appointed to a political position by Tim Walz, so now he's attacking Democrats. So, you have to try to figure out where he is with a lot of confusing different messages.

ABEL: I'm going to ask you to speculate a little bit here, so forgive me, but there was that target list that you just mentioned apparently in his car, along with survival gear, you know, laying into the idea of he wanted to survive these killings. But there's the shootout with police at the Hortman home after officers proactively went to do a welfare check. If that intervention didn't happen given what we know now about how the suspect was orchestrating those murders in these overnight hours, 2:00 A.M., 3:30 in the morning, how far could he have gone on that list? MOORE: I wouldn't be surprised at all if he got to one more close location here. I would look on his list and find what the next closest location was. It's very possible that he was going to go until he got stopped Again, that's speculation but we saw that he wasn't stopped after the first one and went directly to a nearby one.

So, he may have mapped out the one, two, three, four targets. Once though that his list was compromised, I mean, the police got it, he probably diverted completely from the list he left behind. And we don't know what his further plans are. In cases like this that I've worked, people leave their guns behind. He didn't. He has his guns.

So, I think we have some continuing threat here. The good news is that we kind of have an idea of who might be the targets, and we could, at least, for most of them, come up with some kind of plan.

ABEL: So, in your opinion, you, you believe there's still a chance that he could strike again?

MOORE: I wouldn't put it out of the realm of possibility. As law enforcement, they have to assume that that's his plan. You can't just say, oh, well we caught him at this one. He's not going to do it again. Well, no, we've already proven that he's a lunatic, that he's out there killing people. And so if we expect him to act like a rational person at this point, then we haven't understood the first two attacks. He's not a rational person at this point, but his plans are rational.

So, yes, he might continue on this. I don't want to put fear in people's minds, but I can tell you that the police are certainly going to play defense against any of his potential plans or his victims. And I think right now if you were on their that list you probably have been contacted and probably there's a plan.

ABEL: He's clearly shown how dangerous he can be. Steve Moore, I really appreciate your analysis. Thank you.

MOORE: Thank you.

ABEL: And there is much more to come on CNN, including a look at the massive military parade in Washington, D.C., Saturday, honoring the 250th birthday of the U.S. Army.

Stay with us.

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ABEL: Federal immigration raids have triggered protests throughout the United States. The biggest of them may be in Los Angeles. At one point on Saturday, police using tear gas to clear out protesters.

CNN's Michael Yoshida was there.

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN REPORTER: Here in downtown Los Angeles, a curfew once again in effect, you can see LAPD filling the street. This follows a day full of protests here in downtown Los Angeles. A No Kings protest kicked things off early in the morning, 20,000 or so people taking part in a march and rallying near, near City Hall in downtown L.A. as the afternoon went on.

We did start to see tensions rise between some protesters and law enforcement. At some point, some protesters started throwing objects bottles, rocks, stones at the officers. They started to then use tear gas, rubber bullets, and other equipment to try and move those protesters away from $and other federal buildings.

Late into the night here in L.A., you can still see we have Los Angeles police moving through the streets, the sirens very audible here in downtown L.A. The curfew has been in effect for several days now, all of this happening after ICE detentions and raids here in Los Angeles more than a week later. Again, we continue to see protests and marches throughout the city.

In Los Angeles, Michael Yoshida.

ABEL: In many parts of the U.S., Saturday, demonstrators joined anti- Trump No Kings protests. Organizers say they were denouncing what they call President Trump's creeping authoritarianism. Thousands of people attended thousands of demonstrations.

Protest leaders say they wanted to present a peaceful contrast to Saturday's military parade in Washington.

Meanwhile, Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., was filled with tanks, soldiers, and a massive display of military might, as the U.S. Army celebrated the 250th anniversary of its founding with a military parade. Nearly 7,000 soldiers and dozens of tanks and fighting vehicles participated in the event and vintage uniforms and equipment highlighted Army history, going back to the Revolutionary War.

Saturday was also President Donald Trump's birthday, and he was a big part of the celebration. He was treated to a 21-gun salute and administered the oath at an enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony. Later, he addressed the crowd, vowing that the country's best days were ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 250 years later, America stands tall, America stands proud, and America stands free. We're the hottest country in the world right now. And our country will soon be greater and stronger than ever before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Michael Genovese is a political analyst, the president of the Global Policy Institute at Loyola Marymount, and author of the Modern Presidency, Six Debates that Defined the Institution. He is joining us now from Los Angeles.

Michael, I want to get to the parade in a moment, but, first, the day did begin here in the U.S. at least with the news from Minnesota of those targeted attacks of state lawmakers really overshadowing some of what was to come in D.C. later in the day. What's your read on what happened?

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MICHAEL GENOVESE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Yet again, part of the seemingly endless cycle of gun violence in the United States. What other country would allow this to happen? And in so many ways, our history has been defined by violence and by gun violence. A violent revolution started us off. We expanded westward with violence against Native Americans. And we have regular examples of mass shootings in the United States today.

And so the response will be very typical because we've had it so often. Response will be, Republicans will say, this is a time not for politics, but for prayer. To that, I would say, yes, it's a time for prayer. Let's pray today, but we have to act tomorrow. That's an excuse -- the Republicans have an excuse for not acting. They are very much in the back pocket of the National Rifle Association.

And so these events, today's political assassination random violence, it's overwhelming, and yet we do nothing about it.

ABEL: To the parade now celebrating the milestone of the Army's 250th birthday, there's been this debate about the motives of the parade. Was it akin to Bastille Day in France, or the politicization of our military, or somewhere in between, something more nuanced? What do you see as the purpose?

GENOVESE: Well, you know, going in, there was a very, very legitimate fear that this would be yet another Donald Trump spectacle. Those fears did not materialize, I think, and that's a good thing. It was a very un-Trump like parade. They honored the Army, which is their 250th anniversary, and Donald Trump was very much present. It was his birthday. He was a central character. He didn't steal the limelight, as he almost always does. His remarks were shockingly short and surprisingly subdued.

You know, Donald Trump, who was the poster child for over the top tasteless gaudiness was very understated today, presidential even. He doesn't often do that. Now, still, this is against a backdrop of what we think will happen tomorrow, which is the Marines will get involved in Los Angeles' protest. And so that backdrop is always there of the potential tomorrow for an illegal use of the American military at home against U.S. citizens.

ABEL: Given, Michael, the more presidential tone and tenor by the president, did he get what he wanted today? What was the impact here? How do you think it played?

GENOVESE: You know, he sounded tired and he sounded every bit of 79 years old. I think what he wanted to do was be dignified. And there was so much publicity that was warning people that this is going to be just a spectacle and it's going to be an embarrassment for the United States, that it's going to be Donald Trump stealing the show. I think, wisely, his advisers told him, do not do that. This is the time to be presidential because you really aren't the star, the American military is, let's honor them. And Donald Trump did that.

ABEL: How will history remember this parade?

GENOVESE: I don't think it will have much of an impact. And we haven't had a military parade in over 30 years in Washington, D.C. It's not part of our tradition. It's not part of what we do. It's not always a dignified thing for a democracy to celebrate militarism. It's something we think of when we think of Kim Jong-un in North Korea, or maybe the old Russian mayday parades. It doesn't always fit comfortably with democracy, and so I think it will probably, in the long run, have very little impact.

ABEL: And we will just have to see in that long run.

Michael Genovese in Los Angeles, Michael, thank you.

GENOVESE: Thank you.

ABEL: A break now. More CNN Newsroom just ahead.

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ABEL: An update on the hour's top stories. A massive manhunt is underway in Minnesota for 57-year-old Vance Boelter. He's suspected of shooting two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses. State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot but survived.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz says this was an attack on democracy itself.

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GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): This was an act of targeted political violence. Peaceful discourse is the foundation of our democracy. We don't settle our differences with violence or at gunpoint.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Also on Saturday, thousands of protesters marched in every single U.S. state. Organizers for the No Kings protests say they were the strongest display of opposition to President Trump in his second term.

And in Israel, at least eight people are dead and about 140 wounded after new Iranian missile and drone attacks. This came hours after Israel targeted Iran's defense ministry in Tehran.

Investigators in the Air India plane crash are focusing on the engines, flaps, and landing gear with hopes of finding out why the plane went down moments after takeoff. The crash killed at least 290 people leaving 1 sole survivor.

CNN's Ben Hunte has the latest.

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): It's painstaking work. A crane lifts the tail section of the crashed Air India passenger plane from a day debris field in Ahmedabad. One piece of a puzzle that could help investigators determine why the London-bound flight crashed into a residential area just seconds after takeoff killing all but 1 of the 242 people on board and others on the ground.

The flight data recorder has been recovered, which could shed light on the plane's final moments. Investigators say they're looking into possible issues with engine thrust, flaps and the landing gear, and all of India's remaining Boeing 787s are undergoing urgent inspections.

RAM MOHAN NAIDU KINJARAPU, INDIAN CIVIL AVIATION MINISTER: There are 34 in our Indian aircraft fleet today. I believe that eight have already been inspected. And with immediate urgency, all of them are going to be done.

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HUNTE: But some family members say it's an agonizing weight for answers and are growing angry and frustrated over the time it's taking to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.

RAFIK ABDUL AJEEZ MEMON, UNCLE OF VICTIM: There are two very young children among the crash victims, and I want to know where they are. One of them is Ayan (ph). He is a London boy. How will we answer his grandmother? She lives in London. What will we tell her?

HUNTE: A hospital official says many of the bodies are badly burned. It's a slow, meticulous process to identify them using DNA samples and dental records. But it's been a rapid recovery for the sole survivor of the crash.

DR. RAJNISH PATEL, HEAD OF SURGERY, AHMEDABAD CIVIL HOSPITAL: And he's absolutely out of danger, absolutely stable. He can walk around. He is having his own normal routines.

HUNTE: Air India says it will give an interim payment of about $29,000 to each victim's family, many of which can't begin to grieve yet as they wait to bring their loved one home.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

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ABEL: The British royal family wore black armed bands to honor the Air India crash victims during the Trooping the Colour parade in London on Saturday. The annual event marked the sovereign's official birthday, although King Charles actually turned 78 in November. The event honors the monarch's links to the military and was heavy on pageantry without tanks or heavy hardware. It ended with the royal family watching Red Arrows fly past over Buckingham Palace.

Thank you for joining us. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta. We are back with more news in just a few minutes.

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