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Soon: Trump Holds National Security Meeting Amid Mideast Conflict; New Strikes In Israel And Iran As Conflict Enters Second Week; B-2 Bombers Head Across The Pacific, As Trump Weighs Options; Vice President JD Vance Refers To Dem Sen. Alex Padilla As "Jose"; CNN Team Hears Loud Explosions East Of Tehran; CNN Team Hears Loud Explosions East Of Tehran; Jury Deliberations Could Begin As Soon As Next Week; Brutal Heat Dome Building, Sending Temps Soaring For Millions. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired June 21, 2025 - 17:00   ET

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

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[17:00:28]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the "CNN Newsroom." I'm Jessica Dean here in New York, and we begin with breaking news any moment now.

President Donald Trump is expected to arrive at the White House for a meeting with his national security team as the conflict between Israel and Iran now enters its second week.

CNN crews on the ground in Tehran capturing video of explosions over the skies of that city just a short time ago.

And tonight, CNN has learned multiple U.S. B-2 bombers are headed west from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri. This is President Trump gives diplomatic efforts a quote, maximum of two weeks, as he considers military options as well.

We have a team of reporters tracking the latest on all of this. I want to turn to Alayna Treene first, who is live at the White House, where President Trump, as we mentioned, Alayna, is expected back any moment now.

What more do we know about today's meeting and also these B-2 stealth bombers that are now headed west?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on-camera): Yes, we are seeing, Jessica, the President do something he doesn't often do on weekends, returning home from his New Jersey club and really to come here and meet with his team in the Situation Room as we're continuing to see the situation between Iran and Israel escalate in the Middle East.

Now, to give you a sense of what we're hearing about these B-2 bombers, because this is, I think, very important news that we now learn that multiple of them have been leaving, have left Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri last night. They are heading west. Now, we have heard from U.S. officials that this does not necessarily mean that the President is planning to use them or is any closer to ordering a U.S. strike on some of these Iranian nuclear facilities. But to be clear here, I mean, these B-2 bombers have been described by experts as really the only type of weapon that could potentially take out that Fordow nuclear site in Iran, the place that really we know that, you know, Israel apparently is not able to reach with their own weapons. Really, some of the reasoning we've been told behind the scenes that the President is moving closer to and really contemplating wanting to involve the U.S. military here.

Now, I do think your point as well about what the President has said, that he's going to give himself a maximum of two weeks to make a decision on whether or not to have the U.S. get more involved in an offensive way.

Look, all of this is, as we're continuing to hear, that he is really weighing that decision. And I think the context of why he is weighing that decision, Jessica, is so important, because not only, you know, the American public, but specifically even among his supporters, we've really seen this split in some of them saying, you know, we should not be involving the United States in another foreign war, very wary of having the U.S. get involved in something like this. But then you have the other side, people like Lindsey Graham or Senator Ted Cruz, that we've seen in interviews this week, argue that the United States needs to stand fully behind in their support of Israel and also in trying to ensure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon.

Now, I also think we know that yesterday we saw some of these talks between European leaders, European foreign ministers and their Iranian counterpart in Switzerland, really trying to get a sense of, you know, could they move any closer to an agreement with Iran to come back to the negotiating table? I know in my conversations with people here at the White House that one of the key goals of there was to reopen these talks with the Iranians and really see if they will make some significant concessions. And that's really what all of this is about.

But it's clear, as of now, the President has not offered more insight into whether or not he is moving closer to wanting to involve the United States. Hopefully we can ask him that question when he lands here back at the White House in about 30 minutes. Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Alayna Treene at the White House. Thank you very much. We'll check back in with you.

I want to turn now to CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson, who is live in Haifa, Israel.

Nic, it is just after midnight there. What has this day looked like? And what are things looking like as we head into this night?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (on-camera): So far, there have been no sirens across the country. It's been a relatively quiet day.

The last barrage of incoming ballistic missiles from Iran was almost 24 hours ago, and that was a very small barrage, according to the IDF, just a few missiles. There were UAVs, a number, 40 or so, sent towards Israel from Iran. Two managed to get through. One landed in open area. One hit a house in the east of Israel, northeast of Israel. That one there, the people inside the house were in a shelter. There were no casualties there.

What we're learning from the IDF is very interesting, this going sort of late into Saturday now, early into Sunday. Some of the strikes that they've had in Iran from their missions today, they're in central Iran, they say that they have destroyed four F-14s on the ground.

[17:05:15]

But I think it's that what the IDF is describing as their strikes in Bandar Abbas, which is right in the south of Iran, quite a long way southeast in Iran, a key port city for Iran. The IDF say that they have struck drone facilities there as well as radar sites.

And Bandar Abbas is significant and interesting for a number of reasons. It sits right at the choke point on the Straits of Hormuz, the choke point for all the so much of the world's oil that comes out on tankers out of the Persian Gulf from the UAE, from Saudi Arabia, from all those Gulf states comes out of the Persian Gulf through this 20 or so mile wide Straits of Hormuz. And in the past, Iran has used that as a choke point, even throttling off and preventing shipping getting through moments of international tension.

So the fact that Israel is striking there, I think, is significant. And it's also significant that Israel is saying that it's striking at radar facilities in Bandar Abbas because it is south and because it is southeast in Iran. The radar facilities there potentially part of the Iran's overall radar perspective of threats that may come from the east. And of course, that would be potentially B-2 bombers coming from Guam.

So Israel taking out those sites, I think at this stage, we just have to look at look at that and say, OK, this opens the perspective of what we're seeing Israel doing, not just hitting the nuclear facilities, not just hitting the missile launch sites in the west of Iran that are targeting Israel, but also branching out now deeper, further east, further south in Iran. Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Nic Robertson there in Haifa with the latest. Thank you so much for that.

And joining us now, CNN senior military analyst, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Admiral James Stavridis. He's also a partner at the Carlisle Group, a global investment firm and author of The Admiral's Bookshelf.

Admiral, thank you so much for being here with us. I want you to help us contextualize some of this information that we're getting from Alayna and Nic, two pieces of this, which is that we know now that several of these B-2 bombers have left the U.S. We know that the defense officials have cautioned this doesn't mean a strike is imminent, but that it's just about preparation. And then that information that Nic was giving us about what Israel is now doing in Iran, where they're striking further east, further south.

Taken all together, what do you read into those developments?

JAMES STAVRIDIS, CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST (on-camera): I think the most important one is one you mentioned a moment ago, which is that President Trump is walking away from his golf weekend to come back to the White House. That's very significant.

He's not coming back to the White House to discuss how can we get to a ceasefire. I think he's coming back to look at all the intelligence again, and he must be getting closer and closer to a decision to go.

Now, I add to that, Jessica, what you just mentioned, the movement of these B-2 bombers. Moving them to Guam is interesting. It's kind of less provocative, if you will, than taking them all the way to the Indian Ocean, to the island of Diego Garcia. I think that's where they'll end up if we decide to strike.

So think of moving them to Guam as taking the car out of the garage, giving it a final tune-up, giving it a quick road test, getting it closer to Diego Garcia, or at least a bit closer, getting those crews out of home port. They're not going to be home on Saturday night. They're deployed forward. I think that's quite significant.

And then third and finally, as you mentioned, the strikes on Bandar Abbas. I applaud that. I think it's smart thinking on the part of the Israelis. And in addition to prepping the air and the path for those B-2s, it also sends a big signal to Iran, don't even think about trying to close the Strait of Hormuz if the United States strikes.

So, these are big movements. We're going to have to see what comes out of the meeting in the Situation Room.

DEAN: And Admiral, look, it's anybody's guess exactly what's going through the President's mind. Obviously, he's having this meeting in the Situation Room.

But as he's processing all of this information, what is he looking for? What are they giving him? What new information is he getting? What might that be like?

STAVRIDIS (on-camera): First and foremost, he's getting an update on all of the options that he talked to his team about a few days ago when they had what was apparently a very significant meeting right around the time he announced the two-week potential pause or at least the period of time in which he'll make a decision.

[17:10:13]

So he's reviewing the options. OK, I said to move carriers forward. Are they in place? Check. I said to move tankers forward. Are two dozen tankers now in the Middle East that provide the fuel? Check. Are the B-2s out of their hangars in Missouri and forward into an operational posture? Reporting says check.

So he's looking at all of his forces. Where are they? Number two, he's reviewing the intelligence, both from the Israelis, how their strikes are going, and also any further intelligence provided by the U.S. intelligence community on what's Iran doing? What are they thinking? Where are they moving forces? Are they exercising their F-14s you talked about a moment ago, which the Israelis hopefully took out on the ground?

So, he's reviewing intelligence.

And then third and finally, he's listening to recommendations. He's probably going to pay a lot of attention to what his cabinet members, Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, and others say to him. What do they think? And knowing President Trump, as we do, probably not in the Situation Room, but either before or after, he's also calling a circle of other advisers, say somebody like Senator Lindsey Graham or Senator Tom Cotton, both very strong actors and influences on him in this zone of defense.

So, he's got a busy Saturday night ahead of him. That's why he's the President of the United States.

DEAN: Yes. And what in these conversations? Are there conversations about, OK, if you do proceed with the strike, what happens the day after that? What happens? How does this unfold? What are the -- what are the scenarios look like after that happens?

STAVRIDIS (on-camera): Absolutely. And here, part of the options he would have put in play are missile defense systems for all of our U.S. troops in the area. Are they in place, tuned up, ready to go? Looks like check.

Are we moving our guided missile destroyers and cruisers who have significant area air defense into position to defend these 40,000 U.S. troops that are all around the Middle East? Appears to my eye, check. Are we cyber ready for anything the Iranian cyber forces could attempt to do against U.S. forces, U.S. businesses in the area?

And then finally, are our embassies on high state of alert? Are there individual security plans activated? Are they talking to all U.S. citizens in their individual countries? Because frankly, the Iranians may not go after hardened military American targets. They could go after American business people, expats who are working in these countries. They get their warning, their theory of protection from our embassy.

So on that defensive side, I am certain that part of this cabinet meeting will be to discuss readiness for an Iranian response if we launch a strike on their nuclear facilities.

DEAN: Do you believe at this point that it is possible for the U.S. to move forward with a strike without being drawn into a regional war?

STAVRIDIS (on-camera): I think it's possible, but increasingly less likely because of what we just talked about.

Let's say hypothetically over the next two, three days, we launch a strike. We're successful. We take out Fordow. All of those centrifuges are destroyed. But the Iranians decide to lash out. They shoot down American businessmen in Dubai. They launch a ballistic missile that somehow gets through and hits our base in Qatar, at Doha. They have a drone that strikes an American destroyer and kills 100 sailors.

If that occurs, and I think they'll try it, then the White House will probably respond to that. It will escalate. There will be more response both from us and from Israel. And you're into that regional war.

If we cannot find a path to diplomacy and we do take this strike, we simply have to recognize that the odds are the Iranians will respond and that potentially could draw us into that wider war that nobody wants.

DEAN: You mentioned diplomacy. Of course, that's what, at the moment, the President has been trying to give time for, saying this comment about giving it two weeks, that he's trying to get a deal done.

[17:15:08]

Do you think all of these moves that we've just walked through with such detail? Do you think that those can ultimately be a last nudge to get Iran to the negotiating table, or are we past that point?

STAVRIDIS (on-camera): They very much can have a dual purpose. Moving all those forces into the theater sends a pretty crystal clear message to Iran that we're prepared to act here, quite literally.

And then secondly, it also puts those forces into the operational path to conduct that strike. So if the Iranians view it as a crystal clear signal that we are prepared to strike, now the ball's in their court. And I hope they take it seriously because my sense of this is the White House is quite serious about conducting this strike if the Iranians do not come to the table and accept the conditions that have been laid out.

I think there's still a path to diplomacy. If you wanted me to put a number on it, I'd say there's still a one in four chance of a diplomatic solution here called 25 percent. Unfortunately, I think at this minute it looks 75 percent like we're headed toward a strike and therefore further moves in the vertical ladder of escalation, potentially regional war.

DEAN: All right. Well, we will see Admiral James Stavridis, we always appreciate your analysis on all of this. Thanks so much.

STAVRIDIS (on-camera): My pleasure. Let's hope for a diplomatic path.

DEAN: All right. Thanks Admiral.

And still to come, CNN is taking you on the ground to Tehran, where Iranians are enduring around the clock, missile strikes that shine -- that show no signs of letting up.

And as President Trump considers getting America more involved in that conflict, he's still facing a fight with California's Governor Gavin Newsom, who's challenging the President's use of troops in Los Angeles. That city expecting more protests tonight.

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[17:21:48]

DEAN: Happening now, Los Angeles officials say they are ready for any further demonstrations in response to recent a ICE activity in the city. Just yesterday, Vice President JD Vance traveled to L.A. where he defended the administration's use of the National Guard in the city.

He also referred to Democratic Senator from California, Alex Padilla, who was forcibly removed from the Homeland Security event last week as this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES: I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question. But unfortunately, I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't the theater, and that's all it is.

You know, I think everybody realizes that's what this is. It's pure political theater. These guys show up. They want to be captured on camera doing something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now from Los Angeles, CNN correspondent, Stephanie Elam.

Stephanie thanks so much for being here with us. And tell us what's going on there in L.A. with the Vice President most recently there and these officials saying they are prepared if there are further protests.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Yes. Los Angeles County officials, Jessica, have made it very clear the mayor of Los Angeles as well as the governor, that, listen, we can handle whatever comes this way.

Right now, there may be a smaller protest later on today, but it's not guaranteed. Those kinds of things happen here pretty routinely. That's not that weird. What we did hear from the Vice President he said that the -- it was imperative that the California National Guard and the Marines stay in L.A. to be ready in case there's any more flareups of violence and protests. But the city says that they can handle this.

We also heard Vice President Vance talk about how, you know, this was -- this is a beautiful city and just seeing it degraded because it's being inflamed by what the Governor and the Mayor are saying. He's basically accusing them of getting people agitated to come out and be agitators which I have not heard them say just for the record here.

Back to that point though you made about the Senator from California, Senator Padilla and the fact that he called him Jose Padilla, which if you remember 2007 there was a man who was found guilty of aiding terrorists overseas from Chicago named Jose Padilla. It's not clear if that's who they were referencing. A spokesperson for the Vice President said quote, he must have mixed up two people who have broken the law, not clear if that's what he was doing there.

This did upset the Governor, who right away on social media, said that calling him Jose Padilla was not an accident. And this is what Mayor Karen Bass had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D) LOS ANGELES: Mr. Vice President, how dare you disrespect our senator? You don't know his name. But yet you served with him before you were vice president and you continue to serve with him today.

Because the last time I checked, the Vice President of the United States is the President of the U.S. Senate. You serve with him today and how dare you disrespect him and called him Jose, but I guess he just looked like anybody to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM (on-camera): And I should also mention that the Dodgers were playing the Padres here and there was some protesting going outside there because of I believed ICE action. ICE said that they were not there. The Dodgers said that they were, but then we found out that Customs Border Patrol was staging in their parking lot area nearby for a bit. But that also has added to some confusion.

[17:25:10]

The Dodgers coming back, Jessica and saying that they had already planned to announce this, but then announced $1 million in partnership with the city to direct toward financial assistance for families of impact -- of immigrants impacted by recent events in the region.

So, like you said, a lot of things have happened here in L.A. over the last week.

DEAN: Absolutely. All right, Stephanie, thank you for the latest. We appreciate it.

Straight ahead, CNN's Fred Pleitgen is going to take us to the streets of Tehran, where Iranians remain defiant toward Israel despite a week of near constant airstrikes across the country.

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[17:30:02]

DEAN: We are following breaking news tonight in the Middle East as Israel is launching a wave of new attacks into Iran.

Explosions lighting up the horizon over Tehran as nightfall set in earlier, as CNN crew on the ground catching these moments as anti- aircraft fire rang out overhead in the city.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is the first Western journalist to enter Iran since the fighting began with Israel last week, and he shows us around Tehran where the signs of conflict are everywhere.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): As Iran and Israel continue to trade salvos of bombs and missiles in Tehran, the cleanup is in full swing in residential areas that were struck. We went to several impact sites. Buildings partially collapsed in some, completely destroyed in others.

The authorities here say this building was flattened in the first wave of strikes against targets in Tehran, but in other parts of Iran as well. And they say in this site alone, six people were killed and two bodies are still buried under the rubble.

As tensions between Iran and Israel continue to escalate, many residents have left Tehran, the streets empty, some shops closed, but defiance remains.

Billboards across Tehran showing those killed by the Israeli aerial attack and vowing revenge, this one addressing Israel directly saying, you have started it, we will finish it, as Tehran's leadership says, it won't back down.

If the Zionist regime's hostile actions persist, our answers will be even more decisive and severe, the president says.

And Iran saying the Israelis are also targeting civilian installations, taking us to the state T.V. channel, IRIB, recently bombed by two Israeli airstrikes. An anchor had been reading the news as the building was hit. This is that studio now burned out with only a skeleton of the charred anchor desk left.

Authorities say three state T.V. employees were killed here.

You can see how much heat must have been admitted by the impact and by the explosion. The phones that they had here are molten. Here also, the keys molten this screen, and there's actually someone's lunch still at their desk standing here, which probably they would've been wanting to eat until they had to evacuate the building. You can see there's a spoon here that's also been melted away by this explosion. And the devastation here is massive at the Iranian state broadcaster,

Iran's leadership vows to persevere, saying it will continue to target Israel if the Israeli aerial campaign doesn't stop.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And for more on this conflict, I'm joined now by Karim Sadjadpour. He's a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Karim, thank you so much for joining us this afternoon.

I know you wrote earlier this week how the ayatollah is, quote, in the most precarious position of all. Explain the thinking around this.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Well, Ayatollah Khamenei is probably the longest serving dictator in the world. He's been ruling since 1989. And if you're the longest serving dictator, that means you're not a gambler, you're not reckless. You're someone who has survival instincts. But at the same time, he's someone who has always had a philosophy of resistance against America and Israel. He believes that if you compromise under pressure, that's not going to alleviate the pressure. It's going to project weakness and invite even more pressure.

So, what's intention for him are his survival instincts and his defiant instincts. And, you know, I say for President Trump, this could be the most consequential decision of his presidency, for Ayatollah Khamenei, this is a life and death moment he's living right now.

DEAN: And how -- as someone who has done extensive reporting on this, how might the ayatollah be thinking about this?

SADJADPOUR: What we know is that he is right now in a bunker, and he is filled with great mistrust because there's been so many incidents of high level assassinations inside Iran that it implies that there's a lot of infiltration, Israeli infiltration, of even the senior Iranian echelons.

So, he is 86 years old. He doesn't have the physical and for probably the cognitive bandwidth to be fighting this very high tech, sophisticated military war. He's filled with mistrust and he is deeply isolated. And so you can only imagine, you know, what is inside his head right now. But I think at age 86, you go back always to your first instincts, and for him, that continues to be one of defiance. And he reacted to President's Trump's call of unconditional surrender by saying, we're not going to surrender, we're going to continue resisting.

[17:35:04]

DEAN: And there has been a lot of talk about the potential of regime change within all of this, within as an outcome of what could come next. How is that being viewed inside Iran by the Iranian people?

SADJADPOUR: Well, this is a deeply unpopular regime. I suspect they have less than 20 percent popular support, if that. So, on one hand, you know, people would like to see a different government. I always say that the people in Iran want to be like South Korea, not North Korea. At the same time, it's a population which at the moment is under -- experiencing aerial bombardment. People are worried for their lives, for their safety. So, what's top of mind for Iranians right now is not waging political protests, and we'll have to see what happens when the dust settles.

But, you know, what we've seen over the course of the last two decades in the Middle East is that wars, which are brought out by external invasion rarely have happy endings. And, you know, many of the autocratic collapses we've seen in the Middle East haven't been followed by transition to democracy, but transition to another type of authoritarian regime. So, really, it's upon the Iranian people, not any outside actor, to determine the country's fate.

DEAN: And as we've been reporting this hour, the president of the United States is weighing whether to strike, which would likely include these bunker buster bombs. How -- if that were to happen, how would that change the thinking in Iran? Do you think it would make them more likely to surrender, to use President Trump's word, or do you think it's more likely they dig in and there are additional military strikes against both Israel and America?

SADJADPOUR: Well, we'd be entering uncharted waters. It's really unprecedented. It's frankly unprecedented for that size bomb to be dropped anywhere in the world. We're talking about a 30,000-pound bunker bomb, and it could go in very different directions. Iran could decide to unleash everything it has.

Now, that would be almost a suicidal move for them because it would likely invite massive U.S. retaliation, but they may feel like, you know, that's their only option. Up until now, we haven't been in a situation in which the regime is bombed and then asked to surrender. But it could create a lot of different dynamics in Iran, including it may empower Revolutionary Guard commanders who try to push aside the supreme leader.

So, what I'd like to emphasize is that for President Trump, dropping this bomb is likely not going to be the end of the war. It's likely going to be a new chapter in our longtime conflict with Iran.

DEAN: Right. And I think that's the big question both for the president, but for so many people too who are trying to get information on this, what happens after, if that is indeed what they choose to do.

And then in terms of just the diplomacy, which the president has said he's trying to leave these two weeks open to let that take -- to give that another chance, do you see any indications Iran would be interested in making a deal at this point?

SADJADPOUR: You know it's possible. What historically has worked with Iran is when they feel existential economic pressure, a credible military threat, a united diplomatic front, and then they're provided kind of a diplomatic off-ramp, a viable face-saving, diplomatic off- ramp.

Right now, the leadership in Iran, the supreme leader, to the extent, you know, we can hear from him because he's in his bunker, he's expressed messages of defiance. At the same time, he sent out his diplomats to talk. And it may be in those private meetings, they're more conciliatory and they're looking for a way out. But, you know, that, for President Trump, I think, he's still made clear that he wants to do a deal with Iran. You know, the big question is, is there a face-saving way out for them? DEAN: All right. Karim Sadjadpour, thank you so much for your time. We really appreciate it.

SADJADPOUR: Thank you.

DEAN: Back here in the U.S., jurors in the Sean Combs trial could get the cases early as next week. We'll have some analysis on where that trial currently stands.

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[17:40:00]

DEAN: Next week, the jury and the Sean Diddy Combs racketeering, and sex trafficking trial could begin deliberations. Prosecutors hope to rest their case Monday, and the defense plans to rest by Wednesday. The judge says closing arguments could begin then as soon as Thursday.

CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson is joining us now. He's also a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. Joey, nice to see you.

Here we go. What should people expect next week as both sides now prepare for closing arguments?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Jessica, this is about the battle of the narratives, and you have two professors in the courtroom. If you're the prosecutor, what you expect is what we've been seeing, and that is three real things. Number one, that this was a criminal enterprise, in which did he clearly conspired with people with whom he worked to enable him to do pretty vicious and bad things, in the order of kidnapping and the order of arson and the order of bribery, and the order of drugs and the order of sexual activity.

[17:45:00]

And in addition to that, prosecutors will say that this was about coercion, coercion with regard to him manipulating women, whether they were longstanding relationships or not using his money, power, and authority. And, by the way, prosecutors will say he transported people across state lines for the purposes of prostitution, he is guilty.

From a defense perspective, they will continue to argue that this was flawed private conduct that had nothing to do with running a criminal enterprise, that he wasn't conspiring with anyone. And while his behavior was certainly problematic, it certainly was not to the extent of racketeering, criminal to that degree.

And, by the way, defense will say that these were willing participants, as demonstrated through text messages, as demonstrated through them, equally attempting to establish these freak-offs. And, again, this was done in his personal time having nothing to do with running a criminal enterprise.

And so it's whatever narrative, Jessica, the jury grips into and buys is what is going to really settle the day with respect to guilt or lack thereof. DEAN: Yes. And we also heard Diddy's assistant, Brendan Paul, testifying he bought drugs for Diddy. How did his testimony in particular advance the prosecution's case?

JACKSON: Yes. You know, Jessica, I think there was something for both sides, and what do I mean? It advanced the prosecutor's case with respect to this RICO, racketeering. It's really a statute designed for mob bosses engaging in really bad things with underbosses, shaking down businesses, et cetera. Well, guess what? In the event that you're conspiring with someone else, as we look there at his personal assistant testifying to buying drugs, and you're conspiring for that, that's RICO. You're conspiring to engage in illegality. And, by the way, one of the things in terms of drug distribution also favors the RICO.

How he helped the defense, however, Jessica, is that he noted that it's his personal assistant that, number one, they were small quantities. So, was this drug distribution or was this drugs for only Sean Combs' personal use? Big difference Number two, with regard to Jane, who was involved in one of the sex trafficking counts that is coercion to engage in sexual activity against your will. He noted that is the personal assistant that she never, that is Jane, appeared to be other than a willing participant either during the events or thereafter. So, there was something for both parties.

You better believe that both parties will make the arguments that favors their position. It'll be up to the jurors to credit and decide which one carries the debt.

DEAN: And just before we let you go, is there anything from the prosecution or the defense that you feel like they -- either of them need to go back and really hit hard or establish that they haven't been able to do so far?

JACKSON: So, the prosecution in using this, RICO has really run hard with a number of things that Diddy has done that are criminal in nature, whether it's the arson relating to his firebombing of the car, whether it's all this drugs, whether it's guns, et cetera, in addition to running hard prosecutors have, with respect to this coercion. I think it's up to the defense now, although the defense doesn't have a burden. The burden, of course, lies with the prosecution to really defeat those narratives, to continue to hammer home upon the fact, and you have to embrace the fact that there's this tape, Jessica, that's been shown over and over again, which is horrific involving his beating, Sean Combs' beating of Ms. Ventura, horrible. The issue is whether or not it's domestic violence or is it RICO.

The defense needs to explain that by demonstrating again that while his conduct may be flawed, that is Sean Combs, it certainly rise to the level of a mob underboss or overboss directing criminality. And number two, what they have to do, the defense, is defeat this notion of coercion and demonstrate that the women involved here were willing participants involved in potentially transactional relationships, you do this to me, I do that for you, but it was not sex trafficking. And those are the narratives you're going to see. I think the prosecution, though, pretty much has the upper hand as it relates to this sex issue involving the transportation for sexual exploitation crossing state lines, and that's simple prostitution, engaging in interstate commerce, one state to another, for the purpose of prostitution.

DEAN: All right. Joey Jackson, thanks so much more to come this week. We appreciate it.

JACKSON: Thanks, Jessica.

DEAN: Happening now, Air Force One just touching down at Joint Base Andrews a few moments ago. This is ahead of President Trump's scheduled briefing with his National Security Council in the White House Situation Room tonight. We are following all of this. We'll have a live report for you with new details straight ahead.

Plus, an extreme heat wave is descending on half the country, putting tens of millions of Americans under the threat of dangerous and long lasting heat.

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DEAN: Today, millions of Americans are getting hit with dangerously high temperatures. They are under a heat dome over the Central U.S. That dome is building and spreading east over the next few days, bringing with it record-breaking heat.

Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin has the latest for you.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is the first weekend of summer. It is coming in loud and clear thanks to this heat wave. This heat dome is leading to the heat wave, an area of high pressure, thousands of feet up in the atmosphere, causing the air to sink. When it sinks, it compresses and it heats up in a big way.

We are talking temperatures during the daytime that will be 20-plus degrees above average, and that will be flirting with some records.

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Hartford, Connecticut, case in point, you have the potential of breaking a longstanding record from 1921 with the temperatures that you're going to see on Sunday. When you take that air temperature, you combine it with the humidity, your body begins to stress out because your body can't cool down efficiently.

That leads us to talk about heat indices. Those heat indices will be well above 100. That heat risk will be extremely high.

So, if you are going to be outside, make sure you are playing it safe. Drink plenty of water. Find plenty of shade. But, you know, if you don't have to go outside on Sunday or early next week, let's just not do that. Weather-related fatalities are actually led by heat-related fatalities. On average over the last 30 years, you'll see about 240 heat-related fatalities every year.

Unfortunately, this heat wave is not going anywhere anytime soon. It's going to linger across the eastern two thirds of the country through mid, potentially late next week. Not only are we going to see those extreme temperatures, but along the northern edge of that heat dome, we will continue to see strong to severe thunderstorms across the Northern Plains, the Great Lakes and the northeast as well.

Back to you.

DEAN: All right, Tyler, thank you.

And in just a few moments, President Trump is set to arrive back at the White House where he will immediately meet with his National Security Council in the Situation Room. Of course, this all happening as he stares down a consequential decision on whether or not to attack Iran. It's a move he says could come in the next two weeks. We're following this very closely. We'll be right back.

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