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Trump's Mega-Bill Clears Senate Procedural Hurdle 51-49; Tens Of Thousands Resume Protest In Tel Aviv; CNN On The Ground As Crowds Attend State Funerals In Tehran; Boxing Champ Thinking Of Ukraine As He Preps For Title Defense; Protesters Object To New Migrant Detention Site In Florida; Funeral Held Saturday For Assassinated Minnesota Lawmaker; Protests, Opulence For Finale Of Bezos-Sanchez Venice Wedding; Tropical Storm Warning In Effect In Gulf Of Mexico; Inside The Hunt For Meteors; Demonstrators Protest LGBTQ+ Ban In Budapest. Aired 2-3am ET

Aired June 29, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSOURCE: Hello and welcome. I'm Brian Abel in the CNN Newsroom.

We begin with that breaking news in Washington. The U.S. Senate voting to advance President Donald Trump's massive tax and spending bill a short time ago. The so called, big, beautiful bill narrowly clearing a procedural vote with 51 senators in favor and 49 against. But this is just the beginning.

Senate Democrats are now forcing clerks to read out the entire bill, which could take up to 15 hours, more than 900 pages. Then there will be debate, followed by a vote-a-rama, an open ended, hours long series of votes on amendments. Republican leaders have been pushing some holdouts to fall in line behind President Trump's bill. He praised the first step as a great victory, and said, he's very proud of the Republican Party.

CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein has more from Washington.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That Saturday night vote marked a make-or-break moment on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. And President Trump was keenly aware of the razor thin margins in the Senate and all of the hurdles and uncertainties because he had been fielding calls and holding meetings and even playing golf with a key group of Republican senators over the better part of the last 24 hours.

Ultimately, if passed this legislation, this sweeping tax and spending package, would really unlock President Trump's domestic agenda. And the White House is keenly aware that this is a critical moment to get this over the finish line, while Republicans control both the House and the Senate. And for those reasons, President Trump, along with Vice President J.D. Vance, had been working those phones, holding meetings, inviting senators to the White House to get this to a yes. The president scrapped a planned weekend in New Jersey to spend a rare weekend here in Washington, where he held a round of golf with Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, along with Senator Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, notably a key holdout who had concerns about spending in this package, as well as the provision that raises the debt limit.

Paul ultimately voted no on that bill, but Vance himself had headed to the Senate, where he was poised to take a tie breaking vote. Ultimately, that was not needed. The reality here is that there are deep policy divisions within the Republican Party on the scale and scope of this bill, but the president ultimately lashing out at Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina, the other no vote.

He said in a post to social media just before the vote passed, that he would threaten to primary -- Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2026. He said numerous people have come forward wanting to run in the primary against Senator Thom Tillis. I will be meeting with them over the coming weeks, looking for someone who can properly represent the great people of North Carolina.

The president had also held a major event pushing for the bill on Thursday, where he went after those who would vote no, as grandstanders and not good people. The president had been pushing to get this done by the 4th of July. He expressed a little bit of softening of that deadline earlier this week, saying it was important, but not the end all.

So, we will be closely watching how these proceeds in the days ahead, as they work through some of the key provisions in this bill, in this so-called vote-a-rama. This is still far from over once, and if the Senate passes this bill, it still needs to go to the House of Representatives, where they need to approve those changes before it can go to the President Trump's desk. So, the president clearly has a lot more lobbying to do, and it remains to be seen if he can close this deal.

Betsy Klein, CNN, Washington.

ABEL: Betsy, thank you. CNN spoke to Senators from both parties who have very different takes on what the bill means for Americans. Take a listen.

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MIKE ROUNDS, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: For us, the tax cuts and Jobs Act is critical. We want to get it across the finish line. There's other things that go along with it, which is the debt ceiling extension, so that we don't have a shutdown to government. And in the meantime, we've got a lot of folks on our side of the aisle that want to see some reforms made to Medicaid.

[02:05:00]

But it takes amendments. We look forward to an open amendment process that will take a long time to get through, because I think Republicans and Democrats alike are going to want to make amendments once we get on the bill.

SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT): This is a different kind of legislation. It's not like an appropriations bill. The Medicaid cuts nearly a trillion dollars, the nutrition cuts, the stripping of states of the ability to pass their own legislation about social media and AI. That really causes a lot of harm in red states and blue states. It's equal participation in the payment this bill is going to inflict.

So, just as an example, you saw the community hospital folks in Ohio, sending a letter to their two Republican senators saying, this is a real problem for us. So, what I see is there's a real pressure and conflict on my Republican colleagues who want to support the president's agenda, whatever that is, on the one hand. On the other hand, know -- they know that there's going to be a lot of pain inflicted on the people they represent.

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ABEL: Let's bring in Ron Brownstein, a CNN senior political analyst and an opinion columnist for Bloomberg, joining us from Los Angeles. And Ron, quite what seemed like an arduous journey just to pass a vote, to get to the vote. Three plus hours for this procedural vote. What can we take away from this? And just how far are the changes to this thing, getting it away from something that's palatable for House Republicans, that this still has to go to?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, the history of this is that every new president since Reagan has encapsulated the core of his economic agenda into one big, beautiful bill in his first year, except for George H. W. Bush in '89. That they tried to pass through this special expedited process known as the reconciliation process, and it is often been a Perils of Pauline, hair pin turn kind of process, but they've all passed in the end.

Because of the argument that you are hearing the White House and Republican leaders make, which is that, you know, when you put all of the president's priorities in a single bill, no one from their own party wants to be the one responsible for sinking it. And that usually has been that kind of inertia. Fear of failure has been enough to get it over the top.

What makes this more complicated than usual is that Republicans are trying to do two things here in one bill. They haven't tried to do in one bill since 1995 under Newt Gingrich, which is they're passing both big tax cuts that mostly benefit people at the top, in the same bill with big spending cuts that mostly hurt people at the median income or below, and that politically is a tough combination to pass.

I suspect in the end, the history will win out, and they will find a way to get this done, as other presidents have. But there are probably still more twists and turns along the way between here and there because of the unusually difficult nature and the unusually polarizing nature of what they are trying to do well.

ABEL: And also, in recent history, Ron, we have seen that, least on the Republican side, that that fear of being the one has kind of diminished sometimes. When we take a look at the speaker votes for Kevin McCarthy, and then all the way through to now, Speaker Johnson.

But on Saturday, we watched as those final three votes remain outstanding, while leader Thune and Vice President Vance worked to negotiate to get the final holdouts to that yes vote. Earlier in the evening, there was that question mark of Senator Lisa Murkowski. She got to yes. Earlier in the day before that, Senator Hawley with the same. But votes in the last few hours do not necessarily equal votes after this bill hits the amendment and debate stage.

So, just how herculean -- herculean of an effort is there to go -- to go here for President Trump and leader Thune and Speaker Johnson?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, yeah. I mean, look at what -- look at the struggle they had today. And it really encapsulates, you know, what's ahead. I mean, essentially, half the -- half the holdouts thought the bill didn't cut enough from social programs. And those were people like Ron Johnson and Rand Paul and some of the others who came through at the end.

And then there were several others who thought it cut too much. Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, who voted to begin the debate, but you know, said she's not committed to voting for the final bill. By putting these two things together in one bill, as I said, for the first time in 30 years that they are doing both tax cuts and spending cuts.

The 0.1 Bush tax cuts, the 17 Trump tax cuts. Those were all sugar, no spinach. Tax cuts only, no spending cuts. By putting the two things together, they have made unusually explicit who are the winners and losers. You have people at the top getting the top point 0.1 percent, $100,000 a year, annual average benefits. 60 million people simultaneously losing healthcare, and you heard some of that in the comments from the senators.

[02:10:00]

You know, there are a lot of Republican constituencies those are -- all those people losing healthcare are not just Democrats. There are a number of Republican states, Louisiana, Kentucky, Ohio, that have benefited -- and North Carolina that have benefited enormously from the expansion of Medicaid under the ACE, Affordable Care Act of 2010, and that is where they target most of these Medicaid cuts.

So, finding the tight rope between cutting too much and cutting too little is, you know, extremely difficult. But I do think the history suggests that in the end, they will get there. It is worth noting that in every case, after passing this bill in a president's first year, except for 2002 where 9/11 intervened, the party that passed the bill lost control of the House -- lost working control of the House in the next year, and this bill, again, is quite unpopular in polling, sometimes as much as two to one negative.

People don't like cutting taxes for the rich. They don't like cutting healthcare programs for the middle and working class, and they especially don't like it when the latter the healthcare cuts are being used to pay for the former, the tax cuts. ABEL: Ron, let's dig a little bit deeper into that unpopular aspect of this. We had a University of Michigan economist on who characterized the bill as the largest redistribution from poor to the rich. Of any single law in American history, saying eight out of 10 brewers will come out financially worse from this. If that's the case, is that not a recipe for a potential significant backlash come midterms and beyond that?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. I've had someone else calculate. A budget expert said as much in a story I did on cnn.com last weekend. You know, if you look at the 81 Reagan tax cuts, cut taxes for the top more than this, the 95 Gingrich budget cut programs for the poor more than this. But if you look at the totality of this in one bill. This is probably the largest transfer of income from people below the median, to people at the top of any single legislation in history.

And as I said, it is clearly the big -- would be the biggest loss of healthcare coverage of any bill in history. So, Republicans are taking a big gamble here. You know, their view is that they have been able to hold a lot of the voters who would be net losers from this bill through cultural issues over the years, you know, and certainly Trump's arguments on crime and immigration and transgender rights has a lot of appeal for voters who would be losers in this bill.

But, you know, it's worth noting. 85 percent of everyone who receive -- who is on Medicaid is an adult without a college -- someone without a college degree, and that is the cornerstone of the new Republican Party and those are the biggest losers in this.

By the way, the other thing this bill does is it chooses not to extend the enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act that were approved when Biden and Democrats controlled Congress. That would mean, in addition to the 16 million people losing healthcare, there probably been another 15 to 20 million people who will see higher premiums for their healthcare in time for the 2026 election. So, Republicans, I think, are really testing how much they can strain the material interests of their own voters, and still hold them with cultural, mostly culturally based appeals.

ABEL: And we will see exactly what changes were made and what the final product ends up being here once it gets kicked back to the House. Ron Brownstein, as always, appreciate your analysis. Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

ABEL: In Israel, tens of thousands of protesters filling hostage square in Tel Aviv on Saturday. They called for an end to the Gaza war and the return of the remaining hostages. Meanwhile, Donald Trump is talking up a ceasefire for the devastated enclave, where an air strike early Saturday killed numerous children in one family, as well as their mother and grandmother.

CNN's Nic Robertson reports from Tel Aviv.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: On hold during the Iran conflict, energized by the possibilities of that perceived victory.

RUBY CHEN, FATHER OF HOSTAGE ITAY CHEN: Prime Minister Netanyahu, because he can and he must bring all the hostages back, the living and the deceased because we want all of them.

ROBERTSON: Free the hostage protesters in full voice at their first regular Saturday rally in three weeks. Viki Cohen, mother of hostage Nimrod, hopeful she'll get her 20-year-old son back soon.

[02:15:00]

VIKI COHEN, MOTHER OF HOSTAGE NIMROD COHEN: We feel that it's a little different. Trump is very demanding, and we believe in him, we trust him, and we know he has the power to stop the war. He can pressure our prime minister to do it, to finish the war in Gaza. And in this way, all the hostages can come back home.

ROBERTSON: The deal they want now is a comprehensive agreement bring all the hostages home. 50 of them, about 20 believed to be alive, and get the army out of Gaza. In Gaza, peace can't come soon enough, either. Tense pitched on this sand, hit rescuers say by an Israeli air strike early Saturday.

The IDF say, they are looking into the incident. By daybreak, this night's horror revealed a huge crater and no tense. The recovery not done alone with a shovel. Abu Muhammad searching for two children, eight of their deceased brothers and sisters already found.

Among the dead were children, age 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, and 10 and 11 years old. Mohammed says, there were two boys, five girls, their mother and their grandmother. In Tel Aviv, the days of war counted by the second. Eyes of both sides on President Trump to stop the clock.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I think it's close. I just spoke with some of the people involved. It's a terrible situation that's going Gaza. He's asking about, and we think within the next week, we're going to get a ceasefire.

ROBERTSON: President Trump is turning up the mood music for a possible deal in Gaza. Prime Minister Netanyahu, top confidant, is expected in Washington soon. It hints at momentum, but Israelis have been here before, hopes dashed by differences. Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv.

ABEL: And stay with us. More CNN Newsroom, right after a quick break.

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ABEL: Crowds of mourners filled the streets of downtown Tehran Saturday for dozens of people killed in the Israeli airstrikes. Our Fred Pleitgen was there in the middle of it all and has this report.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a gigantic procession right through the heart of Tehran. There are thousands of people here who are trying to touch the caskets. They're trying to give the folks who are on the caskets items to rub on the caskets.

Now, there are 60 coffins in total that are going through this city, among them, Iran's top military leadership. You have the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's missile program, Ali Hajizadeh, many others as well, including nuclear scientists, but also civilians. There's also women and children whose caskets are in this procession right now.

People here say that they are honored to pay their final respects to those who were killed, but they're also vowing to continue to stand up for both the U.S. and Israel.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (VOICE OVER): Death to America, Death to Israel. She says, God willing, you'll be destroyed soon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (VOICE OVER): My message to Trump is, God willing, you will die. He says, because you attacked Iran, and be sure the people will take revenge for the blood of these martyrs soon, with the obliteration of Trump, Israel and the United States.

(CROSSTALK)

PLEITGEN: The Supreme Leader Ali Hajizadeh (Ph) has lashed out both the United States and Israel. He believes Iran's military campaign against the Israelis was victorious, and that also, the U.S. has gained nothing from bombing Iran's nuclear installation. At the same time, the Iranians are vowing to be defiant, saying that their nuclear program will continue, of course, enrichment will continue as well.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

ABEL: Boxing's undisputed heavy weight champion is getting ready to defend his title, but Oleksandr Usyk has more than a fight in the ring on his mind. He tells our Amanda Davies, why he's always thinking about Ukraine and its fight against Russian invaders.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR (voice over): He's arguably the best boxer in a generation, preparing for one of the biggest fights of his life. But family and country inescapable for Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk.

DAVIES: Tell me this, what is this?

OLEKSANDR USYK, UKRAINIAN BOXER: It's signed all the Ukrainian hero.

DAVIES (voice over): The military flag filled with inspirational messages. With one, he's keen to point out.

USYK: It signed mama for Ukrainian soldiers.

DAVIES (voice over): That's from Oleksandrovych Usyk's mother, a Ukrainian soldier whose defiant moments before he was executed by Russian soldiers became legend.

USYK: This man stayed like this, Russian -- what you want to say? This guy, take cigarette. Slava Ukraine. This guy, kill.

DAVIES (voice over): We're 2700 kilometers from Kyiv at this training camp in southern Spain that Usyk has made his home away from home. But with Ukrainian symbols everywhere, the war is very much front of mind. And though, he says, he tries not to read the news. He's well aware of Ukraine's daring drone strikes on Russian air bases.

USYK: I would like to express my deep gratitude to Vasyl Vasyliovych, boss, great job.

[02:25:00]

DAVIES (voiceover): A shout out for the head of Ukraine security services, one of the many military figures. Usyk crossed paths with while serving his country. He joined the territorial defense forces when Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022 and has visited the frontlines several since. His success in the ring has seen him become a source of inspiration, but also of some respite for those at the front.

DAVIES: What are your friends on the frontline saying to you? What are they telling you in terms of the mood? How they are doing?

USYK: They're more interested in what I'm doing. When I ask them questions, they say, wait, wait, wait, tell us about yourself. What's going on with you. We try not to talk about the scary things they do to defend our country. What is happening there? What kind of shelling is happening? How they're being attacked. How they're heroically defending our country.

DAVIES (voiceover): Out of sight, out of mind. Well, not quite for most Ukrainians, and neither for Usyk. His sons may be here within arm's reach, safe. But some of his family remain at home.

USYK: The girls, my two daughters and my wife, they are in Kyiv, and it's a little difficult to balance things.

DAVIES (voiceover): Three and a half years after Russian troops marched on Kyiv, Usyk is still unbeaten in his professional career.

USYK: It's difficult, but I can switch off to do my job, so that I can help my country more later on.

DAVIES (voiceover): The next challenge, July's heavyweight fight against Britain's Daniel Dubois at Wembley. A moment to send a message around the world. Amanda Davies, CNN, Gandia, Spain.

ABEL: Thank you for watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta. For our international viewers, African voices, play makers is next for our viewers here in the United States. I'll be right back with more news at this break.

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[02:30:00] ABEL: Just hours ago, the U.S. Senate voted to advance President Donald Trump's so called big, beautiful bill. The multi trillion- dollar measure was approved by 51 senators, 49 voted against it. This is a key procedural hurdle, but it's not the final Senate vote on the bill. Still, Mr. Trump declared the vote a, quote, great victory in a late-night social media post.

Senior -- CNN senior reporter, Annie Grayer has more on how events unfolded in the Senate Saturday and some of the issues the measure faces going forward.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: It was a long and tumultuous day in the United States Senate. It almost looked like the bill was not going to clear this procedural hurdle, and Republicans were negotiating behind the scenes for hours. They even had Vice President J.D. Vance come to Capitol Hill in case his vote was needed as a tie breaking vote.

But then, after hours of negotiating, Republicans rushed back to the floor and a group of senators delivered the votes needed to pass this key procedural hurdle. So those Republican votes are Republican Senator Ron Johnson, Cynthia Lummis, Rick Scott and Mike Lee. And now there is hours of debate that have to unfold before voting on final passage of the bill.

And remember, this is just the first step. If Republicans can pass this in the Senate, it still has to go back to the House, which passed a different version of this bill. So, the two chambers are going to have to rectify their differences there, and Republicans are running against a tight timeline. President Trump wants this on his desk by July 4.

Annie Grayer, CNN from Capitol Hill.

ABEL: Protesters denounced the U.S. government's new migrant detention site Friday, with dozens of cars lining this here highway in Florida. The facility nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz is being built in an abandoned airport in the Everglades. It's set to open on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security says it could house up to 5000 people in tents and temporary shelters.

Members of the Miccosukee Tribe of indigenous Americans of Florida say the detention center violates their land rights and is dangerous to the environment. And above all, protesters say the U.S. government's treatment of migrants is inhumane.

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ROBIN HANSEN, TAMPA, FLORIDA RESIDENT: The Everglades in itself is just a very sacred area, and the habitat here needs to be preserved and taken care of. And then, obviously what they're trying to do here with Alligator Alcatraz is horrendous and just really not acceptable. I'm hoping that today we can follow the natives lead and try and bless the land and protect the land and do what we can. And then thereby protect the people because, first of all, no human is illegal.

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ABEL: Amid Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. We have seen cases of masked ICE agents grabbing people off the streets and detaining them without warning. One such incident was caught on camera Friday. A witness, filming a woman, running from a masked, armed man who was chasing her on the streets of Los Angeles. Rafael Romo has this story.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a video that gives the public a glimpse into the tactics being used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as they face enormous pressure to arrest as many undocumented immigrants as possible on a daily basis. The cell phone video was shot by a woman in West Los Angeles on Monday.

Aleca Le Blanc says that she was running errands around 10:30 in the morning, when she saw a young woman being chased down the street by an older man wearing street clothes, a tactical belt and a negatur covering his face.

At one point, the young woman being chased clings to a tree in what appears to be a last effort to avoid detention. She's been identified as Celina Vanessa Hernandez Ramirez. And this is the moment when she's pried off the tree by the agent, as captured by Le Blanc's cell phone camera.

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ROMO: Shortly before the woman was taken away, an SUV had pulled up with more agents, wearing face coverings and hats. They were all armed with guns. Le Blanc says, the agents appear to be confused as to how to handle the situation.

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ALECA LE BLANC, RECORDED INCIDENT: I've seen basically an old man chasing a young lady down the street, which is horrifying, and she's running out of fear. By the time I get to the bottom of the hill, I see that she is like, you know, clinging to this tree right outside of this like little like strip mall that everyone goes to.

ROMO: We reached out to officials about the incident in a statement, the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that during operations on June 23, CBP encountered Celina Vanessa Hernandez Ramirez, an illegal alien from El Salvador for being unlawfully present in the United States. Despite verbal harassment by members of the public, the officers ultimately detained this illegal alien and placed her under arrest.

According to the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Celina Vanessa Hernandez Ramirez came to the U.S. two years ago with her partner, Carlos, and their now four-year-old son Iker Javier, hoping to build a better life. She worked hard selling tacos on the streets of Ladera Heights in Los Angeles, doing what she could to support her family. And according to Le Blanc, Hernandez Ramirez does not have an attorney yet, but she's on the wait list to get one from two legal organizations.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

ABEL: Rafael, thank you for that report. A funeral was held Saturday for a Minnesota state lawmaker who was murdered with her husband in an act of shocking political violence. Melissa Hortman was a Minnesota state representative and former House Speaker in the state. She was assassinated in her home on June 14, along with her husband.

The service was attended by several Democratic leaders, including former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz served as a pallbearer and delivered a eulogy. Julia Vargas Jones has more.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A funeral with the highest state honors in the country's first Basilica, Minnesota in mourning. Governor Tim Walz presenting the children of Mark and Melissa Hortman with the flags flown above the Capitol on the day their parents were killed. The political nature of their tragic deaths, the undeniable backdrop for the day's events.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): All of us are searching for some kind of meaning, some kind of lesson that we can learn to help ease our loss. And maybe it is this moment where each of us can examine the way we work together. The way we talk about each other, the way we fight for things we care about. A moment when each of us can recommit to engaging in politics and life the way Mark and Melissa did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES (voiceover): In attendance for mass, former President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. On Friday, mourners paid their respects as the Hortman's laid in state at the Minnesota Capitol. Melissa, the first woman in state history to receive that distinction. Laid to rest beside them their golden retriever, Gilbert.

Just a few miles away in federal court, the man accused of killing the Hortman's appear before a judge. His attorney told the court, Boelter has been sleep-deprived due to jail conditions and communication has been difficult. The judge granted a delay, and his next hearing is now set for July 3. Boelter faces state and federal charges, including murder, firearm offenses and stalking.

Authorities say the June 14 shooting was a politically motivated assassination, and that Boelter could face the death penalty if convicted. He allegedly went to the Hortman's home, dressed as a police officer and opened fire when police showed up, then fled, triggering the largest manhunt in the state's history.

Before the Hortman's Authorities say, Boelter went to the homes of three other Minnesota state politicians. At one of them, police say he shot state Senator John Hoffman and his wife multiple times. Both are making a recovery, but say they are, quote, lucky to be alive.

According to court documents, authorities later searched Boelter's vehicle and found at least three AK-47 assault rifles, a nine- millimeter handgun, as well as a list of names and addresses of other public officials. Most of them Democrats are figures with ties to the abortion rights movement.

There have been questions about what Boelter's wife Jenny knew and when. Investigators say she was initially not forthcoming with information but later became cooperative. On Thursday, Jenny Boelter spoke out for the first time, saying she and her children are absolutely shocked, heartbroken and completely blindsided.

She called the attack a betrayal of everything we hold true as tenants of our Christian faith. Adding that from the start, her family has fully cooperated with investigators, and they're grateful to law enforcement for apprehending her husband and preventing further harm.

[02:40:00]

JONES: This attack comes at a time of historic rising threats against public officials and division in America. But the overall message from Saturday service was that there is still hope to mend that division that came both from Governor Walz as well as from the pastor who led the services, especially when he shared what the kids of the Hortman's had asked people to do in the memory of their parents. They said, plant a tree, pet a dog, or try a new hobby. The best way to honor our parents' memories is to do something to improve your community, however small.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

ABEL: From protests to parties, many in Venice are ready to kiss Jeff Bezos and his bride goodbye, as their epic wedding festivities come to an end. Why some say, it was an outrage?

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ABEL: Thousands of Thai nationalist protesters gathered in Bangkok Saturday. They are demanding the country's Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra resign. They accuse her of criticizing the Thai army in a leaked phone call with Cambodia's former leader. Shinawatra, apologized for her comments.

And in Serbia, anti-government protesters clash with riot police in the country's capital of Belgrade. You see the clashes here. Police firing tear gas at thousands of demonstrators rallying against Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. Serbs have been protesting for months, demanding new elections. The nationwide demonstrations began after a rail station canopy collapsed in November, killing 16 people. Protesters say, it was a result of government corruption.

[02:45:00]

More protests in Venice over the lavish wedding events for Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez. Some demonstrators who also work for Amazon say they can barely pay the rents on the wages they're paid. Their seen all this lavishness. Many carried Amazon boxes with slogans like, no space for Bezos, and other messages that we cannot repeat on air. Despite the protests, the happy couples seem unaffected. The newlyweds packed on the PDA as they headed to the final wedding gala.

Melissa Bell has been following everything from the parties to the protests all weekend in Venice.

MELISSA BELL, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Day three, the end of the Lauren Sanchez Bezos now and Jeff Bezos wedding that has so dominated attention here in Venice for the last few days. As each day of the last three, this south side, the Aman hotel is the scene, police boats, boats filled with paparazzi as they wait to see not just the couple emerge day after day, but also many of their celebrity guests.

This last evening, they're waiting for them to get into their vaporettos and head off to the last party. This could be held at the Arsenal. It had to be moved because of protests. Still undeterred, protesters took to the streets again this final third day of the wedding this Saturday to make their anger known.

There were workers from Amazon. There were anti capitalists. There were climate change protesters. There were those opposed to Venice being used as a backdrop, as a postcard for this wedding and opposed to the extravagance of it. We've seen them carry out a number of actions over the course of the last few days against the holding of this wedding and everything that went with it.

Still, it's gone on really without hiccup, largely apart from the moving of that final venue, with all of the guests really abiding by what seems to have been their non-disclosure agreements. You'll have seen very little of what went on within the party simply at the paparazzi shots of many celebrities that were invited, making their way around the streets of Venice over the course of the weekend.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Venice.

ABEL: It's still only June, but it feels like the dog days of summer and much of Europe. Just ahead, we'll take you to Spain, where the tourists are suffering, along with residents.

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ABEL: A tropical storm warning is in effect for parts of the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is currently called Tropical Depression two. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says, if the storm stays on track, it could make landfall along the Mexico Coast Sunday night. Current forecasts say it's most likely to come on shore as a tropical storm. Flooding is a concern. As the storm could bring up to 10 inches of rain to several southern states in Mexico.

Southern Europe is being slammed by the summer's first major heatwave. It comes as tourist season hits full force. Peak temperatures in Spain are expected to climb to over 40 degrees Celsius, 104 degrees Fahrenheit. CNN's Ben Hunte has more on how people are coping.

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): The summer heat is on full blast in Spain, with officials warning people to hydrate and stay safe. As temperatures hit near or above 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look it always gets superhot in Madrid. What surprises me is how early it's happening. We're still in June. July and August are usually horrible. But the fact that it's already like this now is surprising.

HUNTE (voiceover): A blast of desert air from Africa is fanning out across southern Europe, creating hot, muggy conditions. The forecasters warn could continue to be oppressive, even at night. Tourists in Greece tried to keep cool in the blazing sun, water bottles and shade help to blunt the scorching temperatures. But some people say the old attractions are like magnets for the heat.

ANTONIA LASEN, TOURIST: The combination of the heat and the marble, I think it was more hot because of the marble and the cement. It was like a cement jungle, almost. It was just very hot.

HUNTE (voiceover): The high heat and strong winds also stoking a large wildfire that broke out south of Athens. Greece is increasing its number of firefighters this year to a record high in expectation of another difficult wildfire season. The French weather agency warns of stifling conditions in the southern part of the country that will spread north, with high temperatures expected until Tuesday.

In Italy, red heat alerts were issued for several cities, including Rome, Milan and Venice. With officials in some areas advising people to stay indoors during the hottest parts of the day. That's something festival-goers at Glastonbury in the U.K. may find hard to do. Though, event organizers are advising the more than 200,000 people in attendance to take precautions by drinking water, staying out of the sun and avoiding alcohol.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

ABEL: When a fireball fell from the sky over parts of the United States this week, set off a search for fragments of the space rock. Audrey Washington of CNN, affiliate WSB, caught up with some meteorite hunters in Hunter County, Georgia.

CHRIS SANDERS, EDUCATOR: You walk the streets, and you look for them.

AUDREY WASHINGTON, CNN ANCHOR & SENIOR ANALYS: This is something you don't see every day. What we believe is a piece of a meteorite.

SANDERS: Yeah, 24 hours ago, it was a piece of an asteroid that somehow gravity sent it to us.

WASHINGTON: And now it's in your hand.

SANDERS: And now it's in my hand. WASHINGTON: The self-proclaimed meteorite hunters, one a former broadcaster and the other a science teacher, told me they found these pieces hours after meteorites about three feet in diameter, weighing more than a ton, landed in parts of Metro Atlanta.

SANDERS: I'm super exciting. I'm a collector. I've collected for a while.

WASHINGTON (voiceover): Chris Sanders and his partner Craig Zliman traveled to the McDonough area after they learned pieces of the meteorite landed off a pull in road and possibly through a roof on cathedral drive.

CRAIG ZLIMAN, METEORITE HUNTER: In this case, it hit our house. So, we knew that something actually hit the ground. And when that happens, we come down and we start -- we look at radar returns.

WASHINGTON (voiceover): Thursday channel 2 Action News, viewers sent us these images of the event. Brad Weber lives nearby and felt the moment the meteorite landed.

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BRAD WEBER, NEIGHBOR: I heard sort of a rumble when I was in my garage, stepped outside.

WASHINGTON: And here's another look at the meteorite here in my hand. I got to tell you, is pretty lightweight, and at first glance, it looks like a rock. But the hunters told me, when they took a look at it, they knew it was a piece of the meteorite. This is broken, so you see the inside of it's this white color. But the outside of it, is dark, and it's kind of black and shiny and a little bit frothy, and that's where it burned up. It's called a fusion crest.

ABEL: Pretty cool. Thousands of people marched in Mexico City's 47th pride parade on Saturday. Crowds gathered in one of the capital's main avenues to celebrate. You see everybody here. This was one of four marches in major Latin American capital cities on Saturday.

An annual event in Hungary is unfolding as both a celebration and a protest. Crowds gathered in Budapest for the city's 30th annual pride march. Demonstrators carried signs reading solidarity with Budapest Pride. They also waved posters with pictures of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, crossed out.

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ORSI DOMDAN, MARCHER: And everyone wants their freedom, and everyone wants to express their need for freedom. You know what I mean. No one wants to live in oppression, actually. And their love is more important than power.

BELA MOLNAR, MARCHER: At some point you have to stand. Stand up and show you what you want to do in this country. And I want to feel good in this country.

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ABEL: The march a defiant one. It proceeded despite a new law banning LGBTQ events nationwide. Thank you for joining us. I'm Brian Abel, I'll be back with more CNN Newsroom right after this break.

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