Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

475 Arrested In Massive Immigration Raid At Georgia Hyundai Plant; Start Of School Year Marked By Deportation Fears; NYC Mayor Eric Adams Denies He's Exiting Race To Take Job In Trump Admin; Chicago Braces For Potential Arrival Of National Guard Troops; Protests In D.C. For National Guard Deployment; Trump Renames Pentagon To "Department Of War"; China Displays Military Strength With Putin And Kim; Carlo Acutis To Be Canonized By Pope Leo. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired September 06, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And then real quick, what's the biggest mistake that you see people make?

KURT PANOUSES, REPRESENTED 50 PLUS SIGNIFICANT JACKPOT WINNERS: You know, just being in a hurry. You know, people have to understand that this is -- there's no do-overs. So take your time, place the ticket in a secure place so that you don't lose the ticket. You know, someone doesn't steal the ticket. The ticket won't be needed until the day of claim.

So just put that ticket away, copy is all the attorney's going to need, and then they can put the professionals together, whether it's the finance people, the tax people, any other attorneys that would be necessary for any specific specialty type areas. But they'll put that all together for the client. They'll give the client some choices, and then the client will make those choices.

There's a lot of questions you have to ask that client before you paint this picture. So again, it takes a while. It's going to take two to three weeks in this case.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

PANOUSES: The winner may also decide to wait 180 days and claim the ticket in January, which will allow them to have use of the money and not have to worry about the taxes until next 2026.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. All right, packing the patience as well.

Kurt Panouses, thank you so much.

PANOUSES: You're more than welcome.

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with the latest on the Trump administration's largest immigration crackdown so far on U.S. work sites. A Hyundai plant in Southeast Georgia was the target of a months-long investigation that resulted in 475 arrests. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved.

President Trump reacted to news of the raid yesterday in the Oval Office.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you concerned at all about, you know, your immigration agenda potentially clashing with these economic goals?

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we want to get along with other countries, and we want to have a great, stable workforce. And we had, as I understand it, a lot of illegal aliens. Some, not the best of people, but we had a lot of illegal aliens working there.

So, you know, look, they're doing their job. That's what they have to do. These are people that came through with Biden. They came through illegally. They came into our country. So we have to do our job.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN's Rafael Romo is here with more on this raid. The consequences describe what many workers are saying was a chaotic scene.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's a good way to describe it, a chaotic scene indeed. And shortly after the agents arrived at the plant and workers realized what was happening after word spread across the property, Fred, chaos ensued with many workers attempting to flee, and some even, listen to this, running into a sewage pond and others hiding in air ducts.

What we know is that Georgia State troopers blocked roads leading to the plant and set up a security perimeter setting the stage for nearly 500 federal, state, and local officers to conduct the raid at the Hyundai plant located in a quiet Southeast Georgia community.

By the time they were done at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, agents had arrested 475 people, most of them South Korean nationals, making it the largest sweep yet in the current Trump administration's immigration crackdown at American job sites. A Homeland Security Investigation special agent describes some of the objectives of the raid.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

STEVEN SCHRANK, SPECIAL AGENT, HOMELAND SECURITY: This operation underscores our commitment to protecting jobs for Georgians and Americans, ensuring a level playing field for businesses that comply with the law, safeguarding the integrity of our economy, and protecting workers from exploitation.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: In a statement to CNN last night, Hyundai has said the following regarding the immigration raid in Georgia. "We are reviewing our processes to ensure that all parties working on our projects maintain the same high standards of legal compliance that we demand of ourselves. This includes thorough vetting of employment practices by contractors and subcontractors."

The company also said that Hyundai has zero tolerance for those who don't follow the law. In an interview with CNN, Former Deputy Homeland Security Secretary under President Trump, Ken Cuccinelli, said that this type of immigration enforcement operation sends a clear message to employers across America.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

KEN CUCCINELLI, SENIOR FELLOW/CENTER FOR RENEWING AMERICA: This is becoming much more common in this administration. And so employers who have never had to worry about this before now know their own butt is on the line if they're going to break these laws.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: And finally, Fred, and this is something you were asking me last hour, Georgia immigration attorney Charles Kuck told CNN two of his clients were detained at the raid after having arrived from South Korea under a visa waiver program, which allows them to travel for tourism, and this is key, or business for up to 90 days.

One of them, he said, arrived in the U.S. last week and the other one arrived several weeks ago. He said, so although they didn't have an actual work permit, they were technically allowed to conduct business -- businesses, according to his -- their attorney, here in the country.

[13:05:09]

WHITFIELD: Right. Sounds like it's really just the tip of the iceberg --

ROMO: Right.

WHITFIELD: -- in terms of many of the explanations about, you know, what has now happened.

All right, Rafael Romo --

ROMO: Correct.

WHITFIELD: -- thanks so much.

All right, right now in the nation's capital, large crowds are marching to protest the Trump administration sending thousands of National Guard troops into that city. It has been nearly a month since President Trump deployed troops as part of his anti-crime agenda in D.C.

It also led to a surge of federal officers from other agencies and an attempted takeover of the city's police department. Thursday, city officials filed a lawsuit over the deployment, accusing the President of violating the Constitution.

Meantime, Chicago is bracing for the National Guard to potentially begin patrolling its streets in a ramped up immigration operation. President Trump has vowed to send the National Guard to the Windy City for an expected immigration crackdown. But at this point, it's still unclear when that deployment will start.

The Trump administration's immigration crackdown is causing anxiety and fear among some students as they head back to school for the New Year.

CNN's Maria Santana has one family's story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Scared, full of fear, anxiety.

MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This immigrant mother of two breaks down in tears. Torn between taking her children to school and the risk of being taken away by ICE agents.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I'm afraid the same thing will happen to me as to my husband, that they'll arrest me. Or I fear that at school, during these raids they talk about, they could take my children. All of this haunts me every day.

SANTANA (voice-over): She says her husband was detained by federal immigration agents over Memorial Day weekend during a family outing in New York. At the family's request, we are not using their names. Originally from Venezuela, she says they both had temporary protected status and pending asylum claims.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has not replied to our request for details about the father's arrest. Court records show that he had no prior criminal history, but he remains in federal custody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): I used to pick them up. He took them to school. I feel this year will be very hard for me.

SANTANA: I hear you're learning English? Yes?

SANTANA (voice-over): The children, heading into third and eighth grades, say they are excited to go back to school and see their friends, but they desperately miss their father.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I wish he was here to see us to see how we're doing, because whenever we left school and he picked us up, sometimes we went to the park or he took us out somewhere.

SANTANA (voice-over): Their mother says that they are also terrified, worried that she might get arrested too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Since what happened to their dad, they don't want to leave my side. They say, "Mom, what if I'm at school and you go and you don't come back? What if they take you? Mom, why is this happening to us?"

MANUEL CASTRO, COMMISSIONER, NYC MAYOR'S OFFICE OF IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS: We understand our families have a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety.

SANTANA (voice-over): City officials acknowledge that some parents may want to keep their children at home, even as they insist that schools are safe.

CASTRO: There are strict protocols that our teachers, our principals, our school systems must follow because it is the law. We cannot cooperate with immigration enforcement and any other families and children in our school systems.

SANTANA (voice-over): But for this mother, this year feels more like a leap of faith, praying that her family can stay together as her children continue to grow and learn.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Children are meant to be happy. Why does this happen? I don't understand it, because we all have children.

SANTANA (voice-over): Maria Santana, CNN, New York.

WHITFIELD: And still ahead --

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sometimes things is four times what they was a year ago. Roast I used to get for $12, $15, $35. It's awful.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WHITFIELD: As more American families struggle to put food on the table, CNN speaks to YouTubers with cost-saving solutions to help you survive soaring prices.

Plus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responds to Vladimir Putin's proposal for peace talks in Moscow.

And a young fan at the Marlins-Phillies games -- game rather, gets showered with gifts from both teams. We'll show you the outrageous moment in the stands that led to this fanfare.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:14:39]

WHITFIELD: All right, amid reports the Trump administration is planning to offer him a job, embattled New York Mayor Eric Adams insists that he's continuing his campaign for re-election. His comments followed multiple reports that Trump aides were crafting a plan to offer the mayor a job in the administration to help clear the field for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to win the post of mayor.

[13:15:03] CNN's Alayna Treene is live for us at the White House with more on this. So, Alayna, help everyone understand why would the White House want to intervene in this race? And what are the potential roles that perhaps have been discussed for Adams?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, well, some of my colleagues, Gloria, Kristen, and I had reported essentially that there was a meeting earlier in the week that took place between Mayor Eric Adams as well as the President's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, and they discussed during that meeting having him potentially take a role in the Trump administration.

Actually, some of the things that were discussed, we're told, were potential ambassadorships, one potential country that came up was Saudi Arabia. But I do want to be clear that our sources told us that nothing was offered. These are just discussions.

And part of the reason, to get to your question, Fred, about this, is that essentially the White House recognizes that Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist who is running to fill the governor's seat, or excuse me, the mayor's seat in the fall, he's running also against governor, former governor Andrew Cuomo, that the Democratic Socialist actually has a good chance of winning this.

And so what the White House is trying to kind of do behind the scenes and working with others, you know, across the country, and specifically in New York, is try to see if they could clear the field and make sure that Zohran Mamdani does not win. And that's part of what these discussions are about.

Now, Adams, for his part, is so far putting up a fight and denying that he is planning to drop out of the race ahead of the general election this fall, and also denying that he would take a job in the Trump administration. He kind of scheduled remarks yesterday at the governor's mansion, or excuse me, at Gracie Mansion, and saying that he plans to stay in the race and to fight, and also lobbying some direct attacks against both Mamdani but also Cuomo.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (I), NEW YORK: Andrew Cuomo is a snake and a liar. I am in this race, and I'm the only one that can beat Mamdani.

This polo shirt that I'm wearing that says Eric Adams, mayor of the city of New York, I'm going to wear that for another four years.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

TREENE: Now, I will say, Fred, as well, despite some of what he's saying, our sources say that he could potentially, Eric Adams, change his mind. But for now, he is committed to staying in the race.

And Adams, for his part, did put out a statement yesterday trying to clear up some of the reporting around all of this. He said, quote, "While I always -- while I will always listen if called to serve our country, no formal offers have been made. I am still running for re- election, and my full focus is on the safety and quality of life of every New Yorker."

All to say, this race is going to be very, very interesting, Fred. And it's very much unclear whether or not Adams is actually going to stay in this. For now, he says he will. But could he change his mind? Could he try to drop out to kind of clear the field for Cuomo? All of that still to be seen.

WHITFIELD: Yes, lots of steps to go.

All right, Alayna Treene at the White House, thanks so much.

All right, protests are expected today in Chicago as the city is preparing for the National Guard to potentially begin patrolling its streets as part of an increased crime and immigration crackdown.

I'm joined now by Sylvelia Pittman, she is a teacher at Nash Elementary School on the Chicago West Side. Sylvelia, great to see you.

The Chicago Teachers Union started handing out flyers this week, right, during school drop-offs to remind parents and students of their legal rights in preparation for any National Guard deployment. As a teacher, how do you plan to talk to your students and parents who are immigrants or may be undocumented about the potential arrival of the National Guard?

SYLVELIA PITTMAN, TEACHER, NASH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ON CHICAGO'S WEST SIDE: We've been having conversations in our classrooms with our students to make sure that they understand what is going on in this time. But it's not just for our immigrant students, it's also for our Black students because they live in the same community.

And with that being said, many often our Black communities don't have a good relationship with the police as it is, and for them to bring in National Guard, which is people that they've never seen, that doesn't know what goes on in their community, that is an issue for our students of black and brown.

WHITFIELD: And tell me about those conversations, because there are going to be different conversations, right, for different reasons, just as you spelled out. There may already be, you know, a lack of trust, a relationship that is not a healthy one between Black kids and law enforcement versus that of Latino or, you know, Latino descent in the city and their relationship with law enforcement or National Guard. So tell me about the difference of these conversations.

[13:20:16]

Well, the difference of the conversation is, first, we allow the students to express how they're feeling. To get a temperature check, we do temperature checks to see how the students are doing, what they've seen, what they've been talking about, even in their households to give us the -- to be able to guide. So if there's some misinformation or we can give them more clarity, to make them feel more safe, to let them know that when they come into the building that they -- this is a safe space for them to be able to talk about the things that they need to be -- to say, as well as to give the parents the support they need on where they can actually go, the different organizations that we have relationships with that will help them.

And even for some of our immigrant parents, it is going as far as some of them making sure that they have the proper documentation. So in case they cannot pick their children up, that the school will know who they're supposed to go with, as well as the child.

So these are some of the conversations that are going on -- that we know that are going on in our students' houses for our immigrants, that they are having to have these conversations with children. And we have children as young as four years old in our building because we have pre-K all the way through eighth grade. So I think these are some difficult conversations to be having with students at that age level -- at those ages, but it is what is needed at this time.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And I wonder what are some of the parents and some of the students expressing to you directly? What are their, you know, concerns, their fears, their trepidations? What are they saying specifically to you?

PITTMAN: Sometimes, like today is Saturday, when they leave on Friday, some of them may say, I hope to see you next week. That's a little disturbing when you have a student that says, I hope I can come back next week because they're unsure of what is going on. Especially with the supposedly the more deployment of ICE being in our city. And it's -- yes, it's disheartening.

And that's something that as a teacher, you take with you and you pray. You'd be like, Lord, just make sure that my students are safe and that they will be back.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that's so sad. I mean, so many of these kids have so much to worry about as it is. And then we just learned that the President just posted something, which is pretty unsettling. And you know that by executive order, he wanted to rename the Department of Defense as the Department of War.

And the President has said that, you know, Chicago is next in terms of national troops making their way there. And he just apparently, do we have his comments that he just posted, that he said Chicago will find out why it's called the Department of War. What does that say to you?

PITTMAN: I don't even have any words for what the President, that statement that he's made. That's -- we're not trying to go to war. We are people that want to be peaceful. But the most thing -- the mostly what we want is we're looking for funding that will be able to help our communities.

Since he's so concerned about and stating that he says war, but we're saying that we need help with funding. We don't need troops. We don't need the National Guard.

We don't need any more federal agencies to come into our space. We need funding so that we can have more adequate housing for our students, for our families that are in the neighborhoods that have been disinvested in for more than three or four decades. That's what we are in need of so that we can provide services for our families to be able to sustain what they need.

But not only that, we need more things like that so that our people will have adequate healthcare. We need -- that is the funding that we are requesting from the federal government. We're not asking him to send in troops because when we have the funding that is needed, communities thrive.

[13:25:08]

When the money is there in the community, families are able to stay together. Families are able to eat together. They're able to sleep peacefully. They're able to go to work and do the necessary things that they need to do. So that would be my answer for him talking about war.

WHITFIELD: Sylvelia Pittman, so glad you would be with us today. Thank you so much.

PITTMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Right now, in the nation's capital, large crowds are marching to protest the Trump administration sending thousands of National Guard troops into that city. It has been nearly a month since President Trump deployed troops as part of his anti-crime agenda in D.C. It's also led to a surge of federal officers from other agencies and an attempted takeover of the city's police department. Thursday, city officials filed a lawsuit over the deployment accusing the president of the United States of violating the Constitution.

All right. DOD, Department of Defense, is now being called by the Trump administration the Department of War, DOW. On Friday, new signs actually went up at the Pentagon after President Trump issued an executive order to rename the Department of Defense. When asked why the need for a name change, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think it sends a message of victory. I think it sends a -- really a message of strength.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: This name change is not just about renaming, it's about restoring. Words matter. It's restoring, as you've guided us to, Mr. President, restoring the warrior ethos.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's discuss with senior director of the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Brad Bowman. He's also a former Black Hawk pilot. Brad, good to see you. What do you think about this --

BRAD BOWMAN, SENIOR DIRECTOR, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES AND FORMER BLACK HAWK PILOT: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: Department of War?

BOWMAN: You know, when I -- yes, Fredericka, appreciate the opportunity to join you. When I survey the threats we confront as Americans, changing the name of the Department of Defense is really not something I would put on my top 10 list of priorities for the Pentagon. You know, we're confronting what we've been calling an axis of aggressors, consisting of China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea. They're unified by their antipathy for Americans and our interests and our democratic principles and our allies and partners. And their cooperation is making each of them more formidable. And so, as this big huge military parade in Beijing demonstrated, U.S. military advantages have eroded and that's eroded the margin of safety for Americans.

So, I don't think that changing the name of the Department of Defense is going to help with that. And I can think of a whole bunch of better ways we could spend that time and money. And Politico is suggesting that we're looking at, you know, changing seals, placard signs at more than 700,000 facilities in 40 countries, in all 50 states. And I think there might be some better ways to spend our time and money than that.

WHITFIELD: And we all heard the president yesterday when asked about that, how much is that going to cost? He said he didn't think it was going to cost, you know, that much to change stationary and all that. And while you don't see this as a priority, I mean, what do you interpret with these words? Because, I mean, there's intention, right, behind changing the words Department of Defense, putting the country or sending a message, the country is in a position of protecting country, but then Department of War, is there a different inference that comes with that?

BOWMAN: I do think there is a different tone, and Secretary Hegseth and the president have hinted at that, they want the department focused on war. And, you know, as someone who graduated from West Point and taught at West Point and swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States, not a party or a person, the Constitution, we all kind of understand that defending requires you to do both defensive and offensive operations and to be able to deter, fight, and win our nation's wars.

So, I don't think we needed to necessarily change the name to underscore that, and to have a warrior ethos, a healthy warrior ethos that helps our service members fight and win our nation's war and then come home to their families. WHITFIELD: Do you think this name change will stay because won't it take an act of Congress? Is this strictly for stationary or placards on a door's sake?

BOWMAN: You know, if you look at the executive order that the president signed there, thankfully there's a recognition that there's going to be a legislative process to make it official and permanent in the primary name. And so, for now, it's a secondary name, if you will. That's a term they use in the executive order. So, I do believe there will be some legislative activity here. But they're moving ahead with this. They're changing signs, they're changing titles. They're calling it secondary. So, it's in effect. But to make it official, I think there will be some legislative action required, as best I can tell.

WHITFIELD: What are you going to call it?

BOWMAN: I'm going to call it the Department of Defense until the laws change, because I think the rule of law matters and we're a nation of the rule of law, and I'm going to stand with the law for my part.

WHITFIELD: All right. Brad Bowman, good to see you. Thank you so much.

BOWMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:35:00]

WHITFIELD: Overnight, Russia launched a new drone attack against Ukraine. Most of the nearly 100 drones that targeted the war-torn country were downed, according to Ukraine's Air Force. This latest assault comes after a historic show of authoritarian strength in China. Earlier this week, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and North Korea's Kim Jong Un standing shoulder to shoulder with China's President Xi Jinping.

Joining me right now to discuss is Michael Weiss, editor of the Insider. Great to see you, Michael.

MICHAEL WEISS, EDITOR, THE INSIDER: You too, Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, let's begin with this show of force. What kind of signal is being sent to Ukraine to see Russia, North Korea, China all standing as one?

[13:40:00]

WEISS: Well, I mean, the Ukrainians don't need any lecture on this sort of coalition that's been ranged against them from, frankly, even before the start of the full-scale invasion. I mean, the Ukrainians were the ones to warn the United States and the west that North Korea was preparing to send soldiers to fight on behalf of Russia to expel the Ukrainian forces from occupied Kursk. North Korea has provided millions and millions of rounds of artillery

to the Russian military. China, although, it hasn't directly supplied weapons, is -- you cannot do an investigation, and I've done several on the sanctions of Asian regime that Russia has put into place for importing microprocessors and all the kind of guts that go into their missile systems and fighter jets without coming across a Chinese company that's acting as the intermediary broker.

So, I think what really was happening with this summit and this kind of collection of strong men was more telegraphing to the United States, and specifically to Donald Trump, this is what you're up against now, you know, the unipolar world is over. This is the new multipolarity. And I think Trump is beginning to get the message because for the first time he kind of acknowledged this new geopolitical.

WHITFIELD: He sure did. I mean, he said yes. I was watching, and he did admit that he thought he was the intended audience to see, you know, this military parade and to see this exertion, you know, of authoritarian rule. So, then, as it pertains to President Trump and his leverage on the geopolitical stage, he's also admitted that dealing with Russia and Putin has grown to be a little bit more difficult than he thought, so, then now what? I mean, what is he telegraphing out loud, that there's an admission that, OK, I wasn't able to get this done in 24 hours? Is he also kind of throwing in the towel by saying he may not be able to do anything about this conflict between Ukraine and Russia?

WEISS: Well, I've been of the opinion that since he returned to office, what he's been trying to inaugurate is something a little bit more than what you would call a reset or rapprochement with Russia. More like strategic realignment of the United States in favor of Moscow, possibly at the expense of our transatlantic relationship with Europe, although the tensions with Europe seemed to have cooled since those Halcyon days when both J.D. Vance and Elon Musk were trying to get the far-right elected in Germany, which worked against the now new chancellor, Friedrich Merz.

But I think, you know, the best case scenario for Ukraine, and I know a lot of Europeans, and certainly a lot of Ukrainians don't want to hear this, is for Donald Trump to walk away. And I don't mean walk away in the sense that he cuts all aid or he lifts all sanctions on Russia, I mean, one of the things that he has done, which I think is a net positive for Ukraine is the implementation of this NATO Pearl System, by which -- a mechanism by which Europeans can buy critical weapon systems that Ukraine needs, such as long rage, air defense, Patriot systems, HIMARS, the ammunition for HIMARS, GMARS and ATACMS, and gift those things to Ukraine.

So, you know, Donald Trump is deeply transactional. He doesn't want any more freebies going to Ukraine. Fine Europe has said, we will pay, and you will sell us the weapons and we'll give them to Ukraine. That's good.

The key issue here though is he's not going to get from Vladimir Putin what he wants. He sees Putin probably as a kindred spirit. You know, Putin gets to do the kinds of things in Russia and beyond that Donald Trump would like to do here and beyond, namely Mexico and in the Caribbean, as we've just seen. But also, he sees Putin as the best friend he just hasn't made yet. He thinks that the force of his charisma, his personality will suddenly get a KGB case officer, lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Secret Police, who's now been a dictator of Russia for 20 years to change his stripes and to suddenly realize, oh, maybe the United States is no longer the main adversary of decades of my service. It is now, you know, a partner and an ally.

And Putin will tap him along, as Trump has said, I mean, Putin will play the game. He will give overtures to suggest he's amenable to some kind of peace agreement or negotiation. But at the end of the day, his goals in Ukraine have not changed. He wants the whole thing.

WHITFIELD: Fascinating. All right. Michael Weiss, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

WEISS: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, an altercation in the outfield stands over a home run ball. It was so wild. Both teams actually, in the end, would give a young fan an experience of a lifetime. And a pilgrimage of young people to the Vatican is happening this weekend as a teen, known as God's Influencer, will become the Catholic Church's first millennial saint.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Catholics young and old are flocking to roam for a special ceremony. This weekend, Pope Leo is set to canonize a 15- year-old boy who is credited with two miracles. CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): God's Influencer, an Italian teenager who was a computer whiz kid and loved video games. Carlo Acutis will become the first millennial saint.

[13:50:00]

LAMB: Now, when people think of saints, they often imagine men with beards and robes and something from the past. But Carlo Acutis, as you can see, is someone who was laid out with genes and trainers. So, he's a very relatable saint, and at a time when the Catholic church is seeking to connect with a younger generation, this figure of Carlo Acutis has a lot of resonance today.

LAMB (voice-over): He died age 15 of leukemia in 2006 and has developed a global following.

OLIVIA SANTARELLI, PILGRIM: He's just like us, like he is just like a regular teenage guy. He likes sports. He liked the internet, of course. And so, yes, he just -- he really just represents young people.

GARY FRIESEN, PILGRIM: I feel like I have a closer connection to him because I was born on the year that he died, and I have the same hobbies as him. And on Instagram, I try to spread the gospel as best as I can.

LAMB (voice-over): Carlo's path to saint has been swift. But his mother Antonia said he wasn't raised in a religious household. His faith partly nurtured by his Polish nanny.

ANTONIA SALZANO, CARLO ACUTIS' MOTHER: I was converted by my son. He was my savior.

LAMB (voice-over): He grew up in a wealthy family, but used his privileged position to help others, donating pocket money to the homeless while setting up a website to document reports of miracles. Candidates for sainthood usually need two miracles attributed to their intercession. Carlo included a reported healing of a Brazilian boy with a birth defect. And a young woman from Costa Rica injured in a bicycle accident in Florence.

Interest in Acutis' global. His tomb here -- visitors last year, and an official shrine has been set up in Pennsylvania. Carlo's mother describes him as a normal child who enjoyed playing on his PlayStation and made videos of his family pets. He also stood up for pupils being bullied at school. Antonia believed his message can resonate with young people today.

SALZANO: It's a message of Carlo say, yes, you have to use for the good. This is -- Pope Francis called Carlo influencer of God.

LAMB (voice-over): Acutis' canonization comes as the church is still reeling from the damage done by the scandals of clerical sexual abuse of children, but also when research shows a rise in interest in Catholicism among Gen Z, many of whom are expected in Rome to witness this video gaming teenager being declared a saint.

Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Shall we say it was an interesting night of baseball last night, not just on the field, but in the seats and on the sidelines. With me now is CNN Sports Anchor Patrick Snell on these details. So, first up, this confrontation, should we call it that?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, we should.

WHITFIELD: A confrontation over a home run. Ball what happened?

SNELL: Yes. OK. We'll get to gate and pancake gate in just a moment.

WHITFIELD: OK.

SNELL: First up, the story that really has been resonating over here. Lots of attention as well. And we saw recently, I think this is part of it as well, what happened at the tennis, at the U.S. Open in New York when a man there later apologized for snatching a hat from a boy after a player had apparently tried to give it to the youngster. That was a big moment at the tennis. It's a just different sport in Major League Baseball.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. OK. I'm keeping up.

SNELL: In Miami, a fan making the headlines, but not for any good reason, particularly seemingly -- this is how it all played out. The Phillies player, Harrison Bader, hitting a home run to left in the fourth inning. The ball landing in the middle of all these fans. Now, watch what happens next. A Phillies fan grabbing it and then taking the ball to his son, giving him a hug. There's your ball, son. But wait, the plot thickens. Another Phillies fan not happy seemingly coming over. And had some words with the dad seemingly demanding the ball. The dad doesn't want any confrontation, gives the ball, takes it from his son to give to her. This quickly went viral, as you can imagine.

Now, the Marlins giving the kid who got the ball taken away from him, a gift bag. This is nice to see. He gets a gift bag. Then the Phillies invited him also to meet Bader who also gave him a signed bat. A special moment, Fred, for the youngster in the end,

WHITFIELD: I like it.

SNELL: But events leading up -- there's going to be more, I think, fallout to this.

WHITFIELD: There's going to be more. OK. That was the part one and two. There was a part one and a two. There's going to be a part three.

SNELL: Yes, probably. Yes.

WHITFIELD: And. OK. So, then -- OK. So, now what is this about the hat and the U.S. open? Huh?

SNELL: This is -- yes. Well, that, that was a couple of weeks ago at the U.S. Open. Yes. When a player was giving the hat seemingly to a young boy, but someone else in the crowd thought it was for him. Takes the hat.

WHITFIELD: I see.

SNELL: And then all that leads to fall out as well.

WHITFIELD: And now, there's another.

SNELL: But now we're talking --

WHITFIELD: So, what do we call this? Part two, part three?

SNELL: OK. This is like --

WHITFIELD: Part four?

SNELL: -- four pocket -- I know. Replacing your pocket pancake for a syrup filled quesadilla, you just couldn't script this. But I did try. No wonder I get hungry covering these stories, Fred? So, the backstory to this is that Pat Murphy, he's the manager of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team. Look at this. I think fair to say he could be a little quirky at times, in a good way.

A few weeks back, he pulled out a pancake from his pocket during an in-game interview, a viral moment. And then, what comes after eating a pocket pancake? Well, how about a pocket quesadilla. Same drill.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my Lord.

SNELL: Another interview. Murphy even opposite to the reporter. She can't resist sampling it. And then she breaks out the maple syrup to add to the quesadilla, and another bite into that. Anyway, I will say from a baseball perspective, Fred, it all seems to be working out rather nicely for the Brewers, currently have the best record in the sport. They beat the Pirates on Friday.

WHITFIELD: Nice.

[14:00:00]