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Correspondents Dinner Shooter Suspect Arraigned Monday; Trump Calls For Event To Be Rescheduled With More Security; Investigation in White House Correspondents' Dinner Underway; British Royals to Visit U.S.; Iranian PM in Russia to Meet Putin, Lavrov; Severe Storms to Continue Into Tuesday Across Central U.S. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired April 27, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:32]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. Welcome to all of our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. And the man accused of charging through security and then opening fire at the White House Correspondent's Dinner on Saturday set to appear in court for Raymond in just a matter of hours. 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, a part time teacher from California facing federal firearm and assault charges.

He's seen here in this photo after being taken down by Secret Service agents and then stripped of his clothes as authorities were searching for any weapons or to check if he was hurt.

We have learned that the suspect purchased two firearms legally in recent years. This is one of them, a shotgun. And just before the attack, he allegedly sent a note to family members expressing political anger and also his plans to target members of the Trump administration.

He wrote in that note, quote, I don't expect forgiveness. The president, vice president and other top officials that were rushed to safety at Saturday night's event. This is video of that very moment. But the incident is now raising questions about the security protocols that were in place at the event.

In an interview with CBS, President Trump actually commended law enforcement and said that he may have potentially slowed the response of the Secret Service. Listen to him here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I wanted to see what was happening and I wasn't making it that easy for him. I wanted to see what was going on. And by that time we started to realize maybe it was a bad problem. Different kind of a problem, bad one. I was surrounded by great people and I probably made them act a little bit more slowly. I said, wait a minute, wait a minute, let me see, wait a minute. So, you know, I'm telling guys --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just at that moment where it looks like you go sort of down with the service, you were telling them to wait.

TRUMP: No, what happened is that I started walking with them. I turned, I started walking and then said, please go down, please go down on the floor. So I went down and first lady went down also. But we were asked to go down by the agents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And just a day after the attack in Washington, FBI agents spent the day going door to door in the suspect's neighborhood in Southern California. CNN's Kyung Lah is there. He's got more details from the city of Torrance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As authorities are trying to figure out the timeline of how 31 year old Cole Allen made it from Torrance to Washington, D.C. we're seeing here on the ground agents go door to door. There were a couple of agents talking to neighbors throughout the day at different points of the day.

And we overheard them say that they were looking for ring cameras, ring camera. That would suggest that they are trying to put together a timeline of his activity and his behavior in the days leading up to this attempted shooting.

Let's tell you a little bit about 31-year old Cole Allen. He is someone who in his early years appeared to be on his way, went to a very challenging and elite academy, Caltech, very difficult to get into. He got a degree in engineering, then got his master's degree at another university. And from there he was teacher of the month in December 2024 at his part time job at a tutoring academy.

But authorities say what was happening during this time is something was occurring with weapons. On October 2023 he purchased a handgun and then two years later he purchased this shotgun. This shotgun and the handgun would travel with him by rail from Torrance, California to Washington, DC.

We understand that those weapons were stored here in the parent's home, but the parents did not have any idea that this was happening or that the weapons were here. These are weapons that were purchased legally.

He is facing some serious charges when he will be arraigned at 9:00 a.m. Eastern on Monday. Using a firearm during a crime of violence as well as assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. As far as his mindset, the manifesto certainly is giving a window into political anger, specifically at the Trump administration. His sister talking to her authorities, her local law enforcement said that he had increasingly become involved in left wing activity, left wing groups here in Los Angeles and that she did he did use those weapons at a local firing range.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Torrance, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:05:07]

SANDOVAL: For more on the suspect's upcoming arraignment now we're joined from Los Angeles by civil rights attorney and legal commentator Areva Martin. Areva, thank you so much for joining us tonight.

AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Hi, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So as of this moment, the gunman is expected to face at least two charges in the morning, among them assaults on a federal officer and using firearms during a crime. Areva, what's your assess of the current case against him and what you see as possible additional charges for the suspect?

MARTIN: Well, I think the current case, the firearms charge and the assault against the federal office officer, very strong charges. But where this case is really going is going to be charges against him for attempted assassination of a United States president. Those are very serious charges under federal statutes and carry, with him, if convicted, the death penalty.

So I have no doubt, based on the manifesto, based on the language contained in that manifesto that seemed to suggest that this was very much premeditated on the part of Mr. Allen, that those are the charges that we should expect to see in the coming days, if not weeks.

SANDOVAL: That's actually what I was about to ask, too. Just hypothetically, the kind of evidence that prosecutors and investigators would have to gather if they wish to bring those attempted assassination charges against this 31 year old man from California.

And again, that's considering what we just heard in the reporting from Kyung and this manifesto that is pretty much allegedly stating that Trump administration officials were his targets.

MARTIN: Absolutely. And although he doesn't identify or what we're being told, he doesn't identify Donald Trump by name. He does make reference to a pedophile, a rapist and a traitor and talks about targeting members of the administration from the top to the bottom, makes references to the fact that other individuals in the hotel may be harmed in the process, but that in fact, they are essentially collateral damage.

I think the statements in the manifesto about targeting Trump administration officials, officials in this administration are going to be the heart of the prosecutor's case when I suspect that they'll bring these attempted assassination charges against him. SANDOVAL: There's the certainly the motive, but then also the crimes that he's accused of carrying out. So I'm wondering if you could just offer some insight on what is the usual strategy for prosecutors and investigators. Is it priority for them merely to demonstrate that he did what he allegedly what he's accused of doing on Saturday night, or do they additionally have to also prove motive, what his intentions were?

MARTIN: Not motives. Just premeditation, that there was a plan, that there was a strategy that he had thought about it, and that there were some methodical steps taken to execute on that plan. Even though in this case he failed. He didn't reach the ballroom where the President was. He wasn't able to fire any shots towards the president or any of the key administrators -- the key officials in the administration.

But the fact that he planned this, the fact that he wrote out this manifesto, that he purchased weapons, that he traveled across the country to get to the hotel, that he checked into the hotel, that he actually went into the lobby of the hotel and fired the shots at the Secret Service agent, all of those are steps that will be used by the prosecution to demonstrate premeditation on his part.

The evidence is pretty damning. And I think we also should make note of the fact that this is the third attempt on Donald Trump, his life in just 18 months, raising real questions about security, raising questions about, you know, political violence and what's happening in this country.

Now, I know his sister made some statement about him being perhaps affiliated with some progressive or left wing groups. And I think it's premature to politicize this. Obviously, there are lots of folks who are progressive who are not committing political violence.

And so we should not, I think, conflate the actions of a violent person like Mr. Allen with all people who belong to or who support progressive politics.

SANDOVAL: It is a unique position, too, for the Department of Justice and a team appointed by the President himself, now essentially carrying out potential prosecution of an individual that is alleged, especially we get to that point, as we just discussed, where we see attempted assassination charges. Obviously there's the attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, which the suspect was shot and killed. Did not obviously see prosecution there.

But I wonder if we could see the other instance, the other attempt, as well as providing some, a preview perhaps of what could be in store from the prosecution?

[01:10:06]

MARTIN: Well, I think what we've seen is again, political violence on the rise in this country, rhetoric about violence being spewed by individuals in both parties, individuals across the political spectrum who are in many ways normalizing this concept of violence against people who perhaps hold views that are contrary to your views. And we're seeing very aggressive prosecution against individuals who

engage in this conduct, as we should. We should all be very alarmed by the fact that a sitting president has been the subject of three attempts on his life. I think it's a fire, you know, five alarm fire for our democracy.

And we have to really think about how can we start to tamp down rhetoric about, you know, this kind of violence, this political violence that we are seeing proliferate across this country.

SANDOVAL: And just on that, I wonder if I can get your closing thought too, Areva. There's certainly obviously the main priority for the DOJ to prosecute this, but also, and to that last point, an opportunity to send a very clear message to Americans and just society, given that sharp increase that you note that we have seen on all sides of the political aisles.

So, what do you hope perhaps will be the message coming from the Department of Justice as they basically pull back the layers of the investigation into this, into the suspect?

MARTIN: I'd love to see at the top of our administration, starting with the president himself, starting with his cabinet members, when you think about how they even talk about the war, the war in Iran, how so much of the violence in that war has been normalized, how it's been in many ways gamified.

So I don't think we can separate the way we talk about lives, the annihilation of an entire country. We heard that coming out of this White House. I think all of that adds to this sense that this kind of violence is acceptable, this kind of violence is normal.

So I think we all have an opportunity to reflect and examine how we talk about human life in this country and hopefully start to reframe these kinds of conversations and to really eliminate this kind of, you know, very -- this bravado, this kind of violent way in which we talk about our political opponents in this country.

So I think with the kind of prosecution that we can expect in this case and reframing of language and words, definitely more towards peace, more towards acceptance, more towards acknowledging that we can have differences in opinion, but the way to resolve those differences is not by resorting to violence. And that starts at the top. It starts with this administration. It starts with this president.

SANDOVAL: If there's absolutely anything good that can come out of this, that certainly is something. Areva Martin, thank you so much for walking us through the potential prosecution that we'll see play out ahead of those charges that are filed. Thank you, Areva.

MARTIN: Thank you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Well, the incident at the White House Correspondent's Dinner is currently drawing some sharp criticism from U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. In an interview with Fox News on Sunday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries voiced this kind of nation of political violence in America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY) HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Here in America, we can have strong disagreements, but it's important for us to agree to strongly disagree without being disagreeable with each other. And it is certainly the case that violence is never the answer, whether it's targeted at the right, the left or the center. We have issues that we have to work out amongst each other. That's embedded in the First Amendment that was being celebrated last night.

But what is also embedded in the First Amendment is the right to peacefully protest and to petition the government peacefully.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And joining me now for a deeper dive into all of this is Democratic strategist and political scientist Caroline Heldman. She's also a political theory and social justice professor at Occidental College. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

CAROLINE HELDMAN, SOCIAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR AT OCCIDENTAL COLLEGE: Good to see you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So maybe we can pick up on where we left off just now with Areva and just the current state and really what is dominating much of the conversation right now, which is sharp increases in political violence. And we've seen it on all sides of the aisle here.

How does Saturday night's shooting perhaps help shine an even brighter spotlight on previous concerns about that kind of violence?

HELDMAN: Well, I think it's important to remind people that assassinations are terrible for democracy. They're also immoral, but they are terrible for democracy. When you replace the ballot with a bullet, that means that a basic fundamental principle, which is the peaceful transfer of power, which is so vital to democracy, is gone.

[01:15:08]

And it's really troubling to see the number of Americans sort of celebrating how close this assassin got. And as Areva pointed out, it's the third assassination in fewer than three years.

And it does bring up a lot of questions about security, but I think more fundamentally, questions about who we are as a nation, if we are potentially celebrating the death of a president.

SANDOVAL: And you, I'm sure you heard Leader Jeffries as well and strongly condemning this level of political violence. What would you -- what additional sort of comments and remarks would you like to hear, especially from, from Democrats, to do what they can to try to scale down the level of political violence that we've seen?

HELDMAN: Well, I think Democrats are in a tricky position because Donald Trump really is bending a lot of the rules and the norms and, for example, ICE targeting of American citizens, two of whom are dead. And so the Democrats are doing a very careful balance at the top of trying to tamp down rhetoric while also being hypercritical of civil rights issues and of human rights issues.

But I think at the end of the day, I've seen a lot of Democratic leaders, Hakeem Jeffries, Gavin Newsom down the list condemning this and saying violence is never the answer. And they're right.

But how much that sinks in with the American public? We know that we are more polarized now in the United States than we've been in the century that we've been measuring it since Gallup, has been measuring it in the 30s, 1930s, that is right last century. And it is not just that we're divided, it's also that we believe that the other side is immoral.

And so we've lost our ability to really do what democracies do so well, which is make collective majority decisions, not agreeing with everyone, but not seeing them as your mortal enemy. And so Donald Trump, let's be clear, has done more than any other political leader in modern political history to advance this division.

And so I really think it's got to come from Donald Trump himself if we want to see this political violence in this division quelled.

SANDOVAL: Caroline, what stood out to you as you and the rest of the world, is really watching those remarks coming from the White House briefing room yesterday, the tone that the president struck immediately following the incident, and compare that perhaps to the most recent remarks that we've heard from the president in his recent interview with CBS.

HELDMAN: Well, it does feel like the obligation and the responsibility to tamp down the violent rhetoric is not front and center. Right. Donald Trump has been comparing himself to great presidents as though, of course, he's facing this level of political violence because he's doing great things. He's, you know, also talked a lot about the ballroom and the necessity to build it.

Obviously, we need an investigation into why it is that a third active shooter got so close to the president. I don't care what they're saying out of the White House. It is clear that, that the alleged shooter should never have been that close to that event.

So we've got the security concerns, but Donald -- which Donald Trump is not so much addressing, but he's definitely not addressing the fact that this is a symptom of a broader issue with our culture.

And I immediately thought, you know, this is what about 390,000 school children have experienced. This is something that we have normalized with gun violence and our hyper masculinity and tying that in with democracy and this kind of American masculinity that use guns as this rite of passage.

Our easy access has made this a daily occurrence for so many Americans in a way that other people, as so many of your viewers know, they don't live this way in other countries. So this is a choice. So we need a policy response to address this. We need Donald Trump to condemn this and we need the American public to recognize what this division has done to us as democratic citizens.

SANDOVAL: I thought my colleague Brian Stelter put it pretty well, which was that the people in that ballroom, something special about what happened. It's simply that they're added now to a very long list of people who've experienced that level of trauma. Caroline Heldman, thank you so much as always for joining us.

HELDMAN: Thank you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Instead of coming on CNN Newsroom authorities, they are currently digging through the past of the man that's accused of opening fire at Saturday's event. We'll be hearing from a reporter who was there when it all happened. Don't go anywhere.

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[01:23:20]

SANDOVAL: Saturday's White House Correspondents Dinner was meant to celebrate the First Amendment and freedom of the press. But a gunman quickly stopped on that at least a celebration. Many of the journalists in attendance, they wound up back in their seats in the White House briefing room to hear directly from the president in a briefing. He's called for the event to be rescheduled and this time he wants more security.

Joining me now is Ted Johnson. He's a political reporter at Deadline who was at the Correspondent's Dinner. Thank you so much for joining us, Ted. Glad you're okay and that you could join us to tell us a little bit about what happened.

TED JOHNSON, POLITICAL REPORTER, DEADLINE: Oh, sure, sure. Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: So, Ted, my understanding is that you were sitting near one of the entrances to the ballroom. I'm curious if you could tell our viewers what you, you know, what you remember about perhaps hearing the shots. And what was the first thing you did, you did when that happened?

JOHNSON: Yes, yes. Just give a little layout of the ballroom. I was at the back. Near the back. Well, it's the main entrance, so. And I was pretty far back. So that meant that I was right next to the door where you're at the bottom of the stairs and at the top of the stairs is where they were apprehending the suspects, which we've learned.

I was getting ready for the main course and heard four pops in quick succession. My first impression was that perhaps this was some kind of a tray or something that just collapsed or something because they were ready to serve a meal.

[01:25:00] But then it dawned on me. It couldn't possibly be that. And this may have been gunfire. And it was right then that we heard the people shouting, get down. Get down. And very soon we were on the floor. I have to say, in that moment, you just didn't know what was going on.

And my thoughts, and it seems like a lot of others thought that there might be an active shooter. We didn't know exactly where those sounds of gunfire were coming from. So you were wondering, is there an active shooter actually in the ballroom? And so it was a harrowing moment, as a number of people have said.

SANDOVAL: No. And just listening to you recount that, too, Ted, it's just horrifying, the idea, because of your position in that ballroom, that had this gunman not been stopped and had he been able to reach those doors, that you would have potentially been face to face, you and the rest of the people sitting close to you.

For viewers in other parts of the world, Ted, who may be unfamiliar with this longstanding tradition, tell them a little bit about the White House Correspondents Dinner and how the staging of this event makes it very different from any of the others that we've seen in DC. I mean, it's not -- we don't see it every day that some of the most powerful members of government get to be sitting at the table with journalists.

JOHNSON: Yes. So the White House Correspondents association was started, oh, more than 100 years ago, and it is -- it's a private nonprofit of White House correspondents. And their whole purpose is to kind of advocate for journalists, especially access to the president and press conferences and that type of thing, and also to stand up for freedom of speech, freedom of the press.

Each year they've been holding this dinner, and it's become something of, you know, it's probably one of DC's biggest events of the year. And it's become something, you know, much more than just the First Amendment. It's been kind of this curious mix of power players in DC, politicians, media personalities, and Hollywood celebrities.

One thing that you see if you look in the ballroom, you see Democrats and Republicans mixing it up and actually, you know, seeming to have a pretty good time. And that's one of the unique aspects that people kind of put aside their differences.

And throughout the weekend, because there's a lot of priorities surrounding this event, they actually, you know, you have this spirit of unity throughout the weekend. People don't take themselves so seriously. And especially at this dinner, that's essentially what it is.

And through the years, the WHCA has invited the president as well as members of the Cabinet. And that's why you get typically, not so much during the Trump years, and this year was going to be the exception. But typically you get, you know, this impressive turnover of all layers of government.

I'm just curious if you could just give us a couple of closing thoughts on, on what your takeaway is. I mean, as we, as you were speaking, we were seeing some of those images, Secret Service agents scrambling through the space. You have people in black tie dodging for cover as people around the world see some of these pictures.

I'm just curious if I could get maybe a personal reflection about basically ending up in the middle of a story in a moment.

JOHNSON: Yes. Yes. I mean, it's -- I was shaken by this. It was disorienting, I think, is the term that kind of first popped into my head. I was -- as I was sitting there on the floor, just kind of, you know, because it was -- it was a part of the evening that was getting, you know, a little more relaxed and this event has always been a little more carefree than, you know, a formal Washington hearing or even a press briefing.

And then this happens, and you just, in that ballroom, you think you're very secure because you've just gone through the metal detectors and you see Secret Service everywhere there. So the fact that this happened really, really did shape me.

And I think that as they look to restarting this dinner, perhaps rescheduling in the next month or so, security is going to be a very big part of it, is how do they replant security. Do they have it in the same location?

[01:29:43]

There's been some criticism of the fact that this dinner has remained in the hotel and hasn't gone to a bigger venue.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Right. Perhaps one that will be easier to secure when it comes to the entire building itself versus just the ballroom.

Ted Johnson, as always so glad that you're ok and grateful that you can come on to share a bit of your story.

JOHNSON: Thanks so much for having me.

SANDOVAL: Our pleasure.

Well, a royal visit to Washington will go on as scheduled despite the shooting in Washington on Saturday. What's planned for the Britain monarch's four-day trip to the U.S.? That's on the way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will still visit the U.S. on Monday, despite Saturday night's shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. The Buckingham Palace saying that the decision follows advice after security discussions between American and British officials.

The royal couple's visit will be celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence. The king expected to meet privately with President Donald Trump, then later King Charles is scheduled to address Congress and attend a state dinner.

[01:34:46]

SANDOVAL: Bidisha Mamata is a broadcaster and royal watcher joining me live from London. Bidisha, it's great to have you with us.

BIDISHA MAMATA, BROADCASTER AND ROYAL WATCHER: Thank you. Thank you so much.

SANDOVAL: So I'm curious if we could tap into your expertise, help us preview the next few days here. Talk to us about the -- first off, the significance of a reigning monarch visiting the U.S. When was the last time we saw this?

MAMATA: It's been quite a while because the lovely special relationship has frozen just a little bit over the last few years, I'd say over the last ten years.

It has not been common, particularly because Queen Elizabeth II, the late queen, was in her later years. During the last few years. And we all knew that we were watching this particularly beloved reign with a lot of trepidation. And so we would not expect those trips to happen.

But the U.S.-U.K. special relationship was seen as being one of the primary stabilizing factors internationally. And what's very interesting is that we know that King Charles is himself really quite a politicized monarch. He has opinions. This is not a politically neutral act.

Exactly as you say, it's related to independence. It's related to the special relationship. And at a time like this, given your coverage over the last few minutes, I was surprised that this trip was not canceled.

SANDOVAL: Wow. So you expected this to be basically scrapped or postponed?

MAMATA: Yes. And not just because of the events of the last few days. We know that King Charles is still receiving treatment. He's been in ill health.

And given broader geopolitical actions over the last several months, there was pressure on the Prime Minister Keir Starmer, to somehow step in and scrap this. There was also a lot of questioning about how influential King Charles would actually be on President Trump or the other way around.

Would it be polite chit-chat over the next few days? I find that almost impossible to imagine. And yet at the same time, how much influence could this have?

Or would this trip be seen as somehow legitimizing another country's foreign policy? How politicized is it going to be seen as? I don't think it will be that. I think it will be very decorous. I

think the reason it wasn't canceled is that all of the arrangements and all of the security arrangements were already in place for something like this to happen.

There are so many moving parts that to scrap it would be so much more work. It's much better to be extra cautious.

SANDOVAL: Let's pick up on one of those last points, too and the current state of relations between President Trump and Buckingham Palace. How do you think that those -- that those relations could perhaps help reduce some of the friction that we've seen between President Trump and his U.K. counterpart, specifically Prime Minister Starmer, if that's even possible?

MAMATA: It's a very tricky one because President Trump and Prime Minister Starmer are very, very different personalities, incredibly opposite manners of dealing with things.

Starmer is a technocrat with a lawyer's background. He is precise. He's very careful. And he is not enormously popular in the U.K. right now, for the reason that he often seems to be coming out behind world events.

He tends to make decisions in public, and then U-Turn and go back on them. He seems to be on the back foot. And I cannot imagine Trump and Starmer really getting along enormously well. There might be a lack of chemistry there and a lack of seeing what makes the other one attractive to the people who voted him in.

King Charles is different because he's not supposed to be political. He's a monarch. He's a king. And we know that President Trump actually admires some of the trappings of monarchy, even though in the U.S., of course, you do not have a monarchy.

And indeed, that was the whole point, part of the whole point of independence.

But the grandeur, the pomp, the ceremony, the obeisance, the kowtowing -- these are things that -- things that the president doesn't dislike and that indeed, King Charles is very, very used to since birth. So there will be a shared love of ceremony.

And I do think that Charles will be unable to resist weighing in on matters of policy.

SANDOVAL: Before we let you go, Bidisha, perhaps what you expect during that will also be a highly watched moment as the king addresses Congress.

MAMATA: This is a big surprise to me because he is really quite diffident, and he's not used to making his political pronouncements at a level such as this. I see him as a very personal one to one individual.

He will probably talk about unity and about peace and about community and about stabilization.

[01:39:45]

MAMATA: And indeed about duty according to laws and conventions, because that has been King Charles' entire existence during his long apprenticeship and now during his reign.

SANDOVAL: Bidisha Mamata, thank you so much for helping us preview this. It's just getting started as we expect the king and queen to be wheels down a little later this afternoon in the United States. Thank you for your time and your analysis.

MAMATA: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: And still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, Iran ramping up diplomacy efforts in the region as talks with the U.S. stall. We'll bring you the very latest out of the region in a moment

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Now, we want to get you some new information that's coming out of the Middle East. Iran has reportedly submitted a new proposal to the U.S. to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz with nuclear negotiations postponed for later.

And that is all, according to Axios, citing a U.S. official and two sources with knowledge of the situation.

Iranian state media is reporting that Tehran's top diplomat is also now in Russia, expected to meet with President Vladimir Putin and foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. Tehran says that the upcoming meeting will focus on advancing joint programs at the regional and international levels.

In the meantime, plans for another round to -- for potential face-to- face talks between Washington and Tehran, still up in the air.

Here's what President Trump had to say about the potential future negotiations.

[01:44:52]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I said we're not doing this anymore. We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us or they can call us.

You know, there is a telephone. We have nice secure lines, although I'm not sure any telephone line is secure, frankly. But we have secure lines. And if they want, we can talk.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's get the very latest now and head live to CNN's Ivan Watson joining me from Hong Kong. Ivan, so before we get to more about this potential meeting here with

the -- with the Russians -- between Russia and Tehran, tell us a little bit more about these reports of this proposal. What else do we know?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Reports coming out of Axios. We haven't confirmed it yet that Iran seems to have submitted a new proposal which would postpone discussion of its nuclear program to a later date, while trying to resolve some of the existing issues.

And no idea what the response to this reported proposal would be from Washington since the public diplomacy at least seems to have stalled. You had, as you pointed out, the Iranian foreign minister traveled to Pakistan and President Trump pulled the plug on sending American envoys to gather there.

Instead, leaving the Iranian foreign minister to continue a tour through Oman, which Iran actually fired some weapons at during the kinetic part of the war in March. And then arriving in Saint Petersburg for talks with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin also making a number of calls to counterparts around the Middle East.

But President Trump has pointed out that just because this round of talks would not happen in person in Pakistan does not mean that the ceasefire that he extended indefinitely would come to an end.

He seems to be content to continue enforcing this U.S. Navy blockade of Iranian ports. The U.S. Navy saying its turned back at least 38 ships thus far.

The Iranian president has said it's going to be hard for any negotiations to move forward as long as this American blockade remains in effect.

And meanwhile, we're hearing that Tehran is doubling, perhaps tripling down on its squeezing of the Strait of Hormuz. Here's what the deputy speaker of the Iranian parliament, Ali Nikzad, said according to Mehr News agency.

"We will under no circumstances return the Strait of Hormuz to its previous state, because this is an order from the leader of the revolution." That being Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly heavily injured, wounded in the first days of the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran that killed his father, the former supreme leader.

Going on to say that one of the divine blessings of the war that we realized if we place our foot on the throat of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab El-Mandeb, 25 percent of the world's economy would be affected.

So making no bones about the fact that Tehran is hurting the global economy very deliberately right now by not allowing ships out through the Strait of Hormuz.

While the U.S. is also trying to squeeze Iran economically, its economic warfare, as opposed to the very deadly kinetic warfare that we saw for the first month and a half of this war.

Now meanwhile, Polo, there is very active warfare continuing in another theater where there's supposed to be a ceasefire, that is between Lebanon and Israel. A lot of bombing and killing over the weekend.

Israel claiming to have killed, as it puts it, 15 terrorists in southern Lebanon with more airstrikes, even though two weeks ago, President Trump said Israel would be prohibited from continuing to bomb Lebanon.

Hezbollah has claimed responsibility for carrying attacks against Israel, and Israel confirmed at least one Israeli soldier killed in southern Lebanon on Sunday.

You're looking at right now images of what appear to be Israeli earthmovers destroying solar panels outside the southern Lebanese village of Debel (ph).

Now that village is predominantly Christian. And last week an Israeli soldier was photographed sledgehammering a Jesus Christ statue there, attracting international condemnation and a formal apology from the Israeli government.

Here it appears that solar panels are being destroyed as well.

What appears to be part of a broader pattern of destroying entire communities across southern Lebanon that have left more than a million people displaced and a ceasefire that appears to be very shaky, to say the least, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Those are some pretty incredible pictures.

Ivan Watson, thank you so much for that update.

Russia and North Korea, they've agreed to sign a five-year plan for long term military cooperation. That's according to a Russian news agency.

Analysts saying that the plan looks to prepare for the period after the war in Ukraine.

[01:49:51]

SANDOVAL: Russia's defense minister met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Pyongyang on Sunday. He said the relations with North Korea are at, quote, "unprecedented level".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREY BELOUSOV, RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER (through translator): Dear Comrade Kim Jong-Un, the close friendship between Russia and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is at an unprecedented high level. I would like to thank you once again for a traditionally hearty welcome that the Russian delegation receives in Pyongyang.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And after meeting with Kim, the Russians awarded North Korean troops who have fought with Russian forces against Ukraine in the Kursk region. Kim and the Russian delegation taking part in opening a memorial and museum dedicated to those troops. North Korea has sent an estimated 14,000 troops to fight against Ukraine.

And we'll have the very latest on severe weather impacting portions of the U.S. after the break.

And this as intense storms batter central states and a record-breaking drought continues to fuel a massive wildfire in the southeast.

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[01:54:45]

SANDOVAL: Two people are dead in the U.S. After severe storms tore through parts of north Texas this weekend. Local officials saying that the storms caused widespread structural damage.

Looking at some pictures taken just northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area, those people were killed -- those two people were killed, as well as several others injured there.

And the severe weather threat will likely continue into Monday and beyond, with some regions expecting multiple rounds of storms, bringing risks of heavy rainfall, hail, damaging winds and even possible tornadoes to a large swath of the Midwest. And this stretches from Chicago south to Memphis.

And on Tuesday, the storm system will continue its eastward trajectory. And unfortunately, that means that those -- that potential for those severe storms will continue in Dallas again.

And wildfires in southern Georgia doubled in size over the weekend as strong winds and ongoing drought conditions there continued fueling the blaze. One of them dubbed the Highway 82 Fire, has already burned over 20,000 acres since igniting last week. And it still remains largely uncontained.

More than 120 homes have been destroyed so far, with an additional 4,000 under evacuation orders.

Georgia, currently facing its worst spring drought on record. Just look at the map. Officials are warning that the fire risk in the region is rapidly developing, and it could worsen if the current dry and windy conditions continue there.

Well, two records -- they have been shattered at the London marathon this year. Kenyan runner Sabastian Sawe becoming the first athlete in history to officially run a marathon in under two hours. The winner of the men's race crossing the finish line in just one hour, 59 minutes, and get this 30 seconds.

Sawe telling the BBC that he was feeling strong as he approached the end of the race and is understandably very happy with his victory.

And the women's winner Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia also setting a new world record. She finished the race with a time of two hours and 15 minutes and 41 seconds. She beat her own previous record.

So congratulations to both of them, and the nearly 59,000 runners who participated this year in the London marathon, a new record.

Appreciate you joining me. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York.

I'll be right back with you after a short break with more of your headlines.

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