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Trump Exacts Revenge On GOP Sen. Cassidy In Louisiana Primary; Crowds Gather On National Mall For Trump Admin-Backed Prayer Event; Trump Issues New Warning To Iran. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired May 17, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

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[14:00:22]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Happening right now:

President Trump's revenge tour claims its first U.S. senate casualty as Republican incumbent Bill Cassidy loses his primary race to two MAGA-friendly candidates.

And right now, crowds are gathered at the National Mall in Washington, D.C., for an all day prayer event. Concerns about blurred lines between the separation of church and state. We're live in Washington.

Plus, we're tracking the potential for severe weather in the central U.S. We'll show you which areas are at the highest risk.

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WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone, and thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We begin with a stunning political upset. Sitting Republican U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, facing the wrath of President Trump. Cassidy received a rebuke from Louisiana voters in Saturday's Senate primary. Cassidy, who voted to convict Trump for the January 6th attack in Trump's second impeachment trial, finished at a distant third behind two MAGA-friendly challengers, Trump-backed Congresswoman Julia Letlow and State Treasurer John Fleming will advance to a June runoff after failing to get more than 50 percent of the vote.

Letlow, boosted by Trump's endorsement, praised the president last night in a speech to her supporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JULIA LETLOW (R-LA): I want to say thank you to a very special man who you all know the best president this country has ever had, President Donald Trump.

People ask me all the time, why would you put your family through this? Why would you elect to have $26 million spent in negative ads against you? Again, that's another testament to the presidents endorsement and how powerful it is in Louisiana that we were still able to garner 45 percent of the vote, despite the negativity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I want to bring in now, CNN's Patrick Svitek and Alayna Treene. Theyre covering this from all angles.

Patrick, let's start with you. How is Cassidy responding after this stunning loss?

PATRICK SVITEK, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: Well, Cassidy gave a concession speech last night in which he repeatedly offered what appeared to be thinly veiled criticisms of the president. He didn't mention Trump by name, but he talked about his vision of leadership and how the United States needs more leaders who are looking out for the American people and not for themselves. He also talked about, you know, for example, how when you lose an election, you accept defeat and you don't try to dispute the results, you know, against the facts. And so, that was also viewed as a barb at Trump.

And so, this all raises the question now of just how politically unleashed Bill Cassidy may be in his final months in the Senate.

WHITFIELD: All right. All good points there, Patrick, thanks so much.

Let's go to the White House now and Alayna Treene.

Is there a response coming from the White House about this victory for his endorsed candidate?

ALAYNA TREEN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Look, President Trump eager last night to come out and kind of take a victory lap for his efforts to, you know, with his endorsed candidate, Congresswoman Julia Letlow. But also specifically, I think a lot of this, of course, was about him not wanting Senator Bill Cassidy to move forward. I want to read for you what he posted on Truth Social. He wrote, quote, "Bill Cassidy after falsely using his relationship with me during his political career and winning elections because of it, voted to impeach me on preposterous charges that were fake then and now and are criminally insane. His disloyalty to the man who got him elected is now a part of legend, and it's nice to see that his political career is over."

Look, I think what this shows is that if you are a Republican who really now is the kind of, you know, the Republican Party is mainly the party of Trump. If you're a Republican who crosses the president, he is going to do what he can to kind of take you out and end your political career. And that's exactly what we saw with Cassidy. Of course, Cassidy's cardinal sin was him voting to impeach the president after the, you know, the -- what happened on the Capitol on January 6th, back in 2021.

Now, I will say that all of this criticism and fire from the president and some of his political allies toward Cassidy comes despite the senator doing a lot of work, putting a lot of effort into trying to kind of get back into the good graces of the MAGA movement in the 18 months since President Trump was reelected for his second term. And that includes Cassidy voting to confirm Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. as HHS secretary, despite Cassidy, who was a doctor before becoming a senator, having a lot of misgivings about Kennedy's views on vaccine policy.

[14:05:11]

So all to say, look, I think this is one effort of, you know, we keep calling it the revenge tour, but we are going to we are seeing the president try to deploy similar tactics against Congressman Thomas Massie, who has a primary in Kentucky on Tuesday. Of course, Trump angry with Massie for some of the votes that he has taken against what Trump has supported, policies the president has supported.

So, look, he was successful with trying to push Cassidy out of the race. We'll have to see what happens on Tuesday with Massie -- Fred.

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

Let's listen to Senator Cassidy and his concession speech from last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): I have been able to participate in democracy and when and when you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn't turn out the way you want it to. But you don't pout, you don't whine, you don't claim the election was stolen. You don't find a reason why --

(APPLAUSE)

CASSIDY: You don't manufacture some excuse. You thank the voters, for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you've had that privilege.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And, Patrick, you mentioned, you know, it will be interesting to see what kind of messaging you know, he parlays in his last few months in office. But then one has to wonder if the Republican Party as a whole is listening to any of his message, starting with what he said last night.

SVITEK: Yeah, absolutely. I thought it was very telling when he talked about claiming the election is stolen. You immediately heard cheers from his supporters. Again, he didn't mention Trump, but his supporters, I think a lot of people in politics knew exactly who he was speaking about at multiple points throughout that speech last night.

And we have seen before specifically in particularly in the Senate, when Republican incumbents decide not to seek reelection, not to have to face primary voters again, how they can be more candid and openly critical of Trump and their party. One of the most recent examples is North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, who was, you know, getting ready to, you know, run for reelection and have not only a tough primary, but a tough general election in North Carolina. And amid his differences with the president, decided not to seek reelection. And since then, I think we can all agree he's been more outspoken and just candid about the state of his party and lamenting Trump's hold over it.

And so the big question right now is, is Cassidy going to go that way? And if you just listen to that speech last night, it seems like that's the way he's leaning.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, maybe the prelude to that.

All right. Thank you so much, Patrick Svitek. Appreciate it.

All right. Happening right now, crowds of people are gathered on the national mall in the nations capital for a day long prayer event marking Americas 250th birthday. The White House-backed celebration dubbed Rededicate 250, a national jubilee of prayer, praise and thanksgiving, is funded through a mix of taxpayer dollars and private donations, and it's raising some questions and constitutional concerns.

CNN's correspondent Gabe Cohen is out on the National Mall.

Gabe, tell us more about this event. And because many people are there, are there concerns among those members in the crowd about the separation of church and state?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you off the bat. We've talked to several of the people who were in the crowd. They did not exactly share those concerns. Just to set the scene for you a little bit, were about halfway through this program. What has really been an evangelical Christian program thus far? We have just heard from Senator Tim Scott, and I want to pan off and actually give you a sense of the crowd here on the National Mall.

People who talk to so many of them, they came from all over the country because they wanted to be part of this event, that the White House billed as really a revitalization of faith and religion into the -- in the United States, getting back to the roots of the forefathers. And I want -- I want you to listen to what one of them told me about why he came up from Mississippi to be here

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL LANDGREN, ATTENDED PRAYER EVENT: Rededicating America to god is the only hope we have for making America America again. And solving a couple of dozen of our worst woes that we've been suffering for generations

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: But as you mentioned, there have obviously been so many critics who say that this is really promoting Christian nationalism in this country and blurring the line of separation of church and state who think that, first of all, the vast majority of the speakers who are here today are protestant Christians, a couple of Catholic bishops, as well as one conservative orthodox rabbi.

And as you mentioned, there are those scholars who not only question how the Trump administration has handled religion and Christianity -- and Christianity. We heard Secretary of War Pete Hegseth in recent weeks talking about the war in Iran, blurring that line as well, talking about a battle between good and evil.

[14:10:05]

But this event that is funded by not just private donations, but also a lot of taxpayer dollars and has the backing of the White House. We already heard from Hegseth on a video message. We are also going to hear from the president himself, the Vice President J.D. Vance, as well as secretary of state Marco Rubio, director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, as well as Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, who is expected to take the stage in a couple of hours. So, again, people are worried about how the president and this administration have handled religion. But they say, you know, all religions are welcome here. People of all faith backgrounds are here, here.

But if you look across the stage, across the crowd, I should say some of the shirts, the signs, as well as the speakers we've heard from very much. This has become an evangelical event so far this afternoon.

WHITFIELD: All right, Gabe Cohen, keep us posted throughout the day. Thanks so much.

All right. Still ahead, global emergency, Ebola cases climbing in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The World Health Organization now sounding the alarm about the outbreak with at least 80 suspected deaths so far.

And chaos in the streets, a knife wielding man rams his car into a crowd in Italy, then goes on a stabbing attack. How bystanders jumped in to stop the violence.

And a CNN exclusive investigation. The rising death toll at ICE detention centers and one family's desperate search for answers

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let justice be served, because my husband did not deserve to die.

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[14:16:20]

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, President Trump issuing a new warning to Iran, saying in a social media post that, quote, "The clock is ticking". The comment comes shortly after a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CNN that he held a phone call with President Trump. CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem.

Oren, great to see you. So how much do we know about this conversation?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Not too much at this point other than the fact that it happened. As of right now, I think it's very safe to assume that they discussed Iran and where this goes from here. President Donald Trump, of course, is weighing options whether to continue pursuing diplomacy or whether to return to military strikes, even as it remains unclear what exactly those strikes would -- would conclude or what they could accomplish. Because for weeks of targeting Iran and going after its military and the Iranian regime, they haven't bowed to American demands or sort of come to terms of surrender.

Trump is clearly growing impatient, at least from what he's posting on social media. He said on his Truth Social, "For Iran, the clock is ticking and they better get moving fast or there won't be anything left of them. Time is of the essence. President DJT."

Now, we've seen these sorts of threats from Trump before. Threats to open the Strait of Hormuz in 48 hours. That hasn't happened. But there is a sense that Trump is running out of patience and may relaunch strikes against Iran.

Israel, of course, is waiting for that opportunity. Israel has expected the talks would fall apart. Pakistan, who has acted as the mediator here, their interior minister, was in Iran holding meetings with the Iranian president as well as the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Ghalibaf, who has acted as the chief negotiator. But it's unclear that those lead anywhere or that they offer a real path forward for diplomacy here, as we wait to see, Fredricka, what Trump will decide to do.

WHITFIELD: Pakistan's interior minister was in Iran for talks today after President Trump's summit in China last week. Any progress on negotiations between Iran and the U.S.?

LIEBERMANN: Frankly, it doesn't look like it. The gaps remain too wide and too large to bridge, certainly to bridge quickly in the timeline that it seems Trump is looking for here. And there's nothing on the schedule, at least not that were aware of right now in terms of getting the sides back to Pakistan. At the same time, to continue negotiations. So diplomacy, at least from where we sit right now, looks very unlikely at this moment.

WHITFIELD: And then Iran is seeking another way to monetize their control of the Strait of Hormuz by charging for the use of Internet cables in this trade. What do we know about that?

LIEBERMANN: Before the war, this would almost have been considered an outrageous idea. But now that Iran believes it has control of the Strait of Hormuz and has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz to much of the world's oil that's supposed to be going through there. They have now issued sort of another threat through state media, as well as, for example, the Iranian military spokesperson on social media.

The idea that they would charge tech companies for the usage of the undersea cables that go through the Strait of Hormuz. Companies like Microsoft, Google and other major companies.

First, I think it's obvious to say that this is unacceptable not only to those companies, but also to, frankly, the rest of the world. Second, it's unclear how they would actually do this. There are sanctions in place against Iran that would prevent any of these companies from paying any sort of fee that Iran tried to charge. Nevertheless, Iran now knows that that it can blockade the strait and could use or try to threaten the undersea cables in some way that carry through them from the gulf to Europe and Asia, some of the world's most critical information.

[14:20:01]

So if Iran believes it can threaten that, if Iran can actually carry out sabotage of those cables, that that is an incredibly, incredibly serious threat and one that makes diplomacy, once again, even harder.

WHITFIELD: All right. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, record turnout in battleground Georgia. Voters flooded the polls before Tuesday's upcoming primary. Can Democrats pull off another Senate surprise, or will Republicans take the seat back? What voters are saying on the ground, next.

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[14:25:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. On Tuesday, voters in Georgia will head to the polls to pick candidates for the U.S. Senate and governor races in November. President Trump has not yet endorsed a Republican candidate in the Senate race.

The winner will take on incumbent Democrat Senator Jon Ossoff. However, in the governor's race, a billionaire with no political experience has flooded the airwaves with ads. And that's shaking up the Republican battle to replace outgoing Governor Brian Kemp.

With me now to talk more about all of this and what's at stake, what we can expect, if we can ever know what to expect on Tuesday is Maya Prabhu. She is the editorial director for "PeachPol", a Georgia focused political news and analysis website.

Maya, great to see you.

MAYA PRABHU, PEACHPOL, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: This is quite the season, isn't it?

PRABHU: It is.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. Let's start with the governor's race because if you live in Georgia like you and I do, the airwaves have been flooded by all kinds of attack ads or introducing myself kind of ads.

Just take a listen to some of what voters here in the Peach State have been viewing over the last few months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AD NARRATOR: Creepy Rick Jackson and Big Baby Bert Jones are too busy slinging mud at each other to care about you.

AD NARRATOR: In politics, some makeovers are only skin deep. Meet Rick Jackson, before the primary. He made a few changes. A new look, a new story.

BURT JONES, GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: We're incredibly grateful for his leadership and his friendship and his knowledge. Thank you again, Rick, for all that you do for Georgia.

AD NARRATOR: When you see Bert's new attack ads, remember he doesn't believe them either.

(END VIDEO CLIPP)

WHITFIELD: So Trump has endorsed Bert Jones, who is in a very tight fight with this billionaire newcomer Rick Jackson, even though its Jackson who really is flooding the airwaves. He's got the money to do it.

And I wonder, have you gotten a gauge from voters? What or who appeals to them?

PRABHU: I think in the Republican primary, a lot of people are still riding with Trump, especially in Georgia. So his endorsement of Bert, Bert Jones has an impact. But the endorsement came before Rick Jackson got into the race. But Trump is very loyal to people who supported him. And Bert Jones has been a supporter since 2016.

WHITFIELD: It's very interesting because Jackson, even though he didn't necessarily get the endorsement, he has mentioned Trump a few times, saying how much of a supporter and a fan he is of him. So he seems to think that that might help him.

PRABHU: I think every Republican running in a statewide race is trying to draw lines between themselves and Trump as much as possible.

WHITFIELD: On the Democratic side, though, you've got former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Republican lieutenant governor turned Democrat now, Geoff Duncan, in a pretty big field. So set the stage for us on that one.

PRABHU: Yes, it's a large field. Keisha Lance Bottoms in all of the polling has led ahead. I think she has high name recognition. She worked in Joe Biden's administration. She's done a lot of television national here as well. And so, I think she is solidly going to make it to a runoff.

The question is just who's going to be that second person with her, whether its Geoff Duncan, who, as you mentioned, was a Republican lieutenant governor, or it could be Michael Thurmond, former DeKalb CEO, DeKalb County CEO, and also the last Democratic statewide officer. He was labor commissioner.

And then we have Jason Estevez, a former state senator. And I think there are eight people in that race.

WHITFIELD: So it's a pretty big selection of folks that voters now have to kind of whittle down.

PRABHU: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You know, there's also one Georgia house seat that has really caught your attention. Georgia's 13th, where the incumbent congressman, David Scott, passed away last month. Now that too has a very crowded field. People vying for that seat.

How does that -- how does that race look?

PRABHU: You know, it's difficult to say. There's one candidate, former house representative, Georgia Representative Jasmine Clark, who has raised a lot of money. She's crossed $1 million. And that's a lot --

WHITFIELD: A lot of ads.

PRABHU: Yes, that's a lot for a for a house seat, first time running for a federal seat. And then we have Everton Blair, who is a former educator and Gwinnett County School Board member. And so those two seem to be duking it out for the -- for the top two. But again, there's so many people in this race that it's probably going to go to a runoff as well.

WHITFIELD: Okay. So in the Republican race for the Senate to take on Democrat Jon Ossoff. Trump has not yet endorsed a candidate, but Governor Brian Kemp has endorsed Derek Dooley.

Does Kemp have the clout or the influence to help make a difference in this as he's on his way out?

PRABHU: I think that is going to be the test. That's going to be the real test. Does Brian Kemp still have enough juice left to push this political newcomer with a very well known family name?

[14:30:05]

You know, Vince Dooley was longtime Georgia football coach.

But the, the two congressmen, Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, are -- both positioned themselves as Trump guys. And I think that that is part of the reason why Trump has not yet endorsed. And if it's those two in the runoff, I don't know that he will.

WHITFIELD: Wow. I mean, I guess, you know, turnout for early voting was -- was pretty aggressive here in Georgia. And, and, you know, traditionally, candidates have been able to kind of gauge that kind of turnout. What does it mean? Are there any early readings on that ahead of Tuesday's day of voting?

PRABHU: So Democrats are voting. I think it's about a 15-point gap between Republicans who have early voted and voted mail in ballot. But typically Republicans turnout in higher numbers on Election Day.

So, a lot of Democratic strategists are, you know, feeding into this 15-point margin, but we really wont know until folks turn up on election day.

WHITFIELD: Okay. Governor Kemp flexing his political weight in the final months of his time in office by calling for a special session next month to tackle the voting reforms, redistricting in the state of Georgia. We're seeing how across the South, especially after the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling, there are a number of states, Louisiana, Alabama and now Georgia, that might be entertaining, redrawing maps.

PRABHU: Yeah. So, he has called lawmakers back to Atlanta the day after the runoff. Which I think is interesting because there's so many people running for statewide office who will have lost the day before, who have to show up in the Senate chamber, potentially the current Lieutenant Governor, Bert Jones.

And so, we will be seeing them redraw congressional lines and legislative lines. And, you know, it's already pretty safe for Republicans to regain control, but they definitely want to ensure that going forward.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. All right. Georgia, Georgia, Georgia used to be Florida, Florida, Florida, right? You know? But now, all eyes on Georgia once again in some very pivotal races.

All right. Maya Prabhu, thanks so much. Good to see you.

PRABHU: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, Moscow in the crosshairs. Ukraine launches its biggest attack on Russia in more than a year. Details on the deadly new strikes, straight ahead.

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[14:37:03]

WHITFIELD: All right. Russian state media says a Ukraine drone killed at least three people near Moscow overnight. The TASS News Agency says more than 500 drones rained down around the Russian capital, and the largest attacks in more than a year. Images show damaged homes, fires and debris near Moscow's main airport.

The attack reportedly left at least 12 people injured, and this video posted to social media reportedly shows one of the drones flying near Moscow.

CNN's Anna Cooban has more on the drone attacks that come days after a deadly Russian assault inside Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA COOBAN, CNN REPORTER: Ukraine's massive attack on Moscow last night involved over 500 drones fired towards the Russian capital. That's according to Russian state media agency TASS. And TASS says that this was the largest attack on Moscow in over a year.

This comes a few days after over Wednesday. Thursday we saw a huge bombardment of Russian drones and missiles towards Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, where at least 20, 25 people died, according to Ukrainian authorities. This attack involved over 1,500 drones and over 50 missiles.

Now it paints a stark picture from where we were a little over a week ago, when there was a limited three day ceasefire agreed between the two sides, an agreement to exchange prisoners and comments from Putin that suggested that he believed the war was nearing its conclusion. But quite clearly, with huge attacks over the past few days, it seems that the war is very much raging on.

Now, zooming out, it's important to note that Ukraine has had some recent successes, or at least Russia has been stalling in its territorial gains. Last month, for the first time since August 2024, Ukraine managed to liberate more territory than Russia was able to seize. However, it is still a deadly war that's raging on last year, according to the U.N., marked the deadliest year for Ukrainian civilians since 2022, which is the year the war started. And Russia still controls around a fifth of Ukrainian territory.

Anna Cooban, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. The Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda is now a global health emergency. That's the word from the World Health Organization. After at least 80 deaths are suspected to be connected to the virus, there currently is no approved vaccine or treatment, and officials are warning that the true scale of the outbreak may be larger than what has been detected so far.

Humanitarian organizations are preparing to launch large scale responses to contain the outbreak as quickly as possible, and 40 years after the world's worst nuclear disaster, the CNN original series "Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown" uncovers the full story from the explosion and KGB cover up to today's war in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The reactor was not receiving any cooling water that would cause a reactor meltdown, so they became fixated at that point on getting water into the reactor. The gate valves on the cooling system had to be turned manually. Aleksandr Akimov and Leonid Toptunov went to the valve compartment, and they spent a long time there in enormous fields of gamma radiation, struggling to open first one gate valve, then the other one. What they didn't realize was that opening the valves was a complete waste of time, because there was no longer any reactor core to cool. Akimov and Toptunov both received lethal doses of radiation. They died

a few weeks later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Be sure to tune in, "Disaster: The Chernobyl Meltdown" tonight, at 9:00 Eastern and the next day on the CNN app.

All right. Still ahead, a race against time in the Maldives. We'll look at the perilous mission. Some of the world's best divers have joined after a scuba diving tragedy there. New details coming up.

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[14:45:47]

WHITFIELD: A Canadian passenger from that hantavirus stricken cruise ship has received a presumptive positive test result for the virus. Canadian officials say the person is in their 70s, and they began showing mild symptoms two days ago. They are now hospitalized along with their partner. If confirmed, the Canadian patient will be the 10th person to test positive from the ship.

And that ship at the center of the outbreak is expected to arrive in the Netherlands tomorrow, according to a statement from the tour operator. The remaining crew and medical staff will leave the ship in staggered shifts. The vessel will then be cleaned and disinfected.

All right. In sports, a super Sunday in this country is in store for the final round of the PGA championship.

CNN sports anchor Patrick Snell is in suburban Philadelphia, joining us right now.

Patrick, Alex Smalley comes in to today with the lead all to himself. But one of those lurking just behind him is fan favorite Rory McIlroy just off his Masters win. What's up?

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi there, Fred.

Yeah. Thousands out on the course here behind me at Aronimink Golf Club, just a few miles outside of Philadelphia. Yep. And you can be sure Rory McIlroy will certainly be a factor. I'm quite sure throughout the afternoon. But so much focus really on Alex Smalley, the 29 year old from New York state whose name has been up in lights. He took a two shot lead into Sunday's final round.

Keep in mind this is a player who says he's not comfortable in the limelight. He doesn't like attention on him. Well, he better get used to it, especially if he goes on to win. But I'll tell you this no single professional tour victory to his name never even had the 54 hole lead. So how is he handling it all?

Take a listen to what he had to say after round three.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ALEX SMALLEY, LEADER AFTER 3RD ROUND OF PGA CHAMPIONSHIP: Anybody who wants to play golf for a living dreams of winning on the PGA tour when theyre younger. And I recognize that I have an opportunity to do that. I recognize that it's on a stage that's a little bit larger than most other tour events. Trying to downplay that as much as I possibly can just to make it seem like any other golf tournament, because essentially that's all it really is and be pretty cool to, to actually pull it out tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: Yeah. How will he handle not just the heat of the day, but also the heat of battle? Some huge names lurking with intent, including the Spanish powerhouse Jon Rahm, a two time major winner, has put himself really in contention. He's seeking to make history and win this tournament for the first time, representing the nation of Spain. No Spanish golfer has ever won this tournament. If he can get it to three, that would be three quarters of the way towards achieving the career grand slam and also Rory McIlroy. We mentioned him off the top.

Well, Rory McIlroy, fresh off the back of back to back masters triumphs. He really is in contention. He had a stunning round on Saturday, a four under par 66. He's trying to win this famous old tournament, which dates all the way back to 1916, Fred, for a third time, and if he can go on and get the job done, it would be a seventh career major.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Oh my gosh. On a roll.

All right. Patrick Snell, thank you so much.

All right. After the break a CNN exclusive investigation into some 50 deaths inside ICE detention centers. Now one family demanding answers after losing a loved one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:54:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back now to a CNN exclusive, an investigation into deaths at ICE detention centers, including this one in a remote area of southern California. Nearly 50 detainees have died since the start of President Trump's immigration crackdown last year.

Priscilla Alvarez talked with the family of one detainee who died, and theyre seeking answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANTONIA TOVAR, HUSBAND DIED IN ICE DETENTION (translated): Very hard. That is why I tell my tree. I tell it my husband won't be eating its avocados anymore.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Antonia Tovar's husband, Jose Ramos, died in March, only about a month after being detained by immigration officials. He's now one of nearly 50 ICE detainees who have died since President Donald Trump's return to office.

TOVAR (translated): They used to call him "big hands" at work because he was muscular, right?

[14:55:03]

ALVAREZ (voice-over): Ramos came to the U.S. nearly 30 years ago. Last year, he was charged with theft and possession of a controlled substance and was placed in a diversion program, which meant that if completed, those charges would have been dismissed.

ALVAREZ: We know from ICE that Jose was arrested on February 23rd. His wife said they were making a stop here at the Superior Courthouse in Torrance so he could deliver some paperwork.

TOVAR (translated): There's his truck. That one.

ALVAREZ (translated): This one?

ALVAREZ: OK. That's their car.

ALVAREZ (voice-over): Antonia told us she briefly stepped away and when she looked back, she saw this.

Antonia worried about Ramos' medical conditions, diabetes and high blood pressure. He was sent to the Adelanto ICE processing center, about two hours from where they lived. According to ICE records, Ramos went through a medical intake and was prescribed medications.

GLORIA RAMOS, FATHER DIED IN ICE DETENTION: I don't think it really hit me until I walked into the room and I saw him.

ALVAREZ: What was that feeling like?

RAMOS: And when I walked into the room, his back was towards us and we walked in and I walked towards him and he was just sitting there looking down.

ALVAREZ: We're driving to the Adelanto detention facility. This is where Jose was held for several weeks and it's one of many facilities across the United States where ICE holds detainees. As you can see in this case, it is in a pretty remote area of California, about an hour and a half or more outside of Los Angeles.

Now, Adelanto had stopped accepting new detainees because of a federal judge during the coronavirus pandemic, but that was lifted in January of 2025. And since then, the population ballooned from around three people to nearly 2,000.

ALVAREZ (voice-over): A CNN investigation found that deadly outcomes in more than a dozen cases could, at times, be linked to substandard treatment at facilities where populations are rapidly growing. At Adelanto, four people in detention have died since 2025. A spokesperson for GEO Group, the private company that operates Adelanto, did not answer questions about Ramos's death, but told CNN that the company provides detainees with, "around-the-clock access to medical care" and is, "independently accredited by industry groups."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This call is subject to recording and monitoring. Press 1 to accept the call.

ALVAREZ (voice-over): We spoke to one of Ramos's cellmates, Marco Martinez, who called for help when Ramos collapsed.

MARCO MARTINEZ, ICE DETAINEE: The guard didn't do anything at all. Like he just sat there and watched him shake, and it got to a point where his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he still didn't do anything. The medical showed up, but they didn't show up until another 10 minutes.

ALVAREZ (voice-over): According to a public ICE detainee death report, a registered nurse arrived one minute after a guard first noticed Ramos in medical distress and began providing aid. Emergency medical care services arrived 10 minutes later and began administering care. Ramos was transferred to a nearby hospital and was pronounced dead three minutes after he arrived.

ROB BONTA (D), CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Lack of adequate health care staffing has been a theme across the facilities, including in Adelanto.

ALVAREZ (voice-over): The California attorney general has the unique authority, as of 2017, to inspect detention facilities in the state. The AG's office exclusively shared those findings with CNN.

BONTA: I think a big part of the really difficult set of results and data that we're seeing, including the deaths, is the surge in number of detainees and the complete inability and unpreparedness of the facilities.

ALVAREZ (voice-over): Ramos' family still has not been notified of the cause of death. The uncertainty over what happened is a living nightmare.

TOVAR (translated): My god. We want justice. Let justice be served, because my husband did not deserve to die.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALVAREZ: A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security disputed there had been a spike in deaths, saying in a statement, quote, "Consistent with data over the last decade, as of April 30th, death rates in custody under the Trump administration are 0.009 percent of the detained population. As bed space has rapidly expanded, we have maintained higher a standard of care than most prisons that hold U.S. citizens, including providing access to proper medical care.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

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

Today, President Trump's revenge tour has cost a political nemesis his seat. After voting to convict Trump in his January 6th impeachment trial, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy is voted out by his constituents.