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Trump: Iran "Agreement" Has Been Largely Negotiated; Toxic Chemical Tank At Risk Of Exploding In California; Sources: Trump Fuming Over Senate GOP Rebuke Of $1.8 Billion Fund; WH On Lockdown After Sounds Of Gunshots Heard Nearby; Family: Kyle Busch Died After Severe Pneumonia Turned Into Sepsis; WH Lifts Lockdown After Reporters Hear Sounds Of Gunshots. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 23, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:02]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN Newsroom. Hi, everyone! I am Jessica Dean here in New York.

We do have breaking news tonight as President Donald Trump says, a deal With Iran has, in his words, been largely negotiated.

The President taking to Truth Social to announce what he categorized as an imminent agreement, saying the final details will be announced shortly. He added the deal will include the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement comes just after Trump spoke with several Gulf and regional leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is joining us now.

And, Julia, I know we've got some new reporting on what could potentially be in this deal.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and the White House team here says that President Donald Trump has been working all day. We know that he has been focused on this negotiation between the United States and Iran to try and bring this conflict to an end, and there was a call with top aides and Gulf leaders, other regional leaders, that Trump said went well.

He said they discussed all things pertaining to Iran and this potential Memorandum of Peace that he is hoping to finalize. He said that it has been largely negotiated and that he will provide more details soon.

I want to pull up the end of that post specifically. This is where we got the most details from him. He said, "... final aspects and details of the deal are currently being discussed and will be announced shortly. In addition to many other elements of the agreement, the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened."

Now, according to a person familiar with the matter, recent versions of the Memorandum of Understanding included an end to hostilities with Iran, as well as the gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the end of that U.S. blockade there as well.

It could also include a bit of an extension on some of these major sticking points, like Iran's nuclear ambitions. And, of course, throughout this entire process, that has been a very big red line for Trump. He says that they will not have nuclear capabilities. That's an area where he will not budge.

Now, as you mentioned, he did speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today. We also expect another conversation between the two of them to take place sometime soon, and then Trump is again teasing that these details will be out shortly.

We do know that he is likely not going to be seen again today. They called a lid here at The White House, which means that as reporters here, we will not see him. But that doesn't mean he can't make major news. As we've followed this, a lot of these big updates, including the one I just detailed there, have come on his social media site, Truth Social.

So keeping a close eye out for any more concrete details that are coming out of these negotiations.

DEAN: Okay, Julia Benbrook at The White House for us. Thank you so much for that. We appreciate it.

Joining us now, General Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander. General Clark, thank you so much. We appreciate your time.

We are getting all this new information, including what the President is saying, what our reporting is behind-the-scenes as well.

Both of those indicating that the Strait of Hormuz will ultimately open as part of this deal. Let's start there, because when the war began, the Strait of Hormuz wasn't closed.

So how would you evaluate the outcome if that is ultimately part of this deal?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Our partners and allies in the Gulf need that Strait open. They are in desperate need of it financially. They are cancelling contracts. They are doing everything they can, especially a country like Kuwait, which doesn't have a pipeline to the red sea, or a way to get out to the Gulf of Oman, like Saudi and the Emirates do. So that's the first -- really first requirement they have.

But, as this agreement moves forward and we learn more about it, we have to also recognize, Jessica that it may or may not end the problems in the Middle East, and this is a real concern that what we will have is a -- it will look like a peace agreement, there will be a pause, but Iran will continue to have its axis of resistance. It will continue to have the Houthis. It will continue to seek regional dominance. It will continue to support Hezbollah and squeeze Israel. And as it does that, the clock is ticking to the next operation. And so these states in the Gulf are now warned. They better do more to redouble their defenses in case whatever comes out of this isn't final.

Now, I hope I am being overly cautious on this. We hope it will be final. But what we have seen now over 47 years is this is a regime with unrelenting hostility and unrelenting determination to dominate the region.

So this is -- it looks like it is a pause. Good!

[18:05:10]

Get the Strait open, get commerce going and, and hope that over the next 30 or 60 days, we really can negotiate something that sees a real end to the conflict, not just a pause.

DEAN: Yes, and that, of course, is the big question and I am curious what your thoughts are around the idea of what has been achieved.

We heard from CENTCOM, from Admiral Cooper this week saying that they felt confident that they had degraded Iran's capabilities in a very meaningful way. There is CNN reporting that Intelligence sources are saying that Iran has been able to rebuild and come back a lot faster than they had anticipated, especially when it comes to things like drone production and getting that back online.

What do you think?

CLARK: I think there's truth on both sides. I think the initial strikes did a pretty good job of taking out the Iranian assets that we knew about. We've been working on a target base for Iran since 1997, when we first declared that as a possible major theater of war.

So we did have a lot of targets in there. We struck them. But we also found that the air campaign wasn't in itself decisive. And so it wasn't able to break the command and control of the Iranians, they were still able to shoot back and we haven't apparently cracked the code on the missile cities, the 27 deep underground cities, so-called, where they're storing, assembling, launching ballistic missiles and maybe cruise missiles.

And so this is a major issue, and of course, we now know the Strait of Hormuz is even more critical than maybe we thought it was. We haven't cracked the code on opening the Strait of Hormuz by force either.

So there are mixed results, but I think, you know, our airmen, our sailors did a great job and the mission they were given, I don't think they were given the objective that would have led to a general takedown of the Iranian government.

I think there was hope that giving weapons to the Kurds, there would be internal resistance and there is the Mojahedin-e-Khalq say they are going to support an armed uprising, but of course, there is a peace negotiation if it comes through, it sort of will, I think it will cap that off and stop that.

And so we will be left with this regime with its ability to have withstood the best that America could do thus far in taking out its strength and liable to come out of this thing more determined and feeling its oats in a way that we may not like.

DEAN: All right, General Wesley Clark, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

CLARK: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: We are also following breaking news out of California, where right now, officials are racing to try to cool down a chemical tank at risk of exploding or releasing a dangerous toxin into the air. You're looking at a video of that tank.

About 50,000 people are being told to evacuate. This is just miles from Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm in Orange County, though both parks are outside the evacuation zone.

We will go now to CNN's Veronica Miracle, who is in Los Angeles.

Veronica, crews say the tank's temperature increased in the last few hours. That is not the direction of travel they would like. What is the very latest as of now?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jessica, not a great scenario. The last update actually had some quite bad news. They say that the temperature inside the tank has been increasing about a degree an hour.

So yesterday morning it was at about 77 degrees, and today at last check, about 90 degrees, not the direction that they want to see. They have been spraying it with water, trying to cool it down, doing everything they can.

You mentioned those two really worst case scenario outcomes, the first being that there are thousands of gallons of a hazardous chemical that leaks out of the tank. Theres also that potential catastrophic explosion, and they don't necessarily know what is going to happen here.

They did give a little bit of a picture of what the worst case scenario could be. Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK FREEMAN, DIVISION CHIEF ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY: So if this tank fails and we have an explosion, these represent our blast zone. The innermost circle represents areas where we can expect severe structural damage and significant harm.

On that, you'll see an orange oblong that represents areas that are immediately dangerous to life and health, where it would cause injury if anybody inhales or is impacted by the product in question, and then the yellow is our non-hazardous zone, which is our odor threshold. This product has a very low odor threshold and can be smelled very easily. So that's why that representation is very large. But again, it is non-hazardous at that level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:10:08]

MIRACLE: The chemical in question, it is called MMA. It is used to manufacture plastics. And officials say, like they said, smelling it doesn't necessarily mean that you're going to be harmed.

However, it could cause potential serious respiratory issues, and there are some residents who have been reporting dizziness and other symptoms. And about 15 percent of people who have been ordered out of the evacuation zones have not actually left.

Officials also did say those who are outside of the evacuation zone, you're completely safe. You don't even need to be wearing a mask and your health is not at risk at all.

What officials are hoping is that the will continue to spray water on these tanks, and that its going to cool it enough to where it will start to freeze from the outside in, and eventually harden and this risk will be neutralized. But there is no actual, you know, certainty that that's going to happen. So it is really just a wait and see at this point -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right, Veronica Miracle with the latest out of L.A., thank you so much for that.

President Trump, meantime, has had a firm grip on Republicans in Congress. But this push for a nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund turned into a GOP revolt, and then combined with the billion dollars he asked for, for the ballroom, our panel will weigh in on that next.

Plus new details on the cause of death for Kyle Busch as fans honor the NASCAR superstar. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:09 ]

DEAN: We are now just over five months away from the midterms, and the Republican Party finds itself being pushed to its breaking point by its own leader. It kind of came to a head this week when a group of Republican senators blasted the President's controversial anti- weaponization fund. Here are some of what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): I do not support the weaponization fund as it has been described.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): I just don't know how this puppy dog will work. SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): This is just stupid on stilts. This is bad policy. Its bad timing and its bad politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: So the Senate ended up leaving Washington early for their Memorial Day recess without voting on a major immigration and border security funding package, as they had planned. Five people familiar with the conversations told CNN the President and his close allies were fuming over the Senate GOP rebuke.

It was a sentiment made quite clear when the President posted on Truth Social Friday morning, this one attacking Thom Tillis, who is a retiring senator from North Carolina, calling him a nitpicker, a quitter, and accusing him of screwing the Republican Party.

Our panel joins us now. Republican strategists, Katie Frost and Rina Shah. It is good to see both of you. Thank you for being here with us. I really appreciate it.

Katie, I am going to start first with you because for a very long time now, the President has had held a very firm grip on Republicans in Congress, and they have largely really done everything that he has asked them to do.

This was a week where we saw some of that really fraying, and it is worth adding in the context here, which is, it came the same week that he endorsed Ken Paxton in Texas. So going against incumbent Senator John Cornyn, who is very well-liked by his GOP colleagues there on the Hill, and Bill Cassidy, he had turned on a number of sitting republican senators.

So my question to you is, do you think this is a different moment than we've seen previously?

KATIE FROST, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I don't know if it is a different moment, but I will say Leader Thune has probably the hardest job in Washington, and I do not envy him at all. I've long said trying to manage a caucus is like herding cats, but these cats are all wet and have a bad attitude like this is an incredibly difficult job he has.

And when you look at who are the senators that are going to be bucking the most? You mentioned Cassidy and Cornyn. President Trump endorsed against them. But then there are also people like Senator Collins, who you featured in the opening package, or Senator Murkowski. They are up for re-election and they have always been two senators who, if there is anyone that's going to maybe buck the party a little bit, they would fit in that category.

And you have senators like Senator Tillis who he is retiring. He doesn't have anything to worry about. You have Senator Paul, who is frustrated because his close ally, Congressman Massie, was defeated.

There are a lot of personalities to manage in this moment, but everything in politics really comes down to messaging and timing. Those are two things on this that are going to need to be worked on as far as this weaponization fund.

DEAN: And so Rina, what's your thought on this moment? Because Thune himself said earlier this week, look, you can't ignore the politics of this moment either. That's obviously essentially the business they are in, and here we are.

RINA SHAH, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, even in the same party government, Congress still guards the purse strings. So this isn't unusual. It is checks and balances in action, which I very much like.

So you've got several Republican senators who expressed concerns over the scale, the lack of the detailed oversight and the optics. I think especially potential payouts tied to those January 6th cases, that was the biggest sticking point, it felt to me.

I mean, they ended up delaying the whole ICE and Border funding package before this Memorial Day break. And I think it shows that while party loyalty is still strong, fiscal conservatism and public perception still create friction on specific spending items.

And certainly, you know, you'll have critics call it a slush fund, and supporters then see it as correcting past overreach. Either way, the internal revolt really highlights how quickly spending fights can stall priorities, even with unified control.

[18:20:10]

DEAN: And let's talk about that DOJ settlement. Katie, the Acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, they dispatched him to go up on the Hill and talk to Senate Republicans at the last minute to try to get them to get on board with this.

Ted Cruz himself talked about the closed door meeting where he said a number of Senate Republicans pushed back a lot of them, in his words, pushed back on this because they have a lot of questions around it. Is money going to go to people who assaulted cops? Which they have thus far not been able to say definitively that that will not be the case? Who is this money going to? And at the same time, as Rina noted, some of these people who are up for reelection are going back to their constituents who are facing much higher gas prices, inflation that continues, and a cost of living that continues to be really hard for people, even when the President is asking for this money, and as well as $1 billion for the ballroom.

FROST: Senator Cruz actually said it was one of the most intense meetings he has ever been a part of since he has been in the Senate and there was a lot of yelling going on.

But, you know, Acting Attorney General Blanche, he is a very widely respected gentleman. He is a serious person. And he was in that meeting, he was very clear that no payments can go from this fund to any member of the Trump family. No payments from this fund can go to anyone who committed any kind of violent acts.

There are people -- DEAN: They haven't said that yet. I just want to say one thing. He told our Paula Reid that it would actually be the panel that would decide that, and the panel is who they will pick and that Congress can have one person on the panel and that the President can dispose of any one of those five at any time. So there are still questions around that.

FROST: Well, of course, Senator Cruz who was in the meeting, he said that is what the acting attorney general did relay to the caucus. So that's just where we have that information.

But a lot of these things, you know, like I said, messaging and timing, they are going to need to work on it a little bit. But there are people that I know personally whose lives were dramatically impacted because they received that letter. They were told to turn over their phone records. It impacted their lives.

I have a personal friend. She was an award-winning high school teacher, and she was investigated by a committee up in D.C. Because of that, she lost her job. She is having to walk dogs now to make ends meet. Where does she go to get her life back after something like that happens?

Because when charges are announced, it is always on the front page. When they are dropped, if it makes the news at all, it is on the back page.

So those people, of course, need to be able to have some place to go. So the concept of this fund makes perfect sense. The details just need to be worked out.

DEAN: And Rina, critics of the fund have argued, look, avenues like this already exist for people within the justice system. Do you think that that there needs to be a $1.8 billion fund like this to provide restitution for people like this?

SHAH: This is completely unnecessary, and it burns me up because these are our hard earned taxpayer dollars. And yes, Congress has sort of this -- has made this opening for the DOJ and it is for an indefinite amount.

So I don't like it. It smells bad. It I government waste, if you ask me. But I think the reality here, looking at it all, despite how the backlash was real and heated on Capitol Hill this week. I mean, 25 Republican senators pushing back that hard in a closed door meeting against the acting attorney general, that is not a joke.

But again, they understand the terrible optics here, and I think when you look at this fund, it did hit this wall, right, because they saw it also as a political hand grenade. So they lit into Blanche. But I think unfortunately, my personal opinion aside, it will probably survive in a trimmed, restricted form. But the revolt shows that Congress just won't rubber stamp everything, especially when it smells like payback over policy.

DEAN: All right, Katie Frost, Rina Shah, good to see both of you. I appreciate your time. Thanks for being here with us.

SHAH: Thank you.

FROST: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: And well be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: We have breaking news. CNN reporters heard what appeared to be dozens of gunshots near The White House a short time ago. Julia Benbrook is now inside in the press briefing room.

Julia, bring us up to speed, what you heard and what you know.

BENBROOK: Yes, I am here with other White House reporters, photographers, we are now in the briefing room. This is where Secret Service rushed us to after we heard what appeared to be dozens of gunshots, and I want to paint the picture for you a little bit.

We are here in the briefing room, and then you can kind of see out the window. Secret Service is currently working the North Lawn there to make sure everything is okay, but that's where we do live shots. It is those green tents out there. And I was just speaking to you from out there just before this happened.

And then reporters were rushed into the briefing room after, again, what appeared to be dozens of gunshots. Now, we have reached out to Secret Service and The White House for more information. This is all still unfolding. It is really unclear right now if anyone was injured.

These gunshots, though, to be clear, appeared outside of the grounds closer to the EEOB Building, which is on the west side of The White House.

So while we could hear them, we are not exactly sure where these took place. Again, if anyone was injured, we are waiting on more information, but just the visual of all these reporters running in here, this happening just about a month after The White House Correspondents' Dinner , where a lot of this same group was on the ground in a situation where there was a shooter there as well.

A scary moment, and we are looking for more information, trying to understand exactly what happened here. What we do know is that we heard what appeared to be dozens of gunshots very close to The White House grounds -- Jessica.

[18:30:21]

DEAN: Right. All right, Julia, we're very glad that you're safe and worth noting, of course, in addition to Julia and other media colleagues there, the President is also in residence at the White House this weekend. We will check back in with you, Julia. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

NASCAR fans are mourning the death of champion driver Kyle Busch. Ahead, what the sport is doing to honor him during a big racing weekend, and what his family says caused his untimely death. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:33]

DEAN: We do have breaking news to bring to you as CNN reporters heard what appeared to be dozens of gunshots near the White House just a short time ago. The White House now currently on lockdown. Again, we're told that that gunshot -- the sound of those gunshots coming from across the way there near the White House. A number of reporters had to be rushed inside because where they do their live shots is -- is close to the road there and they are outside. So, they are now inside the briefing room. Of course, the President of the United States, Donald Trump is there at the White House as the negotiations with Iran continued this weekend.

At this moment in time, we don't know anything about any potential injuries, only that these gunshots were heard nearby the White House. That's when the reporters were rushed inside and that Secret Service is now outside. We will continue, of course, to bring you updates on this as the White House remains on lockdown. But again, at this moment, no word on any injuries or anything about what led to that gunshot, the -- the gunfire outside the White House. We will continue to monitor this and bring you more information as we get it.

In the meantime, the family of NASCAR superstar, Kyle Busch, says the two-time Cup -- Cut Series champion died from complications of severe pneumonia that turned into sepsis. Busch passed away Thursday, a day after the Associated Press reported he was taken to the hospital by ambulance after becoming unresponsive. He coughed up blood, he was short of breath while testing at a racing simulator for the -- this weekend's 600-mile race.

Sepsis is when the body fights itself while dealing with an infection. He leaves behind his wife and two children. Kyle Busch was 41 years old. He had been preparing for a busy weekend. He was entered in two races before he was hospitalized and many of his fellow competitors on the track will now display a special decal to remember him. CNN's Dianne Gallagher has more on the man known by many as "Rowdy."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think about his kids and his wife. That's hard to think about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My prayers go out to the family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The sudden death of Kyle Busch at just 41 years old shattering the racing world. The two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion's family announced just hours before his death Thursday that he'd been hospitalized with a severe illness and would not be racing this weekend. The AP, citing several sources, reports that on Wednesday, Busch became unresponsive while testing a racing simulator. CNN has obtained a 911 call made from a motorsports training center in Concord, North Carolina Wednesday at 5.30 P.M.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got an individual that's shortness of breath, very hot, thinks he's going to pass out and is -- he's got -- he's producing a little bit of blood, coughing up some blood."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER (voice over): NASCAR announced Busch's passing just 24 hours later. Less than two weeks ago, during a race, Busch radioed for medical assistance.

KYLE BUSCH: Can somebody try to find Bill Heisel? He's the Hendrick doctor guy. Tell him I need him after the race, please."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, do you want Mr. Bill at your car and -- at your bus after the race?

BUSCH: Bus -- I'm going to need a shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Copy. He's going -- he'll be at your bus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER (voice over): The broadcast noted he'd been battling a severe sinus infection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE O'DONNELL, CEO, NASCAR: To me, Kyle Busch just defines what it means to be a racer in NASCAR. Everything about it, the fire, the greatness, the heart that sometimes you rarely saw. The sport was truly lucky to have him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER (voice over): The winningest driver in NASCAR history with 234 victories across the top three series, Busch was a polarizing figure. Nicknamed "Rowdy" or KFB, he often relished in being the villain. Fans either fiercely loved or hated Busch, but everyone had an opinion. The Las Vegas native won the Cup Series title in 2019 and in 2015, famously after breaking bones in both legs in a crash the first week of that season.

Tributes pouring in from all over the sports world and beyond: athletes, former teammates, rivals, and others remembering Rowdy. This emotional post from teammate Austin Dillon who wrote on Facebook, "I can't thank you enough, KB. You are the ultimate racer and my favorite teammate and driver of all time. I always felt like I had your back and you had mine. I love you, brother." But Busch's enduring off-track legacy, family. His wife, Samantha, and two children, Brexton and Lennix, were his world. The couple struggled with infertility for years.

[18:40:05]

In 2015, they started the Bundle of Joy Fund to increase awareness and help others offset the financial burden of fertility treatments, they told the "Tamron Hall Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSCH: When we were starting to go through it, we were trying to research and look about it and find out some information. And, well, what does this mean? Where do we go? And there wasn't a whole lot out there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And a bow in front of the fans. --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER (voice over): Just one week ago, Busch took his signature victory bow after winning the truck race and reflected on his career.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do these moments never get old, Kyle?

BUSCH: Because you never know when the last one is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GALLAGHER (on camera): Donations have been pouring into the Bundle of Joy Fund since the news of Kyle's death, most of them in denomination combinations of 8, 18, and 51. Of course, Kyle Busch's numbers on the track. Richard Childress Racing announced on Friday that it would be suspending the use of Kyle's number eight, both this weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway and beyond, noting that it had become synonymous with Kyle. But they did add that it would be reserved and ready for his 11-year-old son, Brexton Busch, when he is ready to go NASCAR racing. Jessica?

DEAN: All right, Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much for that reporting.

And when we come back, why Harvard is using its Crimson pen to put a cap on the amount of A's given in classes. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:45:59]

DEAN: We do have breaking news to bring you, as the White House is on lockdown after CNN reporters heard what appeared to be dozens of gunshots near the White House. The reporters were outside in the area where they do their live shots, which is near one of the main roads there in Washington, D.C. Members of the press corps were on the North Lawn. They were then rushed into the White House Briefing Room.

Inside the White House, reporters were told to shelter in place as Secret Service agents shouted, get down. They warned of shots fired. And as we mentioned, this incident has triggered a lockdown and a rapid response from the U.S. Secret Service. Worth mentioning as well that Kash Patel, the FBI director, just posted on X, he said, quote, "The FBI is on the scene and supporting Secret Service responding to shots fired near White House grounds. We will update the public as we're able."

Again, reminding everyone that President Trump is in residence there at the White House as he continues with these Iran negotiations over this Memorial Day weekend. So, let's bring in National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem now.

Juliette, we have scant details on any injuries or any -- really anything that would have motivated or been behind this at this moment in time. All we know is that these reporters did hear what they said were dozens of gunshots there near the White House. Obviously, this is going to trigger quite a response from law enforcement.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Oh, absolutely. I mean, when I heard the number of bullets that are at least now are -- are the ones that we're hearing, as we know in many of these cases, you know, what's determined in the minutes and hours later may clarify or be a different narrative. But if you are -- if you are the Secret Service or in the White House and you hear something that sounds like gunshots just a block away, a lockdown proceeds almost without thinking. And that's exactly right, given the threat environment generally, but also more specifically, the three assassination attempts against President Trump. This is going to be a lockdown until they know where the -- where the ...

DEAN: And Juliette, I know -- I'm sorry to interrupt you. Sorry to interrupt you. I'm just getting told the lockdown has been lifted. So, what does that tell us?

KAYYEM: Okay, good. Okay, so yes. And that means that they have either identified these sounds of a bullet or -- or shooting. And so, we're just, we -- as I said, these stories unfold. We're on real time, they unfold over time. The FBI has said, of course, that they're supporting the Secret Service, but this is the Secret Service's call. The Secret Service would have determined that they either know where the gunshots came from and therefore there's no continuing threat against the White House or any personnel in the White House or of course, the President of the United States and -- and would then proceed to allow members.

The -- the release of the lockdown also means people will be coming in and out of the White House. It doesn't just mean that they're sheltering in place. So that means that they feel like they have some control over the area, which is good news. Now unwind it and figure out what was the precipitating event? Was it a D.C. related event? Was it something different than -- than first reporting? Although, reporters tend to know the sound of gunshots. So, you know,

I -- it's very, you know, we'll wait to see. Or was it related to some threat against the White House specifically that they now have determined or has stopped or is eliminated? So, those are the three areas we'll look for in the next hour, hour and a half. These things tend to unfold rather fast. So, we'll -- we'll have some clarity. But of course, it's scary as a constitutional manner in terms of political violence, and political violence against our political leadership but also for people who work in the White House like reporters and others who are -- are equally scared and nervous about what was unfolding outside -- outside the gate.

[18:50:06]

DEAN: Certainly, but as you note, the takeaway from that lockdown being lifted just moments ago is that the immediate threat ...

KAYYEM: Yes.

DEAN: ... has dissipated which is excellent news. And that is great to hear. And as you note, we'll have to wait now to get more information. Kash Patel, the director of the FBI saying that the FBI is there helping law enforcement. They're going to get more information as it becomes available. Juliette, thank you for jumping on with us. We really appreciate it.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

DEAN: And we're going to obviously continue to monitor this. We're going to have much more on the breaking news after a quick break.

Also, this weekend on CNN, the first -- the final generation of World War II veterans returned to Normandy, France for the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. Remembering the lives lost and the lives that went on after the war. Here's a preview of the powerful new CNN Film, "Why We Dream."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came home from the war, never thinking I'd ever get married and meet the love of my life. Her name was Lola. Whatever Lola wanted, Lola got. I just loved her. We had two boys and a girl. I got nine grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. My kids were raised quite differently than I was raised.

My dad never picked us up and played with us. He didn't know what love was. I never hesitated in telling my children I loved them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were so grateful to be alive. I guess we were all trying to make up for what happened during the war. More babies were born in the years right after the war than any other time in American history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: You can tune in to "Why We Dream." It premieres Memorial Day at 8 P.M. Eastern time here on CNN. You can also watch on the CNN app.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:55]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

DEAN: We do have breaking news to bring you where a lockdown has just been lifted there at the White House after journalists heard what appeared to be dozens of gunshots near the White House. We're told that the Secret Service is now looking in to what they describe as gunshots that were fired near 17th and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest. If you're not familiar with D.C., that would be 17th Street right there alongside the White House.

So, not technically on the grounds, but just adjacent. That's why the reporters who were outside during that time would have heard those gunshots. They were rushed inside and the White House was placed on lockdown. Again, the news right now, the latest, is that that lockdown has been lifted. As Juliette Kayyem was just telling us, that typically indicates that the immediate threat has -- has dissipated, which is good news here.

We can go now to Julia Benbrook, who was there when all of this happened. Julia, you have just recently been let out of lockdown. We see you're now outside back on the lawn there. What can you tell us?

BENBROOK: That's right. I mean, not too long ago now, we had Secret Service just walking through the North Lawn, making sure that we were staying in the briefing room. That's where the lockdown was happening. Reporters, photographers all outside here on the North Lawn. I was just walking into the briefing room. My photographer, Joe Wagner (ph), was out here in the tents. And everyone that was out here was racing inside once they were told shots were fired.

And what we heard appeared to be dozens of shots. In fact, someone said, you know, it almost sounded like fireworks at first because they were going off so fast.

Now, we are still waiting on some more information, but we do have a little bit more from the Secret Service now in the form of a statement. They said, we are aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, and are working to cooperate the information with personnel on the ground. Additional information will be provided as it becomes available.

So, still a lot of questions here, and you can see reporters gathering. We've got photographers on ladders trying to get a little bit more information. This took place, again, on the corner of 17th and Pennsylvania. That's on the other side of the EEOB, the executive building that's to the west of the North Lawn here. But President Donald Trump, he's here at the White House today. In fact, his team said that he had been working here all day, throughout the day, and just a jarring moment because it was just a month ago that all of these journalists, as well as the President, were at the Correspondents' Association dinner where shots were fired as well. So just not a scene that we want to see, people running from gunshots,

and it was something that was experienced here again tonight.

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook there with the very latest from the White House. Thank you so much for that.

[19:00:02]

I want to bring in Chief Charles Ramsey, who is a Seattle Senior Law Enforcement Analyst.

Chief, thanks so much for being here with us.