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Trump Lashes Out At Critics Of Possible Iran Deal; No Deal Between U.S. And Iran Expected To Be Signed Today; White House Gunman Identified As 21-Year-Old Nasire Best; Surgeon General's Advisory Warns Of Too Much Screen Time For Kids; Kyle Busch Honored At Charlotte Motor Speedway Race; "Dr. Robby" Goes To Washington; Bugler's Mission To Preserve The History Of "Taps." Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 24, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

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

President Trump is lashing out today at critics of his emerging deal to end the war with Iran, and insisting he doesn't make, quote, "bad deals." Just a short time ago he vowed in a Truth Social post that, quote, "If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one." And he added, "Don't listen to the losers who are critical about something they don't -- they know nothing about," end quote.

Trump's response comes after some Republican and Democratic lawmakers have publicly criticized the latest proposal. Earlier today, Republican Senator Thom Tillis told CNN that Trump's Iran deal is, I'm quoting now, "doomed to fail," end quote. And GOP Senator Ted Cruz warned it would be a, quote, "disastrous mistake," end quote. Trump responded to those criticisms with a Truth Social post saying he wasn't rushing into a deal.

Sources tell CNN the proposed agreement is expected to unfold in two phases, with the first focused on Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz to pre-war status and the second phase involving 30 to 60 days of negotiations over Iran's nuclear issues.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv covering reaction from the Middle East and at the White House, Julia Benbrook.

Julia, let's go to you first. Bring us up to speed on what we know about the status of these peace talks.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, after it seemed like there was a lot of momentum toward an imminent deal just yesterday, in fact, President Donald Trump had said that the deal with Iran had been, quote, "largely negotiated" and that he would announce the details shortly, now he is saying that he is not in a rush to finalize these details. In fact, he said in a social media post that he told representatives that he believes that time is on his side.

And then there was a separate post. I want to pull that one up for you now and read part of it. This was just a little while ago. He said, "If I make a deal with Iran, it will be a good and proper one, not like the one made by Obama, which gave Iran massive amounts of cash and a clear and open path to a nuclear weapon." He's been highly critical of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. And then he went on to say this, "Our deal is the exact opposite, but nobody has seen it or knows what it is. It isn't even fully negotiated yet."

Now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he has said that he believes there's been some progress. He then said significant progress over the last 48 hours, and then he detailed what is the main goal here, reiterating a point that Trump has made several times. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: What is the goal here? The goal here ultimately, the ultimate goal is that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon. The president has been clear about that. They will never possess a nuclear weapon, certainly not as long as Donald Trump is president of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now, a senior administration official tells me that they do not expect there be a deal -- to be a deal signed with Iran today, as these details, the specifics are still being finalized. That official also tells me that there are 60 days to reach the final agreement, and that this framework gives them that 60 days as they work towards some of those top lines, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring that Iran does not have access to a nuclear weapon.

So those, again, those key points that we've heard from Trump throughout the process, we know that those are key here as these negotiations continue -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Julia Benbrook at the White House. Thank you so much.

Let's go to Tel Aviv now and Jeremy Diamond.

So what is Israel saying about this possible deal or at least this juncture in talks?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, listen, a week ago today, the Israeli prime minister believed that the U.S. and Iran -- and Israel, I should say were going to go back to war against Iran. And then a couple of days later, an about-face from President Trump opening this diplomatic path. And the Israeli prime minister urging him at the time to go back to his original plan, telling him it was a mistake to call off those renewed strikes.

And now, yesterday, the Israeli prime minister, learning that as President Trump said, you know, this deal is nearly done, nearly negotiated, the Israeli prime minister then got on the phone with President Trump last night. And today we have this tweet from the Israeli prime minister trying to suggest that there's no daylight between the two men, although this is the juncture that the Israeli prime minister did not want to see, a potential deal with Iran that doesn't address all of the nuclear issues.

But the Israeli prime minister insists in this post that he and President Trump agree that any final agreement with Iran, quote, "must eliminate the nuclear danger." He also says that he and President Trump's policy remains unchanged, that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

[16:05:03]

But there are a host of issues here that we're already learning between the United States and Iran, that the interpretations of some of the wording of this budding agreement is quite different on both sides. And at a minimum, it is a question of interpretation. At maximum, it is a question of the actual language of the text. And that could pose a problem for actually finalizing this agreement.

We've seen the United States already indicate that the Strait of Hormuz will be fully opened, as it was before this war began. Iran is saying that this Strait of Hormuz will only be reopened under Iranian supervision. On the nuclear front, we've heard indications from the United States and U.S. officials that Iran has privately made commitments as it relates to its nuclear program down the road. Iranian state media reporting that Iran has made no commitments whatsoever.

Then there's this question of frozen assets. Iran is indicating that it must have some of these assets released to it as a first step in any potential agreement. The United States is saying this won't happen until the strait is reopened. And then we get back to an issue that very much affects Israel, whether or not Lebanon, the Lebanese front is included in this ceasefire agreement going forward.

The Israeli prime minister insists that in his call with President Trump, the president insisted that Israel will retain its freedom to operate against any threats, including in Lebanon. But Iranian officials have indicated so far that Lebanon would be part of this ceasefire agreement. So, again, there are clearly a number of issues here that still need to be resolved. Some of it may be a question of how both sides sell this deal to their respective publics.

But as we are seeing that this deal is not imminent today and that there may be a few more days of negotiations ahead, it is also a reminder that until this deal is actually finalized and all of the wording has been agreed to, there simply isn't a deal yet -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right. Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, thank you so much.

All right. Joining me right now to talk more about these developments is Frida Ghitis. She is a CNN contributor and a senior columnist for the World Politics Review.

Frida, great to see you. Just to underscore Jeremy's messaging there, the U.S. will say one thing about what the peace process is all about. Then Iran will turn around and say that's not how we interpreted things. That's not what we're saying. Does this whole process have a real credibility problem right now?

FRIDA GHITIS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: It's another big mess. And I think Donald Trump maybe is learning why you don't negotiate major diplomatic deals in the public eye. And, you know, by the -- in the media or much less in social media. He gave out a message that suggested that a deal was almost done and immediately Republicans who support the war were against it because they thought it was too weak.

Democrats who opposed the war were saying, this is too weak. Why was there a war? Iran is saying the things that Trump said are not true. And in the meantime, one side of this that nobody talks about is the Iranian people. You know, remember when this war started, when the supreme leader was killed, people in Iran came out and celebrated thinking --

WHITFIELD: And Trump said, I'm about to set you all free essentially.

GHITIS: Yes. You know, we have your back. And now it looks like we're discussing how much of a victory this is going to be for Iran. I mean, the outlines that we're seeing right now do not look like a win for the United States and Israel. They look like Iran is going to emerge stronger from this after this war.

WHITFIELD: And how is Iran, whether it be the people or the government, the regime, interpreting that even President Trump is losing support of members of his own political party who were kind of lockstep with him for a bit. And now they are, you know, many are vociferously saying out loud, this isn't going to work for us. So, you know, if you're the Iranian regime, what does this say to you about the advantage that Iran has in this negotiation process when Trump himself is losing support publicly?

GHITIS: The Iranians have been paying very close attention to domestic politics in the United States. That's very interesting. And they have -- they appear to have a really good grasp of what's happening here. Trump did a terrible job of selling this war to the public. You know, instead of making a strong case for why this is important to the United States, for why perhaps there's going to be some hardship, but, you know, and explaining why he thinks that that hardship is worth it for the security of this country.

Instead, he launched this crazy, you know, these memes, these, you know, cartoons on social media, instead of explaining what's happening. The Iranians have seen what this war is doing to Trump's support at home. They see the polls. They see his polls are dropping and they see above all what inflation is doing in the United States and other countries. One of most powerful results of this war is that Iran has established its ability to shut down the Strait of Hormuz at will, no matter --

[16:10:06]

WHITFIELD: It found its power in a different way.

GHITIS: They can hold the global economy hostage. And that's going to -- it's going to be an established fact even after it stops.

WHITFIELD: So does it mean the U.S. is going to have to acquiesce to acquiesce to a lot more than it is saying publicly, you know, it's willing to do? Because first of all, we haven't heard real specificity about what's in this peace plan. We've heard, you know, a little bit here and there in terms of the Strait of Hormuz, you know, the U.S. saying we want them to relinquish some of that control.

We hear that Iran says we want the U.S. to pay, you know, for the damage that it caused from the strikes. But I guess, is Iran feeling more emboldened to place more demands because it's learned that it has control of the Strait of Hormuz? It's not the blockade that is really stopping things. It's Iran.

GHITIS: There is no question Iran feels that it has won this war. And why -- that's why it's negotiating from what it perceives as a position of strength. The, you know, we have elections coming in this country. Trump is under a lot of pressure. The deal, we don't know what's going to happen. It could come back together in a few days, or it could unravel completely. There is a lot of backtracking.

There is a possibility, in my view, that this could end up being a deal where they just end the two blockades, the Hormuz blockade and the U.S. blockade of Iran. Iranian ships coming and going, because that is actually very, very costly and difficult for Iran. And then we could have something of a frozen conflict. And in the meantime, what will happen in the longer term, if that's how things unfold, what will happen in the longer term is that this kind of shadow war that was happening before this started will continue.

Iran will continue to arm its proxies, you know, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, the proxies inside of Iraq. The United States will keep its sanctions. That's one, I think, very, very possible scenario.

WHITFIELD: It took the Obama administration years to nail down that JCPOA. This president has been intimating that it will take, you know, perhaps another, a matter of weeks, if not months more. Is that a realistic expectation?

GHITIS: It's not realistic at all. I mean, you know, he also said he was going to end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours. You know, he -- they have been negotiating already before. You know, the notion that a deal will be reached in 30 or 60 days without military pressure when it couldn't be negotiated with military pressure to me is hard to accept.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Fascinating. All right, Frida Ghitis, always great to hear from you. Thank you.

GHITIS: Thanks.

WHITFIELD: All right. Still to come, gunfire outside the White House sent people scrambling for cover. A bystander was hit and the gunman was shot and killed. Now CNN has learned new details about the shooter's past interactions with the U.S. Secret Service. Plus, we're tracking the powerful storm system, unleashing heavy rains and causing holiday travel disruptions across the country. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:17:44]

WHITFIELD: All right. Today we're learning more about a man who was killed after exchanging gunfire with the U.S. Secret Service near the White House. Sources say the gunman has been identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best. Best approached a security checkpoint at the complex on Saturday evening, while the president was inside. Best then took a gun out of a bag and opened fire on agents before he was shot and killed.

Signs of the deadly encounter still are present today. New video showing apparent bullet holes in buildings near where the shooting took place.

CNN's Brian Todd is on the scene with more on this tragedy, including the suspect's previous encounters with law enforcement.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, it appears the processing of evidence at the scene here has been completed because the streets around the White House have been reopened. I'll step aside so our photojournalist, Christine Lee, can train her lens down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Now Pennsylvania Avenue over here had been closed in the hours right after the shooting. As you can see, there's a vehicle going down there now. It has since been reopened to traffic. Pointing the lens right down there, that point straight down the block, one block away, is where the shooting occurred at 17th and Pennsylvania Avenues northwest.

That could have been the spot where the gunman possibly got as close as he could to the White House complex, because Lafayette Square Park is to the left and the walking plaza at the White House, right in front of the White House is straight ahead. Those have been closed down for the last several months because of construction, so you can't even walk around there. even under normal circumstances.

Right now, that place right there, the point of the shooting at 17th and Pennsylvania may well have been the closest point that the gunman could have gotten. That gunman, of course, as we've been reporting, was struck by gunfire from Secret Service uniformed officers and later died at a local hospital. There was a bystander who was struck. That bystander, we believe, remains in critical condition.

Still not clear if the bystander was struck by the gunman's initial shots or whether the bystander was struck in the ensuing crossfire. Our sources now identifying the suspect as 21-year-old Nasire Best. According to one source, he had previous encounters with the Secret Service, including in June of 2025 when he blocked an entry lane at the White House and in July of 2025, when he was arrested for attempting to enter a White House complex driveway.

[16:20:02]

He had also made several statements on social media, including at least one where he voiced a desire to harm President Trump. And the president also responded to this shooting with a post on Truth Social, thanking the Secret Service officers for their response, but also saying this, quote, "This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondents Dinner shooting and goes to show how important it is for all future presidents to get what will be the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C.. The national security of our country demands it."

That is an apparent reference to the White House ballroom complex. As you recall, after the White House Correspondents Dinner shooting last month, the president came out and said that in his mind it really speaks to the need to have a secure ballroom complex in place to hold those events there, rather than a hotel like the Washington Hilton -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Brian Todd, thank you so much.

All right, straight ahead, NASCAR fans in mourning at Charlotte Motor Speedway. We'll have a live report from the first cup series race since Kyle Busch's sudden death.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:25:27]

WHITFIELD: All right, millions of people across the east are facing a flood threat as the chance for heavy rain stretches from New York to Florida.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is tracking the storms on this holiday weekend.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More than 50 million people are at risk of flooding today across the eastern half of the country. And it's due to several different low pressure systems that are really just going to continue to bring rain to some of these areas that have already had days in a row of rain showers. They will continue through the evening, and you'll notice by about 10:00, 11:00 tonight, we've almost got this long line stretching from New York all the way back to Florida with some very heavy bands and even some strong thunderstorms kind of mixed in along that line.

It will continue to spread off to the east as we go into Memorial Day with some of the heavier rain, at least in the morning hours across portions of the northeast and the mid-Atlantic. By the afternoon, more of those showers and thunderstorms fire up across the southeastern region of the country. The best potential for flooding exists kind of right through here in the Ohio Valley, stretching down to the Tennessee Valley, all the way down to the Gulf Coast.

That's for today. But when we push into tomorrow, you'll notice it's a lot of the same states yet again that have the potential for that flooding. Overall, most of these areas expected to get about one to two inches of rain. Some could pick up three, four, or even five inches of rain. Keep in mind this is on top of what some of these areas have already had, not just the last 24 or 48, but last 72 hours. So that ground is already saturated. It's really not going to take all

that much to cause flooding, even simply one to two inches could be enough to cause some ponding on the roadways and things like that across many of these areas. Now, all of those rain showers, all of the extra cloud cover is also keeping temperatures much cooler than they normally would be. Take New York, for example, high today, only in the mid-50s. The average is 73. Even Philadelphia only going to top out in the low 60s. They would normally be in the mid to upper 70s.

D.C., Boston, Syracuse, also looking at temperatures anywhere from five to 15 degrees cooler than they normally would be for this holiday weekend.

WHITFIELD: All right. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much.

All right, straight ahead, a new warning about the time, the amount of time younger children and teens are spending on their screens instead of schoolwork or even sleep. Straight ahead expert advice on what parents can do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:32:23]

WHITFIELD: All right. This week, a new surgeon general's advisory issued on the risks of screen time for younger children and teens came out, and the advisory says by the time they are adolescents, children are spending more time on screens than sleeping or even going to school, which can be extremely harmful. It also notes that exposure to screens often begins before a child's first birthday, and it increases with age.

Kara Alaimo is associate professor of communications at Fairleigh Dickinson University, joining us right now. She's also the author of "Over the Influence: Why Social Media is Toxic for Women and Girls, and How We Can Take It Back."

Professor, great to see you.

KARA ALAIMO, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATIONS, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY: Likewise.

WHITFIELD: OK, so what are some of the harms that children can face by just too much screen time?

ALAIMO: Oh, my goodness, Fred, how much time do you have?

WHITFIELD: I know because that's what this is answering, too. Right?

ALAIMO: Exactly. So the advisory talks about how the more time that kids spend on screens, the more likely they are to do worse in school, have poor physical health, have poor mental health, have conflict in their family, have behavioral problems, have poorer language.

WHITFIELD: Maybe not even be very social?

ALAIMO: Absolutely. And so we just are not meant to be on screens. None of us. Human beings evolved to interact with one another.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

ALAIMO: To be outside, to walk.

WHITFIELD: But now kids, adults, everybody has been introduced to screens. The entertainment that can come from it, the convenience, how to communicate with one another through your screen. And so now we're talking about, you know, these detrimental consequences. So this surgeon general's advisory says, OK, let's now limit it to -- it depends on the age group, but let's, you know, whether it's not introducing at all under a year old or here, you know, you've got less than one hour per day for children under 6. I mean, good luck with that, right?

Two hours per day for ages 6 to 18. I mean, this is going to be very difficult for a lot of parents and households to try and reinforce because, I mean, two hours is nothing for a lot of these kids, right?

ALAIMO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: They're on the screen something like four hours and six hours.

ALAIMO: Right. So right now, the average 13 to 18 year old is on screens more than eight hours a day.

WHITFIELD: That's insane.

ALAIMO: And so getting them down --

WHITFIELD: But wait a minute, does that include being in school? Because, you know, a lot of kids, they're not really handwriting anymore. Their schoolwork is on iPads, et cetera.

ALAIMO: That's right.

WHITFIELD: So does that count?

ALAIMO: Yes. And it is a huge, huge problem. So we're at a point right now where a lot of schools will take kids' personal devices from them at the beginning of the school day.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ALAIMO: And just issue school issued devices.

WHITFIELD: Right.

[16:35:05]

ALAIMO: And kids are on screens all day. I am part of a group of parents in my community that are advocating to remove screens from schools. And this advisory gives us really important evidence. To your question of what do parents do about this, right? I would say my daughter is 7 years old, my oldest child. I wouldn't even want her on screens for two hours a day. I think that would be harmful.

And so this advisory gives us all a call to action to reduce screen time, which is really great. But I would suggest to parents that they think about eliminating screens all together. We know that once a kid has a screen, it's impossible to take it away.

WHITFIELD: It's impossible.

ALAIMO: Right?

WHITFIELD: It's amazing. Really.

ALAIMO: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Even lost your power as a parent.

ALAIMO: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: I mean, just saying.

ALAIMO: So would anyone say to an alcoholic, you can only have two drinks today? We would never do that. All of these digital devices are generally designed to keep us addicted. And so the best thing --

WHITFIELD: Right. So then what are we going to do? So the advisory is saying, OK, well, for one, parents need to, you know, demonstrate that there are limitations they impose on themselves and that will kind of rub off, you know, on the kids. What are some of the other, I guess, suggestions that seem realistic that could be applicable to most households?

ALAIMO: Yes, the suggestions are great. There's five D's. So one, discuss this with your kids. Two, do, which is modeling good behavior.

WHITFIELD: Right.

ALAIMO: Three is delay giving our kids screens. Four is to disconnect, right? So have time where everyone is unplugged. And then my favorite is divert. Give kids other healthy activities to do, right?

WHITFIELD: Something else to do.

ALAIMO: Let them get together with their friends in person and talk about it afterwards, because I bet they will have way more fun getting together with their friends in person. I know, shocking idea.

WHITFIELD: What we did back in the day, right?

ALAIMO: Right. Rather than just sitting home and scrolling, right?

WHITFIELD: Yes. Always me. I mean, that's what you hear from a lot of kids. Like, woe is me. Have you taken away their devices? They're like, I have nothing to do. It's like, well, maybe you could actually interact with somebody.

ALAIMO: Totally. And I think that parents are wrong about how difficult it's going to be to take away these devices. So I've been --

WHITFIELD: Really? I don't, it's going to be hard.

ALAIMO: Yes. Well, I've been talking --

WHITFIELD: Well, I'm just thinking my kids, what? It's hard.

ALAIMO: I've been talking to parents across the country and everyone says it's impossible.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ALAIMO: But I would say it's going to be ugly at first. But when our kids were toddlers and they wanted to have cake and cookies for dinner, we didn't allow them to do that even though it was unpleasant for everyone involved. And I'm not here to judge parents. We all know parents get enough judgment from other people. It's really hard to be a parent in our society, but this is one of those moments where I think if we take our screens away from kids, we will quickly discover that our kids are a lot happier.

WHITFIELD: Yes, that is true. I mean, and when I say hard, OK, it's not hard to just go ahead and remove the device. What's hard is the consequence that comes from that, because you're going to get a lot of belly aching, you know, true.

ALAIMO: Totally, totally.

WHITFIELD: And maybe that's what you have to think about like that. So what? Oh, well.

ALAIMO: I mean --

WHITFIELD: Oh, well, people are unhappy. OK. Be unhappy. I've taken away your devices, I mean, and just live with that? What?

ALAIMO: Exactly. What if our kids said to us, I'm not of age to drive, but I really, really want to. And I'm going to yell at you if you don't let me.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

ALAIMO: Right? This is one of those moments where parents have to make tough decisions.

WHITFIELD: Yes. You have to be thinking, this is for your safety. It's for your well-being.

ALAIMO: Totally.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh. OK, well, these are the conversations happening in all households because everyone is dealing with it. I don't care. You know what you're, you know, what community you may be in, you're dealing with it because --

ALAIMO: We're all in it. WHITFIELD: Yes, kids love their screens. OK. Thank you so much,

Professor. Appreciate it.

ALAIMO: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, you know him for his Emmy winning portrayal of Dr. Robby on "The Pitt." But actor Noah Wyle made a house call to Capitol Hill to advocate for real-life healthcare professionals. And tonight, get to know legendary comedian Chevy Chase in the acclaimed CNN Film, "I'm Chevy Chase, and You're Not," featuring candid interviews with the Chase family, friends, co-stars, and, of course, Chevy Chase himself. The film airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN, or watch it on the CNN app.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:44:01]

WHITFIELD: All right. It's a solemn day today as NASCAR fans gather at the Charlotte Motor Speedway and remember the late racing superstar Kyle Busch, who passed away on Thursday. His rapid decline stunning the racing world. Busch's family said the NASCAR Cup Series champion died after complications of severe pneumonia that progressed into sepsis. Busch was scheduled to race at the Coca-Cola 600 today. His car was still unloaded there yesterday ahead of the race.

CNN correspondent Rafael Romo joining us live now from outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

Rafael, what has been -- what has it been like there today?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. Now inside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, we have moved in in the last -- since the last hour, Fred. And what I can tell you is that this has become Kyle Busch's day here at the racetrack. And it's just been, yes, sad, yes, somber, but also very emotional.

[16:45:02]

And to see so many families and different people coming here today to honor the memory, the legacy, the dedication of someone like Kyle Busch. I've seen a lot of people wearing T-shirts with the name "Rowdy Nation." As you remember that the followers, the fans of Kyle Busch, they were called the "rowdy nation." He was also known as "Wild Thing" because he reveled in playing the villain in the NASCAR series.

And all of those people say that they admire not only the kind of driver that he was, but also his passion for the sport, his dedication, his love for perfection. I had an opportunity to talk to different families who have been here not only today, but throughout the entire weekend, paying their respects to Kyle Busch.

There was a question at one moment, Fred, whether the race should have been suspended or not, but the NASCAR CEO, Steve O'Donnell, said that the best way to honor the memory of someone like Kyle Busch was precisely to go on with the races, because that's he said what he would have wanted. Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE O'DONNELL, NASCAR CEO: Kyle Busch would probably be pretty pissed off if we didn't race, so we're going to honor his memory and make sure people know what he was all about. Kyle Busch, to me, is an American badass, behind the wheel who you want to be. That's part of being a race car driver. That's part of representing this sport. We're not always going to agree. If we did, I think people would be really bored.

We certainly had our battles. Right. But I'd give a lot of money to have a few more battles going forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Now let's remember the many accomplishments that Kyle Busch had. He was in his 22nd season in NASCAR's top division, credited with 63 victories spread over 762 race starts, which ranks him ninth on the all-time wins list. His two cup series titles came in 2015 and 2019, and so beyond that, what people here are thinking about today is the void that he leaves behind because he became a symbol for a generation.

I was talking to a teenager, only 15 years old, who was saying that he grew up with Kyle Busch. And just watching him, admiring his style, his races, and how driven and determined he was, he says now it's going to be very hard to fill that void.

Fred, now back to you.

WHITFIELD: It is quite the void indeed.

Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

All right. You may know him as Dr. Robby from "The Pitt," which airs on CNN's sister network HBO.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, please don't fire me.

NOAH WYLE, EMMY AWARD-WINNING ACTOR AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "THE PITT": This is Dr. Michael Rabinovich. I am the chief of emergency medicine at PTMC. If you fire her, she will sue you. And I will testify on her behalf.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Or you might recall him as Dr. John Carter from the '90s hit show "E.R.." Well, last week, Noah Wyle led a rally of real life healthcare workers on Capitol Hill to lobby for things like mental health resources and tax credits for those working in areas with the greatest need.

CNN's Dana Bash joined Wyle on the Hill as he walked the halls with doctors and nurses, pushing for more help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to Washington.

WYLE: Nice place you get here.

BASH: Nice to see you.

WYLE: Good to see you, too. Honor to meet you.

SEN. ELIZABETH WARREN (D-MA): Nice to please you.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R-ME): Susan Collins.

WYLE: A pleasure to meet you, Senator.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Hey, how are you? Chris Murphy.

SEN. ROGER MARSHALL (R-KS): Roger Marshall.

WYLE: It's wonderful to be here. This is my second trip to D.C. with figs and their ambassadors to try to lobby for some meaningful legislation that will help healthcare professionals.

BASH: We're used to seeing you in scrubs, walking into a trauma unit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Robby! You can't do this.

BASH: Now you're in a suit walking the halls of Congress.

WYLE: Yes. This is a little bit out of my comfort zone, but I am always amazed when I come to this city and get to see how the sausage gets made. You know, I'm basically a trojan horse that's trying to get some very unbelievable people inside the halls of Congress so they can speak their truths to people that will listen, because I'm in the room.

The Lorna Breen Act, which got passed last year by Congress, is now just needs to be funded. So we're here trying to ask for that funding at least $45 million so that all the programs that go under the Lorna Breen Act, all those mental health resources can get out there and be continuing to do the effective work that they're doing.

Dr. Elizabeth Potter with me who is an extremely talented plastic surgeon.

DR. ELIZABETH POTTER, BOARD CERTIFIED PLASTIC SURGEON: It's 2025 and insurance just keeps getting worse.

WYLE: Dr. Potter was in the middle of a surgery, got called out by an insurance company.

POTTER: The gentleman said he needed some information about her, want to know her diagnosis and whether her in-patient stay should be justified.

[16:50:08]

And I was like, do you understand that she's asleep right now and she has breast cancer? And what proceeded to happen was that the healthcare, that company, the insurance company, sicked a group of lawyers on me and told me to be quiet.

WYLE: The most important things I've ever done in my life have been in this hospital. Nothing will ever matter more than what I've done in this hospital. But it is killing me.

BASH: When you are in the writers' room and you're coming up with these story lines about, I mean, the main one I would say is Dr. Robby, you, and the mental health challenges that you are having as his character and how much that will affect and maybe help real-world doctors.

WYLE: It is baked into the intentionality of our show is to do this as accurately as possible so that we give context to people and families of people who are in these jobs to understand what they do for a living. Watching a show like "The Pitt" is a little bit like exposure therapy.

WARREN: These nurses are why I'm here. So --

MARTY WYLE, RETIRED NURSE: Why I'm here, too.

WARREN: There you go.

BASH: What's the most important thing that you want these lawmakers to know?

WYLE: Cancer isn't partisan. Heart disease isn't partisan. So healthcare policy shouldn't be partisan either. So few of these policies actually go into helping the lives of the people that are actually doing the work. There's a lot of stuff that's patient centric. There's very little that's actually practitioner centric. So that's what we're trying to do is just put a little bit more awareness on the trials and tribulations of the people who put our broken pieces back together every day.

I'm pretending like I know where I'm going. I brought my mom with me because my mother -- she's the expert.

M. WYLE: I retired nursing but --

WYLE: Fifty years in the trenches.

M. WYLE: I've been a nurse for almost 50 years.

WYLE: This is a multi-generational effort and getting to have my professional career and my mother's professional career dovetailed together in an act of advocacy that then is witnessed by my daughter, who just said to me as we were walking down the hall, Dad, I think I might want to be a doctor when I grow up. M. WYLE: I really admire that he's used his success as a platform for

medical professionals. It's really, really heartwarming and it's been so nice to meet you.

WYLE: Sometimes you need something that has a visceral impact. I feel oddly comfortable here.

BASH: I mean, we're used to seeing you on scrubs. You do?

WYLE: I could have been on the "West Wing." I think I could have, I think I could have handled the walk and talk with Rob Lowe.

BASH: You do? I mean, I am no Rob Lowe, but you know. You a lot of wild things.

WYLE: Nobody is perfect. Nobody is perfect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Dana Bash, thank you so much.

All right. Straight ahead, we'll meet a man who has devoted decades to preserving the country's emotional music tribute to our fallen heroes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:57:24]

WHITFIELD: All right. This Memorial Day weekend, the somber call of "Taps" will honor military veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice. The song dates back to the civil war.

CNN's Karin Caifa introduces us to one man who has dedicated decades to the history and performance of that bugle call, as well as making sure each veteran receives the proper tribute.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KARIN CAIFA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jari Villanueva's experience with the bugle call "Taps" started as a scout.

JARI VILLANUEVA, BRASS AND BUGLE HISTORIAN: I was the troop bugler, so I would sound "Taps" and "Reveille" and "Mess Call" when we were out on camping trips.

CAIFA (voice-over): During 23 years with the U.S. Air Force Band, he participated in thousands of ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery and elsewhere. But a single question launched him on a decades long mission.

VILLANUEVA: The chief, who was in charge of the band, leaned over to me and said, where did the call come from? And I was dumbfounded because I couldn't give him a good answer.

CAIFA (voice-over): Villanueva decided to learn everything he could about bugling and "Taps" and share it. "Taps" originated during the Civil War, he says, when Union General

Daniel Butterfield asked his brigade bugler to come up with a less formal call to end the day. Their "Taps" soon spread to other units and became an official bugle call after the war. More than 160 years later, millions have heard it graveside to honor their military veterans for the final time.

Buglers, Villanueva says, should strive for perfection every time.

VILLANUEVA: That's going to be the lasting impression that they have for the rest of their lives, that when they were at the cemetery, they heard that bugle sounding, those 24 notes.

CAIFA (voice-over): On a steamy May day at Baltimore National Cemetery, where veterans have been laid to rest since World War II, Villanueva sounded those 24 notes.

("TAPS" BEING PLAYED)

CAIFA (voice-over): Villanueva has also spearheaded "Taps for Veterans," a nationwide network of auditioned volunteer buglers to connect with families and veterans organizations to honor the fallen on Memorial Day and every day.

VILLANUEVA: Of all the military bugle calls, none is so easily recognized or more apt to evoke emotion than the bugle call "Taps."

CAIFA (voice-over): Karin Caifa, CNN, Baltimore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And thank you so much for joining me this weekend. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Jessica Dean right now.