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New Reports Detail Graham Platner's Extramarital Sexts; Jill Biden Feared Joe Biden Was Having A Stroke At 2024 Debate; Jon Ossoff And Keisha Lance Bottoms Team Up In Georgia Race; Meteor Fireball Caused Mysterious Boom Heard Across New England; Trump To Host Ceremony After Artists Bail On 250th Festival Concert; Kenya Pushes Forward, Hurricane Season, California Governor, Alligator Alcatraz. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired May 31, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

PAULA REID, CNN HOST: And on Tuesday don't miss key primary races across the country including that governor contest in California. Get election results all night Tuesday on CNN and the CNN app.

Hello. Thanks for joining me. I'm Paula Reid in for Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin this hour with the new controversy swirling around the presumptive Democratic nominee in the high stakes Senate race in Maine. "The Wall Street Journal" and "The New York Times" published reports on Saturday that claim Graham Platner's wife, Amy Gertner, told Platner's campaign last August about sexual text messages she found between her husband and other women early in their marriage.

Now these messages were found by his wife last year but were sent before the campaign began. The publications reported that Gertner flagged the messages while his campaign was internally vetting the candidate. A former political director for Platner campaign confirmed to CNN that Gertner told her Platner had been sexting multiple women, though CNN has not independently verified the existence of the text.

Now, Gertner says she feels betrayed by that ex-campaign aide whom she confided in and considered a friend. In a statement, she said, quote, "I trusted this person with the most private chapter of our lives. The early days of our marriage, before any campaign was on our mind. And I am deeply hurt by her betrayal and the invasion of our privacy. I know who Graham is. I know the man I married and the husband he has been to me on the best and the worst days of my life. That hasn't changed and it won't."

The campaign also shared a video from Platner's wife.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMY GERTNER, GRAHAM PLATNER'S WIFE: I find it really shameful that there's a group of media outlets and people who are willing to spread gossip. Instead of talking about real issues that Graham is running on, like healthcare and education and childcare.

(END VIDEO CLIP) REID: I'm joined now by Michael LaRosa. He's a former special assistant to President Biden and press secretary to former first lady Jill Biden. He's also a Democratic strategist.

All right, Michael, this campaign is really high stakes. It was already a little messy. He had to cover up a chest tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol. He's posted some unflattering things in the past about police. Once described himself as a communist. And now this.

What is your reaction?

MICHAEL LAROSA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, for the few of us Democrats who are really uninterested and kind of grossed out and offended by his candidacy in the first place, this isn't really surprising. He's kind of a firehose of opposition research every week. And, he's the -- he's a gift to the Republicans that keeps on giving literally to them every week.

So, you know, it's unfortunate that this is our nominee. He could -- you know, that's the thing with politics. It can be very unpredictable. He could very well win. But I'm pretty confident that the Susan Collins campaign and the Republican National Committee are enjoying themselves watching this one.

REID: Why do you think he didn't get out ahead of this? He did a really lengthy interview with "The New York Times." I listened to all of it. They gave him an opportunity to get out in front of this. Obviously, the campaign could have done it. He could have done it. Why not get out in front of this? Why let it come out in "The Times" or "The Journal"?

LAROSA: It's a great question. I mean, I don't know the kind of experience or inexperience he's surrounded by. He's a first-time candidate. He's a very unvetted candidate. One would think that they would want to get the sort of tawdry stuff out of the way because so much has already come out. You'd think that like, it would just be obvious to try to get this out as soon as possible rather than later.

But usually the good stuff that the -- your opponents want to put out for the public will come later in the campaign. And that's what's kind of nerve wracking and unfortunate about this particular candidate as a Democratic nominee.

DEAN: All right. I want to shift gears to former first lady Jill Biden. Her new memoir, her comments about her concern that her husband was having a stroke during the presidential debate that effectively ended his campaign for a second term.

Look, as somebody who worked closely with the Bidens, is it helpful for her to come out at this moment and dredge all this up again?

[16:05:00]

LAROSA: Absolutely not. It is not helpful to the Democratic Party, but it doesn't seem like they care very much about the party because they didn't really care about it two years ago either. I think that it's unfortunate timing. There's not going to be many Democrats who this -- gets much sympathy from. Frankly, she's singing a little bit of a different tune than she sang two years ago. And it's really hard to change the impression in people's minds because the first impression we got from and that we've had for the last two years was that he was fine in that debate, according to her.

She was part of that response. In fact, she was the face and voice of that response to the debate and that first reaction. So telling the country now that she actually had a different reaction, it's a little disingenuous.

REID: CBS ran an extended interview with Jill Biden this morning where she talked about the call her husband made to Vice President Harris when he decided he was going to suspend his campaign for reelection. Let's take a listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RITA BRAVER, CBS SUNDAY MORNING: Before your husband made the announcement, he called Vice President Harris.

JILL BIDEN, FORMER FIRST LADY: Yes.

BRAVER: To tell her what he had decided. And you said almost as soon as he gave her the news, she demanded that he endorse her right away. And, I mean, did you think something was off about that?

BIDEN: You know, I'm sure she thought about it. You know, it wasn't like a call out of the blue. I'm sure with everything happening at that time, it had to cross her mind. So I think I think that's --

BRAVER: When you said it was back and forth because she wanted him to endorse her at the same time he announced that he was dropping out and he wanted to just make the announcement of the drop out first. Right?

BIDEN: Oh, yes. Sure.

BRAVER: And you said you even walked out of the room because --

BIDEN: I did. Yes.

BRAVER: It was got too tense maybe?

BIDEN: Well, it was just, I'm telling you, it was so hard. I mean, this is what Joe had worked for all his life. He loved being a statesman. He loved the job of helping the American people and to give it up. I mean, Rita, he did it for over 50 years of his life. That's a long time. And so at some point when all of this is going on, it gets a little overwhelming. And yes, I had to walk out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: All right. You worked closely with the Bidens. So my question to you is, why? Why are we -- why is she doing this now? What is this gaining? What is the goal here? LAROSA: Well, if I was advising Dr. Biden again, I would have told her

that if you are trying to change the narrative in people's minds, if you're trying to change the tape, right, you can't do that two years later. The toothpaste is out of the tube. So the problem for her is, as I said before, she is saying something completely different now that only invites the rest of us to ask, was she telling the truth then, or is she telling the truth now?

And unfortunately, this has done her more harm than good for her credibility. That's what a book is supposed to do for you. It's supposed to repair that sense of trust and that credibility that maybe you feel you lost. And she did lose a lot. But this is certainly not helping her. And to hear that clip is a little -- it's not surprising because, look, Paula, she's -- she was his spouse. She's his spouse. She was the first lady.

She was probably torn and probably distraught about all of it, but it was June. It was the end of June. The convention was in six weeks. And he was dropping out. What they did to the party was incredibly selfish, incredibly selfish. And Kamala Harris, frankly, at that moment, had every right to ask for the endorsement right away. We needed a ticket. They were essentially dropping out and leaving the ticket high and dry after he'd been running for reelection for over a year.

What they did was really unprecedented and very historic in terms of a political campaign, selfishness for their own party. It didn't do -- it wasn't helpful to, and it is sad because he had a 50-year career. It is sad for everybody to see it end this way. But these were the choices they made.

REID: Michael LaRosa, thank you.

LAROSA: You're welcome.

REID: And happening right now in Georgia, the Democratic nominee for governor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, joins incumbent Senator Jon Ossoff for the first time on the campaign trail.

[16:10:03]

They hope to offer a unifying message to voters while the Republican Party still has runoff races to choose their nominees in both of those races.

Rafael Romo joins us now live with the rally is underway.

Rafael, the senator faces a major challenge to hold on to that seat. What can you tell us?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Paula. Jon Ossoff's campaign just released the list of speakers for this rally here at the Tabernacle in downtown Atlanta, a building that is now a mid-sized concert hall, but was originally built as a church more than 100 years ago. Well, among the people who will speak before the Democratic senator are an Affordable Care Act recipient and a couple of young Georgia parents, which gives you an idea about some of the points Ossoff will later make.

According to Ossoff's campaign, his speech, expected for later this hour, is going to focus on what they call the Trump administration's attacks on Georgia's skyrocketing healthcare premiums, pocketbooks and voting rights. The first speakers will be followed by Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is going to be introduced by her son, Lincoln, the former Atlanta mayor who won the Democratic primary earlier this month to run for Georgia governor.

On the Republican side, Congressman Mike Collins, who owns a trucking business, and Derek Dooley, an attorney and former head football coach at the University of Tennessee, won the right to run against each other in Georgia's runoff election on June 16th after the state's primary on May 19th. The winner will go against Ossoff in November's midterm elections.

In a way, Paula, the Republican race for Senate is a fight between two factions of Republicans in Georgia. Those who don't like Congressman Collins, who are perceived as Trump loyalists, and those like Dooley, who are allied with the popular Georgia governor, Brian Kemp. Georgia looms as potentially one of the most competitive midterm races. Senator Ossoff, the incumbent, is the only Senate Democrat standing for reelection in a state carried by Trump in 2024.

Ossoff has been posting blockbuster fundraising numbers, pulling in $12 million in the fourth quarter of last year and reporting more than $25 million in cash on hand back in April. On the Republican side, even though the June 16th election is a Georgia runoff, it's a faceoff between President Trump and Governor Brian Kemp.

In 2022, Paula, you will remember, Kemp easily defeated a primary challenge against a candidate backed by President Donald Trump, who lashed out at Kemp for refusing to overturn Joe Biden's 2020 victory here in the state.

Paula, now back to you.

REID: Rafael Romo, thank you.

And coming up, what sounded like an explosion was heard by people all across New England.

What NASA says actually caused the loud boom and all that shaking. Plus a star studded concert series is losing performers. But gaining a president. How Donald Trump has become the main attraction for the troubled Freedom 250 event.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:18:20]

REID: That unsettling explosion heard across New England had everyone asking, just what was that? And now we know. NASA is confirming that an exploding meteor about three feet wide, pierced the atmosphere over the Boston area on Saturday. Earlier, I spoke with the University of Rochester astrophysicist

professor Adam Frank about this incredible event. Here's what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Did you hear this yesterday?

ADAM FRANK, PROFESSOR OF ASTROPHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER: No. Sadly, I was at a concert. So I didn't hear it. But, you know, it's such an amazing idea that, like, there was this, you know, three-foot sized, which is not very big, space rock screaming in to the atmosphere at 75,000 miles an hour. And then it blew up. And so, you know, it's not often that you get exploding space rocks, sort of, you know, shaking everybody's world a little bit.

REID: Yes. In addition to moving 75,000 miles per hour, it released the energy equivalent, according to NASA, of 300 tons of TNT. Can you put that into context for us?

FRANK: Well, you know, there's -- we have a lot of -- there's always stuff hitting the atmosphere. I think one of the most amazing things for people to understand about this is we're constantly getting bombarded. Everything from little grains of dust to sand grains, which is what most of the meteors you see, and then larger things like three, something that's three feet across.

So, you know, if you start moving into larger bodies, once you get to something that's 30 feet across, then you're really facing some real danger. When those explode in the atmosphere, depending on how far down they get, they can really take down an area.

[16:20:02]

And then you get even larger and then you start getting into, you know, things that can, what we call city killers, which are miles across. You get to 30 miles across, and then you're like an extinction level event. So it's this spectrum of, you know, from interesting to, oh, my god, that space presents us with.

REID: Yes, city killers. Oh, my god, it's right. Now we've learned this was not part of a meteor shower. Does that mean it was traveling solo? Can you explain how common that is?

FRANK: That's pretty common. This happens about once every 10 days somewhere on the earth. It's just that the earth is mostly ocean, so there's nobody around to watch. And even there's not, you know, when you look at it, there's not that many places on earth that actually are inhabited. So this is really quite a common thing. And what I want people to understand is what it really shows is, is that space is not just something out there.

We're really connected to it. Every day there's about 10 tons of space material that makes it down to Earth, either through this kind of explosion in the atmosphere or just dust grains. So when you go to your car and somebody puts "wash me" on it, you know, if you swipe your finger along that -- along your car, there's probably some grains of interstellar material, interplanetary material, that fell, you know, just as recently as a couple of days ago.

REID: Dust never sounded so cool. Now it's believed to have landed somewhere in the water near Cape Cod, which NASA says is technically called a fishy squisher? What exactly does that mean?

FRANK: I have no idea. I've never heard that.

REID: You never heard that? They made me say it. I thought this was a technical term.

FRANK: Congratulations to whoever at NASA invited -- invented that. You know, the thing is, people always want to find the debris that comes from this. Now, obviously, if it's in the ocean, there's no way because, you know, it's three feet across, which is, you know, about this big, but it has shattered now into so many different pieces that you're probably not going to find any pieces. So it's rare that when this happens that you actually get to find the debris.

And of course, we want to find it because these are in general pieces of the -- of what they're construction debris from the assembly of the solar system, the planets, billions of years ago. So, you know, when we see these, these are time capsules for us about the building of the Earth and other planets. But in general, for something like this, you're never going to find the debris.

REID: Fascinating. Professor Adam Frank, thank you for joining us to kick off our show with this really interesting event up in New England. Thank you.

FRANK: Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:53]

REID: A concert series celebrating America's 250th birthday is on shaky ground after most of the musicians slated to perform have backed out. Now, President Trump says he will host the opening ceremony for the Great American State Fair next month. Performers like the Commodores, Martina McBride and rapper Young MC have withdrawn from the events.

CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook joins me now live from outside the White House.

Julia, these artists claim they were misled about what this performance entailed. How is the White House responding?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are questions about what this event is going to look like now. But President Donald Trump says that he is going to be hosting an opening ceremony for the Great American State Fair event taking place on the National Mall. It's going to be late June to early July, that full event, and that's to celebrate America's 250th anniversary. But him serving as the kickoff, the host of that is a new development after several of these artists backed out of a concert series that was supposed to take place -- is still taking place we believe, in some form.

But there are a few different groups that are putting together these America 250 type events. There is the nonpartisan commission created by Congress, America 250, and then there is the White House organization created by executive order, Freedom 250, which was putting on this specific event.

And as these artists dropped out, Trump lashed out on social media, writing in part, "We should have a giant Make America Great Again rally for 250 instead of having overpriced singers who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain," adding, quote, "Cancel it."

In a statement to CNN, a Freedom 250 spokesperson Danielle Alvarez confirmed that Trump will be kicking off the event at an opening ceremony on Wednesday, June 24th.

Now, these artists that backed out of the series, many of them said that they were misled about the events' political affiliations. Country singer Martina McBride, she said in a statement announcing that she would not be performing, she said, quote, "I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event, but that turned out to be misleading."

In a statement, rapper Young MC shared a similar sentiment, writing in part, "The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event."

Earlier today, CNN's Dana Bash pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about this. Take a listen to part of his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG BURGUM, INTERIOR SECRETARY: The American -- the Great American State Fair, running 15 days here on the mall, starting in late June and going through July 10th, is a celebration of all 50 states and all territories. There was a -- there is a planned event for the opening of that. And of course, with a smile on my face, I can't say I can't wade into the politics of musicians because, you know, some musicians want to play music for everybody and some musicians seem to have segmented their audiences the same way, you know, politicians have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) have dropped out of the event. Not all of them have. So, it will be interesting to see what shape this takes, as Trump is now calling for a make America great again rally. So, using his own campaign slogan to advertise those opening ceremonies -- Paula.

REID: Julia Benbrook outside the White House. Thank you. And coming up, a judge blocked the proposed U.S. quarantine facility in Kenya. But that facility will continue to be built, despite national outrage in that country.

[16:30:42]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: A controversial Ebola quarantine facility inside Kenya appears to be going ahead despite legal opposition. A source tells CNN U.S. personnel arrived yesterday at the Kenyan air base, where the facility would be located.

Earlier, I spoke with Saskia Popescu and asked her why her coop -- why cooperation between the countries is so significant right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SASKIA POPESCU, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: It's probably the most vital, to be candid. Right now, the biggest concern is, you know, we are struggling to get enough PPE or personal protective equipment in the region and the affected areas, testing, contact tracing, and all of the resources mobilized. And that doesn't just take one country, one organization. So, it's everyone working together.

But, also, what we did see in the 2014 outbreak is when you have a lot of cooks in the kitchen, you have to ensure that they're working together. So, right now, that mobilization through the WHO's call for an international emergency of concern is really about that coordinated effort, but ensuring that we're fast in this. That we're working together and not against each other.

And I think that's the biggest piece, especially when it comes to what we're seeing in Kenya with the WHO. I mean, to Director General Tedros' point, we want to focus on the good.

But the concern for a lot of folks right now is how are we going to struggle to get Americans to work in the region, if we're concerned that they're going to be put in quarantine in Kenya? So, those kinds of things can make it a little bit more complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: CNN's Larry Madowo has more on the latest developments from Kenya.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kenya and the United States appear to be going ahead with this U.S. Ebola containment facility at a military base in central Kenya. Partly, because there are long-standing deals between these two countries.

Some of these health partnerships precede the current Kenya and the current American administrations. A high court judge specifically blocked Kenya from getting to this deal with the U.S. for the Ebola containment facility. Barred it from accepting, transferring anybody exposed to Ebola, anybody with confirmed Ebola symptoms, until it is heard in court and determined. It will come up for mention again on June 2nd.

But because there are existing biosafety deals with the U.S., they can't technically get away with this. Even though there's huge national outrage against what many in the country see as Kenya importing Ebola cases, when the country, so far, has no cases.

And the health minister addressed this in an interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. GILBERT MOKOKI, MINISTER OF HEALTH, REPUBLIC OF CONGO: There is no other way to say it. We are bringing Ebola patients to Laikipia. That facility is a military facility. Kenyan's defense forces will use that facility. Other Kenyans will use that facility.

And, by the way, let me say this. I don't know why people are so much about the U.S. Kenya is one country that has contributed between 25 to 35 percent of the health budget since independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: That is about 63 years of U.S. support for Kenya's health care system. In fact, the U.S. is one of the largest funders of health care here in the country.

Also, people have pointed out, here in the country, that both the current Ruto and Trump Administrations have sometimes ignored rulings they don't like. So, it would not be surprising if they were going ahead to do that in this case as well.

A source telling CNN that the Americans, who will man this Ebola containment facility, arrived at the Laikipia air base on Saturday. The Health and Human Services Department previously told CNN that they're sending a specialized team, highly trained doctors, nurses, lab technologists, mental health practitioners, even engineers, that will take care of the Americans who are exposed to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And need to quickly get out of there but can't stand that long journey back to the U.S.

So, for many Kenyans, they're still wondering why the country got into this, even though there's the money aspect, $13.5 million committed by the U.S. to Kenya for Ebola preparedness efforts.

Larry Madowo, CNN, Nairobi.

REID: As a comprehensive cease fire agreement, between the U.S. and Iran, is being weighed by both sides, concerns remain that military conflict could resume. Should that happen, a new CNN analysis shows that Iran is quickly digging out its vast underground missile arsenal, which is buried by American and Israeli airstrikes. CNN's Tamara Qiblawi reports.

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN INVESTIGATIONS WRITER: These are recent satellite images of Iran's missile bases, taken after the start of the ceasefire with the U.S. and Israel. Dump trucks and excavators digging through piles of rubble along the mountainside.

[16:40:00]

QIBLAWI: But it's what lies beneath the surface that makes this significant. A vast stockpile of missiles trapped by U.S. bombs and likely intact, according to weapons experts. With satellite images showing Iran quickly regaining access to them. Casting doubt on U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of having all but vanquished Iran's formidable rocket arsenal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons, factories and rocket launchers are being blown to pieces. Very few of them left

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QIBLAWI: CNN previously identified the pattern of U.S.-Israeli strikes to put Iran's missile complexes out of commission. Not by destroying them, but by blocking the tunnel entrances leading in and out of them, leaving the rockets trapped inside and severely hampering Iran's ability to wreak havoc on U.S. allies in the region.

But that was only a temporary solution. Iran is already undoing the effects of that strategy. Defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has acknowledged that Iran has been repairing the damage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: You are digging out your remaining launchers and missiles with no ability to replace them. You have no defense industry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QIBLAWI: But the recovery is widespread and it is happening quickly. CNN looked at 69 tunnels across 18 underground missile bases. At least 50 of those access points appeared to have been cleared, and many others are being repaired.

Take this base in western Iran. Just weeks ago, U.S.-Israeli fighter jets destroyed all four entrances to the underground complex. But, now, two of them appear wide open. The roads needed to wheel out its trapped rocket launchers repaved.

And Iran is already in the process of clearing the remaining two. It's also repaired some of the more than a dozen craters left behind by U.S. Israeli munitions. The craters indicate that a large amount of firepower was used to destroy just two tunnel entrances. And all Iran needs to reopen them, dump trucks and bulldozers.

As Iran rallies around the missiles that survived the war, weapons' experts say it will continue to come up with new ways to protect its arsenal from any renewed U.S.-Israeli bombing. Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

REID: In response to a request for comment on our reporting, the Pentagon referred CNN to a previous statement. It reads, America's military is the most powerful in the world and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the presidents choosing.

We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands, while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.

And up next, the Atlantic hurricane season is about to begin with a rare forecast of fewer storms than in past years. What's driving the outlook.

[16:43:14]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: Tomorrow is June first, and that means Atlantic hurricane season kicks off. Now, NOAA's team of experts is predicting a slightly below- average season this year.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar explains why.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Tomorrow is the official start to Atlantic hurricane season, and it's actually forecast to be a little bit slower than usual, which is fantastic news. The official forecast from NOAA calls for about a 35 percent chance of a near normal season, but a more than 50 percent chance of a below normal season.

Now, what exactly does that mean in terms of numbers? On a normal season, you would have about 14 total named storms. Seven of which would reach hurricane strength. Three reaching major hurricane strength, which is a category three, four or five-level storm.

This season, in particular, the forecast calls for eight to 14 total named storms. So, we could end up getting up to what would be considered a near-normal threshold, but it's more likely we'll have that number be a little bit lower.

Same thing for hurricanes. The total number there expected is three to six total hurricanes. Now, the biggest factor in this forecast has been the upcoming anticipated El Nino event.

Now, typically in an El Nino year, what this really does is it increases wind shear, right here in this red zone and portions of the Caribbean and the Atlantic. And that just inhibits further tropical cyclone development.

In addition to that, you also get fewer storms that come off the coast of Africa (?), which often, in turn, become tropical systems several days later.

Now, peak hurricane season, you can see really kind of ramps up right through here in September. But it really ranges from, say, August 15th to about October 15th. This is important because that is when we really anticipate seeing that El Nino begin to ramp up as well.

In fact, when you look at the forecast here, we may end up being in a strong El Nino come September, October and even into November of this year. So, certainly something to keep a close eye on as we get further and further into hurricane season.

[16:49:49]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: In just two days, voters in California will decide which two candidates will advance in the competition to succeed the state's term-limited Governor Gavin Newsom. Right now, polling shows golden state voters are closely divided.

Earlier, I spoke with Joe Garofoli, a senior political writer at the "San Francisco Chronicle." Here's what he told me about the current state of the race.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Democrats have panicked over a potential nightmare scenario for them, where they get locked out of this race altogether. Is that really a possibility?

JOE GAROFOLI, SENIOR POLITICAL WRITER, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: It's a -- it's a very, very slim possibility.

[16:55:01]

GAROFOLI: Like a -- like a couple of percent, at this point.

Earlier, like a couple of months ago, was a much greater possibility. To the point where the chair of the California Democratic Party and other senior officials here in the state, party officials, encouraged lower-polling candidates to evaluate their campaigns and get the hell out if they didn't think they had a chance to win.

One of those candidates was the leader today, Xavier Becerra. So, it's a -- the greatest comeback since Lazarus. If he turns out to be the top vote getter on Tuesday.

REID: Now, every registered voter in California was sent a mail in ballot, but many of them have not been returned. What does that tell you about the state of this race?

GAROFOLI: It tells me, certainly on the Democratic side, that there is not a lot of enthusiasm for the candidates. And that's been the case for several months now. In fact, even pollsters and other party officials, like the story a couple of months ago, said that there was a record low amount of enthusiasm for candidates.

That -- no one -- none of these candidates, including the frontrunners, have set the world on fire here among voters. I can't tell you how many voters have come to me and said, who should I vote for? I don't like any of these people. I was at a graduation party yesterday and, like, five people asked me that.

REID: What do you tell them when they ask?

GAROFOLI: Well, we talk -- we talk about, like, what issues are important to them and what candidate might be best for them. I tell people now (?), vote with your heart. Forget the strategic voting and all that stuff. They -- if you're -- at least the Democrats, for the most part.

If they're concerned about Republicans, two Republicans getting in, that's a very small, very -- like two or three percent, as I said. So, just vote your heart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Florida is set to wind down the immigration detention facility, known as Alligator Alcatraz, this summer. The question now is what will happen to the hundreds of detainees still being held there? CNN'S Carolina Peguero has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARIANNE BETANCOURT: I can't even say that I'm happy and not cry.

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A relentless legal battle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Poppy's (?) home and we got him some Cafecito.

PEGUERO: And a daughter doing everything in her power to get her father released from Florida's migrant detention center, known as Alligator Alcatraz.

ARIANNE BETANCOURT: I've worked so hard over the last six months for this. And everyone told me that it was impossible. To give up. That I wasn't going to get it done. And my dad is sitting right next to me.

PEGUERO: Her father, a Cuban national, Justo Betancourt, is one of thousands of migrants who have been held at what was billed with much fanfare as a temporary facility.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's an amazing job. They've all done a great job. Proud of them.

PEGUERO: Under conditions Justo says are inhumane, with shared cells with barely any space and little to no access to food and medicine.

JUSTO BETANCOURT (translated): From the moment you arrive, you're an animal that's assigned a number.

ARIANNE BETANCOURT: My dad's health was not the best, before he went into Alligator Alcatraz. But my dad, the condition that they released him in, I learned today that my dad had a mini stroke while he was detained.

PEGUERO: Wearing an ankle monitor, Justo recalls being moved through several immigration centers. At one point, U.S. authorities sent him to Mexico. But officials there refused to take him, due to his poor health. He was then sent back to the Florida center. Arianne recalls the day he was detained.

ARIANNE BETANCOURT: He showed up to his routine immigration check-in. I was sitting in the car and we were waiting, and hours were going by and we couldn't see him anymore. He wasn't outside. And a woman showed up, screaming that her husband had called her on his apple watch and told her that they detained him and the other 15 guys that were in line with him.

PEGUERO: ICE tells CNN Justo entered the U.S. illegally and has past criminal history for possession and selling illicit substances, though he says he served time for those charges. For now, he's back with his family.

Justo was released after his attorney filed several petitions for habeas corpus.

MIRIAM HASKALL, LAWYER, COMMUNITY JUSTIUCE PROJECT: We argued that the government still did not have a plan for his deportation. And the government responded to say that Mr. Betancourt would be sent to Mexico but ignored the fact that his removal had been attempted to Mexico in the past and had been denied.

And so that, combined with the length of his deportation, demonstrated that the government really doesn't have a plan and didn't have a plan for his deportation.

PEGUERO: And as the center is set to close, the big question is what happens to the hundreds of detainees that activists say are still being held in the Florida center?

THOMAS KENNEDY, COORDINATOR, FLORIDA IMMIGRANT COALITION: Very likely that most, if not all, are going to end up at other detention centers, unfortunately.

PEGUERO: Florida Governor Ron Desantis' office did not directly respond to the questions about the fate of the detainees after the detention camp closes. Instead, referred us to comments the governor made earlier this month, defending the facility.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R), FLORIDA: Being able to fill that void where, at the time, the federal government did not have the resources to do it. No question that saved lives. No question, it's increased public safety. And no question, it's the right thing to do.