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DOJ Sent Attorney to Observe California Ballot Counting Process; Graham Platner Faces New Scandal Days Before Maine Senate Primary; Pope Leo Begins Spain Trip with Focus on Migration; Video Shows Extensive Damage to Newest U.S. Aircraft Carrier; senior Military Adviser to Iran's Supreme Leaders Speaks Out; Sherpa Survives a Week Alone on Mount Everest. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired June 06, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: -- left to go explore alone following an argument with his mother over the use of A.I. She says they reported him missing after he disabled the location sharing app known as Life360.

"This morning, they posted a statement saying in part, "Our family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased by a volunteer search and rescue group in a mountainous area outside Kyoto. The grief we feel is impossible to put into words. We will always love you, Weston."

And now to new developments in a closely watched primary race in California. CNN projects Democrat Xavier Becerra will advance to the general election in the state's governor's race, but it's unclear who he will face in November. Trump-backed Republican Steve Hilton and fellow Democratic candidate Tom Steyer are in contention for the second spot, which will also advance to the general.

Ballots in the closely watched race are still being counted, in part because of the large number of mail-in votes that are postmarked on election day but arrived five days later. As CNN's Evan Perez explains, that process is now under scrutiny by the Trump administration.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department sent an attorney to observe ballot processing in Los Angeles on Friday. The move comes days after President Donald Trump said that the top federal prosecutor there was investigating the vote counting after Tuesday's primary elections. The L.A. County Elections Office told CNN that it was notified that an assistant U.S. attorney was being dispatched to watch ballot counting activities.

Now, it's not uncommon for election results in California to take sometimes weeks before they're finalized, in part because of the processing of mail-in ballots. Trump has claimed, without evidence, that the slow pace of the count from Tuesday's primary was a sign of Democratic, quote, "cheating." Several key races in the state, including for governor and LA. mayor, are still being counted.

We haven't seen any public signs that the Justice Department has found any evidence of a crime. Earlier Friday, First Assistant U.S. attorney Bill Essayli, a Trump appointee who leads the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles, said that his office had, quote, "multiple election fraud investigations underway," in a social media post that also bashed California's election system.

County officials have defended their processes, writing on social media on Thursday that the dedicated staff is working to ensure that every vote is accurately processed and verified for counting. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office told CNN that it had not received any complaints from the federal government regarding criminal misconduct related to the vote counting or fraud in the Los Angeles County primary election.

Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Evan.

All right. Next Tuesday, all eyes will also be on the state of Maine as Democratic voters there decide whether embattled candidate Graham Platner will be their pick to take on sitting Republican Senator Susan Collins. This week, Platner, a former U.S. Marine and oyster farmer, faced new allegations threatening his campaign.

"The New York Times" reported on Platner's previous ex-girlfriends, some of whom described volatile, even toxic relationships with him, including alleged instances of heavy drinking, infidelity and physical intimidation. In a statement to CNN, Platner disputed the claims of physical intimidation and said the most serious allegations were false and politically motivated.

Let's discuss more now with "Bangor Daily News" reporter Michael Shepard.

Michael, great to see you. So how are voters in Maine responding to these new allegations and his response to those allegations?

MICHAEL SHEPHERD, REPORTER, BANGOR DAILY NEWS: Yes, I think it's a complicated question with a lot of complicated answers. Right? He had a town hall meeting in Bar Harbor last night, pretty Democratic area of the state, one of the most, with 500 people there, very enthusiastic crowd. You saw around that the Platner campaign came out and said they had their best fundraising day of the campaign.

And so you see this in campaigns, in times of controversy, in this new sort of small donor model that campaigns can kind of power on, right, through these controversies. He certainly did that in October when we learned about the Reddit posts and the Nazi link tattoo. And you see an enthusiastic response from his voters. But of course, you talk to people in the political set, lawmakers, you know, people in that group, I think you have a little bit more of a dampened reaction.

And certainly I think people think -- in that class think he's less electable today than he was, you know, maybe eight days ago.

WHITFIELD: So let's elaborate on some of that reporting, you know, that you referenced, I mean, from "The New York Times," you know, story. That's, you know, not the only, I guess, thorn in his side. That tattoo issue, the Nazi symbol that he has since covered.

[15:05:03]

And then he claims he actually never knew what it was. The, you know, recent allegations of sexting with women who weren't his wife. There's that. I mean, Platner, you know, is insisting that he will not drop out. But many are kind of wondering among the voters out there, you know, if he is finished, if these things are, I guess, making voters change their minds about him. What are you hearing?

SHEPHERD: Yes, I think I think you really need to look, you got to kind of divide this up a little bit, right, among the Democratic electorate, which is voting on him on Tuesday with really not many other options. Right? Governor Janet Mills is still on the ballot, but she hasn't been campaigning since late April. And really almost before that because she went dark on TV a few weeks before she actually took her campaign down.

So I don't think there's any time for -- I don't think these allegations, these stories are severe enough to pull large chunks of the Democratic electorate away from him. But I do think that maybe while I would have said 15 -- Janet Mills could have gotten 15 percent of the vote 10 days ago, I think that could creep up much higher. So it's really about after Tuesday, whether his campaign can survive if there's more out there. Right? And the specter of more is such a problem for any campaign.

WHITFIELD: Sure.

SHEPHERD: And then past Tuesday, it's how the middle of that electorate votes, because Susan Collins has always performed very well in the middle of our electorate, beating Joe Biden, out-polling Donald Trump with Joe Biden on the ballot in 2020. So she's a very good electoral performer and you really need to start looking at the middle of the electorate once the primary is over.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lots to watch. Michael Shepherd, thanks so much for being with us.

SHEPHERD: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right. Today marks the 82nd anniversary of D-Day. Earlier, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth laid wreaths at the American Memorial in Normandy, France, where allied forces landed to help turn the tide during World War II. While honoring U.S. service members who took part in the invasion, Hegseth used his address also to criticize European nations, accusing them of allowing a so-called invasion of immigrants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Sadly, today, different European beaches are stormed by different dangerous ideologies. Beaches in Spain and Italy and Greece and Bulgaria, boats and men arrive. When will European capitals do something about that invasion? Or is it too late? I pray not, and I believe not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A drastically different message on migration today from Pope Leo, who just began a six-day trip to Spain. His visit is expected to focus on the plight of migrants and political polarization. He is set to visit migrant centers and address Spain's parliament.

CNN's Pau Mosquera is in Madrid.

Good to see you, Pau. So migration has been a key priority for this Pope. What do we expect his message will be on this trip?

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN MADRID CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, during his trip, Pope Leo will certainly focus his messages on three groups of people, the poor, the young and the migrants. But he will pay special attention to the migrants. Actually his intention is to convey a message of compassion, charity and understanding towards them. In fact, the pontiff's first visit after meeting with the authorities have been to the social center where they attend and give assistance for homeless people and undocumented migrants.

And there he has listened to some individuals who told him how the church have helped them over the last few months. And actually, in a brief address, Pope Leo has actually defended the need to welcome migrants and to eliminate all kind of polarization as well as divisive narrative as it can be anti-immigrant rhetoric, something that also has defended previously while addressing the authorities at Madrid's Royal Palace that you can see here behind me.

So from now on, Fredricka, Pope Leo has quite a busy schedule of events ahead of him. Right now he is attending a prayer vigil with young people that is taking place at Plaza de Lima, which is located in the north of the city. But tomorrow, Sunday, in the morning will take place one of the main events that are organized here in Madrid, which is a holy mass. Both events are expected to draw large crowds.

[15:10:03]

The authorities are estimating around half a million people for today's prayer vigil, while another one million and a half people for tomorrow's holy mass. But those are just estimated figures. And the final number could be much higher -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And then, Pau, the Pope is also expected to meet with a church abuse survivors?

MOSQUERA: That's it. Victim associations had criticized over the last few days that they hadn't received a response from the Pope to their request, and the Holy See Office Press just confirmed yesterday that the Pope will receive a small group of victims of sexual abuse. But we don't have so far many details about that. They say that it's to respect the privacy of those victims. So we will have -- just have the details once the meeting has taken place -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK, Pau Mosquera, thank you so much.

All right. Now to a CNN exclusive showing just how badly a fire damaged the country's largest and newest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is. The incident happened in March when the ship was deployed and was much more, you know, severely damaged compared to what was initially described.

CNN's Brian Todd explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New video exclusively obtained by CNN shows the extensive damage to a section on board America's newest and most expensive aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford. Bunk beds charred, wires hanging from the ceiling, twisted metal and piles of ashes. This is what was left behind after a fire tore through the ships laundry area in March during its mission fighting the Iran war.

HUNTER STIRES, FORMER MARITIME STRATEGIST TO SECRETARY OF THE NAVY: Fire and flooding are the two greatest dangers aboard any ship.

TODD (voice-over): This damage was more severe than what the Navy initially suggested at the time, when it said the fire had been, quote, "contained" and that two sailors received non-life threatening injuries. One sailor on board the ship who helped put the fire out told CNN, quote, "I seriously thought we were going to lose the ship." Their mindset while battling the blaze. quote, "it's either fight or die."

That sailor and a senior U.S. official familiar with the incident tell CNN the Ford's fire suppression system failed to activate, leaving the sailors scrambling.

STIRES: If you have a failure of the fire suppression system, that is going to make putting the fire out, it's going to make it harder, and ultimately that brings it back to ultimately it's about the people. It is about our sailors. It is about their preparation.

TODD (voice-over): It took the Ford's crew about 30 hours to put out the fire, and roughly 600 sailors lost their bunks because of it. Asked about the extent of the blaze and about the fire control system's failure to function, a Navy spokesperson told CNN the investigation of the fire is ongoing.

We spoke to the chief of Naval Operations about it when the Ford returned to port in May.

ADM. DARYL CAUDLE, CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS: Big fires are always a challenge and this was significant. Laundry and dryer based fire. The crew handled that so well and they fought it brilliantly and courageously and basically was back in the fight within a matter of days.

TODD (voice-over): The fire wasn't the only problem on board the $13 billion carrier. The ship's toilets were repeatedly clogged, the sailor told CNN. Other video obtained by CNN shows human waste filled to the brim of toilet after toilet. The sailor said, quote, "If you were in the forward section of the ship, you'd have to walk all the way to the aft section just to find a toilet that worked."

CAUDLE: The sanitation system is on board any ship submarine, destroyer, cruiser, carrier, all have challenges. It's not whether or not if that happens is when it does, how do we attack it, fix it, get it back online. And the team on board, you know, is very good at that.

TODD: Another huge hurdle for the Ford's crew, the sheer length of this deployment, 11 months at sea, the longest deployment of any U.S. carrier group since the Vietnam War. Admiral Daryl Caudle, the chief of Naval Operations, told us he does not want this to be a precedent. He said these deployments are supposed to last about seven months, tops.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Brian.

Straight ahead. He was believed to be dead. His family had even begun his funeral rites. Then nearly a week later, the sherpa guide emerged from Mount Everest alive. Details on this miraculous survival story coming up.

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[15:19:01]

WHITFIELD: All right. The U.S. and Iran once again launching attacks. Iran targeting Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles and drones, while the U.S. launched strikes on Iranian radar sites.

In an exclusive interview with Tehran, CNN's senior correspondent Fred Pleitgen sat down with Mohsen Rezaei, the senior military adviser to Iran's supreme leader. The supreme leader, who has not been seen in public since his appointment, is known to have a small circle of trusted aides around him. General Rezaee is in that circle.

Please note that CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government, but maintains full editorial control of its reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: How is the supreme leader doing? Is he fully in control of everything? And President Trump said that he would be honored to meet the supreme leader.

MOHSEN REZAEI, SENIOR MILITARY ADVISER TO IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through translator): This will not happen. Right now we are in the first stage of negotiations, and Mr. Trump has brought the negotiations to a standstill. This will not happen.

[15:20:10]

PLEITGEN: Are the negotiations right now blocked, or do you think that a memorandum of understanding can be reached quickly?

REZAEI (through translator): In my opinion, the negotiations are at a deadlock and Trump must break this deadlock.

PLEITGEN: So the frozen assets are the big problem right now?

REZAEI (through translator): This is a sign of trust building. If Trump takes the negotiations seriously $24 billion is not much to America. If he wants to reach an agreement with Iran, this $24 billion is a test of trust that Iran wants to have with Trump. This is a test that America must pass. And the path will be opened. This is our own money, not America's money.

PLEITGEN: Wouldn't a war be catastrophic for Iran as well, though, if it was a big bombing campaign?

REZAEI (through translator): If the war continues and the naval blockade is not lifted, we will drag the war to the Indian Ocean. The Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. And we will give another dimension to the war by attacking these other American bases that we have been attacking so far. America will definitely suffer much more losses. America's losses will be very heavy.

PLEITGEN: Final question, what's your message to Donald Trump?

REZAEI (through translator): Mr. Trump must make decisions independently of Israel. He must give what is the rights of the Iranian people and stop the blockade. Release our frozen assets. And this can be a new horizon for the future of Iran and America. Therefore, Trump must put aside his personal interests and think about the interests of the American people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much for that report.

All right. Tragedy turned to joy on Mount Everest this week after a sherpa climbing guide who was believed to be dead was found crawling back to base camp after nearly a week alone in harsh conditions. Pretty unbelievable.

CNN's Derek Van Dam has more on this incredible survival story on the world's tallest mountain.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Missing for almost a week on Mount Everest, Nepali, climbing guide Hillary Dawa Sherpa beat the odds, surviving six days without food or bottled oxygen on a mountain known not only for its brutal conditions but the number of lives it's claimed.

But Hillary Dawa miraculously isn't one of them. Frostbitten and exhausted, he was found alive by a cleaning crew on Thursday, crawling near the Khumbu Icefall just above Everest Base Camp. He was airlifted to a Kathmandu hospital where he is stable and recovering. His family, thinking he was dead, had already begun funeral rites for him.

MENDO LHAMU SHERPA, HILLARY DAWA SHERPA'S DAUGHTER (through translator): At first, when we received the information, we weren't sure if it was him or not. Later, they sent the photos and it was confirmed that it was indeed him. And we felt happy.

VAN DAM (voice-over): Hillary Dawa's group was one of the last to descend the mountain, just as climbing season came to a close. Other climbers say they last saw him on May 29th, just above Camp 3, located at around 23,000 feet, an area near the infamous death zone, where oxygen levels are so low it's difficult to sustain human life for any extended period. Search helicopters were deployed this week but couldn't locate the missing sherpa. His family says they should have begun searching when he was first reported missing.

KARMA GELJE, HILLARY DAWA SHERPA'S NEPHEW (through translator): If he had been a foreign climber, the rescue would definitely have been organized much faster and prompt.

VAN DAM (voice-over): The family has filed a complaint with Nepal's Department of Tourism in a police case against Hillary Dawa's employer, the Himalayan Traverse Company, which has so far not commented.

Not much is known about how he survived for so long alone on Everest's notoriously inhospitable slopes. That survival story for now is between him and the mountain.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thank you so much, Derek, for that story.

All right. Have a look at this guy right here. Yes, right there. That's a mountain lion, which wandered into a neighborhood in Pasadena on Friday afternoon. Looks kind of placid and cool, but still kind of frightening. The arrival prompted a shelter in place advisory for the neighborhood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA DERDERIAN, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, CITY OF PASADENA: Very rare for a mountain lion to come south of the 210 Freeway. This low from the foothills. We're literally several miles from the foothill area where we experienced the fires. So we are seeing more wildlife coming lower.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So the cat was tranquilized and it was moved out of the town.

[15:25:05]

All right. The red hot New York Knicks heading back to the Big Apple after stealing another game in San Antonio.

People are going bananas. Knicks fans, they're fired up after the one- point victory over the Spurs in game two of the NBA Finals last night. The Knicks now take a two-zero series lead, riding a remarkable 13- game playoff winning streak and now just two wins away from bringing a championship back to New York. The Knicks have reignited championship dreams and simply electrified the city. The San Antonio Spurs will have a chance to bounce back with game three this Monday.

And Craig Ferguson dives into capitalism, testing the American dream by launching his own business. Tiffany Haddish joins him for a wild and semi-profitable journey. Catch a new episode of "CRAIG FERGUSON: AMERICAN ON PURPOSE," tonight at 9:00 on CNN and the next day on the CNN app.

All right. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Next, it's been a French Open full of surprises, which guaranteed first-time winners on both the men's and women's sides. "ALL ACCESS AT ROLAND GARROS," a CNN Sport special starts in just minutes.

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