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Trump Says Iran Agreement Signing To Still Happen Today; New Yorkers Swarm Streets, Celebrating Knicks Victor; FIFA World Cup Matches Today; Iran To Commute From Mexico After U.S. Refuses To Host Iran; Missouri Plane Crash; UFC White House Event Sparks Controversy, Criticism; Republican Senator Mitch McConnell Hospitalized; Black Lawmakers Could Lose Decades Of Gains In One Year. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 14, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:28]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Fight night. The White House lawn now hosting a major fight at a party for President Trumps 80th birthday.

Plus drought no more. The New York Knicks are the NBA champs. The city celebrating in a way that probably only New York can.

And the oil rig battle. A decade after a devastating oil spill, a platform off the coast of California is drilling once again. Why the state wants it to stop. Well take you there.

Good afternoon on this Sunday. Appreciate you joining us.

I'm Erica Hill in for Fredricka Whitfield.

And we do begin with breaking news this hour.

President Trump says he believes the signing of that Memorandum of Understanding with Iran will still take place at some point later today.

That's according to Axios reporter and CNN global affairs analyst Barak Ravid.

Trump has said that Israels attack's on Lebanon earlier in the day, though, did delay a signing that was supposed to happen this morning. In a social media post, the president writing, "We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon, and all sides should stand down."

We are covering all the latest developments. CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook, joining us from Washington. Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem.

So, Julia, I want to start with you. The president says this is still going to happen today. What more do we have in terms of details?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Let's start with his most recent post related to all of this. President Donald Trump, he is calling on Israel not to strike Lebanon while the United States and Iran negotiate this Memorandum of Understanding on the war.

And he said that those strikes in Beirut this morning should not have happened, especially while this deal that he has been working on, he believes, is so close.

I want to pull that up for you now. In it, he went on to say, "We are very close to a deal that will bring peace to the region, including to Lebanon. And all sides should stand down. There should be no more attacks by Israel anywhere in Lebanon, but there should also be no more attacks by any other party, including Hezbollah, against Israel. This could be the beginning of a long and beautiful peace." He then added, "Let's not blow it."

Now, Trump said yesterday that this Memorandum of Understanding would be signed sometime on Sunday. He said it was scheduled to be. He did tell Fox News in a phone call just a little while ago that it would likely be signed within hours.

He also spoke with Axios and emphasized how frustrated he was with those recent Israeli strikes, said that he made it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he was not happy with the way that was handled, but that he believed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding was still on track.

It is important to note here, though, there are still a lot of questions as Iran has not committed to signing this agreement today. And there are still differing accounts on exactly what is included.

According to a Trump administration official, the signing of this agreement would then allow for 60 more days to work through some details. But it would also outline some commitments on some of those top line items, including the dismantling of Iran's nuclear program and addressing its highly enriched uranium.

And, Erica, I know throughout the day today, we'll be talking a lot about those UFC fights on the South Lawn. Just an interesting thing to note that one of the last times we got close to having a big breakthrough on this conflict, it was when Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, traveled to Pakistan for 21-plus hours of talks. As Vance walked out to say that there was no deal, Trump was at UFC fights then as well in Miami.

HILL: Interesting. We will see how this one pans out.

Oren, when we look at where things stand. Julia mentioning the president saying he's not happy, right and would like everybody to hold off, right. Basically, don't screw this up for the rest of us.

What are we hearing, if anything, publicly in terms of comments from Israeli officials?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn't going to openly come out against president Donald Trump as he's pushing this deal. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, the only thing Netanyahu has said today about Trump is simply wishing him happy birthday on social media.

There is clearly here an effort, certainly by Netanyahu, to make the relationship with Trump seem as positive as possible and that they're on the same page.

[14:04:50]

LIEBERMANN: But there is very clearly a divide here when it comes to Iran and when it comes to Lebanon.

Trump is very much pushing for this agreement between the U.S. and Iran, effectively claiming that it's going to solve, you know, Middle East peace and solve the problems with -- between Israel and Hezbollah and the ongoing fighting there.

But Netanyahu and I think other Israeli officials are deeply skeptical of not only what's in the agreement itself. We don't know and it's possible that Netanyahu doesn't know, but also Iran's intents behind the agreement. Israel has long been skeptical, not believing that Iran was negotiating in good faith.

And so, you see, in terms of these ongoing talks between Netanyahu and Trump, this growing disagreement on where this is all headed and how to handle the situation.

Israel struck Beirut earlier today after Hezbollah drones crossed into northern Israel. That was a red line that that both Netanyahu and his defense minister had drawn and demanded by the public here. And yet, you see Trump criticizing for it.

Erica, I think it's also worth pointing out that it's difficult to imagine any other president, Republican or Democrat, calling attacks on Israel by a U.S.-designated terrorist organization sponsored by the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, quote, "very small and meaningless".

But that just shows you how Trump views all of this and what his goal is. He wants that agreement.

HILL: It is -- it is an important point. Just to -- just to put a fine point on this, I think I already know the answer. But what is the likelihood that Israel would heed a warning from the president about those future attacks in Lebanon, especially after what we saw and what transpired last Sunday?

LIEBERMANN: Well, look, Netanyahu could buck the president and start carrying out wider strikes. But I think that's incredibly unlikely. Trump has very much boxed Netanyahu in here.

And now it's a function of the relationship between the two of them. What does Trump let Netanyahu do, whether it strikes in southern Lebanon? Trump will draw that boundary and basically decide Netanyahu's actions for him and what Trump will allow the Israeli military to do here, as this plays out.

As Julia noted, Trump posted in his Truth Social that Israel was not allowed to strike anywhere in Lebanon at this point, and Hezbollah would not strike back. But that's a warning we've already seen in a previous ceasefire and that fell apart very quickly.

HILL: Yes, an important point, one of many.

Oren Liebermann, Julia Benbrook -- appreciate it. Thank you both.

While President Trump remains stuck in these potential negotiations with Iran, and we're wondering if there will be a signing. He's also, of course, preparing to host an event like no other in his own backyard.

For the first time ever, a UFC fight will be held at the White House tonight. Underneath that hulking 600-ton arena, seven cage matches are scheduled to take place on the South Lawn.

Trump administration officials and more than a thousand active-duty troops are expected to ring the octagon to watch those mixed martial arts fighters duke it out. UFC fans right now from far and wide, are gathering in Washington for the event. More than 100,000 could fill viewing areas just outside of it.

The weather, though, could throw a bit of a wrench in the plan here. Severe thunderstorms are forecast to pass through right as the fights are set to kick off.

We're going to bring you there live this afternoon as we continue our coverage.

And of course, here in New York City, Knicks in five, my friends. After 53 long years, the drought is finally over, replaced by a whole lot of joy. Jubilant fans, and some pretty happy Knicks players. Those jubilant fans, though, you see the -- you see folks flooding the court there in San Antonio.

Back home in New York, the celebrations continuing into the wee hours after the Knicks defeated the Spurs in San Antonio tonight, their first championship title since 1973.

Yes, and the team being away for the game certainly did not stop the fans here. The streets were packed in New York City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MARON, KNICKS FAN: For like 30 something years now, my whole life, you know, my mom made me a Knicks fan. My mom is no longer here. And I'm just happy. I'm really, really happy right now.

I flew all the way here from California. I had to be here for this moment. And I'm just so -- I'm so glad I'm here right now. I spent my last dollar to get here, and I don't regret it at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: I mean, quite a moment. So much elation. Unfortunately, though, police did have to step in as some of the crowd got out of hand. 63 arrests in total that we know of. School busses, police cars also set on fire. Ten officers were injured. One teen was shot in the foot.

Shimon Prokupecz was following all of that action as the crowds and the scene intensified.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: You see people climbing through the window and they've just completely taken over this school bus.

But concerning for the police And when you start to see them attacking their police cars, start attacking police officers and throwing bottles, that is certainly an escalation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:09:54]

HILL: Not what a lot of people wanted to see. CNN correspondent Gloria Pazmino, native New Yorker, I should note as well, joining us live from outside Madison Square Garden.

So much emotion on display last night, Gloria. You were there throughout the day watching it build outside of MSG. I know you stayed up late to watch the game, and we're right back out this morning.

(CROSSTALKING)

HILL: Just walk us -- walk us through all of those hours of celebration. If anybody hasn't seen them on social media, I have to -- go look at the videos. They're amazing.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are amazing. Frankly Erica, one of my favorite images from last night is people on New York city fire escapes because that's such a New York city thing, a fire escape, and people just crowded inside of them, watching all of these crowds that overtook many of the New York City streets. Neighbors coming together to watch the game.

And I do have to say, I certainly don't want to minimize what happened last night. There were 63 people that were arrested. There was damage to property, including police vehicles, school busses that were set on fire.

Some police officers did sustain injuries, and there was a 17-year-old who was shot, as you said, in Times Square.

But the vast majority of the celebrations across the city, across the five boroughs, what we saw was a night of just electric energy, jubilation, joy, 53 years in the making. New York Knicks fans have been waiting for this moment.

So for the most part, we saw the city come together, frankly, in a way that we rarely get to see. You know, this is a town that is full of strong opinions. But I would say that the New York Knicks is something we can all get behind. That is the one New York hometown -- a hometown team that everyone

rallies together for. And I thought -- I thought that we saw that on display last night.

Now let's get to the celebrations because they're going to continue. In fact, outside of Madison Square Garden here today, things are still buzzing. Fans are still here.

Inside Madison Square Garden is the fan store. And unfortunately, I can't take you in there. But I went in there myself to take a peek and it is a party. The reason for that is because they have finals merchandise on sale.

And I want to bring in a Knicks superfan. His name is Ray. He is born and bred in New York City. He has been waiting for this moment.

You told me that you were seven years old in '99, the last time the New York Knicks lost to the Spurs. You got to see them bring it home last night. What was it like for you?

RAY SABRI, KNICKS FAN: It was a surreal feeling. You know, being seven years old when they lost to the Spurs, it broke my heart. You know Latrell -- it was actually at Madison Square Garden, game five, the Knicks were down one point in the fourth quarter. Three seconds left. They inbound the ball to Latrell Sprewell. He misses the shot.

And then, you know, without Patrick Ewing, everyone thought the Knicks would be back, you know, for years to come. Like the first eight seed to make it to the finals.

You know, 20 whatever years later, they haven't been back. And they finally got back this time and they were finally able to do it and break, you know, the 53-year curse.

I'm ecstatic. I can't believe it. It's such a surreal feeling.

PAZMINO: I have to say, this is as New York City as we can get right now because he's wearing the Puerto Rico jersey. Because just in case you missed it, it's the Puerto Rican Day parade here in New York City today. And he secured the Brunson jersey in the store today, the Finals hat and the gold chain.

Of course, you got to have the bling here in New York City. So a lot of more celebration to be had on Thursday. The ticker tape parade will go down along the Canyon of Heroes.

The Knicks will be welcomed at city hall. They will be given the key to the city. And Erica, I am not one to miss a party ever. I also got my merch. I got the bedazzled Finals version.

This was very hard to get, but I did get it. I lined up for several hours. You know what it was like in there. And now we got our proper merch to celebrate this historic win. 53 years in the making, Erica.

HILL: I love this. And I wish I'd known because I would have. I would have given you an order. If I had known you were waiting in that line. Gloria, thank you. Great to see you.

We do want to get you out of some breaking news just coming into us here at CNN. Longtime Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, were learning, has been admitted to the hospital.

So this is according to McConnell's spokesperson, who tells CNN the senator was admitted to the hospital this morning, went on to say that he is receiving excellent care.

McConnell is 84 years old, has been battling some health challenges.

We're going to bring you more details as we get them. But again, the news in to CNN at this point, according to a spokesperson for Senator Mitch McConnell, the senator is currently hospitalized. But in the spokespersons words, receiving excellent care.

[14:14:46]

HILL: Still ahead here, visa delays, immigration restrictions, travel bans, a country at war -- the off-pitch pressures creating tension for Team Iran at the World Cup.

Plus, the new reporting on a historic unraveling of black representation in Congress. Decades of gains set to be lost.

And the state suing the Trump administration over a controversial push to expand oil drilling.

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[14:19:53]

HILL: Another big day of World Cup matches on this Sunday. Four games scheduled for today, three of them in the U.S., the last one in Mexico tonight.

So right now Germany is facing off against Curacao, that small island nation, population just over 150,000 people. Here actually making its first World Cup appearance ever. And what a first time. They're going up against the four*-time world champ of Germany.

This afternoon, the Netherlands will meet Japan in another matchup of powerhouse teams. A lot at stake there for both countries.

Tomorrow night, Iran matching up against New Zealand. That is set to happen in Los Angeles. And that game will be historic for a number of reasons.

The match will be the first time in World Cup history that you have a host nation with a country it is actively at war with, playing on that host nation's soil.

The Iranian team has also been dealing with a lot of logistical issues and staying and practicing under armed security in Tijuana, Mexico, after the U.S. government wouldn't allow players and staff to all stay overnight in the U.S. The Iranian team is sleeping in Mexico and then commuting to the U.S. for its matches.

Joining me to discuss the really unprecedented moment in history is David Niven. He's a professor at the University of Cincinnati, teaches a class on politics and sports.

Great to have you with us this afternoon. I mean, there's so much here that is unprecedented, right? Including the fact that you're playing matches across an entire continent, right, and three countries.

When we look at though, what this experience is like for Iran and for the Iranian team, the way they have to go about this because of visa issues and the fact that Iran and the U.S. are, of course, at war. I mean, how do you even begin to put that into perspective?

DAVID NIVEN, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI: Well, I think you start with the idea that sports diplomacy has a long history of bringing countries together and showing off a country's best side, and how difficult that is to maintain, as you mentioned, for the first World Cup where the host is at war with a participant. It's really, really quite difficult for sports to bridge that gap when these two countries are in active conflict.

HILL: Is it a missed opportunity?

NIVEN: It is a missed opportunity. When you think about hosting these sports mega events, it almost always improves the image of that country across the world.

And you think about some of the host nations recently. Qatar used the World Cup to say, you know, this is a modern nation and to show off around the globe.

And this is a huge missed opportunity for the United States, which instead of shining its image by hosting the World Cup, is really in some ways sullying it, not just with the treatment of the Iranian team, but obviously with not allowing a referee to enter the nation and creating roadblocks for fans to get here.

It's a really extraordinarily large missed opportunity to show the world off, you know, on this World Cup stage.

HILL: When it comes to some of those issues, the immigration issues that you mentioned, right? The Somali referee who was denied entry into the U.S. We also have issues, of course, as we were just talking about with the team from Iran, right, getting back and forth to Mexico.

Some of their staff can't even come into the United States. They have to stay in Mexico the whole time. They had to shift their practice facility that was supposed to be in Tucson to Mexico.

You noted recently that, I think it was NPR you spoke to. You were talking about FIFA's role in all of this. Is there or should there be more of a role for FIFA here? How do you think FIFA should have responded? NIVEN: Well, it's a really interesting case where FIFA presents itself

as being the last word on everything regarding this World Cup. You know, the World Cup host's stadiums have had to rename themselves for the period of the World Cup because FIFA doesn't want any conflicting, you know, sponsorship messages.

And yet they've completely surrendered on this question of admitting the teams and treating the teams equally. You know, they make that kind of a condition of hosting the games.

And when the U.S. refused to treat the Iranians like any other participant, FIFA just said, ok, well, you know, we don't have much to say about that. And when the referee wasn't allowed in, they said, all right, well, he just won't be reffing. It really does show their limits. Or in this case, you know, their deference to the Trump administration.

HILL: Before I let you go, real quickly, do you think politics and sports in 2026 can be separated?

NIVEN: Short answer, no. It makes for a really good debate and conversation, but it is a failure of sports to kind of reach our best moments and our better angels. And we're seeing that on display right now.

HILL: Yes. David, I really appreciate your time. Thank you.

NIVEN: My pleasure.

HILL: Just ahead here, hundreds of thousands expected to swarm Washington, D.C. tonight for the UFC fight night. The historic spectacle, of course, taking place on the White House South Lawn. We'll bring you there.

[14:24:48]

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HILL: We are following some breaking news out of Missouri, where we're learning that all 12 people on board a plane were killed when that aircraft crashed near the airport in Butler, Missouri. This is according to local authorities.

You can see some images there of what appeared to be some of the wreckage, smoldering debris. This happening just a short time ago. So Butler, Missouri, is about 65 miles south of Kansas City. We do know police and rescue crews are on the scene at this hour.

We're going to continue to bring you updates as we learn more about this breaking news story. But again, a plane crashing in Butler, Missouri. We are told all 12 people who were on board have been killed.

[14:29:51]

HILL: Criticism and controversy ahead of tonight's historic UFC fight at the White House. A recent poll from Reuters/Ipsos shows few Americans actually approve of holding a mixed martial arts cage match on the grounds of the executive mansion, the People's House.

[14:30:09]

According to the poll, just 16 percent say it's appropriate for the president to hold the event. Among Republicans, you're looking at less than a third, 31 percent. Nearly half of all Americans, 46 percent, say they believe the fights are inappropriate.

CNN political analyst and historian Leah Wright Rigueur joining us now. She's also an associate professor of history at Johns Hopkins University.

Good to see you.

When we look at this just historically, has there ever been -- I mean, obviously, there hasn't been a massive building with all these lights like this put together for this event, but have there been events in the past that invited controversy or were there fights ever held at the White House?

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: So first of all, we've never had a carnival or a, quite frankly, this is a circus like this to this extent at the White House. We have, however, had lots of entertainment, including private boxing matches. I mean, Teddy Roosevelt quite famously had a boxing match in the White House until he was forced to end them because he nearly ended up losing an eye in a fight. So he stopped them around 1905.

But other than that, we haven't really gotten anywhere near close to that. We've seen lots of historical sports figures and entertainment figures invited into the White House after the fact. That includes boxers, football players. Of course, we've seen gymnasts.

We've even seen a couple of MMA fighters invited to the White House. We have never seen a cage match on the lawn of the White House before. That is unprecedented.

HILL: Yeah, certainly is. So this is, as we heard from the president, this is to help kick off celebrations of America's 250th birthday, also, of course, is happening on the president's 80th birthday today. This is all happening at the People's House, and it's supposed to be, right, for the country to celebrate.

What's interesting, though, is tickets immediately inside that arena. Those were invitation only. If you want to watch it at home, you're going to have to pay to stream it. The fact that this event was billed as a way to commemorate the nation's 200th birthday, 250th birthday, but isn't fully accessible to the public, that is leaving a bad taste in some people's mouth as well.

RIGUEUR: Well, I can understand why, because it feels fundamentally anti-democratic. And it's not just the actual building of the match or who gets access to the match. If you go to the White House right now, the grounds that traditionally have been open to the public -- Washington Square Park, the area right outside of the mall -- all of those areas are barricaded off with about a ten-foot-tall fence and black tarp covering everything, and then surrounded by military officials with weapons. It is fundamentally uninviting. It is unwelcoming.

And I think it sends a message that in order to have access to the White House, you have to pay to play. So despite all of the conversations around, you know, we're doing this to celebrate America's 250th, we're doing this to unify the country, we're doing this to celebrate our soldiers and our veterans, it turns out that it's actually not really accessible.

And I think this is a really important point, because when we think about sports and we think about democracy, these two things are inextricably and obviously conjoined. They have a long history with presidential politics, but they're designed to bring people together. The Knicks winning the NBA championship last night, for example, that brought the world together.

This is actually separating us out and dividing us even more. And I think that's why we're seeing numbers like the majority of people, including a lot of Republicans, say that this is just not in the spirit of America united or celebrating America at 250.

HILL: It'll certainly be interesting to see the historical take on it several years from now.

Leah, great to see you. Thank you.

RIGUEUR: Thanks for having me.

HILL: Still ahead this hour, the U.S. on the brink of a historic erosion of Black political power in Congress. What the largest reduction of representation in decades could mean for the country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:36]

HILL: Turning now to the breaking news, we just brought you a bit of an update for you. Longtime Kentucky Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, as we noted, has been admitted to the hospital, according to his spokesperson.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is now live outside that hospital.

Camila, what more do we know about his condition, why he was admitted?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, we know according to a spokesperson that Mitch McConnell was hospitalized and taken to the hospital earlier this morning, but it's still unclear at this time what his condition is and what the cause of his hospitalization, what really caused that. Now his spokesperson said that he's receiving excellent care here at this hospital, but really his health has had -- he's had several health issues in these past recent years. Even earlier this year, he was also admitted to the hospital for several days after experiencing flu-like symptoms.

We do know his conversation about his health has been a subject of a lot of scrutiny. Be over it back in 2023 after he had a fall where he experienced a concussion and several broken ribs and then months later, it also drew a lot of questions about his health when he froze mid sentence during a news conference back in July.

Now McConnell has held a very prominent position here in the Senate. We know that he was the Senate Majority Leader in 2015 and he really helped shaped much of Trump's first term in office and really getting his agenda through here.

So, there's a lot of questions surrounding his health and what his condition is at this current time.

[14:40:05]

But we are being told that he is receiving excellent care here at the George Washington Hospital.

HILL: All right, really appreciate the update, Camila, and I know we'll continue to monitor it. Thank you.

Well, the landmark Supreme Court ruling Louisiana versus Calais gutted the Voting Rights Act earlier this year and also triggered -- rather, a Republican-led push to redraw congressional maps across the South. The fallout setting the stage for Tennessee, Louisiana, and Alabama to slice up sizable black districts in an effort to boost Republican chances of holding the House.

In Louisiana and Alabama, House primaries were actually rescheduled. Democratic strategists are now working to increase Black voter turnout ahead of the midterms.

Here with us to discuss, CNN national political writer Fredreka Schouten.

So, Fredreka, in your article today, you lay out, and I would encourage everyone to read it at CNN.com, you lay out how black lawmakers could lose. This is not just about losing seats, right? This is about losing decades of gains in a matter of months, frankly, in the efforts to remake, rush to remake and redistrict.

What could that mean? What are the real long-term effects of losing those gains?

FREDREKA SCHOUTEN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL WRITER: Well, there's a sense that this could lead to a historic erosion of Black representation across the South. I mean, when this Congress opened last year, there was a record number of Black lawmakers in there, actually, for the first time, sort of on parity with the proportion of Blacks in the population.

And we could see seven black incumbents, six Democrats, and one Republican lose their jobs at the end of this term as a direct result of redistricting. That's the most ever lost in a single year, certainly since the Voting Rights Act passed in 1965. So this is raising alarm bells among lawmakers, among civil rights and voting rights activists.

And the sense is that this might not stop with members of Congress. Keep in mind that the Voting Rights Act sort of guaranteed that Black voters could have the power to elect lawmakers of their choice at the school board level, at the legislative level, judicial appointments, and that this could really lead to a very deep loss of Black representation across this region, which is where most black Americans live.

HILL: So when we look at that, right, putting into that context, there are also, as you point out, what the trickle-down could be. I mean, how much are you seeing in this moment some of those efforts already in place, right, that this is not just about a frenzy to redraw congressional districts for Republicans to hold onto power, but there is actually much more already at play.

SCHOUTEN: Right. I mean, you have several states saying that they want to take a look at state legislative districts. And this week for upcoming, the Georgia state legislature, which is controlled by Republicans, is going to pick up redistricting. And I mean, you're going to see a lot of attention on the congressional districts, but you also were having people starting to say what's going to happen, for instance, to representation on the Public Services Commission and in the state legislature.

Keep in mind that, you know, one thing that Republicans have said in this redistricting push is that this is about partisanship, right? This is about making sure that Republicans continue to get elected and in this fall, you know, hold on to the House of Representatives after the midterms.

But the voting patterns across the South are such that there is a strong correlation between party affiliation and race. Black voters tend to vote for Democrats. White voters tend to vote for Republicans.

So in this push for partisan advantage, you could have this just sort of removal of representation that people fought for so long and for decades to achieve. That's the fear that you're hearing again in the civil rights community right now.

HILL: Yeah, and that's why it is important to continue having this conversation as well.

Fredreka Schouten, appreciate it. Thank you.

And again, you can read Fredrekaa's full article at CNN.com.

Ahead here --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOUTEN: President Trump is for energy addition and energy dominance. Gavin Newsom is for energy subtraction and energy submission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: The anger over the Trump administration's controversial push to expand oil drilling off the California coast in an effort to combat rising gas prices. We'll dig deeper on that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:49:20]

HILL: A political showdown is brewing off the coast of California. President Trump is moving to dramatically expand oil production in the state, invoking federal emergency powers to do it. But perhaps no surprise, there is some major pushback coming from California itself. And it turns out that's really just the beginning.

CNN's Elex Michelson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We arrived by helicopter --

CHRIS WRIGHT, ENERGY SECRETARY: We're excited to get after it.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): -- for a firsthand look at Sable Offshore Core Oil platform located off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.

This pipeline, Santa Ynez, is once again actively producing thousands of barrels of oil due to an executive order issued by the Trump administration in March. State of California now suing the administration to shut it down.

[14:50:00]

CHRIS WRIGHT, ENERGY SECRETARY: President Trump is for energy addition and energy dominance. Gavin Newsom is for energy subtraction and energy submission.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): We speak exclusively with U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum atop the Harmony oil platform, at a moment when so many Americans are worried about higher gas prices.

DOUG BURGUM, INTERIOR SECRETARY: Seventy-two million cars could fill up their tank off the production coming from these platforms that are right here.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): On the helicopter ride to the platform, we see miles of deep Blue Ocean. But back in 2015, this same waterway was coated black after that pipeline, operated by a different company at the time, ruptured, spilling an estimated 120,000 gallons of crude oil. All oil production stopped here for more than a decade.

ALEX KATZ, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE CENTER: This is going to be a fight.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Alex Katz is executive director of the Environmental Defense Center, which is suing to stop Sable.

MICHAELSON: Why do you oppose Sable?

KATZ: The problem with the pipeline is that it doesn't have an effective way of preventing corrosion.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): After President Donald Trump and Israel launched military action against Iran and the Strait of Hormuz shut down, gas prices spiked.

The Trump administration ordered Sable's pipeline to start producing again by invoking the Defense Production Act, a law that gives the president emergency powers to influence domestic industries to help national defense.

MICHAELSON: Sable says as soon as the Defense Production Act was invoked, they were ready to go.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Sable is ramping up to produce 50,000 barrels of oil per day, according to the Department of Energy, small offset compared to the over 15 million barrels of oil per day lost for the global market in the straits since the war in Iran began.

MICHAELSON: Critics say you started a war that was unnecessary in Iran and now you're able to give handouts to oil companies because of that. What do you say to that?

WRIGHT: The war in Iran is critical. This is how you end Iran's nuclear weapons program. And of course, this is not a handout.

MICHAELSON: Sable's going to make a lot of money off of this opening, no?

WRIGHT: The federal government's going to make a lot of money off this. Sable might make a lot of money on this. They spent two-thirds of billions of dollars to buy this option to maybe make some money.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Back on land, Katz is skeptical.

KATZ: This only benefits the executives in the oil industry who are friends with the Trump administration, and it puts everybody else in harm's way.

JIM FLORES, CEO, SABLE OFFSHORE CORP.: We're not the enemy. We're the solution.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Jim Flores is Sable CEO. He tells me much of the oil from this pipeline is being used to fuel jets at Los Angeles International Airport. He says ensuring the pipeline safety is his top priority.

FLORES: All production offshore, offshore in California can be safe. It can be diligent. It needs to be regulated.

KATZ: As long as we have offshore drilling, we're going to have spills in the ocean. MICHAELSON (voice-over): The Trump administration is currently considering a five-year plan to expand oil drilling off the California coast for the first time in decades.

WRIGHT: President Trump on "drill, baby, drill" means energy abundance. It means more energy.

MICHAELSON (voice-over): Elex Michaelson, CNN, off the coast of Santa Barbara, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HILL: Coming up here in the next hour, a CNN investigation into model scouts. The model scouts sent young women to meet Jeffrey Epstein, including one who did so even after Epstein was a convicted sex offender.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:58:03]

HILL: Television's hottest actors are right here on CNN for a new season of "Variety's" "Actors on Actors". New episodes dropping daily on the CNN app.

And today we have a preview for you of the latest episode, this one featuring Sarah Pidgeon and Colman Domingo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey Erica, so for the latest episode of "Actors on Actors", we have Sarah Pidgeon and Colman Domingo, who is a double whammy this Emmy season, both starring in the "Four Seasons" on Netflix and also, of course, in HBO's "Euphoria".

Now Sarah Pidgeon played Carolyn Bessette Kennedy in FX's series "Love Story" and Colman Domingo was telling Sarah how he was so taken aback at how she captured Carolyn Bessette.

Let's take a look.

COLMAN DOMINGO, ACTOR: Your Carolyn Bessette is outstanding.

SARAH PIDGEON, ACTRESS, LOVE STORY: Oh, thank you.

DOMINGO: No, to the point where I did read comments on, they're like, oh my God, you had her mannerisms and her cadence, the way she walked. You were that it '90s girl. You know what I mean?

What kind of work and research and all went into that and then how do you feel with this sort of wave of attention onto your work?

PIDGEON: It was so interesting trying to find the process into Carolyn because while she was so well-documented through paparazzi photos and some videography, She was so enigmatic and she never sat for an interview. There were very few videos of her actually speaking. So I think it was this discovery process.

DOMINGO: Yeah.

PIDGEON: And it gave me a lot of freedom too, I think, while having these sort of touchstones of how she held herself in these still photos. And there was not a ton of information in terms of books or interviews of people that knew her, but there were physical descriptors through this research that I did.

WAGMEISTER: Really interesting there to hear Sarah Pidgeon talk about her process and how she was able to capture this icon who, as you heard her say there, there isn't much footage of her available, but she did a excellent job portraying her.