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CNN This Morning

Trump Announces Doubling of Steel Tariffs Amid Nippon Steel Deal; Elon Musk Steps Down from Government Role, Returns to Tesla Leadership; Sean Combs' Former Employee Testifies in Sex Trafficking Trial; Taylor Swift Secures Ownership of Her Entire Music Catalog; Canadian Wildfire Smoke Triggers Air Quality Alerts Across U.S. Midwest; Supreme Court Allows Trump Administration to Expedite Deportation of Migrants; Legal Experts Analyze Trump's Immigration Policy and Its Judicial Battles; Defense Challenges Timeline in Karen Read Murder Retrial; Second Accuser Testifies Against Sean Combs in Ongoing Legal Battle; California Governor Newsom Called New Rule "Good Compromise"; Taylor Swift Announces She Now Owns All Her Own Music. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 31, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Saturday, May 31st. I'm Victor Blackwell, and here's what we're working on for you this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to bring it from 25 percent to 50 percent the tariffs on steel into the United States of America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: President Trump says he is doubling tariffs on steel imported to the U.S. next week. He made that announcement while celebrating a deal that would allow Japan's Nippon Steel to buy controlling stake in U.S. steel. Still, though, a lot of unanswered questions about this deal, how it would work, and when it would be finished.

Elon Musk is heading back to his day job running Tesla. His time as special government employee is over. Oval Office send-off he received. We have that for you.

One of Sean Combs' former employees was on the stand this week in his sex trafficking trial. What she had to say when pressed about why she kept in contact with Combs even after he allegedly threatened her.

Plus, Taylor Swift now owning her Masters, owning her catalog. Call it the ownership era as she secured the rights to her entire music catalog. How the six-year effort to buy back her Masters finally came to an end.

ALLSON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we have air quality alerts in effect across portions of the Midwest, all thanks to Canadian wildfire smoke. We'll detail where that smoke is expected to move to coming up. BLACKWELL: All right. First up this hour, those tariffs. And President

Trump says that he will double the current tariffs on foreign steel to 50 percent. Tariff is set to take effect on Wednesday.

Trump made the surprise announcement in front of a crowd of steel workers at a facility in Pennsylvania. He was there to celebrate Japanese steelmaker Nippon's plans to buy the iconic American steel. U.S. maker, a U.S. steelmaker, I should say.

It was a deal that Trump once vowed to oppose, but then he announced that he would approve last week. He described it as a partnership and not an outright purchase of U.S. steel by Japan. Despite celebrating the deal with workers, Trump later told reporters that it's not been finalized.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I have to approve the final deal with Nippon. And we haven't seen that final deal yet. But they've made a very big commitment and it's a very big investment. It's the largest investment in the history of the state of Pennsylvania in any deal, not just steel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Camila DeChalus joins us now from Washington. What do you know about this surprise announcement?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, Victor. This announcement was really overshadowed by a deal that he really wanted to tout, to say that he was making good on some of his campaign promises. But what we really know about this announcement is that it really offers a glimpse into the mindset he has around these tariffs and what he's thinking.

He told the audience and the crowd there that he was initially thinking about raising the tariffs from 25 percent to 40 percent, but then ultimately settled on 50 percent, but really didn't describe or say why he settled on that number.

Now, we know that Trump has made it clear when he was running for reelection that he really wanted to revitalize the manufacturing industry and create more U.S. jobs. And he believes that raising these tariffs on imported steel will do exactly that.

But let's not forget why he was actually there. And that was to tout this deal that he helped broker between U.S. Steel and Nippon that he really does firmly believe will revitalize this industry and ultimately do a lot of good by bringing more investments into the U.S. economy.

BLACKWELL: All right. Do we know any more about the deal? Again, still not finalized.

DECHALUS: Well, Trump offered a lot of just some details, saying that the Japanese company was going to invest $14 billion and do that in the next few months. But he himself said that he has not seen the final details of this agreement.

And what's pretty notable, as I mentioned before, when he was running for office, he was talking about revitalizing the U.S. manufacturing industry. But during that same time, he also talked about how he was actually initially opposed to this deal. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:15]

TRUMP: The investment, it's controlled by the United States. And more importantly, they're spending the money on brick and mortar. You can't take it.

What are you going to do? Pick it up and move it to Japan? That's not going to happen. And, you know, I rejected this about four times now. And when they finally got it right, I liked it a lot.

And you could see how happy the steelworkers were. More importantly, you could see from the union standpoint, the union loved it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, Victor, as Trump mentioned there, he's saying that union representatives are loving this deal, but he still has not seen the final details.

And I spoke to some of them and they say that they have still are still a little apprehensive about what this deal will really entail. And they won't really go full on board with it until they see the final details of this deal.

BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus in Washington for us. Thank you.

Elon Musk is out of the White House in his official capacity. He's leaving on good terms with President Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Elon's really not leaving. He's going to be back and forth, I think, I have a feeling it's it's his baby and I think he's going to be doing a lot of things.

But Elon's service to America has been without comparison in modern history. Elon gave an incredible service -- nobody like him. And he had to go through the slings and the arrows, which is a shame because he's an incredible patriot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, let's take a look at that service. CNN's Julia Benbrook takes a look at Musk's work with DOGE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tech billionaire, Elon Musk, who

has been by President Donald Trump's side for these crucial first few months of the term, is stepping back from his role as a special government employee, where he led the Department of Government Efficiency's efforts to identify and eliminate "waste, fraud and abuse" within the federal government.

In the Oval Office with Musk standing nearby, the president touted DOGE's work.

TRUMP: We'll remember you as we announce billions of dollars of extra waste, fraud, and abuse.

BENBROOK: As Musk shifts his focus back to his companies like SpaceX and Tesla, he is still expected to serve as an advisor. And DOGE is expected to continue its work with staffers stationed across various government agencies.

ELON MUSK, TESLA CEO: I think the DOGE team is doing an incredible job. They're going to continue doing an incredible job. And I'll be, and I'll continue to be visiting here and be a friend and adviser to the president.

BENBROOK: Under Musk leadership, at least 121,000 federal worker jobs were cut or targeted for cuts in Trump's first 100 days, and federal grants and programs have been slashed. Some reinstated, though, after court challenges.

Those moves, at times controversial, leave a lasting impact on various departments across the federal government. DOGE estimates that it has saved $175 billion so far, though questions have been raised about the accuracy of that tally.

We have seen Musk become more critical of the Trump administration in recent days, telling CBS News that while he agrees with much of what the administration is doing, there are some differences of opinion.

In that same interview, Musk criticized Trump's so-called one big beautiful bill, saying that the massive piece of legislation could undermine DOGE's efforts. Reporting at the White House, I'm Julia Benbrook.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to revoke the temporary legal status of more than a half million immigrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, Venezuela. This is the second time the Supreme Court has sided with the Trump administration on its immigration policies, even as Trump continues to rail against the judiciary.

Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown-Jackson dissented from the decision. The order will allow the president to expedite the deportations for an estimated 530,000 migrants who had previously benefited from the Biden-era program.

Joining me now, CNN Legal Analyst Michael Moore. Good to have you back.

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Glad to be with you.

BLACKWELL: All right. So this decision allows the president to move forward with this deportation effort, but there is still a case moving through in the lower courts. Explain that.

MOORE: Yes. This, all the court did is basically say we're not going to pause things while the litigation moves forward. And this has sort of been the norm the court has wanted to follow in the Supreme Court if they're known for anything. It's sort of a practice and a procedure and a process. They just want the process to move through.

So, instead of having the judge's order immediately take effect in the lower court and while it's on appeal, they say we're just going to continue on and kind of keep things in the status quo without blocking it. So this is not really a win for Trump. I know that his team likes to come out and pound their chest and say that they've won.

BLACKWELL: Greatest victory in history.

MOORE: That's right. It's always some hyperbolic statement about the dumb judges and the great win. But in this case, it really is just the court saying we're going to let the litigation continue. I mean, it doesn't necessarily help those people who are affected right now because the administration will continue to do things.

[07:10:20]

And this policy, this parole program has allowed people from select countries who may have been under really undue threat and harm, threat of harm and physical coercion, those types of things, to come in and have an extended parole period in the country. This has been going on. It happened even back, I think, under Eisenhower.

So, there's nothing really new here. But Trump coming in and sort of wanting to fix it with a hammer instead of with a scalpel is a problem.

BLACKWELL: There are some Republican members of Congress who are hoping, they're deeply disappointed in this effort to deport those with TPS, who say, especially in Florida with the Venezuelan community, could they be deported now as this case is moving through?

MOORE: I mean, technically, without the order blocked, there will be, I think you'll see a move to increase deportation. So I think it's possible.

But those people also have the ability to come in and apply to stay under other programs. They may now apply under an asylum program, which was different than they originally had under the TPS program.

So they could actually do an application for asylum and ask if they'd be allowed to stay because of some particular problem that they face.

BLACKWELL: What do you make of this, as you said, the president railing against the judiciary, this now fight with the Federalist Society, and the list from which he pulled not only his appointments to the Supreme Court, but lower federal courts as well is now called in Leonard Leo, a bad person who was the chairman of the board of directors of the organization.

Is this just a tantrum or do you think this has some real consequences for, for the Republican political judiciary movement?

MOORE: You know, if the Republicans have been good at one thing, it's really seeing down the road and planning for things 20 years from now. That included how they stacked the bench with judges who believed in their particular ideology.

And so, the Federalist Society has been a big proponent of putting people in place to start in lower courts and move their way up to ultimately to be Supreme Court candidates or not potential nominees. You know, I think this is a lot of chest pounding again by Trump.

I think this is sort of what he does. It's a little bit par for the course when he disagrees with somebody, he goes off on a tangent against them. I think it's dangerous, though, to think that you may have people, particularly people close in his administration now charged solely with the vetting process for judicial candidates, as opposed to maybe a more well-reasoned group.

And I'm not a member of the Federalist Society. We are our politics probably don't always align, but at least they have some sort of what I would call old school Republicans in there as well. And they think about the text and the Constitution as opposed to just pushing through an agenda that, that I think is a concern.

And I think that's probably what has people upset. You know, he's also or the Department of Justice has come out saying they're no longer going to have the American Bar Association involved in reviewing judicial candidates.

So basically, you can take somebody that the ABA would go out and interview people and they would take opinions from folks that may have known these folks before they became a judge.

Now, they're saying we're not going to have that anymore. We just get to pick the people. So you may have somebody with no judicial experience who served, you know, doing traffic tickets and ludicrous.

And that's how I feel about that. They're coming in and maybe have no experience. And suddenly he's going to elevate him to a lifetime appointment on the district court. And that's that's that's ludicrous.

BLACKWELL: And we have seen some examples. This was from the first administration where there were some who did not have the endorsement as they got to those confirmation hearings.

One more for you. This is President Trump being asked about Sean Diddy Combs and consideration of a pardon, even as his trial goes on now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: I haven't seen him. I haven't spoken to him in years. He used

to really like me a lot. I think when I ran for politics, he sort of that relationship busted up from what I read.

I would certainly look at the facts. If I think somebody was mistreated, whether they like me or don't like me, it wouldn't have any impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes, but he answered. He said, he used to like me as part of the answer. I mean, as far as controversial as the pardons of the January 6th, people were that that that was. This would be anomalous, I'd imagine, for sex trafficking and racketeering if he's convicted.

MOORE: I mean, I think that's right. I mean, there's no question that this president has turned the pardon process into a cash register. He basically sells favors, sells access. I mean, and you've seen people who have given large amounts of money and all of a sudden their folks are pardoned without any question or attempt to collect restitution, maybe for the victims or the government in a case or otherwise.

He's just changed the norms, you know, and I think we have to recognize that the pardon is an important power of a president. We're just not seeing someone who has so selfishly and maybe without any regard he's monetized a way to do this and, you know, if you want a pardon now from this president maybe instead of doing what we used to do and put together a packet of information explaining how somebody's reformed.

The things they've done for the community, what impact they may have had during the prison system, these types of things, no disciplinary record or whatever, you now really have to either be a complete groveler or you have to have a big checkbook, and you have to say I like you, you're the greatest president that's ever lived, you've done the greatest thing for the country or, you know, I may have some money and that we're seeing too much of that, you know, and it's given the appearance.

[07:15:55]

I mean there are people he's pardoned that may have deserved a pardon. The problem is, is that some of the high profile ones there just seems to be a little bit of a pay for play and that's concerning.

BLACKWELL: All right, Michael Moore, thank you.

MOORE: Glad to be with you.

BLACKWELL: Firefighters are battling massive wildfires burning out of western and central Canada. The flames have forced thousands to evacuate and the smoke is drifting south, now sending hazardous air toward major U.S. cities.

With us now, CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar. All right, show it to us. CHINCHAR: Yes, so take a look at this view. This is Chicago, sunrise

in Chicago, and you can kind of see in the distance there kind of like that pinkish-red-orange hue to it. That is because of the smoke.

When you tend to have very large amounts and volumes of smoke particles in the atmosphere, you tend to get more of those sunrises and sunsets that fall in that red, the pink, and the orange hue than you normally would.

So, again, very beautiful sunrise and sunsets. The only downfall is it also causes some problems, especially respiratory problems. So, when you take a look at how many fires there really are across Canada, you're talking nearly 200 of them spread over several different provinces.

But the concern really has been focused over Manitoba and Saskatchewan provinces because the smoke from those fires is now starting to trickle into the upper Midwest, states like the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, even into Michigan.

But also notice, too, you're starting to see some of the yellow and the orange color down into states like Illinois, Indiana, and even in Ohio. This is a live look right now, but as we head into the afternoon and evening hours, you'll see it continues to spread southward.

Even states like Tennessee, North Carolina could end up seeing some of those high-volume or some of those high-level smoke particles. And then here, where you're talking the deep reds and orange, meaning that the volume is very dense for those smoke particles, those could even sweep all the way down into portions of Iowa and Missouri.

But then once we get to Sunday, we also start to see it shift back towards the east again. So places like Wisconsin and Michigan getting a little bit of a break later today will start to see all of that return back again once we get into tomorrow, which is why you have those air quality alerts in effect until Monday.

BLACKWELL: All right, Allison, thank you. Lawyers for accused killer, Karen Read, began laying out their case in her murder retrial. The key questions they had for an expert about the night Read's boyfriend was found dead, that's coming up.

And a little later, Taylor Swift says it's her greatest dream come true. We go inside the deal and let the billionaire singer buy back her entire catalog of music six years after controversial sale.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:23:05]

BLACKWELL: Karen Read's defense called its first witness in her retrial for the killing of her Boston police officer boyfriend, John O'Keefe. An accident reconstruction expert testified that O'Keefe's phone was likely locked after Read's vehicle stopped. That challenges the prosecution's timeline. Prosecutors allege that Read hit O'Keefe with her SUV after a night

out in January of 2022. O'Keefe's body was found buried in the snow outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts.

CNN's Jean Casares has been following the twists and the turns of this case, and she has the latest for us now. Jean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEAN CASARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, we are now in the defense case of the criminal trial of Karen Read. The first witness the defense put on was Matthew DeSorgra. He is an accident reconstructionist.

Now, the prosecution theory is that once Karen Read was in front of the house at 34 Fairview, John O'Keefe got out of the car, and she then drove her car forward, put it in reverse, going in reverse 87 feet.

And at some point, clipped John O'Keefe, side swiped him, and that is when he fell to the ground and fractured his head multiple times, and that's about it.

Well, the point of this witness for the defense was to show, based on the forensic data between the car and the iPhone, that even if that vehicle side swiped or hit John O'Keefe in any way, and they say there was never a collision.

But even if something like that happened, it couldn't have happened because the data shows that after that, John O'Keefe personally turned off his phone for the last time. And you're not going to be clipped, fall to the ground, have skull fractures, and then turn off your own phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You reviewed the tech stream data, otherwise known as the triggers, for the entirety of Ms. Read's vehicle, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many trigger events did you find in the life of the car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not counting 1162-2. Let's stop there. Prior to 1162-2, there were 19 prior events.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And 19 total events, correct?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And how many collisions were clocked by any recorder on that car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None of the events were triggered by a collision.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this data that was not found during the initial process, that was critical data at the time. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. The only person that found this out was

Shannon Burgess.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That there was no collision with this car that night, are you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you presented your analysis, your math, based on Mr. Burgess' January 2025 report, how many of the scenarios indicated, based on his data and his analysis, that the lock event occurred after the texting event?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know at 12:32:16 that John O'Keefe's cell phone moved for the last time? Did you know that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. And between 12:32:12, which is in the ten- second window, and 12:32:16, do you know what John O'Keefe was doing in that four-second period?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know if he was walking?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know if he was crawling?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know if he was falling?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE:

CASARES: I do not know. Karen Read says the defense case will last a week to a week and a half.

Now, as to whether disgraced lead investigator from the first trial, Michael Proctor, will take the stand, and whether Karen Read herself is going to take the stand to rebut all of those interview clips that the prosecution had in their case of chief, Karen Read says TBD to both of them, to be determined. Victor?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right, Jean. Thanks for the report. There was a tense back and forth between defense attorneys and the second woman to accuse Sean Diddy Combs of sexual abuse. Yesterday we heard from the former assistant known to the public only as Mia. She recounted more instances of abuse and blackmail.

She said she feared for not just losing her job but her life. On a cross-examination, the defense suggested she made up those claims of sexual abuse. Let's talk about both of these cases now with Entertainment Attorney Lisa Bonner.

Lisa, thanks for coming in. We'll talk about Diddy in a moment, but let's start with Karen Read. And this discrepancy on the locking of John O'Keefe's phone, how important is this detail in the explanation of a narrative to the jury?

LISA BONNER, ENTERTAINMENT ATTORNEY: It's extremely important because the prosecution is trying to challenge, the defense is trying to challenge the prosecution's timeline, basically saying this could not have happened but for the fact that the car stopped and his phone locked and he would not have been able to move.

[07:28:11]

So, they need to just cast reasonable doubt on the prosecution's timeline, which is important because they don't have any witnesses. And so, they're trying to shift the narrative away from whatever she could have actively done to whatever else could have possibly happened. They just want to entirely shift the narrative away from her.

And when you're talking about a timeline, that's important. How could this have happened? The phone moved, he moved if it had locked. So, that's an important narrative in my opinion.

BLACKWELL: This is the first defense witness. The defense says that this will be a different case than they put on the first trial, which didn't even last two days. They put up maybe a half dozen witnesses and went for a day and a half. They promise a more robust defense this time.

BONNER: And that's very smart because the former trial ended in a mistrial. So this time they're going to flesh it out. They're going to throw doubt at anything that could have possibly happened to her to cause her to do it and shift the narrative and move that narrative to somebody else, possibly the prosecutor who had botched the previous investigation.

So, I think that's pretty important. I'm interested to see what's going to happen because they are throwing everything but the kitchen sink at them this time.

BLACKWELL: Let's turn to the Sean Diddy Combs trial and this cross- examination of Mia. And the defense attorneys asked her about these congenial and affectionate social media posts, scrapbooking, putting together a birthday video. Was that effective, do you think?

BONNER: The defense's strategy? No, I don't think so at all. Because one thing that we are seeing as a continuous narrative is the amount of control that he had over his victims. And there is a thread of Stockholm Syndrome here where the abuse often sympathize with the abuser. We see it all the time in child abuse cases.

And this is a thread throughout this case. So I don't think that that is something that is a great defense strategy. And to have Brian Steele, get -- basically, get on the stand and victim blame, that was even worse.

I mean, they -- that is something I would never have done as a trial attorney.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Even asking her if she was wrong, and saying that Diddy never had nonconsensual sex with her, she said that everything she said was true.

BONNER: Of course.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BONNER: Three times. He basically stated, this did not happen to you, and she was such an effective witness. She was cowering. She said, I would have taken the secret to my grave. Had I not been subpoenaed to come in here and testify, just because it didn't happen on the record, because I was scared for my job. I was scared for my livelihood. I was scared for my life. And you're going to come on and tell me that didn't happen? That is the -- that is a clear case of victim blaming.

And from a man to a woman who was visibly disturbed, I cannot imagine that, that would have sat well with the jury at all.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about the racketeering conspiracy charge. The attorneys I've had in over the first two weeks of the trial have said that, you know, prosecutors have a long way to go to prove that. Do you think they made some progress this week?

BONNER: Yes, I do, and that's why the case -- the trial, is not two weeks long or three weeks long, because the trial started off with a foundational witness who basically laid out all of the elements of what she is alleged in terms of abuse, control, sex trafficking, narcotics, the ingestion of narcotics, and everything you need for a lot of the predicate crimes.

Talked about Kid Cudi, and the break in, and the alleged arson. So, the first week are so -- first two weeks were very foundational.

Now, they have come in, and they have started to establish corroborating evidence, other people, a thread of commonality of abuse, control. So, and we've had people witnesses come in with first count -- first account of what has happened to me personally, and corroborating what Cassie has said.

So, they are really starting to threat that narrative of control. In terms of the sex trafficking, we saw the predicate act of alleged kidnapping, arson, breaking and entering, you name it. They have -- they have really threaded the needle, and I think that they're doing a good job. They've got a long way to go. I do believe that they need to bring in some of the higher ups, like we've heard about, K.K., a million times his chief of staff.

BLACKWELL: Yes. BONNER: We need to land the plane and bring in people that were really more on par with him in terms of control. This -- the security guard is another one D-Roc, let's see those. But I think that they have absolutely done a great job so far.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Up next, next week, we are going to hear from the security at the InterContinental hotel where that video was recorded that so many people have seen.

(CROSSTALK)

BONNER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: So, that will be the next phase of this case from prosecutors. Lisa, thank you.

BONNER: Thank you for having me in, Victor.

BLACKWELL: The transgender high school athlete at the center of President Trump's threat to remove California funding advances to the state championship finals. What parents and activists at the event are saying? That's coming up for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:37:34]

BLACKWELL: Happening today, a transgender athlete will be competing in a track and field championship in California. She advanced in a high school meet amid controversy after President Trump threatened to pull funding from the state if she kept competing.

CNN correspondent Julia Vargas Jones has more.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN NEWSOURCE CORRESPONDENT: A.B. Hernandez, the transgender teen that is at the center of this controversy over the participation of trans women and girls in sports has advanced to the final of the California Track and Field championship here in Clovis, California.

That is under the new rules that the CIF put in place this week, where they not only added an extra slot for cisgender girl to participate in the events where A.B. Hernandez was qualifying, but they also said that they will award an extra medal for a girl that would have made to the podium had she not competed.

Now, California has since 2013, allowed transgender athletes to compete in the category that they identify with. But now, the justice department is investigating whether that state law in California is actually a violation of Title IX, a federal law that says that there cannot be any sex-based discrimination in any learning institutions that receive any kind of federal funding.

Now, Governor Gavin Newsom of California has said that these changes from the California Interscholastic Federation are a good compromise. But he had said previously, back in March in his podcast, that trans athletes competing girls' sports raise an issue of fairness.

Now, here at the competition, we did hear those sentiments echoed by parents and activists that showed up to protest her participation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think that having a male and female competition is fair competition.

If he is an athlete, or she is an athlete, whatever she claims to be, it should be that he competes in his biological field, which is male.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Now, it's worth mentioning that there were only a handful of protesters at the competition, most parents that came with their children said, they did not -- they don't want this issue to be politicized, and they prefer for the focus to be on the athletic competition at hand.

Both A.B. Hernandez and her mother have also spoken multiple times about her right to compete, defending her participation in the state competition, saying that she is a girl like any other member of her team, which, by the way, she says very much supports her and loves her.

[07:40:13]

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Clovis, California.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Julia.

Six years after she was left out of the deal, selling the rights to her music, Taylor Swift, getting back together with her entire catalog. What we know about the deal? That's ahead.

And George Clooney stars in Broadway's "Good Night, and Good Luck", presented live on CNN, in a first of its kind broadcast with the Tony nominated play. You can watch it next Saturday, 7:00 p.m. on CNN, and streaming on cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:24]

BLACKWELL: A years' long fight has now come to an end for Taylor Swift. She announced Friday that she now owns her entire music catalog. Six years after they were sold without her being included in the deal, Swift was able to buy her master recordings from a private equity company.

Randi Kaye has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAYLOR SWIFT, AMERICAN SINGER, AND SONGWRITER: I have always wanted to own my own music.

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): And now she does.

Taylor Swift announced the news on her web site, writing, "All of the music I've ever made, now belongs to me."

Back in 2019, Swift said she'd been, "blindsided", when the master recordings of her first six albums were part of the deal, when her former label was sold to producer, Scooter Braun.

SWIFT: I made it very clear that I wanted to be able to buy my music. That opportunity was not given to me, and it was sold to somebody else.

KAYE (voice over): Braun insisted, Swift's team was aware of the pending deal.

Swift wrote on Tumblr then that the $300 million deal, "stripped me of my life's work."

She moved on and signed with Universal Music Group's Republic records, which allowed her to own her future masters. She also found a way to reclaim ownership of most of her earlier music, by re-recording her first five albums.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a plan?

SWIFT: Yes, absolutely.

I just figured I was the one who made this music. First, I can just make it again.

SETH MEYERS, HOST, LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS, NBC: Yes.

SWIFT: So, that's what we are doing.

MEYERS: (INAUDIBLE).

SWIFT: So, that's what we're doing. So, when something says in parentheses, Taylor's version next to it, that means I own it, which is exciting.

KAYE (voice over): And when Swift announced her new album, "Lover" on "Good Morning, America" in 2019 --

SWIFT: One thing about this album that's really special to me is that it's the first one that I will own.

I think that artists deserve to own their work. I just feel very passionately about that.

My contract says that starting November 2020. So, next year, I can record albums one through five, all over again.

KAYE (voice over): And now, Swift also owns all her music videos, concert films, album art and photography, along with unreleased songs. Purchased she wrote, with "no strings attached" from a private equity company that had bought her master recordings.

Swift told her fans, "This is my greatest dream come true.

Randi Kaye, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: The New York Knicks could knock the Indiana Pacers out of their first NBA Finals in 25 years.

Andy Scholes, breaks down a big Game Six in the Eastern Conference Finals. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:24]

BLACKWELL: Los Angeles Dodgers star, Shohei Ohtani, wowed fans in a World Series rematch last night against the Yankees. CNN's Andy Scholes joins us now.

Action started early.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes, Victor. I hope all those, you know, fans in L.A. didn't get stuck in traffic and missed the first inning, because if they did, they ended up missing some history.

The Yankees were in L.A. for the World Series rematch with the Dodgers. Top of the first inning. Aaron Judge's first at bat absolutely crushes this one. That ball went 446-feet for his 19th home run of the season.

But then, in the bottom of the first, Shohei Ohtani says, I can do that. He hits his 21st of the season.

So, this is the first time in baseball history that the reigning MVPs in both leagues hit a home run in the first inning of the same game. Pretty cool.

Now, Ohtani was not done in this one. Six innings, he homers again for his league leading 22nd of the year. The Dodgers would end up winning eight to five to take the series opener against the Yankees.

Now, tonight, New York fans going to need multiple T.V.s going as the Knicks are going to take the Florida once again try to keep their season alive in game six against the Pacers. The Knicks, they have never come back from a 3-1 deficit, they're 0 and 15-all time. They took game five in front of that New York crowd. But Game Six is in Indian.

Karl-Anthony Towns, said the Knicks have to keep up the same intensity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS, CENTER, NEW YORK KNICKS: We have no more room for error. You know, it's our backs against the wall, and you know, it's every game is do or die, you know.

So, you don't bring that energy. We don't bring that execution. Will be -- our season will be over.

TYRESE HALIBURTON, GUARD, INDIANA PACERS: I have the most confidence in myself and our group, you know, to play to our ability in Game Six. So, I don't think there is any need to panic by any means. We get another game to go back at home and attack these guys and get better.

So, I look forward to Game Six, and we're prepared. We'll be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes, Game Six tonight tips off at eight eastern on TNT. If the Pacers win, this would be the last ever NBA broadcast on TNT.

All right, we saw another incredible day of action in round three of Roland-Garros. Holger Rune, taken on Quentin Halys. And Halys thinks he's won this point. But watch Rune. He somehow gets to that ball and hits it around the net for the incredible point.

I mean, take another look. Rune, he would end up winning the match in a five-set thriller to advance. But man, what a shot there. But that might not even have been the best shot of the day.

American Ben Shelton. Watch this. He stumbled there at the bottom of your screen. Somehow still returns the ball. Then he gets up, smacks a backhand and Mateo. Gigante isn't able to return it.

[07:55:02]

So, Shelton wins the point, and look at him, just completely covered in clay, gets a big standing ovation from the crowd.

Shelton won that in -- match in straight sets. He now moves on to face defending champ, Carlos Alcaraz in round number four.

You can watch all of that French Open coverage on TNT and streaming on MAX.

Victor, you see it just covered in clay. That's the -- that's the French Open look. If I was Shelton, I would -- I would frame that outfit. Right?

BLACKWELL: It worth it. It's worth it. I mean, nothing short of acrobatics, what they were doing. It's a no points.

SCHOLES: So, such good stuff.

BLACKWELL: All right. Andy Scholes, thanks so much.

Hey, "FIRST OF ALL" is coming up at the top of the hour. We're going to have a unique conversation about immigration. You're going to hear from a 19-year-old college student recently detained by ICE and facing deportation.

One of her supporters through this ordeal, a Republican state lawmaker who says this approach to immigration has to change.

Plus, the fight over a high school's Native American mascot that just escalated. The Department of Education is now threatening. New York education officials. Well get reaction to their demands from a member of a tribal nation in New York.

And I want you to weigh in on this question: Is it a problem if black civil rights icons like Harriet Tubman, Mary McLeod Bethune are portrayed by a white actress. The writer and performer of a one woman show, says a performance was called-off because of her race, and now she is suing. You'll hear from her and her attorney.

Those stories and other conversations you likely won't see anywhere else coming up after a quick break on "FIRST OF ALL".

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