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Ukraine Attacks Russia Overnight; Israel Opens Fire Near Aid Hub; Americans Want Government to do More; Dr. Donell Harvin is Interviewed about the Boulder Attack; Ernst Apologizes for Comments. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired June 02, 2025 - 06:30   ET

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

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[06:31:45]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All of a sudden I felt the heat, like it was a Molotov cocktail equivalent, a gas bomb in a glass jar, thrown. I saw it. And a big flame as high as a tree. And all I saw was someone on fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, law enforcement in Colorado investigate a violent attack at a pro-Israel rally in Boulder.

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me on CNN THIS MORNING.

It's now half past the hour. And here's what's happening right now.

Police in Boulder, Colorado, say a man with a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails attacked a peaceful crowd, setting several people on fire. And it happened at a weekly rally to support the hostages still being held by Hamas. The suspect allegedly yelled "free Palestine" during the attack. At least eight were injured, including a Holocaust survivor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JARED POLIS (D-CO): We want to make sure that again, no matter what your viewpoints are in our state, that you feel safe. And particularly now a lot of members of our Jewish community feel particularly threatened by this, this act of terrorism.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The suspect has been arrested. The FBI was searching his home overnight. No deaths have been reported just yet, but he is currently booked on two counts of murder. That's according to his online jail records. And in just a few hours, Sean Combs' ex-assistant returns to the stand

for more cross-examination. On Friday, the defense suggested that she made up the sexual assault allegations against Diddy, but she said that she hasn't, quote, "lied to anyone at all" about the accusations.

And today, after weeks of delays and cancellations, Newark Airport's closed runway will reopen ahead of schedule. The project began in March and was scheduled to be done by June 15th. The construction, along with air traffic control tech issues, caused the FAA to limit flights there this summer.

And this morning, Russian and Ukrainian officials are in Turkey giving peace talks another try. So far, it's unclear what will come from the negotiations, given that these talks come after Ukraine launched a major drone strike. It was called Operation Spiders Web. It took a year and a half to plan. Ukraine's president says they used 117 drones to strike air bases deep inside Russia. A source says that they had been smuggled into the area and hidden. This caused $7 billion in damages, according to Ukrainian sources.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): A brilliant operation was conducted on the enemy's territory, against military targets only, against equipment that was used to deliver strikes on Ukraine. Russia has had very tangible losses, and justifiably so, as they deserved it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: CNN global analyst Kim Dozier joins me now to discuss the latest developments. First, let's talk about this attack that you heard Zelenskyy essentially crowing about, saying that 34 percent of Russia's strategic cruise missile carriers were at this airbase. So, what kind of impact could this have?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It was actually multiple air bases across the country, all the way to Siberia.

Russia hasn't confirmed the extent of the damage, but --

CORNISH: But they confirmed it happened. Yes.

DOZIER: And Russians also uploaded their own video of these drones swarming, destroying. $100 million planes.

[06:35:02]

I've seen Russian -- Ukrainian drones, operators in the field, but this would have taken Ukrainians being inside Russia, infiltrating all the way to Siberia, because these quadcopter drones can't be controlled from hundreds or thousands of kilometers away. So --

CORNISH: So, for all our talk of long-range missiles, the Ukrainians have innovated, so to speak, when it comes to battle force use of drones. DOZIER: With little quadcopter drones, with a few pounds of explosive

loaded on them, they took out $100 million bombers that are supposed to carry nuclear weapons.

CORNISH: So, here's where we stand now. A few weeks ago, there were attacks on Kyiv, right, in Ukraine. The attacks hurting civilians by Russia. Now you have Ukraine replying in kind, saying, look, we're going to attack the bombers that were coming for us. And now these two sides are supposed to sit at a negotiating table. How?

DOZIER: Well, actually those attacks, they continue every night. I had a friend last night saying they were moving their mattress out into the hallway because there were warnings of ballistic missile strikes against Kyiv. So, each side continues to strike each other. These talks in Istanbul probably will not produce a ceasefire. But the last talks produced a massive prisoner exchange. So, it is useful for them to keep talking. Russia, though, has not presented their proposal based on their public statement, though. It's likely to have a number of things that Ukraine can't swallow. Recognizing all the territory Russia has seized since 2022, and some of it it still doesn't completely hold. Agreeing to disarm. Agreeing to not take foreign aid for its military anymore.

CORNISH: Right. They want it demilitarized and almost a de-allied Ukraine.

DOZIER: Yes.

CORNISH: Is Ukraine bothering with demands?

DOZIER: Ukraine has circulated its draft widely and it can -- it has offers. An unconditional ceasefire, and then all the normal things you'd expect a country that had been attacked would want. So, it's good that they're going to continue to talk because it's a signal to the Trump administration that Ukraine is still willing. But this is Kyiv with this latest attack showing Trump, we are innovative and we are worth backing. You say we don't have all the cards. Look, we just landed a straight flush.

CORNISH: OK.

Kim Dozier, CNN global affairs analyst, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

DOZIER: Yes.

CORNISH: OK, now we're going to talk about the conflict in the Middle East because at least 31 Palestinians were shot dead, with dozens more injured near an aid distribution site in Gaza. Now, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry -- and we want to warn you that this video may be disturbing. This video came into CNN overnight. And it shows the chaos as it unfolded. The ministry and eyewitnesses say the Israeli military opened fire near the aid hub. But the IDF says its forces did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the aid site. Over the weekend, Hamas said it was ready for indirect negotiations to

reach a ceasefire, but Israel's defense minister told the military to continue advancing in Gaza, quote, "regardless of any negotiations."

CNN's Paula Hancocks joins me now.

Paula, I want to start with the quote from the defense minister, who told the IDF to, quote, employ all necessary means by air, land and sea.

And this comes after Hamas is pushing back on the latest U.S. proposed ceasefire plan.

Can you talk about some of the obstacles here? The most recent ones, anyway, in terms of sticking points.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Audie, the basic difference between Hamas and Israel is that Hamas wants a permanent ceasefire immediately, and they want the IDF to -- to move back from population centers, move out of Gaza. And Israel is simply not prepared to do that. They say they want to continue fighting. As we heard from the defense minister, as Hamas has not been completely destroyed.

So, what we've seen now is Hamas pushing back against what we heard from Steve Witkoff, the Middle East envoy for the Trump administration, saying that Hamas was pushing the process backwards and saying that's simply not true. We are willing to negotiate immediately. But they want to have some guarantees. They want to make sure that this proposal, which would see ten living hostages and a number of deceased hostages being released for a 60-day ceasefire is the latest version that we've seen. They want to know that that temporary ceasefire is going to become permanent. They want to make sure there is more humanitarian aid coming into Gaza. And they also want to make sure that the Israeli military is pushing back to certain positions, so they're not just staying where they are.

But we don't appear to be any closer than we were a number of weeks ago. Although Doha and -- and Cairo say that they are intensifying efforts. And over the weekend, on Sunday, we saw just how desperately needed this ceasefire is when some 31 were killed near to an aid distribution site.

[06:40:08]

Let's listen to one of those people who was in the vicinity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REDA ABU JAZAR, BROTHER WAS KILLED (through translator): Let them stop these massacres, stop this genocide. They are killing us. Kill all of us together and let us get rid of this life instead of getting hurt for this and that. Our beloved ones are dying. Enough! Who is left? Nobody is left. We cannot resist anymore at all. I swear.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HANCOCKS: Now, in addition to those that were killed, some 200 were injured. The International Red Cross field hospital, where many of these patients were taken, said that it was the highest number of weapon wounded in a single incident in the past year since that field hospital has been assembled. There is some confusion, though, as to who exactly was firing.

Audie.

CORNISH: That's CNN's Paula Hancocks. Thank you.

A record number of Americans want the government to do more. They don't seem convinced either major party can lead the way. According to a new CNN poll, 58 percent of U.S. adults believe the federal government should be trying to do more. That number is a record high, up 25 points from 2011.

But when asked which party can actually deliver those things, 44 percent believed neither could. Democrats only polled at 19 percent, as party leaders continue to grapple with lessons from the 2024 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): They keep telling us we have to learn how to talk to people. Yes, you got to go talk to people. That -- you know, that's pretty obvious. But we got to make sure that we're talking and listening at the same time.

GOV. WES MOORE (D-MD): We are being called on to act, and to lead. The people want a growing middle class, and they cannot wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Group chat is back.

It occurs to me the problem is not wanting more, it's, what is more? Like I feel like it's not clear partizans, the average person, what they mean when they say they want more. More spending? More cuts? More what? I mean, how -- how are Democrats talking about it?

SABRINA RODRIGUEZ, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Yes, I think one of the biggest themes from this weekend and seeing, you know, Governor Tim Walz and -- and Governor Wes Moore talking about this is, they're trying to understand what exactly it is that people want, which, of course, is sort of standard reflective mode after an election, especially when you have a bruising defeat like they did.

But the thing the conversation is really, they're realizing, there are things to learn from the Trump playbook. That was one of the common themes that you heard from Walz and from Moore this weekend is saying, wait, something that Trump had right here is being really impatient, moving quickly, being decisive. One of the biggest frustrations that I heard from Democrats this weekend and on the campaign trail last year is a feeling that Democrats promise all these things, but then they only do little incremental changes, or they're very deferential to the system and to kind of the procedural. And one of the things that we heard from these governors now is saying, OK, now, we got to learn from Trump that he's impatient, breaks things, moves quickly, does things swiftly and dramatically, and we need to do that. You know, Governor Moore, he kind of summed it up as saying, if Trump can do bad in so little time, can we do so much good in little time?

CORNISH: Yes. The poll also asked which party best reflects their view on a range of issues. And when it comes to crime, the economy, immigration, Republicans still hold an advantage, although actually those numbers are starting to slip.

How did you think about this poll as you were looking through?

COURTENAY BROWN, ECONOMICS REPORTER, "AXIOS": I couldn't help but be reminded about a big problem in my part of the world. The econ part of the world. We can't get a clean read on how consumers feel about the economy, because the data has been infected by partisanship really in an unprecedented manner. So --

CORNISH: Meaning your partisanship reflects whether or not you think the economy is good or not?

BROWN: Right. Do people think the economy is not doing well, or do they just not like who's in the White House? This is a huge problem right now. And it's -- it's making it impossible to get that clarity that economists like to see about how consumers are doing, do they intend to spend. Makes it impossible to forecast.

CORNISH: Because we also think like math should solve things. Numbers should tell us the facts. That should not be hard to figure out.

But pollsters were also asked if people believed which was the party of the middle class. And going back to 1989, Democrats used to be the lead in this, and now it's actually tied with Republicans, which is saying something. How are you thinking of these numbers?

KEVIN FREY, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, SPECTRUM NEWS NY1: I mean there's like a couple threads to pull out here.

I mean, one thing that I think this is reflective of, and kind of building off of what you were saying, is Trump came in promising that I alone can fix it. Kind of this -- this actionable man.

You saw Congressman Jeffries over the weekend with Dana Bash saying that the people are -- his takeaway from this sort of polling is that the people are frustrated with the system and how it's working. And so, you combine those factors, which arguably are somewhat reflective of some of the other action -- items in this poll, including the economic inequality, people feeling like they don't have upward mobility, all of those competing factors come together.

[06:45:13]

And suddenly this kind of populist urge kind of becomes an undercurrent. CORNISH: Yes. There's so much focus --

FREY: And Trump plays into that really well, which kind of alters how these parties are maybe appealing to different bases.

CORNISH: Yes, there's so much focus on communication. It's a little bit like complaining about the pipes when really the water is bad. Like, it's not clear to me what this message is they want to pass on.

FREY: Right.

CORNISH: We're going to hear more. Group chat, stick around.

In the meantime, we're going to talk next on CNN THIS MORNING about the FBI investigating this attack in Colorado as an act of terrorism. We're going to tell you what we know about the man who police say set people on fire while they were showing support for Israeli hostages.

Plus, the apology that triggered an angry backlash against Iowa's Republican Senator Joni Ernst. More on that.

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[06:50:04]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The attacker was pretty erratic and walking, pacing around. yelling things like f -- f the Zionist, or f you Zionists, you're killing all of my people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: We're following breaking news. Bail is set at $10 million for the man accused of using a makeshift flamethrower and Molotov cocktails to attack a crowd of demonstrators in Boulder, Colorado, who were showing support for the Israeli hostages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay -- stay away. Stay away. He's right there. He's throwing Molotov cocktails right there.

(INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: According to witnesses, the suspect, identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman, shouted "free Palestine" before the attack. According to online jail records, he's been booked on two counts of murder. Authorities have not officially announced any confirmed deaths. They have said that eight people were injured and one of them is a Holocaust survivor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BROOKE COFFMAN, WITNESS: I jumped over this like tiny little fence over to these two ladies on the grass, and it was two older ladies, just like kind of rolling around a little bit. They were in their underwear because they had like stripped their pants, obviously. And, yes, I was just like, how can I help? And they had like really bad burns all up on their legs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Dr. Donell Harvin is with us. He's a homeland security and public health emergency expert, also a member of the faculty at Georgetown University's emergency and disaster management master's program.

First, I want to start about the -- the threat of attacks like this. Right now investigators are trying to figure out if he acted alone, et cetera. But as you see more political violence, what are your concerns?

DR. DONELL HARVIN, HOMELAND SECURITY AND PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY EXPERT: My concerns are that this is hot on the heels of the targeted assassination of the two Israeli embassy staff just over a week ago. We've seen over the last few years a spike increase in anti-Semitic incidents, specifically, and I don't want to bore the audience with stats, but I think it's really important to quantify this stuff.

Last year alone there were over 9,000 anti-Semitic incidents that were logged by the FBI. Of that, 1,700 were direct attacks against synagogues and schools and Jewish community centers. Hundreds of bomb threats. That represents an over 350 percent increase over the last few years of anti-Semitic incidents.

Now, if -- if you and I's gas prices or egg or any other staple prices went up 350 percent, there would be a huge uproar. The Jewish community is actively under attack. We've been warned by the DHS and the FBI. And these things keep on happening.

CORNISH: Today is a Jewish holiday, and I want you to listen to a rabbi in Colorado Springs because the -- the emotions that are brought up in this moment are very powerful.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI JAY SHERWOOD, TEMPLE SHALOM, COLORADO SPRINGS: I thought about the -- the murder in Washington, D.C., recently, about other attacks that have happened against Jews here in the United States and around the world. Frankly, this is on the mind of every rabbi around the world since October 7, 2023.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: We've talked about the attempt to ramp up security around Jewish communities, but how should we think about this? What should happen now?

HARVIN: Well, unfortunately, and this is from many years of working in this type of business, I believe that the state and locals will have to really shoulder the burden. And the community groups themselves, the Jewish community.

While the federal government has talked about anti-Semitism and stamping out anti-Semitism, they've done actually everything to the complete opposite. We've seen a decrease in state and local funding for law enforcement intelligence to do this work, to -- to root out these type of acts of violence, targeted violence, anti-Semitic hate. And on the other hand, on the federal law enforcement side, many of the entities that would be engaged in counterterrorism are now looking at, you know, issues revolving around, you know, other extremist groups like MS-13 and TDA. So, we're really taking our eye off the ball of the real problem.

CORNISH: That's Dr. Donell Harvin, homeland security in public health emergency expert.

Thank you.

HARVIN: Thank you.

CORNISH: I'm going to turn now to a moment that's actually getting a lot of attention. It's from a town hall meeting with Iowa Senator Joni Ernst.

So, she was making a case in support of the president's bill. And, of course, that bill is going to bring a lot of changes to Medicaid.

Here's how she explained it to the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): When you are arguing about illegals that are receiving Medicaid benefits, 1.4 million -- 1.4 --

CROWD: (INAUDIBLE).

ERNST: They're not -- they are not eligible.

[06:55:02]

So, they will be coming off. So, we --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People will die.

ERNST: People are not --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People will die.

ERNST: Well, we all are going to die. So --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, going well. The backlash came quickly. She later apologized. That triggered even more uproar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): I made an incorrect assumption that everyone in the auditorium understood that, yes, we are all going to perish from this earth. So, I apologize. And I'm really, really glad that I did not have to bring up the subject of the tooth fairy as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Group chat is back. I think that was live from a graveyard. Just to underscore the point.

FREY: Yes.

CORNISH: Sarcasm is my love language, but it feels like this is not the moment. Like, it's kind of a -- you guys are just like head shaking. What's head shaking about this in this moment for this bill? Let me do it that way.

FREY: So, two things. One, this seems to be maybe symptomatic of kind of the -- the -- the Trump iteration of the Republican Party that you never apologize for anything. That's clearly what was going on there.

Two, I -- this kind of only underscores what clearly is a reality of this bill that the Republican Party is just not quite sure of how to navigate in terms of a messaging standpoint because we know Democrats are eager to exploit this Medicaid aspect of this. We know Democrats spoke over the weekend, Schumer and Jeffries, on Sunday. We know that the House Democrats are coming over to the Senate this week to kind of show ways to exploit this bill. Medicaid is going to be front and center of it.

CORNISH: But what you're saying is like the Medicaid question isn't going away, just like the cost question isn't going away.

FREY: No.

RODRIGUEZ: The thing here, though, is like, this is a short-term response to something, because the reality is, if this bill passes and millions of people lose -- do lose Medicaid, this is going to be an issue we're talking about. Right now it's a hypothetical about if it happens. So, she can do the sarcastic apology and can kind of double down and sort of --

CORNISH: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: But the reality is, for Iowans, when next year this bill, if it does pass and there are cuts, there's going to be a real answering and a real reckoning around what was the impact and will people actually die? Will this actually impact these communities.

CORNISH: Because the internet never forgets.

FREY: And notably the timing of these --

CORNISH: Yes.

FREY: The Medicaid cuts. The way they've moved them up as part of the compromise in the current status of the bill --

CORNISH: Would land.

FREY: Would land right around midterm season.

CORNISH: OK. You guys, I want to, since it's Monday, talk about what you are thinking about the rest of this week, what you're keeping an eye on.

Kevin Frey, let me start with you.

FREY: I'll be the Debbie Downer of the morning, which is that hurricane season has officially kicked off, but we are now seeing cuts at FEMA. We are seeing cuts at NOAA. And notably I --

CORNISH: So, these are the DOGE cuts, which we've talked about a lot, right? People exiting.

FREY: The DOGE cuts, the residual of that. Craig Fugate, a former leader of FEMA, over the weekend warning in "The Associated Press" that he has concerns that this is going to be a likened to 2005, notably the year of Katrina, because of essentially the brain drain at the FEMA -- at FEMA and the -- the folks that have knowledge of how to navigate these disasters.

CORNISH: OK. Courtenay, what about you?

BROWN: We get the May jobs report on Friday.

CORNISH: Yes.

BROWN: So far, the economy has held up pretty well as far as the indicators are concerned. But, you know, all my sources tell me that this is a mirage. The economy is weakening under the weight of tariffs. And we've all just been waiting for it to show up in the economic data.

CORNISH: For some number. Yes.

BROWN: So, we'll see what happens on Friday at 8:30 a.m.

CORNISH: Yes, hearing from business -- the business community I was talking with a CEO a few weeks ago and he said, it's really about the job's numbers. That's what he's keeping an eye on.

BROWN: For sure.

CORNISH: I am keeping an eye on credit debt and sort of how people are increasing their spending.

Sabrina, you?

RODRIGUEZ: Yes, I think during the break we were talking a little bit about the tariffs and just the roller coaster we're on of one day Trump kind of doubling down, the next day his administration officials talking they're open to negotiations. So, I think there's a big question right now in the coming weeks.

CORNISH: Yes, he was Very upset when someone brought up the term "taco trade," which stands for Trump always chickens out.

RODRIGUEZ: And if he was a chicken. Yes.

So, I think there's a real question right now as we head, you know, into this crucial month for them having potential negotiations with other countries. I think there's a question, will they actually come to fruition on some deals, or are we just going to see way more tariffs in July?

CORNISH: Yes. And it's also supposed to -- the long-range vision is supposed to help improve the economy over time, right? That's why you could have Johnson saying, well, like, the CBO numbers, they're not good because they don't talk about the U.S. economy growing, which it has always done. Is it a fair assumption to just go, it's always going to grow no matter what?

BROWN: I don't think that's a fair assumption at all. I think, on the one hand, you have, you know, however little the tariff revenue offsets the cost of the -- of the bill, they kind of need that tariff revenue. They've bragged about that tariff revenue. But on the other hand, this is exactly the thing that economists are worried about as far as throwing the economy into a recession.

[07:00:04]

CORNISH: Right.

BROWN: We have no hint of that so far but it's the fear.

CORNISH: Yes, but also makes global markets and people around the world who always trusted our economy to be stable, not to have uncertainty. They've got a lot of questions now. You're seeing that in the bond market as well.

You guys, thank you so much. We've talked about a lot today on a very busy and difficult news day. I want to thank you for being with us today.

I'm Audie Cornish. And we're going to have more headlines on "CNN NEWS CENTRAL." That starts right now.

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