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CNN This Morning

Manhunt Underway For Suspect In Assassination Of MN Lawmaker; Law Enforcement Source Tells CNN That All Dem Members Of MN's Congressional Delegation Were On Alleged Target List; Israel And Iran Take Damage As Missile Strikes Escalate; Thousands Protest Trump's Policies In Philadelphia; Parade Honoring U.S. Army Rolls Through Washington, D.C. Trump Praises Military Force at Parade; Thousands Attend "No Kings" Protests Across the Country. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired June 15, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:45]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Hello, welcome to CNN This Morning. It's Sunday, June 15th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

We're following major developments in the several stories. First, the urgent manhunt in Minnesota for the man police say shot and killed one lawmaker, injured another. Police say he was impersonating a police officer, wearing a badge and even pulled up in what appeared to be a police cruiser when he carried out those attacks.

Also, the death toll is climbing as Israel and Iran, they continue to attract attacks and there are signs that more strikes may be coming. We're live at one of the hardest hit sites in Israel.

And thousands of protests held across the country to oppose President Trump's policies. Most of these "No Kings" rallies were peaceful, but there were some clashes between protesters and police.

And this ain't Texas, but is it country? The changes the recording academy is making to the Grammy's country music category after Beyonce's recent -- her recent win is raising some eyebrows.

This morning, we have new information about the man police say assassinated a top Minnesota lawmaker and her husband as the search for him intensifies. According to CNN affiliate KARE, the accused gunman, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, he texted his friend prior to the shootings.

The outlet reports that the suspected text that he sent, quote, "may be dead shortly." That's what he said. We're also now hearing a 911 dispatch audio in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are going to have at least two patients. Get that truck coming. Code three, if we can send another one to the area. We are going to have one confirmed shooting right now. Possible more.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLITZER: Police say Boelter killed 52-year-old Melissa Hortman, the former Minnesota speaker, and her husband, Mark, in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Boelter is then accused of shooting another Minnesota lawmaker, John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette, in Champlin. Authorities tell us they found flyers for anti-Trump protests in the suspect's vehicle, as well as a list of other lawmakers they believe Boelter was targeting.

CNN has learned that list includes all of the Democratic members of Minnesota's congressional delegation, and that the U.S. Capitol Police have reached out to them. In a statement, the Capitol Police says, in part, "We have been working with our federal, state, and local partners. For safety reasons, we cannot provide specific details about our security posture."

CNN Correspondent Danny Freeman is in Blaine, Minnesota, with more. What do you know, Danny?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, I mean, listen, this entire community here in Minnesota, and certainly around the Twin Cities, is on edge, because now we're just a little bit more than 24 hours after this suspect, 57-year-old Vance Boelter, allegedly showed up at two lawmakers' homes, opened fire on them and their spouses. And that manhunt, Victor, is still very much underway right now, as I noted, on day two.

Now, let me tell you a little bit about the latest information we have. Again, police looking for this man, Boelter. The FBI releasing multiple photos of him yesterday afternoon. You see a photo of him from Minneapolis just a few hours, according to police, after the attacks, wearing a cowboy hat and a large jacket.

But then there's also another harrowing picture that was released by the FBI, seemingly showing Boelter in the middle of the commission of these attacks. But what is shocking about these photos is that he's wearing not only a lot of tactical gear, but also what appears to be a latex mask over his head, certainly something that law enforcement is looking into. The FBI saying that they're using every available resource to try and find this suspect.

And as you noted, Victor, Boelter was accused of impersonating a police officer in the early hours of Saturday morning when he showed up at these lawmakers' homes. They said that he had a car with flashing lights in them, the license plate actually reading police at that particular time. He was part of a security company, though, not part of any law enforcement agency here in the area.

A law enforcement officer said they also found a hit list in his car, as you noted, with many Democratic lawmakers and other folks related to Planned Parenthood in the area as well. Authorities, though, believe, which is, I guess, a bit of good news that he's no longer in the immediate area.

[07:05:05]

A shelter-in-place was lifted in Brooklyn Park. That's where one of the shootings took place. But the challenging part of that news is that it seems like at this point law enforcement officers really don't have a good idea of where Boelter might be at this point. Border Patrol, Victor, is on high alert in case he tries to cross the border and go into Canada.

But I want to take a moment, Victor, to talk about the victims here in this particular incident because this shooting really has -- really caused a lot of shock and sadness all over Minnesota. State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well, they were both killed in this attack.

State Rep. Hortman was remembered as really a fighter, a mother also as well, someone who loved her family more than anything else. And then State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, they were both shot. They survived. They're out of surgery.

We're still waiting, though, on any more information on their condition. As soon as we learn more on that or this manhunt, Victor, we'll be sure to bring it to you.

BLACKWELL: Danny Freeman for us in Blaine, Minnesota there, thanks so much.

Joining me now is Luke Baumgartner, he's a research fellow for the Program on Extremism at George Washington University. Luke, good morning to you. And so as an expert in extremism, are you hearing any of the hallmarks of someone that should have raised some red flags before what police say happened yesterday?

LUKE BAUMGARTNER, RESEARCH FELLOW, PROGRAM ON EXTREMISM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV.: Thanks, Victor. So this individual did not exhibit a lot of the red flags. But what we can tell you is that his rhetoric and some of his beliefs were definitely in line with some of the people that we'd expect to carry out an attack like this.

BLACKWELL: OK, so let me play for you what his roommate, David Carlson, told reporters. And then we can talk about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DAVID CARLSON, SUSPECT'S ROOMMATE: He's dead shortly. So I just want to let you know that I love you guys both. And I wish it hadn't gone this way. I don't want to say anything more and implicate you in any way because you guys don't know anything about this. But I love you guys and I'm sorry for all the trouble this has caused.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BLACKWELL: That was not the soundbite that was supposed to be played there. Instead, Carlson said that he -- his roommate didn't exhibit many of these red flags. He said that he didn't see anything that was unusual. So I wonder how can one identify any of these things ahead of something like this? I mean, often there is some pattern that shows you seeing any typical pattern or maybe recognizable profile.

BAUMGARTNER: So the recognizable profile definitely kind of pops out to us in this sort of research and extremism monitoring sort of community. He was a Christian nationalist who was associated with some pretty anti-LGBT and anti-abortion groups. That's where a lot of his ministerial education came from.

So to find his manifesto with all these names of anti-abortion act or pro-abortion activists on it is hardly surprising. And it's definitely in line with some of the chatter that we've seen from some more far right individuals and groups.

BLACKWELL: So over the years, I've covered school shooters. And sometimes those school shooters in their manifestos, they write about how they were inspired by a previous school shooter. The shooter in Buffalo, inspired by the shooter in Mother Emanuel. Are there typical copycats in this space? This kind of politically, if it is partisan, ideologically driven shooting, are there potentially those who are watching this and inspired historically by these?

BAUMGARTNER: Absolutely. There's probably going to be other people who draw inspiration from this. And it's, you know, extremely important that law enforcement and bystanders stay vigilant in this, you know, very trying time.

BLACKWELL: So, law enforcement there right now looking for Vance Boelter. Do these extremists expect to live? Do they expect to get away? We know he had some kind of survivalist resources in the vehicle that he left. But does he expect to live this out?

BAUMGARTNER: A lot of extremists in this sort of situation don't expect to live out. They usually expect to go down in a blaze of glory. However, as we've seen that a lot of these extremists end up do surviving their attacks and they end up becoming what's sort of a living martyr instead of one who is perished during their attack.

[07:10:04]

BLACKWELL: Luke Baumgartner, thank you so much for the expertise this morning.

Right now to breaking news in the Israel-Iran conflict. The Israeli military has issued an urgent evacuation warning to Iranians near weapons facilities. A clear sign more strikes are imminent. Israel says its offensive could last weeks, not days, and it's moving ahead with U.S. approval.

Iran is vowing to intensify attacks if Israeli operations continue. It's canceled nuclear talks with the U.S. that were set for this weekend in Oman. They call them unjustifiable amidst the violence.

Overnight, both countries were hit hard as missile fire continued and both sides have reported casualties. Thirteen Israelis have been killed since the strike started, including six people killed when a residential building in Bat Yam took a direct hit.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Bat Yam, where that Iranian missile hit. Nic, what do you know about what happened there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, it's almost 12 hours since that impact, Victor. And Neville's (ph) just going to pan the camera, take a look over my shoulder. And we've just been given new details about what these recovery rescue teams are doing here.

You can see the heavy lift equipment. That came in an hour or so ago. Just before that, the crews were high up on the concrete that you can see there, piled up with the rebar next to the building. They were shouting into the building for anyone inside to listen to give them a signal that they were there, that they were alive.

And these are the new details we have. We've been told that three people are known to be trapped inside the building. Now, it's not clear to us if those three people are alive or dead, but the very fact that three are known to be trapped in there is an indication that there's a potential life-saving opportunity here.

We're also told that four other people are missing, believed potentially to be inside the building. So this still, 12 hours on, is an active effort to save those lives. 200 missiles fired from Iran into Israel. According to Israeli officials, 22 of them have impacted.

No one in Israel for 30 years or so, since the Gulf War with Iraq, and Iraq fired Scud missiles here into this country, has seen destruction on this scale. This is beyond what people here are used to. Way beyond. Not just that building.

The building standing -- the building right behind where we're standing at this distance, the apartment is ripped. We were talking to the elderly couple living in there. They're trying to find belongings they can salvage. They have to move out.

I'm looking at the building. I'm looking at windows blown out, window frames blown out. Even inside this concrete building here, the door frames, steel door frames, are literally blown off their hinges. The glass is all gone.

The prime minister here in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, by the way, visited this site a short time ago, is vowing that the strikes will continue against Iran, and they're improving their capability to do that, controlling more of the airspace to attack Iran.

This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISER (through translation): We have paved a path to Tehran. In the very near future, you will see Israeli planes, the Israeli Air Force, our brave pilots above the skies of Tehran. We will strike at every site, every target of the Ayatollah regime. And what they have felt until now is like nothing compared to what they will feel in the coming days.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROBERTSON: So a couple of quick statistics from here. Thirteen people known to be dead in the two days of strikes so far, 380 of them injured. The guidance from Israeli officials remains, stay close to places of shelter. Strikes can come at any time. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Nic Robertson, thank you so much.

Still to come, protests across the country as the president gets the military parade that he's wanted since his first term.

Plus, he called Canada the 51st state, and now President Trump heads there today for the G7 summit. We'll take a look at what could be a contentious meeting.

And DNA testing company 23andMe facing an avalanche of lawsuits over its plans to sell customers genetic information. Those stories and more in the morning's roundup.

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[07:18:55]

BLACKWELL: Thousands of "No Kings" rallies held across the country Saturday remained mostly peaceful. From coast to coast, people took to the streets all day protesting President Trump's policies.

Got a look at the protests starting with CNN's Leigh Waldman in Philadelphia.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's estimates that over 100,000 people showed up here in Philadelphia today for the "No Kings" day protests. Holding a variety of signs here saying, "We're not beneath due process. You're not above it." "Liberty and justice for all."

So many other signs calling out the ICE raids that we've seen happening throughout the country. People say that Philadelphia is the birthplace of U.S. democracy. And that is what makes this protest so incredibly special.

We heard from so many different speakers today, including the son, the oldest son of Martin Luther King Jr. who said that democracy dies in the dark and that's why he's shining a light on it today.

MARTIN LUTHEN KING III, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHERN CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE: It really is about lifting up community. It's an energy. It's an energy that hopefully is infectious and contagious. Because we as a society must stop turning on each other. And you can read the sign for yourself. Because we as a society must stop turning on each other.

[07:20:09]

WALDMAN: And you can read the signs for yourself, "No Kings, no one is above the law." That is the message. People here in Philadelphia are making loud and clear and hoping that it's heard all the way in Washington, D.C.

In Philadelphia, I'm Leigh Waldman, CNN.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I'm Donie O'Sullivan here in Washington, D.C. You can hear the fireworks that have come at the conclusion of the military parade are still going off here. People who have been at the parade, many of them Trump supporters, leaving and being met by a group of protesters here, pro-Palestine and anti-Trump protesters.

There have been demonstrations across Washington, D.C. today. Not as big as we saw in other cities around the country. But this very much gives you a taste of the atmosphere in the city tonight.

BLACKWELL: All right, Donie O'Sullivan, Leigh Waldman, thank you for those reports.

Leaders from the world's seven largest economies, they'll gather in Canada this week for the G7 summit. And, of course, we have been talking this morning about the strikes between Israel and Iran. They're escalating. So that will likely dominate the high level discussions.

World leaders will also need to focus on another pressing issue, and that's trade.

CNN's Paula Newton joins us live. Gathering happening as the trade war continues. These conflicts are happening. What takes the top spot?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The top spot was supposed to be, Victor, the economy, right? That's how the leaders were supposed to start off tomorrow morning. But as you outlined there, when you've got this conflict going on right now between Israel and Iran, a lot of leaders will be looking around the table to see if they can even come to any agreement on if anything can be done to de-escalate in that situation.

Look, Victor, I have to say the expectations for this summit were already lowered. President Trump in prior summits did not have any inclination to even sign on to a joint communique. And so for that reason, they've decided this time to kind of streamline things, right? Get these negotiated protocols.

So putting that to one side, they were already dealing with a heavy lift in terms of crises around the world. Principally, Ukraine was supposed to be on the agenda for Tuesday. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is traveling here in the extended session, and they will talk about that.

But I think one critical thing, Victor, that many people around the table, and I mean the leaders, will be looking at is whether or not President Trump is willing to use any leverage that he has to try and de-escalate any of these crises, whether he has leverage or not, and then whether or not he is willing to use it. And going back to what's top of mind tomorrow for many of these leaders, of course, as you point out, the economy. Those tariff wars still going on. These are not skirmishes. In fact, they are material to a lot of these economies.

The U.K. is the only one at the table that actually has a deal put to bed with the United States. You look at a country like Japan coming here. They are hoping to get some time with the president, as is everyone else, to try and understand where they stand on the tariffs.

So a lot to get to here in the Canadian Rockies, Victor. But safe to say that as these expectations are quite low, I would not expect that you're going to get any kind of resolution, certainly on international crises and maybe not even on trade. The president arrives here later this evening.

BLACKWELL: All right, Paula Newton for us there. Thank you.

Still to come, prosecutors could wrap up the case this week in the Sean "Diddy" Combs trial. Next in the roundup, a visit from Ye and other headlines this week.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:28:20]

BLACKWELL: Now, police made some arrests at "No Kings" rallies across the country, but for the most part, these 2,000 rallies across the country, they remain peaceful. Thousands of people from -- look at the left here -- thousands of people from Los Angeles to New York took to the streets. In D.C., on the right, President Trump held the parade in honor of the U.S. military. The Army specifically coincided with his birthday.

Former political reporter Bill Nigut, Atlanta radio personality Mara Davis, and entertainment attorney Lisa Bonner, they all are with me now. All right, let's start with the parade.

And Bill, to you first, is this the Bastille Day that he wanted? Did he get what he sought starting back in 2017?

BILL NIGUT, FORMER POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, I think he finally did get that. And it was a big show of what the military is capable of. Here's what I found really ironic about this. Remember that within two months after Trump came into office, number one, he fired the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a black general, because of his work on diversity efforts.

BLACKWELL: C.Q. Brown.

NIGUT: They eliminated all of the top women in naval command positions. And yet yesterday, that parade was filled with servicemen and women who have devoted themselves to the country. And there's an irony there.

And even Military Times has questioned whether or not, in terms of women in the service, whether the president and Pete Hegseth are sending a message that they are not going to get the kind of promotions they might deserve. So I found that to be an irony as we watched this unfold yesterday.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And, Mara, some of the criticism going into this was price tag, $45 million. When you look at all of the DOGE efforts to try to downsize spending. And then, of course, it happened, it just so happened to be on his 79th birthday.

MARA DAVIS, ATLANTA RADIO PERSONALITY AND PODCAST HOST: I think the optics were definitely a little weird. And it didn't play well on television. So, I looked at that and thought, man, they need a good producer for this because there were not packed crowds. It looked kind of like it was raining. We can't avoid the rain.

BONNER: Sure.

DAVIS: But if you would've had a lineup, a concert, artists, a real party atmosphere, it probably would've felt more and more patriotic because we are saluting the Army and the Army's birthday. So, everything just felt a little bit wawa (ph) about the whole thing. But -- so that would've been my recommendation. If you brought me in, I'm like, let me get a good producer. Let's go ahead and get, you know, some country artists in here. Let's get Carrie Underwood.

BLACKWELL: And also, for a president who knows how to produce a show as well.

DAVIS: Right.

BLACKWELL: You know what's interesting is that Forbes' reporting is that there were people who were bragging on social media that they reserved tickets and had no plans to attend from around the world. So -- and we know that happened back in 2020 at one of his rallies, where in Oklahoma people said they were coming and didn't show.

Lisa, to you, the protests that we saw across the country. Earlier in the show, I said that, you know, the protests were in the shadow of the parade. But if you look at these numbers, look at these pictures, it really kind of was the other way around.

LISA BONNER, ATTORNEY AND FORMER LITIGATOR: It was absolutely the other way around. And Father Demaris point, when they were talking -- when we were showing the crowds, they were showing the crowds. They actually had gone onto Craigslist and asked for people seat fillers and what they would wear, and had the red hats on, and it still fell flat. But you look at all the protests, the 2,000 protests around the country, even here in Atlanta, in New York, they were packed and the optics were what Trump obviously would've wanted his parade and the Army parade to look like. So, it was a reversal of fortune in my estimation. And I was here for all of it.

BLACKWELL: which also -- though, in some part is import -- unfortunate, because we don't want this to be a commentary on the value and the importance of the U.S. Army.

DAVIS: Correct.

BONNER: Correct.

DAVIS: That's very important.

BONNER: That is very much so.

NIGUT: That's exactly the point.

DAVIS: That's why it felt deluded in a way.

BONNER: It just happened to be on his birthday.

NIGUT: That was precisely what I was thinking when I said, you have men and women in the armed services who are worthy of our respect and admiration, and yet, they're parading in front of people like the defense secretary, like the president, who in an effort to get diversity out of the thinking of military people in a way are dishonoring the very people who are marching in front of them.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Do you think that either side and I -- that's the best way I can come up with the -- to characterize it now. That the president heard any of what was happening in these No Kings protests or that there was any of kind of hearing from the other side in Washington, or was this just kind of one of those two America separated days?

BONNER: That's a great question. I tend to think that President Trump watches everything there. He is obsessed with ratings. He is obsessed with crowd sizes. So, I'm sure that he was on his phone or had some clue of the major protests, the peaceful protests. And I think -- I'm sure he had that, but I'm also thinking that he was hoping for a little bit of disarray of people violently protesting so he could say, I told you so. It was kind of a gotcha moment, but nothing like that happened.

And I was just so -- it just made me so proud to be an American at that point, because of course we absolutely want to pay homage and give thanks to the army veterans, but it -- we were -- as we spoke about before, how it kind of snowballed into a birthday party that fell flat on that end. But we did see people come together to celebrate patriotism in terms of the peaceful protest that -- it's our First Amendment right. So, I was very proud about our country.

BLACKWELL: Every week when we look at the courtroom and everything's happening outside the Sean Diddy Combs trial, there's something that is kind of an exclamation point moment. This was Friday. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, dressed it all white, showed up at the courthouse. Why?

DAVIS: Well, to me, this was a PR disaster, I think, for both teams. And you can weigh in as an attorney. I just think the optics of that were just so bad because you're taking away -- it's so distracting. Everything he touches is so toxic.

[07:35:00] This is such a sensitive trial. And you know, can you imagine if there were cameras in there? And then, the other part of it that I think is truly disturbing and sad is that we have so many internet and YouTube journalists who are now revealing names of women who are -- who want to speak out and their names have been released. So, that turns into a terrible situation for them.

BLACKWELL: Of the women who are using pseudonyms in the courtroom.

DAVIS: Yes, yes.

BONNER: Yes.

DAVIS: So, having Kanye West there is just -- you know, everything this guy touches, turns to something toxic. And if I'm Diddy's team, I'm thinking, get this guy out of here.

BLACKWELL: Well, the AP apparently reported that he was both elated and aware that Ye was there. Now, he didn't come into the courtroom, but he was in the building. And once he found out, apparently, he was happy about it. Is he somebody, if you were an attorney, you want anybody to know that Ye is in the building?

BONNER: Absolutely not. That is the last person that I would want in the building. But we have to also realize that there have been nobody -- nobody has shown up for Sean's trial. No other people that he's worked with, no artists, no ex-girlfriends. None of this.

BLACKWELL: Outside of the family.

BONNER: Outside of the family. But the internet, the black Twitter, saying that Ye was there because of -- there was some alleged involvement with one of the people that was talked about in one of the hotel nights. So, we -- talking about the internet sleuts, when you put two and two together, he came late. He came, he saw, and as soon as Jane was off the stand, he left.

BLACKWELL: Well, let --

BONNER: So, I'll leave it to everybody else to do the math.

BLACKWELL: Let me do at this point, some math, and create a distinction between black Twitter and CNN reporting. So, we don't have that recording, just to make sure that we are all buttoned up here.

DAVIS: Right.

BLACKWELL: All stay with us. We got a lot to talk about when we come back. Beyonce's Grammy for Best Country album, inspired maybe some changes for next award season. We'll get into that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. I'm here with former political reporter Bill Nigul, Atlanta Radio personnel -- personality Mara Davis, and entertainment attorney Lisa Bonner. OK. So, there is a new satirical musical about Luigi Mangione. This is the man accused of shooting and killing the United Healthcare CEO. Just opened to a sold-out crowd in San Francisco. And his cellmates are Sean Combs and Sam Bankman-Fried in this. They say that it reimagines the infamous figures as stand-ins for three disillusioned pillars of American life, healthcare, Hollywood, and tech. Who wants it?

DAVIS: Well, first of all, this is like a Dancing With the Stars nightmare from Hell, right?

BLACKWELL: Oh, my gosh.

DAVIS: OK. So, I looked at this story and I thought, is this maybe a little too soon for something like this? Because it's such a tragic story and people have a lot of big feelings about this? But at the same time, where are we in today's culture? If we didn't examine things like this and you satire, there would be no true crime podcast industry. There would be no documentaries. So, people can choose to go and see it if they want to go to it. It may be a little uncomfortable for some. But I mean, we do have the right to put it on. And they're saying it's a satire.

BLACKWELL: Yes, they are.

DAVIS: And then it's designed to provoke thought. And I brought up the reference of like celebrities who have done bad things, who end up on things. This is part of American culture.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

NIGUT: You know, I -- as to the husband of a playwright, I want to say that unless you --

BLACKWELL: Humble brag.

DAVIS: Right, right.

NIGUT: Well -- yes. You have to see the script. You have to understand exactly what they're trying to do here before you pass judgment. I understand that in general, people think, oh, my God, why has this guy become folk hero? And I think that's the larger question, of course. And maybe the play, in fact, examines that issue.

But I want to point something else out. One of the greatest American composers, Stephen Sondheim, wrote a musical called "Assassins," and it was an extraordinary look at all of the men who had either assassinated or attempted to assassinate presidents of the United States, and it was incredibly controversial at the time. But perhaps this, in the same way, looks at the motives behind the people who do things.

DAVIS: And we have Omery (ph) too, which is --

BLACKWELL: Yes. And Omery (ph), that's -- I mean, and satire gives us an opportunity to be introspective, right. In a way in which that it can be palatable for some. So, maybe it should say too soon, but also a conversation about health, Hollywood, and tech that we should have.

Another conversation we should have, Beyonce and the Grammys. OK. So, the recording academy has now decided that for the 68th Grammys they will separate the best country album into two categories, best traditional and best contemporary. And they're getting some hard side eye because it comes right after Beyonce's win.

[07:45:00]

BONNER: I agree that the timing is absolutely suspicious. They -- this -- Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" came about because Beyonce was completely snubbed at the CMAs and she goes and she pours her heart and soul into making the album is fantastic.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it is.

BONNER: It is a -- and I did not think that I would like it, and it stayed on repeat. And then, she comes and wins best country from the Grammys. And all of a sudden -- this has been up in front of the -- in front of nearest (ph) before. And so, that's why I'm saying that the timing is just a bit suspicious.

Beyonce, a black woman, wins the best country category and all of the sudden now a referendum that has been in front of the recording academy prior. Not once, but a few times. And now, we have this split in two.

BLACKWELL: You know, well, Beyonce did say before it was released, she said, this ain't a country album, it's a Beyonce album.

BONNER: That's right. It's a Beyonce album.

BLACKWELL: Which is different. But, Bill, to the point of separating this genre into two categories, we've got, you know, progressive R&B and traditional R&B and traditional gospel and contemporary gospel. So, this isn't completely new.

NIGUT: No, but it -- I want to second this. LoOK. that album is a masterful work of art. And what's fascinating about it, is it's is an extraordinary tribute to the traditions of country music. And the notion somehow that the Grammys are going to say, well, here's traditional country. Well, what does that mean? To me, the Grand Ole Opry, Roy Acuff, you know, people like Mother Mabel Carter are traditional country. There is an argument within the cult country community about who's what and what's their place in country music?

BLACKWELL: Well, I'm glad you asked what's traditional country? Because they offered a definition. Let's put it up. Traditional country includes country recordings that adhere to more traditional sound structures of the country genre, including rhythm, singing style, lyrical content, traditional country instrumentation, acoustic guitar, steel guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, piano, electric guitar, live drums. All of that was on "Cowboy Carter."

BONNER: Absolutely 1,000 percent. I was thinking when that came up, that sounds a lot like Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" album. So -- BLACKWELL: You know, I already have my tickets to the tour July 13th,

Mercedes Benz.

BONNER: Yes, I'll see you there.

BLACKWELL: You are passionate. We only have a little bit left. There is now Cup Noodles introducing pickle, dill pickle flavor. Why is pickle having a moment?

DAVIS: OK. It is -- pickle has an amazing publicist. It is the year of big pickle. And we've got it in martinis. We've got it in potato chips. And now, we've got it in cup of soup. And I think we have this -- I think a lot of these crazy flavors come about because of social media.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

DAVIS: People try things on TikTok, Dua Lipa did a special drink and people were losing their minds over the pickle juice. Pickle juice is nothing new. I mean, it's been used in all kinds of like Asian cooking or like traditional cooking. So, you're brining it in pickle juice. But the fact that like we're seeing pickle, it's like you remember like how everything was a brussels sprout, everything was hot fried chicken.

BLACKWELL: Everything. Kale had a moment. Cauliflower had a moment.

DAVIS: Big pickle.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Now, apparently, it's the year of big pickle.

DAVIS: No thanks.

BLACKWELL: Enjoy that. This Sunday morning, Bill Nigut, Mara Davis, Lisa Bonner, thank you all.

BONNER: Thank you.

DAVIS: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: We'll be back.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: Florida Panthers are one win away from the Stanley Cup after Pivotal win last night. You got all your stuff together. Is everything OK?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I don't know. I thought you were rehearsing. I'm like, wait, we're live. What?

BLACKWELL: You all right?

WIRE: I'm great. BLACKWELL: Good.

WIRE: But yes, look, Canada hasn't won the Stanley Cup in like more than 30 years. So, this is their chance and they're playing at home, but those Panthers came out and pounced in Edmonton putting persistent pressure on the Oilers. They laid a big old egg in front of their home fans.

But standout star for the defending champion Panthers, Brad Marchand. Brilliant stick work burying two more goals, bringing his total to six in this series. Most by any player in the Stanley Cup final since 1988. Look at this second goal, Victor, that is just filthy, nasty. So nasty in fact, he may have converted this Oilers fan. Florida wins 5- 2. Now, just one win away from hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup game six back home at the Sunshine State on Tuesday.

The 125th U.S. Open final round already underway at Oakmont Country Club in P.A. Only four players were under par heading into the final round. Sam Burns at the top of the leaderboard at four under par. The five-time PGA tour winner somehow seems to be mastering this monster of a course as he is so close to his first ever major title. But can he hold off J. J. Spaun, Adam Scott, and others. Those two are just a one stroke behind. Here was Burns after yesterday's round.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAM BURNS, WORLD NUMBER 22: It'd be incredible. I think, you know, as a kid growing up you dream about winning major championships and that's why we practiced so hard and worked so hard. And all these guys in this field I think would agree that, you know, to have the opportunity to win a major is special. And I'm definitely really excited for tomorrow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. Caitlin Clark is back. After missing the last five games with a quad injury, she leads Indiana to a blowout win over the defending champion, Liberty, a career high seven three pointers at one point, Victor.

[07:55:00]

She hit three of them in a 38-second span. Even the Liberty's Breanna Stewart was smiling, laughing, seemingly baffled by what she was witnessing. Clark showcasing that signature long range mastery, dropping 32 points in a 102-88 beat down. That was New York's first loss of the season. She is just lights out. Good to see her back on the court. And it'll be good to see some golf action later today. I don't know if I'll watch any. I'm planning on eating lots of desserts with my daughters for Father's Day. They got big plans for me.

BLACKWELL: Happy Father's Day. You know, it's actually interesting is that you're the first father I've seen all day. We've been like -- people have been wishing me a Happy Father's Day. I'm like, I'm a plant daddy. But that's as far as I take it. All right. Coy, thank you very much. WIRE: You got it.

BLACKWELL: Be sure to tune in tonight for a new episode of "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain." It airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only on CNN.

And thank you for joining us for CNN This Morning Weekend. If you are a father, happy Father's Day to you. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up next.

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[08:00:00]