Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Israeli Air Force Eliminates Commander Of The Iranian Quds Force; Trump Says Two Weeks Is Maximum For Iran Decision; Columbia Protester Mahmoud Khalil Freed From Immigration Detention; Dangerous Heat Dome to Bring Record Temperatures to Much of the US. New Strikes in Israel, Iran As Conflict Enters Second Week; Los Angeles Dodgers and Trump Administration at Odds Over Presence of Federal Agents at Stadium; A Man is Charged with Attempting to Kidnap Memphis Mayor Paul Young. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired June 21, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:00:31]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there. Welcome to CNN This Morning. It's Saturday, June 21st. I'm Victor Blackwell. Here's what's happening this morning.

There were new strikes in Iran and Israel even as talks are set to begin at a summit in Istanbul. Plus, the Iranian foreign minister is now saying that he doesn't know if his country can still trust the US.

Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist at the center of a long running deportation fight, is out of jail this morning after a judge ordered his release will have the message he had for the Trump administration moments after he was set free.

There are also new details this morning in the plot to kidnap the mayor of Memphis. Police say that they've arrested a man in connection with that. When they searched his car, they found a taser and gloves and rope and duct tape. We'll get the details of that story.

Plus, summer roars in with a vengeance. Extreme, even dangerous heat is gripping parts of the country with dozens of record highs possible. There's some relief coming though, eventually. We have that for you.

We're starting with the breaking news though. We just learned moments ago that Israel says it eliminated an Iranian commander of an elite branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel and Iran, they traded more strikes overnight.

An Iranian official says that Israel targeted Iran's largest nuclear facility, That's Isfahan, about 200 miles from Iran's capital of Tehran. Two people were killed at a strike on a residential building in the holy city of Qom. Four others were hurt.

Now in Israel, officials there say that very few ballistic missiles were fired there overnight. Missiles did start a fire in Holom City, but no one was injured. Ongoing talks are not making much progress. Israel and Iran clashed at the U.N. Security Council meeting on Friday. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMIR SAEID IRAVANI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Iran has exercised its inherent right to self-defense under Article 51 of the U.N. Charter. Our response have complied fully with international law, including humanitarian law. We have taken all necessary precautions to protect civilians.

Iran will continue to exercise this right as long as the Security Council fail to discharge its primary responsibility under the charter. And until the Israeli aggression is fully and unequivocally terminated.

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI REPRESENTATIVE TO THE UNITED NATIONS: How dare you ask the international community to protect you from the consequences of your own genocidal agenda? Have you no shame? For years, your supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has publicly and repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and the United States. Israel acted as a last resort. This was the final window of opportunity to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A top E.U. official and foreign ministers from the U.K., France, Germany, they met with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva Friday. An Iranian source says that they started tense but became more positive during those talks. With me now, CNN's Clarissa Ward live from Tel Aviv. Clarissa, let's start with the breaking news and this commander that Israel says that it eliminated.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, Victor, we heard from Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, saying that this commander of the Quds Force, which is the sort of elite part of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, Saeed Izadi, had been, in his words, quote, eliminated.

The accusation from the Israeli side is that Izadi was involved with the planning of October 7, that he operated in a role as a sort of coordinator between Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hamas. We have not heard yet from the Iranian side to confirm the killing of Izadi.

But when you look at the broader picture and the blow or the repeated blows that Israel has dealt to Iran's top tier military command.

[06:05:02]

This just the latest one combined with continuing strikes across the country, particularly focused on the nuclear research facility at Isfahan, which is Iran's largest. Also the holy city of Qom, where at least two people were killed. So Israel certainly sending a message here. I think, Victor, that even

as diplomacy or diplomatic efforts continue to play out in Geneva, they are not stopping and that they will continue to prosecute this conflict as they see and believe to be fit. Victor.

BLACKWELL: The Iranian foreign minister met with members of the E3, those counterparts of France, UK and Germany, and also from the EU. President Trump said that they, the Iranians don't want to speak with Europe, they only want to talk to him. What do we know about the engagement with Europe and the progress, if any, made there?

WARD: It doesn't seem that a huge amount of concrete progress was made beyond the fact that the door remained open to continue the conversation. We know that from the Israeli perspective, there's a lot of skepticism about this entire diplomatic process. And we've heard this from multiple Israeli officials.

Basically, at this stage, they're not really interested in going to the negotiating table, and they're particularly not interested in going to the negotiating table if that would necessitate some kind of a cease fire. They believe that with or without the U.S. they can continue these strikes, they can continue to reach their strategic objective in all of this.

But more broadly, and when you talk about this sort of international community, there are real questions about what that strategic objective is, what is Israel's metric for mission accomplished, so to speak, and real concerns, of course, that the longer this fighting goes on, the longer the tit for tat continues, that you are really raising the specter of this escalating to a point of no return.

It's interesting also, I think, Victor, that Israeli officials have not come out and said anything publicly about President Trump's decision to give this two-week window. Publicly, they are simply saying that they are so grateful for the support that the U.S. has given Israel so far, primarily in a defensive posture.

But privately there is a sense of disappointment from some and also I would say a real sense that now is the time for Israel to decide how and whether it will go ahead and try to attack this Fordow nuclear facility, which is deep underneath a mountain on its own. That obviously would be a much riskier undertaking without those American, much vaunted bunker buster bombs. Victor.

BLACKWELL: Clarissa Ward for us there in Tel Aviv. Thank you. President Trump says that he'll make a decision on U.S. involvement in Iran within two weeks. The President suggested that sending U.S. fround troops though, that's off the table. He's considering other options for Iran.

He said it would be very hard though to ask Israel to stop its strikes on Iran during the nuclear talks, as Iran's foreign minister has requested. With us now, CNN reporter Camila DeChalus. Camila, what's the latest from Washington on this?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, that's right, Victor. President Trump is really doubling down on giving himself this two week timeline in order to make a high stakes decision on whether to strike Iran or not. Take a listen to what he told reporters yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to see what that period of time is, but I'm giving him a period of time and I would say two weeks would be the maximum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, Victor, this is pretty notable because President Trump has used imposed this two-week deadline on other issues in his past presidency. Even in his first term, he gave his two week deadline when it came to making deals that came to infrastructure, when it came to him deciding on whether to impose sanctions against Russia and other very high stakes decision.

So the fact that he is kind of doing this again really just shows that this is a strategy that he's using time and time again when it comes to making these very high stakes decisions. And we're told by White House officials that the reason why he's imposing this two-week deadline is because he's hoping that there will be a diplomatic resolution in the upcoming days. But so far there has been no signs of deescalation at this time.

BLACKWELL: So within the administration, Camila, let's talk about what we heard from the president about his director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. I mean, this is the second time that he has dismissed her, first on Air Force One saying that, you know, he doesn't care what she says about the threshold that Iran appears to be nearing from his assessment toward a nuclear weapon.

[06:10:03]

And then yesterday just flat out saying she's wrong. What do you take from it?

DECHALUS: That's right. We have reporting just showing and really having inside people tell us that she's really out of favor of President Trump's orbit in the White House. And this instance is pretty notable because there seems to be a lot of mixed messaging when it comes to whether Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons or not.

She testified back in March in front before Congress and lawmakers saying that they were nowhere close to developing nuclear weapons. But Trump seems to double down, saying that they are in the late stages of developing these nuclear weapons. Take a listen to what he said about his director of national intelligence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What intelligence do you have that Iran is building a nuclear weapon? Your intelligence community has said they have no evidence that they are at this point. TRUMP: Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the

intelligence community said that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

TRUMP: She's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, Victor, it's pretty notable that later in the day yesterday, Gabbard came to Trump's defense and said that they are, in fact, Iran is close to producing a nuclear weapon and that they now have -- America has intelligence that they are in the process of creating a nuclear weapon. And that could take within weeks to months.

BLACKWELL: All right, Camila DeChalus, maybe an effort to save her position there. Thanks so much. Let's talk now with former intelligence officer Matthew Shoemaker and Rachel Whitlark. She's an associate professor at the Sam Nunn School of International affairs at Georgia Tech, also the author of "All Options on the Table: Leaders Preventative War and Nuclear Proliferation." Good morning to both of you.

I mean, if every element of that title is not part of our conversation today. So you're both the right guests. Matthew, let me start with you on the breaking news and Israel saying that it eliminated this commander of the Quds force of the IRGC. People will remember that in 2020 it was the US who killed Qasem Soleimani and how big of a deal that was then. What's the significance of this today?

MATTHEW SHOEMAKER, FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Certainly. Well, it's certainly an important development more than anything. But one thing I think that is important to remember is that the Revolutionary Guard is designed to be and has shown itself to be very good at being flexible. Flexible. We've seen it, particularly over the past week, the way that the Israelis have been targeting some of the absolute senior leaders of the Revolutionary Guard.

And yet they're still able to bounce back. The ayatollah is still able to fill those positions with underlings and fill them into those positions, and yet at the same time, they're still able to function. So the Israelis are moving in the right direction. They're actually doing the same thing that the Americans did when it came to dismantling Al Qaeda and ISIS over the years.

And more than anything, though, the Israelis are going to have to continue doing what they're doing if they really want to degrade the Revolutionary Guard capabilities.

BLACKWELL: So, like shark's teeth, one falls out, then another one kind of moves forward to take that place.

SHOEMAKER: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: All right, so let's talk about the willingness to negotiate in talks. We heard from the Iranian foreign minister that they are considering diplomacy, but only if the attacks stop. Here's what the President said about the possibility of stopping those attacks from Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Well, I think it's very hard to make that request right now. If somebody's winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody's losing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: I mean, that makes sense. You also add into this that the president wasn't able to prevent the initial preventative attack. They called it not preventive, preemptive attack from Israel. What's the likelihood that this goes anywhere, that there will be a return to talks?

RACHEL WHITLARK, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, SAM NUNN SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AT GEORGIA TECH: Right. Well, first of all, thank you for having me this morning for this conversation. I mean, I think we should think about diplomacy and the use of force that we're observing, you know, even overnight, as two sides of the same coin. So the Israelis are continuing the operation as a way to signal there are consequences for not continuing the diplomatic negotiations.

And I think we can think about the conversations ongoing between the Iranians and the Europeans as potentially facilitating, keeping the door open to that eventual goal of conversations directly between the United States and Iran. So it's a facilitating role those talks are having, and I think it's useful as it continues, even if it's not the end goal.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And so where do you see the president's assessment that the Iranians don't want to talk to the Europeans? They don't want to talk to the E3. And if there is to be some type of deal made, he's right. The U.S. has to be part of that. Right? So how do you see the president's conclusion that what's happening in Europe, in Geneva really isn't relevant?

WHITLARK: So I don't know that I would go so far as to say it's irrelevant, but I think he's right that ultimately this is about the United States and Iran. But we shouldn't overlook the fact that the Europeans have a credible role in these negotiations.

[06:15:00]

I mean, they've been talking to the Iranians with the United States for over a decade, right, on this very issue of the nuclear program. So there is important conversation happening. I think we should prefer a world where there is conversation happening to one in which there is not. But it is not the end goal. And the end goal really is about Iran and the United States.

BLACKWELL: Matthew, you're a former intelligence officer. And so when you hear the president say that his intelligence community is wrong, his director of national intelligence is wrong, what's your reaction?

SHOEMAKER: Well, I would simply wonder why exactly the American taxpayer is paying billions of dollars for an American intelligence community if President Trump is going to be his own analyst. But more than anything, one of the things that I would teach my junior analysts in the intelligence community is when you're receiving intelligence from a foreign source, you always have to remember that they are trying to inform you, but also to influence you to think about them and what they're advocating for in a particular way.

So if President Trump is receiving intelligence from the Israelis, there should be a large grain of salt associated with that the Israelis are trying to influence him to act in a particular way. So that's something that I would caveat that with.

BLACKWELL: We heard from President Clinton, we heard from Democratic senators who said that for years, decades, the Israelis have been trying to drag the U.S. into a conflict with Iran. President Clinton said even that it is how he believes that Netanyahu believes he can stay in power forever if that happens.

Let me also ask you were nodding during Clarissa Ward's report about the metrics of mission accomplished. And what really is the goal here and the potential of mission creep if there is now this involvement of the U.S. What's your biggest concern?

SHOEMAKER: Well, my biggest concern is over the past week alone, we've seen a little bit of mission creep from the Israelis themselves. On the night of June 12 and to the 13th beginning, Netanyahu mentioned that his metric for success was taking out Iran's nuclear program. But over the course of the past few days, both he and his defense minister have said that the Ayatollah should no longer be in power.

So already we're getting a mission creep for regime change itself. That's my biggest concern there. If we don't understand what the exact end goal is, there's no way that you can plan and prepare for it. So that is a big concern that I have.

BLACKWELL: Let me finish the circle here and end up where I started. And this is what we heard from the Iranian foreign minister about his trust in the U.S. He said told NBC News, we have come to the conclusion that negotiations by the U.S. was in fact a cover for what the Israelis did. We don't know how we can trust them, the U.S. anymore.

I mean, is that just for public consumption or do you believe at some point there will have to be some conversation between the U.S. and Iran?

WHITLARK: So I think it's both right. I mean, we should understand that trust is something that is built over time, but it can also be squandered. And I think we need to think earlier than just what has happened over the last week and a half and the United States own diplomatic steps with the previously negotiated JCPOA or Iran nuclear deal. I mean, the United States was part of that. And then President Trump

withdrew. And that has consequences. So I think we need to remember that ultimately you need to be able to put your money where your mouth is. And getting to a negotiated solution on what is a very, very thorny problem is no easy feat.

BLACKWELL: We're a couple of days into the two weeks, so we'll see what happens. Thank you both for coming in.

SHOEMAKER: My pleasure.

BLACKWELL: All right. Still to come, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is released after spending more than three months at a Louisiana detention center. What he said about that time, that's next.

Plus, a brutal heat dome will send temperatures into the triple digits over the next few days. Which cities will see the highest temperatures? That's next.

And a federal appeals court is allowing President Trump to maintain control over those thousands of members of California's National Guard. Details of the ruling and what the vice president had to say in Los Angeles on Friday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:23:47]

BLACKWELL: The Palestinian activist who's been at the center of the long running deportation fight is now free. Mahmoud Khalil was released from an immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday. It's been more than three months since he was arrested on Columbia University's campus. He spoke to reporters moments after leaving jail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD KHALIL, PALESTINE ACTIVIST: No one is illegal. No human is illegal. That's the message. The message is justice will prevail no matter what this administration may try to portray. Portraying that immigrants are, whether criminals or any of that, trying to do all of this now, this simply is not true. And just to keep the fight against this administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A judge ordered Khalil's release on bail after finding he is not a flight risk or danger to public safety. He was required to surrender his passport and is prohibited from traveling overseas. Khalil was one of the first migrants arrested in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown targeting student activists.

[06:25:00]

President Trump says that negotiations with Harvard University could soon result in a deal. This was in a post on social media. President said that the school had acted extremely appropriately after a round of talks with the university. However, sources say there's no final agreement yet.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from revoking Harvard's ability to host international students while legal challenges continued. The administration targeted the school earlier this year over allegations of antisemitism on campus.

A federal appeals court has ruled that President Trump can maintain control over some members of California's National Guard. And this overturns a lower court ruling that required the president to give up control of roughly 4,000 guardsmen.

Earlier this month, the president federalized the state's National Guards to beef up security in Los Angeles. That was during the unrest over immigration enforcement. The court said that it is likely that the president lawfully exercised his statutory authority under federal law, rejecting arguments from California's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, that the move was illegal.

While the official start of summer has millions of people bracing for the first heat wave of 2025, nearly 100 million people across the U.S. are under threat from dangerous, potentially record breaking heat. We're talking triple digits here from Midwest to the East Coast. Government and health officials are encouraging people to do everything they can to stay cool.

They also say to check on friends and neighbors, family members, especially seniors. Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin is with us now. So this is part of the heat dome. When summer comes in, it's just not kind of easing in the door the punch?

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's coming in with a vengeance. Today is the first full day of summer and we've got this heat dome, which is a fancy way of saying or a fun way of saying that the heat is just getting trapped and it is just going to bake under that heat dome.

Let me give you a more scientific explanation. Follow me over here to the maps. We have this big blue H on the map here that stands for high pressure. Now, typically high pressure brings with it some tranquil weather. That's because the air under a high pressure sinks and when it sinks, it compresses and it heats up. So it clears out the skies and typically gives you some hot temperatures. This one is just not budging. So it's sitting there, it's stuck, it's stagnant and those temperatures are bad baking underneath it.

It's only going to get hotter in the days to come. Right now you are looking at current temperatures across the eastern U.S. We've got some temperatures here, 83 degrees in Omaha, 70 degrees in Washington, 73 degrees in Atlanta. That's not too far off from your average afternoon high.

Washington, D.C. honing in on you just slightly more. Notice that your temperature this afternoon, so it goes from about 70 degrees this morning to 92 degrees this afternoon. But look at Tuesday, 102 degrees for an afternoon high and those morning lows are going to continue to be balmy. When you factor in the heat and the humidity in D.C. it's going to

feel like it's close to 110 degrees come early next week, that is going to put a lot of stress on your body because your body isn't able to cool down efficiently.

Make sure you hydrate, make sure you find plenty of shade because this heat wave is going to be sticking around for quite a while. Record temperatures, Victor. We're absolutely going to see that. We're also going to see some storms accompany this heat as well. So we've got everything that you want for a summer.

BLACKWELL: Full of good news, Tyler, full of good news.

MAULDIN: You're welcome.

BLACKWELL: Thank you.

MAULDIN: Glad to see everybody.

BLACKWELL: Thank you so much. All right. Still to come, Iran's foreign minister has some strong words for the US. What he's saying about the peace talk says the conflict between Israel and Iran ramps up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]

BLACKWELL: New this morning. The Israel Defense Forces say they carried out a fresh wave of attacks on Iran. According to Iranian state media, at least, two people have been killed in a strike on a residential building in the city of Qom.

There are also reports this morning that Israeli airstrikes targeted an Iranian nuclear research complex. Officials say that no hazardous materials were leaked. Meanwhile, an Iranian official tells CNN, that, U.S. -- the U.S. could, quote, "stop the war with one phone call". Here's President Trump yesterday reacting to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think it's very hard to make that request right now. If somebody is winning, it's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing. But we're ready, willing and able. And we've been speaking to Iran, and we'll see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: President Trump has said that he will allow for up to two weeks for negotiations before deciding whether to launch a strike in Iran. Lawmakers are set to receive classified briefings on the conflict on Tuesday. So, with me now to talk about all of this, Stephanie Lai; White House correspondent for "Bloomberg News".

Stephanie, welcome back to you. Let's start here with what I talked to with my panel about just a few moments ago. Twice now, the President has dismissed his director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. Here's a reminder of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I don't care what she said. I think they were very close to having.

Who in the Intelligence community said that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.

TRUMP: She's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And so, after that second one yesterday in Morristown, New Jersey, Gabbard tweeted this, "America has Intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months if they decide to finalize the assembly", and then, you know, calling out the media as well.

[06:35:00]

Is her job in jeopardy?

STEPHANIE LAI, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, BLOOMBERG NEWS: Well, sources have been telling me that Trump has been upset with Gabbard over the course of the last two days, specifically after she released a video warning of nuclear war. Some insiders were saying to me that, you know, this was seen to the President as a way of her meddling in politics, and trying to get her viewpoint across in a way that wasn't received well by the President.

Of course, you know, the administration typically says that the President is the final decision maker on many of these issues. And this also seems to support this general trend that Trump has had, even in his first term, where he seemed to dismiss members of his Intelligence community. He's always been a skeptic.

And so, this isn't necessarily a surprise to many who know the President well and the administration. But the way that it's been coming forward in the -- in the public, you know, is quite fascinating.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of a job in jeopardy. The President derided the Fed Chair Jerome Powell again on social media. He ended the screed on his platform with maybe, just maybe, I'll have to change my mind about firing him. Question mark. Now, the President said just a week ago that he is not going to fire Jerome Powell. Is this just frustration bellyaching from the President?

LAI: You know, it could be posturing. That's something that the President tends to do quite a bit. You know, in the past, when he had mentioned that he was considering firing Powell, a lot of people who are close to him, who are attuned to the markets, had sort of suggested that, that might not be a good idea, and it sort of walked him off the plank.

Now, there has been growing frustration about the Fed not lowering interest rates, and so, you know, it could be a gentle nudge for his government to consider ways in which they can either move the ball forward. But it definitely is something that people are watching very closely because of the ramifications that could come forward if he does so, choose to actually fire Jerome Powell.

BLACKWELL: Yes, huge consequences if he does that. So, I mentioned a few moments ago that a judge determined that the President can control parts of the California National Guard that he deployed in response to the protests over immigration enforcement. The Vice President, JD Vance, was in Los Angeles yesterday. Here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES DAVID VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I was hoping Jose Padilla would be here to ask a question, but unfortunately, I guess he decided not to show up because there wasn't a theater, and that's all it is. You know, I think everybody realizes that's what this is. It's pure political theater. These guys show up, they want to be captured on camera doing something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, I don't know who Jose Padilla is, but the senior senator from the state of California is Alex Padilla, and he should probably know that, because six months ago, they were colleagues in the Senate and even on the same committee. But speaking of posturing, why was the Vice President there in Los Angeles?

LAI: Certainly. Well, the Vice President has been one of the administration's best messengers. And so, this was just another one of those domestic trips that he's taken to make the point, you know, going to Los Angeles at the site of all of where these protests are happening, to make the point that the Trump administration has the authority to do such.

Now, you know, as this moves forward through courts, time will tell. But this is yet again, as you note, another moment in which the Vice President has tried to change the narrative in some way or try to help move the narrative along in the favor of, you know, how President Trump is feeling on the matter.

BLACKWELL: Stephanie Lai, always good to have you on a Saturday. Thank you so much. Still to come, a man in Memphis is charged with attempted kidnapping after allegedly trespassing at the mayor's home. He's 25 years old. What he said he was doing there. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

BLACKWELL: We're learning new details this morning about the man that Memphis police say tried to kidnap the city's mayor. Police say he climbed a wall and then went to the mayor's home, and when he was arrested, they found a taser and gloves and rope and duct tape in his car. Trenton Abston is his name.

He's charged with attempted kidnapping, stalking, trespassing. A "WHBQ" reports that he told police he wanted to talk to the mayor about crime in the city. And this is just days after the deadly and targeted assassination of a Minnesota lawmaker and her spouse. Here's Jenn Sullivan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Authorities are investigating a kidnapping plot, the target, the mayor of Memphis, Paul Young. Police arrested and charged 25-year-old Trenton Abston with stalking and attempted kidnapping among other charges of the Democratic leader Wednesday.

This photo, taken from video captured on a ring doorbell of the suspect standing outside the mayor's door. He and his family were home at the time.

[06:45:00]

BENNIE COBB, PUBLIC SAFETY EXPERT: It is absolutely scary that somebody has this ability to get this close to the mayor.

SULLIVAN: Even more disturbing, police say they found a taser, gloves, rope and duct tape inside Abston's vehicle when he was arrested Wednesday.

COBB: I believe that this has some prior planning to know how to get over the gate, to know exactly where the mayor lives.

SULLIVAN: Police say he was angry about crime in the city. Mayor Young opening up about the incident on Instagram, saying in part, "political violence and intimidation, whether threatened or enacted, simply cannot be our norm." The attempted kidnapping comes less than 48 hours after a man in Minnesota shot two-state lawmakers and their spouses inside their homes Saturday morning.

Democratic Minnesota Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed. Democratic Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette, were shot multiple times and underwent surgery. Police charged 57-year-old Vance Boelter with federal and state charges in connection to the shooting. He had a long list of intended targets, including some congressional leaders.

SEN. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D-MD): We do need to increase security. We had a Senate meeting, bipartisan Senate meeting just last week to discuss additional security measures.

SULLIVAN: I'm Jenn Sullivan, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: All right, Jenn, thank you. Still to come, how the World Heavyweight Champion is helping to inspire Ukrainians on the frontlines. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00]

BLACKWELL: This week we have the final two episodes of "SEARCHING FOR SPAIN", and Eva Longoria takes viewers to Marbella on the southern coast of Spain, and she explores the future of Spain's culinary scene with some of the country's greatest chefs. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA LONGORIA, AMERICAN ACTRESS & FILM PRODUCER: It looks like we might be making guacamole.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But my guacamole is different.

LONGORIA: OK.

Another Danny spin on something that as a Mexican-American, I thought I was the expert.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And do you remember the shrimp?

LONGORIA: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gambaga(ph) style that we involve --

LONGORIA: In the guacomole?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right --

LONGORIA: No way --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like -- this is my --

LONGORIA: Right --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guacomole. I think that you always need something crunchy --

LONGORIA: Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the guacamole because --

LONGORIA: Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very creamy.

LONGORIA: That is very creative.

Just time to fry up the shrimp, and we should be all set for the perfect party.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

LONGORIA: Oh, it's raining -- oh -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --

LONGORIA: It is raining, no way. I cannot believe it might rain on my party!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have -- for you --

LONGORIA: Run, Danny! Where Is Felipe(ph)! (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

With the heavens suddenly opening, we all jumped into action to save the food. Oh, (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) -- oh, my God! It's always sunny in Marbella. No?!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Save the guacamole, Eva! Be sure to tune in back-to-back episodes of Eva Longoria, "SEARCHING FOR SPAIN", airs tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN. Shrimp and the guacamole sounds delicious. World Heavyweight Champion keeps Ukraine on his mind as he prepares for his next big fight.

CNN's Amanda Davis spoke to this difference maker.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA DAVIS, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's arguably the best boxer in a generation, preparing for one of the biggest fights of his life.

OLEKSANDR USYK, WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT BOXING CHAMPION: Look, man, I can fly.

DAVIS: But family and country inescapable for Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk.

(on camera): Tell me this. What is this?

USYK: It's signed only Ukrainian hero.

DAVIS (voice-over): The military flag filled with inspirational messages. We're 2,700 kilometers from Kyiv at this training camp in southern Spain that Usyk has made his home away from home. But with Ukrainian symbols everywhere, the war is very much front of mind. And though he says he tries not to read the news, he's well aware of Ukraine's daring drone strikes on Russian air bases.

USYK (through translator): I would like to express my deep gratitude to Vasyl Vasyliovych, boss, great job.

DAVIS: A shout-out for the head of Ukraine's security services, one of the many military figures Usyk crossed paths with while serving his country. He joined the territorial defense forces when Russia launched its full scale invasion in 2022, and has visited the frontlines several times since. His success in the ring has seen him become a source of inspiration, but also of some respite for those at the front.

(on camera): What are your friends on the frontline saying to you? What are they telling you in terms of the mood, how they are doing?

USYK: They're more interested in what I'm doing. When I ask them questions, they say, wait, tell us about yourself. What's going on with you? We try not to talk about the scary things they do to defend our country. What is happening there? What kind of shelling is happening, how they're being attacked, how they're heroically defending our country.

[06:55:00]

DAVIS (voice-over): Three and a half years after Russian troops marched on Kyiv, Usyk is still unbeaten in his professional career.

USYK: It's difficult, but I can switch off to do my job so that I can help my country more later on.

DAVIS: The next challenge, July's heavyweight fight against Britain's Daniel Dubois at Wembley, a moment to send a message around the world.

USYK: Easy day. Today is easy day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Amanda Davis, thank you. Still to come, next hour as Israel and Iran trade these deadly missile strikes, a look at the diplomatic efforts being made to end the conflict.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Welcome to CNN THIS --