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Iranian Drones Break Through Israeli Air Defenses; New Strikes In Israel And Iran As Conflict Enters Second Week; Protests In Iran As Israel-Iran Conflict Enters Second Week; Cybercriminal Breach Aflac As Part Of Hacking Spree; Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil Released From Detention; Vance Defends Trump's Decision To Deploy National Guard; DHS Reverses Course, Will Target Farms, Hotels, And Restaurants; Starship Explodes On Launch Pad In Texas. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired June 21, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

BLACKWELL: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It is Saturday, June 21st. I'm Victor Blackwell. It is good to be with you.

Here's what's new this morning. Israel says it has killed an Iranian commander of the elite Quds Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force there. Both sides continue to trade attacks, even as talks are set to begin at a summit in Istanbul.

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

We're learning of a major cyber attack on insurance giant, Aflac. Officials say, hackers stole Social Security numbers, insurance claims and health information.

Plus, summer is here. The heat is on. It is extreme, even dangerous. It's gripping parts of the country with dozens of record highs possible. But if you can tough it out through the weekend, there's some relief on the way.

Straight up with the breaking news here. Out of the Middle East, Iranian drones struck Israel, managing to penetrate Israel's air defenses. You're looking at damage at Beit She'an. This is near the Jordanian border. Israeli officials say that they have not found any casualties.

Now, Israel and Iran, they traded more strikes overnight. Israel says that it eliminated that Iranian commander of the Quds Force, an elite branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And Iran says that Israeli attacks hit three hospitals, killing two doctors.

Now, talks between member nations of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, they include Iran's foreign minister. And they just wrapped up in Istanbul this morning. And he told reporters that if the U.S. gets involved in the conflict, it would be very dangerous for everybody. Watch. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: In order for us to come back to diplomacy, the aggression should be stopped. It is obvious I cannot go to negotiations with the United States when our people are under bombardments under the support of the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A top E.U. official and foreign ministers from the U.K., France and Germany, they met with their Iranian counterpart in Geneva Friday. An Iranian source said that the talks started off pretty tense, but they became more positive.

Joining me now, CNN's Clarissa Ward, live from Tel Aviv. Tell us more about, first, this commander that Israel says it eliminated.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Israel's defense minister this morning saying that, in his words, Saeed Ezzati had been "eliminated."

He accused Ezzati, who is part of the elite Quds Force within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC, of being in charge essentially of liaising between Iran and various different Palestinian factions, but particularly Hamas.

He said that Ezzati had been involved in the planning of October 7th. We've also heard from the IDF saying that this individual, Ezzati, had the blood of ordinary Israelis on his hands. We have not yet heard any confirmation from the Iranian side.

But certainly, Victor, fair to say that this conflict is not showing any sign of slowing down this morning. As you mentioned in your intro, there were sirens in the north and the south as drones managed to penetrate Israel's air defenses.

We saw some damage as a result of those drone strikes, but no casualties being reported. And it's worth noting that the IDF said that despite the fact that more than 1,000 drones have been launched from Iran towards Israel, 99 percent of them have been intercepted.

That is not obviously the case with those very powerful ballistic missiles that Iran has been launching. So far today, though, we haven't seen any ballistic missile launches. The last one was about two or three this morning. And again, no casualties, some injuries, but no deaths.

So, now, everybody waiting to see what will come next. And despite the fact that these diplomatic efforts are continuing to play out, few people here in Israel holding much hope out for those and genuinely not seeming to be terribly interested or focused on those diplomatic efforts, really favoring a military solution to this conflict, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Well, let's you and I turn toward the diplomatic efforts now and these talks between Iran and the E3 and E.U. What do you know about them and any any progress there? [07:05:06]

WARD: It doesn't seem like any substantive progress was made. I mean, it's certainly an achievement that they took place at all and that they went well enough that a space was created for more talks to take place. If you talk to Israeli officials, they are very dismissive of these diplomatic efforts.

Our Nic Robertson spoke to Israel's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar yesterday who basically said that he was skeptical of any diplomacy. And Israel has also made it clear that they're certainly not willing to entertain the idea of some kind of a ceasefire while the different parties involved get to the negotiating table. They are very intent on continuing to prosecute this conflict in the way that they have been.

Although now, of course, there is something of a question mark as to whether the U.S. will intervene militarily and if it does not, how that will impact Israel's ability to deal with this Fordow nuclear complex which obviously is deep beneath a mountain. Israeli officials have estimated that the damage they've done so far has already set back Iran's nuclear program by three to four years.

But the question really becomes, Victor, in the minds of Israel's military and political leaders, what is the metric for success? At what point can Israel declare mission accomplished? There's been a lot of speculation that perhaps the broader goal really here is to go for full-blown regime change with all the risk and danger that that would entail.

Certainly, many in the international community working as hard as they can to prevent this from escalating any further. But so far, no real sense that those talks have gained much traction yet, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Clarissa Ward from Tel Aviv. Thank you. We're just getting this in an Iranian government official. The spokesperson says that Israel's airstrikes have killed 54 women and children.

Israel's conflict with Iran, it's entering now its second week. And Iranians are taken to the streets to protest Israel and President Trump's policy. CNN senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, is in Tehran with more.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Death to Israel chants to a massive crowd after Tehran's Friday prayers. The streets packed for a protest against Israel's aerial campaign, but also the policies of the Trump administration. We will punch the United States and Israel in the mouth, he says.

"Trump, you are threatening my leader," this woman says. "Don't you know my nation believes death is sweeter than honey?"

"What do you have, Israel," he says. "You have nothing. You are occupiers, unreligious. You're killing people, killing women. You kill everyone. You're terrorists." People here are vowing not to back down as the conflict escalates and

President Trump ponders U.S. involvement.

As you can see, thousands of people have turned up here in central Tehran. They're chanting down with the USA, down with Israel, and they're warning if the Trump administration gets involved in the standoff between Israel and Iran, it will lead to direct confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

As Israel continues to hit targets inside Iran, and the Iranians answer with missile barrages striking Israeli territory, Iran's foreign minister met with European nations.

ARAGHCHI: We are entitled, tasked, and determined to defend our territorial integrity, national sovereignty, and security with all force. This is our inherent right.

PLEITGEN: Iran's leadership says air attacks are unifying people against Israel, a member of Iran's presidency calling on President Trump to rein the Israelis in.

MAJID FARAHANI, FORMER MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF TEHRAN: President Trump can easily stop the war by only one telephone to Israel. But I don't know why he didn't do that.

PLEITGEN: With public support seemingly growing, Iran's leadership says it's ready for a long-term confrontation with Israel and possibly the United States as well. Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: President Trump is saying that he will decide on U.S. involvement in Iran within two weeks, two weeks max. Trump suggested that he's not considering placing U.S. troops on the ground as he considers decisions on Iran. He says that it would be very difficult to ask Israel to pause its strikes on Iran during talks over Iran's nuclear future, as Iran's foreign minister had requested.

Let's go now to CNN reporter, Camila DeChalus, what else is he saying?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Victor, President Trump is really doubling down on giving himself, as you mentioned, this two-week deadline.

Now, it's pretty notable that the president in other situations in his first presidency has also imposed this two-week deadline when it came to him deciding on whether to make infrastructure deals, when it came to whether he was going to decide to impose sanctions against Russia and other things in his administration.

This is just a notable tactic that he has used time and time again. Take a listen to what he said yesterday about his deadline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[07:10:30] 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, we're told by White House officials that the reason why he's giving himself this two-week time period is also because he is hoping that a diplomatic resolution comes about. But at this point in time, there are no signs of de-escalation.

BLACKWELL: And President Trump said again that his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, is wrong on this time frame as to Iran's nuclear capabilities. What are we learning from this?

DECHALUS: Well, Victor, there appears to be a lot of mixed messages when it comes between his intelligence community and what President Trump has said. We know that in this past March, the Director of National Intelligence testified before Congress stating that Iran was not in the point of building nuclear weapons.

But just recently, President Trump has actually stated that Iran was in the late stages of building nuclear weapons. And this has become a point of contention because reporters have pressed him on the mixed messaging. And this is what he had to say about his Director of 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, we are told that at this point in time, Gabbard appears to be out of favor of Trump and really struggling to find her mark and her way into Trump's orbit in the White House.

But it is pretty notable that after he made those remarks, Gabbard actually came to Trump's defense later that day and said that, in fact, that the intelligence community has now received information that Iran is now at a point where it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks or months if they do decide to finalize the assembly.

BLACKWELL: Camila DeChalus for us in Washington. Thank you so much. Joining me now is Javed Ali, professor at the Ford School of Public Policy. Good to have you. I'm going to put a pin in that conflict, that disagreement, and come back to it at the end.

But let's start here with Iran saying both that they are willing to consider diplomacy if Israel stops its attacks on Iran, but also that they don't trust the U.S. Let me play for you what the president said about the possibility of getting back to talks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Request right now where somebody is winning, it's a little bit harder to do that 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: What do you think the probability of U.S.-Iran talks resuming is?

JAVED ALI, PROFESSOR AT THE FORD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY: So, Victor, nice to be with you this morning. And I would assess that Iran is under serious pressure right now facing the Israeli campaign and all the effects that Israel has achieved over the past several days.

And now, this inflection point where there is this clock ticking on the potential for negotiations or resumption of negotiations with the United States. And if Iran wants the conflict to start, it will have to, I would think, get back into those negotiating sessions and make some significant concessions.

And that, I think, is the bargain that's staring Iran in the Supreme Leader right now.

BLACKWELL: And so, you expect that there will be a return to talks even without a pause of the attacks from Israel?

ALI: That certainly seems to be the direction things are heading right now. President Trump has said that he is not going to put pressure on Israel to stop its campaign. And this is coercive diplomacy in its fullest form, where you've got Israel conducting these operations on a daily basis against Iran, the U.S. holding out the potential threat of some kind of military operations in the future.

And again, the possibility of the U.S. and Iran getting back to Amman or some other location and hammering out a deal. And Iran has far less leverage now than it even did going back 10 days ago.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of the leverage, what's known about their inventory, their stock of missiles and drones, because obviously they've been firing them, they've been shot down and also have been targeted by the Israelis.

ALI: This is another calculation I assess that Iran is thinking through, that these are all fungible resources for Iran and they have used a significant portion of those resources, certainly on the ballistic missile front.

They probably have more drones than ballistic missiles, but even then they've been using them. And at the same time, Israel has been trying to target the production sites, the storage sites, the mobile launchers for the ballistic missiles.

So, as every day goes by and Iran uses these capabilities, and also Israel tries to destroy them, ten days from now or two weeks from now, Iran will have even less of that inventory. And this is another factor I would have to believe the Supreme Leader and his military commanders are thinking through when it comes to diplomacy as well.

[07:15:40]

BLACKWELL: Sure, we're in the two-week window that the president has created on deciding whether or not the U.S. will take some military action against Iran. And we've talked a lot over the last several days about the bunker-busting bomb and Fordow -- the equipment that only the U.S. has uniquely equipped to take out Fordow. The Secretary of Defense says that he's putting together options for the president. We've seen the movement of some U.S. assets. Is there any virtue in a military strike against Iran short of using that bomb against the facility, against Fordow?

ALI: So, going back to earlier this week when President Trump cut his trip back short from the G7, and then convened a full-up National Security Council meeting in the Situation Room where he was there and his whole national security team was there, I would have to believe even then Secretary Hegseth and others in the Defense Department presented President Trump with a menu of options that should he decide to use military force that there were a whole suite of things they could do.

And probably one of those narrow options was a more limited set of strikes against key targets like Fordow in Iran's nuclear program. But one of the questions now is even if that is on the table in this two- week period or after that, even would those attacks achieve their objectives? And nobody knows.

This weapon has never been used in combat before and it would probably take more than one strike to render it inoperable or ineffective. So this is something that will be also in the calculus on the U.S. side.

BLACKWELL: The president says that his intelligence community is wrong. Tulsi Gabbard is wrong. And we've heard from mostly Democratic officials over the last couple of days.

It says that they've said that Prime Minister Netanyahu has long wanted this fight with Iran, has tried to drag the U.S. into a fight with Iran for decades or at least a decade now. How should that inform this conversation, even his domestic political concerns?

ALI: Yes, this is a really tough question, Victor, especially because all of us outside the intelligence community don't know what that highly classified picture is, either on the U.S. side or the Israeli side. And I've thought about this over the last couple of days, certainly coming from that world in my government career.

And is this a question of Israel and the U.S. having differing analytic perspectives on the same pool of that highly classified information and coming up with different analytic judgments? And that happens in the business of intelligence, or is it that one side versus the other has just a different set of collection on Iran's nuclear program and is coming up with their own independent view.

So, this is something that's really tough for all of us on the outside to figure out.

BLACKWELL: Javed Ali, I thank you for the insight.

ALI: Thank you, Victor.

BLACKWELL: After months in custody over an immigration fight, pro- Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil, is now free from an ICE detention center. We have details just ahead.

Plus, Ohio police have arrested a man accused of running a lawmaker and his family off the road. Why investigators say this was more than a case of road rage?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:23:56]

BLACKWELL: Headlines we're following for you this morning. A man in Ohio has been arrested and charged after allegedly threatening Republican Congressman Max Miller. And Miller claims the man tried to drive him off the road on Thursday while making anti-Semitic threats against him and his family. This incident comes during heightened concerns about public official security. This is, of course, after the deadly attack on state lawmakers in Minnesota.

Another hacking incident has targeted the insurance industry. This time it's Aflac. It confirmed Friday that its system was breached by cyber criminals, happened last week. The Aflac breach follows cyber break-ins earlier this month of Philadelphia insurance companies and Erie Insurance. Sources close to the investigation say that it appears all three of these hacks were done by a group called Scattered Spider. The insurance company cannot yet confirm how much customer information may have been stolen. However, social security numbers, health data are potentially at risk for tens of millions of customers.

The Palestinian activist who's been at the center of a long-running deportation fight. He's now free. Mahmoud Khalil was released from an immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday, more than three months after he was arrested on Columbia University's campus. CNN's Mark Morales has the latest. Mark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MORALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil, was released from ICE custody. This now ends an over 100-day saga for Khalil, who was taken into ICE custody outside of his apartment near Columbia University.

Now, lawyers representing both Khalil and the federal government had to come to an agreement for his release. Part of that agreement includes Khalil giving up his passport.

He is getting a certified copy of that passport back. He's also getting a copy of his green card. He's limited to travel to only a handful of states. They include New York, New Jersey, Louisiana.

He's not allowed to travel internationally. And this all stems from a judge ruling that Khalil was both not a danger to anybody in the community, and also not a flight risk.

The judge was also commenting about the duration of time that Khalil was in ICE custody, mentioning that it was highly unusual to continue to detain Khalil because he was not considered a danger or a flight risk.

The federal government tried to push back with their lawyers arguing that this could open the door to what they call the usage of magic words, where if anybody wanted to get out of any sort of situation, they could use the First Amendment as a shield in order to protect themselves from any sort of enforcement action.

But the judge pushed back, saying that Khalil has made it very clear that he protested before he was taken into custody. He plans on protesting now after he's released. And at least in Khalil's case, it's not magic words. Mark Morales, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The official start of summer has millions bracing for their first heat wave of 2025. Nearly 100 million people across the U.S. are under threat from dangerous, potentially record-breaking heat. Triple digits, people from the Midwest to the East Coast.

Government and health leaders are encouraging people to do everything possible to stay cool. Also, check on your friends and neighbors, your family members, especially seniors.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hot summer week. We're facing four to five straight days of blistering hot heat.

BRANDON JOHNSON, CHICAGO MAYOR: I just want to make sure that every Chicagoan understands the danger of this moment, and particularly when we have extreme heat. But I also want to make sure that the people of Chicago know that we have a number of resources that are available.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Meteorologist Tyler Mauldin is with us now. I understand this is part of the heat dome. What's that mean?

[07:28:06]

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, heat dome. It's a fun way of saying that heat is just trapped under a lid, and it is going to get extremely hot in the days to come. Simply put, it's that. And you know what? I see your tweets, and I just want to say a heat dome is a real thing. You can look it up.

NOAA says it's a scientific term. It really is true. And here's the scientific definition for you. High pressure brings in the tranquil weather, typically some warmer weather, too. Under that high pressure, you have the air sink. It sinks, it compresses, and it heats up really nicely. And that's essentially what a heat dome is. It's a lid on the atmosphere trapping all that heat underneath it.

The thing is, this heat dome is just lingering for days. So you're certainly going to feel this first heat wave of 2025. You're already feeling it outside now. We have morning lows at the moment at 7:30 Eastern Time in the 70s and 80s. Heat dome pushes east. It lingers not only through this weekend, but all the way through early and mid next week as well.

Washington, D.C., your temperatures are going to get up extremely hot, and so is Atlanta. Hot Atlanta, you're not going to be spared. You'll get up to close to 100 degrees by the time we get to Wednesday. D.C., you're going to get up to 102 degrees. Now, factor in the humidity with temperatures like this, and you start talking about a heat index. And it is going to feel like it is 110 degrees in Washington, D.C., and that, Victor, of course, puts extreme stress on your body.

So, make sure if you're going to be outside, find some shade and also drink plenty of water.

BLACKWELL: Are you in a Twitter beef over the heat dome?

MAULDIN: You know what? Sometimes folks get on Weather Twitter, and they'll just come at you, man.

BLACKWELL: Weather Twitter? I mean, I know Black Twitter. Weather Twitter? Y'all have your own thing?

MAULDIN: They'll just come at you. You know, I got to defend myself sometimes.

[07:29:59]

BLACKWELL: And you got to defend yourself. Don't take it Tyler. Thank you.

TYLER MAULDIN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right.

BLACKWELL: All right. Still to come, President Trump suggests farmers may get to keep undocumented workers, after all.

How businesses reacting to this potential shifting immigration policy?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Vice President J.D. Vance seemed to take a swipe at California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla, who was forcibly removed from a news conference held by the Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem last week. Speaking to reporters in Los Angeles, the vice president called him Jose Padilla, instead of Alex Padilla. [07:35:01]

They were colleagues in the Senate just six months ago, sat on the same committee. Vance's spokesperson responded by saying he must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.

Vance was in Los Angeles, defending President Trump's decision to deploy National Guard troops, which has been upheld for now by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The president has a very simple proposal to everybody in every city, every community, every town, whether big or small. If you enforce your own laws and if you protect federal law enforcement, we're not going to send in the National Guard, because it's unnecessary.

But if you let violent rioters burn great American cities to the ground, then, of course, we're going to send federal law enforcement in, to protect the people the president was elected to protect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: This week, the Department of Homeland Security reversed course on guidance, limiting immigration raids at farms, hotels and restaurants.

I want to bring in now Rebecca Shi, the CEO of the American Business, Immigration Coalition. Rebecca, good morning to you.

This DHS guidance lasted 72 hours from the reporting to the reversal here. So, what's the climate in business and in the communities now?

REBECCA SHI, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AMERICAN BUSINESS IMMIGRATION COALITION: Victor, employers, our farmers, ranchers, small business owners, are breathing a sigh of relief since the president's remarks yesterday in New Jersey. Look, over the last several weeks, our farmers, ranchers have been under enormous stress.

The ICE raids that are targeting our essential immigrant workers have led to some businesses closing, crops not big -- being picked, cows not milked, horses not trained, and really driving up food prices for everyday Americans.

So, I would say that at this moment based on the president's remarks that, look, we got to provide a legal work permit for people that have been here, undocumented but working, paying taxes, law abiding, bring them out of the shadows, so that they can legally work.

BLACKWELL: You mentioned the president's comments from the tarmac there in Morristown, New Jersey. Let me play a portion of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are some businesses where you have a disproportionate amount of people that are the people that you're talking about. At the same time, we have to get the criminals out of our country, and we're looking at doing something where, in the case of good, reputable farmers, they can take responsibility for the people that they hire, and let them have responsibility, because we can't put the farms out of business. And at the same time, we don't want to hurt people that are not criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, the president said that. Let me read for you what the Department of Homeland Security said, works site enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security, and economic stability. These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation.

So, what do you believe? Because the president said a version of what he said yesterday, a week ago, and it still seems to be no clarity on if there will be these worksite enforcement operations.

SHI: Look, the president is a businessman. He owns hotels, he owns restaurants. He knows what it takes to operate these essential industries and immigrants, undocumented immigrants, have been the backbone of hotels and restaurants and farms.

And so, we are encouraged by what the president has said once again yesterday, that we need a legal process in which employers can bring their long-term essential workers out of the shadow and work legally, and employers are ready to work with Congress and the president to bring this into reality.

BLACKWELL: Pew Research released a poll just before the election that shows that three quarters of registered voters believe that undocumented workers mostly do jobs that Americans don't want. 61 percent of them believe that even legal immigrants mostly do jobs that Americans don't want. Majorities of Trump supporters agree with those statements as well.

How do you reconcile the obvious reliance on these workers in these industries and still polling that overall shows support for mass deportation?

SHI: Yes. Victor, I think what you just cited shows that the American voters are a lot smarter than the professional politicians. This issue has been broken and unsolved for the last 40 years because we've been held hostage by the extremes. But as you mentioned, for the majority of American voters, including Republican primary voters, and Hispanic voters, which are the largest growing electorate,

[07:40:00]

But as you mentioned, for the majority of American voters, including Republican primary voters and Hispanic voters, which are the largest growing electorate, there are points, sensible solutions that everyone agrees with. That if you're just here, working, paying taxes, doing essential jobs, you should get a legal work permit, and so, that you are out of the shadows.

And that, you know, the deportations of people who have committed violent crimes, everyone can agree with that, in securing the border, and that's something that we're encouraged about, which is that this president has secured the border. The border is 99.5 percent secured.

And so, now we can take this next step, which is securing America's workforce and by providing legal work permits for these essential workers.

BLACKWELL: Well, not everybody agrees. We'll see what the policy is, and if there is some consistency from the White House on these workforce enforcement operations.

Rebecca Shi, thanks so much for being with me.

Still to come, a massive explosion and shock wave after SpaceX Starship explodes in Texas. How the mishap is raising questions about that company's future?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:45:54]

BLACKWELL: A new setback for Space X. Its rocket was undergoing a ground test this week when it burst into flames. CNN's Ed Lavandera has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The shock wave from this explosion registered as a small earthquake. The blinding glow of the massive fireball lit up the night sky. It wasn't a rocket launch, but the unexpected eruption of SpaceX Starship. Elon Musk dismissed the catastrophic scene as, "Just a scratch."

Rene Medrano described it as Armageddon.

RENE MEDRANO, LIVES NEAR STARBASE: It felt like a bomb went off, like a big bomb went off.

LAVANDERA: What do you call this place?

MEDRANO: Amaranth (PH).

LAVANDERA (voice over): In April, Medrano showed us around his home, which sits about ten miles from the SpaceX Starbase facility.

LAVANDERA: And from here, you can see the rocket launches?

MEDRANO: We can. If you get right over here.

LAVANDERA (voice over): Medrano and other South Texas residents have become increasingly critical of SpaceX. He says Wednesday night's explosion rattled his home.

MEDRANO: It really is disturbing. It's messing up our backyard, is what it is. And then for this to happen, I mean, how can that -- how can someone not be frustrated?

LAVANDERA (voice over): The explosion looked like a storm captured on weather radar. That plume you see emerging is smoke and debris emanating from the test site.

SpaceX says a pressurized tank on the spacecraft experienced a, "sudden energetic event," igniting several fires. The company said there were no injuries and no hazards to nearby residents.

CNN senior space and science reporter Jackie Wattles says Musk and SpaceX do not see this as a major setback.

JACKIE WATTLES, CNN SENIOR SPACE AND SCIENCE SENIOR WRITER: SpaceX has always kind of taken this approach of setbacks come. Engineers work around it, identify the issue, and then they get a new rocket on the pad, and keep working towards that goal.

LAVANDERA (voice over): In fact, Musk recently highlighted SpaceX's ability to quickly build Starship rockets and continue testing.

ELON MUSK, FOUNDER, SPACEX: We can produce a ship roughly every two or three weeks. We're aiming for the ability to produce a thousand ships a year. So, three ships a day.

LAVANDERA (voice over): The last three Starship rocket test launches have ended in explosive failures. A few broke apart just minutes after launching.

In January, a Starship rocket broke apart over the Caribbean Sea. Musk often jokes that success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed.

WATTLES: Starship is the vehicle that's supposed to carry the astronauts down to the lunar surface in 2027. So, I do think at this point, there is a lot of gut-checking going on behind the scenes about whether or not you can reach, you know, that timeline.

LAVANDERA (voice over): The mishaps do raise questions, though, about when the Starship rocket will be able to move cargo and astronauts into space safely.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Still to come, the MLB is handing down suspensions after a bench clearing fight between the Dodgers and the Padres.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:52:37]

BLACKWELL: Fines and suspensions after brawl during the Dodgers-Padres game earlier this week. CNN Sports' Carolyn Manno joins me now.

So, this is -- this ongoing rivalry between these teams.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It is. And it's really been a tense week, Victor at Dodger Stadium. I mean, hours after ICE agents encroached on the team's property, Thursday, these tempers flaring in the final game of this four-game set between these two in Major League Baseball now handing down one game suspensions and fines to both team managers, the Dodgers' Dave Roberts and the Padres' Mike Shildt, and also a three-game suspension and fine was handed to Padres pitcher Robert Suarez.

In all, a total of eight batters were hit by a pitch in a span of four games in this set. But things escalating past the point of no return in the ninth inning of the series finale. The Padres up 5-0, when Fernando Tatis Junior was hit by Dodgers' rookie Jack Little, and that triggered these benches clearing brawl, both managers getting tossed in the bottom of the inning.

Suarez drilling Dodger star, Shohei Ohtani in retaliation. Meantime, Ohtani is next pick and start is confirmed for Sunday against the Nationals. It's his second start since his return to the mound on Monday, after a lengthy layoff to manage his arm.

Sammy Sosa made an emotional return to Wrigley Field for the first time in a little more than two decades. On Friday, he is the club's all-time leader in home runs. Made seven All Star appearances with the team. But the sluggers relationship with the club has been rocky since his tenure ended there in 2004, allegations of performance enhancing drugs that followed him during and after his career playing a large role in that.

But it seems like things are more friendly at The Friendly Confines now. The Cubs have announced that they are inducting him into the team's Hall of Fame this September.

And Matthew Boyd's reflexes were on display during that game. Check this out. The veteran starter catching a 104-mile per hour comebacker off the bat of JP Crawford in the top of the fifth inning. Are you kidding me? And that's his dad right there. Absolutely loving it. He did leave the game early with a left shoulder bruise as a result of that play, but what a play it was, Victor.

The Cubs lost 9-4 to the Mariners, but still have the best record in the National League at the moment. I'm guessing he is going to need some ice. He is going to be OK, but that must have hurt a little bit, but still an incredible comebacker there.

BLACKWELL: I'm sure he needs some icy, hot or something on that shoulder, maybe something a little better than. But that's the best I can come up with.

[07:55:01]

Carolyn Manno, thanks so much. Hey, "FIRST OF ALL" is coming up at the top of the hour. Right now, a journalist is facing deportation after being arrested while covering a protest.

His attorney says that he's here legally, but he's in ICE custody. I'll speak to that lawyer, along with two people who work for this man's news site, covering immigration, including his own son.

Plus, you'll hear from a man recently freed from prison after nearly two decades when his conviction was tossed out. Well now that decision has been reversed and he could be put back in prison for a crime he says he did not commit. He is with us this morning.

Also later, what a grocery store chain has to say? Have you seen this? About their Juneteenth cake decorations that went viral, It just says free. Viral for all the wrong reasons. Those stories and conversations you likely will not see anywhere else, coming up after a quick break, on the "FIRST OF ALL".

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