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CNN This Morning
Cassidy Ousted In Louisiana, Giving Trump Major Victory; Thousands Rally Against Redistricting In Alabama; Russian State Media: 3 Dead After Ukraine's Massive Drone Assault; Driver Rams Crowd In Italy, Bystanders Tackle Suspect; Iran Eyes New Source Of Power Deep Beneath The Strait Of Hormuz; U.S. Aircraft Carrier Returns Home After Record Deployment; Long Island Rail Road Strikes Halts Service For Commuters. Trump Scores Major Victory, Cassidy Ousted in Louisiana; NYT: Trump Weighs $1.7B Fund for Allies Investigated Under Biden DOJ; Stephen Colbert's Final Week on "The Late Show"; Drake Dropping Three Albums. Aired 7-8a ET
Aired May 17, 2026 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[07:01:07]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. Here's what's new this morning. Two-time GOP Senator Bill Cassidy goes down in a bruising primary loss in Louisiana.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R), LOUISIANA: When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn't turn out the way you want it to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Cassidy lost to a challenger backed by President Trump. What the President had to say about that race and Cassidy's future.
Plus thousands of people rallied in Alabama against redistricting. The fiery messages from Democratic leaders and their strategy heading into the midterms.
And breaking overnight, Ukraine fires hundreds of drones at Russia. At least three people are dead as buildings burn, the latest in a live report.
And it's shaping up to be a rough Monday morning commute in New York. Workers at the country's largest rail line are now on strike. What that means for the 300,000 riders who take it every day.
BLACKWELL: Sunday, May 17th. Good to have you here. I'm Victor Blackwell.
If there was any doubt about President Trump's grip on the Republican base, it might have been a race last night. A huge win for the President and a stunning fall for Senator Bill Cassidy in the Louisiana primary. Trump endorsed Representative Julia Letlow and Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming will advance to a June 27th runoff. Both finished well ahead of Cassidy who was running for his third term.
President Trump rubbed it in on Truth Social. He posted, "Cassidy's disloyalty to the man who got him elected and is now a part of his legend. And it's nice to see that his political career is over." Senator Cassidy did not mention Trump by name in his concession speech but appeared to have the President in mind. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASSIDY: Our country is not about one individual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(APPLAUSE)
CASSIDY: It is about the welfare of all Americans and it is about our Constitution. And if someone doesn't understand that and attempts to control others through using the levers of power, they're about serving themselves --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.
CASSIDY: -- they're not about serving us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: After most of the votes were counted, Letlow, she addressed her supporters quick to acknowledge the boost that she received from the President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JULIA LETLOW (R), LOUISIANA: I want to say thank you to a very special man who you all know the best President this country has ever had, President Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Thousands of demonstrators chanting we won't go back took to the streets on Saturday in the heart of the modern civil rights movement, Montgomery, Alabama. They rallied against a widening movement by red states to gerrymander congressional districts that have black political representation and several top Democrats were on hand to support that effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ (D), NEW YORK: It is time for all of us to come to Georgia, to Louisiana, to Tennessee, to Mississippi and let them know exactly what they have on court with this injustice.
SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D), GEORGIA: Are you ready to use your voice?
CROWD: Yes. WARNOCK: Are you ready to vote like you've never voted before because your lives depend on it?
CROWD: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: For more on the rally and what sparked it all, here CNN's Jenn Sullivan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you say the power is with the people?
JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Thousands of people participating in protests in Alabama Saturday, outraged over a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that could severely weaken the votes of black people and other minorities across the country.
[07:05:02]
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D), NEW JERSEY: Now more than ever, this is a movement moment, not a partisan moment but a movement moment for our democracy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will we fight?
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The rally, dubbed All Roads Lead to the South. Protestors first marching over the famous Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma just as civil rights activists did in 1965 on Bloody Sunday when armed police attacked unarmed activists.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it takes another 60.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Then a rally held outside the state's capitol building in Montgomery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Senator Cory Booker!
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Drawing high profile democratic leaders.
In 2022 the Louisiana legislature adopted a new congressional map but a lawsuit accused the map of diluting black votes. The state drew a new map creating a second black majority congressional district, but then that map was also challenged. Last year, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court where last month, six of the justices ruled the new map was unconstitutional.
GOV. JEFF LANDRY (R), LOUISIANA: I think that the Supreme Court has finally taken race out of redistricting which we've been saying all along.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): The ruling has made it easier to scuttle majority-minority districts in other areas and many Republican-led states have started redrawing their voting maps. Many worry the ruling will lower minority representation at all levels of government. I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Jenn, thanks.
Joining me now is CNN Politics Reporter, Arit John. Arit, good morning to you. So let's start in Louisiana. President Trump targeted Senator Cassidy over his vote to convict him in the impeachment trial in 2021. What did we learn not as much about Cassidy but about the President and his influence yesterday in Louisiana?
ARIT JOHN, CNN POLITICS REPORTER: We learned that he's still the most influential person in Republican politics and we've seen that throughout this midterm cycle so far. Maybe his endorsement doesn't clear the field but it clearly helps get his chosen candidates ahead in those crowded primaries. And, in this case, it shows that when the President decides to go after enemies to settle old scores in this case over the impeachment vote that he comes out ahead.
We also saw that in Indiana where Republicans declined to redistrict in that state and then several of those Republicans were targeted by the President and his allies and lost their primaries earlier this year.
In the case of Cassidy, you know, he didn't acknowledge the President during his speech last night but he did seek to draw a contrast between his principles and the President especially in terms of accepting electoral defeat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASSIDY: I'm able to participate in democracy. And when you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn't turn out the way you want it to. But you don't pout, you don't whine, you don't claim that election was stolen, you don't find a reason why --
(CHEERING & APPLAUSE)
CASSIDY: You don't manufacture some excuse, you thank the voters for the privilege of representing the state or the country for as long as you've had that privilege.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN: And so we're going to see whether the President is still able to defeat some of his opponents later this month in Kentucky when Representative Tom Massie goes up for his primary against a Trump back opponent there.
BLACKWELL: Let's turn to the redistricting fights. We saw this big demonstration in Alabama that Jenn just reported on. Democratic lawmakers were there deriding the Republicans for their move to redraw these lines so quickly. Now what? Now what's the strategy? Is it clear? JOHN: It's not clear what the strategy is for Democrats. If you'd asked me six months ago, I would have pointed to, you know, after Texas redrew their maps, California said we're fighting fire with fire, they redrew their maps there. And there were some, at some point, it seemed as if this redistricting battle was going to be a draw or maybe even a net loss for Republicans.
But between the Supreme Court decision weakening majority-minority districts, it seems that the tide has clearly turned in Republicans' favor. And the question now for Democrats is, are there other states where they can still redistrict? Some have looked at New York, they're looking at Maryland again, which initially declined to redraw their maps. But it does seem that, on the whole, Republicans may come out ahead in this battle.
BLACKWELL: Yes, the clock is ticking down for Democrats to make some of those moves.
Arit John, reporting from Washington for us. Thank you so much.
New this morning, at least three people in Russia are dead after Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Russia in more than a year. That's according to Russian state media outlet TASS. It released these images of the destruction including the picture you just saw of massive flames that enveloped a home near Moscow.
[07:10:02]
Russian state media says Ukraine used more than 500 drones in its attack. Ukraine's drone assault follows Russia's prolonged wave of attacks last week, and Ukrainian authorities say those attacks killed 25 people, injured dozens of others.
CNN's Anna Cooban joins me now. Anna, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy called these strikes retaliation for the recent Russia strikes. We haven't seen something like this from Ukraine in quite a long time. Tell us more.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes, so the -- over Wednesday and Thursday, we had this bombardment of Russia into Ukraine, into Kyiv, the capital. At least 25 people died, over 1,500 drones, over 50 missiles. This was a huge ambush of the capital. And so now we're seeing retaliation from Ukraine.
Ukraine also over the past year or so has really been targeting a lot of Russian energy infrastructure, oil and gas to try and limit the revenues that Moscow can get that helps fund its war. And, you know, this -- we're seeing this war just rage on despite stalling peace talks over the past year or so.
And it's difficult to imagine really that this time a week ago, we were hearing comments from Putin saying that he believes the war was coming to an end. And then after that massive ambush on Kyiv across Wednesday and Thursday, Zelenskyy was saying, well, this is not the actions of someone, referring to Putin, who thinks the war is drawing to a close. And it's worth reminding ourselves this is still very much, despite this limited ceasefire earlier this week, a raging war. 2025 was the deadliest year for civilians in Ukraine since 2022, which is the year the war started. And then in the early months of this year, each month there were more civilian casualties in Ukraine, this is according to the United Nations, than compared with the same month last year.
So despite stalling peace talks, despite what Putin's comments may have been a few days ago, this is still a war that is very much happening.
BLACKWELL: Anna Cooban, reporting for us. Thank you so much.
Still ahead, this is unbelievable. A man drove his car into a crowd in Italy, and then some people jumped in to tackle him, to stop him from hurting other people. We'll have some of the details for you.
And Iran claims it's negotiating a deal with European countries for paid passage through the Strait of Hormuz. How the regime is planning other ways to profit from this war with the U.S.
And dating app Bumble is launching a new feature and it's using A.I. to help folks find love.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:17:33]
BLACKWELL: We're watching several headlines for you this morning, including this one out of Italy, a driver rammed a car into pedestrians in Modena yesterday. At least eight people were hurt. Four of them seriously hurt.
Police say the driver then got out holding a knife. Four people who were standing by jumped in to tackle him, held the man down until police arrived. Authorities are now questioning him. He's 31 years old and they're working to determine his motive.
Iran says it wants to charge now tech companies for using undersea internet cables in the Strait of Hormuz. Those cables carry critical data between Europe, Asia and the Middle East. State linked media vaguely threatened that traffic could be disrupted if companies do not pay.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media claims European countries are in talks with Iran over safe passage through the Strait. The report did not mention specific European countries and there's been no response to the claim.
This morning, thousands of sailors are back home in Norfolk, Virginia after a 326-day deployment. The USS Gerald Ford along with two other ships returned after supporting U.S. military operations around the world. The deployment is the longest for U.S. aircraft carriers since the Vietnam War. And for those sailors, it means finally returning to family after 11 months away. A major commuter headache could be brewing in New York this week because thousands of Long Island Railroad workers they've walked off the job after contract talks broke down. At the center of this, workers are pushing for higher pay as you know, costs continue to rise. Without a deal, commuters could start feeling it by tomorrow.
CNN's Gloria Pazmino has more on what's at stake.
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be a messy commute on Monday morning if the strike is not resolved by then. About 3,000 workers walked off the job on Saturday at midnight after talks between the five unions representing the workers and the MTA which controls the Long Island Railroad fell apart. They were unable to reach a deal.
Now, the workers are asking for a pay increase. They say that's what's needed in order to keep up with the high cost of living. We talked to some of them today. They told us that living in this area, one of the most expensive areas in the country, is really difficult and they are asking for those wage increases in order to be able to keep up.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[07:20:00]
KARI BISCHOFF, WORKED AT LIRR FOR 29 YEARS: Our argument and our fight is not with the commuters, because the commuters are our friends, our family, our neighbors. It's unfortunate we had to come to this position. I don't want to be here any more than -- anybody else wants to be here. But this is the only way to get the MTA to listen.
PATRICK MAHER, LIRR ENGINEER: All we really want is to be respected for the work that we do. You know, we're here nights, weekends, holidays. We miss family events. I almost miss the birth of my daughter. It's -- we just want to be treated fairly and well compensated for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: Now, the workers are specifically asking for a 9.5 percent retroactive pay increase and a 5 percent increase for the current year. But the MTA says that increase will likely result in fair hikes. Governor Kathy Hochul has encouraged both the unions and the MTA to go back to the negotiating table to try and strike a deal.
Now, if this is not resolved by Monday again, the impact is going to be significant. The MTA has put contingency measures in place. They will have buses available to help bring commuters in from Long Island, but they are asking people to work from home if they're able to do so.
This is the busiest rail line in the United States. It carries approximately 300,000 passengers every day.
BLACKWELL: Gloria Pazmino, thank you. Still ahead, the Justice Department is weighing how to settle President Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. We're going to take a look at the plan in this Morning's Roundup.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:25:54]
BLACKWELL: If you want to know just how strong Donald Trump's grip is on the Republican Party, take a look at Louisiana. Senator Bill Cassidy, his run for a third term is over. He lost his primary yesterday, finishing third behind two other Republican candidates. The race was widely watched as a test of Trump's influence. Julia Letlow, Trump's preferred candidate, didn't just win, she dominated in this race.
With me now is Jason Lee, senior editor at Bossip, Washington Bureau Chief for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tia Mitchell, and Attorney Madeleine Simmons. Welcome to you all.
Tia, let me start with you. Is it as straightforward and simple as I just stated it, is that Trump said Cassidy's out and the Republican base in Louisiana said, OK?
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes, I do kind of think it's that simple. I think that for whatever reason, Bill Cassidy was not able to have enough goodwill of his own that it could outweigh being opposed by President Trump. And that has been difficult for Republicans.
I mean, any just about every Republican who voted to impeach Donald Trump in 2021 either has resigned or been taken out. We just saw what happened in Indiana with those Republicans who opposed redistricting. We'll see if Thomas Massie has enough again that if you build up your own goodwill, that your people will stand with you, even if Trump opposes you.
Thomas Massie may be the person who can do it. But he also has a tough primary coming up on Tuesday. Donald Trump remains the leader of the Republican Party.
BLACKWELL: Yes. And the President now is going after Lauren Boebert as well, trying to solicit primary challengers for her.
So this weekend, we also saw what happened in Alabama. And that is the reaction, the rally now for, as they call it, a day of action after the redistricting in response to the Callais decision in Louisiana. Jah, is it clear that Democrats know what to do next, is it?
JASON "JAH" LEE, SENIOR EDITOR, "BOSSIP": Clear is interesting. I'm not sure that they have a great grip on what to do, but I think they're doing what they know to do, which is make the self vocal, be loud about the situation. I mean, there's still people who say things like they're not sure if their vote matters and things like that. So I think this should serve as notice that your vote clearly does matter. If it didn't matter, they wouldn't be trying so hard to remove you from the process.
And being loud about this and making people know how important this issue is, I think, is a part of the Democratic strategy. I think it's good communication, if nothing else.
BLACKWELL: Here's Senator Warnock, Democrat of Georgia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARNOCK: Thanks to the awful decision of these political hacks on the Supreme Court, my nine-year-old and my seven-year-old now have less voter protection than their dad did growing up at their age. And that makes me angry enough to show up again and again and again and again. Are you ready to fight?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Tia, you just mentioned Indiana and the President going after some of the state officials there who opposed redistricting of the seven who were on the ballot, five lost. Democrats derided President Trump for for that focus.
Let me read now some of the reporting from my CNN colleagues on Capitol Hill. "Behind the scenes, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries, his allies are preparing a message push against any Democrats who stand in the way of gerrymandering, insisting that only real Democrats are willing to fight, according to one person close to Jeffries.
One lawmaker has been in early talks with potential delegates at a future Democratic convention on trying to prevent any blue state leaders who can't get a new map passed from getting a speaking slot. And for those already in office, primary challenges aren't off the table, multiple sources said."
It appears that Democrats, at least Jeffries, is prepared to do exactly what Trump did in Indiana.
MITCHELL: Yes, but Jeffries is no Donald Trump when it comes to who is the leader of their political parties. I don't think there are rank- and-file, you know, respectfully to leader Jeffries. I don't know if rank-and-file Democrats in Michigan are shaking in their boots because they think leader Jeffries can take them out just by endorsing a primary opponent.
I'm not saying leader Jeffries doesn't have other levers he can pull. He has ties to money. He does have a platform. But he is just not Donald Trump. There's no other Republican who has the same pull in the Republican Party like Donald Trump. It's just a different dynamic with Trump and his leadership of his party that, quite frankly, no one else in modern American politics has really had the same type of platform.
Barack Obama is kind of considered the leader of the Democratic Party, but even his word alone isn't as instrumental in swaying primaries the way Donald Trump is. BLACKWELL: Madeleine, let me come to you on this. The Justice Department reportedly considering settling President Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. The New York Times is reporting that under consideration is a $1.7 billion fund to compensate the president's allies and others investigated by the Justice Department under President Biden. Compensate is caring a lot in that sentence. What do you think about the legality here?
MADELEINE SIMMONS, ATTORNEY: Yes, it's really interesting to think about the fact that, you know, a few years ago after the January 6th riots, we were prosecuting these people because they are there beating up police officers. They are, you know, desecrating the White House.
And now, we have this potential settlement that would be giving them money for, like you said, damages. And that could be as broad as pain and suffering, legal fees. There's really been nothing that has come out to say what kind of guardrails they would be on who would be deciding how much money and what that money is for, for these general damages of these folks.
BLACKWELL: Yes, compensate could mean pain and suffering. And who knows who decides what that number is?
SIMMONS: Exactly.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Go ahead.
JASON "JAH" LEE, SENIOR EDITOR, "BOSSIP": Oh, I was going to say, it would be nice to see people who Donald Trump has gone at, like Letitia James. Like, can she get compensated for her pain and suffering? A lot of people feel that her continued indictments of going after her was a revenge for trying to indict him on criminal charges. So, it would be interesting to see if other people could get compensation as well, because it's not just January 6th people who have suffered at the hands of the current administration.
SIMMONS: And these are taxpayer dollars we're talking about. So, these are folks that are watching right now. Their dollars going to the people that rioted on January 6th. It's wild.
BLACKWELL: If this goes through.
SIMMONS: Right.
BLACKWELL: Speaking of taxpayer dollars, there are some taxpayer dollars that are paying for this Rededicate 250 event that's happening on the National Mall today, a nine-hour prayer festival largely led by evangelical Christians. Again, no one says it's a bad thing to pray for the country, but should taxpayer dollars be paying for this? Is this a violation of law?
SIMMONS: I certainly think that there is an issue there with the separation of church and state with this specific event, because not -- it's not a situation where it's just that, you know, Trump and other officials are attending it, they're actually out there promoting it. They're putting videos out. They're spending money, like you said, to get folks to attend and to watch. So, I certainly think that it's on the line there of being a violation.
BLACKWELL: All right. Everybody stay with me. At this point, it seems like A.I. can do almost anything. Can it also help you find love? That's next in the Roundup.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[07:35:00]
BLACKWELL: Welcome back to the Morning Roundup. This week is the final week of "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert. After more than a decade in the chair, he is saying goodbye Thursday. CBS is retiring the franchise altogether.
Welcome back, everybody. CBS parent company Paramount said the cancellation is, quote, "purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night." Of course, we know the relationship between the owners of Paramount and the White House, the conflict between the White House and Colbert. But what does this mean more than the end of a show?
LEE: I mean, it sounds like they're getting exactly what they want in regards to having media that doesn't push back hardly against the administration. Anyone who is spoken out, who is out -- especially comedians, people who have loud voices and, you know, humor carries a lot of weight -- yes, yes, Jimmy Kimmel. The humor carries a lot of weight in discourse of how society is. And so, I think that the White House is getting exactly what they want. And it's hard for me to believe that Paramount is never going to have a late-night television show ever again. So, Colbert is just the sacrificial lamb for this particular administration.
MITCHELL: In that part, the sacrificial lamb, it's an easy way to curry favor with Donald Trump to say we're going to fire someone you don't like and give you something to celebrate. And then that allows him to look kindly on Paramount, which is asking for some things that need federal regulators to sign off on.
[07:40:00]
So, in many ways, I think it goes further beyond the fact that Stephen Colbert criticized Trump is that, as a result, he became a target of Trump and now he is a pawn in this bigger game that we know all these powerful people are trying to find ways to speak to an audience of one, which is President Donald Trump.
SIMMONS: And I think the statement is kind of ridiculous. I mean, people know what's going on here. You know, like we all said, it's very transparent what's happening. The American people understand it coming out and saying, oh, it's because it's not making us enough money is ridiculous, in my opinion.
BLACKWELL: Well, let me ask you to stay with you, Madeleine, on this "controversy," heavy air quotes here, around Democratic nominee for Senate in Texas, James Tallarico and his breakfast order. He was out with former President Barack Obama. They went to a taco spot and he ordered potato, egg and cheese. My guy today had ordered air sandwiches. And Republicans gone after him, saying that, oh, well, he doesn't like meat. The governor of Texas, the president called him a vegan, whatever that is.
LEE: Whatever that is.
BLACKWELL: You think Texas voters care?
SIMMONS: First of all, that is a very normal breakfast taco. Whether you are in Texas or California.
MITCHELL: But was it 2:00 p.m.? Why is he ordering breakfast tacos?
BLACKWELL: I like breakfast for dinner.
LEE: Now, Waffle House would have something to say about that. Careful now.
MITCHELL: But -- at a taco -- I do think that what they're trying -- don't get me wrong. He can order what you order -- whatever you want. We are a free country. But if it's 2:00 p.m. and you're at like this really good taco place and the best thing you see on the menu is like potatoes and eggs and cheese, it's like, you know, there are probably the people who like are the regulars are like, sir, you're missing out on my really good tacos. And so, I think that kind of speaks to something about the culture of Texas that his opponents are trying to kind of signal with this taco recipe.
SIMMONS: So, the background on this story, though, is that he's a regular there.
BLACKWELL: He is a regular. Yes.
MITCHELL: Oh, wow.
SIMMONS: And so, the lady said, oh, this is your order. And he's probably a regular in the morning because he has a day job. He's not there at 2:00 p.m., right?
MITCHELL: That makes sense.
LEE: I just didn't know that we had reached the point in America where we have partisan tacos, like I know we have partisan entertainment and partisan sports and all -- I didn't know --
BLACKWELL: You don't remember freedom fries.
LEE: That's true. We did have -- yes, there were freedom -- that's true. That's really true.
BLACKWELL: Also, vegans don't eat eggs and cheese. So, let's just put that on.
SIMMONS: Maybe vegans do.
BLACKWELL: Maybe vegans. SIMMONS: Vegans.
BLACKWELL: Maybe that's the nuance. Let's talk about Bumble. The app is now making some changes and they're now invoking artificial intelligence. The founder said that I should help people show up more honestly, connect more intentionally and spend less time lost in noise and fatigued in endless swiping. Here's what else she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITNEY WOLFE HERD, CEO, BUMBLE: This is where B will be such a catalyst to help the folks that are like, listen, I'm a great person, but I have no idea how to have a profile. I mean, if you made me build a dating profile right now, I would not know where to begin, right? So, that is such an opportunity, both from a revenue opportunity, but also just helping people show up better. That's table stakes here. We just want everybody to show up as the best version of themselves. Low hanging fruit.
How do we help people get better photos? How do we encourage people? Hey, listen, you're great. That photo is not doing any favors for you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: I want to see an honest photo.
MITCHELL: Right.
BLACKWELL: I don't want any A.I. input on what you really look like.
MITCHELL: Right. Or what you say or how you present yourself to the world.
LEE: I'm just disturbed by the idea that she says with a straight face, we want everyone to show up as their best self. And who knows you better than a computer? I mean, that's crazy. Like, we're going to have data centers and dirty water so that you can find love. I hope you're lonely forever. Forever.
BLACKWELL: I mean, some people are doing so poorly at this with their own intelligence. Maybe it's time to get some artificial intelligence in the game.
LEE: Well, we talked about A.I. Jesus a couple of weeks ago.
BLACKWELL: We did.
LEE: And, like, this is just another example of something that A.I. is doing that people can do for themselves.
MITCHELL: Right.
LEE: And I just don't understand how we got to this place.
SIMMONS: Well, and people have been, you know, catfishing each other for a while now. So -- BLACKWELL: With no help.
SIMMONS: Right. With no help.
LEE: Talented. Good edit.
SIMMONS: Yes. Exactly, exactly. So, I just think this means that folks that are out on the dating field are going to have to encourage in-person meeting more than ever. These, you know, back-and-forth text relationships, they're not really getting to know the real person. Especially now if we're inputting A.I. into it as to what to say and what photo to send. And taking, you know, the person's own intelligence out of it.
[07:45:00]
BLACKWELL: Yes. All right. So, there's also big news for music. Drake.
LEE: Drake?
BLACKWELL: I was waiting for that, Jah. OK. Drake has released three albums. Released them on Friday. "Iceman," "Habibi," and "Maid of Honor." I haven't listened to any of them because I do this on a weekend. But, Jah you've listened to at least two of them?
LEE: Yes. I've heard all of "Iceman." I've heard half of "Habibi." And I haven't heard "Maid of Honor" yet. I'm going to get around to it. It's a lot of Drake to take in at one time.
BLACKWELL: Yes, that's a lot.
SIMMONS: 40-something songs.
LEE: Yes. It's like 43 songs I think in total. That's a lot of Drake for one weekend. So, I had to pace myself through this thing. This -- the music itself, like the actual music of it, sounds very good. But Drake, the lyrical content of it is very bitter. He's still very affected by --
BLACKWELL: The Kendrick beef?
LEE: -- the Kendrick beef. You can hear it in multiple songs that this really bothered him. And he tried to give the impression, you know, two years ago that I'm done with this. I'm over this. I'm waving the white flag. This is beneath me. And now, we're back 700 days later and he's still going on. It's kind of like a Popeye eats a spinach, like (INAUDIBLE). Like, it's that kind of energy that he's given on this album. So, I don't know.
SIMMONS: I think it's a bit of a marketing ploy too. These beefs, I mean, it's because they want folks to listen, right? It's interesting.
BLACKWELL: Well, we will see if Kendrick comes back and has anything to say. If this continues.
LEE: We'll see. We'll see.
BLACKWELL: All right. Jah, Tia, Madeleine, thank you all. All right. The shot margins are razor thin heading into the final round of the PGA Championship. Still ahead, a closer look at the current leaderboard after Saturday's stiff competition.
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BLACKWELL: We're watching some active weather this morning. A multi- day threat from the Plains to the Midwest, CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking it all for us. We talked during the break, 50 million people facing the threat?
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, nearly, even 60 million. It's a pretty wide swath. We've already got some ongoing storms out there right now across the Plains and Midwest. The most active is areas of Nebraska into Iowa. We do also have some thunderstorms across Ohio, but this is really going to become much more widespread as we go through the day today.
You have a chance for a few strong thunderstorms in Florida and Georgia, but the best chance for severe really exists right into this particular area. Again, you're basically talking from the UP of Michigan all the way back to Texas. Very large hail. We're talking tennis ball to even baseball size, a few strong tornadoes. That means EF2s or stronger, and obviously the damaging wind component.
Then we go into Monday. This threat not only increases, but it also spreads out a little bit, so you have a few more areas that are dealing with the threat tomorrow that didn't necessarily have that potential today. The greatest threat, again, right here where you see the orange and red color, again, strong tornadoes. You could be looking at EF2s, EF3s. Again, the very large hail. You're talking baseball to even grapefruit size in some of these areas.
On the backside of it, though, you also have those strong winds, but no rain to go with it, so you have a very high threat level for wildfires. Extreme. That's the purple color there. That is the highest level you can possibly get for a wildfire risk out across portions of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, and even into New Mexico.
Now, for the timing of this storms, we already have those ones ongoing this morning. It's going to continue to ramp up as we head into the afternoon and evening hours, again, making that forward progress off to the east into more of that Midwestern region overnight tonight and into the morning hours of Monday as well. Then you'll start to see more of the storms ramping back up once again on Monday afternoon.
BLACKWELL: Allison, thanks. They call them the best two words in sports, Game 7, and that's what we will get in the Stanley Cup playoff series between Montreal and Buffalo. Here to break it down, the man who keeps jacking my style, Coy Wire.
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: OK, OK. Yes, I'm just trying to be like you, Victor. Listen, Buffalo, they went into Montreal with their season skating on thin ice, but then they respond with an avalanche of goals in Game 6. Eight goals and an absolute hockey haymaker against Montreal, who doesn't love this series. Buffalo chasing its first Stanley Cup ever, Canada still waiting for its first cup-winning team in more than 30 years, seven different Sabres lit the lamp, Jack Quinn scored twice in an 8-3 victory. And now, game 7, Monday night in Buffalo, look out, one team advances, one team starts their summer vacation early.
To the PGA Championship, just outside of Philly, major pressure, major names, major leaderboard traffic jam. Rory McIlroy, he made his charge Saturday with six birdies, now three under, but the ball is fully in Alex Smalley's course. Ranked 78th in the world, he's never won any PGA Tour event, but he has the solo lead at six under heading into today's final round, and with a major title on the line, we are going to find exactly what those nerves are made of.
Now, to a goal straight out of soccer sorcery, the FA Cup on the line, Manchester City facing Chelsea FC, then this moment of magic, Erling Haaland finds Antoine Semenyo, and Semenyo goes full Wizard of Oz, a slick little click of the heel, no place like home, especially when that home is the back of the net, and outrageous finish as Man City lifts the trophy in style.
Watch this, NCAA softball tournament entering Saturday, teams were 0 and 640 when trailing by eight or more runs, but 11C Texas Tech pulled off a crazy comeback over Ole Miss, a grand slam in the bottom of the seventh by Lauren Allred, that tied it up. Red Raiders would erupt for eight runs in this inning.
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And then Taylor Pannell, delivering a walk-off sacrifice fly in the very next inning to win it, 10-9 Texas Tech, pulling off the softball equivalent of control-alt-delete in this one to advance to the regional championship game.
Finally, only in Chicago, the Chicago White Sox beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-3 behind two home runs from Japanese sensation Murakami, he's now second overall in homers, but the most unforgettable moment came during a break in the action, fans from both sides of this heated rivalry suddenly united in beautiful harmony to chant three magical words.
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CROWD: Green Bay sucks.
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WIRE: Yes. The Cubs and the White Sox fans, they don't like each other, but they do not like the Green Bay Packers even more. So, Chicago, yes, they stand together loudly, very loudly in that game.
BLACKWELL: All right. Coy, thank you.
WIRE: You got it.
BLACKWELL: And thank you for joining us this morning. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up next.
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