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Pro-ICE Demonstrators Clash With Detainee Supporters; New Jersey Governor Sherrill Wants Delaney Hall "Closed For Good"; Trump Weighs Tentative Deal With Iran To Open Strait Of Hormuz; Israel Captures Strategic Crusader-Built Castle In Southern Lebanon; Divers Return To Laos Cave Searching For Two Still Missing; Bus Driver Charged In Virginia Crash That Killed Five People; Meteor Boom Shakes New England, Rattles Homes And Alarms; Kenya Pushes Forward On Ebola Site Despite Court Order; DHS Secretary Threatens To Pull Customs Officers From Airports In "Sanctuary Cities." Mullin: "We Have To Prioritize Where We Put Federal Employees"; United Flight Diverted After Passenger Tried To Breach Cockpit; Inflation Near Three-Year High As Americans Drain Savings; Experts: Dead Sea Is Dying, Blame Humans And Climate Change. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired May 31, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:37]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. Here's what's new today. New clashes between police and protesters near that New Jersey ICE detention facility. We'll talk about the new measures officials there are putting in place to try to keep the peace.

Rescue divers could be headed back to that flooded mine in Laos today. Why they believe there is a chance that those two missing villagers may still be there and could be alive.

Also, we're learning more about what caused the security scare on a United Airlines flight. Police say the man tried to get into the cockpit. The signs of trouble passengers say they saw before that plane took off.

Also listen to this. That sound understandably led to dozens of emergency calls and sent police scrambling to figure out what was going on. We now know what caused it, and we'll tell you coming up on CNN THIS MORNING.

It is the final day of May. Hope you enjoyed it. It's May 31st. Thanks for joining us. I'm Victor Blackwell.

We're starting with the escalating tensions at that Newark, New Jersey, ICE detention center. Last night, pro-ICE demonstrators faced off with protesters who say detainees inside Delaney Hall are facing inhumane conditions. At least six people were arrested. A SWAT team was joined by officers from area police departments. The New Jersey state police were also called in to try to control those crowds.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL (D-NJ): I'm going to keep using every tool at my disposal to get full access to Delaney Hall, and I'm going to keep working for better conditions inside of this facility until it's closed for good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill has established a nightly curfew and says that national extremist groups were involved in Saturday's protest. She did not identify any group by name, though. One woman whose husband is being in Delaney Hall says that he's been beaten by ICE agents. Here's what she told me yesterday on "FIRST OF ALL."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIELLA SOTO, HUSBAND HELD IN NEWARK ICE FACILITY: I was able to see my husband yesterday. He's just -- he just wants to be out. He's tired of being in solitary confinement for doing nothing wrong. His bruises are going away, but it's still not justified for him having them in general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem, will be with us in a few minutes with more on New Jersey's ICE protests and what can be done to keep this from getting even more out of hand.

Let's talk about the war in Iran now. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. military is ready to resume combat in the Persian Gulf if necessary. Hegseth also warned that the military is in even stronger position now to do so than they were on day one of the war.

Meanwhile, President Trump is weighing a tentative deal with Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks. No decision was announced after the president met with advisors in the White House Situation Room on Friday. CNN's Julia Benbrook has more from the White House.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that the United States is prepared to resume combat in the Persian Gulf, if needed, but added that right now, President Donald Trump is laser focused on a deal with Iran and that he has the patience to see it through in historic fashion. I want you to listen to part of those remarks where Hegseth did say he believes the talks have been productive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think they know where it needs to go. And I'm quite confident with this -- with our president, who makes nothing but great deals that ultimately it will be something he's proud to defend, that ensures that Iran, which everyone knows should not have a nuclear weapon, never does.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BENBROOK: But there are still a lot of questions about how and when this conflict could come to an end. On Friday, Trump held a high level meeting with advisers, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the Situation Room.

[06:05:03]

Prior to that meeting, he said that he would make a final determination on a tentative agreement. We still do not have an update on where he stands. In fact, following the meeting, an official told CNN in a statement, the Situation Room meeting has concluded and lasted approximately two hours. President Trump will only make a deal that is good for America and satisfies his red lines. Iran can never possess a nuclear weapon.

Sources familiar have told our team that that memorandum of understanding would include a 60-day time frame to address Iran's nuclear program, including the fate of the highly enriched uranium stockpile, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Julia Benbrook for us at the White House, thank you. The clashes between Israeli forces and Hezbollah intensified overnight. The IDF pushed deeper into Lebanese territory. Israeli troops captured a strategic crusader-built castle in Southern Lebanon. This site hasn't -- it hasn't held for 26 years. Israel says taking control of this 900-year-old fortress is part of their effort to dismantle Hezbollah's infrastructure in the area.

CNN's Nada Bashir is with us now with more on this. Nada, hello to you. What have you learned about this latest round of attacks?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, this enhanced push by the Israeli military comes after days of intense bombings, according to local officials across southern Lebanon. We have seen IDF ground troops now pushing north of the Litani River.

So, we are seeing a significant expansion of those operations. We have seen an increased evacuation orders now in place for a number of villages, both south and north of the Litani River. And this is, of course, in addition to huge swathes of the region which were already under evacuation warnings from the Israeli military.

We've already seen more than a million people displaced since this renewed war began. And now, as you mentioned, Victor, we have seen that announcement by the Israeli military that they have captured the Beaufort Castle, a crusader era castle which, important to note, had received provisional enhanced UNESCO protection in 2024 during that period of conflict to prevent this site from being used as a military post or site and to protect it. But clearly that has not been the case.

It has previously been occupied by Israeli forces during previous conflicts as well, and that is exactly what we are seeing happening now. We've heard from the Israeli military saying that this operation, and I, quote, "is focused on establishing operational control of the Beaufort ridge." They say it began several days ago, including a significant number of IDF ground soldiers, they say, aimed at expanding the forward defense line.

But of course, this is having an intense -- an immense civilian impact as well. And this comes as we continue to see clashes between the IDF and Hezbollah forces also intensifying. The Israeli government, for its part, has warned of potential further attacks by Hezbollah in parts of Northern Israel. And this comes, of course, as we continue to see IDF attacks both on the ground, but also, of course, airstrikes expanding across Lebanon including, of course, north of the Litani River which is, of course, that central area of conflict where the hostilities are currently focused.

And again, this comes as well as ongoing ceasefire negotiations or rather peace negotiations between Iran and the United States are ongoing, trying to secure that memorandum of understanding. And there are real questions as to whether Lebanon will be included in that memorandum of understanding, whether this deal will be able to secure some sort of end to hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah forces.

And, of course, the Lebanese government has repeatedly now attempted diplomatic efforts to try and bring an end to that conflict. However, the Israeli military has said it will not bring an end to those hostilities until it perceives the threat from Hezbollah to have neutralized.

BLACKWELL: Nada Bashir, from London, thank you. This morning, those rescue divers are heading back into the flooded cave in Laos to search for two men still missing. Now, the team says the survivors who made it out have given them a map, and that points to a possible air pocket deeper inside that cave. Divers say that could really be the only place these two men could still be alive. Here's one of the rescue divers describing what they're up against.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH RICHARDS, RESCUE DIVER: From what we know, there is a significant air pocket that is considerably further on. Another 100 meters or so, through fairly lethal passage. That the only place they could still be would be there. So, we are potentially going to be pushing through to try and provide support and see if we can search the remaining tunnel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: If you were with us at this time yesterday, you saw the amazing breaking news here.

[06:10:02]

Five men who were trapped for days, four of them on this day made it out on their own. That fifth made it out on Friday. Rescuers were preparing to bring them out, but the water levels dropped and the men, they made their way out first. Two villagers still missing are believed to have entered the cave earlier than those five who made it out.

Other headlines for you now. The driver in that deadly Virginia bus crash is facing charges. State police say he's accused of failing to slow down in a work zone and slamming into traffic. Investigators say the bus hit several cars, triggered a chain reaction crash. Five people were killed. Dozens more were hurt. Several are still in critical condition.

The driver is charged with involuntary manslaughter. More charges could be coming. Meanwhile, federal investigators are focused on what led up to that crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM CHAPMAN, SAFETY BOARD, NTSB: One of the things that we do, as a matter of course, is we do a 72-hour look back to see what the driver's activities were during the days leading up to the crash. So we're looking for, you know, sleep issues, distraction issues, potential drug and alcohol issues. I'm not saying that there's any of that involved here, but those are the sorts of things we want to look at and see what the activities of the driver were during the days leading up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Investigators are now asking for help. They want dash cam video, in-car footage. Any recordings from drivers who saw what happened.

Witnesses across several states described hearing a double boom and you're about to hear it. They say they felt the ground shake. Officials say it was likely a meteor breaking apart in the sky. Here's what it sounded like near Boston.

Yes, that will shake you. Experts say the object was about three feet wide, burned up as it entered the atmosphere. Most of it never reached the surface. Any debris that did likely fell into the ocean.

Next on CNN THIS MORNING, there's an urgent warning on Ebola. The head of the World Health Organization says time is running out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: If we move fast and we're asking the international community to move fast in terms of funding and others, we can stop it and the government can stop it. Communities can stop it. So, it depends. If we don't take it seriously, of course, it can outsmart us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:17:14]

BLACKWELL: Kenya is pushing ahead with this Ebola quarantine facility in partnership with the U.S. even after a Kenyan high court moved to block it. You see, the government says the site will improve the capability to monitor and respond to the deadly Ebola outbreak. The facility is meant for Americans exposed to the virus, patients in Kenya, but the plan is facing pushback and raising questions about why it's being built there at all.

CNN's Larry Madowo joins me from Nairobi now. So explain what's happening here, because the distance presents some questions from where this outbreak is happening and the relationship with the U.S.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. In fact, to understand why there is so much public outrage about this U.S. Ebola containment facility, let me show you a map to see how far Kenya is from the Democratic Republic of Congo, which is the epicenter of this outbreak.

Kenya, at least 1,500 miles from that country and has no current Ebola cases. People here in the country feel that the government is trying to import Ebola here, because the U.S. has given Kenya money to do that, and that is at the heart of this problem.

We understand, according to CNN source, that the first Americans who will man this Ebola containment facility arrived Saturday. The HHS has previously told CNN that they're sending a specialized team from the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. We're talking physicians, nurses, lab technologists, mental health practitioners, and engineers to care for the Americans that will be exposed to Ebola and sent to this facility in Kenya.

A high court here in Kenya put an injunction against this temporarily until this case plays out in court. The reasoning is that this could endanger public health. And the other question from Kenyans is, why is this specifically for Americans and not other citizens? The health minister addressed this in an interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADEN DUALE, KENYAN HEALTH SECRETARY: Why is it said we are bringing Ebola patients to Laikipia? That facility is a military facility. Kenyans Defense Forces will use that facility. Other Kenyans will use that facility.

And by the way, let me say this. I don't know why people are so mad about the U.S. If there's one country that has contributed between 25 to 35 percent of the health budget since independence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADOWO: That is 60 years of U.S. support for Kenya's health care. In fact, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, after that call with President Ruto, announced that Kenya -- the U.S. was giving Kenya $13.5 million for Ebola preparedness efforts.

But many in the country, including the doctors' union, the law society, are challenging this. They feel that Kenya is not a geopolitical isolation ward and that Kenya should not be accepting this money in the first place.

[06:20:00]

The other aspect of this, Victor, is that both the current Kenyan and American administrations have a history of violating court orders they don't like. So, it's a possibility that they could go ahead with this quarantine facility, even though there's a court order blocking it.

But the wider question for many Kenyans is, if Ebola is too dangerous for Americans, it should be too dangerous for Kenyans. And many Kenyans have been asking me, Victor, what do Americans think that their lives are more important than the lives of Kenyans to endanger them like that?

BLACKWELL: Larry Madowo, thank you. Next, this chaos in the sky. Have you heard about this? The moment a passenger was restrained after trying to get into the cockpit, this was on a United Airlines flight. We'll get into that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:07]

BLACKWELL: A nightly curfew is now being enforced outside an ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey. Protesters say detainees in Delaney Hall are facing inhumane conditions. They clashed with pro-ICE demonstrators last night. At least six people were arrested. Now. state police were called to the scene to assist the SWAT team and officers from local police departments.

Let's bring in now CNN's senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, good morning to you.

So, state law enforcement has taken over security outside of Delaney Hall. There's this new 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. curfew, a half mile -- or within a half mile of Delaney Hall after another night of clashes. Are the federal, state, local authorities there doing enough? I mean, what's your assessment of what they're doing to try to keep this from blowing up into something more?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I think now they're doing enough. It is such a challenge, Victor, because we don't normally have situations like this where, essentially, state authorities and federal authorities are at somewhat cross-purposes. And what the governor has done is try to de-escalate by, essentially, putting sort of -- you know, sort of typical restrictions on lawful protests in terms of sort of means and time and all sorts of things like that, simply to try to de-escalate.

Because what we saw heading into the weekend was sort of a ratcheting up by the protesters, the counterprotesters, because you had a bunch of pro-ICE people coming in. And then the secretary of Homeland Security sort of ratcheting it up even more, saying, you know, everything's in chaos and we're going to move people from the airport, you know, to secure this facility.

I think things are calmer now because of these sort of typical restrictions on geographic zone, on timing, as you said, the curfew. And hopefully, two things will happen. There will -- you know, they'll de-escalate the threat to ICE, the threat to the protesters, the threat to people coming in and out. But also focus on the purpose or the reason for the protest, which is consistent and undeniable claims of, sort of, a deprivation of rights within these -- not just in New Jersey, within a lot of these ICE detention facilities.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Let's talk about another element of Homeland Security. And this was proposed by the new DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, it could have massive implications for airlines, for travelers, for cities. Here's what he suggested.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: When we have to prioritize where we put federal employees, because local law enforcement won't help protect their streets, not federal streets, city streets and keep them from barricading and causing harm to our employees. Then we have to decide where we're going to prioritize our federal employees. So, we're not going to halt the flights. What we're saying is we just won't be able to process them because we don't have officers there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: He's suggesting that Customs and Border Protection would not be processing people coming into the country, potentially at JFK, in New York, at LAX, at Chicago's O'Hare. First, is he identifying a real problem of resources, or does this seem simply punitive?

KAYYEM: It's -- oh, it's so punitive. It was hilarious to watch Secretary Mullin sort of try to backtrack over the course of the week as like someone with, you know, rational in the White House realized, what is he saying?

First of all, let me just remind the audience, ICE is now the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country. It doesn't need resources to move CBP over to ICE, but Mullin throws this thing out there like as if it's just like some sort of, you know, random idea. This always happens with this administration.

Like I'm going to just throw out a random idea. And then like the adults in the room say, the system doesn't work this way. You want to punish cities. Guess who's going to be punished? The states. And the states, actually, a lot of them are red states.

So, they're using -- so I mean, I don't want to make fun of it because it just -- it makes you realize that they're not -- actually, Mullin in particular isn't actually thinking about the safety and security of the homeland. He's actually thinking about, how can I use the tools of ICE or CBP to target for political reasons? It's just a -- it's an odd way to -- I would say, an odd and sort of careless way to view your leadership as the secretary of Homeland Security.

Let me remind people there are no gates at other airports to satisfy international flights. They are not getting diverted. They are getting canceled. And if you want to cancel international flights, that is going to impact almost all of our society, not just blue mayors who the -- who Mullin doesn't like.

[06:30:08]

He's starting to unwind it. People clearly, the airlines and everyone else, reminded him how aviation works.

Aviation does not work that way. Newark and LaGuardia service all of the country, not just New York or New York liberals. And he's starting to unwind it. I'm now more confident this won't happen.

But what a -- what a careless idea that they just, you know, that he just threw out there. And I thought --

BLACKWELL: And it seems --

KAYYEM (on-camera): -- honestly (INAUDIBLE) --

BLACKWELL: -- and I want to play this as you continue your point. It seems as if he didn't run it by the rest of the cabinet. I mean, listen to the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy on that suggestion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We have people from around the world and around the country that need to be able to fly into all different kinds of places. We shouldn't shut down air travel in a -- in a state that doesn't agree with our politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Again, that's another cabinet member in the Trump administration. What from a, and we're wrapping up here, but I just want to hear from you on, from a Homeland Security perspective, what does this, you know, one hand not knowing what the other hand is suggesting in this space suggest about the, the administration?

KAYYEM (on-camera): I'm so glad you asked that because people weren't talking about the safety aspects of it. As we know, aviation safety has been under stress, both from the personnel side, but also from the passenger side, long lines, accidents, near misses.

You don't disrupt a system that is already under stress without thought, without coordinating with the secretary of transportation. I sometimes feel like Secretary Duffy's job is to sort of, you know, bash down bad ideas from other cabinet secretaries. And you don't mess around with the past, with public safety. And that's what Mullin was doing.

We were told that Mullin was going to sort of calm down the Department of Homeland Security after the rather chaotic tenure of Secretary Noem. And it's things like this that don't give people confidence that the department is actually thinking through its policies.

BLACKWELL: Yes. We also heard Secretary Duffy back when, you'll remember Secretary Noem suggested shutting down TSA pre-check during the government shutdown. And he said that how effective and efficient that program was, it would be counterproductive.

Juliette Kayyem, good to have you on this morning. Enjoy the week.

KAYYEM (on-camera): Thank you. BLACKWELL: So, the FBI is investigating what it calls an unruly passenger on board a United Airlines flight. The flight crew alerted officials that the passenger tried to breach the cockpit several times. It was diverted to Wisconsin where that passenger was taken into custody.

CNN's Rafael Romo has the latest on this story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have very little information about the passenger's identity or what his motive might have been, but signs of possible trouble emerged before the plane was in the air. Mike Rundle, a passenger on the same United Airlines flight 2005 from Chicago to Minneapolis, told CNN that the man who was later detained had stood up during taxiing at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago and was asked repeatedly to sit down while crew members asked whether anyone on board could speak Russian. He said the man eventually sat down and the flight took off.

Later, while the aircraft was airborne, Rundle said a fellow passenger saw the man at the front of the plane near the cockpit appearing to reach for a flight attendant, which prompted multiple men to intervene to restrain him. After the commotion, the passenger said the plane was diverted to Madison, Wisconsin where law enforcement boarded the plane and put the man in handcuffs before taking him out of the aircraft. This passenger provided photo shows the moment law enforcement get on the plane.

We need to clarify that the man in the blue shirt is not the suspect, but someone who helped interpret during the incident according to Rundle. The FBI confirmed that a subject was detained by the Dane County Sheriff's Office and afterwards passengers resumed their flight. ATC audio reviewed by CNN captured the moment the flight crew notified a ground controller about the incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And is this individual detained or what's his status?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, we had five law enforcement LEOs on board. They have -- I do not believe they ever cuffed him, but they were able to finally get control of him after multiple attempts to try to breach the cockpit. I believe at this point he is seated in a seat and flanked by law enforcement officers on either side.

ROMO: The Federal Aviation Administration told CNN in a statement that airlines have reported more than 640 unruly passenger incidents so far this year. The FAA investigates all passenger disturbance incidents, the statement says, and pursues legal enforcement action against any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members and can pose civil penalties up to $43,658 per violation.

[06:35:10]

United Airlines said the plane of Boeing 737 carrying 147 passengers and six crew members landed safely and no injuries were reported.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: New grads are facing some new struggles. Next, how graduates can overcome the challenges of rising costs and a tight job market.

Hey, I know you're going to head out soon. Stay with me for as long as you can. But once you head out, remember, you can stream my show from anywhere in the U.S. right on the CNN app. You can also go to CNN.com/Watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:25]

BLACKWELL: Inflation reached its highest level in almost three years, according to the latest government data. It also shows that as prices have climbed, personal savings accounts are getting drained.

With me now is Michelle Singletary. She's the Washington Post personal finance columnist. And she's also the author of What to Do With Your Money When Crisis Hits.

Thank you so much for being back with me on a Sunday morning. Michelle, we've got a story up on CNN.com now about that inflation increase and how many Americans are just burning through their savings.

So first, let's start here. Check us on when we should be tapping into our savings. I mean, we save for lean times, but sometimes it's just to keep a lifestyle afloat that we need to make some adjustments to.

MICHELLE SINGLETARY, PERSONAL FINANCE COLUMNIST, WASHINGTON POST: Yes, that's right. I mean, the savings are there just for that. We're doing these kinds of times when the prices are higher than perhaps the paycheck coming in. And that's when you type -- tap it. And that's why you need an emergency fund as best that you can.

The more money you make, the more you need to have in your savings account as well, because if you lose that high paying job, it's going to take you a lot longer to get that same type of job with that kind of pay. And so that's why, you know, you and I talk about this all the time, how important it is for people as best you can to put some money away when you do have it.

BLACKWELL: Yes. It's May and, you know, it's the time of year when graduates' college and high school are going to start off their financial independence. And you and one of your more recent columns, you've got these six principles. You call them tips. I call them fundamentals. Young people who are entering this phase of life. And we don't have time for all of them, but some of them I want to get into that are most common. And one, you say, don't get used to the grace period for your loans. There are some people who think, oh, I got six months. I don't need to think about it until next year. You say that's the wrong approach.

SINGLETARY: It is, because you need to practice what it's like to make that payment now, even if you're not going to pay that loan, you know, pay it to start early. Put that money into an account so you know what it feels like.

And if you know that it's going to be tight, you got six months to figure out what should I cut? How can I do that? Maybe I can change my living arrangements so that when that payment hits, you're ready for it. So practice making those payments now, put them into a savings account.

And the other advantage of that is now you've got a cushion. So when they hit, you've got hopefully six months worth of payments saved up already, because now you know what it feels like to have it come out of your budget.

BLACKWELL: There's also one that I like. Treat the budget like a love interest. Explain that.

SINGLETARY: Oh, you know, I like this one. (INAUDIBLE).

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SINGLETARY: I love my budget. I would say there are two loves in my life, my boo, you know, my husband and my budget.

And so, you know, that song from Dream Girls, (INAUDIBLE) such a great job. And I'm telling you, I'm not going away. I'm not going to sing because half your viewers will cut off.

BLACKWELL: Please, please.

SINGLETARY: I'm joking about it (ph). You have to love your numbers. You have to embrace it. Many people view their budget as an enemy. It tells what I can't do. But for me, a budget tells you what you can do. It is your road map. And you ought to love it. Know your numbers. Know what it costs. Know how you can cut it.

And the other thing is when you can't do anything because it's not in the budget, use the budget as the bad guy. No, my budget won't let me go there. I can't take that vacation this year. My budget will just shut me down.

And so, you know, just think about that song. She was like, no, no, no, no, you are not going anywhere. You the best budget I have ever known. That's how you treat it. And when you treat it that way, it becomes your friend. It becomes your power. It becomes, you know, your accountability partner.

And I just want everybody to be excited about the budget, even if the numbers are not adding up. You know, you can still love it because you know that there is a way out of it if you practice a lot of the things that we've talked about, you know, saving, cutting back. And, you know, I'm a big advocate for especially new graduates coming out.

If you can, you know, go home and live with your parents and parents let them come. Don't charge them rent if they have a lot of loans. If they're saving for a down payment on a house, don't charge them rent. If you can afford it and then let them put that money away so that they can use it for a down payment on their home. That's what we did with three young adult children and two of our daughters. We only have two daughters, but two daughters came home, saved almost all of their paycheck. And now they're homeowners because of that.

And I'm just excited for what that can happen for a lot of these young adults.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SINGLETARY: If you follow a lot of these principles, I've had you in the column, as you said, we couldn't go over all of them. But just, you know, listen, love your budget.

[06:45:07]

BLACKWELL: Yes. And you, and you, and you, you're going to love me, is how that song ends from Jennifer Holiday, and Jennifer Holiday.

All right, Michelle Singletary, I appreciate it. Thank you so much for being with us this morning. I'll also say that our latest column out this weekend is about those boomerang kids, and how to approach, depending upon why they're coming back home, should they be offering up some money toward the household bills, how long they should stay, the ground rules of bringing those kids back home.

All right, next, CNN takes you to the lowest place on earth. Experts say the Dead Sea is disappearing. It's leaving behind dangerous sinkholes, and it will only get worse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: What do you call all of this? I mean, what we're witnessing, the way in which it's sinking, how do you qualify all of it?

JAKE BEN ZAKEN, FOUNDER, SALTY LANDSCAPES: You can say an ecological disaster.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:29]

BLACKWELL: All right, let's get you caught up now on the top stories we're following this morning.

A nightly curfew has been imposed around an ICE facility in Newark, New Jersey after another night of clashes between police and protesters outside of Delaney Hall. Police say they arrested several people.

The bodies of the last two workers killed at a Washington State paper mill have been recovered. Eleven people were killed after a chemical tank ruptured early Tuesday morning. There's an investigation into that rupture.

Rescue divers may head back into that mine in Laos today to try to locate the two remaining missing villagers. The divers say the four men who emerged on their own yesterday provided them with a map of where those men may be. Now, they say there's a chance they could be in an air pocket in that portion of the cave.

Pope Leo is calling on everyone to do their part for peace, including on social media. His appeal came a few days after his landmark address on artificial intelligence. In his first major document, he warned that AI is fueling world conflicts, and he said AI should not be controlled by just a handful of people. He made those comments as he led congregants in a rosary prayer for peace in the Vatican gardens.

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POPE LEO XIV, HEAD, CATHOLIC CHURCH (through translation): Yet everyone can and must do their part, beginning with small but important things, abstaining from every form of verbal and physical violence in daily life and also on social media.

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BLACKWELL: Scientists say there is an ecological disaster at the Dead Sea. They say the lowest point on Earth has been shrinking about four feet every year for decades, and the cause is climate change and man- made mining.

Here's CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

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DIAMOND (voice-over): Jake Ben Zaken is one of the only people licensed to operate a boat on the Dead Sea. And for the last 12 years, that's what he's done.

DIAMOND: So you know it well?

BEN ZAKEN: Yes. I got to see all the faces.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Giving him an unparalleled view of one of Earth's natural wonders and the fast-moving environmental disaster threatening its existence.

BEN ZAKEN: So every year we get about seven and a half meters of new shoreline because the sea is dropping.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The Dead Sea is dying. Its surface area has shrunk by about one-third in the last 50 years. Its salt-encrusted shores now stand as a testament to the rapid pace of change.

BEN ZAKEN: This is last year, two years ago. Every step it's here.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Each step shows how much the sea level has dropped from one year to the next at a rate of about four feet per year, like nothing else in the world.

Dr. Yael Kiro has been studying the Dead Sea for over a decade.

DIAMOND: There's no other place on Earth like the Dead Sea.

YAEL KIRO, SENIOR SCIENTIST, WEIZMANN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE: No, no.

DIAMOND (voice-over): To understand why it is shrinking and what can be done about it.

KIRO: The main reason is because of the utilization of the water resources around the Dead Sea. This contributes around 60 percent of the drop. And then there is the Dead Sea factories, both the Jordanian and the Israelis, that pump directly the brine and evaporate it in order to extract minerals. And they contribute about 40 percent for the lake level drops.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Israel's Dead Sea Works and Jordan's Arab Potash Company pump tens of billions of gallons of water out of the Dead Sea each year, evaporating much of that water to extract potash and magnesium, key fertilizer ingredients.

Some who want to save the Dead Sea have proposed building a pipeline and pumping water in from the Red Sea. Others advocate for replenishing the Jordan River, allowing the water to flow naturally into the Dead Sea.

But while ideas abound, government action is still missing. The impact isn't just environmental, it's also financial. This graveyard of palm trees and graffiti buildings was once a thriving beach resort. The road leading to it explains why it's been abandoned.

DIAMOND: Tourists used to take this road all the time to get to the Dead Sea, but now sinkholes like this one line its path, and the whole area has been abandoned. And the concern is that more sinkholes will continue to happen as the Dead Sea drops, and tourism will be severely impacted.

DIAMOND (voice-over): These sinkholes are caused by an underground layer of salt that is now dissolving.

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DIAMOND: This sinkhole is a direct result of the Dead Sea water levels dropping.

KIRO: Yes. Since the lake level started to drop, this salt layer, instead of being exposed to the Dead Sea brine, it is exposed to more freshwater and then eventually you get a collapse.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Aboard his boat, Ben Zaken says he sees new evidence of the Dead Sea's man-made decay every day, the uncertainty it spells for its future and his own.

DIAMOND: What do you call all of this? I mean, what we're witnessing, the way in which it's sinking, how do you qualify all of it?

BEN ZAKEN: You can say an ecological disaster, you know, because it is. And it's also a demographical disaster because it is. And it's also one of the wonders of the world because it is. You know, I qualify it as home.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, the Dead Sea.

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BLACKWELL: Jeremy, thank you for that report.

There's much more ahead on the next hour of "CNN This Morning Weekend," including what's next with the U.S.-Iran ceasefire deal, as President Trump considers giving a proposal a green light.

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