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Iran Says No Deal With U.S. Unless Tehran's "Rights" Are Secured; Trump Weighs Tentative Deal With Iran To Open Strait Of Hormuz; Pro-ICE Protesters Clash With Supporters Of Detainees; Gov. Sherrill Calls For Closing Of Delaney Hall; Today: NTSB To Brief On Deadly Virginia Bus Crash That Killed 5; Kenya Pushes Forward On Ebola Site Despite Court Order; Five Villagers Safe After 10 Days In Flooded Laos Cave; Trump To Host Ceremony After Artists Ball On 250th Festival Concert; Judge Blocks Trump's $1.8B Anti-Weaponization Fund; DHS Secretary Wants to Cut Customs at Sanctuary City Airports; Troops Invited to Trump's UFC Fight Must Meet Weight Standards. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired May 31, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:43]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: May 31st, Sunday morning. Welcome to it. Thank you for being with me. I'm Victor Blackwell.

New this morning, Iran has a new message for the U.S. on that tentative peace deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's parliament speaker says this morning that there will be no deal with the U.S. until Tehran's rights are secured. That's according to state media, Iranian state media.

CNN's Nada Bashir joins us with more on this. Nada, what do we know about this new message?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there had already been some questions, Victor, as to how the Iranian regime would respond. Of course, we heard earlier in the week that there appeared to be, at least from the perspective of Washington, D.C., a tentative agreement on the table between the U.S. and Iran. But there had been some pushback, according to state media in Iran, on several key points.

Now, again, we are hearing some pretty firm messaging from Iran's parliamentary speaker. I'll just read you a bit from his statement, which has just come out in the last few moments. The parliamentary speaker says, "The soldiers of the diplomatic battlefield have no trust in the words and promises of the enemy. What matters to us is tangible achievements that we must obtain, in exchange for which we will fulfill our commitments."

So clearly, we are still seeing perhaps some daylight between the U.S. and Iran when it comes to those negotiations. There are, of course, some very significant and tricky matters on the table. Not least, of course, the cessation of hostilities in Iran. The U.S. wants to see the Strait of Hormuz opened up to pre-war levels. But Iran also wants to see, of course, the blockade on its ports lifted. It wants to see its frozen assets, of course, released from overseas banks, the sanctions lifted. And, of course, there is the nuclear issue as well.

That is really one of the key questions we've heard from the U.S. President speaking yesterday, who appeared to say that Iran is now willing to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions as -- from the perspective of the United States. However, of course, there are questions as to whether Iran will agree to the terms in its full -- fully, whether or not that means, of course, giving up its enriched uranium and what that could look like.

So still a lot of questions there as to how this deal will play out, if it does indeed play out. And, of course, we heard from Trump saying that he is not in any hurry to get this deal signed. He wants this to be a good deal. But, again, it did appear earlier this week that there had been some sort of progress in tentative agreements there.

So, clearly, there is still some negotiating ongoing. No clear commitments just yet or clear announcements, neither from Trump nor from the Iranian regime. And, of course, there is also the question of Lebanon as well. Iran has long said that Lebanon should be part of any sort of prolonged ceasefire agreement.

And if this memorandum of understanding does indeed become a sort of signed deal prolonging for some 60 days, there is the question of whether Lebanon will be included in that. Of course, just in the last few days, we have seen the hostilities between the Israeli military and Hezbollah forces intensifying.

And now the IDF saying it is expanding its ground operations and air assault of Lebanon north of the Litani River, issuing new evacuation warnings for civilians. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Nada Bashir for us in London. Thank you.

Another tense night outside of Newark, New Jersey ICE detention center. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Last night, those protesters who's are -- who are calling for better conditions inside Delaney Hall clashed with the pro-ICE demonstrators. At least six people were arrested. New Jersey's governor called in-state police to join a SWAT team and officers from local police departments. She claims that out-of-state national extremist groups were involved.

The latest now from CNN's Gloria Pazmino. GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Victor, things here have really sort of been changing hour to hour throughout this weekend. Sometimes we see demonstrators facing off against other groups of demonstrators who have been here to show their support for ICE and for ICE enforcement. Sometimes we see confrontations between protesters and law enforcement, which have also been here for several days now.

[07:05:06]

We have seen as the clashes significantly increased, particularly in the evening hours after dark. That's when things have gotten really violent during the day. There's a little bit of push and pull, but for the most part, things have been under control.

Now, I just want to show you a little bit about what things look like here, because they do look different from the past few days as we have seen protests continue to take place here outside of Delaney Hall, this detention center here in Newark, where detainees inside are protesting over their conditions.

I want to show you state police has been lined up here outside of the entrance to Delaney Hall. And you can see that they've put up these barricades in an effort to keep protesters to one side of the street. They've closed down this street to traffic and have tried to keep protesters on one side, while police remain lined up guarding the entrance to Delaney Hall.

Now, I just want to kind of remind our viewers what the past few days have been about. People have been gathering here trying to bring attention, focus to what detainees say they are experiencing on the inside. A lack of care, a lack of medical support, a lack of access to their legal counsel, poor living conditions, bad food, something that the Department of Homeland Security has denied.

They denied that there's a hunger strike going on, and we have been seeing this for several days now. It's really become sort of an epicenter of protests in terms of the Trump administration's effort to continue to detain and deport immigrants here in the United States.

Over the next few days, the governor of New Jersey, Mikie Sherrill, has said state police will take over security for this area. She said she believes it's going to keep ICE officers who are here from taking more drastic action. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. MIKIE SHERRILL (D), NEW JERSEY: What we were doing and, you know, pulling things together remarkably quickly to make sure that there was no pretextual reason for ICE to put their people on the ground. We had put them off for at least one night, but we did not have a lot of time, and we knew that they were ready to engage in a way and clear out protesters. Having seen what that looks like in other states, you know, very violent techniques, no area for people to protest.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PAZMINO: Now I should mention the governor also said there were six arrests on Saturday evening. She said some of those arrests included people who were from outside of the state of New Jersey. She described them as extremist, and she encouraged people to not come here to demonstrate outside of New Jersey.

She said it's not serving the interests of those inside and taking away the focus of what people here have been trying to call attention to. So we'll see how things continue to develop over the weekend and into next week. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Other headlines for you now, the driver in a 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. Now, investigators say the bus hit several cars, triggered a chain reaction crash. Five people were killed. Dozens more were hurt, and several are still in critical condition.

The driver is charged with involuntary manslaughter. Potentially more charges could be coming. Investigators are asking for help. They want dash cam video, in-car footage, any recordings from drivers who saw what happened.

A United flight changed course after a problem in the air. This was Friday night. Crew members say a passenger tried more than once to get into the cockpit during a flight from Chicago to Minneapolis. That flight was diverted to Madison, Wisconsin.

Other passengers held him down on board, and then police took him into custody after. 147 people on the plane plus six crew members, no one was hurt. The FBI is investigating.

Another big week of primaries. On Tuesday, voters will head to the polls in California, Iowa, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, South Dakota. In California, Democratic frontrunners are facing strong competition from Republicans in the governor's and Los Angeles mayor's race. Those races' concerns over homelessness, affordability, and crime have dominated both of those competitions.

The head of the World Health Organization is in the Democratic Republic of Congo. As you know, he's experiencing a deadly Ebola outbreak. CNN is also there and spoke with the director general.

Divers in Laos, they're now searching for two missing minors a day after four men walked out of that flooded cave. We'll talk about what's ahead for them.

[07:10:02]

And call him now the headliner in chief. President Trump says "throw that whole concert series away" after people have dropped out. "I'll have a MAGA rally instead."

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BLACKWELL: Kenya is pushing ahead with an Ebola quarantine facility in partnership with the U.S. even after a Kenyan high court moved to block it. The government says the site will improve the capability to monitor and respond to the deadly Ebola outbreak.

[07:15:12]

Now, 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. A source tells CNN that U.S. personnel arrived yesterday at the Kenyan air base where it will be located.

The director general of the World Health Organization is in the DRC and traveled yesterday to the province where the first cases were confirmed. And he spoke with CNN's Clarissa Ward about the situation there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, DIRECTOR-GENERAL, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: -- as soon as possible.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you worried that this could spread to the level that we saw in 2014?

ADHANOM: It depends on how we respond. 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.

WARD: I have to ask you, the United States pulled out of the WHO in January, dismantled USAID last July. How has that impacted the response?

ADHANOM: So first, we're working with the U.S. They're working with us. Second, they're putting resources. They're allocating a lot of money. So I'm glad to see this.

And I can see commitment from all levels, starting from the highest to the technical people we meet on the ground. And that's very good. So working together, unity, solidarity is the key.

This virus cannot be stopped if there is a vacuum between us, when there are cracks in the solidarity. Because solidarity is the best immunity. And I'm glad that U.S. is doing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right, Clarissa Ward, thank you for that interview.

Let's talk now about the five men who were found alive after 10 days trapped inside a flooded cave in Laos. If you were with us at this time yesterday, you saw live the reaction from those men and those families after they were all coming out together, four of them, who walked out on their own. Two men who have entered the cave, though, who went in before the rescued villagers, they're still missing. And dive teams are back at the scene today to search for them.

CNN's Jenn Sullivan has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): Cheers and cries heard as the remaining four men trapped inside a cave in Laos for more than a week are finally free.

This video capturing their emotional reunion, families tearfully embracing. The four remaining men were able to crawl out on their own on Saturday after rescue crews successfully pumped out water inside the cave. Originally, divers from an international rescue team planned to rescue them in high waters, which they say would have been dangerous for everyone involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was the best outcome.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Exhausted after spending 10 days in dark, damp conditions, the men were taken to a camp to undergo medical care. You can see them wrapped in foil on stretchers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The adrenaline. And they ran for their lives and once they arrived to the camp, they just out.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): You can see one of the villagers being placed in an ambulance. Some of the men developed skin and intestinal problems. The five villagers were illegally mining for gold May 20th when torrential rain caused flash flooding, sealing their exit more than 850 feet away. Rescuers finally discovered them a week later.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): There are people here to help now.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Friday, one of the trapped men was able to be rescued, telling people he was grateful to be out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): I'd like to thank everyone, all my relatives, brothers and sisters. Thank you very much to the district and provincial authorities, and everyone who came to help.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): There are still two other villagers not connected to this group that are believed to still be trapped inside. As of Saturday afternoon, rescue crews were still searching for them.

I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Jenn, thank you.

The Atlantic hurricane season starts tomorrow and forecasters are already watching the tropics. Allison has a look. And there's major pushback on a plan to cut international flights to so-called sanctuary cities. That story and more in this morning's roundup.

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[07:24:06]

BLACKWELL: President Trump says that he will personally kick off the Great American State Fair after a wave of headliners backed out of the event last week. Now, organizers tell CNN the President will host the June 24th opening ceremony on the National Mall. Artists including Martina McBride, Morris Day, the Commodores, they've all distanced themselves from the event after learning of partisan ties.

Joining me now for the morning roundup, we've got Charles Blow, political analyst and author of Blow the Stack newsletter. Rahul Bali, political reporter for WABE News, and Julia Jenae, attorney and Court TV anchor. Welcome back to all of you.

So this Great American State Fair, sponsored by Freedom 250, which is the Trump-affiliated celebration of the 250th. America 250 is the bipartisan members of Congress there. That's a separate thing. That's kind of falling apart.

President Trump went on social media and posted this, "We should have a giant Make America Great Again rally for 250 instead of having overpriced singers who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain. Cancel it."

[07:25:14]

First of all, I'll point out that Freedom 250 booked all those people, right, if they were so boring and nobody wanted to hear them. But, Rahul, I'll start with you. The Freedom 250 spokesperson said so many times, this is not partisan. It's not political. This is a celebration of America. And the President says, nah, let's make it MAGA.

RAHUL BALI, POLITICAL REPORTER, WABE NEWS: That -- it's not a surprise. I mean, we've seen that with kind of other events. And, you know, there is the separation. We've tried to, you know, explain that, that there's Freedom 250 and America 250. There's America 250, that's the congressionally mandated bipartisan one. And then Freedom 250 is the one backed by Trump.

But my big question -- here's what's been going through my mind.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BALI: Do these people have agents? Like, what was their job of the agents to figure this all out? Like, I've never had an agent, but I figure my agent would want to know what's going on here.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

JULIA JENAE, ATTORNEY: What was that conversation like between them behind the scenes of what is this going to be? Is it nonpartisan? That seems like that would be an easy answer.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Charles?

CHARLES BLOW, POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I don't know if I buy all of the -- we just found out, that it's a partisan event. There's backlash as soon as their names appeared on those posters. The problem I see with this is that the President refused to go along with a bipartisan celebration.

He wanted to see himself at the center of the celebration. And that's why he created the executive order that created this separate group. If you look at what America USA is doing, it's all kind of in neighborhoods. It's block parties around the country.

There are some big events in L.A. and New York. But there's also just, like, you want to have a block party of your own. There's a kit. We can help you send it to you. We want to make July 4th -- what do you call it, giving 4th or whatever they call it, like the biggest charitable giving day.

It feels less like, you know, a party, partisan thing than what the Trump people are doing. And I would just have to say, this is a personal point. I was alive during the, you know, the 200 year --

BLACKWELL: The bicentennial -- yes.

BLOW: The bicentennial, 200-year anniversary. I remember what it felt like. I was six years old. It felt -- it just felt -- I remember buying a T-shirt, you know, everybody had a little flag. It really wasn't about -- I didn't even know who the politicians were.

It was really about the country turned 200 years old and we were all just celebrating and barbecuing and what have you. That's what it should feel like. It should feel like America has a birthday. It's a big one that we should celebrate.

BLACKWELL: Julia, let me come to you on these two judges who ruled in favor of challenges to this so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund, $1.8 billion. One of them temporary. There's a hearing coming up in a couple of weeks in June. The other judge reopened the case --

JENAE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- in response to these 35 former federal judges who say that this is a case of collusion between the President and the DOJ to defraud the judiciary. What do they need to prove here to uncover to sustain that claim?

JENAE: Well, they're looking at where did the money come from in the first place. This all is coming from this settlement with the IRS. And the big question is, can the President be on both sides of the V? And that's what it looks like, when you look at the fact that he sued the IRS and then the IRS quickly settled with him even though a judge was questioning whether or not this case even had legitimacy.

And this order that has come to slow things down to possibly reopen the case, you've got 35 judges, former federal judges, who are coming in to say we're representing essentially the American people, that that billion dollars in taxpayer money shouldn't just go to the person who's suing his own government that he's running.

So what they have to prove is that there was fraud behind the scenes because when there's a settlement negotiation, you don't see that on the record, in the court record. And the judge essentially was blind to what was going on behind the scenes to get that billion dollar settlement. So that's the question and that's what they'll have to prove, is that there was some kind of fraud on the court behind the scenes.

BLACKWELL: Raul, let me get you to weigh in on this topic of potentially diverting CBP workers from processing people coming into these international airports from the so-called sanctuary cities. Let's play what the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Fox.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLEN, 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)

[07:30:00]

BLACKWELL: So, since he said that the FAA has come out against it, the Transportation Secretary has come out against it, this obviously wasn't something that was vetted through the Cabinet, and there have been a lot of people saying, yes, we could just move to friendlier cities.

BALI: I've been trying to explain to people why there's so much bad commentary on this. And let's just take Newark Airport, for example. That is a United Airlines hub. You can't just divert those international flights to Houston Intercontinental, which is another United hub, because the majority, if not, the vast -- not the majority, but most of those passengers on that plane, Newark is not their final destination. They're going somewhere else in the country, and those flights may not be in Houston.

And also, these -- most of these airports are running at capacity. In the end, what airlines would end up having to do is just cancel those international flights and even some domestic flights as well. That's explaining what would happen, what the implications are, is what I've tried to do.

BLACKWELL: Charles, I'm going to play for you. This is former First Lady Jill Biden. She's now on a promotional tour for her new book that's coming out, View from the East Wing. And she told CBS News in an interview that's going to air later today her reaction to the former president's performance during the CNN debate in 2024. Let's watch that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

JILL BIDEN, FORMER FIRST LADY: I don't know what happened. I mean, when I -- as I watched it, I thought, oh, my God, he's having a stroke. And it scared me to death.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, that's not what she said at the time. It's not what the White House said at the time. Two questions. Is this what Democrats want to be talking about right now? And how much does it matter in this context, a year and a half later?

CHARLES BLOW, POLITICAL ANALYST AND AUTHOR, "BLOW THE STACK" NEWSLETTER: Nobody cares about this at all. Like, a year and a half later. They didn't care about six months after the election. Like, it was, you know, they have to do their thing. She has a book. They want to explain themselves, whatever. It's just like that, you know, autopsy on the Democrats. It's so too late, nobody cares.

Now, that said, look back on it. Everybody knows it's a disaster. Everybody knows that debate was a disaster. I was one of the kind of people who just said, yes, it's a disaster, but it's also too late to pull out. But they were fighting it in a different way to say, oh, it wasn't as bad as you thought. It was for these reasons, not the reasons that we saw. It wasn't what you saw. It's always hard to pull over somebody's eyes. The idea like, oh, I saw this disaster. It wasn't what I thought it was. Somebody was sleepy, long flight, whatever. That doesn't cut it.

BALI: And I was here that night. And when I say here, that debate was held here.

BLACKWELL: In this building.

BALI: In this building, and I was in the spin room that night. I don't think that that explanation would have made a difference.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BALI: I don't think it would have made a difference at all. Because for those of us in that room, Democrats were spinning, you know, talk about substance, talk about substance. In the era of social media and clipped videos, I don't think it would have made a difference that night.

JULIA JENAE, COURT TV ANCHOR AND ATTORNEY: I was glad to hear it. I was glad to hear from her, someone finally saying it, that this was something that was more than just a cold. I think she acknowledged that in the interview, that people saw it. They knew that he was unwell and he was having a really difficult time. So, to hear someone who was that close to the president acknowledging that, I think it's something that needed to be said.

BLACKWELL: All right. Everybody stay with me. Coming up, we've got much more of the Roundup. The Pentagon has put a weight limit and a height-waist ratio limit on soldiers who want to attend that UFC 250 at the White House. We'll explain after the break.

And remember, if you're heading out, you can always stream our show from anywhere in the U.S., right from the CNN app. Go to cnn.com/watch.

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[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: CNN has learned that the Pentagon is vetting service members who want to attend the White House UFC fight. According to internal memos, tickets will only go to troops who meet strict body composition standards. One official put it bluntly, they want soldiers who look good on camera.

Let's bring back our panel. So, for a man who is 5'7", he has to have a max of a 37-inch waist. 5'4", for a woman, a 35-inch waist. And meet all service-specific physical fitness test requirements. Thoughts?

BLOW: We just had a man that had a physical, it says he's basically obese. What are you talking about? Right? What are you talking about? Everybody has to look like an Abercrombie model to get in to see the -- to celebrate the birth of the nation.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BLOW: It sounds so superficial, it sounds gross.

JENAE: And it's not to compete. I had to look at it again.

BLACKWELL: Right, yes, it's not for the UFC fighters.

JENAE: What did you say, OK, if you're competing, sure, you've got certain standards. But this is to attend, this is just to sit in the stands. That's what shocks me the most.

BLACKWELL: Yes. One defense official said the message is, quote, "no fatties." I mean, the idea that that's coming from the Pentagon on attending an event at the White House is pretty shocking.

All right. So, let's talk about this. The Washington Post, I saw this in their write up of the Jump Seat Chronicle. Their podcast talked about something I didn't know was a problem. Let's play this. What's happening with flight attendants?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We get poked and touch as flight attendants. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't understand.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, they poke you in your arm. They poke you in your side. Poke you in your butt.

[07:40:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't have to use our hands to touch your flight attendants. Use your hands to touch the call light.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: I didn't know this was a thing, that people are poking their flight attendants.

JENAE: I flew for five years on the job every week, never saw a poke and never had to touch a flight attendant in order to get their attention. I mean, what's wrong with sir, ma'am? Like, just raising a hand.

BLACKWELL: So, the union leader says, you should touch the call button, don't overdo with the call button, and also just follow with a wave or a gesture. I thought this was like common sense. I didn't know that this had happened to so many flight attendants, that the union has a position on what to do with it.

BALI: I mean, I've always just raised my hand.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BALI: That's -- yes, I hadn't -- I mean, I haven't seen -- I fly a lot too.

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's --

BLOW: Wait. But can I just say this? Like, this is just as another job that I could ever do. Because the way my rage is set up, like that would never work to be poked in the butt for you because you want some peanuts. That's not a thing.

BLACKWELL: No, and I'm told to turn around and give you these treats afterwards? No, no. All right. Let's just move to the story we've been talking about during the break. There's a new survey now -- this is from JG Wentworth, the financial services company - that found that 40 people -- 40 percent of people say that they've gone on a date at least once just to get the free meal. First of all, is that something y'all have done?

BALI: No.

BLOW: No.

JENAE: Not to get the free meal, but to -- I would go to a certain place because I know, OK, even if the date is bad, then I know I'm going to get a really good meal. BLACKWELL: I -- we were talking during the break, I can't remember a time when I was dating, I'm in a committed relationship now, but when I was just dating around, that anybody ever bought me a meal. Not much less, I went for the free meal. I usually --

BLOW: Look, they don't know the end of the break, we were all like, oh.

BLACKWELL: I know, and I'm like, I'm OK with it. No, I don't remember ever being asked out. I am OK being like the aggressor and inviting people out. And so, if I'm inviting --

BLOW: I don't know if we want to use the word aggressor.

BLACKWELL: Is that a wrong word?

BLOW: I think that's not --

BALI: Assertive?

JENAE: The one who approaches?

BLOW: Yes.

BLACKWELL: OK.

BLOW: Initiator.

BLACKWELL: Maybe that's a wrong word. Initiator. Yes, aggressor in this climate is a wrong word. To initiate. And so, I'm OK paying. And I'm sure people have gone out with me for the free meal. I'm OK with that. There was no second date. But is that a bad thing that people go out for, especially with these gas prices in this economy? Is it a bad thing?

BLOW: Well, I will say this. I do tell friends who are like, you know, can't find a date or they have a problem with each person they date, I just say, you have to eat anyway, just go out and enjoy yourself and have a meal, get to know somebody even if you don't like the person. You know, maybe it's somebody you like as a friend or something.

That's not necessarily about who pays at the end of the day. I don't care who pays. But I do encourage people that you have to make these connections. I think that part of the problem we're experiencing, particularly young kids, like young men, they don't date at all. Like it's -- no one's making any sort of in-person connection when you sit with another human being for an hour or two. So, that's important.

BLACKWELL: Yes. So, here's another one, another survey that 75 percent of adults say, speaking of going on dates, restaurants should offer some child-free space or time periods. You have kids, grown kids. You have younger kids?

BALI: Teens. Teens. Teenagers.

BLACKWELL: You have kids?

JENAE: Don't have kids.

BLACKWELL: Don't have kids, neither do I. I love this idea is that there should be -- if not spaces, right? When I was a kid, we could go most places, but there were certainly times of the day that kids are at home or doing kids' stuff that restaurants should probably have maybe some evening hours where it's adults only. Thoughts?

JENAE: I think it could be helpful for parents if there's a child section. You know, we used to go back in the day, it was smoking or none is what they ask you, and you go to one section versus the other. So, if you've got child-free or child-fun. Like children --

BLOW: Yes. I don't -- but I don't want to be in the area with your kids. I just want to be with my kids. I don't know how your kids are acting up and showing out and throwing spaghetti. Like, I know my kids are cute. Like --

BLACKWELL: There's also the thing of even when, you know, in those kids' hours, I always -- I don't know, is it my face? Where there's a kid leaning over the booth who's staring right at me while I'm having a meal.

JENAE: They watch CNN.

BLACKWELL: And I don't know if they recognize -- the kids not watching CNN. But that's the thing is like, I'm not anti-kid, but maybe some hours, maybe some spaces where if you have kids, this is your spot.

BALI: I like it. I absolutely like it. I absolutely love it. Because we've actually picked restaurants because we would expect kids not to be at that restaurant.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

BALI: So --

BLOW: Well, I think neighborhood restaurants, you end up having kids in them.

BLACKWELL: Sure.

BLOW: I think high-end restaurants, you don't expect nighttime children in them. And I think that I didn't -- there wasn't a rule, but I kind of negotiated restaurants in that way. We do a lot of lunches and brunches at nighttime. It's just the local pizzeria. It's the local little thing. It's not the big fancy restaurant for nighttime with kids.

[07:45:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. Charles, Rahul, Julia, thank you all. Still ahead, more than 400 people arrested after rowdy celebrations in Paris. Coy looks at the drama on and off the field. Also, comedian, Craig Ferguson, hits the road going coast to coast to uncover what it really means to be an American today. "Craig Ferguson: American on Purpose," tonight at 8:00 on CNN and streaming on the CNN app.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: Iran's parliament speaker says no deal with the U.S. will be approved until Tehran's rights are secured. However, President Trump says that the U.S. is very close to reaching a peace deal. He also called the Iranians very tough negotiators, but said the U.S. is getting what it wants.

A nightly curfew has been established around Delaney Hall. That's the ICE detention facility in Newark. Accusations over reportedly inhumane living conditions have sparked a strong response of protests over the last several days.

The bodies of the last two workers killed at a Washington State paper mill, they've been recovered. 11 people were killed after a chemical tank ruptured early Tuesday morning. There's an investigation now into that rupture.

Hurricane season starts tomorrow and NOAA's official forecast is calling for a slightly below average season. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is with us now. So, a below average season but it really only takes one big storm.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. I mean, think of last year for example we didn't really have any major impact storms hit the U.S. but we had Hurricane Melissa one of the incredibly expensive and deadly storms that hit.

Now, right now we don't have any tropical activity out in the Atlantic Basin right now and we're hoping that it kind of stays that way through the remainder of the season because that's really what the forecast is calling for. They're looking at about a 35 percent chance of a near normal season but more than 50 percent chance that we will actually have a below normal season.

So, what does that mean in terms of numbers? Well, in a normal season you have 14 total named storms, seven of which become hurricanes, three of which become major hurricanes which are category three, four or five. Now, this year's forecast calls for eight to 14 of those named storms and 3 to 6 of them becoming hurricanes. So, we're not saying there's not going to be anything but it's going to be much lower than we have seen certainly over the last couple of decades.

And the main reason for this is El Nino. Typically, in an El Nino year you have much more wind shear across areas of the Caribbean and the Atlantic. That kind of inhibits those tropical systems from developing. You also tend to get fewer storms that come off of Africa that eventually turn into tropical systems. Now, the peak of hurricane season pretty much runs from August 15th to about October 15th. This is key because that is about the same time we really expect to see El Nino ramp back up. In fact, we are at pretty high odds to become a strong El Nino by the time we get into that September, October and November time frame. And some of this even looking at the potential for a super El Nino by the time we wrap up the rest of the year.

BLACKWELL: Super El Nino. OK, Allison Chinchar, thank you. The San Antonio Spurs are headed to the NBA Finals for the first time in more than a decade. Coy Wire is here.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: The Spurs had to go into Oklahoma City and try to beat the defending champs on their home floor in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals and leading the charge to that man. Victor Wembanyama, the giant French phenom, continuing to play like he's from another planet. Watch this dunk over Chet Holmgren. My goodness, that's a seven-footer on seven-footer crime right there.

Now, league MVP Shea Gilchrist-Alexander put in 35 for the Thunder but it was not enough to keep their title defense alive. Now, it's on to the NBA, Finals Spurs versus Knicks. A blast from the basketball pass and a rematch of the 1999 finals after San Antonio sealed it with a 111-103 win. Last time the Spurs were in the finals. Wemby was 10 years old.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS MVP: Realizing that some part of a childhood dream is going to come true. Even though we're still hungry, we want more. This feeling is -- I can't explain it. It's so powerful. It means everything. We want four more. We're not done. Go Spurs, go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: All right. We've already seen Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic sent packing at Roland-Garros and now the women's draw has its biggest shock yet. Defending champ Coco Gauff bounced in the third round by 28 seed Anastasia Potapova. Gauff looked to be cruising after taking the opening set but Potapova battled back to steal the second set tie break before holding her nerve in the sider. This marks Coco's earliest exit in Paris since her debut back in 2020.

To Europe now where PSG and Arsenal battled for the biggest prize in club football, the Champions League final. Just past the hour mark after Kvara right there is fouled in the box, PSG found their lifeline. Ousmane Dembele stepped up and buried the penalty like it was a training ground routine. One all, game on, it went all the way down to a penalty shootout. Arsenal's Gabriel had to score to keep the Gunners alive but his effort sails high and PSG erupts.

The Parisians win in a shootout four to three from the brink of defeat to back-to-back European crowns. PSG showed that when the pressure was highest they were cool as ice and twice as nice, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Coy Wire, thanks so much. All right. So, Allison's joining us now. Have you all ever gone on a date just for the free meal?

WIRE: What?

[07:55:00]

BLACKWELL: Roundup.

CHINCHAR: Cannot say that I have. Again, I've also been married and dated my husband for two decades. So, I got to think back quite a while, but no, I can't think of that.

BLACKWELL: No.

WIRE: No, I'm the same as you. I've been married for almost two decades as well. And no, I don't ever remember going for the free meal. You?

BLACKWELL: No, no, I haven't.

WIRE: All right.

BLACKWELL: 40 percent of people have, but it was kind of the hot topic of the round table. I just want to make sure we're all good here.

Hey, six legs are better than two. In Northeast China, runners competed in a two-mile road race with their dogs. It was divided into small dog and large dog categories. The winners received ski tickets and hotel accommodations. The dogs got a nice long run in the sun.

WIRE: I didn't know dogs could ski. That's a heck of a prize there. Nice family vacation, I guess.

BLACKWELL: I guess so. Thanks for joining us. Inside Politics with Manu Raju is up next.

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