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Police Search For Suspects After 12 Shot Near Ohio Festival; Pakistan Delegation Arrives In Tehran For Peace Talks; U.S. And Iran Exchange Strikes, Peace Talks At Stalemate; Missing American Student Found Dead In Japan After Days-Long Search; Platner Claims His Troubled Past Is Being "Weaponized"; Platner Faces New Allegations Days Before Maine Primary. Karmelo Anthony Trial Underway with No Black Jurors; Prosecutor: Texas Track Meet Killing was Murder, Not Self-Defense; Elon Musk to Become World's First Trillionaire; U.S. Prepares for FIFA World Cup Kickoff. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired June 07, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:01:05]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. Here's what you need to know today. Police are searching for at least two people who started shooting at a festival in Ohio. Twelve people were hit in the crossfire. We have the latest on that manhunt coming up.

Also new this morning, CNN spoke to Iran's foreign minister as the U.S. and Iran work to negotiate some permanent ceasefire. We have his reaction to how things are going so far.

Also in Japan, the search and rescue volunteers there have found the body of that missing American student. We have new details. We're learning about where he was found and what we're learning from his family.

And Decision Day is looming for Democrats in Maine as they choose their candidate to run for Senate, choose their nominee. Graham Platner is favored to win the primary, but there are these, as you've heard, mounting controversies. Some Democrats wonder, is he too risky a bet?

It is Sunday, June 7th. Good to have you along. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Happening right now, police are searching for two suspects after at least 12 people were shot near a festival in Toledo, Ohio, yesterday. Look at this. This was the scene as the shooting started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUN SHOTS)

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: Police say the two shooters appeared to have been shooting at each other. Neither suspect is in custody this morning. Twelve people were hurt in that crossfire, two of them critically. All of them are expected to survive.

Here's CNN's Gloria Pazmino with details.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Victor. Panic at what was supposed to be a summertime festival in Toledo, Ohio. Scenes like this have become a just commonplace across our country.

Here's what we know. Law enforcement officials said at least two shooters were involved and that 12 people were struck by gunfire. Two of them are in critical condition. Police are still looking for the suspects and no one is in custody. An investigation is ongoing.

Now, Toledo police said the incident occurred shortly after 5:30 in the afternoon on Saturday, local time, at the Old West End Festival. This is an annual two-day event which takes place in the city's historic district. The event kicked off on Saturday morning with a parade and live music. And police initially said that many victims were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.

Now, eyewitnesses told a local CNN affiliate, WTOL, that they heard multiple shots and then a panic among the festival-goers. The shooting is one of at least 170 mass shootings across the U.S. this year alone. That's according to the Gun Violence Archive. Victor?

BLACKWELL: Gloria, thank you.

Today marks 100 days since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran started. Despite President Trump promising the conflict would last only four to six weeks, both sides are exchanging strikes during this really fragile ceasefire. Six Iranian attack drones have been shot down. That's according to U.S. Central Command.

Pakistan's interior minister also arrived in Tehran to try to salvage peace talks. Minutes ago, the spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry explained the challenge they see with negotiating with the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESMAEIL BAGHAEI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SPOKESPERSON: The main problem of negotiating with this administration is that you have to face so many changing positions, moving the goalposts, different statements, contradictory remarks by different officials. So it makes the whole process very cumbersome, very unstable, and very uncertain. So, the exchange of communications still are ongoing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:15]

BLACKWELL: CNN's Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann has more for us. OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The 24 hours from early Saturday morning until early Sunday morning have put tremendous pressure on the U.S.-Iran ceasefire and raised serious questions on whether there is a viable diplomatic path forward on negotiations and any means of making sure this ceasefire becomes a real broader agreement.

On Saturday morning, according to U.S. Central Command, they intercepted four one-way attack drones in the Gulf and around the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media had said these targeted what may have been U.S. Navy vessels operating in the region.

In response, according to Central Command, which governs U.S. military operations in the region, the U.S. struck surveillance radar sites, which Iran said they consider a grave violation of the ceasefire. Several hours later, we saw seven ballistic missiles fired at Kuwait and Bahrain. Six of those intercepted, one didn't reach its target.

But all of this puts pressure on the ceasefire. Then in the overnight hours from Saturday to Sunday, the U.S. says they intercepted two more one-way attack drones. So this, you see the difficulties here of not only making the ceasefire really take effect, but also trying to find some diplomatic path forward.

Pakistan's interior minister is holding meetings in Tehran throughout the weekend and on Sunday in particular, trying to make sure there is a path forward. But you see the difficulties in trying to move that ahead.

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the thinking of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says he is considering, and the Treasury Department is considering using Iranian assets to not only pay for the damage of future Iranian attacks, but also considering the possibility of using them to pay for past damage from Iranian attacks.

For example, last week we saw an Iranian attack on Kuwait's airport kill one person, wound at least 60 others, and cause severe damage at the airport itself. Meanwhile, Iran has insisted that any U.S.-Iran ceasefire agreement include Lebanon as well.

But just like we see in the Gulf region, the ceasefire in there also appears to be under tremendous pressure. According to Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health, Israeli strikes killed 21 people on Friday. Then on Saturday, an Israeli strike on a vehicle in southern Lebanon killed a general and several other officers who were in that vehicle near the city of Nabatiyah.

The Israeli military acknowledged the strike and said it was moving suspiciously and operating in an area that had been under an evacuation warning. They say the strike itself will be looked at and learned from and that any movement in that area requires coordination with the Israeli military.

Meanwhile, Hezbollah, which rejected the latest U.S.-Israel ceasefire, has attacked northern Israel for the first time since that ceasefire went into effect, launching two projectiles, according to the Israeli military. Meanwhile, two Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon, one on Friday, one on Saturday.

So you see the difficulty not only in the Gulf region between the U.S. and Iran of making a ceasefire real, bringing it to fruition, but also in Lebanon as well.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Jerusalem.

BLACKWELL: Well, now to Russia's war on Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to meet with European allies. The leaders of Germany, Britain, and France say that they'll focus on coordinating support for Ukraine. They'll also talk about how to apply more pressure on the Kremlin.

Now, President Zelenskyy recently proposed a face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but Putin dismissed Zelenskyy's offer.

Search and rescue volunteers in Japan say they have found the body of a missing American college student, 20-year-old James "Weston" Higginbotham. He disappeared May 29 while he was on a trip with his family.

Jenn Sullivan has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): It was supposed to be a celebration, the Higginbotham family traveling from Alabama to Japan to celebrate their youngest son's high school graduation. But the trip turned into a tragedy when their oldest son went missing.

After days of searching, the body of 20-year-old James Weston Higginbotham was found Saturday. His family posting on Facebook, saying in part, "Our family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased by a volunteer search and rescue group in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto. The grief we feel is impossible to put into words."

Weston was a college student at Auburn University. He disappeared on May 29 after getting into an argument with his mom over the environmental impact of her use of AI. His mother spoke to CNN's Erin Burnett Friday night before his body was found.

NANCY HIGGINBOTHAM, MOTHER OF JAMES "WESTON" HIGGINBOTHAM: He turned off his location, so the police were able to track through CCT video that he stopped at the Yamashina station.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): The multi-day search involved more than 100 police officers, K-9 units, and helicopters. On Saturday, the family launched their own search efforts with help from local residents and a hired search and rescue team.

[07:10:08]

His family focused their search in a mountainous area because they said Weston loved nature and hiking and thought that's where he may have gone.

HIGGINBOTHAM: He just loves to go outside and go for a walk on a trail or go for a small hike. No matter what time of day, that's just fun to him.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): His family thanking the volunteers who helped them look for him on their Facebook page. Closing out their message by saying, "Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. We will need them now more than ever. We will always love you, Weston."

I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Here are some of the other stories we're watching this morning. The CDC says that millions of Americans could soon face new hurdles to keep or get Medicaid coverage. A new federal rule sets stricter standards for who qualifies for an exemption from work requirements. Patients now have to show their condition significantly limits their ability to work.

A photographer is recovering after being hit by a car outside Delaney Immigration Detention Center in New Jersey. This is the moment of impact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesus!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Josh Pacheco says that they were covering a protest in Newark when vehicles drove out of a gated area. ICE says it was not involved, and they added the incident involved workers leaving the facility. The company that runs the site has not commented.

An NBA Finals watch party outside Madison Square Garden turned violent. Police say they arrested 26 people. Officials say one person punched an officer Friday, then bit another officer. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani posted on X yesterday urging fans to celebrate responsibly, and he says there's no tolerance for violence.

The Knicks now lead the final two games to none. Game three tomorrow night at MSG.

Four states hold primaries this week, but most people will be watching Maine and the Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner. A look at the mounting controversy surrounding his run.

Also, the prosecution has wrapped its case in the track meet murder trial in Texas. We've got the latest developments there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:17:06]

BLACKWELL: Democrats are collectively holding their breath and hoping for the best ahead of Tuesday's critical Senate primary in Maine. Now, Graham Platner is the favored Democratic candidate. He's likely going to win. He's refusing to exit the race. He claims his past behavior is being exploited by his political opponents.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: Now, as every single piece of that past and journey gets dug up, litigated and weaponized, you have my back.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: But Platner has acknowledged going through what he called a period of darkness after his military service.

Joining me now is Steve Mistler, he's the chief political correspondent for the Maine Republic. Steve, good morning to you. And so, when I say that Democrats will be holding their breath, they likely know who is going to win that Democratic Senate primary.

But Governor Janet Mills is still on the ballot there. Is their consideration that there will be a significant turnout for her, that there may be a message in margin here. What are we expecting on Tuesday night?

STEVE MISTLER, CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, MAINE REPUBLIC: That's a good question. I mean, I think, you know, the governor in recent weeks or in the past week, I should say, has, you know, signaled through the press that, you know, list -- to remind people that she's still on the ballot. Now she suspended her campaign in late April and really hasn't campaigned since then.

And so the question is, is whether or not just those signals in and of itself will, you know, move voters who are antsy about Graham Platner and some of these controversies and the cumulative effects of those. It's unclear if, you know, if there's a critical mass of Janet Mills supporters out there to make this close on Tuesday, but certainly there's going to be a lot of attention paid to Platner's vote share, even if he wins.

BLACKWELL: You've recently interviewed Graham Platner and he is denied becoming physical with any of the women that he casually dated. He said that he told his campaign staff or members staff about these text messages early in his marriage. He also said that he expected that this would be a tough campaign.

Maybe he didn't expect, you know, it coming out from his own campaign, but what did he tell you about the eventuality of having to deal with this? Did he expect that at some point the public would know about this part of his life? MISTLER: Well, he expected that, you know, his life would be a closely examined. He was pretty clear about that. He didn't know -- you know, he didn't anticipate the specifics of it. But he -- it's interesting because he, you know, he views this -- these -- the scrutiny of his personal life and these old Reddit posts.

And, of course, the -- his old relationships back when he was living in Washington, D.C., he's used those as evidence that his message is a threat to what he calls the political establishment.

[07:20:09]

So, you know, while he's frustrated by the attacks and the examination of his personal life, he also views that as evidence that his messages is working and a threat to what he says is the political establishment that wants to stop him at all costs. So it's interesting.

He's -- it's a mix of sort of defiance and also, you know, anger I think at the fact that, you know, his life is being examined this closely. There's also an acknowledgement though, I would say, that, you know, he -- that that's fair game. I mean, he does say that too, but I think it's just the nature of some of the -- these attacks that's has him frustrated, but again, defiant.

BLACKWELL: And what is he hearing from the state party, from the national party about his campaign?

MISTLER: Yes, I asked him about that on Friday and asked if he had, you know, heard from any officials in the Maine Democratic Party or any -- the national party or any of its affiliates to drop out. And he said, no. And he also said that, you know, if he wouldn't do it anyway, he just feels like he's going to survive this.

He doesn't believe that the attacks are going to work. He thinks the movement, as he describes it, that he's building here is enough to just push past all of this. And also that voters are tired of that kind of politics. That's the way he described it to me.

So he thinks that, you know, voters are going to look past a lot of these controversies. And, you know, to some extent, he was right about that when some of his old social media posts. Surfaced in last fall. And a lot of people were writing him off then, but his campaign proved to be very resilient.

And I think a lot of that is because he talked about it at town halls. He's held something like 80 of them. And also in the press and in talking about it, he kind of crafted this story of redemption, which I think if you talk to some of his diehard supporters, they really believe in that.

The question of course, is whether or not, you know, Maine Independent voters, which, you know, occupy a big clock of the voting population here, whether it's persuasive to them.

BLACKWELL: We will all be watching Tuesday night.

Steve Mistler, thank you so much.

Elon Musk is poised to become the first trillionaire. So just how much money is $1 trillion? The numbers we've been talking about them this morning. You will not believe. We'll take a look at this morning's roundup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:09]

BLACKWELL: Welcome back. Picking up on our last conversation in Maine, Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner will hold a town hall today, just two days before Tuesday's primary. He's favored to win, but with his recent scandals, voters are torn.

Joining me today for the roundup, we've got Atlanta Reporter Kaitlyn Ross, SiriusXM Culture and Economics Contributor Drew McCaskill, and Retired Judge Ashley Willcott. All vets of the roundup. Big conversation for you this morning.

Let me start with you, Drew, and Graham Platner. I asked the reporter there in Maine about, is there potentially a message in the margin with the governor, Janet Mills, reminding people that she suspended her campaign, but she's still on the ballot. And so some of those people who don't like the allegations that have come out, that maybe she's a way to express that.

DREW MCCASKILL, SIRIUSXM CULTURE & ECONOMICS CONTRIBUTOR: I honestly think that this is going to be a real indicator for what's coming in in American politics in general. Like I think the electorate, particularly the young part of the electorate, that everyone really wants to get out to vote.

The way that they think about what disqualifies you as a candidate has -- it's totally different from my generation and my parents' generation. And so I think that this is going to be a real signal to the Democratic Party, right?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MCCASKILL: That some of the things that have happened with Republican politics, where the bar has just moved, whether you think it's lower or higher or whatever you think it may be, is that the things that disqualified candidates before would not disqualify candidates now.

BLACKWELL: I mean, imagine 10, 20 years ago, a Nazi tattoo --

MCCASKILL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- or something related to Nazi and you still get the nomination.

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, RETIRED JUDGE: Get to run. Right.

MCCASKILL: And you still get the nomination.

WILLCOTT: Exactly. Yes.

MCCASKILL: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

KAITLYN ROSS, ATLANTA REPORTER: Well, I think you make such an interesting point with young voters because they are chronically online. And so they're seeing so much of this messaging over and over and over again. And if they still decide to vote for him, seeing all of that, I think you're right.

MCCASKILL: Yes.

ROSS: It does send such a different message than we're used to. And I think it also speaks pretty loudly to party establishment that they're looking for outsider candidates. They're not looking for the run of the mill people who they're used to, they're looking for someone who's willing to come from the outside and shake things up.

WILLCOTT: That's because democracy has become so individualized and they're willing to overlook a lot of the things that in the past, to your point, Victor, individuals were not going to overlook because it signified what that person stood for that we won't accept like a Nazi tattoo.

BLACKWELL: We'll see if that translates to the general election that comes in November. Again, this is the primary happening Tuesday night.

Let's talk about this trial, Carmelo Anthony. This is in Texas. This is the now 19-year-old. He was 17 at the time, who admitted that he stabbed a another 17-year-old Austin Metcalf. This was at a track meet. He's claiming self-defense.

He says the cases that he went into the other teams tent that the other student then kind of roughed them up to get him out. He had a hand in his bag and said, according to the report, touch me and see what happens. And then when he was touched, stabbed him in the chest. What do we need to know here about the claim of self-defense as the defense starts to put their own case on?

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, RETIRED JUDGE: First of all, I don't think it's a race thing in this particular case because self-defense claim is did the defendant reasonably believe that he had to use immediate force because of the threat that was being posed. And in this particular case, he's saying, yes, absolutely. It's going to come down to his testimony because it's subjective. Can he convince a jury that his perspective is right and that it was because of what this other individual did, laying hands, shoving him, which is what he alleges that he had to use force?

BLACKWELL: So, we put the pictures of the two up and on the question of race, when it comes down to this jury, you've got a black defendant and you have no black members of the jury. Let me add this information. Duke University study surveyed hundreds of cases and found that when there were no black jurors in a pool conviction rates for white defendants was 66 percent for black defendants with no black jurors, 81 percent. And even if you add just one black juror conviction rates were nearly identical, 73 percent for white, 71 for blacks. Drew, you think no, no race issue here.

DREW MCCASKILL, SIRIUSXM CULTURE AND ECONOMICS CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, this is absolute -- this is Texas. This is a -- there are no black jurors sat on a jury in Texas, which has a huge black population, right? What this signals to me -- I mean, the reason why that's in versus Kentucky even exists is that you can't disqualify a juror based on race, right? And you've got no black jurors on this trial. This is absolutely about race.

And I think what it signals to African Americans is that we don't trust you to be fair in this situation, but we expect you to trust the decision that comes out of it. I saw Judge Hatchett when this conversation came up, and if she rings the bell on this and is bringing the alarm on this in some way, I think we should all pay a whole lot of attention to it.

This signals to black families and black households in Texas that you are not trusted to make this decision and we expect you to fully accept it when it comes out.

WILLCOTT: But those are two different issues. So, the race issue exists because there's no black on the jury, that I agree with a hundred percent. That's the problem. Did race -- was that a factor in him stabbing the other individual? I don't think it was.

BLACKWELL: I hear the distinction.

WILLCOTT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: I hear the distinction here.

WILLCOTT: A big distinction. Because I agree with you, race is now an issue and this jury is much more likely to convict because there's not a black.

BLACKWELL: And could come back up on appeal.

WILLCOTT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: As we've heard --

WILLCOTT: And that's a huge problem. It's -- yes, I agree.

KAITLYN ROSS, ATLANTA REPORTER: So, what I keep hearing over and over again is this will be an issue on appeal. This will be an issue on appeal. Well, if it's going to be an issue on appeal, why is it an issue right now? I don't understand why that's not being addressed.

WILLCOTT: Because it depends on what you raise and how the court rules. And you don't always like what the judge does, right? That's the reality. And the way to rectify that is to appeal. That's the way our system is structured.

MCCASKILL: Yes. BLACKWELL: Let me talk. I'm skipping ahead. We're going to Elon Musk because this is something we talked about during the break. SpaceX is expected to start trading on the NASDAQ on as early as Friday. It could turn the already richest man in the world into the first trillionaire. And you were giving us a stat in the break of just how much a trillion dollars is.

WILLCOTT: If you $1 million an hour per hour every single day, it wouldn't even amount to a trillion after a hundred years, one century of spending. That's crazy.

BLACKWELL: And look at this. Look at this. A trillion seconds. One million seconds is eleven and a half days. That would put us at next Friday, June 19th. A billion seconds is a little less than 32 years, puts us in 2058. A trillion seconds is 31,689 years. We would be in year 33,786. It's unfathomable how much money --

WILLCOTT: It is.

MCCASKILL: It's unfathomable.

WILLCOTT: It's not a real number.

MCCASKILL: It's -- listen, once you become a trillionaire, you become a completely different class of human.

BLACKWELL: You have more money than most countries.

MCCASKILL: You have more money than most countries than the GDP of most countries. And then you have to figure out what does it mean for one person, one individual to have that much power over the all of the rest of us, right? Because you enter a different class, right?

I don't think that Elon Musk is going to be Tony Stark, you know, fighting crime in the middle of the night on behalf of on behalf of humanity. We have to figure out as a collective, what does it mean for someone to have that much power?

BLACKWELL: Yes.

WILLCOTT: And where's the philanthropic use? We were talking a little bit about that. He has a foundation, but I sure would like to see him front and center with what he's doing for good with that money.

ROSS: Right. If you've got a million dollars a minute for the next 100 years, let's see a million dollars going to some philanthropic efforts. I agree.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it's interesting.

[07:35:00]

MCCASKILL: Even the pope is weighed in on like how much and what we're talking about with CEO wealth and what the wealth class of this large-esque wealth class. BLACKWELL: And he will be in a class by himself. I mean, there was a time we're talking about the millionaires and billionaires, and now, we're talking about the billionaires and trillionaires.

ROSS: It's impossible to conceptualize. It's just so much money.

BLACKWELL: Everybody stay with me. We've got a lot more to talk about, including JLo. She said, we are not the same. Her controversial take on what makes someone a real New Yorker, that's coming up in the Roundup.

And if you're heading out, take us with you. Remember, you can stream my show from anywhere in the U.S. right from the CNN app. You can also go to cnn.com/watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. We've been talking the whole break, but we're just days away from the opening game of the FIFA World Cup. First match is coming up soon. Soccer fans from around the world will converge in cities across North America, including right here in Atlanta.

Some hotels, though, are seeing the massive surge in bookings they expected. Bookings have slowed compared to the same time last summer, which could be because of these high-ticket prices. International fans seem to be opting for short-term rentals like Airbnb instead.

Everybody's back. And, Kaitlyn, you have been really focused on the World Cup. Is it living up to the expectations as we kind of count the clock down?

ROSS: That is such a hard question because hopes are so high. I've been talking to business owners all over Atlanta who are like, please come to my cookie company. Come get a slice of pizza. Let me show you what I have to offer. But until those games start, you just don't know what the payoff is going to be.

We've seen studies ranging from $500 million to a billion dollars in impact to the Atlanta economy. But you don't know until kickoff what that impact is actually going to be.

BLACKWELL: We've been watching that clock. I feel like coming up the escalator, Hartsfield-Jackson count down to the World Cup for so long. And so, many people have so much invested in this. I think there are a lot of people, I've just been casually talking to people about, hey, are you going to go? If you're not a real fan, they're not going to pay those ticket prices is what I've seen.

WILLCOTT: And it depends on who's playing, right? Like real fans, they're not going to spend the money to just go to a game with two teams. They want to go to their team.

BLACKWELL: Yes. WILLCOTT: And we don't know who that's going to be yet down the road. We only know the first two.

BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about some controversy that Jennifer Lopez is making her unpopular opinion here. The question is, how long must a person live in a city to call him or herself of that city? JLO says when it comes to New York transplants, you can never earn it. Watch.

We don't have the sound bite of JLO saying it.

ROSS: Because she's so wrong.

WILLCOTT: But she said it.

ROSS: That's right. We can't play it. We can't it because she's wrong.

BLACKWELL: OK. But she says that you have to be born in New York to be called a real New Yorker. Agree or disagree?

ROSS: Hard disagree.

BLACKWELL: OK.

ROSS: Hard disagree.

BLACKWELL: Why?

WILLCOTT: These two definitely disagree.

ROSS: Born in New York, and I do still consider myself a New Yorker, but I'm going to welcome anybody. If you know how to ride the subway, if you're not just taking pictures in Times Square, you are a New Yorker, you get to claim it. We want to be a city that welcomes people, that enjoys people coming to the city and loving it and wanting to make it their own. I think if you live there for, I don't know, more than a year, maybe my bar is low. You're a New Yorker.

MCCASKILL: I would say, I love Jennifer Lopez, but Jennifer Lopez saying that you have to be born in New York to be a New Yorker is like Jennifer Lopez saying you have to be a great vocalist to be a successful singer. And there's just those -- it's just not the same, right?

As someone who paid $3,500 a month for rent in Manhattan for 10 years, I feel like I'm a New Yorker. You get on the train and you go to work every day and you're there with the GP every morning and you walk past all the things that you have to walk past on the streets of New York in the snow early in the morning to get to do all the things, you're a New Yorker.

WILLCOTT: Are you a New Yorker all the time or just then while you're there? I'm a Texan because I was born there.

BLACKWELL: Yes. While I was there, I was there 22 months. I got the driver's license. I did all the things. I was a New Yorker. Now, I'm back in Atlanta.

MCCASKILL: And you're in Atlanta.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, one more thing we were talking about during the break, and this is a new offering from the digital payment platform cash app. Let's put the video up. They're now offering a cash app wand. You can tap and wave your wand without needing your phone or your card to pay for items.

First, how much would you pay? Because the wand isn't free.

WILLCOTT: Wait, what?

MCCASKILL: Wait.

BLACKWELL: How much would you pay --

WILLCOTT: Oh, you didn't tell us that, Victor.

ROSS: Yes.

BLACKWELL: I waited for this reaction.

WILLCOTT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: How much would you pay for the wand?

WILLCOTT: I'm not paying for that.

ROSS: Zero dollars.

WILLCOTT: It should be free.

MCCASKILL: Zero --

WILLCOTT: Zero dollars.

MCCASKILL: Negative zero dollars. Negative something. You're going to have to pay me.

ROSS: Pay me.

WILLCOTT: Yes.

BLACKWELL: It's available for the low, low price of $25 for the wand. OK. So, you can tap and pay. But also, they -- on the website, they offer it to their customers as young as 13 years old.

MCCASKILL: Bad idea.

WILLCOTT: But that's parenting. Parents have to say, no, my 13 year old is not getting a wand where they have no concept of money.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MCCASKILL: Yes. I think it sets them up for absolute failure for kids. It's already really hard for, I think, younger people to associate tapping the card or even tapping your phone.

[07:45:00]

And then magically people give you things and you walk out of the store with it, right? To teach them to -- to now add magic and mystery and magic wands to the whole process, I think really sets younger people up for failure.

ROSS: Yes. If we take the kids out of it though, I'm pro wand.

BLACKWELL: You're pro wand.

ROSS: I mean, if it's an adult money --

BLACKWELL: You as an adult.

ROSS: -- give me a wand.

MCCASKILL: If you have a W2, you know, you can have a wand. Yes.

ROSS: Give you a wand. Not pay me --

WILLCOTT: Yes, no. I'm not paying for the wand.

BLACKWELL: It should be 25 bucks. All right. Judge, Drew and Kaitlyn, thank you all for coming in. This was a good one.

All right. Still ahead, history made at the Belmont stakes. Coy Wire has the highlights coming up in sports.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: All right. Checking your top stories this morning. Jury selection starts tomorrow for the man accused of setting the devastating Palisades Fire in California. Jonathan Rinderknecht has pleaded not guilty to starting what became one of the most destructive wildfires in California history. Started January 7, 2025 in hillside neighborhoods of Pacific Palisades in Malibu, killed 12 people.

The Kennedy Center has until this Friday to remove President Trump's name from the building. That's according to an internal memo obtained by CNN. A federal judge ruled that the Kennedy Center's board broke the law by renaming the building. He also blocked the center from closing for two years for renovations.

And crews have started filling the newly refurbished reflecting pool on the National Mall. The president touted the renovation on Thursday. He described it as beautiful, flat, blue, claimed it won't leak. Initially, he said the renovation would cost $1.8 million, but federal records show the price actually ballooned to at least $13 million.

More than 100,000 customers are still in the dark this morning in the northeast after storm Saturday. CNN Meteorologist Melissa Nord joins us. And so, who's next for these storms? MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, that storm threat is going to shift back to the midsection of the country. So, these are all the storm reports from yesterday, over 300 of them alone here through the Midwest and back to the northeast, including a postponement of the game for the Yankees and the Red Sox yesterday.

But we look ahead today, quieter weather in the northeast, a little break from those 90s there. We've got some storms ongoing right now across the Southern Plains, including some flooding still possible in the Dallas area after some heavy rain early this morning. Several water rescues were underway as well this morning due to that. Some of those isolated rain totals were six inches, half a foot in just a matter of several hours.

Still some flood watches there, but I'm watching for more storms to rebound this afternoon with large hail possible in the Northern Plains, along with some damaging winds. That'll be through the Dakotas and back towards Wyoming. More garden variety storms, but with locally heavy rain that enhanced gulf moisture across the Mid-South all the way up into the Midwest.

Level three threat of severe weather there through the Dakotas and Wyoming as well. Other story transitioning into the week is the heat. This is going to be a big heat dome that traverses the country, and we're going to see temperatures 10 to 15 degrees above average. That's going to send a lot of spots, those circles close to records. In fact, by the end of the week, we could be talking about two dozen records each and every day in jeopardy. Those will head towards the Mideast -- or rather the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, including when we see those first matches of the World Cup later on at the end of the week and into the weekend.

BLACKWELL: It's going to be hot out there. All right. Melissa Nord, thank you. Hey, if game three of the Stanley Cup final were a movie script, the producers would have been like, y'all got to tone this down. Nobody is going to believe this. Coy Wire is here with that.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. If you like your sports with a side of absolute chaos, this Stanley Cup final has been delivering an absolute all you can eat buffet. Every game has felt like a roller coaster designed by hockey fans. With the series tied, it shifted to Vegas and the Raiders number one overall pick Fernando Mendoza. Look at him cranking that pregame siren like he's trying to wake up the entire Mojave Desert.

Vegas, they came out flying. Mitch Marner scored a hat trick in just six minutes, 10 seconds. Fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup final history. It's 4-nothing Vegas. Then, hockey happened. Hurricane scored three goals in 39 seconds. Fastest three goal burst in Stanley Cup final history. The game needed double overtime and that's where Shea Theodore played hero, burying the game winner to rescue Vegas from that stunning, almost collapse, giving the Golden Knights a 2-1 series lead.

Let's go to the Belmont Stakes. Golden Tempo with Jose Ortiz aboard, wins at six to one odds. But the bigger story, trainer Cherie Devaux, after becoming the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner, Devaux becomes the first woman to win multiple triple crown races. She's rewriting the record book one page at a time.

The U.S. men's national team facing Germany in their final tune-up before the World Cup lights come on. And Leroy Sane's second half strike proved the difference in a 2-1 win for Germany. The 16th ranked U.S. has now lost nine straight matches against European opponents dating back to 2022. Their World Cup opener is Friday in L.A. I will be there. And according to Melissa, I will be hot in L.A.

All right. this morning, 9:00 a.m. on TNT, the men's French Open final. World number three, Alex Zverev in the fourth major final of his career, but still chasing that elusive first slam trophy. Standing across the net, Flavio Cobolli, whose route here took an extraordinary turn when Matteo Arnaldi withdrew due to illness before their semifinal. This would be his first ever Grand Slam title as well. Will that extra rest help Cobolli? We shall soon see.

[07:55:00]

BLACKWELL: It's good to see you get some new names on these trophies, right?

WIRE: It feels fresh. It's very exciting. This has been absolute chaos.

BLACKWELL: Yes, because some of the top tier names, I mean, number three, obviously, he's in the top tier.

WIRE: Yes. Sinner, Djokovic, out.

BLACKWELL: Coco out.

WIRE: And Svantek on the women's side. Yes, it's been wild.

BLACKWELL: I'm waiting for Serena though.

WIRE: You tennis fan too?

NORD: I was just going to say, you're naming all these new names that I'm not familiar with --

WIRE: Yes. Right.

NORD: -- on a tennis avid watcher. So, --

WIRE: Serena coming back is going to be epic.

BLACKWELL: It is a good time. Hey, you know, I like to bring one of the questions from the roundup here.

WIRE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: What do you think about the wand for a cash app?

WIRE: You will never see me using that. BLACKWELL: I mean, no, no, no, but the girls aren't yet old enough. But would you give them 13, 14, 15, a wand where they can tap and pay?

WIRE: If they're the ones putting their allowance money into the wand so they can see it.

BLACKWELL: OK.

WIRE: Yes.

BLACKWELL: All right. Makes sense. All right. Got to quit. Thank you for joining us this morning for CNN This Morning Weekend. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju up next.

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