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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Suspect in Minnesota Lawmaker Shootings Caught; At Least 224 Killed in Israeli Strikes; Curfew Working and Will Continue in L.A.; Trump Calls for Peace Deal Between Israel and Iran; Following Heavy Rains that Triggered Flash Floods In West Virgnia, At Least 5 Dead. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired June 16, 2025 - 04:30   ET

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

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GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): She had a hand in so many things that happened. The building that we stand in she helped usher through so that we could respond from the State of Emergency Operations Center with the professionalism and giving the tools necessary to law enforcement to do their job.

To Melissa and Mark's family, we cannot fathom your pain and the grief that you're going through. We'll take solace in the memory and the work that Melissa did, and you can rest assured that we will put every ounce of effort that the State of Minnesota has to make sure that justice is served and the individual responsible for this serves the time for the unspeakable act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: And more on our other breaking news this time out of Israel where Iran has dealt the latest blow in a back-and- forth conflict between the two countries. Israel's National Emergency Service says at least eight people have been killed in Monday strikes. That brings the death toll to at least 23 since Friday.

In the meantime, in Iran, the government reports at least 224 deaths so far as a result of these strikes. Iran's president says that their response will continue to escalate in response to Israel's actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Israel knows no boundaries. They intrude wherever they want with permission from America. We are by no means seeking to expand the war, but naturally, as our army, our powerful IRGC and our dear people have shown, appropriate responses have been given so far. The more they try to escalate, naturally the responses will become tougher and more severe, more innocent people may lose their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Israel this morning at the scene of one of those missile strikes in Tel Aviv and filed this report.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: I am at the site of an Iranian ballistic missile attack in Central Tel Aviv. This ballistic missile struck this area in the early hours of this morning, severely damaging three residential buildings right behind me. As you can see in this whole street is littered with debris as rescue crews move in and out, still trying to assess the damage to find anybody who might be trapped under the rubble, and also to get people out of their apartments. There are also folks who have arrived here to try and get back inside to get some of their belongings and to make sure that their loved ones are OK.

This is one of four ballistic missile attack sites in Central Tel Aviv alone. In addition, there was a ballistic missile attack in Northern Israel in Haifa as well. More than 70 people were injured in these attacks according to Magen David Adom, Israel's national Rescue Services.

And of course, we are seeing that these attacks are continuing to escalate and concern is rising here in Israel about the number of casualties and how many more may come.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Let's get more analysis now from Abas Aslani who joins us live from inside Tehran. He's a journalist and also a senior research fellow at the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies. It is great to have you this morning. Thank you for joining us.

ABAS ASLANI, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CMESS AND JOURNALIST: Thank you, Polo, for having me.

SANDOVAL: If we could, just give me a general sense of what you're seeing in Tehran. What are people telling you? I've read reports that the ferocity of the attacks caught many people by surprise there on Friday.

ASLANI: Polo, you know, after the initial shock that came on early Friday morning, Iran tried to recover and we were seeing that the air defense, including in Tehran and other cities were trying to actively engage with the hostile targets coming from the Israeli side or those, let's say drones flying over sky.

And, you know, the feeling this time comparing to previous exchanges in the past between Iran and Israel is a bit different. There's a sense of war going on between the -- I mean, the two sides. The high- ranking officials are using the term war not -- I mean, just a limited conflict between the two sides. And that's why this situation is a bit more serious.

And as of the latest round of attacks from the Israeli side yesterday, which targeted residential complexes and areas, some people in the capital city have been trying to avoid unnecessary commute. But they are doing their normal life. However, they somehow -- it seemed that by yesterday attacks, Israel wanted to create a sense of fear and intimidate the population in order to, you know, somehow create a kind of chaos.

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But government has been trying to handle the situation and in terms of the power, electricity, or things like that, water, it's in the normal condition. And in the meantime, we have been seeing from the Iranian side that gradually they have been trying to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their attacks against Israel, specifically last night, they tried to use newer missiles and more -- so reportedly.

And the Iranian officials, when they're talking, they have been not talking about a specific time for the end of this conflict, but they -- the hint that this might continue in future, and if it continues, it will, you know, become more crushing and it will escalate into a, let's say, more complicated situation. And this indicates that. But that why is that? Because we -- when we are looking at the public in the country and in the capital city, we are seeing that this external threat coming from the Israeli side and this aggression has made different factions and different types of people to rally around the flag.

And I was talking to even some people who are critical of the establishment and the government, they may not agree with the government on many issues and they have been critical of the establishment, but all agree in one thing that Iran needs to have -- to give a crushing response to Israel, to establish a deterrence against any likely or potential attacks or aggression coming from the Israeli side and -- let's say unity among different political factions as well as the ordinary people.

SANDOVAL: So, as -- and we only have about a minute more of your time here, Abas. So, essentially, what you're hearing from your perspective as a journalist, there does seem to be this widespread support among Iranians when it comes to that initial preemptive round of strikes that Iran launched on Israel? If I'm hearing you correct.

ASLANI: Yes. You know, this has created a kind of unity among the public, supporting the Iranian defense forces and government to retaliate against Israel. And nobody's buying into Iran that, you know, Benjamin Netanyahu is going after, you know, Iran's nuclear program because residential areas as well as more than 90 percent of those victims of the attack have been civilians.

And yesterday, many people they saw there by their own eyes that, you know, ordinary people were targeted. So, that's why this has created a unity in the country. And following the -- what happened in Gaza, you know, Israel does not have a good standing among the Iranian public. And this somehow -- you know, this recent aggression against Iran has, you know, increased the level of unpopularity of Israel among Iranians. That's why we could say that the majority of the Iranian people are supporting that, you know, response against Israel. And they are demanding for more crushing, you know, response. One is that because they maybe hate the actions by Israel, but secondly, they want to -- the Iran side to establish a deterrence against any likely future attacks.

SANDOVAL: Wow. Fascinating. There's a support. And also, so many people essentially fleeing to the countryside to try to save their lives. Abas Aslani, thank you so much for that insight. It's critical to hear from folks inside Tehran right now. We appreciate you.

ASLANI: Good to be with you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Well, U.S. President Donald Trump is ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement to ramp up its deportation efforts. In a post on Truth Social, Trump directed ICE to quote, "Do all in their power to achieve the single largest mass deportation in history." Well, he also ordered the agency to focus on, quote, "The Democrat Power Center," he wrote. While also claiming, without evidence, that his political opponents are using undocumented immigrants to cheat in elections.

Now, this comes after ICE has been racing to meet the White House's arrest quotas. The mayor of Los Angeles says that the situation with protest there is under control, in her view. And she says that the National Guard should leave the city. CNN's Veronica Miracle in Los Angeles with more on that.

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VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says the curfew enacted in Downtown Los Angeles will remain in place indefinitely, as she says it is working. Yesterday, tens of thousands of people showed up to protest all throughout the day in Downtown Los Angeles as part of the No Kings rally.

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And at the end of the day there were some skirmishes, there was some confrontation with police, as police were trying to get people to move out of Downtown Los Angeles as they were slowly approaching the curfew. And there were only, however, five arrests and about 20 or so citations handed out, which she says considers a success given that there were tens of thousands of people protesting peacefully all throughout the day.

She also mentioned that she was flying in a helicopter all morning, all afternoon, watching from above, and her perspective from the sky was that it was peaceful. She didn't see Marines out. And she also says that the National Guard should leave as local law enforcement has it under control. Take a listen.

KAREN BASS, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: We don't want them here. They don't need to be here. Our local law enforcement have complete control of the situation. And I will tell you, the 30,000 people were Downtown L.A. There were protests in 15 different locations in our city. I flew over each one of them and they were overwhelmingly peaceful.

MIRACLE: In terms of what happens next, it remains to be seen that curfew again remaining in effect. These protests all stem from ICE raids that have happened all across Los Angeles and continue to happen. We have reports that there was actually another ICE raid in the area on Saturday as those protests were happening. So, will these protests continue throughout the week? That will remain to be seen.

Veronica Miracle, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And the state of emergency has been declared in parts of the U.S. -- part of U.S. State West Virginia, following heavy rains that triggered deadly flash flooding. At least five people have died, according to the governor's office. Emergency officials say at least four others still remain missing. Rescue operations are underway right now in West Virginia counties. Up to four inches of rain foul in just over 30 minutes on Saturday night.

And we will be right back with much more Early Start. Don't go anywhere.

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SANDOVAL: More that breaking newsletter Minnesota, where the suspect in the killing of a state lawmaker and her husband is behind bars this morning. Police arrested Vance Boelter after a two-day manhunt. Officers say that he was apprehended without further violence or injury to him or officers. We're also just learning that the U.S. Department of Justice is considering possible federal charges against the suspect.

A short time ago, police released also this booking photo. The Minnesota Star tribute reporting that he's now been charged with two counts of second-degree murder as well as two counts of second-degree attempted murder.

More on the breaking news story that we're following closely this morning out of the Middle East, eight people were killed in Israel after a barrage of missiles struck around Tel Aviv and Haifa overnight. At least one residential building partially collapsed. You see what's left here. Israel says Iran has fired more than 370 ballistic missiles and launched hundreds of drones in just the last four days. 24 people have been killed by the attacks from Iran since that conflict began.

Now, it comes after a series of Israeli strikes across Iran on Sunday. The two Iranian military leaders were killed, and Israel says that it targeted a special intelligence unit inside Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Authorities there say that at least 224 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes since Friday.

And hundreds of families in India and London, they're grieving after that Air India fatal crash last week. The plane lost altitude just minutes after takeoff crashing into a fireball as it hit the ground. As CNN's Ben Hunte reports, families still searching for loved ones are giving DNA samples in hopes of trying to identify and recovering their deceased loved ones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A somber procession through a neighborhood in India. The community takes turns carrying a casket to a crematorium. One of the victims of the Air India plane crash was one of their own. Last rites that some families in India can't perform yet as they wait for the bodies of their loved ones to be identified by DNA or dental records. Some families are holding vigils during the grueling weight.

The plane crash killed 241 people on board and dozens of others on the ground. Devastating families across India and the U.K. Like this mother in Ahmedabad, who struggled to convey her son's last words before leaving for his flight.

RAVINA CHRISTIAN, MOTHER OF VICTIM (through translator): He told me to stay well. He told me not to worry about anything. He told me to inform him of whatever medical expenses I might incur and that he would send me money and that he would soon come back to take me with him.

HUNTE (voice-over): In London, a vigil was held at a Hindu temple, which has ties to 20 people killed in a crash. One woman said she still couldn't believe her son's childhood friend was gone.

JYOTSNA SHUKLA, FAMILY FRIEND OF VICTIM: I feel very bad, because he's so young. I can't say anything because it's very, very bad.

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HUNTE (voice-over): Back in India, the hospital in Ahmedabad is releasing some of the victims' bodies back to the families, allowing more families to say goodbye. Something just a few days ago would be an unthinkable scenario.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And the news continues after this break.

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SANDOVAL: Quick update for you now on our overnight breaking news out of Minnesota. The suspect in the shooting of two state lawmakers and their spouses behind bars at this hour. A short time ago, police released a mugshot of their suspect, Vance Boelter. We also have just learned that the U.S. Department of Justice is now considering federal charges against Boelter.

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And U.S. President. Donald Trump is calling for a peace deal between Israel and Iran, and now says that calls are underway to work toward that goal. On Sunday, the president spoke with an optimistic tone while vaguely mentioning meetings taking place about the matter at the G7. But he also told reporters, quote, "Sometimes they have to fight it out."

And J.J. Spaun winning the 2025 U.S. Open thanks to a back nine for the ages. I want to show it to you. This is a 64-foot putt for birdie on a sopping wet 18th green that clinched its victory. And this coming after he played a chaotic final round of disastrous front nine on one of golf's most challenging courses. This is the American golfer's first major title to win.

I am Polo Sandoval in New York in for Rahel. I will be right back with more of CNN's breaking news coverage after this break.

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