Return to Transcripts main page
What We Know with Max Foster
Trump Names Bill Pulte As Acting National Intelligence Director; Rubio Says He's Hopeful For Deal With Iran Soon; Sources: Trump's Phone Call With Netanyahu Became Heated; Ukraine: At Least 22 Killed In Russian Strikes On Kyiv, Dnipro; Suspected Ebola Patients Treated In Hospital's "Red Zone". Aired 3-4p ET
Aired June 02, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:39]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: He's the new U.S. intelligence chief, but does he have any experience?
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
The man critics say has played a key role in U.S. President Donald Trump's retribution tour is now his acting national intelligence chief.
Bill Pulte is currently the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. And he doesn't have any intel or law enforcement experience. He's best known as
the president's political attack dog, putting pressure on the Justice Department to launch mortgage fraud investigations targeting the most vocal
Trump critics.
Now, Pulte is the third member of the president's cabinet serving as an acting -- in an acting capacity alongside the acting attorney general and
the acting labor secretary.
The White House briefing earlier was hosted by the former TV doctor, Mehmet Oz, who admitted he didn't know anything about Pulte's qualifications for
the job. The best he could offer was that he trusted President Trump's judgment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEHMET OZ, ADMINISTRATOR, U.S. CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES: Well, I think Bill is a great guy. I know him socially. I've not worked
with him in his current job, but I do trust the president's judgment. He is a very sharp and quick study of people, their emotional abilities, and
their ability to persevere in the face of hardship. So I have confidence in his decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak is in Washington.
What do you make of this appointment, Kevin?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think calling it unorthodox would be an understatement here, and it has already generated
outcry obviously from Democrats, but including from some Republicans who question why someone with no intelligence experience, no national security
experience would be put atop this very critical agency. You know, the director of national intelligence, it was a job that was created after 9/11
and after some pretty severe intelligence failures that led to that terrorist attack. And it is essentially intended to coordinate all of the
streams of intelligence that are coming from the 17 discrete American intelligence agencies, put them in one place to ensure nothing gets
overlooked.
So you really can't think of something more important and to put this individual who doesn't have any experience in that -- in this job, I think
has really led to a degree of surprise and outrage among people who are of this community. You know, the reason that I think the president put him in
this job is because he's sort of the ultimate loyalist. You see him on Air Force One all the time. You see him down at Mar-a-Lago pretty frequently.
The job that he's in right now is essentially a mortgage agency intended to ensure stability in the American mortgage market. I don't know how that is
related to intelligence at all, but it is what Pulte has done with the job that I think has endeared him to President Trump. He's used that to advance
this retribution campaign that the president promised as a candidate and he has been very focused on since coming into office.
You know, Pulte has alleged fraud against a number of the president's perceived enemies, whether it's Lisa Cook at the Fed, whether it's Letitia
James, the attorney general of New York State. He has used the information that he had access to at this mortgage agency to go after these people who
are the president's perceived enemies.
On the surface, it has nothing to do with the actual job itself, but it is sort of what he has made of the job that the president has so appreciated
apparently. And we know that the president has been frustrated that the retribution campaign writ large has not been moving quickly enough. That's
part of why he fired Pam Bondi as attorney general.
And so it would seem as if his hope is that Bill Pulte, as the director of national intelligence in an acting capacity, would be able to use whatever
information he has access to in this job to both go after some of his perceived enemies, but also to advance some of these claims, for example,
about election fraud, about Russian election meddling, that you saw the incumbent DNI, Tulsi Gabbard, are really honed in on as she proceeded in
this position over the last year or so.
[15:05:04]
You know, Tulsi Gabbard has not really had much of a say in some of the, you know, quote/unquote, "intelligence" matters that you would expect. You
know, she doesn't have a role in the Iran War, for example. The president has really relied far more heavily on the director of the CIA, a man named
John Ratcliffe, for, you know, the traditional intelligence matters. He views the DNI as something quite different, and it seems as if he sees Bill
Pulte's experience doing the retribution and the vindication aspects of the job at the mortgage agency as something that he might be able to bring to
the DNI role.
Now, he will be an acting director of national intelligence, but because he's already been confirmed by the Senate to his current job, he is
actually able to stay in this position for quite some time 210 days is the statutory limit. And so the amount that he might be able to do in this
position I think has a lot of people in Washington a bit on edge.
FOSTER: Yeah, it is extraordinary. Kevin, thank you.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio says he's hopeful that a deal can be reached with Iran, saying it could happen today or tomorrow or sometime
next week. Rubio is addressing representatives after testifying before a Senate committee earlier. He said he believes Iran's new supreme leader is
alive and increasingly engaging. He also said Iran has agreed to negotiate aspects of its nuclear deal that were previously off the table.
Rubio's testimony before U.S. House and Senate committees today was his first since the Iran War began, and it gave Democrats a chance to push back
against the Secretary of State.
Here's Rubio sparring with Senator Cory Booker.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Here we have a worse situation where our adversary and our enemy, who's causing havoc in the region, who is funding
proxies and terrorists, has discovered, thanks to you all, the power of shutting down the Strait of Hormuz.
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: They knew that a long time ago, and they've done it before.
BOOKER: Clearly, we all knew that a long time ago. That's why this --
RUBIO: And they intend to do this --
BOOKER: -- this war should have never happened.
RUBIO: Yeah, but --
BOOKER: We have made our adversary in a stronger negotiating position. We are the strongest nation on the planet Earth, and we're in a stalemate with
Iran. And now, we're begging to get back into a deal that you all trashed in the first place.
RUBIO: There's no one begging.
BOOKER: Clearly, this is a --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Booker, your time's up. Secretary Rubio, since he's calling for you to respond.
(CROSSTALK)
RUBIO: Go to the heart of the matter, no one's begging for anything here. The Iranians might be begging because their economy is losing hundreds of
millions of dollars a day that they are losing. Understand, Iran had street protests going on before all of this started. All of those factors,
economic factors in Iran are far worse today than they were six months ago when those protests were happening.
They have hyperinflation, their currency is completely devalued. They're struggling to make payroll for their government workers. Iran is in a very
serious situation. And if it was up to the political class there, and I understand everybody there is sort of radical in some way, but if it was up
to the people that actually like go to elections and wear the suits and you see on TV, they'd probably make a deal tomorrow.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Let's bring in our senior national security reporter Jennifer Hansler live from Washington.
I mean, he was -- he took the questions, didn't he? There was a lot of grilling today. I mean, what did you learn from it, Jennifer?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Max, he certainly did take a lot of grilling, a lot of questions. We didn't get a
ton of new answers, but we did get some really interesting insights when it comes to the U.S. war against Iran. For example, he described the opening
of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran as a predicate to any further phase two talks, which he described as focusing on Iran's nuclear program.
He said as part of that opening they would want Iran to publicly address and voice that it was open that they would not attack ships in the strait,
and that they would help to clear the mines that Rubio said that they have laid quite extensively in that key waterway. The other thing he said, Max,
is that if this were to happen, there would be a phase two in which the two sides would discuss key details around Iran's nuclear program. He said that
these would likely be highly technical talks involving teams of experts that could take up to 90 days he said 30, 60, even 90 days for these
details to be worked out.
Of course, this is a much longer timeline when it comes to those specifics of Iran's nuclear program than what we have heard from others in the
administration who have been voicing a need for a quick end to a war.
Now, on the other front, sanctions relief, he said the U.S. was not offering sanctions relief to Iran in order to open the Strait of Hormuz. He
also noted that a lot of these sanctions are not only for the U.S. to lift, that these are not just unilateral sanctions, they're also UN and
international sanctions that would have to be worked out as part of this process.
[15:10:00]
Of course, that flies in the face of demands we have seen from Tehran, according to state media, that they want a bulk of these sanctions to be
listed at the outset.
Now, he was not only pressed on the Iran war, though this was the bulk of the questioning, particularly in this morning's Senate briefing. He was
also pressed on changes within his department here at the State Department, the vacancies and ambassadorial posts, for example. There are more than 100
posts throughout the world that do not have a confirmed U.S. ambassador in place. He said that this has not impacted their mission in terms of
spreading U.S. diplomacy.
He was also pressed on their policies towards the Western Hemisphere, where we have seen these kinetic boat strikes that have killed more than 200
people throughout the course of the past several months. These are people who Rubio said were tied to drug cartels. Interestingly, he did claim that
the U.S. has been given targets of boat strikes that they have rejected.
He was also pressed on cuts made under the USAID dismantlement and whether or not that impacted the response to Ebola. Rubio claimed that this has not
had any impact on the Ebola response. He also claimed that key other portions that were focused on global health have been rearranged and put
under different kinds of deals. He was very defensive when it comes to the changes that were made under his leadership here at the U.S. State
Department. He is right now being questioned yet again in front of another committee in the House.
A lot of that questioning so far been focused both on Iran and the Western Hemisphere, and he faces another round of lawmakers tomorrow. So there is a
lot to see when it comes from the top U.S. diplomat who is facing these lawmakers for the first time since the war started.
FOSTER: Yeah, that's been fascinating. Jennifer, thank you.
Now, a new round of talks between Israel and Lebanon is now underway in Washington. Hezbollah isn't at the table, though, but for the first time,
Hezbollah acknowledging it's studying a ceasefire proposal put forward by President Trump. Israel is keeping up attacks on southern Lebanon despite
the renewed diplomacy. This video shows the destruction left by strikes near a hospital in Tyre on Monday.
A Lebanon state news agency says the attack killed four people and injured 127 others, including dozens of hospital workers. Israel's prime minister
is facing pressure at home to escalate the war with Hezbollah after repeated attacks on northern Israel. But in a heated phone call, President
Trump urged Benjamin Netanyahu to scale back whilst efforts are underway for a broader peace deal with Iran. Mr. Trump says he stopped Israel from
carrying out a major raid on Beirut.
This was no ordinary phone call, with sources telling us that President Trump used expletives at times to get his points across.
Let's get more now from Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem.
I mean, tell us a bit more about the call, Jeremy, but also what the prime minister is saying about this scaling back, if there's going to be one?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's clear is that the Israeli prime minister had plans to carry out a major bombing raid on
the Lebanese capital of Beirut. The Israeli military, in fact, had issued evacuation orders already for the southern suburbs of Beirut known as the
Dahieh. And then Prime Minister Netanyahu got on the phone with President Trump and was forced to shelve those plans. And what we saw was a phone
call between the president and the prime minister, with sources telling us that the U.S. president reminded Prime Minister Netanyahu of his support
for Israel, of his support for the prime minister himself, and basically warned him of Israel being isolated further and effectively, what emerged
out of that deal was -- out of that call was an agreement from the Israeli prime minister not to carry out attacks on the Lebanese capital, so long as
Hezbollah stopped its attacks on Israeli communities in northern Israel.
And President Trump seems to have secured that agreement via Lebanese intermediaries from Hezbollah. But this is leading to intense political
criticism and pressure for the Israeli prime minister back at home. And he's facing criticism from within his own governing coalition, including
from the far right, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who said that now time to tell the U.S. president no, something that the Israeli
prime minister clearly was not able to do in this instance.
Prime Minister Netanyahu is also facing criticism from his from opposition leaders, the most credible folks who would be running against him as prime
minister in about four months' time. Pretty much all of the credible opposition uniformly is criticizing the prime minister for not following
through with these attacks on the Lebanese capital.
And that's because by and large the Israeli public, whether they are supportive of the Israeli prime minister or against him, various points on
the political spectrum all support intensifying attacks on Hezbollah, which the prime minister simply has his hands tied on right now because of the
fact that this ceasefire in Lebanon is not only essential to advancing the Israeli-Lebanese diplomacy that we saw on display once again in Washington
today, but also because it falls within the broader purview of President Trump's efforts at diplomacy with Iran after we saw Iran effectively
threaten to pull out of those negotiations if Israel did indeed escalate its attacks on Lebanon.
[15:15:34]
But what has not happened is a total ceasefire here. We are kind of back to the situation where we were last week, where the Israeli military is
continuing to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is continuing to attack Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, as well as those
kind of nearest to the Lebanese border in northern Israel. But what we are not seeing is the kind of major escalation of Israel's war in Lebanon that
the Israeli prime minister had prepared for, which the Israeli military was prepared for, and which ultimately Israel was forced to call off because of
pressure directly from President Trump.
FOSTER: Yeah. Jeremy Diamond in Jerusalem, thank you.
Now, Russia has slammed major Ukrainian cities in its deadliest assault in months. A lethal barrage was unleashed by Moscow, hitting the capital Kyiv,
Dnipro, and other areas. Ukraine says more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles were fired. At least 22 people were killed.
Coming up, we take you inside an Ebola ward's red zone near the epicenter of the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as an entire community
tries to contain the spread of a ferocious virus.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The head of the World Health Organization is calling for stronger health systems in Ebola hit areas after visiting the Democratic Republic of
Congo and briefing the president on the disease.
[15:20:01]
The outbreak is already the third largest on record. Experts believe the rare strain of the virus spread for weeks undetected. Health officials say
they're now behind the curve and struggling to bring it under control.
Chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward met with Ebola patients in Bunia, the epicenter of this outbreak, sharing their stories of remarkable
courage and heartbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is a surreal but now all too familiar ritual.
Healthcare workers painstakingly disinfect the coffin of the latest suspected victim of the Ebola virus at Bunia's General Hospital. His family
members look on in anguish, unable to get close to their loved one. Torn apart by grief and consumed by fear.
"Oh, my father. Why God?" this woman cries.
"Oh, God, this is my only father."
As the dead are carried out, new potential cases are arriving. At the entrance to the hospital, everyone's temperature must be taken.
WARD: So this is the room where they take people who are found to have a fever. There is a woman in there now, obviously they don't know if she has
Ebola or not but they're going to keep her here until they do more tests and get a better sense of what's going on.
WARD (voice-over): At a makeshift coordination center inside the hospital, Dr. Richard Kajol and his team are working round the clock to keep up with
an outbreak they say is out of control. They agreed to show me and photojournalist Alex Platt what they're up against.
WARD: We are now getting ready to go into the so called red zone of this hospital. That is the area where all suspect Ebola patients are put and
there is a lot of protective gear, unsurprisingly, that one needs to wear to go inside.
WARD (voice-over): Bundibugyo is a strain of the virus that few were expecting. There is no vaccine and no cure.
The doctors write our names on our backs so they can recognize us and then it's time to go in. At the moment, patients are treated in hastily
constructed tents. Thirty-year-old Gloria is a lab technician, one of dozens of health care workers believed to be infected.
WARD: She says it's difficult to breathe.
WARD (voice-over): Earlier, we met her sister waiting outside for news.
WARD (through translator): I saw your sister. She's waiting for the moment she can hug you again. Do you want us to tell your sister something from
you?
A message?
WARD (voice-over): "Do not be afraid," she says.
But it's impossible not to be scared. Some of the patients here are in very bad shape.
WARD: How do you stay strong when you're seeing this?
KOJAN: For me, it's our humanity.
WARD: Your humanity?
KOJAN: Yes, yes, it's our humanity. Many people are suffering like this, you know. I feel it. I feel it.
He was in coma.
WARD: Yeah.
KOJAN: It's Ebola confirmed.
WARD (voice-over): Ten-year-old Meshach (ph) is still very weak. His mouth ravaged with blisters from the virus. He asked the doctors for a banana, an
encouraging sign.
"Slowly, slowly," Dr. Kojan warns him.
His condition is improving but he has a long way to go.
KOJAN: You lay down, yes.
WARD: He wants to lay down?
Let's help him lay down then.
WARD (voice-over): They lay him down in the corridor while his room is disinfected.
Nothing about this situation is OK. But these doctors are doing everything they possibly can.
As we walk to another ward, a familiar sound in the distance.
WARD: You can hear the cries of a family who are claiming the body of their loved one. This is a scene that's playing out here multiple times
every single day.
This is a temporary ward for suspected cases. Patients lie waiting for test results that are taking up to a week to process.
So this is the situation that health care workers really want to avoid and are racing to put a stop to.
[15:25:01]
You have five patients in the same room, all of them suspected of having Ebola. But doctors can't be sure.
They can't rule out the possibility that one person in here may not have Ebola and then, of course, there's a strong chance they could contract it.
Every exit from the red zone is as careful as the entry. Protective equipment must be sprayed down with chlorine and methodically removed.
WARD: We were in there for maybe half an hour and I could barely stand up by the end. It's incredibly tiring, really hot. You're sweating so much.
You're thirsty.
I just like, help us understand the kind of stamina that you need as a doctor to be going in and out of that red zone multiple times every single
day.
KOJAN: It's really hard. We have to stand strong for those patients and otherwise, you know, the situation will be really very, very bad.
WARD: That 10-year-old boy -- that's hard to see.
KOJAN: The first day, you know, he was really bleeding, a lot of diarrhea and shock, you know. So you have to get a way to give IV fluid. It's not
really easy.
So -- and for me, you know, like an ICU doctor, when you have a situation like this, it's very hard to just say I have to stop because I'm tired.
WARD: On the outskirts of the city, the family we met earlier is burying their father, 72-year-old farmer Papababona Bodwan (ph).
The burial team forms a cordon around his grave. The mourners forced to grieve at a distance, the final cruelty of this vicious virus.
Clarissa Ward, CNN, Bunia, Democratic Republic of Congo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:30:31]
FOSTER: Back to our top story, U.S. President Donald Trump's already controversial choice for acting director of US intelligence. The president
has tapped Bill Pulte to replace Tulsi Gabbard for now, but Pulte is a staunch Trump loyalist and has been the driving force behind allegations of
mortgage fraud against the president's political foes.
Pulte had a background in real estate and private equity before becoming director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. He doesn't have any known
national security or intelligence experience.
One Senate Democrat tells CNN Pulte is clearly unqualified for the role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK WARREN (D-VA): I didn't think I could still be surprised by this administration. You could not have picked a worse choice. You know, we
created the Office of DNI years ago, to say you've got to have an intelligence professional. There is nothing in this guy's background that
gives any indication of any intelligence background.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: So what we want to know, is Bill Pulte qualified to be the director of U.S. Intelligence?
Joining us now, John Miller, CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst.
John, I can probably imagine your answer to that. But if you could also explain why it's so important in this particular role?
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, sure, Max. The answer is no. And why it's important is the director of
National Intelligence, and I say this speaking as a former deputy assistant director of National Intelligence who worked under two DNIs and spent a lot
of time in awe of the amount of experience, depth, and background of both the directors and the staff who worked there, to have somebody with a house
building background and a government background in housing and housing finance become the leader of the intelligence community of the United
States, perhaps the most vast intelligence collection network in the world, is not one that's going to go over well with either the directors of the
intelligence agencies he oversees, who will have trouble taking him seriously, or really, more importantly, our foreign counterparts in
intelligence agencies, from the Brits to across Europe to the Ukrainians who realize the person they're talking to doesn't really have the depth to
be here.
FOSTER: Well, this role was created after 9/11, I believe, wasn't it, John, to coordinate all the security agencies in the U.S. and make sure
there aren't any gaps like the ones that did appear in some of the investigations around that. So If any role requires expertise, it is this
role, isn't it? Because he has to understand what each of those agencies does and how to interpret what he's being told by them.
MILLER: That's exactly right, which is why it's the DNI who is in charge of preparing and overseeing the preparation of the President's daily
briefing. This person controls what the president sees in terms of briefings. It's the person who controls policy of the intelligence
community and oversight and investigates when things go wrong.
So in that way, experience is important, which is why, Max, they wrote it into the law that the Director of National Intelligence must have
intelligence executive experience to be in the job. So, of course, then you ask, how is he being appointed? He is being appointed in an acting
capacity. And based on the current law, he can serve in an acting capacity for up to 200 days.
Here's the thing. He's best known as the president's attack dog. So the question burning in the minds of intelligence professionals are: Is he here
as an attack dog? Is he here to marshal secrets collected by the intelligence agencies to weaponize those against critics, against enemies,
foreign and domestic? Is that his role?
FOSTER: Are you concerned at all that, you know, these agencies are power bases as well, aren't they? They can be quite political as well. At the
moment, they're being coordinated quite effectively, as I understand it, relatively. Are you concerned that that coordination could break down if
you don't have someone in the role who is expert in it and perhaps, as you're suggesting, might have this attack dog role?
MILLER: Well, the directors of the National Security Agency, the CIA, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency that controls the satellites, the
Defense Intelligence Agency are not going to look upon their Geospatial Intelligence Agency that controls the satellites, the Defense Intelligence
Agency are not going to look upon their titular leader as a peer, as an equal, and that does damage in its own way in that it makes him really not
a credible leader, even if he's there in name only.
The other thing about the DNI is it has no operational responsibilities. It has no ability to launch investigations. It has no ability to hire or fire
the other directors or to control their budgets. It's a job with enormous influence but very little power. But on the other hand, the Director of
National Intelligence has access to almost all the intelligence in all of those agencies, which of course, can be culled through, selectively cherry-
picked, and/or misused if that person's role is more politically driven than operationally.
John Miller, thank you. A lot of people blindsided by this one. We'll see how it works out.
Now it is primary day in many U.S. states today, though some of the biggest races are in California, an incredible list of 600 -- well, not quite, 61
gubernatorial candidates hoping to replace Gavin Newsom. The top two candidates will move on to the final race, which will be in November. And
there's a wild mayoral race in Los Angeles as well that's putting, amongst others, a former reality show star turned community activist, Spencer
Pratt, against embattled incumbent Karen Bass.
Now, Kyung Lah joins us from Los Angeles.
Fascinating to report on, Kyung.
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Very, and especially if you're talking to voters as they're arriving at their polling places. And
this is one of the busier ones. I'm going to try to slide in here without getting too in the way. You can see some voters coming out. This voter, you
can see she has her sealed ballot in her hand. And people are excited. This is you're seeing democracy in action.
And then you can just follow this lady here, the right over her shoulder where she's aiming for is a drop off station. That's where you drop off
your ballot that you've sealed and that will eventually get counted. You can see them stuffing it in there and then if you're going to vote in
person -- hello, ma'am -- you just check in here and then you can see there are all of these workers who are checking voters in and then once they pick
up their ballot, they head over to these voting stations. They're each marked in yellow and that's where they can vote in person.
You mentioned the large number of candidates. I do want to point out that 600 slip, Max, more than 600 places that you can vote in the city of Los
Angeles today, in Los Angeles County. And we're seeing a lot of activity because this is such a hotly contested race for the top of the ticket --
the governor of California, it is -- there's no clear winner no clear leader for the governor of California. There is also no clear leader for
the mayor's race for the city of Los Angeles.
And you mentioned Max the candidate who was the reality TV candidate that is impacting people and how they are voting strategically. I want you to
listen to this woman.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN HAGGERTY, VOTER: I don't want Pratt in. So for me, it was really, I wanted Raman, but I didn't know if voting for her might take away votes
from Bass and then Pratt would get in. So it was kind of a mixed thing, voting for the person I wanted, but also trying to keep somebody else out.
Because in my opinion, our country's not being run well right now, and I think he would just duplicate that.
You have to figure out it's not only who you want in that you think could make the changes, but if you're voting for them is going to cause someone
that you think will not be good in the office. And I think you have to kind of change your vote based on that, which is unfortunate, but I think it's
what we have to do nowadays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAH: So, those names that you're hearing, the first person is Mayor Karen Bass. She is the incumbent running to her left is Nithya Rahman. And then
to her right is that is Spencer Pratt, the former reality TV star who is now a candidate. And all three of them, Max, there is no clear leader. The
latest poll is showing that they're all at about the same pace, which is something that this very blue city was not expecting -- Max.
FOSTER: Yeah, all that tactical voting you've got to get ahead around.
Kyung, thank you so much. It's going to be so interesting to get that result.
Now, in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are continuing to rally. The Dow Jones is up today as optimism over A.I. and strong tech
forecasts drive up those global stocks.
This is our Business Breakout.
Now Iran is demanding the immediate release of $12 billion in frozen funds as part of any initial deal with the U.S.
[15:40:01]
That's according to Iran's Fars News Agency. The outlet reports Qatar has committed to acting as the guarantor for those funds. Qatar has denied
reports it offered Iran the money to ensure a deal can be reached.
U.S. job openings are at their highest level in nearly two years. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows job postings rose sharply in April. Most of
those openings were in professional and business services.
The White House is now seeking early government access for the most advanced artificial intelligence models. Early today, President Trump
signed an executive order that grants US agencies up to 30 days to run cybersecurity tests on new A.I. models. The order comes as models like
Anthropic's Mythos spark security concerns.
Still to come, an 18-year-old student's shocking death has sparked fierce backlash against police here in the U.K. We'll show you the video that has
just been released.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Here in the UK, police are facing intense backlash after newly released body cam footage showed an 18-year-old student died from stabbing,
stab wounds whilst he was being handcuffed, warning the video is disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've been stabbed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've been stabbed, whereabouts? I think you have, mate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Henry Nowak died after a knife attack in Southampton last year. Police handcuffed him as he lay dying from stab wounds.
His murderer, a 23-year-old Sikh man named Vickrum Digwa, was sentenced to life in prison on Monday. Digwa falsely claimed he was the victim of a
racist attack. Nowak's family say his treatment by police was inhumane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK NOWAK, HENRY NOWAK'S FATHER: Henry did not die with dignity.
[15:45:00]
He did not die with the care he deserved. He lost consciousness before anyone believed him.
Let me be absolutely clear. We hold Vickrum Digwa solely and 100 percent responsible for the brutal murder of our son, but Henry should not have
died on the streets of Southampton in police custody. The way he was treated was inhumane and degrading.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: The case has flared tensions in the U.K. over race relations and immigration. Nigel Farage, whose anti-immigration reform party leads
opinion polls, says people should respond with pure cold rage. It's worth noting the killer in this case was born in the U.K. The British government
says a thorough investigation into the actions of the police will take place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHABANA MAHMOOD, BRITISH HOME SECRETARY: It is without question a disturbing and tragic thing to see. People are rightly asking questions
about how the situation was handled and they are shocked and disquieted to hear Henry's words, "I can't breathe". I know that it is difficult to wait
any longer for answers. But there is a proper process to assess whether there have been incidents of police misconduct, led by the Independent
Office for Police Conduct, the IOPC.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: What we don't know is how will policing in the UK change in light of this murder?
Joining me now is Dal Babu, former chief superintendent for London's Metropolitan Police.
Dal, thank you for joining us.
I mean, you know how police should act, you've been in those positions before. What did you make purely of the video and the police -- how it
performed in that video?
DAL BABU, FORMER CHIEF SUPERINTENDENT, LONDON METROPOLITAN POLICE: Yeah, I think you can't sweeten the pill. This was an appalling situation and Henry
should never have been handcuffed.
What we do know is that the family of Digwa had -- brother had phoned up the police. He told a pack of lies to the police control handler. There was
another phone call, but we don't know what information the officers who turned up on the scene had.
Henry was sort of almost unconscious when they arrived. He was very, very distressed. He was saying he couldn't breathe and he told police officers
he had been stabbed and the police officers told him that they didn't think he was.
And for any reason which defies common sense, for somebody who was so vulnerable and so badly injured, a police officer decided to handcuff Henry
behind his back -- so cuffed behind his back. There seemed to be absolutely no need for that. The murderer, Digwa, was standing there, continuing to
lie along with his family. His mother had found the knife that he'd committed the murder, taken that from the scene and tried to hide it. She's
subsequently been arrested and charged and convicted of that offence.
The brother, he still has to account for the lies he told to the police.
I think the difficulty is that the police officers turned up, they'd heard this one account that they had from the, that had been given to the control
room by Digwa's brother. What they didn't appear to do was do a proper investigation.
What you would expect in those kind of circumstances is a police officer to arrive, to split up, talk to the two different parties, and then once
they've got a full account of what's actually occurred, then make a decision about whether there should be an arrest, no arrest or any further
action.
It appears they've just gone in believed the Digwa lies from the brothers and then made the arrest of Henry, who sadly would not have survived the
stab wounds to his chest.
FOSTER: There's obviously politicians that are weighing into this. I don't know what you think of that, but they say there's bias speaking here, the
sort of bias we used to see against other minorities in the past is now being targeted at white young men, mainly that they are now presuming guilt
too quickly, which in the past has applied to other groups, hasn't it?
You know, when you were in the force, that was something you had to deal with and had to change the culture there. What do you make of this idea
that perhaps the culture in the police forces has gone too far in one direction, they've lost balance?
BABU: Well, I don't accept that assertion that's been made by, and it's been made by far-right politicians, anti-immigrant politicians.
[15:50:01]
And the point you made right in the beginning is really pertinent. Digwa, he was, he's British, has is the victim, but we have with some politicians
almost a two-tier citizenship issue here where they express huge concerns where a person of color commits a crime against a white person. They don't
do that when a white person commits a crime against a person of color.
But essentially, these are all British citizens. They just happen to be a different skin color. I don't think we should move away, and the family
have made it very, very clear. The family have says that the person responsible for the murder of Henry is Digwa.
I mean, his family lied, they misrepresented what had happened. Digwa was the one who stabbed Henry five times. He made-up some lies about being
racially abused. And his mother then was responsible for taking the knife away from the scene to try and cover up the crime.
So, you know, it's a horrendous situation and it's caused huge distress in this country because people see that video.
FOSTER: Yeah, and it's causing tension, isn't it, Dal? You know, you've been involved in these upswellings of feeling. I mean, the reality,
whatever happened, now you've got a lot of anger. It's focused in Southampton. It's bubbling up in the media.
How are they meant to manage this, the police managing a situation where they are actually being accused by, if I can call it protesters, and you
know how these things can quickly escalate?
BABU: Yeah, absolutely. And I think normally what you would have is in this country, we have a tradition of politicians calming things down. But
that's not happening here. We have far right politicians who are basically saying that people should be very angry. And that's very, very different.
I think in this country, we seem to be replicating the divisive politics that have been in America with the election of Trump. And now we're seeing
that replicated in in Britain and indeed in Europe. And then we've had interventions from Elon Musk on this case. I think what we need cool hands.
FOSTER: Yeah.
BABU: Sorry. Thank you.
FOSTER: I hope -- yeah, not at all. I'm sorry because it's the timing, but we're going to watch this because there is bubbling up here.
Dal, appreciate your time as ever. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Finally tonight, the White House Correspondents Association says a second correspondents' dinner will happen on Friday, July the 24th. April's
event had got underway when a gunman rushed through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton and opened fire. President Donald Trump, Vice
President J.D. Vance, other members of the cabinet then had to be escorted from the ballroom.
The president wrote on Truth Social that he will attend the rescheduled event, which he says will be at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN. More after the break.
END
TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS
