Epstein Files Back in the Spotlight

Just hours from now, Pam Bondi faces questions about the Epstein files. What could she reveal? We've been trying to talk to them. We've we're tired of asking to speak to them. And Blue Origins hot fire test turned into a hot mess. A new rocket explosion on the launch pad. I need to step up for my community and for Los Angeles and stop this. Three candidates locked in a tight LA mayor's race just days before the primary. Could Spencer Pratt actually win this thing? Alright,

Things turned violent overnight in New Jersey. Police and protesters clash outside an immigration facility. Th no living person can be on US currency. If so, then why is Trump's face about to be on the$250 bill? Who are we covering for? Like You were willing to lose your job. to cover up for these people. What do they have on you?

Jeffrey Epstein survivors have questions for Pam Bondi. Will they actually get their answers today? Good morning everybody. I'm Audie Cornish and we're gonna start there with the former Attorney General heading to the hill today. Pambandi is going to sit before a House Oversight Committee in a closed door hearing to discuss the handling of the Epstein files. And there are a lot of questions about

These redactions. Or, for instance, what happened to the supposed list and how the administration went from all the names must be released to case closed. If people in that report are still fighting to keep their names private, Sean, they have no legal basis to do so. DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?

It's sitting on my desk right now to review. We have released thirty-three thousand over thirty-three thousand Epstein documents to the Hill, and we'll continue to follow the law. Um and to have maximum transparency. I have spent my entire career fighting for victims, and I will continue to do so. Yeah.

Joining me today in the group chat, Danielle Bensky, Epstein Survivor, and Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor. Danielle, thank you so much for being here. Um I I want to start with Elliot so the audience knows what we're dealing with. Is Pam Bondi under oath? How legal is this so to speak? Just tell us about this process. А тента про це конгрес хаз хирингсь депозити.

Transcribes interviews or whatever else, the rules are quite open-ended. So even the very question Audie that you asked of whether she's under oath is something that's negotiated. James Comer, at least as far as I saw recently, the chair of the committee, did not answer the question as to whether she'd be under oath. Now

I will note making a false statement to Congress whether you're under oath or not is still a federal offense. So I I think we get hung up on the oath question a little bit. But you know it's still a crumb. I don't understand the states. And for you, Danielle, unfortunately you've become a vet at these hearings, right? You've become you've seen various incarnations of this. Um do you believe Pam Bondi has stood up for victims?

No, not at all. I think if anything she didn't even give us baseline humanity when we were there the last time. She could not even turn around and give us just that moment. And she had three opportunities to turn around and see us. um and she didn't take a single one. Um but it's such an interesting point because I I think the like the fact that these interviews are transcribed not under oath and that we won't be able to get into the room. As survivors, I think that there's something that

We wanna hear the inflection in the voice. We wanna see what her reactions are. You know, we wanna take this in for ourselves and be able to really understand what happened. These are our lives in these files and they've been outed. I mean our government released nude photos. of underage and of young girls. This is when they were uh in the in their act of transparency required by law, release many documents that suddenly were not as redacted as well as they were

over redacted, right? The redactions just made no sense. Now that Bondi is testifying in a personal capacity, and I want to start with you, Elliot, first, no longer attorney general, does that alter things? What she can say, or even her demeanor, as Danielle, you know, had hoped to say. Right. Under no circumstance can she reveal and this is what's gonna be the real tricky and sticky point here, can she reveal deliberations or secret things within the Justice Department?

Whether she's appearing as an individual or in her capacity of attorney general. And and I understand that that representatives from the Justice Department will still be there to ensure that she doesn't wade too much into uh Justice Department deliberations or whatever. Now that said. Why did you say X? What was behind uh the way you behaved in this manner? Um and even if that's not

um opening the door to conversations she had with the attorney uh the deputy attorney general or whatever else at the time, there's still valuable information to be had. It's very sensitive. And quite frankly, does she take the fifth on any of this? Well, yeah Which it is not out of the question that someone comes into that room and you know and takes pleads the fifth and doesn't choose to answer some questions that she thinks.

Daniel, you've watched Democrats play through this a bunch again, right? We've watched Republicans, but we've watched also watch Democrats. Try and perform this excavation of information. We're going to have House Oversight Democrat James Walkinshaw on later today. What would you like him to ask what is what is the thing you wish Democrats would be doing better this time around?

I think w the question has always been about process for us because we don't know the process of the redactions, of course, we don't know why the release happened the way it did. I know my lawyer worked with another lawyer. Um, they were given uh the DOJ was given a list of 350 names to be protected. And of course, then n not only were they not protected the first time, but three times, three iterations down the line, and our names are still out there.

Um and so, you know, redactions were an issue, of course we know over redacting and under redacting the release itself and investigations. At the end of the day, all any of us have ever wanted was in investigation and now we're seeing Eugene Carroll be investigated, a survivor. She's there's a criminal investigation that's being launched in her. And yet we haven't seen a single investigative lead even be followed within

We should say Eugene Carroll it's a little different. She also went through a civil um process, which is different standard of of law uh and guilt. Um at this point Are you exhausted? And I don't mean that facetiously. I mean this process does not seem to be bearing fruit. But tell me if I'm wrong. Tell me if, yes, you're doing it and you're feeling, you know what, every day we do this, it's still worth it.

I think we, you know, the Survivor Sister community really does motivate each other and I think we are now looking to go to the state level to make real change. And so right now we're looking at a law um that f buying sex from a fifteen to seventeen year old girl is looked at as a misdemeanor in New York City right now.

Um so we're looking at like if the FBI and the Department of Justice won't help us, let's at least go to the state level and find some reform there and start, you know, and then we can build up hopefully from there. So that is hopeful to be on teams where really lobbying for new

Yeah, yeah, and you guys all got a bunch of newfound talents here in terms of walking the halls of Congress and you know, doing this kind of conversation. So I appreciate you for coming on. Thanks so much. Elliot stick around. Coming up on CNN this morning, Trump wants his face

on a new piece of currency and there's a little bit of a backlash over the plan to print a new$250 bill. Plus, there was a massive explosion. It's a Blue Origin rocket that blew up during a ground test and clashes overnight because Protesters are still outside that ICE facility in New Jersey where detainees are reportedly having a hunger strike over conditions.

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I I don't think that the uh there's anything untoward about having the President of the United States, the the person who was president of the United States on the 250th anniversary bill. Uh, Treasury Secretary Scott Besson defending a plan by the White House to put President Trump's face on a new two hundred and fifty dollar bill, of course, to commemorate America's two hundred and fiftieth birthday.

Now putting the image of a living person on U.S. currency is not legal, so it would have to be authorized by Congress. And the idea has not been well received. Hillary Clinton, for example, tweeting by the end of Trump's term, it'll be just enough to buy one gallon of gas and a carton of eggs. And of course, Democrats are piling on.

How much more evidence before we all realize that Donald Trump doesn't care about affordability? He doesn't care about your family. He cares about self-aggrandizement, whether it's ballrooms, slush funds, his face on money illegally. Joining the group chat today, Rob Lewey, President and Executive Editor of the Daily Signal, Noelle King, co-host and editorial director of the Today Explained podcast, and Elliott Williams, of course.

or legal analyst still here. So uh I wanna start with you, Noelle, because I I feel like you you don't fly off the handle about things. And there is a world of people who are like Look at all the things his name is on. The Kennedy Center. The passports, the National Parks passes. I actually have one of those. So do I of cour you do, of course. And then there's the gold card visa program.

And then there's the Institute of Peace. So I think that for a guy who put his name on stakes and hotels and sneakers, this is like not a wild idea. I get it. I get where President Trump is coming from. I do think, I mean I have said on your show repeatedly that I think the economic messaging coming from the White House is really deranging.

And all this does is remind Americans that they don't have$250 to waste. And I really I do think that their There are better ways to do everything all the time, always, but this is one where it just feels like stop reminding us. That we're broke and that we feel broke. If President Trump came out and said, I'm gonna give you all two hundred and fifty dollars with my name and my face on it, I don't know.

And Rob in your notes you were saying look there was the idea of the trillion dollar coin that the Barack Obama era they were gonna do to solve the debt crisis, which is an interesting argument except we're kind of in another debt situation. So they haven't solved that. Um but to you, talk about that messaging part of it.'Cause w what Noelle said wasn't that this is just bad, but that it is reminding people over and over again what they don't have.

Oh sure. I mean th this is a huge issue as we've talked about many of times, and you know my feelings on it, that the White House has a big issue to solve when it comes to Convincing the American people that the economy is going to be better and on a trajectory that's going to leave them with better personal finances. I think that that's why it's so critically important. Congress can pass this bill. I'll be

Fully supportive of Joe Wilson's legislation to put President Trump on the bill. Calvin Coolidge was on the bill a hundred years ago. But Audie, what they need to do. Someone passed a law that's like, let's not do this. You know what I mean? It feels like there was a conversation people had where they were like, Let's not put living people on the money. We've got reasons for that. And now we're just sort of like, nah

Do you do you want the president's face on money? Like it's a and it's a sincere question I have. It's for supporters of the president: is this truly what you want? And and I mean that. It's um because the you know, I I even watching the Secretary of the Treasury talk about, well, it's a 250th anniversary, and yes, it's a special time and like no, really, do supporters of the president actually think that the sitting president of the United States ought to have his face on a dollar basis?

I think they think it's not a big deal. I agree with Audio. I have no idea. I mean maybe it'll be like the two dollar bill. I don't have one of those and I'm not worried. About it. It'll just that's fair, that's fair. Well, only people in his economy maybe will get this particular love to collect things in in our country. I'll show it up! Let's talk about this. I went to the National Archives with my kids over the weekend, and irony. Seventy six.

was the last time we had all of this like kitschy country anniversary stuff. Another time where the economy was not amazing. Exactly. And because You know who wasn't on the bill in nineteen seventy six? Gerald Ford. But it's just guys, this is so propo utterly preposterous. It's not like of in a in a time in American history where we are firing data scientists.

'Cause they don't provide the president with uh the numbers that he wants. There are far bigger fights to fight, and I get it, this is not the thing to lose your mind over. But if we really wanted a unifying figure uh on the two hundred fiftieth And Betsy Ross, you know, like uh Dwight D. Eisenhower, there are people who could have been on the other. Betsy Ross, we're putting in a vote for Betsy Ross. Okay. Maybe we can put her on the$500 bill. You gotta do that? All about the Betsy's? Okay.

After the break on CNN. I knew you'd like that. I knew you'd like that. The next thing we're gonna talk about is uh protein maxing. Is it the new South Beach diet or Atkins diet or Paleo diet? We're gonna talk about the growing obsession with protein everything and its effect on In the farming industry. And then thanks but no thanks. Nearly all of the artists booked for the Freedom 250 concert series are bowing out.

Everyone here today has a phone in their pocket that is algorithmically programmed to celebrate you and you alone by making you the protein maxing hero of your own special journey.

Okay, protein seems to be making it into everything these days, even the Harvard commencement address by Conan O'Brien. I want to talk about this sudden obsession with protein maxing. We're wondering if it's actually gonna start a shortage because there's an explosion in protein everything, protein pasta, protein drinks.

uh protein soda, protein cereal, protein pop-tarts, yes, even protein Doritos and farmers are taking notice. They are dealing with crashing prices on their traditional crops because of tariffs and high fuel costs. So some are saying, quote, peas, lentils, and chickpeas have been a bright spot due to the rising demand for protein-infused foods beyond traditional sources like meat, poultry, and fish. It's the latest story from Reuter.

So I'm bringing in my friend to the group chat, Ari Shapiro, my co-host on the new podcast Engagement Party. Hi, Ari. How are you? Episode drops today. I know, it does. Okay, this was actually your topic on the show because I don't try and max anything. I don't max anything either. Yeah. So why is this a thing?

Well the first question is are we facing a shortage? The Atlantic raised that question because Most of the protein that's added to products comes from whey, which is a byproduct of making dairy, and whey has pretty much stayed flat in the United States, and as the demand for protein grows.

the demand is outstripping the supply. But I think the real question is why is everybody suddenly obsessed with how much protein they're getting? And there's a combination of reasons. Like a lot of people are on GLP ones, more than one in ten Americans. That makes people want more protein. There's the political element where the MAGA movement is really pushing people to eat steak every day as RFK Jr.

MAGA movement. It's like the the Maha wing of the MAGA movement really stresses prote you're you're f you're nodding at this. If you have a little cheat sheet of an upside down food pyramid um that's out there What what's fine wh what's the problem with this? My problem is just with like we don't need protein Pop Tarts. You want protein? Dip some carrots and hummus. Eat a hard boiled egg. Like there are foods that have protein in them. We don't have to go crazy.

Um does anyone here want a hard boiled egg, hummus and carrots? No, and not patron and egg. Sorry. Uh protein Doritos were a hundred percent not on my bingo card and now it's the star in the center. Um I feel like, Elliot, you're gonna have thoughts about why this is a thing. No, it's I the nineteen nineties was fat. Everything was we have to get fat out of our diet. The two thousands became carbs. We gotta get carbs out of our diet. Now

It's well we need more protein. I get it. And quite frankly, people who've lifted weights or exercised have known about this secret protein. Magic. This magic all along. I know like Rob Lewy, those lats wouldn't have jacked themselves. Yes. But point being is it is an interesting sort of thing, but we see these arcs in how people consume and what they consume for and what the latest diet trend is, and this seems like the one today, right?

Yeah. But to Ari's point, I mean R F K Junior is also making it an issue, right, in terms of the guidelines that they're putting out of from the federal government. Yeah, which the new pyramid which is now an upside down pyramid. If you look at the top it's sort of like butter, bacon, a whole chicken.

And then a broccoli. No, the broccoli's still there, but yeah, it's a completely different setup. Okay, I wanna talk about one other thing which is kind of related to the economy. We've been talking about how people are dealing with the economy all week, frankly. And there is this this concept I'm hearing in the music industry, blue dot fever. Yeah, this is not a disease. Nice, nice for this show.

This is when you go to buy a ticket for an arena show and you see a sea of blue dots meaning unsold seats, and there are a lot of artists that have just not been able to fill the space and have been canceling. We actually went and looked uh for some of the headlines and it was pretty brutal. I think uh Meg Trainer was on there, I think Zay Malik was on there. Key for some. Yeah. So is this an issue of um

They didn't have the demand for their supply? Is this an issue of they never should have been in a venue that big in the first place? Like what's the scutt you know Aries in a in a music band I Sometime of moonlight. As one is one to do. Well look from the perspective of the musicians, yeah. The fuel for the buses. So in some situations, unless you can play a big venue

just can't make the economics of touring work. But then if you ask the customers, they're not buying the tickets because the tickets cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars. And then if you ask the execs of Live Nation and Ticketmaster, they say it's not us, it's the resellers who are jacking up the prices. But the upshot is the tickets aren't selling, the bands aren't playing, and the shows are getting canceled.

And anyone who's watched the Ticketmaster Live Nation saga play out would say reasonably ticket prices are getting expensive because there's consolidation in the industry. There isn't competition among uh entities that are selling the tickets, and they're going up, right? I should say it's New Jersey and New York A Gs who are uh filing suit or just investigating?

investigating I believe but it but it's an antitrust question with Ticketmaster and Live Nation. It's not going away anytime soon. This has been uh percolating for years and I think part of that's driving the cop Okay, we have to let Ari go, he has to boil an egg, he has to get his pennace out. I prefer poach. Of course. A new episode of our video podcast. Hear that music? And straight ahead.

We have to turn to some news. I'm sorry. We're talking about what Jeff Bezos is dealing with, an explosion on the launch pad of a Blue Origin ground test. It didn't go as planned. No injuries, but we want to bring you the reporting on that. And then there's a 14-year-old from California. Who is the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee Champion? And here's that$50,000 moment. We're gonna bring that to you when we come back.

Comedian Craig Ferguson is going coast to coast to unpack what it really means to be an American today. What could possibly go wrong? Craig Ferguson, American on Purpose. News series premieres May 30th and 9th on CNN and next day on the CNN app. Oh, just my tight. Oh, mean the house. Welcome to the hives competition. of the summer. Say two! Three amateur renovation teams paired with a top HGTV mentor will transform three beach houses into a life-changing opportunity.

$50,000 cash. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Did you say 50? Can we join? Season Premier Battle on the Beach. June 1st at 9 on HGTV. Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish. I want to thank you for joining me on CNN this morning. It is half past the hour, and here's what's happening right now.

Most of the musical acts drop out of the concert series celebrating America's 250th birthday. Freedom 250 was supposed to be a nonpartisan is a nonpartisan group that's backed by President Trump. They're organizing this. Great American State Fair, seven artists including Martina McBride, Brett Michaels, and the Commodore say they were unaware of the political connection.

Yo, you're doing the Trump Freedom Show. Yo, you're doing the show on the 25th, 20th and 50th anniversary of your ass with Donald Trump. I'm like what? You didn't say nothing about Trump? So far rappers Flow Rida and Vanilla Ice have not said if they will still perform.

And tensions rising outside that New Jersey immigration detention center. It's at the center of a controversy and protesters clashed with armed federal immigration officers last night. Demonstrators have been outside Delaney Hall for days claiming people detained. So far, at least six protesters were arrested.

And I'm going to show you this Woo Origin rocket that exploded during a test launch in Cape Canaveral. This happened just last night during an engine firing test ahead of the satellite launch planned for next week. Now Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos says they're working to figure out what caused it. There are no injuries, nobody was hurt. But joining us now, Keith Cowing, he's editor of NASAWatch.com.

You're looking at this video like the rest of us. Blue Origin is calling it an anomaly. What do you see, Keith? Well, this is a s you know, one of those instances where the video pretty much tells us everything we know it the rocket blew up. Uh they were testing the engines to be sure that it was ready to go. They had a they tried it, it didn't work. They tried it again and just as they started to do that it blew up.

And so at this point, one of the lightning towers was blown off, the tower was rocking, the rockets completely destroyed, and a lot of the buildings around it, including apparently some other rocket stages, were destroyed. So not a good day, as we would say at NASA. Um is it not a good day or is it indicative of something more for blue origin? Where are they in the space race?

Well, they were just getting started. Their rocket had flown three times. The last time it flew it had an upper stage problem which had already caused some concern. This time it's the bo apparently the first stage. Um if you listen to the rhetoric about going back to the moon, it's pr it pretty much requires a rocket to get us there, and it was either going to be a SpaceX rocket.

which also had problems last week and the FAA has grounded. So our two ways of getting to the moon may which may be rather amazing aren't working. There's a mission coming up uh in Earth orbit to test both landers which are not ready on rockets that aren't apparently not gonna be ready. So the whole beat China to the moon thing is somewhat in question. We'll have to find out what happened.

Okay. Well thank you so much, Keith. We're gonna learn more about what happened in the coming days. Appreciate your time.

Now I want to turn to the issue of Iran because US officials say they have reached a tentative agreement to open the Strait of Ormuz and start nuclear talks. The question is whether the president will sign off. I can't guarantee that we're gonna get there, but right now I feel pretty good about it. Hopefully. Uh that's So we're not there yet, but we're very close.

So like he said, TBD, this TBD idea would kick-start a 60-day negotiation period to address Iran's nuclear stockpile. President Trump has said, look, he's not going to be rushed, even if there are midterms coming up. He is taking a statesmanlike position that he has a f a a core belief and he he believes that the most important thing is for Iran never to have a nuclear weapon. So I I believe uh

Those things can be true. That we can do well in the midterms, that we uh perhaps have the makings of a deal here. So joining the group chat is Democratic Congressman James Watkinshaw from Virginia. Thank you so much for being here. So I wanted to ask you about what this whole conversation around midterms in Iran, because I think the argument is that.

The Iranians watch American media. They know the pressure that is on this president. So are Democrats gonna be campaigning on Iran and the war and these things come midterm? Well, I I guess it remains to be seen where the situation in Iran will stand in the fall, but we know that gas prices have skyrocketed

unlikely they're gonna decline significantly by the fall and I think that's gonna be a significant issue whether this deal comes together or not. At the end of the day, Donald Trump campaigned on ending foreign wars, precisely the kind of foreign war that he got us into. in Iran and Americans are paying the price for him uh reneging on that commitment.

Well one other question on this topic, which is that I know Democrats feel like this is a war that president should not have gotten into in the first place. I do hear that. What I don't hear is what they would consider a good path out. If people are going to vote for you come midterms, they may want you to find a way to end this war or at least to have a plan to talk about. W what is the word in the caucus?

Yeah, look, obviously we feel I feel is a huge catastrophic strategic failure to get into the war. Given the situation that we're in now, I think any deal that actually opens the strait. And remember, the strait was open before the war. Any deal that opens a strait and guarantees that it stays open and at least leads to a conversation around the nuclear weapons is the best case scenario given the catastrophic decision.

Yeah. So the path they're on is not a path you disagree with. Open the straight and figure out the nuclear stuff. No matter what, those are the steps is what I'm hearing. That's what you that's what you have to do. Now look, I don't think Iran is gonna agree to any significant

Certainly they're not going to agree to completely dismantle their nuclear program. Why would they? They're stronger today than they were before the war started. The regime is harder line. They control the strait now in a way they didn't before the war. We're weaker, so we got to get the best deal that we can at this point.

All right, I want to turn to something else because you have been very involved in the issue of transparency around Epstein survivors. Um we had one on earlier today and she had a question for you. I'm gonna play for you. Uh because Pam Bondi is set to go before your committee. It's not gonna be public, we're not gonna see it. And here's what Danielle uh our our guest earlier asked.

Redactions were an issue. Of course we know over redacting and under redacting the release itself and investigations. At the end of the day, all any of us have ever wanted was in investigation and now we're seeing Eevee Carroll be investigated, a survivor. She's there's a criminal investigation that's being launched in her. Um and yet we haven't seen a single um investigative lead even be followed

Um can you answer this a little? I mean I I understand but let's look we have a off a thing the rest of us can't see. Yeah. Right? The legal sort of um usefulness of it is very questionable. Can you answer some of the points she's making there? One, it's important to acknowledge why you won't be able to see it. That's a decision that Chairman Comer, the Republican chairman of the committee, made. He has the authority to say we're gonna videotape this. He chose not to based on negotiations.

with Pam Bondi. But I think Danny nailed it, I mean, we have to understand why the law wasn't followed, why the files weren't fully released, why there were illegal redactions, why things that should have been redacted were not redacted. We need to understand why Ghlaine Maxwell was transferred to that lower security, cushier prison situation after the conversation with Todd Blanche. Those are things the survivors are asking. Those are answers we deserve from Pam Bondi today.

Well Congressman, uh one thing I that I'd be curious about is you remember that famous scene at the White House where all those social media influencers were holding up those big binders. What was going on? Wha w what was the strategy behind that? Why did they decide to do it? Why did Bondy go on and uh say on multiple T V interviews that she had the client list and then

The Department of Justice didn't do it. So I think that there's bipartisan a bipartisan opportunity here probably to invoke through the spirit of transparency and hopefully get some answers. Yeah, I think that's right. I mean in the timeline is important here. President Trump campaigned on releasing the files and the client list. Pam Bondi said she was reviewing the client list on her desk. Those social media uh figures had those binders that supposedly had the files.

After that, we know that Pam Bondi went into the Oval Office or somewhere, met with Donald Trump, and said, Mr. President, you need to know you're in the vials 38,000 times. At that point, the administration's posture changed and they shifted to cover-up. Elliot made a point earlier that if those are under deliberation, like there's areas where she may be able to say, I can't talk about that.

Yeah, I'm generally curious about that. Like to what extent can she plausibly and quite frankly legally say those are internal deliberations of the Justice Department and I'm not able to talk about them in this forum? Like how are you how will you deal with Yeah, that would be interesting to see. I mean, A, because it's a transcribed interview and the chairman hasn't held her to the deposition that the subpoena called for, uh, she's technically appearing voluntarily.

So she could say, I'm not going to answer that question. I think what she will have to think about is a future Congress where perhaps a subpoena is truly enforced and there is a deposition where she has to answer questions. Does she want to put herself through that in the future or just answer the questions openly and honestly today? Okay, well we hope to have you back so we can find out more about what happened. Um in the meantime, thank you so much, Congressman Walkinshaw.

Uh I want to give you this update. Rescue teams in Laos about to begin the perilous rescue to save five people trapped deep underground. There are specialist cave divers who have successfully cleared an access route. They've pumped out water. All hangs on the weather. We've got Will Ripley on the scene in Laos. Um Will give us the update on on these gold miners who ended up trapped in this cave.

Hey Audi Yeah, so they're just about a forty minutes walk up this road, which they have dug out just in recent days with heavy machinery, and we've seen uh we've seen vehicles, we've seen ambulances coming in and out, and we've gotten word

from cave divers that we've been in touch with that they've now begun the operation to try to bring these five villagers to safety. But this Is a very dangerous and perilous moment because just for somebody who's a strong, experienced c diver, we're told getting from the location where these villagers are trapped. Climbing up at times you know 45 degree angles to get towards the surface. Even though the water levels in the cave are now down, it's still slick.

And they say for somebody who's strong and healthy, that could take two to three hours. But these villagers, some of them have been complaining that their health has been deteriorating, especially in recent days, breathing in a lot of that stale air. So it could really be even longer than that. And this uh rescue is contingent on these villagers being able to leave uh to walk and crawl out

on their own power. If they have to be carried by stretcher or if the rain were to begin again and the caves were to flood, then the whole operation would have to be called off. I mean just a couple of weeks ago in the Maldives there was a rescue diver who was killed in a rescue operation. So these next

hours are really going to be touch and go. But people here seem to be encouraged. We talked to a woman whose husband is one of the five villagers trapped in the cave. She said for the past nine days She hasn't been able to sleep, she hasn't been able to eat, and she's praying that her husband is going to be one of the five who successfully is able to walk out.

Also two divers are still uh sorry, two villagers are still technically missing, but there is hope we're told from cave divers on the scene that those two could also be located in a different chamber, a bit deeper and farther into the cave, and they're gonna try to perhaps Find them and if they're still alive, try to extract them as well. So there's a lot of hope, but certainly a lot of danger to come uh in the coming hours here as this uh n rescue operation really kicks into high gear.

Okay, thank you to Will who's there on the scene in Laos as that rescue operation is underway. And up ahead on CNN this morning, Disney and ABC pushing back why they're claiming that the FCC is threatening free speech. Plus we're gonna talk Spencer Pratt, locked in a tight race to become the next mayor of Los Angeles, now the former reality TV star is addressing some past controversial comments.

So ABC is accusing Trump's FCC of quote unconstitutional retaliation in a station license fight. So we gotta lawyer up because Elliot is here, CNN's legal analyst. So uh w first of all, why do we care about broadcast licenses and this fight with the FCC? It feels like a very inside baseball media.

It's very inside baseball media and very sort of technical lawyerly stuff. But just big picture. To get on broadcast television, ABC, NBC, CBS, one must have a license. They typically last eight years and without incident they're renewed at the end of those eight years. Now the FCC can yank them, but usually for egregious conduct. You're talking about things like non-operating, like not operating the station or foreign ownership or whatever else.

Here there is a specter, one might think, of the FCC having a problem with Disney's diversity practices and and and some of the So this is different from the like Kimmel conversation. Yeah, yeah, but like this isn't the Colbert this is like a overall we think there's a way you're running your business that we don't like. Yes, there has look there's no secret that in the news and when I say ABC, I'm speaking about Disney, because Disney being the parent company of ABC.

that Disney has been at some odds with the administration over some things like diversity practices or uh Kimmel on ABC and ABC program making jokes and content that uh certainly have offended people around the country, uh, you know, of of of all stripes. And so the question is, can and should the FCC be talking about revoking licenses or at least dangling the hammer of revoking licenses on these things, which uh starts tiptoeing into the realm of censoring content that appears

Um I want to turn into this side of the table because the FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has spoken so much. Um he's very public about how he thinks he is writing the ship. of the media ecosystem. Um here's an example. This is from last fall. We are in the midst of a massive shift in dynamics in the media ecosystem for lots of reasons. Again, including the permission structure that President Trump's election has provided. And I I would simply say we're not done yet.

Uh permission structure doing a lot of heavy lifting here. Understand why he's doing this. I would think Brendan Carr needs to uh if you're gonna go about this, why not go about it quietly? I I I just I really and Elliot, when it comes to legal challenges, does him yapping then turn into, okay, Brendan Carr said this. Yes. He said the quiet part out loud. Or do you yap because you know it's not gonna happen and therefore you you want the journey as the destination.

Or if you're Disney, do you start filing lawsuits and taking actions because you know something's coming and they're and they're getting ahead of it. I think that's part of what it's.

what what's happening here. Look, the one of the enduring sort of law and communications challenges of our era um is that the president and the people around him do yap in advance of these things and actually do themselves some legal harm because of the fact that they can say I am you know the people that they're suing can say I was being targeted all along. These phrases appear in court. So it's just a good thing.

That's doing pretty well without car's help. So why why dis why dismantle what is considered the mainstream broadcast system even as the right leaning media ecosystem is more than healthy. Yeah, no it it is, I think because there's there's an appeal to a certain uh segment of the audience that's frustrated with No broadcast. They're like they're being served in a a lot of ways.

W I mean we could go back decades. Republicans always like thrive off these fights with the legacy media. So that's why Brendan Carr is is making these comments publicly. That's why You have Donald Trump constantly poking at reporters in the White House briefing room. It pays off politically. All right, I want to turn to something else, but talking about un unserved constituencies. I think we're seeing that play out in the race.

for Los Angeles mayor. There's no clear front runner ahead of Tuesday's primary election. There's a new UC Berkeley LA Times poll that finds incumbent Mayor Karen Bass. at 26%, City Council Mayor Nutya Rahman at 25%, and former reality TV villain Spencer Pratt coming in at 22% among likely voters. So now Pratt's also dealing with the microscope that comes with being in contention. For instance, it's past comments to conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Agreeing that 9-11 might have been an inside job. And then he was asked about those comments on CNN, and here is how Pratt responded. You know. Regret of course I have twenty years of regret. I've talked about how many regrets, but that doesn't connect to my mission now. Once you lose everything, once your parents lose everything, once your neighbors lose everything, you become a new person. The person I am now is very different than the person before January seventh. So

Okay,'twas blind, but now I see. Is that enough? Uh is it about him or is it about the constituency in LA that has had a rough couple of years and is looking for something? 22% of Angelino's polled in that poll said they would pick Spencer Pratt. That is really something. So you looked closer and you saw that if he doesn't make it, it's a different story.

Well to to her point, I I think what, fifteen percent of Los Angeles residents identify as Republicans. So he's outperforming uh the the the population there. We just had uh opened up a California bureau at the Daily Signal last month. And so we've been following this story very Very closely.

Not only the LA mayor's race, but the governor's race, where Steve Hilton and Chad Bianco are performing well. So I think it's a combination of things. Obviously we live in a time when I think the traditional politician, Karen Bass, came from a traditional background, you know, where she served in Congress. People want something different, and I think Spencer Prant offers that. Ultimately, if this goes to a runoff, that's where he faces a bigger challenge.

Yeah, and I don't want to overlook the things that are issues in LA, for example, um as always, the conversation about crime always affects A mayor, right? There's the numbers versus how the perception, how people feel. Um, what do you see in this race? We're it we've entered the era of the celebrity politician. And um Look, I think it looks like it's a little bit more than a Mas o mensagem é o whole thing. É o whole shebang.

Yeah, and going back to the founding of the country, you know, we wanted leaders that came from the people and of the people. I I don't know if the reality star mayor is what America really had in mind when it was founded, but look, more people in the process are probably a good thing.

All right. Well let's talk about what is in our group chats because it's a Friday, folks. I know that you guys got stuff going on. What's in your group chat, Ron? Sure. Well uh big game tomorrow in uh the NBA playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs came back uh last night uh to force a game seven. So it sets up who will face the New York Knicks next week. For the finals and will President Trump make an appearance at Madison Square Garden? That's the big question. He doesn't really do NBA. No no no.

spotted at some mixed games. When when he was a r his own reality TV Maybe he and Mandani will be up in the notes, please. That's a photo I want to see. Okay, Noelle, what about you? The America 250 Anniversary Concert people You're into the concert.

So we were Reported earlier, folks, that a lot of people who are signed up to be part of what they thought was a nonpartisan concert series were unnerved by the connections that the committee running it has to the Trump administration, and they have dropped out. And and even before they dropped out, it wasn't and I do like Martina McBride, it was not the coolest lineup ever. No well just throwing shade in groups. You are asking, could we 250 years of America, couldn't we get some heavy hitters?

Uh I'm sorry, you don't want to celebrate America with Florida and vanilla ice. Actually, I'm not sure. Why do you hate America? Is honestly the real question I have. Yeah, so mine uh combines my two favorite things, trademark law and drag queen. I thought you were gonna say Star Wars, but I'm not sure. There then there are no drag queens in the Star Wars universe yet. Jenks. Don't tell, don't tell D B C D.

But but this is fascinating. Patty Gonia is the drag queen on the screen now is suing or was sued by Patagonia for a dollar for the use of the name and also for Yeah! Harold. Now the the interesting thing and here's where this is an interesting legal story, they suit her only for a I was just gonna say, what gives it the dollar?

Uh attorneys fees. So she she or they uh are actually fighting the fact that the you know this is millions of dollars potentially. Patagonia can make it sound like they're just suing for a dollar, but no, this is actually a big So they're trying to make a point, but they're not trying to make the point that we'll bankrupt someone. In fairness, um this does weaken their brand. The fact that they are outdoor and lifestyle and sort of hiking uh equipment and things like that, it's actually the rare

Based on the clothing I've seen from Patagonia, I don't think you're going to mistake these things. Maybe that's just we'll let the court decide. Th this is the rare instance where you have a big company suing an individual where wait a second, this individual really is stepping on uh some of the things that Interesting. Well as always you guys bring a great mix of insight to the day. Thank you so much for being here. We've got more headlines coming up for you. I'm Audie Cornish. Stay with us.

From the descendants of history makers involved in the Louisiana Purchase to the Lewis and Clark Expedition, discover the untold stories of American expansion in the CNN original series This Land, premiering June seventh on CNN. I'm Daniel Day Kim. I'm going to South Korea to figure out how this small nation conquered the world with its culture. Join me and meet the artists and creators behind the phenomenon. K Everything. Now streaming on the CNN app.