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New Political Power Broker, Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D-New York City, NY) Allies Sweep House Primaries in New York; Trump to Press GOP Senators as Resistance Inside Party Grows; Europe Swelters Under Record-Breaking High Temps. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired June 24, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, shockwaves throughout the Democratic Party. The establishment rattled, incumbents ousted, the left rising. What the resounding victories for New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani mean for the party heading into the fall.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And what is going to happen when President Trump meets with Senate Republicans today, just after they slapped him with a rare rebuke by voting to rein in his war powers with Iran.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, new video of a hit-and-run rampage on the streets of Southern California. A man accused of intentionally crashing into multiple bystanders after stealing a car.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: Breaking this morning, you can almost feel them here in New York City, tremors in the Democratic Party with the establishment on the losing side and upstarts on the rise. In New York City, candidates backed by Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, they want a clean sweep in primaries, including unseating two incumbent congressmen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D-NEW YORK CITY, NY): And we are showing there is a new path for politics in our city and in our country.

We are showing that last June, a year ago tomorrow, was not an anomaly. It was not the end. It was the beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Brad Lander, who defeated incumbent Congressman Dan Goldman, found out he won right here on CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD LANDER (D), NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Well, thank you. First of all, obviously I'm thrilled. I did not expect to be on air when the race was called. Look, I love Election Day. I like that voters get to go out and cast their ballots and say, here's who we want to represent us. These are the fights that matter to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. CNN's Gloria Pazmino has been covering all these races and really what was a wave last night that could be felt maybe around the country.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John, and I think that's what a lot of people in New York are talking about this morning, certainly the ones that have been working on political campaigns for years, watching the returns last night, and frankly being surprised.

I think we have a new kingmaker in town, and his name is Zohran Mamdani. Just barely seven months into his brand-new administration, he took some major risks, he took some big swings, and he swept last night. He won in all of the Congressional candidates that he decided to back, the three of them. There were four competitive races in New York City last night, and the mayor won in all of those.

So, it's a major win for him. It's a major test of his political muscle, but it's also a huge win for the DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America. They have now members in Congress. They have knocked out two incumbents from the House of Representatives, and I think it's really showing that the DSA believes they have some real political mettle going into these races.

Now, I should mention that the candidates that Mayor Zohran Mamdani backed, Claire Valdez in the Seventh Congressional District, Brad Lander in the Tenth Congressional district, and Darializa Avila Chevalier in the 13th Congressional district, all of them share his ideology, right, his platform, his progressive ideas. But they also share his criticism of Israel, and they all campaign on this idea that American support for Israel should end.

This is what Darializa Avila Chevalier said last night shortly after winning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER (D), NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: All of you in this room know how much the Democratic machine has tried to count us out, how at every turn they've underestimated us. Those of you in this room know just how scared we made AIPAC, crypto.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, you heard it there from the candidate, John, she called out AIPAC. In the last few days of this race, there was a lot of back and forth, the mayor facing some criticism for describing AIPAC as monsters, the fact that they were funneling, in his words, dark money to some of these opposing campaigns to try to shift the results.

[07:05:00]

But I think, you know, this shows us just how significantly the views have changed even here in New York, home to the largest Jewish population outside of Israel in the last few years.

You know, the mayor upset some allies along the way by endorsing these challengers. He upset two former members of Congress who are on their way out by endorsing the challengers that were primarying them. And as I said, he took some big risks, but I think he's seeing likely a huge payoff this morning.

BERMAN: Yes, and political losers this morning, Hakeem Jeffries, Chuck Schumer, and there are national Democrats looking at this race, wondering what it might mean for the next few months.

Gloria Pazmino, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: An important meeting is happening today on Capitol Hill. President Trump will be huddling with Senate Republicans as tensions grow inside the Republican Party as well over his agenda and his war with Iran. It was just yesterday that four Senate Republicans broke ranks and voted with Democrats to rein in Trump's war powers.

The president's focus today likely to include his continued pressure campaign to try to get his party to push through a sweeping overhaul to the federal election system, yes, just months before the midterms.

CNN's Alayna Treene is live this morning at the White House for us. I mean, Alayna, Thom Tillis has called -- a Republican -- has called this bill that we're talking about here a waste of time and a distraction. I mean, what are you hearing about what is going to happen today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. What's so interesting, Kate, is that these type of meetings, particularly when the president goes to the Hill, especially during his second term, they tend to be love fests with all of them trying to flatter him, show them their loyalty to him. But the reason that there is so much scrutiny on this meeting specifically is for a number of key reasons. One is, of course, the SAVE Act. You mentioned it. It's the president's bill that would require voter I.D. laws and proof of citizenship, also putting new restrictions on mail-in voting. That is what really the president is going there to demand of Senate Republicans today.

But the thing is they just do not have the votes to pass that. It's something we know that the Senate majority leader, John Thune, who's been kind of having a bit more of a tense relationship with Trump of late, has really been trying to impart on the president. But it's not just that. His decision to force out incumbents, you mentioned Tillis, but there's others like Senators John Cornyn, Bill Cassidy that has really made those three members far more willing to want to buck with Trump and also publicly criticize him.

You also you know, mentioned the war power resolutions. That was one of the clearest public rebukes of the president we have seen during his second term. So, if you're listening to what Republicans are saying in the halls, what they are telling reporters privately, and discussing among themselves it's not really clear how this is going to go today, and the Senate majority leader, John Thune, has essentially said publicly, I am telling our conference, our members, to speak up and be honest with the president.

Now, look, despite all of this, and specifically because I do want to get back to the SAVE Act, many Republicans believe that Trump is kind of misguided here, that it doesn't have the votes to pass, as I mentioned, but also that it's leading to this kind of infighting in the party that is not helpful to them when they are so close to the midterm elections.

The president for his part said, I don't care what Thune is saying about it not having the votes. He needs it to pass. I actually pressed him on this yesterday. Listen to what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Majority Leader John Thune has told you many times he doesn't believe that they have the votes to pass it.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: That's what being a leader's about, you know? He's a leader. John's a leader. That's what being as a leader is about. Look, we have to be able to get proof of citizenship when you vote, otherwise we don't have elections. We have to be able to get voter I.D.

So, John is a leader, and hopefully he can get the votes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, clearly, the president's still very much focused on this, saying John is a leader, he needs to get the votes, clear message to him.

I will say as well, Kate, from what I'm hearing in our, my conversations with White House officials the president's been growing tired of hearing Thune tell him no. So, we'll have to see how this actually plays out today, and whether these Republicans actually do speak their minds or if they tend to kind of revert back to the love fest I mentioned that is typical about these types of lunches.

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly. He's tired of hearing no. I'm sure Thune is probably tired of having to say no and to lay out the reality of what it takes to pass a bill.

It's good to see you, Alayna. Thank you so much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Kate.

A brutal, deadly heat wave sweeping across Europe, high temperature records likely to be broken again today as millions look for a way to try to cool off. They found one there, for sure.

Plus, stranded in the Strait of Hormuz after months of no movement, ships in the critical waterway are facing a new crisis, sea gunk and barnacles, what that all means.

And the world has a new loudest person, and shockingly, it is not me, a town crier who's louder than a jet engine. [07:10:05]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Right now, a record-breaking heat wave scorching Western Europe. The blistering temperatures shutting thousands of schools, canceling trains, being blamed for the deaths of dozens of people in France. The country recorded two more drownings Tuesday night, bringing the total to 42 in less than a week.

Officials say many of the deaths were teenagers swimming in unsupervised areas trying to cool down. Meteorologists expect to see more temperature records shatter across France, Spain, Germany, and the U.K. this week.

Joining me to talk about all of this, CNN's Chief Climate Correspondent Bill Weir.

[07:15:03]

My God, I think people don't realize, you know, if you live in a place like Texas or California or Louisiana or Florida --

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Arizona, yes.

SIDNER: Yes, Arizona, you look at these numbers, you go, 100 and, okay, that's like every -- that's not normal in these places.

WEIR: And you go to Europe, at least if you're an American for travel because of the charm of those old buildings, but there's nothing charming about a building with no air conditioning when it's 104 degrees. The U.K. is expected to shatter their record today by four full degrees, right? And for just -- there are no air conditioning in the tubes of London. There, there's no room for them because it was built in a different world, in a different time.

Look at some of the superlatives. France, highest overnight temperature ever recorded last night, and that takes its toll on elderly folks, the vulnerable. You can't cool off at night. Spain hit triple digits, 113 degrees in Spain there. If you look at the map of the red alerts, these are the highest alerts in Europe, six countries, German, U.K., France, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the center of that.

And why is this happening? Well, as the planet overheats under this blanket of fossil fuel pollution, the jet stream, which is this river of wind at the top of the planet, normally it's like a belt holding cold air up north and warm air at the south, it wobbles and creates these big either domes of hot air in the summer or cold air. If you remember Texas, the deep freeze as it came way down. Well, that jet stream is breaking down, and we're seeing the result of this right now.

And it's a warning for us here in the U.S. to brace for this summer. El Nino is just kicking off in the Pacific. There's six fires burning, I think, in Utah alone right now. And this is really rough.

SIDNER: I did want to ask you about El Nino and the impact that it may have, because this is a super El Nino?

WEIR: Super El Nino.

SIDNER: What does that mean?

WEIR: This is a naturally occurring warming trend that happens in the Pacific every few years. This one is supposed to be off the charts because the baseline is so warm. Global sea surface temperatures are off the charts because of climate change. And so when an El Nino comes along it supercharges it, and that changes weather patterns across the U.S. It means more drought, it means more rain bombs in California. So, this is the result. And adaptation at this point is the watch word for communities to try to get used to these new normals.

SIDNER: Yes. We'll have to wait and watch. We all know those of us who've lived in California, the Pacific's cold as heck usually. Like you jump in, you're like, ah, this is freezing. For those temperatures to rise, it will change what they feel like on land. There is an immediate response.

Bill Weir, it's so good to have you here this morning.

WEIR: Good to see you.

SIDNER: Thank you. John?

BERMAN: All right, billions in alleged healthcare fraud, hundreds accused of schemes involving everything from skin substitutes to opioids.

And then a flesh-eating screw worm outbreak. Hope you are enjoying your breakfast. How health officials are racing to keep it from spreading.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. This morning, the Justice Department announcing sweeping charges against hundreds of people in what they are touting as a healthcare fraud takedown, seizing a Rolls Royce, a Ferrari, an $865,000 necklace. 455 people have been charged with making false claims or in opioid abuse schemes. 90 doctors and healthcare workers are among those charged with making more than $6.5 billion in false claims.

With us now, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig. Counsel, it's great to see you. And this is something that took place when you were in the U.S. attorney's office here in the Southern District of New York. These are the types of schemes that prosecutors do go after. Just explain to me what kind of fraud exactly we're talking about here.

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, John, this is a collection of really about a dozen or so different cases, but they break down into two sort of categories. One of them is just a billing fraud aimed at Medicare and Medicaid. So, in one example, particularly grotesque example, out of Arizona, 11 defendants are charged with a scheme to take skin grafts.

And what some of the co-conspirators would get the skin grafts from a graft bank, and they would immediately mark up the price by 20 times, by 2,000 percent. Then other co-conspirators, who were medical providers, would unnecessarily give patients, often hospice patients, those skin grafts even if they didn't need them or far larger than they needed. And that resulted in over $2 billion of unnecessary billing to Medicare, which the participants then split and paid to one another as kickback. So, that's a sort of typical over-billing scheme.

Separately, there's what we would call a pill mill, and that's where doctors or pharmacists or other medical professionals would essentially prescribe opiates, which are highly addictive, to people utterly without regard to actual medical need. Those, of course, are very valuable on the open markets, and the participants, again, would take kickbacks from money that came from Medicare, Medicaid.

So, really serious fraud here and I think an exemplary job by DOJ and HHS and state and local officials to put these cases together.

BERMAN: Yes. Talk to me about that. What kind of coordination does it take to bring one of these things to court?

HONIG: It takes massive coordination. So, these cases all told involve 45 of the 50 states working together. You can't make a case like this, you can't make a series of cases like this with just one agency. You need the FBI for their investigative firepower. You need HHS for their access to medical records and medical expertise. You need state and local officials, because they know where the fraud's happening. Trust me, the ones who know where the pill mills are, that's going to be your city and local cops more so than the FBI, and the Justice Department pulled it all together here.

BERMAN: And just to be clear, we talk about this and there was a big announcement yesterday, this isn't one big national scheme.

[07:25:00]

This is a collection of smaller schemes. So, why does DOJ do this all at once?

HONIG: Yes. This is a P.R. tactic that DOJ does, and I don't say that in any derogatory way. I was a part of several, what we call, takedowns. What you do is you coordinate so that over the course of a week, or in this case two weeks, you say, okay, everyone who has a case impacting a certain type of crime, take it down if you can within this two-week period. Then the attorney general appears and says, I'm here to announce a massive takedown.

But you're right, it's not one case. It's about a dozen or so cases across the country. The legitimate reasons you do it is because you want to draw attention to a national problem, and because you want to send a deterrent message. You want medical providers, doctors, and others to know, we're onto this, and you shouldn't do it in the future. BERMAN: It's the type of thing that could also come up in a confirmation hearing for someone nominated to be attorney general in the next few weeks.

HONIG: For sure.

BERMAN: Elie Honig, great to see you. Thank you so much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: The Reflecting Pool saga continues. New fencing is now going up as the president continues to blame vandals for the renovation problems, everyone though still asking, where is that evidence?

And the Strait of Hormuz is supposedly open, or reopening. And now after being held up for months, there's a new issue for shipping traffic in the strait, a buildup of barnacles on boats.

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[07:30:00]