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New Political Power Broker, Zohran Mamdani Allies Sweep House Primaries in New York; Trump to Meet GOP Senators Amid Clash Over Elections Overhaul; Rubio in Middle East to Discuss Iran Agreement with Gulf Allies; Europe Swelters Under Record-Breaking High Temps. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired June 24, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Who's going to force them to slow down? I mean, I get it. Anthropic did this and said, OK, we're going to slow down.

But there's a lot of different companies out there. And there are different countries working on this as well. It's not just, of course, the Five Eyes.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Yes, it's really troubling because it does feel like we are in a place where we are very much not ready for this. And some experts believe that we need something like a global nuclear agreement where different countries agree to slow down or agree on a point at which they might pause this development. But it doesn't seem like we're at a place where that is happening just yet.

SIDNER: It's disturbing. Clare Duffy, thank you so much. Great reporting.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The big meeting -- President Trump set to huddle with Senate Republicans today as he's demanding they push through a bill they've made clear they don't have the votes for and some even call a time. And they just broke with the president now trying to rein in his war powers.

There are new signs of the rise of the progressive left wing of the Democratic Party. What happened in New York primaries last night that now has Democratic leaders scrambling this morning? Are they waking up to a new future for the Democratic Party?

And the president's health back in the spotlight because of a new book just out. Is the president having trouble hearing?

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: Breaking overnight, a political power play in New York. Democratic Socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani winning record this morning, three endorsement and three victories. The progressive candidates he backed won their house primary races, ousting two sitting congressmen and shaking up the Democratic establishment in New York.

It's a massive statement for a young mayor just six months into his term. A movement that he says is just beginning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(CHEERING)

MAMDANI: 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)

SIDNER: The Mamdani suite brings the fractures within the Democratic Party over Israel and other issues to the forefront ahead of the crucial November midterms. Can they meld these two sides of the party together and take back Congress?

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is with me now. We are in our Power Ranger suits, but the real power is with the mayor of New York.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I think we saw a lot of that power play out last night. Not only does he have kingmaker status officially here in New York City, but he has also delivered a huge win for DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America. They now have three members on their way to the House and they won several down ballot races across the city and the state last night.

So also a huge win for them. I think it's really important to mention, Sara, that a lot of these candidates, in fact, all of them, certainly the ones that won the congressional races last night, they all share the same ideology, right? This incessant focus on working class issue, a focus on affordability, and also a focus on Israel.

They all shared the same ideology as the mayor does. Very critical of Israel, supportive of cutting off military aid, American aid to Israel. And I think seeing those candidates win, especially in the race between Dan Goldman and Brad Lander in the 12th congressional district, that's a really good example of how that dynamic played out.

You have Dan Goldman, the incumbent, sort of your traditional Democrat, right? Pro-Israel, supported by AIPAC and AIPAC-aligned donors. And then Brad Lander.

Both of these candidates, by the way, Jewish New Yorkers. Brad Lander, very much to the left of Goldman. Lander, supportive of a Palestinian state, has called Israel's military campaign in Gaza a genocide and has said that the Israeli funding by American taxpayer dollars should end.

He talked about this divide during his victory speech last night. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD LANDER, (D) NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Democrats are painfully divided by our differences over the U.S. relationship to Israel and Palestine, and we have to face up to it squarely. Our party needs to admit that Joe Biden's hug BB strategy was a catastrophic failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:05:00]

PAZMINO: I think it's also worth mentioning, Sara, this other, frankly, political earthquake in Washington Heights, northern Manhattan last night in parts of the Bronx. That's the 13th congressional district. That was the incumbent, Adriano Espaillat, five-term incumbent, knocked out by the challenger, Darializa Avila Chevalier.

That race got nasty in the last few days. Racist comments, misinformation, really toxic up until the last few hours. But I have to tell you, that was the one race that political insiders here in New York City told me that was the race they did not think the mayor could win.

They thought that Espaillat would actually be able to pull it out, given just how nasty things got in the end, given the demographics of that district, much older voters, not unlike the other two districts where we saw challengers win. So I think that is also really interesting. You know, this is being compared to kind of like the earthquake that we all saw when AOC was first elected into office, unseating a big, powerful incumbent, Joe Crowley.

Espaillat, perhaps not as big as a political profile, but nonetheless, a five-term incumbent who made history himself when he was elected as the first Dominican and the first formally undocumented person elected to Congress. He's on his way, likely out of Congress. And I think it's a significant shift, certainly in that part of the city.

SIDNER: Now, the head of Hispanic Congressional Caucus as well --

PAZMINO: Exactly.

SIDNER: -- pushed out by a candidate backed by Mamdani. These are big things happening here in New York, surprising to some people. Thank you so much, Gloria Pazmino, for all your reporting on this -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we're standing by for a big day on Capitol Hill, big and maybe uncomfortable. President Trump will meet with Senate Republicans as divisions over his agenda deepen inside the party. Four Republican senators crossed party lines and voted with Democrats to rein in his war powers on Iran.

The president is also turning up the pressure to pass a federal elections overhaul bill, which some Republican leaders see as a nonstarter. Let's get right to seeing as Annie Grayer live on Capitol Hill this

morning. This meeting, this lunch later on today, and who knows how the environment will be.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, John, this could be an inflection point for the relationship between Senate Republicans and President Trump. And this tension has been brewing for weeks, if not months. Republican senators do not have the votes for President Trump's election overhaul bill.

They do not want to change the rules in order to make that happen. And we saw yesterday four Republican senators come out against President Trump's war in a symbolic way, but offering a stunning rebuke to the president and this administration in the U.S. war with Iran. Now, it's one thing for these Republican senators to voice their opposition or even vote against the president's agenda on the floor.

But it's going to be another thing when they're in the room seeing eye to eye with President Trump. That is going to be the key question of how do these Republican senators handle themselves in the room? Is it going to be friendly, everyone rallying behind the president and his agenda?

Or are senators going to speak up and voice the opposition that we know to be building and to be true? Now, at the center of all this is Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune. He's had to be the messenger here delivering to the president and the White House the instances where he simply doesn't have the votes to deliver on whatever it is the president is trying to push.

And that has put Thune in a very uncomfortable position. He's had to navigate his support for President Trump while also being able to do the math of the Senate and knowing what is possible, what can pass on the floor. So take a listen to how John Thune frames this meeting ahead of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD): We have very candid conversations. I am very direct with the president. I shoot straight with him and vice versa.

And, you know, we at times have differences of opinion. But I think the important thing is the issues that really matter to the future of this country and to the American people we have been united on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYER: Now, the Republican senators who've been the most outspoken against the president, those are ones who are mostly either retiring or lost their re-election bids because Trump endorsed other candidates. So it's really a question of how deep does this opposition go, John? But there are at least a handful of Republican senators who are willing to be outspoken.

They say they want to deliver this message to Trump. But we will see this afternoon what message the president hears from Senate Republicans and what he actually internalizes from this meeting. But a very, very high stakes meeting.

I've never seen Republican senators so outspoken against the president before.

BERMAN: Yes, of course, the most outspoken ones are the ones who will not be in office next year. But we'll see. We'll see what they have to say today.

Annie Grayer, great to see you. Thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let's talk about a heatwave. Heatwave is one thing. But a heatwave that now is proving deadly is unfolding across Europe right now and what they are doing about it and when they could possibly be seeing a break in the forecast.

[08:10:00]

Plus, Attila the Hun, Genghis Khan, Hitler, some of the most feared and worst leaders in world history, also a list of people President Trump is now comparing himself to, as detailed in a new book out this week. The authors join us.

And pigs on the lam, an overturned semi, several hundred pigs shutting down a highway for hours.

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[08:15:00]

BOLDUAN: Secretary of State Marco Rubio is about to touch down in Kuwait as he continues a swing through the Middle East. His mission, try to get the Gulf nations on board with the agreement that the U.S. is trying to negotiate with Iran. One issue becoming more and more of a problem, quite frankly, is Iran's insistence that the fighting between Israel and Iran-backed proxy Lebanon be part of the broader U.S.-Iran negotiations. Rubio says they are two separate issues and should be in these talks.

There's also continued confusion over the Strait of Hormuz this morning because President Trump just posted this, I'll read it to you, that, "Iran has informed the United States that there are no tolls, no insurance costs, and no other charges of any kind being sought or received by Iran on ships traveling the Strait of Hormuz."

CNN's Jennifer Hansler is live in Washington trying to track all this for us. It's hard to keep track, quite frankly. What's the latest you're hearing this morning?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Kate, there is just absolutely a flurry of diplomatic activity around the Iran negotiations with Rubio now expected to touch down in Kuwait in just a matter of minutes here for what he is billing as a listening tour of these key Gulf allies. When he arrived in the United Arab Emirates yesterday, he said that he wanted to hear from these allies more than he was talking at them, particularly after that initial round of talks in Switzerland over the weekend. He also seemed to acknowledge that there is some skepticism around this framework, and he billed this as a work in progress.

Take a listen to how he describes things.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: I think there is a framework and an outline upon which we can make real progress. I think good groundwork was laid over the last 72 hours, but a lot of work remains to be done, and we want to hear from our partners. We want to make sure that their views are taken into account, and we understand their security concerns, their regional economic concerns as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANSLER: So even as Rubio is going to these allies, these are three of some of the hardest hit countries in the region during the war to hear their concerns. The U.S. has already made clear that they foresee the Gulf playing a very significant role in the implementation of any deal moving forward, particularly when it comes to the issues of the Strait of Hormuz. We saw the Iranians and the Omanis putting out a statement yesterday saying they are creating this joint committee on the Strait.

This is something that is in line with the MOU but has not really resolved a lot of those outstanding questions about the freedom of navigation through that critical waterway. We also know that the administration is looking to these allies to contribute to that $30 billion reconstruction fund for Iran. This is something that Rubio said he does not anticipate bringing up during this particular visit. He said this is something for down the line.

And of course, as you mentioned, Kate, the looming issue as well is that ongoing fighting in Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah. Here at the State Department, we expect a second day of working level talks on that issue. So there's a lot that could still scuttle things -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: There's a lot that still needs to be worked out, to say the least. It's good to see you, Jennifer. Thank you so much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, this morning, as you all were talking about, the Strait of Hormuz is back open. But how difficult is it going to be to get oil production and go flowing again and the ships moving very quickly again through there? We will see what the market tells us.

Plus, when kilts and baseball collide, we were there as the Tartan army got a firsthand look at America's favorite pastime. And you're going to enjoy it.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: This morning, punishingly high temperatures are scorching much of Europe. A days-long heat wave is breaking records. The death toll is rising in France because of it.

Half a dozen countries across the continent are under the most severe heat alert levels right now. And there could be worse to come. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joining me now.

I mean, we've seen some of these pictures. We also have to remind people that, you know, places like France and England, they don't have the same kind of infrastructure we do. No air conditioning in a lot of these buildings.

What are you going to expect in the next 36 to 48 hours?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And can you imagine not having that and going a week with these temperatures? Because that's the thing for some of these areas. They've had these extreme temperatures now for seven days straight, and it's going to continue in the coming days.

Here's a look at where a lot of the extreme heat alerts are for the remainder of the day on Wednesday. You can see it's not just one country. You are talking roughly a dozen countries that are looking at these extreme heat alerts.

And again, these temperatures are well above average. Look at a lot of these triple-digit temperatures that you have here across places like France, Andorra, into Spain, even others that are looking at the upper 90s. Again, remember, these are places that just simply do not get temperatures like this for very prolonged periods of time.

The other thing too, Climate Central noting that a lot of these areas you see in the dark red color, that's a level five, are five times more likely to see these extreme heat waves, especially prolonged heat waves due to climate change. Now, one thing to note, we talked about this is going to last. It's also going to start to spread eastward.

So a lot of other areas of central and eastern Europe are going to start to see their temperatures rising as we continue through the remainder of the week, say into Thursday and Friday. And it's because of this high pressure now, it's going to start to gradually move off to the east. This will provide some relief for the Iberian Peninsula.

However, it's going to make conditions worse for places like Germany and Poland and Italy, places that really haven't been as bad as France and Spain for the last few days.

[08:25:00]

And here you can kind of see that. Take Bordeaux, going from 108 high of today down to only 95 on Friday. Madrid also seeing their temperatures dropping back.

But the opposite farther to the north and east, Berlin and Vienna actually going to see their temperatures beginning to rise. Even into areas of Scandinavia, those temperatures are expected to jump up over the next few days.

The other thing to note too, is a lot of these areas, their average high temperature, the low temperature is actually going to be warmer than that for a few nights. And that doesn't allow your body to cool down overnight and give it that reprieve it needs. SIDNER: It certainly does not. But I have peeped that you are wearing thermometers for earrings this morning, Alison Chinchar. I don't know where you found them, but they are the perfect thing for this story.

Thank you very much -- John Berman.

BERMAN: I know, I'm not wearing any thermometers.

SIDNER: Thank goodness.

BERMAN: Visible or otherwise.

A man jumps behind the wheel of a police cruiser and takes off for more than 40 miles, the wild chase that ensues.

And did you know that President Trump is obsessed with carpeted bathrooms? Neither did I. Just one of the less important but more bizarre new details in the blockbuster book that's already sold out on Amazon.

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