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Airfares Remain High; Mandatory Bible Study in Texas Schools?; Trump Speaks to Faith and Freedom Coalition; Rescue Efforts Continue in Venezuela. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired June 26, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:01]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Jake will talk to Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock and Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Rushing before the golden window closes, rescue teams in Venezuela in a race against time, knowing they have just hours to find survivors in the rubble after Wednesday's earthquakes. We have learned nearly 600 people have been killed in that disaster.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And keeping the faith. President Trump speaking to social conservatives this hour, as he tries to keep Republican lawmakers in line on the Hill.

And the Gospel according to Texas. How the state is planning to make Bible stories required reading in public school classrooms.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We begin this afternoon with growing desperation in Venezuela, nearly 43 hours into the frantic search for earthquake survivors.

Earlier, officials saying the death toll has climbed to nearly 600 people, as families and neighbors now cling to hope for miracles buried beneath rubble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIS GONZALEZ, SEARCHING FOR NEIGHBORS (through translator): We never lose hope that, by the grace of God, the hand of God, there might be a victim lying there unconscious, but still alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: With the so-called golden window for finding trap survivors now starting to close, CNN is learning that U.S. rescue teams are deploying to the quake zone. Right now, hospitals are so overwhelmed with victims, doctors are treating patients in the streets.

Let's go live to Bogota, Colombia, with CNN's Stefano Pozzebon just a few hundred miles from the devastation.

Stefano, what more can you share? What have you learned?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, we have learned, Boris, that just like you said us rescue teams have finally arrived in the area of La Guaira.

La Guaira is the state at the north of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, sandwiched between the mountains and the Caribbean Sea, where much of the devastation has taken place. Yesterday, the interior minister of Venezuela, Diosdado Cabello, gave a terrible update, saying that more than 100 buildings had collapsed because of the earthquake.

And that is where the majority of those missing -- and we're still talking about thousands and thousands of Venezuelans still missing under the rubble -- are believed to be located. And this is where the theater where there is taking place this race against time, with Venezuelans and international rescue teams now adding them, the U.S. military forces helping and trying to take out as many people as possible from under the rubble.

We understand that the United States have sent in one Hercules C-130 with 85 U.S. personnel, members of the armed forces and civilians from Virginia. But at the same time, this is a real international mission; 16 different nations have already sent teams into Venezuela, the Colombians, the Brazilians, the Mexicans, who have great expertise when it comes to earthquake and earthquake recovery, the Spaniards.

The Dominicans were the first to arrive just yesterday, yesterday evening. It's truly a race against time. And what is making things even worse and harder is a lack, I'm told, of heavy equipment and heavy machinery, excavators, bulldozers.

These are the sort of stuff that you need when you need to lift maybe four or five, six or seven floors that are stacked one on top of each other because of the type of damage that these double earthquake have caused.

The -- Venezuela doesn't have those resources readily available in a state as remote as La Guaira. They have it somewhere else. They have it in Caracas, and this is why we have seen that the search in Caracas is progressing much faster than in the state of La Guaira.

In La Guaira is where they have concentrated international efforts because it's where Venezuela was and the state and the structures have been most unprepared. Like you said, this golden window is closing. We're almost approaching the 48 hours after the earthquakes hit.

So the search for survivors and for safely believing to take the survivors out of the rubble is getting frantic and more and more frantic by the hour -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: And, Stefano, buildings that did not collapse are now also being inspected by officials to find out if they're structurally sound. POZZEBON: Yes.

SANCHEZ: What are you hearing about that process?

POZZEBON: Yes.

For example, we spoke with members of the -- officials from the tourist ministry, saying that they are already collecting an assessment of the hotel structures, especially in the area of La Guaira. Being in a coastal state, there is a lot of tourist receptive and accommodation facilities there that could be helpful to host people who have lost their houses or that are from that -- that normally own houses that are now not available and unfit for use.

[13:05:17]

A lot of people have spent hours outdoors. They spent the nights outdoors because of the fear of going back inside and indoor. So there is a global a general assessment of what resources are available to accommodate all of this population that is now effectively without a place to stay -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much for your reporting.

The situation in Venezuela, obviously, right now is dire, and you can make a difference. For more information about how you can help Venezuela earthquake victims, go to CNN.com/Impact. You can also text Quake to 707070 -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Moments from now, President Trump takes the stage at the Faith and Freedom Coalition's Road to Majority Conference.

It's an event billed as the largest public policy gathering of Christian conservative activists and leaders in the U.S., and their goal is to energize Republican voters ahead of the midterm elections in November, which will determine majorities in the House and the Senate for the last two years of President Trump's final term.

CNN Steve Contorno is at the event for us.

Steve, we have heard from several Trump administration officials there today. What are the messages they're delivering ahead of the president speaking?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Brianna, there are 130 days until this midterm election, and you can really sense the urgency building from Trump administration and allies and the officials who are here today.

Speaker Mike Johnson actually just left the stage behind me, calling this group the -- quote -- "backbone of the conservative movement" and really emphasizing how important it is for Christian conservative voters who get out there this fall.

And you can really get a sense that there is a concern of the enthusiasm gap between the left and the right, right now. Just listen to what White House faith adviser Paula White had to say to this group about evangelical participation in elections.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAULA WHITE-CAIN, SENIOR ADVISER, WHITE HOUSE FAITH OFFICE: The evangelical Christians are 20 percent of the voting bloc, but yet only 39 percent are registered to vote.

Do you know what would happen if we got every person or 50 percent registered to vote? We would have our religious liberty. We would be able to protect life and marriage and strengthen families.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, you heard her mention protecting life right there.

I want to point that out, because it was actually one of the few mentions of the abortion issue that has energized and galvanized this type of audience for many, many years, but has been almost unmentioned at this event.

And that is a reflection of a party that has been reshaped by President Donald Trump, who has not used the majority he has in the Congress or this more favorable Supreme Court to advance the abortion issue, much to the frustration of a lot of anti-abortion groups.

In fact, I spoke with the communications director for SBA Pro-Life America. She pointed out that Republicans have been running away from this issue, and she thinks they're getting bad advice. Listen to this quote she gave me.

"They have been given bad advice that you should run away from the issue and not touch it. It's bad advice, and we have seen candidates adopt an ostrich strategy and bury their head in the sand. Pro-life voters are wondering if we should show up to vote. Is it going to matter?"

Now, that was Kelsey Pritchard. She's making the case that actually evangelicals would be more energized to vote if abortion was being advanced at the federal level.

Now, the Trump administration and the midterm strategy for Republicans has been to basically avoid this issue, thinking that it will hurt them in a general election. But, clearly, there's some disagreement there, and you can start to sense some of that frustration building on the right -- Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, Steve Contorno, thank you for the latest there.

Still to come: From Sunday school to public school, millions of students in Texas may soon be required to study Bible stories in class. Could other states follow suit?

Plus: Former Trump National Security Adviser turned Trump critic John Bolton pleading guilty to a charge that he unlawfully kept sensitive national security information. Ahead, we will share how much jail time he could face. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:13:49]

SANCHEZ: Happening now: Texas is on the verge of adding stories from the Bible to the required reading list for public schools.

The state's Republican-controlled Board of Education is meeting right now, and they are expected to adopt a statewide reading curriculum that includes a picture book about David and Goliath for younger students, as well as Bible passages about Adam and Eve for older students, and other biblical references.

The changes would impact more than five million public school students and would take effect in 2030. The proposal, as you might imagine, has sharply divided teachers, parents, and community members.

Let's get some legal perspective now with CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig.

Elie, do you think that this mandatory reading list violates the separation of church and state?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Boris, there are always gray areas, but, in my view, yes, absolutely, it does violate separation of church and state to require public school students to read Bible stories.

Now, when courts look at these situations, they're always going to turn on the specific facts of a given case. But the key question is what the courts call coercion. How coerced would a student feel? How much pressure would a student feel to participate in the religious activity in school?

[13:15:00]

And so they will they will ask questions like, is this happening on campus or off-campus? Is this part of an extracurricular activity or part of the core curriculum? Is this mandatory or is it optional? Is there an opt-out? And if you apply those questions here, all of them, I think, point towards this being a violation of church and state.

Here, you have core curriculum happening during the school day on campus with no opt-out, where students are going to have to read these stories. So it'll make its way through the courts quickly, but that's how I view it at this point.

SANCHEZ: Some supporters of the list argue that it doesn't teach religion explicitly. They argue that students would be taught passages and stories in the context of world history.

How does a judge weigh that argument?

HONIG: That could help a bit at the margins for supporters of this curriculum.

For example, if you look at the David and Goliath story, which you mentioned, OK, there's an argument that's a parable. That's a life lesson about the bully getting overcome by the underdog. So, maybe there's a way to take that out of a religious context.

But then consider the Adam and Eve story, which you also mentioned, which will be taught to older students. It's hard to separate that from religion. Now you're getting into theories of the creation of the world and how God created the world. And you can imagine how that would continue along the spectrum.

If you start getting into things like the Gospels or the teachings of Jesus or the way that God handed down the laws, then you're clearly over the line. So I think there are some portions of the Bible, certain stories that can be framed as just parables or fables or even historical lessons, but a lot of it's going to cross the line.

SANCHEZ: What's happening in Texas isn't unique.

Well, also in Texas, a federal court recently upheld a law that made a posting of the Ten Commandments mandatory in classrooms, but similar steps have been taken in other states across the country. Louisiana was trying to do something similar. I wonder if you think the Supreme Court will eventually weigh in on this in some way.

HONIG: I think it's only a matter of time before they do, Boris. The last time the Supreme Court considered this exact issue, the posting of Ten Commandments in public schools, was in 1980, and the Supreme Court said it is unconstitutional to do that.

Now, since then, there have been other decisions, slightly different fact patterns, that have sort of chipped away at that. And if you look at that decision that you referenced out of the appeals court in Texas, that was the full circuit court. That was a 9-8 decision saying it's actually OK to do that now.

It's a very close call. But the existing on-point precedent from the Supreme Court says you actually cannot display the Ten Commandments. Now, they may want to change their minds. They may want to reverse that precedent, and I think that's more reason why it may go up to the Supreme Court.

SANCHEZ: It's also notable that the school board is taking up a vote to rewrite the state's social studies curriculum, reemphasizing teachings about global history and cultures.

Any potential legal trip wires for the Texas School Board there?

HONIG: It's on a much different footing. So there are constitutional protections that separate church and state. That's from the First Amendment.

There is no such constitutional protection to have history taught in a certain way. Those questions, those legalities are going to have to be litigated at the state and local and even school board level, as you said. There's no way to go into a federal court or the U.S. Supreme Court and say there's some constitutional prohibition on teaching history a certain way or another.

That's really a localized issue, and it's going to largely come down to local officeholders and local judges.

SANCHEZ: Elie Honig, always appreciate the expertise. Thanks for joining us.

HONIG: Thanks, guys.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still ahead: Jet fuel prices begin to fall, but airfares remain high. Why you should not expect ticket prices to come down any time soon.

Plus, a CNN exclusive on the initial search for a company to remodel the Reflecting Pool. The company that renovated it 15 years ago passed on the president's project, calling it unfeasible. We will get into the details in just moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:23:17]

KEILAR: Oil prices are falling. Jet fuel supplies, they're improving, but, so far, it's not adding up to lower airfares for summer travelers. So can we expect that to change here in the near future or even just sometime in the future?

CNN business reporter David Goldman is with us now.

David, I said you have to give us some good news. So you're going to tell us yes, right?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: You got it.

KEILAR: No, that's not what you're going to tell us.

GOLDMAN: Go take a trip.

(LAUGHTER)

GOLDMAN: All right, see you later. Happy Friday, everyone.

(LAUGHTER)

GOLDMAN: No, I wish I had better news.

Here is the good news, is that jet fuel prices are falling tremendously, down 42 percent since April. I want to take you through the foggy mists of time right now. And remember April, when jet fuel prices had doubled, and all of those airlines said that, well, we're going to have to raise your airfares?

Well, you would think now they would do the opposite, right? Well, take a listen to what Delta CEO Ed Bastian had to say about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX BUSINESS ANCHOR: Do you expect prices to keep going higher?

ED BASTIAN, CEO, DELTA AIR LINES: I don't think so. I think the initial shock, again, we -- prices went up about 10 to 15 percent, not just Delta, across the airline industry. And I think that was probably the right level. Oil prices have come down now. So I think we're in a pretty good spot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLDMAN: OK, so pretty good spot.

Well, you be the judge of that, because prices have gone up as much as 20 percent, according to Deutsche Bank. So what does this mean? Well, I guess airlines are just going to keep prices where they are. And how can they do that? Why can they support this kind of thing? It's because you keep traveling.

Look at the airport. If you have had the misfortune of being in one recently, you have seen a scene like this, with lots and lots and lots of people. People are traveling a lot this summer, and that is supporting those higher airfares.

[13:25:11]

Airlines don't need to cut them because people keep demanding them at the higher price.

KEILAR: Yes, I said I wanted good news, but I guess I will settle for the foggy mists of time, which is not nothing.

But, anyways, there's also some news out today showing a boost in consumer sentiment.

GOLDMAN: Yes. OK, so you're going to -- at home, get your microscopes, get your telescopes. If you're on a phone, pinch the zoom.

You're going to want to really squint to see this. So this is consumer sentiment since the pandemic, and it has gone in one direction, which is down. This was the record low that we were at, and this is where we are. Does everyone see that at home? It's very hard to see.

But, yes, in fact, it has risen just a little bit. But we are still very, very close to a record low in consumer sentiment. People hate this economy. So what's going on? How come people hate it so much and they're still spending?

This is one of the great economic mysteries that we have had over the course of the decade. But one key factor is that K-shaped economy that we're talking about, where wealthy people keep making more money and keep spending, when less affluent people, well, they're falling farther and farther behind.

That wealthy contingent, their spending is really helping to boost the rest of the economy, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right, David, you're not fooling me. That's like -- that's like giving me a buck after you have taken my 20, right? I mean, look at that.

GOLDMAN: Yes. Yes. I know. I will try to dig up and find a little bit more good news for our next segment, because I'm really not delivering it today. I'm sorry about that.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: It's OK. Listen, you got to take us where the facts are, and we appreciate it.

David Goldman, as always, thank you, and happy Friday.

GOLDMAN: Happy Friday.

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: Still ahead: legal limbo. Hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrant families who have been living and working in the U.S. legally for years are facing an uncertain future. We will see how the community is reacting to the Supreme Court's latest ruling.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)