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Trump on Iran Agreement: "Unconditional Surrender"; Ukraine Attacks Moscow; Andy Burnham Wins U.K. by By-Election for Makerfield MP; Cuba Approves Economic Reforms In Bid To Stave Off Sanctions; Trump Administration Ramps Up Denaturalization Efforts; Canada Destroy Short-Handed Qatar, 6-0; The U.S. Prepares To Celebrate Juneteenth. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 19, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta. It is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, President Trump suggests the agreement signed between the U.S. and Tehran amounts to unconditional surrender by the Iranians as the 60-day window to reach a final deal is underway. Ukraine launching its largest attack on Moscow since the start of the war while receiving a major boost in military support from the European allies. And the U.K.'s Labour Party potentially one step closer to a new leader as the U.K. prime minister can now face a direct challenge from a new member of parliament.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Ben Hunte."

HUNTE: Welcome. We will have more on those stories in just a moment but we bring some breaking news to you now. The Lebanese National News Agency says at least 16 people have been killed in a night of heavy Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli military says it struck Hezbollah targets in several areas in Southern Lebanon. It cited repeated ceasefire violations by the militant group. We are working to get more information and will bring you the latest, of course, as it comes to CNN. But again, Lebanese media reporting at least 16 people have been killed in a wave of Israeli airstrikes.

Well, this follows a bold new claim from U.S. President Donald Trump that his agreement with Iran amounts to its unconditional surrender. The president has been defending his Memorandum of Understanding from mounting criticism. He spoke with Axios in his first interview since signing a document on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: What have you learned about not just the exercise of power, but the limits on your power as a result of the conflict?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: There are no limits.

CAPUTO: No limits?

TRUMP: No. I haven't learned that lesson yet. I know there are but, you know, there are no limits. We defeated them totally, militarily. I did a naval blockade. We're not -- one ship was able to get through. Some tried. They didn't, you know, didn't last very long.

CAPUTO: And it certainly brought Iran to the table more than before. However, beginning of conflict, you had talked about you only wanted unconditional surrender. And --

TRUMP: Well --

CAPUTO: -- the MOU doesn't look like unconditional surrender.

TRUMP: Well, that really probably is unconditional surrender.

CAPUTO: It is?

TRUMP: I think so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance is postponing his trip to Switzerland for an official U.S.-Iran signing ceremony. The White House cites unresolved logistics. The Swiss foreign ministry says Friday's planned talks have now been cancelled.

OK, joining me now to discuss all of these is Alon Pinkas, former Israeli consul general to New York. The IDF is still striking targets in Lebanon, and Netanyahu says the Israeli forces will remain there for as long as necessary. Can this agreement actually survive if Israel refuses to withdraw? What's going on?

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL, NEW YORK: That's a very good question. Lebanon was, is, and will remain the crucible in terms of this agreement. Now, at the beginning -- well, not at the beginning, I mean, after it was almost done, the deal, Israel attacked in Lebanon with the -- with the intent of derailing the agreement. There's no -- I have no doubt about that.

The idea that -- Israel saw that Iran is linking what's happening in Lebanon to an agreement and figured that if it keeps on attacking, if it escalates military activity in Lebanon, the Lebanese will back off.

So, Trump leaned on Israel. Israel stopped. But then once the agreement was signed, Ben, Israel moved into another phase, saying, we are delinking the Iranian and the Lebanese theater.

By the way, parenthetically, after many, many years of saying they are linked and, in fact, it's one front, all of a sudden, Prime Minister Netanyahu says, oh, no, these are two different theaters. So, right now, the big question, going back to what you just asked, the big question is, how agitated, how irritated would the Iranians be?

[02:04:59]

Look, they canceled the talks today. That's not a good omen. And anyone who thinks this is going to last 60 days is wrong. It's probably going to last way more than that. And Lebanon is going to have a major influence, yes.

HUNTE: Vice President Vance says Israel must respect this peace process. How significant is that message coming from the White House?

PINKAS: Oh, it's very significant. But you, Ben, you're very nice and moderate. You chose the one almost benign statement that Vance made because he had some very harsh and -- well, not expletives like his boss does, like Trump does, but he used a very harsh language, talking about the Israeli government and certain ministers inside the government who lashed at Trump, lashed at America, who called this a surrender.

This is the perception. This is the broad view in Israel. This is a bad agreement. What they are living in denial about is that if it is indeed a bad deal, then it follows a very bad war, a failed war.

I just saw in that clip that you put on that Trump has a new unheard definition of what constitutes unconditional surrender. If this agreement is unconditional surrender, I think the Iranians will be very happy with that.

What Vance said, basically, politically, that is, is that Israel is going to have to respect. He didn't say like, he didn't say endorse, he didn't say Israel is part of that. He just said Israel will need to respect that, meaning that he's bluntly telling Israel, gentlemen, you have no maneuvering room here, you have no latitude here, you need to take this, and you need to shut up, in other words.

HUNTE: Some have argued that Iran is actually emerging stronger from this deal. What do you think is the strongest evidence of that?

PINKAS: Oh, there's a lot of evidence pointing to that. Look, let's start with a general observation. Iran of June 19th, today, is exponentially stronger geopolitically than the Iran of February 28th. It was -- on February 28th, the day the war began, Iran was isolated. It was under strict and so-called crippling sanctions. It was unable to export most of its oil. Its economy was crumbling. It was without any major allies.

Now, we move back, we move 111 days to June 18th or 19th, and you see an Iran that has upended the strategic equation by virtue of blocking the Strait of Hormuz and being undeterred and attacking actually the Arab Gulf States, something that Israel and the U.S. never thought they would. They now, thanks to this agreement, they will have access to 25, roughly $25 billion of frozen assets, their money, but also, according to the agreement, they will be able to -- quote-unquote -- "tap in" to, I don't know how they got to that figure, but it says so, $300 billion worth of an economic development fund. On top of that, they de facto control the Strait of Hormuz. Trump could say that he controls it, that he opened it, that he closed it. He could say that all night long. The fact of the matter is that Iran now has wields -- can de facto control over the Strait of Hormuz.

In terms of allies, look, Iran's power projection, ability to project power has been very noticed in the Arab Gulf. They are trying to mend relations. And when I say the Arab Gulf, I mean Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, and so on.

And on top of all that, and perhaps that's the most important point, Ben, China. China was enjoying itself throughout this war, loving every moment of seeing America failing to bring Iran on its knees, as was the expression at the time, to force what is called an unconditional surrender. And now, China is much closer allied with Iran. But also, because of the Arab Gulf states, you know, catering to Iran and revisiting the reliance of the U.S. and the wisdom of close ties with the U.S., China comes in. So, Iran, all in all, has emerged stronger.

Now, this doesn't mean -- let me just add one more thing. This doesn't mean that Iran is out of the woods in terms of its economic problems, in terms of its fractured regime, in terms of popular upheaval or popular discontent.

[02:10:00]

You know, we can meet again, Ben, in a year or two and say, well, look at that, we thought they won, but the regime collapsed. I don't know. Right now, they emerged victorious.

HUNTE: There was a lot there. We appreciate it. Alon Pinkas, thank you.

PINKAS: Thank you, Ben.

HUNTE: The U.S. Military has announced an end to its naval blockade on Iranian ports. But it says American ships will remain in a general area to make sure all aspects of the U.S. agreement with Iran are obeyed.

Let's bring in CNN's Kristie Lu Stout who is following that angle from Hong Kong for us. Kristie, there is a lot going on. We focus on the big one, the Strait of Hormuz. What will it take for it to return to normal, do you think?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a question I've been asking masters of tankers and ship captains in the last couple of days, Ben. This what they're telling me. They're telling me that the Strait of Hormuz will reopen in a slow and steady stream and not in a surge. In fact, they're telling me it will take weeks, if not longer, for maritime traffic there in this critical waterway to get back to pre-war levels.

They cite a number of reasons for that. Number one is the mammoth task of clearing the Strait of Hormuz of mines. Another reason is the additional logistical challenge of getting through the backlog of hundreds of ships and tankers believed to be still stranded there in the Gulf. And then, of course, you have all the added uncertainty, top of mind, whether or not this peace will hold.

Now, I spoke to Captain Samanth Baktavatsalam. He is a shipmaster of a tanker. We first talked about three to four weeks into this conflict when he was stranded on board his tanker with his crew in the Gulf. He has since managed, along with his crew, to transit out of the region. He's now back in India with his family. But I asked him about the reopening of Hormuz. I want you to listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. SAMANTH BAKTAVATSALAM, MASTER, FLEET MANAGEMENT LIMITED: It is not just to get up and go when the traffic light turns green. It has been mentioned or not definitely known, the dangers posed in the straits by the mines, which they claim to have laid. It is always everyone watching who will be the first to transit. There have been some dark transits in the news. But once everything settles down and it's official, that ships can safely transit, then it will become a logistics issue mainly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Look, clearing the strait of mines is going to be a long and complicated process. First, it's not known exactly how many mines are in the strait. And secondly, according to experts, once a minefield is detected, it would take weeks to months to remove the threat.

You also heard the captain talk about the logistical challenge. There's getting through the backlog of hundreds of ships still stranded in the region. According to data earlier this week from Kepler, there are about 220 tankers, 500 ships believed to be still stuck in the Gulf.

And I also spoke to another tanker master who is currently stranded with his crew of 22 in the Gulf in an undisclosed location. Now, our comms are pretty patchy. So, I spoke to him on phone. I was able to get this transcript of what he told me. Here's a highlight. This is what Captain Abhijit Chopra told me about the situation and his hopes for reopening. He said, getting back to normal will take time. It will definitely get back to normal. I sincerely hope people will be behind us, and we can move forward, and a blockade of Hormuz will be behind us like the days of COVID.

Now, Captain Abhijit Chopra is one of an estimated 20,000 seafarers who have been impacted, stranded as a result of this conflict. And let me tell you, Ben, he and his crew, they have been stuck there in the Gulf since well before the war. They have been there since the end of January. Back to you.

HUNTE: OK, thank you so much for that, CNN's Kristie Lu Stout.

Ukraine's NATO allies are promising another round of defense assistance for the country in its war with Russia. During a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday, the Ukrainian defense minister announced $1 billion in contributions to NATO's prioritized Ukraine requirements list. He said the total value of support packages could be higher than $4 billion.

Social media video captured a massive explosion at a refinery in Moscow during a Ukrainian drone attack. This was the largest drone offensive on the Russian capital since the war with Ukraine began. A key oil refinery less than 10 miles from the Kremlin was damaged, with the roof of one structure blown clean off. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSION)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

HUNTE: Wow! Moscow's mayor says the city's air defenses shot down nearly 200 drones.

[02:15:02]

The offensive was part of a larger drone incursion over a broad area of Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Thursday's attacks -- quote -- "a fully justified response to Russian strikes."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: OK, an election victory for one of the UK's most popular politicians. We'll go live to England for a perspective on whether Andy Burnham will go for the Labour Party's top spot. And the Trump administration is ramping up its efforts to revoke the citizenship of some Americans who allegedly got their papers fraudulently. We'll have exclusive reporting on the latest from the Department of Justice. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could soon face a challenge for leadership of the Labour Party. His potential rival made a first step in that direction by winning a resounding victory in the by-election for Makerfield MP. Andy Burnham is currently the mayor of Greater Manchester, and he's one of the U.K.'s most popular politicians, too.

Generally, British by-elections are simply bellwethers of the public mood and they don't really impact the government. But Thursday's vote was triggered with the sole purpose of clearing a path for Burnham to the top spot in the Labour Party and thus the country.

CNN's Clare Sebastian joins us now from Ashton in Makerfield, England. Clare, looking at these results, this wasn't actually that close. Are people there surprised by this? CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I think even Burnham's camp is surprised by this. They were not taking anything for granted. This was an incredibly hard-fought campaign, Ben.

And look, from my own experience, being here for a couple of days and walking around and driving around this area, there were a lot of Labour signs up, but there were also a lot of Reform signs up, and even Restore Britain, which is a party that's even further to the right than Reform. So, there was everything to play for, it felt like, until the last minute.

But Andy Burnham has pulled off this resounding victory, which I certainly think strengthens his case going into next week as he perhaps plots his next move towards some kind of bid for leadership of the Labour Party and the job of prime minister.

But this was such a surreal moment in British politics, honestly, and perhaps made even more surreal by the order in which they stood the candidates on the stage at the count last night. Andy Burnham standing between a man dressed as a fox, an animal rights campaigner who was standing in this election, and a man dressed as a trash can. Count Binface is an institution in British politics, runs in all sorts of different elections on various sort of comedic mandates. But, you know, surreal also because this was a resounding victory for Labour, but one that puts the prime minister's position on an even more precarious footing.

So, it was a big night for Andy Burnham. He is going to argue going forward that this proves that he is the man to deliver the change that the Labour Party and the country needs. But everyone will be watching what happens next week for his next move. Ben?

HUNTE: And at the same time as that, we also need to talk about Nigel Farage and the Reform Party because there was so much effort that they put into this area. So, what does it mean that they didn't perform as well as they wanted?

SEBASTIAN: Well, I think it doesn't put the rise of the far right or the general splintering of the U.K. electorate back in its box. That is already something that we've seen happening. And not just with the rise of the populist right, but all kinds of different parties. It very much feels like people are looking outside of the sort of two- party system, the two main parties here in the U.K, for alternatives at this moment when people are looking for some kind of radical change.

That is still going to be a threat going into the next election because, ultimately, here in this constituency, which has been shifting to the right, it has been Labour for over a century. But we've seen certainly in the local council elections that happened some six weeks ago, and even before that there were signs of it, it has been shifting to the right.

And Andy Burnham was a special case here. He's a known quantity, the mayor of Greater Manchester. He's very well liked. He's local. You know, his kids have gone to a school in this constituency. He managed to pull off a campaign not so much about the party. In fact, even his posters didn't contain the word Labour, but about himself and about his sort of message of hope and change.

I think, as I said, that strengthens his argument going forward, but it will also, I think, provide Reform with, you know, perhaps an excuse for what happened here today, that it was simply about Andy Burnham, not about the momentum that they're seeing overall. Ben?

HUNTE: OK, Clare, thank you so much for that. We appreciate it. Speak to you again soon. And now, let's go to CNN European affairs commentator Dominic Thomas. Dominic, let's keep talking about it. Andy Burnham didn't just win. He won with a margin of more than 9,000 votes over Reform U.K. Tell me how damaging that result is for both Keir Starmer and for Nigel Farage, too.

DOMINIC THOMAS, CNN EUROPEAN AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Yes. Well, I think that, first of all, when it comes to Keir Starmer, he's going to have to, you know, spend some time this weekend really understanding and digesting this vote, which sends an unambiguous message that his days at the helm are over and it will be up to him to decide when he steps down, steps away from this before there's a flood of cabinet resignation. So, I think that was there.

And I think there's also -- a deep irony here is that the context of this by-election was the appalling results in the local elections, which really were sending a message not just to the Labour Party, but particularly to Keir Starmer.

[02:24:59]

So, I think that in this particular by-election, he defeated not just Starmer but also Farage. To the second part of your question, I think that the candidate they ran in this race and the divisions over Restore, this other far-right party running in this race, broke up the electorate. But certainly, Nigel Farage tried to set this race up as a kind of general election vote in which a future P.M. leader in the guise of Burnham would be running against Reform, and that failed.

And as Claire Sebastian pointed out, I think that will provide further momentum to Burnham's struggle now to overtake the P.M.-ship and move forward. It certainly bodes well for him should he come to power and decide to call an early general election in terms of how well he performed against Reform in this particular by-election.

HUNTE: Interesting. This by-election was effectively engineered to get Burnham back into parliament and make him eligible to challenge for the Labour leadership. How crazy is that in modern British politics?

THOMAS: Well, look, Ben, we've watched over the last 10-plus years this sort of moves within parties. The Conservative Party had a very sort of easy mechanism in place to displace leaders, right? We went through five of them in just a decades-plus period.

I think the Labour Party are attentive to that and realized that that's not something the general public particularly like. However, having said that, in this particular context, the fact that just two years ago, the Labour Party controlled such an enormous majority after that general election.

I think also it is really interesting to see just how much the country has changed in the past two years. Yes, there are enormous challenges moving forward, but the local elections demonstrated that the two- party system in the U.K. is no longer what it was even five, 10 years ago, and that the process here of potentially calling a general election, which would provide a greater indication as to where the general public goes, is important.

But I think what's all the more important is that Burnham is somebody who has been championing a position of supporting proportional representation. I think that that will resonate well with the general public, particularly in the context of a kind of erosion of support for conservatives. I think that people will be eager to go forward and to see what a general election would look like, and also what the potential would look like for a Labour Party returning to power and potentially working with other political groups that have performed well in a general election.

So, I think that moving forward, there will be some optimism that will come out of this, Ben.

HUNTE: Do you think this does guarantee a leadership challenge? Are we expecting to see that?

THOMAS: So, there's a very possibility that there could be a leadership challenge just to go through or rather a leadership race rather to go through a sort of protocol to give some kind of legitimacy to the new appointment of a Labour Party leader who immediately becomes prime minister. But I think there is a real scenario here as well where Keir Starmer resigns and where there are no challenges to Burnham and a desire to just sort of move forward with this.

The problem for Andy Burnham, as we saw back to your earlier question about changing leaders in this particular way, is that he ultimately will have been selected by the Labour Party and their groups, not by the general public. And so, I think that there is on top of that the shadow of a pending general election that would restore legitimacy to the Labour Party and to a new leader in the form of Andy Burnham.

So, we'll see how things unfold in the next few days, but I think that Keir Starmer running in a leadership race to try and hold on to his position would be absolutely absurd, and I don't think that's likely to happen at this stage because I think the messaging is so strong that it's time for Starmer to step away.

HUNTE: OK. Thank you so much, Dominic Thomas. We appreciate it.

THOMAS: Thank you.

HUNTE: Cuba's economy undergoes a massive change. After the break, why Cuban lawmakers are considered an economic overhaul, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:33:55]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

To try to survive U.S. sanctions, Cuba's government plans to privatize parts of its economy. The proposal was passed by Cuban lawmakers on Thursday and is the single largest change in the country's economy since its revolution in 1959. The proposal was put forward by the country's prime minister, Manuel Marrero. It's also backed by the island's former president, Raul Castro.

Cuba's current president, Manuel Diaz-Canel, spoke after the reforms were passed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL DIAZ-CANEL, CUBAN PRESIDENT (through translator): As we work to correct mistakes and shortcomings while also facing the external siege, we have agreed to take on the always difficult mission of opening the economy even further, with priority given to caring for Cubans, whether they live in the country or not. These decisions are not tied to negotiations. Cuba remains willing to engage respectfully with the government of the United States on all possible issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: This comes after U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance said Cuba needs to make changes that would improve ties between the island and the U.S. It is unclear whether these changes will meet the White House's criteria.

The reforms could open the door to more development in Cuba.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann takes a closer look. It is unclear whether these changes will meet the White House's criteria.

[02:35:05]

The reforms could open the door to more development in Cuba. CNN's Patrick Oppmann takes a closer look at what that could mean for the island.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Cuban officials announced some of the most significant proposals to open up tightly controlled economy in decades here on Thursday, as this island faces down increased threats from the Trump administration. The proposals include allowing foreign chains to open up restaurants here across the island. Both foreign and local Cuban companies would have the ability to do that for the first time, that they could have more than 100 employees if you were a local Cuban company, something up until now has not been permitted, and that foreign companies Could directly contract their own employees rather than having to hire them through the Cuban government.

So, for years, there has been a total an action here on the part of the government unwillingness to announce any significant reforms and as the Trump administration continues to apply pressure to Cuba to open up economically and politically, there has been as of the last several days and weeks a new willingness to try and open up the economy within a certain space still. The government says they are, of course, going to continue to be socialist, that the Cuban revolution will continue on.

And as well, there are some real hurdles to some of these measures. U.S. companies, for the most part, are prohibited from investing in Cuba because of the U.S. embargo and new secondary sanctions announced by the Trump administration are causing foreign companies to leave this island in droves. We've seen foreign hotel companies taking down their names from hotels that they had managed for the Cuban government. So it remains to be seen whether or not these proposals will lead to new investment, but it certainly shows that the Cuban government is feeling the pressure of these sanctions.

Will be enough for Miami exiles who have called on the government here to leave power for wholesale regime change? Definitely not, but perhaps the Trump administration could see this openness as a first step into reaching an eventual deal with the Cuban government that would take military action off the table.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

Cuban officials announced some of the most significant --

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: The president of Wisconsin's largest mosque is free from the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Salah Sarsour was released on Thursday after a federal judge ordered his freedom. The judge found Sarsour's claim that he was targeted for his vocal support of Palestinian rights substantial. The government claimed he is a foreign policy threat, but the judge ruled they failed to explain why he was a threat now after living in the U.S. for more than three decades.

The hot button issue of immigration and citizenship is once again at the forefront of the Trump administration's agenda. CNN has exclusive reporting that the Justice Department has shifted several top litigators from their current roles to start pursuing denaturalization cases. It is an attempt to strip the citizenship of people that the White House claims fraudulently obtained naturalized status.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration plans to file at least 250 denaturalization cases by October. That's according to a senior Justice Department official. It marks a significant ramping up of the administration's push to revoke citizenship from foreign-born Americans who have been naturalized in the U.S. and who the federal government accuses of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship.

Now, as a point of comparison, between 2008 and mid June of this year, there were 166 denaturalization cases, or rather complaints that were filed. That is an annual average of less than 10. The administration is trying to exceed what happened over the last 18 years in a matter of a year or a little more than a year.

Now, there have been indications of this. The Justice Department in the last two months filed 29 cases. The cases that we have seen so far include people who are accused of committing fraud, sexual abuse of a minor, or expressed support for terrorism before or during the naturalization process.

Now, the federal government does have the authority to do this in federal statute when an individual makes a false statement that would have been relevant to the naturalization process or who are found to have legally procured citizenship. In other words, they weren't eligible for it.

[02:40:00]

Now, this isn't decided by the federal government. Rather, this moves through the district court. So that is why the administration is filing these cases, which then are distributed to courts around the country, and that is where this ultimately unfolds.

Now, this is a time-consuming process. It's also historically been rare. Experts I spoke with said that typically they have been reserved for people who committed war crimes. more were supportive of terrorism or involved in terrorism. This administration maintains that they are focused on people who had a criminal history or committed criminal acts before or during the naturalization process, and so far that is what the cases have been, though there are concerns among experts about whether the administration will try to broaden that.

Now, of course, there have been millions of people that have been naturalized over the years, so this is still a small fraction of that, but taken into context, it marks a massive ramping up of denaturalization cases by this administration, and one that the Justice Department is placing additional resources behind to file at least 250 of these cases by October.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: All right. Soon, we'll have the latest results for you from the World Cup, including an absolute thrashing in a match between Canada and Qatar.

Details next in the CNN NEWSROOM.

See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:46:17]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

Okay, let's get you caught up on the very latest World Cup action.

Team Canada is celebrating its first win of the tournament, and it was a real thrashing. The Canadian scored six goals against a short handed team from Qatar, which received two red cards during the match.

Switzerland had a dominating performance against Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1. They are just behind Canada on goal differential in Group B.

The Czech Republic led almost the entire match against South Africa in Atlanta, but a goal in the 83rd minute evened out the score. Those two teams are sitting at the bottom of Group A.

And Mexico has defeated South Korea 1-0 in a highly anticipated showdown. Mexico is the first team to book its ticket to the knockout round.

OK, priorities. Meet Merlin. He is a two-year-old duck who wears the Mexican national team jersey. Merlin has officially become the tournament's ambassador.

CNN's Valeria Leon has more now on this very viral sensation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wearing this perfectly fit jersey, this is Merlin, the duck. He's became so famous in the last two weeks, and he was waddling through the streets during the celebrations in the opening match in Mexico City.

KARLA GOMEZ, MERLIN? OWNER (through translator): We were just working at the time. We never imagined it would go so viral. We were walking down Reforma Avenue when a young woman filmed this, and that's when everything took off.

LEON: And we're here with Cristian His owner.

(SPEAKING SPANISH)

CRISTIAN GOMEZ, MERLIN? OWNER (through translator): I gave it that name because it's magical to me.

LEON: You need to hold it like here. Okay. Oh, he's so cute.

LEON (voice-over): But long before social media discovered him, Merlin was already a familiar face here in Mexico City's historic center. OMAR TELLEZ, MEXICO CITY RESIDENT (through translator): It's surreal. It really represents the lifestyle of Mexico City. Mexicans always find creative ways to keep everyone happy and bring people together.

LEON (voice-over): Now, he has millions of views and fans counted in the thousands.

LEON: He draws smiles. Everywhere he goes, you can see, surrounded by fans from all over the world.

RICHARD GOLDSCHMIDT, GERMAN TOURIST: We have seen the duck in the city that -- yesterday it was. Yeah, we have seen the duck, yeah.

LEON: And what do you think about that?

GOLDSCHMIDT: I mean, when the duck has fun, it's okay.

LEON: This unofficial mascot is going to become the ambassador named by FIFA today.

REBECA ARCOS, MEXICO CITY? FIFA HOST CITY (through translator): Merlin is now Mexico City's official FIFA host city ambassador.

LEON: Merlin may not know much about football, but the timing couldn't be better for this duck. Once his video went viral, this duck became one of the most visible faces of the World Cup, proving that the biggest stars of the tournament sometimes aren't on the pitch at all.

Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: We love good news. Okay, as the U.S. prepares to celebrate Juneteenth, Black Americans take stock of what needs to be done to protect the progress made since emancipation.

The details after this break. See you in a moment.

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[02:52:18]

HUNTE: Welcome back.

On Friday, cities across the U.S. will celebrate Juneteenth. June 19th marks the day enslaved African-Americans in Texas learned that they were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. While it is a celebration, it's also a time to consider what needs to be done to protect the progress made since then.

CNN's Lynda Kinkade reports.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What are you most proud of? RASHAUN KEMP, GEORGIA STATE SENATOR: I'm proud of the fact that still to this day, folks like me are making history.

KINKADE (voice-over): For Georgia State Senator RaShaun Kemp, freedom means leadership.

KEMP: I'm coming in representing 190,000 people in my district, 11 million Georgians, and I get to be a voice for them.

KINKADE (voice-over): For others, it's the chance to build a business.

CHANTEL POWELL, FOUNDER & CEO, PLAY PITS: To be able to live without restrictions.

KINKADE (voice-over): And for students, it's the support to reach their full potential.

Ten years ago, Enrique says he barely spoke English and struggled with confidence.

ENRIQUE, BOYS & GIRLS CLUBS AWARD RECIPIENT: I felt alone, excluded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 2026 Southeast Youth of the Year is Enrique from the Boys and Girls Clubs of St. Lucie County.

KINKADE (voice-over): Now at 18, he's the top youth leader for the Girls and Boys Clubs of America in the Southeast, an organization that helps young people succeed in school, prepare for careers, and develop leadership skills.

KINKADE: What has this club given you that other places couldn't?

ENRIQUE: The Boys and Girls Club really gave me a step forward. For the first time in a very long time, I saw a group of people who wanted to listen to me.

KINKADE (voice-over): Enrique was an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, a nation shaped by its own complex history of slavery. Today, he's a shining example of what's possible with the right support.

KINKADE: You're a boss. You're a brand maker. You're a business owner.

POWELL: Yeah.

KINKADE: What are you most proud of?

POWELL: I think -- the thing I'm most proud of is, one, my kids being able to see what's possible.

KINKADE (voice-over): For entrepreneur Chantel Powell, economic independence remains one of the clearest measures of progress.

POWELL: My kids can now go into stores like CVS and Target and see the product on the shelves, and they remember when I was making it in the kitchen.

KINKADE (voice-over): Her idea for a product began at home.

POWELL: Clay Fitz (ph) is the all natural deodorant. Because my son at six was a smelly little boy, I wasn't able to find anything on the shelves, and so I wanted something that was safe.

KINKADE (voice-over): Hustling hard, she grew that idea into a nationally distributed brand.

POWELL: This is our top seller. This one is Suga.

KINKADE: How many of these are you selling across the U.S. right now, on average a year?

POWELL: A year, we're probably selling around 150,000 to 200,000 units a year.

[02:55:01]

KINKADE: Wow.

POWELL: Yeah, yeah.

KINKADE: And you are potentially going to expand this overseas?

POWELL: Potentially, one day, maybe.

KINKADE: You've been pursued by at least two countries.

POWELL: Yeah.

KINKADE (voice-over): When a factory fire caused a setback, the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs stepped in to help.

POWELL: Having a space where I can take my meetings, connect with other people who've been able to help me in business has been really important.

SHAWN GRAHAM, EXECUTIVE VP & COO, RUSSELL INNOVATION CENTER FOR ENTREPRENEURS: There's a variety of products within this market for our stakeholders.

KINKADE (voice-over): Russell Center Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Sean Graham says it's working to help more entrepreneurs succeed.

KINKADE: So in the last five years, on average, how many applicants are coming to you for help?

GRAHAM: I would say on an annual basis, anywhere approximately 600 to 700 applications annually.

KINKADE: And each of those applicants get a grant, they get mentorship, and they get connection. GRAHAM: That's absolutely correct. Not all stakeholders will receive a grant. However, they will have access to our facility 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

KINKADE: The story of emancipation is often sold through history, but its legacy still shapes debates here at the Capitol and in communities across the U.S. Advocates say progress is measured by opportunity, access to education, economic mobility, and representation.

KEMP: We are, as Americans, get to, you know, exercise our right through our votes, and I think that is the ultimate example of freedom.

KINKADE (voice-over): Yet many see the promise of emancipation as not fully realized. Senator Kemp points to renewed efforts to roll back voting access and modify election laws as evidence of the work that remains.

KEMP: With redistricting happening, you're seeing southern states rush to redraw maps, to erase black voices and representation.

KINKADE (voice-over): And bridging the inequality divide remains the biggest challenge.

KEMP: My Senate district is a perfect example of that. I represent Buckhead and Bankhead here in Atlanta, Georgia. You can drive a matter of seven miles and your life expectancy drops by 20 years. That is something that we have to address.

KINKADE (voice-over): From government chambers to classrooms and boardrooms, many say the next chapter of freedom is being written through opportunity.

KEMP: I am a perfect example of how far America has come, but I think that we have a great ways to still go.

ENRIQUE: There is so much power and help -- in giving a helping hand. I want to be that same kind of mentor for the next generation of club kids.

POWELL: Expect the noes. And the noes -- don't let the noes stop you. Like, literally go and chase after your yes.

KINKADE (voice-over): Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: All right, that's what I've got for you. Thanks for joining me this hour. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

I'll be right back after a very quick break. You are watching CNN. See you in a moment.

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