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Search and Retrieval Efforts Continue for the Powerful Twin Quakes in Venezuela, 235 Have Confirmed Dead; USA Lost to Turkey in the FIFA World Cup Group D Match; Heat Wave-related Deaths Have Been Recorded in Much of Europe with More Record-Breaking Temperatures Ahead. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 26, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in the "CNN Newsroom" with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me. Coming up on the show.

Rescuers in Venezuela race to find survivors as the death toll rises from a pair of quakes, one of which was the country's strongest in over a century.

A pause in U.N. efforts to evacuate ships in the Strait of Hormuz. We'll go live to the Gulf for details on what happened, despite the agreement between the U.S. and Iran.

Plus, we will get the ball rolling on what to expect from another jam- packed day of the World Cup.

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

HUNTE: Welcome.

We begin in Venezuela, where emergency crews are racing to find survivors of deadly twin earthquakes, a massive search and rescue effort is underway across the country. So far, roughly 235 people are dead and more than 4300 are injured, those figures are expected to rise as first responders sift through the rubble.

Hundreds of people are trapped under debris or missing after the quakes collapsed houses and buildings in the capital, Caracas, and throughout the country.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

We are seeing there is new video showing passengers panicking aboard a plane at the international airport north of Caracas as the powerful tremors shook the aircraft on the tarmac. Many people in Venezuela lost everything in the quakes and there is an urgent need for aid and shelter as residents are left to sleep outdoors. Global relief efforts are ramping up. Venezuela has felt nearly 140

aftershocks following the back-to-back earthquakes on Wednesday evening. The second quake was the strongest to hit the country since the year 1900.

Have a listen to how one survivor describes the fear and emotions that he felt when a tremor struck.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): We recovered what we had there. I don't think I was able to save anything else there.

UNKNOWN (through translator): How was the moment? How was it?

UNKNOWN (through translator): How was it? It was horrible.

It was something I had never felt in my life, as horrible as what we felt here yesterday. Too much.

UNKNOWN (through translator): Did you feel at any moment that you were going to lose your life?

UNKNOWN (through translator): Yes, you know.

UNKNOWN (through translator): What went through your mind?

UNKNOWN (through translator): Like, this is it for me. I couldn't do anything else because I grabbed my wife, my son, I hugged them and, you know, that was it. This is it for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The two earthquakes in Venezuela were so powerful, CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon felt the tremors hundreds of miles away in neighboring Colombia. He's following the crisis from Bogota.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Chaos, confusion and fear. These were the scenes as not one, but two earthquakes rocked Venezuela in a matter of seconds.

Massive buildings collapsed to the ground in the capital, Caracas. The country's main international airport was forced to shut down after feeling the ripples and destruction of the tremors.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency as search and rescue operations continue looking for survivors. The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes hit at around 6 p.m. local on Wednesday. The epicenter was the country's northeastern coast.

Venezuelan authorities said they registered around 140 tremors throughout the country.

MARIA ALEJANDRA, VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): He was here when I managed to get dressed. He helped me and all the walls were cracked.

We managed to open the door however we could. There was a cloud of smoke that wouldn't let us see. And when we went downstairs, the scene was like a horror movie.

POZZEBON (voice-over): The coastal state of La Guaira was hit the hardest. Three-story houses were flattened into piles of debris and major highways split in half. Many fearing aftershocks have taken shelter in outdoor squares and parks.

JOSE TERRANZA, VENEZUELA EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): We slept here on the pavement and that bench. We slept, nobody could sleep last night and nobody wants to go back inside now.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Venezuelan authorities are calling it the worst natural disaster to hit the country in nearly three decades. This comes in the midst of political and economic instability.

[03:05:05]

The United States and neighboring countries have offered aid and supplies. The real cost of the tragedy is still impossible to predict.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Earlier I spoke with a Venezuelan economist about the current mood on the ground. He does have family and friends there. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORGE JRAISSATI, VENEZUELAN ECONOMIST AND PRESIDENT, ECONOMIC INCLUSION GROUP: The situation is full of frustration. People are really frustrated, they are scared. Because they know that they don't have a state that will fulfill its role.

So they know that nobody is going to go there and help them. So right now the mood of most Venezuelans is that they are really trying to find ways to organize themselves, organize their communities. But it's really a tragedy, you know, because this earthquake destroyed the life of, we don't know the number of people.

We know that hundreds of people have been killed and we know that many thousands of people have been disappeared. So really, most people are in shock. I know friends, I have family actually, that their apartments were broken and the fear of losing a loved one in this situation.

And for my people it has been a lot. It has been over 20 years of bad news. So we really hope that this is the end of this tragic night that we have felt in Venezuela.

HUNTE: We really do hope so as well. The death toll does continue to rise and officials fear that it could climb much higher than it is currently. Where are rescue efforts being focused at the moment? What are you hearing about the scale of the response?

JRAISSATI: The scale is minimal really in comparison to what it should be done. There has been foreign countries helping. The United States since early in the morning announced helping is coming to Venezuela and some of them already arrived to Venezuela.

There has been from the side of the U.S. not only help on the ground. But there has been easing of OFAC sanctions on Venezuela. Specifically done to allow not only non-profits to help Venezuelans.

But financial institutions to be able to respond to this situation. So from the U.S. there has been help, there has been help from El Salvador. There has been help from other countries. And the European Union is already moving towards that direction.

HUNTE: Venezuela was already facing enormous economic challenges before these earthquakes. How much harder does that make it to respond to a disaster like this?

JRAISSATI: It makes it extremely more difficult. Because right now the problem is that in Venezuela we don't have a functioning state. We don't have a state that has the capacity. The technical capacity, the financial capacity, or the willingness to really help. We don't have the procedures, we don't have the measures, and as a result then we don't have a capable state. And from the side of the population.

Really is that our people have been in a situation that is so extremely precarious that nobody has the finances to overcome this situation. Right now in Venezuela 50 percent of people live in extreme poverty, 80 percent of people live in poverty. So more people don't have the cash flow to actually mitigate this problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: There are no claims of responsibility yet after the latest strike on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. is pointing a finger at Tehran saying an Iranian drone hit the cargo ship on Thursday.

The incident happened as shipping traffic was starting to pick up on the heels of the interim agreement between the U.S. and Iran. Speaking about the agreement, Israel's Prime Minister drew a line for what he is ready to accept.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): As for the regime of evil Iran. I will say only this. With an agreement or without an agreement. As long as I am Prime Minister of Israel, Iran will not have nuclear weapons.

Under no circumstances will we allow Iran to develop nuclear bombs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Meanwhile, Israel's military says it will temporarily reduce its forces in Lebanon and Gaza. While the U.S. Secretary of State is showing optimism about ongoing talks between Israel and Lebanon in Washington.

Paula Hancocks joins me now live from Abu Dhabi. It's good to see you Paula.

We have also seen another attack on a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz. What does that tell us about how fragile all of this situation is right now?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Ben, what we have been seeing earlier in the week is a significant amount of traffic start to ramp up in the Strait of Hormuz. And now we just have this one incident. But it is enough to spook vessels, to spook insurance companies.

[03:10:05]

So, of course we are now trying to find out if any vessels are still trying to make that crossing at this point.

So this happened on Thursday. The U.S. is saying that they believe it was an Iranian drone which hit this vessel. Iran hasn't claimed responsibility, but it does come just hours after the Revolutionary Guard had said that there would not be safe passage for vessels that were not using the Iranian route.

This is the northern part of the Strait of Hormuz, closer to the Iranian coast. What we have been seeing, probably not unsurprisingly, is that most of these vessels are much closer to the Omani coast, so the Omani route. So they are saying that they simply cannot guarantee safe passage.

What we did see on Wednesday is that some 70 vessels had been transiting the Strait of Hormuz, double what we saw on Tuesday and really the most we have seen since this war began. So we were starting to see some regularity, some normality, some confidence back in the Strait. But of course that has now been shattered by what we have seen here.

Now we know that the International Maritime Organization was carrying out an evacuation effort to try and release some 11,000 seafarers who had been stuck in the Persian Gulf since the start of the war to allow them to cross the Strait of Hormuz. That has now been put on hold, the Secretary General is saying that the safety of those seafarers really has to be the most important issue.

Now the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, has been in the region. He has been talking, obviously, about the Strait of Hormuz, saying that no country in the world can claim sovereignty over international water. He was also trying to quell fears and concerns by Gulf nations as to what the U.S. security guarantees really look like at this point, and he was asked specifically about this $300 billion reconstruction fund which is in the Memorandum of Understanding.

Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: In the meeting with the GCC allies, did any of them make any commitments to pay into this $300 billion reconstruction?

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: No, it was not discussed. I mean, that reconstruction cut, that's way down the road and that's something that will be dealt with at the appropriate time in this process. But that was not discussed by anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: And, of course, a greater concern as well for Gulf nations is, of course, the Iranian support for proxies in the region, for Iran's missile program, which do not appear to be directly impacted by this MOU and don't appear to be a focus for the U.S.-Iran peace talks at this point. Ben.

HUNTE: We are also reporting that Israel says it's temporarily reducing its forces in Lebanon and Gaza as talks do continue. Is this a sign that the negotiations are making progress?

HANCOCKS: What we're reading in the statement from Israel itself is that this is part of an effort to sustain long-term operations. We know that the IDF has been suffering from manpower shortages, they've effectively had continual war on a number of fronts for three years now.

And this is something that the Chief of Staff has highlighted as a problem as well. So they said that they will pull several brigades out of the northern and southern sector, as you say, indicating that's Lebanon and Gaza, a battalion could be anything between 2000 and 5000 soldiers.

So it is a sizeable number that they would be pulling out. There is no indication in this statement, though, that they would be pulling out of territory, so they would be giving up certain territory. It's not clear at this point.

We have heard optimism, though, from the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, saying that there will be another day of talks between Israel and Lebanon. Note, not including Hezbollah, which rejects these talks. But those talks between Israel and Lebanon will be held for another day on Friday, saying that they are good negotiations, they're very close to a commitment of intent to how to push any kind of ceasefire and peace process forward.

But we're also hearing from the Israeli Defense Minister, Israel Katz, that they will not be withdrawing any time soon from southern Lebanon, even if the U.S. tries to demand it. Ben.

HUNTE: Okay, thank you so much for that update. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi.

A striking shift in tone from President Trump on Ukraine, he is now praising Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That's a sharp reversal from his earlier criticism. CNN's Kevin Liptak explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: After quite a rocky start, President Trump appears increasingly enthusiastic about the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

[03:15:04]

In the Oval Office on Wednesday, President Trump said that Zelenskyy was doing pretty well, no matter how you look at it. He said that Zelenskyy was, quote, "holding his own, that he was courageous, and that he's got great men."

All of it a distant cry from the President's very bitter Oval Office meeting with Zelenskyy very early in his term last year, in which he essentially yelled at Zelenskyy that he has no cards.

Now, in the months since then, the Ukraine war has ground on. It doesn't seem as if it's approaching any kind of conclusion in the near term.

President Trump, at the G7 summit in France last week, had a chance to meet with Zelenskyy and emerge from that session, appearing as if he had a renewed sense in how he might bring that conflict to an end. He also signed on to a surprisingly pro-Ukraine statement at the G7 that was brokered by the French President Emmanuel Macron.

Now, the real question is whether this newfound approach to Zelenskyy is enduring, whether this is just a phase in the President's sort of back-and-forth approach to the conflict, or whether he has a newfound respect for the Ukrainian leader.

I think the hope among Europeans, and the Ukrainians certainly, is that now that the Iran war appears to be in the rearview mirror for now, that President Trump will be refocused on trying to bring the conflict in Ukraine to an end. The hope for the Europeans is that perhaps President Trump may broker a new meeting between Zelenskyy and Putin, and President Trump at the table as well, to try and figure out how to bring the war to an end.

The issue, I think, that the President has been facing is that Moscow and the Russian President Vladimir Putin do not seem in any particular hurry to end the fighting there. There's no sense that there's been a new peace framework that would redraw some of the battle lines, resolve some of those questions of territorial concessions in a way that all sides can agree to.

So, for now, even though President Trump does seem as if he's warming to Zelenskyy and warming to the Ukrainians' point of view, at this point does not seem as if he has any new approach that would bring the fighting to an end permanently.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Okay, the World Cup is heating up as more teams secure spots in the next round still ahead. Who is moving on and who is headed home after a string of high-stakes games on Thursday?

And fans, players and coaches are sharing their opinions about a massive change in the structure of World Cup games. Coming up, why critics are so unhappy with the addition of hydration breaks. See you in a moment.

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[03:20:00]

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HUNTE: There is no clean sweep for the U.S. as they head into the knockout stage of the World Cup. The team ended the group stage games on a sour note, losing to Turkey 3-2 just a few hours ago. But the U.S. still took the top spot in Group D, and that's thanks to victories in their first two games.

On the other side of the group, Australia and Paraguay tied at 0-0. The Socceroos are moving ahead, but Paraguay also have a good chance to advance as third-place finishers.

In Group E, Ecuador pulled off an upset, beating four-time champion Germany 2-1. That does mean that Ecuador came from behind to secure a spot in the next round. Germany had already snatched the top place in the group.

And in Group F, Japan and Sweden tied 1-1, with both teams moving to the knockout stage.

And there are six more games coming up on Friday local time. Two each in Groups I, H and G. Norway and France kick things off to start the day in Boston, then New Zealand and Belgium will close out Friday in Vancouver. The round of 32, or the knockout round, begins on Sunday.

For more analysis, we are joined from London by Marcus Speller, a producer and presenter at "The Football Rumble." It's good to see you, Sir.

The U.S. had already secured the top spot before then losing to Turkey. Was that simply a reminder that no team can really switch off at the World Cup? Or are there genuine concerns heading into the knockout stage for them?

MARCUS SPELLER, PRESENTER AND PRODUCER, "THE FOOTBALL RUMBLE": Every game is difficult at the World Cup. And even a sort of a dead rubber fixture like that, where the U.S. had already secured top spot and Turkey were already out.

But Turkey, they're a good side. It's been quite surprising for us over here in Europe that Turkey have gone out so early in the competition. We know that they're better than that. In fact, a lot of people over here would have fancied Turkey to win the group, believe it or not.

So they had a point to prove. They haven't won a game at the World Cup since 2002. But Maurizio Pochettino, because he was in that position of luxury, if you like, where the U.S. were guaranteed top spot no matter what, he could rest a lot of players.

So a number of players were getting their first World Cup experience for the U.S. So on another day, they win that game. If they were already through top spot, I wouldn't worry at all for the U.S. I think they're a good side and Pochettino's got them playing exactly the way he wants to.

HUNTE: Well, all right. Ecuador's comeback win over Germany was one of the stories of the day. What impressed you the most about Ecuador and how much of a concern is that result for Germany, even though they still won their group?

[03:24:57]

SPELLER: Yes, I get Germany's same position as the U.S. I think one thing that a number of fans of the World Cup and soccer in general have noted, that FIFA changing the rules from goal difference to head- to-head results has created this kind of odd scenario where teams are guaranteed first spot.

Teams were already out and Germany knew they were going to be finishing top of that group no matter what, really. So it was all about what Ecuador could do. And the very sort of charismatic and eye- catching coach of Ecuador said, you know, we want to defend like Arsenal and attack like Barcelona.

Well, they've got the defense by and large sorted out, but they haven't scored goals at this tournament going into that game against Germany. So they needed to produce something.

And the spirit they had in that second half showed you that they were utterly determined to keep Beccacece, if I've correctly pronounced his name there, in the job. Because he said he would leave if Ecuador didn't get through to the knockouts. So they were very good going forward.

Germany, always a threat. They're a good side. I don't think Germany are going to win the World Cup, but they've got some good players, as we know. They knew that, you know what, let's not bust the gut here.

Yes, I'm not saying Germany kind of took their foot completely off the gas. But if you're guaranteed top spot, you're playing against a very determined opponent. Why would you risk injury? Why would you risk getting a second yellow card or something like that going into the knockout?

So Ecuador were impressive, no doubt. But the content is also interesting, or the context rather. And I think had Germany needed another goal, maybe they would have stepped it up a little bit.

HUNTE: Okay. And as the group stage draws to a close, which knockout stage games are you looking forward to? And tell us why.

SPELLER: Well, it's difficult to predict who's playing who with this World Cup. It really is. It's the old box of chocolate sort of thing, you know, without the guide and what's going on.

Currently, England have got Ecuador in the next round. But of course, that's dependent on results of today's games and so on and so forth. I'd rather not play Ecuador as an England fan. They look quite a tasty side and very good defensively. So I don't know.

I'm sort of looking at the potential fixtures and thinking, yes, what could it be? One thing that we know is, this is where the World Cup gets brutal. Because a lot of teams go through to the knockouts with this new format and looking at the fixtures, I mean, Netherlands seem to have Morocco, which is a tasty tie. Netherlands are a good side, they top their group, and Morocco are no mugs as well.

I mean, if the U.S. end up playing Bosnia-Herzegovina, I think that's a pretty good tie for the U.S., if I'm honest. I'd fancy them to do that and progress.

We've seen so many teams in the World Cup. We love the fans mixing and different cultures and different colors and sounds and so on and so forth that you get. Well, some teams go out after the group stage, that's obvious.

In the knockouts, oh, that's it, no room for error. And that's when you go, oh my goodness, that team that I've loved watching, whether it be Ecuador, D.R. Congo, Ghana, you name it.

And suddenly they're gone and that's it. And you march on and you think, blimey, this is where it gets tough. So, yes, the knockouts, you can't take your eyes off them.

HUNTE: I love it.

Well, thank you so much for that, Marcus, I appreciate it. I love hearing my own accent on CNN as well, so I'm sure we'll be speaking again very soon. It's like a buzzer, I love it.

SPELLER: Pleasure.

HUNTE: Speak to you again soon.

Onwards, Europeans and tourists alike are enduring more record- breaking temperatures. Find out when they can expect a break from that heat wave.

And the reflecting pool is to be drained again. While police search for a person who officials say could be behind some of that damage. That story and so much more when we return, see you in a moment.

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[03:30:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back, I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

The U.S. is accusing Iran of targeting a cargo ship in the Straits of Hormuz. A U.S. official says an Iranian drone struck the vessel on Thursday, but Iran is so far not claiming responsibility. The U.N. is now pausing its operation to evacuate thousands of seafarings who are stranded in the Gulf because of the war.

Israel and Lebanon are set to continue talks on Friday as they work towards an agreement to end the conflict. This comes as Israel's military tells CNN it's reducing troops in the region to focus on military readiness. The reduction is described as temporary.

Nationwide search and rescue efforts are underway across Venezuela. Now into the second night since deadly twin earthquakes left the country reeling. The death toll has climbed to more than 230 people and it is expected to rise, more than 4300 people are injured and hundreds more are either trapped under rubble or missing, countries around the world are now sending aid.

Many residents and Venezuelans living abroad are waiting desperately for news of their loved ones following the twin earthquakes. CNN's Isa Soares reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of hundreds of thousands of moments just like it. Two earthquakes 39 seconds apart. The most powerful Venezuela has seen in more than a century.

[03:35:05]

Striking on a public holiday evening across several states.

A friend in Caracas sent me this voice message. Cleveland Cartaya had made it out but I was still waiting to hear from several others.

CLEVELAND CARTAYA, VENEZUELAN RESIDENT (translated): You run and you fall, bounce off the walls and try to get out of the building quickly. You think you're to die.

SOARES (voice-over): Families outside, on the streets, in squares just too frightened to go back inside. On social media images only now coming online.

Luis Reyes and the elderly woman he cares for doing what thousands across Caracas did on Thursday. They slept on the street.

CARTAYA (translated): A lot of people are in the streets, in the squares, under the bridges. There are many homeless people, there are many people who have been left with nothing. Truly, this is horrible.

SOARES (voice-over): By daybreak the damage is clear to see. This footage aired on state T.V. shows the utter devastation. And for the millions who fled violence and a crumbling economy in Venezuela in recent years, the night brought its own particular torment.

Communications severed across the capital. The airport, as you can see, effectively destroyed.

It falls to the acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, to lead the response. A government still finding its footing after Nicolas Maduro's capture by the United States in January. Now facing the worst natural disaster in Venezuela in over a century.

Her government announcing a $200 million emergency fund. The death toll already in the hundreds and rising.

DIOSDADO CABELLO, VENEZUELAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): We have ordered by instructions from the President the cut off, so that everyone is aware of the direct gas service to buildings. Because we have some damaged structures, we do not want any kind of accident with the gas to occur.

SOARES (voice-over): Venezuela has already lived through political rupture, economic collapse, and the loss of millions of its people to immigration. For a country that already given so much, now this.

Isa Soares, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Parts of Europe are facing another day of record breaking heat. Temperatures have surpassed 104 degrees Fahrenheit across France, five heat related deaths have been reported in Italy, and at least 212 deaths have been linked to the heat in Spain over the past four days.

The rare red extreme heat warning has been extended into Friday for parts of southern England too, and the Netherlands issued its first ever red alert for heat for Friday.

CNN's Allison Chinchar has more on the forecast across Europe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More and more records continue to be set across portions of Europe.

Take the U.K. for example. Thursday having their hottest June day on record. Beating the previous record which was set the day before.

And they're not alone. Many other countries have been setting records. Take a look at this.

This is Switzerland. Basel reached a temperature of 38 degrees on Thursday. That is the first time they have ever had a June temperature above 37 degrees.

And for many areas the heat is not over. It's only going to continue as we approach the weekend. Here's a look at the alerts for Friday.

Again notice we still have a lot of them over central Europe. But they're starting to expand over areas of Eastern Europe. And that's because this dome of high pressure is also going to shift eastward, that means it will be a little bit of a brief reprieve for areas a little bit farther to the west, but it's only going to get worse for areas in eastern Europe.

Take for example places like Vienna. The high temperature on Friday 98 degrees. But then back into the triple digits as we head into the weekend.

Same for Berlin, that's looking at the Fahrenheit. Now let's take a look at the Celsius temperatures. Again look at that, 40 degrees two days in a row for Berlin as those temperatures continue to tick back up.

Now as we mentioned some places will actually start to see a brief reprieve from that heat. Take London for example. Still very hot on Friday, still very hot on Saturday. But then we finally start to see those temperatures at least coming back down as we head into the latter half of the weekend and early next week.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Okay. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool will be drained, inspected and repaired after July 4th celebrations. The National Park Service said in a court filing on Wednesday the work will start after the Independence Day holiday.

The filing echoed the President's vandalism claims stating dozens of fence posts were thrown into the pool and the bottom was cut with a sharp object. The NPS also asked for help identifying the woman from this security footage. They say they are investigating her for destruction of government property.

All right, President Trump has been laser focused on immigration and border security since before he began his second term. And now the Supreme Court is helping him achieve some of his goals. More in just a moment, see you then.

[03:40:07]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: The financial markets are reacting to a bad day on Wall Street. Here's a look at the Asian markets. They are lower, led by sharp losses in Japan and North Korea.

European markets are open. Here is how they are starting the trading day just there. Also low at the open with technology stocks dragging major indexes into the red.

[03:45:09]

And this is where the U.S. futures stand at this hour, also mostly pointing lower. And we'll see how that changes. Stay with CNN for the latest on that. And here are your business headlines. Annual inflation in the U.S. reached the highest level in three years.

High gasoline prices are responsible for inflation rising to 4.1 percent in May from 3.8 percent in April. Once gas and food prices are factored out, core inflation was up just one tenth of a percent.

It now costs more to buy some of Apple's most popular products. The tech company raised the prices of its entry-level MacBook, the cheapest iPad and the iPad mini by $100, the Apple TV, Vision Pro headset and HomePod speaker will also cost you more now. Apple blames the increase on the surge in prices for computer components due to the growing number of A.I. data centers.

A source tells CNN that the White House wants OpenAI's newest model to be available only to a small group of U.S. companies and organizations. The request comes after the Trump administration placed export controls on another A.I. company, Anthropic, which withdrew its most advanced models after U.S. officials raised cybersecurity concerns.

President Trump received significant wins handed down by the Supreme Court on Thursday. They concern one of his high priority issues, immigration. CNN's Paula Reid has more on what the rulings mean for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The Supreme Court Thursday handing President Trump two major wins related to his efforts to curb legal immigration.

In one of the cases, the court gave him the green light to continue rolling back temporary protective status for Haitians and Syrians who, under a program that was aimed at helping people who were leaving countries that had seen upheaval, gave them, for example, work authorization. But after this decision, hundreds of thousands of people could now lose those rights.

Now, this whole case came about because this effort to rescind these protections was challenged, arguing that it was based on racial animus. But the Supreme Court finding that there was a race-neutral reason for pursuing this policy and, again, giving the administration the green light to proceed.

Now, in a different case, they're giving them the green light to resume a controversial policy of physically blocking people at the border so that they cannot cross the border and then claim asylum.

Now, this is not a Trump-specific policy. This began under the Obama administration. It was formalized under Trump I or ascended under the Biden administration. And while the current Trump administration does not rely on it, after this decision, they could potentially try to re- up that policy.

So, two big wins for President Trump at the Supreme Court. But they still have some outstanding decisions related to President Trump's executive power, including his efforts to limit birthright citizenship and also questions about who he can and cannot fire, as well as other sort of Trump-adjacent questions about transgender students in sports and also some questions about mail-in voting. So we'll be watching all of those next week.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

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HUNTE: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson is sending lawmakers home early as Republicans remain deadlocked over President Trump's Save America Act. A small group of Republican holdouts has been blocking House business to pressure the Senate into voting on the President's voter I.D. bill.

Johnson met with Trump for hours on Thursday. The meeting came a day after Trump abruptly canceled plans to sign a bipartisan housing bill. After their meeting, the president urged the holdouts to stop grandstanding and end the stalemate.

Sources tell CNN that lawyers for Luigi Mangione discussed the possibility of plea deal in his federal case. Mangione is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare's CEO in December of 2024, he is facing prosecutions both on the state and federal levels.

It is not uncommon for these types of talks to occur. However, the source said the discussions with his attorneys did not result in any agreement. All right, we will be right back.

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[03:50:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back.

The debate over hydration breaks has been one of the main storylines of the World Cup. They are meant to give parched players a chance to grab a drink of water, especially if the weather is hot. But critics say they disrupt the flow of the game and are cynical attempts to insert commercial breaks.

CNN creator Matias Grez sits down with a football data specialist to see if the concerns do have merit.

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MATIAS GREZ, CNN CREATOR: Momentum and flow, flow and momentum. These are two words you've likely heard a lot during this World Cup. And there is one new feature that's been disrupting them, the mandatory three-minute hydration breaks.

Not long after the tournament began, fans started to notice something. These breaks were sometimes having a real impact on the direction the match was heading in. One team would be on top, the hydration breaks would happen and then the other team would be on top. But does what we've seen match the data? And is there enough data to

suggest a trend?

YASH THAKUR, SPORTS DATA ANALYST: I think we can't say for certain because there are certain games where, you know, the dominant team continues to dominate. But I think we have had enough examples of this break causing a disruption in one team's momentum.

And I think, like, that is enough in a tournament football because in tournament football, you know, a game-by-game basis, everything changes because you have so little games and, like, the trends appear quickly and disappear quickly at times. So far, I think, like, we have enough examples to suggest that, yes, we are seeing some sort of impact of these hydration breaks, especially in the first half, I would say.

GREZ: Yash admits that momentum is something of an arbitrary term in football and hard to quantify. To create a graph, he uses an advanced metric called expected threat, which assigns a probability of each pass or dribble leading to a goal based on previous similar events.

So let's take a look at some specific examples. First up, we have the Netherlands against Sweden.

Here you can see the first hydration break and here some early momentum for the Netherlands in the first quarter. I hate that I'm saying quarter already.

THAKUR: What happened in this game in particular, you know, Netherlands to very early goal. And then Sweden, who were defending in a back five, who had started in a back five, after the first hydration break, they made a switch to defend in a back four.

And that allowed them to defend those wide threat a little better for a significant amount of time. And that is where you see that swing of momentum in Sweden's favor, where they are able to defend better and thus recover the ball and then go on attacks.

So that is where, like, we saw these hydration breaks as tactical timeouts that these managers have been suggesting to use them as moving forward.

GREZ: Players and managers have spoken about the impact these breaks are having on matches, disrupting the flow and splitting the games into quarters. But their responses have been mixed.

[03:55:08]

UNKNOWN: I think every team used this break as well to speak about the tactics. What can you do better? What can you improve? So I think for the iteration and for the tactics, it's a good moment to come together.

GREZ: Another clear example of a hydration break impacting a game came in Norway's opening match against Iraq. Again, here's the first hydration break, and then we see a huge momentum swing in Norway's favor.

THAKUR: Norway had a slight problem in the way they were attacking. So one of the distances of their left-hand side, one of the players, he was positioned slightly deeper before the hydration break. And once the hydration break happened, that player was just positioned slightly up.

And that helped them reduce the distances between the other players and helped them form better connections on the left-hand side. And if you look at their first goal, which came after the hydration break, that attack starts from the left-hand side and it allows for them to build those connections because that player is positioned slightly up so that passing distances are reduced.

And they identified that in the first quarter and immediately corrected that. And the result of that was a game-state changing goal. So, you know, the impact is quite clear there and serving as a tactical timeout is also very evident.

GREZ: Like them or loathe them, hydration breaks are probably here to stay at future World Cups. It will be down to the managers to figure out the most effective way of using them.

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HUNTE: Over in Seattle, the World Cup spirit isn't just confined to humans. At the Seattle Aquarium, the beloved Sea Otters are also getting in on the action. This is the news we need.

They have received World Cup-themed ice treats in celebration of Seattle's role as one of the tournament's host cities. These icy enrichment treats are created especially by the Aquarium staff and are an important part of the Sea Otter's care. We try to do enrichment for them every day.

Not this extravagantly, but they love ice. They love chewing on ice and they love ice treats and breaking fish out of ice. So we give them a variety of toys and different enrichment every day.

It's very important for them because it helps stimulate them and change up their environment. The Aquarium staff say it is important to celebrate special events like the World Cup as it helps to draw attention to their important conservation work. More otters.

Okay, thanks for joining me on the team. That's all I've got for you, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, I will see you at the same time tomorrow. There is more to "CNN Newsroom," and hopefully more otters, straight ahead. See you in a bit.

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