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Spain Win 2nd World Title with 1-0 Victory Over Argentina; Oil Prices Rise as U.S. Strikes Iran for Ninth Straight Night; Burnham to Succeed Keir Starmer as Prime Minister; Iran Steps Up Executions Under the Cover of War. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired July 20, 2026 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL 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.
[00:01:46]
Coming up on the show, the biggest sporting event on planet Earth ends with a championship match for the ages as Spain takes down defending champs Argentina to win the 2026 World Cup.
Plus, the U.S. and Iran trade strikes as the U.S. confirms the death of another service member in action.
And the U.K. is about to swear in another prime minister, again. The challenges that Andy Burnham will face in a job that no one can seem to keep.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Ben Hunte.
HUNTE: Welcome. Celebrations have been ringing out across Spain all night after the country's 1-nil World Cup victory over Argentina.
Massive crowds filled the streets of Madrid after the victory, and now fans are waiting to welcome their reigning champions home in the coming hours.
The match in New Jersey showed off Spain's impressive command of the ball. The team fended off Argentina's advances for nearly two straight hours, with Ferran Torres scoring the game-winning goal in extra time.
It was not a great match for Argentina. Its star, Lionel Messi, struggled to keep pace and had nowhere to pass the ball. And at age 39, it could be his last appearance at any World Cup.
But Argentina's disappointment led to Spain's second ever World Cup victory and its first since 2010.
U.S. President Donald Trump joined FIFA President Gianni Infantino to hand Spain its trophy and to award medals to all the players. Later, he boasted about the U.S. performance as World Cup host. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: So, we're very proud of our country. We're very proud of the job that was done by everybody. We congratulate Gianni Infantino and all of his staff and the incredible job they did. But this was one of the greatest events of any kind ever held.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: CNN's Amanda Davies walks us through the World Cup final's biggest moments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: A who's who of film, music and sporting royalty. A new star-studded half-time show and that presidential trophy presentation.
But none of it will overshadow Spain's moment. The best footballing team at this tournament have won. They fought the fighters and took victory, took on the defending champions and stole their crown.
Spain are the 2026 World Cup winners.
DAVIES (voice-over): Spanish boss Luis de la Fuente had channeled a bit of Julius Caesar earlier in the tournament, saying you have to suffer to be successful. And boy, did his side do that, all the way through to 120 minutes.
After a gladiatorial effort the Roman emperor would have been proud of, and despite the weight of the crowd behind Argentina, the right team won. They were the ones trying to play, controlling possession, creating chances, trying to score goals while Argentina did their best to stop them.
Enzo Fernandez seeing red, turned the tide and, ultimately, it was Barcelona's Ferran Torres who scored the 106th minute winner to see Spain replicate history like their predecessors in 2010, becoming world champions at the same time as being European champions.
[00:05:12]
It was a comeback too far for Argentina, and this time it wasn't to be for Messi. Emotional scenes after the final whistle as the 39-year- old's dreams of lifting the World Cup for the second straight time fell short.
He cemented his legacy as the GOAT with his performances over the last few weeks, and after 20 years, we wait to see whether or not he feels he's got any more to give.
DAVIES: There's no doubt about that, with this new generation of Spanish talent, the likes of Rodri and Lamine Yamal setting a new benchmark as the sun sets on a World Cup unlike any other.
Amanda Davies, CNN, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: In Madrid, fans erupted in pure joy the moment Spain won the World Cup. More than 25,000 people filled a plaza in the heart of the city to watch the nail-biting match. But after nearly two hours of anxiety, a massive party broke out.
As CNN's Pau Mosquera shows us, they even did their own version of the Viking row made famous by Norway fans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is incredible. This is the best part of my life, the best moment of my life.
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was very, very tense. And actually, the anxiety and the nervousness --
MOSQUERA (voice-over): -- was very palpable all through the match. And I can tell that many of them are going to get back home with no fingernails left after biting all of them, because it has really been a lot of suffering through all this 120 minutes of match. But I bet that it has been worth it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey! Hey! Hey!
MOSQUERA: Where are you now heading to? How are you going to celebrate this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know, with a lot of joy in every street, everywhere!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With our friends, everything. Everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is incredible. This is the best part of my life, the best moment of my life. Now. The second start. The second start. Today, the second start. (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: This year's World Cup final featured its first ever halftime show, bringing a Super Bowl style spectacle to soccer's biggest stage.
Madonna kicked off that star studded production, entering the stadium in a dune buggy driven by Brazilian soccer legends Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
K-pop stars BTS then took to the stage to perform their hit "Dynamite." And the stars of the feel-good soccer comedy "Ted Lasso," Jason Sudeikis and Brendan Hunt, made an appearance in character to introduce Justin Bieber and deliver one of their famous pep talks.
After all of that, Shakira and Nigerian musician Burna Boy performed the official World Cup anthem. The show also featured the Muppets as part of an orchestral
arrangement of the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army." And Coldplay frontman Chris Martin joined Shakira along with an elementary school chorus and the "Sesame Street" gang for the grand finale.
And there's Tracey Holmes, an industry professor in sport and media at the University of Queensland. She's also the host of the "Sports Ambassador" podcast. And she's joining me from Sydney, Australia.
Always good to see you, Tracey.
So, Spain are the champions. But when people look back on this tournament, what do you think will be its defining image or moment?
TRACEY HOLMES, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND: Well, Ben, I think that very much depends on who you ask.
If you ask the media, I'm pretty sure they'll tell you about the controversy around the whole red card dilemma, where President Trump phoned President Gianni Infantino, and the discussion was around the red card to the player Balogun for the U.S., which didn't, in the end, help the U.S. progress. But -- but that's a defining moment of this World Cup, if you're looking for controversy.
If you ask politicians, then again, it depends where they are. If you ask some in Europe, they'll be saying they want the head of Gianni Infantino, because they don't like political interference.
But if you ask the fans -- and in the end, that is probably the most important asset of all -- the fans will tell you they have been absolutely enthused through this World Cup, and it didn't matter if they were watching in the packed-out stadiums in the USA, Canada, or Mexico, or whether they were watching at various fan sites around the world. It really has captured the globe's attention during this past month or so.
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HUNTE: The first ever Super Bowl star halftime show obviously divided opinion. Do you think that FIFA created a new tradition with it, or was this something that football should just leave behind?
HOLMES: Look, I think this is one of those things where America does the halftime show really well, and American audiences expect that, because it's tradition. It's what happens at your major sporting events.
I don't think it's going to catch on with other host nations around the world. it might be something that FIFA would like, because more advertising and more time between the halves of football means that they can generate more advertising.
However, I think, again, if you come back to the fans around the world, globally, probably not so popular, but the USA did pull it off this time around. HUNTE: This was also the first 48-team World Cup. Looking back, did
the expansion make the tournament better or was it maybe just a bit too big?
HOLMES: Yes, there were a lot of critics, first up, weren't there, that were saying there just wasn't the talent around the world to sustain 48 nations.
But I think that's been proven wrong, especially when you look at the nations from Africa. So, they were boosted. They got almost double the number of berths at this World Cup, up to ten. And from those ten, nine of them got through the group stage. Now, that's a phenomenal effort.
And so, there is talk now of perhaps boosting the numbers even more. We're potentially looking at 64 nations next time around, but we're yet to see whether that plays out, because there will be some critics with regard to that, as well. So, it depends on how well Gianni Infantino can sell that to his member associations.
HUNTE: Let's also talk about the ticket prices. I didn't go to the games. I couldn't afford those tickets, but they were massively criticized before the tournament. And it maybe actually didn't make the impact people were expecting on the games in any way. What do you think?
HOLMES: Yes, I think it was such a big talking point beforehand. And we know, again, the USA has dynamic pricing, which is not unusual for concerts and sporting events and other major activities.
For a lot of the rest of the world, they don't have dynamic pricing, although I'd suggest that it's probably going to catch on because of the way the market can then fluctuate and offer what the market will withstand.
So, for FIFA, it was no choice. They decided to go with it, because they were making a percentage on all of those tickets sold.
So, there was a lot of controversy. There was a lot of opinion that perhaps stadiums would be half empty. That certainly didn't turn out to be the case.
And there was also a lot of discussion around whether the only people that could afford to go were people that weren't actually football fans. But I think watching on, I wasn't in any of the venues either, Ben, but like you, I was watching on. And I think we could see that there were very genuine fans inside those stadiums that really elevated the atmosphere.
So, you know, again, it depends on who you talk to. It's not cheap to put on these major events. And so, therefore, ticket prices are not cheap either.
HUNTE: Very true. But $50,000 to see England play. Not sure about that one. But as FIFA starts planning the next World Cup, what do you think the
biggest lesson from this one needs to be? Apart from cheaper ticket prices?
HOLMES: Oh, well, cheaper ticket prices. And perhaps if there's more nations, there's more events and more scope for, you know, fans to be able to attend.
So, there's all of that mathematics to be worked out.
I think as far as FIFA is concerned, they look like they're on an absolute winner. Because the amount of money that they projected to make in this four-year cycle leading up to this premier event, the World Cup, was about 11 billion USD.
That has since been revised to 15 USD -- billion dollars. And it may even go higher than that again.
So, if you think about the 211 member federations, which are all of the football associations in the various countries around the world, they all look to get a percentage of that. So, you know, the member associations are pretty happy with what FIFA's done.
But if you're going to talk politics, and if you're going to talk about some of the political interference and some of the issues around the World Cup, well, that's a different scenario again. But a lot of that doesn't seem to impact on FIFA, because its constituents are happy with the job that FIFA is doing.
HUNTE: Well, all right. Tracey Holmes, for now, thank you until the next one. See you then.
HOLMES: Thanks very much, Ben.
HUNTE: OK. The U.S. conflict with Iran is ramping up. And the recent deaths of U.S. service members are raising fears of a wider war. We will bring you the latest developments just ahead. See you in a moment.
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HUNTE: Welcome back.
U.S. Central Command says it has concluded a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran. Explosions were heard in cities across the Northwest and coastal areas.
Iranian state media reports its military also launched missiles toward, quote, "enemy targets."
This all comes after Tehran accused the U.S. of striking one of its nuclear power plants.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military reported the death of another American service member, who was killed in Northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone.
Here's what President Trump said about the recent troop fatalities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Well, we feel very badly. But, you know, those great people, those great patriots who are out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've lost everything, almost, militarily. They've got very little left. They've got some missiles. They've got some drones. They've got some manufacturing some drones. They've got some manufacturing ability, not much.
We control the strait. They don't control anything. So, we'll see what happens. But we hit them very hard again tonight. And we did that in honor of the probably three -- it's probably three, as opposed to two -- great patriots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: All right. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins us live from Hong Kong.
Good to see you. The price of oil is climbing as the Iran war expands. What's the latest?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ben, pain is indeed returning to the pump for consumers there in the United States and all around the world. The price of oil is climbing.
This as the U.S. and Iran engage in tit-for-tat strikes for now over a week. Now, we are monitoring global oil prices, and they are on the move.
Let's take a look at Brent crude, which is, of course, the global oil benchmark. And it has topped $90 a barrel. In fact, it's rising 2.6 percent at over $90 a barrel.
Meanwhile, West Texas, the U.S. benchmark, is now up 2.4 percent to $84.47 a barrel.
And we're also keeping an eye on average gas prices in the United States. And they are heading back to $4 territory. In fact, according to AAA, currently, the average price of gas in the United States is, as you can see there on your screen, it's at $3.99.
And right now, I want to point out, American consumers are paying about 34 percent more for gas at the pump than they were before the war began. A very important point to underscore there.
Now, all this comes as we got the latest update from U.S. Central Command, saying that they have begun a ninth day of consecutive strikes against Iran. This after three U.S. service members have been killed since Friday.
And global shipping is also under threat. And if we take a look at Marine traffic data, we also give you an update on what we heard from UKMTO that a vessel is on fire near the Strait of Hormuz. The incident took place off the coast of Oman.
And we're also getting more information on how traffic flows through this critical waterway. In fact, according to LSEG, the latest data from them. No visible liquefied natural gas tankers have passed through the strait since Thursday.
On top of that, we learned four vessels made the crossing on Sunday. That's down from eight the previous day. And three oil tankers. And one very large tanker entered the strait since Friday.
And Ben, another factor at play here, of course, is what was announced and what has happened since Wednesday, when the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade on Iranian vessels and ports.
Ben, back to you.
HUNTE: And at the same time, where you are, how are investors making sense of this widening war?
STOUT: Yes, there is caution. There is also a lot of concern.
What investors are viewing as maybe, perhaps, limited strikes between U.S. and Iran have turned into something far bigger, with greater economic ramifications.
And that is weighing on markets, especially markets that are exposed to the ongoing Hormuz oil and energy crunch.
If we take a look at the Asian trading day, and we check out how markets are performing, I want you to zero in on Japan's Nikkei and the Seoul KOSPI, in particular. You can see losses there. The Nikkei losing over 4 percent. The Seoul KOSPI losing 3.85 percent.
I should also add in addition to the war in Iran, another factor that's weighing on investors is pessimism and a lack of confidence in investment in A.I. infrastructure, namely A.I. chips.
But Iran, the conflict there, is top of mind as investors here across the region, across the world, weigh in the latest battlefield developments -- Ben.
HUNTE: OK. Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Thank you.
Let's bring in CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. Good to see you, sir.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Good to see you, Ben.
HUNTE: Another U.S. service member has been killed, bringing the death toll even higher now. Do you think that could change President Trump's strategy here?
SANGER: I'm not sure right now that there's a full strategy to change. What there is, is two different forms of escalation happening simultaneously.
The Iranians are escalating kind of horizontally, which is to say, take the war back to the Gulf countries that they have struck. These servicemen who are -- servicemen and women who have died, were largely in Jordan. But there were strikes elsewhere in the Gulf.
And of course, the Iranians have shown that they don't need to close down the entire Gulf. They just need to make passage through the strait so risky that no ships, no ship owners, no insurers will take that risk.
[00:25:05]
The Americans, in return, are -- are escalating vertically, which is to say they are stepping up the attacks on Iran itself, hitting bridges that connect the cities to these port areas. But it's not clear to me that that adds up to a strategy that is going to change minds in Iran.
HUNTE: You kind of mentioned it there. But the administration now says protecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is the central mission. So, what changes do you think we're going to see next?
SANGER: Well, first of all, if that's the central mission, what they're saying is they're trying to bring back the status quo before the initial decision to attack Iran on February 28.
You will remember that on that date, the strait was open, and the issues were entirely focused on the nuclear program; the missile program; whether or not the Iranian people would then rise up and take control of their government. These are all things President Trump said on that evening of February 28th.
Here we are now, five months later, and the issue now is, how do you just wind it back to trying to get the strait reopened, so that you can begin again to address the issues that the president laid out?
HUNTE: How much longer do you think that the world can tolerate disruption in the Straits of Hormuz before we see real economic pain?
SANGER: Well, we're seeing some economic pain. And I think the -- the tolerance for pain has probably been misjudged on both sides.
The American theory has been that, if you bottled up all of the oil that the Iranians were producing, making it impossible for them to export, that in a matter of weeks, they would, as President Trump put it a few months ago, "cry uncle."
If -- the Iranians, on the other hand, had a different calculation. That was, if you could raise gas prices in the United States, the president would retreat well before the congressional elections, the midterm elections that take place in November.
It now looks very likely, unless something dramatically changes, as if prices will be high -- what did you just hear, 34 percent higher? -- when those elections come. And if that's the case, the president's taking a significant political risk, and the Iranians are doing everything they can to worsen that possibility.
HOLMES: I do want to just mention approval ratings for a moment, because President Trump's approval ratings have fallen sharply as this war has dragged on.
How much pressure is he under now to show progress or an exit from this?
SANGER: Well, I think he feels less pressure than probably some of his aides and many of the Republicans running for reelection feel. The president, you know, doesn't spend a lot of his time thinking about Congress and working that process. He's pretty much been a unilateralist in how he's operated.
But those who are running have felt this acutely and wanted any kind of patch-over agreement that would just get them past election day.
That's not how things have worked out. You know, it was a month ago that the president was gleeful about this memorandum of understanding. He said to many people that it would make a huge difference. He called me a month ago to make the argument that, in fact, it was a better deal than what President Obama had struck in 2015.
But today, both sides are basically announcing that that memorandum of understanding is completely over, that it counts for nothing.
So, now they've got to get to the position of reopening the strait and getting back to -- on track with some negotiations on the fundamental issues. That has not happened yet.
HUNTE: Not yet. But for now, thank you, David Sanger. Appreciate it.
SANGER: Great to be with you.
HUNTE: At least six people are dead after two earthquakes in the mountains of Peru. More than 20 people are also hurt.
The quakes hit about 300 kilometers East of the capital, Lima, late on Saturday. Authorities say dozens of homes were either destroyed or damaged, affecting about 300 people, who were given tents for shelter.
Peru is located along the Pacific Ring of Fire, and that is a zone that accounts for about 85 percent of all seismic activity in the world.
[00:30:02]
Russia has launched one of its largest ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine since the war started more than four years ago.
Ukraine's Air Force said the main target of Sunday's assault was the capital, Kyiv, which faced a variety of missiles and attack drones, too. Authorities say at least 16 people were killed and 77 injured across Ukraine, mainly in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions.
The large-scale attack prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to issue a plea for allies to expedite deliveries of previously promised air defense packages.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The danger remains even now, and this must be taken into account. Russia is placing its bets on ballistic missiles, and it is because of them that Putin still believes in his war.
It is very important that our partners understand what is happening and that we need air defense missiles to protect lives, literally every single day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: An Indian court is ordering a prominent activist to continue treatment at a state-run hospital.
Sonam Wanghuk has been on a 22-day hunger strike. Wanghuk's wife had petitioned the court to have him moved to a private facility.
His hunger strike is in solidarity with India's Cockroach Janta Party over a scandal involving leaked college exam questions.
The party says it expects 200,000 people to march on Parliament today, and that is despite denying permission from the police for the protests.
OK. Still to come, Labour's Andy Burnham is ready to shake up the biggest role in British politics. What he's planning as the next prime minister, just ahead. See you in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:36:25]
HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top stories.
Spain are World Cup champions for the second time after beating Argentina one-nil in extra time in Sunday's final. Spain dominated the pitch but didn't break through until substitute Ferran Torres scored the winner in the 106th minute.
They are now the first team to win the cup after giving up just one goal the entire tournament.
U.S. Central Command says it has concluded the ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iran. CENTCOM says U.S. forces further diminished Iran's ability to attack vessels and civilians transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Explosions were reported across Iran, and state media reports Tehran also launched a wave of missiles at, quote, "enemy targets."
In the coming hours, Andy Burnham is set to become the British prime minister. The new Labour Party leader will be the U.K.'s seventh prime minister in a decade.
He takes over from Keir Starmer, who won the position in a landslide victory just two years ago but left the role after months of controversy.
On that, CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson has more details on the new age of politics that Burnham plans to bring to the U.K., as well as some of the challenges that he'll face along the way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEIR STARMER, OUTGOING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER; This is the end of my political journey.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Keir Starmer's last moments in Parliament.
STARMER: I will give my wholehearted support to my successor.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A rather British end to a bruising battle to hold onto his job.
STARMER: To my wife and children, I love you. Goodbye.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The irony? He rarely got as much applause as prime minister.
ANDY BURNHAM, INCOMING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I see this as a last chance to change, particularly for the Labour Party.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): His replacement, the charismatic Northerner, former Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, arrives, pumped from electoral success. His mayor to prime minister metamorphosis is a work in progress.
BURNHAM: I am going to do things differently.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Still wearing the T-shirt he calls his Manchester uniform.
Yet, in the months since his local election victory, allowing him to oust Starmer, he's offered little detail on his plans, other than opening a No. 10 office in Manchester and pushing power from London to regional mayors.
BURNHAM: Place first, not party first. Problem solving, not point scoring. Long-term, not short-term.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Before any of that, though, the problem his party expects him to fix: the rise of populist right-wing Reform under Nigel Farage.
Burnham rolled back Reform's gains in his recent victory. But Farage, facing allegations he denies of failing to disclose financial donations, seems to be laying a trap for Burnham, another test of popularity. FARAGE: I've decided that the people of Clacton should be the judges
of my actions. This will be a people versus the establishment by- election.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): All parties are treating Farage as reelection as a political stunt. Only the satirical candidate, Count Binface, will run against him.
On foreign policy, where the U.K. faces the most consequential challenges, Burnham has offered only a few clues, significantly saying he's not afraid to disagree with President Trump.
[00:40:06]
BURNHAM: I'll just meet him where he's at. It's about respecting the office, the relationship, the U.K.-U.S. relationship. But you know, where you disagree, do it, but do it in a way that is kind of meeting him where he's at.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): On the Mideast, too, hinting at diverging from U.S. alignment.
BURNHAM: I know many people feel that, at the start of Israel's military action in Gaza, my party didn't get it right. And I am sorry about that.
With wars impacting allies in the Middle East and Europe and the U.K.'s defense budget facing a more than $6.3 billion hole, Burnham's domestic agenda of change will struggle for his undivided attention.
In his last days in office, Starmer still trying to make that balance work. His third overseas trip in nine days. NATO in Ankara; Paris for the Coalition of the Willing; and his last one as prime minister to Kyiv. A farewell to President Zelenskyy and the problems of high office.
Nic Robertson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Next on CNN NEWSROOM, new accusations that Iran is taking advantage of its war with the U.S. to ramp up executions of political opponents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:45:00]
HUNTE: Welcome back. As the fighting between the U.S. and Iran continues to escalate, Tehran is accused of using the opportunity to crack down on dissent at home.
That's according to Iran Human Rights. It's an NGO based in Norway. And the Iranian regime is dramatically stepping up executions of political prisoners while the world is distracted, even, by the war. Just this weekend, Iranian state media reported that two protesters
were executed for taking part in anti-government demonstrations earlier this year.
CNN's Isobel Yeung spoke with one Iranian woman whose brothers are on death row.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Niki Nikbakht recently learned that her two brothers, Hadi and Fazlullah, have been given the death sentence by the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Every day from her home in Germany, she checks in with her family back home.
NIKI NIKBAKHT, BROTHERS SENTENCED TO DEATH: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
YEUNG (voice-over): Niki's brothers are just two of dozens of political prisoners facing execution in Iran right now. They stand accused of encouraging dissent against the regime and were convicted of broad charges of corruption.
YEUNG: The Islamic Republic in the past has said that they only issued the death penalty after due process, and that it's only given for very serious crimes, for people who have committed horrendous things. Is that not what your brothers have done?
NIKBAKHT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: They always try to portray politically active people as a threat to society to justify their death sentence. It's creating fear in society.
YEUNG (voice-over): Earlier this year, after widespread protests where the authorities cracked down with lethal force, President Trump claimed he'd stepped in to stop Iran from executing hundreds of people.
But since the U.S.-led war, Iran has intensified repression and sped up the pace of executions. At least 44 political prisoners, including protesters, have been killed since the conflict broke out, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO.
YEUNG: So, this is Hadi (ph) and his wife and his two sons. And how are they handling it?
NIKBAKHT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I don't think that their mother has mentioned the death sentence to them.
YEUNG (voice-over): With each execution, the regime sends a chilling message: We're still in charge, and dissent will not be tolerated.
YEUNG: It must be impossible to put out of your mind. I mean, how are you feeling on a daily basis about what could be to come?
NIKBAKHT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: The only thing I can do now is be their voice. There's nothing else I can do. I don't know what to say. The situation is unimaginable, but in the end, we have to stay strong. That's our only option.
YEUNG (voice-over): Human rights groups decry what they say are forced confessions, used to justify these executions. Earlier this year, 26- year-old Nasser Bagdasarian (ph) and 28-year-old Mehrab Abdul Al-Zaidi (ph) confessed to serious crimes.
Nasser's filmed confession about espionage was used as propaganda and publicized on Iranian state media.
NASSER BAGDASARIAN (ph), EXECUTED BY IRANIAN GOVERNMENT: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: I took several photos of a hall in an IRGC (Sepah) facility.
YEUNG (voice-over): But in recorded calls from prison during their final days, both Nasser and Mehrab said they'd been tortured into making these confessions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: From the very first day of my arrest, they forced confessions out of me through torture and threats, confessions that were entirely false.
YEUNG (voiceover): Both Nasser and Mehrab were hanged on the 2nd of May.
Hamid Chapati shared a cell with both men in Urumia Central Prison. Chapati is a Kurdish-Iranian activist who was imprisoned there for three months.
HAMID CHAPATI, FORMER FELLOW PRISONER: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: For Nasser and Mehab and every prisoner sentenced to execution, every day can be the last moment. At night, they cannot sleep.
[00:50:03]
YEUNG: Do you remember the day when you found out that Nasser was executed?
CHAPATI: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
GRAPHIC: When Nasser's execution sentence was confirmed, he had sent a message to me through a mutual friend that he wants to talk to me for the last time. And unfortunately, I could not talk to him. But when I heard the news of his execution, I feel like I was executed with him, too. YEUNG (voice-over): As the war in Iran heats up again, human rights feel far from the priority, and the regime is once again ruling through fear.
Isobel Yeung, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: OK, we'll be right back with more CNN NEWSROOM.
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[00:52:35]
HUNTE: Spain's World Cup victory came with a moment that every player dreams of: proudly lifting one of sport's most recognizable prizes into the air.
But that golden symbol of triumph has its own story, dating back more than 50 years, to a sculptor's workshop in Milan.
CNN producer Antonia Mortensen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTONIA MORTENSEN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): The World Cup trophy, one of the most recognizable symbols in sport. But behind it, a story few people know.
MORTENSEN: Well, this is the original prototype, made and designed right here in Milan more than 50 years ago by Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga. From a studio in Milan to the biggest sporting stage on Earth.
GIORGIO GAZZANIGA, SILVIO GAZZANIGA'S SON (through translator): This magical thing happened. The previous World Cup, the Rimet Cup, had been awarded to Brazil.
MORTENSEN (voice-over): In 1970, Brazil won the World Cup for a third time, and under the original rules, they were allowed to keep the original trophy. FIFA needed a new trophy, and Gazzaniga's design won the competition.
GAZZANIGA (through translator): So, he started drawing, drawing, drawing and had found two directions: one of a very beautiful, very modern but abstract object. But when he did that, he realized that the cup had to make an immediate impact in every country in the world, Be immediately understood, and show that inside this object was the entire tradition and history of victory.
MORTENSEN (voice-over): Since then, it has become one of the most iconic symbols in sport, recognized around the world.
GAZZANIGA (through translator): He made the prototype in three dimensions, then created a box to take it to Zurich and put it directly on the table. But until 1974, when Beckenbauer lifted it, it was still just a beautiful object. When he raised it to the sky, the stadium exploded, and that was when he realized he had created an icon.
MORTENSEN: The actual trophy is 18-karat gold and has been lifted up at every World Cup since 1974.
MORTENSEN (voice-over): Designed and made in Italy, even if Italy didn't make it to the World Cup this time.
Antonia Mortensen, CNN, Milan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUNTE: Thirty-nine-year-old golfer Ryan Fox took home the Claret Jug as he claimed victory in the Open Championship.
[00:55:06]
The win at Royal Birkdale gives Fox his first career major title, and he becomes only the third New Zealander to win a men's major golf championship.
He managed to beat out American Cameron Young with four birdies in the last six holes. They were tied. That was until Fox set up a 12-foot putt on the 18th hole and drained it.
Now to a marathon unlike any other, hosted in one of the harshest places on Earth: the geographic North Pole.
Twenty-two runners from seven countries competed in this year's North Pole Marathon, held on drifting sea ice. Runners had to endure tough conditions and a wind chill of -5 degrees Celsius.
They were even guarded by armed polar bear patrols.
Denmark's Rikke Dam won the women's title, and China's Shengxian Wang finished first in the men's division.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT DAMON, ACTOR: No one could stand between me and home. Not even the gods.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: Christopher Nolan's latest work is proving that all roads lead to the box office.
His film adaptation of "The Odyssey" sold to a massive $264 million for its worldwide opening weekend.
The movie is based on the ancient Greek poem by Homer. It stars Matt Damon as the Greek hero Odysseus and follows his journey home after the Trojan War. Universal Pictures says younger audiences especially turned out in
force, with IMAX theaters even adding late-night and early-morning screenings to meet demand.
The film is Nolan's first since releasing "Oppenheimer" in 2023 and is among his biggest opening weekends.
Re-enactors brought history to life at a festival in Romania this weekend. Visitors were transported back in time to watch ancient warriors and Roman soldiers battle for the conquest of present-day Romania.
The festival also featured traditional dances and immersive workshops, showing what daily life would have been like in the Roman era.
That's all I've got for you for now. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. We are back with more CNN NEWSROOM after this very quick break. See you in a moment.
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