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Relief On The Way For Cities Dealing With Wildfire Smoke; Wildfire Smoke Disrupt Lives And Events Across U.S.; Trump Threatens Canada With Tariffs Over Wildfire Smoke. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired July 18, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to CNN this morning. It is Saturday, July 18th. Here's what's happening today.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The smell is just not good. A little burnt and it's just hard to breathe.

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FREEMAN: Thick smoke has blanketed cities across the Midwest and Northeast for days. Let's take a live look now at Philadelphia. An air quality alert is in effect there. But finally, there may be some relief in the Northeast on the way.

Plus, the U.S. launched fresh strikes on parts of Iran, targeting bridges and tunnels. This morning, U.S. allies in the region say they're fending off new missile attacks from Iran.

Plus, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is threatening to jail state election officials if they don't comply with President Trump's efforts to change election policies. A member of the House Homeland Security Committee is here to respond.

And there are new developments linked to that cyclosporiasis outbreak. We're going to tell you what we're learning about the source of the outbreak and what's being done to try and stop it.

First up, it is Saturday, July 18th. Welcome to CNN this morning. I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell.

All right. More than 100 million Americans, including those here in New York, are under air quality alerts today as things thick smoke from wildfires in Canada blanket the Midwest and the East Coast. The thick wildfire smoke is forcing widespread cancellations of summer concerts, theme parks and sporting events.

Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit had some of the worst air quality in the country on Friday. And Chicago's mayor said that it was the worst air quality in the city's history. But relief is on the way. A storm system expected later today will help clear the smoky air in the mid- Atlantic and the Northeast. CNN's Sherrell Hubbard has more.

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SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): More than 100 million people dealt with dangerous air quality Friday. A heat dome is helping pull plumes of smoke down from several wildfires burning in Canada. 3,500 Fires have burned more than 6 million acres this summer, including a dozen fires in recent weeks that air wafting south into the U.S. as it stands.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now, we have some of the worst quality of air on the planet across parts of the Midwest and into the East Coast.

HUBBARD (voiceover): Eighteen states and the District of Columbia were under air quality alerts Friday. President Donald Trump accused Canada of willful negligence on social media Friday, saying, quote, "We are holding Canada responsible for the fact that they are not properly maintaining their forests and brush therein. And the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted and unhealthy air.

Some of the worst air quality in the country could be found in Milwaukee, Chicago and Detroit.

ALI ABAZEED, DETROIT CHIEF PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER: This is unprecedented. I mean, this kind of hazardous air quality that's not just folks who are living with asthma or COPD or other respiratory conditions. This is something that everyone should be taking heed of.

HUBBARD (voiceover): Health experts suggest people who must be outside wear an N95 mask to protect themselves. And forecasters say relief is coming.

DAM: This cold front is going to sweep eastward, change the direction of the wind and try to sweep things out to sea.

HUBBARD (voiceover): I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.

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FREEMAN: Okay, now let's take a live look at Pittsburgh where you can see, oh my goodness, dense smoke from those fires. Visibility down to just one mile and you can see it right there.

Meteorologist Melissa Nord joins us now. Melissa, where are conditions expected to improve today?

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Danny, I think we're going to see some improvement when those storms start to move in and the wind direction shift a little bit right now in Pittsburgh. That's one of our worst spots on the map for air quality.

The this is the big picture. We've seen some improvement. Chicago, Detroit, momentarily, but that smoke will move back in there. But if we zoom in to the Northeast, you can see in that purple color, that's where the air quality is not very unhealthy range right now in Pittsburgh through State College, Pennsylvania as well.

Code red air quality from New York down through Baltimore and Washington, D.C. at the moment. So we were clocking in Pittsburgh at 219 for that current air quality index here at the top of the hour.

Air quality alerts on the map. And as Sherrell was alluding to, this is not just for people with respiratory illness that need to be avoiding out time outdoors. But wear those N95 masks and just avoid spending time outdoors in general in the core of that smoke corridor.

But look at the improvement. First in D.C. and Pittsburgh. We'll see that wind direction shift coming in. That's going to scour out a lot of that low level smoke along with the chance of rain and thunderstorms this afternoon. Smoke filters back into the Midwest, but we will see that improvement this evening as well, pushing into places like New York and Boston in addition to that.

[08:05:14]

So some improvement coming. But as I mentioned, this could mean a risk of severe weather. We'll talk more about that later in the hour. Danny?

FREEMAN: All right, Melissa, thank you very much for that update. Appreciate it.

All right. To this now breaking overnight, U.S. Central Command video shows the U.S.'s latest strikes on Iran. A provincial official says one of the attacks damaged a water desalination plant in southern Iran.

Iranian state Media reported multiple U.S. attacks. And a top Iranian military adviser's warning the U.S. could face a full scale offensive in the coming days if attacks carry through the weekend. And multiple US allies in the region reported attacks and alerts overnight like this one right here in Bahrain.

Joining me now from Jerusalem, CNN's Nic Robertson. Nick, what more have we learned?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, Kuwait is one of the countries that's really been taking a hammering in these latest Israeli, latest Iranian strikes overnight. And the water and desalination plant there hit significant enough damage and the government wanting to bring enough attention to it that the minister of electricity, water and renewable energies actually visited the site today. And another serious and significant impact reported by Kuwaiti authorities saying that a vice that significant damage was done to vital equipment at one of their main oil facilities and that's going to have an impact on its production capability. Several people there also injured.

Another significant change overnight was that Iran escalating in its strikes, trying to target two places in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia had not been hit up until now. They were trying to hit; it appears the Red Sea port of Yambo that is and has been a red line for the Saudis in the past because it is their vital way of getting energy oil out to the rest of the world via the Red Sea. It's on the west coast of Saudi Arabia.

But also it appears the Iranians were trying to strike an air base, Prince Sultan Air Base, where the U.S. military has until very recently at least had military operations out of. Now the Iranians saying that a water desalination plant there has been damaged, affecting a number of villages. They also talk about the highway that links Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz to the sort of north of Iran or the northern parts of Iran.

The two bridges on that highway blown, a tunnel about five miles further north also blown, although the Iranians now are claiming that they've actually fixed that tunnel through, through a big mountain ridge there, about a tenth of a mile along that tunnel.

They say they've fixed it on one direction and got some of the traffic moving. But it does appear that what the U.S. strikes are designed to do here is really to cripple Iran's ability to, to resupply, to deploy and have an effective defense or control mechanism around the Strait of Hormuz. And that's what the nature of what we're seeing. But these warnings of escalations are coming.

And we've just been learning from officials here in Israel that the United States has asked them if they can base more of their KC135 refuel air tanker aircraft. These are the -- these are the big tankers that get up in the sky and refuel the fighter jets as they go on their missions. The United States has asked Israel to accommodate more of those. There are already perhaps a dozen or so that are being used out of Israel already, but now more coming.

All of this points to sort of escalation. The United States putting more assets to continue to prosecute the war. And Iran saying anyone that helps the United States in this war, they are liable for attack as well.

FREEMAN: Yes, that ceasefire and memorandum of understanding feels like a distant memory more and more. All right, Nic Robertson, thank you so much for that reporting. Appreciate it.

Some headlines now. This morning, investigators are still trying to figure out why two federal workers were taken hostage in a California forest. Authorities say the U.S. Forest Service workers were doing fieldwork Thursday when a father and son allegedly abducted them. They were held at gunpoint for hours at a campsite in the Shasta Trinity National Forest. Well, both workers were released unharmed about 15 hours later, only after a standoff with law enforcement. The two suspects are facing federal kidnapping charges.

And President Trump is again blaming alleged vandals for damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. In a social media post, he said he wants what he called vandal proof material used in the repairs. Last week, three more people were charged in connection with damage to the pool. Prosecutors say they were seen peeling and removing pieces of blue paint. The defendants have pleaded not guilty.

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And a judge is expected to decide by Wednesday whether to temporarily pause the proposed merger between Paramount Warner Brothers Discovery, parent company of CNN. That comes after yesterday's initial hearing following a lawsuit from a coalition of 12 states seeking to block the deal. Both sides are preparing for the possibility of a temporary restraining order that could delay the merger for at least two weeks. After that, the focus would shift to a preliminary injunction hearing that could put the deal on hold for months.

Ukraine is launching a new round of attacks on Russia. Still to come, the key facilities being targeted in these escalating attacks.

Plus, hundreds of Americans sickened by a diarrhea causing parasites. We're going to tell you how to reduce your risk of getting foodborne illnesses.

Plus, Argentina trying to win back-to-back World Cups but Spain, they're standing in the way. We have a preview of that World Cup matchup coming after a quick break.

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FREEMAN: The Trump administration is doubling down on its push for state voter information, threatening election officials with jail time if they refuse to hand over sensitive voter records. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin repeated President Trump's claims that non- citizens are registered to vote in four states, but letters the DHS sent to those states acknowledge that the numbers are not verified.

So far, the administration's efforts to seize voter information have been struck down in more than a dozen courts. Now, despite those legal setbacks, Mullin threatened state election officials with prosecution if they refused to comply. Take a listen.

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MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: If the election officials, once we gave them the information, they need to secure their elections and they chose not to, then those individuals can also be held accountable by fines, by penalties, and even, depending on how far it goes, prison time.

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FREEMAN: The president called out Michigan in his primetime speech this week alleging voter fraud. Here's how Michigan's secretary of state responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOCELYN BENSON, MICHIGAN SECRETARY OF STATE: I was stunned because

here we are seeing this buildup, right? There are all these attempts to shake people's faith in the election systems that we know to be secure and protected and make people doubt the results not just of the 2020 election, but future ones as well. We have so many layers of protocols in place to catch many attempts to defraud the system and stop it before it ever is even entered into the voter file, let alone becomes a potential false ballot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: More on this later in the hour.

All right. Switching gears new this morning. Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia have killed at least eight people at two massive logistics warehouses. Kyiv claims the facilities were being used to manufacture military drones.

The attacks are the most lethal Ukrainian strikes inside of Russia in more than two years. CNN's Barbie Nadaeu joins us now. Barbie, tell us what is the latest that you're learning?

BARBIE LATZA NADAEU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know these eight people who were killed in these separate warehouses, as you mentioned, the deadliest attacks on Russian soil in the last two years. Now, these particular distribution facilities were owned by the same company and they were described as retail distribution centers, but Ukraine says they were actually used in the manufacturing and distribution of drones. And what's notable here is that this really seems to be a change in strategy by Ukraine, because previously, their long, long drone attacks have been really just focused on energy, on infrastructure, and on Russian shipping.

But this is very much a different approach to be going after the manufacture of these drones. Now Russia says they did shoot down 28 drones that were incoming and that they had the capability to do mass casualty attacks. So, this is a change in strategy here we're seeing on the ground inside of Russia as this war just goes on and on.

FREEMAN: All right, Barbie Nadeau, thank you so much for reporting on again, an evolving situation abroad.

Still ahead, visitors to a national park are evacuated after powerful mudslides swept through parts of Colorado. We have the latest on that situation. Stay with us.

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FREEMAN: U.S. health officials say shredded lettuce served at some Taco Bell locations has been linked to a five-state outbreak in the Midwest caused by that cyclospora parasite. Now, those states include Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. And Taco Bell has responded, but there are cases popping up across the country beyond just the Midwest. CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard has more on what you need to know.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Now that we have more information around the cyclosporiasis outbreak, here's what you should do to reduce your risk. Number one, when you're cooking at home, if you are preparing a salad, go for whole heads of lettuce over bagged lettuce. That's because whole heads of lettuce typically go through less handling and remove the outer layers of leaves and thoroughly wash the inner layers of leaves.

And at this time, it can be helpful to prioritize cooking to your food because we know when food is heated to above 158 degrees Fahrenheit that can help kill the cyclospora parasite. And of course, with anything, always wash your hands, wash your fresh produce, practice good hygiene.

And when it comes to the Midwest outbreak of cases, the CDC does warn on its website, do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Again, that has been connected back to the outbreak of cases we are seeing in the Midwest region at this time. And if you are someone with a weakened immune system, experts say you may want to be extra careful with reducing your risk around this outbreak.

And for all of us, if you do develop symptoms like watery diarrhea, sometimes explosive diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, and if your symptoms last for days or even weeks, talk with your doctor, let them know what you're going through and mention what you have eaten recently since that can help hold clues to what might possibly be behind your illness. Back to you.

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FREEMAN: Jacqueline Howard. Thank you very much for that.

Right now, we're going to take a live look from New York. You can see right there on your screen where you can really see how much smoke there is from those Canadian wildfires choking out major cities across the upper U.S. More than 100 million people are under air quality alerts, but relief should be on the way.

Rain and storms that will wash the smoke out of the air are in the forecast. But one of the hardest hit states has been Minnesota, especially near its border with Canada. So joining me now is Mike Warnke with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Mike, thank you so much for joining us on this morning, especially with so much smoke in your air. Can you just tell us what has been your biggest challenge in battling the smoke from these fires?

MIKE WARNKE, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPERVISOR, MINNESOTA DEPT. OF NATURAL RESOURCES: Well, good morning. Certainly, there's a lot of smoke in the air and we understand everyone's thoughts around that. The biggest challenge here with these fires is the sheer remoteness of them. It's in a very remote area in northeast Minnesota near the Canadian border, the Boundary Waters Wilderness Canoe Area. It's meant to be roadless. It's meant to be remote. It's a place that people go to recreate, challenge themselves and have a sense of adventure. Many, many lakes in there. That same remoteness is providing the challenge to getting these fires attacked and beginning to suppress them.

FREEMAN: Mike, can you lay out how it's affected residents in Minnesota and also the wildlife there?

WARNKE: Every resident is feeling this for sure. We wake up and we smile, right? Great local. The feeling is hyper real for all of them.

There's evacuations that are taking place for communities, homeowners, resorts, guides, outfitters, small mom and pop businesses. People are prepared to evacuate as these fires turn and move with different weather events. And everybody is staying up to date on what the latest conditions are.

Most importantly, they're trying to be safe. Firefighters are trying to be safe. But the impact is real. These folks livelihoods have been upended by these fires. And essentially the summer businesses that rely on all the summer tourism has really been turned off for the moment.

FREEMAN: Yes, that's well said. I was actually just in the Poconos, an area of Pennsylvania that's similar outdoors. You expect people to be out there in the summer breathing the air and being outside. And it's brutal for those spots. And I can only imagine that folks in Minnesota are feeling the same thing.

Mike, is there concern or risk for long term damage here? I guess whether literally health wise or economically.

WARNKE: Certainly the longer this goes on, the more challenge it is for everybody involved, both economically and environmentally. Forests are fairly resilient systems, fairly confident that forest will recover in part on its own. It's had fires in the past and other events and it's recovered.

The small businesses, the folks that rely on that resource for their livelihood, they're going to take attention. They'll likely need some sort of assistance. They will need folks to come back and visit them and support them. And they need folks to continue to support them.

They're oftentimes businesses that have been there for well over 100 years serving many generations of folks with that real personal touch. And that's what makes the area very unique is that personal touch, small businesses, guides, outfitters that really are the character of the character up there.

FREEMAN: Mike, last thing, I just have about 10 seconds left. From your perspective, is this happening more often? Is your state having to deal with the impact of Canadian wildfires more?

WARNKE: I don't know that it's more often or not here bordering Canada. We're somewhat used to seeing and hearing about fires in Canada. We have our own fires here as well and that sort of thing. So it's a feature that all of us in Minnesota are aware about and recognize that's part of our fabric.

FREEMAN: Yes,yes, I understand that. Well, Mike Warnke, thank you so much for getting up early and chatting with us. And I hope that you and your community continues to stay safe.

WARNKE: Thank you.

FREEMAN: Switching gears now. Amid renewed criticism of Immigration and Customs Enforcement tactics after two deadly incidents this month. Video obtained by CNN shows ICE agents dressed in street clothes leaving man partially handcuffed after onlookers challenged them. Take a look at this.

The video was recorded at the Las Vegas airport on Monday. It shows a man you see there in a light blue polo shirt shouting as two plain clothes ICE agents hold him on the ground. Vegas police said the agents then walked away as witnesses questioned them, saying nothing to a TSA officer attempting to control the crowd. Police officers then took the cuffs off the man.

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Now, it's unclear what happened immediately before or after the video was recorded. Officials say the man, an Australian national, was taken into custody the next day for an expired visa.

Still ahead, President Trump says newly released documents show American elections are vulnerable. Well, we're going to speak with one lawmaker about his concerns heading to the November elections. Stay with us.

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FREEMAN: A security breach at one of the most recognizable buildings in television is raising new questions this morning. A man is accused of making his way into a restricted area at 30 Rockefeller center and confronting Today show co-host Craig Melvin. The suspect is now facing multiple charges and the incident is prompting a closer look at security inside of the building. CNN's Brynn Gingras has details.

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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today's show anchor addressing the incident on Friday's newscast saying, thank goodness everyone is okay. This is after police say 41-year-old Andrew Truelove gained access to 30 Rock by allegedly following an employee who swiped an ID card and at one point encountered Melvin in some restricted area of 30 Rock.

And the criminal complaint says that he said, quote, I always wanted to call a black famous person the N word. So short time after those two spoke quickly that this person was arrested inside 30 Rock and police arrived on the scene. The complaint saying that Melvin said this is how you want to be arrested.

I mean, a scary incident for the Today Show family having this happen really in the back halls of the 30 Rockefeller Center, which is supposed to be one of the most secure areas probably in New York City. Truelove has been arrested, as I said, and also charged with several crimes including burglary, menacing, criminal trespassing is expected to go back to court next week.

But as for 30 Rock, there are questions now about the security. Essentially the company saying that they're going to be looking at their security protocols, making sure that they are, you know, reformed if there's anything more that can be done. Because you can imagine security was boosted earlier this year in February after the incident with Savannah Guthrie and the abduction of her mother. There was more security around not only the Today show co-anchors but also within the building.

And then, you know, I actually spoke to some people who work at NBC who says security, security has been really tight lately, mostly because of all the World Cup events that are happening just outside this person telling me they had to actually swipe their badge a couple of times just to even gain access themselves. So certainly this is something that they will be looking at.

But another scary incident happening inside 30 Rock. The good news, as Melvin said, no one got hurt, but security definitely going to be top of mind at that building. Guys, back to you.

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FREEMAN: Thank you for that reporting, Brynn. Two memorials will honor the late Senator Lindsey Graham. Graham died suddenly last Saturday at 71 from complications of heart disease. His office just announced the memorials happening in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, July 28th.

And the second will take place in Columbia, South Carolina the following day. Voters there first elected the former Air Force lawyer to the Senate back in 2002.

All right. Coming up after a quick break, Caitlin Clark makes history, leading the Indiana Fever in a comeback victory. Andy has that. And your World Cup highlights coming up in sports.

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FREEMAN: Let's get a check of our top stories now. This morning, the first, the U.S. launched strikes on Iran for the seventh night in a row. Iran claims the US Struck a water treatment plant that provides drinking water for countries in the Gulf. In response, Iran launched retaliatory attacks on U.S. allies in the region.

And the process to select a new Democratic Senate candidate gets underway in Maine this weekend. This follows the withdrawal of former nominee Graham Platner. Party members are meeting today and tomorrow to select delegates for a state convention next weekend. Now whoever is nominated will face Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.

And Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been charged with misdemeanor hit and run. Authorities say 86-year-old Paul Pelosi hit a parked car in Napa County earlier this month and then drove off. Officials say he did not have alcohol in his system at the time of the incident. Pelosi is scheduled to appear in Court on August 14th.

And the road into Colorado's Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park remains closed after powerful mudslides stranded visitors for hours. Park officials say thunderstorms triggered at least three major mudslides Thursday, sending boulders and mud across the road. At least 21 visitors were trapped and had to be rescued. Everyone was safely evacuated, though, and no injuries were reported.

A show of support in the streets of Houston for Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, the 52-year-old Mexican immigrant who was shot and killed by ICE earlier this month. Take a look. Protesters drove through the city on Friday in a Justice caravan demanding an independent investigation and greater transparency. They're planning another protest on Sunday.

Federal agents claim small bags found in plain sight inside Araujo's van contained drugs, but his family insists it was just salt that he used with lemon juice to make homemade sports drink while working in extreme heat.

Now I want you to take a listen to the district attorney in Houston. Now, he has issues with the way the entire case has been investigated by federal authorities. Take a listen.

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SEAN TEARE, HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS DISTRICT ATTORNEY: They didn't ask to get the crash data recorder data that would have shown steering input speed, braking for up to 15 seconds before the incident. They didn't ask to get DNA to confirm who had touched the outside of the van. Was there an agent that had actually come into contact with the van before any of those things? All they were looking for were baggies that were in open sight. And the only thing that I can think they did it for was to smear a good man's name.

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FREEMAN: I'm joined now by Democratic Congressman Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island. Congressman, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

Let's start with these two recent ICE shootings in Houston and then the other one north of your Rhode Island district up in Maine. You were visibly frustrated on the House floor this week by these recent killings and have demanded accountability.

Congresswoman, I'm curious, what does accountability practically look like for House Dems moving forward?

REP. SETH MAGAZINER (D-RI): Well, listen, ICE has been acting as a completely out of control, dangerous rogue agency under the Trump administration. And now multiple innocent people have been shot and killed in broad daylight with no consequences whatsoever. When Secretary Mullin took over for Kristi Noem as director of the department, he said that his goal was to turn down the temperature and get the department off the front page after the chaos in Minneapolis. But that clearly has not happened.

There are, again, innocent people who have been gunned down in broad daylight in front of their families with no accountability. And, you know, the immediate reaction of the agency whenever one of these claims occurs is to immediately lie about what happened and hope that they don't get caught in the lie. And that is a hallmark of bad culture in an agency. So what does accountability look like?

Well, first and foremost, agents who break protocol, agents who engage in excessive use of force need to be disciplined. And that hasn't happened. It hasn't happened with the violent incidents that happened at the beginning of the year or in late 2025. And of course, we haven't seen any discipline yet for these latest shootings.

And so, you know, I told the secretary in those hearings, he is never going to regain the trust of the American people if they do not show a willingness, like any other law enforcement agency in the country, to discipline officers or agents who break protocol and it leads to civilian casualties.

And I think we've long passed the point where it is too late for ICE under the Trump administration or at all to regain its sense of legitimacy with the American people. The American people do not like what is happening.

FREEMAN: All right, I got a number of topics I want to cover with you today. So I want to turn, Congressman, to the president's speech on elections this week. And Secretary Mullin, you know, talking about the similar, the same official here threatening election officials yesterday who don't help DHS with voter roll reviews.

I guess, Congressman, I'm curious your perspective here. Do you think any of these assertions from the administration about election integrity are in good faith?

MAGAZINER: Well, what I thought was most interesting about the president's speech was what was not in it, he did not present any evidence that the 2020 election or any election was stolen or fraudulent or not valid. He didn't produce a single shred of evidence, nor did he really try to in that speech, because there is no evidence that any of these elections were rigged or fraudulent.

And we all know what's really happening here, which is that he anticipates that Republicans are going to lose big in the midterms because people are frustrated with high costs, people are frustrated with tariffs. People don't like the health care cuts. People don't like the fact that the president is more concerned about building ballrooms and monuments than he is in helping the average person in this country. And so he's laying the groundwork to be able to claim that the

upcoming midterms were rigged, too, because like a child, he can't ever admit defeat. And so we all know what's happening here. But again, even in this speech, you know, a president who has lied repeatedly about elections didn't even really try to make the case or present any real evidence that previous elections in the United States were rigged because there is no evidence of it.

And even with the full weight of the FBI and the rest of the federal government behind him, he hasn't been able to find any evidence because there isn't any.

FREEMAN: Congressman, again, it was a busy week on Capitol Hill, and I want to ask you about this Israel vote that really, in some cases divided the Democratic Party. You voted this week to block military aid to Israel. It was more of a symbolic vote in some ways, but I want to read what you said about this vote.

You said, quote, this is not an action I take lightly. As an American proud of my Jewish heritage, I continue to support the vital role of Israel as a refuge where Jews from around the world can find safety.

Congresswoman, I guess my question is, do you feel Israel can continue to be that refuge without military support from the United States?

MAGAZINER: Well, I think that Benjamin Netanyahu and his government have done tremendous damage to Israel's standing in the world and have made Israelis, in addition to Palestinians, less safe by completely destabilizing the region and making Israel into an international pariah.

[08:50:07]

Listen, after October 7th, you know that horrible day when Hamas terrorists killed over a thousand civilians in cold blood, the world was ready to rally around Israel and Israel's right to defend itself from terror. But instead what has happened is that the Israeli government has launched attacks in Gaza and Lebanon in a completely untargeted way that has led to mass civilian casualties. They have withheld food and medicine as a weapon against civilian populations.

And they've continued to allow the so called settlers in the West Bank to persecute, violently persecute Palestinians in the west bank without any consequence whatsoever. So listen, at a certain point, American military assistance can't be a blank check. It can't come with no conditions attached. And president after president, by the way, including the current president, have asked the Israeli government to act in a more responsible manner with the arms that we have provided them. And the Israeli government under Netanyahu has consistently ignored those pleas from the United States.

And so at a certain point, I think we need to send a message that we are serious, that if they feel entitled to American military aid, then they have to act responsibly with that aid when it's provided. And they haven't been. But I guess, Congressman, are you concerned that the Democratic Party seems increasingly split on this issue? Your leader, Hakeem Jeffries, he didn't support this.

MAGAZINER: I don't think this is a matter of politics in the United States. I think this is a matter of what is right for Palestinians, Israelis and Americans in order to build a safe, safer world. And we need a reset. We need a reset where we can engage in diplomacy and work toward a two state solution so that Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace.

We need to, yes, continue to honor the right of Israel to defend itself against terrorism. But that doesn't mean giving Netanyahu a blank check to continue to launch strikes that indiscriminately lead to mass civilian casualties. You know, again, the United States arms should not be given without any conditions to anyone in the world, and that includes Israel.

FREEMAN: All right, Congressman Seth Magaziner of Rhode Island, we have to leave it there. Thank you for joining us and for covering a large amount of topics this morning. Really do appreciate it.

MAGAZINER: Happy to do it.

FREEMAN: All right now let's take a live look at East Rutherford, New Jersey. Pretty brutal weather wise out there beside of the tomorrow's World Cup final though. So will the smoke move out before the big match? We've got your forecast. Coming up.

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[08:57:20]

FREEMAN: Relief is on the way for cities that have been choked by wildfire smoke from Canada. That's a live look right there at East Rutherford, New Jersey, where the final FIFA World Cup match will be played tomorrow afternoon.

And the good news is that showers and storms in the region are expected to help push that heavy smoke out and clear things up significantly ahead of the match. So CNN's Andy Scholes is joining me now. Andy, again, we're just one day away from that fantastic game. I know it's going to be.

And I understand yesterday Messi made a special appearance at Fanatics Fest.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORT ANCHOR: Yes, he did, Dan. And what a special treat for all those people who were at Fanatics Fest at the Javits Center in New York yesterday. Messi taking part in a panel on stage just a couple days before he goes for back to back World Cup titles. And it was a star studded panel.

And today's watershot, look at the selfie. Kevin Durant took Messi, Travis Scott, Michael Rubin, Kevin Hart, Novak Djokovic, Tom Brady and more in that picture. Now during the discussion, Brady asked Messi about the now iconic UNICEF charity calendar shoot from 19 years ago when Messi was photographed with Spain superstar Lamine Yamal when he was just a baby. And here's what Messi had to say about it. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIONEL MESSI, LEADING GOAL-SCORER IN FIFA WORLD CUP HISTORY (through translator): I wish him the best. That photo is crazy because, well, it's life. I had a photo with him when he was a baby. And for us to be facing each other in the World Cup how I said before, it's craziness, but he is one of the best in the world at the moment without a doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right, now the ticket to see Messi face Yamal in tomorrow's final is the most expensive sports team ticket of all time. According to TickPick, the average ticket price is more than $11,000. It's also the most expensive get in ever. The cheapest ticket right now on StubHub is almost $10,000. It's incredible.

All right. Caitlin Clark. Meanwhile, with a historic night for the Fever on Friday. The game was tied. Under a minute to go and Clark hits a step back three to give Indiana the lead. Clark finished with a career high 45 points and 10 assists. She's the first player ever to put up a 40, 10 game and she did it in just 29 minutes on the court. Fever would win that one by a final 110 to 107.

Finally, it's moving day at the Open Championship at Royal Burkdale and boy, do we have some controversy in round two. So Bryson DeChambeau. He shot up the leaderboard shooting a 4 under 66 to get to second place. But after his round he was informed that he was getting a two shot penalty for improving the area of his intended swing in the tall grass right here before his second shot on the fifth hole.

Now Bryson was fuming when he was told about it and he went back to the hole with the rules officials to plead his case. But it did not work.

[09:00:00]

The two stroke penalty stood. Bryson now in a tie for fifth at five under. He tees off a little later this morning, Danny, but man --