Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

U.S. Wraps Up 8th Night Of Strikes Against Iran; Kuwait Army Intercepting Missile, Drone Attacks; Court Documents Reveal ICE Office Connected To Fatal Maine Shooting Was Accused Of Abuse By Two Ex- Wives; Spain And Argentina Prepare To Face Off In World Cup Final; Flash Flooding Follows Days Of Smoke & Heat In New York. 2 U.S. Service Members Dead, 1 Missing After Friday Attack; Russia Launches Massive Missile and Drone Attack Against Ukraine; Jackson Takes Lead in Race to Replace Platner in Maine. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired July 19, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:28]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. Here's what you need to know today. First up, the U.S. launched another round of strikes on Iran Saturday in retaliation for the death of two U.S. soldiers. And happening now, we're learning of new missile attacks by Iran on U.S. allies. We've got that coming up in a live report.

And we're also following new escalations in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Russia launching a major ballistic missile attack on Kyiv. New information and video of the damage is coming in.

And we have more information about one of the officers connected to that deadly ICE shooting in Maine back on Monday. The new details CNN uncovered about his past coming up.

Plus, after more than 100 matches, thrilling wins and heartbreaking losses, it is all down to this, the World Cup final. Let's take a live look at the stadium where Spain and Argentina will face off later today. We're going to take you there live coming up.

Very good morning to you. It is Sunday, July 19th. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell.

We begin with breaking news. The U.S. embassy in Jordan says the air and seaports in Aqaba are being evacuated. They're citing a, quote, "specific and credible threat."

Now, this right here happened just hours after U.S. Central Command posted this video. CENTCOM says it targeted Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces behind attacks that killed two U.S. service members in Jordan on Friday. One service member is still missing. Iranian state news says explosions were heard in Bandar Abbas and in the Strait of Hormuz.

CNN's Nic Robertson joins us now. Nic, what more are we learning this morning as this conflict intensifies?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, this announcement by the Jordan -- excuse me -- by Jordanian officials that the U.S. Embassy in Jordan is also putting out about warning U.S. citizens not to go to the international airport or the seaport in Aqaba, which is right in the very south of Jordan on the Red Sea.

The Red Sea port there is is a new very new development. Specific and credible threat now just across the border into Israel from Aqaba is Eilat in Israel. And we know that Eilat in the past has been targeted by missiles that have been fired believed by the Houthis. Drones have been fired. Their Iran's missiles have also impacted just across the border in Israel in the earlier phase of the war back in March this year.

But it's not clear why Jordan is putting out these alerts about the airport and seaport in Aqaba. And it's worth noting as well that the Aqaba is quite some distance, significant distance from any of the air bases inside of Jordan that Iran says it's been targeting over the past week. So this is a significant development. It speaks to the broader warning that the State Department has put out for American citizens in this region.

At the moment, the Iranians, their government is saying or the state media in Iran is saying that the United States targeted one of their civilian nuclear facilities in the southwest of Iran, about 50, 80 miles over the border from Kuwait. So right in the southwest of Iran, Iranians are saying that the U.S. targeted that overnight.

We know that Qeshm Island, we know that Bandar Abbas in Iran were targets of U.S. Air Force overnight trying to get missile storage sites, drone storage sites, maritime sort of communication nodes along the Strait of Hormuz. But this morning as well, the Iranians targeting Kuwait again, targeting Bahrain again, the warning sirens going off in both of those countries.

So at the moment, this threat in Jordan, of course, that's the country where two U.S. service personnel, CENTCOM announced yesterday had been sadly killed in an Iranian strike at -- their one person, one service personnel. A person still missing in that attack. Four injured taken to hospital now released from hospital in Jordan. But it really does put Jordan very much in the crosshairs of Iran's actions against the U.S. interests in this region right now.

[07:05:12]

FREEMAN: Yes. Well said. All eyes on Jordan as this conflict again seems to be intensifying this weekend.

Nic Robertson, thank you very much. Appreciate your reporting.

Switching gears now, we have new details that are emerging about an ICE officer connected to the fatal shooting of a man in Maine. And we want to warn you, some of the video in this report may be disturbing. Now, CNN has confirmed that David Brouillette was among the officers at the scene. But CNN has not independently confirmed that Brouillette was the one who discharged his weapon.

CNN investigation has uncovered court records showing Brouillette previously reported lingering cognitive issues after a serious head injury and revealing other questions about his background. CNN's Gloria Pazmino takes a closer look.

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And we're getting a much fuller picture about who this officer is now that we have confirmed that David Brouillette was among the officers in the scene in Biddeford, Maine, where an ICE officer fatally shot, Joan Sebastian Duran Guerrero. This is all according to two of his ex-wives who reviewed photos and spoke with CNN.

Now, we should mention that CNN has not independently confirmed whether Brouillette was the officer who discharged the weapon killing Duran Guerrero. And investigators have not publicly identified the officer who shot the victim. Federal sources have separately confirmed to CNN that Brouillette is an ICE officer. The Department of Homeland Security has declined to comment on the identity of the officer, and they have said that the officer used deadly force because they feared for public safety.

Now, we have been trying to gather details to get a fuller picture about who Brouillette is. My colleagues Michael Williams, Kurt Devine and Priscilla Alvarez have been combing through public documents. And what has emerged is a troubling picture that raises serious questions about how ICE is doing its training and its officer vetting as they race to meet the demands of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

One of Brouillette's ex-wives and one of his daughters also told CNN that he contacted them days after the shooting and said that he had opened fire. Both said he told them that he thought the shooting was justified.

Now, here's some of what we have learned. In 2023, Brouillette told a court in Maine that he had suffered lingering cognitive issues after he suffered a serious head injury when a steel beam fell on his head during a training exercise for a firefighting certificate. He sued the Maine Community College system because of that injury, but it was just two years after he filed that lawsuit that he started working for ICE.

Brouillette's ex-wives also described a history of alleged domestic abuse and intimidation, all of this in court filings, where he denies the allegations. And we have not been able to confirm any criminal convictions or charges. We also reached out to Brouillette and he did not respond to several requests for comments.

We should mention Duran Guerrero's killing was the second time that an ICE officer shot and killed an immigrant behind the wheel in the span of just a week. And it's the fourth killing this year alone by federal immigration authorities.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

FREEMAN: All right, Gloria, thank you for that reporting. All right. Still ahead, a brutal night across Ukraine as Russia unleashed its biggest missile attacks of the war. We have details ahead.

Plus, Taylor Farms is expanding its recall of iceberg linked to diarrhea outbreak. We'll tell you which products to look out for.

And let's take a live look now at East Rutherford, New Jersey, where just hours from now, Argentina and Spain are going to battle it out in the World Cup final. We're going to show you what to expect after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:13:57]

FREEMAN: The time has come. After more than 100 matches, two teams are going to battle it out in today's FIFA World Cup final. Spain versus Argentina, and two soccer giants will meet on the pitch. Argentina's Lionel Messi versus Spain's Lamine Yamal.

Leigh Waldman is live outside of the New York-New Jersey stadium where these games are taking place. Leigh, the excitement is palpable. What are we expecting today?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Danny, so much excitement in the air. We just heard them testing the mic system inside and, you know, it gets your heart pumping. We're ready to see these two teams face off.

And they play very different styles on the pitch, Spain and Argentina. People are comparing it to orchestra versus heavy metal. We know that Argentina will be very aggressive on the pitch.

Meanwhile, Spain is hoping to play a complex passing game and take any advantage that they can to try and score on Argentina to make this match even more special. It's the very first time in a World Cup final we are seeing it contested by the champions of the world versus the champions of England. So many fans coming here trying to take in a moment out of what is going to be an incredible match here, Danny.

[07:15:11]

FREEMAN: I'm curious, I know that President Trump is expected to attend today's game. Can you take us through what that means for security for this final?

WALDMAN: Absolutely. So we have heard from FIFA officials and they say they are heavily increasing the security measures that are in place here at the stadium behind us. Not only because of President Donald Trump, but multiple other international dignitaries who are expected to be in attendance today.

This is a SEAR 1 event. That is the highest level of security coordinated by the FBI, DHS and Secret Service. They're right now are putting in active roadblocks to shut down the traffic around this stadium. Fans who are in attendance today, they can expect to go through extensive TSA style screenings in order to get inside of this stadium.

It's a no drone zone. If you're coming to this game today, you're being told come hours early ahead of that 3:00 p.m. kickoff.

FREEMAN: Wow, that's wild. Meanwhile, Leigh, New York I know has been dealing with a lot of poor air quality conditions from those Canadian wildfires. We were looking at a live picture of the stadium a moment ago.

Still seems a little hazy out there. How is it out there? Is it going to affect the game today? What do you think?

WALDMAN: Just a little bit hazy. But, Danny, we never cheer for weekend rain showers, right? Yesterday was a rainy day in New York City. But that's actually helping with the wildfire smoke that we've been dealing with these last few days.

Last week, very hazy, smelled like a campfire all throughout New York City. Right now, this is a lot better. It's going to be humid. There's still going to be a little bit of smoke in the air. But 80 degrees today when these two teams kick off. So it's going to be a much better day for the players on the pitch but also for the fans who are here to attend.

FREEMAN: All right. Last thing, Leigh. We can't talk about the final without talking about ticket prices. How much is it going to cost for last-minute tickets? Should we get one? Should we get two tickets and go?

WALDMAN: OK, Danny. So I'm going to say our DMs are open. So if anyone is feeling generous and wants to send us some tickets, we can go together. But unless you've been saving up probably your entire life, I don't think you're affording a ticket inside today.

The cheapest tickets, Joey, my producer, and I were looking this morning, almost $8,000. And that's for a nosebleed seat. If you want to get closer to the action, you're shelling out $20,000, $30,000, even $40,000 for one of these tickets. But they're also offering some bundle packages to include your food and drinks.

Who doesn't want that? $32,000 to $33,000 there. This is an expensive game to go ahead and see. All those fans who are flying into the United States, I don't know where they're getting all this money, man.

FREEMAN: Listen, $32,000, I should hope that you could get at least a hot dog included with that.

Leigh Waldman, thank you so much. Great to see you. Have a great time out there. Looking forward to it.

All right, to this now. After days of extreme heat and smoke, New Yorkers found themselves actually dealing with a completely different problem, flash flooding. Heavy rain moved through the region yesterday, flooding roads and causing problems on parts of the transit system.

Some neighborhoods actually picked up several inches of rain in just a few hours. Lower Manhattan, along with parts of Brooklyn and Queens, took the hardest hit. And officials urged people living in basement apartments to move to higher floors.

CNN's Melissa Nord joins me now. Melissa, again, the thunderstorms were intense. The lightning, the rain. What can people expect today, though?

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, they came down really fast and heavy, Danny. Some of those rainfall amounts in just a matter of 30 minutes. Some places picked up an inch, an inch and a half of rainfall. Record rainfall yesterday.

JFK, Newark, Manhattan picked up over three inches. Dozens of flooding reports there. But what's good about that system coming yesterday is that we got the rain out of here and the smoke out of here. The front's to the south now. All the wildfire smoke infiltrating the Midwest. So air quality today looking much better at the stadium.

Three o'clock kickoff will be in the low 80s. And humidity is also lower, making it a lot more comfortable outside. But as that front sags a little bit south, two areas of concern for severe weather, the first of which over the Carolinas, level two risk of severe weather, damaging winds, even an isolated tornado can't be ruled out.

That chance of damaging wind stretches into Atlanta. We'll get that daytime heating going. That helps to bring in a new round of heavy thunderstorms. Some of those could lead to flash flooding and then to the south of their trouble in the tropics as well.

This area in the eastern Gulf now has a 60 percent chance of development. The hurricane hunters with NOAA going to be flying into the system in this 91 L to investigate what the winds looking like, regardless of development or not, it's a rainmaker just along the coastline from the Big Bend Apalachicola down to Tampa.

We'll see some rounds of heavy rain moving on shore that could lead to some isolated accumulations. That could be 4 inches with some flash flooding. Danny?

[07:20:04]

FREEMAN: Melissa Nord, thank you so much for that forecast. Appreciate it.

All right. Coming up in just a moment, a duo of controversial influencers is back in legal trouble. The Tate brothers have been arrested in the U.S. and are facing extradition to the U.K. We're going to explain the accusations against them.

Plus, the U.S. military carries out another round of strikes on Iran as details of the deaths of two U.S. service members are revealed. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREEMAN: This just in. The Jordanian government is now denying there were evacuations of air or sea ports there. And this comes after the U.S. embassy said they were evacuated due to a credible threat.

[07:25:03]

The U.S. has now bombed Iran for an eighth straight night. Now targeting facilities for air and coastal defenses and weapons storage sites, according to U.S. Central Command. And two American soldiers were killed following Iranian strikes in Jordan Friday and one is still missing.

Joining me now is Major John Spencer, chair of War Studies for the Madison Policy Forum. He's also the author of the upcoming book, "20 Times I Almost Died." Major Spencer, thank you so much for joining us this morning on a hard weekend for our service members.

Let's start there, though. We still don't have a lot of information about these attacks in Jordan that killed those two service members. But what's your perspective here? What do you think this means for next steps in this war?

MAJOR JOHN SPENCER (RET,), CHAIR OF WAR STUDIES, MADISON POLICY FORUM: I think that it means that, one, we're going to mourn our losses but understand that the greatest thing we can do, in my opinion, to our service members is to accomplish the mission and finish the job. We have an integrated air defense system on all of our bases, but Iran's continuing to attack all of the countries, I think seven countries in seven days, where U.S. forces or not, because they're attacking desalination plants in Kuwait and other locations, striking back at the U.S. attacks now on eight consecutive nights.

FREEMAN: What do you believe this says about the vulnerability of our troops or our military installations in the region right now?

SPENCER: I mean, I think we have very strong defenses, but there is no perfect system, even what we've seen in Israel that has, you know, its Iron Dome and other systems. If you can still get about 1 percent, and that's what Iran is getting, depending on where we're talking about, that's still something's going to get through and adjustments are made, and they've been using different types of tactics, you know, different missiles of the capabilities they have left.

FREEMAN: Major, I'm curious, from your perspective, is the U.S. right now underestimating the capabilities of Iran and these proxies in the region? Because we've been told time and time again that their military has been seriously weakened, and yet we see instances like this.

SPENCER: No, I don't think we underestimate them, the U.S. military, and I think we're moving more assets into the region to stop their ability to influence the Strait of Hormuz. That's what we're really seeing now is the Battle of Hormuz being fought through and U.S. forces in different areas of these countries. Of course, they're in harm's way, right? That's what our troops are signed up for, but I do think we're underestimating them. And even if you destroyed a vast majority of their capabilities, they still have capabilities. It's a large country that was invested in these capabilities, drones, missiles, for a long time to be able to do just this.

So I don't think it's underestimating. I mean, it's the will that is the problem at this point, not the capability, although we don't like seeing any capability being projected out of Iran, but that's the importance of the mission is that this is about changing the regime's behavior, not a regime change operation, and they're vastly different.

FREEMAN: Major, from your view, are we closer to peace today? I mean, it seemed like for a moment there, there were signings of MOUs, there were steps towards ceasefires, and then it seems like in the past week plus or so, certainly this weekend, we've taken several steps backwards.

SPENCER: Yes, I think we all had a -- or had a hope that the memorandum of understanding, which is an agreement to have a conversation, would lead to a negotiated settlement of the operation. I mean, I don't think we're closer now, of course.

According to President Trump, the ceasefire is over. The MOU, despite both sides maybe thinking that it said something different in -- especially in relation to the Strait of Hormuz, I don't think we're closer to peace at this moment and that we will likely have to accelerate the operation in order to achieve that goal of getting to the negotiation table.

It's always going to end at a negotiation table, but I do believe that the region and the United States is safer today. They're not closer to a nuclear weapon. Their capabilities to project power have been drastically impacted.

FREEMAN: Major, the Pentagon has mostly stopped doing media briefings now and updates regularly on the war, so reporters have not really been able to ask questions of the administration about the latest objectives or where things stand. I'm just curious, what do you make of that? Do you think that's an important thing that should be happening more frequently?

SPENCER: Absolutely. I'm definitely a big fan of communicating at all levels, so both from the White House Press Corps Secretary and the Pentagon. But I think we're in this situation where they do want the negotiations to continue, and according to President Trump and others, that they are talking to people in Iran, and people want that to work without the statements, even though the new supreme leader made a statement, although nobody's seen him, on what he thinks about the negotiation and memorandum understanding. I think we're in a sensitive situation, and hopefully we do see those briefings, because I do think they're a daily to have them, is important.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And last question for me, Major, is, I know it's hard to project into the future, especially since we're only still a few months into this conflict, but is this looking more and more like a forever war to you?

SPENCER: No, not at all. And I use that term very, I don't use that often, because I understand this isn't a forever war, a nation- building war, we're going to overthrow the regime and institute a democracy. This is a limited war. Four limited objectives, I think, are worth fighting for, in my opinion, non-nuclear proliferation and the freedom of navigation, which would impact the U.S. economy from the gas prices to fertilizer across the globe if Iran was allowed to do what they are trying to say that they want to do, which is control the Strait of Hormuz.

I think it's worth fighting for and achieving this limited goal, but not a forever war. And although we are, you know, whether you count the entire time, five months into it, that there has been progress made. And I do believe that there are people willing to come to terms, but it has to be on these very non-negotiable aspects of no nuclear weapons and freedom of navigation.

FREEMAN: Major John Spencer, thank you very much for your insight and perspective this morning. Really do appreciate it.

SPENCER: Thanks, Danny.

FREEMAN: All right. To this now, Russia just unleashed a massive ballistic missile attack against Ukraine, one of the largest since the war began over four years ago. More than 40 missiles and 120 drones were fired overnight by the Russians, most of them targeting the capital of Kyiv. Rescue operations are underway at this hour. And the attack follows deadly strikes by the Ukrainians deep into Russia, destroying two e-commerce warehouses, one of them in Moscow. At least eight people were killed there.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau has been tracking the latest developments. Barbie, this war really seems to be escalating at a dangerous pace at this point.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. You know, this was really a brutal attack against Ukrainian capital. Forty of those missiles raining down in less than two hours, sparking fires in residential areas and in a shopping area and in a mall. But this does come on the heels of those twin drone attacks deep into Russia, including one of these centers near Moscow.

Now, eight people were killed in that attack. And the Ukraine says that those were logistical centers that were used in drone production and drone. Let's listen to what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had to say about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): These were Russian logistics facilities, including warehouses supplying equipment for the war effort, such as navigation systems, components used in drone production and other supplies for the Russian military. Our Ukrainian weapons also struck another oil facility and targets in the waters of the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea. This was an important operation. There will be more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And what's really important about this, and I think something to understand, is this is a change of strategy for Ukraine. Previously, they had only attacked energy infrastructure and maritime assets. To go so deep into the country and attack an area that is for e-commerce, you know, distribution is a change.

Now, whether or not that is going to change Russia's approach is unknown yet. And whether it's going to bring them closer to the negotiating table. Clearly, Russians saw the black pillowing smoke across their country on Saturday. Whether that's going to make any difference in the negotiation remains to be seen.

But all eyes here in Europe are definitely on what happens next, and if this escalation spreads beyond Ukraine. Danny.

FREEMAN: They certainly are. All right. Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you very much for that reporting. Really do appreciate it.

All right. Let's check in on some other headlines this morning. We're learning more about the arrest of social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate. U.S. Marshals arrested the brothers yesterday in Miami on an extradition request from the U.K. British prosecutors accused the brothers of rape, sex trafficking, and other offenses tied to an investigation involving multiple alleged victims. They're expected to appear in federal court in Miami this week as the extradition process moves forward. The brothers have repeatedly denied wrongdoing.

And produce supplier, Taylor Farms, is recalling iceberg lettuce shipped to 27 states due to potential cyclospora contamination. This is the same company that supplied shredded lettuce to Taco Bell restaurants that have been linked to the cyclosporiasis outbreak in the Midwest. The recall covers lettuce distributed between June 29th and July 16th. If you had lettuce to Taco Bell restaurants that have been linked to the cyclosporiasis outbreak in the Midwest, the recall covers lettuce distributed between June 29th and July 16th. If you have it, the company says, you should throw it away immediately.

[07:30:00]

And protest against the building of data centers took place across the country on Saturday. A handful of people protested over a highway overpass in Berkeley, California. Opponents worry about noise, pollution, and strained resources. However, supporters argued these facilities are vital to expanding technology like artificial intelligence while boosting local economies.

Still ahead, Maine Democrats begin the process of replacing former Senate candidate, Graham Platner. We're going to dig into the race to the nomination.

And if you're heading out, remember, you can stream our show from anywhere in the U.S. right from the CNN app. You can also always go to cnn.com/watch. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

FREEMAN: Democrats in Maine have been scrambling to find a replacement for former U.S. Senate nominee Graham Platner and it looks like they may have found one. Troy Jackson dominated the first day of Maine's two-day delegate selection process on Saturday. The blue- collar logger and former state Senate president captured a large majority of the delegates with his progressive message. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I believe that we can take on corporate price gouging and lower costs for working families. I believe we can build housing that people can afford. I believe that workers deserve the freedom to unionize without intimidation, retaliation, or fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: For more on this, let's bring in Michael Shepherd. He's a reporter with the Banger Daily News. Michael, thank you so much for getting up early and chatting with us. Let's start here. Is this race looking competitive anymore or is Jackson actually in a super strong position after this weekend?

MICHAEL SHEPHERD, POLITICS EDITOR AND REPORTER, BANGOR DAILY NEWS: No, it's not looking competitive. He won 290 by my count of the first 319 delegates that were decided on Saturday. We'll have the rest awarded in county caucuses today and this is to a state convention that happens next weekend in Bangor. So, that was a dominant share by any measure. He's now, again by my count, which I think is conservative, only 11 delegates shy of hitting that 301.

Now, it's worth pointing out that these delegates are formally unbound, but these are people who are on his slate or have told me or someone else that they're supporting him. So, he's in a really, really commanding position. I would be surprised if his opponents, if this goes the way it went yesterday, are in the race after today.

FREEMAN: It's remarkable how quickly all of this really came together after Platner's exit. I'm curious though, will Jackson's former support of Platner weigh him down at all if he advances to the general? What do you think?

SHEPHERD: Yes, this is a tough balance for him to strike in this race. He is the closest thing to a one-to-one comparison to Graham Platner. Both are deeply tied to organized labor. Platner ranked Jackson first on his gubernatorial ballot when he was in that primary back in June. Jackson was a really early kind of institutional endorser of Platner early in the race and had a rough relationship with Governor Janet Mills.

So, they are really, really closely tied. And all the candidates in this SNAP-nominating race have tried to hitch themselves to Platner's progressive policies and his sort of organizing momentum. I think Jackson picked up a lot of the support from the people on the ground who were really behind Platner. So, it's a delicate balance because these candidates want to bring in the progressive movement that Platner created but leave him behind. And Jackson has a long history in Maine politics, obviously, but he's going to be trying to strike that careful balance as he goes on to the general.

FREEMAN: Michael, I'm curious. Can you break down what happens today and then also what is the process that's going to happen later on in the week on the 25th when the party holds this nominating convention?

SHEPHERD: Yes. It's a really strange process. So, they're selecting right now 500 of the 600 delegates at these county meetings, eight of which happened yesterday and eight more will happen today. Yesterday was the big prize. Cumberland County, which includes Portland, our biggest city by far, was in that mix. So, most of the delegates have been awarded at this point. The rest will be from the state committee. So. that convention of 601 people in Bangor will be set after today.

And we still have deadlines for the candidates to sort of nominally hit during this week. You have to get 500 signatures in a certain way to qualify for this ballot by the end of the day Monday. So, we were looking at that as kind of an interesting deadline here. But this race isn't looking as interesting anymore. So, it looks like the convention on Saturday is going to be a little more boring than maybe we would have envisioned at the outset.

FREEMAN: Yes, absolutely. And again, especially since this all came together so quickly. I want to slightly switch gears for a moment here. Michael, I'm just curious, in the middle of all of this political maneuvering, then on Monday, of course, you have this ICE shooting in Maine. What has the impact of that shooting and the fallout been on this, I guess, Senate primary, but also on the larger Senate race up there?

SHEPHERD: Yes. So, all four leading Democratic candidates in this race called for ICE to be abolished outright, which was an escalation from where a lot of Democrats stood maybe a year ago, two years ago on the national scale. And it scrambled a lot of dynamics here. Collins was the one who kind of announced that Democrats stood maybe a year ago, two years ago on the national scale. And it scrambled a lot of dynamics here.

[07:45:00]

Collins was the one who kind of announced that traffic stops like the one in Biddeford would be temporarily halted after speaking with Markwayne, the Homeland Security Secretary. And then, of course, Trump comes out the next later that day, actually. And directly contradicts that and the changes in some sort of purgatory right now.

So, I think that Collins is trying to strike a middle ground here. She, of course, voted for the ICE funding package. Democrats have criticized her for that. She also wants some of these reforms and wants body cameras to be deployed. So, she's kind of doing her Susan Collins thing, right, which is trying to strike that balance and appeal to the sort of middle-of-the-road Democratic-leaning voters here.

Democrats, just like in 2020 in the race against her, they're really looking to make this a national race as she pivots back to the state and her unique attributes. So, I think it really falls into that bucket.

FREEMAN: Fascinating politics continue in Maine. Michael Shepherd, thank you so much for joining us this morning and breaking all that down.

And be sure to tune in Thursday for a CNN special event, the Maine Democratic Senate Debate. It will be moderated by Jake Tapper and Dana Bash, along, of course, with the Bangor Daily News. Coverage will begin at 8:00 p.m. here on CNN and on the CNN app.

OK. Still ahead, it is a battle of soccer giants, Argentina and Spain, facing off in the World Cup final. Coy Wire has a preview after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:00]

FREEMAN: The biggest sporting event on Earth reaches its grand finale tonight. It's Spain taking on the defending champs Argentina in New Jersey.

CNN Sports anchor, Coy Wire, joins us now to break down the historic match. Hey, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Hi, Danny. Will Leo Messi and Argentina become the first nation in more than 60 years to win back-to-back or will teen sensation, Lamine Yamal, help lift Spain to its first World Cup trophy since 2010?

Check out these scenes. Spain fans gathering to get a glimpse of their heroes outside of the team hotel yesterday. At just 19, Yamal is already chasing football immortality and Mikel Oyarzabal could become the first to score six goals for Spain at a single World Cup.

Now, Spain's final training session was canceled due to thunderstorms. Argentina was able to train. And look at this. Their fans flooded Times Square yesterday, turning midtown Manhattan into a giant pregame party. Messi, now 39 years old and perhaps his final World Cup appearance with perhaps the final masterpiece in one of the greatest careers the sport has ever known.

Spain enters as the betting favorite, but Argentina enter in full force as they look to become the first repeat champs since Brazil in 1962. Our team was on the ground to get some of the thoughts of those fans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Spain scores first, that's probably good news for Argentina because they like to do comebacks. So, if they score first, then I think Argentina will take it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 3-2, Spain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I seem pretty confident. Like, I trust in my team to win.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leo Messi, and then my wife, and then my family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What? No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, he's the love of my life. Yes, he's the most important people in my life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you serious?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First Messi, then me?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: That's cold-blooded. All right. Yesterday in Miami Gardens, we had the bronze final. Kylian Mbappe scoring twice for France, chasing the Golden Boot. For most goals in the tourney, he passed Messi's eight, finishing with 10. But England, just too much. Behind Bukayo Saka's hat trick, three goals in a match that felt more like an All- Star game than a third-place playoff.

Here's today's What a Shot. England claiming its first-ever World Cup bronze medal with a wild 6-4 win over France.

Now, tonight's final will feature the World Cup's first-ever Super Bowl halftime show -- style halftime show, and Olympic-style closing ceremony. Halftime's going to feature Madonna, Shakira, Justin Bieber, BTS, and more. How are they going to pack all of this into 11 minutes? That's perhaps the biggest question. Post Malone will headline a closing ceremony with Tom Cruise and others. Jennifer Hudson will sing the national anthem.

Get in price, Danny. This morning, hovering around $8,000, the most expensive sporting event ticket ever recorded. The first-ever 48-team World Cup. First coast hosted by three nations. More teams, more matches than ever. And now, just one game remains later today.

FREEMAN: Unbelievable. My list is Leo Messi, Coy Wire, and then my family.

WIRE: What? What?

FREEMAN: Yes. All right. I'll talk to you later, Coy. Thanks so much.

WIRE: All right, brother.

FREEMAN: All right. This morning, nearly 1,000 wildfires are burning across Canada. In Ontario alone, crews are battling over 100 active fires with more than 150 firefighting teams spread across the province. Smoke from the wildfires is stretching across large parts of the U.S., triggering air quality alerts for more than 100 million people. It's disrupting everything from summer events to outdoor activities in several states.

CNN's Melissa Nord joins me now. Melissa, let's get a final check of the forecast. Where's the worst today?

MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Danny, the worst is going to be up in the Midwest, around the Great Lakes. So, that is good news for the World Cup final. Not going to be as dense of smoke as we saw a couple of days ago. But these air quality alerts stretch from Minneapolis east to Chicago, Detroit as well. You can see the worst air quality right now throughout Wisconsin, where some of those air quality index values are around 300. So, that's all the pollution in the air, the smoke in the air.

[07:55:00]

And when it gets to those thresholds, it's like we've been talking about a broken record the last few days. You want to wear those N95 masks when you're outside and avoid spending prolonged periods of time outdoors. It doesn't matter if you have a respiratory illness or not. It impacts everybody when there's that much smoke in the air.

You can see the smoke density forecast. Highest concentration in the Midwest. There will be a little bit of smoke, higher levels, that tries to get into kind of the five boroughs in New York City as well today. But I don't think it's anywhere near as dense as what it was just a couple of days ago.

So, that's good news for World Cup fans. We've got the storms out of there, that really dense smoke out of there, and lower humidity as well. Danny, we'll have temps in the 80s.

FREEMAN: Wonderful. We'll take it. Melissa, thank you so much for that forecast. And thank you for joining us for CNN This Morning Weekend. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:00:00]