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Berlin Police Search For Suspect In Deadly Terror Attack; Wildfires Rage Across France & Spain As Temperatures Soar; Maine Dems Pick Jackson To Face Sen. Collins In November; U.S. Military Boards Tanker Amid Iran Naval Blockade; Trump To Meet Netanyahu This Week; Trump Orders Warning About "Inaccurate Information" Outside Smithsonian. Tate Brothers Due in Court Monday; ESPN Host Ryan Clark Let Go While On-Air; House Votes to Eliminate Daylight Saving Time; Denver Dealing with Overload of Donated Potatoes. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired July 26, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:00:58]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN This Morning. Here's what you need to know. There is breaking news out of Germany. Police say a man intentionally ramped his car into a pride event in what they're calling an act of terror. We have a live report for you on that in a moment.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to leave as wildfires rage in France and Spain. Extreme heat and the lack of rain are really fueling those fires. We'll take you there live.

And it's take two for Maine Democrats. They've nominated a new candidate to take on GOP Senator Susan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TROY JACKSON (D), MAINE SENATE NOMINEE: For nearly 30 years, Collins has told Maine that she is concerned. Maine does not need another six years of concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: How Democrats are hoping to shift the focus back on Collins in this final sprint to the midterm election. The skies over Iran, again, quiet for a second night in a row as the U.S. pauses its bombing campaign there. Good concerns about the U.S. weapons stockpile be to blame.

Plus, did DOGE go too far?

Sunday, July 26th. Good to have you with me. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Right now, German police are searching for the suspect accused of a deadly terror attack at a Berlin Pride event. Berlin police say that one person is dead, 15 others are injured, some of them from stab wounds. Police have identified this man, 21-year-old Abdul B., as the person they say rammed into a crowd gathered for Germany's largest LGBTQ event. Now, authorities say the suspect hit several people with a white van that was later found abandoned after it slammed into a tree.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen is with us now. Fred, what's the latest?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. And this is pretty much as close as we're going to be able to get to the scene of where all of this happened. We're about, I'd say, about 100 yards away from where that van slammed into a tree.

I'm going to get out of your way for a second. We're going to see if we can zoom in to where this happened. You can see the van there is still very much up against that tree. We've been seeing police forensic teams there working on that vehicle, but we can also see, we have seen from several angles here, that the van's front is completely totaled.

So certainly that meshes with some of the things that eyewitnesses have been saying, that apparently it went down that path at a pretty high velocity ramming into people. One of the things we need to point out is that area that you're seeing there, where that van is now standing up against that tree, that is not a public road. That is actually a path through one of the main parks here in the center of Berlin.

And eyewitnesses certainly say that that vehicle plowed through the crowd that was taking place here on the sidelines of that Pride event. And there were eyewitnesses who said that they were absolutely terrified by what was going on. Here's what one of them said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translation): At first, we couldn't make out what the screams were because of the party, the music and the atmosphere. And we only realized later exactly what was going on when the police cleared the park with machine guns and asked us to go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: All of this happening, of course, on the sidelines of the big Christopher Street Day Pride event here in Berlin that was taking place on Saturday. And you're absolutely right to point out that the police have now launched this very public manhunt with an image of what they say is the main suspect in this ramming, Abdul B, 21 years old. They say he's about 6'3, has black hair.

And the police are urging anyone who sees him to actually dial the German version of 9/11, which is 110, rather than to try and talk to this person saying that he could be armed and could potentially be very dangerous. The police also coming out and saying that they believe that he was in the Islamic -- Islamist scene in Germany. Not exactly clear what that specifically means, but certainly saying that those seem to be some of the leanings that this person appears to have had.

[07:05:03]

Again right now, this manhunt underway here in Berlin, here in Germany. And one of the things that we've been seeing here in the city is choppers overhead seemingly searching for someone. I've also seen several areas cordoned off with police vehicles and seemingly police officers also searching several places, including some of the subway stations here in Berlin.

So this is definitely a manhunt that's going on and full speed. And at the same time, as you can imagine, deep shock here in Berlin, deep shock here also among politicians in Germany as well, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Fred Pleitgen reporting there for us. Fred, thanks so much.

More than 200,000 people have been forced from their homes in southwest France. Firefighters are battling wildfires. Around 30 of them are burning right now. French officials say nearly a quarter million acres have already burned. Homes and cars are burned out shells as crews are working around the clock to try to keep those flames from spreading. About 7,000 people are now staying in temporary shelters, and a lot of them woke up to emergency alerts telling them to leave immediately and take whatever they could grab.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): It's actually not knowing why we're really here, whether it's because of the fire approaching our home or the ashes that fell from the sky when the wind picked up and not knowing in the end when we'll be able to go home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Melissa Bell joins us now from France. Melissa, last hour we saw you, you were near some of the smoldering remains of an area where the fire had already passed through. Where are you now?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is the command and control center to the south of this main fire from which the firefighters are coordinating their efforts, Victor, to try and get it under control. The trouble is that what happened last night is that the conditions got worse.

The fire, according to -- we've been hearing from the prime minister saying this morning, the very latest about what happened, the head of police as well and emergency services, the fact that what happened last night because of those conditions is that the fire started raging again uncontrollably with its own sort of wind systems and acting erratically and jumping from place to place.

So even as they'd managed to start containing it in those moments, places, I was just showing you a moment ago, Victor, where the fire started here on Wednesday, and still the embers smoldered, as you saw then, it continues to rage uncontrollably to the north of here. It is very large. There are several different centers to it. But now it has spread to the southeast. And that's why you've seen those extra evacuations overnight, 55,000 extra people evacuated overnight from their homes. And that fire now continuing to spread.

So the conditions extremely difficult here in terms of trying to bring this fire under control, even as they seek to contain it in one place. And that has not yet happened. It spreads elsewhere, and it is getting ever closer to Bordeaux city center. So extremely worrying situation on the ground. It is also extremely difficult for firefighters across the border, Victor.

In Spain, we've been looking these last couple of days at these wildfires to the west of Madrid. There had been some 60,000 evacuations as a result of those. Now it is the wildfires near Valencia that have been picking up with 15,000 fresh evacuations there.

And again, authorities really stretched to their limit. We were hearing only yesterday from the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, about the fact that already yesterday 130,000 hectares had burned in Spain over the course of the year as a result of all these wildfires they've had. The annual average overall tends to be under 100,000.

So that gives you an idea of just how bad things are on both sides of this border as a result of this extremely hot summer and those conditions that have turned what we were just seeing here, the ground of these pine forests, the bracken and the ferns turned to kindling. So dry are they, Victor.

BLACKWELL: Melissa Bell reporting on the latest from these devastating wildfires there in France and Spain.

Maine Democrats, they've now chosen their nominee to run against incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins in November. This weekend, they selected former State Senate President Troy Jackson in a special convention to replace Graham Platner. Platner dropped out amid sexual assault allegations, which he's denied.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: This is the absolute honor of my life to accept the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate.

Today, we turn the page. Today, this becomes a general election campaign. And today, we win the work of defeating Susan Collins in November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more on how he won and what lies ahead for both candidates.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Maine Democrats finally turning the page in one of the most consequential Senate races in the country, formally replacing their Senate nominee. Of course, Graham Platner's campaign imploded a few weeks ago after months and months of controversy.

[07:10:01]

He was replaced by Troy Jackson, the former President of the Maine State Senate. He wasted no time going directly after his opponent, Republican Senator Susan Collins.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON: For nearly 30 years, Collins has told Maine that she is concerned. Maine does not need another six years of concern. We need someone with courage. We need a fighter. And we need a senator who remembers exactly who sent them to Washington, which is you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Of course, Collins has a track record of winning in tough races again and again. Every Democrat who has tried to challenge her for 30 years has come up short. Of course, this is a different political environment. There is no question about that.

But for Jackson going forward, one thing is clear. He must unite his own Democratic Party, as well as make this a referendum on Senator Collins. But it's clear talking to delegates here, there's still some work to do to unite Democrats and move away from that Platner controversy.

We caught up with Jackson afterward and asked him about that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Part of seeing the energy that Graham Platner brought without being consumed by the baggage, how do you do that?

JACKSON: Graham just tapped into, I believe, what was already there, people's frustration, you know, their anger that government was not working for him. This is not about Graham, it's about the movement, the people, the issues. It's bigger than any one person. I know for a fact it's bigger than me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: And as we talked to Jackson, he also told us that he would not support Chuck Schumer to be the Democratic Senate leader should Democrats win a majority in the U.S. Senate. But, of course, before any of that can be discussed, he must win this race. And that definitely remains an open question.

He said it is a challenge. There is no question about it, a fundraising challenge as well. Susan Collins has a big head start. The Democrats are all in on this race. They still see it as an important piece of the puzzle if they're going to try and win control of the Senate.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Bangor, Maine. BLACKWELL: Headlines we're watching this morning, a NASA astronaut is back on Earth after nearly eight months aboard the International Space Station. Chris Williams and two Russian crewmates landed safely in Kazakhstan about a half hour ago aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. It was the first space flight for Williams. He'll now begin post-landing medical checks before heading back to the U.S.

Gas prices climbing again as fighting between Iran and the U.S. intensifies. The average price for a gallon of gas is now $4.11 nationwide. That's up $0.11 in just the past week.

Renewed fighting has slowed shipping through key waterways in the Middle East, making it harder to move crude oil to world markets.

In New York, new video shows several teenagers riding on top of a moving subway train in Brooklyn. Look at this. Police say drones spotted six people on the train and alerted officers on the ground. Five teens were arrested, including a 12-year-old. Investigators say they recovered six stolen MTA keys from one of the suspects. The teens now face several charges, including reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.

Next, a high stakes meeting at the White House this week. What we can expect from the meeting between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Plus, our panel reacts to President Trump ordering new signs at the Smithsonian Museum warning of, quote, "inaccurate information." That's coming up in the morning roundup.

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[07:18:15]

BLACKWELL: This morning, CNN has new reporting about a key meeting related to the U.S. war with Iran. A source and U.S. officials say that Vice President JD Vance and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine warned President Trump about potential consequences if he escalates the war. According to those sources, Caine expressed concerns about further depleting the U.S. munition stockpile and other possible negative effects.

Now, it's unclear if that's why the U.S. decided to suspend nearly two weeks of attacks against Iran. The U.S. military has conducted or rather continued its naval blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command posted on social media yesterday that it boarded a tanker in the Arabian Sea that violated that blockade.

CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson is with us now. Nic, it's all happening ahead of that meeting between President Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their first since the start face-to-face in this war.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, and it's going to be an important one because Prime Minister Netanyahu has not been happy with the ceasefire that was put in place several months ago, and it's not clear where he stands on the current pause that's underway at the moment. He was speaking to the government this morning.

He said that he'd be leaving for Washington tomorrow and that he would be meeting with President Trump on Tuesday, that all pending issues were going to be discussed, including Iran. So, I think everyone here imagines that's pretty much going to be front and center.

We've watched Omani diplomacy over the last couple of days. They took a trip, sent a delegation to Tehran. They got there Friday, left Saturday. The conversation was about the Strait of Hormuz. Of course, what the United States wants to see is Iran relinquish its desire and commitment to having some kind of payment method, some kind of continued control over ships coming and going from the Strait of Hormuz.

[07:20:13]

It's not clear if the Omanis made any headway there, but it perhaps was this sort of pause has allowed that diplomacy to happen. So the question is, how will the President view the outcome of the conversations the Omanis had?

But, as you say, the United States continuing its blockade. The Iranians doing the same, saying that they've stopped six ships from going into the Strait of Hormuz, not by fire, but they're saying those ships have been now put at anchor. But the U.S. Central Command saying that they have told 12 ships and stopped 12 ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz over the last few days during the current bout of conflict.

So where it goes from here, this really does seem to be a matter of whether diplomacy has been able to take advantage of this pause.

BLACKWELL: Nic Robertson, thanks so much.

Question for you this morning, have you ever stuck around at a job you really didn't like? Well, more people are doing that. A new survey shows more than 20 million Americans are for the same reason. We'll tell you why coming up in the morning round up.

And let's take a look at Pittsburgh. Good morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:56]

BLACKWELL: New signage is going up outside the Smithsonian Museum, courtesy of the Trump administration. The signs warn visitors about, quote, "inaccurate information" in those exhibits.

Joining me now for the morning roundup, Jason "Jah" Lee, senior editor of Bossip, Atlanta News Anchor Kaitlyn Ross, and Attorney Madeleine Simmons. Everybody, welcome back to the table. We got some morning roundup veterans. Jah, let me start with you about this. This is an executive order the President signed on Friday, says that it warns the public of inaccurate information and then advises them or directs allegedly to other sources. What do you make of this being the continued narrative from the White House?

JASON "JAH" LEE, SENIOR EDITOR, "BOSSIP": It makes me feel like maybe Donald Trump and the administration, maybe they think they are like Tommy Lee Jones in "Men in Black." Like there's no special gadget that you can flash in front of our eyes. There's no sign that you can put up that will make us forget the history of America.

The history of America has always been, I guess, debated about what is being taught in schools and what kind of information people are taking in. But we all know generally what happened. And so to put this asterisk outside of somewhere like the Smithsonian that has a reputation of preserving that history and making sure that we're all aware of what's going on in the country, what has gone on in the country, it just -- it brings hollow to me as an effort to control a narrative that can't be controlled. The toothpaste is out of the tube.

KAITLYN ROSS, ATLANTA NEWS ANCHOR: The director of the Smithsonian really pushed back hard against this, saying that this is not a political exhibition, that they have sought to honor the history of the United States, and they do it very deliberately and with truth in mind. So I thought it was interesting just how strongly they pushed back against this.

LEE: Yes.

MADELEINE SIMMONS, ATTORNEY: And the fact that, you know, the Trump administration can't get these signs inside of the Smithsonian --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMMONS: -- because they don't have any jurisdiction over that.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMMONS: -- but they can get them on the sidewalks, I think was a little bit funny because it just shows how petty it is. Like, you can't even get inside there to get this message out of the inaccurate information. You have to have it out on the sidewalk. So how impactful is that even going to be?

BLACKWELL: And that's one thing I wanted to ask you from a legal perspective. We saw what the White House tried to do at the Kennedy Center, right?

SIMMONS: Yes. Unsuccessfully.

BLACKWELL: Unsuccessfully. Is this something, you brought up jurisdiction inside the building, that even outside the building that somebody might be able to stop?

SIMMONS: So on the sidewalks -- BLACKWELL: Because the sidewalks are under the jurisdiction of the

Department of Interior.

SIMMONS: Right.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMMONS: Right. I don't see them being able to stop putting signage on the sidewalks. But certainly, like at the Kennedy Center, trying to put signage on the actual building, they're not going to be able to do that.

BLACKWELL: Yes. You know, this is something, obviously, that the President has been focused on beyond the scope of the midterm elections. We've seen how culture war issues have impacted the vote. Is this going to be something people are thinking about in November? Do you think that the culture war element plays at all in the next 100 days?

ROSS: Well, I will say the reaction online is just as divided as we see people in person. People have very strong opinions about this, and it really is aligning with political values. So I think as you continue to see this fracturization and people go further and further to one side or the other, that's the reaction you're seeing to this.

So I think if you agree with it, you are screaming online that you agree with it. If you disagree, you are strongly in there with the exclamation points disagreeing. So it just depends what side you're on.

BLACKWELL: Kaitlyn, let me start with you on this next one. Elon Musk sat down with a reporter from The Economist. They talked about a lot, including his time as a special government employee and leading DOGE. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELON MUSK, BILLIONAIRE: I think I got a little too involved in politics, got carried away, frankly. So the, you know, the goal with the sort of DOGE stuff was to try to do something about the deficit, which is massive. So I thought, well, we need to sort of take a close look at spending and make sure that money is being spent in sensible ways and that it is not wasted or spent on fraudulent activities. And I got a lot of flack from this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You covered the firings and layoffs here in Atlanta. CDC is here during the DOGE era where you know hundreds, thousands of people were losing their jobs. His takeaway is that he got the flack because he was thinking about sensible spending. Remind us of that period and just what it felt like for so many people.

KAITLYN ROSS, ATLANTA NEWS ANCHOR: Well, I think especially when we were covering government employees who, in their minds, they were being laid off from really essential positions. It's more than just getting carried away. My friends at the CDC were saying, we're taking away critical public health information that people need and it's keeping the community safe.

So, I think a little carried away might be an understatement here. And I thought it was interesting that he said it seemed almost to me in that clip like he was surprised that he got flack, but if you look at how strongly people feel about this it's surprising to me that he would be shocked by that.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

JASON "JAH" LEE, SENIOR EDITOR, "BOSSIP": Well, Elon Musk has reportedly spent $250 million in support of the Trump campaign and the Trump administration. So. it just makes me wonder what is his definition of unnecessary spending? You know nowadays people have the public sentiment on billionaires and what it means to be a billionaire or trillionaire, in some people's cases, has turned.

And so, it just -- this is stuff that makes people kind of cringe at that whole concept, right, this guy was able to essentially donate his way into being a special government employee and then comes out after the fact and says, well, I didn't do that great of a job and maybe I was out of my depth. No kidding. You don't say.

But this is the kind of sugar honey iced tea that is made people upset about how people are hoarding wealth and what they're doing with it to control power.

BLACKWELL: I appreciate the morning translation there. Let's -- I want to talk about the Tate brothers in the couple of minutes we have left in this segment, Madeleine. These are two social media influencers known largely for their misogyny. They've been charged in the U.K. with several sex crimes including rape and sex trafficking. They've denied the allegations. What do we need to know about the parameters of this case?

MADELEINE SIMMONS, ATTORNEY AND PARTNER, STEWART MILLER SIMMONS: So, it's interesting with the Tate brothers because they were first charged in Romania. They were under house arrest there for three years. That case is ongoing for multiple sex trafficking type of charges. Last year, they were allowed to leave Romania to go to Florida. So, they flew to Florida on a private jet and have been in Florida since. And then the U.K., who already had some charges against them, came out with now a total of 59 charges together against both brothers for, like you said, very serious sex crimes. And so, they were able to effectuate that arrest in Florida, and now they're being held in a Florida jail.

The controversy is whether or not they'll be, you know, extradited to the U.K. Their lawyers would like them to stay here, of course, and they're trying to say, well, that may mess with the Romanian case, and it's not going to do that.

BLACKWELL: It's interesting because Andrew Tate is an outspoken Trump supporter and at least one of their attorneys is asking for the Trump administration to intervene. What do you think the likelihood of that is?

SIMMONS: I don't see the Trump administration intervening or the Department of State because there'd be no benefit to them to do that. It's a very normal process the treaty process between the US and the U.K. to extradite criminals in these types of situations. It is a legal process. You go before a judge. You show that the arrest was properly made, and I don't see this being as controversial as the Tate brothers would like it to be by getting politics involved. I think they're going to be on to the U.K. --

BLACKWELL: And politically, what benefit is there to the administration to intervene in a sex crimes case to keep these two men from going back to the U.K.?

SIMMONS: They have enough heat with the Epstein files. And if Marco Rubio is looking for a presidential bid he doesn't want to be involved with this.

BLACKWELL: Let's move on to this last one we teased before this segment. A new survey from West Health-Gallup Center on health care found that nearly a quarter of workers representing 23 million Americans they don't like the job they're in but they're staying just to keep the health insurance.

I mean, in one way this is a commentary on the expense of health insurance in this country and the difficult decisions people have to make.

ROSS: I mean, good benefits really are priceless. If you can go to the doctor if you can be seen for all of your needs that touches every aspect of your life, and to have to walk away from that is really difficult especially when you know that you have the stability and then you're looking at other jobs which maybe don't offer as good of a benefits package or they don't have that health insurance that you need. And so, it's understandable that people would stay in those situations.

LEE: And I would say also commentary on just livable wage and what money means and inflation and everything else. I mean, to stay somewhere where you are not particularly happy you maybe don't see professional growth there but to stay there just in case you get sick then you know that you might lose your house or lose your car or, you know, in other -- have other negative impact by not being able to afford a trip to the doctor with this bad state of affairs.

[07:35:00]

BLACKWELL: I mean, it's not the first time that this survey has found that a large group of Americans are doing this but it is a much higher number than it has been in previous surveys.

All right. Everybody stay with me we got a lot to hit. Next, spud surplus. Why one city is literally begging people to take 21 tons of potatoes off their hands.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:40:00]

BLACKWELL: ESPN just made some major cuts, the most dramatic of which happened mid-show, according to The Athletic. NFL analyst, Ryan Clark, was on air for NFL Live on Monday and found out that he was cut during the show. He didn't finish the program.

We're back with the Morning Roundup. Jah, Kaitlyn and Madeleine are here. Jah, let me start with you. Ryan responded to this in an episode of his podcast, "The Pivot." I'm going to play just a small portion of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN CLARK, FORMER NFL PLAYER: What I'm not going to defend is you standing up for Angel Reese and everybody being mad about the way you did it, about what you said about, I'm not going to defend that. No. I'm not going to defend you standing on 10 toes for them all the time. It's not what I'm going to do. I'm not going to take those calls. And that was the decision that was made. And I believe that that has a large role in why it was made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Yes. Clark there says that he believes that was the perspective of the bosses, that they would stand up for lawsuits and talent attacking executives, but they wouldn't stand up for him and his defense of Angel Reese. What do you think about what happened?

LEE: I think that Ryan Clark got swept -- you know, earlier we talked about culture war and how that is affecting things. And I think Ryan Clark got swept up in some level of culture war retribution. The fact -- the reason he got fired during the segment is because an outlet called OutKick was contacting ESPN, threatening to leak this information.

How would OutKick get this information? Well, OutKick is owned by Fox News Corp and was established by a man named Clay Travis. And if you know, Clay Travis, you know, he is not a bleeding-heart liberal. And so, I feel that this was -- I feel like a lot of this was purposely done to embarrass Ryan Clark. And ESPN has taken a lot of heat for being a liberal bastion lately. And I feel like his bosses perhaps thought this was a time to push the other direction.

BLACKWELL: Yes. I'd watched much more of the podcast and I think people should go there. Because he said that he was sad that he started to change himself to keep his job and that he thought he was so good that he wouldn't be fired. There's a lesson in that for everybody.

LEE: For everybody,

BLACKWELL: For everybody.

LEE: Everybody.

BLACKWELL: Let's talk about something else, it's pretty controversial on Capitol Hill. And it is about daylight saving time.

ROSS: You're going there.

BLACKWELL: So, the president wants it to be permanent. The House passed a bill to make it permanent. We've heard this weekend from senators who are divided in both parties on this. Let's put up actually what would be the times in December of sunrise and sunset if this becomes permanent. Here in Atlanta, we wouldn't see the sun until 8:25 Seattle, 7:40. Kaitlyn. This is something that animates folks.

ROSS: Oh, it really does. People feel so strongly about this. You ask this on social media, you get a million comments of people who really either want this or really don't want this. What I thought was interesting though, is the pushback from Capitol Hill. There are senators saying this bill is not going to see the light of day. They will not bring it because in Western Montana, for example, they wouldn't see sunrise until 9:30 in the morning.

And so, when you hear that time, it's like, oh, you understand where they're coming from. But as the mom of two small children, I'm like, get it out of here. I don't want it.

BLACKWELL: But unless the kids are standing on the bus stop --

ROSS: Yes, that's true.

SIMMONS: In pitch dark.

BLACKWELL: Yes. In the pitch dark. Yes.

ROSS: Yes, yes.

BLACKWELL: All right. So, we talked about potatoes. There is a surplus of potatoes in some parts of the millions of pounds of potatoes. In Denver, they are trying to get people to come and pick up 21 tons of potatoes. Guess why? You read the prep material, so you know why.

SIMMONS: Yes. So, it's interesting. What we learned is that one of the reasons that they think that there's this surplus of potatoes is because of the amount of folks that are on GLP-1, like Ozempic, not even eating as much French Fries. So, the demand is not there for potatoes. We're all laughing. You can't take me away from it.

ROSS: I was going to say, you'll have to fry a potato out of my cold, dead hand.

BLACKWELL: And honestly, during the break, they were talking about the cut of the fry, the type of twice-baked.

LEE: Serious business.

BLACKWELL: Right.

LEE: Serious business.

BLACKWELL: Speaking of potatoes, you see how I set that up?

ROSS: Transition so smoothly.

LEE: Very smooth.

BLACKWELL: Listen, the folks at Pringles sent us -- take some, pass them down here. Sent us these new Pringles flavors. They have a collab with Buffalo Wild Wings right in time for the football season. And they've come out with three flavors here of the wings. Parmesan garlic, medium Buffalo, Asian Zing. Open them up.

ROSS: All right.

LEE: OK.

[07:45:00]

BLACKWELL: And listen, Pringles folks, thanks for the chips. But in Atlanta, Parmesan garlic, medium Buffalo, Asian Zing. Open them up. And listen, Pringles folks, thanks for the chips. But in Atlanta, you all need to send some lemon pepper.

LEE: Thank you. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: How can you not send her or make lemon pepper?

ROSS: I'm going spicy right away.

BLACKWELL: Oh, yes, I'm in Asian Zing too.

SIMMONS: So in Atlanta, as you said, we have a very popular late night establishment known for their lemon pepper wings.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SIMMONS: I'm looking for the Magic City Pringles collaboration.

LEE: Magic City Pringles would be fantastic.

BLACKWELL: I also don't know if they're all known for their wings, man. But OK.

SIMMONS: OK. This is spicy.

BLACKWELL: These are a little spicy. Yes.

SIMMONS: I like it.

BLACKWELL: All right.

SIMMONS: 7:45 AM, this is good.

LEE: A little garlicky, a little cheesy. I'm not mad. This is Parmesan garlic.

BLACKWELL: All right. Again, lemon pepper. When you come out with those, hit us up.

LEE: Yes, yes, yes.

BLACKWELL: Four out of five peppers on this. Jason, Kaitlyn, Madeleine, thank you very much. I got 15 minutes left.

A record crowd got to see the best of the WNBA highlights from the WNBA All-Star Game next.

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[07:50:00]

BLACKWELL: Last December, former Senator Ben Sasse was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Doctors gave him just months to live. We recently sat down for an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper about life and death. You can watch it on the whole story with Anderson Cooper tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, and tomorrow on the CNN app.

All right. It's going to be a hot week for parts of the country. Several cities will see highs in the triple digits. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar with us now. What are you watching?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So, a lot of that is really starting into the west right now. It's going to continue to progress eastward in the coming days. So, the cooler temperatures we've had from all the rain in the southeast and the severe thunderstorms that are a chance to date here in the Midwest.

Things are going to dry out and they're going to heat up in the coming days. All of these areas you see here are under those extreme heat alerts really for today and tomorrow. But even more could be added as we go through the next few days. And more of that heat spreads east, especially around the Gulf Coast region. Here's a look at the high temperatures for today. 101 in Denver. The normal is 90. So, you're looking at least 10 degrees above average. That'll be the case of play around places like Omaha, Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis. All of these areas looking at those temperatures well above average.

Here's the heat risk area. Now, the focus here I want you to look at is the red and especially the purple shaded area. We don't have much purple on the map for today, but you start to see it increase across the southern plains and into the southeast. By the time we get to Monday and Tuesday, just showing how that is expected to ramp up in the coming days.

The other thing to note, too, across the southeast, it's not just the temperature itself, which in many cases will still reach triple digits, but also the humidity. When you factor that in, that feels like temperature or the heat index also goes up. Houston looking at a heat index of at least 105 for the next four days in a row. New Orleans, not much better. 103 to 105. Even Atlanta getting a couple days there of that triple digit numbers for that feels like temperature.

Now, one thing to note, too, again, some of these areas, it's just 10 or 15 degrees above average. But for all those red dots you see on the map, now we're actually talking record-breaking temperatures over the next few days.

BLACKWELL: They are in it. Allison Chinchar, thanks so much. So, it was a showdown of Team Spoon versus Team Coop at the WNBA All-Star Game. Carolyn Manno is here with the highlights. Hey, Carolyn.

CAROLYN MANNO, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Hey. You know, the game was not as spicy as those Pringles that you were just eating, Victor, but it was still really entertaining. And Chicago's United Center was packed last night, which is really a reflection of where the league is. The WNBA's All-Stars taking the floor in front of nearly 20,000 fans, so a huge crowd turning out for this. Team Spoon, as you said, versus Team Coop.

WNBA legends Teresa Weatherspoon and Cynthia Cooper on the sidelines. And their players really showed up. Caitlin Clark came out firing. She put up 11 of her 17 in the first few minutes of the game, finished with five threes. And then 20-year-old Dominique Malanga electrifying the crowd with a first-half dunk off the fast break. The first-time fans have seen that in a game since Sylvia Fowles back in 2022.

In the end, Victor, eight players scored in double figures to get the win for Team Spoon, including the New York Liberties' Jonquel Jones, who scored 22. She added 13 rebounds, eight assists to earn MVP honors for the game. And JJ making some history, too. She's the first player to earn a regular season MVP, finals MVP, Commissioner's Cup MVP, and an All-Star Game MVP.

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JONQUEL JONES, WNBA ALL-STAR MVP: Coming out every day to play, trusting my teammates, yes, it's a great experience. My aunt passed away not too long ago, and today is actually her memorial. And I got permission from my family to be here to celebrate this moment, so this one is for my auntie.

CAITLIN CLARK: I think we just wanted to put on a show for all the fans. So, I thought we wanted to make it fun. We appreciate everybody coming out. It was a fun time. Chicago put on a great All-Star. So, we're just thankful for all these people that showed up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MANNO: Turning to golf now, another stellar performance at the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities. A day after Michael Kim carded a 59, PGA TOUR rookie Jackson Koivun firing off a stellar 10-under par 61 during Saturday's third round. It's only his third start as a pro. He shot a tournament record 28 on the back nine. He played his final 10 holes at nine-under par and recorded two Eagles in that span. He sunk a 12-foot putt on 12, sunk a 14-footer on the par 5 18, and the round tied the 54-hole tournament record and made the 21-year-old, the youngest 54- hole leader on the PGA TOUR for the season. Koivun has a three-stroke lead heading into today's final round at 20-under overall.

[07:55:00] And Blue Jays pitcher, Dylan Cease, putting on a masterclass at Fenway Park on Saturday, throwing a complete game-one hit shutout to beat the Red Sox. He was nearly untouchable, retiring the first 14 batters he faced. The Blue Jays offense gave him all the help that he would need in a five-run third inning that included a monster three-run shot from George Springer. Cease carrying the no-hitter into the sixth before Boston's Andruw Monasterio broke it up with a lead-off double, that one hit I was talking about.

But he ended the day with 12 strikeouts and included retiring the final six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings to cool off a Red Sox team that has been on a tear, Victor. This is only the second loss for the Red Sox in the last 18 games, so a really impressive performance by him and probably some Red Sox fans offering to buy Monasterio dinner for breaking it up, but really fun to watch.

BLACKWELL: Carolyn Manno, thanks so much. And thank you for joining us for CNN This Morning Weekend. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up next.

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