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Connect the World

U.S. Dismisses Details of Draft Memo Reported by Iran; Trump Threatens Oman Over Strait of Hormuz; Uganda Temporarily Closes Border with D.R. Congo; Five People Trapped in Laos Cave Found Alive; Average U.S. Gasoline Price Drops to $4.43, Lowest Since May 1; Sinner Battling Heat, Cramps at French Open. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired May 28, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: An Israeli air strike hits the Lebanese Capital today for the first time in weeks. Dozens are killed

across Southern Lebanon. The details on that are coming up in just a bit. It's 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Eleni Giokos. This is "Connect the

World".

Also coming up on the show, countries in East Africa scramble to control a growing Ebola outbreak. I'll be speaking to a high-ranked Red Cross doctor

on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo. And cautious optimism in Laos, where crews are preparing for a dangerous mission aiming to rescue at

least five men trapped deep underground.

Right, we're around 30 minutes to go before the start of trade in New York. Let's check in on those futures. As you can see, pretty much a mixed day.

DOW is down slightly, S&P flats with a slight positive bias, and so too is NASDAQ. And we've just had those inflation numbers for the month of April

released in the United States, showing increase of 0.4 percent for the month, slightly below expectations. And then the year-on-year number is 3.8

percent for April.

We'll be digging into those numbers a little later to see how, of course, the closure of the Strait of Hormoz and the massive energy crisis that the

world is dealing with is impacting inflation across the world.

Now we begin with new attacks by Iran and the United States. In the early hours of this morning, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard said they targeted

an American air base after strikes on the Iranian City of Bandar Abbas. The U.S. says it carried out attacks on Iranian drones and launch facilities

near the Strait of Hormuz.

A deal to end the war remains elusive. The White House is dismissing Iranian media reports that a draft agreement includes lifting the U.S.

naval blockade in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Now, Donald Trump is lashing out at a U.S. ally after Tehran said it aimed to supervise

traffic in the Strait in coordination with Oman. The U.S. President warned the Omanis going against his wishes would invite an American attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Iran wants control of the Strait of Hormuz. Would you accept a short-term deal that allows Iran and Oman to control the Strait?

And would they have to open it immediately, or would you be open to that happening over a period of time?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No, the Strait is going to be open to everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And who would control it?

TRUMP: It's international waters? Nobody's going to control it. We're going to watch over it. We'll watch over it, but nobody's going to control it.

Oman will behave just like everybody else, who will have to blow them up. They understand that they'll be fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, we've got Kevin Liptak, who's at the White House for us, with more. Kevin listening to President Trump there you know, a big

question around what happens with Oman, but also in terms of a potential deal, is that anywhere in sight right now? And what more are you hearing

from the White House about ending this war?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, seems as if the deal is on extraordinarily shaky ground at the moment. You have this tit-for-tat

fire occurring in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. The U.S. saying that it detected Iranian drones headed towards a commercial vessel in the Strait.

They took down the drones and they also took out the ground facility that they said was preparing to fire an additional drone. And then you had Iran

responding with a ballistic missile, and what Central Command said this morning was that the missile was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti

forces, and remember the U.S. has five military bases inside Kuwait.

Central Command calling this quote an egregious ceasefire violation, and so you see all of these skirmishes, if you can call them that, going back and

forth, which do seem to undermine the ongoing negotiations, which were already in somewhat fragile condition even before all of this.

Now, where all of this is headed, you know, I think is unclear. When I talked to officials this morning, they seem to suggest that the IRGC seems

to be trying to demonstrate some of their leverage, continued leverage over this Strait of Hormuz as these negotiations proceed.

And certainly, the ability to fire drones at commercial vessels in the Strait does seem to undercut somewhat President Trump's own claims that the

U.S. has completely obliterated Iran over the course of this conflict.

CNN reporting suggests that Iran has been able to dig out some of its missile capabilities along the Strait, and obviously they're still able to

cause a degree of chaos in the waterway as these negotiations proceed.

[09:05:00]

Now, when we heard from President Trump yesterday, he seemed reluctant to appear over eager to reach a deal, said he was under no pressure to

finalize this memorandum of understanding. And in fact, said that he didn't care about the midterms, suggesting that the economic fallout of this war

is not factoring into his decision making as he tries to reach a conclusion.

His threat to blow up Oman, I think, really raised a lot of eyebrows, because Oman is such a staunch U.S. ally, it has been contributing somewhat

to the mediation efforts. There was a point yesterday afternoon when officials thought maybe the president had misspoken, but then you had the

State Department amplifying what he said on social media.

And so, it adds another layer of complication to an already quite complex negotiation period, the destination of which I think at this point is

unclear.

GIOKOS: All right, Kevin Liptak, thanks so much for that update. Now, Israel has carried out its first strike on Beirut in weeks. The IDF

targeted what an Israeli source described as a commander in Hezbollah's missile unit. The attack comes as Israel expands its offensive across

Southern Lebanon, striking the city of Tyre, just days after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced deeper military operations.

Lebanese officials say at least 34 people were killed and 77 wounded Wednesday. Senior Jerusalem Bureau Chief Oren Liebermann joins us now live.

Oren, good to have you with us. What is the latest that we know of these attacks?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, that strike in Beirut is certainly noteworthy. As you pointed out an Israeli source told CNN that

the target of that attack in Beirut, the first in three weeks, was a Hezbollah missile commander. Israel has largely refrained from targeting

the Lebanese Capital because the U.S. has insisted that the ceasefire remain in place, and that limits Israel's ability to strike.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been under increasing domestic pressure to strike the capital itself to widen Israel's offensive

in Lebanon, because of continued Hezbollah attacks with explosive drones and rockets. So, this is a function not only of what Israel sees as a

target of opportunity, a high-ranking Hezbollah commander to target, but also the demand on Netanyahu to widen Israel's ongoing bombardment of

Southern Lebanon, and now beyond.

The Israeli source said the attack in Beirut was coordinated with the United States. The last time Israel struck Beirut was on May 6th. The

target there was the commander of Hezbollah's Elite Radwan Force, but this isn't the only attack we're seeing. We've also seen wider waves of strikes

against the cities of Tyre in Southern Lebanon, as well as other locations.

According to the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, at least 34 people were killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes on Wednesday, and that means over

Tuesday and Wednesday we saw nearly 70 people killed in Lebanon in Israeli strikes, according to the ministry, and that makes it two of the deadliest

days we have seen in the country since the ceasefire.

Now, despite all this, the U.S. is still trying to push forward some sort of diplomatic track to try to get to a broader ceasefire agreement. In

fact, an Israeli official told CNN a short time ago that there are in fact talks scheduled for tomorrow in the Pentagon between military reps from

Lebanon and Israel. This follows three rounds of direct meetings between the ambassadors of the countries.

Despite all of this, it hasn't brought the countries and the conflict any closer to a definitive conclusion. Trump has made clear that he wants to

see a meeting between Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, but from where we sit now, with ongoing Israeli strikes in Lebanon, with

ongoing Hezbollah explosive drone attacks on Israeli forces in Northern Israel and Southern Lebanon, it's very difficult to see a real ceasefire

coming to fruition here, Eleni.

GIOKOS: All right, Oren Liebermann, thank you so much. Well, the Trump Administration has claimed repeatedly that U.S. and Israeli strikes have

obliterated Iran's arsenal of missiles. But a CNN investigation using recent satellite imagery shows Tehran is quickly digging its way back into

underground stores of weapons temporarily blocked by air attacks. CNN's Tamara Qiblawi reports with analysis from Thomas Boudreau.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are recent satellite images of Iran's missile bases taken after the start of the ceasefire with

the U.S. and Israel. Dump trucks and excavators digging through piles of rubble along the mountainside, but it's what lies beneath the surface that

makes this significant.

A vast stockpile of missiles trapped by U.S. bombs and likely intact, according to weapons experts, with satellite images showing Iran quickly

regaining access to them, casting doubts on U.S. President Donald Trump's claims of having all but vanquished Iran's formidable rocket arsenal.

[09:10:00]

TRUMP: Their ability to launch missiles and drones is dramatically curtailed, and their weapons factories and rocket launchers are being blown

to pieces. Very few of them left.

QIBLAWI (voice-over): CNN previously identified the pattern of U.S.-Israeli strikes to put Iran's missile complexes out of commission, not by

destroying them, but by blocking the tunnel entrances leading in and out of them. Leaving the rockets trapped inside and severely hampering Iran's

ability to wreak havoc on U.S. allies in the region.

But that was only a temporary solution. Iran is already undoing the effects of that strategy. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has acknowledged that Iran

has been repairing the damage.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: You are digging out your remaining launchers and missiles with no ability to replace them. You have no defense

industry.

QIBLAWI (voice-over): But the recovery is widespread, and it is happening quickly. CNN looked at 69 tunnels across 18 underground missile bases. At

least 50 of those access points appear to have been cleared, and many others are being repaired.

Take this base in Western Iran. Just weeks ago, U.S.-Israeli fighter jets destroyed all four entrances to the underground complex, but now two of

them appear wide open. The roads needed to wheel out its trapped rocket launchers repaved, and Iran is already in the process of clearing the

remaining two.

It's also repaired some of the more than a dozen craters left behind by U.S.-Israeli munitions. The craters indicate that a large amount of

firepower was used to destroy just two tunnel entrances, and all Iran needs to reopen them: dump trucks and bulldozers.

As Iran rallies around the missiles that survived the war, weapons experts say it will continue to come up with new ways to protect its arsenal from

any renewed U.S.-Israeli bombing. Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: In response to a request for comments, the Pentagon referred CNN to a previous statement: America's military is the most powerful in the world

and has everything it needs to execute at the time and place of the president's choosing. We have executed multiple successful operations

across combatant commands, while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests.

Right, moving on now to the latest on the Ebola Epidemic in Eastern Africa. Uganda has closed its border with the Democratic Republic of Congo and is

asking people to be vigilant as it works to contain the outbreak. Here's what the Ugandan Health Ministry had to say about the closure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DIANA ATWINE, PERMANENT SECRETARY, UGANDAN HEALTH MINISTRY: Uganda is temporarily closing the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo with

immediate effect. The only exceptions are for authorized Ebola response teams, the humanitarian operations, the food and cargo transportation, and

security, but all these still will be under the strict health screening and monitoring protocols.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Well, neighboring Rwanda also closed its border with the DRC last week, though it currently has no confirmed Ebola cases. The DRC has now

reported more than 1000 suspected Ebola cases, and more than 230 suspected deaths. Uganda has reported just seven cases and one death, but says that

the number of people who have been in contact with the virus is still rising.

The Africa Centers for Disease Control is giving an update at this hour, and we'll bring you the latest from that press briefing. Now, aid

organizations on the ground are scaling up their response to support frontline care and counter information about the virus.

Dr. Petra Khoury is Global Director of the Healthcare and at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. She joins

me now from Kinshasa in the DRC. Really good to see you. And you know what we've heard as well we want to relay our condolences. The Red Cross

volunteers that have passed away, three of them in the past month, just shows the impact that it's going to have and is already having on

volunteers and also on the general public there.

And it is a very scary reality. Give me a sense of what you're seeing on the ground there, and your ability to ensure that this does not spread

further?

DR. PETRA KHOURY, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS & RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES: Thank you for having me. In fact, it's deeply concerning this

outbreak. The virus had been widely spreading way before the outbreak had been declared. And as you mentioned, unfortunately, three of our volunteers

had been exposed end of March to the virus while they attended unknown body causes, and so they got exposed, and unfortunately, they lost their lives.

[09:15:00]

One point here is epidemics by panic at borders; they end at communities. We need to scale up the work at the community level. We need to build trust

with communities. We need to engage with communities. Our volunteers, the Red Cross volunteers, are at the forefront of this, and we need to scale up

the work to rebuild trust and end the epidemic at the community level.

GIOKOS: I want to talk about border closures. Uganda has decided to close the border. There are some cases of Ebola in Uganda right now. Rwanda has

done the same. In fact, I just returned from Kigali on Saturday. I was in country when they decided to start looking at border closures and also

managing travel from the DRC. How is -- how are these efforts going to ensure containment of Ebola?

KHOURY: As I mentioned, border closures do not end epidemics, but stops the epidemic from spreading is the work that we need to do at the community

level. The borders, the cross-border collaboration is highly needed to ensure that the flow of humanitarian work aid, as well as movement of

people, is well coordinated, and the Red Cross is present at both ends of the border.

We're working with authorities to help screening, testing, and supporting communities and people as they cross the border, but this is not what's

going to stop the epidemic. What's going to stop the epidemic is going into communities, speaking, listening to communities, answering to their fears,

and explaining to them how can they put prevention measures and how they can abide and protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus.

GIOKOS: Yeah, OK. So, let's talk about that, because we've also heard reports of some community members, some family members trying to get access

to loved ones who have passed away that were also being treated.

There are reports of some site, a site being set on fire. Can you talk to me about that? And what kind of interventions you're thinking about already

embarking on to ensure that you know there's a sense of how dangerous this is in terms of getting exposure to Ebola?

KHOURY: Mistrust, conspiracy theory, fabricated rumors is a normal aspect of every epidemic. However, it's the job of the front-liners to go within

communities and reinstate trust. We work with these communities, we listen to them, we get their feedback, and we adjust our operations and our

response accordingly.

These communities have chronically been underserved. There has been a chronic underinvestment in their structures, and building trust does not

come overnight. We cannot show up in communities overnight and ask them to trust us. The Red Cross is present in these communities before and during

and after a crisis and an epidemic.

Our tools have been tested through multiple epidemics in the past, and we continue to use them at the moment. We have more than 180 volunteers going

around within communities, they've done more than 4000 door-to-door visits, talking and listening and engaging with communities to answer to their

fears and to rebuild trust in the system.

GIOKOS: OK, let's talk about whether you have all the resources you need for testing, for intervention? And how seriously the W.H.O., the Red Cross,

and all the relevant authorities are taking this in terms of the potential spread, not only regionally but also globally?

KHOURY: We're working very closely with the W.H.O. and other partners, Africa CDC, on containing the spread and responding accurately to and what

is needed to this outbreak. This is a massive operation. The outbreak was declared way after it has been spreading. We're trying to scale up in terms

of protective equipment.

We're bringing in the supply chain, however, there are some challenges. Obviously, the context of the district is difficult with the border

closure. This is at -- pressure on our ability to bring supplies. With the closure also of flights between Kinshasa and Bunya, it's also hindering

movement of search support personnel, as well as supplies.

[09:20:00]

GIOKOS: All right, Dr. Khoury, thank you so much for joining us. Wishing you all the best with your efforts on the ground there in Kinshasa. I want

to take you now to another story, and it's heartbreaking. These are scenes in Kenya after 16 students were killed in a fire, which tore through a

dormitory at a girls' school overnight.

The blaze broke out just after midnight in Kenya's Rift Valley. Students who escaped say the fire began in the upper part of the building, blocking

the exit for some of the girls, though many did manage to get out. 79 other students were injured and taken to hospital, though most have now been

released.

The country's Education Minister says the cause of the fire is still under investigation. And still to come, five people are found alive deep inside a

flooded cave in Laos. Now comes the perilous process of bringing them to safety.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: There's cautious optimism in Laos, where five men trapped inside a flooded cave for more than a week could be brought out by rescue teams in

the coming hours. Divers are preparing for what's expected to be a complex and dangerous extraction operation. CNN's Will Ripley on the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the moment rescuers found five villagers alive, trapped for a week in a

flooded cave in Central Laos. The men say they're not sick, just weak, exhausted, and desperately hungry. Officials say they entered the cave a

week ago, searching for gold.

Heavy rain and flash flooding sealed the exit behind them. Seven days later, their first taste of fresh water, and soon food and first aid, but

the danger is far from over. Some of the same elite cave divers who helped rescue a soccer team in Thailand in 2018 are back working on this rescue,

including Finnish Diver Mikko Paasi.

He's helping lead the search and rescue operation, crawling through claustrophobic caverns full of muddy water. He says getting the survivors

out alive will be extremely difficult and extremely dangerous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's extremely small, tight complex of tunnels. Tight spots in this mine are so tight that you need to exhale to wiggle through.

RIPLEY (voice-over): Some tunnels are just 23 inches wide, forcing divers to crawl sideways, flat on their stomachs. They leave the cave covered in

mud, exhausted from searching around the clock, all during monsoon season in this mountainous jungle region near Long Tieng, once home to a secret

CIA base during the Vietnam War. Flash floods can happen in minutes.

[09:25:00]

Teams are pumping fresh air underground, working to drain the rising water, and even establishing an internet signal deep inside the cave. Using radar

technology to scan narrow underground passages. Rescuers in Laos are hoping for another survival story, like that Thai soccer team about eight years

ago.

They spent more than two weeks underground and all made it out alive. But conditions this time may be even more treacherous, rising water, tight

tunnels, and zero visibility, putting rescuers and survivors in danger.

RIPLEY: What rescuers still don't know is exactly how stable conditions are deeper inside the cave system. Divers say even small changes in rainfall

could quickly raise the water level again during monsoon season, and unlike the Thai cave rescue in 2018 this is an old hand-dug mining tunnel with

concerns about unstable passages, contaminated air, and the risk of collapse. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: We're watching that story very closely. In the meantime, I want to get you up to speed on other stories that are on our radar right now. U.S.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is traveling to Singapore to attend the Annual Defense and Security Forum known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. He'll

also have talks with Singapore's Prime Minister and Defense Chiefs from other U.S. allies.

Crews are racing to recover nine people who are presumed dead after a deadly chemical tank rapture at a paper plant in Washington State. At least

two people were already confirmed dead. A 9900 rather gallon tank imploded at the Nippon Dyna Wave Package Facility, sending hazardous chemical and

chemicals into the nearby Columbia River.

CNN has learned the U.S. Justice Department is launching a criminal probe into E. Jean Carroll. Investigators are examining whether the Donald Trump

accuser lied under oath in her civil lawsuits. It's focused on claims she denied outside funding, later contradicted by new disclosures.

Right, we're minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street, new data released in the last hour show America's inflation at its highest level in

nearly three years. And we'll see how U.S. stocks are reacting in just a moment for now, we're in a mixed picture, DOW S&P in the negative, NASDAQ

is up slightly. We'll be back after the short break. Stick with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

GIOKOS: All right, we're going to take you live to New York now, where the trading day is set to begin, and that's the sound of the opening bell in

New York City. There -- whiplash, a lot of news impacting markets.

Right, so trade has just begun in New York, and there's a lot of things for investors to digest. It's this back and forth in terms of what happens with

Iran, is there going to be a deal that be -- that will be agreed upon anytime soon, that is affecting the way oil prices are reacting, and of

course that impacts absolutely everything, including inflation.

As you can see, the DOW Jones is down around four tenths of a percent, and we had inflation out a short time ago, and showing that it's up 0.4 percent

for the month of April, pretty much in line with what everyone had anticipated. As you can see, the NASDAQ and S&P pretty much flat a mixed

day today, as a lot of investors are looking to see how the throughput on oil prices is impacting inflation in the United States.

April inflation on a 12-month basis is sitting at 3.8 percent that is the highest that we've seen in around three years. Take a look at the oil

prices right now, a lot has to do with what is going on with the war in Iran. Oil sitting at $96 a barrel on the Brent Crude front, it's up 1.8

percent and of course WTI also being impacted quite significantly, that is up 2.5 percent. It's up, sitting at just over $90 a barrel.

Right, joining us now live is Joe Brusuelas, Chief Economist for RSM U.S. Good to see you, Joe. It is a case of whiplash, like it has been the case

over the past few months. We don't really know what will happen. What we do know is how the oil price and what happens with Brent Crude and WTI feeds

through directly into inflation.

What do you make of the April inflation figures in the United States? What is that telling us about the pressure that it's putting on the U.S.

consumer?

JOE BRUSUELAS, CHIEF ECONOMIST, RSM: OK. Right now, if you dig into that report, you can see signs of growing stress across the American economy,

amongst U.S. households. In particular income was flat on the month. Once you adjusted spending for inflation, it increased only at one tenth of 1

percent.

What was a little bit more troubling, and it is why we're having that downward open on the markets this morning is that disposable income

declined by 0.5 percent. Moreover, income, excluding government transfers, declined 0.4 percent.

So, what that is doing is it's setting up for when we get this data next month, that's the May data in June, we're likely to see it outright

decline, both in nominal and real terms, because we know that that inflation data in April doesn't represent the peak.

We're going to move higher in the monthly of the May monthly reporting period. So, investors are taking a step back and perhaps pondering how

much, for how much longer can equity markets defy gravity?

GIOKOS: Yeah, and they have been defying gravity, and you mentioned discretionary spend that is eroded significantly when you see gas prices

increasing, which they have. I mean, frankly, gas increased. The national average was around $456 last week.

We've seen a drop slightly since then, but here's the reality: it affects every single thing that you touch. For as long as this war lasts, what is

the prognosis would you say that we're looking at right now, not only for consumers, but also for Corporate America?

BRUSUELAS: OK, anything that touches energy, transportation, fertilizers, the price is going to go up. So, Corporate America, right now, is doing

quite well. We had historic earnings in the first quarter of the year. The market has decoupled from the real economy and is rising higher because of

expectations of productivity gains in the out years due to the integration of artificial intelligence into the provision of goods and production of

goods and provision of services.

So, corporate balance sheets look good, but one has to think they should be a little bit more cautious as we really entered mid-year, because you know,

in that disposable income category, it's down for the third straight month. Not a coincidence that we're about to enter the fourth month of the war.

GIOKOS: Yeah, I mean, look, strategic petroleum reserves down around 10 percent since before the war. A lot of countries, frankly, globally are

tapping into strategic reserves because of what we're calling the largest energy crisis in the history of markets.

[09:35:00]

What do you believe is the right thing to do right now? I mean, is this a security concern would you say? Is this just a short-term impact to try and

alleviate pressure on the consumer? What is the right approach?

BRUSUELAS: OK. So, you bring up an incredibly salient point. I think that for many economies, especially those that don't produce oil, they're going

to need to engage in what we should just plainly call rationing. You can already see that in many of the economies. As those reserves are drawn

down, should the war not end, we're going to see increasing stress in June, and should it not be wrapped up by September, we'll be an operational

floor.

So, it's going to be a long, hot summer across much of the global economy, emanating from just simply the decline in inventories of oil, refined

product, and other forms of energy, and there's nothing we're going to be able to do to get away from that, so really everything just depends upon

when will that war be drawn to a close.

GIOKOS: Yeah, and just for perspective, around a billion barrels of oil have been lost because of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the

beginning of March, that's a reality check. Joe Brusuelas, as good to have you with us. Thank you so very much for your time.

Now, Western Europe is grappling with a powerful heat dome that has trapped hot air over the continent for days. The heat wave is smashing records and

bringing extreme temperatures alarmingly early in the year. CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more on the forecast.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Our brutal early season heat wave continues across much of Western and Central Europe, Milan, Rome, Paris

into Madrid. People are doing whatever they can to cool themselves off, using umbrellas as shade, drinking extra water, staying hydrated, and at

least trying to stay out of the midday sun, get into the water if at all possible.

Yeah, this has been quite a brutal stretch. In fact, look at this on Tuesday, dozens of all-time May records set across Central and Western

Europe, and then once again for the day on Wednesday. So, the heat continues, and guess what? There is very little relief in sight. There's

not much cloud cover on this satellite imagery, aside from a few pop-up thunderstorms that have formed.

Really, this is just parked itself right over Central Europe, and that is acting as a lid, a dome preventing the hot air from escaping back into the

atmosphere, ultimately cooling the surface of the earth, so really, what's happening is our heat wave is going to remain extended as long as that heat

dome is in place.

Nothing really to change the weather pattern, with the exception of some relief across Northwestern parts of the UK, but really the Adriatic and

into the Iberian Peninsula we're going to sizzle the next few days, right through the weekend. Again, this is early season heat.

We're running 10 to 15 degrees celsius above where we should be this time of year. Take Paris, for example. We should be about 20. We'll reach the

middle 30s through the entire weekend. Back to you.

GIOKOS: Well, we're checking in on French Open action, that's coming up next, where the heat seems to be getting to world number one Jannik Sinner.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

GIOKOS: Welcome back. World number one, Jannik Sinner is considered the favorite for the French Open Title, but his second-round match is proving

tougher than expected as the extreme heat plays its part. And Andy Scholes joins us now to discuss this further. From what we understand, he's been

struggling after taking a medical time out because of the heat, and you can see these images here.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah.

GIOKOS: I mean, clearly really tough conditions.

SCHOLES: Eleni, struggling to say the least, and this is an incredible development here on the men's draw of the French Open. Sinner was cruising,

he was going to beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo quite easily in three sets, but then all of a sudden, the temperatures very hot again, above 90 degrees

there in Paris.

His body started to fail him, and it failed him quickly. He lost 18 straight points at one point. He then lost the third set, was wiped out in

the fourth set, and right now Eleni, he is struggling mightily in the fifth set, down 4-1. It looks like he's going to lose three straight and be out

of this French Open, which is just going to be like an incredible development, considering he was the overwhelming favorite to win the

tournament, especially with Carlos Alcaraz already out of this one with that wrist injury.

And now you could be dealing with the situation Sinner is out, Alcarez is out. Could this open the door for 39-year-old Novak Djokovic to get one

more Grand Slam title. Well, of course, wait and see, the match is not over yet, but Jannik Sinner in a world of trouble right now in Paris in that

fifth set against Cerundolo.

GIOKOS: All right, we're watching that very closely. Andy Scholes, really good to have you with us. We are going to have more sports after this short

break. I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "Connect the World". See you after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

END