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Millions Await Solar Eclipse; Embassies in Middle East Brace for Extended Reduced Staffing amid Iran War; Colombia Earthquake Aftermath; U.S. Primary Election Results; Somali Referee to Make Super Cup History; Patriot Games. Aired 10-10:40a ET

Aired August 12, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

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CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Christina Macfarlane

in London, where the time is just after 3 in the afternoon.

Major excitement as we await a spectacular celestial show across Europe today. A total solar eclipse putting on a rare display for millions in

Iceland, Spain and Portugal.

How a whisper from the rubble led to a baby's rescue after the earthquake in Colombia.

And the Democratic establishment makes a comeback in Wisconsin, with voters narrowly choosing moderate David Crowley over Democratic Socialist

Francesca Hong in the governor's primary. We will bring you the latest from that.

Now huge amounts of the world's attention today is on our sun. It has caused several record heat waves, driven new levels of drought and fueled

devastating fires. And yet it is still enchanting an entire planet.

Millions of people are counting down to a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event, a total solar eclipse that will cast its spell over parts of Europe

today, mainly Spain, as well as areas of Portugal, Iceland and Greenland.

It happens when the moon passes directly between the Earth and the sun, something that has not been witnessed over the Iberian Peninsula in more

than a century.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): What I hope to see is the grandeur of nature and to experience it with my family. We often spend

money on trivial things instead of investing in something as beautiful as witnessing such a marvelous sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Well, I have a lot of expectations since we've never seen anything like this before. So we're excited to see

that; my three children and I, that is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, man, it's so cool. So it like is a whole body feeling when totality happens and all the birds go quiet and all the

insects go quiet. And it was just a really cool experience in 2017 when we did it. So we're excited to do it again.

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MACFARLANE: But all this comes as Spain is battling huge fires brought on by relentless heat. Spanish authorities are stepping up warnings about

public safety as hundreds of thousands of people descend on beaches and hilly areas to view the spectacle.

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MACFARLANE: Well, we are watching developments in the war in Iran. Tehran saying it could prolong the conflict with the U.S. until president Donald

Trump is out of office. A top adviser to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard is telling PBS that Washington has no strategy.

He says Tehran is gaining what he calls real experience to learn how to fight with America.

Well, in Islamabad, there's outrage after three Pakistani nationals were killed in a strike on a Saudi-owned ship. It marks the first fatality since

the Iran-backed Houthis declared a blockade of the Bab-el-Mandeb strait last month. Nada Bashir is following developments for us, joins us now.

And Nada, I mean, this is really a startling declaration out of Iran. I mean, in their view, this could keep the war going for the next 2.5 years.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This latest statement from a top advisor to the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps

warning that a potential strategy for the Iranian military would be to pursue this war even further, to deepen the conflict until president Trump

is out of office.

They say following a policy of attrition and trying to gain deterrence over the United States and other adversaries, including, of course, Israel, that

is the latest messaging that we have been hearing.

And, of course, this comes as there continues to be tension in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran continuing to exercise a degree of control over the strait,

essentially preventing shipping traffic from traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

We have seen, of course, dwindling numbers passing through the Strait of Hormuz and that has really impacted global shipping and, of course, oil

prices as well.

And that has become a key concern for the international community, which has been pushing for negotiations for some diplomatic resolution.

Not least, of course, the Gulf nations, allies of the United States, who have been calling for further negotiations in order to bring about a

resolution to allow for shipping to pass through the Strait of Hormuz but also, crucially, to allow for some stability to be established in the

region.

And that is, of course, another key strategy that we have seen employed by the IRGC, targeting, using drones and missiles, not only vessels passing

through the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani corridor but also, of course, targeting military assets in the Gulf region, targeting civilian

infrastructure in the Gulf region.

We have certainly seen this just in the last few days, the Iranian military targeting vessels and military infrastructure but also its own allies in

the region, including the Houthis in Yemen, now threatening the shipping route along the Red Sea through the band Bab-el-Mandeb Strait.

So that is, of course, a key point of concern. President Trump, for his point, has alleged that the U.S. maintains control of the Strait of Hormuz,

that certainly doesn't appear to be the case on the ground.

MACFARLANE: All right. Nada Bashir, appreciate it. Thank you.

Now sources tell CNN the U.S. State Department is asking American embassies in the Middle East to create plans to continue operating with a small

number of staff on the ground. This comes as the war with Iran shows no immediate end in sight.

CNN's Jennifer Hansler has been following the story from the U.S. State Department in Washington.

So Jennifer, what more are your sources telling you about this and how finalized these plans are?

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, sources say that the State Department has asked the embassies

that have been under ordered departure, meaning that only emergency personnel have been on the ground, to come up with plans for what's called

restricted operations.

Which would mean a continued reduced number of staff who are working out of the embassies in the region. At the same time, sources tell me that there

have been an increasing number of approvals of people curtailing their assignments.

That means they have been posted in the Middle East. They have been made to return to the United States and now they're going to take a different job.

Now these plans have not yet been finalized but the fact that they are being made indicates that the State Department does not expect to be able

to return to full, normal staffing in the near future.

Under State Department rules, posts that have been in order departure for six months automatically change over to restricted operations unless they

are able to go back to that normal staffing. Now when these plans are finalized, they might give some degree of clarity to the diplomats and

their family members.

[10:10:04]

Who have been impacted by months of uncertainty about whether or not they would be able to return to the embassies in the Middle East.

You'll recall, ahead of the start of U.S. military operations against Iran back in late February, the State Department really had not changed its

diplomatic presence on the ground at the vast majority of these embassies.

It was only in the coming weeks, when the facilities were being targeted by the Iranians, that they ordered the non-emergency personnel and family

members to leave embassies in places like Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait.

Now in that time, because the family members and diplomats were not sure if that order departure would be lifted, if they would return to the region,

they were not able to make firm long-term plans.

When it comes to housing, schooling, things like this, one diplomatic spouse told me that they've been bouncing around from housing to housing

because they couldn't risk breaking a lease.

Now that the school year is starting to come up and they're having to make these longer term decisions, a lot of families are just deciding that they

are going to stay in the United States, which is something, of course, they did not expect when they left the region some six months ago.

They did -- left behind their belongings and their friends and sometimes their family members there. So this is a hard decision for these diplomats

and their family members.

The State Department said they will not comment on contingency planning or internal deliberations but they said that the safety and security of their

personnel is paramount to these decisions, Christina.

MACFARLANE: All right, Jennifer, appreciate the update. Thank you.

Now the frantic search for survivors has entered its third day across Western Colombia after more than 200 people were killed following Monday's

7.4 magnitude earthquake.

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MACFARLANE (voice-over): Daring rescues are bringing some much needed respite, though. A woman was taken out of the wreckage in the town of

Pereira after spending 36 hours trapped under rubble.

And a group of volunteers in Cali teamed up to lift a concrete slab to rescue a baby and a man after hearing whispers coming from the rubble of a

collapsed five-story building. Look at this.

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MACFARLANE: CNN's David Culver reports on the damage from Pereira, Colombia.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A rush of first responders from here in Pereira, trying to figure out how much closer they

can get and they were moving a lot of the vehicles off to the side and positioning themselves to be able to pull out anyone who potentially is

stuck within that rubble.

And you can see this is just one of the ambulances just behind us here that's backed in. And they're ready with stretchers closer toward the

rubble to try to bring folks up. And you can see also, this has been a line that has just been extended. I mean, all of these folks are volunteers.

And when we got here a couple of hours ago, this didn't exist at all. You had a drug story at a restaurant. And we're told, at least by a couple of

the locals here, that they believe that there's a young girl that's still trapped inside, an older woman that was described by one business owner

just at the corner here.

Others have said, no, there's more people in there and that's a totally exposed apartment. You can see bedding and a family's kitchen and all of

that, of course, has crumbled down onto the street. A lot of that has landed on vehicles, so it's quite widespread within this city.

One of the reasons that they decided to bring in even more first responders is they were hearing yelling at one point. That yelling, at least from

where we stand, is no longer audible. Even if the building hasn't totally collapsed, I mean, the damage is just extensive.

You're looking at this one right here, where you can look inside at someone or multiple people's apartments. You see a bathroom, living room, bed room,

personal belongings.

And then I think somebody's shower curtain is right here on the ground. She says, as of last night, they had pulled out seven bodies and five survivors

from this collapse right here.

This was a hotel and there were small little factories and little bars too. She says, given how much of a disaster this is, there are not sufficient

enough machinery that they have.

[10:15:00]

And I said, this is known as the city without doors. And she smiled and laughed because it's known for being such a friendly and open community.

We've noticed a lot of folks are just sitting out in the shade and not going inside any of the structures and that's because some of them may just

be questionable as far as their stability.

And others may not have running water and electricity still and so they really have nowhere else to go in some cases. Look down here, I mean, just

street after street of destruction. He's again he's asking. They need the machinery to be able to move this. They just don't have sufficient

equipment to do it.

It's rare that you walk into a disaster zone like that and just like they're trying to welcome you to their space and yet they're also

expressing their frustration and the need to have more resources, heavy- duty equipment to move this stuff. And you can see here some personal

belongings of folks that just end up in the street.

Oh, this is a little child's hat and some shoes. I mean, it is street after street in the center of this city. A city, mind you, that's roughly half a

million in population. So that's for folks in the U.S. like Minneapolis or Raleigh, North Carolina, so it's sizeable and the impact is significant.

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MACFARLANE: Over there in the city of Pereira.

All right. Coming up, Democrats have all eyes on the tight outcome of a primary race in Wisconsin. We'll explain why next.

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MACFARLANE: Welcome back. We've been following primary elections in six U.S. states last night and here are some of the takeaways.

Darline Graham, Lindsey Graham's sister, made the runoff for her late brother's Senate seat in South Carolina. Trump-backed candidate and My

Pillow founder Mike Lindell lost to Minnesota Republican primary for governor.

But the biggest takeaway is in Wisconsin's primary, where the ideological future of the Democratic Party is getting tested. Democratic Socialist

Francesca Hong called projected winner David Crowley to concede the race for governor. We have been listening to Crowley speaking this hour and here

is part of his message.

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DAVID CROWLEY, (D-WI) GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: I especially want to thank representative Francesca Hong.

Her campaign reminded people across Wisconsin that there are no long shots when it comes to believing in a better future and fighting to expand

opportunities to every family. That kind of passion, it strengthens our democracy.

[10:20:00]

And I look forward to earning their support and everyone who participated in this campaign as we move forward together.

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MACFARLANE: Well, we have Antjuan Seawright joining us from Miami, Florida. He is a Democratic strategist.

And Antjuan, I mean, this really was a remarkable win for Crowley, who was, you know, not really a frontrunner for much of this race, given how tight

this race was.

I mean, what did this turn on in the end to enable him to win?

ANTJUAN SEAWRIGHT, FOUNDER AND CEO, BLUEPRINT STRATEGY LLC: Well, it's a strong lesson that I've always appreciated in my political lifetime. When

you count people out, sometimes they teach you that you do not know how to count.

I think the story of this primary season, I also think the story of last night was, in order to be successful, both in the Democratic primary and in

a battleground, competitive general election, there are certain core tenets you have to have, to your coalition.

Led by Black voters, supported by working class voters, non-college educated voters, as well as independent thinkers and that's the type of

coalition that we're going to have to have from a base standpoint going into November for these competitive general elections.

As well as adding some minor Republican support, as well as young voters and other constituencies to this big tent we known as the Democratic Party.

But I also think that one of the larger takeaways we've seen from the cycle is that polling continues to get it wrong when it comes to Democratic

primaries, because you cannot measure the deep, wide and important support of Black voters in any given election. And we've seen that time and time

again.

MACFARLANE: Yes, it's an interesting point. And as you say, I mean, the Democratic Party are a large tent of various voters.

I -- just before we get on to, you know, what this means for the party moving forward, what does it indicate to you that in this in this instance,

prominent left-wing politicians, like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders, did actually stay out of this race, they didn't endorse Honoring?

SEAWRIGHT: Well, I think that's a strong signal that, just because you're progressive doesn't mean that you're aligned with DSA. And I think that

what you say and what you do and perhaps what you have posted online in politics can be used, one, as a weapon of mass destruction and distraction.

But it also can be used against you in the court of public opinion. I appreciate Thanksgiving and we say down south, I'm going to have dressing,

not stuffing. I believe that we are a country that should have borders. I believe we should fund the police.

I believe the fundamental things that most of Americans believe. There are some in my party who not do not believe that. And that's OK, because we

pride ourselves on being a diverse party.

I do believe that these primaries are going to teach Democrats that we're going to have to make some alterations to our attire to present the best

possible look for November so we can collide the two coalitions that exist within the primary season.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And I mean, right now, it's looking very much like, you know, progressives versus establishments within the party.

What will this win, though, in particular, signal to the Democratic establishment?

You know, as we look to those midterms, how should they approach this?

SEAWRIGHT: Well, November is going to be a binary choice. It's not going to be Democratic establishment or non-Democratic establishment on the

ballot in November. It's going to be Democrat versus Republican. That's going to be the binary choice.

So that means if you're against the extremists, who have now hijacked the Republican Party and have caused America to be too damn expensive, from

rent, gas, groceries, goods, services, health care, and then the corruption we've seen, then you should be in line with the Democratic Party.

If you're not, that means you're more in line with the Republican Party. That's going to be the binary choice.

I think we're going to have to learn how to bring our differences together and understand that differences we may appear to have amongst each other do

not compare with the other side, who we will face in a binary choice general election.

MACFARLANE: All right. Well, there's still time, of course, ahead of November. But it's been fascinating to watch this contest play out

overnight. Antjuan, thank you very much.

SEAWRIGHT: Thank you.

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MACFARLANE (voice-over): And let's get you up to speed on some of the stories that are on our radar right now.

A deadly school shooting in Thailand is prompting the government to suspend new gun permits and tighten controls. A 14-year-old boy killed his

grandparents at their home before killing six others and himself at a secondary school last week. It was the country's worst mass shooting since

2022.

Somali football referee Omar Abdullah Artan is again on track to make history. He was set to officiate in the World Cup for an opportunity of a

lifetime. Then, just days before he was denied entry into the U.S.

[10:25:00]

But now Europe's soccer governing body has stepped in. Artan will be the first non-European referee for a Super Cup game later today.

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MACFARLANE (voice-over): And you're looking at the wedding rings of Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez. They are now officially husband

and wife. They were married Tuesday near Lisbon in a civil ceremony. Representatives of the Portuguese football star say it was a, quote,

"private and intimate moment attended by their five children."

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MACFARLANE: OK, next, a once-in-a-generation event, millions are getting into place to witness a total solar eclipse over parts of Europe. Stay with

us.

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MACFARLANE (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane and here are your headlines this hour.

Millions of people in Europe are preparing to witness a rare total solar eclipse. That's when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth. It will

be best visible in Spain, which hasn't seen an eclipse like this in more than a century.

Pakistan is strongly condemning a deadly Houthi attack on a commercial ship in the Red Sea. Three Pakistani nationals lost their lives in a strike on a

Saudi-owned ship. It marks the first fatalities since Iran-backed Houthis declared a July blockade of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of

the Red Sea.

And the race to find survivors has entered its third day across Western Colombia after Monday's 7.4 magnitude earthquake killed more than 200

people. The cities of Cali and Pereira, at the heart of the country's coffee growing region, were hardest hit.

MACFARLANE: Turning now back to our top story, an extremely rare total solar eclipse, the likes of which hasn't been seen in Europe in decades, it

will be best observed over Spain as well as parts of Portugal, Iceland and Greenland.

Now they're in the path of totality, where the moon will slowly move between the sun and the Earth, making the skies go temporarily dark. And on

the ground, preparations are underway.

But for those wanting an even closer look, Spanish airline Iberia has organized a special eclipse observation flight for passengers to take in

the magic from 10,000 meters above -- sadly, not on the plane. The copilot of that flight is Javier Fernandez, who I'm pleased to say can join me now

from the very cockpit.

Javier, very good to see you just a couple of hours there before takeoff. You are uniquely placed for this flight.

[10:30:00]

I understand you're not just a pilot but you're an astrophysicist as well. So this must be a really special experience for you.

JAVIER MEANA FERNANDEZ, FIRST OFFICER, IBERIA: Yes, now I feel like the -- I feel emotional about this flight. I think we are in the last stages of

like preparation just popping up -- loading the routes, doing the final check with sometimes Iberia. And we cannot wait for this event, which is

going to be unique and very (INAUDIBLE).

MACFARLANE: I can understand it must be emotional. I mean, I understand you've also been training in a simulator, I think, for two weeks in

preparation for this moment. Talk to us about those preparations and why a simulator was necessary.

FERNANDEZ: Yes, definitely. I mean, the preparation was not only the simulator. We started a couple of months ago with this fantastic proposal

made by Iberia to get this event closer to the common people in Spain, because there will be many people that unfortunately will not be able to

watch it from ground.

So they can join our broadcast in this flight. And it has been a joint effort, teamwork. We love working in teams. We are prepared for that. We

are good at it and we have listened to tournaments to prepare the best possible.

And this started a couple of months ago. It's not only the route, it's also what we call the flight level, which is nothing but the altitude. We talked

about that's exactly our perspective for today, which is roughly 31,000 feet, which is the best level.

That is the best compromise between observation conditions and also the least amount of which is more observation and keeps a close to the for

people to anyone in Spain or outside of Spain who wants to join our broadcast.

And also we have gone to the simulator because this event requires us to be in the right place at the right moment for that. We have Spain, have been

practicing a lot to get used to the route that different conditions that could potentially (INAUDIBLE).

MACFARLANE: Yes. On that point of being in the right place at the right moment, I understand it's you've got something like a 90-second window to

get in position for the path of totality.

Is that right?

FERNANDEZ: Yes, more or less. For people who will be on the surface of the Earth, they will have roughly 100 seconds, so this window of opportunity to

watch the eclipse. Nevertheless, unfortunately, the majority of them will not be able to see it because of the meteorology or different conditions.

Because the solar disk will be very low in the horizon for us, the window is going to be a little bit bigger, thanks to our route and our flight

conditions. We will have a window of roughly 127 seconds. So it's going to be not only better for us to watch this event but also it's going to be a

little bit longer in the (INAUDIBLE).

MACFARLANE: Yes. Well, I know you're flying the plane but I really hope you get a moment to see the eclipse yourself with your glasses, I should

add. Thank you so much for joining us. And look, best of luck for the flight. I was going to say, may the force be with you but that's not very

accurate right now.

(LAUGHTER)

MACFARLANE: Thank you.

All right.

And you are watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Still ahead, we're combining sports and patriotism. Why a Trump-backed competition meant to promote youth

athletes and American pride is sparking controversy.

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MACFARLANE: Now it was billed as a celebration of young athletes and American pride. But not everyone is cheering. On Tuesday, president Donald

Trump crowned the two finalists of his Patriot Games, part of the U.S. government's commemoration of America's 250th birthday.

The competition drew one boy and one girl from each of the 50 states, as well as several territories and tribal nations. Athletes took part in feats

of strength and agility, everything from tug of war to obstacle courses. But the games aren't winning over everyone.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are supposedly the best athletes from every state in the country and they all happen to be white. I don't know about

that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going on right now, the dystopian Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen-type events in the Hunger Games for our high school

athletes to go and compete. To do what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They give backpacks and like red and blue outfits. And then they're jumping around, hopping around and doing sports.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're playing dodge ball, they're playing tug of war, how does one person win those games?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak is joining us.

Kevin, a lot of passionate opinions there, it's fair to say, and some likening it to the Hunger Games, as we heard.

First of all, what's the thinking behind this Patriot games?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's like a combination of, you know, Ninja Warrior and Hunger Games with a lot of MAGA thrown into

it. You know, it's a president Trump initiative.

It was put on by the same group, Freedom 250, that organized a lot of the other 250th anniversary events that president Trump himself was very

associated with, including the UFC fight here at the White House.

And so this was, in a lot of ways, an extension of that. So I think it was natural that it would generate a degree of controversy in the way that

everything president Trump does generates a degree of controversy.

But you know, when you watched it, it is true that this was not a traditional high school athletic event. These were events that you don't

see high school teams fielding in any part of the country. It was much more of a, you know, singleton event, you know, athletes out doing obstacle

courses and that thing.

Now the winners did receive $0.25 million in college scholarships. So that will go a long way, I suppose, in helping them pay their way through

school. But this was in many ways just an event that was president Trump's own design.

And you could see it over the course of the summer as it was being put together. These were things that the president was overseeing and it had

always been the plan that he would go there to the finals.

But when you were watching it, it is unusual. You know, you don't normally see like jungle gyms on ESPN or obstacle courses going through on, you

know, nationally televised sports TV.

And so it was an unusual event in a lot of ways but at least for the winners and for their families, certainly a moment of pride as the

president was there on hand to watch their triumph.

MACFARLANE: And obviously, there's been controversy over who was picked to compete. I mean, we were just hearing criticism there of the lack of racial

diversity.

Do we know what more do we know about the selection process?

LIPTAK: Well, we don't know a great deal. I think that there were preliminary events around the country where they would qualify and then

they were all transported to this boarding school in Ohio, where the event took place.

And so it's not clear exactly what the parameters were for the athletes to make the final cut or what those events around the country looked like and

where specifically they were held. But you know, I think when you're talking about high school sports there, it always generates a degree of

passion.

[10:40:06]

You know, this is a country that a lot -- in a lot of places in the country, people, you know, spend their Friday nights at the football games

or, you know, every afternoon they're at the baseball diamond.

And so it's a topic that generates a lot of passion around the country ordinarily. And so when you see the president coming in and orchestrating

that event, that might look different in a lot of ways than from what other people are doing.

I think it was always bound to generate a lot of different opinions. But the president, at least for his part, I think, very proud to oversee this

event, even if it is different than what a lot of people think high school sports should look like.

MACFARLANE: Yes. And even if we don't yet know who the winners are, we'll keep an eye out for that, Kevin. Thank you.

Now this summer is on track to be the biggest at the box office since 2019. "Variety" reports domestic ticket sales officially crossed the $4 billion

mark on Monday. Massive hits like "The Odyssey" and "Spider Man: Brand New Day" are fueling the box office surge.

The only other time we hit $4 billion since the pandemic was during the 2023 Barbenheimer craze.

Who remembers that?

That record currently sits at $4.09 billion. But with weeks to go until Labor Day, this summer is expected to easily take the top spot.

And finally, the U.S. Powerball jackpot has reached an estimated $1 billion. No one picked all of the numbers Monday night, so tonight's

drawing will be the largest U.S. lottery jackpot of the year. Last Christmas Eve, a player in Kansas took home $1.8 billion. So if you have

connections in the U.S. you might want to be buying them a ticket today.

And that'll do it for us and the team here at CONNECT THE WORLD. Do stay with us. "MARKETPLACE ASIA" is up next

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