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Isa Soares Tonight
Record-Breaking Temperatures Bake Europe, Shutting Down Schools And Businesses While Sending Transport Into Chaos; Primary Day In The U.S. As Americans Head To The Polls; England Faces Ghana, As Portugal Faces Uzbekistan In Today's FIFA World Cup Matches; U.K. Marks 10 Years Since Brexit Vote; Burnham Eyes Premiership After Resignation Of Keir Starmer; Conservative Movement In The U.S. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired June 23, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, record-breaking temperatures bake
Europe, shutting down schools and businesses while sending transport into chaos.
We'll be live from Spain and France, the epicenter of the extreme heat right now. Then it's primary day in the U.S. as Americans head to the
polls. We'll get the latest on the most watched races and what they reveal about the current state of the democratic party.
Plus, all eyes on the FIFA World Cup as Portugal, England and others take the pitch over the next few hours. We'll hear from fans at a watch party
here in London a bit later in the show. But first, tonight, dozens have drowned, schools closed, and heat records are set to be annihilated as a
deadly, relentless heatwave tightens its grip on Europe.
This week is yet another brutal reminder that these events are becoming both more severe and more frequent. This is the second record-breaking heat
wave in two straight months, with national all-time temperature records likely to be broken before July, which, as you know, typically Europe's
hottest month.
It's the planet's fastest warming continent and woefully underprepared. Only about 20 percent of homes have air conditioning. In France, the
current epicenter of extreme heat, at least, 45 people have died, including two children left in a hot car and 40 people who drowned.
Scientists say these heat waves are becoming more severe because of the burning of fossil fuels, releasing carbon into the atmosphere and warming
the planet. Here's our Melissa Bell with more on the extreme heat sweeping the continent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's already proving a devastating heatwave with firefighters battling wildfires in
Greece and in France, and temperature records being shattered across Europe, like in Cognac in southwestern France, where they rose above 106
degrees on Monday.
It's the second heatwave in Europe in as many months, with schools closing like here in Pithiviers, where all nursery and primary schools will remain
closed for the week, according to CNN's affiliate, "BFM TV".
Trains too have been canceled in public services across France are under pressure as the heat turns deadly. Beyond the heat-related deaths,
authorities in France say that 40 people have drowned since the extreme heat began last week.
In Germany, two people are doing all they can to stay cool with red heat alerts affecting several parts of the country, and even London is bracing
for even more heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I find it quite unbearable, and I think it is a sign of climate change, and I just think that London is not a city that's meant
to be hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The weather is really hot, but ultimately, it's not good for a lot of people. And I think we need to be more aware. It looks like
we're all having fun here, but there's lots of people living in homes which are overheating.
BELL: The U.K. has also issued a rare heat alert and closed some of its schools.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, there's only so much that can be done, especially if schools haven't got the funding to -- you know, to cover the
cost of adaptation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do feel a lot more hot, and it's harder to go to the park and have a nice time outside.
BELL: Few European homes are equipped with air conditioning, making heatwaves even more dangerous. In Paris, parks normally closed in the
evening were left open to allow Parisians some respite as Monday into Tuesday proved the hottest night on record. Also, a better place to watch
France's World Cup match against Iraq than stifling apartments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The park also offers some privacy for sleeping, and I think it's quieter. So, I think it should stay open like this all-year
round for homeless people as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And today, I think it's a reality that we can no longer deny, even on an individual level. Like when we come to a park at 11:00
p.m. to find a bit of cool air. The fact is, global warming is very much here.
[14:05:00]
BELL: People are being urged to stay out of the sun, to stay cool and to stay hydrated as Europeans brave one of the worst heatwaves on record.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Let's get more from Melissa Bell, who joins us from Paris along with Pau Mosquera, as you can see there from Madrid. Let me go to Melissa
first, because as you just explained, Melissa very well, heat can be exciting and fun, as we have seen.
But as we have seen in France, has also been deadly and incredibly dangerous. Give us a sense of how, if people are heeding those calls by
government officials to, you know, stay away from the direct sun, from direct heat at lunch time. Speak to how people are taking that messaging,
the seriousness of this messaging.
BELL: I think they're taking it pretty seriously. I rarely seen Paris as quiet as it was today. And beyond the messaging that's coming from
authorities, there was this crisis meeting this morning after that overnight heat, as I just mentioned, the worst that we've ever had
overnight today has been the hottest day on record since they began in 1947 here in France.
That's how hot it is. And there was this emergency meeting, the Prime Minister came out afterwards, spoke of those 40 people who'd sadly drowned
just trying to swim anywhere they could, but not necessarily places that were safe for supervised with all of -- with that terrible death toll
already.
But beyond the government messaging, there is just the fact of this relentless heat. You use that word; I think it's quite right because this
has gone on now since last Wednesday. It's gone progressively hotter, and it is absolutely stifling.
You really can't be outdoors for any period of time. So, there is what the government is telling people they need to do, and there's what people are
just doing to survive. Drinking as much as they can, and really staying home as much as they can.
And it isn't over, Isa, I think they're speaking of the fact that it isn't just a spike, it's a plateau of this unbearable heat that's set to continue
into tomorrow and the day after.
SOARES: Yes, stay with us, Melissa. Let me go to Pau Mosquera, who has been by the pool, I think you're very wise, Pau, to have made that decision to
be cooling off there. Look, I also know parts of Spain are accustomed to some of these high temperatures.
But I also saw Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez today taking to social media, offering tips for people on how to stay safe in the heat.
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's it. We saw him saying that the best idea for days like this is to use some sunblock to keep everybody -- also
avoiding to practice any -- hours of the day. But also, there are some people that prefer to seek shelter from this heat coming to places like
this one, this public pool located in Madrid.
Here we are in the last hour before they closed, but there's still people here in the pool. For example, here we have these two girls that came
directly from the States, nowadays living in Madrid. How are you coping with this heat?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got to make sure you got your fan, but other than that, pack a sandwich and come spend all the day at Casa de Campo.
There's really not much else to do with no AC in the apartments.
MOSQUERA: Have you ever experienced a heat like this before?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I'm from the south of the U.S., and so, it's way hotter and humid. And so, it's a little bit more sticky heat where I am
from. But you know, we live and we come to the pool, you know, "Fiesta en la Piscina". Yes, but yes, have you?
MOSQUERA: Yes, well, somehow, now actually thank you very much girls. As you were seeing, Isa, people is getting used to these temperatures, but
they are far from being normal. If you don't mind, I will dip myself, my leg in the pool to give myself a little bit cooler because now it's 8
O'clock in the afternoon, and the thermometer is -- degrees Celsius, which is around 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
Quite a lot for being this late in the afternoon. But this is a situation that still will continue tomorrow, Wednesday. And from the Spanish weather
agency, they say that the heatwave will still last until -- when we'll feel a little bit how the temperatures start to drop down, Isa.
SOARES: Pau Mosquera there for us, as well as Melissa Bell in France. Thank you very much indeed. I want to stick with this. I want to go to our
meteorologist, Allison Chinchar, to really help me explain the heat dome phenomenon that we have been talking about, Allison, for several days.
Just -- why are we seeing -- well, you heard what Melissa was saying there. Just the relentless heat that we have seen for the last several weeks. Why
are we seeing this now so early on? I mean, we're only in June.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: Yes, well, and keep in mind, this is the second extreme heatwave we've had in as many --
SOARES: Yes --
CHINCHAR: Months. Many people that's not been that long since we had the previous one. And this one is very widespread too. You take a look at all
of these countries that have these heat alerts out now.
This is for Wednesday, so this will be for tomorrow. But look at this. This stretches from the Iberian Peninsula back through portions of central
Europe. So, it's a lot of people that are going to be impacted by this particular heatwave that we are seeing.
[14:10:00]
And one of the things to note too, is just how hot these temperatures are. Keep in mind, you heard there, it's about 8:00, 9 O'clock in the evening
for some of these places. Look at the temperature still in Fahrenheit. You've got 102, 106, 104.
Again, in some of these areas, that's incredibly hot for how late it is for our metric viewers. You're talking upper 30s, even lower 40s for those
temperatures. Remember, these are not the highs. These are the current temperatures going into the evening hours.
This is coming after on Tuesday, having the hottest day ever on France from a national record standpoint. And then even some of the individual towns
and villages in a lot of these places setting daily records. That's what each of these dots represent.
So, the orange dots you see on the map here are a daily record. The red are monthly records, meaning it's the hottest temperature they've ever had in
the month of June. And even a few of these dark gray black dots, meaning a potential all-time record-high for these locations.
Now, another thing we've talked about, you heard Melissa kind of mentioning it a few times earlier as well, is the climate change impact. Now, the
areas you see here in the very dark red covers -- colors, level four and level five that you see here on the map, these types of colors, the shift
would not exist at these extreme levels without man-made climate change.
And also, as we mentioned, this is going to continue. We look at Wednesday. These are forecast lows. I want to point that out. The lowest these
temperatures are going to get in some places are the mid to upper 70s in Fahrenheit or the mid-20s.
That's important to understand because in some of these cases, that's where the low temperature should be compared to the high temperature. For
example, the average high temperature is 23 in Paris, that's what the low temperature is going to be over the next few days.
And that does not give the body a chance to fully cool off, knowing the temperature is going to get even hotter.
SOARES: Yes, and the reality is, and Melissa, I think touched on this, is that only about 20 percent of European homes have air conditioning. So, as
we heard from those two young Americans, you know, for them, the temperatures are not too bad.
It's just that being in their apartment is not as pleasant as being at home, of course, in the U.S., where they will have air conditioners -- so,
conditioning. So, for our viewers, Allison, for those traveling across Europe, give us some tips of how to cope for the next few days.
CHINCHAR: Right, the easiest thing is always make sure you stay hydrated, have some water with you at all times --
SOARES: Yes --
CHINCHAR: You know, as you're overheating, you're sweating. So, you're depleting your body of that water. And also, another thing, wear light-
colored clothing because that helps to reflect -- that kind of tends to keep the body a little bit on the cooler side.
SOARES: Allison, really appreciate it, thank you very much indeed. Now, we are going to turn our attention and get you up to speed on U.S.-Iranian
efforts to reach a final peace agreement. New confusion today over the status of ongoing negotiations.
President Donald Trump says Iran has agreed to allow the highest-level nuclear inspections into, quote, "infinity". He also says any financial
relief offered to Iran will be placed in escrow, control by the U.S. and used to buy food and medical supplies exclusively from America.
Iran says both those statements are false. It says it alone will decide what to do with its assets. Adding to the complications, Hezbollah is
accusing Israel of a blatant violation of a ceasefire in Lebanon. Ending the war there is a key requirement of the U.S.-Iran deal.
But Lebanon health officials say new Israeli attacks have killed two people. Israel says it fired at terrorists who posed a threat to Israeli
troops operating in Lebanon. And this is happening just as Israeli and Lebanese diplomats begin a fifth round of direct talks in Washington.
And Lebanon's President says his government will accept nothing less than the end of the Israeli occupation of Lebanon. Those were his words. Joseph
Aoun spoke by phone today with the U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio right before Rubio arrived in the UAE.
He is on a regional tour looking to build support for the U.S.-Iran deal and reassure U.S. allies that their views are being taken into account.
While Iran's President is doing some shuttle diplomacy of his own, Masoud Pezeshkian is now in Pakistan; a key mediator, of course, meeting with top
military and political leaders.
Mr. Pezeshkian says Iran will never negotiate its defense capabilities with anyone. He says, without his country's ballistic missile program, Israel
and the U.S. would have attacked Iran like they did Gaza.
And still to come tonight, are progressives ready to enter the mainstream? New York's mayor is trying to promote democratic socialists as his city's
voters head to the polls. We'll explain after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:15:00]
SOARES: Well, it has been a tense day of trading on Wall Street. Many tech stocks opened sharply lower amid rising concerns about whether A.I.
companies are overvalued, but the markets have rebounded a bit and are off their lows.
You can see there, the Dow Jones just practically flat, to be honest, S&P down 1 percent, Nasdaq close to 2 percent. The I -- the A.I. concerns,
pardon me, have also weighed on memory chip stocks. Several of the world's biggest chip companies are based in South Korea, and that country's stock
index dove 10 percent earlier on Tuesday.
Well, to the United States, it is primary day in the U.S., and the most widely-watched races today are in New York. The city's Mayor, Zohran
Mamdani, is wading into the influence game by endorsing several progressive candidates in congressional races, including two who are running against
Democratic incumbents.
It is seen as a key test of how much the democratic socialist movement is taking control of the Democratic Party. And several of the New York races
are also testing support for Israel, as some candidates have vocally opposed Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
I want to bring in CNN's Jeff Zeleny with more. So, Jeff, you are in prime position there, I can see, to talk us through. What are we likely to see
today in terms of the races and how today's vote, critically, could shape the future of the Democratic Party?
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are at a polling place, Isa, on the Upper West side of Manhattan. As you can see behind me here, there has
been a steady trickle of voters coming in, but polls are open until well after the work day, until 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time here.
So, we are expecting more people to come out and vote there. But these races, at least here in New York, are not expected to determine the control
of Congress in the Fall, but instead, it's going to send some signals about the direction of the Democratic Party.
The ideological direction in which way the winds are blowing inside the party. You mentioned the new mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani. He is only
six months on the job, but he is injecting himself squarely into this primary.
He's endorsing in several of the races, including some in -- some Democratic incumbents, he's supporting their opponents. So, this is going
to sort of give us some hints about the direction of the party.
Is the sort of the mood of the democratic socialist movement, which, of course, he was elected under. Is that going to carry the day, or is this
just a New York and a deep blue, a phenomenon?
We shall see about that. But right here where I am, this is also going to test the strength of an old, familiar Democratic family name, the grandson
of John F. Kennedy, President John F. Kennedy, Jack Schlossberg.
He is running for Congress in this district, but he has many competitors as well as -- we will see what the strength of that name is as well. But by
and large, again, this will not determine which party controls Congress in November.
[14:20:00]
We'll send some clues for which way Democrats, at least, here in New York, are leaning.
SOARES: And if I may just turn briefly to the Republican Party, because I saw today -- and some of our viewers may have seen as well --
ZELENY: Sure --
SOARES: Jeff, that long-time conservative commentator Tucker Carlson says he will no longer support the GOP. I want to play a bit of what he said.
Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCKER CARLSON, CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I would not support the Republican Party. There's no chance I would support the Republican Party.
I'm not going to support the Democratic Party. I don't know what I'm going to do.
But at this point, you know, how could you support -- how could I or any American voter support a political party that's not loyal to the United
States? That puts the interests of a foreign country above those of its own citizens?
Like that's -- you know, it's not possible to vote for people like that. So, no, I'm out. And if I'm out, then I think a lot of other people are
out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: So, Jeff, just explain that, the timing of this, why now? He didn't really expand on that. He did hint there. And I know he's been critical of
President Trump's war against Iran. How much is this part of that?
ZELENY: I think it's a central part of that. I mean, Tucker Carlson has been deeply critical of the President's decision to go to war in Iran.
He's been deeply critical of the administration's close ties with Israel.
But beyond that, it is a bit of a head scratcher. There is no doubt about it. But the Republicans that I have spoken to say, look, if he is not going
to be part of the Republican Party, then is he talking about a third party?
So, Tucker Carlson, of course, who we've known for a very long time, has been dropping some hints along the way about what his future plans are. Is
this another one of those? We don't know, but certainly, would be fascinating if he decided to form a third party or -- he's not ruled out
the idea of running for something himself.
But by sort of denouncing the Republican Party, it raises the question, then in which party would he run? So perhaps, though, he's also just being
a provocateur and wanting people to talk about him. He is -- obviously still has a podcast and a show and things, but we'll have to keep an eye on
this one if it's more than rhetoric or if it's the beginning of something else. Isa?
SOARES: Very well said, very well said, Jeff. Thank you very much. Jeff Zeleny for us there in New York. Now, large scale firings are underway at
the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. That's according to a source telling CNN.
The source declined to give details on how many jobs had been cut, but sources have previously told CNN, that Bill Pulte; President Trump's pick
to head the office, you remember, was looking at cutting hundreds of jobs at Mr. Trump's behest.
CNN has reached out to the office for comment. Multiple sources say political appointees considered to be close to the prior director, Tulsi
Gabbard, were among the first to go. Gabbard had fallen out of favor with Mr. Trump over disagreements over Israel and Iran.
We'll stay across that story, of course, for you. "NBC News" anchor Savannah Guthrie says her family is living in agony, and it comes after
newly revealed information in the disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie.
Multiple law enforcement sources tell CNN, a note connected to the case claims Guthrie died during the February kidnapping, and it followed a first
note that demanded a ransom of millions of dollars.
Investigators believe they are legitimate communications from her kidnappers. Earlier today, Savannah Guthrie reacted to the revelations
while she was on air with her "Today" co-hosts. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC NEWS: This is a moment to tell you that we need your help. We're begging for your help, and I'm not going to miss that
opportunity. And so, please, if you're watching --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
GUTHRIE: No matter how small the reward is there, you can tell us, it can be anonymous. Please, do the right thing for us, for our family, for our
children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes --
GUTHRIE: And we love our mom, and we'll never stop looking for her. Never.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: It's heartbreaking. Our Ed Lavandera has been tracking the story right from the beginning for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We do have confirmation from several law enforcement sources that do say that in the
flurry of ransom letters that were sent to the family in the days after Nancy Guthrie went missing, that there were a number of letters that law
enforcement investigators deemed to be credible.
One of those was demanding millions of dollars very early on, and then a second note from what investigators believe to be the same person said
that, that Nancy Guthrie had died shortly after being kidnapped.
And that it was not something they meant to happen, but it happened so clearly very early on. The family was getting indication that this was not
going to end well. And if you will remember, one of the first videos that the family released was in direct response to those ransom letters where
Nancy -- Savannah Guthrie said, we got your letter.
We understand clearly a direct reference to the information, the horrible information that was included in that second letter.
[14:25:00]
CNN and a Tucson station were aware of the contents of the letter at the time. We were asked by law enforcement authorities not to reveal those
exact details, because they were trying to be able to ensure confirmation and confirmation of whoever might be sending those letters.
So, that is the kind of information that investigators are hoping to hold back so that they could continue being able to confirm the identity of
whoever was sending these letters, because there were so many letters that were simply just trying to take advantage of the situation.
But the Guthries, remember, there is still a reward out there. And Savannah Guthrie continued this morning, saying, desperately hoping that someone
will come forward.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Our thanks to Ed Lavandera. And still to come tonight, ten years on from the vote which removed the U.K. from the European Union. We head to
one British town to see whether Brexit has lived up to expectations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Having to grow up in a kind of post-Brexit economy, everything is a little bit more expensive now. Everything is harder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You could describe Brexit in one word. What would it be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. As the dust settles on Downing Street, following Prime Minister Keir Starmer's resignation yesterday, the Labor
Party is left to pick up the pieces and figure out what the future holds.
The outgoing Prime Minister reportedly meeting with newly-elected MP Andy Burnham today, according to the "Times". Burnham is the current frontrunner
to take over as Labor Party leader as other Labor MPs decide whether to contest for the country's top job.
Whoever takes over will be the seventh Prime Minister in the last ten years in this country. From Cameron to May, Johnson to Sunak and everyone in
between. It's been a revolving door at Downing Street for a decade.
So, what's to blame for the inability of both Labor and the Conservatives to keep a grasp on power? Is it the fallout from the global financial
crisis making Britain's dissatisfied with leadership? Or could a vote ten years ago today have triggered a political crisis neither party can escape?
CNN's Anna Cooban visits one British town to see how Brexit is being felt ten years on.
[14:30:14]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LUCY PHILIPS, DECKHAND: I'm probably one of the few remainers on this beach, if not the only one.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER (voice-over): In Britain, a decade of division. Back in 2016, nearly 34 million people answered a
deceptively simple question, to leave or remain in the European Union. The answer was to go. The U.K.'s fishing industry, small though once mighty,
became a flash point in the big Brexit debate, one that is still raging today in coastal towns like Hastings.
PHILIPS: Personally, my heart was never a Leave lever, and it seems to bring nothing but complications, Brexit to a lot of people, whether that's
your job or import, export, or your right to travel and study.
COOBAN (voice-over): Many fishermen, like Roland, voted leave to get more control over British waters.
ROLAND KELLY, FISHERMAN: I voted for Brexit. I believe most of us beach voted for Brexit. We all wanted to be independent. The big problem was at
the time the fishing industry was actually a big bargaining tool.
COOBAN: Your concerns around the fishing industry, that was the main reason, the way you voted, the way you did.
KELLY: I just know I would like to have seen Great Britain great again.
COOBAN: If you could describe Brexit in one word, what would it be?
KELLY: Failure for a fisherman, definitely, our paperwork has gone threefold. It's more difficult now exporting fish.
COOBAN: Everyone in the U.K. has a story to tell about Brexit, where they were, how they felt, and quite frankly, the arguments they had with family
and friends. It's an economic issue, it's a political issue, but it's also about identity. It's highly emotional, and it's about the way that Britain
sees itself in the world, and it seems in 2026 that those divisions are still very much in place.
COOBAN (voice-over): The Brexit vote catapulted the U.K. into years of political turmoil, with six prime ministers in just the past decade. Olafs
has owned his fish and chip shop for about the same length of time.
COOBAN: And you're Latvian.
OLAFS MEZPAPNS, OWNER OF NEPTUNE FISH & CHIPS: Yes, I'm Latvian. Yes.
COOBAN: How did you feel as a European when --
MEZPAPNS: I never have any racism for me, you know? So, I'm follow the English rules, you know, and then try to integrate all the fish and chip
shops have a little bit more struggle now. Yes.
COOBAN: So, Hastings is really an in-between kind of place. It's actually closer to France than it is to London. And 10 years ago, you had 55 percent
of voters saying they wanted to leave the E.U. and 45 percent saying they wanted to stay.
And just by going around here today and talking to people, it's quite clear that the feelings about Brexit, about the wisdom of it, whether or not they
voted stay or to leave, and whether or not it really delivered what people thought it would. Those emotions are still running quite high.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What better thing to talk about on a nice sunny day 10 years later?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe it was the right thing to do to leave, in my opinion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt powerless because I wasn't able to vote. Now I speak to my older family members, and they do regret a lot of the things
that they were led to believe at that time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just having to grow up in a kind of post-Brexit economy, everything's a little bit more expensive now. Everything's harder.
COOBAN: You could describe Brexit in one word, what would it be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mistake.
COOBAN: Did you vote to leave?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I vote to leave. Yes. I think I would have voted differently if I'd have known what it is today.
COOBAN (voice-over): Before I left, there was one question I needed answering, and I knew just the person to ask.
COOBAN: Salter (ph), I need to know, are we ever going to stop talking about Brexit?
COOBAN (voice-over): Anna Cooban, CNN, Hastings.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Well, our thanks to Anna Cooban for that report. I want to bring in Lord Peter Ricketts former chairman of Britain's Joint Intelligence
Committee and former British ambassador to France. Lord Ricketts wonderful to have you back on the show. We will talk Brexit in just a moment, but let
me first get your reaction to what we saw outside 10 Downing Street yesterday. An emotional resignation and clearly one the Prime Minister,
Prime Minister Starmer wanted to avoid at all costs. Just your thoughts, was it inevitable in your view?
LORD PETER RICKETTS, FORMER CHAIRMAN, BRITAIN'S JOINT INTELLIGENCE COMMITTE: I think it became inevitable, yes. He came in two years ago with
a very large majority but a series of poor decisions frankly poor choices of people around him really eroded support for him within his own party and
in the country. And looked at from abroad I think yes Starmer was a real success.
I think he'd be very strong on leadership on Ukraine, on European response to the Gulf, on dealing with President Trump. But domestically he's
increasingly been seen as a liability. And so, I think it became inevitable. But it does show the volatility in British politics. The number
of prime ministers we've had over a few years whereas in the past prime ministers often did seven to 10 years in the job.
SOARES: And you saw poor decisions being made and you know I wonder if you could expand on that for our international audience because he won as we
keep saying to our international audience, our audience in the United States by one of the Labour's biggest majorities less than two years ago.
[14:35:00]
How did it unravel so quickly? What was the turning point you think, Lord Ricketts?
RICKETTS: Well, for example the Labour Party campaigned for election on a platform of not raising any taxes but as soon as they got into power, they
found they did have to raise taxes which in infuriated people. Some of the taxes fell on labor, on the cost of labor which has made jobs more
difficult. And in a number of cases the backbench members of his party rebelled against some of the proposals that the government were making to
increase taxes for example and the rebellion tended to produce U-turns.
And when a leader begins to U-turn and there is a large majority then people find actually you can rebel, you can get decisions overturned. And
so, the large majority in Parliament has become rebellious and the prime minister has not been able to deliver on a number of the things that he
wanted to do.
There have then also been some poor personnel decisions. Viewers in America will remember Lord Mandelson's ambassadorship in Washington that turned out
very badly in the end given the links with Epstein. So, all these things cumulated added to a sense that Keir Starmer had not been a successful
prime minister.
SOARES: And the focus now is on Andy Burnham who has been given the moniker of the King of the North. He seems to be the overwhelming favorite. What
qualities Lord Ricketts make him attractive to Labour MPs at the moment? What does he have? What can he bring that Keir Starmer does not have?
RICKETTS: Well, part of it is that he's been out of national politics for a good decade. So, he's not been there in all the post-Brexit infights and
psychodramas in Westminster. He's been a rather successful mayor of Manchester in the north of England. He's positioned himself, as you say, as
the King of the North coming down to London to sort things out. He's a very effective people politician. He's empathetic. He has so far produced
policies that are designed to appeal to Labour supporters or win back voters who have gone disillusioned with Keir Starmer.
The issue is can he pay for them? Because he will inherit exactly the same problem that Keir Starmer has of low growth, of high borrowing, of the bond
markets watching very carefully for any sign that government expenditure is getting out of control. So, he will find the same constraints in office. He
will bring a different political persona to it but the problems will remain.
SOARES: Yes, problems will remain. And it's not clear on where he stands on key policy issues, particularly on foreign policy. He has not been tested
on that front. But as you heard probably, Lord Ricketts, before we came to that report from my colleague, Anna Cooban, talking about Brexit, and it
puts into light really what we have seen in the past, what, 10 years.
We've seen seven prime ministers. And I wonder why that is. Is this something fundamentally broken in British politics? Is it Brexit related?
Is it an economic crisis? What do you think is happening?
RICKETTS: Well, I don't think it means Britain is ungovernable, no. I think partly -- I think Britain has been poorly governed over the last decade.
Partly it's been buffeted by a series of shocks like COVID and Brexit which have all added to a sense of disillusion in the public that politicians,
you know, aren't being able to deliver increased living standards for them.
I think there's also, I mean, a lack of -- a disappearance of loyalty to parties and I think the younger generation are not like my generation where
most people tended to vote for Conservative or Labour or Liberal Democrat most of their lives. Now, young people and they change jobs very readily
and they're willing to change political parties very readily as well.
So, there's a volatility in the electorate which means that they tend to swing to one or the other depending on the mood of the moment which makes
it very unpredictable. And so, I think all of those things together have produced this state where there are violent swings between elections
between the political parties. I think that a government that takes control, governs effectively, shows it can deliver for people, keeps its
promises, I mean that is a government that will be able to survive. I don't think it's broken but I think it needs better governing.
SOARES: Lord Peter Ricketts, always wonderful to have you on the show. Thank you very much, Lord Ricketts. I appreciate it. And still to come
tonight --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICHOLE JACK JOHNSON, ATTENDEE: It's so awful what's being believed and I feel like that's spiritual warfare. I feel like we're seeing real-life
spiritual warfare coming after this organization.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: -- the death of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk is still being felt at his Turning Point USA organization. Our Elle Reeve take a look at
the Conservatives think about it, what they're thinking about, plus their feelings in the conservative movement in the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:40:00]
SOARES: Now, to a growing strain within the Republican Party. Are traditional family values compatible with modern day feminism? That was a
question as thousands of women attended a summit organized by Erika Kirk, the widow of the late conservative activist and firebrand Charlie Kirk.
CNN's Elle Reeve was there and found the answer is not so simple.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERIKA KIRK, CHARLIE KIRK'S WIFE: Have more babies than you can afford.
ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm at the Turning Point Women's Leadership Summit, where a lot of the speakers have talked about how feminism has hurt
women, how you should get married early and have more kids I'm at the Turning Point Women's Leadership Summit where a lot of the speakers have
talked about how feminism has hurt women, how you should get married early and have more kids, maybe more than you can afford.
Feminism is the biggest lie we have ever been sold as women. But the attendees have had a little more nuance in their analysis. Some have even
said, you can have it all.
PHOEBE VIDACAK, FOUNDER, PLANA: From what I see, society has co-opted the word feminism, which should just be the equality of the sexes, which I
really do believe in, to be something of pushing the other sex down, which I really don't believe in.
NICHOLE JACK JOHNSON, ATTENDEE: I run three companies and have a non-profit and adopted children. So, I feel like the messages to me were that women
can do it all.
REEVE: And how do you see that as different from feminism? Good question.
JOHNSON: That is a great question. I feel like feminism is the pursuit of, I need nobody, and I don't need a man, I don't need others.
ALEX, ATTENDEE: I feel like the left is so focused on feminism equals abortion, and that's not at all what feminism should be for. It should just
be like, how can we empower women to fulfill what they feel like their calling is?
CATARINA DICOSMO, ATTENDEE: A lot of the left say that they don't need men, but we do.
REEVE (voice-over): Speaker Savannah Stone is a married 21-year-old who's built an audience advocating for traditional gender roles in a sometimes
provocative way.
SAVANNAH STONE: Submission gets a bad rep because it's seen as slavery, for whatever reason. But submission is a trust and it is teamwork. It means the
woman serves the husband and the husband lays down his life for the wife. Because women are controlled by their emotions and men are controlled by
logic.
REEVE: She goes viral a lot on TikTok for talking about women submitting to their husbands, being submissive. What do you think of that?
ABBIE NOTGRASS, ATTENDEE: I mean, that's what the Bible calls us to do, so that's what I think is true.
MORGAN NOTGRASS, ATTENDEE: The words sound kind of crazy and a little controversial, but I mean, I believe what the Bible says and I think it's
true and I think she said it great in there.
[14:45:00]
REEVE (voice-over): This comes at a time when small but growing sections of the online and religious right have objections to women voting at all. With
some calling to repeal the 19th Amendment and replace it with a so-called household vote.
TOBY SUMPTER, PASTOR: In my ideal society, we would vote as households and I would ordinarily be the one that would cast the vote, but I would cast
the vote having discussed it with my household.
REEVE: Repeal the 19th's people? Yes, repeal the 19th's people. What do you make of that?
JASMINE STEWART, ATTENDEE: There's a lot of politics that divides families and that's not what they want. So, you know, I understand that part of it
and then another part of it that I think is a lot more juvenile is that they're like, oh, there are so many liberal women and they're ruining
whatever. I don't think that's the correct way to look at it at all. So, that's not really a view that I share there.
IRELAND DANIEL, ATTENDEE: Obviously, if we didn't think women should be able to vote, we wouldn't be standing here trying to work in politics. Why
do you think it's gaining traction right now? Honestly, I would say from a liberal perspective of we don't need men has made men so angry. It's harder
for men to get a girlfriend. It's harder for them to get married. Women don't want to get married now. And I think that's why a conservative
movement has pushed so much back on the word feminism is because they feel like women are, quote/unquote, "ruining everything," which we're not.
That's not true.
REEVE: So, a feminist might say, hey, you guys are dealing with these really angry young men online like incels, the Andrew Tate's, the whatever.
You guys need feminists right now to defend you and to defend your dignity as a person. What would you say to that?
DANIEL: I would say it's all about how we approach it, though. I think by screwing me back at them isn't going to help.
REEVE (voice-over): A few dozen protesters chanted outside the conference. Turning Point's founder, Charlie Kirk, excelled at provoking people to get
attention. But now his group is dealing with social media controversy from within conservatism, one that is cruel but pervasive. After Kirk was
assassinated, his widow, Erika, took over the organization.
Soon conspiracy theories swirled online that she or Turning Point staff were somehow involved in his death. There is no evidence of this. Turning
Point has vehemently denied the claims. Police have arrested a suspect and say he acted alone. The most viral insinuations have come from Candace
Owens.
CANDACE OWENS, HOST, "CANDACE" PODCAST: For Erika Kirk should be dragged into a police precinct for questioning, like I said.
REEVE (voice-over): The conspiracy theories are so rife that Speaker Dana Loesch even addressed them from the stage.
DANA LOESCH, SPEAKER, TURNING POINT USA: God has ordered his church to care for widows, that widows be included so they are not isolated, to protect
widows, to care for widows, to not persecute a widow in the most ungodly of ways because you're jealous that you are not the one controlling an
organization that that widow's husband built.
REEVE (voice-over): Many attendees were keenly aware of the online discourse.
STEWART: I don't think it's wrong to ask questions. I'm always a skeptic myself. For me, the more questions, the better.
REEVE: In fairness, like one of the questions Candace is asking is like, did Erika kill him for Israel? I mean, it's kind of out there, right?
STEWART: Oh, yes, absolutely. Like I said, for me, the more questions, the better. Question everything. I can understand why people, especially like
Erika, would be like, what the absolute hell?
JOHNSON: I wanted to come and support Erika, of course. I felt like the Spirit of God was telling me to support our widows. I had many phone calls,
many people reached out to me, many people very disappointed that I was coming.
[11:55:00]
REEVE: Really?
JOHNSON: Christian Republicans disappointed that I was here.
REEVE: What did your friends say to you who didn't approve of you going?
JOHNSON: A lot of them truly believe in everything that's being said. It's heartbreaking to me. I don't even want to speak on it because it's so awful
what's being believed. And I feel like that's spiritual warfare. I feel like we're seeing real life spiritual warfare coming after this
organization.
REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, San Antonio.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And still to come tonight, we've seen dazzling displays at the World Cup from greats like Messi, Mbappe and Haaland. Now, the legendary
Ronaldo stepping up to match their brilliance. We'll have an update on today's action next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
SOARES: Well, after a sour start to this year's World Cup, Ronaldo and Portugal are bouncing back in a big way today. One of the most decorated
footballers ever scored his first two goals of this year's tournament, becoming the first men's player to score at six different World Cups. With
just minutes left in the match, Portugal has a 5-nil lead on Uzbekistan.
Then later on this hour, Harry Kane -- well, not this hour, today, pardon me, Harry Kane will try to repel England into the round of 32. As they take
on Ghana, the captain is coming off a two-goal performance, and what a performance that was against Croatia.
And speaking of Croatia, they will face off against Panama in a must-win for both squads, and the late game will see Colombia against the Democratic
Republic of Congo. That is that whole squad there.
Amanda Davies is at a watch party full of Three Lions supporters near Wembley Stadium. Amanda, give us a sense of the mood ahead of the game
today.
AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Isa, this is the cultural crossover we never knew we needed. I know you know exactly where I am. The iconic
Wembley Stadium, home of England's national football team, venue of that 1966 win.
But tonight, hosting Harry Styles and 90,000 of his fans. So, there's this bizarre situation where we've got all the sequins and the feathers and the
face painting heading into Harry Styles, but they're not quite in equal numbers.
But now we're, what, an hour and 10 away from England kicking off their second World Cup match, 3,200 miles away in Boston. The Box Park, one of
those famous England watch party venues just behind us. The England fans going in there. And Harry Styles was actually also playing the night of
England's first game against Croatia. He embraced the crazy. They say, come on, England, on the outside of Wembley Stadium. They announced all the
goals, football's coming home, was ringing out. Of course, England won that game. It might be a different story if things don't go so well this
evening.
But Harry is the name of the night, isn't it? From Harry Styles to Harry Kane, England's captain, now very much the focus of attention after those
incredible performances from Leo Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. As you rightly said, now Cristiano Ronaldo.
I can hear your smile from here after that result this evening. It's all about England's captain, Harry Kane, who scored those two goals. Now,
trying to help England to book their place in the rounds of 32 with a game to spare.
It's the match of the top two in Group L, actually, England against Ghana, both in the same situation, knowing that victory will see them through.
Thomas Tuchel decided to make a few changes in defense. He said there was a wakeup call for his side against Croatia. So, that's really interesting for
all their attacking threat with Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford coming off the bench. He has made some big calls at the back.
But Ghana, for their part, a whole lot of hope with the likes of Antoine Semenyo, who knows so many of those England players, playing in the Premier
League, as he does.
[14:55:00]
There's real hopes that this might be the year after disappointment in their last two World Cups, that they are able to emulate their quarterfinal
reaching side of 2010. Interestingly, their manager, Carlos Queiroz, a familiar name to so many. This is him in charge of a fifth World Cup. He's
been in charge of Portugal and three World Cups with Iran. He only took over 72 days ahead of the start of this tournament. He had such a short
time to get to grips with this Ghanaian squad. He said, England may be three lions, but we have 33 million lions cheering us on.
SOARES: And we've got about, what, 45 seconds left on the show. Is it clear to you, Amanda, the majority of people walking past you, are they going to
see Harry Styles or are they going to see the football?
DAVIES: Well, heading this way, Harry Styles takes to stage in 15 minutes. So, if I show you here, here is an England shirt. Are you going to Harry
Styles or are you watching the game?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watching the game.
DAVIES: Watching the game.
SOARES: There you go.
DAVIES: Most people in sequins, I suspect, Isa, are heading to Harry Styles. But there are definitely a few who are trying to do both.
SOARES: Yes. Thank you very much, Amanda Davies. Thank you. That does it for me. Do stay right here. "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
