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Isa Soares Tonight
Tensions Escalate Over the Strait Of Hormuz As Both The U.S. And Iran Target Key Infrastructure; Andy Burnham Gives His First Speech As Leader Of The U.K. Labor Party As He Prepares To Become Prime Minister Of U.K.; Argentina-Spain Meet At The Finals Of 2026 Men's FIFA World Cup; Spain And Argentina To Play For The Title On Sunday; Smoke Triggers Air Quality Alerts In Parts Of The U.S.; The Odyssey Opens Today, First 100 Percent IMAX Feature Film. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 17, 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]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Isa Soares. Tonight,
tensions escalate over the Strait of Hormuz as both the U.S. and Iran target key infrastructure.
We'll have the very latest. Then Andy Burnham gives his first speech as leader of the U.K. Labor Party as he prepares to become Prime Minister on
Monday. Plus, the countdown is on. Just two days to go until the FIFA men's World Cup final between Spain and Argentina.
Later in the show, I'll be speaking to a former manager of the Spanish team. That and much more ahead. Now strikes across nations, civilian
infrastructure under attack and fears it's about to get worse. We begin with the worst escalation of violence since talks between the U.S. and Iran
collapsed.
You're looking at new images from U.S. Central Command, which says it destroyed a surveillance tower used by Iran's revolutionary guards. U.S.
forces marked a sixth successive night of strikes on Iran. Tehran says bridges in the south were hit, many on routes connected to Bandar Abbas;
the coastal city on the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran, in turn, launched attacks on several regional states, including, it said, a U.S. base in Syria, which would be the first in this conflict.
However, the U.S. military and a Syrian source deny being struck. In Kuwait, Tehran struck a power apparent desalination plant, causing a fire.
Iran is now threatening gulf ports. Nic Robertson is in Jerusalem with the latest this hour from the region, and a region really now thrown into new
uncertainty. And Nic, as we've been ticking through there, I mean, things are clearly escalating fast in the region.
Both sides, Iran and U.S. are accused of attacking civilian infrastructure. And for the U.S., this has been focused largely on bridges, railways, power
lines, though, as we were saying in the south. Can you talk to us about this strike strategy and what it's indicating?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It seems to indicate that the United States is targeting a lot of infrastructure connected to
the Strait of Hormuz. Chabahar, which is some distance from the Strait of Hormuz to the east towards the border with Pakistan.
That's where that IRGC control tower, as the U.S. has described it, was located. This was a large and significant maritime port, a port that would
be valuable for Iran to rather than try to import goods through the Strait of Hormuz to their ports further inside the Persian Gulf to offload outside
the sort of area of conflict.
Well, now the port there has been hit, the ability of the IRGC, the Iranian authorities, to understand what types of ships and what ships are moving
around as they approach the Strait of Hormuz. That's been diminished.
But the broader picture here is one where the United States is, it appears, trying to shape, you know, future strikes and the ground for or the area
for an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz to deny Iran the ability to control it.
And they've done that by taking down that -- what they describe as an IRGC sort of eyes on the -- on the Strait of Hormuz and the gulf there. But
also, the sort of infrastructure that connects Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz to further inland.
If you can disconnect it by road, by rail, by hitting the bridges, it makes it harder to resupply Bandar Abbas, it makes it harder to bring more
weapons in or food. Bushehr also targeted further up the Persian Gulf. This is very close.
Less than a minute flight away in a fighter jet from Kharg Island. We don't know what was the target in Bushehr, but there is a large Iranian military
airbase there. Now, the United States says it's destroyed Iran's Air Force.
We don't know how fully accurate that is, but it does appear, again, that it's the targets along there, be they military, be they connecting to
civilian infrastructure.
[14:05:00]
And the Iranians themselves say that they've been targeting countries and facilities connected with the U.S., attacking them. But as you said there,
in Kuwait, the Iranians hit a desalination and power plant, and these are absolutely vital in the heat of the Summer to the Gulf countries.
They are a real -- if you will, vulnerability if many of these of sites were hit, then that would make it much harder for the civilian population
in Kuwait or whatever country it was. And now, Iran is threatening to move off those so-called military targets and hit the sort of key economic
infrastructure, the ports all the way along the Gulf. That's an escalation if they carry it out.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and also too, an escalation, Nic, is that Iran appears to be widening its target list, and we mentioned Syria there, the hits in
Syria for the first time, but also in Iraq, in Jordan too. What messaging do you think Iran is intending to send by targeting, you know, a country
like Syria?
ROBERTSON: Yes, look, Iran operates by sort of an escalatory ladder. If we go back just a few days, they were just hitting Kuwait and Bahrain. They
were close. They were relatively easy for their ballistic missiles.
Now, they're trying to send a deeper, broader message against their perceived enemies, anti-Iranian groups, Iranian-Kurdish groups based in
Iraqi-Kurdistan, the Al-Tanf base that used to be several years ago, a U.S. special forces base controlling the highway from Iraq through Syria to
Lebanon, that the U.S. say they pulled their troops out of there.
Iran saying it targeted -- they're targeting bases in Jordan that the Iranians say are where the U.S. military keeps some of its Air Force, keeps
its tanker resupply aircraft for refueling the fighter jets in mid-air.
All of that, Iran, by bringing in so many countries on one night, is just going up that escalatory ladder. Interesting that they haven't so far hit
Saudi Arabia, although that is on their new threat list. The port city of Yanbu on the Red Sea, which would be an extreme escalation.
And that would be certainly how the Saudis would perceive it. So, Iran has space to continue going up the escalatory ladder here. But the picture at
the moment is not an off-ramp in sight. And more potential economic targets, rather than military targets, which drives up the pain on all
sides, which will then tend to drive up the conflict.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and we will, of course, continue to keep a close eye on that escalation. Nic Robertson in the region there for us tonight, thanks,
Nic. We're turning now to Gaza, and one of the deadliest attacks in weeks.
At least, seven people were killed after the Israel Defense Forces struck a funeral in central Gaza. According to a hospital in the area, it was for a
man killed in a separate Israeli strike earlier in the day. The hospital says more than 20 people were also injured.
The IDF says it was targeting the cell of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and that the results of the strike are under review. Now, China is firing back
at Donald Trump's claim that it interfered in the 2020 U.S. election.
Beijing rejected the meddling allegations, saying they have no factual ground in a prime-time address Thursday. The U.S. President accused China
of accessing hundreds of millions of U.S. photo files, but none of the newly-declassified documents he pointed to seemed to back up those claims.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: China engaged in other election-related activities to undermine my first administration and our
2020 campaign. They did not want -- and they just didn't want it, they fought like hell not to have it, Donald Trump to win.
The Chinese government's strategy against the United States, was focused on undermining domestic confidence in the U.S. President.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, President Trump also used the speech to again call on Congress to pass an elections bill that critics warn could cause major
disruptions to voters during the critical Midterms this Fall. Earlier today, the U.S. Homeland Security Secretary echoed many of the President's
false claims and issued this threat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY, UNITED STATES: If you are an illegal or you're voting illegally, we will hunt you down, we will find
you, and we will prosecute you. The American people must have confidence in our elections. Election security is not a partisan issue, and Homeland
Security, we're here to support everybody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:10:00]
MACFARLANE: Well, Paul Rosenzweig is the former U.S. Homeland Security deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, he's also a former federal
prosecutor. Thank you so much for joining us. Just before I get to the President's claims in that address yesterday, I just want to touch on the
timing of all of this.
Because what's being talked about a lot today is if the President truly had concerns about election interference as he apparently does. Why would he
wait four months out from the Midterms to make this announcement? I just wondered what you thought of that and the timing of all of this.
PAUL ROSENZWEIG, FORMER U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POLICY: Well, I think it's pretty transparently an effort to either
review adverse federal action against the elections in the upcoming election or to diminish confidence in the elections themselves.
I mean, you're quite right, the timing is suspect. The President has been President for a year-and-a-half now, and he -- his DOJ has brought no cases
alleging actual election interference. More to the point, I think, the President has taken steps to diminish the ability to combat foreign
interference in American elections.
He disbanded the Election Assistance Commission. He defunded the State Department's foreign disinformation efforts. He has essentially eviscerated
the Cybersecurity and Information Security Agency that works on the cybersecurity of elections.
So, I think it's pretty transparent that the timing is to provide an excuse for a loss that he sees coming. And perhaps more ominously, to set up a
possible -- a reaction to alleged misconduct if he does lose.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and to that point, you know, the dismantling, the disbanding of election security infrastructure, I mean, even if the
President had concerns over election interference, I mean, could he even remedy that right now, given the state of, you know, national security and
as you say, the dismantling that's gone on under the second term.
ROSENZWEIG: It would be very hard to revive those capabilities in the four months that are left. Those are mostly based upon relationships,
cooperative agreements that are years in the making. It takes just three days to destroy what it takes three years to build, essentially.
And that's true of much of what the President has done, both in the election area and, frankly, in other areas as well.
MACFARLANE: Yes, you actually wrote way back in 2019 ahead of the 2020 elections that Donald Trump was not doing enough back then to prevent
foreign intervention in elections then. I think the concerns at the time were, of course, over Russian interference. Why have the Trump
administration been so consistently skeptical of efforts to bolster election security?
ROSENZWEIG: Well, that's a really good question, and it requires me to try and get into Donald Trump's mind. But I think that the fundamental answer,
at least, as far as I can see, is a skepticism about the American people and their ability to do the, quote, "right thing".
It's the fear that they will lose. And it's a fear that arguments about election interference will redound to their harm. They'll be far more
likely to show, as in the 2020 election, Russian interference in the elections, and indeed the Intelligence documents that were released just
yesterday showed far more Russian activity than they did Chinese activity, even into the 2024 election, which Donald Trump actually won.
MACFARLANE: That's so interesting, I didn't realize that. I mean, when we're framing this as looking ahead to the Midterms and the timing as we've
talked about all of this. How much impact do you think this speech is going to have had on not just general American voters, but also moderate
Republican voters? How do you think they will have received this?
ROSENZWEIG: Well, I mean, I think there's two ways to look at the impact of this speech. The first is, candidly, it struck me as a bit of a speech of
despair. The President thinks he's going to lose the Midterm elections.
All of the polls suggest that he will. And this is setting up an excuse for that loss. That is something other than a dislike of his policies and his
presidency, which he can't accept. So, one way of looking at it is a kind of message of despair.
[14:15:00]
And I think that, that will actually have the impact of driving down the turnout for his base. I mean, if your -- if your leader tells you that
everything is screwed up, the system is broken and we can't fix it. You would say, why should I show up and vote?
So, I think that that's one way of looking at it. The other way of looking at it, the much more ominous way of looking at it is that it's also setting
up a narrative for federal intervention in the election for military agents to seize ballot boxes or ICE agents to be deployed to polling places,
presumably only in democratic cities rather than in Republican rural areas, in an effort to prevent the loss that he sees this coming. Those are the
two options I see.
MACFARLANE: Yes, and I think the latter point is the one that most people took away in a fearful of it at this stage, looking ahead to the Midterm
elections. Paul, always great to have your analysis. Thank you so much.
ROSENZWEIG: Thanks for having me.
MACFARLANE: Now for the seventh time in a decade, Britain will usher in a new Prime Minister on Monday. Andy Burnham, who will succeed Keir Starmer,
was confirmed today as the leader of the ruling Labor Party. He returns to parliament after winning a crucial by-election last month.
Burnham is promising his supporters that when he moves to 10 Downing Street, it will not be business as usual.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY BURNHAM, LEADER, U.K. LABOUR PARTY: I will work to build a new politics. The country is crying out for it. We might enjoy the point-
scoring against others. The public don't. How can politicians point fingers when living standards are falling and politics as a whole isn't working for
them. It infuriates them and makes them switch off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, Burnham has become one of the country's most popular politicians in recent years. As CNN's Clare Sebastian reports. He's
embraced social media to help create a political identity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BURNHAM: For that one on the camera.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Britain's incoming Prime Minister belongs to a new generation of politicians, one that understands
the power of social media.
BURNHAM: Evening everyone --
SEBASTIAN: From campaign trail highlights to football skills, to a viral roasting of the British opposition leader, who called him --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A pair of eyelashes and a black T-shirt.
BURNHAM: It's dark blue, actually.
SEBASTIAN: That video racked up over 5 million views on X.
(On camera): Well, the strategy, especially with these signature selfie- style videos, is really part of an effort by Burnham to present himself as an outsider here in Westminster, a regular guy, despite, of course, his
many years spent in parliament previously.
His style is true to Andy, and that isn't going to change. A source close to his campaign told me he's not trying to land a point with every post.
JAMES LYONS, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR KEIR STARMER: He feels comfortable. He feels relaxed, and to be honest with you, it reminds me of
that famous phrase that Margaret Thatcher had about Ronald Reagan -- he's engaged in the great cause of cheering us all up.
BURNHAM: We're doing it to change Labor, to make them better --
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And yet, optimism and hope don't always get the clicks.
EMMA CONNOLLY, FELLOW, UCL DIGITAL SPEECH LAB: He has got a harder job in terms of, you know, his content compared to someone like Trump or like
Farage.
NIGEL FARAGE, LEADER, REFORM U.K.: If you come to the U.K. illegally, you will be detained and deported.
CONNOLLY: We know that social media algorithms prioritize or amplify emotionally-charged polemic and of controversial content in any way. But I
would look to someone like Mamdani, for example, who has managed to navigate that.
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK STATE: I'm freezing. Your rent --
SEBASTIAN: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is emerging as a template for progressive politicians on social media. And the parallels with Burnham
aren't hard to find. Using social to amplify grassroots campaigning, light- hearted ways to discuss major policies.
(ZOHRAN MAMDANI SINGING)
MAMDANI: Start spreading the news --
SEBASTIAN: Even singing.
BURNHAM: I left the north again; I traveled south again. Well --
ANDREW BARD EPSTEIN, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR MAMDANI CAMPAIGN: I like when people take risks and try things out and aren't afraid of cringe.
SEBASTIAN: But says Mamdani's former communications director, Burnham's desire to unify may have come at the expense of clarity.
EPSTEIN: The agenda and the message is a bit more muddled than Zohran's was. And the risk that Burnham runs in being on, you know, sort of being
all things to all people or not being totally clear on where he falls on particular issues or ideological debates, I think can risk reading to
people as just being another politician.
SEBASTIAN: And that's exactly what Burnham is trying to avoid.
BURNHAM: I am going to do things differently.
[14:20:00]
SEBASTIAN: He's used social media to make himself accessible to regular people, facing criticism on the way for neglecting traditional media,
something he denies. No questions allowed from journalists at this recent big policy speech. Instead, a few days later.
BURNHAM: Send your questions in --
SEBASTIAN: He took to Reddit for a public ask me anything session that was so popular the site crashed midway through; the source tells CNN.
BURNHAM: Bye all, thanks a lot. Cheers, right? But they hit low --
SEBASTIAN: The challenge now to strike a balance between running on TikTok and running a country. Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And be sure to tune in on Monday from 6:00 a.m. in New York, that's 11:00 a.m. here in London where CNN will have special coverage at
the moment Andy Burnham becomes the British Prime Minister. All right, still to come tonight, it's been three difficult weeks since powerful
earthquakes hit Venezuela.
We'll take a look at the long road to recovery thousands of people are facing. And smoke from Canada's wildfires knows no borders. And that's bad
news for millions in the U.S. Find out when the potentially-dangerous air will be gone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: It's been just over three weeks since powerful twin earthquakes hit Venezuela. Recovery efforts remain ongoing, but the news is grim.
Officials say the death toll has surpassed 4,800 people, nearly 18,000 people are now homeless. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Three weeks since Venezuela was hit by twin destructive earthquakes, it is far too early to even think
of turning the page. According to government officials, more than 4,500 people have been killed.
Many will rest nameless here, a new mass graveyard expanded last week in La Guaira, close to the disaster zone. The true death toll we may never know.
Thousands of people are still looking for missing loved ones. It is just one of several questions thrown at local authorities.
The U.S.-backed acting President, Delcy Rodrguez, who has been in power since January, is being criticized for a delayed and insufficient response
to the most devastating natural disaster her country has faced in this century.
(On camera): (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
DELCY RODRIGUEZ, ACTING VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
POZZEBON (voice-over): But the government's reassurances, including the deployment of 19,000 military officials, does not square with our own
experience on the ground in Venezuela.
(On camera): This used to be a golf course, La Guaira was a tourist hotspot by the Caribbean Sea. And so, here is where tourists will come and play
golf and relax. Now, of course, it's a tent city for hundreds of displaced, many of whom actually used to live there in those blocks.
And every day, they wake up and they see their homes and flats broken down by the brutality of the earthquakes.
(Voice-over): It is here we met Zoe Santander. Back then, she hadn't been able to see her son in ten days. They were separated in the aftermath of
the quakes. Zoe made it out unharmed. Her seven-year-old, Xavier(ph) was trapped under the rubble.
ZOE SANTANDER, LA GUAIRA RESIDENT: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
POZZEBON: To this day, Zoe still doesn't know where her son is. Nothing remains of their home. A vast housing complex built by Rodriguez's
predecessor, the late President Hugo Chavez. This year's earthquakes are just the latest in a seemingly never-ending run of tragedies suffered by
the Venezuelan people.
A few days after the tremors, we met one person whose life chronicled that struggle. Like so many, 45-year-old primary school teacher Ninoska
Gutierrez emigrated in 2018, seeking better opportunities and a decent salary to support her family.
She lived in Peru, crossed the jungle and moved to the U.S. in the following years just as Venezuela's infrastructure fell into disrepair.
Listening to her is like living through dozens of stories I covered as a foreign correspondent for almost ten years.
The Venezuelan economy collapsed under Nicolas Maduro. The exodus of millions of migrants to other countries in Latin America, and then to the
United States, and the crackdown on undocumented migrants under Donald Trump's second administration.
Last month, Ninoska was detained by Miami police over an incident and charged with a misdemeanor, deported to Caracas just hours before the
quakes hit. She was resting in a hotel when the ground started shaking.
NINOSKA GUTIERREZ, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
POZZEBON: Incredibly, Ninoska made it out of the hotel alive, and yet, it is a drop in the ocean. The coastal road in La Guaira is now lined with
debris of collapsed buildings. The waves of the Caribbean Sea crashing on the remains of so many lives shattered.
For those who survived it, it is now time to pick up the pieces, looking somehow to rebuild the life. Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, La Guaira, Venezuela.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And our thanks very much to Stefano for that important report. Now, a powerful earthquake actually struck southern Mexico a few hours ago,
the epicenter of a 7.3 quake was in the coastal state of Chiapas and was strong enough to be felt in neighboring Guatemala and El Salvador.
Water levels at some beaches are expected to rise by up to half a meter. Mexico's Navy Secretary warned people to stay away from the beaches. So
far, no significant damage has been reported. OK, after the break, the lasting images from weeks of World Cup memories, and we will preview a big
final with the former manager of the Spanish national team.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: We are just 48 hours from the final match of the 2026 World Cup. And it all began more than a month ago. It feels a very long time ago.
And almost immediately we were treated to magical moments like Cape Verde stunning the world by earning a scoreless tie with Spain. This has been a
World Cup of superstars with Messi, Mbappe, Haaland, and Harry Kane seeming like they could almost score at will and leading their teams on deep runs.
It has also been a World Cup of controversy, not just on the pitch, but off it too, with FIFA's stunning decision to rescind a one match penalty for
U.S. striker Folarin Balogun. But perhaps the most lasting image has been the fans. And for weeks, we have watched visitors from all corners of the
globe coming to Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. to share the joy of the sport. This was, after all, the World Cup where we were all introduced to Norway's
Viking Row.
I love it. I love it so much. All of that has of course led to this, the main event, the final match, world number one, Argentina, versus world
number two, Spain, Sunday in New Jersey. And the two sides have not met on a World Cup stage since 1966. Argentina won that time 2-1.
And this time it's a contest of young versus old with Argentine superstar Lionel Messi trying to cap off his record-breaking career with back-to-back
World Cup titles and Spanish teenager Lamine Yamal launching himself onto the world stage with his stunning footwork.
And joining us now is a former manager of the Spanish national team, Julen Lopetegui. It is an absolute privilege to have you on the show ahead of
this historic final. Thank you so much for joining us.
JULEN LOPETEGUI, FORMER SPAIN AND REAL MADRID MANAGER: My pleasure.
MACFARLANE: And I know -- I know -- thank you. I know you are very familiar with both the players and the coaches on both of these national teams, so
I'm fascinated to get your read on this match because we're about to see two teams with very different styles of play. You've got the kind of
consummate control of Spain, the sort of Spanish hallmark of their football, and then the frenetic frenzy, the kind of street fighter game of
Argentina going head-to-head.
And the question, I guess, is which style is going to prevail. So, I just wanted to begin by getting your expectations for this final.
[14:35:33]
LOPETEGUI: OK, it's true. You are right. These are one incredible match. I think that in the current moments is the best final that you can imagine in
at least in my mind because I am Spanish. But it's true that now in my opinion they are the best team around the world. One is the current world
champion like Argentina in Qatar 22, and now I think is that maybe the best team around the world in the last two years.
So, it will be an exciting match. Very, very -- I think -- I highlight many, many players in both teams. Both team have enough strength to be able
to think that they can become the new world champions. So, let's see what is going to happen, but the first of all is that for sure that it will be
incredible match I think so.
MACFARLANE: Yes, so a fitting end with the world number one and two headlining this final then. And you know, a big talking point going into
this game is of course going to be Lionel Messi and Lamine Yamal meeting for the first time actually which I didn't realize going into this final.
And this is being built as a true miracle of destiny because of -- I don't know if you've seen this picture that has emerged of the two players from
20 years ago. I think we can show it on the screen of Lionel Messi bathing a tiny baby Lamine. I think he's only five months old which is quite
extraordinary, Julen, given that you know Messi is the greatest of all time and Lamine Yamal is now considered his heir. So, how much are you expecting
these two players to shape this final?
LOPETEGUI: The first of all is to highlight this picture it's incredible. The life is incredible. And you can see the past, the present, and the
future. You know, this has been incredible moment. But it's true that -- I think that all of us we put the -- we talk about these two names but I
think that Argentina and Spain, they are much more than only these two players for sure.
We are talking about Messi, maybe in my opinion the best player about the - - all the times in football. And now it's true that he's (INAUDIBLE). But I think that one of the best thing that you can talk about him is he's able
to adapt. His age, maybe he lost a physical strength but it he's able to make play his mates. I think that he's changing his style, adopting his
style, but his quality is there and he's able to make his team play better.
I think one of the best thing that you can talk about one player is he's young. Lamine Yamal is starting. He's only 18 years. It's incredible. But
it's true that he has all the strength that you can imagine to be going against one of the best team best player around the world. But I think that
as I repeat Argentina and Spain, they are much more than only these two players. I think that they -- both team they are very, very competitive
teams.
You can highlight the Spanish style that maybe is different of the rest of the teams around the world. I highlight one of the biggest strength in
Spain is the I think the -- to be able to compete as a team always, to be very collective with the ball. And Argentina is a little bit different. I
think is -- they are really very competitive, biggest players with a high experience.
And it's true that they show the best in the bad moments. When they were very, very -- in the those moments, they show the -- his best and is
talking about his competitive mentality. And I think that we are talking about in the current moment the best -- the best things that we can imagine
in one fight.
MACFARLANE: Can I ask -- I mean, I know you know the Spanish captain very well. And you know, speaking there of the fact that it's not just about
Messi, it's not just about these two players, it's about the whole teams and themselves. If you were in the shoes of Luis de la Fuente right now,
what would you be focused on ahead of this game and obviously it will be nullifying that threat of Messi. So, how would you be setting up this
Spanish side for this final?
LOPETEGUI: First of all, I am very, very friend of mine -- Luis is very, very friend of mine. So, I am sure that he doesn't need my advice because
he know better than me his players. But I'm for sure knowing him and knowing the Spanish players and the Spanish style, I think that they -- for
sure that they will don't change nothing.
They will be very, very, very -- they have very clear how they want to play. They have very clear how his quality. And for sure that despite you
are talking against Messi, they will not change nothing, in my opinion, in my opinion. I am sure.
[14:40:38]
MACFARLANE: Interesting.
LOPETEGUI: But it's true that always when you are talking about world final, it's normal. Any little detail is going to be key. So, any little
bit can be important. But the more important detail is to be -- to be very close of your better strengths.
And the better strengths around Spain is to have the ball, to make very high press, to have the initiative always, and to be able to force the team
to play long. This is the one of the best quality with Spain and I am sure that we will try to do that. And after, let's see what is going to happen
because any little detail can be key in this kind of matches.
MACFARLANE: And we have seen that time and time again from Spain, but we've also seen a late surge by Argentina time and time again late in the game.
So, we'll wait to see. But before I let you go, I know I have to ask you. I know obviously you're Spanish. You're a Spanish fan. You're a former
Spanish coach, but what's your prediction for the outcome of this game? What's your score prediction?
LOPETEGUI: In this kind of final, my advice is don't do the prediction because it is -- I think it's going to be very --
MACFARLANE: No.
LOPETEGUI: -- very qual. I would like that the Spanish won for sure -- win. That -- I think that now in the current moment is 50 percent, 50 percent.
One final talking about the current champion.
MACFARLANE: Come on, give me a score.
LOPETEGUI: And talking about the challenger, I think that is 50 percent, 50 percent.
MACFARLANE: OK. All right. We'll let you go. Julen Lopetegui, just so great to speak to you ahead of this final. Thank you so much.
And do stay with us.
LOPETEGUI: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: We'll have more news coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:45:04]
MACFARLANE: At this hour, more than 100 million people across the Midwest and Northeastern United States under air quality alerts. Wind is carrying
Canadian wildfires smoke across the border causing the poor and sometimes dangerous air quality. It could put a damper on festivities in New Jersey
where the World Cup final will be played on Sunday. In this shot of the stadium, you can see here it almost looks like winter. And in Washington,
D.C. officials sworn that air pollution is so high that even healthy adults could be affected.
Well, CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has an update on the situation.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unhealthy to hazardous air has been pouring into the East Coast in the Midwest thanks to this fire hose of
wildfire smoke, thanks to burning wildfires out of control near the border of the U.S. and Canada. Look at this thick milky white substance in the air
on the satellite.
Very visible, but that's what you see with that orange hue or that kind of murky horizon look if you're stepping outside perhaps in Detroit,
Cleveland, Washington D.C., or just south of New York. We've seen some great improvements in Boston, but we got to see how this is going to evolve
over the next 24 hours because things will get very interesting going forward.
So, the current air quality, you can actually align these dots, the magenta and the reds, they correspond with unhealthy to hazardous air quality. And
this is home to some of the world's worst air quality over the past 24 hours. And it's all thanks to this thick wildfire smoke that continues to
emanate from the out-of-control wildfires into southern Ontario.
This is what Detroit looked like early in the day on Friday. We've got states, including the District of Columbia, over million Americans under
these air quality alerts, and the entire state of Michigan, in fact. So, the fires are going to continue to burn, but it is raining in that area.
So, that will help extinguish some of the flames.
But there's a cold front associated with this system that's going to change the wind directions and it's also going to help clear out the skies at
least along the east coast and perhaps just in time for the World Cup final in New York and New Jersey on Sunday.
Here's that cold front. Notice the change in the wind. Yes, the fires haven't gone completely out, but we do think this will clear out the skies
and help improve the quality of the air going forward this weekend. Back to you.
MACFARLANE: All right, still to come tonight, a major moment for Hollywood. Fans are lining up to get their first look at The Odyssey. A look at why
this film is different from everything that came before it. When we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:17]
MACFARLANE: Hollywood's history is being made today. The Odyssey is opening in theaters across much of the world today. And award-winning director
Christopher Nolan shot the entire film with IMAX cameras which are capable of capturing a larger, higher resolution image than conventional cameras.
It's the first time that's ever been done for an entire feature-length movie. And there are only about 40 theaters in the world capable of showing
the Odyssey in the way Nolan wants in IMAX with 70 millimeter film. But Nolan says the reason to see it is not for the stunning images. It's
because this is one of the greatest stories ever told.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, WRITER AND DIRECTOR, THE ODYSSEY: At first sight, you look at the poem and it feels very alien. It feels of another time, another
society. You're very conscious of the differences. And as you engage with the text and as you engage with the story, suddenly you start to realize
that no, nothing's changed. These are primal elemental storytelling things and ideas about society and that's why Homer sustains.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, we know what Christopher Nolan thinks, but what we want to know is what are the critics saying about the Odyssey? Joining us now is
Shan Chandler. He is a film critic and YouTube creator. Sean, great to have you with us.
Look, the bar was always going to be very high for this movie. It brings together a well-known text, well-known director, and a whole host of well-
known actors. The question, Sean, is does it deliver?
SEAN CHANDLER, YOUTUBE CREATOR AND FILM CRITIC: It absolutely does. This is a film that only Christopher Nolan could make or could get made. This is a
director whose last movie won best picture as well as every other award you can imagine. And he followed it up by deciding to make Homer's Odyssey, the
cornerstone of western storytelling.
And the reason Hollywood has never tackled it before is because it is such a large, massive epic story that's difficult to condense into a single
movie and Christopher Nolan found a way to do it where it has the spectacle that you want from a big blockbuster. It has thrilling action sequences.
Some of the sequences like with Cyclops play almost like a horror movie, but it's also very thematically rich, a movie that elicits very deep
emotions out of you.
And it's a fascinating one-two punch with Oppenheimer because both movies are about men dealing with the guilt from the consequences of the world
that they unleashed with how their ingenuity ended a war. So, I thought it was a tremendous film. I've seen it twice and it played even better the
second time.
MACFARLANE: Oh, twice in one day, I would imagine, right? Or no, I suppose you would have had a preview as well.
CHANDLER: Well, it's a couple days apart. I saw -- I saw it Monday.
MACFARLANE: Well, I -- six hours. Look, for a modern movie, I've heard there's very little CGI and effects in this. And if anything, Nolan
actually opted to go back to this kind of bygone era of moviemaking, you know, something more hyper-realistic. Can you explain why he did that and
what he achieved with that?
CHANDLER: So, Christopher Nolan has always been someone that believes in practical effects, shooting on location with real sets, real props, and he
just believes in kind of creating believable worlds, verisimilitude. He wants you to buy into the reality of it. And the more that you feel like
you can feel the dirt on every character that you're really present in a place that it makes for a movie that you buy into even more.
So, when you see the Cyclops, you buy into it because you bought into everything before that. Like, there's a sequence in this where they go to
Hades and a bunch of people come out of the dirt. They buried stuntmen in sand with a snorkel to breathe and then had to like smooth out the ground
so you couldn't see the footprints. And so, you just see it and you go, wow. And that's just one shot in the movie out in the ocean --
MACFARLANE: I'm not sure I'd be --
CHANDLER: -- and he's really there.
MACFARLANE: I'm not sure I'd be signing up to be an extra perhaps in one of Christopher Nolan's films. But look, on the on the subject of actors,
there's all -- there's of course a lot of stars in this film. Zendaya, Matt Damon, Anne Hatheraway. What did you make of the performances that we saw
and who deserves the acclaim?
CHANDLER: Yes, this is a star-studded cast. Pretty much everyone gives a really amazing performance. I'd say the standout was Anne Hathaway playing
Penelope. And pretty much every single one of her scenes, she's just on the verge of emotional breakdown because she's in such a tense situation. So,
it's just like such prime material for an actress of her caliber to just go for it.
But another one was John Leguizamo, gives a very compelling, interesting performance as one of the side characters. But everyone in the movie does a
really good job.
[14:55:21]
MACFARLANE: Yes. And just a quick one, Sean, is it worth seeing this in the IMAX? Should you go that extra mile?
CHANDLER: This is a movie that is absolutely worth paying premium price to see it on the biggest screen that you can because Christopher Nolan went to
as great of lengths as you can to try and create this immersive experience and shot it with cameras, built sets, went out on the water and created a
movie with actual cinematic images worthy of paying extra money for.
MACFARLANE: I guess that's the very least we can do after all that effort and money spent. Sean, always great to hear from you. Thank you so much for
joining us.
And we're going to have to wrap it up there. That's it for us on the show tonight. Do stay with us. Coming up after the break, "WHAT WE KNOW" with me
in the next hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
