Return to Transcripts main page
Isa Soares Tonight
Devastating Wildfires Close To The Cities Of Bordeaux And Madrid, As Authorities Warn Some Of Them Could Burn For Months; Iran And Ukraine Wars Collide On The World's Biggest Lake; Anger, Shock And Grief In Berlin As Questions Mount Over The Attack On The City's Pride Celebration; Spain And France Race To Curb Wildfires Before Next Heat Wave; Danube Hits Record Low Water Levels In Hungary, Balkans; Tate Brothers' Extradition Fight; Cuba Marks Rebellion Day Amid Standoff With U.S. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 27, 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]
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: A warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Max Foster in for Isa Soares. Tonight, devastating wildfires close to
the cities of Bordeaux and Madrid, as authorities warn some of them could burn for months.
We'll have the very latest. Then, the Iran and Ukraine wars collide on the world's biggest lake. We'll explain why? Plus, anger, shock and grief in
Berlin as questions mount over the attack on the city's Pride celebration. That, and much more just ahead.
All right, the most painful expression of a climate emergency, that is the stark message from the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez as
firefighters race to control wildfires raging across Spain and France. Thick plumes of smoke billowing.
This, from this hillside, a forest there in eastern Spain. The crews are working against the clock as another heatwave is expected to hit western
Europe later this week. Authorities warn the fires may not be extinguished for months now.
To give you a sense of scale, the blazes have devastated an area that's twice the size of Paris so far. In Spain, about 100,000 people have been
told to leave their homes. The Prime Minister says these extreme temperatures are no longer an exception.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEDRO SANCHEZ, PRIME MINISTER, SPAIN (through translator): What we are living is not a succession of isolated events. As has been said before, it
is the most painful expression of a climate emergency that is making six generation wildfires more voracious, heatwaves more frequent, and as a
result, our territory more vulnerable.
This is no longer an exception. It is the new reality. Summers are becoming increasingly difficult, destructive and therefore deadly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, in France, near Bordeaux, about 220,000 people were forced to find shelter. Our Melissa Bell has more from southwestern France.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An inferno raging beyond all control. Five days in the Gironde Fire keeps growing
despite the rotations, day and night of 2,500 firefighters. Plus, the civilians who have been drafted in to try and tame a blaze that seems to
have taken on a life of its own, creating its own winds.
(On camera): This is what the firefighters are dealing with, even in those parts of the forest that the fire has gone through, that have been ravaged,
where the pines have been destroyed as you can see, the ground, the soil, the nature of the vegetation are such that it is so hot that flames are
constantly popping up from it again.
The other challenge is this westerly wind that's been driving this monster fire always further to the southeast, where the biggest flames continue to
progress.
(Voice-over): And ever closer to Bordeaux and its satellite towns, forcing over the weekend an extra 55,000 from their homes. Overall, the number
evacuated so far 220,000, according to authorities. Wendy and her family fled in the early hours of Saturday morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's really not knowing why we're here in the first place, whether it's because of the fires approaching our
home or because of the ash that was blown our way by the strong winds. And in the end, not knowing when we'll be able to go back home.
BELL: Christophe wouldn't leave without his neighbors, both in their 90s and diabetic. The hard part, he says, was getting them out of their homes
with their medicine in time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We never knew the war, but we have known calamities. Nothing like this, though, this type of fire.
BELL: Spain, too, is battling several wildfires, one on the outskirts of Madrid, another in the east of the country. Authorities say that 60,000
people have now been displaced.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): More than anything, I'm afraid because of what is being lost, nature itself. Material damage is one thing,
but that can be repaired, so-to-speak. What really hurts is emotional loss.
[14:05:00]
BELL: A loss that will only be measurable when the fires are finally contained.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Well, thanks to Melissa for that report from France. With more on the wildfires, we're joined now by Pau Mosquera, who is near Madrid. Pau,
we were looking at the weather forecast earlier, and it's going to get hotter from now. Potentially, one of the hottest Julys on record for Spain,
which isn't going to help the firefighters.
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's it, Max. And this is why the Spanish government says that the next few hours are going to be critical as
to try to contain the advance of the flames. Because from Wednesday and on, the fourth heatwave of the Summer is going to impact most of the country.
And this means that the temperatures are going to climb again, make it -- making it more difficult to control the different wildfires that are active
around the country. Actually, here in the outskirts of Madrid, you can easily see the impact of the flames, the blaze that is raging western
Madrid, silhouetted against the clear blue sky.
You can see this vast and dense column of smoke that is rising directly from the blaze. So far, Max, authorities say that this wildfire has
scorched around 28,000 hectares of forest area and forced the evacuation of around 31,000 people.
But these fires are also bringing a lot of chaos to the outskirts of the city because, as you can see in this motorway that is connecting the city
of Madrid on the west of the region, many vehicles are here, stopped, forming a big line as they are waiting to get inside different towns, that
right now are being affected by the flames. Max.
FOSTER: How close -- and what's the risk of the -- of the capital being affected? What way are the winds going?
MOSQUERA: So far, the authorities are not really considering the risk of the capital being affected by these wildfires. But they always say that the
wind, the direction changing is something that can always happen. Actually, this morning, they were alerting that during this Monday, they were -- they
were expecting wind-gusts of up to 30 kilometers per hour, which certainly would complicate a lot trying to contain the fire.
But so far, it seems that these flames are not getting through the capital and are getting spread in different areas. Max.
FOSTER: OK, Pau, appreciate it, just outside Madrid there. We're moving on now to the threats of massive force claiming Iran is begging to talk back
to the threats of military action. U.S. President Donald Trump trying different strategies as he pauses a bombing campaign on Iran.
But Iran says it will never allow the U.S. to determine the timing of war and of peace. Now, after 13 straight nights of attacks, the Trump
administration said it's halting the strikes to give space for diplomacy. Mr. Trump just told reporters that Iran asked very nicely for the bombing
to stop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have plenty of time, plenty of time. Their whole shorelines wiped out. The Strait is in very good shape
and we're talking right now. You know, they wanted to talk, the people said, please don't drop, don't shoot last night, the night before, two
nights.
Don't do it. You know, we're having good talks. So, we'll see what happens. I think there's a good chance that something could happen. And if it does,
good, if it doesn't, we go back to doing what we were doing two days ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, there could be another factor at play here in the decision to pause those strikes. Sources saying U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and the
Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, have raised concerns about escalating the war and possibly depleting the U.S. munitions stockpile.
We're joined by Kevin Liptak in Washington, Nic Robertson is in Jerusalem. Kevin, of course, the U.S. military is being overstretched. It's got the
war in the Middle East. It's got, you know, supporting Israel. It's got the war against Iran. It's got the Ukrainian war as well to support. But there
does seem genuine concern that they might run out of munitions.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, and this has been, I think, boiling for quite some time, and you have heard it from officials
about exactly how many resources the U.S. has left to fight this conflict, and sort of the burn rate that they have used so far.
There's one group in Washington, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, that estimates the U.S. has used 1,500 Patriot interceptors so far
in this conflict, which would leave about a thousand left.
[14:10:00]
Which I think is an alarming figure if you're a U.S. military planner, one with no real end game of this war in sight, unable to sort of predict how
many you will need in this particular conflict going forward. But also looking around the world, and realizing that Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping
also recognize that the U.S. may be seeing its munitions dwindle and sort of reassessing their own particular geopolitical moves going forward.
And so, it is a concern. And you heard President Trump earlier today when he was asked about it, say that for now, the U.S. does have what it needs
to fight this war, but that, in his words, he would love to have more sophisticated munitions, bigger stockpiles.
And that, I think, reflects, in fact, what we've been hearing from U.S. officials that in this meeting on Friday, General Dan Caine; the Chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that, yes, the military could execute on some of the options that were in front of President Trump to escalate the
war.
And it would be successful if it did that. But still that the military does have concerns about what that would portend for these stockpiles going
forward. It's also about the costs here. You know, every single one of these Patriot interceptors, costs $4 million to fire off.
And when you think about what they're shooting with those interceptors, in some cases, they're very inexpensive Iranian drones, costs maybe $30,000.
And so, there is a mismatch here that I think the military will have to reckon with at some point.
And at least, in President Trump's view, this is not necessarily worth the escalation that he was actively previewing at the end of last week.
FOSTER: Yes, Nic, take us through where we are with these talks which the President now seems more positive about. I see that Oman seems to be
leading a lot of the diplomacy at the moment.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, the Omani delegation was in Tehran on Friday and left late Saturday. The fact they
were there for more than 24 hours seemed to sort of breathe some hope into what they were discussing, and they were focusing on the Strait of Hormuz.
And the Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tehran said that they had made progress, that there were continuing technical and political level talks.
But I think what we've been hearing from the Iranians today gives a sense that although they've discussed with the Omanis, who, of course, are the
other sort of coastal side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranians on the north, the Omanis on the south, and therefore, they both have a vested interest in how the Strait of Hormuz works. And that's
what the discussions were about, Iran doesn't seem to be backing down from its position of wanting to be able to control the Strait of Hormuz, wanting
to have a management system for it that perhaps Oman could be part of as well.
Right now, the Omanis have been going along with the U.S. position, which is to allow that southern corridor of the Strait of Hormuz as its maritime
corridor, as it's become known to allow vessels to go out that way. But Iran is blocking that.
And it does seem at this moment as if the language we're hearing from the Iranians saying the United States is not going to dictate when the next
round of the war will start, and that Iran is not backing away from its control on the Strait of Hormuz.
It's really not quite clear, although President Trump frames this as Iran wanting it and calling for this. It does seem that the Iranians are framing
it as we intend to continue with what we said all along, control of the Strait. So, in a way, that makes it look like the ball is back in President
Trump's court.
FOSTER: And Kevin, we obviously had this Ukraine ship attack. It's raised concerns that these two wars could be amalgamating to some extent, at
least, overlapping. Is there a big fear that, that could be the next stage of this? Though, you know, one wider war which genuinely does create
concerns about World War III, at least, that's the chat on social.
LIPTAK: Right, and President Trump has tried tamping down on some of those concerns. But again, officials have worried for months and months that, for
example, Russia could be supplying Iran with Intelligence about American positions, including -- potentially, that China could be involved in some
of that as well.
And so, you do start to see how all of this could potentially converge. We will have tomorrow here in Washington, visits from both the Prime Minister,
Benjamin Netanyahu, who the President has been at odds with in some ways on the Iran war.
[14:15:00]
But also, from Volodymyr Zelenskyy; the Ukrainian President, both of those men in town to attend the funeral for the late Senator Lindsey Graham and
President Trump, both getting them on his schedule for meetings.
You know, the President at this point hasn't shown any new ways that he has in mind for ending the Ukraine war, although I think there had been hope
earlier in the Summer that once the Iran war was put to a ceasefire, that perhaps he would turn his attention back to trying to get the Russians and
the Ukrainians to the negotiating table to come up with some sort of end game there.
The Iran war certainly no longer in a ceasefire, at least, over the last two weeks. And so, the President hasn't necessarily been able to get to
that conflict. And it remains to be seen how even if he did get them at the table, he would get both sides to agree to some sort of peace plan.
And so, both of these, I think, are sort of grinding onwards in a way that the President would very much like to see wrap up. But at the same time has
shown no new ways to get them to wind down. And if they do start converging, that would, I think, be just a whole new mess for the President
to have to deal with in a way that I think he once claimed would be very easy to resolve.
FOSTER: Yes, Kevin, Nic, as well, thank you very much. Let's look a bit deeper into that then. Iran threatening to respond to yet another front in
this war involving Ukraine and the Caspian Sea. Ukraine says its drones hit two Russian vessels carrying military cargo to Iran over the weekend.
Iran said one of its ships was attacked, killing one person. The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says Russia is also providing satellite
data to Iran to facilitate attacks on U.S. targets in the Middle East. President Trump brushed off those concerns today, saying it hasn't had much
impact.
Mr. Zelenskyy will visit the U.S. tomorrow. Right now, he's in the U.K. meeting with the new Prime Minister here, Andy Burnham. CNN's Clare
Sebastian has more now from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, it was a ceremonial welcome and a clear signal of the U.K.'s ongoing commitment to Ukraine as
President Zelenskyy kicked off a critical week of diplomacy at Portsmouth Naval Base in southern England, becoming the first foreign leader to visit
the U.K. since new Prime Minister Andy Burnham took office a week ago.
ANDY BURNHAM, PRIME MINISTER, UNITED KINGDOM: We are with Ukraine 100 percent. I am personally with you, 100 percent, Mr. President, and I will
honor every commitment this country has made to Ukraine in full.
SEBASTIAN: Well, Burnham also announced a new deal to give Ukraine British- made jamming technology to help protect its drones. Will this stop off in the U.K. a prelude, really, to what, for Zelenskyy will be a much more
consequential visit to Washington D.C. to meet with President Trump.
The backdrop here is that Ukraine is facing the prospect of what Zelenskyy says will be another mass mobilization of Russian soldiers in the Fall.
It's facing mounting ballistic missile attacks and dwindling air defense supplies, and desperately needs to fast-track a promise from Trump to hand
over the licenses to produce the U.S.-made Patriot missiles in Ukraine.
Well, Kyiv isn't waiting around, though. Over the weekend, Ukraine claimed it had struck several cargo ships in the Caspian Sea involved, it said in
carrying military equipment between Russia and Iran. Iran says an Iranian civilian ship was hit, killing one and warning that it could retaliate.
Well, this may have been a calculated risk by Ukraine. The timing here is critical to help convince Trump, perhaps, of the danger posed on multiple
fronts by Russia's military alliance with Iran, and the need for tougher action towards Moscow. Clare Sebastian CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Just ahead, police say the suspect in this weekend's deadly attack at Berlin's Pride celebration tried to join the Islamic State group in
Syria. We'll have the latest on the investigation, and a deadly shooting at a food festival. We'll take you to the scene in Seattle, Washington.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
FOSTER: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is asking how a deadly attack on Berlin's Pride celebration could have been prevented. One person was
killed, 29 others injured on Saturday during a vehicle ramming and stabbing.
The suspect was shot and killed by police on Sunday. After a manhunt, authorities are describing the incident as an Islamist attack. CNN's Fred
Pleitgen has more on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, we're actually on the scene where all of this happened, and this is
inside a public park, one of the main parks in Berlin called the Tiergarten. This is actually a footpath and bike path here in this park.
It's not a public road. Nevertheless, the attacker drove the car down this footpath, ramming into lots of people. I want to show you something here
because actually this tree that the vehicle rammed into, which then stopped that driving rampage, if the attacker hadn't driven into this tree,
potentially even more people would have been injured and potentially killed.
As it stands, the authorities are saying 29 people were injured, one person was killed, and afterwards, the apparent -- the attacker apparently left
the vehicle, and as he made his getaway, started stabbing people along the way.
Now, there are several questions that the authorities here are answering. First of all, they say that this is an Islamist motivated terrorist attack,
as they put it. They've named the attacker as a man named Abdul B., who was born in Berlin, is 21 years old, is of Lebanese descent, and apparently
tried to go to Syria to join ISIS in the past.
So, he had already been convicted by a juvenile court here in Germany and was on probation, actually, when all of this happened. Now, the authorities
are also questioning how the vehicle managed to get into this park, because, of course, there was that big Pride event going on.
There were a lot of barriers that were actually set up in the days prior to this event. So, that's one of the things the authorities are looking into.
And one of the other things they're also still looking into is whether or not there might have been others who were also involved in this plot.
They say right now, that's still very much up for investigation. But as you can imagine here, city of Berlin, very much in shock, of course, the Pride
community also very much in shock as well. The German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, he came out and he urged people to stay strong in the face of acts
like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Fred Pleitgen there on the scene. Now, the city of Seattle is in shock today after deadly gun violence at a popular food festival. People
scrambled for safety on Sunday after two people at the festival apparently began shooting at each other.
Three people were killed and several others wounded. A two-year-old child was amongst those hurt. Authorities are holding a news conference right
now. They say one suspect is in custody, a 15-year-old male, and they're still searching for another shooter.
CNN's Julia Vargas Jones was on the scene in Seattle just a short time ago, and she filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): It's an eerie scene here in Seattle this morning as we're seeing the cleanup of this food festival
starting to take place. Authorities opening up for vendors to come and collect their belongings.
The scene seems like it was frozen in time. In that very moment that those shots rang out at around 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, where people ran, including
in this direction towards the Space Needle.
[14:25:00]
This iconic landmark of Seattle to take cover to protect themselves as they heard those -- what sounded to some like fireworks. At first, they said --
take a listen to what one of them described it was like to be in the middle of that shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was about 20 feet or less, maybe, from the -- one of the people who was shot, and I couldn't really clearly see what was going
on. But I ran toward the gunfire and there was a -- I would say at least, two dozen shots. It was multiple, it sounded like an automatic weapon.
JONES: One major development overnight, that one of the people who were injured died of their injuries in the hospital, but all other survivors
were released, according to the hospital, except for the two-year-old, who they say is in satisfactory condition.
Now, the attention today turns to the suspect who is in custody, it's unclear if they are cooperating with police in finding the missing person
who was involved in the shooting. The hearing, though, is not a charging hearing, will be a preliminary appearance in front of a judge where they
will bring some information where prosecutors say that decision can take up to 72 hours.
How and if they will charge that person, hopefully, that will bring a little bit more clarity, a little bit more information on who those people
are and perhaps a motive. They say at this time, there is no threat to the community. Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Seattle.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: There's finally some certainty in the chaos of the Democratic Party's quest for a candidate to run for Maine's Senate seat. Over the
weekend, a hastily-arranged Democratic Party Convention picked Troy Jackson to run for the seat in what's expected to be one of the closest Senate
races this Fall.
Democrats had to find a last-minute replacement for Graham Platner after he pulled out amid allegations of sexual assault. Jackson will take on long-
time Republican Senator Susan Collins, who is running for a sixth term in the U.S. Senate, despite pledging years ago that she would only serve two
terms.
Still to come tonight, Europe needs relief as countries like Spain, France and Italy battle massive wildfires. We'll have a look at the forecast when
we come back.
[14:30:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Welcome back. Spain's Prime Minister is calling the devastating wildfires ravaging parts of his country and neighboring France the most
painful expression of a climate emergency. Massive flames are getting dangerously close to the cities of Bordeaux and Madrid and France says they
may not be extinguished for months. Tens of thousands of people have already been forced to evacuate their homes. Meanwhile, heat remains a
factor as temperatures continue to rise with no rain sight.
Derek Van Dam joins us from the CNN Weather Centre. We are having this extraordinary year of heat, aren't we, in Europe? But I guess the wind's
just as important at this point.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And the drought as well. I think it's important, Max, that we step back, kind of say, how did we get to this
point? Well, remember, we had an unusually wet winter. So, the months of January and February, we had a lot of water, a lot of rainfall from the sky
and then the taps got turned off and then we had multiple successive heat waves impact the Iberian Peninsula and western portions of Europe.
So, this is the drought monitor from Copernicus. And you can see France littered with that dark shade of red near the Bordeaux region. That is the
highest level of drought conditions that they monitor. Of course, we have our ongoing wildfires that we are monitoring. There are several hotspots,
dozens of hotspots across this area, but we're focusing in on just west of Bordeaux and west of Madrid. This is fascinating.
The French authorities here talking about pyrocumulus clouds, their own weather patterns created by the intense heat from these wildfires. And it's
visible on this satellite imagery. We picked this because it really tells an important story. This is Bordeaux. This is one of the wildfires. And you
can see kind of those overshooting tops.
So, you're a satellite looking down towards the ground. And this is kind of giving you an example of just how high these billowing plumes of smoke are.
We call these pyrocumulus clouds. It is true. Sometimes when intense forest fires get so hot, they actually force the air upwards. The air particles
cool, condense, create clouds, and often those can create lightning strikes that spark additional wildfires.
But on top of that, it can complicate the firefighting efforts on the ground as well. Because once rain falls from this thunderstorm in essence
cloud, well, it's going to create a lot of wind as well. So, it can push embers from the original fire to new additional spot fires further out
along the forward flank, complicating the firefighting efforts.
So, does this, the winds, right? If it gusts anywhere between 20 to 40 kilometers per hour, which it's forecast to do across some of these hardest
hit areas, it will make it that much difficult. When we get a change in the wind direction, the forward flank changes from north to south, east to
west, depending on what that wind direction is doing. And of course, what's exacerbating it is the heat dome.
We keep talking about these this season, and it's exceptionally strong, especially across Spain and into southwestern France. Daytime highs here
are about 5 to 10 degrees Celsius above where they should be this time of year. And the dried-out vegetation that's left over from the onslaught of
rain earlier this winter, yes, it's been zapped of its moisture. So, it is tinderbox conditions on the ground with no rain forecast really in the
foreseeable future to help quell these fires.
And yes, we have drought conditions, the high temperatures and the dry soil vegetation. That is a recipe. Those are the ingredients, Max, that we need
for wildfires to continue. Unfortunately, that's the case here.
FOSTER: Yes. That's frightening, isn't it? Derek, thank you so much. Let's bring in Fernando Sedano. He is the wildfire team leader of the Disaster
Risk Management Unit of the European Commission's Joint Research Center. Thank you so much for joining us.
And I think one of the start differences from other years is that those southern European countries often have wildfires, but we've never seen
anything quite like this in France, have we?
FERNANDO SEDANO, TEAM LEADER, WILDFIRE TEAM AT DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT AND JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION: Yes, that's it.
Basically, France is experiencing some of the conditions that are more common in southern European countries like Portugal, Spain, Greece, even
Italy.
As was mentioned before, they have been experiencing a continuous extreme fire conditions since late May. And the values of those fire conditions are
comparable to those of what we should expect in Spain, for instance, in July and August. This is totally unprecedented in France.
FOSTER: Derek was talking about the very wet early part of the year, creating lots of vegetation, followed by this very warm summer. Does that
say to you that, you know, it is almost inextricably linked to climate change because it's these extremes in heat that have created the problem
this year?
[14:45:00]
SEDANO: Yes, definitely. I mean, this high precipitation in the spring and the accumulation of fuel may play more of a role in the fires in Spain than
those in France, but it does definitely link to climate change. When we see a succession of heat waves, these extreme heat waves, this is clearly
something that we have been experiencing more in the last years and that we foresee that will happen more often in the near future.
FOSTER: Because even in Scotland, we've seen wildfires, haven't we? If we go quite far north, and the big fear there is that the peat is burning,
which is his own problem, isn't it? Because you've got this underground fire as well. So, the whole issue is moving northwards.
SEDANO: Yes. This is something that when we look at the records in the European Forest Fire Information System, we can clearly see that large and
very large fires are happening more at higher latitudes. What used to be a problem of southern Europe, the Mediterranean Basin, now I see that it
doesn't happen every year, but every one year or another, we have larger fires at higher latitudes.
We have seen large fires in the U.K. and Scotland last year, for instance, 2025, some this year, but we also saw large fires in Sweden back in 2018.
France this year, we have the fires near Paris. So, this is one of the new trends, by the way. Fires are occurring at higher latitudes and also high
altitudes.
FOSTER: And these fire clouds that Derek was talking about, that's also a new problem, isn't it? Because that's actually something that the
firefighters can't fight.
SEDANO: Yes. Once we have this kind of fire cumulus, we can say that there's no way we can fight the fire. The fire is going to generate their
own weather, their own dynamics, probably the safest thing to do is just to retreat and try to protect human assets, some human infrastructure. This is
probably a consequence of the accumulation of fuel and biomass, which is related to landscape management as well.
FOSTER: Countries will tell you that, you know, it's very expensive to prepare for these. If you're going to prepare for one of these wildfires,
you would need a lot more resources. But it's a question of how much resource you spare the rest of the year for these incidents. Is it not the
time for the European Union to maybe resource one country fully that can then come to the rescue of other countries? Because it seems as though it's
quite a piecemeal response, each country sending what they can, but it just doesn't feel like enough.
SEDANO: Yes, but actually, that kind of mechanism is already in place. The Union Civil Protection Mechanism allows different member states in the
European Union to share their extinction assets. Different countries are sharing their planes, their helicopters, and their ground crews for the
extinction of wildfires. The mechanism has been in place for a number of years now, I think it's a good example of collaboration between within
countries in the European Union.
FOSTER: Fernando Serrano, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much. So, many extraordinary things coming out of this heat wave.
The water levels are falling in the Danube River. As CNN's Ben Hunte now reports, the receding water is actually revealing once forgotten pieces of
history.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hidden beneath the Danube River for nearly a century, the skeleton of a sunken ship emerges from the
shallow water, only visible now because water levels on the famous waterway have plunged to record lows, exposing relics of the past to the light of
day again.
LEA VIDIC, MAYOR OF LOVAS MUNICIPALITY, CANADA (through translator): As we record one of the lowest water levels on history, a ship that sank way back
in 1937, has surfaced. It's the Hungarian cargo ship Fulton, which at the time was transporting 50 wagon loads of coal.
HUNTE (voice-over): But it's not the only piece of history revealed by the shrinking waters. In Budapest, a World War II shell was found lodged in a
riverbed, which shut down a major bridge until a bomb squad could clear the area. The past resurfacing because of some very modern problems. Extreme
heat and drought have shriveled up the Danube in parts of Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, and Romania, along with other factors.
[14:40:00]
VLADIMIR STAKIC, EDITOR IN CHIEF, "RIBOLOV" MAGAZINE (through translator): It might be partly driven by electricity consumption and partly by the
extreme water usage for intensive farming. When you combine that with the lack of rain, we're experiencing due to climate change and the temperature
rise of a few degrees, it leads to higher water evaporation.
HUNTE (voice-over): And that's disrupting the flow of river traffic. Some cruise ships have had to alter or cancel itineraries because they could not
operate on some stretches of the river, and many cargo vessels are reducing their loads.
Serbia's Energy Minister says barges and tankers are only operating at 30 to 40 percent of capacity to safely navigate the river. Residents living
along the riverbank say the depleted landscape was months in the making.
ZORAN TASIC, RESIDENT (through translator): To me, it looks like a natural disaster because nobody caused it on purpose or by accident. It just
happened. There was no rain, no snow all winter, no reserves in the mountains that should be melting now to maintain water levels. Instead,
there is no water.
HUNTE (voice-over): Forecasters say some rain is expected in the region, which could cause a slight spike in levels. But experts say it's a quick
fix to a long-term crisis.
Ben Hunte, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come tonight, the Tate brothers begin their extradition fight. We'll go to Miami where lawyers for the social media influencers
were in court.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Attorneys for the Tate brothers appeared in a Florida federal court today to fight extradition efforts. Now, the Tate brothers were arrested
nine days ago in Miami. They faced charges in the U.K. with several sex crimes including rape and human trafficking. The social media influences
known for their misogyny have denied the allegations.
Carolina Peguero is outside the federal courthouse in Miami. So, what came out of it, Carolina?
CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon. Yes, another status conference hearing for the Tate brothers' lawyers. Although they were not
present, they still remain under federal custody just a few steps from where we are. They are denying all allegations and their lawyers are saying
that they're going to do everything in their power to get an immediate release and also stop the extradition process.
[14:45:00]
Now, the U.S. government is saying that they have until September 16th to be able to submit any documents that the Tate brothers' lawyers are
demanding as far as evidence and testimony. From the alleged victims and witnesses to these allegations of sexual and physical abuse, rape and also
human trafficking.
This in a process that may possibly take several weeks. The judge however in this case is allowing both parties to be able to submit their filings
and documents on or before August 5th and the next hearing is expected on August 13th. Max.
FOSTER: And how are they fighting the case? What's their argument?
PEGUERO: Well, they are saying that this is a political motivated arrest, that they are being witch hunted and they are saying that they are in
solitary confinement. At least the lawyers are their clients are being held against their will and that they are under conditions that should not be
in. They are saying that they're going to continue to file -- they're going to appeal these allegations as well as the process of the extradition
process to the U.K.
Now, they're also saying and are going to fight this provisional warrant or arrest against the brothers from the U.K. since they have not been
presented any information from the U.K. authorities, Max. So, we'll see how long this process takes but, in the meantime, they're saying that they're
going to do everything in their power to get the brothers out or at least have a bail hearing.
FOSTER: OK. Carolina Peguero, thank you so much for that update.
OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman are facing a new lawsuit. A Florida man claims ChatGPT nearly killed him when he asked the chatbot for medical advice. The
man says ChatGPT dismissed his symptoms and discouraged him from seeking treatment with the result that he suffered a pulmonary embolism. The
lawsuit is amongst a growing number of people accusing ChatGPT of causing real life harm. Clare Duffy has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: That's right. 55-year-old Florida pastor, Scott Winters, says he started using ChatGPT in June of 2024 like many
people do. Sort of like a search engine looking for information. He started asking it questions about health conditions that he was developing looking
for more information and over this course of several months ChatGPT gave him increasingly specific medical advice including specific supplement and
medication recommendations, lifestyle changes and other clinical advice.
And even in the days leading up to this medical emergency Scott says it downplayed his symptoms and his concerns telling him at one point that his
symptoms were likely not something dangerous. It also used religious language playing on the fact that Scott is a pastor telling him at one
point that his situation was under God's watch. It also told him in one exchange that his brain must learn, quote, "I can feel dizzy and still be
safe."
ChatGPT also encouraged him not to tell his wife exactly what was going on. That all leading to a June 2025 pulmonary embolism that Scott says nearly
killed him. And even after that medical emergency ChatGPT continued to encourage him not to follow the recommendations of his human doctors. Scott
Winters now suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman for product liability negligence and failure to warn of the risks that he says were inherent in
this platform.
And this of course a growing concern as more and more people do turn to A.I. chatbots for health information. OpenAI is defending its product. A
spokesperson told us in a statement, quote, "Every day hundreds of millions of people search the internet for health information. We believe A.I. can
make that experience better by helping them find clearer answers, organize their questions, prepare for conversations with medical professionals
especially in a world where not everyone has equal access to quality care. But ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a substitute for
medical care diagnosis or treatment." OpenAI also says its terms of service tell users not to use ChatGPT for medical treatment or as the sole source
of health information.
But you can see how it might be confusing if ChatGPT is at the same time giving very specific medical advice and encouraging users not to turn to
human medical professionals. So, an important warning for any users who are asking A.I. chatbots for medical advice make sure you're also talking to
human professionals. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:50:00]
FOSTER: Absolutely. Still to come tonight, Cuba marked a major communist holiday as its leader said to the U.S. We'll have a report from the island
coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Cuba marked its National Rebellion Day over the weekend, honoring a key event in the island's communist takeover. In 1953, fighters led by a
young Fidel Castro attacked the army of U.S.-backed dictator Batista. Castro lost the battle, but six years later, he had won the war. And Cuba's
government is keen to highlight that history as it faces a crippling U.S. blockade.
CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez reports from Pinar del Rio in Cuba.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR AND CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Now, people are leaving this plaza in Pinar del Rio on the western part of the
island. Every year, a different province organizes a July 26th commemoration.
What happened on July 26th? It was 1953. A group of rebels attacked military installations in Santiago de Cuba on the other side of the island,
and that's seen as a precursor of the Cuban Revolution that came to place in 1959 with Fidel Castro heading that movement.
Now, today's act happened very early, 5:15 in the morning, according to the organizers, it had to do with the time the attack happened. So, you had
people congregating at this very vast plaza very early in the morning. The act took only one hour, and the main speech was that by Miguel Diaz-Canel.
He rejected U.S. foreign policy, said U.S. foreign policy will not make them leave government. He called it a genocide and criticized the U.S. for
imposing a recurring number of sanctions.
That includes the restriction of fuel supply to the island, where fuel is very scarce. Rolling blackouts are the norm. Finding fuel is very
difficult, and it's very expensive. But he said they are keeping their promises, and they are trying to overcome this crisis with political
reforms, economic reforms. That will be discussed by the National Assembly the following week.
Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN, Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: All right. Over the weekend, Marvel fans experienced a bittersweet moment at the San Diego Comic-Con. We finally know who will be taking on
the role of Black Panther's son, director Ryan Coogler. Coogler says his next film will introduce British actor David Johnson as a new T'Challa.
[14:55:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID JOHNSON, ACTOR: I want to say thank you so much. Thank you, Ryan. Thank you, Kevin. Thank you to this amazing family that I have the honor
and the privilege and the blessing to join. I actually don't want to say too much, because I want to let this screen do the talking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the previous Black Panther was portrayed by the late Chadwick Boseman, who passed away in 2020 when he was just 43 years old. "Black
Panther 3," set for release in December 2028.
Finally, tonight, "The Odyssey" phenomenon is dominating the worldwide box office. In case you haven't noticed, Christopher Nolan's epic film sold
$215 million worth of tickets over the weekend. That's a stunning figure for a film in its second weekend of release. Ticket sales are especially
strong at IMAX and other large format theatres, with some IMAX venues reporting sell-outs all the way into September.
Thanks for watching tonight. Do stay with CNN. I'll have more of "What We Know" coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
