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Isa Soares Tonight
CNN Poll: Trump's Approval Rating Hits a New Low; Fauci Invokes Right Against Self-Incrimination 100 Plus Times; Senate Votes 86-12 to Advance Russia and Iran Sanctions; UEFA Slams FIFA's $20B Investment Plan to Run World Cup. U.S. Federal Reserve Makes a Critical Decision on Interest Rates; Saudi Arabia Publicly Confirms that it Conducted Joint Strikes with the U.S. for the First Time in the War Against Iran; Spain's Prime Minister Warns the Next 12 Hours will be Decisive as High Temperatures and Strong Winds Threaten to Fan the Flames of Massive Wildfires Ravaging Southern Europe. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 29, 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, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, welcome, I'm Max Foster in for ISA SOARES TONIGHT. Beginning with breaking news, the U.S. Federal
Reserve making a critical decision on interest rates. Paula Newton is across the announcement, unusually uncertain, this one, Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Uncertain. Although, Max, I will tell you right now that they have decided that they are going to maintain rates,
hold them steady, not increasing, not decreasing. But you make a very good point here, Max, that this Fed governor says he's going to be much
different going forward, that most of what he says and does will be data dependent.
I also want to tell you, Max, that right now, we have three dissenters. Usually these decisions, they like them to be unanimous. They are not.
There are three Fed governors who decided that they wanted to increase rates. And why is that significant? Two reasons, Max. One is, it probably
makes this Fed much more hawkish, meaning much more likely to raise rates in September.
And it will also likely affect markets, and the President himself and the Oval Office, who has said he doesn't want to go anywhere near an increase
in rates. But he wants those rates to be decreased. This Fed chair, though, Max, as we've heard before, especially as he is new to the job, has said,
look, I want that inflation rate back to 2 percent.
It is not near that right now; we have no idea even though there was a good June report where it's going to go. I want to actually take a look with
you, Max, at CPI, the Consumer Price Index here in the United States, because this is something that this committee will be looking at very
closely.
The fact that they had a better report, and you can see the slight dip there below 4 percent recently is good news. But again, that is when we
thought that energy prices would decrease and then stabilize because we thought there would be some type of a ceasefire in the Middle East.
As we've seen just today, again, with oil prices completely volatile and again, raising today that this Fed Committee believes, at least, three of
the dissenters do that there will be much more inflation, and for that reason, they believe that in order to tame inflation, that interest rates
should actually be going up, not held steady and not going down.
So, we'll wait to see what the September decision is, we do have a press conference with the Fed Chair, Kevin Warsh, in less than a half an hour
from now, and he is actually, in my opinion, Max, been much more forthcoming in these press conferences. So, we'll listen closely.
FOSTER: But it will be interesting to see if Donald Trump didn't like this decision. He wanted rates to fall, and he criticized Warsh to see how Warsh
reacts, right?
NEWTON: He has been so measured, Max, saying an almost really bluntly, saying that we're going to give this Fed Chair some time. He was very tough
on Jerome Powell, and the fact that he would not lower interest rates.
But it seems that this Fed Chair has a grace period. One thing that I do want to alert you to, though, especially since there were three dissents
and not two, it is significant to have three is that, Scott Bessent; the Treasury Secretary, said earlier this week that he felt that any of those
dissenters would be, in his words, political.
And that again, is crossing a line for this administration and for what the Fed is supposed to be. It is supposed to be independent. It is supposed to
have that almighty credibility and independence that so many in the economic world, not just here in the United States, but beyond, really need
from a Fed Chair and the board.
And it was actually very skeptical, as if to say that those who were wanting to raise rates weren't doing it because they look at the data and
are fearful of inflation. No, they were doing it in order to somehow stymie the economy and break away from what President Trump's economic goals are.
We will see if anybody from the Trump administration weighs in. But right now, likely, this will be pretty quiet, given the fact that they did hold
rates steady.
FOSTER: OK, Paula Newton in New York, thank you for bringing us that update. Fed leaving the rates unchanged. Now for the first time, Saudi
Arabia publicly confirming that it conducted joint strikes with the U.S. in the war against Iran, raising fears of the conflict widening even further.
The U.S. and Saudi strikes targeted Iran-backed militias in Iraq overnight. The U.S. calls it a strong response after attacks on U.S. forces and Saudi
oil facilities.
[14:05:00]
An Iranian-aligned militia in Iraq says at least 20 people were killed and dozens more wounded. A short time ago, Iraq's Prime Minister ordered his
government to pursue legal action against the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is using expletives to threaten a beating for Iran after its surprise attack on American forces. U.S. CENTCOM
says Iran launched multiple ballistic missiles that were all intercepted. Iran says it targeted U.S. military sites in Jordan.
Let's bring in Kristen Holmes in Washington. Obviously, this gets more complicated all the time, but a real show of intention here to attack those
sympathetic groups in Iraq, but also to go in harder on Iran off the back of those attacks.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and just to keep in mind here, I mean, this is coming off of about 2 or 3 days where
they had stopped the strikes on Iran. And this is somewhat embarrassing for President Trump because those pauses in the strikes came because President
Trump said that they were at the request of Tehran, who was coming to the negotiating table, essentially saying that they had been hit so hard for 14
days of consecutive strikes by the United States that they had wanted a break.
And that President Trump wanted to give them room to negotiate, give room for those talks to actually breathe, but instead, then you saw Iran
striking or at least, launching the surprise attack on U.S. forces. So, President Trump did respond today on "Fox News".
He said that "we are going to beat the f-ing s-h-i-t out of them." Then he said, "we'll be hitting them hard. They're going to get a beating." It is
just so clear that it's -- that President Trump and the administration don't have a very distinct path forward here.
They said there were negotiations. Iran then actually turned around and strike U.S. forces in a surprise attack. And now, we seem to be back to the
drawing board. So, how the United States gets out of this, it just does not seem as though they have a clear idea. And President Trump's wish for some
kind of diplomatic off-ramp seems unlikely to happen.
FOSTER: OK, Kristen Holmes, thank you so much for joining us from Washington there. Spain's Prime Minister warning the next 12 hours will be
decisive as high temperatures and strong winds threaten to fan the flames of massive wildfires ravaging southern Europe.
But for now, amid a brief respite in the scorching heat, firefighters in both Spain and France appear to be getting the upper hand. Still, the head
of the EU's Emergency Response Center says the same fire risk could be coming to Greece and Italy in the coming weeks.
The Spanish Prime Minister, meanwhile, is in a cautious show of optimism today, describing containment efforts near Madrid as favorable. It all
comes as Europe, the world's fastest warming continent, has endured record- breaking heatwaves this Summer.
Melissa Bell is in the Bordeaux region of France. Does it feel like they're getting it in control, Melissa?
MELISSA BELL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, what we've seen today in France is just because of the heat. It has been up to 41 degrees in some
parts of France, not least here around that mega fire of Gironde. But we've seen flare ups in the south, where there had been a fire burning for a few
days.
Now, there have been fires they declared in Burgundy, Max. And the problem here is that whilst they continue to say that the fire in Gironde is
stabilized but not fixed, what that means is that it is still the 42,000 hectares that they're dealing with, Max.
It hasn't progressed in terms of square meters or hectares, but what it does mean is that all of this land, which has been -- seen the fire
contained-ish or stabilized in terms of its progression, continues to see these flare-ups.
So, you've had several different areas where just because of the heat and the fact that the ground remains as hot as it is, and that the firemen are
continuing to police the border of this and to try and stamp them out wherever these flare-ups happen, they have nonetheless picked up again.
So, you've had again today a situation where you've got civilians alongside firefighters trying to take out these flare-ups and trying to keep an eye
on anything that might snack off this thing, regaining in the kind of momentum we saw the last few days.
What we expect is that the next couple of days will be crucial. So, either the flare-ups will be contained, and they will manage to get a hold on
this. And tomorrow, we expect temperatures to get down into the 30s still.
It's not going to be cooler, it's not going to be cold, but it's going to be a little less hot than it was today. But the air is so oppressive today.
The heat in this part of the world again, and of course, that Max, has been the problem.
It is because we've had these successive heatwaves that we are where we are. And that continued today. So, I think we're going to have a better
idea by tomorrow morning of their efforts, or rather, the ability that they've had to try and stamp out these flare-ups.
But they are still fighting a monstrous fire that had taken on this momentum of its own, where you still have all of these 42,000 hectares of
charred remains of pines largely, because that's what you're talking about in this part of the world that continue to smolder and flare-up in parts.
[14:10:00]
So, it continues to be a battle. Some of the local towns and villages that have been evacuated, those 220,000 people who had to flee their homes over
the course of the weekend have been allowed back. There were these sort of ghost towns.
So, a lot of people coming back either to homes that were devastated or parts of the forest that were devastated, many of them coming back to
houses and homes that were unscathed. They had been moved as a matter of precaution. A lot of them are still not been allowed to return.
And again, the question of just how bad it gets within that 42,000 hectares is the big question, and the fight continues tonight, Max.
FOSTER: OK, so that's the picture near Bordeaux. Let's go to the other city where there's huge concern as well. Pau Mosquera is near Madrid. Pau?
PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's it. We are right now at San Juan Reservoir. This is a reservoir located 60 kilometers west from Madrid, Max.
And this place has been used by emergency workers as to get water from here and then drop it where it was most needed.
But actually, we're here not just to show you what the emergency workers have been doing, but also how the flames reached this area. I don't know if
you get to see that in front of us. But on your screens, you're going to see a part of the coast that looks a little bit -- a little bit more black
than the rest were.
Well, in there, there are some kayaks, some boats that residents in Madrid normally use to just relax and enjoy the weekends here in the water. And
all that kayaks over there are reduced to rubble. You actually can get a very strong smell of burnt plastic.
It really is disgusting. And we actually were there just a few minutes ago, but the police got there to tell us that we had to evacuate the area
because the risk of trees falling, because most of them have been consumed by the flames.
And there is, well, this existing risk of being impacted by any of them. Now, having in mind that the two most important wildfires that were raging
across western Madrid and the southern part of Avila Province are now stabilized.
But the firefighters are racing against the clock to do is to try to 100 percent control them. But this is going to be a little bit difficult, Max,
because we now have been impacted by the fourth heatwave of the Summer and thermometers here over the day have reached the 37 degrees Celsius, which
is around 99 degrees Fahrenheit.
And with that condition, it's very easy to meet flare-ups all around this area. And this is why the authorities are asking the population to not to
get here, and above all, not to get with any material that can ignite. Max.
FOSTER: Pau, thank you so much. Melissa, if we took a -- look at the broader picture here, we've got the European Union's Emergency Response
Coordination Center warning that, you know, large parts of Europe. I mean, there was one phrase that was used, all of Europe could be on fire next
month. I mean, how serious are those sorts of warnings? We are seeing it spread, aren't we?
BELL: I think what's remarkable is when you look at a map now of the European continent, they've been evacuating holidaymakers on Greek Islands.
We've seen these fires in the southeast of Italy that have seen people evacuated by sea.
You have this emergency, and as ever, this kind of disconnect between the fact that local authorities are dealing with this emergency. But
fundamentally, this is something about the much longer-term and how these parts of the world, for instance, here in around Bordeaux, the land region,
Gironde, where it is all this monoculture of pine trees, very flammable, a million hectares of them that go all the way to the Spanish border.
Is that sustainable at a time when these parts of the world become as hot as they do? When, as Pau was saying, we have these successive heatwaves
that have not just seen the pines become extremely flammable because of the resin within them, but all of the ground vegetation become kindling longer
term.
How do you change these sorts of monocultures that favor these kind of mega fires in a way that will allow next Summer not to see a repeat of what we
see now. For instance, some of the firemen that we've been working alongside these last few days to cover this mega fire were the same ones
that we're fighting four years ago.
The fires that we had not very far from here in the same part of the world, big fires, 13,000 hectares were burned. It took two weeks to put them out.
And nothing really has changed. So, there is this issue of how Europe, and particularly its kind of southern parts, adapt to what is the new normal.
Successive heatwaves, temperatures were simply not used to be on the human quality of the fact that we live in unconditioned -- air-conditioned
spaces. The fact of these wildfires and how the vegetation and the way that we've cultivated this land is simply not adapted.
[14:15:00]
That has been the big reminder of this mega fire. Authorities are trying to deal with it, but already the conversation is starting about how they
prevent this happening again next year, and how they change an entire way of living. Max.
FOSTER: Yes, Melissa Bell, also Pau outside Madrid, really appreciate your updates there. Now, more than 30 million people across the northeastern
U.S. are under flood watches. A slow-moving and powerful storm bringing heavy rainfall, triggering water rescues in New Jersey.
More than 2,000 flights have been canceled at airports across the U.S., according to FlightAware. And in Japan, it's a race against time, and the
Prime Minister is warning that every second counts as rescue workers comb through the rubble searching for signs of life following a massive
earthquake.
At least, 14 people were killed in the powerful 6.8 magnitude quake on Tuesday, and the death toll is expected to rise. Much of the focus now is
in a collapsed shopping mall where survivors may still be trapped inside. Kristie Lu Stout has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, the mood at the moment, as you can imagine, is quite somber with the survivors
of the earthquake anticipating more after-shocks to come. They're hearing about the risk of landslides and, of course, temperatures are very hot
right now there in southern Japan, which is affecting not only them, but also the urgent rescue work that is underway.
The race is on to find survivors, especially there in the shopping center that partially collapsed in an explosion after that massive 6.8 magnitude
earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday. This is an earthquake that has taken the lives of at least, 13 people.
Dozens of people reported to be injured, tens of thousands of homes are without power and electricity right now. At least, 300,000 individuals have
been sent to evacuation centers, and you're looking at live pictures there of one scene we've been looking at watching very closely.
There are rescue efforts underway at this shopping center, and these are truly apocalyptic scenes of what happened after the earthquake, an
explosion ripped through, exposing just steel beams there, sending debris absolutely everywhere.
And we also have, in addition to the aerial footage of this shopping center, which is a massive shopping complex, some 200 stores are there. We
also have dash-cam video that will show you the moment of the explosion.
And according to one eyewitness, they said that the explosion was deafening. Officials are looking into an investigation, it is believed
because they sensed gas, and the smell of gas was present. It is believed that a gas leak is to blame. That needs to be confirmed, though.
Also, it's not clear how many people remain trapped in the rubble. Now, we are also monitoring the rescue effort at a nearby paper factory where there
was a massive sort of industrial-sized chimney fell down, extensive damages there.
Several people unaccounted for, rescue efforts ongoing. It was not that long ago, in 2016, when this southern prefecture of Kumamoto had a
devastating earthquake that took the lives of hundreds of people. Of course, this prefecture, in addition to the prefecture, Japan, lies in the
ring of fire, the sort of U-shaped zone in the Pacific rim of these volcanoes, of these ocean trenches that is susceptible to this type of
earthquake activity.
So much so that around 20 percent of the earthquakes that are magnitude 6.0 or higher take place in Japan. This is sadly, a community that's no
stranger to devastating tremors like this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Kristie Lu Stout there. Still to come tonight, they are sometimes called the world's forgotten Christians. CNN visits the holy land to see
how Palestinian-Christians are increasingly under siege while much of the world stays silent.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
FOSTER: They have a rich history as one of the oldest Christian communities on earth. Yet many feel abandoned by the world as they face
what could be an existential threat in their own homeland. Palestinian Christians are increasingly under attack amid a surge in violence by
Israeli extremists.
One pastor in the West Bank says, quote, "every day we wake up wondering which Palestinian village will be attacked next?" Farms burned, families
attacked in their homes were living in fear and terror. He and other Palestinian Christians throughout the holy land are appealing for churches
worldwide to intervene. Our Clarissa Ward visited the region beginning in Jerusalem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For 2,000 years, Christians have been in the holy land. That presence now under
mounting pressure as attacks on Christians rise. In Jerusalem, spitting at clergy, vandalizing holy sites, harassment and intimidation are almost
daily occurrences.
While in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler violence and economic pressure are pushing Palestinian Christians out. April 2026, a nun is
thrown to the pavement by an Israeli extremist just outside the site of the Last Supper. The Israeli government strongly condemns the attack, and the
suspect is arrested.
ANTHONY GIAMBRONE, ECOLE BIBLIQUE AT ARCHELOLOGIQUE FRANCAISE DE JERUSALEM: This is where two of the corridors meet, Christian and Jewish, and so it's
always been a friction point.
WARD: Father Anthony Giambrone teaches at the same school as the nun who was attacked. He has lived in Jerusalem for ten years.
(On camera): Does anyone have any sense of what the motivation was here? I've heard some speculation that maybe he was disturbed individual or --
GIAMBRONE: He could be disturbed, but he's filled with an ideology as well that I think doesn't want to accept her presence here.
WARD: Help us understand that a little bit better.
GIAMBRONE: Yes, well, I mean, it's obviously a long history. It's very important to say that that's -- you know, that's an extreme view. I think
there's increasing concern that it's an extreme view that's getting mainstream.
It's a fundamentalist understanding of the possession of the land. The land was given to the Jews, and that needs to mean all of it.
WARD (voice-over): According to the religious freedom data center, from April to June of this year, reports of incidents against Christians in
Jerusalem rose by 70 percent compared to the three months before October 7th. Though the spike may partly reflect more people coming forward to
report.
The fallout has embarrassed the Israeli government internationally. In April, it appointed Arab-Israeli Christian diplomat George Deek as special
envoy to the Christian world, the first such position in Israel's history.
GEORGE DEEK, ISRAEL'S SPECIAL ENVOY TO CHRISTIAN WORLD: Attacks on Christians, on Jews, on Muslims, or anyone based on their faith or their
ethnicity is immoral, illegal and unacceptable. We should, however, be able to distinguish between serious incidents that require serious action and
the false narrative that this is somehow representative of the Israeli state, Israeli society or Christian life in Israel.
[14:25:00]
The reality in Israel is that Israel remains the only place in the region where the numbers, the Christian community in Israel is actually growing.
WARD (on camera): There is a sense that these types of incidents and this type of bigotry and this ideology has been allowed to continue with
relative impunity.
DEEK: I acknowledge the fact that there is a rise in extremism in Israel, just like we see a rise in extremism I think across the world. We can do
more and we should do more, and it is my task to make sure that we will do more.
WARD (voice-over): But just 20 miles away, the government is enabling Israeli settler extremism.
(On camera): So, we're driving now to a town called Taybeh in the occupied West Bank, and it's been coming under attack from settlers for some years
now. But those attacks have really intensified in recent months.
(Voice-over): Palestinians of all faiths are struggling, but Christian- Palestinians are leaving faster than most.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD: It doesn't take long for us to come across Roland Bashir(ph), his cement factory has come under attack this morning by settlers, as it does
most days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD: He shows us videos he has compiled over months of settler extremists chasing him out of his factory.
WARD: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD: Down at the damaged factory, the Israeli police and army finally arrive four and a half hours after Bashir(ph) says he first called them,
but minutes later, without even getting out of their vehicles, they turn around and start to leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See you later, bye-bye.
WARD (on camera): So, they came. They --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): Seem now to be leaving. As we drive out of Taybeh, we see a young settler grazing his sheep in the town's olive groves.
(On camera): Hi, excuse me. My name is Clarissa Ward, I work for CNN. Can I ask you some questions? Do you speak any English? (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN
LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WARD (voice-over): He ignores our attempts to speak with him in Hebrew and begins to film us.
(On camera): This is a Palestinian town, Taybeh. It's a Christian- Palestinian town. I'm just wondering if you can explain why you're here or what you're doing here. This is not your land. So, you can see he took a
video of the whole thing, did not say a single word to us and we're right here. Right outside of Taybeh.
WARD (voice-over): Reverend Munther Isaac says that since October 7th, the situation has become untenable.
MUNTHER ISAAC, REVEREND MINISTER, EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH: Christians are part of the Palestinian people. Whatever happened to all Palestinians
happens to us. The issue with Christians is that because our numbers are small, we became a very vulnerable community. So, every family that leaves,
we feel its impact.
WARD (on camera): Do you feel that the church is doing enough to protect Christians here?
ISAAC: Churches around the world are saying many good things. What we need is action to put pressure on Israel to stop the settlement activities and
to reach a settlement with the Palestinians.
WARD (voice-over): For now, that seems a distant prospect, without decisive action, the erosion of Christian life in the holy land will
continue. The question is whether there is political will to change it. Clarissa Ward, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come tonight, how low can it go? A new CNN poll finds that Donald Trump's approval numbers are sagging to record lows. And just
ahead, the scientists who advised the world during the COVID pandemic refuses to speak about it anymore. You'll see his tense confrontation with
Republicans on Capitol Hill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: With just three months to go until the midterms, Donald Trump and Republicans got some pretty sobering news today. A brand-new CNN poll finds
record high 73 percent of U.S. adults say that President Trump hasn't paid enough attention to the country's most important problems.
Mr. Trump has never been popular with Democrats, but this poll finds his support is sagging with the Republicans and especially with the independent
voters who helped put him in the White House two years ago. Chief Data Analyst Harry Enten breaks the numbers down from this poll.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Our new CNN SSRS poll came out earlier today and in a word for the President of the United States, oof,
breaking records and not in the way that you want to be breaking records. What am I talking about here? Well, why don't we just look at President
Trump's disapproval rating? That is the percentage of Americans who disapprove of the job that President Trump is doing at his job.
Take a look here. OK. Highest disapproval ratings for Trump, you know, back in January of 2021, that was his term one high and that was 62 percent of
Americans after January 6th disapproving of the job that President Trump was doing.
Take a look here now. The latest poll 66 percent two in three Americans disapprove of the job that President Trump is doing. That is the highest
ever recorded by CNN for President Trump in either of his two terms and more than that independence of the name of the game and get this my little
note to me right here. 76 percent of independence disapprove of the job that President Trump is doing. As I said, breaking records in all the wrong
ways.
Now, it's not just President Trump in terms of breaking records when we compare him to himself. What about bringing other presidents into the
equation? Well, take a look here. OK. Disapprove of job in CNN polls at this point in term number two, we mentioned President Trump 66 percent of
Americans disapprove of the job that he is doing.
Well, for Barack Obama at this point in term number two, it was just 55 percent George W. Bush, who was really struggling at this point as the Iraq
war on back in 2006. Get this 59 percent of Americans disapprove of the job that he was doing.
[14:35:00]
So, President Trump, we can say at this point has the highest disapproval rating of any American president this century at this point in term number
two. Now, President Trump's ratings are obviously quite poor, but is there any optimism for the future from Americans? In a word, Max, no, there
isn't.
Take a look here. OK. Feelings about rest of Trump's term number two. Well, back in 2008, he said, I'm not going to vote for President Trump. Back in
December of 2024, just before he took office, look at this. Most Americans were enthusiastic or optimistic about term number two for President Trump.
The majority were 52 percent, 48 percent said they were pessimistic or afraid.
Look at that pessimistic or afraid number, that percentage up like a rocket. Now, it is two in three Americans aren't just disapproving of Trump
right now. They lack optimism. They're pessimistic or afraid for the rest of Trump's term number to compare that to just one in three Americans who
are enthusiastic or optimistic.
But what I can say, Max, is even though Americans right now are pessimistic about President Trump, I'm always enthusiastic and optimistic about you, my
friend. Back to you.
FOSTER: As I am about you. Thank you to Harry. Now, the infectious disease expert who was the face of the U.S. response to the COVID pandemic
repeatedly invoked his constitutional right today and declined to answer any questions. Dr. Anthony Fauci was summoned to appear before the Senate
Homeland Security Committee.
Republicans had hoped to prove that he mishandled the pandemic. But in his opening statement, Fauci said he had testified before or briefed
congressional committees over 200 times during his decades long career. And he accused the Republican committee chair of an unhinged obsession to
prosecute him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, FORMER DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole
reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I
end up, in his words, quote, "behind bars."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Rand Paul is now threatening to hold Fauci in contempt. Republicans, meanwhile, spent two hours forcing him to listen to their
complaints.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): The COVID lockdown, however, could never have been inflicted without you aiding and abetting the crime.
SEN. RON JOHNSON (R-WI): So, I would want to know, to what extent were you involved in sabotaging hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin?
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): You force people to watch their loved ones die alone over the phone. It's disgusting.
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): It's because you did all kinds of terrible things. It's because during the pandemic you got rich, didn't you?
SEN. JONI ERNST, (R-IA): Yes or no, Dr. Fauci. Did you try to block or trap President Trump into the slow the spread, flatten the curve measures
in March 2020?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Let's bring in CNN's Adam Cancryn with more. I mean, it does take you back, doesn't it? When Fauci was on TV every day and he was answering
politicians' questions all the time. And now, we get nothing from him. Does he have a point?
ADAM CANCRYN, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. Well, talk about, you know, revisiting a time that we all remember and not so fondly. But this was
really just kind of a dramatic and at times contentious hearing, even with Anthony Fauci invoking his Fifth Amendment rights over 100 times. And he
had some good reasons to do that.
This was a hearing that Republicans had set up for years at this point and had stated pretty openly was mainly the purpose was mainly to get Fauci to
perjure himself, you know, open him up to some kind of new criminal charges that would not be covered by the preemptive pardon that Fauci got at the
end of President Joe Biden's term.
So, you saw there, like even though he was not answering any of these questions, Republicans were still able to air a lot of these grievances to
get kind of the moments of confrontation that they wanted out of this hearing. And it also sets up this new chapter of now they're going to vote
next week on a contempt of Congress charge. And that sets up potentially a court challenge into this ability to invoke the fifth and potentially, you
know, try to get Fauci to testify and answer questions down the road.
Now, there was, you know, one moment of kind of real intense confrontation. It was not with Fauci, though, was actually with his lawyer. His lawyer had
at the end of an opening statement tried to interject. Rand Paul, the chairman, the Republican chairman, said actually he wasn't even allowed to
sit at the table. It resulted in this extended back and forth and ultimately security escorted the lawyer out.
So, even without Fauci talking, just a real resumption of a lot of these partisan, hard feelings that we saw develop during COVID and overall, just
kind of a reminder that COVID remains this this charged issue. And the COVID response remains this charged issue that Republicans under Donald
Trump are not quite done with yet.
FOSTER: Adam, appreciate it. Thank you. A fascinating session, nevertheless.
[14:40:00]
The U.S. Senate gave their late colleague Lindsey Graham a parting gift on Tuesday. Democrats and Republicans came together to overwhelmingly vote in
favor of a bill that stiffens sanctions on Iran and Russia. The bill had been one of Graham's last priorities before his sudden death just a few
weeks ago.
Tuesday's vote was not the final word on the sanctions package, but it did seem likely to eventually pass. The proposed sanctions include a 100
percent tariff on any nation that buys Russian oil or gas.
Still to come tonight, the Men's World Cup is over, but the biggest drama for FIFA yet to come. It involves billions of dollars and potential private
investors. We'll share some of the outrage.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Well, after one of the most commercially successful FIFA Men's World Cups in history, President Gianni Infantino seems to want to cash in.
He says there's now a plan to create a $20 billion company with private investors to run big tournaments. Many fans are now enraged with European
football's governing body saying the privatization crosses a line and the sport is not FIFA's to sell.
Joshua Kushner, the brother of U.S. President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, could be one of the investors involved.
Let's bring in CNN World Sports Patrick Snell, because we've had a flurry of statements, haven't we, Patrick? All the football federations seem to be
completely caught out by this.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, I think a lot -- you're quite right, Max. In the world of football, I think a lot of people were just caught on
the hop by this. A lot of people didn't see it coming. Fans, especially confederations as well, individual associations.
I want to say this. It was a terrific World Cup on so many levels, so many great games. There were terrific storylines as well around countries like,
for example, the debutants, Cape Verde, who got to the knockout stages.
Financially speaking as well, FIFA banking a record World Cup income of about $12 billion from the 2026 tournament, which I will say, factor in,
had really, really high prices for tickets, hospitality across all three of the host nations, the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Now, monetizing the World
Cup even further, very much front and center.
Infantino says FIFA, that football's world governing body, will be seeking investors to raise over four billion dollars, this on a 20 billion
valuation, to fund what's being called the FIFA Forward Enterprise, or FFE, if you prefer.
[14:45:00]
That's going to be a newly formed body that would control, they say, commercial and event operations for future editions of both the men's and
the women's tournaments as well. One of the potential investors in the new entity is Thrive Eternal, which was launched by, just picking up on what
you just said, by Joshua Kushner. He's the brother of Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law.
Now, UEFA, really hard-hitting statement from European football's governing body. They are far from happy, and that is putting it mildly. According to
multiple reports, they're going to be holding an emergency meeting this week to discuss the plans, including a potential World Cup boycott.
Why is that so significant? Because UEFA have so many powerhouse nations when it comes to men's World Cup tournaments. European countries have won
five out of the last six tournaments. For example, Spain are the reigning champions, having won it again for the second time in 16 years.
Now, in a statement, UEFA say this crosses a line that football's governing institution should never cross. The sole and governance of football, not
assets to trade, especially with zero transparency as to who gains financially. None of us are the owners of football. It is not FIFA's to
sell.
Other reaction coming in as well from Britain's new prime minister, Andy Burnham as well, Max. He's a massive Everton fan, by the way. The PM
certainly not holding back with his opinions. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDY BURNHAM, U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Let me say this very clearly. Football does not belong to investors. It belongs to the people who fill the stands,
who stand on the touch lines week in, week out, rain or shine. The World Cup is not a product. It is the greatest competition in the world, and it
was never anyone's to sell. Dress the deal up however you like. Once you have sold a piece of it, you have sold out. Football belongs to the
supporters. It always has and it always will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: Reaction there from Britain's prime minister and this statement as well, Max, from CONCACAF, that's the governing body for football right here
in North America, where the World Cup was just played. As leaders within football, we are the custodians of the game. Collectively, FIFA, the
confederations and every member association have a responsibility to always act in the best interests of the sport.
It's going to be a pivotal week, Max, especially as we wait on developments within UEFA and how they're going to be reacting and that big, big,
important emergency meeting as well. We'll stay across it all.
FOSTER: Yes, absolutely. It's the big power player, isn't it? As you say, so many winners in the World Cup. Patrick, thank you so much.
Next, we'll have more on the story. I'll be joined by Jules Boykoff. He's a former professional footballer and author of "Red Card: The 2026 World Cup,
Sports Washing and the FIFA Greed Machine."
Still to come tonight, it's a dam good story. How beavers can be a game changer in developing climate resilient landscapes, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:50:00]
FOSTER: A conservationist, say Glen Afric in the Scottish Highlands, has its first wild-born beavers in more than 400 years. That's quite a moment.
The charity, Trees for Life, says there are at least two babies, which are called kits. In case you didn't know, beavers are often considered natural
engineers because of how they change riverbanks and waterways, for example, digging channels and building dams to help to keep vegetation green, even
though we do go through these drought periods increasingly.
Now, it's hoped the wetlands beavers can act as a natural firebreak, really, over time, helping to relieve fires like those we've seen in
Scotland's Cairngorms National Park.
We're joined now by Steve Micklewright. He's the chief executive of Trees for Life, the charity behind the rewilding project. Thank you for joining
us. I mean, we were fascinated by the story, which we've got these wildfires in Europe. But this actually a very realistic, natural response
to that, right, getting beavers to just do their work.
STEVE MICKLEWRIGHT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, TREES FOR LIFE: Yes. Well, beavers, we call beavers kind of ecosystem engineers, if you like. What they do is
they don't like changing water levels. When they go into a landscape, they will often build dams which hold back water. They stop water flooding
downstream, but holding back water in places like the Scottish Highlands, which is a damp environment, but getting drier. If you hold back water, the
land is wetter, and it helps if some of this kind of climate resilience, like trying to stop wildfires, which is a real problem in Scotland and
across Europe right now.
So, as well as being wonderful animals for biodiversity, they can be great for our fight against the problems that the climate change is causing us.
FOSTER: Tell us about the two kits and why that was such a landmark moment for you guys.
MICKLEWRIGHT: Yes. We've been working really hard to get beavers back into this place called Glen Afric, which is this beautiful glen in the Scottish
Highlands above Loch Ness. A wonderful, wonderful place, very natural feeling. We've been working for many years to get them back, and we
reintroduced them last autumn with the help of the forestry people in Scotland.
And a sure sign that things are working, of course, is when reintroduced animals have babies, and they've literally just had, we know of two kits
now, two young little tiny beavers that are just finding their way out into the world. And they'll be with their parents for a while, and then
hopefully when they're mature enough, they'll go off, move to another part of Glen Afric, and then do their great work across a much bigger landscape.
So, it's really exciting for us.
And quite emotional to see really young animals in a place for the first time in 400 years, which is what's just happened.
FOSTER: Yes. And there are plans for bringing other animals in as well, right? And what's the idea about going back hundreds of years and trying to
recreate the natural environment as it was then? Of course, people that know Scotland know that it does still, you know, apparently have these sort
of intact natural landscapes as we're seeing there.
MICKLEWRIGHT: Yes. I mean, if you think of Scotland, you think of these big open landscapes with big mountains, purple heather all over them, but
that's not how Scotland really wants to be. If Scotland was given over to nature, it would be much more wooded, much more forested, much more
diverse. And in fact, Scotland is one of the most nature depleted countries in the world.
So, what we're trying to do in Trees for Life is look at all the things that are missing and what they could do to help us both bring back nature,
but also help with the climate problem and create jobs, of course, because tourists particularly like seeing animals in the wild.
So, one of the animals we're currently looking at is the lynx, which is a Labrador sized feline. It's found across Europe and Russia, like the bobcat
in North America as well. It's been missing from Scotland since medieval times. But again, like beavers, ecosystem engineers, we think lynx can help
us get a natural balance in Scotland.
So, instead of kind of planting loads of trees, which is what we need to do in Scotland for timber, the lynx predate on deer, which eat young trees.
So, if you can reduce the consumption of young trees by deer, you get natural regeneration. And again, lynx could help us do forestry the natural
way. So, it's all about working with nature instead of against it. That's what we call rewilding in Scotland.
FOSTER: Are you concerned about the way these wildfires every year seem to be moving further northwards? Of course, there have been wildfires in
Scotland this summer as well. We had them in Sweden, didn't we? I think last year.
[14:55:00]
And you've got this great concern, of course, where you have these peat fields effectively, right? Where once they catch fire, that's a real
problem.
MICKLEWRIGHT: Yes. So, wildfires are becoming an increasing problem in Scotland. Most people think of Scotland as a wet country. And I'm from
England. It's definitely wetter up here compared to down south.
But the climate is changing. We're getting drier summers. We've had two dry summers in a row up here in Scotland now. And as the land dries out,
everything becomes more flammable. So, we've just had a huge forest fire in the Cairngorms where a wonderful woodland that has been restored for many,
many years now is gone. And that's terrible for the forest, for the timber, for the tourists, but for all of the rare wildlife that lives there.
And if it goes into peatland, that's kind of even worse because peatland is probably the best way of storing carbon, the natural way, in the world. It
just soaks up carbon and keeps it in the ground in this very wet environment. So, if peatland catches fire, you lose that opportunity. And
then the carbon gets released into the atmosphere.
And we get yet more problems with the climate because there's more carbon. So, peatland and forests help us. And we need to do our very best to make
sure we don't get more forest fires. And beavers and re-wetting, we call it, that's part of the solution.
FOSTER: And it starts with those two beavers, doesn't it, Steve? Really appreciate you joining us today. Thank you so much for joining us from
Inverness.
Thank you for watching tonight. Do stay with CNN. I'll have "What We Know" up next.
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[15:00:00]
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