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CNN Headlines: All Three Mamdani-Backed Democrats Win House Primaries; Jury Deliberations Begin In Case Against Palisades Fire Suspect; Europe Bakes Under Intense, Record-Breaking Heat Wave. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 24, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:31:00]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.

Results are rolling in from four states, but the big headline is in New York. That's where Mayor Zohran Mamdani had his political influence put to the test. He went three for three backing candidates who won their respective primaries -- two of them ousting incumbent Democrats endorsed by House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.

And a federal judge has blocked migrant arrests at immigration courts nationwide. Federal officers began detaining court attendees last year under the Trump administration. A new 71-page ruling called the practice arbitrary and in breach of federal legislation, and even the Constitution. The Department of Homeland Security has criticized the ruling as "naked judicial activism."

And President Trump says he'll sign a landmark housing affordability bill after it cleared Congress with bipartisan support. The measure aims to lower housing costs by boosting home construction, easing zoning restrictions, and limiting large investors from buying more single-family homes. It is a move that supporters say could help more families become homeowners.

Let's go back to New York. New York City Zohran Mamdani went three for three following Tuesday's congressional primaries in the state. The Democratic socialist endorsed three candidates in congressional races and all three of them won, according to CNN projections. This is giving us our first look at how much political influence Mamdani has gained in his first few months in office.

CNN's chief national affairs correspondent Jeff Zeleny has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: A remarkable primary night in New York for Mayor Zohran Mamdani, performing a clean sweep of all the competitive congressional races here in New York. Two Democratic incumbent members of Congress falling to defeat by leftist candidates backed by Mayor Mamdani. Now this is six months after him taking office and making the decision to inject himself into these races, and it clearly paid off. A seismic primary day in New York without question.

Also, a Kennedy family member Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of President John F. Kennedy, falling to defeat -- a distant third place -- in a separate congressional primary to fill the seat of longtime Congressman Jerry Nadler. But he said Democrats should take lessons from this race.

JACK SCHLOSSBERG, (D) HOUSE CANDIDATE: We need to do things differently. We don't just need younger candidates. We need different leaders. We need different voices. We need different instincts and different styles.

ZELENY: Now, supporters of Schlossberg gathered here in Midtown Manhattan. They clearly were not expecting someone with his family name and his strength to fall so considerably. But there's no doubt that this is an anti-establishment moment in this Democratic Party.

A bigger question going forward is Mayor Mamdani clearly got his candidates across the finish line. What does that mean for Hakeem Jeffries? He, of course, is the Democratic House leader. If Democrats win control of Congress in November, he could be the House Speaker. Clearly, the leftist candidates here will impact the makeup of that.

But for all of the discussions of this primary it has very little to do with the outcome of the midterm elections in November because in deep blue New York these seats are almost sure to be Democratic. But what it does do is send a clear message that the Democratic socialists are alive and well, at least in blue cities in Democratic primaries.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Thank you, Jeff.

[05:35:00]

Well, this morning President Trump's top diplomat is in the Middle East to hear what Gulf allies are saying about the U.S.-Iran agreement. Right now, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in Abu Dhabi. He'll then travel to Kuwait and Bahrain.

But a big obstacle remains, the recent fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon. Rubio says that Lebanon is a separate issue and should not be included in the U.S.' negotiations with Iran. Iran has consistently demanded that Lebanon factor into any agreement reached.

Well, President Trump is dismissing a rare rebuke from the Senate last night to limit his war powers in Iran. Trump called the Senate vote "poorly timed and meaningless." The Senate voted to remove U.S. military forces from the conflict in Iran. The House also approved the resolution earlier this month. Now, the measure does not carry the weight of law. It does serve primarily as a symbolic message that Congress does not approve of the Trump's war with Iran.

CNN's Manu Raju explains who broke with Republican ranks and who voted with Democrats on the resolution.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some of the more moderate members joining with Democrats today to essentially say that Congress needs to have a say in order for this war to continue, especially if Trump wants to escalate things with Iran. Moderate members, like Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, in a difficult re-election race; Sen. Lisa Murkowski, someone who breaks with the president periodically; and also Sen. Rand Paul, a more conservative member and libertarian-minded member -- someone who breaks with his party on issues of foreign interventionism. And then Sen. Bill Cassidy, someone who Trump effectively pushed out of the Republican Party by supporting his primary challenger just last month, sending a message to Trump.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: And furthermore, Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman voted with Republicans on the issue.

Jury deliberations get underway today in the trial of the man accused of starting the Palisades fire. Prosecutors are arguing that Jonathan Rinderknecht, a 30-year-old former Uber driver, was angry at the world when he allegedly started a fire near the Pacific Palisades community on New Year's Day last year. His defense says that he is being wrongly blamed.

CNN's Nick Watt breaks it down for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The suspect is Jonathan Rinderknecht. His lawyer -- his defense attorney says he's a scapegoat. He's a convenient suspect. They're trying to pin it on this loner Uber driver.

The prosecution says he was angry. He hated the rich. He did this revengeance. He went above the Palisades and lit a fire near a lovely home where he used to live in happier times during a relationship that had ended.

The context here: remember, this fire destroyed nearly a whole neighborhood of Los Angeles. Burned 37 square miles and destroyed more than 6,000 buildings, structures, and killed 12 people.

Issues here in this case. There's no video of this guy setting the fire. There are no witnesses that saw him do it, and there is no confession. He was on the hill that night. Everybody agrees to that. His defense attorney said he'd been driving Uber. He went up there to watch the fireworks.

He made 17 911 calls after the fire ignited. His defense says he was trying to help. The prosecution say he was doing too much. He was trying to create an alibi.

Now here's the issue. He is accused of setting that fire just after midnight on New Year's morning. That fire -- the fire department came and thought they'd put it out -- they hadn't. According to prosecutors it was still burning in the roots, and a week later that flared up again and created this massive fire that did all that damage.

One woman who I spoke to who lost her home in the Palisades said, "I don't necessarily want to see this guy convicted. I want to know the truth."

Now remember, it's beyond a reasonable doubt. The defense attorney said reasonable doubt -- not even close. The prosecution said reasonable doubt. It's not beyond all possible doubt. The jury is out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: We've got some new details this morning in a separate case. The former court clerk at the center of the Alex Murdaugh overturned murder conviction is fighting back. Rebecca Hill is asking a federal judge to dismiss Murdaugh's $600,000 civil lawsuit against her. Hill's attorneys argue that she has immunity because the alleged jury tampering occurred while she was performing her official duties.

Last month the South Carolina Supreme Court vacated Murdaugh's conviction in the murders of his wife and youngest son, saying Hill's influence marred the previous trial, and ordered a new trial. Murdaugh will stay in prison after pleading guilty to dozens of financial crimes.

[05:40:00]

Tiger Woods, on Tuesday, made his first public appearance since his crash and DUI arrest in Jupiter, Florida in March. Woods appeared at a press conference for the PGA Tour in Hartford, Connecticut. He was there in his official capacity as chairman of the tour's future competition committee. Woods' appearance was brief, only making comments to introduce the tour's CEO. He did not take any questions from the media.

Woods' DUI case in Florida is still pending. And he also recently spent time in a rehab facility in Switzerland following the rollover crash.

And country music stars Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean are facing a lawsuit from a real estate company. It comes after the sudden closure of their Nashville steakhouse. The lawsuit claims they stopped paying rent in February and abruptly closed the business, alleging a default on their lease agreement. A court hearing is scheduled for July 10.

And "Star Wars" creator George Lucas is returning to the big screen but not as a director. Instead, he's lending his voice in the upcoming animated movie "Minions & Monsters." The studio behind the project says they got a quick yes from Lucas to appear in the movie. "Minions & Monsters" hits theaters on July 1. And dreams turned into reality last night for the NBA's newest stars. The Washington Wizards used the number one pick on BYU star AJ Dybantsa. He led the nation in scoring and averaged more than 25 points a game in his lone college season. The Utah Jazz followed by selecting Kansas guard Darryn Peterson at number two as the youth movement took center stage. Eight freshmen went in the first nine picks and that ties an NBA record.

Now the Knicks made history, while we're talking about the NBA, and now you can own a piece of it. Sotheby's is set to auction off the game four basketball from the NBA Finals following the largest comeback in championship history.

CNN's Patrick Cornell has more on what else is up for bids.

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PATRICK CORNELL, CNN PRODUCER: It's potentially the signature moment from this year's NBA Finals. Knicks players OG Anunoby tipping in a last-second shot in game four to cap the largest comeback in finals history, paving the way for his team to seal the championship days later. That historic game four is now dubbed the hand of OG and a basketball used that night will soon be available for someone to take home.

Through a partnership with the NBA, auction house Sotheby's will give bidders a chance to claim this Wilson ball. Sotheby's says it used photo-matching technology to confirm it saw action during the game. Additionally, jerseys worn by Knicks star Jalen Brunson and Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama, along with a slew of other finals memorabilia, will be included in the auction.

Here's the deal. You still have some time to pull together cash if you want to try and grab the goods. Bidding goes live June 30. At this time starting bids aren't listed online but as you can imagine these things won't come cheap.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Next on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS this warship is 5,000 tons. North Korea rolling out its largest naval warship ever. We've got those details coming up.

And it's back -- Starbucks Bearista glass cup -- but this time with a big twist. A sneak peek on the other side of the break.

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[05:47:35]

SMITH: Let's go around the globe.

We begin in Europe. That's where 26 countries from Ireland to Greece -- they are sweltering in a scorching heat wave, and we are talking about all-time record highs being broken -- the hottest temperatures on the continent ever. Meteorologist Allison Chinchar has more.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is now a weeklong extreme event for some of these areas and it's going to continue for several more days. You can see here for Wednesday all of these areas that have the extreme heat alerts, and it's very widespread running from the Iberian Peninsula all the way up through portions of central Europe.

And noting too that on Tuesday France actually recorded their hottest day ever from a national standpoint. And a lot of the daily records are going to continue not just in France but several other countries.

Every single one of these orange dots that you see here was a preliminary daily record. The red dots looking at monthly records, meaning it was the hottest temperature they've ever recorded in the month of June. And then these dark gray-black dots are potential all- time records. And more of those dots are going to appear in the coming days as this heat wave continues across many countries.

The other interesting thing to note is take Paris for example. The average high temperature is 23 degrees. We will have low temperatures the next few days that are warmer than what the average high temperature should be this time of year. And that's concerning too because it doesn't really allow your body the chance to cool off at night before the temperatures rebound back again in the afternoon. And they are going to rebound very high in some of these locations.

Look at some of these temperatures. You're talking low 100s for Fahrenheit. And then even when you take a look at the Celsius -- look at this. You have several locations still going to see those high temperatures right around 40 to 41 degrees.

Now one thing to note is that we are going to gradually start to see the shift of this high pressure. And what that means is we're going to start to see temperatures cooling down across the Iberian Peninsula by the end of the week, but that means it's going to start to heat up across Scandinavian countries as well as portions of central Europe that will start to see their temperatures beginning to rise.

Here you can see that on the map. Take, for example, Madrid. The temperature is starting to go back down as we make our way into Friday. But quite the opposite here for Vienna, going from 91 today all the way up to near triple digits by the time we get to Friday. Again, you're talking extreme temperatures there -- 37 degrees for that high temperature potentially on Friday in Vienna.

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[05:50:10]

SMITH: All right. Thank you, Allison.

North Korea has commissioned its biggest-ever warship as the country looks to build up and modernize its Navy. According to state media leader Kim Jong Un says the 5,000-ton destroyer represents a new chapter in the country's military history. He touted the destroyer's capabilities and significance as the first ship of a modern North Korean fleet with even bigger vessels coming in the future.

Well, Guinness World Records has crowned an Australian man the loudest person in the world. You might want to adjust your volume for this one.

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JOSEPH MCGRAIL-BATEUP, GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS' LOUDEST PERSON: My lords, my ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Canberra.

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SMITH: He heard "Let's Get Loud" by Jennifer Lopez and took that seriously. And Guinness World Records says 58-year-old Joseph McGrail- Bateup yelled the word "now" at 122.4 decibels. That is comparable to a chainsaw or a jet taking off, or an ambulance siren up close. He says he lost his voice for a few days after delivering his record- breaking yell. Hey, congratulations, nonetheless.

Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS take a look at this. Police say a man suspected of a carjacking deliberately tried to run over several people. We've got the bizarre scene and the details for you straight ahead.

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[05:56:00]

SMITH: In today's Money Express President Trump says he has directed the Justice Department to immediately investigate oil companies over gas prices, accusing them of gouging Americans as costs fall. On Truth Social he wrote, "Gasoline prices better start going down a lot faster than what I'm seeing!" Americans have been seeing some relief at the pump amid peace talks between the U.S. and Iran.

Let's get to Maribel Aber tracking those gas prices for us. Maribel, what are you seeing?

MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: OK, Brad. The decline of national gas prices has slowed this week and remains unchanged overnight. The average gallon of unleaded is holding at $3.92, less than a dime lower than last week according to AAA.

Global oil prices continue to hover around $75 a barrel as the U.S. and Iran remain at odds over terms of a peace deal. Iran says that limiting its ballistic missile program will never be part of the agreement as Secretary of State Marco Rubio is in the region meeting with Arab leaders today.

U.S. factory job cuts are near their highest levels since 2009 according to new data from S&P Global. The report cites weaker demand, rising costs, and supply disruptions as key factors. While the S&P's June manufacturing index topped expectations, analysts say much of the improvement came from inventory rebuilding rather than sustained growth. Manufacturers have reported layoffs in three of the past four months to trim budgets and adjust for shifting demand.

Starbucks' latest viral collectible is a pink Bearista cup as the World Cup theme version continues to resell online for hundreds of dollars. The new release features a pink ballcap and giant strawberry straw topper. Some rewards members will get early access July 9 through the Starbucks app with a wider release beginning July 13. The World Cup Bearista with a soccer ball cap and scarf is listed for $300 or more on eBay. The new pink version is already showing up overseas and being listed for two to three times its original $29.95 price.

Brad, it's a reseller's dream.

SMITH: I got to be careful or else these bears are going to take over my desk upstairs.

Maribel Aber, thank you so much.

Let's get you caught up on some of the other stories that are making news across the country.

We start in California. That's where authorities say that a man accused of carjacking intentionally drove into several pedestrians. Take a look at this as police say this video shows a man deliberating trying to drive into people in Los Angeles. All of those hits suffered injuries, but none were serious. Investigators say that the driver later crashed into another car during a police pursuit and then tried to run but was quickly caught. He now faces 10 counts of attempted murder and carjacking charges.

And in Virginia a woman was rescued after her vehicle fell into a sinkhole. When police arrived the SUV was partly submerged with the driver trapped inside. The woman could not open the door, but an officer was able to get her out. Police believe the sinkhole was caused by a water main break in the area.

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Firefighters rescuing a puppy from storm drain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. I know. It's OK.

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SMITH: Oh, you hear those cries from that pup. In Arkansas firefighters used a hot dog and some gentle coaxing to rescue a stray pup from a storm drain. Crews removed the heavy grate, climbed into the drain, and used the snack to gently coax the drenched stray close enough to be wrapped in a towel and pulled to safety. The puppy wasn't wearing a collar and was later taken to animal control.

And a pair of police officers in Pennsylvania come to the rescue of a fawn trapped inside a school fence. You've got to check this out.

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POLICE OFFICER 1: I had him. He busted his mouth open.

POLICE OFFICER 2: (INAUDIBLE). Charlie, Romeo, Victor, Echo, Lima, Lima, Alpha, Romeo, India, November 19.

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[06:00:00]

SMITH: Oh, that baby deer had some juke moves. But according to Ross Township Police Department, that fawn went over the side of a retaining wall at a high school on Monday. Officer Roy and his sergeant came to the rescue. Good job there. I'm glad they were able to take care of the matter and safely as well.

That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.