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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: NATO's Rutte Praises Trump; Trump Abruptly Cancels Signing of Bipartisan U.S. Housing Bill; Rubio Looking to Sell Iran Agreement to Allies in Persian Gulf; U.N. Nuclear Chief: Inspectors to Visit Iran Sites; Report: No Clear Evidence of A.I.-Related Job Market Disruption; Europe's Heat Wave Intensifies; Heat Records Falling in Canada's British Columbia; U.S. Eases Travel Restriction on Iran's World Cup Team. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired June 24, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Jim
Sciutto is off. You are watching "The Brief."
Just ahead for us this hour, armed with charts in the Oval Office, NATO Secretary General Marc Rutte showers President Donald Trump with praise
while defending the role of European allies in the Iran war. Meanwhile, Europe buckles under deadly, record-breaking temperatures as the
continent's heat wave intensifies. And in the World Cup, Switzerland beat Canada while Scotland kicks off against Brazil in the next few moments. All
of that and today's football action is coming up.
But first, we begin in Washington with Donald Trump's meeting with the leader of the alliance. The U.S. president has repeatedly trashed. The two
spoke ahead of next month's NATO summit in Turkey. Secretary General Marc Rutte repeatedly praised Mr. Trump and tried to assure him that Europe is
on his side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: I really want to make clear how important it is what you are doing on Iran. This is, first of all, about
the nuclear capability Iran was basically getting its hands on. And it would have been a threat to the region. It would have been a threat to the
whole world. This is a country which is exporting chaos. It is exporting terrorism. And they were very near to getting their hands on the nuclear
capability.
You've seen last week in the G7, all the leaders in the G7 applauding the fact that this nuclear capability has been degraded. This is extremely
important.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: President Trump didn't seem convinced. He says he was disappointed by NATO allies over the war with Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We were let down. We didn't need help on this at all. We demolished them in literally the first week. But it would
have been nice if they would have said, we'd like to help.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Kevin Liptak is live at the White House with more. You were monitoring all of that with us when it was happening in the Oval Office. I
mean, Look, Mark Rutte really tried hard to school the president, especially with all the charts. He had facts and figures. But Trump stated
bluntly that he was still disappointed.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And I think Mark Rutte really living up to his reputation as sort of the world's flatterer
of President Trump trying to leverage this relationship that he has cultivated over the last year and a half to assuage the president's
concerns about NATO.
He brought all of those charts with him. He had them set up on easels. He tried to make the case that the NATO countries had all boosted their
defense spending at President Trump's request. And the president sort of sat there, listened, but did not seem particularly convinced by Rutte's
presentation or his argument. The president saying that, yes, he is still disappointed, that he wished that the NATO allies had called him up at the
onset of the war to say that they were ready and willing to help.
But remember, Paula, President Trump did not bring any of them into the fold beforehand. There was no attempt at coalition building. And the effect
of the war, which was a spike in gas and energy prices, hit Europe very, very hard. And so, I think that they were understandably concerned about
getting any more involved in this than they were.
The president, I think, is looking ahead to this summit in Turkey that's set to take place in two weeks with, I think, a begrudging sense that he
has to attend. He actually said that he wouldn't be going unless it was hosted by Turkey and its president, Erdogan. And I think that will have not
fallen on particularly receptive ears from Mark Rutte, who has really worked to try and ensure that this summit is a successful one. That's why
he's here in Washington, to try and head off any attempt by the president either to withdraw from NATO or to diminish American support beforehand.
And, in fact, we just heard from Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, over the last few weeks saying that, in fact, the Pentagon would be conducting
this six-month review of European force posture of American troops with the eye towards potentially reducing the staffing in countries that he doesn't
feel is a good posture of American troops with the eye towards potentially reducing the staffing in countries that he doesn't feel are spending the
appropriate amount for defense.
[18:05:00]
And so, even though Mark Rutte came to the White House today to try and reassure President Trump and to try and ensure that he isn't coming into
this NATO summit preparing to blow the whole thing apart, I don't know that he's leaving feeling particularly convinced that President Trump is still
on the side.
NEWTON: Yes. He might have been a bit more optimistic just because the president was asked about President Zelenskyy and how Ukraine is doing. He
was positive about that, and we do know that those NATO allies are laying the table to get some kind of U.S. commitment on that in the next couple of
weeks. Kevin Liptak for us, grateful to you, standing by at the White House.
On Capitol Hill, meantime, a closed-door lunch between President Trump and Senate Republicans turned into a tense shouting match. President Trump and
Senator Bill Cassidy, who recently lost a primary after Mr. Trump endorsed an opponent, clashed over the war in Iran.
A source says the president even called Cassidy a lunatic. Tensions between President Trump and Senate Republicans were high after the president
suddenly scrapped plans to sign a bipartisan housing bill earlier in the day. He demanded Congress pass his controversial election overhaul bill
first.
CNN's Manu Raju joins us now. You were watching all the festivities from the Hill. It seems both of those men, both Cassidy and President Trump, had
scores to settle. But legislatively, what does any of this mean going forward? I mean, this bill for housing is essentially hijacked now, as I
understand it, for how long?
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the entire legislative agenda, Paula, has been completely derailed over Donald Trump's
push to pass what he called the Save America Act. That bill would require voters to have proof of citizenship to register to vote.
But here's the problem. It doesn't have the votes to get approved in the United States Senate. It got 48 votes the last time it was voted on. It
would require 60 to get approved, and that means that Trump continues to demand passage of this Save America Act before anything else, and it's not
going to happen, which means the whole agenda is stalled.
The reason why he came in and said he was not going to sign this big housing bill to lower housing costs for Americans, something that
Republicans and Democrats wanted to cheerlead today, particularly Republicans on the issue of affordability, but after Trump scrapped that,
it left them flummoxed about uncertain about how to proceed.
Now, behind closed doors, this blowup was not about that fight. It was about Iran. Bill Cassidy, the senator that you mentioned, who got into this
row with Donald Trump, he was one of four Republican senators who voted just yesterday to limit the president's war powers with Iran. Trump was
upset about this and called out those Republican senators, and it caused this back and forth with Cassidy, wanted to know more about the war with
Iran.
One Republican senator, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, I asked him about that feud and the aftermath of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: I heard that he went after him about Iran in particular, and the president called him a lunatic.
SEN. KEVIN CRAMER (R-ND): Well, the president was the president. He was the same today as he was yesterday, as he was, you know, six years ago or
eight years ago. So, yes, he did challenge him on what he was doing, really. What -- and really, you can talk to Bill, you probably have, but I
think he's pretty open about it, obviously.
But Bill asked the president if he wanted an answer to the question about why would anybody do this, and so Bill told him why he voted the way he
did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAJU: And I'm told behind closed doors that the president told Bill Cassidy to sit down. Cassidy would not sit down. The president called him a
lunatic. As Cassidy raised his voice, one senator told me that it was essentially Cassidy shouting at the president. Cassidy referred to the
president as his, quote, "brother." The president said, I'm not your brother. Eventually, the feud subsided.
But it underscores a larger issue here with Trump, because he is facing pushback in different wings of the Republican Party over Iran. Also
concerns about his demands over the Save America Act and also his focus on key issues like the economy in this midterm election season, all coming at
a very difficult time for the GOP, which is at the moment is in a state of disarray in the aftermath of Trump's visit and even before it. Paula.
NEWTON: Yes, and given he was supposed to go up to Capitol Hill to play nice, I mean, certainly he -- those who invited him there got something
else entirely. Manu Raju, thanks for following all those news lines for us. Appreciate it.
RAJU: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now in Bahrain as part of his trip to the Persian Gulf region. He's working to sell the Iran
agreement to American allies, including the UAE and Kuwait. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We want them to know and we want to reiterate and begin to talk to them and engage them on conversations about
every decision that's made with regards to this negotiation. We're not going to do anything that undermines the security of our allies, our
longstanding allies in the region.
[18:10:00]
That's what we're here to do, to get their input. They're our partners. I'm not here to tell them. I'm here to hear as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said U.N. inspectors will visit nuclear sites in Iran, but Tehran rejects the claim,
saying access to the sites will only be resolved in a final deal with Washington.
Joining me now is Emest Moniz. He is a former U.N. -- U.S., pardon me, energy secretary and currently a special advisor to the president of MIT. I
will say you negotiated the last deal with Iran, which is why we are really interested to hear what you have to say.
I mean, you recently said that these inspectors coming into Iran is not so special. What is different, though, from what is going on now compared to
the inspections that you negotiated? I mean, I know that a point, a clear point was how to really safeguard the fact that Iran isn't covertly
developing a nuclear weapon.
ERNEST MONIZ, FORMER U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY AND CECI AND IDA GREEN PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF PHYSICS, MIT: Exactly, Paula. So, the statement that
inspectors going into Iran is not really special flows from the fact that any member of the IAEA, like Iran, has a safeguards agreement, so-called,
and inspectors must be admitted to check that.
But the real point in the Iran situation is, of course, while they have pledged many, many times to never acquire or develop a nuclear weapon, the
international community does not put much stock in that without having the backup of inspections and requirements on Iran that would prevent them from
going to a bomb if they chose to do so.
So, therefore, when we come back to verification, we said in 2015, and we've said it at every opportunity since, that the most important part of a
nuclear agreement with Iran is the verification measures. It's not enough to have verification only of the sites that Iran admits are nuclear sites,
but they need access within a relatively short time to sites that are suspect of having nuclear activities not declared by Iran. In other words,
covert sites, as you said.
In the JCPOA, the agreement in 2015 with Iran, they agreed to provide such access within 24 days. I'm not saying that the negotiations now have to
produce exactly the same processes, but that's the spirit. They must provide access to possibly covert sites in a relatively short time, or else
the agreement, frankly, is not going to be worth very much.
NEWTON: And I am curious to hear from you about, you know, how do you take the measure of these negotiations as they stand right now, especially since
it seems, at least in the beginning, the usual experts, like yourself, you are a trained nuclear physicist, they weren't engaged at any detailed
level. Do you believe this is happening now? Do you believe it has to happen now in order for this deal to really mean anything? And again,
remembering that the president himself has said the priority is to make sure that Iran never acquire a nuclear weapon.
MONIZ: Well, let me start with that last point, because I think it's very important to understand that the objective, as you stated, it was the
objective with President Obama, it's the objective with President Trump, is for Iran never to develop a nuclear weapon. The objective is not no
enrichment capability. Those things are often being equated. They're not the same thing.
Now, clearly, if you have no enrichment capability in Iran, that's a hell of a good step towards not having a nuclear weapon. There are many other
ways to cut that. So, I think the negotiators are going to have to be flexible and understanding on that. To really understand in depth, they
will have to call upon the technical assets that the U.S. government has available, for example, in the DOE laboratories.
Now, when I was negotiating as a nuclear physicist by training, of course, I had a certain advantage. I knew how to ask the right questions. But the
current negotiators, what they need to do is to learn how to cooperate closely with our technical experts in the labs, in the agencies, et cetera.
So, that's very, very important.
The -- in terms of the negotiating strategy, clearly one part is this whole set of nuclear issues that's got to get pinned down, as I said, including
verification.
[18:15:00]
But there are many other aspects of the MOU that really complicate the job of the negotiators, to be perfectly honest. We can start out with the very
prominent role that Lebanon plays in the MOU, when, of course, Israel is not a member -- is not a party to the negotiation. The Israeli cabinet has
said that Israel will remain in southern Lebanon until Hezbollah is disarmed. Disarming Hezbollah is not part of the MOU. So, there are some
difficult circles to square there.
There are other things. For example, there's commitment --
NEWTON: I apologize for interrupting, but I do want to get to some critical points, which I'm sure you're going to bring up. I want to
highlight the fact that you and I spoke right after you negotiated the JCPOA. At the time, I asked you questions about the missile program, the
money going to Iran, the funding of proxies. Is it true that, you have to admit, Iran did then continue to be quite a menacing presence in the region
and beyond?
So, I'm asking you, if you were at the table right now, how do you salvage this situation to still be able to meet a lot of those goals?
MONIZ: Well, you're right. That is the point I was heading towards. Let's go there. Look, President Obama had the same three challenges that we have
today. Nuclear, missiles, I might add drones to that, and proxies. President Obama made the strategic choice to pursue those items
sequentially, starting out with the nuclear problem. Big problem in and of itself. We made a lot of progress. I think we resolved it, and we would
have gone on had there been a longer runway to missiles next and proxies.
I think it's fair to say that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu together had in mind that they would get a solution to all the problems at
once. Well, the reality is the MOU has backed up to where it is addressing only the nuclear issue and not the missiles and not the proxies.
So, we're kind of in the same place, but in a harder place on the nuclear front, because, for example, Iran, subsequent to our pulling out in 2018,
has acquired about a half a ton, almost a half a ton of 60 percent enriched uranium that could be used directly in a nuclear bomb. So, we're back to
the same place.
NEWTON: Well, as you say --
MONIZ: And, in fact, the MOU even came up with a $300 billion fund, much more money than we ever talked about in 2015.
NEWTON: Ernest Moniz, we do have to leave it there, but we invite you back as we continue to see how the next few weeks unfold in these negotiations.
Appreciate your time.
MONIZ: Happy to, Paula.
NEWTON: Still ahead for us, deep breaths, everyone. A new study says job losses from A.I. may not be as bad as we feared. At least for now. You'll
want to hear this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back in today's Business Breakout. A mixed day on Wall Street. The Dow ticked higher. But the tech-heavy NASDAQ slumped for a
third straight session.
The big event for tech investors came after the closing bell when A.I. chip maker Micron reported results. Now, results that easily beat expectations.
And it's also raising guidance. Shares are rallying in after-hours trading.
Now, we've been hearing for years now that artificial intelligence- triggered layoffs are coming for our jobs. But a new report from the Yale Budget Lab says, up until now, there has been, in fact, little evidence of
labor market disruption due to the new technology.
Now, the report looked at churn across occupations and found A.I. exposure among the unemployed is flat. It says the rate follows pre-A.I. trends and
falls within historical ranges. That said, since last October, many companies have cut jobs as they focus on A.I. investment and restructuring,
including Amazon, Cisco, and Salesforce.
Now, earlier, I spoke with Martha Gimbel. She is with the Yale Budget Lab.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTHA GIMBEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER, THE BUDGET LAB: This is backward-looking analysis. This is not a prediction about where we're going
to be in a year, five years, 10 years. And so, much of that is going to depend on non-technological factors, like how fast companies figure this
technology out. Do they get certainty on liability questions? Things like that.
I do want to follow up. You mentioned companies that have said that they are cutting jobs due to A.I. And one of the things I think is really
important there is that they have largely said that they're cutting jobs to make more capital investments in A.I., which is different than we can
replace our workforces with A.I. and don't need to use them anymore.
NEWTON: And that goes to the issue of productivity, right? And when will we see those gains? Top of mind, though, for so many is what we heard out
of the New York Fed. That data says that unemployment rates for recent college graduates has been upwards of 5.5 percent, and that's just over the
last few months. The timing certainly aligns with all of these A.I. headlines that we were getting. Is there any evidence there that entry-
level jobs, though, are being cut?
GIMBEL: Yes, it really doesn't look like A.I. is impacting entry-level jobs at this time. You know, there's evidence, for instance, from the
Economic Innovation Group that the labor market is bad for young workers, but for both those with a college degree and without, which suggests that
whatever's going on is not A.I.
I think what makes it particularly hard is, frankly, economists don't have a good explanation for what's happening with young workers right now. We've
ruled a bunch of things out, but we haven't explained it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: OK. Checking some of today's other business headlines. President Trump is ordering his Justice Department to investigate U.S. oil giants for
what he calls price gouging. Trump says the oil majors are not lowering gas prices fast enough, given the falling price of crude oil. That said, the
average price of a gallon of gas in the U.S. has fallen to around $3.92 a gallon. It was above $4 a gallon just a week ago.
Meme stock mania appears to have hit shares of hamburger chain Wendy's. Shares rallied more than 40 percent at one point on Wednesday. Shares had
to be halted for trade because of the volatility. Mentions of the stock have risen on the Internet forums over the past few days. The company also
continues to announce management changes.
Now, one of South Korea's most valuable tech firms is making plans to trade on the NASDAQ. Memory chip giant SK Hynix is hoping to list shares around
July 10th. The move could raise some $29 billion for the firm. It could end up being the largest U.S. listing ever by a South Korean company.
OK. Straight ahead for us, Western Europe battles an intense days-long heat wave. I'll tell you what to expect and how you can protect yourself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:25:00]
NEWTON: And welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Paula Newton. Here are the international headlines we're watching today.
Tensions are high between U.S. President Donald Trump and some Republicans on Capitol Hill after he suddenly refused to sign a landmark bipartisan
housing affordability bill. He says he won't until Congress passes his controversial elections overhaul legislation known as the Save America Act,
though it's seen as an empty threat. The about-face comes just months before November's midterms, which could hinge on Americans' affordability
concerns.
Meantime, results from U.S. elections on Tuesday have sent political shockwaves through the Democratic Party. A slate of three candidates
endorsed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept Democratic primaries in his city, defeating more moderate Democrats and ousting two incumbents from
Congress. The win solidified Mamdani's rising status as a political powerbroker within the party and have left some establishment Democrats on
edge.
Western Europe is sweltering under a deadly heatwave. Many countries are setting emergency alerts, warning people to limit travel and avoid being
outside during the hottest part of the day. The heat dome is expected to move east soon. That means Western Europe should cool down somewhat as
Central and Eastern Europe heats up.
Bill Weir joins us now. This was never before described as normal. At what point do we start understanding that in the summer, Europe gets hot and it
is tough because they do not have air conditioning in most places?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. That's the thing about the climate crisis, is you're not just fighting the physics of what's
happening as the planet overheats, you're fighting human convention.
And we love Europe because of those old buildings, the charm, the old-world charm of Europe. Not so charming when it's 40 degrees Celsius, as we've
seen, or even 43 or 44 degrees in France and Spain. But this is really rough.
[18:30:00]
And it's not just a one-off. You can look back to the 70s and see these hot days. Last year was the warmest year ever, right? 2,300 people died in a
five-day heat wave almost a year ago in Europe. And now, these records are breaking those records. And so, we live in an era where these records
aren't even holding up for a year, maybe about a month or a day in some cases.
And scientists tell us it's the result of the jet stream getting all wobbly as Greenland melts, as the Earth heats up. That belt of wind that normally
just keeps things nice and tidy with the cold up at the North Pole and the tropical air down below, it gets wavy and either brings that warmth and
holds it over communities.
Five years ago, there was a big heat dome in the Pacific Northwest, which is actually the impetus behind two lawsuits against big oil companies for
either negligence or wrongful death. And so, yes, it is the big question for mayors, leaders in all these cities is adapting to this harder in
Europe.
When you consider what, 20 percent of the homes in France have air conditioning. And it's not just heat, it's water. It's, you know, a warmer
atmosphere holds a lot more moisture. So, these rain bomb events are overwhelming the tube systems, Metro in Paris, in New York, they're raising
subway grates to keep the water out. So, we're all living through one big experiment, Paula, and this is the painful part here.
NEWTON: And indeed, we are. And when we talk about mitigation or adaptation, all of that seems all the more daunting when you, again, see
this cycle repeated every summer. Bill Weir, grateful to you.
As well, as we were talking about parts of Europe, there are other parts of the world also under intense heat, and that includes British Columbia. It
broke new records. And remember, just five years -- it's five years this week after a heat dome devastated British Columbia. Back then, emergency
communications broke down and 619 people died, most of them. In fact, 90 percent were seniors.
Dr. Bonnie Henry is a provincial health officer for British Columbia, and she joins me now. And we are grateful to you as we continue just to try and
observe the scene in Europe and what can be done. I want to start with the anniversary of this tragedy itself.
I'm wondering what you're thinking as you reflect on the last five years. What are the lessons learned? And what has British Columbia done to make
sure this never happens again?
DR. BONNIE HENRY, BRITISH COLUMBIA'S PROVINCIAL HEALTH OFFICER: Yes. This is -- tomorrow will be the day, the fifth anniversary of when that heat
dome started. And as you can imagine, it was not something we had ever experienced here before. But I think it is absolutely something we're going
to experience again. And we set out to try and learn as much as we could from that tragedy that happened five years ago in this province.
And as you say, we've learned a lot more about who is most at risk, particularly older people. People, that is kind of surprising for some
people. We also know that people with certain mental health conditions, like schizophrenia, are much more at risk compared to people who don't have
that at the same age. So, it has to do with the way the body regulates heat as we get older or when people are on certain medications.
So, that has helped us put together a number of different things, including working in the community to make sure that we have heat buddies, people who
can check on their neighbors. We've done a whole lot of work at predicting when heat will come, working with municipalities on increasing green space,
having cooling centers, having places where people can get access to water to cool down.
And at a sort of bigger level, we've also been looking at building codes. One of the real tragedies that happened here in British Columbia was that
many people died alone at home, seniors, people with health conditions. And it was because the indoor temperature became so high. And we now know that
indoor temperatures that are consistently above 26 degrees Celsius can be really detrimental and it can happen very quickly.
So, if the temperature doesn't cool down at night, that is when many people can be most adversely affected by the heat.
NEWTON: Dr. Henry, I'm wondering how confident you are when the next heat wave happens that you'll be able to handle this. And is it instructive for
places like Europe? I mean, again, in many places of British Columbia, there wasn't as much air conditioning as there are in other parts of Canada
and beyond.
So, I'm wondering in terms of lessons learned, what will British Columbia will be doing? And what do you believe Europe can learn?
DR. HENRY: Yes. You know, we've been watching what happened in Europe. And actually, we've learned a lot from what happened in France. I don't know if
you remember. In 2003, and how that tragedy unfolded.
[18:35:00]
As you say, air conditioning is still quite rare, less than 40 percent of homes in B.C., and mostly the ones that are in the areas that traditionally
get quite hot. But one of the things that we've really worked on is the new technology around heat pumps that are able to both cool and heat houses. As
you can imagine, heat has been something that's been more important in the past.
But now, we know that cooling houses and we've done a lot of work around making sure people have access to portable air conditioners or places in
their home where they can keep the temperature lower at night, or places people can go where heat pumps are available to keep the temperatures cool.
And as you can imagine, that also helps with some of the other climate related changes that we're seeing, including a lot of wildfires. And so,
that helps protect from smoke in the air, for example.
But we've learned an awful lot and we face some of the same challenges that we're seeing play out in Europe right now. Older houses, very difficult to
retrofit. So, we're looking at things like changing the bylaws so that new builds have to have a place that where temperature is controlled and below
that 26 degrees Celsius and maintained below that. So, that's part of it.
I think the other really important thing and we see that in some of the hotter places in Europe and Africa where increasing green space, using
shading, having lighter colored materials, having the ability to close off windows with blinds or shades during the hot part of the day. Those are all
things that we've been looking at and working on here as well.
NEWTON: Well, it certainly seems that vigilance is definitely what is needed, especially, as I said, is the anniversary and such a tragedy to
have so many people die. Dr. Bonnie Henry, we'll continue to learn a lot about how we are going to all adjust in the years to come. Thanks so much
for being on. Appreciate it.
DR. HENRY: Thank you very much.
NEWTON: Now, the heat dome is expected to ease up in parts of Western Europe, bringing some relief there. However, it is set to spread towards
Central and Eastern Europe. Allison Chinchar has more for us now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are setting some pretty insane records across Europe. Take a look at this. It was the hottest June day on
record in the U.K. when they reached 36.1 degrees Celsius or 97 degrees Fahrenheit. Even more impressive, we also had the hottest May day on record
this year, only 1 degree Celsius cooler. Very impressive numbers.
And they're not the only country setting records. Take a look. Now, this is France. Not necessarily for an individual town, but for the entire country
as a whole, setting their national average temperature record. Again, just to kind of show you how widespread this heat really is, you also have all
of these individual records.
Now, the orange dots indicate daily record highs, the red dots, monthly record highs, and the grayish black dots represent potential all-time
record highs. And we are likely going to see even more dots on the map, especially spreading into portions of Central and Eastern Europe in the
coming days, because that is where the heat is expected to move.
So, here is a map of all of the heat alerts in effect for Thursday. You can see it still continues across portions of France and the U.K. But now we're
really starting to see it spread farther off to the east. So, Romania, Poland, portions of Italy and Germany really now starting to see more of
their area under these extreme heat alerts.
And it's because this dome of high pressure or the heat dome is expected to spread eastward in the coming days. This will provide some relief for areas
of the Iberian Peninsula in the coming days, but it will do quite the opposite for areas of Central and Eastern Europe.
Take, for example, Madrid. The numbers are starting to come back down much lower than where they have been the last few days. But Vienna, Berlin,
those numbers are starting to go back up, reaching the triple digits in Fahrenheit or even into the upper 30s in Celsius. So, it's very impressive,
but also very dangerous.
Not just the high temperatures, even though those are also very impressive. But look at Paris, for example. Yes, we still have another day reaching
above 40 degrees, but it's also the low temperatures. Their average high this time of year is 23 degrees Celsius. Their low temperature is expected
to be even higher than that. That is a problem because it doesn't allow your body to cool down at night when it normally would be, especially for
so many people in Europe that do not have access to air conditioning in their homes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Thanks to Allison there. Just ahead for us, more on the Iran War, tension in the Capitol Hill, and President Trump's evolving relationship
with his own party. We will speak U.S. House Republican Darin LaHood. That's up next.
[18:40:00]
NEWTON: We want to take a closer look now at developments in Washington. As we mentioned, things got a little tense earlier on Capitol Hill with
President Donald Trump and Republican Senator Bill Cassidy getting into a shouting match over the war in Iran during a closed-door lunch meeting. The
president was reportedly irate about the Senate's Vote Tuesday to limit his war powers. Tensions were also high because Trump abruptly canceled the
signing of a bipartisan housing bill citing his stalled voting legislation.
Joining me now from Washington is U.S. House Republican Darin LaHood. Good to have you on the program, especially when we've had so much action in
Washington.
Now, look, we do want to get to the action of the World Cup. I point out you are a member of the soccer caucus, and we want to talk about that as
well. But first, we must highlight all the activity there, especially with the war powers, which seem to irk the president. I'm wondering where you
see this battle goes from here, given some of your Republican colleagues voted against the president, but we also have the secretary of defense
coming to you guys for more money, billions more. Are you, as a Republican congressman, willing to just write a check for this conflict going forward?
REP. DARIN LAHOOD (R-IL) AND CO-CHAIR, U.S. SOCCER CAUCUS: Well, I serve on our House Intelligence Committee, and so obviously we're watching and
monitoring the winding down of the conflict in Iran.
I would say your assessment that the War Powers Act and what happened, I think that was a little bit overblown. That happened in the Senate today.
But I think many of us believe that we have to replenish what we used during the Iran conflict over the last several months. I think it will be a
priority.
And I think many members of Congress look forward to working with our military to the winding down of this conflict, getting the Strait of Hormuz
opened back up again, getting the oil flowing, which we're already seeing, by the way. 19 million gallons of fuel came through the Strait of Hormuz
yesterday.
So, I think we're on the path to winding down this conflict and replenishing our military supplies through a supplemental. I think we'll
have broad support in the House and Senate.
NEWTON: Congressman, can you give us some insight into some of the grumbling, though, among you and your colleagues? Because I know you hear
it in your constituencies. This is a lot of money, and people are not fully behind what happened in this Iran conflict, especially given the deal and
the negotiations as they stand right now.
[18:45:00]
LAHOOD: Well, I think when I talk to my constituents, and they know that the leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran, will no longer be able to
have a nuclear weapon, that there will be unfettered access to their nuclear facilities throughout Iran, and that can happen at any time. When
they know that there has been a complete dismantling of their hypersonic missile system, their ballistic missile system, their naval operations,
that's been wiped out.
NEWTON: But with all the money, they will be able to reestablish a lot of that. And that is something that I know you've heard on the Intelligence
Committee.
LAHOOD: Well, we have heard that, but there will not be one nickel of U.S. taxpayer money going to Iran. There is rebuilding that will go on through
humanitarian efforts, mostly from the Gulf countries, that will move forward. But that will be subject to close monitoring by a number of our
allies, both European and in the Gulf countries.
So, I mean, listen, if Iran wants to have these sanctions lifted, and they want to produce oil and sell it around the world, there is going to be
compliance with that. So, we're going to watch and monitor that. I think they came to the table and agreed to this because they don't want their
country bombed anymore, like what happened in this conflict where we won.
NEWTON: Before we do get to the World Cup, I want to talk about this clash on Capitol Hill, because the president, before he got to Capitol Hill, also
refused to sign that bipartisan housing bill. I mean, how are you viewing that? Your constituents also cannot be happy about that.
LAHOOD: Well, this bill passed overwhelmingly in the House. I supported it, passed in the Senate. It's going to be signed into the law. Speaker of
the House, Mike Johnson, is going to see the president tomorrow.
Listen, we are co-equal branches of government, the executive branch and the legislative branch. Obviously, the president was upset about the Save
America Act not passing, which, by the way, I proudly supported in the House. And so, he did not sign the housing bill today.
This bill is going to become law, whether it's through, if the president decides to veto it, which I don't think he will, it will be overridden if
it's vetoed. I think it will be signed into law in the next couple of days after the speaker talks to him. And this will be good for the American
people.
And remember, President Trump has gotten a lot of his agenda through. The tax bill, crypto bill, funding of ICE, funding of our border. A number of
things have happened. I think, again, this is two branches of government disagreeing on this, but in the end, it will be signed into law. And that
will be good for my constituents when it comes to affordability and more housing.
NEWTON: All right. Congressman LaHood, let's get to the fun stuff here. I have to say, I am on the record saying that this World Cup in North America
would be fantastic. It has exceeded expectations so far. You are a member of the soccer caucus. I didn't even know such a thing existed. What is chat
like that right now in the soccer caucus?
And in all seriousness, we all know in North America it is the most popular sport among young people. So, what do you see the World Cup doing for
America and beyond?
LAHOOD: This has been a resounding success over the last 12 days the World Cup has kicked off. As you know, this is the first time three countries
have hosted the World Cup, Canada, Mexico, and the United States.
I also serve on our White House task force for the World Cup. So, we've worked with FIFA, worked with the two other countries to get the bid and
now see the World Cup and the success of it. I also remind people it's the first time the World Cup has expanded from 32 to 48 teams. And we're seeing
people just enjoying the games, fans, spectators, visitors. The competition has been tremendous.
This will have a $30 billion impact on the United States. And as you've seen from the level of competition and the fans, whether that's in Boston
with the Scottish fans or the Brazilian fans in New Jersey or the Argentinian fans in Kansas City and Dallas or the American team and how
well they did in L.A. and Seattle, it is infectious, it is addictive, and people all across the world are watching.
NEWTON: I only have about 30 seconds left. But, Congressman, you know America, I hate to break it to you, has not been the most popular country
over the last year and a half. But do you think it will just help really build more bonds around the world?
LAHOOD: Well, I think if you talk to any fans from any one of the 47 countries or 46 countries that are here are thoroughly enjoying the United
States. We are such a welcoming country, along with Canada and Mexico, but people are enjoying America. They're seeing the sights. They're enjoying
our culture, our people. And we've been very hospitable in terms of being tremendous hosts.
And I give a lot of credit to the 11 host cities and the White House Task Force on what they've done to make this such a welcoming event. And, of
course, the competition on the pitch has been amazing. And having the U.S. team 2-0, I think they'll be 3-0 after tomorrow night and moving on to the
round of 32 is great. So, go USA.
LAHOOD: Congressman LaHood, please come back. You give us such great insight into what's going on there in Capitol Hill. Appreciate it. And,
yes, we will continue to watch this fabulous World Cup as it unfolds. Appreciate it.
[18:50:00]
LAHOOD: Thank you.
NEWTON: Now, talking about the World Cup, coming up on The Brief, World Cup co-host Canada defeated by Switzerland. Boo-hoo. But guess what?
They're still moving on to the next round for the first time in the men's team history. Much more coming up.
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NEWTON: Why is anyone making me read this? Switzerland beat World Cup co- host Canada 2 to 1 in Group B, but both are advancing to the knockout stage. Thank goodness. It is a first for the Canadian men's team.
Right now, the final matches of Group C are underway. Haiti tied with Morocco in Atlanta, while Brazil are leading Scotland 2-nil in Miami.
We get the details from our Patrick Snell. OK. Let's do Canada-Switzerland. Go for it. Take it away.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Oh, come on, Paula. Yes, it was disappointing the Canadians lose in front of the home fans there against
Switzerland. The Switzerland side that does top the group, winning it by two goals to one.
Just briefly, Swiss in control, really. They were 2-nil up. Canada giving themselves some hope with just over 10 minutes to go and Promise David pull
one back. It would have been nice for Canada. They came close, very, very, very close, actually, to getting a two-all draw out of it, which would have
been very nice for them, as I say, on home soil.
But there are many plus points to this campaign for Jesse Marsch's team because they do advance to the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup for
the first time ever. That is incredible. They do have a significant fallout, though, Paula, from losing this. It means they lose home field
advantage for the next phase of the tournament, the Round of 32. All three games the Canadians had played on home soil up to now, a big, big advantage
in terms of getting that home support behind them.
But they will now have to go to Los Angeles, California, for the Round of 32, most likely playing South Korea. That's going to be a very tough match
in its own right, of course, the 2002 semi-finalists on the Guus Hiddink.
But I will say this, you've got to factor in the travel as well. The Canadians got to travel there. They've got to readjust to their new
environment. There's going to be a whole lot of stuff that they have to reassess now. But still, the plus points, they're through to the next phase
of the tournament, Paula.
NEWTON: Got you. And going on right now, Brazil and Scotland, that Tartan Army must be on it.
SNELL: Those Scottish fans have attracted so many admirers, haven't they? We've been seeing that video, first of all in Boston, then when they got to
Miami as well, very viral moments as well. They've been fully embraced by the Americans, really hospitable, hospitable hosts, the Americans and the
Scottish fans have been absolutely loving it.
But they are in trouble at this hour in the Sunshine State because Brazil, the five-time champions of the world, led by a guy called Vini Junior.
[18:55:00]
He had scored twice so far on the night he had another goal disallowed. And this is really good stuff from Vini Junior. He opened the scoring on seven
minutes of play. So, Brazil are looking very good right now as we go live now to Sao Paulo. That is a watch party in Sao Paulo at this hour. It's
five to 8:00 there. Those fans know that their team most likely is going to be topping the group in their quest to try and become champions of the
world for the sixth time. They're coached by Carlo Ancelotti now, of course.
Now, extraordinary game going on at this hour right now, not too far away from us here at Techwood Studios in Atlanta. Haiti are playing Morocco.
Morocco were semifinalists four years ago in Qatar. It's an amazing game. It's 2-2 at the moment. Haiti playing in their first World Cups in 1974.
And I tell you what, they've twice had the lead in that match. It's now 2- 2, would you believe. Haiti, though, sadly for them, they are already eliminated from the tournament. But they are seeking a first point in World
Cup history. So, if they can hold on, it would still be very historic and very cool for Haiti to do that. But most likely --
NEWTON: Certainly. And the great -- yes. And a great lift for Haiti, for sure, for everyone who's watching.
SNELL: Yes. But most likely from the group, Morocco and Brazil advance.
NEWTON: Got you. OK. Patrick Snell for us in Atlanta.
I want to thank all of you for your company. I'm Paula Newton in New York. You've been watching "The Brief." Stay with CNN for more news.
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