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What We Know with Max Foster
Record-Breaking Heat Grips Western Europe; W.H.O. Urges Leaders To Prioritize Climate Action; Israel Slams U.N. Report As "Propaganda" & "Blood Libel"; Trump Abruptly Cancels Signing Of Bipartisan Housing Bill; Mamdani Allies Sweep Democratic House Primaries In New York. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired June 24, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:29]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Temperature records tumble across Europe.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
From Scotland to Spain, heat records being broken as countries across the continent issue urgent warnings.
Here in the U.K., there's a nearly unheard of combination of record heat and high humidity. Red extreme heat warnings, which are exceptionally rare
here, are in place for today and for tomorrow. For the second time in just hours, Britain broke its all-time record for June heat, with temperatures
hitting almost 97 degrees Fahrenheit or 36 degrees Celsius in Surrey and in Hampshire.
And the City of Light is a city that's red hot too. Today, France endured its hottest day since record-keeping began, beating the previous record
which was set just Tuesday. A French nuclear power plant has been forced to temporarily close because the nearby river water was too warm.
Nada Bashir is in London where people are simply not used to heat at this level. And it's because it's so early in the year, isn't it, Nada? I mean,
sometimes in late July or August, but never in June.
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, absolutely. And as you mentioned, Max, we have seen those records broken for June already in parts of
southern England, reaching around 36 degrees Celsius or 96 degrees Fahrenheit. And this has been a sweltering boiling day here in the capital,
London, and across southern England as well. We have seen peak temperatures as you can see behind me, just gone 8:00 p.m. local time, but there are
still many people out here in Hyde Park trying to cool down. We are just getting a little bit of a breeze now.
But, of course, this has caused a significant amount of disruption across the country. We have seen hundreds of schools either closed or forced to
send students home. Early, officers have been telling their employers to work from home if possible, and of course, transport links as well. There
has been significant disruption across the country. We've heard from the National Rail Service as well as transport for London, telling passengers
and commuters not to travel unless absolutely necessary.
And anyone who is required to travel via transport links in National Rail is being warned to carry bottles of water with them because it is not only
sweltering up here, but of course, very hot. underground on the tube network. And of course, this is a country that is not used to this level of
heat, particularly in June, but also not necessarily built for this level of heat as well. This is a country that many of the homes and offices have
been built to retain heat during the cold winters. That means poor circulation. That means insulation that isn't really conducive to this hot
weather, small windows as well.
And of course, less than 10 percent of households here in the United Kingdom, according to one consultancy group, actually have air conditioning
so it is very hot inside many people's homes right now and there is a concern of course as this is a red alert level warning issued by the Met
Office that, of course, people's health could be at risk as well.
What we saw in May during the last heat wave was young people drowning after spending time in the water trying to cool down. That certainly has
been the case in France as well, where dozens of people have drowned as well, and so that is a huge concern and of course other heat related
illnesses as well. So the government is keeping a close eye on that as well. And there has been that continued call by the emergency services for
people to take the precautionary measures to make sure that they stay safe, hydrated and well during this extremely hot weather.
FOSTER: Nada, appreciate it. Thank you. It does look quite nice there this evening, has to be said.
Now, as the mercury soars, the World Health Organization is urging leaders to prioritize climate action. The head of the WHO says the data are clear.
Temperatures across Europe are rising at roughly twice the global average rate, increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme heat in the future.
Leaders must prioritize investment in climate resilient health systems, whilst also accelerating climate action and mitigating the drivers of the
climate crisis.
Our chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, is in New York.
I mean, we have been warned that this would happen, but the debate is how to fix the system, the railways, the air conditioning. It's not actually
about addressing the fundamental problem here, is it?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's been said that climate training change brings three things or demands three things of us
as human beings. It's mitigation, stopping the fossil fuel pollution that causes this.
[15:05:02]
It's adaptation, bracing for the reality that we've built for ourselves here. And then the third one is pain.
And the size of each of those three pie slices depend on how much foresight, how much adaptation we put into these things. But, yeah, the
climate conversation, Max, has swung now to a place of total inaction in the United States. In fact, just almost aggression against climate science.
I was just up in Svalbard, Norway, the northernmost civilization, where there's a lot of climate scientists studying what's happening to the
Arctic, which is heating up so fast, and that's the reason that Europe is heating up so fast. But the two major superpowers in the Arctic, the United
States and Russia, are not at the table, not talking about what is happening as a result of global politics in each of those. attitudes about
climate from each of the leaders in those countries right now.
So, yeah, we're not seeing any movement that we were seeing back in the days of Greta Thunberg leading these protests politically, just as the
intensity of the crisis seems to be coming to bear everywhere. We've had it OK so far in the summer in North America, but a heat dome, like the one
you're experiencing in Europe, is headed this way as well. And these are now becoming predictable annual events.
Last year, 2,300 heat-related deaths in a five-day period in Europe, very similar as the jet stream at the top of the world seems to get wobbly as
the planet overheats. As Greenland, the ice sheet melts, affecting both the jet stream in the sky, the Gulf Stream in the Atlantic that controls so
much of the current in the Atlantic, and then as a result of that, the weather.
All of this is connected, all of this is related, and you're right, all of this has been warned about now for generations.
FOSTER: Do you think, you know, just the lost productivity that we're seeing here in Europe because of all of this, people not going to work,
might be enough to shake governments into more action.
WEIR: You would hope so. You would hope that there's enough of a pileup of evidence here and enough of a public outcry for real action around this.
But you're absolutely right. I've seen studies of worker productivity in Asia, and even in factories where they do have cooling units, it goes down
because most of the workers don't have air conditioning at home and can't sleep through the night because it's so uncomfortable.
So, yeah, this touches every sort of little corner of our societies, what we wear, how we move throughout the day. And these sorts of events really
bring into sort of crystal clarity the urgency of the situation, because those temperatures, sort of record-breaking, record-breaking we're seeing.
Some records aren't holding for a day until they're shattered again. And here we are.
FOSTER: And tomorrow's meant to be as hot, isn't it? Bill, thank you.
WEIR: You bet.
FOSTER: Now, an independent U.N. commission is raising the alarm about Gaza, saying that Israeli forces are still committing genocide there by
deliberately targeting children. The commission issued a 94-page report that says Israel is attacking the very capacity of the Palestinian people
to exist by killing their sons and daughters. It also says there's indisputable evidence that Israeli forces have continued using torture and
sexual violence against Palestinian children even after the ceasefire in October last year.
Israel is slamming the report as propaganda and blood libel. It's repeatedly denied committing genocide.
We're joined now by Gideon Levy, a columnist with the Israeli paper "Haaretz".
I mean, Israel, you know, the Israeli forces saying this just isn't true. I mean, how do we find out if it is?
GIDEON LEVY, COLUMNIST, HAARETZ: You know, when you hear it again and again from so many sources, so many evidences, so many committees, again
and again the same conclusion. When the facts on the ground tells you a story of a genocide, when you hear the figures, 20,000 children, over
20,000 children, so how can you call it a blood libel or a lie?
But the problem, you know, is much worse than this, because Israel ignores this report. It's not only denies it, it was hardly covered in the Israeli
media. The world is much more interested in what is going on in Gaza on our behalf than the Israelis themselves. They couldn't care less.
FOSTER: But there's a huge tension, isn't there, between the UN and Israel? And Israel's convinced that the U.N. is trying to undermine Israel
all the time. So perhaps that explains their response.
LEVY: Listen, this goes back for many, many years. I mean, it was already Prime Minister Ben-Gurion who said that it doesn't matter what the U.N.
says, the U.N. says.
[15:10:03]
He called it (INAUDIBLE), U.N. nothing. It depends what the Jews are doing.
We cannot ignore it, because that's the international community, and Israel wants to be part of this international community. Otherwise, it will turn
into a North Korea, and we are on the way there. And instead of checking ourselves, we are always blaming the other. We are always blaming the
messenger, blaming the mirror.
But this mirror is a very, very accurate mirror. Let's look at it, and let's realize that what happened in the last two and a half years in Gaza
and what is happening now in the West Bank on a daily basis is unacceptable.
FOSTER: Is it because of the distraction, if I can call it that, of Iran as well, that people took their eye off Gaza? I mean, not just Iran, also
Lebanon.
LEVY: No, no, it goes back much longer. We turned our eyes away from the occupation along many years. You see, you cannot have such a brutal
occupation, and to follow it without denial -- without denying, and live in peace with yourself. So the best way to protect yourself is to live in
denial.
And the Israeli society is living in a denial for years and decades. After the 7th of October, 2023, with the atrocities in Gaza, and then Lebanon,
obviously, the worst the atrocities are in the crimes, the bigger is the denial. And Israelis, most Israelis, hardly saw anything from Gaza
throughout those years with the collaboration of Israeli media, who voluntarily did not cover Gaza. And here you see the outcome.
FOSTER: Yeah. Gideon Levy, thank you so much for giving us your thoughts on that U.N. report.
Now, there appears to be some major cracks in the once rock-solid bond between U.S. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans. The president
today abruptly cancelled the scheduled signing of a landmark housing bill that had strong bipartisan support. In an online post, he announced that
the signing was off until Congress passed his controversial elections legislation dubbed the Save America Act.
CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is with us.
And you found out what happened in that lunch. Sounds pretty contentious.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It did. It really between a Republican senator and the president of the United States, that
Republican senator, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, some of the president effectively defeated in his primary challenge just about a month ago when
the president backed his Republican rival in that primary.
Cassidy lost that race. Cassidy was one of the Republican senators who voted to convict Donald Trump in that second impeachment trial, but tried
to make nice with them over the months. Of course, that did not really amount to much given that Trump effectively ended his political career.
But since Cassidy lost, he's come back and been a thorn in the side of the president, including just yesterday voting with three other Republican
senators to limit the president's war powers with Iran. Now, that was an issue that came up behind closed doors, the issue of Iran. Trump very
critical of those four Republican senators.
And I'm told that there was an intense back and forth between Cassidy and Trump. Cassidy shout, what was told, was essentially shouting at the
president. He stood up and the president told him to sit down. He would not sit down. I am told.
I'm told that the president called him a quote lunatic in their back and forth and I'm also told that Cassidy referred to the president as quote his
brother. Trump said that he was not his brother and then eventually the feud subsided Cassidy sat down now.
After the meeting Trump came out talked to reporters he said that they're all on the same page, he said minus a couple of senators he doesn't
particularly care for he didn't say who, but clearly a reference to Bill Cassidy here. But that wasn't just -- even though the most of the meeting
was Trump making a speech and senators playing nice, this is a party that's been divided over some key issues, namely the president's major demand to
pass a voting overhaul bill to require proof of citizenship in the United States to register to vote, known as the Save America Act. That has no
chance of passing the United States Senate. In fact, they've tried to pass it multiple times. There's nowhere near the votes to pass, but Trump has
essentially derailed his entire legislative agenda until seeing that the bill passed out of the United States Senate.
So it's left Republican senators really scratching their heads, flummoxed, uncertain about how to proceed to try to meet Donald Trump's demands which
cannot be met, all amid this election season where they're trying to stay on the same page but very much divided at this critical time, Max.
[15:15:10]
FOSTER: Manu Raju, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Coming up, Democrats facing a decision Will the formula that work in New York also work in middle America? A look at the two sides staking claims as
the leader of the left.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: New York's mayor is celebrating today after his handpicked progressive candidates knocked off establishment Democrats in congressional
primaries last night. The three progressives are reached in very Democratic districts and are all but assured of winning congressional seats in the
fall midterms. Each of them had been endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani.
Mamdani says he plans to talk to Hakeem Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House, about the issues he thinks Democrats should focus upon as they try
to retake control of Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: What I see these results as a reflection of are the fact that New Yorkers are hungry for a new kind of
politics. They are hungry for a politics that understands working people should be at the heart of it. And they're hungry for a politics that looks
at the wealthiest city and the wealthiest country in the history of the world and understands that it's unacceptable that one in four are living in
poverty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Gloria Pazmino was watching all of that unfold last night.
It must have been a fascinating evening, Gloria. I mean, it's a local story at the moment, but it's a national conversation, isn't it?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Max. And frankly, I wonder if it's even an international story, because what we're talking
about here --
FOSTER: Yeah.
PAZMINO: -- at the end of the day is whether or not there is momentum behind this ascendant movement by the Democratic Party's progressive left
wing.
[15:20:01]
And they're called progressives here in the United States, you know, members of the Democratic Socialist of America, liberals. But they are not
that dissimilar from the liberal parties in other parts of the world, right?
So it's interesting to me that we are seeing this rise in this moment. And these three campaigns last night, you know, the mayor really took on a big
risk, endorsing three candidates, two of them who were facing off against Democratic incumbents. He essentially went against the establishment,
including some people who were allied with him and supported him in his election for mayor.
So that was really a risky move on his part, and it wasn't clear going into last night that he was going to notch wins all across. And it was, in fact,
a sweep for the mayor. He won all three races, like I said, two of them knocking out Democratic incumbents.
And I have to say, two of these three candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America. They ran on a very progressive platform,
sort of echoing the same messaging that got Zohran Mamdani elected here last year, talking about affordability, working class issues, you know,
making sure that taxpayer dollars are actually going to help people who live here in the United States.
And that brings me to one issue that these three candidates shared, and that was their criticism of Israel, and specifically their campaign promise
to work to end military U.S. aid to Israel. That was a big deal here in New York City, especially New York being home to the largest Jewish population
outside of the state of Israel.
So we're seeing a shift. I think the question, you know, now just a few hours after the election is what the larger Democratic Party is going to
do. The mayor said that he planned on speaking with Leader Hakeem Jeffries today, but we have heard Hakeem Jeffries in the past sort of dismissed
these races as one-offs or as, you know, flukes of an election, I think that argument is becoming harder and harder to make as DSA and these
progressive candidates continue to notch wins.
FOSTER: Gloria, fascinating. Thank you so much for joining us from New York.
So who is the face of the Democratic Party in the U.S. at the moment? There are several governors and former Cabinet officials who seem to be eyeing a
2028 run for the White House, but for the upcoming midterms, There are few people who have had as big an impact as the mayor of New York, excuse me,
did last night.
And now Republicans seem eager to anoint far-left Democratic socialists as the real power in the Democratic Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: Mayor Mamdani is the leader of the Democratic Party and the establishment Democrats. Finally, we are seeing
where the Democrats are going in this election, and it will be a very stark choice between Republican parties and the -- it's not the fringe Democratic
left anymore. It's the mainstream of the Democratic Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Well, the question is whether that worked for Mamdani in left- leaning New York and whether it can actually work nationally. So recent polls show the New York mayor is not particularly popular across the
country, although his numbers are better than many other politicians, including President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, former presidential
candidate Kamala Harris.
What we don't know then is who has the best claim to be leader of the Democratic Party.
Joining me now is Madison Fernandez, the "New York Playbook" reporter for "Politico".
Thank you so much for joining us, Madison.
I mean, a fascinating night for you. What do you think that conversation between Mamdani and Jeffries will be like? Because Jeffries has tried to,
you know, brand the Democrats as not extreme, right? And his concern might be that this may give it as this extremist brand again.
MADISON FERNANDEZ, POLITICO REPORTER: Well, I mean, I think we're already seeing that Republicans are certainly trying to make the mayor the face of
the Democratic Party and arguing that he is too extreme and he is a kingmaker in a way by electing some of these candidates who share his
views.
But I think that what's really important here is whenever the mayor talks about his message and what got him elected, what is getting the candidates
he chose elected is this voter frustration about the -- how expensive everything is and some voter dissatisfaction with the status quo. So his
argument isn't anything that's super extreme.
[15:25:03]
It's just people are paying too much. People aren't happy with the way things are going right now. And when you look at his rise last year in the
mayoral election, that that was the argument. And you know, when he won, I remember Republicans then were trying to make the same argument with him
saying that he's the face of the party. But Democrats were quick to say, well, look, you had moderates like Mikie Sherrill and Abigail Spanberger
also win in November on that same message of focusing on affordability and the economy.
So if I had to guess what that conversation is going to look like. Like, I would imagine it's going to focus a lot on affordability.
FOSTER: Yeah, but I guess it's an instinct, isn't it, when you're going into an election for people to look to who leads the party? And obviously,
under the U.S. system, when there isn't, you know, a presidential candidate yet, there isn't someone to look at. And, you know, he is -- I mean, that
role has always been the most high profile role outside the White House, hasn't it, for a politician?
FERNANDEZ: I think it's certainly an open question of, you know, who's the leader? I think that the mayor definitely flexed his political muscle last
night, and it goes to show again that that message is resonating with people. And, you know, I think you also need to remember that New York City
is a very distinct place, and it's unclear to me exactly how it's going to play in other races across the country.
You know, if Republicans do try to make these connections. But that's just something we'll have to see as the campaign continues on.
FOSTER: There are some Republicans sort of celebrating this, aren't there? Because they would like Mamdani to be the face of the Democratic Party.
Just explain that.
FERNANDEZ: They would, again, because the mayor is a Democratic socialist, and Republicans are trying to frame the Democratic Party at large as, you
know, too far to the left and out of touch with the public. You know, I think that Republicans would also like to see some of these intra-party
debates within the Democratic Party and in fighting, so it sort of takes attention away from Democrats attacking Republicans and the Trump
administration.
And I think there is a big conversation right now in the Democratic Party about -- well, we need to stay on message and really unite in a way to try
to regain control of Congress. So I think these are all active conversations going on right now in the months ahead of November.
FOSTER: Yeah, it's all about the midterms. Madison Fernandez of "Politico", thank you so much for joining us today.
Still to come, records broken across Europe as a deadly heat wave intensifies. It's going to be hot tomorrow as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:31:18]
FOSTER: More now on this unprecedented heat wave punishing much of Europe. The continent is sweltering under a fierce heat dome, breaking hundreds of
records and proving deadly. France experiencing the most extreme conditions where thousands of schools have closed. Paris recorded its highest ever
June temperature today, reaching above 40 degrees Celsius, and there's no respite anytime soon with intense temperatures continuing throughout this
week.
Here in the U.K., the record for hottest June temperature has just been broken for the third time in a single day as temperatures pass 36 degrees.
This just weeks after the U.K. also recorded its hottest May on record. Authorities have issued exceptionally rare, red extreme heat warnings.
Europe is the fastest warming continent on the planet, and the extreme heat is pushing people and infrastructure to the very limit.
CNN's Clare Sebastian has more from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is one of London's biggest rail hubs, Victoria Station. And you only have to look at the
departure boards inside the station to see just how much the transport network is being affected by the weather. We've seen trains delayed, some
even cancelled. There's a critical express train that runs from here to one of London's biggest airports, Gatwick Airport.
And as of the middle of the afternoon on Wednesday, it is currently not running. So passengers have been advised not to travel unless absolutely
necessary, but of course, some people have to, and we've been speaking to some of those about how they've had to adapt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going back to Worthing, my little boy's had to be off school because he's been sick with heat exhaustion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been traveling like through London and it's like so hot. Like I Ubered to the train station even though it's like a 15-
minute walk. It's been a nightmare.
SEBASTIAN: This isn't just a railway station, this is also a bus station and conditions on these buses, many of which are not air conditioned, have
been getting pretty difficult.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not prepared for this. Not at all. It's like 35 degrees. The AC is not working.
SEBASTIAN: With temperatures like these set to go on for a couple more days, with all of this disruption sending a ripple effect through the
economy, it's a real wake-up call for this city and its decades-old transport system that simply wasn't built for these temperatures.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, at Victoria Station in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Work for the Victorians, not so much for us. What we want to know is how can Europe climate-proof its cities for future heat waves?
Joining me now is Eric Mackres from the WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. He's in London for the London Climate Action Week, an appropriate
week, I guess, in some ways for this to happen, really putting it at the forefront of everyone's minds.
But I mean, there is this issue, wasn't it, that these cities just weren't built for these temperatures?
ERIC MACKRES, SENIOR MANAGER, WRI ROSS CENTER FOR SUSTAINABLE CITIES: Yeah, that's right. I've been experiencing it myself with a lot of many
other delegates from business and government this week, and it is very difficult to navigate in these conditions in a city that is just not used
to this. And we know that it makes a big difference in people's health, especially if they don't have experience with adapting to these conditions.
That's what I was experiencing and many other people have been this week.
FOSTER: Many of the buildings are Victoria, and they were built to stay warm, weren't they? I mean, that was the issue. And then you've got, you
know, Victorian railways and a lot of Victorian infrastructure.
And if we go back that far, the temperatures are completely different from what they were then.
MACKRES: Yeah, that's right. And I would say it's even a significant problem with modern infrastructure improvements.
[15:35:01]
In the last segment, they mentioned buses. And I was riding on a bus today that seemed like it was built within the last five, 10 years and didn't
have air conditioning, had very small windows. People were sweltering in there. It's probably the worst heat I've experienced all week. And people
just have not expected, they haven't planned for, even in the last five, 10 years.
And I think that's beginning to change. But it will take a while until our infrastructure catches up to what is a new normal for temperature.
FOSTER: But, you know, it's unaffordable, isn't it, to rebuild the infrastructure? What sort of conversations are you having with officials,
if I can call it that, people involved in these decisions about what they can do to try to mitigate?
MACKRES: Yeah, I mean, all of this infrastructure will need to be improved at some point. So that's the first important piece is to make sure we're
making the right choices when it's time to replace a roof or replace a bus. And doing smart choices is key. And then the other element we've been
talking about, a key money saving and also energy and climate saving approach is to focus on passive cooling solutions.
So these are things like shade structures, trees, heat reflective surfaces like cool roofs that require no energy, but provide cooling and actually
reduce temperatures and people's exposure to heat. They can reduce felt temperatures. Some of these solutions pay up to 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.
And they do require investment just like any infrastructure does, but they also pay off many times over with reduced health impacts, higher
productivity and energy savings, and at rates often well beyond active cooling solutions.
FOSTER: This, you know, debate about air conditioning, is that really an answer? Obviously, it helps, but it adds to climate change. And actually,
you know, when we've got fuel prices the way they are, it's very expensive to run.
MACKRES: Yeah, that's right. And that's another really important element of why we emphasize in our work, and we're hearing cities embracing it more
and more, this passive first approach. What can we do to cool our cities, our buildings, our transport without requiring new energy?
Because yes, air conditioning is very energy emissions and cost intensive, right? So it's also is a drain on our economy.
Cooling is actually one of the fastest growing areas of energy demand globally. Estimates say that by 2050, cooling alone could account for
nearly one fifth of global emissions under a lot of projections.
And it's inequitable, right? Not everyone can afford A.C. Even if you have a unit, can you afford the electricity?
And so this is a solution that also leaves the most vulnerable exposed. And as you mentioned, it creates this kind of vicious cycle of higher
temperatures, higher cooling demand, and then higher emissions, which continue to exacerbate the high temperatures, this vicious cycle of climate
change.
FOSTER: Eric Mackres, really appreciate you joining us today and for enjoying our infrastructure and this weather.
Now it is the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are up. The Dow is off the highs of the day, but could still close above 52,000.
This is our Business Breakout.
Sales of newly built homes in the US fell for the second consecutive month in May, reaching the lowest level since January. This as mortgage rates are
on the rise, keeping prospective buyers on the sidelines.
OpenAI has announced its first custom built artificial intelligence chip. The processor is called Jalapeno, Jalapeno, rather, and was developed to
more efficiently handle the computing needs for ChatGPT.
Tech giants like Google and Amazon have increasingly turned towards developing their own A.I. chips.
China is on top when it comes to building the world's most powerful supercomputers. For the first time since 2017, China has overtaken the
United States in the global ranking. China's LineShine machine achieved a computing speed 20 percent faster than America's El Capitan.
The world's most livable city has been crowned by "Monocle Magazine", and this year's winner is not Tokyo. Oh, well, it is Tokyo. I was going to say
it's not London based on this experience.
It is Tokyo. You can see the beautiful scene there. The Japanese capital won the top spot for its stability, calm, and security. "Monocle" says it
rates cities not just on their economies, but on how much fun you can have there, too. And its editorial director says that Tokyo has it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER BRULE, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, MONOCLE: A city has to be safe. It has to have good medical. It has to have all of its -- I would say, sort of the
basics to have a sort of a friction-free life.
[15:40:04]
But we looked at two things this year. Our city's ambitious. But are they joyous? And I say sort of joyous. That means, you know, as you said at the
opening, can you get a drink after 10:00? Can you get a good drink at one o'clock in the morning? Can you go out and have a fantastic run, a swim at
the start of the day?
All of those things were sort of factors. And of course, that means vibrant neighborhoods. And it means great infrastructure to get between them. It
means a critical mass, that you're surrounded, of course, by people who are, you know, challenging, like-minded, et cetera. That's all part of it.
And that's why Tokyo came out number one this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: And if Tokyo is not your idea of a good time, and you wondered where else was on the list? Well, Copenhagen came in as runner-up, with
Lisbon in third. Vancouver was the only North American city in the top 20.
Los Angeles and New York didn't even make the cut. Nor did London.
Coming up, Havana may be high on your shortlist of cities to visit, but U.S. sanctions have made some travelers think again. Next, how Cuba's
tourism industry is struggling to stay afloat amid tensions with the Trump administration.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The leftist candidate in Colombia's presidential election has conceded. Ivan Cepeda accepted the results from Sunday's second round
election. That means right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella has won the presidency. The electoral authorities said de la Espriella led Cepeda
by 250,000 votes. De la Espriella was endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Now, Cuba's tourism industry is up against U.S. sanctions and an effective oil blockade. As the Trump administration tries pressuring the Cuban
government. Now, the huge drop in visitors has wiped out the vital source of revenue for hospitality workers.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann is in Havana.
[15:45:01]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): You can look for tourists in Cuba, but good luck finding any of these days. The colonial
streets and plazas in Old Havana, one of the islands main attractions for foreign visitors, are strikingly empty.
OPPMANN: Cuba's tourism sector is enduring the worst moment in years, if not decades. We've come to an area that should be absolutely full of
tourists to see how bad it's gotten.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Rolando is trying to promote the restaurant where he works, but there's hardly anyone to make his pitch to.
OPPMANN: You don't see any tourists.
ROLANDO, TOURISM WORKER: Maybe in this moment, 10 percent, 10 percent tourists in this square. That is the best square is Plaza Vieja, and the
other square in Havana, maybe 10 percent. It's nothing.
OPPMANN (voice-over): The oil blockade placed by the Trump administration on Cuba earlier this year has contributed to rolling blackouts and a
scarcity of jet fuel for airlines carrying tourists from Europe or Canada, which have canceled flights. Threats of increased U.S. economic sanctions
on international hotel chains is forcing many companies to abandon the island and remove the brands of hotels they used to manage for the Cuban
government.
According to official statistics, only 360,000 tourists visited the island in the first five months of 2026. A more than 58 percent drop from the
previous year. The Trump administration says it is pressuring the islands communist rulers to open the tightly controlled economy and political
system.
But people like Elio (ph) and Andres, who have been playing traditional Cuban music on the street corner for nearly 30 years, are among those
feeling the squeeze.
When we meet them, the guitar duo had earned less than a dollar in tips that day. They told me the economy has never been this bad, even during the
pandemic.
"There are no tourists," Elio says. "Maybe they are at home. One comes by only every half hour or hour."
Even the famed Hemingway Trail, the bars where the American writer drank his way across Havana has gone cold.
OPPMANN: This is one of the most famous bars in Havana. You can see Hemingway's signature there on the wall. This is one of the many places he
drank. He said he came here for his mojito. I've never been able to come here without there being just a crush of tourists. We're the first
customers of the day. It's a tourist trap without tourists.
OPPMANN (voice-over): For the first time, Cuban officials say they may allow Cuban exiles or Cubans still living on the island to manage hotels.
But full ownership, so far, at least, is still not permitted.
The collapse of the tourism economy is a disaster for government that spent years pouring scant resources into building hotels.
OPPMANN: This is not only Cuba's largest hotel, it's the tallest building on this island. This is one of the most expensive things this government
here has ever built. Architects who worked on this project told me it cost more than $200 million to build this hotel, which is now empty and closed.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Still, construction continues on even more hotels that are unlikely to see paying customers any time soon.
Cubans who work in tourism are trying anything to make ends meet, Alexander tells us he lowered prices to take a carriage ride with his horse,
Napoleon, so that Cubans could afford a city tour. He still barely makes enough money to pay for his government license to work as a guide. More
reforms urgently need to take place, he says.
ALEXANDER, TOURISM WORKER: If we don't change our system, if we don't change our economic model, we'll never survive, like a human being, because
every day, daily, there are problems and problems and problems, and if we don't solve, if we don't change those things, you will never have a real
future.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Cuba's tourism industry has already collapsed under increased U.S. pressure. Now the fear is the rest of the islands teetering
economy could soon follow.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, World Cup squads jockey for position in the knockout round. Could a win by Canada put them on a path towards a showdown
with the U.S.? That'll be interesting. We'll have an update on the action next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:52:06]
FOSTER: For the first time at this Men's World Cup, we've got two games actually playing at once as teams try to secure positions in the knockout
rounds. In a battle for first place in Group B, Canada and Switzerland are tied nil-nil at halftime. Both teams seem likely to move on to the knockout
round, and right now, Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 up against Qatar. Neither team are expected to be heading to the round of 32.
Don Riddell is in the fan zone in Atlanta ahead of the Haiti-Morocco match.
Hi, Don.
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hey, Max. How are you doing?
Terrific atmosphere. As we've experienced every time we've come to this fan park here in downtown Atlanta, it's right next to the Mercedes-Benz
Stadium, which is just up the road where a lot of the Morocco-Haiti fans obviously will be heading later on for the 6:00 p.m. game. But yeah, this
is an absolute festival of football, not just in this park, but across the World Cup today with so many games, as you say.
This is the last phase of the group stage, so all the teams in their respective groups playing their games at the same time. Canada-Switzerland,
goalless at halftime. This is a huge game of great import for one of the three co-hosts, Canada, because a draw or a win here means they top the
group.
Currently, they're in that position. This is a goalless draw at halftime against Switzerland. It's great for them if they can stay in this position
because two reasons. One, as the group leaders, they will stay in Vancouver, so they will have home advantage through the first two games in
the knockout round all the way essentially until the quarterfinal.
So Canada would want that, but also, if they win the group, they don't have to play another game until next Thursday. Whereas if they come second,
they're going to have to leave Vancouver and go to Los Angeles to play on Sunday. So that's a difference of a break of eight days or three or four.
So Canada in pole position at the moment but I think are going to want to score just to solidify their position.
As we mentioned, Morocco-Haiti coming up later today. This is a really intriguing game. Haiti are already out of the tournament, so they're really
essentially playing for pride in this one. They haven't yet scored in this tournament, so they would love to do that on their way out.
As for Morocco, they are really one of the ascending powers in the world game. They are the reigning AFCON champions, and I also watched them in
Qatar three and a half years ago make it all the way to the semi-final. That was the best run of an African team ever in this competition. No
African team had ever gone past the quarterfinals until Qatar.
So they will be looking to build on that and a lot of people see them as potential dark horses for this tournament.
And then happening at the same time 6:00 p.m. Eastern, we have Brazil versus Scotland. We could be looking at Neymar's first international
appearance in some two and a half years. He obviously very excited about that, along with the Brazil fans. He's their record goal scorer.
[15:55:03]
They're up against Scotland. It's the fifth time Brazil and Scotland have played in the World Cup. Scotland have never beaten them.
Scotland are hoping to make it out of the group stage. For the first time, it may well be that even a slender defeat will be good enough for them. But
they'll be looking for at least a point, if not more, Max.
FOSTER: Good to see Neymar.
Don Riddell, thank you very much. Enjoy the evening.
Finally tonight, one of the biggest events of the summer may be coming to Madison Square Garden, and it isn't the World Cup. According to "The New
York Times", a permit has been filed to close the streets nearby. It's not known who filed those permits, but Swifties are following the clues.
The pop superstar Taylor Swift is known for hosting big Fourth of July parties, and Swift is soon expected to say yes to her fiance, Travis Kelce,
so we're putting a few things together, but the Swifties are pretty reliable and they're pretty good sleeves, so we're just going with it.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.
END
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