Return to Transcripts main page
What We Know with Max Foster
Death Toll From Venezuela Earthquakes Rises To At Least 920; U.S., Israel & Lebanon Sign Trilateral Framework Agreement; Record-Breaking Heat In France, U.K., Spain & Switzerland; Small Aircraft Crashes Into Beijing's Tallest Skyscraper; Migrants Unsure Of Future After Supreme Court Decision; Trump's Former National Security Adviser May Face Jail Time. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired June 26, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:35]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Rescuers racing against time after that double earthquake in Venezuela.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
The death toll from this week's powerful earthquake has risen to at least 920 people now. As rescue teams urgently search for any survivors, they're
trying to save those trapped under the rubble before the golden window of 72 hours closes. In many cases, those crews are forced to dig with their
bare hands to try to free those trapped. Thousands of people are still missing. It's an agonizing wait for family members desperate to hear any
word from their loved ones.
As you can see from this aerial shot, the scale of devastation is staggering. Some buildings reduced to piles of dust, others precariously
standing up.
The global relief effort is now ramping up. Spain, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. are amongst those bringing crews and band-leading needed supplies
to Venezuela. CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon is in neighboring Colombia with more on the relief efforts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Panic on board as passengers brace through powerful tremors. Just one glimpse of the chaos
unleashed after two massive earthquakes struck Venezuela. This image from the public broadcaster Telesur shows large cracks splitting the tarmac at
Caracas International Airport, underscoring the damage to critical infrastructure. Tens of thousands are still reported missing.
Emergency teams are racing against time to dig through shattered concrete, listening for any sign of life. In the Caracas district of Chacao, rescuers
pull survivors from a collapsed apartment building, while others remain trapped inside.
GUSTAVO DUQUE, CHACAO MAYOR (through translator): We have rescued three people, and there are three more alive inside the structure. God willing,
they will be rescued very soon.
POZZEBON (voice-over): As Venezuela struggles to cope with the scale of the disaster, international help is finally trickling in. But the
logistical challenges to mobilize the aid remain. These relief convoys loaded with food and water are heading toward the hardest hit communities,
as officials work to support tens of thousands of displaced families, while the priority remains to rescue survivors before time runs out.
Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota, Colombia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Let's go to Caracas right now. Beatriz Ochoa is the regional head of advocacy of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
Thank you so much for joining us.
We've just actually heard from the U.K. They're also sending 68 rescuers, specialists, dogs. Just tell us what sort of support is needed there.
BEATRIZ OCHOA, REGIONAL HEAD OF ADVOCACY, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL: Thank you so much for having me. First of all, we need all kinds of support. In
the first days, there's a need for urgent emergency support. We're seeing not only the U.K., but also El Salvador, Colombia, my own country, Mexico.
They are sending already teams, a few hundred men, and rescue dogs to try to find people that are under the rubble.
This is the most important thing at the moment, together with providing a safe place to sleep for those that cannot go back to their houses because
they have been destroyed or at risk of being destroyed.
FOSTER: I guess it's -- well, it really is a race against time, isn't it? I know it sounds like a cliche, but we look at a scene that we've got now.
There's rescuers on top of a pile of rubble. If they can't get the equipment in that they need, they're literally having to use their hands
from what we can see.
OCHOA: Well, yeah, of course, there's a lot of need. There's a lot of support needed to dig into the rubble. There's so many people that are
still missing. We're talking about thousands, so the next day or two will be key to try to rescue as much people as possible.
This is going to be fundamental. We have also support for the short, medium, and long term. This is what is going to be also very important, not
just to focus on what is needed now, but that the international community steps in and provides support for the people of Venezuela.
[15:05:01]
FOSTER: And the rescuers are dealing with their own risks, aren't they? Because whilst there may be buildings standing in the area, they're very
fragile themselves, which have been so badly damaged, haven't they, by the earthquake.
OCHOA: Of course, there's a lot of damage and a lot of damage that we have not yet assessed. And it is not up for the Norwegian Refugee Council to
assess whether infrastructure is safe enough or not. What we can do and what I can tell you is whether we are observing, what our teams are seeing,
and this is people sleeping on the streets. people that need water, people that need food, but we're also seeing a lot of solidarity.
This is something that the Venezuelans have always done, be solidarity with each other, and they are helping their neighbors, their friends, family
members, try to find anyone that could be alive under the rubble.
FOSTER: Presumably, you mentioned dogs. I know the U.K. is sending several dogs as well. They're really essential at this point, aren't they? Just to
work out whether or not there is someone under the rubble and whether or not they need to move on to the next building.
OCHOA: I think this is -- this is hard to assess. On the one hand, we need all support from the rescue teams. I don't think any country in the world
alone can stand this level of devastation and all the aid from the -- from the different countries is very well-received. And yeah, it will be very,
very difficult for them to assess all this.
But of course, any life that can be safe will be very important. And it's all worth it.
FOSTER: Yeah, Beatriz Ochoa, thank you for joining us and sparing your time on such an incredibly hectic time for you all. Thank you.
Now, Israel and Lebanon have signed a framework agreement that could end fighting between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah. The deal was negotiated
in Washington over the past few days. The U.S. joined in the signing ceremony just a short while ago, and the deal includes a partial withdrawal
of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon.
This agreement builds upon the ceasefire the two sides agreed to in April, which largely fell apart pretty much immediately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: What they deserve to have is what they once had, and of which there is recent history of, and that is a
prosperous and peaceful country. A diverse country where people of different backgrounds were able to live and go coexist side by side and in
many ways was the envy of the region and of the world. And it will take a lot of work and some time to get back to that point. But we believe today
is the first step in that journey. And the first step is sometimes the hardest step, but it's the one we're taking together today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Joining us now is our White House correspondent, Kristen Holmes.
Kristen, I think a lot of people are already have concerns about this because it's a very similar agreement, as I said, but also there's one key
group that wasn't in that room.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, that's right. So I think that just to break down who was there, who's not there,
we know that this is a trilateral agreement between Israel, Lebanon and the United States. Hezbollah is not in that group.
In generally speaking, this seems to be a tentative beginning of an agreement that they all signed. Israel withdrawing, as you noted, from two
parts of southern Lebanon, and this will be part of a pilot program that was in the latest ceasefire that will bring in the Lebanese armed forces
that's going to replace them there. Obviously, this is very tentative and this is something that we had reported might happen just in terms of Israel
withdrawing from parts of Lebanon as kind of a symbolic gesture.
Now, besides that were all there were touting this, even though again, this is just a microcosm of what they're trying to do. They are still having a
fifth round of talks. They were here for four days in Washington. This was the outcome of that.
The talks are meant to eventually come up with a broader deal between these two entities that have never had any diplomatic relations. And you can tell
just by what we've heard from the leaders who were there that this is just a very small part of what they're trying to do. You would Marco Rubio
saying this is the beginning of the beginning. You had Lebanon's ambassador to the U.S. saying this is the first step on the road to restoring Lebanese
sovereignty and territorial integrity.
So again, this is something that the Washington has taken upon itself. The United States is staying on about itself to try and work through, but also
these hostilities between Israel and Lebanon play a critical role in the Iran deal and making the Iran negotiations work out, so they are also using
this as they are continuing through that 60-day negotiating period with Iran.
FOSTER: OK, Kristen Holmes in the U.S. Capitol. Thank you so much for the update on that.
Now, a brutal heat wave shattering records across Western Europe meanwhile. France, the U.K., Spain, Switzerland, they've all set new temperature highs
in the recent days.
[15:10:05]
Temperatures could soar in Germany now and Italy this weekend as the heat dome moves east and south. Let's go straight to Bill Weir.
Bill, could you just explain this heat dome and why it is lingering in the way that it is?
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a high-pressure system that just sits for days and days in one spot, almost in a shape of
the Greek omega symbol there as a result of the jet stream breaking down as the planet warms, as Greenland melts, that band of wind at the top of the
planet is just sort of looping into these high pressure systems. And you've seen these records being shattered again and again.
So world weather attribution, this is a scientific network. around the world that uses climate and weather data to find the fingerprints of
climate change. They crunched the numbers, compared three days of this European heat wave this year to the last two big ones, 1976 and 2003, which
took 70,000 lives. And they said because the planet, and especially Europe, has warmed up a full 1.1 degrees Celsius, that this kind of heat wave would
have been, quote, "virtually impossible in 1976".
The planet has heated up three and a half degrees Celsius since then, which makes the fact that France just set their all-time overnight temperature
record a hundred times more likely right now. So even in the last decade since 2003, the temperature has come up. Most of man-made climate change
has happened in the last 50 years or so. And also as part of this heat wave, humidity is part of the factor here, which creates these wet bulb
temperatures, a combination of humidity and the temperature that takes a toll on human life off the charts.
They did an analysis of over 800 European cities. Over half of them are set to shatter all time wet bulb temperatures.
FOSTER: I was asked today, Bill, you know, is this what it's going to be like every summer? I mean, what's the answer to that? Are we going to get
these extreme cases or is it generally just rising the temperature?
WEIR: No, I think it's generally going to rise and then the extremes are going to be this much more extreme. And Max, I think the most poignant way
to look at it, there's no big bend in the curve of carbon pollution, the source of the problem. There's signs that this is -- you know, there's a
transition happening, but it hasn't done any real damage to that carbon debt that's in the sea and the sky. And so, until that changes, this could
be one of the coolest summers of the rest of our lives.
FOSTER: Amazing. Bill, thank you, as ever.
The heat's so severe in Paris, the city's banning drinking alcohol in public, as Saskya Vandoorne explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN PARIS BUREAU CHIEF: People in France are fed up. They're tired because it's been a week of these really high temperatures
and they haven't been able to sleep. Most households here just do not have air conditioning. So now authorities are taking more and more drastic
measures to try and protect citizens. Hospitals are under increasing strain across the countries.
The Paris police chief to try and ease the burden has banned Parisians from drinking alcohol outdoors in public starting at noon today. Paris officials
have also asked the organizers behind Pride March to cancel the march on Saturday.
Other measures that have been taken, over 10,000 schools have been closed, or the school day has been shortened again because these buildings just do
not have A.C. And three nuclear reactors have been shut down to try and protect the river ecosystems to try and keep those river temperatures low.
Now, there is some respite in sight as French forecaster Meteo-France has said that on Sunday, temperatures should ease.
Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Now to a shocking incident. In Beijing, a small plane crashed into the city's tallest building. Social media video from the scene shows debris
falling from a skyscraper.
One of our journalists saw people evacuating the building. CNN's reached out to local officials and the plane's owner.
Mike Valerio is in Beijing with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So we've just moved about two blocks away from the tallest building in Beijing, and if you look above the yellow
lettering, you can see a gash in the side of the building. That is where we believe and video seems to show a small aircraft has hit the side of this
building. Again, this is the tallest building in Beijing, the China Zun, the CITIC Tower, one of the tallest buildings by roof height in the world.
Police asked us to move a little farther back from the scene, but there is calm here, so right now, we're trying to assess how exactly this happened?
How exactly an aircraft diverted from its flight path.
[15:15:02]
But right now, the main streets in the central business district area surrounding the journalism are off limits. Police are asking people who
have taken out their cell phones not to take pictures, but there are plenty of images on social media of people who are hurt down below. We're trying
to assess how exactly this could happen in the financial center of Beijing.
Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Uncertainty in the U.S. for thousands of migrants after a controversial Supreme Court decision. Still to come, we'll hear from some
Haitian migrants and what they're saying about this ruling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Turmoil in the U.S. for hundreds of thousands of migrants who are in the country under a temporary protected status. On Thursday the Supreme
Court said the Department of Homeland Security could end the TPS designation for many countries. This means about a million people. Many
from Haiti and Syria can be deported back to their home countries.
In places like Springfield, Ohio, there are an estimated 15,000 Haitians living and working in the city. So what we want to know is how are
immigrant communities reacting to the Supreme Court decision.
Joining me now is Pastor Carl Ruby from the Central Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio.
Thank you so much for joining us today.
Just tell us the sort of reactions you've been hearing today, Pastor.
CARL RUBY, PASTOR, CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Well, there's, Haitians are trying to figure out what to do. So I've been getting questions about
whether they should go to work or not. So there's a lot of confusion, there's a lot of fear. And to be honest with you, most of them just aren't
coming out right now.
So I'm not, we've not had a lot show up at the church. I think they are just behind closed doors, hoping to somehow ride this out.
FOSTER: Just explain to us the sort of people that you're typically dealing with who are on these visas?
[15:20:04]
How recently do they come? How integrated are they? Just explain to us the sort of people we're talking about.
RUBY: Sure. One thing I'd like to say is there are 15,000 in Springfield, but people need to understand that Springfield only has 54,000 people. So
that's a huge percentage of our population. And we are a city that has been in decline for 50 years.
We had shrunk all the way back to the population we were in 1920. And the Haitians who have come are exactly what we need. Many of them are
professionals. Many of them are entrepreneurs, doctors, nurses. They've been a huge benefit to our city. They've fueled an economic resurgence.
And this is not only a tragedy for Haitians, it's a tragedy for the Midwestern city of Springfield, Ohio, and it's a tragedy for my church.
They compose about a third of my congregation right now.
FOSTER: Sounds like you're concerned about public services as well, then, if they lose those key workers.
RUBY: Absolutely. We have a shortage of people working in nursing homes. Many of our Haitians have filled some of those jobs. There are a lot of
people who are professional-level individuals who are working in kind of manual labor jobs, and they do a wonderful job. But it's going to leave a
huge hole in things like that.
And health care is going to be one of the places where it's we're going to fill it the most. And it's going to hurt.
FOSTER: And you're going to be, I guess, if this you know, if they effectively get deported, it could happen relatively soon. I guess people
like you are going to have to pick up the pieces because there will be broken families as a as a result of this.
RUBY: Yeah, and there are people getting ready to do that. We've been signing up people to provide respite care for children, basically short-
term foster parents. There are churches who are getting ready to house up to 200 children if we have to all at once. We're trying to figure out how
to get food out to people who are afraid to leave their homes. Those are all kinds of the things that we're working on right now.
And then also, we're trying to train and equip churches to actually provide physical sanctuary. So we view this as a -- as a, it's a matter where our
loyalty to God's laws takes precedent over loyalty to man's laws. We believe that laws that are being enforced are unjust and that we have a
duty to resist them.
FOSTER: What -- you know, your colleagues in, you know, who are advising people in this situation, I mean, what -- are you hearing what they're
advising? Are there alternative paths to citizenship? I'm presuming that even if there was, you know, some very long process.
RUBY: Yeah, there just really aren't. We're encouraging everyone to apply for asylum because if they have an asylum pending case, that at least slows
the process down. But only 4 percent of people are getting approved for asylum cases. And the Trump administration are actually firing judges who
don't deport enough people. So, there really is no alternative path for the vast majority of them.
FOSTER: Pastor Carl Ruby, thank you so much. Very difficult time for you, but thank you for joining us.
Now, one of Donald Trump's -- one of Donald Trump's biggest critics, his former national security adviser John Bolton, could soon face jail time,
we're hearing. Bolton pleaded guilty earlier in federal court to one charge of retaining sensitive national security information, which is a felony.
But the charge in the plea deal was only one of many that the Justice Department had investigated. He'll be sentenced in October.
CNN's crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: At the federal courthouse in Maryland, a day that the Justice Department and the Trump
administration has wanted to see for a long time, John Bolton saying he is guilty of mishandling or illegally retaining classified information,
information he was learning in intelligence briefings about covert plans, things he was talking about with foreign officials, with the CIA, the
National Security Agency, with U.S. military leaders, the things in the U.S. government's possession that are top secret that Bolton and few others
had access to.
He had written those details he was learning in 2018 and 2019 in the Trump White House, writing them down on yellow notepads and then typing them up,
sending them to himself, and saving them for his own personal use, like diaries or an archive.
He ultimately wrote that's where he split with Donald Trump, and Trump has been very publicly saying that he believes Bolton is a bad guy.
[15:25:07]
But now, we see Bolton in federal court. On Friday, whenever he was before the judge, he said that he was sorry about what he did. He didn't have time
to say much more. He will be able to say more at his sentencing set for late October. But at this point in time, Bolton has pled guilty. The U.S.
Attorney's Office of Maryland secured that conviction.
And the U.S. Attorney Kelly Hayes, she was in the courtroom along with about 20 other different people from the federal government attorneys from
the Justice Department, FBI officials. So quite a show of force here for the Trump administration as they secure this very rare conviction of a
former top official in the Trump White House the first time he was president.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Katelyn Polantz there.
Still to come a cargo vessel is hit by a drone strike in the -- in the Strait of Hormuz. We'll tell you where this leaves the U.S.-Iran interim
peace deal made a little over a week ago now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Recapping our top story this hour, the death toll from this week's powerful earthquakes has risen to about -- well, at least 920 people as
rescue teams urgently search for any survivors. They're trying to save those trapped under rubble before the golden window of 72 hours closes in
many cases, those crews are forced to dig with their bare hands to try to free those trapped.
Last hour, Isa Soares spoke to a pediatrician in Caracas who said his hospital was in dire need of supplies that were already in short supply
before the quake.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. HUNIADES URBINA-MEDINA, VENEZUELAN PEDIATRICIAN: We need antibiotics. We need anesthetic. We need even the sheets, paper sheets for the beds of
the person. We also need all the things, of course, solution, intravenous solution. We are lacking all this before the earthquake, before the
pandemia, before the blockade of the United States.
So this emergency or this catastrophe face us with all this lacking, all this -- with the collapsed healthcare system in Venezuela. It's very, very
hard for all the medicals and nurses to face this patient that needs all these things and we don't have more than our willingness to help them in
this situation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Now, a little over a week into the interim ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran, major cracks are showing. President Trump calling
Thursday's drone strike in the Strait of Hormuz a, quote, foolish violation of their agreement. Iran hasn't claimed responsibility, but the US says
Iran launched four drones towards ships in the Strait. There were three intercepted, but one hit a cargo ship.
As I mentioned, Israel and Lebanon have signed a framework agreement that could put an end to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, the tensions
Between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group have threatened to derail that U.S.-mediated set of talks many times.
Now, Hezbollah is increasingly relying on its deadly arsenal of drones to target Israeli soldiers, as Jeremy Diamond now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Hezbollah drone cruises undetected over southern Lebanon, propellers whirring until
its target comes into view. A group of six Israeli soldiers caught off guard in front of a tank.
The feed cuts at the moment of impact, which killed a 19-year-old sergeant. He is the first Israeli soldier to be killed by this type of drone, but not
the last.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah has deployed these cheap, explosive- strapped first-person-view drones to deadly effect. Dozens of videos from Hezbollah show they have struck tanks, air defense systems, and
unsuspecting troops in southern Lebanon and northern Israel.
The Israeli military says Hezbollah's drones have killed at least 12 soldiers since the current conflict erupted in March, one-third of all
fatalities.
The key to their lethality, a spool carrying miles of thin fiber optic cable that keeps these drones tethered to their pilot, rather than emitting
easy-to-detect radio signals. Ukraine has been combating these fiber optic drones for two years, but Ukrainian officials say their Israeli
counterparts didn't heed their warnings about the emerging threat.
The Israeli military now scrambling to catch up, deploying mesh netting like this to protect troops operating in or near Lebanon, and providing
them with shotguns and fragmenting rounds to take out approaching drones.
The military is also enlisting the private sector to help track this new threat, using acoustic, optical, and radar-based sensors.
SHAI KURIANSKI, CEO, AIRWAYZ: So, what we're seeing here is a scenario when we want to protect this area, when the drone is crossing the line, the
protective line, according to the policy, then the controller will get an alert. And we know that there is a threat coming.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Shai Kurianski's company, Airwayz, is among those springing into action to give Israeli troops advance warning of incoming
drone threats.
KURIANSKI: Something very small that you can hardly detect is coming toward you. It does not transmit anything. You must use the data from
multiple sensors to map the sky actually. This is what our system does.
DIAMOND: So, do you feel a real sense of urgency to solve this problem?
KURIANSKI: It's our children out there in Lebanon that are getting those FEV explosives, and we will not wait with that. Of course, it's urgent.
DIAMOND (voice-over): Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Weeks after -- after weeks of Ukrainian airstrikes, Russian-backed authorities are declaring a state of emergency in Crimea. This could mark a
significant military setback because the peninsula serves as a crucial logistics hub for Russian weapons and supplies and has been seeing
widespread power outages and fuel shortages.
Ukraine has recently intensified its attacks in an effort to bring Russian President Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table. Moscow illegally
annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move that was widely condemned on the world stage.
Here's CNN's Ivana Kottasova.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVANA KOTTASOVA, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Life in Crimea is becoming very uncomfortable. There are widespread power outages across the peninsula, and
local authorities have warned residents that their power is not likely to come back anytime soon because of Ukrainian drone attacks.
[15:35:08]
There's also a problem with fuel. Many gas stations across the peninsula have run dry, and the ones that still have supplies have been banned from
selling fuel to local residents.
Now, it is really no surprise that people are trying to get out of Crimea. But even that is becoming very difficult, because the only way from Crimea
directly into Russia is via a bridge. And that bridge is a frequent target of Ukrainian drone attacks, which means Russian authorities have to close
it down on a regular basis.
On Friday alone, we saw thousands of cars queuing, trying to get across the bridge and out of Crimea.
Ivana Kottasova, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: To new developments in the U.S. investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, the House Oversight Committee is issuing two subpoenas for
billionaire investor Leon Black now. He was questioned on Capitol Hill over the past few hours, where lawmakers said he declined to answer questions
about non-disclosure agreements with women. Black told members of Congress that he did not know the extent of Epstein's crimes and that he himself
never abused women or had sex with minors.
In the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are flat. At the end of the week, it's been a roller coaster, really, of a week as tech shares
took a big hit. The Dow is hovering around 52,000 points.
This is our Business Breakdown.
Now, there are signs Americans are feeling a bit better about the economy as gas prices have dropped since the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire.
Consumer sentiment rose this month, the University of Michigan's latest survey found, but still remains well lower. than before the war started.
Volkswagen, one of the world's largest car makers, is reportedly planning to axe up to 100,000 jobs over the next few years. The job cuts would come
alongside the planned closure of four factories in Germany. A Volkswagen spokesperson declined to comment on the report.
And the White House has asked OpenAI to limit the release of its upcoming model to a number, a small number of government-approved partners, a source
tells CNN. That's because of the model's advanced capabilities. OpenAI views the model called GPT-5.6 as on par with Anthropic's Mythos, which has
raised fears in Washington.
The heat dome over Western Europe is affecting millions, especially those who need to work outdoors or in the hot environments without any air
conditioning. Many countries have seen heat records tumble, as CNN's Anna Stewart now reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It feels pretty much too hot to do anything here in the U.K., let alone work. It's one thing if you work in an
air conditioned office, but not everyone does.
STEWART (voice-over): Join me on a sweaty trip around town. Let's see who is roasting the most.
STEWART: As you can imagine, it gets pretty hot in a dry cleaners. We put the thermometer right by the ironing station. It hit 36 degree Centigrade.
That is around 97 degrees Fahrenheit. It is hot, but I think we can find somewhere hotter.
STEWART (voice-over): Restaurants are struggling. At the Hoppers Restaurant in Soho, the kitchen is between 46 and 48 degrees centigrade.
That's roughly 110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
Tam, the general manager, spent the morning on the roof fixing the air conditioning unit.
TAMLIN ARMSTRONG, GENERAL MANAGER, HOPPERS RESTAURANT: This is my second T-shirt today, so it's -- yes, a lot of sweat. But yes, it should be good.
STEWART: How hot does it get in the kitchen? Because there's somewhere that's much harder to control.
ARMSTRONG: So yes, I mean, kitchens all year round are hot. But this particular time of year it is increasing in temperature. So we have put
added fans in there.
STEWART: It's pretty hot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Very hot.
STEWART: Very, very hot.
STEWART (voice-over): This pizzeria is also pretty hot with the front of house describing the pizza oven as the gates of hell.
ZOLLIE NYANGWA, EMPLOYEE, BREADSTALL PIZZA: The fridge is over there. We have loads of drinks in them and none of them are cold. So it's just a
really big uphill battle. Like we're constantly rotating things from different fridges to make sure that things can all get cold. Customers get
cold drinks, and then we're constantly circulating fans in one spot, fans in another spot because we want everybody to at least feel a breeze. We
don't want people to, like, pass out due to the heat exhaustion or anything.
STEWART (voice-over): And there are workplaces that may be even hotter than the kitchens.
STEWART: Well, this is probably one of the hottest places you could work, a construction site. Workers here have told us it is unbearably hot, really
dusty. We weren't actually allowed in by management to put my thermometer up there. So I haven't got a reading. But if you take a look, you can see
all the tarpaulin. That's where the workers are. When the sun hit that it must have created something of a furnace.
STEWART (voice-over): The U.K. is simply not built for this sort of heat, and some are feeling it more than others.
STEWART: So how hot is just too hot to work? Well, here in the U.K., legally there is no upper limit in terms of temperature. Employees do have
to provide, and I'll quote, "a reasonable temperature in the workplace." But what does reasonable really mean?
There's also a fun plot twist here. Legislation shows that employers have to provide thermometers for their employees so you can monitor just how hot
you are in the workplace, but you may not be able to do anything about it.
Anna Stewart, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Still to come, a royal relocation. Buckingham Palace is finally finishing its renovation, but King Charles has made other plans of his own
for it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:43:46]
FOSTER: One of the most eagerly anticipated matches of the World Cup is underway right now. France and Norway are battling for the lead of Group I.
The match features two of the top goal scorers in the world, in fact, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe.
But it's another France star who's stealing the show, isn't it, Andy?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: That's certainly right, Max. So, you know, we're here at the FIFA Fan Fest here in Los Angeles, where the
fans are watching all the games on big screens. And you know, you mentioned it, Kylian -- the match-up everyone was looking forward to and that was
Kylian Mbappe versus Erling Haaland.
But it's Ousmane Dembele having himself quite the day. He scored not one, not two, but three goals in the first half for France as they have a 3-1
lead right now over Norway.
You know, Erling Haaland had joked when he was asked about that match-up beforehand that, oh, well, France is going to win and they're probably
going to win the World Cup. Hey, that might actually be the case. In Erling Haaland, he didn't even suit up for Norway today.
So, right now, France winning that one handily 3 to 1 in the first half. We'll see if Dembele has any more goals for us as that game continues.
But you know, here in Los Angeles, last night was the big USA versus 1 in the first half. We'll see if Dembele has any more goals for us as that game
continues.
But you know, here in Los Angeles, last night was the big USA versus Turkey game to finish the group stage. Turkey shocking the US with that goal in
the 98th minute. Some wondering if that's going to hurt the momentum for Team USA as they head to the knockout stages. Well, the team says that's
not going to be the case. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEBASTIAN BERHALTER, UNITED STATES MIDFIELDER: I think you saw the second- half, how we came out, and I think they deserve more. At one moment, we slipped in the last second of the game. I think we're proud of Cole's put
in. I think the guys did well, and we fought, and fortunately not to get a result, but we'll be ready for sure.
BRENDEN AARONSON, UNITED STATES FORWARD: You can always take these things as fuel. Having that moment in the last one where they score, it's tough.
We wanted to walk away with no loss in the group stage, but we got to take it as it was still a fantastic group stage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Now I've been around the U.S. fans for this match up against Turkey and last week's match-up against Australia. Many of the fans I've
talked to are so optimistic about this team. They think this U.S. squad can go all the way and win their first ever World Cup. So what do fans from
other countries think? Well, I've been walking around this fan fest to find out. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: You give the U.S. any chance of winning?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, sorry, guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great, but France is going to win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, they don't have that good of a rap sheet, but they're playing really good. You can't deny that. They do have a chance.
SCHOLES: What do you say to that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, sorry. This time it was Brazil.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The U.S. team?
SCHOLES: Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're pretty good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's literally no chance. I look forward to seeing what they can do, but I don't know.
SCHOLES: Do you think the fans are right to think that they can win it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe, maybe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they have the potential to go, if not all the way, very close, very close. They're looking very nice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not the sport for any U.S. team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: So, Max, some fans, thought, hey, the U.S., they maybe have a chance. They're pretty good, while others just dismissed it immediately.
You know, so we will see. You know, the U.S., they're definitely playing better than they ever have before. Their knockouts match is going to be
next Wednesday in Santa Clara, California, against Bosnia and Herzegovina. You know, now it gets real. Once you get to those knockout stage games,
it's going to be do or die.
But I tell you what? The U.S. fans could not be more excited about this team, even with the loss with Turkey yesterday.
FOSTER: And there's going to be more U.S. soccer fans after all of this. So that's the great legacy they'll leave, I'm sure. Andy, thank you. We'll
be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:05]
FOSTER: King Charles is not moving into Buckingham Palace after the refurb and the general public might get more of a look inside. The king has
decided he will not live at the palace once it's refurbishment, which is costing hundreds of millions of dollars, finishes next year. That is
according to royal officials, he'll live in his nearby home in Clarence House just down the road instead.
Now, Buckingham Palace will still be the official headquarters for the British royal family, but this means there will be greater public access to
the building even if there are no actual royals inside, sleeping at least.
So what we don't know is will Buckingham Palace lose its mystique by opening up to the public?
Joining me now is royal historian Ed Owens.
Ed, thanks for joining us. I mean, the reason we're asking that question is because --
ED OWENS, ROYAL HISTORIAN: My pleasure.
FOSTER: -- I just wonder about all of these tourists that, you know, wait outside. You know, for them, the palace is living history, isn't it? And if
you compare that to the French version, for example, which is history from the past, something's changing here, isn't it?
OWENS: There is a change here. You know, tourists in the past would gravitate towards Buckingham Palace at the centre of London, looking for
the flag, the Union Jack, flying from the top of the palace, which would signal that the monarch was home, that the monarch was in.
But that's no longer going to be the case, because it's not going to be inhabited by the reigning monarch. And in that respect, I think something
is going to be missing. Whether you're a British tourist, whether you're an overseas tourist, this is, if you like, the ceremonial center of the
British nation. And to have the monarch in situ, living there, as well as working there, I think added something to the building. It brought
something special to that location.
FOSTER: But he's under pressure, isn't he? You know, the cost of the monarchy is increasing all the time. They have to show value for money. And
it is a public building. So the palace's argument is that it should be open to more public use. And having the king there actually creates a creates
issues because it can't open up in the same way.
OWENS: To some extent, there are many, many, many, many rooms in Buckingham Palace, Max. It could still operate as, if you like, Royal H.Q.,
the communications centre, for example, of the British monarchy where all courtiers gather around the figure of the king, doing the daily business of
monarchy, and it could still remain open to the public.
I think what we're going to see is that it's going to take on a greater sort of ceremonial role, greater emphasis on public access, open for a
longer period of the year, and alongside that, hopefully, An increase at least in the number of garden parties, the number of state investitures,
and other sort of royal daily events that would otherwise be taken there.
I think the question here is whether the public are going to think this is good value for money, 370 million British pounds of taxpayers' money has
been spent on the renovation. I think the public's going to be split on whether the monarchs should be continuing to live there, as was the case
with Elizabeth II, or whether this should be a space essentially open the public.
FOSTER: What do you think Queen Victoria would make of it all?
OWENS: Well, we know that her favorite home was Osborne House on the Isle of Wight. She wasn't a great fan of Buckingham Palace, so probably she
wouldn't have any particular reservation about King Charles not wanting to inhabit that.
I think more reservations would be had on the part of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. When the renovation was begun during the reign of the late
queen, it was because -- it was anticipated that King Charles and Queen Camilla would one day live there. And I think the queen, the former queen,
Elizabeth II, recognized, if you like, the symbolic importance of having a monarch in situ at the center of London in Buckingham Palace.
But, well, we'll wait to see how it is that the public react to this. I'd like to see a more radical vision for Buckingham Palace still. I'd like to
see much greater public access. We know that we have an environmentalist king, as well as an environmentalist king-in-waiting. Why not open it up
for exhibitions that sort of celebrate the green future that the British public might have?
FOSTER: I think you probably will end up seeing a bit of that, won't you, if there are events there, because they're both so keen on it. But it's
interesting you mentioned Prince William because he seems to be involved in many of the decisions here. He would absolutely be involved in this one,
wouldn't he? Because it affects his future monarchy. So he would have supported this idea as well.
Do you think they just don't like it, and they prefer the homes that they built in Windsor and Clarence House instead?
OWENS: I think there are a couple of things there. First of all, Williams signaled quite a while back, actually, that he had no intention ever to
live in Buckingham Palace, that there was a sort of sea change in the wings.
[15:55:04]
I think clearly the King and Queen are quite happy at Clarence House. The fuss of having to move premises at this point of time is perhaps something
that they simply don't want to deal with, especially given the King's ill health. It's also the case that with William and Catherine, they have
sought to project themselves for some time as a more ordinary couple, if you like, in closer keeping with other members of the public. They have
presented themselves as a middle-class family to all intents and purposes.
Now, that is public image. We know that. But nevertheless, In keeping with that public image, they've taken up residency in, I think it's called
Forest Lodge on the Windsor Estate, a much more ordinary accommodation compared to royal palaces of the past. And I think they want to maintain
that image.
FOSTER: We have to leave it there. Ed, thank you so much. Relatively normal, I guess we can call it. Ed, thank you.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.
END
TO ORDER VIDEOTAPES AND TRANSCRIPTS OF CNN INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMING, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS
