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What We Know with Max Foster
Wildfire Smoke Triggers Air Quality Warnings Across U.S.; Iran And U.S. Widen Attacks As Conflict Escalates; Hospital: Israeli Strike On Gaza Funeral Kills Seven People; Trump Claims Intel Reveals Vulnerabilities In U.S. Elections; Acting U.S. Attorney General Blanche Meets With Epstein Survivors; Burnham Named Head Of Labour Party, To Become P.M. On Monday. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 17, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:23]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST: Giant wildfires trigger warnings for millions of Americans.
I'm Christina Macfarlane, in for Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.
More than 100 million people in the United States are facing air quality alerts, as smoke from huge wildfires sweeps across the Midwest and East
Coast. In Chicago, the city was shrouded in smoke, with authorities saying the air is unhealthy for everyone to breathe. The red air quality alert is
in effect, with people urged to avoid long outdoor activities.
Hundreds of miles east in Washington, some of the capital's famous monuments can be seen poking here through the haze. And these are live
pictures from Philadelphia, where there have also been alerts from local officials. While in New Jersey, where the World Cup final will take place
on Sunday, there are already concerns about air quality at the stadium before Spain play Argentina.
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has an update on the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Unhealthy to hazardous air has been pouring into the East Coast and the Midwest thanks to this fire hose of
wildfire smoke, thanks to burning wildfires out of control near the border of the U.S. and Canada.
Look at this thick, milky white substance in the air on the satellite. Very visible, but that's what you see with that orange hue or that kind of.
murky horizon. Look if you're stepping outside, perhaps in Detroit, Cleveland, Washington, D.C. or just south of New York. We've seen some
great improvements in Boston, but we got to see how this is going to evolve over the next 24 hours because things will get very interesting going
forward.
So the current air quality you can actually align these dots, the magenta and the reds. They correspond with unhealthy to hazardous air quality and
this is home to some of the world's worst air quality over the past 24 hours. And it's all thanks to this thick wildfire smoke that continues to
emanate from the out of control wildfires into southern Ontario.
This is what Detroit looked like early in the day on Friday. We've got 18 states, including the District of Columbia, over 100 million Americans
under these air quality alerts and the entire state of Michigan. In fact, so the fires are going to continue to burn, but it is raining in that area,
so that will help extinguish some of the flames. But there's a cold front associated with this system that's going to change the wind directions, and
it's also going to help clear out the skies, at least along the East Coast and perhaps just in time for the World Cup final in New York and New Jersey
on Sunday.
Here's that cold front. Notice this change in the wind. Yeah, the fires haven't gone completely out, but we do things will clear out the skies and
help improve the quality of the air going forward this weekend.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, let's turn to Paula Newton, who's actually in New York for us at this hour.
Paula, I don't know if you're not quite out on the street, but I'm wondering what the air quality feels like to you there and how big a
problem this could actually be for the World Cup final, which I know is just over in New Jersey.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So absolutely much better today to the relief of many here in New York. It is still quite hazy, but as Derek was
just outlining, we are not out of the woods or out of the smoke yet. And that is because at any point in time, the wind direction could change.
Going back to that FIFA final, it actually, as of right now, while it might still be hazy, a bit hazy, it looks to be one of the most brilliant days of
the summer. So fingers crossed that, at least for that epic final, the weather should hang tough.
The issue, though, is the days and the weeks to come. Now, given that these wildfires are in northern Minnesota and Ontario, they continue, so many of
them, to burn out of control. They've been dealing with more and more evacuations in Canada as well, and also, you know, Christina, with
criticism from American politicians, mainly Republicans, saying that Canada isn't doing enough.
I want you to listen now to the Ontario premier, Doug Ford, who assures everyone they are doing all they can. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG FORD, ONTARIO PREMIER: You know, a good neighbor, and I truly believe the Americans are good neighbors. If there's some politicians out there
chirping away -- well, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our
American friends, and that's what you're supposed to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, I want to be clear here. This has really ended up being an issue of the weather and timing. The fire season in Canada is nowhere near
as bad as it was, and you'll remember it, Christina, truly historic in 2023, although they do continue to have issues with those fires and trying
to put them out.
[15:05:06]
And I assure you, smoke does not observe borders. Toronto, one of the largest metropolitan areas on the continent, had some of the worst air
quality in its history this week, a little bit of easing there as well.
But watch this space. I think we're good for the FIFA final on Sunday, at least from the reports that I see from the weather center. But then, again,
it could creep up into next week and the other week beyond. Unless we get any kind of relief from this heat, it is not likely that these fires will
burn out anytime soon. In fact, most of them, Christina, do end up burning right to the end of the season.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, still very concerning for millions of Americans who are under those air quality alerts. We'll continue to watch it.
Paula, appreciate it. Thanks.
Turning now to the Middle East, where we are seeing some of the most intense military action since talks broke down between the U.S. and Iran.
Tehran says bridges in the south were hit in new strikes by the U.S., and U.S. Central Command reports it destroyed a surveillance tower used by
Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Iran launched attacks on seven regional states, including, it says, a U.S. base in Syria. However, the U.S. military and a
Syrian source deny being hit.
In Kuwait, Tehran struck a power and desalination plant, causing a fire.
And last hour, CNN's Nic Robertson told me about what the latest strikes may say about this U.S. strategy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It seems to indicate that the United States is targeting a lot of infrastructure connected to
the Strait of Hormuz, Chabahar, which is some distance from the Strait of Hormuz to the east, towards the border with Pakistan. That's where that
IRGC control tower, as the U.S. has described it, was located. This was a large and significant maritime port, a port that would be valuable for Iran
to, rather than try to import goods through the Strait of Hormuz to their ports further inside the Persian Gulf, to offload outside the sort of area
of conflict.
Well, now the port there has been hit. The ability of the IRGC, the Iranian authorities, to understand what types of ships and what ships are moving
around as they approach the Strait of Hormuz, that's been diminished.
But the broader picture here is one where the United States is, it appears, trying to shape, you know, future strikes and the ground for or the area
for an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, to deny Iran the ability to control it and they've done that by taking down that that what they
describe as an IRGC sort of eyes on the on the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf there, but also the sort of infrastructure that connects Bandar Abbas
on the Strait of Hormuz to further inland.
If you can disconnect it by road, by rail, by hitting the bridges, it makes it harder to resupply Bandar Abbas. It makes it harder to bring more
weapons in or food. Bushehr also targeted further up the Persian Gulf. This is very close, less than a minute's flight away in a fighter jet from Kharg
Island. We don't know what was the target in Bushehr, but there is a large Iranian military air base there.
Now, the United States has destroyed Iran's air force. We don't know how fully accurate that is. But it does appear, again, that it's the targets
along there, be they military, be they connecting to civilian infrastructure.
And the Iranians themselves say that they've been targeting countries and facilities connected with the U.S. attacking them. But as you said there,
in Kuwait, the Iranians hit a desalination and power plant. And these are absolutely vital in the heat of the summer to the Gulf countries. They are
a real, if you will, vulnerability.
If many of these types of sites were hit, then that would make it much harder for the civilian population in Kuwait or whatever country it was.
And now Iran is threatening to move off those so-called military targets and hit the sort of key economic infrastructure, the ports, all the way
along the Gulf. That's an escalation if they carry it out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Well, meanwhile, in Gaza, an Israeli airstrike on a funeral has killed seven people in one of the deadliest incidents in weeks. We want to
warn you, some of the images from the aftermath are graphic. More than 20 people were also injured in the strike, according to a hospital in the
area.
Local journalists say the funeral was for a man who had been killed by a separate Israeli strike earlier in the day. Israel says it was targeting a
cell of the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but says the strike is under review after claims that several uninvolved individuals were hurt.
Hamas called it a heinous crime and a violation of the ceasefire agreement.
Now, China says claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump that it meddled in the 2020 U.S. election are entirely fabricated. The president accused
Beijing of gaining access to voter data on millions of Americans during an address to the nation on Thursday. He said he was releasing critical
intelligence, revealing shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure.
But those declassified documents did not provide any evidence of widespread voter fraud in the US. Well, President Trump also called on Congress to
pass a bill that would overhaul U.S. elections, legislation critics warn it could create voter chaos in the fall's midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen, and the trust of the American people
was lost. This cannot be allowed to continue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joins us on this.
And look, Kevin, I think what many are questioning in this moment is the timing of all of this. You know, if the president had concerns about
election interference, why wait until four months out from the midterms to address it?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right. And I think that's what's leading so many of the critics of this speech to suggest that he is
just trying to sow lack of confidence in the election security, potentially because he fears that Republicans may not perform particularly well in
November. There's also nothing, I think, to suggest that the president was taking this particularly seriously before now.
You know, a lot of the claims that he made in this speech aren't necessarily new ones. You know, this idea that countries may be trying to
meddle in the U.S. elections has been around for years and years, but what you saw president do when he came into has this time around is to gut
certain parts of the federal government that are meant to look after that, including at the FBI, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence,
and other parts of the government.
And so there is, I think, a real question of the timing in all of this. We do know, of course, the president is trying to rally support behind that
voter reform law that's having trouble making it through Congress, the SAVE America Act, but at the same time, there's nothing really in that piece of
legislation that would remedy all of the vulnerabilities that the president laid out in this speech.
And just to tick through a few of them, the biggest one, I think, probably was on China, the president alleging, one, that there was an effort by
China in the 2020 election to sway it against President Trump, even though a report from his own administration at the time said that China had
decided against trying to interfere in the election.
He's also saying that China, since that time, has obtained more than 200 million voter files on Americans in the United States, although, again,
some of that information is actually just publicly available. You can purchase it. And so it wasn't really, I think, exactly what the president
was claiming in that speech.
He also talked about the vulnerabilities of American election infrastructure, including voting machines. But again, I'm not making any
claims that any actual votes have been changed, that any machines have actually been compromised in a way that affected the tabulations in any
previous elections. And so, it was a lot of very serious-sounding claims that the president made in the speech. But when you look through the data
that he was claiming and that the White House declassified last night, a lot of it is not necessarily precisely what the president said and is a lot
more guarded, in fact, than what it found.
Now, today, a day after the speech, we have been hearing from the Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin talking about one of the claims that
the president made in the speech, which was that they found hundreds of thousands of non-citizens on voter rolls in four different states. And he's
actually going quite a bit further than the president himself did, saying that the Department of Homeland Security would put maximum pressure to root
out some of these non-citizens from the voter rolls and actually threatening criminal prosecution with some state election officials if they
don't partner with his department to try and tighten this up a little bit.
You know, there has been this huge back and forth between the federal government and states about whether the states needed to provide their
confidential voter information to the federal government. And in fact, a number of judges have ruled in the state's favor.
And so you see today how the administration is trying to follow up on some of the president's claims.
[15:15:01]
But I think altogether, it amounts to some extraordinary allegations made by the President that aren't necessarily backed up in any of the evidence
that they provided during the speech.
MACFARLANE: Kevin Liptak, appreciate the roundup on all of that. Thank you.
And we are learning more about a tense meeting between acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche and survivors of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Blanche
spoke with some of the survivors Thursday as he attempts to shore up support from the Senate for his nomination.
After the meeting, CNN spoke with the family of Virginia Giuffre, who was one of the most prominent victims of Epstein's before her death. Here's
what Giuffre's family had to say about Blanche's tone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA ROBERTS, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: There were no real admissions. There were no real commitments being made. A lot of it was just
-- there was no really getting to the bottom of it and us really trying to give -- give him the meat to the story. There was just a lot of circles
and. It felt very deflating.
SKY ROBERTS, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: I think there was a lot of deny, deny, deny until you know the formalities of what this was supposed to be.
Senator Tillis kind of put him in a position today to have to meet with survivors. Same scenario as when we had to get the Epstein files
Transparency Act passed. When it comes to compassion, I didn't feel that from him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, let's discuss with MJ Lee, who's live from Washington.
And, MJ, as we were hearing there, of course this meeting with Todd Blanche did go ahead, but it clearly resulted in absolutely no positive momentum
for the victims. So where do they go from here?
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. You know, yesterday when these Epstein survivors and some family members were
coming out of the Justice Department building after they met with Blanche for about an hour or so. I mean, I could tell just by looking at their
expressions right away that it had not been a good meeting.
And since then, I've spoken with some of the survivors, spoken with some of the lawyers representing the victims of Epstein, and they basically said
that that this meeting went as badly as they could have ever expected. You know, there was an issue with tone that some of these survivors raised, as
you heard from Virginia Giuffre's family as well, that some of them felt like he had been condescending, that he wasn't really listening, not being
truthful about some of the things he had publicly said about Epstein -- the Epstein files and the Epstein investigation.
But I think in the bigger picture and of more importance maybe is this idea that survivors kept hearing Todd Blanche saying to them, you know, you need
to go to the FBI and report what you can and take with you evidence and corroboration.
And I think this landed very badly for these survivors because for many of them, they actually did report what they experienced to law enforcement
many, many years ago, and the whole point for them is that nothing actually ever came of it. So I think being told by the attorney general nominee that
you basically have to start the whole process again, and that I don't have anything for you here. There are no ongoing investigations. Nobody else to
look at, I think was a deeply frustrating experience for the survivors.
And I think we are also seeing, you know, what exactly is going to happen with the Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who was basically the reason that
this meeting took place in the first place. He gave an ultimatum to Todd Blanche and said, unless you meet with the survivors, as they have been
asking for so long, I can't possibly get to a yes.
But I'll tell you that the survivors that at least I have spoken to, they said that this meeting did not go well and they have not changed their
minds. And in fact, they would urge Senator Tillis and anybody else to vote against Todd Blanche's nomination for A.G. So we don't know exactly how his
nomination fight is going to proceed, but it is clear that this meeting didn't do anything to sway the survivors. If anything, I think it had the
effect of making them even more frustrated and kind of resolute in the things that they were already thinking about his nomination.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, and it's important to point out, as you did there, that Todd Blanche is obviously facing that Senate confirmation hearing that we
saw yesterday for attorney general, that this is somewhat politicized, even in the meeting with these victims. So I know you're in touch with the
victims. You speak to them often. What are they saying about, you know, the path forward from here, especially if he is to get confirmed, which it's
expected he will?
LEE: I mean, the survivors will so often say they really wish that politics could be completely separate from the issue of the Epstein files and the
Epstein investigation.
[15:20:01]
There are a couple of things that I think the survivors have been asking for, for a while, and I think they're going to keep asking for them
regardless of whether Todd Blanche ends up being the attorney general or not. You know, they would like to see, for example, the rest of the
millions of files -- Epstein files released by the Justice. They would like a real acknowledgement of the serious mistakes that were made when the
files were released so far by the Justice Department had serious redaction errors. I mean, there's no going back and redoing it, but they definitely
feel like that needs to be rectified somehow.
And importantly, they would like to see more prosecutions, more investigations. You know, just as an important reminder here in the U.S.,
Ghislaine Maxwell, his coconspirator, is the only person who has ever been prosecuted for anything related to Epstein's crime.
So this is kind of the justice or the lack of it that survivors are talking about when they say, you know, we really can't back down. We really have to
continue asking our federal government to do their job. And I think yesterday with this meeting with Todd Blanche, they just felt completely
deflated and like they didn't get any more answers or any sort of more reason for hope from at least this Justice Department.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, it's clearly continuing to be a tough road ahead for these victims just to be heard.
MJ, we appreciate the update. Thank you.
All right, coming up, Britain is set for its seventh prime minister in 10 years. How Labour Party leader Andy Burnham will take over at number 10
after using a creative digital strategy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: For the seventh time in a decade, Britain will usher in a new prime minister on Monday. Andy Burnham, who will succeed Keir Starmer, was
confirmed today as the leader of the ruling Labour Party. He returns to parliament after winning a crucial by-election last month. Burnham has
become one of the country's most popular politicians in recent years.
[15:25:03]
As CNN's Clare Sebastian reports, he's embraced social media to help create a political identity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Britain's incoming prime minister belongs to a new generation of politicians, one that understands
the power of social media.
From campaign trail highlights, to football skills, to a viral roasting of the British opposition leader who called him --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A pair of eyelashes and a black T-shirt.
ANDY BURNHAM, INCOMING BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: It's dark blue, actually.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): That video racked up over 5 million views on X. The strategy, especially with these signature selfie-style videos, is really
part of an effort by Burnham to present himself as an outsider here in Westminster, a regular guy, despite, of course, his many years spent in
parliament previously.
His style is true to Andy, and that isn't going to change, a source close to his campaign told me. He's not trying to land a point with every post.
JAMES LYONS, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR KEIR STARMER: He feels comfortable. He feels relaxed. And to be honest with you, it reminds me of
that famous phrase that Margaret Thatcher had about Ronald Reagan. He's engaged in the great cause of cheering us all up.
BURNHAM: We're doing it to change Labour.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And yet, optimism and hope don't always get the clicks.
EMMA CONNOLLY, FELLOW, UCL DIGITAL SPEECH LAB: He has got a harder job in terms of, you know, his content compared to someone like Trump or like
Farage.
NIGEL FARAGE, LEADER, REFORM UK: If you come to the U.K. illegally, you will be detained and deported.
CONNOLLY: We know that social media algorithms prioritize or amplify emotionally charged, polemic, kind of controversial content in any way. But
I would look to someone like Mamdani, for example, who has managed to navigate that.
MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: I'm freezing your rent.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani is emerging as a template for progressive politicians on social media. And the parallels
with Burnham aren't hard to find, using social to amplify grassroots campaigning, light-hearted ways to discuss major policies.
MAMDANI: Start spreading the news.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Even singing.
BURNHAM: I left the north again. I traveled south again.
ANDREW BARD EPSTEIN, FORMER COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR FOR MAMDANI CAMPAIGN: I like when people take risks and try things out and aren't afraid of cringe.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): But, says Mamdani's former communications director, Burnham's desire to unify may have come at the expense of clarity.
EPSTEIN: The agenda and the message is a bit more muddled than Zohran's was. And the risk that Burnham runs in being on, you know, sort of being
all things to all people or not being totally clear on where he falls on particular issues or ideological debates, I think can risk reading to
people as just being another politician.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): And that's exactly what Burnham is trying to avoid.
BURNHAM: I am going to do things differently.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): He's used social media to make himself accessible to regular people, facing criticism on the way for neglecting traditional
media, something he denies. No questions allowed from journalists at this recent big policy speech. Instead, a few days later --
BURNHAM: Send your questions in.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): He took to Reddit for a public Ask Me Anything session that was so popular, the site crashed midway through, the source
told CNN.
BURNHAM: Oh, thanks a lot. Cheers.
SEBASTIAN (voice-over): The challenge now to strike a balance between running on TikTok and running a country.
Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Now, be sure to tune in on Monday from 6:00 a.m. in New York. That's 11:00 a.m. here in London, where Max Foster will have special
coverage of the moment Andy Burnham becomes the British prime minister.
And still to come tonight, a big day in court for Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery. We'll have an update on the merger's future next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:32:16]
MACFARLANE: Returning to one of our top stories now, President Donald Trump's primetime address painted a picture of a U.S. electoral system in
crisis. However, critics in the intelligence community say newly released declassified documents fail to back up the president's claims of widespread
voter fraud. President Trump on Thursday also alleged, without evidence, that China stole data on millions of U.S. voters in an effort to influence
the 2020 election. Beijing has rejected the accusation.
So, we -- what we don't know in this moment is how much credibility does the U.S. intelligence community carry at the moment.
Joining me now is Shawn Turner, former director of communications for the U.S. National Intelligence during the Obama administration.
Thanks for being with us.
As a former member of the intelligence community, I just wanted to start by getting your view on the president's claims of the current risk of voter
interference and what this signals coming four months out from the U.S. midterms.
SHAWN TURNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yeah, first of all, thank you for having me. I listened to the speech last night with great interest, and
I've spent a lot of time today talking to my former intelligence community colleagues. And I will tell you that as I listened to the speech, the
president was painting a very dire, dark picture of the state of our voting election system and security around our voting election system. But the
reality is that when you talk to the people who are actually engaged in monitoring foreign interference and attempts at foreign impact and
influence, the truth is that we simply do not see the level of risk and vulnerability that the president painted last night in his speech.
Now, look, I will tell you that If the president and those who are working with him had found any evidence that there was legitimate information that
after analysis demonstrated that a foreign actor like China or others had had an impact on the outcome of the election, then what you would see today
in the intelligence community is you would see these professionals doing everything they could to understand what happened there, because that would
be a significant problem for our election system, but it simply doesn't exist as I see it today.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. And, of course, if there are potential vulnerabilities ahead of the November midterms, the problem is -- and you know this better
than anyone -- is that the Trump administration has systematically dismantled election security efforts. For instance, you know, the
disbanding of the FBI's Foreign Influence Task Force is just one example. Donald Trump made no acknowledgement of that in his speech, but that is
central to this as well.
[15:35:03]
TURNER: It is one of the major concerns that I see across the board. Look, our intelligence agencies exist to identify and to give the president
decision advantage as it relates to foreign intelligence threats, not only to our national security, but certainly to our election systems. Within
this country, for a long time, we've had and we continue to build systems within our government, within our own borders, that would ensure at the
national level and at the state level that our election systems were secure. It is unfortunate that what we've seen is a sort of rolling back of
some of those measures that have been put in place, but it really does to redouble and emphasize the importance at the state level of state
officials, making sure that they're doing everything they possibly can to ensure that our elections are safe and that people who are appropriate to
vote can vote.
And I will just add that for a long time we have had the safest and most secure elections in the world. And I think that there's a commitment across
the country by election officials to ensure that that continues to be the case.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. I mean, we heard an hour ago, I think, or two hours ago from DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin sharing additional details about the
administration's plan to compel states to fall in line with Trump's election security agenda. Correspondent Kevin earlier was saying that he
actually threatened criminal proceedings against state officials who didn't tighten up on election security.
I'm just wondering what you make of that and the focus on this SAVE America Act, which the Trump administration are really trying to push through
Congress in this moment.
TURNER: Yeah. Look, I think the most important thing for us to do as it relates to our elections is to first ask ourselves, is there a problem? Is
there any evidence at all that at any state across the country that the election system, the voting process is not secure and that there are
vulnerabilities that would effectively be addressed by some of the provisions in this legislation. That's the first thing that we've got to
do, and if the answer is no, then we have to take a step back and ask ourselves why are we doing this? This is an expensive venture that over
time, certainly does have the potential to disenfranchise people who have the right to vote.
If we do find that there are issues, which again we have not seen to date. Then we ask we have to ask ourselves is there -- is a sort of one-size-
fits-all approach the right approach. Every states a little different in the way they run elections and we have to remember that the authority over
how elections are run exists at the state level. We don't want to see that federalized with any legislation that puts onerous requirements on states
and voters across the country.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. Well, these are all important considerations and context, really, as we look ahead, less than four months now, to these midterm
elections. Sean, we really appreciate your analysis on this. Thank you.
Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street, and stocks are currently lower. Some big worries about an AI breakthrough in China have
set markets on edge. This is our business breakout.
Asian and U.S. stocks are dropping after Chinese company Moonshot launched its new AI model. The firm is confident that Kimi K3 can rival American
competitors like ChatGPT and Claude. That's making investors more worried that this year's A.I.-fueled market surge could collapse.
Lower gas prices made Americans feel better about the economy this month, says the University of Michigan. Their survey showed consumer sentiment
jumped 10 percent to its highest level since February, but they warn rising conflicts in the Middle East could dampen hopes once again.
The Trump administration is telling the prediction market, Kalshi, to ignore a court order from the state of Michigan to stop allowing trades on
sports. It's the latest attempt from the federal government to try and block states from regulating these sites. One former lawyer told CNN he'd
never seen the government use emergency powers in this way. CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events.
One of the biggest merger deals in media history is in limbo tonight. A court in California has put off a decision on whether to impose a temporary
restraining order on Paramount's takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent company of CNN. That comes after several U.S. states moved to oppose
the deal.
Our chief media analyst, Brian Stelter, is here.
Brian, so what more do we know at this stage, and how long this has been put off for?
[15:40:05]
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Yes, this is par for at least a few days. The judge wants to take some time and write a written response, and
that is common in a situation like this. A temporary restraining order is a pretty extraordinary measure that's used by the courts to prevent imminent
harm. So in this case, the Democratic states that are suing to block the deal say that imminent harm would come if Paramount tries to complete the
merger next week before its arguments, its legal antitrust arguments, are able to be heard by the court.
These states want to have a trial, but they at least want to get to a stage where a judge can fully review the evidence. So, the arguments were
presented in court a couple of hours ago. The judge said they will get back to the states in the coming days.
And the timeline is really significant here, because Paramount has secured approvals for this merger all around the world, from China to the U.S. It
is waiting on one more approval from the European Commission, and that's expected on Tuesday or Wednesday. So Paramount theoretically could close
the merger and take over CNN and the rest of Warner Bros. Discovery as early as next Wednesday.
That is why the judge in Northern California said she will respond to the restraining order request by Wednesday. So now, as you said, the deal is in
limbo for a couple of days. But executives of both Paramount and Warner Bros. have said to me, they do expect the court to press pause, to agree to
the restraining order, to press pause on this merger, and kick it at least until August.
And the clock is literally ticking, because if Paramount does not succeed in winning these approvals and basically ridding itself of this lawsuit by
September, the deal gets a lot more expensive for Paramount starting October 1st. So it is a situation where actually, for Paramount, time is of
the essence.
MACFARLANE: Yeah, as I understand it, there's penalties that kick in come September if none of this is wrapped up. So, yeah, we'll watch this space
and look to the middle of next week. Brian, thank you.
All right, still to come, a warning from American health officials -- don't eat the lettuce. Not if you're eating at Taco Bell, in some states at
least. We'll have the details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:45:10]
MACFARLANE: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning people not to eat shredded lettuce from Taco Bell in five states. That's
after it was linked to an outbreak of cyclosporiasis. There's been more than 1,600 cases that have been linked to that outbreak. But there are
nearly 7,000 cases of the intestinal illness that have been confirmed or are under investigation nationwide.
CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard is covering the outbreak.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Now that we have more information around the cyclosporiasis outbreak, here's what you should do to reduce
your risk. Number one, when you're cooking at home, if you are preparing a salad, go for whole heads of lettuce over bagged lettuce. That's because
whole heads of lettuce typically go through less handling and remove the outer layers of leaves and thoroughly wash the inner layers of leaves. And
at this time it can be helpful to prioritize cooking your food because we know when food is heated to above 158 degrees Fahrenheit, that can help
kill the cyclospora parasite.
And of course, with anything, always wash your hands, wash your fresh produce, practice good hygiene. And when it comes to the Midwest outbreak
of cases, the CDC does warn on its website, do not eat shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell locations in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio,
and West Virginia. Again, that has been connected back to the outbreak of cases we are seeing in the Midwest region at this time.
And if you are someone with a weakened immune system, experts say you may want to be extra careful with reducing your risk around this outbreak. And
for all of us, if you do develop symptoms like watery diarrhea, sometimes explosive diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, and if your symptoms last for days or
even weeks, talk with your doctor, let them know what you're going through and mentioned what you have eaten recently since that can help hold clues
to what might possibly be behind your illness.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: OK, still to come the movie and the movie maker that all of Hollywood is talking about. Hear directly from Christopher Nolan about how
he made the Odyssey when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:50:08]
MACFARLANE: What may be the most anticipated movie of the season opens today in theaters around the world. "The Odyssey" is expected to be a
runaway hit. It stars Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway, and a slew of Hollywood A- listers in supporting roles.
The film was written and directed by Oscar winner Christopher Nolan, whose latest film was Oppenheimer. "The Odyssey" is the first feature-length film
ever to be shot entirely with ultra-high resolution IMAX cameras. There are only about 40 theaters in the world capable of showing the film the way
Nolan wants in IMAX with 70 millimeter film.
But Nolan says the reason to see it is not for the stunning images. It's because this is one of the greatest stories ever told.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTOPHER NOLAN, WRITER/DIRECTOR, "THE ODYSSEY": At first sight, you look at the poem, and it feels very alien. It feels of another time, another
society. You're very conscious of the differences, and then as you engage with the text, and as you engage with the story, suddenly you start to
realize that, no, nothing's changed. These are primal elemental storytelling things and ideas about society. And that's why Homer sustains.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: So what we want to know is, does "The Odyssey" live up to the hype?
Joining me now is entertainment journalist Segun Oduolowu.
And look, I mean, if the reviews are to be believed, this movie is a total sensation. Do you agree? I know you've seen it.
SEGUN ODUOLOWU, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST & MEDIA PERSONALITY: I have seen it. I do like it. I don't love it. Now, I want to -- I want to first say it
is going to do tremendous numbers in the box office.
I want to say that Matt Damon is incredible. This is arguably the best I've seen him perform in a long time. You buy every single minute of what he's
going through as Odysseus on screen.
But why I don't love it? My bar begins at "Braveheart" and "Gladiator", and for sweeping epics, there are things that you could nitpick. Look, I love
the conceit of the way he brought this ensemble cast that is colorful and that is unique, but I don't feel as if they were used to the real depths of
their talent.
You have an Oscar winner in Matt Damon, an Oscar winner in Charlize Theron, an Oscar winner in Lupita Nyong'o, an Oscar winner Anne Hathaway. And when
they're on screen, it feels as if they are, if not window dressing, they don't give enough or add enough. And that's not even to talk about Elliot
Page, who was nominated for an Oscar, and Zendaya, who is incredible, and Tom Holland.
All of these different cast members, they feel like cameos some of the time. And I just wish that --
MACFARLANE: Yeah.
ODUOLOWU: -- maybe some unknown actors or actresses were put in their because I think it would have made the story a little bit more cohesive and
not so jarring when you see a superstar on screen.
MACFARLANE: I mean, that's fair enough. But it is extraordinary that it felt like cameos in a three-hour-long movie. You would have thought there'd
be plenty of time.
But look, I think I wanted to get to this, because for all the praise and all the acclaim, I think one of the other main criticisms we've seen or
seems to be coming from critics saying that this -- Nolan really departs in places from the original text by downplaying the mythology. I mean, the
gods playing a smaller role than they would have done in Homer's poem. That's just one example.
I mean, did that bother you? Because presumably, that was consciously done by Nolan. I just wonder what you felt about that.
ODUOLOWU: Yes, this adaptation is unique in that Odysseus, for most of us who are familiar with Homer's "The Odyssey and The Iliad", we look at
Odysseus as this super genius. We don't look at him as flawed. He's the most cleverest. He is, you know, he sees the Greeks during the Trojan War.
And this adaptation paints him as flawed. And that the reason that it took so long for him to come home is his own wrestling with what he became and
what he did in order to win this war, the deaths of his men and the people and the cities that they ransacked, what he does to the Cyclops, and even
his angering of the gods.
They paint Odysseus in a light that most people familiar with these texts aren't used to seeing. But the pushback of -- from that is that Nolan plays
with time. That's the way he does directing, and we are familiar with "Memento" all through "Inception" Christopher Nolan and time in movies
that's his -- that's -- you know, that's a genre.
[15:55:07]
That's how he -- that's that -- that's his claim to fame. And this "Odyssey" is right for this time. The way he tells the story and the way
the story is told speaks to what we are now today as a society and I think he hit it out of the park by doing that.
MACFARLANE: Yeah. And I mean, there's an argument that that's what the great directors do, right? They adapt it for modern times, for a modern
audience. And many of the fans will love to see these hallmarks, as you say, of Nolan's style and of his way of doing filmmaking.
Segun, unfortunately, we're going to have to leave it there. But I am so excited to see this. And I will be seeing it in IMAX, I think, if I can
find a spot. Thank you very much.
And we've run out of time. That is it for WHAT WE KNOW this hour. I'm Christina Macfarlane.
Stay with us. We have more news coming up after the break.
END
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