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What We Know with Max Foster

UEFA Votes 55-0 To Boycott FIFA World Cups; Trump Willing To Wait Out Republican Objections To Blanche; Polish PM: Missile Fired By Russia Landed Deep Inside Poland; U.S. Strikes Iran After Trump Says It's "Out Turn"; Firefighters Making Progress On Fires In France; CNN Poll: Democrats Hold 8-Point Edge On Generic Ballot. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 30, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:19]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: European nations say they could boycott the World Cup.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

The two most powerful bodies in football are on a collision course. UEFA, the confederation that runs European football, voted unanimously today to

boycott any competition run by FIFA. That includes, of course, the World Cup.

UEFA is angry about a plan by FIFA president Gianni Infantino to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. UEFA says it will not drop

its boycott until FIFA drops the investment plan. UEFA was blunt in its statement. Some things are simply too important to sell. The FIFA World Cup

belongs to football. It'll never be for sale.

The impact of the boycott could be felt in weeks. The under-20 Women's World Cup kicks off on September 5th. Six of the 24 teams in the field are

from Europe.

Our senior sports correspondent Christina Macfarlane joins us with more.

And just giving that next tournament and the details there really exposes this. It's basically canceled, isn't it, because so many of the members are

European?

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN SENIOR SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, we're waiting to hear a reaction to whether or not that under-20 tournament can

go ahead, but so too are we waiting for a reaction, Max, as to the Women's World Cup, which is scheduled for the middle of summer next year to take

place in Brazil. As far as we know, qualification for that tournament is underway. So, are we going to see European nations needing to withdraw from

that from now on? I mean, that is an open question.

But you're right. I mean, look, this has been a bombshell announcement today, not just for the fact that it was a unanimous vote, 55 to zero, but

because of the fury of the reaction here from UEFA. And we got a real sense of that from the statement they put out just after the vote had happened.

You know, a really damning indictment of Gianni Infantino and his bids to kind of sell the soul of the game really.

Let's just read a little bit more of that statement. It kind of illustrates this point. They said the World Cup cannot be treated as an investment

product. It is one of football's greatest sporting legacies. It's been built over generations by players, national teams, supporters across every

continent. No part of it should be surrendered by private investors. The World Cup is not for sale.

I mean, Max, Gianni Infantino has been acting very much like one man as he has pushed this business venture, the FIFA Forward Enterprise. But the

reality is, you know, football exists in an ecosystem, and the president sits over 211 federations of which, you know, UEFA are 55. They've had

their voices heard today. What we're waiting to hear is what the other confederations might say today, because it feel not only that this business

venture is in jeopardy for Gianni Infantino, but his leadership as well. Many are saying his position is feeling quite untenable right now.

FOSTER: Why haven't we heard from FIFA? Surely, it's been a few hours since UEFA came up with this. Nothing from FIFA. Do you think they're

trying to work out what to do or they're just waiting to hear from the other confederations or they're speaking to people? What's happening there?

MACFARLANE: Well, one can only imagine what's going on behind closed doors at FIFA HQ or how shocked they might be by the fact that this was a

unanimous decision. So, of course, they will have to regroup now, decide how they move forward and maybe they are quietly behind the scenes reaching

out to confederations themselves to try and win back support.

What we saw in the last couple of days. from the Asian -- so there are six confederations, right? In the last few days, three confederations have come

out and strongly condemned what Gianni Anfantino is doing. UEFA was one of them. The other two are CONCACAF, that's the North America Confederation,

and the Asia Confederation. Now, Asia is particularly significant because often Asia have backed Gianni Infantino over the years, and that is seen to

be a real kind of biting criticism of him and a real break from where they were before.

If those two confederations were to follow suit with UEFA to maybe move for a boycott -- well, I mean, we could be looking at not just, you know, the

end of the splintering of FIFA as we know it, but certainly the end of Gianni Infantino's leadership. I mean, this is very much being viewed now

as a referendum on whether he will succeed in that FIFA election scheduled for next March.

FOSTER: Christina, thank you so much.

What we don't know then is will this boycott threat force FIFA to stand down on this whole idea.

Joining me now, Keir Radnedge from "World Soccer Magazine".

Thanks for joining us, Keir.

I mean, it's hard to imagine, isn't it, how it can go ahead if European teams aren't playing in world competitions?

[15:05:06]

KEIR RADNEDGE, WORLD SOCCER MAGAZINE: Yes, it is because I think Infantino would have thought that Europe would probably be split. That he'd have

opposition from the largest countries, but the smaller nations would look at the, you know, the $20 million up front and all the rest and think, oh,

yes, we'll have some of that. Thank you very much.

I think Infantino is in Morocco today or has been in Morocco today. So, I think we might have to wait a little while before we get some sort of

response from FIFA. And it's really very much a lot of pressure now on Infantino's presidency because, as your correspondent said just now, if

more confederations follow UEFA's lead, which is very significant, then his presidency and his leadership is untenable.

FOSTER: And it is the leadership that they're questioning here, right? Because this model of financing has been used in other sports, motorsport,

for example, and some of the U.S. sports. So, there is a precedent for it. But what seems to have made the federations furious is the secrecy about

how it's developed and just sort of presented as a fait accompli when those federations are actually part of FIFA. So, it's the way he presented it as

much as what he presented.

RADNEDGE: Yes, it's very clear that the -- this plan has been sort of put together by Infantino and very close advisors to him. Basically, the

structure of FIFA is the sort of important decisions and this is usually football obviously are taken by Infantino and the presidents of the six

confederations. They call themselves the bureau.

But in this case, the presidents of Europe, Asia, Africa, et cetera knew nothing of the plan until it came out in the media. And I think that is

also part of the sense of grand sense of betrayal that they feel.

FOSTER: What was he thinking? I mean, you've reported on him for many years. I mean, I don't know him, but what was he thinking?

RADNEDGE: Well, I think Infantino has been seriously impressed, that's the word, by the commercialization of sports that he's seen in the United

States in the run up to the World Cup in association with the Trump media, if you like to put it that way. And I think he felt that by offering

unlimited sums of money to the member football associations that they would take the money and say thank you very much.

FOSTER: But by undermining the confederations.

RADNEDGE: Yes, I mean the actual confederations themselves are in an odd situation because the confederations are not members of FIFA. The national

associations are members of FIFA, and they are obviously organized regionally by the confederations. In this case, the national associations

from Europe have spoken with one voice and UEFA has been able to do that for them.

I mean, it's very interesting that Infantino has managed to unite Europe as almost never before.

FOSTER: It's a good point because there's also a lot of criticism of UEFA over the years, right? But they all seem to have rallied around it.

Keir Radnedge of "World Soccer Magazine" really appreciate you joining us today with your analysis.

Now, Donald Trump is shrugging off opposition from two Republican senators over his pick for attorney general, saying he'll just wait for them to

leave office. Cornyn -- John Cornyn and Thom Tillis are set to lead Congress in January. They both refuse to back Todd Blanche because they're

concerned about a controversial settlement involving the president that he has overseen as acting attorney general. President Trump posted on social

media that he's willing to shelve Blanche's nomination until both the senators are gone.

Here's more with Kevin Liptak.

An extraordinary situation. But also, when they do leave, there's all this polling suggesting that the Democrats could have more control anyway. So I

guess this is all he could do, right, knowing that he couldn't get the nomination through the committee.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, he could do one thing which was give John Cornyn and Thom Tillis what they were asking for, which

is written assurances that this very controversial settlement that he struck with the IRS that would give him tax immunity from audits from the

IRS, but also create this slush fund for people who claim they've been weaponized against by the Justice Department.

[15:10:07]

He could put in writing that that's all going away and that would allow Todd Blanche's nomination to go forward but he's not doing that and so that

in theory could be the easier thing for him to do but he seems unwilling to at this point and now he's suggesting that he could put aside a Blanche's

nomination until next year at the earliest but you're correct to point out that that is a major gamble there's no guarantee that Republicans will hold

the Senate next year after the midterm elections. They might, but they might not as well. And so, the president seems willing to take that risk.

Now, we should point out that Todd Blanche can act as the attorney general, as he's doing now for as long as he wants. There's really no limit on that.

But the White House and Blanche both want very much for him to be confirmed in that position. They think it would give him more credence and more

legitimacy to act in that role for the remainder of President Trump's term. And so, this doesn't necessarily seem like an easy escape for President

Trump.

Now, both Cornyn and Tillis have been out today discussing all of this, suggesting that there is some hidden hand at the White House that is

influencing how the president is making these decisions. We haven't heard directly from President Trump about this. You know, yesterday he was asked

that John Cornyn might not be supportive of Todd Blanche's attorney general, and he seems somewhat unaware of this entire controversy. He was

clearly updated on it at some point between then and when he put this post out on social media earlier today.

But he is caught in a bind here. Both Tillis and Cornyn are obviously leaving the Senate. That's what the president is pointing out here. But

they're also not obligated in their own minds by any loyalty pledge to President Trump because President Trump endorsed against them in their

primaries, at least in Cornyn's sake. And so, they seem to feel as if they're off the leash and they have free rein to do whatever they think is

right. And that is clearly coming to blow back against President Trump in this particular instance and not all clear at this point how it will be

resolved.

FOSTER: Kevin, thank you, joining us from the White House there.

Poland says it was Russia that launched a missile that exploded deep inside its territory. The blast left this massive crater. NATO fighter jets and

Polish aircraft were scrambled to counter the threat, according to a NATO spokesperson. Nobody was hurt.

Poland's prime minister doesn't believe his country was the intended target of that missile. Still, the incident naturally raises concerns amongst NATO

allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TUSK, POLISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Ukrainian fighter jets right up to the border with Poland were monitoring and attempting to

shoot down those missiles heading towards the Polish border. There is no reason to believe that Poland was the target, but two of these objects

violated Polish airspace. Well, one definitely did because we have evidence of it here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: More details now from Poland's TVN-24 network, reporter where the missile landed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACIEJ WARSINSKI, TVN24 REPORTER: We are in the Lublin Voivodeship in southern eastern Poland, just 90 kilometers from the border with Ukraine.

According to the operational command of the Polish Armed Forces, a high- speed airborne object crossed into Polish airspace at around 3:30 a.m., driven by a massive wave of Russian missile and drone strikes targeting

western Ukraine. Polish and Allied air defense system immediately raised their alert levels, scrambling F16 fighter jets to intercept the target.

However, the object vanished from rather screens probably at six minutes later before crashing into an unpopulated field near the village of

Tarnawa-Kolonia, just 100 meters from here. While formal technical identification is still ongoing, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and

international officials have strongly indicated and their local prosecutor just few minutes ago confirmed that the debris belongs to a Russian KH101

cruise missile, marking yet another deeply concerning violation of NATO airspace. A 10-meter wide and five-meter deep crater was left at the impact

zone, though local authorities confirmed there are no casualties or damage to residential properties.

Emergency alerts jolted work across the region, and the government is already facing scrutiny over response times, even as high-level briefings

continue in Warsaw.

For CNN, Maciej Warsinski, TVN24, Poland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[15:15:00]

FOSTER: At least nine people, including four children and their parents, have been killed in a massive wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine. The

Ukrainian foreign minister says an injured 10-year-old was rescued from the rubble of one building in the city of Lviv. July is now the worst month for

civilian casualties in Ukraine since 2022.

The U.S. military has released new video of a heavy wave of strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump said it's our turn. The U.S. said it struck

dozens of sites, including military command centers retaliating for Iran's surprise attack on U.S. forces in the region.

Let's bring in Zachary Cohen in Washington.

You've been looking through these videos. What did you make of them, Zachary?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Two hours last night bombing Iranian military targets, as you mentioned, including military

command centers, missile and drone facilities, as well as coastal surveillance and defense sites. And this is really consistent with the tip

or tap that we've seen between the U.S. and Iran over the last several weeks.

But it's important to note that this target set in this latest round of strikes still is confined to military targets. Donald Trump, the president

of the United States, has not expanded the scope of those targets to include potentially civilian infrastructure. That's something that we have

heard Trump threatened publicly in recent weeks, but would mark a significant escalation in this conflict. And it's not a step that he has

decided he is ready to take quite yet. But at the same time, it's raising questions about what is the ultimate in-game goal here from a military

perspective as far as the U.S. is concerned.

It's been described to me by sources that these strikes against missile drone facilities is a bit of a game of whack-a-mole, where the Iranians are

able to build back that capability and the U.S. continues to try to destroy it. Meanwhile, though, the Iranians seem intent on widening this conflict.

We've seen them take several steps in recent days even to do so. We repeated strikes against Saudi Arabia, including their energy

infrastructure, which has prompted a U.S.-Saudi joint retaliatory strikes just days ago.

That was really the first time we have seen Saudi Arabia take a more fulsome role in this conflict, joining the U.S. obviously to carry out

those strikes. in Iraq against Iranian-backed militia groups. We're also now seeing a drone attack in Egypt that, while it has not been claimed as

far as responsibility goes by Iran, it is sparking fears that another country has now been impacted by this conflict.

And there's long been concerns on both the U.S. side and officials of the regional partners in the Middle East of this conflict spiraling potentially

out of control and expanding to include the entire region And I think that that's a major question now, as President Donald Trump has not made any

progress in pushing the Iranians back to the negotiating table.

So, we'll have to see, ultimately, how this plays out. But the president appears frustrated with both the lack of progress on the diplomatic front

and the limitations inherently of his military options.

FOSTER: OK, Zachary Cohen, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

An attack on yet another country is raising fears of the war with Iran. spread even further. Egypt confirms that a drone attack caused a fire on

two ships at one of its Mediterranean ports on Wednesday. No one has claimed responsibility, yet no injuries or deaths were reported.

Now wildfires raging across Europe aren't confined just to France and Spain. Here in the U.K., crews are battling a blaze along England's east

coast in Suffolk. Authorities say there's no immediate threat to nearby nuclear sites, nearly 100 firefighters are working to control the fire.

High temperatures across the region are making conditions very difficult for the firefighters. Well, whilst firefighters are making progress in

France, residents are returning to their homes to find utter destruction.

CNN's Melissa Bell has been finding out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This was ground zero of the monstrous Gironde fire that firefighters appear finally more than a

week in to be getting a grip of. A lot of it is now extinguished, leaving behind these scenes of desolation, apocalyptic visions here on the

outskirts of Saumos where it began, you get a sense of just how violent it was.

It then progressed towards the village of Le Porge, which has been in material terms the most heavily impacted of this region. The vast majority

of the houses that were destroyed were destroyed there. And whilst its inhabitants haven't been allowed back, we have had a chance to speak to

some of those who've never left because they've been helping the firefighters.

This is what one man had to say from the ruins of his home.

MATHIEU PLESSUS, LE PORGE RESIDENT (translated): But the next morning, when we come back, everything was still burning.

[15:20:03]

BELL (translated): What was inside that house, which has belonged to your family for generations?

PLESSUS: My whole life, there was an aquarium with fish. I had a snake in a terrarium. I couldn't save it. I couldn't save everything. Everything

burned, even the animals. It breaks my heart.

BELL: It's taken more than a week for us to get access to villages like Le Porge, so dangerous have they remained all of this time. Now, over the next

few days, its inhabitants are going to be allowed back, and what you just saw there is going to be repeated for every one of those devastated houses.

It is a village that will need to be entirely reconstructed.

Melissa Bell, CNN, on the outskirts of Saumos.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Another shoe has dropped in the row over FIFA's investment plans tonight. CONCACAF, which represents North American Football Association,

says it convened a meeting of its members and has decided to reject Gianni Infantino's proposals. Unlike UEFA, though, their statement doesn't talk

about a boycott, but we'll have more on that later in the program. We're also waiting, of course, for the other world federations -- confederations,

rather.

Coming up, lawmakers have less than 100 days to change American voters' minds. As Democrats and Republicans play a tug of war over the midterms,

what a new CNN poll suggests about the outcome.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Brand new CNN poll finds that Democrats are in a favorable position just three months ahead of the midterms. Democrats have an eight-

point lead, in fact, on the so-called generic ballot. That's a margin which gives them a chance at retaking control of the House and the Senate.

The poll found Democratic voters far more eager to vote; 60 percent say they're extremely motivated to cast a ballot in November, while less than

half of Republicans feel that way.

Let's discuss it with Jeff Zeleny. He's live in Washington for us. I mean, turnout, I mean, it seems such an obvious thing to say, but it's hugely

important, isn't it, whether you're motivated to go.

[15:25:01]

It's not necessarily who you're going to vote for. You have to actually go out and vote.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: There's no doubt about that. And just the dynamics of this midterm election race here

in the U.S. with now less than 100 days to go, as you said, really is not favoring the president or his party.

And that is really not a surprise. I mean, history shows that every midterm election, the president's party suffers losses, with the exception of right

after 9/11 and only one other time in the last century. But look at the president's approval rating here. I mean, this is quite extraordinary. I

mean, if you just think back to where the president was a year ago, now just only at 34 percent are approving of his performance in office, and

look at some of the other numbers there. His job overall, of course, is at 34 percent, but the economy only 30 percent.

Iran, of course, a major conflict and a major problem, a political one for the Trump administration, only 28 percent approval. Inflation obviously

very high, gas prices high, on and on here. So, the president's approval rating is disastrously underwater here, and that is a huge challenge for

him.

But look at this number as well, just the generic ballot, we call it, to where Democrats and Republicans are kind of at in terms of which party

should control Congress. The Democrats have an eight percent advantage here, an eight-point advantage here of 47 to 39 percent. And that has

changed over the past couple months.

We asked this same question just about two or three months ago, and it was a much narrower split there just by a couple. point. So, Democrats

certainly have some wind at their back. But again, important to point out that these races are not national contests. These are a state by state,

district by district.

So, of course, there are going to be some changes here. But overall, Democrats have a huge headwind going into the November elections here. And

President Trump and his policies are dragging down his Republican Party.

FOSTER: Famously, in the past, a few years ago, let's say, Jeff, the polls weren't right on Trump, and they often underestimated him and his support

base. Might it be that they do -- and even if it's just his base, that they do come out in those huge numbers that they usually do, and that this

figure for the Democrats won't actually outweigh what we're seeing on the Republican side?

ZELENY: Look, it's important to see that these polls are a snapshot in what's happening right now. We do not know what is going to be happening in

November. One thing we do know, that Donald Trump's name is not going to be on the ballot. And as we saw during his first term in office, the midterm

elections of his first term in office, when he was not on the ballot himself, Republicans fared quite disastrously and they lost control of the

House and the Senate as well. So, when he is not on the ballot, that is the challenge here. Many of his supporters just simply do not feel motivated to

show up.

So, despite that they could despite the fact that they could lose control of the House and/or Senate, the big difference in a midterm election, it's

a different electorate. And his name we know will not be on the ballot in November. Beyond that, of course we should wait and see what voters decide,

but the headwinds here are very interesting and quite consistent, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, I mean, there's definitely a trend going on, isn't there? Jeff, thank you so much for bringing us that.

ZELENY: You bet.

FOSTER: Still to come, the future of football, the latest on the battle between FIFA and UEFA when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:52]

FOSTER: Returning to our top story, the civil war inside the world of football, CONCACAF, which represents football associations in North and

Central America, and the Caribbean say it has decided to reject FIFA's plans for private investors. That comes after the 55 nations in UEFA,

Europe's football confederation, voted unanimously to boycott any event run by FIFA if those plans move ahead. That includes the World Cup.

UEFA's furious at FIFA president Gianni Infantino's plan to raise billions of dollars by selling off part of the World Cup. UEFA says the only way to

end the boycott is for FIFA to drop the investment plan. UEFA dominates the top tier of football in both the men's and the women's side. More than half

of the top 15 in the world rankings are UEFA members.

Let's bring in CNN World Sport's Patrick Snell, live from Atlanta, Georgia.

A very strong statement, wasn't it, from CONCACAF, but they're not talking about a boycott like Europe.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: They're not, at least not at this point, Max. And it really is a huge day for football, a seismic day for football.

UEFA backing up their words with actions and speaking out in a very, very strong way indeed. And it's going to be fascinating to see just how FIFA

and Gianni Infantino reacts to this.

Remember, European teams and countries dominate the World Cup. They won five out of the six of the last tournament. So -- and of course, the

Iranian champions of Spain, Spain just won again for the second time in 16 years following their 2010 triumph on South African soil.

But I do want to get to reaction that's been coming in to this big, big news on this Thursday. I want to get to this from the -- well, that's the

CONCACAF statement there. Let's go to the CONCACAF statement first.

During the meeting, the membership expressed deep concerns about the lack of due process surrounding the proposal, the artificially short deadline

imposed, and the absence of any review or approval by the relevant FIFA governance bodies.

And that's part of the issue here, Max, is that it was just the lack of communication, a lack of heads up, a lack of transparency, critics would

say.

The CONCACAF statement going on to say, for these reasons, CONCACAF and its 41 member associations have rejected the proposal.

To England and its Football Association we get this from an English FA spokesman spokesperson we stand shoulder to shoulder with our European

colleagues and fully support the collective view we oppose FIFA's plans, the FIFA World Cup belongs to football and always will.

So many people care about this, Max. This is the beautiful game. It is the supporters who are the lifeblood of the sport. And you can be sure that

opinions have been coming in as well from some very well-known and high- profile football commentators indeed, including "The New York Times" global sports expert, the reporter Tariq Panja.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARIQ PANJA, GLOBAL SPORTS CORRESPONDENT AT THE NEW YORK TIMES: Gianni Infantino's efforts here have highlighted perhaps huge structural problems

that have remained at FIFA and at these governing bodies. Before and after the DOJ perp-walked the previous generation of leaders out of the Baur au

Lac Hotel at 6:00 a.m., people are wondering, what has changed?

[15:35:05]

You have this very powerful leader who's tried to do this thing, and now it's blown up in his face. I think the next thing we're going to see

potentially is the removal of Gianni Infantino as the leader of FIFA, because really this is a failure of epic proportions and his position

surely is now untenable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: We will certainly be tracking that one every step of the way, Max. You can be sure there's certainly heightened I think scrutiny is fair to

say and massive pressure now There's no question about that. And what about the tournaments then? When is the next Women's World Cup?

Well, the next Women's World Cup is next year in Brazil. That's not too far away. And keep in mind that qualifying for that, the playoffs for that

Women's World Cup, Max, are in October, it's just unimaginable.

You're not going to get, right, in my book, you're not going to get a World Cup if the leading European nations withdraw. Just bear in mind, you've got

Spain, are the reigning women's champs, England, the Lionesses, they lost that final three years ago to the Spanish in Sydney, Australia, another

powerhouse nation.

It is, you know, I came to work today, Max, thinking, could it happen? Could they really boycott? UEFA have boycotted. We'll see. It's going to be

fascinating to see how FIFA respond.

FOSTER: Yeah, we're waiting for that, aren't we?

SNELL: Still.

FOSTER: Thank you so much, Patrick.

SNELL: Yeah.

FOSTER: What we want to know is, are footballers ready to give up their World Cup dreams to stand up to FIFA?

Joining me now, the former England international, Peter Reid, played in the 1986 World Cup in the famous Hand of God game, wasn't it, Peter?

I mean, what are players saying about this? Because ultimately, it is about the players and the fans, isn't it?

PETER REID, FORMER ENGLAND PLAYER: That's what football's about, without a doubt. I firmly back UEFA on the decision. And when you look how powerful

they are, three teams in the semifinal of the World Cup, I think Infantino, it's just a bridge too far. It's ridiculous.

I mean, I can understand making money, not a problem, but FIFA as an institution don't need outside investors or hedge funds to help with who

are going to take money, I think, out the game. And players as well. It's 64 in the next World Cup.

Players, you've got to look after players. I mean, I thought this World Cup, the one that we just had, had some great points. I'm not -- the

rehydration break or the hydration break was ridiculous. The half an hour in the final, the showcase was ridiculous. In football, it's only 15

minutes. But Infantino this time, they are trying to get hedge funds and different investors involved. I just think it's beyond the pale.

FOSTER: They made billions, didn't they, from this World Cup? They're a massive profit-making company. He hasn't actually explained what he needs

the money for.

REID: I think if it spreads all around the world, great. But what I'm saying, he's already made money in this World Cup. And I'm sure the next

World Cup will be a success. But rest assured, it won't be a success if the top-class football nations aren't there.

FOSTER: Yeah. Would you feel that most of the players would agree with what UEFA did today? Because obviously, if you're a player, your dream is

to play for your country in the World Cup. And UEFA have effectively taken that opportunity away today for whatever reasons.

REID: I think if you look what the skipper of Spain said, Rodri, he said there's too many games, he thought the World Cup had too many games and

he's a top, top player. So, I think in general, I think the players would back UEFA on this decision. I'm convinced.

Certainly, certainly, in England and Europe, the feedback I'm getting is that the majority of players and the majority of football lovers back

UEFA's decision.

FOSTER: Would Infantino going solve things, do you think? Or does he just need to back down on this proposal?

REID: I don't think he's got a way back from this one. I honestly don't. I know. He's got 200 votes throughout the world, and I know he's fairly

confident to that. But I think he's made a big, big mistake on this call, without a doubt.

I think -- I think it's the beginning of the end, if I'm honest.

[15:40:00]

FOSTER: Okay, Peter Reid, appreciate your time today.

REID: Thank you.

FOSTER: We are waiting to hear from the other confederations. We still haven't heard anything from FIFA, although we do understand Infantino's on

a visit to Morocco today.

Now, it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are rebounding from Wednesday's selloffs we told you about yesterday. The Dow is up more

than 1 percent in the wake of some big economic data in the U.S.

This is our Business Breakout.

Growth in the U.S. was weaker than expected in the last quarter. GDP came in at one and a half percent in Q2, well below what economists had

predicted. Consumer sentiment dropped as the Iran war escalated in the spring and is still at historically low levels.

Microsoft shares though are surging. They're currently up more than 16 percent. After reporting a strong set of earnings after the bell on

Wednesday, investors were impressed with the company's successes in the A.I. and cloud divisions.

The head of Taco Bell's parent company says he doesn't expect a lasting hit to sales after the parasite outbreak linked to the restaurant. Sales fell

after U.S. health officials identified the chain in their investigation into cyclospora, which can cause diarrhea. The head of Yum Brands said

sales have since improved steadily and says that customers see this as an industry-wide issue.

U.S. inflation was lower in June, according to the Commerce Department, thanks in part to last month's drop in oil prices. But Americans are still

upset about how fast prices are rising.

Harry Enten has more on what CNN polls are saying as he spoke to our Sara Sidner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Let's take a look here. Trump's net approval rate on inflation. Our latest CNN poll that has been coming out

over the last few days, the net approval, approval minus disapproval, 50 points underwater. I look back at every single poll before President Trump

that asked about inflation and the approval rating of the president. There has never been a president before President Trump who had ratings this bad,

at least 50 points underwater. That's an over 50-point shift from where we were before the election, where, of course, President Trump was more trust

on inflation than Kamala Harris, which is why he got a second term.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Honestly, that is an insane this is have you seen down 50 points? Anything?

ENTEN: No, only on gas prices, which of course is part of this equation, right? I mean, as I said, laughably bad. You just don't ever see numbers

like this.

SIDNER: All right, so when you give us a sense of why they're blaming Trump, I mean, it's kind of obvious.

ENTEN: But why? I mean, just take a look at the cost-of-living direction, on the cost of living. The country is on the wrong track, the right track.

Look at this 70 percent, 70 percent of Americans say we are on the wrong track when it comes to the cost of living, even among Republicans, Trump's

own party that sticks with them through thick and thin. The plurality, 50 percent of Republicans say we're on the wrong track when it comes to the

cost of living. Just 38 percent say the right track.

No wonder that President Trump is putting up historic numbers in the wrong direction when it comes to inflation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: The great Harry Enten.

Still to come, the latest in the trial of a mother charged with killing her three children. Details of the disturbing case when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:46:24]

FOSTER: Turning now to a troubling story out of Massachusetts where a mother is charged with killing her three young children. The jury heard

from firefighters and paramedics today in the trial of Lindsay Clancy. She has pleaded not guilty to three counts of first-degree murder. Her

attorneys say she was suffering from postpartum psychosis, an extreme mental illness. One of the first police officers on the scene was amongst

those who took the stand on Thursday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did you head to the basement stairs?

STEPHEN HALL, DUXBURY POLICE OFFICER: Yes, I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what did you see when you got to that back room?

HALL: Just past the door on the left side, there was a body of a young child.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened next?

HALL: I called for paramedics to come to the basement. I also called for a supervisor and Officer Josephine picked up the child and we ran him outside

through the front door to the ambulance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did you do anything after that, after giving Dawson two EMTs?

HALL: We ran back down into the basement to check to see if we could find other children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's bring in CNN's Jean Cazares, who joins us now from New York.

I mean, it must have been such a confusing scene for the responders.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And so many of them, because there were so many victims. Today, one after the other, they took the stand.

Firefighters, emergency EMTs, paramedics, police officers. And they all had different vantage points.

So, they saw different things. They saw the victims and they saw the blue lips and the gray faces and blood vessels in their eyes that had burst.

Remember, their mother strangled them to death, and that's a fact. That's not a contention here with exercise bands.

And the situation that the defense objected to all these law enforcement and paramedics getting on saying this is cumulative evidence, we don't need

this much before the jury, but the prosecution needs to prove their case, and an element of the prosecution's case is extreme atrocity and cruelty to

the victims. And this was prime evidence today of that cruelty to these children of how they were killed.

But the defense is saying that Lindsay Clancy bears no criminal responsibility here because she didn't know right from wrong. Voices were

telling her that she had to kill her children. There was a male voice and she first said that at the hospital after she was taken there. About a week

later she started talking about it and that because of that she should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.

The case is just in its infancy. This is the first week. Tomorrow, they're going to have a jury view. They're actually going to go out to the home.

So, they can see what the basement looks like, they can see the first floor, and they can see that back window where she jumped out of.

FOSTER: How's the case developing, would you say? Because there is this central case about this psychosis that she's using to explain what

happened. When do you get to the point where the medical experts weigh in, because that's going to be so central, right?

CASAREZ: Absolutely. It is going to be so important because at this point, facts are being laid out. But that pivotal day on January 24th of 2023,

when she calls and asks for a pickup, she's going to have her husband go get it dinner.

[15:50:07]

And then she wants him to go to the CVS and she plots out how long it's going to take him to get to the restaurant, how long to get to the CVS and

how long to get back home. When he leaves her to go pick up the dinner and the errand, she's standing by the basement door. That's where she killed

her children.

And so, the question is, was she in her right mind? Did she know right from wrong? Was she doing this because she knew she was going to kill them? If

so, that's not necessarily insanity.

And her husband called her in the midst of it all, and she called him back. So, it'll be a question for the jury.

FOSTER: Yeah, it's that timeframe, wasn't it, that it must have taken to commit the crime.

Jean, appreciate you. Thank you.

CASAREZ: Right.

FOSTER: We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: We have one more football update for you. It's not what you're expecting. This time, it's Merlin the Duck. He became Mexico's unofficial

mascot during the World Cup, you might remember. But the two-year-old became so popular, he was even taken to meet President Claudia Scheinbaum,

so on a different level.

As Valeria Leon reports, the feathered football fan has now helped his family find a new home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALERIA LEON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Merlin the Duck became an unlikely star after going viral during the World Cup. His fame transformed

the life of the Mexican family that raised him.

Karla and her sons, Cristian and Carlos, used to sleep inside a tiny street side shop in Mexico City where they sold bottled water.

KARLA GOMEZ, MERLIN'S OWNER (through translator): Living in a shop, working seven days a week, putting in exhausting hours and carrying heavy

loads was very difficult. Sometimes I would cry at night. I was always apologizing to my sons for making them live in a shop.

LEON (voice-over): Cristian told us how they crawled inside each night and how that reality weighed heavily on his mother.

CRISTIAN GOMEZ, MERLIN'S OWNER (through translator): My mom slept up here, I slept down below, and my brother slept down there.

LEON (voice-over): After their story caught the attention of local authorities, Mexico City's government gave the family a home.

With Merlin in their arms, Karla and Cristian returned to their former neighborhood, greeting the street vendors who witnessed their struggle

along with their sudden rise to fame.

K. GOMEZ: For the first time in many years, we were able to sleep peacefully.

LEON (voice-over): Now that the World Cup has ended, they've dropped by the old shop to pick up Merlin's favorite soccer ball.

C. GOMEZ: I'm happy thanks to him. We have a house now and he can sleep wherever he wants.

LEON (voice-over): For this family, their lucky duck changed everything. from surviving day by day to dreaming about what comes next.

K. GOMEZ: I want to pursue the business side of this. I want to start making clothes for ducks.

LEON (voice-over): Valeria Leon, CNN, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Clothes for ducks, a whole new market.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN. We'll have more after the break.

END

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