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What We Know with Max Foster
Spain Says It's Reversed Rush Of Migrants From Morocco; Trump Blasts Republicans Who Won't Back Blanche Or The Controversial "Anti- Weaponization" Fund; Trump's Gaza Disarmament Deal Faces Tough Road Ahead; New Russia Campaign Targets Ukrainian Gas Stations; FIFA Fallout: Pressure On Infantino Grows After Top Adviser Steps Down. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired July 31, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:20]
MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Europe is stunned by migrant chaos on Spanish soil.
This is WHAT WE KNOW.
An extraordinary border crisis sending shockwaves from Madrid to Rome and even across the Atlantic to Washington. An estimated 50,000 migrants
stormed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the North African coast. Spain's government says most of those who crossed into their territory on
Thursday have returned to Morocco, but migrants are still coming ashore.
And Italy says it's suspending the European Union's border-free agreement with Spain. Local authorities say at least 57 people have died in the rush,
many of them drowned.
Europe is closely watching the Spanish government's response.
Nada Bashir has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the chaotic scene on Ceuta's coast on Thursday as tens of thousands of migrants stormed the
border, separating the tiny Spanish territory and Morocco. Thousands are said to have braved the sea in a desperate attempt to reach the enclave's
coastline, some even climbing through barbed wire.
Many of them were young men, seen here celebrating. Two hours at sea, he says, pulling his little brother close.
But among them are also families, women and children seeking a better life in Europe. This man stops in a moment of prayer, relief mixed with
exhaustion.
The crossing, while short, is far from an easy feat, and not all were successful. Many are reported to have been killed in the perilous endeavor,
an all-too-familiar fate for migrants searching for salvation across seas. The reason behind the surge in migrants attempting to illegally cross
Ceuta's border is not immediately clear. Although Spain's prime minister has accused human trafficking rings of exploiting a Supreme Court ruling
issued in July, which prohibits Spanish authorities from immediately returning migrants who arrive by sea without due process.
"I understand why they come. They're told that there's a future in Spain, that there are jobs here," this young man, a migrant already living in
Spain, says.
And the truth is, there are. But when they arrive, they're faced with the harsh reality that they have nothing and people treat them as if they were
nobodies.
And it is not long before that harsh reality becomes apparent. Thousands of migrants are reported to have already made their way back into Morocco,
according to the Spanish government, some returning through the border crossing under the careful watch of Spanish troops, others crawling through
breached fences along the coast.
Additional troops were deployed to Ceuta, according to Spain's Interior Ministry, to help respond to the crisis.
Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez vowing on Friday to dedicate additional state resources to guarantee the region's security.
PEDRO SANCHEZ, SPANISH PRIME MINISTER (through translator): Ceuta is a Spanish city, and what happened yesterday deserves our full reapproach, our
full condemnation at the strongest possible level of rejection, condemnation and consideration as deplorable the violation and the attack
on the territorial integrity of a Spanish city, namely the city of Ceuta.
BASHIR (voice-over): But the prime minister is also facing backlash for his longstanding open arms approach to immigration, allowing migrants access to
all of Europe. His Italian counterpart, Giorgia Meloni, has called for Spain to be expelled from the EU's visa-free travel zone. France's interior
minister, meanwhile, has pledged to strengthen the country's border with Spain.
And while the summer months have long proven a key pressure point in Europe's efforts to secure its borders, this latest crisis is further
galvanizing the right in its hardline approach to tackling illegal migration.
Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: Spain now facing political fallout in Europe and beyond. Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says her government took the extraordinary
measure to temporarily suspend its travel-free agreement with Spain and put border controls back in place.
And U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance posted this online message writing, "These images out of Spain are an unfortunate reminder of the consequences
of mass migration."
Let's go to Barbie Nadeau.
I'm interested in the Italian response here because some people are seeing it as Italy sort of battening down the hatches, protecting itself, but
others are saying it actually sends a useful message to Spain because it's saying to these migrants, you're not going to get past Spain if that's your
intention.
[15:05:04]
BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah, there is some mixed messaging with this. This is certainly extraordinary, but not unprecedented, because Italy
did close the border with Slovenia, which is in the Schengen zone a couple of years ago over a migration issue there. One of the ways to look at this
as well is to just look at the context. It is usually Italy that is at the epicenter of the irregular illegal migration into Europe, where there have
been tens of thousands of people arriving in boats over the last few years.
Giorgia Meloni won her election four years ago on an anti-immigration platform, and she has very successfully stuck with that. She's really
curtailed the number of arrivals. But more than 24 hours ago, Italy still had more arrivals into Europe than Spain did. So there still are problems
here.
A lot of people are looking at this as Italy saying, listen, this is how it should be. We should be supportive of Spain's repatriation, but we should
be tough on the border. And this is a lot of the way many European countries have treated Italy in the past. We've certainly seen that. in the
north with French authorities not allowing migrants through on what should be an open border there.
So, it's a complicated situation, Max, and we don't really know what the ramifications are going to be for travelers yet.
FOSTER: Barbie, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
We're going to move on to Donald Trump now, refusing to back down from that controversial $1.8 billion payout fund for his allies that has divided
Republicans. Two Republican senators say their concerns about the fund is why they are refusing to sign off on the nomination of Todd Blanche to be
the next U.S. attorney general. Blanche says the fund is dead, but has refused to give assurances it won't be brought up again once he takes
office.
At today's cabinet meeting, the president expressed his support for Blanche and for the fund.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's dead, but, you know, I wish it weren't, to be honest with you. I think people were horribly
treated, horribly abused. This has nothing to do with that. This was me. Horribly abused.
And I'd like to see them compensated for the pain. They lost their families. They committed suicide. Many people committed suicide. They went
down for an innocent journey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Kevin Liptak standing by for us.
I mean, this is a big political risk, isn't it, for the president, because it's splitting his own side?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Right, and I don't think anything that he's doing right now is helping Todd Blanche get confirmed.
In fact, it's doing exactly the opposite by saying he supports this fund. He is just fueling the concerns that John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, those two
Republican senators who are holding out here, he's fueling their concerns that this fund isn't completely dead. You know, that's what they want to
see from Todd Blanche's written assurances that both the fund and this immunity agreement that was contained in the IRS settlement have gone away
completely.
And every time President Trump talks about this fund in the present tense, talks about how it's necessary to compensate some of the people who were
prosecuted, for example, after January 6 is more evidence to them that the fund is not actually dead. And what Thom Tillis, he's the Republican from
North Carolina wrote on social media after the president made these comments is that quote the president made it clear today that this so-
called anti-weaponization fund is still alive, which is exactly why we are attempting to formally end it.
And so, every time the president comes out there and says how much he loves this fund how necessarily he thinks it is, the further away it seems that
Todd Blanche is getting from becoming confirmed. Now, there were some discussions yesterday afternoon about potentially these senators trying to
reach a deal with Blanche of some kind, some sort of agreement that they could all sign off on that would satisfy some of their concerns. But
clearly, the president's comments today throwing a wrench in all of that.
And it's not evident at this point how the president plans to get around it. You know, yesterday he suggested this idea of withdrawing Blanche's
nomination until Cornyn and Tillis are no longer in the Senate, i.e. until the new Senate is sworn in in January. But there's obviously a risk there
because there's no guarantee that either the Republicans will still hold the Senate in January or that they have the same number of seats in the
same margin of majority that they have now. So that's a huge gamble. The president didn't raise that idea again today, so it's not clear whether he
is still thinking about doing that.
But obviously Cornyn and Tillis feel as if they have a very wide leeway here to break with the president. The president did not endorse Cornyn in
his primary bid and Cornyn lost. That's why he's leaving Congress. Thom Tillis had already been planning to leave, and he has been a critic of
Trump's for some time. And they clearly do not feel the same obligation that every other Republican appears to feel in Congress to sort of adhere
to the president blindly and sort of serve him with a degree of fealty.
[15:10:10]
And that, I think, is becoming a real problem for the president as it holds up this very critical priority of his.
FOSTER: Kevin Liptak at the White House, thank you so much.
President Trump also saying that Israel is very happy with his new disarmament agreement for Gaza, but there are already some pretty real
concerns about how it will be implemented and who will act first. The deal requires Hamas and all groups to disarm and Israeli troops to pull back
from territory it controls.
Hamas says Israel must first honor its commitments to last year's ceasefire agreement which calls for an end to all attacks. For its part, Israel
insists Hamas should disarm before both sides move forward. Many Palestinians in Gaza are skeptical that the deal will change the reality on
the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I am not optimistic at all. The war continues. People are devastated. There is no delivery of humanitarian aid
or basic life necessities, and everything is completely destroyed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We want to end all this. It has gone on too long. We hope both sides will implement the agreement. We don't
want one side to carry it out while the other reneges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond explained to me what this agreement actually entails.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: What's important to understand about this agreement is, first of all, that it is an agreement between
Hamas and the Board of Peace, with the assistance of the United States and the other -- the Arab mediators that have been involved in these
negotiations going back to the Gaza ceasefire deal that was reached in October of 2025 and even before then. And what it is not is an agreement as
of yet between Israel and Hamas.
The second thing to understand here is also the fact that Hamas is staking any of its compliance with this deal, meaning moving forward with handing
over its weapons to this Palestinian transitional government in coordination with the International Stabilization Force, they're saying
that that's only going to happen if Israel upholds its end of the agreement as well.
And in fact, when you look at this agreement, and we've spoken with U.S. and Board of Peace Officials. They're also making quite clear that there is
a sequencing here and that Israel first does need to come into compliance with the agreement, meaning ceasing fire in Gaza, something that it has not
done over the course of the last more than nine months, where we've seen nearly daily Israeli strikes.
FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond there, now a fiery scene at the California Air Base after a fighter jet crashed this afternoon, an F-35B jet crashed at Marine
Corps Air Station Miramar just short of the base's runway, as you can see. The base is located in San Diego and smoke from the crash could be seen
from miles away.
CNN affiliate KGTV reported the pilot ejected and has been recovered. This type of jet costs around $102 million each to make.
U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be dialing back a pledge to help Ukraine defend itself just a few weeks after publicly promising to let
Ukraine build U.S.-designed Patriot interceptor missiles. He now says he's not so sure.
When President Zelenskyy met the U.S. president at the White House this week, he stressed Ukraine's urgent need for Patriots as a defense against
Russian missiles. But Mr. Trump told the "Financial Times" on Thursday, we don't really license equipment.
On the ground in Ukraine, there is a new danger for civilians away from the front lines. In its latest phase of attacks, Russia has repeatedly targeted
gas stations, hitting more than 200 in the past two months, according to Ukrainian officials.
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has been taking a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Even stopping for gas in Ukraine can now be lethal. More than 200 fuel stations
have been attacked by Russia since June. That's about three a day in a country where the war has shut down commercial flights, they are a lifeline
with a huge role in a vast country.
The pumps now a place to listen out for the buzz of drones and know where the bomb shelter is. In Zaporizhzhia, policeman Mykhailo ran in to help
after a drone struck one station, but then he heard a second.
MYKHAILO TSYPLIAKOV, PATROL POLICE OFFICER (translated): When I heard the drone was already descending, I saw a flash, got up and saw injuries to my
arm, legs.
Maybe [Russia is doing this] to intimidate, to sow fear and create panic.
WALSH (voice-over): We verified 30 of the estimated over 200 attacks in June and July. They fall across Ukraine, but most are close to occupied
areas, the cities of Kramatorsk and Kharkiv worst hit.
[15:15:07]
All in reach of Russian drones and intensifying fuel trucks and containers targeted, on a simple level, impeding the war effort by making it hard to
get gas, but also sowing fear far away from the front lines.
The growing range of Russian attack drones making once safe areas part of the kill zone.
YAROSLAV STAROVOITENKO, PRESIDENT OF OIL AND GAS ASSOCIATION OF UKRAINE (translated): Gas stations became these key points of refuge as people fled
the war. Then Russia tried to cause an intentional blackout, cutting off electricity and heating to freeze us out in the winter.
And gas stations became the first facilities to be 100 percent equipped with generators. These were places where people could drink hot tea, fill
up their cars, warm up, and even prepare milk for their babies.
WALSH (voice-over): Near Kyiv that has an always worked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): There's always a risk. No one knows where the attack will strike.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): I was discharged from the army after being seriously wounded. If a strike comes here, what's the difference? It didn't
kill me on the frontline, so it won't kill me here.
WALSH: But many see this as a Russian response to the fuel crisis and queues imposed in Russia by Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries. Putin's
escalation inflicting the same back. Russia's elite drone units make a public point of their strikes on Ukraine, releasing a video here of nine
being hit.
The damage is real, unexpected, and growing. Another sign, absolutely nothing is off limits in Moscow's invasion of choice.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOSTER: The latest protest against Gianni Infantino and his plan to sell stakes in tournaments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:20:05]
FOSTER: Gianni Infantino, the top man at FIFA, finds himself increasingly isolated today amid growing opposition to his plan to sell stakes in
football's biggest tournaments to private investors. Infantino's senior advisor, Carlos Cordero, resigned on Friday. Cordero says he was never
consulted about the investment plan and he unequivocally opposed it.
On Thursday, the football confederations of Europe, North America and Asia all said they're opposed to the plan, with the European nations vowing to
boycott all FIFA events until the plan scrapped.
A UEFA vice president has slammed FIFA's investment plan as insulting. Laura McAllister says the organization needs to apologize and make
significant governance changes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAURA MCALLISTER, UEFA VICE-PRESIDENT: Nobody except FIFA came up with a proposal that threatened the soul of football. And had we not stood up in
the way that we had with a threat of boycott, which of course is commensurate with the scale of the threat that FIFA put before us, we would
be letting this proposal go through.
So, we had no choice, but now it's up to FIFA to really deal with this as quickly as it possibly can, by removing this proposal, by apologizing to
the federations for the insulting way in which it's been handled and accepting that they need to really reconsider the principles upon which
their governance operates and the ways in which they make decisions about the future of our sport.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: On Thursday's program, the former England international Peter Reid told me he thought this was the beginning of the end for the FIFA
president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER REID, FORMER ENGLAND PLAYER: 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 it's the beginning of the
end if I'm honest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: What we don't know is, can Gianni Infantino hold on to power as FIFA president?
Joining me now is "World Sport's" Patrick Snell.
I mean, we were hearing there that he's got the support of 200 football associations. But actually, it was that Asian confederation coming out
against the deal, which was so interesting, wasn't it? Because it's often Asia he relies on for support.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, absolutely. Growing through to, no question, Max, on the FIFA president Gianni Infantino. I was just trying to
do some math.
If you take the numbers of UEFA and CONCACAF and now the Asian Confederation, that means confederations representing 143 of FIFA's 211-
member associations have now opposed the plan. That is more than half, and that is highly significant.
That's why I use those words, increased scrutiny and pressure on the FIFA president. The Carlos Cordero, that news, Max, is highly, highly
significant. A trusted advisor of Infantino, a man of great stature in the game, a former U.S. soccer president as well.
And just adding a little bit more to his statement, these words resonating with me, "Let me be clear," Cordero said, "I had no involvement in this
proposal. I oppose it unequivocally."
The other really important breakthrough that we got on earlier CNN World Sport programming today from Laura McAllister who we just heard from then,
she has been really strong with her take on all this. This is a UEFA vice president.
Let's hear more now from Laura McAllister because her words are very powerful and they are resonating globally on this day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCALLISTER: Everyone was of one voice that this needed to be stopped. It's a catastrophic intervention in the way in which our game is governed and it
threatens the very existence of the game. So, there was a pretty easy unity to build there. Imagine having a tournament, whether it's the Women's World
Cup next year in Brazil or in 2030, the Men's World Cup without European teams present. And that is catastrophic for FIFA because sponsorship,
corporate involvement, broadcast rights, all of that is cast in doubt when the major teams are not present.
So, I really hope it doesn't come to a boycott because nobody wants to do that. But I hope this prompts a really deep reconsideration of this. And
then I guess in terms of Gianni Infantino's future, that depends on the 211 federations in terms of their verdict on whether they see him and his
leadership as being the kind of trusted ethical leadership that the world of football needs going forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: And, Max, Laura McAllister mentioning the Women's World Cup next year. We've got the playoffs for that tournament in October. So do they
even go ahead without the leading European nations?
I want to get to this as well.
[15:25:00]
Another big, big development on this Friday, Kevin Lamour, he's the FIFA chief operating officer, so another really senior figure there within FIFA,
the sport's global powerhouse association overseeing the whole of football. It is the project of one person. Not only must this project not go ahead,
but the time has now come for football political leaders to ask themselves the right questions and make the right decisions.
That's from Kevin Lamour. And it would add there, and if that means I lose my job, then so be it. I will understand and respect that decision. At
least I'll sleep well tonight.
Now I will point out, he's not mentioning Infantino by name specifically there, but it is highly significant that speaking out of Kevin Lamour on
this Friday.
Max, back to you.
FOSTER: Okay, we'll hear more, I'm sure. Patrick, thank you so much.
Still to come, another A.I. hack. Anthropic is now the one admitting some of its A.I. models snuck into other organizations during a test without
them realizing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: Some news just into CNN. The sheriff's department in Pima County, Arizona, has released the ransom notes in the suspected kidnapping of Nancy
Guthrie, the mother of NBC News anchor Savannah Guthrie. It's been nearly six months to the day since Guthrie vanished from her home.
Josh Campbell's been having a look.
I had a brief look myself, Josh, and just reading it, you get -- I mean, it's just so striking what Nancy went through, but also what Savannah went
through.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I mean, a lot of insight here and everything about this story, everything new that we're
hearing is just so heartbreaking. The sheriff's department as well as the FBI have just released two of the suspected ransom notes in this incident.
[15:30:03]
And we all know from back in when this began back about six months ago that some different media outlets had received purported ransom notes. Some of
them authorities believed to have been hoaxes.
But authorities really homed in on two particular notes that they believe may have actually been from the suspect here. One of those was received by
a local outlet on February 2nd. I'll read you part of that. They say that we have your mother. She is scared. She will be handled for ransom and once
payment is received, she will be released.
They demanded initially $4 million and then went on to say that that would be increased to $6 million if not received by a certain time. They said
that if payment is not received by the last deadline on Monday the 9th, she will be killed. They say your mother is aware of this and her life is in
your hands.
Now the reason why authorities are releasing this and the reason why we're reporting on it is not just because people are curious about the notes is
because authorities want people to particular attention to the contents and what is being written. All of us have a unique speaking style, a unique
writing style. Authorities hope that by releasing this information, someone who sees this may see a pattern there, maybe from someone that they
particularly know.
The second note that was received on February 6, and again, this is heartbreaking. They go on to say to the Guthrie family, we did not fully
grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her. That wasn't our intention.
They say that she perished shortly after she was taken. They believed it was heart related. They say she is buried in nature now and tells the
family nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome here. They go on to say that we are truly sorry, which of course comes as little
if no consolation to the Guthrie family, obviously grief stricken.
If you go to cnn.com, we put up our story where we're actually providing some of the contents here. Again, authorities want people to look at this.
They're still asking for tips. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is offering up to $50,000 for a reward for the person or persons who are
responsible for this. We're hearing the more heartbreaking now actually seeing the words of these notes themselves and what is believed to have
been at least one of the perpetrators saying that she had died after she was taken captive very quickly thereafter and this investigation moves
forward.
Authorities say that in addition to asking, Max, the tip for the public for tips, they also have DNA from the scene that they continue to analyze.
Sometimes that can take quite a while, but they're hoping that they find someone who either knows something or they can key in on that one
particular piece of evidence that leads them to whoever did this.
FOSTER: Yeah, let's hope it throws something up. Josh, thank you.
CAMPBELL: Of course.
FOSTER: Back to our top story. Spain now says most of the estimated 50,000 migrants that rushed into its territory on Thursday have returned to
Morocco.
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez sent troops to the Spanish enclave of the Ceuta to try to secure the European Union's border with Africa. Local
authorities say at least 57 people died in the rush. Many of them drowned. Spain's pro-immigration government is now dealing with the political
backlash from other leaders in Europe, Italy has suspended the EU's border- free agreement with Spain.
So, what we want to know is what sparked this surge of migrants in Ceuta.
Joining us now is Hein de Haas, a sociologist at the University of Amsterdam and author of How Migration Really Works.
Thank you for joining us.
I mean, it's not the first migration story we've had into Europe, is it? But it is so striking because of the images that we're seeing. What can we
learn from it, do you think?
HEIN DE HAAS, PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM: Well, you're right. I mean, this has been going on ever since 1991, effectively, because
1991 was the year that Europe introduced visas for Moroccans. So, before that date, Moroccans just got back and forth to Spain, and this has been a
recurring phenomenon. So, you could say this is the latest episode in something that's happened before.
And the big issue is the underlying driver. I mean, right now this particular surge was caused by a combination of factors. There was also
less border controls for a while, but there were other factors that played into it. But this has been a longer ongoing story of migration from
Morocco, other North and West African countries to Europe.
And this is basically being driven by the fact that there's many jobs in Europe that are being fulfilled by lots of these undocumented migrants. And
this is a continuing story, but there's not enough legal ways for migrants to come in. And this actually explains why these illegal border flows have
been going on for the last 35 years and border controls.
It works a bit like a cat and mouse game, of course. It kind of works at some point, but migrants always find other ways to cross borders.
So this has been a very long ongoing story, and this is also reflecting the difficulties European countries have. In acknowledging that many of these
migrants fulfill all sorts of jobs that Europeans no longer want or can do.
[15:35:02]
It is a bit comparable to the story of Mexican and Latino migration to the United States, many of them being undocumented. So, this continues to
motivate people to cross borders.
FOSTER: Well, of course, countries need people to do jobs. There are also genuine asylum seekers who have to get out of the places that they're
living in. But what we saw here was an opportunity which really exploded, presumably because of social media. A lot of these guys in particular were
filming themselves, sort of crossing into that Spanish enclave.
So, it became unmanageable. And that's a problem, isn't it? Because this, you know, what was it, 50,000 people rushing into a town where I think
there's 80,000 people living. It's not acceptable.
DE HAAS: Yeah, most of them already returned. So, in a way, a lot of these problems have been solved. But what you see is that if it's very difficult
to cross borders, once people see an opening, an opportunity, it can be a real relaxation of border controls, it could be in dead rooms and social
media.
People will try to cross. And this is what we call in research now never migration waves. So, if you make it difficult, then of course people seek
opportunities. And once a rumor spreads, you see the sudden surge of people who try to cross borders before it's basically too late.
And like I said, this is something Spain and Italy and Southern Europe, but also the U.K. has been dealing with over the last 35 years. And in a way,
the problem cannot be solved, as long as there is this mismatch between immigration policy and the reality of the labor markets where many
Moroccans, many other African migrants are doing all sorts of jobs.
So indeed, these episodes are explained by these rumors, or they could place a real relaxation of border controls at some point. But in the longer
term, this problem cannot be solved just by focusing on border controls.
FOSTER: Hein de Haas, appreciate your time, thank you so much.
We can actually go live to the region now.
CNN Portugal's Helena Lins is in Ceuta tonight for us.
Thank you.
Just describe the scene.
HELENA LINS, REPORTER, CNN PORTUGAL: Hello, so the scene here is very difficult. It has been very difficult and actually quite tense from early
morning. We've been seeing this movement of people coming towards this side and this is because we are right now at Tarajal border. This is the closest
pedestrian border to between Spain and Morocco and these flux of people have been -- has been happening since the morning because Spanish
authorities opened the only pedestrian border that these people can cross without having to show any documents, they just cross and they are back in
Morocco.
And actually, we've been seeing military actually pushing these people towards this border so they can actually cross and go back to the place
where they came from. Some people are actually from Morocco, but there's other people from other regions of Africa. They've all came here. That was
the main goal. They wanted to come here.
When we asked them what was their plan, they don't have much more than to say than arrive in Spain, but then they complain about not having food, not
having water, not having where to sleep. Some of them just shouted moments between we went live saying racism, racism. The truth is some of them have
been complaining about some violence from this side from Spain, also from Morocco, but ultimately they decide to leave.
But I want to also draw your attention to my right side because right down here is the beach, the Tarajal Beach where you can see -- you can still see
some people coming in not as many as yesterday for sure not as many as the people that we see crossing back to Morocco, but as you can see there are
still some people in the water, swimming trying to reach Spain through this border with Morocco.
We -- in the afternoon, the military is trying to push them back actually holding a big group of young men on this beach not allowing them to leave
the water but as the evening came, they actually managed to pass -- also the military was not making so much effort to holding them back in the
water but the truth is when the military grab a few of them, they actually take them back to where we are now and this is right back to Morocco.
We've also heard the authorities talking to some of these people trying to explain them they will not find water, they will not find food, they will
not find many help this is because right now the system here is overloaded, but also local people today and many shops have been closed.
[15:40:04]
Local people have not opened their businesses because they also feel they cannot cope with this. Some say they -- these people just enter in groups
and they cannot cope with it. So, this is the situation right now here as you can see movement from both sides, but definitely the movement is bigger
from this side towards the border in Morocco.
FOSTER: I just wanted to just quickly, there's clearly hundreds of Moroccans behind you, and we're being told that most of them have been sent
back into Morocco, but that doesn't seem to be what you're seeing.
LINS: I mean, what I'm seeing is that these people are walking freely towards Morocco. When I say freely, it's not that they're not being pushed
physically by military or by police, but they definitely didn't find what they were coming to look for here. The truth is, when we ask them what was
their plan, they don't say much more than arriving in Spain.
So, it seems that they didn't really have a plan or that they were expecting something that they didn't find. Also, as I said, some violence
that we haven't seen personally, but in the neighborhoods where they go and look for food, there's been some testimonies of that violence. But
definitely, the situation can change, and this is because these people are not entirely convinced. Some change their minds, and some say they will
come back.
FOSTER: All right. Helena Lins, really appreciate you joining us from that absolute hotspot, really. Thank you.
It is the final moments of trade on Wall Street. Stocks are up today. The Dow ending the week in the green, up more than half a percent after a
roller coaster of a week.
This is our Business Breakout.
The spike in oil prices caused by the war in Iran is leading to big profits for oil companies. ExxonMobil raked in more than $14 billion in profit last
quarter, doubling its year earlier earnings. Chevron quadrupled its earnings compared to the same time last year.
Inflation in Iran is skyrocketing during the war, with one economist warning the daily life of many people will only worsen in the coming
months. Iranian media reported earlier this month the price of some food items have risen by up to 400 percent. Inflation is also causing some
concern in the U.S., as three members of the Federal Reserve are calling for interest rate hikes. They disagreed with the bank's decision to keep
rates on hold earlier this week, whilst inflation fell in June, it is still well above the Fed's 2 percent target, sitting at 3.7 percent.
Anthropic says some of its A.I. models have accessed the open Internet and hacked into three separate organizations during routine security testing.
It says the models weren't supposed to be online, but that a misunderstanding with a testing partner gave them access. The discovery
came after rival OpenAI reported a similar incident, prompting Anthropic to take a closer look its own tests.
Joining me now is Peter Wildeford, head of policy at the A.I. Policy Network, a lobby group that calls for new laws on AI.
And I mean, this just suggests that the whole sector is crying out for some sort of regulation. It was compared to me to a virus escaping from a lab.
But labs are massively regulated, and these companies just aren't, are they, Peter?
PETER WILDEFORD, HEAD OF POLICY, THE AI POLICY NETWORK: That's exactly right. And thanks for having me.
Yeah, there's currently no regulation on these companies that require them to secure their A.I. systems. And I think you're seeing across OpenAI,
across Anthropic, across other companies, A.I.s are just kind of breaking out of these companies left and right and going on an attack.
It used to be last week we heard about this OpenAI incident where an A.I. escaped OpenAI and attacked another company. And OpenAI didn't notice for
several days. And then it turns out at Anthropic, A.I.s were also escaping and causing some small amount of harm. And Anthropic didn't notice for over
a month until they were finally reviewing their security logs.
FOSTER: Well, this is the issue, isn't it? These are -- they've become viruses, don't they, because they're out of control and they're going off.
And who knows how powerful they'll be like in a year. Surely, you know, there needs to be some sort of oversight. There should be some sort of
licenses for them to carry out these tests because it's causing public harm now and society just isn't ready for it.
WILDEFORD: Yes, definitely. It's completely unacceptable to be building a product and then have that product be able to escape and cause harm. It's
completely different from other products. Like when I'm using a hammer, the hammer doesn't just go and attack my friends without me operating the
hammer in the first place.
[15:45:01]
But these A.I. systems, they require a whole new level of security. But right now, we have a whole industry that's just moving so fast. They're
constantly trying to make sure their products come out first before their competitors and they just -- they don't have any time to slow down and make
sure there's good security for their A.I. systems. And with A,I.s at the level they are at now, this is just not an acceptable situation.
FOSTER: Peter Wildeford, it's a huge story. Thank you for bringing us your view on that.
Now, still to come, the battle for the soul of the Democratic Party, why socialism is no longer a dirty word for some American voters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: The battle over the future of the Democratic Party will be on full display next week with primaries in Michigan and Missouri. Voters will
answer a key question heading towards November's midterms. Just how far- left will the Democratic Party go?
This Sunday on "THE WHOLE STORY", CNN's Donie O'Sullivan. takes a look at the growing power of Democratic progressives speaking with activists,
candidates and controversial voices online from across the Democratic spectrum.
Here's a preview.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hogg and Pike are now part of an insurgency.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hogg has pledged to spend millions funding primary challenges to what he calls "Asleep at the wheel Democrats."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hasan Piker, who to quote Politico, is "driving a wedge in the Democratic Party.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): An insurgency against centrist Democrat, one that is challenging party norms.
JONATHAN LEMIRE, MS NOW ANCHOR: These races do seem representative of just the real struggle the party is going through right now post-2024.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): And energizing voters.
HASAN PIKER, ACTIVIST, STREAMER: Abolish ICE, free Palestine, and tax the rich.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): An insurgency that hopes to spark a revolution in the Democratic Party.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[15:50:05]
FOSTER: Now, still to come, opening weekend, anticipation high for the newest "Spider-Man" movie. We'll tell you about the record the film might
be about to break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FOSTER: History could be made this weekend at the box office. The new Spider-Man film, "Brand New Day", is already setting records. It's earned
more than $72 million in preview showings on Thursday in the U.S. That is the best preview day ever, apparently.
Lisa France is with me.
I've seen some reviews, Lisa. And everyone just seems to be talking about the chemistry between the two main characters as opposed to the rest of the
movie.
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN REPORTER: Well, you know, I saw the movie on Monday. I went to a screening, and I have to say that Tom Holland and
Zendaya are killing it this summer because they're also in "The Odyssey", which is probably going to end up in the one billion club, you know, at the
box office.
So, when it comes to this new Spider-Man, I think the studio really hedged its bets and they came in with a very modest prediction that opening
weekend domestically would be about $195 million and globally maybe $465 million.
But, Max, I think it's going to spin past that. I think, you know, just based on the preview numbers alone, I think that movie -- this movie is
going to do really, really well, especially if you keep in mind that for the last film "Spider-Man: No Way Home" back in 2021, the preview, I think
they brought in like $50 million. So, you know, having this already breaking a record and we haven't even hit opening weekend totals yet, I
think we can safely say that it's going to do really, really well at the box office.
FOSTER: If they weren't in it, would it be a good movie?
FRANCE: Think it would be, but I think it's the fact that because they're in it, and not just because they're married in real life, because they've
been really good about, we just got confirmation recently with Tom Holland referring to Zendaya as his wife that they actually are married. But I
think it's the fact that we have seen them in these films for the past couple of years, and so, a relationship has been built between these
characters and the audience.
And so, I think it's really well done. I think it's a little bit different. I think people should go understanding and no spoilers here, Max, because I
don't want the Internet to come for me, but I think it's a little bit different from what we're used to seeing their relationship, these
characters relationship in past movies. But I think it really speaks to the times today.
[15:55:02]
And I think people are really going to enjoy it because I had a great time. It's one of my favorite Spider-Man movies ever, and I'm happy to go on
record saying that, Max.
FOSTER: You've intrigued me, Lisa. I wasn't going to watch it, and now I think I might.
FRANCE: You have to, Max. You have to see it. And then text me and let me know what you thought.
FOSTER: I'll take the kids. I will.
FRANCE: All right.
FOSTER: Finally tonight, if superhero movies aren't really your thing, how about cooking shows with the Trump cabinet? This is U.S. Health Secretary
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the launch of his new cookery show. It's called "The Real Food Show".
It's on his YouTube channel. It features his revised dietary guidelines, which have been criticized for emphasizing meats, but praised for rejecting
ultra-processed snack foods. Now Kennedy said the show reminds people that cooking with real food can be simple and affordable. I'll let you choose
between that and Spider-Man.
I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.
END
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