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What We Know with Max Foster

Trump Says Talks With Iran Ongoing Despite Tehran's Denial; Complications Threaten Trump's Disarmament Deal For Gaza; Wales, Serbia & Sweden Pull Support For Infantino Re-Election; Three Major Fires Threaten Spokane In Washington State; Blanche Formally Drops $1.8B Fund Amid Push For Confirmation; Russia: Seven Killed in Ukrainian Drone Attack. Aired 3- 4p ET

Aired August 03, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:27]

ISA SOARES, CNN HOST: U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has one final chance to make a deal.

I'm Isa Soares, in for Max Foster, and this is WHAT WE KNOW.

In the span of just a few short hours, U.S. President Donald Trump went from optimistic to pessimistic and then back again regarding the war with

Iran. The president says talks with Iran are ongoing, despite Tehran earlier denying that any direct negotiations with U.S. were scheduled.

Still, the president says talks are moving along rapidly, boldly claiming the Strait of Hormuz will completely reopen tomorrow in phase one, he says,

of negotiations. He also told reporters in the last hour that this is Iran's last chance.

Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Many countries called, the leaders of many are friendly with a lot of them, almost all of them, one

way or the other, and they all wanted to give this a last chance. This is a last chance. This is not something that if it doesn't happen, this is a

last chance for them to sign a good document.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Let's get more on what we've heard from the president, where things stand right now. Our senior White House correspondent, Kristen

Holmes, joins me now.

Kristen, great to see you. Look, what, two hours or so ago, the president put on Truth Social saying the Iranian leadership is unbelievably

duplicitous. Now he's talking about the talks are ongoing right now, talking about phase one and phase two.

Talk us through what he said and what you are learning about these talks with Iran, reporting the president happening at the request of Iran.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: This is what we've heard before from President Trump. But one thing is very clear. He is

increasingly frustrated. We've gotten to this point multiple times over the last several months where President Trump says that he's going to commit a

major military operation. He's going to attack potentially civilian infrastructure in Iran. And then at the last minute, he says that he's not

going to at the request of Iran and there are ongoing negotiations.

Now, on this point, this time he gave a very detailed outline of what led up to him deciding to go forward with these negotiations and not actually

launching a military operation. He said that he held calls from many of these Gulf nations, many of them allies of the United States. He

specifically said Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, who asked him not to escalate in any kind of way militarily and instead to come to the table on

behalf of Iran in order to negotiate. They said they were talking on behalf of Iran, and they said specifically, and this is according to President

Trump, that Iran wanted to talk about the denuclearization of Iran.

Now, the one confusing part about this is where President Trump actually sees this going, because as you noted, he laid out this kind of phase one,

phase two, the first part being reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the second part being the talk about the denuclearization and what that looks like.

Well, that sounds an awfully lot like that memorandum of understanding from weeks and weeks ago that really fell apart and the ceasefire ended and we

saw that continuous striking. for about 14 nights so it's unclear what's different now than what was going on then at that point.

Obviously, the memorandum of understanding not, in effect, it completely fell apart now he's describing a very similar kind of outlook as to what's

going to happen next what we've already seen. So why he believes that at this point, he might actually be able to break through with the Iranians

seems to all hinge on the conversations that he had with these Gulf nations. Now, he also said, in addition to saying this is their last

chance, I want to give them one last chance before decapitation. He also said that he has an unlimited timeline, essentially, on these negotiations

on ending the war in Iran, which doesn't really go hand in hand, this idea that he could continue having talks forever but also that this is their

last chance.

We've been down this road before. We'll obviously be keeping a close eye on what exactly this looks like, where these conversations are going, what's

happening with these negotiations. President Trump said last week that there are still ongoing talks involving J.D. Vance, Steve Witkoff, Jared

Kushner, Marco Rubio. We'll see if we get any actual face-to-face meetings.

One thing is clear, though, those mediators are working behind the scenes, really over time, to try and deescalate this situation.

SOARES: Yeah, promising, of course, open the Strait of Hormuz by tomorrow and saying we're not going to let Iran change -- charge to go through the

Strait of Hormuz.

Kristen, great to see you. Thank you very much indeed.

Now, a top envoy is visiting Israel today as some complications threaten to derail President Trump's disarmament plan for Gaza. Nickolay Mladenov, head

of the Board of Peace, met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, reportedly pressing him to stop strikes in Gaza. Israeli strikes have

killed at least 28 Palestinians since Mr. Trump announced what he called a historic deal. Hamas has said it will disarm only if the attacks stop and

Israeli troops pull back.

But an Israeli official tells CNN. Israel will not withdraw and will continue to, quote, thwart anything it considers a threat.

Jeremy Diamond has more for you, and we do want to warn you his report is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Carried in men's arms are bundled in blankets, wounded Palestinians are rushed into

ambulances. Amid the mayhem, a boy cries out for his brother before yet another casualty is hauled out on a stretcher. This is Gaza plunged back

into chaos, just as hope appeared on the horizon. Israel carried out this deadly series of strikes this weekend, just hours after President Trump

announced a historic agreement for the complete disarmament of Hamas. That deal called for Israel to first halt all strikes in Gaza before Hamas

starts handing over its weapons.

Instead, Israel ramped up its attacks, killing at least 28 people in the wake of Trump's announcement, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The Israeli military said it had carried out targeted killings of Hamas commanders and militants, including some involved in the October 7 attack

on Israel. For some in Gaza, the strikes were evidence that Israel cannot be trusted.

"This is the fate awaiting anyone who gives away the resistance's weapons. We will be torn apart," this man shouts. Israel cannot be trusted. Our

weapons are what protect us. It would be a disgrace for us to abandon them.

Israeli bombs also left this enormous crater next to one of Gaza's largest hospitals, striking two warehouses where medical supplies were stored. The

Israeli military said Hamas had stashed weapons here, but provided no evidence.

On the ground, only medical equipment like these dialysis supplies can be found.

"Why? What happened? What's inside it to be struck like that? Look what they did to the people," this woman cries. "I was optimistic yesterday and

said, God willing, a new government will come to take control of Gaza, rebuild Gaza. There will be reconstruction and peace, and we will live in

safety."

Instead, those who had pitched their tents alongside this hospital in the hope of the safety it might provide are forced to pick through the wreckage

before starting over once again. The strikes prompted this rare missive from the Board of Peace's high representative for Gaza, who wrote the

strikes killed civilians and destroyed medical supplies, before noting that both parties carry obligations under the comprehensive plan.

Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Our thanks to Jeremy Diamond for that report.

Well, the calls for Gianni Infantino to step aside as FIFA president are getting louder. The football federations of Wales, Serbia and Sweden now

say they can no longer support Infantino's bid for re-election. It is being widely reported that England will soon join them. Infantino has been under

fire since unveiling, if you remember, a plan last week to sell a stake in tournament operations to private investors. He abandoned that plan on

Friday, but the backlash keeps growing. UEFA has even written a letter to FIFA telling the organization to preserve all documents related to the plan

just in case the European governing body decides to pursue legal action.

So, you see where this is going. So what we don't know is, will Gianni Infantino survive as FIFA president?

Joining me now is Matt Slater, senior sports news reporter at "The Athletic".

Matt, really appreciate you being with us.

So where do you stand on this? We've had Serbia, Sweden, Wales. Do you think the English Federation will be next? Is inevitable at this stage?

MATT SLATER, SENIOR SPORTS NEWS REPORTER, THE ATHLETIC UK: Yeah, the English, if they haven't already done it, will do it very soon. They're not

going to make a big fuss about it. They don't like being the leaders in sort of football politics. It's kind of bitten them on the bum in the past.

So, I think what you're going to see from Europe is, you know, lockstep behind that statement behind, you know, two or three statements last week

too. So, you know, UEFA -- UEFA has made its feelings pretty clear.

Europe's not really the issue, though, if you -- if you're thinking about what happens with Gianni Infantino.

[15:10:00]

It's CONCACAF, which is the North and Central American Confederation, and it's AFC, it's the Asian Football Confederation. Those are the two that so

far, when they spoke as a bloc, said, we don't like that idea. We don't like the private equity sale at all. Stop doing that.

And they said we stand in -- they stood with Europe on that one. What we're waiting to see is if those blocks, the complicated beasts, are going to

kind of continue to be as unified and continue to be as strong in their opposition to Gianni Infantino, the person, as they were to his idea.

SOARES: Right. Let me put this to you, because I was looking before I came on air at, "The Times of London" is reporting that Infantino kept -- has

kept calling President Trump to try and salvage his job. I mean, do you think, as the pressure keeps growing, be it just from Europe or beyond

that, even if it's a unified voice or not, like you were saying from CONCACAF, do you think he can he will step down voluntarily? And if he

doesn't, is there some sort of mechanism, a voting system that will push him out?

SLATER: I can't see him doing this voluntarily. The guy's a fighter. He's been through this before. I know this is the one that's blown up now.

He tried this in 2018. And he's always -- he's always pushing ideas, right? And him falling out with Europe and or other people, other FAs, other

federations, federations is not new.

But this has been, I think, for many people around the world, sort of the straw that's broke the camel's back. That's why there was so much anger.

Friday, Saturday, as well, we're talking right now.

Now, yeah, he's phoning everybody. He's phoning his friends. And, you know, one of the best friends he's made over the last year or so has been U.S.

President Donald Trump and the sort of course of Trump. Now he, he what he's doing is, like I said, Europe, being opposed to an idea, an Infantino

idea, Europe and FIFA being at loggerheads is not -- is not you. FIFA has traditionally sort of played divide and rule, right?

The Europeans have got the money, they've got the best players, got the best leagues. We look after you, the little guy. So, if the Europeans are

saying no to something, it's because they like the status quo. So Infantino will be trying to sort of pick off, trying to peel away support at

CONCACAF, at AFC, and yeah, he'll be counting the votes.

So, I think there's a little bit here to run. I think kind of predictions of this guy's doom are being perhaps a little bit overplayed. The guy's a

fighter. He's very thick-skinned as well.

SOARES: Yeah. Yeah, and like you said, calling friends for help. Of course, President Trump, he gave President Trump FIFA's inaugural Peace

Prize, right? And that wasn't the only concern, of course, with that card during the World Cup then being canceled.

On the question of Europe, Matt, If, for example, he does hold on and he, like you said, he won't step down, potentially wouldn't step down

voluntarily, where does that leave Europe then?

SLATER: Well, it's a really good question. So at the moment, you know, Europe are thoroughly fed up with him. You know, they said we will boycott

FIFA tournaments if you proceed with the, you know, the sale of 20 percent of basically FIFA's tournaments to private equity, and he's withdrawn that

idea.

So, what do they do next, if he rides this out, if he, you know, manages to make sure that Africa, Oceana, not many people care so much about them, but

Commonwealth, which is South America, manages to sort of keep them behind him, where they have been supportive, they haven't spoken out at all. If he

can peel away, like I said, some of Asia. He's already got backing from Qatar, Lebanon, Sri Lanka. So, you know, the Asian block is a complicated

base, very East-West there. You've got Japan, Korea, Australia, then you've got the Gulf crowd. It's a complicated part of the world in football terms,

too.

And I think we've already seen even at CONCACAF, you know, the Mexican statement, and Mexico is a huge player in North American soccer, was less

strident, you know, that you can read between the lines, certainly the European statement. So, look, there is a way, there's a path for Infantino

to get through this. Now, where would this leave Europe?

Well, you know, if they are going to sort of say, if they're going to go through with their votes, we get to March, which is the next FIFA Congress.

And he gets 150 votes, you know. That's a win for him and Europe will look, we can moan and maybe they just say it's four more years of this, maybe

we've seen off the really, really the plan we hated.

I think we'll -- then we'll get to around about 64-team World Cup. We'll get to rows about more frequent, bigger Club World Cups.

[15:15:02]

Maybe they'll feel we've clipped his wings. Maybe we can see this out. I just think there's so much up in the air at the moment that I don't want to

sort of pin my colors to the mask too much.

He is in trouble. He's absolutely in trouble. And if he can't peel away CONCACAF and UEFA, particularly with AFC votes, he's done. He's done.

I'm just saying that he is capable of doing that.

SOARES: Yeah. And what I keep hearing is this not just this, but so many other failures of judgment.

Really appreciate Matt Slater talking to us. I wish we had more time. Really fascinating discussion. I'm sure we'll be speaking again.

Matt Slater from "The Athletic", thank you, Matt.

Now, the northwestern U.S. is on fire, unfortunately, as three major blazes threaten one of the region's biggest cities. Some 65,000 people have been

forced to evacuate the area around Spokane, and that is in Washington. Large swathes of Spokane forests have been consumed by flames and

neighborhoods have been gutted. A local fire official says the wildfires are jumping rivers and streets. He warns the fires could be around for

weeks.

Let's go straight to Derek Van Dam, who joins us now.

And, Derek, that's terrifying. Just not only how fierce these fires are, but the fact that it could last for weeks.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, and the fact that these are people's livelihoods. There are currently people in and outside of the

Spokane area that are lining up to get escorted back into neighborhoods to find out whether or not their home was destroyed or if it was spared by

this wildfire. And this is some new satellite imagery just showing you before and after the devastating wildfires from this past weekend.

And I want you to pay attention. There's a couple of things going on. This is an image that was taken back in June of this year. Now I'm going to

advance it to this weekend and what you're noticing, of course, is buildings that were completely destroyed.

Remember, there's about 700 structures that have been destroyed or damaged. What you also notice here is this kind of shading of pink that extends

across the road and throughout several other homes. That is the fire retardant from the large air tankers that fly directly overhead. So that's

kind of the leading edge of the fire that they were trying to protect the further spread of this area.

Going back again, you can kind of see those buildings or those structures in those homes that. were originally standing there. So here is a satellite

image taken the moment these fires erupted and one thing that I've noted all day is just the incredible winds coming out of the southwest. This was

a wind fueled event, but of course, there's so many other ingredients for wildfires to start. That is heat that is fuel, which is extreme dry

vegetation. And of course, the oxygen that gets pumped into these wildfires from stronger winds.

So, these are the burn scars. This is Spokane. You can kind of see the population right These are the burn scars though from the three large

fires. This is the one that we were talking about earlier that actually hopped over the Spokane River.

This one made its way across one of the roads here. The larger highways. But you add in the winds on top of this and you'll start to see it's calm

now. This is that narrow window of time you said that firefighters have, but the winds will pick up again by the end of the week and then we start

to see the temperatures increase as well.

So that could make conditions on the ground that much more challenging for firefighters amongst the evacuations that are ongoing.

SOARES: Yeah, if anyone in Spokane, please stay safe.

Derek, really appreciate it. Good to see you, my friend. Thank you.

VAN DAM: You, too.

SOARES: Well, wildfires in Greece have now claimed the lives of two people who were aboard a firefighting helicopter that collided with another near

Athens. Strong winds and fanning the flames, devastating both homes, forests, and farmland, and leading to evacuations. The region's also facing

right now a heat wave.

Journalist Elinda Labropoulou has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELINA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: Dozens of wildfires continue to burn across Greece. The Greek fire service has said that over 200 new blazes have

started in the last 24 hours alone. The country is experiencing extreme weather conditions. Just yesterday, a tragic incident took place during

firefighting operations when two helicopters collided mid-air. The crew of the one of the two helicopters, both the pilot and copilot, have died in

the crash.

The Greek prime minister has expressed his condolences to the families. He has also said that Greece has to prepare for tough weather ahead during

these evacuations that are now underway very close to Athens in what is becoming a large mega weather ahead.

During these evacuations that are now underway very close to Athens in what is becoming a large mega fire, the experts are now calling it.

[15:20:01]

Hundreds of people have lost their homes and thousands have been evacuated.

These weather conditions are expected to persist tomorrow as well, when the country will remain under high alert.

Elinda Labropoulou, CNN, Parga, Greece.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: And still to come right here on the show, the acting attorney general is axing U.S. President Trump's anti-weaponization fund. We'll look

at what led to this moment. and why the fund drew so much controversy in the first place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Well, a fund that could have compensated people prosecuted over the January 6 riots has been formally rescinded, this move coming from

acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche. It could pave the way for Blanche to be confirmed in the role permanently. Now, two key Senate

Republicans now say they will back President Trump's nominee.

Manu Raj, who joins me now live from Capitol Hill.

And, Manu, just for our viewers, in case they weren't watching the last hour, we did hear from the president speaking at the White House. And he

said -- he denied, right, approving Blanche's deal. And he said that he still views it as positive.

I suppose that begs the question, is this dead in the water? How did you interpret what we heard from the president?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president clearly wants this $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund,

something that has caused enormous blowback on Capitol Hill from Democrats and Republicans alike because of the people who could benefit from a

taxpayer funded settlement like January 6th rioters.

But the president clearly wants to keep that alive. But under this deal that Todd Blanche cut with these two Republican senators, he's essentially

saying that he will not move forward. That's what Blanche testified to at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing just a few weeks ago.

[15:25:00]

And the senators, Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, had wanted that in explicit writing and had a hard time getting that assurance, perhaps because the

president and people in the White House had wanted to keep that issue alive some way somehow because the president himself said he did not sign off on

that deal said he hasn't even reviewed it yet although he said he's okay with how Blanche testified -- what he testified to during that hearing.

Now, tomorrow will be a big day because the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote to advance that nomination and now that John Cornyn and Thom Tillis

are on board we do expect there to be enough Republican votes to send the nomination to the full United States Senate where it would require a simple

majority of the 100 senators to vote for his confirmation.

But the margins will be tight. We expect all Democrats to vote no on the Senate floor and we expect one Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, who's

been gone for a prolonged absence to not be present in the United States Senate, which means that they could only afford to lose two Republican

votes on this expected party line vote in the full United States Senate.

And there are several Republicans who are uneasy or uncertain or facing difficult reelection races who will need to be convinced to vote for Todd

Blanche. So, while he's going to take a big step forward tomorrow after these prolonged negotiations, there is still some work ahead for the White

House for the Justice Department to secure his confirmation as attorney general -- Isa.

SOARES: Manu, thank you very much indeed for laying it all out for us. We look forward to see what comes out of it. Yes, tomorrow. Pardon me. Thank

you.

Well, sources say President Trump is preparing to fire Jeanine Pirro, that's the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, after her

embarrassing U-turn on prosecuting alleged vandals in Washington. Pirro, the former Fox News host, admitted in a court filing on Friday that the

president's renovation of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool had been botched. That meant she was dropping the criminal case against a man

accused of vandalizing it.

Mr. Trump didn't sound pleased when asked about it just a few minutes ago. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine, and frankly, I think she choked because the judge

was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked.

I don't know what the hell happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: And still to come tonight, Ukraine hits Russia in several attacks over the weekend. A popular e-commerce warehouse is hit once again, along

with an apparent deadly attack at a popular beach. We'll have the very latest for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:31:06]

SOARES: Well, Ukraine may have just launched one of the single deadliest attacks on Russia in weeks. In the past few hours, local authorities say at

least seven people were killed in a drone strike on southern Russia. A warning that our next video is disturbing.

Now, you are looking at the moment of the strike on a busy beach at a Black Sea resort. Local authorities say at least three of the victims were

children. Kyiv is yet to comment. In recent months, Kyiv has ramped up strikes on Russia, largely targeting energy infrastructure and military

production sites. It's also honing in on Russia's answer to Amazon, the e- commerce giant Wildberries.

Our Clare Sebastian looks at why.

Well, Moscow's Mayor says a deadly bomb blast at a restaurant in the center of the city was a terrorist attack. At least five people were killed in

Saturday's explosion, including the woman carrying the device. Authorities say she attempted to enter a private event at Moscow's Balzi Rossi

restaurant before the bomb went off. Investigators believe it was detonated remotely, while Russian authorities have not alleged a Ukraine link so far.

Moscow has previously blamed Kyiv for a series of assassinations or assassination attempts on high-profile military officials.

I was speaking to you earlier about the attacks we are seeing from Ukraine on wild berries, promised you a report from our Clare Sebastian. Here it

is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "We're losing our business in front of our eyes," says this woman.

Another, through tears, says she's lost 12,000 items of children's clothing. "I hope I have enough strength and courage to get through this,"

she says.

Over the past two weeks, Ukraine's deep strike campaign, usually focused on oil refineries or military facilities, has taken a sharp turn into e-

commerce, hitting multiple warehouses belonging to one company, Wildberries, Russia's equivalent of Amazon, with around a 50 percent share

of the country's online retail market.

ALEXANDER KOLYANDR, EUROPE DIRECTOR, EURASIA GROUP: It provided thousands upon thousands of individual sellers with income, and it created the whole

universe of online retail.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): A universe that Ukraine says now also includes sanctioned components for drone production and navigation equipment. We

found drones and drone parts, helmets, and bulletproof vests all available. One reviewer of this vest writing, "I sent it to my son in the special

military operation," Russia's official euphemism for the war. "He's very pleased."

Before the attacks, Wildberries founder Tatyana Kim was Russia's richest woman worth over $8 billion. A self-made entrepreneur now well connected in

Kremlin circles and deeply intertwined with the banking sector. One of Russia's biggest banks, VTB, recently took a stake in Wildberries financial

arm and through its mounting debt burden. A fact Ukraine is fully aware of, says the co-owner of one of Ukraine's leading long-range weapons producers.

DENYS SHTILLIERMAN, CO-OWNER, FIRE POINT (through translator): If we take it down, it would inevitably lead to the collapse of a huge number of

banks, including at least VTB.

KOLYANDR: Wildberries is too big to fail, and the state will definitely support Wildberries in this or that form.

SEBASTIAN: It's still burning after three days, says the seller, who drove to survey the damage at a Wildberries warehouse just outside Moscow. She

says she lost around after three days, says the seller, who drove to survey the damage at a wild breeze warehouse just outside Moscow. She says she

lost around $100,000 worth of goods.

Lives at risk, livelihoods up in smoke. A Russian success story, the latest casualty of Putin's war.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Well, in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks could be headed for a record session. Let me show you the big board and how it

stands. The Dow is within touching distance, as you can see there, of an all-time high, just up one and three tenths of percent, 714.99.

And this is our Business Breakout.

Oil prices dipped on Monday after investors chose to take Donald Trump at his word that peace talks with Iran were restarting. There's no sign that

the Strait of Hormuz is close to reopening. However, right now, up to 5 million barrels of oil are leaving the strait per day. That is compared to

20 million per day before the war.

The U.S. is helping shore up the Japanese yen, buying up the country's currency for the first time in more than a decade. The yen has been

hovering around 40-year low against a dollar. Donald Trump told reporters that supporting the yen would be good for the world economy, but he didn't

say how.

A nuclear plant in Hungary is on the brink of a shutdown because of the European heat wave. The Paks power plant, which produces nearly half of

Hungary's electricity, relies on water from the Danube to cool the facility. Water levels have fallen to record lows, and the country's prime

minister warns the plant may be forced to close.

While in France, the economic damage from recent wildfires could reach billions of dollars. That is according to some estimates. While the

Bordeaux region has seen some of the worst damage, its famous wine industry may have avoided a direct hit.

Lingering smoke could still have an impact, as our Melissa Bell now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not very far from the edge of the Gironde wildfire, some of the Bordeaux

region's finest grapes are ripening. The owner of Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte says they were lucky. The flames were 18 kilometers away, and the

smoke never made it here.

BELL: And looking at these grapes, it isn't simply that the smell came to you for a couple of times a couple of hours. You didn't get the smoke.

FLORENCE CATHIARD, OWNER, SMITH HAUT LAFITTE WINERY: No.

BELL: We're far from the fires, and the grapes are such that they are impermeable at this point anyway.

CATHIARD: Totally, because you see, if you touch them, it's very hard. And we have maybe two hours of bad smell, not ashes, nothing, so it's perfect.

BELL (voice-over): The vineyards here go back to the 14th century. From the vantage point of the Chateau's tower, Florence Cathiard explains that

the real challenge this year has been protecting her organically grown grapes from the summer's extreme heat.

CATHIARD: Oh, it's beautiful, out here.

BELL (voice-over): Under the Chateau's floorboards, you get a glimpse of what's at stake. They call this paradise, where the property's most ancient

and expensive wines are kept.

YANN LAUDEHO, WINEMAKER, SMITH HAUT LAFITTE WINERY: This is a very special piece. And in fact, you have -- you can see here all the bottle, the oldest

we have here. It is 1878.

BELL (voice-over): As we taste 2016, Yann Laudeho says this year's vintage will be unharmed by the fires, but redrawn by the heat.

LAUDEHO: I try to make the best wine we can make for each vintage.

BELL: So it's a reinvention.

LAUDEHO: Exactly.

BELL (voice-over): Unlike recent vintages affected by wildfires in Napa, those of the Bordeaux region appear to have emerged relatively unscathed.

ROBERT JOSEPH, WINE EXPERT & INDUSTRY ANALYST: It looks as though the problems of smoke taint, which is the biggest fear. There may be some, but

there won't be very much by the sound of it. But it certainly won't be anything like what we saw in California in 2020, for example.

BELL (voice-over): Leaving now just the question of what sort of vintage such a hot and dry summer will yield, even now that the fires appear to

have been tamed.

Melissa Bell CNN in the Bordeaux region.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Still to come on the show, why pop star Ariana Grande is stepping away from the public eye after she wraps up her current tour. That

discussion after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:31]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone.

Pop star Ariana Grande is taking a step back from public life after she finishes her Eternal Sunshine tour. Grande has been facing intense scrutiny

by fans about her body and health as of late. So much so, the "Wicked" star has also pulled out of the West End revival, Stephen Sondheim's "Sunday in

the Park with George". While in a statement to People magazine, I should say, a spokesperson says she looks forward to finishing the tour and ending

it on a high note, both healthily and happily. and then taking a much- deserved break from public-facing work and appearances, which has led to endless ongoing public scrutiny.

Let's continue the discussion. I want to bring in clinical psychologist Dr. Catherine Wikholm.

Doctor, really appreciate you coming on the show.

Look, I do want to say right from the outset that I really don't want this conversation to be another conversation about a woman's body or indeed the

weight or appearance. As someone who also receives comments on social media about how I look, I know how uncomfortable and unhelpful these

conversations can be. Instead, if I may, I do want to focus on Ariana's statement that she said that she's taking a step back from visibility

because of what she describes as endless ongoing public scrutiny.

What does that tell us, doctor, about the level of pressure and criticism public figures, particularly women, are facing today?

CATHERINE WIKHOLM, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes, I think, psychologically, for a person to be on the receiving end of constant public commentary about

their appearance and receiving criticism from huge numbers of people, it's likely to be very challenging, and I think it's entirely understandable

that she may want to withdraw as a way of self-protection and to regain some privacy and some control.

SOARES: Yeah, and it does feel as though we are living, Doctor, in an era where everyone is under a microscope on social media, especially with

social media. You're either too thin or too heavy, too glamorous or too natural, too outspoken or too quiet. There always seems to be another

standard to meet.

While celebrities like Ariana Grande experience this on a huge scale, these measures are also reaching -- I think this is something that we can expand

our conversation into millions of young people every day.

[15:45:07]

Just talk us through the conversations that you had. that you've been having about the impact of this constant scrutiny that's having on young

people's mental health and indeed self-image.

WIKHOLM: Absolutely. So as a psychologist, I specialize in adolescent and young adult mental health. And a majority of my clients are teenage girls

and young women. And certainly, the amount of exposure to idealized bodies, within things such as music videos, of course, but also just social media

generally, advertising and so on.

They're just constantly bombarded with images. And of course, in this developmental stage, women especially, but this does affect young men too,

are more likely to engage in social comparison. And it becomes very difficult.

I think there's a lot of potential for people who are already vulnerable in terms of perhaps already having some body image issues or low self-esteem

or perhaps some issues with eating for over time, kind of repeated exposure to these images to start to have a negative impact on them.

SOARES: Yeah, and look, I think it's important to say that Ariana, from what I've seen and that my team has seen, has previously spoken about

growing up in the public eye saying and I'm going to quote her here, she felt like a specimen in a petri dish since she was 16 or 17 and that she

talked about the noise, Doctor, surrounding her appearance has been a constant presence in her life.

And while her experience is unique because of her fame, the feeling of being judged or evaluated online is something many people, I'm sure, can

relate to.

What can Ariana's experience teach us about the culture we've created online? And I suppose the obvious question is, how do we then go about --

how do we begin to change this?

WIKHOLM: Yes, I think this is the real issue. It's not just about the fact that there's a lot of images out there of kind of idealized kind of body

types or especially lately perhaps that leaning more towards thinner bodies. But it's more around the fact that it's -- there is this constant

scrutiny of women's bodies in the sense that they are there to be judged, evaluated, and so on.

And this is the real issue that I think for young women growing up that the value that they feel they have as people get particularly linked to

appearance and in terms of how much they measure up to these things. And in terms of what we can do, I suppose, to kind of counterbalance this societal

problem around the scrutiny of women's bodies is that we say as parents or within our families or even with our friends can be mindful of the way that

we talk about our own bodies and the bodies of others.

So, we can choose not to engage in this kind of scrutiny of other people's bodies. We can choose to not talk about or highlight things like weight

loss or gain or engage in body shaming. We can speak neutrally or positively about our own bodies and those of others. maybe also focus less

on appearance and more about things about the function of our bodies and health. And of course, making sure that we have children that they're media

literate and they know about things like the distortion of images and filters and so on. All these things can help.

SOARES: Yeah, indeed. I mean, it's such a good point you brought there, Doctor. It's so important and having these conversations. And look,

responsibility not just on social media platforms, but also on the entertainment industry and the media. It's good to know educating not just

the young people, but also the parents.

Doctor, thank you very much, Dr. Catherine Wikholm, we appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. Thank you, Doctor.

And still to come right here, the outbreak is now deadly. Two people have died from cyclosporiasis in the U.S. We have the details for you ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:13]

SOARES: Well, the outbreak of a parasite that causes explosive diarrhea has now turned deadly with two people dying in Michigan. Health officials

confirmed the two deaths were in connection with cyclosporiasis, which has affected thousands of people across the country.

Our Jacqueline Howard has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Here's what we know about the two people who have died in connection with the cyclosporiasis outbreak here in

the United States. The state of Michigan says that these two individuals did have significant underlying health conditions that may have been

impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration with cyclosporiasis because it causes intense diarrhea that can lead to severe dehydration in some cases,

which is the reason why some people are hospitalized and sadly These two individuals sadly died as part of this illness.

Now, that's the only information that health officials in Michigan are sharing at this time, but they do emphasize that cyclosporiasis is usually

not a life-threatening illness, especially for otherwise healthy people. So, seeing deaths like this is not very common.

And in the state of Michigan, we are seeing. further spread of this illness. More than 11,000 people have gotten sick. About 193 people so far

have been hospitalized. When you look at these numbers, that means in the state of Michigan, one in every 1,000 people have been affected by this

outbreak.

Now, while Michigan health officials are continuing to investigate cases in their state, we do know that that state is part of a multi-state outbreak

concentrated in the Midwest region of the U.S. However, several states outside of the Midwest also have been reporting higher than usual numbers

of cyclosporiasis. So, there are several investigations ongoing currently across the country when we look specifically at this parasitic illness.

And health officials say because it can take anywhere from two days to up to two weeks for symptoms to emerge, we could see more cases develop in the

days to come.

So, this is an active situation and an ongoing investigation.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Thank you very much indeed.

Well, the breakout star of the World Cup is joining his new club, Cape Verde goalkeeper Vozinha. was greeted by a jubilant crowd as he arrived in

Chile, as you can see there on Sunday. He is due to get a physical today and then sign a contract with Chile's most decorated club, Colo-Colo. The

40-year-old Vozinha was a relative unknown until his spectacular performance, as you'll know, at the World Cup, which included a shutout

Spain.

[15:55:07

He was voted by fans the best keeper at the World Cup and saw his social media explode to nearly 30 million followers. What a legend.

And the final numbers are in. "Spider-Man" is officially bigger than "The Avengers", at least across the Atlantic. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" pulls

in the $360 million in ticket sales in North America. That is the biggest opening weekend ever at the domestic box office, just barely edging out

"Avengers: Endgame". But "Avengers" still holds the worldwide records by the earned just under a billion dollars in global ticket sales, second only

to $1.2 billion opening, as you can see that "Endgame" posted in 2019.

My kids are obsessed. I'm going to take them to watch Spider-Man tomorrow, we'll see.

That does it for this hour, very busy hour of news. Do stay right here. I'm Isa Soares. This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Stay with CNN. We'll have much more news after the break.

END

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