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What We Know with Max Foster

U.S. & Iran Trade Attacks In First Major Escalation In A Month; Houthis Threaten To Shut Down Commerce Through Red Sea; Urgent Search Underway In Nepal To Find Workers Missing In Tunnels; Closing Arguments Underway In Tupac Shakur Murder Trial; Two Dead, 15 Believed Missing In Grand Canyon Flash Flood; WaPo: U.S. Military Leaders Warn Hegseth Against Extending War. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 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: U.S. and Iran trade attacks for the first time in weeks.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Just days after launching what he called economic D-Day, U.S. President Donald Trump vows that the American military will hit Iran hard, too.

That's after the two countries exchanged strikes for the first time in more than a month. Tehran says it fired missiles towards US military sites in

Jordan and the UAE in response to a U.S. attack. U.S. Central Command says it took limited precise action after Iran tried to lay mines in the Strait

of Hormuz.

Here's what President Trump told Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're doing very well. Their navy's gone, their air force is gone, their leaders are gone. Their -- all

of their anti-aircraft, I mean, it's all wiped out. They're tough people, they're smart people, but they're very evil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: This hour, we are expecting to hear from President Trump at the White House.

Let's go there now with CNN's Kevin Liptak.

Took some by surprise that they went back down the military route after yesterday's economic talk. What do you think is the strategy here, Kevin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and I think the question now is whether this sort of means that we're back to this tit for

tat, back and forth attacks that we saw over the course of the summer, or whether this will be an isolated incident where the U.S. fires on Iran.

Iran responds, but then it goes back to the state of quiet that we saw really for the last month or so.

We don't know at this point really what the strategy is here. President Trump did tell Fox News earlier today that the U.S. was going to hit Iran

very hard, that there would be a response to that retaliation, although the Iranians in their firing didn't cause any widespread damage. There were no

known casualties in both Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, where they were firing at were able to intercept those missiles.

And so it doesn't seem as if there's a huge amount of appetite on the part of the president or on the part of his advisers to go back to that state

that we were in earlier this summer. You know, neither at a full ceasefire, but also not fully in the war again. You know that sort of exchange of fire

that we saw every night for some weeks. It doesn't appear as if there's a desire to go back to that in no small part because of the concerns about

the munitions, the missile interceptors that the U.S. is running short of, frankly, in order to protect the American assets in the region.

But at the same time, we have not yet seen what the treasury secretary promised last week, which was these tough new sanctions on Iran's trading

partners. And that had seemed to be where the strategy was heading, to try and press some of the top trade partners of Iran, China, India, Turkey, to

cut off their economic ties in order to choke off the regime there. And if they didn't, these new sanctions would go into effect. We haven't seen that

happen just yet.

What the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said today was that Iran saw the threat of sanctions, and that was part of what drove them to take some of

these military actions. He did say that he had met last evening with representative from China. They're all down in North Carolina meeting as

part of the G20 finance ministers meeting. He also met today with a representative from Russia, which is another major trading partner of Iran.

But so far, no evidence that that plan, that strategic plan of trying to choke off Iran's economy is bearing any fruit yet. And so where this all

heads from here at this point, unclear. But at least from the perspective of the White House and the Pentagon, it does not appear as if there's a

huge appetite for escalating this much further, Max.

FOSTER: Okay, Kevin, thank you so much.

We'll wait to hear what the president says on that later. Now, while the struggle for control of the Strait of Hormuz goes on, Houthi rebels and

Iranian proxy group are threatening to shut down another shipping chokepoint.

International diplomatic editor Nic Robinson is in Yemen with this exclusive report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Right now, we're standing on Perim Island, also known locally as Mayyun Island. And what

you're looking at behind me there is the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. What I can see looking out over that shoulder is Djibouti. I see the mountains rising

up out of the sea.

[15:05:01]

It's the African continent.

And that tells you just how narrow the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is it's about 10 miles or so across to Africa 15 kilometers something like that what's

happening here there's been a little known war that's been simmering here in Yemen for over a decade between the Yemeni government and the Houthis

and I think a lot of people don't know much about this conflict they kind of think that the Houthis are a ragtag force but they're not. They're

Iran's strongest proxy at the moment. They've got hypersonic missiles. They've been hitting Israel. They've got ship seeking sophisticated

missiles that can target them from a long distance. And they've been hitting international shipping Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea here, Bab

el-Mandeb, Red Sea up there.

So you've got the Houthis with their Iranian sponsors that have been ramping up the war here in recent weeks. And they're turning what was a

local war into a geopolitical one, if you will, that has global consequences. A few years ago, 10 percent of the global oil trade came

through here, vital for commercial shipping too. Now it's down to about half of that.

And if Iran continues to push its proxies here and they continue in their operations to try to take the rest of the Red Sea coast, then they would

take this place here, Perim Island, Mayyun Island, they would take it. That would make shutting off this strait, the Bab el-Mandeb strait, much, much

easier for the Bab el-Mandeb Strait that potentially has political consequences for President Trump because of course if you shut off this

route for oil getting to global markets, particularly Asia, then that's going to drive up the price of oil. And that makes that gives President

Trump political vulnerability politic -- particularly going into the upcoming U.S. midterms. And this really appears to be what Iran is doing at

the moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Nic Robertson there in Yemen.

Rescue crews and foreign specialists racing to find survivors of the flash flooding at the Nepal-China border. More than 900 workers are believed to

be trapped inside a hydropower tunnel in Nepal. Thick mud buried the plants, but there is some hope. Nepal's military says emergency crews

rescued more than 100 people by air today.

The total number of people killed now stands at 955. My colleague Anderson Cooper is in Nepal with more on where the rescue efforts currently stand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: There were some 14 hydropower plants all along the river that have been wiped out, that have

been swamped by the raging waters six days ago here in Nepal. They estimate there may be more than 40 to 50 people trapped still in that tunnel.

We talked to a colonel from the Nepal Army who is one of several forces from Nepal who are trying to rescue these workers at this particular

tunnel. But there are tunnels all along this river where there are rescue operations going on. Here's what the colonel told me today.

NEPAL ARMY COLONEL: The multi-forces here from APF, Nepal Police, Nepali Army and Special Force and even the sleeper dogs here. So you can see here,

this is a cable tunnel. So 170 meters inside, there's a powerhouse. So I think there are about 45 to 50 people inside the powerhouse.

COOPER: That many, 45 to 50.

NEPAL ARMY COLONEL: Because we are the working team inside the powerhouse.

COOPER: And they were here when the flood came.

NEPAL ARMY COLONEL: When the flood hit this area, they were inside, right? So we are trying now to excavate all this along the way. And you can see

the guys, they're drilling there.

COOPER: So you're going to carve a trench here for any water that's inside to get back out?

NEPAL ARMY COLONEL: Yes, and even a bigger trench to get those floods outside.

COOPER: Do you have any sign that they're alive?

NEPAL ARMY COLONEL: You know, earlier we tried to vertical drilling there so that there might be some presence of oxygen so that we can send some

oxygen there. I hope there --

COOPER: But you haven't had signs of life.

NEPAL ARMY COLONEL: We have nothing yet. So we are trying our best to get him through.

COOPER: So this was completely submerged. This tunnel was completely --

NEPAL ARMY COLONEL: See, you can see this. It's about 10 to 15 meters. All the debris are just on top of the tunnel. It was all the splashes. You

know, it came down rolling through the downstream, you know. So it just buried all the whole downstream.

[15:10:01]

COOPER: It's remarkable, though, what they are doing. I mean, they have not had any signs of life from that group, but they are still trying to

hold onto hope and trying to hold onto optimism, that there are air pockets in there, and that if they have access to water, they could still be alive.

There's no telling what this sludge that has buried so many towns and so many towns along the river, what it holds, and that will be revealed in the

coming days and weeks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Anderson there in Katmandu.

Now, closing arguments are underway in the Tupac Shakur murder trial. Shakur was murdered 30 years ago in Las Vegas. Duane Davis has been charged

with organizing the ambush that killed the hip hop legend. One of the biggest challenges facing the prosecution is tying Davis to the crime.

Josh Campbell joins me now from Las Vegas.

And you were saying, Josh, that one of the more extraordinary parts of this is how the defense is telling the jury to ignore the defendant.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Max. I mean, we rarely hear this where you have the defense attorney. Again, this is a person

that's trying to save their client from a murder conviction here, telling the jury that don't believe my client years ago. He was essentially

peddling nonsense. That's what the defendant, his prosecutor, his attorney said in more colorful language that I'll say on television.

And that's been really interesting because there have been a series of interviews that the defendant has given to police to members of the media.

He even wrote a book in which he describes his role in that murder of Tupac Shakur nearly 30 years ago here in Las Vegas. He said that he didn't pull

the trigger, but they were driving on a night after a Mike Tyson fight. They pulled up alongside the car where Tupac Shakur was.

The defendant in these interviews said that he took a firearm, handed it to the back seat to his nephew, who then fired the fatal shots. But again, the

defense is now saying don't believe any of that. He only made those stories up in order to try to make money.

On the flip side, the prosecution is saying all you have to believe are the defendant's own statements. This isn't, you know, rocket science where

we're trying to tell you something or present evidence that doesn't exist. They played the recordings in his own voice, so this will be fascinating to

see, Max, how this ultimately lands with the jury. It will be up to them after closing arguments include today. And we'll just wait and see whether

there's actual conviction here.

FOSTER: Yeah, what's the judge saying about this dilemma for the jury, that they've got this, you know, it feels like a complete admission of

guilt in those interviews, but at the same time, no actual physical evidence tying him to this -- to the murder.

CAMPBELL: That's right. I mean, we're talking about 30 years ago, there wasn't, security camera footage on the streets of -- this major city here

in the United States is so common these days in major metropolitan cities around the world. You essentially only have the word of mouth from people

who were either there that night, witnesses describing what they saw.

Again, the defendant himself claiming in a series of interviews that he did it, but no real forensic or other type of corroborating information to that

end. What the judge is essentially told the jury here is that if you believe Duane Davis, his own words in these series of interviews

implicating himself, that's all prosecutors have to prove. You don't have to rely on any other type of evidence in order for you to have that

confidence that he's guilty in the murder here.

Again, this all hinges on what the jury will actually believe today. This mountain of interviews in which he claims that he was there, that he was

involved, or what his attorney is saying now that, look, he was just trying to profit from it. This is one of the more unusual cases I think you and I

have covered over the years where the evidence comes down to just that, the defendant's own words, which is why we're all waiting on pins and needles

to see how that's actually resonating with this jury.

FOSTER: Yeah, it'd be fascinating to see. Back with you to get more. Thank you so much, Josh.

We're also on verdict watching another high-profile trial. For a third day, jurors are deliberating the fate of Lindsay Clancy. They're trying to

determine whether she criminally is responsible killing her three young children. Clancy's attorneys have argued she was experiencing postpartum

psychosis when she killed the children in 2023. Prosecutors believe the methods she used in the killings are evidence of what they say was

deliberate premeditation. If convicted of first-degree murder, she could face life in prison without parole.

A Los Angeles judge has set October the 19th as the next court date for the singer D4vd who is accused of the gruesome murder of a 14-year-old girl.

The singer whose real name is David Anthony Burke has pleaded not guilty to the killing of Celeste Rivas-Hernandez. The judge has ordered D4vd be held

without bail.

[15:15:02]

Still to come tonight, deadly flash floods in the Grand Canyon. There's more rain on the way for the famed park. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam will

join us with the outlook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Two people killed by flash flooding that hit the Grand Canyon in Arizona on Saturday. Their names haven't been released yet. In addition to

those killed, officials believe as many as 15 others are still missing.

There's even more rain in the forecast for tonight as well, Derek, is that right?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, in fact, right now, Max, it's actually raining. So what you're looking at right now is a live view of

Grand Canyon. And just below this here is the Bright Angel Creek area that flooded over the course of the weekend. So this rain right now that's

falling from the sky could complicate the search efforts. We're trying to find roughly 15 people still unaccounted for across these slot canyons.

Trust me, if this was a clear day you could see as far as the eye right all the way to the horizon. The other side of the Grand Canyon, but there's so

many of these really steep Canyon walls here which aided in the problems this weekend, helping filter that water down into the valleys below and

unfortunately where some of the hikers were presumably hiking.

Here's the Grand Canyon on our local radar and you can see the showers moving through. It's generally light. We don't like to see the oranges and

the yellows. Those are little cells that are heavier rain upwards of maybe a quarter to a half an inch of rainfall in an hour. That would be a concern

because the ground here is extremely compromised from the weekend's rainfall.

Remember, this is kind of a desert southwest. We don't normally see rain, but this is the monsoon season, so this is the time of the year when we

typically -- typically get it, but it's just when it falls too heavily too quickly, especially in those narrow slot canyons when all the water gets

filtered into one location, that's where it becomes very, as we've seen.

So the Weather Prediction Center here, this is new. It's actually increased this risk, our moderate risk of excessive rain that could lead to flash

flooding now inclusive of the Grand Canyon.

[15:20:08]

This is for the rest of the day and into the overnight period tonight and you saw on the radar why this is actually taking. our forecast going

forward into the overnight period and you can see some of those cellular type showers moving through the Grand Canyon area. Then it clears out for

the day tomorrow.

We do have improving conditions later this week, but again, right now this is a really important moment in time for our search and rescue efforts.

People on the ground there.

To complicate the matters here, Max, we've got the Dragon Bravo scar, so this is a wildfire that burned last year, destroyed one of the national

park buildings at historic national park building. And then this weekend, again, this is a replay of the radar from this weekend. Some of the

heaviest rain went right over the burn scars.

And you're probably wondering why did you bring this up? Well, you saw on the video that Max played just before he started talking to me. A lot of

the debris in the water rushing down the rivers and the creeks there. Well, that is because the forest fire and the burn scar really took away that

protective layer on the surface of the earth, so it is not allowing any of that heavy rain to get absorbed into the ground.

All that burnt out ash and the vegetation. Yeah, it becomes impermeable, meaning that it's going to allow that water to slide right off the top of

the surface. And eventually it's going to pick up all that debris and it's going to rush it down the steep topography, the steep lands, the steep

mountain sides there.

Some of these Canyon walls, they extend over 4500 feet from the bottom where the Colorado River is located all the way to the top. So the water

just rushes down and it picks up anything in its path. And if we've got burn scars in the area, yeah, that can be very, very problematic, Max.

FOSTER: Derek, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Coming out of the United States war with Iran shows no sign of slowing down. Now the Pentagon is pushing back on reports that senior military

leaders are unhappy with how the war's going.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:26]

FOSTER: Could the United States and Iran be heading back to the cycle of tit-for-tat military strikes?

Well, U.S. President Donald Trump is promising there will be a response following Iranian attacks on two American military sites in Jordan and the

United Arab Emirates. U.S. Central Command says it targeted two Iranian rocket launchers as Iran prepared to deploy mines into the Strait of

Hormuz. Talks between the two nations have completely stalled.

According to "The Washington Post", several U.S. military leaders have advised Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that prolonging large-scale

operations against Iran is unsustainable. They also warned Hegseth in a classified document that the war risks weakening the military's ability to

confront threats elsewhere, including the U.S. homeland. The report says some military leaders responded to orders to extend troops with non-

concurs, meaning they disagree but will still comply.

A Pentagon spokesperson says publishing classified assessments is a crime and a betrayal. He adds that none concurs in the military as standard.

Joining me now, Bilal Saab, senior managing director of TRENDS US. He served as a Pentagon advisor in the first Trump administration.

Thank you so much for joining us, Bilal.

I mean, this leak must be music to the Iranian ears, isn't it, because it's pretty clear they're in this for the long haul and they actually want to

grind the U.S. down.

BILAL Y. SAAB, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, TRENDS US: Yeah, possibly, but I want to be very careful with what I say here, Max, because to an outsider

who doesn't really understand the workings of the Pentagon, who hasn't worked in the Pentagon, this is standard operating procedures. I mean, this

is part of the coordination process among so many cooks in the kitchen. I mean, this is a very large bureaucracy, right?

And so the system worked exactly how it should. The problem is that it got leaked, right? And this is where I actually agree with the Pentagon's

leadership that this is a crime and those who leaked it should be prosecuted. That said, it doesn't change the fact that we do have, this is

where I disagree with the spokesperson, that we do have a problem of readiness, right?

All that we've learned from this is something that we've known all along is that this war has dramatically impacted our readiness levels across the

force. And so this issue of non-concur of those commanders of the geographic commands outside of CENTCOM, so EUCOM and SOUTHCOM and others, I

mean, you got to remember, their top priority is to ensure their own mission, right?

And so, if I'm going to take away resources from them, borrow some of the resources in order to deploy them elsewhere, my immediate reaction is going

to be why are you taking those from me, especially for a long period of time?

It doesn't matter that we're in a war with Iran or with Canada or Togo, it doesn't matter. If you are affecting my mission, the first thing I'm going

to do is raise alarm bells in terms of my own readiness. And there are ways to do that. There are ways to do that in the Pentagon, in the coordination

process, and there are mechanisms for that.

Except, once again, it got leaked. It shouldn't have got leaked.

FOSTER: But, you know, how does, you know, the government of the U.S. deal with this? Because a climb down with Iran would obviously be a problem for

them, but also they don't want to make the U.S. vulnerable. So how do they balance that?

SAAB: I don't think this really dramatically affects the mentality, the mindset, the posture of the Iranians, or frankly, even the Americans. Some

are going to be saying that this is going to dramatically affect the options of the president. He's not going to be able to escalate militarily

because of this.

I just don't agree with that, as a matter of fact. You got to remember, Max, that there's been a shift over the past few weeks in our own

understanding of how we're doing in this war, rightly or wrongly. So let me describe to you the shift.

I think the administration believes that we're doing a whole lot better than we were doing weeks ago with this economic pressure against the

Iranians. The administration feels like that time now is actually in their own favor, right?

And that this, back to the terms that we used in the first Trump administration, the maximum pressure campaign is actually yielding effects.

And so, I don't think that they're in a hurry to rush to like returning to the MOU that they signed several months ago.

[15:30:04]

But at the same time, once again, you never should be confusing this relative operational success with strategic outcomes that we saw right from

the beginning going into this war, which as you call, Max, had nothing to do with the Strait of Hormuz. It was more about the nuclear issue and then

Iran's relations with those militant actors.

Those issues we have yet to discuss, right? And so while we may be doing a little bit better on the Strait of Hormuz problem, which is the immediate

issue now, which we created ourselves, by the way, we have yet to discuss the far more strategic issues of the controversial nuclear program of the

Iranians and their military buildup and their problematic ties with those militant actions.

FOSTER: OK. Bilal, really appreciate yours analysis of that leak today, and as you say, very sensitive documents that did go actually out to the

media, which is an issue. Thank you.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemning new settler attacks against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, even whilst insisting only

a handful of rioters are violating the law. This weekend saw more attacks targeting Palestinians, including the storming of the village of Qusra,

where dozens of settlers seized a home with people trapped inside. The homeowner says soldiers watched and did nothing before firing tear gas. No

arrests were made. In a separate instance settlers attacked a TV news crew beating a Palestinian woman they were interviewing unconscious.

Jeremy Diamond has more from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was only a couple of weeks ago that we brought you the story of a home in the village of Qusra

that was besieged by Israeli settlers trying to take it over. We reached that home and found the situation that is underway. But now in that same

village of Qusra, dozens of Israeli settlers mounted yet another attack on a Palestinian home, pelting the owner and several other people who were

inside that home with rocks. Storming the house itself and attempting to seize it, the owner of the home told us that it was -- this attack went on

for about an hour until the Israeli military showed up, but when the military showed up.

This man and several others say that it was the Palestinians who were ultimately detained, blindfolded, and even beaten by Israeli security

forces before ultimately being released. The Israeli military in a statement spoke about the dozens of Israeli rioters who they said had

attacked this home. And yet, neither the Israeli military nor the Israeli police at this point have arrested any of those rioters, even though some

of them are identifiable on camera while they were inside that house.

And this wasn't the only incident of settler violence this weekend. Israeli settlers in the neighboring town of Jalud also attacked an NBC News crew

and a Palestinian woman they were interviewing, beating them with sticks and rocks. The Palestinian woman was even rendered unconscious by that

attack.

Now, we have heard from a number of senior Israeli officials with varying degrees of severity in terms of the statements they're putting out. The

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly downplayed the phenomenon of settler violence, said in a statement this weekend that

he condemned the violence but once again attributed it to a, quote, "handful of rioters", who he said are violating the law. He said that he

expects Israeli authorities to arrest the rioters and bring them to justice.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said last week that it was preparing to potentially send additional battalions of troops to the area to reinforce

the security there. A notable statement given that the Israeli military quietly is recognizing more and more the danger that these Israeli settlers

are posing not only to Palestinians but to security in the area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond there.

Now, Israel's national security minister who oversees Israeli police boasting about the harsh treatment of Palestinian prisoners in a new A.I.

campaign video posted on social media. It is the latest example of Itamar Ben-Gvir's messaging getting even more extreme as elections approach.

The video shows numbered Palestinian prisoners in brown uniforms moving along a conveyor belt into a fence compound with watchtowers. The inmates

appear well fed at the start but thinner and distressed after passing through the industrial style processing line. The post says, "We promised,

we delivered". It's now being taken down after amassing more than four million views.

It's the final moments of trade on Wall Street and stocks are lower.

[15:35:00]

The Dow is off by triple digits as investors respond to those new attacks between the U.S. and Iran.

This is our Business Breakout.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Kyrgyzstan. The pair met at a summit hosted by the Shanghai

Cooperation Organization, a small body of mostly Asian countries. That group also includes Iran, whose president is also due to meet with Mr.

Putin this week.

American communities that reject data centers will end up backwards and poor, in the words of U.S. President Donald Trump. Several states are

planning a pause on new centers after a backlash over their environmental impact. Posting on social media earlier, Mr. Trump said those communities

would, quote, only have yourselves to blame.

A big moment for Tim Cook. It's his last day as Apple's CEO. Cook took over after Steve Jobs died 15 years ago. Apple shares are up more than 2,000

percent during that time. The company's hardware chief, John Ternus, takes over as CEO, starting on Tuesday. Cook will be sticking around as Apple's

executive chairman.

It was a close vote, but the people of Iceland have voted against reopening talks to join the European Union. Advocates had said joining the E.U. could

help Iceland fight inflation, but there were deep concerns about protecting Iceland's valuable fishing waters from European fishermen.

I spoke last hour with Iceland's president, Halla Tomasdottir, about the vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALLA TOMASDOTTIR, ICELANDIC PRESIDENT: Icelanders feel European and they feel Nordic and are a founding partner in NATO. So we feel a strong

transatlantic relationship as well. I think maybe you could say that some of the Icelanders on the no side probably thought the European economic

agreement was a good partnership. And I think some of the people who voted on the yes side thought maybe we could have better interest rates,

strengthen our economy.

And so, I think there were many valid points, both for the no and the yes camp. We're living in complex times, but some would say that Iceland

decided to trust its own strong trajectory to continue on its own strong partnerships with the Nordics, with the Baltics, with Europe and the

transatlantic relationship and the NATO relationship to take us from strength to strength.

FOSTER: You'll be aware that in the U.K., there seems to be a bit of regret about leaving the European Union and the current government is doing

all that it can to rebuild those ties, even the prime minister suggesting that U.K. will rejoin the European Union. Do you think there may be some

regret after this vote when the emotion is taken out of it that Iceland will remain weaker outside the E.U.?

TOMASDOTTIR: It's hard for me to tell right now. You are right that there are emotions on both sides and there were strong and sensible arguments on

both sides. So right now, I think we need to listen to all of those arguments.

I think one on the yes side, I heard a lot from young people great concerns about their ability to get out of their mother's and father's house and buy

their own place and be able to afford it when it comes to interest rates and inflation. These are very challenging economic issues, and our

government must attend to them for people to be happy here. And on the no side, people believe that we can go further by working well with all the

partners we have around, but not fully joining the E.U., but fully strengthening our European economic area relationship, which together with

Norway and Liechtenstein we have.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: The Icelandic president speaking to me last hour.

Still to come, a message from Messi. One of the most decorated strikers in international football history hanging up his cleats. That story when we

come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:11]

FOSTER: Let's take you straight to the Oval Office, where President Trump is taking questions from the media.

REPORTER: How do you trust that approach with what you were highlighting today, which is bringing more of these private companies on virtual lower

cost for Americans?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, this is much bigger, much better, much less expensive, and it's something that works. The other

doesn't work. And, you know, when you talk Medicaid for, usually that's the entire budget of the whole country. So you'd have to quadruple taxes.

The other thing is, I understand it, you'll lose if you have private health care, if you have private -- something where really-- a lot of people are

very, very happy with what they have privately. They lose all of that. They lose everything they've had. And there'd be a tremendous backup.

But it's actually, in many cases, bigger than the budget. I remember they tried it in Vermont, and they tried it in a few places. They went into it,

and they realized it costs more money than the entire amount of money taken in. And this was by a liberal governor, very liberal, who wanted to do it.

And I'm all for anything, but what we've done today is broke down prices and you get the level of prescription drugs and care, ultimately care that

you could never get the other way. It just -- it just haven't worked.

And I'd like to ask Bob or Oz, because it is a very good question. I'd like you to address that for a second, the difference?

And, you know, you hear it sounds so good, but in the end, it's horrible healthcare.

DR. MEHMET OZ, CMS DIRECTOR: It doesn't work. And we know that for two reasons. One, you censor and ultimately limit access to care. We see that,

for example, in other countries that are remarking how effective this most favored nation drug pricing has been because they actually just don't give

their patients who have, for example, a cancer who's older, the medication. They just let them pass.

We also know without any question that those programs ultimately get more and more expensive until they devour the system so they end up with a two-

tiered system. So you have affluent people who get better quality care at private clinics, and you have the average American who would have to go to

wherever they're allowed to go.

And if you notice when we talked about the program with GLP-1 medications in Medicare, the most common place that GLP-1 medications are sold now in

America, what used to be the Upper East Side of Manhattan, one of the richest places in the country, and they're using the drug to look a little

better when they go to the Hamptons this weekend.

But now we're giving it to all Americans, if they desired, who are eligible at $50 a month, which means most Americans can now afford that. That's a

democratization of health care.

And we believe that that is part of what America has always been. You own a piece of the rock, you own your health care to get on the playing field, to

compete in commerce or anywhere else. You have to be on the field. You need your help to be able to do that.

And I'll leave you with the last big issue. The president has said this many times. If we could just get the average American to feel so healthy,

so with it, so vibrant, that they want to work just one extra year, that's worth $1 trillion to our GDP every year.

[15:45:02]

So investing in cutting-edge technologies, giving the best access that we can afford to every American, everywhere they want it, actually builds the

value of our nation because we're a working country. That's what's always made America special.

FOSTER: Bob, are you okay?

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., HHS SECRETARY: I'm good, Mr. President.

TRUMP: Because I've spoken to Bobby about it. He understands it maybe better than anybody, and he feels the same way. Please.

REPORTER: Thank you, President Trump.

Is the resumption of strikes in Iran part of a limited campaign or a return to full-scale war? And how will you respond to the --

TRUMP: It's very limited. Look, they're a failed nation. Yeah. They're a failed nation.

They've got 350 percent inflation. They have no currency. They're not paying their soldiers. Their leaders are largely dead.

Their navy is gone. Their air force is gone. Their surveillance equipment is almost entirely gone. That doesn't mean we won't smack them. We'll see

what happens.

But we have the Strait of Hormuz in extremely good shape. You know, we're taking over. Many, many ships got through last night, as you know, with the

navy's assistance. and we've been averaging 30 ships a night. That's a lot. And a lot of oil's coming out.

That's why you haven't seen the price of oil go like they thought it might have to go. And the main thing, when I say it all, I could go on for an

hour about what a great job we've done. We've done a great job with Venezuela. We've done a great job with Iran.

Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. See, that's what it's all about. It's not about any of the other things. It's about we as a country and for

the world, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

If Iran had a nuclear weapon, Israel would have been wiped out. You would have no Israel right now, and you'd probably have no Middle East. And

they'd be hitting our cities at some point because they're sick people. And Iran will never have a nuclear weapon --

FOSTER: President Trump there speaking to the latest U.S. attacks in Iran and the tit for tat there with the Iranians. confirming it's a limited

campaign not a return to full-fledged war.

Coming up the biggest night in fashion needs a sudden makeover. The Met Gala celebration of John Galliano getting scrapped. We'll explain why after

the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:08]

FOSTER: Now, it's known as the biggest night in fashion. Now, planning for next year's Met Gala is going to have to start again from scratch. This

year's event was supposed to honor the British designer John Galliano, but after a growing outcry, He's now said an exhibit of his work will not take

place.

Galliano was fired from Dior in 2011 after he was filmed making an anti- Semitic rant in a cafe in Paris. Jewish groups had criticized the decision to celebrate him at next May's Gala.

Anna Wintour, who helps program the event, says she believes it's the right call to scrap the exhibit.

What we don't know is, can the Met Gala actually recover from this Galliano controversy?

Joining me now, Vanessa Freeman, fashion director and chief fashion critic at "The New York Times".

Thank you so much for joining us.

I mean, we should probably remind people where this controversy comes from, this event back in 2011 whilst also being aware on TV. But it was deeply

offensive, wasn't it? And it wasn't just anti-Semitic. It was also racist.

VANESSA FRIEDMAN, FASHION DIRECTOR, THE NEW YORK TIMES: It was actually -- it was three events. He had three different kind of breakdowns or rants

where he, under the influence of drugs and alcohol, said truly terrible things about both Jews and Asians, sort of very serious slurs. you know,

and was convicted of a hate crime in France as a result and fired from Dior and entered rehab and then studied with a rabbi in London called Barry

Marcus, as well as spending a lot of time with Abe Foxman of the Anti- Defamation League in New York.

And as a result, in 2014, he was hired as creative director at Maison Margiela and began a sort of 10-year return to fashion.

FOSTER: Presumably, the idea of bringing him back into the fold was because he deserved some sort of redemption, but what was the thinking

behind the Met Gala building this relationship with him for next year?

FRIEDMAN: I mean, there is a very core concept in Judaism about second chances. There is a core principle that says when someone has done the work

and has apologized to everyone involved and taken responsibility and atone that they should be given a second chance. And I think people felt that

about John, and he was given a second chance.

The Met Gala, the Met exhibit, on the other hand, which is a nine-month show in the Costume Institute, is a singular and historic honor. And in

fact, John would have been only the third living designer to ever have a solo show at the Costume Institute. And it's often celebrated with -- the

opening is celebrated with the Met Gala, which is generally themed according to the exhibit.

So it really becomes a kind of honor for the subject. And I think there was a real feeling that that was a different -- that was a different universe

entirely than a second chance.

FOSTER: Anna Wintour is obviously a huge supporter of his. She said, after extensive discussion, I support the decision not to proceed. You would have

thought they had these extensive discussions beforehand, though, and did a bit of scenario planning. I'm not being too critical, but, you know, what

do you make of that? Because she's also adding that it was, this was a measure of the man, very courageous, a measure of the man that he pulled

out of this event. So she's also supporting him still.

FRIEDMAN: I think somehow the museum and Anna and Andrew Bolton, the curator of the Costume Institute, and Max Hollein, the director of the

museum, did not consider the context in which this singular honor exhibit would take place, right? This is -- we are at a moment of rising anti-

Semitism in New York, in the country, in the world, and you really can't take the show out of the world in which it appears, especially at an

institution like the Met, which is so to New York identity, to the culture of the city, and to fashion.

So I think somehow they felt that John's atonement would be enough. But in fact, the question wasn't really, has John atoned or not atoned? The

question was about the museum's decision-making. You know, why would the museum decide to have this particular show at this particular point in

time?

FOSTER: So it's about time as much as anything, Vanessa Friedman. Thank you so much. It's a fascinating story of our times, isn't it, really? Thank

you for your insights on it.

Now it's the end of an era for Argentina. At just 39 years old, Lionel Messi retiring from international football. The second leading scorer in

World Cup history announced today that he is retiring from international play with Argentina's national team. Messi will continue, though, to play

for Inter Miami in the MLS. Amongst his many accomplishments, leading Argentina to three World Cup finals and a win back in 2022.

Messi announced his retirement with a handwritten note. In it, he wrote, "Thank you, God, for making me Argentine."

Finally tonight, another sports superstar suffering a stunning defeat on Sunday. Novak Djokovic was knocked out of the U.S. Open in the opening

round. He hadn't lost a first round match in a major tournament since the 2006 Australian Open. The 24-time major champion was clearly suffering

through physical ailments in the match and some are wondering if this may have been his final attempt at a Grand Slam tournament.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.

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