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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Officially Signs Iran Agreement; Rex Heuermann Sentenced to Life in Prison Without Parole; Plane Crash Victims Rescued from Fiery Wreck. Fed Keeps Lending Rate Steady As Warsh Leads First Meeting; Lawrence, Kansas Embraces Hosting Team Algeria. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 17, 2026 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Phil Mattingly. Jake Tapper is on assignment.

We are following breaking news. The memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran has been signed by President Trump, according to sources. Trump says the agreement ensures the Iranian regime will never get a nuclear weapon.

One U.S. official characterized it as a, quote, gentleman's agreement, while others say it doesn't reflect the critical backchannel agreements. Trump put it this way earlier in the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'd rather -- this is a memorandum of understanding. It's very important, but it might not be the kind of a document that I should be signing.

If it works out, I'm going to take the credit. If it doesn't work out, I'm blaming J.D. You better be careful, J.D.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, the 14-point memorandum will unfreeze Iranian assets, offer significant sanctions relief and a massive cash investment in Iran's oil trade.

CNN's Kaitlan Collins and analyst Barak Ravid join us now. And, Kaitlan, we originally thought the signing was happening on Friday. What does this all mean?

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, judging by our count now, Phil, this is the second time the president has signed this agreement. He did so a couple of days ago when they had initially agreed to it on Sunday. Now, the White House is confirming that he did sign a physical copy of it tonight at this dinner that he's having at Versailles with the French president on the heels of this G7 Summit. And so he's now signed it multiple times. We still expect the vice president to sign it again in that ceremonial signing that the president was seemingly joking about at the end of the press conference there when asked about if things go poorly here, if he's going to put the blame of this agreement on the vice president when he was joking there at the end, saying, yes, that he was.

And I should note, Phil, despite the fact that this has now been signed multiple times by multiple officials and there are more signings to come, we just got the first look at the actual text of this today. There have been some drafts that have been circulating around, certainly here at the G7 Summit, with other world leaders telling us they had seen it yesterday, including Canada's prime minister.

And the president was touting something that is true when he came out at the press conference, which is that other world leaders here love this agreement, and that they are fully in behind it and endorsing it so far. But as you know, Phil, back home in Washington, it is getting a much frostier reception from a lot of the president's usual allies and Republicans, who are saying -- one of them, Bill Cassidy, calling it the biggest foreign policy blunder in decades. And a lot of them asking, you know, what the president said on day one of this war compared to what he was saying today, where he was arguing for Iran to have missiles after vowing to raze their missile industry to the ground.

He was also praising Iranian leadership, which, of course, is just the son of the former supreme leader. The president was praising him today after initially in this war, he had called on the Iranian people to take back their government, saying it was the only time in generations they were going to have the opportunity to do so.

But, really, it's the financial incentives for Iran that are in this agreement that have these lawmakers so upset because, yes, the president and the White House keeps focusing on what's performance- based, which they say is, you know, lifting sanctions, unfreezing Iranian assets, something the president defended today, saying it's their money, even though he criticized President Obama for doing similar.

But there's also some that are happening immediately, like the oil sales. They are going to be able to immediately begin selling oil. They're going to get waivers for that. And so they'll obviously be able to make money for that. And we will see where this goes forward and whether or not this next 60-day period actually does produce anything.

A lot of skeptical people back in Washington, though, Phil, who don't seem to think that is going to be the case here.

MATTINGLY: Yes, skepticism tied to history of negotiations between these two countries, no question about that.

But, Barak, my sense from administration officials is like they want to kick this next phase into gear in terms of tangible negotiations immediately, as soon as possible, and they want to make concrete, I think, some level of substantive moves forward in the days ahead. What's your sense of the next steps?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, there's going to be a meeting on Friday in a very nice resort in Switzerland. It will be historic because we'll see, I think, the vice president, Vice President Vance, and Speaker of Iranian Parliament Ghalibaf maybe in front of the cameras for the first time shaking hands, something we haven't seen since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

So, I think, on the one hand, it will be historic, but it will only be a launch. This deal is highly technical, highly difficult to get those detailed negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. I find it highly unlikely that you can manage to do such a thing in 60 days, highly unlikely.

And I think, you know, U.S. officials say they will know in two, three weeks whether the Iranians are really serious or not.

[18:05:05]

They also say that they had a gentleman's agreement with the Iranians during the negotiations, meaning that they got some verbal commitments from the Iranians on the scope of the nuclear concessions they are ready to do, and that they'll see when they actually sit at the table now in the negotiations whether the Iranians really stick to those commitments.

But I think that even if they are, if they do commit, it will take a long time, many months, in order to get such a deal.

MATTINGLY: Barak, there's a kind of positive tone and a level of optimism that I think we've picked up from administration officials and the president as well over the course of the last several days. Do you think they're clear-eyed about the difficulty that lies ahead?

RAVID: Well, I think, on the one hand, they are -- I mean, they say that they're clear-eyed. On the other hand, they express a lot of optimism. And, you know, I think they also express a lot of optimism about, again, we hear President Trump saying it publicly, a more rational Iranian leadership. Other U.S. officials say, you know, it's a dialogue between the U.S. and Iran that hasn't happened in years on multiple levels with the IRGC.

At the end of the day, the system in Iran is the same system. There hasn't been a regime change, okay? The IRGC is the same IRGC. In some ways, the commanders of the IRGC are some of the most hardline people that were sidelined during the time of the previous supreme leader. And I think that in the basic premise of this regime is that it wants to maintain its nuclear program.

So, I think we should keep our expectations low and be very skeptical about these negotiations while, you know, giving it a chance to succeed.

MATTINGLY: Two of the absolute best in the business, Barak Ravid, Kaitlan Collins, thank you guys so much, as always.

Of course, don't miss Kaitlan on her show, The Source with Kaitlan Collins. That's tonight at 9:00 Eastern on CNN.

Well, with me now in studio, CNN National Security Analyst and former Deputy Director of National Intelligence Beth Sander, and CNN Global Affairs and Political Commentator Sabrina Singh. Guys, thank you for joining me. I know there's a lot of moving parts that we're all trying to get our heads around every 15 minutes or so.

Beth, I want to start with -- you know, Kaitlan referenced what we saw from Senator Bill Cassidy in terms of -- I'll actually read it for you. He posted this today. Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Iran's nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure around this deal. He goes on to say, this is the worst foreign policy blunder in decades.

Now, important caveat, Bill Cassidy lost his primary in large part because the president went against him on this. But what Cassidy's saying is not too dissimilar from what I've heard from some other Republicans as well. They're very concerned about this. What's your read on the 14 points?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It is an Iranian deal. They got a lot. And, you know, I think that the real challenge now is whether this next part of the negotiation happens. You know, we've got to get through this 60 days, and then we've got to get through another 60 days of the actual negotiation, right?

So, I think it's not fair to compare the MOU to the JCPOA, but we have enough hints here to tell us that the Iranians are getting so much that we had to give a ton in order to get them even to sign this MOU. And I believe, Sabrina, correct me if I'm wrong, I think it took us longer from the ceasefire to this MOU, more than 60 days. And this is just like kind of a, you know, framework B.S. thing. I mean, there're some things in there, but like 60 days for the actual negotiation that matters, and then we have all the things that aren't in here.

So, you have to wonder, why did we conduct this war? This MOU is about putting us back to the status quo ante, but not even that, right? I mean, because we're giving them, this regime, this horrible regime, billions and billions of dollars, and we're normalizing it. We're literally saying out loud that these are the good guys now, these are the moderate people, and they're not. And we're paying them money so they can rebuild whatever they want to rebuild so they can return to the threat. I think this is not -- this doesn't sound like a great deal.

MATTINGLY: Sabrina, it's been interesting how administration officials who have talked to reporters about this are trying to make the case for it.

[18:10:02] And in part, it's kind of this view that these are different people, even if it's the son and hardliners that have been elevated, IRGC's role, in general, I think is more elevated than it even was before, but also the idea of like, look, economic integration. This is a country that's in a really bad economic place right now. They need this. They have to have this. The world is committing to this on some level, which, frankly, rings similar to a lot of what I think the Obama administration was trying to think, not to compare the two things.

Do you see any merit to how they're kind of pitching this out right now?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: I really don't, and to Beth's point I think this is a bit of a capitulation from this administration when it comes to many of the points in the deal. I mean, to, to what you were saying earlier, Iran's economy is just spiraling downwards. That was our leverage against them, to hold them accountable.

But because we are giving them waivers to now sell their oil, what they're able to do is not only expand where they sell on the global market, they can take that money back, and they're not going to necessarily invest it back into their economic infrastructure. They could invest that back into rebuilding their military capabilities, and that's something that's also not addressed in that MOU, which is the ballistic missile program, their support for proxies. We know these are things that Donald Trump laid out at the very beginning of this war, that those were some of the core tenets of why we went to war in the first place, and they're not even addressed.

So, you know, I think when it comes to this deal this administration is going to try and sell this as a win. I think Senator Cassidy's words stand very true, that this was one of the worst foreign policy blunders in the last few decades, and I just do not see how this administration -- I mean, to what Beth was saying, it's not a deal. You can't compare it to the JCPOA. It's 14 points. We don't have any of the details yet.

MATTINGLY: Yes. No, those are very good points.

The president offered thanks to China and Russia today for their role. I want you to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I want to thank China, President Xi, I was with him, and he stayed neutral, totally neutral, and I appreciate it. And I want to thank Vladimir Putin. He was very neutral. They could have made it much more difficult for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Beth, I think I have a sense of like what he's trying to get at there. Does it make any sense to you? SANNER: They did not send fighter jets and air defense systems to Iran. What they did send and what they both provided were means of Iran to better target Americans, potentially to kill Americans to fire exactly on our bases. Many of our bases and our embassies in the region are destroyed to the point where it's going to cost billions of dollars to rebuild them.

The pinpoint accuracy of that was almost certainly from help from Russia and China. And I don't know whether the lives that were lost in Kuwait were as a result of this targeting, but I suspect that they got some help.

MATTINGLY: Sabrina, I was very struck today by the number of mentions Herbert Hoover got from the president in his press conference, which is a reference to, you know, didn't want it to be the Great Depression, didn't want to be known as 1929. I think it's a tell. I think that's actually a really important kind of window into where the administration was seeing the kind of global economy and perhaps moving really close to the brink here.

Is that the reason to sign off on this if it's as kind of hole-ridden, as you guys say it is?

SINGH: I mean, to borrow, you know, a phrase from the president that he likes to use, this administration politically just doesn't have the cards right now. I mean, people every day are pulling up to gas stations and they're seeing their prices go up. They're seeing their grocery prices go up. And it is a cause of this war.

And because this was a war of choice and because the American people never got an explanation from this president on why we need to go to war in the first place, it's politically toxic where they are now. So, absolutely, they saw this as an off-ramp to get out and to get out quickly.

And, unfortunately, you know, Iran is going to walk away economically on stronger footing than they were at the start of this war, and that is something that we are going to wrestle with for a very long time, including the fact that they will retain asymmetric capabilities to potentially close the strait in the future.

MATTINGLY: Yes, they have leverage now that they never had before, and I think that's a fascinating piece of all of this.

Sabrina, Beth, thank you, guys. I appreciate you.

Well, more reaction to this agreement in moments. We'll be joined by Democratic lawmaker who is on both the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees. What has been the reaction to this document on Capitol Hill?

Plus, today, the U.S. military identified the eight people killed when an Air Force B-52 bomber crashed in California earlier this week. What we're learning about those victims, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:15:00]

MATTINGLY: Back with our World Lead, President Trump is almost done with his G7 trip, capping it off with a fancy dinner at France's iconic Versailles Palace, where he officially signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran.

Joining us now, Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen of Nevada, she is on the Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committee. Senator, I really appreciate your time.

Your colleague, Senator Lindsey Graham, says he talked to Special Envoy Steve Witkoff at length and believes the agreement will be, quote, beneficial to the U.S. What's your view on it?

SEN. JACKY ROSEN (D-NV): Well, my view that is, this is a weak deal. It is weaker than the JCPOA. It puts us no -- actually worse off than when we went in, because we're going to give Iran -- let's sort of think about this. Iran is no hero here. They are the leading state sponsor of terrorism. We're going to give them upwards of half a trillion dollars to rebuild. What do you think they're going to do with it? Just feed people? They're going to rebuild their defense industrial base, and let's remind people that every bomb made in Iran says, death to America, on it.

So, this is a weak deal. We are no better off.

[18:20:00]

I don't want to see any more of our men and women in harm's way, so we do need to do something. But Trump's -- the tolls in 60 days, it's just going to be like another tariff. Costs are going to get passed on to the American consumer. So, in every way, we lose in this deal, and Iran wins. And so I don't think it's a good deal. I disagree with Senator Graham.

MATTINGLY: One of the things I was struck by earlier when senior administration officials were walking reporters through the MOU was the most immediate kind of financial benefit within these 14 points comes from Treasury issuing licenses for oil sales immediately. Then what the administration is saying to defend it is basically that the U.S. would be giving China, quote, a big, fat discount if they did not do this. What do you make of that kind of defense of it?

ROSEN: Well, none of this makes any sense. We are literally capitulating to Iran. The president went into a war without knowing what he was doing, without a plan to get out, and without a clear goal. Iran now is going to have plenty of money. Sanctions are going to be lifted. They're going to be able to maybe put tolls on in 60 days in the Straits of Hormuz, where all our farmers' fertilizer, plastics, and oil come through. We lose in every single point. And, by the way, no talk about stopping their nuclear program, and so no stopping of funding their terrorist proxies, which we're worried about every day here in America and around the world.

So, I think it's an incredibly bad and weak deal, and the president just is tired. He wants to get out of it, and he handed the keys to Iran. This is a good deal for them. They're laughing all the way to the literal bank on this one.

MATTINGLY: The president was talking about the U.S. bombing campaign on Iran earlier today during his press conference. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: And, by the way, those last two days were brutal, $200 million worth of bombs. And, you know, it is expensive too, by the way, aside from everything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: We're learning now that the president's invoked the Defense Production Act to force defense companies to manufacture more ordinance and weapons. I'm interested, this is a longstanding issue that I've heard from, about in the last administration, and it's certainly been exacerbated by the conflict of the lasted 109 days. What are you hearing about kind of the levels or low levels, dangerously low levels, of the U.S. arsenal at this point?

ROSEN: Well, yes, without going in without a plan and bombing indiscriminately without thinking about what we're doing or how we're doing it, they're just doing it all for show and the big photos on T.V., we have really depleted our stock. So, that puts us at more and more risk. Everything he's done in the region has put American lives at risk. Our men and women that they've deployed to the region all around there, all of us, and of course, every American is going to pay, every taxpayer, by the sweet deals that Trump is giving to Iran to rebuild that.

How much is it going to cost us to rebuild our own bases and our own assets that were destroyed by Iran during this war? And also what are those tolls going to cost us? Price of gas isn't going down. Price of fertilizer isn't going to go down. No prices will come down. That's why I introduced some bills today to stop Trump from doing that slush fund so we can really reduce prices here at home.

MATTINGLY: Can I ask you about that, actually?

ROSEN: Yes.

MATTINGLY: I noticed that when you introduced the package of bills, I think it was a couple weeks ago. I knew you were going to the Senate floor. Honestly, I've been on television, so I'm not sure if you got the U.C.s. I'm going to guess you probably did not.

ROSEN: I did. I did. And Senator Scott objected to all three.

MATTINGLY: Can you walk people through kind of what they actually did, what you were going for here?

ROSEN: Yes. So what we did is we introduced three bills, because Donald Trump wants to put about $1.8 billion slush fund to pay the January 6th rioters. I was here that day. They were no tourists, trust me. And all of his billionaire buddies and anybody who he thinks without impunity, no audits, no trails, any of that. So, I know how important our families are to all of us, and I want to show my folks in Nevada and around the country where my priorities are.

So, number one, how about taking that money and funding SNAP? In Nevada, 40 percent of the kids are food insecure. 40 percent of people on SNAP are children. We could take that money and feed hungry children in Nevada. But, of course, Rick Scott had to object.

Then I put another bill that said, well, if you don't like that, how about supporting those folks on Medicaid? And I'm going to point again to kids because I meet with a lot of families who have kids with chronic or terminal diseases and they're on Medicaid, people who are very sick that they need this kind of care. They've lost health insurance, can't afford it, or they're just too ill. I said, why don't we put that $1.8 billion to helping folks on Medicaid? Rick Scott, happy to block that because he thinks the president should be giving money to the January 6th rioters.

And then, of course, if they don't like taking care of kids with food or medicine, how about making sure our communities are safe?

[18:25:05]

So, the third bill I had was to support local law enforcement, specifically the COPS Hiring Program that helps with recruitment, retention. So, our local law enforcement is struggling for all of that. They need the tools, technology, and training in order to keep our community safe. And Republicans say they support law enforcement, but they blocked that so Trump could give money to his pals.

So, Rick Scott, on behalf of all Republicans in the Senate and on behalf of paying tribute to Donald Trump, he said that himself, basically blocked my three bills that would redirect the funds.

MATTINGLY: We'll see if the appropriations process is any more fertile ground going forward.

Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, I appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

ROSEN: Thank you for having me.

MATTINGLY: Well, five people were rescued from this scene, a fiery plane crash on a Texas highway last night. The woman who shot this video joins us live next to explain how it all unfolded.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

MATTINGLY: In our Law and Justice Lead, attorneys for Luigi Mangione will present a psychiatric defense at his New York State murder trial this fall. They plan to argue he was experiencing extreme emotional disturbance when he fatally shot UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City in December 2024. If successful, Mangione's second- degree murder charge could be reduced to manslaughter, cutting the maximum sentence from life in prison to 25 years.

Today, Judge Gregory Carro ordered Mangione's legal team to turn over medical records and identify expert witnesses by Thursday, giving prosecutors enough time to prepare for the trial, which is slated to begin this September.

Also in our Law and Justice Lead --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You make me sick and I don't forgive you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: A small measure of justice for the families of the victims murdered by the Gilgo Beach serial killer. Today, a judge sentenced Rex Heuermann to life in prison without the possibility of parole after admitting to killing eight women over a 17-year period in Long Island.

As CNN's Brynn Gingras reports, the sentencing marks the close to one of New York's most perplexing murder mysteries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE TIMOTHY P. MAZZEL, SUFFOLK COUNTY SUPREME COURT: Get him out of here.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The courtroom erupted in applause at the sentencing of Gilgo Beach Killer Rex Heuermann.

MAZZEL: You're a disgusting and despicable small man, if you're a man at all. And you're a coward.

GINGRAS: The judge handing down a life sentence to the serial killer with no chance of getting out.

REX HEUERMANN, CONVICTED SERIAL KILLER: I am responsible for what was said in this room today the words I would say have no meaning, and I'm going to leave it there at this time.

MAZZEL: Are you a little bit sorry for what you did to these poor, innocent women, eight women that you strangled to death, at least eight that we know of? Are you at least a little bit sorry for that? Yes?

HEUERMANN: Yes, I am. That explosive exchange coming after more than a dozen family members of Heuermann's victims addressed him in court.

MISSY CANN, SISTER OF VICTIM MAUREEN BRAINARD-BARNES: I hope he's forced to sit with the reality, to feel even a fraction of the weight, the trauma, and the pain I've carried for so long.

GINGRAS: The 62-year-old sat quietly, head down, even as they demanded his attention.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can look at me when I'm talking.

ELIZABETH MESERVE, AUNT OF VICTIM MEGAN WATERMAN: Like the justice system, I too am banishing the prisoner from occupying any more space in my mind as this day comes to a close. Be gone, cowardly demon.

GINGRAS: The sentencing, a final step in a case that stretched decades.

LILIANA WATERMAN, DAUGHTER OF VICTIM MEGAN WATERMAN: It's a day that I've been thinking of my whole life. The chance to finally speak up for her, it gives me comfort for her knowing she can finally lay down, rest in peace.

GINGRAS: Authorities connected Heuermann to the killings of seven women who they say he targeted because they were sex workers.

MESERVE: Their lives had meaning, purpose, and value.

GINGRAS: A break in the cold case came in 2023 after a task force was formed dedicated to the case. Authorities arrested Heuermann in New York City, linking a pizza crust he threw in the garbage to DNA left on some of the victims.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no doubt that this defendant is very sorry, Your Honor. He is sorry. He is sorry he got caught.

GINGRAS: In April, Heuermann struck a plea deal with prosecutors and admitted to killing eight women.

NICOLETTE BRAINARD-BARNES, DAUGHTER OF VICTIM MAUREEN BRAINARD-BARNES: Having been given the opportunity to say what I said today, I feel a lot lighter, and I have hope for healing.

GINGRAS: And the remains of four people who were found on that stretch of beach still remain unconnected to Heuermann at this point, but officials say they are still working to see if they can make some sort of connection, especially with DNA, Phil.

And those families that you heard from, well, in court today, they addressed Heuermann, and they basically said, we are convinced that you did those murders as well, and it's time to come clean.

MATTINGLY: Brynn Gingras, thanks so much for the great reporting.

Well, President Trump has made it clear he wants the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates, but today, his handpicked Fed chair didn't exactly deliver that. So, will there be any cuts later this year? What about hikes?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

MATTINGLY: In our National Lead, a private plane with six people on board crashed last night, erupting in flames on a highway near Laredo, Texas. The incident sparked a frantic rescue as passing drivers and police officers rushed to the burning wreckage to save the passengers who were trapped inside.

Five people were rescued, but, sadly, Capital Factory, a startup business in Austin, Texas, confirms that its CEO, Joshua Baer, was killed in the accident.

Zayra Garza watched as the terrifying scene unfolded, and recorded it on her phone. She joins me now. First, thank you for your time. Just to start, how are you doing after watching and witnessing this?

ZAYRA GARZA, WITNESS TO PLANE CRASH ON TEXAS HIGHWAY: It's sad to hear that somebody had to pass away. We were cheering that every -- you know, everybody was going to survive the crash. And it's just very dramatic, and still we can't believe this has happened. It looked like out of a movie. So, it was just very tragic what happened last night.

MATTINGLY: Tell people what you saw when the plane crashed, and kind of how events developed.

GARZA: So, I was heading south of the loop. I was dropping off some of my employees when we saw from far away some fire. So, we thought it was just a tractor trailer with a vehicle, you know, just an accident. Until we got closer, we saw the nose of the aircraft and the aircraft split in half.

We did see two law enforcements already in the scene trying to break the window the windshield from the front, and then we noticed that the pilots were trying to break it through the inside. That's when my husband immediately told me to park, and he went to render aid.

[18:40:01]

MATTINGLY: What were you thinking as your husband went to help?

GARZA: It's -- honestly, he does that all the time when there's an accident, so I wasn't expecting less of him. I was just concerned about the people. We didn't know how many people were inside the aircraft. The fire was just getting bigger and bigger by the minute, so we didn't know if it was going to be potential of explosion due to the fire.

Too many things were running into our head. And then when we saw miraculously that the children were the ones that opened the door, my husband told me that the door was very heavy, so he doesn't know how they were able to open that door, because it was sealed shut. But, thankfully, they were able to open the door, and that's how they were able to get out from the airplane.

MATTINGLY: I think based on the pictures, miraculous is the most apt way to describe things. What did you think as you saw them walk out, as you saw that there were actual survivors here?

GARZA: Honestly, it was shocking. Usually, when we hear about a crash, airplane crash, usually there's very minimal survivors. It's not common. So, it was a miracle for them to be -- they survived the crash and then were able to get out of the aircraft. The aircraft was full of smoke. And so the children didn't have any injuries. Once they got out, one of the law enforcement was with them. And my husband was telling me he was holding the door.

One of the pilots, the first pilot, was kind of confused and asking if they were in -- if the aircraft was in flames, so he told them to get out. He got out, but there was another pilot there. The other pilot was trying to pull that person that was unconscious closer to the door so the paramedics would get him out. So, my husband had to go partially into the aircraft to pull the other pilot out.

It was something scary because I couldn't believe that -- I mean, I just was already concerned of everybody there, and then more of him, you know, going, you know, partially inside to pull the other pilot. It was very stressful.

MATTINGLY: I bet it's remarkable. My thanks to you for sharing your story, to your husband for being one of the many heroes that helped with those survivors.

Zayra Garza, thank you so much for sharing your time.

GARZA: Thank you so much. Take care.

MATTINGLY: Well, today, the Federal Reserve signaled that higher interest rates could be coming later this year. What this means for your family and the prices you pay, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:46:28]

PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN HOST: All eyes on the Fed this afternoon. New Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh shared his latest take on the economy in remarks in a press conference closely watched by Wall Street, with investors looking for signals on inflation, interest rates, growth.

Energy markets, of course, also in focus. Oil prices have eased on hopes of an U.S.-Iran deal, while U.S. crude inventories, well, they've had a bit of a rougher time, plunging by 17.2 million barrels last week.

With inflation and energy and rates all intertwined, Warsh's comments, Walsh's views could help shape market expectations every day of the week at this point.

I want to bring in CNN's Matt Egan, who was in the room for the Fed Chair's press conference, which in part was like... defined by not telling us anything that we wanted to know about his forecast or what he was thinking about the future, but it was a fascinating press conference. What was your takeaway?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Phil, it was fascinating. Kevin Warsh, he told us a long time ago that he wanted regime change at the Fed. And I think today we've realized that he's serious about that, right? He is not talking about incremental, gradual change to this incredibly powerful institution. He wants sweeping reform, right?

He announced the launch of not one or two, but five different tasks that could change how the Fed does everything from communicate to the public, to how they think about inflation, to how they measure the economy. It's really stunning to hear all the different things that he is trying to do here. And the other thing that really stuck out to me was the Fed's statement, right?

It was almost unrecognizable to what we've seen before. It was incredibly succinct. I think you did the word count. It was like half the size of the prior statement.

But what was most interesting was the new thing that they added to the Fed's statement. They said, quote, "The committee he will deliver price stability." And for Fed speak, that's pretty emphatic, and he stressed it again and again during the press conference, and he noted that for five years now, the Fed has missed its 2 percent inflation target. And so I think the message from Warsh is that there's a new sheriff in town, and under his leadership, high inflation, it's just not going to fly.

MATTINGLY: Yeah, he told you what he was going to do, now he's actually doing it, though he was very diplomatic in how he talked about Fed staff and Fed officials as well. I'm interested because the idea was, I think for a lot of people outside of the confirmation space was like Trump wanted him to cut rates. He didn't cut rates the first time.

What do you think happens next in that fraught relationship historically?

EGAN: Yeah, well, look, I think one of the big debates coming into today was which Kevin Warsh are we going to get? Is it going to be the inflation hawk who even in 2009, when unemployment was high, was very concerned about high inflation, or is it going to be the Kevin Warsh, who while sort of auditioning for this job, he was very open to cutting interest rates, in part because he's optimistic about inflation eventually, about AI eventually being deflationary.

And I think that we kind of got our answer, right? It's the inflation hawk. The new Kevin Warsh sounds a lot like the old one. And what's interesting is the market reaction was pretty significant, right? The market is now pricing in a 66 percent chance of at least one interest rate hike by September. That is a massive difference from 24 hours ago when the market saw just a 30 percent chance. And the odds are even higher of an interest rate hike by the end of the year.

So Wall Street is bracing for higher interest rates. And for Main Street, I mean, that means higher borrowing costs, right? It'll be harder to pay off your credit card debt, harder to finance the purchase of a car. Harder to get a mortgage, but the goal here, of course, is to try to drive down inflation and get the cost of living back to where it's supposed to be.

[18:50:01]

MATTINGLY: Yeah, it's going to be fascinating to watch. I want to ask you about something I heard from President Trump today during the press conference that he had. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Everything follows the cost of energy, and we're going to end up having the lowest energy anywhere in the world. Oil is the biggest thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: I wanted to ask you this because you've done such amazing work, particularly on how the strategic petroleum reserve, commercial inventories, the dramatic draws we've seen. What are your sources telling you about kind of the direction of gas prices of oil market in general going forward?

EGAN: Well, Phil, it looks like we're in a much better place than we were just a week or two ago. Oil futures have plunged. Gas prices still way higher than before the war, but they've also come down pretty dramatically, right? $4.03 is the national average. That's down from $4.56 a gallon. There's a lot of optimism about the Strait of Hormuz reopening rapidly.

However, what's really important to remember is it takes time to clean up this mess, right? The vessels, these supertankers coming out They're moving at the speed of a bicycle. So that means that deliveries that are coming out of the straight her moves today, they're not going to hit the U.S. for a month or more. So I don't think we're quite out of the woods just yet.

MATTINGLY: All right, Matt Egan, thank you for the state. Thanks. Appreciate my friend.

Well, Algeria's national team came to the U.S. with hopes of a World Cup victory. But along the way, they're forming a new community with a town in Kansas that has spent months preparing for their arrival. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:55:32]

MATTINGLY: World Cup celebrations are spreading far beyond the stadium. Shows of spirit pouring into streets, subways, city squares, across host cities, from Boston to Atlanta to Houston. Fans are turning match day into a full-blown cultural spectacle.

Then there's Lawrence, Kansas, which is embracing Algeria as the team stays there, with the local community warmly welcoming them throughout the tournament. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MAYOR BRAD FINKELDEI, LAWRENCE, KANSAS: People have asked us a lot lately why have you embraced the Algerians so much, how has that been going and really we've been planning like everyone been playing for this for a long time and our decision when we decided to bring a World Cup team and get lucky enough to be selected was we were going to make everyone feel at home, whoever -- whatever country it was.

We wanted to make them authentically welcome, and it's been really easy because the Algerians have reciprocated that. They have brought their warmth. They have brought their energy. They have brought their excitement, and they've come to Lawrence, and we've embraced them and they've embraced us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: And joining me now is Lawrence mayor, Brad Finkeldei.

I appreciate you joining me.

The band video was like the first of what has become just an absolute tsunami of amazing content related to the welcoming of these teams, these communities, these visitors. I'm interested in what surprised you.

Like you guys were clearly prepared for this, you've been planning for this. Has anything surprised you about this experience?

FINKELDEI: You know what surprised me the most is really how our citizens have really embraced this more than we even expected. You know, we had all sorts of plans in place, but we did not have a plan for people to show up and line the streets at ten o'clock at night when the buses came in, that was all authentic.

And then I would say just how the Algerians and their fans have embraced us. I mean, again, not surprised by that, but really enjoying that reciprocal feelings together.

MATTINGLY: Why do you think the Lawrence community has taken to the Algerian team like they have?

FINKELDEI: Well, you know, the City of Lawrence, our mission statement is a place where everybody enjoys life and feels at home. And so our goal is to make everyone feel at home, be it our citizens, be it our guests. And so we put that out for them. We wanted to welcome them and they just reciprocated. It has been awesome to experience.

MATTINGLY: Yeah, you've mentioned the reciprocation. I've read some stuff about that as well. Like tell people about that, like how they've kind of given back or really kind of joined into the community aspect since they've been there.

FINKELDEI: Yeah, their joy and their energy is so exciting. They're teaching us their chants, teaching us their music, dancing with us, introducing us to their culture, joining our parties like we want them to do on the street. We had a big watch party last night, and it was filled with Algerian fans, and we learned a lot from them.

The home of the University of Kansas, we know something about sports, we know something about chants, we know something about cheering. We might not know as much about soccer, but we know how to join in with true fans and enjoy the moment.

Yeah, anybody who's seen a Kansas basketball game, you guys know about cheering and chants and being very, very loud. So tell me, like, how closely are you, like, are you watching everything they're doing? Like, are you now all in full-blown "Algeria, go Algeria" World Cup?

FINKELDEI: That's right. We are all in. We had a venue last night that was standing room only for folks watching the game. And many folks, including me, don't watch a lot of soccer before this, but we're all in now.

And the result last night wasn't quite what we hoped, but a couple more games to go and we're confident Algeria will move on to the round of 32.

MATTINGLY: Real quick, because we're running out of time, why are people surprised by the response? Like it feels like a very like Midwest Kansas thing to have happened to me.

FINKELDEI: You know, I think, you know, we're in a time in this world where maybe not everyone's getting along where there's a lot of divisiveness. So to me, anytime you have a story in which people are unifying, people from different cultures, people with different beliefs are unifying. I think that's a story everyone wants to get behind, and frankly, something we need more of in the world.

MATTINGLY: Couldn't agree more. It's a great story.

Mayor Brad Finkeldie, really appreciate your time. Thanks so much.

FINKELDEI: Thank you.

MATTINGLY: And I hope you'll join me for my new video series, CNN Breaks It Down. We're tackling the most pressing questions in business and politics. You can find the episodes on cnn.com/watch.

If you ever miss an episode of "The Lead", you can watch the show on the CNN app.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts now.