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Tomorrow: Bill Gates Set To Testify Before Oversight Committee; U.S. Protocols In Place For World Cup Travelers From Ebola-Hit Areas; World Cup Expected To Help Boost Retail Sales, GDP; Axios: Officials Investigating Whether Iran Shot Down Helicopters. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired June 09, 2026 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:28]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tomorrow, Microsoft founder, Bill Gates, speaks to the House Oversight Committee, about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. He is one of the bigger names to answer questions behind closed doors.

With us now is Congressman Stephen Lynch, a Democrat from Massachusetts, who is on the House Oversight Committee. Congressman, good to see you this morning.

When someone like Bill Gates, you know, such a big name, so well-known appears before your committee for questions, you know, what's the goal? How does it change things?

REP. STEPHEN LYNCH (D-MA): Well, John, there's been -- there had been multiple versions of -- of Bill Gates' involvement with -- with Jeffrey Epstein.

It -- is one that lasted several years. Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein even went beyond his first -- Epstein's first conviction. So Gates knew that he was a -- a, you know, convicted, you know, sex offender, and yet, maintained that relationship.

He's made various statements. There are also been -- there's a lot of evidence here that we're trying to sort through as to what is fact and what is fiction, so hopefully we can get to some of that tomorrow during -- during the interview with Mr. Gates.

BERMAN: Yes. You've been at this for a few months now. To what extent are you in a different place now than when you started?

LYNCH: Well, you know, I'd like to say we've gotten through a lot of the documents but we have not that there is three million documents that we have. There's three more -- three million more that we don't have. So we -- I still feel like we're at the tip of the iceberg here.

I don't believe Department of Justice gave us the most productive documents in the first batch. Remember, they had excluded anything that referred to President Trump in the first batch. And then we went back with the subpoena and -- and they gave us some, but I'm still -- I -- I just don't trust the Justice Department that they've given us all the documents that we need.

In the meantime, we have to go through all these documents. It's a painstaking process. So we're -- we're making progress. We -- we are identifying, you know, and -- and we're -- we're going through the list of witnesses that we think could offer information we haven't -- we haven't spared anyone, you know, the -- the -- the responsibility to come before us, so we're working out our way through the list, but it's a long list.

And this was -- this was a crime that occurred over an 18-year period. So, you know, there's a -- there's a lot there, John.

BERMAN: Multiple alleged crimes.

You brought up the Justice Department. There is now a new official nominee to lead the Justice Department, Todd Blanche who is currently the acting attorney general, the deputy attorney general. President Trump submitting his nomination to be the full-time confirmed attorney general.

How has -- to what extent has his performance in regard to the Epstein files do you think either bolstered his case or argue against his case for getting confirmed?

LYNCH: Todd Blanche's involvement with the Epstein case is -- is disastrous. You know, he -- he actually went and met with Ghislaine Maxwell, took her out of a heavy security prison, gave her a sweetheart deal.

She never agreed to cooperate, put her in a -- a -- a much more permissive environment, you know, has given her extensive privileges.

And -- and I believe that is witness tampering on his part. He interfered with the investigation. She is less likely to talk to us now since -- since Todd Blanche got involved with -- with this case.

[08:35:10]

And then to see, you know, Todd Blanche support President Trump's request for $1.8 billion to pay off the people who attacked the Capitol. And then he supports the -- the -- the tax immunity for the Trump family.

I mean, you know, you could go on and on, but he's -- he's clearly unqualified and untrustworthy in terms of being coming our -- our next attorney general.

BERMAN: The House, instead of Congress, needs to pass an extension on FISA, basically wireless surveillance, is being held up now largely because the president's pick to be acting Director of National Intelligence, Bill Pulte, who has no experience in intelligence. He's a housing guy.

What would it take for you to vote yes in a FISA extension?

LYNCH: Well, there are two problems there, John. You've identified one of them, which is Pulte. I don't trust him.

You know, he -- Trump wants to fire a lot of intelligence officials for no reason. Some bizarre conspiracy theory.

But also, you know, in -- in respect to, you know, FISA Section 702, we need -- we need modifications there. We've seen abuse and misuse by -- by the FBI. We've got evidence of that.

So -- so we need greater safeguards on Section 702. That's apart from the incompetence, the -- the blatant competence on the part of Pulte.

So we've got -- we've got two objectives there. We would have to solve both of those for me to support Section 702 reauthorization.

BERMAN: Very quickly, Congressman. The Massachusetts primaries aren't until September, which some people think is madness. That's really late, by the way, to have political primaries.

You have an opponent, Patrick Roath, who is running against you. He endorsed by -- by a teachers union there. He's campaigning on this generational shift that a lot of Democrats, younger Democrats, are leaning into.

What's your response to those who say we, Democrats, need a new generation of leaders?

LYNCH: Look, every -- every generations of Americans tries that, right? My generation did it too. You know, I give a young guy a chance. I get that.

These are -- these are times of great consequence right now. And there are young people who have experience and -- and some experience in government, you know, at a state level or the local level who -- who I think could -- could transit to. That's -- that's how I got my experience.

I -- I served. I was president of the Iron Workers. I -- I became a state representative, a state senator. I learned how government worked.

My opponent has none of that. He's a corporate lawyer, you know, represented hedge funds, represented Steward Health Care, you know, his firm did.

So he has demonstrated no -- look, this position is a position of trust. And I think in all those positions, as the -- as the Iron Worker president, as a state representative, as a state senator, I demonstrated that I was deserving of the people's trust.

And I demonstrated that by my work. That's how I got this position. It's a big job. And -- and -- and as you well know, as well as anyone, we are in times of great consequence right now. So, I think experience in this respect helps.

Look, 60 percent of the members of Congress have been here less than six years. So, we've got a good mix of young people who are here right now coming in.

And also, I think it helps to have some people who, you know, know -- know the job and -- and have that experience as well.

BERMAN: Congressman Stephen Lynch from Massachusetts, appreciate it.

Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, the World Health Organization is providing an update on the growing Ebola outbreak in Central Africa.

Officials say that cases in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo are doubling every eight days with roughly 570 cases reported, more than 100 deaths.

All of this comes as millions of fans from across the world are preparing to travel to North America for the FIFA World Cup.

And health leaders are raising concerns about possible health issues with ties to the tournament.

In fact, just as these specialists and epidemiologists, Dr. Celine Gounder, wrote this new piece for "Sports Illustrated" titled, "Why the U.S. is Unprepared for Potential Public Health Outbreak at the World Cup?"

And Dr. Gounder joins me now. It's great to have you here.

I was -- I was surprised, I will say, in reading your piece, as you point out, that while there has been, I believe it's $625 million set aside for law enforcement for security, the U.S. has earmarked exactly $0 for public health concerns ahead of the World Cup.

Has that ever happened with an event of this size before?

DR. CELINE GOUNDER, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST AND EPIDEMIOLOGIST: This is really atypical Erica. So normally, whether it's the World Cup, the Olympics, religious pilgrimages, like the Hajj, there is a large health command center to manage what are the existing threats and how to respond, not to mention a budget to match that.

HILL: So there is not. That is not in place.

[08:40:02]

GOUNDER: There is zero.

HILL: The -- the administration has essentially said, look, it's up to you, state, local jurisdictions. We really need you to keep an eye out. We need you to be prepared.

Is that an effective strategy?

GOUNDER: Well, that's also in the setting of budget cuts. Remember, DOGE cuts to the CDC. CDC actually acts as a funnel for funding to state and local health departments. So those state and local health departments are functioning with a much tighter budget than usual, not to mention not having added resources for the health preparedness you would normally have for the World Cup.

And we are seeing very real threats here in the United States. We've had a number of measles outbreaks, right? We're seeing measles in the wastewater in Kansas City, which is one of the host cities. And we have pockets of under vaccination. So that is an example of the kind of threat we're -- we're looking at.

HILL: So given what you've just laid out for us, right, in terms of setting the table, how concerned are you about a public health issue during the World Cup?

GOUNDER: I am concerned. I am not concerned about Ebola. I know that's the top of mind for a lot of people, but I am concerned about things like a measles outbreak, norovirus, which causes gastrointestinal illness, not just infectious diseases, but also things like heat stroke.

So, you know, we're not really prepared for any of that. And some of that preparedness also involves surge capacity in local E.R.s and the like.

And so if people are getting sick, they need care. We need ways to control whatever is spreading. And it's unclear that we're really prepared for that.

HILL: So, what's the answer?

GOUNDER: Well --

HILL: Cross your fingers. And I actually mean that seriously.

GOUNDER: Yes. So I think for viewers at home, if you're going to the matches, make sure you're up to date with your vaccinations, especially the kids. Because we are seeing measles, whooping cough, other vaccine preventable infections. You don't want that to ruin your fun, right? So that is something you can do.

Other things in terms of the heat, make sure you're hydrating, you're staying in the shade, keeping cool, wearing sunscreen and hats, and wash your hands. That is such a basic thing.

But, you know, when I was talking about norovirus, that's a great way to prevent those kinds of infections.

HILL: And -- and there have been norovirus outbreaks before, we should point out. I believe it was a 2022 World Cup in Germany. This is not just limited to cruise ships.

GOUNDER: And just -- and just at the Olympics --

HILL: Yes.

GOUNDER: -- a few months ago, right? And so that's -- you don't want to have that ruining your fun this summer.

HILL: No. And that would definitely ruin your fun. Dr. Gounder, great to have you as always. Thank you.

John.

BERMAN: All right. One thing that could be getting a boost from all the World Cup energy, a good thing, right? Not an infectious disease, the jobs market.

CNN senior business reporter David Goldman is with us now.

There's a bit of a happier version than the previous story.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes. And the most boring man in the world. So when I think soccer, I'm thinking, how many jobs is this going to create, right?

So, I mean, this is a huge event. We have --

BERMAN: It is.

GOLDMAN: -- six million fans coming to the United States and Canada, Mexico. It's going to be across 11 cities. And those 11 cities constitute a third of U.S. GDP.

So obviously, my head went to, all right, so what does this mean for the U.S. economy? And actually Goldman Sachs put out some really interesting numbers the other day, 50,000 jobs created from this event alone, 40,000 this month, another 10,000 next month.

But then you start to see that these are actually only temporary jobs, right? And so a lot of those on the downswing, you know, August and so on and so forth, we're going to start to lose some of those jobs.

The interesting thing is when you look at the broader economy, we're talking about tenths of percentage points in benefit here. But if we have a $31 trillion economy, so, you know, 0.4 percentage points in retail sales growth from people buying, you know, soccer balls and kits.

I think they're called kits, right?

BERMAN: Yes. Yes.

GOLDMAN: Right. Okay. So thank you for -- you're the soccer fan here.

That actually, you know, that's meaningful stuff. We had --

BERMAN: Oh, that's a big number.

GOLDMAN: -- 0.5 percent for all of last month. So 0.4 is actually meaningful. 1.5 percent of 31 trillion. We're talking about $50 billion in economic benefit here.

And inflation, hotel prices, you know, unfortunately, you know, we're going to get a little bit of a boost there, but not too, too much.

We actually could get a nice little boost from the World Cup in the United States.

BERMAN: And the finals, you know, month from now, does it last through that or?

GOLDMAN: It'll last through that and then it starts to tail off after that. So I don't know.

Who do you got?

BERMAN: Spain, boring. Spain and France. Although I like the U.S. men's national team.

One thing that's bad about the economic thing here, as of a few days ago, there were still tickets available for the U.S. team's first game, which isn't an economic thing. It's a FIFA thing. It's how they've done this whole thing. It's stunning to me. Stunning that that game didn't sell out months and months ago.

GOLDMAN: That's incredible.

BERMAN: Right?

GOLDMAN: Not the Knicks.

BERMAN: No, no. Definitely not the Knicks. Although the price is almost just as high.

GOLDMAN: Yes.

BERMAN: Thanks, David.

Erica?

HILL: Well, FIFA is actually now confirming that Africa's top male ref is not going to take part in the World Cup. That's after he was denied entry into the United States.

Omar Abdulkadir Artan landed in Miami from Istanbul. And when he got there, he underwent additional screening before CBP deemed him to be inadmissible citing, quote, vetting concerns.

[08:45:05]

Somalia is one of 39 countries affected by President Trump's current travel ban. Artan was named Africa's top male referee last year.

In a statement, he thanked FIFA and the Confederation of African Football for their support and wishes colleagues success during the World Cup.

John.

BERMAN: All right. Breaking this morning, "Axios" is reporting, there was a dramatic hours-long search for crew members after U.S. Apache helicopter went down near the Strait of Hormuz, not exactly where, but theoretically, that region.

President Trump said both crew members were rescued after the incident. Barak Ravid from "Axios" reports that officials are investigating whether Iran is responsible for shooting it down.

With us now is CNN national security analyst, former deputy director of national intelligence, Beth Sanner.

This is what the Apache looks like. Hours-long rescue from the water. The two crew members plucked out. That's according to Barak Ravid.

Does it feel like the type of thing? Or what kind of risk should I say? Because we don't know whether the Iranians shot it down. But what kind of risks are these missions as they continue, even in this, you know, in inverted commas and quote, ceasefire period?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, absolutely. Every kind of combat area has risks, John. And it is just a matter of time before things happen, whether it's a shoot down or just something happens, right? I mean, you just have a lot of people in the air, in the water, and it's just kind of a numbers game.

One of the interesting things I found from this are the reports that they were rescued by an unmanned underwater vehicle. And if true, this is really interesting. And it just shows how war is changing.

This is now happening routinely in Ukraine, where these unmanned vehicles are wheeling people out or, you know, dropping in supplies or whatever. The world is changing dramatically. And it makes -- makes people more safe.

But, you know, I think that this entire situation, John, right now, is it's just very, very unstable. And the risk of flare-ups and more downings is just high.

BERMAN: So on that-- on that, this is a very unstable situation. The president continues to say that two to three days until a permanent ceasefire is signed. Now CNN has counted. He said that 37 times, I'll write that. He said that 37 times, versions of that, just around the corner, next week, 37 times in the last 78 days.

Has it happened yet? I don't know if these two or three days will prove to be two or three days, or two to three weeks, or two to three months, but we're in this status quo.

What is this status quo? And how hard is it to maintain? And what are the risks of being in this state?

SANNER: So, I mean, every single day, there's a risk of escalation because every party, in some way, shape, or form is compelled to act. If we see Iran flying drones around the Gulf, that could threaten ships, we are compelled to act.

If we see a ship breaking the blockade, if Iran sees Israel attacking, which today, again in Lebanon, massive escalation again in Southern Lebanon with Israel calling for the evacuation of an entire city of like 200,000 people, the ancient city of Tyre, which includes a Christian quarter, like, things are going to happen.

Iran has already pledged to retaliate if Israel restarts. So, we are not even in a stable equilibrium. We are in a very, very unstable equilibrium. And one in which Iran holds escalation dominance.

And I'm sorry to throw around military jargon here, but what that means simply is that they control the pace and the intensity of conflict because they are willing to do it. And we are really the ones who do not want to do that.

Trump is holding Israel back and really wants peace and wants a negotiation. And Iran is like, hmm, we actually can escalate in order to get what we want.

So my feeling is, yes, I hear the two or three days and certainly, you know, it could happen. But I kind of feel like we're further in a way unless the U.S. backs down a little bit because Iran is showing they're willing to fight and not to concede in order to get a better deal. And that deal includes Lebanon.

BERMAN: I mean, like if I read you right, Carl von Clausewitz, the German, you know, war philosopher basically said, war is --

SANNER: Good for you.

BERMAN: -- a continuation of politics by other means, right? But if the United States isn't willing, isn't willing to commit new military force, doesn't want to go back to war, what does that do to the politics?

[08:50:09]

SANNER: It is really difficult politics for -- for us, even more so for Netanyahu, who's in an election campaign fighting always with his moniker, Mr. Security.

Israelis are just beside themselves with what is happening in Northern Israel. He's being outflanked by the right in Israel, which is unheard of.

And the only people not pressured by politics right now is the autocratic regime, the hard, hard line IRGC-led decision makers in Iran. They are not feeling the pressure.

BERMAN: Beth Sanner, great to talk to you this morning. Thank you very much.

This morning, an urgent plea. Stop feeding the squirrels. They're taking over a park.

And Walter White and Kim Wexler may never cross paths in Albuquerque, but Brian Cranston and Rhea Seehorn coming together for a candid new conversation. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN CRANSTON, AMERICAN ACTOR: Both happily married?

RHEA SEEHORN, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Yes. Yes.

CRANSTON: How long have you been married?

SEEHORN: We've been engaged for 11 years and together for 13.

CRANSTON: So you're not quite sure if it's going to happen? You're not sure --

SEEHORN: Yes. We both just working it out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:55:58]

BERMAN: This morning, a pretty unique way to celebrate the country's 250th anniversary. This is from Lidgerwood, North Dakota.

Ken Clark, a local there, constructed a gigantic American flag out of more than 43,000 old pencils, 43,000 old pencils.

He didn't feel compelled, obviously, to stick to the red, white, and blue theme here, but that's okay because it's just plain cool. No idea how he managed to find 43,000 old pencils.

One easy, he needed a forklift to get the whole thing onto the gym's floor. Ken says it took him four days to build, which is quote, not too bad.

Erica.

HILL: It's a lot of pencils.

BERMAN: It's a lot of pencils, right?

HILL: Yes. I don't know where you find that many.

Any -- well, now I do. They're in the gym in Lidgerwood, North Dakota.

BERMAN: In which you're in North Dakota. The -- the -- the pencil capital of North Dakota.

HILL: And now it is. Yes.

We have new video this morning to show you of workers at a lumberyard in Oregon, getting a rather large surprise when a hot air balloon made an unexpected landings.

So watch this behind me. You're going to see it's highlighted a little bit there. Upper right-hand corner. Workers helped to guide the balloon to a safe landing. Not clear exactly what the intended destination was, though we're told it was not the lumberyard. Thankfully, though, no one was hurt.

Some scenes for you from space courtesy of Jessica Meir, who's an astronaut aboard the SpaceX Dragon. She shared this time lapse of the Southern Lights, talking about how they danced in snake in ways unlike other auroras that she's witnessed. She called it all pretty emotional. The Southern Lights happen when charged particles from the sun hit Earth's atmosphere near the poles to create that light show.

And Santa Monica has a problem, a big problem of little critters, the squirrels, specifically in one park where you can barely take a step without stepping on one of the wild animals who are frankly living their best lives at a park in Santa Monica, let's be honest.

So visitors say they're cute, but yes, kind of a problem. And if you're wondering how they got to be such a problem, well, it turns out that feeding them doesn't really help get rid of them.

City leaders are now begging people to stop sharing their trash and frankly, their food with the critters. Wildlife experts say if they would just stop getting that junk food fix, that the exploding population would naturally dwindle.

But listen, if the squirrel population here in New York City parks is any indication, I would like to say to you, our friends in Santa Monica, good luck.

John?

BERMAN: One of these is just hard not to step on. What I found is no matter how hard you try, they're so fast that they'll screw you away.

HILL: They are super-fast. My dog can attest to that. She has yet to catch one, but she's trying. She's not giving up.

BERMAN: Keep it up. Never give up.

HILL: You've got this, Dakota.

BERMAN: Never give up.

All right. So you know him from "Breaking Bad," her from "Better Call Saul." Today's actors on actors. This is when some of the biggest performers in the world speak to each other, ask each other questions.

Brian Cranston and Rhea Seehorn. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CRANSTON: We know each other, but in truth, we don't know each other.

SEEHORN: Right. Right.

CRANSTON: I mean --

SEEHORN: Do you mean biblically?

CRANSTON: We don't know each other that way for sure.

SEEHORN: No.

CRANSTON: We don't want to be clear about that.

SEEHORN: Very clear.

CRANSTON: Both happily married.

SEEHORN: Yes. Yes, it's quite awesome.

CRANSTON: How long have you been married?

SEEHORN: We've been engaged for 11 years and together for 13.

CRANSTON: So you're not quite sure --

SEEHORN: I mean, it cannot get --

CRANSTON: -- if it's going to happen?

SEEHORN: Yes.

CRANSTON: You're sure if --

SEEHORN: Yes. We both just working it out. No.

CRANSTON: Yes.

SEEHORN: No. It's literally the planning gives me hives. It just --

CRANSTON: You've been together for 11 and a half.

SEEHORN: We've been together for 13 and engaged for like 11 and a half.

CRANSTON: I find that funny.

SEEHORN: It is funny.

CRANSTON: I remember shooting an episode of "Breaking Bad" where Aaron Paul's character, Jesse, comes at me with a gun because he thinks I poisoned the little boy in the show. And --

SEEHORN: Right. Right.

CRANSTON: I'm going, why would I do that? Why would I do that? And I point the -- the -- the finger in the direction of Giancarlo Esposito's character.

Gus Fring, he's the one who would stand and gain by this. And this is, you know, and so you want -- you think I did it, then kill me. Then shoot me right now if you think I did.

SEEHORN: Yes.

CRANSTON: And then the next -- the next episode came a few days later and I'm reading it. Oh, I did do it.

Oops. My bad. I -- I didn't realize that I did poison the kid until I read it.

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