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Devastating Quakes Strike Venezuela, Killing 188; Rubio Looks to Reassure Gulf Allies on U.S.-Iran Agreement; Rubio Says Lebanon, Israel Close to Commitment of Intent; Ted Cruz Believed to be Laying Groundwork for Presidential Campaign; New Clues Point to Madison Square Garden Wedding for Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 25, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Back to our breaking news, Venezuela is now reporting at least 188 people were killed, another 1,500 injured after back-to-back earthquakes rocked the Yumare region last night near the northern coast. The second larger quake, a 7.5 magnitude, is the worst to hit the nation in more than a century.

Joining us now, Ambassador Todd Robinson, a former charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Venezuela. Ambassador, thank you so much for being with us. First, I wonder if you're in contact with people in the affected areas. What are you hearing about the situation on the ground?

AMBASSADOR TODD ROBINSON, FORMER CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, U.S. EMBASSY IN VENEZUELA: Thank you for having me. Yes, I am in contact with some people from the affected areas. And I have to say first that my thoughts are with them and their families.

Their colleagues are looking for ways to help them as much as they can.

[14:35:00]

There's a desperate need for everything from large equipment to help remove some of the debris. There are basic needs for water and for food. I think people are worried about family members.

People are worried about their pets. When something like this happens, the immediate basic needs are what you need covered. And it's my hope that that's being worked on.

SANCHEZ: Obviously, the backdrop of this is a political situation that is delicate, right? The U.S. is sending aid to an interim government. Delcy Rodriguez is in charge amid a time of change for the country. Do you think the government in Caracas is equipped to handle a disaster of this scale?

ROBINSON: From my experience in dealing with the government, the regime, the short answer would be no. They were good at many things, repressing their people. But feeding them was a different story. And I think the fact that when I was there, basic infrastructure didn't work. It was hard to get water. The network didn't work.

I'm hearing from people on the ground that Movistar, that handles the internet network, before this event was having major problems with maintaining network coverage. These are things that USAID used to help with. These are things that OFTA, that was part of USAID, used to help with.

And I think it's going to be a real challenge, both for the regime and for countries on the outside that want to help to get in and do the things that need to be done.

SANCHEZ: To that point, what would be your message to the State Department and other U.S. entities that may be trying to get aid in about the most successful, efficient way to do that?

ROBINSON: Well, you know, have people on the ground in the embassy in Caracas. If past is prologue, Washington is in very, very close contact with our people on the ground trying to assess the needs both in Caracas and around the country and figuring out the best ways to get aid in, whether that's flying it in or whether there are ports that are available, something like that. But as you might imagine, speed and communications are going to be everything.

And making sure that there's a good communications network and then moving, galvanizing assistance, not just from the United States, but from around the region and getting it on the ground is going to be as quickly as possible is really going to be key. As you can see from the pictures and the pictures that have been sent to me, the damage has been extensive. We used to have experts that could go in quickly and help with these things.

I hope we figured out a way to maintain some of that experience because they're desperately going to be needed quickly.

SANCHEZ: Yes, we are looking at live pictures right now at rescue crews attempting to -- it appears that they are attempting to reach someone. You may see someone shushing a crowd because there's someone with a megaphone aimed at the rubble. It appears that they're trying to listen for someone who may be trapped underneath.

Again, live images coming to us right now from Caracas. Ambassador Todd Robinson, we have to leave the conversation there. We very much appreciate you sharing your expertise.

ROBINSON: Thank you for having me.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Well just hours before President Trump is scheduled to host farmers at the White House, Iran is now rejecting claims from the administration that it will use billions in unfrozen funds exclusively to buy U.S. crops. We'll discuss next.

[14:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: President Trump will host a dinner with American farmers in the Rose Garden tonight, just hours after a potential lifeline for rural America was put in serious doubt by Iran. U.S. farmers have been reeling from higher energy and fertilizer costs because of the war with Iran. And now Iran is rejecting a claim by Vice President J.D. Vance that it will use unfrozen Iranian assets to buy American crops. Iran's top negotiator writing on X quote, "The only crop we're harvesting is what you planted, decades of mistrust." Adding, "The U.S. only exports GMO soybeans, broken promises and trash talks." In addition to hundreds of billions in unfrozen funds, Vance has said that under the preliminary peace deal, Iran would also have access to a $300 billion reconstruction fund provided by Gulf states.

It remains unclear whether U.S. allies in the Gulf will agree to contribute to that fund. But over the last three days, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been meeting with Gulf allies trying to sell them on this approach. However, Rubio says the massive reconstruction fund was not a topic of conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the meeting with the GCC allies, did any of them make any commitments to pay into this $300 billion reconstruction?

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: No, it was not discussed. I mean, the reconstruction cut, that's way down the road. And that's something that'll be dealt with at the appropriate time in this process.

But that was not discussed by anybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's go to Tel Aviv now and CNN's Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy, the secretary also gave an update on ceasefire talks between Israel and Lebanon. What are you learning there?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right, Brianna.

[14:45:00]

Those talks have now been ongoing for several days now in Washington as the secretary of state has been here in the Middle East. And today he offered his most optimistic assessments yet of these talks, indicating that Israel and Lebanon are, quote, close to reaching what he described as a commitment of intent that would provide a path forward to ending this conflict. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBIO: I think we had a very good day yesterday. I think we are very close in our hopes of getting a commitment of interest -- of intent between the two countries that I think begin to outline a promising future. It'll be a process. It'll take some time. It'll take a lot of work. But I can tell you that for the first time in 30 years, the sovereign government of Lebanon is speaking to the government of Israel directly.

That's who we're going to be negotiating with. That's who we're going to be working with. Not Hezbollah.

Hezbollah is not the government of Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And what's interesting about the secretary of state's comments is that it seems like, you know, the direction that things are going in is ultimately pushing for some measure, at least of Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon. The Israeli government, though, publicly has adamantly rejected that. But one of the things we know is under discussion is the creation of these, quote, unquote, pilot zones, which would involve the Israeli military withdrawing from certain areas that have already been deemed to be free of Hezbollah militants and armament as well.

And for the Lebanese military to then go in and take control of those areas, a tall task, given the fact that the Lebanese military is underfunded, underprepared to take on this scale of challenges based on Lebanese officials. What's also important to note here is that in the past, when we've seen commitments from the Lebanese government and the Israeli government, they have been wholeheartedly rejected by Hezbollah, which has rejected any demands that it disarm, that it withdraw from southern Lebanon unless Israel first withdraws its troops from that area. But we know all of this is so critical to the broader peace agreement between the United States and Iran.

And yet, as these talks are happening, we're continuing to see attacks back and forth between Israel and Hezbollah. Israel killed two people in southern Lebanon yesterday, according to Lebanon's national news agency. And we've just gotten confirmation from the Israeli military that they say they struck additional individuals today who they identified as Hezbollah terrorists in southern Lebanon -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Jeremy, thank you so much for that.

And he won't say it yet, but there is growing consensus within the Republican Party that Senator Ted Cruz, Texas Senator, of course, is preparing another run for the Oval Office in 2028.

SANCHEZ: Many of the signs are there, and that's even if it means taking on Vice President J.D. Vance in an intra-Republican battle. Vance admitted what he thought about Cruz's possible intentions during an interview with Sirius XM last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you don't run, who, who would run that would represent that wing of the party?

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think the, you know, committed non-interventionist America first Ted Cruz could be a representative for that wing of the party.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who else he got?

VANCE: He's clearly running for president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Bit of a chuckle there. Let's dig into this with CNN senior reporter Steve Contorno. Steve, walk us through what is fueling the speculation.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, if you look at Ted Cruz's recent calendar, he's been in Iowa and South Carolina. Those are two early nominating states. Now he's going there to campaign for candidates, but just so happens to get him in front of a lot of the activists and party leaders who are going to be key to that nominating process.

Once again, his fundraising operation remains robust. He has started a podcast that is actually quite popular, especially compared to other -- all the other 2028 contenders and, and politicians who have podcasts these days. And look, this is someone who as recently as just a couple of years ago said that he quote fully expects to run again.

And I actually talked to one of his former supporters, the vice -- or the co-chair of his campaign in 2016, who he met with when he was in Iowa recently. He said quote, "I would be shocked if he doesn't run again." That's a Bob Vander Plaats.

So there are certainly steps being take the people who he worked with closely in 2016 believe he's going to run again. We talked to other people though. They also point out a decade is a long time.

You saw some of those pictures of Ted Cruz then, and now a lot has changed that, that he has a beard now. That's one of the things that's changed.

SANCHEZ: All the cool people are doing it.

KEILAR: Yes, all of them. Maybe he just likes the food. I mean, great food in Iowa in South Carolina.

No, you think there's, you think Steve thinks --

CONTORNO: Texas has good barbecue too. So I don't know.

KEILAR: Yes, that's a good point, but you know, maybe he wants to branch out in the butter, the butter is great. OK, I can get hung up on that all day long. But talk to us a little bit about like, how would this look? Because you're talking about these kind of sort of like satellites or how they would be maneuvering around each other.

[14:50:00]

CONTORNO: It's a fair question because I mean, everyone's watching to see what Trump is going to do. And clearly the deference would be to the vice president if he does get Trump's endorsement, which right now, you know, most people expect. But look, we saw some of their head to head in the last week over the Iran deal. That's something that J.D. Vance was a chief negotiator for.

And Ted Cruz has been very, very critical of it. You know, last week was almost the unofficial kickoff to 2028 in many ways. You have J.D. Vance with this book coming out, you had Ted Cruz making it clear he does not stand with, the Trump/Vance administration on this Iran deal.

And you could see that really becoming a focal point of any sort of attempt to go after J.D. Vance in a primary.

KEILAR: Yes, it'll be very interesting to watch. Steve, thank you so much.

The buzz is building. CNN uncovers some new clues that the rumors swirling around the most important event of the whole year, Taylor Swift's wedding location. Maybe much closer to reality than initially believed. Next, all the signs that the pop star plans to say I do at Madison Square Garden.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. New data showing inflation topping 4 percent for the first time in three years. That is double the level that the Federal Reserve is comfortable with. Higher gas and energy prices are driving prices up. The hot reading, raising the chances of an interest rate hike, even though President Trump keeps pressuring the Fed to cut rates instead.

Also park police want your help identifying a woman in connection with the reflecting pool at the center of so much controversy in Washington, D.C. Officials say they're looking for a person in the security video who seems to be reaching in and grabbing a piece of the peeling blue material that began floating in the water last week. The park police call it a destruction of government property investigation. The president has accused vandals of violently cutting the pool and has said that his administration will show video of these allegations.

And take a look at this. You're watching the moment that a small commercial plane crash landed in rural Alaska. One of nine passengers who recorded the video says the plane was in the air for about 20 minutes on Monday when they suddenly heard a loud noise and the engine appeared to be revving up and down.

The pilot later telling officials the plane had engine problems shortly after takeoff. The FAA and the NTSB are investigating, but lucky ending there -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: CNN is uncovering a new clue about what could be the celebrity wedding of this century. Of course, we're talking about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Sources tell us a permit application was just filed for a major event at Madison Square Garden, fueling speculation that the couple is planning to tie the knot at the famous New York arena over the July 4th weekend.

CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister joins us now. Elizabeth, what are you uncovering?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: So this is some brand new information. And as you said, Boris, it is our latest and most interesting clue into these rumors that Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce could really be getting married at Madison Square Garden. A lot of people are saying, why Madison Square Garden?

Well, now that we have sources who are telling CNN that the couple are -- on behalf of the couple, that there has been a permit filed to shut down city streets around Madison Square Garden between July 2nd and July 4th. Now, what does this all mean? Well, it could mean that they're actually getting married there.

It could mean that there is a wedding party there or a wedding related event, or it could mean absolutely nothing, Boris, if I have to be honest. But what I do have to tell you is it's not just us at CNN that we are speculating and getting reporting. Even New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke about this just seemingly to casually drop that Taylor might be getting married in the city.

Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK CITY: We are the biggest city in the country. We are used to big events and we are incredibly excited for this one. We know it coincides with the Knicks finals run.

We know it coincides with July 4th, America 250, Taylor Swift's wedding all happening at the same time. And we are so excited to welcome the world here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: Now, those comments coming at a recent press conference where he was actually talking about security in the city around the World Cup. I reached out to Taylor's representative at that time. No response back.

And I also reached out with our latest reporting that there are permits now to shut down the streets around Madison Square Garden. Also, no response back from Taylor's team. No surprise there.

But again, the world is speculating. And I have to tell you, even the wedding guests themselves, Boris, don't know exactly what is going on. I will let you know what I'm talking about in a second.

But first, I want to tell you that earlier this year, I had heard that wedding guests who scored an invitation to this wedding were told that the wedding was in New York City on July 3rd, but they weren't told the venue. Well, just this week, George Kittle, who is one of Travis Kelce's good friends and fellow NFL tight end, he was asked by Entertainment Tonight about the wedding. And this is what I mean when I say even, he doesn't know.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did we score a wedding invitation?

GEORGE KITTLE, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS, TIGHT END: Yes, we'll be there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did, yes.

KITTLE: I'll be there. I'm wearing a blue suit, so that's all I got. I've nothing else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is.

KITTLE: I've nothing else.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shout out Stitch by Mitch.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it MSG?

KITTLE: I have no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we don't know.

KITTLE: I actually asked Travis last night and he laughed at me. So --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're excited.

KITTLE: I'm half expecting there to be a jumbo jet on a runway and they put us on a plane somewhere. I don't have expectations. I know its going to be amazing ...

END