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Supreme Court: States May Ban Trans Athletes in Girls Sports; Democratic Socialists Hope to Build on Momentum in Colorado; Witkoff and Kushner in Doha but No Talks with Iran Scheduled. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 30, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: ... conversation begins. We know that when puberty begins around age 11, we see higher levels of testosterone in boys, and male puberty can lead to thicker bones, more height, higher muscle mass, greater muscle strength, larger aerobic capacity, and there are other changes that may be associated with endurance. So those are the differences that we see.

Again, Erica, because there's not much research out there, there's more questions that we need to answer. Some of those questions are how much of a difference does puberty make specifically when looking at athletic performance in competitive sports? Is there a difference between one sport versus another?

And exactly how does this really shape and change a young person's physical abilities or athletic performance? There's still many questions out there when you're looking specifically from a scientific or medical lens, Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: And how much should it be to that point, Jacqueline? How much information do we have on puberty blockers and the impact that that could have if someone was taking them between gender identity, hormone therapy, for example? Where does all of that come into play for transgender athletes?

HOWARD: Yes, that's another question. You know, great example of the questions that still need answers. And like I said before, there's still not much research out there.

There is one paper that published in 2023, and it suggests that taking hormone therapy may reduce some of those effects that I mentioned, those effects that are associated with male puberty. The paper says, I'm quoting directly now, quote, "While sex differences do develop following puberty, many of the sex differences are reduced, if not erased over time by gender-affirming hormone therapy," end quote. That's from that paper that I mentioned.

But it's still not clear, OK, how much of a reduction is seen and at which time points and for which aspects of an athlete's performance or their physical abilities. So Erica, like I said, it's really difficult to really analyze this and break it down from a scientific and medical lens because there's not much research to help answer those questions. HILL: Yes, and it's important to point that out, that we don't have that scientific information, as you said. Jacqueline, really appreciate it. Thank you -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The next test of the progressive movement is in Colorado. Voters there are hitting the polls today amid Democratic rifts over ideology, generational change, and questions over how best to take on President Trump. All eyes are on the governor's race and a key matchup for the House.

15-term Congresswoman Diana DeGette is facing a challenge from Melat Kiros, a young Democratic Socialist and lawyer backed by Senator Bernie Sanders. Let's discuss with David Axelrod. He's a CNN chief political analyst, a former senior advisor to President Obama.

David, thanks so much for being with us. What does it say to you that someone who was elected and reelected to 15 terms is now suddenly in one of the toughest races she's ever run?

DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Look, I think that the message of all the races we've seen so far, or many of the races we've seen so far, is that incumbency is not an advantage in a year when there is deep, deep, deep anti-establishment sentiment in both parties. I think that people are caught in an economy that they don't feel is working for them. In the Democratic Party, there is great consternation about President Trump.

And Washington itself is in disrepute. So, you know, Congresswoman DeGette has been arguing for the past few weeks in the campaign that she sacrificed this seniority and this experience, that it would be a gamble to do that at this time. Her opponent is a 29-year-old activist.

But I'm not sure that's a winning argument in 2026. People want change. And you see it in races all over the country.

And we talk about it as a progressive versus, you know, a more mainstream or moderate politics. I think it's more complicated than that. I think people are fed up with the establishment and they want change.

SANCHEZ: Kiros notably took heat for refusing to call last year's Boulder firebombing anti-Semitic. This is one of many races where the issues surrounding Israel and U.S. policy toward Israel have become a flashpoint. Do you see that Israel and U.S. policy toward it as a litmus test now for Democratic voters?

AXELROD: Well, I think that's true for younger voters. We've seen that through a number of elections and it is a polarizing issue among Democrats.

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But again, I think that, you know, if you look at for Mark (INAUDIBLE), for example, who's been very successful, the issues that he's stressed are the ones that are closest to home that go to the costs that people are facing in their lives, you know, housing and health care and childcare.

And so, well, while Kiros has that position on Israel, I also think that these economics are very much driving voters there and everywhere.

SANCHEZ: Kiros was endorsed by Darializa Avila Chevalier, who has come under fire after CNN's K-File unearthed tweets from an now deleted account in which she praised communist leaders, Marxism. She talked about wiping dirty hands on a flag. While she says that she's grown since those tweets, when President Trump accused her of being a communist in an interview, she wouldn't come out and deny it.

I wonder if you think having these further left candidates, whether that makes it easier for Republicans to campaign?

AXELROD: Well, they're certainly going to try. I mean, they can't -- term elections are generally referendums on the president. The president is highly unpopular. So they need a target to push off of.

And so they'll take some of these examples and say, this defines the Democratic Party. The party is very diverse. And so these candidates don't necessarily represent the mainstream voter in the party on those issues.

Now, on the issues that I mentioned before, on economic issues, I think that the country has moved, if you want to put it on a linear line, to the left. I don't think people think that universal health care is a dream concept anymore. I don't think that they think that, you know, asking billionaires to pay more to help for things like health care is that radical.

And so, you know, yes, we'll try it. They're looking, you know the president's not helping them right now by calling affordability issues trivial. And so, you know, they need something to push off of.

And I think you're going to see hundreds of millions of dollars being spent to try and define the Democrats of these candidates. I'm not sure that people are going to respond to that. I think that the president is driving people's votes here and to be the case.

But certainly Republicans will try that.

SANCHEZ: David Axelrod, always appreciate the perspective. Thanks for joining us.

AXELROD: Good to see you, Boris. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. So President Trump's envoys are in Qatar for talks on Iran, but they will not be meeting with Iranian officials. We have the latest after a quick break.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: President Trump's top Iranian Iran negotiators are in Qatar today, but they are not meeting with Iranian officials, despite President Trump saying that they would.

Instead, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are meeting with Qatar's prime minister. Tomorrow the delegations from the U.S. and Iran are expected to separately engage in technical lower level talks with mediators from both Qatar and Pakistan.

HILL: Let's discuss now with Nate Swanson. He's a former State Department and White House official who served on the Trump administration's Iran negotiating team and is currently the director of the Iran Strategy Project at the Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative. When we look at where things stand, these are technical talks.

I mean, how do you read into that in terms of where the discussions overall are at this point?

NATE SWANSON, FORMER STATE DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVE ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION'S NEGOTIATING TEAM: Well, it's certainly not a good sign that Iran won't meet directly with us. This is not a new dynamic, but this isn't going on since the Trump administration pulled out the deal in 2018 and then continued through Biden. But it shows Iran's not really serious about getting anything big done in any timely fashion or manner.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Iran says the talks tomorrow will include discussions on releasing frozen assets. Qatar's foreign ministry spokesperson says that $6 billion of Iran's frozen funds have not been transferred to Tehran, but he said that this would happen according to the advancement of negotiations.

We've heard competing things, right? The Iranians are saying that they're going to get money or funds unfrozen at the outset of this. The U.S. has said that that's contingent on developments during negotiations. What's the likelihood of funds being unfrozen soon?

SWANSON: Yes. I mean, this is the pattern, right? Both sides make statements that aren't necessarily based in fact, and then they try to work around the margins to make it a reality.

So I do think Iran clearly cares a lot about this $6 billion, right? This goes back several years. It's clearly a top priority, and I think they think they'll get access to it.

But what the U.S. wants for it, I don't know, and it is not really clear, but this is clearly the next skit in Iran's list of wants after they got the oil relief last week.

HILL: When we look at where things stand with the Strait of Hormuz, we just had the threat level -- the maritime security threat level for the Strait of Hormuz was just raised to substantial. This comes on the heels of Iran's deputy foreign minister pushing back on claims from France's president that France and Oman and others would work on the demining. The deputy foreign minister saying, no, no, it's just going to be Iran.

All of that is hanging over any talks at all. SWANSON: Absolutely. And I mean, it's unfortunately, it's the new normal, right? This was not resolved in the MOU.

The Strait of Hormuz, despite what the president said, has not been resolved.

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And until we actually get concrete details on how this will be managed, how it will go through, ideally with no tolls or fees, this instability and volatility will continue. So this has to be the top priority, in my opinion, for the Trump administration in these talks.

SANCHEZ: What do you expect will come next? Because it seems like the Iranians, to your point, are sort of delaying this. The U.S. has said that they will take steps, President Trump saying that he would bomb them into compliance with the MOU. And yet he also expressed concerns about the limits of U.S. power when he said that bombing Iran would not lead to the Strait of Hormuz reopening. So if there isn't a deal in the works, do you envision hostilities are more likely?

SWANSON: No, I don't think we're going to return to open hostilities the way we did back in March. Exactly because what the president said, right? It doesn't change Iran's decision making.

So what I think will happen is basically what we're seeing now, which would be small, almost like, you know, very negligible progress, you know, indefinitely. So hopefully, you know, we'll get a little bit more volume through the Straits and Iran will probably get their six billion at some point and then it'll just be on to the next thing. I don't think we'll have clarity.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Nate Swanson, I mean, I hope things change.

SWANSON: Yes, they can. Yes. Me too.

HILL: It feels like a hamster wheel situation in all seriousness.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for the analysis. Appreciate it.

Now to some of the other headlines for watching this hour.

A manhunt underway after a bombing in Monaco left three people injured. Prosecutors calling the explosion a quote, attempted assassination. The target was reportedly a Ukrainian born tycoon.

And this is the aftermath. French prosecutors say the bomb went off inside a residential building shortly after a family who lives on the ground floor returned home. Ukrainian officials confirmed three family members of the, quote, Ukrainian origin were injured.

HILL: Police and armed private security have now been deployed in South Africa where anti-immigration protests are growing. The activists blame immigrants for taking jobs from South Africans, committing crimes and straining public services. Some protest groups have warned illegal immigrants -- illegal migrants rather to leave the country by today.

South Africa's president has repeatedly condemned attacks on foreign nationals and said the group's views do not reflect government policy.

And two men have been arrested in connection with a shooting in Mississippi that killed a two year old, his mother and his aunt over the weekend. The victims were found after police responded to a 911 call reporting an aggravated assault at a home in Jackson.

Police have not said how or even if the suspects are related to the victims. Investigators though had previously described the shooting as targeted.

Still ahead here, they met in the 90s in Cape Verde, the World Cup bringing them back together 35 years and 6,000 miles later. And they're going to join us live to share their story next.

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SANCHEZ: At the World Cup, the action is on the pitch, but some of the best stories are off of it. Jill Tucker was a Peace Corps volunteer in Cape Verde who was looking for a watch party for the team's second game against Uruguay.

HILL: She understandably wanted to find a place where she could watch the match with other people who would be cheering for the team. But what she didn't expect was to reconnect with someone she knew 35 years ago when she was a volunteer there with the Peace Corps. Jill Tucker joining us now with that friend with whom she reconnected, Ivan Silva.

Jill's an education reporter with the San Francisco Chronicle. Ivan is a librarian who was born and raised in Cape Verde. We love this story.

We're saving the best for last in the show today, just so you know. So Jill, you show up at this World Cup watch party expecting to find some other people to cheer with. This is likely not what you were anticipating.

How quickly did you two make that connection?

JILL TUCKER, FORMER PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER IN CAPE VERDE: It was pretty much right away. We arrived and I was standing next to the counter and just saw this person there with a Cape Verde shirt. And so I just said, oh, are you from Cape Verde?

And he said, yes, I'm from Praia. And I said, oh, there's not that many people who would ever say that. And so I said, oh, I lived in Praia for two years.

I was a teacher. And he just suddenly went very still and looked at me and asked me my name. And when I told him, he said, you were my teacher.

And I think I blacked out for a second going, how is this even possible? 6,000 miles and 35 years later. But here is Ivan, one of my students that I taught all those years ago.

SANCHEZ: It's incredible. And we're showing our viewers photos, including a photo of you standing side by side all those years ago. Ivan, what was going through your mind when she was asking you about your experience at home?

IVAN SILVA, CAPE VERDE FAN REUNITED WITH ENGLISH TEACHER: Yes, I was just, I also wanted to be with Cape Verdeans and not a lot of Cape Verdeans in the Bay Area. So I was happy people showed up. And so I was just asking Jill, how did she connect with Cape Verde?

And as soon as she started telling me all the information, it all came together in my head because I had been looking for her. I knew she was in the Bay Area when I moved around 2004 or 5.

HILL: I love that you had been looking for her, which is great. I mean, this was clearly meant to be. I mean, I'm curious, what did everybody else who was there think when all of a sudden, we have this reunion 35 years in the making, but everybody else is there for a World Cup match?

TUCKER: Yes, I think they were all a little befuddled that this random person who walked in was hugging Ivan and going, oh my God, I can't believe it. And we were making a bit of a scene, I think, but it was just so magical and so amazing and so surreal.

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And once everybody realized what was happening, I think they were still confused thinking this, but how is this even possible? You know, that it was so random.

SANCHEZ: Ivan, if you had been looking for Jill for all those years, I imagine that she made an impression on you as an instructor. Can you tell us what it was like going back? What year was that?

It was 35 years earlier. It's hard for me to do math, but in the mid- 90s, what was it like for you having an instructor?

TUCKER: Early 90s, 90 to 92.

SANCHEZ: Yes, early 90s. What was it like for you to have an instructor that clearly left an impression on you?

SILVA: We had different language courses. We learned Portuguese, we learned French in school, so all of it was super boring. And here was a young teacher who played songs in English relatively to Portuguese and French.

We weren't conjugating all day, so that was a fun class. And we were learning the new songs and new language, so that was all very fun. We didn't like the new grading methodology she brought from the U.S., but yes.

TUCKER: Yes, he did tell me they thought about reporting me at one point because I was doing it wrong.

HILL: Oh, well, I'm glad they held off.

TUCKER: I don't know that they did. I didn't get in trouble.

HILL: I don't know. Ivan, did you report her?

SILVA: No, I don't think we did, but we weren't quite happy with the changes. But the changes were good because we were exposed to new perspectives, new ways of doing things, so that was a really good experience as students.

HILL: I love it. So there's this reunion. But also, Jill, when you hear that Ivan had been looking for you, right?

He knew you were in the Bay Area. He's moving to the Bay Area. For you, as you reflect on your time in the Peace Corps, to know that you had an impact on him, that he remembered you, what does that mean to you in this moment?

TUCKER: It's hard to describe because my experience in Cape Verde was so meaningful to me. You know, I carried my students with me after I left, and I carried them with me as I've covered education for almost 30 years. And it's amazing that they remember me and that he wanted to see me again, but I still feel like I got so much more from these students than I ever gave to them.

I wish he would have found me earlier. Now I'm not letting go. I'm adopting him.

But yes, it was just magical. And that they still thought enough of me that they wanted to see me again. He's in contact with other students back in Cape Verde and other places in the world, and we're hoping to have a big reunion online at some point.

SILVA: You weren't sure she wanted to hear from us.

TUCKER: He did apologize for their bad behavior. One of the first things he said to me, I'm so sorry we were so badly behaved.

HILL: He's grown. He's grown after all these years.

TUCKER: I just laughed. He's good as well. He's very well behaved now.

SANCHEZ: That'd be so special to get all those students and you back together. Ivan, I wonder, having moved to the United States, what kind of influence Jill had on your understanding of what Americans were like and what the United States was like? Because I imagine that that probably played a role in you deciding to emigrate.

SILVA: Yes, it definitely -- it least I immigrated with an inkling of what the culture was like. But there's still a huge shock.

Even the fact that I thought I could find her, that would be easy coming from a small island. I thought you would just ask someone in the street, and they're like, oh, Jill is right there. That didn't happen.

TUCKER: And you were in Boston.

SILVA: In Boston first, and then California.

HILL: Two great places, I will say, having lived in both. Jill, you talked about the impact that the Peace Corps had on you. Republican Congressman Scott Perry of Pennsylvania has proposed eliminating funding for the Peace Corps.

What do you think that would change in the world if there wasn't more Peace Corps?

TUCKER: You know, I look at the Peace Corps as something that brings people together, as it did us back 35 years ago, and as it did even now. And it's like the World Cup and all the stories that we're seeing about the World Cup of people from different countries and different cultures, and they're dancing in the streets together and exchanging hats. And I look at it and think the Peace Corps is very much like that.

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It's showing the world that we probably have a lot more in common than we don't. And it's a lot harder to go to war with friends than enemies. And I think it's back, right? It's just something that brings people together. And had such an amazing effect on my life. I think it's been around for a really long time.

SANCHEZ: It's an amazing story. Jill Tucker, Ivan Silva, thank you both for joining us. Appreciate you.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

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