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Dozens Of Palestinians Killed While Seeking Aid; No New Sectarian Fighting Reported In Suwayda; Tourist Boat Capsizes In Vietnam, Killing Dozens; Trump Marks Six Months Of Contentious Second Term; U.S. Judge To Hear Harvard's Case Over Trump Funding Freeze; Brazil's Top Court Defies Trump, Signals No Retreat On Bolsonaro; Bulgaria Seizes Record Amount Of Cocaine In Diplomatic Car; Ukraine: Russia Launches New Wave of Missile Attacks; Astronomers Detect Largest Black Hole Collision On Record; Scheffler Dominates, Notches Third Leg Of Career Grand Slam. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 21, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:25]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world. You are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte in Atlanta. And it is so good to have you with me. Coming up on the show, dozens of people come under Israeli fire while seeking aid in Gaza. The latest on the tragedies as an already dire hunger crisis deepens.

Russia says it's ready to talk peace again with Ukraine despite a series of weekend strikes against its sovereign neighbor. An expert joins us to explain what, if anything, will be different.

And to the naked eye, this may not mean much to you, but a scientist joins the show to explain why this image is out of this world.

Welcome. We're beginning in Gaza, where the explosions continue amid a growing hunger crisis. At least 73 people were killed and around 150 others injured by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid across the enclave on Sunday. That is according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.

The director of the Al Shifa Hospital says they are inundated with dead, wounded and, quote, starving civilians and even medical staff are suffering severe malnutrition. People in Gaza say it's becoming impossible to find basic food supplies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABIR BANNAT, DISPLACED FROM NORTHERN GAZA (through translator): We are dying of hunger. We cannot find any food or anything to drink, not even water. We drink from the sea and we can't find any food at all. We came here at 3 o'clock to just fill a small dish which doesn't even fill this pot. One small dish inside this pot and we still have five or six people to feed.

UM MAHMOUD ABU TARBOOSH, GAZA RESIDENT: Certainly it feels like weakness and sadness because I can't even provide my son with just bread. We don't want meat, chicken or poultry, just flour and bread to eat and hopefully stave off hunger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Meanwhile, there were several explosions in northern Gaza near the border with Israel, even as ceasefire talks are underway in Qatar. The Israeli army says it is continuing military actions in the northern part of the enclave and expanding operations in Gaza City with ground troops and aerial strikes.

The Israeli military also ordered Palestinians in the southwest area of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza to reallocate to Al Mawasi, saying it would conduct military operations there. Israel has launched repeated attacks on the coastal area despite designating it as a safe humanitarian zone.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau has more on the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and a warning. Some of the images you are about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Starvation in the Gaza Strip is becoming almost as deadly as the war itself. In June, this woman said her four year old daughter Razan was weak from hunger.

TAHRIR ABU DAHER, RAZAN'S MOTHER (through translator): My daughter suffers from malnutrition and malnutrition has also caused her to suffer from a mobility disability. Her health was very good before the war, but after the war her condition began to deteriorate due to malnutrition. There is nothing to strengthen her. There is no milk available in the hospitals or pharmacies and there are no vitamins in the hospital.

NADEAU (voice-over): On Sunday, Razan died, her mother said. Searching for food has also become a dangerous quest. Over the weekend, over 100 people seeking aid were killed by Israeli gunfire, according to the Palestinian health ministry. Nearly 80 were killed Sunday and more than 30 were killed early Saturday, including children near a U.S.- Israeli run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid distribution point, the health ministry said.

Regarding Saturday's incident, the Israeli military said they had fired warning shots at people who had approached them not far from where the food aid site was located. It also said it was aware of reports regarding casualties and the incident is under review. But for those fighting hunger, especially those whose children are dying from it, the fight for survival is often a calculated risk. Barbie Latza Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: It's been one year since the birth of the little boy who became known as Gaza's miracle baby. Malek Yassin was born shortly after his mother was killed in an Israeli strike. Doctors say they didn't realize right away that she was pregnant after she was brought to the hospital, but they soon discovered the baby's heartbeat and quickly performed a post mortem C section. Malik was then taken for resuscitation and he was just fine.

We're joined now by one of the doctors who was on the medical team that saved little Malik. Travis Malin is anesthesiologist who works at the Nassau Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. Thank you so much for joining me.

[01:05:05]

You were on duty the day that Malek Yassin, described as a miracle baby, was delivered from his mother's body after that deadly airstrike. Can you just take us back to that moment and what do you remember most clearly about it?

DR. TRAVIS MELIN, ANESTHESIOLOGIST, CADUS: That moment was during a mass casualty where were at that was kind of a daily occurrence, know, sometimes 5, sometimes 20 at a time, sometimes 40 at a time. So this is a very frequent daily occurrence. So this was during one of these mass casualties that this occurred.

And, you know, essentially someone, you know, showed up very clearly not alive, multiple things that were not compatible with life. And we're surprised after looking at this person to see that there is potentially a baby bump.

And after that was seen, were able to do an ultrasound. We were fortunate that there was a surgeon that happened to be walking by in that very moment, was able to form a cesarean section and successfully been Malek out.

HUNTE: Can you just tell me how that entire process made you feel in that moment?

MELIN: It was horrific. Really, really horrific. The condition that the, you know, survivors show up in is appalling and something that no one should have to see or experience in their life. The kind of only good thing there was that we had a very rare survivor of a post mortem, the caesarean section. People will probably, you know, physicians will probably never experience post mortem cesarean section and trauma in their lives. But here it's not that uncommon to see, but it is very uncommon to have a survivor.

HUNTE: And a year later, the baby has just celebrated his first birthday. You told my team you shed a few tears when you saw a photo of him alive and healthy. What does it mean to you personally to know that he did survive?

MELIN: It's like one little glimmer of hope. You know, everything here is incredibly tragic. So it's nice to have, you know, one little bit of success there.

HUNTE: You are working in Nassau Hospital where resources are running out quickly. How would you describe the conditions on the ground for your patients and for the medical staff like yourself?

MELIN: Also very appalling for the patients. You know, if they're in hospital, they have to rely on family to bring food. A lot of them have had their entire families killed. So they don't have easy access or perhaps any access to food. They have injuries that should otherwise, you know, have them in the hospital for a week and they may end up staying months because of repeated wound infections, because of skin breakdown, just you know, as a result of their malnourishment there.

There's no way to survive if you don't have even a simple injury. Sometimes if you don't have any food to heal yourself. As far as the other health care workers here, it's, you know, similarly disastrous. Most of them are only getting a meal of rice in the afternoons provided by the hospital. And it's not large, so there's just rice in it. And that's all they have for the day to eat.

And, you know, while they're, you know, starving, while they're only eating this one small rice meal a day, we are frequently seeing their family members show up to the operating room, their family members show up to the ERs, and we've absolutely had a few of them killed in the past two weeks as well.

HUNTE: It sounds awful. I am so grateful for you being with us today. You've been in Gaza through some of the war's darkest moments. What do you want people watching this, who might feel quite far removed from everything going on there, to understand about what you're seeing every single day that you are there?

MELIN: Yes. You know, what I hear from the people is that, you know, this is not living. We're being treated like animals. You know, some people are, you know, say things like, we would rather be dead than what we're experiencing now. I just want the people back home to realize, like, this is absolutely atrocious what's happening, that people are truly starving here, that this really must come to an end. You know, the people must have aid, the doctors should be fed. This isn't right.

HUNTE: Well, like I said, we appreciate your time. Dr. Travis Melin, thank you for your time. Thank you for your work, and we'll speak to you again soon. Thank you.

MELIN: Thanks.

[01:10:05]

HUNTE: The Syrian government says the ceasefire in the southern city of Sawada appears to be holding. This comes after a week of deadly sectarian violence between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes. Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting, but there were no new reports of gunfire or clashes on Sunday.

Video shows dozens of armed Bedouin fighters driving toward a village on the outskirts of Suwayda. Syrian troops were deployed on Saturday and the country's interior minister says they have succeeded in calming the situation.

Crews in Vietnam are searching for four missing people after a tourist boat capsized on Saturday with 49 people on board. Vietnamese officials say at least 35 people died and 10 were rescued. The boat was carrying tourists in Ha Long Bay when a sudden storm

caused it to capsize. There are amazing reports from the survivors, including from a 10-year-old boy who was able to survive by finding an air pocket in a submerged part of the ship. CNN's Mike Valerio joins us live from Seoul, South Korea. Mike, what more can you tell us?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Benny, you know, were talking in the last hour. The central question here is how exactly did this happen? Because this is such an immensely popular tourist destination, you may have seen it on your social media feeds in movies throughout the years of these towering limestone island, such an idyllic corner of the world in our neighborhood right here in East Asia. And then the unthinkable happens.

We also want to repeat a reporting from last hour. More than 20, Benny. More than 20 children were believed to be on this boat, 49 people total. So one of the main questions what will search teams be able to do today to potentially find the four people who remain missing? We did hear from a mother of a 21-year-old who didn't make it alive. And she was, of course, as you can imagine, inconsolable.

We're going to hear this hour from somebody who lives nearby and she's describing the tableau as more and more people are leaving offerings near the scene of this disaster. Let's listen to what she has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DO THI THUY, SOCIAL WORKER (through translator): This is the first time I've witnessed an accident that involves so many people with so much hurt and pain. I'm only a stranger and I'm not related to any victim here. But I couldn't sleep thinking of them and their families. And this morning when I see them here, it's truly heartbreaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: Could be the understatement of the afternoon right there. So were talking about what search teams will be able to do, members of the municipal fire brigade and also members of the military. So the weather right now we're in the 30s Celsius down in Ha Long Bay. Thunderstorms throughout the day and gusts in these thunderstorms of up to 65 kilometers an hour. So we're going to be waiting to see what the search conditions are and if teams there are able to search all day. Ben.

HUNTE: And Mike, because this is such an international tourist destination, do we know who is on the boat in terms of nationalities?

VALERIO: So we've been able to hear that investigators think that most people on board were Vietnamese and are from Hanoi. It's pretty much a day trip. It's not too far away from Hanoi. Some of the numbers have been changing, but we're not expecting that to shift. But it is striking as to the survival stories when you're talking about people just experiencing a storm, 15 minutes of rain and then this boat overturning.

The lucky survivors, having to wait for two hours through these rough seas, rain that is nonstop for help. Certainly remarkable that they were able to make it out alive. I am struck. Before we go, we're trying to get more reporting on a 36 year old who is a fire extinguisher salesman in Hanoi.

He was out at this beautiful afternoon voyage, a holidaying with 11 college friends total and only three members of their group made it out alive. So, just the toll on families and as so many tourists continue to go to Ha Long Bay, just figuring out how this could happen. Stormy weather happens all the time. Was there a problem with this boat? Those are the questions we'll be asking in the hours and days to come. Ben?

HUNTE: Yes, indeed. Mike Valerian, Sol, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

VALERIO: Thanks, Benny. Thanks.

HUNTE: Five people were killed when an Indonesian passenger ferry caught fire at sea on Sunday. More than 280 people were rescued from the ferry which was heading to the island of Sulawesi. Local fishermen helped in a rescue effort by saving passengers as they floated in the choppy seas.

Indonesia's ferry network is a vital link between the country's many islands, but accidents are a regular occurrence. Just earlier this month, at least 19 people were killed when a ferry sank near Bali.

[01:15:00]

In South Korea, search and rescue operations continue after days of torrential rain triggered deadly floods and landslides. Video released by local fire services show at least one person being rescued by zipline in a northern resort town. At least 14 people are dead and 12 are missing across South Korea. One man was reportedly killed when floodwaters swept over a bridge. A nationwide effort is now underway to clear the mud and debris.

Hong Kong is mostly unscathed after a typhoon swept just past the city on Sunday. Fierce winds and heavy rain from Typhoon Wipha left Hong Kong with a few fallen trees and damaged scaffolding. The storm prompted authorities to issue the highest level of typhoon warning. As it approached, 200 people sought refuge in temporary shelters and 26 went to public hospitals for treatment. Wipha later made a landfall in China's Guangdong province before weakening over land.

Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is vowing to stay on the job despite his party's poor performance at Sunday's election. You're looking at live pictures there. The Liberal Democratic Party and coalition partner Komeito needed 50 seats to keep a majority in Japan's upper house, but he only secured 47.

This comes after the prime minister lost control of the most powerful lower house in October. He says he's focused on extremely critical tariff negotiations as Japan faces a deadline next week to strike a trade deal with the US. Still to come, President Trump marks the first six months of his second term in office as polls show many Americans disapprove of his actions. We'll break down the numbers for you.

Plus, Harvard University will make its case against the Trump administration in federal court on Monday. Is trying to restore billions of dollars in frozen funds. Why the university says the president's actions are so dangerous. Just ahead on CNN.

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[01:21:20]

HUNTE: As President Trump marks the first six months of his second term, new polling shows that 60 percent of Americans disapprove of the way he's handling deportations. And many say his policies do not make them feel safer. The new numbers come just days after a CNN poll showed only 42 percent of Americans approve of the way Mr. Trump is carrying out his duties as president. CNN's Kevin Liptak has more from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE REPORTER: President Trump is looking to celebrate his six-month mark in office. And certainly I think everyone would agree that it has been an eventful half a year for the president. He's not some significant wins in Congress, at the Supreme Court on the world stage. But polls do show that Americans are starting to sour on some of his biggest priorities. And this matter involving the Jeffrey Epstein files has in a lot of ways overshadowed the president's accomplishments, at least over the last week.

Members of the president's political base agitating for the administration to release more information and the president working to tamp down on the discontent. Now earlier Sunday, the president chose to mark the moment by writing on Truth Social, wow, time flies. Today is that six month anniversary of my second term. Importantly, it's being hailed as one of the most consequential periods of any president. In other words, we got a lot of good and great things done, including ending numerous wars of countries not related to us other than through trade and, or in certain cases, friendship. The president concludes happy anniversary.

So the president clearly eager to make the most of the day. He also in an earlier post referenced that Jeffrey Epstein matter, saying that since that controversy began bubbling up that his approval ratings among his supporters had actually been increased.

Now, according to a CNN poll that was released last week, the President's approval among Republicans stands at 88 percent. But overall, the president's numbers remain underwater. He's at 42 percent approval overall.

And when you look at some of the critical issues that have been central to the President's six months in office, the poll finds that more Americans disapprove of the President's handling than approve. So on taxes, which is critical, the president passing that enormous bill that extends the tax cuts he signed first term in office, he's at 44 percent. On immigration, of course, the president pursuing a hardline immigration agenda, the president stands at 42 percent. On the economy, he's up 40 percent. And on foreign affairs, also at 40 percent.

And so while the six month mark is a moment to look back, it's also a moment to look forward. And this week, the President will continue pursuing a number of issues that are critical to his agenda.

At some point, he will sign that bill that was passed by Congress last week that claws back funding for certain public broadcasters and on foreign aid. The President will host the Philippine president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. here at the White House. On Monday, there's a critical hearing in Massachusetts on the administration's attempts to strip federal funding from Harvard. The President continues to pursue his trade agenda. He'll be sending out more of those tariff letters to U.S. trade partners as we approach that August 1st deadline to strike new deals.

And then at the end of the week, the President will be in Scotland visiting his golf courses, but also meeting with the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, in part to discuss the trade deal that they struck earlier this year.

[01:25:00]

And so clearly the president a lot on his plate at the six month mark, but the president also looking forward to the next 42 months that he has left in office. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: In a few hours, a U.S. federal judge will hear arguments in Harvard University's lawsuit against the Trump administration. Harvard is trying to regain access to more than $2 billion in federal funding, which the White House has frozen. The Trump administration claims the university is failing to combat antisemitism and crackdown on pro- Palestinian protesters. Harvard sued the administration, saying threats to its funding are a violation of the First Amendment.

Hundreds of protesters gathered in Brazil's capital on Sunday condemning the Supreme Court's precautionary measures against former President Jair Bolsonaro. The court's decision comes despite U.S. President Donald Trump threatened threatening Brazil with crippling tariffs if the government did not end Bolsonaro's criminal trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NORIVAL DE JESUS, TEACHER AND BOLSONARO SUPPORTER (through translator): President Bolsonaro's arrest is not only unjust, it's illegal and criminal, and this extends to all patriots fighting for freedom in our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HUNTE: Bolsonaro is accused of plotting to overturn the results of Brazil's 2022 election. He's now required to wear ankle monitor and is banned from using social media and contacting foreign officials. Police also raided Bolsonaro's home on Friday, using a search warrant issued by the Supreme Court.

The U.S. State Department has since issued visa restrictions against Brazilian court officials involved in the ruling, with President Trump calling the trial a witch hunt. Bulgarian authorities said they seized $22 million worth of cocaine from a carrying a Congolese diplomat on Sunday.

Over 200 kilograms of cocaine was found in a car at Bulgaria's border with Turkey. That's over pound 450. The Interior Ministry said the drugs were found in a Land Rover with diplomatic plate caring a diplomat from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

But local media reported that his diplomatic status was for Belgium and may not give him immunity in Bulgaria.

Russia claims is ready to move quickly on a peace deal with Ukraine, but Moscow's latest assault on the country seems to suggest otherwise. More on that, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:30]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Ukraine faced a new wave of attacks overnight. Authorities say Russia fired cruise, ballistic, and hypersonic missiles, along with drones across the country, killing at least one person in Kyiv and hitting several sites in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.

It comes just hours after Russia said it was ready to talk peace. Here's what Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DMITRY PESKOV, KREMLIN SPOKESPERSON (through translator): Russia is prepared to move swiftly. For us, the main thing is to achieve our objectives. They are clear, obvious, and unchanging, but the process doesn't depend solely on us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Peskov's comments come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for talks with Russia this week.

Moscow has demanded that Ukraine give up land as part of its preconditions for a ceasefire, and that's something Ukraine has so far refused to consider.

We're joined now by CNN contributor and former CNN Moscow bureau chief Jill Dougherty. She's an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and the author of "My Russia: What I Saw Inside the Kremlin".

Thank you so much for being with me again, Jill. How are you doing?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, really glad to be here. Thank you.

HUNTE: Thank you.

Moscow's major airports closing and flights being canceled And redirected temporarily. It all seems like a significant escalation from Ukraine. And this is as President Zelenskyy called for peace talks again.

Do you think that Russia and Ukraine will actually get back to the negotiating table?

DOUGHERTY: Well, that is really tough to say because, you know, eventually, yes to end the war. But right now it's not looking very good.

I mean, you know, on the one hand you have the Ukrainians with that major drone attack on the airports in Moscow. That is a big deal. I mean, I lived in Moscow for a long time. The three main airports, temporarily -- but temporarily closed for ingoing and outgoing planes. So that is a big deal.

And then you have the Russians attacking Ukraine. The Ukrainians said that there were ten cities hit or ten regions hit. So it was really across the country.

HUNTE: Yes. And the Kremlin's response has been pretty familiar so far, saying Putin does want peace, but only on Russia's terms.

[01:34:51]

HUNTE: And this is all while President Trump has given Russia a deadline of 50 days, or they'll be facing tariffs. How much leverage do you think President Trump has in actually shifting Putin's thinking?

DOUGHERTY: Well, so far it doesn't look as if he's shifting it at all. I mean, there is that little hint, you know, with Erdogan, but other -- but we've heard that, you know, and we hear it from Peskov.

They're not -- President Putin is not doing anything about that. He may talk about peace, but he is carrying out really serious raids right now. His obviously army and air force are carrying out raids and shows no sign of caving in to any of the demands by Trump.

And I think you can understand that, because that would be if he caved, you know, if he's perceived domestically in Russia as caving, it could be a problem for him.

So I think he continues, you know, to take this hard line. and then also there is that possibility that he thinks that Trump will eventually, maybe not cave but change his mind. And so come September, when the 50 days are over, what will -- what

will Trump be demanding at that point? Will he stick to his guns on this?

HUNTE: We shall see.

So at this point, both sides do want things the other says are non- negotiable. How do you break the deadlock? How is this war going to end?

DOUGHERTY: That is the -- I mean, if I knew the answer, it would be amazing. But I don't think anybody quite has that. Because if you look at the demands from both sides -- I mean, look at, you know, Zelenskyy says ceasefire. And right off the bat, his number one demand.

But right off the bat, President Putin is saying, no, we want our final demands. And those demands haven't changed since the beginning. And essentially they are: no NATO for Ukraine, Ukraine has to be a neutral country. The army has to be really small, basically, not even for defense. And that Russia gets to keep the territories that it says it has, that it hasn't even taken over completely.

So this is -- I do not see at this point anything specifically that's saying, how do you break that deadlock.

HUNTE: We've seen some reports that Russians are less bothered about the war and more worried about rising prices in the country. Is that economic pressure creating any cracks in Putin's support on the ground? And what are you hearing from inside Russia?

DOUGHERTY: Well, that's very hard to say. You know, talking with Russians, very hard to talk to Russians. But if you look at least from the outside and from watching Russian social media and talking with a few people, that I think the interesting thing that's happening now is after three -- almost three and a half years, Russians are getting used to the fact that their country is at war.

And so their primary consideration right now is what's happening on a daily basis with the economy. And so -- and the economy is having problems. You have inflation, prices are up and that's a big concern for Russians.

There could be, some economists say, a recession come the fall. So there are some economic problems.

And if you look at the polling and I know, you know, polling is very difficult in these circumstances, but you kind of look at the general trends and they are, Russians right now, slightly more of them are saying we should go to some type of peace negotiations.

There's a tiny softening of support for President Putin, but that said, this support is very high. It's like high 70s, 70 percent.

And then they want, you know, they just want prices to come down and to not suffer the results of what is happening from this war.

HUNTE: Yes. You used the right word that "interested". It's all very, very interested.

Jill Dougherty, thank you so much for being with me again. Appreciate it.

DOUGHERTY: Thank you, Ben.

HUNTE: Astronomers say they've detected the largest ever black hole collision. Still ahead, we'll hear why this discovery is so remarkable and what we can learn from it.

That's coming up next.

[01:39:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: Welcome back.

Pope Leo celebrated the anniversary of the first moon landing on Sunday. He visited the Vatican observatory at Castel Gandolfo. It's one of the world's oldest active observatories. The Pope took a tour and even looked through two different telescopes.

He marked the historic day of July 20th, 1969, when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to set foot on the moon during NASA's Apollo 11 mission.

The Pope said he spoke with buzz aldrin on Sunday and, quote, "reflected on the mystery and greatness of creation".

Astronomers say they've observed the largest collision by two black holes ever recorded. Instruments detected very faint ripples in space- time the experts say is the result of two large black holes merging.

[01:44:53]

HUNTE: There have been around 300 of these collisions detected over the last ten years. But this one is notable because of the size of the black holes, and scientists hope it can teach us more about how they form.

We are joined now by Saavik Ford. She is a professor of astrophysics at the City University of New York and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History.

Thank you so much for being with me. How are you doing?

SAAVIK FORD, PROFESSOR OF ASTROPHYSICS, CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK: I'm doing wonderful. Very exciting stuff that we get to talk about this evening.

HUNTE: Yes. Complicated and exciting stuff. I'm going to need you to help me to break it all down, please. Let's get into it.

This black hole collision was detected using gravitational waves, literal ripples in space-time. For people hearing that for the first time, how exactly does all of this work?

FORD: So basically, we have rulers that are measuring distances. And as these ripples come in they change the length of space. And so they change the lengths of our rulers.

And of course, if you have just one ruler, then you can't measure how the length is changing. So we have two rulers that we're always comparing to each other, and they meet at right angles. And we basically shoot lasers down these four-kilometer vacuum tubes. And they are measuring the length of those vacuum tubes at all times.

And then as the gravitational wave comes through, it changes the length of one ruler relative to the other. And we see, a gravitational wave has passed.

HUNTE: Wow.

FORD: So that's basically how they work.

HUNTE: Complicated stuff.

What does this discovery tell us about black holes? And these black holes in particular.

FORD: So this is the most massive black hole merger ever detected. And it's very exciting to scientists because they are in this special mass range. That's called the mass gap where black holes, of course, are very massive objects. They can be several times the mass of our sun.

And we also know of black holes that are up to a billion times the mass of our sun. The gravitational wave detectors that detected this usually detect things that are a few to maybe a few hundred times the mass of our sun.

So these two black holes -- one was 103 times the mass of our sun and the other was 137 times the mass of our sun. And that's pretty big. But they come from stars that live and explode and die and leave behind these tiny remnants that are actually just a few kilometers across.

And so they're small by black hole standards. But we don't think that stars, when they die should leave black holes that are more massive than about 50 times the mass of our sun -- up to about 130 times the mass of our sun.

So one of these black holes is definitely squarely in that so-called mass gap. And the other one might also be, depending on exactly how big the mass gap is and how big our errors are on measuring that mass.

And so these are sort of impossible black holes, or at least during -- through standard methods that people have thought about a lot, you can't really form them directly. So that's very exciting, of course.

HUNTE: Wow. You've said that this discovery could help resolve one of the biggest open questions in physics. You kind of alluded to it there about how fast the universe is expanding. How big is the universe. How would all of that work and using this research to inform that? And

why does it matter?

FORD: So what's really exciting is that one important way to form these impossible black holes is to stack up littler ones and add them up to make something that's bigger, that sits in that mass gap.

And the best place to do that is actually around one of these supermassive black holes, that's millions to billions of times the mass of our sun. And do it in really close to one of these supermassive black holes that's in the center of a galaxy while that black hole is also consuming huge amounts of gas and dust, which lights up the center of that galaxy and creates an active galaxy.

And because that black hole is merging in this environment where there's gas, normally black holes are so massive and their gravitational pull is so powerful, they can't emit any light, they don't emit any light themselves.

But if you merge in the presence of gas, then that might cause there to be a flare that we could see. And so you can use light that we could see from the flare and gravitational waves that we can see from the black holes to measure the distances and the expansion speed at the same time, in the same location.

And then that could enable us to measure the expansion speed of the universe and help us to understand how our universe got started and then where it's going in the longer term.

[01:49:52]

FORD: So that's -- that's sort of the very exciting possibility from this -- from this particular black hole merger.

HUNTE: Wow. And speaking of exciting, teams from the U.S., Italy and Japan worked together to make this discovery. This is all at a time when governments are slashing research, funding, and science and facts are being challenged. How excited are you to see international collaborations like this delivering massive breakthroughs?

FORD: Well, I have many international collaborators myself, and I'm delighted to see that we can work across nations to advance our knowledge as humanity, as one group of humans that are just interested and excited about the world.

And I'm also particularly excited because this discovery was enabled by the fact that we had multiple detectors, and in particular two in the United States, and it's been discussed that perhaps the funding is in jeopardy for one of them.

And this detection really could not have been made, and we couldn't narrow down where it happened in the sky so that we could do this fabulous light plus gravitational waves experiment in the longer term if we only have one of those detectors.

And so it's actually quite important that we have all of them working together to narrow down where this happened in the universe.

HUNTE: Wow. Fascinating stuff.

Professor Saavik Ford, thank you so much for breaking it all down for us. We appreciate it.

FORD: Thanks. Nice chatting.

HUNTE: Golf's world number one is well on his way to a feat that few have accomplished. Coming up, we'll look at Scottie Scheffler's dominant performance at the open championship, one which left his rivals in awe.

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HUNTE: World number one golfer Scottie Scheffler is now one step closer to a career Grand Slam after clinching his first open championship. He was so dominant in Northern Ireland, his fellow competitors were in awe, wondering how do we beat this guy?

World Sport's Patrick Snell has the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLDSPORT ANCHOR: Well, Scottie Scheffler is a major golf champion for a fourth time now. Before this year's open in Northern Ireland, Scheffler admitted the joy of victory is fleeting, that life's true fulfillment, for him at least, is not in winning golf tournaments.

What we should never doubt, though, is his desire and hunger to keep winning the sport's biggest prizes.

The 29-year-old, in no mood for slip ups at Royal Portrush Sunday, took a four-shot lead into the final round, a blistering start.

And look at this stunning approach here at number one. A birdie to start with, wonderful momentum for the American player. Putt read to perfection at five. Another birdie drops for him at one point. The big Texan with a seven-shot lead.

Scheffler though proving he can be human after all. Frustrations in a bunker would lead to a double bogey at the eighth hole, offering a mere flicker of hope for anyone able to take advantage. Nobody could, though.

Scheffler, by now on cruise control. And he taps in at 18 to seal a famous victory by four shots.

And look at this emotion here. Arms aloft in celebration of winning the sport's oldest and most prestigious tournament, a Scottie Scheffler masterclass.

Scheffler has said it will always be family first for him, a moment here to be cherished with wife Meredith and his son, the adorable baby Bennett. [01:54:48]

SNELL: The toddler is getting used to seeing dad rack up major victories. So much so, it seems he wants a little piece of the action himself, though.

Here he goes, a little stumble though, oh, he tries to negotiate a slope to join the champion golfer of the year on the green.

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER, 2025 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER: I mean, I grew up waking up early to watch the tournament on TV, just hoping and dreaming I would get the chance to come play in this championship.

And you know, it's pretty cool to be sitting here with the trophy. It's hard to put into words.

I have a tremendous amount of gratitude towards moments like these. You know, I've literally worked my entire life to become somewhat good at this game, to be able to play this game for a living.

And it's one of the great joys of my life, being able to compete out here and to be able to win the open championship here at Portrush is a feeling that's really hard to describe.

SNELL: And check this out, amazing stat. The great Tiger Woods took 1197 days from his first major victory to his fourth. Scheffler is exactly the same amount of days.

And on that note, it's right back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: This is no ordinary chess tournament. You're looking at a mixed chess and basketball tournament in the town of Le Chesnay in France. The tournament was inaugurated by NBA star Victor Wembanyama in his hometown, and is billed as a challenge for body and mind.

Wembanyama said he was thrilled with how the unique tournament was going.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR WEMBANYAMA, SAN ANTONIO SPURS CENTER: So far it's been going on so well that already I'm thinking about the next one, you know, next edition and anticipating greatly the adult tournament tonight.

I know it's going to be -- it's already a lot of fun, but it's going to keep going all day. And I'm so happy about how it's going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: A Romanian zoo is drawing attention for the birth of a rare animal, one you won't find in the wild. Meet Goliath, a two-month-old liger born to a lion father and tiger mother. The two species live on different continents, so hybrids like this only occur in captivity. Fewer than 100 are believed to exist worldwide. Ligers are known for their massive size, some growing more than three

meters long and weighing more than 400 kilograms, much larger than either parent.

And Goliath is no exception. His owner says he's growing fast, already living up to his name.

He's so cute.

Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

I'll see you next weekend.

NEWSROOM with the fabulous Rosemary Church is next.

See you in a bit.

[01:57:19]

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