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Trump Celebrates Six Months into His Second Term; Harvard to Challenge Funding Freeze in Court; Scottie Scheffler Wins The Open Championship. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 21, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Donald Trump's second term hits the six-month mark. We will dig into new CNN poll numbers on how Americans are feeling about his presidency.

Health officials in Gaza say dozens of people were shot and killed by Israeli troops as starvation claims even more lives.

Plus just hours from now, Harvard and the U.S. government head to court in their $2 billion battle over federal funding. Hear the concerns from Harvard scientists over the future of research at the university.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

Well six months of winning, that's what President Trump is calling his time in office halfway through the first year of his second term. He's been pushing through massive domestic and international policy changes since his re-election. And the White House claims it's quote, the most successful first six months in office for any president in modern American history.

But polls show Americans are growing more disenchanted with his actions by the day. A CNN poll shows just 42 percent of Americans approve of the way Mr. Trump is performing his job as president.

And new polling on Sunday shows the President is losing support on one of his campaign platforms, immigration. 58 percent of Americans disapprove of his immigration policies, that's up 10 percent since March.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has more details from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE 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 notched 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 entering 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 at 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.

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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.

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)

CHURCH: Let's discuss this with Ron Brownstein, a CNN senior political analyst and opinion columnist at Bloomberg. He joins me from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST, AND OPINION COLUMNIST, BLOOMBERG: Hi Rosemary.

CHURCH: So six months into his second term in office and President Donald Trump insists he has achieved more than any other U.S. President of this half year point and that it has been six months of winning. What do you say to that? And how does his progress compare to previous U.S. leaders?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, Franklin Roosevelt, among others, might like a word on that assertion, but there's no question that Trump has been able to implement a lot of his agenda. He has essentially broken resistance to his agenda within the Republican Party.

Congress has gone along with everything that he wants. And the Republican appointees on the Supreme Court have validated many of his aggressive executive branch actions. So he has been able to do a lot of what he has set out to do.

But the price of that, as you noted, is a lot of the public is pulling back. And in fact, if you look at the polling, what it shows is that Trump is kind of back to his core support right now and that a lot of the voters who moved to him for the first time in '24 are starting to express second thoughts.

CHURCH: Yes. Let's talk about that, because going by the latest polling, which of his domestic and international policy changes have worked and which haven't for President Trump so far. And could the immigration issue end up being his Achilles heel, perhaps, with many Americans viewing his extreme deportation policy as an overreach?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, I mean, I think the biggest problem he has in public opinion is that he was elected above all to solve people's cost of living issues, and voters don't see much progress on that. And that is problem number one.

And I think number two is that if you look at the agenda, immigration being a prime example, he is targeting his policies very much at his base and pursuing an approach that raises a lot of questions for everyone else. I mean, Americans on immigration, I think, are making a clear distinction between the border where they see progress and interior enforcement and deportation, where many of them see excess.

CHURCH: And Ron, how big a threat do you think is the Jeffrey Epstein case? How big a threat does it pose for Donald Trump? Or do you expect him to turn this around in the end and get his MAGA base back on side as he has done so many times before?

BROWNSTEIN: I think he can hold his MAGA base on this. I think this is something that is energizing more of the grass tops, as they say, than the grassroots. I think, excuse me, that he can hold his voters.

But I think for the broader electorate, it is part of this general sense that Trump is not ultimately focusing on the issues that they elected him to focus on. And I think in that sense, it could compound his vulnerabilities.

CHURCH: And so what are his biggest challenges -- what biggest challenges lie ahead for him, do you think, in the next six months, perhaps?

BROWNSTEIN: I think delivering on what he was elected to do above all, which is get people's cost of living under control. There's very little in his agenda that people see addressing that. In fact, many of his key elements, tariffs, cutting Medicaid, cutting clean energy subsidies might make their cost of living worse.

So I think he will be judged on the same metric that ultimately sank Joe Biden, which is that people do not feel that they can afford their lives.

The other problem he's got is that, as is often the case, when the President comes in and pursues a very aggressive agenda, he energizes the other side. And that is the risk, I think, for Republicans going into 2026.

CHURCH: Right. And particularly with the Epstein case, he seems to have had some problems getting all Republicans on board with him. I mean, it seems in these recent days that he's been able to get the MAGA base back on board.

But what about some of those Republicans who say, look, we and of course, the Democrats are climbing on board that same issue. So what will likely happen with that? Will his hand be forced in terms of releasing more information on this?

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BROWNSTEIN: I can't imagine this Justice Department is going to release information that's damaging to him, but I think the pressure to release more information overall is likely to remain very high and probably insurmountably high. And I do think this is something where they are going to have to give ground. But again, I can't imagine that this Justice Department is going to give you a full and an expurgated look at whatever is in those FBI files.

CHURCH: Ron Brownstein, thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate your analysis and your points.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: In Gaza, 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.

Meanwhile, there were several explosions in northern Gaza near the border, as the Israeli army says it is continuing military action in the northern part of the enclave.

And CNN's Paula Hancocks is following all the developments for us. She joins us live from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, what is the latest on this humanitarian crisis as Israel ramps up military operations?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the UN, the aid groups on the ground in Gaza warned us it was going to get worse and it is getting worse. According to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, at least four children have died of hunger in the last three days. One of them just three months old, one of them, a four-year-old who died on Sunday, who had been in hospital suffering from malnutrition for some time.

Now, we are hearing increasing calls from aid groups. We've heard from UNRWA saying that they have received desperate messages of starvation, including from their own colleagues. We've heard from the World Food Program as well, saying that Gaza's hunger crisis has reached new levels of desperation.

Now, we also heard from the World Food Program posting a statement about one of those deadly incidents of people trying to secure aid in Gaza. They say that they had a convoy of some 25 trucks coming into Gaza. They approached a large group of civilians desperately looking for aid, and they say that the crowd was then fired upon by Israeli tanks, snipers and other gunfire.

Now, they say they are saddened by this and they say that there should never be armed people in or near an aid convoy. So calling on Israel to secure their ability to be able to distribute aid.

Now, Israel has said that there is aid that is inside Gaza that is waiting to be picked up by the United Nations, by other aid groups. But the United Nations has countered, saying that some of the routes they have to take are simply too dangerous to be able to get the aid to where it is needed. The situation on the ground is getting increasingly desperate.

Let's listen to some of the Gazans that we have spoken to.

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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 3:00 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 (through translator): 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)

HANCOCKS: Now, what we're hearing from hospital directors and spokespeople in Gaza is that they are seeing an increasing number of malnourished people coming into the emergency rooms. The spokesperson of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital saying that some of their rooms are filled with those who are malnourished, saying they're seeing an unprecedented number of starving citizens of all ages arriving at emergency departments, also sounding the alarm that many of those who simply don't have enough to eat to survive are the medical staff themselves.

So there is, once again, a very clear warning coming from those on the ground, coming from the United Nations, from aid organizations, calling for more crossings to be opened, calling for more aid to get in.

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Something which COGAP, the Israeli Department which coordinates allowing aid into Gaza, has countered, saying that the IDF is working to allow and facilitate the transfer of aid, including food, saying that some 67,000 food trucks have been allowed into Gaza since the war began. But what we are hearing and what we are seeing on the ground is that it is simply not enough. Rosemary.

CHURCH: CNN's Paula Hancocks bringing us that live report from Abu Dhabi.

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.

But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow's main goal is still to achieve its objectives. Russia has demanded that Ukraine give up land as part of its preconditions for a ceasefire, something Ukraine has so far refused to consider. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for talks with Russia this week.

Still to come, the suspects charged in the murder of an American professor in Athens are in court this hour. We will bring you the latest on the case, including the leaked confession from the alleged shooter.

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CHURCH: This hour, five suspects are expected to admit their pleas in court over the murder of an American professor in Athens, Greece. Przemyslav Jeziorski was shot multiple times at close range as he was walking to pick up his children from his ex-wife's house, as per their custody agreement. The alleged shooter is the ex-wife's new partner.

Police say he and three other male suspects confessed to the murder and those confessions have also been leaked to the media, giving insight into a crime that has shocked the country. The victim's ex- wife is also charged as a moral accomplice, which she denies.

Journalist Elinda Labropoulou joins us now from Athens. So, Elinda, what more are you learning about this shocking crime?

ELINDA LABROPOULOU, JOURNALIST: Well, the five are presenting their plea today. We did speak to the lawyers this morning and we understand that they have not changed their original line. At the moment, the boyfriend, the current partner of the ex-wife, is facing premeditated murder charges. The ex-wife is facing moral accomplice charges and there are three others facing accomplice charges.

It is a very peculiar case because at the heart of all this, really what we're looking at, is a big family drama. It seems that the couple who got married in the U.S. just over 10 years ago had twins and eventually their relationship started falling apart. The mother and children moved to Greece, the father filed for a divorce in 2021 and since then the children have been living with their mother.

We understand now from these leaked statements to police that the current partner is the shooter. His lawyer has confirmed this and he has said in these leaked statements that he did it all for his partner, the mother of the children. He said they could not see the children being taken away from them and being taken away from them in Greece.

So the whole story about the children is very much also what's on people's minds here, this huge custody battle. And what we're going to find out here today is whether these people will be remanded in custody or who will be remanded in custody.

The Polish side of the professor's family is asking for custody. And if the mother is remanded today, then they have a much better chance of getting it, Rosemary.

CHURCH: A tragic story there, Elinda Labropoulou, bringing us up to date from Athens. I appreciate that report.

Well, temperatures are on the rise in parts of the U.S. Extreme heat is expected to spread into the Midwest and Southeast this week. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar brings us the forecast.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: More than 50 million people are under some type of extreme heat alert across much of the eastern U.S. for much of the upcoming week.

Now, we start with Monday. You'll see a few pockets here of the orange color. But as we progress this map forward, you'll start to notice that orange area really starts to expand, and especially into some newer areas like the Northeast, the Mid-Atlantic and the Midwestern portion of the U.S., where those temperatures are really going to be on the rise, especially by the back half of the week.

Let's take a look at some of these temperatures. Tallahassee, for example, it's summer. We know it's normally warm, their average high this time of year is 92, but they're going to be in the upper 90s for the next couple of days before we finally start to see those temperatures dropping back just a little bit.

Here's another look at Dallas, for example. The average high of this time of year is 96. We are going to be flirting with triple digits by the end of the week.

Now, interestingly enough, Dallas, Texas has actually not hit 100 degrees so far this year, even though some cities way farther north actually have, including New York, Boston and Philadelphia, all hitting those triple digits back in June. But this is likely to change as Dallas is forecast to hit those triple digits by the end of the week.

They're not the only one that's going to see those temperatures well above average. St. Louis, for example, normal high this time of year of 90. We're going to be looking at nearly 10 degrees above average for the back half of the upcoming week.

And even northeastern cities also looking to see those temperatures jumping up. New York's average high is about 85, they'll be pretty close to that the next few days, maybe even perhaps slightly lower than that. But once we get into the back half, that's when we start to see those temperatures rise into northeastern cities as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:25:05]

CHURCH: Crews in Vietnam are searching for four missing people after a tourist boat capsized 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 incredible reports from survivors, including a 10-year-old boy who was able to find an air pocket in the submerged part of the ship.

Well the White House could see new pushback on one of its key agenda items. A new CNN poll shows a majority of Americans think Trump's deportation policies have gone too far. We'll break down the numbers when we come back.

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba is vowing to stay on the job despite his party's poor performance at Sunday's election. He says he needs to stay in office in part to deal with U.S. tariff negotiations. Japan faces a deadline next week to strike a trade deal with the United States.

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The Palestinian Health Ministry says at least 73 people were killed and around 150 others injured by Israeli gunfire while seeking aid across the enclave on Sunday. The U.N. said earlier this month that nearly 800 Palestinians had been killed trying to access aid between late May and July 7.

A notorious drug kingpin from Ecuador has been extradited to the United States. Jose Adolfo Macias, better known as Fito, was transferred from an Ecuadorian prison to the city's airport on Sunday where he was handed over to U.S. officials. Macias ran the notorious criminal organization Los Torneros, he's expected to appear in court on Monday in New York.

New CNN polling is giving us a clearer picture of how Americans view the first six months of President Trump's second term and it includes one of the President's top agenda issues, immigration. CNN's Julia Benbrook has more.

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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The President's approval ratings currently sit at around 40 percent for his handling both of immigration in general and deportation specifically. This new CNN polling shows that a rising majority believe that Trump has gone too far when it comes to deporting immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. While that number stood at 45 percent back in February, it now stands at 55 percent.

Let's dive into some of the other key takeaways from this survey: 53 percent oppose increasing the budget for immigration and customs enforcement by billions of dollars, nearly 6 in 10 oppose efforts to end birthright citizenship, a 57 percent majority also says that they oppose plans to build new detention facilities capable of holding up to 100,000 undocumented immigrants, and then 59 percent of Americans oppose arresting and detaining undocumented immigrants who have resided in the United States for years with no criminal record.

Now some extra context there, a CNN review of government data found that most immigrants taken into ICE custody between last October and May had no serious criminal convictions. In an interview that aired over the weekend on CBS, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons detailed the administration's sweeping deportation efforts.

TODD LYONS, ACTING DIRECTOR, U.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: ICE is always focused on the worst of the worst. One difference you'll see now is under this administration, we have opened up the whole aperture of the immigration portfolio, meaning that if you're here illegally and ICE goes out and arrests someone that is released from a sanctuary jurisdiction or one in their home country and an ICE officer finds other individuals with them who are in the country illegally, we're going to take them as well.

BENBROOK: Now ICE is about to get a big funding boost, set to receive $75 billion from the president's sweeping agenda package, the so- called One Big Beautiful bill, it's an unprecedented amount of cash for an agency that has historically been underfunded.

And despite the reactions that were seen in the data just detailed, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said that that extra funding will allow them to ramp up efforts even more.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: David Leopold is an immigration attorney and former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. I appreciate you joining us.

DAVID LEOPOLD, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY, CHAIRMAN OF IMMIGRATION, U.B. GREENSFELDER LLC., AND FORMER PRESIDENT, AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION: Good to be here, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So a new exclusive CNN poll released Sunday on immigration and ICE enforcement here in the U.S. shows that most Americans oppose President Trump's recent efforts to scale up the deportation program. What impact do you expect the Trump administration's immigration policies will have on this country now and in the years ahead?

LEOPOLD: Well, you know, Rosemary, a couple of points. All of this is an outright attack by this administration on due process, on due process, on the rule of law. And that's what's been going on since the President was sworn in on January 20th.

What will the impact be? Well, we can see the impact. Americans are recoiling to the tune of 60 -- almost 60 percent when it comes to opposing the president's attempt to take away birthrights citizenship, which is enshrined in the Constitution.

A recoiling, a disgust at locking people up in places like Alligator Alley, they call it, or the new Alcatraz. The cruelty.

This is just un-American stuff. And this is not what most Americans anticipated back in November of 2024 during the election when they voted for President Trump.

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CHURCH: And David, more than five million American children are estimated to have an undocumented household member. That's a lot of anxious children worrying about the possibility of a parent being taken from them at any time. What are these children going through right now?

LEOPOLD: Well, the anxiety level is through the roof. The children, I can't imagine being a child and going to school every morning, wondering whether mom or dad will be home, whether the family will still be there, whether they'll have a place to go to.

And the anxiety goes to the parents as well because they have to make plans. A lot of parents were finding or making emergency plans in case they're locked up and thrown in some prison somewhere.

Who's going to take care of their child? Who's going to take care of their toddler? Again, this is not America. This is not what this country is about. This is just plain cruelty.

CHURCH: David, where are people going to get help and find more information about what they need to do to protect themselves and their families from the risk of deportation? And what advice would you give them if they're watching right now?

LEOPOLD: Well, I would tell anybody who is worried about law enforcement, number one, they have everybody has constitutional rights in the United States. Whether they have documents or whether they don't have documents, they have constitutional rights. Number one, nobody can enter your home without a judicial warrant.

Nobody can arrest you on the street without reasonable suspicion. You don't have to talk to anybody. People have the right not to talk to somebody who comes up to them on the street.

People have the right not to open the door of their home unless there's a judicial warrant. People always have the right to an attorney and to remain silent until they've had a chance to talk to an attorney. These are really important constitutional rights.

They're not just theoretical. They're very important because otherwise we're living in a police state where people can just barge into homes, crack windows on cars, tackle people when they come out of work. And that goes for business owners too.

People can't just walk into a business and go into the private areas, can't just walk into a restaurant and go into the areas that are not public. Same with healthcare institutions. But that's what we're looking at, ICE coming into private homes. And when you think about this, when you think that ICE, the

immigration enforcement budget, just ballooned in this bill that was passed by Congress and signed by President Trump to $170 billion over the next several years. They're going to be hiring ICE agents from to -- I'm sorry, from 6000 to 16,000. That's an amazing balloon in growth in law enforcement, in ICE law enforcement.

More masked men on the streets doing what? Going after whom?

And then when we talk about things like taking citizenship away from naturalized citizens, we take away rights, we take away people's right to due process. Again, as I said, all of this, all of this is an outright attack on due process and the rule of law in the United States.

And it's not just about immigrants, it's about U.S. citizens as well. It's about those of us who were born here and those of us who revere the constitution and revere the freedoms that we have been raised with and we have grown to love. This is about our country as it stands and as we know it.

CHURCH: David Leopold, thank you so much for joining us, I appreciate it.

LEOPOLD: My pleasure, Rosemary, thank you.

CHURCH: Still in the United States, at least 13 people were arrested at a protest supporting an Egyptian man detained during a check-in with immigration officials. The Associated Press reports that the demonstration turned violent when protesters clashed with police on a bridge connecting Ohio and Kentucky.

CNN's Rafael Romo has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At the center of this case is the arrest of Ayman Soliman, a 51-year-old Egyptian national who worked as a Muslim chaplain at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. According to the Ohio Immigrant Alliance, he is known as an interfaith imam and was beloved for his steady presence at the site of ill children, parents, and other caregivers.

The Associated Press reports asylum revocation proceedings started late last year and Solomon's asylum status was reversed in early June. He was detained on July 9 during a check-in with immigration officials in Ohio.

In an interview before his arrest, Solomon discussed what it would mean for him if he's returned to his native country.

[03:40:07]

AYMAN SOLIMAN, EGYPTIAN IMMIGRANT DETAINED BY ICE: If anything happens, just speak about me. This is unfair and going back to Egypt for me is a death sentence. I didn't come to America so you can give it a life, it was escaping

death for the regime and we support it.

ROMO: Soliman's arrest sparked a protest on Thursday that started peacefully but quickly turned chaotic and violent when demonstrators decided to block the Roebling bridge that carries traffic between Ohio and Kentucky. At one point, protesters tried to block an SUV that kept moving, creating a very perilous situation.

One of the protesters on the bridge was later injured in a confrontation with Covington police as officers were trying to disperse people blocking traffic on the bridge. This is what Brandon Hill, the protester, said about the confrontation.

BRANDON HILL, PROTESTER: Everything happened so quickly. I just know that I was fired at, I had shots on my leg. If there was an ask for an order to disperse, I personally didn't hear it.

ROMO: But police say Hill not only ignored orders to disperse but also tried to get a pepper ball gun from the officer who tussled with him and moments later appeared to reach towards a bag secured around his waist which prompted the officer to reach for his own department- issued handgun. Hill denies trying to disarm the officer.

BRIAN VALENTI, COVINGTON POLICE CHIEF: What happened here wasn't a protest. It was an unlawful disturbance.

We don't mess around on bridges. This is not an intersection, it's not in a park, it's not on a sidewalk, this is on a bridge almost 100 feet above water. So it's a very dangerous, precarious situation.

ROMO: Meanwhile, Ayman Soliman remains in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention. As for why he was detained in the first place, Trisha McLaughlin, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the Department of Homeland Security, said on X that this Egyptian national was flagged on the FBI terror watch list. He had his asylum status revoked.

More than a dozen people were arrested in the protests at the bridge, including two journalists.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Harvard University will make its case against the Trump administration in federal court later today. It's trying to restore billions of dollars in frozen funds. Why the university says the President's actions are so dangerous, that's just ahead.

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[03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back everyone.

Well, in just 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.

Gloria Pazmino has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the next major step in the Trump administration's fight against Harvard University.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I think we're going to probably settle with Harvard. They want to settle very badly.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Oral arguments are expected Monday. Federal District Court Judge Allison Burroughs will hear from Harvard's legal team and lawyers for the Department of Justice. The beginning of a critical battle to restore more than $2 billion in federal funding after the White House froze the funds last spring.

TRUMP: We spend more money on higher education than any other country, and yet they're turning our students into communists and terrorists. We can't let this happen.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Monday's hearing could mark a turning point in the administration's ongoing attacks on higher education institutions.

ANURIMA BHARGAVA, CRIMSON COURAGE, COORDINATOR OF HARVARD ALUMNI AMICUS BRIEF: What we're seeing here is basically an attack on Harvard. The goal is to narrow our ability to think, to teach, to voice, to learn in a way that is open, that promotes free inquiry and discussion.

TRUMP: Pause or funding freeze.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Days after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order increasing enforcement efforts against anti- Semitism on school campuses.

The administration also targeted dozens of colleges and universities. It threatened to cut Harvard's critical research and funding grants unless it met a strict list of demands, including ending diversity, equity and inclusion programs, hiring new faculty and making sweeping changes to international student programs.

Harvard responded with force, suing to restore its funding and accusing the administration of using unlawful tactics, saying the cuts and demands, quote, "cut at the core of Harvard's constitutionally protected academic freedom."

Funding cuts are already being felt.

BHARGAVA: We're seeing those research projects about Alzheimer's disease, about what is it that we, how do we do surgeries in a way that are actually going to save people's lives? Those research projects, those efforts that have been going on for years, if not decades, are being stopped in their tracks.

PAZMINO (voice-over): Harvard faculty says the future of scientific research is on the line.

RYAN ENOS, PROF., HARVARD UNIVERSITY: The big picture question is whether we will be rewarding research to where based on scientific merit or whether a university follows the political ideology of the President and his administration.

PAZMINO (voice-over): In a statement, the White House said the administration's goal is to prevent anti-Semitism and DEI on Harvard's campus, adding, quote, "we are confident that Harvard will eventually come around and support the President's vision and through good faith conversations and negotiations, a good deal is more than possible."

As the fight between the administration and Harvard continues, some faculty members and experts see the administration's focus on anti- Semitism as an excuse.

BHARGAVA: This is a battle about power. I think that this is really about this administration trying to take down cathedrals of power around a country that are not their own.

PAZMINO: Now, Harvard has asked the judge in this case to make an expedited decision specifically by early September. That is when Harvard says it will have to submit much of its paperwork to close out grant funding.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

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

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.

Donald Trump is demanding an NFL team change its name back to one that was criticized for being an ethnic slur. Posting on social media, President Trump told the Washington commanders to, quote, "immediately revert to the Washington Redskins."

Washington, D.C.'s NFL team dropped their old name after decades of criticism from Native American groups. The team is trying to move back to the city after relocating to nearby Maryland. But President Trump is threatening to restrict the move unless it changes its name, though it's unclear how exactly he would do that.

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 Sports' Patrick Snell has the highlights.

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PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, Scottie Scheffler is a major golf champion for a fourth time. Now, before this year's Open in Northern Ireland, Sheffler 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.

[03:55:02]

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. 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, as he tries to negotiate a slope to join the champion golfer of the year on the green.

SCOTTIE SCHEEFLER, 2025 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP WINNER: I mean, I grew up waking up early to watch this tournament on T.V., 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.

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CHURCH: And thanks for spending part of your day with me and my team, I'm Rosemary Church. "Amanpour" is next, and stay tuned for "Early Start" with M.J. Lee at 5 a.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in London. Enjoy your day.

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