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U.S. Launches Strikes On Iran in Response To Downed Apache Helicopter; Texas Teen Sentenced To 35 Years For Murder In Track Meet Stabbing; Protesters Torch Cars, Buildings In Belfast After Knife Attack; Knicks Getting Ready For Game Four Against Spurs. Aired 4:30- 5a ET

Aired June 10, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iran is retaliating against the U.S. strikes launched in response to the downing of an Apache helicopter near the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state media releasing this footage earlier, claiming to show missiles launched at U.S. targets in the Middle East.

And all of this as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps says, that it targeted the US's Fifth Fleet in Bahrain's capital and the U.S. military base in Jordan. And caught in the middle of this conflict are the people of Iran struggling to afford the basics as costs soar.

Our Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran with this report. But first to note that CNN operates in Iran only with permission from the government, but does maintain full editorial control over our reports.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the conflict between Iran and the United States drags on, the U.S. blockade continues, sanctions continue. Of course, it makes things very difficult economically for a lot of folks here in Iran.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): I just spoke to a business owner. He sells and produces shoes and he also told me that business has been difficult for quite some time now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Purchases have decreased and so have our sales. Shoes have become more expensive and premium materials have gone up as well. But it's not like sales have completely stopped. The war had its own effect, but it has not brought our sales down to zero. We are still selling and we are still trying to increase sales.

PLEITGEN: A war is always devastating for any economy. And as you can imagine, a lot of folks here in Iran have lost their jobs. Inflation is also a big problem as well. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The market's really collapsed now. Previously I could buy more easily, but now everything's become so expensive.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Inflation's made prices increase 100 times more.

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UINDEANTIFIED MALE: Absolutely it's difficult because it's after war we have such a problem and after sanctions we have problems here. But it's the consequences of war. We cannot do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I personally do not have much hope. What we see on the surface is that neither side will step back from their positions, at least for the next couple of years. And the situation has been like this for 30 or 40 years.

PLEITGEN: But one of the other things that the shop owner told me has been a real issue was the fact that the Internet here was shut down for an extended period of time because he also has an online shop where he not only sells his shoes, but he also buys some of the material as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For about a month or 40 days, we were really struggling. And right now, as you've witnessed yourselves, it's difficult to move from one page to another. I hope this matter could be resolved soon so that our business can flourish again. We will welcome anything that puts an end to the war.

PLEITGEN: And of course, that's something a lot of folks here in Iran think about as the U.S. and the Iranian side try to come to some sort of end to this armed conflict. A lot of people here are just hoping for sanctions relief and for the economy to improve.

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SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Fred Pleitgen and his team reporting out of Iran. A Texas jury has sentenced a teenager to 35 years in prison for fatally stabbing a track athlete from a rival team during a high school meet. Here's CNN's Jean Casarez with more.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Karmelo Anthony, a former high school athlete, was convicted of murder on Tuesday by a jury in Frisco County, Texas. That is north of Dallas. It is a first degree felony. According to our affiliate KVTK, they said that when the verdict was announced that Anthony, who's now 18 years old, began to cry, his parents walked out of the courtroom.

Now this all stemmed from a confrontation between two student athletes, Austin Metcalf, who is the victim, and Anthony. It happened at a stadium. Track team members have a tent, a portable tent, and the portable tent that belonged to Memorial High School where Metcalf was a track team member and a student. They were standing in there and according to the arrest report and testimony, Anthony came into their tent and sat down.

Metcalf said, can you leave the tent? This is our tent, our team's tent. And at that point it began to build. According to testimony, Anthony said, touch me and see what happens.

And then at that point it's alleged through testimony that Metcalf pushed Anthony. Now the different witnesses said it was a light push it was a medium push, it was a hard push. But after that, Anthony got into his bag and pulled out a knife. According to testimony, it was a three and a half inch blade.

The medical examiner testified that two and a half inches of that blade went through the ventricle, the heart of Metcalf. After that, Anthony left that tent. He was later arrested.

But this case has caused a lot of controversy. There have been racial tensions. There have been protests because Metcalf, the victim, was white and Anthony is black. The defense in this case was self-defense, that Carmelo Anthony believed, according to Texas law, that death or serious bodily injury was about to happen to him and he had to defend himself. But the defense did not put Carmelo Anthony on the standard.

So the jury did not get to hear his story of what he believed in his own mind as all this was happening and why, why he took out that knife. Jean Casarez, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Police in Northern Ireland, they are calling for calm after protesters set fire to vehicles and homes in Belfast. The unrest broke out after police charged a Sudanese man with attempted murder in connection with a knife attack on Monday that left another man seriously injured. Anti-immigration sentiment, it has spread to other cities in the U.K. sparking smaller protests in places like Glasgow or London. Let's get More now from CNN's Nada Bashir who joins me from one of those cities as she continues to follow this wave of anti- immigration violence that's flaring up.

Nada, what else do we know about, about what's fueling this?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there had been calls across social media from right wing and anti-immigration activists for people to take to the streets in response to this attack which took place evening in Belfast. As you mentioned, a 30-year old man believes to be of Sudanese heritage has now been charged with attempted murder. And of course, this harrowing attack was filmed by a eyewitness, a bystander.

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And that video circulated quite rapidly on social media. It is very distressing. In graphic footage showing the man charged now with attempted murder kneeling on the victim and attacking him repeatedly. And police say they have recovered a kitchen knife from the scene that the victim, a 40-year-old, a man in his 40s rather, is in hospital in a serious condition. But this video really did spark, a fire across the United Kingdom, but

certainly in Northern Ireland where we did see that huge outcry. But also this video being seized upon by anti-immigration and right wing activists calling on people to take to the streets in response to this attack, linking it in their eyes to immigration issues that we've also heard from senior officials, including for example the leader of the center right Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch. She herself linked this to immigration issues without any evidence.

We've certainly had that echoed by the hard right Reform Party leader Nigel Farage. But we have been hearing from officials in Northern Ireland who have been calling for calm after last night's protest. I'll just read you a bit from the statement from Northern Ireland's first minister who has said that these are dangerous attempts in her to exploit the incident to target and attack innocent people who are simply trying to live. Racism, intimidation and violence are wrong wherever they occur.

But of course, as you mentioned, it is not just Northern Ireland where we have seen these protests taking place, but of course in other cities across the United Kingdom as well. And there is concern from the police that this could spiral into further protests or perhaps even riots.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Nada Bashir with that live report from London. Thank you, Nada. We're going to shift gears after the break.

The New York Knicks, they are chasing their first NBA championship in more than five decades. I'll be speaking with point guard Jose Alvarado's high school coach about what he was like during those early years on the court.

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SANDOVAL: Today, the New York Knicks will be waking up in Texas to another chance to expand their lead over the San Antonio spurs and also eventually march to what many fans feel is their destiny to greatness, the NBA Finals. They will be returning to Madison Square Garden later today. So I actually should correct myself.

They're still -- they're still in New York. Their hope is to eventually go back to Texas. Hopes of a Knicks sweep that were completely dashed on Monday when the spurs snagged back a game in the series that now New York is leading 2 to 1.

Knicks point guard Jose Alvarado, he spoke about their game three mistakes. Listen to this.

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JOSE ALVARADO, NEW YORK KNICKS POINT GUARD: We came out a little cluttered, you know, a little unorganized, and there was a more physical team. So we need to come back tomorrow, and be who we are. We lost one game. You know, it's -- that's -- that's just part of basketball. You win some, you lose some, and we can't panic. We're not going to panic. And we got to come back tomorrow and adjust to those, those things that we saw on film and we'd be all right.

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SANDOVAL: So again, those Knicks are in New York getting ready to play again. And growing up Alvarado, he played basketball in Queens, New York. And many of those who knew him way back when, were they now hoping that he gets that championship ring.

Joe Arbitello is a principal and men's basketball coach at Christ the King Regional High School in Queens, is largely credited with being the place that Knicks point guard Jose Alvarado started his journey to the NBA. Coach, welcome to CNN. Thank you for joining us.

JOE ARBITELLO, MEN'S BASKETBALL COACH, CHRIST THE KING REGIONAL HIGH SCHOOL: Yes, I'm excited, man, this is great.

SANDOVAL: Yes, the energy here in New York right now, it really is incredible. And as the Knicks now look to block the Spurs from tying a series, the series later today at Madison Square Garden. What do you think is going through the mind of Jose Alvarado right now? You watched him grow up on the court, and now he's -- he's playing on one of the world's biggest stages.

ARBITELLO: I've said this to a bunch of people. I'm sure he's really, really upset that they lost. I mean, he wants to win worse than anybody ever met in my life. He's probably still acting like a little bit of a baby about the loss yesterday and a couple hours of dust himself off and be ready to kill on Wednesday.

SANDOVAL: What would you tell him and his fellow players as they get ready to head back on the court?

ARBITELLO: It's a long series, right. And you got seven games to close them out. Started out two 0, still in a great spot. And I think this Knicks team will do that. I think they got a lot of leadership. I think they got a lot of guys like Jose on this team.

SANDOVAL: Yes. Let's look back to where this all started in coaching Jose. When did you first suspect that he was destined for greatness? Did he always have these big NBA dreams?

ARBITELLO: I mean, look, every 14-year-old kid has NBA dreams, right? They all think they're going to play in the NBA. And when you look at him, you know, he's barely 6 foot. It's not an incredibly, you know, gifted athlete, but I never really thought he would be in the NBA while he was playing high school basketball with me.

I've seen NBA guys. We've had other NBA guys. Those are -- those guys are 6, 7, 6, 11. They jump out of building. So for him, you know, it started to really sink in about his junior or senior year at Georgia Tech.

SANDOVAL: Incredible seeing some of the images that you shared with us and to see just how far he's gone. But eventually, I mean it brings him right back home, right back to New York City where he grew up. I'm just curious for viewers who are watching this around the world Coach, talk to me about Christ the King, its basketball program and how perhaps you really see it as instrumental in creating the foundation that players like Alvarado now can count on.

ARBITELLO: It says, you know, it's a combination of a lot of things, right? It's, it's our faculty, our staff and our basketball program. I mean, you play basketball three hours a day. You're in school eight hours a day. So I really think that the teachers have helped molded him into the person he is today.

I think his parents are unbelievable people. But you know, at our school, you know, we pride ourselves on being a real academic academy where you have to live up to the academic standard and then you're able to play basketball. I think that's what really helped him because when he came in, he wasn't exactly the best student. And so him just putting in the effort in the classroom where he struggled, showed that he has some fortitude.

And then we kind of took that onto the basketball court where he wasn't the best jump shooter as a freshman in high school and probably shooting around like 30 percent from the three point line. By the time his senior season came, he was shooting around 42 percent, you know, dramatic difference.

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So just hard work in the gym with us, us continuing to believe in him, him continuing to believe in himself and all the positive energy that Christ the King High School brings.

SANDOVAL: Yes, he has raved about you on many occasions, saying that it was accountability that non-negotiable that he learned during his early days of playing. I'd love to wrap up by getting your thoughts on this moment that we all witnessed during game three of the series when he accidentally landed on top of Michael Bloomberg courtside. Alvarado taking a moment there to make sure that, that the former mayor of New York was okay before jumping back in the game. You see him there sitting next to the former mayor.

Just tell us about his ways as a high school student? I mean, did he always have this tendency to look after others as he, as he did that night?

ARBITELLO: I mean, yes, he's a lovable kid and he cares about the people that he's loyal to, you know, like a real Brooklyn kid. I mean, right before the game, you know, he was calling me to make sure that his family was going to be all set up at our watch party that we were having at Christ the King. And we had -- he was like, I don't know, it could be 11, could be 20. I said, Jose, let's not worry about any of that.

I will take care of that. I'm not playing in the NBA finals. You take care of what you have to take care of. I'll take care of what I got to take care of for you. Your family will be fine. But he was so concerned about them to make sure that they were going to be OK. And he had game three to play. That sums him up as a person.

Saturday afternoon, he calls me out of nowhere. My daughter just graduated high school. And he calls me, congratulates me, checks up on me, asks me how I'm doing. That's who he is as a person. He cares about the people that he loves, who he considers family, and there's nothing he won't do for you.

And I think that's what -- I think that's what his teammates love about him. I think that's what New York loves about him because it's so easy to see.

SANDOVAL: And then of course, Michael Bloomberg going on social media, talking, joking about that moment, writing, great to meet NYC homegrown star. But next time, Jose, just call me. And then he echoed what of course all of us are thinking here in New York City. Let's go Knicks.

Coach Joseph Arbitello, thank you so much for sharing a little bit of your perspective and enjoy the game.

ARBITELLO: Appreciate it. Thank you for having me.

SANDOVAL: And we'll be right back with more.

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SANDOVAL: And you're looking at some live pictures of Pope Leo in Spain, where it's almost 11am right now. The pontiff of visiting a prison near Barcelona, meeting with inmates and staff there. The Pope will also deliver an address at the Abbey of Our Lady Montserrat shortly. And then in the coming hours, a big event.

Pope Leo will be inaugurating and blessing the newest tower of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona. That mass will mark 100 years since the death of the architect Antoni Gaudi, the visionary behind that pretty amazing basilica construction there. It started more than a century ago and the landmark has now become the world's tallest church as it finally nears completion. Again, these light pictures coming out of Spain.

Thank you so much for joining me the last hour. I'm Polo Sandoval. Our coverage continues with CNN Headline Express.

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