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Questions Remain Over Key Details Of U.S.-Iran Agreement; Makerfield Constituency Prepares For Key By-Election In U.K.; Feds Foil Alleged Plot To Attack White House UFC Fight; G7 Leaders Support Agreement Between U.S. And Iran; Iran Says Israel Must Withdraw From Lebanon as Part of Agreement; WHO Says More Than 130 Deaths May Be Linked to the Outbreak; Lionel Messi Tied World Cup's All-time Scoring Record With 3-goal Hat Trick; Uganda's Ghetto Kids to Join Shakira for Halftime Show; SpaceX is Now One of World's Most Valuable Companies; Actor Javier Bardem Honored at TCL Chinese Theater; Serena & Venus Williams Will Play Doubles at Wimbledon. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 17, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:32]

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

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, Donald Trump vows to publicly release the text of the agreement with Iran, but so far almost all world leaders are left in the dark.

New warnings about the scale of the Ebola outbreak in Central Africa as officials try to contain the spread. I'll speak to someone on the ground in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Plus, Lionel Messi scores the first hat trick of the 2026 World Cup to lead Argentina to victory.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. Well, the final day of the G7 Summit gets underway next hour. President Donald Trump is scheduled to wrap up his final meetings with world leaders, Iran has been a major focus of the summit. G7 leaders say they support the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran. President Trump has promised to release the text in a couple of days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not release it before Friday?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'd like to get a formal setting first before we do that, but I have no problem with that. It's a good documents. Actually, I'll not only release it, I'll probably have a press conference and read it to you word by word. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran has exported its first crude oil shipments in two months, that is, according to data from tanker trackers and maritime intelligence company. President Trump says the vital waterway will reopen, and the U.S. will lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports after the formal agreement signing ceremony on Friday.

Well, the secrecy around the Iran agreement is causing tensions abroad and in the U.S. Officials in the U.S. are trying to downplay the text of the agreement ahead of its anticipated release. One source tells CNN, "People shouldn't read too much into the language." Our Nic Robertson has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I don't think we've learned anything substantive. And I do think that the tone that was set by Vice President J.D. Vance yesterday when he said, you know, if Iran wants to be treated like a normal country, it needs to act like a normal country.

And that all the financial incentives, whether it's the $300 billion reconstruction that has variously been described as something that the Gulf states would contribute to in terms of investment in Iran, huge sums of money that I don't think anyone can really sort of seriously countenance at a single brushstroke, or the $12 billion that Iran said that it wanted to have, expected to have of frozen assets before it was going to begin to negotiate some of the tougher issues in the second phase after that MOU is expected to be signed on Friday.

J.D. Vance has framed it really very simply. It's like this. If Iran behaves and does the right thing, then there are financial rewards from it.

But it does seem, and the question is raised by that Wall Street Journal article you just mentioned about Iran being able to sell its oil on international markets. This is something they've been demanding, that all sanctions should be forgiven, should be lifted, whether they come from the International Atomic Energy Agency, from the U.N., from the United States, from the European Union. They should all be lifted, and that would give them the right, therefore, to sell their oil.

And at the moment, they've been using shadow vessels. There have been ship-to-ship transfers in some cases. So, it's been happening in a clandestine way. This allows them to make money legitimately, if you will.

So, these are the core issues for Iran, and that's what the U.S. is playing off of here. But have we actually learned anything new? I think what we've learned is that the bigger gap you put between saying you have an agreement and telling everyone what that agreement is, remembering President Trump said it would probably come after Friday, or after the agreement's signed, and he might even recite it in front of camera.

The Iranians have told their people that once the deal is signed, they will tell them what's in it. It's a cause for speculation in both countries and for hardliners to try to take advantage of where they see weaknesses in the agreement. And I think it's fair to say both sides see plenty of that.

[02:05:02]

Certainly, the European leaders do see a lot of flaws in it, even though they don't have the details of it, as we understand.

CHURCH: Danny Citrinowicz is a senior fellow with the Institute for National Security Studies. He was also the head of the Iran branch for Israel's military intelligence research and analysis division. He joins us now from Rehovot in Israel. Appreciate you joining us.

DANNY CITRINOWICZ, SENIOR FELLOW, INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES: Thank you very much for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. So, what's your assessment of this tentative U.S.- Iran deal, and how have these negotiations changed the expectations of the U.S. and Israel, and perhaps strengthen the hand of Iran.

CITRINOWICZ: Well, definitely, this agreement is a major achievement for Iran. We should remember that only four months ago, Israel and the U.S. opened a campaign to topple the same regime that now the US is interacting with, and actually give them some sort of economical ease for only opening to almost trades, the Straits that were open before the war itself.

So, in that regard, definitely they have a major achievement, and I think that for them they feel that they have the upper hand, and they won the war. And now we see the influence on that on the Israeli-U.S. relations, while Israel and the U.S. were aligned regarding the purpose of this war, definitely now they are not aligned. There is a lot of tension because of the fact that U.S. is interested in ending the war and moving forward, while Israel is interested in returning back to war, or at least not having a bad agreement like Israel think we have.

So, we are seeing a lot of tension between Jerusalem and Washington, while seeing some sort of advancement towards some sort of negotiation between Iran and the U.S., something that we thought would be really imagining, we could just imagine that before the 28th of February.

So, definitely we're in a different place right now, with different stage, and that causes that of tension between Jerusalem and Washington.

CHURCH: And Danny at the G7 Summit in France, President Trump came under increasing pressure to explain why the text of the U.S. agreement with Iran was not being made available to allies. He claims it's because he wants the memorandum of understanding formally signed before details are released, and says the agreement states that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Do you think the document actually states that? And what, what about

nuclear enrichment and stockpile issues?

CITRINOWICZ: Well, the problem that we have is that the paper, the MOU, is dealing with two things that actually are things that were not related to reality before the war itself, meaning that opening the Strait of Hormuz, the Straits were open before the war. Unfortunately, they were closed before because of the war, and the second thing also connected to the nuclear issues.

And we have to admit that in the JCRA itself the Iranians already obligated themselves not to develop a nuclear weapon, so there's nothing new about that.

Now, we don't know what could happen in negotiation, and how the final agreement would look like, but definitely for now we have to say one important thing. The U.S. was interested in opening the Straits, because it was very hard to open it militarily, and they had to reach an agreement with the same regime they wanted to couple, and they're strengthening it, and I understand why they don't want to show the MOU, because I'm not sure that the MOU served the U.S. interest in a way that obviously easing the pressure on Iran.

Now, President Trump, I don't think he had any other choice, because he didn't want to pay the price for opening the Straits militarily, so then, and he understood the implication for the international economy, thus he had to open the Straits diplomatically, and for doing so he had to give something substantial to the Iranian. This is what's happening right now.

But this is not a clear cut. We don't know whether going to have a fund agreement, but definitely for now Iran will get an economical ease, and the same regime that again he wanted to topple will be strengthened because of this economic abuse.

CHURCH: And of course, it's not just the G7 leaders pushing to see the text of that agreement, but also Israel, as you mentioned, it was denied access to the document, and many Republicans too, who are growing increasingly angry over a possible $300 billion reconstruction fund for Iran. What does all this signal to you?

CITRINOWICZ: Well, definitely, as I mentioned, Israel and the U.S. relation, I don't want to say they're an old-time loan, but definitely when in a youth tension between Netanyahu and Trump, Netanyahu, the thought is going to have his major strategic achievements in his political career by pushing the U.S. president to war against Iran, now find yourself in isolation, and the US President is actually rushing towards an agreement with Iran, and not even allowing Israel to influence the negotiation, and not even seeing the draft of the MOU.

So, definitely, we're mounting pressure. Adding to that is the notion in Washington that Israel is trying to use the Lebanese card in order to undermine the U.S. ambition to reach an agreement with Iran.

[02:10:07] So, we are in high tension right now. I don't know how things will develop here, but we have to pay a closer look to the relations between Trump and Netanyahu, because that will have an enormous effect on the Israeli U.S. relations.

And again, we don't know how things will end, but definitely for now Israel will feel isolated, Israel feels that we have everything wrong in terms of instead of weakening, we are strengthening the regime and the main problem for Israel, but we don't have the ability to influence U.S. president in the future, so Israel found itself in a very bad situation right now.

CHURCH: Danny Citrinowicz, appreciate you joining us. Thank you.

CITRINOWICZ: Thank you.

CHURCH: While the recent focus has been on the Iran war, efforts to end the war in Ukraine have returned to the spotlight during the G7 Summit. World leaders on Tuesday declared unwavering support for Ukraine and agreed to increase the delivery of air defense assistance. They also committed to strengthening sanctions on Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who described what they discussed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: First of all, he was very positive that they can help us more with missiles, and this is a big challenge, really, because the production is not so big as our needs. The production is in the United States. I raised the topic of licenses. I addressed it to President Trump. We need licenses to produce missiles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That push from Zelenskyy comes as Russia has attempted to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses with recent attacks. Russia says one of its warships fired warning shots in front of a U.K. flagged yacht in the English Channel. Russia's Defense Ministry says the yacht was sailing on what appeared to be a collision course with the warship. The yacht did not respond to radio calls and stayed its course before the Russian crew launched signal flares and finally warning shots. The U.K. Defense Ministry says it is investigating the incident, but says the shots were not aimed at the yacht. A Royal Navy vessel was monitoring the Russian warship at the time.

Coming up next, deep divisions ahead of a key vote in the U.K. We will take a closer look at the by-election in North West England, and how it could play a role in the future of British politics.

Plus, some of soccer's most elite superstars are putting on a show at this year's World Cup. We'll tell you how Argentina's Lionel Messi put himself in the tournament record books. Back with that, more in just a moment.

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[02:17:12]

CHURCH: An electorate of about 76,000 in Northwest England is just one day away from a special and perhaps highly consequential election that is the Makerfield by-election where Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is among a long list of candidates in the running to be a member of parliament. Our CNN's Clare Sebastian reports, this election has unearthed divisions that could shape British politics for years to come.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, look, we've got Andy Burnham voters there, we've got reform voters over there, and we've even got restore voters over there. What does this tell us about the mood here in this constituency?

CLARE HANNAH, JOURNALIST, "WHAT'S HAPPENING IN WIGAN"; This is one of the most divisive by-elections I have ever seen, but visibly divisive. It's become quite aggressive, to be honest.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Two days before one of the most consequential by-elections the U.K. has ever seen, this area that has voted Labor for generations is seeing neighbors at odds.

At lunchtime, customers at the Muffin Man Bakery split over who should get the biggest slice of the electoral pie.

SEBASTIAN: Do you mind telling us who you voted for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Andrew Burnham.

SEBASTIAN: Yes, OK. Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It goes back to leader. I actually think he has done me is doing a good job, but I think Nigel Farage is the most untrustworthy politician since Boris Johnson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reform.

SEBASTIAN: You did. Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got a voted from last time.

SEBASTIAN: You did? Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immigration, biggest issues.

SEBASTIAN: Immigration biggest issue?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

SEBASTIAN: In this small collection of former coal mining towns in the northwest of England, around 75,000 registered voters may now decide the political future for almost 70 million British citizens, and yet, the sudden spotlight on this area has highlighted divisions that could shape national politics in the U.K. for years to come.

PAUL SPARKS, SCHOOL TEACHER: Ladies, who are you voting for?

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): An impromptu straw poll on the high street showing what's at stake.

SPARKS: So far, this is what seems to be happening. We seem to be finding that Andy Burnham's winning narrowly and reform and restore, splitting the vote, the right-wing vote.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Robert Kenyon, representing Nigel Farage's far-right Reform U.K., has been a close second in polls here. Restore Britain's candidate, Rebecca Shepherd, even further to the right, is also gathering steam.

No sign on the high street poll of the Conservative Party, the official opposition in Parliament.

SEBASTIAN: Why are people not even voting Conservative? Why are they edging towards these far-right parties? What has happened to suddenly create this splintering in terms of the public opinion here?

HANNAH: A massive issue on this is immigration. That's a massive issue that people believe what -- you know, what they're told by, you know, people look at what's happening in the world, and immigration has become the biggest issue, I would say.

[02:20:02]

I think some parties campaign on issues that make people angry. You know, they will campaign on things that make people angry, and you know this is what happens. You know, we get all this division.

SEBASTIAN: But what is it about reform that makes sense to you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, they're going to get rid of stopping the boats coming in, because that's ridiculous.

SEBASTIAN: Well, net migration has actually been coming down over the last couple of years under this government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a lot of rubbish.

SEBASTIAN: What makes you say that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's proven that they're everywhere.

SEBASTIAN: Why do you think Burnham will be the one to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave it.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Almost everyone here agrees on one thing. After a month in the political spotlight, they've had enough. Almost everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've enjoyed it, really, being the focus of attention.

SEBASTIAN (voice-over): Clare Sebastian CNN in Greater Manchester, England.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: It's been another busy night of elections across America, with primaries and run-offs pointing toward the November midterms. Some key racers will decide whether the Republicans can hold on to power in Congress or potentially gain more. One of those races right here in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE COLLINS (R-GA): Thank you, Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: A moment of celebration for House Republican Mike Collins, who CNN projects will take the Republican Senate nomination. Collins had the backing of President Trump, and he says he's ready to defeat Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff later this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: You know, we're Republicans now, we're going to have some robust primaries out there. Sometimes we got some strong disagreements, but I can tell you one thing. Now, we stand united around one mission, is to put a Republican in that seat and get rid of that Jon Ossoff in November. Return this seat to the people of Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Collins will defeat former college football coach Derek Dooley for the Republican nomination with about 55 percent of the vote.

In the governor's race, CNN projects billionaire Rick Jackson will win the Republican nomination to run against Democrat and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Jackson will defeat Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, who had the backing of both President Trump and the current Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.

A new CNN poll finds a growing number of Americans don't like either of the two major political parties. It finds almost half of Americans say they are Independent and don't identify as either Democrat or Republican, there has been a shift away from Republicans since Donald Trump won the White House for a second time in 2024. The number of Americans who call themselves independents has surged in recent years and is now at its highest point in more than a decade.

Well, federal agents say they have foiled a plot to launch a violent attack on the UFC event on the White House lawn. One of the suspects is 19 years old. He and several others are charged with conspiracy to murder and commit an offense against the United States.

CNN's Brian Todd has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An energetic, crowded UFC event at the White House, with President Trump in attendance, members of Congress, and VIPs, all potential targets of an alleged planned attack using drones and snipers. And according to the Secret Service, there are still suspects on the loose.

According to a federal law enforcement official and criminal complaints obtained by CNN, a group of alleged online extremists planned and coordinated an attack at Sunday night's UFC fight on the White House. In order to, "Jumpstart a revolution in the United States. But they were thwarted."

MATTHEW QUINN, U.S. SECRET SERVICE DEPUTY DIRECTOR: It was a serious threat. It was an active plot, and it's ongoing.

TODD (voice-over): According to a criminal complaint, the plan was to, "Stage a demonstration on the north side of the White House," then detonate drones over the arena, forcing the attending crowd to evacuate, where the group would act as snipers to conduct shootings of the members of the crowd and HVTs, high-value targets, including, "Both wealthy people and politicians."

Retired FBI agent Richard Kolko says it's not likely the alleged attackers could have enacted their plot in full, but they could still have inflicted some significant damage.

RICHARD KOLKO, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: If they had brought firearms, brought explosives, come to the area, found out where the perimeter was, and gone forward and carried out some sort of attack, people could have died, people could have been hurt, and it could have been very, very serious.

TODD (voice-over): According to court documents, the online group were ex- military, Christian-based, and anti-government, with anti-Israel and anti- Jewish views. The Justice Department has charged five people across California, Missouri, Nebraska, and Ohio in the alleged plot.

The investigation began when the mother of a 19-year-old in custody, Tycen Proper, alerted authorities that she was concerned about her son, who she says was communicating with radical people online and amassing an arsenal of weapons, including, according to Proper's father, an AR-style rifle and several boxes of ammunition.

KOLKO: This mom did exactly the right thing. She knew something was up with her son, something was wrong, and she picked up the phone, made the call, and probably saved lives.

[02:25:08]

TODD (on camera): The charges include conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States.

As for the one defendant, Tycen Proper, the criminal complaint does not say that he purchased any drones, but it says he did purchase multiple firearms and ammunition. Tycen Proper has not yet entered a plea. CNN has tried to reach a public defender listed for him.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The Trump administration is trying a new tactic to salvage a costly renovation of the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool. More than $14 million was spent to give the pool a facelift. The project included new paint repairs and a filtration system to prevent algae growth.

But things are not going as the administration planned. Crews were seen Tuesday pouring gallons of hydrogen peroxide into the pool to kill the algae. A government spokesperson told CNN it's a milder treatment being used alongside other methods to clear the green hue.

Well, the American public has not seen the text of the agreement between the U.S. and Iran, but Canada's Prime Minister has. He gives CNN his assessment, that is next.

Plus, we'll tell you about a new warning on the Ebola outbreak coming from the head of Africa's CDC. I'll speak to a UNICEF coordinator in the Democratic Republic of Congo. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:31:03]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. President Trump will be meeting with G7 leaders beginning next hour. Iran has been a big focus of these meetings.

Sources tell CNN discussions about the U.S.-Iran agreement have been frank. President Trump says he plans to release the text publicly in a couple of days. Questions around key issues remain ahead of the signing ceremony scheduled for this Friday in Geneva, Switzerland.

Among them, Israel's conflict with Hezbollah. Iran demands Israel withdraw from Lebanon as part of the agreement. However, U.S. officials say that is not part of the agreement.

One person who has seen the text of the agreement is Canadian Prime Minister, Mark Carney. He spoke with CNN's Kaitlan Collins earlier. She asked him for his take on the document. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: I have to say it's exceeded my expectations. We're very pleased with the deal that's been struck. It sets the groundwork to ensure Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon. It sets the groundwork for a reintegration over time of the economies in the region.

It sets the groundwork for a solution in Lebanon, which we discussed today. So it's positive. Of course, it has to be followed through. It has to be implemented. And I think one of the things is the president helped create that deal, led creating that deal. The rest of the G7 and the broader community needs to help implement it.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Did you actually see the agreement itself?

CARNEY: I've seen the agreement, yes.

COLLINS: Oh, so the president showed it to you?

CARNEY: Well, I've seen the agreement. We have our sources, just like you (inaudible).

COLLINS: OK. Well, we haven't seen it publicly. It hasn't been released. Is it true it's about a page and a half?

CARNEY: It is a reasonable length for an agreement which is, in effect, it is a cessation of hostilities. It's a ceasefire for that 60-day period, as you know. But it sets out a series of conditions and what will happen when they are fulfilled.

So I think it's well-structured from our perspective. But I think, as well, the regional countries are behind it. Of course, we met with the UAE, with the Qataris, the Egyptians. We have contacts, as well. And, again, it's well-structured. It creates -- I actually think, you know, I think it's a game-changer, not just for this situation, because it starts to take off, certainly, this issue.

But it allows us -- and this is what's happened in the meeting -- to step back, look anew at Ukraine.

COLLINS: Yeah.

CARNEY: -- Ukraine situation. We had a very, very constructive conversation around Ukraine.

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: I want to ask you about Ukraine. But on this MOU itself, because the administration has not released the text of it, is there anything surprising in it?

CARNEY: Anything surprising? Look, I think we went through -- we all went through weeks and weeks where it seemed close to having a deal, but there wasn't a deal. So is the surprise that there's actually a deal? Maybe you could put it that way.

But having the deal and then getting behind it, that's what's crucial. And you know, you heard everyone in that room last night through to today getting behind it and the possibilities that are created by it.

COLLINS: Well, and the president says he thinks this next 60-day period will actually be easier to negotiate than the getting to this preliminary agreement. But, of course, this period is going to deal with the big stuff, I mean, nuclear being the number-one issue, the enriched uranium. Do you think it's going to be easier? I think -- I think the way it's structured, it says what has to happen. So, for example, Iran will not develop or procure a nuclear weapon.

And then there's follow-on implications of that for what to do with the uranium. So in that regard, the Rubicon, if I can use that metaphor, has been crossed. And when we went into this situation, the world went into this situation, the big risk, the big de-stabilizing force was Iran.

[02:35:00]

It's been that way for decades. And the core issue was them never being able to have a nuclear weapon. That's at the heart of the deal. So it becomes what's the timeline for dealing with the enriched uranium? How much is blended? How much is surrendered and worked out from there. But agreeing to the core, I think it is critical.

COLLINS: And what does it say about sanctions relief and unfreezing their assets which they definitely want?

CARNEY: So -- well, they definitely want that and they definitely want financing more broadly, and there is language -- And I -- you know, I should -- it's not my agreement. So I should not really go into all the detail. But I think what is crucial as well is it is performance base. I mean you have a big financial incentive.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Prime Minister Carney went on to say that Canada intends to help with the re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Well, there is a new warning from the head of Africa's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the current Ebola outbreak could be the worst ever. That warning comes more than one month since the World Health Organization declared the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Africa CDC director-general says tens of thousands of people who were sick with the disease have not been traced. And he says if the outbreak is not controlled soon, it will be worse than the outbreak in West Africa that killed over 11,000 people a decade ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DIEUDONNE MWAMBA KAZADI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, DRC NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH (through translator): We know that there will be more confirmed cases in the coming days. We will keep on seeing more cases emerging. Therefore, we must be proactive regarding our care structures. Specifically, we need to increase the capacity of Ebola treatment centers because, even now, we are seeing that our capacity is beginning to be limited across all our treatment centers.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: John James is the UNICEF Ebola Communications Coordinator and he joins us live from Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Thank you so much for talking with us.

JOHN JAMES, UNICEF EBOLA COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So more than a month since the WHO declared an Ebola outbreak in the DRC, there is a new warning from the Red Cross that the outbreak has not yet peaked and could last a year. And as we just reported, Africa's CDC also warns that this Ebola outbreak may be the worst ever. What's your response to this? And what's been UNICEF's experience so far as the fight continues to aid those suffering from this latest Ebola outbreak?

JAMES: Well, as you say, we're just over a month since the first case was officially confirmed. We know the outbreak was probably going on for a little while before that and perhaps we came to it a little bit late just because of the nature of this new species. So at the moment, you know, a month in, it's difficult to model and predict. Each outbreak is unique in itself. But already sort of the third largest in terms of what we've seen globally over the years and that's just after a month, so that's concerning.

We're in a difficult part of the world with already existing humanitarian crises in this region, massive displacement, about a hundred or so armed groups just in this area here. So that really makes things a lot more difficult in terms of access and all the rest of it. So, you know, we'll see how things go. But it is certainly concerning because you've got cases popping up in different health zones. A month ago, we had maybe three health zones. Now, we've around 30. So it's been spreading.

Cases have been emerging in different places and still getting a hold of those deaths in communities. You know, when someone dies with Ebola in a community, that means they got sick, they didn't seek any treatments. There was no mechanism there and then they died in that community. So it's a real missed opportunity. So we need to stop those, get people to centers and of course, the UNICEF trying to help particularly for children. We're concerned that more and more cases are coming up involving children and their families, and that also they're affected by some of the indirect impacts of the epidemic as well.

CHURCH: And the Africa CDC says that currently tens of thousands of contacts of those sick with the disease haven't been traced and warns that if they don't stop the outbreak very soon, it will be worse than what they previously had in West Africa or in eastern DRC. So what needs to be done to control and stop this outbreak?

JAMES: It's concerning when you can't track those people who are associated with people who were sick because, of course, they are the people who've been exposed to the virus. You know, it's different from COVID because that floats in the air, but it's often that close contact particularly when someone's sick or after they've died. So those contacts are crucial if we're to break the chain of transmission.

UNICEF plays a key role in community engagement, which is key. You know, the Ebola treatment centers are a key part of the response. But then in the communities, you need to make sure there's trust and acceptance. You need to help survivors reintegrate with their communities, avoiding stigma, and just making sure that everyone knows the symptoms, the signs, and what to do if they get sick.

[02:40:00]

So I think that community engagement work is going to crucial. We've already trained about 1,500 community mobilizers who go door-to-door, and also working with church groups, with mosques, with journalists, and just trying to get the word out there, because I think that community trust, community engagement is going to be absolutely crucial if we're going to put a stop to this outbreak.

CHURCH: Right, and of course, more than 130 deaths have been linked to this Ebola outbreak so far, and efforts are underway to find a vaccine that will respond to this latest strain of Ebola, but that of course will take some time. So what treatments are available right now, and what more does the international community need to be doing to help the DRC with this outbreak?

JAMES: Yeah, in many ways it reminds me, I worked on the West African Ebola response just over 10 years ago. That was the biggest the world has seen, about 11,000 deaths there, and that was a situation where for that particular species as well, we didn't have a vaccine at the time, so it was difficult. And we had to rely on cutting the transmission between communities, between people, and all those sorts of methods while the vaccine was being developed. So that will eventually be obviously a key part of the response here.

At the same time, when a vaccination rollout does happen, that will require the community trust and acceptance already. So in the meantime, while that important work is going on, we can still work, I think, to put a stop to this outbreak. It's been done many times. The government has a good degree of capacity, this is the 17th outbreak in Congo, but this particular part of the world, other countries close by, make it particularly sensitive.

What we saw in West Africa was three countries in close proximity that had very high levels of infection, and we want to avoid spread, by all means, (inaudible) going elsewhere. And so that here, even within provinces, that we can really keep it limited to particular health zones. But already, we're talking about an area of 1,000 kilometers from the north and south where we've seen cases.

CHURCH: John James, thank you so much for joining us, and of course, all the hard work you're doing on this. Appreciate it.

Still to come, a recap of the latest World Cup matches, and we'll find out which dance group will be joining Shakira for the FIFA World Cup Finals halftime show. Back in just a moment.

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CHURCH: It was a star-studded day on the pitch, as countries worked their way through the World Cup's opening group stages.

At the Kansas City Stadium, Argentina silenced Algeria with a 3-0 shutout. And as Elizabeth Perez reports, Lionel Messi did not disappoint.

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ELIZABETH PEREZ, CNN EN ESPANOL SPORTS ANCHOR: I came to Kansas City to cover my second World Cup match, and we ended up witnessing pure history at the feet of Lionel Messi. The Argentinian superstar scored a hat-trick, helping Argentina begin the defense of the title they won in Qatar 2022, with a comfortable 3-0 victory over Algeria.

With that three-goal performance, he simultaneously surpassed Kylian Mbappe, Gerd Muller, and Ronaldo Nazario, and tied the record of the German Miroslav Klose of more goals in World Cup history with 16.

Kansas City had become Buenos Aires since Monday, and on Tuesday night, this city stadium felt like an extension of the Monumental de Nunez, thanks to the infectious joy and non-stop chants from the fans.

What's next for Messi in La Albiceleste in the tournament? We'll continue following Argentina's path through the rest of the World Cup, and we'll see how the journey unfolds.

Reporting from Kansas City, I'm Elizabeth Perez.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Earlier this hour, Jordan and Austria wrapped up a hard- fought opener. It was Jordan's World Cup debut, but the team's defeat was ultimately self-inflicted. An own goal in the second half gifted Austria a narrow lead, which they expanded with a goal in stoppage time to solidify a 3-1 win.

In other action on Tuesday, Norway cruised past Iraq in a 4-1 beat down at the Boston Stadium. Norway's star striker, Erling Haaland scored two goals in the first half of his first World Cup game. And at the New Jersey-New York Stadium, France beat Senegal two goals from French superstar Kylian Mbappe boosted his team to a comfortable 3-1 victory.

A Ugandan children's dance group known as the "Ghetto Kids" is making its way to the world stage. The group was founded to help underprivileged children after their dance moves went viral. Global superstar, Shakira invited them to perform with her at the World Cup Finals Halftime Show.

CNN's Isa Soares has the story.

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SHAKIRA, COLOMBIAN SINGER-SONGWRITER AND DANCER: So I've already invited the Ghetto Kids from Uganda.

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the message of a lifetime. The moment a group of kids from Uganda found out they'd be performing at the FIFA World Cup Final alongside the one and only, Shakira.

SOARES: Can you tell us and tell our viewers around the world what that moment was like when you got the invite?

SSEGIRINYA MADWANAH, MEMBER OF GHETTO KIDS: He came in rushing, he was like, guys, guys, come watch this. It was Shakira. We heard everything. She was like, Oh, I've confirmed that Ghetto Kids will come and perform with me at the FIFA World Cup Final.

So we were jumping around, just know that words can't express or explain how happy we are. It was a dream come true. We danced.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I felt so happy. This is a big opportunity and I can't wait to perform with Shakira.

SOARES (voice-over): The group known as the "Ghetto Kids" caught Shakira's eye on social media.

CROWD: Shakira! Ghetto Kids! Shakira! Ghetto Kids! Shakira! Ghetto Kids!

SOARES (voice-over): Where their infectiously joyful dance videos have amassed millions of followers. Made up of dozens of children in poverty from the age of four to 16, the initiative has given boys like Madwanah a purpose in life.

MADWANAH: I would say that we are here because of dance. Everything we have achieved, we have achieved it because of dance. It is something that gave me some kind of light and inspiration. So I have to keep on pushing, keep dancing, keep spreading love and happiness. So dancing is like our talent and our source of income because it's where we get food, education.

SOARES (voice-over): The group's founder, Kavuma Daouda, knows this moment will be the biggest performance of their young dance careers so far.

KAVUMA DAOUDA, FOUNDER, GHETTO KIDS: On our side, we are more than ready. The children are ready and they really don't need more training because it's natural, organic from them

SOARES (voice-over): And do you know whether, is there a choreography or are you going to go out and dance your hearts off?

DAOUDA: I think it will be two ways. Our own way, because people love to see that. That's happiness, the joy. And then we'll do some choreography from the Shakira's team and our choreography too. SOARES (voice-over): And I was lucky enough to get a small preview of all the hard work. And soon, the world will be dancing along with them.

Isa Soares, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Well, Team Mexico just got an unofficial mascot for their next World Cup match. Merlin the Duck became an overnight online sensation after he was seen waddling in Mexico City wearing a national team jersey and socks. His owner says locals already knew him for helping her sell drinks from her street vendor cart.

But now, his newfound fame got him to meet with FIFA representatives for a photo shoot and a commercial. His owner says it came as a surprise, but Merlin is Mexico's biggest fan.

Coming up next, actor Javier Bardem cements his spot in entertainment history. But it's what he did during the ceremony that has everyone talking. How he literally followed his nose into history on Hollywood Boulevard.

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[02:55:58]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, shares of Elon Musk's SpaceX have continued to soar since the company's historic stock market debut. Shares rose 5 percent Tuesday to just over $200. That's up from an opening price of $150 last week.

SpaceX's surging stock has now made it one of the most valuable companies in the world. Musk's rocket company is now bigger than Amazon by market cap. That makes SpaceX the world's fifth largest company just trailing Microsoft.

Spanish actor, Javier Bardem has left his mark on Hollywood Boulevard. The Oscar winner imprinted his hands and feet in cement at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre. But he just didn't leave a mark. Breaching tradition, Bardem decided to put his nose in the cement as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAVIER BARDEM, ACTOR: I don't know, it was hands, feet and then I thought, hold on, my nose, it's my nose. It's been with me all my life and it's kind of a trademark of my face.

It's right in the middle of my face and it's a big one and it has to be there. And I tried, but the cement was too hard. So I was like, I couldn't go farther. But at least the tip is in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And some big news for tennis fans, Serena and Venus Williams will be back together at Wimbledon, which begins June 29th. The All England Club announced a doubles wildcard invitation on Tuesday for the sisters.

It will be the first time they've competed in doubles play since the 2022 U.S. Open. Venus and Serena have won six doubles titles at Wimbledon. Their first was 26 years ago when they also came in as wildcards.

At age 44, Serena Williams recently returned to competition after nearly four years away from pro tennis. Venus has been competing on occasion. She turns 46 on Wednesday.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next, after a quick break. Stay with us.

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