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G7 Leaders Back U.S.-Iran Agreement, Trump Could Release the Document to the Public; Messi-led Argentina Clobbered Algeria at the FIFA World Cup; Online Contents Outlasts Traditional Media in a New Reuters Institute Report. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 17, 2026 - 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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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hey everybody, I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and this is "CNN Newsroom." Here's what's coming your way.

G7 leaders, they throw their support behind President Trump's agreement with Iran, but the secrecy around the document, it's creating some tension. We'll tell you more.

And Russia fires a warning shot near a U.K.-flagged yacht in the English Channel. We'll tell you what led up to this.

And SpaceX, it is now bigger than Microsoft. Just two days after going public, why investors are betting big on the company.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: Let's now begin with new details on the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. G7 leaders, they say that they support the agreement between Washington and Iran. The secrecy around this agreement, it is causing some tensions abroad as well as here in the United States, but President Trump says that he plans to release the text in the next couple of days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We have our deal done with Iran, and it should be successful. It goes through a second stage, which I think will be actually easier.

Well, because I'd like to get a formal setting first before we do that, but I have no problem with that. It's a great document.

Actually, I'll not only release it, I'll probably have a press conference and read it. To use word by word.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: And in the Strait of Hormuz, new data is now showing that Iran has exported its first crude oil shipments in two months. President Trump saying that the vital waterway will reopen, and that the U.S. will be lifting its naval blockade on Iranian ports after the formal agreement signing ceremony that's scheduled for Friday.

Let's get more now from CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's joining me from Abu Dhabi. Paula, wondering also what Israel is saying now as we near the potential release of more information of that agreement, and also if President Trump remains unhappy with the Israeli Prime Minister's recent actions in Lebanon.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He does. We are having reports coming in, Polo, that there have been some hostilities, a potential airstrike in southern Lebanon. At this point, it's according to Lebanese state media.

Now, we have been hearing from UNIFIL, which is the United Nations peacekeeping force, that there had been a significantly reduced level of violence between Hezbollah and Israel. And we have been hearing from the U.S. President as well, Donald Trump, that he has been warning the Israeli Prime Minister that that level of violence had to remain low. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've had a very effective relationship. Without us, without the United States, there would be no Israel. Without me, there would be no Israel, because no other President was willing to do what I did.

I've had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, as part of this agreement, we have also heard Tehran insist that Israel pulls out of southern Lebanon. It's something we've heard from a U.S. official is simply not in the agreement at this point. And it's also something that Israel would not agree to.

We have heard from officials that they will stay in Lebanon for the foreseeable future to ensure that Hezbollah does not threaten its northern territories.

Now, when it comes to this memorandum of understanding that President Trump, or at least the U.S. and Iran, have already digitally signed, we hear from U.S. officials that the text of this has been incredibly vague on purpose. They say that there are very few specifics in this text, which we believe will be released in the coming days. And they say because they wanted to create a favorable environment in order to be able to move forward to the more technical, the more in-depth talks with Iran.

Also, the U.S. officials are pointing out that they wanted to make sure that it was something that Tehran was able to sell to its domestic audience. [03:05:05]

Now, there has been some backlash within the U.S. as well as to why the text has not been released as of this point. We heard from the U.S. Vice President, J.D. Vance, telling Fox News that there was a reason for that and that was because Iran and the mediating powers wanted it to be a more coordinated rollout.

But we do know that some leaders in the G7 have already seen it. The Canadian Prime Minister, for example, calling it a game-changer, saying he's very pleased with it. Polo?

SANDOVAL: And in the next hour, we'll be joined by a political analyst to talk more about that political backlash here at home. Paula Hancocks, as always, thank you for all that reporting.

President Trump has promised that his Iran deal will be better than President Barack Obama's Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the JCPOA, which President Trump tore up during his first term. So, how do we compare the two?

Well, since the new Memorandum of Understanding is yet to be released, for some more insight, let's head over to Sina Azodi, he's the Director of the Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University. He's also the author of Iran and the "Iran and the Bomb - the United States, Iran, and the Nuclear Question." Sina, it's great to see you.

SINA AZODI, DIRECTOR OF MIDDLE EAST STUDIES PROGRAM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Good to be with you. Thank you for having me.

SANDOVAL: So, Sina, let me start with some of this fresh CNN reporting. Canada's Prime Minister, Mark Carney, telling CNN on Tuesday that he has seen this Memorandum of Understanding, at least the text, and he confirmed that it does provide Iran with what the Prime Minister described as big financial incentive.

So, if that means sanctions really for Iran, I mean, how can that be seen as anything but paying Iran to allow for more navigation on the Strait of Hormuz? And that's if they even offer that as a concession.

AZODI: Well, if the reports are accurate and we're not sure what exactly those financial concessions are, that means that the United States would allow foreign banks to release some of the frozen assets of Iran, which are stuck and frozen in foreign banks in South Korea, UAE, and so many other places that buy Iranian oil, to basically unfreeze Iranian assets so Iranians can withdraw from them.

This is something that President Obama initially did when he was ramping up the U.S. and international sanctions on Iran because of the nuclear program. They were lifted under the JCPOA so Iran could access its own assets and frozen funds. And then once President Trump V1 decided to withdraw from the JCPOA and reimpose those sanctions, those funds were once again frozen and Iran could not access those funds.

SANDOVAL: Yes, the Vice President, J.D. Vance, emphasizing that, as he claims, that no taxpayer money would be handed over to the Iranians, to your point that these are Iranian assets. Supporters of President Trump's handling of these negotiations, they have been touting this yet-to-be-seen memo of understanding that it will supposedly help ensure that Iran reaffirms its commitment not to seek nuclear weapons.

But I'm curious if you could just remind our viewers, I mean, wasn't some of that language already part of the 2015 JCPOA under the Obama administration? That commitment from the Iranians?

AZODI: So basically this is the third time that Iran has been committing itself and renouncing nuclear weapons in Britain. First time in 1968, when Iran officially joined the NPT, it legally deprived itself of the right to develop nuclear weapons. It basically renounced nuclear weapons forever.

Under the JCPOA, as you pointed out correctly, it once again reaffirmed its commitments not to ever develop nuclear weapons. And this memorandum of understanding once again reaffirms that Iran would commit itself never to procure or develop nuclear weapons. So it's basically for the third time Iranians are saying that we will never ever develop or procure nuclear weapons.

SANDOVAL: So in your view, what would a deal with Iran under the second Trump administration have to offer in order to be seen as perhaps more ideal than what we saw in 2015 under President Obama, you think?

[03:09:43]

AZODI: Well, I know that President Trump is sensitive towards Obama and JCPOA, but the foundations of any nuclear agreement with Iran would have to be based on the very same principles of what the JCPOA offered, and that was nuclear restraint in return for trade and commercial concessions and sanctions relief, of course.

But I think that there are ways to improve the JCPOA as everybody understands that no agreement is perfect. The JCPOA was very effective, and in the words of the former director of IAEA, that's International Atomic Energy Agency, the most intrusive inspection mechanism ever imposed on a country. But it had sunsets, which meant that some of the limitations in terms of Iran's enrichment capacity would be lifted over time, and Iran's file in the IAEA would be normalized, if you will.

Now, a better deal could potentially, for example, eliminate those sunset clauses, which would, for example, mean that Iran would forever limit itself to low-enriched uranium, that's really 67 percent. But, of course, in return, the United States could commit itself to sell nuclear fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor, which, ironically, the U.S. provided to Iran, and that uses 20 percent enriched uranium. So something like that could be an improvement or an addition to the JCPOA, which has some limits.

SANDOVAL: And there's no shortage of skepticism right now about whether or not the Iranians would be willing to offer those concessions. Sina Azodi, thank you so much for joining us to try to get a better understanding of some of the diplomacy happening behind the scenes.

AZODI: Thanks, Steve.

SANDOVAL: It's now the final day of the G7 Summit in France. U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to join a working session on economic growth, and then he's expected to meet with Egypt's President and India's Prime Minister.

President Trump will then later travel to the Palace of Versailles for a dinner before eventually heading back here to the United States. And on Tuesday, he sat down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Now, G7 leaders, they declared unwavering support for Ukraine. They also agreed to increase the delivery of air defense assistance, as well as committed to strengthening sanctions on Russia.

Let's go now to CNN Senior International Correspondent Melissa Bell, who's been closely following this summit in Evian, France. Melissa, as this year's summit nears its end, were there any positive takeaways for Ukraine's President?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly for Ukraine's President and European leaders, this had been their real point, to try and refocus President Trump's attention on the war in Ukraine that has now gone on for longer than World War I and continues, of course, to threaten European security more broadly going forward.

And it appears that they managed to do just that, sort of benefiting from the fact that the American President had arrived, still focused on the war in Iran, but with a more positive outcome, he hopes, and something he could sell.

And it was clear a fair deal of optimism about his memorandum of understanding. This really allowed European leaders, G7 leaders as well, to refocus his mind, get him next to President Zelenskyy. And it appears that this has all borne fruit.

We've been hearing very positive messages, not just from G7 leaders, European leaders, as a result of what they agreed on, the idea that the G7 will put more pressure on Moscow in the shape potentially of sanctions on its oil and gas industries, this even as the Europeans prepared to put in place their 21st round of sanctions on Moscow.

That was their aim, and it appears that they have managed to do that, with President Zelenskyy going so far as to say that there was a consensus around that G7 table, of course, including President Trump, that it was time for the war to end, and that more pressure needed to be brought on Russia. Have a listen.

(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)

BELL: So the Ukrainians are looking for better air defenses, more help with their armaments, but also more money. The Europeans were keen at this summit to point out, Polo, that it is they that have footed two- thirds of the bill this year to keep Kyiv afloat. Financially, they want the G7 to step up for the remaining third of that.

[03:15:04]

But essentially, the real point about this was getting some kind of push for fresh peace talks. Now, they believe, the officials, the G7, other G7 leaders, that they have managed to extract that from President Trump, the idea that there will be a renewed push for peace. They understand that it may take some time.

Perhaps those talks won't get kick-started until the autumn. President Zelenskyy is keen that they should happen before yet another winter at the hands of Russian bombardment.

But there does seem to be this consensus that includes President Trump, at last, on the idea that it is time to get everyone back around the table to discuss the idea of peace and that the pressure needs to be brought on Moscow that it joins, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Melisa Bell in Evian, France, thank you so much for that live update.

And Russia says that one of its warships had 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. Here's CNN's Sebastian Shukla with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: It's a part of British waters that sees a lot of activity -- naval, military activity. We've seen Russian vessels traversing the strait there quite regularly, including this particular frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, which has been through the English Channel some six times already this year.

But this incident could have been much worse too. The incidences about what happened here is starting to be clarified very slightly. We have from the Russian Ministry of Defense, they put out a statement recently which is putting their side of this incident forward, which is that there were three stages.

The first one, which was that they attempted to make contact with this vessel, which has been called the bright future vessel. This is the yacht, the civilian vessel that is the center of this.

They tried to make radio contact, that didn't elicit any change in course. They sent signal flares that elicited no change in course either. And then when this vessel was about 150 yards away, they fired a single small round, and then that prompted this yacht to move away. The British military, for their part, have released a statement saying that they are looking into this incident.

They have sent one vessel, the HMS Mersey, which had been tracking this Admiral Grigorovich ship through the Channel anyway, had been out there in the first place, and then they sent another one to go on a fact-finding mission just to try to establish exactly what happened.

It is our understanding that the bright future, that small vessel, is now continuing unimpeded on its journey wherever it was going in the first place, but highlights once again that the choke point that this particular channel and strait between the U.K. and the European mainland has, and the importance it has for Russian vessels traveling through it, that can be escorting ships harmlessly through a strait like this.

But could also be transporting and moving those shadow fleet vessels, which we saw happening on Sunday, which prompted the British Navy and military to board that ship and then take it because it feels, or the British Navy felt, that it was part of this shadow operation moving illicit Russian oil around the planet and is something that European nations have been doing more and more frequently recently as they look to try to bolster their stance, to be more aggressive, to be more positive against the Kremlin.

Because they see a changing tide on the Ukrainian battlefield and they feel that sanctioning ships like this is very important, but on this particular instance it could well have been much, much worse.

What we are glad to see here, obviously, is that there have been no injuries, no casualties, and there was no damage reported, and that it may well just be an isolated incident.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Well, thanks to Sebastian Shukla for that report.

And it is still early in this year's FIFA World Cup, but some teams are already putting together a pretty good highlight reel. We're going to have a recap of Tuesday's biggest moments, including France's win over Senegal and also Austria's victory over Jordan just a few moments ago.

Plus U.S. federal officials saying that they stopped an alleged plot to target the White House UFC event that happened this past weekend. The details on that investigation in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: Talk about a star-studded day at the World Cup as the opening group stages begin to take shape. At the Kansas City Stadium, Argentina silencing Algeria with a 3-0

shutout on Tuesday. Lionel Messi, not disappointing, he secured a three-goal hat-trick, his first ever at the World Cup, he also tied the tournament's all-time scoring record.

In the last hour, Jordan wrapping up a hard-fought World Cup debut against Austria, Jordan's devastating own goal in the second half gifting Austria a narrow lead, which they eventually expanded on with a goal in stoppage time to solidify a 3-1 win.

And finally, in New York, New Jersey Stadium, France beat Senegal. Two goals from French superstar Kylian Mbappe, boosting his team to a comfortable 3-1 victory there.

CNN's Maria Santana spoke with some of the French fans following that win on Tuesday. Listen to how much this moment means to them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARIA SANTANA, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: It was a thrilling match between France and Senegal, but at the end, France won over Senegal, three goals to one, and the French fans here at the Fan Zone in Queens are celebrating.

[03:25:05]

They are happy, they say that their stars, especially Kylian Mbappe, who scored two goals, was able to prove why this is one of the favorite teams for this World Cup. What was your reaction to this game?

UNKNOWN: Oh my God, I'm so happy. I bet that they will score three goals, and I got it. I actually got it right, and I'm so happy.

SANTANA: Who's going to win? Who's going to win the World Cup?

UNKNOWN: Obviously, you know, the Blues.

SANTANA: Le Bleus.

UNKNOWN: Le Bleus. Thank you, thank you.

SANTANA: What was your reaction?

UNKNOWN: Actually, that was kind of crazy, like three goals in like, what, 30 minutes? It's like crazy. Let's go France.

SANTANA: Let's go France, that's right. Well done. Well, the Senegalese team, you know, they gave their fans some emotions too. In extra time, they scored one goal when the game was still 2-1. That excited all the fans from Senegal here, but Kylian Mbappe once again answered, France wins 3-1.

And here in Queens, there were fans from all over, not just France and Senegal. Maria Santana, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And remember that gigantic structure that was built for the UFC event at the White House South Lawn? Well, it is in the process of coming down right now. Crews, they started dismantling the so-called claw lighting rig, as well as the octagon soon after the fight ended. And the teardown, it's expected to take more than a week.

Scott's Miracle-Gro, one of the event's sponsors, has committed $1 million to the National Park Service to support restoration efforts for the grass that was destroyed because of this massive event.

And federal agents say that they foiled a plot to launch a violent attack at that very event. One of the suspects is 19 years old. He and several others are now charged with conspiracy to murder and commit an offense against the United States. Here's CNN's Brian Todd with more.

(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 lawn in order to, quote, "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, quote, "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, quote, "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 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, Tyson Propper, alerted authorities that she was concerned about her son, who she says was communicating with radical people online and amassing an arsenal of weapons.

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.

TODD: The charges include conspiracy to murder and conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States. As for the one defendant, Tyson Propper, the criminal complaint does not say that he purchased any drones, but it says he did purchase multiple firearms and ammunition.

Tyson Propper has not yet entered a plea. CNN has tried to reach a public defender listed for him. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: A new assessment from U.S. intelligence agencies about Iran's ability to shut down that critical strata for Moose. We're going to share more details in a moment.

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[03:30:00]

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SANDOVAL: I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and these are today's top stories.

Some new video right now from U.S. Southern Command that shows a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Eastern Pacific. Officials say that one person was killed, two others survived. The operation part of a broader crackdown to disrupt drug trafficking routes to the U.S.

The British Defense Ministry is now investigating an incident in which a Russian warship fired warning shots at a yacht in the English Channel. Russia says that the UK-flagged yacht was on what appeared to be a collision course with its warship. After the Russian crew fired signal flares and a warning shot, the yacht moved safely away.

And the secrecy around the Iranian agreement is causing some tensions abroad and here in the United States, President Trump says that he will publicly release the text of the agreement in the next couple of days. He is even proposing reciting the document word for word in front of cameras. Vice President J.D. Vance says that the U.S. has not released the text because officials needed to quote, "sequence this in the right way."

[03:35:08]

And one person who has seen the text of that agreement is Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, he spoke with my colleague Kaitlan Collins earlier. She asked him about what he saw in the document.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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: 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.

COLLINS: Okay. Well, we haven't seen it publicly as it's 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, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And sources say that U.S. intelligence has assessed that Iran can now shut down access to the Strait of Hormuz at will. And this means that the country would have the powerful ability to hurt the global economy as a result of the war. CNN's Zach Cohen is in Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: U.S. intelligence agencies have recently assessed that Iran can effectively close the Strait of Hormuz at will from now on. And that's because they've already demonstrated that they can shut down the key waterway with very limited military capabilities, as they've done since the beginning of the ongoing conflict with the U.S. and Israel. Now the U.S. intelligence community has been scrambling to completely

reassess their understanding of Iran's willingness to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and what the threshold is for them to take that step. Now there's varying opinions amongst the U.S. intelligence agencies. But overall, most agree that Iran does now view the Strait of Hormuz as a tool and a lever it can deploy in any future conflict or negotiation in order to get better terms.

Now it remains to be seen how Iran's realization, how this new reality will impact the negotiations with the United States in the short term, as the two sides do seem to have reached a framework agreement to reopen the Strait, in addition to an agreement to continue negotiating over other issues like Iran's nuclear program.

But still, sources telling CNN that nothing precludes Iran from effectively turning on and off the Strait of Hormuz whenever it feels like it. And that will remain a key leverage point for them, not just in the near term, but also in the future as well.

And coupled with the lessons learned by Iran about the effectiveness of targeted strikes against Gulf countries and their energy infrastructure, as well as a card they have not yet played in the current conflict, which is enlisting the Houthi rebels in Yemen to shut down another key waterway that connects the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, Iran still maintains significant power as far as a regional force, despite having their military significantly degraded by U.S.-Israeli strikes.

So ultimately, time will tell how this will impact talks in the short term. But one source telling CNN, quote, "we have now handed Iran de facto control of the Strait, a weapon more powerful than any new."

Senior administration officials, though, pushing back on how worried they are about Iran's willingness to shut down the Strait of Hormuz once the current framework agreement takes effect, arguing that Iran ultimately was pushed to the table because it felt its leverage over the Strait was slipping.

Still, sources across the board making clear that the Trump administration was in large part caught off guard by Iran's initial decision to close the key waterway and are now aware that Iran is more willing than ever to do the same going forward.

Zachary Cohen, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Elon Musk's SpaceX stock, it has taken off like a rocket. We'll be looking at its incredible rise since the company went public last week. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."

[03:40:02]

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We have to speed up markets and here are more of your business headlines.

Oil prices, they appear to be stabilizing on hopes that a U.S.-Iran agreement could reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

[03:45:01]

For the second straight day on Tuesday, both the global benchmark, Brent Crude and the U.S. WTI, they fell nearly 5 percent. And the dip has already brought down some prices to three-month lows, but some experts are warning that prices will likely remain quite volatile.

Shanghai Disneyland, it has marked a major milestone. The park celebrating its 10th anniversary on Tuesday with characters and executives singing Happy Birthday in front of the castle. The park has welcomed more than 100 million visitors since 2016 and it continues to grow with a new hotel and also a Marvel-themed land on the way. SpaceX is now bigger than Amazon.

Shares in Elon Musk's rocket company, they were more popular than every other stock on the market, get this, combined. Its market value now worth $2.66 trillion. SpaceX also just bought an artificial intelligence company called Cursor for $60 billion. That acquisition could potentially help SpaceX catch up to market leaders OpenAI, Anthropic and Google.

And SpaceX briefly surpassed Microsoft's valuation on Tuesday before finishing the day just behind the technology company. CNN's, David Goldman, with more on SpaceX's significant rise.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: All right, SpaceX hitting a big milestone. It is now the fifth largest company on the stock market.

So normally IPOs when they happen, they're usually smaller companies that have a lot of growth, but not a lot of revenue. Not SpaceX.

SpaceX has $19 billion of revenue, but it does have the growth, 33 percent just in 2025 alone. Now here's the thing. It's not just about how much money it's bringing in, it's about how much money SpaceX is spending and that's a lot of money because it already just in the past year alone spent more than $12 billion on A.I.

And this year in 2026, in the first three months, it spent nearly $8 billion and then it announced that it is buying Cursor for $60 billion. This is one of those A.I. agent companies that competes with Anthropic and OpenAI on the enterprise part of the business and that's where most of the money is made in A.I.

So it makes sense that SpaceX would be after this and spending a lot of money. It's a very competitive space. It also wants to send data centers into space to make sure that it can get all that cheap cooling and the free energy and then use the Starlink network to beam signal back down to Earth. But of course, that means that SpaceX isn't actually making money. It

is losing money, lots and lots of money. Nearly $5 billion last year and already this year in the first three months of the year, it lost more than $4 billion.

Nevertheless, investors are betting big on this company. It was up 19 percent in the first day of trading, 19 percent in the second day of trading and around 10 percent on the third day of trading.

And so what is going on here? Well, it's really a big bet on Elon Musk because lots of people who have bet against Elon Musk have lost an incredible amount of money or they have missed out on an amazing opportunity to make money.

It's not that Elon Musk always makes good on his promises. Let's be clear about that. But betting on Tesla and now apparently betting on SpaceX could be a very profitable venture, that's for investors to decide.

But right now, the fear of missing out is trumping the reality of the situation, which is that SpaceX has a much smaller portfolio of businesses than any of the companies that it has surpassed, including Microsoft and Amazon. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Thanks, David.

And still to come here on "CNN Newsroom," the way people are getting their news has changed drastically in recent years. We'll be examining the challenges that lie ahead for traditional news outlets in a moment.

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[03:50:00]

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back.

Traditional news media seems to be losing ground as online video continues to grow in popularity. And that's one of the findings in a new report from the Reuters Institute.

The data is showing that more people are now turning to social media and to video platforms like YouTube for their news and information. As a result, interest in traditional news is falling. Trust in news outlets has also been dropping to its lowest levels since the Institute started tracking it back in 2015.

Joining me now is CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter to discuss. Hey, Brian.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey, there. SANDOVAL: So, I wonder if maybe I can bring our viewers up to speed on

this one line that I thought really summarizes the findings overall about what seems to have changed and how information is consumed, not just in the U.S., but around the world.

And it reads, "The data this year point to greater volatility reflecting this heightened sense of uncertainty. We see a range of responses, anxiety, disengagement, and cynicism--" And this is really interesting, Brian, "--but also openness to new sources and formats."

So, considering all that, Brian, what does that tell you? How do you interpret that?

STELTER: People still want to know what is true. They want to know what's happening in the world, but they're increasingly confused and disoriented by all the information around them. And this is a consequence, kind of a downstream effect of the phones and the other devices that have completely taken over our lives.

You know, what you see in this report, and others like it, is that as people have moved toward social networks, toward video platforms like YouTube, toward platforms like TikTok, they are watching and reading and consuming so much, but they're less trusting of what they are consuming, because it's coming from all different directions, often unsourced. And what this report from Reuters Institute points out is that for news publishers that are trying to navigate this environment, it's very difficult.

But there are some silver linings as well. Many people in these surveys all around the world say they want impartial news. They might be streaming and watching and reading anything but that, in many cases listening to hyper-partisan podcasters and really opinionated YouTube streamers, but many people still want impartial, independent news sources.

Those sources are sometimes very hard to find in this environment of information overload.

SANDOVAL: Let's get to the A.I. of it all too, because it also explores specifically the use of A.I. chatbots and how that's on the rise. I thought it was interesting that it was specifically on the rise in places like South Korea, Spain, Greece. International consumers using A.I. chatbots, in some cases even doubling.

Just curious, what do A.I. chatbots have to offer news consumers in general? What are some of the concerns that come with that?

STELTER: Right now it's a very fraught dynamic and we've seen a number of lawsuits, one by CNN, others by the "New York Times," News Corp., and other big publishers, trying to come up with rules of the road with these A.I. companies because of what this survey shows. It's the latest survey to show that people are increasingly learning the news through A.I. chatbots.

[03:55:08] You can be asking questions to one of these chatbots, maybe not

actually seeking out the news, but it's bringing new information. It's bringing new, in some cases very recent information, and servicing that news content.

Now, the relationship between the news publishers that are actually gathering that information and the A.I. companies is very fraught. That's why I mentioned there's been these lawsuits. There have also been some content licensing deals though as well.

So, rules of the road that still need to be worked out. But this idea that people increasingly are going to be interacting with A.I. chatbots and learning the news that way, that has profound implications for the entire media industry.

And what this kind of survey points to is a complete remaking of what it means to be a news publisher and who the audience is. Because if your audience is now partly the clients, the A.I. chatbots, the models, then you might be producing content or producing news differently in the future.

SANDOVAL: I think it's fascinating to see that the most popular feature, according to many of those people surveyed, was the ability for users to ask follow-ups to these chatbots as they take interest in various stories.

STELTER: Because people want a two-way relationship, right?

They want a two-way relationship with the news increasingly. We all grew up in a one-way relationship, and that's being blown apart. Now it's a two-way relationship.

SANDOVAL: That's actually a great thought to close on. CNN Chief Media Analyst, Brian Stelter, always a pleasure. Thank you so much for your time.

And Spanish actor Javier Bardem left his mark on Hollywood Boulevard. Quite literally, the Oscar-winning actor imprinting his hands and feet in cement at the iconic TCL Chinese Theater.

But he didn't just leave a mark. He actually literally stuck his nose in it. Bleaching tradition, Bardem decided to put his nose in the cement as well; more than 200 stars have their imprints preserved there.

And Team Mexico just got an unofficial mascot for their next World Cup match. Marlon the Duck becoming an overnight online sensation. There he is.

After he was seen waddling in Mexico City wearing the national team jersey. As well as, of course, those socks. His owner says that locals already knew him for helping her sell drinks from her street vendor cart.

But now, his newfound fame actually got him to meet with FIFA representatives for a photo shoot. Even a commercial, there he goes. His owner says that it came as a surprise, but Marlon is currently Mexico's biggest fan.

And we are a fan of Marlon.

And also some soccer fans. They are making the pilgrimage to Mexico City to call for divine intervention in this year's World Cup. A baby Jesus statue at the Metropolitan Cathedral has been dressed in a Mexican soccer kit, he was actually wearing a green jersey last week.

The tradition dating back to 1970 when Mexico hosted its first ever World Cup. The figure will remain on display until the end of the tournament, regardless of Mexico's performance. Mexico keeping the faith. Sneakers and all.

Thank you so much for joining me, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Our coverage continues in a few moments with more "CNN Newsroom."

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