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Trump Issues New Threats; Amazing Rescues in Venezuela; Fans Flocking to Buy Waffle House Jerseys. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 28, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN Newsroom with me, Ben Hunte, in Atlanta, and it is so good to have you with me.

Coming up on the show, President Trump issues new threats to Iran as tensions between the two sides escalate.

Incredible scenes of rescues in Venezuela stand in stark contrast to the rising death toll from those awful earthquakes.

And World Cup fans in Atlanta are flocking to buy jerseys, but not for their favorite teams, for their new love of a very American restaurant.

Welcome. We are getting first reports of damage after new Iranian strikes targeting U.S. military facilities in the Gulf. Earlier, Iran said it had launched attacks on facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain. The government in Bahrain now says a residential building suffered heavy damage, but no one was killed.

The statement also says the country was hit by a number of missiles and drones, which it calls a dangerous escalation. That is all happening after the U.S. carried out its second wave of strikes on Iranian military targets in as many days. U.S. Central Command called it a response to an Iranian attack on a civilian vessel on Saturday morning.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is in the region monitoring those developments for us from Abu Dhabi. It's good to see you, Paula. Can you just bring us up to speed on the latest, please?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bahrain has issued photos of what they say is a damaged residential building hit by projectiles from Iran in the early hours of Sunday morning. Now, we see from the images that the top floor of one residential building has been severely damaged, the Interior Ministry saying there have been no deaths. But the country has called it a, quote, dangerous escalation. We also saw that Kuwait was intercepting missiles and drones in the early hours.

Now, Iran said that it was targeting U.S. military targets in the region following U.S. strikes against military targets in Iran. Now, we have heard from the Revolutionary Guard through state media saying that they believe the U.S. is violating the memorandum of understanding. We also see them saying that it will, quote, result in the complete halt of all diplomatic processes.

Now, this is really the most serious escalation in violence that we have seen since the U.S. and Iran signed that memorandum of understanding. We have also heard from President Trump. He spoke, or at least posted on Truth Social saying, quote, there may come a point when we no longer are able to be reasonable and will be forced to militarily complete the job that we very successfully started. If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist.

Now, this certainly isn't the first time we've heard these kind of threats from the U.S. president. In the past, we have heard a response from Iranian officials saying that it points to desperation from the United States. But we are seeing this increased tit-for-tat from both sides, really starting from last Thursday when the U.S. said an Iranian drone hit a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, we have heard from Iran saying that they believe that they are in control of the strait. They say that is what they see the memorandum as confirming, and they say that vessels that take different routes than the ones that they have to ask for Iranian permission to transit will result in vessels being targeted, and that is certainly what we have been seeing over the past few days. Ben?

HUNTE: And at the same time, Lebanon is accusing Israel of conducting a deadly strike just a day after signing a framework ceasefire agreement. What more can you tell us about that?

HANCOCKS: The Israeli military has confirmed that they did target and they said they killed Hezbollah militants in the Nabatieh area, which is in Southern Lebanon. And as you say, it does come just after this agreement between Israel and Lebanon with the U.S. mediating, so a trilateral agreement where Israel had agreed to withdraw from two areas of Southern Lebanon that they are currently occupying.

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Now, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, pointed out which areas those were on Saturday, relatively small areas, but he did call the agreement a tremendous achievement, which is forcing Iran out of the picture.

Now, of course the issue is that Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia, is not part of this agreement. Hezbollah has said they did not agree with Israel and Lebanon talking, and they certainly do not accept this ceasefire agreement. So, there as well we are seeing an uptick in violence despite a ceasefire being in place. Ben?

HUNTE: Okay. Paula Hancocks, thanks so much.

Earlier, I spoke with retired Vice Admiral Robert Harward, a former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, who is now a fellow at the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. I asked him for his assessment of where the ceasefire currently stands.

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VICE ADM. ROBERT HARWARD (RET.), FORMER DEPUTY COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I think and you're watching it collapse if there ever really was one as both sides continue to act. And more importantly, I think this indicates how important the surrogates are to Iran. When Lebanon and Israel reached an agreement in Lebanon, which justified the irrelevance of Hezbollah both to the Lebanese government and in support of Israel, Iran had to act. I think that's what these strikes were about.

So, it illustrated again how fragile all the negotiations are, and the path to really Iran is capitulation, not negotiations. Because they're not going to give up on any of the components of their policies and programs they've had under this regime, and that's clear. From the nuclear program to funding their surrogates, the missiles, and the drones, they're going to keep and maintain all of them, and leverage as much time to try to get through President Trump and ensure the political will of the United States fades into the sunrise.

And President Trump's not going to let that happen. As you see, he's willing to act if they can't achieve those objectives.

HUNTE: Iran says it's launched strikes against U.S. military sites in Kuwait and Bahrain. In military terms, is this still within the bounds of what could be considered a fragile ceasefire, or has Iran crossed a line?

HARWARD: I think that and the attack on the commercial ships have crossed the line in every way possible, and it's their standard operating procedure. They take these actions to try to enhance their position on the negotiation table and to draw out as much time as possible.

Now, I assume and hope the administration will not only continue the military actions but follow up again with the financial actions, put the blockade back in place and financially strangle Iran.

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HUNTE: Rescuers in Venezuela are racing to save trapped survivors as the death toll from Wednesday's double earthquake soars past 1,400 people. More than 72 hours have now passed since those quakes. Chances of survival drop rapidly after just three days without water. But more than 2,700 international aid workers have now arrived, along with tons of equipment and medicine, and there are some moments of hope.

This crying and very much alive nine-month-old was rescued by U.S. and local teams. The child's mother was also saved. Both had only minor injuries.

And take a look at this too.

Wow. Video captured one man's absolute disbelief when Spanish workers pulled him free. CNN Contributor Stefano Pozzebon has more for us on the race to find survivors.

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MILEIDY DUQUE, SEARCHING MISSING RELATIVES: There's no words to explain everything that you feel. Once you get here, you have to imagine that your family's in there and not receiving help from anyone. It's very sad.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice over): Mileidy Duque is one of many Venezuelan mothers waiting for news of their loved ones.

DUQUE: My 82-year-old mother lived here alongside my brother and my 20-year-old daughter. My daughter's boyfriend had come over to deliver a meal to my mother, and, well, the last contact we had with her was at 5:45 P.M. on Wednesday. Since then, we've heard nothing more.

POZZEBON: Her hometown, La Guaira, was one of the hardest hit by Wednesday twin earthquakes. Despite not being at the epicenter, huge parts of the coastal city have been destroyed, with Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declaring it a disaster zone.

On Friday, as rescue searches continued, some people took advantage of the chaos to take items from local businesses, desperately grabbing hold of whatever they could.

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Near the capital, Caracas, operations continued on Saturday to try to recover those still trapped in the rubble.

For this woman, the wait has proven unbearable.

SUSANA HENRIQUEZ, CARACAS RESIDENT: These past hours have been filled with great pain and uncertainty. Today, the rescuers and the dogs finally arrived. We truly hope they manage to finish rescuing our neighbors who are in the building next door.

POZZEBON: And although her family has been taken care of, she knows many others haven't been so lucky.

HENRIQUEZ: Fortunately, we have resources, but there are many people who are in need.

POZZEBON: Before the earthquake, Venezuela was already in the throes of a humanitarian crisis, amplified by recent political instability and international sanctions. Now, as authorities struggle to provide an emergency response, signs of hope may finally be on the horizon.

Emergency aid has been sent from Brazil, Panama, Costa Rica, and several other countries, while the United States has promised to send elite rescue teams, military transport, and $150 million in humanitarian aid.

Venezuela's acting leader thanked countries for the show of support on Saturday.

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, VENEZUELAN ACTING PRESIDENT: Venezuela is not alone. We have received a helping hand of solidarity from the world.

POZZEBON: Back in La Guaira, the search continues for signs of life in the rubble.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Valencia, Venezuela.

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HUNTE: Life along the Russia-Ukraine border has again turned deadly. Both nations reported civilian casualties on Saturday after trading a series of drone and artillery strikes. Russian media reports the Kremlin downed more than 120 Ukrainian drones over a 12-hour period.

Ukraine's attacks on Russian infrastructure are quickly isolating occupied Crimea. On Friday, Russian-installed authorities on the peninsula announced a state of emergency amid widespread power outages and growing fuel shortages. Droves of Russian tourists even are reportedly fleeing the annexed region as the situation worsens.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed he approved a 40-day operation aimed at pressuring Moscow to end the war. He has yet to offer additional details about how this operation would unfold.

The president of Serbia says he will resign following 18 months of anti-government protests. On Saturday, President Aleksandar Vucic announced he will step down within weeks. The country will then hold early presidential and parliamentary elections.

Mr. Vucic has been in power as president or prime minister for 12 years now. His announcement comes after consistent student-led anti- corruption demonstrations. They began in November 2024 after the collapse of a train station awning killed 16 people.

It is a party in the streets of Budapest, Hungary, as the city goes all out for this year's pride march. Last year, Viktor Orban's government tried to ban the event. It later transformed into a mass anti-government demonstration amid the public backlash. After Orban's political defeat in April, the ban was lifted, and the pride march was restored.

Thousands attended this weekend despite the sizzling temperatures there, with many excited for Hungary to begin a new chapter.

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MATE TARNAI, PRIDE MARCH ATENDEE: The atmosphere in the country is much more relaxed than last year. Last year were the protests more or less, but this year is like celebration of freedom.

ANNE MILLER, PRIDE MARCH ATTENDEE: I really hope more people feel accepted and loved by this government. And I truly hope they will deliver on the things they promised us that they would.

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HUNTE: A deadly heat wave is moving east across Europe. On Saturday, Germany reached its highest temperature ever recorded. Thermometers reached 106 degrees Fahrenheit in a city just east of Leipzig. That's 41.5 degrees Celsius.

Paris hit a June record of 105 degrees Fahrenheit or 40 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, and the heat isn't stopping. On Saturday, the capital and 36 other regions remained in an extreme heat warning zone. Officials say nearly 3,000 people were seeking care in hospitals, about a third more than usual.

And England also recorded its hottest day in June for the third day in a row on Friday. Experts say temperatures reached 98 degrees Fahrenheit or 36 degrees Celsius.

Flooding has killed one person and destroyed housing in Northeastern India.

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That's according to local reports. Four other people are missing. One survivor begged authorities to help find their sister's remains. Roads have been blanketed with mud, and residents had to navigate flooded areas on foot.

HUNTE: All right. World Cup fans are discovering lots of things in the U.S. they want to take back home, including jerseys. But one of the hottest shirts here in Atlanta isn't actually a team's colors. It's from a restaurant with its trademark breakfast food, waffles. We'll explain all about it, don't worry, just ahead.

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HUNTE: It is do or die time as the World Cup's knockout stage starts today for the 32 surviving teams. At the last group stage matches yesterday, England finished at the top of their group after a 2-0 win against the now eliminated Panama.

The Democratic Republic of Congo delivered a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan on Saturday. Congo now go into the knockouts for their first time ever.

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Croatia clinched their place with a late 2-1 win over Ghana, who also qualified for the knockout stage.

A six-goal thriller between Algeria and Austria ended in a 3-3 draw, and that means that both teams will now advance.

Defending champs Argentina beat Jordan 3-1, knocking them out of the competition.

And Colombia scored -- secured the top spot in its group after a scoreless draw with Portugal. Both of those teams will now advance. The knockout round starts later today with South Africa facing off against Canada in Los Angeles.

And when a World Cup match comes down to penalties, physical skill is only part of the equation. CNN World Sport's Don Riddell speaks with a sports psychologist who spent years studying the mental tactics of pro goalies.

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DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Goalkeepers love penalty shootouts. They are involved in at least 50 percent of the action, so no single player has a greater influence on the outcome, and the very best of them do more than just stop the shots.

GEIR JORDET, AUTHOR, PRESSURE, LESSONS FROM THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE PENALTY SHOOTOUT: A penalty kick, and certainly a penalty shootout, is a big psychological battle. You've analyzed the penalty takers to pieces. The penalty taker is approaching you. This is when the mind games start.

RIDDELL: Top goalkeepers will know everything about their opponents taking the kicks, and the more they can get inside their heads, the higher their chances of success.

JORDET: You can visually distract, you can dance around on the goal line, you can show hands, you can jump up and down. You can confront the penalty taker. You can come to the penalty spot. Or you can try, because of course referees are more and more aware of these techniques, and they're trying their best to stop them. You can fight for ball possession. So, we may see this summer a battle for the ball where both teams are trying to get their hands on the ball to either help their teammates or to disrupt their opponents.

Of course, this is also the time and the place for verbal insults or little verbal interference statements, things that might get you to think a little bit, things that might tell the penalty taker that the goalkeeper has studied them. And we will see goalkeepers who are trying to delay everything, because we know from some of our earliest research that if goalkeepers are able to delay everything so much that the penalty taker is forced to stand there and just wait for the referee's whistle, this is something that can reduce the performance for the penalty taker because they're forced into a situation where they no longer have control.

The science on it is pretty clear, and that is that when goalkeepers are playing these mind games, doing different things to disturb or disrupt the penalty taker, the chances of that ball going into the net drops by about 10 percent.

In the '70s and the '80s, less than 10 percent of goalkeepers were trying these distraction techniques, but the last five to six years, that number has gone up to about 60 to 70 percent, and I suspect in the World Cup this summer it will be even higher.

(END VIDEOTAPE) HUNTE: World Cup fans in Atlanta are lining up to get their hands on commemorative jerseys, but they're not just repping their favorite teams. They're celebrating a beloved gathering place in the American South, the Waffle House restaurant.

CNN's Rafael Romo has the story.

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RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing people with jerseys from countries like Congo and many others here at the FIFA Fan Fest, but one thing we didn't expect to see is people wearing jerseys from Waffle House. Why is that? Well, it's become a trend here in Atlanta, not only for local fans, but also for international visitors.

GABRIEL LARA, SOCCER FAN: You know, I mean, there's so many people from so many different places and different countries, and I feel like it's human nature to when you come to somewhere new, that you want to learn about that place and almost feel like you're a part of the community.

And, you know, kind of how I said that, you know, Waffle House is something that, you know, we take claim to. I feel like that's kind of a part of the Atlanta experience.

ZINA MAYO, SOCCER FAN: Well, they don't have that in Europe. As you know, a lot of stores close or places close, either 9:00 or 10:00, and, of course, you have a lot of drunk people, they want something. So, this is new to them and amazing to them, so I hope they enjoy it just as much as we do.

ROMO: And people are telling us that they like this merchandise, and not only because for them it represents the American South, but also because it reminds them of fun moments that they have spent with family and friends over the years.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw it on TikTok, so I think Waffle House is just, like, such a cultural part of Atlanta itself. So, to not only have the World Cup, but then also have Waffle House on top of it, it's like, I don't know, the combo of the century.

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ROMO: The hottest item seems to be the jersey, but they're also selling a lot of hats, scarves, and other items.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Waffle House jersey, everyone needs this in their home.

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HUNTE: There is quite a collection of Hollywood relics heading to auction in July. One of the most coveted items comes from a galaxy far, far away.

An original Star Wars prop of a severed hand holding Luke Skywalker's lightsaber will be up for sale. It was used on screen in the 1980 classic, The Empire Strikes Back, just moments before Darth Vader's I am your father reveal. Here is one of the auction managers on why this piece is so special.

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NIKKI HALE, MANAGER OF SPECIAL PROJECTS, HERITAGE AUCTIONS: It's an incredible example as far as you see it shoot off his hand, and it really does do that. It has a trigger system built that Mark would hit, and it's never been offered at auction or public, so we're very excited to have it.

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HUNTE: The Star Wars prop has a starting bid of $1 million. Items will be sold online and in Dallas, Texas, from July 13th to 17th.

The Vespa scooter is celebrating its 80th birthday in its home city. Rome is hosting a four-day event centered on the iconic scooter. Part of the city was turned into a Vespa village of exhibitions, races, parades, and club events. The Vespa launched in 1946 and became a symbol of Italy's rebirth after World War II, appearing in films such as Roman Holiday.

All right, that's all I've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

Elite Escapes is next. Then Salma Abdelaziz will be along at the top of the hour with more CNN Newsroom. See you tomorrow.

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