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U.S. and Iran to "Stand Down for Now"; Death Toll Mounts in Venezuela; Extreme Heat Bakes Europe; Protests In Serbia After President Says He'll Step Down; Canada Eliminate South Africa In 1-0 Stoppage-Time Win; 350,000 Haitians In U.S. Could Lose Deportation Protections. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 29, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. And ahead of this hour, after days of tit-for-tat strikes, Washington says both the U.S. and Tehran -- quote -- "will stand down for now," testing an already fragile ceasefire. The rescuers sifting through piles of rubble, hoping to find signs of life more than 72 hours after devastating earthquakes hit Venezuela as the death toll climbs. And Europe in the grips of a dangerous heat wave, setting records across the continent.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Hong Kong, this is "CNN Newsroom with Kristie Lu Stout.

LU STOUT: And we begin in the Middle East where a Trump administration official says that the U.S. and Iran will -- quote -- "stand down for now" after both sides exchanged fresh strikes near the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend. Now, that official also saying that vessels can move freely in the strait. So far, though, there has been no word from Iran. Now, tensions flared in recent days as Iran and the U.S. exchanged fire and renewed their threats, straining a fragile truce. And amid the latest escalation, Iran says it targeted U.S. military sites in neighboring countries. That included Bahrain, where damage could be seen at a residential building. Now, U.S. officials says drones and missiles launched by Iran were -- quote -- "shot down, intercepted or failed to reach their intended targets" -- unquote.

CNN's Julia Benbrook has more from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After days of escalation, the big question is, how does this impact the ongoing talks between the United States and Iran? A senior administration official tells me that those talks will continue as planned, going on to say this: Nothing has been canceled. Technical talks regarding the implementation of the MOU, the memorandum of understanding, are on track for the coming days as planned, and deconfliction channels are up and running after the Lake Lucerne Summit. It was just last weekend that Vice President J.D. Vance traveled to Switzerland to lead high-level, high-stakes talks.

And a reminder, the memorandum of understanding, what has been agreed to by the United States and Iran, is really just a starting point. It kicked off a 60-day time period to work through the details on some of the big issues regarding Iran's nuclear program, including the fate of its stockpile of highly-enriched uranium.

As the back and forth has taken place in recent days, one of the major developments came Saturday evening as U.S. Central Command said that it had carried out additional strikes at the direction of the president on multiple targets in response to Iran's continued aggression. Now, Trump took to social media after that, saying that Iran may never learn, adding this: If that happens, the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, spoke with Fox News Sunday morning and reiterated that statement. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: If the Iranian regime thinks for a second that President Trump is going to sit by, stand by while Iran continues to attack international shipping without a response or our bases without a response, they're sadly mistaken. And they saw that loud and clear over the last few nights where we'll continue to militarily, if needed, take down their infrastructure that they're trying to use to illegally control an international waterway.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So, again, the administration tells CNN that talks will continue as planned on all sides of the MOU, adding that both sides will stand down for now and that vessels will continue to move freely.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, Iranians are closely watching developments, with some weighing in on the fragile truce and what they think might happen next. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): My belief is that they should never have halted. Even if there is a pause now, it is undoubtedly a political posture, and we will soon see renewed attacks. The scale and levels are not predictable, but they will certainly continue.

[02:05:01]

UNKNOWN (through translator): In my view, it should be firmer than before. It should be done in a way that teaches them a lesson so they do not allow themselves to come back and repeat the same actions.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LU STOUT: That's the view on the street in Tehran. Now, Gregg Carlstrom is a Middle East correspondent for "The Economist." He joins us now live from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Greg, it's very great to have you here on the program. Thank you so much for joining us. Wanted to get your thoughts on where we are at this moment, the state of play. We have a Trump official saying that the U.S. and Iran will stand down for now, this after a fresh exchange of strikes. But what is your take on the situation and whether the ceasefire is actually holding?

GREGG CARLSTROM, MIDDLE EAST CORRESPONDENT, THE ECONOMIST: I think there are two lessons that we can take from what has happened over the past few days. First, I do think the deal, by and large, will continue to hold. I think -- what did we see? Since Thursday, we saw the U.S. carry out fairly limited military strikes on targets in Southern Iran that they had bombed earlier in the war. And we saw the Iranians carry out a fairly limited attack on Bahrain and Kuwait. So, there are some guardrails here. Yes, they're exchanging fire, but it's within limits. And I think it's clear that both sides, at least for now, don't want the war to resume in full force. That's one lesson.

The other one, though, is that Iran is still determined to try and exercise control over the Strait of Hormuz. That was always going to be difficult to do in peacetime because what closed the strait during the war was the threat of Iranian attack. And once those attacks stop, obviously, that sense of risk starts to dissipate. So, what we saw Iran do on Thursday with this attack on a Singapore-flagged container ship, I think, was meant to reinforce that sense of risk. And we now know that Iran is still willing to attack ships that are not coordinating with it as they sail through the strait. We also know that America is not going to do too much in retaliation. And so, I think that's going to have a detrimental effect on traffic going through the strait, which was only just beginning to recover.

LU STOUT: Yes. You believe that the deal will hold, that Iran will continue to assert its control of the Strait of Hormuz, and that traffic flows will be impacted because on top of everything you discussed just now, the threat of Iranian missiles, drones and mines, that is still there. And then you also had this scenario with these three separate shipping routes that have emerged. This is getting pretty chaotic, no?

CARLSTROM: Right. So, you have three ways normally to go in and out of the Strait of Hormuz. You have the traditional routes, which go roughly through the middle of the strait. They're in Omani territorial waters. Those are thought to be mined. And so, vessels are avoiding that center route for now. That leaves either the northern route, which goes through Iranian waters, where passage has to be coordinated with the IRGC, and the southern route, which is also in Omani waters, which is something that the U.S. has been trying to promote.

Also, the International Maritime Organization, which is the UN's maritime agency, has been encouraging vessels stranded in the Gulf to use that southern route because they can do it freely. They don't have to coordinate with the Iranian government to do it. That is where this ship that was attacked on Thursday was sailing. It was using that southern route. And so, Iran very clearly trying to say it doesn't want vessels traveling that way. It wants everyone to use the northern route under its control and it is prepared to attack vessels that try to use the southern route.

LU STOUT: Got it. And your thoughts on Gulf nations? Because they are in the line of fire. They are also weighing in on how Hormuz should be managed in the future. What is their calculus right now? Will the Gulf nations side with the United States or will they ultimately choose a path that's closer to Iran? What are you hearing on the ground?

CARLSTROM: I think everyone in the Gulf is trying to figure out what to do right now. They were broadly supportive of signing this MOU earlier this month because they wanted the war to end, they didn't want more Iranian strikes. But they don't have a united view on how to move forward.

There are some countries in the Gulf that I think would prefer to reach out to the Iranians to try to strike deals that will get shipping moving, that will safeguard them from further attacks. The Qataris, I think, are very interested in diplomacy with Iran. Saudi Arabia has been talking about trying to organize some sort of reconciliation summit between Iran and the Gulf countries. That's one view.

You have other countries, chief among them the UAE, the United Arab Emirates, which see Iran as an irreconcilable foe. They don't think there's any progress that's going to be made in diplomacy.

[02:10:01]

They think relations with Iran are going to remain hostile. And so, they're going to look for ways not to reconcile with Iran, but to contain Iran as a military threat going forward.

And so, I think we're likely to see countries like the UAE, perhaps Bahrain as well, tack closer to the United States going forward with all of their reservations about the Trump administration, about how erratic and chaotic Donald Trump's policy has been. There are some Gulf countries that just don't see an alternative towards trying to strengthen that security relationship.

LU STOUT: Yes. A lot of open questions as we await another round of technical talks due to kick off this week. Gregg Carlstrom joining us live from Riyadh, thank you for your insights and take care.

CARLSTROM: Thank you.

LU STOUT: OK. Now, to our next story, the search for survivors is becoming more and more desperate in Venezuela four days after those two powerful quakes devastated the country. Now, this is a scene of utter destruction in some areas with hundreds of buildings collapsed and more heavily damaged. The death toll has risen to at least 1,450. And experts, they believe thousands more deaths are possible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LU STOUT: Rescues like this one, a very dramatic one, are giving crews hope they need to keep on searching. They're being helped by thousands of emergency workers from other countries as well. Now, this video, it was shared online by the president of El Salvador, who says crews rescued this woman who had spent some 86 hours trapped under the rubble. Venezuela's acting president says that there has been a lot of progress with restoring utilities in some of the hardest-hit areas. But people digging through the rubble, they say that the country was never ready to deal with a disaster of this scale.

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DELCY RODRIGUEZ, VENEZUELAN ACTING PRESIDENT (through translator): We have already restored about 75 percent of electricity service. Teams continue working towards full restoration of electrical services in the state as well as water services, which is at 68 percent, and roadways, which are about 90 percent restored, and all the transit and circulation, which is very important for rescue operations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HERNAN SANDOVAL, EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR (through translator): Venezuela was not prepared for this. We were not even prepared for a flu, honestly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, CNN contributor Stefano Pozzebon has more now on the rescue efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Rescue workers are digging their way through rubble and dust to locate survivors in La Guaira trapped for days under a pile of collapsed homes. The port city is ground zero for the Venezuelan earthquake search and rescue operation. This elite rescue team from the U.S. believe they've heard a tap-tap from under the debris.

POZZEBON: They try to communicate with them with sound. And this is why this is truly a race against time, but it's a race against time that is happening in utter silence. Nobody dares to speak, nobody dares to shout because a sound could mean a life saved.

There's an elevator, too, right?

UNKNOWN: Yes.

POZZEBON: Next to the stairs?

(CROSSTALK) Now, all of this is happening as the relatives of the people trapped inside and other survivors are staying here. They're waiting. They're watching. It's an excruciating way for someone who has a seven-year- old son trapped beneath the rubble.

POZZEBON (voice-over): Ronald Penuruwa (ph) has not slept since Wednesday. He was out when the quakes hit. His son was with his grandmother at home.

RONALD PENURUWA (ph), EARTHQUAKE SURVIVOR: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE).

POZZEBON (voice-over): I will find my son today, he says. I know I will. It's now or never for thousands of people who are still missing. Most earthquake survivors are rescued within 72 hours. These rescue workers say they will continue to dig until everyone is accounted for. The Venezuelan government estimates more than 12,000 people have been displaced. They all need a place to sleep and eat.

POZZEBON: We've just arrived to a fast food. It's a fried chicken restaurant, but they've been turned into a community kitchen, basically. All of these people are now working in a chain to bring out 1,500 ready meals. It's fried chicken and fries, but that will fuel both displaced and volunteers that are trying to help.

[02:15:01]

POZZEBON (voice-over): At this restaurant, everyone lives in La Guaira. Everyone has lived through the double earthquake, but nobody wants to rest. It's the strength of a community who refuses to give up, despite the reality.

By sunset, the search stopped. Ronald's son was found along with his grandmother under the rubble, the latest victim in a tragedy that has already taken more than 1,400 lives. It will still take days to recover the remains, but the pain will stay forever.

Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, La Guaira, Venezuela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: We're joined now by Claudia Manresa, a program manager for Project HOPE, and she was on the ground in Caracas when the earthquake struck. She joins us now. Claudia, thank you for joining us here on the program. Could you describe the humanitarian situation like at the moment? Just how bad is it?

CLAUDIA MANRESA, PROGRAM MANAGER, PROJECT HOPE: Yes. Thank you for having me. Crisis in Venezuela remained critical. So far, the latest updates we have is that at least 1,400 confirmed fatalities, at least 3,000 people injured, and over 50,000 people still missing under the collapsed structures and buildings. We estimate that at least 100 buildings collapsed during the earthquakes that were 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude. Approximately 1.8 million people have been affected, forcing a massive displacement in both Caracas and La Guaira, which was the most affected state. So, the situation is heartbreaking. The situation is devastating, especially for us Venezuelans.

LU STOUT: It is a heartbreaking situation. Scores of people impacted. You mentioned over 3,000 people injured. And I understand the hospitals there are overwhelmed. Could you tell us more about that situation from the patient perspective? What are they facing when they arrive for care?

MANRESA: Yes. I mean, the earthquakes are added to a healthcare system that was already overwhelmed and that were lacking resources. So, patients are going to the healthcare facilities. And, of course, these healthcare facilities do not have enough medical supplies. So, they need trauma and major surgery kits, basic medical supplies, water purification tablets, psychological first-aid kits for the survival.

So, it is a really hard situation that it is not only based on these earthquakes. This humanitarian crisis has been going on for so long right now in Venezuela. So, these earthquakes only are devastating more the people in our country.

LU STOUT: Yes. And the need is just so great. The need for health care and first aid, for shelter, for water, for sanitation and hygiene. Could you tell us more about Project HOPE and what you're doing at this critical moment?

MANRESA: Yes. We're working nonstop, and that is something that makes me really proud as a Venezuelan and as a humanitarian worker. Project HOPE has been working in Venezuela since 2019. We currently support 55 health centers. Fourteen of those are located in the most affected areas for these earthquakes.

So, we have been working nonstop. We have a search and rescue team in La Guaira trying to save as many lives as possible. And we're working with no more -- we have no more time to go to rescue lives. We have delivered the necessary medications and supply to these 14 healthcare facilities that we have been supported since 2019 and that are located in the most affected areas in Distrito Capital, Miranda, and La Guaira.

And we are preparing to increase our support in our response in the coming days. And that's why I would ask anyone who's watching us to visit projecthope.org so they can donate and support the activities that we're currently executing on the ground.

LU STOUT: And Claudia, you've been working nonstop since you experienced the earthquakes firsthand in Caracas, which must have been a terrifying ordeal. Could we talk about the mental health aspect here? Civilians are so scared, so scared of aftershocks that many are still sleeping on the streets. Are you also providing mental support and psychological first aid?

MANRESA: Yes, we are providing psychological first aid support to anyone. We have available several phone numbers so people can reach out to us.

[02:20:03] It is a really hard time not only for the survivors but also for their families. I mean, it is a really hard situation to have uncertainty on where your loved ones are. So, we are also providing psychological first aid services to anyone that need it.

LU STOUT: Claudia Manresa of Project HOPE, thank you for joining us and do take care.

MANRESA: Thank you.

LU STOUT: Eleven people are dead after a skydiving plane crashed in northeastern France. Aboard the plane were five skydiving instructors, five trainee parachutists, and a pilot. The aircraft plunged to the ground almost vertically shortly after takeoff. It just missed a housing development, but no one on the ground was injured. Officials say there were many witnesses to the accident, including relatives of the victims.

Ukrainians are working to clear the rubble after Russia dropped guided bombs over the southeastern city of Zaporizhia. The attack on Sunday partially destroyed homes and damaged the surrounding residential area, prompting emergency search and rescue operations. Officials say at least one person was killed and 14 others injured, including two children.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is throwing cold water on Ukraine's latest offer to de-escalate the ongoing hostilities. Kyiv (ph) has proposed a mutual halt to long-range strikes. President Putin argues that the Ukrainian campaign is meant to be a distraction from Moscow's main objectives along the front lines in eastern Ukraine. But on Sunday, he appeared to dismiss the proposal, saying Russia has no intention of -- quote -- "salvaging the Kyiv regime."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): It is clear why this proposal is being made, because our retaliatory strikes deep into Ukrainian territory are far more powerful, more sensitive and, frankly, more destructive, leading to serious consequences for the Kyiv regime.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: You're watching "CNN Newsroom." And up next, Europe's heat wave is not over yet. Several countries shattered more records on Sunday, including some hitting all-time highs. We've got the details just ahead.

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[02:25:00]

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LU STOUT: Three firefighters have died while battling a wildfire along the Colorado-Utah border. All three were helping fight the fast- growing Snyder Fire, which has burned more than 28,000 acres. And this is just one of a dozen brush fires burning in Utah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: The largest fire, it's known as the Cottonwood Fire, has grown to nearly 100,000 acres as of Sunday. It remains zero percent contained. The fires have led to officials to restrict fireworks over the Independence Day weekend that's coming up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, Europe's deadly heat wave shattered more records on Sunday. Lithuania logged its hottest day ever for June. Temperatures reached 97 degrees Fahrenheit or 36 degrees Celsius in a southern town. Meanwhile, the Czech Republic and Poland both hit all-time record highs. Thermometers reached some 106 degrees Fahrenheit, that's 41 degrees Celsius, just north of Prague. And a high of 104 degrees Fahrenheit was reached near Poland's eastern border with Germany. That's 40 degrees Celsius. Now, the heat is expected to continue heading east over the next couple of days.

And joining us now from Bucharest is T.V. anchor Ana-Maria Roman. Ana- Maria, thank you for your reporting. Just give us a sense of how the country is handling the heat and what are officials doing to keep people safe there.

ANA-MARIA ROMAN, T.V. ANCHOR, JOURNALIST: We say good morning from Bucharest. It is 9 a.m. here, and you can see on my thermometer, the temperature has reached already 32 degrees. And it is just early in the morning. We are at the beginning of a very hot day here in the capital of Romania.

And a complicated day because in a half an hour, the authorities will issue a red alert plan, an extended red alert plan, which is the highest weather warning here issued by the system in Romania. Never in the history of our country we had such a warning in the month of June. Forecasters say that if today, the temperature will reach 42 degrees, we will also break another heat record for the month of June.

You ask me about authorities. Well, the authorities are taking extraordinary measures to help the citizens under these extreme weather conditions. For example, these cooling showers have been installed here across Bucharest. You can just run through them and cool off a little bit. Also, there are points where water is given for free for citizens.

Now, the Romanian health minister has activated emergency plans. Hospitals and also ambulances are on alert. Doctors expect an increase of heat-related emergencies for the following hours. They say and they recommend, they urge the population to stay indoors today and the following days and drink plenty of water. We might have also infrastructure problems. We have restrictions on railways. We have restrictions on parts of highways for strong vehicles.

[02:30:10]

Now, the forecasters say that this heat wave will last for three days, and after that, Romania will be hit by stronger thunderstorms. That will bring the temperature down from 40 degrees to 20 degrees in just one night. Just another anomaly, experts say, created by the climate change.

Kristie, back to you.

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR: Ana-Maria, it's excellent to see that cooling station behind you. You report that it's 32 degree Celsius using that device in your hand. That's 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and it's only 9:30 a.m. in the morning.

Ana-Maria, we thank you for your reporting, and please do yourself -- look after yourself. Stay cool.

Ana-Maria Roman reporting live from Bucharest.

Now, elsewhere, protests erupted in Serbia on Sunday after the country's president, Aleksandar Vucic, said that he was stepping down from office.

The president's actions paved the way for early parliamentary and presidential elections in the country, as some protesters reacted with skepticism to the announcement, while others said that the entire system needs to be overhauled

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOJAN PATALO, SERBIAN PROTESTER (through translator): I haven't been listening to what he says for a long time now. It has long since become irrelevant. I stick to the fact that he is an incompetent institution.

It is yet another play, another way of drawing attention to himself. We are all aware that he has been suffering from this for a long time. I would not be surprised if that were to happen, but it is certainly not out of political wisdom. But I am sure that behind it is some pre- prepared play to extend his stay in power.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Okay, the World Cup knockout stage is off to a dramatic start after Canada eliminated South Africa on Sunday, becoming the first team secured their spot in the round of 16. Now, a last-ditch strike from Canada's Stephen Eustaquio delivered the one-nil win in the 92nd minute of play. This is Canada's first ever knockout stage victory in the World Cup.

Now next up for Canada will be the winner of Monday's match between the Netherlands and Morocco. Brazil, Japan, Germany and Paraguay will also be fighting to keep their World Cup dreams alive on Monday.

Now, as technology makes new leaps and bounds in a very short period of time, new forms of cheating are starting to occur. After the break, how A.I. smart glasses are being used to cheat on university tests.

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[02:36:06]

STOUT: Welcome back.

Now, recent guidance from the U.S. State Department is raising questions about the Trump administration's push to return many Haitians to their homeland. The guidance warns Americans not to travel to Haiti because it's too dangerous. This comes as roughly 350,000 Haitians in the U.S. are poised to lose a form of humanitarian relief, known as Temporary Protected Status. A Supreme Court ruling last week clears the way for the Homeland Security Department to strip Haitians and Syrians of their temporary legal protections.

Now, the Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin responded on Sunday to questions about the guidance. And CNN's Jake Tapper asked Mullin if Haiti is a safe place right now. Mullin explained that the guidance was just for U.S. citizens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: This is a decision that's being made from the State Department, from myself and the president. And there's a lot of things that we look at as -- when we take this into consideration, it's not just one factor that plays into this.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": The reason I ask this, because I heard Stephen Miller, who's driving a lot of this, say that Haiti is safe for Haitians.

And I just looked at the State Department's Web site, and they have a level four do not travel advisory for Haiti just from a few months ago, from April, and it says -- quote -- "Violent crime is rampant. The expansion of gang organized crime and terrorist activity has led to widespread violence. Crimes involving firearms are common. Crimes include robbery, carjacking, sexual assault and kidnappings for ransom."

(CROSSTALK)

TAPPER: That doesn't sound safe to me.

MULLIN: Well, that do not travel is not for Haitians. That's do not travel for the United States, because they are kidnapping or trying to kidnap individuals from the United States because they feel like they -- their family has the money to pay the ransom.

We have a -- we have do not travel in places in Mexico or advisory warnings. In fact, if you go through our Web site in the State Department, you will see there's advisories to a lot of places that are vacation destinations that we have advisories on because of the real risk to Americans.

That doesn't mean it's a risk to the individuals that live there. So that isn't -- that advisory is to American citizens traveling to Haiti, not Haitians going back home.

TAPPER: I understand that, but, based on everything I have read, including the U.N. and Human Rights Watch, it doesn't sound safe for Haitians. More than 8,100 killings documented last year, those weren't Americans. Haiti is among the top five countries with the highest rates of rape

and sexual abuse, with more than 1,200 cases of sexual violence last year. That's not Americans; 1.4 million people have been displaced. Those aren't Americans.

MULLIN: Is there a question in that? Jake, I'm sorry. I...

TAPPER: Well, I'm just saying -- let me let me ask you, you said you're going to give them a plane ticket if they want to get out and go back to Haiti.

How logistically would it happen? Because the FAA prohibits commercial flights to Port-au-Prince because of the gunfire from terrorists and gangs. Civil aviation, by the way, is also prohibited in Syria.

MULLIN: So, we have several options for deporting individuals, because we have deportation flights, where we can get into areas where maybe commercial travel can't go to. So we'd simply book them on a flight. We expect to have pretty full flights going back to Haiti and going back to some of these countries where TPS has been eliminated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: And that was the U.S. secretary of homeland security speaking to CNN's Jake Tapper earlier.

A new form of cheating on exams has emerged using A.I. glasses. Now in parts of Asia, an obsession with top grades has turned the region into a ground zero for this kind of cheating. In fact, twice last month in South Korea, people were caught using smart glasses to cheat on English proficiency exams. The emergence of the technology has caused countries to step up inspections for test takers, and it's become more prevalent as these devices and the technology have become cheaper and more easily accessible.

[02:40:07]

Let's bring in Zili Meng. Now, he is an assistant professor at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Professor, thank you so much for joining us here on the program. This is a very fascinating topic.

You believe A.I. glasses are a viable technology for cheating? Why? What makes A.I. glasses so effective at cheating?

ZILI MENG, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: Right. Thank you for the question.

So, you know, like there are a lot of new providers, vendors making a new smart glasses. Those glasses has a -- has a camera in front of the glasses. And it also has a display inside the lens. So usually, it's very hard for the professors or teachers to catch the students who are cheating during exam like classrooms, because they are so invisible. They are just like you are wearing a normal glasses and they are light enough. There are no longer headsets. So that's why there are increasingly more students are trying to use the smart glasses in exams for cheating, and also in the classrooms for learning new knowledges.

STOUT: So, by wearing these glasses, it can scan the questions and then display the answers right there in front of your eyes. So, what should teachers do? You know, is it realistic to ban A.I. glasses or is there a way to help teachers and professors detect A.I. glasses being used in the exam hall?

MENG: Exactly. So, when they started the exam papers, the answer was just show up on the glasses. So, from my opinion and also a few of our colleagues opinion, we should not try to ban it. Instead, we should try to take this opportunity to better leverage the change or reform in the current assessment system. Right?

Let's say in the future, if everyone is wearing glasses all of this, then how come we can still let students take exams without them? So, of course, for now, in this transitional period, we are trying to design some kind of detection system, trying to let the teachers or the professors know who might be cheating using the smart glasses. But I believe in the future, this should be just like you have a laptop, just like you have a cheat sheet or something. You can utilize it in exam. It should be the new type of things people will be wearing out of this.

(CROSSTALK)

MENG: Yeah.

STOUT: I just wanted to ask you, you ran a test on this with your students. You had a student perform a sample exam wearing a pair of A.I. glasses. How did that student perform compared to the other students without the A.I. glasses?

MENG: That was a course of a sophomore level or junior level in the -- in my university, that was a computer networks and the student very young glasses, completed the whole test in 30 minutes, which in principle should be completed within three hours. So very fast at first set. And later on, the score turns out to be that the student finally ranked the top 5 percent. The glasses doesn't make some mistakes in some part of the exams, but it's top 5 percent. Very good.

STOUT: So, using the glasses can give students an edge as they cheat on exams. In terms of the time that they need to take the exam, and also, of course, the scores. But to be clear, Zili, you're not calling for a ban on A.I. You're issuing a warning.

MENG: No.

STOUT: Do you still believe that A.I. has its purpose in education? What is the purpose of A.I. in the university?

MENG: I would say this is something that every student should learn to use in the future. So, for universities, what our role here is to try to let every students use A.I. proficiently because after they go to the job market, after they go to find a job somewhere, they will finally use A.I. very intensively every day, just like everyone is doing now.

So what we want to do here is the university should take the lead and try to let students be as more professional, as more mature, or as more good at using A.I. glasses or other A.I. tricks as much as possible so that when they finally get a job and they finally go to the market, they can learn how to use the A.I. to have a better job.

STOUT: Yeah, they need to have A.I. literacy, but not use it as a cognitive crunch.

And, Zili Meng, thank you for joining us. I'm assuming you're not using A.I. glasses during this interview. Thank you for joining us. Take care.

You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

Up next here on the program, we've got a new space where science, storytelling and adventure all intersect. We're going to take you inside the National Geographic Museum of Exploration and meet the explorers who are inspiring the next generation. Keep it here.

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[02:48:02]

STOUT: For more than a century, National Geographic has brought the world's most extraordinary discoveries into our homes. And now it's opening the doors to a new space in Washington, D.C., designed to bring those stories to life. As part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, we see how National Geographic explorers are studying some of the planet's most remote places and endangered species, and working to better understand and help safeguard our world.

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EMILY DUNHAM, CHIEF CAMPUS & EXPERIENCE OFFICER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: The mission of the Museum of Exploration is the mission of the National Geographic Society. We were founded in 1888 as a nonprofit dedicated to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, and this museum tells the story of amazing humans who've explored since our founding.

PABLO GARCIA BORBOROGLU, MARINE BIOLOGIST & NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: I've been working with penguins in the wild for almost 40 years. As a scientist, I can share a lot of information, but I won't reach the emotions. And to do conservation, we need people to connect to our species, to our environment, to be able to protect them. Many of my colleagues, other explorers, we are able to see amazing things of our planet and our natural world. And we always think about we wish we could share this with the rest of the world. And this museum is fantastic because it is an education tool, an awareness tool.

THOMAS P. PESCHAK, PHOTOGRAPHER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: The interaction and the relationship that the audience gains with the subject, with the story is much deeper in a museum than in a magazine or in a book. I think museums are one of the most powerful tools we have to disseminate information about exploring and conservation.

DUNHAM: Joel Sartore, one of our National Geographic photographers, is on a mission to document every species in human care. And so far, he has taken over 18,000 portraits of these animals. And we have an experience here called Photo Ark Animals of Earth that immerses you in Joel's work.

[02:50:05]

And after you've seen these animals and looked them in the eye, how can you not care and want to protect them and make sure that that species lives on? I think people protect the things that they love, the things they know and can understand. And the explorers we have working today are each doing that in their own ways.

BAKER PERRY, CLIMATOLOGIST, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: As an explorer, this space is meant to be a hub for us to come together and work on impact-driven solutions to, to collaborate, to try to tackle some of those big, big challenges. And it allows us to bring the stories from the field that we hope will inspire the inner explorer and everyone, and inspire the next generation.

DUNHAM: We have a section called Spark that is about that, that spark of curiosity that changed the course of an explorer's life.

STEVE BOYES, BIOLOGISTT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: We all have our spark moments. Every single one of us. This is my grandfather's binoculars. My earliest, earliest memories. Myself and my brother exploring the wild places of Southern Africa. And these binoculars were always, always with us.

I'm the founder and project leader of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. For the last decade, we have been exploring, studying, and working to protect the Okavango Basin. I hope the school kids, most especially walk out of here inspired where they can see themselves going out into a world that we haven't finished exploring.

It is a team effort. This is not just about childhood vision or something that I wanted to do 25 years ago. It is all of us together and we're all here in this museum

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STOUT: A place to unlock your inner explorer. That's so cool. And let us know what you're doing to answer the call with the #CalltoEarth.

We'll be right back.

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[02:55:52]

STOUT: Now, several Latin American countries celebrated Pride this weekend. Mexico City celebrated with a march. Some 53 groups took part in the 48th annual demonstration. Marches were also held in Chile and Peru.

India's LGBT community celebrated with a parade on Sunday. Participants cheered, marched and danced with rainbow flags in Tamil Nadu state capitol. India's supreme court decriminalized homosexuality in 2018 but declined to legalize same sex marriage in 2023.

And in the U.S., New York City held its annual Pride parade on Sunday. The parade commemorated the 1969 Stonewall riots, which began the modern LGBT movement. More than a million people took part, including the New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

And that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Polo Sandoval takes over in New York after this short break.

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