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USA Overcome Bosnia & Herzegovina 2-0 Despite Red Card; Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Switzerland Compete Today; England Defeat DR Congo, Will Face Mexico Next. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired July 02, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR: And thank you for watching NewsNight. You can stream the show anytime with an all access subscription in the CNN app or at CNN.com/watch. CNN's coverage continues next.

[04:00:37]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody, this is CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. Trump takes flight on his new $400 million jet, and he's pressed about claims that he's profiting off the presidency.

Plus, rescue crews in Ukraine combing through rubble at this hour. They're searching for survivors after Russia launched a massive attack on Kyiv. And a little later, Team USA pushes through to round -- to the round of 16 after a historic win over Bosnia and Herzegovina. Will recap all of the World CUP action and look ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is CNN Newsroom with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: We do want to begin with President Trump's expanding fortune on full display this week, even as many Americans continue struggling with the cost of living. He visited North Dakota for an event marking America's 250th anniversary, and he flew on the new Air Force One for the first time. He praised the luxurious $400 million jet donated by Qatar and said that the U.S., quote, couldn't build a plane like this. But the president also shrugged off concerns that he may be profiting off his job. And all this after new disclosures reveal -- they revealed that he made more than a billion dollars from his crypto business last year alone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't get involved in my personal. We have funds that run my money.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you are benefiting?

TRUMP: Well, I've made a lot of money before I became president and they invest my money. And I don't talk to them. I never -- I don't even speak to them. So I have many people, I don't know what they call it, closed accounts or something. You put your money in and that's it.

I don't talk to them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To critics who say you're profiting off the presidency --

TRUMP: Well, you know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up. Everybody's profiting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Well, Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal actually takes issue with that theory, saying that stocks only make up a small part of President Trump's income. Blumenthal also had this to say about the president's new plane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): Never in my wildest imagination as a member of the Armed Services Committee as well as the Homeland Security Committee, would I have thought that the president United States would not only take a Qatari plane as Air Force One, but say that the United States couldn't build a plane as good as it. And he could have gotten by, I think, with the old one. It was performing safely. It just wasn't as big and luxurious as he would want.

And most of us who travel in economy class put up with a good deal more discomfort. And Americans these days, remember, are struggling to make ends meet. So the hundreds of millions of dollars that are going into that plane from our pockets, taxpayer pockets, I think are going to arouse a lot of well-founded anger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Right now it is 11:00 a.m. in Ukraine's capital, which is reeling after Russian strikes pounded the city for 11 straight hours. Ukraine says that nearly 500 drones and missiles targeted Kyiv overnight, leaving scores of people dead or injured. A number of residential buildings took direct hits during those strikes. And emergency crews, they are now carrying out the grim task of recovering the remains of victims from the rubble.

Let's go live now to Nada Bashir, who continues to monitor developments here out of London.

Nada, good morning to you. What are we hearing about this latest barrage of strikes coming from Russia and also maybe an early warning that Ukrainians had given them time to seek shelter?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It certainly seemed to be the assessment of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday warning residents of Kyiv and civilians to take to bomb shelters and to prepare for a long night and to heed the warnings of the bomb sirens as they continue to ring out over the course of the evening. In fact, those sirens began ringing out at around 8:00 p.m. local time and continued well into the morning. What we on Wednesday evening were residents of Kyiv civilians packing into metro stations and bomb shelters, preparing for what set out to be a very long night of strikes across Kyiv as Russia carried out this intense and extensive bombing campaign of the capital.

[04:05:05]

Now, while there were hundreds of missiles and drones launched towards Ukraine, Ukrainian military officials say the majority of them were intercepted, but 33 or around 33 made impact. And the result of this has, as it so often is, been deadly. At least 13 people killed, according to officials. That is the current 50 figure. Some 85 people wounded, including one children.

And among those wounded were several medical workers. One of those strikes impacting an ambulance substation overnight. So the impact of this has been devastating just in the course of a few hours, overnight.

Now, we have heard from the Russian Ministry of Defense. They say that they used high precision weapons to target military and energy infrastructure in Ukraine. But of course, as we've been hearing from local officials in Kyiv, among the targets were residential buildings. And we have seen that impact firsthand in video showing what appears to be residential apartment blocks turn to rubble, some engulfed in flames. We've been hearing from officials saying that they've been working through the rubble trying to recover the bodies of the victims.

So this has been a devastating night. We've been hearing from Ukraine's foreign minister who has called on the international community to take some strong action. They have said that words of condemnation in this scenario simply are not enough. They need concrete action from the international community to stop Russia's continued aggression against Ukraine.

SANDOVAL: Yes, so many Ukrainian civilians by now have more than enough experience rushing underground after those air raid sirens go off. Nada Bashir, thank you so much for that full report.

Qatar reporting positive progress after indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran. The Foreign Ministry said the mediators held separate meetings on Wednesday in Doha with delegations from the U.S. and Iran. Qatar says that the two sides that they agreed to continue with these discussions after some progress on issues tied to the memorandum of understanding. Let's go to CNN's Eleni Giokos now who's following developments from Dubai.

Good morning, Eleni. Afternoon, I should say.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Polo. Yes, good afternoon. Look, I mean, positive progress is sort of the underlying message here in these indirect talks that were underway in Doha. And importantly, these weren't direct talks between Iran and the United States, but rather through mediators, Qatari mediators and Pakistani mediators.

And importantly, we've also heard that Jared Kushner as well as Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy, met with Qatar's emir, of course, again, just trying to lay the foundation and the groundwork in terms of creating sort of the base for bigger talks. And remember, we've got the 60-day window that was opened up to deal with the big topics like nuclear enrichment and where Iran stands on that. That window ends in around the middle of August. But from what we it's sort of the interpretation of the Memorandum of Understanding from both sides.

And there have been sticking points. For example, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz where Iran is trying to still, you know, ensure that all vessels pick the Iranian route. That's the northern routes. They've got the Persian Gulf Strait authority. This form that you have to fill in.

Over the weekend we saw escalation in the strait where vessels were struck. The United States responded with retaliatory strikes on land in Iran. And then when we look at tanker traffic right now, it is starting to pick up again. But the threat according to authorities is still substantial at this point. You've got the Omani routes in the southern part of the strait and then you've got the Iranian route.

We also heard about one vessel yesterday that ran aground because Iran says it was in shallow water because it didn't pick the Iranian route. So those are some of the issues that are still very much at the forefront of these indirect talks. The other big sticking point for Iran is the unfreezing of assets, $6 billion of which are currently sitting in Qatar. Qatari officials say those will be moved and released according to advancement of the negotiations. And again, if we look at the contours of the Memorandum of Understanding, up until this point, there's been sort of a different interpretation in terms of a cease fire in Lebanon for Iran that is a red line.

We know that the -- you know, from the United States perspective, there's been a lot of talk with Israel directly. There's a lot that is going on. But the point is there's a flurry of diplomatic action that's on the go and things are holding up at this point, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Eleni Giokos live in Dubai with that. Thank you so much.

We are following some updates out of Venezuela where rescue crews are trying to save a man that stuck beneath the rubble of a shopping mall parking lot. In fact, just a short time ago the crews, they gathered outside the access point to that site. You see them there preparing. The 44-year-old security guard, he has been trapped for more than a week now after last week's deadly earthquakes and they've been able to make contact with them. Listen to this.

[04:10:09]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I can see him here and here. Hermani, speak to me. Good afternoon.

HERMAN (through translator): Good afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Can you move towards the light?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Yes. Buenas tardes, good afternoon, says that 44-year-old man, you can see still trapped beneath the rubble as they scramble to try to save him. The operation is really quite risky and it is taking help from teams from multiple countries in order to pull him out safely. In fact, they've been not only watching the man around the clock, but they've been giving him food as well as fluids and they've had to establish a line there to be able to provide him with that sustenance. Again, we are following this and of course as soon as there are any developments, hopefully positive developments in this, we will certainly bring those to you here on CNN.

Meanwhile, the death toll in Venezuela it has now risen to almost 2,003 people. Some families, though, you see they are still holding on to hope that they can find their missing loved ones even though they haven't been seen since the earthquakes hit over a week ago. But as unidentified bodies pile up in temporary morgues, it is clear that not all of those reunions will happen as they hoped. CNN's Isa Suares reports from Caracas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISA SOARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Venezuelans are still looking desperately searching for their loved ones a week since back to back earthquakes rocked this country. At the main morgue in Caracas, I meet a shell shocked Karelis D'Wuentt.

KARELIS D'WUENTT, RELATIVES MISSING AFTER EARTHQUAKE (through translator): They are under the rubble and I haven't been able to identify them.

SOARES (voice-over): Her 22-year-old brother was pulled out alive from the ruins by his own friend. But he succumbed to his injuries last night. And there's more.

D'WUENTT (through translator): They are missing. My nephew, my cousins, my aunts.

SOARES (voice-over): She tells me a dozen family members are missing, three confirmed dead.

The magnitude of loss has yet to be fully felt here in Venezuela as families drift from hopeful to disbelief. There's a real sense of bewilderment and now face the very painful task of having to track down their bodies.

I make my way to see a forensic pathologist who has just returned from the makeshift morgue in the hard hit area of La Guaidra. We meet in the car and protect her identity for fear of retaliation.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We are seeing around 400 bodies every day. The bodies that have not been identified are being placed in refrigerators that are cargo trucks, they're containers.

SOARES: So the containers are all full now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Yes, they are full.

SOARES (voice-over): Shocking, but hardly surprising. Despite thousands missing, the official death toll is sitting at just over 2,000.

SOARES: Other numbers that we are getting from the government, do -- are they trustworthy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): No, those numbers are not trustworthy.

SOARES (voice-over): A blunt take from a frontline worker seeing death up close.

Isa Suares, CNN, Caracas, Venezuela.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And search efforts do continue across Venezuela and aid groups, they are on the ground providing assistance to those affected. If you scan that QR code on the bottom portion of your screen, you can get more information about how you can help earthquake victims. You can also go to cnn.com/impact for more information.

All right, we're going to shift gears in a moment and head over to the World CUP. The Stars and Stripes, they are shining bright after their first knockout round win in more than two decades. We're going to see what's next for the U.S. team just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:17:43]

SANDOVAL: All right, so some are already calling it the one match you have to watch in the World CUP. England versus Mexico on Sunday night in Mexico City. The Three Lions advancing to the round of 16, thanks to goals from the superhero of the night. Harry Kane here, you see him in action. The Democratic Republic of Congo taking a stunning one goal lead in the opening minutes of the match.

But Kane eventually scoring twice in the second half to seal the victory.

And Belgium, they are celebrating a dramatic late game comeback capped by a penalty kick in extra time. They knocked out Senegal three to two and can advance.

Belgium taking on the U.S. on Monday in Seattle after the Stars and Stripes defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-nil. CNN World Sports Coy Wire with the highlights.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, if sports are an emotional roller coaster, this one skipped the breaks. American fans saw joy, then panic, relief and now euphoria. Their World Cup dream is still very much alive and it is full steam ahead. Fans wearing Stars and Stripes were flying high hours before kickoff. And once again the U.S. team came out breathing fire. Breakout star Folarin Balogun lit the fuse early, burying the opener and breaking out the LeBron James celebration. King James saw it and gave it his royal seal of approval on social media. But then plot twist, Balogun given a red card. So 30 nerve wracking minutes of 10 Americans against 11.

But Malik Tillman uncorked a laser 20 meters out after a yellow card that hit the back of the net like it had a boarding pass. Cue the bedlam. The U.S. win 2-nil. First World Cup knockout win since 2002 and only their second one ever. America is marching on to the round of 16. I asked the soft spoken Tillman how he felt after he scored that second goal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALIK TILLMAN, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: I'm a different type of person on the pitch. Of course, maybe you know it, you don't really see my emotions. But then if you score a goal like this, I mean I think also you guys saw my emotions and them, I say that's a great feeling. And of course I'm very proud for me (ph).

CHRIS RICHARDS, U.S. MEN'S NATIONAL TEAM: I think it's a proud moment and it's a moment that we can gain a lot of confidence from. We've kept two clean sheets in the last four games and I think before then we didn't quite have the best record when it came to clean sheets. Again, it gives us a lot of confidence going to the next round.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:20:02]

WIRE: All right, next mountain to climb, Belgium in Seattle. And it comes with a glass case of emotions. Their top goal scorer, Balogun, suspended after that red card. For now, though, American fans are floating on cloud nine, maybe 10. Losing your top score could crack a team or it could further forge one. Championship runs are rarely smooth.

They are forged in moments exactly like this. And the next moment for these fans, it should also be a good one.

SANDOVAL: Coy Wire, thank you so much.

All right, let's go live now to Joey D'Urso. He's a journalist and also author of "More Than a Shirt, How Football Shirts Explain Global Politics, Money and Power."

Joey, thank you so much for joining us.

JOEY D'URSO, JOURNALIST AND AUTHOR OF "MORE THAN A SHIRT": Hi. How are you doing?

SANDOVAL: I'm doing pretty good. I'm excited about Sunday. We're going to get to that in a quick moment. I know you're excited as well. But first, let's start with that nail biter of a game on Wednesday night that is allowing Team USA to continue its historic run.

D'URSO: Wow.

SANDOVAL: And they did it, too, towards the last, like, 30 minutes of the game minus one man. I've heard from a lot of fans, they seem to be confident the Team USA can make it at least close to the finals. What do you think, though? What do they have to overcome, aside from Belgium?

D'URSO: Yes. I mean, the USA have been a revelation in this tournament, frankly. I think a lot of people from around the world, you know, didn't necessarily see them as doing this well. They've been brilliant. I thought it was a really harsh red card on Balogun.

They're going to miss him a lot. But I think Belgium is a very winnable game. You know, it's a very dramatic game then beating Senegal yesterday. And it's a team packed with big name players, Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku. But they're past their best.

This is not the Belgian team of five years ago or so. They made it really hard against Senegals. I think the USA under Pochettino have a huge opportunity to get to the quarterfinals.

SANDOVAL: Yes, absolutely. Impressive performance.

Let's talk about Portugal and Croatia now as we look ahead. What will you be looking for as these two European titans clash on the pitch?

D'URSO: Yes, well, I mean, it's impossible not to talk about Cristiano Ronaldo, you know, one of the greatest footballers of all time. But he's 41 now, and in the first -- one of the games this tournament, he looked really slow, really off the pace. But then he did score a couple of goals in more recent games. But Portugal have so many kind of exciting young players, a brilliant midfield. They've got Bruno Fernandes and whether they can kind of maximize those players while also bringing Ronaldo into the game.

I mean, Croatia is another team that has passed its best. This is the team that got to the final in 2018. You know, players like Luka Modric, of course, who is the best player in the world that year, but they're also not what they were. So, you know, that one could go either way. You would see Portugal as slight favorites so and so.

SANDOVAL: That would be the anti -- highly anticipated face off of the night. Really quick, though, what else are you looking forward to come Thursday?

D'URSO: Well, I mean, I'm still kind of slightly getting over that crazy England match last night. I mean, it was heading for a humiliating exit for England. I mean, I'm wearing my shirt and honor of Harry Kane. I know you're just saying -- I mean, what a -- you know, and I think Harry Kane is one of these players, he's had -- he's had 10 years of being England's best player, scoring so many goals, but he didn't necessarily have that one incredible moment like that. And that second goal was just unbelievable and, you know, saved England from what would have been a very embarrassing exit at the hands of Congo, who were really, really impressive, actually.

SANDOVAL: They really were. This is their first full time in the World Cup and they did an amazing job.

Let's close though, with the game that I'm mostly looking forward to. Our teams, Joey, expected to face off in what I describe often as the Coliseum of football, Estadio Azteca. What's your assessment --

D'URSO: Yes. Wow.

SANDOVAL: -- of England and Mexico as they get ready to face each other? You think that England can overcome Mexico's overwhelming home field advantage?

D'URSO: Well, I think it's -- I think it's a coin toss, this one. It's incredibly exciting.

SANDOVAL: OK.

D'URSO: It's going to be 1:00 a.m. here in the U.K. on a Sunday night, Monday morning. So I'm already planning, you know, all the pubs. They're all open all night, so it could finish at 4:00 in the morning, but definitely won't be going to bed. I mean, you know, England on paper have a much better team, but when you throw in the home advantage, the altitude, the ghosts of the Azteca for England, it was where the famous hand of God when Maradona and balled it into the net against Engalnd in '86.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

D'URSO: A few minutes later scored potentially the greatest goal of the century. So that is a pitch with so much meaning. And I think when you add all that combined with England, who have a better team on paper, it could go either way. I think this could be one of the World Cup games for the ages.

SANDOVAL: I agree. It is going to be an absolutely incredible match. You have Mexico. That's certainly well backed. We mentioned the home field advantage, but England has their secret weapon and that's Harry Kane.

You saw him in full action --

D'URSO: Yes.

SANDOVAL: -- just last night. It really is going to be exciting.

D'URSO: Yes. You have Harry Kane and you have Jude Bellingham who are the two superstars, the two match winners. But beyond that, you know, this England team hasn't impressed that much in this tournament. You know, the Croatia performance was good in the second half. Ghana, Panama, a bit of a struggle.

Congo, a real struggle. So it's really looking to those two superstars, either Kane or Bellingham, who can completely change the game in an instant. But I'm a bit worried about England beyond that. SANDOVAL: Yes. Look, I'd be wearing my jersey if it wasn't retired to the laundry after the last game (inaudible) on Sunday.

D'URSO: Yes, I don't think this is a player star, actually. But you can't -- yes.

[04:25:02]

SANDOVAL: I tell you what, Joey, I'm always representing. (CROSSTALK)

If you can see me, I still say viva Mexico and best of luck to England. It is going to be a phenomenal match. I'm so excited about it. And let's see if we can talk after.

D'URSO: All right. Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: It's our pleasure. Look for Joey D'Urso, by the way, on social media. Always has some really fascinating history to go with some of these matches.

Still on the way, some dramatic scenes unfolded in New York around lunchtime. When I actually show these to you now, these are some pictures taken from atop the Empire State Building. A couple known for daredevil stunts. They scaled the iconic landmark and they reached the top of the spire where they then unfurled a banner that read, when the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace. Well, they then climbed back down to a small platform where the man identified as Ivan Kuznetsov got down on one knee and he appeared to propose.

All of New York was basically watching live on television. Posts on the Instagram account of Angela Nikolau, identified as the other climber that showed that ring on her finger. It was roughly 1,454 feet up in the air, by the way. The stunt grabbing the attention of those not only on the ground but also high above.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, what's all the hoopla going on over there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two geniuses climbed to the top of the Empire State Building at the top of the spire.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that's awesome. A little hot for that, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just the beginning of this week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Police did take the newly engaged couple into custody without incident. They charged them with multiple offenses, including reckless endangerment and criminal trespass.

Well, America's 250th birthday celebration will be taking place amid an intense heat wave. Nearly half of all Americans, some 150 million people, they are currently under heat alerts at this hour. Some places they're setting up cool centers to try to help residents cope during the Fourth of July festivities. Your CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar with your forecast.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Roughly one out of every two Americans is under some type of heat alert over the next few days as those temperatures are expected to soar across the eastern half of the country. Look at some of these temperatures. Note, this is not the heat index. This is the actual air temperature.

Washington, D.C. Thursday, all the way through Saturday, that temperature is expected to be in the triple digits. And while we do dip back a little bit Sunday, 97 is still will above their average for this time of year. Same thing for Raleigh, Atlanta, Nashville, all looking at those temperatures roughly 10 to 20 degrees above where they normally would be. And it's not just the afternoon high temperatures that are a concern, but also the morning low temperatures. In many of these areas, they are only going to drop down to the 80s at the absolute coolest.

That does not allow the body enough time to recuperate from the heat before the temperatures start to go back up again in the afternoon, especially across places like New York, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, all looking at least a couple of to have those overnight low temperatures in to the low 80s.

Again, when you look forward over the next few days, you've got a lot of these areas in that purple color showing the extreme heat risk, meaning they have an increased risk for things such as heat exhaustion as well as heat stroke.

SANDOVAL: All right, Allison Chinchar, thank you so much for that.

And Americans, they are going to be paying more at the grocery store this Fourth of July for their barbecues. High demand for meats. That is what's driving up prices at a time when supplies are also low.

CNN's Jenn Sullivan with Consumer Watch crunches the numbers and shares some tips on how to save.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): As you get ready to fire up the grill this Fourth of July, the cost of food may just burn a hole in your wallet. The American Farm Bureau Federation estimates a summer cookout for 10 will cost $73.82 this year. That's without alcohol. One of the big reasons your summer cookout costs more is the jump in meat prices.

STEW LEONARD, PRESIDENT AND CEO, STEW LEONARD'S GROCERY STORES: These are like $25 a pound.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Stew Leonard Jr. is the president and CEO of Stew Leonard's Grocery Stores in the New York Tri State area. He says the cost of all meat has gone up. In the last year, overall meat prices are up more than 7.5 percent according to the latest Consumer Price Index report, which measures how much prices fluctuate over time.

LEONARD: Beef demand has not gone down. People still want meat.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): The U.S. cattle herd is at the lowest level in 75 years. Combination of high demand and low supply is fueling higher prices. And farmers' costs are rising.

LEONARD: Extra labor, insurance, fuel prices affect their cost of their product that way.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Leonard says he's seeing a shift in what customers are buying because of the high costs.

LEONARD: We're noticing customers are shifting to lower priced proteins right now.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): So what are your cheaper options this year?

LEONARD: Chicken, pork, even ground beef is only, you know, at the store now, five bucks a pound.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Another way to save, Leonard says, don't.