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U.S., Iran Trade Fresh Strikes as the Ceasefire Undergoes Major Test; Trump Considers Selling Fighter Jets Despite Congressional Ban; World Cup Quarterfinalists Now Complete, France-Morocco to Play Tomorrow. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 08, 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, this is CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York.

The U.S. and Iran, they trade fresh strikes after Tehran opened fire on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Can this shaky ceasefire survive?

And a high-stakes NATO summit happening right now in Turkey. Donald Trump, considering selling controversial fighter jets to that country despite a ban from Congress.

And a heated debate at the U.N. over the U.S. fuel blockade of Cuba. This as the country comes back online from yet another blackout.

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

SANDOVAL: All right, let's get you to our top story.

Iran has retaliated after the U.S. hit more than 80 targets near the Strait of Hormuz overnight, further testing the fragile ceasefire that's in place, that agreement between the two countries. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps saying that it launched drones and missiles against 85 U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait in the last few hours.

Earlier, U.S. Central Command released some of this footage you're looking at showing its latest round of strikes. And the U.S. also says that it has reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil sales in retaliation for recent attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz. As for Tehran, it calls that a clear violation of the Memorandum of Understanding with Washington.

At the Strait, it is expected to be a major topic of discussion at the NATO summit where all eyes are now on U.S. President Donald Trump and what he may say during today's sessions as he continues to be skeptical of this decades-old alliance.

Let's go now to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who has been following those developments closely in Abu Dhabi. Paula, I wonder if you could just bring us up to speed on the latest.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, just in the last half hour, we've heard that emergency alerts have gone off once again in Bahrain. That's the third time. So potentially this tit-for-tat strike at this point is not over.

Now, we've heard from Iran that they have targeted Bahrain. They've targeted the port where the Fifth Fleet is often stationed, also one of the air bases.

And in Kuwait, one of the air bases there, they say, has been targeted. We're waiting to hear if there has been any indication of damage or injuries.

Now, Iran says that this was in retaliation for what we saw overnight with the U.S. hitting over 80 military targets, according to U.S. Central Command. Now, they issued a statement pointing out the sorts of targets that they were trying to target. And it was mostly along the Strait of Hormuz.

It was Iranian air defense systems, command and control networks, coastal radar sites. We heard from Iranian state media that they say they had heard explosions on Kharg Island, for example, this is a crucial island when it comes to the Iranian oil industry. And also Qeshm Island, which is the largest island in the Persian Gulf.

So this really has been one of the most significant tests of this memorandum of understanding to date. We have heard from Iranian officials condemning these U.S. strikes overnight. The U.S. said it was in retaliation for Iran targeting three vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

We had a statement from the chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. I want to read part of that on social media.

He said, quote, "Major MOU violations by the U.S.," referring to the memorandum of understanding that they signed three weeks ago, "violating Iranian adjustments in the Strait."

"The era of bullying and extortion is over. It leads nowhere. We don't fold."

So there once again, Iran is trying to point out that it considers itself in sole control of this critical waterway, something the U.S. does not agree with, something the Gulf nations do not agree with as well. But what we have seen is these three vessels that Iran is said to have targeted, according to a U.S. official on Tuesday, were trying to traverse this waterway towards the southern part of the water.

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So hugging the Omani coast as far away from Iran as possible. And this is what Iran has been rejecting, saying that all vessels have to coordinate with Tehran. They have to go through the Iranian approved routes. So the concept of the Strait of Hormuz being free and open, as the

U.S. president had said, is really very far from reality at this point. But we are seeing that this is a serious escalation, potentially not over, with that third wave of incoming, at least according to emergency alerts in Bahrain. It will be a very top issue when it comes to this NATO summit, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Yes, serious escalation and yet another test to that fragile ceasefire. Paul Hancocks, thank you.

Paula mentioning the NATO summit that's happening right now, let's explore more of that and what we could expect in the coming hour. As that summit, the main session underway, let's go to CNN's Kevin Liptak, who joins me from Ankara, Turkey right now, following these developments closely. It's great to see you there, Kevin.

So you've been deeply reporting in the days leading up to this session about what we could expect. And you reported on what we heard from President Trump just recently and him vowing to potentially sell fighter jets to Turkey. Tell us a little bit about how that move would be potentially being received, not just where you are, but also by Congress here in the U.S.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOU.S.E REPORTER: Yes, and those will be two very different reactions. In Turkey, it's received very well. And we saw when President Trump was sitting down yesterday with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, both of them casting this as essentially a done deal.

President Trump saying that because Turkey has been such a great ally, in fact, better ally in his view than some of the countries that are already buying the F-35s, that this should be something that can be quickly approved. He also said that he would lift sanctions on Turkey that is related to all of this.

And so I think that was sort of a kickoff to this whole visit that just gives you an indication that the president sees it as much about NATO as about his relationship with Turkey and his relationship with Erdogan. In fact, he said that he wouldn't be here at all unless Erdogan had been hosting it, saying it was essentially a reluctant visit to NATO, but because Erdogan was here, he wanted it to be a successful for him.

Now, this will be viewed very differently in Washington. The reason the F-35s are not allowed to be sold to Turkey is because Turkey bought a Russian air defense system some years ago, and there's concern that if Turkey takes possession of the F-35s, that this could all come into conflict and perhaps allow Russia to gain some very sensitive and classified information about those planes.

That's also the reason why those sanctions were in place. And so you will hear resistance from Republicans in Congress. They will have to find a way to get around the congressional ban, and it's not clear exactly how they plan to do that just yet.

You also hear resistance from Israel and from the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who was on CNN yesterday, warning about this move and warning about the potential rebalance of military assets in the region. And so how that proceeds from here remains to be seen. But what is clear is that President Trump very much wants to deliver this gift for Erdogan.

And I think for NATO leaders here, that could be a salve somewhat, if they think that President Trump wants to deliver a successful summit for the Turkish hosts, that could mean that he will be in a more conciliatory mood as the summit gets underway today. Although we didn't see any evidence of that yesterday, as the president was touching down, talking about how he was very disappointed in NATO, saying he wasn't treated well by the alliance, both because, in his view, their lack of defense spending, but also their failure to come to his support in Iran.

And now that the memorandum of understanding that the president signed three weeks ago seems to be teetering on collapse, that only seems like it will aggravate his anger heading into the summit today. So I think a lot of anxiety, a lot of apprehension about what exactly President Trump will say when he arrives to that gathering, and later when he convenes a press conference. Frankly, a lot of worry about what the president will say about American commitments to NATO.

The allies have been trying to demonstrate that they're stepping up for their own defense. They're trying to get to that 5 percent of GDP landmark that the President set at last year's NATO summit. They spent all day yesterday talking about these new commitments towards defense spending, but it does seem evident that that is not going to be enough for President Trump.

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He's heading into this angry, he's heading into this disappointed, and I think it all sets up for quite a consequential gathering later today, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Yes, Kevin, he's hinted that that certainly wouldn't be enough, that he wants loyalty from some of those European alliances. Kevin Liptak, so grateful for all your reporting, again, leading up to this and a preview of what we expect in the hours ahead. We'll see you soon in a few moments.

You know, Kevin mentioned some of that, some of the criticism that's also coming from one of the U.S.'s -- one of President Trump's, I should say, closest allies, Israel, mainly Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

That decision, or at least that announcement from President Trump to sell some of these fighter jets to Turkey, being met with some criticism, as you're about to hear from the interview that my colleague CNN's Dana Bash was able to do with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he explained his reservations about Turkish President Erdogan receiving some of this, some of these aircraft.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's a regime that's infected with the Muslim Brotherhood, which hates the United States. He harbors Hamas, the Hamas terrorists. He supports them, he finances them, he's thrown his opponents in jail, all of them, he throws more journalists in jail than anyone can understand.

So he's not exactly a model ally of the United States. But even worse than that, he threatens Greece, a NATO ally. He occupies half of Cyprus, another NATO country.

And the most important thing, and I put it right on the table, he threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And while top NATO leaders are gathered in Turkey, Ukraine says that its capital has been hit by another deadly Russian missile attack. His mayor says that the strikes sparked fires in a storage area, as well as a non-residential building on both sides of the Dnipro River. Local authorities there say that at least one person was killed and the two others were injured.

New York City officials say that they are confident that temporary shoring has helped to stabilize an unstable Midtown Manhattan high- rise. Fire department officials say that the building was evacuated after structural columns buckled during construction on Tuesday.

Let's go now to CNN's Gloria Pazmino for more.

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GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The area that's affected by this is a significant one. At least nine buildings were evacuated after reports of falling debris were reported early on Tuesday morning.

Now, what we know is that there were two supporting beams inside this building that were found to be bent. That's what led to the evacuation of the building. Inside that building at the time were construction workers.

This is a building that has been under construction for a while now. It's actually the former headquarters of Pfizer Pharmaceuticals. And the building was in the process of being converted from office space to apartment space, as part of that expansion, as part of that construction project, they were adding floors to the top of the existing building.

Now there's a very real question about whether that added weight of those floors may have caused the buckling of those columns and the beams that we see in the images. That is all part of the investigation, which is continuing.

City officials are saying they evacuated the buildings in the area out of precaution, out of concern for safety. But officials have been able to access the building in question. And there is a team that is assessing each floor going one by one and trying to figure out how to shore up the building, how to support the building so that there is no risk of any partial collapse.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani telling New Yorkers it would be a minute by minute operation.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK CITY: You know, I want to be honest with New Yorkers that this is a fast developing situation. We are taking it minute by minute. And I appreciate our city workers who have been on the forefront of that.

Every few minutes we are looking at a new assessment of the structure and of the possibilities and the options that we have in front of us.

PAZMINO: Now the workers that were inside that building were all evacuated. Everyone was accounted for. There has been no reported injuries.

But for now, there are a lot of people who have not been able to access their offices, their apartment buildings, their places of business. As the investigation continues and officials work to make sure that the building itself and the surrounding area is safe for both pedestrians and traffic.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

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SANDOVAL: Now to the U.S. state of Maine where there is more trouble for Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner.

You see a former girlfriend now telling CNN that Platner was violent toward her on a number of occasions more than a decade ago. Platner has denied these claims as well as a rape allegation from a different woman. Well, he's under mounting pressure right now to end his Senate campaign and Democrats are making plans.

Here's CNN's Arlette Saenz reporting from the state of Maine.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Graham Platner's bid for U.S. Senate in Maine on the brink of collapse.

KATE DALEY, MAINE VOTER: It's extremely disappointing and troubling and I think probably disqualifying.

SAENZ: So do you think you should drop out at this point?

DALEY: I do, unfortunately.

SAENZ (voice-over): One person close to the campaign tells CNN, "I think he knows it's over, but he thinks I built this thing and wants to use the movement he created to have a voice in who is going to replace him."

The claims have sparked a cascade of Democratic backlash from Washington to Maine.

UNKNOWN: So many people's feeling about it obviously now is that Graham Platner has to drop out.

SAENZ: Do you think Platner should drop out?

JONATHAN TAUBE, MAINE VOTER: It's a tough call. He'll have to make that decision. But the party is abandoning him on a national level and on the state level, I don't think he has a choice.

SAENZ (voice-over): The latest revelations come less than four months before the election against Republican Senator Susan Collins, leaving Democrats scrambling for a resolution.

ALEXANDRA LASH, MAINE VOTER: I think we were all rooting for change and hoping that that would come in the form of Graham Platner. So I think it's really disappointing because nobody that I know wants Susan Collins any longer.

SAENZ (voice-over): Democratic leaders in Maine are preparing for the possibility of replacing Platner on the ticket, potentially by holding a mini convention or caucus to select the next nominee.

UNKNOWN: We have a very short window here to pull ourselves together and find somebody and just praying to the universe, to the stars that we can pull it together.

SAENZ: Do you think he should drop out of the race?

IAN MACRAE, MAINE VOTER: That's a tough call only because I don't know who's the replacement is going to be. And we went through this with Harris when, you know, it was a Biden Harris ticket. And then Biden stepped out, moving Harris to the front and then the other side could say we didn't even get to vote for her.

SAENZ: Graham Platner would need to drop out of the Senate race by next Monday, six days away, if Democrats were to try to find a way to replace him as the party's nominee. Democrats would need to put forward a new nominee by July 27th, really highlighting the calendar crunch that the party is facing right now as they grapple with their next steps in their attempts to battle Republican Senator Susan Collins in November.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Portland, Maine.

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SANDOVAL: Well, large areas of Cuba, they are still without power after the island's latest nationwide blackout. Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, from the war wards at the United Nations over who's responsible.

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SANDOVAL: Power is slowly returning to Cuba after yet another nationwide grid collapse. But as of Tuesday, only about two thirds of the nation is actually still without electricity.

Officials are investigating what caused the latest blackout. Cuba's ongoing energy crisis worsened dramatically in January, and this after U.S. sanctions cut the island off from its top oil suppliers. The U.S. says that the pressure is intended to force Cuba's government to allow more foreign investments into its political system.

Speaking at the United Nations on Tuesday, Cuba's foreign minister accused the United States government of violating human rights.

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BRUNO RODRIGUEZ PARILLA, CUBAN FOREIGN MINISTER: The blockade asphyxiates and kills silently. Paying attention to this ruthless crime is also a responsibility of the United Nations. The U.S. government, and in particular its State Department, is spreading the lie that the blockade is not aimed against the Cuban people, but only against the government.

Well, ask the people of Cuba whether or not they are suffering because of the blockade. You may even want to ask diplomats, correspondents, and other foreign citizens living in Cuba.

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SANDOVAL: All right, let's bring in Brett Bruen. He's the president of the Global Situation Room, and also a former State Department official. Brett, thank you so much for joining me.

BRETT BRUEN, PRESIDENT, GLOBAL SITUATION ROOM, AND FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL AND U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL: Great to be with you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So, tell us about the significance of this Cuba debate that happened on Tuesday at the U.N. General Assembly, and perhaps most importantly, what this means going forward with this effective U.S. blockade of Cuba's fuel shipments.

BRUEN: Well, let's start with the fact that it shows increasing U.S. isolation on the most important world stage. We really do find ourselves estranged from traditional allies, even those that have been willing to abstain in some of these kind of votes. And it just piles on pressure, not so much on Havana, but here in Washington, as Trump is trying to ratchet up both economic but also conceivably political pressure.

SANDIVAL: There were also some heated moments, though, during that debate, according to the U.N. Cuba's foreign minister repeatedly pounding his desk, objecting to what he was hearing from the U.S.

In fact, I want to read for our viewers some of the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.'s remarks. Mike Waltz, referring to that latest blackout we saw this week on the island, saying, "This is sadly nothing new. Families once again wondering whether their food will spoil, whether hospitals will have power." And then he goes on to write, somehow, conveniently, there always seems to be enough power for the regime.

In your view, Brett, is much of the suffering on the island, does it fall on the Cuban government or is it shared with the U.S. government?

BRUEN: Well, it's an interesting tactic that Ambassador Waltz is trying to use. He's essentially flipping the script and saying it's not so much our embargo on the island as it is the embargo of the regime in Havana.

[03:25:06]

I don't think you're necessarily going to win that, especially with skeptical foreign countries. However, it is an attempt to try and highlight some of the inequity in how, whether it's electricity or other benefits resources, are used in Cuba. Ultimately, however, we're dealing with a massive humanitarian situation.

It doesn't help that the Trump administration got rid of U.S.AID and a lot of our humanitarian programs. And then putting in place this blockade just exacerbates the situation. I think it is going to increase calls from around the world for the U.S. to seek some resolution to this.

SANDOVAL: And adding to the calls from around the world was a group of Caribbean nations who were also present at the debate, essentially calling or expressing some concern over the worsening social and economic conditions that are feeding a humanitarian crisis. That's according to that group that was involved.

I'm just curious if I can get your thoughts on this dilemma that some of these Caribbean nations find themselves in. They certainly appear to be growingly frustrated with the situation with Cuba, but they must be. Do they have to tread lightly with the U.S. government basically warning other nations not to send fuel to the island nation?

BRUEN: Well, look, Caribbean nations are the ones that are going to bear the brunt of the responsibility, whether it's in terms of humanitarian help or their security issues that come out of this. So they have very much a stake in this. And I think the U.S.'s track record, at least over the last year and a half in some of these situations, has not been great in terms of what it has coordinated with neighbors, what it has provided in the wake of some of these political or military muscle moves.

So ultimately, I think what you're trying to see from the Caribbean nations is a reminder to Washington that, hey, we're going to have to deal with this. If you make the situation worse, that's just going to create 10 more crises on your shores.

SANDOVAL: All right. Brett Bruen, thank you so much for letting us get your thoughts. This debate was really just a continuance of what we saw this past fall and as you and I know, it's certainly not the end of that debate. Thank you so much, Brett.

We're going to have much more on the ongoing NATO summit in a moment, as we wait to see if President Trump will make some remarks, not only on the situation with Iran, but also certainly the Strait of Hormuz and certainly other major issues around the world. Stay with us. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."

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SANDOVAL: All right. Let's return to Turkey now, where NATO heads of state are currently gathering for a highly consequential summit.

They are expected to discuss in detail the security situation in the Strait of Hormuz, which has become much less secure in just the past few hours alone. They'll also be discussing collective defense, some of the spending there with Secretary General Mark Rutte saying that member countries are signing deals worth, quote, "literally billions of dollars."

And Russia's war with Ukraine will also be dominating these talks as Moscow continues to step up its attacks on the Ukrainian capital. And all of this as the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, presses for more air defenses. So there is so much on the line as all of these world leaders that you see there meet.

So let's get more now from CNN's Nic Robertson, who is in Accra right now, continues to follow this summit. Not only would it be great for you to set the stage for us, Nic, but also maybe what we're expecting to hear from Trump when that moment comes.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I think it's probably worth pointing out at the moment that the President is running a little bit behind with her comments from various leaders going in. Also, as you mentioned from Secretary General Mark Rutte, I'm just looking over my shoulder here.

There's a gathering of journalists moving here around the building. I think that's perhaps an indication that President Trump may be about to arrive. So he's running 15 or 20 minutes late, it appears that this stage may be a bit later than that.

All the other leaders, of course, have arrived. Mark Rutte, Secretary General of NATO, saying that absolutely Iran and the strikes overnight, U.S. strikes, Iranian strikes would be on the agenda, right, that he said the United States responded forcefully.

Many of the other leaders going in talked about the need for diplomacy on that track. But to set the scene, as you mentioned there, Secretary General Rutte mentioning these billions of dollars of deals. And that's a lot about what this summit is about. Definitely yesterday, you had a number of different sort of multilateral, bilateral, four countries, five countries, six countries, signing military purchase agreements for NATO. For instance, they bought the Saab reconnaissance aircraft for NATO group of nations clubbing together for that. Another group of nations clubbing together to buy U.S. drones, surveillance ISR, the sort of high tech drones that loiter miles up in the sky and hoover up all sorts of technical and visual data.

Northrop Grumman made that particular product being bought by some of the NATO nations. That's the sort of spend that countries are looking for. That's what President Zelenskyy is looking for as well, then the support for Ukraine, and looking for it to be spent on ballistic missile defenses and looking for European countries to make a firm commitment to produce their own at scale, anti-ballistic missile defense systems.

So all of that's up for discussion. But I think, you know, when President Trump does arrive, he's expected to stand side by side with NATO Secretary General, give some comments that will sort of kick off the summit before they go into the big room, and they have the big discussions around their main plenary session. But President Trump invariably sets the agenda.

And he has done here. And he did it yesterday, announcing he was going to sell F-35s to Turkey, announcing that he United States still wants Greenland, announcing again, that he was disappointed with NATO allies for not responding to support the United States in the war with Iran.

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So for the leaders here, it's a little bit on tenterhooks, which way will the agenda go?

But I think everyone will recognize that this morning, in particular, for the President to be late is not too surprising, given that he is in the midst, either at in the middle of or going to bring it to an end, this escalation in strikes with Iran, which the biggest round of strikes really, that we've seen since the beginning of April when the MOU first began to be discussed, and certainly the biggest breakdown in conversations with the Iranians, since the MOU was signed on the 17th of June by President Trump and the Iranian President.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Nic Robertson in Ankara, laying out everything we need to know, potentially just a few moments before we could possibly hear from President Trump, do come back to us when that happens. Nic, thank you.

For now, though, let's go to Iraq, where thousands have gathered in the city of Najaf to pay their respects to Iran's late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The city is significant for Shiites as the burial place of Imam Ali, the cousin and son-in-law, I should say, of the Prophet Muhammad.

The slain Ayatollah's body will be then transferred to the Iraqi city of Karbala in the coming hours, and just before returning back to Iran for burial on Thursday. Iran's President had also travelled to Iraq for the funeral services there, but state media reporting that he's since returned to Tehran following the latest U.S. strikes.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen says that she will run for president next year. Le Pen announced her campaign after an appeals court upheld her conviction for misusing funds, but shortened her ban from seeking political office. Here's CNN's Melissa Bell with more.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was 16 months ago that a Paris court found not just her, but several other party members.

Members of the National Rally, senior members of the National Rally Party here in France, guilty of embezzlement. They had been at the heart, said, ruled the court of this scheme to use European funds to pay party political workers back in France.

Now, it had been a controversial verdict at the time, not just because of the fine that she was handed and the suspended prison sentence and the fact of a one year spent under house arrest wearing an electronic tag. The most controversial part had been this ineligibility that they'd announced.

So, essentially, a ban, a five year ban placed on Marine Le Pen with immediate effect, even before any appeals were heard, that prevented her from standing in 2027. Clearly, she appealed and it is that decision that was handed down today.

Now, everyone had expected that the ruling that came from the court behind me would mark the unofficial start of the 2027 campaign, since we were to find out whether either Marine Le Pen would be eligible to stand in 2027 or not. But this is where it gets slightly more complicated and where the suspense is likely to last a few more hours. And in fact, the unofficial starting gun of that campaign for 2027 will begin only later today when Marine Le Pen speaks in a French television studio, because we have yet to know what she plans to do.

Essentially, the ruling that was handed down keeps in place the initial verdict. It keeps in place the suspended prison sentence, it keeps in place the one year under house arrest wearing an electronic tag, it does reduce the ineligibility part of the sentence.

So, she can technically now stand but she had previously said that she would not be standing for French President. She would not be standing in the race if she had to wear an electronic tag. And we've just found out today that that is what she would have to do.

So, we're going to have to wait till tonight to hear what her plan is. But it is very difficult to imagine that a woman who spent her entire life fighting to lead her party, this would be, if she does it, her fourth presidential run.

And she has, of course, this stand-in in the shape of Jordan Bardella. All the polls suggest that he, too, would be leading the race if he stood in her place.

But it is very difficult to imagine this particular political animal, a real battle axe on the French political scene, deciding, when she's been allowed to stand, that, in fact, she will not. We'll hear more on that officially later on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Melissa Bell, thank you.

Nigel Farage, leader of the populist right-wing Reform U.K. Party and also chief architect of Brexit, has stepped down from Parliament. But he plans to run for his same seat in a special election. And that's a move which could grant him further political power.

His resignation, also pausing the parliamentary investigation into the source of his personal wealth and over controversial donations that he has received. Here's CNN's Clare Sebastian to explain.

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CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just weeks before the U.K. gets a new prime minister, the man who polls suggest poses the biggest threat to them in a future general election, making a clear bid to strengthen his own political power, Nigel Farage resigning his Parliament seat and saying that he will fight in a special election to win it back.

NIGEL FARAGE, LEADER, REFORM U.K.: This will be a people versus the establishment by-election. It's a chance to stick two fingers up to the entire establishment, to frankly tell them where to go. And that is why I will be putting my name forward to stand in this by-election.

I will fight to win, I will fight to continue the political revolution that reform has started.

SEBASTIAN: The backdrop here, Farage, whose party Reform U.K. is leading in national opinion polls, is facing several inquiries over whether he broke parliamentary rules by failing to disclose donations, including a five million pound or $6.7 million gift from a British billionaire.

If it's found that he did, that could in itself trigger a by-election. Farage denies any wrongdoing. And he's even had the support of U.S. President Trump, who posted an article on Monday with the title, "They're running the 2024 anti-Trump playbook on Nigel Farage."

But it's clear the pressure on Farage has been mounting. This was an exchange on Monday with a reporter on the U.K.'s Sky News channel.

REPORTER: Was it a mistake not to declare the gifts from George Cottrell, sir?

FARAGE: You tell your bosses you harass my family anymore and I'll take you to serious consequences. That's what your organization has done this morning. Go away.

REPORTER: Was it a mistake not to declare the gifts, sir?

FARAGE: Did you not hear me? You have broken all the rules, Leveson and everything else. Cut.

SEBASTIAN: Now that he's stepping down as an M.P., the investigation will be suspended. But the risk for Farage is that if he's re-elected, it would likely come back. But one thing is clear, he intends to fight on and may well remain a threat to mainstream British politics.

Clare Sebastian, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And Tyler Robinson back in court for the second day of his preliminary hearing in the state of Utah. He's accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk at the State University just last September.

This hearing will be determining whether there is enough evidence for Robinson's case to proceed to trial. Donald Trump Jr., a close friend of Kirk's, attended that hearing.

In a post on X shortly after that, he outlined the prosecution's allegations, claiming that Robinson appeared on the Utah Valley campus several times in the hours before and after Kirk's death. And this despite not being a student there. Charlie Kirk's widow and his parents also present in the courtroom.

They stepped out, however, as the defense described a video of the fatal shooting. Prosecutors say that they plan to seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted. Robinson has not yet entered pleas and will not do so until the judge decides if this case does indeed move forward.

"CNN Newsroom" continues in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: All right, the quarterfinals, they are set now in the FIFA Men's World Cup after a remarkable round of 16.

Kicking off the group of eight, France and their superstar Kylian Mbappe taking on the Atlas Lions of Morocco on Thursday. The winner of that match then goes on to face the winner of Spain versus Belgium on Friday.

Then there are these fans.

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A lot of celebration there.

It was a scene in Switzerland as the men's national team pushed through to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954. And all this after a scoreless two hours of play and plenty of squandered opportunities. The Swiss team eliminated Colombia in a penalty shootout, four goals to three.

Heartbreak for fans as Colombia exit the tournament, meaning Argentina the only remaining team from the Americas to move on -- to go on, I should say.

Argentina pulling off a stunning comeback against Egypt to earn a spot in the men's quarterfinals. And this after trailing the Ferrals for most of the match. The defending champs scored three unanswered goals, including this game winning -- game winner in the stoppage time.

CNN's Amanda Davies with more from Atlanta.

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AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: This was not the day for it to end.

The dream of the B Campeonato, back to back World Cups for Argentina or the privilege for the rest of us of watching Leo Messi and his teammates do what they do on the biggest of footballing stages. But boy, did they have to work for it. You only had to see the emotional reaction from Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni to see just how hard they had to work.

At 79 minutes with Egypt at a 2-0 lead, a team who only won their first ever World Cup match at this tournament, at this stage for the first time in their history, keeping the might of the Alvi Celeste at bay. The number of missed chances for Argentina, guilt edged chances.

And of course, that Messi missed penalty. You could feel and see the doubt starting to creep in amidst the Argentinian fans, but not for nothing.

Are they the defending world champions? Two-time Copa America winners. During Lionel Scaloni's tenure, they've lost just nine of 101 games.

It was Cristian Romero who set them on their way. And just as I was starting to think they needed to channel a bit of Cape Verde or of course, what we saw from that in that incredible final in Qatar against France or popped Leo Messi scoring his eighth World Cup goal here in the United States, his 21st in all.

And then it was Enzo Fernandez who put the icing on the cake to send Argentina through, completing a great escape on one of the greatest days of Argentina's footballing history. Next up, it's Switzerland in the quarterfinal. Bring it on.

Amanda Davies, CNN, Atlanta.

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SANDOVAL: And more of your headlines in a moment. Stay with us. You're watching "CNN Newsroom."

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SANDOVAL: Britain's Prince Harry has lost a high stakes case against the publisher of the "Daily Mail." He and six others, including Elton John, accused the publisher of using invasive illegal means to gather information.

Well, the judge said that the allegations were serious, but the group did not adequately prove that the publisher used illegal tactics. Here's Anna Stewart to break down the Prince's reaction.

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ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So we have this statement from Prince Harry and one of the other claimants, Baroness Lawrence. As you say, they are calling the verdict a complete and obvious whitewash, saying, sadly, it's not altogether unexpected. And they go on to say that they believe there was plenty of sufficient evidence in the case for the court to see. And they don't understand why the judge is saying essentially the verdict is through the case is dismissed because there wasn't enough evidence that the claimants were unable to prove the allegations that information was obtained illegally by both the "Daily Mail" and the "Mail on Sunday" decades ago.

Now, it's interesting because he also says it feels like there is one rule for newspapers and another for the claimants. And some of the parts of this statement do seem not just frustrated, but really quite angry. And it leads you to wonder whether they will try and appeal this case.

It would not be straightforward. We don't know where they will. You can't just disagree with the verdict.

You have to find fault with the court, the procedures, how it went about. The fact that they're calling a whitewash does make me wonder a court of appeal would have to agree for that to happen if they apply. So that's one thing to watch.

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The second thing to watch at this point is who's going to pay the legal costs. This case has been going on for years and it has cost about 50 million pounds. We believe at this moment that's $67 million.

Now, ordinarily, claimants pick up quite a big chunk sometimes of these court cases when they lose it. That is a lot of money for Prince Harry and the other claimants, there are six in total. This marks the end of a trilogy of battles against the tabloids for Prince Harry.

He won a case against the "Mirror" in 2023, sorry, the publisher of the "Mirror." Last year, a court case was actually settled with "The Sun" newspapers publishers. He won damages and an apology.

This is not how he wanted that trilogy to end.

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SANDOVAL: So if you've been dreaming of a move, maybe Copenhagen has been maybe a good option for you. It has been ranked as the world's most livable city for the second year in a row, and it's according to the Economist Intelligence Unit. The Danish capital achieved perfect scores on stability, infrastructure, and education.

The Austrian capital, Vienna, taking second place, followed by Melbourne. Vancouver, the only North American city to make it that high, you see there, Tokyo's on there too.

And some incredible images from Mount Etna as it erupts. I want to show you some rare drone footage from Tuesdays that shows red, hot, steaming lava that appears to pour into a neighboring summit crater. It also captured observers standing on the rim of the crater as lava flows and glows below, Etna is Europe's largest volcano, and it's also one of the most active.

And with those pictures, we do want to thank you so much for joining me. I'm Polo Sandoval, in New York. I'll be right back with you in a moment with more on President Trump at the NATO Summit in Turkey.

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