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Israel and Ukrainian Leaders Meet U.S. President Trump After Attending Sen. Graham's Funeral; Death Toll in the Southern Japan Earthquake Now at 13. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 29, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hi everybody, thank you so much for joining me. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and this is "CNN Newsroom."

Iran and the U.S. trade fresh attacks in the Middle East. What that could mean for the pause in U.S. strikes on Iran.

And Ukraine's president says that he discussed defense ideas during a White House visit with President Trump. How that could lead to more Patriot missile production.

And the death toll. It is rising from that massive earthquake that hit southern Japan yesterday where rescue efforts stand.

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

SANDOVAL: Let's get straight to a new escalation in the Middle East, where U.S. Central Command says that Iran attempted a surprise attack targeting U.S. forces in the region. The U.S. military says that all of the missiles were successfully intercepted. And Jordan's military now says that its air defenses intercepted five missiles that were launched from Iran earlier, I should say, I should add.

Meanwhile, there's some of this video that was obtained by CNN that appears to show interceptors stopping missiles over Jordan, where U.S. troops are based.

Let's go to CNN's Eleni Giokos now who is following developments from Dubai. Eleni, good morning. So what are we learning about this so- called surprise attack?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, what we're learning right now is basically from CENTCOM that they were able to intercept all the attacks targeting Jordan and specifically U.S. assets. And the IRGC confirmed these attacks.

Now, this is important because it happened in the early hours of this morning. We have this video showing the interceptions and really important because it brings into question firstly, how is President Trump going to respond? Is there room for diplomacy as these new fronts are opening up?

And also very notable what we've seen in the last 24 hours. And we've been discussing how Saudi Arabia has been targeted by Iranian proxies, the Yemeni Houthis over the weekend. And since the start of this week, the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia also targeting Riyadh and other critical oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.

We heard in the early hours of this morning, according to CENTCOM, that Saudi Arabia, as well as U.S. forces, joined in strikes targeting the militia group in eastern Iraq. That's the popular movement there.

And the PMF has actually said that these strikes resulted in deaths as well as specific critical infrastructure for this military group. CENTCOM says that it was a precision attack targeting military sites. It is also very important to note right now how Saudi Arabia has been dragged into this in a very big way.

And importantly, Saudi Arabia now targeting back. They say that this was proportional, they have the right to self-defense.

It is notable to also state here that the Iranian proxy groups have been mobilized and activated in the region. It brings into question how President Trump is going to respond while the United States has formally stopped striking Iranian targets since Saturday morning.

And I think a lot of people here are watching this very closely in terms of how this could derail this pause that was sort of a hope for a window of diplomacy, keeping in mind that Oman has been putting in efforts since the beginning of the week trying to get both sides to discuss things in terms of what happens in the Strait of Hormuz. But this is seen as an escalation by military analysts. And importantly, big sort of pause here to see what happens next, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Eleni Giokos, thank you so much for that live report from Dubai.

Let's go to Washington now. The U.S. President hosted the Israeli Prime Minister in a closed door meeting at the White House on Tuesday. U.S. and Israeli officials, they are calling the discussions between Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu positive and productive.

An Israeli official saying that the two leaders discuss the partnership between their countries, which is stronger than ever, while Netanyahu is also touting his close ties with President Trump.

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I have just finished an excellent meeting with President Trump. When I say excellent, it's not just lip service. It was a conversation of full partnership, of mutual support, with an understanding of the shared goal to ensure that Iran will not have nuclear weapons and also other goals.

[03:05:08]

It was one of the best conversations I've had with the President of the United States, our friend, Donald Trump.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And President Trump also met with Ukraine's President. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that they had a good meeting and discussed air defense ideas as well as reviving diplomacy with Russia.

U.S. senators invited Zelenskyy to watch the votes on a new Russia sanctions bill. And the measure, which was backed by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, advanced with a vote of 86-12. The sanctions would be paired with tariffs against the top five importers of Russian oil and natural gas, including India and China. Zelenskyy thanked those U.S. legislators for their support.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: This bill is very important. Sanctions pressure on Russia is very important. And really it gives, it's not only about money, how Russia, how to stop to finance this war, but it's also a big signal to Europe, big signal to Ukraine, big support of our people.

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SANDOVAL: Volodymyr Dubovyk is an associate professor in the Department of International Relations at the Mechnikov National University in Odessa, Ukraine. He joins me from Bulgaria. Volodymyr, thank you so much for joining us again.

VOLODYMYR DUBOVYK, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, MECHNIKOV NATIONAL UNIVERSITY: Good for having me. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Of course. And good morning to you, by the way.

Let's get straight to your assessment of this meeting. Do you think President Zelenskyy left Washington with new commitments for help in his fight against Russia?

DUBOVYK: Well, it's not clear if there are new commitments, but at least there is a good momentum. This has been a third meeting in a relatively short period of time between Zelenskyy and Trump.

So there is good momentum going forward. There is pace, there is, I think, important moment for President Zelenskyy to again deliver a message to President Trump that Ukraine is hanging in there and fighting against Russian aggression and not losing and not doomed to lose this war against Russia.

So therefore, it actually deserves and worthy of some support. And that's what we discussed, Ukraine and U.S., President Zelenskyy and President Trump in this meeting. I think one question was, of course, about the Patriot missiles,

indeed, that Ukraine needs badly to protect from Russian ballistic missile strikes. But many other questions were discussed, including the future of security guarantees that United States can provide to Ukraine after some sort of ceasefire.

There is apparently, allegedly, according to the rumors, discussed, the idea was discussed, an idea about maybe a partial ceasefire, first in the air, so that Ukraine and Russia temporarily, you know, cease their strikes by missiles and drones against each other, which could be a first step towards something bigger. So I think it was a very meaningful meeting between the people who probably now understand each other better than they used to.

SANDOVAL: Volodymyr let's go back to one of those priority items that you mentioned that was on the Ukrainian President's list when he went to the White House, which is his push to expand air defense capabilities. With this meeting behind us, what do you think is next in his efforts to try to achieve that goal? And we know it's not an easy one, especially with some of those weapons stockpiles greatly reduced because of the conflict with Iran.

DUBOVYK: Absolutely. The Patriots are now in a global shortage of Patriot missiles because they've been used in Ukraine and then been used also in the Middle East. That's right.

And unfortunately, even though the beefed up and accelerated production of Patriot missiles in the U.S. is a fact in the last few years, but still not enough of them to satisfy U.S. needs and Ukraine's needs. And some other allies are actually patiently waiting in line. Even some of them have paid for Patriot missiles already, but they've been told, wait, we now have two wars ongoing, so we need those Patriot missiles.

So the idea by President Trump to actually maybe share the technology of making Patriot missiles with Europeans, with Ukrainians, is a great idea. I mean, we are probably moving in that direction. I hope so, with no change of heart.

But it will take time, of course, before, even if this decision is made, before Europeans and Ukrainians would be able to, you know, to establish those production cycles to be making those missiles. So we're actually talking about still maybe one or two years away from now. It's not going to be fast.

In the meantime, Ukraine is receiving many other types of anti-air defense from various countries, including United States. But regrettably, against the Russian ballistic strikes, which they used often now against Ukrainian cities, the Patriot missiles is basically the only and one reliable defense.

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SANDOVAL: Maybe we can close also with just your general assessment of this chemistry between both leaders, unfortunately no cameras in the room, during that crucial meeting on Tuesday. But overall, as you've been watching developments leading up to this, you know, how has that chemistry evolved, especially since that absolutely disastrous meeting from over a year ago? And do you think that any improvement on that front is helping Zelenskyy make his case to the President, to President Trump?

DUBOVYK: I think it does. That meeting last year, February 28, 2025, was indeed disastrous. But the two sides have recovered a lot, and two politicians have recovered from their relations.

And like you said, the chemistry between them, I see it much better than it was before. Zelenskyy is now better equipped to deal with Trump and know how to navigate him and how to deal with him and what makes Trump tick.

And Trump also, I think, now President Trump, I think he understands better position of Zelenskyy in Ukraine and what's going on in this war, situation in the war, that Ukraine is not losing badly, Ukraine is not doomed, and therefore deserves some support from United States. And many people said that President Trump likes the winners.

And right now, Russia is not looking like a winner, even though it takes under their control certain sides, certain parts of Ukrainian territory, but they're not winning the war altogether. So I think the chemistry is better. I think there is a certain momentum here for going forward.

And I think that President Trump probably is interested in doing something in that realm, in that regard, before the midterm elections to basically maybe try and reach some ceasefire, maybe partial ceasefire, that will look good, I think, for President Trump and his party and his administration as he goes into the midterm elections.

And for Ukraine, of course, it's not politics, it's a matter of survival, it's an existential war against much stronger, formidable enemy, Russia. So U.S. has been and remains a key and center to Ukraine's defense effort.

SANDOVAL: Yes. And we didn't have time to get into the political crisis that awaits the Ukrainian president back home, hopefully on the next one. Volodymyr Dubovyk, thank you so much for your analysis, as always.

DUBOVYK: Right. Gladly. Thank you for having me.

SANDOVAL: Of course. Both President Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu also attended the funeral of late Senator Lindsey Graham while they were in Washington.

The service for the South Carolina Republican, who died on July 11th at 71, was held on Tuesday at Washington's National Cathedral, President Trump delivering remarks, paying tribute to Graham, and honored his decades of public service.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: He died doing the work he was born to do. He was truly a great politician, serving the country he loved to serve so deeply.

He went out at the peak of his career, the top of his game as a legend that every one of us, many of us here today, blessed to know him and a friend that none of us will ever forget. There was truly nobody like Lindsey Graham.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And it was a sudden loss earlier this month. And after the service, Graham's casket was carried out of the cathedral and his body was returned to his home state of South Carolina. In fact, in a few hours, he will be honored with a procession at the state house in Columbia before a private funeral -- a private burial.

All right, now to southern Japan, where we are getting a clearer picture of the devastation from a deadly earthquake.

Japan's Prime Minister says that Tuesday's powerful 6.8 magnitude quake has killed at least 13 people so far. And there's a mad scramble at this hour to reach others possibly pinned beneath the rubble to keep that number from rising. Much of the action centered on a shopping mall in Kumamoto Prefecture that partially collapsed after an explosion.

Meanwhile, we're starting to see new images of some of the damage. Some of the video you're looking at here shows part of the Kumamoto Castle, which is now crumbling. In other places, entire blocks of homes have been destroyed.

So let's get the latest now and head over to CNN's Kristie Lu Stout, who's been tracking developments from Hong Kong. What are we learning more, Kristie, about that apparent explosion at that mall?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're learning more about that explosion, Polo, as well as the rescue effort. As we heard earlier from the Japanese Prime Minister, every second counts.

The race is on to find survivors, especially in that shopping center that was partially collapsed in the explosion shortly after that massive 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Japan on Tuesday. This was an earthquake so massive that it brought down buildings and bridges, and it's also taken lives.

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At least 13 people are dead, we've learned that dozens more are injured, we've also learned that tens of thousands of people are without electricity, including patients seeking care in a hospital, and some 300,000 people have been told to go to evacuation centers.

Now we are keeping a close eye on the situation here on your screen, that partially collapsed shopping center. Remember, after this earthquake hit southern Japan on Tuesday afternoon, shortly after that, a massive explosion ripped through that site.

Officials are saying that gas was detected on the site, but the investigation as for the cause of that blast, that is still underway. And this dash cam video, it shows you the moment of the explosion, and then you can see the smoke billowing across into the air and across the road there as well.

We heard from a witness saying that the sound of that explosion was, quote, "deafening." And as that rescue effort is underway, we are not sure just how many people are trapped in the rubble.

Now, meanwhile, we are keeping an eye on a separate situation at a paper factory where a huge industrial-sized chimney collapsed there. And we can bring up the video so you can see what's happening there. This is called Nippon Paper Industries, it's in Yatsuhiro City, the damage there is extensive, and several people there are unaccounted for.

Now, we have been hearing updates from the government in Japan, including the Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, and she has not only provided updates, but pledged that the government response will be that of full force to rescue people who are still trapped in the rubble. Polo, back to you.

SANDOVAL: And, of course, people that are grappling with fears of future aftershocks as well while all this plays out. Kristie Lu Stout, thank you so much for that full update.

Another new heat wave is saddling in over Spain and France, and that is bringing more challenging conditions in the fight against those massive wildfires. We'll have the very latest from the region.

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SANDOVAL: Spain and France are now facing their fourth heat wave this summer, which is now threatening to make wildfire conditions even worse with no rain in sight in the forecast. Spanish firefighters, you see them there in action. They are battling the country's largest wildfire in history, and it's happening near Madrid.

It's burned more than 123,000 acres, or about 50,000 hectares, nearly 40 percent of the 63,000 people who were evacuated there are now allowed to return home.

Meanwhile, in France, I want to show you some video that shows the aftermath in the hard-hit Gironde region, where officials say that a wildfire is stabilized but not yet contained. Heat warnings have been issued in the wildfire areas with temperatures expected to peak in the hours ahead. The situation has left many bracing a state of uncertainty.

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LUDOVIC FRADIN, DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR, CHATEAU SMITH HAUT LAFITTE: We are not yet evacuated, so we are waiting from the chief of the estates if we have to evacuate or not. But at the time being, there is no evacuation, so we prepare ourselves with our tank that we fill with water. It's an experience that we never underwent before, so we face a situation where we don't have any background.

So we try to secure a lot of things, including the people, the staff, of course, but it would be much easier to do. But as well as all the animals that we have inside the winery that we have to take care of and see where we are going to move them and some of them are big, like cows and llamas and things like that. So we try to set up a protocol just to be ready in case of evacuation, which is not yet active.

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SANDOVAL: CNN's Melissa Bell is in France following developments.

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MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Closer and closer to Bordeaux, the Gironde fire has spread, as daunting by its size now as it is by its ferocity. Here on the fire's southeastern front, the fight continued on Monday to try to reign it in. Daesh water bombers sweeping in from the sky to try and douse the flames that the fire trucks couldn't reach.

Nearby, at the local summer hotspot that is the Bassin d'Arcachon, pleasure boats have given way to Black Hawk helicopters brought in from the Czech Republic. Just some of the resources provided by European allies.

CMDR. MATHIEU JOMAIN, GIRONDE FIREFIGHTERS (through translator): Given the scale, the response can only now be European and even international in the face of climate change and its consequences. Amongst them, major forest fires like these.

BELL: This is the Cap Ferret peninsula. Its population grows in the summer tenfold, which means that when it was evacuated on Friday, 40,000 people had to flee along the single road that leads back to the mainland, leaving behind this eerily quiet holiday paradise and a huge economic shortfall.

BELL (voice-over): The peninsula's camping grounds now remind us of how quickly the fire brought a sudden end to so many summer holidays.

Melissa Bell, CNN, Lege-Cap-Ferret.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: FIFA's President announcing a plan to create a $20 billion private company to run the World Cup, and it's now coming under some immediate fire from European football's governing body, UEFA releasing a statement saying that the tournament, quote, "is not FIFA's to sell and that privatization crosses a line."

Not helping the optics is the potential involvement of President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. His brother is among the private investors who want to form this commercial subsidiary that would be called FIFA Forward Enterprise.

[03:25:09]

FIFA is currently a non-profit organization based in Switzerland.

Well Peru swears in its 10th president in 10 years, the new head of state, part of one of Peru's most influential political dynasties. We'll tell you more in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: Hey everybody, welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York, and these are today's top stories.

The powerful earthquake that jolted Japan's Kumamoto prefecture has now claimed at least 13 lives, and that's according to the Prime Minister of Japan. The 6.8 magnitude quake also caused major transportation disruptions, toppling trains and muckling roads. Right now, rescue efforts are underway at a shopping mall where it's believed that the quake set off an explosion.

Russian officials say that Ukraine targeted the Moscow region with nearly 400 drones overnight into Tuesday, most of them were taken down. This is some of the video that shows a damaged logistics center just south of the capital city, Moscow's regional governor says that a drone struck an apartment building, though no injuries were reported. Russia launched more than 130 drones toward Ukraine that same night.

And U.S. Central Command says that the military successfully intercepted an Iranian surprise attack on U.S. forces in the Middle East. I'll show you some video that was obtained by CNN. It appears to show interceptors stopping Iranian missiles over Jordan, where U.S. troops are based. Jordan's military says its air defenses intercepted five missiles launched from Iran earlier.

A major explosion rocked Gaza City on Tuesday. Have a look.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

This blast, coming after an Israeli airstrike hit a mosque, sending flames and plumes of smoke into the air. Gaza remains in turmoil despite last year's ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. Israeli forces have reportedly continued near daily military strikes across the enclave.

Peru has sworn in its new President, Keiko Fujimori, the country's first-ever elected female head of state. She is the daughter of former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori and Peru's 10th President since 2016. Fujimori swore in her cabinet on Tuesday.

In recent years, the U.S. has sought to deepen ties with Peru, which is a major copper and critical minerals producer, and this as it works to counter China's influence in the region. Fujimori is the latest in a string of conservative leaders elected by voters across Latin America who are frustrated by crime, weak economic growth and political instability.

In her first speech as president, Fujimori said that she was inheriting a country weakened by corruption. Here are some of her remarks.

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KEIKO FUJIMORI, PERUVIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have begun writing our future for the next five years, not a day longer. This mandate commits us to working for the well-being of all Peruvians, without exception, but above all, for those who for too long have remained on the sidelines of the country's growth and progress.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Pope Leo is set to host a concert for peace near Rome in the coming hours. He'll be joined by Italian singer Andrea Bocelli, the concert aiming to use music as a universal language to reach nations around the world. The event will also feature an international children's choir made up of more than 160 young singers from five conflict areas from around the world.

Still to come here on "CNN Newsroom," Elon Musk has lost billions of dollars since his SpaceX company stock went public. Find out what it means for his overall net worth.

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SANDOVAL: All right, you're all up to speed on what appear to be some mixed markets in Asia. Here are some of your business headlines.

Apple now rolling out a new leasing program to make its tech offerings a little more affordable. The Apple upgrade program will feature some of the company's phones, computers, wearables, and much more. They're going to offer them on one to three-year leases, the cheapest iPhone option will cost you about $18 a month, just make sure you read that fine print.

And the Federal Aviation Administration says that hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets registered in the U.S. may require new seat inspections. The agency warning that incorrectly installed seats could injure passengers and crew as well as potentially block aisles during emergency landings. The proposed directive would apply to over 450 planes.

And Boeing's Air Force One project is also facing scrutiny as the timeline and the price tag continues shifting. The company says that it's added significant resources to deliver two heavily modified presidential jets by 2028. The mammoth effort is now four years behind schedule and $3.1 billion over budget.

Well last month, Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire. Now, he's back to being just a regular old billionaire after losing about $600 billion in net worth, as David Goldman explains.

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DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: So we have a big loss here for Elon Musk. $600 billion in net worth. But what's $600 billion between friends, right?

I mean, he's still worth $700 billion, even though he was the first trillionaire ever because of the SpaceX IPO. But let's put this into some perspective.

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He's worth $700 billion. The next person on the list of the richest people is Larry Page, worth nearly $300 billion. He is still a long way away from number two, He is secure in his top spot for now.

But SpaceX, maybe not so much. Look at this stock decline. It's basically been on a slide since the beginning of the IPO.

The stock is down 30 percent. It's come back just a little bit. But at one point, this was the worst performing IPO in years and it is one of the worst performing IPOs of all time to date.

Now, let's explain what's going on here. This has nothing to do with rockets, this has everything to do with A.I. SpaceX spent almost $13 billion on A.I. alone last year.

And look how much it spent just in the first quarter, almost $8 billion. And that has added up to some significant losses. We're talking about $5 billion last year, and in the first quarter, almost as much, $4 billion in the first quarter. This is really starting to add up.

Now, A.I. in general has been a little bit on a slippery slope in the past few weeks and months as investors have grown cautious about how much has been invested in A.I. versus the promise of AI. We don't know if this is going to last. They're certainly taking it out on SpaceX, which is a legitimate company that has a lot of revenue.

But right now, investors are saying no to SpaceX, they're saying no broadly to A.I. We'll see if Elon Musk makes all that money back and gets above a trillion dollars again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right, let's close with some of this really amazing video of this new bridge that's been 20 years in the making and it now connects the U.S. and Canada.

This drone filming vehicles crossing the Gordie Howe International Bridge on Tuesday at a $6.4 billion span crosses the Detroit River connecting Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan. Right now, it's only open to passenger and commercial vehicle traffic. A pedestrian and bicycle crossing is scheduled to open next month. And in American Wildlife Refuge, it has now earned international

recognition. UNESCO designating the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge as a World Heritage Site. The refuge actually spans nearly half a million acres across Georgia and Florida, and it's home to the largest freshwater swamp in North America, as well as more than 850 plant species, nearly 50 mammal species, and 90 species of reptiles and amphibians.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Polo Sandoval, in New York. "World Sport" is next, and I'll join you at the top of the next hour.

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