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Donald Trump Vowed To Retaliation After Iranian Strikes Intercepted; Gironde Fires "Stabilized" In France; Senate Panel Postpones Vote On Todd Blanche Nomination; Anthony Fauci Invokes Fifth Amendment 100 Plus Times At COVID Hearing; Trump Pushes Renovation Plan for Dulles Airport; Qantas Plane Sets Record With 24 Plus Hour Nonstop Flight From Melbourne to Toulouse; UNESCO Adds 25 New Sites to World Heritage List; BTS Will Not Submit Music for Next Year's Grammy Awards; "Jumanji: Open World" to Hit Theatres on Christmas Day. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired July 30, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:41]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, the U.S. renews strikes on Iran following President Trump's threats to hit them very hard.

As the battle to contain wildfires in France and Spain gets tougher, another brutal heat wave is fueling fires in other countries.

And a record-breaking milestone: the first non-stop 24-hour flight is a success. What this means for the future of air travel.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us. And we begin in the Middle East, where the U.S. military launched new strikes on Iran after President Donald Trump pledged to hit the country very hard. Iranian state media reports that explosions could be heard in several locations across southern Iran. CENTCOM says the, "Heavy wave of strikes" has wrapped up. It also says dozens of targets were hit, including military command centers and missile and drone facilities.

Iranian state media released this video from an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, it says search and rescue operations are ongoing after U.S. missiles struck a residential home. Officials say two children have been pulled from the rubble, and the search is on for three other family members.

Tehran had launched multiple ballistic missiles toward U.S. forces in the region on Tuesday, and all of them were intercepted. President Trump warned Iran that the U.S. would retaliate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to be hitting them very hard because it's our turn to hit them. They know it's coming. They're asking us not to do it, but you know they tried shooting it last night. So, we had five rockets shot going 8,500 miles an hour, and all five rockets were knocked down to the ground, but they nevertheless took a shot. So, it's our turn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Joining me now is CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Always good to have you with us.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Thanks so much, Rosemary. It's great to be with you.

CHURCH: Absolutely. So, Colonel, just hours after President Trump vowed revenge on Wednesday, the U.S. struck back at Iran in response to Tehran firing several ballistic missiles at U.S. forces in Jordan Tuesday night. What are you learning about those U.S. strikes, and where does this take the war?

LEIGHTON: Yes, so far, Rosemary, what we're seeing is strikes, you know, in some of the usual places, such as the southern coastline, as well as in the western areas. So, what we're looking at is strikes against launch facilities. That, coupled with the strikes yesterday against some of the targets of the militias, the proxy militias in Iraq, that really speaks to a widening of the war, and it is not, you know, a widening that is marked by a major escalation in the campaign yet, but it could turn out to be something like that.

And when you look at you know strikes in you know the areas in the southwest and in the western part, that becomes an area where you're talking about more of the conventional targets. When it comes to targets such as Pickaxe Mountain, that then becomes a much more unconventional thing. They are I think ready to do something there, but as far as I know, they haven't done anything against Pickaxe Mountain yet.

CHURCH: And Colonel, shortly after the attack on U.S. forces on Tuesday, the U.S. and Saudi military forces jointly struck Iran-backed militias in Iraq. How concerned are you about that marked escalation in this war, and what might it signal, do you think?

LEIGHTON: Yes, certainly it is an escalation, and Rosemary, there are several things that it signals to me. One of them is the fact that this marks the first involvement, direct involvement of the Saudis in terms of combat missions against these proxy forces in Iraq. So, that is significant.

The other part of it, though, is this, and that is the fact that the Saudis and the Iranians had had somewhat of a concord, a kind of a peace agreement reached with Chinese -- with Chinese assistance a few years ago. That seems to be have been put by the wayside, and the more ancient rivalries between the Sunni majority Saudi regime and the Shia majority Iranian regime are now coming to the fore, and that of course could mean a widening of the conflict into a more sectarian as opposed to just a geopolitical frame.

[02:05:30]

CHURCH: So, Colonel, the war rages on despite increasing concerns about dwindling U.S. military munition stockpiles. How bad is this depletion, and how might it impact the ongoing war with Iran?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think it is certainly a serious depletion, and you know, one of the problems that you have is it's one thing to fire off a bunch of missiles, but when you look at the rate of firing missiles, such as the PAC-3 missile that's associated with the Patriot missile defense system, somewhere around 1,400 of those munitions may have been expended by the U.S. in Iran. That compares to several hundred or so that are have reportedly been expended in Ukraine.

So, you're seeing a lot of munitions being expended against targets that are cheaper to build and to maintain and to fly than the Patriot missile batteries themselves, the missiles themselves.

So, it gets to be a situation where the economies of scale are certainly turned on their head. Now there are things that CENTCOM is doing that are much more economically feasible in terms of an equal amount of defensive weapon as opposed to the amount spent on an offensive weapon by the Iranians.

But that is, you know, something that is basically a nascent series of technologies, and that particular factor is something that is really not a factor yet when it comes to weighing the cost of the munitions that have been expended.

So, what that means is we're not prepared in the United States potentially to wage a war, say, with the Chinese or in some other place, and that becomes a problem.

I think, you know, it would be false to assume that we can't do that, but it is also something of concern because it takes so long to replenish these missile stocks and these other munitions resources.

CHURCH: And Colonel, on that point, we are seeing the Trump administration talk about military intervention in Mali, that's according to the Washington Post. Why would they be considering such action if there's insufficient munitions for the war with Iran?

LEIGHTON: Well, it depends what type of munitions would be used. So, when it comes to the Iran war, you would be seeing weapon systems like the THAAD or you know the Patriot missile system. In Mali, you probably wouldn't see that so much. You'd see more of the joint standoff attack munitions that would be used by, say, the air force going after targets on the ground there. And there are plenty of those kinds of munitions.

So, in that particular case, conflict in Mali would be something that could be handled by the munitions that are currently on hand by the United States. When it comes to a more standard military, such as the Iranian military or another military such as a Russian or a Chinese adversary, then the other factors of the more sophisticated munitions do come into play, and that would be a completely different equation then.

CHURCH: And Colonel, with the American public souring on the war in Iran, how does it end if strikes are now back on the table and diplomatic efforts are at a standstill?

LEIGHTON: Well, that's going to be a significant problem, both politically and militarily, from an operational standpoint, so the fact that the war has been unpopular from the very beginning is really an unusual historical occurrence because most of the conflicts that the United States has been involved in over the past 20 to 30 years have actually been popular at least at the outset.

Now, when it came to you know a few years into those conflicts, it's a different story. But the fact that these conflicts have been unpopular, this conflict has been unpopular from the beginning. That is going to have a significant impact on the staying power of the United States. And frankly, the Iranians are counting on us not to have the staying power to stay the course.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much for your perspective and for joining us. Appreciate it.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. It's always great to be with you.

CHURCH: Wonderful.

A new video coming to CNN shows the grim aftermath of Russia's new strikes on Ukraine. Officials say at least eight people were killed across the country, including six near President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown. More than 20 others were wounded in recent hours. While emergency workers are scrambling to save a number of people trapped under rubble in western Ukraine.

[02:10:09]

Poland says an unidentified object crashed and caused an explosion on its territory during the strikes. In Kyiv, residents rush to take cover in shelters and subway stations. Mr. Zelenskyy was in Washington on Tuesday, speaking with President Donald Trump about the licensing of the U.S. Patriot interceptors for production by Ukraine.

Kyiv's deputy mayor spoke on CNN about the importance of those weapons.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KONSTANTIN USOV, KYIV, UKRAINE DEPUTY MAYOR: People often think of air defense as a military equipment. For the government of Kyiv, the Patriot interceptors have become a part of our critical infrastructure. It's basically impossible to effectively run a livable city if you cannot defend your school, your kindergarten, your hospital, your daily operations. When we are short on supplies, the impact is heavy, and lives are

lost, casualties, people die, and the disruption is terrible. Just like millions of Ukrainian families, and there are four million people living in Kyiv. It's a big city. My kids and my wife are now down in the basement of our multifamily apartment building, and I'm here with you to deliver the message and to enjoy this chance to be on your show, and this is a daily routine for Ukrainian families. They put their kids to bed earlier so that there is at least some sleep, because Russians tend to strike at night or early in the morning, then you survive. Then you make you your cup of coffee. Then you make sure that your children go to school and continue their learning, because learning is a manifest to the future.

And you know, showing up is what Ukrainians do daily. This is not -- and this is a resilience in action. This is optimism in its best form. This is defying what Russia is trying to do to us. I've never thought that you know being able to just show up for another day and do what you need to be doing is such an act of bravery, and I'm so proud of Ukrainian people, and I'm just trying to do my part.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Wildfire season in Europe could become even more destructive this week due to rising temperatures and uncooperative weather across the region. Emergency officials in the E.U. are paying close attention to Italy and Greece. Three firefighters died on Wednesday battling fires on the Greek islands. Two of those deaths happened on Crete, where firefighters became trapped.

In southwestern Turkey, growing flames prompted the evacuation of a hospital as a precaution. Strong winds caused the flames to keep changing direction. Weather is also an issue in Spain, where temperatures are expected to reach up to 38 degrees Celsius or 100 Fahrenheit this weekend. The country's weather service expects very high or extreme levels of fire danger through at least Sunday, with no rain in sight.

Meantime, volunteers stepped in to help firefighters in France. Parts of the country could see a slight dip in temperatures and maybe some thunderstorms near Bordeaux on Thursday, but it will still be very hot, and any wind or lightning could mean more flames spreading in the region.

CNN teams are on the ground across Europe. Pau Mosquera is in Spain, but first to France, where Nada Bashir has more on the firefighting efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a scene which has become all too familiar now in France's southwestern Gironde region, the scorched earth and burnt trees across miles and miles of woodland and farmland in this region, as a result of wildfires that have been blazing for days now.

And according to an official update on Wednesday, officials have said that the majority of the fires that they have been battling, over the last few days, have stabilized. They haven't seen any sort of spreading of those fires, though there have been some blazes which have rekindled, although they say that they were quickly dealt with.

But we are seeing peak temperatures on Wednesday today, expected to reach around 41 degrees Celsius. So, soaring past 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That is what's expected as the heat wave continues. And there is a fear that these extreme temperatures that we are seeing could lead to more fires.

[02:15:14]

And, of course, for the residents of this region, there is a huge amount of fear around the potential for more fires. More than 200,000 people already evacuated. Many of them desperately waiting for news of when they will be able to return home, but for some, they will not have homes to return to.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The blaze raging across western Madrid is now stabilized, according to the Spanish government.

However, the fire sprayed with such intensity over the last few days that it reached places like this one. This is San Juan Reservoir, an artificial lake located 60 kilometers west of Madrid, a point that has been used by firefighters as a water resource. Because we have seen how helicopters have come in here to collect water and drop on top of the active fire fronts.

But as you can see here, some of the kayaks and boats that were in the spear are actually reduced to rubble, and you can get an intense smell of burned plastic coming from here. But the flames not only engulfed this part of the reservoir, also a campsite that is located just a few meters from here.

SUSANA CASTILLO, RESIDENT IN LEGANES (through translator): I bought this caravan brand new two years ago, and brought it here because we really love this place. As soon as there was a spot available here at Ardilla Roja camping site, we moved it here to keep it permanently.

And in less than a month, it burned down, a 30,000 euro caravan. I just can't believe it. I've lost my home because I was planning to move here to live. I have nothing left now. I was renting a place while I was waiting to move here.

MOSQUERA: Another consequence of the wildfires are the irreversible damages cost to dozens of businesses, such as this restaurant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): One of the businesses that burned down, as you can see, is this one right here. It was completely destroyed. We were very lucky with the other one. It only suffered minor damage. Thank God we were spared there. For me, the emotional loss is even greater than the financial one because my family has been here for three generations. We have so many memories here with our family and with our customers, and those moments will never come back.

MOSQUERA: As hot and dry conditions are set to persist for weeks, officials are appealing to the public to do everything they can to avoid sparking new wildfires.

Pau Mosquera, CNN, San Juan Reservoir, Spain.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Back here in the United States, storms across New York are set to weaken in the coming hours, but severe rain has already caused dangerous flooding across the state. Some areas saw record rainfall on Wednesday, with the highest total hitting nearly a foot in southern New York. That's more than twice the amount of rain some areas see in the entire month of July.

Multiple counties in eastern New York declared states of emergency. They deployed rescue teams to help stranded motorists and others trapped by the floods. Other cities in the northeast are still at risk of flooding on Thursday, with more pockets of heavy rain set to fall.

In southern Japan, emergency crews are still sifting through earthquake rubble, searching for signs of life. Earlier, Japan's prime minister updated the preliminary death toll to at least 30. Though officials are trying to confirm if all of those deaths are linked to the quake.

It's unclear how many people are missing and injured. The prime minister said it's a race against time to find those trapped in the debris of a partially collapsed mall.

These images from inside are coming from police body cams. Elsewhere, damage assessments are underway. Here we see part of a temple that's been flattened, and these houses did not fare well. The roofs are caved in, and some of the walls have toppled. Tens of thousands of homes have lost power, and temperatures in Japan are soaring.

Well, there's trouble -- there's trouble ahead for President Trump's pick to be the next U.S. Attorney General. Why a key Senate committee has postponed a vote on advancing Todd Blanche's nomination.

Plus, a passenger plane flies non-stop across two oceans and appears to set a new record for longest commercial flight. How it stayed in the air for more than 24 hours.

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[02:24:09]

CHURCH: All right. Let's take a quick look at markets in Asia. You can see a mixed bag there, with Japan's Nikkei up more than 0.6 percent there. And here's how the U.S. stock Futures look some hours before the opening bell. The NASDAQ has gained some ground there. We'll see what happens in the coming hours, of course.

Well, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the fifth straight meeting as new Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh and policymakers continue to grapple with the uncertainty over inflation. The central bank left its benchmark lending rate unchanged, but the decision was not unanimous as three members dissented.

Before the meeting, the usual hints about the Fed's next move were noticeably missing amid a lack of guidance from Warsh. And here's what he had to say about the decision:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:01]

KEVIN WARSH, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: The patience, the impatience that households and businesses feel have been going on for 63 months. We are on the job. We will deliver. We are focused like a laser on making sure we can do it.

But the suggestion that we're going to be able to do it with our magic wand is one I want to disabuse you and everyone else of. But the discussion the last two days give me more confidence even than I had 8.5 weeks ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Chairman Warsh's remarks stirred up volatility. The Dow tumbled more than two percent or more than 1100 points. Its worst day in more than a year. The tech-heavy NASDAQ and the S&P both fell more than 1.5 percent.

Two Republican senators, with only a few months left in office, could keep Todd Blanche from becoming the next U.S. Attorney General. CNN's chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Senate Judiciary Committee scrapping a critical vote on Thursday and dealing a major blow to the confirmation prospects of Todd Blanche to be the next Attorney General of the United States.

This after a revolt from two Republican senators, John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, but it is really Cornyn who is driving this. Cornyn, who actually lost his re-election bid, lost his primary bid after Trump backed his primary foe Ken Paxton. Cornyn has emerged as a thorn in the side of President Trump. Tillis is not running for re-election and is also free from those re-election pressures.

But both men are concerned about this so-called anti-weaponization fund, $1.8 billion. It was part of a deal that was reached between President Trump and the IRS over a separate matter. Trump suing the IRS for $10 billion, claiming that he was injured by the unauthorized release of his tax returns. That led to both the anti-weaponization fund and a deal that would shield the president and his family from tax enforcement, past tax enforcement actions.

The question that John Cornyn had in particular, he wanted to end writing that this would not apply to the president in the future. Those that tax enforcement. Also, he wanted to end the weaponization fund once and for all, kill it all together. Want that written in paper, and it did not come. And as a result, Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, deciding to delay that vote.

And I asked Senator Cornyn whether or not the fact that he is free from those re-election pressures is making it easier to buck the president.

Do you would acknowledge, though, having not having him to run for re- election anymore has freed you up to be more independent from the president. Would you acknowledge that?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Have you noticed?

RAFFERTY: But when the president says that you're doing this political vendetta, what do you say?

CORNYN: That's a convenient excuse, and it happens to be untrue.

RAFFERTY: Now, can this nomination be salvaged? It is still possible if those demands are met, but the timing is so complicated. The Senate goes on recess at the end of next week, and the delay means that it is unlikely to hit the Senate floor by next week, which means this could get delayed into the fall.

And who knows what the political environment will look like then, or if the president move any closer to meeting the demands laid out by Cornyn and Tillis. But no doubt about it, a major blow to Tom Blanche, who had been trying to get the support of Republican senators, but unable to get the support of two, which means now his nomination will continue to hang in the balance.

Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: New CNN polling shows President Trump is becoming even less popular. Only 34 percent of U.S. adults surveyed say they approve of the way he's handling his job. 66 percent disapprove. That ties his career low approval rating from the end of his first term, right after the January 6th Capitol riot.

Only 27 percent say the president is in touch with the problems of ordinary Americans. 73 percent say he is not. The negative sentiment could spell major trouble for Republicans in November's midterms.

Well, Republican Senator Rand Paul is vowing to force a vote on holding Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify at a Senate hearing. Fauci took the fifth more than 100 times on Wednesday at the hearing on the COVID-19 pandemic, arguing that Paul's, "Obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution justified his actions."

CNN's Lauren Fox reports, but first, a warning, we did not censor the vulgar language used by some Republican senators.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dr. Anthony Fauci facing a barrage of attacks from Republican senators.

SEN. BERNIE MORENO (R-OH): Do you feel like you're in deep shit?

FOX (voice-over): At one-point, Republican Senator Bernie Moreno lobbed an expletive at Fauci, recounting a story he said inspired him to run for office about an Ohio woman arrested at a school football game for not wearing a mask during the pandemic.

MORENO: Here I am sitting in front of you six years later saying who the fuck do you think you were for doing that?

[02:30:00]

FOX (voice-over): The contentious hearing didn't yield many, if any, answers, but Republican Chairman Rand Paul accused Fauci of obstruction and said he'd hold a vote next week to hold Fauci in contempt of Congress.

SEN. RAND PAUL, (R-KY) CHAIRMAN, SENATE HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: All I can do is recommend prosecution. I can't initiate a vote (ph).

FOX (voice-over): Paul also took the unusual step Wednesday of kicking Fauci's lawyer out of the hearing.

PAUL: You are not recognized, sir. Security, please remove him from the room.

(APPLAUSE)

FOX (voice-over): Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment Right against self-incrimination over 100 times.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, FORMER DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Given Senator Paul's obvious obsession with calling for my prosecution, the sole reason he is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, "behind bars," unquote.

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY, (R-MO): Well, nothing says honesty like taking the Fifth, doc?

FOX (voice-over): Republican lawmakers have repeatedly accused Fauci of concealing the origins of COVID. They've blamed him for his recommendations that led to lockdowns, school closures and mask and vaccine mandates.

Paul's focus on whether Fauci should face criminal charges for his actions during the pandemic in part led to a sweeping pardon from President Joe Biden just before he left office.

PAUL: A pardon may protect a person from criminal prosecution doesn't rewrite history.

FOX (voice-over): Republican Senators seized on the documents Paul released before the hearing. More than 1,000 pages of Fauci's personal diary that had been found on government servers.

HAWLEY: You called yourself the most famous scientist in the world. You've done more to harm science than anybody in my lifetime. And I hope you go home and write that in your diary.

FOX (voice-over): The diary painted a portrait of a government scientist whose overnight celebrity had caught even him by surprise.

"For better or for worse, I'm becoming an international celebrity. Calls from all over the world," Fauci wrote in March of 2020. He also chronicled a birthday message from the stars, an invitation to join the Kennedys at Hyannis Port for Fourth of July, relationships with members of the media, including CNN journalists, and repeated calls from Barbra Streisand, who sought personal medical advice from him. "It's always good to hear from her," Fauci wrote.

Democrats meanwhile used the hearing to celebrate Fauci's legacy and decry their GOP colleagues as having an agenda to embarrass the decades-long public servant.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, (D-CT): I think that this proceeding smacks of a show trial, a vendetta, a continuing effort, not only to discredit Dr. Fauci, but science and medicine generally.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Qantas and Airbus team up to smash a record for the world's longest non-stop commercial flight. Those on board knew they wouldn't land for a very, very long time. We'll have the details after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:37:33]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: This is very exciting to me as a builder, somebody that builds lots of big, nice projects before I got here. And we're doing some of the best in the world right now. It's largely financed. And yeah, we need some approvals from Congress, probably.

But, generally speaking, it's been very bipartisan. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, you don't want to go and be subjected to this airport because this airport is a terrible place to be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Donald Trump there talking about his latest pet project in the Washington area. This one involves a more than $22 billion renovation of Dulles Airport, the region's main international gateway. Dulles regularly appears on lists of the worst U.S. airports.

A new CNN poll shows 58 percent of Americans don't support Mr. Trump's construction projects in Washington.

Well, many of us have endured flights that felt like they lasted all day and all night. But one that actually did just made history. Qantas flew an Airbus A350 from Melbourne, Australia, all the way to Toulouse, France, via the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Total time in the air, 24 hours and 24 minutes. Number of stops, zero.

The airliner was fitted with an extra fuel tank for this particular route. And it turned out to be the second most tracked flight ever. This is part of a Qantas plan to eventually offer non-stop service from Australia all the way to London next year.

All right, let's go to Brisbane, Australia now. And I want to bring in aviation expert Keith Tonkin, who is the Managing Director at Aviation Projects. Thanks so much for joining us.

KEITH TONKIN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, AVIATION PROJECTS: It's good to be with you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Wonderful. So Qantas just completed this record-breaking 24- hour-plus non-stop flight as part of a test campaign for its planned 2027 Sydney to London non-stop flight, lasting 19 to 21 hours, depending on routing and winds, of course.

As an Australian who's flown multiple times from Atlanta to Sydney, the thought of doing that flight in one hit is actually more overwhelming than having a layover. So what are the benefits of such a long non-stop flight? And what does it mean for the future of air travel?

[02:40:00]

TONKIN: It's quite extraordinary that we can fly a jet airliner for over 24 hours. So it's quite a magnificent achievement. And what it means for people who want to fly from Sydney to London in the first instance and then to New York after that, it'll mean that they can hop on an aircraft and sometime later hop off the aircraft and be in the place they wanted to get to after flying for 19 to 20-odd hours.

And for those people who are prepared to pay the price, I'm sure they will appreciate being able to do that without having to stop somewhere in between.

CHURCH: So what are the negatives involved in a non-stop 19 to 21- hour plane journey for the passengers and, of course, for the crew?

TONKIN: Yeah, for the passengers, the downside is that you're exposed to a drier, less humid cabin and the aircraft manufacturer needs to make sure that that problem is solved for people so that they are comfortable in that environment. And just being stuck in an enclosed space for such a long time is going to be a relatively unique experience for people.

So they'll need to adjust their idea and concept of how it should work if they're going to hop on those flights.

CHURCH: Yeah, indeed. Of course, most of us who've travelled on these long flights know the bathrooms get pretty bad by the end of the flight and passengers and crew, of course, are exhausted and can't get off the plane fast enough. So, how will Qantas overcome those challenges on such a long haul?

TONKIN: Yeah, there's been a lot of work and research into crew fatigue, pilots and the cabin crew and the rest facilities will be top notch, so that the pilots and the cabin crew can have a rest and make sure that they can perform their duties to the best of their abilities in spite of that long flight.

And they'll have plenty of people on board to rotate through the different positions to make sure that they can manage fatigue and end up at the other end just as fresh and able to do their job as they were when they started.

CHURCH: Yeah. And what about the actual plane itself? This is a new -- will be a new Airbus A350 that'll carry an additional 20,000 liters of fuel and can seat 238 passengers. What are the added mechanical and engineering challenges when a plane flies for 21 hours non-stop?

TONKIN: Yeah, it's certainly something to think about and there are some differences. Obviously, putting that extra fuel in rather than passengers means that you need more fuel tanks and more piping and more systems on board the aircraft to control where all the fuel goes. It's quite a significant challenge to make sure that it's in the right place for weight and balance and to make sure that it's providing fuel to the engines at the right times.

Structurally, the aircraft need to be modified and there's an amazing amount of testing happening even on those two long flights that the aircraft just performed to make sure that it's able to do that job across the different regimes of flight that it will need to undertake.

CHURCH: All right, Keith Tonkin, thank you so much for talking with us. It is extraordinary and we'll see what happens, what the uptake is. Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

TONKIN: You're very welcome.

CHURCH: Of course. Well, from ancient landmarks to breathtaking natural wonders, there are more than two dozen new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List. We will tell you what they are, just ahead here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:48:02]

CHURCH: Tourism helped turn Mauritius into one of the Indian Ocean's premier island destinations. But rising airfares, global uncertainty and changing traveler expectations are now testing the island's ability to overcome new obstacles. That's this month's Africa Insider.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THIERRY MONTOCCHIO, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, ER HOSPITALITY: Mauritius in the '80s, '90s was very famous for its beautiful beaches, its lagoons and the kindness of its people.

SYDNEY PIERRE, TOURISM MINISTRY: We really believe that the industry is one of the most important pillar for the economy. Its contribution is vital.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): For most visitors to Mauritius, the journey begins with a long-haul flight. But rising fares and instability on international routes are making access more costly and less predictable. When conflict in the Middle East disrupted Emirates flights through Dubai, one of the island's major connections was hit.

PIERRE: The Emirates were operating in that time two free (ph), EK80 and EK1777 daily. So this represent between 20 and 25 percent of our tourist arrival for destination. On some days, there was no flights at all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): The pressure has accelerated a rethink that began during the pandemic, to diversify the routes to the island and the range of vacations once visitors arrive.

MONTOCCHIO: During the COVID, the sector really took a break to think about itself, to reinvent itself, and to realize that people that their travels are going to be more meaningful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): That means selling more than the coast and beach resorts.

MONTOCCHIO: I don't think really Mauritius is in competition with the Maldives or Seychelles. I think, in Mauritius, where we are lucky is that there's so much more that you can do in Mauritius from the mountain to the reef.

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Today, Mauritius has about 1.4 million tourists a year and it's about the same size of our population. Obviously, they don't come all at the same time. We ought to be careful, we must not go into some over- tourism, you know, improving on quality tourism. That's the way I see the way forward.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): In Chamarel, Virginie and Jean-Marc Lagesse have spent more than 20 years building a lodge rooted in the landscape and community of the southwest.

VIRGINIE LAGESSE, OWNER AND MANAGING DIRECTOR, LAKAZ CHAMAREL: It's the soul that we have created here with the people, the culture, Chamarel culture. I think this makes the difference.

JEAN-MARC LAGESSE, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, LAKAZ CHAMAREL: Most of our guests now, they spend some time with us, you know, and then they go to the resort. V. LAGESSE: In authenticity, you have sustainability, the respect of the nature, the respect of a local community, of a culture. And I think, yes, this will be the future of the tourism, if we believe in that. If not, we're going to build and build and build with nothing inside.

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CHURCH: And much more coming up after a short break. Stay with CNN.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. UNESCO has added 25 new sites to its prestigious World Heritage List. It celebrates some of the planet's most remarkable cultural and natural treasures. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has more.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Mount Olympus in Greece, the Polish city of Gdynia, and a Buddhist temple in Thailand -- what do they all have in common? They were just named as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Two Amazonian theaters in Brazil also joined the 25 sites inducted this year, named by the U.N. Committee as having cultural, historical, or nature importance.

CANDIDO GEREMIAS, PRESIDENT, AMAZONIAN AGENCY OF CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT (through translator): The Teatro Amazonas, as an architectural treasure in the state and in the Amazon, has a fundamental role. And now, it will bring more tourists to our region, our state. We will have more chances to preserve it and greater protection.

KINKADE (voice-over): Also newly named, the Beaches of Normandy, where Allied Forces landed on D-Day. The site is characterized by the World Heritage Committee as a cultural property, the location of a decisive stage of the battle to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany during World War II.

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The committee also added six sites to its danger list, which are sites facing major threats from war, natural disasters, or other risks. The archaeological site of Sebastia in the Israeli-occupied West Bank was added to the list this year.

According to UNESCO, the site once served as the capital of the Northern Kingdom of Israel during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Islamic periods. Countries nominate their picks for World Heritage Sites and demonstrate their significance.

MICHAL MIEGON, GDYNIA TOUR GUIDE: Gdynia should be a UNESCO site because it's a unique combination of architecture, history of Pomerania, history of Poland.

KINKADE (voice-over): A selection process by the World Heritage Committee is conducted, and once chosen, the sites are given legal protection by an international treaty, making them eligible for financial support and emergency protection from the Fund.

MIEGON: And also the people that are welcoming all the tourists to Gdynia, and we are all very proud of the city. We want to show it to all the world.

KINKADE (voice-over): Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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CHURCH: Members of the K-pop super group, BTS, say they will not submit any music for consideration at next year's Grammy Awards. It comes about a month after the Recording Academy announced a new category for Asian pop for the first time.

BTS says they, quote, "Hope that music can be heard and loved for what it is, rather than being divided by region or language."

Well, former President Barack Obama just dropped his annual summer reading list. Among the books is "Kin" by Tayari Jones, a story of two people facing the impacts of racism in the Jim Crow era of the 1950s. "Whistler" by Ann Patchett is a novel about the choices people make and the choices that are made for them. And "Transcription" by Ben Lerner follows a 45-year-old man who travels to Providence, Rhode Island, to interview his former professor and mentor.

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Trailer of "Jumanji: Open World."

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CHURCH: That is the new trailer for the fourth installment in the Jumanji franchise that began with the late Robin Williams back in 1995. Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black and Kevin Hart led the 2017 and 2019 sequels. And now, they're back for "Jumanji: Open World." Danny DeVito, Alex Wolff, Nick Jonas and Awkwafina also return for this latest chapter. It centers on the Jumanji video games heroes breaking free of its console and stepping out in reality. Jumanji: Open World hits theatres on Christmas Day. Sounds like fun.

Thanks so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next, here on CNN. Do stay with us.

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