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Trump Gives July 4th Speech After Storm Delays; Extreme Heat Causes Passenger Train To Derail In Virginia; Delta Pilot Reports Fireworks Strike While Landing In Chicago; Iranian Mourn Death Of Slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Venezuelan Earthquakes Death Toll Rises To Nearly 3,000; Duchess Of Sussex, Kids Won't Accompany Prince Harry To London; Trump To Attend NATO Summit In Turkey This Week. Trump to Attend NATO Summit in Turkey This Week; Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Opens in North Dakota; Preliminary Hearing Starts for Charlie Kirk's Accused Killer; Famous River Re-Opens for Swimming to Parisians' Delight. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired July 05, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:05]

BRAD SMITH, CNN HOST: Ahead of what was billed as the largest fireworks display ever, President Trump made it a point to tout America's strength and slam communism. More of his message ahead.

And happening now, Iranians are once again gathering to mourn former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the defiant message coming from Tehran this morning.

And the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk will be in court this week. What we expect to learn from this preliminary hearing. Plus, the key piece of evidence that could play a big part in the case.

And Prince Harry will be back in the U.K. this week, but Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and the couple's children will not. Why Harry's family won't be joining him in London after all, coming up on CNN This Morning.

Good morning, it is Sunday, July 5th. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Brad Smith in for Victor Blackwell.

Concerts, parades, and fireworks lit up cities in all 50 states for America's 250th birthday. In Washington, after a storm-related delay of nearly two hours, President Trump took the center stage to cap off the day's events.

The President devoted much of his speech to America's history and its strength. He touted past U.S. military victories along with some of the military operations initiated by his administration into the mix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our rise to being the world's strongest and most powerful nation was no accident of history. We rebuilt our military in my first term. We use it a little bit in our -- actually, I should say third term, but I won't do that because I don't want any controversy.

But we use it and we've had tremendous success. You look at Venezuela, you look at Iran, we wiped it out, wiped out their military. Americans crossed the Great Plains, scaled the rockies, tamed -- you know, we just tamed the wilderness and conquered the frontier and built the empire. It's called the Empire of Liberty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Trump also thanked U.S. heroes and veterans who fought for America's freedom. He brought out three veterans from World War II, calling them truly the greatest generation. While the President largely stuck to his script, he did get political in his remarks. He brought up communism multiple times throughout his speech, and he also argued for the passage of the SAVE America Act, his proposed bill that would overhaul federal elections.

CNN's Julia Benbrook has more on President Trump's speech.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a long day here in Washington leading up to President Donald Trump's speech, but he did take the stage shortly after 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Weather-related concerns led to evacuations on the National Mall and delays, but Trump made it clear that he planned to speak no matter what.

Writing on social media, "Storms bring luck to whatever the occasion. They also make events a little bit more exciting. We will wait it out. I don't care if it's 2 o'clock in the morning or in one hour from now," he said. Adding, "Looks like it's going to pass. They always do."

A message that he reiterated when he spoke to the crowd and honored America's 250th birthday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Tonight, we come together for one of the most joyous and glorious milestones of all time. The -- and you know what that is, 250, the 250th anniversary. And I do have to say this. One of my very brilliant people backstage said, don't worry about it, sir. We can do it maybe next week. I said, it doesn't work next week.

This is the big day. We want July 4th. We're not looking for July something else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: In his speech, he talked about the nation's founding and also used some moments to highlight what he considers his biggest accomplishments in office so far. The President has drawn criticism for turning some of the events designed to honor America's anniversary into venues for personal promotion. At one point, he said that the Fourth of July celebration would include a Trump rally in addition to honoring America's founding.

Following his speech, there was a massive fireworks show here in our nation's capital.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

SMITH: All right. Thank you, Julia.

America's 250th anniversary was a historic milestone, years in the making. But the celebrations faced major disruptions, from blistering triple-digit heat during the day to severe evening thunderstorms that temporarily evacuated the National Mall. More than 50 people were treated for heat-related illnesses at the Freedom 250 celebration.

And take a look at this. D.C. Metro officials say that the heat caused this train to derail. Extreme heat can sometimes cause metal rails to buckle. No one was injured, fortunately, and all of the passengers were able to safely evacuate.

[07:05:11]

And in upstate New York, same situation there. Heat blamed for causing a bridge to get stuck, though, this time in the up position. The heat caused the metal to expand to the point that the bridge could no longer close. Fireboats were brought in to hose it down to try to cool it off and to get it working again.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar with me now. I mean, if this isn't Thomas Dolby blinding me with science and us getting a real good taste of it here with this heat and what it can do, I mean, what are we going to be looking forward to in the forecast? And will it subside a little bit?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. So you've got some areas that -- you've still got one more day of that intense heat, but then finally we will start to see them come down. The only downfall is it's going to be a brief reprieve before they finally go back up. But I would say enjoy it while it lasts.

Now, one thing to note, too, is we do still have a lot of those ongoing showers and thunderstorms across the country. Again, you can see a couple of different clusters here that we're dealing with. The one that actually has the warning is down across the southeast.

You can see that severe thunderstorm warning right there in Mississippi. Lots of lightning with these storms moving from Louisiana down to the south. You've also got some showers and thunderstorm clusters here across portions of Michigan, northern Indiana, as well as over into Iowa.

This is going to be the area of concern for today, especially in terms of the severe thunderstorms. So we're talking damaging wind gusts, 60, 70, even 80 miles per hour. There's also the chance for some hail, maybe golf ball size or even larger. The larger hail definitely across portions of the Southern Plains.

Here you can see again, we already have those ongoing showers and thunderstorms this morning, but more will begin to fire up later on into the afternoon. Once you get the heating of the day, helping to assist those storms in development, they'll continue through the evening and overnight hours before finally sliding off into early hours of tomorrow.

Here's a look at the temperatures. Now, some areas will start to see their briefer brief today. Take Chicago, for example, high today of only 75. They'd normally be in the mid-80s, but they'll be right back there on Tuesday. So it's really just a very short reprieve.

D.C. still very hot today. 95 for that high, but back closer to normal and a little bit cooler than normal once we get to the middle portion of the week. But then again, they start to rebound once again as we get into the middle to late part of the week. So D.C., for example, right back to the mid to upper 90s once we get towards Friday of the upcoming week.

SMITH: OK, I just need a little bit of a cool off. So it's good.

CHINCHAR: Just a little break. Yes.

SMITH: OK.

CHINCHAR: Just a little one.

SMITH: Thank you so much, Allison.

In headlines this morning, a frightening moment in the skies over Chicago. During the Fourth of July celebrations, a Delta flight from Atlanta appears to have been struck by fireworks while landing at Midway Airport. Listen to what the pilot told their traffic control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're just hoping it was just the mortar that went off underneath, but definitely felt a big bang.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been multiple reports, as you can imagine. The city's aware. They said they would notify the Chicago police, but, you know, I don't know what they'll do.

And Southwest 223, just for your information, the preceding airbus said they were struck by a firework, approximately 200 AGL.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Delta says the aircraft landed safely and is now being inspected. Authorities are looking into how fireworks may have gotten that close to planes approaching the airport.

And a Fourth of July call between the world leaders drawing attention as the war in Ukraine continues. Russia says that Vladimir Putin and President Trump spoke for about 90 minutes, marking their fourth conversation this year.

According to Moscow, the call focused on the ongoing war with Trump, again offering to help broker an end to the conflict. The Kremlin described the conversation as highly constructive. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he also spoke with Trump, calling it a very good conversation and expressing hope for a path towards ending the war. The White House has not yet commented on either call.

President Trump is showcasing a new mock up image of a $100 bill featuring his signature. The President posted the image on social media and it shows his signature above Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Traditionally, U.S. currency includes the signatures of the Treasury secretary and the treasurer, not the sitting president.

Officials say the idea is under consideration, and it's not clear whether any bills with Trump's signature are actually being produced. They add, the proposal is tied to plans marking the country's 250th anniversary.

And this morning, we are monitoring the massive public funeral for Iran's late supreme leader, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This is the second of what's expected to be several days of mourning for Khamenei. Iran's health ministry says around 15 million people will be paying their respects to the country's slain political and religious leader.

The long ruling head of Iran was killed by an IDF strike on the first day of the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. His sons were seen crying at the public funeral service. Now, one notable absence so far is Khamenei's successor, his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured in the war.

[07:10:11]

CNN's Leila Gharagozlou joins us now. Leila?

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, so we are seeing the second day of the public mourning ceremonies in Tehran. This is a time for civilians to be able to come and pay their respects to the Ayatollah before the procession moves out of the capital city and goes to other cities in Iran, as well as Iraq, before he's laid to rest in Mashhad, his hometown.

Now, as you mentioned, there is that one notable absence, which is the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. It's unclear whether he's going to be seen over the course of the next six days. Now, if he is going to make an appearance, the most likely place is going to be in Mashhad on that final day when his father is laid to rest.

But even that is very much up in the air. The Iranians citing security concerns around him, as well as concerns for his health. That's most of why we haven't even seen him up until this point. So it's very unclear whether he's going to make an appearance. But it's what everyone's going to be waiting and watching to see.

You know, four months into this war, and we still have not seen the new supreme leader. So this is definitely a big moment. And this funeral really is a moment to close one chapter of the Islamic Republic and begin a new one. So seeing the new supreme leader is going to be key.

In the meantime, tomorrow is going to be a massive procession through Tehran to kind of mark the final chapter of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the capital city.

SMITH: And we will be seeing exactly how this impacts some of the talks going forward, of course, as you mentioned there as well.

Leila Gharagozlou, thank you so much for joining us here this morning.

Next up, we are tracking the latest on the deadly earthquakes in Venezuela. We will have the latest on the rising death toll, as well as a special tribute to those first responders.

Plus, a royal homecoming, but not the one that was planned. Why Prince Harry is heading to Britain without Meghan and the children.

And later in sports, the first World Cup co-host is eliminated. Plus, we'll look ahead to today's matches in the round of 16.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:17:00]

SMITH: This morning, the death toll from Venezuela's devastating earthquakes is climbing again. Nearly 3,000 people are confirmed dead. And some experts warn that the true death toll could surpass 10,000. In addition, Venezuelan officials say nearly 17,000 people have been injured.

More than 16,000 have been displaced. And so far, more than 6,400 people have been rescued. Officials have not said how many people are still missing.

Now, in the midst of that uncertainty, Venezuela's acting President, Delcy Rodriguez, is recognizing the global response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, ACTING VENEZUELA PRESIDENT (through translation): The Venezuelan people will never forget the helping hand that came to care for us, to help us, to comfort us, and to stand by us. Those who are now leaving our homeland, may you all leave with a piece of Venezuela in your hearts as a token of the deep gratitude we feel toward each and every one of you rescuers who were here, risking your own safety to save others. I can't imagine a more beautiful sight than when a citizen of the world crosses borders to help another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: And in La Guaira, one of the hardest hit areas, field hospitals, are working around the clock to treat people who were hurt. And doctors say while the initial trauma response is easing, the need for follow-up surgeries and long-term care is only growing. Staying internationally, Prince Harry's disagreement with the royal family over personal security is bubbling up again, and the Duke is headed back to London next week to mark the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games, which he founded.

But Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and their two kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will not be joining him. They weren't offered taxpayer-funded protection for the visit. And there's also confusion over where the family would stay during the visit if they came.

CNN's Anna Cooban joins me now from London. Anna, what are we learning about the Duke's visit?

ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Well, there is just a lot of confusion around this. So in order to understand it, we really have to go back to 2020, when Harry and Meghan decided controversially to step back from royal duties.

Now, what that automatically meant was they were not eligible for taxpayer funded police protection. But Prince Harry has made it extremely clear that he will not bring his wife and two children to the U.K., where he says they get multiple threats that compromise their security. He will not do that without proper protection.

Now CNN has learned that his private security detail are trying to see if they can make this trip work. And they want to make it because this would be the first time in four years that they, you know, Archie, Lilibet would come to the U.K. with Meghan and potentially see other members of the royal family. Now, there are some big question marks around this. Will they join him outside of London?

We've, you know, know that he'll be doing engagements around the U.K., one in the second city of Birmingham to really foreshadow the Invictus Games next year. And the second question is, where will they stay? So CNN has learned that they were going to stay at both a private residence and a royal residence, the second of which they would automatically receive police protection.

[07:20:10]

But now that's all thrown into doubt, and there was further confusion sowed when Buckingham Palace clarified that an invitation by King Charles to stay at a royal residence has not been accepted by Prince Harry. So big question marks over this. But we'll find out not -- in the not too distant future.

SMITH: Yes, indeed. I'm sure they will figure out some type of resolution. They have to, right?

Anna Cooban, thank you so much.

Well, next up, a high stakes meeting in the nation's capital. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could be visiting President Trump. So what is that going to look like? Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:25:08]

SMITH: CNN has learned that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit the White House as soon as next Monday after the NATO summit ahead of Netanyahu's White House visit, Trump telling Axios that Netanyahu, quote, "knows who the boss is." The two leaders have not met since the end of February when the joint U.S.-Israeli war on Iran began. CNN has contacted the White House for a comment.

The NATO summit takes place this week in Turkey, and President Trump will be attending, even though he has threatened to withdraw from the alliance. The President recently said that he would not have gone to the summit, but the President of the host country, Turkey, asked him to attend.

Let's discuss with Jim Townsend. He is the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO policy. Thank you so much for joining us.

Since President Trump already said he really did not want to attend the NATO summit, but is doing it out of respect for Turkey's President, do you think that NATO members will be able to appease Trump?

JIM TOWNSEND, FMR. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, EUROPEAN AND NATO POLICY: Well, they're going to make a great effort to do that. And NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will as well. And he was in Washington last week making a big pitch, telling Americans as well as Donald Trump what NATO can do for the U.S. and does for the U.S., and how much the allies are putting into their own defense. So there's a good news story to tell if Trump is listening.

SMITH: NATO did send a congratulatory tweet as well to the U.S., recognizing the 250th anniversary of our independence. Do you think this was formality? Do you think this was a sign of how leaders will approach Trump? And what do they want from the U.S. as the alliance has been increasingly strained under the Trump presidency?

TOWNSEND: Well, I think it was formality. This is something that NATO does for every country, every ally that has a national day. But on this particular anniversary for the U.S., I think they couldn't miss it for sure. And I think they made a special effort too.

And I think that will be the tone, frankly, among a lot of the allies is congratulating Trump and also the Americans for the 250th anniversary. And, you know, some of the allies were sending aircraft to the U.S., some of their acrobatic aircraft that were making flyovers. The French did that and the Brits.

So there's been a lot of activity to try to show the U.S. that there certainly is a care and love coming from Europe. And I think what they both want to see is, in terms of the United States, more of a European effort and that's being made. And from Europe, they want to see a U.S. that really commits to stay within the alliance and maybe a softening of the rhetoric. SMITH: Trump not known to hide his feelings or emotions on pretty much anything, especially when it comes to NATO. So, going into these talks, as we're going to be watching how the different dignitaries and elected officials are discussing world matters on this world stage, thinking more about the Israeli strikes on Iran even, do you expect him to continue lashing out them publicly?

TOWNSEND: Well, you know, that's a really important point. It seems with Trump, even after the best efforts of Mark Rutte and others to show Trump that his, you know, his attention has been getting -- is being heard in Europe. He still is stuck on these talking points about freeloading and NATO as a paper tiger.

And I think we've got to just -- you know, this is what he is like a record. He's stuck on it and he's going to say it. But as long as he doesn't act on it, that's the key. And of course, a lot of European nations are trying to hedge their bets to be ready just in case he does say, look, I'm done with the alliance.

There's a lot of work going on in Europe to build up the European capabilities for conventional deterrence. And so, they're making sure that they're listening to what Trump is saying and they're acting as well to show that they can carry the burden.

SMITH: Do you see there being a material difference coming out of this NATO summit in the peace negotiations between the U.S. and Iran?

TOWNSEND: Well, you know, it's interesting. I'm not sure we're going to see much coming out of the summit concerning the Middle East and those talks. Maybe NATO might decide to do a maritime support operation in the Gulf to help clear the mines. I hope they do something like that.

But I think what we might see is something dealing with the Ukraine- Russia war. Not only a strong support for Ukraine and potentially some money coming from allies to support Ukraine as well, but an emphasis from the United States that we're -- that the U.S. is going to be willing to head up talks again with Russia.

Putin and Trump have already talked about that over the past few hours. So it could be that's where the impact will be felt coming out of the summit.

SMITH: Moscow saying that Putin held a 90-minute phone call with the President over the past couple of days here as we're thinking through what you just mentioned and where the Russia-Ukraine war could actually see some type of material movement.

How would this NATO summit set the stage for those talks and a ceasefire but even more so an end to that war?

TOWNSEND: Right. And I think if we can get a ceasefire, that would be a great step forward. But you're absolutely right. I think coming out of this summit, if Putin sees that the alliance is unified, that there's not splits that he can exploit, if Putin can see that the alliance is unified, the assistance is going to continue and the financial assistance will be also discussed and some things announced, I hope, during the summit about further financial assistance to Ukraine.

Those signals that Putin will get is that Europe isn't going anywhere in terms of their support for Ukraine and the United States has stepped into the void. If we say something at the summit, which I think we will, that the U.S. is willing to step back into the void in terms of negotiations and try to start things back up again.

So, this summit can set the stage of willingness on the West, number one, to support Ukraine, and number two, to step in and try to broker some type of ceasefire that could lead to a long-standing peace.

SMITH: Jim Townsend, really valuable insight. Thank you so much for joining us.

TOWNSEND: Thank you.

SMITH: Well, a new presidential library now open to the public in North Dakota. The 96,000-square-foot Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library highlights the 26th president's legacy and the deep ties to the American West. It cost about $450 million to build, and here's what some of the first visitors had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: History is one of my favorite things to study and to be a part of it is a huge honor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted him to get to experience something he's heard about and wrote about, but now he gets to be a living part of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The museum takes visitors through Roosevelt's life from his childhood in New York to his time out West. Many of the exhibits are interactive with designers using technology to keep people engaged and exploring. Officials say that the library could draw as many as 200,000 visitors each year.

Well, for Charlie Kirk's family, this week marks another pivotal moment in court. His accused killer faces a hearing that could pave the way for a death penalty trial. We'll break down what is at stake.

And if you're heading out, remember that you can stream our show from anywhere in the U.S. right from the CNN app. You can also go to cnn.com/watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:35:00]

SMITH: A critical preliminary hearing starts this week for the accused killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. A judge will decide if there is probable cause to support a slew of charges against 23-year-old Tyler Robinson. The hearing is expected to take several days. Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, and his parents are expected to be there. Prosecutors have already said that they plan to seek the death penalty against Robinson if he's convicted.

And joining me now, we've got retired judge Ashley Willcott. Good to have you here with us on this matter.

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, RETIRED JUDGE: Thank you, Brad.

SMITH: I mean, we're all going to be watching to see how this plays out, but let's just talk about the expected evidence here. The prosecution's key witness, Robinson's former roommate.

WILLCOTT: Yes.

SMITH: What is the information that they will be looking to deploy, assess and really bring to the court as they go through this case?

WILLCOTT: Great question. So, remember, preliminary hearing, it's a low standard probable cause. So, the prosecution isn't necessarily going to present all of its evidence, but rather strategically the evidence that has to present for the judge to say there's enough for this to go forward to trial.

Knowing that, I expect when you speak of the former roommate, for instance, we know that there were texts allegedly between the defendant and the roommate about don't talk, don't tell them anything, look under the computer keyboard. There's a note. And that note said, if I have the opportunity, I'm going to take out Charlie Kirk. So, a lot of incriminating evidence from that roommate.

SMITH: With all of the charges that we're looking at, and we're talking about charges like aggravated murder, felony use of a firearm, obstruction of justice. What -- and put yourself in the judge's shoes here. Do we think that the judge will decide that there's probable cause to support all of them or handpicked some of them? How would you be going through?

WILLCOTT: That's a great question. If it were me, I would have those charges in front of me listed as well as the definitions. As I listen to the prosecution's evidence, if it were me, I'm going to be checking off and writing, oh, this supports this charge. I'm not sure the obstruction of justice, both charges are supported by the evidence. And then I would go through in my ruling and say this one was supported by this each charge.

Now, the judge has discretion. If the judge does not see the evidence there to either a dismiss any of those charges, all of those charges, or can say you may have evidence for this, but not this particular charge. And then the prosecution can change the charges.

SMITH: The death penalty here.

WILLCOTT: Yes. On the table.

SMITH: Is on the table. WILLCOTT: It is.

SMITH: And so, this is what prosecutors have already said that they are going to be seeking. What in the judge's shoes then are they going to be looking forward to ultimately decide whether or not that remains on the table?

WILLCOTT: Well, you know, what's interesting, that's not going to be decided at the preliminary hearing. If the charge of aggravated murder remains after the probable cause hearing, then the state from arraignment has 60 days to file the formal notice to pursue the death penalty.

[07:40:00]

And so, it doesn't make a difference for the preliminary hearing, but aggravated murder is the charge that the judge has to find is supported by enough evidence to go forward in order for the state to then pursue the death penalty.

SMITH: This is a very high-profile case.

WILLCOTT: High profile.

SMITH: When you think about the number of eyeballs that are going to be on this and the number of focus that this court is going to have on it, both state, federally, what does that imply for just how this could and should proceed at the end of the day?

WILLCOTT: Oh, boy, this judge will have to dot every I, cross every T because we know the judge has already said preliminary hearing expected to last the week. There are going to be cameras so that the public can have an unfettered view of what happens inside that courtroom. Transparency.

But the court also has to balance that to make sure the defendant's constitutional rights are protected. So, for instance, the judge has said, journalists that come in, you cannot bring your phone, you cannot bring your laptop, you're going to have to rely on what's videoed.

So, the judge throughout this is going to have to be very cautious to make certain that the public interest, court of public opinion, is taken into account but doesn't influence or affect negatively all of the defendant's constitutional rights. It's a balancing act.

SMITH: A fair and speedy trial.

WILLCOTT: Yes.

SMITH: How much more difficult does that become?

WILLCOTT: Yes, very difficult. However, it's the defense's strategy to determine are they going to demand that, in which case it goes very quickly and the prosecution can sometimes feel like it's scurrying around to get everything done timely or sometimes the defense says, no, we want it to go longer before we actually go to trial. We want it to become less than the public opinion. That's all a strategy decision by the defense.

SMITH: Interesting. Ashley Willcott, thank you so much.

WILLCOTT: Thank you. Good to see you.

SMITH: Really valuable insight. Well, a quiet English town is thrust into the global spotlight when a mysterious poisoning reveals a deadly international conspiracy. Here's a sneak peek from our latest CNN film.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Salisbury is a small city. What happened doesn't sound like it's something that happens in your town.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two people were having a medical episode.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immediately, this didn't look right. They had very unusual symptoms. Somebody said, you're not going to believe what I've just found out. Something has poisoned these people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It turns out that he was a Russian spy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were told that an agent had been used.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How did it get into the country and where was it now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Salisbury has taken a serious turn for the worst. Now it's murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was enough poison in that bottle to kill 10,000 people. There is no playbook for this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Russia had been responsible for this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were people who thought we should treat this attack as an act of war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The poisoning was just the beginning. This is bigger than we thought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There comes a point where you have to tell the world what you found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ugliness of the world was suddenly on our doorstep.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The Salisbury Poisonings: A Spy Next Door," premieres July 12th on CNN and next day on the CNN app.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [07:30:00]

SMITH: Let's get a check of your top stories. Extreme heat and severe storms delayed, but did not stop the 4th of July celebrations around the country. In the nation's capital, crowds packed the National Mall to watch what was billed as the largest fireworks display in history. President Trump spoke at the event touting American strength and warning against the threat of communism.

President Trump heads to a major NATO summit in Turkey this week. Ongoing wars between Russia and Ukraine and the U.S. and Iran likely to be discussed. Trump has a well-documented dislike for NATO, but the organization still reached out to wish the U.S. a happy birthday this weekend on social media.

And Pope Leo is urging Americans to welcome immigrants with, quote, "compassion and generosity." He delivered the message during a July 4th visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a major arrival point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

And this morning, we are getting a first glimpse inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding. Ana Demmer, who is engaged to Kansas City Chiefs player Creed Humphrey, posted a photo on Instagram of a handkerchief that appears to have been given to guests Friday night. The handkerchief is embroidered with TNT, the date, and New York City, along with a lyric from "Blank Space." So, it's going to be forever.

And Parisians are now able to get a break from sweltering heat by taking a dip in the Seine River. It was open to the public on Saturday and for a second year in a row, even though swimming was off limits for decades because of pollution. Melissa Bell explains how the river was transformed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forget climbing the Eiffel Tower. The cool new thing to do in Paris is to swim beneath it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's very quiet. Yes, very nice, and you can see some very little fish in the water, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We swim in Copenhagen, where we come from as well. So, we don't really mind, actually.

BELL (voice-over): Others are still a little hesitant.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have not, like, entered the water, but I think the idea of, like, lounging by the Seine is really cool.

BELL (voice-over): It's hard to imagine that the Seine River was once a toxic mess, home to half of Paris' untreated wastewater. In fact, for a hundred years, swimming in it was strictly prohibited. Now, for the first time, for the second year in a row, public swimming areas will be open till the end of August.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First, I would like to guarantee them that the quality of the water is very good. Secondly, it's an amazing occasion to discover Paris in a different way.

BELL (voice-over): A swimmable Seine was one of the pledges of the 2024 Paris Olympics. 1.4 billion euros were spent getting the river clean enough for the athletes to compete in it, but the idea was always to give ordinary Parisians their river back, too.

BELL: A few years ago, the idea of swimming in the Seine River would have seemed crazy, but then again, this is a city in which it is often said that the only sane thing is the river.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: All right. Melissa Bell, thank you.

Well, this morning, heat advisories remain in effect across several parts of the U.S., but some relief may finally be on the way. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar with me now. Allison, how much longer does this heat stick around and who gets relief first?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, some will start to get relief as early as today. Others will have to wait another day or so, but it is on the way.

One thing we're also keeping an eye on are all of these storms across the area. You can see we've got some in the southeast, the Midwest, even across portions of the northeast. We've had some warnings off and on throughout the morning so far across areas of the southeast. Right now, we are warning free, but you can still see a lot of lightning with those storms in Louisiana and portions of Mississippi.

Lots of lightning here with this system in Michigan. It's making its way towards Detroit and Toledo. That will continue to slide off to the east. The greatest threat for today in terms of severe thunderstorms exists essentially from the Texas panhandle all the way up through New York. That's where we could be looking at damaging winds and even some small hail mixed in with some of those storms.

Not to mention we have the ones this morning, but it really starts to ramp up as we go through the day, especially across Illinois, Missouri, and then that line of storms that is expected to form stretching all the way back into Texas. These will continue into the evening and overnight hours for many of these areas as well.

Now, we talked about relief from the heat. Starting today in a place like Chicago, only 75 today. Their normal is 84, but they'll be right back up to it by the middle of the week. Washington, D.C., topping at 95 today. So, still one more day of the heat, but then we start to see those temperatures dipping back down and actually to even below average by the time we get to the middle of the week.

Take a look at this, Tuesday and Wednesday, temperature is about 5 degrees below average, but then we get back up to the 90s by Friday. And so, you're going to see kind of that up-and-down pattern here too. Out to the west, we also have some heat warnings. That, guys, is in effect starting Tuesday as more of the heat returns to the west.

SMITH: All right. Allison Chinchar, thank you so much. Going to be watching that close.

A major upset at Wimbledon. The reigning women's champ eliminated. Coy Wire is here with me now.

COY WIRE, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yes, Iga Swiatek, down. And Alexandra Eala, she says that she doesn't think there are any grass courts in the Philippines where she grew up. She said she grew up playing on a court where a basketball court was painted on top of a tennis court and there were actually basketball hoops. So, she couldn't really back up or she'd hit the basketball post.

Huge upset taking down Iga Swiatek, the reigning champ. This buzzsaw named Alex Eala. She's 21 years old from the Philippines. She won in straight sets. First Filipino player ever to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam singles tournament. Listen to the emotion that came pouring out of her after this win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDRA EALA, TENNIS PLAYER: For someone who grew up in the Philippines, and I went to train with my brother and my grandfather every day after school with my ruffled socks and my light-up shoes and chubby cheeks. So, to her, this is everything.

But obviously, because I'm emotional does not mean I'm satisfied. So, yes, OK, next round. Let's go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: So good. All right. not so good for tennis fans. Serena Williams says she's heartbroken to withdraw from the doubles tournament with her sister Venus after she hurt her knee in a singles match last week. She even posted photos of all the fluids she had removed from her knees, and coming back to compete again has been a gift. Telling fans to stay tuned, though, to a city near you.

All right. France marching on, Kylian Mbappe burying this penalty in the 70th minute to beat Paraguay 1-nil and book a spot in the quarterfinals. Goal number seven, tying him with Messi for the most in the tourney so far. Mbappe collecting goals like Pokemon. France will face Morocco next.

All right. Avert your eyes if you are currently eating or get queasy easily. This is how a man gains about 24 pounds in just 10 minutes. Joey Chestnut winning his 18th mustard belt, devouring 66 hot dogs, buns, and all that water in 10 minutes at the annual Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. That's won every 9.1 seconds.

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And for some perspective, though we probably don't want it, 66 hot dogs stacked end-to-end would stretch about 40 feet. That's about three to four stories high. So, I want to pose a question to my friends here. If you had to eat one food in a contest, which one would you eat just because you love it? I'll go first. I'm going chicken wings, especially that lemon pepper variety.

SMITH: I'm going snow crab legs.

WIRE: What?

SMITH: Yes.

WIRE: I thought you said tater tots.

SMITH: Yes, I was thinking about it a little bit more, though. Anything worth doing is worth doing well. Allison?

CHINCHAR: Reese's peanut butter cups.

WIRE: Yes.

CHINCHAR: Yes. All the way.

WIRE: This girl keeps them stacked in a drawer at work.

CHINCHAR: Breakfast of champions.

WIRE: Hey, no shame. Like, I partake of this.

SMITH: I've got to get invited to that drawer and find out where that's at. Thank you guys so much. Really fun. Coy Wire, appreciate it.

WIRE: You got it.

SMITH: Allison, good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us on CNN This Morning Weekend. Inside Politics Sunday with Manu Raju is up next.

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