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Funeral for Iran's Former Supreme Leader; Oil Prices Fall After Strikes between U.S. and Iran; Former Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel Says U.S. Should End Support for Israel; Maine Democrats Face Ballot Deadline. Aired 6:30-7a ET

Aired July 09, 2026 - 06:30   ET

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

[06:30:00]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Has now moved to a city in northeast Iran, the birthplace of Ali Khamenei. That is where he will be laid to rest. Mourners traveling from Iran's capital may have been delayed after a reported U.S. strike on railways connecting the two cities. Iran's Revolutionary Guard accused the U.S. of trying to overshadow the final burial with the strike.

So, you guys, we wanted to talk about this funeral procession because this is happening, leading up to where we are now, which is a fresh round of strikes.

JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: Right.

CORNISH: And I remember a few days ago, the president even sort of alluded to, well, they're in the middle of funeral proceedings. How does this alter the kind of landscape for the moment we're in now to sort of diplomatically?

RUBIN: Well, Audie, it shows there's diplomatic collapse right now. The confidence is gone between the sides. J.D. Vance, the vice president, really tried to sell this agreement, but it never really took. And I think for those of us who want diplomacy, but also looked at that MOU skeptically, this was highly predictable. The MOU was so broad and there were so many holes within it that both sides misinterpreted each other. And now we're back to war.

And I got to tell you, I don't know how we get through this.

CORNISH: Yes.

RUBIN: And we may just have a bunch more strikes back and forth until hopefully we see some intermediary step in, maybe Pakistan. But this was highly predictable.

CORNISH: And it's interesting because J.D. Vance has come out at a certain point and said that he felt the people who were in charge were not necessarily in charge because of the adversity (ph).

RUBIN: I mean, look, they both said their own thing. CORNISH: Hold on one second. We've got Fred Pleitgen. He's in Tehran.

CNN operates inside Iran with permission of the government. We retain full editorial control of the reporting. And, Fred, we were just talking about kind of who's in charge, who could be at the table when it comes to diplomatic talks. And you're there while this -- these funeral processions are going on. Is there a sense of sort of who runs Iran, so to speak?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, right, the -- Iran is run, if you will, by several entities. At the forefront, of course, is the office of Iran's supreme leader. And I know that there's been a couple of discussions about the actual state of the supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who, of course, is the second eldest son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is being laid to rest in Mashhad (AUDIO GAP) in Mashhad for that procession.

But really, right now, one of the interesting things I think that has happened in Iran, Audie, is that the power center has sort of shifted a little bit. The institutions are basically the same, but the power within those institutions has certainly shifted to a certain degree.

If you look at the way that the Iranians conducted the negotiations for their side, a lot of the direct negotiations would have happened between the Iranian foreign ministry, between the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and Steve Witkoff on the American side. But then for every single one of the points of that memorandum of understanding, for all the changes that happened to those points, the Iranians put that through several different entities here inside Iran. The supreme national security council, the military, and then, of course, also the supreme leader's office as well. So, all those entities have a say.

In the end, the final say lies with the supreme leader and the supreme leader's office. But, of course, it makes those negotiations quite difficult. And now with some of the friction that you're seeing, especially in the Strait of Hormuz, it does certainly seem as though there is definitely a different understanding on the U.S. side and on the Iranian side as to what exactly specifically this Article Five of the memorandum of understanding stipulates, which essentially calls on Iran to set the conditions for a free transition of the Strait of Hormuz, but the Iranians clearly interpret that as them having the say of how the Strait can be transited, whereas the U.S. believes it just means that the Iranians take obstacles out of the way and allow free transit, even if that is via the route that goes through Omani territorial waters, Audie.

CORNISH: The -- as we said, the late supreme leader's body being laid to rest at his birthplace. Is there a chance we are going to see his son, Mojtaba Khamenei?

PLEITGEN: Well, I think that's probably highly unlikely. There certainly aren't any indications right now that the new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is going to be there on the ground. And one of the things that you've been talking about, which is absolutely correct, is that this is really a marathon funeral proceeding that's going on. It started this weekend as the bodies lay in state, not just of the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but also several family members, including a 14-month-old daughter.

Then there was a big procession here in Tehran that happened on Monday. And there, many people already believed that if they were going to see Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader, it would have been at that event because that event was in the Iranian capital. There also was a service where he might have appeared. So far, that's not happened.

I think one of the interesting things for our viewers is that Mojtaba Khamenei is the new supreme leader.

[06:35:01]

He's been named. (AUDIO GAP) he's in charge. We haven't actually heard from (AUDIO GAP) statements (AUDIO GAP) from (AUDIO GAP) seems unlikely.

CORNISH: OK, Fred, we might be losing you. Just a minute. We want to let people know that right now Fred is actually in Iran, where there are these funeral processions for the former supreme leader.

Fred, thanks so much. We'll come back to you later in the day.

As these funeral processions are happening, of course, the U.S. has returned to strikes. Iran is threatening the region with strikes against U.S. bases in other countries. And that means, yes, oil prices continuing to weigh the impact of the end of the ceasefire with Iran. And so, this is a question, of course, for many Americans about, after this brief reprieve, are we about to see gas prices rise again?

Patrick De Haan with GasBuddy says that's already happening, quote, "we're up two cents per gallon since Monday. Still lower than a week ago. But he warns potential price increases will happen soon.

The group chat is back.

You know, it was very clear the president was happy to announce this memorandum of understanding ahead of July 4th, ahead of what was a very important kind of week for him symbolically at home. And he specifically mentioned global recession. So, what are the concerns now as we sort of return to what people have been euphemistically calling kinetic action?

MIKE DUBKE, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, I think the concerns are exactly where they were before and prior to this in the shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz --

CORNISH: Global recession?

DUBKE: Well, global recession. Yes, we've got strategic oil reserves around the world that are at all-time lows, that this was supposed to alleviate. But as we -- as we look at this, I, you know, I read a lot of stories in "The Economist" and "Financial Times," in "The New York Times," that a lot of these oil experts had it wrong, that these prices were coming down faster than everyone thought. You heard the up like a rocket down like a feather analogy over and over again. And we're back down to $78 today. What was that, $78 a gallon for Brent?

So, a lot of people were going, wow, I can't believe the oil prices came down as fast as they did. That still doesn't alleviate what the president said two weeks ago about global recession. This is still a problem.

CORNISH: Is it improved by Europe saying, look, if you guys could take a break, we could actually get a minesweeper in there. We were hearing from Germany's foreign minister.

RUBIN: Look, I think the idea of having our allies involved would be very helpful. We're going to have to get a deal that is firm, that has clear language, that both sides believe is identical and that they're both on the same sheet of music there, because if we don't, we're basically not going to have any resolution to the Strait of Hormuz. You know, just the other day as well, we reinserted -- reinstalled sanctions that were repealed as part of the MOU. So, it's all over --

CORNISH: Yes, the sanctions two-step is very sort of strange to message around.

RUBIN: It's all over the place. There's no clarity on this diplomatic program, as opposed to the track now between Lebanon and Israel, which is much more structured, where there's a signing ceremony, there's agreed upon texts. The United States is a cosigner to that. And we know what we're doing in that case. Here, we have no idea, and we need to get back to diplomacy 101.

CORNISH: And there's some irony there because these were U.S.-Israel strikes at the outset. That's how this war started.

RUBIN: That's right.

CORNISH: I'm glad you brought that up. I want to turn to this.

Rahm Emanuel, potential presidential candidate in 2028, he's always been, of course, a big supporter of Israel. But right now, this former chief of staff for President Obama, is delivering a pretty scathing critique of Israel. And he did so in Israel on a trip to Tel Aviv. This happened on Wednesday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHM EMANUEL, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The hard truth is that America's silence through the years has engendered the worst of your domestic politics. We've done you no favors by averting our eyes from, in my view, your misjudgments. And to that end, if I have anything to say about this in the future, every Israeli found attacking Palestinian civilians or their property in the future will be sanctioned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: All right, so we wanted to talk about this because there's been a lot of conversation about Democrats and policies on Israel. An AP poll in June found 45 percent of Democrats think the U.S. is too supportive of Israel. Thirty-four percent of Democrats say it's about right.

Group chat is back.

Joel, I want to come to you just to start because you and I always talk off set about, like, what is going on? How come neither party knows how to express a coherent policy on Israel right now? And I wanted to talk to you about this because Rahm Emanuel went straight to the Israeli people and said, you don't have a problem with Democrats. Your problem is with the U.S.

RUBIN: Yes.

CORNISH: That Americans are frustrated with Netanyahu and that that needs to sink in.

RUBIN: Yes, Audie, I was just in Israel last week at a security conference and surprise, surprise, the Israelis don't follow all the nuances of American politics.

[06:40:07]

They have a few other things on their mind, which means a lot of war. So, Rahm Emanuel's speech should be viewed within that context of at least giving some insight as to what's happening here. But from my perspective, this was a speech to the Democratic base. This was not really a speech to the Israeli people. There was no explanation about how we're going to help you.

And in fact, I did a little research last night. President Obama made a similar speech in 2013. Senator Schumer in 2024. President Biden spoke tough. It's sort of now almost like rote, where Democrats who are running for office need to show that we're tough on Israel in order to have the base feel good about us.

CORNISH: Yes. But unlike those people, they have -- they weren't called self-hating Jews by Benjamin Netanyahu, OK. So, there is always something about the messenger.

RUBIN: Yes, Bibi went overboard on that. Yes, that's right.

CORNISH: And I think certainly a lot of black Americans look back at that period with Netanyahu and Obama and don't see it fondly either.

I want you to hear what Emanuel had to say about Netanyahu on this trip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAHM EMANUEL, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The prime minister and his government have led Israel into a dead end. For too long, American policy towards Israel operated under the assumption that the best thing Washington can do for Jerusalem is to blindly, to silently stand behind your government, without conditions, without demands, without consequences, even when we disagreed. That has been our mistake. And it's been not a favor to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Meghan, can I get your point of view on how he's phrasing this?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER BIDEN WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: I mean, I think that Joel is right, this is to the Democratic base, and then we're trying to push the conversation. And I think that Democrats, they are -- we are in this weird where the establishment is very pro-Israel and then we have a lot of the very progressive base that's not. And it's causing a lot of conflict within our party. You see it right now in the primaries.

And this is, you know, people want this to be a litmus test in 2028. I disagree that that should be a litmus test for the presidential candidates. But I'm glad that Rahm Emanuel is taking a stance here and pushing the conversation forward, because we need to have this conversation now before we get to '28, because we need to put forth the best candidate.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: This isn't abroad -- this isn't a brave stance. This is Rahm Emanuel putting on a fig leaf so that he can talk to the pro- Palestinian elements of the Democratic Party and say, look, I went to Israel and I talked real tough when I was in Israel.

HAYS: Oh, yes. I mean, yes.

RUBIN: Yes, that's right.

DUBKE: That's what that was. That is nothing but a presidential, you know, speech that he's giving outside the borders of the United States.

CORNISH: I think one thing I'm intrigued by is the longer this conversation about Israel is led by extreme parts of the party, the longer it stays locked in a conversation about anti-Semitism and cannot break out into an actual conversation about U.S. policy and what the American people want or do not want. And is it meaningful that someone said, I'm going to find a way to have this conversation without being accused of anti-Semitism?

RUBIN: Well, I want to say one thing to add on to this, which is that this was not a speech about anti-Semitism. He did not speak --

CORNISH: Yes, that's the point, right? Like he's trying to have a conversation that is hard to have.

RUBIN: And -- so, for Americans, you -- right. But even -- if he were to do a speech here in the United States and speak about Israel policy and talk about anti-Semitism and where he is a Jewish candidate for president views all of this, that would be highly impactful in our body politic. I don't think this speech does that. I think that it runs past the issue. It doesn't really give any prescription --

CORNISH: It doesn't model a way of talking about it to you? RUBIN: No.

CORNISH: Who does?

RUBIN: And we have Jewish candidates who are coming up. Theres J.B. Pritzker. There may be Jon Ossoff. There's definitely Josh Shapiro. They're going to have an opportunity to distinguish themselves here to an American audience about what it means to be an American Jew in 2028 and what Israel means to them. That speech was not it.

CORNISH: OK.

HAYS: But this -- but this speech is starting the conversation.

CORNISH: Wait, let me let in the conversation, because I know you've been following the -- kind of the reporting here. I mean, Rahm Emanuel, it's very obvious he wants to run for something.

ANNA KRAMER, REPORTER, NOTUS: Yes.

CORNISH: I don't begrudge someone for wanting to run for something. It's Washington. The path you choose to get there and what -- like, why this path?

KRAMER: Well, I think he's just the first of the candidates, the possible candidates, to realize that he's got a problem. And this is his way of trying to possibly get ahead of it. You are right that I think Josh Shapiro and J.B. Pritzker and anyone else who jumps in, who has a history of supporting Israel, is going to have to reckon with the fact that, look, the reporting, the Democratic base is just increasingly becoming anti-Israel, especially anti-American support for Israel. And that's something that it's really clear the Democratic Party hasn't dealt with.

CORNISH: Yes. And then you have the Tucker Carlsons of the world who have run loose saying I'm leaving the party and talking about this issue in particular. I guess I'm just trying to figure out is, will there be a voice who comes out, who finds a way to navigate this conversation without ending up being accused of hate speech?

RUBIN: There's --

CORNISH: How is that conversation to be conducted?

[06:45:02]

Biden didn't find a way. Kamala didn't find a way.

RUBIN: Right. Right.

CORNISH: The long list of people who are unable to find a way, it's getting longer and longer.

DUBKE: It is --

CORNISH: But the war is escalating in the region. We need to find a way.

RUBIN: Yes.

DUBKE: It is interesting that we use different terms. I purposely chose my word of pro-Palestinian. You chose your word of anti-Israel. And I think the -- if -- understanding the difference between those two is really important.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: How are you going to -- how are you going to thread that needle? Because there is a -- there is a huge dichotomy between those. And I personally think that the Democratic Party, as a whole, has moved farther into the pro-Palestinian camp than they have into an anti-Israel.

CORNISH: Yes. Although I feel like you'd still be punished if you said you were pro-Palestinian.

RUBIN: Yes. And, well, I want to --

CORNISH: Like that feels like a no-win language.

HAYS: Also, there's --

RUBIN: There's a policy --

DUBKE: I don't know yet.

RUBIN: There's a policy debate to be had, without a doubt. But what we're seeing right now amongst many in my party is that they don't want the policy debate. They want to say Israel should not exist. And they're already running down that line. And we're seeing them get elected to Congress. And so, this is the tension in the party right now.

DUBKE: Right.

RUBIN: And someone's going to have to get up there. And a lot of voices are trying to get there, which is to say, we will have a policy debate over Israel policy. And Rahm Emanuel did that here. But we're not going to allow voices who are anti-Semitic and against Israel's existence be part of that debate in a meaningful way. And I think that's the line that's being drawn inside the party.

HAYS: And I also think Democrats need to come to the realization that there are going to be people you are not going to be able to satisfy with any sort of conversation. They are not going to agree with you. They are going to say that Israel shouldn't exist. And that is going to be part of our base. And that is just where it is. And you will not satisfy them.

And that is when Democrats need to actually focus on what's going to get them elected. And that is talking about the economy. The support for Israel is dropping among the Democratic Party, but it doesn't even rank sometimes in the top five of issues that Democrats care about in swing states.

So, when we're talking about a presidential election, people should focus on what matters.

CORNISH: Yes. I understand what you're saying about polling, because sometimes when I'm presenting polling, I'm presenting the question as was asked in the poll --

HAYS: Exactly.

CORNISH: Not necessarily the way people respond to it.

DUBKE: I have a quick idea, though.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: If you have a Nazi tattoo, maybe that's --

HAYS: A thousand percent. A thousand -- disqualifying.

RUBIN: So, that's clearly the disqualifier.

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: Maybe that's the --

HAYS: The first line.

CORNISH: I don't -- I don't think we want to go down the rabbit hole of Nazi language. There's a few group chats we could run through over on the Republican side.

HAYS: Yes, that's right.

CORNISH: So, listen, it's a problem. We're trying -- obviously, the U.S. is trying to figure out a way to wrestle with it.

And in the meantime, I just want to note, Rahm Emanuel, of course, is a senior political commentator here at CNN.

And next on CNN THIS MORNING, Graham Platner drops his Senate bid. So, who could take his spot? The deadline for the ballot is looming.

Plus, the week-long preliminary hearing for the man accused of killing conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk. Coming up in the next hour, there's new video evidence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:52:09]

GRAHAM PLATNER (D), FORMER MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not trying to dictate to anyone who it should be or how we get there, but I will say this, it needs to be open, transparent and democratic.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CORNISH: Graham Platner the now former democratic nominee for Senate in Maine says he will not be involved in who will take his place on the ballot. But who could that be? The Maine Democratic Party now has until July 27th to decide Platner's replacement. Several candidates already lining up to throw their hats in the ring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN KLEBAN, RUNNING TO REPLACE GRAHAM PLATNER: We need someone from the outside, I think. And that's another reason why Graham really caught on. He's not a career politician. I'm not a career politician.

SHENNA BELLOWS (D), MAINE SECRETARY OF STATE: He also ignited a powerful movement. He had thousands of volunteers who were really excited about seeing change in Washington, who were sick of a weak Senate not standing up to Trump, not fighting for working class people. And I think it's really important that that movement be carried forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, joining me now to talk about this is Ken Altshuler, host of the "News to ME" podcast.

Thank you so much for being with us.

I want to talk about --

KEN ALTSHULER, HOST, "NEWS TO ME WITH KEN AND MIKE REDUX": Thank you for having me.

CORNISH: Potential replacements. I'm sure that's all people are talking about right now.

ALTSHULER: It is.

CORNISH: But I actually want to ask about one thing really quickly, which is, this has broken down completely, this campaign, over allegations of his treatment of women. The flip side is, Susan Collins' vulnerabilities, I was under the impression politically, came from her vote on Brett Kavanaugh and the allegations that came up during that process.

When -- since you're on a podcast, like, what are you hearing from Mainers about this question of treatment of women and candidates and that sort of thing?

ALTSHULER: That's exactly right. When Susan Collins voted to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, and he was the writer of Roe v. Wade being reversed, that's when women started turning against Susan Collins. Women -- the middle of the road, the uncommitted women who would have normally voted for her were looking for alternatives out of anger. So, when Graham Platner's -- when the allegations and controversies about women came to the forefront, that's when his campaign started to decline. That's when everybody started saying, you can't be our candidate because those women who wouldn't vote for Susan Collins over Roe v. Wade are certainly not going to vote for Graham Platner over allegations of sexting, allegations of sexual assault. That's not going to happen. And that's what doomed his campaign.

CORNISH: So, on his way out, we are hearing some reporting from the executive director of the Maine Democratic Party, this is Devon Murphy-Anderson, saying this on X. Let me play it for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEVON MURPHY-ANDERSON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MAINE DEMOCRATIC PARTY: Unfortunately, Graham Platner's team has repeatedly reached out to us in an attempt to put their thumb on the scale of what this process looks like. We have repeatedly reiterated to Graham Platner's team that they have no role in determining our next Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate, nor in determining what this process looks like.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:55:04]

CORNISH: Obviously, no love loss. He was not recruited by Democrats in Maine. But can you talk about this idea that he was somehow trying to be involved on who should be next?

ALTSHULER: Exactly right. He was actually suggesting originally, I'll get out of the race if I can choose my successor. The problem is that Democrats have memories, with all due respect to Kamala Harris, that she was chosen by the Democratic elite. And that was a lot of backlash. Democrats in Maine want a say in who replaces Graham Platner. They have to be aware that their supporters want a progressive candidate, but they don't want his withdrawal from the race conditioned on him selecting the candidate. And now that he's announced he's out of the race, the Democratic Party is very smart to say, you can participate, you're not making the decision for us.

CORNISH: Right now, who's among the lead voices? Give me top three.

ALTSHULER: Sure. Troy Jackson, he is a logger from Aroostook County. That's the northernmost county in Maine. That's where Susan Collins is from. He was the senate majority leader in the state of Maine. He is the most progressive. He was endorsed by Bernie Sanders when he first got in the gubernatorial race. So, he's been well vetted.

The second one would be Nirav Shah. He was the head of the Maine CDC during the Covid pandemic. He ran first in the gubernatorial race, primary for governor for the Democratic Party, but ranked choice voting propelled Hannah Pingree into first place. So, that would be the second choice.

I think Janet Mills is not really a choice. She's our former -- she's our current governor, two term governor. She had 20 percent of the vote in the primaries.

And I think Shenna Bellows is probably the third candidate, former director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. There is a dark horse, Dan Kleban, who was on CNN last night. He is a

dark horse, a populist. So, if you want an outsider, he was on the campaign briefly, but very popular. And he has a beer company, which can't hurt him.

CORNISH: OK. Well, Ken Altshuler, I know you have a busy couple of weeks, so we'll check back with you. Thank you.

ALTSHULER: Thank you.

CORNISH: OK, we unpacked a lot today. I want to talk -- today has been a lot, OK.

RUBIN: First the beer (ph).

CORNISH: I want to talk about what's in your group chat.

And, Anna, you're new to this rodeo. So, what do you gossiping about in your world?

KRAMER: It's alpha gal syndrome. Do you guys all know what this is? It's -- so there's a tick that can make you allergic to red meat and dairy. And it is spreading across the United States.

CORNISH: Yes.

KRAMER: And if you get bitten by this tick, this is something that, like, you're just screwed for life when it comes to your ability to eat red meat or dairy.

CORNISH: Not to be confused with our earlier reporting --

KRAMER: Yes.

CORNISH: About a parasite outbreak --

KRAMER: Yes.

CORNISH: Which we will not come back to right now.

DUBKE: Sounds like a new Bravo show, alpha gal. Alpha --

HAYS: I was --

CORNISH: Alpha -- it is called alpha gal.

RUBIN: Alpha gal.

DUBKE: I know, but I thought that was a new Bravo show.

HAYS: I was like, what is it?

CORNISH: Oh, really.

HAYS: Yes. It sounds like up my alley.

CORNISH: Ah, he's here all week, folks.

DUBKE: I haven't seen alpha gal either.

CORNISH: Mike Dubke, what's in your group chat?

DUBKE: Well, mine -- I'm trying to bring about this book club. I brought a book on set last week. And then this week --

CORNISH: It's Dubke group chat book club.

DUBKE: This week -- this week we find out that most Americans aren't reading books. Only 16 percent of Americans pick up a book on a daily basis.

CORNISH: I believe it. I believe -- have you watched "Love Island"? People are not reading.

DUBKE: More Americans --

CORNISH: Open the schools (ph). Yes.

DUBKE: More Americans gamble than pick up a book.

CORNISH: Believable.

DUBKE: So, I -- it's --

CORNISH: Yes.

Meghan.

HAYS: So on -- this is not a new Bravo show, but it is on E! The old new house -- "The New York Housewives" are doing a new show that starts this fall on E! called --

CORNISH: The OG's.

HAYS: Yes, the OG's, Luann, Sonja, Jill, they're -- it's going to be incredible. I can't wait for it. We're all talking about it. It's --

DUBKE: Are they still married or divorced now?

CORNISH: Yes.

HAYS: It's unclear, but I'm bored with Bravo, so now we're now moving to this show on E!

DUBKE: OK.

CORNISH: They are -- they're alpha gal.

HAYS: Yes, they're alpha gals.

DUBKE: They're alpha gals.

CORNISH: You called it. OK, Joel, what about you?

RUBIN: Well, Audie, close to your heart. I am a proud girl dad of three awesome young women, one of whom is going to go to your alma mater, to UMass, to be a minute woman in the fall.

CORNISH: Yes, shout out to UMass.

RUBIN: But she's going there for many reasons. The number one reason, I believe, is the food. So, she's excited to go there for the food and --

CORNISH: Not because of me. We weren't like -- I know this amazing alum -- notable alum --

RUBIN: Well, you are notable. You're on the Wikipedia page. Yes, that's right.

CORNISH: Joel, get of my Wikipedia page, OK. First of all, I'm always sneaking in incorrect information.

DUBKE: Are you part of the --

CORNISH: Yes.

DUBKE: Are you part of the orientation or part of the --

HAYS: Yes.

DUBKE: When they do the tours?

RUBIN: Mentors.

DUBKE: No, but when you get a tour of UMass, do they talk about --

CORNISH: Yes. No, there's like -- there's like a Trump style flag that rolls down on the library.

HAYS: Oh.

DUBKE: Library.

CORNISH: Yes, of me --

DUBKE: (INAUDIBLE) from China?

CORNISH: Exactly.

RUBIN: Do they have a --

HAYS: I have a question about the food. What's so great about it?

DUBKE: Yes.

RUBIN: Well, apparently it's ranked number one in the country.

HAYS: Oh, for college campuses?

RUBIN: It's like a buffet until past midnight, and all the kids just hang out and eat, eat, eat.

HAYS: Which we learned in Vegas they don't have a lot of buffets.

CORNISH: We just learned even Vegas doesn't have that anymore. UMass has this?

RUBIN: Do they have -- do they have the sandwich? Do they have the -- Audie, do they have a sandwich named after you?

CORNISH: No, they don't. As I was telling people, I used to have to steal chicken tenders just to survive the week. So, shout out to the UMass cafeteria for its improvements.

And thank you guys for being here for the group chat.

[07:00:01]

We talked about a lot today. And there is a lot of serious news.

We are still following the breaking news out of the Middle East, where the U.S. has ramped up its attacks against Iran. We're also following the funeral processions of the former supreme leader there, making his way to the place of his birth. His son, the new supreme leader, is not expected to be seen. This is the kind of reporting we're going to be following throughout the day. So, stay with us for the headlines. I'm Audie Cornish. And the news is next.