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Connect the World

Trump: Hamas to Respond to U.S. Ceasefire Plan in 24 Hours; Proposal Reportedly Gives Hamas Stronger Assurances about Ending the War; Trump to Sign his Megabill into Law at July 4th Ceremony; U.S. Supreme Court Allows Trump to Deport Migrants to Africa; Djokovic Cruises into Third Round for Record 19th Time. Aired 9-10a ET

Aired July 04, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, live look at the White House for you on this 4th of July, President Trump preparing for a victory

lap, bill signing and Independence Day celebrations hours from now. It is 09:00 a.m. there in Washington, 05:00 p.m. here in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky

Anderson. This is "Connect the World".

Also coming up, Kyiv under attack. Ukraine's Air Force says that Russia launched a record number of drones and missiles at the capital. And the

U.S. President says we should have word from Hamas on whether it accepts the latest ceasefire framework proposal within 24 hours.

Well, Donald Trump expected to be back on the phone for part of America's 4th of July holiday. The U.S. President saying that he will have a call

with Ukraine's Wartime Leader, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Now they are expected to discuss what has been this abrupt pause in some U.S. weapons delivered

to Kyiv.

It comes as the Ukrainian capital suffered one of its worst nights of the war. Well, Ukraine's Air Force says Russia launched a record number of

attack drone missiles at the country overnight, specifically targeting the capital. The massive barrage followed President Trump's phone call with

Vladimir Putin on Thursday, which later had Trump voicing apparent frustration, saying he hadn't made any progress on persuading the Russian

leader to stop the war.

Well let's get you to Nick Paton Walsh our Chief for Security Editor out of London for you. Nick, what have we seen in Ukraine in these last few hours?

And how is Ukraine at this point trying to counter these waves of strikes? Let's start there.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: I mean, it's difficult to look at this purely through the metrics, but certainly

Ukrainian officials are talking about a record wave of drones and missiles. 539 of them drones, about over 300 or so of this Shahed loitering attack

drone munitions.

But I think it's really the feeling many had in Kyiv overnight speaking to our team there on the ground, how this was more intense, sustained towards

the capital. And at times, seemed to get the better of air defenses in Kyiv, which have been remarkably successful over the past nights or the

past months, shooting down waves like this that we seem every week to have a new record of the number of drones and missiles that Russia is able to

fire at Kyiv.

And sometimes it's a response to Ukrainian attacks inside Russia, like those attacks on their airfields just a few weeks ago now. But there was

something I think potentially, about the timing of this massive onslaught that had many in Kyiv deeply anxious to, simply because it comes at a time

when the patriot missile interceptors essentially the one part of Ukraine's arsenal to fight Russia that it is entirely dependent upon the United

States for.

No one else can really authorize them to have the interceptors, and nothing else can shoot down Russian ballistic missiles apart from those patriot

interceptors. They are potentially at a perilous low stock already, and it's clear now the Trump White House does not want to supply any more as it

currently stands.

That was recently confirmed in Trump's comments himself, because they're perhaps suggesting their own stocks are low. Look, this is music to the

ears of Vladimir Putin. He has clearly been waiting for a moment when Ukraine's defenses begin to dissipate or become less effective, is what we

saw hitting Kyiv last night, a sign of that unclear.

It may just simply have been that the Russians are firing so many drones now that the air defenses can't cope with that. Is 500 the limit? Well,

Ukraine suggesting they could potentially double that in the weeks ahead. So very perilous nights ahead. It's not to say the previous night haven't

been horrific, but the broader geopolitical context now probably the worst we've seen yet.

Frankly, that call between Putin and Trump. Trump emerging from that saying he was disappointed that Putin isn't looking for peace, but ultimately not

suggesting he has any remedy for that, and indeed confirming that the munitions Ukraine urgently needs don't seem to be on their way. All eyes on

the call in the coming hours.

ANDERSON: Yeah. And so, is it clear at this stage what Zelenskyy strategy is for this call?

WALSH: I mean, look, I think ultimately, he is going to have to beg for those munitions. I mean, look, it is opaque. Exactly how many they have

left. Exactly how many the U.S. has left? You know, some might call it strategic ambiguity, to not spell out the numbers, but it may also simply

be that they've expended a lot of these munitions and defending their bases in the Middle East over the past few months or years, and maybe potentially

in assisting Israel as well.

[09:05:00]

So that may play into this here too. There are suggestions the Europeans could potentially buy those missiles off the Americans, taking that out of

the American budgetary concern that the Trump Administration is so obsessed about overspending on Ukraine, but if the U.S. haven't got the missiles to

spare, there's no real discussion here.

So, I think there's going to be a real sense of anxiety about the effectiveness of Russian ballistic missiles massively increasing in the

months ahead, and something has to step into the gap here, because look, the one thing we haven't mentioned yet, Becky, is Ukrainian assessments.

There are 110,000 troops to the east of Pokrovsk that are Russian amassing, and 50,000 to the north of Sumy. They're not there by accident. There's

clearly some kind of Russian offensive imminent. And what we may be seeing over Kyiv could be the prelude to that.

ANDERSON: Nick, it's good to have you. Thank you. CNN's Kevin Liptak is at the White House. And Kevin, you've just heard, and Nick really, sort of

underlining just how desperate things are without these this U.S. support, you know, a very desperate situation for Ukraine and Zelenskyy.

Should he not get any offers from the U.S. President today? So, Trump has that phone call with the Ukrainian President today. This is a day after

speaking to Vladimir Putin. Can we just get our viewers a sense of what we know about these conversations per the White House at this point?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and I think the pause on the weapons from the U.S. to Ukraine is going to be the center of the

president's conversation with Zelenskyy today. You know, the two men just spoke last week on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in the Netherlands, and

it appeared to be a relatively good conversation.

President Trump actually saying afterwards that he would be open to sending these new patriot missile batteries to Ukraine. And in fact, some of the

missiles that have been fired from Russia into Ukraine today can only be intercepted by those patriots. And so, this will be an important topic of

conversation.

Last night, President Trump seemed to downplay that halt in the weapons. Actually, seemed to deny that it had happened at all, which I think is

interesting, because there are some questions in Washington about how exactly that came about, that did not appear to be very well coordinated

between the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House.

And so, I think Zelenskyy, his principal objective in this phone call is to get some clarity from President Trump about what exactly this pause means,

how long it will last? Whether or not he can expect those patriots that President Trump said just last week could be in the offing.

And of course, it does come a day after the president spoke to Vladimir Putin on the phone. The president, President Trump, emerged from that phone

call not particularly optimistic. He said that he made no progress whatsoever in trying to get put in to end the conflict. He said he was very

disappointed in the call.

He was not happy with that conversation, which I think just underscores some of the frustrations that the president has felt in trying to bring

this conflict to an end. You know, for all of the successes that the president has had over the last two weeks, whether it's in the Middle East,

whether it was at the NATO Summit, whether it's the domestic issues at the Supreme Court or in Congress.

This issue of the Ukraine war remains one of the big outstanding promises that is unresolved for the president. He said he would be able to bring it

to an end within 24 hours, and by his own admission, it has been far more difficult to do that, and this conversation with Putin yesterday does not

seem to have brought him any closer to a resolution.

Now, the question is, what the president plans to do about it? Will he relent to some of these European demands to put new sanctions on Moscow? He

has seemed reluctant to do that, because he thinks it would push Russia away from the negotiating table. Does the president now send more defensive

weapons to Ukraine, despite this pause that is in effect, that could be an outcome, potentially, of this conversation with Zelenskyy that we think is

probably underway as we're speaking right now.

And so all of these things coming together, I think, shows you some of the diplomatic gears that are in motion on the part of the U.S. to try and

bring these sides together. But at least in the president's telling, Putin no closer to ending this conflict than he was last week.

ANDERSON: Let me bring you back in, Nick, at this point. Thank you, Kevin. Ukrainians must be losing faith in the idea that Trump can bring any

pressure to bear on Putin at this point, based on what we saw in Kyiv overnight, just hours after Donald Trump's call with Putin.

What's the sense from Kyiv and those that you speak to on the ground the sort of average Ukrainian citizen about whether or not they believe this is

Trump unwilling to bring any pressure to bear or unable to do so?

[09:10:00]

WALSH: I think it doesn't really matter ultimately, unless there is palpable pressure, his motivation is sort of a secondary concern to some

degree. I mean, I think from much of the time in this since the Oval Office blowout, many Ukrainians have been deeply skeptical that Trump is

ultimately on the side of Ukraine and may potentially have wider affinities towards Moscow's position.

Look, this is the first time, ultimately, that I think we've seen President Trump stand there and openly, sort of say, look, I'm disappointed in how

the conversation has gone with Putin. He tends to step back.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

WALSH: He's been critical of Russia's bombing of Ukraine in the past, but there was something slightly different, perhaps, about the tone. Does that

result in sanctions? Does that result in some kind of American escalation? Well, as you say, extraordinary reluctance to do that over the past months,

despite significant amounts of EU pressure, despite deadlines for a ceasefire set by the European Union.

They've been essentially brushed aside by the White House initially, and then also too, by President Putin of Russia. So, it's quite clear that

Putin is sticking to his position, which is he wants to continue to prosecute this war militarily till he gets what he wants.

And the diplomatic side show we've seen has essentially been for President Trump's benefit, but that kind of modification seems to be coming to an end

now, but we've been consistently hearing from this White House is that they could potentially, quote, walk away.

And I think many wondered whether or not this pause in arms shipments might have been some bid to try and sweeten the idea of a ceasefire for Moscow,

but that's one of their pre conditions as a cessation of western and military aid to Ukraine for a ceasefire to be effective, but it's quite

clear that we're not anywhere near a ceasefire at all.

So, it may simply be American interest they're pursuing, and I think that's what's got many Ukrainians concerned. But ultimately, America first means

just that, and that may be what we're about to see play out here, not just at a time of random choosing, at the weakest moment for Ukraine, frankly.

The air defense is struggling, and Russia, by Ukraine's assessment, massing a size comparable to its invasion force back in 2022 near the borders. So,

a very stark few months ahead here, Becky, and I think that was felt by many Ukrainians last night, particularly in Kyiv.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and you made that point again, and I think it was -- it's a scary moment when you consider the numbers of troops amassing, as you have

underlined on that border, and equating them with the sort of numbers that we saw before the outbreak of this conflict back in -- back at the

beginning of 2022.

It's good to have you, Nick. Thank you very much indeed. Well, within the next 24 hours, President Trump says we should know if Hamas will accept the

latest framework for a ceasefire plan for Gaza. In a statement, Hamas, it said -- has said it will announce its decision after consultations with

other Palestinian factions, as they call them.

But it did not say how long this might take or which factions are being consulted. In the meantime, we are learning more details about the U.S.

proposal, which Israel has already accepted. Let's get you to Jerusalem, CNN's Oren Liebermann is standing by for us. Let's start with the very

basic question at this point, what does this proposal look like Oren?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: So, it is in many ways similar to what we've seen before from the U.S. and from envoy Steve Witkoff. It is

a 60-day ceasefire that includes the release of 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages in return for an unspecified number of Palestinian

prisoners and detainees.

What's different here, specifically is the timeline by which those releases happened. In earlier proposals, the living hostages were released very

quickly on day 1 and day 7. This is much more spread out according to the details we've seen obtained from a source familiar with the negotiations.

8 of the 10 hostages come out on day 1, the other two living hostages don't come out until day 50. And then, in terms of the 18 deceased hostages, they

begin coming out at the end of the first week, and the last 8 of those come out on day 60. So right at the end of the negotiations there.

Crucially, on day one, there's also the immediate beginning of negotiations toward a permanent ceasefire. There's -- Israeli withdrawal from Northern

Gaza on day 1, an Israeli withdrawal from parts of southern Gaza on day 7. And in terms of what that withdrawal looks like, that's part of what are

called proximity talks.

That's the next stage here, if Hamas accepts the proposal on the table, and what that means is you'd have Hamas and Israel effectively in the same

building, either in Doha or in Cairo, and you have negotiators shuttling back and forth to hammer out the last few details.

So, there are still steps here, even if we hear a message from Hamas that they have accepted the proposal, in terms of what the hostage releases

would look like, there is a commitment here that there wouldn't be the sort of Hamas ceremony or fanfare that we saw in the last releases.

[09:15:00]

And there is also, according to what we have learned from a source familiar with these negotiations, a promise from President Donald Trump to make sure

that the ceasefire continues, even if there isn't a comprehensive deal by the end of the 60 days.

And that's crucial here, because that's what Hamas has been looking for, something to get this beyond just 60 days if negotiations fall apart, and

make sure that a temporary ceasefire leads to a permanent end of the war. That's been their key demand that, effectively, until now, Israeli Prime

Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to agree to.

But of course, a lot has shifted since the Israel-Iran conflict, and the conclusion of that successfully from Israel's perspective, in terms of on

the ground here we saw protests or rally outside the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv today, July 4, Independence Day. This had hostage families pointing

out and looking at Trump as one of the only people, perhaps the only person, that can bring about the successful closure of a ceasefire and the

release of the remaining hostages.

So, it is a critical moment here, Becky, I dare say there is perhaps more optimism right now than there has been in a very, very long time, a half a

year or so. But crucially, everybody now, negotiators, Israel, the U.S. waiting on Hamas response.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Netanyahu, of course, expected to be in Washington at the beginning of the week. The timing of this trip to see Donald Trump, and the

acceptance of this proposal by Israel does very much suggest that the Trump Administration and the president himself is really running the sort of, you

know, running point on this trying, as they have said, they are, you know, have been doing for some time, trying to get a hostage release and a

ceasefire plan in place.

And as you rightly point out, this looks very like the sort of original Witkoff, Steve Witkoff plan has been sort of -- the rounds and in the works

for some time. It's good to have you, Oren, thank you. A private wait for the family of Liverpool and Portugal football Diogo Jota and his brother

Andre Silva is now underway at a church in Portugal.

Visitors have been seen comforting each other outside the church. Among those in attendance is the Portuguese Prime Minister. A spokesperson says

the wake will open to the public later in the day. Well, the funeral for the pair who died in a car crash in Spain on Thursday will take place there

on Saturday.

CNN's sports, Amanda Davies has been following these developments, and she joins us again now. It's another very, very sad day full of emotion. What

can you tell us about how these two are being mourned in Portugal and further afield, Amanda?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. Becky, we're now really only 36 hours after people were waking up to this tragic news of the death of Diogo Jota

and his brother, Andre Silva, after that car accident in Spain in the early hours of Thursday morning.

Those shocking pictures of the debris and the remains of the car that burst into flames. Their bodies were taken back to Portugal late on Thursday

night. And as you rightly said, we have a private close family and friends wake currently taking place in Gondomar, just outside Porto where the boys,

the brothers, grew up with their family.

Pictured attending events have been the pairs mother and father, Diogo Jota's new wife, that one of the aspects that makes this story just so

tragic. It was only two weeks ago, Diogo Jota married his childhood sweetheart Rute, who he actually met in the town of Gondomar. She's the

mother of his three children, but they only had their wedding nuptials just two weeks ago.

She has been pictured there at the scene alongside the Portuguese Prime Minister and Jota's agent Jorge Mendes, because for all that we have seen

and the love that is being expressed at Anfield around Liverpool, the place that Diogo Jota has called his home for the last five years, where he

really became such a special member of that team for everything he's won and done in his career.

[09:20:00]

He always made a point of talking about how incredibly proud he was to have grown up in Gondomar in Portugal. Both he and Andre is played their

football there until the age of 17. It was in 2022 that the academy at the football club was renamed the Diogo Jota academy, and we have seen very

similar pictures outside that academy.

I think we can see them here, fans of the team, former teammates of the brothers, going to pay their tributes and lay shirts and scarves and

flowers in their memory. Interestingly, one of the most notable people to do the same at Anfield earlier today, the Former Liverpool Captain Jordan

Henderson.

Some really, really emotional pictures of him going as you can see very much with the eyes of the fans and the world media watching on, but had a

very poignant, public, emotional moment there, looking at some of the other tributes that had been laid. A book of condolence has been open there.

The flags have been flying at half-mast, and Liverpool have said at the right time, they will pay their own tribute to Diogo Jota. But as you say,

you suspect these scenes and these tributes will continue for the next 24 hours and beyond, with the funeral set to be held on Saturday.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Amanda, thank you. Folks, you're watching "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East broadcasting

headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. Ahead on the show U.S. President Donald Trump taking a victory lap after Congress passed his sweeping domestic

agenda. What he is saying to both supporters and critics of that legislation, that is the up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump planning to celebrate the Independence Day holiday. It's July the fourth, of course, with a

ceremonial signing of his massive tax spending, tax and spending cuts bill. He'll sign the bill into law at the White House later today, in what

amounts to be the biggest legislative win of his presidency.

He set a fourth deadline, a July the fourth deadline for Congress to approve that bill. It happened after the House passed the revised Senate

version of the bill, the president and House Speaker Mike Johnson convincing most of the Republican holdouts to ultimately support the

measure.

Democrats unanimously opposed the bill. Their leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke for more than eight hours on the House floor to delay the final vote. Well

CNN Senior Political Analyst Mark Preston joins me now. Help me out. I don't seem to have got my teeth in properly.

I've butchered some of what I was trying to explain to the viewers, but you are with me, and that will help.

[09:25:00]

Trump is milking this, Mark, he is expected to sign this bill into law in a few hours, at a major ceremony that a White House source tells CNN will be

punctuated by the flyover of the B2 bombers who dropped bunker buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities last month.

CNN analysis says, and forgive me, I want our viewers to see this, Mark, before you and I talk. The spectacle will only underscore what a

consequential stretch of days it has been for the president, who now appears at the height of his political power, roughly six months into his

second term.

Mark, that's fair, isn't it? I mean, has he ever been more powerful than he is now? And is this political victory lap tough? There will be those who

find it extremely unseemly, but is it not deserved?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Absolutely deserved. You know, you may not like what his policies are. You may not like how he acts. You

may not like how he speaks. You may just not like him at all, right? But you have to give him credit for actually being successful, keeping together

a very fractured Republican Party, even on the margins.

But, you know, a win is a win, and he got a major win yesterday. I have to say this too, Becky, it's not as if he just kind of sat back and just

waited for this to play out. He was very much invested in this. He spent a lot of time on the telephone, invited members of Congress who were, you

know, questionable about whether or not they would support it.

He got them down to the White House. He got him on the phone. He got enough votes, and he will sign that in. And as you noted, if everyone just stops

for a second think about that, he'll be signing a bill into law on July 4th with airplanes flying overhead. I mean, it's just unbelievable.

ANDERSON: It is remarkable. And if this week, then was about his domestic policy and the massive when he got out of that.

PRESTON: Right.

ANDERSON: Next week, of course, we'll put his foreign and economic policies front and center again, meeting with Netanyahu Monday, the deadline for his

tariff negotiations coming next week, his self-imposed deadline, of course, and reports indicating U.S.-Iranian indirect talks in Norway.

These may be tougher challenges. He has not had the sort of diplomatic breakthroughs in Gaza or in Ukraine yet. So, let's start with that meeting

Monday with Netanyahu. What do you expect out of that, Mark?

PRESTON: Well, look, I think Netanyahu has to come in and say thank you to President Trump for sticking by him through all this, you know, all the

controversy that we're seeing here in the United States about support for Israel. Right now, we're seeing certainly a fight within the Democratic

Party.

Look, I think you're going to see Donald Trump continue to stand by strongly with Israel and with Netanyahu. He in many ways, as you know,

because of his support, Netanyahu, in some ways, has a new political life because back at home, he wasn't doing so well.

Let's say year, year and a half ago, Donald Trump comes in, gives his support for what's going on in Gaza, certainly with his on the Israel side,

and this is where you have it. So again, I think you'll see a firm handshake between both nations on Monday.

ANDERSON: And momentum building behind the scenes, of course, for at least proximity talks on a hostage deal and a ceasefire next week.

PRESTON: Right.

ANDERSON: On the tariff deadline, Mark, the global economic outlook that I'm reading, at least are not at all bleak. The tariffs, of course, do

raise the near-term risk of inflation, but there is opportunity out there. We've seen strong job numbers recent record eyes on the S&P investors

generally positive, particularly about the big, beautiful bill we know the Wall Street likes that.

Anyone forecasting economic doom in this early Trump term has been wrong to date. What do you see happening next week when this self-imposed deadline

comes down.

PRESTON: Well, I think that you have to understand that, that deadline can be moved again and again and again. We start with the seal of TikTok. He

put a deadline on that, and he continues to punt the ball down as he tries to find a buyer, or United States buyer, a domestic buyer here for TikTok.

Look at he has announced that Vietnam, he has a trade deal with Vietnam. Now, of course, that is not a gigantic nation, but still, it shows some

progress. And I do think what's interesting about the tariffs, and initially there was all doom and gloom, because we thought that investors

would run away, would be scared.

But I'm not even sure if investors necessarily believe Donald Trump is going to stick by his threats when he talks about, you know, these tariffs,

whether it's you know, tariffs, you know, on nations over in Europe or Canada or Mexico, whatever it may be, Donald Trump always seems to kind of

back off of it. So that's why I think you've seen the market so stable.

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: That's fascinating, and you can head online to read more of the analysis that I mentioned. Thank you, Mark. We got an article up there

inside the 24 hours that Trump will this agenda bill over the finish line. That reporting is from our colleagues, Kevin Liptak and Kristen Holmes up

on our digital platforms now.

Oppressive heat continues to bait the Balkans and southern European countries along the Mediterranean hitting at the high season tourists

taking the brunt of the brutal heat. Red Alert warnings are on today for extreme heat in Serbia and in Croatia. Let's get you to meteorologist Derek

Van Dam. Derek, tell us any relief coming for that region?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, listen, Becky, this heat wave that has been so dangerous that's gripped much of Europe has degraded the

quality of air. It's led to casualties. It's increased the fire risk impacted agriculture. Now it has been -- there has been some reprieve in

some of the hardest hit areas across France and into the northern Mediterranean, but a lot of the heat has been suppressed further south and

east towards the Balkans, as you just mentioned.

But I want to show you this graphic, because this really puts it into perspective. So, look at the Iberian Peninsula. I'm going to highlight this

area between Portugal and Spain. You see where that dark shade of red starts to appear between Spain and Portugal. That is an area that

Copernicus, which is the European climate monitoring site, depicted temperatures nearing or above 50 degrees Celsius with the heat wave that is

impacted that region.

So that is really incredible and dangerous, dangerous heat. So now the heat is starting to move south and east. So, places like Serbia into Bosnia,

Croatia, we have these high heat alerts that are in place. We see that shading of red. Temperatures right now across that region, Sarajevo, is at

35 degrees as we speak, but they're well above average.

So, we compare it to where it should be this time of year to where it actually is, and we're talking 5 to 7 degrees Celsius above normal. So, the

oppressive heat just being held and locked in place by this, what we call a marine heat wave. The Mediterranean is so absurdly warm right now, we're

talking about 5, 6 degrees Celsius above average.

So that retains heat in the oceans. That helps retain heat on the land, and that, of course, has impacts to the amount of precipitation and what people

feel at home as well. Look at this drought monitoring site. This is interesting. I'm going to highlight an area as well. Look at Greece.

We're talking about medium to high drought conditions across this area, and we have seen the wild fires just explode in size across Crete. Look at the

firefighters battling the blazes and trying to extinguish the flames with their aircraft and personnel from the sky. So, Becky, there is some relief

in some of those hardest hit areas, but we do have another couple of days across the Mediterranean where extreme heat will be felt.

ANDERSON: Yeah. Happy Fourth of July, sir. Thank you so much. Still ahead, the Supreme Court hands President Trump another victory clearing the way

for one group of migrants to be sent to an African country. Details on that are just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, and you are watching "Connect the World". The U.S. Supreme Court now allowing the Trump

Administration to deport a group of migrants to South Sudan. The group includes men from Cuba, from Vietnam and from Laos they've been held for

weeks on a military base in Djibouti.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor called the move illegal, writing in her dissent that they will likely face torture or death. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez joins

us from D.C. Those of our viewers who were just getting up to speed on this, just give us a context, what's been going on here? What more we know

at this point?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, this is something Becky that has been unfolding over the last several weeks. What had occurred a

few a couple months ago was that the administration was trying to deport nationals of other countries to South Sudan. This was a group of eight men.

They have serious criminal convictions in the United States, they were eligible for removal, as you noted there at the top, they come from various

countries, and the administration had tried to deport them to South Sudan. In other words, a country that was not their own.

As they were doing that, however, their lawyers immediately got involved, and a judge paused the administration from being able to do that. So, these

eight migrants ended up in a military base in Djibouti, where the judge eventually said that the administration had to provide them an opportunity

to seek what is called, or to have, rather, an interview that is known as reasonable fear.

So that is an opportunity for migrants to say that they have reasonable fear to be returned to x country. As that was unfolding, though, the

administration took this all the way up to the Supreme Court, and the latest development there has been what you mentioned also there at the top,

which is that the Supreme Court said that the administration can deport them to South Sudan.

So, this was really a big win for the administration, because they are now able to send those migrants to South Sudan, as they had originally planned

several weeks ago. Now the Department of Homeland Security called this, quote, a win for the rule of law, safety and security of the American

people.

Now, Becky, we have to take this in sort of a macro level too, because the administration has been deal making with countries all over the world to

accept nationals of countries that are not their own. And the reason for that is because oftentimes it is difficult for the federal government to

deport certain nationalities to their home countries because of frosty relations with those countries, because those countries will only accept a

certain number of deportation flights at any given time.

So, by being able to lean on other countries to send migrants, that gives them the opportunity to really speed up their deportations, pair that,

Becky, with what the we saw with the funding for immigration and customs enforcement in the president's bill, and together, this really marks yet

another win for the administration in their efforts to execute on their mass deportation campaign.

ANDERSON: Yeah, it's fascinating, isn't it? It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. Well ahead in the world of sport, another win, a new

record for Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. What he accomplished on Thursday that has never been done before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: One more victory to go for Novak Djokovic to make it even 100 wins at Wimbledon and his straight set victory on Thursday, setting a

record in the process. There is no stopping this man. Amanda Davies, back with us. I mean, what a victory once again.

DAVIES: No stopping him at the moment. It's fascinating. He's in a different position at the six seed, isn't he? But he said it was executed

perfectly that encounter against Brit, 35-year-old Dan Evans, he was not going to, you know, read the script that the home crowd were hoping for as

maybe a final hurrah for Dan Evans on censor court.

Novak Djokovic knows this court and this tournament so well, doesn't he? And avoided the pitfalls that we've seen so many of the big names of the

top seeds fall into in the last couple of days, but I have to say, you know, he's aiming for that Grand Slam title number 25 but Jannik Sinner has

been just as impressive.

Carlos Alcaraz back on court today as well. But there's another fascinating one in terms of a British home favorite, Emma Raducanu, who has had such a

tough couple of years after that surprise U.S. Open success in 2021. She faces the women's top seed, the world number one, Aryna Sabalenka today.

So, we've got to look ahead to that and lots more sports in just a couple of minutes.

ANDERSON: Superb, that caught hasn't been good to him over the years, when you're playing a Brit who's is, as you say, likely, possibly his last run,

that's going to be tough, but well done -- good stuff. Thank you, Amanda. Amanda, back with us with "World Sport" after this short break. I'll be

back in 15 minutes time. Stay with us.

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