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Trump, Zelenskyy Hold Talks by Telephone; Trump Claims Hamas to Respond to U.S. Ceasefire Plan in 24 Hours; Fear of ICE Raids Shutters U.S. Storefronts; Trump to Sign Massive Tax and Spending Cuts at July 4th Ceremony; Wake Underway for Liverpool Star Diogo Jota and Brother; Khalid Abdalla on Being an Actor, Artist, and Activist; Trump Notifying Countries of New Tariff Rates; A Look at the World of Competitive Eating. Aired 10- 11a ET

Aired July 04, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:20]

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to Zelenskyy after Kyiv suffers an intense night of bombings.

Welcome to our second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD from our Middle East programming headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson. Time here just after 6:00

p.m.

Also on the show, Trump set to sign his landmark spending legislation today at the White House. And this morning he is making new threats to raise

tariffs on trading partners.

And the wake for Liverpool forward Diogo Jota is being held today. We're live at Anfield Stadium as his fans there come to pay tribute.

Plus, my conversation with actor Khalid Abdalla on his new song dedicated to Palestinian children and the role artists have in using their platform

to push for change.

We're hearing U.S. president Donald Trump held a phone conversation a short time ago with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. They'll have

plenty to talk about, of course. The U.S. this week paused deliveries of some weapons to Kyiv. Today's call follows the exchange of dozens of

Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war, released under agreements brokered in Istanbul. But overnight, it was another nightmare in the dark for

Ukraine's capital.

This video showing the dramatic moment when a drone exploded in one residential area of the capital. Ukraine's air force says Russia launched a

record number of attack drones and missiles at the country overnight, specifically targeting the capital.

Our chief national security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, is back with us this hour.

And just explain what we've seen over the past few hours in Ukraine and how Ukraine is trying to counter what are these huge wave of strikes -- Nick.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it appears by the count of the Ukrainian air force to have been one

of the largest barrages fired by Russia in terms of drones against Ukraine in one night. Their figures suggest 539 and 11 missiles fired as well.

Now, obviously, it's unclear how many of those drones end up being decoys, but there's a suggestion that over 300 were indeed Shahed drones so reliant

on the air force's figures here. But that record appears to have been broken multiple occasions over the past couple of months or so. What seems

to have been slightly different, I think, from the feeling of people I've spoken to on the ground in the capital, is the sense that the air defenses

were stretched, certainly, that the relentless nature of the attack was focused on Kyiv itself to perhaps look for weaknesses in the defenses there

and exploit them clearly.

And the timing, of course, is absolutely no mistake at all. Matter of hours or even minutes, potentially, after a phone call ended between Russian

President Vladimir Putin and the President Donald Trump, which Trump himself described as very disappointing that Putin essentially gave him

nothing that he'd hoped to get.

Now we have just learned that a long scheduled call or a long anticipated call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ended.

Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, has called it very meaningful and positive, and said that the details of it will be released soon, but

ultimately, this is a moment in which Donald Trump will have to make good in the eyes of his allies on the promise to potentially use sanctions or

even continue armed supply to Ukraine if Russian President Vladimir Putin proves to be entirely disinterested in the ceasefire that the U.S. has now

for months proposed.

There are suggestions in the background that potentially Germany might be used here as a proxy to deliver, construct Patriot missile interceptors.

They're the key things that really only the U.S. can supply, or its allies can supply with U.S. permission that can take down the ballistic missiles

that are the biggest threat, frankly, against Ukraine and so many of its cities. We'll have to wait and see if that was something they touched upon,

Zelenskyy and Trump, when they spoke.

Zelenskyy clear for months now how desperately short of Patriots they indeed are. And when, you know, Ukraine is short of air defenses against

drones or against those missiles, this is what it looks like over their skies. Quite extraordinary scenes last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Hear the buzz, and all you can do is wait. Kyiv has seen this almost every night for months. But there was something about

Thursday night's ferocity that seemed new and unchecked, even underground.

[10:05:07]

No sleep is the norm. Huddling in basements, too. If you're not so immune to the sirens, you turn over in bed when you hear them. Hearing Russia

broke another record of drones fired has also happened a lot this past month. What was different was the possibility the capital's air defenses

behind interceptions like these might be in trouble.

Gunners try to pick off drones, but the American supply of Patriots that take down ballistic missiles has stopped. Leaving nights here longer and

louder, and solace something you find in the subway. A record assault that came moments after Presidents Trump and Putin spoke. That, too, did not go

well.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think

he's there. I don't think he's there. And I'm very disappointed.

Well, it's not -- I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop and that's too bad.

PATON WALSH: Among the smoldering remains of civilian worlds terrorized, Ukraine's foreign minister claimed fragments of a Geran-2 combat drone were

found made in China. The growing global footprint of a war where Kyiv's daylight is dark and still by the smoke of the night before and where the

damage done is measured in intimate personal loss.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PATON WALSH (on-camera): now. Becky, we're at a key moment here really, because it is clear, I think, from the barrage experience by Kyiv and by

concerns from Ukrainian intelligence officials that 500 drones at night, well, that could be 1,000 if Russia continues to ramp up its production per

night. Maybe something that simply Kyiv defenses, however good they get, cannot withstand.

And there's clearly a nightly toll of insomnia and sheer anxiety and horror, frankly, amongst Kyiv residents that we speak to. So this is a key

moment for, in terms of Ukraine's ability to defend itself. But that's in the skies. On the ground, too, is another potentially more urgent and

significant problem. Ukraine's military warning that to the east, near Pokrovsk, a town fought over for nearly a year plus now, there are 110,000

Russian troops, they say, amassing, and 50,000 amassing north of the Ukrainian city of Sumy, inside Russia.

Two potential prongs of maybe a summer counteroffensive that many have been warning of. That's yet to materialize in a meaningful fashion yet from

Moscow, but one that may, if it happens in the weeks ahead, explain why Russia is being so relentlessly stalling diplomacy over the past months,

and also to provide massive concerns amongst Ukraine's allies, can really hold them back, or whether we might see some kind of strategic change in

the front lines in the months ahead -- Becky.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Nick. Thank you.

Alexander Baunov is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, who has written widely on Russian foreign policy and ideology, joins me now

from Berlin.

It's good to have you. Sir, Donald Trump admittedly -- admitting that he got nowhere in his call with Putin yesterday. Let's just have a little

listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin, because I don't think he's there. I don't think he's

there. And I'm very disappointed. Well, it's not, I'm just saying I don't think he's looking to stop. And that's too bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: And we saw that same soundbite in Nick's package. But I wanted you and our viewers to just hear it again because on the face of it, it

came across as a rather deflated U.S. president. Should we be surprised by Putin's position at this point? And what do you make of Donald Trump's

strategy with a man he insists he has and still has a good relationship with?

ALEXANDER BAUNOV, SENIOR FELLOW, EUROPEAN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE: Yes, I see some signs of disappointment. It was in what President Trump is saying.

Well, my impression that the misunderstanding was from the very beginning. First, because the, well, President Trump's perception was that the whole

war is just about the NATO. And if you press Ukraine to, well, reject the idea of joining NATO, the causes for the war would be over. There's no

reason for Vladimir Putin to continue the war.

But the people who are, well, watching the Russian situation from inside, who are reading in Russian and listening to Russian officials and non-

official speakers, can say -- could say from the very beginning that the war is just about much more than NATO and the domestic package of the war

is multiple.

[10:10:06]

It's about the reunification of Russian nation. It's about the regaining historical territories, about punishing Ukraine as a part of Russian

nation, in the Kremlin narrative, that split from the Moscow's influence and go to the West. So the reasons are multiple and these are reasons that

are -- cannot be rationalized as easy as just the NATO enlargement or NATO admission.

ANDERSON: Yes. And I think you're making a very good point here, Alexander, because what you're saying is, you know, Vladimir Putin is nothing if not

consistent. He is committed to this kind of, you know, wide-ranging reason, he says, for his, quote, "special operation." The readout from the Kremlin

yesterday suggested from this call with Donald Trump that he told the U.S. president that he is committed to finishing this special operation.

So to your mind, if you were advising the U.S. president and European politicians at this point, including those in NATO, you know, what's the

strategy here? Because what's going on at present isn't working.

BAUNOV: I don't know what's -- what is exactly the exact strategy of President Trump at this particular moment when he shows the signs of

disappointment. The strategy of President Putin is clear. On the first stage, it was to use, well, the good relations. Well, let's say the

friendship between him and President Trump to achieve his goals in Ukraine. Well, some of these goals could be achieved without continuation of the

fighting.

And when President Trump started to talk about an immediate ceasefire, there is another goal very important for the Kremlin. It is somehow to

decouple, to disengage its war against Ukraine from the whole international agenda. Like what I mean, in the Kremlin's perspective, Russia is a great

global power, and the United States is a biggest global power. Let's have a broad agenda over the global things like Middle East, Iran.

I don't know, trade in capital letters, Far East, whatever, and Ukraine, let's make the Ukraine only a small piece or small part of this broad

agenda between Russia and the U.S. So basically let's marginalize Ukraine, put it aside, brush it out of the center of Russian-Western relations. And

this is the goal Vladimir Putin is now pursuing very consistently in the sense that when he's talking, even disappointing Donald Trump, he's

continuing to talk to Donald Trump for the Kremlin.

It's like normalizing relations between, well, Putin and Trump, Russia and the West.

ANDERSON: Right.

BAUNOV: Yes. This this is the goal of the present, at the present stage.

ANDERSON: Is that sustainable? Two questions to you. Is the war on Ukraine sustainable by Moscow and is the kind of wider story? And I think you're

right to point this out. This is a much wider kind of strategy by Vladimir Putin at this point. Is it working?

BAUNOV: Well, to some extent it -- may work. The -- generally the position of the Kremlin was from the very beginning, even in the of setbacks in the

late 2022, the position of the kremlin was that we need Ukraine more than the West needs it. So the longer we are fighting in Ukraine, the West will

be sooner exhausted and tired than the Russians will be. And this is the strategy. And you see that President Trump is somehow losing not just the

temper, but the patience, and this is what they want to achieve that to restore somehow the relations and to continue the war on the sidelines of

the Western and Russian relations.

And these very goals of five or six calls between Russian president and American president, then French President Macron has called Putin for the

first time after the February 2022.

[10:15:05]

Somehow it -- it's paid off. I mean, you have relations, you have trade, although with restrictions, and you continue the war. It helps to

legitimize -- to legitimize, I'm sorry, the war.

ANDERSON: Yes. To get your analysis and perspective is really important and your deep sort of expertise in that part of the world hugely important as

we continue to inform our viewers of what is going on. Thank you very much indeed.

Well, according to President Trump, by this time tomorrow we should know if Hamas will accept the latest ceasefire plan for Gaza. Hamas says it will

announce its decision after consulting with other Palestinian factions, as they call them, although it's not saying how long that might take. Israel

has already accepted the U.S. proposal, which would see five hostage releases over 60 days and should allow increased deliveries of humanitarian

aid into Gaza.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is live for us, and you've got details from Israel on what we understand this latest framework to look like. Just walk us through

what we know at this point.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: We have a much better understanding of how this would play out over 60 days. And crucially, the

release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and detainees is spread out over the entire 60-day period. On day one, eight of 10 living

hostages would be released. The last two living hostages as part of this proposal don't come out until day 50.

And then 18 deceased hostages again are spread out, with the last eight coming out on day 60. the final day of this temporary ceasefire proposal. A

lot also happens on day one. First, aid begins moving in not only under the United Nations, but effectively as it did prior to the war, in much greater

numbers than we're seeing now. It's not limited to the controversial and problematic Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, so there is much more aid that

would immediately flow in.

And on day one, Israel and Hamas would immediately -- immediately begin negotiations towards a comprehensive agreement to end the war. A permanent

ceasefire that has been a key element and a key need or demand that Hamas has requested. And it's in there under the guarantee of not only

negotiators but, crucially, of President Donald Trump, who has made very clear that he wants to see this war over.

And this as were waiting for a Hamas response, also comes with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about to hop on a plane this weekend to meet

Trump in Washington on Monday and then hold a series of other meetings here. The expectation here is that Hamas will respond soon. There's a lot

of, a lot of positivity right now, I think you can call it that, amongst negotiators who are waiting to see this response.

But until we actually find out what Hamas says, we simply don't know at this point. And then they're agreeing to the proposal does not immediately

mean there's a ceasefire. It does kick into the next critical stage, which are proximity talks, either in Doha or in Cairo, where Israel and Hamas are

effectively in the same building down the hall from each other and negotiators shuttle back and forth to try to hammer out the last few

details.

That can happen quite quickly. But crucially, what's needed now is that Hamas response, Becky. And that's exactly what we're waiting for.

ANDERSON: Yes. Good to have you, Oren. Thank you.

Still to come on this show, CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson, U.S. president basking in victory after Congress passes his sweeping tax and

spending cuts bill. We'll take a look at how the legislation will shape Donald Trump's second term domestic agenda.

Also ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY RODRIGUEZ, PRESIDENT AND CEO, L.A. FASHION DISTRICT BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT: Probably 90 percent of these businesses are immigrant

owned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, a walk through the streets of Los Angeles, where fear of deportation has turned bustling markets into ghost towns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:21:18]

ANDERSON: Well, these are live pictures of the White House where later today Donald Trump will sign into law the biggest legislative win of his

presidency in what is expected to be a festive Independence Day ceremony. Congress approving his sweeping domestic agenda bill after a series of

razor thin votes in both the House and the Senate.

The final vote in the House coming after the president worked the phones and held meetings at the White House to win over what were Republican

holdouts. Well, after the vote, he basked in the victory at the state fairgrounds in Iowa, saying the bill fulfills all his major campaign

promises.

Democrats united in opposition vowed to use the bill's steep cuts in Medicaid and other social safety nets as a major campaign issue in next

year's midterm elections.

Well, I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

Ron, the president saying after the vote that he thinks he now has more power than he has ever had before. And frankly, it is difficult to argue

with that assessment. Just how significant is this legislative victory for his second term agenda?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, first of all, I think he's right. I think he is governing as if he believes that all of the

constraints that limited him in his first term, whether it was Congress, within his own administration, certainly from the courts, even from civil

society and Democrats have collapsed.

And as a result, Becky, he's taking very big swings. You know, and taking risks that might have seemed too reckless in his first term. That may not

be an unmitigated blessing for him and his party over time.

This is a big win. You know, on the one hand, as I've pointed out, every president since Reagan has essentially bundled together the core elements

of their economic agenda during their first year into one big, beautiful bill, a reconciliation bill, as it's known. And they've all passed before,

even though there have often been twists and turns. So in that sense, it's not a surprise. But it is an impressive achievement because they did this

with very narrow margins, and they held together the party in the face of public opinion polling, which, as you noted, has generally been quite

negative on the bill and really its cornerstone transaction, which is cutting social programs, particularly healthcare programs that benefit the

middle and working class to fund tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy.

That's been a tough equation for Republicans to defend in the past, and that's what they're going to have to do over the next 18 months or so.

ANDERSON: So all week, we've been highlighting complaints from Democrats and other critics of this bill about its steep cuts in Medicaid and how it

will swell the deficit. I mean, you know, we're looking at a massive, significant increase in the deficit.

Can the frankly wanton Democrats build on that messaging into next year's midterm elections?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Look, I think clearly the argument that Republicans cut health care for people who need it to fund tax cuts for people who don't

will be at the centerpiece of Democratic messaging. But I think they intend to embed that in a broader message. I mean, Donald Trump was elected above

all because people thought their cost of living was out of control. His approval rating on handling inflation is under 40 percent.

Americans don't feel that their cost of living is under control. So this bill, I think, becomes one count in a broader indictment. The idea that

Trump ran and said he was going to solve your problems, make your life more affordable, and he hasn't really done that. All he's done is withdraw

federal programs that might help you and make his rich friends richer.

[10:25:05]

I think this will be embedded into a broader argument about costs. One other thing that's notable about this bill, if you look at the places that

may be the most directly affected by the cuts, which are both to Medicaid and to clean energy subsidies, those tend to be small town, exurban

districts and areas that are pretty culturally conservative.

Democrats still don't have a lot of hope of competing, for example, in the speaker's district, Speaker Mike Johnson, where over 100,000 people got

coverage through the Medicaid expansion that is now endangered. This bill may be a bigger problem for Republicans in white-collar suburban districts

that are less directly affected. It may be a bigger risk for them in places that are offended by the tax cut, Medicaid, trade than places that are

directly affected by the tax cut, Medicaid, trade.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, sir. Always a pleasure. Happy Fourth to you.

Well, the U.S. Supreme Court allowing the Trump administration to deport a group of migrants to South Sudan. The migrants, including some from

countries such as Cuba, Vietnam and Laos, have already been deported and have been held for weeks on a U.S. military base in Djibouti in East

Africa. That is while their case was litigated.

Well, a heap of fresh funding in President Trump's policy bill is sure to invigorate his immigration crackdown, which already aims for at least 3,000

arrests per day.

Our Veronica Miracle toured parts of Los Angeles where business after business is going dark because people there are too afraid to show up for

work. Have a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If President Trump's hardline immigration policies aim to scare people, here in Southern

California they're working.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your name?

MIRACLE (voice-over): In recent weeks, businesses have shuttered as ICE raids and arrests have sent many undocumented people into hiding, except

63-year-old taco stand owner Urbano. For 43 years he's lived in the United States undocumented, but this past month, when he's been able to push

through the fear of being deported and open his stand, he's had hardly any customers.

So he says that business is really slow. You can see a lot of businesses in the area have closed.

Can you tell me, have you been in hiding at all or have you been out every day working?

URBANO, UNDOCUMENTED WORKER (through translator): We have to go out to work because if not, who is going to pay our rent? Who is going to pay our taxes

like I'm paying taxes? Can you imagine?

MIRACLE (voice-over): Urbano's story is one of many. In fact, one in five California immigrant workers is undocumented. That's according to a study

by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. So to see the largescale impact of the ICE raids we went to L.A.'s Fashion District.

Can you show me down Santee Alley?

RODRIGUEZ: Absolutely.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Anthony Rodriguez is the Business Improvement District president and CEO.

RODRIGUEZ: Probably 90 percent of these businesses are immigrant-owned.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Rodriguez says there are roughly 100 shops along this alley alone. A majority of shop owners are too scared to operate, he says.

RODRIGUEZ: Unfortunately, even when it isn't -- there isn't actual activity the fear of people, you know, someone thinks they hear something and that

alone will shut down the entire area.

MIRACLE: On a typical weekend day I'm told that this is packed shoulder-to- shoulder you could hardly move through Santee Alley. But since the ICE raids happened, started about three weeks ago, there has been a 45 percent

drop in foot traffic.

What's going on, on Santee Alley?

CHRISTOPHER PEREZ, L.A. FASHION DISTRICT VENDOR: Well, a lot of people are scared to come out.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Christopher Perez says he hasn't seen his neighboring vendors open for weeks.

PEREZ: It's sad seeing my own people get arrested and harassed by the ICE agents, but it's pretty much -- I hope it all ends soon.

MIRACLE (voice-over): And just a few miles away from Santee Alley we found a similar situation.

We're on Olvera Street. It's one of the oldest streets in all of Los Angeles and this is actually considered the birthplace of this city. And

yet you take a look around at this cultural landmark and all of these businesses, these vendors, they've shuttered their doors.

(Voice-over): Those that are open are struggling to make ends meet.

VILMA MEDINA, OLVERA STREET VENDOR: There will be days that are like I've sold, like, $10 the whole day. It's bad. All of us are trying to, like,

hold on and we're just trying to do the best we can.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Leaders and business owners all tell us the long-term economic impact of these raids is not clear. But if the nearly 2.3 million

undocumented immigrants in California were all deported, researchers at the Bay Area Council Economic Institute estimate the state's GDP would decline

by over $278 billion.

ABBY RAISZ, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, BAY AREA COUNCIL ECONOMIC INSTITUTE: That's nine percent of our GDP. That GDP value is larger than the entire state of

Nevada than the entire state of Oregon. These are not small outputs.

[10:30:05]

MIRACLE: Do you have any message to President Trump?

URBANO (through translator): Mr. President, well, let us work because we came to work. We didn't come to steal. We came to build in this country. We

came to make the country better.

MIRACLE (voice-over): Veronica Miracle, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, a wake is underway for Liverpool footballer Diogo Jota and his brother. That is in Portugal. And in England friends and fans also

paying their respects, in Liverpool. We're going to go live there up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. Here are your headlines this hour.

And U.S. President Donald Trump spoke by phone with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy just a short time ago. Mr. Zelenskyy's

chief of staff called today's conversation, quote, very important and meaningful. That call comes just a day after what Mr. Trump called a very

disappointing conversation with Vladimir Putin, saying he doesn't think that the U.S. president is looking to end its war against Ukraine.

Hamas says it will announce its decision on the latest ceasefire framework plan for Gaza after consultations with other Palestinian factions. A source

familiar with the most recent proposal says it includes five hostage releases over 60 days and that humanitarian aid will begin to flow into

Gaza at the start of the ceasefire period.

President Trump will sign his sweeping domestic agenda bill into law later today at the White House. The U.S. Independence Day signing comes after

House passed the revised Senate version of the bill on Thursday. The president addressed supporters in Iowa afterwards, saying that legislation

fulfills all his major campaign promises.

Well, a private wake for the family of Liverpool and Portugal footballer Diego Jota and his brother Andre Silva is underway at a church in Portugal.

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

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

on Saturday.

Well, fans of the Liverpool star have also been paying their respects around the world, including in the city of Liverpool in England.

CNN Sports' Matiaz Grez is there and he joins us now.

It seems rather trite to ask what the mood of the city is as fans mourn Diego Jota and his brother, but can you just explain the sort of

atmosphere, if you will?

[10:35:06]

MATIAS GREZ, CNN SPORT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, as I'm sure you can imagine, the overwhelming emotion here over the last 24 hours has been

grief. And if I just stand to the side for a minute, I can let you look at the hundreds and hundreds of tributes that have been laid here over the

last 24 hours. Shirts, scarves, flags, handwritten notes. And it's not just Liverpool fans that have been coming here today. There are Manchester

United fans in Manchester United shirts we've seen.

And I'm sure you can see here the blue of Everton shirts and scarves dotted throughout the sea of red. Two clubs, usually bitter rivals with Liverpool,

but off the pitch I think you can see just how much Diogo Jota meant not only to this city but to the wider football community. And among the

flowers here, of course, Jordan Henderson, the former Liverpool captain, came and laid down his own tribute earlier this afternoon and speaking to

fans today and yesterday, of course, it was Diogo Jota's success on the pitch that made him so loved among the fan base.

In his five years here at the club, he scored 65 goals and won four major trophies. But speaking to fans, I think it really was Jota the person that

resonated so much with people here in this city. A hardworking man, a family man with humble beginnings, and I think a lot of the fans saw some

of themselves in him. And he was, of course, on top of the world professionally and personally when he died.

Only 12 days ago, marrying his childhood sweetheart and the mother of his three children, and just weeks earlier winning the Premier League with

Liverpool and the Nations League with Portugal, which of course only makes the timing of his passing all the more tragic. But amid all of the grief

here over the last 24 hours, speaking to fans and reading the tributes from former managers and teammates, there's one thing that has stood out above

everything else, and that's Diogo Jota's smile.

And I think that's how everybody here would like him to be remembered. A man with a broad grin and an infectious personality, and a player who gave

everything for the shirt and the city every single time he stepped onto the pitch.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you there, sir. It can't be easy. You know, we were just discussing the fact that it's -- this isn't an easy one to cover,

and I know you will feel emotional yourself, big football fan, as you are, but it's so important that we get our viewers a sense of what's going on

there around the world.

It's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed. And I know the Liverpool Football Club will spend some time in deciding how they will mark long term

the passing of such a fantastic player.

You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD. Coming up after the break, my interview with the British Egyptian actor and artist Khalid Abdalla about his new

song dedicated to Palestinian children.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:04]

ANDERSON: British Egyptian actor Khalid Abdalla is perhaps best known for his role in "The Crown." But since the war in Gaza began, he's become one

of the most prominent voices calling for a ceasefire and protesting for the rights of Palestinians. He recently released a new piece of music called "A

Simple Song," dedicated to Palestinian children of the past, present and future, writing, quote, "May it meet this moment in hope, while the tide of

global consciousness is changing, so the child born now grows up in a world with a free Palestine. And what that will mean for every child everywhere."

I recently spoke to him about how that song came together.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KHALID ABDALLA, ACTOR AND ACTIVIST: I have two young children and I was making them breakfast and as I was doing so, just these words and this tune

started coming into my mind and I captured it. I went to the piano and within two days I had a song.

(MUSIC)

ABDALLA: One of the things around Palestine is people feel very talked at and one of the beautiful things about music is that it touches your heart

immediately in sound, and hopefully holds a healing space. And that's what I've tried to do with the song.

(MUSIC)

ABDALLA: We're often told that, you know, the whole situation between Palestine and Israel is complicated, but very often I think that's really

meaning it's uncomfortable to talk about. There remain incredibly simple things about it. Occupation is wrong. That is simple. A genocide is wrong.

That is simple. Apartheid is wrong. That is simple. Killing children is wrong. That is simple. Killing civilians is wrong. That is simple.

And I could go on and on and on. And unless, you know, aspects of what is simple about this become the common narrative on which we build a future,

then there's no hope. And I believe that that consciousness around the world is shifting around what simple things we need to build a better

future.

ANDERSON: You have become one of the most prominent voices calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and supporting Palestinian rights. What impact do you

believe this sort of form of activism has?

ABDALLA: I think it's huge. You know, our politicians on the whole have not been effective, have not been useful, have not done enough over these last

20 months. And so I think the space of culture is hugely important. And I think anyone and everyone who has stood up and used their platform, whether

it's as an actor or a musician or celebrity or whether it's just someone walking down the street wearing their kufiyah or a badge, you know, has

been part of what I think has been everyone's duty over this period, which is, you know, to expand the space of Palestinian solidarity.

The Palestine Solidarity Movement is the civil rights movement of our time. It is the anti-apartheid movement of our time.

ANDERSON: You gave a very moving speech at an event in London recently that circulated widely online. And you also called Palestine the moral axis of

our time, which really struck me having -- as a journalist covered this story for nearly 30 years. That really struck me. Just explain, you know,

your thinking as you penned that.

ABDALLA: All these norms of international human rights law are being broken one after the other. And it's happening on the back of Palestine. But as I

say, it is not just Palestine. And it's not just that -- it's not that solving Palestine means that all the other world's problems will be solved,

but it means that you have politicians that have the moral grit to be able to take on the vested interest that exists in our society.

[10:45:05]

ANDERSON: This is going to sound very trite. Having listened to you, you're so eloquent, you're so passionate. How concerned have you been about taking

a stand and suffering as a result of it, professionally and personally, being canceled?

ABDALLA: Yes, I mean, I was worried when I first stepped out on a red carpet with the word "ceasefire now," that that would mean the end of my

career. But it was the exact opposite. I found that in standing up you find yourself, but you also find your people, and your people find you. I

haven't stopped working. I was just amusingly, just filming recently, playing an MI6 agent in a Gemma Arterton drama, which is going to be out

next year.

I've been on stage at the -- at the National Theater, on the main stage in the Olivier. I've done my own play. So on the one side, I think some of

these feelings of threats are not actually entirely true. However, what is true is that there is a sense of massive silence around it that everyone

enforces together and strength in numbers. I urge all my fellow artists to stand up, because I think it's what they actually in their hearts want to

do.

You know, we make better art, we make better work when we are truer to ourselves. When you're hiding, it's always, it always has a negative

effect, not just on you, but on the culture around you. And we're up to this. This is the time, you know. The time is now to start facing this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, that was actor and activist Khalid Abdalla speaking to me in June. Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations of apartheid and

genocide.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: U.S. President Donald Trump says he plans to spend part of his Fourth of July holiday sending letters to countries notifying them of their

new tariff rates with the United States. He says in most cases starting August 1st, the countries will begin paying anywhere from 10 percent to 70

percent tariff rates. It's unclear which countries would get the first letters, only that after the first batch, he would send out up to a dozen

letters a day.

Well, for more on all of this, CNN's Anna Stewart joining me from London.

Anna, it does sound like Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had more specifics about the tariff rate a majority of countries might be looking

at. What did he -- what does he said?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Had a few mixed messages about what the tariffs will be. And what seems clear is that perhaps the tariffs we had on

so-called liberation day all the way back in April, those tariffs that were paused, perhaps they are dead in the water because we could be seeing new

tariffs up to 70 percent, according to President Trump. But as you say, according to the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for the majority of

countries, and I'm thinking these are the countries that don't have a big trade surplus with the U.S., it could be a lot less. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I think that we're going to see about 100 countries who just get the minimum 10 percent reciprocal tariff,

and we'll go from there. So I think we are going to see a lot of action over the coming days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: We hope we do see a lot of action. We've seen a little bit of action in the last week, a trade deal in principle at least, with Vietnam

bringing their tariff down from 46 percent. That's where it was at at liberation day levels. It's now down to 20 percent.

[10:50:00]

It's more if an item comes from China and is exported through Vietnam to the U.S., China is not happy about that, I have to say. And of course the

deal with the U.K. But that is it. At this stage there is a trade truce with China but in terms of trade deals, that's it. The E.U. trade

commissioner was in D.C. yesterday for talks with his counterparts. Nothing has been announced, but the Treasury secretary did suggest that things were

looking quite positive. And as he says, we're going to get a load of more trade deals coming up. Watch this space.

ANDERSON: This, of course, was a Trump imposed deadline, right? Let's just be quite clear about that for sort of mid-late next week.

STEWART: This is a Trump imposed deadline. And I think what's been very interesting is seeing how little market reaction we have, given the

comments we're getting, given how soon that deadline is. If you look at U.S. futures, because U.S. markets are closed today, U.S. futures dipped a

little bit on some of this news, but not much. European equities are in the red but really not significantly at all.

So the big question is, are investors saying this is just the art of the deal? Is this threat real? Are deadlines really deadlines? They've always

been quite fluid. Is this another TACO trade, you know, Trump always chickens out? And that all plays into it. So I don't expect we're going to

see much reaction at all probably until next week when it really comes down to the wire. And even then, even if markets get yippee, will it be sort of

short term or longer term? We'll just have to wait and see. But we're not getting much of substance at this stage.

ANDERSON: It's funny you use that term. I was -- I used it here with somebody in Abu Dhabi the other day, and they didn't know what the -- what

I was talking about. Getting the yips, of course, on the golf course.

STEWART: Because none (INAUDIBLE), and so the president used it.

(LAUGHTER)

ANDERSON: Yes. Good for you getting. The yips over a putt and blowing it is what we talk about when we meant yippee. Thank you.

All right. For our "Parting Shots," the official weigh in for Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest. The big chow-down is later today, and it is a Fourth of

July tradition of course in New York. This year, 16-time winner Joey Jaws Chestnut is back. He shared details of his technique to try and outeat the

current champ and earn back the mustard belt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOEY CHESTNUT, HOT DOG EATING CHAMP: I do practice once a week and before every practice there's a cleanse period where there's no solid food and the

practice is like a full-on contest. And then afterwards there's recovery. And it takes me days to get back to my normal weight. And then once I get

back to my normal weight, then I do my cleanse. And then I do the practice again. So -- and I call it the cycle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, a few years ago, Chestnut set the world record for hot dog eating at stomach churning 76 dogs in all, including the buns.

CNN's Harry Enten reports on what it takes to be a winner in the world of competitive eating.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE SHEA, CO-FOUNDER, MAJOR LEAGUE EATING: If I were picking the absolute best physique for a competitive eater, I would say your height,

6'2", maybe 6'3", big shoulders, big frame, but not tight abs. You don't want to be ripped. You want expansion.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Oh, well, then I'm in perfect condition.

(Voice-over): If you're in my physical shape, then George Shea, the co- founder of Major League Eating, has the sport for you. Shea has been the host of Nathan's Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest since 1991.

He walked us through the techniques used by the most prominent competitive eaters.

Kobayashi obviously had his own technique of separating out the hot dog from the bun, dunking it in water, and then, obviously, Joey Chestnut has a

completely different technique.

SHEA: It's actually a science. Joey is the best at it. He crunches it up in a ball after he's dunked it and then just drops it down his gully.

ENTEN (voice-over): He's referring to the OGs of the hot dog eating contest, Joey Chestnut and Kobayashi.

SHEA: Kobayashi would never beat Joey in the long run because his frame is too small. Joey is a big guy, 6'1" big. So he has that advantage. But on

top of that, he's done this for so long and he has sort of trained.

ENTEN (voice-over): So how do folks feel about the annual hot dog eating contest?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Joey Chestnut, I'm coming for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Coming for you.

ENTEN: What do you think of the idea of trying to shove as many hot dogs down in a set period amount of time?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's hilarious.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're crazy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I love it. I love it.

ENTEN: If you wanted to, in a 10-minute period of time, how many hot dogs do you think that you could put down?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably about four.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Probably three.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thousand.

ENTEN: One thousand? That seems like a heck of a lot of hot dogs in 10 minutes. How about you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably like 40?

ENTEN: So the other thing that you do when you're out in Coney Island is to ride the nearly 100-year-old Cyclone, like I did earlier. Let's take a

listen to how I did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[10:55:03]

ANDERSON: @Becky.CNN on social for what do you think of all of that. I'm fascinated to hear your thoughts on the technique.

That's it for CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END