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Connect the World

U.S. Officials: Pausing Strikes on Iran in Favor of Diplomacy; Mexican Man Killed by I.C.E.; 12 Killed by Wildfires in Southern Spain; SK Hynix, Supplier of Memory Chips to Nvidia, Debuts on NASDAQ; Spain, Belgium Set for Quarterfinal Clash on Friday. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired July 10, 2026 - 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, a source tells CNN that the U.S. has been deliberately striking Iran, and then pausing to allow

diplomacy to work, will that strategy work to bring a real end to hostilities? It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington. It is 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi

from our Middle East Programming Headquarters. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World".

Also coming up, a massive wildfire scorching parts of Spain's southern coast as emergency crews there battle the blaze. And France steamroll past

Morocco, landing the first spot in the Football World Cup Semi-finals. We'll get your preview of today's Quarter-finals match: Spain versus

Belgium.

Well, the stock market in New York opens about 30 minutes from now. It does look like a mixed start to the last trading day of what has been another

volatile week. We'll get you the opening bell on Wall Street later this hour.

We start with an apparent lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran, and American officials saying that the U.S. delayed preparations for potential

attacks on Thursday to allow time for negotiations. Well, this follows several days of strikes around the Strait of Hormuz and on countries in the

Gulf.

The seeming pause coming as Qatar and Pakistan mediators work to de- escalate tensions and to restart negotiations over the memorandum of understanding. Now we should note that technical talks between the two

sides are continuing despite this week's flare-ups.

And in Iran, the multi-day funeral for assassinated Supreme Lead Ayatollah Ali Khamenei concluded with his burial on Thursday and without any public

appearances by his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei.

We've got Betsy Klein from the White House. We've got Jeremy Diamond in Tel Aviv, and Eleni Giokos is in Dubai. Betsy, let me start with you. What are

you hearing about this latest seeming push for diplomacy, given what we've seen this week?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Becky, perhaps some reason for cautious optimism here. But there are a lot of questions still

for this White House about President Trump's path forward for this conflict after he restarted strikes on Iran earlier this week.

Now the ceasefire agreement and that 60-day negotiation period that that kicked off was really the only clear off-ramp that President Trump had to

ending this conflict. He's weighing his options now, but the U.S. had made plans for strikes in Iran overnight. But for now, officials saying that

they are letting diplomacy lead the way here.

A U.S. official had told me last night that these technical talks continue while they are pursuing a potential diplomatic path here. That official

saying, the United States is still committed to finding a resolution, and technical talks continue.

Now, the president, in part, had restarted these strikes because he was so angered that the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil thoroughfare, was

still not fully reopened. He was also upset that Iran was launching strikes on ships as he was at the NATO Summit.

Now, the memorandum of understanding that ceasefire deal that had been reached, this U.S. official says is performance-based, and Iran's actions

they say quote constitute failed performance at an unacceptable level. They call those strikes on ships acts of terrorism.

But this conflict is also a political issue for President Trump here at home. And let's go back to President Trump's comments at the G7 Summit just

a few weeks ago. He said that he had justified the ceasefire agreement by saying he didn't want to be President Herbert Hoover, who of course

presided over the Great Depression in the United States.

He warned that if the conflict had continued, it could have led to economic catastrophe. And consumers here were just starting to see some relief in

prices, gas prices falling, and now this week up again nine full cents on the gallon. So, a lot of questions about how they plan to move forward, and

that is certainly a consideration for President Trump with the midterm elections just a few months away in November, Becky.

ANDERSON: Thank you. Jeremy, let me get to you. What's the talk there about this past week? And I want to get any further information that you might

have on reports that Israel informed the U.S. about an apparent new Iranian assassination plot targeting President Trump. Anything further on that?

[09:05:00]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, two sources familiar with the matter are telling CNN that Israel shared intelligence

with the United States about an Iranian plot, a new plot. It is important to note to assassinate President Trump.

One of the sources said that this warning came this week. Another source said that the United States had picked up on intelligence about broader

efforts by Iran to potentially try and assassinate President Trump, but that the Israeli intelligence that was shared with the United States this

week pointed to a new and much more specific plot.

Now, it is important to note that the United States, as of yet, had not yet vetted this information that came from the Israelis. Had not verified

whether indeed this was and is potentially a concrete plot to try and assassinate the President of the United States.

But the president himself did comment on this earlier this week, before this reporting broke, President Trump said that the Iranians want to take

out a U.S. leader. He said me. He suggested that he was on a list and clearly pointing to potential Iranian attempts to try and assassinate him.

That being said, again, we don't -- we haven't yet seen any kind of concrete evidence about this plot. The United States still working to vet

it, and some American officials caution that this could also be part of Israeli attempts to try and influence the course of U.S. decision making,

particularly at this extraordinarily fraught moment with tensions rising between the United States and Iran.

And to that end, another source is also telling us that the United States does not, at this hour, want Israel to join in the kinds of strikes that we

have seen the United States take against Iran over the course of the last few days. That is, of course, a recognition of the fact that Israel joining

back in this conflict would once again take things to a whole new level.

The Israeli military, for its part, remains on high alert, remains prepared to enter the fray if necessary and if that decision is made. But for the

time being, Israeli officials are also quite cognizant of the fact that despite some of the rhetoric from President Trump and this recent

escalation of tensions, it still seems like the president is disinclined to see this escalate again into an all-out war between the U.S. and Iran that

would also drag Israel and the rest of the region into it.

There are still, of course, many diplomatic efforts underway, particularly by the Qataris and the Pakistanis, who are speaking not only to the U.S.

and Iran, but also to a number of the Gulf countries in the region, to try and simmer things down.

ANDERSON: Yeah, and it's been a very busy week of calls and visits around the region of the Gulf between neighbors after the attacks by Iran, of

course, on Bahrain, on Kuwait, an attack on a military antenna (ph) installation in Qatar, and of course wider reports in Jordan. That after

the sort of tit for tat strikes, thank you, Jeremy, that we saw in the Strait of Hormuz. Eleni, monitoring what is going on there. What is the

story at this point?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and it continues, Becky, to be this flashpoint where President Trump wants to see a complete opening of the

Strait, but Iran is essentially showing and demonstrating it can have de facto control over vessels and the route that they opt to take by you know

inflicting damage pain on anyone that opts for the U.S. approved route.

That is the southern route. That the Omani route. If I look at the numbers, and this is according to Kepler data, yesterday, Thursday, 9th of July, 22

vessels transited. Now, digging deeper into those numbers, they mostly opted for the Northern Iranian only one vessel Becky went for the Omani

route.

No some of them went incognito so turned off on AIS, so we don't know what route they took. And we also know from maritime security companies that

some vessels started going in the southern route, the Omari route, and then started to reroute, went the northern route.

If I look at the day before the 8th of July, 30 vessels, and then 49 on July 7th. This is quite a significant drop. We've actually seen pretty good

numbers since the start of the ceasefire when the MOU was initially signed, but again, sort of a far cry from the 110 vessels that we see daily before

the start of the war.

The other major concern here is that Iran is going to start pushing vessels to use the northern route because it is, whether we like it or not, a lot

more predictable, according to a lot of the experts that I've spoken to.

[09:10:00]

And because they want to get out of the Persian Gulf, a lot of the ship owners are opting for that route right now, despite the fact that the

United States has a superiority over the Strait of Hormuz right now.

You know, looking at Kepler data, looking at the numbers, looking at some of the traffic, if there is going to be a diplomatic track that will open

up once again, the Strait of Hormuz is going to be really important because Iran has been using that as leverage.

It has shown this over the past week, and of course, targeting those three commercial vessels over the weekend that resulted in these retaliatory

strikes just shows how important this is in the greater scheme of things in terms of moving forward on diplomacy, it is important for Iran, but just as

important for the United States.

You've got Brent Crude up once again back here today. You've got gas prices rising in the United States, even though we've seen good numbers of oil

transiting through the Straits in the last few weeks that is at risk.

ANDERSON: Yep, we've had a look at those numbers for you there. WTI Crude just slightly lower today, but Brent still above 76 bucks on the barrel.

Good to have you all. Thank you very much indeed. You are up to date, folks.

Well, France has booked themselves a spot in the World Cup Semi-final, after defeating Morocco 2-0 in what turned out to be a pretty

straightforward match, it has to be said. Those fans celebrating Le Bleus their victory thanks to goal from Mbappe and Dembele, scored within just

six minutes during the second half.

The tournament favorites will face either Spain or Belgium in Tuesday's Semi-final. CNN's Maria Santana was in Boston, where Morocco's World Cup

dreams were dashed. She spoke to fans to get their reaction to the match and who they now hope will go on to win the World Cup.

MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fans of Morocco really hoped that this would be their year. They were predicting that Morocco would win against

France, the team that knocked them out of the Semi-finals last time. They were on a historic run in the match was pretty even up until almost the

very end.

But then France with the two goals really dashed the dreams of Morocco. Here's a fan from Morocco. How do you feel? How are you feeling right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, we feel disappointed and we are upset because we had a bigger hope actually more than this. Unfortunately, France they

always stop in our way for some reason 2022 and 2026 again. But we're going do better at home next time at 2030. Morocco didn't play well today,

unfortunately. But congrats to France and all the way Morocco.

SANTANA: You cannot play well against Kylian Mbappe and France. What do you hope happens to France now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, with the you know France. Let's be honest, they have a lot of talent: Mbappe, Doue, Dembele, Olise. Who you going to cover?

You know, and we have injuries too that didn't help. We have our best striker is not there, Ismael Saibari. Mazraoui played in a position that's

not his.

So, there is a lot of condition that why we didn't play well today. We did the best we can. France, I think they're going to go all the way down for

this World Cup, either them or Argentina.

SANTANA: On Morocco -- but here are some French fans, fans of the French who are really, really happy. How happy are you right now? Do you think

France has what it takes to take the World Cup this year?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most definitely. I mean, they're showing all the class, all the composure, and defense is looking a lot better than it did last

couple games. So yeah, definitely.

SANTANA: If they get to the finals, who do you hope they face in the finals?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God, I'm caught off guard. I have no idea what they should face in the finals. Tell me, boys.

SANTANA: You tell me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're going to meet Argentina in the final.

SANTANA: Messi, Mbappe, Eminem, Eminem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last World Cup, yeah.

SANTANA: Repeat. Let's see, rematch. They are predicting a rematch. Lots of people trying to figure out who is going to win this World Cup. But you

know, Boston has been a host city. This is a watch party put together by their mayor. It is the last match being played here in Boston.

But that doesn't mean that the parody ends because there are so many more watch parties to go to, so much more World Cup to see, and Boston could be

the place to be.

ANDERSON: And more on the football stealing the headlines these days with a preview of the upcoming Quarterfinals later in the show. Right up next, a

Mexican man is killed during an I.C.E. operation in Texas. The new details that we are learning about the shooting and what Mexico is saying that is

after this?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:00]

ANDERSON: Mexico is seeking a U.S. criminal investigation related to the deaths of 17 Mexican nationals during immigration operations in recent

months. Now, one Mexican killed by an I.C.E. agent in Houston this week, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was just the latest Mexican to have died in a case

related to immigration enforcement.

A source tells CNN that Salgado Araujo was not the target of the federal operation before he was shot and killed by an I.C.E. agent. His son says

his father would never knowingly run from I.C.E.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RONALDO SALGADO, FATHER FATALLY SHOT BY ICE: What happened was at around 7 o'clock I was notified by my mom that my dad was in trouble. We didn't know

what it was, but we suspected it to be an I.C.E. related incident.

What I don't know is like I don't know of -- that was my only thing going for me. You know that was my only piece of evidence. Five minutes later, I

got into the car and tried looking for him at his work site up about an hour away in North Houston.

Until I got the news on a Facebook page that you know there was I.C.E. activity very nearby to where we live. And as far as I know, I didn't know

that it was my dad. I had to go check it out for myself, and unfortunately, I saw my dad's van, but I did not see my dad at all.

I stayed on site at you know the police cordoned off the street, blocked off the street. I stayed on site for several hours, asking any and all

officers and members of the public that were there for answers as to where my dad is, if anything. Yeah, it's been really tough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Salgado was speaking to my colleague Erin Burnett. CNN's Ed Lavandera has more on the shooting.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is still no clear, definitive video that has emerged that captured the entire

altercation. But there have been a number of videos that kind of capture what happened along the street, Canal Street in Houston, which is the area

where the final moments of this altercation took place.

We have learned, CNN has learned from a source that the I.C.E. agents that were there on the ground that were not going after this specific man or

this van. That there were other people who were the target originally of this operation.

But in that operation, according to a DHS statement we got yesterday, that there had been some evidence or some intelligence that they were going

after a home that had two white vans, and that agents on their way to that location spotted a white van that ultimately had Lorenzo Salgado Araujo

inside of it, and they diverted to stopping him. So that is one of the new details that we have.

[09:20:00]

But there's still a lot of questions swirling around what exactly happened here at the very end of this altercation that ended up with the shooting

death of Salgado? I.C.E. agents maintain that Salgado had weaponized its vehicle, went after the I.C.E. agents, and that the I.C.E. agent shot at

him in self-defense.

The family, as you've heard, and now a lawyer who has spoken with the three other men who were inside that van say they do not believe this version of

events that I.C.E. is describing.

ANDERSON: That's Ed Lavandera for you and more as we get it, of course. Well, hundreds of thousands of immigrants in the United States may be

eligible for deportation when their temporary protected status ends today. And their supporters in Chicago are worried about what comes next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's scary because it's like you come here, you establish a family, work, create like being a contributing member of

society here, and then all of a sudden, just like that, that's everything is gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Long before Chicago became a great city that we know today, an immigrant from Haiti help lay its foundation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To simply have the highest court in the land brush all that evidence to one side with the wave of a hand and say it doesn't matter

and it's not overtly racial when it very clearly is was hard to take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: The Trump Administrations vowed mass deportations, with the largest groups being from Haiti and Syria, immigrants from Somalia, South

Sudan, Yemen, Ethiopia, and Myanmar could also be affected.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that temporary protected status was never meant to be permanent, and the Department of Homeland Security has

broad discretion in the matter. Attorneys have urged people from the affected countries to seek any other legal immigration pathways as quickly

as possible.

Well, wildfires have killed at least 12 on the southern coast of Spain. Some people in the Town of Los Gallardos were evacuated as dozens of

emergency workers there battled the flames. Authorities are concerned that strong winds will help spread the fires.

And they come as much of Europe is experiencing unprecedented heat. The local health and emergencies minister says the fires are the most

devastating the region has seen, and the Mayor of Town of Los Gallardos describing the situation as terrifying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCISCO REYES, LOS GALLARDOS, SPAIN MAYOR: The situation we are experiencing right now, as you can see, I have the flames behind me, is

terrifying because there is a lot of wind. The fire started and has spread very quickly.

We have had to evacuate residents from -- and residents from Bedar, and now we are heading toward the campsite because, as you can see, the wind is

blowing from the west, and it is going to reach the campsite, where we also have 400 to 500 people. We are very concerned because houses are burning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, in the Western United States, a brutal heat dome is set to send temperatures soaring up to triple digits in fahrenheit starting this

weekend. In a heat dome, high pressure stalls over an area and traps the heat below. The drought-ridden region is also very dry, and climate change

has been contributing to longer, more intense heat waves.

And due to the sweltering conditions, the potential threat of wildfires very much haunting the horizon. Let's get you to our CNN Meteorologist

Derek Van Dam, who is in Atlanta with more. And Derek, let's start in Europe with those powerful fires that we are seeing in Spain. What do we

know at this point?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Becky, these images-they're disturbing. But there's a few things that I want people to take note of. This is a very

windy part of the world. If you've been to the Straits of Gibraltar this is near that area. It's right where the European and African Continent

basically connect.

There's that Strait there, the Straits of Gibraltar, that really funnels wind through this area. Not to mention there is very steep hillside terrain

here that's extremely dry. You can see that in the background. So, the combination of the dry vegetation, the strong winds that get pushed up and

over these mountain and hillsides, raining down towards the coastline, doesn't take much to create fast-moving wildfires.

And that's unfortunately what we've seen play out across this region. Again, this is in southern portions of Spain. Here's the Straits of

Gibraltar, very windy part of the world. I've seen all the reports. It's the westerly winds coming off of the mountain ranges right here, and as

they go up and over mountains, they tend to speed up and they dry out.

That's a physical process that the atmosphere will follow with that type of a setup. Now, it's also being fueled by extremely hot temperatures.

[09:25:00]

We've had a heat dome and persistent heat waves this summer so far across the Iberian Peninsula, and when you start talking about temperatures in the

middle and upper 30s, the ongoing drought that has plagued much of the western portions of Europe. You're going to put these together for

increased fire risk.

In fact, this is the Copernicus Fire Weather Index, and anywhere you see that dark shade of red, that almost magenta color, that is the areas that

have the greatest risk of fast-moving wildfires. If a spark does indeed ignite wildfire activity, they will spread rather quickly because of the

combination of the conditions I just mentioned a moment ago.

Look at these temperatures. It's not cooling down anytime soon. Not record breaking, but certainly hot. And there's very little precipitation to talk

about here across this part of the European Continent.

On the other side of the world, we're talking about North America. This heat dome is causing trouble. It's no longer parked along the east coast.

It is parking itself over the north, and that is going to bring hot temperatures to areas that don't normally experience that, including the

Four Corners region into Montana.

These are all the wildfire hot spots and all the plumes of smoke that we've been dealing with here across Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico. If

you've been in this part of the world, you know it's part of the desert Southwest and the inner mountains of the Rockies, but these areas are just

prone to wildfire activity as well.

So, Becky, when you get the extremely hot temperatures, dry conditions, and the persistent drought that we're experiencing of the Western U.S. yeah,

we're going to be dealing with our fair share of wildfires, just like Western Europe.

ANDERSON: Yeah, absolutely. Stay safe, though. Thank you. Let's get you up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. And

Japan, Southwestern Islands are bracing for a powerful typhoon. It's known as Bavi, which is expected to pass dangerously close early on Saturday,

bringing the threat of strong winds, flooding, and landslides there.

Dozens of flights and ferry services canceled ahead of what could be the region's most destructive storm in years. 28 people have died in a fire at

a Chinese shoe factory. China's leader has demanded an investigation into the incident. Local media reporting that the factory's owner has been taken

into custody.

One of the world's memory chip-making giants is about to take a bow on Wall Street, and the once obscure SK Hynix live up to the hype. Details next on

what we should watch for on its debut on the U.S. market. More on that is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:30:00]

ANDERSON: Right, we are just moments away from the opening bell, and we are at the NASDAQ today. That is the NASDAQ market site, and that is SK Hynix

about to ring in the trading day. South Korea's second most valuable company, behind Samsung is making its debut on Wall Street. That is the

bell.

SK Hynix giving U.S. investors direct access to what's considered one of the hottest trades of the year. The once little-known tech company supplies

memory chips to AI giant Nvidia and begins trading in the U.S. at $149 a share, raising more than $26 billion.

All right, let's get you to CNN's Anna Stewart. Anna, the last foreign company to notch up a record U.S. debut was, of course Chinese e-commerce

giant Alibaba. That was back in 2014. This is a massive company in South Korea. Investors already get a chance to invest in it there, but this is

new to Wall Street. So, what do we need to know about SK Hynix?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a company that many people may never have heard of, but it's certainly stock du jour, and actually, it's

having a pretty good year in South Korea its share price has more than tripled so far. Why? This is a company that deals with something called

high bandwidth memory chips.

Memory chips is a really hot area right now. This is integral to the AI build out, as you mentioned, SK Hynix has a big partnership with Nvidia.

And the issue with the sort of memory chip market is there simply isn't enough supply for demand right now.

So, there is a race to build more facilities that requires capital, and investors can get in on this incredible wave, all this demand. This is why

this is such a hot stock. Now, it's also an interesting one because this is an area where some analysts suggest it could be a boom or bust market.

How long, essentially, will supply be unable to meet demand? How long can you charge a premium for these chips? How long are they really hot? Because

once you have enough facilities and it's got competitors like Samsung making all of these chips, suddenly you can have a bit of a price crash.

So, a hot stock right now, but how long will it be hot is kind of the big question for investors today.

ANDERSON: So, we've seen SpaceX out of the gate with its market debut of course, that's a sort of you describe that more as a sort of AI, massively

sort of advanced tech organization. But you know, AI riding the sort of AI boom, nonetheless. We've got Anthropic and OpenAI yet to list, but

promised. This debut is very much going to test investor appetite in what is this new era of AI? Is it expected to live up to the hype?

STEWART: I suspect it's going to live up to the hype in the coming days, weeks, months. Perhaps we're looking forward to seeing actually that price

go up. It'll take some time to see how that listing goes on the NASDAQ. We are keeping a careful eye on it. I think it'll take a few hours.

Appetite is likely to be strong. We're told it's seven times over subscribe for this stock right now. We've seen huge appetite, as you say, for some

big AI stocks this year, and more listings potentially to come with Anthropic, maybe OpenAI. So, there is appetite right now.

The big question we speak about this a lot, Becky, is you know is there a bubble brewing? Are valuations too high? And this is one of those thorny

issues where you have to look not just at what the valuation is right now? What is the potential for earnings going forwards?

A lot of the AI story right now is this build out where you need data centers, you need the chips, you need different types of infrastructure and

hardware, and that costs a lot of money. The question is, when do you start seeing revenue from all of these things? When do you realize your value?

And also, how easy is it to enter the market?

SK Hynix and Samsung are huge in this area. SK Hynix has 58 percent market share when it comes to high bandwidth memory chips. That's huge. But how

long until other competitors can kind of reach this market as well?

So yeah, the big question is hot right now, but how long is it going to be an interesting area? And will these valuations all hold up in the months to

come? We're in a bit of a bull run at the moment.

ANDERSON: Absolutely. These markets all up by about an eighth of 1 percent at the moment. We'll keep an eye on that NASDAQ and very specifically this

stock, as Anna said, likely not to see any evidence of what it's doing for a couple of hours, given that it was significantly oversubscribed. Thank

you.

Well, the President Donald J. Trump International Airport in South Florida now officially open for business. The facility was formerly known as Palm

Beach Airport. You might have used it.

[09:35:00]

Well, that name change became law in March after the Florida Legislature approved the bill and Governor Ron DeSantis signed it. Now the new signs

up, and the old Palm Beach Airport signage has been taken down. As part of the changes its new airport code is now DJT.

President Trump turning to the White House columns as his next project at the Executive Mansion on Thursday. Workers unveiled a new drape over the

building's northern entrance. An administration official described it as standard restoration work on the columns, without giving more details.

President Trump, of course, has pushed a number of construction projects at the White House and around Washington since taking office last year,

including the demolition of the East Wing to build a new ballroom.

We're not sure how interested Mr. Trump is in the World Cup right now after the exit of the U.S. team. But the tension is certainly building as we work

our way through the Quarter-finals knockout. Coming up, can anyone stop Spain's unbeaten run? Belgium, we'll hope so. That is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Right, let's slow it down a little light relief with the latest in our show season, CNN's Definitive Guide to what's shaping global taste,

from McDonough's latest album cover to the Met Gala. Giovanna Engelbert has helped reimagine Swarovski for a new generation. A bold maximalist vision

is reshaping one of the world's most iconic crystal brands. Host Laura Jackson traveled to Stockholm to meet the Creative Director behind the

Sparkle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One day, the light comes in, hit one of these crystals that was on my desk, and then the rainbow came out, and then I'm like,

there you go, it's joy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): This crystal encrusted universe is the creative home of Giovanna Engelbert. For the past six years, she's been

bringing a new vision to heritage brand Swarovski.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I wanted to create a world and a universe from the crystal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like a kaleidoscope.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kaleidoscope, which have very multiple facets. What was very, very interesting for me was the freedom to experience beauty and

joy and self-expression in a way that was accessible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): That philosophy has found a new generation of fans, from Sabrina Carpenter to Beyonce and Joa Leeper, who opened her London concert in a bespoke Swarovski bodysuit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you choose the women then that you want to work with? What do they have to embody?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are women that are achieve something great in their life, in perfection, in a craft.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice-over): This year Giovanna dressed two of the most talked-about women at the Met Gala, Korean Pop Star Ejae and the

event's Co-Chair tennis legend Venus Williams.

[09:40:00]

The gown featured a necklace inspired by the Wimbledon Plate, capturing Venus's life and sporting achievements in silver and crystal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's full of meaning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I wanted to play the most precise and respectful homage to her. It was like to really make her feel like sculptural, legal,

and important.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah. Craft has always been central to Swarovski, and it started with this, a handwritten page by Company Founder Daniel

Swarovski, mapping out the perfect crystal cut, then ground by machine.

The great couture houses followed: Dior, YSL, Ledvance, embedding Swarovski crystal into the clothes coming off the most celebrated runways in the

world, onto Hollywood, and that famous naked dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in 1962, with 2,500 crystals sewn directly into the silk. 60 years later,

it was back in the spotlight with Kim Kardashian.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Feel like I need some accessories because I next to my three pals looks very.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's like the party queen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's the fun, colorful girl. Which one do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, great. I think this one feels right for you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there like a tiara or something? My inner princess. It's so beautiful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, there we go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Perfect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just need somewhere to go now. Do you have lunch?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Let's go and have lunch in upstairs. It's perfect.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON: Well, France have already booked their place in the World Cup Semi-finals, their third straight, of course. So, they'll be keeping a

close eye on Spain versus Belgium later today, with the winner heading to Dallas for a Semi-final showdown next week.

Andy Scholes joins me now. Andy, what you know? It was a disappointing performance I have to say, I think by Morocco, or maybe we should just say

France were just a super -- playing a superb game of football ultimately. On to Spain, Belgium?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, and you know the big question today is Becky is can Belgium finally be the team that is able to score on Spain?

They've given up no goals so far in this World Cup, and they just continue to just be on an incredible run.

I mean, 35 straight matches and an unbeaten-streak, dates back to March of 2024. Of course, at this point in the World Cup, you're going to have to

beat them if you're going to knock them out. So, we will wait and see.

You know, Belgium super impressive in that thrashing against the United States, where they beat them 4-1. Will they be able to keep that up against

Spain today? That's the big question. Of course, France will be watching on as they have already booked their ticket to Dallas for next week's

Semifinal. But we'll talk about it all coming up on World Sport.

ANDERSON: Good stuff. That is World Sport, and that is after this short break with Andy. More from me 15 minutes from now.

[09:45:00]

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