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Dozens Injured after 6.8 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Japan; Trump and Netanyahu to Meet amid Tension over U.S.-Israel War with Iran; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Says Anti-Ballistic Defense a Key Issue in Trump Talks; Trump and Foreign Leaders Pay Tribute to Senator Lindsey Graham; Wildfires Rage in France and Spain; Tate Brothers Remain Jailed during Extradition Fight; FAA Says Seats on 453 U.S.-Registered Jets Should Be Fixed; Musk Lashes Out over Tough Questions by "The Economist". Aired 10-11a ET
Aired July 28, 2026 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from CNN Abu Dhabi, this is CONNECT THE WORLD with Becky Anderson.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to the second hour of the show. I'm Becky Anderson in London, where the time is just after 3:00 in
the afternoon. This is CONNECT THE WORLD.
It is about 11 in the evening in southern Japan, where the damage is still being assessed from a 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck earlier in the
day. At least 50 people are said to be injured, several others unaccounted for at a paper factory that sustained extensive damage.
That's according to Japan's national broadcaster, NHK, which is also reporting that dozens of employees are unreachable at a shopping mall,
which is very close to the epicenter. Let's get you the very latest. CNN's Hanako Montgomery, monitoring what's going on.
And what have we learned so far about the impact of this earthquake and, indeed, any aftershocks at this point, Hanako?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Becky, so far we know that dozens of people are feared injured after this massive earthquake that hit
Japan Tuesday afternoon and also the subsequent strong aftershocks.
Now authorities are rushing to find any survivors in a partially collapsed mall in Kumamoto Prefecture. I think you've seen video of that, Becky,
where the mall, I mean, literally looks as though the first floor has just completely collapsed.
Now authorities have told local media that they believe around 20 to 30 employees inside that mall are still trapped there, unaccounted for, and
they can't be reached currently. So again, rescue efforts right now are currently underway to try to get those individuals out, try to make contact
with those people.
Now we also know, according to local media reports, that right after that initial, very strong earthquake, the mall actually evacuated about 200
people. However, we can't confirm whether there are or there aren't any customers remaining inside that mall.
So again, potentially the number of those who need rescuing might increase in the coming hours as we get more information. And Becky, what's really
critical right now is that it is nighttime in Japan. It's near midnight, which makes it just a lot harder to assess the extent of damage, to assess
just who needs rescuing and how.
Now also, we have heard from authorities that thousands of self-defense troops are being deployed to the Kumamoto region to aid in those rescue
efforts.
Now, Becky, also something to note here is that Japan is no stranger to earthquakes but Kumamoto Prefecture, again, an area of Japan that was hit
very hard by this earthquake and subsequent aftershocks, did see a devastating 2016 earthquake in which more than 275 people were killed and
thousands more were also injured.
So again, Japan is no stranger to earthquakes but some of them can be very, very devastating. And again, the prime minister's office is currently
putting all efforts, putting all attention on rescuing those who need help now.
Also, Becky, we do know that thousands of homes are without power. Authorities are trying to get power back into those homes, restate power
and those homes as they continue with their efforts. Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you. And more as we get it, of course.
All right. Well, it's a day of high stakes diplomacy at the White House this hour. President Donald Trump meeting with the Ukrainian president,
Volodymyr Zelenskyy. You've got to assume that is to discuss approaches to ending the war with Russia.
That comes as Ukraine hits Russia with drones and Russia bombards Ukraine with missiles and drones in what President Zelenskyy calls ballistic
terror.
Not long after that meeting ends, the U.S. president hosts the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Recent weeks have exposed what seems to
be differing views the two of them hold on the Iran war, about to enter its sixth month.
Take a listen to what the prime minister had to say about today's meeting before he left Israel and how president Trump characterized their
partnership this morning during an interview with FOX News.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): We will discuss all the issues on the agenda, foremost among them Iran. Of course,
our goal is to safeguard our security while also expanding the circle of peace around us.
[10:05:00]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: For some reason, we can be in the midst of a beautiful discussion and they'll come out and say, we're not talking or we
didn't discuss nuclear. Well, that's all we discussed because they'll never have a nuclear weapon. They understand that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Nic Robertson back with us this hour from Jerusalem. We're also joined by my colleague, Stephen Collinson, in Washington.
So Nic, let's start with you. We just heard there from the Israeli prime minister ahead of his trip.
To your understanding, what does a win look like out of this meeting for him?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, convincing president Trump that Israel has intelligence, presumably actionable intelligence,
about Iran's nuclear program and that the United States should take action around that.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was heavily criticized here in Israel when president Trump called that ceasefire back in April. The way the war
has been parked, if you will, is not something he is -- he is happy with. He believes that the regime in Tehran is a hardline regime, still intent,
very, you know, very clearly still very anti-Israel.
And for that reason, he needs to find a way to persuade president Trump that more action is required when president Trump is trying to find a way
out of the war without escalating it.
There are tensions between the two of them. The president put a lot of political capital into bringing a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in
Lebanon. And it took a lot of pressure on prime minister Netanyahu from president Trump for that.
And there was a lot of frustration around that expressed behind the scenes and publicly as well. So there is tension in the relationship. The prime
minister is likely to come away being pressured to do more on the peace deal in Gaza, to do more, to get out of Lebanon, to do more, to get out of
Syria.
And he has different opinions from president Trump about providing F-35s to President Erdogan in Turkiye. And president Trump was pretty clear
yesterday. No one is going to tell him what to do. Erdogan is a friend. Turkiye is a friend.
So there are underlying tensions at a time as well when prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is three months from elections.
If he has any chance of doing well in those elections, he must be able to walk away from the White House with a very strong -- being able to portray
a very strong and robust relationship with president Trump, while behind the scenes trying to persuade him to do more in Iran, which seems to be
against the president's inclination right now.
ANDERSON: Important stuff.
Stephen, the Ukrainian president and the Israeli prime minister both at the White House today, a busy day for Donald Trump ahead of the funeral for the
late senator Lindsey Graham. Of course, all three of them will attend, as we understand it, that funeral.
Graham was a big supporter of Ukraine and a huge Israel supporter. Let's just focus on Ukraine for a moment.
How can we characterize the relationship between Zelenskyy and the U.S. president at this point?
STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I think, Becky, that today shows how capricious American foreign policy has become under Donald
Trump and how much it reflects his own personal goals and his character.
If you think a year or so ago, Zelenskyy was on the outs in the White House. We had that notorious showdown in the Oval Office when he was
berated by Trump and vice president JD Vance for not showing enough gratitude for U.S. help toward Ukraine.
Now he comes into town, seemingly with a much more friendly relationship with president Trump than the president has with the prime minister of
Israel. And I think that shows how events have shaped American foreign policy over the last few months.
It seems as though the president is now leaning more favorably toward Zelenskyy because of the strength of Ukraine's resistance. He's been
impressed by the way that the Ukrainians have not just stood up to Moscow but have taken the fight to the Russians in the war with these incursions
into Russian territory with drones.
He is also in the middle of a war where he is pursuing it with traditional means, airstrikes and regular military power. And he's facing an adversary,
Iran, that is using Ukrainian style tactics with drones, to humble, in many ways, U.S. power.
So I think the president has some interest in working out how, if there are synergies between the U.S. and -- and Ukraine, on drones.
[10:10:06]
But at the same time, you know, this is very changeable. The past has shown that president Vladimir Putin has been able to really shape the president's
perceptions of the situation in Ukraine. He often speaks to Putin after he speaks to Zelenskyy.
Inasmuch as the White House is looking for a win, there's perhaps a possibility for them to get more involved in the peace talks. But you know,
their failure to forge breakthroughs in that area in Ukraine in the past and the incidents of the Russian position don't seem to make that a very
hopeful opportunity.
ANDERSON: Yes, it's going to be a fascinating day.
Good to have you both.
And I want to show you pictures, folks, now live from the Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol. A service is being held to honor senator Lindsey Graham's
service to the military and politics. He died, of course, earlier this month.
Let's bring in CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. He's also the White House and national security correspondent for "The New
York Times."
Always a pleasure having you on, David. Thank you for your time. Let's talk about Lindsey Graham. We're looking at live pictures from his ceremony at
the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.
What is his lasting legacy on U.S. foreign policy, to your mind?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, senator Graham was an unusual figure within the Senate and in Washington. You know,
he really got his foreign policy training in many ways from John McCain and his relationship with McCain and senator Joe Liebermann, the -- known as
The Three Amigos.
And it's from -- I think it's from his dealings with them that he emerged with relatively hawkish views. So while the MAGA crowd is very much against
intervention in Iran, he was very much in support of it.
While MAGA was itself very suspicious of the U.S. involvement in Ukraine, he was the one trying to convince president Trump, not very successfully
during the past 18 months, to crack down harder on the Russians.
ANDERSON: Stand by, David, I'm going to come back to you. While we're talking about this funeral service, I do want to get to Manu Raju, who
joins us from Capitol Hill.
Manu, two days of services being held to honor Lindsey Graham. Just tell us about what's happening now and what is planned in the hours to come.
MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are hearing now from a congresswoman who represented the district in which Lindsey Graham
served in the United States House. And she's talking about his life, his legacy, the impact on South Carolina.
Then we will hear from the vice president himself, JD Vance, and also the Senate majority leader, John Thune, all expected to round out remarks this
morning. They'll be -- wreaths will be laid on the -- around the casket by members on both sides of the aisle.
Some members from the South Carolina delegation, as well as the Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, someone who had a close relationship with
Graham for many, many decades, many, many years, for several decades on Capitol Hill.
After this ceremony, his casket will be taken down the center steps of the Capitol right behind me, put into the hearse, where it will be taken across
Washington to the National Cathedral. And that's where the formal ceremony this afternoon will take place.
The president himself, president Trump, expected to speak there, deliver remarks about Lindsey Graham, someone who he was close with and had battled
with for some time over his years but was -- emerged as one of his closest allies in Washington.
And this will be -- the room will be packed with heavy hitters -- Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister here in town, as well as the
Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also here. Zelenskyy meeting with Lindsey Graham just days before his sudden passing at the age of 71.
And Zelenskyy will be on Capitol Hill later this evening as the United States Senate will take a big step toward fulfilling one of Lindsey
Graham's final objectives before he died, which is to pass a bill to slap Russia with stiff new sanctions, something he had pushed for years and
years and years.
Zelenskyy will be meeting with senators. The Senate will then vote to advance that package before leaving for the evening.
But expect a day of remembrances, a day of members on both sides of the aisle talking about the impact that he had, not just on them personally but
on national politics and foreign policy, playing a vital role in shaping how the U.S.' posture around the world -- Becky.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Manu. Thank you.
And we will monitor what is going on there at the Rotunda.
[10:15:00]
Let me bring back David Sanger.
David, thank you. In your recent "The New York Times" piece, you wrote that, in recent weeks, president Trump, quote, "has seemed trapped, his
presidency gradually consumed by a war he cannot find his way out of," alluding, of course, to the war with Iran, the conflict with Iran.
What options, to your mind, does he have now?
SANGER: Well, thanks, Becky. And at the end of that article which appeared, I think we posted it on Sunday and it's in the Monday print
papers, I think that I laid out three potential options.
One of them is he can go back and conduct more military operations. But the fact of the matter is that the intelligence community has been pretty clear
that they don't see any particular reason to believe that that would have any different effect than the 38 days of military operations that began in
late February. And that failed to move the Iranians.
The second option would be greatly increased economic pressure and hope that that brings them back to the table. That seems to be what he's trying
to do right now.
The third option, which you can never fully dismiss, is that president Trump would declare victory and walk away. That's what happened with North
Korea.
You may remember, in the first term, he negotiated with Kim Jong-un, got nowhere and basically has not mentioned the North Korean nuclear program
very much since, though they have more than 60 weapons.
But that's harder to do in this case, Becky, because the Strait of Hormuz is closed. There's a threat to the straits coming out of the Red Sea and
gas prices are up. So it's not as if he could walk away from it and leave things as they were before the war.
ANDERSON: Can I just get you to have a listen?
I want our viewers to hear this as well. You may already have heard it but just have a listen to president Trump this morning talking about Lindsey
Graham. This is important within the context of what of what we've just been discussing. This was on FOX just moments ago. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I mean, Lindsey liked war, to be honest with you. OK.
You know, I said you're a nice guy.
How come you like war so much?
He was a guy that liked war I jokingly say and there's nothing funny about it but he's never seen a war that he didn't like.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: That is quite an old quote, to be honest, that Donald Trump is sort of, you know, reupping there when it comes to Lindsey Graham.
He does, of course, also have the war whisperer when it comes to Iran, Benjamin Netanyahu, in town this week. Benjamin Netanyahu is going to be
looking for a win to take back to Tel Aviv.
What does that win look like to your mind, David?
SANGER: Well, first on the president's quote there, I think it's fairly clear that prime minister Netanyahu's position and senator Graham's
position going into the war in February were pretty close, that they thought that the Iranian regime was quite fragile, that it would crack with
the first application of Israeli and American military power.
It didn't work out that way. And now president Trump, I think, may regret taking their advice some, though he would, I don't think, ever admit to
that. For prime minister Netanyahu, he's got to go back, demonstrating, first of all, that he hasn't created a breach with the president, that he
can still manage that relationship.
And secondly, that the president will, in fact, use further military power to get at and eradicate what's left of the Iranian nuclear program.
And president Trump has been all over the map on that in recent times. He said they can never get a nuclear weapon and so forth. But he's also said
that he can leave the nuclear fuel that's buried deep at Isfahan there because no one can get at it. So it's not clear what, in fact, he's
actually thinking of doing next in regard to the nuclear program.
ANDERSON: I've run out of time with you because I know I've got to free you up. We haven't had time to discuss Ukraine but we'll have you back to
do that. It'll be interesting to just witness the atmospherics between Zelenskyy and Donald Trump today. And I know you'll be keeping a keen eye -
-
(CROSSTALK)
SANGER: -- this time on Zelenskyy --
ANDERSON: -- on that as well.
SANGER: Yes, yes.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. And, you know, Lindsey Graham was a big supporter of Ukraine and perhaps a, you know, a whisperer, again, latterly,
in the -- in the era of Donald Trump. So it will be interesting to see what comes out of that.
[10:20:00]
Always a pleasure, David. Very much appreciate your time. Thank you very much indeed.
Ahead on CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, Becky Anderson, Ukraine strikes Russia with hundreds of drones. We got details of Kyiv's latest attack on Moscow -
- after this.
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ANDERSON: Well, Ukraine launched nearly 400 drones toward Moscow -- or certainly the Moscow region -- in an overnight attack on Russia. This
video, geolocated by my colleagues here at CNN, shows damage to a logistics center just south of the capital.
The governor of Moscow, the Moscow region, says an apartment block was also hit, though there were no injuries reported. Moscow says most of the
Ukrainian drones were shot down by air defenses.
Well, overnight, Russia also launching more than 130 missiles, drones targeting several parts of Ukraine. CNN's Clare Sebastian monitoring what
is going on.
And it does, timing wise, Clare, suggest a huge show of force by Ukraine on Russia as the Ukrainian president arrives in Washington for his latest
meeting with Donald Trump, an effort to show how the tide has turned, to a degree, show where Russia stands, how it is projecting strength in this
war.
Sorry, Ukraine is able to project strength in this war at this point.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Becky, look, I think, on the one hand, Ukraine is in the middle of what it launched last month, a 40-day
campaign, a deep strike campaign to weaken Russia in multiple different ways, everything from shipping to logistics warehouses to oil refineries.
All of that is still underway.
But yes, I think the timing here is likely not accidental, either. This was a large number of drones, not a record but still a large number.
The mayor of Moscow saying some 390, more than 390 were detected flying toward the Moscow region, of which 81 were only averted on the approach to
the city, the capital city itself, which shows that Russia is still struggling to defend these key cities, the capital city itself.
And not all of them were averted or shot down. It's quite new, actually, that we hear Russian officials talking about drones that got through,
rather than ones that they shot down. Not a lot of damage this time.
But it is important messaging from the Ukrainian side to show to president Trump its prowess when it comes to this deep strike campaign and to try to
argue that it's putting it on a winning track, essentially, so that then he may feel that backing Ukraine is the quickest way to end this war.
But I think, on the other hand, Zelenskyy, although he goes into this meeting with the wind in his back somewhat when it comes to his
relationship with Trump, having been much more positive recently and wanting to build on that momentum, he also cannot afford to squander this
opportunity.
Because while Ukraine is seeing success with these deep strikes, it's also facing a very frightening prospect from their perspective of a new
mobilization drive from Russia.
[10:25:00]
Zelenskyy's been warning about that in the past few days, that it could happen after state duma elections in Russia in the autumn. They're facing
mounting ballistic missile attacks, for which really the only effective weapon to defend against them is U.S.-made Patriot missiles.
So he really urgently needs to translate this positivity with Trump into concrete action. Specifically, I think discussions may well focus around
fast-tracking this promise from Trump to get Patriot licenses to Ukraine so that they can build them domestically and then ramp up production of that,
Becky.
ANDERSON: Meantime, just remind us where we are on a pathway to any solution to this war.
SEBASTIAN: Well, we've been on a long-term hiatus, really, Becky, when it comes to actual concrete talks.
Obviously, the Iran war, the biggest downside, I think, for Ukraine, aside from the exhaustion of many U.S. supplies, not least, of course, those
Patriot missiles, was the fact that the U.S. attention was drawn away from the diplomatic track that it was on when it comes to the Ukraine war.
We haven't seen any real meetings since it started back at the end of February. So I think the hope now with this meeting, there's been some
phone calls, there's talk of Ukraine wanting to get Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, the president's envoys, over to Ukraine.
They haven't yet been to Ukraine, by the way. So there's real hope now, I think certainly from the Ukrainian side, to reinvigorate that process.
We'll have to see how the U.S. feels about that. Maybe something will come out of this meeting today. It's certainly a critical point from the
Ukrainian perspective.
ANDERSON: And we'll be joined by the former U.S. ambassador to NATO and former U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker,
in a little later this hour. For the time being, Clare, thank you.
And when we come back, as Kyiv gets battered by Russian missiles, president Zelenskyy there in Washington trying to bolster support for Ukraine.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. These are your headlines.
Funeral services for the late U.S. senator Lindsey Graham, taking place over the next two days, with tributes in Washington and Columbia, South
Carolina. Services will conclude on Wednesday with a private burial in Pickens County, South Carolina.
Well, tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate in Spain and France as crews battle wildfires there. The forecast ahead shows scorching
temperatures. No rain in sight for either country. This intense heat could worsen what are the already dangerous conditions.
[10:30:04]
And a strong earthquake in Japan has reportedly left a number of people trapped in a partially collapsed shopping mall. Several people also said to
be unaccounted for at a paper factory that was damaged in the 6.8 magnitude quake, which struck southern Japan Tuesday afternoon.
ANDERSON: Well, Ukrainian president Zelenskyy meeting with president Trump at the White House, pressing his American counterpart to help bolster
Kyiv's air defense systems and push the peace process forward.
Russia, of course, has escalated its deadly ballistic missile attacks on Ukraine's capital, recently making this another deadly month for Ukrainian
civilians. Zelenskyy also attending the funeral for senator Lindsey Graham, who was a vocal advocate for his country.
I'm joined now for more on this by the former U.S. ambassador to NATO and former U.S. special representative for Ukraine negotiations, Kurt Volker.
Kurt, it's good to have you. You served as Trump's negotiator in his first term and you've argued that he's warmed up to Zelenskyy in recent weeks.
Can you just explain that shift that you've observed?
KURT VOLKER, FORMER SPECIAL ENVOY TO UKRAINE: Yes.
ANDERSON: And Trump's mindset and what you expect to come out of today's meeting?
Yes, go on.
VOLKER: Yes. No, sure. I think, first off, I think that president Trump sees that the situation on the ground is very different than what he
perceived back in January or February last year.
Back then when he took office, he was assuming that Russia's stronger, Ukraine's weaker; Putin would be reasonable and accept a reasonable deal,
get sanctions lifted and so forth.
All of those assumptions were wrong. Russia is actually much weaker. Ukraine is stronger. Putin is not willing to make any reasonable deal. He
wants to subjugate Ukraine.
And Zelenskyy, meanwhile, has both put Ukraine in a much stronger position militarily and has adopted the position of wanting a ceasefire right away.
So he is -- he's now in the position of wanting to end the war.
This is, I think, something that president Trump is now very satisfied with and has -- that has led to a much better relationship with president
Zelenskyy. That now will lead to a meeting today where I think the focus is going to be on two things.
It's going to be on the sanctions bill that Lindsey Graham had supported in the Senate. That should get passed in the Senate today. And then what that
does in terms of putting pressure on Russia to end.
And then, secondly, air defense, what more can be done to get Ukraine the air defense systems that it needs?
Because that's really the only thing that Russia can do right now is hit Ukrainian civilians.
ANDERSON: I wonder whether you think Ukraine's strikes on Iranian ships in the Caspian Sea in the past, what, 48 hours were a well-timed reminder to
Donald Trump that Ukraine and the U.S. share the same enemy.
VOLKER: Yes, I think that's exactly the point. It's to illustrate that Russia and Iran are on the same side here. They're on the side of dictators
and aggressors and the United States is very determined in dealing with Iran.
President Zelenskyy is trying to make the case that we should be equally determined in making sure Ukraine succeeds as well.
Now I don't think president Trump is going to fully buy that. I think he's going to see them as different. Russia has nuclear weapons. Russia is a
superpower. So he's not going to go all in against Russia.
But I think in terms of showing that Ukraine is on the right side and that Ukraine is supportive of the United States and the United States'
objectives, I think that is a well-timed reminder, as you say.
ANDERSON: I wonder whether you think Iran and the Russia-Ukraine wars could increasingly intersect the longer they both drag on. I know that
there is some talk of concern this could spur even more escalation and possibly drag Europe into the Iran war.
Does that make sense to you?
VOLKER: Well, actually, I don't think so. Putin has not been holding back in his aggression on Ukraine. He's been doing everything that he knows how
to do, that he's able to do. So I don't see that he has much escalation capacity, short of nuclear weapons. And I don't think he'll use nuclear
weapons.
So I think Russia's not able to do much. Likewise, Russia is not able to do much to help Iran, even if they wanted to. They just don't have the means
to really do that much.
Likewise, Iran is significantly weakened in its power projection capability. That doesn't mean the regime is going to fall. I think the
regime is very well entrenched. But they're not able to project as much power externally. So I am not as concerned about this growing into a world
war, a much larger conflict.
[10:35:00]
I think the malign actors here are pretty much at their limits already.
ANDERSON: Zelenskyy and Netanyahu, of course, in Washington, ostensibly to attend the funeral services for Lindsey Graham alongside Donald Trump
today. He was, of course, you know, a staunch ally of both Israel's and Ukraine's. He was the last giant of the neocon wing of the Republican
Party, as it was.
Where do you see the senator's foreign policy legacy today?
And do you see anyone who can actually take on his mantle?
VOLKER: Well, Lindsey Graham was consistently an advocate for freedom, for democracy and for a robust national security position for the United
States; strongly pro-NATO, strongly pro Ukraine, pro-Israel.
That's a very hard line and traditional Republican foreign policy that we got from Lindsey Graham. He will -- he was, as you remember, a very close
friend of senator John McCain during his lifetime as well.
So that is where senator Graham has been and what his legacy will be. I still think that is the majority view in the Republican Party as well.
There is a vocal minority that is skeptical of what they always brand as neoconservatism.
But I think what Graham represented is kind of the mainstream. There are many senators who will pick up that mantle. I think of Senator Wicker, who
is the chair of the Armed Services Committee; Senator Risch, chair of the Foreign Relations Committee; Senator Dan Sullivan from Alaska.
These are all very robust senators when it comes to U.S. national security.
ANDERSON: Finally, I just wonder whether you think there is a genuinely realistic pathway to peace for Ukraine with this war with Russia before the
end of this year, 4.5 years in.
VOLKER: Yes. The path to peace is to convince Putin that he needs a ceasefire, that his finances and his military will fail if he doesn't stop.
He doesn't believe that yet. He feels that he's still able to sell oil and gas. And that provides the money for the war. He feels that he can still
recruit people into the military. He can produce weapons and missiles. So he wants to keep going.
If we can convince him, however, that that is changing and he will be weakening, if not destroying Russia, that's how you get a ceasefire and an
end to the fighting. He'll never agree to a peace agreement because that would recognize Ukraine's right to exist. He won't do that.
But getting him to stop the fighting can happen --
(CROSSTALK)
VOLKER: -- if he feels he's out of money and out of soldiers.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, sir. Important stuff. Thank you very much indeed.
All right. As wildfires scorch southern Europe, France's government passing out millions of face masks to pharmacies as wildfire smoke spiked air
pollution levels to six times the safe amount.
Spain's prime minister says the country can, quote, "begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel" after days of wildfires there. Despite his
optimism, though, the leader also warned that the challenges are far from over as a heat wave hits southern Europe again. CNN meteorologist Derek Van
Dam spoke to me about that last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And we've got all these hot spots that are ongoing across western portions of Europe and we're really focusing in
on the larger wildfires west of Bordeaux and west of Madrid.
But unfortunately, I don't really have a lot of great news to hand off to the people who are watching from this part of the world, because the heat
is going to continue, it's going to build. We're going to stay dry for the most part.
There is a cold front that will come through and temporarily cool the temperatures across southwestern France but I don't think it's going to be
significant enough to make a big change in our weather pattern.
Let me show you what this what Paula (ph) was talking about, this fourth heat wave. Well, it's this heat dome that's building across the Iberian
Peninsula. And I've stopped it here on Wednesday. And you can see the dark shades of red across central portions of Spain.
So we really do see the peak of the heat wave experiencing tomorrow. But it doesn't abate much, even though we have that weak cold front kind of
cooling things off across central and northern parts of France, where other wildfires are ongoing.
We continue across the Mediterranean regions and it's very visible here on the forecast. High temperatures going forward. We're nearing 40 degrees.
Many of the locations, remote locations in some of the valleys and into the central parts of Spain could easily hit 40 degrees through the course of
this week.
[10:40:00]
But there's the drop in our temperatures on Thursday and Friday for Bordeaux. That's because of a weak cold front that will bring maybe a
sprinkle or two from the sky. We could take whatever we can get, right. I don't want to diminish that positive part of the story.
But it won't be much. We're talking about on the measurement of about a couple of millimeters, right. And we'll take what we can get. But the winds
here are still going to be gusty, 20 to 40 kilometers per hour across some of these hardhit burn areas. And that will only make it more challenging
for the firefighters.
And you've got to keep in mind, when cold fronts come through, even though they drop the temperature somewhat, maybe increase the humidity levels,
bring our small chance of rain, it often changes the direction of the wind.
So what was the forward flank of the wildfires that the firefighters fight on the ground may have to be adjusted and changed as that wind comes from a
different direction the next day.
The other big story we're monitoring, Becky, part of our changing climate across the planet is the flash flood threat that is ongoing across some of
our largest population densities on the East Coast of the United States.
Flash flood likely today in and around the Tri-States region. This includes New York City. We all have seen this movie play out before. It is not a
good scenario when you have two to three inch rainfall rates per hour, up to a half a foot or more of rain.
The atmosphere is primed and loaded to produce heavy rainfall. We already have flash flood watches in effect. Chances of severe weather on top of
that. So really, really an active day here across the Northern Hemisphere really, Becky.
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ANDERSON: Right. So that's Derek Van Dam for you.
Well, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration warning about the safety of seats on hundreds of Boeing planes, saying they may have been incorrectly
installed. More on that is after this.
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Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate will remain in a Florida jail while they fight extradition to the U.K. They are facing multiple
rape, assault and sex trafficking charges. CNN's Carolina Peguero reports for you now from Miami.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: While the Tate brothers remain in federal custody here in Miami, their legal team says that they're going to
continue to challenge the extradition request from the U.K. and looking for an immediate release or a bail for the brothers. Now they were not present
in today's hearing.
Last week, there were unsealed court documents revealing alarming details from prosecutors about the latest sex crimes charges and allegations
against them, including rape and sex trafficking by four additional alleged victims.
The brothers, however, have denied all allegations against them and their attorneys have vowed on requesting more information and documents from the
U.K. and the U.S. authorities that prove these allegations.
[10:45:00]
And while the Tate brothers together face 59 charges, the treaty and the agreement between the U.S. and the U.K. of this extradition request still
remains in effect until September 16th.
In the meanwhile, the judge has made the next hearing scheduled for August 13th while the Tate brothers remain in federal prison -- Carolina Peguero,
CNN, Miami.
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ANDERSON: More on that as we get it, of course.
Well, the seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets may have been incorrectly fitted and need to be fixed. That is according to the U.S.' FAA
warning that the seats risk injuring passengers during an emergency landing.
Look, the proposed directive would apply to 453 jets registered in the United States. It didn't say if international operators would be affected,
too.
So how much of an impact might this have on the airlines and on those of you who travel?
Let's bring in Pete Muntean. He's CNN's aviation correspondent, of course, who's covering this from Washington.
So let's talk about the scale of the issue.
How bad are things and how long could it take to fix?
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Big scale here, Becky, because you have to consider this as just the latest issue involving Boeing 737 MAX jets.
Remember, there were major manufacturing quality control concerns after critical bolts were not installed on a new 737 MAX at the Boeing factory,
leading to that dramatic door plug blowout.
You may remember that on an Alaska Airlines flight back in January 2024 led to a massive crackdown by the Federal Aviation Administration.
And what's interesting here is that the FAA says this new warning was prompted by a report it received, essentially, a whistleblower. Here is the
issue.
The FAA says passenger seats may not be properly secured on as many as 453 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and MAX 9s in the U.S. So now the FAA is proposing this
mandatory set of inspections by airlines on the roughly 69 seat rows on each of those airplanes.
The FAA says that the seat assemblies may not be fully latched onto the tracks on the cabin floor, not necessarily a problem during normal
operations. But the FAA says the issue can become really dangerous during severe turbulence or an emergency landing when there are violent
acceleration forces.
And the FAA warning puts it pretty bluntly, saying that seats could come loose, hurt those sitting in them, injure passengers nearby or even block
the aisle during an evacuation when seconds count.
You know, Boeing has not directly commented on this just yet but it did alert airlines to this potential problem back in December. This FAA
proposal would simply make these inspections mandatory here in the U.S. United, American, Alaska, Southwest, Allegiant, they all operate Boeing 737
MAXs.
But the FAA is not grounding these planes and this inspection is relatively straightforward. It doesn't require new parts, so it should not result in a
significant amount of downtime for airlines or major flight disruptions for passengers, especially during this peak of summer travel.
It's a pretty different issue from the door plug blowout but once again raises these questions about whether basic assembly problems are being
caught before these planes enter service, Becky
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Good to have you, Pete. Thank you.
Well, just ahead, why the world's richest man is now a lot less wealthy. That report coming up.
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[10:50:00]
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ANDERSON: Elon Musk is angry. The man behind Tesla and SpaceX recently faced some pretty tough questions during a rare interview. He didn't like
it. Topics included his handling of the Department of Government Efficiency, better known as DOGE, which some critics described as chaotic.
Musk did admit to "The Economist"'s editor-in-chief that he has regrets.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELON MUSK, CEO, SPACEX: I think I got a little too involved in politics, got carried away, frankly. So the, you know, the go with the DOGE stuff was
to try to do something about the deficit, which is massive.
Take a close look at spending and make sure that money is being spent in sensible ways and that it is not wasted or spent on fraudulent activities.
And I got a lot of flack from this -- for this obviously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, Musk meantime, no longer the trillion-dollar man. The founder and CEO of SpaceX has seen his net worth shrink by roughly $600
billion. That is because SpaceX shares, which launched, recently have sunk from their post IPO peak, ending Musk's short time as the world's only
trillionaire. Well, I bring in Matt Egan.
These IPOs -- often you see the stock saw at the outset. It is now down more than 30 percent from its post IPO high.
Why?
MATT EGAN, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, look it's just been a wild ride for Elon Musk and his net worth. And yes, SpaceX, this
summer, I mean, just six weeks ago, SpaceX was flying high. And that pushed up Elon Musk's net worth above $1.3 trillion. Yes, trillion with a T.
Flash forward to today and that net worth is now just above $700 billion. So as you noted what that means, we're talking about paper losses exceeding
$600 billion. I mean these numbers are just absolutely incredible.
Some context, a loss of $600 billion, that's basically what ExxonMobil is worth. And that is how much Elon Musk's fortune has taken a hit in just the
past six weeks. So yes, this is all about SpaceX. It's the fact that the stock price is down by more than 30 percent from its close on the day it
went public.
It's down even more from the highs earlier last month. And so this is happening for a few different reasons, right. SpaceX, this was a record-
setting IPO. And it really did award the company just astronomical valuations.
And so now there is this reality check going on, where some of the SpaceX skeptics, some of the bears here, they're concerned about just how much
money the company has to spend to fund its business and how much borrowing they're going to have to do to get that cash.
There's also concerns about the fact that some of those lockup restrictions that have prevented employees and insiders from selling those restrictions
lift, starting next week. So that could put some more pressure on this company.
And don't forget, I mean, they're getting caught up in this broader AI- related selloff, where we've seen a shares of a number of different technology, chipmakers, other AI companies, they've all taken a significant
hit in recent days and weeks. And that is what is happening to SpaceX as well.
But look, we should note here that skeptics, they've been -- they've been proven wrong over time and again by Elon Musk. Right. He has beaten back
those skeptics. He's proven them wrong.
And there are some on Wall Street who do believe that SpaceX can turn this around, similar to how Facebook started its life as a public company off on
the wrong foot. Right. And they had some significant losses as well before eventually getting back on track.
I should just note as well that we obviously shouldn't feel too bad for Elon Musk, because he is still the richest person on the planet by a long
shot, right?
His net worth more than $700 billion. Some context, that is more than twice the number two person on the world's rich list. That's Larry Page, the
Google co-founder. Elon Musk is worth way more than that.
I think the question, though, Becky, is whether or not he's going to return to trillionaire status. And the answer to that question may be decided in
large part by what happens next for SpaceX.
ANDERSON: That's right. But I think he answered the question as to whether he will return to politics. It was interesting to hear him in that pretty
testy interview with "The Economist"'s editor-in-chief, that he regretted getting too involved.
Were you surprised by that?
[10:55:00]
EGAN: Well, I was surprised that he got so involved in the first place, to be honest. Listen, SpaceX, right, a lot of its businesses are government
though its customers are government.
But Tesla, right. It's Elon's other major company. That is a consumer facing brand. And any time a CEO goes out on a limb and really supports one
political party or another, there's obviously the risk of a backlash against that company's brand.
And to some extent, we have seen that during certain points in the last two years or so for Tesla. So that is one of the reasons why it was a little
bit surprising, Becky, to see just how involved Elon Musk became with politics.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Always good to have you, Matt. Thank you.
Matt Egan in the house for you.
And we will close out this hour. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, of course, with these pictures from the Rotunda at the U.S. Capitol, a service
just held to honor -- to honor senator Lindsey Graham.
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ANDERSON (voice-over): And Senate majority leader John Thune remembering Graham's international work during his many years in the Senate. And he got
emotional while talking about their friendship, saying his absence is felt every day. Lindsey Graham, of course, died earlier this month.
ANDERSON: And that is it for CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. From the team working with me here in London this week, it is a very good
afternoon. Stay with CNN. "ONE WORLD" up next.
END
