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One World with Zain Asher
Confirmation Hearing for U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche; Argentina Takes on England for a Spot in the Final; Argentina, England Renew Historic Rivalry in Semifinal; Trump Threatens to Strike Iranian Infrastructure "Next Week"; Trump Renews Threat to Strike Iran's Power Plants; Power Grid Collapses, Third Nationwide Blackout in 10 Days. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 15, 2026 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD BLANCHE, U.S. ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: Memphis, that there's restaurants opening in Memphis, there's stores opening in Memphis. There's
-- it's a new city compared to where it was one year ago, and that's something that we can't let up on. And but again, I look at as a poster
child of what we should do in cities across this country.
SEN. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R-TN): And we are pleased to know that you all are doing a model city program at DOJ in order to help with public safety in
other areas.
BLANCHE: Yes, and that's not just for Memphis, but for several cities around the country, where we are going to give put money where our mouth
is, and put a lot of resources into the cities to help make sure that cities that need to be safer, are safer, and if they're on the right track,
that they have the resources they need to keep doing it.
BLACKBURN: When you were in the office, we talked about my carjacking bill, that would lower the intent standard to a general knowingly requirement,
giving the prosecutors, federal prosecutors, more tools so that they could hold some of these violent carjackers accountable.
We thought it was going to move with the NDAA, and Leader Schumer has blocked that, and we're disappointed. It's a bipartisan bill, but talk
about the importance of lowering that statute so that we can prosecute these crimes.
BLANCHE: Yes, it's needs to be done because their carjacking not only in Tennessee but at every city in this country has gotten out of hand. The
criminals are better at it than that. They have tools that make it easier to get into cars. They're willing to exact violence, and so the standard
that exists now under the statute, but also because of certain cases, make it higher than a regular general intent crime, and law enforcement and
prosecutors will do the right thing.
So, we need to be empowered with tools to prosecute these cases. And if there's cases where somebody was in the car and didn't know, prosecutors
are not going to move forward. They'll do the right thing, but it shouldn't be the law that puts the damper on that. And so, I'm hopeful that we can
continue to work together on that, and that because it is very important.
BLACKBURN: There was a deeply disappointing decision from the court in the Trump versus Barbara case that it's clear that Congress and the we're going
to have to step up and do something about birthright citizenship, and this is our opening. We know that birthright tourism is something that is taking
place in our country.
We know that during the first Trump Administration, there was a good bit of evidence on this. I've had a ban birthright tourism bill that would block
these 33,000 births a year from people who are circumventing our laws and coming here simply for the purpose of giving birth.
It's primarily the Chinese, and it is also the Russian oligarchs that are exploiting this. And my bill would make coming here to give birth
inadmissible as a way to obtain a visa and deportable, immediately deportable as an offense. And touch on why Congress needs to act and give
the administration more tools to enforce this.
BLANCHE: Yes. So, the very day, the day after the decision came out, the Department of Justice issued a directive to prosecutors to focus on the
conduct you're describing, using existing laws and tools that we have, which is mostly around false statements or fraudulent information in the
visa application process.
We're going to do that. And that's pretty much we are limited in how we can prosecute folks that are coming here for lying about why they're coming
here. Coming here just to give birth, and also the organizations that are facilitating that. Any congressional statutory adjustment, the supreme
court opinions relied in part on the statutory part of this.
[11:05:00]
That would control would give us more tools, and would give the president more tools to keep out people who are absolutely not coming for the right
reason, only coming to give birth.
BLACKBURN: And you're doing a great job on fraud, and going after fraud that has been committed. The fraud task force seems to be working well, and
from Tennesseans, I hear a good bit about this. They want the fraudulent activity to stop is taxpayer money, and they want their money to be used
wisely.
We have had legislation that would apply to individuals that have come into the country either illegally or maybe they've been naturalized citizens,
but the Fraud Accountability Act would push for that deportation and denaturalization if they have been found to be defrauding individuals, our
local, state, or federal government.
And I wish over time, and I'll ask you for this in writing since I'm over my time, but I'd like to hear from you why it is important to put more
tools in that tool box for you all to go after these individuals that are defrauding the U.S. taxpayer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
BLANCHE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before I call on Senator Coons. Senator Durbin would like to speak for a short time.
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): Very short. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Based on the statements just made by the senator from Tennessee, we've checked the
transcript of the committee. During the November 30th, 2023, supreme court ethics subpoena authorization markup, I chaired and attempted to recognize
Senator Blackburn multiple times so that she could offer amendment regarding Epstein's flight logs.
But her Republican colleagues prevented her from doing so by filibustering and then invoking the Senate rule on two hours to end the markup. Many
Epstein records, including flight logs, have been public for years. My staff subsequently reached out to Senator Blackburn to work to identify
which record she actually wanted and still believes had not been made public. To this day, she's never responded.
BLACKBURN: Mr. Chairman, since he mentioned my name, I have previously and will continue. There is video. There is a transcript, and Mr. Blanche, I'll
be happy to forward that to you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Senator Coons.
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member. Acting Attorney General Blanche, thank you for your service and for appearing
here, and thank you to your family and to the men and women of the Department of Justice who work tirelessly to fight crime and to make our
nation secure.
I'm grateful for their service. I'm sorry that your schedule apparently didn't permit us to meet before this confirmation hearing, but I hope and
expect we'll find time to meet soon after today.
BLANCHE: Absolutely.
COONS: Thank you. As I consider your nomination, like all other nominations to similar cabinet positions, I need to know you're qualified to serve, you
demonstrably are, that you have the policy views to serve well. We will discuss that today. And most importantly, in this role, that you have the
independence to serve as the Attorney General for the American people.
And that last question has troubled me the most. You're in charge of a Department of Justice, I don't recognize, prosecuting the president's
political enemies, firing rank and file prosecutors and FBI agents because of the cases they were assigned to, slashing grants for law enforcement and
public safety.
These are some actions that, in your previous confirmation hearing before us, you said you would not take. Now, I appreciate your statement walking
back the 1.8-billion-dollar weaponization fund that you created, but I question how it got that far, and we'll get into that.
You sat in appropriations hearing earlier this year before me and defended it at that time. In fact, if I remember correctly, you told me I was wrong
for criticizing it. But following questions by Senators Durbin and Cornyn, I'm concerned it's not dead yet, and I think we should talk that through.
Overall, this is not what I believe the American people expect or deserve from the Department of Justice. Having spent critical parts of January 6th
in this room taking shelter from the mob, I just wanted to open with some questions. How many people were convicted of assaulting law enforcement
officers on January 6th?
BLANCHE: I believe around 120, approximately. But I could be off a few more --
COONS: If you are, the answer is more than 200. And how many of those individuals had their sentences commuted or were pardoned by President
Trump?
BLANCHE: President Trump either commuted or pardoned every defendant from the January 6th events.
COONS: That's correct. And in this room right now, and outside this room, are Capitol police officers protecting us in this hearing room. How many of
them do you think might have friends or colleagues who were attacked by supporters of the president on January 6th?
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BLANCHE: I don't know the numbers, but I'm sure many of the Capitol police officers who are here today worked either were working on January 6th or
knew people who were.
COONS: I'll just say that I considered a shameful slap in the face of the men and women of law enforcement for those convicted of assaulting police
officers to have been pardoned. I know you were not serving as Deputy Attorney General when President Trump pardoned those folks.
But you said just a few moments ago that you were not celebrating this decision by the president. He was exercising his constitutional power. But
earlier this year, in front of CPAC, a conservative event, I would say from the transcript, you actually trumpeted it as an achievement.
And I quote, saying, if you look at what happened to the men and women convicted because of January 6th, by 05:00 p.m. on January 20th, every one
of them was either pardoned or had their sentence commuted by President Trump. So, when folks say you've done nothing, I say you have a very short
memory.
Would you say that you are proud of President Trump's decision to pardon individuals who assaulted law enforcement?
BLANCHE: No, that's not what I was saying there at all, Senator. So, I was responding to inquiries around why more hadn't been done by the Department
of Justice with respect to January 6th defendants. And so, my answer was that they January 6th defendants and some of their lawyers had a short
memory because a lot had already been done.
Indeed, by the end of the day on January 20th, they had all been pardoned or commuted. So, I wasn't celebrating it. I was merely stating a fact,
which is that the January 6th defendants did receive a very generous pardon or commutation from President Trump. Every one of them on January --
COONS: -- a generous, and in my view, for those who had assaulted police officers, unwarranted, unjustified, ahistorical, and a terrible precedent.
Let me move on to questions I've asked in previous hearings. Is President Trump, just as a simple matter of constitutional law, eligible to run for
another term as president in 2028?
BLANCHE: I don't believe he is. No.
COONS: That is a correct, in my view, reading of the plain language of the 22nd Amendment. Why do you think several of the judicial nominees of this
administration have refused repeatedly to answer that question, simply and clearly, as you just did when I put it to them?
BLANCHE: I have no idea why they answer questions.
COONS: Me neither. I was confounded --
BLANCHE: I mean, you asking -- speculate about something, I don't know.
COONS: Is the Department of Justice that you are running independent from the White House?
BLANCHE: The Department of Justice, like every single department in the executive, is part of the executive. I mean, Article Two of the
Constitution gives the power of the executive to President Trump. So, we certainly operate with integrity. We certainly operate in the single
mindset to serve the American people and do the right thing, but I am a member.
If confirmed, I will be a member of the cabinet. I'm serving in the acting capacity that way now, just like the other cabinet members. And President
Trump can fire me whenever he wants. So --
COONS: Do you have a sense why he fired your predecessor?
BLANCHE: I have no idea. President Trump, we all serve with the pleasure of President Trump in this administration --
COONS: Did President Trump ever post on Truth Social directing your predecessor to get at it to prosecute his perceived political enemies?
BLANCHE: I don't think those were his exact words, but --
COONS: Those were not his exact words --
BLANCHE: No --
COONS: But really that was the intention. It is my impression, sir, that you are here rather than your predecessor because the president was unhappy
with her failures to actually secure convictions of folks like Attorney General Letitia James or Former FBI Director Jim Comey.
If you're confirmed and you're asked to take an action you believe to be illegal or unethical? Would you resign?
BLANCHE: That will never happen. But yes, if it were to happen, I'm not going to violate my oath to the Constitution.
COONS: I appreciate that answer. You did answer a question by a colleague about input that you gave to the president. Did you ever say no, to the
president on the slush fund, the anti-weaponization fund? Did you advise him against this?
BLANCHE: I am not. Will not talk about communications I have with the president. I served as his lawyer for a couple years before he was elected.
I'm the deputy attorney general and the acting attorney general, so I'm not going to talk about communications that I have with him.
But Senator, I will say that President Trump trusts me to give him counsel? Counsel does not mean --
COONS: -- recognized --
BLANCHE: -- man, and so that's -- and that's true in my case, like it should be in any attorneys general space.
COONS: Let me just for a minute bear down on the anti-weaponization fund. You've testified to the House. We are not moving forward with that fund
period, but you've repeatedly refused to put that commitment in writing or to submit a declaration to the court, you're an officer of the court, a
member of the bar.
You should be able to make that assertion in a court filing, or even in a letter submitted to this body. On May 19th, you testified before the
Justice Appropriations Subcommittee. Since the case had been dismissed, there was no judge and no mechanism for judicial review.
[11:15:00]
But in an opinion this week, a federal judge wrote, and I'm quoting, that your testimony was at best misleading and at worst disingenuous, explaining
the court remained available to review this agreement had you sought relief. Why not seek review of the settlement agreement or submit some
record, some writing, given that the president continues to publicly champion this weaponization fund.
And given your previous answer to me in another hearing, that you wouldn't say whether or not those who assaulted cops on January 6th would be
eligible for multimillion-dollar payouts.
BLANCHE: So, there's a lot of questions there.
COONS: It did.
BLANCHE: First of all, we have put it in writing. It's in repeated court filings in EDVA and D.C. So, this narrative that you won't put it in
writing happens not to be true. The reason why neither myself nor Secretary Bessent agreed to put a declaration in is because there's long-standing
precedent that judges cannot ask cabinet secretaries or people like me to put in declarations.
It has nothing to do with the whether the fund is alive. I'm under oath today, and I've said it's dead repeatedly. I said it to the House Oversight
Committee, and I'm happy to say as many times as necessary.
COONS: Thank you.
BLANCHE: As far as what the judge said in Florida, just the last question you asked about Florida, that judge disagreed with what I said. I still
believe the 11th Circuit precedent, which I've studied, I am right. So, we'll see.
COONS: Thank you. You did say earlier this is the most transparent Department of Justice in American history. We have nothing to hide, and you
started by saying we're here to rebuild trust. Two decisions or two OLC opinions. I'm very interested in. I'm the Senior Democrat on Defense and
Intelligence Approps.
I'm the most Senior Member of the Foreign Relations Committee on my side, who's currently serving on this committee. I'm curious as to why the most
transparent department has refused to release the OLC opinion that justifies the 66 strikes the military has conducted on boats in the
Caribbean, which have killed more than 220 people, either a redacted version or in a classified setting, to me and others who are in relevant
decision-making positions.
BLANCHE: Well, Senator, we made the Head of OLC available on multiple occasions to explain that to you and other members of the committee, and
that is extraordinarily transparent and unprecedented that we've done that. Whether an OLC opinion is released is there's a lot of process that goes
into that.
But the idea that we were not transparent about our legal basis there is absolutely not true.
COONS: OK, another chance to be transparent. The FISA court in March certified your Section 702 proceedings, but found compliance deficiencies.
This is an important power of the federal government that will soon be up again for vote, and you have not declassified that opinion.
Senators Cotton and Warner, Republican and Democrat leads on intelligence, in April wrote the administration saying that they expected
declassification of this March opinion within two weeks, yet it remains classified. You have a bipartisan request from the leadership of Intel.
Will you declassify it or make it available to us?
BLANCHE: We'll continue to look at that. I agree with you that that's a very important issue, and we need 702 reauthorized.
COONS: Thank you. Last question, if I could, the Safer Supervision Act is co-sponsored by Senators Lee, Cornyn, Tillis, and Lankford, and it gives a
path forward to making sure that federal probation and parole is more effective. We've discussed it before. Will you meet with me to talk about
ways that this important criminal justice reform, supported by federal law enforcement could move forward.
BLANCHE: I think that --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please give a short answer to that.
BLANCHE: I think it's yes, absolutely. I very much agree with what you're trying to do there, Senator.
COONS: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Before I call on Senator Schmitt, and after Schmitt gets done speak questioning, we're going to take a 15-minute break, and that 15-
minute break starts when you leave the chair and be back in at the 15th minute. Before then, I'd like to --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, you've been listening to Todd Blanche testifying for a Senate panel at his confirmation hearing to
lead the Justice Department. The Acting Attorney General has defended the DOJ's handling on the Epstein files and reiterated President Trump's anti-
weaponization fund is dead.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: And he began the hearing making the case for senators to vote for his confirmation. Blanche will need every
Republican vote in the committee in order to move forward. But he has taken a lot of tough questions here, certainly about a lot of controversies, be
it, for example, independents, right?
Obviously, he was Donald Trump's personal attorney, and also, of course, the -- involved, and that anti-weaponization fund as well, that 1.8-
billion-dollar slush fund. He did get some questions on that.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, some of those have questions coming from Republicans too, specifically Senator Cornyn of Texas, who, as we know, will not be seeking
re-election as he has lost the primary race to Ken Paxton, who was endorsed by President Trump.
[11:20:00]
Let's bring in Corey Brettschneider, a Political Science Professor at Brown University. He's also the Co-host of "The Oath and The Office" Podcast, and
he joins us now live in New York. Corey, welcome to the program. So, you've been listening to all this, and we can get into all of the specific cases
and questioning whether it's on issues over the 1.8-billion-dollar anti- weaponization fund, how he has handled the Epstein files and his role there.
And the Comey and James, the Comey and Letitia James prosecutions, but just at the onset, especially for our viewers abroad who may not be as familiar
with Todd Blanche. He went from being the president's personal defense attorney to now acting attorney general, seeking the full role of attorney
general now during these confirmation hearings.
Just from a precedent point, how unprecedented is that, and what questions does that raise in terms of who he will be serving, whether the
Constitution, the United States, or the president?
COREY BRETTSCHNEIDER, A POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR AT BROWN UNIVERSITY: There probably are precedents of people who are close to presidents who
served as Attorney General. The most obvious example, of course, is Bobby Kennedy and JFK.
But the difference here, what is unprecedented, as you noted, is that this attorney general, this acting attorney general, seeks to be the permanent
attorney general to if he's confirmed, believes there is no difference between being the lawyer of the president, the personal lawyer of the
president, and being the attorney general.
And that's not just unprecedented. I mean, I would call it outrageous. The idea of the attorney general is that the attorney general is the chief law
enforcement officer for the United States and brings cases on behalf of the people of the United States, not on behalf of one person, Donald Trump.
So that really is disturbing. And you heard him in the end say reference to the unitary executive theory, which is a way of upending that tradition of
the independence of the Department of Justice by saying, oh, I can't do anything if the president wants to seek the prosecution of his political
opponents.
And Senator Whitehouse, I thought, had some of the strongest pushback, and that was a very volatile exchange, where the attorney general accused him
of lying. But things like the weaponization fund, even if it's dropped, the prosecution of James Comey, the recent Southern District of New York
subpoenas of journalists from "The New York Times" for covering possible corruption about this gift from Qatar.
All of that is, you know, the doing of this attorney general. So, it is an unprecedented and historic moment.
ASHER: And let's talk a little bit about some of the sort of key issues that have come up during this hearing so far. I mean, it's interesting
because some of the things that Todd Blanche has done to endear himself to the president are the very things that are really coming up that may lead
to his unraveling.
Just whether it's you know the anti-urbanization fund that you mentioned, even though it's been dropped, whether it's Todd Blanche going after Donald
Trump's political adversaries, whether it's the redaction in the Epstein files, that actually ended up inadvertently exposing the victim's identity.
And as I understand it, according to Dick Durbin, we do have some Epstein survivors in the room there. Because Republicans, though, hold the Senate.
Yes, they do have questions, but he still, at this point, does have somewhat of a viable path to confirmation. Just talk to us about that.
BRETTSCHNEIDER: You know that is the unfortunate truth of the moment. That right now the Republican Party, you really saw just two different
realities. You saw Democrats talking about the destruction, really, of democracy, the use of the presidency in order to shut down the opposition
and the role of this acting attorney general in doing so, and what you heard from Republicans was the extreme opposite.
Now, what the votes will be in the end, I'm not sure. I mean, you know, the Trump team thinks they do have the votes, otherwise, they wouldn't have
begun this confirmation. But I think that if you know you could start to pull off some moderates, that maybe there is a chance to block this.
I don't think it helped this nominee to call U.S. Senator. By the way, Senator Whitehouse has often been a guest on "The Oath and The Office"
Podcast. He's really, you know, spoken up against the political prosecutions that we've seen, and everything that he was saying, both on my
show but also in this hearing, is documented.
So, when this back and forth happens, and the acting attorney general calls him a liar, and now is asked to document that, I think this is the kind of
thing you know reckless behavior by this nominee that might actually tank him.
[11:25:00]
So well, it remains to be seen, but that you know, talk about unprecedented. It's not just, as you pointed out, the idea that the
personal lawyer of the president thinks that's the role of the attorney general, but that he's calling U.S. senators a liar, that really strikes me
as something that is not a good way to go about trying to get confirmed.
GOLODRYGA: Though it's not novel, especially in the Trump era, to see these types of confrontational exchanges from nominees. We know that for many of
them, it is the audience of one that they are seeking approval from. And as they noted, though there may be some tough questions from Republicans, the
odds that they would vote against him are still relatively low, we shall see. Corey Brettschneider, thank you so much.
ASHER: Thank you, Corey. All right.
GOLODRYGA: What's happening today? They made it after the show, just so that you could watch.
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
ASHER: Oh, not even the end of the world is going to stop me from watching this game today. You've got Argentina versus England playing at 3o'clock
local time where we are. Who will go on to face Spain? That is the big question.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, Former England Player Steve McManaman gives us his views.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: Spanish fans went crazy cheering and celebrating after their two-nil win over France in the World Cup semi-final.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, you were worried about them showing up in the heat, and they had no problem celebrating. Many people thought the game would be a
bit more competitive. I was one of those with France favored to win. Well, now Spain are on their way to their first men's World Cup final since 2010.
And speaking of today's game, we are 3.5 hours from the big one. Defending champions Argentina take on England in Atlanta, reigniting an old rivalry
between these two teams.
ASHER: Yeah, both teams have a huge fan base, who will of course be cheering them on for a chance to meet Spain at the final. I want to bring
in ESPN Soccer Analyst Steve McManaman. He's also a former professional football player himself who played for England's national team.
Steve, obviously, this is, as you mentioned, a historic rivalry between England and Argentina, goes back to the days of Maradona and the famous
sort of Hand of God.
[11:30:00]
But just give us your take on this. I think that for me, I have learned a lot watching Argentina play, especially in that game against Egypt. The
fact that they were able to turn it around so late in the game. It really shows, you know, how they behave when the game becomes uncomfortable, when
the odds are not in their side.
To be able to have that patience and mental discipline, that is what makes me nervous for the game today against England. Give us your take on that.
GOLODRYGA: And she's rooting for England.
ASHER: I'm rooting for England --
STEVE MCMANAMAN, SOCCER ANALYST, ESPN: Yes, of course. Yeah, of course, you are. Yeah, they've also got somebody called Lionel Messi, who's arguably
the greatest player we've ever seen on the football field. So that certainly helps when you've got him and the team. I mean, the game should
be quite close.
To be very honest, when you looked at the France, Spain game yesterday, they're the two teams that have been the best in this competition. England
and Argentina have done enough to get to where they are at this moment in time. I still think England need to improve if they're going to beat Spain,
but the way Argentina has played, of course, there's lots of fights, there's lots of termination.
They've had a bit of fortune along the way, but they are where they are today, and it should be a close game. It should be a very cagey game, I
think, because of what's gone on in the past between them. But I fully expect and I hope that England come out on top.
GOLODRYGA: Well, you were on the England squad in France back in 1998 that lost Argentina on penalties.
MCMANAMAN: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: We know that the rivalry was at its most raw moment, perhaps even back then, it's easy for a coach to say there's no politics involved
here. But just looking at the history, and hopefully the players can focus on the game. All of these players were born after, obviously, the Falklands
War, but they have long memories.
I have to ask you about what you're expecting from England to win because the two main players, as we know, have been Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham.
Between the two of them, they've scored 13 goals this tournament, or 12, I think, between the two of them.
So, is it enough if they deliver their A games today, or is it going to take more from other team members to step up to?
MCMANAMAN: Well, I hope it's a bit of both. I hope Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham do bring their A game because if they do, England will succeed.
I mean, you always want other players to chip in and be stronger. I think why everybody's confidence is probably because of what Argentina has done
this tournament and what we've seen them do.
Four years ago, when they lifted the trophy, they were a much better team. They're a lot older. They seem a little bit more one dimensional. I don't
want to criticize them too much, but they play very narrow at this moment in time. So, if you are England doing your homework, you can find ways to
beat them.
You know, Lionel Messi, of course, now is 38. He's not the player he was four years ago. He's a little bit more. He turns it on and off in the game
now. He's a bit savvier when he needs to be in a position. So, I think England can use this to their advantage. With all respect, they're not a
big team.
They don't put a lot of crosses into the penalty area, Argentina, because they've got Julian Alvarez or Lionel Messi up front, and they're not the
biggest. So, I think there's options there, and there's reasons why England can counter attack and beat Argentina today.
But as I said right at the top of the show, they need to be better England of what we've seen, beating DR Congo, beating Mexico, and beating Norway in
extra time, if they want to lift this trophy, and that's what we want them to do. Thomas Tuchel was brought in to give them that extra bit of momentum
to try and win this trophy.
They have to be better because if they do win today, they've got a magnificent Spanish team that they have to overcome as well. But let's just
get this game out of the way. Let's see if they can win and let's move forward and be very hopeful that England can do it.
ASHER: Steve, what are the teams doing right now? As in, when you have a massive match, and you know you're playing in the semi-finals, 3o'clock.
Let's say the players wake up. I don't know 07:00, 08:00 a.m. How do they spend the morning? I mean, they have breakfast.
Is a team? Is there a team meeting? Do they have drills? What are they doing?
MCMANAMAN: Well, today it'll probably be you know everybody's very different. So, they'll wake up, there'll be a breakfast. But some people
might go back to bed to be very honest and rest. There'll be a team meeting before they leave the hotel. I'm almost sure of that.
And there'll be there'll be another meal before they leave the hotel. But everybody's different. Some people wake up and then can't go back to sleep.
Some people wake up early and need to go. If it was me, I would have woken up, had breakfast, and gone back to bed and rested and tried to sleep
again.
I was very good at sleeping before games, so that would have been me. But of course, there'll be other people who'll be nervous. There'll be other
people who'll be excited. So, some of them won't be able to sleep. I was quite relaxed before games, so you'd always find me fast asleep, really
trying to get as much rest and as much energy into my body as possible.
ASHER: The adrenaline alone would probably kill. I'd be in a stretcher by like noon.
GOLODRYGA: We already are as fans. We're not even playing and --
ASHER: I love that. You just go back to bed on the morning. I love that.
GOLODRYGA: Steve, can I ask you?
MCMANAMAN: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: You call Spanish football for a living.
[11:35:00]
I know you're rooting for England today, but you know how these Spaniards train, and what we saw yesterday with them shutting out France was putting
this team on the world stage here.
MCMANAMAN: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: And they've got years ahead of them, given how young some of these players are. And I wanted to read a quote, from one of my son's
soccer coaches, who actually trains in in Spain as well. So, he's very familiar with Spanish soccer, and he said, I want to be able to tell you
that the USA is not far off on the men's side.
I cannot. Spanish youth and adults are on a different planet. It's not even the same game.
MCMANAMAN: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: So just talk to us about this Spanish team, and if England does end up winning and playing against Spain, what can we expect from that?
MCMANAMAN: Well, I mean, the Spanish Federation, as you know, the highly successful, they won the European Championships two years ago. They beat
England in the final, and it was a very close game, actually. So, England won't have to do a lot, but Spain and their coach La Fuente, he's been in
the system for a long time.
He knows the under 20 scenes. He knows the under 14 scenes. And as your comment just said, you know they adore football. They're playing football
morning, noon, and night. They're outside the, you know, the youngsters in Spain, so they play the right style of football. I think that's very
important to the Spanish nation.
And they're going to be favored whoever they face, whether it's Argentina or England in the final, they're going to be favored because of their
records in this tournament and their records in European football. They've got some superstars in their team. Lamine Yamal, of course, is the next
superstar.
He's 19 years of age, just turned 19, and he's already got a huge amount of experience playing for Barcelona and playing for the Spanish national team,
so he's the next superstar on sort of on the treadmill of Spanish football. They always unearth a wonderful talent, and they're going to be very
difficult to beat.
They're there because they should be there. They're the best team around at this moment in time, and as I said, the European champions two years ago.
So, we knew how good they were. It was just that everybody thought France might have their number this time, and the better teams Spain play, the
better they perform.
And I thought they were exceptional against a very dangerous France team. They were very dominant, and it was a wonderful performance. So, whoever is
going to beat Spain will have to do something special. And as I said, I hope that is England, and we'll have another conversation if England get
through to the final.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah.
MCMANAMAN: But it'll be some final in the MetLife.
ASHER: Steve, I literally have 20 seconds, but I want to expand on something that, Bianna, mentioned. I mean, obviously today the big dogs are
Bukayo, Harry, Jude. Those are the big dogs today. But who are the players that are overlooked, that you know maybe are not household names, but
should be.
Who else should we be watching? Just specifically, give us names.
MCMANAMAN: Well, England will have to be very strong at the back. There were a few injury worries, but I thought Declan Rice has been amazing. He's
had a wonderful year at Arsenal. You know the defenders, Marc Guehi, John Stones, who played the other day, hasn't played, has a lot of injury
worries.
Actually, he doesn't have a football team after this World Cup. He played for Manchester City, but his contracts up. He was excellent in the
semifinal, in the quarter final. Excuse me. So, they're all going to have to be brilliant today if England get through. And they're the ones who are
going to be marking Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez for Argentina.
And if they can keep them quiet, if they can keep them to a zero, no goal scores. They're going to be the stars because at the other end you've
expected you or a Harry Kane to come up -- So hopefully that's what they're the names we'll be talking about tomorrow.
ASHER: All right. Well, we'll see. Got about 2.5 hours. Steve McManaman, thank you. GOLODRYGA: There'll be a lot of fun music.
MCMANAMAN: Thank you very much.
GOLODRYGA: Fans will be singing today too. Every time England plays, love it.
ASHER: Thank you. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Steve.
ASHER: We'll be right back with more after the short break.
MCMANAMAN: Thank you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
ASHER: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: We're still talking soccer. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Here are some headlines we are watching today. There are two very consequential hearings
taking place in Washington. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is facing a Senate panel at his confirmation hearing to become the nation's top law
enforcement officer.
And President Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence, Jay Clayton, has testified before Senate lawmakers as well.
ASHER: The U.S. carried out two major waves of strikes on Iran overnight and into today. Iran hit back, launching a series of missiles and drones,
hitting Gulf neighbors, including the UAE. U.S. President Donald Trump is warning he's not done yet, and might expand the strikes to new targets.
GOLODRYGA: An American scientist has been accused of spying and is being detained in China. U.S. officials say seismologist Youlin Chen has been
wrongfully detained for the last 18 months. China's Foreign Ministry says the country is governed by the rule of law, and there is no such thing as
so-called wrongful detention.
ASHER: China's economy is losing momentum and missing its growth target for the first time since the COVID pandemic. New figures show the economy
expanded 4.3 percent in the second quarter, below expectations. This as ongoing challenges at home continue to weigh on China.
All right. As we mentioned, the U.S. is ramping up its strikes on Iran as Washington and Iran also ramp up the rhetoric too.
GOLODRYGA: Following attacks overnight, the U.S. launched a wave of daylight strikes Wednesday. Iran says seven of its military personnel were
killed overnight, and more than 30 civilians have been killed in recent U.S. strikes.
ASHER: Now, this comes a day after the U.S. reimposed its naval blockade on ships going to and from Iranian ports. In return, Iran is threatening to
halt more energy export routes in the region. It also says it launched retaliatory strikes against U.S. assets in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait as
well.
GOLODRYGA: This says President Trump now threatens to hit Iranian power plants next week if Iran doesn't negotiate.
ASHER: CNN's Betsy Klein joins us live now from the White House. Betsy, what's the latest?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, it's a very critical moment for this conflict, as you mentioned, both the strikes and the
rhetoric are escalating from the United States. But in President Trump's view and in his telling, this is all an effort to put that pressure on Iran
to get them back to the negotiating table and potentially find a diplomatic solution.
Now, at the crux of this is the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil thoroughfare. Iran has been attacking commercial vessels, and the U.S. has
been responding with these strikes to try to downgrade their capabilities there. But it's really become sort of the center, this key point of
leverage for this conflict.
And now we are just about to be 24 hours into this U.S. imposed blockade in the Strait prohibiting ships from going to and from Iranian ports, the U.S.
launching daytime strikes, notably in broad daylight. CENTCOM confirming in a statement that these strikes took place over 90 minutes.
[11:45:00]
They say, quote, U.S. Central Command completed a morning round of strikes against Iran at 07:30 a.m. Eastern Time on July 15th. CENTCOM launched
precision munitions against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage, and launched sites on Greater Tunb Island during the 90-minute
wave.
These strikes further degraded Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. And then in that new interview, President Trump
declining to rule out the possibility of ground troops that he said could potentially be U.S. or from another country, really declining to put more
details on those future plans.
He also says that he could target critical infrastructure in the coming days. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week
comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and
negotiate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLEIN: Now we should note that President Trump has been threatening to attack bridges, desalination plants, as well as Kharg Island, which is that
key oil hub, for quite some time now throughout the course of this conflict. The question now, is whether this moment is any different, as the
president's frustrations are clearly mounting.
Meanwhile, here at home, Senate Democrats making clear they are very unhappy with the status of this conflict, as they blocked the annual
defense spending bill, clearly underscoring here the deepening divisions as this war drags on, Zain and Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: All right, Betsy Klein reporting live from the White House for us. Thank you.
ASHER: All right. It has happened again. Cuba's aging energy infrastructure has caused another collapse of the electrical grid. Up next, how Cubans are
adapting to the frequent blackouts.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: For the third time just this month, civilians in Cuba are dealing with a nationwide blackout.
GOLODRYGA: Tuesday's outage left around 10 million people without power. Patrick Oppmann explains how America's ongoing oil blockade is worsening
this energy crisis.
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: Once again, Cuba's national power grid has collapsed. It's the third time in about 10 days, this has
occurred, and of course, it's incredibly hot in Cuba in the summer months. It's one of the reasons that has contributed to the fact that we are seeing
longer and longer blackouts on a regular day.
[11:50:00]
And then you have these complete, utter collapses of the electrical grid, which sometimes can take several days to get back up, but even when they do
get it back up here, the Cuban government that doesn't mean you have power most of the time, or even much of the time.
On average, now you might get power sort of two to four hours each day, very intermittently. You never know when it's going to be on, how long
it'll be on for, and what people just tell you is it's no way to live. That the food is spoiling in the fridges. It's incredibly uncomfortable to live
in these conditions.
You can't sleep at night. People actually sleeping outside sometimes on rooftops on the street because it is just so hot to be inside at this
moment. Of course, a backdrop to this is Cuba and the U.S. are at the highest tensions that they've experienced in years, the Trump
Administration is trying to force Cuba to make political and economic sanctions.
This island is resisting to open up the political system here, to open up the economy, allow Cuban Americans to come back and have a greater role.
The Cuban government says they're willing to negotiate, but not under the gun as the Trump Administration continues to pile more and more sanctions
on, including not allow any oil shipments to this island.
And so, you've seen this just gradual breakdown each day of the aging infrastructure here, which the government has not invested in over the
years. You see people saying they are living harder and harder lives. Certainly, blackouts are not new for Cubans, but I've never, in the 14
years I've lived here, experienced anything like this.
Where each day, every day, most day you're going to be out with power on a good day, on a day like right now, where the national electrical grid
collapses. You know you're probably going to be several days without power, and so people are sometimes going on and protesting.
More and more people say they're just resigned to this. That somehow, they will have to make do, as difficult as that now is. Patrick Oppmann, CNN,
Havana.
GOLODRYGA: And we'll be right back with more after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: The American pilot, known for the miracle on the Hudson, is summoning his courage once again. 75-year-old "Sully" Sullenberger says
that he's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
ASHER: In January 2009, a flock of birds disabled the engines of the passenger plane that Sullenberger was piloting. He managed to land on New
York's Hudson River. Everyone on the plane survived, even though five people did actually suffer serious injuries.
[11:55:00]
Right, visitors are flocking to see a rare display of so-called corpse flowers which are famous for their foul odor that attracts beetles and
flies.
GOLODRYGA: The plants began blooming simultaneously this week at the Huntington Botanical Gardens near Los Angeles. Each bloom lasts just 24 to
48 hours. It's one of the most short-lived spectacles in the world.
ASHER: All right, finally, before we love and leave you. It is now the world's most expensive fossil ever sold at auction A -- T. Rex skeleton
found in South Dakota fetched a record $50,130,000 at Sotheby's in New York on Tuesday.
GOLODRYGA: Congratulations. I know you were bidding on that name -- skeleton.
ASHER: I narrowly lost.
GOLODRYGA: The skeleton, nicknamed Gus -- is about 67 million years old, more than 11.5 meters long, and nearly 4 meters tall. That makes Gus one of
the largest T. Rexes ever found. Narrowly lost -- very --
ASHER: So close. All right. Stay with "One World". We'll have much more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
