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One World with Zain Asher
Warning For "Large And Deadly Flood Wave" On Guadalupe River; Wildfire Smoke Impacting Air Quality For 100 Million Plus People In United States; Vance: Some Israel Officials Seeking To Derail Iran Diplomacy; U.S. Secretary Of State Hosts International Summit On Left-Wing Terrorism; Defending Champions Argentina Win Semifinal Against England; Trump To Speak ON "Free And Fair Elections" Tonight; Sources: Trump Aide Under Investigation For Insider Trading; International Energy Agency Warns Crude Oil Stocks Are Falling; Aired 12-1p ET
Aired July 16, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:00:38]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Particularly dangerous situation this hour. People in Central Texas are seeking higher ground.
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: The second hour of "One World" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Within a blink of an eye, it was already waist level. And then the door broke open and more water came rushing in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Just terrifying rescue missions, rising flood waters, and an area that knows this story all too well. Rainfall devastates parts of Texas
for the second year in a row.
ASHER: Also ahead, tough talk. J.D. Vance says, there are some in the Israeli government who want the war with Iran to go on indefinitely. We're
live with a reaction from the region.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Ah, this is tough for us today.
ASHER: Do not rub it in. OK. Do not rub it in.
GOLODRYGA: It is official. We know who is playing in the World Cup final on Sunday. As the games come to an end, we take a look at the epic match
ahead.
All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher.
GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
And we begin in Texas where a dangerous flood emergency is unfolding once again. A large and deadly flood wave is racing down the Guadalupe River,
threatening the same area where floods left more than 130 dead, including girls from Camp Mystic last July.
The river rising more than seven and a half meters in just one hour. Texas' governor warns that they could see more rain in this event that those
deadly floods -- than those deadly floods last summer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): The Fourth of July floods last year had rainfall of 20.29 inches. The expected rainfall during this rainstorm is expected to
be more than 30 inches.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Nearly six months worth of rain has reportedly already fallen in parts of South Texas, triggering dozens of water rescues, including this
one where drone video captured crews rescuing a family from their home. Family members say the flood water has almost reached their attic.
More now from our Texas affiliate KENS, where our reporter Bella Popadiuk.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BELLA POPADIUK, KENS REPORTER: We are right in front of the Guadalupe River, and it is roaring behind us. I'm not sure if you can hear how loud
it is, but the water is rushing very, very fast.
Actually, just a couple minutes ago, we watched what looked like a washer or maybe dryer machine that was just like being pulled down the river. Not
sure where it came from. It must have come from a house or a business, but we're seeing some debris in the river and it's looking pretty brown.
There are some streetlights over here, so we do have a better view of how high the water is. And it's coming up on the bridge a little, but it's not
too-too high on this bridge over here.
Again, this is the Guadalupe River. We are in Kerrville right now where emergency management is warning everyone to seek high ground to shelter in
place. And they did open to emergency shelters as well because they say this is life-threatening flooding.
We'll continue to keep you updated as we stay out here and as we learn more and as we see more along the Guadalupe River and in Kerr County.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: In the last hour, CNN spoke to the mayor of Kerrville about the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE HERRING, JR, MAYOR OF KERRVILLE (THROUGH TELEPHONE): What we're seeing here is levels of water that are even higher, in my opinion, than the --
the water river levels we saw July 4th, 2025.
It rained hard all night, but it rained hard Monday night and Tuesday night as well. And so as we went to bed last night, it was dry until about
midnight.
But since midnight, we've had hard, hard rains in the Ingram, Kerrville, Center Point and Comfort areas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam joins us now with more. Derek, I remember last year in covering those horrific deadly floods. A lot of
questions about timing, warnings, were they heated? When were the warnings issued?
When did we know about the potential consequences of this rainfall and flooding?
[12:05:01]
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, we've been raising the alarm at least here for several days. I know the local National Weather Services and
the local television stations within the Hill Country of Texas have also been doing the same.
The -- the caveat there is that there are a lot of remote parts of Western Texas that don't have cell phone access, don't have access to television,
maybe even perhaps internet. So getting the word out to everybody is virtually impossible.
You heard the mayor of Kerrville just a moment ago talking to -- talking to Wolf Blitzer on our domestic channel. And this is important. He says, what
he's witnessed are water levels that he believes are higher than that benchmark, which was the July 4th, 2025 flash flooding that unfortunately
killed so many people.
So, what we've done is we've taken the radar, estimated rainfall total since the beginning of this rainstorm. It started on Monday, mind you. A
lot of the rain fell overnight last night.
But here's Kerrville, OK? And this is the Guadalupe River. Camp Mystic, from the tragic flooding event last year, is just to the north and west of
Kerrville.
But look at that rainfall total. And that's just an estimate. There have been official reports well over 20 inches or roughly 500 millimeters. And
it still continues to pour down in buckets.
We have flash flood emergencies with a catastrophic tag associated with them. Let's zoom right into these areas because we need to get hyper local
to better understand the topography here. It is very hilly. There's a lot of rivers, a lot of tributaries that all feed into the larger rivers, which
of course is the Guadalupe River.
Now, localized flash flooding is just that, right? It could be catastrophic here, but it can be moderately flooding over here. And that's the nature of
this.
So, we've got some river gauges to kind of paint this picture a little bit better. Again, broadening out for a geographical reference. All of the dots
you see on the screen are individual river gauges that actually track the levels of the water.
Here's Comfort, Texas. Here's Kerrville in moderate range, OK? But this is a major flood stage that is forecast in -- into the comfort area. And
here's why.
We had this, what was described by the National Weather Service earlier this morning, a large and deadly wall of water. You could see that rapid
rise right there. And then the drop off and a secondary crest, that false sense of security for so many people thinking that the flooding has going
down. Then it rains again upstream and the water starts to rise at their location.
But here it is, the Guadalupe River at Comfort. It rose nearly two and a half stories in one hour. That is a deadly wall of water. And that will
take out anything in its path.
Now just to the north, there's also flash flood emergencies as well. This is the Pedernales River and catastrophic tag, Fredericksburg. These areas
all seen that deadly wall of water, potential as well.
And a lot of these are breaking or surpassing the July 4th, 2025 crest levels like the one in Comfort I just showed you a minute ago.
So that is why the mayor of Kerrville is getting this information and reporting it back to us because we're actually seeing higher water levels
than what they did. And it's being realized on these gauges as well.
This is just since midnight, right? This is how much rain has fallen in other parts of the Texas Hill Country. This area is susceptible to
flooding. It's known as flooding alley in the U.S. kind of locally.
But when you get this amount of rain in such a short period of time, it is going to funnel down into the lower elevations. And unfortunately, that's
where a lot of people may be visiting R.V. parks. There may be homesteads there, rural areas of Western Texas, difficult to get the word out. But the
rainfall totals here have been impressive. Over five inches per hour falling from the sky.
The good news is, Zain and Bianna, is that this is the last of the heaviest rain and we start to dry things out as we head into the weekend. We need it
desperately.
GOLODRYGA: Yes, thank goodness for that. Some of the most beautiful parts of the state, but also some of the most vulnerable, susceptible to this
kind of flooding.
Derek Van Dam, thank you.
ASHER: Thank you, Derek.
All right. And here in the northeastern part of the U.S. and parts of the Midwest, smoke is the problem. Poor air quality is expected to linger
throughout the week as smoke from hundreds of wildfires burning in Canada spills over the border into the United States.
GOLODRYGA: Air quality has deteriorated significantly across Pennsylvania, New York, and in the middle of the country.
ASHER: Yes. Let's discuss all of this with our chief climate correspondent, Bill Weir, live from New York.
So, you're in New York, Bill, obviously, like we are. And my goodness, today and yesterday, I mean, I had certainly difficulty breathing at
certain points in time. There's this sort of haze over the city because you're combining the Canadian wildfires with really high temperatures here
as well.
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. The only silver lining is that, certainly, it lower the temperatures a little bit, but you're
right. It's the summer of the orange sky.
We remember it from 2023 when it was really brutal. The air quality index back then, 480. And it stayed that way for a couple of days.
Right now here in New York, it's about 100. It's been close to 150. And that's when folks who are vulnerable needs to start thinking about masks
and getting inside. Anything over 300 is the maroon warning. That is when it's hazardous for everybody when the PM 2.5, that's particulate matter,
two and a half microns wide, which is about a 30th the width of a human hair.
[12:10:18]
So this is tiny, tiny toxic soot that gets past your nose, mucus and hairs into your blood, into your lungs, potentially into your brain. So anything
over 300, everybody's advised to get inside and try to get some purified air.
But for perspective, yesterday in Hibbing, Minnesota, or actually I think right now up in northern Minnesota, the AQI is over 1,600. I thought it
only went to 800, but the -- the -- the density of that PM 2.5, those toxins, are so tight in those places.
And up in the boundary waters, the -- the National Park there, rangers and canoes were spending early part of the week trying to get people to
evacuate because that amount of smoke was headed towards that way.
As far as relief goes, we might get a little rain in regions here in the northeast to bring some reliefs, but this is expected to continue up in
Midwest, Detroit, Toronto, across to Boston, New York, at least through tomorrow. Zain.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And those wildfires in Canada are nowhere near contained as well. Like you said, perhaps a bit of a reprieve coming with some rain.
Bill Weir, you're in one of the most beautiful locations there in New York by the Brooklyn Bridge. And you can't really see much of the skyline behind
you because of this fog and the smog outside.
Stay safe. Don't want to keep you out longer than you should.
WEIR: OK. See you later.
GOLODRYGA: Thanks, Bill.
Well, as the U.S. war in Iran intensifies even further, both sides are now escalating their threats and their attacks, while still leaving the
diplomatic door cracked open.
ASHER: Yes. Washington and Tehran have been trading accelerated strikes now for the six straight days in the most intense fighting since the April
ceasefire.
And sources say that President Trump is weighing a plan to expand the military operation, including the seizure of Kharg Island, Iran's main
export hub.
GOLODRYGA: Tehran, meanwhile, is vowing to crush all regional infrastructure if Trump follows through with his threat to target Iranian
power plants and bridges.
ASHER: Right now, Israel isn't actively participating in any fighting in Iran, although it did launch the war with the U.S. five months ago.
GOLODRYGA: And we're hearing now from American vice president J.D. Vance about some of his concerns regarding Israel's involvement in a lengthy
conversation with the podcaster Joe Rogan on Wednesday.
J.D. Vance accused some in the Israeli government of trying to derail negotiations between Washington and Tehran. He also had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We know, I'm telling you, beyond a reasonable doubt, we know that the negotiation strategy that the
president has asked us to pursue. And again, with limitations, like when the Iranians hit ships, the president has been willing to knock the hell
out of the Iranians in response.
This is not just a negotiation. It's negotiation, it's military. It's all these things. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been
people within the Israeli government who are trying to, like, actually shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military
campaign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Oren Liebermann joins us now live in Jerusalem. Oren, so many questions here, specifically about what exactly J.D. Vance's motive
is. This is not the first time that he's specifically noted Israel, and some of the complaints that he says are leveled against him directly in --
inside the Israeli government.
He didn't point to Prime Minister Netanyahu but said some in his circles. This is now him going on Joe Rogan, one of the most popular podcasters in
the country with Republicans in particular.
How is this being received and interpreted in Israel, especially as Prime Minister Netanyahu is scheduled, I believe, to travel to the U.S. to attend
Lindsey Graham's funeral?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, of -- of all the members of the Trump administration, Vice President J.D. Vance is arguably the most
openly critical of Israel.
And he's not, at all, shy about it, knowing that he likely has the support of a -- of a younger MAGA wing that's far more in his lane of -- of more
isolationist, less of a blanket support for Israel. And that certainly comes through in these comments.
And it wasn't just what you played here. There are a number of comments suggesting Jeffrey Epstein had links to the Mossad or other deep state
elements of the U.S. and of Israel. So, there's a lot of that running through this.
And -- and these -- all of these comments might be new. His positions as being openly critical of Israel are something we have seen for weeks. And
that has resulted in him becoming far less popular here, especially throughout the course of the last few weeks, and towards the end of the
war, as he has criticized, especially Israeli ministers who were critical of him.
[12:15:10]
He openly said, if I were an Israel's government, I might not openly criticize the last person willing to stand with Israel. That was a
reference to Trump.
And he's -- he's attacked Israel on other points.
In fact, right here is one of the papers that ran some of those comments. And it's -- it's one of the main headlines. This is from a few weeks ago,
(INAUDIBLE) has gone on to see, the attack of the vice president.
So, this is something Israel has very much picked up on. And because of that, you have seen criticism of Vance for quite some time now. And
frankly, that criticism is almost certain to grow after his interview with the -- the Joe Rogan podcast, though, there.
The difference here is that Vance is not president Donald Trump. And that is where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others in the Netanyahu
government have focused their effort.
I think Netanyahu has been quite clear and open that he is looking to continue the military campaign against Iran. He has long believed that
negotiations are -- are going to fail and that Iran isn't negotiating in good faith.
So -- so that's -- that's been a broader goal of -- of Netanyahu and of many parts of his government for quite some time now. And -- and here is
Vance coming out and saying that he frankly doesn't appreciate a broader influence effort at trying to shift the position of the U.S. government.
So, this is becoming, frankly, par for the course for Vance to -- to criticize what he sees as Israeli meddling, to criticize members of
Israel's government.
Bianna, there hasn't really been a response we've seen from Israeli officials here. And -- and I did a check right before I -- I came on air a
short time ago. And that's probably because Netanyahu and other officials are simply focused on Trump.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. And what's notable this time is J.D. Vance seems to have said that these attacks have been personal, not just against U.S. policy,
vis-a-vis Iran, but he says that these attacks are directly targeting him.
Interesting venue to do it on Joe Rogan's podcast.
Oren Liebermann, thank you.
ASHER: All right. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is hosting international officials in Washington to discuss what he calls political
violence from the far left.
GOLODRYGA: The Trump administration has argued that violent left-wing extremists are a major threat to the U.S. But some critics say today's
event is being used to target legitimate opposition. Sixty-seven countries from across Asia and Europe are said to be taking part in the summit at the
State Department.
ASHER: CNN's senior national security reporter Jennifer Hansler, joins us live now from Washington.
This event is about so-called left-wing extremists. What about right-wing extremists, Jennifer?
JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Well, Zain and Bianna, that, of course, has not been, at all, part of the Trump
administration's counterterrorism strategy in any way, and certainly not at this event today, that was specifically focused on this alleged threat from
the far left.
Now, what we saw from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, as well as the White House's Stephen Miller, was an attempt to paint a really dark picture of
the threat posed by these extremists, both abroad and also in the United States.
Miller spoke mostly about the domestic issues here in the U.S. And he said, quote, that "This is a fatal cancer to civilization. And the greatest risk
that we have is that our institutions have grown too soft and too cowardly to be able to defend themselves against a mortal threat."
So, we heard strong words from her -- at him. We also heard from Rubio saying that this was a broad threat to the world.
Now, what we have heard though from officials who used to work on the counterterrorism portfolio here at the State Department was that this
threat is not the foremost risk that it is being portrayed by the Trump administration.
One former official said that the data just doesn't bear out, that it has the same equivalent to the threats posed by radical Islamists, for example,
and the far right. Another former career official who worked on this portfolio for a decade said that there is nothing operationally or
organizationally to justify the expenditure of resources that we are seeing from the administration and the State Department on this matter.
Now, Rubio, in his remarks earlier today, he did address this and he said that it is a clear and undeniable reality that this threat is on the rise.
Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: You will no doubt see the dogma rear its head in the coverage of this very conference. In spite of the clear and
the undeniable reality, in spite of the objective numbers and statistics, in spite of the fact that in this room today, there are representatives
from across the political spectrum. We will hear this organized that this kind of organized violence and terror will be dismissed. It will be
dismissed as a partisan fiction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANSLER: Now, the goal of this conference, we're told, was to try to coordinate a strategy to address what has been described as a scourge of
this alleged far left terrorism, Rubio referenced intelligence sharing, law enforcement matters, financial targeting when he talked to this group of
some 67 countries from around the world.
[12:20:17]
I should note that many of the representatives there, despite this being a ministerial, were not at the foreign minister level. They were lower level
ambassadors and such.
Now, of course, as we have heard from the administration calling out this far left terrorism, there has been silence on the, quote-unquote, far right
terrorism. We have not heard them condemn, for example, the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker last year, nor the January 6th insurrection. Guys.
ASHER: All right. Jennifer Hansler, live for us. Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: I'm coming up for us. Take a deep breath, Zain. Heartbreak for England, but potential history for Argentina. We'll unpack Wednesday's
semi-final and look ahead to Sunday's showdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: It's official, defending champions, Argentina, will take Spain on this -- in this weekend's World Cup final.
Celebrating an electric semi-final win last night after Argentina beat England two to one.
ASHER: Yes. Anthony Gordon's second half goal may have given a three-line lead, but they were unable to secure their place in Sunday's clash against
Spain.
Back on home soil, England fans are mourning the loss of what could have been a chance at their second ever World Cup victory.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where to begin with it really the tactics were wrong in the end. Once we scored, shouldn't sit back against a team like Argentina.
That's why disaster really.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just waiting for the day when England can actually get through a semi-final and actually get to the point where we can
celebrate and actually move forward.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm feeling sad. As you can hear my voice is gone, shouting at the television, but I feel sad but we did well. There's not
much I can say but sad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right. To unpack what happened and what is to come. Darren, why are we smiling? There's nothing to smile about today. It was so big.
DARREN LEWIS, CNN SPORT SENIOR ANALYST: Do you know what, Zain? There is nothing, nothing to smile about. And I'm surprised you could see the
headlines on those U.K. newspapers.
[12:25:03]
For all the tears that have been shed since last night, I thought that it was just such a heartbreaking night. And there will be so many English men
and women who feel the same because we had it in the palm of our hands. We had it and the head coach let it go.
ASHER: Well, Darren, let me just ask you this because for me, you know, I have a tendency to get ahead of myself, right? So when -- when Gordon
scored that first goal, in my mind, we were already in the finals. Like in my mind, I was literally planning, OK, England versus Spain Sunday, where
am I going to watch it? Where am I going to watch? What am I going to do with my kids? Are they going to come? I had -- I had the whole thing
planned out.
So, when Argentina scored that first goal, it -- it took me a minute. It didn't even feel real. It took me -- I had to really process because I was
so far gone.
And then when they scored the second goal, I mean, I couldn't watch. I mean, I don't know about you. I couldn't -- I -- I just couldn't watch.
What's it like sitting through that for you?
LEWIS: Well, I've asked you the same for my answer. I have been joined Bianna just looking in there, just smiling mysteriously. And look at you
(INAUDIBLE).
ASHER: Well, she's going to the final. And she's a Messi. She's going to final (INAUDIBLE).
LEWIS: The U.S. have gone. There you go. There you go.
But listen, I've got to tell you, it was excruciating watching it because, obviously, England had a great chance. They, as you say, took the lead, it
gets a side who came into this competition as the defending champions and had played terrific stuff all the way through.
So many people believed England could do it. And so when they went ahead, it did look very much as though they could complete the job.
But, you know, Argentina scored 19 goals in seven games so far in the tournament. Lionel Messi, 39 years young, I should say, not old. And as far
as he is concerned, lots of people had written them off before the tournament began.
But we saw last night why he and Argentina are the defending world champions. And they are just a side to be feared.
But I have to tell you, every English person or English individual of an English persuasion will tell you, we threw it away. And that's why the head
coach Thomas Tuchel is under so much pressure right now.
GOLODRYGA: Well, to throw it away, I mean, he's had the same play before. They've gotten wins out of it, but not necessarily because of this play.
And yet, to do it against Argentina, Tuchel himself says that his side got, quote, too passive. Though he has no regrets about his approach.
So, can -- can both of those things be true, especially, especially when you're playing against someone like Messi?
LEWIS: It's such a good question, Bianna, because I'm not sure both those things can be true. And I'm always -- listen, good leadership is about
taking responsibility when things go wrong.
And Thomas Tuchel is an outstanding club manager. But at an international level, it really is about the tone that you set, not just for the players,
but for the nation as well.
And everybody watching that game last night will have been of the opinion that as the leader, the head coach, it's your job to make the decisions
that justify the 5 million sterling, 6.7 million that you have been paid to take over from the guy who got to the European Championship final in 2024,
but couldn't get over the line.
You came in telling us you could get over the line. So, the fact that you didn't do it, and the fact that so many people saw that you were passive,
you stayed on defensive rather than offensive substitutes during the business end of the game that you are being paid the money for, I'm not
sure that it's fair or true to blame the players. I do blame the head coach.
ASHER: You know what? What I will say is this, I mean, Bianna mentioned this actually during the commercial break last hour to me, just the idea
that you have this sort of mental fortitude and the belief to be able to turn things around as you're approaching the last five, 10 minutes of a
game.
The fact that you can do that multiple times throughout this World Cup really does say that you are truly gifted as a team. I'm not just talking
about Messi, I'm just talking about the Argentine team as a whole.
But I do have to ask you about Sunday because there is this incredible -- these incredible photographs going around of Lionel Messi holding Lamine
Yamal. And can we actually pull it up? Holding Lamine Yamal as a baby. I can't remember how -- OK. We don't have the photos, but it's this amazing
sort of destiny, sort of photograph where the two men collide and just in terms of interacting with each other.
I think Lamine Yamal must have been less than one years old, Lionel Messi is holding him, it's incredible. But just talk to us about this matchup on
Sunday.
LEWIS: Well, you know, you set it up so well because you're talking about the 39-year-old OG, if you like, Lionel Messi, who lots of people, as I
said before, had written off against the boy who would be King Lamine Yamal, 19 years of age. He is electrifying when you see him play.
[12:30:01]
For his club side Barcelona, he's got the shirt on there. And for his international side, Spain, where he's already won the European Championship
as a teenager, he is an edge-of-the-seat player. You will understand why when you see him play on Sunday.
And so far during this tournament, he hasn't really caught fire in quite the same way that he did at the European Championship, all four his club
during the regular season.
But there is a big game in him, his manager, Luis de la Fuente, has insisted he could still catch fire in this tournament. Could it be Sunday?
That's why this game is so big, a big subplot between the youngster and the legend, but also between the European champions and the defending world
champions. It's a fantastic game to the best teams on the planet. I can't wait.
And thankfully, guys, we can all watch it as neutrals.
GOLODRYGA: Well, I'm rooting -- I'm rooting for Argentina, I have to say.
ASHER: And I will say, and I said this to Bianna a few minutes ago. For England to lose against anyone, I'm OK with it being Argentina, if that's
(INAUDIBLE).
GOLODRYGA: Let's just hope -- let's hope Yamal --
ASHER: I'll leave it at that.
LEWIS: You and me --
ASHER: Yes.
GOLODRYGA: Let's just hope Yamal learn his lesson and learn Jude Bellingham's lesson too, where you don't mouth off to Messi, because
something -- something ignited in him. I don't know if you saw that exchange, but that -- that turn -- that woke a sleeping dragon lion,
however you want to describe him, but he is a force, a force.
Darren Lewis, we'll talk to you Monday maybe, yes?
LEWIS: That's a big, a whole story.
GOLODRYGA: All right.
ASHER: Who are you rooting for? Did you say Darren? Who are you rooting for?
LEWIS: I think football will be the winner, Zain. I am going to sit very firmly on the fence.
ASHER: Neutral answer. OK. Thanks.
GOLODRYGA: It's been a great World Cup. Thanks, Darren.
ASHER: Thanks, Darren.
LEWIS: Thank you, guys.
ASHER: We'll be right back with more after this short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:35:01]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: And I'm Zain Asher.
Tonight, President Trump plans to use part of his primetime address to reveal what he says on new findings about election fraud and alleged
efforts by foreign nations to influence U.S. elections. It's an opportunity for him to dispute the 2020 election again, one that he lost to President
Biden.
On Wednesday CNN's Manu Raju asked the vice president what Republicans want Trump to focus on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANU RAJU, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of Republicans here want him to focus on the 2026 midterms and not to relitigate his claims about
the 2020 elections.
Would you encourage him to steer clear of those unfounded claims that he is actually the true victor of the 2020 elections?
VANCE: I'm obviously not going to get ahead of his remarks. But we can talk about a number of the American people's problems. We can solve a number of
the American people's problems. And that's exactly what we're going to work with our House colleagues and our Senate friends to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Sources say advisors have been debating whether to declassify a cache hay of documents related to China and its role in U.S. elections. The
speech begins at 9:00 P.M. Eastern.
All right. Time now for The Exchange. We're joined by Republican strategist Doug Heye. Doug was once the communications director at the Republican
National Committee. Doug, good to see you. We'll talk soccer in just a minute if we have time.
But -- but as it relates to tonight's address, this declassification is reportedly aimed at once again inciting urgency to pass the SAVE Act, the
voting legislation that then reformed that the president is so keen on passing and it's getting a lot of pushback from Republicans as well as
Democrats.
And -- and we know his own advisors from reporting are split on what he will actually focus on tonight, whether he will be declassifying
information on grounded intelligence, whether or not it's relevant to 2020 and its results. That's one question.
But there is a concern that he'll take it even further with conspiracy theories that have really been highlighted and -- and the priority of
people like Bill Pulte and journalist John Solomon for him to focus on tonight.
So, which -- which version, which side of the president's argument do you think we're going to hear, the intelligence or the -- the deeper conspiracy
theories?
DOUG HEYE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Oh, oh, it's probably going to be a mix of all of the above and even more.
One of the concerns that I've heard a lot so far today and -- and yesterday wasn't just what is the speech going to be about, but what does Donald
Trump say when he goes off script?
They're not necessarily concerned about the text, but what Trump sort of does on a impromptu basis. And we've seen him do this time and time again.
It's why Republicans -- it's one of the reasons why Republicans are nervous.
And look, if there's real evidence, then that's something that can be looked at. We know so often though that we see things that are brought up
as evidence. There's really not much there-there.
And as we're getting now closer and closer to, you know, the real heart of the election season, Republicans I'm talking to on Capitol Hill, they want
to hear the president talking about the elections, the ones that are coming, not the ones behind, but also what the thing that number one issue
that voters are talking about.
And Republicans and Democrats, for that matter, are hearing about from voters. And that's what things cost. And so if the president is going to
take a primetime address, we'll have to see what networks take that address.
But if he's going to take that time and not talk about the thing that voters are saying is important to them, it really runs a risk of -- of
sending the wrong message, not just to voters, but really hampering Republican candidates who will -- who will be on the ballot to talk about
what they want to talk about.
This is not -- if you're running for Senate in Texas or North Carolina or Maine, this is not what you want to be talking about.
ASHER: What should President Trump be talking about tonight? I mean, bearing in mind that the midterms are just a few months away. What are the
topics that he should be discussing if he is going to give a primetime address that really will energize voters, especially independents?
HEYE: Yes. It -- it comes down to costs and what people spend every day of their lives, whether they're buying a sandwich at lunch or going to the
grocery store, filling up their gas tank and everything that comes along with it.
And I think it's important for the president. And again, those Republicans who are on the ballot come November because Trump won't be on the ballot to
say, here's what we've done. Here's what we're trying to do and here's what we're going to continue to do.
Part of that also then obviously touches on what's going on with Iran and the president going back to the State of the Union address earlier this
year, missed a real opportunity to tell voters, here's what I want to do. Here's how we're going to do it. And here's how we define victory.
It's why we see so many voters have really turned against the actions in Iran because they don't have confidence that there's a real strategy there.
Like these are the number one and number two things that the president could do. He just doesn't seem to want to do them.
[12:40:59]
GOLODRYGA: Yes. He's called affordability and that issue itself, a hoax or -- or something that Democrats are focused on that doesn't -- that doesn't
express reality here in the states, though at other times he has acknowledged the prices and inflation.
Doug, voter I.D. tends to poll well with independents, with Republicans, even some Democrats here in the United States. The SAVE Act, of course, is
much stricter than that. And you've had the Republican Senate Majority Leader, John Thune, consistently telling the president that he does not
have the votes to get this passed.
Is there anything that you think the president can do tonight to change that, to -- to persuade voters, perhaps, that aren't as in tune with --
with the SAVE Act, that he can do given -- given that large audience that he may have?
HEYE: Yes. Most voters aren't really focused on -- on the SAVE Act. They're concerned with saving money. And it's what informs their life every day.
And I think what -- if the president leans in on this and spends 30 minutes talking about the SAVE Act, and even if voter I.D. is broadly important,
it's not something voters are talking about or thinking about every day the way that costs and prices are.
And so what the president ultimately may be doing is telling voters, I don't know what's important to you, but let me tell you what's important to
me. That doesn't help any Republican who's on the ballot come November.
GOLODRYGA: And it doesn't help in terms of just voter security with U.S. elections in general and confidence, even though repeatedly time and time
again, Republicans, Democrats, experts have said 2020 in that election was the safest in U.S. history and most secure.
Doug Heye, thank you so much.
HEYE: Thank you.
ASHER: Thanks, Doug.
All right. Sources tell CNN that the president's long time teleprompter operator is now under investigation for insider trading. The prediction
market, Kalshi, reported that Gabriel Perez reported him to federal officials.
GOLODRYGA: Perez allegedly made $90,000 on mentioned market trades where users can bet on words and phrases used by public figures and speeches.
CNN has a partnership with Kalshi and uses its data to cover major events.
ASHER: Marshall Cohen is joining us live now from Washington.
I mean, Marshall, this is a bit of a bizarre story. Just talk to us about what happened here, what we know about what Mr. Perez is accused of.
MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Hey, guys. This is a big deal. This is the first known instance, publicly known instance, of alleged insider
trading in the Trump White House.
Now, as you mentioned, the allegations relate to Gabriel Perez, the longtime teleprompter operator for President Trump, a trusted aide. Sources
tell me that he was allegedly trading on those mentioned markets on the Kalshi prediction site.
Those mentioned markets are very popular among political junkies, especially for Trump's speeches because you never know what he's going to
say. But if you're running the teleprompter, you probably have a good idea. And that is what allegedly occurred here to the tune of 90,000, maybe even
$100,000 or more of profits.
Now, Kalshi officials have said that they found these suspicious trades and referred the matter to the federal investigate -- the federal regulator for
prediction site. That's called the CFTC. This is not a criminal investigation. This would be a civil investigation run by the CFTC.
Now, the sources that I spoke with said that this person, this White House employee, is cooperating with the investigation. It's not clear at this
time if there is a criminal probe as well.
Now, we reached out to the White House for comment. We reached out to Perez for comment. We did not get a response.
But two things, number one, the White House previously earlier this year warned its employees against insider trading because these prediction
markets have been exploding in popularity. A warning was sent around to all staff earlier this year.
And number two, a White House spokesman said in a statement to ABC News, which broke this story today, that the White House, quote, has strict
ethics guidelines that we expect all staffers to follow. Guys?
ASHER: Yes. And as Bianna was just saying, it's like you go, you really cannot make this stuff up. I mean, the details of this story are incredibly
bizarre.
Marshall Cohen, live for us there. Thank you so much.
GOLODRYGA: Thank you.
Well, coming up, a stark warning from the International Energy Agency on the world's oil stockpiles after the onset of the war with Iran. We'll
bring you those details ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:25]
GOLODRYGA: All right. Let's go check on how the U.S. markets are doing right now. Red across the board. Just go down fractionally for the Dow and
the S&P 500. The NASDAQ down a little over one percent. This is your business breakout.
ASHER: The U.S. is imposing a new 25 percent tariff on some Brazilian imports starting next week. A year's long investigation found the country
engaged in unfair trade practices. Brazil's president calls the tariffs illegal and has vowed to seek a resolution through the WTO.
GOLODRYGA: India is ordering its seafarers to stay off ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz amid renewed hostilities in the region. Two
Indian sailors have been killed in recent drone attacks on shipping in and around the Strait. And an estimated 15,000 others remain stranded west of
the critical waterway.
ASHER: The International Energy Agency is warning that the world's crude oil stocks are depleting. According to the agency, the world is relying on
strategic oil stock files to absorb the loss of more than a billion barrels of oil since the start of the Iran war.
GOLODRYGA: CNN's Anna Stewart is following this story and joins us now from London.
And we know oil prices is something the president has been focused on. Oil supply is something that economists have been focused on around the world.
Just tell us a little bit more about this report.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the reasons we haven't seen oil prices much higher than they already are is due to strategic reserves.
And the IEA had released around 400 million barrels early this year to make up for the huge constraints around the Strait of Hormuz. And now we have
this warning.
Now, how long would it take for the IEA to run out of reserves? Quite a lot longer. Four hundred million is really a fraction of the 1.8 billion
barrels they actually hold in reserve.
And currently, it's not a situation where, you know, no oil is traded around the world at all. This is helping cushion what has been lost.
But there was a stern warning from the IEA. Here is the head of it. Fatih Birol speaking to Jim Sciutto.
FAITH BIROL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY: If the problem is not solved fully and if the Strait is not open unconditionally,
we may have some difficult days. So, we are prepared for that.
But I would say that the -- the global economy is not of the hook yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEWART: Not of the hook yet. And I think the concern here isn't maybe that the reserves, you know, run out anytime soon. It's just that will the world
be ready for any further geopolitical shocks when it comes to oil?
[12:50:04]
Clearly, we already had Russia Ukraine before Iran. You never know when the next shock is around the corner. And that's precisely what these reserves
are designed for. The design so every country effectively should have about a three month buffer if all global oil trades suddenly came to a stop.
It's one of many ways though that we have seen, you know, the world trying to get its way around not having the Strait of Hormuz fully reopened.
We also have some countries just producing more oil, the U.S., Brazil, Kazakhstan for example. China is relying more on its domestic supplies.
It's cutting refinery output.
And then you have some nations like Saudi Arabia in the Gulf just leaning more on a -- on a pipeline, the East-West pipeline. And there's talk about
that being expanded.
And I think if we ever get to a position where the Strait of Hormuz is fully reopened and it's hard to see when that would be, I think there will
be a massive redrawing of supply chains and the map when it comes to the trade of global oil.
Because as soon as a shock like this happens, frankly just day one of the Strait being effectively closed, this is now something investors and
traders are very concerned about ever happening again, so it's kind of baked in. So, I think we will see a redrawing of the map.
Currently, looking at that Strait, not many tankers passing through it. Yesterday, just 13 according to data from Kepler, that's about a tenth of
the traffic you would have seen before the war.
Of course, some ships are probably making that transverse, switching their transponders off, but we are nowhere near back to normal.
And there are concerns at this point about how oil is ever going to get back to a normal and how much cushioning can be done going forwards.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. So many vulnerabilities have been exposed in terms of alternate routes there and given the reliance on the Strait of Hormuz. And
despite the president saying it is open for business, that is not what we're seeing in terms of how many ships are passing through. Many insurers
are saying, this is way too risky.
Anna Stewart, thank you.
ASHER: Four more years, Anna. Four more years.
GOLODRYGA: Oh, World Cup.
ASHER: On a separate note, all right --
GOLODRYGA: Yes. Not four more years of covering the Strait, I hope. Yes.
ASHER: All right. Coming up, London fans line up to see not an English soccer superstar but his look alike. We'll introduce you to Jude
Bellingham's double when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. England's World Cup semi-final against Argentina may not have ended the way fans in London, and some fans in New York, may have
hoped, but they had some fun celebrating one of their team stars before the match.
[12:55:06]
GOLODRYGA: Yes. There was a look-alike contest to see who most resembled Jude Bellingham.
CNN's Robbie Hawken has more. This is Marcus. Does he look familiar? Well, he just won a Jude Bellingham lookalike contest. We're even-
And Robbie Hawken has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBBIE HAWKEN, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): This is Marcus. Does he look familiar? Well, he just won a Jude Bellingham lookalike contest. But even
Erling Haaland showed up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's quite nice, obviously. If I could be like Jude Bellingham, it's pretty great, right?
HAWKEN (voice-over): Jude Bellingham is one of England's soccer superstars. And so just hours before England played Argentina, this crowd gathered to
continue a now growing tradition of lookalike contests.
These guys all threw their hat in the ring, but it was 24-year-old Master's student Marcus, who is crowned the Bellingham doppelganger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just round the corner of the -- of my sister, and she's convinced I must come home. Yes, I think it was banned by her, if I'm
honest.
HAWKEN (voice-over): Marcus won a Beatles record, as Jude Bellingham's chant is "Hey Jude," and a food delivery voucher worth 1,966, as in 1966,
when England won the World Cup.
But most importantly of all --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you single?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am single.
HAWKEN (voice-over): Although maybe not for long.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: All right. That does it for "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
ASHER: I'm Zain Asher. Thank you so much for watching. "Amanpour" is up next after this quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
