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CNN Headlines: U.S.-Iran Finally Settle on a Deal; Dozen Killed After a Missouri Plane Crashes in One of the Deadliest U.S. Skydiving Incidents in Decades; Trump Hosts UFC at the White House on His 80th Birthday. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired June 15, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BRAD SMITH, ANCHOR, CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS: The U.S. and Iran have reached a deal. What this new agreement includes, and when it's set to go into effect. And a dozen people killed in one of the deadliest skydiving incidents in decades. What we're learning about the investigation this morning. And --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, buddy! Hey, buddy!
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SMITH: A missing child found just before nearly drowning in a river. How police were able to spot him. That's coming your way. Plus, President Trump hosts the first ever UFC event on the White House lawn. A look at the action and who was there.
Good morning, everyone, I'm Brad Smith, and this is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us. Let's get this started. Right now, President Trump is on Air Force One traveling to Europe for this week's G7 leaders' summit.
Now, Sunday, the President announced a breakthrough agreement with Iran. We are still waiting on more details. Joining us live now, CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann. Oren, what do we know about this deal and just how we got here?
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, President Donald Trump has been claiming for weeks that a deal was close. Now, finally, we're hearing that from Iran as well, the official signing is expected in Switzerland on Friday.
As for what's in the deal, well, that's an open question because neither the U.S. nor Iran have released the text of the Memorandum of Understanding. And that's key here, because both sides have claimed there's different parts to it.
The U.S. has said it includes Iran's ballistic missile program, its support for its regional proxies, Iran has said that's not in there. Instead, Iran has said it released -- it includes the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
The U.S. has said that's not in there. All we know that's agreed upon, at least, publicly, by the sides here, is that it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical waterways, and the U.S. will lift its blockade on Iranian ports.
And all that really means, Brian(ph), is that it resets the Strait of Hormuz to how it was before the war. And that will tick off 60 days of negotiations on the much harder issues of the nuclear program in Iran and more.
SMITH: Oren, while we have you, we've seen ongoing fighting in Lebanon. What does an agreement with Iran mean for the conflict there?
LIEBERMANN: Another excellent question. The expectation is that Iran has demanded a ceasefire in Lebanon as part of a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. But we don't know what's required of Israel, who's been fighting there with Iran's proxy Hezbollah as part of the ceasefire.
Israel has made clear it is not part of the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran. And Israeli officials have said they refuse to withdraw Israeli forces from southern Lebanon as part of an agreement.
Now, Trump has demanded that Israel stops attacking Lebanon, and that Hezbollah stops attacking Israel, except he's made that demand before, back in mid-April, and it fell apart within days. So, it's just one more complicated element to already difficult negotiations ahead.
SMITH: Oren, thank you so much. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem, we appreciate the update. Well, global oil prices reacted immediately to news of a peace agreement. Here's a look at where they stand this hour.
You've got Brent Crude at about $83 a barrel, WTI, that is at $80, and these are among the lowest oil prices that we've seen since the start of the conflict with Iran.
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TOM KLOZA, CHIEF ENERGY ADVISER, GULF OIL: It's pretty easy to predict that we're going to see lower numbers in the next couple of weeks. We're already down about 10 cents overnight. And the retail profits have been much higher than normal.
The refiner profits have been much higher than normal, and they'll probably come down to more normal levels. So, I wouldn't be surprised if the average price in the country is, you know, $3.75 later this month, or even before July 4th.
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SMITH: Overnight, the average price of a gallon of gas had continued the downward trend that we've been seeing in recent days. This morning, coming in at $4.07, we'll keep an eye on gas prices as the deal's details come into focus in the hours and days to come.
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Let's turn now to a developing situation out of central Kyiv. A deadly overnight Russian attack, it sparked a massive fire and nearly 1,000- year-old Ukrainian monastery is where these flames erupted. Video showing those flames raging at the UNESCO World Heritage site.
France's Foreign Minister says the attack is like bombing Notre Dame. Ukrainian officials say at least, four people have been killed and more than 20 wounded in the Russian attack. At least, five others were killed in the northeastern city of Kharkiv.
Hours after announcing the agreement with Iran, President Trump joined thousands of people to watch the UFC fighters. They were brawling inside a massive cage just steps away from the White House. He had long promised to bring the mixed martial arts event to the White House as part of the country's 250th anniversary celebration, which this event, it also fell on Trump's 80th birthday.
As far as the action goes, it was a wild night of wild knockouts. American Justin Gaethje was crowned the new lightweight champion after dethroning Ilia Topuria. Now, UFC commentator Joe Rogan called it, quote, "one of the biggest upsets in the history of the sport".
And another shock came when a fighter from France knocked out one of the biggest stars in UFC to capture the interim heavyweight belt. And President Trump wasn't the only VIP in attendance. CNN's Kit Maher reports on which big name of guests actually attended the event.
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KIT MAHER, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER & PRODUCER (on camera): You score a ticket, Shane(ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I swear I don't know.
MAHER: Several VIP guests were spotted walking the streets of D.C. to get beyond these fences into the South Lawn for the UFC fight tonight, including Kid Rock, the CEO of Kalshi, the co-founder of Reddit, who also happens to be Serena Williams husband.
Several members of Congress and other members of the administration were spotted to get to the South Lawn just across these gates. Other people spotted were NFL players, NFL hall of famer Michael Irvin.
Another guest at this UFC fight was Sharon Simmons who DoorDash something to the Oval Office for President Trump earlier this year.
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SMITH: Well, today, NTSB investigators, they're arriving in Missouri to try and find out what led to one of the deadliest U.S. skydiving plane crashes in decades. Twelve people were killed after the plane went down shortly after takeoff Sunday in Butler.
Officials say that nine of the victims were experienced skydivers, while two were set to participate in tandem jumps. They also add that some family members were watching from the ground below.
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REP. MARK ALFORD (R-MO): This is tough. It's a -- it's a beautiful day here. Blue skies, green grass, people out enjoying something that I think some of these were first-time skydivers, preparing to skydive in a tandem formation.
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SMITH: The airport manager believes that the pilot may have been trying to land on the highway after losing power, but the investigation could take years to determine what went wrong. Well, voters in several states head to the polls for primary elections tomorrow.
D.C. and Oklahoma, they have some races to watch here, and there's also a runoff in Alabama. Now, in Georgia, Trump-backed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and billionaire Rick Jackson, they're facing off in a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor.
Whoever wins will take on Democrat and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms in November. Big day on the ice as the Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions for the first time in 20 years.
Carolina beat the Vegas Golden Knights in a 3-0 shutout last night's game six took place. I watched the Canes won the series with three straight victories after trailing earlier in the final.
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SMITH: Oh, man, just a raucous scene back in Raleigh. Fans flooded the streets and celebrated late into the night as the hurricanes captured their second Stanley Cup title in franchise history. Now, meanwhile, basketball fans in the basketball Mecca in New York still buzzing over their championship after the Knicks won the NBA finals on Saturday. Players could be heard partying aboard their flight home from San Antonio.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, let the guys know, New York TRACON, LaGuardia Tower, Kennedy Tower, maybe even Newark Tower, Westchester Tower, we're all -- we all had about 3 to 4 hours of sleep, but as happy as we could ever be, congrats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, for sure, they were, they finally settled down about 30 minutes ago. But before that, those players pretty excited bunch back there.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SMITH: The celebrations for the team's first title since 1973 are far from over. The city is going to hold a ticker tape extravaganza for the Knicks on Thursday. We've got a lot more to get to this morning on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
A serious illness sent several newborns to the hospital. And now, there's a recall on one kind of baby formula, we'll give you the details. Plus, new video out of Texas where downpours turned streets into rivers.
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More of the video like that and the full story coming your way. Plus, what's in a name? The Kennedy Center says that President Trump's name has been removed from the building. But now there are new questions about what is behind that tarp. That's all.
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SMITH: We have a violent update to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. At least, 16 people have been killed and several others are missing after rebels with Allied Democratic Forces attacked an eastern Congolese town.
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The violence comes as the country tries to navigate the outbreak. Officials have confirmed at least 550 Ebola cases with 100 deaths being blamed on the virus. Earlier this month, the World Health Organization announced a $518 million partnership to help fight Ebola over the next six months.
Nara Organics is voluntarily recalling this powdered infant formula after at least, three babies were hospitalized with botulism. There are no reported deaths, and for more information, you can go to nora.com or fda.gov.
The water in that newly-renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has turned green from residual algae. CNN's Brian Todd explains why it's still a work in progress.
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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The water here at the Reflecting Pool in Washington is still green, that is algae that's at the bottom of the Reflecting Pool. This is just days after the Trump administration touted that the Reflecting Pool is renovated, and it's going to look better than ever.
It still could look better than ever, but it's a work in progress. The algae at the bottom still bad enough that they felt like they had to send at least four workers from the National Park Service physically into the water with hip waders on a Sunday to use brooms and other instruments to sweep the algae from the bottom toward the nano- bubbling machines. The nano-bubbling machines pump nanobubbles, tiny bubbles of oxygen
into the water. Those tiny bubbles of oxygen kill off the food supply for algae. So, they're trying to sweep the bottom algae toward the nano-bubbling machines and kill off the algae for good.
There is still some plume algae, tiny pockets of it that is at the surface at the east end of the Reflecting Pool. But again, the Trump administration says any algae that's left is residual algae from supply lines that were lying dormant for eight weeks during construction.
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SMITH: The Kennedy Center says it has fully removed President Trump's name from its building. That is according to a court document from the center's executive director. A judge had granted the center's request for additional time to fully remove Trump's name after the organization missed the initial deadline.
Workers began early Saturday morning after draping a covering around the scaffolding, blocking the view of their progress. But still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell is still in the hospital this morning. What we've learned about his condition. Plus --
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, don't move, don't move, don't move --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be gone, sure, close to four --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it, all right, good.
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SMITH: You remember this man's story? That man rescued from the rubble after a tornado destroyed his home? He has quite the story to tell. Stay tuned.
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SMITH: Stunning images overnight from Waco, Texas. Take a look at this car, it looks like it's in a river, not a residential street. First responders are on the job rescuing people stranded by the high water. More rains and storms, they're in store for parts of Texas. Here's Melissa Nord with your forecast.
MELISSA NORD, METEOROLOGIST: Storm moves out of the northeast for Monday, but we're watching a new area along the Gulf Coast for a lot of showers and thunderstorms to set up shop over the next several days this work week.
And it's all from the remnants of a tropical system. Tropical Storm Cristina from the eastern Pacific, now over northeastern Mexico, has a low chance of development as it moves back over the gulf by mid to late week this week.
But look at all the moisture moving northward. It will first start over Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi through the first part of the week and then move its way eastward by the end of the week. So, when things are said and done, we're going to see a lot of areas that end up with 3 inches to 5 inches of rainfall.
But there could be locally-isolated spots that could hit double-digit rainfall totals all the way through the end of the work-week. So, watching there this week, the potential for flash-flooding. Now, meanwhile, no flash-flooding, but a lot of heat building and continuing to start the week along the west coast.
We saw several records that were tied or broken on Sunday and Monday. Again, we could see some more areas close to some records. You can see here on the map; these are all of the heat advisories and extreme heat warnings in effect for Monday.
High temperature in Seattle, 89 degrees, 96 in Portland, Medford 102. And even in Reno, 96 degrees there. And this is going to impact some World Cup fans that are out there spectating or actually at some of these matches.
On Monday, for example, Seattle, 12 O'clock, this is an open-air stadium, local time there, 3 O'clock Eastern Time, we're expecting temperatures to be in the 80s, for that humidity, though, not too incredibly high.
SMITH: Thank you, Melissa. Now, to last week's destructive tornado that ripped apart 11 homes in this neighborhood. The National Weather Service has confirmed that it was an EF-3 tornado with winds of at least 136 miles per hour.
CNN affiliate "WLS" spoke with the man seen here, buried in the wreckage of his own home, and learn more about his lucky rescue.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God, are you OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think I got a broken leg.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Sixty-five-year-old Gary Rymek trapped under debris inside his home after a tornado ripped through it. His ankle shattered, but almost miraculously, he lives to tell about it today.
GARY RYMEK, TORNADO SURVIVOR: The door flew out of my hand and then everything just started falling apart. I'm just very thankful I'm alive that we are. Because what we went through, what we've seen, we thought during the time that it was not -- we weren't going to make it.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rymek helped free his wife who called for help, and a freelance photographer who was in the area heard the cries.
SCOTT LASKER, FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER: I was able to get it off of half of his body to give him a little bit of comfort until the police showed up with a couple of guys that were able to slide him out.
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SMITH: Just a miraculous rescue there. Four people from that neighborhood were taken to the hospital, all with a non-life- threatening injuries. There is a new artificial intelligence program, and it's helping a Utah mosquito abatement company find thousands of storms drains they didn't even know existed.
Crews in Provo have been dropping treatment packages to prevent mosquito-borne illnesses. The city believed that there were only about 50,000 drains to be serviced, but an A.I. program analyzed high resolution photos and found there were 25,000 more that were not in the existing database.
Quite the project ahead. Straight ahead as well on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, more on the major breakthrough between the U.S. and Iran. We've got the details on the agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Plus, the tragic skydiving plane crash in Missouri. What we know now as investigators try to piece together what went wrong. That's coming your way.
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