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What We Know with Max Foster

Hospital In Gaza: At Least 41 Killed In Israel Strike On Cafe; Senate Holding Marathon Vote On Trump Domestic Agenda Bill; Iran's U.N. Ambassador: We Will Never Stop Enriching Uranium; What Was the Suspect's Motive In Idaho Shooting?; President Trump Blasts Fed Chair Over Interest Rates; Temperatures In Parts Of Europe Soar Above 40 Degrees Celsius; Jury Deliberation Underway In Sean "Diddy" Combs Trial. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 30, 2025 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:26]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Israel's military says Palestinian civilians have been harmed at aid sites. This as dozens are killed in Gaza after Israel

bombed a cafe.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

The death toll is still rising from that devastating attack on the cafe in Gaza City. A hospital official now says at least 41 people were killed. He

says most of the casualties are women and children. Many female students were reportedly at the cafe to access the internet. The IDF says its

looking into the strike.

Meanwhile, amid growing international condemnation of the deaths of Palestinians seeking food in Gaza, Israel's military says it's now

reorganized access to aid sites. The Palestinian health ministry says more than 500 people have been killed as they approached aid trucks or sites

since May 27th.

Last Friday, the U.N. secretary general demanded the killing stop, saying the search for food must never be a death sentence. A "Haaretz" report says

soldiers have acknowledged firing at unarmed Palestinians waiting for aid, and says they were ordered to do it. The IDF strongly denies that.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv.

There clearly, though, Jeremy, not denying that there's a problem with the system now they're looking at it.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. That's right. I mean, the Israeli government here, in taking these steps with these aid sites,

the military, I should say, you know, they are not explicitly acknowledging what we have seen on a daily basis now, which is Palestinians being shot

and killed by Israeli troops as they are on their way to these aid distribution sites.

But by simply acknowledging that they are having to reorganize and that there have been incidents near these aid sites, they are at least

acknowledging to a certain extent that a problem exists, and one that they say that they are trying to solve.

Now, the Israeli military says that they've put several new measures in place. They've added fencing around the centers. They've installed warning

signs, set up barriers to control vehicle access. They also seem to have shut down the Tel al-Sultan site, which was the site of that first aid

shooting that you may remember, which we actually subsequently investigated and found that it was likely Israeli troops who fired on Palestinians who

were heading to that site.

That site has been shut down. It's being moved, they say, in order to reduce, quote, friction with the population, which is effectively a

euphemism for saying -- for talking about these violent incidents that have taken place between the Israeli military and Palestinian civilians trying

to reach the aid.

FOSTER: Tell us about this cafe and what we know about what happened there. The images are absolutely shocking.

DIAMOND: Yeah, another horrific attack that has taken place in Gaza. More than 41 -- at least 41 people, I should say, have now been killed,

according to the director of al-Shifa Hospital, 75 people injured. And you can see in the footage from the aftermath of that strike, just the scale of

the destruction in what was clearly a crowded cafe in the middle of the day at a time, and a place where people, including journalists, students and

others were trying to access the Internet. This was one of the places in Gaza City where people would go to try and be able to access the Internet,

which has been very spotty throughout Gaza over the course of this war.

And indeed, one of those who was killed in this strike was a freelance journalist, Ismail Abu Hattab, who was killed in this strike. The

government media office in Gaza now says that he becomes the 228th journalist who have been killed over the course of this war. Weve asked the

Israeli military numerous times for comment on this particular strike at this cafe. They said that they are looking into it, but nothing else for

now -- Max.

FOSTER: Jeremy, appreciate it. Thank you for bringing us that.

Well, Israel's military says settlers have vandalized and set fire to an Israeli security site in the West Bank. Meanwhile, it's unclear if this is

the same military site where settlers demonstrated earlier on Sunday. The IDF arrested six Israeli settlers over the weekend for allegedly assaulting

soldiers, says the soldiers tried to stop a group from heading towards a closed military zone near a Palestinian village that was attacked by

settlers last week.

On the U.S. Senate floor right now, a marathon voting session over changes to President Donald Trump's so-called Big, Beautiful Bill, which lays out

his massive domestic policy agenda. The president is calling a no vote on the legislation the ultimate betrayal.

[15:05:01]

Republican Thom Tillis slammed the bill, later announcing that he won't seek reelection.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): What do I tell 663,000 people in two years or three years when President Trump breaks his promise by pushing them off of

Medicaid because the funding is not there anymore? It is inescapable that this bill, in its current form, will betray the very promise that Donald J.

Trump made in the Oval Office or in the cabinet room when I was there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: In the Senate version of the bill, many Medicaid recipients would be facing work or volunteer requirements of at least 80 hours a month. More

paperwork will be required to apply, with less time to file those applications.

Under the House plan, the debt ceiling will be raised by $4 trillion, while the Senate version would add $5 trillion.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is on Capitol Hill for us.

Is this changing shape as we go through this process, and how likely is it to be finally approved, would you say, from what you're hearing, Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Max, the senators are currently in five and a half -- close to over 5-1/2 hours of voting in this marathon

voting session on President Trump's agenda bill. Now, this so-called vote- a-rama allows for senators to introduce amendments to the bill. So far, we have seen a number of amendments that have been introduced by the

Democratic side, hoping that they could make -- have these votes on some politically tough issues for Republicans. But we are anticipating a number

of key Republican provisions to also be voted on a bit later today, or perhaps in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

Now, some of those senators to watch include Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who is expected to introduce an amendment relating to the federal match for

states who had expanded Medicaid under President Obama. Senator Susan Collins of Maine is also expected to introduce some amendments, one

relating to rural hospitals.

And then there's a lot of attention being paid to Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Senate leaders had actually introduced two provisions that would

have benefited her state. But the Senate parliamentarian had ruled that those could not move forward.

Now, there's a very complicated math for the Senate at this time, as they can only afford to lose three Republican votes in order to pass the

president's bill. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was asked earlier today whether he thinks the votes will be there. And he said, we will know soon

enough.

Over the weekend, two Republicans voted against advancing this bill. That's Senator Rand Paul and Senator Thom Tillis, who then went within a day,

later announced that he would not be seeking reelection in his state of North Carolina.

So there's still a lot of math that needs to be worked out, a lot more work that needs to be done to get this bill across the finish line in the

Senate. And then if it does pass the Senate, this bill still has to go back over to the House, and they will have to approve all the changes that were

made. There are conservative Republicans in the House who believe that the current senate bill does not do enough to address spending cuts. There are

others who think that the cuts that the Senate is making on Medicaid go way too far.

So, this is -- these are all some dynamics that House Speaker Mike Johnson will then need to deal with once this gets over to the house and President

Trump has this self-imposed deadline of July 4th, that is this coming Friday. So, they are really racing to try to get this across the finish

line, not just in the Senate, but then over in the House a bit later in the week.

FOSTER: All right. Thank you. It's going to be a long few days ahead.

We're going to turn to CNN politics senior reporter now, Stephen Collinson, because Stephen, I think people are really getting the sense that this is a

very defining bill for the president. But certainly, outside the country, people are very confused about what's actually in the bill. It seems so

wide-ranging. I have to admit, I'm pretty confused by it as well.

Are you able to give us, you know, some of the headlines so people can understand what it actually means?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Right. So, what's happening here is that the Republicans are pretty much throwing all of

Trump's agenda into one massive bill, from immigration to health care to tax cuts. The reason for that is, is because the House majority is so slim

that many people believe that it could only bear really one or two divisive bills, that it could actually pass. So, the reason it's called a Big,

Beautiful Bill is that Trump was forced to put everything in it, rather than acting as the congress is supposed to act, which is passing a bill on

every different policy area.

So, what it does is it extends the tax cuts that Bush -- that Trump passed in his first term, that it makes them permanent. The problem with that is a

lot of people aren't going to see that much of a difference in their pay packet because they're getting those tax cuts already.

It puts billions of dollars towards Trump's border security initiative, creates more camps for arrested migrants, would build the wall, would

employ more border agents.

[15:10:11]

That's a key part of Trump's agenda.

The Medicaid thing is very interesting because Medicaid is the program for low income Americans who can't afford to buy into the private U.S.

healthcare system. In the U.S., you get your healthcare, it's linked to your job. It's not like a state healthcare system for everyone.

If you get a job that doesn't have healthcare or you don't have a job, you can sometimes get Medicare -- Medicaid. Medicare is a program for seniors.

So, you can see how confusing this whole thing is.

What the government is trying to do is put more of the burden for financing that on the states, and it's making it more difficult to get Medicaid in

the first place. So, you can see where these numbers come, the various groups are saying that about 11 million people could lose their health

care, and that could be very you know, unpopular.

So, so many different things in this bill. The bottom line is, is this is massively important for Trump's prestige and his authority. It's his best

chance to push into law all of the things he said he would do, all of the MAGA, make America great agenda that he said he would do on the campaign

trail.

So that's why it's so important, very important for his legacy. The problem is it's very unpopular because of some of the measures I spoke about,

especially to do with health care. So, if you're a member of the House and you're a vulnerable member of the House, you could end up voting for this

bill and you're actually signing the end of your career because you could get turfed out by the voters in the midterm elections next year.

FOSTER: Yeah, I was wondering about your conversations with senators because it is so wide-ranging. It's a gamble, isn't it, for President

Trump, because there are some senators that might agree with parts of it but not others. And this is where they get in such a difficult position

with it.

But would you say this is a legitimate strategy for the president just to roll it all together and say, you'll get some of what you like, some of

what you don't like, but this is the way it's going to go, as opposed to breaking it up?

COLLINSON: Yeah. I don't think there's any chance that you could do, say, ten bills through the Congress and keep support for them. So you've got to

try and jam lawmakers into voting something that they don't like. And you're giving something they do like congress is basically pretty much

dysfunctional. It can't most years even pass a budget in good time, let alone a massive presidential agenda.

The other part of this, of course, is that Trump is hugely powerful in the Republican Party. He can bring to bear his authority on these lawmakers.

They're, A, scared of Trump, and they're, B, scared of Trump's supporters. So even if they don't like a lot of what's in this bill, and they feel like

it could make them vulnerable to Democrats in the elections, they're going to go for it anyway.

And this whole thing is a Republican on Republican war, because the Republicans control the House, the Senate and the White House. Democrats

have got no chance to stop it going into law. What they're trying to do today is put up amendments, which they can then say, well, you voted for

this. If you're a Republican lawmaker, you voted against more health care for Americans so they can use that in ads, for example, before the midterm

elections.

What's going to be really key to this bill is not just what happens when it goes into force, what are its effects? It's which of the parties can

message it the best to use it in the midterm elections, when Democrats really are trying to take back the House and grab a foothold, if you like

to, to try to slow the Trump presidency after November 2026.

FOSTER: Stephen Collinson, thank you so much.

COLLINSON: Thanks.

FOSTER: Only you can explain it so clearly.

The White House, meanwhile, saying that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program continues, this as Iran's ambassador to the U.N. says his

country's uranium enrichment will never stop because Iran has what he calls an inalienable right to do so for peaceful activity. The comments on CBS

News came a week after the U.S. launched strikes on key Iranian nuclear sites.

Now, despite Donald Trump's claims that those attacks set back Iran's nuclear ambitions by decades, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency

tells CBS Iran could begin enriching uranium again within months.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there. It is clear

that there has been severe damage, but it's not total damage, first of all. And secondly, Iran has the capacities, their industrial and technological

capacities. So, if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Natasha Bertrand is at the Pentagon.

Obviously, very sensitive, secretive talks at this stage, aren't they? But it's pretty clear that Iran wont buckle on this key element for it, which

is uranium enrichment. But obviously, that's the part of it that Israel and the U.S. are most concerned about.

[15:15:03]

So, you know, how are they going to make any progress?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the big question. And actually, despite these massive U.S. military strikes on

these nuclear facilities inside Iran earlier this month, we have already seen the Iranians try to access the remnants of those facilities,

particularly at Fordow and Isfahan, where there is believed to be enriched uranium, that Iran has been storing, particularly at Isfahan, where the

U.S. did not use one of those massive bunker buster bombs because, according to testimony that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan

Caine gave to lawmakers last week behind closed doors, it just is too deep. And these massive bunker buster bombs would not have actually penetrated

those very deep surfaces where that enriched uranium is believed to be stored.

And so, one thing that Republicans and Democrats both came out of the briefing last week agreeing on is that the stockpiles of Iran's enriched

uranium have not been totally and completely obliterated. And that is, of course, a very key component, not the key component that Iran will need to

make a nuclear weapon. Now, the other question that is still being assessed by the intelligence community is the status of the centrifuges, because

those, of course, are also necessary to enrich uranium to get closer to a nuclear weapon. And that is still to be determined whether those

underground centrifuges at places like Fordow, where there were those bunker buster bombs used against that facility, whether they have been

fully demolished.

And so, right now, the intelligence community is continuing to assess what the overall picture is of Iran's nuclear program. But from Rafael Grossi's

comments there, the head of the IAEA, and in conjunction with that very early intelligence report that we and others reported on last week from the

Defense Intelligence Agency, as of right now, early intelligence does suggest that Iran's nuclear program has been set back by a matter of

months. And they could if they wanted to reconstitute that.

Now, the president and his supporters, they will say that it has gotten extremely difficult, at least for the Iranians, to try to do that, just

given the sheer amount of damage that was done to these facilities, at the very least, on the surface level, because it's going to impede the Iranians

from getting down under -- underneath and actually accessing the centrifuges. The Iranians, the uranium, whatever it may be.

But still, you know, we have seen a number of different voices here push back on the president's assertions that their nuclear program, in and of

itself, has been completely and totally wiped off the map to where they can't actually try to create a nuclear weapon ever again if they wanted to,

Max.

FOSTER: Natasha, thank you.

To Idaho now where the suspect in an ambush attack on firefighters has been identified. Investigators say he's 20 years old, Wess Roley.

The surprise attack happened on Sunday in the town of Coeur d'Alene. Firefighters were responding to a brush fire on a nearby mountain. That's

when a sniper started shooting at the first responders, killing two. Police exchanged gunfire with the suspect for about 90 minutes. Hours later,

police learned he was dead.

What we don't know, what was the suspect's motive here?

Joining me now is CNN's Marybel Gonzalez.

Obviously, it's very early days in the investigation, but it does seem bizarre that someone would be targeting firefighters who are obviously

always seen as heroes in the community. What do we understand?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Max, that is definitely the answer that not only authorities are trying to figure out and get to the

bottom of, the motive that drove this suspected shooter to ambush these firefighters, but it's also the answer that the small community of Coeur

d'Alene is also seeking. We've heard from many people here, including the local sheriff, that this is a tight knit community that supports their

local law enforcement as well as their first responders. And so, for them, this kind of attack is just simply unheard of and very difficult to

comprehend.

Now, the latest in this investigation, from what we know, is that there has been a suspect identified. You mentioned 20-year-old Wess Roley. We don't

know much about him, but we do know how authorities were able to get to him.

So, they were able to ping his location using his cell phone. Apparently, this signal was consistent in one area for several hours and using

helicopters with snipers inside of them, they were able to locate the exact location of that suspect. That suspect did exchange fire -- crossfire with

police officers, for law enforcement here, but it's still unclear how he died.

When asked yesterday, the sheriff said during a press conference that they're still investigating whether the suspect shot himself, whether he

was killed by the shooting of law enforcement. That is still unclear. They did find him, however, next to a weapon that was -- that was found nearby.

[15:20:00]

Now, as far as what we think is going to happen in the next few hours and even currently happening right now, a former intelligence officer told CNN

that right now, they're probably looking to see if there was any sort of conflict or any sort of rife between the suspect and any local law

enforcement, and then they're going to be looking at the broader picture. Was there any sort of ideology against law enforcement, that sort of thing?

That is the investigation that is currently ongoing.

And we do expect to hear from the local sheriff here in just a few hours to give us an update into this investigation. But right now, the investigators

are also battling a different challenge, and that is the containment of the brush fire that was allegedly started by the suspected shooter to hone in

those firefighters. That fire growing overnight from 15 to 20 acres, to now 26 acres, according to the latest information -- Max.

FOSTER: Gonzalez, really appreciate you bringing the latest on that shocking scene and everyone so puzzled about it.

Now, when it comes to the U.S. Fed chairman Donald Trump has made his opinion known about him. Coming up, the latest slam on social media.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: U.S. President Donald Trump continues to blast Fed Chair Jerome Powell over interest rates. A short while ago, he posted this message on

social media and included a screenshot of a handwritten note calling him Jerome "too late" Powell.

President Trump says the Federal Reserve should have interest rates at 1 percent.

The White House press secretary explained why Mr. Trump sent the note.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: We have interest rates that are still too high. So, the president sent this note to the Fed chair

today. And if you look at this chart, this is a chart of all of the interest rates of many countries throughout the world. It says, Jerome, you

are, as usual, too late. You have cost the USA a fortune and continue to do so. You should lower the rate by a lot. Hundreds of billions of dollars are

being lost and there is no inflation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Let's bring in Justin Wolfers, economics professor at the University of Michigan, trying to make sense of all this for us because --

I mean, you need to be a professor to look at that list of world interest rates and compare the U.S. to it.

There aren't parallels directly, are there, with other countries you can make as simple as that? Or am I wrong?

JUSTIN WOLFERS, ECONOMICS & PUBLIC POLICY PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Oh, no, this is -- let's just call it what it is, which is

silly. It's silly, but it's dangerous.

It's dangerous not because President Trump gets to set interest rates. Thank goodness. That's Jay Powell's job. And he has a terrific staff and a

large number of independent economists helping him. But it's dangerous because President Trump gets to choose Jay Powell's successor in just a few

months.

And if he were to, for instance, say in the interview, your only job is to cut interest rates by three percentage points to a level that no economist

who's alive right now thinks is defensible, that could cause a lot of very, very bad economic outcomes.

FOSTER: Just explain, you know, if rates were suddenly reduced to 1 percent, as the president would like to see what impact that would have on

the economy in America.

WOLFERS: Yeah. So, the first thing we should realize is what matters for the economy is what's called the real interest rate. So, we subtract

inflation. And that would say that inflation is about 2-1/2 percent. So that would say the real interest rate would be negative, minus 1-1/2

percent. That's the sort of interest rate that normally would make sense if the economy had just absolutely cratered and you were trying to get it out

of a recession.

Now, we're not in that position right now, thank goodness. So, if you were to suddenly cut interest rates like this, it would stimulate growth. That's

a -- that's good news. But very quickly run into bottlenecks. And already, we're seeing bottlenecks in the economy. That in turn would spur inflation.

And the problem is if the president remains wedded to this low interest rate idea, if inflation starts to rise and he keeps interest rates low,

that then can cause an inflationary spiral. So let me just share with you what this reminds me of, President Erdogan in Turkey also is a bloke who

loves low interest rates. Sometimes these folks, they skip graduate -- they skip economics class and just decide they love low interest rates.

He appointed a loyalist to head the Turkish central bank and inflation very quickly rose from fairly normal levels up to 86 percent. And right now,

it's 38 percent. Look, I don't think the U.S. is on the cusp of that right now, but if Trump were to insist on these sorts of policies, that's exactly

the script that we'd follow.

FOSTER: You followed him as I have. He often says things which don't -- he doesn't follow through with. He might just want a reduction in interest

rates. And he's saying 1 percent because he wants to get some momentum behind it. But is the challenge for you also that he's undermining the

credibility of the bank, which is obviously so vital to confidence in the U.S. economy?

WOLFERS: Look, if this is an old man and his house sitting around saying random words about what should happen to interest rates, then no harm, no

foul. There's actually lots of old men sitting around in their underwear right now talking about interest rates, saying all sorts of crazy things.

And if Jay Powell and the Fed have enough independence that they can afford to ignore the old man who happens to be the one in the White House, then

this isn't a problem. But that's why I want to highlight the most important problem here is the White House does have a critically important role, not

as the complainer in chief, but as the appointer of the next Fed chair.

And the more the president seems to say this, the more he seems to actually believe it, in which case he can imagine what the interview for the next

Fed chair is going to look like. It's not going to be, do you understand the economy? Do we share goals for the American people? It's going to be

will you cut interest rates and keep them low for as long as they want them?

If he does that, then this is a very, very serious mistake indeed. Now you might say he's gone so far through his presidency and not made mistakes on

the Fed, but I want to remind you that at the end of the Trump presidency, early on, he made very good appointments to the Federal Reserve board. But

later on, he started to try to appoint cranks and charlatans, people like Judy Shelton and Stephen Moore, who are just not recognized as mainstream

economists. And so, if he reverts back to this form and the senate doesn't stop him, then yeah, we're in a real trouble.

FOSTER: But isn't there a simpler idea of looking at this? He says he wants someone that's going to reduce interest rates. Then he announces

someone early. You would assume that that person has agreed to reduce interest rates.

So that's an indication that as soon as Powell leaves, you're going to see interest rates falling and the reaction is going to come through straight

away.

WOLFERS: Look, it's a question for people to have integrity in a moment like that. So, if Trump were to appoint a very serious economist, maybe

they are going to parrot some words to get the appointment and then to do the right thing at the right moment. But if he appoints a charlatan or a

crank or someone who's willing to do his bidding no matter what, then yes, the signal of that appointment is going to be very, very dangerous straight

away. It means no matter what the current Fed does between now and then isn't going to matter because it's all going to be in the shadow of knowing

there's a charlatan or a crank taking over down the road.

[15:30:05]

And the single best way to create inflation in an economy and the single best way to destroy an economy is to pull a shot -- is to put a charlatan

in charge of the central bank.

FOSTER: Justin Wolfers, thank you so much. Really appreciate that.

Still to come, President Trump turns up the heat on Republicans to pass his Big, Beautiful Bill. But will there be enough votes in the Senate to get it

done?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: In the U.S. Senate this hour, the debate, the deal making, the arm twisting, all over President Donald Trump's mega domestic policy bill he

hopes will define his second term in office. But will there be enough Republican support to pass it? Two members of the president's own party say

they plan to vote no.

And Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski has voted with Democrats on several key amendments. It's not clear how she'll vote on the legislation. Every

count, every vote really does count.

So what we want to know is what exactly is in Trump's Big, Beautiful Bill.

Joining me now is Margaret Talev, senior contributor at "Axios".

And you've had to pile through it. And it's quite a document.

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS: It's around a thousand pages a little bit of light reading, you know, on a hot summer day. And the truth

is that in theory, it could even change again, although, you know, look, at this point, everyone who thinks they've read it may still find surprises

later.

But let's talk about the broad strokes of what we believe this legislation will do. First and foremost, it raises the debt ceiling by a whopping $5

trillion.

[15:35:04]

That's a lot of money. It extends those tax cuts that President Trump passed the first time around in 2017. And it does some other things. It

gives some of these temporary taxes on tips and overtime that he promised. It beefs up spending for border security and some energy production.

But let's talk about how this gets paid for, gets paid for by massive cuts to Medicaid. The program that provides health insurance and some social

safety net benefits for poorer Americans or Americans with disabilities.

This could leave up to 12 million people who are now insured without insurance. And that is the big sticking point for a lot of these Republican

senators, who at this point, are prepared to go along with it, but very concerned about what it could mean for their party in the midterm

elections.

FOSTER: What, for you is the most profound part of this? You know, the part that people will feel the most? Is it the actually the debt ceiling?

Because, as you say, it's huge. And, you know, at some point this debts got to be paid.

TALEV: Yeah, at some point. And it's pretty astonishing if you just look at the last five years, the debt ceiling has increased about 50 percent.

So, if you put that on a chart, you know, you can see which direction that curve is going. If you take the number of Americans around 350 million and

divide it into the debt, which is now what a debt ceiling is at around $37 trillion, you can do the math. That's a little more than $100,000 per

person.

So, it is on a path to become exponential. The reason those 2017 tax cuts had a sunsetting period, which would be at the end of this year, is because

there was no way to pay for them. And even by doing these Medicaid cuts, they're still going to be, you know, $3 trillion, $4 trillion that aren't

covered, that that will expand the deficit in terms of U.S. spending.

So right now, U.S. spending is a bit out of control. This legislation would largely pay for this while -- while continuing some of the tax cuts that

middle class people enjoy. Overall, when you look at a combination of the tax cuts and the health care cuts, it amounts to a transfer of wealth

towards the wealthier and corporations and politically, that could be a real problem if not for President Trump, who can't run again, certainly for

his party, who face some crucial midterm elections about a year and a few months from now.

And the early polling, multiple polls in the United States showing that, on balance, Americans don't like this because they do believe that it takes

away some of the health care that they've come to count on. And really, this goes all the way back to the Obama administration and the passage of

the Affordable Care Act, or what became known as Obamacare. This allowed states to expand populations covered under this Medicaid program for health

insurance. And it turned out to be quite popular even among Republicans in red states.

The prospect now of taking away that health care coverage, and yes, it would limit some coverage from illegal immigrants or migrants who don't

have the right paperwork or. But beyond that, about 10 million plus Americans who have been counting on this expanded health coverage and could

now lose it.

So, I think in the near term, that may be what Americans, including many Americans who voted for Donald Trump the second time around, will feel

before, you know, their grandchildren will feel the implications of deficit spending and of raising the debt ceiling. But they may feel the

implications as it pertains to their ability to get health insurance coverage.

FOSTER: Margaret Talev, thank you. I mean, it is so much to take in, isn't it, because it is so enormously broad. Thank you.

The White House says it's ready to restart trade talks with Canada immediately after Canada rescinded a tax on digital services on Sunday.

President Donald Trump threatened to cancel talks last week, calling the tax egregious. A digital services tax is a way to tax online companies

rather than physical products, and Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney have agreed to resume negotiations with the hopes of signing a deal

by July the 21st.

Southern Europe sweltering amid a major heat wave. In some areas, including Italy, Spain and France, temperatures are soaring above 40 degrees Celsius.

That's 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Authorities are warning of wildfire risks. Fires are burning in southwestern France and in Turkey. More than 50,000 people have been

evacuated to safety zones as forest fires burn there.

Al Goodman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Apocalyptic scenes in Izmir, Turkey, as wildfires forced residents to flee for their lives.

[15:40:03]

Aid workers carried an elderly man to safety just moments before flames swallowed his home. A harrowing escape in searing summer heat. Outside

Madrid, firefighters battled a late night blaze. Another front in a heatwave stretching from Greece to Spain and beyond.

Across Europe, an early and unforgiving summer scorcher is gripping the continent. In parts of Spain, official temperatures soared above 46 degrees

Celsius, well over 114 degrees Fahrenheit, leaving people and animals alike scrambling for any patch of shade or drop of water.

Spain's national weather agency says it's the hottest June since records began 60 years ago. The afternoon sun is piercing and overnight, the

temperatures don't fall enough to really cool things down.

In Seville, residents say it felt like the city itself was melting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's awful. It makes me collapse. We need to look for shade constantly. Air conditioning if we have it, and these devices keep

ringing with heat warnings.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel terrible about it. I can't sleep well and have insomnia. I also get heat strokes. I stop eating and I just can't focus.

GOODMAN: Some found refuge at the beach. Others trudged on to visit Europe's monuments, despite the stifling heat. In Athens, the government

opened air conditioned community centers and set up hotlines for medical help. As the mercury climbed relentlessly.

In Hungary, even the elephants at the Budapest zoo needed cold showers to stay cool. With temperatures nearing 39 degrees Celsius.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a hot day. You're going to need it.

GOODMAN: And in Britain, a country hardly known for sizzling summers, tennis fans at Wimbledon braved unusually high temperatures on opening day.

Scientists warned that human induced climate change is fueling these extreme heat events, making them more frequent, more intense and harder to

predict. And with the heat showing no sign of letting up, Europe braces for more scorching days ahead. And with them, the very real threat of new

extremes.

Al Goodman, CNN, Madrid.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, after weeks of testimony, jurors have been deliberating in Sean "Diddy" Combs' criminal trial for several hours already. We'll look at

the note they sent the judge earlier.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:34]

FOSTER: Jurors have been deliberating for a few hours now in the Sean "Diddy" Combs sex trafficking racketeering trial. So far, we know, the

judge replied to the jury over its concern about one juror. He told them all to remember their obligation to follow his instruction on the law, and

asked them to continue deliberating.

For the latest on the trial, let's bring in CNN entertainment correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister. She joins us from New York.

I mean, what are we meant to read into that comment, Elizabeth?

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: You know, this is a stunning development to come from the jury this soon into deliberations,

Max. It was within about an hour that the judge received this note from the jury.

I want to read you the note verbatim, Max. It says, quote, we have a juror, juror number 25, who we are concerned cannot follow your honors'

instructions. Now, we don't know exactly what this means. So, I obviously want to caution us from reading into it too much.

But again, for this to come in hour into deliberations means that this pool of people, they have a concern about one individual this soon into the

game. Now, as you said, the judge instructed the jury by sending back a note. He said, go back in there, continue to follow the law, continue to

follow my instructions and deliberate. This is your civic duty.

So, we will see if another note comes pertaining to that juror. But again, I want to caution us from reading into it too much since we don't have any

information beyond that.

Now, let's go back to the deliberations in general, which again began today, in the late morning. And this is the culmination of seven weeks of

testimony that this jury has sat through. Of course, Sean Combs, the stakes are very high for him. He is facing life in prison if convicted on the most

serious charges. Note I didn't say if convicted on all the charges, just the most serious, which is that racketeering conspiracy charge. If he is

convicted on that one charge alone, the maximum is life in prison.

Now he is facing a total of five charges. The two sex trafficking counts, each of those counts individually carries a minimum of 15 years. And then

the two transportation to engage in prostitution counts each carry a maximum of 10 years.

So again, very serious charges. It is just a few hours into deliberations and already seemingly having a problem with that one juror. So, we will see

what happens this week or today. The verdict really, of course, could come at any time, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. And you're standing by, I know.

But what -- you know, what is it, a majority verdict. Does it have to be unanimous in the jury? What are we looking for there?

WAGMEISTER: Yes. So, this jury does have to come to a unanimous decision. But that doesn't mean that all of these charges have to be guilty or not

guilty. This could be a mixed verdict. And, of course, this is a very complex case, really nothing is black and white here. There is a lot of

gray area when it comes to sex crimes.

So, it could be a mixed verdict where this jury unanimously finds Sean Combs guilty on some counts, not guilty on others. And also remember, there

is the possibility of a hung jury if this jury cannot agree, it would be a hung jury, which then would be a mistrial.

FOSTER: Wow. So, you have to happen all again. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much for bringing us that. I know you're standing by for us.

The problem with microplastics coming up. What scientists are doing to find possible solutions to get them out of our waterways.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:50]

FOSTER: Microplastic pollution really is choking waterways around the world now, and has been detected throughout the human body, even in brain

tissue. In Brazil, one river contains one of the highest concentrations in the world. Scientists are trying to find solutions to what is a growing

threat.

CNN's Derek Van Dam now reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): The shore of this river is far from sandy. Instead, it's full of trash. The piles of garbage have

become a norm for the residents along the Rio dos Bugres River in Brazil.

Mass quantities of pollution have created an ecosystem dominated by plastic instead of plants, altering the lives of those who depend on the river.

This fisherman has experienced the difficulties firsthand.

He says he used to make a living off of fishing because it was possible. But now there are very few fish. Recent research has found that this river

contains one of the highest concentrations of microplastics in the world.

But the problem of plastics is worldwide. Plastic does not decompose like organic waste. Over time, natural weathering breaks down plastic into

smaller and smaller pieces, eventually creating microplastic particles. Humans unknowingly ingest these particles every day.

Research on the health effects of microplastics is still in its early stages, but one study has identified a link between plastic particles in

the body and an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and even early death.

Around the world, scientists are developing possible solutions to the plastic problem. Researchers in Japan have developed a dissolvable plastic.

TAKUZO AIDA, LEAD RESEARCHER, RIKEN CENTER FOR EMERGENT MATTER SCIENCE: When we place the plastic sample in an aqueous solution with the same salt

concentration as seawater, it dissolves quickly in about 2 to 3 hours, depending on its thickness and size.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is different. How is the colony size?

VAN DAM: Meanwhile, researchers in Australia have turned to fungus for help.

ALI ABBAS, CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY: Typically, plastics are very well known to be degrading over many, many

years and even decades. This research has been showing that, in fact, fungi are able to degrade plastics much faster.

VAN DAM: The fungi produce enzymes which naturally break down plastic. But Abbas warns that this is not a complete solution.

ABBAS: There are other more significant steps that we as a society must take. And this includes upstream design of new products and redesign and

remanufacturing, reuse.

VAN DAM: As part of this effort, legislators around the world are pushing to enact restrictions on the production of plastic. While nonprofits such

as the Ocean Cleanup are taking action by conducting large extractions of plastic found in water, the group aims to clean up 90 percent of floating

ocean plastic pollution by 2040.

[15:55:01]

Derek Van Dam, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Finally, tonight, what would you do if you won the lottery? That's the question thousands of people across Norway were asking over the

weekend, when they were told they had won large sums in the euro jackpot draw, only to find out it was a mistake.

Norway's national lottery, Norsk Tipping, have apologized after a conversion mistake. It led to people to believe they had won 100 times

actually what they had won. The CEO has since resigned following the scandal.

What a tragedy.

I'm Max Foster.

That's WHAT WE KNOW.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: Fresh records on Wall Street. Look at that, the Dow above 44,000 points again. I know it doesn't seem like it. This is a

holiday week after all, but apparently, it's game on for the American market.

END

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