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What We Know with Max Foster

Lawmaker: 1,700+ Confirmed Dead From Venezuelan Quakes; Justices Rule Late-Arriving Mail-In Ballots Are Legal; Trump Gets A Win And A Loss On His Power To Fire Officials; Trump: Talks Set For Doha Tuesday At Iran's Request; Oil Remains Near Pre-War Trading Prices; Putin Admits Ukraine Strikes Are Leading To Fuel Shortages. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 29, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:34]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: People found alive days after powerful double earthquakes hit Venezuela.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

We begin where those search crews continue their rescue efforts amid the rubble there. A top Venezuelan lawmaker now says the death toll from last

week's earthquakes has topped 1,700.

This as aftershocks rattle the region, including a magnitude 4.6 tremor earlier today. near the hardest-hit area of La Guaira. But amid the grief,

rays of hope still emerging. Just hours ago, this miraculous rescue of a 21-year-old man after five days under debris. An incredible moment, a

mother and her 18-day-old baby were rescued from a collapsed building on Friday, about 30 hours after the very first quakes hit.

Meanwhile, many survivors are left sleeping on the streets with no home to return to and little to nothing in the way of essentials.

Stefano Pozzebon is in Caracas.

And it's just extraordinary to see the scene there now, Stefano.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yeah, Max, I mean, the devastation down in La Guaira, which is where those images of miraculous rescues are from,

that devastation is hard to put in words. By the way, it's a state that has been through a very similar tragedy 27 years ago, at the beginning of the

Chavez's presidency. The La Guaira was the location of a dramatic landslide that killed 25,000 people.

And so, when we speak with the survivors there yesterday, there is also a feeling of a state -- of a region that is cursed with tragedy.

Here in Caracas, the situation is much different. The search and rescue operations are still ongoing. You can probably see here that excavator.

going up and trying to get as close as possible to that stack of collapsed floor to the left of your screen.

There is a Mexican rescue workers, we call them moles here in Latin America. Mexico, of course, being one of the countries in the region that

has most to do with earthquake, unfortunately, but that means that they have developed very advanced techniques in finding and bringing survivors

after earthquake disasters are out alive.

And so that's why they've told us Less than a couple of hours ago, one of the Mexican workers came out and told us that this is still a search and

rescue operation, that they're still trying to locate someone who is still under the rubble.

And by the way, Max, I mean, just as we were speaking with him, we also spoke with some of the survivors that were staying there, that those were

their houses. And they've sent us a list of the people. who have made it out alive of that building, and of the people who did not make it out alive

of that building.

And just reading through the names, it's where the magnitude of this tragedy hits you in the face. So, we're talking here, for example, 13

people have been killed, and 11 have made it out alive, and five more are still missing. So, under that pile of the debris, according to this person

who used to live, in that very, very same building. It's called the Petunia building in Caracas.

It's -- behind every number, there is a personal story. Behind every stat, there is the tragedy of a family that has been shattered. There is the

nation that is coming together at the moment of mourning. But as the government has given us a new updated death toll of at least 1,720 people

killed in this dramatic catastrophe -- well, it's hard to go through the emotions of all of these lives lost, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah. OK, it's a tough week. Stefano, thank you for that.

For more on how you can help actually in Venezuela and the earthquake victims there, do go to CNN.com/impact.

All right. We've got a flurry of significant legal opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court today. Meanwhile, among them was a blow to President Donald

Trump's efforts to limit mail-in voting in elections.

[15:05:01]

The court ruled in favor of a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots to be received as many as five days after election day. The justices also

ruled on Mr. Trump's ability to fire federal officials, saying he can fire a commissioner of the Federal Trade Commissioner, but he doesn't have as

much power over an independent agency. It said the president cannot fire a Federal Reserve governor without showing proper cause.

Let's go straight to Joan Biskupic, who is following all of this for us.

I mean, this is interesting with the Fed, isn't it? Because it was concerned that it would lose its independence, and it has managed to retain

that effectively, I believe, from this, but not so for the other agencies.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: That's right, Max. And right now, it's a short-term win for Lisa Cook, Federal Reserve governor,

who he's trying to get rid of, but she'll be able to stay. And I think the way that this the decision was made -- made on behalf of the Federal

Reserve, but then also as it lift as it gave Donald Trump lots of power over other independent agencies, it seemed ready to have this exemption for

the Federal Reserve. So, I think the Federal Reserve going forward is going to be protected.

But Max, there's just a whole swath of U.S. independent agencies that regulate everything from trade practices, nuclear waste, chemical spills,

all sorts of health, welfare, things for the common good, that Congress has set these agencies up with heads of these agencies who are given certain

set terms in tenure, that cannot be removed until, you know, under the old, the assumption was that they couldn't be removed for anything short of

cause. That's like malfeasance in office.

And what the Supreme Court said today was no. Chief Justice John Roberts' reading of the Constitution and history said that the president should have

nearly complete power to control the federal bureaucracy and that would include getting rid of the prior appointees who cover, in this case, it was

the Federal Trade Commission. a commissioner by the name of Rebecca Slaughter who brought the case. But as you know, since Donald Trump has

come into office for his second term here, he's tried to wipe out so many top regulators. And he will be able to do that. And presidents going

forward will be able to do that.

So, they did that, but in a separate case involving Lisa Cook. carved out a bit of an exception for her.

And then to go to the first case you mentioned, Max, the mail-in ballots one, that one was a really close call, a little unusual to have a 5-4

ruling. Two of the conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Barrett, were with the three liberals, as you noted, which essentially

preserving the ability of mail in ballots and a grace period. The Mississippi law at issue had a five-day grace period after Election Day.

What the court says was what matters is when the voter makes his or her choice, and as long as that choice is made before Election Day, it counts.

It doesn't matter when it comes in as long as it's within reason, Max.

And just one final note, tomorrow is our big day and tomorrow you find out whether Donald Trump's effort to roll back automatic birthright

citizenship, that is, that anyone born on U.S. soil automatically becomes a citizen, whether he'll be able to undercut it and say, it depends on the

immigration status of the parent, Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, these are big cases. Joan, thank you so much for bringing us that.

BISKUPIC: Thanks, Max.

FOSTER: Iran's foreign ministry says no negotiations with the U.S. will take place in the coming days at any level. That directly contradicts an

earlier statement from President Donald Trump. He said Iran has requested a meeting, and it will take place tomorrow in Doha. Mr. Trump's Secretary of

State Marco Rubio expected to brief House lawmakers about the peace efforts with Iran. That's coming up in the next hour.

Kristen, translate.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think the Marco Rubio briefing is going to be a big deal because we're going to

learn what the administration is saying behind closed doors. Now, the only problem with that is that the administration also knows that these

lawmakers are prone to calling the media immediately after talking to administration officials, so they might be more cautious in how they

approach this briefing.

It is the first time that member -- many members are going to hear from the administration directly when it comes to their efforts to try and wind down

this war in Iran. So that's something we would be following closely. It is bipartisan. It is virtual to ensure as many members as possible can be a

part of that briefing. But again, it's unclear what they're actually going to get briefed on in terms of the nitty gritty details that the

administration knowing specifically that the Democratic lawmakers are likely to talk about the briefing.

Now the other part of tales with the administration knowing specifically that the Democratic lawmakers are likely to talk about the briefing. Now

the other part of this, of course, is what is going on with these talks.

[15:10:00]

I mean, we have Iran repeating now multiple times that there are no talks scheduled for this week.

At the same time, you have President Trump not only posting about it on Truth Social, we had the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, saying

specifically that Steve Wickoff, the Middle East envoy, and Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law, who's been spearheading these talks, are

going to Doha for talks tomorrow, saying that she had just learned that from President Trump.

And this is, of course, not the first time we've heard a back and forth between these two countries in terms of what is actually going on behind

the scenes. We do know that both sides have agreed after last weekend and after last the end of last week to stop the tit for tat, the back and

forth, the strikes and the attacks after Iran violated that ceasefire by firing at a commercial vessel in the Strait of Hormuz.

But where exactly these negotiations stand, these talks stand -- that is still a big question. The other thing that has a question mark over it is

what is going on with these frozen assets, these frozen funds? We had the Iranian president saying that half of the frozen funds were being released

to Iran. That's about $6 billion from Qatar. We have the U.S. administration, the officials here saying that nothing is being released at

this time.

They are saying that anything that is eventually released will be used to purchase American agriculture to give back to the Iranians, something that

Iran is saying is not true.

Again, we seem to be in a similar place that we've been in most of this conflict, which is you have two sides saying very different things

publicly, and we'll have to wait and see how this actually plays out over the next 24, 48 hours.

FOSTER: Absolutely.

Kristen, thank you so much for that.

Renewed fighting in Lebanon, fueling deep concerns about the latest ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Lebanese government. Israel's

military says it hit Hezbollah command centers over the weekend. Hezbollah says Israel hit residential buildings, calling it a blatant ceasefire

violation.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: The story this weekend has been, you know, repeated Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, even some

close quarters combat, it would seem, between Israeli troops and at least one Hezbollah militant that resulted in an Israeli soldier being killed as

a result of some of that combat. We've seen multiple Israeli strikes in two southern Lebanese towns of Nabatieh and Mayfadoun, where, in one case, a

residential building appears to have been struck.

The Israeli military in those cases said it was going after either Hezbollah command centers or going after armed Hezbollah militants who were

near what Israel is calling its security zone in southern Lebanon, where it has troops that are positioned. That is the same security zone where Israel

is meant to begin carrying out two separate withdrawals, one that is north of the Litani River, one from a section that is south of that Litani River.

that are meant to kind of test out these pilot programs whereby the Israeli military would withdraw, the Lebanese military would then come in and take

control of those territories and have them remain free of Hezbollah militants.

But Hezbollah has rejected this latest Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement altogether and is vowing to continue to carry out attacks against Israeli

forces in southern Lebanon so long as they remain there. Israel, for its part, is maintaining that it has the freedom to operate against any

Hezbollah attacks, but also any Hezbollah intent to attack, which is obviously open to Israel's own interpretation. And so, all of this is going

to factor in to the broader negotiations set to take place tomorrow in Doha, as American and Iranian negotiators will talk not only about the

broader ceasefire agreement between those two countries, the recent attacks that we've seen back and forth around the Strait of Hormuz, but also, of

course, Lebanon, as always, factoring very closely into those negotiations, as Iran has demanded a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Lebanon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Jeremy Diamond there.

Now, the turmoil over oil shipments in the Strait of Hormuz is causing a rise in oil prices. However, not as much as you might think. Here's a live

look at the oil market. It's both Brent crude and WTI. The two benchmarks are up slightly.

Right now, oil remains at or below its pre-war trading prices.

David Goldman joins us from New York.

I mean, generally, we can probably say if things carry on as they are in the Middle East, that they're going to come down, right?

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPOTER: You would think so. I mean, there are three factors, I think, that are really contributing to these

lower oil prices, or lower than you might think. As you mentioned, they're up just a little bit today. And it's supply, it's demand, and it's

President Donald Trump.

So, on the supply side, we entered this crisis with a record amount of crude in storage across the world.

[15:15:00]

Eight billion barrels of oil were in storage when Israel and the United States attacked Iran. That was an enormous cushion that has prevented oil

from hitting record highs, despite the fact that this was a record supply shock, right? So, we didn't have anything approaching 2022, or even the

record that was hit in 2018. despite those being significantly smaller supply constraints.

And then there's the demand side, and most of that is happening from China, where they just very quickly switched over to coal-firing plants, and they

have a robust energy efficiency policy there.

Remember, during May Day in China, their big Labor Day holiday, 25 percent of the cars that were on the road in China were electric vehicles, and that

was up a third from the year before. So, certainly, that was a contributing factor. Demand fell much more sharply than we had expected.

But then that third thing is President Donald Trump, and the president has said over the course of the last couple of weeks that the United States is

in dire straits, if I can use a pun there. He said that the problems in the US refineries, the ultra-low levels that they're at, are at critical levels

and within a matter of weeks had the Strait of Hormuz not reopened, it could have meant that there wasn't going to be enough oil to pipe through

the various pipelines in the United States, kind of acknowledging the reporting that CNN has done and others about what's going on in Cushing,

Oklahoma and some other places with those critical levels. So, the market is interpreting that, as President Trump saying, We are going to keep this

strait open at all costs, and despite some, you know, exchanges of fire, there won't be an all-out war again with Iran.

So those are the three things that are going on, and here we are with gas prices trending lower and oil prices below where they were when the war

started. That's the situation.

FOSTER: Yeah. OK, David, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Now, Russian President Vladimir Putin making a rare confession. He said this weekend the country is facing a fuel shortage as Ukraine intensifies

its attacks. Russian drivers are facing long queues at filling stations in many parts of the country.

CNN's Zahra Ullah has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAHRA ULLAH, CNN MOSCOW: Fuel shortages are spreading across Russia, because Ukrainian drone attacks on refineries mean Russia is increasingly

facing supply bottlenecks. And with lines like this forming in the capital city, Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin could no longer ignore it.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): You are well aware that problems persist for both drivers and businesses. Queues at gas

stations, unfortunately, also remain.

ULLAH: Many motorists, they're fed up. They're frustrated. They've been driving around for from gas station to gas station, just looking to buy

fuel.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I've been driving around for over half an hour now, and I've been waiting about 20 minutes. Anyway, I don't

have much hope that this will end quickly, but I have no choice. I'm running out of gas.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I was driving around last night, too, but I didn't find anything.

ULLAH: In some places, sales of fuel are being limited or rationed. People waiting here have told that they spent much of the day looking for gas at

various stations before finally joining this queue, with no guarantee of when they'll be able to fill up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Zahra Ullah there in Moscow.

Now, police say six people are dead. Three people are under arrest after a mass shooting in Germany. The attack happened near Hamburg in what's

described as a youth facility and a shelter for mothers and children. Authorities have identified the main suspect in custody as a 45-year-old

German citizen with Turkish roots. Also updated this hour, all six victims of the shooting were employees at the center. They weren't residents.

Coming up, presidential power. Why the Supreme Court says President Donald Trump can fire some federal officials, but not others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:22:27]

FOSTER: The U.S. Federal Reserve is special. That was pretty much the message today from the U.S. Supreme Court, as it said President Donald

Trump cannot fire a Fed governor without showing due process. The ruling came on the same day that the court said it is OK for Trump to fire many

other government officials. It ruled he doesn't have to say or to show cause to get rid of a commissioner of the FTC.

The court says -- the court says it was wrapping up the term on Tuesday with some of its most high-profile cases. Amongst them, a ruling on whether

Mr. Trump can eliminate birthright citizenship as well. So, what we want to know is, will President Trump be celebrating when the Supreme Court term

ends?

Joining is CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

It is interesting, isn't it, with the Fed, how, you know, the Supreme Court protected the Fed, but actually it's pretty profound. in the power the

president now has over other federal agencies.

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, Max, it is. It's really head- spinning, and I'll tell you why, because these federal agencies are designed or were designed by Congress. That's a separate, co-equal branch

of government in the United States. And they were designed for purposes that would make them sort of quasi-independent.

And what do I mean by that? They were designed so, for example, you know, if you have the -- and there's many of them, right? There are many of these

agencies, like two dozen of these agencies.

So, let's take the National Labor Relations Board, for example, that deals with employee-employee relationships, employer-employee, dealing with

unions, setting standards of what's permissible, what's impermissible. And you don't want ever to have a president, because they don't like unions, to

use their heavy influence in order to pack the board and therefore, you know, destroy unions in the country.

You don't want an Equal Opportunity Employment Commission, right? Another agency, which is semi-independent. We don't want to enforce standards

relating to discrimination. We don't care about that, kind of like this administration. And so therefore, we're going to say, don't enforce

anything.

There's a reason and a basis, right? Just like in this particular case. you know, when you're dealing with the Trade Commission, you have instances

where you have an entity that's designed to protect the public, protect the public against fraud, protect the public against abuse, protect the public

against corporate overstep. And you want them to be independent so that they're not subject to the whims of any given president.

And this, to me, is not even about Trump, Max. It's about our future democracy. We're celebrating 250 years, right, of our democracy. And this,

I think, puts it at jeopardy, because you could have a president that comes in and says, never mind, right? No matter your long-term investigations, no

matter your agenda, no matter what you're doing, it's not what I want you to do. And as a result of that, if you don't do what I want you to do,

you're fired.

So how independent are they really. However, when you go to the Federal Reserve, that's treated different, according to the court, because you're

setting monetary policy, because you're influencing whether interest rates are high or whether they're low and what ends up happening with the Central

Bank. We're going to say, you can't get rid of these people. For them, you need a cause, right? You need to exhibit not at will, which is the

distinction at will, means I could just get rid of you whenever I want, like these other agencies that the government said you can do, right?

But when it comes to this actual Federal Reserve, you have to have a basis, a cause, a reason, and that's subject to an actual independent

determination, giving someone notice that you want them gone and pointed to a specific, identifiable basis of wrongdoing as to why they should be gone.

And once you go through that process, you can remove them, which was, by the way, before today, the process with the other agencies, but no more.

And so, I'm concerned about what this means long-term in terms of the balance of power, in terms of consumer protection, and just in terms of

what these agencies are going to be doing moving forward. So, this is really a head-spinning kind of decision today as it relates to what they

did with the Federal Trade Commission and the other agencies that are independent. And really, in terms of the Federal Reserve, we know they're

safe, but I just think all the other agencies should be safe.

Last point, again, it has nothing to do with Trump. It has to do with the fact that we're going to have presidents, hopefully, for another 250 years,

and you need the presidents to be sort of their leadership and their power to be bridled in certain ways and for people to be protected.

This just allows a president, you disagree with my politics, you're out of here. You don't like what I'm doing, goodbye. Do as I say, and if you don't

do as I say, hit the road, Jack, and don't ever come back.

And so that's a problem to me. I think it's a problem to many consumers and many people in our country, and we'll see how it plays out, ultimately.

FOSTER: Yeah, as you say, it is bigger than Trump.

Thank you so much, Joey Jackson.

Still to come, the peacock is flying the mess. NBC and Universal are still together, but their parent company wants to go his own way now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:45]

FOSTER: Let's to get you to Washington. President Trump signing executive orders and answering questions as we speak.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The parliamentarian. She's been there for years, and she was put there by Harry Reid and Barack

Hussein Obama. Harry Reid was a bad guy, and he was the leader, and he put her. And the speaker has the right to immediately fire her and put somebody

else there. And like it's not even believable that she's still there. She's obviously a good politician or something.

REPORTER: Mr. President, question on this Slaughter case, the Supreme Court just affirmed your right to fire the heads of independent agencies.

Should we expect more firings as a result of this ruling?

TRUMP: I don't think so. It gives me the right and not me. It gives a president the right to do what the president should have the right to do.

And it's very interesting. It's a big ruling, that's been going on for almost 100 years. They've been working on this. And, you know, that it

comes down at my term is a very great honor. But it bestows additional powers, or maybe the same power on the president.

The President has the right to do this, and that has to do with a lot of agencies all throughout the system. So, it's considered, you know, the

biggest of the group. And I can understand that this has been going on for almost 100 years. They've been waiting for this. decision.

Yes?

REPORTER: Thank you, Mr. President.

You were posting about how important it is to get the Save America Act passed. Who do you see as the biggest hurdle to getting this across the

finish line?

TRUMP: Well, it's held up in the Senate. And frankly, if you terminated the filibuster, you just need 50 of us, and we have 53. And then you have

J.D. So, the Democrats are going to terminate the filibuster.

But if you did reconciliation, you could do it with 50 votes. I mean, the best would be to terminate the filibuster, but for some reason -- but you

have the same basic people. But even Rand Paul is in favor of the Save America Act, if you can believe it.

Think of it. Rand Paul is strongly in favor. He's fighting for it. So that's good news. But you would have Lisa Murkowski, always against things

like this. Nobody knows why. I think I know why.

But you have Lisa Murkowski, you have Susan Collins, you have Tillis, who's against, and he's not in office because of me, so he holds me, you know,

because I wouldn't endorse him. I think you have Senator Cassidy against it, too.

REPORTER: I think he's forced at this time.

TRUMP: And I think you have Mitch McConnell against it, too. Mitch McConnell. He's very disloyal to John Thune.

You know, John Thune was a very good person for him. I mean, he was a very loyal person, and Mitch McConnell's against him almost all the time,

because he's angry, I guess, probably at me.

REPORTER: Mr. President --

TRUMP: Look --

REPORTER: What about Democrats, Mr. President? Are there any -- you think you could change their minds?

TRUMP: I mean, Democrats should do it too. I mean, you probably get one Democrat who's, you know, a common-sense Democrat, you know, who that is.

And everybody should vote for this.

This is the Save America Act -- voter ID with a photo, ideally. But voter ID, proof of citizenship, and no mail-in ballots, which is, to my way of

thinking, maybe the most important of all because it's so corrupt. But you have exceptions. If you're away, exceptions for the military, they're

deployed, exception. Illness, disability, you have exceptions, strong exceptions.

But the cheating on the ballots, the mail-in ballots -- Jimmy Carter said it a long time ago, he said, you can't have mail-in ballots. He headed up a

committee with Scoop Jackson and others, all respected. And he actually -- I think it was Jimmy Carter's finest moment, not doing president. But he

headed up a committee, and he said -- he came out with a strong conclusion that if you do mail-in ballots, there's going to be cheating.

France gave it up. We're the only country in the world that does this type of mail-in ballot. There's no other country in the world. You know why?

They tried it, and it was totally dishonest, and it's really dishonest.

So, we shouldn't do mail-in ballots. So, it's not too much to ask for voter ID, proof of citizenship, and no mail-in ballots.

[15:35:00]

And you'll have honest elections.

REPORTER: What are your plans for the housing bill, Mr. President.

TRUMP: I don't know. I think it's so unimportant by -- compared to -- by compared to the Save America Act. I think the Save America Act is exactly

what it says. It's saving America from crooked elections.

And the housing bill is a bill that can get approved. They worked on it long and hard. It's very bipartisan. That means the Democrats like it.

I think it's maybe even -- it's probably maybe more that way they're getting things that I wouldn't necessarily agree to. Nobody knows more than

housing in the history of the presidency. Nobody -- nobody did well like me in housing.

I made a lot of money. I made a lot of money with housing. But when I look at that bill -- it's a bill. But when I look at the Save America Act, it's

about saving America. And I'd like to have the Save America Act added on. And that's probably not going to happen, because we have four Republican

senators, maybe five that just won't vote for it. It's crazy.

Somebody -- Lisa Murkowski from Alaska. Nobody's done more for Alaska than me. She's Trump-deranged. What can I tell you? But those four or five

people that I mentioned should vote.

How do you vote against Save America? How do you vote against it? How do you vote against voter identification? Or proof of citizenship?

The only people that would vote against that are people that are going to cheat in an election. The Democrats need it because their policy is so bad.

They want open borders. They want high taxes. They want terrible medical -- anything medical. I'm the one that did favorite nations.

I'm reducing drug prices by 200, 300, 400 percent. Nobody even talks about it. The news doesn't talk about it. The Democrats are opposed to it. If

they get into office, they'll put it back to you. Drug prices are going to go up by 200 percent, 300 percent, 400 percent, 500 percent. You know that.

REPORTER: But will you sign that housing bill?

TRUMP: I have not. It hasn't been sent to me yet. It's coming, I understand. And then I'll make -- then I'll make a --

FOSTER: President Trump really speaking to -- or answering questions, at least, from the reports about the Supreme Court ruling, saying it's an

honor to be the president that was in power. when the rules were effectively changed to allow the president to fire some supposedly

independent federal agencies not the Federal Reserve itself and also positive response really to the change in mail-in or this idea that mail-in

balance -- mail-in ballots should be outlawed.

The federal -- actually the Supreme Court said that they should be allowed and they should be allowed to be submitted after election day as well. So,

that didn't so much work for him. And he was responding to the fact that he felt that that opens the possibility of cheating in elections.

But there are many Supreme Court cases this week, so he'll have a lot to say about that. But he felt good and bad coming out of them today.

In the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are higher. Meanwhile, the Dow's rebound is fueled by fresh hopes for a more permanent peace deal

between Washington and Tehran. It could close above 52,000 for the first time on record.

This is our Business Breakout.

Now, South Korea has announced a huge investment program into artificial intelligence projects. Plans to invest more than half a trillion dollars

into semiconductors and data centers were unveiled by President Lee Jae Myung, who says that South Korea must move faster than any other country.

British-American tobacco is cutting thousands of jobs as part of a company- wide cost-cutting plan. Five and a half thousand workers will be let go, with three and a half thousand more jobs being outsourced. This chief

executive says he wants the company to be simpler and faster.

Comcast is planning to get rid of its media business, including NBC Universal and Sky. The company says they'll be spun off into a new publicly

traded company 15 years after Comcast bought NBC Universal. Investors like the deal for Comcast, whose shares are up compared to last week.

Well, still to come, both tennis world number ones in action at Wimbledon, an update on the first matches at the All England Club in a few minutes,

will you?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:42:44]

FOSTER: Now, for more than a century, National Geographic has brought the world's most extraordinary discoveries into our homes. Now it's opening the

doors for a new space in Washington designed to bring those stories to life. As part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative, we see how National

Geographic explorers are studying some of our planet's most remote places and endangered species to better understand and help safeguard our world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EMILY DUNHAM, CHIEF CAMPUS & EXPERIENCE OFFICER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY: The mission of the Museum of Exploration is the mission of the

National Geographic Society. We were founded in 1888 as a nonprofit dedicated to illuminating and protecting the wonder of our world, and this

museum tells the story of amazing humans who've explored since our founding.

PABLO GARCIA BORBOROGLU, MARINE BIOLOGIST & NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: I've been working with penguins in the wild for almost 40 years. As a

scientist, I can share a lot of information, but I won't reach the emotions. And to do conservation, we need people to connect to our species,

to our environment, to be able to protect them.

Many of my colleagues, other explorers, we are able to see amazing things of our planet and our natural world. And we always think about we wish we

could share this with the rest of the world. And this museum is fantastic because it is an education tool, an awareness tool.

THOMAS P. PESCHAK, PHOTOGRAPHER, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: The interaction and the relationship that the audience gains with the subject,

with the story is much deeper in a museum than in a magazine or in a book. I think museums are one of the most powerful tools we have to disseminate

information about exploring and conservation.

DUNHAM: Joel Sartore, one of our National Geographic photographers, is on a mission to document every species in human care. And so far, he has taken

over 18,000 portraits of these animals. And we have an experience here called Photo Ark Animals of Earth that immerses you in Joel's work.

And after you've seen these animals and looked them in the eye, how can you not care and want to protect them and make sure that that species lives on?

I think people protect the things that they love, the things they know and can understand. And the explorers we have working today are each doing that

in their own ways.

[15:45:03]

BAKER PERRY, CLIMATOLOGIST, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: As an explorer, this space is meant to be a hub for us to come together and work on impact-

driven solutions to, to collaborate, to try to tackle some of those big, big challenges. And it allows us to bring the stories from the field that

we hope will inspire the inner explorer and everyone, and inspire the next generation.

DUNHAM: We have a section called Spark that is about that, that spark of curiosity that changed the course of an explorer's life.

STEVE BOYES, BIOLOGISTT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER: We all have our spark moments, every single one of us. This is my grandfather's binoculars.

My earliest, earliest memories. Myself and my brother exploring the wild places of Southern Africa. And these binoculars were always, always with

us.

I'm the founder and project leader of the National Geographic Okavango Wilderness Project. For the last decade, we have been exploring, studying,

and working to protect the Okavango Basin. I hope the school kids, most especially walk out of here inspired where they can see themselves going

out into a world that we haven't finished exploring.

It is a team effort. This is not just about childhood vision or something that I wanted to do 25 years ago. It is all of us together and we're all

here in this museum.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Well, let us know what you're doing to answer this Call to Earth by using the hashtag #CallToEarth. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Forecasters say that Europe's deadly heat wave is moving east. This comes as France and Denmark log their highest ever temperatures.

Scientists point to Europe as the planet's fastest warming continent. Germany also broke an all-time record for a third consecutive day on Sunday

and is expected to see the heat build yet again next week.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Berlin with more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The heat wave in much of Europe continues, as you can see here in central Berlin. A lot

of people making their way outdoors, for instance, on these tourists boats of obviously getting baked right now in the midday sun here in Berlin. A

lot of folks are coming out trying to beat the heat because one of the things about Europe here is that you're not going to beat the heat by

staying inside.

[15:50:03]

Very few homes have air conditions here in Germany, of course, in other European countries as well. And that really is making life difficult for

folks as this heat wave has been going on for an extended period of time. There were some thunderstorms over the Berlin area last night, but there

was another big spike in the heat that happened on Sunday morning. And certainly, the folks here definitely doing anything that they can to try

and stay cool.

All of this actually also affecting the infrastructure here in Germany. The German government says that several highways have seen the concrete of

those highways crack in certain places. Some of the highways have been shut down. Others have additional speed limits.

Also, the German railway company is telling people if you don't have to travel by rail, don't do it because obviously in this weather, if a train

is delayed or if an air condition malfunctions, that could very quickly become a health emergency for some people as well.

As far as the forecast is concerned, seems as though there is some respite on the way. There's big heat here on Sunday. However, in the night from

Sunday into Monday, there is a temperature drop. At least that's what the forecast says. And then certainly starting into this coming week, the

Germans are hoping, as are many Europeans, that the temperatures are going to cool down.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, the knockout stage in full swing at the men's World Cup. In the last hour at Houston Stadium, Brazil broke Japanese hearts, beating

Japan 2-1. It was a nail-biter of a match, a score in the last minute of extra time for Brazil.

And later today, Germany played Paraguay in the Boston area, whilst the Netherlands take on Morocco at Monterrey Stadium in Mexico.

Meanwhile, Wimbledon is back. The tennis tournament got underway today in London, just escaping the heatwave. Number one seed Jannik Sinner needed

five sets to put down his first round challenger. On the women's side, top- ranked Aryna Sabalenka won in straight sets, but all eyes are on 44-year- old Serena Williams, who plays on Tuesday, would you believe? She's not played a singles match in almost four years, but has been training for

months to get in shape for this return.

Ben Rothenberg is the author of the Bounces Substack and co-host of "No Challenges Remaining" podcast.

Thank you so much for joining us.

It does feel a bit like a time warp, doesn't it? You've got the Williams sisters, you've got Djokovic back this year. We've even -- yeah, I mean,

basically it feels like a few years ago, but they're still on fine form, obviously, to just get a chance to play.

BEN ROTHENBERG, CO-HOST, "NO CHALLENGES REMAINING" PODCAST: Yeah, it was Serena definitely feels like what year are we in with her back? She'd been

gone from the sport really fully. She had a retirement ceremony at the 2022 U.S. Open, and it seemed like it was a moment of closure for her and her

career. And then late last year, we saw her name pop back up on the anti- doping testing pool, which indicated that she was sort of starting her six month clock potentially for a comeback.

And lo and behold, here she is. So, we'll see how she goes. We have not seen her play singles yet. She's making her singles comeback at Wimbledon,

which is a high stakes situation in which to do it.

But she's looked OK in the doubles matches so far, and she's been training for months, as you said, and it's Serena Williams. So even with some rust,

she still could be potentially pretty formidable, but we really don't know what to expect until we see her out there.

FOSTER: Yeah, it is Serena Williams. I think that's the best way of saying it and never underestimate either of them. But in terms of the younger sort

of global stars, is Sinner then certainly the favorite now because Alcaraz isn't playing for the men's -- men's tournament?

ROTHENBERG: You figure to be for sure, but he was not impressive today, especially Sinner. He was down two sets to one in his open round match

against Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia, who is not a player expected to really challenge him too much. Sinner came back to win that match in five and

escaped, but after his collapse at the French Open, losing the second round there, I think he's considered less of a foregone conclusion than he once

was.

So, the field will be smelling maybe a little bit of blood in the water with Sinner compared to how dominant he had been in the recent past.

FOSTER: Who's he going to be playing in the final then?

ROTHENBERG: You know, I think it's a good chance actually he'll be playing an American in the final. It feels like the draw is aligned in a way that a

bunch of the Americans, who all are pretty natural on grass, it's a surface that Americans have done very well on for a lot of generations. And the

bottom half is stacked with a bunch of American players.

Taylor Fritz, Francis Tiafoe, Ben Shelton are among the top seeds. Shelton and Tiafoe both won more up tournaments and Fritz was in the final both of

those as well. So, they both look to be formidable.

It's been more than 22 years since an American man won a Grand Slam, but this Wimbledon actually be worth counting on this time.

FOSTER: And people would love to see a Sabalenka-Gauff rematch, wouldn't they as well? Do you think that's likely?

ROTHENBERG: Gauff has not been great on grass in recent years. This is a - - she won her first match on grass since 2024 today. This is a big relief for her to finally get a win and this makes it four match losing streak for

her.

So, this is not probably her best surface, but Sabalenka could get there. Sabalenka has been sharper. Gauff maybe with some confidence after this

first win could start feeling better, but it's been a challenging experience for her compared to clay and hardcourts for Gauff.

FOSTER: And a quick word on Djokovic. I mean, he's going to get a big crowd, isn't he? He's loved at Wimbledon. I mean, how far can he go, do you

think, based on his recent form?

ROTHENBERG: I have to say, he has not played very many tournaments this year, and he's actually currently on court as we're talking. He's lost the

second set, so he's one set all in the third set right now. We'll see.

This is still, I think, maybe his best chance to win a grand slam tournament on this grass. With Sinner wobbling a bit, I think Djokovic

could also like his chances. They would play each other potentially in a semifinal if they both get there. Djokovic is not out of it, for sure. And

this is more open space without grass out of it. And Sinner, again, a little bit uncertain. It could change.

PLEITGEN: Ben -- OK, Ben, appreciate it. You're going to be busy.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW.

END

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