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What We Know with Max Foster

England And Argentina Kick Off Semifinal Battle; Senate Panel Grills Trump's Attorney General Pick Todd Blanche; Iran: "No Plans" For Negotiations Amid New U.S. Strikes; Trump Overturns Pause On ICE Traffic Stops. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 15, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:32]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: I'm Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.

The whistle has blown. The match is on the way, England and Argentina in the World Cup semifinal. You are looking at live pictures from London and

Buenos Aires, where thousands have turned out to cheer on their heroes, whether it'll be Messi or Kane, someone else.

The reward for winning this match, you get to play in the World Cup final on Sunday. against a pretty heavy favored Spain.

World Sport's Patrick Snell is inside the Atlanta fan zone.

Tense times, Patrick.

PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi there, Max. Yes, absolutely. They've just kicked off, as you've just said, these two storied rivals. thousands

here in the fan zone behind me many of them arriving here hours before kickoff straining to get one of the best positions in front of the big

screen here away to my right to try and catch a glimpse of the action that is, of course, if you're not going inside the stadium which is about half a

mile away to my left here.

But this storied rivalry it goes all the way back over many, many decades until I remember, Max, watching the World Cup as a teenager in Mexico and

we had the so-called hand of God from Diego Maradona in that quarterfinal that shattered England hearts the illegal punch the ball ending up in the

back of the net but then four minutes after that he would score the goal of the century and then Argentina going on all the way to win the World Cup

that year. That was in 1986, another high-profile incident in the World Cup in 1998 when David Beckham England's three lines talisman getting a red

card in that match for kicking out at an opponent Diego Simeone, but four years after that in 2002, Beckham redemption as he scores the winner in a

group stage game.

The English manager, Thomas Tuchel, the German national, though, keen to play down talk of sort of ill feeling between the players, tensions between

the players saying, listen, we just want to focus on the game itself. Let's listen to Thomas Tuchel now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS TUCHEL, ENGLAND MANAGER: I think you cannot just say it's just another football match, But as a coach, we do exactly that. Focus on what

we can influence. We don't -- actually, me and my team, between us, we don't speak about the historic events. We don't speak about the iconic

moments. It's, in itself, iconic enough. And the tension is big enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNELL: And, Max, as you well know, England are looking to end a 60-year World Cup drought, the one and only time thus far they've won the World Cup

back in 1966.

FOSTER: Yes, it's quite a talking point, as you know, Patrick. We are watching. We're going to keep the viewers updated as well when the scores

come in from England. Thank you, Patrick Snell in Atlanta.

Now, it's a pivotal moment. It's a pivotal day for U.S. President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Justice Department, meanwhile, as his Senate

confirmation hearings today, Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is facing questions ranging from his handling of the Epstein files to the so-

called "anti-weaponization fund" that he signed off on.

There was this apparent awkward slip of the tongue from Blanche when he was asked about his relationship to the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Are you and President Trump friends?

TODD BLANCHE, ACTING ATTORNEY GENERAL: I'm his lawyer, was his lawyer, and now I'm the deputy attorney general.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Blanche has had a number of test exchanges with Democrats on the committee. Senator Cory Booker questioned Blanche about attending a

dinner with Paramount's CEO during its bid to buy CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): In a case like this, I don't think that's an appearance of impropriety, I think that's improper. Every elected, that the

connected and the powerful are getting a chance to rub shoulders. It would seem appropriate that you avoid those kind of appearances in dinners like

that.

BLANCHE: Every appearance or dinner or speech that I give are cleared by ethics officials.

BOOKER: So your attendance at that dinner was cleared by ethics officials?

BLANCHE: Everything that I do --

BOOKER: I didn't ask you everything you do.

[15:05:00]

Was your appearance at that dinner --

BLANCHE: You can ask the questions, but you cannot control my answers. I'm under oath, and I can answer the questions. I choose to answer them.

BOOKER: Were you approved -- yes or no? Were you approved by ethics --

(CROSSTALK)

BLANCHE: I do things outside of the department, whether it's a speech, whether it's a dinner, whether it's an event, they are approved by ethics

officials.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Well, Top Blanche also put his support behind the director of the FBI, Kash Patel. Patel has faced criticism over his alleged behavior on the

job and his running of the agency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. SHELDON WHITEHOUSE (D-RI): How long do you intend to put up with that Kash Patel character? Are you good with his airplane jaunts? Are you

confident he's not drinking on the job?

Are you sure none of his travel is a pretext for vacation activities like snorkeling, Olympics, and visiting girlfriends? Are you sure he knows what

he's doing? Do you vouch for him? Are you willing to look at whether he lied to this committee?

BLANCHE: That's an extraordinarily obnoxious question, Senator, and I have full faith in Director Patel and the work that he's doing every day.

WHITEHOUSE: Great, you get to own that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: President John's pick for the next U.S. Director of National Intelligence also went before lawmakers today. Jay Clayton was repeatedly

pressed on election security and voter fraud. Democrats on the panel grilled the nominee about his stance on the 2020 election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Who won the 2020 election?

JAY CLAYTON, DNI NOMINEE: You know, I'm not going to do this with you.

OSSOFF: This is a job interview. We have established that you have an obligation to be honest and forthright with the committee, yes? You do have

an obligation to be honest and forthright with the committee?

CLAYTON: Yes.

OSSOFF: Who won the 2020 election?

CLAYTON: Like I said, I'm not going to get into that with you.

OSSOFFF: But you do have an obligation to be honest and forthright with the committee.

CLAYTON: Is anything that I just said not honest or forthright?

OSSOFF: Yes, you're not being honest or forthright. Who won the 2020 election?

CLAYTON: I think I answered your question. We can keep doing this.

OSSOFF: Well, we're going to keep doing it because you're not being honest and forthright.

CLAYTON: I'm not going to engage in the theater.

OSSOFF: It's a simple question, Mr. Clayton.

CLAYTON: And I've answered it.

OSSOFF: Who won the 2020 presidential election?

CLAYTON: I've answered it.

OSSOFF: You're here asking for the support of senators to lead America's intelligence community. We have established that you have an obligation to

be honest and forthright with this committee and with the American public, but you refuse to answer a simple matter of fact about the 2020 election,

is that right?

CLAYTON: No, that's not right.

OSSOFF: Then answer the question, who won the 2020 election?

CLAYTON: I have answered the question.

OSSOFF: Answer it. What is your answer?

CLAYTON: I've given you my answer. What is your answer?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju is with us. Of course, you know, these hearings, Manu, go on for hours, don't they?

They're just some sound bites there, but we did get a sense of how combative they were. But what did we actually learn from them?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, look, the big question is going to be whether they actually get the votes to get

confirmed. And what it sounds like in both of those cases for both of these nominees, that they are going to be moving along party lines, which means

that in order for them to not get the job, it will require some Republican defections. It's unclear if that's going to happen. Just moments ago, the

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called Jay Clayton's performance, quote, "abysmal" and said it is unlikely to get any Democratic votes, which

means on the floor of the United States Senate. He could only required to lose three Republican votes and meaning that's keep most of those members

in line.

Now on the -- for Todd Blanche, he's got a more acute concern that is getting out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. That's going to be the first

vote that has to happen, meaning he cannot afford to lose a single Republican vote on that committee to ensure that he can actually advance

and get his job as attorney general.

But one key Republican Senator John Cornyn told me he still has concerns with the way that Todd Blanche has answered questions about the $1.8

billion anti-weaponization fund that Cornyn and many other Republicans say they want dead. But Cornyn told me he did not get enough clarity on that

issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Did Todd Blanche satisfy your concerns about the weaponization fund?

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): Well, basically confirm that it's not dead. It can't be changed without written consent of the parties. According to the

settlement agreement, there is no written consent of the parties, and he agreed that it could be enforced as a matter of contract.

RAJU: Does that concern you?

CORNYN: Yeah, I continue to have some concerns, but I'm not going to make any decisions at this point. I'm going to wait until we actually vote on

the confirmation in a week or so.

RAJU: So you're truly undecided right now?

CORNYN: Yeah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: And of course, Cornyn is a bit of a free agent, Max, because it was President Trump who endorsed Cornyn's primary challenger back earlier in

this in the summer and got behind Ken Paxton, who is now the Republican nominee in that race.

[15:10:11]

And Cornyn has come back and has broken with President Trump on some key issues. Really here, that's going to be one of the big questions. Another

free agent on that committee, Thom Tillis, as someone who's not running for reelection. He has similar concerns about the administration's handling of

this so-called weaponization fund.

But Tom Tillis after the hearing told me that he is leaning yes in supporting top Blanche, although he wants more language to ensure that that

fund is actually dead, but potentially Blanche could win Tillis. Can he win Cornyn and eventually get the job? Among the big questions we'll see play

out over the next several weeks here -- Max.

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. Manu, thank you.

Now, the U.S. also keeping up its strikes on Iran, saying it carried out new daytime attacks after a seven-hour wave of strikes overnight. President

Donald Trump is threatening once again to attack Iran's civilian infrastructure if it doesn't return to the negotiating table.

Iran says that's not happening, at least for now, saying it's focused on defending the country. But it's also carrying out attacks of its own,

saying it targeted U.S. military sites and several key U.S. on several key U.S. allies.

Let's bring in senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak.

What is the strategy here, Kevin, then, to try to use military action to pressure them back into negotiations on the U.S. terms?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think that is the sort of medium-term goal. The short-term goal is clearly to try and get the Strait

of Hormuz reopened to commercial traffic. And you see over the course of the last several days, the U.S. going after positions along the waterway to

try and degrade some of what Iran has been using to go after those commercial ships. And I think that 90-minute round of strikes today was

notable because it happened during the daytime. You know, for the previous several days, the U.S. has been striking at night.

Today, the U.S. going after this key position, Tunb Island, which is in the Strait of Hormuz during the day, which gives you the sense that the U.S. is

increasing the pace of these attacks, but they also believe that perhaps some of Iran's capabilities have been degraded.

Now, whether or not any of this will be effective, I think remains to be seen. And even when you talk to American officials, they do point out that

Iran has something of an asymmetric advantage here. You know, Iran only needs to fire a few drones at these ships. They don't necessarily even have

to cause significant damage or sink any of these vessels, but still spook some captains and prevent them from going through the strait.

And that, I think, is a very difficult advantage for the U.S. to counter because it doesn't require a great military capability on the Iranians'

part, contrasted with the enormous American military buildup in the region. And so, it will be very difficult, I think, to wear that down outside of

the negotiating table.

And it has been interesting. I've just been listening to J.D. Vance, the vice president, who appeared, you know, for almost three hours on the Joe

Rogan podcast, and this is a point that he was making, is that you aren't going to be able to completely degrade the Iranians militarily because of

this asymmetric advantage. You're going to have to be able to resolve it around the negotiating table.

I think the issue right now is that those talks don't seem to be progressing at all, and the military escalation only seems to be advancing.

And when those negotiations and diplomacy will continue and resume, I think, at this point is unknown.

FOSTER: Kevin Liptak, out of the White House -- appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Well, the White House, a White House official says U.S. President Donald Trump has overturned the temporary pause on immigration traffic stops. The

abrupt change in guidance comes less than 24 hours after the pause was put into place following the shooting to death of two immigrant men in Maine

and in Texas.

The Department of Homeland Security and ICE officials ordered the pause on Tuesday, ostensibly, to conduct a review of enforcement operations.

CNN's Maria Santana joins us from Biddeford, Maine, and this is going to antagonize a lot of those demonstrators we've been reporting about.

MARIA SANTANA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, of course it is, Max. These mixed messages from the White House and from this administration have not helped

the situation here on the ground in Maine after Joan Sebastiano Duran Guerrero, a 26-year-old man from Colombia, was shot to death by an ICE

agent just one week after another man was shot in a similar fashion in Texas.

In that case, a Mexican immigrant people here have for many weeks and months wanted ice out of their neighborhoods. They have been wanting ICE

agents to stop these random traffic stops where many people here tell me they're stopping people that are not even the targets of their

investigations or their arrest warrants, as was the case of Duran Guerrero.

[15:15:12]

ICE submitted that he was not the person that they were looking for, that he exited the building they were surveilling, and when he got into his car,

they tried to stop him. They said that he tried to flee. And that's when, you know, an agent fearing for public safety discharged his weapon.

But that's not what witnesses here are telling us. They're saying that the shots of rang out before we see this video of Duran Guerrero's car slowly

circling an intersection that the shots rang out before that. But it's very hard to tell from video that we have obtained because the agents were also

not wearing body cameras. And you know, that's been also a point of controversy because ICE agents were given a budget to get body cameras for

all of their agents. And in this incident, none of them had them.

But what we do know for certain is that Duran Guerrero, he was a father of a three-year-old, a devoted husband. He was very well loved in this

community. We spoke to a witness, a friend of his, who told us what he was like and how his family is doing now. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISABEL PAREDES, BIDDEFORD RESIDENT: He was a hard worker. He dedicated himself to working and taking care of his wife and his daughter. He was

very proud of her, of his family, and just all the hard work, you know. And he just wanted to be here to make a better future for his family.

SANTANA: How's his family now?

PAREDES: They're too scared to talk to anyone. Many social groups are trying to reach out to them and assist them, providing food, money, legal

assistance, anything like that, and. They're scared, rightly so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANTANA: And the other thing to remember is that immigrants' rights organizations here have told us that he had legal work authorization. He

was authorized to be in the United States for this community. Of course, this is devastating and they asked for a full and transparent investigation

-- Max.

FOSTER: Maria, thank you very much indeed for keeping across that fast- changing story.

Now, officials in Washington are apologizing for actions related to Jeffrey Epstein. Still to come, we'll speak to the lawyer representing some of his

victims.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:20:28]

FOSTER: Returning to Capitol Hill, where the acting attorney general faced tough questions today about his ability to do the job. Todd Blanche is also

apologizing for his past handling of the Epstein files.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): I'm asking you today, with Epstein survivors in this room, to apologize to them.

BLANCHE: Well, so my heart breaks for every victim of any sexual crime, whether it's involving Mr. Epstein or somebody else. And so, if you're

asking me to apologize that this happened to them, of course, absolutely. This is a horrible thing, which is why this Department of Justice, this

administration, is focused very heavily on going after these predators.

And so, yes, of course, that's part of my job, is being empathetic to the victims of crime.

BLUMENTHAL: Will you apologize to them for the mishandling and mistakes that were made by the United States Department of Justice?

BLANCHE: I will -- I will absolutely say that any mistake that we made should not have been made. And I very much -- I very much -- I can answer

the question, or you can just interrupt me, Senator, but I am answering your question. I very much -- and I have said this to anybody that asks

publicly before -- any mistake that was made is not appropriate. And so, yes, I am sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Also facing tough questions about Jeffrey Epstein, the former White House counsel for the Obama administration. Kathy Ruemmler, she

appeared in a closed-door meeting, but in prepared remarks provided to CNN, she says she regrets interacting with the late convicted sex offender.

Civil rights attorney Gloria Allred joins me now. She represents some of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.

Gloria, appreciate you, as ever, joining us today.

What were the survivors' responses to what they heard today on the Hill?

GLORIA ALLRED, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, thank you very much for inviting me, Max.

Yeah, Kathy Ruemmler is formally a -- after being a counsel in the Obama administration -- went to private practice at Latham & Watkins, a big law

firm. And at that point, she encountered or met Jeffrey Epstein. Through the files, the Epstein files that have been revealed, we see that she did

have a personal and I'm going to say professional relationship as well with Jeffrey Epstein. Mr. Epstein, of course, in 2008 was convicted of

soliciting a sexual act with an act of prostitution with a minor.

She became aware of that. She alleges that she asked Mr. Epstein about that, that she met him after that, and that he told her that he thought

that the minor was actually an adult. She went on to have a relationship with him. She denies ever having represented him.

She denies any criminal act. There's no evidence of any criminal act committed by her. But she had, even though she said she didn't represent

him, somehow she did give him some legal advice in reference to accusers who were making allegations against him.

And she engaged in some emails that I'm sure she now regrets calling him uncle, you know, treating him like an uncle, suggesting that maybe he was

like an elder brother to her. And this is, you know, something that she regrets having ever met him at this point.

But it is very troubling. It does appear to be, you know, a lack of good judgment. Perhaps she should have looked further, not accepted his excuse

that he thought that they were adult females. She even asked to be able to go to his island. She never went to his island, but she did ask if she

could make a day trip there.

So, all of this is very troubling. She resigned as legal advisor to Goldman Sachs, a very prominent financial firm, and now she's acting as an advisor,

and after they find another general counsel, she'll be moving on.

But the real question is, why wasn't she put under oath today? Why is there just going to be a transcript, which you've not seen yet, of her testimony?

[15:25:04]

Some of the Democrats on the committee have a lot of questions to her, suggesting they're concerned about her credibility. So we'll have to see

what the transcript says.

FOSTER: Yeah.

ALLRED: She rose through very high positions, and now she's had a fall. But I'm glad she is at least trying to explain what her relationship was

with Mr. Epstein to the House Oversight Committee.

FOSTER: We also did get some -- something from Todd Blanche, didn't we? He did apologize for his past handling of the Epstein files. Was that enough

of an admission for you, that there have been failures here?

ALLRED: Well, we know that there have been tremendous failures, Max, in reference to how the emails and the 302s, the statements to FBI, Homeland

Security by many, clients, many Epstein survivors, including many of mine, that their confidential statements to the Department of Justice, to the

prosecutors, were revealed in the Epstein Files after the Epstein Files Transparency Act was passed and suggested that they should not have been

revealed, that they should have been confidential.

I don't accept what now acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who hopes to be at some point confirmed as the attorney general of the United States,

said today. This is, I mean, even after we, and many other attorneys, but my legal team advised the Department of Justice that you have revealed

confidential information about many of our Epstein survivors who were clients of ours and also others. You've revealed that information. Redact

it. Take it out immediately.

Even after they took it out, then they put it back in again. Then we had to ask again.

This is completely unacceptable, and he needs to be more forthright about it. And I don't feel that he has been apologetic today to the survivors in

a way that was meaningful.

FOSTER: Gloria, thank you so much for bringing us the all-important view of the survivors here. Thank you.

ALLRED: Thank you, Max.

FOSTER: Now, a new social media curfew being proposed for teens here in the U.K. Still to come, who may be impacted?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:30:58]

FOSTER: Todd Blanche insists the $1.8 billion fund created to compensate allies of President Donald Trump is dead. The acting attorney general was

grilled about the fund and a number of other topics by a Senate committee today in his bid to lead the Justice Department on a permanent basis.

Republicans on the panel hold a razor-thin advantage, making Blanche's confirmation anything but certain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLANCHE: Above all, we are restoring American trust. In recent years, we watched the Justice Department turned against many of you and a former

president, and it damaged the public's faith in justice. We are fixing that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: So what we want to know is how much credibility would Todd Blanche have as attorney general?

Joining us now, David Schultz, a professor in legal studies and political science at the Hamlin University in Minnesota.

Thank you so much for joining us, Professor.

It was a big topic of -- it was a theme, really, of the debate today, wasn't it? You know, is this candidate really just a stooge for President

Trump, or will he act independently in that role?

DAVID SCHULTZ, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW EXPERT: No, you're absolutely correct. And I think that's the critical issue that's here. It's -- I think it's

less about the Epstein issue, which I know some of your other guests have talked about here. It's about the idea that the attorney general of the

United States is supposed to be representing the United States, not Donald Trump in his personal capacity.

I think one of the things that I didn't hear today is his discussion, Todd Blanch, that is, is his ability to be able to separate those roles because

he's served as Donald Trump's personal attorney for I don't know how many years. Can he make that transition? And with that, I think there's some

real serious questions from legal ethics point of view. And what I mean by that is that in the United States, there are a whole bunch of rules about

conflicts of interest.

And I heard some, but not as much discussion as I thought I was going to hear today regarding how he's going to navigate these various conflict of

interest issues. So if I were to say it's the issue of how does he separate himself from being Trump's personal attorney to representing the United

States independently? That's the fundamental issue that really needs to be addressed. And it was sort of discussed, but not as well as it could have

been during the hearings today.

FOSTER: Yeah, actually Blanche spoke to that, didn't he, saying it was theater. And I have to say, as a journalist, when I was watching, it was a

bit frustrating because some of the panelists weren't really diving into issues. It did feel like a bit of theater. But I guess that's what we've

ended up with, right?

SCHULTZ: It is, yeah, I was going to say, I think theater is a good description here, because I think you're right, is that it got captured by

some high profile issues, such as the Epstein files, or about the recent IRS lawsuit. And those are kind of what may be symptoms of the broader

issue, the broader issue, again, if I'm going to call it here, the independence issue.

But I felt to some extent, you know, given the fact that what, we're what, three months, four months away from the U.S. midterm election, I felt like

to some extent the questioning was more playing to the -- to the bases, playing to the audience for like campaign videos or election videos than it

was delving into, let us say, the substance of what, again, what I do think is the core -- real core issue here, which is about the independent

capacity of the attorney general to make calls in the interest of justice for the United States.

FOSTER: And this is just one piece in the puzzle, because other appointments have been made in a similar vein, haven't they? So what would

you say about the independence of these agencies more generally in this era?

[15:35:04]

SCHULTZ: Well, I think they're compromised, and especially if we look at a recent Supreme Court decision, was it Trump versus Slaughter, the Supreme

Court just decided a few weeks ago, upholding the ability of the president to be able to remove somebody, I believe it was from the Federal Trade

Commission.

This is coming at a time where the courts are giving the president even more authority over political appointees and over what, independent

regulatory agencies. And this is where I would have probably wanted to focus some of the attention also, too, is to say that at a time when this

is a president who is exerting lots of control over the bureaucracy or the administrative bureaucracy, and the courts are allowing it, how do you as

an attorney general navigate that?

And then again, going back to what I mentioned to you before, in the United States, there are many rules regarding conflicts of interest. And how does

he navigate having been Trump's personal attorney to shifting in this role here to where he's going to be, again, representing the United States.

Again, these are things that I would like to see, have seen more explored, and I think we're just not really well explored during discussion. But

certainly, this is an administration that is very, very much intent on having a shorter leash, if I can use that phrase, a shorter leash for the

people under the president.

FOSTER: Professor David Schultz, thank you for bringing us your analysis on those hearings today. Appreciate your time.

SCHULTZ: All right.

FOSTER: Now, it is the final moments of trade on Wall Street, and stocks are pretty flat today, actually. Banks have continued to post strong

earnings, but a sell-off in chip stocks of limited giants on Wall Street today.

This is our Business Breakdown.

Wholesale inflation eased in the U.S. last month, but that relief might not be lasting long, because the producer price index fell to 5-1/2 percent in

June, led by dropping energy prices, but with the U.S. and Iran resuming strikes, oil from the Persian Gulf is again tied up, which could push

prices back up. China has missed its growth target for the first time since COVID. The country's National Bureau of Statistics says the economy grew

4.3 percent in the last quarter compared to the year before. The weaker economic data suggests China is also feeling the effects of war in the

Middle East.

And the US Treasury has started minting $1 coins with President Donald Trump's face on them. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the gold coins

celebrate the strength of American values. It's yet another move by his own administration to honor the sitting president for the 250th anniversary of

American independence.

And lawmakers in the UK have unveiled social media restrictions for older teens. Under the new curfew, 16 and 17-year-olds will not be able to use

social media for a six-hour period overnight, though they will be able to override the proposed default setting. This follows last month's

announcement of restrictions for those under 16.

CNN's Nada Bashir has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is, as you mentioned, the next step after that initial announcement by the government last month. They will be

banning social media access to all under 16 year olds. But this is seen as sort of a phasing in for 16 and 17 year olds, allowing them to have access,

but of course, for that curfew to come into place between 12:00 a.m. to midnight and 6:00 a.m. And this would essentially prevent any sort of

access to social media sites like Twitter, like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.

But it would also add measures which was essentially which allow for constant scrolling, like, for example, Reels on Instagram or on TikTok, to

prevent that from automatically being the case for teenagers using those apps. But it is important to note that this is a voluntary measure. So

those teenagers would have the option of going into their settings on their phones and turning this off. But the government has said that this is an

attempt to add further safeguards to make them accessible for parents trying to control social media usage amongst their teenagers.

And we have heard from the U.K. Technology Secretary, Liz Kendall, in a statement saying these measures will be crucial in helping young people get

the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends, all of which are fundamental to building a

happy, healthy, and fulfilling adult life.

And there has also been a pilot which took place involving more than 300 people. And according to the findings of this pilot, this actually helped

sleep and concentration. So while there are some doubts around the voluntary nature of this measure, there is some hope that this will add

further safeguards for young people.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Nada Bashir there.

Now still to come, their fathers were sperm donors. Now, one podcaster is looking to find the hidden branches of their family trees.

[15:40:00]

I'll speak to him, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Now, imagine being told you're a half-brother or sister completely without your knowledge. And then after reaching out to find your newfound

relatives, you're then told that the authorities actually got it all wrong.

Well, here in the U.K., that's been the experience of some people conceived by sperm donors. The journalist Louise McLoughlin, who is herself a donor-

conceived person, has covered these stories for her podcast called "You Look Like Me".

Louise, who's a former CNN colleague, in fact, joins us now. Thanks for joining us, Louise.

LOUISE MCLOUGHLIN, HOST, "YOU LOOK LIKE ME" PODCAST: Hi, Max. Thanks for having me.

FOSTER: If I could first ask just about your story, because you've been so brave, talking about your personal struggle to find your donor father. I

don't know how to describe him, but just explain that journey first of all.

MCLOUGHLIN: Yeah, absolutely. So, I mean, when I was 13, I was told I was donor conceived. I had no idea that the term "donor conceived" even

existed, let alone that it was something that applied to me. I was conceived in the U.K. back when there was the legislation basically said

that all donations were anonymous.

So I basically had no way of tracking down the man who had donated sperm to conceive me. So I had no idea who my biological father was. The years went

by, and DNA testing became more commonplace. I put myself on every DNA testing site out there. I got no matches for a decade and a half.

And then finally, when lockdown happened, I started to make a podcast about my experience, because I realized that the way donor-conceived issues were

being covered in the media maybe wasn't reflective of the personal stories at the heart of them. It was a subject, there was a lot of secrecy still

around it.

So I decided to make a podcast platforming donor-conceived voices around the world. As I made that, by chance, as I say, I'd been sitting on these

DNA sites.

[15:45:02]

I got a match that enabled me to track down my biological father.

And over the course of the first season, I was able to track him down. I recorded our first meeting. I recorded our first phone call. We're now on

season three. And I've spent all of that time, as you say, that you mentioned, an investigation in the UK.

There's a lot of issues in this industry. And I've spent these seasons platforming these different stories around the world.

FOSTER: Just briefly, what was that moment like when you met him? And do you respect the fact that you did take that time?

MCLOUGHLIN: Yeah, I mean, it was -- it's really hard to put into words, so I would encourage everyone to listen to the podcast, where you can listen

to it almost in real time. But it -- you know, I called him when he was on a beach in Greece, he knew he donated, obviously, but I don't think he ever

thought about the possibility that he could be contacted. I think this is something that we see with a lot of donors across the board, especially

people who have donated historically. In a lot of countries, you can still donate anonymously.

So I think people go into this knowing that, yes, they're donating. Yes, they have the potential to create, you know, dozens of offspring. But they

often don't really think about the fact that they could get that call one day. I was really lucky with him that he was surprised, but he was very

open to being contacted. I've met him many times since with a few of the house siblings that I've discovered along the way.

And we are -- you know, we're forming a relationship. But I've interviewed a lot of people on the podcast who have reached out to people, again, who

donated thinking that they would be anonymous forever. And they've been with -- they've been iced out, they've been ignored. Some of them have been

met with restraining orders. I've interviewed people who have reached out, who've finally identified who their sperm donor was, for example, and

reached out only to find out that that person passed away two years before. So that's why I'm quite strong on the fact that I think donor-conceived

people do deserve the right to know as early as possible, because going through all of that, tracking someone down only to find out you'll never

meet them, it's quite an emotionally turbulent journey.

FOSTER: Yeah, I think we all have a right, don't we? It's like a human right to know who your parents are. I mean, I could ask you questions all

night on this, Louise, but I encourage everyone to listen to the podcast, because it's a quite incredible story, and you're really exposing a

massively broken system.

Thanks for joining us.

MCLOUGHLIN: Thanks.

FOSTER: Now, some new just in to us. U.S. forces have begun a new wave of strikes against Iran. This is at least the second wave of strikes today.

U.S. Central Command says they began around 40 minutes ago. The U.S. military says they are focused on Iranian military assets threatening

vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, although the statement didn't specify the area of the strikes.

Still to come, as England and Argentina approach halftime in their World Cup semi-final, we'll have live reports and any results there might be so

far in both countries.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:50:42]

FOSTER: Halftime in the World Cup semi-final between England and Argentina. So far, I can reveal no goals have been scored. The play's been

pretty tough, physical, spirited, with both teams unwilling to back down even an inch.

These are of course longtime rivals. England and Argentina have played some of the most legendary matches in World Cup history, also some pretty

controversial ones.

Let's get check in on the fans there.

Stefano Pozzebon at the watch party in Buenos Aires but first Anna Stewart with fans in her local part of London.

What are they saying, Anna?

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a very stop, first off, I'd say, Max, but as you well know, I am no football expert. I am an expert,

though, on this pub and all the lovely people who graced it.

Christian, how is this match going? What can you tell us? How have you been feeling through this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh. The game is brilliant, right? So I'm here from Australia, gay TV. I'm here. It's fantastic.

Shout out all the gay fans in the USA. I love it.

STEWART: How is everyone feeling? What do you feel about the first half?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was on edge the whole time. The tensions are high.

STEWART: Are you disappointed, though? No goals scored?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, not yet, because Jude Bellingham is still there. He's got time. Give him time. Jude will win.

STEWART: What do you feel about the yellow cards?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Listen, I can't say much because I don't know much about football. I just know that England are going to win. It's coming out.

STEWART: Love your enthusiasm.

Max, there is a lot of excitement, a lot of optimism here at the Black Lions Hub, a lot of optimism going into this and there are no goals scored

yet, which at least means that beer has not been thrown. There will be no beer showers as of yet, but perhaps that's still to come.

But fingers crossed, after decades of rivalry with Argentina, perhaps England will win this one. Perhaps it's coming home after what is it? Sixty

years -- Max.

FOSTER: Yes, exactly. And I love the lack of expertise, but that's what's so brilliant. Everyone's engaged in all of this.

Stefano, is it the same story where you are? No goals.

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Oh, no goals, but the party's already starting, Max. As you can see, people here are already chanting the fourth

star saying. And the chance gentleman here is.

(INAUDIBLE)

POZZEBON: Let's go, Vamos Argentina.

Nobody here has any doubt on who will win this match. So, Max, probably speak to you in an hour, and maybe these people will still be jumping and

chanting.

FOSTER: Anna, we're going to go back to you, because we wondered if you could find some more expert football fans to tell us exactly what has been

happening in this first part, because I know there's been a lot of commentary about the argy-bargies, they're calling it, on the Argentine

side.

STEWART: Yeah, it's been a really interesting, Max. Earlier this tonight, I was asking people about the rivalry with Argentina. And it's very much a

generational divide. So depending on who you speak to, you get a different sort of highlight, I suppose, on the rivalry. For the older generations,

they may talk about the Falklands, they'll talk about Maradona and the hand of God.

The millennial fans, however, bring up David Beckham. But I have to say, most of the rivalry tonight, in terms of Argentina, has really been

surpassed by just the overall exhilaration, excitement that for whatever reason, they think this is the one they're going to win.

Despite Messi, and Messi looms large over this pub in London. And of course, the yellow cards were possibly one of the biggest parts of the

first half. Lots of booing anytime you see Messi here.

I'm trying to see if I've got any more fans. See, they're getting a bit shy. I feel like once we've got a goal scored before that, we get the

chance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Come on, England. Come on. Come on, England.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: God save our king. God pass England. And let's fucking bring it home.

STEWART: I'm sorry for that terrible language. I apologize. Back to you, Max.

FOSTER: It's pub language, Anna.

[15:55:00]

Thank you. And we're live TV.

Finally tonight, English fans just can't get enough of Jude Bellingham, of course. Ahead of tonight's game, fans in London, elsewhere from Anna,

gathered for a Jude Bellingham look-a-like contest, would you believe? Bellingham has been one of the stars of the World Cup so far, participants

even copying Bellingham's famous celebration.

A couple of Erling Haaland look-a-likes also appear to have snuck in there. What do you think? Good match?

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Keep following because another half of this notorious game coming up.

Stay with CNN.

END

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