Hello and happy Friday. I'm Natasha Chen
in for Koiwire who is on a muchdeserved
summer vacation this week. But no fear,
I have been keeping a close eye on all
the important headlines you may have
missed this week. So let's get you your
news for this summer Friday, June 26th.
We begin in Venezuela where recovery
efforts are underway following a series
of devastating earthquakes this week. A
powerful 7.2 magnitude quake struck the
country's northern coast on Wednesday
night, followed just 40 seconds later by
an even larger 7.5 magnitude quake. US
Geological Survey data shows it was the
strongest quake to hit the country in
more than a century. I leaned out onto
the balcony screaming, "We're trapped.
We need help. Please, someone come." We
didn't realize there were two
aftershocks back to back. We thought it
had lasted a minute, maybe a minute and
a half, but it felt endless.
>> As of this recording, at least 164
people have died and 971 more have been
injured. But the complete death toll
could be much higher given the number of
collapsed and damaged buildings. A
nationwide state of emergency has been
declared and first responders have been
deployed across the country. US
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the
US has deployed search and rescue teams
to assist in those efforts, but severe
damage to the country's main airport
could complicate their arrival. This
disaster comes at a dire time for
Venezuela, which is still deep in
political and financial crisis. Its
economy has been crippled by years of
hyperinflation. And you may remember, an
interim government has led the country
since January when US forces captured
President Nicolas Maduro. Acting
President Deli Rodriguez says she is
coordinating with the International
Monetary Fund to create an initial $200
million fund to help rebuild the
country. Now to the United Kingdom where
earlier this week, Prime Minister Kier
Starmer announced his resignation.
Starmer's announcement followed mounting
pressure from within his own political
party and comes just two years into his
term. Now the UK is bracing for its
seventh prime minister in just the last
10 years. Armax Foster has more on what
led to Starmer's abrupt exit and who
could replace him.
>> Two years ago, Kia Starmer walked
through those black doors with one of
the biggest mandates in modern British
history. And yet, Monday morning, he
announced he was walking back out again
after losing the support of his
parliamentary party. That is why I will
resign as leader of the Labour Party.
I have spoken to his majesty the king
this morning to inform him of my
decisions.
>> We now come to Andy Burnham.
>> The man almost certain to replace him.
Andy Bernham, the former mayor of
Greater Manchester whose bi-election win
last Friday dealt the final blow. He now
had a seat in parliament and an eye on
something much bigger. where Sama was a
London lawyer turned party leader,
Bernham's a political chameleon who
built his name running Greater
Manchester, speaking directly to the
industrial communities that abandoned
Labor for reform. Whether that's enough
to win them back is the question his
party now has to answer.
As for the man leaving, an emotional
ending. And when I leave the biggest job
in the country, I shall spend more time
on the most important job.
Being the best husband I can to my
fantastic wife fig who has been a rock
by my side through good times and bad.
And being the best dad I can to my
beautiful children who are my pride and
my joy.
Thank you very much. In a matter of
weeks, the UK could see its seventh
prime minister walking through that door
in 10 years. It's feeling quite
ordinary. But what's extraordinary is
that Andy Burnham has only just become
an MP. We know nothing about his
national or his international policy.
He's being crowned. There is no
opposition. He's been a local politician
for 10 years. but he is seen as the best
hope for the Labour Party to try to
bring some popularity back to number 10.
>> Elsewhere across Europe, a brutal heat
wave is fueling life-threatening
conditions due to a second heat dome in
just the last few months. Heat domes are
high pressure systems which trap hot air
and force it down, similar to the lid on
a boiling pot. The sweltering conditions
have obliterated summer temperature
records, causing heat alerts in more
than 26 countries. And it's not common
in Europe to have air conditioning in
homes and buildings like in the US.
Spanish officials say at least 212
people have died due to the heat over
just the last 4 days. In the UK,
hundreds of schools have closed or moved
to half days. And commuters have been
warned to avoid train. France, which has
been at the epicenter of this heat wave,
recorded its hottest day ever this week
with one city seeing temps of more than
111° F.
Cafe.
>> I came here quickly. I haven't even had
my coffee this morning. I run here to
buy an electric fan, maybe an air
conditioner, but really there aren't any
left.
>> The iconic Eiffel Tower was forced to
close early, and French officials say at
least 48 drownings have been reported
across the country in just the last
week. Some nuclear plants have even had
to cut output because nearby water
sources are too warm to cool them. While
heat domes aren't entirely unusual for
European summers, scientists say
humd-driven climate change is
supercharging their severity. Europe is
the planet's fastest warming continent,
heating at around two to three times the
global average. This year's World Cup
has had no shortage of historic moments,
but perhaps the biggest one so far came
courtesy of the sport's biggest name.
Argentina's Lionel Messi once again
proved why he's the greatest to ever
play the game by becoming the all-time
leading scorer in World Cup history with
18 career goals this week. His two goals
in Argentina's victory over Austria
surpassed Germany's Mirus Love Closa.
His previous record was 16 goals. But
Messi is not the only big name making
headlines. Portuguese superstar
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his
team's win over Usuzbekistan this week,
becoming the first player to score in
six different World Cups. Meanwhile,
Francis Kiambapp could have history in
his sights. The French phenom now has 16
goals through just three World Cups, and
he's nearly a decade younger than Messi.
He plays today at 3 p.m. Eastern time.
It's time for 10-second trivia. Which of
these record labels was founded first?
Mottown Records, Inner Scope, RCA, or
Colombia.
If you said Colombia, your knowledge is
topping the charts. The label, which has
worked with artists from Bob Dylan to
Beyonce, was originally founded in
January 1889 as the Colombia Photograph
Company. This week, the music industry
is mourning the loss of one of its
all-time greats. Legendary producer and
industry icon Clive Davis passed away at
the age of 94. The music mogul dubbed
the man with the golden ears discovered
and signed some of music's biggest names
including Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen,
Carlos Santana, and Whitney Houston. And
I
am
Despite all of his success, Davis never
dreamed of a career in music. After
graduating from Harvard Law School in
1960, he began working at Columbia
Records as a lawyer, becoming the
label's president just 5 years later.
His family remembered him as both quote
a towering figure whose influence
changed music forever as well as quote
the man who led our family with grace,
generosity, and kindness. Now to an
update about a story we brought you
about a year ago that highlights the
good side of AI. Conjoined twin sisters,
Mercy and Goodness, were born with their
skulls fused together in their home
country of Nigeria. And now, after a
successful surgery with the help of
artificial intelligence, the now
three-year-olds can finally look each
other in the eye. Doctors say the twins
were in especially hard case because
they even shared brain tissue and blood
vessels. The team used pioneering AI
technology to develop custom skull
implants, which had never been used
before in a case like this. They also
used virtual reality and other
simulations to prep and plan for the
complex procedures. In all, the
operations took more than 40 hours over
a period of 4 months in Abu Dhabi. Now,
doctors say mercy and goodness have made
a full recovery and are back home in
Nigeria.
This week's story getting a 10 out of
10. Summer fun isn't just for kids. In
Tennessee, senior citizens are also
sliding into their summer break. The
Middle Tennessee State University
football team assisted residents at a
Nashville senior facility on this epic
slip and slide while the local fire
department provided the H2O. All the
seniors had to do sit back, relax, and
slip back into childhood.
>> I've done it four times. This is the
fourth time.
>> That was fast.
>> Despite some of these folks having
physical disabilities, this event
allowed them to safely be a kid again.
Now that's what I call tubular. All
right, superstars. I've got time for two
shoutouts today. First up, Mrs. Steen's
fifth grade class at Aviation Elementary
School in Hawthorne, California. Thank
you for making us a part of your day.
And a somber but sincere shout out to
Valley Central Middle School in
Montgomery, New York. We heard about the
unexpected passing of your dear civics
teacher, Jimmy Gold. We are so grateful
he loved the show and included it in his
classroom, which sounds like it was a
welcoming place. We are so sorry for
your loss and we'll be thinking of you
all. Koi will be back next Friday. Until
then, I hope you have a great week. I'm
Natasha Chen and this is CNN 10.