Some of them have been open for 19 hours. That was much longer than planned and an effort to boost Voter Turnout. Now, besides dealing with domestic crises, irans next president will help decide whether the 2015 nuclear deal can be revived. It is a Position Raisi is said to favor. The executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for responsible statecraft and the author of losing an enemy obama, iran, and the Triumph Diplomacy joins me now from fairfax, virginia. Good to see you. Im curious. What does the Leaderships Decision to basically, you know, rig the Candidate List basically to push such a hard line, someone literally under u. S. Sanctions. What does it say about the direction you think the leadership wants to go in terms of relations with the west . Well, i think primarily this has not been about the relationship with the west. Its about who controls iran for the next decades. The hardliners are now in control of the judiciary t. Through a rigged election theyre in control of the parliament, and now as well the presidency, putting them in a very favorable position to also be able to determine who the next supreme leader of iran will be. The current supreme leader is 82 years old and is likely to pass in the next couple of years. So this election was crucial for them precisely because it was about so much more than just the presidency. But it raises many different questions. Had other candidates been able to participate and run in these elections, would there have been a turnout that is significantly lower than it was in the previous elections . Had Donald Trump not imposed sanctions and walked away from the jcpoa and not decimated irans Middle Class, would the reformists and the centrists have been as weak as they are right now that led them to essentially having to be forced to accept the fraud that took place in the elections in terms of the narrowness of the candidates list. You touched on this. A lot of iranians had a lot of hope in the jcpoa, which as you point out, trump pulled out of. Biden wants back in. Talks have been taking place, but how might raisis election impact those negotiations given hell have his own views and quite possibly his own Negotiating Team . I think what was likely to happen is that a return will be signed before raisi comes in and takes over as president , meaning in the next six or so weeks that rouhani is still president during the transition, i think it will take place. The impact that raisi will have is not necessarily on the return to the jcpoa but whether aspects of the jcpoa can be renegotiated in addon negotiations. It seems somewhat unlikely that raisi will approach the jcpoa that he will be open to the proposals that the biden administration will have in terms of from the u. S. Perspective, lengthening and strengthening the jcpoa. Thats where i think the biggest difference will be. Given the exclusion of moderates and any real sort of, you know, choice, if you like, for voters, big picture, how represented are iranian voters in the Nations Parliament versus those there to do the regimes bidding . Whats the state of, quote, unquote, democracy, if you like, and will of the people . This past election as well as the past parliamentary election is a very clear step away from greater representation. And the question will be how will raisi manage The Country. Will he seek to unite people mindful of the fact that he ultimately does not have the type of legitimacy that would have been the case had there been a much more open and fair election than the one that just took place . It seems also that the hardliners are increasingly viewing their legitimacy not based on representations but based on the result and the outcome of their governance, meaning that he really has to perform. If he performs well, they will consider themselves legitimate. So were seeing a significant walk away from principles of democracy, not that iran ever has been a full democracy, but it has had aspects of democracy that gave hope that those aspects could be growing. Were instead now seeing them shrinking. What do you think Raisis Position will be regarding Irans Influence in the region . I mean from, you know, iraq to syria to lebanon and so on. I dont foresee a significant change there. I think the larger change will be when it comes to the broader engagement with the west or a broader perspective looking towards china. I think that Raisi Presidency is likely going to really double down on the idea that iran should resolve its economic problems through resistance economy, meaning less Dependence And Integration with the global economy, at least a global economy as it is dominated by the west, and looking more towards china. So this could be a significant geostrategic shift in the orientation of iran on the global scale, but not necessarily on the regional scale. And real quick, were almost out of time. You mentioned the sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration, the impact of those on life, ordinary iranians. You talk of raisi perhaps wanting a more selfreliant economy. What is life like for ordinary iranians . Life in the last couple of years has been absolutely devastating for ordinary iranians. The sanctions imposed by the Trump Administration led to the additional 10 Million iranians walking into poverty. You have the Middle Class of iran that constituted 45 of the population shrinking to roughly 30 of the population. Its been extremely tough, and that is part of the reason why theres been such a disillusionment with not only the reformists and the centrists but the very idea that their promise that engagement with the west would bring about a better economic situation. Those are promises that dont seem to be carrying a lot of weight any longer as a result of trump walking out of the jcpoa. Yeah. Great analysis as always. Trita parsi, appreciate it. Thank you. Thank you for having me. Now, here in the united states, there is reason for celebration but also concern. According to the centers for disease control, more than 300 Million doses of Covid Vaccine have been given across The Country. But health officials are worried about the spread of the delta covid variant. On friday, the World Health organizations Chief Scientist explained why it was important to monitor how vaccines perform against it. The Delta Variant is well on its way to becoming the dominant variant globally because of its significantly increased transmissibility. This is something that we are watching very carefully and documenting, and we now have a special Expert Group thats been set up to exactly track the performance of vaccines and their effectiveness when used at the Population Level in relation to the variants. And u. S. Health experts are stressing the need for vaccinations as that Delta Variant spreads across the u. S. Cnns Nick Watt has more for us from los angeles. Were heading into, god willing, a summer of joy, a summer of freedom. Reporter but will the Delta Variant which recently ravaged india become the dominant strain here in the u. S. . I anticipate that will be the predominant variant in the month ahead. Reporter over in britain, this more contagious variant now accounts for 99 of new cases. What does that actually look like . Well, Case Counts there are rising, but Death Rates are not. The increase is primarily in younger age groups, says a british health official. A large proportion of which were unvaccinated. Could the Delta Variant force us back into lockdown . I dont think so because so many people have already been vaccinated. Reporter in the u. S. , 65 of adults have now had at least One Shot. The Vice President is touring The Country, encouraging more. Isnt that an extension of love thy nature . Reporter meantime, michigan opens up tuesday. Ohios Covid19 Emergency Declaration ended today. We have basically lifted almost all of the orders. Reporter the president s goal is this. 70 of adults, at least One Shot by july 4th. Will we make it . Federal officials still wont give a straight answer. Its you know, were doing everything we can. Reporter the data suggests The Country will not meet that ambitious independence day mark, but weve gotten 300 Million shots in the arms of americans in 150 days, months ahead of what most Anyone Thought was possible. Reporter here in california, when you get the vaccine, you get this little card as proof. Im surprised i havent lost mine already. Today the state made it easier. Theres a new website, myvaccinerecord. You can just type in all your details, and it will store a digital proof of vaccination for you online. Now, this is key. It is voluntary, not mandatory. Nick watt, cnn, los angeles. Now, as you just heard in nicks report there, 99 of new cases in the uk are from the Delta Variant. Thats according to the latest data from public health england. But there is some good news. New data suggests that both the astrazeneca and the Pfizer Biontech vaccines are about 75 effective in preventing hospitalization from the Delta Variant with one dose and 94 effective after two. Now, a study by Imperial College London found that young people are causing, quote, Exponential Growth in covid infections in england. But with some exceptions, the uk has not made vaccines available to those under 18. As our Phil Black explains for us now, the ethical factors involved are complex, and the stakes are high. Reporter 16yearold thomas crone is one of the very few schoolaged children in the uk to receive a covid19 vaccine, and its only because he must cook, clean, and care for his often sick family. Mum claire anywhere more than a few minutes, i would need this. Reporter and her 12yearold twin sons are still suffering a range of covid symptoms more than a year after first falling ill. Its just so not nice to live with. We know that children can be severely affected. Reporter Government Statistics show that 30,000 Children Age 16 and under have reported experiencing long covid in the uk. But britain has yet to make vaccines widely available to as lessents even as the highly contagious Delta Variant surges through The Country with growing evidence it is moving quickly through children and young people. British experts are still urging caution. I would be receticent that W Vaccinate adoleadolescents. Reporter their concerns are centered on the calculation of benefit versus risk. Statistically very few children suffer severe illness from covid19. While the vaccine is new and its side effects, though rare, are still being studied. Until we have those final bits of evidence and data, i think its reasonable to wait to vaccinate our adolescents. Reporter its a very different approach compared to the u. S. , where over 5 Million children under 18 are already fully vaccinated. And u. S. President Joe Biden is using Britains Experience with the Delta Variant to drive that number even higher, pointing out in a tweet, its spreading rapidly among young people in the uk. If youre young and havent got your shot yet, it really is time. The more children that are vaccinated, the more they add to that pool of immune people, and thus they make the herd bigger. Reporter france, germany, israel are all pursuing a similar strategy. But experts in the uk are hoping the virus can be blocked by immunity in the Adult Population alone. Around 80 have had at least one dose so far. Youre hopeful that it wont be necessary to vaccinate children . I am optimistic, yes. But i dont think that we would wait forever. I think that we just want to make sure were doing the right thing, were doing whats safe and in the best interests of our children and young people. Reporter claire says she just hopes other children will somehow be protected quickly so they never know the Suffering And Uncertainty experienced by her sons. Dont really know what to do to help him. Its yeah, its really heartbreaking. Reporter the Uk Medicines regulator has approved the use of the Pfizer Biontech vaccine for Children Age 15. A panel will advise the government whether to hold off or proceed with the rollout. Meanwhile the World Health organization has expressed a very strong view on this issue. It says no country should be thinking about vaccinating children right now because there are so many older, more vulnerable people in countries Around The World who more desperately need those doses. Phil black, cnn, london. It has been more than a year since u. S. Travelers could visit europe, but that looks set to change perhaps by this summer. The European Unions Governing Body has just recommended that Travel Restrictions on 14 countries should be eased. The united states is on the list, but the uk noticeably is not. The eu says restrictions should be lifted gradually and subject to each of The Countrys easing their own Travel Rules on eu citizens. Olympic athletes from uganda are set to arrive in tokyo in the next few hours. Theyre coming as olympic organizers to debate whether to let fans watch games in the venues or keep them out altogether. They havent decided yet, but so far they are emphasizing the importance of keeping people away from each other as much as possible. Heres what else theyre saying. Im Selina Wang in tokyo. Japans top adviser says it would be, quote, desirable to host the olympics without any spectators. But the question is are olympic advisers going to take that advice . The government had said earlier it would allow up to 10,000 people at largescale venues where no State Of Emergency is in place. But medical experts are concerned that the olympics will lead to a major rebound of cases in japan. Olympic organizers have acknowledged that the Delta Variant poses a major risk, announcing additional restrictions for athletes coming from india. Among other measures, theyll be required to be tested daily and quarantined for seven days before arriving in japan. For spectators that can come to the olympics, it wont be the usual festivities and celebrations. Theyre asked to socially distance with no Partying Or Drinking in the streets. Selina wang there. Now, New Zealand is stepping up its Covid Vaccine program, and the Prime Minister hopes to set an example. She received her first dose of the Pfizer Vaccine On Friday. New zealand has been largely successful at containing the spread of the virus, but the government has faced criticism over a slow vaccine rollout. And the number of new Coronavirus Infections in brazil just spiked again. The country reporting nearly 99,000 new cases On Friday, its second highest daily increase since march. Brazil has now confirmed more than 17. 8 million cases, the third highest in the world. And the numbers Out Of Africa just as troublesome. Cases in many areas are now back on the rise, and one w. H. O. Official calls it, quote, very, very concerning. He also says positive cases arent always detected, and more contagious variants are putting the continent at risk. The brutal reality is that in an era of multiple variants with increased transmissibility, we have left vast swaths of the population and the vulnerable population in africa unprotected by vaccines in the context where Health Systems are already weak. Now, mexico will be without fans for its first two home matches in the World Cup qualifiers later this year. It comes after fans used homophobic chants during mexicos Home Games against the u. S. And Dominican Republic back in march. Fifa also fined the team about 65,000. If the unruly behavior continues, mexico could face further penalties. Is North Koreas dictator spoiling for a fight with President Biden, or is he just clamoring for more attention . Ahead, well explain what kim jongun is now saying. Well be right back. Oils into a mist. D with natul to awaken your home with an experience you can see, smell, and feel. Its air care, redefined. Air wick essential mist. Connect to nature. Welcome back. Kim jongun reportedly has taken the measure of the new biden administration and now views confrontation with the u. S. As a real possibility. Cnns Brian Todd with details. Reporter North Koreas 37yearold dictator lays down his mark with the new american president. Perhaps in an effort to draw Joe Bidens attention away from Vladimir Putin following the president s week on the world stage, kim jongun declares North Korea should be, quote, prepared for both Dialogue And Confrontation with the u. S. , adding it should be fully prepared for confrontation. This comes after months of kim making implied threats against the u. S. In what kim called americas hostile policy on North Korea. One analyst says this could be a classic move by kim to not only draw Joe Bidens attention to him but also to leverage his nuclear arsenal and try to extract concessions from the white house. Its a long, long list of things they want. Not only the end of Military Exercises in South Korea but the end of the u. S. South Korean alliance, the withdrawal of all u. S. Troops, abandonment of all international and u. S. Sanctions. Reporter so far, the Biden Team has said it wants to build on agreements that kim made with former President Donald Trump to draw down North Koreas nuclear weapons program. During that period, trump and kim were known for their chummy relationship, exchanging Gushing Letters that trump was quick to brag about. And then we fell in love. Reporter but kims agreements with trump were vague, and President Biden has indicated hes taking a much harder line on potentially sitting down with kim. But analysts say since those talks with trump and even during the pandemic, kim has been secretly building his weapons program. North korea has tested shortrange missiles in recent months. It has not tested longrange missiles recently, but at an October Parade in pyongyang, the regime displayed what experts say is a new imposing intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the u. S. And analysts say the dictator is likely to testfire that weapon. Eventually he will have to test if he wants to advance further the program itself. On the other hand, kim jongun fully understands that to test longrange missiles is essentially a Big Red Line that the biden administration may not take very well. Reporter this comes as Intelligence Analysts from seoul to washington are keeping close watch on kims appearance, specifically his weight. Side by Side Video comparisons indicate kim appears much thinner now than he was last year. Last fall, South Korean intelligence officials told lawmakers they believed kims weight had ballooned to over 300 pounds in 2020. But photos of kims 12,000 Wristwatch Show in the most recent picture on the right, it is now fastened on a tighter notch than in previous sitings. Why is kims weight such a priority for Intelligence Agencies . Because we know so little about the North Korean leadership and their intentions, we dont know who would succeed him if he were to die suddenly. Reporter if kim jongun were to die suddenly, most analysts say his younger sister, kim yojong, believed to be about 33 years old, would take power. Her stature and responsibilities have increased in recent years. Could she survive . As one Analyst Points out, each time theres been a succession with the kim dynasty, North Korea watchers have predicted it would fail. And more than 70 years in, the kim family still reigns. Brian todd, cnn, washington. A u. S. Defense Department Official says the pentagon will withdraw some of its Missile Defense systems and personnel from the Middle East, including saudi arabia. The withdrawal mostly affects Air Defense systems and comes during a larger drawdown of the u. S. Military in the region. The biden administration wants to refocus from the Middle East to threats from russia and china. Im michael holmes. If youre an international viewer, african Voices Change makers coming up next. If youre here in the u. S. , ill be back with more Cnn Newsroom after the break. Its moving day. And while her friends are doing the heavy lifting, jess is busy moving her Xfinity Internet and tv services. It only takes about a minute. Wait, a minute . But what have you been doing for the last two hours . Delegating . Oh, good one. Move your xfinity services without breaking a sweat. Xfinity makes moving easy. Go online to transfer your services in about a minute. Get started today. Welcome back. 90 of votes have now been counted in Irans President ial election, and conservative Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi is projected to become the next president. Now, earlier the current president , hassan rouhani, whose term is ending, congratulated the President Elect before the official results were made public. Translator i congratulate the people on their choice because it has not yet been officially announced, according to the law, my official congratulations will come later. But we know who got enough votes in this election and whos elected by the people. And cnns Fred Pleitgen has been covering the election from the iranian capital, tehran. He joins me now. Good to see you, fred. No surprise in the result given The Field was handpicked by The Countrys leadership. But what now in terms of Raisis Role and his positions on issues . Reporter well, he certainly, michael, is in a very strong position now as hes set to take power in run because one of the things we could see from this Election Result is Ebrahim Raisi certainly won by a landslide. 17. 8 million votes so far of the i think it was 28. 6 million that have been cast. Thats about 62 of the vote. This is about 90 of the vote counted. Thats why the Election Commission is saying theres not going to be any sort of runoff thats going to be necessary. And so far that projects to be a Voter Turnout of about 48. 5 . Of course they havent counted all the votes yet. Theyre saying its about 90 , so that could be more. Thats not a very high turnout. However, looking at that result, i think what we can say so far is it really seems as though the conservatives have come out and voted, but the moderates have not. They simply apparently didnt show up at the Polling Stations. The made moderate candidate, hemmati, who many were saying could be a Dark Horse in this race, he only got about 2. 4 million votes. Really not very much. So it certainly seemed as though a lot of the moderates didnt come out and vote, but most of the conservatives did. It does make Ebrahim Raisi, gives him a very strong mandate because obviously he won by that margin of percentage. And it certainly is set to move iran in a more conservative direction than it has been so far with eight years of the policies of hassan rouhani. Internationally, of course, its going to be very interesting to see what happens next because theres going to be a whole new foreign Policy Team coming in. In the past eight years of course you have zarif known in the united states and also very well known to the biden administration as well because of course he was so pivotal in getting the iran nuclear agreement on track. A lot is going to change, but some of the fundamentals are not going to change also, michael. I had the Chance Yesterday to speak with the head of irans national supreme Security Council supreme national Security Council, and he told me as far as, for instance, the efforts to try to get the iran nuclear deal back on track, the nuclear agreement back on track, that is going to remain because that is something that the supreme leader has said he wants to happen. So even with a new administration, iran is still looking to get back into full compliance with the deal and of course looking to get the u. S. Back into that deal, michael. Fred, youve been to iran many times. I mean you mentioned there the moderate voters didnt turn out, perhaps because they saw the Writing On The Wall in terms of how restricted The Field was. How would you describe enthusiasm or otherwise among iranians for this election, especially given, you know, the result was pretty predetermined in many ways . Reporter well, you know, i was here in 2017 when we had the election then and there seemed to be a lot more enthusiasm at the Polling Stations than this time. But i think one of the things or some of the things we have to factor into that was the 2017 election was a very hotly, closely contested election. We had hassan rouhani, who had just come off the big success of seeing through the iran nuclear agreement. However, you do obviously have a very big conservative force in this country as well, and that really made for a big, very strong race in the 2017 election. You really didnt have very much in the way of a moderate candidate that would have excited the electorate here in this country in this election, partially, of course, apparently due to some of the disqualifications that were even criticized by irans supreme leader, who said in some cases, they didnt seem to be justified. But i think one thing that we also have to factor in, michael, is that there are a lot of people in this country, you know, centrist people who are quite disappointed with the past couple of years of the rouhani administration, who do feel that rouhani didnt see through a lot of the promises that hed made. Of course all of them understand the backdrop of the crushing u. S. Sanctions and the maximum Pressure Campaign put in place by the Trump Administration. I think there is also a good deal of disappointment in the rouhani administration, and as we can see, very little mobilization on the part of the moderate voters. Good to have you there on the spot again, fred. Appreciate it. Fred pleitgen there in tehran live for us. Now, the former u. S. Vice president Mike Pence was heckled On Friday as he spoke to what you would think would have been a very friendly crowd. He was addressing a religious conference in florida when he was shouted down and repeatedly called a traitor. And i want to thank my friend Ralph Reed for those overly generous words. Traitor im deeply humbled by them. Ralph reed knows me well enough to know the introduction i prefer is a little bit shorter. Im a christian, a conservative, and a republican in that order, and i am honored to stand before you today. Pence has been criticized, of course, by former President Donald Trump since pence provided over the joint Session Of Congress that certified Election Results on January 6th. Now, some of the protrump rioters who stormed the capitol that day even threatened to hang pence. Despite all of that, pence has still showered his former boss with praise in fridays speech. Presence is rumored to be considering a future president ial bid. Many republicans have been trying to whitewash what happened at the capitol on January 6th. Never mind that hundreds of suspected rioters have been arrested and face prosecutions and jail and that many of them can be seen doing what they did on video and Social Media posts. Well, now the u. S. Justice department is releasing more footage of the riots after Cnn And Other Media organizations went to court to seek access to it. A word of warning. The videos are graphic. There is profanity. Paula reid reports. Reporter newly released footage showing an upclose look at what officers protecting the capitol went through during the January 6th attack. These new videos revealed after Cnn And Other Media outlets sued for them in court, showing scott fairlamb, a Gym Owner from new jersey, taunting, then shoving an Officer And Punching him in the face. No. They work for us. Fuck them. Reporter another video taken from an Officers Body Cam showing thomas webster, a former marine and Retired Nypd officer seen here wearing a red coat, threatening police with a flagpole before tackling one officer to the ground. Both men have pleaded not guilty to all charges. Its a Rude Awakening for everyone, but hopefully it will also help people see the lies of the former president. Its shameful, but sadly theres an awful number of my republican colleagues who seem to not feel shame. Reporter but the videos come as some republican members of congress are attempting to rewrite history, downplaying the events of that day and latching on to baseless conspiracy theories. Doj, fbi, or any of the intel community, what kind of role were they playing . Reporter the latest lie, that the people behind the insurrection were not trump supporters but the fbi. The claim stemming from references to unindicted coconspirators. A rightwing website claims without any evidence that the phrase is a reference to fbi informants or undercover agents infiltrating protrump groups. But legal experts say the term is not used to describe Fbi Agents and instead refers to people who participated in the conspiracy but havent been charged. In one example touted by fox news, the unnamed coconspirator was likely the Defendants Wife according to court filings. Fox News Host Tucker carlson doubling down on the theory. But we wont shut up, and we shouldnt. It could not be more obvious at this point that the government is, in fact, hiding something, probably quite a few things. Reporter with representatives matt gaetz, who is under investigation by the fbi, and Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeting the theory. But some republicans are pushing back. Representative Peter Meyer tweeting, not fbi. Cant believe i have to say that. It was what it was, a violent attempt to stop the constitutional transfer of power. And representative Adam Kinzinger Renewing Calls for a January 6th commission. Tell your constituents the truth. Tell the american people the truth. Lets get to the bottom of the truth, and then we can move on. Reporter Cnn And Other Media outlets have spent months fighting to get access to those video clips you just saw. Those clips have been used as evidence in dozens of cases against the rioters, but they were not available publicly. Now, Media Outlets continue to fight for access to additional clips to help show exactly what happened on that day. Paula reid, cnn, washington. A quick break now. When we come back, bishops in the u. S. Going forward with a proposal that could restrict communion for catholic president Joe Biden. What hes saying about it when we come back. The light. It comes from within. It d drives you. And it guides you. To shine your brightest. As you charge ahead. Illuminating the way forward. A light maker. Recognizing that the impact you make, comes from the energy you create. Introducing the allelectric lyriq. Lighting the way. For people who could use a lift new neutrogena® rapid firming. A Triplelift Serum with pure collagen. 92 saw visibly firmer skin in just 4 weeks. Neutrogena® for people with skin. Right now, shes not thinking about her work neutrogena® or her schedule. Hi baby. Hey ma, how are you doing . Im doing good, how are you . Good. We are just on our way back from the beach. Shes not thinking about her next appearance or even her book tour. No, shes thinking about something more important. And thankfully so is her automobile. The safest, most technologically advanced car we have ever introduced. Cares for what matters. The new sclass. From mercedesbenz. The u. S. Conference of catholic bishops is moving forward with a plan that could potentially deny communion to public figures who support Abortion Rights, including President Biden. The bishops voted to draft a document on the eucharist, which is what catholics receive during communion at mass. The measure is controversial, and even the vatican is reportedly against it. The president was asked about it. Heres what he said. Are you concerned about the rift in the catholic church, and how do you feel personally about that . Thats a private matter, and i dont think thats going to happen. Thank you. Cnns Senior Vatican analyst John Allen standing by in rome. Good to see you, my friend. Of course when this all came out, minds turned to the very religious Joe Biden, who supports Abortion Rights for women. What do you think is behind this move by the bishops . Hey there, michael. Well, you know, this is the catholic church, and you can rarely take everything at face value. In this case, i think theres some overinterpretation going on about the significance of this vote. Lets remember what the bishops were actually asked to vote on. It wasnt whether Joe Biden should get communion. It was whether they should draft a document on the eucharist. Thats the samcrament where catholics receive the physical Body And Blood of jesus christ. The thing is recent polls suggest that a strong share of u. S. Catholics according to one poll, its twothirds dont actually believe that. They think its just a symbol or something. Many bishops are concerned about that. Now, this document will also contain a section on kind of the rules for receiving communion, which could have implications for Joe Biden, nancy pelosi, and others. But the thing of it is we dont know what theyre going to say because we havent seen a draft yet. So i think what actually this vote is a measure of is the bi Bishops Concern with the eucharist. As far as the vatican goes, you are quite right. The vatican, Pope Francis and his team have made it clear they dont want to see the eucharist weaponized. That is they dont want to see it used to score political points. Ahead of this vote, the vatican sent a letter to u. S. Bishops warning them not to do anything that would damage the unity of the u. S. Church. Presumably all that will be taken into consideration as this document is drafted over the next several months. So what is the process, and what would you think the Popes Position on something like this would be . Well, it never pays to be overly dogmatic about Pope Francis position. He he loves to keep us guessing. But in general i think he has made it clear that he is against Communion Bans against specific politicians. He believes that ends up looking political and partisan and isnt a good idea. On the other hand, presumably he would be supportive of the bishops efforts to revive faith in the real presence of the eucharist. And i would imagine that most u. S. Bishops will be anxious to try to thread that needle, that is, between being pastoral without being explicitly political, michael. Always good analysis from John Allen. Thank you there, my friend. Appreciate it. And well take a quick break. When we come back here on Cnn Newsroom, Scorched Earth in the western u. S. Why the u. N. Says droughts could become the next pandemic. Well be right back. But yo. That disagreement ends right now. Lactaid Ice Cream is the creamy, real Ice Cream you love that will never mess with your stomach. Lactaid Ice Cream. Did you know Prilosec Otc can stop frequent Heartburn Tbefore it begins . Ss with your stomach. Heartburn happens when Stomach Acid refluxes into the esophagus. Prilosec otc uses a unique Delayedrelease Formula that helps it pass through the tough Stomach Acid. It then works to turn down acid production, blocking heartburn at the source. With just one pill a day, you get 24hour heartburn protection. Prilosec otc. One pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. More than 25 of the Western United States is facing severe drought, the worst in 20 years. Now, experts say its due to Climate Change causing extremely high temperatures and, of course, correspondingly low amounts of rain and snowfall. Stephanie elam now with the story of how one rancher is trying to cope. Reporter living in southern utah, Cattle Rancher t. J. At kin is used to dry conditions. I Cant Control Mother nature. Reporter but the current dryness is more punishing than anything hes ever seen. How long has it been since youve had any meaningful rain here . In the last 15 months combined, were barely at three inches of precip in 15 months. Reporter what would you normally see . Our annual for 12 months is nine inches. Reporter for generations, his family has raised cattle on the same 210,000 acres in northwestern arizona. I either got to haul water, or ive got to ill take them to town and feed them for the next three months. Reporter atkin drove us out to the rugged terrain of his ranch. With temperatures well above 100 degrees, there were just a few signs of life until some of his cows came into view. But just some because theres not enough water out here to sustain them all. Ive relocated 80 already. Ive sold some of them. Reporter his Water Woes arent his alone. Take a look at this u. S. Drought monitor map. The darker the color, the worse the drought. Atkins ranch lies deep within that crimson red. We have about 200 reservoirs and every one of them is dry right now. Like dry . Nothing. We dont have a drop in any one of them, and weve never done that in 85 years, never once. Reporter his operation is in the colorado river basin, which is primarily fed by Melting Snowpack from the western rocky mountains. The river then winds down to the gulf of california, supplying water to seven states along the way. But the basin is now in its 22nd year of drought. This is clearly evident further Down River at the end of the Nevada Arizona Border where the river flows into Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation, which 25 Million people depend on for water. Has it ever been this low before . It hasnt, not since filling in 1937. So we are anticipating the lower basin to be in the first ever Shortage Condition in history. Reporter in fact, Lake Mead is 143 feet below full capacity and has shed a mindboggling 5. 5 Trillion gallons of water in the last 20 years. Those low water levels mean Power Generation at the Hoover Dam is down 25 . No one can really tell with any certainty, but we can all hope that the future will be wetter. Reporter for his part, atkin is hoping for a wet Monsoon Season this summer to replenish his dry ponds and keep his Cattle Business afloat. We could catch more water in one week than weve caught in three years. Reporter but if not, he predicts the entire country will be impacted by this unprecedented western drought. Its such a large area. I mean its almost half of the united states now. If this goes one more year, it will have a huge effect on everyone. Reporter scientists say that Climate Change is part of the problem here, that these punishing temperatures are causing the drought and that the drought is then leading to more of these super high temperatures. Stephanie elam, cnn, in the colorado river basin. And its not just the western u. S. Thats drying out. A united Nations Report has a stark warning for the world. Immediate action is required, it says, to counter the threat posed by water scarcity. The report describes the huge scale of harm that drought can cause from agricultural collapse to health and economic damage, even civil unrest. As one u. N. Official said, drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic, and there is no vaccine to cure it. Most of the world will be living with Water Stress in the next few years. And finally, would you pay more than 3 Million for fake artwork . Have a look at this painting known as the hecking mona lisa, just sold at auction for a whopping 3. 4 million, more than ten times its appraised value. We dont know the buyer, but heres the back story. Frenchman Raymond Hacking bought this reproduction of Leonardo Da Vincis Masterpiece in 1953 at a french antique shop. He spent years preaching that he owned The Real Thing and that the painting in the louvre was a replica. Christies says this version was painted by an unknown artist in the early 17th century and that it is most definitely a fake. Im michael holmes. Thanks for spending part of your day with me. Follow me on instagram and twitter, holmescnn. Kim brunhuber will be here with more cnn in just a moment. Not touching is still touching protection. Adding Lysol Laundry Sanitizer kills 99. 9 of bacteria. Detergent alone, cant. Lysol. What it takes to protect. And tonights winning number, 43 yes noooo. Nooooo. 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