Why Trump Backed Down on Iran; Bill Gates Accuses Epstein of Possible Blackmail

Summary

Here's the Scoop – NBC News

Episode: “Why Trump Backed Down on Iran; Bill Gates Accuses Epstein of Possible Blackmail”

Date: June 11, 2026
Host: Yasmin Vossoughian

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Episode Overview

This episode delivers comprehensive coverage of three major stories: the dramatic reversal of President Trump’s planned strikes on Iran, Bill Gates’ Capitol Hill testimony regarding his ties to Jeffrey Epstein and allegations of blackmail, and the electric atmosphere in Mexico City for the opening of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In signature fashion, “Here’s the Scoop” presents breaking news and exclusive reporting with a quick, clear, and conversational style.

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1. Trump’s Abrupt Reversal on Iran Strikes

Key Segment: [00:14]–[08:31]
Correspondents: Yasmin Vossoughian (Host), Courtney Kube (Senior National Security Correspondent)

Main Points & Insights

• President Trump’s Fluctuating Stance:

  • Trump first threatened to strike Iran and seize Kharg Island, a vital oil hub, but soon reversed course, citing “discussions with the Islamic Republic… approved at the highest level of Iranian leadership.”
  • He announced a pending deal, but emphasized the U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would remain until the deal was signed.

• Skepticism Over Deal Authenticity:

  • “I don’t know how we’re supposed to know when it’s real and when it’s not until the administration presents us with some sort of a written plan or agreement or proposal… Otherwise, it’s more bluster.” – Courtney Kube ([02:04])
  • Past patterns of negotiation ambiguity are underscored as reasons for doubt.

• Military Complexities and Blockade:

  • Actual strikes on Kharg Island are feasible but extremely perilous, given remaining Iranian defenses.
  • U.S. military presence remains stable, but combat operations, including deployment of assets and Tomahawk missile strikes, have intensified recently.
  • “They fired off half of what they had on one of those ships last night. It’s astonishing.” – Courtney Kube ([06:30])

• Stockpile Concerns:

  • Exclusive reporting revealed the President’s meetings with defense leaders over missile inventory shortages, particularly after heavy usage in multiple operations.
  • Dwindling air defense stockpiles are a major concern, aggravated by both aid to Ukraine and intensive recent operations.

• Potential Effects on Policy:

  • Lower stockpiles may influence duration and strategy, although no official says so outright.
  • “It’s the level of danger that the US Service members… will face based on what the stockpile looks like.” – Courtney Kube ([08:01])

Notable Quotes

• “Love taps. Exactly, the Love taps. We’re gonna continue to have those… they escalate up till both sides are firing at one another.” – Courtney Kube ([03:43])
• “President Trump was specifically asked… whether he plans to bring the troops home, and he said no.” – Courtney Kube ([04:53])

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2. Bill Gates Testifies on Epstein & Raises Blackmail Claims

Key Segment: [10:34]–[18:22]
Correspondents: Yasmin Vossoughian, Hallie Jackson (Senior Washington Correspondent)

Main Points & Insights

• Gates’ House Testimony:

  • Bill Gates appeared before the House Oversight Committee to discuss his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, previously documented in DOJ files.
  • Gates reaffirmed no criminal charges or allegations of direct wrongdoing have ever been made against him.

• Nature of the Gates-Epstein Relationship:

  • “Gates says it was to basically work to solicit more money for his charitable organizations… That’s why he met Epstein, right? That’s what he says.” – Hallie Jackson ([11:57])
  • Gates claims he resisted Epstein’s attempts to make the relationship more personal and, after realizing no philanthropic gains would come, he cut Epstein off.

• Blackmail Allegations:

  • Major Revelation: Gates told Congress that Epstein attempted to use knowledge of Gates’ extramarital affairs to pressure him into renewing their relationship—a form of possible blackmail.
  • “Essentially, this was potential blackmail. That’s what Gates is accusing Epstein of, and that’s what he told lawmakers.” – Hallie Jackson ([11:57])

• Controversial Emails & Denials:

  • Epstein reportedly drafted emails referencing “procuring drugs for Bill” and “sex with Russian girls.” Gates categorically denied these allegations, stating, “Epstein would write emails that contained things that weren’t true.” ([14:49])

• Gates’ Tone & Credibility:

  • Lawmakers described Gates’ demeanor as “stressed and worn out” at times, “a bit combative,” but said he answered all questions.

• Investigative Aims & Next Steps:

  • The Oversight Committee, per Chair James Comer, is focused on government failures that enabled Epstein: “This is about trying to figure out how the government failed.” ([15:39])
  • There is hope among survivors’ advocates that the hearings yield accountability by revealing systemic lapses dating to the 1990s and beyond.
  • Next possible witness: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, given his role in file releases and key interviews. Political dynamics may affect his potential testimony.

Notable Quotes

• “[Gates] acknowledged errors in judgment, grave errors in judgment.” – Hallie Jackson ([14:49])
• “I think Gates is pretty clear that he thinks Epstein is a liar.” – Hallie Jackson ([14:59])

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3. World Cup Fever in Mexico City

Key Segment: [20:36]–[25:30]
Correspondents: Yasmin Vossoughian, Stephanie Gosk (Live from Mexico City)

Main Points & Insights

• Historic Kickoff:

  • The 2026 FIFA World Cup has begun, with matches in Mexico City and Guadalajara, and broader North American hosting (Mexico, U.S., Canada).
  • Local pride is immense as Mexico hosts for a record third time—at the iconic Aztec Stadium.

• Atmosphere and Community:

  • “It’s one big raucous party… musicians, a folk band, people yelling and screaming, kids as young as two, grandparents in wheelchairs, mariachi bands—it’s been remarkable.” – Stephanie Gosk ([21:00])
  • Gosk describes the unique, intergenerational, and cultural vibrancy surrounding the event.

• Historical Resonance:

  • Fans recall legendary moments like Pele’s 1970 header for Brazil and Maradona’s 1986 “goal of the century,” both at Aztec Stadium.
  • “We want this moment to be ours.” – Stephanie Gosk, paraphrasing local sentiment ([22:14])

• Tournament Scope:

  • This Cup is unprecedented: 48 participating countries, 104 games, and must-see matches for fans worldwide.

• Personal Reflections:

  • “It’s the first time I’ve had to use a microphone because the mariachi band just started.” – Stephanie Gosk ([24:30])
  • Covering the World Cup is described as a “privilege” and, for many locals, “the singular moment of their lives.”

Notable Quotes

• “There are very few things in our lives that elicit the kind of passionate response that athletics do, and big events in particular.” – Stephanie Gosk ([24:43])
• “Sporting events… are just an incredible time in which people can celebrate as one.” – Yasmin Vossoughian ([25:10])

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Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• [02:04] – Courtney Kube on the difficulty of discerning which administration statements are “real.”
• [06:30] – Kube shocked at missile expenditures: “They fired off half of what they had… It’s astonishing.”
• [11:57] – Hallie Jackson details the core of Gates’ testimony—charity, blackmail accusations, and the “dead end” with Epstein.
• [14:49] – Discussion on the salacious and denied contents of Epstein’s emails.
• [15:39] – Rep. James Comer’s focus on “how the government failed” regarding Epstein.
• [21:00] – Gosk describes the explosion of color, music, and energy in Mexico City as the Cup begins.
• [24:30] – “It’s the first time I’ve had to use a microphone because the mariachi band just started.” —Stephanie Gosk

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Episode Takeaways

• Iran Negotiations Remain Volatile: The policy toward Iran remains full of rapid, unpredictable changes, and U.S. military readiness is intricately linked to supply limits.
• Epstein Investigation Broadens: Gates’ testimony adds new layers to the Epstein probe, suggesting not just reputational risk but direct attempts at blackmail; the pursuit of government accountability continues.
• World Cup Unites Amid Division: Even as the world faces polarization, global sport offers a powerful reminder of shared joy and collective identity.

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Transcript

[Stephanie Gosk]

Well, it's the first time I've had to use a microphone because the mariachi band just started.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

I don't believe that. I have to tell you. I don't believe that's actually.

[Stephanie Gosk]

No, no, that's actually a first.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Hey, everybody. And welcome to here's the scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasm Desugin. The excitement is everywhere today in Mexico City for the World cup kickoff tonight. Our correspondent Stephanie Gosk is on the ground with the crowds and the music. Plus, Bill Gates testified about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein before House Oversight Committee. This week, we're going to dive into what we learned and whether victims are going to see accountability. Up first, though, we have had a day of stunning social media posts from President Trump. First, he said that he was going to hit Iran, quote, unquote, very hard and take control of Kharg Island, a key location for Iran's oil production. Then, in this huge reversal, the president announced on Truth Social that he's calling off said strikes against Iran because, as he wrote, discussions with the Islamic Republic have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved. And then he went on to say time and place of the signing to be announced shortly. Okay, but here's the caveat. He also said, quote, the naval blockade will remain in full force and effect until this transaction is finalized. So is the war over? And what does this head spinning back and forth actually mean? Also, is Iran on board for this? I want to talk to Courtney Kuby, NBC News senior National Security Correspondent. Hey, Court.

[Courtney Kuby]

Hi.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

All right. Earlier today, it looked like the ceasefire was, in fact, dead. And now the president has said he's calling off the strikes that tonight and that a deal could be coming, a signing TBA somewhere maybe happening. Is it real this time? Because we've heard something like this before.

[Courtney Kuby]

I don't know how we're supposed to know when it's real and when it's not until the administration presents us with some sort of a written plan or agreement or proposal even, and says the president has agreed to this and Iran has agreed to this. I don't know how we can take this as anything more than more bluster and out of President Trump about the situation with Iran.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Do we know anything about why it is he decided to abruptly call off the literal strikes?

[Courtney Kuby]

We've been asking the question. I mean, look, the reality is strikes on Carg island are possible. The US Military has done those. They did them during, during the major combat operations phase of the war. But some sort of taking of Carg island, which we are hearing more and more about from people who want to restart the war. The actual major combat operation phase of a taking of Carg island would be extremely difficult. It's still militarized. Even though the US has taken out quite a bit of the military infrastructure there, they still maintain a relatively robust presence of air defenses. They have some of their stockpiles still there. They have batteries, the ability to fire from there. So if the U.S. were airstrikes, there alone are dangerous. But if the U.S. were to try to actually bring forces ashore, it would just be an extremely dangerous endeavor.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

The President also said in this post that the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz will remain in place essentially until further notice, until a deal is officially signed. Do we know what a potential exit plan would look like if, and that's the key word here, if a deal is signed?

[Courtney Kuby]

So we've heard in the past about some sort of alternate security structure that could exist when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz and it would potentially involve some US ally. People have thrown out the idea of Oman just because of its location, frankly, where they would ensure that there was safe passage and maybe even bring in other countries, potentially not even from the region that would ensure their safe open waterways, safe passage for commercial, commercial vessels. I've not heard anything like that actually moving into action though. But those are the sorts of ideas that have been possible. And by the way, I mean, as long as the US Military blockade remains there, we are going to continue to have these escalations, these sort of one off actions between again, the US Military Love Taps. Exactly, the Love taps. We're gonna continue to have those. And as we have seen happen over and over again over the last several weeks, they escalate up till both sides are firing at one another.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

And I think it's important to clarify for folks court about the United States presence militarily in the region right now. I mean, it doesn't seem necessarily like the President has a plan to, for instance, pull out the, the troops that are awaiting, possibly being deployed to Iran.

[Courtney Kuby]

Yeah, you know, a lot of people miss this. In the fantastic interview that Kristen Walker did with President Trump a little over a week ago or about a week ago, she asked that when he said she was asking about whether the war is over. And she said, well, are you gonna start bringing the troops home? And he said, no, it's not that big of a footprint and they're not at any risk there anyway. And notably after he said that a U.S. helicopter was downed by an Iranian drone. And we had two pilots floating in the Strait of Hormuz and fortunately rescued safely. But we forget President Trump was specifically asked by Kristen only a few days ago whether he plans to bring the troops home, and he said no. The presence there, it has stayed relatively stable throughout the course of the cease fire. The one difference is they've rotated people in and out. So they've replaced certain assets like aircraft. They've brought in a whole additional carrier strike group. They took one out. There's fresh aircraft there. I mean, the president himself told Fox news that the US fired 49 Tomahawks as part of the strikes last night. That in and of itself is remarkable. 49 Tomahawks. We haven't seen that kind, that level of fire of Tomahawks since the major combat operations were underway.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

So amidst all this, Courtney and a potential end to this war. But again, we don't know. You published an exclusive this week that the President was planning to meet with leaders from the defense industry over concerns the US Missile supplies are, in fact shrinking. What does the stockpile actually look like currently? I mean, how, how bad off are they or are they not that bad off?

[Courtney Kuby]

So it depends on what, what system you're talking about. Like if you kind of group things together and talk about things like long range fires like the Tomahawks that we mentioned, like, that's why I was so astonished to hear the President say that the US launched off about 50 of these these last night. I mean, that's portion of the stockpile. For example, most of the ships that are there probably carry about 90 to 96 of them, depending on the ship. So they fired off half of what they had on one of those ships last night. It's astonishing. But that's just one metric. If you look at what the US has been using over the course since Last June of 2025 during Operation Men at Hammer, during the defenses and the offensive operations during the 12 day war. And then of course, during the 37 days or so of the offensive operations of this, the US Expended a huge amount of things like those Tomahawks. And that's not even the biggest concern. The long range fires, the big concern are air defenses. So the kinds of things that are intercepting incoming ballistic missiles from places like Iran. The Republicans and particularly the President and those around him would argue that the US Gave too many of them to Ukraine. And that's why the US Has a real concern about their stockpile right now. But the reality is, yes, the US did give some to Ukraine. But they've also used a tremendous number in the last 12 plus months or so. And so the stockpiles are at a level where there is real concern among the U.S. military.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Well, could this dwindling stockpile have affected the trajectory of this war or how long the United States wanted to be involved in this war?

[Courtney Kuby]

You know, no one is telling us that directly, but you have to assume that that would be part of the briefings that the president would be getting, that his senior advisors like the chairman of the Joint Chiefs would be warning him, Mr. President, we can do this and they can. There's always going to be something that they can use to carry out a war. It's just the level of danger that the US Service members who are carrying out the operations. It's the level of danger that they will face based on what the stockpile looks like.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Courtney Kuby, thank you.

[Hallie Jackson]

Thanks.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

All right. Coming up, Bill Gates testified on Capitol Hill this week about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. What did we learn from his testimony? And where does Congress's investigation go next? That's after a break. And also while you're waiting and listening to all those ads, why don't you just go ahead and push the subscribe button or share this episode with your friends? We would love the support.

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[Yasmin Vesugin]

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[Yasmin Vesugin]

And we are back with here's the scoop from NBC News. So we haven't seen any new Epstein files for a while, but Congress is still searching through what is already out there. The House Oversight Committee invited billionaire Bill Gates to testify about his relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. And this week he showed up. But before his six hour closed door testimony, Gates told reporters that he was, quote, glad to be here voluntarily. I hope my testimony is helpful to the work, important work of the committee to find justice for the victims. So we have known about Gates connection to Epstein for a while. The Microsoft co founder and philanthropist appears thousands of times in messages and photos throughout the Justice Department's Epstein files. That said, Bill Gates has never been charged with a crime or been accused of any kind of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein. So did we actually learn anything new from him? And does this mean any further accountability for the survivors of Epstein's abuse? For this I want to bring in NBC News anchor and senior Washington correspondent Hallie Jackson. Hey Hal.

[Hallie Jackson]

Hey Yaz. Good to be with you.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Great to have you. So Bill Gates was one of the high profile people in Jeffrey Epstein's orbit. What did we learn from his testimony about their relationship? Both Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein.

[Hallie Jackson]

Okay, so I would put this, I think that's such an interesting question. And there's maybe two different buckets. I think the first one that you're asking, what do we learn about the relationship? What do we learn? That's new, right? Biggest headlines was more details about why Gates says the two connected in the first place. Because remember Yasmin, they connected in 2011. That's years, three years after that controversial Florida so called sweetheart deal where Epstein ended up serving the 13 months. But it was, you know, work release basically. Very, very controversial. This was after that that Gates begins meeting with Epstein. Now Gates says it was to basically work to solicit more money for his charitable organizations. It was in the pursuit of these global health initiat. Gates, you know, has the Gates foundation on works on, et cetera. That's why he met Epstein. Right? That's what he says. That's the nature of their relationship. Gates told lawmakers that in fact Epstein wanted to make the relationship more personal. But Gates says he resisted that. Now Gates says it became clear that this philanthropic Pursuit related to Epstein was gonna be a dead end. That's his words, a dead end. So Gates basically cuts off Epstein in his telling. This is what he says to lawmakers, cuts him off. However, Gates says that around this time, right in this time period, now Epstein learns about what Gates called private or personal information, basically the affairs that Gates acknowledged he had while he was married. Epstein finds out about this, and in Gates telling Epstein used those infidelities to try to pressure Gates to re engage, along with what Gates describes as other lies layered on top. Essentially, this was potential blackmail. That's what Gates is accusing Epstein of, and that's what he told lawmakers. And that's what the line of several lines of questioning were in lawmakers telling. Other things we learned that were sort of new lawmakers really apparently pressed on why Gates befriended Epstein, or at least took these meetings with Epstein starting in 2011. One lawmaker tells NBC News that Gates said he knew that there was some sort of conviction or misconduct in Epstein's past, but he didn't do much more research on it and regretted not doing more research on what that was. And that was another theme of this. Yasmin, again in the telling. We're gonna see the transcript eventually at some point. We don't know when. It's not out yet, but we'll see. All of this based on what the House Oversight Committee typically releases. But from what lawmakers are telling us, Gates acknowledged errors in judgment, grave errors in judgment. We know that from Gates's opening statement. And then there was something else, too. These emails got a lot of attention. Epstein, in 2013, based on the DOJ's Epstein files, drafted a couple of emails to himself. And in them, he talks about seeking to procure drugs for Bill and in a reference to Gates, sex with Russian girls. These are allegations that Gates denies. He then told lawmakers, based on what we heard on Capitol Hill, that

[Yasmin Vesugin]

he

[Hallie Jackson]

believed that Epstein would write emails that contained things that weren't true.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Did he suggest as to what was the purpose of writing these emails that were not true?

[Hallie Jackson]

I think that Gates is pretty clear that he thinks Epstein is a liar. I mean, he made that very clear and even in his opening statement to lawmakers, that he's just somebody who lies. And so that was encapsulated in a lot of what Gates said. I think the tone of it was interesting, too. One lawmaker said Gate appeared. Gates appeared stressed and worn out at various points. Another lawmaker said there were times when he was a bit combative. He was mostly cooperative and Gates came out after in a statement and said that he answered all the questions that the House Oversight Committee had.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

So Bill Gates is not the only person that testified on the Hill this week with regards to Jeffrey Epstein. So did Epstein's former assistant, Leslie Groff. Here is what committee chair Republican Congressman James Comer said about the hearings.

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[Yasmin Vesugin]

What does Comer mean by how the government failed? I think we're trying to drill down on the ultimate objective of these ongoing hearings, what it actually is leading to or what they're hoping it will lead to.

[Hallie Jackson]

So I think that's interesting when you talk about the potential failures here. I think survivors will tell you there were multiple points of failure across many decades, across many years here dating back to, I'm thinking the mid-90s when, you know, allegations lodged with the FBI.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Right.

[Hallie Jackson]

These abuse instances were told to the FBI and then there was basically no follow up. There was obviously the 2008 plea deal. I think there's survivors who see that as a part of the failure too. Flash forward the failure around the release of the files, the way that the case was handled in the first place. So I think there are various points of failure here. As for what these hearings could do, I think survivors, many of them that I've talked to, hope that there is some degree of accountability, that there is maybe something that can be revealed through these conversations that will lead to further accountability for people who they believe deserve that.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

So with that in mind then, who's next to be called to justify on the Hill? Because there are so many high profile folks that we have seen both pictured and named in the millions of pages that have been released in these Epstein

[Hallie Jackson]

files, including people I'm thinking of, Kathy Rummler, who served obviously in the White House under former President Obama, who had connections to Epstein and appeared in the files, Leon Black, financier, money man, if you will, and questions around his connections to Epstein. But I'll tell you who I'm looking to the possibility that the acting Attorney General Todd Blanche may come and testify. You had Democrats who really wanted to see that happen. You now have just in the last 24, 48 hours or so, the top Republican on that committee saying, yes, we want Blanche to come in. Why does Blanche matter? Yes. Remember, he's the one who last summer went and interviewed convicted co conspirator of Epstein's, Ghislaine Maxwell, in that controversial prison interview. He's the one who his former boss says handled the release of the Epstein files, was in charge of that in the first place. I think the Oversight Committee will have questions for him moving forward. There's also a question of whether he actually will do it or not. The DOJ was pretty non committal when we asked them about it, saying that, you know, Blanche answered questions already. His answers haven't changed since then just because he's now the acting attorney General. But it's also very much a live ball because to get that job permanently, Asmon, he needs to be confirmed by the Senate. You know, and so there is a, there is a world in which he's facing pressure to talk to the House and this committee while he's also facing pressure to try to get confirmed from the Trump, you know, the Trump administration wants him to get confirmed in the Senate. So it could be an interesting dynamic.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Hallie Jackson, thank you.

[Hallie Jackson]

Thank you.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

All right, coming up, we're going to take a very quick break. And when we come back, the World cup is finally here. We are on the ground for the kickoff in Mexico City. That's coming up next.

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[Yasmin Vesugin]

We are back with. Here's a scoop from NBC News. All right, it is officially something that we've been waiting for. The day is here. The 2026 FIFA World cup has officially kicked off today. Mexico is hosting the first two matchups, one in Mexico City, 11 in Guadalajara. And we talked to our colleague Stephanie Gosk on the ground in Mexico City just before game one got started. Hi, Steph.

[Hallie Jackson]

Hi.

[Stephanie Gosk]

This is so exciting. Right in front of Aztec Stadium, perhaps the most famous soccer stadium in the whole world. Yes.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

What is the vibe like? Take me there.

[Stephanie Gosk]

First of all, this is a country that lives and breathes this sport. It is as much a part of their culture as their food, their music. And the fact that they are able to host this World cup now, this is their third. It breaks a record at this stadium. They have an immense amount of pride that it is kicking off here, but they're also here to root for their team, and they are coming out in the tens of thousands. The stadium seats about 80,000 people or so, and it has been like one big raucous party there. We've had musicians here. We have had a folk band playing. We have, you know, people yelling and screaming, kids as young as two years old, grandparents being wheeled in on wheelchairs, mariachi bands. I mean, I'm telling you, it has just been remarkable. The entire city has poured into this area. Even if they can't get in, they've come here to celebrate.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

You talk about how this is historic in nature because it is the third time they're hosting this World Cup. Right. People feel the history that is happening.

[Stephanie Gosk]

Oh, and some incredible moments. I mean, when people talk about the history of the World cup, there are two particular moments that they always talk about, and It's Pele in 1970 with this incredible header, winning the World cup for Brazil. Huge moment. And then in 1986, you had Diego Maradona, who had one of the most incredible goals. They called it the goal of the century in part because he touched it 11 times in 30 seconds or, wow, crazy. And then scored. And Argentina won the World cup there. But, you know, talk to people here in Mexico and they say, that's great. We're glad Brazil had their moment. We're certainly glad Argentina had their moment. But this moment, we want this moment to be ours.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

This is going to pick up really quickly, Steph, because this is happening there in Mexico City, but literally games are being held in Mexico, US, Canada as well. Today is Mexico versus South Africa. Tomorrow, Canada is going to take on Bosnia Herzegovina and Toronto. Team USA goes up against Paraguay in Los Angeles. Then by Saturday, though, you're looking at four games a day spread across the three countries. How are you keeping up? I mean, you just mentioned a lot of stats to me. Like, how are you going to keep track of all this?

[Stephanie Gosk]

Yeah, well, I mean, I've got some good feeds that, that I keep an eye on, but you're right. I mean, this is the biggest tournament ever, 48 countries. It eclipses tournaments in the past 104 games. That means more of the world is involved as well. You know, someone asked me, you know, what's, what are the must see games? And that's actually the really cool thing about this tournament. The Must see game is whenever your country plays, that's the must see game. And so you have this enthusiasm for every game that's being played. It is really remarkable and it, it's incredible. I've never been to one of these before, and to come to this city and see them celebrate the start of it has really been remarkable.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Well, that's what I was going to say is it feels like every game in the World cup is going to be a must see game. So with that in mind, Steph, you have covered so many of these kind of sporting events, right? You said you've never been to the World cup before, but you've covered the Olympics, so many other huge major sporting events. How does this compare, what you're seeing today, the lead up to the first game, how does it compare to other things that you've covered?

[Stephanie Gosk]

Well, it's the first time I've had to use a microphone because the mariachi band just started.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

I don't believe that. I have to tell you. I don't believe that's actually.

[Stephanie Gosk]

No, no, that's actually a first.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

It's incredibly unique to this moment.

[Stephanie Gosk]

And, you know, you saw let's talk about the Knicks last night, right? Like, there are very few things in our lives that elicit the kind of passionate response that athletic do, and big events in particular. And for a lot of people watching this World cup, actually getting the chance to attend it, this is going to be the singular moment of their lives. And to be here and to report on it is really such a privilege.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

Yes, it's a moment for folks to really come together in a time in which things feel so divided. And you're right, sporting events in general are just an incredible time in which which people can celebrate as one. Steph Gosk, once again, the assignment of the century. Thank you, my friend.

[Stephanie Gosk]

You're welcome.

[Yasmin Vesugin]

All right, that is going to do it for us. It here's the Scoop from NBC News. I'm Yasin Vesugin. We'll be back tomorrow with whatever the day may bring. And if you like what you heard, subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. And you can also subscribe to our daily newsletter, the Inside Scoop. It is a deeper dive on the main stories of the day that comes out every weeknight straight to your inbox. You can sign up for the Inside Scoop as part of our paid [e-mail] we'll see you tomorrow.

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