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Trump Says, I'm Number One on the Kills List for Iran; New Video and Witnesses Say, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Loaded into Ambulance on Stretcher; Final Day of Preliminary Hearing for Charlie Kirk's Accused Killer. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 10, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, a possible assassination plot against President Trump. Sources say Israel is warning that Iran is targeting the president, but some in the intel community are skeptical.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. CNN obtains exclusive new video showing the moment Mitch McConnell was loaded onto an ambulance and rushed to the hospital. The questions this raises about his mysterious hospitalization.

And then naked heroism, a man jumps out of bed in the middle of the night to extinguish flames outside his home. He did it so quickly, though, that he was completely in the nude.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman, completely clothed, with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: All right. This morning, new word of an alleged plot to kill President Trump. Sources tell CNN that Israel passed along the warning to U.S. intelligence that Iran had hatched a new plan to assassinate the president as the ceasefire hangs by a thread.

During this week's funeral procession for Iran's dead supreme leader, there were banners in the crowd calling for Trump's death. And while he was in the -- at the NATO Summit in Turkey, the president talked more than once about being Iran's top target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm number one on the kill list for Iran. They're lovely people. I'm number one. I may be gone too because I'm their number one target. It's out all over the place. I'm their number one because they're scum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And regarding the plane switch that we've talked about that had really people scratching their heads this week, when President Trump left Turkey on an older plane instead of the new Air Force One that he had arrived on that was gifted by Qatar, U.S. officials say that was due in part to security concerns over Iran.

But there's also some skepticism emerging from inside the U.S. intelligence community about Israel's new warning here, one source suggesting that it may be part of a broader effort to actually influence Trump's decision-making on Iran.

CNN's Betsy Klein is live this morning at the White House for us. Good morning, Betsy. What are you hearing about this?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Kate, we are learning more about one factor that could have contributed to President Trump's decision to restart those strikes on Iran this week, and that is, according to two sources familiar with the matter, Israel shared intelligence with the United States that Iran had recently devised a new plan to assassinate President Trump.

Now, one of the sources said that that warning to the U.S. came this week, and another source said that the U.S. has been picking up a steady drumbeat of intelligence about potential plots to assassinate the U.S. president. However, this warning from Israel was new and concerned a very specific plot.

Now, this new reporting comes days after President Trump announced that he was going to be swapping out his brand new Qatari-gifted Air Force One in favor of the old plane as he made his way back from Turkey to the United Kingdom and then onward to the United States. That decision, we learned, was driven at least in part by security concerns around this escalating conflict with Iran as these strikes have ramped up in recent days, according to four U.S. officials.

And two of those officials said that security personnel felt more secure, more comfortable with President Trump traveling aboard that old plane that has been significantly retrofitted with defensive countermeasures and secure communications instead of that Qatari plane.

But the president weighing in on all of this as he made his way back to Washington. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleazebags that we have to deal with.

REPORTER: Do you think that Iran was possibly thinking of trying to --

TRUMP: Well, I mean, if they ask you to close your windows, probably they feel that way.

REPORTER: Were you aware of any credible threat by Iran against Air Force One?

TRUMP: Well, I have a threat all the time. I'm number one on their list, before you. But if I go, you go, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, there are a lot of questions about a path forward for this conflict, but at least one U.S. official tells me that U.S. and Iranian officials continue to engage in those technical discussions on nuclear issues with an eye toward a potential diplomatic solution here.

And along those lines, sources had told CNN that the U.S. was prepared to launch additional strikes if needed overnight, but they are currently letting diplomacy take the lead here.

[07:05:08]

Kate.

BOLDUAN: For at least the next hour. It's good to see you, Betsy. Thank you so much. I really appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right. Breaking overnight, a CNN exclusive. CNN obtained video of emergency responders taking Senator Mitch McConnell to an ambulance. The neighbor who shot the video told CNN the Capitol Police blocked the street, and other neighbors reported seeing McConnell's face.

This was a month ago, and it comes nearly a month after a spokesperson for McConnell first reported that the senator has been hospitalized. But few other details have been released.

Let's get to Annie Grayer who helped break this story. So, talk to us about this video and how it fills in the pieces of the puzzle.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: So John, what I heard from a neighbor of McConnell's, around 8:30 in the morning on June 14th, this neighbor opened their door to commotion on the street. They saw two ambulances, a fire truck, and Capitol Police had blocked off the entire road.

So, this neighbor stayed on the street to try and figure out what was going on. And about half an hour later, at around 9:00 o'clock in the morning, this neighbor saw a person from McConnell's home being carried on a stretcher into an ambulance, and said that they saw this person was wrapped in a blanket and that their feet was exposed, and that another neighbor standing next to them identified McConnell's face and saw that McConnell wasn't wearing an oxygen mask.

So, the firsthand witness that I spoke to said that they tried to ask Capitol Police what was going on, and all they were told was it was a medical emergency. They wouldn't confirm who it was for. And this is -- these new details come as we know very little about Senator McConnell's condition, why he was brought to the hospital on June 14th, and why he remains there. His team, all they have told us is that he is in the hospital and that he is recovering.

But we do know that there is also EMS audio that shows that first responders came to McConnell's home on June 14th to respond to somebody who was unconscious, who was under cardiac arrest, and needed CPR. So, since that audio recording has come out, McConnell's team has maintained that the senator is recovering in the hospital.

Senate Republican leadership in recent days has said that they've spoken to the senator, each for around 20 minutes or so. But this entire episode has just brought to the forefront and raised questions about what level of transparency lawmakers who are dealing with a medical condition have to share about their situation while also protecting their personal privacy and serious health matters. So, that is what is unfolding on the Hill.

And this firsthand account and this video, John, is providing a little more detail about an account that we're really still trying to piece together.

BERMAN: There really is no transparency and almost no requirement for transparency when something like this happens. And hopefully we will learn more about his condition. Hopefully, he's doing okay.

Annie Grayer, thank you very much for your reporting on all this.

A critical new piece of evidence, what the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk told his former roommate the day of the shooting.

And then call it Whiskergate, a ceasefire in shambles, reports of an assassination plot against the president, and Defense --- excuse me, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth raises new concerns about sailors growing beards.

And it's just like the pit, except with robots and less bodily fluid. Human-like robots now performing surgery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: Today is the final day for the preliminary hearing that will decide if Tyler Robinson will stand trial. He is the man accused of shooting and killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year. Yesterday, prosecutors played a taped interview with Robinson's former roommate, who said that Robinson admitted to the murder to him.

CNN's Jean Casarez is joining us now, who's been tracking this and giving us important context throughout this important week of this hearing. What did we learn new? You said that we were going to hear -- what was going to come from this roommate was going to be important. What did we learn?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you he's going to be the star witness of the prosecution. And he introduced himself to, in this sworn interview, and he said that they had met in about 2023 and they became roommates. They didn't know each other, but he said in two to three months they started dating, and so they had known each other for about two years. And he said on the morning of what is now known as the shooting, that Tyler Robinson said he had to get going very early to work. 4:00 or 5:00 A.M. is when he left. Remember, they live in St. George. This was in Orem, so it was over a four-hour drive. He also said that he didn't talk to him until 11:00 P.M. that night, but the next morning is when they arrived back -- he arrived back at the home, and that's when he actually saw him. That would be the 11th. He describes what he heard and what he saw from Tyler Robinson when he arrived back to their apartment. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you and he ever talk about politics?

LANCE TWIGGS, FORMER ROOMMATE OF TYLER ROBINSON: He did more than me. I didn't really -- still don't really keep up with politics very much. He'd usually talk about stuff he heard on the radio on his drive to work in like their work car, since it sounds like their whole crew went in the same car most of the time.

[07:15:02]

But I wouldn't say super consistently, because it wasn't a topic I really contributed much on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about Charlie Kirk? Did he ever talk about Charlie Kirk?

TWIGGS: I personally had never heard him talk about Charlie Kirk before specifically.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. How about political issues? So, did you ever talk about gender identity issues and LGBTQ rights?

TWIGGS: No, not really. Usually, if he did talk about politics stuff, it was relating to Trump or current like policies being like issued or voted on I think.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: So, that right there, that, that's interesting. He never spoke about Charlie Kirk.

Now, we've got some texts that we want to show you, because they texted a lot right after the shooting happened. He said, you weren't the one who did this, right? I am. I'm sorry. Why did I do it? Yes. Well, I'd had enough of this hatred. Some hate cannot be negotiated out.

Now, when he got back to the apartment on the 11th, what Lance Twiggs, who said that was his name, he said that he was nervous, Tyler Robinson. He was walking around the apartment. He started to cry. He said he didn't know why he did this, and he said he wished he hadn't done this, but this is very -- there was no cross-examination of -- you can't cross-examine a recorded statement. But there was a witness on the stand, too. The defense didn't touch it.

And this is very challenging, because this is someone who was very close to Tyler Robinson, who has turned and become a prosecution witness. BOLDUAN: Wow. All right, this has been a huge week with this. Jean, thank you so much walking us through all of this.

And you can follow Jean's live gavel-to-gavel coverage on CNN All Access and the CNN app. That starts at 11:00 A.M. Eastern. Jean, thank you.

We have new reporting coming into CNN. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the so-called beard ban in the military, why Hegseth says it's a national security issue.

And a California man faces down a bear.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. We have new CNN reporting this morning. You might call it Whiskergate. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth apparently not happy over members of the military ignoring his strict policy on beards. CNN has learned that on a recent visit aboard a naval ship, Hegseth noticed multiple sailors sporting facial hair.

Let's get right to CNN's Sean Lyngaas with the new reporting on all this. Sean, what are you learning here?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Yes, John beards in the military have long been, you know, frowned upon and restricted. The difference here is Hegseth has taken this to a new level where he's made it much harder to get exemptions for service members to wear beards. So, a religious exemption, if you want to grow a beard based on your religion, if you're Sikh or Jewish or another denomination, or a medical exemption, if you have a painful condition known as PFB that -- in which the hair curls back into your skin and you get a note from a doctor and say you can shave. That's always been longstanding policy to sort of only have beards in certain cases. But Hegseth has said, look, I really don't want most beards here. You really have to be a rare case.

And on a recent visit to a Navy ship, he saw these beards and it prompted a flurry of behind the scenes actions that CNN was able to observe. There were emails sent, there were meetings in which senior officials told subordinates, look, we really need to crack down on personnel policy, not just beards, but also equal employment opportunity changes that Hegseth has made to the Pentagon. So, it's really a visceral issue for him. He seems to really not like beards.

And, you know, in certain sense, this ban, if you want to call it a ban, disproportionately affects black service members because they are the ones that more times than not have this medical condition that they seek an exemption for.

So, we spoke to a black veterans organization who -- that was not happy about this policy, and it really shows that even amidst the height of the Iran war and other conflicts that the Pentagon is engaged with these culture war adjacent issues are still front and center for Hegseth. John?

BERMAN: Sean, just asking for a friend, how does the secretary feel about mustaches? I mean, what are the policies on mustaches in the military?

LYNGAAS: I'm okay, John. I'm okay. Mustaches, as long as -- I trimmed mine this morning. And as long as the corners of the mustache don't hang over your mouth, you're okay, but beards are still a no.

BERMAN: Okay. Thank you for that distinction. Thank you for sharing this reporting. It is interesting where the secretary is focused these days. I appreciate it.

All right, we have exclusive new eyewitness video showing Senator Mitch McConnell being loaded into an ambulance after emergency responders were called to his home. The new picture this paints of his mysterious illness.

And this new, brutal and dangerous heat dome sweeping across the country this weekend, intense heat, soaring temperatures, and the potential for wildfires.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BOLDUAN: There's new video in this morning offering some new insight into Senator Mitch McConnell and how he is doing. Video into CNN of the senator on a stretcher as first responders are taking him out of his home in Washington and to an ambulance standing by. A witness and neighbor confirm what is somewhat difficult to make out in the video, which is that is Senator McConnell.

This was last month. He has been in the hospital since. A spokesperson first announced that the former Senate majority leader was hospitalized on June 14th, but since then has offered his office basically no update on his condition whatsoever, which has sparked a wave of, well, conspiracy theories, for one, and also just a wave of concern about the senior senator, who is in his 80s.

[07:30:08]