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U.S. Military Reimposing Blockade of Iranian Ports at 4PM ET; ICE Agent Shoots, Kills 26-Year-Old Colombian Father in Maine; Millions in Northeast Brace for Severe Weather as Heat Fuels Storms; 12 States Sue to Block Paramount-Warner Brothers Merger. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 14, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: ... being in the Southern District in Florida for one year, and in addition to that, those who stepped up as amicus, that's a fancy word for saying friend of the court, to defend this and to say it was a scam, you guys are going to get paid. And so therefore she's allowing them to be paid by the government and other parties here who have to pony up for this. Just real bad luck, unprecedented, and certainly the deal now is blown up.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, quite a something, right? It's good to see you, Joey.

JACKSON: Always.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The biggest one-day jump in oil prices in six years, the president's ceasefire with Iran in shambles, and now he wildly contradicts his most senior advisors and says the U.S. will charge tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, the global whiplash over the president's shifting policy.

And then shifting explanations concerning a 26-year-old man killed by ICE in Maine, few answers, and one member of Congress just told us she thinks, in her words, that's because ICE does not want to admit what a botched operation it was.

A Florida man faces charges after he was caught on camera shooting fireworks from his moving car on the interstate, a Florida man.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

Again, breaking this morning, the biggest one-day jump in oil prices in six years as we're seeing new reported explosions between the United States and Iran, trading strikes for a third straight day. Now, at 4 p.m. Eastern, the United States says it will resume its naval blockade of ships going to and from Iranian ports. The president says the U.S. will become the guardian of the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, the president also announced plans to implement a fee or a toll on the Strait, charging commercial shippers 20 percent of the value of their cargo as a reimbursement to the U.S. This wildly contradicts what his senior advisers have been saying for months. So let's get right to CNN's Betsy Kline, live at the White House, for the latest on all of these twists and turns and shifts and contradictions.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, John, no signs of de-escalation for this conflict. And we are seeing a third consecutive night of strikes across Iran. Iran, in turn, launching retaliatory strikes in Gulf countries.

And the Strait of Hormuz continues to be the main point of contention. That is that critical oil thoroughfare. Prior to this conflict, no one had formal authority over this waterway.

Iran now using it as a key point of leverage. And we've heard President Trump announced that he is planning to reimpose that naval blockade for all ships going to or from Iranian ports. At the same time, he says that the U.S. is going to be charging commercial vessels a 20 percent tax that he says is for the security services that the U.S. is providing in that Strait.

Now, it's very unclear how this is going to work. Officials have raised major questions, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who has previously suggested that this could be in violation of international law. But CENTCOM says that this blockade will be fully in effect starting at 4 p.m. Eastern time, just a few short hours from now. President Trump weighing in on all of this in the Oval Office. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're taking out all of their capability for anything having to do with the Strait, with the Hormuz Strait. And I think in the end, we will end up just controlling the whole thing.

We're protecting a very rich portion of the world. We're spending money. And so what we've done is we are going to be reimbursed for protection. We'll have it under control in maybe a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, as we think about a path forward to this conflict, I want to draw your attention to some comments from President Trump on that Memorandum of Understanding. That is that now defunct peace agreement. When he first signed that just about a month ago, the president said that this agreement achieves everything he set out to accomplish.

It prevents Iran from having a nuclear weapon. It reopens the Strait of Hormuz. It ends the conflict.

Yesterday in an interview, the president saying he would have preferred to skip this stage and go straight to a deal. He says that that Memorandum of Understanding, quote, doesn't mean much -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, after touting it as something that no other president could have achieved. Now he says no big deal. Betsy Klein at the White House this morning.

Thank you for your reporting on all this -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: We are also learning new details this morning about the deadly ICE shooting in Maine.

[08:05:00]

Just moments ago, the Democratic congresswoman whose district is where this shooting happened just told John that the man was shot four times through the windshield. She also called it a botched ICE operation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CHELLIE PINGREE (D-ME): By all accounts, he was the wrong man, not the person that ICE had been targeting. He was headed off to work, lived very close nearby, and there was an ICE operation going on looking for someone else. But he was in the car.

And by all accounts, shortly after the shooting, his wife and three- year-old daughter in her bluey pajamas with a pink backpack were also on the scene. So they witnessed seeing their father's dead body.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The victim has been identified as 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, according -- and you just heard that detail because we've also heard it from a neighbor, a young father, and witnesses say that his partner and three-year-old daughter were at the scene. CNN's Jason Carroll is in Biddeford, Maine, where this happened. He's joining us right now.

Jason, what more are you hearing about this now?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, you just heard from the congresswoman there, and we've been hearing from people here in the community, people who are looking for a great deal more transparency in terms of the investigation from DHS and more accountability, frankly, for what happened out here. Right here at this intersection behind me, this is the spot where Joan Guerrero was killed, 26-year-old, yesterday on his way to work. Now, as you already know, it took more than 12 hours for the Department of Homeland Security to put out their version of what happened out here, and here's part of what they said.

They said on July 13th at approximately 7 a.m., ICE was conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of a person they identified as an illegal alien with a final order of removal. The person departed the residence in a vehicle. ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop.

The vehicle attempted to flee the scene, and fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon. Still a lot of questions about public safety versus personal safety in terms of the ICE agents having to end up using deadly force. This is something that happened in an area where there are a number of apartment buildings, a number of homes right here in the area, so a number of people saw and heard what happened.

Here's one person's account of what he heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL BOUCHER, WITNESS: He started coming down the street. Again, driving, I don't know how, and then the SUV hit him again, and then that's when he stopped. ICE agent got out, tried to open the door, had a difficult time, but eventually opened it and pulled the guy out. His face was bloody, his head was bloody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: And Kate, as you know, there have been sort of conflicting stories that were put out early on as the shooting happened. DHS initially said the person who was killed was the target of their investigation, and then later that changed, saying that the person killed, Guerrero, was not, in fact, the person who was the target of their initial investigation. So at this point, more questions about ICE activities out here in the state, questions about why the ICE agents were not wearing body cameras.

This is something that people are looking for answers for. And at this point, again, a lot of folks are waiting to see if the DH secretary himself will come out and answer questions. Again, a lot of people here are still wondering how this all could have happened -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, and yes, a lot, a lot still. So much still to be understood about this. Now it's happened, you know, more than 24 hours ago.

Thank you so much, Jason.

Coming up for us is a tiny parasite, and it is causing major problems. What you need to know now about the illness that has infected more than 3,000 people in the Midwest and what health officials are warning now.

Plus, millions of people are in the path of some more dangerous summer storms across the country, record heat, huge rains coming, the potential of some major flooding is in the forecast.

And we're also now hearing, thankfully, from the grandfather who survived this brutal bison attack, how he's doing after being launched feet into the air. We'll be back.

[08:10:00]

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BERMAN: Dangerous summer storms could bring severe weather across multiple parts of the country. The Northeast, nearly 2 million people are in the path of a storm that could bring tornadoes and strong winds. In Texas, a whole summer's worth of rain could fall this week. Let's get to CNN Meteorologist Derek Van Dam with the latest forecast. Derek, what are you seeing?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, we don't want to see more scenes like this. This was in New Orleans yesterday, but unfortunately, the Deep South is entrenched in tropical moisture as we speak. The I-10 corridor, in particular, from New Orleans, stretching westward through San Antonio to the Edwards Plateau and the Hill Country.

We know that this area is highly susceptible to flash flooding. Current ongoing flash flood warnings in place across the Edwards Plateau. So heads up across this region.

[08:15:00]

Millions of Americans impacted by this multi-day flash flood threat that really is centered across the central and western portions of the state of Texas. Remember the Rio Grande into Edwards Plateau and the Hill Country. That's our greatest risk of flash flooding. You can see why.

Our computer model is picking up over 6 to 10 inches of rain going forward this week. And it's all rotating around this heat dome that is driving our showers and thunderstorms in the south, but also in the northeast. This is really something.

We don't get to see this every day. We've got an enhanced risk of severe storms across northern New England. These are being funneled in by the strong ridge of high pressure to our west, and it's going to tap into some of those strong upper level winds.

Could bring some of those down to the surface. Look at this. Burlington, Vermont.

Damaging winds. Large hail. Can't rule out a tornado as well.

It is going to be increasingly hot across the I-95 corridor this week. Heads up. Another heat wave is coming.

Look at these temperatures. We will flirt with 100 degree mark in New York City if JFK reaches 100 degrees. That will be the fourth time this year. That has never happened before.

In D.C. if we reached 100 degrees or more, both Wednesday and Thursday, that will be the fifth time this year or this month already. That's incredible.

Millions of Americans under heat alerts. Why is this significant? Well, we are on the back of the July 4th heat wave that impacted so many people along the East Coast.

And then just a heads up. The potential for another summer of smoke as wildfires continue to burn out of control near the border of the U.S. and Canada in the state of Minnesota. These smokes are billowing into the northeast over the next coming days. Look out for hazy skies and degraded air quality -- John.

BERMAN: Oh, no. We hate that. It's always so weird when you walk outside and it's all hazy and you smell.

Appreciate the warning, Derek Van Dam. Thank you very much.

VAN DAM: Yup.

BERMAN: All right, we just saw the biggest one day jump in oil prices in six years. And now we're standing by for a brand new report on inflation this morning that will tell us what prices did last month.

Then a Florida driver arrested for launching lit fireworks from a moving car on a busy highway.

[08:20:00]

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BOLDUAN: There is a new legal battle unfolding now to try and block what could be one of the biggest media deals ever, the merger between Paramount Skydance and CNN's parent company, Warner Brothers Discovery. California's attorney general is now leading a coalition of 12 states in an antitrust lawsuit, asking the court for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block the merger while the lawsuit plays out. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB BONTA, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: This merger would snuff out competition, drive up prices, diminish content quality, and produce fewer movies and shows each year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: All 12 of the states involved in the lawsuit of Democratic Attorneys General Paramount is vowing to fight this. CNN's Brian Stelter is tracking this one for us. Brian, what are you learning about this?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: This is one of the most dramatic antitrust battles we've seen in years. And yes, it happens to involve CNN's parent company. And there are big questions about who's going to own CNN going forward. There have been concerns for months.

We've heard critics for months worrying about Paramount taking over this channel and owning one of the biggest news brands in the world. But this lawsuit focuses on impacts to the entertainment industry, not to the news industry, specifically to the release of tentpole big Hollywood blockbusters and to cable television licensing. The argument these states -- and as you said, they are all Democrats -- trying to fill in for what they believe is the Trump administration's failures to enforce antitrust law.

The arguments are about how much power the combined Paramount-Warner Brothers would have in those marketplaces for theatrical film distribution and for cable television licensing. Overnight, California AG Rob Bonta told our colleague Kaitlan Collins that the states were going ahead and filing for a restraining order, and that did happen overnight. Here's a part of the comment that's in this filing, this motion to a judge.

It says, "Once consummated with this merger, layoffs, content cancellations, and harms to competition would commence immediately. If the Court subsequently determines that this transaction is unlawful, it'll be extraordinarily difficult to unscramble the egg then."

So that's essentially why these states are saying you've got to stop the merger from happening now before the egg is scrambled. Before Paramount and Warner are able to merge in the coming weeks. This is why it's now very dramatic in the next few days, because a judge in Northern California will have to consider the arguments from the states, and we'll have to issue a ruling probably in the next few days, maybe just in the next week, in order to decide whether to grant that restraining order or not.

So really, one of the biggest mergers in American history is now in the hands of a judge in Northern California.

BOLDUAN: And what is Paramount saying in response?

STELTER: Well, number one, Paramount has been kind of bracing and preparing for the possibility of this lawsuit for months. Paramount has received and secured approvals for this deal in virtually every market around the world, from the Trump administration in the U.S. to the Chinese authorities and everywhere in between. It is really now just about these Democratic states, as well as a couple of markets in Europe, the EU and also the UK. There's regulators there looking at this deal.

But for the most part, Paramount has already secured the approvals it needs, and it says that is proof that this deal is pro-competitive.

[08:25:00]

Here's a part of the company's statement yesterday saying, "The combination here would create a stronger, well-capitalized, creative- first media company that's better positioned to compete with companies like Netflix that have come to dominate the industry for audiences, content, and talent. Put simply, any attempt to block this transaction undermines the very principles antitrust laws designed to promote: more competition, more choice for consumers, and more opportunities for creators and workers."

So you see Paramount saying it has to be able to scale up and get bigger and own Warner Brothers because it's competing with the likes of Netflix and Amazon and Apple. That might be a persuasive argument for this judge, but we don't know. So the next few days will be critical to find out if Paramount can move forward.

BOLDUAN: Yes, absolutely. Brian, thank you so much for bringing us the new details about this lawsuit now. I appreciate it. So, ahead for us. What happened in Maine? Big questions still surround

the deadly ICE-involved shooting in a small town there. The man was not the target of the operation. So why was he shot?

And we are also minutes away from the release of a new look at where the fight against inflation stands today. We're going to bring you those numbers as soon as we get them in.

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[08:30:00]