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Sources: ICE Pausing Most Traffic Stops After Two Fatal Shootings; Memorial Grows At Site Where ICE Agent Killed Man In Maine; Supreme Court Justices Make Rare Appearance On Capitol Hill; E. Jean Carroll Receives $5.6M From Trump In Sexual Abuse And Defamation Judgment; Number Of Disease-Carrying Bugs Like Ticks, Mosquitoes Surging. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 14, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

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[15:01:13]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Tough questions for ICE. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are told to halt traffic stops after two deadly shootings. Families of the victims want answers about what happened in both cases, including why officers were not wearing body cams.

Payback Time: E. Jean Carroll officially receives more than $5 million from President Trump after a legal battle that lasted years over a sexual abuse and defamation judgment.

And it doesn't get any better -- bigger than this, I should say. France, Spain, two of the best teams on the planet, facing off in the semifinals of the World Cup.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We start this hour with the Department of Homeland Security making a major reversal. CNN has learned that ICE agents are now being directed to largely suspend vehicle stops until further notice. The new directive comes after two fatal ICE-involved shootings happened just days apart and amid growing demands for answers.

Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who you see on the left here, was killed in a car in Biddeford, Maine yesterday. And Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who is on the right, was killed during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas. Officials say that neither of these men was the intended target of enforcement operations. We're following new developments on both incidents.

First, let's go to Carolina Peguero in Houston. Carolina, what can you tell us about what's happening there?

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris, I can tell you the pressure is mounting across the country and here in the city of Houston. We're at the city hall where you can see people are waiting in line to attend this public meeting where there will be city council members and the mayor of Houston, John Whitmire. We are expecting where people will be able to do their remarks, express their frustration, and seeking answers from local and state authorities on the death and shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

There's been also all across the country federal and elected officials that are expecting answers as well, all the way to Washington, D.C.

SANCHEZ: And Carolina ...

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REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO (D-TX): The fact that ICE has become, under Donald Trump, an abusive and rogue agency that should be broken up and disbanded. In Lorenzo's case, they literally have not released a shred of evidence to support their claim that he was a danger to them. They were a danger to him. They were a danger to the Latino community. And all of this is driven by a racial animus out of the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEGUERO: Well, here it's expected also a protest later on today, and people are expected to continue to seek answers while local and state officials are handling their own investigation. But they say the federal agencies are resisting in collaborating in Lorenzo Salgado's case.

SANCHEZ: And Carolina, what are you hearing from his family? Well, earlier this morning, while we went live with CNN en Espanol, Ronaldo, Lorenzo's son went to the memorial site at the same hour where his father was shot and killed in the same place. He stood there, and he kneeled, he prayed, he cried and he was just hugged by community members.

[15:05:07]

But he told us off-camera that he wanted to invite the community to attend a public viewing for his father's funeral. His mother is just grateful for all the help and support that they have received from the community, but they want justice, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Carolina Peguero live for us in Houston. Thank you so much. Brianna?

KEILAR: Now to the outpouring of grief and demands for transparent investigations in Maine today after the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero from Colombia. Witnesses say his wife and three-year-old daughter were on the scene when an ICE agent killed him. The little girl was apparently still in her bluey pajamas, and people have begun leaving bluey items at Guerrero's memorial. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez is here with new details on that incident.

Priscilla, what are you learning?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are learning that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement is changing their tactics. Following both of these fatal shootings, they are now going to stop vehicle stops for now. This is according to guidance that these officers received earlier today, and it is going to be a drastic change for them.

We have been seeing recently that they have increasingly relied on vehicle stops for immigration arrests, of course, under pressure to ramp up those numbers. And what we saw tragically last week and this week is that it ended with a fatal shooting.

And so as a result of that, they are going to temporarily pause that unless they are executing a criminal warrant. And even in that case, they have been told to coordinate with partner agencies. Now, we also know that there are multiple ongoing investigations at this point. Maine Attorney General is going to be looking into this, as will the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General and the FBI, because, of course, Brianna, there are conflicting narratives here as to what happened.

Now, the Department of Homeland Security says that the officer fired his weapon because he was, quote, fearing for public safety. But there isn't a whole lot to substantiate what exactly that was. And most of the surveillance we've seen is in the moments prior. Now, we do have video from a witness describing what he saw after the shooting. Take a listen.

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DANIEL BOUCHER, WITNESS: He started coming down the street again, driving, and I don't know how. And then the SUV hit him again. He tried to -- and -- 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.

And I clearly heard the victim say, I tried to stop. Clearly heard him say that. The ICE agent that shot him walked right in front of me. And, of course, I had -- I was emotional, and I just let him have it. And he looked at me and he said he tried to run me over or something to that effect. I don't remember his exact words. There was another ICE agent with him that was trying to come for him, and they walked away.

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ALVAREZ: Now, part of we're going to -- what we're going to be missing here, Brianna, is body cameras. They were not wearing them in Maine. They were also not wearing them in Houston. I have been told by my sources that they are working on distributing them. This has been ongoing for some time now. Of course, former Secretary Kristi Noem had pledged that they were going to be rolled out, so that's ongoing.

They also have $20 million now to spend on body-worn cameras, and I'm told that they plan to increase their stock by more than 5,000 of them. So, clearly, a lot of trying to reassess how they move forward here, particularly given these fatal incidents.

KEILAR: All right, Priscilla, thank you so much for the latest on that.

And still to come, two Supreme Court justices speaking to lawmakers asking for more security. How one of them says she endured a swatting incident at her home just weeks ago.

Also, inflation is slowing, but Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh says one report does not mean mission accomplished.

Plus, more bugs, more bites, more problems. Why experts say the booming insect population is becoming a serious risk to your health. We have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: A rare appearance on Capitol Hill is underway right now. For the first time in seven years, Supreme Court justices today are testifying to Congress. Right now, Justices Elena Kagan and Amy Coney Barrett are urging a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee to give the Supreme Court more security funding. A short time ago, Justice Kagan testified that since the leak of the decision to overturn Roe versus Wade in 2022, there's been a sharp rise in threats against justices. Justice Barrett then opened up about the personal impact the rising threats have had on her, describing a swatting incident at her home two months ago.

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AMY CONEY BARRETT, ASSOCIATE JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've experienced it in a very personal way. One of our teenage sons walked out the front door getting ready to head out with friends and the street was full of county policemen. And then, I also had my residential security presence there. They had responded to a false alarm saying that there was a gun -- gunshots being fired inside my home. And I was very grateful for the residential security because they were able to coordinate with the county police before the county police entered my home.

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SANCHEZ: Let's discuss with former federal judge, John E. Jones III. He's now the President of Dickinson College. During his time on the bench, he served two terms for the Committee for Judicial Security.

Judge, thanks so much for being with us. What is your reaction to what is an unusual and personal plea from these two Supreme Court justices?

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JOHN E. JONES III, FORMER CHIEF JUDGE, U.S. MIDDLE DISTRICT COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA: Well, good to be with you, Boris, again. And I think having watched the hearing before the House Appropriations Committee today that it's heartening to me that it looked like we had adults in the room at a time when rhetoric is really overheated coming, frankly, from the President of the United States and some members of Congress, not the ones who were in the hearing today that I saw, to see Congress back up the judiciary and say, yes, we do agree that in these perilous times we need to allocate more funds for security. That's great.

But, you know, there's nothing more poignant, Boris, than Justice Coney Barrett also said that she had explained to her kids what a bulletproof vest is that she was wearing. What could be more emblematic of the times than that? And that's -- that's pretty stomach-churning.

SANCHEZ: To that point, you've said that judges have long been criticized, but that in recent years threats have taken a dark turn. Talk to us more about what you need to see change in the way that the judiciary is spoken about publicly.

JONES: Well, there's a couple of things you can change. One was talked about today, and that's to allocate more resources, but they're not boundless. And remember, Boris, there are 800 district and appellate court federal judges. They're not going to have security details unless they're under active threat. There's just not enough resources for that.

The other prong is to dial back this rhetoric, you know, where we call judges kooks and criminals, you know, leftists, traitors. That comes out of the administration in a lot of cases, or Congress is moving to impeach them for decisions that they don't like. We have got to change the dialogue and -- and lower the temperature here. And that's hard to do in the climate that we're in, but we're creating this toxic mix where I think it appeals to the unbalanced in society. And I've said this very starkly, I think we're going to get a judge killed if we're not careful.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Do you see that toxicity impacting the quality or the ability of a judge to do their work or potentially even deter qualified candidates from the bench?

JONES: I think it's the former, but not the latter. Or the latter, but not the -- the former, excuse me. I -- I think in the case of the former, judges are ruling without fear. I think they do their jobs and they do their jobs well. But one wonders, Boris, about, you know, a -- a rational individual, somebody in the practice of law, very successful. It was the honor of a lifetime for me to serve. But -- but, you know, why are you going to put yourself at physical risk and your family members to the point that -- that Justice Coney Barrett made? Why are you going to put them at risk to serve in a job that truly is public service?

I really fear that we're going to lose the pool of candidates, the great pool of candidates that we've had for the federal judiciary. I hope it doesn't happen, but it certainly could.

SANCHEZ: Judge John Jones, thank you so much for joining us.

JONES: Thanks, Boris. Great to be with you.

SANCHEZ: Always. Thanks. Still to come, a long-awaited payday for E. Jean Carroll. Can President Trump's lawyers reverse it? We'll discuss next.

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[15:22:58]

SANCHEZ: Former magazine writer E. Jean Carroll has officially received more than $5 million owed to her from President Trump. The funds were transferred more than three years after a jury found he had sexually abused and defamed her. CNN's Kara Scannell joins us now.

So, Kara, this fight isn't over.

KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Boris, it's not. I mean, for now, E. Jean Carroll has the $5.6 million in her bank account. And according to her lawyer, she's going to use it to fund her retirement. But she will also keep it in an interest-bearing account until Trump's last challenge is finally resolved. As you'll remember, the Supreme Court denied Trump's petition to hear the case. And it was then that Carroll's attorneys moved to get the judgment, which the trial judge had agreed to. And that's what just happened.

But Trump's lawyers are asking the Supreme Court to rehear that. It is a legal long shot. These are rarely granted unless some new information comes to light. But Trump's lawyers are also trying to get a federal appeals court to send the money back until the Supreme Court makes that decision. The appeals court here has not ruled, although they did deny an emergency request to stop the payment.

So, Carroll has the money. She can use it, although Trump's team is not giving up. And Carroll's lawyer is issuing a statement saying, three years ago, a unanimous nine-person jury found President Trump liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll. Today, we are pleased to report that she has received the damages payment the jury awarded her as a result of that verdict.

And, Boris, her attorneys are not taking a piece of this money, which they could because they represented her on a contingency basis. So, she will get the full amount to do with as she wants. Of course, though, this is just one chapter in this long saga involving Trump and E. Jean Carroll.

SANCHEZ: Yes, because there's a separate, much larger defamation judgment in another case with Carroll. What's the latest on that?

SCANNELL: Right, Boris, that's the $83 million judgment that a jury awarded her after finding that Trump had defamed her for statements he made in 2019, denying the sexual assault, saying she wasn't his type, and claiming that she made up the allegations to sell sales of her new book.

[15:25:06]

That verdict is on appeal. Trump's lawyers have said that they're going to ask the Supreme Court to review it. Those papers are due at the end of the month. And this case could involve questions around presidential immunity because Trump made the statements in 2019 while he was in office responding to reporters' questions. So, that is something that could be a more difficult, more legally nuanced argument. But again, it has -- she has -- she has won every time Trump has appealed this. So, now it will go to the Supreme Court. By the end of this month, Trump can file those briefs, and we'll see if they agree to hear this or if they send it back and then Carroll will receive that payment. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Kara Scannell, thank you so much for the update. Brianna?

KEILAR: A growing health concern in the U.S. over a growing bug population. Some disease-carrying insects like ticks can spread Lyme disease, and houseflies can expose you to salmonella and other pathogens. CNN's Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell is with us on this story.

Meg, your story today on cnn.com did this very good job of explaining just how bugs are spreading further and faster. Tell us about this.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I'm sorry. It's very disgusting. But unfortunately, it is affecting us in entirely new ways and sometimes ways that sound like science fiction.

So, we are seeing more diseases that are spread by these bugs, arthropods, ticks in particular in the United States. Mosquitoes here spread disease as well. And because of the warming climate, they are spreading to new areas, particularly northward. But for ticks, we are seeing the explosion of diseases, including Lyme disease in particular. That's the most common disease that's spread by these bugs in the United States.

And you can see that over the years, over the past several decades, cases of Lyme disease have really expanded. And so, they're actually spreading out in their geography. And some of that can be attributed to a warming climate. It extends the period of time when ticks can be out there trying to bite us. But it doesn't explain everything about why ticks are spreading out in terms of geography. They're also going south and into warmer climates as well.

And experts tell us that's because of changes in things like land use, more suburbanization. We're interacting with the environment in different ways. Also, an explosion in deer populations. We had essentially wiped them out over the last couple of centuries. And now they're springing back. And they are very important to the life cycle of ticks.

And so, it's not just these blacklegged ticks, which spread things like Lyme disease. They also spread things like anaplasmosis and babesiosis. These are lesser-known tick-borne illnesses, but quite concerning. And they're spreading pretty fast too. The CDC has a map, you can see, of all of the tick-borne illnesses that have been identified. The case is reported just over the last couple of years. And you can see that there is quite a number of them spread by different kinds of ticks.

And Brianna, some of these ticks spread things called alpha-gal syndrome, which is actually an allergy to red meat that you can get from the saliva of a different kind of tick called the lone star. That is spreading very quickly as well.

Mosquitoes, as I mentioned, those can spread diseases too. Viruses like Zika, dengue, chikungunya, those are spread by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes. And those are spreading north as the climate warms. The first Aedes aegypti was just detected in Idaho of August of last year. So, these are spreading out as well. And we're off to a bad West Nile season start as well. So, I'm just full of bad news today, Brianna.

KEILAR: All right. Well, give us some good news about what we can do to counter this. I mean, how do we protect ourselves besides, I don't know, like a deep plunge pool in our backyards?

TIRRELL: I -- I don't think people have ruled that out, actually. But there is a vaccine for Lyme disease that is approaching the FDA right now. So, it's not available, but could be in the near-term horizon. There are also things in clinical trials, a pill that is designed to kill ticks after they bite, before they can transmit these pathogens to us. That's in testing. But there is a lot of call for bigger initiatives from the government that are coordinated by the government. They've announced some things, but experts are calling for even more. But on a personal level and on an immediate level, what we need to do is personal protection.

You mentioned Deet -- using repellent is very good. Permethrin we can treat our clothes with. That can kill ticks. It can repel mosquitoes. That works really well. And just checking yourself after you've been outside in a wooded area in particular.

KEILAR: Yes, tick check. Gott to do the tick check. Meg Tirrell, thank you so much.

Still to come, a new U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports going into effect in about 30 minutes. What this could mean for traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and for this war overall.

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