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UK Unveils Midnight Social Media Curfew for Older Teens; Senate Panel will Soon Grill Trump's Attorney General Pick Todd Blanche; U.S. Launches New Wave of Strikes on Iran this Morning; Anger and Questions Remain After ICE Shooting in Maine; Worst Case Flood Scenario Underway in Texas. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired July 15, 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]

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Apps which allow for constant scrolling, like for example reels on Instagram or on TikTok, to prevent that from automatically being the case for teenagers using those apps. But it is important to note that this is a voluntary measure, so those teenagers would have the option of going into their settings on their phones and turning this off, but the government has said that this is an attempt to add further safeguards to make them accessible for parents trying to control social media usage amongst their teenagers.

And we have heard from the UK Technology Secretary Liz Kendall in a statement saying, "These measures will be crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college and spend more quality time with family and friends, all of which are fundamental to building a happy, healthy and fulfilling adult life."

And there has also been a pilot which took place involving more than 300 people. And according to the findings of this pilot, this actually helped sleep and concentration. So while there are some doubts around the voluntary nature of this measure, there is some hope that this will add further safeguards for young people.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It will be really interesting to see how many teenagers volunteer to do this, but an interesting move by the UK. Nada Bashir, thank you so much for your reporting this morning.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are standing by this morning for it to be a huge moment on Capitol Hill. The president's pick to be attorney general is in the hot seat. Todd Blanche also suddenly facing some new uncertainty with his confirmation after the sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham. It's coming up.

The president also this morning speaking out against the DHS decision to stop ICE officers from conducting traffic stops after the two deadly ICE shootings. So what is the president telling DHS to do now?

And in Texas, millions of people are facing what is being described as a worst case scenario, a flood scenario. Dozens of water rescues already reported overnight, disaster declarations already issued for nearly a quarter of the state.

I'm Kate Bolduan with John Berman and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So very shortly now, acting attorney general Todd Blanche faces questions to see if he can lose the acting title and win confirmation as attorney general. Now, this will not be easy. He likely needs every Republican vote on the Judiciary Committee, and some of those Republican votes hang in the balance.

Key issues include his one-time support of a $1.8 billion fund that some say would go to the president's political allies, his handling of the release of the Epstein files, his interview with Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and then the prosecution of some of the president's political enemies.

Let's get a CNN senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez, who is on Capitol Hill standing by for the beginning of these hearings. These will be interesting, Evan.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, good morning. Look, this is going to be several hours of grilling that we expect the acting attorney general is going to face here in this room behind me. Now, you know, among the issues, as you pointed out, are, you know, the dealing -- having the issues dealing with the Epstein files, which, of course, is still a great deal of frustrations.

We expect that Democrats have invited some survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to sit here in the room behind Todd Blanche. So you'll expect to see the Democrats try to force that moment because of the frustrations over the way those files have been handled by the Justice Department. But then beyond that, you know, I think the biggest issue for Todd Blanche is to try to navigate, to argue that he is indeed in control of the department, that it is not being controlled from the White House by Stephen Miller, by the president of the United States, who has, as you know, mercurial whims at all times about what he wants the Justice Department to do.

And so one of the issues you will -- we can expect the Democrats to bring up is this ruling from a judge in Florida just a couple of days ago, which calls into question the way Blanche was overseeing this attempt to have a settlement with the IRS and this $1.776 billion fund, which was going to benefit people who attacked the January 6th -- were part of the January 6th attack here at the U.S. Capitol. The Justice Department and Blanche now acknowledge that that was a mistake.

They've since pulled that back. But one of the issues remains this immunity deal that Blanche ordered for the president, for his sons, for his companies. The question of whether Blanche is sufficiently independent and whether he is simply just doing what he's ordered to do from the White House is going to hang over this hearing for the next two days while trying to he has the votes from Republicans.

[08:05:00] Now, I'll say this, you know, inside the Justice Department, they believe that he does have sufficient support, but everything will depend on how he answers all those questions today -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, he's very skillful at answering questions and asking questions, I should note, as a lawyer there. Still, you can't expect some tough ones from both Republicans and Democrats today. It'll be very interesting to see.

Evan Perez there watching. Thank you very much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, breaking this morning, U.S. Central Command confirming a brand new wave of strikes on Iran intended to degrade Iran's military capabilities and keep Tehran from attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian army says at least seven military personnel were killed in strikes overnight, and Tehran says 30 civilians have been killed in recent days.

Iran retaliating, striking U.S. allies in the region. They've launched missiles at Jordan and drone attacks on Kuwait. President Trump is threatening to strike Iranian infrastructure like bridges and power plants next week if Tehran refuses to return to the negotiating table. And he is not ruling out U.S. ground troops for a possible takeover of Iran's Kharg Islands.

CNN's Betsy Klein joining me now from the White House with the very latest on what is happening in that region. What are you learning?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Sara, the U.S. is ramping up its strikes on Iran at the same time that President Trump is ramping up his rhetoric. And the Strait of Hormuz, that critical oil thoroughfare, remains at the center here. We have seen Iran attacking commercial vessels, the U.S. hitting back to try to degrade that capability. And this has really become a key point of leverage in this war. And as a new U.S.-imposed blockade on ships going to and from Iranian ports gets underway, as of yesterday around 4 p.m. Eastern time, the U.S. now launching a new round of strikes this morning that took place over about 90 minutes, notably during the daytime. We just heard from CENTCOM that this round of strikes is complete.

They say in a statement, quote, "U.S. Central Command completed a morning round of strikes against Iran at 7.30 a.m. Eastern time on July 15th. CENTCOM launched precision munitions against coastal defense systems and cruise missile storage and launched sites on Greater Tunb Island during the 90-minute wave. The strikes further degraded Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, the president was asked whether he would be willing to send ground troops to Iran, declining to fully rule that out. He also said that he is willing to attack critical infrastructure. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're going to hit him very hard tonight. We're going to hit him very hard tomorrow night. We're going to hit him very hard the night after.

And then next week, it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges. We're going to knock out all their power plants.

We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, President Trump, we should note, has been threatening to attack bridges as well as desalination plants and Kharg Island, which is a key oil export hub, throughout this conflict, making good on those threats in a variety of ways. But all of this comes as we are seeing the strike and the blockade ramp up that pressure on Iran, President Trump still wanting to get them to the negotiating table to potentially find a diplomatic solution. And meanwhile, here at home, Senate Democrats making very clear they are unhappy with this conflict.

They blocked the annual defense spending bill, just underscoring the political divisions this conflict is having here at home, Sara.

SIDNER: Yes, the president very aware he was the one saying he doesn't want a forever war. The only way to get to that is a diplomatic solution. Betsy Klein, great reporting from you this morning there from the White House -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So coming up for us, new confusion over what is ICE policy after DHS calls for a pause on traffic stops, after -- most traffic stops, after two deadly shootings. The president, though, is now trying to step in.

Plus, Texas is facing potentially catastrophic rainfall, the worst case scenario, as it's being described, that is unfolding there right now.

And we are standing by for a key economic report to drop today. We're going to bring that to you in just a few minutes.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This morning, it seems President Trump is pushing back against his own border czar, now saying we cannot give up one of ICE's most important and effective crime fighting tools, the traffic stop.

It was just yesterday DHS had said that ICE would be pausing most traffic stops. This is important because there have been two ICE- related shootings in just a week during traffic stops. One of those in Biddeford, Maine.

Last hour, we talked to the mayor there about the fact that there were not body cameras on any of the agents involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR LIAM LAFOUNTAIN, BIDDEFORD, MAINE: It's unacceptable that they weren't wearing body cameras. Like I said before, in Biddeford since 2018, every single police officer has worn a body cam. There's no excuse for the federal government and an agency like ICE that's interacting and using these tactics that they're not on with body cameras.

Unacceptable, period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[08:15:00]

BOLDUAN: Jason Carroll is in Biddeford still for us this morning. Jason, it's unclear what this means from the president this morning about ICE policy and DHS policy in terms of the tactic being used of these traffic stops. What's the latest you're hearing?

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's leaving folks here feeling even more unsettled. And you can imagine how they were feeling even before this. There are a lot of questions now about this so-called pause.

Is this pause going to mean days? Is it going to mean weeks? Is it going to be longer than that?

So still a lot of uncertainty surrounding that. That's in addition to the feeling that folks are having out here about those ICE agents in terms of why was there the need to use deadly force? Why were there no body cameras used in this incident that took place right behind me here at this intersection?

These are many of the questions that folks here are having here on the ground. In addition to what is going to happen with this investigation, how transparent is this investigation going to be? And, you know, in talking to people who continue to come out here, who continue to leave flowers and letters for Guerrero, there are questions about why these types of shootings continue to happen, and, of course, why did it happen here?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You always knew it was a possibility here because there's been a heavy presence since January, and especially in this area, in Biddeford. And when you hear about this, it's just surreal.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This could be happening to any one of us, any one of us. He's a 26-year-old with a child. He has a legitimate reason for being here.

He had Social Security. It's horrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: And, Kate, of course, we are also hearing from Joan Guerrero's family. They say he had a work permit, that he was here legally. They also say -- talked about his strong work ethic, how he would get up very early to go to his first job and work throughout the day and then go to his second job later on in the day, and just how devastating this has been for their family -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Jason, thank you for your continued reporting and staying on top of this for us. Really appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: Right happening now, what they are calling a worst-case flood scenario in Texas. Dozens have already been rescued. We're getting updates on the situation there.

And then the House votes to eliminate clock changes, wading into one of the most controversial and, frankly, misunderstood battles over sunlight that there is.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right happening now, what they're calling a worst-case flood scenario in southern Texas. 16 inches of rain already in some areas, with more on the way. A half year's worth of rain in just a few days. Dozens of water rescues already reported.

Let's get the very latest from CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. What are you seeing there, Derek?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, there's a lot of concerning signals in the radar. They're using words from the National Weather Service like significant, life -- locally catastrophic, and life-threatening. That wording they do not use lightly.

You can see on either side of me here the instances of the flash flooding, including the numerous instances of people having to be rescued because their water took over their vehicles. Now we've had over a foot of rain, and we're honing in on the hill country of western Texas, particularly Uvalde and Medina counties. This is radar- estimated rainfall totals.

You're focusing in, of course, on the pinks here. Those are locations that have accumulated over a foot. Some of these radar accumulations are tapping in at nearly 15 inches of rain.

And the significant amount of rain is still to come. We focused in on this region with the radar to show you how the rain is kind of wrapping around itself, impacting some of the hardest-hit areas from yesterday just north of Uvalde. Again, this is Uvalde County.

Here's Medina. Several instances of flash flooding in Hondo, Texas. This is west of San Antonio.

The Edwards Plateau, hill country, the I-90 corridor, this is the area we're going to focus in today as the heaviest of rainfall falls on top of what already fell from the sky yesterday. So we have, once again, from the Weather Prediction Center, the highest risk level. This is a life-threatening situation for this part of Texas.

It is a level 4 of 4, and they don't issue these lightly. Only about 4 percent of days account for that high-level risk. But over a third of flood-related fatalities occur during those instances, and 80 percent of flood-related damages occur during these high-risk days.

We need to take this seriously. They're pleading to the public, a lot of people vacationing in this part of Texas, trying to get the word out to some of the remote areas here that flash flooding is imminent if it's not already occurring. Look at the forecast radar going forward.

Just rain after rain after deluge after deluge. If it pops up over the same areas, Uvalde, Medina County, we could see another 10 to 20 inches on top of what's already fallen -- John.

BERMAN: I've got to see. Those radar images were extraordinary and just awful. OK.

Everyone down there, stay tuned. Listen to your meteorologist. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much for that -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, John.

Perhaps the biggest, most contentious hearing on Capitol Hill this summer will begin soon. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche expected to arrive at any moment ahead of his confirmation hearing. We will bring it to you live.

Plus, we are just minutes away from the release of a brand-new economic report. We'll bring you the numbers, plus what they're telling us about the state of the economy, including your economy. Those stories and more ahead.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: Perhaps the most contentious and consequential hearing of the summer is about to get underway on Capitol Hill. You see the hearing room there. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche vying to become the next U.S. Attorney General.

But after the botched Epstein file released, the 1776 fund controversy, and the DOJ's obvious attack on Trump political foes that keep failing the legal test, Democrats and some Republicans are going to ask some tough questions. Prepare for fireworks.

Joining us now is New Jersey Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer. It's so good to see you. I see you smiling there because you know the fireworks are going to happen.

[08:30:00]