Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Today, Trump Meets With Zelenskyy and Netanyahu as Wars Intensify; Trump Asks Supreme Court to Let Him Curtail Mail Voting; FAA Says, Seats on Hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX Jets Incorrectly Installed. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 28, 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]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Major war decisions looming as the president is set to meet with the leaders of Ukraine and Israel. Politico writes, Netanyahu is finally getting his White House meeting. He may not like what comes with it.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The president's new Supreme Court move, asking the justices now to clear the way for him to put new limits on mail-in voting across the country now with the midterms less than 100 days away.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news in Japan, rocked overnight by a major earthquake. Bridges collapsed, roofs caved in, and at least 50 people hurt. A report of victims now trapped inside buildings with aftershocks a major concern this morning.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: Today at the White House, two meetings, two wars, and many questions about what the president wants to do in both. The president will meet with, separately, with Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

For Zelenskyy, it is a far cry from the meeting last year where the president chided him, saying, you don't have any cards. Today, Zelenskyy has many cards. He has been inflicting great pain on Russia, and today is looking to secure anti-ballistic missile defense and strategic cooperation with the United States. As for Netanyahu, today is the first time he and President Trump will meet face to face since the war with Iran began. Sources tell CNN that Netanyahu has been trying to get a White House invite for weeks, as his relationship with Trump has been strained by the war.

Later today, both Netanyahu and Zelenskyy are expected to attend a funeral in Washington for Senator Lindsey Graham. We will be covering that live.

Let's get right to CNN's Betsy Klein at the White House this morning for the latest on these really important meetings all at once here, Betsy. BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, John, back-to-back high-stakes meetings for President Trump today here at the White House as a pair of key world leaders have descended on Washington to honor the late Senator Lindsey Graham. First up is that meeting with Ukraine's President Zelenskyy at 9:30 this morning, and it comes as Graham's final days were spent in Ukraine. He had long advocated with the president for an end to this conflict.

And even as Trump has expressed some optimism about the prospects of a peace deal, it comes at a particularly violent moment for that war as Russia and Ukraine trading drone strikes just overnight, separately then a meeting with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and as you mentioned, this comes at a moment of tension and strain for the U.S.-Israel relationship.

Now, the president, we know, is increasingly frustrated by this war with Iran that has dragged into a fifth month, and our reporting indicates that Netanyahu plans to present President Trump with fresh intelligence on both nuclear and military rebuilding by Iran as he seeks an escalation in this conflict.

And it comes after a relative pause in this fighting after 13 consecutive nights of strikes, that ceasefire falling apart. Now, they are giving some space to those diplomatic discussions. President Trump laying out the state of play yesterday. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Right now, they're talking to us about making a deal, but if we didn't do it, tough. There would be no talk.

You got to beat them, and we're beating the hell out of them, but we'll see how it turns out.

Right now, they have very friendly negotiations going on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, the president has threatened massive attacks on Iran for quite some time. That could include critical infrastructure, things like roads, bridges, that key oil hub of Kharg Island, and some have warned that that could constitute war crimes. The president has yet to follow through, and as we know, according to our sources, has little appetite for escalation.

And it comes after this key meeting at the White House on Friday, where Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine raised concerns and the possibility of an escalation about the depletion of U.S. munition stockpiles.

The president weighing in on that yesterday, he acknowledged that the U.S. could use more sophisticated munitions, but insisted the U.S. military has what it needs. John?

BERMAN: All right. We're standing by to see what comes from these meetings, if we hear from all these leaders as they speak with the president.

Betsy Klein at the White House, thank you very much.

[07:05:00]

Kate?

BOLDUAN: At the very same time, President Trump is trying to make a big move that could have real impacts on the midterm elections and beyond. The president is now asking the Supreme Court to step in and clear the way for his executive order that would place new limits on mail-in voting He filed an emergency application asking the justices to halt, for now, lower court decisions blocking the sweeping changes in nearly half the country.

The executive order he signed back in March requires, at least parts of it, that states submit lists of voters to the Postal Service, and for the Postal Service to decide who's allowed to vote by mail. More than 20 Democratic-led states are fighting this, arguing that states run elections, not the White House.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court had decided against Republicans, if you will, on a mail-in voting challenge. Their decision now will land with the midterm elections less than 100 days away.

Joining us now, CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig for more on this. So, Elie, I think maybe the great place to start is, where is the law on this?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, let's start with the Constitution itself, the best place to start. The Constitution tells us that it is up to the states or Congress to regulate our elections. Notably not listed there, the president and the executive branch.

What Donald Trump has tried to do with this executive order, which he issued back in March, is basically to end run that constitutional provision. The order is complicated, but it does two major things. One, it orders DHS, the federal government, to compile a state voter list on a state-by-state basis. It doesn't exactly say how they're supposed to do it, it's not even clear that's possible, but nonetheless, develop this state voter master list. And number two, Postal Service, you are not allowed to deliver mail ballots to anyone who's not on those lists.

And so the challengers argue this is just the executive branch trying to influence and essentially run elections, but that's a job the Constitution keeps for the states or Congress.

BOLDUAN: And then -- so that's where the Constitution seems to stand. How likely is it the Supreme Court will intervene, do you think?

HONIG: So, they're out of session now. It's the middle of the summer. So, it would have to be on this emergency docket. It takes actually five votes of the Supreme Court to intervene in a case like this. If they stay out of it, then the lower court rulings stand, which means that executive order is put on hold, is stopped. It's hard to say. I mean, on the one hand, they voted for -- of course, it's hard to say.

BOLDUAN: Yes --

HONIG: They voted, they give Trump a lot of what he wants, but I think the basic constitutional mandate that this is up to the states is so obviously being undermined here, that it wouldn't surprise me, if they do take the case, if they rule against him. Because I think what he's trying to do undermines just a core fundamental tenet of the Constitution.

BOLDUAN: And the calendar here, how important is that? We're less than, we're within 100 days of the midterms.

HONIG: So, very relevant both ways. So, the government, which is defending this order, is saying, well, judges, you can't put this on pause yet because we haven't even actually done the thing yet. It's premature. We're still in the ramp-up phase. But the challengers are saying the opposite. They're saying, When this hits the fan, it's going to be really bad. It's going to cause chaos. And the closer we get to the election, the bigger of a problem that's going to be. Like you said, we're 100 days out.

And there also is an overarching rule in the law that says you shouldn't mess with elections, you shouldn't change the way we vote or count ballots if you're too close. There's no distinct line of when it's too close, but now's too close. I mean, when you're -- I'm going to say, when you're within 100 days, that's too close.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Elie.

HONIG: Thank you, Kate. All right.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so very much. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Kate.

Ahead new this morning, the FAA says seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets were incorrectly installed. What that means for your flight and your safety, and what they're expected to do about it and when.

Also, tornadoes tearing through Wisconsin, ripping roofs off homes, tossing cars around like toys. The damage so severe and so unstable, the residents are being told to shelter in place.

And cannonball contraband. What happened after TSA security screeners found Civil War-era ammo in someone's luggage?

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

SIDNER: New this morning, the FAA says that seats on hundreds of Boeing 737 MAX jets were incorrectly installed, and if they aren't fixed, they could injure passengers during an emergency landing.

CNN Aviation Correspondent Pete Muntean joins us now. Give us some sense about how long this might take, because, clearly, if the FAA is making this warning, there's a threat to safety for passengers.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: And, of course, so many passengers have questions now about whether or not it's safe to fly in Boeing 737 MAX jets because this is just the latest issue with them, Sara. Remember, there were major manufacturing quality control concerns after critical bolts were not installed on a new 737 MAX at the Boeing factory, leading to that dramatic door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines flight back in January of 2024, and a massive crackdown by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Now, the FAA says passenger seats could be improperly installed on as many as 453 Max jets in the U.S. That includes the Max 8, also the Boeing 737 MAX 9.

Here is the issue. The FAA says the aft fittings on as many as 69 seats on each of those planes may not be properly locked into the tracks on the plane's floor, which is why the FAA is warning in this proposed mandatory inspection that the seats could disengage from the tracks.

[07:15:03]

FAA says it's not necessarily a problem when all things are normal, a normal flight, but things can become a real issue during severe turbulence or, God forbid, a crash when there are violent acceleration and deceleration forces.

And the FAA warning puts it pretty bluntly saying, a seat coming loose could result in injury to passengers and crew during an emergency landing or could block the aisle, which could slow the evacuation. The agency says in this proposed airworthiness directive proposal that it received a report that certain passenger seat assemblies were not correctly installed in the seat tracks.

Now, Boeing has not directly commented on this, but it did already alert airlines to this potential problem back in December. This proposed FAA order simply would make those inspections mandatory. United, American, Alaska Airlines, Southwest, Allegiant, they all operate 737 MAXs.

The good news is that this does not involve much downtime for their planes. It means fewer potential snags for passengers during this busy summer travel season. Of course, the reaction that many have is whether or not these are safe to fly on right now. The good news is this is an easy fix, doesn't require new parts, and airlines should be able to tackle it pretty quickly. Sara?

SIDNER: It certainly leaves you feeling uneasy just because there were those other issues with the 737 MAXs, and now here we are again and this is no small thing that they need to take care of.

Pete Muntean, it's always good to have you walk us through all of this. Hopefully, it gets fixed soon. John?

BERMAN: All right. A mother on trial for killing her three young children. What her ex-husband told the jury.

And surging temperatures fueling devastating fires across a continent. This morning, a new danger: unexploded bombs from former wars.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: New testimony tomorrow in the triple murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the woman accused of killing her three children. Jurors have hear-heard emotional, wrenching testimony from her ex-husband, Patrick Clancy. He detailed her intense mental health struggles, noting that just hours before the killing, she was building a snowman with her three children, calling it one of her best days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK CLANCY, EX-HUSBAND OF LINDSAY CLANCY: She was playing with the kids and she seemed in a good mood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point during that day when you came up or while she's texting you, did she tell you she was having suicidal thoughts?

CLANCY: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she tell you she was having thoughts of harming the kids?

CLANCY: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she ask for help or anything that caused concern?

CLANCY: No, she was having one of her best days.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of her best days?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So, so emotional.

CNN's Jean Casarez joins us now. Jean, this has been difficult to watch, but so much already.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So much, and they're just on the first witness, and it's just direct examination. But Patrick Clancy, he has had to answer questions that favor the prosecution in this case, and his ex-wife is just feet away from him.

But he testified that they had three children, five, three, and eight months, and that every time right before she would go back to work after having another pregnancy, she was filled with anxiety. She didn't want to go back. And he said, finally, after their last child, she told him early fall she was going to go to a doctor, she was going to get some Zoloft, and that she was good.

And he said, good. Well, the prosecutor brings out, well, did you know that she'd already gone to the doctor, she already had the prescription, and she's telling you she's going to go and get a prescription? He said, I didn't know that.

And then another point of time, she checked into a mental hospital and a facility, and she left a few days later and she said, I'm not getting any treatment here. And so he testified she left because she wasn't getting any treatment.

Prosecutor writes a laundry list of all the things that were done for her at that facility. He said, I had no idea. Prosecution has to try to show this is deliberate premeditation, and the husband was in the dark, that he didn't know.

Here is some sound from Lindsay Clancy in court yesterday, her husband testifying when she finally said, somebody's telling me I should harm the children. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said she had thoughts of harming the kids. Is that correct?

CLANCY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did she tell you whether or not she had specific thoughts of how she would harm the kids?

CLANCY: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And she didn't describe that as hearing this external voice telling her to harm the kids, correct?

CLANCY: Correct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She told you she was having intrusive thoughts herself of having, of harming the children, correct?

CLANCY: Correct.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did you ask her how she was going to harm the kids?

CLANCY: I didn't ask it in that way. I -- it was the same thing. I said, do you have a plan, and is it disturbing to you? And she said no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And that was early December. On the day it all happened, and he was questioned about that, she asked him to go get takeout, go to the CVS. We know from opening statements, the evidence will show she researched how long it took to take -- to get there, to come back. He bid her farewell, said goodbye to her as she's standing next to the door of the basement. And, of course, the evidence is going to show, according to the prosecution, she took the children down in the basement, and that's when she killed them.

But he called her, we found out, during the middle of that, when she's trying to -- when she's killing them. She didn't answer the phone, but she called him back with a knife in her hand, according to the testimony yesterday and the opening statements, putting them together. And so -- and then went upstairs and, you know, went out the top window, threw herself over the window.

[07:25:06]

So, the question is, can you be insane and call your husband back because you've missed his call because you were killing your children? That's going to be expert testimony.

BERMAN: This has got to be so difficult for the juror. I know here in the office so many parents were watching over the course of the day yesterday, having a really hard time listening to that, listening to the husband, who seems so composed, yet in such deep pain.

All right, Jean Casarez, I know you're going to be watching this live all day long. You can track what Jean says and our coverage on All Access streaming on cnn.com all day. Thanks, Jean. Kate?

BOLDUAN: We're standing by right now for President Trump. He's set to hold due, two critical separate meetings today at the White House, both hugely consequential for the stability of the Middle East, Europe, and, frankly, the world.

And breaking overnight, a major earthquake in Japan, we're getting reports in now. We're getting -- trying to get a better view of what all has happened. Reports of damage and video is just now starting to come in. We'll bring you the updates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]

BERMAN: All right. We are tracking breaking news out of Japan. A major 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit the southern part of the country just a short time ago.