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Major 7.1 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Japan; Today: Trump Holds Critical Meetings With Zelenskyy And Netanyahu; Trump Asks Supreme Court To Let Him Curtail Mail Voting. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 28, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: 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. The reports are very early, and you can see some of the damage here. They're saying at least 50 people have been injured so far. But again, these reports are early and there's every reason to believe that they could get worse, and soon, because you can see some of the destruction here.

Multiple buildings damaged, including a large shopping mall where an explosion was reported. We have video of that right now. The damage appears to be -- the damage you're seeing right there appears to be from the explosion. You can see the partial collapse, it looks like, of the roof there. And we are told at this point that there are people trapped inside that building, which is why we're concerned this casualty count could rise.

There are thousands of homes without power and large cracks in major roads. Some bridges have collapsed. Rail service in the area halted. Flights have been grounded.

Now authorities are also concerned about the possibility for more earthquakes -- aftershocks. There are some concerns about landslides in the region.

We are following this, trying to get more information in and as we see more pictures and as we hear from people on the ground, we will keep you posted -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Wow, it is a tense situation there and a dangerous one at that.

All right. Now back here to what's happening today on Capitol Hill. U.S. lawmakers and world leaders are saying farewell to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham. Soon a hearse carrying his casket will arrive at the U.S. Capitol, then an armed forces team will carry it into the building for a special ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda. That will be followed by a funeral service at Washington National Cathedral.

President Trump is among those expected to speak at the funeral, and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are both expected to attend. CNN's Annie Grayer is on Capitol Hill. Give us some sense of what

you're expecting this morning. Of course, these two world leaders very close to Lindsey Graham who was very hawkish when it came to international dealings.

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well Sara, leaders from both parties and around the world will be coming to Washington today to honor the life and legacy of Sen. Lindsey Graham. There will first be a smaller service with lawmakers up here on Capitol Hill happening shortly, and then he will head to the National Cathedral where President Trump is expected to make remarks, and Fox News' Sean Hannity will also make remarks. And as you mentioned, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to be among the audience attending here.

And then from there Graham heads to South Carolina where he is from for the last time where he will have a service there tomorrow and be laid to rest with -- for a private burial with his family.

And as you mentioned, Graham was a hawk who wanted to have a presence on the world stage. He was involved in so many international matters. In fact, just days before his death he was meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to talk about the important issue of the U.S. continuing to be an ally to Ukraine.

And Graham was in President Trump's inner circle, and he served as an important voice to balance some of the more isolationist views in the right wing of the party and continuing to push the president to be supportive of Ukraine and see Ukraine as an ally for -- to the U.S.

And Graham was at the center of everything on Capitol Hill. He was involved in every major policy debate the Republicans were negotiating as the chair of the powerful budget committee. Much important legislation was passing through his committee that he was shepherding through Washington.

And he was considered a Trump whisperer up here on the Hill where he had a direct line to the president and was constantly keeping him up to date on what was happening.

So not only was Graham's death a complete shock to so many people but he -- Republicans are also grappling with how to fill the massive hole of Lindsey Graham, and many say it just cannot be replaced.

SIDNER: Annie Grayer, thank you for your reporting there on Capitol Hill. And we will be taking all of that live as some of it will happen during the next couple of hours -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And Sara and Annie were just talking about the world leaders are in town in Washington before those funeral services. And with that it's bringing about two very high-stakes meetings at the White House as well that could impact the stability of the Middle East, of Europe, and the world.

First, President Trump is going to be welcoming Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to the White House to talk about the push for peace in Russia's yearlong war there. And later Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their first face-to-face since the war with Iran began.

Joining me right now is White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, David Sanger, and CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier.

[07:35:03]

Kim, let's start with Ukraine, as that's the first meeting that's going to happen this morning and it's part of Lindsey Graham's legacy as well. How different are the circumstances you are seeing, viewing, and hearing, and the relationship between Trump and Zelenskyy now versus what we've seen between those two men in the past?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it has definitely warmed up, and President Zelenskyy is coming in with the backdrop of winning on the battlefield. At least that is the perception worldwide that Ukraine is really getting some traction, especially the way it is menacing Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

President Putin just had a Navy Day parade yesterday which was just 40 sailors in front of a big mural of a submarine, whereas in the past it was several -- dozens of ships, submarines, thousands of troops. But two years in a row they've had to cancel that because of the drone threat from the Ukrainians. So that is the kind of thing that makes Zelenskyy look like he's winning to Trump.

And Zelenskyy is also bringing intelligence to back up his claims over the weekend that Russia is sharing satellite imagery with Iran to help Iran strike U.S. targets in the Gulf.

BOLDUAN: Which is why, David, all of these meetings are really wrapped up into one thing and very much connected because then you have the Netanyahu meeting coming today. My colleagues are reporting, and I know you have reporting on this as well, Netanyahu plans to present Trump with fresh intelligence on the state of Iran's nuclear military rebuilding.

What are you hearing about this meeting?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES (via Webex by Cisco): So as you said, this is the first time they will have met since the war began. And the president comes to this -- he's got to feel a little bit misled by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

When they first were meeting in Washington ahead of the war back in January and February of this year, Netanyahu was making the argument that a combined attack on Iran would result in the complete collapse of their government. That it would be a short war. That Israel had a plan for the replacement of the supreme leader at that time and the president of the country, and that this would just be a quick in and out and a moment of fragility in Iran. Everything about that prediction, Kate, turned out to be wrong. And now the president is somewhat trapped. He can't leave because the Strait of Hormuz is down to a trickle. There's a new threat now, of course, by the Red Sea. And the nuclear program, while buried, has almost been an afterthought for the president at this point. In fact, at moments he has said well, we can just sort of leave that where it is. Well, that was the cause of the war.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

And Kim, add into this now the U.S. munitions stockpile issue. I mean, the president is talking about it. He said yesterday on Air Force One, "We're in very good shape but some of the more sophisticated stuff, we'd certainly like to have more." He blamed the previous administration for sending more advanced weapons to Ukraine. He said, "We have a lot of the mid-level stuff. I'd like to have more, to be honest."

What are you hearing about this aspect of it, Kim?

DOZIER: Well, the real threat in terms of the stockpile is how fast the Patriots are getting burned through. Something like half of the 2,000 Patriots supplied prior to this war, according to CSIS and other analysis, has been expended. That is the stuff that you need to protect Gulf capitals, to protect U.S. bases, and yes, to protect Ukrainian cities, and it is not being replenished fast enough to meet the level of this fight.

So that is a problem that military officers, according to CNN's own reporting, have stressed to Trump. We basically can't keep up and we're -- according to the U.S. intelligence community, they're not getting any sort of strategic or behavioral change out of Iran for all of these munitions expended. And that's a reality that Trump can't change with slogans.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

And David, the fact that Trump is even talking about this.

SANGER: Yeah, it is remarkable. We've done a lot of reporting, and I know CNN has as well, about the nature of these shortages. As Kim points out, the Patriots are the most severe but not the only one.

The administration, so far, has had three arguments, Kate. One has been there's no problem here, right? We're not being driven by this. The second is well, we wish we had some more of some kind, as you suggested, so we do have a problem there. And third is this is all state secrets, and we ought to go find the leakers who are talking about this, which ignores the fact that both the Pentagon and private thinktanks have been publishing these numbers for years about what our stockpile levels are.

[07:40:20]

It is hardly a state secret, and it doesn't take much to do that math about where we are today. And among the others doing the math, the Chinese and the Russians.

BOLDUAN: Hmm.

David, Kim, it's great to see you guys. I really appreciate it. An important day at the White House for sure -- John.

BERMAN: All right. Happening now, the president wants the Supreme Court to take emergency action to let him restrict, really, mail-in voting. The president has been against mail-in ballots for a long time. He brought up his grievance again -- he does almost every day -- most recently, just in the last 24 hours, in Michigan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mail-in ballots are inherently corrupt except for illness, disability, military deployment, or travel. If you're in the military and you're far away, absolutely. If you have to go someplace, absolutely. But mail-in ballots have proven to be a disaster. We're the only country in the world that in this form does them. There's no other country in the world because they're crooked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: That's not actually true. Other countries do it. The president himself voted by mail last spring.

With us now, Leigh Ann Caldwell, chief Washington correspondent for Puck. Leigh Ann, great to see you this morning.

And in addition to his comments dealing with the Supreme Court case the president is also frankly, you know, obsessed with what the U.S. Senate is doing or not doing in regards to the Save America Act -- this voter I.D./proof of citizenship bill that he wants -- almost to the exclusion of other things.

Explain the politics of this.

LEIGH ANN CALDWELL, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, PUCK (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah, that's absolutely right.

So Donald Trump is obsessed with mail-in ballot -- eliminating mail-in ballots and also the Save America Act, which would require voter I.D. to vote and proof of citizenship, and he wants an expanded version that would also strictly limit mail-in ballots.

Now, he is repeatedly pressuring the Senate to do something with this legislation despite the fact the Senate does not have the votes to do it. They would need 60 votes, and they barely even have 50 Republicans that would support this. And the president is continuing to focus on this, creating a huge rift between him and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, pressuring Republican senators and continuing to focus on this because he thinks that it will help Republicans in the midterm elections. What's interesting is Republicans are trying to get the president to focus on the issues that matter most to voters. Not the war in Iran but issues like affordability, gas prices, et cetera. And he's unable and unwilling to do that. But when it comes to the midterms, instead of focusing on the issues he is really focusing on the structural makeup of the elections -- wanting to alter that in any way to benefit Republicans. And it appears that this is the way that he thinks Republicans can win. Instead of litigating the election on the issues this is what he's focused on.

BERMAN: And that's for the next two weeks because that's all the Senate is there before they go away for the summer. I mean, the most likely outcome seems to be they're not going to give him what he wants.

CALDWELL: No, and they're not going to. And there are some calls within the Senate to cancel August recess, but it doesn't change the math. The math is that there are not the votes to do this.

You have Sen. Susan Collins who is opposed to this. You have -- although he is out -- Sen. Mitch McConnel who does not want to federalize the elections. He thinks that it is a state issue state-by- state. You have Sen. Thom Tillis who says that even if this were to pass it can't be implemented before the November elections. You have Sen. -- and there's other senators who are extremely concerned about this and there's no senator -- there's not nearly enough senators to change Senate rules --

BERMAN: Yeah.

CALDWELL: -- to make sure that it could pass with just a few votes.

And so this is an ongoing thing, but math is going to math and --

BERMAN: Yeah.

CALDWELL: -- Majority Leader Thune knows the dynamics, and nothing is really going to change that, John.

BERMAN: Just -- you brought up Sen. Mitch McConnell. Very quickly, he's still recovering in the hospital, and no one has heard from him out loud, at least publicly.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear wrote a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell yesterday basically saying I want proof that you are recovering and have the capacity to serve right now. One of the things he said is, "As governor of the state you serve, I am calling on you to directly or verbally address the people of Kentucky and provide proof of your capacity to serve or resign."

[07:45:07]

Just very quickly here, you know, where does this go next, Leigh Ann?

CALDWELL: Yeah, it's really up to McConnell where this goes next. You know, we -- as you said, we have not heard from him. But it's up to him on what he does. He has about, you know, 200 -- less than 200 days --

BERMAN: Um-hum.

CALDWELL: -- left in office. There seems to be no indication that he is going to resign. His office is saying he is going to return to the Senate. And now that's all we know and it is creating a big political headache not only for Republicans and McConnell but a big political opportunity for Democrats like Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, who can very easily continue to pressure McConnell and make this an issue of him not responding or answering to his constituents, John.

BERMAN: Leigh Ann Caldwell, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for coming on and helping us out -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John.

New this morning, Elon Musk may be the richest person on the planet, but his wallet took a major hit after SpaceX stocks stumbled. The rocket and AI company had a blockbuster stock market debut last month after the biggest IPO in history, making it one of the most valuable companies in the world. But that high didn't last long.

CNN senior reporter Matt Egan joins me now. Now I know we're talking about Elon Musk and him losing some money -- paper money, basically -- not something he had in his pocket -- but so did investors. Like, let us not forget about that.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, absolutely, Sara. I mean, look, it has just been a wild ride this summer for Elon Musk and this net worth. And it is really all because of SpaceX, right? This blockbuster IPO -- it pushed Elon Musk's net worth up to $1.3 trillion as recently as mid-June. That's when SpaceX was still flying high -- very high.

But look at this. Net worth is now just about $700 billion. So that means we're looking at a paper loss of about $600 billion. Some context: That's roughly what Exxon Mobil is worth, but that's what Elon Musk has lost in his fortune in the span of just six weeks.

Now this is because SpaceX stock is down sharply. It has stumbled badly since going public, down 30 percent since going public. That's from the closing price the day it went public. Actually, down even more from another day later in June when the stock was even higher.

This is a look at SpaceX shares. You can see that people who bought this stock -- to your point, Sara -- at $160, $170, almost $200 -- they are now staring at major losses.

So why is this happening? Well look, the IPO -- it really lavished just astronomical valuations on SpaceX. So this is now a reality check, right? Some SpaceX bears -- they think that this IPO overvalued the company, and they're worried about how much money SpaceX has to spend to fund its business and how much borrowing they have to do get there. They're also bracing for insiders and employees to start to be able to sell their shares. And some of these lockup restrictions -- they lapse starting next week. But look, history shows that Elon Musk -- he has an ability to prove his critics wrong. And some analysts on Wall Street -- they do think SpaceX can turn this around and that it could end up being like Facebook, which overcame its own early stumbles as a public company.

But look, don't feel too bad for Musk. He is still worth over $700 billion. He is still the richest person on the planet by longshot. He's worth more than twice Larry Page, the next closest person on this list.

But Sara, the question is whether or not he's going to return to that trillion-dollar status, and I think the answer to that question is going to be decided in large part to what happens next for SpaceX.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, he cares and I'm sure the stockholders care, but a lot of Americans don't care whether he's a trillionaire or a multibillionaire. He's still worth a lot of money.

Matt Egan, thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: Appreciate it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: No matter how many times we say it it's still hard to wrap your mind around it.

SIDNER: I know.

BOLDUAN: I mean, let's be honest. Maybe it should be.

A man thrown from a boat is rescued after treading water for more than three hours. And a squirrel goes berserk during a Tigers-Orioles game.

(COMMERCIAL)

BERMAN: Major breaking news out of Japan -- a powerful 7.1 magnitude earthquake just a short time ago. This video you're looking at right here, it is a mall -- a shopping mall where an explosion apparently took place right after the earthquake. You can see some of the devastation. We are getting reports that there are people trapped inside that building. We're trying to get some updates on the condition of those people. How many people might be inside.

So far, nationwide, we're told that at least 50 people have been injured but that number is almost certainly going to increase. Thousands of homes are without power this morning. We've seen major cracks in roads. Some bridges collapsed.

Again, this is an ongoing situation. You're watching some video of the shaking as it was taking place right there. But the pictures of the devastation that are coming in are reason for concern. We're going to have much more on that straight ahead -- Kate.

[07:55:05]

BOLDUAN: The son of the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs now facing charges after allegedly shooting his mother.

CNN's Andy Scholes has much more on this. Good morning, Andy. What's going on here?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, good morning, Kate.

So authorities in Ashburn, Virginia -- they responded late Sunday to the Bieniemy home and found 57-year-old Mia Bieniemy with multiple gunshot wounds. She was transported to the hospital and was in stable condition yesterday. Bieniemy's 27-year-old son Elijah was arrested early Monday in connection with the shooting. He has been charged and is being held without bond.

Now, Eric Bieniemy has been with the Chiefs as they open training camp in Saint Joseph, Missouri but he was not present for Monday's workout.

Now, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about the incident yesterday and had this to say about Mia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY REID, HEAD COACH, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: She's a saint and we all know that -- the people that know her. One of God's good blessings right there now. A really special person. So -- but things happen, you know. Things happen and you just -- you've got to work through it. And -- so that's where we're at right now. And I -- time will have to be involved in this to help heal a little bit. So it'll all work out in the long run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: All right. Elsewhere in baseball, the Marlins have finally won a game. It wasn't looking good once again last night against the Phillips. Miami was down 7-5 in the ninth, but they rallied. And then Griffin Conine came up to the plate with the bases loaded. He would come through with a walk-off single right here. The 8-7 win snaps the team's franchise record 12-game losing streak.

And manager Clayton McCullough had said he had felt like Odysseus and didn't know what baseball god he had infuriated. But his losing journey is finally over and despite the recent skid, the Marlins just two games out of a wildcard spot in the National League.

All right. And finally, in Detroit, a black squirrel completely took over the Tigers-Orioles game last night. So in the bottom of the sixth this guy showed up in the outfield and was just hopping around enjoying himself. He ventured around for a while but after the top of the seventh the entire grounds crew was on a mission to get him. Even Orioles outfielder Leody Taveras tried to scoop him up there and was unsuccessful.

The poor guy went flying through the air and ran around for a little while longer. Eventually one of the grounds crew guys were able to throw a towel on him and scoop him off the field.

But Kate, that guy -- he was just trying to watch himself some baseball and then he had 15 dudes running at him with a towel. Poor little guy.

BOLDUAN: OK, he was not trying to watch himself some baseball. He was trying to take over the game. I mean, I like his dance moves and I also really -- I mean, did you see him? He, like, just lobbed into the air. Sorry to have laughed at a squirrel's expense but hilarious.

Thank you, Andy. I mean, you --

SIDNER: And a new mascot is born.

BOLDUAN: Exactly.

SIDNER: That's what I think.

BOLDUAN: We will -- we like -- we just like to acquire mascots for our show, so I think Andy just brought us a new one -- the berserk squirrel.

SIDNER: The berserk squirrel. I love it.

BOLDUAN: The new CNN mascot.

SIDNER: I feel like that sometimes, so I understand the squirrel very much.

BOLDUAN: You do, actually.

SIDNER: All right. Ahead TSA agents in Alabama make a wild discovery. They find stolen Civil War-era cannonballs inside someone's checked baggage. Five of them were wrapped up in paper towels with the largest about the size of a grapefruit. It turns out a child had taken them during a trip to a Civil War fort-turned museum. The TSA officer who found the cannonballs says he was concerned he might be holding a live explosive, but it turns out there were no explosives. Goodness.

All right. Also on our radar, drivers in Ohio found themselves in quite a pickle after a truck crash scattered thousands of -- look at that -- pickles all across and on the side of the highway. The road was shut down for a while. Crew cleaned up the mess.

The Ohio Department of Transportation posted the video online where comments came flooding in with every pun you can imagine. And we used one and I apologize for it. Quite the -- I'm going to end with one -- dill-emma. I apologize. That is just terrible and everyone's shaking their head. All right, dill-emma.

All right. In Texas, a close call for a man who was thrown from his boat after slamming into a stump. It happened as the man was taking part in a fishing tournament. Fortunately, he happened to be wearing a life jacket, which is what you're supposed to do, and his boat's emergency engine cut-off switch. He spent more than three hours in the water before finally being pulled to safety. That is also quite a dilemma.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now. All right. Today, two high-stakes meetings over two major intensifying

wars welcoming Ukrainian President Zelenskyy to the White House first, next hour. Then hosting Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu -- their first face-to-face meeting since the Iran war began.

[08:00:00]