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Several States Bracing for Record-Breaking Heat Dome; Interview with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL): Cornyn Puts Blanche's Attorney General Nomination in Jeopardy Over $1.8 Billion Fund; Fetterman and Sanders Clash Over Progressive Candidates; U.S. Launches New Strikes on Iran After Trump Says It's Our Turn; Ex-Husband Describes Finding Lindsay Clancy and 3 Children. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired July 30, 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]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: But you know what? We do.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Two more hours.

SIDNER: But I guess since he can walk down a mountain for, what, 10 miles with a pole sticking literally through his body, I can finish the show. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty brave.

BOLDUAN: You're resilient. You are resilient.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much, Kate.

All right, ahead, millions of Americans, they're going to be baking, just boiling this week under a dangerous heat dome. We could see some of the hottest temperatures of the entire year. A dozen states could see record-breaking temps.

And Death Valley might surpass 125 degrees this weekend. Derek Van Dam, joining us now with the details. This is just insane, 125 in Death Valley.

I know it gets hot there, but it's insane.

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. It's called Death Valley for a reason, right? Not representative of all the temperatures across the Southwest, but that is the benchmark, right?

We think about Death Valley. That's got the planet's warmest temperature on record, somewhere between 130 to 134. We could challenge it, but I don't think we'll quite get there.

Bottom line is this is going to be a large and very expansive heat dome. And remember, this month, we had Billings, Montana, Salt Lake City, Utah, had their July warmest all-time record temperatures. Well, we could see that once again in the month of August because we're heading into August here this weekend.

And as this heat wave peaks, we've got Los Angeles, which is under an extreme heat warning. A lot of people flocking to the coastline. Well, guess what?

There are going to be large swells that are picked up from Hurricane Genevieve that's swirling across the Eastern Pacific. Remember, they're coming off of a weekend where LA County had over 1,500 rip current rescues. So the waters will be dangerous, even if you head to the ocean to try and cool yourself down.

Average temperature in Death Valley, 117, but you can see our forecast there edging closer and closer to 125. This is fascinating. Phoenix, Arizona, you've got the potential to have four to five consecutive days where the mercury in the thermometer climbs over 115.

That's only happened 10 times since records began over the past 130 years. And Sara, it's not just daytime highs. It's the overnight lows that will be difficult to manage because that will not allow us to cool our bodies down when we anticipate that we can, unfortunately.

This is a day that we don't.

SIDNER: I hate that for us. Derek Van Dam, thank you very much. A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

Breaking overnight, the U.S. launching a barrage of new strikes on Iran, hours after President Trump vowed to give the country a beating. Now, yet another nation has been pulled into this conflict.

Also breaking, we are standing by for critical new data on the economy. The numbers set to reveal how much Americans are spending and how far their dollar goes.

Plus, a risky rescue on top of the mountain, why emergency crews had to race to save an Oscar-winning animator who worked on "Aladdin" and "The Little Mermaid." What happened there?

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

BOLDUAN: The breaking news this morning, a major blow to President Trump's nominee to be the next Attorney General. The Senate Judiciary Committee has postponed a key vote on advancing acting AG Todd Blanche's nomination because Republicans aren't on the same page about him. Blanche can't afford to lose even one GOP vote.

And Texas Senator John Cornyn, the same senator who lost an ugly re- election fight after the president endorsed his primary opponent, Cornyn is withholding his support. He's pushing back over the Trump administration's $1.8 billion so-called anti-weaponization fund, which he calls a slush fund, which they claim is no longer. One that would have used taxpayer money to pay out people who claim they've been wronged by the Justice Department, including potentially January 6th defendants.

Blanche testified, you'll remember, in June that the fund had been scrapped. But Cornyn wants that spelled out, guarantees in writing. And Blanche has so far, and for a while now, refused and resisted to do that. Here's what the senator told CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): It's just that they refuse to commit to writing what he testified to under oath. And it's not a big ask.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why do you think they're not getting a message from you?

CORNYN: Maybe they think they can rule me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Joining me right now is the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois. It's good to see you, Senator. What is your understanding of what's happening, what will happen now with this nomination?

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: John Cornyn sent a very clear signal when we had the hearing with Mr. Blanche that this concerned him. Blanche was saying, don't worry about it.

[08:05:00]

We've walked away from the slush fund, a fund of $1.8 billion, which was created to reward the, I guess, the champions and friends of the Trump administration. But I could tell that Cornyn, who is not only a U.S. senator today, but was once a Supreme Court justice in Texas, took it very seriously. And unfortunately for the Trump administration, they did not.

I think John has made a good stand on an important issue. He's also raised the issue about the future liability of the Trump empire when it comes to tax crimes. I mean, these are legitimate issues he's raising, and I'm sure he's not the only Republican worried about it.

BOLDUAN: If Blanche said before your committee, in a hearing, which would mean he cannot -- let's say, crime to lie to Congress, that this fund is, you know, dead, gone, and buried, what does putting it in writing do? Anything?

DURBIN: Well, it basically says, great to hear those words now put it down in writing so we can refer to it in the future if you change your mind. And that's happened before. Whether it's meeting with the victims of Epstein or providing this information in writing or making certain that we're not going to extend this get-out-of-jail-free card for tax crimes for the Trump empire is going to be taken seriously.

It needs to be put in writing. And I think John Cornyn has made a reasonable request and made it in a timely fashion.

BOLDUAN: I want to play what President Trump has said about this. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, I don't know. Maybe John Cornyn's upset with me because I didn't endorse him. I don't know what it is, but I haven't heard that there's a problem.

I heard he's going through quite nicely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Do you think the motivation here for Cornyn is payback for Trump?

DURBIN: I'm not going to comment on that. I mean, I respect John Cornyn. We've disagreed on a lot of things, but I'll tell you, he's a thoughtful attorney.

He made a request which was reasonable, saying to Blanche, if you're saying you're never going to use this fund, put it in writing. That is not unreasonable. At one point, Thom Tillis of North Carolina basically said, I'm not voting for you, Mr. Blanche, unless you meet with the victims at Epstein. I mean, it's kind of a showdown from those of us who are not running for re-election. I think there are a lot more senators on the Republican side who agree with Cornyn who are afraid to raise their head.

BOLDUAN: Blumenthal was on with my colleague John this week. And the way he put it when it comes to -- he basically said, like, at the end of the day, I've seen this movie before. He said, and "I've seen how it ends, Republicans cave."

If you believe that's the case -- do you believe that's the case in the end? Well, the view of Blumenthal is he considers it a cave. Do you believe that's going to be the case here?

DURBIN: I don't think so. Maybe I'm wrong. But I think John Cornyn sent the signal out loud and clear two weeks ago that this was an issue that concerned him.

I think it's a matter of his own principle and integrity. I think he'll stand by his position.

BOLDUAN: I want to also ask you, the discussion, the conversation, the fight within the Democratic Party that's going on over the direction of the Democratic Party, pull it left or pull it center, there's kind of a bit of a new wrinkle in it now. John Fetterman is calling out Bernie Sanders for his endorsements of candidates like the progressive candidate in Michigan's Senate race, Abdul El-Sayed, saying that Bernie Sanders is hurting the Democratic Party with how he is getting involved in these races. Bernie Sanders is throwing it right back at Fetterman.

Let me play this for you, Senator.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Is Bernie making it harder for Democrats to recapture the majority?

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Well, yes. I mean, like, what's he out on? What's in it for him?

If it's not anything more at this point, ego. Maybe sit a few out, Bernie. You know, you're not helping.

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I would not put too much credibility in what somebody like Fetterman says. So, John, not going to take your advice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Who's right here, Senator?

DURBIN: There's a progressive wing within the Democratic Party. We have seen it demonstrated in a lot of elections. We are a big tent party and there's room for progressives as well as those who have a different point of view.

I would say to Bernie Sanders, we need your help in a constructive way, and I'm sure you're going to give it as you have in the past. And Mr. Fetterman, John Fetterman, my colleague, I respect you very much, but we need a big tent to bring this party together and take the presidency back.

BOLDUAN: It's not just Fetterman, though.

[08:10:00]

I had Illinois' own Rahm Emanuel on this week, and he wrote an entire commentary in the Wall Street Journal saying that Bernie Sanders is, and the candidates he's endorsing and pushing are, essentially, he makes the argument, ruining Democrats' chances -- could be ruining Democrats' chances and retaking majorities in the midterms. You disagree?

DURBIN: I do disagree. And let me tell you, Rahm's my friend, but let's get down to brass tacks. We're going to be accused of being everything from Marxists to Socialists to Communists no matter what in the hell we do.

But we had better speak to our party when they talk about the values of the party. If they're talking about daycare, children's care for all across America, that is a progressive platform, I'm with them. There are some things that they take and positions they take, I may disagree with, but we better be open to new thinking in this party to make sure our attendance continues to be big enough to win.

BOLDUAN: You probably, I don't know if you've seen it, a new CNN poll out, part of the new CNN poll just out this morning, Senator, says that a third now, about a third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults identify as Democratic Socialists. Is that good for the Democratic Party? Do you like that?

DURBIN: Let me tell you, labels, of course, are being thrown around on both sides. I look for progressive values that I have supported over the years and continue to. There are some who are more aggressive than others, but the party that I belong to has that kind of dialogue and reflects what is really going through the minds of families in America who are struggling economically to survive.

Progressives are joining us in this effort, and we need them.

BOLDUAN: Senator Dick Durbin, thank you for coming in this morning -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

Ahead, the U.S. unleashes a fresh wave of attacks on Iran overnight as the war has now expanded into new countries. New reporting this morning on the options President Trump is now weighing.

And new testimony in the trial of the mother accused of killing her three young children, her ex-husband revealing what she heard in her own mind on the day their children died.

Plus, a woman says she was sent home from the hospital not once but twice and ended up giving birth in a fast food parking lot. Why that happened? Ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: All right, so for the first time since the Iran war began, Egypt has come under attack. You can see smoke from drone strikes hitting vessels at a port there. No one so far has claimed responsibility for this, but this threatens to pull more countries in the region into this spreading conflict.

Overnight, the U.S. military delivered on President Trump's threat to retaliate against Iran for targeting U.S. military bases in the region, launching a brand new heavy wave of strikes. CNN's Betsy Klein is at the White House. What are you learning this morning as to where we are and what's going to happen next?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Sara, it was just on Monday that President Trump said that he was pausing attacks to allow some space for those diplomatic talks to progress. But there are no signs that diplomacy is on track right now. This war appears to be widening with multiple fronts opening up across the region.

The U.S. delivering on President Trump's threat, as you mentioned, to intensify those strikes. And it comes after Iran for the first time targeted Egyptian infrastructure sites. And that really altogether underscores how challenging it is going to be to get diplomacy back in action.

CENTCOM saying in a statement overnight, quote, "U.S. Central Command forces successfully completed a heavy wave of strikes against Iran in response to yesterday's attempted missile attacks on U.S. forces. CENTCOM assets struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets in Iran, including military command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal surveillance and defense sites and maritime capabilities." Iran, meanwhile, says that the Strait of Hormuz is going to remain closed.

And this comes as the president in recent weeks has threatened massive attacks on Iran. He has threatened to target critical infrastructure, things like roads, bridges, the key oil hub of Kharg Island, which would almost certainly require some form of boots on the ground. Now, some warn that that could all constitute war crimes.

The president obviously has yet to follow through on those threats. And it comes after this key meeting between President Trump and a top official from Saudi Arabia just a couple of days after the Saudis joined the U.S. forces in targeting Iran proxies in Iraq. All of this weighing on the president as he plots a path forward.

SIDNER: Betsy Klein, do appreciate your reporting there for us from the White House this morning.

All right, ahead, brand new CNN polling revealing a major change in how Americans are viewing their options ahead of the midterms, now giving Democrats an advantage less than 100 days away from the elections. But how big is that advantage? And should Democrats be worried?

Also, more and more Americans are turning to AI chatbots for advice on their personal health. What you need to know before sharing your personal medical information with artificial intelligence. That's important and that's ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: This morning, witnesses -- more witnesses for the prosecution are set to take the stand in the trial of a Massachusetts woman charged with killing her three children. Lindsay Clancy has pleaded not guilty. Her attorney is trying to make the argument in court that she suffered from postpartum psychosis, an extreme mental illness, and can't be held criminally responsible for her actions.

Prosecutors, though, say, and are making the case in court, that her actions, the murders, were premeditated. Yesterday, her ex-husband, Patrick, took to the stand once again, explaining how he found his children after returning home from getting takeout dinner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK CLANCY, EX-HUSBAND OF LINDSAY CLANCY: I said, where are the kids?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what was her response?

CLANCY: She said they're in the basement.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: Clancy went on to say that his then-wife did not say the children were hurt or needed any help. CNN's Jean Casarez is following all of this and joining us once again. Every minute that he was on the stand was gut-wrenching.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And he was there. He lived and breathed every single aspect of this, except, of course, when he got home in January. But I want to tell you that he testified that she was on so many medications.

Nurse practitioners were prescribing these medications, and the dosages would change. And he said the final impact, and she just started to spiral down in December of 2022, when Seroquel was given to her, he said that was it. And then in January, middle of January, his wife asked him to go get takeout and go to the CVS.

He came home with everything. He said he put it on the kitchen table. And he got home, and it was so quiet.

The children weren't around. She wasn't around. He was trying to find out where everybody was.

And he went room to room. He looked down in the basement but didn't see anything. And then he went into the bedroom, and he saw that the window was up in their bedroom.

And he went outside. He found his wife, and she was there. And she had jumped out the window.

[08:25:00]

But they had a conversation. And he asked her, you know, where are the children? And she said they're in the basement. I tried to commit suicide.

About a week later, she called him from the hospital. And she started to telling him about commands and voices that were in her head that night. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLANCY: She said she heard a man's voice telling her that if she didn't do it now, she'd lose her chance, or something like that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did she also tell you that she had had a moment of psychosis?

CLANCY: I don't recall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And I think he changed that and said he did remember she used the word psychosis at that point. Now, after Patrick left the stand, that is when they played the 911 call. And the judge's order was it was not to be broadcast.

It was not to be reproduced. So if you were not in the courtroom, you couldn't hear it. But the comments are that it was gut-wrenching.

Absolutely gut-wrenching.

BOLDUAN: And it continues today. Jean, thank you so much. And you can watch all of Jean's amazing coverage on this.

You can watch streaming live coverage of the trial with Jean on CNN All Access. This is streaming live. It will be streaming live on cnn.com/watch. Jean, thank you so much.

We're also moments away from new data to be released on the state of the U.S. economy. What this new -- the new numbers can tell you about how far your dollar is going right now.

And K-pop supergroup BTS taking a stand, announcing that they're bowing out of future Grammy Awards, all because of a new category that the Grammys just announced.

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