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Psychiatrists Testify During Linday Clancy Murder Trial; U.S. Intel: Putin Could Launch Attack Aimed at Testing NATO Unity; Trump Acknowledges Some U.S. Weapons Supplies are Tighter; Scientists Use AI to Create 16 New Viruses from Scratch. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 07, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... when she killed her children, she saw a general anxiety disorder with her. And so she went through the assessments with her, as a psychiatrist would do, and then on cross- examination, the defense, very upset, asking, did you get her prior medical records? Because she'd gone to so many doctors before she visited you.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you look at her records?

ALIA GOODHEART, PSYCHIATRIST: I did not have access to them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not?

GOODHEART: They aren't in the same medical record system.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the same medical record system is just so that you have access to MGH, you have access to Brigham and Women's Hospital, because it's all part of some big computer information access you have. What about other health care providers? Can you get access to their records?

GOODHEART: Not immediately.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Valencia was very, very cooperative with you guys, wasn't she?

GOODHEART: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did anyone ever ask her to sign a HIPAA release for anyone to get access to nurse practitioner Gelada's records?

GOODHEART: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about psychiatrist Tuff's records?

GOODHEART: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about nurse practitioner Paul's records?

GOODHEART: No.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: So here is a psychiatrist treating her, prescribing medication, but never looking back in the records of what medication she'd been on since September. Jennifer Tuff's on the stand now.

This was really her primary psychiatrist, and she's been talking about all the multiple visits she had, beginning in early September. And she very gently started prescribing medication. She also saw general anxiety disorder, but then it went to depression.

And Lindsay was very, very concerned about taking medication. And she would come back, and she hadn't taken the medication. She finally told Jennifer Tuff she was going to go to another facility, another doctor's practice.

And Jennifer Tuff's said, I told her, it is best to have one doctor that is in charge of your medication. And she saw her in the final days of January, and she said she was not having suicidal ideations at that point.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Jean Casares, on top of it, as always, appreciate the reporting.

All right, coming up for us, we've got new CNN reporting as well on a U.S. intelligence assessment that says Vladimir Putin could try to test NATO by launching a limited attack on an allied country. We'll bring you those details next.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: CNN has some new reporting that U.S. Intel assesses Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch a limited attack on a NATO-allied country in an effort designed to test NATO unity and the commitment that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all NATO allies.

Let's get more now from CNN senior national security reporter Haley Britsky on this. What have you learned?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Brianna, so sources are telling us that this assessment is saying exactly as you just said that President Putin of Russia is planning to launch a limited attack on a NATO country in the next few years. Where that could be, when that could be is still a little bit unclear, but essentially to test NATO's commitment to this Article 5 commitment of an attack on one being an attack on all and sort of triggering this collective defense. So sources saying that this could look like a cyberattack, a sort of limited incursion.

We've seen some of those by Russia over the last few years. Just last year, NATO fighter jets had to take down multiple drones that violated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine. So we've seen some of that happening over the last couple of years.

But this intelligence assessment saying it's going to be much more intentional and to sort of test how NATO responds to something like that.

KEILAR: And it's at a critical time right now, obviously, as this war drags on in Ukraine.

BRITZKY: Yes, absolutely. And something that, you know, is coming also as the U.S. is worrying about depleted munitions stockpiles that would be necessary -- could be necessary in an incident like that. And NATO spokesperson Colonel Marty O'Donnell saying that NATO is watching. We are ready to deter and defend as necessary.

So certainly something NATO is keeping an eye on, but something we could be anticipating to see in the next few years.

KEILAR: All right, really important thing to watch. Haley, thank you so much for the reporting -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Let's talk about this intel assessment further with Leon Panetta, former defense secretary and CIA director under President Obama. I just want to start with what's your reaction to this reporting.

LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: I think it has to be taken seriously. The Russians have been playing around with incursions for the last couple of years. In last September, they used an armed incursion to go after Poland.

In May, they used an armed drone to go after Romania. And just this last week, an explosive-laden drone was found in Germany that belonged to a Russian intelligence team. So these are real threats.

And Putin will use either cyber or use drones or could possibly even use a military incursion to be able to test NATO and test Article 5 and whether NATO will respond. I think we have to take this very seriously.

JIMENEZ: And obviously at the center of all this is the war with Ukraine. Does this tell you anything or give you any indication of how Putin is thinking about this war?

PANETTA: Yes, I think Putin is frustrated because he can't find an off-ramp to deal with the situation in Ukraine. He's taken quite a hit. And I think he's looking for other ways to try to assert Russian aggressiveness.

[15:40:00]

So it all fits together. I think we have to take this intelligence assessment as a real threat to NATO. And we have to respond. We're going to have to respond.

And right now, because of our missile systems and our supply of weapons being down, this is a vulnerable period for the United States.

JIMENEZ: So let's talk about that, because CNN reported earlier this week that the U.S. military had exhausted nearly 80 percent of those high-altitude anti-ballistic missile defense systems, those THAAD missile defense systems, and that senior U.S. military commanders had warned that the Pentagon's munitions stockpile is dangerously low. What do you assess that meaning for not only the U.S. ability to respond to attacks on its own bases, but also attacks on allies?

PANETTA: Well, it should not have happened. I don't care what excuses you want to use. It should not have happened.

And I know that the secretary blamed the deputy secretary, blamed others. But frankly, the buck stops with him. It's poor planning to wind up with your stockpiles of key weapons being depleted.

And what we've been doing is throwing a lot of these missiles at Iran. We've been using them in the Middle East to try to protect some of our Middle Eastern allies. We've provided some for Ukraine.

And the problem is we now realize that 80 percent of our THAADs are down, that our Patriots were down almost more than one-half in our Patriots. We're down in our Stingers. We're down with all of our critical missile systems at a time when there is a real threat, not only to perhaps having to renew our attacks in Iran because of failed negotiations, but also dealing with the threat from Russia and, very frankly, dealing with the threat from China as well should Xi decide to go into Taiwan.

So this is a dangerous moment for the United States to have these reduced stockpiles of key weapons at a time when these threats are all real.

JIMENEZ: And, you know, let's talk about some of those other areas here, because, you know, just looking, Iran-backed Houthis struck and killed two civilians in Yemen. You have Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan also signing a mutual defense pact that stipulates, similar to NATO, that an attack against any one of them shall be regarded as an attack against them all. What do you make of some of these types of moves?

Let's talk about the alliance, for example. What do you make of that more formalized alliance? And does that signal anything to you about where the Middle East is headed?

PANETTA: Yes, Omar, I think this is the result of concern about the United States and whether the United States is capable of responding. I think the United States has impacted on its credibility and on its trust in terms of whether or not the United States can provide the support and the security that other countries need.

And so these countries, whether it's Europe, whether it's Turkey and other countries, have decided to try to build coalitions that can provide for their own security. I think all of that is a reflection that there is a tremendous amount of concern about whether the United States can really provide the support system and the security that it used to provide in the past. JIMENEZ: Especially Turkey being a NATO country as well. Secretary Leon Panetta, I've got to leave the conversation there, but I really appreciate you taking the time.

PANETTA: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: And still to come -- of course.

Still to come, how researchers trained an AI model to create new synthetic viruses and why some believe this could lead to AI creating bioweapons. Great.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: In a scientific breakthrough of sorts, researchers have used artificial intelligence to create 16 brand new viruses never before found in nature. The viruses were created to target bacteria and pose no threat to humans, as they say, although the milestone is showing promise for treating drug-resistant bacteria. It's also, though, as you might imagine, raising concerns that malicious people may use the technique to produce deadly bioweapons and unstoppable pandemics.

CNN AI correspondent Hadas Gold is following this. So, Hadas, uplifting news here, but what more are you learning about these new viruses that were created?

HADAS GOLD, CNN AI CORRESPONDENT: Omar, I feel like lately I'm just scaring you whenever I come on air.

JIMENEZ: Yes, a little bit, a little bit.

GOLD: But this is something that is -- it is actually really exciting and it's one of those ways of using AI that I've been really looking forward to learning more about. It's AI when it comes to science and biology and ways that could actually change our lives for the better. So what happened is that researchers at Stanford University and the Ark Institute, they created their own AI model called Evo that's only trained on DNA sequences, and they trained it to recognize patterns in the DNA and then use that data to write recipes for entirely new viruses.

[15:50:00]

AI, Omar, is perfectly suited for this because AI is so good at going through really, really large volumes of data, finding patterns and creating new ones. This is the perfect job for AI, and it does this so much faster than humans would be who would be going through and doing a catalogue of all the different DNA.

So they found 16 -- or created 16 new viruses that have never existed before in nature out of many hundreds of thousands that were created. One of those viruses, actually, they said is like an evolutionary virus that had they just allowed nature to continue on for millions of years, it might have created this type of virus. Now, the good of this, medical advancements.

They were specifically studying E. coli, so they were creating viruses for E. coli, which thankfully those viruses cannot infect us, but it's great to be able to kill E. coli.

We want that to happen, and especially as we're starting to hear more about, you know, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, this can really help create new methods of combating that. Now, obviously, the bad is that bad actors, you don't want them to be able to create new viruses, although scientists do say, you know, it's much easier just to take an existing virus and spread it out for everyone to get rather than creating a novel new virus. It's very difficult to do.

But there are bad things that can happen, and that's sort of the give and take of AI these days. There are really amazing things that can come out of AI, and sometimes dangerous things. But Omar, if you want to create new viruses yourself, you can, because the researchers have made Evo open source, free to download, so I expect in the next few weeks you'll create something, some kind of new virus for us?

JIMENEZ: Maybe. We're saying Evo, by the way. E-V as in Victor O.

It sounds like evil when you say it really fast, so Evo is what we are saying. Good opportunities.

GOLD: Or Eva, like from WALL-E.

JIMENEZ: Yes, there we go. One of the two. Good to see you, Hadas. Appreciate it. All right -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. A Georgia father convicted of second-degree murder in the deadly 2024 Appalachee High School shooting is asking for a new trial. Attorneys for 55-year-old Colin Gray filed the motion less than a week after he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Gray became the first parent in the U.S. convicted of murder for a mass shooting that was carried out by their child in a school. Gray was charged with buying his son an AR-15-style rifle that was used in the shooting and leaving it unsecured despite warning signs that his son was troubled.

And some high school students in Denmark will now be required to verbally defend their written assignments to prove they did not use AI. This is part of new emergency measures that the government is putting in place to prevent cheating. Officials are also calling on high schools to use tools to monitor students' screens during exams, including using a firewall to block certain content.

And now for your Moment of Zen, which you need after Hadas's report there on AI viruses. Look at this. Just take it in. That's at the Prague Zoo.

Polar Bears staying cool. It's summer, right? They need frozen treats, so they're getting them.

They're hidden inside those large ice cubes. These bears searched for their treats. They ate them.

They played. They rolled around together. Yes, I am stretching out this report because I think you need this.

I think you need this wonderful video of these polar bears together. A spokesperson for the zoo saying the ice helps the animals lower their body temperatures, of course, while also providing entertainment and enrichment for the bears. I mean, look at them.

Don't they look enriched? I hope you're also enriched. We'll be right back.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Technology can help some people with spinal cord injuries become almost bionic, but it's costly and that's where our 2018 CNN hero, Amanda Boxtel, comes in. She lives with paralysis and has made it her mission to gain access to life-changing therapy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): At 24, Amanda Boxtel was paralyzed in a skiing accident. After years of physical therapy, she had the chance to try a new costly technology. An exoskeleton designed to help people with mobility challenges.

AMANDA BOXTEL, FOUNDER, BRIDGING BIONICS (voice-over): I stood up and I walked for the first time in 18 years, and it was as if all of my dreams were burgeoning to life in one upright, powerful moment.

COOPER (voice-over): Amanda purchased her own exoskeleton and walked 130,000 steps in a year, easing her chronic pain.

BOXTEL: Right leg was the first to come back, is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.

COOPER (voice-over): In 2015, she founded Bridging Bionics to help other people with mobility issues benefit from the technology.

BOXTEL (voice-over): It's not easily accessible, it's not affordable and I thought we could get a whole community up and walking with this unit.

COOPER (voice-over): She even teamed up with her fellow 2018 CNN hero, Ricardo Pun-Chong, who provides free housing and support for sick children and their families while they undergo medical treatment in Lima, Peru. When Amanda learned a child in his program needed a wheelchair, she wanted to help.

BOXTEL: She has cerebral palsy and she was in a stroller. She's been in a stroller her whole life. It's time, don't you think, for her to have a wheelchair to call her own?

BOXTEL: Look what we have for Delaska!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.

RICARDO PUN-CHONG, 2018 CNN HERO: With this new wheelchair and with her surgery, she's going to have a better life.

COOPER (voice-over): Amanda recently secured a dedicated space for her work, allowing her to help more people access high-tech physical therapy.

BOXTEL (voice-over): We are truly giving the gift of mobility for free or next to nothing to help our community get upright and walking again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: For the full story, go to cnnheroes.com. And "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts now.

END