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Supreme Leader Calls For Revenge In New Message As Trump Threatens Iran; DOJ Subpoenas NYT Journalist Who Reported On New Air Force One; Outrage In Texas After ICE Shoots And Kills 52-year-old Man; Interview With Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare; Investigation Into Nolan Wells' Death; Nolan Wells' Parents Speak Out On Mystery Around His Death; Iran's foreign Minister In Oman For Talks On Strait Of Hormuz; Rep. Seth Moulton Calls For Generational Shift In Leadership Of Democratic Party; Hearing In Charlie Kirk Case Ends Without Trial Ruling. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired July 11, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:33]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

Tonight, a tense calm has settled over parts of the Middle East for now. Strikes between Iran and the U.S. have stopped, but that hasn't stopped both countries from threatening each other as mediators try to get them back to the negotiating table.

Earlier today, for example, a message from Iranian state media attributed to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge on the U.S. and Israel for the killing of his father, the late ayatollah. But Khamenei has not been publicly seen or heard from since the war began.

And then last night, on the United States front, President Trump warning Iran that, quote, "1,000 missiles are locked and loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran should the Iranian government act on its threat to assassinate or attempt to assassinate the sitting president of the United States of America, in this case, me," as the president has characterized.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, is in Oman meeting with his counterpart there. And according to Iranian state media, the two discussed the state of negotiations and the Strait of Hormuz.

I want to bring in CNN political and global affairs analyst and Axios correspondent Barak Ravid, who joins us now.

So, Barak, look, we've got some pretty stark messages from both President Trump and what's been attributed to Iran's supreme leader as well. Where do diplomatic efforts currently stand?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, I think that after a day of talks in Oman between Iranian foreign minister, his Omani counterpart and also Qatari officials who joined the talks, there hasn't been a clear bottom line.

The U.S. -- U.S. officials said yesterday that they expect that at the end of -- by the end of day to day, the Iranians will put out some kind of statement acknowledging that the Strait of Hormuz needs to be open and that they will not shoot at ships. We did not get that kind of statement, statement from the Iranians until now.

And during the talks in Oman, while Qatar brought up a proposal of its own, Oman gave its own proposal for reopening the strait. The -- at the end of the day, the Iranians told the Omanis, the Qataris, listen, we can't take a decision right now. We need to take your proposals back to Tehran, present it to the leadership and take it from there.

Which means that the Iranians are not decided. They're not going to play by the U.S. ultimatum. And the White House will now have to decide what it's going to do, whether it's going to give the Iranians more time or it's going to take action now that the Iranians haven't put out that statement by end of day Saturday.

JIMENEZ: So let's talk about those U.S. options right now. Obviously, look, this has been back and forth, a cycle of sort of back-and-forth strikes; what seems to be like peace or calm for a little bit, and then flare ups. And now we have these threats, at least vocally for the moment, on both sides.

What do you know about the options the United States is considering if Iran does not declare the strait open at this stage of things?

RAVID: Well, we saw that the administration has already frozen some of the benefits that the Iranians received as part of the U.S.-Iran MOU. They stopped -- they canceled the temporary waivers that the U.S. gave Iran to be able to sell oil.

And I think one of the steps the White House is considering right now, and President Trump even said it publicly, is the reimposition -- reimposing of the blockade on Iranian ports, which will prevent the Iranians from exporting and importing not only oil, but also other goods, which is a very significant thing if President Trump will decide to do it

Obviously, the president has been considering for a long time, you know, launching again, strikes against Iran.

[17:04:49]

RAVID: But not limited strikes in only the Strait of Hormuz area but more broad strikes -- what the president calls finishing the job, which means basically when the ceasefire was announced on April 8th, the U.S. still had 25 percent of the targets in Iran that hasn't been hit yet.

And which means that if the president decides, then the U.S. military still has a lot of work it can do in Iran.

JIMENEZ: You know, throughout all of this, as we've talked through repeatedly, the dynamic between Israel and Hezbollah and Lebanon has obviously been a crucial one. It's why it's been at the top of the Memorandum of Understanding in terms of finding a ceasefire there.

But as we've seen, Israel has continued to strike in Lebanon with -- and I just wonder with other parts of the agreement between the U.S. and Iran seeming to fall apart.

I mean, there's obviously a difference between what's happening publicly and behind the scenes. But how does that affect the dynamic between Hezbollah and Israel? And do you think it gives Israel more leeway, I guess, to push further into Lebanon, given the state of how other parts of the memorandum of understanding are holding up?

RAVID: So I think the Trump administration managed to somewhat disconnect the Lebanon issue from the Iran issue and, let's say even if major combat operations will resume in Iran, I think the administration will at least try to keep Lebanon quiet.

Obviously, it depends on what Hezbollah is going to do. If Hezbollah will shoot at Israel, then obviously Israel will escalate and respond to those attacks.

But if not, then I think that the Trump administration will try and keep Lebanon separate.

This week on Tuesday and Wednesday, U.S. mediators are expected to meet in Rome with Israeli and Lebanese diplomats to continue talking about the implementation of the framework agreement that was signed several days ago in Washington.

The implementation of the first pilot zones in southern Lebanon, those areas that the IDF will withdraw from, this is expected to begin in the next few days. The parties are already discussing more pilot zone, more withdrawals.

So I think when it comes to the Trump administration, I think the idea is to try and continue the implementation of the Israel-Lebanon framework agreement, which has been a quite a big diplomatic achievement, and make any effort to prevent an escalation over there.

JIMENEZ: All right. Barak Ravid, always appreciate the reporting and insight. Thanks for being here.

RAVID: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: New tonight, "The New York Times" says four of its journalists have been subpoenaed by the Justice Department. The journalists reported on security concerns about the new plane that was a gift from the government of Qatar, the plane that is now in service as the new Air Force One.

I just want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook now from the White House for more on this. So what do we know about this dynamic here?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, according to "The Times", these four journalists that you mentioned, they've been subpoenaed to appear in Manhattan on Wednesday. And federal agents directly delivered at least some of these subpoenas to reporters homes. Now, "The Times" says that it will fight this court order. And the

organization's top newsroom attorney said this in a statement, in part, "The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects."

Adding, "This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs."

CNN has reached out to the White House, as well as the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan for comment.

But these subpoenas appear to suggest that the Trump administration is looking to find out who leaked information to "The Times" before they reported on security concerns and how that impacted the decision not to take the new Air Force One directly from Turkey back to the United States. This was after Trump was there attending the NATO summit.

When it comes to the switch of the planes, Trump was pressed by reporters about this that day. And he said that the decision was simply to let U.S. service members who are stationed at England's Mildenhall Air Force Base to get a closer look at the aircraft.

Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think there wasn't a security concern?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No, no. Why would they --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were there any other issue?

[17:09:44]

TRUMP: No issue. No. Except -- except we sent it a little earlier. Save a life (ph), going back. No, we sent it a little bit early so that we could let them see at the base, the whole base came out and saw the plane.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: The subpoenas came after FBI Director Kash Patel was here at the White House yesterday evening. He was meeting with officials about the bureau's investigation on disclosures related to security concerns related to that new Air Force One.

And our cameras did spot him leaving here just about 7:00 p.m. Eastern yesterday evening.

One source told our team that he also had a conversation with Trump on the phone about this investigation, and sources have said that Trump has been frustrated in recent days about this reporting related to these security concerns, and he was not happy when details came out about it, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting.

Still ahead for us, the growing outrage over the fatal shooting of a Mexican man by an ICE agent, and the vigil today in his memory.

We're live from Texas.

Also, the mysterious death of a teen football player. The parents of Nolan Wells demanding a thorough and transparent investigation. We'll bring you the details there.

And the preliminary hearing to determine if Charlie Kirk's accused killer goes to trial. Wraps up for the week without a decision from the judge. That report straight ahead.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:11:11]

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JIMENEZ: In Houston, there is growing outrage and mourning over a deadly police shooting. The community gathered to mourn 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. He was shot and killed by an ICE agent while driving to work on Tuesday.

Now, ICE officials say that the agent opened fire after Salgado Araujo rammed into a law enforcement vehicle and refused to obey the officers. But the three other men in the vehicle say that's not what happened.

Videos obtained by CNN shows the van being pursued by black SUVs without clear law enforcement markings. I should mention DHS has not released any footage of the shooting, and none of the agents involved were wearing body cameras.

A source tells CNN Salgado Araujo was not the target of the operation. The Mexican national had lived in the United States for 35 years, and his family says he was close to obtaining his legal status.

I want to bring in CNN correspondent Carolina Peguero, who joins us now from Texas.

Now, Carolina, you've spent much of the day north of Houston. What are you learning? What are you seeing there?

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm here at the Montgomery ICE Processing Detention Center, where three of the men that were with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in that van, that moment before, during and after the shooting.

And today, Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia came, had a visit with them, spoke with them for over an hour. And we just spoke with her moments ago, and she was a bit distressed.

She shared what happened, and it was actually difficult for her to get to them. Let's hear what she has to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. SYLVIA GARCIA (D-TX): Their story is just almost like it was a different incident that happened, as opposed to what ICE said. They never identified themselves. They used, of course, unmarked cars, no bells or whistles. They didn't know who was following them.

But then the agents got out of the car and ran toward where the van had stopped. One of them with a gun pointed at them, went to the passenger side. They pulled out the passengers, but the guy with the gun shot Mr. Salgado, which is why it's a bullet wound to the right flank.

They never provided any aid, not even a first aid kit. Any kind of help.

Disgusted, I'm upset. I mean, I told my staff, I says, I got it, I'm hungry and I'm tired and I'm bad. Yes.

PEGUERO: It's been a fight for you and for the community. A lot of pressure.

GARCIA: It just hurts. I'm sorry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEGUERO: And just like Congresswoman Garcia, the community has been outraged. They want justice. They want answers. As far as well, the family of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo who are wanting an independent investigation.

Now, we did reach out to DHS about the medical attention if or when Salgado received it or not, and we have not heard from them. But we will stay up to date and through the course of the day, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Carolina Peguero, really appreciate the reporting for us down there in Texas.

I want to bring in the district attorney for Harris County, Sean Teare. He is with us now. And thank you for being here.

I just want to start with -- your office is pursuing its own investigation and independent details about the shooting. You did, though, tell CNN that federal officials are not sharing crucial evidence with you yet.

Is that still the case? And are you confident you'll be able to actually conduct a substantive investigation without that evidence?

SEAN TEARE, DISTRICT ATTORNEY FOR HARRIS COUNTY: So, Omar, thank you for having me.

Yes. As of right this -- right this moment, we have yet to have any evidence shared with us. As to whether or not were able to conduct an investigation without

that, we are certainly able to do the things that we are very capable and used to doing in these investigations before we get any collaboration from the federal government.

[17:19:54]

TEARE: We've already spent days collecting surveillance footage, not just from the scene, but from all different areas around there.

We've mapped the scene using drones and lasers. We have put out our own secure portal for the community and the public to help us.

Anyone that saw anything, anyone that has even a scrap of cell phone footage or ring camera footage, it may not seem relevant to you, but please just give it to us so that we can decide what is important.

JIMENEZ: Do you in any way doubt the current description from ICE on what happened here?

TEARE: Well, I think you'd have to really figure out which description you're talking about. Because their descriptions of the events has moved a number of times since Tuesday morning.

So it's one of the reasons that it is so critical for all investigative agencies to be in the same room and to collaborate, to really figure out what happened and to get to the truth in any matter.

Sadly, what we're getting on the local side is updates via X and Twitter. So that's -- that's not the best practice. That's not the way that we need to go about doing this.

I do have, you know, I remain hopeful that HSI and ICE will collaborate and will at least share some critical pieces of evidence with us. But regardless, we're going to get to the bottom of this. We're going to get to the truth because the residents of Harris County and Texas, and quite frankly, the United States need it.

JIMENEZ: And to be clear, just to follow up on what you said, you are getting updates from the federal government tied to this situation the same way all of us are just on social media and through public statements. They have not communicated with you in regards to this investigation.

TEARE: So ICE has not communicated at all. We have a wonderful relationship with our local FBI office. We work hand in hand on cases every single day. We know and fully expect and have had collaboration with them around this.

But we are not getting updates from ICE in any manner other than the exact same way that the public is.

JIMENEZ: You know, we've seen multiple situations in the past, at least countrywide, where witness accounts sort of differ from DHS, at least initial DHS descriptions of what actually happened. You know, you look at a place like Minneapolis, for example. How much did that weigh on either your want to open an investigation or just maybe any skepticism over some of the initial accounts that that came out here?

TEARE: You know, I think it's important for the public to understand that we are the third largest county in the United States. We have a very large district attorney's office. I've got over 100 sworn officers.

Regularly, universally, when an officer is involved in a shooting with a civilian, we go out to the scene and run an independent, parallel investigation with both our federal partners and our local and state partners in every shooting up until this point.

So it's something that that is disturbing to me, regardless of what has gone on nationally prior to this, that we're not involved from the very beginning. When you couple that with what we saw in Minneapolis, you couple that with what we saw in Chicago and other places, it really did hasten our need to get out there and begin this independent investigation.

JIMENEZ: We -- and just to your point there, we did see a similar effort in local jurisdiction in Hennepin County in the Minneapolis area, sort of making these calls out. We saw it from the state attorney general there as well.

Did your jurisdiction in any way consult with some of those other jurisdictions, even just how to go about an investigation or opening one when again, you don't seem to have the cooperation of the federal government here, at least from the ICE perspective.

TEARE: Yes. There's no question. Tragically, we are not the first in this two years jurisdiction to experience this. So, it would have been foolish not to.

We have reached out to a number of different jurisdictions who are now a member of this tragic fraternity.

And to a jurisdiction, they have been so forthcoming and so helpful in just kind of giving us a roadmap as to how to push back.

[17:24:46]

TEARE: And that's what we're doing. We are we are running our own investigation and we are going to be transparent once we're able to collect every shred of evidence we can.

JIMENEZ: All right. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, really appreciate you taking the time. And keep us posted if you do hear from ICE and this relationship evolves here. I really appreciate it.

TEARE: Absolutely, Omar. Thank you.

JIMENEZ: Of course. All right. Still ahead, the latest on the investigation of the tragic

death of Nolan Wells and what his parents had to say to CNN earlier. We'll bring you those details.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[17:29:45]

JIMENEZ: The parents of Nolan Wells are demanding a thorough and transparent investigation into his mysterious and tragic death.

The 18-year-old college football player disappeared a week ago during a fourth of July boating trip with friends to Horn Island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

[17:30:02]

Investigators say his friends came back without him, telling officials he planned to get a ride back with someone else.

But two days later, Wells's body was found face down in the water just off the shoreline. The county coroner and local sheriff's office say they do not suspect foul play, but Wells's parents are questioning the circumstances around his death and whether race played a role.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino is following this investigation. And Gloria, Wells's parents spoke to CNN earlier today. What did they say?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Omar. You know, this is such a heartbreaking story for any parent, for any family. It's a parent's worst scenario. Right? To have their child go missing.

And Nolan Wells's parents have raised serious questions about this investigation. They have retained high-profile civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, and they have also conducted an independent autopsy of their son's remains.

So, that really gives you an idea of just how, perhaps, mistrusting they are of this investigation.

Now, the investigators in Mississippi have said that they have not determined the official cause of death, but they have made some preliminary statements, including that they believe there was no foul play and that this may have been an accidental drowning.

Those comments have not sat well with Nolan's parents. They say that he was a young man who was in good health. He was an excellent swimmer, and they have also raised alarm about some red flags they feel around this incident.

Primarily, the fact that Nolan's cell phone was left behind. They were able to recover that cell phone. They are concerned that there may have been some videos and messages that were deleted from that cell phone, and they also say that he was unlikely to have separated from the group he traveled with.

They were on, this morning, with our Victor Blackwell, and let's listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE WONSLEY, MOTHER OF NOLAN WELLS: Transparency is important. Since we started this, that is all we asked for, and it's just a lot of things with this case that's going on that's not clear. I know, locally it's being pushed that oh, it's likely a drowning. Well, you know you have all these other things that have kind of happened in between, and it makes you wonder, you know, could there be anything else? And again, like I've stated this time and time again, I would expect any parent or person to want to use any resources available to them to find their loved one. This is our baby boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: The coroner has also said that there were no immediate obvious signs of foul play or trauma on Wells's body. The official findings of that autopsy are still waiting to be released. They are also conducting a toxicology report. That could take several days. In the meantime, his parents asking for transparency as they mourn the death of their young son. Omar?

JIMENEZ: Yes. A lot still to learn here. Gloria Pazmino, really appreciate the reporting.

Still ahead for us, that critical Strait of Hormuz is now the center of the race to revive talks between the United States and Iran. We are going to talk to Congressman Seth Moulton, who is on the House Armed Services Committee, about the power struggle and what's key ahead.

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[17:38:00]

JIMENEZ: Happening today, Iran's top diplomat is in Oman to discuss the Strait of Hormuz. As senior U.S. officials say they expect Tehran to issue a public statement in the coming days, opening the critical waterway. But this is happening against the backdrop of renewed strikes this week, as Iran appears to try and control the strait.

I want to bring in Democratic Representative Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. He is on the House Armed Services Committee and served as a Marine, completing four tours during the Iraq War.

Congressman, thank you for taking the time.

I just want to start on Iran there. How does this power struggle over the strait get resolved? Because from where I am sitting, it seems like it's tit-for-tat strikes, then pause, and then a resumption of those tit-for-tat strikes. Where does this go?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Well, I mean, first of all, let's just be clear. The president is totally out of control here. This is a war that he said would take weeks. We are now at six months, and let's be honest, there was never really a ceasefire, there was never a deal, and he certainly did not win the war.

I mean, how is it that Iran is able to launch missiles at our allies and attack ships in the strait if their military has been obliterated?

So, the president has been lying about what's going on from day one of this conflict that he started, and he really has no clue how to bring it to an end.

JIMENEZ: Well, and I think regardless of where, you know, peace negotiations or Memorandum of Understanding negotiations actually are versus how they are being projected publicly. I mean, the bottom line is the strait isn't open fully. Or really at all, it seems in the way that --

(CROSSTALK)

MOULTON: Omar --

JIMENEZ: Yes.

MOULTON: I mean you just hit the nail in the head. Right? I mean, so, remember one of the many reasons that Trump gave for this war was to stop Iran from projecting power. Well, they are projecting more power than they ever have, because they have the world economy in a stranglehold.

I mean, Iran has never been able to raise gas prices for Americans all across the country, and they are doing that right now.

[17:40:04]

So, while the president is out of control and has no clue how to end this war that he started, he is also just losing it, and that's one of the things that makes it difficult to see how this is going to come to an end, because so long as Iran has control of the Strait, they're winning, and my suspicion is they kind of like to be winning.

JIMENEZ: Well, I guess the question I have is more so, you know, as a Marine veteran and a congressman, what are the issues that you see with an extended deployment of troops in the region when it does not seem like there is a clear path to de-escalation here?

MOULTON: Well, there is two fundamental problems. I mean, the only way out of this is ultimately diplomacy. But no one trusts Donald Trump. Not just the Iranians, but anyone else who is a party to this conflict. I mean, Trump himself has said that it's a waste of time talking to the Iranians, but I think most of the world thinks it's a waste of time talking to Donald Trump.

And so, to develop the trust to actually get to the negotiating table and come up with some semblance of a deal to simply get back to where we were before he started this war with the strait open, that's hard enough. The idea that he's then going to get a nuclear deal on top of it seems next to impossible. And that's why it is just so incredibly dangerous what Donald Trump is doing in the Middle East. But to add on to that, and to your point about extended deployments there for our troops, he is also putting our national security interests at risk all around the globe.

I mean, the biggest risk in the world is that China makes a move on Taiwan. That's something that could actually develop into World War III. And if we're not present in the Pacific to deter that, it makes it more likely that it's going to happen.

I mean, this is just a gift to Vladimir Putin in Russia. This is a gift to Xi Jinping in China that Donald Trump has managed to get us tied up and tied down in another war of choice in the Middle East.

JIMENEZ: You know, to this point, I mean, we have been looking at the tit-for-tat strikes back and forth. It does not seem like things have substantially changed over the past few months. And to that point, if something different were to be done, for example, what has been floated before, the possibility of ground troops to introduce a different dynamic here. Is that something that you actually see would make a substantive difference? What are your concerns and or pro con analysis on that front?

MOULTON: I mean, Omar, it would make a substantive difference in the wrong direction. It would get us more tied down. The idea that we would use ground troops to invade part of Iran, it's just not going to work. I mean, you could try to put troops along the coast of the strait; they will just shoot missiles and drones over those troops' heads while constantly pummeling the troops.

I mean, they could take Kharg Island. We have heard talk of that. People don't recognize that Kharg Island isn't even in the strait.

So, it might put some pressure on Iran. But guess what? Iran is just going to pummel our troops on the ground just off their shore. More American casualties is just going to get us drawn in deeper and make this situation even worse.

So, once again, the big concern is that Trump has no plan, has no idea what he is doing. He never has. And if he actually tries to escalate his way out of this, it could make a bad situation even worse for the United States of America and cost more American lives.

JIMENEZ: Well, and just on the home front, I mean, part of the side effect of this has been obviously rising prices of fuel, but also, I mean, the public has grown increasingly dissatisfied with the efforts on this war and increasingly dissatisfied with what they believe is the status quo.

And I ask you, I bring that up, because I say you have been outspoken in calling for generational shift in leadership in the Democratic Party. I mean, you said Senator Ed Markey had a 50-year-old playbook that has not stopped MAGA gains. We are about halfway through the Midterm cycle right now. There have been several notable progressive wins. I wonder what do you -- what does this current dynamic say to you about the future direction of the Democratic Party, and do you think you fit that definition of generational change?

MOULTON: I mean, absolutely. I mean, we need new ideas, we need new leaders, and it's time for my generation to step up. And that's what you are seeing in races across the country. The races that Democrats are winning are when next generation leaders step up. And they are coming from across the ideological spectrum in the Democratic Party. But the consistent theme is next generation leadership.

One of the first things I said when I started this campaign was, I will not vote for Senator Schumer. I mean, Senator Schumer has led the Democratic establishment into a second term of Donald Trump, worth MAGA in control of everything in Washington. This has been an utter disaster.

[17:45:04]

And the idea that we should reelect members of the Democratic establishment, with all due respect to Senator Markey, he came to Washington before Jimmy Carter. He is been there for 50 years, and he votes over 90, 90 percent -- 99 percent in line with Chuck Schumer, including voting for a lot of Trump nominees that are wreaking havoc across the country, starting with Marco Rubio as Secretary of State.

That's just not the kind of fight that we need to take on MAGA, and it's certainly not the kind of next generation leadership we need to win.

JIMENEZ: Congressman Seth Moulton, appreciate the analysis and insight. Thanks for being here.

MOULTON: Great to see you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Coming up, the hearing to determine if Charlie Kirk's accused killer will go to trial has wrapped up without a ruling.

CNN's Nick Watt was there and reports on when the judge will make a decision. We'll bring you those details next. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:50:34]

JIMENEZ: Colt Gray, the teenager who allegedly shot and killed two students and two teachers at a Georgia High School in 2024, will appear in Court later this month for a non-negotiated plea and sentencing hearing, indicating he intends to change his plea to guilty.

The now 16-year-old faces 55 criminal counts, including felony, murder, and malice murder, for each of the four victims.

His trial is tentatively scheduled for October. Colt Gray's father, Colin Gray, who bought his son the A.R.-15 rifle, was convicted in March on murder and manslaughter charges and is expected to be sentenced later this month.

Meanwhile, the preliminary hearing is now over for the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. This week, prosecutors worked to convince a judge to allow the case against the 23-year-old to continue on to trial, but the proceedings were frequently bogged down by arguments over whether certain exhibits could be entered into evidence, and it's been a pivotal week, as the judge will now decide if things move forward.

CNN's Nick Watt has more.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Charlie Kirk was killed September of last year. It's probably going to be September of this year before we find out whether Tyler Robinson, the 23-year-old man accused of killing Kirk, will stand trial.

A judge has heard four or five days of evidence. The prosecution putting that evidence to him, trying to prove probable cause, trying to prove that there is enough evidence to take this to a full trial. The judge will make that decision after one more hearing, September 1st. And as the judge himself has said in Court, he said he doesn't like to rush things. He doesn't like to make snap decisions. He will take his time. He knows the scrutiny he is under. He knows the interest both in this country and around the world, in this case, in the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Now, after all the evidence was presented, one of the prosecutors said, "The evidence is overwhelming. It is devastating." Now, of course, if this comes to trial, the defense will try and pick holes in that.

We are still waiting to see whether this will go to trial. There was a lot of evidence put forward this week: DNA evidence, surveillance video, apparently, showing Tyler Robinson on the campus of UVU where Kirk was killed, showing Robinson on that campus four times that day.

There was also a videotaped interview with Tyler Robinson's partner, and the prosecution basically says that, that interview is tantamount to a confession, because the roommate recalls messages with Robinson on the night that Charlie Kirk was killed, and also talks about when Tyler Robinson returned to their shared apartment the following day. And according to the partner, Robinson was remorseful, cried a little bit, and basically confirmed that he did it.

The prosecution has already said that they will be seeking the death penalty in this case should it go to trial. Back to you.

JIMENEZ: All right. Nick Watt, appreciate the reporting.

We'll be right back.

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[17:58:27]

JIMENEZ: At a time when we need it most, "CNN HEROES" is back, celebrating good news and good people, and kicking off its 20th year, by the way.

The first CNN hero of 2026 is building tiny homes in Syracuse, New York, offering unhoused people, not only safe shelter but also stability, dignity, and support as they rebuild their lives.

Meet Andrew Lunetta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW LUNETTA, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, A TINY HOME FOR GOOD: We take for granted the stability that a home affords us. If you were to just imagine doing anything without a house, like, oh no, that's what I have to get first. That is where our tenants are coming from constantly. A Tiny Home is a really, really solid model because it pairs this independent and also private living.

RHEA HOLMES, RESIDENT, A TINY HOME FOR GOOD: I wish people understood that the homeless population are still human. At any time, circumstances can change. I was living at my husband's grave for eight months. My whole life was turned upside down. When I finally got to the end of the road and became out of my home, the only place that I felt was home for me was the cemetery where my husband was.

LUNETTA: In its simplest form, stable housing made it so Rhea no longer had to sleep in the cemetery.

HOLMES: Come in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.

HOLMES: It's so good to see you.

LUNETTA: The next step after that was long-term case management supports to help her address the things that hopefully she is not going to have to deal with anymore.

[18:00:07]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am so proud of you.

HOLMES: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all help me out.

LUNETTA: Yes, man --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I got new focus.