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U.S. Signals Pause In Iran Strikes Will Allow Talks To Progress; Zelenskyy To Meet With New U.K. P.M. Andy Burnham Monday; Report: Growing Police Misuse Of Flock's License-Plate Readers. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired July 27, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

DANIEL DALE, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: -- anecdotes about history that are just not true. So listen to two claims he made early this month, one about George Washington and one about the Panama Canal.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He picked a good location, but George Washington had two desks in his pre-White House. One was, and they were right next to each other, one was for business and one was for the presidency. He had two desks in the same room.

And by the way, 38,000 Americans died to give us one of the greatest engineering feats of all time, the Panama Canal.

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DALE: Both of those stories inaccurate. I contacted a number of historians who specialize in George Washington about this claim that Washington had two desks, one for official business and one for his own personal business affairs. Not true. All of them said they did not know what President Trump was talking about. And then this claim that the Panama Canal cost 38,000 American lives, also not even close to accurate. About 5,600 people died during the U.S. construction phase in the early 20th century.

But of those 5,600, more than 5,000 were not American. They were poorly treated Caribbean workers, most of them black. So the President keeps claiming that he's offering accounts of what happened in the past, even the recent past, but even the recent stories, just not accurate.

Daniel Dale, CNN.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, still to come here on CNN Newsroom, more on that deadly shooting in Washington. You'll hear from someone who was at that festival.

Plus, Ukraine's president will be meeting British and U.S. allies this week. And this as he faces new threats from Iran. We'll get you those details in a moment.

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[04:35:02]

SANDOVAL: Hi, welcome back. Let's bring you up to speed now on the breaking news that we're following out of Seattle, Washington, where officials are reporting that at least three people are dead. And that several others are injured after a deadly shooting at a summer food festival there.

A suspect in custody is being spoke. Police are interviewing that individual at this hour, but police say that they are still searching for one other person who's believed to have been involved. Justin Smith was at that festival when the shooting unfolded. And he told CNN what he saw and what he heard.

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JUSTIN SMITH, EYEWITNESS: Girls that were with me, I didn't know them 15 minutes before, but they're younger and they're freaking out. So I started pushing them and telling them where to run to, which is away towards the Space Needle and away towards the road, which is away from the shooting. And it was pure chaos. It was pandemonium.

And I was grabbing a kid had fell. I picked him up. And then after that, the girl had dropped her shoe. Her slipper came off when she was running and she tried to go back for it. I was telling her, don't go back for let's go. And they were trying to take a right. I was telling them, no, we got to go left away from the shooting. It was pure pandemonium.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Now we want to turn to the Middle East, where U.S. strikes on Iran still appear to be on hold. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz says that President Trump is giving diplomatic talks some space. But he also reiterated that the President's warning that the U.S. military remains locked and loaded, as he put it, amid the negotiations. CNN's Betsy Klein brings us up to speed from the White House.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE PRODUCER: A halt for now in the fighting after what could be a very consequential meeting here at the White House on Friday. President Trump huddling with top advisers and cabinet officials to discuss options for a military escalation in Iran. But after 13 consecutive nights of U.S. strikes on Iran, a relatively quiet weekend, one U.S. official telling CNN that military operations are on a hold as these diplomatic talks play out. We heard from U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz weighing in on that pause earlier Sunday. Listen.

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MIKE WALTZ, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: I've spoken with Secretary Hegseth. What the President is doing right now, as we've seen all along, is giving some talks some space. Talks are ongoing. They're happening at every level, from the more technical aspect of it, all the way to the highest levels, of course, within both the Iranian government and the U.S. government.

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KLEIN: In that Friday White House meeting, two sources telling CNN that Vice President J.D. Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalation in this war. President Trump has been threatening massive attacks on Iran for quite some time, including targeting critical infrastructure, things like roads, bridges, as well as that key oil hub, Kharg Island. And some have warned that that could constitute a war crime. But Caine specifically raised concerns about depleting U.S. munitions stockpiles.

Asked to respond to that reporting, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell saying in a statement, "We have executed multiple successful operations across combatant commands while ensuring the U.S. military possesses a deep arsenal of capabilities to protect our people and our interests." Now, sources say that other concerns were also raised to Trump during that Friday meeting, including the possibility of massive civilian casualties across Iran, a potential refugee crisis, as well as a broader regional conflict.

Now, there are a few people within the President's inner circle who believe that these options for escalation are going to yield the results that the President is hoping for. All of this as the President prepares for a high stakes meeting on Tuesday with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and less than 100 days to go until those midterm elections.

Betsy Klein, CNN, the White House.

SANDOVAL: Tehran is condemning Ukraine's strike on an Iranian vessel in the Caspian Sea and says, "Iran does not let actions go unpunished." Over the weekend, Ukraine said that it struck ships in the Caspian Sea that were transporting military cargo from Iran to Russia. But Iranian officials are claiming that the vessel that was hit was carrying iron from Russia to Iran. Iran says that one person was killed and that there were some injuries in that long range drone attack.

And all this is coming as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gets ready to head into a very busy diplomatic week. He'll be meeting with the new British prime minister in the coming hours and also with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. So let's get a preview now from Clare Sebastian who joins me live from London. Good morning to you, Clare. Keir Starmer was certainly a staunch supporter of Ukraine. Is this the same that we can expect from Andy Burnham?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, all the signaling that we're getting from the new British prime minister now just one week into the job is that he's going to remain steadfast. That is what he's been saying ahead of this trip. I can tell you that the Ukrainian flag is still flying in Downing Street, despite the fact that this is now the fifth British prime minister since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

[04:40:14]

So look, we're going to see them meeting at a naval base. We expect there's going to be some talk of the U.K. sharing the intellectual property behind a British electronic warfare facility for Ukraine. This is, I think, a key part of what Ukraine is now pushing, the mutuality of these relationships, the fundamental flipping of the sort of donor-client relationship that we used to see when it comes to Ukraine, now towards something much more mutually beneficial, given their drone and long-range strike capabilities.

And because of that, I think it's interesting in the context of these strikes on Iranian vessels in the Caspian Sea that Ukraine claimed over the weekend, the timing, I think, at the very least, convenient for Ukraine because it does allow them to showcase those long-range capabilities, and especially, I think, ahead of that visit to the White House, and also to push another line that has been critical to Zelenskyy's argument all along as to why the Ukraine war should be a high priority for the West, and that is the international dimension here. And especially, I think, ahead of that White House meeting, he will be able to argue, given these strikes, that Ukraine perhaps has the capability to help weaken Iran, which is, of course, something that the U.S. is still grappling with.

He is also talking in recent posts about Russia wanting to bring in 30,000 North Korean troops into the war. So this international dimension of the war in Ukraine, I think, is something that we will see in discussions today and certainly going forward to that meeting in the White House. Polo?

SANDOVAL: We'll be watching those meetings along with you. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much for that live report.

And after the break here on CNN Newsroom, CNN investigating growing reports of law enforcement officers abusing and misusing of flock license plate reading cameras. In some cases, officers accused of stalking unsuspecting citizens. We'll have more in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: Well, you may be hearing more lately about so-called flock cameras, they're automated license plate readers. Well, now, according to the non-profit public interest firm Institute for Justice, cases of police misusing their readers are growing. Multiple law enforcement officers are accused of using those cameras to run unauthorized personal searches and that includes searches for romantic partners and exes. Here's CNN's Rafael Romo to explain.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There has been a series of cases nationwide involving the alleged misuse by law enforcement officers of automated license plate readers or ALPRs that were originally designed to locate vehicles and drivers potentially involved in a crime. Here in Georgia, employees of multiple law enforcement agencies have been accused of misusing flock safety and other ALPR systems.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation confirmed a police dispatcher supervisor in Conyers was arrested Wednesday after it says a GBI investigation revealed she had access to the system more than 30 times between April and July for non-law enforcement purposes.

Earlier this month, the GBI also said it arrested five former Albany Police Department officers as part of another investigation into the misuse of their access to the flock safety system. Officials say the Albany Police Department requested the GBI to investigate the officers following an internal audit of the flock license plate reader camera system.

Earlier this month, a former Milwaukee police officer was sentenced to 12 months of probation and a $500 fine after pleading guilty to attempted misconduct in public office as part of a deal. Detectives investigating officer Josue Ayala found he secretly used flock to learn the location of his romantic partner 124 times and that partner's ex 55 times according to a February criminal complaint.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With that position of trust, Mr. Ayala was given tools to investigate crime and one of those tools Mr. Ayala used for his own personal reasons.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time there's a misuse of flock by a police officer, Mr. Ayala's picture is on the news as a result of this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you heard, I dedicated 11 years of my life to law enforcement targeting violent offenders making a difference in the community and I don't offer that as an excuse but I just wanted to don't want that incident to reflect the person who I truly am and have been.

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ROMO: The Institute for Justice says its ongoing review of media reports and public records "Has identified at least 28 cases nationwide of officers allegedly abusing ALPR data to stalk romantic interests with the bulk of those incidents happening since 2024. Nearly all of these officers were criminally charged and lost their jobs either by resigning or getting fired."

Most of these systems are made by Flock Safety, the largest ALPR company based here in Atlanta which says its network includes more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states. Flock CEO and co-founder Garrett Langley told CNN in an interview the company last month launched an audit assistance tool that alerts an auditor to abnormal uses of its system.

Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.

[04:48:36]

SANDOVAL: Well, celebrations of America's 250th anniversary, they're not over. In fact, they're taking a new turn next month. This time with motorsport. After the break, CNN floors it along the route of the IndyCar race in the heart of Washington, D.C.

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SANDOVAL: Washington, D.C. will host its first ever IndyCar race next month. Imagine drivers speeding around the National Mall at some 180 miles per hour. CNN's Isabelle Khurshudyan got a guided tour of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix.

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ISABELLE KHURSHUDYAN, CNN SENIOR ENTERPRISE REPORTER: I'll be your racing driver today.

BUD DENKER, CHAIRMAN, FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX: All right. Well very good. We'll see how fast you are.

KHURSHUDYAN: Let's get started.

Has D. C. ever hosted a road race like this before?

DENKER: No, this will be the first time we've ever seen a road race, a motor sports race in nation's capital. I mean, it's so hard to do, first of all. I mean it's -- there's a lot of intrusion, obvious you put up walls and barriers and bridges.

This track, we go 1.7 miles, seven turns, we're on 3rd Street now, which is right in front of the nation's capital. It dissects the National Mall that's on our right here. And these cars on this street, this is about a third of a mile, straightaway will be about 140 miles an hour.

KHURSHUDYAN: It is a little bumpier probably than what a race car driver would want to be going 180 miles an hour over. How much work still needs to, we just went over a bump, how much work still needs to be put in on the roads to get this ready to be a racetrack?

DENKER: We don't want to have an absolutely, totally smooth surface here because the streets are never going to be that way, right? Our drivers are used to having some bumps. And frankly, it separates the great drivers from the good drivers when you have that kind of technical differences.

So, there are some improvements we're going to make. Of course, the nation's capital, we just went by on 3rd Street, is obviously the most iconic figure.

KHURSHUDYAN: What did you think of my driving?

DENKER: Very good. A little slow for us, but pretty good.

KHURSHUDYAN: This is a big bet by IndyCar. Why do you feel like it's worth it?

DENKER: Fireworks are great. A UFC fight is fun. How about celebrating on these roads around our city, this iconic structure we're racing around, celebrating our country's history.

KHURSHUDYAN: IndyCar did have some backlash recently over a One Nation, One Race t-shirt that got pulled. What happened there?

DENKER: That was my fault. You know, as we were designing and having people design t-shirts for us, you can imagine my thought of it was a race here in D.C. and the nation here. So, I take the blame for that.

KHURSHUDYAN: What do you say to fans of IndyCar who maybe don't think you should be doing a race here under this administration?

DENKER: I don't have exclusive areas for anybody that's red or blue. It's everybody here. And non-partisan has been the mission from day one.

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KHURSHUDYAN: So, this is a show car. Tell me about it.

DENKER: Yes, this is a car we designed to show the spirit of what the race is going to look like here.

Is that crazy? Are you down in there now?

KHURSHUDYAN: Yes, I think so.

DENKER: Can you imagine doing that for two and a half hours, three hours in Indianapolis?

KHURSHUDYAN: Yes, now I won.

KHURSHUDYAN (voice-over): Isabelle Khurshudyan, CNN, Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Now to Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar has joined Cycling's Greatest Champions after winning a record-equaling fifth Tour de France title. He dominated the three-week race with just five stage wins before cruising across the finish line in Paris. This is now his third straight Tour de France victory. Only four other riders have won the Tour five times in a news conference. After his win, he said that he's still deciding if he'll even brace the next month's Vuelta a Espana. For now, he says he just wants his Tour de France victory to sink in.

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TADEJ POGACAR, 2026 TOUR DE FRANCE CHAMPION: Right now, I just want to enjoy the moment of winning the Tour. If it's fifth or the first, it doesn't matter. It's unbelievable to wear the yellow jersey and cross the line in Paris winning it. So I will just enjoy the moment, not thinking about any history, about any clubbing or whatever. I just want to live this moment and, yes, come back home and relax and enjoy small things in life as well. So, yes, I'm really happy and proud to win the fifth Tour.

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SANDOVAL: Enjoy the moment. And reigning champ of Formula One, Lando Norris of Great Britain, won the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday. This was Norris' second consecutive victory in Hungary. His twelfth overall, Max Verstappen of Netherlands came in second, while Italy's Kim Antonelli finishing third. Antonelli extended his overall Formula One lead by 50 points.

Thanks for watching. Our coverage continues with CNN Headline Express.

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