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FT: Trump says "Not Sure" He'll Let Ukraine Make Patriots; Ukraine Taking Stock Of Deadly Russian Barrage; Questions Linger After Missiles Crashes In Poland. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired July 31, 2026 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:32:52]
SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. President Trump is having second thoughts about allowing Ukraine to produce a key air defense weapon. He told the Financial Times on Thursday he's not sure if he's going to give Kyiv a license to make patriot missile interceptors.
Now, he had promised to do that at a NATO summit earlier this month. Ukraine is facing a shortage of Patriots. That is the only weapon that can stop Russia's most advanced ballistic missiles.
Mr. Trump spoke hours after a massive attack on Ukraine killed at least nine people and wounded more than 50 others. Meanwhile, Poland says what appears to be a Russian missile crashed and exploded deep inside its territory during those strikes. Polluted Poland is, of course a NATO member, but a military official told CNN there are no plans to discuss a joint response from the alliance. The big question is, did that missile end up in Poland by mistake or was Moscow trying to test NATO? CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has more for us.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a complex task for Poland to respond in a way to something the intentions of Russia around which are obviously unclear. Now, there are a lot of coincidences here that need to be examined. This is a cruise missile that flew 90km into Poland, meaning for several minutes it was being presumably seen on Russian radars, Polish radars, F-16s scrambled by Poland, and other aircraft.
They didn't actually intercept it. It seems to have crash landed, leaving a 10-meter-wide crater. That is a remarkably deep incursion.
Secondly, it's an incursion that happened about 31 miles to the north of where Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had met just a matter of hours earlier. That's something of a coincidence. And it also comes to after weeks of warnings in which Western officials have been concerned about Russian escalation.
We really can't divine Russia's intention here. Was this a deliberate test of NATO's resolve and defenses with something relatively new here? We've not seen a cruise missile landing in, in NATO territory really for years here, unprecedented. Or is it simply one of 70 missiles fired by Russia that night going astray or being caught in some kind of jamming, potentially going off course. But this ultimately, many Russian analysts say, is part of the strategy sometimes to see what Russia can indeed get away with. And indeed, if this was an accident, use it to observe the nature of NATO's response.
[04:35:25]
And while Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he does not believe Poland was the target here. It's clear that but the Russians will have been observing the nature of NATO's response. Jets scrambled, but no interception. And Poland has publicly been under pressure because of its decision to supply some Patriot missile interceptors to Ukraine who urgently need them to its east, leaving perhaps its own stocks low, joining a global shortage of these exceptionally vital interceptor missiles.
And so this is clearly a moment in which NATO have to simultaneously show resolve and resilience to prepare, prevent this from being something Russia tries again if indeed it was intentional by Russia, while at the same time not sounding the alarm for domestic clamor for some kind of more muscular response.
That itself a complex task that yet again also emphasizes the nightly threat. Ukraine indeed is under 70 missiles fired. The number of ballistic and cruise missiles fired by Russia now exceptionally high compared to a matter of months ago. And of the 280 drones fired, Ukraine says they intercepted 260.
Still a death toll of at least nine. Six of whom from one family, the Vorono's (ph), living not far from Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipro region. Their house hit. Four children amongst the dead.
They're part of a civilian toll that is growing. I think it's fair to say. The month of July, the deadliest since April 2022. 427 Ukrainian civilians killed. Russia clearly escalating the toll it wants to take on Ukrainian civilians here.
The number of missiles ballistic that it's using against Ukraine, perhaps sensing a gap in their interceptor capability there. Well known public here, Zelenskyy in Washington desperately hoping to get more interceptors. They want to make them themselves. That hasn't actually happened yet.
And so I think a crisis of winter potentially increasingly in the mind of Ukrainian leaders here as they see these months of summer involving so many more Russian missiles and that threat towards Eastern Europe increasing. Nick Payton Walsh, CNN, London.
ABDELAZIZ: President Trump says he might withdraw his pick for Attorney General until early next year. Two Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are holding up Todd Blanche's nomination. And the President says he might renominate Blanche once they're out of office. More on this from CNN's Manu Raju.
MANU RAJU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now time is of the essence because the Senate goes on a more than month long recess starting at the end of next week, which means that if Blanche is not confirmed by the end of next week, that could mean it will continue to languish over the August recess. The summer work period when members are back home, they're campaigning. They're on vacation, and oftentimes when there is not momentum behind something in Washington, that means it will collapse, it will be defeated and it will simply go away.
And that's what Todd Blanche is most concerned about at this point because the President has warned. He did so on Thursday afternoon, that he would simply withdraw the nomination of Todd Blanche if it came to it and then re-nominate him next year in the new Congress when both John Cornyn and Thom Tillis are no longer members.
ABDELAZIZ: Sources say that Blanche met with Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis privately today. They and other Republicans have raised concerns about the President's settlement with the IRS and that so- called anti-weaponization fund.
A witness to the fatal ICE shooting of a man in Texas is breaking his silence. Jose Trinidad was inside the van of Lorenzo Salgado, who we see in that image there when Salgado was shot by a federal immigration agent.
Trinidad was sitting just a few feet away when the gunshots rang out, and now he's speaking out for the first time about what he saw. CNN's Ed Lavandera has this report for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSE TRINIDAD ROJAS PLIEGO, WITNESSED FATAL ICE SHOOTING: I feel a bit traumatized of something like that. I'm sad about what happened. And especially about what I saw since I was the one who witnessed it all.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Jose Trinidad says things will never be the same, that he's traumatized by the shooting because he saw it all. The 52-year-old construction worker witnessed the final moments of Lorenzo Salgado's life from inside the van driven by the man he simply called El patron, the boss. It was just before 7:00 a.m. on July 7th when ICE officers in unmarked cars started pursuing the four man crew of construction workers in East Houston. Trinidad says he was sitting a few feet behind Salgado in the van.
[04:40:02]
Jose tells me during the pursuit he heard the men up front say they were being chased by ICE officers. Videos show ICE officers pursuing Salgado's van in unmarked cars, at one point racing past the van on Canal Street. The last video shows ICE officers taking the three other men into custody and Salgado on the ground handcuffed just after being shot.
LAVANDERA: When the ICE officer shot, where was he standing?
TRINIDAD: On the side.
LAVANDERA: Who's side? TRINIDAD: Of his brother.
LAVANDERA: On the passenger side.
TRINIDAD: The passenger side.
LAVANDERA (voiceover): Trinidad says the ICE officer shot Salgado through the passenger window. The Department of Homeland Security says during the chase, Salgado attempted to evade arrest, then weaponized his vehicle and tried to run over an ICE officer, and that's when an agent opened fire in self-defense.
TRINIDAD: That's a lie.
LAVANDERA: That's a lie?
TRINIDAD: Yes.
LAVANDERA (voiceover): Trinidad says the DHS statement is a lie. There are no known videos that capture the moment of the shooting. The ICE officers were not wearing body cameras.
Trinidad says ICE agents were never in front of or behind the van and that Lorenzo was about to turn himself over to the officers. The three men with Salgado inside the van have been in custody since the shooting. But this week a judge ordered Trinidad's release, and this is the first time he's spoken publicly in detail about what happened.
After his release, Trinidad paid tribute to his friend at the memorial honoring Lorenzo Salgado on Canal Street and then prayed at his friend's grave site. Jose Trinidad says he and the other men in the van were simply going to work and that he's speaking out in hopes of getting Lorenzo Salgado and his family justice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: We asked the Department of Homeland Security to respond to Jose Trinidad's allegations that their version of events in the shooting was a, quote, lie. DHS referred all questions to the FBI which is investigating the shooting.
The other two men that were in the white van with Trinidad, they remain in immigration custody. Trinidad is out, but there are terms of his release which dictate he must check in regularly with ICE. He has to wear an ankle monitor, and he is not allowed to work in the U.S. Ed Lavendera, CNN, Houston, Texas.
ABDELAZIZ: Civil rights attorney Ben Crump held a news conference on Thursday with three families who dispute how their sons died.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN CRUMP, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: We're going to get to the answers of what happened to Nolan Wells, what happened to Daniel Irving, and what happened to Tyler Smith, three 18-year-old black boys in a three-month period around 4th of July.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: On the left in the image there is Nolan Wells, the Mississippi teen found dead after a day trip on the water with his friends. In the middle, you see 18 year old Daniel Irving. He drowned after jumping into a Lake with friends near Dallas. Two teens who were with him now face charges of evidence tampering.
And on the right is 18-year-old Tyler Smith, shot to death in Lexington, Kentucky. His family disputes claims that Smith shot himself accidentally. It is unclear when or if answers will arrive for any of these families. However, in the case of Nolan Wells, the official autopsy and toxicology reports are expected at some point.
We'll be right back after a quick break.
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[04:46:32]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., U.S. SECRETARY, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DEPT.: Americans have been told that they had to choose between healthy food and food that they can afford, and that's simply not true. Our first episode features chef Andrew Gruel, and together we prepare salmon cakes with bean and arugula salad. The entire meal costs only $4.91 a serving. That's less than most fast-food meals.
The Real Food show is not just about cooking. It's about helping Americans reconnect with one another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: That is U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. there on the launch of his new cooking show, the Real Food Show. It's on his YouTube channel, and it features his revised dietary guidelines, which were criticized for emphasizing meat but praised for rejecting ultra processed snack foods.
Kennedy says the show reminds people cooking with real food can be simple and affordable, but is also a chance to gather around the table and share at a time when people are far too often isolated.
Pope Leo is opening up about his family history. In a new interview with NBC News, the Pope said that he is a descendant of both slaves and slave owners on his mother's side. He discussed his family's links to the transatlantic slave trade. After a reporter asked about his heritage, the first American Pope also expressed a great love for his home country and its great core principles.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POPE LEO XIV: What America stands for, the sense of freedom, the sense of opportunity, the sense of having invited for generations people from around the world to be part of America. I come from a family that my grandparents were immigrants. On my mother's side, we have people who were both slaves and slave owners.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABDELAZIZ: There is more still to come on CNN Newsroom. We're going to try out the latest social media fitness craze. Electric muscle simulation suits. Stay with us.
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[04:52:28]
ABDELAZIZ: I want to show you a new trend in fitness that enthusiasts say helps with muscle Growth and recovery, electric muscle stimulation workouts. They've been growing in popularity, driven by social media. There's a wearable version which is built in electrodes that send small electrical signals to the body. Our Antoinette Radford tried one out and has this report for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTOINETTE RADFORD, CNN PRODUCER: So I saw last week this workout that claims to give you abs in 15 minutes, and obviously I was intrigued. It's something to do with electricity and this, like, wetsuit-looking thing. I found a gym here in Doha where I can go and test it out. So I'm on my way to do that. We'll see what it's about.
Hi. Jackie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Welcome.
RADFORD: Nice to meet you. I'm Antoinette.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nice to meet you too.
RADFORD: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to Studio 11.
RADFORD: Thanks for having me. This is a nice studio.
RADFORD (voiceover): I'm here to try an EMS suit, that stands for electrical muscle stimulation, and it's all over my feeds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. I'm about to do this workout.
RADFORD (voiceover): Before testing this tech, I spoke with a physical therapists to try get an understanding of how electrical muscle stimulation actually works. Essentially, a machine sends electrical impulses through electrodes in a suit, resulting in involuntary muscle contractions.
So where do we start today? What are we doing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we're going to start by changing. RADFORD: All right, big reveal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking good.
RADFORD: I've got the gym top on, right. What next?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next I'm going to prepare the suit for you.
RADFORD: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're going to spray it with water.
RADFORD: Why are we doing that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It works with electricity. Right. So we're going to place water in the electron for you to get the electric shock, basically.
RADFORD: Okay. All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RADFORD: So how much water are we talking?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dump.
RADFORD: Okay. And that's why I'm wearing this, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes, exactly. It needs to be wet for the conduction of energy, basically. Yes.
RADFORD: Okay. Interesting.
RADFORD (voiceover): EMS has been used for fitness since the 70s, but has surged in popularity as people seek out new technology to boost performance.
The technology is used also for recovery for those who, like, you know, have injuries and all. It's amazing for them and lately has become trendy because of the good results that you get. And it's also very effective.
RADFORD: All right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So we're going to wear this like a breast.
RADFORD: Arm in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Arm in, the other one.
RADFORD: It's wet. Lucky I have this top.
[04:55:05]
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It actually has to be tight.
RADFORD: I saw somewhere that actually this is going to give me abs in 15 minutes. Is that true?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not really. All set?
RADFORD: Okay. Let's try it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, let's go. So are you ready? Three, two, one. Go ahead.
RADFORD: Oh, I can feel that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two, one. And rest. Great.
RADFORD: I feel so tired already.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready? Three, two, one. Let's go.
Okay, ready? Ready to jump on the floor.
RADFORD: Okay. Planks are my biggest weakness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, that's it.
RADFORD (voiceover): While I enjoyed the workout, not everyone's convinced it's the best tool for training. The tech has long been used in hospitals and medical settings, assisting people with rehabilitation, trap nerve injuries, and arthritis, among other conditions.
But other health experts suggest that outside of a clinical setting, people may get more out of varied exercises like functional strength training or weightlifting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last five seconds. And four, three, two. And that's it.
RADFORD: Yay. Thanks, Jackie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're welcome. You look amazing.
RADFORD: That was great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
RADFORD: You don't expect it to be hard because you're not lifting weights, but it's a really good workout.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So people at home who are thinking, yes, you won't feel it. No. You do.
RADFORD: Yes, you feel it. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You do feel it, yes. And that's why it's just 20 minutes twice per week.
RADFORD: That was a lot harder than I expected. But I feel good. Like, I feel like I've had a really good workout. I think I'll come back and do it again. I quite enjoyed it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABDELAZIZ: Thank you so much for watching. I'm Salmamm Abdelaziz. CNN Headline Express is coming up right after a quick break.
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