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CNN Headlines: Trump: Ceasefire With Iran "Over," Calls Iranians "Scum" At NATO Summit; Second Woman Who Dated Platner Describes His Violent Behavior; Day 3 Of Preliminary Hearing For Alleged Charlie Kirk Killer, 23-Year-Old Tyler Robinson; Crews Installing Temporary Shoring On NYC High-Rise. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired July 08, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:25]
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To me, I think it's over.
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BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says the memorandum of understanding with Iran is over. It all comes as the U.S. and Iran trade strikes, both sides saying they've attacked dozens of military sites.
And -- more accusations against Senate candidate Graham Platner, which he denies. The latest developments as pressure grows for him to drop out of Maine's Senate race.
And --
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MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), NEW YORK: Two structural columns have buckled in addition to multiple cracks and sagging floors. The building remains unstable.
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SMITH: Two supporting beams in this New York high-rise buckled. Reports of falling debris and evacuation orders are still in place. What is being done to stabilize it this morning?
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us today.
Let's get this started.
Breaking news this morning from Turkey. President Trump answering the question, is the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran done?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them, but they're scum. You know what scum is? They're scum.
They're sick people. They're led by sick people. And they're vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they'd use it.
As far as I'm concerned, it's over. I'll speak to our negotiators. They want to negotiate. They're good people -- Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner -- but they have to come back to me.
As far as I'm concerned, it's just a waste of time dealing with them. They're liars. We make a deal. And if I make a deal with him, we have a deal.
And he goes out, he talks. We make a deal. Everyone's agreed. No nuclear weapon. We make a deal.
They go outside, talk to the press. They say, we never even talked about it. There's something wrong with them. They're cuckoo. As far as I'm concerned, it's over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: President Trump this morning in Ankara, Turkey, for the high- stakes NATO summit. Later, he'll meet with his counterparts, with Ukraine and Syria, specifically.
But first, what do these words from the president mean for the war with Iran?
CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak joins us now from Ankara.
I mean, what can you tell us against this backdrop? NATO leaders there in Turkey, what should we watch for today?
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: You know, I think the president's comments here are now going to overshadow this entire meeting. The president clearly furious at Iran for not upholding their end of this memorandum of understanding that he signed exactly three weeks ago today and sort of making the clearest indication yet that at least in his view, this agreement has completely collapsed.
Now, he did say that he would allow his negotiators to continue on these technical talks with Iran. They're trying to secure nuclear concessions from Tehran, but those talks had been very, very slow going. The president making the case that because Iran had been targeting merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, that this deal is completely finished.
Now, what that means in practice, I don't think is clear at all. Does the president resumed some sort of full-scale war with Iran, whatever that might look like? I don't think that's likely because remember, the president said when he signed this agreement that if the continued, it would lead to economic catastrophe and all of the political pressures that were on the president to end the conflict remain in place. And so, what this actually means going forward in Iran, I don't think
is explicitly clear, but it is evident that the president's frustration is boiling over, that this is all not working out, I guess, in the way that he had hoped it would.
Now, we haven't gotten a response from Iran just yet. We also haven't gotten a response from the mediators of this agreement, Pakistan and Qatar. And I think it's almost certain that they will be working very hurriedly behind the scenes to try and put this back on the rails in some way.
But, you know, I've clearly a very frustrated, very dissatisfied president heading in to what will be a very consequential meeting of these NATO leaders here in Turkey.
SMITH: A great context there, and a reminder that it literally has been three weeks since this memorandum of understanding went into place.
Kevin Liptak, senior White House reporter, thank you so much for joining us live from the NATO Summit in Turkey this morning.
[05:05:06]
Well, this morning, intense, growing pressure on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to drop out of the race. A former girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield, alleges Platner behaved violently when they dated more than a decade ago.
And that follows allegations of rape from Jenny Racicot, who dated Platner on and off between 2019 and 2021. Now, Platner says that the claims of rape are categorically false, and he's previously denied allegations of physicality. He also says that he's reflecting on the best path forward in the Senate race.
Here's part of Jake Tapper's exclusive conversation with Platner's former girlfriend, Lyndsey Fifield.
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JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST, THE LEAD: When Jenny told her story, what, if anything, aligned with your experiences?
LYNDSEY FIFIELD, GRAHAM PLATNER ACCUSER: The eyes.
TAPPER: The dead eyes? Where he couldn't hear your protests.
FIFIELD: I just know exactly what that looks like. I know exactly what it looks like and it's that is something that I feel like people need to understand is it was almost like looking at like a pit bull where they just there's it's nothing -- but not just nothing but like a capacity for violence and you see it and you know it's there and it's terrifying.
TAPPER: This is a very painful process and has been for a long, long time. FIFIELD: Yeah.
TAPPER: Continues to be. But it's important because you want the voters to know about him. What do you want them to know?
FIFIELD: I think they know now. They needed to know the truth. They needed to know -- because these things translate. It's not like -- the things that he does in private in his relationships with women, the things that he has done to women, coercive control, lying, deception, abuse, and really horrible things that we've -- that we know about him. Sorry. We know that you can't be that way in private and not have it translate into how you would govern or how you would-- when you're put in a position of power.
And I think it terrifies me to think of him having any type of power politically, because what is he going to do with the women in his office? How is he going to manipulate? How is he going to deceive?
When I saw him lying about the Nazi tattoo, that was the first kind of chip in my armor, where I was like, I can't let him continue to lie like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Platner's campaign responded to this interview, saying the allegations are, quote, categorically false and come from a person with a well-documented political agenda.
Meanwhile, Maine Democrats are working on a plan to replace Platner if he steps aside. Several potential candidates have signaled their willingness to run.
Well, happening today, day three of a preliminary hearing in Utah for Tyler Robinson. He is the alleged killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Yesterday, new surveillance video was played in the courtroom.
Prosecutors say the three videos allegedly show 23-year-old Robinson's movements on the Utah Valley University campus before and after Charlie Kirk's murder last September. Prosecutors allege Robinson is on the video at various times that day, in the garage and walking down a stairwell after changing clothes.
These are images of Kirk's widow, Erika, on Monday as she attended the hearings. Yesterday, she and Charlie Kirk's parents temporarily left the proceedings when a defense attorney talked about the video of the deadly shooting. Donald Trump Jr., who also was there, attended the hearing. He was a close friend of Charlie Kirk.
Hearings will determine if there's enough evidence for the case against Robinson to go to trial.
Well, crews began draining the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, again. It's the second time that's happening in three months. That's according to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and issues with the green water, the algae blooms, and alleged vandalism have plagued the pool. The Interior Department says it hired the same no-bid contractor that previously drained and painted the pool blue for the latest repairs.
Last month, the contract summary showed that the project cost nearly $15 million. The initial estimate was $1.8 million. No word yet on how long the repair work will take.
Well, a federal judge has blocked a grand jury subpoena for information about 2020 election workers in Georgia. The judge called the scope of the subpoena staggering and said the use of subpoena power to investigate the election was not legitimate, citing the statute of limitations for any potential crime. President Donald Trump has frequently targeted Georgia in his claims that the election was stolen.
Let's take you now to New York. That's where structural columns of a Manhattan high-rise building buckled, forcing evacuations. But crews say that they have a temporary solution to help stabilize the building.
[05:10:02]
Workers first used emergency jacks before adding new steel supports to improve its stability. More stabilization work will be done throughout the coming days, but a lot of people had to evacuate yesterday.
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WAHHID SALEH, FRUIT VENDOR: There was a disaster the way they were running out of the hotel. It was crazy. And everybody, everybody was panicking a lot.
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SMITH: Four buildings are still under evacuation orders, and a fifth is partially evacuated. So far, no injuries have been reported. The high-rise is Pfizer's old headquarters and was being converted into apartments.
We'll continue to track that. We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. A police helicopter responding to a brush fire is hit by a drone and forced to make an emergency landing. Details on that later in the hour.
Plus, Floodwaters stall cars, leave people stranded, and cause a literal mess around parts of New Jersey. An update on things there.
And questions swirl around the health of Senator Mitch McConnell, who's been hospitalized for several days. The latest coming up.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:15:38]
SMITH: It's been three weeks since the Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell was admitted to the hospital, and we still don't know why. CNN political commentator Scott Jennings, who is a former McConnell
aide, says he spoke to him Tuesday for about 20 minutes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: We talked for about 17 minutes. You know, he talked a lot about the situation with Iran, talked a little bit about Ukraine and what's going on in Europe.
I'd gotten a few text messages from him, but I hadn't spoken to him. So it was good to hear his voice. Voice sounded strong and sounded like he was keeping up with the news to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Other GOP leaders have also said they've been in touch with the Kentucky senator. An EMS audio recording from June reveals emergency responders were called to his Washington home for a cardiac arrest and unconscious person. That audio was published by an independent journalist and doesn't mention McConnell by name.
Cleanup efforts continue in Camden, New Jersey. This is after flash flooding inundated parts of the city earlier this week. The city had to activate its emergency operations center due to the flooding Monday. Governor Mikie Sherrill visited Camden yesterday, where she thanked first responders for their rescue efforts.
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has a closer look at the forecast, including what's shaping up to be a brutally hot weekend out west.
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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The flood threat is starting to diminish across the East Coast, specifically into southern New England. We've been monitoring this area of low pressure that has brought heavier rainfall to this region that's moving offshore. Still a trailing cold front behind it that could help spark off a few showers today from Virginia right through the Tennessee River Valley and elsewhere, monitoring the potential for strong to severe weather across the Central Plains and the Upper Midwest.
Keep weather aware and eye to the sky. Northern Michigan to Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, throughout Iowa and into the Dakotas and Kansas as well.
The potential for an increased fire risk exists today, specifically throughout the Great Basin as heat starts to build over the western U.S.
Here's a look at the forecast radar. This goes through your day and on Wednesday and through into Thursday as well. Showers and thunderstorms again blanketing the central plains as heat really starts to rise over this region. Temperatures around 92 in Kansas City today. 83 though for Washington 94 near Atlanta.
Take note of the temperatures above 110 degrees across the Desert Southwest. That's where the heat will start to really build. As you can see on this heat risk map from NOAA, it shifts from the East Coast to yeah, the four corners and into the Upper Plains. That is where we're going to start seeing the temperatures skyrocket. Just take Billings, Montana, for instance. 88 today, I think we'll round out the weekend in the hundreds.
Well, the same for Denver. You're approaching that triple digit mark as we head into Saturday and Sunday as well. Continue to be very, very hot. A dry heat, of course, for Phoenix, with temperatures above 110 degrees for the next foreseeable future.
Back to you.
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SMITH: Thank you, Derek.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, more details emerging about the body of a teen recovered off the coast of a Mississippi barrier island. He went missing during the 4th of July weekend celebrations. We've got the latest in the case later in the hour.
And a mom who claimed her twins died after being vaccinated is now facing murder charges. Details on that case.
CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS continues.
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[05:23:34]
SMITH: Dearborn, Michigan is getting a special exhibit via the so- called Freedom Plane as part of America's 250th celebration.
CNN's John Lawrence has a preview.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The vaults of the National Archives have traveled to Detroit.
JOHN LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You've only turned 250 years old once, right?
CAPT. JOE HATCH, BOEING PILOT: Being A bicentennial baby born in 1976, it's kind of cool.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): The United States continues to celebrate the country's semi-quincentennial by sending nine original documents from the National Archives on tour.
REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): What I want to do is encourage people to visit, to look at them, to remember our history.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): They were brought to the Metro Motown area this week on the Freedom Plain. MARC GREUTHER, CHIEF CURATOR, HENRY FORD MUSEUM OF AMERICAN
INNOVATION: These materials don't leave the National Archives ordinarily, so putting them on the road just generally, a great deal of, you know, thought and foresight's gone into that.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): This special exhibit at the Henry Ford in Dearborn opens Thursday and runs through July 26th.
PATRICIA MOORADIAN, PRESIDENT & CEO, THE HENRY FORD MUSEUM OF AMERICAN INNOVATION: As an institution, our mission is to bring history to the people.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Among the magical manuscripts that can be seen by the public free of charge, a William Stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence, Articles of Association, the Treaty of Paris, and the Senate markup of the Bill of Rights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a history nerd, I was just over the moon about it.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): This is the penultimate stop on this historical tour after they were in cities, including Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Miami.
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LT. GOV. GARLIN GILCHRIST II (D), MICHIGAN: I think it's important that we remember what we should be striving for, and these documents reflect that.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): I'm John Lawrence reporting.
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SMITH: Really fascinating. John, thank you.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, President Trump says the ceasefire agreement with Iran is over. What it all means, coming up.
And another ex-girlfriend of Maine Senate Democrat candidate Graham Platner comes forward with abuse allegations, while calls for him to drop out of the race grow louder.
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