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CNN Headlines: Former Graham Platner Girlfriend Describes Alleged Violence, Which He Denies; Trump: Ceasefire With Iran "Over," Calls Iranians "Scum" At NATO Summit; Crews Race To Stabilize New York City High Rise After Columns Buckle. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 08, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:20]

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories beginning with this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To me, I think it's over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: President Trump speaking on the state of the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran this morning at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey. The comments sure to overshadow the rest of today's meetings as the president is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian and Syrian leader later today at the summit.

Also this morning there is growing pressure on Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to step aside after a second former girlfriend comes forward with allegations of violent behavior. Lyndsey Fifield says Platner physically abused her when they dated over a decade ago. He denies the allegations.

Also, city officials in New York say that they are confident that a temporary shoring has helped stabilize a high-rise whose columns had buckled yesterday. That led to people evacuating buildings all around the vicinity. The building is being converted into apartments, and the developer told The Wall Street Journal that the buckling was likely caused by added weight.

Let's return back to Maine. More controversy for Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner. A former girlfriend tells CNN that Platner was violent towards her on a number of occasions more than a decade ago. He denies the claims, as well as rape allegations from another woman.

Here's more of Jake Tapper's exclusive interview with Lyndsey Fifield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LYNDSEY FIFIELD, ACCUSES PLATNER OF VIOLENT BEHAVIOR: He isolated me from friendships that I've now -- this situation -- I will say something good that has come out this is I've reconciled with friends that I had become estranged from because they've reached out and remembered, like, he isolated you from us. You weren't allowed to be friends with us because you didn't -- he didn't want you going to certain Hill parties that he wasn't invited to or why -- he was really controlling of my movements.

And so it was -- it has been really vindicating -- or not vindicating -- um, like, good has come out of this. That I have reconciled with -- or reconnected with different friends and people who are like oh my God, we wish that we had known the extent of what you were going through at that time. Um, but it explains a lot to them now.

But also, my behavior after that relationship and other relationships moving forward and the ways I want to protect my daughters. I want to abuse-proof them and I don't know how I'm going to do it but I'm going to figure it out.

JAKE TAPER, CNN ANCHOR: They'll figure it out.

FIFIELD: How are we going to make sure that this generation -- I've got two little girls. It's another reason that I decided to tell this story is I will be damned if this ever happens to them. And if they ever find themselves in a relationship and they don't feel like they can call me and tell me immediately -- and I didn't feel like I could. And I was -- I not only didn't feel like I could tell anyone what was going on. I protected him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Platner's campaign responded to this interview saying that the allegations are "categorically false" and comes from a person with a well-documented political agenda.

President Trump is in Turkey today for the high-stakes NATO summit, set to meet separately with his Ukrainian and Syrian counterparts in just a few hours. Already, he made a splashy entrance, reupping his desire to control Greenland, floating a reduction in U.S. troops in Europe, and proposing the sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.

But now the focus is on the fragile ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran as both sides exchange attacks, and especially after he made these comments this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 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 and 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Earlier, Iran said it had launched drones and missiles targeting dozens of U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait. And that was in response to U.S. strikes against more than 80 targets in Iran overnight in retaliation for recent attacks on commercial ships near the Strait of Hormuz.

CNN's Pamela Brown had been traveling aboard the U.S. aircraft to -- the American aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, and earlier she gave us a closer look at what's happening in the region.

[05:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: As you know, an aircraft carrier -- a big part of it is to launch flights. It's a floating airport essentially. And we're here in the hangar and you can see behind me here there's F-18s, F-35s. These are some of the planes that have been used in the conflict to actually drop the bombs on Iranian targets.

So what happens here -- and I'll have John, my photojournalist, go over here. This is -- they can put these planes, once they become operational again after some maintenance, on what's called an elevator and then it would bring up to the flight deck just above. So it's pretty incredible, the capabilities here.

And then once it's on the flight deck, it's -- the flight deck itself is only 4 1/2 acres, so they use a catapult working with the wind and the propulsions from the nuclear reactors to -- for the flights to be able to take off. And they've been very busy. I mean, they have been able to have the flights take off every 15 to 20 seconds during really active times.

And so where we are right here is where that maintenance takes place. But you have to think we're out in the middle of the Arabian Sea. It's not so easy to just quickly do maintenance. They have to have ships brought in to bring parts for these planes and helicopters, and so forth.

So it's really a logistical, complex environment but they are still doing their best and they say that they're still very ready. They're in a readiness state because of the ongoing escalations and tensions here where we are.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Thank you, Pamela.

Well, happening today, an FBI forensic DNA examiner is expected to return to the stand in that multiday hearing for the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk. Tyler Robinson is pictured here on the right in the light gray suit, as you can see there on your screen. Prosecutors are presenting their evidence to determine if there is

enough probable cause for the case to go to trial. Robinson is accused of killing the conservative activist last September while he was speaking at Utah Valley University. Yesterday the judge watched surveillance video that allegedly shows Robinson's movements on and off campus during the day that Kirk was killed.

CNN's Nick Watt has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They played some of the surveillance video in court. It is a compilation of surveillance video from that campus from the day that Charlie Kirk was killed. And prosecutors say that Tyler Robinson is identified coming on and off the campus four times -- twice before the shooting, once for the shooting, and another time very late that night.

So while they were playing this video, they had a Utah state investigator narrate it. Take a listen.

DAVID HULL, AGENT, UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: That's the vehicle that's believed to belong to Mr. Robinson arriving in the parking garage on campus.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what time in the morning -- is -- well, what time of the day?

HULL: It's approximately 8:30 in the morning on September 10, 2025.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what leads you to believe that this particular vehicle belongs to Mr. Robinson?

HULL: Information that was provided, um, in regards to driver's license and Department of Motor Vehicle records.

WATT: Now, from these images it appears that the first time Robinson was on campus he was wearing shorts. Later he changed into long pants but kept the same shoes, and that has helped investigators try and identify him throughout the day. He also went to Chick-fil-A and got something to eat.

And then this is key. So the investigator and the video seems to show that Robinson returns to campus at 11:53. At 12:22 he is lying prone on the roof with a line of sight to Charlie Kirk. At 12:23 a shot is fired. Then this person who prosecutors say is Robinson on the tapes runs back across the video -- the roof, jumps off the roof, and then flees north into a neighborhood north of campus.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Wow. Nick Watt, thank you.

We have live gavel-to-gavel coverage on CNN All Access. That is on cnn.com/watch or on the CNN app. A mother in Idaho who claimed her toddler twins died last year shortly after being vaccinated is now facing murder charges. Prosecutors allege that she suffocated them. And here is CNN's Whitney Wild with more on these accusations.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: An Idaho mother who says that her twins died after routine vaccinations is now facing two counts of first-degree murder.

Andrea Shaw says she took her 18-month-old twins to the doctor where they got three vaccines. She says the next day they became so sick she took them to the emergency room. They were briefly treated and released. She says a week later she woke up to find that the children had died, and she believes that they died in their sleep.

She is absolutely adamant that they died as a result of the vaccines. Medical experts insist that vaccines -- these are routine vaccines that children get -- are safe.

Law enforcement has a completely different theory. They believe Andrea Shaw killed her children, although they're not giving much detail about how they believe she did it. The indictment has very little detail. Law enforcement isn't commenting beyond saying that the charges come as a result of a lengthy and thorough investigation.

[05:40:05]

Andrea Shaw's attorney told CNN that he was shocked when she was arrested and they plan to fight this case.

There are still many outstanding questions. We're working to get more information from law enforcement. We're also asking for the autopsies of the children.

Andrea Shaw, at this moment, is in custody. She's on a $2 million bond. She is also about two weeks postpartum from a child she delivered via C-section. She -- that child is now at home with Andrea's husband -- that child's father. She is pleading not guilty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: Thank to Whitney Wild for that report.

The last two candidates remaining in the Democratic Party for -- or the primary, rather, for Senate in Michigan -- they squared off in a heated debate last night. Abdul El-Sayed and Congresswoman Haley Stevens both tried to pitch themselves as the most electable Democrat ahead of the primary.

The race to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters is critical for Democrats if they hope to flip the Senate in November. But it's also exposing a rift in the national party between more moderate establishment party forces and progressive candidates who are sweeping some Democratic primaries. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDUL EL-SAYED, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Chuck Schumer desperately wants one of us to be the next senator, and it's not me. So if you want your politics dictated to you by AIPAC or Chuck Schumer, then I'm not your guy.

HALEY STEVENS, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: There are many who want to make this run for U.S. Senate about Washington, D.C. insider deals and what's going on with our party leadership. Friends, this is about the future of Michigan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: The winner of the August 4 primary will face Republican Mike Rogers in November.

Well, contractors in New York are working to shore up a high-rise whose structural columns buckled. The fire department officials say the building and others were evacuated. Crews say they have a temporary solution in place as the work continues.

Here with more is CNN's Gloria Pazmino.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The area that's affected by this is a significant one. At least nine buildings were evacuated after reports of falling debris were reported early on Tuesday morning.

Now, what we know is that there were two supporting beams inside this building that were found to be bent. That's what led to the evacuation of the building. Inside that building at the time were construction workers. This is a building that has been under construction for a while now. It's actually the former headquarters of Pfizer pharmaceuticals.

And the building was in the process of being converted from office space to apartment space, and as part of that expansion -- as part of that construction project they were adding floors to the top of the existing building. So now there is a very real question about whether that added weight of those floors may have caused the buckling of those columns and the beams that we see in the images. That is all part of the investigation, which is continuing.

City officials saying they evacuated the buildings in the area out of precaution -- out of concern for safety. But officials have been able to access the building in question and there is a team that is assessing each floor, going one-by-one and trying to figure out how to shore up the building. How to support the building so that there is no risk of any partial collapse.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani telling New Yorkers it would be a minute-by-minute operation.

MAYOR ZOHRAN MAMDANI, (D) NEW YORK CITY: You know, I want to be honest with New Yorkers that this is a fast-developing situation. We are taking it minute-by-minute, and I appreciate our city workers who have been on the forefront of that. Every few minutes we are looking at a new assessment of the structure and of the possibilities and the options that we have in front of us.

PAZMINO: Now the workers that were inside that building were all evacuated. Everyone was accounted for there. There have been no reported injuries. But for now there are a lot of people who have not been able to access their officers, their apartment buildings, their places of business as the investigation continues and officials work to make sure that the building itself and the surrounding area is safe for both pedestrians and traffic.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: All right. Thank you, Gloria.

Next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, a helicopter trying to help put out a fire had to make an emergency landing itself. What happened in the skies is coming up.

And Dolly Parton, the songbird of the Smokey Mountains, made a big announcement. Why we may learn a few inside stories about all of those famous songs. That's coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.

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[05:49:05]

SMITH: As Gulf tensions escalate this morning, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is calling off his planned trip to Israel, according to two Israeli sources familiar with the matter. One of the aims of his visit was to ease Israeli concerns over the potential sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey, as Trump proposed this week at the NATO summit. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls Turkey a threat to Israel and Israel is currently the only country in the Mideast to have F-35s.

Let's stay international and go around the globe to see what else is making headlines this morning.

[05:50:00]

Power is slowing returning to Cuba after yet another nationwide grid collapse. Officials are investigating what caused the latest blackout. Cuba's ongoing energy crisis got worse in January after U.S. sanctions cut the island off from its top oil suppliers. The U.S. says that the pressure is intended to force Cuba's government to allow more foreign investment into its political system and tourism industry.

And now to those devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. The death toll is up to nearly 3,700 people. Many of those remain unidentified. The need for burial sites has skyrocketed, leading at least one cemetery to prepare about 500 new gravesites. Local officials say that cemetery has separated the unidentified victims into a special area, which is where each grave is marked with a code to help families locate their loved ones in the future.

And Prince Harry just lost a high-stakes case against the publisher of the Daily Mail. He and six others, including Elton John, accused the publisher of gathering private information illegally. The judge said although the allegations were serious, the group could not prove that illegal tactics were used.

The nominations for the 78th Emmy Awards will be announced this morning. Actors Liza Colon-Zayas and Jeff Hiller will host the event in a Los Angeles event space at 8:30 a.m. That is 11:30 a.m. here on the East Coast.

Actor, director, and producer Mariska Hargitay will post the awards show on September 14. She is the first woman to emcee the star-studded affair in 15 years.

And country music icon Dolly Parton in a separate story her. Dolly Parton is headed from the Smokey Mountains to Broadway. The legendary singer-songwriter says that her upcoming musical includes some of her biggest hits as well as new songs that she wrote just for the show. And here's what else Parton says that fans can expect to see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOLLY PARTON, SINGER-SONGWRITER: Just like the title says, I mean true in every sense of the word. But this isn't about a story about sparkle and shine on the outside; it's about where I really come from. Where I've lived, what I've lost, what I've loved, and how I found my way and told it in my own words and through the music that's been part of me every step of the journey.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Preview performances begin in December, and the opening night is set for January 19, which happens to be her 81st birthday. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday.

And newlywed Taylor Swift wins a legal battle over her lyrics. Variety reporting that a federal judge threw out a 14-month-old lawsuit from a Florida poet. The suit alleged the superstar lifted basic themes and metaphors from the author's self-published books to use in more than a dozen songs. But the judge ruled that the words were not substantially similar, pointing out common ideas cannot be copyrighted. The judge also noted that there was no proof Swift had ever read the poetry.

Well, still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS there is this.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grab this. Grab this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SMITH: Rip currents turning what was a fun day in the water into a dangerous situation. We've got the details on the rescue of two snorkelers next.

Plus, more details emerging about the body of a teen recovered off the coast of a Mississippi barrier island who went missing during July Fourth weekend celebrations. The latest in the case coming up.

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[05:57:55]

SMITH: Let's get a check in on the other stories making news across the country.

We've got to start on Mississippi's Gulf Coast. A massive search there for a missing teen ends in tragedy. Family and friends are mourning the loss of 18-year-old Nolan Wells who went missing during a July Fourth celebration.

CNN's Ryan Young reports with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A family's desperate search for their teen son ends tragedy after a water search involving eight law enforcement agencies ends in heartbreak. Investigators believe they've found the body of 18-year-old Nolan Wells in the water after he went missing from his friends during a crowded Fourth of July boat celebration at Horn Island on the Mississippi coast.

The coroner said the remains match the description of Nolan's appearance and there were no immediate signs of physical injury.

Friends and family remember Wells as a standout athlete with a big heart. Nolan's mother described him as a special soul. "Family and friends and I are absolutely devastated. My heart is broke for our sweet son who was always willing to cheer and uplift others," she wrote on Facebook.

The Jackson County sheriff says that no foul play is suspected. He declined to elaborate on how Nolan became separated from his friends' group.

A member of the volunteer rescue group, United Cajun Navy, spoke to several people who were at Horn Island, and they described it as crowded with boats and swimmers, many who had been drinking. And he said he believes that strong rip currents could have posed a risk.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SMITH: In California, a police helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing after being illegally struck by a drone. The helicopter was dispatched to help contain a Los Angeles brushfire in Encino. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said if they find out who was operating the drone they will be arrested and prosecuted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grab this. Grab this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh. Ow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:00:00]

SMITH: It's just a scary rescue caught in camera in Florida. A marine unit with the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office pulled two snorkelers to safety after a strong rip current -- after a strong current, rather, swept them away from the shore. Deputies say that the pair was found in the water waving their hands for help. Both were unharmed. All right -- glad they were rescued.

That does it for us here on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.