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CNN Live Event/Special
CNN Headlines: Washington Post: Trump Boarded Secret Flight Last Month Over Security Concerns; Trump Adds New Condition For Talks: "Iran Should Pay"; Jury Selection Resumes Nearly 30 Years After Rapper Tupac Shakur's Death; Trump Signs Executive Order To Overhaul Childhood Vaccine Schedule. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 11, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:28]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump reportedly took a secret flight last month at the NATO summit in Turkey. What the new report reveals about how he flew under the radar.
And --
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Vaccinations for hepatitis B, COVID-19 and influenza, among others, are no longer recommended for all children.
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SMITH: President Trump is reducing the number of vaccinations recommended for children. More on what else this new executive order aims to do.
And --
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SMITH: New rescue efforts after a 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit Colombia, a state of national disaster has been declared.
And a scary moment in the sky. You see flames coming out of this plane's engine after hitting birds during take off. More on this story later 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.
We begin with a stunning revelation about President Trump's trip back from the NATO summit taking place last month. On the left, the president boarding Air Force One in Ankara with -- there you see what looks like Air Force One. This was on July 8th.
Now, on the right, he's getting off the same plane in England hours later. It's what happened in between that's making headlines this morning.
And CNN's Kaitlan Collins spoke to "The Washington Post" reporter behind the scoop, which was later confirmed by "The New York Times".
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DAN LAMOTHE, REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Candidly, this was a surreal story to cover. You know, the initial discussions, the initial tip, you know, and then looking into it, you're -- I kept finding myself saying, you know, like, what am I missing? Is this true?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump was seen boarding Air Force One at 8:24 p.m. local time on July 8th. But actually, according to the post. And you can see here, Trump and several of his aides were secretly shuttled. Minutes later onto this airport catering truck, which was elevated and positioned at a door out of the view of the cameras.
"The Post" reports that the president was on that catering truck when it pulled away from Air Force One at 8:30 p.m., secretly bringing him to a smaller plane, an Air Force C32A, making the Air Force One that everyone thought he was on a decoy that still had the reporters who thought the president had boarded that plane and who you see boarding right here on the right, and some White House staff aboard.
"The Washington Post" reports, and I quote, "The maneuver meant that the presidents actual location was concealed from the American public. And many senior U.S. officials for hours."
Air Force One then landed in the U.K. hours later.
LAMOTHE: The most significant piece here is that for weeks now, the American public, talking about the two Air Force One jets, the newer one from Qatar and the older one from the last couple decades of operations. And in reality, the president was on either plane. This came to "The Post" in part because, individuals thought that there was a hole in public understanding here that needed to be clarified.
Not an easy story to confirm. I mean, it obviously took some time since that that event to, to put this all together and put this together in a way that was convincing and, you know, confirmable and, and able to report it with your chest.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Now there's some important context right here, especially regarding the timing of the flights, because they followed fresh U.S. air strikes on Iran, which shares a border with Turkey. And now, attention shifts to the nature of the threat that prompted such a dramatic security measure.
President Trump is responding to Iran's demand for war reparations.
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TRUMP: They asked for reparations, you might say, or they asked for money for the damage that we've done. I said, that's a good idea. Well, we're going to ask for money for the damage they've done over a 50-year period. If there's damages to be paid, I think Iran should pay those damages.
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SMITH: Earlier this week, Iran added compensation as a condition for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Now, this back and forth suggests that the two sides are no closer to reaching an agreement.
Meanwhile, experts say that a military leadership shakeup in Iran signals a hard line stance on negotiations. On Monday, Iran's supreme leader appointed a new national security chief, one who analysts say wants the fighting to keep going to maintain pressure on the U.S.
Well, today, jury selection resumes in the murder trial of Duane "Keff D" Davis with this, of course, proceeding, the man accused of killing rapper Tupac Shakur nearly 30 years ago comes back into focus. And Davis is the first and only person ever charged in Shakur's fatal shooting. He's pleaded not guilty, but prosecutors say some of their strongest evidence may be his own words. They argue that Davis implicated himself through his memoir, and by discussing the events of that night in media interviews.
Back in 2009, Davis told police he had a role in Tupac's killing, but he wasn't charged because that interview was part of a deal preventing his statements from being used against him. Prosecutors say that protection no longer applies since Davis later repeated many of those statements publicly.
Death Row Records executive Marion "Suge" Knight and Sean "Diddy" Combs are both potential witnesses for the prosecution. Tupac's killing has remained one of the most high-profile unsolved mysteries for decades. Opening statements are expected to begin next week.
We turn now to tense testimony in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. She is the Massachusetts woman and mother accused of killing her three young children. Yesterday, jurors heard about the mental health treatment that she received in the months leading up to the killings.
And reporter Sera Congi with CNN affiliate WCVB has the details for us.
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DR. JENNIFER TUFTS, LINDSAY CLANCY'S PSYCHIATRIST: She did not have pressured (ph) speech.
SERA CONGI, WCVB REPORTER (voice-over): A tense day in the Lindsay Clancy trial, as her primary psychiatrist took the stand for a second day of testimony. Clancy is accused of killing her three children in their Duxbury home in January of 2023. Her defense claims she suffered from postpartum psychosis and overmedication.
KEVIN REDDINGTON, LINDSAY CLANCY'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: She was scared of the drugs, right? TUFTS: She was afraid to take a medication.
REDDINGTON: She wasn't doctor-shopping and asking you to give her drugs so she could get high. She was asking you for help.
CONGI (voice-over): Dr. Jennifer Tufts treated Clancy for 14 telehealth visits over a four-month period. Clancy's defense pressing Tufts on whether she did enough.
REDDINGTON: What did you do, you get a woman that's telling you that she -- she's hopeless. She doesn't care if she dies. She can't sleep. What did you do to validate on your therapy?
TUFTS: Well, I told her that this was this was something that we could address, that there was hope, that there were treatments.
CONGI (voice-over): But Tufts also testified about never seeing any signs of psychosis.
TUFTS: So there were no serious signs that her safety or that anyone else's safety was at risk.
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SMITH: The jury also heard from two forensic psychiatrists. Last week. They testified that Clancy appeared clearheaded and rational in the days after the killings.
Today, voters are heading to the polls in six states, South Carolina, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Alabama and Vermont. Now, one thing to watch here, more of the battles between establishment Democrats and progressives. That's certainly playing out in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
President Trump is moving to overhaul the childhood vaccine schedule, calling for fewer routine shots and splitting the MMR vaccine into three. But the changes are drawing strong pushback from medical experts.
CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard breaks down what this order means for families.
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TRUMP: That's a big one in my book
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JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER (voice-over): Here's a look at how President Trump's executive order overhauls the childhood vaccine schedule. It takes the childhood immunizations and places them into three distinct categories. In one category. The order does recommend these vaccines for all children the measles, mumps, and rubella, DTaP, polio, Hib, pneumococcal, HPV and chicken pox.
But those are the only ones recommended for all in another category. The order says that these vaccines can be based on shared decision making with your doctor, but they would no longer be broadly recommended. Those include hepatitis A and B, rotavirus meningococcal disease, the flu shot and COVID-19.
And then in a third category, the order recommends vaccines for high risk groups, and that category includes the RSV immunization, among others. Now, another thing the executive order does, it says that the combined MMR vaccine should actually be administered as separate single disease shots.
Now, some experts say they worry that by breaking up that vaccine into separate shots, that can lead to more doctor visits for children, which could confuse or even inconvenience parents.
[05:10:01]
And some children might not complete all vaccinations, which could leave them not fully protected against those diseases
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SMITH: We've got some new developments in the Alex Murdaugh double murder case, just months after a winning new trial -- winning a new trial rather. Murdaugh's attorneys asked a judge Monday to toss the indictments, charging him with the 2021 murders of his wife, Maggie, and his son, Ppaul. The defense argues that a key witness presented perjurious testimony and fabricated evidence. The dismissal request comes just days before a scheduled hearing on his 2027 retrial.
We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, including this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got pulled underwater and I was probably five feet under, and I thought I was caught in a boat prop and I realized it wasn't.
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SMITH: That lifeguard says a shark dragged him under the water. His story is coming up.
And nobody won last night's Powerball. So how much that massive jackpot went up? We've got the figures for you. That's coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:15:40]
SMITH: An unlicensed New York boat captain is out on bond and facing charges connected to a boat capsizing that claimed the lives of a mom and her baby. Federal prosecutors say that Manuel Hernandez was taking passengers on a sightseeing trip when the vessel overturned near the Statue of Liberty Saturday. Investigators are looking into whether Hernandez was running an illegal charter without the required licenses and safety equipment. He's due back in court next month. A powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake has devastated western Colombia,
killing more than 130 people and leaving rescue crews racing to find survivors.
A state of national disaster has been declared by Colombia's new president, who just took office on Friday. This move will help mobilize more resources to the hardest hit areas.
CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has the latest on the disaster.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): It's a scene of complete chaos as travelers in Matecana International Airport in Pereira seek cover and run for their lives as a deadly 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit much of western Colombia on Monday.
It is the strongest quake to hit the country in over a decade, according to the Colombian Geological Survey, and was followed by two aftershocks. The epicenter hit in the northwestern department of Choco, less than 200 miles west of the capital, Bogota.
The area, known as the country's coffee region, was heavily damaged and multiple people were killed. In the city of Manizales, a cathedral tilted after the ground shook for almost a minute. Extensive damage has also been reported in Bogota, where debris from this building plunged to the ground.
An early crisis for the government of President Abelardo de la Espriella, the self-styled Colombian tiger who entered office just on Friday. The new head of state canceling all commitments and calling an emergency cabinet meeting to declare a national disaster.
"Colombia has a president who cares deeply about its people and who will do everything in its power to help them during this most difficult time."
Governments around the world have offered support, including Ecuador, El Salvador and the United States. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates at least 2 million people have been impacted by the tremors. This comes less than two months after a devastating double earthquake hit neighboring Venezuela, with the death toll only destined to rise in the coming hours and days.
Stefano Pozzebon, CNN.
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SMITH: Just an early glimpse of some of the destruction. More reporting to come on that for sure. Thank you, Stefano.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing a UnitedHealthcare CEO, is back in court for his final hearing before his state trial. What his lawyers are hoping for today?
And did Usher use a body double at some of his concerts? He's weighing in on those rumors. That's coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:23:35]
SMITH: In today's weather express, look at these intense flames just devouring the roadside. Just one of over 100 wildfires burning across British Columbia, Canada. Tens of thousands of people forced to flee, including entire towns and several deaths are being blamed on the fires.
If this summer has seemed hotter than normal, you might be onto something.
CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir explains why.
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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMIATE CORRESPONDENT: We know that July is typically the hottest month across most of the United States. But this July, the hottest ever recorded, going back to 1895. NOAA says we were 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average. Three-point- three degrees in a fever can make you really sick, and 3.3 degrees of manmade global warming can bring you wildfires like we're seeing in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. Deadly heat domes that we saw parked over the east of the Fourth of July, the Colorado river crisis, the megadrought has Lake Mead at record lows, over 600 monthly records were set for heat in July, fewer than 50 for cold and on a planet in balance, those two things should even out.
And here's the sobering part -- given the gigatons of fossil fuel pollution still pouring into the sky, this could be the coolest July of the rest of your life.
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[05:25:00]
SMITH: Thank you, Bill.
And on the same day that NOAA announced the hottest July on record, the Trump administration ended federal support for the flagship annual report on how climate pollution is changing the Arctic. That's according to two sources.
Now, NOAA informed some of the reports scientists Monday, but did not give a reason for the immediate suspension of all agency support.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, sneaking off in a catering truck, secretly switching planes. The elaborate ruse to protect President Trump. The details coming up.
Plus, we'll hear from a doctor amid the fallout over the president's executive order to alter the childhood vaccination schedule. That much more coming up. Stay with us.
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