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Wisconsin Officials Warn Voters Against Election Betting; Ex- Officials Call Out Trump's "Cherry-Picked" 2020 Election Doc; Teen Officially Pleads Guilty in Deadly School Shooting; LeBron James to Join the Philadelphia 76ers. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired July 24, 2026 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, New York police are investigating if two stabbings on Thursday in New York were hate crimes. Officials say a 51-year-old man stabbed an Asian man and a Jewish man unprovoked multiple times and allegedly yelled Allahu Akbar, Arabic for God is great. The initial investigation suggests mental health may have been a factor.

The U.S. Justice Department is dropping its effort to subpoena several New York Times reporters. They received subpoenas referencing, quote, "an alleged violation of federal criminal law after reporting about security concerns involving the new Qatari gifted Air Force One jet." But a Department of Justice spokesperson now tells CNN that the investigation is ongoing.

And four more states have been added to the massive outbreak of cyclosporous -- cyclospora, the intestinal illness that's already hit thousands of people, including in those states that are mostly affected Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. Those are additional states. Health Department officials in nine states have reported more than 12,000 cases so far this summer. Most are in Michigan.

And there's new reporting coming into the situation room about the U.S. elections. CNN has learned that Wisconsin's Election Commission put out a news release warning people of an old state law that disqualifies them from voting in races on which they bet on the outcome. This has provoked backlash from prediction market platforms, including calcium.

CNN senior reporter, Marshall Cohen, is following the story for us, doing a lot of reporting on this. Marshall, what's going on here? And what does Kalshi say about all of this?

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Wolf, you do not see this every day, and this war of words between Kalshi and election officials really highlights how the rapid expansion of prediction markets is scrambling the midterms.

So, let me break down for you what happened earlier this week, the Wisconsin Election Commission, as you mentioned, warned voters about a very old state law from the 18 hundreds that prohibits residents who bet on an election from casting a ballot in that same race. The press release, you can see it on your screen, it said, quote, "If you bet on an election, it could cost you your vote." And they said that voters could face post-election challenges to their qualifications and have proven their ballots could be tossed, and offenders might even be prosecuted.

Now, look, the officials did make clear that they aren't going to go out and police these prediction markets. They just wanted voters in their state to be aware of this before anyone goes on social media later and brags about their prediction market winnings.

But all of this hubbub caught the attention of Kalshi, which is the biggest prediction market in the country.

[11:35:00]

Company leaders went on the attack against Wisconsin election officials. Here's what one Kalshi employee posted. Quote, "This is insane," he said. "The commission is implying that they will literally disenfranchise voters. Not only is the commission's statement illegal and dishonest, it's active voter suppression." That's what Kalshi said.

Now, look, it's absurd for them to claim that this was an illegal press release. I don't even know what that means. But the experts I spoke to do agree that there are some real questions about whether this old law is even enforceable. And it's never a good look to possibly throw out someone's vote. But, Wolf, it's clear from Kalshi's red hot reaction that they don't want anyone to stand in the way of this booming business, not even the public servants who run our elections.

And these markets are extremely popular. Kalshi has seen more than $30 million in trading volume so far on markets about who will win the House and Senate this November. And of course, Wolf, one last note, CNN does have a partnership with Kalshi. We use its data to cover major events. But editorial employees like you and me are not allowed to use prediction markets as a policy. Wolf.

BLITZER: Full disclosure as always. Thanks very much. Marshall Cohen reporting. And there's more election news this morning as well. Former intelligence officials familiar with election security efforts in 2020 are now speaking out against President Trump's recent claim that there was a cover-up of China's efforts to harm his re-election prospects that year. Here's how he described it just last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: China engaged in other election related activities to undermine my first administration and our 2020 campaign. They did not want and they just didn't want it. They fought like hell not to have it Donald Trump to win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: These officials are telling CNN there's more to the story and that the Trump administration is cherry-picking. They say the documents declassified last week instead show a mere disagreement over intelligence among experts, the kind of discussion that is not unusual as officials weigh raw information.

CNN cybersecurity reporter Sean Lyngaas broke the story. He's joining me here in the Situation Room.

Sean, you're doing a lot of reporting on this. You've got a lot of papers over there. What are you learning?

SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: I -- well, Wolf, I've been covering election security for about 10 years and I was really curious when the president said he would reveal something, some sort of smoking gun last week. And after covering it live that I took the time to read through all the documents and look for that smoking gun and it's simply not there.

What you see is raw intelligence reports, some squabbling between senior intelligence officials say I think China's doing a little more than we're saying, I think it's doing less. Look, is there room for improvement here? Absolutely. There seems to be a stubbornness in some cases by officials to acknowledge some of China's influence efforts. But it doesn't change the fact that no one, even those arguing that there was more happening there, says that China did anything to interfere in the vote, change votes or anything like that.

And -- but the broader damage here is dumping these documents in the public's lap without any context. Anyone who's hoping to learn from this process and improve intelligence analytics is going to be disappointed probably because the politics are overshadowing things and people are speaking out. They're saying look, this shows that we went above and beyond. We got burned in 2016. We were caught flat- footed, we being the Intelligence Community, by Russia's influence operations. We didn't want to make that same mistake twice, so we uncovered everything. And some of these reports in here frankly are just completely unverified and conspiracy theory a little bit.

One of them is a report about Chinese driver's licenses, China's supposed effort to create these voting opportunities by manufacturing fake driver's license. That never happened. It was something that the FBI ran down but it was never proven.

BLITZER: And a lot of those pages are redacted, fully black, so we don't know what's in those redacted sections of these reports. I understand you also, Sean, have some new reporting on a group of Russian hackers who spent the last year targeting nuclear scientists, defense contractors and government employees in a cyber espionage campaign. Tell us about that.

LYNGAAS: Well, this is the kind of thing that when about a dozen countries, the U.S. and its allies, warn about this you want to pay attention because they've been investigating for a year or more. And the NSA and the FBI would not draw attention to this if it wasn't having at least some success.

So, these are Russian hackers who are using a rare software exploit tool where it doesn't require you to click on anything, you just have to open the email. Usually when a hacker's trying to get in, the user has to, like, OK I'm going to click on that link and it'll steal my password. Here it's just, all you have to do is look at the email and you're hacked. And so, this is trying to get the word out about this threat and I think we'll see more victims come forward, Wolf.

[11:40:00]

BLITZER: Sean Lyngaas, as usual, excellent reporting, keep it up, thank you very, very much. And coming up, fat cat? Pet owners may be spending big bucks soon on GLP-1 drugs for their overweight furry friends. CNN's David Goldman will be back to make it make sense. David.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Wolf, Harley here is on a diet, but if your cat needs a little extra push, there are weight loss drugs now that may be an option. I'll make it make sense after this. What do you think?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:00]

BLITZER: Happening now. The families of the four people killed in a shooting at a Georgia high school are now sharing very emotional testimony on how that September day back in 2024 changed their lives. Here's the wife of a teacher who was killed. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHAYNA ASPINWALL, HUSBAND KILLED IN SHOOTING: There's an empty chair at our table, silence where his voice used to be, and countless moments when I instinctively reach for him only to remember he's gone. Every holiday, birthday, anniversary, and ordinary day is a reminder of what has been stolen from us.

Our family has had to face not only overwhelming emotional pain, but also the practical realities of moving forward without him. The future we plan together no longer exists. The dreams we shared ended the moment his life was taken.

Now, our daughters, who were five and two at the time, must grow up without their father. I ask that Ricky's killer is not given an opportunity for parole. The trauma it would continue to bring me and my daughters, knowing that there is a chance, even a small chance, that he would get out of prison would be continued torture for my family.

We've already been through enough without having more fear in the back of our minds. Once I die, my daughters will then have to suffer through parole hearings alone. I think that everyone would agree that facing it alone is a burden that they should never have to bear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The team gunman, Colt Gray, pleaded guilty in court today to 55 counts. They included charges of felony murder, malice murder, and aggravated assault for each of the victims. He originally pleaded not guilty. Nine other people were injured in the shooting. One survivor shared her experience with the court. She's a minor, so we're not naming or showing her. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was really scared and confused because I saw Colt standing in the doorway with the gun. After I heard the first gunshot, I saw my teacher jump onto the floor, so I did too. And a few seconds later, I had realized I had been shot, and I immediately turned to my friend, Landon, asking him to hold my hand. After the gunshot stopped, my friend came over to me, helping me in any way they could. I remember telling my friends to call my brother to let him know that I had been shot, and I didn't know if I was going to make it. Right after that, I started having trouble staying awake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Gray is expected to be sentenced to life in prison, either with or without parole. Joining us now, the former U.S. Attorney Michael Moore. Michael, thanks very much for joining us. What's your reaction to today's hearing and the decision to change his plea to guilty?

MICHAEL MOORE, PARTNER, MOORE HALL AND FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY: Yes, I'm glad to be with you, Wolf. I'm sorry it's on a day like this when we're talking about children killing children.

I'm not surprised, frankly, that his lawyers chose to do this, as opposed to going through a trial. They saw the trial involving his father. They heard that gripping evidence. They knew what was going to come back before this judge, and this is really a way for them to accept responsibility for the facts of what happened, but still retain the ability to argue on young Mr. Gray's behalf that he is not beyond repair, that he's not so corrupt or incorrigible, that his life is worth nothing.

So, they still get to argue what they wanted to argue about the emotional piece of this case when representing him, and at the same time respect the victims, the fact that they don't want to make them live back through the events again, and then ask the judge to say, look, he's acknowledged, he's accepted responsibility. Please don't put him in jail for the rest of his natural life.

BLITZER: And usually when someone pleads guilty -- correct me if I'm wrong, if someone pleads guilty, they get a reduced sentence. Is that right?

MOORE: Sometimes if they have an arrangement or a deal, a plea deal with the prosecutor, that usually involves some type of bargaining. For instance, I'll plead to charge X if you'll agree to sentence Y. That's not the case here. In fact, the district attorney did not want to have a negotiated plea.

And so, the defendant is left to essentially throw himself on the mercy of the court, having pled guilty to all of the charges. Some of those will technically merge together. You know, some of the murder charges will combine so that there's a murder charge for each victim. But it's not unusual in a case like this to have a non-recommended sentence so that the judge is ultimately the one who will make the decision, as opposed to the parties discussed and are agreeing to something beforehand.

BLITZER: Colt's father, Colin Gray, will be sentenced next Thursday. He's the first parent in the U.S. to be convicted of second-degree murder for a school shooting carried out by their child. Gray was convicted back in March on murder and manslaughter charges. Would today's sentencing impact the outcome of his sentencing?

[11:50:00]

MOORE: I think it could. I mean, I think as much as the judge is required to consider both cases separately, the reality is that he has heard both of the cases, both of the facts of each case. And I think, in fact, depending on what's said about Colt Gray's mental condition, his mental health, we're going to hear from some witnesses, I'm sure, in mitigation or to sort of on his side of the case. I think that's going to bleed over somewhat.

There's no question that, in fact, Mr. Gray, the father, had culpability in providing the gun. But this is one of the reasons that we need common-sense gun law reform as we talk about it, so that we don't have children having access to machine guns. And that's really something that we ought to have a serious discussion about, and not just as we face and deal with the repercussions of a tragedy, of a mass shooting like we saw at the school there. Too many lives of innocent people are impacted.

BLITZER: Yes. Michael Moore, thanks very much for joining us. And we want to pause and remember those four victims, the two students and the two teachers who lost their lives that day. May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: All right. There's breaking news. We now have an answer to one of the biggest questions in sports this summer. Where is LeBron James going next? We now know he will play his record 24th NBA season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

[11:55:00]

The King spent the last eight years with the Los Angeles Lakers where he won a championship. In a post on social media, James said he believes he can help make Philadelphia a, quote, ""championship team and that he's excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time," end quote.

This last part could be a hint that James plans to wrap up his historic career with the 76ers. I'll look forward to those 76ers games against my Washington Wizards that will be coming up. Other news, we're following the vice president, JD Vance, and the second lady, Usha Vance, releasing new images of their family this morning. Those photos include their newest addition, Alec Neel Vance, whose birth was announced on Sunday. Alec joined siblings Ewan Vivek and Mirabel. Vice President J.D. Vance said, quote, "Usha and the baby are happy and healthy and our kids are overjoyed to meet their little brother," end quote. Alec's arrival marks the first time in more than 150 years that a second lady has given birth while in office. Congratulations to them.

And happening now, two U.S. biotech companies are testing GLP-1 treatments for overweight cats. Yes, it's a perfect example of how much people are willing to do for their pets. But all kitten aside, who's writing this, being a pet owner is getting more expensive. CNN senior business reporter, David Goldman, is here to make it make sense, as he always does. I have a feline that you have some paw-some numbers for us, David. Today's question, why is owning a pet getting more and more expensive?

GOLDMAN: I thought you were going to say happening meow, Wolf. I don't know.

BLITZER: Happening meow. Yes.

GOLDMAN: Pet-flation is actually a serious concern. I mean, if you look at how much we're spending on pets every year, it's $200 billion. Now, they're good boys and girls. They deserve it. But there is a lot that's happening here. We're actually going to go up, according to Morgan Stanley, to $240 billion by the end of the decade.

So, what is the cost per dog and cat? Well, this is pretty rough, Wolf. $851 per dog. That beat cats by a whisker to almost $500 per cat. What's driving the cost? Well, it's really expensive to own a pet. I mean, you've got to pay for the food and the grooming and the accessories and the vet, which we will get to.

Just food and treats alone, they were up 24 percent just this decade. And on food, look at this, $65 billion this year alone. That has a lot of zeros. And grooming, well, all of us have to get our dogs looking their best. That costs $149 per pet. So, what about all the accessories like leashes and whatnot? 12.6 percent up over the course of the past seven years.

Now, pet supplies, that costs a lot too. That's $359 per owner. It's a $158 billion industry just for supplies. Now, we do need to take our cats and our dogs to the vet, but we hope that they're healthy. If they're not, man, that's going to be a big cost, 15.3 percent increase just in the past four years alone. That's why so many people decide that they're going to skip the vet altogether. More than half of people said that they don't take their cats or dogs to the vet because they cannot afford it. That's according to Gallup.

So, what about pet obesity? This is a serious issue, including almost two-thirds of all cats are obese, which is why, yes, as you said, there are now folks working on GLP-1s called Meow 1 for your fat cat. So, it's not just a joke, it's actually a serious concern. Feline obesity is one of the most underdiagnosed and important problems in the pet industry.

Wolf, I'm going to leave you with this. We had some fun. We've got some cats here. This is my cat Callie. Jordan Nash, the producer on your show, has some fat cats as well to show. I just wanted to remind you, and let these cats remind you, to get your pets spayed and neutered. Wolf, I hope you have a paw-some weekend.

BLITZER: Happening meow. OK. Good.

GOLDMAN: Happening meow.

BLITZER: Good work. David Goldman, as usual. Thanks very much. And to our viewers, if you need David to make it make sense, email or send us a selfie video of --

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