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The Situation Room

Mother on Trial Accused of Killing Children; Interview With Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL); Wildfires in France and Spain. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired July 27, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

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WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now: The casualty count, which includes soldiers both wounded and killed from the Iran war, eclipses 600 right now, as the Pentagon quietly updated its database.

The Pentagon also restored the four soldiers who were killed due to Iranian strikes this month. The Defense Department says the fluctuating totals were -- quote -- "due to temporary data disruption."

And, in Toronto, police are now investigating incidents at two Jewish- owned bagel shops as possible hate crimes. Two locations were damaged yesterday, with one shop's window damaged by gunfire. Investigators are working to identify those responsible and are working to see if the incidents are connected.

And in New York state, officers rushed to rescue horses trapped by a massive barn fire at a racetrack in Saratoga Springs. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on. Get out! Get out! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Officers and security personnel helped rescue about 10 horses inside a nearby barn; 17 horses died in the fire, but police say quick action helped save others before the flames could reach them.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, happening now: More than 300,000 people have fled their homes, as wildfires rip through Southern France and parts of Spain. And with scorching temperatures and the forecast, there are growing concerns things will only get worse.

So let's go live now to CNN senior international correspondent Melissa Bell, right near Bordeaux in Southern France.

Melissa, are they making any headway in getting these fires under control there?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's now been five nights, Pamela, that they have been battling this monstrous fire that for the time being has just grown in intensity, and also in the way that it's progressed, remarkably erratic, jumping from area to area, pushed by winds and helped and fueled by the very dry vegetation in this part of the world, which has been made dry by all these successive heat waves we had.

This is the command-and-control center from which they're organizing the firefighting effort around this fire, the Gironde Fire. It's already taken 42000 hectares. They have added extra firemen. It is now 2,750 firemen that are being helped by civilians who are out there on their pickup trucks, on their tractors, using jerricans and hoses to try and do what they can to help.

Now, what we just had the chance to watch was one of the water-dumping operations, and you could really see at what is the southeastern edge of this fire as it pushes towards those outer suburbs of Bordeaux, and that's what's causing all of these evacuations, all of these satellite towns having to be evacuated.

And you could see the flames, first of all, the ferocity of the flames as they took over this particularly parched part of the pine forest, really going up very quickly into this very dark smoke, and then the planes coming, several of them one after the other, to dump water on it, even as there were 10 fire trucks just around that one patch of forest.

And what we're talking about is a huge area that is now burning. Authorities say that last night it didn't progress any further, but that it is still not controlled. They still can't say that it's been fixed and that they have gone to the end of it and that they're now going to go about putting it out.

They are still fearing that it will continue to progress. That is the story for here in Gironde, not helped, of course, by the weather conditions, Pamela. It is still windy. The heat has come back. We're expecting this week to move into yet another heat wave, and that is not going to help their efforts.

And it's a similar story across the border in Spain, where there have been 60,000 evacuations as well. Those fires on the outskirts of Madrid have proven particularly difficult for firefighters, three different fronts currently being tackled by them, and then there are those fires in the east of the country that have already caused at least one death.

And it's a picture that we're seeing really throughout Europe this lunchtime. When you look at a map of the continent, it's remarkable how many different countries are dealing with this, not least Italy, where people actually had to be evacuated by water away from the flames on the coast there, Pamela.

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BROWN: All right, Melissa Bell in Southern France, thanks so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And just ahead: demanding more information. I will speak to Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi about his request involving a former Wall Street CEO's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.

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BROWN: Happening now: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is traveling to Washington, D.C., where he says the Iran war will be a key issue on the agenda during his meeting with President Trump.

The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, says the president is giving talks with Iran space after diplomatic efforts ramped up and military strikes stopped in recent days.

[10:40:02]

Sources tell CNN that Vice President Vance and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chair General Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war as President Trump weighed the possibility on Friday at the White House.

Joining us now to discuss is Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois. He serves on the House Intelligence Committee.

Thank you for joining us, Congressman.

So, as someone who has criticized the Trump administration's handling of the war, does it bring you any comfort that there appears to be at least a temporary pause in fighting, in the hopes that diplomatic efforts can progress?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Well, I'm glad that there's a pause. It needs to be a cease-fire.

This is an illegal and unconstitutional war, and there's no military resolution to the current situation. It has to be ended at the bargaining table. It has to be done in a serious way. It can't be done in a way that leads to some kind of flimsy cease-fire agreement, the likes of which we saw a few weeks ago.

It has to be done carefully with people other than Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff at the table, but we should have professional negotiators. And we need to just end the hostilities now.

BROWN: How would you like to see it end? What framework would work for you?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think three things. One, first, we have to end these mutual blockades, because those blockades essentially are hurting the American people.

You don't have to go further than the gas pump to see that, but it's causing more pain to us than the American people will tolerate at this point. Secondly, it has to be something where our friends, partners, and allies are at the negotiating table to jointly put pressure on the Iranians with regard to their nuclear program.

We cannot go it alone, and Trump cannot exacerbate the situation with his random tweets and other outbursts, which just complicate the situation. And then, third and finally, we have to remove leverage from the Iranians with regard to the current situation, and that leverage is their choke hold on our energy supplies.

We have to wean ourselves off this fossil fuel reliance and dependency that we have. And, right now, the Trump administration is doing the opposite, axing hundreds of projects that the DOE is otherwise funding with regard to renewable energy sources and E.V. technology that would be crucial for removing the ability for the Iranians to put a thumb on -- thumb on us and basically exert coercion against us.

BROWN: But let me just ask you this. If this ended, this war ended, the Strait of Hormuz opened up, but Iran still had its enriched radium, would you be comfortable with that?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: No, I think that we have to -- at this point, again, we have to bring our friends, partners, and allies, and others, including China, to the table to make sure that the Iranians are not able to develop a nuclear weapon.

I think, at this point, we probably accelerated that process, because I think the Iranians now have a new leader who is even more militant than the previous one. And they have more incentive to get to a nuclear weapon sooner than they did before because they know that a nuclear weapon could provide them with some kind of shield, the way that Kim Jong-un has in North Korea.

BROWN: Let me move on to another issue here in the United States. And, of course, the Iran war is part of this as we look ahead to the midterm elections. It's now less than 100 days away.

You will be leaving Congress at the end of this term, but do you have confidence at this point that Democrats are positioned to win back control of the House, despite some of the recent party divisions over issues in this war, like military aid for Israel?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Yes, I think that Hakeem Jeffries is going to be the next speaker of the House, for at least two reasons.

One, as we talked about before, I think the Iran war contributes to the sense of Americans that there's chaos in our government right now. And chaos -- that chaos is now related to their own personal lives. And, again, you don't have to go further than the gas pump to see that.

And it's -- and then, secondly, I think that they see that Democrats are more focused on their biggest concerns, which have to do with affordability, whether it's with regard to health care, which I'm hearing a lot about right now, even as the Trump administration is slashing Medicaid benefits and Obamacare subsidies.

They're worried about their ability to retain and get jobs in the future, especially with the advent of A.I. They're worried about the cost of education skyrocketing as well. I guess the third and final point I would just make is that they're worried about the corruption which is engulfing this administration.

And that corruption along with the vanity projects, further is kind of related to their underlying concern that the Trump administration is focused on enriching Trump and his family, rather than helping with Americans' general prosperity.

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BROWN: But yet, when you look at the polls when it comes to the economy and even the Iran war, the American people, the majority, a large majority, don't have more confidence necessarily in the Democrats to handle those issues, despite the fact that the Iran war is unpopular, despite the fact that prices have not gone down in the way that President Trump had promised.

Why do you think that is? Why don't Americans have more confidence in the Democrats' ability to handle those issues?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think they definitely don't have confidence in the present, but you're correct that the Democrats have to do more to make the case that they will be better off with Democrats in charge of the House and the Senate.

I think we have to do at least two things there. One, we have to, for instance, talk about how the government should not do any more harm to Americans as they're grappling with the uncertainty in the economy. So that means we have to prevent the cuts with regard to Obamacare subsidies or Medicaid or, for that matter, food stamps.

Right now, we're seeing tremendous food insecurity is going to be exacerbated. Secondly, we should be talking about, how do we tackle affordability on a more systemic basis by allowing for more competition, especially with small businesses? It shouldn't be that one or two large companies dominate certain industries, whether it's food or whether it's big tech, or whether it is with regard to other kind of staple -- staples of American life.

And so I think that we have to be the ones talking about those issues.

BROWN: Well, so you lay that out, what you think you should be talking about, but we have also seen several candidates backed by the Democratic Socialists of America topple incumbent Democrats in primaries talking about different issues and what they would do.

I want to play part of an interview yesterday in which a DSA leader was asked to confirm aspects of the group's platform. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Abolish the Senate.

MEGAN ROMER, CO-CHAIR, DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA: True.

QUESTION: OK. Replace the presidency and Supreme Court as we now know them.

ROMER: Yes.

QUESTION: Abolish ICE.

ROMER: Absolutely.

QUESTION: Abolish borders and give amnesty to anyone currently in the U.S. illegally.

ROMER: As a long-term plan, yes.

QUESTION: Defund the Pentagon.

ROMER: Absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Are those positions a Democratic Party should accept, in your view?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: No, and I think the vast majority of Democrats do not.

But, of course, we're a big tent party where people have different viewpoints. I think that the mainstream viewpoints are ones of making sure that everyone has a chance to get on the up escalator of the economy, and secondly, that everyone has a chance, regardless of who you are, where you come from, or the number of letters in your name.

They're 29 in mine. And so I think those are kind of the big tent kind of priorities of the Democratic Party. And compared to what Trump is doing right now, I think a lot of people are taking a look. We have to make -- we have to obviously close the deal.

BROWN: Are you alarmed at all by any of those viewpoints?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: I disagree strongly with some of them.

But, at the same time, I know that the common denominator of Democrats and the principle that I just talked about, upward mobility, economic mobility for Americans, and making sure that nobody is hated on and that everyone has a chance, I think those are very strong parts of the -- I guess the equation that holds us all together.

BROWN: All right, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, thank you so much for your time.

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Thank you so much.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And happening now: Opening statements are now under way for a woman accused of killing her three young children.

CNN's Jean Casarez is following the case. JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The defense is currently in the

middle of their opening statement, saying that Lindsay Clancy became -- postpartum depression after her third child that went into a bipolar disorder. She loved her children. She did not murder them.

The prosecution just finished their opening statement, saying this was premeditated murder. She intentionally chose to kill her three children.

We will be right back.

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BLITZER: Happening now: Opening statements are under way in a trial that has shocked the nation. The triple murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. She's the 35-year-old mother accused of strangling her three young children to death back in 2023 before jumping from a second- story window in an attempt to take her own life.

Clancy's attorneys say she was entirely detached from reality, suffering from extreme postpartum psychosis, and shouldn't be held criminally responsible. Prosecutors say she knew exactly what she was doing.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Jean Casarez.

Jean, this is an incredibly heavy, awful case that will put the insanity defense to the ultimate test.

CASAREZ: Absolutely.

And the prosecution began just minutes ago with their opening statements talking about how, on that day on January 24, it was a very normal day, that Lindsay Clancy had taken one of her children to the doctor that day, had come home, was just working at home with the children.

It had snowed the day before, but then, in the afternoon, she called a restaurant, a restaurant that the family didn't -- never really went to before regularly, called for takeout, and then called the CVS to make sure they had children's laxative.

She asked her husband, Patrick Clancy, can you go to the takeout, get the dinner, go to CVS? She, according to the prosecution's opening, calculated exactly how long it would take him to get there, how long for him to get back.

[10:55:13]

And that's when the prosecution said she took those children down into the basement and she began to kill them.

BLITZER: Jean Casarez, with that update, thank you very, very much -- Pamela. BROWN: Wow, that is unbelievably disturbing.

And here's what's coming up all new at the top of the hour. We're going to speak to a witness to the deadly shooting at a Seattle food festival as investigators search for a possible second suspect.

Plus: hundreds of students unenrolled from a prestigious HBCU. The reasoning from Howard University and what students are saying as they are left scrambling.

And decoding A.I., how artificial intelligence is going wearable. That's all new next hour.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get that plaque that says 100K.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shooting. Shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shooting? Oh (EXPLETIVE DELETED). (EXPLETIVE DELETED) right here. Get down, get down, get down, get down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Breaking news: food festival nightmare. People run for their lives after deadly gunfire rings out near Seattle's iconic Space Needle. We're going to talk with a man who witnessed it all.

BLITZER: And war warning: the vice president and the nation's highest ranking military officer reportedly raising deep concerns about the war with Iran.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin this hour with the breaking news: a deadly mass shooting in Seattle and a manhunt under way right now. Authorities say three people are dead, several others injured, including a toddler.

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