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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Rare Access Aboard U.S. Warships Near Iran; Dozens Rescued After Catastrophic Flooding In Missouri; More People Evacuating Amid Fears Of Strong Wind Gusts; Attorney - Shooting In Witnesses Say I.C.E. Statement Is False; Doubts Raised About Disappearance And Death Of Teen; U.K. Police Arrest Suspect In Death Of Former Govt. Minister; Millions Of Dollars Bet On Outcomes On And Off The Pitch; Passenger Sucked Out - To His Shoulders - After Window Breaks; Trump Admin. Opens Endangered Species' Habitats To Development; Trump Admin Rolls Back Regulations On - Forever Chemicals; Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 11, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

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ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: Pitbull fans took over London's Hyde Park to break the Guinness World Record for largest gathering of people wearing bald caps. The official count came during his headline performance at the BST Hyde Park Music Festival, 22,141 bald heads. Pitbuller, Mr. Worldwide, as he's known celebrated the record in his signature style.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Record breaking and record making.

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MICHAELSON: Mr. 305. Thanks for watching the first hour of "The Story Is." The next hour starts right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Los Angeles. "The Story Is" with Elex Michaelson.

MICHAELSON: Coming up this hour, "The Story Is" war with Iran. Washington and Tehran exchange accusations of violating their agreement.

"The Story Is" Nolan Wells, a black teenager's death is sparking an independent investigation while his family doesn't believe it was an accident.

And "The Story Is" sucked out of a plane. An FAA safety expert live to answer how that happened on a Ryanair flight.

I'm Elex Michaelson live in Los Angeles. The top story is the ceasefire is over, but talks still on. Diplomatic efforts are underway behind the scenes to keep negotiations between the U.S. and Iran alive, but accusations from both sides may be hurting progress. Iran's Foreign Minister is meeting with his Omani counterpart in the coming hours. On social media, he accused the U.S. of violating the memorandum of understanding regarding Iran's nuclear program. "Iran has so far kept its word unlike so called U.S. Treasury Secretary who is violating Paragraph 9 of the MOU." After the meeting, U.S. officials expect that Iran will declare the Strait of Hormuz open and confirm commercial vessels will not be attacked.

Source tells CNN that the strait start of nuclear talks depends on safe passage in that strait. Officials also said that any final deal must see Iran turn over its enriched uranium to the U.S. All this comes as an exclusive CNN analysis of satellite imagery suggests that Iran may be attempting to rebuild its nuclear facilities.

CNN also with rare and exclusive access aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier, and the Navy's destroyer that is protecting it. That destroyer is the closest U.S. ship to Iran as it sails the Arabian Sea. CNN's Pamela Brown shares a firsthand look at the mission of these warships. She also spoke with the commanding officer responding responsible for the safety of 20,000 people both on deck and below. And even in the skies above the disputed Strait of Hormuz, here's her extraordinary report.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR/CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): One fighter jet after another takes off from the USS Abraham Lincoln, overnight missions amid rising tensions with Iran. We're in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, aboard a ship President Trump says has been attacked more than 100 times since the conflict began.

BROWN: And they've tried with missiles and with drones?

CAPT. DANIEL KEELER, COMMANDING OFFICER, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: Yep. Everything they've thrown at us hasn't really gotten near us at all.

BROWN (voice-over): Earlier, we watched as missiles were prepped and loaded onto these fighter jets. The mission, as real as it gets.

BROWN: I want to show you these symbols right here. These are drones right here that this fighter jet has taken out during this conflict that started five and a half months ago. These are missiles that have been taken out just by this fighter jet alone.

BROWN (voice-over): With the Lincoln under constant threat of attack, it's guarded by navy destroyers for protection. On a chopper headed to the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. destroyer high above the Gulf of Oman, we get our first look at vessels headed toward the Strait of Hormuz.

BROWN: See, we've are seeing five vessels so far. We are seeing maritime traffic. In fact, right here if you turn around you can see, there's a ship right there passing by. That's about the sixth ship we've seen.

BROWN (voice-over): The traffic is lower now as tensions rise again in the gulf. Officially, the navy reports 20 vessels around the strait as we head to our destination. The warship, they say, is at the tip of the spear.

BROWN: We are the closest navy ship to Iran right now.

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CAPT. CASEY MAHON, COMMANDING OFFICER, USS FRANK E. PETERSEN JR.: Correct. You're right on the -- what we call the picket line, the firing line right now. So if Iran were to attack, the U.S. naval forces, we'd be the first ones they'd be attacking. But don't worry. Our radars are working. Our guns work. You have a lot of well-trained folks down below.

BROWN (voice-over): Threats are part of life out here.

MAHON: If you don't obey my order, you will be targeted.

BROWN (voice-over): Like when captain Mahon led this ship through the Strait of Hormuz in April. Radio transmissions between the U.S. and Iran were released by Iran state media. Mahon confirmed to CNN an exchange did happen.

MAHON: I'm ready to open fire on them without any warning.

BROWN: And so the Iranians were threatening.

MAHON: Correct. Yeah. They, they told us, hey, you have to turn around within 30 minutes. I'll open fire on you. We kept going, obviously. Had to go through what was potentially a minefield to get there, which was not something I had in my bingo card for things I would do in my life, go through my field.

BROWN (voice-over): The firepower aboard this ship is everywhere.

MAHON: We have this as our last ditch defense. Captain Mahon calls the shots from a command center several decks below.

BROWN: Just with Iran being to the north, they're always on the lookout for all kinds of threats. Have you had any close calls?

MAHON: My flight really starts at the Iranian coastline and comes all the way back. I don't wait for it to come to me. Go out and I try to meet threat.

BROWN (voice-over): Back on the Abraham Lincoln, it can be tough to keep spirits high for the nearly 5,000 people here. Because of its limited port visits, the navy considers this deployment among the longest consecutive days at sea for any aircraft carrier.

RANDALL STONE, WORKS IN HANGAR BAY: I mean, I haven't stepped off the ship in to the year 2026.

BROWN (voice-over): Most have been here more than six months under threat and missing their families.

BROWN: What kind of toll does that take on you personally?

LT. CMDR. JOE CAPSTAFF, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: It's tough. I said, I had my first kid born in February. So very excited to get home, meet her.

BROWN: You've never met your daughter?

CAPSTAFF: Nope.

BROWN: She was born right around when this conflict started.

CAPSTAFF: She was born February 6th, so I was able to get on FaceTime, watch the birth, talk to my wife before everything went down so.

BROWN: And you don't know when you'll be able to do that?

CAPSTAFF: We'll see. I mean, hopefully, home soon, but, unfortunately, it's a common story on the ship, I think. getting the navy, this is what you kind of sign up for.

BROWN (voice-over): Pamela Brown, CNN, USS Abraham Lincoln.

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MICHAELSON: Some amazing reporting all week by Pamela and her team. Great job to them.

Dozens of people have been rescued from catastrophic flooding in southeastern Missouri. Check out these pictures. Emergency crews have conducted around 90 water rescues so far. In 1 county, a building collapsed due to the flooding causing rescue teams to search for 10 to 17 people who may have entered the water. More rain is in the forecast from Missouri to Pennsylvania as slow moving thunderstorms enter that region, raising the flood risk in the days ahead.

Joining me now on the phone from Missouri is Amanda Baronek. Her family members are caught in that flooding. Amanda, thanks for being with us. What do in terms of how your family is doing at this hour?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So right now, they're doing OK. They're hanging in there. We lost contact for a few hours. They've been running off of a generator that lost power at about 3 o'clock. So they were able to go through a wooded area to be able to get some service to contact us. My uncle has been trying to get to them throughout the day, but the brush is just too heavy and too thick, and there's water coming from every direction.

So she hasn't been successful in doing that yet. And so for right now, they're just at the highest ground that they can possibly get to, and we're praying that the overnight rainfall can keep the water low enough to not reach where they are.

MICHAELSON: And are they among the many people that are trapped at this camp? Can you talk about what you've heard in terms of the conditions there?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I did have family members that were at Camp Taum Sauk. I had two cousins there. And thankfully, they were able to be rescued. So they brought in Blackhawks to be able to rescue all of the campers and took them to a local school. And so I know that every camper got out and not due to the success that Nick, the owner of the camp and all of his team and the black hawks were able to accomplish today.

MICHAELSON: That is definitely good news. When you see these dramatic images of flooding, what goes through your mind?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's devastating. It's -- my family has been there for 40 years. I remember, I was at home for 40 years. He ran a successful camping business for 30 years, and it's just devastating to see everything lost.

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MICHAELSON: When you are able to communicate with them, what is your message for them and what's their message for you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just asking for prayers. That's all that we can do right now. unfortunately, no one can get to them and they can't get anywhere else. And that's what we're asking for now. I know that, hopefully, tomorrow, the river can subside a little bit for them to get out to maybe the main part of town. And at that point, they will need, food, water, dry clothes. They don't have food currently. They do have enough water to last throughout the night. And so we're -- we are just hoping and praying that tomorrow someone can really get to them.

MICHAELSON: We are as well. Please send them our best when you're able to talk with them, and hopefully there's good news tomorrow. But, this is going to be a tough night, and we appreciate you, keeping us updated. Amanda, thanks so much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: More weather news here. Typhoon Bavi is moving west towards China and is forecast to hit an eastern Chinese city of 10 million people early on Sunday. The storm pummeled Japan's southern Sakeshima island chain with heavy rain and violent winds earlier. Bavi then brought blustery wind and rain to northern Taiwan. It is not expected to make landfall on Taiwan as it gradually weakens, but as a precaution, more than 14,000 people were evacuated in mostly mountain areas and hundreds of international and domestic flights have been canceled.

More people are evacuated from their homes as Spain fights its deadliest wildfire in more than 20 years. Residents in a village in the Andalusia region left Friday night as flames were closing in. Officials say the fire has killed at least 12 people while 23 others are missing. But there are concern that strong wind gusts could spread the blaze, which has scorched an estimated 30 square kilometers. Europe is baking under a record breaking heat wave, which also led to wildfires in France and Portugal.

There are conflicting new accounts of Tuesday's deadly I.C.E. shooting of a Mexican national in Texas. Three men who were riding in the victim's work van say the government's description of events is false. CNN's Carolina Peguero is in Houston and a warning her report contains disturbing images.

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CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The community of Magnolia Park here in Houston are still gathering, honoring Lorenzo Salgado after the incident took place where I.C.E. agents shot and killed Salgado on Tuesday. Lots of information coming out of Houston, but there's still unanswered questions. We were informed today by state representatives and Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia who spoke to acting I.C.E. Director in Harris County that the I.C.E. agents who were involved in the shooting have been removed from the City of Houston, but unsure yet if they are still conducting their duties in the state of Texas while the family of Salgado as well as state officials in the district attorney's office are asking for an independent investigation and more details on the moments leading up to the shooting.

The lawyer of two of the three men that were in the van with Lorenzo, including his brother, also told CNN he spoke with them and they gave written statements on what they witnessed before being detained. The lawyer is looking for their clients to be released and receive a fair process. He says he fears of them, however, being pressured to sign voluntary departure documents. And the DHS, on the other hand, has released several statements accepting that Salgado was not the intended target and that I.C.E. agents did not have body cameras on them during the incident, but they do deny allegations of pressuring any of detainees to sign voluntary departure documents as well as erasing surveillance videos in the area.

Now the Mexican government, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has also taken legal action and has formally filed complaints with the U.S. government prosecutor's office on the death of Salgado as well as other Mexican nationals that have died in the hands of I.C.E. agents and under the Trump administration. Carolina Peguero, CNN, Houston.

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MICHAELSON: Questions are growing over how a black Mississippi teen died after he went on a boating trip with a group of friends who are all white. Just ahead, Nolan Wells' family pleads for answers about his death.

And a story that will make you think twice about choosing the window seat, the terrifying incident aboard this Boeing 737. Still to come.

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BEN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR NOLAN WELLS' FAMILY: Nolan was a college football player. He was a superb athlete in tip top shape. He could swim. And so his family is not behind this accidental drowning, that is being suggested because they're saying, hello. All those people out there, and nobody saw him. Nobody tried to help him. It just doesn't add up.

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MICHAELSON: That was Ben Crump, attorney for Nolan Wells' family, speaking earlier with CNN about the circumstances surrounding the death of the Mississippi teen. Wells' family say they do not believe law enforcement's statement that he died from an accidental drowning during a boat trip to an island about 10 miles from the Mississippi coast on July 4th.

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Several groups had joined the search for Wells' after he was reported missing by his family, including the United Cajun Navy, a non-profit search and rescue group. Officials say the 18-year-old's body was found near the shoreline, and they say that no foul play was suspected.

We got the latest on all this from CNN's Randi Kaye.

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CHRISTINE WONSLEY, NOLAN WELLS' MOTHER: We just want to know. We just want to know what happened and why our baby didn't come home.

RANDI KAYE, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is one of the last pictures Christine Wonsley has of her 18-year-old son. Nolan Wells' went boating with high school friends on July 4th at Horn Island off Mississippi's Gulf Coast and never returned home.

WONSLEY: We're going to miss him dearly.

KAYE (voice-over): Wells' friends returned from the island that same day without him. His family reported him missing that night and confirms that at some point, a friend of his called the coast guard for help. The Jackson County Sheriff's Department launched a search. On July 5th, his mother posted this desperate plea on Facebook.

The next morning around 8:40 a.m., Wells' body was recovered by a National Park Services agent according to the Jackson County coroner. The coroner also told CNN his body was face down at the shoreline, and the swimsuit matched what he was wearing in the photograph.

BEN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR NOLAN WELLS' FAMILY: When you start talking about drowning, I mean, this is a kid who knew how to swim. This is a kid who was in tip top shape.

KAYE (voice-over): State autopsy results are pending. His parents have flown his body to Washington D.C. for an independent autopsy. Their son's disappearance and death now the subject of speculation and racial tension.

CRUMP: The family has distrust of the Mississippi law enforcement officials, giving them a fair investigation where their black son ended up dead after going out on a boat with three young white men.

KAYE (voice-over): There also seems to be conflicting stories about why Wells' separated from his friends.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We always told him to, if you go with a group, you stay with a group, and do not separate from the group. God says safety is in numbers.

CRUMP: A young woman he was talking to says that, well, Nolan said he was going back to get on the boat with the boys. The boys say Nolan told them he was going to stay and talk to the young woman.

KAYE (voice-over): There were no immediate signs of foul play or trauma on the body, the coroner told CNN. For the family, things just don't add up, like what they saw or didn't see on their son's phone.

WONSLEY: There were no saved pictures. There were no snaps from that day. That's why we feel that things may have been deleted was because the fact that there was nothing in either one of his accounts.

KAYE (voice-over): The phone itself was retrieved from his friends raising more questions.

CRUMP: We're talking about a 18-year-old kid. What teenager would leave their phone behind if they're going to stay on this island?

KAYE (voice-over): Authorities are investigating a video of an alleged altercation involving Wells' on which attorney Ben Crump says you can hear him arguing about his phone.

CRUMP: You hear on the video Nolan saying, give me my freaking phone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know the origins of that video, at this point, but, yes, we are looking into it. That's been brought to our attention.

KAYE: The coroner told CNN that the autopsy has been completed, but they are still trying to determine the cause of death because they are waiting for a toxicology report. We understand that final report could take weeks. In the meantime, the investigation continues. Both the family and investigators are asking anyone who was at Horn Island that day who might have witnessed an altercation involving Wells' or saw him struggling in the water to share what they know. The Jackson County sheriff said investigators are working to establish the facts through eyewitness accounts, physical evidence, and other reliable information. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

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MICHAELSON: Thank you, Randi. British police have arrested a suspect in the death of Ann Widdecombe, a 78-year-old former government minister. Widdecombe served as a conservative member of parliament from 1987 until 2010. Her body was discovered at her home on Thursday. A 26-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of murder. Police say there's no indication her death was terror related or politically motivated. They say Widdecombe had suffered serious injuries. After the break, we lighten things up. We'll bring you to the latest World Cup match results. And when you look at this, is Ronaldo crying or not? CNN Producer Jon Sarlin joins us next to answer why $80 million are on the line on whether there's an actual tear there.

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MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

Diplomatic efforts are underway behind the scenes to keep negotiations between the U.S. and Iran alive. Iran's Foreign Minister is due to meet with his Omani counterpart in the coming hours. Afterwards, U.S. officials expect that Iran will declare the Strait of Hormuz open and confirm that commercial vessels will not be attacked.

The U.S. defense department has released a fourth round of images it says are linked to unidentified anomalous phenomenon also known as UFOs.

[01:30:00]

U.S. officials say this video was recorded over the East China Sea last year. President Trump says additional files will continue to be released on a rolling basis.

Typhoon Bavi slammed Japan's southern islands with heavy rain and violent winds as it headed towards Taiwan. Thousands of people have been evacuated in mountain areas in Taiwan, and hundreds of flights have been canceled because of the storm. But it is not expected to make landfall directly on the island as it moves west towards China.

In just a matter of hours, the final to World Cup Quarter Final matches kick off. Norway is chasing its first ever semi-final appearance against England, that match in Miami. Defending champions Argentina will take on Switzerland in Kansas City.

Those fans in Madrid erupting in celebration Friday as Spain beat Belgium 2-1 for a spot in the World Cup Semifinals. Spain took the lead in a tight first half before Belgium became the first team to score against the reigning European champions in this World Cup. But after Belgium's goalkeeper was injured, Spain capitalized on a mistake by his replacement, pouncing on the rebound to book a spot into the next round. Spain faces France in a clash of the titans next, as they say bring it on.

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LAMINE YAMAL, FORWARD, SPAIN NATIONAL TEAM (translated): I'm happy, especially because we're in the semifinals. That's all that matters. I'm starting to feel much coming back from the injury. With every week that passes, I'm feeling better, and I'm happy. I think ever since the World Cup started, everyone's been waiting for this match. I've been really looking forward to it. For me, we're the two best teams in the World Cup, but we're not afraid of them. I think if anyone can take on France with confidence, it's us.

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MICHAELSON: For many, this World Cup feels different from those of the past. There's a coalition of American nations hosting. There are added hydration breaks. There's the glitzy halftime shows. And there's been a huge boom in prediction market betting. Millions of dollars are on the line, and fans are wagering on far more than who might win or lose.

For more, I want to bring in Jon Sarlin. He's a Digital Producer here at CNN. Jon, welcome back to "The Story Is." There's this amazing story you just posted about on CNN.com about Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the biggest stars in the world, 675 million Instagram followers, and tears. Walk us through it.

JON SARLIN, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER: That's right. So this is a huge betting market on Polymarket, the prediction market. We're talking tens of millions of dollars. Not betting on if Ronaldo was going to score three goals or if Portugal was going to win World Cup.

MICHAELSON: Well, some probably are doing that.

SARLIN: Well, yes, they are doing that. This specific market was about whether Cristiano Ronaldo would cry during the World Cup, right? So, that sounds maybe somewhat straightforward, but tens of millions of dollars were put into this market, which had to define its terms. What is a cry? Well, according to the bet, it's not just the appearance of crying. You would have to visibly shed tears that were photographed or videoed. People would have to see that for Ronaldo.

On Monday, Portugal lost to Spain 1-0. And what could have been Ronaldo's final World Cup match, he got very emotional.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

SARLIN: Photos came out, and the question was, did he cry?

MICHAELSON: Yeah. So we look at this, right, and maybe we can make that picture big. And he clearly is emotional, but is that a teardrop? Is that close enough? So then the question is, I mean, he's not, like bawling. But he, like he clearly looks like he's crying. But, there's a lot of money on the line. So what did Polymarket say?

SARLIN: A lot of money is exactly right. You see this scrunched up face. Once these photos came out online, people with lots of money started to scrutinize them. They would put arrows, zoom in close, go frame-by-frame saying, no. He didn't cry or, yes, he did cry. Some people said it was sweat. Some people said it was skin. So the way these controversial markets get adjudicated is that Polymarket comes out and makes a determination. So they did. They looked at this. They spent a few days, and they decided it was a cry.

MICHAELSON: He cried.

SARLIN: They did say it was a cry. They said that there was visible evidence, that he visibly shed tears, that was clearly observed on his face. However, what's interesting, though, is Polymarket did not show what that specific photo or video evidence is. We asked them for it, and they didn't give it to us.

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MICHAELSON: So it may be some of those pictures we just looked at, but we don't know if that's what they did. So and then there's all sorts of crazy other bets that are going to be coming in the days ahead as well, we expect.

SARLIN: Yes. That's exactly right. I mean, when you think about Polymarket, it's not a traditional sports book, and they have these crazy wild edge market bets that is kind of a wild west when it comes to regulation, caveat importer, buyer beware.

MICHAELSON: Well, and wait till we get to the halftime show where you got Madonna and BTS and everybody else, all the weird bets that are going to be coming along with that as well. OK. So we talked about Ronaldo who's got the 675 million Instagram followers. Although the person who seems to be getting the most attention in social media this World Cup is Erling Haaland who is this Viking from Norway who's playing tomorrow. The AP with this headline, why is the Internet obsessed with Erling Haaland? You're the digital guy. Why?

SARLIN: I mean, first of all, the numbers don't lie. In the last 30 days, he's gotten 20 million Instagram followers, 8.7 TikTok followers. I can tell you right now, I am not really a soccer fan, but I am now very aware of Erling Haaland. He's on my feed, you know what I mean. So, I think this World Cup is broken through online in a way it hasn't in the past. And what really breaks through are superstars, our stars, and there's no bigger star than Haaland this world cup.

MICHAELSON: Well, and he's such a visual person. So if you're watching him on silent, it's sort of just stunning to see somebody that looks like that, first off. Secondly, if you listen to him, he's very funny, very self-deprecating, and knows the online culture and knows how to play into this, and his body is very meme worthy too. So you see all these videos out there as well. So that's been fun to watch the way he's become this big star. It's also been fun to watch how America has been a big star for a lot of people who have been tourists from around the world who are discovering America. This from the BBC, the U.S. that World Cup fans didn't expect to love. And there's been a real cultural exchange, a lot of it happening online as well.

SARLIN: Yeah. It's been kind of this beautiful unexpected thing. As you said, Americans have gotten really invested in this World Cup in a way that maybe we haven't seen in years prior. But in -- on the flip side of that, we see the rest of the world interested in America in a very different way by virtue of them coming to the World Cup and experiencing the things that maybe we take for granted, like, Buc-ee's and Waffle House. Free refills has been one that really caught the eye of people from Europe.

MICHAELSON: Well, I can imagine what they think of the portion sizes. The amount of saturated fat in some of those meals might also be quite a thing if you're going to Waffle House and having that experience, but it's been fun to watch. It's been fun to watch the place. Even like Erling Haaland, he seemed to love Dallas and going shopping for cowboy boots. He looked great at cowboy hats. He looked great at the boots. A whole thing. So the cultural exchange has been fun and a reminder that it's not necessarily about the leaders, but it's about the people. And when the people actually can talk to each other, a lot of good things can happen.

Jon, great work. People can check out your work on CNN.com or on the CNN social channels right now as well, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, all the rest of them. Jon, have a great weekend.

Coming up, the U.S. has released a fourth round of images it says are related to what some might call UFOs. We'll have more on that. We'll share three video clips of these unidentified flying phenomenon, and you can make a decision for yourself.

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[01:40:00]

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MICHAELSON: The U.S. defense department has released a fourth round of what it calls files on unidentified anomalous phenomenon informally known as UFOs or UAPs. President Trump announced the release on social media. The Defense Secretary, Pete Hegseth, said that the materials are unresolved cases, meaning that the government is unable to determine the nature of the observed phenomenon.

This is part of 32 seconds of videos from 2020. The Pentagon says it was seen over the Atlantic Ocean. This one is from a report submitted by the United States Indio Pacific Command. It is 18 seconds of video from an infrared sensor aboard a U.S. military platform last month. And the Pentagon says this video was recorded over the Yellow Sea in 2025. President Trump said additional files will be released on a rolling basis.

Now this remarkable story, an airline passenger is recovering from shock and other injuries after the window next to his seat on a flight from Greece broke midair, and he was sucked out of the plane to his shoulders. Authorities are now investigating that incident as is CNN's Pete Muntean.

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PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: A terrifying incident, but not the first time something like this has happened aboard a Boeing 737. In this case, a passenger seated in a window seat was suddenly pulled partway out of the airplane when a window failed in flight exposing him to the 400 mile per hour air rushing by outside. Thankfully, fellow passengers were able to pull him back inside. Greek media reports the man suffered neck injuries and friction burns.

A new video, also from Greek media, shows the inside of the passenger cabin with the window completely missing. The oxygen mask dangling overhead after this rapid decompression of the passenger cabin. One more silver lining. This happened while the jet was climbing through about 16,000 feet according to flight tracking data, not at its cruising altitude of around 35,000 feet. That means the air was still marginally breathable, and the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the airplane was much lower than it would have been at cruise altitude that likely made the decompression of the passenger cabin much less violent than it could have been.

Now comes to the investigation. And one of the biggest questions is why this window failed in the first place. Greek media reports it may have been struck by debris from one of the airplane's engines, but investigators have not confirmed that just yet if engine debris was involved.

[01:45:00]

Investigators will be able to determine that relatively quickly by examining the damage to both the engine and the window. Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

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MICHAELSON: Joining me now live is CNN Safety Analyst David Soucie, a former Safety Inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration. Welcome to the show. So we don't know what caused this, but you know as much about this kind of stuff as anybody. When you look at that, what do you think it is? What are the possible causes?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN SAFETY ANALYST: Well, there -- as Pete had mentioned too, there was a previous incident in 2018 just happened to be the same model exactly as this one, the 737NG. So it's a model 700, and it had the same CFM engines in it that are manufactured by Safran and GE. So those two engines the last one that we investigated was the Southwest Airlines in '19 or -- excuse me, in 2018.

MICHAELSON: 2018.

SOUCIE: And so that what happened with that is a piece of the shrapnel from the engine when it had an issue with the engine, the blade came off, went over hit the windows, fractured the window, and caused it to decompress. Now in that situation, it wasn't at full altitude. It wasn't just at 16,000 feet, so that one was not survivable for the passenger, but in this case, it was.

Another thing too is that this passenger had his seat belt on. We always talk about having your seat belt on if it's a turbulent air or something else going on. We don't think about that. The seat belt was critical in this situation than a catastrophic failure of this sort.

MICHAELSON: So, I mean, obviously, wear your seat belt is one of the lessons from this. When I've been on a plane, I've never thought, OK, what do I do if the window opens? But now I'm thinking that. I'm sure other people are thinking that as well. Like, look, what should you do in in this sort of situation if you're in that guy situation, if you're sitting nearby? What do you do? SOUCIE: Well, unfortunately, if you're in that situation where you're right next to the window and that happens, you're not going to have a lot of options. It's going the pressures that are pushing the air outward in the aircraft when that window opens is pushing everything out. People always say they're sucked outside, but it's actually the opposite. It's the inside pressures that are pushing people out of the window. So that's what happens there.

But the -- it was really heads up for the other passengers to try to bring him back in. And, again, fortunately, it was at a lower altitude than the other incident with Southwest. So it was just a really fortunate event for him. It doesn't sound like fortunate, but it could have been much worse, obviously. So but as far as what you can do in inside the aircraft, they did the right thing. The crew members kept their calm. They kept everybody calm. The aircraft was able to make a safe landing.

No one's injured other than this man. But just a tragic event. It has to be just -- yeah, I'm sure he's still in shock over this.

MICHAELSON: I mean, just a wild, wild story. I know back in 1988, you investigated Aloha Airlines flight 243. And what were some of the lessons you learned from that that maybe changed aviation or that people might think about today?

SOUCIE: Well, that incident was entirely different than this one. There was no shrapnel or anything from the outside. What we learned from that accident was the way that we maintain aircraft. The -- as you pressurize the aircraft, it's like a balloon blowing up, and then when you're done pressurizing, it comes back in. So in that case, it had over cycled. In Hawaii, the flights were only 20, 30 minute flights, so it continually cycled and caused fatigue cracks in the metal.

So the way that we do inspections on aircraft change completely after that point. Any kind of corrosion or any kind of fatigue is handled differently. We inspect them differently with X rays and all kinds of other machines to make sure that we are not over stressing the metal. So that changed everything about how the fuselages in the aircraft are maintained now. So that had -- we haven't had another incident of that at all since that one, because of the changes that we put in place with the FAA.

MICHAELSON: Well, I mean, that is a great thing that every incident, the FAA learns so much and does make changes, which is why flying is so much safer than riding in the car to the airport. David Soucie, thank you for this. But that video just is wild to look at that image. Appreciate your insights.

The White House is moving ahead with a new renovation project at the executive mansion, but unlike previous ones, this project is not pushed by President Trump. We'll explain.

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MICHAELSON: The White House plans to fortify its front door as part of security upgrades recommended by the Secret Service. That's according to administration official who says the project will take months to complete. The door is on the northern side of the building where workers are already renovating the columns. Administration is also moving ahead with a proposal to erect new fencing around the nearby Lafayette Park. President Trump has pushed a string of other construction projects at the White House, but those have been largely cosmetic.

The Trump administration is rolling back decades of environmental law protecting endangered species. It opened some critical habitats to potential drilling, mining, farming, and development. The new rule changes how the government defines harm under the 1973 Endangered Species Act no longer including some types of habitat destruction. Administration says the move reduces federal overreach. Environmental groups say it could put vulnerable species at risk and are planning legal challenges.

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Environmental Protection Agency is facing new criticism after quietly approving three new pesticides cleaning what are known as forever chemicals. Scientists and environmental groups accuse the EPA of allowing big business to shape its decisions. They point to some officials' past connections to chemical and agricultural industries. The agency insists the approved products were renewed for reviewed for safety. The agency is also facing criticism over rolling back regulations on forever chemicals in drinking water.

Thank you so much for joining us on "The Story Is" all week. It's been quite a week. I'm Elex Michaelson. One thing I'll always remember from this week is the amount of great soccer matches or football matches depending on your perspective, and there should be some great ones in the hours ahead. I hope you're able to enjoy that and have a great weekend. We'll be back with more of "The Story Is" on Monday.

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