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Maine Democrats Scramble To Find New Senate Candidate; Air Passenger Partially Sucked Out Of Plane After Window Breaks; Israel Warns U.S. Of Iranian Plot To Assassinate Trump; Trump & Netanyahu Discuss American Moves In The Gulf In Phone Call; Missouri's Flood Disaster; Key Hearing Ends For Suspect In Charlie Kirk's Killing. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired July 10, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": It's a very powerful message, a very powerful example. Nicole and Donald Griggs, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. We're glad that, despite the bad news, that you are safe and OK. Thank you.

DONALD GRIGGS, LOST HOME IN COLORADO WILDFIRES: Yes, thank you.

NICOLE GRIGGS, LOST HOME IN COLORADO WILDFIRES: Thank you for having us, sir.

D. GRIGGS: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course. A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

Talks, yes. Ceasefire, not so much. President Trump makes it clear again that the truce with Iran is over, even as mediators try to bring both sides back to the bargaining table.

And desperately seeking a Democrat for the U.S. Senate. Candidates lining up to take Grant Platner's place on the ballot in Maine. We're going to speak to one of the politicians looking to replace him.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": And a nightmare for one air passenger after he was sucked halfway out of the plane when the window beside him was dislodged during a flight.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

SANCHEZ: The ceasefire is over, but diplomacy will push forward. President Trump putting new pressure on Iran as he announces new talks to end days of fighting. The president posting on Truth Social that Iran has asked to continue discussions.

KEILAR: This comes as we learn Israel told the U.S. about an Iranian plan to assassinate President Trump. Speaking to the New York Post today, the president warned, quote, "I've left instructions, if anything happens, to just literally bomb Iran at levels that they've never seen before." CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us. Jeremy, has the Israeli government shared any details about what this potential threat entailed?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: No, Brianna. In fact, we haven't heard from the Israeli government officially about this plot to assassinate President Trump or the fact that Israeli officials shared that intelligence with the United States.

All of this is coming from sources familiar with the matter who are describing to us the sharing of this intelligence from Israel to the United States. Although President Trump in this latest interview with the New York Post seemed to kind of push aside the notion that this was intelligence that came from Israel. And in fact, some of our sources are indicating to us that the U.S. intelligence community has already been tracking various threats originating from Iran aimed at President Trump's life.

But what the sources were indicating to us was that there was a specific new threat that was presented to U.S. officials from the Israelis, which the U.S. had not already been aware of and which had some more specificity to it. That plot, the intelligence about that plot had not yet been vetted by U.S. intelligence officials as of the time when we reported this.

But this is just one additional layer in the kind of broader story that we have been watching over the course of the last week. This new escalation of tensions between the United States and Iran, largely it seems stemming from misunderstandings and different interpretations about how open the Strait of Hormuz is supposed to be, how much influence Iran can have over exactly where commercial ships pass through that Strait of Hormuz that led to Iranian strikes on some of those ships, U.S. strikes inside of Iran and escalating from there.

However, today, what we have seen is diplomacy seems to be taking the lead once again in lieu of those military strikes. We haven't seen any U.S. or Iranian strikes today around the Strait of Hormuz. What we have seen, though, in the region is a flurry of shuttle and telephone diplomacy. Qatari officials inside of Iran today to meet with Iranian officials and try and get this diplomacy back on track.

There have also been a number of phone calls between the Qatari and Pakistani mediators with a variety of actors in the region, many of the Gulf countries, in addition to the U.S. and Iranian officials. We also know that President Trump last night spoke with the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and while Prime Minister Netanyahu, we're told, would like to join in on these U.S. strikes in Iran that took place earlier this week, for now, the United States is trying to keep Israel out of this because that would present a major new escalation. Brianna? Boris?

KEILAR: All right, Jeremy, thank you so much for that.

For more, let's bring in CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst and former Deputy FBI Director, Andrew McCabe. Andy, the U.S. had picked up on this steady drumbeat about possible plans to assassinate Trump, but what does this tell you, this new very specific plot that was not on the radar of U.S. intel according to one source?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yeah. So, Brianna, that radar picture is something that the intelligence community is looking at all the time. Right? They are constantly sorting through intelligence collected all over the globe from all sorts of different sources to try to understand many issues that are important to U.S. foreign policy, and the health and safety of the United States president is foremost among them.

[14:05:00]

Especially with the background that we know that since 2020, assassinating President Trump has been high on the Iranians' list of things that they would like to do. So this is, it doesn't surprise me at all that the U.S. intel community has been collecting intelligence relative to that threat. But while you do that, you have to also always stay open to these additional pieces that you may not have seen, but that you are privy to through the collection of your closest allies that you work with around the globe.

And certainly, Israel is one of those allies that we rely on, particularly for their ability to collect very unique information in their region in a way that really nobody else can. So I'm sure that the U.S. security infrastructure around the president, Secret Service, FBI, and everybody else reacted very seriously to the provision of that Israeli intel.

Now, that doesn't mean that you just accept it at face value. And due to the political machinations going on right now between the United States and Israel, there is the possibility that some level of that intelligence or some part of the production of that intelligence is meant to influence U.S. policy vis-a-vis Israel.

That doesn't mean that the intel is not accurate, but it is also advantageous to the Israelis to be able to produce this now, especially in the aftermath of some kind of head knocking that's gone on between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu in the last few weeks.

KEILAR: Yeah, no, it's a good point. Can you talk a little bit about the difference between operational and aspirational plots? How do intel officials tell the difference?

MCCABE: Yeah, sure. So aspirational plot, you can put in the category of the Iranians' desire to seek revenge against President Trump because of the strike, the successful strike on Qassem Soleimani. That die was cast in 2020, and it will not ever go away until the Iranians feel like they have taken some sort of revenge.

So that's aspirational. It doesn't become operational until you have specific corroborated details that relate to the plot. So you know specific, maybe you're given the name of specific actors and you're able to locate those actors, and you can see that they're involved in some sort of activity that might actually be in support of such a plot. Or you have a participant to the plot who decides for their own reasons to share that information with an intelligence agency. So there's many different ways. What you have to have is credible and specific information that a plot is underway.

It doesn't mean that the plot is imminent, but just it means you're beyond that point of just simply saying, I know what they want to do, and you've reached the point where you're saying, now I know what they're planning on doing.

KEILAR: Yesterday, we learned that President Trump's decision to depart Turkey from the NATO Summit on an older plane while sending his Qatari gifted jet to England was actually driven at least in part by security concerns around the escalating conflict with Iran. How are you viewing that decision in light of this warning from Israel?

MCCABE: You know, it is absolutely the right decision under the circumstances. It's the conservative, security first sort of analysis, and that's what we have to be doing right now. The simple facts are there is no way that they were able to take that new plane, the one we're referring to as the bridge plane, the one given to us by the Qataris, and to equip it with all of the equipment that is already in the current Air Force One fleet, the equipment that has been tested and tested and used time and time and time again.

And so without -- we have to be operating at this point with this sort of intelligence about these serious plots. We have to be operating at our absolute A game when it comes to the security around the president. And so this is not the time to ride in the fancy plane because you like the way it looks and it makes you feel, you know, more confident when you're landing at a conference with world leaders. You need to make sure that you're going to be able to get out of there.

Let's remember that he has been in Turkey, which is a neighbor of Iran, which is the country that we're at war with. So simply traveling there without all of this extra intelligence from the Israelis and what we've learned in the last 48 hours, simply going to Turkey, which is so close to that theater of war, raises all sorts of security concerns. They need to be in the most secure aircraft possible.

KEILAR: Yeah. Andrew McCabe, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

And still to come, what we're learning in the final day of the preliminary hearing for the man accused of shooting and killing conservative activist, Charlie Kirk.

[14:10:00]

Plus, dramatic images from the catastrophic once-in-a-thousand-year flood event happening right now in Missouri. Five people are now unaccounted for in just one county.

We'll have that and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [14:15:00]

SANCHEZ: Prosecutors and the defense in Utah just finished making their cases involving the man accused of killing conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. A judge has been hearing evidence all week to determine if there's enough probable cause to support the charges against the suspect, Tyler Robinson. Robinson is facing multiple charges, including aggravated murder for allegedly gunning down Kirk last September.

Let's go live to CNN's Nick Watt, who's tracking all the developments on this story. Nick, now that the hearing is over, what happens next?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris, nothing will happen fast, I can tell you that. There's going to be another hearing September 1st, after which -- which, the judge will make his decision whether this goes to a trial.

But as he himself said of himself in court this morning, he doesn't like to rush and he doesn't like to make snap decisions, partly because this is such a closely scrutinized case. Conspiracy theorists lurking, waiting to pounce on anything. You know, we saw a bit of an example of that this morning when there was this long discussion over the fact that an exhibit that the judge had said could not be captured on the pool camera.

This was the note that Tyler Robinson had allegedly written to his partner. So the judge had said, you can't show that note. It was apparently shown by mistake for about three-and-a-half seconds. And that became a big issue. That is the level of granular detail that they've been dealing with on this case to try and make sure that everything is above board and conspiracies cannot flourish.

So after the evidence was all presented today, the prosecution described the evidence. One of the prosecutors says, the evidence is overwhelming. It is devastating. Now, of course, here, they don't have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt. They just have to prove probable cause, convince the judge that there is enough evidence to take this to a trial.

Now, the decision on whether that trial will happen, that's going to end up coming about a year after Charlie Kirk was assassinated. He was killed September 10th last year. It's going to be mid-September before we know exactly how and when this is going to proceed.

And remember, Boris, the prosecution has already said that they will be seeking the death penalty against 23-year-old Tyler Robinson, accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk in front of all those people at an event last fall. Boris?

SANCHEZ: Nick Watt, thank you so much for that important update.

Still to come, a terrifying story from 16,000 feet up in the air. We have the details about a passenger partly sucked out of an airplane window. Wait until you hear what his wife had to do to help him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:22:16]

SANCHEZ: So imagine this. You're in the air. You're perhaps enjoying a nice drink. You've got a window seat. You're reclined, enjoying yourself. Suddenly, the window you're sitting next to breaks, and you're just sucked out of the plane. Partially sucked out of the plane. It happened to a guy.

KEILAR: Yeah, that's right. It happened shortly after a Ryanair flight took off from Greece. Greek media reporting that passengers managed to hold the man down to stop him from being pulled out any further. CNN Aviation Correspondent, Pete Muntean is here. And Pete, there are some videos of this incident.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this new video is just coming into CNN. You know, we've all sort of seen the Hollywood version of this, maybe in a Bond movie.

KEILAR: Yeah.

MUNTEAN: Like somebody shooting a gun in a plane. It's officially called a rapid decompression where all the air gets sucked out very suddenly. It doesn't quite happen like you see it in the movies. The reality is a little different, but not any less dangerous. This is the new video from inside this Ryanair Boeing 737 that shows the aftermath.

Passenger window missing entirely. You can see the oxygen masks there hanging from the ceiling. This flight departed Thessaloniki in Greece for Germany. And passengers say they heard a loud bang shortly after takeoff. The window of this plane failed, according to Ryanair. And the 60-year-old man seated in the window seat beside it was partially pulled outside of the plane.

Fellow passengers held onto him, pulled him back inside. He suffered neck injuries, according to Greek media, and friction burns, though, thankfully, survived. This could have been so much worse.

Officially known as rapid decompression, the air inside the passenger cabin rushes toward the lower pressure outside during about the first second or two. Then after that, the cabin pressure equalizes. The continuing danger, though, is the 400-mile-per-hour airflow rushing past the opening.

What we don't know right now is that Ryanair says the window dislodged during flight. And Greek state media, citing preliminary information, reports that a piece of engine may have broken off and struck the window. The investigation will tell a lot here.

And the National Transportation Safety Board here in the U.S. is now assisting with this investigation, that just in to CNN. Investigators will want to determine why the window failed, whether engine debris was involved, whether this was a maintenance or structural issue, what the maintenance records were for this airplane. Of course, the obvious comparison here is Southwest Flight 1380 in 2018. The scene looks so similar to this. That's the flight captained by Tammie Jo Shults. When an engine fan blade failed, debris shattered the window, and passenger Jennifer Riordan was partially pulled outside the aircraft. She later died from her injuries.

That accident led to major changes in 737 engine inspection requirements. One other note here, Flight tracking data shows this same plane also returned to Thessaloniki shortly after takeoff on a flight to Sarajevo the night before. We don't really know why here.

[14:25:00]

So a bit of intrigue. There's no real indication at this point that these two returns are related. But another big question for investigators as they begin to dig into this, also really begs the big point about seatbelts. This could have been a whole lot worse if the seatbelt sign was off and this 60-year-old man was not wearing his seatbelt, could have been pulled out even further. So it really underscores even when the seatbelt sign is off, you should be wearing it.

I always do when I fly. And so I just think it sort of underscores the issue here. So many people have been so lax about it and we've seen a rise in turbulence cases with climate change as well.

KEILAR: I'd chain myself to the plane now after all of Pete's reports.

(LAUGH)

(CROSSTALK)

MUNTEAN: Because of all the Pete Muntean reporting.

KEILAR: I'm like, here we do and yes, I have that.

MUNTEAN: I know. I always feel like I'm bringing bad news.

KEILAR: You bring interesting news. You said they held on to him and pulled him back inside. OK, but in between holding on to him and pulling back inside, some time transpired, no?

MUNTEAN: Yeah, I mean you --

KEILAR: Like a while.

MUNTEAN: People would have to sort of realize this. I mean, the most interesting thing --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: I thought it was minutes, am I wrong?

MUNTEAN: The good news here --

SANCHEZ: You ought to make a sound, right? MUNTEAN: Yes, this was at 15,000 feet, at least according to the flight tracking data based on the interpolation that I can do by looking at it. So it's not terribly high, 35,000 or 40,000 feet where an airliner would typically be where it's so much colder, the air is so much thinner, the exposure is so much worse. 15,000 feet you can get by just breathing normally. It's not ideal. Usually you wear oxygen in the United States at least above 12,500 feet if the plane's not pressurized. So this is a lot better than it could have been.

SANCHEZ: Dumb question.

MUNTEAN: Try me.

SANCHEZ: What do you do if this happens to you?

MUNTEAN: I mean you try not to get sucked out, A, and then help, help. I mean if you're around like you need to, you know, we're all so reliant on, flight attendants can only be in so many places at one time.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, yeah.

MUNTEAN: And they're really the first responders to something like this. And so, you know, a pilot's big job is to get the airplane back to a breathable altitude, slow it down, do an emergency descent. That's what shows here. But if this happens to you, you know, try to get back in and try to get somebody to pull you back in.

SANCHEZ: You're at the mercy of the people around you. That's why you should be nice to people --

KEILAR: Yeah.

SANCHEZ: -- on the plane, right, Pete?

(LAUGH)

MUNTEAN: Sure.

SANCHEZ: You should pack your patience.

(CROSSTALK)

MUNTEAN: I saw where this was going.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: OK, I think -- You guys, I have some ideas. I'm thinking maybe, I don't know, I like the window seat. Maybe not. Maybe I'm not going to --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: I'm not a window guy.

MUNTEAN: I am team window seat. KEILAR: Wait, stand by.

SANCHEZ: No, no.

KEILAR: Maybe I'm wearing pants with handles on them.

(LAUGH)

SANCHEZ: There you go. There you go. Like cargo pants.

MUNTEAN: Parachute pants, if you will?

SANCHEZ: Cargo pants?

KEILAR: Yeah, sometimes.

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: That are very -- I don't know. I'm just, listen, I'm spit- balling here.

(LAUGH)

MUNTEAN: We'll work out this riff in the table read.

KEILAR: Yeah.

MUNTEAN: I think we're getting there. It's not quite there. Lauren will be sitting across the desk looking disapprovingly at us for this bad joke.

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: No, but it is --

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: I just -- this is like my nightmare.

SANCHEZ: Yeah.

KEILAR: I'm just so glad he survived because, as you mentioned that other one, like the woman did not survive.

MUNTEAN: Yeah.

KEILAR: And this is -- it's -- he's just thinking he's on a flight and it doesn't go all the way he's thinking. It's horrific.

MUNTEAN: Thankfully, millions of flights happen every day where nothing bad happens.

SANCHEZ: Important perspective.

MUNTEAN: So we're highlighting the --

KEILAR: Bad, OK.

SANCHEZ: Important perspective.

MUNTEAN: But generally, aviation is a miracle.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: OK. Tomorrow --

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Pete, you don't do reporting on normal flight.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Tomorrow, Pete Muntean will be here. No he won't. Monday? Monday, he'll be here to report on the normal flights.

MUNTEAN: Monday. I'm flying tomorrow.

KEILAR: No? That's not it.

(LAUGH)

KEILAR: Pete Muntean, thank you.

MUNTEAN: Anytime.

KEILAR: Still to come, the new move taken by the Trump administration that is raising alarm bells among election officials about federal interference ahead of the midterms. We'll have that and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

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