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Interview with Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-NH): U.S. Launches New Wave of Strikes on Iran After 3 Troops Killed; Funeral for Nolan Wells as Death Investigation Enters Third Week; UK Seeks Tate Brothers Extradition on Rape and Sex Trafficking Charges. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 20, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

LISA EADICICCO, CNN BUSINESS TECH EDITOR: And one that's not going to go away any time soon because it really does come down to what level of control these companies have over the devices that we use for everything every day and AI is poised to become an even bigger part of that in the future.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, questions about monopoly, questions about privacy, so much at stake here, Lisa, thank you.

All right, a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news, we just learned the identities of two U.S. service members killed in the war with Iran. The human troll this morning is rising.

Maybe the only thing you want to hear less than the words explosive diarrhea. The FDA apparently reverses itself from the possible source for the outbreak, a test that might have been a false positive.

And a new CNN investigation into an investment firm tied to Donald Trump Jr. You might not be shocked to learn they're making a lot of money.

Kate and Sara are out today. I'm John Berman with Bianna Golodryga. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

GOLODRYGA: All right, breaking this morning, the rising toll overseas and rising prices here at home as fears grow of an all out war with Iran. We are learning new details about the three U.S. troops killed in recent days, including a service member killed this weekend in northern Iraq while trying to detonate a downed Iranian attack drone.

And remains have been recovered in Jordan in the search for a service member still missing after an Iranian attack left two others dead.

And new this morning, the Pentagon has identified those two soldiers killed as First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, a 25-year-old from Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Private Isabella Gonzales, a 19-year-old from Carrollton, Texas. They are the first U.S. troops killed in action since March, raising the death toll of American troops to at least 17. President Trump spoke about the losses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we feel very badly. But, you know, those great people, those great patriots are out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very, very badly damaged.

They've lost everything, almost militarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Of course, our thoughts are with their families this morning. Also this morning, the escalating war has sent the average price of gas back over four dollars a gallon nationwide -- John.

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander, a Democrat from New Hampshire. She is on the House Armed Services Committee.

Congresswoman, we just learned about the deaths -- the identities of the two U.S. service members, two of them who were killed this weekend. The first troops killed in action fighting Iran since March. Simply, what direction is this conflict heading in?

REP. MAGGIE GOODLANDER (D-NH), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: John, my heart is very much with the families of our fallen heroes who gave their lives in service of our country and each and every one of us. This war has been a war of choice launched by a president without a clear strategy, without a clear endgame. We owe these patriots. We owe their families.

The American people deserve answers from the president on how he's going to bring this conflict to an end. People are paying a huge price for this war at the gas pump, at the grocery store.

And the president is asking for tens of billions of additional dollars for this war on top of a one $1.5 trillion budget request for the Department of Defense. This is not what the American people signed up for and we deserve better.

BERMAN: We play some sound of the president just moments ago where he was bragging that the Iranian military has been essentially destroyed and defeated. And yet these are the first U.S. deaths killed in action since March. There are reports that the Iranians are adapting in making some of their missile and drone strikes more effective.

How destroyed is the Iranian military?

GOODLANDER: Look, John, we've got the greatest military in the history of the world. There is nothing that the United States of America cannot do with the women -- men and women in uniform who are serving us. The fact is the president has never been clear about what the objectives are in this war.

And we are all paying the price for that dereliction of duty and for that lack of clarity. The issue here is he has started a global energy crisis and he's exacerbated an already painful affordability crisis here at home with this choice to launch the war. He has not properly resourced the effort to try to bring this war to a close. We need serious people at the table.

[08:05:00]

We need serious people at the Pentagon who are going to do everything they can to deliver for the American people. This is a war that is costing us gravely and the president has got to step up and end this war.

BERMAN: He effectively said just moments ago, we played that sound, that these patriots who are serving and by inference, those who died were making sure that Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon. Is that what's happening right now?

GOODLANDER: You know, John, unfortunately, as we saw from the very beginning, the president came to the Congress. He gave the longest State of the Union in American history. He repeated that Iran's nuclear program had been decimated.

He turned around hours later and launched this war. He's delivered nothing with respect to advancements in preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, which is an objective that has strong bipartisan, bicameral support in the Congress. No one wants to see this regime get a nuclear weapon.

But the fact is, this war has not advanced that objective. This war has done the opposite. It has given the Iranian regime a renewable resource, an asymmetric weapon that is now prepared to use against the United States and the global economy, which is the Strait of Hormuz and its closure.

This is something that was entirely predictable. I served for more than a decade in the Navy. This is a contingency that everyone was aware could happen.

And the president was not prepared for it. And we're all paying the price as a direct result.

BERMAN: You just mentioned the word bipartisan, and it made me think that a little more than a week ago, you were part of a bipartisan group because Thomas Massie was the one who proposed it. But 100 Democrats voted against aid to Israel. You suggested at the time that it was not congruent with what you think advances the interests and values of the United States.

How does aid to Israel work against the interests and values of the United States?

GOODLANDER: Well, John, let me just say at the outset my commitment to the idea that Israel is a democratic and Jewish state. This is an ironclad belief that I have. I saw firsthand every day I served in the Navy how important the alliance between the United States and Israel is for the American people. And I believe in that partnership deeply. My job as a member of Congress is to make decisions about where American taxpayer dollars go. And the fact is that right now, the relationship between the United States and Israel is not in a good spot.

We need a reset. We need a reset that's going to help us align ourselves around the basic democratic ideas and the basic strategic security objectives that have always kept us together in this alliance. We need a reset and we need a reset that's going to reflect the economic realities and the realities of this moment.

And the fact is, the prime minister of Israel has repeated again and again that he wants to evolve this partnership beyond one in which American taxpayers are funding Israel's military through aid. And this amendment went directly to $3.3 billion in taxpayer funded aid.

It did not touch our cooperation on missile defense. And that is extremely important to me. But the fact is that we do need a reset and we need one that's going to align us around our values and around our shared strategic objectives.

This war in Iran has not advanced those objectives. And that adds to the imperative and the urgency in delivering on a reset. We've got elections that are happening here in the United States on November 3rd.

Israel will have elections on October 27th. And moving ahead, we need people of good faith from both sides to come together and to think through the future of this alliance and how we structure the relationship in a way that's going to serve the interests and values of the American people and the security of the region.

BERMAN: Congresswoman Maggie Goodlander from New Hampshire, thank you for being with us this morning.

We are standing by for funeral services for the 18 year old whose death has raised so many questions.

And then meet the new prime minister. But you'd be best advised to do it quickly. They've had seven in 10 years.

And an explosive twist. Why? It seems the FDA is apologizing to the company. It identified in the outbreak of explosive diarrhea affecting thousands of people.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Happening soon, family and friends of 18 year old Nolan Wells are preparing to lay him to rest as they continue to press for answers nearly three weeks after his death. Wells disappeared during a 4th of July boating trip after becoming separated from the group that he was with. His body was found two days later.

CNN's Ryan Young is in Wells's hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi, where the funeral is being held today. A heartbreaking story in turn and engagement now for family members that still have so many unanswered questions.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so many unanswered questions. And at this point, we still don't have any sort of definite cause of death. Right.

And so that's a big question for the family. But there will be a big focus, obviously, on Nolan Wells' life. A visitation will start in the next two hours just behind us.

[08:15:31]

But you've got to think we're only three miles away from his high school. So there's going to be a lot of emotion in this area, just especially with all the unanswered questions. You have friends who went out on a boating expedition, obviously, on July 4th to have a good time.

And then it took a turn. Those friends apparently called in to say they were taking in water on the boat. But the big question is, how did everyone get separated?

They said that Nolan Wells definitely wanted to stay behind. There might have been a conversation about him hanging out with a young lady. But there are still so many questions about what happened next.

Did anyone see him get in the water and then slip away? That has been the big question for investigators for quite some time. The sheriff's office, for its point, has not really given a big, significant update in the last few weeks or so. So there's still a lot of questions.

But for this family, you can understand this has been pretty tough. In fact, take a listen to his mother.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE WONSLEY, NOLAN WELLS' MOTHER: This loss, this grief, this pain. It's different. It's insurmountable.

And then it's like you get these flood of emotions all at different times. And grief is so multilayered. You know, one second, I might be OK and I can talk about things and I can listen to his stories.

And then the next minute I am falling apart and I feel like I can't breathe. And I feel like there is an elephant just sitting on my chest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, you got to think this family is only not only dealing with pain, but they're also dealing with public scrutiny. I was looking online this weekend and the mother, Nolan Wells' mother, has actually received mail from people who are sort of trying to say they're using this attention to gain money. So you understand not only do you have the pain that they're dealing with in terms of this investigation, but then you have the outside looking in to try to figure things out.

We've looked at this timeline several different times. Originally, we had talked to the sheriff. We know the DA's office met with the family and we're still waiting for that independent autopsy to come back with its findings.

So there's still so many unanswered questions. But today, really, the focus should be on Nolan Wells, his life and how many friends he had. And we should see this community come out.

Of course, we'll be here throughout the day.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, a talented football player, bright future ahead of him. Just a tragic story. Ryan Young, thank you so much.

Well, the Tate brothers are expected in court this morning after being arrested in the U.S. over charges they faced in the U.K. Will they be extradited? We are now hearing from their attorney.

Plus, why President Donald Trump's brand new Qatari gifted luxury jet is being taken out of service.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GOLODRYGA: Pennsylvania police are investigating an attempted robbery at the home of Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley. Barkley and his family were home at the time. Thankfully, they were not harmed.

Authorities say they were contacted early Saturday morning around 5 a.m. when officers arrived at the house. The suspects had fled and remain at large. Police are now asking for the public's health to identify them.

Quite scary, John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, Andrew and Tristan Tate are expected in federal court in Miami after being arrested over the weekend. U.S. Marshals took the brothers into custody on an extradition request from the U.K., where they face allegations including rape and sex trafficking. The brothers deny any wrongdoing.

So the Tate brothers first found fame on reality TV. They've built an online following, promoting increasingly misogynistic content. CNN's Carolina Peguero is live in Miami where they will be in court soon.

So what's the latest from there?

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. There's a lot still to be uncovered in this very controversial case involving the Tate brothers. We know that they were headed to a boxing event during the weekend and that's when they were approached by U.S. Marshals and arrested and now are headed here to this federal court in Miami. Now I do want to give you more information on this case while we're

waiting to see what happens today. This is after the United Kingdom has been following a complex investigation into sexual offenses reported by seven victims against the brothers. The U.K. officials accused the brothers of abusing women in England and London between 2010 and 2017.

Andrew Tate is now facing 42 charges including rape and human trafficking while Tristan Tate is facing 17 charges including sexual assault, rape and trafficking. Officials said however that the Department of Justice has now been in current extradition proceedings while their attorney Joseph McBride says we are confident that once a competent judge sees the facts and once the Department of Justice confronts the outrageous abuse of its own authority, Andrew and Tristan Tate will walk free. That's what the attorney says. While here around 2 p.m. eastern time is when we're expected for them to face a judge -- John.

BERMAN: It'll be interesting to see all kinds of legal twists and turns with international implications as well. Carolina, thank you very much for reporting on this.

We've got new reporting this morning on how the new Air Force One will be quote maxed out after security concerns. This reporting the New York Times suggests the plane could be taken offline after there were concerns it was not fitted with the appropriate measures to protect the president as he flies around the world.

Plus, a man rescued from a sewer after being lost for hours.

[08:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: Overnight the United States launched new strikes on Iran as the human and financial toll is rising. At least 19, excuse me -- at least 17 Americans have now been killed. This weekend CENTCOM says one service member was killed in Iraq while trying to detonate a downed Iranian attack drone.

And in Jordan remains have been recovered in the search for a service member still missing after Iranian strikes left two others dead. And new this morning, the Pentagon identified those two service members killed. First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan, a 25 year old from Hawaii and Private Isabella Gonzales, a 19 year old from Texas. They are the first Americans killed in action since March.

Also this morning gas prices back up over four dollars a gallon on average nationwide. Let's get right to CNN's Kevin Liptak live at the White House. Now if the White House thought they'd put the situation with Iran behind it, very much not the case this morning.

Things moving in the opposite direction than this White House seems to have wanted.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, absolutely and I think the ages of those service members 19 and 25 just underscore the human cost of this war is exacting. This has been now one of the deadliest stretches of days for American troops since the war began.