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Tate Brothers in Court; Three U.S. Service Members Killed in Iran War; Incendiary Device Thrown at Federal Building. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired July 20, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL MAHER, HOST, "REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER": Abolish the police, no prisons, no police, like, what world do they think we could possibly live in under these conditions?

JONATHAN KARL, ABC NEWS: Could you see yourself voting for J.D. Vance?

MAHER: Yes. If this is the Democratic side, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Maher also condemned Trump's election lies and criticized Republicans like Vance who echo them.

And congratulations are in order for the vice president and the second lady, Usha Vance, who welcomed their fourth child to the world yesterday. Baby boy Alec Neel Vance joins older siblings Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel. President Trump shared a photo of the two of them meeting little Alec for the first time.

Vance is the first vice president in more than 150 years to have a baby while in office.

Thank you so much for joining INSIDE POLITICS today.

"CNN NEWS CENTRAL" starts right now.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Expanding his options, the U.S. sending more aircraft to the Middle East, as the president weighs his next move in the war with Iran.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Funding cuts with a serious cost. How the government's push to save money slowed the response to the cyclospora outbreak.

And upgrade and away. The president says the Qatari-gifted Air Force One is going to be -- quote -- "maxed out" following security concerns.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

SANCHEZ: We begin this afternoon with breaking news, a man now in custody after allegedly throwing an incendiary device at a federal building in New York City, injuring at least three people.

This is video taken from the scene. In it, you can see officers emerging from a large plume of smoke rushing to take down a person. The building where this happened houses offices for government agencies, including the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

And sources tell CNN the man who was taken into custody was carrying anti-ICE material, also pulling a cart with at least two rifles inside.

Let's go now live to CNN correspondent Brynn Gingras.

Brynn, what have you learned about the investigation and where it stands?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, we have some incredible videos to show you after -- just after this incident happened and even when this arrest took place.

But first I want to explain to you here on the scene. We're actually watching as investigators are going through that cart that you just described that he allegedly pulled up here to this federal building where sources tell us two rifles were inside. We actually just saw investigators pulling out some sort of sheet material with some large either painting or writing on it.

And as you can see, they're kind of going through that cart as of now. What we learned from sources is that this person who, again, is in custody at the moment pulled up with this car, had two rifles in it, had a bunch of fireworks, and used somewhat of like a pellet gun to keep people away as he tried to light these fireworks, according to sources, and then threw this incendiary device at the building, 26 Federal Plaza that houses ICE, houses other federal agencies, and also the New York FBI headquarters.

We also know in that cart, we're learning from sources there were some sort of posters or writings about anti-ICE material. Right now, investigators are going through the criminal background of this individual who is in police custody, trying to figure out if he's had any sort of associations with police in the past.

Is there some sort of checking the mental wellness of this person? These are all questions that they're continuing to ask. When this incident unfolded around rush hour here in New York City in Lower Manhattan, there were people going to work, and we know that three people, civilians, were injured in this.

One of the people injured also was this person who is in custody, so still learning a lot as this investigation is unfolding. As you can see, there are still investigators here on the scene investigating it as an anti-government action.

We know that the Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading this investigation. We know the bomb squad has been here on the scene. So, continuing to get updates, and we will, of course, keep you updated, Boris.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the investigation literally playing out behind you as we speak. Please keep us posted with the latest, Brynn Gingras, live in Manhattan -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Let's bring in retired FBI supervisory special agent and CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore.

Steve, you hear what Brynn just laid out there, firework device, a man in custody carrying a pellet gun, anti-ICE material pulling this cart with rifles and fireworks, among other things. Talk to us about what the scope of that tells you about potential planning and intent.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it's kind of out of the anarchist cookbook.The whole using fireworks to set off a flammable something like that is something that has been -- I mean, it was in play back in the '60s.

[13:05:06]

So it's a standard type of thing. It is a -- it requires some planning, but not a whole bunch. And I think what probably concerns me the most is that he had all this time to do that without somebody responding.

KEILAR: Yes, that is concerning.

The building here, as Brynn mentioned, houses government offices for various agencies, including ICE, including the FBI. What questions does that raise for you, given the anti-ICE material that we are told he possessed?

MOORE: Well, you're going to have people who have beefs with the FBI with ICE, with -- even if it -- the IRS is there. You have to plan for that.

You have to plan for the fact that there are people who are not well, who are radicalized and will try to get back at people that they find a grievance with. And so we have the federal protective service there, which is somewhat of a federal police force, and I believe the FBI might have FBI police near their offices.

But they're needed -- obviously, there's going to be surveillance, camera surveillance, all around that building, but there needs to be an ability to respond, not just watch.

KEILAR: This is coming after increased public scrutiny in the wake of two ICE-related deaths, one in Maine, one in Texas. Border czar Tom Homan was on FOX yesterday warning of an ICE surge coming to New York City. To be clear, we do not know the motive behind this incident, but I wonder how you're viewing it through the lens of recent current affairs.

MOORE: I think, if you get somebody who's willing to go and set fire to a building and bring rifles and shoot people, you're not going to -- it's not about policy. It's about their mental health.

And so whatever is going on we need to deal separately with differences we have with how ICE is maybe running things, but we can't -- we can't be dictating policy by the minds of people who are dangerous.

KEILAR: Yes. And, listen, we are still awaiting a lot of details. I think you are expectant that there could be a mental health element here. We just don't know at this point, right?

But I do wonder when you are looking at risk levels and trend lines right now when it comes to political violence, what are you watching?

MOORE: I think I have not seen this much political violence in dozens of years.

I think you go back to the '80s since you have had this kind of thing. And back then, it was the right wing, the white supremacists, things like that, the Posse Comitatus, things like that. And now we have got the left-wing, the anarchists, and the anti-government people.

So it is probably the highest I have ever seen it. And it's kind of indicative of a lack of civility about how we address differences.

KEILAR: And I do want to note that DHS just tweeted that at approximately 8:20 a.m., an anti-ICE rioter launched fireworks outside of 26 Federal Plaza. This is what they have put online here, grazing a bystander and pouring what is believed to be gasoline on the stairs of the entrance of the building and set it on fire.

So that is what they have just put out there. They're saying that a security officer swiftly tackled and detained the agitator, as they're describing it. EMS, FBI, NYPD are on the scene. They say it's a developing situation.

We will continue to monitor the situation and bring our viewers news as it warrants.

Steve Moore, thanks so much for being with us.

MOORE: Thank you.

KEILAR: Still to come, CNN learning more. U.S. fighter jets are heading to the Middle East after three U.S. service members were killed over the weekend in the war with Iran.

Plus: The Tate brothers are about to appear in a Miami courtroom, as they fight an extradition request from the U.K. Hear the new serious criminal charges that they are now facing.

And then, later: A former federal health official says he warned the Trump administration last year that its huge budget cuts could hurt its response to future parasitic outbreaks -- his fear now a reality, as the country faces a surge in cyclospora cases.

That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: We're tracking breaking news on the Iran war.

Moments ago, President Trump saying that Iran will pay after the deadliest weekend for U.S. troops in months. His words -- quote -- "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over."

We have learned at least three U.S. service members were killed, two of them by this Iranian strike on an air base in Jordan. The Pentagon also says that unidentified remains were found after an additional soldier was listed as missing in action.

KEILAR: Two of the soldiers killed in Jordan have been identified now as 25-year-old 1st Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan from Hawaii and Private Isabella Gonzales from Texas, who was just 19 years old.

We're joined now by Kirsten Fontenrose, former senior director for the Gulf on the National -- she was on the National Security Council -- and retired Major Harrison Mann, former Defense Intelligence Agency official. He's also the associate campaigns director for Win Without War, an organization advocating for a progressive U.S. foreign policy.

All right, Kirsten, just I think people waking up this morning to the news after perhaps not maybe paying attention to it over the weekend and learning that multiple U.S. service members were killed after days of the U.S. and Iran trading these attacks, this is something that I think does change how people perceive what is going on.

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What happens here now?

KIRSTEN FONTENROSE, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBER: This does change the perception of the war. People will definitely pay closer attention. It may be a miscalculation by Iran, because, as we see in almost every country, the death of service members create a little bit of a rally-around-the-flag impact.

People do care about Lieutenant -- First Lieutenant Feehan, about Private Gonzales. These matter. There is an expectation that service members are in harm's way when they enter conflict zones. And they are by international law considered legal combatants, which means that it is not considered the same by international law as hitting civilians.

So we will see how the U.S. administration treats it. But you have heard from the president's messages that this is not being taken lightly.

SANCHEZ: Major, are you anticipating a more aggressive escalation than we have seen so far from the White House?

MAJ. HARRISON MANN (RET.), U.S. ARMY: I hope not.

I mean, we saw the president's threat. We have already seen U.S. strikes on Iranian infrastructure, including war crimes, right, bombing water infrastructure.

The president really has two choices to make. There's a binary choice that's been in front of him for months now. Draw this out. Yes, you can destroy more Iranian military units. You can blow up more infrastructure, but draw this out and get more U.S. troops killed, basically for Trump's vanity, or pull them out of the region and bring the war to a close by negotiating in good faith with the Iranian government.

So, really escalate or not. Until he refuses to accept reality and stop fighting, we're going to see more U.S. soldiers killed, unfortunately.

KEILAR: Harrison, how do you see the U.S. objective right now?

MANN: There is no objective. I mean, they haven't had a strategy since day three of this war, when the government didn't collapse. And so Trump is basically just trying to avoid making any difficult or embarrassing decision.

But the result of that is, we get a really painful reminder that, despite what the administration says, we have been at war for five months now, and U.S. troops are continuing to get killed and maimed because of this government's inaction.

And so, I mean, I -- the Strait of Hormuz, which, of course, was open before this started, has become the new goal marker, the new milepost. But the thing is, I mean, we -- that's not important to America, honestly.

Right now, the Trump administration is trying to fight and getting soldiers killed to protect the right of, like, Emirati oil shippers to not have to pay a toll to Iran. I don't think that's necessarily fair or legal, but it's not worth more U.S. troops dying, in my view.

SANCHEZ: Leaders in both Washington and Tehran say that they are open to restarting talks. Do you see negotiations yielding some fruitful results just about a week after the MOU fell apart?

FONTENROSE: Despite the rhetoric from both sides that has said, you're breaching, you're violating, and we're not going to implement, neither side is officially pulled out of this MOU, and the Iranians went to Pakistan today to meet with the interior minister who's been their interlocutor.

So I think we will we expect to see some movement on that. And the Foreign Ministry in Tehran said we're getting proposals from the mediators. So I think both sides are signaling we're still open to talks. But what you have seen is a change from -- on the U.S. side, on the strategy side, a move from just trying to make sure that markets stay calm, doing strikes to make sure insurers let ships go through, to now they're saying, all right, we want to prevent Iran from having a forever lever and being able to close the strait.

That's why you're seeing many more strikes on logistics, preventing supply to the main Iranian IRGC base, the naval base on the coast of Bandar Abbas, and farther down the coast.

All of these are places where they are projecting power into the strait. And CENTCOM has now ramped up those targets. It's important to note that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs has not said that the U.S. has struck power plants or desalination plants.

There has not been a denial. There has not been a confirmation.

KEILAR: How do you get control of the strait or make sure that Iran does not have control of the strait without either figuring out a way to get Iran to agree to that, which means that then they still have control, because they then can still flip on that, without boots on the ground?

MANN: You don't. And even...

KEILAR: I see you nodding too. I'm curious what you think after...

MANN: Even with boots on the ground, I mean, let's be -- let's be clear about what boots on the ground means.

That would mean a full-scale, hundreds of thousands of troops invasion of Iranian territory to hold and occupy basically the entire coast of the country. I mean, think Iraq invasion times three or four. So I don't think that's a realistic option.

Short of that, yes, Brianna, as you pointed out, it's very hard to make it impossible for Iran to shoot one drone or one ballistic missile into the strait, right? They can do that from almost anywhere in the country. So there really is not a military solution at this point to keeping Iran from disrupting traffic there.

[13:20:03]

KEILAR: What do you think?

FONTENROSE: That's what this current strategy, that's what this ramp- up in the last nine days has been about, is preventing their ability to turn on the lights of the factories that produce these missiles, from getting resupplies, whether it's bolts or whatever it is, to the factories that produce missiles and drones, hitting these hidden underground bunkers that are containing them, preventing the logistics resupply of soldiers.

It's all about making sure that they can't do this long term. So where they -- instead of the focus on just make sure they can't strike tomorrow, it's make sure they can't strike if Russia decides to cut off access through their friend Iran to Europe, make sure Japan isn't left if there is friskiness with China and Iran decides to get involved. There are so many scenarios where Iran could at any point have decided

or could decide to close the strait, and so now the U.S. is saying, let's really address this long-term piece.

SANCHEZ: We should let our viewers know before we go, on those fallen service members, that Karoline Leavitt has said that President Trump will attend their dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base.

Kirsten Fontenrose, Major Harrison Mann, appreciate the conversation. Thank you both so much.

Still plenty more news to come. We're live in Miami, where the Tate brothers are about to appear in court following an extradition request from the U.K., the serious offenses they're now being accused of.

Plus, the president appears to confirm CNN reporting on security concerns with that Qatari-gifted Air Force One, saying that the plane will now be sidelined for upgrades.

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KEILAR: This just in: A judge has granted a temporary restraining order pausing the merger of Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery, CNN's parent company. This is in the wake of an antitrust legal challenge brought by a coalition of 12 state attorneys general.

The order prevents the companies from completing the deal this month, but it is only in effect for a short period of time. The companies have said they will aggressively fight a preliminary injunction request -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Moments from now, social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate are expected to appear in a 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 new allegations, including rape and sex trafficking.

Their attorney says they are innocent and they plan to fight the request. The brothers have dual American and British citizenship. They first found fame on reality TV, but have since amassed millions of followers online by promoting increasingly misogynistic content.

CNN's Carolina Peguero joins us now live from Miami.

Carolina, what can you tell us about today's hearing?

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Boris.

There's been a bit of commotion here outside of the federal court and reports on whether or not if this hearing would be unsealed or sealed. This is why also the lawyer of the Tate brothers has been very vocal on this case.

He says that their clients currently are in a positive spirit on today's hearing, this while the U.S. Marshals approached them over the weekend as they were heading to a boxing event and were arrested after U.K. authorities have been following an extensive and a complex investigation involving sexual abuse reported by seven victims happening in London, as well as in England, between the years of 2010 and 2017.

Now, the U.S. government has informed that these proceedings of extradition are currently happening, while his lawyer, Joseph McBride of the Tate brothers, says that this is a political witch-hunt, a political kidnapping, and their clients, this legal team's clients, is and has the right to express their free speech.

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JOSEPH MCBRIDE, ATTORNEY FOR TATE BROTHERS: To have that day in court. If we win that case, and we feel great, we feel very positive that we will, if we win that case, we're going to destroy every allegation that was made against them. And if that happens, then everybody who's called them traffickers or rapists or whatever it is, all the allegations will blow up.

The narrative will collapse. The United Kingdom knows that. So it's pulling out all the stops to politically kidnap them, to lock them up in a cell somewhere in the United Kingdom so they can't have their day in court here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEGUERO: And the Tate brothers' legal team says they are going to fight this case and appeal to the extradition proceedings. They will be in court here in just a few minutes, where it's expected to begin at 2:00 p.m. and the brothers are to face a judge -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Carolina Peguero live for us outside that courthouse in Miami, thank you so much.

Ahead: An expert says the Trump administration's budget cuts created the perfect storm for the current outbreak of a diarrhea-causing parasite -- those gross details right after this.

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