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Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX) On The U.S.-Iran War; Army Veteran Accused Of Incendiary Attack On NYC Federal Building; Judge Issues Temporary Restraining Order Pausing Paramount-WBC Merger. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired July 21, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: With us now, CNN senior business reporter David Goldman. Not good, potentially.

DAVID GOLDMAN, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: It's potentially not good. I mean, right now we're seeing oil back above $90 a barrel. That's a signal that, you know, folks are getting not only concerned about the war that's going on that we are concerned about in the Strait of Hormuz, but now there's this other chokepoint, right?

Because Saudi Arabia was able to get a tremendous amount of oil across the country to the west coast and through this strait. There's another oil chokepoint. And this is a concern because if Saudi Arabia pushing oil west and through that strait up through the -- through the Suez Canal, now all of a sudden, you're concerned about two different chokepoints and not just one. So that's why oil is up a little bit.

But here's the thing. A lot of oil got out of the Strait of Hormuz in the three weeks that it was open and no one really wanted it. So we had 200 million barrels come out in Qatar. The UAE said who wants the oil and no one raised their hand. And so they had to discount it and discount it and discount it down $9.00 a barrel below the level that most people were paying for oil.

What's going on here? Well, there's a few things. One is that China has decided that it doesn't necessarily want to import oil. It wants to start using its own reserves. And it has got almost two billion barrels of oil in its reserves right now and it's happy to just use that while oil is at these prices.

If oil starts to come down, then we're talking about a different story, but right now there's just not a ton of demand for oil.

BERMAN: Really interesting to see China with this major leverage point. It will be interesting to see if there is price by which they want to start buying oil again. It's not $90 a barrel though.

GOLDMAN: It's not $90 a barrel. I don't think I want to buy oil for $90 a barrel.

BERMAN: Not many consumers do. David Goldman, thank you very much.

GOLDMAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: On top of that now a possible new front of this war with Iran. Iran's president calls the current state of the conflict a full-scale war, and the human toll is growing.

The Pentagon now says that nearly 100 U.S. service members have suffered injuries, though they say mostly minor injuries, in just the last 14 days. And CNN has learned -- it has new reporting though that the Pentagon has been slow to report injuries citing security concerns.

And a Trump administration official says the remains of four fallen U.S. service members will be returned home tomorrow in a dignified transfer. Two of those soldiers who were killed in Jordan have now been identified. You see their pictures there. They're 1st Lt. Tyler Feehan and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales.

Joining me right now to talk about the state of things is Republican Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas. Congressman, thank you for being here.

Let's talk about the state of this war. They were talking about Bab al-Mandab -- that strait -- John and David Goldman were just a second ago. The fighting right now is just to get the Strait of Hormuz reopened fully just to get them back where they were before the war. Now the Houthis in Yemen are issuing this new threat to block Saudi ships passing through that other critical shipping channel to the Red Sea.

If that strait is blocked, would you support President Trump sending U.S. forces there to try to reopen that?

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): Good morning.

I think it's -- it would not be fair to say that all we're worried about is opening up the Strait of Hormuz. In fact, the president and this administration has gone well past that. They are deep into the Iranian infrastructure. They're deep into the ports. They're deep into the ability to pay --

BOLDUAN: Yeah, but that's literally what President Trump says why he is attacking them right now is because they continue to fire on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. That is what the president has said.

SESSIONS: No. I believe that's the reason why. But the bottom line is that this has gone well beyond that and we are now into a circumstance where they're literally going downtown, across the country and striking the heart of their ability to feed their war machine through highways and railways.

So look, I think your point that you're trying to make is important. Would we be in favor of doing the things that will be necessary on the second entrance, and that answer would be yes.

If we were to have waited for the Iranians when they were ready to fight the war or to take on the world you can now see it would be far worse. They have -- I don't know about unlimited, but they have a large, large number of ballistic missiles still that they're calling upon -- that they're pulling out.

This is a -- this is a new phase of the war and that's why the Iranians did not want to sign the peace deal, nor did they come to the table.

BOLDUAN: What is this phase of the war? Are we -- are they -- are they back at war?

[07:35:00]

SESSIONS: Sure. I don't think there's any question about that. We are -- for nine straight nights we have bombed the Iranians. We're trying to get them to understand that we will not tolerate not only them closing the Strait of Hormuz but that they're delivering ordnances across the region to our allies and our friends.

And when they struck the base in Jordan it meant that the president would unleash a new round to protect our men and women. And it does not make me feel good. It does not make anyone feel good. We lost a young woman from Carrollton, Texas.

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

SESSIONS: And this is a sad reality of war.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, and we're showing her face on the screen now. Private Isabella Gonzales from Carrollton, Texas --

SESSIONS: Yes.

BOLDUAN: -- is one of those lives that were lost.

SESSIONS: Yes.

BOLDUAN: When you look at those lives lost you understand that they're -- you say they're back at war.

Do you feel like you have been sufficiently briefed on what the president's strategy is with this war now?

SESSIONS: I do believe I have. Several weeks ago I stated that the administration needed to make sure that they provided members of Congress with that. They are now moving forward to hit key rail sites, key sites of traffic. I am very happy with what I see from a perspective of instead of just fighting this war hoping that the Iranians would sooner come to the table or later, we now are going to force this issue.

And it is not going to be easy but we're now going way deeper. A series of at least one B-52 came to deliver what would have been an entire armament from an aircraft carrier in one opportunity. They flew from the United States to do this, so the administration is taking the steps that will be necessary to put a real pinch on the Iranians, and I am very supportive of this.

BOLDUAN: The Pentagon -- the administration is making a big push right now -- we're going to see that on full display -- to get you all to greenlight the massive defense bill with billions and billions of dollars in additional funding for the war.

CNN and other have new reporting though that even among Republicans, they are not convinced that they know what the additional money is for, why it's needed so urgently, and what they're going to do with it.

Here is some of the CNN reporting. Several GOP members told CNN they still lack critical information about the military's capacity and needs and aren't convinced by what they have heard.

And Congressman -- Republican Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick told CNN this. "That's a lot of money to blow through in a very short period of time, and I'm not saying they didn't, but 'they shouldn't just expect us to go along with whatever they say. I mean, they got to make their case."

Brian Fitzpatrick is not convinced they have made the case that they need more money. Why are you convinced and he is not, do you think?

SESSIONS: Well, Brian is a very dear, smart friend who understands. He's been around this House of Representatives for over 10 years. He sees how the Pentagon works.

The Pentagon has opened themselves up. There are meetings every single night that at least Republican members have been invited to, to ask questions. To see firsthand not only the plan but to have top-level war planners to be able to meet with them.

I was at the Pentagon yesterday for several hours. It was not about the war planning, but it was about their ability to effectively use the money that we give them and the state of the stockpiles that we have. How we can make sure we're going to protect the men and women of the military.

So I -- I'll talk to Brian today, but he is a very capable young member who knows how to get the information he needs.

BOLDUAN: Congressman Pete Sessions, thank you for your time. I appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning we're standing by for formal charges against the man officials say threw an incendiary device outside a New York City federal building injuring three people. The 43-year-old Army veteran covered the ground with gasoline, igniting that and fireworks inside a container. I think we have pictures of this incident. The FBI says he had signs containing anti-ICE sentiments and that he was there to hurt anyone in his path.

With us now is CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI deputy director, Andrew McCabe. Andy, good to see you this morning.

Talk to me about what investigators are doing right now this morning. What's the priority?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR (via Webex by Cisco): Yeah, John. So it's a familiar list of tasks that we've seen time and time again in the aftermath of mass shootings, terrorist attacks, and things like that.

[07:40:00]

The number one priority for investigators at the FBI right now is to find out if this person was in contact with anyone else who might be like-minded and preparing a similar attack. So you want to know everyone who they've been in touch with, who they've been talking to, who they've been corresponding with, and then kind of do an assessment to see if any of those folks knew about this attack and maybe supported it. Helped him plan it. Helped him fund it. Things like that. Those are the things that you're looking for.

To find those answers to those questions they are going to be searching everything they can possibly associate with this person. So if he has a residence, if he has a vehicle. We know there is one vehicle in Upper Manhattan that's connected to him.

They're going to look for electronic devices, tablets, telephones, computers, all that stuff. They'll have to get search warrants before they can enter those devices. But all of that work -- multiple search warrants, multiple physical searches at different locations will probably be happening today.

BERMAN: I mean, there's so much video evidence here. Video of the incident itself from all different angles. There is the car they recovered elsewhere in the city. And there is allegedly the anti-ICE material they found on him. So there's just a lot of stuff they got right at the very beginning, but obviously you always want more.

Talk to me about those -- that material. The potentially political material there and the implications the possession of that has.

MCCABE: Yeah, for sure. So those are the sorts of things that prosecutors look for to be able to substantiate what this person's intent was -- not necessarily motive but really, intent in committing this attack because that's a part of any criminal offense that he may be charged with. We don't know what those charges are yet. We'll find that out later today.

So you have the politically signage -- the kind of political statements as it were that he's making by displaying those signs on his cart. You also have a treasure trove of information in -- from the interview that he reportedly gave to the investigators after he was taken into custody.

So convincing someone to talk to you in that moment when they've been arrested is always very sensitive. People have to be advised of their rights. Typically, their advice of rights is recorded to make sure that we have solid evidence of that. And then if they continue talking to you without an attorney they'll say -- they can say all sorts of things that help you prove that element of intent.

This person allegedly stated that he knew that there was a chance he could injure many people. That he wanted that to happen, whether they were government people or just civilians going in and out of the building. So statements like that will be devastating to him at a trial.

BERMAN: And then Andy, the question we almost always ask in situations like this because I think the definitions are something that can be confusing is, you know, is this an act of domestic terror, and what do those words actually mean from a legal standpoint?

MCCABE: Sure. So this one, from what we know just in this early moment, seems to fit the definition -- the statutory definition of domestic terrorism incredibly well, right? You have he's committed a violent felony that could, you know, result in injuries to many people. He's done it within the continental United States. And crucially, the intent element -- he must have done this with the intent to influence or change a course of government through coercion and injury. That seems pretty clear here when you look at the ICE statements on his cart and the way and the location in which he carried out this attack.

The problem is there are no criminal penalties associated with domestic terrorism in the United States code, so prosecutors are left with trying to build cases around the underlying act. So whatever steps that he took, what the -- what the attack was made of could result in all sorts of different criminal charges for this individual.

There are many different types of assaults. Assault on a federal officer. Assault on civilians. There are potential arson charges or possibly even use of a weapon of mass destruction charges. We'll have to see how the lawyers think about that at the arraignment later today.

BERMAN: It does seem like they have a lot to work with in this case. A very good thing no one was more seriously hurt.

Andy McCabe, good to see you today. Thank you very much -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: A tragedy in Ohio to tell you about. At a river near Columbus, Ohio, an attempt to save one struggling swimmer ended with five people dead. Authorities say it appears that the group was out fishing. One went to swim then the other four jumped into the water to help when that person began to struggle in the water. All five of them -- two women, three men -- they did not make it. The sheriff's office says a child that was with the group ran to the road to flag down a driver for help. That child and another child are now in the care of family services.

Also new this morning, health officials say despite a false-positive test result of cyclospora, they do -- they say Taylor Farms is still the focus of their investigation into the large outbreak caused by the parasite. [07:45:00]

The FDA saying this in a statement. "...this false positive lab sample DOES NOT change the basis for FDA's ongoing outbreak investigation or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the current voluntary recall by Taylor Farms."

Now, the CDC's Foodborne Diseases Active Surveillance Network had been tracking the parasite until July of last year when HHS Sec. Robert Kennedy Jr. instituted big cutbacks to its pathogen surveillance.

In a scathing letter on this very issue, Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is writing to the secretary, slamming him -- writing, "Your foolish self- indulgent demolition of critical public health programs puts Americans at risk."

Ossoff is demanding to know more about the investigation -- whether the pathogen surveillance network had been restored and why cyclospora was removed from its tracking in the first place -- John.

BERMAN: So new comments this morning from the 65-year-old grandfather who was launched eight feet into the air by a bison at Yellowstone National Park. In a video released by the hospital, Carl McDaniel described the encounter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL ISOM-MCDANIEL, ATTACKED BY A BISON AT YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK: We saw the bison and he was down. He wasn't showing aggression or anything like that until that target -- that target happened to be me. They move faster than you could ever imagine. He just kept coming and he was more aggressive. And as soon as he got off that tree, he launched me in the air.

Even though I was on the ground he could have stomped me. He could have gored me. He could have done anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It was pretty dramatic, anyway, even without the background music. Just a little video note to the hospital.

McDaniel broke his femur in four places but says he is thankful for the people who helped him after the attack and the medical team taking care of him.

A plane lands on the roof of a home, leading to the question: How do you get a plane off the roof of a home?

And then it's kind of my lifetime times two. One mother has one of the rarest births in the world, identical quadruplets.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:51:32] BERMAN: New this morning, a federal judge has hit the pause button on Paramount's proposed takeover of CNN's parent company Warner Bros. Discovery. She issued a temporary restraining order that stopped the merger after a coalition of 12 state attorneys general sued to block it on antitrust grounds. Now the focus shifts to a hearing in early August.

CNN chief media analyst Brian Stelter is with us now. Brian, we knew to expect this because you told us to expect this. So what's next?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, the merger was on the one yard line. Paramount is basically in the end zone. But this state lawsuit is a serious challenge -- a serious block, at least for a few weeks.

And that hearing on August 3 is now going to be crucial because yesterday's ruling by this judge was almost like the preview or the trailer before the movie. The next stage, on August 3, is the actual event -- the main event.

But let me show you what the judge said because it may preview where she is coming from and how she is viewing this case. She says the states that are suing are making a strong showing. She wrote, "The plaintiff states make a strong showing that the transaction will substantially lessen competition in the wide-release theatrical distribution market." Now she went on to say that the evidence is compelling.

Now, early on in these situations, the judges are inclined to go ahead and grant that restraining order and hit the pause button so to speak. But that comment in the ruling yesterday may be worrisome for Paramount. It may indicate that the judge is inclined to slow this deal down.

We heard from Paramount responding in a statement, saying, "This merger is lawful, pro-competitive, and will benefit consumers, creators, workers, and the entertainment industry. We will continue to vigorously defend the transaction and look forward to the hearings on the substance of this case."

So those hearings will be on August 3. This is happening relatively quickly -- actually, quite quickly because Paramount says time is of the essence. It is trying to take over CNN and the rest of Warner by the end of September. The deal gets a lot more expensive for Paramount starting in October.

The judge seems willing to make this go along quickly, so when she hears arguments for the preliminary injunction on August 3, she'll likely rule in a matter of days. At that point, this deal could be stopped for many months, or Paramount could have the green light to go ahead and complete the merger.

So it all comes down to that hearing on August 3.

BERMAN: And what are the states saying, Brian? STELTER: Well certainly, the states exuding confidence at this point. They've put together this case -- a coalition of 12 states -- New York, New Jersey, California, Oregon, Washington, and others.

And we heard from California A.G. Rob Bonta who basically says that the gas tank is full. That's the argument he made in a statement. Here's his quote. He said, "With our lawsuit, we're fighting for a free and fair market and a thriving film and television industry that serves creatives and audiences alike. We have a tank full of gas, the law on our side, and look forward to continuing to make our case."

Some of the state attorneys general and their aides have said to me privately that they believe they will prevail with the preliminary injunction, and they will cause this deal to be delayed at least through the end of the year. That's because any trial on this case would be pushed until at least early 2027 and maybe later in 2027. That has implications, of course, for CNN and all these other Warner assets that are basically in limbo right now waiting to find out who will own them in the future.

BERMAN: I know a few people watching this very closely.

Brian Stelter, thank you so much for sharing your reporting on this -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Stay so.

A plane landed on top of a home in Houston, Texas. Officials say the pilot was trying to make landing nearby at an airstrip that was nearby. He, clearly, did not. The FAA says only the pilot was on board and suffered minor injuries, thankfully. The homeowners said -- the homeowners said no one inside the house was injured.

[07:55:05]

Can you imagine? Honey, a plane just landed on our home. Now there's an investigation ongoing into, well, obviously, what happened here.

And talk about a full house. A family in Australia is celebrating the arrival of four identical baby girls, and doctors believe this could be the first naturally conceived identical quadruplet pregnancy ever recorded in the country. Emily, Harriet, Alexa, and Catherine -- they were born by C-section at just over 28 weeks and are now receiving care in the NICU. Doctors say the odds of naturally conceived identical quadruplets is about one in 15 million.

The family -- here is the kicker, friends -- already had four children at home. Blessings, blessings. We just hope everyone is OK.

This lightsaber, John Berman, along with a severed hand is now the new world record for -- I'm saying you should watch this.

BERMAN: Do you know what the severed hand is?

BOLDUAN: No, that's why I'm reading this very carefully. Come on -- you read it and tell me. BERMAN: Go ahead. Go ahead.

BOLDUAN: OK. New world record for most valuable screen used "Star Wars" prop ever sold at auction. Mark Hamill's original lightsaber with said aforementioned severed hand was used in the set of "The Empire Strikes Back" and sold for nearly $4 million. Heritage Auctions calls it one of the most important surviving "Star Wars" artifacts in existence.

John, did I do that accurately?

BERMAN: You did. It's Luke's severed hand. Darth Vader chops off his hand and tells him he's his father. This is the most famous severed hand.

BOLDUAN: This is when he finds out who his daddy is?

BERMAN: In all of like, you know, film history.

BOLDUAN: Exciting.

BERMAN: Yes, it is. It's very exciting.

BOLDUAN: There's an ongoing joke, guys. I indignantly won't watch "Star Wars" just to make him mad.

What have we got? Oh, a breakout hit, "Choosin' Texas" -- this is where I shine -- is spending its 14th straight week at the top of Billboard's Hot 100 tying a pair of iconic songs for the record.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLA LANGLEY, SINGER: Singing "Choosin' Texas."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It's a great song. The Alabama native co-wrote the song with country star Miranda Lambert. Langley now ties records held by Mariah Carey for her 2005 hit "We Belong Together" and Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" for the longest run for a female artist for a non-holiday song. We all know who the all-time winner of all songs is which is, of course, Mariah's "All I Want for Christmas Is You." It still holds the all-time record for the most weeks at Billboard's number one spot -- Jonathan.

BERMAN: All right. Time to go watch "Star Wars" now.

BOLDUAN: OK, bye.

BERMAN: I'm not angry; I'm just disappointed.

All right. In Spain, you know, you don't need a reason to party, but they have a pretty good one after the World Cup.

CNN's Coy Wire here this morning. Good morning, sir.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Good morning, Mr. Berman.

This celebration was so massive it looked like the entire country decided to throw a giant block party. Spain's World Cup champs returning to a hero's welcome fit for royalty. Nearly two million fans transforming Madrid into a sea of red and gold.

The squad rolled through the capital aboard an open-top bus. They didn't just bring home the trophy; it felt like they brought the whole country together at Plaza de Cibeles where the players were introduced. And the man who won the Golden Ball, Rodri, he came out last with the trophy. And listen to this, John.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Fans cheering.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Oh my goodness.

Now, check this out in Argentina -- the scenes on Monday. Even though they finished runners-up, the players received the warmest of welcomes from fans. The president of Argentina said on Sunday that a holiday would be declared whenever the players decided to celebrate their return.

This one's for you, Berman. The two hottest teams in MLB squared off. Your Red Sox and the Orioles carrying a combined 20-game winning streak into Fenway. And how about Caleb Durbin going yard and launching a homer over the green monster in the eighth.

And then the play of the game. The Orioles -- they had runners on second and third but look at this. Tsung-Che-Cheng climbing the ladder and grabbing a line drive to rob Baltimore in the ninth inning. I know you're smiling right now. That would have been the go-ahead win hit. Instead, Boston hangs on 6-5 for a 14th straight win, now one victory shy of tying the franchise record set way back in 1946.

Finally, baseball gave us a comedy worthy of the big screen. Dodgers star Mookie Betts launched a homer in the eighth inning. And watch this Phillies fan in green. A hat-tastic catch. Grabs the ball elated, but then another fan says hold on, bro -- that was my ball. He pulls a power move, John. So the fan in green is baffled.