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Nolan Wells' Cause Of Death Undetermined After Independent Autopsy; Tighter Security Planned For Rescheduled White House Press Dinner; Tropical Storm Bertha Makes Landfall In Louisiana; Aired 3:30- 4a ET

Aired July 22, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

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[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Adopting the gold standard of international oversight. It would actually involve American companies providing technology and expertise to develop the program.

Do you support that deal?

REP. BUDDY CARTER (R-GA): Well, I haven't had a chance to read the details of it yet, but I will tell you, this is an example of the president rewarding good behavior. Saudi Arabia has been a friend here recently and -- and he is showing them that, yes, if you will cooperate, then we will -- we will help you.

The same thing goes with Turkey. You saw where he's looking at -- selling them some F-35s. They've been a good friend. They've shown good behavior.

And if you look back at the MOU with Iran, it was laden with incentives for them. If they showed good behavior, if they cooperated, they would be rewarded. This is a president who understands how to negotiate both with a carrot and with a stick.

KEILAR: You nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Do you still think that he deserves it?

CARTER: Absolutely. This president has -- has shown that he is a leader in -- in peace treaties. He has -- he has negotiated over seven treaties since he's been in -- in office a second go round, including treaty between Pakistan and Iraq that, you know, two nuclear nations. That is significant.

We need to make sure that he's deserving of this. And we need to make sure that he's rewarded with it.

KEILAR: In 2024, he campaigned on many promises. These promises, May 17th, 2024, one thing -- this is a quote. "One thing you'll never have with me, you'll never have a war." July 18th, "I don't have wars." August 14th, "No more wars. No more disruptions." August 17th, "Under Trump, we will have no more wars." And November 6th, 2024, "I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars."

And here's what he said in his inauguration address. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will measure our success, not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end. And perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: You cite peace, but he's gotten into a war, has he not, a war that has no apparent end. How is that not breaking that key promise that he made to Americans, including many who live in your district?

CARTER: Again, this is a president who is making sure that a 47-year- old war, this is not a war that just started. This war with Iran has been going on for 47 years. He is trying to end it. And he is working with a -- with a government --

KEILAR: I think we should be clear, Congressman, this particular -- I think we should be clear this particular engagement is one that started in late February and is now in five months without an --

CARTER: This particular engagement is one that started 47 years ago. That's what we should point out.

KEILAR: This is not a war he inherited.

CARTER: He is simply -- no, this is -- this is simply him trying to put a stop to Iran never having a nuclear bomb. He is trying to save Americans. He's trying to save Israel. He's trying to save the world.

Can you imagine if Iran has a nuclear bomb? Can you imagine what that looks like? That's -- this president is going to make sure that never happens.

KEILAR: He said that he had obliterated their nuclear capabilities with Operation Midnight Hammer. This is obviously a separate engagement. Has he not started a war?

CARTER: No. He -- he has obliterated them. And look, Iran is hurting right now. Their economy is hurting. And the president is going to bring an end to this.

I can assure you, Iran is not a war.

KEILAR: What do you call this if it is not a war? We just -- we just witnessed a dignified transfer today of four service members.

CARTER: And our -- our thoughts and prayers are with those families. And one of the -- one of the troops that's passed is Georgian. Certainly our thoughts and prayers are with them.

And their memory will last forever. And we will make sure that their loss is not in vain. But I can assure you, we are doing this with the intent of making sure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. And that's something that I think we should all be appreciative of.

KEILAR: Congressman Buddy Carter, thank you so much for being with us.

CARTER: Thank you.

KEILAR: Coming up, the family of Nolan Wells has released the preliminary results of an independent autopsy report. What it found, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:25]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: An independent autopsy of Nolan Wells could not determine what caused the 18-year-old's death. The college football player's unexplained death has sparked some speculation about whether race might have played a part in what happened.

Today, the attorney for Wells' Family released the independent autopsy results as they wait for findings from the initial autopsy, an official one, done by the Mississippi State Medical Examiner.

The private autopsy found no fractures or deep tissue injuries, which would indicate the possibility of blunt force trauma. But it did note a 12 by 18 inch area of red discoloration on the back of Wells' head.

The pathologist could not determine whether that had occurred before or after Wells' death, and noted the discoloration would not have been visible during the first autopsy.

The pathologist goes on to make two other important notes. First, he says he was unable to examine the interior -- internal structure of Wells' neck, writing, quote, "It is assumed that the initial pathologist retained these structures for additional evaluation." A practice the pathologist describes as common.

Second, the pathologist notes he was unable to observe Wells' airway and lungs for water because, again quoting, "The initial autopsy rightfully removed and dissected each organ."

Because of this, the pathologist was unable to determine a cause of death. Wells' parents talked about how those unanswered questions are taking a personal toll on them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE WELLS-WONSLEY, MOTHER OF NOLAN WELLS: The only question that we have is, what happened to our son? That -- that is the only question.

[15:40:07]

We have consistently been degraded by the public. There's been questions about our parenting, our GoFundMe, this, that, and other. I've been called a racist.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCIUTTO: Well, so much swirling around. Joining me now CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. Joe, it's good to have you here.

You know, we should note again, the official autopsy says that the findings are still undetermined pending investigation. So, they conducted the autopsy, did not find evidence of -- of foul play, initially, but they have other questions to explore.

And then you have this independent autopsy, which I guess you could call incomplete, right? Because -- because some parts sadly of Wells' body had been removed from the initial investigation.

I just wondered, given that there are so many accusations and there's so much speculation floating here, based on your experience, do you see the basis for alleging foul play? Or is it too early?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: So, Jim, good to be with you. I think the answer is too early. And again, the takeaway here is undetermined with respect to the manner and cause of death.

And when you have a discussion about autopsy reports, it's important to note that it's a data point in a particular case. But oftentimes, it's not outcome determinative. We always want to know, right?

Inquiring minds want to know what happened. And certainly, there are those instances where an autopsy report can reveal specifically what happened in terms of the cause of manner and death.

In this specific case, Jim, for many factors, much of what you've cited, it cannot do that. And so we have to look to it in addition to other evidence, because it was the second autopsy, right? The body is degraded in significant ways.

You mentioned the issue of the throat removal. If we're talking about water and potential drowning, having the throat there, it needs to be assessed. Was there water there or is not -- is there not? Is there strangulation? Is there not?

When the stomach contents are removed, same thing. Could you detect water in the stomach? That couldn't be done because of the state of the body.

And so when having this discussion, it's important to note that autopsies are critical, but there are oftentimes just a data point that needs to mix with other evidence to determine exactly what happened.

SCIUTTO: So, let me ask you then about the fact that there are two autopsies. The one in D.C., done by his family, to ensure there were no ties to Mississippi law enforcement.

In your experience or based on what we know, do they have cause to be concerned about the involvement of Mississippi law enforcement?

JACKSON: So, I think at this point, the -- the initial autopsy, we don't know yet, but that initial autopsy will be matched against this one.

The initial autopsy is important. Why? Critically important because you're going to get toxicology out of that. That will reveal the -- the items that were in his body, if any, right? What -- what was exactly in his body at the time, Nolan Wells that is.

You're going to look to the actual preservation of the throat. What did they determine there? Was there water there? Was there not? Was there any strangulation? Was there not? With regard to the injury on the back of the skull.

What, if any, findings did they have with respect to the stomach contents? What was the food, if any, in his system? That shows you a different timeline or it'll show and establish a timeline with regard to when he actually died.

So, I think that what the family wants to do, when community wants to do, is to have transparency and want to be able to trust the ultimate findings.

But I think you have this that will ultimately, Jim, we know, be presented to a grand jury that consists of a group of members from the public, up to 25, it could be. Usually, it's about 20 in Mississippi, 12 of which need to be vote out an indictment. We're not there yet, but we know that that's where it's heading.

And when you go to the grand jury, you're going to present the original autopsy, the toxicology. You're going to present this autopsy. You're going to present many of the witnesses who may have seen something.

And remember this, Jim, in autopsy, you can't determine how someone got into the water, where they compelled to be in the water, where they swimming or not swimming in the water. They're going to look at the boating records, of course, right? Where was that boat at the specific time? They're going to look at witnesses and what they saw. They're going to look at inconsistencies. They're going to look at the fact that he didn't have a cell phone, the deleted items on his cell phone.

So again, I conclude with the issue of data points. Very critical an autopsy is. Today's was undetermined. We'll see what the first one says. But in any autopsy, it needs to be matched against the totality of the evidence in order to draw a firm conclusion as to whether there was criminality.

SCIUTTO: Right. Long way to go. Lots of questions to be answered.

Joey Jackson, thanks so much.

JACKSON: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, coming up, the Secret Service just gave an update on exactly how they are preparing for Friday's rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:10]

SCIUTTO: The Secret Service is stepping up security measures for this Friday's do-over of the White House Correspondents' Dinner here in Washington, D.C.

The annual tradition was sadly cut short in April when a gunman breached the security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton in an alleged attempt to assassinate President Trump.

KEILAR: The rescheduled dinner will now be at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and President Trump does plan to attend.

CNN's Holmes Lybrand is with us on this story. And, Lybrand, the director of Secret Service, just gave an update on the plan here. What did you learn?

HOLMES LYBRAND, CNN REPORter: That's right. One of the things that Director Sean Curran really wanted to hammer home is how this first White House Correspondents' Dinner, when this man was detained after opening fire on an officer there. He sees that as a -- a success.

And I -- I actually want to show you a clip from the briefing today to that effect.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[15:50:02]

SEAN CURRAN, DIRECTOR, SECRET SERVICE: We will always evaluate every site. And right now, we have an advanced team there. And they will take back and they will set up a plan to set that site up for success, just like we did at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Hilton.

That is a success. That is why we set up checkpoints. That is why we -- we have our teams, our special teams in place because we -- we do plan for that. And that's -- that's the reality. That's sometimes what people don't understand.

If we didn't need the magnetometers, we wouldn't set them up. We do expect bad people to show up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LYBRAND: And now, I'm also told by others who have been involved in this planning that the look, the outlook or really the way that security is going to unfold for that night won't look much different than that first night where that gunman was able to rush those magnetometers.

Again, Curran believes that that physical barrier is what prevented him from being able to access that ballroom. He was over a hundred yards away from Trump. So really in there, in terms of their posture for security, it's not going to look a lot different. Now, this location where this hotel is now set up, there's also a lot more officers and a lot more agencies who handle security in that area. You're talking about Parks police. You're talking about Capitol Police also.

So, again, the security might look a little different, but you'll still see those physical barriers which, again, are that last line for lone wolf attacks.

SCIUTTO: They're not going to expand the cordon at all? Because perhaps he didn't get close to the president, but he -- he got close to several of our colleagues wielding a weapon and firing that weapon.

LYBRAND: That's right. And -- and again, this hotel is also pretty unique. The egresses and access points, they're also more limited. So, you will have those ticketed guests that do need to go through security.

But I was also told, you'll remember that this gunman was actually staying at the hotel.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

LYBRAND: But the Secret Service, they're not reviewing guests. They're not going through that. That's something that they really can't do.

So, yeah, that security, it will look pretty similar even if there are some unseen security increases.

SCIUTTO: Holmes Lybrand, thanks so much.

Ahead, breaking news, Tropical Storm Bertha just made landfall in Louisiana. We'll get the latest forecast, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:55:36]

SCIUTTO: Breaking news. Tropical Storm Bertha has made landfall now in Louisiana and it is bringing the threat of strong winds and flooding rates.

CNN's Chris Warren is tracking this system. All right, Chris, what are you seeing?

CHRIS WARREN, METEOROLOGIST: Well, fortunately right now, things could be a lot worse in New Orleans. A few showers in the area. You can see some wet roads here and just a little bit of a breeze.

Now, the stronger winds are going to be closer to where you're near the open gulf. So, the open waters with the winds coming out of the south. Things are going to be pretty nasty with the rough surf and could even see some localized flooding. Some coastal flooding is what we're expecting.

Any flash flooding from the rain will be isolated. The worst of the weather really is still way offshore.

And as Bertha moves over land, it will continue to weaken, gradually weaken. But the winds on this side, on the now it's the backside of it essentially, we're seeing winds gusting at times at Pensacola 32 miles an hour. Biloxi has been close in around 30 miles an hour throughout the afternoon hours.

And here you can really see where that swirl is. But notice there's not a yellow of -- a lot of -- not a lot of yellow or orange on the radar. And that would be into the moderate getting into the heavy rain. It's just not there. That's offshore. So, that's part of the reason why or it's an example of why this storm is just doesn't have a big punch to it.

The worst of the weather is removed from the center. And that has a lot to do with what's going on in the atmosphere kind of tearing apart the storm.

Continuing to weaken as it moves over land and then kind of hugging right along the coast, the southwest coast of Louisiana and then into Texas with tropical storm conditions. A possibility through late tomorrow before it weakens by overnight Thursday into early Friday.

Now, some of the moisture from this will likely outlast the storm. So, with the overall weather pattern, some of the moisture from Bertha will be getting up and interacting with this stalled out front today and again tomorrow.

So with that, with some of this heavy rain from Georgia to the Carolinas and South East Virginia will have to watch out for some localized flooding.

KEILAR: All right. We'll look out for that. Chris, thank you very much.

A few minutes ago, President Trump acknowledged the family of Tyler James Feehan, one of four soldiers killed in the Iran war over the weekend.

SCIUTTO: There's his picture there.

Trump says he offered Feehan's family, who happens to be from Georgia, a ride in his plane after today's dignified transfer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Oh, it's very, very tough to -- very tough to watch, to be honest with you. Very tough. I think it's the toughest thing I do, if anything I do. I do all this stuff, but I think it's the toughest thing I do.

But to Shari, and, Stephen and David, we will carry Tyler's memory in our hearts forever. And I just want to thank you. It's an honor to have you here today. Please.

(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KEILAR: Feehan was planning to get married when his deployment was over.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KEILAR: And this really was four people honored today who just were the spectrum of Americans.

Tyler James Feehan. Isabella Gonzales, who was just 19. Angel Rampersad. And Michael Emanuel Swinton, a father of two.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KEILAR: This was quite something to witness at Dover today.

SCIUTTO: They all volunteered to serve their country. They all lost their lives doing so. Our hearts go out to their families.

And "The Arena with Kasie Hunt."