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Soon: Trump Holds Oval Office Event as Iran war Intensifies; U.S. Measles Cases Hit 35-Year High; GA School Shooter Heard Breaking Down During Confession; Tonight: WH Correspondents' Dinner Do-Over with Bolstered Security. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired July 24, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: ... employees are not allowed to use prediction markets. Brian.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: All right. Marshall Cohen for us. Marshall, thank you.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Any minute now, we are set to hear from President Trump as the conflict in the Middle East grows. U.S. forces have been striking Iran for 13 straight nights, and the President is signaling he is not ready yet to negotiate.

Plus, a record number of cases. New CDC data shows that measles cases have reached a 35-year high. More infections have been recorded in the past 18 months than in the previous 25 years combined.

And increased security ahead of tonight's rescheduled White House Correspondents' Dinner after the first one ended in gunfire.

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

Any moment, President Trump is expected to hold an event at the White House as the U.S. and Iran trade escalating strikes in the Middle East. Just over 24 hours ago, the President told Axios he was, quote, "considering a massive attack bigger than ever before." Today, at least three U.S. allies in the region are reporting new Iranian attacks, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan, where three U.S. service members were killed last weekend. CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us at the White House.

Kristen, what's the latest there?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, from everything we're seeing, President Trump is certainly considering expanding this war, and he's putting in the infrastructure needed if he should take this big step. This would be increasing military operations on the ground in Iran. Some of what we've seen is the Wall Street Journal reporting medics going to Germany, which seems as anticipation of more casualties. On the other side, we've seen these different fighter jets being moved from European bases to the Middle East. Now, President Trump himself has been kind of floating this idea of

ramping up military attacks. But we've seen that before when it comes to the President. He kind of uses the rhetoric and then doesn't actually go through with it. It might be different this time. And the reason why is because when you're talking to these U.S. officials, it certainly feels as though they feel like President Trump, the United States has been backed into a corner. There is clearly an impasse with Iran. We've also seen these new intelligence assessments that show that night after night, these strikes that the U.S. is doing is unlikely to move the negotiating posture of the Iranians. So, what exactly is going to break this impasse?

Now, I will say on the other side of this, I have talked to a number of U.S. officials and Republicans across the board who are not eager to get into any kind of major escalation here. They want this to be done. They want any kind of ceasefire. But it's just unclear what's going to happen at this point and whether or not President Trump would even agree to a ceasefire, since we know that he did turn down this idea of a ceasefire that mediators had floated last week, as well as the fact that he says the Iranians just aren't ready for a deal.

KEILAR: All right, Kristen, thank you so much for the latest there. Brian.

ABEL: Today, new data from the CDC shows measles cases in the U.S. are growing to record levels. The highly contagious disease was eliminated more than a quarter of a century ago. But in just the first seven months of this year, the U.S. has logged more than 2,300 cases. That's the most in 35 years. And it comes as vaccine rates continue to tick down in the U.S.

Last hour, we spoke with Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. He offered this warning. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. PAUL OFFIT, DIRECTOR, VACCINE EDUCATION CENTER, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OF PHILADELPHIA: I think measles is out of control. It's come roaring back. I think this is only going to get worse. People are unnecessarily scared of this safe and effective vaccine. So, this is the most contagious human infection, and it's not done yet. I think that there's going to be more children who are going to suffer, more children who are going to be hospitalized. And I think, sadly, there are probably going to be more children who are going to die. We just don't know their names yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell is joining us now.

And Meg, that was quite the warning there from the doctor. Explain the significance when it comes to these latest numbers for us.

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brian, just visualizing them will really show you how out of step we are in this year and last year than with -- where we were in history. This is 2025. This is seven months into 2026. We've surpassed 2,300 measles cases this year. As you can see, we typically had averaged fewer than 100 per year in the United States. And if you look at the trajectory of this, of course, 2026 now just going so much more vertically than the years we've seen before that.

And of course, we had these massive outbreaks last year in West Texas, another even bigger one in South Carolina that spanned from October to April. And we still have simmering outbreaks. Right now, there's one in Utah and Arizona that's been going since last summer.

[15:05:02]

We have other outbreaks that are going on now in Virginia and Pennsylvania and other states around the country, as you can see, reporting these cases. And of course, what we worry about is when you start to accumulate thousands of cases, that is when you do, as Dr. Offit warned, start to expect to see deaths from measles. And of course, we saw two deaths in Texas in that outbreak last year.

Now, this is happening as vaccination rates are falling nationally. The green states here are the only states that currently have kindergarten vaccination rates, or actually, this was the 2024-25 school year. At that 95 percent threshold that you try to get to for herd immunity, for a virus that is as contagious as measles, all of these states in the red and yellow are not hitting that threshold that we need to get to. And you can see on a national basis, that's fallen since before the pandemic. We were above 95 percent on a national basis. Now, we're down to 92.5 percent nationally.

And of course, what you really worry about is these pockets, these communities that have even lower vaccination rates, and they particularly affect school-aged kids. And in fact, that's what we see in measles cases, that almost 70 percent of the cases we have seen this year have been in children. And of course, 93 percent of them have not been vaccinated. And so you're hearing these warnings that measles, because it's so contagious, is really the tip of the iceberg. But we're going to start to potentially see other vaccine-preventable illnesses that we thought were diseases of yesteryear starting to come back as well, Brian.

ABEL: Yes, certainly alarming, significant numbers there, Meg. Measles not the only outbreak that the U.S. is dealing with right now. The cyclosporiasis outbreak is also expanding. What can you tell us about that?

TIRRELL: Yes. So, this, of course, is a very large outbreak, one of the largest we've ever seen with this parasite. And it has been concentrated the main largest outbreak around Michigan. They've reported thousands of cases, the most of any state. Previously, this had been a five-state outbreak. We have now today heard from the CDC. They've added an additional four states that are linked to that outbreak. So, that's Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and Pennsylvania have been added to these other states here.

But as you can see, there are other cases of cyclosporiasis throughout the United States. The FDA has said it's investigating multiple clusters. This cluster now of nine states is still linked to that iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms. Many people said that they'd eaten at Taco Bell restaurants. Taco Bell had said several days previously they'd pulled that nationwide. Brian?

ABEL: All right. Meg Tirrell for us. Meg, thank you for that reporting.

Still to come for us, new details in a deadly Georgia school shooting. Colt Gray now admitting to the attack at Apalachee High School. And we are also hearing for the first time a tape of him talking to investigators soon after his arrest.

And then later, millions facing flood threats linked to the remnants of Tropical Storm Bertha. That and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:12:14]

ABEL: A gut-wrenching last hour in a Georgia courtroom. Victims, families, and survivors of a deadly school shooting have been listening to the teen gunman weep and sob through his confession. Sixteen-year-old Colt Gray pleaded guilty to all 55 charges today. And prosecutors just played a recorded interview Gray gave soon after his rampage at Apalachee High School nearly two years ago. He was 14 when he used an AR-15-style rifle to murder four people. Two students and two teachers. And he also wounded nine others.

A warning. What you are about to hear is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLT GRAY, INTERVIEWED BY POLICE AFTER HIS 2024 ATTACK: I just (expletive) came here and did this stupid (expletive). I'm probably affected thousands -- probably affected thousands of people, dude. This is (expletive) horrible. I'm really unwell.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, you said you had auditory things?

GRAY: Auditory things, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like what? What is that?

GRAY: This constant, like this random whispering and (expletive) like that. I know it's so common for, you know, people to fake schizophrenia just to get some stupid settlement or whatever. It's so -- it's just -- I -- oh, my god.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that something -- is that something that you've been to the doctor for before?

GRAY: No, sir. But my dad had an appointment next week. But I ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your dad did? GRAY: (INAUDIBLE) I told him to hide his guns and he did. But, I don't

know how I found them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You -- your dad hid the guns?

GRAY: Yes, I -- he was -- he already ordered a -- a gun safe. It was one of those situations where each of them was oblivious.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mm-hmm.

GRAY: I told him and he knew he cared about me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you tell him to hide the gun?

GRAY: A few days ago.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few days ago?

GRAY: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, is that -- is that something you've been thinking about doing for a while?

GRAY: Yes, it's been years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've been thinking about it for years?

GRAY: It's only gotten worse. I -- I probably just now gets to one where I wanted to reach out and get help. We were so close. Oh, my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Gray's father never bought that gun safe. Let's bring in now CNN Legal Analyst Joey Jackson, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor.

And Joey, we -- we've heard these heartbreaking victim impact statements as well today in court and now this video of Gray speaking to investigators right after the shooting. How do you see this factoring into his sentencing?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Brian, good to be with you. A very tough topic to discuss. What happens today is that the judge has to make a determination and has two choices. Remember that this stems from a guilty plea. His father already went to trial. His father was found accountable. The jury took two hours with regard to his father getting the gun into his hands knowing that his son had significant mental issues which were not addressed.

[15:15:05]

Why is that relevant? Because a lot of the evidence with respect to the son's mental issues who we're dealing with today, a lot of issues with regard to the AR-15 and the warnings and police even coming to the home of the dad with the FBI saying, hey, your kid made a threat online and what does he do in response, he buys his child ammunition.

And so, today is all about what the child's sentence is going to be. And the judge in evaluating that, Brian, has the following options. Number one, the judge, after hearing this mini-trial of information certainly needed for the judge to assess all the facts, can sentence him, right, that is the person, the -- the 14-year-old at the time, he could sentence him to number one, life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Now, that doesn't mean, right, anything other than he will be in jail for the rest of his life, period. No, you don't get out early release. You don't get good time. You're in jail for life. The other issue then would be life with parole. And with that, you're eligible for parole in 30 years.

Now, Brian, I say eligible because you can go before the parole board after 30 years. There's no indication after that 30 years that you will be released. And so, the judge needs to assess all of this information to make a right determination as to whether or not to exercise one or the other options. And what we're seeing today is the judge getting all those facts to make that assessment.

ABEL: The judge also hearing some recommendations from families that were impacted. I want you to listen to what Breanna Schermerhorn, mother of victim Mason Schermerhorn, had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREANNA SCHERMERHORN, MOTHER OF VICTIM MASON SCHERMERHORN: Excuses end. Every morning I wake up to the reality that my son is gone. Every night I go to bed knowing that there is nothing I can do to change it. I have lived 688 days so far of a sentence with no parole. And that is what he should receive as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Heartbreaking to hear. She's calling for a sentence with no parole. He did change his plea today to guilty. It was not negotiate it, meaning prosecutors did not offer anything in exchange for his guilty plea. Can you talk to us about that a little bit?

JACKSON: Yes, I think, Brian, that was a calculated assessment. Certainly anybody can go to trial in the event they exercise that option. I think his attorney saw what happened. We discussed the dad and the finding of guilt with the jury taking two hours. And I believe that they didn't have a path to victory.

But more importantly, I think that they were playing, they being the defense, representing their client, the defendant, the 14-year-old at the time, was saying, look, if we do this and throw ourselves on the mercy of the court and pleading to these 55 counts to take accountability for the four that died here, the two students at his hands, the two teachers, the nine that were injured, the multiple other people who were there, students and teachers, who had to bear this indignity, they said, look, perhaps if we do that and then we go in from the defense and talk about other redeeming qualities, the fact that he's young as we look there with the victims who are now dead at his hands, you know, and talk to the court about how he was young, his brain was premature, et cetera, maybe, just maybe, he would be spared life in jail and given parole at some point.

And so, I think it was a calculated option in order to avoid having the judge and the families to go through this having compelling and horrific evidence to come out and then say, hey, judge, if I am guilty, now I want to stay out with life without parole, right? So, I think ...

ABEL: Yes.

JACKSON: ... that was the decision and calculus made, we'll see ultimately what the judge decides.

ABEL: Yes, and I wonder -- I do wonder if the judge will view it as too little too late with the accountability effort. Barrow County Sheriff's Office Investigator Jason Smith, Joey, he read part of Gray's notebook which was left behind in his second period classroom detailing his plan for the shooting. Smith testified that the notes appeared to have been written before the day of the shooting. What's your reaction to that?

JACKSON: I think it's significant and I think the reason we're seeing that is because the judge has to again assess even though there's been a guilty plea on the 55 counts, what specifically happened here and what was the mental and mind state at the time that it did occur. There was a dispute over whether or not, as he's -- he mentioned, hey, that this was spontaneous, you know, I just decided to do it, teachers were whispering about me, et cetera, or whether it was planned.

And I think if you look and -- and evaluate the contents of the notebook and what he was writing, it goes to show it was premeditated, he knew exactly what he was doing and he knew the consequences of his actions and that's certainly something very important for the judge to decide in meting out a sentence that the judge believes is appropriate.

But, you know, Brian, it's gut-wrenching when you hear the victim impact statements, the victims of the four who died here and their families and what they meant to them, the ones who were injured and the psychological impact it had. So, the judge has a lot to process. We'll hear from the defense as well at some point, generally with a psychologist.

[15:20:07]

But let's be clear, Georgia is one of 22 states that does allow, even though you were 14 at the time, for life in prison without the possibility of parole and the judge can unilaterally make that decision after hearing all the evidence, let's see what the judge does after he does so.

ABEL: And any amount of this kind of case is -- is too many. Joey Jackson, appreciate you. Thank you.

JACKSON: Thank you, Brian.

ABEL: Still to come, the White House Correspondents Dinner is back on. We look at the tighter security measures and who is not going to be there this time around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:25:21]

KEILAR: The show will go on tonight. The White House Correspondents' Dinner will take place again in a do-over with bolstered security measures.

ABEL: The first dinner in April, you may remember, ended in gunfire. The annual event. It was shut down after a gunman rushed through a Secret Service screening checkpoint on the floor above where the dinner was being held and opened fire. President Trump is scheduled to speak at tonight's dinner, which will be held at a different hotel. And we are joined now by CNN Chief Media Analyst Brian Stelter.

Brian, what can we expect from when it comes to security and tone for tonight's dinner?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Well, in terms of the way this is being set up, it's entirely different. The event at the Washington Hilton last April was a free-for-all. Lots of entrances and exits, relatively loose security. This time around, it's at a new hotel. There's one way in and one way out. It'll be much more intense in terms of the security. Everybody who's attending has to have a QR code. So, it's going to feel more controlled, and it's also going to be a smaller event.

There's room in the ballroom for only about 700 people. So, about a third of the size of the event back in April. Many of President Trump's members of inner circle will not be there. The First Lady not attending, the Vice President not attending, but there will be many Trump cabinet members in the room. And I suspect they're going to enjoy this show, even if others don't.

Take a look -- take a look at what Karoline Leavitt said this morning, the Press Secretary previewing the President's speech, saying the speech will be a combination of unifying, yet vicious and serious, yet hilarious, all at the same time, if you can imagine that. One thing I can assure you: It will be entertaining.

I am having a hard time imagining a speech that would be both unifying and vicious. We'll see what she means by that. I suspect there will be lots of applause lines meant for MAGA media, the President getting some of his jabs at the press in. But that's what the Correspondents' Association expects. They have invited the President and tried to set this up so that he would attend, because they're trying to lower the temperature. And we'll find out by about 10 P.M. tonight what the temperature actually is.

KEILAR: So, there is some external criticism of this dinner. It was very quickly announced ... STELTER: Yes, definitely.

KEILAR: ... right after that other dinner did not happen in its entirety that there was going to be another dinner. And I think there was a lot of people wondering, wait, really? Is that really going to happen? Well, yes, it is happening. Is there much of an appetite for this event tonight?

STELTER: Well, there are lots of folks who were there in April who did not want to go and show up again in July. And that partly does account for the smaller event in a smaller space. There won't be as many people there. But I talked to Weijia Jiang, who was the President of the association for the past year. She's organized this event and really went out of her way to try to make Trump feel welcome.

Here's what she told me about the reason for the event and the rescheduling. She said, "We spent the last year talking about the fabric of American democracy as we celebrate the 250th anniversary. So,, of all years, this was not the one to allow our annual celebration of the First Amendment be ripped away." She said, "More than ever, we have to recognize the freedoms that make us who we are."

And that's, you know, the tug of war of sorts that we're going to see on display tonight. President Trump has tried to demean and delegitimize the American media. He has tried to weaken it in many different ways, through words, but especially lately through actions, whether it's his FCC investigating media companies or his Justice Department sending subpoenas to newsrooms.

But through it all, the work keeps getting done. The journalists keep -- journalism-ing (ph), for lack of a better phrase. And I think in some ways tonight is actually going to speak to the enduring power of the free press, whether Trump likes that or not.

KEILAR: Yes. It's not a verb, but I like that you made it one. Brian Stelter, thank you so much for that.

STELTER: (INAUDIBLE) ...

KEILAR: Let's go to the White House. Now, actually, President Trump is speaking there in the Oval Office. Let's listen.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... the people behind me. Please, go ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Mr. President. I want to ask about the Saudi nuclear deal. This man over your shoulder announces a big deal after 18 months of negotiating with the Saudis. Seems like it's all done. It's signed. And then you come out, throw some new conditions on top of it. The whole thing blows up. So, did he get out ahead of you, or what happened there?

TRUMP: No, nobody got out ahead. I mean, I just say that in order to do it, they have to be a member of the Abraham Accords, which have been very successful. But it's time now that they do it. They and others didn't want to do it because of the problem that they had with Iran. You don't have that problem anymore. You don't have a great power there anymore. You have a problem, but the problem is disappearing day by day. They were the bully of the Middle East. They were not going to be that much of a bully anymore, probably, I think, instinctively want to be. But you don't have the same problem that you would have had four or five months ago before they had no navy, no military, no anti-aircraft, no leaders. I mean, their leaders are gone. A lot of things have changed with respect to that country.

[15:30:00]

So, no, we want them to -- it's a two-way street, and we think it's very important for the future of the Middle East.