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Outside Spending Floods Michigan's Airwaves Ahead of Senate Primary; Testimony Resumes in Trial of Mom Accused of Killing Her 3 Children; Iran Threatens to Strike U.S. Navy if Blockade Continues; Section of SpaceX Rocket to Slam into the Moon. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): ... And I have worked with both communities my whole life. And I am someone that believes that Israel's got a right to exist. And I also know the horror of what we've seen in Gaza and now seen in southern Lebanon.

I know people that have been killed. I personally know people that have been killed in Lebanon in recent months. But it's not either or.

Israel's got a right to exist. So do these other countries. And people are -- we've got to find a way that we are understanding the issues on both sides.

We, I mean, centuries have been unsuccessful in trying to not have wars. I believe in a two-state solution in the Mideast. And we've got to -- everybody's got to listen to each other.

That's what I want to say. I want to say that the rise of anti- Semitism is very real in this country. And I never thought that I would see that in this country.

But I also, having lived in Dearborn, I know what the hate is like there. And I've had death threats just because I lived in Dearborn, let alone because I have so many friends. We've got to stand up to hate.

And I'm hoping that something coming out of all of this is for all of us to understand what's happening. The kind of hate that people are trying to spread, pitting people against each other, is not OK. And we all need to stand up to it and not let ourselves further be divided in this country.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

DINGELL: Thank you.

KEILAR: Coming up, jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial are being shown images of blood that was found in the Clancy home one day after a prosecution witness called the mother's self-inflicted cuts superficial. We'll have that next.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: We are following graphic testimony in day six of the Lindsay Clancy murder trial. She's the Massachusetts mom accused of killing her three young children. The defense has admitted to the killings, but says Clancy was suffering from postpartum psychosis and shouldn't be held criminally responsible.

Today, jurors have been hearing from crime scene analysts and viewing photos taken inside the family's home, including images of blood spatter, pill bottles, and even one of the exercise bands that Clancy used to strangle her children.

CNN's Jean Casarez has been following this case from the very start. Jean, Clancy isn't denying that she killed her children.

What point is the prosecution trying to make with this evidence then?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, even if she is admitting that she killed her children, and we believe she is, they still have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. And this is a murder case, and they have to prove deliberation. They have to prove done with extreme atrocity and cruelty.

So that's what they have to prove. However, there are some things that we won't know what they're really trying to go at until closing arguments. And let's talk about the blood, because they're really making a big deal about this blood in the bedroom.

And today we have had Sherry Crook on the stand. She's the crime scene response team member. That's the blood on the floor.

She is describing that blood as blood drips, OK? Remember, she had a knife. She was cutting her wrists and her neck.

And that right there is the windowsill. There's also a mirror that is involved. And that mirror -- OK, now, that's the outside of the house.

And they actually did some testing on the blood, and they found it was blood drips on the shingles. Now, the floor right there, blood drips upon blood drips. To the right-hand side, you see smearing.

And then on the mirror, you see ovals. That was the mirror right there. And the ovals go down, and that's either a blood drip or blood in flight.

Now, what's the importance of this? They will sum that up in opening statements. Also today, pill bottles.

They brought in pill bottles that Patrick Clancy had actually brought into the district attorney's office in February of 2023. And they showed all the pill bottles to the jury and on a lot of those pill bottles, and they counted out all the medication names, but she hadn't taken very many pills out of the pill bottles. And then finally, the exercise band. And the reason they showed that to the jury is because there was testing done on it, testing on the ends of the band, testing on the center of the band, because they thought two people would be involved in this and have their DNA. They actually could not substantiate any DNA on that exercise band.

ABEL: OK. And Jean, we actually also today heard from Lindsay Clancy herself in court. What happened?

CASAREZ: First time she's ever spoken outside of the presence of the jury, because the defense said and the prosecution, we agree to stipulate, agree on certain facts. Listen to Lindsay Clancy as the judge is asking her, is this freely and voluntarily a decision that you have allowed to happen here? Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE: Do you understand by signing or going along with that stipulation, you are basically relieving the Commonwealth of its burden to prove those certain facts. Do you understand that?

LINDSAY CLANCY: Yes, your honor.

JUDGE: Is that what you want to do at this point?

CLANCY: Yes.

[15:40:00]

JUDGE: All right. Have you gone over this stipulation or the summary of the stipulations with attorney Reddington?

CLANCY: Yes, I have.

JUDGE: All right. Do you need any more time to do that?

CLANCY: No, thank you.

JUDGE: All right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CASAREZ: One stipulation post-mortem toxicology of the three children. Nothing was found in their systems.

ABEL: All right, Jean Casarez for us. Jean, thank you for following that case.

Coming up, mediators say efforts to resolve the U.S. war with Iran are advancing, even though there are no direct talks planned. The latest on the diplomatic push and Iran's new warning to the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:45:00] ABEL: Iran says it is continuing negotiations with Oman over safe shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz just hours after it threatened to attack the U.S. Navy over President Trump's blockade of Iranian ports. U.S. Central Command says under the blockade, it has redirected 44 commercial vessels, disabled two, and boarded two others to ensure compliance.

Qatari negotiators say a potential agreement between the U.S. and Iran is being circulated, but Secretary of State Marco Rubio says despite ongoing talks, nothing is final. Let's discuss with retired Army Lieutenant General Karen Gibson, who is the former Director of Intelligence at U.S. Central Command. And General, thank you for joining us. Right now, it appears Iran is not talking directly with the U.S. What can truly be accomplished without direct talks?

LT. GEN. KAREN GIBSON (RET.), FORMER DIRECTOR OF INTELLIGENCE, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Well, let's go back to the MOU that was signed back in June, and I don't have the exact language in front of me, but it told Iran to work with Oman to develop a mechanism for managing navigation in the Strait that would be consistent with international law and the sovereign rights of the coastal states. So, the MOU does tell Iran to work through Oman on this -- or work through this with Oman. I would expect then, as it becomes public, both regional allies will have an opinion.

And as I understand, they're generally favorable of whatever it is that it says. And the U.S. will have an opinion as well. But at this point, I'm not shocked that Iran is working through the mechanism with Oman solely.

I think we need to see what it says, what the provisions are that are within that agreement.

ABEL: OK. Meanwhile, there's threats going back and forth right now. What do you believe Iran feels about this last chance threat?

GIBSON: So, I think in some -- I'm not going to say they feel that they called the president's bluff, but the president backed off, I think, for a variety of reasons, one of them probably being that key allies in the Gulf, particularly the Saudis, convinced him that it was time to prioritize diplomatic efforts as opposed to additional military action. Even though U.S. Central Command has done a lot to destroy Iranian naval capability, they haven't eliminated the threat in the Strait of Hormuz, nor can they. And there's no indication that they've moved the needle on Iran's strategic calculus.

So, you know, there might be some question on the efficacy of those strikes. The other thing I'd say is Iran's activities of the last two weeks demonstrating that their range and ability to hold regional energy infrastructure at risk goes far beyond the Straits of Hormuz, whether it's the Houthis down at the Bab al-Mandab, attacks against ports in the Red Sea, or even as far as Egypt. I think our Gulf allies convinced the president that this is not the time to try a very large military campaign against Iran, and that, again, to prioritize those diplomatic efforts. ABEL: OK. We also have Secretary Rubio, who's saying U.S. was involved in the negotiations between Iran and Oman on the Strait. Iran has said its goal in talks with Oman is to set temporary arrangements lasting one to three months where, and here's the quote, where Iran is dominant.

Would the U.S. agree to that? Do they have a vote or even a choice at this point?

GIBSON: Those are great questions. I think, you know, we need to see what it looks like. I think two things -- three things maybe that we'll look at.

One is what kind of fee structure, if any, is there? Is there some voluntary fee, as initial reporting said, that would help pay for search and rescue, for the cost of administering navigation, for environmental damage? Or is it a flat-out toll?

I think that's definitely something that not just the U.S., but the rest of the world would oppose. And then what kind of coordination will occur between Iran and Oman in terms of the channels that they manage? Perhaps that's where Iran seeks to be dominant.

And then third, what will be done in terms of demining and making the channels safe for commercial traffic again in the Strait of Hormuz?

ABEL: OK. We have about a minute left. Iran is threatening to strike the U.S. Navy as well if this U.S. blockade against Iranian ports continues. What is their capacity to do that at this point?

GIBSON: Yes. So, you know, they've definitely shown a capacity to hit civilian vessels. And that's what has essentially kept the Strait closed.

U.S. naval assets have far more robust protections. I think in terms of their threat against the U.S. Navy, perhaps Iranian thinking is, open for open. If we open the Straits, we expect you to reopen our ports.

And hence, a need to lift the blockade. So that's another thing we'll need to watch.

[15:50:00]

ABEL: All right, retired Lieutenant General Karen Gibson, thank you so much for joining us and lending us your expertise. Appreciate it.

GIBSON: Thank you.

ABEL: All right -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. More than 150 migrants are now safe and back on dry land after a boat capsized in the English Channel. Rescuers say the vessel was traveling from France to Britain when its engine caught fire. French officials say voyages like this are incredibly dangerous. A group that monitors migration says more than 160 people have died trying to cross the channel since 2018.

Also today, we're getting some answers about a deadly wildfire that ravaged the L.A. area last year. Fire officials now say the Eaton fire was caused by faulty Southern California Edison equipment at an out- of-service transmission tower. The wildfire killed 19 people. It damaged or destroyed 9,000 homes and businesses, and it took nearly a month to extinguish.

Earlier this year, SoCal Edison claimed in lawsuits that L.A. County agencies failed to send timely evacuation warnings to residents in East and West Altadena, where a majority of those deaths happened. Southern California Edison says the utility has received the report and is reviewing it.

And we've all been there, right? You have to run an errand, but you just don't feel like making the drive. Well, a Wisconsin man decided to speed things up by taking a helicopter, and then he just, you know, landed it in a parking lot over the weekend. When he was questioned by a deputy, the 69-year-old said he took it because, quote, the drive was too long.

Authorities say the man was a properly licensed pilot who was in compliance with all FAA regulations, so they let him go without citing him.

Ahead, part of a SpaceX rocket launched more than a year ago is about to crash into the moon. What scientists expect to learn from the collision next.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABEL: Get ready for a nearby-ish collision in space. Early tomorrow morning, a discarded piece of a SpaceX rocket is set to slam into the moon.

KEILAR: Right now, astronomers are aiming their telescopes in that direction. They're hoping that the crash and its aftermath is going to be visible, because that'd be pretty cool to see.

CNN's Pete Muntean is with us now. All right, Pete, when's this going to happen? Set the stage for this. Is it going to look pretty cool? Are we going to get to see it?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Space geeks are geeking right now, to put it mildly. This is a Falcon 9 rocket, the second stage of that rocket. There have been about 670 Falcon 9 missions.

The first stage usually dramatically returns to Earth, landing vertically so it can be used. You're probably familiar with that. The upper stage, the second stage, gives the rocket that critical oomph, last push to push the payload into orbit. It usually falls back to Earth, only to be burned up in the atmosphere. But a mission 18 months ago, a little bit different. It sent a pair of probes to the moon, and the second stage was on this trajectory to keep whizzing through space unbothered.

That is until moon's gravity started to take hold. This was unplanned. And because there's no atmosphere around the moon, there's nothing to burn it up like here on Earth, which means the only thing to stop it now is the moon.

Here's what we're talking about. Falcon 9 upper stage weighs 8,800 pounds. Roughly one adult female African elephant, I looked it up, 5,400 miles per hour, seven times the speed of sound -- a little faster than an elephant -- meaning it will hit the moon with the power of three tons of dynamite, then create the crater the size of a basketball court.

KEILAR: How many elephants is that?

MUNTEAN: Let me get to Googling. This is where scientists are most jazzed, though, because they think that this will provide key data for them as NASA prepares to head back to the moon on Artemis 4, then set up a moon base there, and NASA wants to know how to best protect astronauts on the moon from space junk like this.

Listen now to one of these SpaceX scientists who described the excitement around what they'll find out tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANNA SCHEIMAN, DIRECTOR, DASA SCIENCE AND DRAGON PROGRAMS AT SPACEX: As a scientist, I also am very excited to see the observation. But yes, it's one of the things that we're working in partnership with NASA and the other appropriate agencies is what is the best future disposal path for high energy missions that are in the sun, earth, moon system. And so, yes, we're pretty excited about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: I love covering space because they use such esoteric language sometimes. Future disposal options is kind of interesting. Where are we going to put all this space junk?

And the question is a good one because NASA is beginning to work with private companies to send more cargo to the moon. This impact will happen overnight, 2.35 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday. Won't quite be able to make it out with the naked eye.

The moon, about two-thirds illuminated right now between 65 and 68 percent depending on where you are. But you can probably see it with a good telescope. The impact will be visible on the 11 o'clock portion of the moon near what's called Einstein's crater.

He did a lot of work on moon research. Some other fun superlatives here. These are from producer extraordinaire Aaron Cooper. Two minivans, that's the weight of the Falcon 9 second stage that's about to hit the moon. Nine grand pianos, there's our 11 o'clock position.

KEILAR: Just there, folks.

MUNTEAN: Or one-ninth the weight of a Dulles people mover, everyone's favorite, which they also call moon buggies when you see them roaming around Dulles.

KEILAR: May they rest in peace soon, it appears.

MUNTEAN: Maybe we should send it to the moon.

ABEL: So, if I'm doing my math right, two grand pianos equals one female African elephant?

[16:00:00]

MUNTEAN: Yes, the superlatives are key here. We're trying to give folks relative things that they can understand.

KEILAR: Yes, elephants on the moon. Pete Muntean, thank you.

MUNTEAN: Everyone has experience with a pet elephant.

KEILAR: "THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts now.

END