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Trump Emphasizes Economic Pressure on Iran as Strikes Remain Paused; Rep. Max Miller Stays in Reelection Race Despite Abuse Allegations; Defense to Question Psychiatrist Who Treated Lindsay Clancy; Advocacy Group says American Detained in Russia is Near Death. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 10, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: That's how we're seeing people getting infected here. Signs and symptoms of this can include fever or redness around an open wound or red streaks sometimes. So again, make sure you're covering open wounds with waterproof bandages.

And if you have been exposed to seawater, saltwater, and you do see oozing in an open wound or redness or signs of infection, call your doctor immediately because these kinds of infections can progress so quickly and, John, like we're seeing now, they can even be deadly.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Got to say that's great advice. I hope people are paying attention because this sounds really worrisome right now. The fatality rate very high from what we are hearing.

Thank you so much, Jacqueline Howard. Appreciate it. A brand new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump telling Axios he's low-keying it with talks with Iran saying they're in semi-negotiations, but Iran says talks are not happening at all. And they've issued a list of new demands the U.S. must meet before Tehran considers reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

And 30 years after Tupac's murder, someone is finally set to go to trial. Jury selection begins today in the case against the man allegedly setting up that killing. What to expect and why has it taken three decades to get to this possibility of justice?

And devastating Western wildfires forcing tens of thousands of people out of their homes. We have got a challenging forecast ahead for firefighters.

Kate is out today. I'm Sara Seider with John Berman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: All right, this morning the Strait of Hormuz is not open, and the president now seems to be indicating it might not be close. This is a big shift from where he was just last week when he claimed to be on the precipice of a deal. Now he is using brand new language. He tells Axios, quote, "We are low-keying it with Tehran," adding, quote, "We are only semi-negotiating with them." In fact, Iran might be moving in the opposite direction. They toughened demands for opening the Strait, including demanding the lifting of sanctions, U.S. troop withdrawal from the region, oil prices. They have been reacting to this latest positioning, jumping overnight about amid concerns of what might happen next. Let's get right to CNN's Kevin Liptak at the White House for the latest on all this this morning. Good morning, Kevin.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning. Yes, the president really describing something of a wait-it-out approach here, suggesting that eventually the economic pressures on Tehran will continue to mount and mount, and that will be able to allow the president to declare victory and essentially try and move on. He says that we are only semi-negotiating with Iran.

That is a distant cry from what we heard last week, the president and top officials all saying that a deal with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was a day or two away. Now the president is saying that Iran is in very bad shape and that those economic conditions will cause the regime to cave. But what we saw over the weekend was almost exactly the opposite, Iran really moving the goalposts in a lot of ways for this deal to reopen the Strait.

Their new fresh demands include ending threats from the U.S. against Iran, lifting the U.S. naval blockade and withdrawing U.S. military forces from the vicinity, compensating Iran for the damage caused by this war, and lifting U.S. sanctions on Iran and unfreezing Iranian assets. That last point, I think, will be a nonstarter for President Trump, who has insisted that financial relief for Iran will only come once it abandons its nuclear program. At this point, they're not even discussing the nuclear program.

And so that seems like it will be a distant cry away. When you talk to American officials, they suggest these hardening demands are the result of infighting within the Iranian regime. And, in fact, the Iranian official who issued this decree was replaced a day after he issued it.

So there is substance to some of those claims on the part of American officials. But at the same time, clearly, President Trump is under pressures of his own. You've seen oil prices tick back up.

You also have those concerns about the dwindling U.S. munitions. And over the weekend, we learned that the Pentagon had issued a memo to defense contractors urging them to ramp up production. You also start to hear of American officials, including the Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, start to talk behind the scenes about trying to find an off- ramp to this conflict.

What exactly that looks like, we don't know. We have also seen escalation in the region.

[08:05:00] Just yesterday, the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, the Houthis firing at an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, just going to show that, even as the president is low-keying it in his words, actors and events in the region will continue, I think, to unfold and to deteriorate -- John.

BERMAN: Yes, low-keying it because there are reports, there are concerns that maybe the U.S. is running out of pressure points, running out of ways to push the initiative there successfully. Kevin Liptak at the White House this morning for us. Thank you so much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, John. With the critical deadline now passed, former embattled Ohio Congressman Max Miller appears to be sticking with it. He is not going to be leaving this race despite so many coming forward, including people from his own party telling him to get out of the race after his ex-wife and two other women accused him of abuse. He has denied those allegations.

CNN's Annie Grayer joining us now. This House seat was thought to be pretty safe for the GOP. What are you learning about whether or not that has changed with Max Miller staying in this race, refusing to leave?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, certainly this is going to be a tough reelection bid for Congressman Max Miller. He's going to be in the fight for his political life as he tries to defend himself in the public eye. He has maintained complete innocence here, completely denied the allegations, and says that he wants the investigations into him to play out.

He hasn't been charged with anything. And he was the one who called for the House Ethics Committee to open an investigation into him. And we know that that process can take a long time.

But we know also that Republicans behind the scenes are very anxious about this situation, had been pushing Miller behind the scenes to try and drop out. They were trying to make the case for him that it was no longer tenable for him to remain in the race. He even -- Miller even spoke with President Trump at one point, but the president never told Miller to get out of the race, just said it would be a tough race for him, because Republicans are looking at the map across the country.

And Miller's district is typically a safe Republican district. But now that these allegations are out there, it is becoming a much tighter, potentially, race. And Republicans know that the majority in the midterms is going to come down to a handful of seats, and they don't want Miller's seat to be one that could cost them holding their majority.

But Miller, being so defiant that he is staying in this race, is going to try and try and hold onto his seat. Meanwhile, Republicans are starting to come out more in calling for him to either resign or step aside. So take a listen to the latest Republican to do so, Republican Senator Jim Banks of Indiana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. JIM BANKS (R-IN): The allegations against him are terrible. And if he's endangering a seat in Congress as we're trying to keep the majority in the House. And he should drop out if he's endangering that seat.

He should drop out because of the allegations against him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And just to be very clear, Ohio Senator John Huston also calling on him to resign. Are you saying you believe he should resign? It sounds like that's what you're saying.

BANKS: Well, if the allegations are true and watching this play out publicly, of course he should resign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYER: Now, Miller was supposed to have an event scheduled for today, but the Ohio Republican Party there announced that that event was canceled due to security concerns. So now that Miller has said that he is staying in the race, the question is going to be how he campaigns, how he continues to make his case to the American people -- Sara.

SIDNER: Absolutely. And one of the things that we noticed during the interviews that he did, the interview that he did with Jake Tapper, is he's trying to use President Trump's playbook. We'll see if that playbook works in this case.

Annie Grayer, thank you so much. Do appreciate all your reporting on this.

All right, just ahead, a captain facing charges after a boat capsizes in New York Harbor, leaving a mother and her baby daughter dead. The latest we're learning about how this all happened and the charges in this case.

This morning, testimony is resuming in the trial of the mother on trial for killing her three children. What to expect today as defense cross-examines one of her psychiatrists treating her for postpartum mental health issues.

And police officers in Alabama receive an unusual call to help wrangle in a 1,500-pound bull that was on the loose and he just didn't really feel like going. We'll see what happens.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: We are standing by for new testimony in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman accused of killing her three young children. The focus has been on her mental health treatment in the weeks prior to her death, and her first psychiatrist is set to face cross-examination today. CNN's Jeanne Casarez joins us now.

What are we expecting today? JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Aggressive cross-examination to try to show what this doctor did not do to save Lindsay Clancy. Now, Lindsay Clancy started going to Jennifer Tufts September 1st, and of course, this happened in January, but she went to many providers. And she was, according to the testimony, she was really in control of the doctors.

She went to other providers. She went to the ER twice. She went to a state mental hospital.

But with Jennifer Tufts, as she testified, she said that when she first came in, she said she had anxiety. The next visit, depression. Asked her about suicidal ideations initially.

No, I don't. But it's close. But as it kept going, she said she did.

[08:15:00]

Flat affect. She said that she didn't want to get out of bed. She felt foggy.

At one point, she said to Dr. Tufts, I think it's my problem. I keep reaching out to different people, and I didn't stick to the plan. But then on January 23rd, that was the very last time she saw her, and it all happened one day later.

And she said that Lindsay Clancy said, I'm good. I feel pretty good. But my heart is racing.

The physician said she saw depression. Why don't you listen to testimony that happened from Jennifer Tufts, her primary psychiatrist, on January 23rd, watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch. At any point in time, did she tell you she was planning to kill herself?

TUFTS: No.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point in time on the 23rd, did she say she was planning to kill her children?

TUFTS: No, absolutely not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point in time during your interaction with her in that session, was there anything about her affect or demeanor, her behavior that indicated to you that she was a danger to herself or others?

TUFTS: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And of course, 24 hours later is when Lindsay Clancy has admitted that she killed her three children and she tried to commit suicide. You know, John, interesting.

There was some argument last week. And the prosecution's theory is going to be that it was a legitimate suicide attempt, that she wasn't faking suicide, but it didn't go as she planned. But she intended to kill her children.

BERMAN: Again, the details here are so horrific. The legal questions. Very interesting about mental state and whatnot to hear from all these mental health experts. It will be fascinating.

Of course, you can see live streaming coverage of the trial on CNN. All access, Jean will be helping you understand what's going on. Go to cnn.com/watch.

Former President Biden's prostate cancer has spread. That is according to his son, Hunter Biden, who just gave a pretty tough health update.

And then an American detained in Russia is in dire condition, as his family claims he is near death after being subjected to physical and psychological torture.

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SIDNER: This morning, there are growing concerns about the well-being of 32-year-old former Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2022. An advocate for Robert Gilman says he is, quote, near death and claims he's been subjected to physical and psychological torture.

CNN senior reporter Jennifer Hansler is at the State Department with more details. What is the State Department saying about this? And what are you learning about his condition at this point? We're looking at some video of him from earlier on.

JENNIFER HANSLER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER, NATIONAL SECURITY: Well, Sara, according to a U.S. State Department spokesperson, the U.S. government is, quote, deeply concerned about Gilman's health and continued detention in Russia. They say they have repeatedly raised his case with the Russian government and press them to release him on humanitarian grounds, given those health concerns. Now, according to Eric Lebson, who is an advocate for the family at the organization Global Reach, Gilman was subjected to mind-altering drugs while in prison.

He was told horrible lies about his family being beaten up. He was told that the U.S. government has forgotten him. And about six weeks ago, according to Lebson, Gilman slipped into, quote, a dissociative stupor and was moved from his prison hospital some six hours outside of Moscow to a local psychiatric ward at a civilian hospital there.

Now, in that time, neither his local Russian lawyer nor his mother have been permitted to see him. And this is significant because, according to Lebson, his mom flew from the United States to Russia with a Russian court order that was going to grant her permission to see her son, and she was not permitted to do so. Now, given this development, Lebson said they are seriously concerned that Gilman could already be dead or could be in such a poor health state that that could be the very likely outcome here.

They are deeply concerned that he could end up in a similar situation to Otto Warmbier, who was an American college student who was detained in North Korea for almost a year and a half and was released back into U.S. custody with severe brain damage and passed away shortly after his release. Now, Lexie Hudson, who is Gilman's sister, said in a statement, quote, "We want our government to make it clear to the Russians that they need to release Robert now before it is too late. Whatever deal is required to make that happen is better for the U.S. and Russia than having to navigate the death of my brother, because both didn't seize on the urgency of acting when there was time." Obviously, if Gilman were to pass in Russian detention, that would be a severe issue for U.S.-Russia relations -- Sara.

SIDNER: Certainly, they're already strained as it is with the war in Ukraine. And now this. It is really concerning that his mother was not able to see him, even though there was a court order.

That certainly must tell you something. Jennifer Hansler, thank you so much for your reporting on this. It's really important to keep an eye on it.

All right. Ahead, nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, a trial in his murder gets underway today, the first why prosecutors believe they may finally prove their case. However, they do not believe the person on trial was the shooter.

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And Start Your Engines will tell you about this nine-hour lawnmower race. And it gets wild, y'all. It really does.

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BERMAN: Big primary tomorrow in Wisconsin. The Democratic split between progressives and more moderates on full display. Progressive Francesca Hong is seen to be leading the field for the governor's nomination.

This morning, Politico is reporting that some establishment Democrats, including outgoing Governor Tony Evers, are working to cut off Hong's bid -- or they're really campaigning against her is another way to say that.

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