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Real-Life Spy Story?; Primary Election Day; Luigi Mangione in Court; Rescue Efforts in Colombia Continue. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired August 11, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:22]

DANA BASH, CNN HOST: OK, we are going to continue to monitor this rescue operation. INSIDE POLITICS is going to sign off.

But don't go anywhere because "CNN NEWS CENTRAL" is taking over our coverage right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And we are beginning with our breaking news as we are watching this critical situation in Colombia unfold, a desperate rescue operation. Many of them are under way, but this one in particular is as well.

These operations are in their second day after Monday's deadly devastating earthquake; 7.4-magnitude quake demolished buildings in mere seconds. At least 224 people have died.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: As you're seeing in these live images, emergency teams are working around the clock, and right now crews are methodically sifting through collapsed buildings, hoping to locate potential survivors who may still be trapped.

And CNN's David Culver is on the scene at one of the rescue operations. Let's listen in. It sounds like we're having some difficulty getting to David.

But over the last few moments at this scene, we have seen sort of cycles of hope and then patience and having to wait for the sound of anyone who may be trapped underneath that rubble. We have seen crews, as you see there, shifting all kinds of debris, trying to see if they can hear any voice or any knocking coming from under that rubble.

Occasionally, they have stopped and tried to listen in. We have seen that over and over again as David Culver has been listening closely. David actually filed this moments ago, this report we're about to play for you, so we're going to keep monitoring the situation as we get updated on the situation there. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We have seen scenes like this scattered throughout Pereira. This is one of the hardest-hit areas.

And I want to bring you a little bit closer here because they have just started once again in trying to actively search for folks within what was an apartment building. And you can see it's covered now, this entire street. They brought in a crane. They have had to bring in a fuel truck directly to the crane just to keep the operations going.

And I was speaking to a couple here who have friends that live in this apartment building, and they say that they were hearing yelling throughout the night. And it's for that reason that you have several dozen not only firefighters and first responders, but then just locals who have jumped in to try to help in some fashion.

I mean, most don't even have the proper gear to do so, but you can see they're using buckets and they're trying to clear as much rubble as possible, and they're hoping to get to the areas that they believe that those yells are coming from.

And folks are standing on the sidelines. Let me show you. Just trying to stay out of the way as much as possible, but also they're taking this in, because these are folks that they know. This is their community. Some of them are just standing almost in a daze with tears in their eyes as they're watching this play out.

And it's interesting. As we got to the first location in this city -- mind you, we had driven for eight hours from Bogota because flights weren't landing anywhere near here last night. We went to one location and we thought that was the most devastating part of this city, and we have been told at each location, no, you need to go to another. You need to go check out this location. Go see this.

And that's what brought us here to Las Libertad where you can see there is just a continued effort right now to try to find whoever may still be alive. I mean, we're just after 24 hours from when this earthquake struck. And so folks are still incredibly hopeful and yet feeling that urgency to try to get to whoever may still be alive in this collapsed structure here.

But, again, I mean, you just go block after block within this city, and you will see a lot of the streets are just filled with the rubble that have come down from the buildings around. I was also noticing that they had on the mountain roads that we were coming in on -- and these were very windy, dark, difficult roads to traverse.

You had a lot of basically personnel coming in from the capital, from Bogota, where we were coming in from, and they were going at really high speeds, just trying to get with all the equipment and resources they had to this location to assist in this effort, because you can see it's exhausting.

And, at this point, I mean, the numbers suggest 55 or so who have died in this city alone. But I was talking to a couple who said, look, overnight they saw that six bodies were pulled out in rubble in this area. So they're not confident that those numbers are going to stay that low.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:05:08]

KEILAR: All right, that is David Culver. He is actually on the scene there, and we're taking some pictures from the camera that is there with him.

He had been reporting that this was a four-story building and that neighbors and friends had been hearing overnight calls from people inside of it. That's why you're getting this real sense of urgency from people there as they are trying with any tools that they have to try to get in there.

I think we have established our connection with David Culver, who is there in Pereira.

David, tell us a little bit about what you have been witnessing here as you have been going from scene to scene and spending quite a lot at this particular one where it seems that people are very hopeful that perhaps they can get some folks out.

CULVER: Brianna, within the past hour, this all changed. I'm speaking to you through the cell phone because signal is on and off as folks are obviously focusing on trying to reach out to their family and loved ones too.

But let me show you what's happened here. I mean, we can step out here and you can see this long line of folks who were also just part of this group of several hundred volunteers about 90 minutes to two hours ago. Then, suddenly, people were asking for help in spreading out some of the rubble.

And so you had folks who just were jumping in. I mean, they're in athleisure wear. They're in tennis shoes. They're in shorts. They're clearly not prepared for this. And then some volunteers were handing out gloves so they could at least cover their hands.

And they're using everything from buckets to I have seen laundry baskets, shopping carts, anything to move rubble out. And that's what they have been doing. They have spread it all the way down the street, but in doing so, they then realized they blocked the way for some of these ambulances to come through.

So they're then trying to push it off to the side, and we have got three ambulances that have made their way in. And all of that is stemming from what's happening at the source.

And I think, David, we can step out here and give you a look right down there.

SANCHEZ: It looks like we're having some challenges maintaining a connection with David Culver,obviously, as he said, the signal there difficult to maintain at this moment.

But you are watching an all-hands-on-deck effort to clear that rubble and try to find anyone who may be alive underneath, again, more than 220 killed in this recent earthquake, the worst that Colombia has seen in a decade, more than 70 aftershocks also occurring since that first quake, felt widespread, far from the epicenter, a lot of people in a desperate situation right now.

KEILAR: Yes, and we will keep monitoring this because I think there is a sense that, even as they are working, and they are going by handful and bucketful, and these are neighbors and family members fighting for the lives of those that they know, I think there is a hope -- and you can hear this.

They have been doing this as they're hoping to get silence sometimes. I know that's a hope. You hope they're raising their arms saying they have found someone, but we have also been seeing them raise their arms to say that they want silence. Is it -- let's -- is it possible to listen in at all?

SANCHEZ: I could only hear a bit of what the crew was saying over the megaphone, but it sounds like they were trying to evacuate the plaza, that they want some of the folks to move out from that scene.

And it appears that they're moving in some heavy gear.

KEILAR: That's right. They had a crane on scene. That's what David had pointed out, and it looks like they are now lowering that. This is just a huge slab.

It's essentially the top of the building or near one of the top floors of the building. They have been working on it by hand, and it's almost -- I mean, this is tough. It's almost fruitless, as they have been trying to do this by hand, but they now have this heavy machinery. And they are hopeful, as they had heard overnight people.

So that is obviously the hope here. We're going to continue to monitor this, because the hope, obviously, is, they are going to find some people in this building in what has been such a devastating scene there in Colombia.

SANCHEZ: Yes, it would certainly provide a ray of hope for those facing these very difficult circumstances right now.

Again, we will keep you posted on what happens there and take you back to David Culver in Pereira, Colombia, as we learn more.

Happening right now back in the United States, the next big test for progressives, as voters at the polls in two key battleground states -- Democrats in Wisconsin are weighing a Democratic Socialist for governor, while a moderate in Minnesota is hoping her Senate race will cool down what Politico is calling a hot DSA summer.

KEILAR: As for Republicans, a crowded field is now vying for the seat held for more than two decades by the late Senator Lindsey Graham. Will his sister backed by President Trump win the job for a full term?

[13:10:00]

In all, six states are voting today with just a handful of primary days left before the midterm elections.

We have CNN political director David Chalian, who's with us.

All right, David, let's start with Wisconsin. Walk us through the stakes of this race for Democrats.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, the stakes are pretty huge because of the nature of Wisconsin, Brianna, right?

So it is a major American battleground. I don't think you can find a more 50/50 politically divided state than you can in Wisconsin. And so the question that hangs over the Democratic primary for governor today, it's currently a Democratic governor who's serving, Tony Evers. He's going to not seek another term here.

And so it's been a competitive Democratic primary. Francesca Hong, the Democratic Socialist candidate, is running against primarily David Crowley, who has Tony Evers' backing, the incumbent Democratic governor, and where the establishment is sort of forming of late to try and thwart the Democratic Socialists from emerging here because they are concerned.

If Francesca Hong does emerge as the nominee today, some Democrats are concerned, that is not putting their most electable, best foot forward for the general election in a battleground state like Wisconsin.

SANCHEZ: A story that we have seen play out in numerous places, including in neighboring Minnesota, where a moderate is hoping to cool that socialist streak.

CHALIAN: I mean, you have got here more of this sort of establishment moderate versus the progressive wing of the party in the Minnesota Senate Democratic primary.

The lieutenant governor, Peggy Flanagan, is the progressive in this race, and Angie Craig, a congresswoman from Minnesota, is the moderate here. Flanagan has the backing of people you may recognize like Elizabeth Warren or other progressives in this race. This is to replace the retiring Senator Tina Smith.

So you are right. This is a storyline we have been following throughout the entirety of this primary season as Democratic primary voters seek to sort through what they want to put forward and present as the very image of their party, the candidates that they think best reflect their values in these general elections come November.

KEILAR: And what about South Carolina?

CHALIAN: Well, as you noted, Lindsey Graham's sister, Darline Graham, is the current senator there. It was initially thought when she got that appointment by the governor after the death of her brother that she may not even seek the six-year term that he was on the ballot to run for when he passed away.

She actually did seek it, got President Trump's backing. Yet that did not cause everyone else to bow out of the race. So this is a crowded Republican field. You need 50 percent plus one to avoid a run-off. It's likely to go to a run-off here, but it's another test of Donald Trump's persuasion and sway inside the Republican Party.

KEILAR: All right, we will be looking at for that.

David, thank you so much.

CHALIAN: Sure.

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: And still to come: Just weeks from the start of Luigi Mangione's murder trial, attorneys are hashing out details about jury selection and press access to the trial. Hear what they decided there.

Plus: carried away in a catering cart. We have brand-new details about the elaborate ruse to get President Trump safely out of Turkey amid fears of an Iranian assassination attempt.

SANCHEZ: And, later, we're following dangerous fire weather out West, waves of storms toward the East, the weather you need to watch for and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:23]

KEILAR: New today, accused CEO killer Luigi Mangione returned to a Manhattan courtroom for what could be his final public appearance before his high-profile murder trial begins next month.

He has pleaded not guilty to several state charges, all connected to the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December of 2024. Mangione has become a symbol for some of the backlash against the country's high health care costs, and supporters gathered outside the courthouse today, as they have during his previous appearances.

The judge announced today the jury in this trial will be anonymous. Jury selection is scheduled to begin September 8, and there will be an overflow room to accommodate members of the press and public because, at this point, more than 80 media outlets have expressed interest in covering the case.

We're joined now by criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Mark O'Mara.

Mark, thanks for being with us.

This was the final status hearing before the September trial on state charges. How does this set the stage for that?

MARK O'MARA, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, they do the motions in limine, those preliminary motions that sort of try and carve down what's supposed to happen with the case, so keeping out issues like if there was a prior criminal record, things like that. But, more importantly, this is going to be the rule book that the

judge puts out there to say this is the way this jury is going to be selected. This is the way the trial is going to be accomplished. Media has their own sort of special rules that they're going to live by, but, in the courtroom, this judge is going to sort of rule what should happen.

It's also going to be a process of trying to figure out what jury they're going to sit. There are a number of issues that we have to talk about regarding trying culling out those jury members that we don't want on the panel.

KEILAR: And speaking of the jury, it's going to be anonymous. How typical is that in high-profile cases? What goes into that decision? What does it mean exactly?

O'MARA: So, generally speaking, it's very unusual. It happens very, very infrequently.

But with -- like you say, Brianna, with the high-profile cases, what's happening now is that, because everything is either televised in the courtroom or at least televised outside of the courtroom, we know these jurors individually will be coming under a lot of scrutiny.

So this concept of an anonymous jury actually came about because of mob trials, organized crime, to keep the jurors safe. But now we use it on high-profile cases, because we know that people will find them, they will talk to them, they will try and get to them. They may actually be, if they disagree with the jury verdict that's eventually reached, go after them.

So we now are starting to anonymous jurors much more often in cases where we have to protect them even more than the process does.

[13:20:05]

KEILAR: And what's really interesting here is that Mangione's team, they really want this to be out there in the public, right? They're petitioning for the press and public viewing areas to be expanded. The judge has added an overflow room, but he says it had nothing to do with the defense's objections.

They have also asked for the trial to be broadcast live. And New York is pretty restrictive on this issue. It's why, when we cover these trials so often, we're going to our reporters who are our eyes and ears there in the courtroom. What do you think of that request they're making?

O'MARA: You know, so it's interesting, because, generally speaking, from a defense, criminal defense attorney perspective, we don't want -- we don't want the media anywhere near us, right? It doesn't help us to represent our client.

We want to do it only in front of those six or 12 people. However, in the past decade or two, it's become almost the norm that high-profile cases, as they're defined, get to be televised. I'm a little bit surprised that the defense is being so activist about all of that.

But, again, the reason is probably pretty telling as well. This is a public trial where they're trying to put -- defend Mangione, in effect, because he is the -- almost the poster child for what's going wrong with health care in America. And I'm wondering if what the defense is sort of suggesting is, the more publicity they have, the more scrutiny they have, maybe the jury will start feeling the impact of that pressure.

KEILAR: Yes, he does have public sympathy. And so certainly that appears to be something that they're leaning into here.

Mark, it's always great to speak with you. Thanks for being with us.

O'MARA: Sure thing.

KEILAR: Next, we have a real-life spy story to tell you about involving a Russian-American citizen, a deadly FBI shooting, and a secret double life.

Plus, Russia launches brand-new strikes in Ukraine overnight, hitting the grounds of a children's hospital. We're live in Kyiv.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:26:25]

SANCHEZ: Now to a real-life spy story, a Russian-born American citizen shot and killed by the FBI in 2024. The agency will not officially say why, but now a CNN investigation reveals that he was living a secret double life.

CNN's Isabelle Chapman has spent more than a year trying to figure out whether he was a civilian or a spy.

So, Isabelle, what did you learn?

ISABELLE CHAPMAN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: I learned that FBI shootings are rare. I wanted to figure out what had happened.

The FBI wasn't saying anything in this case. All I knew was that this man, Ilya Beloozerov, was a Russian immigrant, and he had one of the highest government security clearances that you can get, and he was killed hundreds of miles away from his home. And it made me wonder, did the FBI think he was a spy?

I started by calling relatives, co-workers, anyone I could think of who knew him. And that's when I learned he'd been working for a satellite imaging company on a U.S. Department of Defense contract. We obtained Ilya's bank records, passports, court documents, and we tried to piece together what happened here.

In the final weeks of his life, Ilya had been fired. He drained his bank account. He signed over power of attorney to his teenage son, and then he vanished. His son told me he -- things took a turn a few weeks before Ilya died. He took his dad to the airport. His father had been planning to fly to Eastern Europe, and you can listen to what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came home and he's in the driveway with all his luggage. And I'm like: "Dad, what are you doing here?"

And that's when he started telling me that he got interrogated by the FBI. He told me that he's in trouble, that he has to go. And he started packing up all of his stuff. He thought that the FBI were coming to arrest him.

I asked him: "So, what exactly were they asking you about?"

And he said -- and I'm quoting him -- "something to do with Ukraine and a laptop."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Do you know, Isabelle, where Ilya went when he disappeared?

CHAPMAN: We do.

I actually met and talked to a husband and wife who spent the final days of Ilya's life with him. They said that Ilya offered them $30,000 to drive them -- to drive him to the border. It was a life-changing amount of money for them because they were living in their truck.

But they never made it to the border. He was shot and killed in a hotel parking lot in Mississippi the morning they were supposed to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNON GREEN, FRIEND OF ILYA BELOOZEROV: When we walked out the next morning, I opened the back door to the truck. And when I looked over my left, there's like 12, 15 guys pointing their weapons at us.

And I looked at the guy, I said: "Is my friend all right?"

And he said: "I don't know. We lit him up pretty good."

I said: "Is my friend dead?"

And he goes: "Yes."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Wow.

What does Ilya's family now say?

CHAPMAN: Ilya's family, they want answers. The FBI doesn't have to give them.

I spoke with Beloozerov's ex-wife and his son, and they're obviously devastated by what's happened here. The FBI has told them nothing about why agents shot him, nor why he was even on their radar. His family feels there needs to be more accountability here.

SANCHEZ: So, if the FBI didn't say anything to Ilya's family, did they offer you any answers?

CHAPMAN: The FBI declined to comment on this story.

But, after more than a year of reporting, we did turn up some answers. Sources told us that agents had been investigating Ilya Beloozerov. But there's a twist for this story that really surprised all of us who worked on it. I'm not going to give it away here.