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Concerns over Conditions Aboard USS Lincoln; Trump Asks Supreme Court to Intervene in Ballroom Battle; Polls on the Michigan Senate Race; Field of Dreams Game Played. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 14, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:31:46]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: There are growing concerns this morning for the health and well-being of the crew aboard the USS Lincoln. as the war with Iran drags on. Sources telling CNN that a sailor jumped overboard this month and was rescued.

And that all comes after the "Military Times" reported that multiple sailors have attempted to go overboard during the ship's marathon time at sea amid deteriorating conditions on board.

The Lincoln has been deployed more than 250 days, and it hasn't made a port call in more than 200 days.

Joining me now is Riley Cedar, who has reported on the USS Lincoln for the "Military Times."

Riley, thank you so much for joining us this morning.

Let's start here. What's your understanding of the situation today? Is there a sense that the concerns of these sailors are being heard?

RILEY CEDAR, REPORTER, "MILITARY TIMES": First of all, thank you so much for having me.

I think there's definitely some concern going on. I mean, as you mentioned, we reported, my colleague at "Military Times," Natalie Oliverio, that a sailor who is currently on the USS Abraham Lincoln attempted to jump overboard. She got that information from his wife, who's very concerned. She also spoke to the wife of another sailor aboard the Lincoln, who said he witnessed a service member attempting to jump overboard.

As you mentioned, CNN reported that a sailor went overboard, was rescued within the hour. "Stars and Stripes" reported a crew member was intercepted. And MS Now ran a piece yesterday that a sailor jumped overboard and was in the water for almost an hour before being rescued.

So, right now, it's unclear what the situation is. That's what's going on right now. The Navy -- or and specific in response to this, after we published

our report about the two service members who attempted to jump overboard said, and I'm quoting, "based on information available to the command, we have not identified an increase in reported suicidal ideation or suicidal attempts aboard the ship." But, you know, that phrase "not identified an increase" kind of begs the question, you know, what's the baseline from which there is no increase? So, that's kind of what we're trying to figure out right now.

FREEMAN: Well, and to that point, I mean, what do you make of Secretary Hegseth and the Pentagon downplaying these reports in statements like that? Because, again, these families are the ones who are reaching out to our reporters, your reporters as well, that they're really concerned.

CEDAR: Yes, absolutely. I mean, I think, at the end of the day, family members are telling the truth. They're giving information that they're getting from their family members aboard the ship. And if there's a concern over the information that's being disseminated to them, you know, that's up to the officials in the military. That's up to Congress. You know, there's a lot of movement in Congress right now to try to get to the bottom of this. The information is the information, and it can be parsed out. But at the end of the day, these family members are just concerned family members who want to make sure that the individuals aboard the Lincoln, during this extended deployment in this record continuous time at sea between port calls, that they're being cared for.

FREEMAN: And, Riley, can you just put a finer point on this because I've covered the military before and military families specifically as well. I mean how difficult -- this is not something that families of loved ones who are serving come out and talk about publicly lightly, I imagine. I mean how serious must it be for these families to say something to the public that this is a problem that needs to be solved?

[09:35:05]

CEDAR: Absolutely. I mean, I think you kind of said it, family members of service members have the utmost respect for the military. Their family members serve proudly in the military. So, for family members to be reaching out to the media and expressing monumental concern over the well-being of their loved ones, I think it speaks volumes.

The wife of the man who jumped overboard or attempted to jump overboard told my colleague Natalie that, you know, she initially got a call from the ship, but, you know, she hadn't heard from the Navy in a few weeks since that incident. So, just imagine the concern and the worry that she's feeling about the well-being of her husband.

"Military Times" also spoke to the children of two service members aboard the Lincoln. One said they're having trouble connecting with their parent. And when they do get ahold of them, they just sound very down. Another child said that their parent sounds worried every time they speak to them, also down amid this, you know, nonstop combat operations, quite frankly. So, these family members are really concerned. They're very worried.

No one should be taking it lightly. And especially now with these reports coming out about service members attempting to jump overboard.

And these family members who spoke to "Military Times" are not the only ones who are concerned. There was a town hall meeting last Thursday in San Diego between these family members and Acting Secretary Hung Cao

FREEMAN: All right. Well, Riley Cedar, it's important work that you and the "Military Times" are doing. Thank you so much for that reporting.

Erica.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news to share with you. We're just learning President Trump is now asking the Supreme Court to intervene in this fight over the White House ballroom.

Betsy Klein joining us now from the White House with more.

So, somewhat expected, but what does this mean now in terms of moving things forward, Betsy?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, we'll have to see. It was largely expected. President Trump said that he planned to take this to the Supreme Court immediately after that appeals court ruled on -- last Friday that the president did not have the authority to move forward with this ballroom construction without explicit approval from Congress.

Now, Trump has argued that this is an imperative for national security. And we saw that in that 45-page filing. It's unclear at this phase whether the Supreme Court is going to agree to take this case up. But I want to read to you a little bit from the argument from the solicitor general, John Sauer. He writes, quote, "the president of the United States of America is not a tenant, but rather the sole, elected head of the executive branch, and Congress has authorized him to renovate, secure and protect the White House and its grounds as other presidents have been allowed to do without exception." He goes on to say, "this injunction is judicial overreach beyond the proper province of the federal courts."

Now, the above grade construction on this sprawling 90,000 square foot ballroom project began earlier this spring, just after April, and it has made some considerable progress, though it is very clear at this stage that it is nowhere near ready to be occupied. We have seen multiple levels of concrete support columns, walls and floors. It's really moved quite quickly at the president's direction.

And for the president, this has been a major priority during his second term in office. We have seen him take steps to place his mark on the White House and Washington, D.C., But voters do not feel the same way. Fifty-eight percent of Americans in a recent CNN poll said that they are dissatisfied or angry about his focus on those projects.

Erica.

HILL: All right, Betsy, really appreciate the updates there. Thank you.

Danny.

FREEMAN: Up ahead, the NFL's first overall pick, Fernando Mendoza, makes his anticipated debut. We're going to tell you what Raiders fans saw from their future quarterback.

Plus, one woman proving age may just be a number. Oh, my God. We're going to show you how she celebrated her 100th birthday with a leap of faith, let's call it, jumping out of an airplane. You're not going to want to miss it.

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[09:43:20]

HILL: It is safe to say that the Senate race in Michigan has been one of the most watched in the country to this point as we inch ever closer to those magical midterms come November. Progressive Abdul El- Sayed making waves, winning the Democratic primary just last week. And then this morning, some new numbers suggest his path to the nation's capital seems, though, maybe a little bit more of an uphill climb.

CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten is here with those numbers.

So, how are things looking in this new poll?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, OK. You know, what I notice, I sometimes see my shadow back there and I want to take an extra step back. But in terms of the actual segment that we're doing here, Erica --

HILL: Let's talk about the numbers, Harry.

ENTEN: Let's actually talk about the numbers.

HILL: Yes.

ENTEN: Look, it's a snapshot in time, but this is a real potential lifeline to Republicans who want to maintain control of the United States Senate because Abdul El-Sayed is in trouble in Michigan. Take a look here. Michigan Senate, Rogers versus El-Sayed. Look at this. A new Fox News poll. Rogers is actually up by four points. He's up by four points. It's close. But a Republican is ahead in Michigan. And why? Why? What is going on?

Look among independents. Rogers actually leads by five. This is extremely unusual because across the political map, as I was looking at these different Fox News polls, I couldn't find another example where the Republican was actually leading among independents. And it turns out that candidate quality may, in fact, matter, at least in terms of how voters see it, because in this same poll, the Democratic candidate for governor was ahead. So, this is unique to the Senate race, and it is quite a troubling result for Democrats and quite a heartening one for Republicans.

HILL: So, do you have a sense then, Harry, of what it is that is contributing to this -- the struggles, right, that Abdul El-Sayed -- is it that Rogers is a stronger candidate, or is it that El-Sayed has more issues for voters to deal with?

ENTEN: It is all about Abdul El-Sayed.

[09:45:02]

He is a weak candidate, at least by the metrics that we normally look at. And you can just take a look here. OK, the net favorability rating of the Dem Senate candidates across these northern battlegrounds. You notice there's only one candidate in red. One who has an unfavorable rating higher than his favorable rating and it is significantly higher. Look how far underwater Abdul El-Sayed is. He is 13 points underwater, under there in Lake Michigan. My goodness gracious. Troy Jackson, in Maine, he's at plus one. You've got Sherrod Brown at plus four in Ohio and Josh Turek in Iowa, way above there at plus 18 points. This is extremely unusual. Again, across the map, Democrats have done such a good job recruiting candidates who are well-liked by the voters.

Again, I looked at all the Fox News polls. All the Democrats were above water except for Abdul El-Sayed. And he is 13 points underwater. This is all about Abdul El-Sayed being a weak candidate, at least in the minds of the voters.

HILL: And so then just putting that in perspective too, in the state of Michigan, this is -- I mean you touched on this, right, but this is especially important when you look at things in the state of Michigan.

ENTEN: Yes. OK. So, you look at this first slide, right? You see that Mike Rogers is ahead, right, by four points. Well, I was interested because I couldn't think of another example where you actually had a Democratic candidate who was down at least four points, four points in a Senate poll in Michigan. And it turns out, for this entire century, Abdul El-Sayed is the only one in a poll that meets CNN standards for publication. This is extremely, extremely, extremely unusual.

Abdul El-Sayed breaking records in the ways that you don't want to. In fact, he is the first Democrat down by this much, as I said, essentially since 1994. Now, I will note, obviously, we have a campaign to go. And I think there are different ways you can look at this metric, right, that's race. And I will say, it's a snapshot in time.

Michigan Senate chances, according to the Kalshi prediction market. Look, Abdul El-Sayed's chances have fallen, but he still has a better chance than not of winning this race. But again, this is a real potential lifeline for Republicans who want to maintain control of the United States Senate. Simply put, Michigan being in play, a big deal, and extremely unusual. Abdul El-Sayed, making it so with his historic unpopularity in the great state of Michigan.

HILL: Harry Enten, appreciate it. ENTEN: Appreciate you, Erica.

HILL: Hey, you go chase that shadow.

ENTEN: I -- oh.

HILL: We'll be right back.

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[09:51:42]

FREEMAN: The jury that will decide whether Duane Davis is responsible for Tupac Shakur's killing has now been seated. Opening statements are set to begin on Monday. And prosecutors say Davis helped orchestrate the 1996 drive by shooting in Las Vegas, but he's not accused of firing the gun. Now they plan to use Davis' own public statements as part of the case against him. Davis, for his part, has pleaded not guilty to first degree murder. That trial expected to last four to five weeks.

And get a load of this. If you're an Eminem fan, this may be your chance to own a piece of rap history. More than 100 pairs of sneakers from Eminem's personal collection are headed to auction, signed by the rapper himself. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Marshall Mathers Foundation, which supports at-risk youth in Detroit. And the auction includes a pair of Nike Air Jordan's named for Eminem's alter ego, "Slim Shady." Don't drop mom's spaghetti on that.

All right. And then finally, is there any better way to celebrate turning 100 years old than jumping out of an airplane? I can think of a lot of ways, but the short answer for Ruby McNally, a resounding no.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUBY MCNALLY, CELEBRATED 100TH BIRTHDAY BY SKYDIVING: What's there to be afraid of? If you sit and worry about it, then you're going to talk yourself out of it. You're pushed into it, and the next thing you know, you're out there flying and it's a wonderful experience. And for me, it was exciting and ready to go again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: I mean, without a doubt, the coolest grandma on the planet. McNally did the same jump for her 80th and 90th birthdays. Some friends and relatives took the leap with her, including some of her grandchildren.

Erica, I don't know, would you jump out for your birthday?

HILL: I don't want to say no. I'm not going to say no. But I have a mild fear of heights. So, it would be helpful if you came and maybe pushed me.

FREEMAN: Deal.

HILL: OK. Great. So, we'll do that next year for the birthday.

FREEMAN: Fantastic.

HILL: OK, so is it heaven? No. It is Iowa. Major League Baseball taking the show to the cornfields in Dyersville, Iowa, last night for the Field of Dreams game.

CNN sports Andy Scholes is here.

So, visually, this is so cool to watch. How was the game itself?

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. It was -- lots of action, Erica. But, you know, this is arguably one of the best ideas that any sports league has ever had. I mean we've seen college basketball games on aircraft carriers, hockey games at, you know, those big college football stadiums. But, I mean, playing baseball in a cornfield in Iowa, that's number one for me.

And it was a really cool moment before the game when 26 Hall of Famers walked out of the cornfields, you know, just as the ghost players did in the movie. This is the largest gathering of Hall of Famers at a game since 2008.

Now, this was the first Field of Dreams game at the new stadium that they built right where the movie was shot. It seated 8,000 fans. And Kyle Schwarber had himself a big night. He led off the game with a home run right there into the cornfield. Then later in the game, Schwarber was up at the plate again, gets a hold of this one. Now, Luke Keaschall was tracking it. But look at this. Knocks it over the fence with his glove. Would have probably been a home run anyways, but that's one he certainly would want back. Phillies ended up winning big in the game. Final, 7-1.

All right, top overall pick, Fernando Mendoza, meanwhile, making his Raiders debut last night against the Cardinals. And despite being the first overall pick, Raiders have named Kirk Cousins the starter. So, Mendoza's going to be starting the season as his backup. Last night he came in, completed ten in 16 passes, 97 yards, and this touchdown right here, Mendoza said, it was a good start and he's going to watch the tape afterwards because he's still got lots to learn.

[09:55:02]

All right, finally, the NBA schedule, it came out yesterday. And the Atlanta Hawks had bird caller extraordinaire Samuel Henderson help with the reveal.

Take a look.

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SAMUEL HENDERSON: The rock pigeon. Bald eagle. American crow.

Well, thanks for watching. Go Hawks.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SCHOLES: So, I mean, Samuel can do 125 different bird calls, guys. I mean he is certainly one of the most impressive humans I've ever seen.

HILL: Wow. He is. I also love the props. I'm not going to lie.

FREEMAN: Yes, yes, the props. And also discarding it too.

HILL: Yes, he's like, and I'm done with you now crow. Moving on.

FREEMAN: Oh man.

HILL: Andy, thank you.

SCHOLES: And, look at that. The -- he knew exactly like what facial expression he had to do to make the call come out perfectly.

FREEMAN: Yes.

SCHOLES: It's amazing.

HILL: It's impressive. We all have a lot to learn.

FREEMAN: Yes.

HILL: Andy, thank you.

SCHOLES: All right.

HILL: And thanks to all of you for joining us on this Friday edition of CNN NEWS CENTRAL. We didn't get fired yet. It's good.

FREEMAN: Good to be with you.

HILL: Yes, always a pleasure.

Stay tuned. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is next.

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