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Trump Tries New Executive Order to Limit Birthright Citizenship; Meta Ordered to Pay into Children's Mental Health Fund; Is the Song of the Summer Concept Officially Dead? Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired August 07, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: Any injuries.

[06:00:03]

All right. And take a look at this. Little rubber ducks took over the Chicago River to support the Special Olympics. Each duck was sold for at least $10, and the winning duck's owner received a new car.

The Chicago Ducky Derby has raised nearly $5 million for Special Olympic athletes since 2005.

Well, that does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. CNN THIS MORNING with Audie Cornish starts right now.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: Today in the group chat, the president taking another swing at birthright citizenship, this time targeting, quote, "alien enemies." So, will this one hold up legally?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: That practice of birth tourism is, as of the signing of this order, hereby banned.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: And Dr. Fauci held in contempt, and a criminal prosecution could be next. Did he do more harm than good to his legacy after invoking the Fifth?

And flame-fueling winds, intense heat. The race to contain the wildfires in Washington state is about -- is about to get harder.

And A.I. bots, now designing viruses. What could possibly go wrong?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now that we've opened Pandora's box, how do we keep it from being used for harm?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We had a very unfortunate decision in

the Supreme Court concerning birthright. It was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So, we're making adjustments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: If at first you don't succeed, make some adjustments. But will it work this time?

Good morning, everybody. I'm Audie Cornish, and here is where we begin. President Trump with his second try at limiting birthright citizenship.

Now, just a few weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump's effort to ban birthright citizenship by executive order was illegal.

On Thursday, he signed another executive order. The White House says this one will impact several groups, specifically, including alien enemies, members of foreign terror organizations, and people who work for foreign governments by making children born to folks in those groups ineligible for U.S. citizenship.

Now, the order also bans so-called "birth tourism," even though that is already illegal under U.S. law.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: -- be sure that domestic --

I would put this in the top three in terms of importance, because it ends what has been one of the greatest and most egregious abuses of the American system. And it keeps American citizenship sacred.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, joining me now in the group chat, Noel King, co-host of the podcast and radio show "Today, Explained"; David Avella, chairman of GOPAC; and Elliot Williams, CNN legal analyst and former deputy assistant attorney general.

Elliot, since I bought your title, you get to go first. So, here's -- one, I just need the basics.

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

CORNISH: Fourteenth Amendment.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

CORNISH: Basically, the Supreme Court majority --

WILLIAMS: Yes.

CORNISH: -- said leave it alone. Yes, this is the law.

WILLIAMS: Yes. CORNISH: So, what is different about this executive order, functionally?

WILLIAMS: I don't know. And here's the challenging thing, Audie. Any time the president, by executive order, attempts to redefine or change the definition of citizenship, he's on murky legal ground. It's shaky. And the Supreme Court had said this before.

Now, because this is politically sound or smart, I think many people would agree. We don't want the children of Hamas leadership or of al Qaeda being citizens of the United -- United States. OK, that's politically sound, but that still might run afoul of the Constitution.

CORNISH: Yes.

WILLIAMS: It's complicated.

Now we need to separate out the birthright one from the birth tourism one, which says something totally different and is on stronger legal ground. Even it doesn't do anything, right? It's still -- it's already barred by the law. Right?

CORNISH: It's already illegal. Yes.

WILLIAMS: And so yes, same thing. These are both political statements far more than legal ones. And -- that first one is absolutely going to be challenged in the courts.

CORNISH: So, let's go to political statements, then. People were, of course, asked, is this the most important thing right now to be talking about?

And David, I want to ask you about it. The president was asked about, for example, affordability. Here was his take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: I would put this --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your message on affordability going into the midterms?

TRUMP: Well, that's a good question. But it's sort of simple to answer. I inherited the highest prices ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. I want to show you some polling at the end of that statement was him saying I inherited the highest prices from the Biden administration.

The problem is, when we actually call people for polls and we ask, does Trump have the right priorities right now, the big number, 73 percent, say no.

[06:05:05]

And then we did break it down by partisans. Does Trump have the right priorities?

And what's worse is you see movement. Republicans who once thought, yes, pretty much, 70 percent of them. Now, 60 percent, 66 percent of them are like, you know, I don't know about that.

Independents, you also see a shift.

At what point should this shift actually be a concern for the Stephen Millers of the world?

DAVID AVELLA, CHAIRMAN, GOPAC: Today, as we're getting closer and closer to the midterm elections, and that will ultimately decide what the final two years of the president's agenda looks like.

And I mean, to this birthright tourism and citizenship. I will say the president does like to keep the Supreme Court making their money and making sure Elliot has good things to talk about.

WILLIAMS: It's a great life. It's good. It's a good living if you can find it.

AVELLA: And so, look, ultimately, this is going to have to be decided by Congress. And then the president, if you want to change the laws, it's going to have to come from Congress. And then --

CORNISH: By laws we mean the Constitution.

AVELLA: -- and then the president --

CORNISH: Like it's not just a couple of -- yes.

AVELLA: There is a process. That's right. For -- for long-term impact.

CORNISH: Yes.

Not just simply an executive order, which means then that's why the elections are so important.

And look, the good news is you are starting to see some affordability come down. You're seeing companies like Walmart and others that are --

AVELLA: -- voluntarily bringing down.

CORNISH: His argument is that, hey, I inherited bad numbers, and therefore it's bad. And I don't know. Can you turn the midterms into a referendum on Biden instead of Trump?

NOEL KING, CO-HOST, "TODAY, EXPLAINED": I mean, one would hope not. It's been a few years, right?

CORNISH: Has it? Because we've been talking about Dr. Fauci, who we'll -- we'll still be discussing that at length today.

KING: We're back in 2020.

CORNISH: Yes.

KING: I mean, the administration returns to the well, when it when it thinks it has hit on an issue that people really care about. And, you know, birthright tourism, that kind of thing --

CORNISH: Yes.

KING: -- really does amp up a certain percentage of the base.

However, the inability to address affordability in any real way, as we just saw, it's going to be a problem. You know?

WILLIAMS: But back to the -- the political point and just using a bright shiny thing to distract from affordability.

Even something like banning people who -- from citizenship, who work for foreign governments. A lot of Americans do that. Americans often get prosecuted for that. Remember Paul Manafort --

CORNISH: Yes.

WILLIAMS: -- or the rapper Pras was prosecuted for this.

CORNISH: Rapper.

WILLIAMS: Right, exactly. Was prosecuted for this, as well, working for foreign governments.

So, how do you cut a line wherein citizenship is stripped of people who come from foreign countries, but Americans engage in the same kind? So, it's just sort of a legal mess.

CORNISH: I actually didn't get to enforcement.

WILLIAMS: Yes.

CORNISH: I wasn't clear on this. Does this mean ICE is going to be at the airport? I mean, I -- I traveled when I was pregnant, and let me tell you, if someone came up to me and started asking a bunch of questions, I would not be in the mood.

So, I can't really imagine this scenario where it's like, nice belly there.

KING: Right.

CORNISH: Would be a shame if something happened to it. That seems really dark. You know?

KING: It seems dark.

CORNISH: Like, I don't understand --

KING: And also, like, are you in Hamas? I mean, I really -- I do -- WILLIAMS: Oh, and if you want to go down the legal hole, like, are you

in Hamas or are you providing aid and comfort to people in Hamas, but not necessarily a member? It just gets complicated legally --

KING: Yes.

WILLIAMS: -- when you're going to start tinkering with --

CORNISH: So, it's just really just about adding a little extra oomph to existing penalties?

WILLIAMS: I think so. No, I think it's about making a political statement at a time --

CORNISH: OK. I tried.

WILLIAMS: No, you are. But you're right, though.

CORNISH: I'm going -- I'm asking legal questions.

WILLIAMS: And clapping back at the Supreme Court.

CORNISH: Yes.

WILLIAMS: That's what this is about.

CORNISH: OK. Coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we want to talk about a couple more elections, this time on the Republican side. A Trump- backed candidate loses in Tennessee and then another in Michigan. We're going to ask about the power of a Trump endorsement this week.

Plus, is it safe to eat lettuce again? Why the state at the center of the cyclospora outbreak is putting it back on the menu.

And then in the meantime, there's a water crisis in Puerto Rico. Thousands of people forced to cut back already scarce supplies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:13:26]

CORNISH: It is 13 minutes past the hour. This is your morning roundup.

Senator Mitch McConnell saying that he's been discharged from a rehabilitation center, that he's back home, and he's still casting votes. He voted by proxy on the Senate Agriculture Committee's farm bill. His vote didn't count, because the bill failed.

McConnell says he will continue to engage with his staff and colleagues on important Senate business while he recovers.

And more than 180,000 Puerto Ricans forced to ration water amid a relentless drought. People in San Juan and neighboring areas will be losing water for 48 hours at a time. They've already been without reliable water for more than 100 days.

Officials say the water rationing schedule could expand to 72 hours at a time.

And a judge in New Mexico orders Meta to strictly restrict youth accounts and pay $567 million into a children's mental health fund for its role in a youth mental health crisis.

This decision is tied to a child safety case against Meta, where a jury already found the company liable back in March, ordering them to pay another hefty fine.

Meta denies the claims and plans to appeal.

And Noel and I have both done reporting on this, and it feels like the parents and the child safety cases are making gains.

KING: The parents are winning. The parents are winning, and it's because you put them in court. You put their kids in court up against a tech company CEO, and it's just impossible not to side --

CORNISH: Yes.

KING: -- in a lot of cases with the family. You know, especially. You've reported on this issue, some of these horrible outcomes.

[06:15:04]

CORNISH: Yes. And also, because Congress isn't really taking any action in this area.

WILLIAMS: Yes. You know --

CORNISH: The states are --

WILLIAMS: Yes. It's -- it's tobacco all over again. And we're going to keep seeing this. And I don't mean to vilify tech in the way that tobacco, which literally killed many, many people who used it.

However, it's the same strategy, which is you have a product that, when used properly, causes some harms to some people. And the litigation strategy, the public relations strategy --

CORNISH: Is very similar. Yes.

WILLIAMS: -- and just sort of the general social unease about it that's growing is -- is what's driving the day to day. And you're seeing that here.

OK. Well, I want to turn to this after the break. Hundreds of Boeing jets are going to be inspected for cracks. So, we want to know whether or not they are safe for us to fly in.

Plus, is "Choosin' Texas" the song of the summer, or have algorithms killed the radio star?

And good morning to our viewers in Nashville.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [06:20:17]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is our song of the summer?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't it just that Ella Langley song?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, there has to be more than just "Choosin' Texas."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I released an album. Still no song of the summer. OK, I'm starting to get irritated because what? What is y'all? What is everybody doing?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Everybody is begging for the song of the summer. It is August, folks.

But in the time of streaming algorithms and TikTok, is the whole concept dead? "Rolling Stone," "Billboard," "Pitchfork" agree with some of those TikTokers, but the song of the summer might be Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLA LANGLEY, SINGER (singing): She's from Texas. I can tell by the way he's two-stepping round the room.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK, so here's the metric we're using. The song has been No. 1 for 16 weeks. It has made history on the "Billboard" Hot 100.

Spotify also added Drake's "Janice STFU" and Kacey Musgraves "Mexico Honey" to their list. But then when I talked about this online, y'all pretty much roasted me, saying that it's "Spend Dat" by Yung Miami. And Millie Bobby Brown thinks it's this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLIE BOBBY BROWN, ACTRESS (singing): Never ending midnight sun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was that?

BROWN: Zara Larsson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I also got those in the comments. So, no one can agree. And that's why we're talking about it this week on "Engagement Party."

Joining the chat, Ari Shapiro. Thanks so much for being here.

ARI SHAPIRO, CO-HOST, "ENGAGEMENT PARTY": I love joining you on a Friday morning, Audie.

CORNISH: OK, so we had a little bit of an argument about this.

SHAPIRO: We disagreed, as we often do.

CORNISH: We disagreed. You are -- you're really into this Ella Langley situation.

SHAPIRO: It's not my personal feed.

CORNISH: I stand by the idea that I brought it up to multiple people. And they were like, I've never heard this song.

SHAPIRO: Who on the panel heard it, independent of news coverage of it?

WILLIAMS: Absolutely, I hear it.

SHAPIRO: Right. Absolutely.

CORNISH: OK.

KING: Not independent of news coverage, but I --

(CROSSTALK)

WILLIAMS: I'll tell you -- I'll tell you why we listened to it. I listened, because I don't want to listen to news in the car. Listen to top 40 radio. And it's playing all the time in a constant loop.

SHAPIRO: OK.

AVELLA: As a dad of a ten and a 12-year-old. We don't get in the car and not have that song get turned on.

SHAPIRO: Here's the premise.

CORNISH: OK.

SHAPIRO: Two contradictory things can be true. On the one hand, everyone has their own personalized feed. Music exists in a silo that is algorithmed just for you.

And on the other hand, Ella Langley has broken records that were held by Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey. It is a history making track.

CORNISH: It just doesn't. I feel like the ubiquity of those songs and of an artist like Whitney Houston or an artist of Mariah Carey was on a different level.

SHAPIRO: Yes. One of our "Engagement Party" producers said Ella Langley won the Electoral College of song of the summer.

WILLIAMS: Oh, smart.

SHAPIRO: Isn't that -- isn't that smart?

CORNISH: I love that that's what the political panel understands. (CROSSTALK)

CORNISH: That's like. Well, that's on now.

All right. This actually reminded me of when Lizzo, who is going through some creative struggles, put her two cents in. And this was last summer. But I think it stands. Here's what she said at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZZO, SINGER: Back in the day, the music industry was very algorithmic as any other industry was. But that industry was controlled, to a certain extent.

Now that we're in the digital streaming age, there is no control over the algorithm.

I'm going to be completely honest with you guys. It's not because the music isn't incredible. It's because the way that the algorithm is set up, no one can serve the masses anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: She went on to say, discovery is really hard, even for artists that are well-established. And I know people have gone after her saying, well, maybe your music is just not that good.

But I think there's something to that. People drop albums sometimes and I'm like, wait, when did that come out?

SHAPIRO: That's true. But the flip side of that coin is somebody who is very, very niche can find their audience without the radio station overlords having to decide that they are worth radio play.

CORNISH: Yes.

SHAPIRO: So, again, two contradictory statements. Both can be true.

CORNISH: OK, there are some other songs that could still prevail or at least be talked about. The obligatory Taylor Swift entry.

SHAPIRO: Of course.

CORNISH: Right now, No. 2 on the "Billboard" list, coming in hot from the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack. Drake got on there, as we mentioned, which is good.

SHAPIRO: If you're going to release three albums, one would hope you'd have at least one hit.

CORNISH: Throw it at the wall, throw it at the wall. And more. Ella Langley, Ariana Grande, of course. Olivia Dean. Of course.

SHAPIRO: What's interesting to me here is how much country music there is. Like country is really, I don't want to say having a moment. It's been having a moment for a long time. CORNISH: Yes, we've been saying that for a while.

SHAPIRO: But it's not just "Choosin' Texas." Like, country -- and also, if you look at recent songs of the summer from like Lil Naz X, "Old Town Road" to Post Malone and Morgan Wallen, like country is kind of dominant.

CORNISH: So, one of our friends, Ann Powers from NPR, wrote a long time ago that what makes a song of the summer is it blares forth from car radios, boom boxes, and at the beach, and they are the catcalls of a nation baring its collective skin.

[06:25:07]

SHAPIRO: She's such a brilliant writer.

CORNISH: She's such a powerful --

SHAPIRO: So good.

CORNISH: So, now I get to ask you guys what your songs of the summer are. It can be now. It can be forever.

KING: I'm going to say Yung Miami.

SHAPIRO: Can I play it on television?

CORNISH: You know, Noel, saying that, that's what I like. That's what I like.

SHAPIRO: Eight-dollar bill, gun to shoot.

For me, it's Raye, "Joy." Love the kind of like clapping church vibes, horns, retro feel. That whole album by Raye is amazing. "Joy" is my song of the summer.

CORNISH: OK, David.

AVELLA: Any song by Billy Joel.

CORNISH: Really?

AVELLA: I go old school. Let's ride.

SHAPIRO: Just all of them.

AVELLA: His entire --

CORNISH: The whole thing.

AVELLA: His whole portfolio.

WILLIAMS: I got two: "Midnight Sun." And it's on the list by Zara Larsson. And PinkPantheress. It's all over. It's everywhere. It's catchy, it's upbeat and so on. It's one.

And two. Sleeper was "Dai Dai" by Shakira and Burna Boy, only because --

CORNISH: Yes. The World Cup vote.

WILLIAMS: And that's the thing. Like, literally 5 billion people, I believe, watched the World Cup.

SHAPIRO: Finger on the pulse.

WILLIAMS: Finger on the pulse. And I don't think we realize how many times we've heard that song --

CORNISH: Yes.

WILLIAMS: -- since the beginning of June or July, and it just sort of is in the consciousness now.

CORNISH: OK, love you guys weighing in.

Ari, thank you so much for being here.

SHAPIRO: It's always a pleasure.

CORNISH: And of course, you can catch new episodes of "Engagement Party" every Friday.

Now straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, this is going to sound like the plot of a futuristic sci-fi movie. Not a great one. A.I. can now create viruses.

Plus, the race to contain the flames. The dangerous fire weather in Washington state, and whether or not it could get worse.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)