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CNN Headlines: Source: Firings Underway At Agencies Overseen By National Intelligence Director; Note Linked To Nancy Guthrie Disappearance Claims She Died; Rubio Heads To Middle East To Discuss Iran With Allies; More Severe Storms Lining Up To Strike Central U.S. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired June 23, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:25]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: A heartbreaking update in the Nancy Guthrie case, what a note revealed about her disappearance.
And --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I saw it, they cut it, they cut it very violently. The same thing with the floor, they cut it, and then they lifted it, they pulled it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: President Trump is threatening serious criminal penalties for those that he says vandalize the reflecting pool, the new measures that he's now taking.
And --
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honestly, it's just -- I can't give God enough praise for bringing us through it. And I don't think people understand. I mean, we were trapped in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: A deadly EF3 tornado destroyed this woman's family home in Illinois. We hear from neighbors about their firsthand accounts of the destruction.
And take a look at this. Police used a drone to take a knife away from this man. We'll tell you exactly how it all went down.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us this morning.
Let's get this started. We begin with reports of large-scale firings already underway at the
agencies the Director of National Intelligence oversees, a source familiar with the matter telling CNN. Bill Pulte took over as acting DNI last week after outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard stepped down. Pulte has come under bipartisan criticism over his lack of experience, which President Trump downplays, noting his temporary status.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's not going to be permanent because, you know, I don't think he'd want to be permanent. But he's a very smart guy, and he may find out some things about the rigged elections, et cetera, et cetera.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Pulte's background is in housing. He has a record of making mortgage fraud allegations against President Trump's political enemies.
CNN's senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe was on CNN last night alongside Democratic Senator Cory Booker with the analysis of Pulte's background.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Bill Pulte has zero intelligence experience. Never been in the military, never served in law enforcement. He's not been associated with any of the 18 separate government agencies that currently make up the intelligence community. So if charged with culling the workforce by 20, 30, 40, 50 percent, how on earth will this guy know who to fire?
I'm told that one of the other questions, his first questions when he arrived last Friday at the DNI was, He inquired us to, would he get a security clearance and what kind would it be? He doesn't know already that the job he's stepping into will enable him to have every piece of the government's most sensitive intelligence, not just secret, not just top secret, codeword-protected, ultra-sensitive programs that identify human sources, that identify exquisite cyber collection platforms, all of that could cross his desk at any moment, and he doesn't know what sort of security clearance he has?
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): You don't just go in a DOGE way and start throwing people out. You do it in a substantive, methodical way by somebody who has extensive national security experience. He has absolutely none.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Jay Clayton is the president's pick to be the permanent director of national intelligence, but the president told him to sit out his confirmation hearing last week, forcing lawmakers to postpone it.
We have a heartbreaking development in the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie. She is the mother of NBC "Today Show" host and anchor Savannah Guthrie. Investigators now say a second note sent to media outlets claimed Guthrie died shortly after she was kidnapped from her Arizona home. The message reportedly said her abductors did not intend to kill her. The note followed an earlier ransom demand for millions of dollars, and authorities believe both communications are legitimate messages from the kidnappers.
Savannah Guthrie and her family responded with an emotional video in February.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, NBC "TODAY SHOW" HOST: We received your message, and we understand. We beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace. This is very valuable to us, and we will pay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Law enforcement asked news organizations to withhold details of the notes for months so that any future communications could be authenticated.
[05:05:00]
The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI.
President Trump's top diplomat will be heading to the Middle East to discuss the agreement with Iran. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Bahrain, key U.S. allies in the region. He will also meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council. The group is expected to play a key role in implementing elements of the memorandum.
Now, meanwhile, there are conflicting statements from Vice President Vance and Tehran on if nuclear inspectors will be allowed back into Iran. At a news conference in Switzerland, Vance said that Iran had agreed to admit the inspectors, but Iran's state media is reporting Tehran did not discuss the nuclear issue during the negotiations and did not accept any new commitments.
Meanwhile, Iran has agreed to set up a Strait of Hormuz telephone hotline. It is meant to prevent and quickly clear up any misunderstandings with the U.S. or other countries as ships move through this critical waterway. On Monday, Iran's chief negotiator said Tehran and Washington agreed to set up a hotline and a coordination center so that ships can get help fast if problems arise.
He also claimed talks in Switzerland last weekend finalized Iran's access to $12 billion in frozen funds, along with details on easing oil sanctions. Voters in several states, they head to the polls today for key primary races. In New York, one of the most competitive races is in the 12th Congressional District, which covers much of Manhattan. Former Republican George Conway and Jack Schlossberg, who is the only grandson of President John F. Kennedy, are among those running to replace retiring Democratic Congressman Jerry Nadler. A federal judge is blocking the Justice Department's subpoenas of
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and other prominent Democrats. On Monday, the George W. Bush-appointed judge slammed the move as retaliatory and unconstitutional. It would have forced Walz and other officials to turn over records as part of its investigation into Democratic resistance to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. But the judge said it was designed to, quote, harass political opponents.
Quarantine has now ended for the last group of American passengers exposed to a deadly hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship. The final group had been in isolation for 42 days at a medical center in Nebraska and were cleared to return home after showing no signs of infection. The outbreak began earlier this year on a ship that set sail from Argentina. Health officials say 13 people on board were diagnosed with the virus. Three of them died.
Two more men have been charged in the alleged plot to attack the UFC fight that was outside the White House earlier this month. One suspect is Jordan Rincker. According to the criminal complaint, he told officers that he felt like he'd armed a terrorist after allegedly giving another defendant his shotgun. Investigators say he also admitted he'd been lying to the group, saying he didn't know how to build drones and had no explosives. The other suspect allegedly told the group he knew how to rig drones with explosives. Both men appeared in federal court yesterday.
Well, President Trump is threatening 10 years in prison for people he says vandalized the reflecting pool on the National Mall. The D.C. landmark has turned green after his administration spent $14 million to make it, quote, "American flag blue". It looks otherwise.
Our Sherrell Hubbard gives us the latest.
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SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Close-up video shot shows the reflecting pool in Washington, D.C. Monday, green with algae after the U.S. Department of Interior declared just last week that the water was, quote, crystal clear. President Donald Trump claiming Monday without providing evidence that vandals had damaged the pool. What appeared to be surveillance cameras cropped up around the century-old pool Monday, along with an enhanced police presence.
TRUMP: They cut it. They cut it very violently. The same thing with the floor, they cut it, and then they lifted it. They pulled it.
HUBBARD: Over the weekend, U.S. Park Police arrested at least five people and cited others amid the pools bottom blue layer peeling off. Trump took to Truth Social on Monday, threatening punishment, saying there is a 10 year prison sentence for the destruction or even the attempted destruction of such things which will be fully enforced, he said.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a robust, strong puncture proof material that would take a concerted effort to cause significant damage like that. HUBBARD: Earlier this year, a no bid contract worth $14 million
called for renovations to proof material that would take a concerted effort to cause significant damage like that. Earlier this year, a no bid contract worth $14 million called for renovations to the pool. But just a day after the work was completed and the space refilled with water, algae was already visible from the water's edge.
[05:10:06]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In classic bureaucratic fashion, you know, people make mistakes along the way. I say follow the money, look at who got paid the first time around that made that big mistake.
I'm Sherrell Hubbard reporting.
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SMITH: Thank you, Sherrell.
We've got lots more to come. What's in and headline express a U.S. pilot shot down over Iran earlier this year saw something that has set off a massive debate in the intelligence world. Details on that new reporting coming up.
And do you remember the beach condo building that collapsed in Florida about five years ago? Well, new information just came out saying the issue started weeks before.
And one of the biggest stories in sports. Reports say the two-time MVP and man basketball player known as the Greek freak, Giannis Antetokounmpo, just got traded. That, as CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS continues.
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[05:15:25]
SMITH: Smoke is still choking parts of Los Angeles as a massive warehouse fire continues to burn days after it first sparked. It started almost a week ago, but crews say that they are finally making real progress at the cold storage facility in Boyle Heights. They're using heavy machinery to tear into the building and reach flames buried deep inside.
Firefighters are also now pulling down exterior walls to get to the core of the fire, but for people living nearby, the danger is not over. Air quality remains very unhealthy and a pollution advisory is in place. The mayor says the priority is protecting people. Nobody knows how long the smoke will last, but firefighters say conditions have already improved significantly.
Nearly five years after a condo tower collapsed in Surfside, Florida, we now know what caused the deadly incident. Nearly 100 people were killed in the collapse. Federal investigators, they issued their final report on Monday. The investigators say the connections between the garage columns and the pool failed in early June 2021. That's weeks before the collapse. The report also said the building did not meet proper codes, as well as faulty construction. A group of defendants and the families harmed by the collapse reached a $1 billion settlement.
New details this morning after this deadly tornado swept through Sunday, destroying an Illinois mobile home in a neighborhood in its path. One survivor says that he saw a woman who was killed just moments before the storm hit the tight-knit community, and he tried to warn her, but it was too late.
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RODNEY GASS, TORNADO SURVIVOR: It was on the -- on the porch and she went in right before the storm hit. I don't think she even knew it was coming because it was so quiet and it hit so quickly. Her side by side was upside down on the other side of us and the house. There was nothing at all left of the house that just. No, not even a -- not even a board.
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SMITH: Other neighbors are left to pick up the pieces and come to grips with just what happened.
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KELLY THOMPSON, TORNADO SURVIVOR: What to do next? It's the next -- just make it through this moment to the next moment. And honestly, it's just -- I can't give God enough praise for bringing us through it. And I don't think people understand.
I mean, we were trapped in it. And the two other homes that were destroyed, they didn't make it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Now, unfortunately, more storms are on the way, and CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has that forecast and explains.
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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yet again, another round of severe storms across portions of the central U.S. You can see that outline threat zone right here for areas of North Dakota all the way down through Texas as that system continues to slide off to the east, taking with it the very large amount of moisture and the heat that's really fueling a lot of these storms.
They've got two sections. The first one that is basically up and down the I-95 corridor that's going to linger through much of the day today. You also have the secondary system. That's one that's going to slide through much of the plains and work its way down into some of the states along the mid Mississippi Valley.
Now most of these areas likely only to pick up about an extra one to three inches of rain, but keep in mind many of these areas have had a lot of rain over the last five to seven days. So since that ground is already saturated, it won't take all that much to trigger any additional flooding across many of the states. We're also looking at some pretty intense heat across the southern tier of the U.S., namely Texas, New Mexico, and even into Arizona.
High temperature today, 82 in Oklahoma City, but 93 in Dallas, 111 in Phoenix, 94 New Orleans. Keep in mind, though, for some of those places, especially New Orleans, you also have to take into account the humidity so that feels like temperature is going to be much higher than simply in the mid 90s.
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SMITH: Thank you, Allison.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. What do you do when millions of bees escape besides run? What else had to be done to get this under control? We've got the story.
Plus, let's hear it for Messi. With a new record set, his fans are doubling down that he is the GOAT.
That is coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:24:15]
SMITH: In today's Money Express, the Senate has passed the largest housing affordability bill in decades. It is called the 21st Century Road to Housing Act and focuses on lowering home costs and stopping private equity from purchasing single-family homes. The House is expected to vote on the bill soon, and President Trump has signaled he plans to sign it into law.
If we take a look at the housing market right now, home sales have increased despite high prices and mortgage rates.
CNN's Jenn Sullivan has that report.
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JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two hundred twenty- nine thousand three hundred dollars, that's the median home sale price in the U.S. right now. According to the National Association of Realtors, home prices are hitting record highs. And a 30-year fixed mortgage rate is above 6 percent.
[05:25:01]
Despite high prices and high mortgage rates, people are buying homes. For the first time in several months, home sales increased last month. But in many metropolitan areas, there aren't enough homes on the market to meet the demand, and that's keeping prices high.
And many long term homeowners are reluctant to sell right now because of the high capital gains tax they'll have to pay when they sell their home. Right now, couples who sell their home and make more than a $500,000 profit could be subject to a 15 to 20 percent tax.
LAWRENCE YUN, ECONOMIST: Lifting the capital gains exemption amount means that more homeowners can sell their home knowing that the profit will be theirs so they can downsize. Maybe they can contribute some of their profit to the next generation.
SULLIVAN: Congress hasn't changed the capital gains tax exemption on home sales since 1997. The National Association of Realtors has been meeting with legislators to try and change this because they say it will help affordability.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: All right. Thank you, Jenn.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, police kicked out the glass door of a supermarket after a shooting suspect seemed to be targeting officers. More on those intense moments coming up.
And new details in the months-long search for Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of "Today Show" co-host Savannah Guthrie. We've got those details coming your way.
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