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CNN Headlines: Trump: "Complete Disarmament" Of Hamas, No Response From Hamas; State Media: Iranian Forces Target Air Base In Kuwait; President Trump Set To Hold Cabinet Meeting At Camp David; Trump Says He May Temporarily Pull Todd Blanche's Nomination. Aired 5- 5:30a ET
Aired July 31, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:26]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump says that there's now a deal for Hamas to fully disarm, but not everyone agrees with that. We'll dive in.
Plus, in the case against the woman accused of killing her own children, the jury will go to the scene of the crime today. The latest on that high profile trial.
And overnight, thousands of people flooding into a territory of Spain by land and by sea, 49,000 migrants in just 24 hours. We've got more on this developing story.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us today.
Let's get this started.
We begin in the Middle East. That's where peace in Gaza, war in Iran. First up, President Trump announcing a historic agreement to fully disarm Hamas and other armed groups in Gaza.
So, this would essentially pave the way for a new Palestinian government alongside his board of peace. It would be carried out in carefully structured phases. As the president wrote, adding that Israel will have the security it deserves. Now, once Hamas is disarmed, Israeli forces will withdraw from Gaza.
Hamas has not yet confirmed. The deal and another militant group in Gaza said that reports of the agreement were inaccurate. U.S. and border force officials called the agreement the result of months of very delicate negotiations. So, with all of this playing out, the war with Iran and Tehran's vow of retaliation for the latest wave of U.S. attacks, that's also in focus.
You're looking at new video from the Iranian state media that claims to show Iran targeting air bases in Kuwait. At last check, Kuwait has not confirmed the attack. Meanwhile, as Egypt gets pulled into the war for the first time, Iran has a warning of a different kind. The Iranian foreign minister is urging vigilance against what he calls false flag operations, designed to undermine regional peace. This follows Wednesday's drone attack on one of Egypt's ports, sending
two ships on fire. Now, no one has claimed responsibility for that.
Also today, President Trump will hold a cabinet meeting at Camp David. It comes as the White House faces growing challenges here and abroad.
Trump now says that he may withdraw his pick for attorney general until early next year. Two Republicans on the senate judiciary committee are holding up Todd Blanche's nomination, and the president says that he might renominate Blanche once they're out of office.
More now from CNN's Manu Raju.
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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now, time is of the essence because the senate goes on a more than month long recess starting at the end of next week, which means that if Blanche is not confirmed by the end of next week, that could mean it will continue to languish over the August recess, the summer work period when members are back home, they're campaigning, they're on vacation.
And oftentimes when there is not momentum behind something in Washington, that means it will collapse, it will be defeated, and it will simply go away. And that's what Todd Blanche is most concerned about at this point, because the president has warned, he did so on Thursday afternoon, that he would simply withdraw the nomination of Todd Blanche if it came to it, and then renominate him next year in the new Congress, when both John Cornyn and Thom Tillis are no longer members.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Sources say Blanche met with Senators Cornyn and Tillis privately yesterday. They and other Republicans have raised concerns about the president's settlement with the IRS and that so-called anti- weaponization fund.
Criminal history being made in a Georgia courtroom today as a judge sentences Colin Gray to 15 years in prison for a deadly school shooting his son carried out. Sixteen-year-old Colt Gray was sentenced to life in prison without parole on Tuesday for the deadly September 2024 shooting. The same judge sentenced his father on Thursday.
Here's CNN's Ivan Rodriguez with more.
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IVAN RODRIGUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Colin Gray, whose son killed four people and injured seven at Apalachee High School in 2024, was convicted of murder and manslaughter earlier this year after buying his son an AR-15 style rifle as a Christmas gift and leaving it unsecured, despite warnings his son was a danger to others.
Victims' families and survivors, many of whom spoke powerfully at Colt Gray sentencing, opened the hearing by speaking about their anger at the defendant and memories of their loved ones.
TERRY MCELHANNON, GRANDFATHER OF TAYLOR JONES: Why are we here today? Is because of him.
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His actions and his neglect are responsible for what happened here. Though he did not shoot the gun, he bought the bullets.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): The sentencing is part of an emotionally fraught week for the community of Winder, Georgia. Colt Gray pleaded guilty to murder last Friday and was sentenced to life in prison without parole Tuesday.
SHAYNA ASPINWALL, WIFE OF VICTIM, RICK ASPINWALL: My now seven year old was a daddy's girl, spends time going to therapy because she struggled with the grief of losing her dad. Colin could not take his son to therapy. Therefore, I have to take mine.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Ismael Angulo, whose brother Christian was killed, called the defendant a complete failure of a father.
ISMAEL ANGULO, BROTHER OF VICTIM, CHRISTIAN ANGULO: He made a choice to buy that rifle. He made a choice to ignore every red flag. And because of his choices, my little brother Christian and three others. Mason, Coach Aspinwall and Ms. Irimie are gone and so many others will carry permanent scars for the rest of their lives.
RODRIGUEZ (voice-over): Colin Gray is the first parent of a school shooter to be convicted of murder. His attorney, Brian Hobbs, said Thursday he plans to appeal the conviction.
In Atlanta, I'm Ivan Rodriguez.
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SMITH: Investigators say a key piece of evidence in the Nancy Guthrie abduction has not led them to a suspect. According to the Pima County sheriff's department, hair found inside her home was tested, but authorities say it does not provide a match. Additional DNA evidence collected from the home is now being analyzed at labs across the country, including the FBI's. Investigators hope that testing, along with genetic genealogy, could help identify whoever is responsible for the kidnaping.
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CHRIS NANOS, PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF: There's so much being put into this case, I just -- I just have all the confidence in the world that we'll get there.
REPORTER: You feel like you're going to solve it?
NANOS: I do believe we'll solve this case, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SMITH: Nancy Guthrie disappeared about six months ago. Authorities believe that she was taken against her will.
Earlier this week, Savannah Guthrie made an emotional appeal to the kidnapers, asking them to just tell the family where to look for her mother.
Jurors in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial are taking a trip away from the courthouse today and visiting the home where prosecutors say that she killed her three children and then attempted to kill herself.
The new homeowners tried to object, but the judge overruled them.
CNN's Jenn Sullivan catches us up on what's happened in the trial this week.
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JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly a dozen first responders taking the stand Thursday, describing the harrowing scene inside the Clancy home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, on the night of January 24th, 2023.
BRIAN JOSEPHINE, DUXBURY POLICE DEPARTMENT: He looked up and he screamed she killed the kids.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Inside the home, first responders found three children unresponsive. Five-year-old Cora, three-year-old Dawson, and eight-month-old Callan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I checked Callan's pulse.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did he have a pulse?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Paramedics also testified Thursday they found Lindsay Clancy unresponsive and administered Narcan, thinking she may have overdosed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No verbal communication. She never fully woke up.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): Lindsay Clancy is accused of strangling her three children with exercise bands. She's charged with three counts of first degree murder. Her now ex-husband, Patrick Clancy, testifying Wednesday about what he witnessed that night.
PATRICK CLANCY, FATHER OF CLANCY CHILDREN, LINDSAY'S EX-HUSBAND: She said I tried to kill myself
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ask her anything else?
CLANCY: I said, where are the kids?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what was her response?
CLANCY: She said, they're in the basement.
SULLIVAN (voice-over): During cross-examination, Patrick Clancy testified about his then-wife struggles with mental health. Lindsay Clancy's attorney is arguing she should not be held criminally responsible for the killings because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and extreme mental illness.
Clancy has pleaded not guilty.
I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.
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SMITH: The search resumes this morning for a missing girl in New Jersey. Swept up in a rising river along with two other children on Wednesday. Among them a 10-year-old boy who was found dead. The mayor says that he may have died trying to save the third child, his sister, who survived.
That same system of storms, also spawned this tornado in Maryland, seen here ripping off a roof, the twister only tracked about 800 feet, but it packed a punch with winds approaching the triple digits.
And in Colorado, after being forced from their homes for nearly a month, some wildfire victims are now dealing with this.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We survived the fire, thank God. But now we got to survive the floods.
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SMITH: The aftermath there, washed up roads and mud everywhere. Another victim said that she was ready for some flooding, but not this much damage.
Now after the rain comes the heat.
[05:10:00]
Chris Warren explains the dangerous conditions setting up over the West this weekend.
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CHRIS WARREN, METEOROLOGIST: It's a brutal combination. The hottest part of the year, the hottest part of the country, and an unusually strong heat dome. This massive dome of high pressure will stretch from Mexico to Canada, helping deliver some of the hottest temperatures of the year across the west.
The desert southwest is already scorching, but it's about to get even hotter as the heat dome expands and intensifies later this week, with forecasts showing the strength of the heat dome reaching unprecedented levels. More than a dozen states from California to Montana could see record high temperatures, with some of the most extreme heat focused on the desert southwest. Death Valley could soar above 125 degrees, while other hot spots may climb toward 120. Even Billings, Montana, will feel triple digit temperatures when the heat dome peaks this weekend.
These conditions can quickly become dangerous, especially for people without access to adequate cooling or hydration. From the Southwest to the Northern Plains, prepare now for a stretch of oppressive and potentially dangerous heat.
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SMITH: All right. Thank you, Chris Warren, for that breakdown.
Lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. An estimated 49,000 migrants have crossed into a territory of Spain in the past 24 hours by land and by sea. What is sparking this massive influx and how Spain is responding?
And major new developments out of Seattle after a deadly shooting at a food festival last weekend.
We've got the details for you coming up. Stay with us on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:16:08]
SMITH: Seattle's police chief is stepping down. This follows growing criticism over the city's response to last weekend's deadly shooting at a popular food festival. Sean Barnes resigned as chief after questions about how long it took the city to update the public after it happened. Three people were killed and four others were injured.
The mayor says officers moved quickly to stop the violence, but acknowledged that the city was too slow to share information with the public and send emergency alerts. The deputy chief will now lead the department on an interim basis, as the investigation moves forward.
Well, multiple women have come forward to accuse Jared Leto of sexual misconduct. The allegations were made in a new documentary. As Ivana Scatola reports, this isn't the first time that the actor has faced these allegations.
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IVANA SCATOLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four women have accused actor and musician Jared Leto of sexual misconduct in a new BBC documentary.
Leto has denied the allegations in a statement to "The Associated Press", he said, quote, "I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life. These claims are absolutely and categorically false."
The documentary, which was released on July 29th, details the allegations from the women who accused the 54-year-old of sexual misconduct and assault between 2002 and 2016, when they were teenagers and Leto was an adult. One said she was 17 when she was sexually assaulted, while another accused Leto of statutory rape as she was also 17.
One woman said she was 19 when Leto threatened her with sexual assault, and another said she was 16 when Leto made sexually explicit phone calls and propositioned her.
This isn't the first-time misconduct allegations have come up against Leto. Last year, he was accused of misconduct by nine women who spoke to media outlet Air Mail. A representative for Leto denied those allegations at the time.
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SMITH: We're tracking new developments there.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, a woman falls into a river canyon and gets swept away by fast moving currents. Well show you the dramatic rescue straight ahead.
Plus, the embattled CDC may have a new chief as early as today. Details on that and more ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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SMITH: In this morning's health express, two nominees for big roles at the Health and Human Services Department cleared a committee vote on Capitol Hill.
Dr. Erica Schwartz to head up the CDC and Sean Kaufman to lead the administration for strategic preparedness and response. This moves them one step closer to being confirmed by the senate. Senator Bill Cassidy says he addressed Kaufman's past remarks about vaccines.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL CASSIDY (R-LA): Mr. Kaufman has said some pretty stupid things and irresponsible things regarding immunization. He has owned up to that in his conversations with me. I am assured that if he is confirmed, he will not be involved in vaccine policy and nor will he be the ultimate decision maker on certain issues like mRNA because of his past statements. I've received these reassurances. I will continue to make sure that these commitments are held.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Cassidy also says that he's had multiple conversations with top HHS officials about removing claims on vaccines and autism from the CDC website, as well as other personnel changes at the agency.
Let's stay with health. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has a new project. It's a cooking show based on what he's called the upside food pyramid.
CNN's Jacqueline Howard has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR., HHS SECRETARY: Amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. First time I've cooked for a dignitary.
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: That was Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. tasting his first dish from his new cooking show. The show launched on Thursday, and it highlights some of the updated dietary guidelines that the Trump administration released earlier this year.
The first episode suggested fish was an affordable option for a meal amid the rising costs of meat.
KENNEDY: The cost of meat has gone up. We're doing everything that we can in the administration to bring that down and increase the size of the herd. But until that happens, this is a fantastic option.
HOWARD: You probably remember they flipped the food pyramid and they focused more on healthy fats and proteins.
KENNEDY: It's upside down. A lot of people say.
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It was actually upside down before, and we just righted it.
HOWARD: When those updates were made, some medical groups expressed concern that they may lead to Americans consuming too much saturated fat and sodium.
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SMITH: Jacqueline Howard, thank you. Breaking down the upside down food pyramid for us.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, an estimated 49,000 migrants have crossed over into a territory of Spain in just 24 hours. What is causing the influx? We've got those details straight ahead.
Plus, drama in the soccer world, or football? Why European football, soccer, leaders are saying that they plan to boycott the FIFA world cup. That is all coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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