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CNN Headlines: Trump Signs New Executive Orders Targeting Birthright Citizenship Again; 3 Teachers, 3 Students Dead in Thailand School Shooting; Republicans' Unprecedented Move In Their Efforts To Have Fauci Prosecuted. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 07, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: 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)
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: President Trump signs executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and birth tourism. Who these new orders are now targeting.
Plus, at least six people are dead after a school shooting in Thailand. The latest developments this morning for you.
Plus, winds could intensify the flames and the ongoing Spokane fires. The latest on the containment and the efforts playing out. Plus, what the alleged arsonist admitted to.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us today.
Let's get this started.
President Trump is renewing his attempt to limit who can be considered an American citizen. Yesterday, he issued two new executive orders. One relates to birthright citizenship, and the second involves what's called birth tourism.
CNN's senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes reports with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTNE HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump is once again trying to curb birth tourism and birthright citizenship after its first attempt was struck down by the Supreme Court earlier this year. So today, President Trump announced two new executive orders. First, target specific groups and makes them ineligible for birthright
citizenship, which is granted citizenship to anyone that is born on American soil.
STEPHEN MILLER, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: The president is using his authority as commander in chief to sign an executive order using the new ruling, the Supreme Court issued to expand the definitions of people who are ineligible for birthright citizenship. That includes, for example, alien enemies of the United States, members of foreign terrorist organizations, and large categories of people who lobby and act on behalf of foreign governments.
HOLMES: Last year, President Trump signed an executive order attempting to limit birthright citizenship. But the Supreme Court struck that down in June, citing the 14th Amendment.
TRUMP: We had a very unfortunate decision in the Supreme Court concerning birthright was close, but a very, very unfortunate decision. So we're making adjustments because it's very unfair.
HOLMES: Now, the second executive order bans birth tourism, but there's already a U.S. law in place that bans people from getting a visa for the sole purpose of getting citizenship for children by giving birth in the United States. And it's not immediately clear what this executive order does beyond that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: All right. Thank you, Kristen. Now we take you to a deadly school shooting in Thailand this morning. At least six killed, three teachers and three students. More than 20 others were wounded. The youngest only 12.
Terrified students fleeing the school of about 3,000 students and one rescue worker, describing it as total chaos. Some capturing the harrowing moments on camera.
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SMITH: That is the moment that students inside the school were taking shelter under their desks, while gunshots can be heard in the background.
Here's what we know: authorities say that a 14-year-old opened fire and then later shot himself. He remains in critical condition, and earlier, police say he killed his grandparents at their home. Concerned parents rushed to the school located just north of Bangkok, as news of the shooting spread, including CNN producer Karla Cripps, whose son attends the school.
But Karla -- was overseas at the time of the shooting. She does tell CNN, though, that one of her son's favorite teachers are among the dead, and officials say among the teens, the victims range in age from 12 up to 17.
The numbers are in for Tennessee's primary elections, the first since the state redrew congressional maps back in May. In the newly drawn ninth district, progressive candidate Justin Pearson wins the Democratic nomination. He'll face off with Trump backed Republican Brent Taylor in the general election come November. He's currently a Tennessee state senator.
Now, meantime, the Volunteer State appears poised to elect its first female governor, Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn won the GOP nomination last night. She'll go up against Memphis City Councilmember Jerri Green, who claimed victory in the Democratic primary.
And today, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will headline a Democrats unity rally in Detroit.
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Buttigieg is reportedly considering a run for president in 2028, but this event is meant to highlight the huge stakes in November's midterms and get Michigan Democrats all on the same page.
This rally coming just days after the state's divisive Democratic senate primary, progressive Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens. That Senate seat is crucial to Democrats' chances of retaking control of the chamber.
Republican Senator Rand Paul officially recommended that the Justice Department charge Dr. Anthony Fauci with contempt of Congress, advancing an effort by the GOP to prosecute Fauci over his refusal to testify about the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
CNN's Annie Grayer has more of the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REPORTER: Dr. Fauci has said that you are out to get him. If you're circumventing the normal Senate procedure, aren't you proving his point?
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): A million Americans died, and I think they deserve to know the truth.
ANNIE GRAYER, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Republicans years long fight to prosecute Dr. Anthony Fauci has reached unprecedented levels over his refusal to testify about the U.S. government response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
SENATE CLERK: Senator Lankford?
SEN. JAMES LANKFORD (R-OK): Aye.
SENATE CLERK: Senator Scott?
SEN. RICK SCOTT (R-FL): Yes.
SENATE CLERK: Senator Hawley?
SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): Aye. GRAYER: After a committee vote narrowly along party lines, Senator Rand Paul's office hand-delivered a referral to the Department of Justice to criminally charge Fauci with contempt of Congress, bypassing the normal process that would require a full Senate vote.
PAUL: This is outside of the ordinary bill making process, so it doesn't have to go to the house, doesn't have to be signed by the president, and it really doesn't have to go before the Senate.
GRAYER: Republicans have accused Fauci for years of lying and misrepresenting facts about the covid response, but have yet to present clear evidence of an alleged cover up. In the hearing, Fauci argued that Paul's obvious obsession with his prosecution justified his refusal to speak. Democrats are accusing Paul of breaking important precedent that has served as a bedrock for Congress, and warned that this move could prevent witnesses from wanting to testify in front of the Senate in the future.
SEN. GARY PETERS (D-MI): That would be even more dangerous and widely unprecedented move. No individual senator and no committee speaks for the entire Senate as a whole.
GRAYER: But Republicans are backing Paul.
REPORTER: Are you comfortable with the precedent being set?
SCOTT: Yes. I mean, look, Fauci was a liar. He had every opportunity. He had a pardon. He could have come here and just told the truth. He didn't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: All right. We have new details on the fires ravaging the state of Washington right now. Prosecutors say a suspect has admitted to starting the first of three devastating fires in Spokane.
But that's not all. Court documents show that Aaron Farinacci told them he's lit more than two dozen others since last year. He's now facing five counts of first-degree arson. Detectives say that the suspect researched the methodology of serial arsonists. He's being held on a $2 million bond.
Crews continue to fight to contain the destructive fires. They are battling both strong winds and intense heat through the weekend.
Happening today, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be in Atlanta for a rare visit to CDC headquarters. First, he's going to attend a ceremony to commemorate one year since police officer David Rose was killed at the agency while responding to a shooting call.
Rose will be honored with a new plaque at the memorial site, part of the road in front of the CDC will also be renamed after the fallen police officer. And then Kennedy will host a fireside chat with the health agency's employees. State health officials in Michigan say that people can go back to
eating lettuce and salad greens. Health officials now say the new cases of cyclospora in the state are declining, and as a result, the state health department says the precautionary recommendation to avoid bagged salad is no longer in effect. The state has reported more than 12,000 cases of cyclosporiasis since June. State health officials are still urging people to avoid recalled iceberg lettuce from Taylor Farms.
We're just getting started here on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Lots more to come, including this. An emotional day in court in the trial of the Massachusetts mom accused of killing her three young children. What jurors heard from the witness stand.
Plus, police say that this car was being driven by two kids, ages seven and four, when they hit a woman, leaving her critically injured. We've got the details later in the hour.
And the latest on a former U.S. Olympian who was accused of vandalizing a major Washington, D.C. landmark.
Stay with us. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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SMITH: Today, the judge in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial is expected to rule on the defense's motion to call certain witnesses to the stand. Now, this comes after an emotional day in the trial of the Massachusetts mother accused of murdering her three young kids.
Kristina Rex with our affiliate WBZ has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTINA REX, WBZ REPORTER (voice-over): That's the sound of Lindsay Clancy sobs as a medical examiner describes the autopsy of her youngest son, Callan. The disturbing photos, seen only by the jury. Some jurors were visibly emotional.
That was how Thursday began. The very last thing jurors heard. Lindsay's own words from Facebook support groups.
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SHANAN BUCKINGHAM, PROSECUTOR: I'm truly finding my 19-month-old to be the most difficult human I've ever encountered. I mean that with all love in my heart. Every single thing with him is a battle. And it has been this way for a while.
REX (voice-over): Eleven witnesses testified, including the family's pediatrician, their daycare teachers, and Lindsay's former father-in- law.
CHRISTOPHER CLANCY, LINDSAY'S FORMER FATHER-IN-LAW: She was very mothering.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And was she protective?
CLANCY: I would say yes, like any mother would be.
REX (voice-over): Lindsay's friends testified, including a coworker who described her in her career as a labor and delivery nurse.
ANDREA HENNIGAN, LINDSAY CLANCY'S FORMER COWORKER & FRIEND: You could tell with Lindsay, it was a more of a calling that she really cared so deeply, specifically about caring for pregnant women and women giving birth.
REX (voice-over): Lindsay had confided in friends that she was struggling.
AMY BEVINS, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF LINDSAY CLANCY: She had shared that she was had been taking a medication that caused her to have some dark thoughts.
REX (voice-over): Prosecutors focused on what she didn't say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she ever mention that she had suicidal thoughts?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she ever mention that she had homicidal thoughts?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
REX (voice-over): After the murders of her three children, Lindsay's childhood best friend visited her at Spaulding rehab.
BEVINS: We made small talk. We played uno.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point in time, did she mention the death of her children?
BEVINS: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point in time did she break down in tears and cry about her children?
BEVINS: No.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: That friend testified that she had been told not to bring up the deaths of the kids. When she saw Lindsay. Now, her defense attorney says the psychiatrist who treated her before the deaths will take the stand today.
In another case, the judge has officially dismissed the case against the ex-Olympian that the Trump administration accused of criminally vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Now, the judge dismissed the felony case against David Hearn, but he stopped short of preventing prosecutors from bringing back the same case sometime in the future. That is something that Hearn's attorneys specifically asked for.
Now, a week ago, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., filed court papers asking the judge to dismiss the case, saying there was not enough evidence to prove vandalism.
Here is Hearn's reaction to being targeted by the Justice Department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID HEARN, EX-OLYMPIAN: This can happen to anybody. If it can happen to me, it can happen to anybody. Nobody is immune to this kind of government, lawlessness essentially.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Now, President Trump lashed out at Jeanine Pirro for asking for the case to be dropped, but he did not fire her nor ask for her resignation.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS scrutiny on an ICE detention center in New Jersey, where one detainee just died. And there may be other deaths related to the facility. Details coming up.
Plus, a CNN hero story. How one woman is on a mission to make expensive medical technology available and accessible to all.
More on her mission coming up.
Stay with us
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SMITH: A new study finds that robotic therapy can help people with spinal cord injuries move freely and live more independently, but the technology can come with a steep price tag, putting it out of reach for many. That issue is personal for 2018. CNN hero Amanda Boxtel, who lives with paralysis and as CNN Heroes marks its 20th year, we're highlighting her efforts to bring high tech therapy to those who need it most
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMANDA BOXTEL, CNN HERO: I feel like the mountain had robbed me of the use of my legs, but I was determined to show that I wasn't going to give up so easily.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 24, Amanda Boxtel was paralyzed in a skiing accident. After years of physical therapy, she had the chance to try a new, costly technology, an exoskeleton designed to help people with mobility challenges. BOXTEL: I stood up and I walked for the first time in 18 years, and
it was as if all of my dreams were burgeoning to life in one upright, powerful moment.
COOPER (voice-over): Amanda purchased her own exoskeleton and walked 130,000 steps in a year, easing her chronic pain.
BOXTEL: Right leg was the first to come back. Is that right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.
COOPER (voice-over): In 2015, she founded Bridging Bionics to help other people with mobility issues benefit from the technology.
BOXTEL: It's not easily accessible. It's not affordable. And I thought we could get a whole community up and walking with this unit.
COOPER (voice-over): She even teamed up with her fellow 2018 CNN hero Ricardo Pun-Chong, who provides free housing and support for sick children and their families while they undergo medical treatment in Lima, Peru.
When Amanda learned a child in his program needed a wheelchair, she wanted to help.
BOXTEL: She has cerebral palsy and she was in a stroller. She's been in a stroller for her whole life. It's time, don't you think, for her to have a wheelchair, to call her own.
Look what we have for Alaska (ph).
PUN-CHONG, CNN HERO: Thank you so much. With this new wheelchair and with her surgery, she's going to have a better life.
COOPER (voice-over): Amanda recently secured a dedicated space for her work, allowing her to help more people access high tech physical therapy.
BOXTEL: We are truly giving the gift of mobility for free or next to nothing, to help our community get upright and walking again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: To learn more about Amanda and Bridging Bionics, go to CNN.com/heroes.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, U.S. citizenship. President Trump issues two new executive orders related to what it means to be an American. Details on that straight ahead.
Plus, at least three teachers and three students are dead after -- several wounded after a school shooting in Thailand. The latest on what's happening there. We've got that coming up for you.
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