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CNN Headlines: Three Teachers, Three Students Dead In Thailand School Shooting; Rep. Rob Menendez Says Third Detainee Has Died At ICE's Delaney Hall; Ohio Voters Divided Over Abuse Allegations Against Rep. Max Miller. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired August 07, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:35]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.
The scene of a deadly shooting this morning at a secondary school just north of Bangkok, Thailand. At least six killed -- three teachers and three students. One rescue worker describing it as total chaos. Police say a 14-year-old suspect shot himself and is in critical condition.
Also, President Trump is reviving his attempt to limit who can qualify to become a U.S. citizen. Yesterday he issued two new executive orders. The first relates to birthright citizenship and the second involves what's called "birth tourism." Earlier this year the Supreme Court struck down Trump's first attempt to curb birthright citizenship, ruling it unconstitutional.
And the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, is ordering inspections of hundreds of Boeing 737 Max jets for possible cracks. The FAA warns that undetected damage could actually reduce the aircraft's structural integrity. The order comes after cracks were discovered around the forward service doors of some planes.
Let's return to Thailand, the scene of a deadly school shooting this morning. At least six killed -- three teachers and three students. More than 20 people wounded, at least nine of them critically.
CNN's Kristie Lu Stout is closely following the developments from Hong Kong and joins us live. Kristie, what do we know at this hour?
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this was a horrific act of violence, and it was carried out by a 14-year-old. Earlier today in Thailand a student opened fire at a secondary school just north of Bangkok and there are fatalities. Six people are confirmed dead, including three students and three teachers. At least 20 people are wounded, several of them in critical condition. And we've also learned the age of the youngest victim was only 12 years old.
Now police also told CNN that the suspect -- the teen shooter -- turned the gun on himself before going to hospital. And later, his grandparents were found dead at the home that they share.
And I want to share with you some video. I think you saw just a moment -- a glimpse of it just now -- social media video that CNN has indeed verified of the evacuation. This was filmed inside the school earlier today. You see boys and girls in uniform rushing to evacuate and to leave the halls.
And students -- they are in shock, they are in mourning, and we heard from them. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUDENT (through translator): And then it started getting more frequent -- like, bang, bang, bang, bang. And then it went quiet at one point and the shooting started again. I didn't think it was the sound of a gun. After that we went to the toilet. We thought it was over. I walked over there when a teacher shouted, "Quickly, run here. He's going to building four so we have to run here."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: And in this next chilling image you will see the weapon that was used by the suspected teenage shooter. This in handout file video from Thai police. We see the handgun along with ammunition that was scattered on the floor. It is believed that the handgun belonged to the grandfather of the suspect.
And also, additional social media video that we verified here at CNN, very harrowing and distressing to watch, of the students sheltering in place, crouching under their tables, under their desks at school. And in this video you can hear the gunfire in the background.
Now, mass shootings and school shootings are extremely, extremely rare in Thailand, but Thailand has high rates of gun ownership, especially in comparison to other countries in Southeast Asia. In fact, there was a recent survey that was out in 2017 saying that about 10 million civilians there have access to firearms. That's about 15 guns for every 100 people.
Now earlier this year this was a deadly school shooting in the country's south. It killed a teacher.
As for this latest deadly school shooting believed to have been carried out by a 14-year-old shooter, an investigation is underway. Back to you.
SMITH: Yeah. Just the latest tragic and traumatic event for those students and staff as well.
Kristie Lu Stout, thank you for giving us the latest, joining us live in Hong Kong.
[05:35:00]
New Jersey Congressman Rob Mendendez say that he's learned of a third death connected to the Delaney Hall ICE facility. And on Capitol Hill, New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker took to the Senate floor to call for the closure of that detention center.
Darla Miles has more.
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SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Every single day DHS keeps Delaney Hall open is another choice to let this happen again -- three times already.
DARLA MILES, WABC-TV EYEWITNESS NEWS (voiceover): On the Senate floor Thursday afternoon Sen. Cory Booker calling on Congress to shut down Delaney Hall in Newark as a third death is associated with the facility in less than a week.
BOOKER: I'm now asking for unanimous consent to pass the Delaney Hall Closure Act, which will close Delaney Hall within 90 days. They're out of excuses. We are out of time. How many more people should die?
MILES (voiceover): Another member of Congress, Rep. Rob Menendez, sitting down with Eyewitness News Thursday saying ICE has created a loophole in how it reports the deaths of individuals in their custody.
REP. ROB MENENDEZ (D-NJ): And their custody is a particular way of thinking that ICE, in terms of people that are in their custody, but they can release them on a discretionary basis.
MILES: Um-hum.
MENENDEZ: Once they do so they're no longer responsible for even reporting the death.
MILES (voiceover): The death of that third detainee two weeks ago was never publicly disclosed. After his arrest he suffered a seizure during the intake process. ICE granting a discretionary release on the spot, transporting him to the hospital and later pronounced him dead there.
MENENDEZ: There's the information that ICE provides --
MILES: Um-hum.
MENENDEZ: -- and then what I've often found to be a separate reality that we hear from the detained individuals, their families, and advocates --
MILES: Um-hum.
MENENDEZ: -- and they often don't line up.
I personally choose to believe the detained individuals and their families --
MILES: Right.
MENENDEZ: -- rather than ICE.
MILES (voiceover): Federal authorities told the family of 41-year-old Edwin Lopez-Cornejo, who died Saturday after complaining of being denied medical care, that he too was pronounced dead after being transported to the hospital.
ALMIRCAR, RELEASED DETAINEE: God bless. These are my friends. They got released and I'll keep praying for my friends.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Well, a federal judge is sounding the alarm about death threats he says he has received after ruling against President Trump. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you better tell little mother**ing Judge McConnell I don't know who the hell he thinks he is. I double dare you to try to put charges on Donald J. Trump, you so of b*tch. OK? You will get you a**es whooped, OK? I will slap the f**king sh*t out of it, OK? I'll slap your face to your face, motherf**ker." And I wish somebody would f**king assassinate you're a**."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Judge John McConnell says death threats against judges have increased 65 percent this year alone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE JOHN MCCONNELL, U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE: But you have to wonder what would cause an individual to make that kind of call. And I firmly believe that it's in response to the personal attacks that have been made by the -- by members of executive -- high up in the executive. Personal attacks that have been made on judges. They don't attack our rulings; they attack judges personally.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: In response to the allegations, a White House spokesperson says to imply that Trump's opinions about judges is "akin to making threats is deeply unserious and should be dismissed by anyone with half a brain. No one understands the dangers of political violence more than President Trump. The Trump administration cares deeply for the safety of all members of the judicial branch."
President Trump is complaining behind closed doors about reports that U.S. munitions are dwindling. Sources say he thinks it makes the U.S. look weak.
CNN reported this week that the military has burned through nearly 80 percent of its THAAD missile inventory compared to pre-war levels, and roughly half of its Patriot interceptors since the start of the war, according to sources. But President Trump says he's not worried.
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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful that we have unlimited -- virtual unlimited supply. We have others where it's a little bit tighter and we're getting them in on a daily basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: And at the same time there are also conflicting accounts about whether talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are even happening between the U.S. and Iran.
And amid the uncertainty, Iran's top negotiator is mocking President Trump. Iran's Parliament speaker on social media says a "Massive attack coming...wait, never mind, they want to negotiate. That's theater diplomacy on a loop," he writes, referring to President Trump's statement in recent weeks.
There are reports Iran-backed groups ramping up efforts to target U.S. allies in the Gulf region as well.
[05:40:00]
Well, last weekend's weather was a key factor in the Spokane fires exploding out of control and now renewed winds starting today could intensify the fires -- or worse, it could spark new ones.
Officials -- they're taking their chances here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JOHN NOWELS, SPOKANE COUNTY, WASHINGTON: With the weather event coming in and the not complete establishment of containment lines, there will likely not be any changes to the evacuation zones until the weekend is over and this weather event has passed us by.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is at the scene in the weather center with your forecast.t
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The big story remains out to the west where we have the continued fire risk but also those temperatures that are just well above average. Take, for example, Spokane. The high temperature right around 87 degrees, but the highs are expected to be about five to 10 degrees above that.
And they're not alone. Billings, Boise, Casper, even other areas of the west looking at those temperatures about five to 15 degrees above average.
One thing we will also note is that the winds are expected to increase in the next 24 hours and also shift directions. Now, on the bright side, for places like Seattle and Portland it's actually going to give you a little bit of a break. You're going to see some of that smoke easing back a little bit from your area because of the change in direction. However, on the flip side, much of Idaho, Oregon, and eastern Washington -- we could actually see the smoke increasing in those particular areas.
The one thing this area desperately needs is rain, but you'll notice over the next seven days we really don't expect much of any in the forecast. The heaviest rain is expected to remain over the Midwest not just through the weekend but even into next week.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Thank you, Allison.
TikTok influencer Sydney Towle has died after a long battle with an aggressive rare form of cancer. According to her Instagram page the 26-year-old died on August 5. The beloved influencer had over one million followers on TikTok and Towle started documenting her health journey after she was diagnosed with bile duct cancer at 23 years old.
It's time for Buzz Express and we are getting new details from inside Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's super-secret wedding, and it's coming straight from Swift's own sister-in-law. On yesterday's episode of her "Not Gonna Lie" podcast, Kylie Kelce apparently let it slip that her and Jason Kelce's four daughters were the flower girls. Kylie then said that's all the information you get.
Her comments came after Jason Kelce joked in a recent interview that he probably cried more at Travis and Taylor's wedding than his own. Kylie quipped that one of the reasons he cried was seeing his little daughters walk down the aisle.
The Swift-Kelces still haven't released an official photo from their star-studded wedding at Madison Square Garden on July 3.
Rihanna's partner is hinting she could have new music in the works. A$AP Rocky tells The Jason Lee Show that she's been in the studio, adding that he's going to get in trouble for letting that info slip.
Rihanna has been managing her billion-dollar brand Fenty Beauty and her three young children and it has been about a decade since she released a full-length album. She's been busy.
And listen up, millennials. Your coveted top eight could be making a return. In a recent documentary the owners of MySpace say that they plan to relaunch the website while noting that nothing has been confirmed.
CNN anchors and correspondents reminisced about their time on the popular social media platform.
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ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Millennials -- we are so back.
RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Not something that I thought I would say again -- MySpace?
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Man, I loved me some MySpace when I was in college. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was fully addicted to MySpace as a teenager.
LISA EADICICCO, CNN TECH EDITOR: That's right. Millennials are rejoicing because MySpace might be making a big comeback.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: I think mine was pink and sparkly. I learned how to code. There was music. I was probably having a big John Mayer moment -- still am.
HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: I stood in front of the mirror for the longest period of time with a digital camera trying to catch just the right amount of light.
EADICICCO: The owners of the site said in a recent documentary that they plan to revive it, although we don't know much more than that. But if MySpace does comes back it'll be entering a much, much different social media world than the one that existed in the early 2000s.
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: And it was like this one- stop shop of personality where you could stop by and be like, yeah, OK, that's who Omar is. That's the song that's on his mind right now. Oh, those are his top friends. Why am I not on there? I was there last week.
SCHOLES: If you wanted to message someone you went to MySpace. But it was also controversial because of that top eight.
ROSALES: And that's starting fights because people felt some sort of way about that.
KLEIN: Which is arguably where 13-year-old Betsy learned more about politics and strategy than I have in Washington in years.
EADICICCO: If you moved someone out of your top eight of if you put someone in your top eight, I definitely remember there being a lot of drama.
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Let me just get into some trouble here and pick my top eight of CNN. Josh Campbell, Elex Michaelson, Laura Coates, Dana, Bianna, Priscilla Alvarez. Oh, Mike Valerio. I lost count. I think I have one more. Wolf Blitzer. We need Wolf Blitzer in the top eight.
[05:45:10]
EADICICCO: There is also a growing desire, especially among young people, to sign off and spend less time on social media. So we'll have to see if that nostalgia factor will be enough to make MySpace a hit once again.
ROSALES: All right, Gen Z, hear me out. If you are addicted to doom scrolling, this could be a solution.
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Maybe our time is now, MySpace? (END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: I'm pretty sure I put the soft coding skills learned on MySpace on my LinkedIn profile at some point or another. I've got to go back and make sure I edit that out.
Next on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS mixed reaction from Ohio voters on their embattled congressman, Max Miller. He's moving forward with his reelection bid despite facing serious abuse allegations from his ex- wife.
And check this out. This woman proves you are never too old to try something new and daring, like wing-walking at age 97. We've got her story straight ahead.
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[05:50:30]
SMITH: Voters in Ohio are divided over serious abuse allegations leveled against Republican Congressman Max Miller. Now, Miller has denied the accusations and says that he won't drop his reelection bid.
CNN's Lauren Fox has visited his district to hear what the community has to think about this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN KERR, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I think running for Congress while you're being accused of this stuff -- no, man. Take a couple of years off and come back if you're truly innocent.
BRIAN GUNKELMAN, REPUBLICAN VOTER: If he's convicted of something, until he's convicted, he's innocent as far as I'm concerned.
LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Republican voters here in Rep. Max Miller's congressional district are weighing some very serious allegations of abuse that have been leveled against the Republican congressman from his ex-wife, Emily Moreno. She's the daughter of the state's senior senator, Bernie Moreno.
Now, Max Miller has denied all of these allegations, and he says he's remaining in this race.
AMY SMOYER, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I have voted for him in the past because I am conservative and he has conservative values. I want to know what's going on. He has done a very good job for the state of Ohio and for our district, so that is -- it's tough -- it's tough right now.
TRACEY PENROSE, REPUBLICAN VOTER: I haven't seen any actual facts or video or anything that would support her allegations, but I don't want to say that she's lying, you know. And I also -- we support Moreno. So it's really kind of a challenging situation. I'm not sure what the truth is. I'm not sure if the allegations are true.
SHEILA BENSON, LEANS DEMOCRATIC: I hope he does the right thing. I know they're only allegations but kind of serious. And if he needs to address them, he needs to address them better than he already has.
FOX: Some voters have already made up their minds.
RUSS, OHIO VOTER: I think there's a lot of lies going on there.
FOX: Would you ever vote for him?
RUSS: No.
FOX: Have you ever voted for him?
RUSS: No, never.
KERR: I'm an attorney here in Medina County, right? I -- all the time I have clients that are choosing domestic violence and their lives literally stop. Take a couple of years off and come back if you're truly innocent. If not, well, then deal with it and go get a real job.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Let's go around the globe.
Mexico has deployed more than 1,500 troops to Michoacan in hopes of resuming U.S. inspections of its avocados. Now the troops were sent to a packing facility to protect them. Now transportation routes -- they're looking to protect that, plus inspection points from organized crime extortion. Michoacan is Mexico's top avocado exporting state, but it cannot export without inspections due to safety concerns.
At the young age of 97, Betty Bromage is proving that the sky isn't the limit; it's just the starting point. The British thrill seeker just broke her own Guinness World Record as the world's oldest female wing walker. Her flight raised more money for the stroke unit that helped her recover after a stroke last year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY BROMAGE, WING WALKER: So I want to do the things that I can do. And above my bed it says, "We pass through this world but once. Any good we can do, any kindness we can show, do it now. Do not defer it or neglect it. You'll not pass this way again." And it's so true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: And get this. The oldest male wing walker is a 98-year-old World War II veteran who earned his Guinness World Record back in May.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS something goes horribly wrong and a kayaker and authorities -- you see this playing out here. A kayaker and authorities called in to make a dramatic rescue at sea. We've got the full story for you.
Plus, police say this car was being driven by two kids, ages seven and four, when they hit a woman, leaving her critically injured. We've got those details next.
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[05:58:45]
SMITH: In today's Money Express, economists are expecting low hire-low fire to remain the theme of the job market ahead of the new jobs report coming out this morning. They expect to see about 97,000 jobs added in July, which is an increase from the month before. The unemployment rate is predicted to remain steady at 4.2 percent. Most of the job gains likely came from only one sector, health care and social assistance.
Let's get a check in on some of the other stories making news across the country.
We start in California. That's where a woman is in critical condition after being hit by a car driven by two children. Relatives of the 7- and 4-year-old say that the boys took the car keys while their parents were sleeping. According to officials, the vehicle sideswiped another car before crashing into the woman who was walking her dog. She and the kids were taken to the hospital. Police say the parents are cooperating with the investigation.
And we take you to Connecticut. That's where Marine unit officers rescued a kayaker signaling for help, waving his paddle in the air. He was not wearing a life jacket but stayed afloat by clinging to two floatation devices. Rescuers quickly jumped in to get him out of the water and thankfully, he did not suffer any injuries.
[06:00:00]
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 $10.00 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.
