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CNN Headlines: Growing Concern For Mental Of Crews Members USS Abraham Lincoln; Congressional Black Caucus Calls For Federal Investigation Into Death Of Nolan Wells; ICE Arrests 46,000+ In July, New Record For Trump Administration. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired August 14, 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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[05:30:20]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.
Luigi Mangione could plead guilty to federal charges as soon as today when he appears in court. The 28-year-old is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December of 2024 in New York City. Sources say that plea negotiations have been underway ahead of today's hearing.
And more heavy rain is headed to flood-ravaged Indiana where water rescues and evacuations are still underway following this historic rainfall this week. Yesterday Indiana's governor declared a statewide disaster emergency and mobilized the state's National Guard to help with rescues and cleanup.
The USS George Washington is headed to the Middle East. Now this is as there are calls to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, a U.S. official telling CNN. The Lincoln has been the subject of growing concerns about the well-being of its crew with Democratic lawmakers and family members demanding answers. Reports cite multiple recent attempts by crew members to jump overboard from the ship.
CNN's Pamela Brown, who visited the USS Abraham Lincoln last month, has more for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR, CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: What have been some of the challenges, you know, being out here at sea for so many consecutive days?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Honestly, the only thing challenging -- it's been like mental challenges like trying to manage my sleep and stuff like that.
BROWN: So this was just part of one of many conversations I had with sailors last month when I was aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea, and it appears it just scratched the surface of the psychological toll of this deployment on this ship.
U.S. officials told me that earlier this month a sailor went overboard from the USS Abraham Lincoln. That sailor was rescued in about an hour and was medically evaluated and then was brought off the ship. But this incident has not added to a growing list of concerns about the crew during this extended deployment for the Iran war. The sailor jumped off wearing a life vest, I'm told, and the Navy is viewing this as a mental health incident. But it also emphasizes that man overboard incidents like that are not unique to this carrier.
The carrier has been out at sea on this deployment since last November, months before the war began in February. The deployment was expected to end in May. Their return date is still unknown, and many sailors are missing those big life events back home.
What kind of toll does that take on your personally?
LT. COMMANDER JOE CAPSTAFF, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: It's tough. I had my first kid born in February, so --
BROWN: Oh, wow.
CAPSTAFF: -- I'm very excited to get home and meet her.
BROWN: You've never met your daughter?
CAPSTAFF: Nope.
BROWN: And she was born right around when this conflict started.
CAPSTAFF: Luckily, she was born February 6, so I was able to get on Facetime and watch the birth and talk to my wife before everything went down.
BROWN: One sailor's wife told the Navy Times her husband had been overextended for months before he tried to jump overboard. The Times reports that he's now in medical hold. And she says he's terrified it'll cost him his 13-year career.
In a separate incident a sailor pulled a shipmate back from the rail before the sailor could go overboard.
CAPT. ARMEN KURDIAN (RET.), U.S. NAVY: The fact that it's happening during this deployment is not surprising but -- I hate to say this -- it's something that you might expect. You always try to lean turn these kinds of things.
BROWN: A U.S. official told me that the Navy's acting secretary met with sailors' families last week to hear their concerns directly. In a statement to CNN, the Navy said, "We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. We take every service member's well-being seriously and have religious, medical and mental health professionals available to assess and address concerns as they arise."
The Navy says the carrier has access to counselors, chaplains, medical professionals, and even a therapy dog I met named "Captain Fathom."
About 5,000 sailors and Marines onboard. The USS Lincoln has set a record at sea with the most consecutive days without regular port visits. The experience is very different for the enlisted sailors versus the officers onboard and nearly 50 percent of those onboard are mid-20s and younger.
Senator Richard Blumenthal is one of several lawmakers demanding answers about conditions aboard this aircraft carrier.
An official told me that the USS George Washington is on its way to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln though couldn't provide specific timelines for when the rotation happens.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Thank you, Pamela.
We could find out today if Alex Murdaugh's murder retrial could be moved to Charleston, South Carolina. The former prominent attorney is due in court for a status hearing on that and other matters in the case. In May, the South Carolina State Supreme Court -- they overturned Murdaugh's murder conviction in the killings of his wife and youngest son.
[05:35:05]
The federal judge overseeing the Jeffrey Epstein documents case is demanding answers from the Justice Department and threatening some serious consequences if he doesn't get them. On Thursday, the judge said that he wants to know why the department hasn't released some records from investigations into the convicted sex offender. Judge Emmet Sullivan told DOJ lawyers that he'd hold contempt and proceedings to refer them to the bar for discipline if they don't comply -- a move that could ruin their careers.
This is all part of a lawsuit filed by journalist Katie Phang against now-Attorney General Todd Blanche. It aims to force the release of some documents and to lift some redactions. Phang discussed the suit with CNN's Jake Tapper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KATIE PHANG, SUING DOJ OVER EPSTEIN DOCUMENTS: I don't want people to be improperly exposed. That is not what the DOJ -- well, that's what the DOJ said today but that's not the case. What I want is the DOJ to follow the law.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Right.
PHANG: Nothing more, nothing less. And what we have seen time and time again is this active concealment and cover-up by this DOJ to not release this information.
I also want the files that Todd Blanche continues to sit on.
TAPPER: Like, three million of them, right?
PHANG: Yes. He claims that they're duplicative. He claims that they're not responsive. And yet, what we heard today, even from Judge Sullivan, is I don't believe you, DOJ. You have to show your work. And once again today there was no actual proof provided by Todd Blanche.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: And Judge Sullivan says, "The public has a right to know what the hell is going on in this case."
The Congressional Black Caucus is demanding a federal investigation in the death of Nolan Wells. The 18-year-old died under mysterious circumstances more than a month ago during a Fourth of July trip off the Mississippi coast. Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath, who lost her own son, says the Congressional Black Caucus sent a letter to the FBI requesting a response within seven days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LUCY MCBATH (D-GA): We want to make sure that every stone is unturned because his life matters. All of our children's and our family's lives matter. And we must fight back, we must stand up, and we must demand accountability for this family's loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Results from a state autopsy have not yet been released publicly. Wells' family requested an independent autopsy and that preliminary report found the teen's cause of death was undetermined.
Forecasters say that the Super El Nino is intensifying in the Pacific and will likely make history. According to NOAA, there is a nearly 70 percent chance this El Nino would become the strongest on record.
CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam has more for us.
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DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Strong El Nino's, like the one that's building right now, have an outsized influence on the Atlantic hurricane season, reducing both the number and the strength of tropical systems.
Now, El Nino isn't just about the warmer waters here in the Pacific; it's also a change in global circulation patterns. These altered patterns shift sinking air across the tropical Atlantic, stabilizing the atmosphere, and reducing thunderstorm development that's needed to create a hurricane.
Additionally, these circulation changes -- they help displace the jet stream across the tropical Atlantic. These strong upper level winds create windshear, which is a hostile environment for tropical development and can deliver a death blow to an emerging hurricane.
In the early stages of a tropical storm's life it needs a calm environment at all levels of the atmosphere to grow. When windshear is introduced, it disrupts this vertical alignment making it harder for thunderstorms to organize into a tropical system and get stronger.
Now think of a hurricane as a spinning top. Windshear would be like pushing this top and altering its spin. This is particularly disruptive when the top is spinning slowly, just like the early formative stages of a tropical system. With more windshear around it's harder for budding hurricanes to get over that hump.
Now while windshear and sinking air can put a big dent in tropical activity throughout the Atlantic it doesn't eliminate it altogether. Previous El Nino seasons like the destruction brought on by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 have proven that it only takes one landfall to make this a catastrophic season.
So be hurricane ready this year by downloading the all-new CNN weather app.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Time now for Buzz Express, the stories that have people talking.
Actress and singer Selena Gomez and her mental health startup Wondermind are being accused of fraud. Five investors filed a lawsuit claiming they were misled about the startup's success and the popstar's involvement in it. They say they put more than $1 million into Wondermind in 2022 after it launched the year before. The suit accuses Gomez and her associates of fraud, breach of contract, and other claims, and allege the company hid its decline for years.
[05:40:15]
Gomez's former business partner denies the allegations. The singer and her mom have not yet commented.
All right. If you're an Eminem fan more than 100 pairs of sneakers from his personal collection are headed to auction and many are signed by the rapper himself. Proceeds will benefit this foundation, which supports at-risk youth in the Detroit area.
And somebody just paid nearly $200,000 to buy Sophia's purse from the "GOLDEN GIRLS." It was up for auction and the last time it sold it went for more than $9,000. According to People.com, a superfan in West Virginia bought it, saying they even have "GOLDEN GIRLS" tattoo. All right, got the ink to prove it.
Next up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS there was a banging and everything just went topsy-turvy. That is how a passenger onboard this train described what happened moments before derail. But now investigators -- they want to know why.
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[05:45:40] SMITH: ICE arrests are surging under the Trump administration. New CNN reporting shows agents took more than 46,000 people into custody last month. That is the highest monthly total of Trump's second term. The White House has set a goal of 2,000 arrests a day, but as those numbers climb so do questions about the tactics that are being used to carry out those operations.
CNN's Shimon Prokupecz takes a closer look -- and a warning that his report contains disturbing images.
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SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): In July, during a car stop in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, ICE vehicles pulled over a white SUV that they say was driven by an undocumented immigrant. You can see an ICE vehicle pull in front to block the SUV while agents approach the man from behind. An agent breaks the driver's window and then the car takes off, hitting an ICE vehicle and a parked car. That same agent shoots at the car as it drives away, opening fire on a residential street.
The driver in that car was never apprehended.
KENNETH COREY, FORMER NYPD CHIEF OF DEPARTMENT AND TRAINING: This is not the right way to conduct a car stop.
PROKUPECZ (voiceover): That incident occurred the same month as two fatal ICE encounters in Biddeford, Maine and Houston, Texas -- also involving car stops.
In Maine, during a traffic stop, ICE shot and killed 25-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero who was not the target of the immigration operation. With Guerrero shot behind the wheel, the vehicle circled uncontrollably for about a minute.
COREY: Shooting the driver now turns that car into an essentially an unguided missile. You've probably created a situation of even greater danger because there's nobody left in control of that car.
PROKUPECZ (voiceover): That same week officers fatally shot a Mexican immigrant, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a vehicle stop in Houston. The local district attorney's office is conducting an investigation into the shooting.
At least seven people have been killed and 12 have been injured in shootings by federal agents during immigration enforcements since Trump's second administration began.
ICE appears to use some of the same aggressive tactics in the latest incident in Virginia where an agent pointed a gun at a woman during a stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you really?
ICE AGENT: Are you following us? PROKUPECZ (voiceover): In many of these instances the Department of Homeland Security has issued statements defending ICE officers, saying the drivers were trying to use their vehicles as weapons.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Thank you to Shimon Prokupecz for that report.
In response to the video showing an ICE officer pointing a gun at a woman in Virginia, the Fairfax County Attorney's Office says, "We have heard from community members who are concerned about this situation. We are aware of the incident and are reviewing it."
Now to the economic squeeze that the war with Iran and the matters of this on Iran that the president teased last weekend after months of stalemate in the war here. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is promising an announcement next week detailing what this may actually look like.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: So it will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: His warning came after more vessels took fire in the Strait of Hormuz overnight. An oil company based in Abu Dhabi says two of its vessels were attacked. It's still unclear who was behind it.
Meanwhile, Iranian media is mocking reports of President Trump's secret flight from the NATO summit in Turkey last month. An Iranian news website said the moment launched a wave of jokes on the internet. One official state-run outlet described the plot as a cowardly escape.
The president hid inside a catering truck in order to secretly board an alternate plane. A source says the plan was prompted by an Iranian threat to Air Force One.
Let's stay international and go around the globe to see what else is making headlines.
An explosion at port in Rotterdam has killed one person and injured six others. The blast happened at an oil refinery and fuel terminal at Europe's biggest port. The company operating the facility says the explosion occurred during maintenance work in one of its storage tanks. Police have described the incident as a "workplace accident."
[05:50:00]
And investigators are working to determine why a passenger train derailed south of London. One hundred fifty people were onboard. The last three train cars left the tracks and toppled onto their sides. One passenger saying moments before there was a banging and everything went topsy-turvy. Eighteen people were injured, including two seriously.
This happened during a heat wave with temperatures reaching 95 degrees. Extreme heat can cause tracks to buckle, but officials haven't said if that's what happened here.
And at least eight people have died in torrential rain in Japan overnight, according to local media. Intense storms flooded homes and trapped people in their cars, and tens of thousands lost power. At Narita airport, thousands of people were stranded. Soldiers have been dispatched to affected areas, some of which saw more than 14 inches of rain within 24 hours.
Well, still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS how much does it take to live comfortably, and which state has seen things get more expensive. That's coming up.
Plus --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you guys ever seen this kid before? He's probably five, if that, and he's autistic. He's nonverbal. We just found him over there by the water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: What happened when police went searching for a missing child and the body cameras were rolling. We've got that straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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[05:55:50]
SMITH: In today's Money Express, how much does it cost to live comfortably in each state?
Maribel Aber joins us now with your top Money Express headlines from a pretty expensive state up there in New York, Maribel.
MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: You know it, Brad.
OK, personal finance company SmartAsset has released its annual look at the salary need to live comfortably in each state. The company used MIT wage data and cost of living, like housing and other essentials.
Now the study finds a family of four would need at least $200,000 a year in most states. Massachusetts tops the list for the most expensive state with more than $329,000 needed, while Mississippi is the least expensive at about $187,500. For single adults, Hawaii requires the most at $129,000, with West Virginia the cheapest at just over $81,000.
You can find the full report on smartasset.com.
Tyson Foods announced that it's shutting down operations at two of its beef plants and putting a third one up for sale. It points to the ongoing cattle shortage as the primary factor along with tight supplies and limited herd growth. The company says it will close facilities on Joslin, Illinois and Eagle Mountain, Utah while seeking a buyer for its plants in Pasco, Washington. It plans to concentrate its beef operations at three plants across Nebraska, Kansas and Texas.
OK. Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins will return to store shelves this month for Halloween nearly a year after the company -- the candy company was sued over its appearance. A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit that claimed the cups didn't match the packaging's detailed pumpkin design. Hershey argued the images were suggestions and pointed to a disclaimer on the bag. Well, the peanut butter pumpkins will return as part of the company's Hersheyween lineup rolling into stores now. You can check out all the new and returning treats at the Hershey.com website.
Brad, time to start thinking about your Halloween costume.
SMITH: Uh, already done. Picked it up last year. You've got to stay a year ahead of these things I've come to discover. Otherwise, it's gone.
ABER: Yes.
SMITH: Maribel Aber, thanks so much.
Let's get a check-in on some of the other stories making news across the country.
We start in Florida. That's where a group of Good Samaritans stepped in to help rescue an autistic child at just the right time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: Have you ever seen this kid before? He's probably five, if that, and he's autistic. He's nonverbal. We just found him over there by the water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He crossed in front of us and they're like oh my God. So we were watching --
POLICE OFFICER: Uh-huh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- and then I was like -- and then when we slowed down and he kind of touched the car.
POLICE OFFICER: Which way was he crossing from?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From this side. He crossed over to this side. And then when we got out, he started -- we were like hey, are you OK? Are you OK? And then he started running and we saw the water. And I was like if he's autistic, he's going for that water. So I just started hauling. I got on the phone with 911, and I started telling them what was going on.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SMITH: Wow. Police say residents were on their way to get coffee when they spotted the child wandering alone near a retention pond. When he entered the water, they followed and pulled him to safety. The group called 911 and stayed with him until officers arrived. Quick thinking there.
And in Hawaii, new video shows residents on Hawaii's Big Island rushing to stores to stock up on supplies and essentials ahead of the approaching Tropical Storm Lala. Now, generators are selling out and there are long lines and bare shelves at grocery stores and gas stations. A hurricane warning is now in effect for Hawaii County, meaning hurricane conditions are expected somewhere on the Big Island by this weekend.
And firefighters battled several grass fires in Oklahoma City. The fires were intensified by strong winds and hot temperatures. The mayor says no injuries have been reported. The cause is under investigation.
And apparently age is just a number -- at least it is when it comes to one skydiving grandma from California. A 100-year-old woman celebrated her birthday by jumping out of an airplane, continuing a tradition that began two decades ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUBY MCNALLY, 100-YEAR-OLD SKYDIVER: What's there to be afraid of? If you sit and worry about it then you're going to talk yourself out of it. You're pushed into it and the next thing you know you're out there flying, and it's a wonderful experience. And for me, it was exciting and I'm ready to go again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[06:00:00]
SMITH: Push in, says Ruby McNally. She took her jump for her 80th and 90th birthdays, but this one was the big 100. Six family members and friends took the leap with her, including some of her grandchildren who called the experience pretty special. Excellent stuff there, and happy birthday.
That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
