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What We Know with Max Foster

Crews Battle Raging Wildfires In France And Spain; Trump Says U.S. Halted Strikes After Iran Asked "Very Nicely"; Pentagon Updates Iran War Casualty Count: 18 Dead, 624 Wounded; Suspect Shot Dead By German Police After Driving Van Into Crowd And Stabbing People With Machete; Trump In Michigan To Tout U.S. Economy Before Midterms. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 27, 2026 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:00:25]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: Europe's wildfire nightmare could last for months.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Starting tonight then, with those catastrophic fires burning close to major European cities, apocalyptic scenes near the Spanish capital Madrid, tens

of thousands of people have been evacuated or confined to their homes as the country's prime minister warns of a climate emergency.

In France, firefighters are racing to contain wildfires near Bordeaux before another heat wave in the coming days. The fires are so intense,

they've created their own weather systems. Authorities say they've never seen this before.

Melissa Bell reports now from southwestern France.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An inferno raging beyond all control. Five days in, the Gironde fire keeps

growing despite the rotation day and night of 2,500 firefighters. Plus, the civilians who've been drafted in to try and tame a blaze that seems to have

taken on a life of its own, creating its own winds.

BELL: This is what the firefighters are dealing with, even in those parts of the forest that the fire has gone through, that have been ravaged, where

the pines have been destroyed. As you can see, the ground, the soil, the nature of the vegetation are such that it is so hot that flames are

constantly popping up from it again.

The other challenge is this westerly wind that's been driving this monster fire always further to the southeast, where the biggest flames continue to

progress.

BELL (voice-over): And ever closer to Bordeaux and its satellite towns, forcing over the weekend an extra 55,000 from their homes. Overall, the

number evacuated so far, 220,000, according to authorities.

Wendy and her family fled in the early hours of Saturday morning.

WENDY, EVACUEE (through translator): It's really not knowing why we're here in the first place, whether it's because the fire is approaching our

home or because of the ash that was blown our way by the strong winds? And in the end, not knowing when we'll be able to go back home.

BELL (voice-over): Christophe wouldn't leave without his neighbors, both in their 90s and diabetic. The hard part, he says, was getting them out of

their homes with their medicine in time.

CHRISTOPHE, EVACUEE (through translator): We never knew the war, but we have known calamities. Nothing like this, though. This type of fire.

BELL (voice-over): Spain too is battling several wildfires. One on the outskirts of Madrid. Another in the east of the country. Authorities say

that 60,000 people have now been displaced.

MARIA ANGELES SERRANO, EVACUEE (through translator): More than anything, I'm afraid because of what is being lost-nature itself. Material damage is

one thing, but that can be repaired, so to speak. What really hurts is emotional loss.

BELL (voice-over): A loss that will only be measurable when the fires are finally contained.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: That was Melissa Bell in France.

Pau Mosquera is outside Madrid for us now. I gather the winds have calmed down slightly, but the heat is a real problem.

PAU MOSQUERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Actually, the authorities, Max, have said that the next few hours are going to be critical. This is

because the fourth heat wave of the summer is going to impact the Iberian Peninsula next Wednesday. So, this means that the temperatures are going to

be climbing and rising again.

Actually, you can see behind me the impact of these wildfires that are raging western Madrid. Where do you see here on your screens are not

clouds, Max. This is the columns of smoke rising from the blaze and the authorities say that so far around 28,000 hectares of land have been

engulfed by the flames. And 31,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes.

But, also another side effect of these wildfires, Max, are road closures. For example, right now we are standing in one of the many regional

motorways that connect Madrid with the west of the region. But as you can see, this part of the road has been closed over the afternoon because of

the flames that have been slowly advancing.

[15:05:00]

So far, they say that there are still three active fire fronts and the emergency workers right now they are actively working as to try to contain

the flames as quickly as possible, Max.

FOSTER: In terms of how the firefighters are coping with this, when they're told that this could go on for months, how are they going to

prepare for that?

MOSQUERA: Well, for sure, this is going to be quite a difficult summer for many because, as the president, the Spanish prime minister, said today, the

climate change is going to make more common arrival of heat waves like we have seen on previous weeks or as it going to happen this very Wednesday.

So, we're going to have to get used to wildfires like this one and this is why he's trying to prompt to all the politic parties represented in the

parliament to try to fight for a common agreement on how to prevent wildfires from now on because it seems obvious that everything that has

been done so far hasn't been enough as to contain the flames that right now are burning here in Madrid, Max.

FOSTER: Okay, appreciate it. Pau, thank you so much for bringing us that.

Now, from threats of massive force to claiming Iran is begging to talk, back to threats of military action, U.S. President Donald Trump has now

paused a bombing campaign on Iran, saying it asked very nicely for it to stop. But Iran says it'll never allow the U.S. to determine the timing of

war and peace. Mr. Trump says he's halting the strikes to give space for diplomacy, but there could be another factor at play here because sources

say U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine have raised concerns about escalating the war and possibly depleting the US

munitions stockpile.

President Trump just spoke with reporters aboard Air Force One today, and here's what he said about new talks with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran took a beating over the last 14 days, and they asked us very nicely, "Please stop. Let's speak."

And that's where we are right now. We'll see what happens. If we don't make a deal, we go back to the same thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Nic Roberson is in Jerusalem for us, trying to pull all of this together.

I mean, what are you hearing? Was this delay down to talks and making space for those, or was it because of this shortage of weaponry?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Whatever it was, it did provide that space for talks, and talks did happen. The Omani deputy

foreign minister was in Tehran Friday, Saturday, met with his counterpart there. And the talks, we're told, were productive, and we're told they're

continuing at a political and technical level.

But these are talks between Iran and Oman, the two countries who are on the coast side of the Strait of Hamas, and they're about the Strait of Hamas.

You know, while President Trump is saying that on Air Force One, almost at the same time, perhaps slightly before it a little bit, you have the

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman saying there's absolutely no peace talks going on between Iran and the U.S. at the moment.

And what is in place at the moment, he said, cannot be called a ceasefire. So, you know, it feels in the versions that are being presented by the

White House and by Tehran, they are two different versions. Where do the facts lie? The facts lie in the fact that, you know, for the main part, the

U.S. and Iran haven't been striking each other for the past few nights. So that looks like a pause.

But in terms of agreement over the Strait of Oman -- the Strait of Hormuz, rather, the Omanis and the Iranians in their sort of joint statement

afterwards, and the way the Iranians characterize it, at least, you know, it's about managing the Strait of Hormuz between these two countries, Iran

and Oman, that on both sides of it. But the kicker in it, I guess, would be that it has to be within Iran's national security interests. And that's the

kicker there, because this really, you know, this falls into the ambit of what Iran wants, which is to be able to control the traffic through the

Strait of Hormuz and be able to charge tolls or something similar to it.

And that's not something that Oman seems ready to go along with, and it's certainly nowhere near not at all in any way, shape or form what President

Trump's looking for.

FOSTER: No, okay. Nic in Jerusalem, thank you.

Meanwhile, Iran is threatening to respond to yet another front on this war. Ukraine says it hit two Russian vessels carrying military cargo to Iran

over the weekend in the Caspian Sea.

[15:10:04]

Iran said one of its ships, its ships, was attacked, killing one person. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is also providing

satellite data to Iran to facilitate attacks on US targets in the Middle East. President Trump brushed off those concerns, saying it hasn't had much

impact. Mr. Zelenskyy will visit the United States tomorrow. when he'll sit down with President Trump.

Right now, he's in the U.K. meeting with a new prime minister here, Andy Burnham.

This all comes as the Pentagon updated its casualty count for the war with Iran amid concerns about a lack of transparency. It now says 18 US troops

have been killed since the war began. On February the 28th, another 624 have been wounded. It's worth noting the Pentagon hasn't given a news

briefing on the war since early May.

We're joined now by CNN's Davis Winkie.

I mean, how are you reading all of this, Davis?

DAVIS WINKIE, CNN REPORTER AND SENIOR FELLOW: Max, it's remarkable the way that this has unfolded, and the controversy centers around a previously

obscure database known as the Defense Casualty Analysis System. The DCAS database is primarily used for historical research or like medical research

on the cause of war injuries and casualties. It wasn't built to be the real-time source of information on U.S. casualties, but that's what this

Pentagon has turned it into, and a symbol of their approach to transparency. As you said, they haven't held a media briefing on the

conflict since mid-May.

The numbers actually fluctuated in this data last week, which is what launched this wave of scrutiny. CNN, we were monitoring this database

minute by minute, and I could tell you firsthand that the data was going back and forth. And the Pentagon ultimately blamed these technical glitches

for the number of killed in action and wounded in action decreasing in the database, which led to additional scrutiny from media outlets and lawmakers

last week.

Over the weekend, however, they updated the DCAS database. They added a new category called overseas operations that covers the conflict from July 7th

on, and in doing so, they restored the four KIA that had been removed last week, and they also added an additional 140 U.S. troops wounded in action

that were previously unacknowledged, Max.

FOSTER: And take us through the casualty numbers. Obviously, the deaths are very clear. They're absolutely tragic, but the casualty numbers seem

far bigger, but there's a lot of diversity, I guess, in the level of injury.

WINKIE: There is. The way that the DCAS database defines wounded in action is any kind of injury that is sustained as a result of hostile action. It

could be anything from a minor shrapnel wound or a minor concussion all the way to a grievous injury that changes a service member's life. But the

thing is, though, is that the database does not distinguish when it comes to the severity of those injuries.

What we do know, however, is that the casualty numbers for after July 7th have far outstripped what chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell had

previously publicly acknowledged. After the strikes a couple weekends ago that led to the four killed in action, Parnell came out and said that just

under 100 U.S. troops had been wounded in the attack and that most of them had sustained minor brain injuries and had returned to duty. But we are

obviously far past that point now, with the total number of wounded since July 7th in the database now being 207.

Max, we're left with more questions than answers.

FOSTER: Yeah, absolutely. But thank you for giving us what we do have on it, Davis. Appreciate it so much.

WINKIE: You got it.

FOSTER: Okay, the German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is asking how a deadly attack on Berlin's Pride celebration could possibly have been prevented.

One person was killed, 29 others injured on Saturday during a vehicle ramming and stabbing. The suspect was shot and killed by police on Sunday.

after a manhunt. Authorities are describing the incident as an Islamist attack.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're actually on the scene where all of this happened, and this is inside a

public park, one of the main parks in Berlin called the Tiergarten. This is actually a footpath and bike path here in this park. It's not a public

road. Nevertheless, the attacker drove the car down this footpath, ramming into lots of people.

And I want to show you something here, because it's actually this tree that the vehicle rammed into, which then stopped that driving rampage. If the

attacker hadn't had driven into this tree, potentially even more people would have been injured. and potentially killed. As it stands the

authorities are saying, 29 people were injured, one person was killed and afterwards the apparent -- the attacker apparently left the vehicle and as

he made his getaway started stabbing people along the way.

[15:15:06]

Now, there's several questions that the authorities here are answering. First of all, they say that this is an Islamist-motivated terrorist attack

as they put it. They've named the attacker as a man named Abdul B who was born in Berlin, is 21 years old, is of Lebanese descent and apparently

tried to go to Syria to join ISIS in the past. So, he had already been convicted by a juvenile court here in Germany and was on probation actually

when all of this happened.

Now the authorities are also questioning how the vehicle managed to get into this park because, of course, there was that big Pride event going on.

There were a lot of barriers that were up in the days prior to this event. So that's one of the things the authorities are looking into.

And one of the other things they're also still looking into is whether or not there might have been others who were also involved in this plot. They

say right now that's still very much up for investigation. But as you can imagine here, city of Berlin very much in shock. Of course, the Pride

community also very much in shock as well.

The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, he came out and he urged people to stay strong in the face of acts like this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Fred Pleitgen reporting from the scene for us there. Now the city of Seattle is in shock today after deadly gun violence at a popular food

festival. People scrambled for safety on Sunday after two people at the festival apparently began shooting at each other. Three people were killed,

several others were wounded. A two-year-old child was amongst those hurt. Authorities say a 15-year-old male suspect is in custody. They're still

searching for another shooter.

Coming up, U.S. President Donald Trump lands in a battleground state with 99 days to go. Does Michigan hold the key to the midterms?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: He thought that Biden or Kamala would be wonderful.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:20:02]

FOSTER: Live pictures from Michigan for you where President Trump is giving a speech. It's at a General Motors plant there. It's all part of the

president's push to get focus back onto the U.S. economy, which may be safer territory for the White House than the war in Iran at the moment.

All this as we are now 99 days away from the midterm elections. Those 99 days are going to see intense political battles in Michigan. In particular,

on the Democratic side, next week's Senate primary features the centrist congresswoman, Haley Stevens, against the progressive candidate, Abdul El-

Sayed. He's a fierce critic of Israel, which has encouraged pro-Israeli lobby groups to spend money on Stevens's campaign instead.

In November, the winner will face the former Republican congressman, Mike Rogers. He's already lost in Michigan once before, a lose again, and it's a

major step towards the Democrats regaining control of the Senate.

As you can see how important it is, let's go through it. What we want to know is, does Michigan hold the key to this year's midterms?

Joining me now is Larry Sabato, director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

You know, when you think of it in that framing, it does seem to be a microcosm about this larger election and some of the themes that will come

out in it.

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA CENTER FOR POLITICS: Yes, very much so, especially on the Democratic side, because the split in the

primary represents the split we're seeing in many places across the country between the Democratic Socialists or the progressive left, if you prefer,

and the more centrist or center-left Democrats, more mainstream Democrats like Haley Stevens, the congresswoman who is running against Abdel El-

Sayed.

You know, it's tough to call that one in a primary. The Democratic Socialist, the DSA have done very well, but not necessarily in purple

competitive big states like Michigan. They tend to do well in these blue enclaves in cities and like areas. So, this one is important for the

Democrats because they have to win. just about all the close ones. They got to pick up four seats, and you only have a third of the Senate being

elected and most of those seats are in heavily Republican states.

FOSTER: Yeah, so are we looking this as whether or not the Mamdani effect can break out of the cities, New York in particular?

SABATO: Yes, that that's a good way to put it because he Really, Bernie Sanders started the whole movement, but that was many years ago. Mamdani

did so well, much better than people had expected early on, and even toward the end of the campaign in some cases. So, the Democratic socialists have

done well in a fair number of districts, six, seven, eight, depending on how you count them across the country.

But they haven't broken out of blue enclaves, cities, blue-leaning, more liberal suburbs, surrounding cities, they can do well there. But Michigan

has a lot of rural area and a big rural vote. That's tougher. Some of the suburbs are not as liberal as you might find in other states.

FOSTER: What's the risk here then? Because obviously, the establishment Democrats are very concerned about this. You can see why, can't you?

Because you're seeing the Democrat vote split. And that's a risk, isn't it, for the Democrats? And I guess some of these socialist politicians are

being accused, are they, of sabotaging Democrat efforts, frankly, against the Republicans?

SABATO: Well, they are. I sympathize with them somewhat in this case because what are primaries for, but to work out the differences between and

among the factions in a party. So, you can't really blame them for running and presenting their platform.

But you said something important about this election this year. It's preceding, obviously, the presidential election in 2028. And Democrats have

to be able to manage these splits. without maintaining the splits all the way to November. The Republicans in Michigan -- President Trump is there

right now speaking on behalf of, really, Mike Rogers, the Republican candidate, who came within a whisper of winning the other Senate seat just

two years ago.

If you have a split in the Democratic Party, even in a Democratic year like this one, it could easily tip that seat over into Rogers' camp and

therefore the Republican camp. And as with Maine, it's so hard to see Democrats getting 51 seats and they need at least 51 to control. If they

don't keep Michigan because it's already Democratic and win Maine, which is currently Republican.

So, you know, Democrats are up against the wall. They have to win all the really competitive seats, and most of them are in states that are very red.

[15:25:08]

FOSTER: Yeah, it's going to be a really interesting election, isn't it, going on to November, obviously.

Larry, appreciate it as ever.

Now still to come, we'll have more of the wildfires raging in France and Spain as Europe braces for another heat wave.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Welcome back.

Returning to our top story, firefighters continuing to battle wildfires across France and Spain. Those fires burning in the cities of Bordeaux and

Madrid. In some areas, Black Hawk helicopters are now being used to scoop up water and fight the blazes from the air. Tens of thousands of people

have been forced to evacuate their homes with no timeline for a return. In addition to the wildfires, heat remains a factor as temperatures continue

to rise with no rain in sight. Officials in France say the wildfires near Bordeaux could take months to put out.

A short while ago, I spoke to Fernando Sadano about the wildfires. He's a wildfire team leader of the Disaster Risk Management Center of the Joint

Research Center of the European Commission. He explained how wildfires are moving further north every year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FERNANDO SEDANO, TEAM LEADER, WILDFIRE TEAM AT DISASTER RISK MANAGEMENT: This is something that when we look at the records in the European forest

fire information system, we can clearly say that large and very large fires are happening or more at higher latitudes. What used to be a problem of

southern Europe, the Mediterranean Basin. Now, I see that it doesn't happen every year, but one year or another, we have larger fires at higher

latitudes. We have seen large fires in the U.K. and Scotland last year, for example, 2025, some this year.

[15:30:05]

But we also saw large fires in Sweden back in 2018. France this year we have the fires near Paris. So this is one of the new trends, by the way.

Fires are occurring at higher latitudes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FSOTER: Battling these wildfires is about to get a lot more difficult as well this week. A new heat wave is expected. Heat records have already been

shattered across the continent, especially in Western Europe.

And. Derek, I think we're expecting more this week, right?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, that's right, Max. Look at this. I'll put it into animation. You'll see how the heat dome or the heat wave

is going to really start to peak for the middle of the week for some of the hardest hit areas with the wildfires were talking about southwestern

France, central Spain, the areas that were monitoring the wildfire activity west of Bordeaux and west of Madrid.

That is not what we want to see. What is this? The fourth or fifth heat wave of the summer so far? Remember it started back in May, but we got to

go behind him back further in time to understand how

We had a very wet winter. We're talking about the months of January and February. Then the taps were turned off, so all the vegetation left over by

the excessive rain from the winter dried out very quickly, so it left tinderbox conditions across some of these hardest hit areas just west of

Bordeaux and into Madrid.

This is fascinating authorities in France. We're talking about how the fires are on the ground or actually creating their own weather systems, and

it's true. This is something you can search for, commonly known as pyrocumulonimbus clouds. It's like a thunderstorm cloud, but it is

activated by the heat from wildfire activity.

So here is a satellite view. So, think about what you're doing here. You have satellite perspective looking down towards Earth that is the wildfire

right there, the origin point, but this shadowy part here amongst the cloud, that's actually the shadows of the billowing clouds of smoke that's

being blocked by the sun there.

So, what we're seeing in essence is just how high these pyro cumulus clouds can actually travel all the way to the stratosphere sometimes. And it's all

driven by the heat from the excessive wildfires at the surface.

So that rises quickly. It cools and condenses in the upper levels of the atmosphere, creating these thunderstorm clouds that form lightning, create

additional fires, but also complicate the firefighting efforts on the ground as well because the winds get whipped up. And they create spot

fires, taking embers and blowing them sometimes kilometers away from the forward flank of the original fire. That is why this is so challenging.

On top of that, we've got winds that are changing directions, shifting with various fronts and mountain regions gusting anywhere from 20 to 40

kilometers per hour. That is tough stuff for firefighters on the ground.

Then the heat wave, we're talking 5 upwards of seven degrees above where we should be this time of year across Bordeaux into Madrid, there is very

little rain the forecast going forward to parch and quell these flames. That's going to be very challenging to put these out. That's why they talk

about these still being a problem for months from now.

So, it's going to be a significant effort to try and get these under control, considering all the ingredients I just mentioned and how

complicated it is across this part of the world -- Max.

FOSTER: We'll keep watching it. Derek, appreciate it. Thank you so much.

Now as the heat rises in Europe, water levels are falling in the Danube River. That's exposed something else in the middle of this crisis. As CNN's

Ben Hunte reports, the receding water is revealing once forgotten pieces of history.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hidden beneath the Danube River for nearly a century, the skeleton of a sunken ship emerges from the

shallow water, only visible now because water levels on the famous waterway have plunged to record lows, exposing relics of the past to the light of

day again.

LEA VIDIC, MAYOR, LOVAS MUNICIPALITY (through translator): As we record one of the lowest water levels on history, a ship that sank way back in

1937 has surfaced. It's the Hungarian cargo ship Fulton, which at the time was transporting 50 wagon loads of coal.

HUNTE (voice-over): But it's not the only piece of history revealed by the shrinking waters. In Budapest, a World War II shell was found lodged in a

riverbed which shut down a major bridge until a bomb squad could clear the area. The past resurfacing because of some very modern problems, extreme

heat and drought have shriveled up the Danube in parts of Hungary, Croatia, Serbia and Romania, along with other factors.

VLADIMIR STAKIC, "RIBOLOV" MAGAZINE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF (through translator): It might be partly driven by electricity consumption and partly by the

extreme water usage for intensive farming. When you combine that with the lack of rain were experiencing due to climate change and the temperature

rise of a few degrees, it leads to higher water evaporation.

[15:35:00]

HUNTE (voice-over): And that's disrupting the flow of river traffic. Some cruise ships have had to alter or cancel itineraries because they could not

operate on some stretches of the river, and many cargo vessels are reducing their loads. Serbia's energy minister says barges and tankers are only

operating at 30 to 40 percent of capacity to safely navigate the river. Residents living along the riverbank say the depleted landscape was months

in the making.

ZORAN TASIC, RESIDENT (through translator): To me, it looks like a natural disaster because nobody caused it on purpose or by accident. It just

happened. There was no rain, no snow all winter, no reserves in the mountains that should be melting now to maintain water levels. Instead,

there is no water.

HUNTE (voice-over): Forecasters say some rain is expected in the region, which could cause a slight spike in levels. But experts say it's a quick

fix to a long-term crisis.

Ben Hunte, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Now, in the final moments of trade on Wall Street, stocks are pretty flat actually. Early gains on the Dow were erased. Investors appear

to be cautious as tensions in the Middle East remain high.

This is our Business Breakout for you.

Oil prices falling as the US pauses strikes on Iran. Brent crude is down more about 9 percent, or $89 a barrel, whilst US crude is down nearly 8

percent, or $82 a barrel. Oil traders are wary, especially after Yemen's Houthis attacked Saudi tankers and Saudi Arabia retaliated.

Despite the pause in fighting, few ships have risked crossing the Strait of Hormuz. Seventy-eight vessels have been seen crossing the straits since

Saturday and 20 of those were Iranian. Of the non-Iranian ships, all of them used the route designed or designated by Iran with no ships using the

southern route promoted by the U.S. military.

And Cracker Barrel has announced its new CEO. David Deno will replace Julie Masino next month. Masino oversaw Cracker Barrel's disastrous and short-

lived logo change last year. The redesign was criticized by Donald Trump, and the company ultimately backtracked. The restaurant chain has since

bounced back. Its shares are up 70 percent in the past six months.

OpenAI's CEO and CEO Sam Altman are facing a new lawsuit. A Florida man claims that ChatGPT nearly killed him when he asked the chatbot for medical

advice. The man says ChatGPT dismissed his symptoms and discouraged him from seeking treatment, with the result that he suffered a pulmonary

embolism. The lawsuit is amongst a growing number of people accusing ChatGPT of causing real life harm, as Clare Duffy reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: That's right.

Fifty-five-year-old Florida Pastor Scott Winters says he started using ChatGPT in June of 2024, like many people do, sort of like a search engine

looking for information. He started asking it questions about health conditions that he was developing, looking for more information. And over

the course of several months, ChatGPT gave him increasingly specific medical advice, including specific supplement and medication

recommendations, lifestyle changes, and other clinical advice.

And even in the days leading up to this medical emergency, Scott says it downplayed his symptoms and his concerns, telling him at one point that his

symptoms were likely not something dangerous. It also used religious language, playing on the fact that Scott is a pastor, telling him at one

point that his situation was under God's watch. It also told him in one exchange that his brain must learn, I can feel dizzy and still be safe.

ChatGPT also encouraged him not to tell his wife exactly what was going on, that all leading to a June 2025 pulmonary embolism that Scott says nearly

killed him. And even after that medical emergency, ChatGPT continued to encourage him not to follow the recommendations of his human doctors. Scott

Winter is now suing OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman for product liability, negligence, and failure to warn of the risks that he says were inherent in

this platform.

And this, of course, a growing concern as more and more people do turn to A.I. chatbots for health information. OpenAI is defending its product. A

spokesperson told us in a statement, quote, "Every day, hundreds of millions of people search the internet for health information. We believe

A.I. can make that experience better by helping them find clearer answers, organize their questions, prepare for conversations with medical

professionals, especially in a world where not everyone has equal access to quality care. But ChatGPT is not a doctor and should never be used as a

substitute for medical care, diagnosis, or treatment."

OpenAI also says its terms of service tell users not to use ChatGPT for medical treatment or as the sole source of health information. But you can

see how it might be confusing if ChatGPT is at the same time giving very specific medical advice and encouraging users not to turn to human medical

professionals.

[15:40:08]

So, an important warning for any users who are asking A.I. chatbots for medical advice, make sure you're also talking to human professionals.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: That's the advice.

Still to come, opening statements for a woman accused of killing her three young children. We'll talk with a criminal defense attorney and former

federal prosecutor about this shocking case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Opening statements started today in the triple murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. The U.S. mother is accused of strangling her three young

children to death in 2023. before jumping from a second-story window in an attempt to take her own life. Clancy's attorneys say she was entirely

detached from reality, suffering from extreme postpartum psychosis and shouldn't be held criminally responsible. Prosecutors say it was

premeditated murder. Her former husband was on the stand today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK CLANCY, EX-HUSBAND OF LINDSAY CLANCY: She just really struggled with the date of going back to work, so --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immediately after having Cora, as she healed physically, what was her mood like when you're both on leave?

CLANCY: It was great. It was good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good, okay.

CLANCY: I mean, relatively, yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And so did the anxiety start as it became closer in time to when she had to go back to work?

CLANCY: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: What we don't know is how compelling is the insanity defense to a jury.

Joining me now is the criminal defense attorney, Amy Lee Copeland.

Thank you for joining us, Amy Lee.

I mean, it was so compelling watching her ex-husband, wasn't it? Because you got an insight into what might have been going through her mind.

[15:45:01]

We don't know what the jury is going to find at the end of this, but this psychosis is something that does exist, and they're trying to make the case

around that, right?

AMY LEE COPELAND, CRIMINAL DEFENSE & APPELLATE ATTORNEY: They are, Max. Good afternoon.

It is a heartbreaking case. You know, even her ex-husband said in a 2024 interview that she's not a monster. She was just a very sick woman. And so,

this is what the case is going to boil down to when you talk about criminal responsibility. You have to admit in the first instance that she did it.

So, there's no dispute that Lindsay murdered her children. It's just gotten down to whether she has a mental defect and whether that mental defect made

her incapable of understanding what she was doing and acting in a criminal fashion.

FOSTER: How do they prove that to a jury?

COPELAND: It's going to be a battle of experts, and it's going to be a battle of surrounding circumstances.

There are treating physicians that the defense no doubt will call to say, we gave her medications. This is what we observed. This is how we handled

her complaints and her symptoms.

What's really interesting in this case, Max, is that both Lindsay and her husband Patrick filed lawsuits against those treating physicians saying

that they're the ones to blame for this, that they didn't treat her properly. As a legal matter, it's kind of an interesting move. Normally,

this civil lawsuit really wouldn't be relevant in the criminal trial, but when they call the treating physicians, the defense likely will be able to

say, you know, you're biased because Lindsay and her husband have both sued you over this case.

They're also going to have professional experts that they've hired just to analyze the records in this case. Almost certainly they're going to have

somebody who's a specialist on postpartum psychosis to talk about what that means. That'll be the state will have a similar expert, and the experts

will tell the jury about it. And the jury is ultimately the ones that have to determine whether or not she is, in fact, criminally responsible.

FOSTER: It's interesting when you hear the case, isn't it? The husband saying everything was normal. She was a maternity nurse, wasn't she? We

haven't heard anything to suggest that she was any sort of murderer. a day- to-day life. It was just this one episode.

But people do struggle with how it felt premeditated because she went through three children. It wasn't like a momentary lapse in judgment, if I

can call it that. I'm just trying to get my language right here. But there's a lot to question.

COPELAND: And Max, language, these are tough cases to talk about. So that's fine.

You know, you're going to hear about her psychiatric treatment that I think began in September before the murders occurred in late January. And you're

going to hear about that. But one of the things the state brought out today is the fact that she sent her husband out for dinner that night to a place

they really never went to. That was a farther drive from the house. And apparently, there's some digital evidence that showed she used a mapping

program to try to figure out when he would be back.

I think that Patrick's testimony today was she'd been doing a lot better than she'd been doing for weeks, and she seemed to kind of be back on her

feet. So again, this is going to be where it comes in with the experts. You know how -- what you expect from postpartum psychosis, which is what she's

claiming.

You've also got a woman who tried to kill herself there. Apparently, she tried to cut her wrist, cut her neck. She jumped out of a second-floor

window and is now paralyzed and unable to walk. So whatever harm she inflicted on her children, she also tried to inflict some harm on herself,

too.

FOSTER: Well, it's an interesting test case, isn't it? Amy Lee Copeland, thank you for bringing us your thoughts on that. We'll be following the

case throughout.

I'll be right back.

COPELAND: Thank you, Max.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOSTER: Audiences worldwide are flocking to theaters to see "The Odyssey". Christopher Nolan's epic has now pulled in more than $600 million worldwide

in just two weeks with a very small week-to-week decline. Moviegoers want to see this one on a crystal clear big screen as well.

IMAX reports that many of its showings are sold out all the way until the month of September. This is a historic Chinese theater in Hollywood, saying

when you factor in already sold out shows in the future, "The Odyssey" is the highest grossing film the theater has ever shown.

Joining us now to help put all of this in perspective is in as chief media analyst, Brian Stelter.

Have you seen it, Brian? Do you like it?

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Oh, of course, I've seen it. I sat through the entire thing, and I struggled with the decision not to go see

it in IMAX. I did not see it on the biggest screen possible.

But as you said, Max, those are sold out for weeks in all the major cities in the U.S. So people like yours truly were resorting to just seeing it the

old-fashioned way at a normal movie theater.

FOSTER: I guess you had to see it because of your job. You wouldn't be able to talk about it, obviously, but I've been speaking to some purists.

They're saying an IMAX theater isn't even good enough because there's a certain shape of IMAX theater you need to go to because the normal IMAX

theaters crop it. So, should you not wait for the proper experience? Because your film --

STELTER: Yes, the biggest one, the one on the Upper West Side in New York City, there's the Lincoln Square Theater on the Upper West Side that IMAX

purists rave about and that one in particular is the one that's running the film 24/7, people going to 6:00 a.m. movie screenings, you know, this is a

testament to Christopher Nolan and the brand that he's built, the caliber of the stars that he brings with him, and also his use of technology,

right?

The way that he filmed this movie with those IMAX cameras, the entire thing made in this format so that it does look extraordinary on those really

super large screens.

But I was having this conversation with my father-in-law over the weekend. He wanted to hold out to see "The Odyssey" and IMAX, and my advice was go

see it now wherever you can, and then if you have a chance later to see it on the biggest wall-sized screen possible, then go see it again in IMAX.

But you know, don't hold out because as you said, this thing is sold out in some places for many more months.

I think it goes to show, you know, all the about --

FOSTER: It's controversial, too.

STELTER: -- whether people are going to go to the movie theaters has been a little bit off base. People do want to go to the movie theaters, but they

want to have an experience worth seeing in the theater. They want it to be big. They want it to be loud. And Nolan delivers exactly that.

FOSTER: And what's interesting is, there was so much publicity around it because of the way it was filmed, right? But it stood the test of time

because it wasn't just the first weekend the sales actually stayed high, so it's obviously a good movie as well. But that's pretty extraordinary, isn't

it, Brian?

STELTER: Yes, that is very unusual. It's showing real staying power. There were other movie studios and distributors that were right to get out of the

way of this one and let "The Odyssey" have a few weeks dominating the box office.

It also puts the lie to a lot of the silly commentary that preceded the release of the film, folks suggesting that Nolan was being woke in the way

he was making "The Odyssey". There are fun debates to be had about "The Odyssey" though, and once people see it, you can debate this version versus

other versions.

One of the famous translators of "The Odyssey" is out there criticizing All of that is so interesting. And for me, Max, I saw it about a week ago, it

has stayed with me, and I still think about the movie every day.

[15:55:00]

That's rare. And that's another one of the reasons why this film has staying power, because it does stay on your mind.

It's an interesting debate in Hollywood right now. Would you rather have the next franchise, something like "Moana", or the next film from a star

like Christopher Nolan?

And the answer is a star like Christopher Nolan. There are a handful of these directors in Hollywood who can actually create these big box office

moments. And in some ways, they are actually more reliable now than a movie theater franchise like "Fast and Furious" or "Moana". You'd rather bet on

having the director than that famous intellectual property.

FOSTER: Yeah, it's really interesting. He is the star of it, isn't he, despite the big stars that we see there.

STELTER: Yeah.

FOSTER: Good luck everyone getting IMAX tickets. If Brian Stelter can't get them, good luck.

STELTER: That's right. Thanks.

FOSTER: I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN. More after the break.

END

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