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Tennessee Quadruple Murder Suspect Spotted; Gifford Fire Scorches California; State Department to Imose Bonds on Foreign Travelers; Beyonce's New Levi's Jeans Ad. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired August 05, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oversight Committee, which in theory has jurisdiction over some of the Epstein matters. Where do things stand right now in your committee, getting people before, getting files from the Justice Department?

REP. RAJA KRISHNAMOORTHI (D-IL): Well, I think that Ghislaine Maxwell's deposition has now been scheduled or noticed for September 29th. I think that the subpoena from the committee has now gone out for the files. I'm hopeful that we'll be able to see everything that's in those files. Obviously, redacting for personal information, removing anything sensitive, like child pornography or anything like that.

But at the end of the day, I think our constituents are clamoring for sunshine and transparency on those files, and they're also saying, look, disclose those files and let's move on to other legislative business, which has been brought to a standstill because of this Epstein file issue.

BERMAN: These new economic numbers that came out at the end of last week, the downward revisions in jobs added, months of -- of just 14,000 jobs added, 19,000 jobs added. How does that affect the prism with which you're looking at this economy through?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, I think it's consistent with what my constituents are telling me. I'm on the phone with people now who have been laid off. I'm -- I'm on the phone with small businesses. One small business did extremely well as late as March 31st, and then liberation day hit. And now it's laying people off in Rockford. It's a 25-person small family business.

This is the underlying issue throughout the economy. I was in Mount Vernon, Illinois, where people were complaining how their grocery bill has gone up, not down, since Donald Trump was elected. And so, it's no state secret at this point that this economy is not working for working people. And so, he can fire as many messengers as he wants, but Donald Trump cannot suppress the truth from the American people, which is that this economy is not good.

BERMAN: Very quickly, tariffs have brought in or raised, you know, over $100 billion in revenue. A lot of money and maybe more. How will you replace that revenue if and when that goes away?

KRISHNAMOORTHI: Well, remember, that revenue is basically on the backs of working families and businesses. It's basically a tax on the people who are least able to pay. And so, if that is what Donald Trump is trying to engineer, which is basically a regressive tax on working families, I think that's just not going to -- that's not going to stand.

And so, not to mention the fact that he's created so much uncertainty in the economy that people have paused investment, paused hiring. And so, I think people will want to see a different way of operating the economy and raising revenues.

BERMAN: Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, we appreciate you being with us this morning. Thanks so much.

The manhunt for the alleged killer in a quadruple murder intensifies. Brand new surveillance video shows the suspect with a rifle trying to get into a home.

Beyonce's new ad may be doing more than just selling jeans. Could it be hinting at a new album?

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[09:38:06]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, a new report says the deaths of five people on board the OceanGate Titan submersible were preventable. And it blames inadequate design, maintenance and inspection for the implosion. That report comes from the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation. And it also points to OceanGates's, quote, "toxic workplace culture." It says that if the CEO, Stockton Rush, had survived, he might have been charged criminally for his role in that disaster. The Titan captured the world's attention more than two years ago when it imploded in the north Atlantic while on an expedition to view the Titanic wreckage.

Also new this morning, chilling new surveillance video showing a man suspected of killing four people in Tennessee, armed with a rifle, and trying to enter a home. The Jackson Police Department just releasing footage from a home security camera taken Sunday night. And in it you see 28-year-old suspect Austin Drummond jiggling doors and looking for a way inside. Police are warning residents to remain vigilant and be cautious.

CNN's Rafael Romo is joining us now with more on this really chilling video here, Rafael.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, chilling to say the least.

Jessica, good morning.

Authorities in Tennessee have released this video. This is new evidence that may indicate the suspect is still in the area after allegedly killing four people exactly a week ago today. The new evidence comes in the form of security camera videos showing the suspect in the city of Jackson. One video shows 28-year-old Austin Drummond walking through a covered hallway outside a building. He is seen wearing camouflage -- a camouflage jacket and carrying a rifle.

Another video, Jessica, also released by the Jackson Police Department, shows the quadruple murder suspect, this time carrying a backpack and a rifle, approaching a door at someone's home and jiggling the handle before stepping out of the camera's view.

Authorities say Drummond is wanted in connection with the deaths of four people, but have not said why, despite issuing warrants for four counts of first-degree murder.

[09:40:08]

Their bodies were found last Tuesday in Lake County, Tennessee, just hours after a seven month old baby was found alive and abandoned in a car parked at a front yard in nearby Dyer County. Officials say it was chosen at random.

The baby's parents, 21-year-old James Wilson and 20-year-old Adrianna Williams, were among the four victims, as well as her 38-year-old grandmother and 15-year-old uncle on the mother's side of the family. Authorities were scouring a wooded area near Union University in Jackson on Monday afternoon as part of the investigation only hours after they announced the arrest of a third person accused of helping the fugitive.

A law enforcement source told CNN, the suspect probably has connections to the Vice Lords gang and suspect its members may be helping him. And finally, Jessica, authorities in Tennessee are offering now a $32,500 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Now, back to you.

DEAN: All right, Rafael Romo with the very latest there. Thanks so much.

John.

BERMAN: All right, happening now, evacuation orders underway in southern California as a wildfire has exploded in size, 72,000 acres burned across two counties. At least three people have been hurt. Crews plan to employ helicopters and drones to fight the blazes today.

Let's get right to CNN's meteorologist Derek Van Dam for the latest on what conditions will be like, Derek, later today.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, this is erratic fire behavior. It exploded in size this weekend. And we're talking about advancing one football field every two seconds at one stage this weekend. Here's an image that shows you just what happened. This is taken from space. There's the Gifford Fire, just exploding over the past 48 hours. And you can really see the wind picking up in this general direction as well, helping advance the forward front of this wildfire that is now approaching it -- the largest wildfire in California so far this year. It's got another five or so thousand acres to scorch before it approaches and surpasses the Madre Fire.

Now, currently at 3 percent containment. So, this doesn't really bode well for the Gifford Fire, which is burning out of control across two separate counties, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. We -- parts of those counties, I should say. Lots of smoke associated with this. Of course, degrading the quality of the air in southern California, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, into San Diego. These areas here, just inundated by the wildfire smoke thanks to the Gifford Fire. And it looks to get worse before it gets better as conditions continue to go downhill in terms of the fire potential.

Even as far east as Las Vegas, some of the smoke settling into the Las Vegas valley from the Gifford Fire. You can see on this time lapse video in Las Vegas, just incredible. The winds, unfortunately, set to pick up, the conditions will dry out, and the temperature will increase as the week progresses. So, I believe that the fire threat here will only get worse before it gets better. So, it's going to be very difficult for the firefighting crews, over 1,900 personnel assigned to this particular fire, to get a handle on this forward progress as they look to continue evacuations going forward from the Gifford Fire in southern California.

John.

BERMAN: When do conditions change? I mean when can they look forward to any kind of help in terms of the weather?

VAN DAM: We really need a change in the wind direction. We need more moisture in the air. And we don't see that in the foreseeable future. So, again, the next couple of days are going to be very challenging for the firefighters on the ground.

BERMAN: Could be a bad stretch.

Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for that update.

Today, the execution of a convicted killer will move forward despite the risk that his heart implant will shock him repeatedly.

ChatGPT gets a mental health upgrade, which includes a prompt to take a break.

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[09:48:34]

DEAN: New this morning, the State Department could soon make it more expensive for some international tourists and business travelers to enter the U.S. And it comes as the Trump administration continues its crackdown on travel regulations.

CNN's Kylie Atwood explains who could be affected.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This State Department pilot program for visa bonds is expected to go into effect later this month. It's going to be impacting people who are applying for visas from countries that have higher overstay rates and they're applying for business and tourist visas, not people who are applying for student visas.

But this does mean that the financial burden on people applying for those visas is going to be much greater. They're going to have to post bonds of $5,000 to $15,000 as part of their application process. A senior State Department official explained to me that the Trump administration believes that this is in the benefit of the American taxpayer. This policy, they hope that it does drive down those visa overstay numbers.

But it one -- when it comes to the specific countries that are included, those countries are set to be announced. And it may be adjusted throughout the course of this year-long pilot program, which countries are on the list or off the list. With a senior State Department official saying to me that that will be impacted by the visa overstay numbers that they see, but also saying that President Trump is open to adjusting anything based on a myriad of issues. So, not counting out the possibility of visa bonds bleeding into other issue sets between the United States and the countries impacted here.

[09:50:09]

DEAN: All right, Kylie Atwood, thank you for that.

North Korean operatives on your LinkedIn. Stay with us here. New CNN reporting today about a far-reaching scheme to get North Korean I.T. workers hired at U.S. companies. Cybersecurity experts say thousands of North Koreans have created fake profiles posing as western developers, engineers and tech consultants. And the goal is to get the job and funnel hundreds of millions of dollars back to Pyongyang's military programs. So, how are you supposed to know if a job seeker is actually a scammer?

CNN's Teele Rebane breaks down some of the telltale signs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TEELE REBANE, CNN NEWS PRODUCER, OSINT: The generic western name. The cheesy cover photo. Previous work experience at Walmart or at the National University of Singapore. These are all common experiences that the North Koreans claim to have had.

When we ran this profile photo through A.I. detection software, it quickly came up as A.I. generated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Unsealed federal indictments show U.S.-based facilitators are helping the scheme by sending laptops to the workers so it appears they're physically in the U.S. Officials also warn the scheme is evolving and could lead to malware attacks. John.

BERMAN: All right, today, the state of Tennessee plans to execute a death row inmate despite concerns that a device implanted to restore his heartbeat could repeatedly shock him. Attorneys for Byron Black say the implant will cause a prolonged and torturous execution. They say it will violate his protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The Supreme Court denied a stay of execution, and the governor has refused to intervene. Black was convicted in the 1988 shooting deaths of a woman and her two daughters.

OpenAI rolled out a new update to its popular chatbot, ChatGPT, to help stop it from enabling user's unhealthy behaviors. Now, it will prompt users to take a break if they have been using the app for a long period of time. The company says it is also adding safety guardrails to better handle sensitive topics, including self-harm and emotional distress. They made the changes because earlier versions were so overly agreeable that it stirred a lot of concern online.

In Florida, alligator on the lam. A deputy in Saint Augustine had to wrestle an alligator out of a backyard pool. Not easily. The deputy managed to get him into the back seat of his patrol car. And yes, we're told he even buckled him in the car for safety. I wonder if he used a child seat. The alligator was later relocated to a nearby pond far away from any backyards for now.

Kind of related. A zoo in Denmark is looking for pet donations so they can feed the pets to their hungry animals. I really don't think any story has raised more eyebrows this morning. They're asking for small and large pets, including guinea pigs, rabbits, chickens, even small horses. They say the pet must be healthy. They also say they want the pets that are at the end of their natural lives. The zoo promises they would be gently euthanized before they are fed to the predators. The idea is that they say this will help mimic natural food chains.

Jessica.

DEAN: OK.

Ads for jeans have caused quite a stir lately. Now Levi's getting in on the action with an ad featuring Beyonce.

(VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Levi's teaming up with Queen Bee to release "The Denim Cowboy." A perfect fit as the "Cowboy Carter" singer has a song titled "Levi's Jeans."

CNN's Lisa France joins us now.

Lisa, this one has the beehive buzzing. They think this part is, in particular, when she drives off on the motorcycle might mean something. Tell us about it.

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Yes, they are eagerly awaiting, Jessica, act three in her trilogy. And because she comes up on a horse in the beginning of the video but leaves on a motorcycle has people believing that act three is going to be a rock album.

Now, this is not a new theory. I mean, last Halloween she dressed as rock funk icon Betty Davis, which had a lot of people saying, huh, that might be a hint. And given the fact that during her "Cowboy Carter" tour, she's paid homage to people like Tina Turner and Chuck Berry and Little Richard, that's just making people believe that, you know what, we're going to get a rock album for act three.

So, I've got my fingers crossed. I think it would be awesome. And I also think that Beyonce has really been working overtime to make people realize the very importance of African Americans in the music industry, especially in genres that you don't think of, like dance, like country, and hopefully like rock and roll.

DEAN: Yes, it is -- it's really exciting.

[09:55:01]

Lisa, I have my fingers crossed, too, that maybe we get a rock album, because the country, the country -- "Cowboy Carter" was amazing.

BERMAN: Crossing all my fingers too.

DEAN: I know. I know.

Quickly before we let you go, that Sydney Sweeney ad also about denim getting a lot of attention.

FRANCE: Absolutely. But, you know, I think people are trying to say there's some connection, but you can't come up with the -- the -- the Levi ad that quickly. I think it was just the timing. It just happened to come on the heels of it.

DEAN: Yes.

BERMAN: I wonder if they share a cinematographer, because I feel like there's some similarity in the filming.

DEAN: Yes, this (INAUDIBLE) close shots.

BERMAN: It's really subtle. The whole thing is really, really subtle there. So, hats off to the geniuses sending these sort of, you know, subterranean messages.

DEAN: That's right. Hey, we're all getting subterranean messages.

BERMAN: Exactly.

DEAN: Lisa France, thank you so much. We really appreciate it.

FRANCE: Thank you.

BERMAN: Great to have you here today.

DEAN: Thank you for having me. You know what? I had such a nice time, I'm going to come back tomorrow. BERMAN: Yes.

DEAN: Yes, it's going to be a good day.

BERMAN: All right, fingers crossed.

All right, thank you all for joining us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "THE SITUATION ROOM" is up next.

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