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Tomorrow: Democrats' Marquee Senate Primary In Michigan; Three fires in Washington State Scorch 7,000+ Acres, Destroy 700+ Homes; Trump Says Iran Talks To Resume After Strikes Called Off. Aired 7:30- 8a ET

Aired August 03, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:32:05]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: A major test for Democrats now as they are about to start counting votes in the marquee Senate primary in Michigan. Tomorrow voters will have their say in the battle between Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed -- moderate versus progressive in a very big way. This race has become the example right now of the broader fight within the Democratic Party and its future direction.

Let's get to CNN's Jeff Zeleny. He is in Detroit and has been there. Jeff, where do things stand and what do things look like one day out?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate. Good morning.

I mean, it is the big battle of the summer and not just for here in Michigan, which is enough on its own. I mean, Democrats must hold this Senate seat and flip four Republican seats if they were to win the Senate majority.

But this race here in Michigan is about so much more than that. It's also about the direction of the Democratic Party. There is just no question about it. And spending time on the ground here this weekend talking to voters that is clear.

Haley Stevens, of course, a member of Congress here. She won in 2018 back in the first midterm of the first Trump presidency. She has the party establishment behind her. But Abdul El-Sayed is a progressive insurgent, and he has some energy of the party and this progressive movement behind him.

But we caught up with both candidates over the weekend to sample their messages.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HALEY STEVENS (D), MICHIGAN SENATE PRIMARY CANDIDATE: The GOP should be worried about running against me because friends, I am a tough as nails Democrat. I'm going to run through anyone and anything to protect and defend our state.

ZELENY: How much of this is about convincing people that you can win in November?

ABDUL EL-SAYED, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE PRIMARY CANDIDATE: The question of can I win in November is a question that voters alone can answer. Convincing folks like you and everybody who watches from everywhere else -- I'm sorry, it just doesn't matter. What matters is whether or not the 10 million people in this state believe that it's time for us to break the politics that tells us that we are told who we vote for by folks in D.C., by big corporations, by special interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: But electability is a central issue hanging over this race in the final hours. Haley Stevens says it again and again that she is the most electable candidate against Mike Rogers, the Republican former congressman here who is running again for the Senate. But Adbul El- Sayed said electability is only known after Election Day, so he is really discounting these big concerns about electability.

But Kate, there is no doubt the issues driving this race are the same as many of the other issues in other primaries we've seen this year, but the difference is many of those Democratic wins -- the progressive wins -- have come in deep blue areas like New York City, outside of Denver. Well, this is a statewide race here in battleground Michigan. As you well know, this is a presidential battleground state.

[07:35:00]

So what happens on Tuesday here is really going to set into motion what the Democratic Party direction is going to be. It's going to offer some hints for 2028 -- that presidential race -- as well. But for now, at least, both of these candidates -- over the weekend it was clear they were trying to make this race all about Michigan, not about the Democratic Party overall. But the money being spent here is clear. There are huge lessons here for the party as well as an outcome for Michigan -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. So glad you're there, Jeff. Thank you so much -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, all about Michigan. It's too late for that, I think, based on the attention it has been getting.

With us now, Margaret Talev, senior contributor for Axios. And Margaret, you get the sense that this is the big one in terms of the Democratic infighting over the course of the primary season and the summer.

My question to you is what happens Wednesday? If El-Sayed wins and the progressives, you know, prevail in this fight where every Democratic leader -- elected leader for the most part -- has backed his opponent, what happens on Wednesday if he wins?

MARGARET TALEV, SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR, AXIOS, DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR DEMOCRACY, JOURNALISM AND CITIZENSHIP, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY (via Webex by Cisco): John, it's such an interesting question because Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, in many ways is sort of the tip of the spear about what's at stake here. Sort of the Chuck Schumer versus AOC contest. Who is the future leader of the Democratic Party? What does it say about Democratic policy positions?

You know, Mamdani's win was a major turning point potentially for Democrats, but that was New York -- New York City. Michigan is a very different race.

So I think, you know, Democrats thought if they nudged the third Democrat out of the primary it would also Stevens to sort of walk this in. It's just not clear that that's true at this point. And the real test is going to come in many ways, not just with the result but with the dynamics of that result.

Did this race produce progressive turnout? Turnout of younger Americans. How did centrist voters, sort of what you think of as establishment voters, in the Democratic contest end up voting? And what does that say for incumbent leadership from top to bottom at the DNC, in the Senate, and the future of the 2028 field?

So there really is a lot at stake here and Wednesday morning is when that analysis will begin.

BERMAN: Yeah, watch and see if they try to come together. If they rush to support El-Sayed. Look what happens to Democratic money after that and where the energy is after that. The rest of the week could be fascinating to watch.

I want to ask you about Todd Blanche, who wrote this letter last night. Interesting to see it released on a Sunday night -- trying to get ahead perhaps of the week's news.

I will say The Wall Street Journal suggests that this letter he wrote -- that the weaponization fund is going way -- may not be legally binding.

They write, "It isn't clear whether the Justice Department's new commitments are legally binding. The text of the original deal creating the fund said that it could be changed only with agreement of all parties who signed it, including the IRS, the Justice Department and Trump in his personal capacity."

And the reason I added that emphasis on that last little bit is because listen to what the president has been saying about how he feels on this fund -- listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A lot of people like it. If they don't -- if they don't approve Todd, I put it back on the table. A lot of people like it. A lot of big supporters of Trump like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Does that sound like a guy who wants to give up this deal that he made?

TALEV: One hundred percent. I'm smiling because I'm thinking what you're thinking, which is what does that commitment from Todd Blanche actually mean? It does seem to clear the path for him towards his nomination -- certainly, at least with Sen. Cornyn. We'll hear from Sen. Tillis soon.

But what is to stop the president and some combination of people that doesn't include Todd Blanche from pursuing exactly what the president has wanted all along? And the fact that President Trump's threat to his own party's senators was that if he didn't get what he wanted with Blanche he was going to make sure that anti-weaponization fund was re -- you know, continued and furthered to some extent tell you exactly where the president's mind is at.

There's two elements. One is can January 6 -- can those January 6 defendants basically be rewarded for their behavior in the future? And the second is can the president and his family get future-looking protections preventing the IRS from going after them? And just because Todd Blanche says that those provisions are off the table, does that mean that they cannot be reinstituted in some other way? I just don't think that we know the answer to that question, but it may not matter for the -- it may not matter for the A.G. confirmation, but we'll have two years to find out what the president's real intentions are.

[07:40:10]

BERMAN: I wonder if he gave Todd Blanche truth serum, if he wants President Trump near a microphone today or tomorrow before the actual confirmation voting committee. It may not help his cause.

Margaret Talev, thank you very much -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you.

This morning, zero percent containment. Three major wildfires raging near Spokane in Washington State. Officials say they've burned more than 7,000 acres, destroyed more than 700 homes, and forced nearly 65,000 families to evacuate. The Pacific Northwest facing its worst fire season in more than 30 years at this time. Days of extreme heat and drought are fueling the flames.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us now. Weather-wise, obviously, it always has a huge impact on how firefighters try and contain something like this. What are we looking at here?

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well Sara, anything is better than what they experienced on Saturday. Look at this wildfire activity being fueled by the strong winds that were gusting this weekend over 40 miles per hour across much of the Pacific Northwest; not just into the state of Washington and Oregon.

Remember, the wildfires -- they need three crucial ingredients -- that being heat, fuel and oxygen. And all three of those parameters were in place this weekend for a volatile weekend of very erratic fire behavior.

It's the oxygen that's being pumped in by the strong winds. They have relaxed throughout the course of the overnight period. This is that narrow window of opportunity that firefighters on the ground need to get so they can have containment on the front lines of the fire.

Now we still have our ongoing drought across this part of the country. And when we get relative humidity values that drop between five to 10 percent -- that's what they were this weekend -- that is extremely, extremely dry. You can see some minor improvement but still we have the heat that is going to build through the coming days.

And that is why I keep stressing right now is this window of time when firefighters can get a good handle on these wildfires because it is going to get drastic again by the end of this week. We're looking out for the potential of the increased temperatures, increased winds, and also the dryness that will continue.

We have wildfire smoke that is degrading the quality of the air across the Pacific Northwest. This will sink to the south and west, impacting places like Portland into Bend, Oregon here in the days to come -- Sara.

SIDNER: It's just a huge amount of smoke that we're seeing, but also these fires.

VAN DAM: It is.

SIDNER: Really, really shocking how bad it is right there in Spokane.

Thank you so much.

VAN DAM: It's devastating.

SIDNER: The weather helping just a tiny bit, but we'll see what happens next -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Let's get a new look from the ground on this. Joining us right now is the deputy fire chief in Spokane County, Chris Maynard. Chief, thanks for coming on.

What's your latest assessment of the situation? What can you tell us? How do you describe it?

CHRIS MAYNARD, DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF, SPOKANE COUNTY, WASHINGTON (via Webex by Cisco): It's devastating. It's something we've never seen before. It's a fire that just moved quickly as our crews went in. It's just something that hadn't been seen before because of our dry conditions that we've had and these winds that came through here quick. Firefighters were rushing through there mainly just trying to save lives while also trying to save homes.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, and we've heard of so many homes already destroyed.

Are there any reports of injuries or people unaccounted for right now? MAYNARD: Nothing that we have heard of yet, and the sheriff's office is helping us with that. But we -- because of the magnitude of this fire we do expect something, but nothing has -- nothing that we've heard yet.

BOLDUAN: We'll hold onto that hope, right?

I also saw that the Fairchild Air Force Base near Spokane has issued a limited evacuation order for personnel on the base.

What does -- can you give us a read of what that means? I mean, is the Air Force base under threat right now by these fires?

MAYNARD: I hate to say our whole community seems to be under threat right now because the fires started kind of more towards the base and then now has just grown to the size to where it's jumping rivers, it's jumping the streets. It's going in the direction to where magnitudes of homes are.

BOLDUAN: And that's just horrible. I mean, it's just -- in your -- from -- it's hard to kind of give a broad assessment because you're fighting this, you know, from neighborhood to neighborhood with your crews and everyone else that is coming in from out of state. But right now, do you -- would you say there is just zero handle on containment? It is just still running wild. It's getting -- you do expect it to be getting worse before you can gain some more ground on it.

[07:45:10]

MAYNARD: No, not necessarily. As the winds have died down a big portion of the fire, we've been able to help control. We got some lines around it. But that doesn't mean it can't change within the next day. This fire is going to be going on for weeks but we're attacking it. We're being aggressive against it because we want to make sure that no lives are lost and that no more homes are going to be lost.

BOLDUAN: Yeah, and you're living and -- you are living and working it and trying to rescue and save people all at the same time -- you and your teams.

Really, thank you so much and -- for what you're doing and getting up so early. You probably didn't even sleep, but getting up to speak with us this morning. We sincerely appreciate it, Deputy Fire Chief Chris Maynard. We'll stay in close touch. Thank you so much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much, Kate.

Now to the U.S. battle with Iran. This morning President Trump says the U.S. and Iran will resume negotiations today after he called off what he said was going to be a massive attack on Iran over the weekend. The president saying he did it after allies across the Gulf region called and urged him to call off strikes because they believe a deal is within reach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TRUMP: We were all set to go, but when the allies asked to call it off, you've got to sort of say well, let's see. And the reason they asked is I think there's deal. There's a deal on Hormuz and then there will be a deal on the nuclear -- or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran. I call it the denuclearization of Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Tehran, for their part, is pushing back against the notion of any deal in the Strait of Hormuz right now.

With me now to discuss all this is CNN political and global affairs commentator, Sabrina Singh. And White House and national security correspondent for The New York Times, David Sanger. Thank you both for being here.

David, let me ask you about this. You know, after calling off what he said was going to be the biggest attack since World War II, President Trump says a deal with Iran imminent having to do with the Strait of Hormuz, particularly. And then saying ultimately, it's going to be about the denuclearization of Iran as well.

We've heard him talk about deals being imminent before. They had the MOU and that fell apart.

Is there anything that leads you to believe that this could be true and will hold?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES (via Webex by Cisco): Well, I'm certain, Sara, that they believe that there is something that they can grab onto here. Whether or not it can hold is a completely different question.

So what they're trying to do is basically solve the Hormuz problem first, which would then just get you back to where we were more than a month ago, right, when this 14-point memorandum of understanding was put together with deadlines about how they would go address the nuclear issues and other issues. Those deadlines are all gone now because they would have expired really by mid-August here.

So the initial deal they're trying to put together is whether they can work something out in which Iran and Oman, which is just across the strait, work out a way for ships to come in, largely up on the Iranian side, and exit on the Omani side. And maybe they'll work that out. But the problem is that's not the kind of free, open pathway that the United States said it was looking for after the Iranians shut it down, which was only after the attacks began.

SIDNER: All right. But look, in the midst of all this, Sabrina, you have particular expertise in this area. We've got some exclusive reporting from our Zach Cohen that U.S. Central Command's intelligence branch wrote a message to a broad group of military analysts asking for what it called "creative and unconventional ideas to punish Iran."

Is this unusual for, you know, U.S. Central Command to sort of send out an email to military analysts saying hey, give us your ideas on how to deal with this war?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: Candidly, it's a -- it's a bit odd. I spoke to a few people that work in the intelligence community when I saw this story and it's a bit strange. I mean, that's usually something that you would keep a bit close hold with, you know, senior officers. But I think this gets to the larger point of what David was saying, is that they are looking and the U.S. military is looking for other options right now.

[07:50:00]

The Strait of Hormuz is closed. I think it has been a successful U.S. military campaign against Iran in terms of degrading their capabilities. But unfortunately, Iran still maintains and retains, you know, a large swatch of ballistic missiles and drones that can threaten the strait.

And so I think U.S. Central Command is trying to look for other ways -- maybe looking for leadership targets, trying to establish patterns of life. Trying to get creative.

But I think candidly, yes, this is a bit unusual to solicit sort of a wide brainstorming session across a large group of people to get ideas of how to change the outcomes of this war.

SIDNER: David, does this give you a sense just hearing this that U.S. Central Command has sent this email out -- I mean, technically, you'd think that the military analysts would be constantly talking and trying to get information and ideas back and forth. What does this tell you?

SANGER: Well, the good news about it is that this is the first time that we have seen Secretary of Defense Hegseth's Pentagon actually reach out for some ideas that weren't generated just inside the military. So, you know, they've been pretty reluctant for outside thoughts. They've been cutting back on their interchanges with academia and thinktanks. So that's a plus.

The downside is I think it gives you a sense of the degree to which the president feels trapped right now. The fact that he could not go ahead with these strikes on Iran, particularly on Iran's energy sector, came because the Arab states came back and said the Iranians will respond by taking out energy facilities throughout the Gulf, and then where will we be.

So to some degree the president has really been deterred here. And, you know, I know he's trying to wrap it up in we've got a deal coming -- and maybe he does and well hope he does -- but if so, it's now a two-step process, right? Get Hormuz open first and only then begin to address the causes of the war, which are the nuclear missile program.

SIDNER: David Sanger, Sabrina Singh, it's good to have you to talk through this. Thank you. Appreciate you guys this morning -- John.

BERMAN: All right. A car stolen with a 2-year-old inside. The moment police chase down that car and confront the suspect.

And then a sinkhole opens up and swallows a truck with the driver inside. It's sort of like Starlight from "Star Wars."

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[07:51:53]

BERMAN: The Dodgers clearly desperate. They're having so much trouble with the insurgent Boston Red Sox they had to go trade for one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Let's get right to CNN's Coy Wire. The morning after the sweep, Coy.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yeah, break out the brooms. Congratulations, John, and Red Sox fans everywhere. The Dodgers may have landed baseball's biggest trade prize, two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, but this weekend belonged to Boston.

The Red Sox trailed 3-2 in the third when Ceddanne Rafaela went deep for a third-straight game. He's been smoking pitches like briskets. His seventh homer since the All-Star break and is tied for second-most in the majors. Well, that one tied it up. And on the very next pitch, Wilyer Abreu says give me some of that. Back-to-back blasts that left Dodgers pitchers seeing fireworks in broad daylight.

Boston homered four times in all, rolling to an 8-4 win and completing a statement sweep of the two-time defending World Series champs.

Golf's final women's major of the year saved its best plot twist for the very last page. Germany's Esther Henseleit stood one shot behind Japan's Shiho Kuwaki on the final hole until she uncorked this birdie putt from more than 40 feet away. Her husband, who is also her caddy, could barely believe it and neither could Kuwaki because that putt dropped forcing a playoff. But Kuwaki never lost composure, chasing her first major title just like Henseliet. She answered on the second playoff hole, sealing a breakthrough win and capturing her maiden major championship in unforgettable fashion.

Despite Gianni Infantino and FIFA scrapping their plans to sell takes -- stakes in FIFA competitions, including the World Cup, to private investors, the backlash from the global soccer community is not going away.

Just days after UEFA voted unanimously to boycott FIFA competitions over the initial proposal, European football's governor Ning body has now threatened FIFA with legal action and said any potential evidence should not be destroyed. The letter named 18 FIFA executives who it said should retain data, documents and electronic messages as potential evidence.

John, UEFA says it has lost confidence in Gianni Infantino, and some member associations seem to be withdrawing their support as well. This is big news for Infantino ahead of next March's re-election bid. So we'll see how things pan out over the coming days. BERMAN: You know, a lot of people in the soccer world just saying this

just didn't smell right and they're not sure if they're going to let it pass so easily.

Coy Wire, thank you very much for that.

WIRE: You got it.

BERMAN: Kate.

BOLDUAN: Some other big headlines that we are watching right now.

In Atlanta, a nightmare scenario for one mother that police eventually brought to an end safely. Her car stolen with her 2-year-old daughter still inside. Here is her call to 911 for help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOTHER: Someone just stole my car, and it has my 2-year-old daughter in it.

911 OPERATOR: You said your daughter is inside the vehicle?

MOTHER: Yes. My 2-year-old daughter was in the back seat. I was dropping off an Instacart order, and I came back outside and my car is gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: After that police were able to track down the car within 15 minutes, we're told, and eventually arrested the suspect.