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Washington Governor Says, Wildfire Situation Dire; Voters Head to Polls for Democratic Senate Showdown in Key Michigan Race; Sources Say, Trump Furious With Pirro, Blindsided by Pool Reversal. Aired 7- 7:30a ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, an arson suspect now under arrest in connection with one of the massive fires that are raging in Washington State. What a witness saw that led investigators to him as the fires continue to burn.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Safe for now. President Trump did not fire U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, despite lashing out at her over dropping the charges in the Reflecting Pool vandalism case. New reporting on what went down yesterday at their White House meeting.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Then I just couldn't believe it was happening. A truck driver films a plane landing on a highway just in front of him. Now, the FAA is investigating.

I'm John Berman with Sara Sidner and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: All right, let's get to the breaking news this morning. An arrest in connection with one of the three major wildfires that's just devastating the Spokane, Washington area. According to witnesses, they have a 37-year-old suspect now in custody, but according to witnesses, that person was seen bending down near a grassy area close to where the fire started, smoke then seen shortly after that.

The arrest also comes as we're getting some new images from inside the firefight, body camera video showing crews on the frontlines as they battle to save lives, save property, protect as many pieces of land and homes as they can. So far, nearly 65,000 people have been forced to evacuate from the fire zone.

Other numbers are hard to wrap your mind around. More than 10,000 acres burned, more than 700 buildings destroyed, and still 0 percent containment. Washington's governor spoke with John and laid out just how bad it is right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. BOB FERGUSON (D-WA): The situation is dire. The situation in Spokane specifically, just so your viewers are aware, these are neighborhoods in the city that, in large part, have been just wiped out. It's been described literally as a war zone. Hundreds of homes have been wiped out in a matter of hours, and that's just one of, as you mentioned, multiple fires across our state. So, it's a very, very serious situation right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Yes, we're talking about the Spokane area especially, but there are more than a dozen fires burning across Washington State right now.

CNN's Maribel Gonzalez is on the scene this morning in Spokane. Maribel, what's the very latest you're hearing, and what more can you tell us about this arrest?

MARIBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kate, yes, no, this is just a devastating scene. As you can see behind me, this is someone's home. This is one of the 700 structures that have been devastated by this fire, and we are at the neighborhood that was affected by the Old Trails fire. This is the fire that suspect, Aaron Farinacci, that 37- year-old man, he was arrested in connection to this fire.

We're very close to the downtown area, only about 20 minutes or so from there. But I can tell you, this is not the only home in this neighborhood that's been affected. Just a couple houses down, another one looks just like this one, where only the chimney and a few of the building is remaining of the home. Right down the street another one as well.

Now, what I can tell you is that the smoke is just so heavy here. This is actually the first time this morning that I'm taking off my mask to speak to you. But even on our way here, there's multiple checkpoints. People are not allowed to come back into these neighborhoods.

Thousands of people have been evacuated, and a few of those National Guardsmen who are patrolling the area told us that just yesterday when they were out here, they felt their face was burning from just the chemicals that are in the air from structures, from homes that you see behind us that have been devastated by these fires.

Of course, we don't know when these residents will be able to return to these neighborhoods. The process of even going through this area to see just how the extent of the damage, that is still ongoing and will be for some weeks to come. But in the meantime, residents are having to deal with this devastating loss and impact that these fires have had on their neighborhoods.

[07:05:02]

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE WILSON, EVACUATED FROM WILDFIRE: My family barely got out of this alive. Like we literally left right before we even got the evacuation notice. My kids are probably going to have to go to counseling for dealing with all that with PTSD. Like our daughter has anxiety, man, and to find out that, like, somebody started that, like there's a lot of families. A teacher that I work with right behind my house lost everything that he had, including his pets. And like to know that all could've been avoided is heartbreaking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GONZALEZ: Now, officials say that this will be an ongoing process. The fires are expected to burn for weeks. And, of course, another concern, Kate, is the hot temperatures. Those temperatures expected to rise as the week continues. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Maribel, thank you very much for being there. I appreciate your reporting. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate.

This morning, voters in five states heading to the polls in races that could determine who controls the House and Senate, and it has implications, of course, extending into 2028. At the center of it all is Michigan's Democratic Senate showdown. Four-term Congresswoman Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official, are going head-to-head in a race that's pitted moderates against progressives.

The race bringing more than $60 million in outside spending, much of that benefiting Stevens by about a 30-1 margin.

CNN's Arlette Saenz is in the Detroit area this morning. She is at a polling place. What are you noticing this morning so far?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, right at 7:00 A.M., we saw two Michiganders waiting in line, heading into vote as the doors opened as they are set to cast their ballots in a race that could very well determine control of the U.S. Senate in November. This contest, the Democratic primary for Senate here in Michigan, has really emerged as an early test of the progressive movement at a time when we're looking for clues about the direction of the Democratic Party.

The progressive movement has seen a lot of success in very blue areas like New York City and the Denver area. But in this primary now, they are hoping to replicate that success in a very purple battleground state. How this election turns out, this primary election in the Democratic Party, could very well offer clues about not just the general election, but also what it could mean for 2028 and the presidential race.

On the progressive side, you have Abdul El-Sayed, a former state health official who has embraced Medicare for all. He has campaigned here in the state with the likes of Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. And then you have the more moderate congresswoman, Haley Stevens, who flipped a Republican district here in Michigan back in 2018 and is viewed by many Democratic establishment figures as having a likelier chance against defeating the expected Republican nominee, former Congressman Mike Rogers.

But both of these candidates have spent the final days throughout the state making their pitch to voters. Here is a sample of how Stevens and El-Sayed both cast their campaigns last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HALEY STEVENS (D-MI): There is a reason why Republicans are already spending thousands and thousands of dollars meddling in this primary, trying to maybe get their preferred candidate. Look, when it comes to Michigan, I run through anyone and anything to stand up for us.

ABDUL EL-SAYED (D), MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: This movement of ours has proven that it can come through $80 million of spending in lies because we're willing to hold with us the truth.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, Michigan will be critical to the path to the Senate majority next year. Democrats must hold onto Michigan and also flip four Republican seats if they want to retake control. And the winner of tonight's primary could offer that pathway against the Republican nominee in November.

SIDNER: Yes, giving us a look at the sort of infighting inside of the party where the progressives are going after the moderates trying to hold on. It will be interesting to see what happens. This could be telling for other races as well.

Thank you so much, Arlette Saenz. I do appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right. President Trump said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro folded like an umbrella after she dropped charges in a Reflecting Pool case because the facts did not line up and there was a lack of evidence, you know, those things. We're waiting to see if she shows up to work today.

The first reported deaths from the nationwide outbreak of explosive diarrhea. The caseload now tops well over 10,000.

And then a new close call with a bison at Yellowstone, a dangerous escape for a young child.

[07:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This morning, we are standing by to see if Jeanine Pirro shows up to work as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. New reporting that President Trump is weighing dumping her. He summoned Pirro to the White House yesterday. He's furious that Pirro moved to dismiss charges against a former Olympian, saying problems with the Reflecting Pool were because of a hasty and botched renovation, and not vandalism. We want to get right to CNN's Alayna Treene live at the White House. Alayna, you broke this story wide open yesterday, so where is it right now?

[07:15:00]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look the president is deeply, deeply frustrated with this entire thing, and we really saw this spill into public view yesterday, John. Just to give you a sense of what I've been hearing from the conversations I've been having with my sources, they told me that the president was fuming about this all weekend, fuming specifically about his U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, because of that court filing on Friday that said that the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was because of a flawed renovation, not vandalism, something, of course, we've heard the president and many of his top cabinet officials and other advisers say repeatedly in recent weeks, blaming that damage on vandalism. And I was told the president was so furious with her that he is considering removing her from her position.

Now, I will say we did see, as you mentioned, John, Pirro, as well as Doug Burgum, the secretary of interior, someone who has been really kind of overseeing the entire renovation over the Reflecting Pool, both of them arrived at the West Wing yesterday night, late in the evening, and met with the president. We are told that during that meeting, John, the president did not move to fire Pirro, nor did she offer her resignation.

But still, this is something that the president is very frustrated about. And, again, you saw that spill into public view yesterday, particularly when the president was talking to reporters in the Oval Office. He leveled a series of direct criticisms at Pirro. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Jeanine Pirro made a mistake. It was vandalism.

The judge was extremely unfriendly to Jeanine, and, frankly, I think she choked because the judge was really vicious. Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don't know what the hell happened.

I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro, really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. She folded like an umbrella.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: She folded like an umbrella is quite a line from the president, John.

And, look, I was told as well from a senior administration official that the president felt blindsided by that court filing on Friday from the Justice Department, and that's part of what really added to his deep frustrations with Pirro.

So, we have to see where this all leads. And, of course, the Reflecting Pool is something as well as, you know, all of the renovations and different projects Trump has around D.C., something that he's been so fixated on believes it's going to be part of his legacy, adding just to the magnitude of why he cares about this so much.

BERMAN: Yes. Again, I just think we also need to remember he's mad because she said the facts did not line up. They did not have sufficient evidence to make the case here. That is the document that she signed last week.

Alayna Treene, thank you very much for this reporting. More to come, no doubt. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Today marks a key moment and deadline for Congressman Max Miller. There are growing calls from his own party, from Republicans, that he drop his re-election bid amid abuse allegations. The big decision he is now facing today.

And the scare of a lifetime for one truck driver, just watch this. A plane lands on the highway right in front of him. His quick -- the quick thinking move that he made that could have saved his own life and why the FAA is now investigating it all.

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[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: Testimony is set to resume very soon in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy, the woman in Massachusetts accused of killing her three young children. Jurors are weighing now, and will be throughout this trial, whether she is criminally responsible for her actions when she did this, or if she is not because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

Yesterday in court, her mental state was a key focus on the witness stand, Clancy's defense team even reading some of her journal entries to witnesses on the stand, including a state trooper who executed a search warrant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN REDDINGTON, LINDSAY CLANCY'S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I now have horrible insomnia and anxiety, which is causing depression. I have no appetite. I don't know what's wrong with me. I want help. I want to be well. You saw that in there, didn't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

REDDINGTON: She wrote that, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

REDDINGTON: She wrote, I have crazy brain fog. I feel like I can't make a plan. I can't carry it out, like I just live moment to moment, waiting for the next nap time. I'm terrified of Cal getting overtired now because I feel I can't help him. She wrote that, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Jean Casarez has been following this, of course, day- to-day. What do we hear there, and what do we expect yesterday?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, today, the witnesses continue. Yesterday was all about the psychiatric professionals that came into her. And on January 26th, that was one and a half days after she'd been admitted to the hospital- and she was going to have her first big surgery. And so forensic psychiatrist came in to see if she had the capability of condoning and agreeing to that surgery.

So, she was looking to see if she was in control, if she was oriented, if she was confused, if there were suicidal ideations, found that she was of sound mind, but she couldn't talk because she was intubated. And so there was pen and paper, and they were going back and forth.

I want you to listen to what the forensic psychiatrist asked her, but then what Lindsay Clancy said about having an attorney. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you ask her about her mood that day?

DR. JHILAM BISWAS, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST WHO MET WITH LINDSAY CLANCY: I did ask her mood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And what did she write?

BISWAS: She wrote horrified.

We asked her, do you have questions for us? And she asked, is my body broken? Are my legs straight? And she then asked about can she have visitors and, you know, where her family is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And most importantly of all in that conversation to the prosecution, she asked, do I have an attorney?

[07:25:06]

Can I get an attorney? And that is something that they will use in closing arguments.

Now, January 29th, separate day, a few days later, she'd had the surgery. She had a request. So, the associate chief of psychiatrics came in, and she said that she wanted to change her health proxy. She wanted to change it from her husband, Patrick Clancy, to her parents.

And so she just had the surgery. She'd had some delusions after the surgery, some delirium. They wanted to wait a day, so came back the next day and walked her through why she wanted to change it from her husband, and she said, I'm very close to my parents. They're always supportive of me. They're right there for me. And they agreed to change the health proxy from Patrick Clancy to her parents.

BOLDUAN: Much more, and all of it gut-wrenching, and much more of it to play out again today.

Thank you so much, Jean. And you can tune in, and don't forget to watch Jean's live coverage of this trial today on CNN All Access. You see it there. Sara?

SIDNER: You all got to see this. This is nutty. This morning, the FAA investigating after a small plane on a training flight made an emergency landing on a busy Florida interstate yesterday. A truck driver's dash camera captured the moment that the plane dropped towards the ground near Pensacola, threading between highway signs and passing traffic.

The plane had taken off about 30 minutes earlier and was preparing to land when the pilot reported falling oil pressure and fumes inside the cockpit. Here's what the truck driver said about this insanely close call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC JORDAN, TRUCK DRIVER: If I wouldn't have seen that shadow over my truck and slowed down, he would've been in the side of the cab.

As you see in the video, it was a close call from the truck and with that sign, but he landed. He kept it in control. I just couldn't believe it was happening, you know, and it seemed like the pilot really stayed on course and didn't panic, you know, and got the plane leveled. And I take my hats off to him. He was good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: That truck driver, Eric Jordan, also kept his cool. Man, that was a close call. Authorities say that the pilot and flight student were on board. No one ended up hurt in this scenario.

All right, just ahead, a Ukrainian drone hits a crowded Russian beach. At least seven people are dead there. New details about what caused the drone to go down near this popular resort spot.

And dust off your Top 8, MySpace may be making a comeback. The only question, well, there's a couple. Where's Tom, you know, the CEO who was everybody's first friend? And this one's for Teddy. If you opened a MySpace account, what's your theme music, your profile music?

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