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Test for Democrats as Stevens, El-Sayed Face Off in Michigan Senate Primary; More than 10,000 Acres Burned in Devastating Spokane Wildfires; Trump Weighs Pirro's Future Over Reflecting Pool Case; Senate Judiciary Committee Votes on Todd Blanche Attorney General Nomination. Aired 8:00-8:30a ET

Aired August 04, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

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LISA EADICICCO, CNN TECH EDITOR: And the details of the framework won't be made public. But this is something that came up a couple of months ago. But the timing is really important because even though this is from June it's coming after OpenAI and Anthropic have both disclosed that they found incidents of their tested AI models breaching other companies.

So there are really heightened calls right now for there to be more of an effort to pace the development and advancement of AI models. So while we don't know exactly what's happening in these discussions, I can imagine that this is going to be top of mind for all of the folks involved in that meeting. But there are a lot of questions that we have about how this will play out as well.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I mean there's an important meeting even before the reporting of these kind of lab leaks if you will. And now even more so important. It's good to see you.

Thanks so much Lisa.

EADICICCO: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight an arrest in the wildfires in the Northwest stumps still zero percent contained. The governor of Washington called it a war zone and conditions could soon shift worse.

This morning on Jeanine Pirro watch. Will the Fox host turned federal prosecutor keep her job after admitting there is not a case to be made against certain people for vandalism at the reflecting pool. The president said she folded like an umbrella.

And there is the passing lane. Then there is the landing lane. A truck driver films an outrageous moment on a busy highway. Now the FAA is investigating.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now. Voting underway in a murky showdown for Democrats in Michigan's Senate primary. The race between Congresswoman Haley Stevens and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed. And this is a huge test for the party's direction as Democrats seek to retake control of Congress amid deepening divisions within their own ranks.

Stevens an establishment candidate. She's backed by big name Democrats including minority leader Chuck Schumer. Meanwhile El-Sayed has been propelled by endorsements from Senator Bernie Sanders and other progressive Democrats.

The Michigan primary just one of several high profile contests on the ballot today in five different states. CNN's Arlette Saenz is in Detroit. Arlette, what are you seeing?

And give us some sense of the importance of this primary because obviously whoever wins this has to try to win the general. And therein lies the rub.

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right Sara. And polls have been open here in Michigan for a little over an hour now. The voters that we've spoken to have really been split in their support with some saying that they are backing the more progressive candidate Abdul El- Sayed while others are saying that they are supporting the moderate candidate Congresswoman Haley Stevens.

This Democratic primary here in the state of Michigan very soon could shed some light on the direction that Democratic voters want to see their party take not just in this election but also potentially beyond that. This is really a major test for the progressive movement which has seen a lot of success in very blue areas like New York City and other areas like Denver. But now they are trying to replicate those types of wins here in a very purple battleground state.

And that is why this race is being watched so closely. Whether a progressive candidate can win in this Democratic primary and if he does what that might mean in the November election. But both Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed spent the past 24 hours campaigning, speaking to voters, trying to ensure that their supporters get out in these final moments.

Take a listen to a bit of their messages from the past day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. HALEY STEVENS, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: They are saying already oh we'll just squeak in MAGA Mike Rogers to rubber stamp Donald Trump's agenda. You know we're not going to let that happen. 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. You can't buy inspiration. You can't buy people deciding to be a part of something. You can't buy hope. You can't buy belief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now whoever emerges from this Democratic primary will face off against the expected Republican nominee former Congressman Mike Rogers who ran for Senate back in 2024 but lost to Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin and Michigan could very well help determine control of the U.S. Senate next year.

[08:05:00]

Democrats need to hold on to this seat plus pick up four Republican held seats. They want to win back the majority. Really highlighting the high stakes, not just of this primary, but about the fight coming in November -- Sara.

SIDNER: It is a big fight. And every time I see Detroit I always think Detroit against everybody. Now it is two Democrats against each other.

We will be watching this very closely. I know you will be and we'll check in with you. Thank you so much.

Arlette Saenz, appreciate it -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: We're also following breaking news this morning. That the wildfires have just been devastating Washington state, they are growing. And now a suspect is in custody. Arrested in connection with one of the three wildfires that are tearing through the area of Spokane Washington. Right now, nearly 65,000 people have been evacuated from the fire zone.

And that's not the only number that we've been tracking overnight. Just take a look at this. More than 10,000 acres have burned more than 700 buildings destroyed.

And these fires are still zero percent contained. CNN's Marybel Gonzalez is in Spokane this morning. And what is the latest you're seeing now as the sun's just now starting to rise.

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, hi, Kate. We're really just starting to see the extent of the damage of these fires right behind me.

It's just one of those 700 buildings that were devastated by these fires. This is what used to be someone's home. And unfortunately this is just one of several homes in this neighborhood that were affected.

And Kate, you can see behind the house the hills. I don't know if you're able to see but there's just smoke that is just clouding our vision right now. And what you can't see is just how heavy that smoke is. Right now, our eyes are burning. I just took my mask off. But you can

feel the smoke and the chemicals in the air. Because remember, when these homes burn so does everything inside of them. Now we know that this is going to be a very long road ahead for the residents that were impacted here. As you know, we were covering the wildfires in Los Angeles not that long ago. And so we remember speaking to how -- to these families about how these fires impact them.

Many of them have to leave without many of their possessions, their prized memories, their heirlooms and the things that are the most precious to them. And our team actually spoke to one woman who lost her childhood home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIZZIE DAVIS, LOST CHILDHOOD HOME IN WILDFIRE: This was just where I grew up. I still only lived three minutes down the road. So I was here nearly every day still with my parents.

And yes, we lost literally everything. All the family heirlooms. My dad had actually just finished paying off the house.

Yes, he worked he worked really hard for that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GONZALEZ: It really is just a devastating, Kate. We know that there's thousands of people right now trying to combat these fires. They're right.

zero percent containment at this hour. But officials say the fires are expected to burn for weeks. And of course the concern now is the rise in temperatures that is expected later this week.

And we know this area has not gotten a lot of rain and not much rain is expected.

BOLDUAN: And one person now under arrest with this under suspicion of arson for starting one of those fires. So there is much more to learn here. Marybel, thank you very much -- John.

BERMAN: Congressman Max Miller scheduled to speak to CNN today amid domestic abuse allegations which he denies. What decision will he make about staying in his reelection race?

Where is Jeanine Pirro today? On the job. Does she have a job? The president is furious after she moved to drop cases on the botched reflecting pool. She moved to drop them because of lack of evidence.

And then Myspace apparently on the rebound. Where has it been the last few decades? And how would you use it now?

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BERMAN: This morning, what does the day hold for Jeanine Pirro? The president said she folded like an umbrella when she moved to drop felony vandalism charges against a former Olympian, saying problems with the reflecting pool were because of a hasty and botched renovation, not vandalism. We want to get right to CNN's Alayna Treene, who broke this story.

Now, Alayna, there is a suggestion Pirro's trying to shift some of the responsibility here, saying, hey, it wasn't me who decided it wasn't vandalism. It was career prosecutors.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Look, I mean, I think from the get go, Jeanine Pirro went along with this idea that it was vandalism and it was an embarrassing reversal for her to come out -- or her team, I should say, to come out with this court filing on Friday, arguing that no, the damage to the reflecting pool was not because of vandalism, but because of this flawed renovation. And I'd remind you as well that in that filing, they really put the blame at the feet of the secretary of interior, run by Secretary Doug Burgum, arguing that they did not have fulsome evidence to move forward with this case against the Olympian, David Hearn and also other people. You know, they had argued repeatedly.

You heard this from Burgum. You heard this from the president.

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I had personally asked the president a couple of weeks ago about this, saying, you know, you're arguing that there are pictures, there are videos of these vandals. Where are they? And that was the case that Pirro was making.

However, I'm told by the conversations I've been having with sources, that the president was blindsided by that court filing and that he fumed all weekend about this, specifically deeply furious, I'm told, with Pirro directly about this.

He continues to side with Burgum in arguing that it was vandals who created this damage. And because of those deep frustrations, I'm also told that he's considering removing her from her position. And he actually summoned both Pirro and Burgum to the White House yesterday.

We're told that they had a meeting with the president and that in that meeting, the president did not at that time opt to fire her, nor did she offer her resignation. But this is still something that continues to really frustrate the president. You could see that spilling out into public view yesterday.

You could hear it. The anger in his rhetoric was very palpable when he was addressing reporters in the Oval Office, highly critiquing his U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Jeanine Pirro make 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: I mean, the words he's using their phrases like she folded like an umbrella, you could see how frustrated he is over all of this. And part of that is because, John, he's also been so fixated on all of these projects around D.C., not just the reflecting pool at the Lincoln Memorial. He believes that many of these projects are going to be a key part of his legacy, which is why he's been, as some officials have described to me, obsessive over some of these.

And so I think that's contributing to just the magnitude of anger he has about all of this. And so we'll have to see where this leads. But I think there's no question that he remains very disappointed with her.

Unclear what's going to happen to her position.

BERMAN: Look, based on a record, one can assume if she felt like she could have made a case, she would have made the case. But we'll see what happens here. Alayna Treene at the White House, thank you very much -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you so much, John.

Up ahead, a critical vote to advance the nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general after he formally rescinded Trump's controversial anti-weaponization fund. How the White House was involved in the deal to advance his nomination.

Also, former Death Row Record CEO Suge Knight, who is serving a 28 year sentence for manslaughter, is on the witness list in the upcoming Tupac Shakur murder trial. New details ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: All right, in the next hour on Capitol Hill, the Senate Judiciary Committee expected to vote on Todd Blanche's nomination to be the permanent attorney general. He is the acting for now. The vote's been on hold for a week over opposition from two Republican senators.

Now those holdouts, John Cornyn, Thom Tillis, say they are on board. After Blanche late Sunday released a memo saying he's formally rescinding President Trump's anti-weaponization fund, they had asked for it in writing, and they got it. Sources tell CNN the White House was deeply involved in the negotiations surrounding the concession from Blanche.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz is tracking this for us. It's interesting that the White House was deeply involved because the president was sort of saying, well, we're going to bring this back, this fund, if you don't agree to have him be the next attorney general. It will be interesting to see what happens next, Katelyn. What are you learning?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Indeed it will, Sara. The on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again vote on whether Todd Blanche would get to stay as attorney general, it is on for 9 a.m. this morning when the Senate Judiciary Committee convenes. This was a vote where two Republican senators on the committee, Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, were both standing in the way because they took a lot of issue with something Blanche himself had done alongside Donald Trump back in May.

That was agree to a $1.8 billion settlement to pay out people who would be theoretically supporters of the president, including January 6 rioters, people that Trump was deeming to be victims of government weaponization, especially in Democratic administrations. That agreement, it also offered an unprecedented, sweeping immunity for Donald Trump, his two sons, Don Jr. and Eric, and his companies. Now Blanche, in order to get the senators along to agree to this vote, he had to formally rescind in writing the agreement that there was going to be an anti-weaponization fund.

That is now, he's saying, not going forward under his Justice Department, and it never was moving forward at all. It really hit the rocks pretty quickly as soon as after it was announced. He also is putting in writing that he is limiting the immunity that Trump will have going forward, that it would only apply to past tax offenses and free him, his sons, and his company from potential audits there.

That isn't what the original language of the contract between the government and Trump said. But here's how John Cornyn explained him getting to a yes vote for the vote this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: We basically got a stake driven through the heart of the weaponization fund, that was $1.8 billion, and we got him to confirm his sworn testimony about the scope of the audit protection into the future.

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So I think Todd Blanche did what we asked him to do. It binds not only him, but also the Department of Justice as a whole, and so I think that satisfies my demands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

POLANTZ: The White House was involved with putting the language down for Blanche to rescind the anti-weaponization fund, but Donald Trump said yesterday he wasn't personally looking at exactly what that agreement was. And there are some legal experts out there that say Trump could sue theoretically if he wanted to in the future to try and enforce the original agreement. But as of Blanche, when he becomes attorney general, he says these things are not as they first seem to be -- Sara. SIDNER: Certainly not impossible to try to revive things, as you just mentioned. We will see what happens with this confirmation hearing. Thank you so much, Katelyn Polantz.

I do appreciate you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Much more to come on that and also ahead, a man arrested on arson charges now in Washington State as wildfires there continue to grow, just destroying what we're being told is entire communities. We have the latest now on the race to contain these devastating flames.

And a scary close call for drivers, especially one when a plane makes an emergency landing on a highway. Look at this truck driver and what he's saying now about it. We'll be right back.

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