Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Two-Million-Plus Acres Scorched Across Oregon And Washington; Interview With Oregon State Forester Kacey KC; Trump: Iran Attacks Canceled Contingent On "Rapidly" Making A Deal; Moscow Mayor: Deadly Restaurant Attack Was Terrorism; Tuesday: Michigan Dems Vote In Contentious Senate Primary; Two-Time Cy Young Award Winner Tarik Skubal Traded To Dodgers. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 02, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:28]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Breaking news.

Thousands of families in Washington State forced to evacuate as several large wildfires ravaged the state. Sweeping power outages, widespread destruction and extreme heat marked the worst fire season in 30 years for the Pacific Northwest.

Plus, a deadly bomb explosion at a restaurant in Moscow now being called a terror attack. We have new details live from Russia.

And baseball blockbuster -- the ace pitcher going to the Dodgers that has L.A. Fans cheering, but many others asking if it's time for salary caps.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

And we begin with breaking news. An absolute crisis unfolding in the Pacific Northwest where historic, raging wildfires have already turned more than two million acres into ash.

Oregon and Washington State, both getting hit by the worst fire seasons in over 30 years.

In Washington, firefighters are battling three separate wildfires in one county. Over 5,000 acres already scorched.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy crap.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hot. There's a car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they're turning around.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: I mean, hard to believe. And horrible scene there. Thousands of families have been forced to flee as flames ripped through neighborhoods, incinerating homes in minutes.

At least 600 structures destroyed so far and about 5,000 more still under direct threat.

And you can hear the fierce howling winds fueling this monster inferno as massive plumes of smoke choke the skies and firefighters try to attack the flames from above.

Here's how residents are describing the terror.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a nuclear bomb going off in our neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never have I seen a fire this close and coming over the ridge like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Let's go to CNN's Chris Warren now with more on the forecast and these challenging fire conditions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS WARREN, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The fire weather threat across the Pacific Northwest, including eastern Washington, is a one-out-of-three elevated threat today.

On Saturday, it was a high end, three-out-of-three extreme. Winds have come down considerably. Seeing the winds today gusting up to about 20 miles an hour while several hours of the day on Saturday, winds were frequently blowing from 20 to 30 miles an hour and gusting at times stronger than 40.

Smoke remains a concern. Winds are going to shift from the north, and that will help bring in even more smoke to the Pacific Northwest from Canada.

And then dealing with the heat still dangerously hot across the desert, southwest and southern California, parts of Montana. And outside of the higher elevations in the Intermountain West, it is going to be hot as well.

Some of these temperature readings. In Phoenix, we're going to be seeing up to 115, about ten degrees hotter than what you would expect even here in the hottest time of the year for the deserts.

Heat dome in place, helping to intensify that heat. Extreme heat risk and some of these areas in purple.

Then we're going to watch that risk get up to major in the Portland- Vancouver area here in the Pacific Northwest. As we continue to watch the fire danger across the Pacific Northwest.

After some brief cooling, the heat returns even west of the Cascades, close to 90 in Seattle on Wednesday, topping 100 in Portland.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Chris Warren, thank you so much.

All right. Moving south from Washington to Oregon now, wildfires are burning across much of that state. Residents there dealing with evacuations and really unhealthy air.

High winds and low humidity continue to fuel the fires. And it's making it much harder for firefighters to actually get a handle on them.

Let's get an update now on the situation. We're joined by Kacey KC. She is the state forester and director of the Oregon Department of Forestry. Great to see you.

[14:04:47]

WHITFIELD: I mean, this is absolutely horrible to see. And I -- one can only imagine how hard and horrible it is to fight this. Bring us up to speed.

KACEY KC, OREGON STATE FORESTER AND DIRECTOR, OREGON DEPARTMENT OF FORESTER: Yes. Thank you for having me here today. And I'd first like to thank everyone who's out there on the fire line. We have, last I checked, between Oregon and Washington, about 35 states responding, Australia -- firefighters from Australia and New Zealand. It's all- hands-on-deck here trying to prioritize and get these fires out.

Unfortunately very, very dry conditions and fuel moistures coupled with low precipitation over the winter months, both in the snow in the higher elevations and rain at the lower elevations have caused very, very dry fuel conditions much earlier than we've seen in months before.

We're about a month-and-a-half early for this type of fire behavior.

WHITFIELD: And how many fires, large fires are we talking about that you are battling?

KC: In Oregon right now about just over 30 large wildfires. To date, we've seen over 1,300 fires. Today, we're at about 1.9 million acres burned, nearing the average of 1.93 million acres in 2024 or the highest in recorded history.

WHITFIELD: Why so many? Is there a way in which, you know, to describe how they've started? Is this a common denominator? The conditions, like you just mentioned were ripe, but what are the triggers here?

KC: Yes. I mean, almost every year, our highest number of fire starts are human-caused. However, this year the highest number of acres burned, and that remains true this year. However, the major large fires burning today are primarily lightning-

caused. We had about three weeks ago, a dry lightning event come through up the south-central portion of Oregon up into Washington. It caused a lot of large fires.

A second storm came in about a week later, and unfortunately, at the same time nationally, there were fires everywhere.

So all of the resources began to become thinner and thinner as everybody was actively fighting fire.

So the second storm came in and really pushed those fires in multiple different directions with strong winds. So that's what we were -- the battle we were fighting yesterday. We had a particularly dangerous situation with high winds blowing in a cold frontal passage.

So unfortunately, we just continue to get hit with weather conditions that aren't allowing us to get a handle around these fires.

Luckily, in Oregon, we had ten new starts yesterday. We did get around those pretty quickly and we were able to hold the large fires that we had with just a little limited growth yesterday.

WHITFIELD: And then what about evacuations? I mean, talk to me about how you're able to execute that, how people are being notified in some of these locations.

I mean, there's quite a distance in between houses in some of these, you know, more forested, kind of embedded communities. How do you notify people? How do you round them up? How do you help them? You know, get to where they need to go for safety? And what are the conditions like for being able to shelter so many people?

KC: Oregon has a strong partnership with all state agencies, federal agencies, land managers across the state.

We have a system called OR Alerts. You sign up for those alerts and they come out, they push out to people living in that area. And that's basically telling you which zone. We have one, two, three -- zones one, two, and three.

One is prepare and get ready to evacuate. Two is maybe start getting moving. Three is get out. And those alerts are going out over this fire season that we've had over the last couple of weeks, we have, we've had over 28,000 evacuees across the state.

We're super grateful to the Red Cross and all the people assisting us with evacuation centers and places for people to go and food.

The community has been super generous with the donation of supplies and food. And we are truly just grateful for all the help we've been getting.

WHITFIELD: Well, that is a significant number -- 28,000 evacuees. And of course, dozens, hundreds of firefighting teams are also on the scene there. All the best in this continued effort. Kacey KC, thank you so much for

being able to take the time to inform everybody on this.

KC: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, President Trump says he is canceling planned attacks on Iran after an appeal from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a social media post, Trump warned it was contingent on a proposed deal being quickly agreed to. He says that deal calls for the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened and, in his words, bringing an end to Iran's nuclear threat. Iran has yet to make any official comment on Trump's announcement.

[14:09:49]

CNN's Julia Benbrook is following this for us. Julia, what more is the president saying about his decision to hold off on attacks?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump, he said that he is canceling planned attacks on Iran, but that that decision is contingent on Tehran rapidly making a deal.

I want to pull up this post for you now. This came late Saturday evening, and it came after officials had told CNN that the president was considering planning for a new wave of strikes. And that among the options he was considering was to target some of Iran's energy sites.

Now, in this post, Trump said that the United States remains, quote, "locked and loaded", adding, "despite this, we have just been asked by Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to hold off any attack and that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to".

Now, this move comes after Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and according to people familiar with that conversation, there was a push for deescalation and concerns about these potential U.S. strikes were raised during that call.

What's next here? Trump says that perimeters of a deal are in place. It's hard to know exactly what that means. He does say that any sort of a deal that is made would include the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the end to Iran's nuclear program.

Now, we've heard language similar to this throughout this now five- month conflict, as Trump has really gone back and forth between expressing hope for a diplomatic solution, a diplomatic breakthrough, and threatening further military escalation.

Going back through these, one of the more recent times that he has canceled strikes was in June in a post where he said that he was calling off those strikes because, quote, "discussions and final points, both in concept and in great detail, had been agreed to".

It was a couple of days later that the Memorandum of Understanding was signed. He has since said that he believes that that is off. So as of right now, we do not believe that there will be more U.S.

strikes taking place this weekend. And Trump says that perimeters of a deal are in place. Again, hard to know exactly what this means as things move forward.

WHITFIELD: All right. Keep us posted on that. Julia Benbrook, thank you so much.

All right. Coming up, a bomb explodes outside an upscale restaurant in Russia, leaving multiple people dead. A live report from Moscow as officials are now calling this a terror attack.

Plus, customers and employees run for their lives as gunfire erupts inside a packed In-and-Out restaurant. In the middle of the chaos, one customer came face-to-face with the shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I didn't have anything to defend myself, so I grabbed the gun and I pulled it back. It was jammed. So, I just felt helpless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:12:46]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Moscow's mayor calls Saturday's bombing at a restaurant there a terrorist attack. The blast killed at least two people and wounded 21 others.

State media reports a woman tried to enter the Balzi Rossi restaurant with what police say was an improvised explosive device. The woman was killed. No word yet on who was behind the bombing.

Fred Pleitgen is joining us now from Moscow with details, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Fredricka.

Yes, as you can imagine, the Russian authorities are investigating it. And you just mentioned that the Moscow mayor came out and called this a terrorist attack.

And what happened there was that around 8:00 p.m. local time here on Saturday, there was a private event actually going on at this upscale restaurant, which really is right in the heart of Moscow, in a landmark building.

And one of the security guards who was there on duty noticed a courier, a woman, coming with a package towards the entrance.

Now, apparently there was heightened security at that event. He then asked the woman what was inside the package, what was going on with the package. And then that is when that package exploded because there was an improvised explosive device inside.

Now the security guard was killed. The woman was also killed, as you mentioned. A third person was killed as well, according to authorities.

And you're absolutely right to point out this is something that's very important for the investigation. So far, the Russians have not said who the potential target of this of this explosion was. They did say that there was heightened security at that event anyway. And right after this happened, there was a lot of security on the scene as well.

And so far, they've not said who they believe was behind it because in similar circumstances in the past, they have been known to blame the Ukrainians for possible explosions that happened in places like Moscow.

Security here is heightened anyway. In 2023, there was a famous Russian blogger who was killed in Saint Petersburg, an explosion. And here in Moscow over the past couple of years, two senior Russian generals also killed in explosions. And in those instances, the Russians blamed the Ukrainians.

Now, right now, of course, this investigation still very much in the early stages. The Russians are still trying to -- are still saying that they're trying to establish what exactly happened, how exactly it happened.

Like, for instance, whether or not this improvised explosive device was remotely detonated, for instance, whether or not the woman who brought it to that restaurant even knew what was inside.

[14:19:45]

PLEITGEN: But certainly this a big security event in a time that security here in the Russian capital is on heightened alert anyway.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fred Pleitgen in Moscow, thank you so much.

All right. Straight ahead, back to our breaking news. A state of emergency in Washington State in this country, as 30 large fires burn out of control. Live to Spokane next.

Plus, just hours after the U.S. appeared on the brink of another major military strike against Iran, President Trump says he's hitting the pause button. We'll look at what led to that decision and what's next in the war.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:24:47]

WHITFIELD: All right. We're following more on that emergency unfolding in the Pacific Northwest of this country, where massive, out-of- control wildfires have already scorched over two million acres.

In Washington State alone, crews are battling ten massive fires right now. The situation is most critical in Spokane County, where three separate infernos are raging simultaneously, forcing thousands of people to flee for their lives.

Joining us right now from the scene in Spokane is Noah Boelter, an anchor with our local affiliate, KHQ. Noah, I mean, I'm seeing remnants of lives behind you. What have you been seeing there? What's going on?

NOAH BOELTER, KHQ ANCHOR: Fredricka, there's mass devastation in this Indian Trail neighborhood in northwest Spokane. I'll step off so we can give you a look as to what we're seeing right here.

But this is Tiffany Road. And you can see on both sides of the road just devastation. You can see cars and people driving through this area. Many families just now discovering that their home is gone. In the distance, you can see some of them walking through the rubble.

I've been speaking with several families who are doing just that, some using bricks and rocks that are still around their property to step through the hot rubble in order to grab valuables and see if they're salvageable.

I spoke with a family earlier that was able to locate a safe, but their concerns are that it burnt up so much that nothing inside was salvageable.

And then if I can actually show you this real quick, I just got done speaking with a family who discovered this little soccer ball. It belongs to a six-year-old boy out here. The family, devastated by the loss of their home, surprised to find that anything is still standing.

But the fact that it's a little soccer ball still with air in it, it was on the edge of their property and their home is entirely gone.

What these families are dealing with right now, it's unbelievable. You don't know what you would feel in these situations. But again, they're just waking up now and discovering that their home is lost.

Live in Spokane, Noah Boelter, Nonstop Local.

WHITFIELD: I mean, Noah, it's incredible. And that really does hit home with, you know, the small things that people are able to salvage after devastation like this.

But I wonder if you can kind of tell us about this neighborhood, just looking at, you know, when you all panned the shot and showed us. It looks like these houses were fairly close together.

How large of a neighborhood is this? Or is this an area, you know, that is very vast, help kind of paint a picture for us. Take us there.

BOELTER: Yes. Well, I'll step off again and give you another look. And what I can tell you is this is on the side of the Spokane River that the fire did not start on. So some of the families here and many, many families had multiple homes in the neighborhood. I've already spoken with one family who had loved ones, family

members, blood with three different homes that all three burnt down right over here.

I spoke with another family who says as soon as the fire jumped the river, that's when they raced to grab their belongings. That's when they grabbed everything they could, packed up those valuables, and that's when those level three evacuations kicked in and they had to take off.

So the Indian Trail neighborhood as a whole, it's a pretty large neighborhood here in Spokane. This is just one portion of it.

But just walking down this portion of the neighborhood, which I've done several times this morning, dozens of homes are destroyed, and many of them very close with their neighbors.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. And then, Noah, when you say jumped the river, are we talking -- there were high winds as well? And these embers just simply, you know, went across the river and started new fires.

And then secondly, when we see some flames behind you, it looks like perhaps these are the gas stoves, you know, and -- and flames are still burning from the gas, you know, underneath these homes. Is that what we're seeing?

BOELTER: Yes. Let's, let's give you a look at some of those natural gas lines. I can see one right over here. We're being told that the natural gas has been shut off to the area, but there's so much excess still in the tubes that you know, these could burn, who knows how long as that excess is burnt through. They're just burning through the fuels. This is something that we've seen as we cover other fires across our region.

And you were asking also about the fire jumping across the Spokane river. Yes, very high winds. Winds as high as fifth in the 50 mile per hour range yesterday. This is something that the region was preparing for.

We know local utility companies talking about shutting down power to prevent fires like this heading into this weekend, because they understood the conditions were as windy and as dry as they've been here in a very long time.

This is what the experts were afraid of. And unfortunately, this is what happened.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And look at that. I mean, the winds yesterday and then today behind you in terms of the wind activity.

[14:29:49]

WHITFIELD: It looks so placid, but the damage already done with those hot embers getting across the river and devastating that community.

All right. Noah Boelter, thank you so much. BOELTER: Thank you.

[14:30:05]

WHITFIELD: All right. New today, President Trump says he will hold off on new attacks on Iran as long as there will be quick progress on a proposed deal with Tehran. The pause comes after Trump said Iran and other Middle Eastern countries made an appeal to give diplomacy time to work.

With us now is retired Army Lieutenant General Karen Gibson.

She's also former deputy director of national intelligence in the office of the director of national intelligence.

Great to see you.

I mean, that the president would now call off these threatened attacks and saying, you know, he talked to or got pressure from other Middle Eastern countries not to carry out these threats. How does this, in your view, either contribute to a credibility problem, not just with his adversaries or allies, or perhaps does this display a White House that wants to make a concerted diplomatic effort?

LT. GEN. KAREN GIBSON (RET.), SENIOR ASSOCIATE, CSIS: Well, it's a great question, Fredricka. I think, you know, throughout these last five months, there has been sometimes quite a whiplash back and forth between threats of imminent destruction. And then the idea that we're on the verge of peace.

And it does reflect some sense of urgency and a desire to end the conflict on terms that are favorable to us as quickly as possible. Any campaign like this has domestic political considerations. The price of gas, the threat of inflation, upcoming midterms and a president who campaigned against forever wars.

But that said, we haven't achieved the strategic objectives that we set out to achieve, to accomplish specifically putting enduring curbs on Iran's nuclear program. And now, really, for the last several months, we've been fighting to reopen the strait. The Gulf allies' concerns are real.

And I think really driven in the last couple of weeks by Iran's demonstration that its ability to disrupt energy infrastructure across the broader Middle East is much greater than its ability to choke off the Strait of Hormuz. With the Houthi threat of a blockade, down at the Bab al-Mandeb and drone strikes or other attacks against port facilities in Yanbu, Aqaba, and even as far as Egypt.

WHITFIELD: So, what are the strategic goals? Because I feel like if you ask a variety of people, it's kind of lost on folks about what is the goal here? And is the United States getting any closer to its goal?

GIBSON: Well, the war was launched with the intent of enacting some enduring curbs on Iran's nuclear ambitions. And we are clearly not there yet. We have a more immediate goal, which is to restore normal commercial navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. And it's not just about navigation, but it's an ability to do business freely again across the broader Middle East.

That is a more urgent objective. And it's really a precondition before we can even begin to address the nuclear-related issues.

WHITFIELD: And because there then seem to be a variety of goals, it means going about those goals is very different. There's a military strategy, a variety of military strategies, and a variety of diplomatic strategies. Do you see -- are you optimistic about any particular route?

GIBSON: Well, let's talk about Iran's strategy. Iran's strategy is to survive, avoid capitulation. Let's remember they see this as an existential fight for the survival of their state. At least the men who are in charge. That's how they see this.

It's to survive, avoid capitulation and to make the war so economically and politically untenable for the United States that we back off or ease up on some of the things that we are demanding of Iran. And I can't say that that hasn't worked yet. They truly believe that they have significant leverage, as they're demonstrating in the Strait of Hormuz. And with these drone and proxy and missile strikes across the region, that time is on their side.

And I think in order for our economic and military pressure to work, we need to convince Iran the time is not on their side, and that the longer this drags on, they will emerge eventually as an incredibly weakened, perhaps fatally weakened economically state. They need to understand that time is not on their side. If I could flip the script, that's the one thing I would change.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lieutenant General Karen Gibson, great having you. Thank you so much.

GIBSON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, a judge ruled a Honduran man's rights were violated after he was removed from the U.S. Now, he's waiting for the call that could reunite him with his three-year-old daughter.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:39:30]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's happening?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's happening?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shoot, shoot, shoot! Go! Just go. Go, go, go! Somebody got shot! UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a shooter at In-N-Out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That was a shocking scene after a shooting at an In-N-Out burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, on Saturday afternoon. Officials say multiple people were killed and several others injured.

Here you see employees in signature red aprons and paper hats fleeing as shots were fired. Here's how one witness described the scene.

[14:40:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just sitting there, and then I was playing on my phone, and then I heard a couple pops, he popped one shot at the vehicle, and that's when I ducked down, told my two little brothers to duck down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once in the roundabout, you heard everybody running, screaming "shooter, active shooter". And we had to stop because I didn't want to run over all the employees. And then we heard some shots boom, boom, boom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now we're learning an employee was among those killed. The president of the popular burger chain shared a statement on social media saying, we lost one of our beautiful associates tonight. She was taking care of our most important asset, our customers, and her life was taken by a disgusting human who doesn't value the lives of others or his own.

The local police chief says the suspected shooter died after he shot himself. Officials have not provided the exact number of deaths, but told CNN earlier that at least three people had been killed, and it remains unclear if the suspect was included in that initial death count.

All right. Michigan's Senate candidates are making their final weekend pushes ahead of Tuesday's crucial Democratic primary. Progressive candidate Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is facing off against moderate Congresswoman Haley Stevens in a race that may have a significant impact for the party. It will gauge whether the success of progressives have had in more solidly Democratic areas can extend across a critical swing state.

It also sets the stage for the November general election that will help determine control of the U.S. Senate.

I want to bring in state politics reporter Craig Mauger with the Detroit News for more perspective now.

Craig, great to see you.

So, as you have covered these candidates, what have you heard from voters about the issues that they are most focused on?

CRAIG MAUGER, STATE POLITICS REPORTER, THE DETROIT NEWS: Well, we've heard so much from voters all over the map about what they think about this race. A lot of it has come down to the influence of money in politics right now. And whether that is AIPAC, utility spending, that's probably been the defining issue of this campaign, because we've had this historic difference in spending. There has been about $60 million in outside spending coming in for Haley Stevens. And somewhere around $5 million to benefit Abdul El-Sayed.

So you have this massive contrast of how money is coming in at a time when there's a lot of concern on the Democratic side of the aisle about corruption, about ethics, about the influence of large corporations. So, all of that has mixed together to kind of set the table for this race on Tuesday.

WHITFIELD: All right. More on that. Money is a driver. AIPAC, as you mentioned, made reference to the American Israel public affairs committee, made a $30 million donation to Stevens' campaign. Michigan is the state with the largest Arab American population.

So, how do voters feel about outside money like that?

MAUGER: I think there are a lot of voters who are concerned about it. I mean, it's interesting because of the timing, there's been outside spending previously in elections here in Michigan to large degrees. But there's such a focus right now on influence in government. What's driving the government's decisions? Are corporations jacking up prices at the grocery store that people pay at the gas pumps.

There's so much interest in that subject. And as that's happening, you see all of this money coming into the election and influencing the campaign. And I think voters are drawing connections between the two. I mean, there are a lot of voters that care about it.

There are some that don't, but it is, I would say, the defining issue of this race right now, and we have a couple days to go. But you talked to a voter on the street. Usually that's the issue they're going to go to.

WHITFIELD: And is there a way to gauge what it would mean for an El- Sayed victory for Democrats overall in this state?

MAUGER: I mean, there's so much there. I mean, whichever way this race goes, there's going to be a lot of conclusions that people are drawing. If El-Sayed wins, it's a massive victory for the grass roots, for the people, the candidates across the country who said, hey, we're not going to take corporate PAC money.

It's going to shake up how Democratic politics have worked in Michigan. We've had many big races where kind of the establishment has been able to anoint a candidate early. That did not happen here, and El-Sayed was able to collect this grassroots kind of movement, bring in a lot of activists, volunteers to energize this campaign.

I was at an event he did yesterday in Grand Rapids, and there were about 200 people there just for canvasing rally. He had been there a couple weeks earlier with Bernie Sanders and got a few thousand people. He's really been able to harness the energy and to door knocking. His campaign says they've knocked over 200,000 doors.

Haley Stevens, on the other hand, has been really working in the Metro Detroit area to try to juice the vote in Wayne and Oakland counties, and those are kind of two places. If you're watching this election on Tuesday, two counties you definitely want to keep an eye on.

[14:45:06]

WHITFIELD: Well, it's a fascinating race.

All right. Craig Mauger, thank you so much.

MAUGER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Be sure -- be sure to tune in to CNN Tuesday night for special coverage on this and other major primary races.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. The Dodgers are winning again, this time in the trade market. Los Angeles has acquired two time AL Cy Young Award- winning pitcher Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers.

CNN sports anchor Coy Wire has more on this blockbuster trade.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Huge trade before baseball's trade deadline, the Detroit Tigers sending arguably the best pitcher on the planet, Tarik Skubal, to the back to back defending world series champion Dodgers. Talk about adding a cheat code. Skubal, who spent his entire big league career in Detroit, now joins in a club chasing an incredible third straight world series title. The back-to-back AL Cy Young winner was headed for free agency after the season, so the Dodgers didn't wait around.

Feast your eyes on this potential rotation, Skubal Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Blake. Snell, Tyler Glasnow. That, in and of itself reads like an all-star team. Detroit reportedly gets outfielder Zyhir Hope along with pitchers Ryan and Brady Smith.

Here was Skubal on his thoughts after learning of the news.

TARIK SKUBAL, TWO-TIME CY YOUNG WINNER: It's crazy. You know this isn't going into the season. This isn't what I planned on. You know, doing. But you know, circumstances change, situations change. And I'm very appreciative of everything the tigers have done for me.

That's something that I'll never take for granted, you know, and the fans support of me and my family everywhere I go. I've always truly appreciated that.

WIRE: Dodgers' fans, they're probably dancing in the streets. The other 29 fan bases probably reaching for some antacids. It's another reminder of baseball's financial divide. The Dodgers and Mets continue to outspend much of the league, fueling calls for salary cap.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Coy Wire, thanks so much.

All right. The all-new CNN original series, "DECADES IN SPORTS", takes a look at the cultural and political milestones that have shaped the world of sports in America.

This week, Omar Jimenez dives into a new chapter of sports history. The summer of 2026 in New York City. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In New York City, the summer started with history. The New York Knicks bringing home an NBA championship for the first time in 53 years.

SPIKE LEE, FILMMAKER: It's a love fest here. Everybody's wearing a T- shirt, a hat. The word is connection.

JIMENEZ: Yeah, yeah.

LEE: And it's a beautiful thing. And I know people who don't live here think that's some B.S. but this is straight up.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): You can even feel it on the New York City subway

CROWD: Let's go Knicks! Let's go Knicks!

JIMENEZ (voice-over): It's one of actor and superfan John Turturro's favorite places to be after a Knicks win.

JOHN TURTURRO, ACTOR: It's like a small town. All of a sudden, you're like, I'm in this city that no one ever looks at each other and everyone's talking to each other.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

TURTURRO: And that's the power of the beauty of sports. It's egalitarian, you know, and everybody can share that.

JIMENEZ: And this was just how the summer started. Enter the World Cup lighting up stadiums across the country and living rooms, offices during work hours and sports bars across the city. There were more than 100 free watch parties, and every one of the five boroughs put on by the city.

But of course, there can only be one winner with Spanish fans storming the streets in victory. It caps off one of the most beautiful eras in New York sports history, but it represents a feeling that transcends anything that could happen on a court or on the pitch.

Turturro puts it like this.

TURTURRO: It's like when the Yankees win the World Series in 2001, even though they lost. They brought, you know, after 9/11, they brought the city back -- back to life.

JIMENEZ: Yeah.

TURTURRO: Because you could focus on something for a couple of hours. And that's irreplaceable. It's one of the joys of being alive.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): A joy captured in a matter of weeks in New York City, but remembered by those who experienced it for a lifetime. Myself, among them.

Omar Jimenez, CNN, New York.

JIMENEZ: This is New York. Back to you guys.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Who could forget that moment? I mean, really memorable stuff.

All right. The all-new CNN original series, "DECADES IN SPORTS", premieres tonight at 9:00 Eastern and Pacific. And tomorrow on the CNN app.

All new next hour. A mega fire is burning right now in Greece. At least two people have been killed after firefighting helicopters collided.

Plus, a discarded rocket is on a collision course with the moon. What makes this upcoming crash so exciting for scientists?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:59:42]

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right. We begin this hour with President Trump calling off planned attacks on Iran after an appeal from Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. In a social media post, Trump warned that canceling the attacks was contingent on a proposed deal being quickly agreed to. He says that deal calls for the Strait of Hormuz to be fully reopened and, in his words, ending Iran's nuclear threat.