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Senate Votes to Confirm Todd Blanche As Attorney General; Senate Passes Bill That Would Fund Government Into December; Ohio Voters Weigh Allegations Against GOP Rep. Max Miller; Interview With Former Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH); Dangerous Fire Weather In Northwest Challenges Crews; Interview With Spokane Fire Department Chief Tom Williams; U.S. Economy Unexpectedly Lost 23,000 Jobs Last Month; Ugly Surprise: Economy Loses 23,000 Jobs In July; Fears Of Higher Holiday Prices Amid Inflation, Iran War; Honduran Man Is Back In United States After Judge Orders His Return. Aired 5-6p ET

Aired August 08, 2026 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:00:33]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

Todd Blanche will now become the next attorney general of the United States. The former personal lawyer of President Trump was narrowly- confirmed by the Senate overnight in a vote around 4:00 this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On this vote, the yeas are 50. The nays are 49. The nomination is confirmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: The vote was 50 to 49, with Republican Senator Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining Democrats in voting against the nomination.

Blanche's confirmation to officially become the nation's top law enforcement officer follows weeks of uncertainty over many concerns, including weaponization of the Justice Department.

CNN's Brian Todd has the story on how this confirmation played out.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Omar, the central question among the senators who are on the fence about Todd Blanche was is he going to continue Donald Trump's retribution campaign and use the Justice Department to do that? Is he going to continue that campaign against Donald Trump's political enemies?

The answer, of course, is really not clear at the moment and the senators who were on the fence about Blanche knew it wasn't clear. And that's why this vote was so tight.

In the end, the final vote, 50 to 49 to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general with Republican Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting with the Democrats against the Todd Blanche nomination.

That concern about using the Justice Department to go after Trump's political enemies was verbalized by Senator Murkowski, who said this ahead of the vote, quote, "the country needs an attorney general who will check the worst impulses of this administration. I hope Mr. Blanche is able to achieve that if confirmed. But I simply do not have confidence that that will be the case," end quote. That was from Senator Lisa Murkowski.

So it did come down to Senator Bill Cassidy, the Republican from Louisiana, who had his own concerns, specifically about Cassidy Hutchinson, the former White House aide who was a pivotal witness in the congressional probe into January 6th.

There are concerns that she might be indicted. Cassidy -- Senator Cassidy had concerns about that. And he was apparently reassured, at least in some measure, by Todd Blanche, about that.

It's still unclear whether Cassidy Hutchinson will be indicted, but Senator Bill Cassidy was at least had -- did have his concerns alleviated there. So he then declared that he would favor Todd Blanche for attorney general.

Another piece of business that the Senate passed that was pretty critical before they left for their August recess, was that they did vote early on Saturday morning to extend the funding of the government to December 11th.

Now, that averted a possible shutdown -- could avert a possible shutdown of the government ahead of the midterms. At least that's what the senators were trying to do. There was a September deadline to pass that funding for the government.

But still, it's not clear whether they're going to be able to avert a government shutdown before the midterms, because that measure has to be taken up now in the House. Its fate there is uncertain because the House has passed an alternative measure for government spending, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Brian Todd, appreciate it.

Meanwhile, embattled Ohio Republican Congressman Max Miller has made it clear he has no plans to resign or end his 2026 reelection campaign, despite calls to do so from a growing number of Republicans over domestic abuse allegations, which he denies.

Ohio Republicans, though, have until Monday to replace Max Miller on the November ballot if he decides to leave the race before then.

CNN's Lauren Fox just visited Max Miller's Cleveland area district to hear what voters think about all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAUREN FOX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just south of Cleveland, Medina opens its gates for another summer fair, where livestock and other local exhibits are sharing space with some uneasy politics.

Voters here have a difficult decision to make in the months ahead.

AMY SMOYER, OHIO REPUBLICAN VOTER: It's tough. It's tough right now.

FOX: This is a county that Republican Congressman Max Miller won in 2024, with more than 58 percent of the vote. But Republican voters like Amy Smoyer are now conflicted about what to do in November.

SMOYER: I want to know the facts and hopefully we can hear the facts before voting comes up.

[17:04:45]

FOX: Torn between voting for a congressman she says has stood in the right place on the issues, while weighing serious allegations of abuse leveled against him by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of Ohio's senior senator.

SMOYER: So being a woman especially, you don't want to see somebody that is being abused and you don't want to have somebody who is an abuser be in, you know, in that spot where he is at.

Miller has denied the allegations and says he's staying in the race. Voters here say they hope to get more clarity in the months ahead before the election.

TERRY PENROSE, OHIO REPUBLICAN VOTER: I haven't seen any actual facts or video or anything that would support her allegations. But I don't want to say that she's lying, you know.

And I also -- we support Moreno. So it's really kind of a challenging situation.

FOX: Martin Kerr, a local lawyer who's volunteering this week at the fair, says he's already made up his mind.

MARTIN KERR, LAWYER, OHIO REPUBLICAN VOTER: I think running for Congress while you're being accused of this stuff, no, man.

Just set it down. If you're really innocent, then be innocent. Take a few years off. You can afford it as you can afford all the attorneys for your divorce and everything else.

Take a couple years off and come back if you're truly innocent. If not, well then deal with it and go get a real job.

FOX: Brian Gunkelman, a fifth-generation dairy farmer, says he's sticking with Miller, at least for now.

BRIAN GUNKELMAN, OHIO REPUBLICAN VOTER: I just feel like he's voted for some farm stuff that's helped us out over the years. You know, Democrats tend to not pay attention to what we need as much as farmers.

FOX: Miller is unequivocal. He believes he can win. REP. MAX MILLER (R-OH): Speaker Mike Johnson, everyone else, they're

standing behind me. No one has told me to get off the ballot. And that's because they know I can win this seat and see this through. And that's what we're going to do.

FOX: But it's a risk for Republicans in a district Trump won by 11 points just two years ago and as voters weigh whether they can put questions about Miller's personal life aside at the ballot box.

PENROSE: The congressman and anybody in the public eye gets, you know, focused on. So, I don't know. Sometimes I feel sorry for him.

FOX: Democrats believe this is even more reason that it's time for Miller to be replaced in Washington.

RENEE ROSS, OHIO DEMOCRATIC VOTER: With how he treats his wife is not something I want for my children or for them to see as acceptable. And it's just -- he's a no for me.

FOX: And behind the scenes, there is still a furious push to try and convince the congressman to get out of this race from national Republicans. That is because this August 10th deadline is coming fast.

After that point, Republicans here in Ohio will not be able to select another Republican to get on the ballot and face off against Democratic challenger Brian Poindexter.

For CNN in Medina, Ohio -- I'm Lauren Fox.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, let's bring in former congressman, Tim Ryan, a Democrat from Ohio.

And I just wonder what stands out to you. What are you hearing from people in Ohio about this controversy surrounding Congressman Max Miller?

TIM RYAN (D-OH), FORMER CONGRESSMAN: Well, thanks for having me, Omar.

Yes, I think it's like any of us who would deal with a friend or neighbor who's going through something like this where there's a really messy family situation. You don't really want to talk about it.

It's just -- it's sad. There's a lot of kids involved. And so people don't necessarily want to talk about it generally.

So for this to be so public in the -- in the public realm, and then a senator, a congressman and all of that, I think its feeding into the broader toxic political environment that we're living in, which I think does open the door for Brian Poindexter, who's running as the Democrat in that race.

JIMENEZ: And that's who you've endorsed, his Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, local councilman, union ironworker.

RYAN: Yes. Full disclosure?

JIMENEZ: Yes. Yes. Yes, exactly. Exactly. Yes. Full disclosure.

But you know, I wonder what is it going to take, do you believe for Poindexter to win over voters who actually might be on the fence now about Max, about Max Miller? Where do you see that -- that sort of Venn diagram overlapping?

RYAN: Yes. Brian Poindexter is a very unique candidate for a Democrat. He's a union member. He's a very working-class sensibility. So he's talking on economic issues, which is really front and center for so many today.

So when you try to say, well, Democrats are coastal, Democrats are elite, Brian doesn't come off like that at all. He's not like that at all. And he's talking about these kind of lunch bucket issues, which is going to open the door, I think for a lot of people that your report showed at the Medina County fair, those working-class people won't have as much of a problem voting for him.

He's more of a working-class person than he is a Democrat. And so I think that's going to bode very well for him.

[17:09:52]

JIMENEZ: You know, this is still a seat that Congressman Max Miller won by 15 points in 2024. I mean, he outperformed President Trump's 11-point margin over Kamala Harris. Do you think it's possible that Max Miller could find a way to hold on to this seat despite these allegations?

RYAN: I mean, anything's possible in this political environment, there's no question. But I do think people generally are fed up with politics generally.

And then to have a big messy family thing going on that could carry into another term for Max, I think a lot of people are just going to say, I don't I don't want to hear this anymore.

Poindexter is a working-class guy. He's going to be for those farmers. He's going to be for the union workers. And let's give him a shot and see where we go from there.

So I think, you know, it could go any which way. But I do think in this particular race it's trending towards the Democrat.

JIMENEZ: I always hesitate to bring up Michigan with someone representing Ohio, but I want to talk about the race going on in the Senate there because, look, a major challenge Democrats are going to face in the midterms are these deep ideological divides right now.

It seems to be coming more to the -- to the front between progressives and moderates. And you look at what Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers is trying to appeal to in Michigan, trying to appeal to Michigan Democrats who did not support Abdul el-Sayed in that Democratic primary. And his campaign put out a video trying to highlight some of that.

You've courted voters across the aisle before, at least you've tried to. How effective do you actually think this will be for Mike Rogers' campaign? And do you think Democrats should be worried about it?

RYAN: Well, I'm worried. I will tell you that I think the election of the Democratic Socialists in a lot of these primaries and then again in Michigan, when they have such extreme views on getting rid of prisons, no borders, no police, no Department of Defense, those are real planks in the platform of the DSA.

And I just don't think you can appeal to middle of the road voters standing on that kind of platform. I think it's wrong. Socialism has never worked in the history of mankind.

But it also speaks to the failure of the Democratic Party and the failure of moderate Democrats or capitalist Democrats, I guess you could say, to come up with a new capitalism, a capitalism that isn't just based around materialism or consumerism or a huge race to the bottom, because that system is completely broken.

And so silence on what are the reforms of a new capitalism. What does it look like to have shared prosperity where we lift everybody up and wages are up and costs are down. Democrats have not yet captured what that new vision is.

And left with that vacuum, the DSA is talking about affordability and cost and economics. It's just their solutions aren't going to work and then probably make matters worse.

But they are capturing the sentiment of the squeeze. That will be the issue, I think, in Michigan and some other places where there's a DSA candidate.

But looking at their platform, it does provide a lot of fear for a lot of kind of middle-of-the-road or Democrats who think we need to keep the free market. Just the current system has been taken over by greed and fear and a race to the bottom.

JIMENEZ: Well, and one thing I think about, and I should mention, el- Sayed doesn't identify specifically as a DSA candidate. but it has been -- he does identify more in the progressive wing of the party, and we have seen many DSA candidates rise in places across the country.

I got to leave the conversation there. There's so much more to get into, but you know how it is.

Former congressman Tim Ryan, I really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks for being here.

RYAN: Thanks for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right. Worsening weather conditions are making it tough for firefighters in the Pacific Northwest. We've got dozens of fires still burning. We're following it all. We'll bring you those details coming up.

Plus a shocking July jobs report. Where does our economy really stand? We'll get into it.

And then later, mass weddings for Russian soldiers before they head to the front lines of the war in Ukraine. Learn about the women accused of scamming the soldiers for their death benefits. We'll bring you those details.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[17:14:17]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: The Pacific Northwest is facing more fire danger after flame- fueling winds hit their strongest point on Wednesday, or Friday, excuse me, putting a strain on firefighters battling to stop these fires spreading in Spokane, Washington and across the region.

At least three fire-related deaths have been reported. More than 10,000 acres of land have been scorched, and hundreds of homes and structures destroyed since the fires ignited last Saturday.

Authorities have arrested and charged a Spokane resident with first- degree arson in one of the fires. One man, who says he saw the suspect start the fire shared his story with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL CHILD, HELPED LAW ENFORCEMENT IDENTIFY SUSPECT IN WASHINGTON WILDFIRE: He was kind of bent over and doing something in the bushes. He saw us and he basically stood -- and stood and turned and faced us. And then kind of -- he got kind of nervous.

[17:19:46]

CHILD: And then, you know, my grandson made the comment and said, what's he doing. And, so we continued up the road, got to my house.

And then probably five minutes -- 5 to 10 minutes max after we got to the house, my daughter, who was sitting on the back porch, happened to see some smoke.

And so I ran out there. And of course, my first comment was, you know, that SOB started a fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I want to bring in Spokane Fire Department Chief Tom Williams. And Chief, look, I know your crews are dealing with a lot of dangerously heavy winds and fires right now. What is your priority at the moment?

CHIEF TOM WILLIAMS, SPOKANE FIRE DEPARTMENT: Well, right now our priority is trying to hold the lines that we have of the footprint of the original fire that started last Saturday and took us through, you know, really firefighting through Tuesday and Wednesday.

Yesterday and today we're back in red flag warnings with, you know, 8 to 10 percent humidity and 25 -- 30 mile an hour winds. So whatever we didn't get to on the line, it could easily, you know, make this even bigger. So that's really been our priority over the last few days.

JIMENEZ: How has the wind changed your ability to fight these fires? It sounds like you're still trying to get a hold of just that, at least that first one that started about a week ago now.

WILLIAMS: Yes. The wind, I mean, that that's really was what took this one so quickly and spread it so fast. We had 50-mile-an-hour winds last Saturday and we, no matter what we tried to do, we could just not get in front of this thing. It just carried and carried.

And then unfortunately, in the county, we had two other larger fires that popped up. And that's how this became the Spokane Fire Complex. And we had almost every county and city resource on this old trail fire and had to start releasing stuff to get -- to go protect these other homes.

JIMENEZ: Yes. And obviously, look, this is way beyond just Spokane at this point. And I wonder, do you feel like you have received enough federal and state support to fight these wildfires effectively? What do you need?

WILLIAMS: We do now. It took -- it took a lot of time. Probably, I mean, my crews, the men and women of the Spokane Fire Department, as well as the regional fire departments around us, specifically Fire District Ten and Fire District Nine. Our folks work, you know, 36, 40 hours until we started really getting relief from the federal side and the state mobilization.

So, they've been here for a few days. They've been -- they've taken over and trying to do some of the mop up to allow our folks to get some rest and get back to the normal operations that we have.

We still, you know, run 50,000 to 60,000 calls a year. And so those don't go away just because we have one large event.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes. So tell me about that because look, I know your crews, other crews as well but obviously we want to talk about your department. Your crews have been working tirelessly for, for a week now, but also, as I might imagine, you know, they live in the Spokane area too. Their homes, families might be affected by this personally as well.

How are your crews doing right now? I just wonder if you've gotten the chance to, to try and speak with them and see how they're doing while trying to do their jobs as well.

WILLIAMS: Yes, I have -- I've gone to some stations, I've gone to some calls and just, you know, had some communication with them.

My operations chief is talking with them. You know, they're in it for the community. And it's amazing. We have, we have 50 members of our department right now that are displaced because of evacuation notices. We have three that lost their homes that were out on that fire line that night. And they stayed and did their thing.

You know, it just, it's a -- it's a testament to their dedication to the community and their job and wanting to keep people safe. That's -- it's incredible.

JIMENEZ: You know, I think a lot of people watching this, either in the Spokane area or beyond, are wondering, you know, if there's anything that they can do to, to help you all and help your efforts.

Is there anything that the community can do to support you all as you continue to, to work through this?

WILLIAMS: Yes. I mean, they're already doing it. What an incredible community that we -- that we have. Donations are coming in, offers, people are out helping neighbors clean up. It's just absolutely fantastic.

What I would say is be careful if you want to donate or send stuff. There's always the folks out there that -- with nefarious intentions and there are official sites, official things, you know, areas to go to. The Red Cross, the city of Spokane has official sites. If you really want to donate, which would be great, please make sure that you're being careful about who you're doing that with.

JIMENEZ: Well, Chief, I really appreciate you taking the time. And I know it's a very busy and urgent one out there, especially in the Spokane area. Just appreciate you being here.

WILLIAMS: Thank you so much for having us.

[17:24:44]

JIMENEZ: Of course.

All right. Coming up, after losing a surprising number of jobs last month, is the American economy doing ok or is it shrinking? We're going to talk about it all next, right here on the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: There may be some cracks forming in the U.S. labor market. The big monthly jobs report came out yesterday. And instead of the solid, comfortable gain, economists were forecasting, 23,000 jobs were lost in July. On top of that, many of the job gains in May and June were sharply scaled down in revisions.

I want to bring in Justin Wolfers. He's a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan and the author of "Platypus Economics" on Substack.

[17:29:49]

JIMENEZ: So between this last report, the downward revisions, I mean, it's been a pretty steady decline over the summer. What are you analyzing as happening here?

JUSTIN WOLFERS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: Actually, I think you got it exactly right. There are signs of cracks forming. There's lots of parts to that, signs so it's not a dead set certainty. It's just a little bit of worry. That's why my brow looks a little bit furrowed right now.

And of cracks forming, we are not describing a recession, but we are describing real problems possibly emerging in the labor market. Looking at that graph you are showing, you see those red bars. They keep getting smaller for the last few months, and this month they actually turn negative. And if that pattern were to persist, that would -- that would -- maybe there is a reason that graph's red. It's a -- it's a warning sign.

JIMENEZ: Are there any particular sectors that you were paying attention to that were either hit the hardest or somehow managed to squeak out job growth over the past month?

WOLFERS: There is a few interesting stories here. One is that the official statistics show a loss of 50,000 local education workers, which basically means teachers.

My guess is this is actually what we try and do is the Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusts for the usual seasonal ups and downs. But if some of the teachers got hired in June rather than July or something like that, that might be more of a statistical glitch.

So, by that measure, maybe things are not as bad as we think. The other really big story is actually almost all of the job growth is coming from healthcare. And so, that's a very different story. The administration talks about big buffy blokes wearing hard hats and steel-toed boots, and it's all about tariffs. But actually, the real engine of growth is in the pink-collar economy, which is the part the administration rarely talks about.

JIMENEZ: You know, despite the job losses, if you were just looking at the numbers, I mean, unemployment technically ticked down to 4.1 percent So, you might say, all right, cool, unemployment is down. But that's not necessarily a good thing, as I understand. Can you just explain that a little bit right now?

WOLFERS: Yes. So, unemployment is a funny statistic. So, I want to first of all give the good news, which is over the past two years, many of us been very worried about the labor market. There is a lot of ups and downs with any data, and roughly speaking, unemployment has been constant.

Now, in this most recent month, which is what you are remarking on, the unemployment rate went down. Now, the unemployment rate is the ratio of the number of people who are without work and looking for work to the labor force.

But if a lot of the people who are without work stop looking, then all of a sudden, the number of people we count as unemployed falls. So, one way the unemployment rate falls is people give up hope, and there was a sense in which that occurred in this most recent month. That's why it's a little more -- it's more closer to bad news than good news.

JIMENEZ: You know, many economists, I don't know if you were one of them, but many of them were seeing the job market as a very sort of steady foundation of this economy. When there is been a lot of uncertainty with the Iran War, tariffs, some people are looking at A.I. as a bubble as well.

Is that still the belief that the job market is this steady foundation, even as we are sort of seeing declines at least over the past three months or so?

WOLFERS: It's a delightful question, because if you read the front page of the Financial Press, every day, there is another terrible thing happening. And to be honest, there is. We go back to war with Iran, the Strait of Hormuz closes. The president says we are going to -- they want a deal, they don't want a deal, tariffs go up, immigration falls, people can't get work, and on and on it goes. And these are very real and very serious economic shocks.

Yet, the good news is the U.S. labor market, roughly speaking, has been the little engine that could. It's not earning an A plus in anyone's book, but it does seem to be remarkably resilient so far. But we are all resilient until the day we are not.

JIMENEZ: Yes, I mean, maybe not A plus. C has get degrees though. I don't know if that's your policy in your class, but, you know, sometimes you do what you need to.

You know, I just wonder, like, as we look ahead, everyone is looking at -- maybe not everyone, but folks like yourself are looking at the Fed and trying to figure out. OK, we have these economic indicators. Maybe the job market's a little softer, but how do you think the Fed is going to read this? Considering they didn't hike interest rates at the last meeting,

WOLFERS: Mate, I just swallowed a fly on live television and (INAUDIBLE).

(CROSSTALK)

JIMENEZ: I was trying to keep talking while you were coughing, so you could -- so, you could figure it out.

It's all good. I'm with you. I'm with you.

WOLFERS: It's just good. (INAUDIBLE)

It might actually be a metaphor, because the biggest thing going on at the Fed is Kevin Warsh feels like I do right now. Kevin Warsh doesn't like talking about what's going on, and it makes both of us a little harder to understand and a little harder to interpret. So, you could think about Kevin as having swallowed the fly as well. I might swallow a horse that will get the fly. And so, you know, at this latest -- it was a week ago, we would have said the labor market looks OK. We are worried about inflation. Therefore, the Fed needs to hike.

[17:35:06]

What's happened today is we have moved to -- we are still worried about inflation, but now the labor market looks a little weak.

And so, the case for hiking has become somewhat weaker. But it's become a lot harder to understand what the Fed's going to do because the Fed has decided it's going to stop talking, or at least that's what the new Fed chair is doing.

JIMENEZ: Understood, Justin Wolfers, I'm not saying this just because you lost your voice, but we are out of time. Go get some water, though. Good to see you. Thanks for being here. Appreciate the time.

WOLFERS: Thanks, been --

JIMENEZ: All right. New tariffs on the horizon. And it comes at one of the most important times ahead of the holiday shopping season. We will talk about it. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:40:25]

JIMENEZ: Iran and Oman have both signaled that a deal could be near to allow ships through the Strait of Hormuz. But Iran has been clear that the agreement would not immediately reopen the waterway, and that Iran has sent the United States a list of demands, it says, must be fulfilled before shipping through the strait returns to normal.

That list includes the U.S. agreeing to end the war, withdrawing troops, and paying Tehran financial compensation, among other things.

Meanwhile, corporate America is getting some payback. The federal government must refund around $166 billion to companies that had to pay President Trump's tariffs until the Supreme Court struck them down as unlawful.

Apple got about $2.2 billion back. Amazon, $600 million. Nike, $300 million, but American consumers, well, as of now, each household paid about a thousand-dollars last year in higher prices because of the tariffs, according to the Tax Foundation. But there is been no word lately from the White House about you getting a refund.

Now, with Trump implementing a new round of tariffs plus higher oil and gas prices, Americans could be in for a pricey holiday season-at least the season to come.

So, I want to bring in Executive Director of the Port of Los Angeles, Gene Seroka. And Gene, I just want to start with what is the America's -- what is America's busiest port telling us right now about the state of the U.S. economy?

GENE SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS ANGELES: Well, as one leading indicator, Omar, you have got cargo coming through that's about the same amount of product as we saw last year. So, no big uptick.

But you are also seeing declines or slower growth of other ports around the country.

What that says is that folks had a plan, certainty of costs, and they tried to speed cargo into the U.S. market on the retail side to make sure there is enough inventory for the upcoming holiday season, in addition to back to school and fall fashion.

JIMENEZ: You know, there, we talked about the new Trump tariffs a little bit going into place at the end of July, combined with the ongoing war with Iran, the chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz, how is that -- you know, we mentioned the holiday season. How likely is that to impact prices and the supply chain for the holidays, which, again, are not right around the corner, but in terms of supply, that -- those are plans that are being put in place now?

SEROKA: You are exactly right. And as families look at their budgets, try to stretch the dollar a little bit farther, you will see a lot of bargain hunting as it comes to day-to-day activities in the stores and shopping, as well as what's going to take place during the holiday season.

The National Retail Federation said just this week that we will probably see peak shipping season start to slow after August, which is much earlier than normal.

Yet, inventory levels look good. It's just the willingness of the American family to buy that remains the question mark today.

JIMENEZ: And you have not seen to this point any major changes in shipping activity, at least, toward the port, that might indicate companies changing strategy in terms of the holiday season and beyond.

SEROKA: It's been a choppy year overall, Omar. And most of the operations teams at these various companies that import through our port of Los Angeles continue to do simulation studies. Rising fuel costs are now hitting that import community as they typically lag in the industry from a formula approach.

Prices on those containers coming in are a little bit higher because supply demand is about equal. Knowing that folks brought in cargo earlier than normal because of the expiring tariffs and the edging upward of those fuel costs.

That will continue through the balance of the year, making it very specialized as to what comes in fourth quarter of 2026.

JIMENEZ: You know, we mentioned the tariffs and the tariff refunds that at this point it seems that companies are going to get. What do you think of the move to give consumers some kind of redress as well? Is that something you see as likely?

SEROKA: I think it's really important, because if we can infuse the economy with that $166 billion worth of tariff refunds, that could help us smooth out some of these bumps, like the employment numbers, the higher inflation.

Not a cure-all, but realistically speaking, some companies have been telling me, in absence of getting that refund back to the consumers, maybe it's a gift certificate that goes out. Maybe it's a couple of sale items to generate traffic through the stores and help put that money to work.

Companies are working on those plans right now. We will see if they can push it through over the weeks and months ahead.

[17:45:03]

JIMENEZ: A lot of dynamics at play. But those -- again, those plans for the -- for the holidays, as we have been talking about, they are far, but they are close at the same time if you are trying to put those plans in place,

Gene Seroka, really appreciate you being here. Thanks for taking the time.

Meanwhile, a Honduran immigrant deported from the United States is now back on American soil. But he is still in custody. We will explain. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[17:50:10]

JIMENEZ: A Honduran immigrant is now back on U.S. soil after a federal judge ruled he was deported to his native country without cause.

21-year-old Jose Martinez Andino was placed into ICE custody in March. He was then deported to Honduras in April, despite having special immigrant juvenile status, which allowed him to legally live and work in the United States.

CNN's Rafael Romo joins me now. So, Rafael, what more are you learning about this case?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Omar. Well, it's a case we have been following for a while now. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to CNN in a statement that Jose Martinez-Andino was returned Wednesday to the United States to comply with an order by a federal judge.

CNN shot this video of the immigrant at the airport in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, just moments before his flight. A federal judge in the District of Columbia ruled in June that the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security must facilitate Martinez-Andino's return because his detention and subsequent deportation may have violated his due process rights by allegedly not allowing him access to an attorney and coercing him to sign papers for voluntary departure, he did not understand.

I spoke with the immigrants' legal team after Martinez-Andino was returned to the United States, and they told me, their client should not have been deported in the first place because he had legal status in this country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLISON CHAN, ATTORNEY TO MARTINEZ-ANDINO: There was a due process violation. That there was a judge who listened to both sides and ruled in favor of the plaintiff, and then, ordered the government to return him and facilitate his return.

And then, the government complied with that order, and now, he is back this week.

ROMO: If he had legal status to work in the United States and live legally in the United States, how can he end up being not only detained but also deported from the country?

AYLA BLUMENTHAL, ATTORNEY TO MARTINEZ-ANDINO: It can happen if someone commits a crime or some other change in circumstances takes place to justify detaining that individual. But none of that took place here, and there was no procedure here. That's really where we came in, saying that due process has been violated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: According to his attorneys, Martinez-Andino had what is known as special immigrant juvenile status that allowed him to live and work in the United States under a visa, meant to protect immigrant children.

But during the current administration, one of Martinez Sandino's attorneys says minors in this category who do not yet have their green card may also be targeted by ICE.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DERRICK HENSLEY, IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY: In this case, the ICE officers or border patrol were able to take advantage of that and say, hey, you don't have your green card yet. We are going to tell you that you don't have a right to remain here, even though, in point of fact, he was within a couple months from being able to get his green card.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security told CNN that "Martinez-Andino was taken into custody on March 18, accepted a voluntary removal, and was returned to Honduras on April 10. On August 5th, Martinez-Andino was returned to the United States by court order and is currently in border patrol custody."

The 21-year-old immigrant has a three-year-old daughter who is a U.S. citizen, and his attorneys told me, they are trying their best to get them reunited soon. Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. Rafael Romo, appreciate the reporting.

Meanwhile, the president's top military adviser now privately telling the White House and its advisers, according to sources, that the U.S. needs to find a way out of the war with Iran.

We will bring you those details coming up. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[17:58:26]

JIMENEZ: A new study finds robotic therapy can help people with spinal cord injuries move more freely and live more independently. But bionics can be incredibly expensive, and that issue is personal for 2018 CNN hero Amanda Boxtel, who lives with paralysis.

As "CNN HEROES" marks its 20th year, we are highlighting her efforts to bring high-tech therapy to those who need it most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA BOXTEL, FOUNDER, BRIDGING BIONICS: I feel like the mountain had robbed me of the use of my legs, but I was determined to show that I wasn't going to give up so easily.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): At 24, Amanda Boxtel was paralyzed in a skiing accident. After years of physical therapy, she had the chance to try a new costly technology-an exoskeleton designed to help people with mobility challenges.

BOXTEL: I stood up and I walked for the first time in 18 years, and it was as if all of my dreams were burgeoning to life in one upright, powerful moment.

COOPER (voice over): Amanda purchased her own exoskeleton and walked 130,000 steps in a year, easing her chronic pain.

BOXTEL: Right leg was the first to come back. Is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.

COOPER (voice over): In 2015, she founded Bridging Bionics to help other people with mobility issues, benefit from the technology.

BOXTEL: It's not easily accessible. It's not affordable, and I thought we could get a whole community up and walking with this unit.

[18:00:04]

COOPER (voice over): She even teamed up with her fellow 2018 CNN hero, Ricardo Pun-Chong, who provide free housing and support for sick children and their families, while they undergo medical treatment in Lima, Peru.

When Amanda learned a child in his program needed a wheelchair, she wanted to help.

BOXTEL: She has cerebral palsy and she was in a stroller. She's been in a stroller her whole life. It's time, don't you think, for her to have a wheelchair to call her own?