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Trump's Top General Seeks "Off-Ramp" From Iran War; Saudi Arabia, Turkey And Pakistan Sign Mutual Defense Pact; Senate Votes To Confirm Todd Blanche As Attorney General; Taylor Farms' Pattern Of Deflecting Blame When Linked To Outbreaks; WNBA In The Middle Of Trans Athletes Debate; Former NBA Players Say They Will DECLARE for WNBA Draft; Dangerous Fire Weather In Northwest Challenges Crews; Mike Lindell Resigns From MyPillow To Focus On Running For Minnesota Governor. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired August 08, 2026 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROGER CRAIG, PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE: If sharing my story helps even one family or one former player, then it's worth it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Now, symptoms of vascular dementia could include confusion, trouble finding words, and organizing thoughts along with difficulty paying attention and slowed thinking.
Now, Craig noted he initially dismissed those early symptoms as normal aging, but as you just heard, he hopes sharing his story could help encourage other players to seek help when something doesn't feel right.
Now, we're talking about the Hall of Fame inductions. In addition to Brees, Craig was joined in Canton by new Hall of Famers Larry Fitzgerald, Adam Vinatieri and Luke Kuechly, as well.
All right, another hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.
Tonight sources are telling CNN Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Dan Caine has privately told other top Trump advisers that the United States needs to find an offramp from the war with Iran. Now, this comes as the war threatens to escalate and expand into other parts of the region.
Meanwhile, both Iran and Oman are signaling they are close to a deal that could allow ships through the Strait of Hormuz. Still, Iran says the strait will not fully open until the United States agrees to end the war among other concessions.
So I want to bring in CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook. And Julia, let's just start with what more are we learning about
what's going on behind the scenes inside the Trump administration as they're looking to navigate this conflict with Iran?
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I want to highlight some detail behind the scenes reporting from our colleague Zachary Cohen. Multiple sources told CNN that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, has made clear to other top officials that the United States needs to look for an offramp when it comes to the war with Iran because the military options on the table to escalate could backfire, and because air power alone is limited when it comes to achieving the objectives that President Donald Trump has laid out here.
Now, the people who spoke with our team did say that Caine has had some of these discussions with other top officials, like CIA director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President J.D. Vance. Some say that he has been less direct in communicating this with Trump. He has carefully communicated any of the potential downsides of the military options.
Now, Caine's team says that it will not discuss any confidential conversations between the general and the president, the secretary or other top officials, and that it would not comment on what it referred to as agenda driven characterizations of those conversations by sources who were not privy to them. A White House official, in response to some of this reporting, did give us this statement.
I want to read it to you now. They said, quote, "General Caine is an incredible asset to President Trump's national security team and the overwhelming success of Operations Epic Fury, Midnight Hammer and Absolute Resolve speaks for itself. The general always provides accurate, unbiased information and a host of options to the commander- in-chief, who ultimately makes decisions on what he feels is best for U.S. national security.
Now, this comes as there are reports of a dwindling munitions supply. This was a key topic at a recent Cabinet meeting that took place at Camp David, and Trump has acknowledged that some of that supply is tighter than it was before the war began. But he also says that he believes the United States has what it needs to continue fighting. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have certain types of munitions that are very powerful, that we have unlimited, virtually unlimited supply. We have others where it's a little bit tighter and we're getting them in on a daily basis.
We always want more. We have to have more. We have other things maybe come up, maybe come up and maybe don't come up. Hopefully nothing else does come up. But we're in very good shape. We have literally massive amounts of ammunition.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BENBROOK: And as this conflict now nears the six-month mark, Vice President J.D. Vance, in an interview with FOX News that aired earlier today, he said that he wants to make it clear that we're in the middle of the game here. He added, quote, that this thing is not over.
Lots to pay attention to here -- Omar.
JIMENEZ: All right. Julia Benbrook, really appreciate it.
Joining me now is CNN global affairs analyst Kimberly Dozier and former Brigadier General Mark Kimmett, who is also the former deputy director for plans and strategy at CENTCOM.
And, General Kimmett, I just want to start by getting your reaction to this report that Joint Chiefs chair General Dan Caine is looking for an offramp from this war.
[19:05:02]
Practically speaking, what even are his options here?
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMETT (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Yes. Well, first of all, I read the CNN article and I saw quotes from nothing but unnamed sources. And that always bothers me because those were the same unnamed sources that last week we're saying there were no negotiations going on. And that proved not to be true. But let's make an assumption that some of those quotes may have been correct.
Look, I think it's fair to say that we are not close to achieving our strategic objectives of ending the nuclear program, ending the missile program, and cutting off support for the proxies. We do have the situation with the Strait of Hormuz that those issues are undeniable, and I think against that background, we've got to understand that General Caine has got to worry about the rest of the world as well.
He's got to worry about the threat from China. He's got to worry about support for Ukraine. And that's all in the context of dwindling support options for those other combatant commanders as General Admiral Cooper is going to get what he needs. But having said that, I sure wish people would go on the record rather than hide behind the quote of unnamed source.
JIMENEZ: Hey, General, you said something that we preach all the time. I sure wish more folks would go on the record, too. But you know, that's me as a reporter and not always the reality. But I take your point very fairly.
KIMMETT: Yes.
JIMENEZ: And Kim, earlier this week, President Trump, speaking of some reports, pushed back against some of the reports that the U.S.'s military munitions stockpile is dwindling. But tonight, the "Washington Post" is reporting that the Pentagon is asking the U.S. defense industry to increase production and delivery of weapons. And CNN previously reported that senior U.S. commanders warned that the Pentagon's munitions stockpile is, quote, "dangerously low." Regardless of what you think of the reporting, how might a depleted
U.S. stockpile shift Iran's strategy or at the very least an interpretation of that being the case?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: We've known for some time that the stockpiles have been being depleted, if not, quote-unquote, "running low." So, Iran has been watching this and already adjusting its behavior accordingly. It knows that basically the longer it draws this out, the more pain it inflicts on the United States, whether that's through oil prices or at the upcoming midterms. And you have to think about the fact that Russia and China are also watching this and saying, wow, only this many weeks or only this many months and credible sources within the U.S. led by the think tank CSIS, which just, you know, looked at the -- drill down on the numbers and the reports from CENTCOM and came up with the math that we're going through, especially some of the interceptors really, really fast.
That's scary when you look ahead to a situation where the U.S. could be in a war with a major nation state like China, like Russia. Something that has a lot more in storage and a lot more technology to bring to bear than Iran does.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, one of the considerations here is obviously this war between the U.S. and Iran is not happening in a vacuum here. There have been attacks in U.S. -- on U.S. Gulf allies by Iran. There have also been calculations over what is happening between Hezbollah and Israel as well.
And, General Kimmett, we've already seen signs that this war is on the verge of either an escalation or at the very least an addition to what's going on in Yemen as Yemeni forces conducted a military operation targeting the Iran backed Houthi militant group. And I just wonder how you see what's happening there, that dynamic.
Do you anticipate that specific conflict escalating back into a full scale civil war there?
KIMMETT: Well, I think the Houthis, probably at the behest of Iran, are taking a pretty interesting tactic with the Bab-el-Mandeb, which is they're not only putting a cork in that, but it looks like they're also trying to inflict some pain on the Suez Canal.
Now, it's important to understand that -- that Saudi Arabia has only two ways to get its oil to market. One way is through the Red Sea, where it can go north or south and the other is through the Strait of Hormuz. And one can only imagine the effect. And Kim made this point about the Iranian effect on the world markets. And if we take -- if the Houthis take the Red Sea through the Suez or the Bab-el-Mandeb, and shut it down, we're in a significant economic hurt, which could in fact lead to those discussions about offramps, whether they're coming from the president or elsewhere.
[19:10:09]
JIMENEZ: You know, elsewhere in the region, but very much related, Kim, you know, we were watching this sort of NATO style mutual defense pact between Pakistan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia this week. And it does give Saudi Arabia another level of defense here.
I just wonder what you make of sort of that formalization of an alliance there. And does that indicate to you where these nations believe this war is going?
DOZIER: I think the Saudis, along with other Gulf leaders, have realized that Trump wants out of this conflict and that while they don't want to eject U.S. forces from their various countries and bases there, they do want to have more capability to defend themselves because, look, every time the U.S. hits Iran lately, what Iran does is it just strikes back against the Gulf countries hitting their energy supplies and also hitting some civilian targets, going as far as Jordan as well. So they want to be able to fight back without having to wait for Washington.
JIMENEZ: Kim Dozier, General Mark Kimmett, appreciate you both being on the record tonight. Good to see you both. Appreciate the analysis.
All right. Still ahead, President Trump's former personal attorney Todd Blanche now set to become the attorney general. We'll tell you what his past actions could signal about the future of the Justice Department. Plus, a CNN investigation. The company the FDA links to the outbreak that's causing explosive diarrhea has a history of being connected to other outbreaks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL MARLER, FOOD SAFETY ATTORNEY: It's deja vu all over again. I sort of feel like we're on a repeat record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:16:37]
JIMENEZ: Signed, sealed and almost delivered. Todd Blanche will be the next attorney general of the United States after Senate Republicans narrowly voted to confirm President Trump's former personal lawyer in an overnight vote.
Now, Blanche's confirmation to officially become the nation's top law enforcement officer followed weeks of uncertainty over many concerns, including weaponization of the Justice Department.
CNN's Brian Todd has the details.
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 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 shut that -- 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. The next step for Blanche is to be sworn in officially.
All right. Coming -- also, I should say we have the latest on the spreading cyclospora outbreak. At least 15 states, more than 6,000 cases have been linked by federal health officials to lettuce sold by Taylor Farms. It's at least the fifth time, by the way, the company has been directly tied to outbreaks.
But as CNN's senior investigative correspondent Kyung Lah finds, Taylor Farms has a long pattern of deflecting blame.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: This is the headquarters for Taylor Farms.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is private property.
LAH: OK. LAH (voice-over): Taylor Farms won't talk to us on camera today. We'd
already asked for an interview and had not heard back. This is the company the FDA linked to the historic cyclospora outbreak. 6,000 sick, hundreds hospitalized, and two dead.
[19:20:05]
Here is what we want to ask the company. The government traced at least five different outbreaks directly to Taylor Farms in the past 13 years, and a CNN review finds time after time the company turned to a similar playbook, deflecting blame. How? By relying on negative test results to imply that Taylor Farms products are not responsible, even though investigators mainly find the source of outbreaks by figuring out what and where people who got sick ate.
MARLER: It's deja vu all over again. I sort of feel like we are on a repeat record.
LAH (voice-over): This month, Taylor Farms said, "According to the FDA, there are no confirmed positive sample results for product testing for cyclospora as of August 5th, 2026. We are confident in our food and food safety systems."
Let's rewind through the known outbreaks linked to Taylor Farms. 2013, eerily similar cyclospora cases connected to Taylor Farms salad. CEO Bruce Taylor said at the time, "All our tests have been negative, and we have no evidence of cyclospora in our product."
2015, a multi-state E. coli outbreak. Taylor's public response, the tests were "preliminary findings" and "it looks like a false alarm." The FDA later said a product with Taylor Farms produce was the likely source.
2024, another E. coli outbreak traced to onions distributed by Taylor Farms. The company said it found "no traces of the bacteria. All Taylor Farms products in the market today are safe to consume."
MARLER: I think they have played a little bit fast and loose with the facts.
LAH (voice-over): Food safety attorney Bill Marler has sued Taylor Farms a dozen times in multiple outbreaks, representing more than a hundred clients. He says the company implies its food may not be to blame by telling the public their testing found no trace of the microbes. But Marler says that doesn't prove anything.
MARLER: Taylor Farms is using those negative results to muddy the water. The scientists at Taylor Farms know better that the products that get tested are not the products that people consumed. And I -- and I always say this, and it sounds like I'm making a joke, but people eat the evidence.
LAH: About half of America's domestic lettuce is grown here, in the Salinas Valley in Central California. It's also where Taylor Farms is headquartered. But the focus of this cyclospora outbreak is in Central Mexico at the Taylor Farms facility there. The same plant linked to another cyclospora outbreak in 2013.
MARLER: It's the same facility. They are drawing iceberg lettuce in from the same area and expecting a different result.
LAH (voice-over): Taylor Farms tells CNN it invests more than $200 million a year in food safety. The problem is that nothing can kill cyclospora on fresh vegetables without cooking.
In the middle of this enormous outbreak, some of the nation's top food safety experts are gathering in this one conference in New Orleans. So, we have come here to talk to a consultant who has worked with Taylor Farms.
TREVOR SUSLOW, PROFESSOR, EXTENSION EMERITUS, U.C. DAVIS: It absolutely feels like deja vu for all of us, for everybody.
LAH (voice-over): Food safety expert Trevor Suslow says he is one of the scientists hired by Taylor Farms on this outbreak. Part of the rapid response team to find what could have gone wrong at the facility in Mexico.
Is there a working theory right now?
SUSLOW: Right now, it's very difficult to come up with a working theory. If they are missing something, they want to know, and then, they put in programs in place to correct that. And they have really built a strong program, you know, really progressively since 2013.
LAH: Would you open up a bag of Taylor Farms iceberg lettuce and eat it today?
SUSLOW: Yes, I would. If one assumes that that was a source, there's nothing been chipped for, you know, since mid-July. You know, it's either consumed already, or it's gone.
LAH: Do you eat bag salad?
MARLER: No.
LAH: Ever?
MARLER: No. No, ever. No. When you have been with families who've lost family members to a bag of romaine lettuce, you do change your eating habits.
LAH: Taylor Farms did e-mail us a statement saying the company goes above and beyond industry guidance or requirements for testing. It added, "We have cooperated fully with regulators in any instance where food safety concerns were raised, taking corrective action where warranted. For this recall, we have acted voluntarily, moved more broadly than required and will continue to be transparent as more information becomes available."
Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE) JIMENEZ: All right. Thank you, Kyung, for that reporting.
Still ahead, how a debate over trans athletes has hit the WNBA and now has two former NBA players saying they are declaring for the draft.
[19:25:05]
We'll have the details ahead. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JIMENEZ: Two former NBA players are saying they're declaring for the WNBA draft, but there's a lot to talk about here. On social media 34- year-old Enes Kanter Freedom says he meets every requirement to compete, claiming he carefully examined the WNBA's criteria and framework on self-identification and inclusion. A few hours later, former NBA player Royce White also said he was declaring for the WNBA draft, telling FOX News he sometimes identifies as a woman for the purpose of basketball, and said only the league could end his challenge by stating its position on men playing in women's sports.
[19:30:07]
They are trying to make a point here because in a memo obtained by The Associated Press, League Commissioner Cathy Engelbert says: Team presidents and general managers will discuss this issue at a meeting next week.
But the trans athlete debate in the WNBA heated up this summer when Indiana Fever guard, Sophie Cunningham voiced support for banning biological men from women's sports. But we should note the WNBA does not currently have any openly trans players.
So I want to bring in CNN Sports analyst Christine Brennan. She is also a sports columnist at "USA Today."
And Christine, I just want to start with Kanter Freedom saying his decision to declare for the WNBA draft is not meant to mock, make fun of or disrespect any community. What is your reaction to that?
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Omar, I think he is definitely mocking the transgender community. There is no doubt about that. He is also mocking the WNBA, the WNBA leadership, which over my reporting in the last few years has been woefully behind and has had inadequate reactions to all kinds of things involving, especially the arrival of Caitlin Clark and the incredible interest eyeballs, T.V. ratings, attendance -- all the things that have changed as becoming a big league sport.
Cathy Engelbert, there has been quite a vacuum, frankly, in terms of leadership. So my sense is here that they are playing into that as well.
As you said, the WNBA just says that women are eligible -- only women are eligible, but they have no further details, and that's why they are going to have this task force, as Engelbert has said. I think it is a good sign if she really wants to lead on this issue and she has been missing in action from so many other major decisions over the last few years.
We will see how that goes from here, but as you know, the international sports world and the national sports world are all now speaking as one in terms of transgender women, as in, if you've gone through male puberty, you cannot compete in women's sports.
I would expect the WNBA may well, Omar, have to go that same route, even if many of their players do not want them to do that.
JIMENEZ: And, you know, Sophie Cunningham made these comments, which aren't unique. Many female athletes have made similar comments in various sports and settings, but she says she has received backlash for saying that she wants to "protect young girls" in a locker room or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men.
But she recently said her comments have been a distraction this season. How has this played out on the court?
BRENNAN: Yes, Sophie Cunningham comes off the bench for the Indiana Fever and in fact, she gained fame for being Caitlin Clark's enforcer and has made millions because of one simple play where she took down a player, Jacy Sheldon, who had just poked Caitlin Clark in the eye.
So Sophie Cunningham is a big name in this sport and is a big deal because of being in proximity to Caitlin Clark. So, it certainly -- this is a story that has then, like anything else, has just, you know, obviously blossomed and grown and expanded over time. The WNBA has an incredible history, Omar, as I think, you know, of being ahead of the curve on many social issues.
A month before Colin Kaepernick was talking about Black Lives Matter and, of course, kneeling during the national anthem, a full month before that, the WNBA players, especially the Minnesota Lynx, had come out about the issues of Black Lives Matter and some of the terrible things that were happening in the country.
WNBA has always been in the forefront here, and that's why there is such a -- this has reached such a boiling point, frankly, because it is the players who are incredibly liberal and diverse, and it is a league that is about, well -- it is a 74 percent Black league and its 30 percent to 40 percent gay. Obviously, now that's not the transgender issue, but you put all this together and I think that's why this has just taken off.
And it is a conversation many other leagues have had, and the International Olympic Committee now is in that, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the NCAA -- so many governing bodies, as you know, have now said if you have gone through male puberty, you cannot compete in women's sports and that's what the WNBA is standing kind of alone in this area, and there, we will see if they have to follow suit as the conversation continues.
JIMENEZ: You know, and you mentioned the leadership at the WNBA, obviously, they are going to navigate this issue as we see what those meetings look like.
But this year, the WNBA also reached a new deal on a historic collective bargaining agreement, increasing the salary cap to $7 million. But current League Commissioner Cathy Engelbert sort of keeps finding herself in numerous, I don't know if you want to call them off-court controversies, but that collective bargaining agreement was not an easy process.
Do you see the future of the WNBA with her in it?
BRENNAN: I do not, Omar. I am a little surprised she is still there and I like Cathy Engelbert.
[19:35:10]
You know, she was a top leader official at Deloitte, a woman in a man's world, leading the way in many ways. But she has really dropped the ball in the last couple of years as the nation's eyes have turned to the WNBA. As I said earlier, a vacuum. Just things that she has not been able to do, the concerns, whatever it might be. So I do believe it is time for change, and you saw Adam Silver having to come out and speak about Caitlin Clark and the impact of Caitlin Clark, because Cathy Engelbert has just been unable to even say her name at times when she has been asked specifically about things that have happened with Caitlin Clark.
Obviously, it is more than Caitlin Clark, but that's the spotlight now, and that's what people are looking at and then finding faults with Cathy Engelbert, because as I said, now, it is an entirely different world in the WNBA and they need to understand how different the attention is than it was just a few years ago.
JIMENEZ: Christine Brennan, always appreciate your analysis and insight. Thank you for taking the time. Good to see you.
BRENNAN: Good to see you, Omar. Thank you.
JIMENEZ: All right, in the 1980s, sports became bigger, bolder and more unforgettable.
In an all new episode of "Decades in Sports," we are going to revisit the iconic moments and legendary rivalries. Here is a preview on the rise of Mike Tyson.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's something disquieting about Tyson's knockouts, the way opponents fell.
The knockout that crystallizes Tyson's reputation and turned him into the youngest ever heavyweight champion is the Berbick fight because he falls in every damn corner of the ring until he is finished, and it is a terrible humiliation but it consecrates the reputation of Mike Tyson.
It may be too much to say that Tyson creates the pay-per-view industry, but he is certainly its first attraction.
Not long after HBO signs Tyson, they realized that their subscriptions are growing at a rate of $5 million a month. This is the first time heavyweight boxing has really gotten some momentum on American television since Ali.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: Be sure to tune in, a new episode of "Decades in Sports" airs tomorrow at 9:00 P.M. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.
We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:42:21]
JIMENEZ: The Pacific Northwest is facing more fire danger after powerful winds hit their strongest points on Friday, it is really putting strain on firefighters battling to stop the flames from spreading in Spokane, Washington and across the region.
CNN's Allison Chinchar is tracking the latest forecast.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fire weather conditions continue out west, at least for one more day, and that relief could not come quick enough for much of this area.
Here you can see that elevated risk still includes in and around the Spokane area. Now, by the time we get to Sunday, the bulk of this begins to shift well down to the south. That's where the fire weather concern is going to be at its highest as we wrap up the weekend.
But you still have a lot of those wind gusts expected to be around 20 to 25 miles per hour for today. Not as high as its been the last couple of days, but still high enough to take some of those embers that are with the fires and spread them very quickly across these areas.
Also noting, too, that with those wind increases the last few days, it has also shifted direction. So you're actually starting to see more of the smoke impact in some newer areas, giving some folks a break like Seattle and Portland now finally starting to have at least some clearer atmospheric conditions and not quite as many air quality issues.
However, on the flip side, areas farther to the East and South, you're actually starting to see an increase in a lot of those smoke conditions. Temperatures have also been very high the last few days.
Spokane topping out at 94 degrees on Friday. We are now finally starting to see some of these temperatures coming back down, and they will continue to do so the next few days, topping out at 90 today, back into the 80s by the time we get to next week.
So again, relief is on the way. We just have to give it a little bit more time.
JIMENEZ: Now earlier, we spoke with Spokane Fire Chief Tom Williams, and he says since Saturday, crews have been able to make progress and reduce the fire perimeter in some areas. But those windy conditions have made their fight much more challenging.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM WILLIAMS, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON FIRE CHIEF: The wind. I mean, that's really 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 go protect these other homes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JIMENEZ: All right, coming up from MyPillow to my primary, Mike Lindell leaves his company behind to run for governor of Minnesota. We will bring you those details on what that actually looks like.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:49:39]
JIMENEZ: MyPillow founder and President Trump loyalist, Mike Lindell says he is resigning as CEO of his company to focus on running for Minnesota governor with one week to go until the critical primary.
Now, Lindell said this week: I am putting Minnesota above myself, my title and my business interests so I can give this campaign and the people of our state my full time, energy and attention.
[19:50:04]
Now Lindell, who pushed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and then faced legal trouble for it, has the backing of President Trump, but not the Minnesota Republican Party.
Our Donie O'Sullivan recently caught up with Lindell. Here is his report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: It's like we're going in to meet Willy Wonka.
O'SULLIVAN: Good to see you.
MIKE LINDELL, MYPILLOW FOUNDER: I'll tell you what Steve Bannon just called you.
O'SULLIVAN: Why did he call me this time?
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): I've come to Minnesota to meet MyPillow founder, Mike Lindell, at his pillow factory.
LINDELL: So, this is our outlet store.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Today, Lindell is perhaps better known as a prolific election conspiracy theorist.
O'SULLIVAN: I'm dreaming of free and fair election.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Now, the MyPillow man is running for governor of Minnesota.
LINDELL: Now, there it is, huh? People can be coming up, picking up on governor signs, yes.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): I first met Mike Lindell five years ago at his so-called cyber symposium, an event he organized where he said he would prove that the 2020 election was stolen by China.
O'SULLIVAN: If you're correct, if you have that evidence --
LINDELL: No, just forget about the evidence. If I'm right that China took our country, right now, do you care? Would that bother you? Would that bother you?
O'SULLIVAN: But you have to show the proof first, right?
LINDELL: No, would --
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): The proof never materialized but Lindell is still fixated on election conspiracy theories and is a firm fixture in the MAGA Media universe.
STEVE BANNON, MEDIA EXECUTIVE, REPUBLICAN POLITICAL STRATEGIST: Mike Lindell, you're from the factory floor today.
LINDELL: We're now in our big factory sale but in a little bit, CNN's coming here. We're getting set up. Your old pal, Donie is coming in from Ireland.
BANNON: Donie the dirtbag.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Staff from his streaming channel, LindellTV are now even part of the White House press corps.
CARA CASTRONUOVA, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, LINDELLTV: Will you guys also consider releasing the president's fitness plan? He actually looks healthier than ever before.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can confirm the president is in very good shape. O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Lindell's loyalty to Trump has paid off. The President endorsed him for governor ahead of the Minnesota Republican primary. But before Trump's endorsement, the Minnesota GOP had already backed a candidate for governor and it was not Mike Lindell.
O'SULLIVAN: Obviously, it complicates things when the leader of your party nationally is endorsing a different candidate than the one the state party has chosen here, puts you in an awkward spot.
ALEX PLECHASH, MINNESOTA GOP CHAIRMAN: Yes, it did but that's OK. That's politics. We're always in awkward spots. Our endorsed candidate is Kendall Qualls, a very high-quality individual with a great background.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): But Mike Lindell seems to be leading in the polls right now.
PLECHASH: Depends on which poll you look at and so on. But Mike Lindell is certainly a player, certainly after he got the endorsement from President Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good, sir.
LINDELL: Hi, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mike, it's such a pleasure. I'm such a huge fan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm praying for you.
LINDELL: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three.
LINDELL: You never got a picture from CNN, did you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we didn't.
LINDELL: That's five years later, Donie.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): For people who might say, you know what, Mike seems like a good guy, but I'm worried that if he becomes governor, he's just going to be worried about all this election stuff.
LINDELL: Right, and that's a good question you got, Donie. Well, you've gotten better after five years. What is going on?
O'SULLIVAN: Thank you.
LINDELL: This is the honest-to-God truth. No matter if I would win, someone else would win, I always question anything done with the electronic voting machine.
O'SULLIVAN: If you don't win, are you going to say, this was rigged, this was stolen?
LINDELL: No, this is what I'm trying to tell you. But you know, see, I still see you don't listen even after five years.
O'SULLIVAN: No, I'm listening, but I think that's the question.
LINDELL: Listen to what I'm saying, what I'm saying is this, we have -- not just in Minnesota, we have now the technology and we've gotten the word out.
O'SULLIVAN: But election officials all over the country say, but we have audits, we verify votes.
LINDELL: No, no, they don't, and this is where you're wrong.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Even after the voting technology company, Smartmatic, won a defamation case against Lindell, he's still convinced of the conspiracy theories about the company and about voting machines in general.
LINDELL: Donald Trump was winning the election by a landslide, and then of course, all these deviations pop up. My teams were down there when they tested the Dominion machine.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Some of Lindell's supporters share his concerns about elections.
O'SULLIVAN: Why would Mike Lindell make a good governor of Minnesota?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he would take care of the machine, get rid of it, go to election integrity, gold standard, paper ballot, hand count.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): If Americans have learned anything from the politics of the past decade, it's to not rule anyone out.
O'SULLIVAN: Ten years ago, people laughed at and said, Trump could never be president. Now, in Minnesota, you got a millionaire that people laugh at, say he's absurd, that this guy could never be governor.
LINDELL: Only $14.88, I can't believe I'm even saying that.
O'SULLIVAN: Can you understand the appeal of Mike Lindell?
PLECHASH: Oh, certainly I can. I mean, I said the comparison with Trump is a very good one. And here he is president for the second time. So, anything is possible in politics.
[19:55:01]
O'SULLIVAN: So, if Mike Lindell wins the primary, you'll get behind Mike Lindell?
PLECHASH: Of course, we will. That's what the party does.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): It's easy to forget that before he was an election conspiracy theorist, here in Minnesota, Mike Lindell was known as a success story. O'SULLIVAN: Do you have a MyPillow?
PLECHASH: I actually do.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes? You sleep in a MyPillow?
PLECHASH: More than one.
O'SULLIVAN: You like them?
PLECHASH: Yes, they're very good.
O'SULLIVAN: Do you think you can beat Senator Klobuchar?
LINDELL: Absolutely.
O'SULLIVAN: Really?
LINDELL: Absolutely. I'm the only one that can beat her.
O'SULLIVAN: Will you debate her?
LINDELL: Minnesota wants to be -- of course, you know me, bring it on, Amy. Are you kidding? I'd love to debate her every day.
O'SULLIVAN (voice over): Donie O'Sullivan, CNN, Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIMENEZ: All right, Donie, appreciate that.
Hey, things are ultimately up to the voters, but we will see what happens.
Thank you all for joining me this evening. I am Omar Jimenez. Remember, if you're in the U.S., you can now stream CNN whenever you want on the CNN app. Just visit cnn.com/watch for more.
"Real Time" with Bill Maher, up next.
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