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CNN This Morning

Justice Dept. Asks Fed Judge: Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Testimony; MAGA Influencers Rally Around Trump After Epstein Case Pressure; Pres. Trump Files Lawsuit Against WSJ, Owner Murdoch. Trump Sues Wall Street Journal for $208 Billion Over Epstein Report; The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to End in 2026; Steve Miller Band Cancels Summer Tour Due to Weather. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired July 19, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

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[06:00:43]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning and welcome to CNN This Morning. It is Saturday, July 19th. I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell.

Here's what we're working on for you this morning. President Trump makes good on his threat to sue The Wall Street Journal over a story involving him and Jeffrey Epstein. Could this latest bombshell actually unite though the MAGA base behind Trump after days of criticism?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a 0.1 earthquake. It really shook. It felt like something was terribly wrong.

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FREEMAN: Plus, we're learning new details about the explosion that killed three Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies. We'll tell you what investigators are saying about how this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at that. Wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Man, scary and dramatic video captures the moment a Delta flight suffered an engine fire just moments after takeoff. Plus, writers for the Late show fire back at Paramount after the show's cancellation, we have new reporting on what went into the decision to pull Colbert off the air next year coming up.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we have another flash flood warning, this time in effect for portions of Iowa. This line of very heavy rain continues to stretch across the Midwest. We'll detail some other places that could be looking at potential flooding coming up.

FREEMAN: We begin with that one, two punch from the Trump administration as the Epstein case fallout continues. The Department of Justice moved to release grand jury testimony in the case, justifying it as, quote, "a matter of public interest." While almost simultaneously, President Donald Trump filed a libel lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and journalists who published a new story about his connections to the disgraced financier.

Now, this all centered on a letter that President Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein for his birthday back in 2003. The Wall Street Journal claims that letter bore the president's name and the outline of a naked woman. Now, the president denies he wrote it and House Speaker Mike Johnson, for now, is backing him up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: The president and I talked about that ridiculous allegation this morning, he said it's patently absurd. He's never drawn such a picture. He's never thought of drawing such a picture. And he said, did you see the language of this bogus supposed communication or card or something I supposedly sent to Epstein? He said, I don't talk like that.

I don't think like that. They're literally making things up. He's so frustrated by it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: However, Democratic lawmakers are not convinced. They're pushing for more information to be released.

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REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D-NM): You guys are so weak that you won't even vote to release the files.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, the American people, Republicans, Independents, Democrats, want the Epstein files released.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: CNN's Evan Perez takes us inside the case and the lawsuit.

Evan?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Danny, the Justice Department is asking a federal judge to make public years old grand jury testimony in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein, attempting to end weeks of political turmoil that the Trump administration really has brought on itself. The filing was signed by Attorney General Pam Bondi and Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, and it relates only to a fraction of the volumes of evidence that the Justice Department has gathered in the 2019 sex trafficking case against Epstein. The filing says in part, "Given this long stand -- long standing and legitimate interest, the government now moves to unseal grand jury transcripts associated with Epstein." It notes that the department will file a similar motion to release information from the case against Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

The filing came hours before President Trump filed a lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch, over a news story that said a lewd letter signed by Trump was included in a book of birthday greetings for Epstein. Trump denies that he wrote such a letter. The lawsuit is filed in Miami. The decision on whether to release Epstein's grand jury information now lies with a judge in Manhattan who oversaw the case before his suicide in 2019. Before making a ruling on this, the judge is likely to consult with the victims and any uncharged people discussed in the testimony since that information is protected by federal law.

[06:05:00]

Now that could take several months, certainly not as fast as President Trump wants this Epstein matter to go away. Danny.

FREEMAN: Evan Perez, thank you.

All right. You might recall a huge part of President Trump's campaign was laser focused on the Epstein case. So as a result, it became a huge sticking point for his base of supporters. But despite earlier outrage over what they view as a lack of transparency in the case, now there are signs they're rallying around him again. CNN's Alayna Treene explains.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Steve Bannon, a former Trump aide and MAGA leader, joined a growing number of Trump supporters coalescing around the president on Friday after the Wall Street Journal had dropped a story Thursday evening about an alleged letter Trump had sent to Jeffrey Epstein for his 50th birthday. The letter appeared to have Trump's signature as well as the outline of a naked woman, something that the president has called fake. But I want to tell you what Bannon told me in an interview. He said, quote, "We are finally on offense," he texted me, "President Trump has had enough and is fighting back against his real enemies."

Now, Bannon was one of many of the high profile Trump supporters who have sharply criticized the Trump administration for their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Specifically after the Justice Department had released a memo saying essentially that they believed Epstein died by suicide, that he had not killed himself, and also that there was no so called client list. And really, we saw that be a huge point of contention among the president and his base, really an area where he was on a dividing line with them, where his base was fraying over this decision not to reveal more about Jeffrey Epstein, something many of them had long called to do, including some people who are now in the highest echelons of the Trump administration prior to them taking office. But one key thing that a lot of people said was a point that they were celebrating was this idea when President Trump asked his attorney general, Pam Bondi, to release and unseal some of the grand jury testimony in the Epstein case. I asked Steve Bannon if this was something that he believed would quell some of the backlash Trump has seen over all of this. And he told me, quote, "It's a good start, but stay on offense. It's when Trump is at his best, attack, attack, attack." Now, other voices that have been supporting Trump in the light of this Wall Street Journal story include Laura Loomer, of course, a far right influential figure, someone who has met directly with President Donald Trump here at the White House. She called this story of Donald Trump in the Wall Street Journal totally fake. Charlie Kirk another influential MAGA voice said this, he said, "This is not how Trump talks at all.

I don't believe it."

And so what really we're seeing is this could actually be a turning point, at least that's how Bannon framed it to me, where some of these really high profile Trump supporters, his fiercest allies who had long been criticizing the Trump administration's handling this, are now coming back to defend him. And really, one Trump adviser had told me that there's nothing that reunites the base like a fake news story. And that's how they're arguing this will go. Now, of course, there's still questions about whether that grand jury testimony will actually be unsealed and whether it will be enough to kind of put to bed some of the criticism while still watching and waiting to see how this all plays out.

Alayna Treene, CNN, the White House.

FREEMAN: Alayna Treene, thank you so much.

All right. Joining me now is Kadia Goba, political reporter for the Washington Post. Thank you so much for getting up early to talk this ever evolving story. Let's start here, listen, the Epstein story definitely has driven a wedge between some Trump supporters and the president, as we've seen over the past several weeks, do you think this latest request by the DOJ to release grand jury transcripts will satisfy some of these parts of Trump's base?

KADIA GOBA, POLITICAL REPORTER, WASHINGTON POST: Yes. Thank you for having me. You know, I was on the Hill in the Capitol Thursday -- late Thursday night, early Friday morning, and had an opportunity to interview some members of Congress who have been very vocal about their interest in bringing this to light. And most of them, like Steve Bannon said that this is a starting point, but they want to see all of this go through.

Now when I talk to, you know, judicial experts as well as -- I think there's been some reporting on it as well, you know, the likeliness of -- the likelihood of a -- those files being unsealed, a grand jury testimony being unsealed, it is -- it's kind of low. They don't seal them for a reason. And it would be -- it's going to be interesting to see how the DOJ pressures a judge to do this.

[06:10:02]

FREEMAN: Yes, I think that's definitely one of the big outstanding questions is even with this request, what is actually able to be unsealed? I want to get your perspective, though on something that Alayna was just saying, which was that Steve Bannon told CNN that thanks to this Wall Street Journal article to some extent, quote, "We are finally on offense." That was Steve Bannon telling CNN that, basically saying he hopes this story will unite the parts of the base that have been fighting. I guess my question for you is how long could this moment of unity last if there's still no more transparency or information from the government?

GOBA: Yes, I'm not hearing the same thing from lawmakers who -- lawmakers, I will add, are being pressured by the base in their home districts. And that is part of the problem. We saw Congress or Republicans on the Rules Committee put out a non-binding resolution that was demanding the White House to release files related to Epstein. And this is because they are themselves getting a lot of pressure. So when I talk to lawmakers, their response is this is a good start, but we want transparency.

I talked to in particular Representative Eli Crane and Paulina Luna who simply said that she thought this was a good start and she expects more to come. But they want transparency.

FREEMAN: OK, but to that point, because we know that Congressional Republicans, as you're saying, have been demanding transparency when it comes to these Epstein files, but for now, a lot of it does still seem like words. I know there's talk of this resolution though. Are we going to see any vote on an Epstein resolution on the House floor next week? What do you think?

GOBA: Yes, I think Democrats quickly criticize this because it is a resolution, it's non-binding and it doesn't -- it doesn't have any teeth, it doesn't make the administration. And when Speaker Johnson was asked, will he commit to bringing it to the floor, he kind of said, well, we'll see, things are going in the right direction. But he didn't commit to it.

But I don't see this fracturing, mending until there is some transparency that quells the base. And you know, we'll have to see what that means. But I think something, if there is a thing has to give, something has to be exposed before people of members in Congress feel comfortable and quite honestly, their constituents. This is something that you said at the top of the show Republicans ran on, including Donald Trump. So as far as the base is concerned, they feel like this is a broken promise.

FREEMAN: Well, just quickly, just to put a finer point on it, you know, listen, the memo from the DOJ, right, saying essentially there's nothing to see here when it comes to Epstein. That came out on July 7th. And we, the MAGA world, President Trump have been talking about Epstein nonstop, really, for two weeks now. And it only seems to be getting more intense now. Is transparency the only way out of this ongoing news cycle about Epstein?

GOBA: I can't imagine there is. I can't imagine what would quell voters who supported Donald Trump other than them actually seeing something. The problem is, like I said, during the campaign, they convinced -- Republicans convinced their supporters that there was an issue here when it was relying -- when they were relying on Democrats being held responsible or held accountable for this. So I'm not sure how you change the mind of people you've convinced of a possible conspiracy that there's nothing there at this point.

FREEMAN: Yes. The toothpaste for now seems to be out of the tube.

Kadia Goba, thank you so much again for getting up with us and talking through all of this today. Really do appreciate it.

GOBA: Thanks for having me.

FREEMAN: Moving along now, parts of Virginia are drying out after being drenched with heavy rain on Friday. This video right here out of Dante, Virginia, in the southwest corner of the state, officials say they received reports of people being swept away by the flood waters. The woman who shot this video right here was at the post office at the time and says the water was about six inches deep. CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now.

Allison, you know, it's just been so crazy with how much flooding has already happened, and now more people are facing flood risks.

CHINCHAR: And I think that's why you see so many people under these flood watches. It's not necessarily that today we're expecting a tremendous volume of water. It's that it's on top of what's already fallen over the last several days. And that's going to be a big concern.

So let's take a look at where we're actually talking about. So right now, the greatest concern is over the state of Iowa. That's where you have this flash flood warning in effect because of this line right here of storms that has very, very heavy rainfall coming down at the moment. We've also got some flood watches in a few other spots in anticipation of more rain coming later on in the day today. But overall, when we talk about how many people have the potential for excessive rainfall today, look at this map, this is huge, I cannot emphasize to you this is very rare to see this many people.

[06:15:10]

We're talking more than 250 million people have the potential for excessive rainfall today again, and a tremendously large population dealing with the potential for that heavy rainfall. And again, most of these storms that are going to fire up later on this afternoon and continue into the evening hours, most of these places, two, maybe three inches at most, that in and of itself doesn't necessarily cause issues. It's when the ground is already saturated that two inches can pile up very quickly. When your rivers, your creeks, your streams are already swollen, it doesn't take much for them to overflow. So again, even through the afternoon and evening hours and even extending into early Sunday, we are still anticipating having some of these heavy rounds of showers and even some thunderstorms mixed in too, and even the potential for some severe thunderstorms.

The main threats with these are going to be damaging winds, could have a few isolated that have some small hail in them. But again, it's the combination of having some of those very intense thunderstorms that not only bring the potential for flooding but also the potential for some of those strong to severe thunderstorms. This is a look at the forecast rainfall. Again, these spots here where you see that reddish orange color, that's what we're talking about, the potential for maybe even four or five inches. So even though most areas likely to get about two, you could have some isolated spots that will get some higher amounts.

And Danny, to your point that you were talking about, take a look at this, 44 states since July 1st have brought a total of 1,200 flooding reports. So yes, it seems like it's been a lot because it has been a lot. There has been a tremendous amount of flooding reports over. As you saw, 44 of the lower 48 states.

FREEMAN: Yes. And it seems like every state is getting its turn now. The Midwest is getting -- is getting stocked in the coming hours. Thank you, Allison. Appreciate you.

Still to come, we have new details of the deadly explosion at a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department training facility that killed three veteran members. Plus, a terrifying moment captured on camera. We'll have more on the Delta engine fire. What happened next? Plus, CNN goes inside the academy preparing air traffic controllers to manage the high stress, high stakes skies.

Stay with us.

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[06:21:58]

FREEMAN: In headlines this morning --

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look at that. Oh.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: All right. You're looking right there at new dramatic video of the engine fire that forced a Delta flight to return to Los Angeles airport shortly after takeoff on Thursday. Now the FAA says the Boeing 767 was headed to Atlanta before having to turn around. Now, the plane landed safely back at LAX. There's no word though yet on what caused the fire.

New video has also been released of wildfire damage to a Grand Canyon lodge. Grand Canyon National Park released this video right here from Monday, briefly showing the historic lodge on the north rim that was eventually destroyed by the Dragon Bravo wildfire. As of yesterday afternoon, that fire is 0 percent contained and has burned nearly 12,000 acres.

And pro football hall of famer and podcast star Shannon Sharpe has sat settled a sexual assault and battery lawsuit, that's according to the accuser's attorney. The anonymous woman claimed Sharpe, quote, "violently sexually assaulted her and raped her." In a video in April, Sharpe called the lawsuit a, quote, "shakedown" and denied the allegations. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed. But the woman, who was in a relationship with Sharp, had been seeking more than $50 million.

And we're getting new details this morning on the three veteran LA County sheriff's deputies who were killed in an explosion at the department's training facility on Friday. The Sheriff's Department has identified the victims as Detectives Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborne, they collectively served 74 years and were described by the department as elite members of the force. CNN's Josh Campbell has more on the ongoing investigation.

Josh.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department is mourning the loss of three deputies killed early Friday in an explosion at a law enforcement training center, official said. The incident prompted a massive response from multiple agencies that deployed to the scene, including the LAPD's bomb squad and federal agents. A law enforcement source familiar told me this initially appears to have been an accident involving the three deputies who specialized in arson and explosives investigation. The source said local and federal investigators are working to determine whether the incident was related to a training session or whether officers were handling evidence. In a press conference on Friday, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna spoke about his fallen colleagues.

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SHERIFF ROBERT LUNA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: This is unfortunately the largest loss of life for us as the LA County Sheriff's Department since 1857. Between all three sworn members, they had served our community proudly for 74 years and that's amongst all three of them collectively.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, Luna said it took hours for first responders to render the scene safe. A law enforcement source told me that that's because the bomb squads was complicated by the fact that officers had to ensure no other explosive material that could be stored in the area was actually vulnerable to detonation.

[06:25:01]

Los Angeles officials, meanwhile, are expressing heartbreak over the tragedy and rallying around the Sheriff's Department in solidarity. The LAPD said its officers are actively responding to 911 calls on behalf of the Sheriff's Department so that agency can fully focus on supporting their personnel and conducting the investigation.

Josh Campbell, CNN, Los Angeles.

FREEMAN: Josh Campbell, thank you very much for that.

Still to come this morning, writers for "The Late Show" say they're concerned the show's cancellation was a bribe to win favor with the Trump administration. The new details we're learning about what went into that decision, that and much more coming up. CHINCHAR: And nearly 40 million people are under some type of extreme heat alert, some of which start today and do not end until the middle of next week. We'll detail those temperatures coming up.

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[06:30:00]

FREEMAN: President Trump has filed a $20 billion with a B dollar lawsuit against the "Wall Street Journal" and conservative media giant Rupert Murdoch. The President now accusing the newspaper of libel after it published a story about a birthday letter Trump allegedly wrote to Jeffrey Epstein back in 2003.

Trump denies ever writing the letter, but a spokesperson for the "Wall Street Journal's" parent company, Dow Jones, released a statement saying we have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit. Joining us now is CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter. Brian, thank you so much for getting up early after a long day of reporting yesterday.

STELTER: Yes --

FREEMAN: Just break it down for us. How significant is it to have a sitting President suing a news outlet over a story?

STELTER: I have never found an example like this. There are lots of examples of President Trump threatening to sue news outlets, and there are some examples of him actually filing suit as a private citizen. But this is the first time that as a sitting President, he's actually going into a legal war with a media outlet.

And of course, given the recent settlements by Paramount and Meta and "ABC" and other companies, there's a lot of speculation about what Rupert Murdoch will do in this case. There's a lot of questions about whether Trump is just trying to shake down the "Wall Street Journal" or pressure the journal and some other ways.

So, we will see over time if this is a genuine, legitimate lawsuit with a real chance of winning or if it's more of a PR stunt, because having covered Trump for years, I know that many of his lawsuits are in part publicity stunts in order to get attention. In this particular case, this is a defamation suit, and the first thing you learn in a media law class is that the bar for a public figure to prove defamation is set very high.

It's way over my head. It's high on purpose because public figures, you know, are out there in the -- in the eye, in the public domain. And there's lots written about them and, that's the way that the Supreme Court believes it should work as the precedent was set back in the 1960s.

So, speaking with First Amendment lawyers overnight, I have a sense from them. They believe this suit is pretty weak. As one of them said to me, quote, "just screwing up even badly is not enough for defamation. And how could the President of the United States show $20 billion of damages?"

There are some details about this lawsuit that seem absurd, but as we know, the President has been able to achieve settlements with other media companies. So, we will see what Rupert Murdoch decides to do in this case. But as you mentioned, Danny, the "Journal" is saying it has a lot of confidence in this reporting.

And let's be honest, they would not have published this bombshell story if they did not believe that they were on extremely solid legal ground.

FREEMAN: Yes, and it seems that the people also believe that this is not the last we've heard, perhaps from the "Wall Street Journal" on this topic. Brian, in your latest piece, though, you wrote that the mere threat of this lawsuit, and then, of course, the follow-through opened a new chapter in the operatic relationship between Trump and specifically Rupert Murdoch.

I mean, let me -- let me --

STELTER: Yes --

FREEMAN: Get your take on this, is Rupert Murdoch, one who is known to back down from a fight here?

STELTER: Not only does Rupert Murdoch love to fight, he's even fighting his own children. You know, he was in court for the last two years trying to change the terms of their billion dollar trust. He even went to war with his own kids. So that tells you something about Rupert Murdoch and his willingness to not only fight it out, but to try to stick it out for as long as he can.

Look, these two men, it's like Godzilla versus King Kong, they come apart, they come back together. After January 6th, Rupert Murdoch said of Donald Trump, we're going to make him a non-person. Right, Rupert Murdoch wanted to ex-communicate Trump from the party. But then, like so many others, Murdoch fell back in line.

So, this relationship has many layers. It's very complex. Ultimately, Trump benefits enormously from Murdoch's television empire, "Fox News", but at the same time, the "Wall Street Journal" is renowned for really high quality reporting. And Trump doesn't want that. He does not want these stories that cast him in a negative light.

I actually view his lawsuit as partly a message to other news outlets. Other news outlets have been pursuing reporting about Trump and Epstein, about that friendship from decades ago. So, in some ways, by suing the "Wall Street Journal", he's trying to have a chilling effect on reporting more broadly.

He's trying to say to other news outlets, don't come after me, don't report on me, don't look into my past, or I'll try to ruin you. You know, that $20 billion damages claim kind of says it all.

FREEMAN: Right --

STELTER: He's trying to send a message to other outlets not to look into this.

FREEMAN: Yes, true shot across the bow it seems like. Brian, I want to turn now for a moment to Paramount and their decision to cancel the late show with Stephen Colbert next May.

[06:35:00]

You reported that "CBS" insiders are insisting the move was purely financially-driven, not politically motivated. What more are you learning about the timing of all this?

STELTER: You know, this is the way it works when you have sources on the phone, you're talking to them anonymously. You're saying, hey, look, tell me what's really going on here, right? I'll give you anonymity. Tell me candidly what's really going on. These sources insist even when they're protected in that way, that this was a financial move.

And then I'll tell you why I believe them, at least, in one narrow way. I've been reporting on late night for years. I know the economics have been collapsing. This is true not just at the late show, but at other shows as well, at "NBC" and "ABC". The ad revenue has started to slow down dramatically. These shows are not profitable the way they used to be.

And in some cases, like at "CBS", these shows are now downright unprofitable. So, there is a legitimate financial argument here, but we can't ignore the broader context of what is going on. Stephen Colbert, one of the most outspoken Trump critics on TV, all of a sudden, his show is going off the air while Paramount is trying to get the Trump administration to approve its mega merger.

This merger has been tortured by the Trump administration. It's been delayed for months. And so, if you're Stephen Colbert, if you are one of his fans, you're right to wonder if there's a broader political back-drop here.

FREEMAN: Yes, and I don't think anytime soon, supporters and fans of Colbert will believe fully that this was a purely financial decision. But I suspect --

STELTER: Yes --

FREEMAN: We're going to hear more about this --

STELTER: That's right --

FREEMAN: Especially in the ten months left from Colbert's show. Brian Stelter --

(LAUGHTER)

FREEMAN: Thank you so much for joining us early --

STELTER: Yes -- FREEMAN: This morning, really do appreciate it. All right, to this

now, classic rocker Steve Miller says he's calling off his U.S. Tour because of dangerous weather conditions. Now, the tour was set to start in August with nearly three dozen stops, including cities in New York, Florida and California.

But singer of hits like "The Joker" says the intense heat, flooding, hurricanes and wildfires make it too risky for fans, the band and crew. The 81-year-old says it's not -- it's just not worth the danger. And it's not just a wet weekend ahead, but a hot one to millions of people across the U.S. are facing heat warnings.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is back with us. I mean, we can't even have bands doing concerts now. We can't have any nice things because of this extreme weather.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, METEOROLOGIST: Right, and I get -- look, I get it. It's Summer time. It's supposed to be hot. But --

FREEMAN: Right --

CHINCHAR: When you have to look at the narrative of it, like, how does this compare to a normal Summer? You know, because that's where your comparisons really come in. And that's where these heat alerts come in. We have nearly 40 million people under some type of extreme heat alert, because the temperatures are going to be that much above what they normally would be, even in the Summer.

So, you can see a lot of them are setting up here across portions of the central U.S. and then right there along the Atlantic Coast. But the key thing to note is that some of these, especially the pink area you see here, they begin today and they do not expire until Wednesday of the upcoming week.

And that's because we expect that the heat that is going to start to set up today, you see a little bit of the orange on the map for today. But then you fast forward into Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday, and by the time we get to the end of the week, look at how many of these areas are under this bright orange color, indicating that these temperatures are going to be anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees above where they normally would be this time of year.

Take, for example, Dallas. Look at the forecast coming up. Yes, they're normally hot, 96 is their average high. But they're going to be looking at triple digits by the end of the week. Now what's interesting about this is Dallas has yet to hit a 100 degrees so far this year. They've been lucky to get close, but not quite crossing over into that triple-digit threshold.

However, places like Boston, New York and your hometown, Danny, have made it to a 100 degrees. So, just kind of some perspective there that we've had some northeastern cities that have hit 100, but Dallas has not yet hit 100, but they are very likely going to do so once we get into the latter half of this upcoming week.

FREEMAN: So, these past few months, I should have been going to Dallas. You should be sleeping --

CHINCHAR: You should be going to some other self --

FREEMAN: To beat the heat --

CHINCHAR: Yes --

FREEMAN: Unbelievable. Allison Chinchar, thank you as always --

CHINCHAR: Thanks --

FREEMAN: Appreciate it. The Trump administration is changing course and now plans to create a new database to give Americans precise estimates of their flashflood risk. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it paused work this Summer on the database known as Atlas 15.

The pause came as deadly flashfloods hit Texas and other parts of the U.S. But after reporting from CNN and the "Washington Post" this week and discussions with NOAA officials, the agency received permission to work on the project through next year. Atlas 15 is expected to show how climate change is amplifying flood risks.

It's supposed to have applications from everyone, from civil engineers to prospective homeowners. The pressure and expectations are high. Coming up ahead, we'll give you a look at how students at the FAA, air traffic controllers academy are learning to keep the flying public safe. We're thankful for them.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:40:00]

FREEMAN: The FAA is boosting its efforts to confront their dire shortage of air traffic controllers in the U.S. after the tragic collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and a commercial aircraft in D.C. in January killed 67 people. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy announced an effort to supercharge hiring to address that shortage.

CNN's Pete Muntean went inside the academy, preparing air traffic controllers to manage the high stress and high stakes job.

[06:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is a rare inside look at the epicenter of ending a chronic shortage of air traffic controllers that's burning out workers and delaying flights nationwide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gaining ground, Lear(ph) one hotel delta --

MUNTEAN: Here at the Federal Aviation Administration's controller academy in Oklahoma City, students spend months in classrooms in simulators before moving to on-the-job training at towers and radar facilities that are struggling to retain talent.

(on camera): How bad is the shortage of air traffic controllers in the U.S. right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's had a full-blown staffing crisis.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The latest estimates say the FAA is short 3,000 air traffic controllers. The newest moves by the Trump administration include slashing the time candidates wait to be accepted here and giving them pay bonuses when they reach key training milestones.

SEAN DUFFY, SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION, UNITED STATES: We're thinking creatively on how we can supercharge air traffic control.

MUNTEAN: Changes are working with the FAA just announcing enrollment here is now the highest it has ever been. The FAA says it rejects 90 percent of applicants, and of the students who do get in, 35 percent wash out. Even still, instructors put me to the test.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel confident you can do this.

(LAUGHTER)

MUNTEAN (on camera): Yes, thanks for the pep talk.

(voice-over): This high fidelity control tower simulator is the same one used by academy students. First, I start out by reading from a script in front of me.

(on camera): Twin Cessna 3-1-0 Mike November Academy Tower, enter left downwind runway 2-8 left. I already feel my heart rate going up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, get ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Commander 227 Gulf kilo ready for departure.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Then the program throws more airplanes into the mix, to the point where I have to tell a flight to abort its landing. Citation 3, papa November, go around. Wow, my first go around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it feel?

MUNTEAN (on camera): Fine. Did I mess something up?

(voice-over): Finally, we are fully off script.

(on camera): Challenger 6-5-8-5 Juliet Academy Tower, runway 2-8, right, line up and wait. How did I do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did really good.

MUNTEAN: Do you think I could pull this off if I came to the academy?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll give you six more weeks and you'll be fantastic. MUNTEAN (voice-over): We kept this demonstration fun. Though, the FAA

insists this is serious work in hopes of ending its major staffing problem.

CHRIS WILBANKS, FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION: I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and I don't want to, you know, persuade people to think that's next year. We still have our work cut in front of us, but we are absolutely moving in the right direction.

MUNTEAN: Pete Muntean, CNN, Oklahoma City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: And great story from Pete there. Moving along, 40 years ago this Summer, rock-star Bob Geldof brought Queen, U2, David Bowie and many more together to perform at landmark music event to raise money for famine relief in Africa. See how the legendary concert came together and how the movement continued in a new episode of the CNN original series "LIVE AID" when rock and roll took on the world. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you!

PAUL DAVID HEWSON, IRISH SINGER-SONGWRITER: I can't look back at this moment with two eyes because it was such a bad hair day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a song called "Bad".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like honestly, can you imagine one of your most famous moments of your life and your activism, you've got a mullet. I mean, it's not -- it's not good. It's just not good. And so, I can't look at that --

(MUSIC)

HEWSON: We thought, like so many other people, this is a humanitarian crisis. And the problem is not an African one or an Ethiopian one than say European and American one. We just have to -- little tiny redistribution of resources, and we can sort out the problem. This is not true. But it was as an act of charity, a masterful one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: I don't know, I'm digging the mullet. Be sure to tune in, a new episode of "LIVE AID". When rock and roll took on the world airs tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only right here on CNN. And still to come, retired track star Allyson Felix reflects on her extraordinary career and how she continues to make a difference in the world of sports. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:50:00] FREEMAN: Allyson Felix is the most decorated track and field athlete in Olympic and world athletics championships history. Now, she's talking to CNN about her life after competition, and why she chose to become an advocate for mothers in the sports.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALLYSON FELIX, RETIRED ATHLETE: I went through some dark moments at different points in my career, you know, in my eyes, I felt like I had failed on the biggest stage, and I learned a lot of lessons. I think all that failure, all that disappointment really allowed me to have success later on. And it also allowed me to find my voice and to understand that it was more than just running for me.

And that took a while to get there, but really grateful that I eventually found my way and I'm able to go after other passions as well. I have done what I've loved for the last 20 years, and one day it's over. And so, I've had to hold space for the grief and loss. But then also I get to do things I'm passionate about.

I have my shoe company Sash(ph), I have my management firm for female athletes, Always Alpha(ph), and so, I get to be a part of this momentum that we're having in women's sports right now. And I get to be a part of still the thing that I love, just in a different aspect.

[06:55:00]

I'm trying to listen to the athletes, you know, and hear what they need. And Paris, we were able to bring a nursery to the Olympic village, and that was huge. And so, more things like that, you know, standing up for their mental health and just being an advocate for the athlete voice. The inspiration was really just my own journey coming back to competing after I had my daughter, and just it was really hard.

And it was -- it was difficult and it felt like the systems were not built for mothers to return to sport. I think it's a culture shift. I think we're teaching now our children, we're showing them that this is a possibility. You know, I brought my own daughter to Paris, and she was able to see firsthand mothers competing.

And I think we're changing that perception. And it's a starting point. We can do more to show up for them, and more for women to say that they don't have to choose between the career that they love and motherhood.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Incredible. Love hearing from her on all of this. All right, still ahead, President Trump sues the "Wall Street Journal" for libel over a story about a supposed letter he wrote to Jeffrey Epstein. We have the new details the lawsuit could unveil about the case, and how the President's supporters see it. That's all coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)