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CNN Headlines: Devastating Fires Overnight Burn Parts of Spokane, Washington; Todd Blanche Makes a Decision That Could Win Over Some Republicans in His Fight to Become the Next Attorney General; Craft Store in Nantucket Sparks a Massive Online Debate After Posting a "No Influencers" Sign. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 03, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BRAD SMITH, ANCHOR, CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS: Devastating fires overnight burning parts of Spokane, Washington, and they left some people with just minutes to escape. And a major development overnight as well, Todd Blanche made a decision that could win over some Republicans in his fight to become the next Attorney General.
And a ban on influencers. One store has the internet divided. We'll take a deep dive into this fight. Good morning, everyone, I'm Brad Smith, this is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, glad that you're with us this morning. Let's get this started.
We begin with intense new video out of Washington State. A harrowing last-minute escape. Take a look.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is -- insane.
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SMITH: That is Tessa Anderson and her husband. They were beach camping along the Spokane River when they were forced to flee. They are OK now, but tell CNN, they only had 30 minutes between the first sign of danger and this, just one of many stories as tens of thousands evacuate these historic fires now burning in and around the Spokane area.
So, here are some of the details, 0 percent containment on the three biggest fires in Spokane County, 15 fires burning statewide, together engulfing an area larger than New York City. And as more people evacuate, some are already returning to complete destruction. See it for yourself.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my gosh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think we should -- oh my gosh. Holy crap, look, it's over here --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hot. There's a car.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, they're turning around.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's coming from over there by the back road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess this is a nuclear bomb going off in our neighborhoods, and it's not like forest fires, because this is condensed into where it's demographically a lot of people. So, it's really tragic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The primary mission is life structure protection. And so, wherever those two things are, those are the number one priority for the firefighters.
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SMITH: Just truly staggering the scope and scale of this devastation. And you're looking now at a time lapse from CNN's Julia Vargas Jones as she arrived in Spokane to report on this unfolding disaster. Thick wildfire smoke driving Spokane's air quality to be among the worst in the nation.
We're going to hear more from her later this hour. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says that he is formally rescinding President Trump's so-called Anti-Weaponization Fund. The decision to revoke it could remove a major hurdle in President Trump's push to have the Senate permanently approve Blanche as the nation's Attorney General.
Republican John Cornyn and Thom Tillis each threatened to hold their critical votes for Blanche's confirmation until there's a written assurance the controversial fund would not be resurrected. Cornyn's spokesperson confirmed a deal has been reached with the Justice Department to issue a formal termination.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to meet tomorrow for a potential vote on Blanche's nomination. Well, President Trump says that the U.S. and Iran will resume negotiations today. This is after calling off a planned attack on Iran over the weekend. Here's what he told reporters on Air Force One.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're all set to go. But when the allies ask to call it off, you've got to sort of say, well, let's see. And the reason they asked is, I think there's a deal.
There's a deal on Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear -- or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran. I call it the denuclearization of Iran. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: But the President warns that the U.S. remains locked and loaded if diplomacy fails. Iran denies asking for the strikes to be called off. Tehran, for its part, is not backing down on its claim to supervise the critical waterway.
State media reports that Iran's Foreign Minister held several high- level phone calls with senior Saudi and Pakistani officials on Sunday. CNN's Julia Benbrook has the latest.
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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): President Donald Trump said that talks with Iran will resume on Monday after calling off what he referred to as a massive attack. Officials had told our team leading up to this, that the President was considering planning for new strikes against Iran, and that, that included an option of going after Iran's energy sites.
Now, Trump took to social media over the weekend to say that he was canceling that planned attack, but that, that decision was contingent on Tehran rapidly making a deal. I want to pull up that post for you now.
In it, he said that the United States remains, quote, "locked and loaded", but added, despite this, we have just been asked by Iran and other Middle Eastern countries to hold off any attack, and that the parameters of a deal has been agreed to.
This move comes after Trump spoke with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince, and according to people familiar with that conversation, there was a push for de-escalation and concerns were expressed about these potential strikes.
Trump said that allies pushing for him not to go through with this did play a role in that decision. Now, he says that parts, parameters of a deal are now in place. It's not clear exactly what that means as we have heard him use similar language throughout this now, more than five-month long conflict.
As he traveled back to Washington from here in New Jersey, where he spent most of his weekend, he was asked specifically if there was a deadline to come to an agreement. Take a listen.
TRUMP: Just see how it is. We're ready to go any time we want. Would I rather make a deal? I'm not looking to kill people because people die. A lot of people die.
BENBROOK: And it's important to note that throughout this conflict, we have seen Trump go back-and-forth between expressing hope for a diplomatic solution, a diplomatic breakthrough, and threatening further escalation. Julia Benbrook, CNN, New Jersey.
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SMITH: Thank you, Julia. A shocking scene after a mass shooting at an In-N-Out burger in Twin Falls, Idaho, over the weekend. Police say that three people were killed and seven others were wounded. And here you see employees in their signature red aprons running as shots were fired. Listen to how witnesses describe this scary situation.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were just sitting there, and then I was playing on my phone, and then I heard a couple pops. He popped one shot at the vehicle, and that's when I ducked down until my two little brothers too ducked down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in the roundabout, you heard everybody running, screaming, shooter, active shooter, and we had to stop because I didn't want to run over all the employees. And then we heard some shots boom.
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SMITH: Video from a passing car shows a person who law enforcement says is not the suspect shooting outside the In-N-Out restaurant. According to the police chief, an off-duty state trooper, and a civilian engaged the suspect by firing their guns.
And now, we are learning that an employee of the In-N-Out was among those killed. The company's President shared a statement on social media saying, "we lost one of our beautiful associates tonight. She was taking care of our most important asset, our customers, and her life was taken by a disgusting human who doesn't value the lives of others or his own."
The police chief says the 24-year-old suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators believe that he acted alone. Happening today in South Carolina, five Republicans vying for the Senate seat of the late Senator Lindsey Graham are set to hold a debate.
It comes just days before early voting ahead of the primary election a week from tomorrow. Now, the candidates include Darline Graham, who is finishing her brother's term, as well as Congressman Ralph Norman and the former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.
President Trump is still doubling down on his claims that vandals damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, even after his own Justice Department said they had no basis. Writing in court filings that it was all caused by the rushed renovation.
The Justice Department has dropped charges against former Olympian David Hearn, who they accused of vandalizing the pool. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro claimed other government departments withheld key information in the case.
But Interior Secretary Doug Burgum pushed back against that, siding with Trump and still saying that vandals are to blame. We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Ohio Congressman Max Miller says that he's staying in his re-election race despite the allegations of abuse against his ex-wife.
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We've got new details from his nearly 20-minute public video. Plus, jurors will be back in the courtroom today in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial after getting a tour of the family's home. What prosecutors wanted to show them, that's coming your way.
And later, Ariana Grande says that she's taking a break from the public eye after her tour ends in a few weeks.
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SMITH: The Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial will continue today after an emotional first week of testimony and jurors visiting the home where Clancy strangled her three children. CNN's Brynn Gingras reports with more.
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BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the home in Duxbury, Massachusetts, where 35-year-old Lindsay Clancy fatally strangled her three small children in 2023. Jurors in her murder trial were taken by bus there on Friday, instructed by the judge to go inside as well as outside, where Clancy was found semi-conscious in the backyard following a suicide attempt after strangling five-year- old Cora, three-year-old Dawson and eight-month-old Callan.
(On camera): Jurors were instructed not to touch anything, not to open any doors or drawers. But prosecutors and defense attorneys could point to various items inside the home for the jurors to observe. They were eventually taken back to court, where they heard further testimony from medical professionals who described efforts to revive the children. Clancy sobbing throughout.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And about how long into your care of Callan did he regain a heartbeat?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably from the time that he got to the ER, maybe like ten minutes or so, I'm guessing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point in time, did he regain the ability to breathe on his own while he was in your care?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
GINGRAS: Jurors were also shown graphic photographs of the wounds that Clancy had inflicted on herself to try to take her own life after strangling her three children.
This marks the end of the first week of the trial, which included emotional testimony from her ex-husband, Patrick, and is expected to last about 6 to 8 weeks as her defense team acknowledges that Clancy killed the children, but argues she should not be held criminally responsible, and that she was in postpartum psychosis when she committed the crimes.
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SMITH: Jay Clayton will take over as Director of National Intelligence today. Clayton was confirmed by the Senate last week. He's expected to be sworn in this week, and there were reports that acting Director Bill Pulte was going to remain in the role for a transition period, but that's now apparently not happening.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, police released the full ransom notes in the Nancy Guthrie case over the weekend. What they reveal and what Savannah Guthrie is saying six months after her mom's disappearance.
Plus, new images of the aftermath of a deadly crash in Greece when two firefighting helicopters collided mid-air. Stay tuned. You're watching CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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SMITH: It's now been six months since Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared from her home near Tucson, Arizona. Investigators have released the contents of two kidnaping notes in hopes of generating new leads in the case. CNN's Josh Campbell has a closer look for us.
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JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We now know the contents of two notes addressed to the family of Nancy Guthrie by her purported kidnappers according to law enforcement. This information is being released by the Pima County sheriff's office on the six-month anniversary of the disappearance of Nancy, who, of course, is the mother of "NBC" anchor Savannah Guthrie.
Now, authorities say they want the public to pay particular attention to the writing style, to the syntax. They're still trying to identify who may have taken Nancy captive. And they say that this could be a key piece of information.
Now, on February 2nd, there were letters that were received by media outlets purporting to be from the people who took Nancy. They say that they have heard that she is safe. They went on to make a ransom demand.
And then the letter continues, "if payment is not received, the ransom will be increased to $6 million U.S., which will need to be paid by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, the 9th. Once payment is received to the bitcoin address below, she will be released within 12 hours of deposit to a safe drop-off location back in Tucson.
If payment is not received by the last deadline on Monday, the 9th at 5:00 p.m., she will be killed. Your mother is aware of this, and her life is in your hands." Now, fast-forward, a few days later, yet another letter is received by media outlets addressed to the Guthrie family.
This time, they say, "we did not fully grasp the seriousness of her physical condition. We never intended to hurt her, that was not our intention. She perished shortly after she was taken. We believe it was heart related. She was buried in nature now. Nothing you could have done could have changed the outcome.
We want your family to know this and hope you all can find peace." They go on to say that "we are truly sorry." Now, we have been reporting on different pieces of information that authorities have, that also includes DNA from the actual crime scene.
Authorities say it's still being tested in order to try to identify the people responsible. Of course, there's also that dramatic video evidence where you can see at Nancy's doorstep, a masked man coming on the day that she was taken captive. Authorities continue to appeal to the public for any information about that individual.
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SMITH: Savannah Guthrie took to social media to mark the somber anniversary. In a lengthy post, she pleaded for the public's help in bringing her mother home, writing, quote, "our hearts are in ruins." She added that her family has a determination to, quote, "give her the dignity of a proper goodbye."
The post also reiterated that a $1.2 million reward is available. Well, investigators are looking for answers this morning after a sightseeing plane crashed in Peru, killing all 13 people aboard.
That includes 11 tourists, and police say that they were flying over the ancient Nazca Lines, the archeological site, when it went down. The plane took off one day after flights were suspended due to strong winds.
This ferry caught on fire with 271 people on board. This was off of Indonesia's coast, and a tugboat and another ship helped evacuate the passengers. But at least, five people have been killed and dozens more are missing. That fire is under investigation.
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Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, we hear from one of the 700 families who have already lost their homes in the Spokane area fires. And they're still at 0 percent containment. The fires are. We've got more details there. Plus, there's this.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely, he should step down. He can't serve.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he should be more forthcoming. I don't think there's any question that he should give an interview to the press.
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SMITH: Voters in Kentucky weigh in as Senator Mitch McConnell has been absent from Congress for more than six weeks now. That's coming up on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS.
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