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CNN Headlines: What Michigan's Senate Primary Could Reveal About Democrats' Future; Sheriff: Man Arrested On Arson Charge In One Of Three Spokane Fires; Debunking False Health Claims Made By RFK Jr. In CNN Interview. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired August 04, 2026 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[05:30:35]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: It is half past the hour. Let's hit the refresh button on our top stories.
A suspect is facing an arson charge in connection with the Old Trails fire in Spokane, Washington. These stunning pictures showing the aftermath witnessed by returning neighbors and families. This is just one of three major fires that is burning out of control in this city since Saturday and one of 17 that has been raging nationwide as well. It's not just Washington as firefighters in Oregon -- they are at it too.
The Pacific Northwest faces its worst fire season in decades right now and together Washington and Oregon have seen an area bigger than Delaware burn so far this year.
And President Trump warns that Iran has a last chance to sign a deal with the U.S. to end the war but adds there are no time constraints on negotiations. Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister says it's focused only on talks with Oman to establish a safe, temporary route through the Strait of Hormuz.
And it is officially primary day in Michigan and voters are set to cast their ballots in a key race for U.S. Senate. Democrats need the win if they stand a chance at taking back control of the chamber.
CNN's Jeff Zeleny has a look at the candidates' final preparations.
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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It's Michigan's moment and a Democratic battle like no other. Congresswoman Haley Stevens and the full weight of the party establishment trying to stop Abdul El-Sayed in a rising progressive movement as their Senate primary on Tuesday has become a fight for the direction of the Democratic Party.
HALEY STEVENS, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: I love bringing a little bit of that grit and a little bit of that Michigan way, and maybe just a little bit of that stick it to 'em.
ABDUL EL-SAYED, (D) MICHIGAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Michigan, right now, is the center of the political universe because our people need and deserve health care. Our people need and deserve a fair pay for a fair day's labor.
ZELENY (voiceover): For the first time, a year of insurgent Democratic wins in deep blue districts will be tested in a statewide marquee battleground. To win a Senate majority Democrats must hold Michigan and flip four Republican-held seats.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's be clear, folks. We will not take back the Senate if we lose Michigan.
ZELENY (voiceover): In the final hours of a bruising contest here November electability is stoking August anxiety.
REV. CHARLES WILLIAMS II: You know --
ZELENY (voiceover): Reverend Charles Williams II believes Stevens is the strongest choice for a fall campaign where Democrats have no run for error.
WILLIAMS: And she's the only one in the race that's actually been elected. She worked in the executive branch and, of course, she has been a legislator. There's nobody else in the race at this time that has that cache.
ZELENY: How much of this is about convincing people that you can win in November?
EL-SAYED: The question of can I win in November is a -- is a question that voters alone can answer. So, you know, electability is a thing that's best defined after the fact, so if and win I get elected then we'll know I'm electable.
ZELENY (voiceover): El-Sayed, a doctor and former public health official whose parents immigrated to the U.S. from Egypt, was born and raised in Michigan. He confronts questions of electability head on.
EL-SAYED: It's not about me. You know who they're talking about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You.
EL-SAYED: They're talking about you. They're saying that you're not open-minded enough. You're not big-hearted enough to elect somebody named Abdul.
ZELENY (voiceover): Stevens was elected to Congress in a 2018 Democratic wave, winning a Republican-held seat in the Detroit suburbs. She's backed by more than $60 million in outside spending on TV ads, including from a pro-Israel group, in a race that's been partially defined by the Democratic Party's split on U.S. support for Israel.
STEVENS: There is a reason why Republicans are already spending thousands and thousands of dollars meddling in this primary, trying to maybe get their preferred candidate. Look, when it comes to Michigan, I run through anyone and anything to stand up for us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: All right. Thank you, Jeff.
[05:35:00]
Multiple sources say that President Trump did not fire U.S. attorney for D.C. and longtime ally Jeanine Pirro following a meeting at the White House. Sources telling CNN that Trump is "furious" at Pirro after she admitted in a court filing that the problems with the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation were the result of a "botched installation" and not of vandalism.
Pirro and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum -- they each blamed each other for the case falling apart. Pirro drew Trump's anger after she dropped the charges against the three-time Olympian who the administration claimed damaged the reflecting pool.
The administration said David Hearn cut the lining of the pool, which Trump had renovated. Hearns's attorney spoke with CNN's Brianna Keilar last night and he says that they are concerned Hearn could still be charged in the future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE LEVIN, ATTORNEY FOR DAVID HEARN: Initially, when there was no case. And so notwithstanding the admissions that the U.S. attorney made in her filing, what's to prevent them from refiling charges that hold no water? So that's why we intend to ask the court to dismiss this case with prejudice, meaning the government would not be able to refile charges.
BRIANNA KEILER, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah. So they can't get a second bite of the apple would be your hope there.
Trump claimed again today that there is actually evidence that the reflecting pool was vandalized. Let's listen to that.
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have photographs or tapes -- like moving cameras, right? We have them where people are on the side cutting it with a box knife. The tape isn't a great tape in the sense that you -- it's a little hard to say it exactly was. But it was people cutting this very expensive material -- waterproofing material.
KEILAR: Now, Trump has pointed to a video that shows a few people putting their hands in the water in broad daylight -- you see it here -- right near Park Service employees. Is Hearn in this video?
LEVIN: No. David Hearn is not in that video.
We've seen the evidence. We've seen the lack of evidence, as has the U.S. attorney, and that's what prompted her finally to acknowledge she had no case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Hearn has previously pleaded not guilty to the felony charge.
All right. Crews are battling three major wildfires in Spokane this morning. Look at some of the shocking images that these firefighters are catching as tens of thousands remain evacuated from their homes. Those already able to return are finding absolutely devastation.
And now a major development last night as a suspect was charged with arson. Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson put it in perspective for us.
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GOV. BOB FERGUSON, (D) WASHINGTON: If I was someone who had lost everything -- my home and everything -- to think that this happened intentionally by an individual -- that it wasn't because of a lightning strike or, you know, caused by nature in some way, I just have to believe it adds to the absolute anguish that so many Washingtonians are experiencing.
And just to be clear -- just to your viewers are aware, these are neighborhoods right in the city of Spokane and these are entire neighborhoods where you look at the images -- and you have images on CNN, by the way -- it looks like a bomb went off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: More than 700 structures have been destroyed in these three Spokane fires alone with more than a dozen wildfires across the state burning right now.
One family lost generations of memories. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LIZZIE DAVIS, SPOKANE WILDFIRE VICTIM: This was my childhood home my family lived in for 18 years. We moved here when I was 11 and I'm 29 now.
And yeah, this was just where I grew up. I still only live three minutes down the road so I was here nearly every day still with my parents. And yeah, we lost literally everything. All the family heirlooms.
My dad had actually just finished paying off the house. Yeah, um-hum, he worked -- he worked really hard for that. And I'm really grateful for everything that he was able to provide for my family. It was a beautiful home. It really was.
It is a very, very hard loss. All of my mine and my siblings' childhood pictures, all the baby clothes, I'm pretty sure my grandpa's ashes, jewelry, my grandpa's old war stuff. Everything -- all my grandma's old hats and clothes. Everything was in there from my mom's side of the family line, so -- (END VIDEOTAPE)
[05:40:00]
SMITH: Her account and so many others just heartbreaking to hear. That's Lizzie Davis, though, of Spokane, Washington, standing and remembering among all that's left. But thousands have yet to return home and one official telling CNN that it will take weeks before these fires are completely extinguished.
Well, there was a daring emergency landing on a Florida highway, and it was all caught on camera. The pilot experienced engine failure and was forced to land on an interstate in Escambia County.
You can see the plane coming over the top of this big rig. Here is the driver.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC JORDAN, TRUCK DRIVER: If I wouldn't have seen that shadow over my truck and slowed down, he would have been in the side of the cab.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: OK. So the pilot reported a burning smell in the cockpit and decided that they couldn't make it to the airport. A flight student also was on the plane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PILOT: We're gonna keep it high for now, but we do now have burning oil smell in cockpit.
TOWER: Burning oil smell?
PILOT: Yeah. Our oil pressure is dropping down into the red and we do have fumes in the cockpit from the oil.
TOWER: Roger. And you said it's in the red for Warrior 41622?
PILOT: It's completely in the red for 622. We would like to go ahead and declare an emergency for 41622. We are not making the airport. We're going down on I-10. I just want to let you know we are lined up with I-10 trying to avoid the cars.
TOWER: Number 622, Roger. We're going to get everybody over there as fast as they can to help you out.
PILOT: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Thankfully, no one was hurt. The landing caused a traffic backup on the interstate, but all lanes were back open by early afternoon. A witness list has been released ahead of the murder trial of Duane
Davis, the man charged in connection with the killing of Tupac Shakur, and on that list is former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight. Now he was in the car with Tupac when the rapper was fatally shot in Las Vegas in 1996. Knight is currently serving a 28-year prison sentence on unrelated charges and has previously said that he would not testify.
Other witnesses include members of Shakur's family and the man who wrote a book with Davis. The trial is set to begin August 10.
It is time for Buzz Express, the stories that have people talking.
And first up, Ariana Grande opened up to her fans during her concert in Chicago last night about her decision to step out of the public spotlight.
She read a written speech saying the decision was not a reactive or impulsive thing, and it was something that she had planned quietly a long time ago. She says it's not true that the negativity was ruining things for her. After she finished her speech, she told the crowd "that felt good."
Over the weekend it was announced that she was taking a break after her tour ends after endless and ongoing public scrutiny.
All right. Next year's theme for the Met Gala is already causing some controversy and here's the issue. In 2011, famed designed John Galliano's career -- it was upended when he was arrested for a series of antisemitic and racist incidents. That includes a video where he professed his love for Hitler. He has since taken accountability for his actions and says that he was addicted to drugs and alcohol at the time. Vogue editor Anna Wintour says that he is a great designer whose career isn't defined by a moment.
All right. And dust off your top eight list. Myspace is reportedly making a comeback. People magazine reports brothers Chris and Tim Vanderhook, who now own the social media platform, revealed in their upcoming documentary that they're just waiting for the right time to relaunch it. Myspace had a reported 300 million registered accounts by 20 -- well, 2008.
Next on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, rabbit fever. Health officials seeing cases of a rare illness caused by bites from ticks and flies. We've got the details ahead.
And why retro refrigerators sold by Amazon and Home Depot are now being recalled. Stay tuned.
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[05:48:35]
SMITH: Well, people have been talking all about Health Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s fiery interview with CNN's Dana Bash over the weekend where he continued to push medical misinformation. CNN medical correspondent Meg Tirrell debunks his false claims.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MEG TIRRELL CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: If you watched RFK Jr.'s interview over the weekend with CNN's Dana Bash you heard a lot of things from the health secretary that are not backed up by science. Like the idea that Lyme disease came from a lab.
ROBERT K. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: Clearly, the COVID-19 pandemic and many other global pandemics that we have, have come from gain of function research. The RSV epidemic that we have, that's the biggest killer of kids in this country today, came from these kinds of experiments. The Lyme disease almost certainly came from this kind of research.
TIRRELL: Now, this has come up a lot around the debate over origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it refers to work done to alter viruses in a lab to better understand their function, including potential risks.
Scientists say what RFK Jr. said is not accurate. Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria that research has shown to be about 60,000 years old. A 5,300-year-old iceman was even shown to have evidence of Lyme disease infection.
As for RSV, a respiratory virus, it was discovered in the 1950s, decades before the scientific tools had been developed to be able to manipulate viruses in such a way in a lab.
[05:50:00]
And on COVID, while there is a debate over whether the virus could have leaked from a lab, the vast majority of experts in virology say that the evidence points to more likely it being a spillover event from animals to humans.
But there's more, like this moment on the COVID vaccine.
KENNEDY: Can you show me one study?
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I can.
KENNEDY: That shows that --
BASH: I can.
KENNEDY: -- children weren't protected by the COVID vaccine.
TIRRELL: Here's one from the CDC published in December. It shows that even in 2024 to 2025, "COVID-19 vaccination provided children with additional protection against COVID-19-associated emergency department or urgent care visits."
Or on a purported link between Tylenol and autism.
KENNEDY: Well, there's 73 studies out there that link Tylenol exposure during later pregnancy and during the perinatal period to autism onset.
TIRRELL: But RFK Jr.'s own FDA commissioner wrote to physicians last September saying, "A causal relationship has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature."
In a separate press release the commissioner emphasized that "High fevers in pregnant women can pose a risk to their children."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: New York health officials say that they have seen three probable cases of what's called "Rabbit Fever" on Long Island. The rare infection can occur after a bite from a tick or a fly that has previously bitten a sick mammal -- typically, a rabbit. According to the CDC, fewer than 200 cases are reported each year. The disease can cause fever, swollen lymph nodes, fatigue and skin sores.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, summer is not over but hey, it's never too early to get in the Halloween spirit, and one store is ready to cash in now.
Plus, there's this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone's got a shotgun. He just pointed it at me. A shot fired at him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: A six-hour standoff between a suspect and deputies. What else that bodycam video shows straight ahead. Keep it right here.
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[05:56:20]
SMITH: In today's Money Express, an important recall that you need to know about after a deadly fire from a retro fridge. Maribel Aber joins us with that and the rest of your top Money Express headlines. Maribel, what do we know?
MARIBEL ABER, CNN CORRESPONDENT, MONEY MATTERS: OK, Brad. More than 121,000 Galanz retro refrigerators sold through Amazon and Home Depot are being recalled after a deadly electric fire. The Consumer Products Safety Commission says electric components can short-circuit, creating a fire hazard. The recall notice follows one reported death and 34 other additional fire reports. Customers should stop using the refrigerators immediately and contact Galanz to schedule a free in- home repair. Full recall details are on the CPSC's website.
Spirit Halloween has opened its first store of the season. The flagship located in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey welcomed shoppers August 1. The retailer plans a record 1,575 pop-up locations this year and expects to hire about 52,000 seasonal workers. Applications are available at workforspirit.com. And fall flavors are already making their way to menus. Dairy Queen has introduced its seasonal caramel, apple, cheesecake Blizzard available through August. More fall treats are on the way, including pumpkin pie, brown sugar cookie dough, and toasted marshmallow mocha Blizzards.
Pumpkin Spice Latte season is also around the corner, brad. Dunkin' launches its fall menu August 19, followed by Starbucks on the 25th.
Brad, I'm not ready to put the swimsuit away.
SMITH: We just had back-to-school this week and then immediately Halloween stores are reopening up. Pumpkin spice lattes are already back. Give us a second. Just give us a moment.
ABER: We just need a little bit.
SMITH: Just a little bit.
Maribel Aber, thank you so much.
Let's get a check in some of the other stories making news across the country.
We start in Florida. A six-hour standoff with a suspect took place and investigators say that he was acting strangely and pointed a shotgun at a deputy from a window.
Take a look at some of the bodycam video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POLICE OFFICER: Suspect is still inside. I have a visual. I'm taking cover behind the structure. He's last talking about meeting demon and he's going to shoot me, and then he pointed a rifle at me.
Hand up! Sheriff's office, hands up! Hands up now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't do anything.
POLICE OFFICER: Hands up! On the ground! Get down. Stay right there. Do not move.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: The suspect surrendered and no one was hurt. Deputies had been called there to check in on him and now he's accused of aggravated assault on an officer and is being held without bail.
All right, let's take you out west to California. That's where a stranded horse is back home after getting stuck in the rugged wilderness. It didn't mess up with his mane though. That's some serious hairdo.
The horse and rider became separated during an annual 100-mile endurance ride. Officials had to fly in a specialized team to locate and sedate the animal before it was hoisted to safety by a police helicopter. Rescuers were able to find the horse thanks to a GPS device attached to its saddle.
All right. And in Minnesota, someone took their bubble bath to a whole new level. They added soap to this public water fountain in Duluth and now -- well, police are searching for the person responsible. The area has since been closed off.
[06:00:00]
But some people, as you could see -- they could not resist having some fun with it. I mean, let's just take a second and -- yes, there is a little bit of joy that can be had. Just look at the scene. People are just trying to figure out what is going on. And yeah, you've got to play with some bubbles every now and then. It is summertime.
That does it for CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. I'm Brad Smith. "CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts right now.
