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Tsunami Waves Hit U.S. Shores After Massive Quake Off Russian Coast; DOJ Files Memo for Unsealing Epstein, Maxwell Grand Jury Testimony; NYPD Sending Investigators to Las Vegas Where Gunman Lived. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired July 30, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The breaking news this morning, tsunami waves hit the United States after one of the strongest earthquakes in recorded history hits off the coast of Russia, tsunami advisories in effect for millions.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: He stole her President Trump. New explanation that we're hearing really just for the first time about why he ended his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He claims Epstein poached employees from Mar-a-Lago.

And the prices of some of your favorite household products are about to get more expensive thanks in part to the president's tariffs.

Sara is out today. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan, and this is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: And the breaking news, parts of the West Coast are waking up to tsunami alerts after one of the strongest earthquakes on record strikes off Russia's far eastern coast. The first waves reached U.S. shores in California, Oregon, and Washington State overnight after also reaching Hawaii and Alaska,

Hear that sirens blared on Hawaii's big island as authorities told people to get off the beaches and seek higher ground. Officials in Hawaii have reported waves of more than five feet in some areas. New images we also have in show just lines of traffic as people are doing what they need to heating the warnings and moving away from coastal areas. Authorities have yet to give an all clear and a tsunami advisory remains in effect across that state.

The 8.8 magnitude quake that triggered the tsunami threat is the strongest since 2011, tied as the sixth most powerful earthquake on record. The force of it damaged a kindergarten in Russia, caused flooding that washed away at least one building. A lot of that damage is still kind of being assessed. And we also want you to take a look at this video we're going to show you. It's video taken the moment the quake hit, and this is the view from an operating room in Eastern Russia mid surgery. Officials say that the doctors and the surgical staff are able to complete the surgery of the patient doing well, but you can see them just all trying to hold on.

CNN's Veronica Miracles in Santa Monica, California Forest this morning to start us off. What is the latest, what are you hearing?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, Kate, the most pressing concern here in Southern California as people wake up is going to be the strong current. In Los Angeles County, the beaches run by L.A. County, they're going to be closed at least through noon. They're canceling all beach events. They're asking people to stay not only off the beaches, out of the bathrooms. They don't want anyone near these L.A. County Beach coastlines because of how concerned they are about the strength of the waves.

Yes, there was not any damage here in Southern California. There is no flooding, really the best case scenario, but that doesn't mean that the water can still suck people back in. And so there's a lot of concern right now. We're just a couple of hours away from morning surfers, morning swimmers showing up, and they'll find that a lot of these beaches -- many of the beaches along the coastline here in Southern California are closed.

Now, some of the most significant waves along the west coast from Washington, all the way down to California, wherein Northern California waves reaching as high as three feet. And that's really where the biggest concern is on along the West Coast.

And in Hawaii there was some damage, there was some low lying flooding and there were some big waves, but it could have been so much worse. There was a lot of chaos, though, as those warnings were coming in, as people were being told to get away from low-line coastal areas. In fact, one cruise ship passenger, he was stranded on the big island. He couldn't make it back to the boat in time before it took off. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY BOOKER, CRUISE PASSENGER STRANDED IN HAWAII: We were up visiting Volcano National Park and saw the tsunami warning go off on our phones. And then one of the tour operators from our cruise ship, the Pride of America, said, everyone back to the ship as fast as you can. Ship's leaving at 3:30. And but we knew at that point we weren't going to make it. So, it's pulling away now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[07:05:00]

MIRACLE: Now, the good news is that in Hawaii, it seems that the worst is over. Harbors are being opened back up. People are being allowed back into their homes near the coastal areas. But officials all over are warning people to stay vigilant. Again, these currents are incredibly strong. And so here in Southern California, as we wake up, as people come out to the beaches, that is going to be the biggest concern right now. Kate?

BOLDUAN: All right. Veronica, thank you so much for that update for us this morning. I really appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right. Let's get more on the progression of these waves through the Pacific. Let's get right to CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar for the latest. What have you seen?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. So, we take a look at some of these numbers and they're quite impressive here. You look around Hawaii, you've got several here between that four to even as almost nearly six feet of water. Now, keep in mind, this is above where that water level would normally be. One of the concerns that Hawaii had was at the time that first wave pushed in, they were also dealing with high tide, making those water levels even higher than they normally would be.

Here, you can see kind of the normal ebb and flow of the water. This is taken from a station, a co-op station on Maui. Then you really start to see those waves propagate right here, the big up and downswings right through there. Those were the first couple of waves. Then you start to see them kind of begin to slowly start to get lower and lower. We are not having quite as large of waves.

But Hawaii was not the only one dealing with this. Again, you can see some of the waves here across portions of California as well as Oregon Arena Cove looking at three feet, Crescent City, looking at 2.5-foot waves.

So, again, very impressive numbers here. And it goes to show why some of these areas were under tsunami warnings for several hours. They are no longer right now, but the Western Aleutian Islands as well as Hawaii had previously been under a tsunami warning. Right, now the only area we have left under a tsunami warning is that portion of Northern California where you see that orange color. Everywhere else has now been downgraded down to a tsunami advisory, that is one level down.

Now, the reason why this section of Northern California is still there compared to the area around it is because the bathymetry of that coastline makes it more susceptible, more prone to some of those higher levels of water pushing in along the shore, making it more susceptible to some of those stronger waves coming in. That is why that area is still under the warning compared to the rest of the area around it.

Now, here's what we have to understand. Not every earthquake triggers a tsunami. There are a lot of criteria you have to have, the depth of the earthquake, the magnitude of the earthquake, what type of fault line was it. All of these factors come into play. With this particular earthquake, we had basically every ingredient necessary for that tsunami.

This red dot is where the epicenter was for the quake. Now, what happens is when the tsunami begins, it pushes all of that water essentially in one direction. In this case, it was down to the south and down to the east. But we can time the arrival of those tsunami waves at very, very close numbers. So, you can see here 3 hours, 5 hours, 10 hours, 15 hours. We know exactly when that first wave of arrival is going to be for all of the areas around it. And that's what we've essentially done the last 12 hours is basically time out every single first wave to come through. But I keep saying first wave, because here's the thing, if you take a rock or a stone and you drop it into water, it's going to create ripples. But it's not just one ripple. There's many ripples. And that's what a tsunami wave does as well. In fact, some people believe that the first wave is going to be the strongest, but in reality, that's not always the case. It could be the second wave, the third wave, or even the fourth wave that ends up being the biggest of all of the tsunami waves that come through.

So, that's why a lot of these instances in Hawaii and in California. The officials still have yet to tell people the all-clear because you have to wait and see for multiple of those waves to come through to really be able to determine whether or not conditions are finally safe for folks to get back out and go check out their homes and their businesses.

BERMAN: Which is why people need to stay on alert, particularly in Northern California where that higher level warning is still in place.

Allison Chinchar, thank you very much for that. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Well, President Trump says Jeffrey Epstein, quote/unquote, stole young women that worked at his Mar-a-Lago spa. So, what really happened that led to Trump cutting ties years ago.

And New York investigators are headed to Las Vegas as they continue searching for the answer of to why, why a man would attack and carry out a mass shooting in a New York City office building in broad daylight. We've got much more details on that.

And authorities in Arkansas are releasing a photo of who they are calling a person of interest in the deaths of a mother and father on a hiking trail.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: New this morning, the Justice Department is trying again to get grand jury testimony unsealed in the cases of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. The department filed a memo in New York overnight arguing a judge released more of the investigative record. Attorney General Pam Bondy and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche cited intense public interest in the case and that Epstein is now dead, and therefore, no longer has a personal stake in the matter.

So, President Trump, who claims he wants people focused on other things, keeps making new statements that raise questions, including a new explanation for why he ended his friendship with Epstein. He now says it stems from Epstein, quote, stealing Mar-a-Lago employees, young women who worked in the resort's spa.

[07:15:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: He took people. And because he took people, I say, don't do it anymore, you know, they work for me, and he took beyond that. He took some others. And once he did that, that was the end to him. I didn't like where they steal people. I don't like it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Let's get right to CNN's Kevin Liptak at the White House, expansive, and frankly new compared to what we've heard in the past, Kevin.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Comments that we've heard from the president about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, which has obviously proven a liability for him as he tries to tamp down on some of this fear. It also raised some more questions though about the timeline of the president's relationship of how exactly he was aware or not aware of what Jeffrey Epstein was doing.

Now, remember, last week the White House said that the president cut off his relationship with Epstein because he was, quote, a creep. And yesterday on Air Force One, the president provided a few more details about what exactly that looked like. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, you said yesterday your falling out with Jeffrey Epstein was over him taking some of the workers from your business, but your administration in the past said that you threw him out because he was a creep. So, can you explain that?

TRUMP: Well, maybe they're the same thing. You know, sort of a little bit of the same thing. But, no, he took people that worked for me, and I told him, don't do it anymore. And he did it. And I said, stay the hell out of here.

REPORTER: Mr. President, did one of those stolen, you know, persons, did that include Virginia Giuffre?

TRUMP: I don't know. I think she worked at the spa. I think so. I think that was one of the people. He stole her. And, by the way, she had no complaints about us, as you know, none whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: So, you hear him mention there, Virginia Giuffre, who is probably the most well known of Jeffrey Epstein's victims. She has said in a deposition that she was recruited from Mar-a-Lago, where she was working as a locker room attendant back in 2000. She was 16 at the time, and she says that that is when she entered this criminal ring of Jeffrey Epstein. She says that she was passed around like a platter of fruit to rich and powerful predators, including Prince Andrew of Britain, who has denied those allegations.

Now, there is a question of the timeline here, because Virginia Giuffre says that she was recruited from Mar-a-Lago in 2000, but the president was still sort of offering warm words about Jeffrey Epstein two years after that. Remember, there's that magazine profile that came out in 2002 that Trump said that Epstein was, quote, a terrific guy and had that now infamous, quote, it is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.

So, it doesn't seem as if her case alone is what caused the president to cut off his relationship with Epstein. Of course, he also said on Air Force One, that this happened multiple times, that women were, quote, stolen from Mar-a-Lago. We also know that he and Epstein had a dispute over property in Palm Beach. But certainly still, I think, plenty of questions that the president raised, even as he is now elaborating more on this fallout that he had with Epstein so many decades ago.

BERMAN: And, of course, Virginia Giuffre died by suicide earlier this year, I spoke to someone who has spoken to many of the victims of Jeffrey Epstein and the type of language that the president used here, he stole her. There is concern that it's dehumanizing for the people who've gone through this.

Kevin Liptak at the White House this morning, thank you very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Sure. Still ahead for us, the medical examiner says the New York City shooting suspect's brain will now be examined after his suicide note claimed that he suffered from CTE, and as investigators expand their search for answers now.

And also this morning, jury deliberations resume in the trial of the Colorado dentist accused of murdering his wife by poisoning her shakes.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: We're getting new details this morning in Manhattan's deadliest shooting in years. The NYPD is sending investigators to Las Vegas where the gunman lived. And we learned the medical examiner's office will examine his brain to see if he had CTE. The shooter's suicide note claimed he suffered from the degenerative brain disease, often seen in football players. He was competitive -- a competitive football player in his youth. Mayor Eric Adams says he was trying to target the NFL offices in that building.

Let's get right to CNN's Omar Jimenez, who was at the scene all day yesterday with us this morning for the latest on what investigators are looking into right now.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, a few things happening here, there's the investigative side, which as you just mentioned, the office of the chief medical examiner here is saying they're going to investigate this brain for CTE, which was referenced in the suicide note that the mayor says was found on the body, also investigators being sent to Las Vegas.

But what they're looking at is trying to get not only this broad view, but if they can have any more clues for a potential specific motive here. So, what we know, shooters 27 years old, drove from Las Vegas where he lived over to New York City. That's why those investigators are in Las Vegas.

The police commissioner here in New York has talked about this person having an extensive, documented, or I should say documented, not necessarily extensive, mental health history. And likely included in that, was him being put on a psychiatric hold in 2022 and 2024, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the situation.

[07:25:02]

We're also getting new images of the weapon use. People have likely seen this image, which was -- is the shooter walking up to the building itself. But the images itself are of an -- there it is, right there -- of an assault-style rifle, appears to be some blood toward the barrel of the gun as well. Also images from inside the car, there was a revolver found along with a lot of ammunition, as you can see, packed in a box there.

So, all of that is one aspect. The other aspect of this is trying to process the people we lost here. Among them, Didarul Islam, 36-year- old New York police officer, leaves behind a wife, children, a wife expecting a third child. They were all honored, or those loss were all honored at a vigil last night. Also Wesley LePatner, an executive at Blackstone here. There are images here Blackstone. Also in this building, a mother described as brilliant and passionate. Aland Etienne, a security officer there, described as dedicated a father as well. And Julia Hyman, an associate at Rudin Management, the real estate firm that owns the building who just graduated from Cornell in 2020, described as a kind person with an infectious laugh.

So, as we talk about the investigative side, there is plenty of work to do there. There are a lot of families and people that knew these folks who were trying to figure out ways to move forward.

BERMAN: Yes, so much suffering. We understand an NFL employee also still in the hospital as well.

JIMENEZ: Yes.

BERMAN: Omar Jimenez, thank you very much for reporting on this.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

BERMAN: Breaking news, okay, at this moment, no all-clear in Hawaii, the tsunami warnings have been downgraded, this as tsunami waves are hitting the shores of Northern California.

And from the laundry room to the bathroom, why you may be seeing the price of household goods going up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:30:00]