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Pennsylvania Fugitive Captured; Interview With Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) About Trump's Legal Jeopardy; Tucker Carlson Grills Mike Pence On January 6th; NASA Releases Stunning New Image From Webb Telescope. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired July 15, 2023 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:46]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington. We do begin this hour with breaking news into CNN out of Pennsylvania.

Fugitive murder suspect Michael Burham has been caught. He escaped from prison more than a week ago apparently by climbing on top of workout equipment to reach the roof. Police say he then slid down a rope that was made of bed sheets.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following all of this for us.

Polo, what more can you tell us?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this actually happened a few moments ago so we're still trying to learn a little bit more. But here's what we can tell you according to what authorities have said now. This now marking the official end of this massive manhunt for this escaped inmate in rural Pennsylvania that's been ongoing for nine days now.

Authorities have been on the hunt for this man, Michael Burham, since last week. Our colleague Brian Todd speaking to investigators and a source close to the investigation saying that he has been now recaptured in Warren, Pennsylvania, this evening without incident. As we mentioned he escaped last Thursday. He's in a hole in a gated covering of a wreck yard. He was jail in connection to an arson and a burglary case.

Additionally, he had been a suspect in a New York homicide case. It was concerning for officials who said he was a military -- at least a former military reservist. He was considered dangerous and he also had some survival skills. Likely something that certainly helped him evade authorities for as long as he was able to.

However, Pennsylvania state police were very direct in saying that they were going to continue this round-the-clock search through the woods in Pennsylvania. That they were still determined to track him down and get him back behind bars. And then here we are just days later, and it seems that, again according to officials speaking to our colleague Brian Todd, that he is once again in custody.

You'll recall that Pennsylvania state police had initially floated the working theory here that he may have had an accomplice or at least some assistance. That is certainly going to be something key that we hope to learn more about in the coming 30 minutes when we are told that state investigators will be hosting a press conference updating us officially on this recapturing of Michael Burham.

So there are still many questions here. But of course the key development now after about a week and a half long escape, we can now confirm that he's back behind bars according to officials.

ACOSTA: All right. And we are tracking a press conference scheduled for 7:30 p.m. here on the East Coast so about 28 minutes from now.

Polo, stay with us.

Joining us now is CNN law enforcement contributor Steve Moore, he's a retired FBI supervisory special agent.

Steve, what can you tell us about what we know so far? It sounds as though he was captured without incident. We're going to learn more at this press conference. But for an escapee that was considered armed and dangerous, this is the kind of conclusion you want.

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it's absolutely the kind of conclusion you want. And it happened fairly quickly. I worked the case of Eric Robert Rudolph, the Olympic Park bomber, who disappeared into the forest in North Carolina and stayed there for months with the FBI. My SWAT team was out there weeks at a time looking for him.

When you get a survivalist, it is almost impossible to find him. So I believe that what the police probably did is looked pretty hard at who might be supporting him and sooner or later, that will bear fruit if you find the right one.

ACOSTA: Yes, no, I remember that manhunt for Eric Robert Rudolph. I mean, that went on for months and there was some concern that he was just never going to get caught because he was considered to be such a prolific survivalist.

This case, though, in particular, what stands out to you? And how this inmate, this fugitive, Michael Burham, was able to escape and stay at large for a week and a half? I mean, I guess we just don't know. We might find out at this press conference that he had some assistance, but it sound like he was just in a wooded area. Those areas can be very difficult to comb through. You just don't have enough investigators to cover that kind of acreage. Is that essentially it?

[19:05:07]

MOORE: Yes. Well, it doesn't -- you could cover it, you know, an agent or a policeman every 10 feet and still not get him. I mean, one of the things they teach in the military, one of the things that I learned when I went to sniper school is how not to be seen. And he probably -- it's not that hard. So I think the thing that really, really sticks out to me is these apparent caches of supplies and clothes. That smacks of long-time planning and assistance. So I think that's -- you know, we don't know all the facts yet but that's what I would be leaning towards.

ACOSTA: All right. And Polo Sandoval, I understand there may be some new video of the capture of this fugitive? What can you tell us?

SANDOVAL: Yes, some fresh images just into CNN. And in that image you can actually see what appears to be that moment when the suspect, this escapee, this inmate, is now back in the hands of police. You can see this going down in a heavily wooded area certainly speaks to, you know, that earlier point that was being made about his survivalist skills, giving him -- at least for a few moments or at least for a few days giving him the upper hand as he was able to evade authorities.

I'd tell you, as we get ready to hear from authorities in the next 20 minutes or so, it will certainly be interesting to hear more about the way they were able to track him down. It's hard to believe it's been eight years since I was on the ground covering the Dannemora prison escape, we remember that, with two convicts that managed to escape authorities, and the takedown of both of the suspects. One was killed. The other who was detained, was as dramatic as the escape.

So fast forward to eight years later and this latest incident here, it will be interesting to learn more details about how authorities were able to track down Burham. And, you know, any sorts of circumstances surrounding that arrest that went down.

ACOSTA: Yes.

SANDOVAL: Again, just in the last hour or so, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes. And Steve Moore, let's show our viewers one more time that footage that Polo was just showing everybody. If we can, show it one more time, that would be great. It looked as though, if I'm not mistaken that -- and Polo, correct me if I'm wrong here. Was he still in his prison inmate scrubs? His inmate uniform? Is that what we just saw there a few moments ago?

SANDOVAL: Yes. The picture that our viewers are seeing may actually be clearer than what I'm looking at. But I do see that he's at least wearing some pretty light-colored clothing in the thumbnail of the image that I'm able to see here. But -- so it's difficult to say. But what is certainly unmistakable is you see his hands there behind his back. If we can show that video again to our viewers.

And authorities heavily, armored and armed, keeping them very close by as they walk him back to Warren. I should mention, the Warren County officials in contact with our other colleague Danny Freeman have told him that they are currently preparing an isolation cell at the Warren County Jail where he is likely going to remain for a to be determined period of time. The big question is where will he then be transferred to? So clearly authorities will not be taking any other chances with him as they are preparing to put him in isolation once he makes it back to the Warren County Jail. ACOSTA: All right, Polo Sandoval, Steve Moore. Thanks to both of you.

Really appreciate it. We'll have more on all this at the bottom of the hour.

Now to Georgia where a manhunt is underway right now after a gunman shot and killed at least four people in Henry County just south of Atlanta. The circumstances surrounding the shooting are unclear. But we're told that three men and one woman were shot near a subdivision in the town of Hampton. Authorities have identified the suspect as Andre Longmore, and are now looking for a 2017 black GMC Acadia that he may be driving.

Here's more from the authorities in that case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGINALD SCANDRETT, HENRY COUNTY SHERIFF: I'm going to say this directly to you, Mr. Longmore. Wherever you are, we will hunt you down in any hole that you may be residing in and bring you to custody. Period.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And officials are offering a $10,000 reward leading to that suspect's capture.

Coming up, Special Counsel Jack Smith is closing in on Trump's inner circle. What we are learning about who has been talking to the federal grand jury recently. Plus, Republican presidential hopefuls run smackdab into Tucker Carlson and his agenda while trying to court evangelicals in Iowa. And later, incredible new images from NASA show the creation of a star. Remarkable. Story on all of that coming up.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:13:53]

ACOSTA: Another busy week in Trump world. Lawyers for the former president asked Georgia Supreme Court to throw out the work of a special grand jury that investigated 2020 election interference and disqualify prosecutor Fani Willis. Meantime, Special Counsel Jack Smith ripped apart Trump's plea to delay the Mar-a-Lago documents trial. And sources revealed that Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and former aide Hope Hicks both testified before the special counsel grand jury investigating election interference.

Democrat Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren joins us now. She served on the January 6th Committee.

Congresswoman, great to see you. Thanks again for joining us. Let's start with this news that the special counsel's team has spoken to the secretaries of state and Pennsylvania and New Mexico in recent months. We know they've spoken to other offices of the secretary of state and other states. What is your reaction to this? And your recollection of your work on the January 6th Committee, why those particular avenues of inquiry might be important to that special counsel investigation?

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D-CA): Well, actually, I was surprised about the New Mexico inquiry because that was not on the committee's radar.

[19:15:05]

But certainly, the ex-president went to great lengths to try and get the votes thrown out in various states, including Arizona, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and the like. And it looks like the special counsel is pursuing those problematic behaviors. And it sounds like he's putting together a case along the lines of the criminal referrals that the committee made to the Department of Justice. So it looks like he's hard at work.

ACOSTA: And it looks like the special counsel's team has already talked to the secretary of state in Michigan and Georgia. What kind of case do you think the special counsel is building? And you just alluded to it but what do you think the case is?

LOFGREN: Well, I don't know. But certainly the false statements charge is important. He tried to substitute fake electors for the real electors. There was a -- we indicated a conspiracy to defraud the United States. That requires a corrupt intent. And I know he's been talking to witnesses about the ex-president's state of mind.

But certainly, all of these efforts to subvert the vote is connected with the potential criminal charges that I don't know whether the special prosecutor will indict but it certainly looks like he's putting the evidence together to do so.

ACOSTA: And in addition we learned that the former president's son-in- law Jared Kushner and Hope Hicks have also spoken to the special counsel team. Your January 6th Committee spoke with both of them during the investigation, if my recollection is correct there. What do you think they're being asked about? Might this also have to do with Trump's intent, Trump's state of mind?

LOFGREN: Well, it could be. You know, there is a need to show a corrupt intent when it comes to the potential conspiracy charge. But certainly, the January 6th Committee came up with very large amount of evidence, that the president knew he'd lost the election. Certainly General Milley indicated that he'd said that he knew he lost the election. So I don't know what these two witnesses have said but there's certainly a lot of evidence that he knew that he lost.

ACOSTA: In this past week, the special counsel's team went after the president's argument to delay scheduling a trial in the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case. Do you think that this trial will take place before or after the election? And I guess what do you make of, again, and you saw this during the scope of your investigation, the former president always I guess going back to that tactic, that strategy of delaying things as long as possible.

LOFGREN: Well, that's his M.O. He likes to delay. And I think in this case, it looks like he's hoping that he wins the election and then can pardon himself because I think he has substantial criminal exposure in that case and others. The idea that you wouldn't set a date for trial, that's not what the statute requires. And I really can't see why this could not be tried prior to the election. Hopefully in this calendar year. I mean, a speedy trial is important for justice. And that's not just for the defendant but also for the prosecution. We need to bring this to a head and reach a conclusion one way or the other.

ACOSTA: And I guess getting back to the January 6th investigation and the prospect for an indictment coming out of that probe, I suppose it goes without saying it will be a big disappointment to you and other members of the January 6th Committee, I guess you can't speak for other members of the committee. But for you, if that part of the special counsel's investigation does not result in any kind of indictments for the former president or members of his team after what they did following the 2020 election.

LOFGREN: Well, not really. I mean, we told the truth. We put together the evidence. We made referrals for criminal statutes because we felt the evidence was there to convict the ex-president. But that charging decision isn't through Congress. That's for the Department of Justice. And the special prosecutor has to weigh the weight of the evidence. Does he believe that these charges can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt? That's not something the committee or Congress properly can do. Only the prosecutor can do that.

[19:20:03]

We're satisfied that we told the truth. We found the evidence and the ex-president was at the center of a multifaceted, wide-ranging conspiracy to overthrow the election and upend the Constitution. That much is clear and I think the public should know it.

ACOSTA: So indictment or no indictment on that part of the probe, you're going to feel OK with at least what you did as part of all this.

LOFGREN: We did the best we could and I think we gave a straight story on what happened for the American public to look at. That's the Congress' job, the committee's job. The prosecutor has a different job of course. We've always respected that.

ACOSTA: All right, Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren. Thanks so much for your time. Always great to talk to you. Really appreciate it.

LOFGREN: Take care.

ACOSTA: All right. You too.

Just ahead, 2024 GOP hopefuls flock to Iowa to court the state's key evangelical voters. They had to go through Tucker Carlson to do that. We'll talk about that next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:15] ACOSTA: The road to the Republican presidential nomination goes right through Tucker Carlson apparently. On Friday the ousted FOX host moderated a forum at a gathering of Christian conservatives in Iowa. But instead of speaking to those voters, candidates like former Vice President Mike Pence participated in an intense stress test and end up telling Tucker Carlson exactly what he wanted to hear.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: So I have to ask you since you were a witness to and some unintentionally a participant in one of the most widely covered events in American history, January 6th. What was that? Do you think that was an insurrection?

MIKE PENCE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've never used the word insurrection, Tucker, over the last two years. But it was a riot that took place at the Capitol that day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Joining us now to discuss, Republican strategist Jason Osborne and "Vanity Fair" special correspondent, Molly Jong-Fast.

Jason, I mean, you worked with the Trump folks, worked in Trump world for several years. I mean, what do you make of this? Former Vice President Mike Pence, the man January 6th protesters wanted to hang or said they wanted to hang on January 6th, having a conversation with Tucker Carlson at this forum in Iowa? Tucker Carlson, by the way, we should note, has been spreading false conspiracy theories about January 6th. What is going on here?

JASON OSBORNE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I am -- I guess in a way I'm glad that this conversation happened in Iowa. I'm glad that Tucker Carlson did this and I'm glad that the candidates that were there had the opportunity to address all this and handle the barrage of questions that Tucker Carlson had. And I'm hoping that that's the end of it. I'm hoping that from this moment forward, that these candidates are able to actually talk about some of the issues.

I am a huge admirer of Mike Pence. I think what he did on January 6th was exactly what the law said he should have done and I think he handled it very well. And it's unfortunate that I think some folks were out there booing him and criticizing him for that.

ACOSTA: And Molly, what does it say about the Republican Party right now that these candidates have to kiss the ring of Tucker Carlson, somebody who was fired over at FOX News?

MOLLY JONG-FAST, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT, VANITY FAIR: Yes, I mean, that is an incredible bit of television right there. I would say what I think is ironic about the Mike Pence situation is here's Mike Pence who was brought in to woo evangelicals for Trump and he's been too effective at it. And evangelicals no longer feel they need him.

And what you saw was that the Trump party has moved so far to the right that Mike Pence is sort of now -- you know, he's defending Ukraine. I mean, if you see that Tucker's problems with Mike Pence are problems because he is so much further to the right.

ACOSTA: And Jason, Trump who has said we should note, and you remember this, he used to say I only hire the best people. He's blaming Chris Christie for the hiring of the FBI director Chris Wray. Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA BARTIROMO, FOX NEWS HOST: Was it a mistake to put Christopher Wray there?

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: Sadly it probably was. He was recommended very strongly by Chris Christie who is, you know, a sad case. I watch him. He's a sad case.

BARTIROMO: Well, he's in this race he said just to take you down.

TRUMP: Well, I know. And do you know how he's doing? He's at 1 percent. And he probably won't even make the debate stage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Yes, Jason, I mean, what do you make of that? I mean, Wray did come under attack for many Republicans this past week. Does this undermine some of these claims that they support law enforcement when they go after Chris Wray in that fashion? And what about Trump blaming this on Christie?

OSBORNE: Well, I mean, two things to unpackage there. I think, first off, I think there is -- the FBI does deserve some criticism for how they've operated. I mean, the report came out. But I think the law- and-order folks on the day-to-day job, the FBI folks, are doing a great job. But I think the FBI still needs -- there needs to be some, you know, I guess, reconfiguration or addressing the fact that some of the cases they went out too far.

I think the Democrats said this in 2016 with what they did with Hillary Clinton. I think Republicans are saying that legitimately now.

As far as, you know, Chris Christie getting blamed for hiring Chris Wray, that is ridiculous. I mean, Chris Christie never had hiring authority. He never had the ability to say, you should be hiring this person and if you don't, then you're going to go downhill. I mean, that all rests on Trump and the other folks in the administration.

ACOSTA: Yes. Molly, I mean, this is another case of Trump sort of disowning people that he's hired over the years and putting some lofty positions.

JONG-FAST: Yes. I think it's a little bit unfair to compare what James Comey did to Hillary Clinton right before the election with that letter to what the FBI has tried to do with Republicans. I mean, Comey really -- I mean, he doesn't feel he did that but he really did put his finger on the scale there in a way that did really affect the 2016 election. In fact, you know, there's lots of reporting that says Hillary might have won, had it not been for that letter. So I don't know that these two things are the same. I would also say,

you know, Chris Wray is a Republican. The FBI has been run almost completely, probably completely by Republicans, you know, since its inception. I think that this is just a weird far right talking point. I don't think that there's much mainstream support for disbanding the FBI.

ACOSTA: I want to get to this. The New York Post obtained video of Democratic presidential candidate RFK, Jr. falsely stating this week that COVID-19 was targeted to spare Jewish and Chinese people. He said -- we can't show the video, I'm going to just put the quote up on screen: "COVID-19 is targeted to attack Caucasian and Black people. The people who are immune are Jews and Chinese. We don't know whether it was deliberately targeted or not, but there are papers out there that show the racial or ethnic differential and impact."

Kennedy says the reporting is mistaken. But Molly, what does this say about RFK, Jr.'s candidacy that these fringe ideas continue to emerge?

FAST: Well, this guy has always been a complete lunatic, and his whole platform was anti-vax. I just -- you know, we sooner or later, these kinds of fringy conspiracy theorists always head to anti-Semitism and racism, and I'm not surprised.

There is no evidence to support this. This is just very silly stuff, but this guy, I mean, it's not silly, because it's actually dangerous, and it could -- you know, we have seen anti-Semitism and racism, you know, upset the applecart, lead to violence.

So I think it's quite scary, and , you know, I'm not surprised, but I'm disappointed that this person got this far and raised this much money and the people who gave money to him should really be ashamed.

ACOSTA: All right, guys, I've got to cut this segment short. We're going to go to the Pennsylvania State Police right now about the capture of that escaped inmate. Let's go to that now.

LT. COL. GEORGE BIVENS, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: And we owe them a debt of gratitude for all of the hard work, dedication, and risk that they all took to do what we told the citizens of Warren County we would do and that is to keep them safe.

So at 3:57 this afternoon, our tip line received a call from some residents on Jackson Run Road in Conowingo Township, Warren County, about a suspicious individual. We mobilized resources as I've told you we have done many times, including a significant number of personnel on the ground, aviation assets, K-9s, and formed a very large perimeter around that area.

By 5:50, Burham was in custody. He had been tracked through the woods. As he approached -- allow me to look at the name of the road here -- Logan Road, he encountered perimeter troopers there attempting to prone out and hide and was approached from behind by members of the Marshals, the Border Patrol, and Pennsylvania State Police Service.

He was taken into custody, and is currently at the Pennsylvania State Police Warren station, where he will be processed, and as I have told you, a determination will be made, where he will ultimately be housed following his arraignment.

It will not be in the Warren County facility. We are still determining where he will go, but that will be taken care of here shortly.

I want to thank the residents of Warren County and the surrounding area for their patience through all of this. I know it was challenging for them. I know they were nervous. I know they were scared. But you know, they remained gracious to all of our people, and were very, very helpful to all of us. So I truly appreciate that.

There is something else that I want to do here, kind of, so this is a good story to be able to say to tell you about tonight. I mean, we ended this without anyone else getting hurt. But I also wanted to tell you an interesting story.

So as part of our Pennsylvania Police SERT team, one of our members is celebrating his 25th anniversary with the department. He came in this morning and told me that, sir, it's my last day with the department with SERT. We've got to get him today.

[19:35:00]

We chuckled about it, made sure everybody knew and then, of course, no one really thought it would happen. He might be the guy you want to talk to about lottery numbers or anything else, because I think he's one of the luckiest people around.

Corporal Brian King (ph). I want to tell you a little more to the story about this hero. He was one of the guys that was out here. He's been helping throughout this whole process, trying to make sure we could safely capture Burham.

A number of years ago, Brian was seriously wounded on a barricaded gunman call down in Westmoreland County, lost the vision in one of his eyes as a result of taking a gunshot to the face. He came back from that, not only as a full duty Trooper, but as a full duty member of our Special Emergency Response Team, has been an active duty member ever since, and I'm proud to call on my friend.

I am going to miss him here with the department, but I think it was -- it was meant to be that, that you were back here today and here to participate in this capture, I want to recognize Brian.

[APPLAUSE]

CORPORAL BRIAN KING, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: So what the Colonel was not explaining to you is the reason why I was able to do that was because of him. He is humble, he won't admit that. But that's the reason. So I'm going to recognize him.

[APPLAUSE]

BIVENS: So, the only other thing I would tell you is that our investigation continues into any assistance that Burham may have received and discussions will occur in the future with the district attorney's office if we believe we have sufficient evidence to prosecute anyone.

With that, I would be happy to take your questions.

REPORTER: Can you share more about the tip that came in? And we're hearing that you know, a dog that may have been barking and the owner kind of saw, is that correct? Can you elaborate a little more on it?

BIVENS: That is. It is and they went out to check on why the dog was barking, went to the rear of their property. They encountered Burham.

I'm told that a conversation occurred, brief conversation as to what was he doing there and he said something about camping. And the owner of the property recognized him, got his wife back in to -- they were in a golf cart -- got his wife back into the golf cart, and drove away from there so that he could immediately contact us as Burham fled into the woods and the rest of it played out as I described for you.

REPORTER: That was at the backyard of their home?

BIVENS: Yes.

REPORTER: You've been saying all week, you were waiting until he makes a mistake. What mistake did he make?

BIVENS: He came out into the open and was spotted by an individual. It's in the area -- one of the portions of the area that we have been pushing hard. And as I said to you, that's been our strategy all along is to push him hard to have him make a mistake. He finally did. He was spotted.

You all had a hand in that by getting the word out and making sure that people knew what he looked like, who he was and that they needed to call us right away, and they did exactly what we asked what you asked of them, and so, he is in custody.

REPORTER: What was present condition when you found him? He was been on the run for a week now.

BIVENS: He looks tired and worn out as we thought that he might. He was still wearing his prison pants turned inside out. He's dirty, wet.

REPORTER: Did he seem malnourished, dehydrated or anything like that?

BIVENS: I don't know that I would call him malnourished. It's hard to tell from just looking at him. Again, I would characterize his condition as worn out.

REPORTER: Were there words exchanged with him that you can share with us and what did you say to him?

BIVENS: We're not we're not going to discuss what was said there. Again, he is being taken back to the station. There will be an interview done there and he'll be processed and incarcerated. REPORTER: Do you guys have any additional info about how he was able

to survive for this long on his own? Was there any equipment or anything that he had in his immediate possession when you found him?

BIVENS: He did have anything in his immediate possession. We will be searching the area to ensure that there is still nothing else there. Over time, he did have access to some equipment that was out there.

You know, I told you about bags that were recovered. We did link him to those with DNA and we knew that he had potentially access of some survival weapons.

To kind of close the loop on one of the reasons that we thought he was armed and he was not at least when we physically took him into custody again, we will be searching that area just to make sure there are not any firearms still around that he dropped her hid.

But there was ammunition of a couple of different calibers in those bags that we found. Not ammunition that would have fit a weapon that he used in the original kidnapping and so that was one of the things that led us to be concerned that he may very well be armed.

[19:40:08]

REPORTER: You said he approached the perimeter and then laid down and was captured then from behind. Had an officer seen him and forced him to run towards that other side of the perimeter line?

BIVENS: Oh, yes. Yes, he was being pursued by the officers along with K-9s. New York State Police had a bloodhound and Customs and Border Patrol had a search and patrol dog immediately behind the bloodhound.

And so yes, he was being tracked and pushed by a line of tactical members.

REPORTER: Did he attempt to resist or run away again after officers already (INAUDIBLE).

BIVENS: No, he was taken into custody at gunpoint.

REPORTER: Will he be arraigned on the escape charge tonight?

BIVENS: Yes.

REPORTER: Where will that (INAUDIBLE)?

BIVENS: I don't know. Do you have any idea --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not at this hour.

BIVENS: No, we'll have to let you know about that.

REPORTER: Will he be facing any additional charges beyond the escape charges (INAUDIBLE).

BIVENS: That's to be determined yet. REPORTER: Do you still feel he received help along the way?

BIVENS: As I said, that'll be part of the ongoing investigation, and if we can prove that he was, there will be charges filed for that.

REPORTER: Can you talk about the feeling on the search teams now that he is finally, you know, in custody? What are you feeling after this almost two weeks of searching?

BIVENS: It's a great relief. All of us, were always concerned that we would end up with a citizen harmed in some way, or even one of the officers harmed in one way and it is a lot of responsibility when you put a team like this out into the field. And again, knowing that he had ammunition and may very well have a weapon, that he has used a weapon in the commission of crimes before, that he was suspected in another homicide.

He really had very little to lose in this whole search that we conducted. And so, it would not have been a surprise to me if there had been a violent encounter at the end. And so you're always worried about things like that, so to not have that play out, it is a good thing.

REPORTER: Sir, now, can you tell us how many stockpiles there may have been or were there any stockpiles in the area that he was ultimately found.

BIVENS: There was not a stockpile in the immediate vicinity of where it was found, but we know that he was through the area where the stockpiles were. They were primarily south of Warren. He had identified two and we found a third. And I say he had identified, we had maps that were also in his bag that identified some locations that he had stashed things.

Again, I thank you all, for your help in getting the word out to the citizens. And we're just very happy that it's come to a conclusion in this way. Thank you.

[APPLAUSE]

ACOSTA: All right, let's go back to our law enforcement expert, Steve Moore and Polo Sandoval to break down what we just heard there from authorities in Pennsylvania after the capture of this inmate who had been on the run for about a week-and-a-half.

Steve Moore, let me go to you first. I guess this is another example of why we don't deserve dogs -- barking dog helped capture this inmate. Unbelievable -- a stroke of luck, really, that's a stroke of luck for these investigators.

MOORE: Yes, it is just tremendous that they were able to do this. And you know, this is similar to how Eric Rudolph was also found. Eventually, they have to come out of the wilderness and grab food.

Eric Rudolph was found at a dumpster. This person was probably looking for an easy source of food, because while there were close and apparently ammunition in those caches, they didn't say anything about food.

ACOSTA: Yes, interesting, and Polo Sandoval, you and I were talking about this video earlier today. I can't tell whether or not he still has a prison uniform there, but maybe he got some baggy clothing that looks like a prison uniform that helped him out there for a few days.

But what stood out to you from that news conference? I mean, obviously, the authorities they were pretty pumped that they were able to bring this to a pretty peaceful resolution.

SANDOVAL: Because as Lieutenant Colonel George Bivens just said, this is the best possible outcome. One of their biggest concerns since the beginning since his escape was that somebody would actually get hurt, perhaps a citizen that lives in those heavily wooded areas. And fortunately, though, as we now look at this picture, this is just a remarkable image.

And in it, you can actually see those baggy pants that the lieutenant colonel said, are actually prison-issued pants but they're inside out. So that's certainly noteworthy. And then also --

ACOSTA: Is that why we are seeing the subtle striping there? That's what it looks like. maybe some subtle striping and I didn't know if that was the resolution of the image or what.

SANDOVAL: That's likely why.

ACOSTA: That is what it is. Okay.

[19:45:04]

SANDOVAL: Yes, no that's likely why, and certainly not to minimize the incredible efforts of some 200 local, state and federal officers and what they did for the last week-and-a-half, but it all came down, just to go right back to that dog topic, to a barking dog, as investigators just laid out that it was a private citizen that heard their dog was barking, they go out to investigate, they see a Burham, recognized him, immediately go back to their home.

Burham retreats into the woods, and they make that phone call into police at about 3:57 according to the lieutenant colonel, and it was just a short time later, at about 5:50 that he was in custody.

Now in terms of his state, obviously, you could see his condition there for yourself. But authorities expanding on that saying that he was dirty, wet, tired. Again wearing those prison-issued pants except inside out, though investigators will not discuss anything else about the conversations that they may have had on that particular street in that moment. But you could just imagine, oh, to be present in that circle of investigators.

Still a lot to be determined right now, including what additional potential charges this man may face in addition to where he will be housed.

A reminder for viewers that he was currently in custody as a former survivalist. He had been facing charges related to a homicide in New York, and also a related arson.

So, still a lot of questions, but again, the best possible outcome for this case after nine days on the run, certainly finally bringing some peace for the residents of that rural Pennsylvania community, guys.

ACOSTA: Yes, and Steve, he didn't make it very far.

MOORE: No, No, that's kind of a surprise. You would expect him to be a long way from this. I mean, these forests in that area of Pennsylvania can go on and on and on.

ACOSTA: Right.

MOORE: So I think, you know, there were grand plans, but somewhere the plans kind of fell short, because as you say, he was right close by, and within six days was looking for food. I assume he was looking for food in the neighborhood.

This also shows how dangerous his situation was for the community because if his plan failed that badly so quickly, he might have become a danger to the people in the area. And you know, when they say that there was ammunition in those caches, there is no reason to have ammunition in a cache unless you have a weapon to go with it.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, this could have gotten very ugly very quickly and it is very fortunate for the community out there that that did not happen.

All right, Polo Sandoval, Steve Moore, thank you very much. Gentlemen, we appreciate it.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:51:48 ]

ACOSTA: And welcome back.

It is dangerously hot as much of you know across much of the American West and South right now, and brace yourself, it is about to get even hotter in some parts of the country.

Temperatures in Death Valley, California could top 130 degrees tomorrow. That's what happened just five times in more than 110 years of record keeping.

Phoenix apparently reaching 118 degrees today, some 16 days in a row of over 110 degree temperatures there and according to the weather prediction center, temperatures are expected to reach 115 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the high desert of Southern California, Southern Nevada, and Arizona in the days ahead.

All in all, nearly 100 million Americans are under heat advisories this weekend. We've got a stunning new image from space this week. NASA released

pictures of what is described as the nearest star forming region to Earth. Basically what we're seeing right now is the birth of a star. The images came from the James Webb Space Telescope, which is celebrating one year of sending back amazing photographs like this one.

And joining us to talk about this, the former commander of the International Space Station, Chris Hadfield. He is also the author of "The Defector."

Chris, great to see you. Let me ask you, I mean, the image that we were just showing a few moments ago, it is just mind blowing, as one astronomer described it earlier this week.

Did you ever think, during your long career in space that one day we would see images like this of our universe?

CHRIS HADFIELD, FORMER COMMANDER OF INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION: You know, it is both visually beautiful, but it's also just so scientifically significant. It's a place where stars and suns like ours are being formed. I mean, it's just so gorgeous.

And people from all around the world built the best telescope we've ever built in history. And it's teaching us the very nature and wonders of the universe itself.

Yes, you're right. It's hard to imagine these things happening.

ACOSTA: Yes, I mean, it almost looks like an illustration. I mean, I just can't -- I just can't get my head around that. I also wanted to ask you about this.

NASA's Perseverance has detected evidence of organic compounds on Mars according to the journal "Nature." They were apparently found in a 28- mile wide crater. The article says signatures from the samples are consistent with the presence of organic molecules and together with earlier measurements could constitute the first in situ detection of, I hope. I'm saying that right, organic molecules on another planet.

Help us out here. A dumb guy like me, just like science fiction doesn't understand the space stuff that well. What are we talking about here?

HADFIELD: So imagine if you would a 28-mile wide lake, sitting on Mars and being there for a billion years, and now that lake has dried out. We're digging in the bottom of the lake, in situ, like you said, and we're finding organic molecules, complex molecules of carbon and hydrogen and oxygen that are the very basic stuff of life and the cool thing, Jim, is across this huge whole lake bed, it is not the same everywhere, as if there were just like life, you know little pockets that are different as you go across such a wide body of water.

[19:55:08]

And the Earth and Mars were really similar about three-and-a-half billion years ago, and those are the oldest fossils we found on Earth. So this type of next step discovery, and it ties into what the James Webb is looking at.

You know, those early stars forming. Now maybe life on Mars, it's like, are we alone or not? That's what we're really nibbling at the edge of here.

ACOSTA: And can I ask yet another amateurish question, and that is, could the James Webb Telescope help us find evidence of life out there? Is that one of the goals?

HADFIELD: It is. It's such a good telescope, Jim, that it can see the atmosphere of planets that are orbiting other stars. And when you look at the atmosphere, and you look at how the light comes through it, you can figure out what elements are in the atmosphere of another whole planet that's in a different solar system than ours.

And there are certain traces that are not just indications of life, but you know, indications of industry. So we haven't found anything yet definitive. But that's the level of sensing technology that James Webb has been given us over the last year, and it just keeps kicking open new doors of discovery for us.

It's a really cool moment in history, and everybody should celebrate. This is the sort of thing we can do internationally together when we decide to.

ACOSTA: Yes. Every once in a while, as a country, we do cool stuff. And this is one of those cool things.

All right, Chris Hadfield great to talk to you. Thanks so much. Really appreciate it.

HADFIELD: Thanks, Jim. Have a good night.

ACOSTA: Good to see you. Have a good night.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: In just a matter of hours, there will be a lottery drawing for an amount that may make your eyes water, $875 million is on the line when the numbers are drawn tonight making it the third largest Powerball in history. That's not the only massive haul that may be doled out. There was no winner in last night's $560 million Mega Millions drawing. That jackpot is now growing even higher, $640 million.

If I win, I'm not going to be here tomorrow, but anyway.

That's the news. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Thanks for joining me this evening. I'll see you again tomorrow night starting at five Eastern. Have a good night.