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Grand Canyon Wildfire Reaches "Megafire" Status, Nears 115k Acres; Manhunt For Montana Mass Shooting Suspect Underway; Manhunt Underway For Man Suspected Of Killing 4 People In TN; Local Public Media's Future In Question After CPB Says It's Shutting Down; Bureau Of Labor Statistics Make Major Downward Revisions To May And June Jobs Reports; Arrest Made In Killing Of A Couple Hiking In Arkansas. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 02, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

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[13:01:18]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: All right, tomorrow, the final episode of the CNN original series, "Billionaire Boys Club," follows conman Joe Hunt's dramatic legal battle as he faced the death penalty for his suspected involvement in not just one, but two murders. In facing his former associates on the witness stand, Hunt gambles with not only his freedom, but also his life. That's tomorrow night, 10:00 right here on CNN.

Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And we begin with a growing wildfire burning along the Grand Canyon's north rim. The Dragon Bravo fire is now the largest wildfire in the U.S. mainland. Crews are bracing for worsening weather today as they work through bone-dry conditions, heavy winds, and extreme heat, trying to get the fire under control.

The fire is just 11 percent contained. The fire was sparked by lightning on July 4th and has now scorched nearly 180 square miles of land. That's about three times the size of Washington, D.C.

Experts say the fire is intensifying enough to create its own weather, in fact. This time-lapse video shows a fire cloud forming in the sky, which tend to form over raging wildfires and volcanic eruptions.

Joining us right now to discuss this, Lisa Jennings, a firefighter and fire information officer with the Southwestern Incident Management Team, and she's also joined by her interpreter. Lisa, great to see you.

So you're bracing for more critical fire weather today after a more humid day on Friday. What is the latest there?

LISA JENNINGS, SPOKESPERSON, SOUTHWESTERN INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM: Yesterday, we had a great window of opportunity, and it was really the first good weather day we've had in almost two weeks. We keep saying even a good weather day on this fire would be a bad weather day on any other fire, but what it did is it allowed our firefighters to essentially go on the offense, get close in on the fire, and try to increase containment on this fire that's been incredibly hard to contain.

WHITFIELD: Wow. I mean, these pictures are extraordinary. You've, you know, talked about fire clouds being spotted over the Dragon Bravo fire, which can eventually generate lightning, wind gusts, and sometimes even produce tornadoes. Tell us more about this threat, how prevalent it has become during the battling of this fire.

JENNINGS: Yes, so that red cloud that you see on that clip, the technical term is a pyrocumulus cloud, and that's just, as you said, it is a fire cloud. So that superheated moisture that's released when a fire is burning fast and hot through vegetation, as that rises up off the fire, it forms this cloud. That cloud is over 24,000 feet in the air, which for a normal cloud, that's about the height that clouds are at.

But if you think this cloud originates on the ground, so an immensely high smoke column, what happens when it gets that high and forms into that fire cloud is then it begins pulling additional smoke and fuels into it, so it gets an updraft wind. And if it can get high enough, that wind can become a downdraft and spread fire out in all directions.

That's what we really watch for. Our number one objective is firefighter safety. So when those fire clouds form, that's when we have to pull back and go on the defense.

WHITFIELD: I mean, that's unbelievably dangerous, you know, on top of a job that is already dangerous.

[13:05:00]

So the latest update, you know, showing that the fire is just 11 percent contained, the fire was at 26 percent containment at the end of last week. But then dry heat, gusty conditions, you know, erased much of the progress from the last few days. So is there anything that can be done to combat kind of this record dryness? Does it change the way in which, you know, you try to attack this blaze?

JENNINGS: Yes, fire spread has been really tough to combat. When a fire grows, there are three things that go into it. The first is the weather, and that's the piece that's been really against us. We've had historically dry conditions for almost 10 days now, except that small window we had yesterday.

The second piece is the terrain here at the Grand Canyon. So we -- you can see the canyon behind us. It's beautiful to look at, but imagine going in there and trying to fight a fire. The Grand Canyon and the canyons that come off of it, they call those kind of finger canyons coming off the main one. They create their own wind tunnels, and that is very hard to fight.

And then the third piece is the fuel that it's burning through. You think of a campfire, right? You put the wood on the campfire. That is the fuel. In a forest fire, that fuel is live trees, and it is very thick out there. And that is causing this fire to grow quickly on these hot days and send out burning embers a mile ahead in some conditions.

All those three things make this extreme fire behavior, something that many folks have never seen before. And so we're having to readjust our strategies to essentially drive the fire into areas where that fuel, right, those forest types are a little bit smaller and easier to control, and that strategy has been effective.

WHITFIELD: So I wonder, too, Lisa, I mean, how are firefighters, how are these teams traversing? I mean, you just described this is very rugged terrain. This is difficult. You're talking about the fingers, you know, throughout the Grand Canyon. I think when tourists think about the Grand Canyon, they think about, OK, mules, helicopters driving to certain places. But now you're talking about battling a blaze there on the northern rim. So how are firefighters getting to those, you know, aggressive, you know, fire areas?

JENNINGS: One of the critical areas we're working right -- in right now is called Crystal Canyon, and it's been giving us trouble for days because there's a cliff in between where we can access and where the fire is burning lower down. So our only option in those areas is to use helicopters to drop water in because there is no way you can get a person, a firefighter down to combat that blaze.

And so we have a team of aircraft supporting this incident, a dozen aircraft, mostly helicopters assigned. And then we'll bring in those big air tankers that you see on fires with the red fire retardant to drop in and further slow the blaze in that area. But it's a slow process. And what it does is it helps contain that blaze until we can get the weather to come in and do some more aggressive work on the edges.

WHITFIELD: Incredible. I mean, all the best to you and all your teams, your interpreter there, your crews out there on the ground. I mean, this is very difficult and we wish you the best and continued safety.

Thank you so much, Lisa Jennings.

JENNINGS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, we're also following other breaking news. Manhunts, plural, underway right now for two mass shooting suspects. In Tennessee, officials are looking for a man they allege killed four relatives of an abandoned baby who was found outside of a home. And in Montana, officials are searching for a suspect who they say killed four people at a bar in the town of Anaconda Friday morning. Investigators have located the truck. The suspect may have fled in.

CNN's Josh Campbell is following the latest developments on that search.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: An active manhunt underway right now in Montana, after authorities say a man allegedly opened fire inside of a bar in the city of Anaconda in the western part of the state, sadly killing four people and then fleeing. We've seen this infusion of multiple law enforcement agencies at the local level, the state level, as well as agents from the FBI and the ATF now also involved in this manhunt.

Now, authorities pushed out this image that you're seeing here of the suspect. They named him as Michael Paul Brown. This information they're trying to get out to the public. So anyone who might see this person or recognize him will actually call law enforcement.

Authorities did give an update on the status of this manhunt on Friday.

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RICO BARKELL, GRANITE COUNTY SHERIFF: Anytime you got, you know, an active shooter still on the loose is going to be dangerous. So, I know Deer Lodge County and Anaconda are taking every kind of precaution they can to make sure their citizens are safe. If there's any changes in their safety, they'll be notified. As of right now, there's no threat to the community as right now.

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[13:10:02]

CAMPBELL: As far as a possible motive, authorities have not yet said. Their first focus right now was on locating this individual and bringing him safely into custody. We have seen in so many of these incidents that you and I have covered involving mass shootings that often in the early hours after an incident, sometimes police don't actually know the identity of the person that they're looking for.

That's different here. Here, relatively quickly, officials in Montana came out with the identification, with this image, again, trying to push this information out, telling the public that this suspect should be considered armed and dangerous after this incident. Again, they're wanting people to contact law enforcement, but they're specifically saying if you see this individual, do not approach him. Rather, pick up the phone, call 911.

WHITFIELD: All right, Josh Campbell, thanks so much.

Then in Tennessee, officials are looking for a man they say killed four people. The victim's bodies were discovered hours after a seven- month-old baby related to them was found abandoned in a car seat, alive in the sweltering heat. Investigators say warrants are out for Austin Drummond, charging him with four counts of first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, and other charges related to the killings.

CNN Correspondent Rafael Romo is here with more details on this. What more do authorities say they know about the suspect?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, number one, that he -- they believe he's still in Tennessee, and that's why they have launched this manhunt. And, Fred, court records show the suspect has a criminal record that includes a 10-year sentence for a 2013 aggravated robbery conviction. And the concern for officials in Tennessee and the public is that he's still at large.

The suspect has been identified as 28-year-old Austin Robert Drummond by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. He is 5 feet, 10 inches tall, weighs 190 pounds, and has brown hair, blue eyes, and a goatee, according to the TBI.

The vehicle the suspect was believed to be driving, a white 2016 Audi, was found unoccupied in Jackson, Tennessee. That's more than 70 miles away from Tiptonville, where the bodies of the victims were found. Drummond is accused of killing four relatives of a Tennessee baby who was found abandoned alive in a sweltering heat on Tuesday in a car seat in what authorities describe as a random front yard near the (INAUDIBLE) of Tigrett, nearly a 40-mile drive southeast of Tiptonville, where the bodies were found.

Tennessee officials haven't said what led them to name Drummond as a suspect or whether investigators know of a motive in the killings, how they were killed, or why the baby was abandoned a county away from where the bodies were found. What they want people to know right now is that the suspect is still at large and could be dangerous.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

DANNY GOODMAN, 29TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT ATTORNEY GENERAL: We are dealing with an extremely violent individual. This was what we would think is an isolated incident. It's not anything to where we think the community is in danger because of a person who may be out here randomly targeting people, because we don't think that's the case at all.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: And District Attorney General Danny Goodman also said the victims were all from Dyer County and they suspect the suspect knew all of them. He also confirmed that two of the victims, 21-year-old James Wilson and 20-year-old Adrianna Williams, were the parents of the baby who was found abandoned in Dyer County. 38-year-old Cortney Rose and Braydon Williams, a teenager, were also killed.

Officials also said that Drummond, the suspect, is believed to still be in the area. The U.S. Marshal Service and TBI are offering a joint $15,000 reward for any information leading to Drummond's arrest. But, again, they cannot stress this enough. If you see the suspect, do not approach him. Call 911 right away.

WHITFIELD: All right, very good.

Rafael Romo, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS stations across the country, says it is shutting down after federal funding cuts. What this means for your local news?

Plus, a former elementary school teacher arrested for allegedly killing a couple that was hiking with their children in Arkansas. What we're learning about the suspect in custody now. And Sidney Sweeney's ad campaign for American Eagle has ignited a culture war, a firestorm of sorts. Now, American Eagle is responding.

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WHITFIELD: All right, just weeks after President Trump's rescissions bill canceled its funding, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting says it will start shutting down. CNN's Camila DeChalus is following this, and much more on how this could affect local public media across the country. Camila?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fred, the company says that this move will drastically change the landscape of local TV news and radio across the country. They say that withholding federal funding will force smaller news stations that serve rural and smaller communities to ultimately shut down.

Now, the CEO and president of CPB put out a statement, and this is what she said. She said, "Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations."

Now, on the other end, President Donald Trump is declaring this a major victory. As you know, for decades, Republicans have tried to withhold federal funding to public broadcasting groups because they've accused stations like NPR and PBS of having alleged liberal bias.

[13:20:07]

But on the other end, public advocates of public broadcasting have argued that who's going to be hurt most by this decision is really rural communities that have come to rely on public broadcasting to be informed about what's actually happening in their communities. It's also important to note that there are some local news stations across the country that have already anticipated these changes, and as a result, they've looked for other avenues to receive financial support so that they wouldn't have to rely so heavily on the federal government.

WHITFIELD: Camilla DeChalus, thanks so much.

All right, Friday's weaker-than-expected jobs numbers are stirring concerns about the health of the U.S. economy. The Dow closed down more than 500 points. The Nasdaq, made up of some tech's biggest companies, slid more than 470 points. A significant downward revision to May and June job numbers sent warning signals about the U.S. economy.

CNN Senior Reporter Matt Egan has details.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: This job market has been so relentless for so long, but all of a sudden, it's losing steam and warning lights are flashing. So the latest numbers show the U.S. economy added 73,000 jobs during the month of July. That is much weaker than expected.

The unemployment rate went from 4.1 percent to 4.2 percent. That's still low, but it's moving in the wrong direction. The thing that really got economists and investors alarmed, though, is the fact that there were these massive negative revisions to the months of May and June. Those months were revised down by more than a quarter of a million jobs. Just a stunning negative revision there.

When you look at the trend, you can see that during the months of May and June, there was almost no job growth at all, a major, major slowdown. Now economists, they like to take an average because it smooths out some of the volatility. Well, when you do that, you can see that over the last three months, this was the slowest pace of hiring in the United States, that since the middle of 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

And when we look at the sectors, you can see the good news is some sectors, like health care, they are still adding jobs, another 73,000. But the bad news is that really accounts for all of the monthly job gains. We saw a slowdown in hiring and leisure and hospitality. That's bars, restaurants, hotels. Some sectors, they're losing jobs.

Information down by 2,000. Professional services losing another 14,000 jobs in July. And look at manufacturing losing 11,000 jobs. That suggests that the president's sky-high tariffs, they are not paying off and boosting manufacturing employment, at least not yet.

If anything, they appear to be backfiring because this sector continues to lose jobs. So why is this happening? Economists say one factor is, yes, the trade war. It's paralyzed businesses. Bosses, CEOs, they don't know what's going to happen next. And so a lot of them are delaying or canceling hiring altogether. Another factor, the immigration crackdown.

Look at this. Foreign-born employment in the United States is down by 1.5 million between March and July. That is a very significant drop. And economists say that reflects mass deportations and visas that have been allowed to expire. No matter the reason, it is very clear right now that this job market is suddenly stalling out.

Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Matt Egan, thanks so much.

Still ahead, a former teacher in custody accused of killing an Arkansas couple hiking with their children. His dramatic arrest in a hair salon. And new details about the killings straight ahead.

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WHITFIELD: All right, new video shows the moment a suspect in a double killing was caught by police while he was getting a haircut. The man was arrested in connection with the deaths of a married couple. They were attacked while hiking with their two young daughters at a state park in the Ozark Mountains.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Elementary school teacher Andrew McGann appearing for the first time before a judge Friday. Police say the 28-year-old admitted to the shocking killings of Clinton and Cristen Brink. Stabbed as the couple hiked with their daughters at Devil's Den State Park Saturday afternoon.

COLONEL MIKE HAGER, DIRECTOR, ARKANSAS STATE POLICE: It appears to be a completely random event.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): The Brinks being hailed as heroes.

HAGER: They absolutely protected those girls to their fullest extent to the point that it cost them their lives.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Cristen's last moments spent trying to save her family.

MAJOR STACIE RHOADS, ARKANSAS STATE POLICE, INVESTIGATION DIVISION COMMANDER: The husband was attacked first. The mother did not return all the way to the car with the kids. We believe that the mother took them to safety and then returned to help her husband.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): New court documents revealed the Brinks' daughters first reported the attack to another hiker, who got them off trail before heading to find the Brinks' bodies and then hiking back out to get cell service. Another witness noticed a man with blood on his face drive off in a black car with tape over the tag.

Police believe the attack was planned even though the victims were random. And after more than 500 tips from the public, the terrifying four-day manhunt ended mid haircut at Lupita's beauty salon and barbershop in Springdale Wednesday evening.

ADRIANA RUIZ, LUPITA'S BEAUTY SALON: Something fell off about him.

[13:30:02]

He looked pretty scary. He didn't look like he was OK.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): McGann had just moved to Springdale after accepting a teaching position at a local elementary school for the upcoming school year. The district confirmed to CNN. McGann had been hired to work at least four school districts in three different states in just three years.

In 2023, in Texas, a parent who described him as cold told CNN she reported McGann after her son described his fourth-grade teacher as touchy and inappropriate with certain girls in class. An internal investigation found problems with classroom management and professional judgment, but did not find evidence of inappropriate behavior, according to the Lewisville Independent School District. It said McGahn resigned that may.

GALLAGHER: Now, each of those school districts say that McGahn passed a background check before being hired in court Friday. It was determined he would be represented by a public defender. Police say that McGann was injured during the attack and they have hair, blood, and other materials that connect him to the scene. They called him a DNA match.

And look, Arkansas State Police also said they fully expect law enforcement from neighboring states to begin reaching out to them about unsolved crimes in other jurisdictions.

Dianne Gallagher, CNN. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much. All right. Right now, half a million young Catholics are in Rome for a Jubilee of the Youth. They're calling it Catholic Woodstock, and it's all inspired by the new American Pope.

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[13:35:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. A half million young Catholics flocking to Rome from more than 140 countries, in fact, for what's being dubbed as the Catholic Woodstock. Concerts, tents, water cannons, all part of the Vatican's Youth Jubilee. Pope Leo will celebrate an open-air prayer vigil this evening and have morning mass on Sunday. A pretty extraordinary view right there.

CNN's Christopher Lamb joining us from Rome with more. Pope Leo has just landed at the festival. I think we saw him in the Popemobile making his rounds waving. I mean, he is a big rock star there. Tell me what it's like to be there.

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pope Leo is definitely getting a Rockstar welcome. He's touring the crowds behind me, the Tor Vergata field. People are running to wave to him. He's got a fair distance to cover to say hello to as many people as possible. As estimated, there are hundreds of thousands here, young people mainly who have been in Rome all week for a summit or a gathering of youth as part of the Catholic Church's Jubilee year celebrations.

There have been events throughout the week. But the star of the show is Pope Leo, the first American Pope who has a ride for this evening vigil of prayer, of music. It has got a festival atmosphere here. It's been dubbed, as you said, Catholic Woodstock. There's all sorts of different events going on and we've just had different musical acts.

I've been out in the crowd. And it's amazing how many people from across the world are here for this event. I spoke to pilgrims from Korea, from New Mexico. We spoke to people from Ecuador and other parts of -- they're all here to turn out for this event and to see Pope Leo who is going to address the crowd. He's going to take some questions from young people and he's then going to offer -- it is really the first major event that Pope Leo has led young people, a test of his papacy. He's only been in post for less than a hundred days.

So, this is an event where he's going to be seem to try and engage with young people. Can he do that as well as his predecessor of Pope Francis? It seems though that the crowds are giving him a very, very warm welcome here behind me. As you can hear, the music's playing. And Pope Leo is still touring the crowd here in the Popemobile.

WHITFIELD: Oh. I mean, it's incredible to watch. It's almost like he's, you know, going around a racetrack there. And then, you see people on the outside, like running to either get ahead of his popemobile, getting, you know, a wave at him or catching a glimpse of him. I mean, that's a lot of excitement there. All right. Christopher Lamb, we're going to check back with you there in Rome as this Catholic Woodstock gets underway.

All right. Coming up, as the Trump administration's immigration cracked down amplifies the stress and strain for refugees, how some newcomers are finding a safe space in New York's famed culinary scene.

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[13:40:00]

WHITFIELD: All right. For many refugees seeking a new life in the U.S., starting over can be intimidating and even daunting at first. Some are fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries, and the ongoing immigration crackdown across the U.S. can also add to the fears that some are feeling. But in New York, the diverse and iconic culinary scene is proving to be welcoming.

CNN Digital Reporter Alaa Elassar is covering this story. She's with me now. I mean, so great to see you. You write and you profile a number of the people and the places that are finding respite and home in New York City through the restaurant business. So, I'm wonder if you can, you know, just kind of summarize for us what kinds of fears are kind of permeating throughout the culinary scene because of the immigration policies and the practices right now.

[13:45:00]

ALAA ELASSAR, CNN DIGITAL REPORTER: Of course. So, New York City would be nothing without its culinary scene. We know this already. Behind every restaurant in New York City is a kitchen full of migrants. So, obviously, these people are afraid. A lot of them just don't know what's going to happen. The journey to citizenship is now a lot longer, a lot harder than it was before.

Obviously, we see a lot of news about ICE detentions. And even though most of them are here legally, the ones that I've spoken to are documented, they just don't know. So, there's a lot of terror. But I have to be honest, there's a lot more hope.

WHITFIELD: Well, that is good, especially because you help profile a place where there is a lot of hope, a very unique approach that you profiled in Emma's Torch. And it really does help refugees rebuild their lives through cooking. What makes Emma's Torch, I guess, different from other organizations? What makes it so unique? And I guess it's become a safe place, a place of salvation, right?

ELASSAR: Exactly. So, Emma's Torch is very unique and very different than a lot of organizations in New York City that helps migrants. One of the biggest things is that it provides free culinary training. So, these people come and they learn everything, all of the basics, knife skills, how to cook intricate meals, and how to conduct interviews to get a job in the industry.

Remember, these are people from different countries who speak different language, very different cultures. So, it's --

WHITFIELD: And different backgrounds.

ELASSAR: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Different experiences.

ELASSAR: All kinds of backgrounds.

WHITFIELD: What have you learned about some of the people who have, you know, learn new training, learning, I guess, a new lease on life? What did you learn about them individually?

ELASSAR: There was a lot of heartbreaking stories. We -- there was a lot of refugees from Ukraine who fled the war. Viokoslav (ph) was an incredible man who saw a missile fly past his window and have five -- had five minutes to pack up his family and drive all the way to the border of Poland in 28 hours. So, then, there was Georgia, the immigrant from Georgia, Annie (ph), she was so wonderful, fled human rights violations in Georgia to escape.

But one of the stories that stood out to me the most was Alpha Omar Diales (ph). He is from Guinea. And what was terrifying is that he was a freedom fighter. There it's considered protestors for freedom, fighting the violence against civilians, especially women. And you know, he did not want to leave his homeland or his sick sisters or his mother. He had no choice. He was arrested twice, in prison for three months, tortured. He was showing me scars all over his body. He was crying, telling me the stories of hearing people being electrocuted right in the cell next to him. So, he fled. These are all people who fled.

They just want a better life for their families and they all have a lot of pain behind their hearts, and I think it's quite important to remember these people's stories when discussing, you know, the issue surrounding immigration.

WHITFIELD: I mean, you write, in a city long celebrated for a gastronomic, excellence, and diverse international cuisines, nearly 60 percent of New York restaurant workers are foreign-born. Many having brought a wealth of culinary knowledge. Not all arrive though with the skills to survive at a professional kitchen. And refugees can face peculiar workplace stresses rooted in the political violence or extreme poverty. They fled. For some, the Trump administration's immigration crackdown now exacerbates the strain.

I mean, how willing were people to share with you perhaps initial reticence of even coming to the country, but then a need to do so, finding a safe place and now going back to some of those initial feelings of real fear.

ELASSAR: Yes. So, a lot of them, again, are leading these conversations with hope. With that being said, I think being an immigrant myself perhaps or a daughter of immigrants, it makes it a lot easier for people to trust me, and that's I think why I got so many intimate details from their stories. And again, I always say this, but regarding the debate surrounding immigration, we have to remember that unless, you know, you're indigenous or Native American, a lot of us come from people who immigrated at some point.

And frankly, the language that many people use to dehumanize and criminalize these people who have escaped for freedom, for the survival of their families just to have a life, it's frankly quite dangerous and not a true reflection of American values. And if you just notice these people's stories, if you look them in the eye and actually take a moment to listen, I think you would, you know, just have a different perspective. It could have been you. In another life, it could have been you. And the basic, the bare minimum of humanity is just having empathy.

WHITFIELD: How do you think a profile like this, a story that you have done here, giving real faces and names yes to these plights might help assist particularly in the humanization of so many people have felt -- who have felt dehumanized as a result of what has been happening?

[13:50:00]

ELASSAR: Exactly. Well, you and I just talked about this. Let's pause the politics for a moment and talk about the people. You know, these could -- again, it could have been you, and we are the children of immigrants. New York City, out of everywhere in the world, is based -- it's built -- the immigrants have built it.

And all I want to do with these stories is to have people to just, again, pause on the politics and think of the human that you're speaking about, especially -- I mean, if you see the photos of them, they're happy, smiley people. They're mothers, they're fathers, they're children. They have people who love them and they're here for freedom, for life, and for survival. So, just have some humanity is what I would say.

WHITFIELD: Something tells me, the torch in the name Emma's Torch.

ELASSAR: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I mean, there's a direct derivative there with the Statue of Liberty.

ELASSAR: Yes. WHITFIELD: And the immigrant story.

ELASSAR: Yes. So, it is a poem by Emma Lazarus. I hope I'm pronouncing that correctly. But she was a poet. And she wrote a lot about, you know, immigrants. And one of her most famous poems was "Give Me Your Poor, Your Huddled Masses Yearning for Freedom," and that's Emma's torch. That's the name.

WHITFIELD: Alaa Elassar, thank you so much.

ELASSAR: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: And of course, we want people to read your article. It's really brilliant and beautiful at cnn.com. Read the entire thing. You will be moved.

ELASSAR: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: All right. We'll be right back.

ELASSAR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank good to see you.

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[13:55:00]

WHITFIELD: Sydney Sweeney, actress from "Euphoria" and "The White Lotus" fame, well, she's the lead in an upcoming movie about former boxer Christy Martin. But now, as a result of a controversial ad for the jeans company, American Eagle, the rising hollywood star finds herself caught in the middle of a fierce political debate. Here to tell us more, Elizabeth Wagmeister.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sydney Sweeney has great jeans.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One of Gen Z's biggest celebrities starring in an American Eagle campaign, now at the center of a culture wars firestorm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jeans are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like her color personality and they have an eye color.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): With critics saying, the ad promotes the discredited theory of eugenics.

SAYATANI DASGUPTA, SENIOR LECTURER COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: A woman of color would not have been hired for this advertisement. That is a purposeful act. Why? Because eugenics is deeply tied to the notion that some races are better than others. But yet, Sydney Sweeney's ad is really speaking to this political moment.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The ad has remained in the headlines for a full week. Now spawning seamlessly endless parodies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jeans are passed down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Personality and even eye color.

WHITFIELD: Countless puns.

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": Hitler did briefly model for mein kampfort fit jeans.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): And even support from the Trump administration.

J. D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: My political advice to the Democrats is continue to tell everybody who thinks Sidney Sweeney is attractive is Nazi. That appears to be their actual strategy.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The internet blowing up yet again at the intersection of pop culture and politics with heated responses from both sides to the ad and the controversy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My jeans are Blue.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): American Eagle announced the campaign more than a week ago, saying Sweeney's girl next door charm and her ability to not take herself too seriously makes the ad both bold and playful. And pushing, it seems, all the right and the lefts buttons. The company responded on Friday, defending the campaign saying, it is and always was about the jeans and that great jeans look good on everyone. Sweeney so far has not weighed in.

SIDNEY SWEENEY, ACTRESS: But just so we're clear, this is not me telling you to buy American Eagle jeans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sydney Sweeney has very jeans.

WAGMEISTER (voice-over): The ad dangling (INAUDIBLE) that ultimately netted American Eagle a very big catch.

MOLLY MCPHERSON, CRISIS AND REPUTATION STRATEGIST: This is the modern formula for outrage marketing. You spark debate, you drive engagement, you ride the wave. And then when the dust settles, American Eagle gets the clicks, the coverage, and also the cash.

SWEENEY: You see what I did there, right?

WAGMEISTER: now, the discourse around this ad has become so heated that some online critics have gone as far to say that this is Nazi propaganda. It has become a right-wing talking point, and politicians have taken notice. Donald Trump Jr. even sharing a spoof his father, President Trump, wearing the jeans.

Now, American Eagle says that this has nothing to do with anything except for the jeans. In their statement, sharing a message of inclusivity saying, quote, "We'll continue to celebrate how everyone wears their AA jeans with confidence their way." As for Sydney Sweeney, her team has not responded yet to CNN's request for comment.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thanks so much. All right. In 2005, Bono and Bob Geldof joined forces to stage a second global concert event, go behind the scenes of the planning, politics and musical performances of Live Aid in this week's final episode of the CNN Original Series, "Live Aid: When Rock'N'Roll Took on the World."

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you get a call from Bob?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a letter from Bob.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A letter?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

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