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At Least 5 Dead, Dozens Injured After NY Tour Bus Crash; Lyle Menendez Denied Parole A Day After Brother's Bid Was Rejected; DOJ Turns Over "Thousands Of Pages" Of Epstein Records To House Oversight Cmte And Releases Maxwell Interview; Kilmar Abrego Garcia Released From Criminal Custody; Trump Admin May Deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia To Uganda; FBI Searches Home & Office Of Trump's Former Adviser. Famine Officially Confirmed in Parts of Gaza; Israel Intensifies Strikes on Gaza City; Powell Suggests Interest Rate Cuts Could Be Coming Soon. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 23, 2025 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: In a new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, Nick Watt sits down with NCAA Chief Charlie Baker to confront a disturbing trend. College athletes facing violent, sometimes even deadly threats from furious sports bettors.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CHARLIE BAKER, PRESIDENT, NCAA: Go sit behind a team, a college basketball team, men's or women's team, at one of the conference tournaments. Listen to the yelling and screaming that gets directed at them from there by bettors.

Stuff like, I know where your exit out of the building is. You cost me 5 grand. I'm going to kill you.

We have, at some of our championships, put 24/7 police protection around some of our teams.

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Over threats relating to betting?

BAKER: Threats, yes. Threats from betting that were deemed to be legit.

WATT: You would like to just see it that you can just bet on who's going to win, who's going to lose?

BAKER: Yes. Yes.

WATT: And that's enough?

BAKER: That's enough.

(END VIDEOCLIP) ROSALES: An all new episode of The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper, "Sports Betting: America's Big Gamble." That airs tomorrow at 10:00 p.m. only on CNN.

Hello and thank you for joining me. I'm Isabel Rosales in for Fredricka Whitfield.

We start with breaking news. At least five people are dead and dozens are hurt after a tour bus with 52 passengers crashed in western New York. This happened Friday near Pembroke, about 40 miles east of Niagara Falls.

That bus -- look at those images right there of the incident site, wow. That bus was headed back to New York City. At the time, officials say the driver got distracted, lost control, over-corrected, and then rolled over on the interstate.

CNN's Leigh Waldman is live in Buffalo, outside of one of the hospitals where the victims were taken. Leigh, walk us through what you're hearing, what you're seeing out there.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Isabel, we have some new information for you from the officials here at the Erie County Medical Center. They corrected the number of patients they received to 21. Earlier, we were hearing it was 24. Seven of those patients have been discharged at this point.

Now, that still leaves 14 people being treated from medical professionals here. All of this stemming from that devastating crash you were talking about. A tour bus leaving scenic Niagara Falls, heading back to New York City, with 52 passengers on board, aging from one years old to 74 years old.

Many of them not wearing seatbelts when that bus going full speed, lost control and rolled. Several people being ejected, others being trapped underneath that bus. Now, first responders call this a volatile scene, not only because of the scale of this accident that happened, but also because many of the people who were inside of that bus did not speak English. They had to wait on translators to come so they can continue those conversations, try and help those people.

Right now, they're trying to determine exactly what happened. Listen to what one of those first responders had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MAJOR ANDRE J. RAY, NEW YORK STATE PATROL TROOP COMMANDER: The cause of the collision is still under investigation. However, mechanical failure, as well as operator impairment have been ruled out at this time. The operator has been cooperative, and with the investigation still underway, no charges have been filed at this point.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

WALDMAN: Now, the first responders on the scene who were investigating this crash, they tell us that the driver was distracted, they lost control, tried to overcorrect. That's what led up to this crash, but they're trying to determine exactly what caused that distraction there.

That bus has been towed away from the thoroughway to open back up the roadway to drivers there. It's been taken to the New York State Police barracks for further investigation. Isabel?

ROSALES: Yes, you mentioned seven people that were discharged, 14 still being treated, and those passengers as young as one-year-old and as old as 70 years old. What an incident.

Leigh Waldman, thank you for that update.

Well, the California Parole Board has denied parole for Lyle Menendez a day after his brother's bid was also rejected. Erik and Lyle Menendez were convicted for murdering their parents back in 1989. But the years-long fight for release from prison is not over.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is following this story for us. Julia, what can you tell us?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Isabel, it was a devastating blow for these brothers and for other members of the Menendez family who say, you know, they've served enough time for their crimes. But on Friday, a parole board commissioner saying to Lyle that he's still struggling with antisocial personality traits like deception, minimizing, breaking of the rules, and all of that still behind the positive surface that he is presenting, but both brothers are eligible again for parole in about three years.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

[13:05:10]

JONES (voice-over): Erik and Lyle Menendez pleading their case in front of a parole board for the first time in more than 30 years. The brothers, now in their 50s, were 18 and 21 years old when they brutally murdered their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in their Beverly Hills home.

They claim they feared for their lives and that their father had physically and sexually abused them for years. Prosecutors maintain they were eyeing their parents' fortune instead and they were sentenced to life without parole.

But in May, a judge resentenced the brothers with the possibility of parole. The case and its sensational trial captured the attention of the world in the 1990s. And again, more recently, when a Netflix series and several documentaries were made about the case. A central point of Erik's hearing on Thursday was whether he took responsibility for his crimes.

Asked by parole commissioner Robert Barton, "Is there any part of this which you believe was self-defense?" Erik replied, "No." Still, Erik described their father as cruel and domineering and said the killings came after a week of escalating tensions and confrontations with their parents over the abuse.

After nearly 10 hours of proceedings and testimony, Erik Menendez was denied parole by a California board that decided he still poses a risk to public safety. Lyle, who has a slightly lower number of prison violations, faced the board on Friday. Asked whether the killings had been planned, Lyle said, quote, "There was zero planning." And that the decision to buy guns had been, quote, "somewhat impulsive" and for "emotional protection" and also "the biggest mistake."

Despite the California Parole Board's decisions, it is Governor Gavin Newsom who will ultimately have the final say on the brothers' fates.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JONES: And now Isabel, there's so many ways that this could go. This decision could still go through an internal review by the Parole Board for 120 days. And after that, Newsom then has about 30 days to intervene if he so chooses. The main question that he will have to answer is whether the brothers do present a threat to public safety, and if they have, quote, "have shown any insight into their crime."

But I'll have to say the Governor has yet to tip his hand whether or not he will intervene in this case.

ROSALES: Julia Vargas Jones, thank you.

Now to the new developments in the Jeffrey Epstein saga. On Friday, the Justice Department releasing those long-awaited recorded interview with Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice and convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell. It includes 377 pages of transcripts from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's two days of talks directly with Maxwell.

Now, Maxwell weighed in on several outstanding questions from behind prison walls where she is serving a 20-year sentence for trafficking underage girls with Epstein. Maxwell went out of her way to shower praise on President Trump, who was once friends with Epstein, and maintains that Epstein did not have a client list.

She also says she does not believe that he committed suicide in prison. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

TODD BLANCHE, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Do you -- so you think he was -- he did not die by suicide, given all the things we just talked about?

GHISLAINE MAXWELL, CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER: I do not believe he died by suicide, no.

BLANCHE: And do you believe that -- do you have any speculation or view of who killed him?

MAXWELL: I -- no, I don't.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROSALES: Critics of Maxwell's responses are quick to point out that these are the words of a convicted sex trafficker and a woman who appears to be seeking a pardon from President Trump.

CNN's Julia Benbrook joins us now from the White House. Julia, this release came on the same day that the DOJ turned over the first batch of the Epstein files to Congress. Has there been any sort of a bombshell in any of this?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are still waiting for those documents that were sent over to the House Oversight Committee to be made public. We have heard from House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer that it is his goal to get those released soon, but they are going to take some steps to make sure that the victim's names and other sensitive details are redacted.

But no doubt, as we wait for that release, that this will continue to be a major topic. And as the controversy surrounding the administration's handling of the Epstein files continues, the White House has been looking for ways behind the scenes to kind of take control more of this story.

And according to officials that are familiar with the matter who spoke with CNN, the release of these transcripts, the audio from the Maxwell interview is a part of that effort. This interview was conducted over two days by Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who is also President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer.

[13:10:03]

And during that interview, Blanche asked Maxwell a number of questions, some of them about the President. He asked about Trump's relationship with Epstein. And Maxwell said that while she believes that they were friendly in social settings, that she never saw the President in an inappropriate setting.

When it comes to her relationship, she said that relationship is a big word, but then went on to flatter and compliment Trump. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MAXWELL: As far as I'm concerned, President Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me. And I just want to say that I find -- I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the president now. And I like him, and I've always liked him. So that is the sum and substance of my entire relationship with him.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

BENBROOK: According to the transcript, Maxwell was given limited immunity in order to discuss the case, but was not promised other benefits for her testimony. Now it's important to note that leading up to this interview, one of the big questions was what Maxwell could be looking for from the Trump administration. She was sentenced back in 2021 to 20 years in prison, and she is appealing that conviction. In recent weeks, she was moved to a lower security prison camp, one that she does not appear eligible for as a sex offender without a waiver. Now, while that happened weeks ago, the administration has yet to provide details on how that happened. Isabel?

ROSALES: So many twists and turns in this case. Julia Benbrook, thank you.

Still to come, an emotional reunion for Kilmar Abrego Garcia now that he has been released from federal custody. But questions remain if he will be deported again.

And later, rising costs at state fairs. We're going to tell you why those corn dogs, funnel cakes, and even pizza on a stick may cost your family more this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:16:50]

ROSALES: New today, Maryland father Kilmar Abrego-Garcia, who was wrongfully deported to El Salvador under the Trump administration, is now back with his family after being released from criminal custody. This, as the administration might try to deport Abrego Garcia to Uganda in the coming days. That is according to a notice sent by the Department of Homeland Security and official to his lawyers on Friday.

CNN Correspondent Rafael Romo was there for the Abrego Garcia release. You witnessed the moment that his family has been waiting for so long, more than 160 days.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, and we almost missed it because it happened --

ROSALES: So quick.

ROMO: -- this quick. And it was just very interesting to be able to see the moment he got out. And we waited for hours, Isabel, for his release Friday. First, at the federal courthouse in Nashville, and then at a county jail about an hour east of the Tennessee capital.

Shortly after 2:00 p.m. local time, Kilmar Abrego Garcia walked out of the Putnam County Jail complex in Cookeville, Tennessee, surrounded by five men. It took less than one minute for Abrego Garcia and the five men to briskly walk to a white GMC SUV that sped away as soon as he got inside the vehicle.

Moments later, he was reunited with his family for the first time in five months.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

(CHEERING)

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: (Foreign language) or yes, we were able to do it in Spanish, Abrego Garcia picked up one of his children and then proceeded to hug his wife, Jennifer Vasquez. He later posed for pictures with his wife and three children, two of them holding flowers, before making his first public statement in his native Spanish language. This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA, RELEASED FROM CUSTODY (through translation): Today has been a very special day because, thank God, I've seen my family again after more than 160 days. And I'd like to thank everyone who has been supporting me.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

ROMO: And today is Abrego Garcia's first full day of freedom since the Trump administration wrongly deported him to a notorious mega prison in El Salvador in March, only to bring him back in June to face human smuggling charges, a case his attorneys are asking a judge to throw out.

Reacting to his release on X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blasted what she called activist liberal judges who have, in her words, obstructed law enforcement from removing what she described as the worst criminal illegal aliens from the United States.

"By ordering this monster loose on America's streets, this judge has shown a complete disregard for the safety of the American people," she said. "We will not stop fighting until this Salvadoran man faces justice and is OUT," in all caps, "of our country."

In a new twist on this already controversial case, Isabel, CNN has learned that the Trump administration now may try to deport the Salvadoran national to Uganda, a landlocked country in East Africa, nearly 8,300 miles away from his native country in Central America. He's been scheduled to appear for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement interview on Monday.

And that's the question right now, is he going to be detained right there and then, and then put in deportation proceedings right away to be sent halfway across the world.

[13:20:04]

ROSALES: There's been so much push and pull with this case.

ROMO: Right.

ROSALES: At one point, even his defense attorneys asking the judge not to let him be released --

ROMO: Right.

ROSALES: -- because of this very worry that ICE would pick him up immediately, but we don't have an answer if that's going to happen or not.

ROMO: We'll know Monday.

ROSALES: We'll know Monday.

Rafael Romo --

ROMO: Yes.

ROSALES: -- thank you.

ROMO: Thank you.

ROSALES: All right, just ahead, the latest look at what the FBI could have been looking for during its surprising search of John Bolton's home and office. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSALES: FBI agents spent hours Friday searching the home and office of President Trump's former National Security Adviser, John Bolton.

[13:25:03]

Sources tell CNN it is part of a renewed investigation into whether Bolton shared classified information in his 2020 book. CNN's Evan Perez reports.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The FBI conducted searches at the home and office of John Bolton, who served as National Security Adviser to President Trump in his first term and has since become a staunch critic of the President.

Sources tell us that the searches were part of a national security investigation into whether he disclosed classified information in his 2020 book. FBI agents spent about seven and a half hours at Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland on Friday. We watched agents bring out boxes from their home before they left.

Bolton wasn't home when the agents arrived and he met agents hours later at his office when they arrived there. Bolton and his lawyer declined to comment. We know from sources that the probe is related to possible retention of national security information.

Bolton last served in the government in 2019 when President Trump fired him during the first administration. The book included material that initially was given conditional clearance for publication by career officials at the White House, but Trump political appointees later decided to withhold final approval. The Justice Department investigated him then, but the probe and a civil lawsuit were both dropped early in the Biden administration.

Now, we don't know this. If the FBI has obtained new information, new evidence that has given rise to this new investigation, and also whether there are any charges that will be coming from this in the coming weeks. Evan Perez, CNN, Washington.

ROSALES: Still to come, a U.N.-backed group now officially declaring famine in Gaza and calling it a man-made crisis. What could this mean for ceasefire talks between Israel and Hamas? We'll explain. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSALES: For the first time, famine has been officially confirmed in parts of Gaza, including Gaza City and what the U.N. chief is calling, quote, "a failure of humanity itself." That troubling report released by the IPCA United Nations-backed group that monitors food security. It warns that famine is expected to spread to other parts of the enclave without a ceasefire and an end to restrictions on humanitarian aid. CNN's Paula Hancocks tells us the findings come as no surprise to the people of Gaza. And we should warn you here, her report does contain images that are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Confirmation of what residents of Gaza already knew, this is famine.

TOM FLETCHER, U.N. UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS: It is a famine. The Gaza famine. It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet, food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, says famine is confirmed in parts of Gaza, including Gaza City, the site of a major new Israeli offensive. The report says, quote, malnutrition threatens the lives of 132,000 children under five through June 2026.

The Israeli agency tasked with distributing aid into Gaza rejects the report as, quote, false and biased, accusing it of relying on data from Hamas.

This family in Gaza City currently lives on the outskirts of a tent city. Confirmation of famine will come as no surprise to them. Ali Salameh Majid (ph) is injured and cannot move easily. He fears the expected evacuation orders from Israel.

Where am I supposed to go, he says, I don't even have a tent. I'm in the street. My son has to beg for a piece of bread to feed his siblings. There's nothing to eat, his daughter says, when we go to the charity kitchen, they tell us the food is only for camp presidents. My sisters cry from hunger.

Salameh Majid (ph) says her husband cannot walk without the help of her eldest daughter. They do not want to be forced to move yet again. She says, it is impossible for things to get worse than this.

The Israeli military is intensifying strikes on Gaza City ahead of its plan takeover. This strike on a school filled with displaced Friday. The head of the emergency services in northern Gaza says at least a dozen were killed, many of them children.

We have asked the IDF for comment. Israel's Prime Minister says Gaza City is one of the last strongholds of Hamas and occupying the city is the fastest way to end this war. But this is one of the areas hundreds of thousands from Gaza City will be forced to move to. An Israeli airstrike hits a displacement camp in Central Gaza just 30 minutes after the military issued an evacuation order.

As emergency crews rush in, people are still packing up, trying to escape. Mohammed Al-Kahlout (ph) pulls a bag of flour from the debris of where his tent once stood. I have to start all over again, he says. In more than two months, the same will happen. You live somewhere, you think you are safe and you get struck again.

[13:35:00]

A rare protest in Gaza City called for Israel to abandon its planned takeover. This man called on the U.S. president to intervene. We say to Donald Trump, he says, if you care about the Nobel Peace Prize, you must stop all the wars, starting with the war on Gaza, which has claimed thousands of our lives.

SAMI ABU SALEM, JOURNALIST: We are as ordinary people, we are facing civil wars, war of rockets, war of bombs, war of hunger, war of thirst, and war of displacement.

HANCOCKS (voice-over): A desperate appeal to the world to wake up and break their silence.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: And with us now is Tjada D'Oyen McKenna. She's the CEO of U.S.-based aid group, Mercy Corps. Tjada, thank you so much for spending your time with us. Can I first get your reaction to this report?

TJADA D'OYEN MCKENNA, CEO, MERCY CORPS: This is absolutely unconscionable and sadly it's not surprising. We've known this was coming for months. We have had time to avert. This famine does not show up overnight. It is -- takes place after a period of prolonged denial of access to food, and we have seen this coming.

And frankly, by the time famine is declared, it's already too late. People are already dying. And it's the type of thing that accelerates over time. So, this is -- it's abhorrent and it's unconscionable, and the world has let this happen. This is the result of months of deliberate restrictions on aid, the complete destruction of food, water, and energy systems, and the complete lack of political will to get food to innocent civilians.

ROSALES: Now, your group says that it has enough aid standing by to help out 160,000 people. Why isn't it getting into Gaza? Help our audience explain what's happening there on the ground. MCKENNA: So, Israel controls what gets in and out of Gaza and how things move once they're inside of Gaza. The reality is that there are over 4,000 trucks full of supplies waiting at different borders to get into Gaza that have been denied entry. We ourselves have had food waiting at borders. We've had about 73 truckloads of supplies since May that we have not been able to get in. And in that time, we've had 2,500 food kits expire waiting to get into the territory.

So, things just simply are not being allowed to come in. The amount of food that's being allowed to come in is pitiful. And then once things are inside, once the few things that do get inside, it's been almost impossible because of continued conflict and now, because of a desperation situation where almost every truck that comes in is looted and taken because people do not know where they're going to get food. It's become impossible for anything to be delivered.

On top of that, there was a functioning aid system that was dismantled, where we had 400 distribution sites throughout the territory to give out food and supplies. That system was dismantled, Israel shrunk it to four sites. So, that sheer desperation and the knowledge that there is not even a system and is making this an impossible situation.

ROSALES: Yes. And we're seeing images of children, women, families out with empty pots hoping to get a soup to keep them alive for the next day. And one of the impactful stories I heard, a lot of the times they come back home to their family members with these empty pots, just not what they hope would come from that situation.

The report also said, Tjada, that things are likely to get worse, but that it can also be reversed. Where does this go from here? What does your organization do in the meantime?

MARTIN: Yes. In the meantime, we have been -- because we can't get supplies in, we have been working with organizations and facilities inside the country to get clean water to people where we can. Even the water desalinization plants have been hampered by lack of consistent access to fuel. So, we can continue to try to assist where we can, but the reality is the only solution to this problem is to allow the U.N. system to be fully back it up and running with our 400 sites to flood the zone with food.

You know, we have to let those trucks in. There's no reason that there are 4,500 trucks of supplies waiting just miles away to get in. And we need a ceasefire to move around to safely do this. When people know that there's adequate food coming in, when they know there's a system, we are going to be able to reach people.

At this point too, we need more than food. We also need therapeutic supplies for people who are already in stages of acute and severe malnutrition. For some people it will be too late. We will not be able to save them, but we can still save people and we should. And like I said, this is something that accelerates exponentially once people reach these thresholds of such a long, prolonged period, it's really hard to recover from.

[13:40:00]

We need a ceasefire. We need the full aid system to resume, and we need to get in there now.

ROSALES: Yes, and we heard Israel and the U.S. both rejecting the findings from this report, saying that Hamas are stealing most of this U.S. aid despite, you know, this internal review by the U.S. government out in July, late July, finding no evidence of widespread Hamas theft of Gaza aid contradicting those claims. Tjada McKenna, thank you so much for speaking on this.

MCKENNA: Thank you.

ROSALES: Well still to come, did Fed Chief Jerome Powell drop a clue about a potential interest rate cut? The stocks market had a record setting reaction. We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:00]

ROSALES: Stocks soared Friday following a very closely watched speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell, where Powell suggested yesterday that interest rate cuts could be on the horizon. In response, all the major indices on Wall Street closed in the green. Powell has been under pressure from President Trump to lower interest rates for months now, and the president has been openly critical of the Federal Reserve as a whole. But Powell says that is not the reason why a cut could come soon. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a possible rate cut sent the Dow into a new record. Fed Chair Jerome Powell, for the first time, floated the possibility of a rate cut at the annual Central Banking Forum meeting in Jackson Hole. A rate cut would mean lower borrowing costs for everyday Americans, and just the possibility of that rate cut helped the Dow hit a new record high, closing up 846 points. Here's Jerome Powell and what he said in Jackson Hole.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: With policy and restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy stance. Monetary policy is not on a preset course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: The reasoning behind that is a softening in the labor market, which Powell called curious and unusual, where there's both a lack of demand and supply for workers. He also said that tariffs have raised prices, but that inflation was stable, yet still above the Fed's target rate of 2 percent. President Trump was asked about Powell's indication of a possible rate cut, and here's how he reacted. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, we call him too late for a reason. He should have cut him a year ago. He's too late.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: Investors are pricing in that rate cut in September, but it's not set in stone. The Fed still has a jobs report, consumer and producer inflation before their next meeting. A hotter jobs market and hotter inflation could pour cold water on that possible cut back to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: As a Federal Reserve weighs cutting interest rates, inflation remains a very real thing for millions of Americans, including thousands of people in this year's Minnesota State Fair, better known as the Great Minnesota Get together. CNN affiliate WCCO is reporting that fairgoers could see some sticker shock this year because of rising prices. In some cases, rides and some food items are double what they were just a few years ago.

Tino Lettieri has been selling his pizza-on-a-stick and calzones at the fair for three decades, and that is where we find him right now, making and selling those delicious pizzas. Tino, thank you so much for being with us. I can see the crowds in the background clearly, you know, very popular fair. First of all, tell me about these legendary pizzas on a stick that you serve. We've all been talking about it here in the back.

TINO LETTIERI, VENDOR, MINNESOTA STATE FAIR AND OWNER, TINO'S PIZZA- ON-A-STICK: Well, I invented the product a long time ago. I had a patent on the product. That's one of the ways that I got into the state fair. And, you know, it's very difficult to get in this state fair. It's one of the biggest points in the country, and people been in lines for 10, 50, 20 years to even to get in.

I was fortunate enough to get a patent on the pizza-on-a-stick, and I was one of the only ones that really got in (INAUDIBLE). I'm happy to be here and it's a great, great event.

ROSALES: And, Tino, I was seeing pictures of the pizza-on-a-stick. I'm intrigued. If we were closer than Atlanta, Georgia. But can you walk me through how much you've seen your own costs going up? What was the receipt like for you ahead of preparing for the state fair last year in comparison to what you're seeing now?

LETTIERI: Oh, it's dramatically. I mean, you know, we've seen it with every ingredient we buy from flour, from meat, from cheeses, after COVID, the prices are almost doubled. And so, a pizza-on-a-stick, where my cost could have been maybe a $1.50, now it's instead, it's upwards of $4 to $5 a -- just for the raw material, that's not counting labor and, you know, all those pricing of what we're going to pay these kids to even come to work. So, everything has gone up. But unfortunately (INAUDIBLE). And so, we got to just, you know, continue to do our part.

[13:50:00]

And, you know, even though the price has gone up, we've raised the prices a little bit. I always -- I believe that you got to give the customer a little bit more than what it was before. So, before I had a pizza-on-a-stick that was literally four to five inches tall, now it's almost nine, 10-inch tall. So, at least I'm giving them back a little value, that's what I did. But still, when people come to the pool and they look at the product and go, oh, my God, you know, it is a shock to them to see, you know, what the prices are.

But at the same time, this is a once year, these people come out here. They can only get the products here. We don't sell the pizza-on-a- stick anywhere else. So, for them it's like, why not? You know? It's worth it.

ROSALES: Yes. And you mentioned flour, the cost of flour, cheese, all these things have gone up. And even your pizza-on-a-stick, it used to be $1.50, now, it's, you said $4.50 cents just for the raw materials. I mean, that is a crazy jump right there. And you've also said that you pay your workers more, because you want less turnover with your team. How much does that figure into your expenses?

LETTIERI: Well, you know what, I'm OK with that because, you know what, if it goes up at 20 percent of my labor, but at least I know one thing I'm going to get assisting labor and good labor. And these kids have been with me for a long time. So, they (INAUDIBLE) they go to the booth. And you know what, the other thing too is this is not a job. You know, when they're in here it's almost like it is entertainment and sightseeing is amazing. They get over 150,000, 200,000 people a day here. And it's just -- there's a vibe here that it doesn't feel like work. So, these kids are having a good time.

And you get to see people that you've never seen in a long, long time that come here. So, it's like that's why they call it the Minnesota get together.

ROSALES: Yes. Tony Lettieri, thank you so much. And the next time I come over in your neck of the woods, I hope you can save a pizza-on-a- stick for me. OK?

LETTIERI: I'll have a hot one for you.

ROSALES: Thank you so much, Tino.

LETTIERI: Thank you very much for having us.

ROSALES: Of course.

LETTIERI: Yes, thank you.

ROSALES: Well, still to come, a water rescue like you've never seen before. When a deer, yes, you heard that right, gets caught behind the waves and first responders, they go beyond the call. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:55:00]

ROSALES: Welcome back. Lifeguards carrying a young deer from the ocean last month in Flagler Beach, Florida, that's what they were doing, but how did it end up there and how did they get it out? Ryan Young has a story in this month's Beyond the Call of Duty. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Flagler County Sheriff's.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if there's anything that can be done, but there is a white-tailed deer about 100 yard out in the freaking ocean.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On July 6, 911 dispatchers could hardly believe their ears. Flagler Beach, Florida residents calling to report a young deer fighting to stay afloat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a baby deer. It swimming out toward the ocean.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A deer?

CHASE HUNTER, LIFEGUARD: Sure enough, there's a deer just swimming around.

YOUNG (voice-over): Lifeguard Chase Hunter paddled out to get a closer look, fighting through choppy waves and a torrential downpour while Leo Peters stood watch from shore.

LEO PETERS, LIFEGUARD, FLAGLER BEACH OCEAN RESCUE: It was maybe 500, 600 yards. It was really far out.

YOUNG (VOICE-OVER): But neither lifeguard was sure exactly what to do.

PETERS: I don't think they mentioned deer in the handbook.

YOUNG (VOICE-OVER): Though deer commonly swim in the intercoastal waterways, they had never seen one in the ocean.

HUNTER: I paddle up close to it and I grab it underneath and then I throw it on the board.

YOUNG (VOICE-OVER): The yearling was scared and jumped off the board over and over and over again.

DEPUTY CHIEF JENNIFER FIVEASH, FLAGLER BEACH FIRE DEPARTMENT: Deer are very strong, even at a yearling's age.

HUNTER: It did scratch up the board. It scratched up my leg.

YOUNG (VOICE-OVER): Leo swam out to help, but two locals made this rescue even more daunting. PETERS: There were two sharks out there, pretty big-sized ones too, and I was just hoping they wouldn't see me.

YOUNG (VOICE-OVER): Eventually, a third lifeguard and a Flagler Beach fireman rounded out the reinforcements, helping escort Chase and Bambi back to the beach.

HUNTER: I was talking to it, giving it a little pat, just reassuring it, making sure it knows it's not in danger.

YOUNG (VOICE-OVER): Though they typically save around 100 humans a year, these lifeguards and first responders said they wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

HUNTER: Whether it's human, whether it's an animal, we have a duty to do, and it's save lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Wow. An incredible rescue, an unusual one too. Well, it's hard to believe that next week marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the City of New Orleans. One of the places thousands of people saw refuge before, during, and after the storm was the Superdome. A new CNN special explorers its role during Katrina, and the recovery that followed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When Katrina hit the Superdome, it was the site of devastation --

[14:00:00]