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Fed Chair: Fed Ready To Cut Rates From 23-Year High; Israel Offers New Proposal Involving Key Corridor; "Close Encounters: Tourists In The Wild" Airs Sunday At 8PM ET/PT. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired August 23, 2024 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[13:31:01]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the time has come to start cutting interest rates.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: After a costly string of rate hikes meant to beat back spiking inflation, Powell set a new course toward rate cuts at the annual Fed meeting today.
That's music of course, to consumers ears.
But, Matt Egan, when will the Fed cut? And by how much? Get out that crystal ball. Tell us everything you know.
MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, Boris and Brianna, it does seem like rate cuts really are coming. But by exactly how much, we don't know quite yet.
Look, this is a big, big moment for the economy. For the last two years, the Fed has been fighting inflation, waging an epic war on inflation with those really big interest rate hikes.
Today, Powell, he all but declared victory in that war. He says he's more confident that inflation is going back to where it belongs, back to 2 percent.
And he has said that there's basically a shift in the mission now. Instead the fighting inflation, they're going to be fighting unemployment. And there's a shift in strategy. Instead of interest rate hikes, it's interest rate cuts.
Listen to what Powell said today in Jackson Hole.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: The time has come for policy to adjust. The direction of travel is clear and the timing and pace of rate cuts will depend on incoming data, the evolving outlook and the balance of risks.
We will do everything we can to support a strong labor market as we make further progress toward price stability. (END VIDEO CLIP)
EGAN: Powell essentially just preannounced a September interest rate cut. This will be the first cut since September. It's the last meeting before the election.
And as far as what Wall Street's sees, right now, there's 100 percent chance of an interest rate cut. There's no chance priced in that the Fed just does nothing.
There's a two in three chance that they do a small cut of a quarter of a percentage point and a one and three chance that they do a bigger cut, a half a percentage point.
That would go up, the chances of a big cut would go up if the August jobs report proves to be weak.
But look, no matter what it does look like, borrowing costs are coming down for Americans. And so, yes, that is good news. I mean, if you're in the market for a house right now, mortgage rates have come down. They should go down even further.
If you're trying to pay off credit card debt right now and you've got record high rates there, you should be catching a break on that front as well -- Boris and Brianna?
SANCHEZ: He didn't get enormous applause outwardly in the room, but I'm sure that the audience inside was applauding because every word.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Matt, did Powell actually spell out whether he believes we've voided a recession?
EGAN: Well, Boris, he stopped short of saying that. But he did strike a pretty cautiously optimistic tone, which, when you think about it, is kind of remarkable given how things could have gone, right?
Two years ago, Wall Street was freaking out. Economists and CEOs were bracing for an imminent recession. Thankfully, that has not happened. And so Powell said -- he said there's, quote, "good reason to think that the economy will get back to 2 percent inflation while the jobs market stays strong."
So essentially, that would be the soft landing that we've all been hoping for. And that looked unlikely for the longest time.
I would just note that, although Powell may not have gotten a lot of applause from the room of invite-only economists, he did get a standing ovation on Wall Street where we saw the Dow was up by about 500 points at one point today.
It's come back a bit, around 300 points, but still a positive reaction from investors as well.
And this does look like good news for Main Street and for Wall Street. You see the Dow up 320 points. And it's exploding with record highs right now -- Boris and Brianna?
KEILAR: All right, Matt Egan, thank you.
EGAN: Thanks.
[13:34:44]
SANCHEZ: So Israel just offered a brand-new proposal to Hamas concerning one of Gaza's most consequential borders. This is a bid to advance ceasefire talks, but will it be enough? We're going to take you live to the Middle East in just moments.
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KEILAR: There are some new developments in the ongoing Gaza ceasefire- Iran hostage negotiations. Egypt is set to deliver a new Israeli proposal to Hamas over a key corridor that is currently under IDF control, the Philadelphi Corridor.
The new proposal involves reducing the number of Israeli troops that are in this area.
SANCHEZ: As these efforts to secure a ceasefire continue, the situation in Gaza is only deteriorating. Witnesses say the children are being reduced to drinking water from puddles.
Just this week, the IDF recovered another six Israeli hostages who we're found dead with gunshot wounds.
We're joined now by CNN Jerusalem correspondent, Jeremy Diamond.
[13:40:02]
Jeremy, what's the latest on this latest Israeli proposal? Does it actually move talks forward?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it certainly has the potential to do so, Boris. This latest proposal by the Israeli government reduces the number of Israeli troops that would be stationed along the Philadelphi Corridor during the first phase of a ceasefire agreement.
And critically, it also reduces the number of military positions that those Israeli forces would maintain during that ceasefire.
And what it shows us is that these really prime minister is at least willing to show some flexibility on an issue that he has really laid down a very clear marker on.
I's not clear, though, that it will be enough to get Hamas to the negotiating table and to get Hamas actually reach a deal. And that's because Hamas has been insisting on the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from that critical and strategic corridor along the Egypt-Gaza border.
Now, earlier this week, the Israeli government submitted a map of this -- of previous proposal and that was rejected out of hand by the Egyptians, who declined to even pass it along to Hamas, saying that it was a total nonstarter.
And so yesterday, I'm told, the Israeli negotiating team sat down with the Israeli prime minister for several hours on the heels of his phone call the night before with President Biden, who urged him to show some more flexibility on this issue of the Philadelphi Corridor.
And following that meeting is when this new proposal emerged with a new map that was submitted to the Egyptians. Now that proposal is on its way to Hamas.
And the critical question over the next 24 to 48 hours is whether or not that new proposal is enough to at least get Hamas to the negotiating table.
It's expected that the negotiators are set to reconvene in Cairo on Sunday. This will be the high-level meeting with the CIA director, the Qatari prime minister, the head of Egyptian intelligence, the head of Israeli intelligence.
And potentially, what could happen here if Hamas agrees, is the Israeli delegation will be in a room, the Hamas delegation will be in another room, and the mediators will be going between.
But for now, Hamas has yet to actually agree to attend that summit. They still say that this current bridging proposal caves far too much to Israeli demands.
So there's still a lot of uncertainty about whether or not these negotiations are actually going to go anywhere -- Boris?
KEILAR: All right, Jeremy, thank you so much.
Let's bring in CNN national security analyst, Beth Sanner.
White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby, Beth, saying to reporters today that the ongoing talks are constructive. They're moving forward.
You know, we hear that a lot. I feel like we've been at this moment many times. How are you seeing where things are?
BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I'm not optimistic.
I think that when you boil down everything that Jeremy said -- and I think, you great details there -- the big picture is that the two sides really lack of trust over two fundamental issues.
One is, will Israeli troops still be present in Gaza? And will there be a permanent ceasefire?
And this proposal that's on the table, as Jeremy said, is to get Hamas to come to the negotiating table where those things that are negotiated a little bit more. But currently, the two sides are literally at 180 polar opposites on this. And the current agreement that's on the table, as far as we know, only has this phase one and no guarantees that -- of a permanent ceasefire or an Israeli withdrawal in phases two and three.
So what we're talking about is a hostages-for-prisoner deal. And then the rest to be negotiated. And I just don't feel like that's going to work.
SANCHEZ: Beth, how much does the threat of an Iranian strike loom over these negotiations? Iran has vowed retaliation for the killing of this Hamas commander into Tehran several weeks ago.
Since then, they've said that they're going to wait this out, that a response doesn't need to happen right away. But I mean, obviously that plays a factor, if you're negotiating towards something, anticipating that there's going to be conflict down the road.
SANNER: Yes. I think it has some effect. But, you know, I mean, fundamentally, it doesn't change where Israel is and their negotiating position or Hamas'. It's more about the U.S. interest in not escalating.
But I don't think that it -- you know, it doesn't take those things off the table. You know, ultimately, Iran will want to respond, but maybe they'll do that asymmetrically and with more patience, more strategic patience.
That's usually Iran's playbook. They've only violated that playbook recently.
And we still have the Hamas -- I'm sorry -- the Hezbollah threat of retaliating for the Israeli killing of their military chief as well.
[13:44:59]
So those things still loom. And certainly, they're kind of on hold for now. But there'll be back. And they'll have to be dealt with.
KEILAR: All right, Beth Sanner, thank you so much.
Jeremy Diamond, thank you for your reporting.
And just minutes from now, Robert F. Kennedy Jr is slated to speak as both parties wait to see if the Independent candidate is going to stay in the race for the White House. We're expecting that he is not.
The real question here, is he going to be endorsing former President Trump? Indications are that he will be, but it's not, certainly, a guarantee at this event. So we'll be watching this closely. We'll bring it to you, live.
Stay with CNN.
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[13:50:18] SANCHEZ: It feels like every year we bring you these stories about tourists getting far too close to wild animals, like grizzly bears and bison, at America's national parks. But how close is too close?
CNN's Ed Lavandera spent four days in Yellowstone, America's oldest national park, and he learned the hard way.
Take a look.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The motel over there has a sign that says, "Do not pet the fluffy cows." You constantly have to be reminded about this stuff.
If you're walking around town and you think that they're just part of the atmosphere and that they're friendly, you have to remind yourself they're wild animals.
(on camera): Whoa.
(LAUGHTER)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): A friendly stranger reminds us of that in a loving way.
(SHOUTING)
(MUSIC)
LAVANDERA: This is "CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: TOURISTS IN THE WILD."
(on camera): Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): It didn't take us long to figure out what not to do. There is such a thing as getting too close to wildlife.
(SHOUTING)
(LAUGHTER)
(SHOUTING)
(SCREAMING)
LAVANDERA: Wild animals don't want to take a selfie with you and they especially don't want to be held.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow, she's holding it.
LAVANDERA: This scene was captured in North Carolina. These people feed black bear cubs out of a tree. Because of this human interaction, at least one of the cubs could not be reunited with its mother.
(CROSSTALK)
LAVANDERA: Wildlife refuge staff were unable to locate the second cub.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Oh, my gosh. It's heartbreaking.
Ed Lavandera, I mean, what an assignment and what an important one. Tell us about what you learned and what you saw during this trip.
LAVANDERA: Well, we've kind of built this entire hour around our four days that we spent in Yellowstone.
And, you know, there are millions of Americans who are flocking to national parks and also people from around the world flocking to America's national parks. And that's kind of creating these -- this tension between tourists gone wrong, if you will, out in the wild.
But there's also, you know, kind of this magical experience that happens when you're out there and you're seeing these animals, grizzly bears, wolves and bison.
So we get into that. But it comes at a cost. And in some cases, a very dangerous cost.
And we're going to introduce you to a wide range of characters and people who have gone out into the wild.
In fact, one of my favorites is we interviewed a man who's a former historian of Yellowstone National Park. And, Boris and Brianna, he wrote a book called, "Death in Yellowstone," literally wrote that book.
You know, it's a good reminder of just how many different ways there are to get yourself in trouble out there in the wild.
SANCHEZ: So, Ed, what should visitors to Yellowstone keep in mind to enjoy Mother Nature, but also stay safe?
LAVANDERA: Well, when you go out to these parks here, there's reminders everywhere about the distance that you should keep from bison, from the bears, and that sort of thing.
I can't stress enough you've got to pay attention to those signs. As boring as it might seem to some people, it's clearly much more adventurous to try to get close, but things can turn very quickly. And we get into all of this.
So, you know, follow those signs. And there's kind of like real reasons, not just for your personal safety, but as we kind of allude to there in that clip, there's real reasons why you do this for the animals' safety and for their lives as well.
So we get into all of this. And it's really just a fun, kind of fascinating experience for us. KEILAR: But, Ed, isn't it surprising to you, like, "Don't jump in the
boiling water pools," you know, "Don't pet the moose, don't grab the baby bears," that people need to be reminded of these things?
LAVANDERA: What it is, you know, it's like, as soon as you tell someone not to do something, they have to do it, right? And so there is -- there is a lot of that. And that just feels kind of like what happens when you're out in these places.
When you stand close to a bison or you see a herd of bison, they're so peaceful looking. They're just so just majestic. And it looks like an animal that you can just go up and pet and, just kind of, you know, caress and get close to.
But there's a reason why there are signs everywhere that tell you, "Don't pet the fluffy cows." I mean, those animals can run at amazing speeds and move very quickly, much quicker than most people think.
SANCHEZ: Yes, important to give wild animals their space out there.
KEILAR: Yes.
[13:55:00]
SANCHEZ: Not so much for Ed Lavandera. If you see him out there in the wild, you give that man a hug.
KEILAR: Yes.
SANCHEZ: We love Ed Lavandera.
(LAUGHTER)
LAVANDERA: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
LAVANDERA: I'm also extremely slow.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: And nice, kind.
(LAUGHTER)
KEILAR: Ed Lavandera, thank you.
Be sure to tune in. An all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY" with Anderson Cooper, one whole hour, one whole story, airs Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific only on CNN.
Can't wait for that one. That's a cool one.
So on "HOME FRONT" this week, a major court ruling. A federal judge says the military may no longer turn away recruits who are living with HIV. In the ruling, the judge said, quote, "Modern science has transformed
the treatment of HIV. Asymptomatic HIV-positive servicemembers with undetectable viral loads who maintain treatment are capable of performing all of their military duties, including worldwide deployment."
SANCHEZ: The suit was brought by three HIV-positive people who were denied when they tried to join or rejoin the military.
One plaintiff, a Georgia guard member named Isaiah Wilkins, who wanted to enlist in the Army Reserves, said, quote, "This is a victory, not only for me, but for other people living with HIV who want to serve. As I've said before, giving up on my dream to serve my country was never an option," end quote.
Stay with CNN. We're back in just a few minutes.
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