Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Texas Dems Leave State to Stop New Congressional Map; Senator Cory Booker Tells Dems Don't Bend the Knee to Trump; White House Economic Adviser Calls New Tariffs "The Final Deals"; New Poll Reveals Pessimism Voters Feel About Both Parties; Stocks Face Threat Ahead of Trump's New Tariffs on Thursday; Starvation Emergency Worsens in Gaza with Limited Access to Aid; Malibu Residents Seek a Safer Option to Pacific Coast Highway. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 03, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAREDES: I'm just -- I'm overwhelmed. But you know what?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?

PAREDES: I think I deserve this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: And our best wishes and deepest love to Vangie. And a big thank you to all her friends and family for hosting us.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, and on the TikTok, @JakeTapper. You can follow the show on X, @TheLeadCNN. If you ever miss an episode of THE LEAD, you can listen to the show, all two hours, whenst you get your podcasts.

The news continues now on CNN. I will see you Monday.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Jessica Dean has the day off.

Just in, Texas Democrats are pushing back tonight against their Republican colleagues who want to redraw the state's congressional map. Right now members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus are leaving the state, some actually headed to Chicago to meet with Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, while others are going to New York to meet with Governor Kathy Hochul. Their decision to leave is an effort to deny the quorum needed to advance the measure.

Now, Republicans are looking to redraw that map to gain an additional five House seats at the expense of Democrats.

CNN's senior reporter Steve Contorno is just outside Chicago.

Can you just tell us what -- what's the latest on these lawmakers taking really an extraordinary step leaving the state here? STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly right, Omar.

And they are saying extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. And we have seen House Republicans and Republicans, excuse me, in Texas saying they intend to move forward with this map that would redraw congressional district lines, potentially give Republicans an advantage in five more seats. Well, Democrats have now left the state to try to block a quorum so that Republicans cannot hold a legislative session and continue on this plan.

There are 150 members of the Texas legislature and 100 of them have to be there, two-thirds in order for them to have a quorum. That means 51 of the 62 Democrats have to be out of the state to stop them from proceeding. And if this is anything like what happened in 2021, they may be out of the state for weeks. It was 38 days before Democrats ultimately came back, and gave the legislature the quorum they needed.

Now, as they leave the state, these House Democrats are saying, look, we are acting because Republicans are doing something that is out of the ordinary. Listen to this quote from Texas Democratic Caucus chairman, Representative Gene Wu, who said, "This is not a decision we make lightly, but it is one that we make with absolute moral clarity. Governor Abbott has turned victims of a historic tragedy into political hostages in his submission to Donald Trump."

And President Trump is someone who has been urging Republican legislatures where they have an advantage to try to change their maps going into this midterm election because the House majority for Republicans is so narrow, and the expectation is that it will be a very difficult fight for Republicans to maintain it next year -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: And the typical trend is that the party in power would lose the power in a typical midterm cycle. And that's the dynamic that they're at least trying to fight against. You know, some Democrats are also mentioned that they're headed to New York, where they're going to meet with the governor. But as you just mentioned, this effort at least in Texas is something the White House we know has pushed and been a fan of.

Does the Democratic moves here, at least to New York, does that say anything about the Democratic strategy overall to fight fire with fire, so to speak?

CONTORNO: Well, it certainly is a symbolic move going to New York. I mean, certainly it's a state that is a safe way for them to be because it's -- they don't run the risk of a Republican governor partnering with Democrat or, excuse me, Republicans in Texas to try to get those lawmakers back. But we have heard from Governor Hochul and from Governor Newsom in California and Governor Pritzker here in Illinois, who will be joining the Democrats just behind me, outside of Chicago, in a little bit.

And they have said, look, if the House Republicans and Texas Republicans move forward with this plan, then we may have to respond by redrawing our own maps. And certainly Democrats in all three of those states have a massive advantage in their state legislatures and may have the power to do so. It's not a step that they say that they want to take, but one that they will do in response if Texas goes through with this plan.

JIMENEZ: A dynamic to watch. Steve Contorno, really appreciate it.

Meanwhile, as Democrats nationwide try to figure out their path forward, one of the party's top voices has this advice. Don't bend the knee.

[18:05:04]

That's what Senator Cory Booker is telling CNN's Manu Raju, who has more on what the senator is saying Democrats need to do to regain trust with voters.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Democrats are going through a bit of an identity crisis in the aftermath of their steep election losses last November. They've seen their polling at rock bottom, really historic lows in public opinion and favorability for their party.

So how do they move ahead? There's been this debate within the party about its tactics, about how to respond to Trump. And this really blew up on the Senate floor last week when Cory Booker, the senator from New Jersey, pushed back against Democratic senators who are trying to work with Republicans to pass policing bills. But Booker has serious concerns about how the administration has been dealing with public safety money.

He says they have been withholding money to blue states like his own because they are not adhering to the Trump agenda. He wanted those bills to more adequately deal with that specific concern. But he also told me there's a larger debate, an issue that he has with Democrats and others that he says they don't -- they should not bend the knee to Donald Trump, in his words. They should push back.

SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): What I want to see more people doing is not doing what some law firms have done, bend the knee to Donald Trump. Not doing what some universities have done, bend the knee to Donald Trump. We see major corporations who want some merger approval not standing up on principle, but bending the knee to Donald Trump.

That, to me, is outrageous. History are going to remember these people for their complicity in what is a guy that's going to severely try to undermine our government, who already incited a riot on our Capitol? This is a moment in history where people are going to ask, where did you stand? Did you bow to an authoritarian leader, or did you stand strong and fight?

I'm sick of the gerrymandering, but if Donald Trump is going to push to gerrymander Texas, he's going to break the rules in order to win. He can't win by the rules they are right now. So he thinks he should break the rules. For Democrats to sit back and just say, OK, we're going to play by the queen's rules. No. I'm telling you right now, we need to win in the midterm. We need to stop him from cheating, from lying, and from stealing the election. And if they're doing something to add their congressional seats, we

need to look at our ways of doing that right now.

RAJU: And that last comment, referring to the fight that is happening right now in Texas, where Republicans there are redrawing the district lines for the United States House to add five more Republican seats in next year's midterms. Donald Trump is pushing that to happen now, even though typically these redistricting fights happen at the beginning of a decade. Now, Trump wants this done to help him in the midterms next year.

But Booker there saying New Jersey should respond in kind. A blue state could potentially, if they redraw their lines, add Democratic seats and help them in the midterms and an arms race of sorts between the two parties. They try to position themselves for next year's midterm elections, but a sign, too, of the debate within the Democratic Party about how to proceed. As Booker says, it's time to fight back.

Manu Raju, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: The story that's not going anywhere anytime soon. Manu Raju, really appreciate the reporting.

Now, after hitting virtually every country with new steep tariffs this week, the White House is now saying those higher rates will be here to stay, despite the fact that they rattled stock markets around the world on Friday,

CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook joins us now.

So, Julia, what is the administration saying right now on this front?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Omar, there's no doubt that this was a big week when it comes to trade and that this upcoming week will be a big one as well. President Donald Trump had promised on the campaign trail that he was going to take an aggressive stance when it comes to tariffs, and we are seeing that play out. The White House has said that his moves aim to even the playing field for American workers and businesses, but they have caused some uncertainty.

We have seen these tariffs start and stop. We've seen frameworks announced with not quite enough detail to fully understand what's happening in those, and even just this last week, dozens of countries were bracing to see their higher tariff rates go into effect. Trump had said repeatedly the August 1st deadline is the August 1st deadline, but hours before it came, he announced some new trade guidelines and pushed the implementation date to August 7th.

Now, that gives Customs and Border Security some more time to prepare, to properly apply those new rates. But it also potentially gives some wiggle room for countries that are still looking to talk trade and make deals. But in an interview with CBS that aired earlier today, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, he was asked specifically if Americans should expect to see some of these newly announced rates negotiated down in the coming days. He said he doesn't think so.

[18:10:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: I don't -- I don't think they will be in the coming days. I think a lot of these, well, I know a lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not. Others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country. So these tariff rates are pretty much set.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now separately, the ongoing negotiations with China are really top of mind this next week as well as we look forward. Back in May, the two countries agreed to temporarily pause their historically high tariff rates, but that pause is scheduled to end on August 12th. Greer suggested that that could be an extended deadline, but nothing official there. He and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent met with their Chinese counterparts recently.

And while they both spoke very positively about the meetings, the meetings concluded without any sort of a real resolution. And if there's not an agreement or we don't see an extension of that deadline, it is possible to see those rates go historically high once again -- Omar.

JIMENEZ: Julia Benbrook, appreciate the reporting.

Meanwhile, still ahead, new polling shows voters in both parties are losing patience, especially Democrats. So what can leaders do to change perceptions? We're going to talk about it with our political panel next.

Plus, the crisis in Gaza. Days after Israel started allowing more help to come in, aid groups are still warning of dire conditions for the two million Palestinians there, many still facing starvation.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:19]

JIMENEZ: All right, I want to -- I don't want to speak too soon, but we may be have found something truly bipartisan, feeling badly about today's politics. New polling out today reveals the real pessimism voters have about their own parties. So a lot to talk about.

Joining me now is Republican strategist Pete Seat of the Bose Public Affairs Group, he's a former spokesperson for the George W. Bush administration, and CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona.

Good to see you both. Maria, I want to start with you because the AP is out with the new

poll today showing about a third of Democrats surveyed describing their own party in a negative light. Words like weak, apathetic, ineffective, disorganized popped up in an open-ended question.

What can Democrats do to change that narrative within the party?

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think what Democrats can do is to continue to fight against what the Republicans are doing, what Trump is doing, which is essentially betraying the American people on the biggest promise that they talked about during their campaign, which is to bring down the prices of groceries, gas, and rent. Figure out how to bring down inflation. Essentially focus on voters' economies. And they have done completely the opposite. And in fact, everything that they have done has increased the cost for voters, which is why you are seeing Donald Trump's poll numbers tank.

Now what Democrats need to continue to do is to stand up to that. And yes, there has been some frustration on behalf of the Democrats, myself included, after you lose a heartbreaking, soul-crushing election like '24 was, of course you're going to feel this way. But then what we have seen across the board, Omar, is that Democrats have been winning special elections, flipping a handful of ruby red districts in the states and even overperforming in the elections that we have lost.

So Democrats are doing exactly what they need to be doing, and voters are looking at them and preferring them even in these polls that show that low numbers for Democrats and Republicans. Voters overwhelmingly prefer Democrats to take over Congress next year during the midterms, which is why you see such desperation and fear coming out of the GOP and Trump for next year.

JIMENEZ: Well, Pete, let's talk about this dynamic a little bit because Republicans did fare somewhat better with their own voters. Still a small but significant share described the GOP as greedy or called it generally bad. And overall, four out of 10 U.S. adults had a dim view on both parties, I should say. But I guess to Maria's point, in typical midterm elections, the party in power does have a tough time going into this. We know the margins in the House, for example, are already so small.

What can Republicans do to shore up their image? Any pitfalls they may have among potential voters, but also to try and reverse the trend that we typically see?

PETE SEAT, VICE PRESIDENT, BOSE PUBLIC AFFAIRS GROUP: Twice as many Republicans described the party positively compared to Democrats. And that is because we know what Republicans stand for. We know what Democrats stand against. And Maria just articulated it. Her party stands for literally nothing. All they stand against is Donald Trump. Republicans on the other hand stand for lower taxes, less spending, more freedom, securing the border. That is the plan Republicans ran on in 2024.

CARDONA: Less spending? Are you serious? SEAT: They won with historic number of black voters, historic number

of Hispanic voters, historic number of young voters, and they're executing on that plan.

[18:20:07]

That's why more Republicans are looking at their party positively. Every time Democrats open their mouth it's just anti-Trump rhetoric. And that's why in large part they're going nowhere fast.

JIMENEZ: Maria, you wanted to get in?

CARDONA: See, but, Pete. I'm sorry. Pete just articulated exactly why voters are going against Trump, why he's losing support among all of the factions that you just mentioned.

Pete, you said that Republicans want to control spending? Are you serious? You just passed a bill that rips health care away from 17 million Americans and increases the debt and the deficit by almost $4 trillion. This is why Americans are now looking at the GOP and saying they're not for me. They are for millionaires. They are for corporations who don't need any help.

And Democrats are making the case that it's the Democratic Party that is actually the one that has the real policies that focus on bringing down the cost of groceries, gas and rent. And so that's why you see Republicans and frankly, Donald Trump, Donald Trump having to lie, cheat and steal with what they're doing in Texas to try and minimize what we know is going to happen next year, which is going to be a huge takeover of the House by Democrats because voters are sick of Republicans doing one thing, bending the knee to Trump and helping his billionaire friends.

JIMENEZ: Pete, I'm going to let you respond. But just for context for folks is that what she was mentioning is that there is a push right now in Texas to have a special session to redraw congressional districts. It's something the White House has pushed for. But the idea is to potentially squeeze up to five additional Republican seats in Congress.

And just, Pete, my question to you is, what is your take on that? And do you think going down this route potentially opens the door up to Democrats doing this in other states?

SEAT: Two points on this. One, Democrats in Texas have hightailed it out of town. They have flown to Chicago, to the liberal bastion of Illinois, because they don't want to do their job, which is to vote on the floor. That is what they were elected to do. This is immature. It is childish. I saw it happen in Indiana in 2011. Democrats here did the same thing. They hung out in a hot tub at a comfort suites in Urbana, Illinois.

And what happened? Republicans got a supermajority in the next election and have maintained it in every election since 2012. Furthermore, the U.S. Supreme Court, Texas did the same thing in 2003. The U.S. Supreme Court found that it was constitutional to redistrict whenever a state chooses. And you know who also -- who was among the majority in that decision? Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is constitutional. Democrats just don't like it and rather than be on the floor and do their job, they're leaving their job. Most Americans can't get away with that. They shouldn't get away with it either.

JIMENEZ: I've got to leave it here, Pete Seat, Maria Cardona, I appreciate you both. I know there will be more to discuss on this. The story is not going anywhere. Appreciate you.

CARDONA: Thanks, Omar.

SEAT: We ain't going anywhere, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Yes, yes, yes. No, no, I can always count on that. Good to see you both.

CARDONA: Thank you.

JIMENEZ: All right, just ahead, how the Trump administration is defending its newest round of global tariffs tonight as the new levies inject uncertainty into economies around the world.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. More coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:28:12]

JIMENEZ: Between threatening to hit dozens of countries with steep tariffs starting Thursday and a not-so-ideal July jobs report, the Trump administration may be dealing with big changes in the economy, and many Americans might be reasonably getting nervous again about the economy.

I want to bring in economist Natasha Sarin, who joins us now. She was a counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen under President Biden.

So new tariffs set to go in place. Last year we were looking at imports to the U.S. facing an effective tariff rate of a little over 1 percent. With this newest set going in place that would surge to more than 18 percent. What is your reaction to what appears to be a reshaping of the U.S. economy in real time?

NATASHA SARIN, ECONOMIST: Well, what I can tell you based on sort of the read of the data that my colleagues at the Yale Budget Lab and I have been sort of focused on over the course of the last many months is we are about to be at effective tariff rates that this country hasnt seen in about a century. And those effective tariff rates translate into higher prices for consumers on literally everything they buy, on the order of magnitude of about $2400 for your average family,

What's also happening simultaneously and really what the jobs report that we got last week is kind of telling us is that at the same time imposing tariffs on these levels on the economy is actually shrinking the economy because it's leading people to spend more and its leading businesses to invest less. And what that does is it means it costs the economy jobs. We estimate on the order of magnitude of about 500,000 jobs annually.

And also what it's going to do is it's going to decrease investment in this country going forward. So there's a whole host of negative consequences that are going to come from tariff levels this high. And that's before we even get to the fact that there's tremendous uncertainty about where these tariffs are ultimately going to land.

[18:30:05]

JIMENEZ: You know, some watching the market might think that stock markets got some relief from the brutal selloff-slash-chaos in April after the initial set of tariffs was announced by counting on the idea that Trump would back down from some of these tariffs. But take a listen to White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Could a market reaction prompt President Trump to change these tariff rates again?

KEVIN HASSETT, NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: The markets have seen what we're doing and celebrated them. And so I don't see how that would happen.

WELKER: OK. But not ruling it out.

HASSETT: No, I would rule it out because these are the final deals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: What do you think the appetite or threshold is for sticking to these rates, even if the markets react wildly like we saw back in April?

SARIN: You know, it's really hard, Omar, to get into the mind of the president or the administration and anticipate how they're likely to react to the market and signals that they're going to get from the market. What I can tell you is that even at current state, there is a ton of uncertainty about how these tariff deals are ultimately going to land for a host of reasons. Right? So if you look at where we are with respect to Mexico and where we are with respect to China, who are two of our biggest trading partners, we've kicked the can down the road with respect to resolution of even where these deals are ultimately going to land.

And then if you look at the rest of the countries that we're talking about, the idea was that there was going to be a hard deadline of August 1st, and these tariffs would go into effect. And that deadline was pushed just last week, another week. So I think ultimately there's a ton of uncertainty in the landscape, and that uncertainty is starting to reflect in how businesses are making choices, because they're in kind of wait and see mode.

They're not really sure whether it makes sense to think about investing in this country, investing abroad, or kind of trying to think about the various ways in which their intermediary structure is ultimately going to be reshaped by these tariffs because independently of the tariffs on particular countries, you're also talking about tariffs on important aspects of the economy, like aluminum and steel, which are hugely critical intermediaries.

JIMENEZ: Yes, we are just going to have to see how this plays out. I think you put it best. A lot of people in wait and see mode right now to see what version of these tariff rates actually go in place, and if they stick through whatever happens with the markets.

Natasha Sarin, really appreciate it.

SARIN: Thanks so much for having me.

JIMENEZ: Of course.

Coming up next, we're going to talk with the head of an aid group that has thousands of people on the ground in Gaza as Israel slowly loosens its tight grip on the flow of aid into the territory. But is it enough?

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. More ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:37:26]

JIMENEZ: Tonight, Israel says another 136 aid packages were dropped into Gaza. Israel is working coordination with the UAE, Jordan, Egypt, France, Germany and Belgium to deliver the aid. But it's just a fraction of what is needed as the hunger crisis worsens. Gaza health officials say another six people have died of starvation or malnutrition in the past day.

We're joined now by Mara Kronfeld. She's the executive director of UNRWA USA, which works to support the work of UNRWA, the United Nations relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees. I should note Israel's parliament has banned UNRWA from activity within Israel and from Israeli authorities having any contact with UNRWA. That ban went into effect in January.

But Mara, it's been a week now since Israel introduced these measures to allow more aid into Gaza, including these so-called humanitarian corridors for U.N. convoys and the airdrops as well. Is this actually having an impact?

MARA KRONENFELD, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNRWA USA: Thank you, Omar, for having me. And unfortunately, this aid is a drop in the bucket at best and a deadly, dangerous distraction at worst. Unfortunately, the aid, the amount of aid is nothing near. Nothing at all close to what is needed. What is needed is 600 trucks of aid on a daily basis to address the mass starvation.

In fact, the whole of the Gaza Strip is facing famine as we speak, with acute malnutrition being faced by all of those in Gaza, by most of those in Gaza city. These airdrops we're seeing right now on video, they cost as much as a -- as would get 600 trucks into the strip, yet they only have on them what is equivalent to one to five trucks. They are highly inefficient. And as you stated, they're not enough to address the vast needs on the ground right now.

JIMENEZ: And for perspective, UNRWA has thousands of staff members in Gaza. Can you just describe the scale of the crisis right now? What needs to happen to turn things around?

KRONENFELD: Yes. UNRWA has 12,000 staff members. Let me tell everyone who's listening. UNRWA has 12,000 staff members right now on the ground in Gaza who are making sure that people have water. They're fixing water wells. They are cleaning up masses amount of waste, of toxic waste. They are the front line of medical care for Gazans right now because the hospital system in Gaza has been systematically destroyed by the Israeli military.

[18:40:05]

UNRWA are doing the best they can in a situation that we've heard decorated former Army veteran Anthony Aguilar call beyond the pale, describe as essentially Palestinians that he saw that he was trying to serve essentially the walking dead. This is a deliberate attempt to starve a whole population. And right now we need the inverse of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which is UNRWA for its transparency, for its independence, for the fact that UNRWA's work has been mandated by the community of nations for 75 years every couple of years.

We don't need American mercenaries going in and distributing a band- aid solution at best. And again, something that's extremely dangerous, weaponized aid at worst.

JIMENEZ: And for context, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation is backed by the U.S. and Israel and has sort of taken over frontline distribution of aid, which was previously done by UNRWA and United Nations led on that front.

I have to ask you about a report, the "Washington Free Beacon" is reporting on a report from the State Department, the U.S. State Department to Congress, which says, quote, "The administration has determined UNRWA is irredeemably compromised and now seeks its full dismantlement."

Now, CNN has independently confirmed this report, but Israel has long opposed the agency. A U.N. investigation in August 2024 did find nine UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7th attacks. They no longer work at the agency. But how do you respond to the claim reportedly from the U.S. State Department, that UNRWA is irredeemably compromised?

KRONENFELD: These are simply lies and they are -- if they weren't so dangerous, we could call them laughable. The government, the U.S. government, the U.S. State Department under Biden, I can name so many people, including Jake Sullivan, Antony Blinken, and many others who declared how essential UNRWA's work is and has been for many years. This is a lie to try to essentially do what we see, which is replace

UNRWA, the organization with the experience and ability to prevent a famine with a fly-by-night organization that doesn't have the experience. And in fact, as Anthony Aguilar again has stated, is actually killing civilians. We are seeing a "Hunger Games" play out. I don't let my children watch "The Hunger Games" and yet the U.S. is standing by watching a population of beleaguered, starving people fight over food.

Please, everyone listen to this decorated veteran's testimony and question if we as Americans want to have blood on our hands up to -- the blood of up to one million children in Gaza right now. This is a travesty of epic proportions, and we need to pay attention to what's really happening, not to the propaganda against a U.N. organization that is working -- has been working in Gaza for 75 years at the bequest of the world community through mandate of the United Nations.

JIMENEZ: And I should say to you, you mentioned Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan. Some of the ties with UNRWA were stopped in January 2024 when they were still in office. But of course, we've heard the testimony of Anthony, as you -- as you mentioned there.

Before we go, the U.N. to this point has described the Israel and U.S. backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which, as I mentioned, the body that primarily took over aid distribution, as a flawed mechanism while the World Food Programme said on Sunday that Israel has agreed to streamline the process and allow the use of alternative routes. The U.N. says a large proportion of trucks are still being blocked.

What are you hearing right now about aid trucks not being allowed in Gaza? Have you gotten any latest report on that front?

KRONENFELD: We have. We have seen very -- we have seen some a trickle of trucks come in. But again, to address the humanitarian crisis that has been brought to us, that is not a natural crisis, but a manmade one. We need 600 trucks, a day. What is coming in is a drop in the bucket. And in fact, it's worse than that because it's attempting to be a diversion to say, oh, we're helping people.

But actually we have the whole of Gaza facing a manmade famine. And also the majority of the food is located in the south of Gaza, where the vast majority of the population isn't, where there are not population centers. And then we have Israeli military firing on people who are seeking food. This is not help. This is the opposite of help.

[18:45:01]

We need, again, I call directly on the American people, we need to stop this. We are all -- it will be shameful for all of us. We will all have the blood of these people on our hands. Please, please, pay attention. If not to me, then to Mr. Aguilar and his very brave testimony.

JIMENEZ: Mara Kronenfeld, I have to leave it there. Thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it.

KRONENFELD: Thank you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: All right. We'll have more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:50:07]

JIMENEZ: All right. Let's take a look at some big stories we are following in a historic matchup. The first Major League Baseball game played in the state of Tennessee and the first inside a racetrack. Look at that. This one at the Bristol Motor Speedway, where more than 90,000 fans showed up last night before heavy rain forced the game to be finished this afternoon. But hey, you got a homerun racing around the track there.

The Atlanta Braves were able to get themselves back on the track as they raced past the Cincinnati reds 4 to 2, taking baseballs first ever checkered flag. I will take it.

All right, meanwhile, on Russia's Pacific Coast, a volcano erupted for the first time in 600 years. Look at the images here. A week after a massive earthquake, the volcano sent plumes of smoke and ash up to three miles into the sky. Officials say there are no populated areas nearby, but there is a risk to planes flying near the area. Scientists believe the eruption may be connected to that huge earthquake that rocked Russia's far east last week, triggering tsunami alerts across the Pacific, including Hawaii, Bora Bora, the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica.

And then the Pacific Coast Highway, also known as PCH here in the United States is vital for people along the California coast, but one stretch is also the only road that gets visitors and locals in and out of malibu. And it's seeing more accidents and deaths recently.

CNN's Stephanie Elam has more on how people living there want to make things safer for everyone by using the ocean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With its stunning rural beauty on the California coast, Malibu is a constant draw. But the Los Angeles wildfires also devastated the enclave, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses along its scenic Pacific Coast Highway.

MICHEL SHANE, FILM PRODUCER AND MALIBU RESIDENT: We're going to be inundated with tourists.

ELAM (voice-over): Malibu resident, Michel Shane, a film producer known for "Catch Me If You Can," expects with the World Cup, Super Bowl and Olympics all coming to L.A. scores of tourists will pack Malibu as it rebuilds along the compact PCH.

SHANE: There's no space to move. It becomes a situation that's untenable. ELAM (voice-over): Shane is among those looking to the ocean for a

solution in the form of a blue highway, ferries that can run visitors and locals alike in and out of Malibu, easing the strain on the community, reachable mostly by a single road.

SHANE: And we look out in the ocean and there's no one on the ocean. Why aren't we using the blue highway?

ELAM (voice-over): It's an idea that's getting some traction, with a ferry service expected to start later this year.

Joined by a pod of dolphins, we set sail with Harbor Breeze Cruises.

PATRICIA KEENEY MAISCHOSS, CHAIR, PIER TO PEIR: We should be spending more time on the ocean and less time in our cars.

ELAM (voice-over): A group called Pier to Pier is organizing the service between Santa Monica and Malibu.

MAISCHOSS: We've got 700 homes to build on that highway. It cuts us off not only from tourism but affects our residents.

ELAM: That is a stretch of coastline that people love to drive in the convertible.

MAISCHOSS: Don't you think you'd rather take this ride? I mean, I said -- I said bumper to bumper and that congestion, I've done it for 20 years, you'd much rather be on this side of it.

ELAM: The hope is that the ferries would also be able to jump into action in case of another catastrophic emergency like the L.A. firestorm. So many of these people that live up in these hills can only get out by getting to the PCH and that is what makes it so dangerous.

(Voice-over): During the raging Palisades Fire, dozens of cars were abandoned on the roads as residents were forced to flee on foot. Boat operators say they could have helped.

DAN SALAS, CEO, HARBOR BREEZE CRUISES: Get there to the pier, get them -- get tied up along the pier and then get the people safely during emergency. It's incredibly doable.

ELAM: On 9/11, I evacuated from Manhattan on a ferry. That's how I was able to get away because everything was shut down.

SALAS: It's a must. We are going to have an earthquake someday as well. We have -- can't leave that out.

SHANE: The whole world is going to have their eyes on us.

ELAM (voice-over): Michel Shane has another reason he wants a safer Pacific Coast highway. His daughter, Emily, is among 61 people killed on the high speed razor thin PCH since 2010. He welcomes visitors. He just wants everyone to leave this paradise alive.

SHANE: If somebody doesn't do something, the time it takes to do stuff will be forever and the time it takes to kill someone will be instant.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Malibu, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: And our thanks to Stephanie for that reporting.

Quick programing note, the new CNN Original Series, "AMERICAN PRINCE JFK JR." Follows the legacy of John F. Kennedy Jr. from his childhood marked by the assassination of his father, creating the political magazine "George" and his iconic love story with Carolyn Bessette. "AMERICAN PRINCE JFK JR" starts Saturday at 9:00 p.m. only here on CNN.

[18:55:06]

All right. Democratic lawmakers from Texas touching down in Chicago tonight as they pull out all the stops to fight a Republican effort to rewrite the state's congressional map. We're going to tell you how they plan to keep fighting back on the side of the break.. See you in a second.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JIMENEZ: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. Jessica Dean has the night off.