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Israeli Strike Kills Al Jazeera Journalists in Gaza City; Trump Administration Preparing for Friday's Putin Talks; Heat Wave Fuels Wildfires Across Europe; Texas State House to Reconvene Amid Redistricting Standoff; Oaxaca Artisans Accuse Adidas of Harming Livelihood. Aired 9-:45a ET

Aired August 11, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: U.S. President's law enforcement crackdown on Washington D.C. is ramping up. He is even

considering sending FBI agents out on patrols. It's 09:00 a.m. on the East Coast, it is 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Christina Macfarlane, and this

is "Connect the World".

Also coming up, Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy promises not to let Russia deceive America. Ahead of the high stakes and controversial summit

between Presidents Trump and Putin. Plus, why the Israeli military says it targeted and killed an Al Jazeera journalist in an air strike in Gaza.

And Republicans in Texas will try again to approve new voting maps, but there's no sign yet of Democrats. So, are they still MIA? Let's see what

happens next. And the stock market in New York opens in about 30 minutes from now. Investors are in a wait and see mode ahead of the release of

July's inflation data, which we expect on Tuesday.

But first crowds have been gathering for funerals in Gaza after a late- night Israeli strike that killed several Al Jazeera journalists. The attack destroyed a tent marked with a press sign outside the Al Shifa Hospital. A

total of seven people died, including Al Jazeera Correspondent Anas Al- Sharif, who was the target of the Israeli attack.

Israel accused him of leading a Hamas cell, something Al-Sharif has previously denied. Al Jazeera called Al-Sharif one of Gaza's bravest

journalists and condemned the Israeli strike as a quote desperate attempt to silence voices ahead of the occupation of Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu is defending the idea of a military takeover in Gaza City, despite a growing chorus of objections.

United Nations officials are warning the plan would lead to what they call another calamity in the enclave. And inside Israel, families of the

hostages are calling for a nationwide strike next weekend to protest the decision to expand the war. Some of them appealing to U.S. Presidents to

exert more pressure on Israel's government to end the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISHAY MIRAN-LAVI, WIFE OF HOSTAGE OMRI MIRAN: I again want to ask President Trump and Mr. Witkoff, we don't need more war, more dead, murder

hostage, murders dead soldiers. We need a deal, a deal to end this war and save them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well, let's return now to a very important story, the killing of Al Jazeera journalists in Gaza. Salah Negm joins me now. He is the

Director of News for Al Jazeera, English. And Salah, can I just begin by saying first that I am very sorry for your loss and that we here at CNN

really do stand in solidarity with you and your journalists at this time.

This was the targeted killing of I believe, five of your staff, including one of the most prominent journalists and voices during the duration of

this war, Al-Sharif. Can I begin by just asking you for your reaction to what has happened?

SALAH NEGM, DIRECTOR OF NEWS FOR AL JAZEERA ENGLISH: First, thank you very much. And I think this is time that journalists everywhere in the world

stand beside each other to defend collecting the truth from the field and protecting themselves against the tyranny and crimes that's committed

against them.

The reaction is, journalists in Gaza are journalists. They have been working for two years under very difficult circumstances, risking their

lives in order for one thing to happen is to bring the truth about what's happening in Gaza to the outside world. And our correspondents died doing

this after a threat from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, yesterday in the evening, few hours before they were killed.

A threat, and at the same time, when he asked -- was asked, why don't you let international journalists to go in together. He promised to secure

them, and this is how he secured journalists, killing five of them.

MACFARLANE: And the IDF have come out with this claim that Anas served as the head of a terrorist cell in Hamas. I mean, it's an accusation of Hamas

membership that you have heard throughout the duration of the war. What is your response to that?

NEGM: It's not we only have heard that accusation. Anything for this Israeli government, which doesn't go along with its desires and narratives

and what it plans to gather or other places, is Hamas members.

[09:05:00]

This is the easiest accusation that happens. This is a government that is lying and lying and lying, and its lies are proved by so many

organizations, eyewitnesses, countries throughout this war.

MACFARLANE: Anas and your other Al Jazeera journalists had moved, we know, to write their own obituaries before they were killed, which suggests they

knew what was coming. Can you tell us what you know of the events of the past week and where the crew were at the time of the strike?

NEGM: The crew was in the vicinity of Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. This is a location that a lot of journalists go and start giving live interviews with

their channels or collecting information from it's very well known, and they were not hiding. They're known to be there.

Yes, every journalist in Gaza is writing his own obituary, because if you are in Gaza, you are not safe anywhere, whether you are a journalist or a

normal citizen. 60,000 people died. Every morning, you have something like between 50 and 100 people killed by Israel bullets or drones or whatever.

So yes, we live -- they live in danger all the time.

MACFARLANE: Yeah. Salah, Israel have known where your journalists have been for the past two years. Can you speak to us about the timing of this and

why you think this happened now?

NEGM: The timing of this attack was clear from the Israeli Prime Minister press conferences yesterday he announced his plans for Gaza. He wants to go

and level the city and transfer something like 1 million of its inhabitants to concentration camp in the south, and maybe will accept voluntarily what

he calls volunteer evacuation.

And in fact, it's expelling all of them that is a plan for Gaza. Now does - - do they need eyewitnesses? Do they need cameras to monitor that and give the world? In the same press conference yesterday, he denied that there was

hunger, shortage of food, but not starvation, which is a lie, as we all know.

They suspect the numbers of 60,000 people dead, although it's verified by everyone, so it's killing the messenger and trying to eliminate any

eyewitness to atrocities and genocide that actually is recognized and observed by a lot of international and local organizations.

MACFARLANE: Yes, and we know what a lot of your journalists have been doing, and U.S. in particular, is bearing witness to the starvation that

has been happening in the enclave. The Committee to Protect Journalists last month said it was gravely worried for Al-Sharif's safety.

How concerned are you for your remaining staff there now? And are you taking any precautions? Is it even possible?

NEGM: There are, of course, I'm not going to explain all the precautions we have taken life on air now, because we want to secure them as much as

possible. But there are protocols to secure journalists internationally, like protective gears, trackers, knowing their whereabouts, the way they

use the communications, and all of that.

But at the same time, if they are reporting from a besieged place with very little movement they can do, and they are confronted by a complete modern

army that's bombing that place every day. There is no place safe, so we pray for God every day for their safety, as well as other people in Gaza,

children, women and men who are under fire for two years.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, and as I said at the top, we stand in solidarity with our eyes and ears on the ground there in Gaza. Salah Negm, thank you so much

for being with us.

NEGM: Thank you very much.

MACFARLANE: EU Foreign Ministers are holding an emergency meeting next hour to focus on the upcoming Trump-Putin Summit in Alaska. German Chancellor

Friedrich Merz says any discussion of territorial issues surrounding Russia's war in Ukraine. And Ukraine's war must include Ukraine's President

and input from the EU.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is continuing to talk with the Trump Administration, even as he cast doubts over Vladimir Putin's true

intentions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Our team is working with the United States of America. We do not stop communicating for a single day on

how to ensure real peace. We understand the intention of the Russians to try to deceive America, and we will not allow it. I appreciate the

determination with which President Trump is determined to stop the deaths in the war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: We've got Clare Sebastian joining us live from London. Alayna Treene is out the White House. Clare, to you first, obviously a huge

renewed push from European partners over the weekend to try and muscle in and influence what is about to happen.

[09:10:00]

What are you learning about the EU meeting that is due to take place today?

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, as you say, Christina, this is part of a frenzy of diplomatic activity that the announcement of this

Alaska meeting set off here in Europe, we saw European Ukrainian security officials meeting here in the UK over the weekend with J.D. Vance.

And this meeting today is an extraordinary meeting of EU Foreign Policy Chiefs that's been called by the European Union's top diplomat, Kaja

Kallas, and that will be taking place in the next hour. I think the main goals here, number one to sort of force through the Ukrainian and European

perspective that this should not be a bilateral meeting where the U.S. and Russia sit down and essentially divide up land that doesn't belong to them.

The Europeans would like to see a ceasefire before any deal takes place, not as a bargaining chip that Russia can swap for land. And of course, they

want to see Ukraine have a seat at the table. So, we saw multiple statements come out over the weekend, and comments from the German

Chancellor really forcing through this perspective. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRIEDRICH MERZ, GERMAN CHANCELLOR: We are preparing intensely for this meeting at a European level, together with the American government. And we

hope and assume that the Government of Ukraine, that President Zelenskyy will be involved in this meeting.

In any case, we cannot accept the territorial issues between Russia and America are discussed or even decided over the Heads of Europeans and

Ukrainians. I assume that the American government sees it in the same way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: So, I think pretty telling that he used the word assume twice in those comments, a real effort, I think, to sort of, as I said, force

through this perspective, because, of course, there is a concern that false narratives could make their way through the Russian original goals in this

conflict could be used to persuade President Trump over to their way of thinking.

We've seen this in the past. Of course, it was after a meeting or a phone call with President Trump earlier this year that he then turned around and

called President Zelenskyy, a dictator, which is, of course, one of the Kremlin talking points. So, there's a real push from the European side to

control the narrative here, going into this meeting, to create a picture of unity with Ukraine and to push for the U.S. to get tough.

Of course, going into this summit, we've seen pressure, not only externally, from Ukraine's European allies, but from Congress itself for

President Trump to up sanctions on Russia. There was a deadline on Friday for secondary sanctions to come into force. That, of course, came and went

without anything happening, but the Europeans are suddenly going to keep up the pressure on that front at this meeting today, Christina.

MACFARLANE: All right. Clare, thank you. Alayna, let's turn to you. We have very few details, really, of what is about to take place on Friday. How is

the White House preparing for this summit with, you know, just a week's advance notice?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, I don't think we can overstate how little time there is to put this together, Christina, I mean,

typically meanings of this level, not only with a foreign leader, but with an adversary of the United States. I mean, the fact that they only have

days to put this together is an incredibly expedited timeline that White House officials are working with.

We know that they are scrambling to, you know, set this up. They're still sending people out to Alaska to get them on the ground there. And, you

know, begin the security and logistical necessities and requirements for a meeting of this stature as of this morning, as of Monday morning, it still

has not been announced where exactly the venue is going to be, in Alaska for this meeting between the Russian President and President Donald Trump.

Now there's a couple other things they're working on too. Of course, they need to figure out the contours of this meeting, what President Donald

Trump is going to bring. And there's a lot of questions as well about really, what can they get out of this? And Clare touched on some of this,

but of course, a key question is whether or not the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is going to travel to Alaska as well.

When they had made this announcement, when the president said that this was going to be hosted in Alaska, they did not say that Zelenskyy would be

there. But I know from our conversations here with White House officials, they say they're leaving that possibility open, but really the priority for

them, the main focus was to have this face to face between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Another key question, of course, is we're still trying to learn the extent of what Putin actually offered to the United States. I'd remind you that

this all started. This all kind of kicked off when the President's Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff, traveled to Moscow and met for roughly three hours

with Putin.

And during that time is when we're learning that Putin had made, you know, some sort of proposal. It's still unclear what the details of that were to

really get the United States to believe that now was the time to set up this face-to-face meeting. And then, of course, as well, it's what is

actually on the table and what is the president willing to kind of concede here, potentially.

We know that, you know, of course, the exact details of that proposal Putin offered are hazy. We do know that major land concessions on the part of

Ukrainians are definitely key to that.

[09:15:00]

Something we've seen Zelenskyy and the Ukrainians obviously say is a red line for them. But I think to give you the big picture here, it is

astonishing to see this come together, because, you know, when the president first off, entered office, his main goal was really to leverage

the relationship he has with Putin and try to bring a quick end to this war.

We have seen him now repeatedly get frustrated with Putin for kind of his duplicity in this. And so, it's coming at a very, you know, specific time.

And also, I think will kind of be a huge test for President Donald Trump on whether or not his, you know, long held belief of these face-to-face

meetings being key to negotiating is actually something that will lead to progress.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, still so many huge questions outstanding here. Alayna Treene from the White House, appreciate it. And Clare Sebastian, thank you

too, also in London. All right, next our U.S. President Donald Trump says he'll host a press conference to address crime and the beautification I

said that right, of Washington D.C.

It comes amid his threats to federally take over the local government of the nation's capital, all while city officials largely remain deferential

to him. A person familiar with the president's plan says up to 130 FBI agents will be deployed to help police officers patrol the city as part of

the increased federal presence. Here's more from the President's Deputy Chief of Staff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: The president has been very clear that he's going to take the action necessary to secure the City

of Washington, for the people who live here, for all the American people and all who visit here, is our capital city.

It is more violent than Baghdad. It is more violent than parts of Ethiopia, parts of many of the most dangerous places in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: CNN's Brian Todd is following the story. Joining us live from Washington, more dangerous than parts of Baghdad or Ethiopia. I mean, given

that statement, what do we expect to hear from the president in the next hour?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christina, first on that statement by Stephen Miller, the Mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, in an

interview with MSNBC, called that statement by Miller that D.C. is more violent than Baghdad quote, hyperbolic and false.

Crime stats in the city have, in fact, gone way down over the past year. I'm going to get to that in a moment. But as to your question, as to what

we expect the president to say in the next hour, we are really watching closely to see if he announces a significant deployment of the D.C.

National Guard.

He had previously said he was considering sending in the D.C. National Guard to the streets of Washington, in addition to considering possibly

taking over control of the Metropolitan Washington D.C. Police Department, which he can do, but only temporarily.

Now, one source who spoke to CNN, a person familiar with the plans said that these plans call for as many as 130 FBI agents to patrol with D.C.

police as part of the increased federal law enforcement presence here. This was first reported by "The Washington Post".

Our source says that the primary part of the FBI agent's job will be to drive around the city run license plates for stolen vehicles and warrants.

It is very unusual. It is not typical at all for FBI agents to patrol with local police. You guys put up a post by the president a moment ago.

I'm going to read from that post on Sunday, he posted on Truth Social this quote, the homeless have to move out immediately. We will give you places

to stay. But far from the capital, the criminals, you don't have to move out. We're going to put you in jail where you belong.

Now, the president has gone on and on and on for the past week or so, ever since a former DOGE employee was assaulted in an attempted carjacking in

Washington, D.C., that was a week ago, on Sunday morning. He has been really ranting on violent crime in the city being out of control, but the

statistics just do not bear that out.

According to the Metropolitan Washington Police Department, assault with a dangerous weapon in the city is down 20 percent, robberies are down 29

percent, the big stat, violent crime down 26 percent from a year ago. Property crime is down about 5 percent. So, the president's claims that

D.C. is rampant with violent crime.

That is just not the case. This is not a city under siege, as the president seems to depict it. Now, the Mayor Muriel Bowser, yesterday on MSNBC, kind

of broke her long and very pronounced silence on all of this by citing those decreased crime statistics here in Washington, by saying that she's

willing to work with the president, that she understands that the president does want to have a presence in the city.

The mayor being pointedly non critical of the president in her remarks, but before that, she had been really silent on the whole idea of the president

increasing the federal law enforcement presence in the city. We had also reached out to all 13 members of the Washington D.C. City Council.

And got basically silence from almost all of them, except for one who complained about the lack of nominations of judges to handle the criminal

caseload in the city being part of the reason for whatever criminal activity is kind of backlogged in the City of Washington.

[09:20:00]

So, Christina, I think what we're going to be looking for next hour is, maybe some detail from the president on a possible deployment of the

National Guard. Maybe some detail on the possible, you know, increase in the numbers of other federal agents on the streets in Washington, D.C.

And we have to note, when you see those agents out here, they're not going to be out during the day, largely. They're going to be patrolling in the

evening hours and overnight hours in kind of high traffic areas where there are a lot of bars and restaurants. They're going to be very visibly shown

in those hours in the nation's capital, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, those are some compelling stats you just showed us there, Brian, crime down across the board.

TODD: Right.

MACFARLANE: We will wait to see what this announcement holds for now, though. Brian, appreciate it. Thank you.

TODD: Thank you.

MACFARLANE: All right, so to come crews are working around the clock in parts of Europe to try and contain wildfires fueled by a prolonged heat

wave. A live report on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Wildfires continue to rage across parts of Europe, especially in places experiencing extreme heat waves. Crews with Italy's national --

battled a blaze at Vesuvius National Park near Naples for a fourth day. Aircraft are also part of the operation to extinguish the fast-moving

fires.

Fire crews in northern Spain's Navarro region are battling fires in brutal conditions amid a prolonged heat wave. And there were emergency evacuations

of some 1400 people on Sunday in the region of Castile and Leon. Well CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau joining us from Rome and has more on those dangerous

conditions.

Of course, this coming during peak tourist season Barbie, and it's particularly challenging, as we mentioned there, around the area of Mount

Vesuvius.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: That's right, you know, of course, Mount Vesuvius famous for its 79, 80 eruptions when it destroyed the City of

Pompeii, which is one of Italy's biggest tourist attractions for million people visit a year, and this is the height of that kind of tourist season.

What they had to do yesterday, though, was to close the walking trails that go up to Vesuvius. That's a huge part of a visit there. People go up to see

the crater, and so they've had to close those down as they continue to battle this fire overnight, three new smaller fires were ignited in that

area.

And so, they're fighting on multiple fronts now, and that's because of these high temperatures and strong winds and this sort of drought location.

And they've also opened up a criminal investigation, because so often in this part of Italy, when you've got these sorts of fires, they're set by

arson, or they're set by organized crime syndicates who are burning toxic waste they're paid to get rid of.

And so, they're looking at all those sorts of angles in terms of culpability, but they're really concerned right now that this sort of fire

is going to put anyone in danger. Now there are no houses up in this part of the mountain because it's a national park, but they're concerned that it

will continue to spread with these high temperatures, strong winds.

And they're doing everything they can to try to keep it out and keep it out of the tourist way. But those tours who are in Pompeii today, yesterday,

the weekend, are seeing quite a sight, with a massive fire on a live volcano.

[09:25:00]

Last time Vesuvius erupted was 1944, of course, this is an eruption, but it's dangerous nonetheless, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Absolutely. All right, Barbie, I know you'll continue to follow these wildfires as they spread across the region. Thank you. Now, a

meteorite that slammed into a home in the U.S. State of Georgia this summer has been found to be 4.5 billion years old.

That makes it 20 million years older than the Earth itself. Scientists say the McDonald meteorite came from an asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

The rare daytime fireball shook the U.S. South East with a sonic boom back in June, leaving the homeowner still finding space dust inside.

Pieces of the rock are now being studied at the University of Georgia. All right, let's get you up to speed now on some of the stories that are on our

radar right now. Iran says a senior official from the U.N.'s Nuclear Watchdog is visiting Tehran today for talks. Iran's Foreign Minister says

the meeting will determine a framework for cooperation with no inspections planned.

Nuclear inspectors have been unable to access Iranian nuclear sites since they were attacked during the 12-day war with Israel in June. Heavy

rainfall caused flash flooding and led to dozens of water rescues in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the surrounding area over the weekend.

Over 14 inches of rain fell on Sunday, according to city officials, and the threat is not over yet. A flood warning is still in effect. All right,

coming up, AI chip giant Nvidia is reportedly going great lengths to be able to sell its products in China. We'll have those details.

Plus, Texas lawmakers are set to reconvene today as Republicans try to move forward with their redistricting plans. But the governor now warns the

standoff with Democrats who left the state to stop the vote could last years.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London. You are watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines. Al Jazeera is

remembering a war correspondent killed in a targeted Israeli strike as one of Gaza's bravest journalists.

Israel accused Anas Al-Sharif of working for Hamas, allegations he previously denied. Al-Sharif was one of several journalists killed in the

strike in Gaza City. Next hour, EU Foreign Ministers will meet to discuss the upcoming Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. European leaders are insisting

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy be involved in the summit.

President Zelenskyy says any concessions made to Vladimir Putin will not lead to Russia ending the war. And a source says U.S. President Donald

Trump is expected to announce a plan for up to 130 FBI agents to patrol Washington, D.C. along with local police to help battle crime.

[09:30:00]

Next hour's news conference at the White House comes amid the president's threat for a federal takeover of the capital's local government. And

ringing the opening bell on Wall Street today, the presidents, CEO of CF Industries, global manufacturer products for clean energy.

It is Monday, August 11, and the start of a new trading week, and a lot depends on the July inflation numbers releasing tomorrow. That report could

be setting up another showdown between the Federal Reserve and President Trump, as Trump wants rates cut. But that may not be possible.

Artificial Intelligence chip makers Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices have reportedly cut a highly unusual deal with the Trump Administration.

According to the "Financial Times", both companies have agreed to pay 15 percent from their revenues from semiconductor sales in China to the U.S.

government in exchange for an export license.

CNN Tech Reporter Clare Duffy is joining us from New York. So, Clare, apparently, this deal was apparently cut last week as the U.S. officials

are working to reach trade agreement with China. Just walk us through the details of what we know about it now.

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yeah. Christina, so Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Trump at the White House last week. This comes after the

company said last month that it would resume sales of its H20 AI chip, to China, because the White House had agreed to ease export restrictions.

And you'll remember that the H20 is the chip that Nvidia released last year in an effort to maintain access to the Chinese market because of export

controls that the Biden Administration had put in place. The Trump Administration then decided this year to crack down on sales of those

chips.

But as you said, the companies, both Nvidia and AMD, have reportedly agreed to pay 15 percent of their chip sales to China to the White House, in

exchange for those export licenses to resume sales there. This is a deal that could net billions of dollars for the White House, but it's unclear if

it's going to be successful, because the Chinese have raised concerns about the security of these chips.

In particular, a social media account linked to Chinese state media claimed yesterday that there could be back doors built into these American AI

chips. But of course, the companies have denied those allegations, Christina.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, and on that issue of national security concerns, one analyst compared it to selling F35 jets to China for a 15 percent

commission. So, the concern runs both ways. Is that why this is being seen as so controversial?

DUFFY: Yeah, I think from the American side, there are big questions about what exactly the Trump Administration is trying to accomplish here. You

know, these export restrictions were put in place ostensibly because of national security concerns. There are big worries on Capitol Hill about

China getting too far ahead of the U.S. in artificial intelligence, given the economic implications the military implications of this technology.

And there have also been big questions surrounding the H20 in particular, which is believed to have contributed to the Chinese AI model DeepSeek that

really shocked the U.S. earlier this year when it was released. And so, I think there is a question about whether those concerns just go away, if the

White House is making a 15 percent commission on these chip sales.

Although I will say Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has said it's important for U.S. National Security that the companies continue to sell into China,

because otherwise Chinese rivals will start to develop their own versions of the technology.

MACFARLANE: All right, Clare, we'll see where this goes. Thank you very much for now and stay with us. We'll have a bit more news after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

MACFARLANE: Happening today, the Texas House of Representatives will reconvene again as Republicans try to move forward with their plan to

redraw congressional voting lines in their party's favor. Now Democrats left the state more than a week ago to try and prevent Republicans from

getting the quorum needed to take a redistricting vote.

So far, neither side is backing down. And the state's governor, also Republican, is warning there may be no end in sight to the standoff. CNN's

Arlette Saenz is joining us from Washington. So, Arlette, the special legislative session still has a little over a week before it's scheduled to

end.

But that's kind of not the point here, because the Texas Governor is saying this standoff could last years. I mean, is there anything to prevent that

from happening?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, not in the immediate future. Right now, the Texas Governor Greg Abbott has said that he will

call special session after special session until this redistricting is pushed through, of course, those 2026 midterms are looming, so the Texas

Republicans are hoping that they might be able to get this done before those primaries get set this coming spring.

Texas has some of the earliest primaries in the country. But right now, Republicans are really trying to do everything they can to get those Texas

Democrats back to the state capital. They will reconvene today in the early afternoon in Austin to try to meet a quorum. But so far, it does not seem

like the Texas Democrats are budging from their strategy.

In fact, several are planning to hold press conferences in the Austin -- in the Chicago area a bit later today. So, there's a lot of questions up in

the air about when exactly these Democrats could come back. And then, of course, there's facing that August 19th deadline, which is when this

special session will end.

And many of the Texas Democrats have said that they are willing to stay out of the state beyond that timeline, which is in about nine days.

MACFARLANE: I think it's worth reminding ourselves that wrapped up in this vote is the emergency flood relief bill, you know, following the Texas

disaster. And we know Republicans and Democrats have been pointing fingers at each finger at each other, really over the holding back of this

emergency aid.

How much concern is there? Is there growing concern that that now is being really overlooked into this -- for this spiraling political battle that's

now folding out?

SAENZ: Well, I think you've heard the arguments from both Democrats and Republicans saying that this flood relief needs to be pushed through. Of

course, Republicans are saying that Democrats are not doing their job by staying out of the state, not allowing a vote on flood relief. Democrats

will counter that by saying that the Texas Governor actually has authority to dispense some of those funds.

But certainly, this is a community that is still reeling from the devastation of those floods the lives lost there, and so it kind of remains

unclear at this point how exactly they might be able to move on to that as their standoff over redistricting has really overshadowed all of that

discussion about the need for flood relief in the State of Texas.

MACFARLANE: Yes, all right. Arlette Saenz, appreciate it. Thank you. Now thousands of dollars' worth of Labubu dolls have been stolen from a store

near Los Angeles, California. Authorities say mask thieves made off with about $7,000 worth of the dolls last week.

And Labubu dolls were created by Hong Kong born artist Kasing Lung. They've become a popular collectible a decade after the dolls were first

introduced. Los Angeles County deputies say the thieves used a stolen car to get away, which was recovered shortly after the break in.

The Mexican government is stepping in to mediate the dispute between Adidas and indigenous artisans from Oaxaca.

[09:40:00]

The artisans say the sporting goods company has harmed their economic livelihood by using one of their traditional designs for its Oaxaca's

slipper and shoe without permission. Designers of the Adidas shoe have expressed regret over the controversy, and the company is now in talks to

find ways to compensate the community.

An 11-year-old boy is making history on an iconic mountain peak in the Alps. Sam Evermore is the youngest American to climb the Matterhorn. Sam

and his dad posted this photo on Instagram. They've reached the mountain summit this weekend. Climbers consider the Matterhorn Summit fairly

difficult to reach, especially, I would add, for someone that young.

The Matterhorn is in the Alps, between Switzerland and Italy, with a somewhat altitude of more than 14,000 feet, or nearly 4500 meters. Now for

every winner, there are always those who come up short, and for some, it's even more agonizing than others.

Tommy Fleetwood was in pole position for breakthrough PGA Tour victory on Sunday, but it wasn't to be, as Fellow Englishman Justin Rose won the St.

Jude's Championship. Don Riddell is with us now for more on that. And Don, Rose is a great -- but Fleetwood must be wondering if he's ever going to

win on the tour.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah. I mean, look, he's a highly successful golfer, Christina. He is one of the most successful golfers in the world.

He's won loads on the European tour, but oh, so close yet again on the PGA Tour. I tell you what, you'll be disappointed, of course, but he has still

won some $32 million on the PGA Tour.

So, you can't exactly say he's a loser. Let's talk about Justin Rose though. I mean, this guy is absolutely amazing. At the age of 45, he is

still winning on the PGA Tour. He could have won the Masters earlier this year. He could have won the Open Championship last year, finishing second

in both so this is a player who has still got it.

And I think, he kind of doesn't really get the credit he deserves, possibly, because he's only won one major in his career. But it is just so

cool to see Justin Rose still doing so well. And he and Fleetwood will be teammates soon with the European Ryder Cup team when they come to New York

to try and defend their title.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, I cannot wait to see that. He's also one of the nicest guys in golf, isn't he?

RIDDELL: Yeah, for sure. Yeah.

MACFARLANE: Don, thank you. Obviously -- will be more with Don in "World Sport" on that after the break. Stay with us.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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