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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Epstein Chaos In Washington; Thailand Launches Strikes Amid Border Clashes With Cambodia; Hamas Submits New Response To Ceasefire Proposal; Macrons Sue For Defamation. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired July 24, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:25]

MIN JUNG LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to our viewers, joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm MJ Lee. Rahel Solomon is off.

It's Thursday, July 24th, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

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(AUDIO GAP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It has occupied all of the airspace here in Washington, D.C. You just saw the House go out. The president is trying to move to other news, but that doesn't seem to be holding everybody as occupied by this.

REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-NC): You'd have to be have your head in the sand to say that this is going to go away. It's not.

CANDACE OWENS, PODCAST HOST: Brigitte Macron is definitely a man. You are officially a very goofy man, Brigitte.

TOM CLARE, MACRONS' ATTORNEY: Do the right thing. Tell the truth. Stop spreading these lies.

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: The kind of flood that happened once every hundred years could now happen every decade. When you're watching tubers here, you can't imagine that water turning deadly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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LEE: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed President Donald Trump in May that his name appears in files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. That undercuts what we heard directly from the president last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REPORTER: Did the attorney general brief you on the DOJ and FBI review, the findings of that review? Did the attorney general brief you on that?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On what? On the --

REPORTER: On the -- on the DOJ and FBI review --

TRUMP: On what? On what subject?

REPORTER: Epstein, on Epstein.

TRUMP: Okay.

REPORTER: The review of the files. Did Attorney General Pam Bondi brief you on that?

TRUMP: Very, very quick briefing.

REPORTER: Did she tell you -- what did she tell you about the review? And specifically, did she tell you at all that your name appeared in the files -- in the files?

TRUMP: No, no, she's -- she's given us just a very quick briefing. And in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Sources familiar with the briefing say Bondi mentioned that several names of high profile figures were also in the Epstein files, and investigators did not find evidence of a so-called client list.

Calls to release the Epstein files are also intensifying in Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson sent members home early for a monthlong recess to put a hold on that. But a key House subcommittee voted to subpoena the Justice Department to release the files.

Here's what Trump ally Nancy Mace had to say.

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MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What do you think of the Speaker adjourning the House early to avoid this whole fight over Epstein?

REP. NANCY MACE (R-SC): This fight is coming no matter. I mean, this is here, and I -- I made it part of my life's mission to protect women and kids. And I think that, you know, I'm ready to take this vote.

I think we should take this vote and move forward. Move this country forward. And the victims deserve justice, and people deserve transparency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Some other Republicans acknowledge the issue is not going away.

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NORMAN: It's going to be transparent. It's going to be released. The next four weeks. You'll see it. If it's not, we'll take it up. I mean, you'd have to be -- have your head in the sand to say that this is going to go away. It's not. The public deserves it.

MODERATOR: What does the Trump administration need to do to handle this Epstein saga?

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-SC): Release the damn files.

Look, it makes no sense to me if anybody thinks that this is going to go away because the House left a day early or something, it's going to be like those zombies in "The Walking Dead". Every time you think you've killed it, another one is just going to come running out of the closet after you. This is going to be an issue all the way through next year's election.

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LEE: A White House official says there is no evidence in the Epstein files that Trump was involved in any wrongdoing with the late sex offender.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yet another day here at the White House, yet another attempt to change the subject, deflect away from a question that has been hanging over this administration and this president for days. That is the Jeffrey Epstein case.

Now, we learned on Wednesday that the attorney general, Pam Bondi, briefed president Trump back in May, saying that his name appeared in the Epstein files multiple times. That is something that the president did not say when he was asked about this just a couple of weeks ago, he said, no, that his name was not appearing in there or he was not told that by the attorney general.

So, this is now a contradiction that will have to be resolved in the coming days. The White House trying to deflect from this change the subject by essentially going after the Obama administration, trying to relitigate the allegations that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election, going to the lengths of having the director of national intelligence come to the White House, Tulsi Gabbard, and accuse the Obama administration of treason.

[05:05:15]

Well, look, this is something that ended up not changing the conversation at all. The president now will be faced with the question of what did he know about his name being in these files? Now, again, we should say the context is unclear. There are many people's names in these files. It does not show any wrongdoing. So, what it does do, though, is continue this case. The unanswered questions that continue in the House committee voted to subpoena some Epstein files and records from the Justice Department.

So, one thing is clear as yet another day ends here, that the questions about Epstein and Trump continue and grow louder.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

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LEE: Thailand has closed its border with Cambodia. The move comes after clashes intensified in the long-disputed border region over the past few hours. Thailand launched airstrikes against Cambodian military targets earlier on Thursday. Cambodia's defense ministry said it would respond decisively. Thai and Cambodian forces clashed in multiple areas along the border. The Thai health ministry says the violence has killed at least 11 civilians and wounded more than a dozen people.

Cambodia has not yet reported any fatalities on its side. The Thai embassy in Cambodia is urging its citizens to leave the country as soon as possible, warning that the conflict is likely to be prolonged and may expand further.

Let's bring in CNN international -- senior international correspondent Will Ripley.

Will, what are you learning?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: MJ, this started out as a pretty small skirmish on the border between Thailand and Cambodia back in May, and now, just within the last several hours, after weeks of kind of slowly simmering, the situation has really exploded. We're now -- there are points of conflict at least six locations along the more than 500 mile land border between Thailand and Cambodia.

You have artillery being fired from the Cambodian side. That artillery hitting civilian areas in Thailand, including a 7-Eleven. And there was a very gruesome video that was shared on social media showing people who were badly injured and a plume of smoke rising from that civilian convenience store after what was described as a Cambodian rocket attack. The rocket may apparently have missed its target. Certainly, you would hope they wouldn't be aiming for places like a gas station and a convenience store.

As a response, the much larger Thai military sent F-16s to bomb the military locations where that artillery fire was coming from. And you have the border, which is normally open between the two countries. It's a very vibrant region, a lot of temples, a lot of trade back and forth. They've locked down and shut down the border, so there's no movement back and forth. They've recalled their ambassadors on both sides. Thailand is warning, as you mentioned, its citizens to get out of

Cambodia as soon as possible. So, this is not looking good because these regional skirmishes can sometimes things can happen. And even if both sides don't want a war, they can certainly turn into a war pretty quickly. If the wrong series of events the wrong, the wrong sequence of events takes place.

Now, on this border between Thailand and Cambodia, they've been clashing for literally decades. This goes back all the way to the time when the French were occupying Cambodia, and they drew this artificial line between the two countries.

And the problem was, is that people on the Cambodian side thought that some of the line on the Thailand side belonged to them, including these historic temples, these strikingly beautiful temples. So, there are temples in Thailand that Cambodian people think should be theirs. And there are temples in Cambodia that Thai people think should be there. So there's a lot of deep resentment and hurt feelings about this artificially drawn border that happened during the colonial times.

And here we are now in 2025, that border skirmish is once again erupting with the potential to turn into something big, even though right now it seems as if both sides don't want it to escalate further, but perhaps not exactly sure how to dial it down, considering the fierce nationalist sentiment that's bubbling in both of those countries on the ground right now.

And on top of all of it, the Thailand prime minister has been suspended because she had a phone call with a leader in Cambodia, and it was leaked and people thought that she was too friendly. On the phone call to her Cambodian counterpart trying to strike a deal that audio has now landed her in serious trouble. And you have the Thailand military calling a lot of the shots. Of course, Thailand has had more military coups in its history than most other modern countries, including most recently back in 2014.

So, very interesting and tense times indeed, and we will be watching all of it. MJ.

LEE: Yeah, we'll keep a close eye on these clashes. Will Ripley, thank you so much.

And in Russia, state media citing emergency officials say it appears everyone on board a passenger plane was killed in a crash. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane, carrying around 50 people earlier today. Search crews spotted a burning fuselage a short time later.

This happened in the far eastern part of the country, in a region bordering China.

[05:10:04]

Authorities say the Antonov passenger plane was operated by a Siberia based airline called Angara.

European and Chinese leaders have been holding what are believed to be contentious trade talks in Beijing. According to Chinas state media, President Xi Jinping has urged Europe's top officials to make the right strategic choice and increase their cooperation with his country for global stability.

But there's deep mistrust on multiple fronts. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told President Xi that the country's trade deficit of $350 billion last year has reached an inflection point. Europe has been frustrated with the flood of cheap Chinese goods into European markets, and China's support for Russia, and Beijing is not happy with the bloc's decision to raise tariffs on electric vehicles. Both sides had expressed hope for a reset in relations as they face down the United States's August deadlines for striking trade deals.

If Europe and the U.S. fail to reach an agreement and the new import taxes kick in, the E.U. warns it may launch retaliatory tariffs by August 7th. Envoys from China and the U.S. are planning to meet next week in Sweden to discuss extending their trade truce.

Another apparent setback for Gaza ceasefire talks as destruction rains and starvation spreads. We're live in Jerusalem, just ahead.

And French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte are taking a right wing American podcaster to court. Ahead, the false claims that pushed the Macrons to launch their lawsuit.

And later, Madame Tussauds is launching its largest multi wax figure project in its 250-year history. And it's all in honor of Taylor Swift.

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LEE: Hamas says it has submitted a new response to cease mediators after Egypt and Qatar rejected their previous proposal as unworkable.

It comes as the head of the World Health Organization blames the partially lifted Israeli blockade for causing mass starvation in Gaza. He also says food distribution sites have become places of violence while visiting troops in Gaza.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog blamed Hamas for sabotaging aid distribution, and a government spokesperson denied that Israel is causing a famine, instead claiming manmade food shortages are being engineered by Hamas.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has reported extensively from Gaza for decades, but right now, the Israeli government has banned international media from the territory.

Ben joins me live from Rome.

Ben, good to have you here.

Is there any indication of how the mediators, including Egypt, Qatar and the U.S. are responding to Hamas's new terms?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we understand from sources in Israel that the Israelis say that the Hamas response will allow them to continue working on this matter. In other words, it does appear that the initial objections that Egyptian and American and Qatari mediators had opposed or objected to are now being looked at more positively.

So, we understand that in Sardinia, the Italian island of Sardinia, that representatives of the United States led by Steve Witkoff, the White House envoy for these negotiations, plus Ron Dermer, the Israeli minister of strategic affairs, and we believe the Qatari foreign minister will be taking part in these talks.

Now, regarding Hamas's position, we understand that previously they had completely rejected the presence of the so-called Gaza humanitarian foundation, which has been distributing food, but at a very high cost to more than a thousand people, apparently have been killed in Gaza trying to get that food from GHF, the Hamas objected to them. Hamas would like to see the United Nations, which had a somewhat less bloody system of distribution of food operating until recently.

Also, we understand that Hamas had objected to the Israeli demand that Israel be able to control a buffer zone along the line that separates Gaza and Israel, going 1,200 meters inside the Gaza Strip. Hamas wanted that to be just 800 meters inside.

Now, we don't know specifically where Hamas has changed its position, but clearly, it has changed its position enough. So, these talks -- or these talks about talks can continue. However, it's worth noting that even though a few days ago, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was expressing optimism about the possibility of a breakthrough leading to some sort of at least temporary ceasefire and exchange of Israeli hostages, dead or alive for Israel -- Palestinian prisoners being held by Israel.

But at this point, it's not altogether clear if and when any breakthrough will be achieved -- MJ.

LEE: Ben Wedeman, thank you for that update.

[05:20:03]

Columbia University has agreed to pay the U.S. government more than $220 million to settle a dispute over federal funding. The Trump administration has been investigating alleged violations of anti- discrimination laws by the school, and under this deal, the university will not admit to any wrongdoing. And hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding will be restored. The administration froze that money after the recent pro-Palestinian protests on the campus.

The U.S. education secretary says the settlement should be a roadmap for other universities facing legal battles with the government. The push to protect people from severe flooding events coming up, what

scientists are doing to get ahead of a future deadly storm.

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[05:25:22]

LEE: The French president and first lady have filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court against a right-wing American podcaster who has claimed, without proof, that Mrs. Macron could be a man. Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron are suing Candace Owens for unspecified punitive damages for defamation. They say they have suffered substantial economic damages from Owens's falsehood.

The Macrons' lawyer tells CNN the couple tried handling the situation without going to court.

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CLARE: This is really a last resort. We have attempted to engage with her for the last year, putting evidence in front of her request after request after request that she just simply do the right thing. This is not -- this is not a legal thing. Do the right thing. Tell the truth. Stop spreading these lies.

And each time we've done that, she mocked the Macrons. She mocked our efforts to set the record straight. She refused to retract what she had said. She started a merch campaign. She's selling T-shirts, mocking and celebrating her defamation of them. And enough is enough.

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LEE: Owens has called the conspiracy theory likely the biggest scandal in political history. She posted a video on YouTube calling the filing an obvious and desperate public relations strategy and further mocking Mrs. Macron.

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OWENS: I am floored. Are you floored? Because this is just goofy. You are officially a very goofy man, Brigitte, but I got to give it to you. Youve definitely got balls.

If you need any more evidence that Brigitte Macron is definitely a man, it is just what is happening right now. The idea that you would file this lawsuit is all of the proof that you need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CNN has reached out to Owens for additional comment.

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LEE: The death toll from those huge recent floods in Texas has risen to at least 136. Officials reported an additional death in Kerr County, where at least 108 people died. The state legislature held a special hearing on Wednesday to examine the state's safety preparations and the events leading up to the deadly flooding.

In Washington, the acting director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified at a congressional committee hearing on the tragedy.

CNN's Bill Weir visited an area in Georgia at high risk of flooding. The question is, how are emergency officials preparing for the next big weather event? And it turns out wireless alerts on mobile devices are part of the answer.

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BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a hot day in the mountains of north Georgia, few places are more inviting than the Chattahoochee River. And tubing the hooch on days like this makes it easy to forget that the same waterway providing so much joy can take life and property in a flash.

And when the Chattahoochee turned deadly 16 years back, it changed both Georgia and Laura Belanger, one of the top hydrologists in the south.

LAURA BELANGER, SR. SERVICE HYDROLOGIST, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA: So I am in the position I'm in today because of the September 2009 floods. I was young in my career at the time, and there were 10 fatalities in the state of Georgia. That left a lasting impression on me, and wanting to kind of see how we could do better with our hydro services and getting those warnings out, that's what helped be a catalyst for those flash flood warnings to be included in wireless emergency alerts.

WEIR: Today in the tourist town of Helen, Georgia, those wireless alerts and weather radios are the only sources of flash flood warning. Because in a place like this, sirens might confuse people to run for low ground from a tornado instead of high ground from a flash flood.

It's been a long time since the water topped that 10-foot marker. It hit 12 feet back in '67, and while there have been some swift water rescues in recent weeks, most people don't remember really high water.

That's the thing that struck me in Texas there. It reminded me more of covering a tsunami in Japan where children were swept away while they debated what to do because no one could imagine the worst. And when you're watching tubers here, you can't imagine that water turning deadly.

BELANGER: It's hard to get, especially with how shallow it is at the moment, it is hard to digest what a big amount of water coming through here would look like and how it's inundated.

WEIR: And she is especially worried about Enchanted Valley just over the hills. The folks living in these permanent trailers sit smack dab on the Hiawassee River next to one of the flashiest river gauges in the nation.

BELANGER: Those are the places that keep me up at night. Regardless of the amount of readiness or preparation, the fact that there are.