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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

WAPO: White House Has No Plan To Mandate IVF Funding; Low Humidity, High Temps Fueling Fire Bigger Than Paris; Colombian Fans Hold Memorial For Ozzy Osbourne. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 07, 2025 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

MJ LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you for that.

Human Rights Watch says Israeli attacks on schools that are sheltering Palestinian civilians highlight the lack of safe places for displaced people in Gaza. That comes in a new report which says Israel has carried out hundreds of strikes on school shelters and has illegally and indiscriminately used U.S. munitions in these attacks which have killed hundreds of people.

Israel has said its strikes on school facilities target embedded Hamas fighters, but the report said it only found seven instances where the military published details of alleged militants killed.

The Israeli military says the IDF operates on the grounds of military necessity and in accordance with international law.

Still to come, President Trump's promise to make IVF treatments more affordable hang in limbo after months of inaction. I'll speak with an advocate for families struggling with infertility about how this is affecting Americans trying to start families.

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[05:35:37]

LEE: U.S. President Donald Trump may be quietly abandoning a campaign promise to mandate invitro fertilization or IVF treatments. That's according to reporting from The Washington Post.

Here is what Trump promised while attempting to return to the White House last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) THEN-REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We're going to -- the government is going to pay for IVF when people need the treatment and when they want the treatment. When they want go in with the fertilization.

HARRIS FAULKNER, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: You don't hear that every day.

TRUMP: I'm the father -- I'm the father of IVF. I'm the father of IVF.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: But more than six months into his second term neither the president nor his administration have proposed any way to make IVF free or even more affordable.

In February, President Trump signed an executive order to develop policy recommendations to expand access to IVF, but now officials are reportedly shifting the blame to Congress. They say the president can't act unless Congress passes a new law.

The White House responded to The Washington Post saying, "President Trump pledged to expand access to fertility treatments for Americans who are struggling to start families. The administration is committed like none before it to using its authorities to deliver on this pledge."

Joining me now is Danielle Melfi, the CEO of the nonprofit Resolve, a national advocacy organization for families and individuals struggling with infertility. Danielle, good morning to you.

You know, as we discuss this reporting that the White House has no plans to mandate IVF care despite the president's campaign pledge, I want to just remind viewers a little bit more of the kind of language we heard from Trump when he was campaigning in 2024 Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm announcing today in a major statement that under the Trump administration your government will pay for, or your insurance company will be mandated to pay for all costs associated with IVF treatment -- fertilization for women -- IVF treatment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: So Danielle, for starters, what do you make of the reporting that the administration has no plans right now to follow through on that promise?

DANIELLE MELFI, CEO, RESOLVE: Good morning, and thank you for having me today.

The White House did reiterate in response to the reporting that they were committed to standing by their promise, but if these reports are true, it would be devastating to the millions of Americans who are challenged by infertility or face barriers in building their families.

We know one in six people struggle with infertility and in the United States 85 percent of Americans support expanded access to IVF and family-building care. That's an incredible broad bipartisan support in a country that's increasingly polarized, and that's because everyone knows someone who has been impacted by infertility or family-building challenges.

LEE: So what President Trump was specifically proposing last year as a candidate was that IVF would be free for families because either the government or the insurance companies would pay for those treatments.

I guess when you initially heard that how feasible did you think that was?

MELFI: We were excited. This is a president who has said more about IVF with his bully pulpit than ever before and now it's time to take the action that he promised.

Resolve -- the recommendations that Resolve provided to the White House is aligned. We know that there's opportunities to work with states and work with Congress, and to work with private insurers. Specifically, there's opportunities to expand access through insurance mandates because right now in the United States it looks different based on what state you live in and what insurance you have. And it should not reply on what state you live in or what insurance you have for your ability to build a family.

And we know millions of Americans who are struggling with this -- some who are taking out second mortgages on their homes, taking on second jobs because of the out-of-pocket costs.

[05:40:00]

LEE: And, you know, I was struck before. You were talking about how most anybody will know somebody or maybe they experience themselves infertility and how challenging that is. They'll either know somebody or they've gone through that experience.

Can you help put into context a little bit more of the role that IVF currently plays here in the U.S. when it comes to family building. You know, the science around fertility has evolved and progressed so quickly and IVF really does offer hope for so many aspiring parents. For some of them it's really nothing short of a miracle.

MELFI: That's exactly right for those who are struggling to build a family and may be facing significant challenges for various reasons. For a condition that may have impacted their fertility, for struggling with infertility or challenges in building their families this may be the only option. And we want to make sure at Resolve that everyone has access to the care that they need to be able to build the family that they deserve.

LEE: And Danielle, IVF is just the beginning of the parent journey, of course. There is an ongoing national debate about just the sheer cost of raising a child in the U.S. and about affordability being an impediment for some otherwise would-be parents.

Do you think that those are two conversations that need to happen more in tandem?

MELFI: They're certainly related. We know IVF coverage in the United States -- so a round of IVF can cost between $12,000 to $20,000 if it is not covered by your insurance. And most individuals need more than one round in their journey to build a family.

So we have a huge opportunity to reduce that out-of-pocket cost barrier so more individuals can build a family, can afford a family, and it's a huge opportunity that the president has and we hope that he takes it.

LEE: Danielle Melfi, thank you so much for this conversation this morning.

MELFI: Thank you for having me.

LEE: Thousands of firefighters are battling wildfires in southern France as an area the size of Paris is going up in flames. Details on the biggest fire to hit the country in decades ahead on CNN EARLY START.

Plus, ICE is under fire for allegedly luring day laborers into the back of a box truck at a Los Angeles Home Depot.

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[05:46:50]

LEE: Welcome back. I'm MJ Lee. Here are some of the stories we're watching today.

The U.S. and Russia have agreed to a meeting between Presidents Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in the coming days. That's according to Russian state media citing a top Kremlin aide. Both countries are working on preparations, and the Kremlin aide says the goal is to have the meeting next week and the location has already been agreed upon and will be announced later.

The new and long-threatened U.S. tariffs are now officially in effect. Dozens of trading partners will face levies anywhere from 10 to 50 percent on their exports to the U.S. India is facing a 25 percent tariff that's poised to soar to 50 percent in three weeks.

And five soldiers are in stable condition following a mass shooting at a U.S. Army base in Georgia. Authorities say they were wounded after an Army sergeant opened fire at Fort Stewart on Wednesday. He was later subdued by other soldiers and taken into custody. Investigators are still looking into his motive.

Some 2,000 French firefighters are working to slow a fast-moving wildfire that's already scorched an area bigger than Paris. The fire started Tuesday but has already left one person dead and spread across some 13,000 hectares. That's more than 30,000 acres. This is the biggest fire to hit France in decades, and as temperatures soar it's nowhere near contained.

CNN's Melissa Bell joins me now live from Paris. Melissa, what are the conditions there that are making things so challenging for firefighters to get those flames under control?

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reason this fire started and took so quickly to burning so much ground uncontrollably, MJ, were the combination of low humidity levels, very high temperatures, very strong winds that really saw in the first 24 hours those 13,000 and 16,000 hectares burned uncontrollably with very high flames. It really took everyone by surprise.

Now, what we've seen overnight, thankfully, is a slight change in the conditions. The wind has dropped slightly. The temperatures have cooled a little bit.

And so we've been hearing from the chief firefighter from that region of France -- remember, this is the very south of France by the border with Spain -- who has been saying that what the firefighters hope is that they believe they might be able to contain this fire over the course of the day.

It is a 90-kilometer perimeter so it's extremely large at this stage, and it's been burning its way through big proportions of that old region of France. We've seen many places, many towns, many villages have to be entirely evacuated. So far, one woman is known to have lost her life because she refused to leave her home, MJ. But we know that there are still several people missing and a number of firefighters that have been injured in trying to fight that blaze.

So there is some hope it will now be contained. But again, what authorities are now saying is that this is the largest wildfire that they've seen in France in decades and it's a reminder of just how fast and hard and with all this difficulty climate change is impacting this particular part of France and more broadly southern Europe.

[05:50:05]

Remember, this is the continent that is warming the fastest in the world with authorities really scrambling to keep up and to put in place the kind of early warning systems that will help them prevent these sort of wildfires costing all of the land that they've cost over the course of the last 48 hours or so, MJ.

LEE: Melissa Bell in Paris. Thanks for that update.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is criticizing the arrest of 16 day laborers outside of a Home Depot. Video obtained by CNN shows ICE agents getting into a yellow Penske box truck in the store parking lot. The L.A. Times says the driver had pulled up to the group and asked them if they were looking for work. Then ICE agents sprang out of the back of the truck and detained them. An ICE spokesperson says those arrested are from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras, and Nicaragua.

Penske, meanwhile, says it strictly prohibits the transportation of people in the cargo area of its vehicles and that it did not authorize this operation.

You've probably heard about "Alligator Alcatraz." Now there is also the "Speedway Slammer." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced the new migrant detention facility not far from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. She says it will have about 1,000 beds but offered no other details.

Meanwhile, President Trump's border czar is denying reports that detainees at Florida's "Alligator Alcatraz" are facing inhumane conditions. A U.S. district judge is hearing arguments from environmental groups and a Native American tribe over whether expansion of the facility violates environmental laws.

President Trump is ramping up his threats of a federal takeover of the nation's capital. Yesterday, he floated the idea of bringing in the National Guard to Washington and said his administration is considering taking over the city's police. That's after a former DOGE worker was assaulted in an attempted carjacking on Sunday, which the president described as yet another sign of rampant crime in the city. But preliminary police data shows violent crime in Washington is actually down 26 percent compared to last year.

Still to come, Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts. We'll have video from the scene as well as concerns from experts about the eruption.

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[05:56:50]

LEE: Hawaii's Mount Kilauea erupted on Wednesday for more than 12 hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It has had periodic activity over the last few months and has become one of the world's most active volcanoes.

Scientists took samples of the magma for chemical analysis amid dangerous eruptions. Experts warned of what's called Pele's hair, or sharp strands of volcanic glass that can puncture the skin. They can be launched up to three kilometers or around two miles away.

Music legend Ozzy Osbourne passed away last month. Born in England, Osbourne gained fans around the world through his music and later as a reality TV star in the U.S.

As Stefano Pozzebon shows us, he's been even being remembered by fans in Colombia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: In Bogota, the Ozzy pub -- it's almost like an institution. It's where the rock and, in particular, the metal music scene gather almost on a weekly basis. It is, of course, named after Ozzy Osbourne, the English rock legend who passed away just 16 days ago.

And please, come inside. We're here tonight, on Wednesday, for a special night. A tribute to Black Sabbath and to Ozzy Osbourne. You can see here there is a small altar with candles, an image of Ozzy, and some of the messages that people here have left to the Prince of Darkness. "Ozzy, pure rock and roll," for example, or "Ozzy, forever you'll be in our hearts."

Bogota has one of the liveliest and best known music scenes in South America when it comes to rock and roll and, in particular, to hard rock and metal. Black Sabbath, for example, performed here in Bogota in 2013.

Some of the people that we spoke with tonight told us that has to do sometimes with the conflict in Colombia -- with the amount of violence that took place here, especially in the 1980s and '90s. And with a generation that was looking for a way to escape. To rebel themselves from society and from oppression that the war in Colombia brought.

And the concert here is just about to start. We can probably get inside because it's not too loud yet. But even already from here you can feel that there is a link between Birmingham and Bogota this month and that the influence of the Prince of Darkness has reached far and far away.

For CNN this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: And with summer winding down it's that time of year when the Illinois State Fair unveils its life-size sculpture of a cow made out of butter. Live images here from Springfield, Illinois where it's almost 5:00 in the morning before crowds arrive as the fair gets underway today and runs for the next 10 days.

The butter cow has been a fixture on the state fair since the 1920s. It takes about five days for sculptors to shape 500 pounds of unsalted butter into the bovine figure you saw there, and it's all done by hand.

[06:00:07]

And how would you feel about a tomato ketchup smoothie? This new drink is a collaboration between Heinz and Smoothie King. Heinz says that unsurprisingly it's the first-ever ketchup-based smoothie and it blends ketchup with acai sorbet, apple juice, strawberries, and raspberries. And the company says -- it claims it is both sweet and tangy. The smoothies are available at certain Smoothie King locations across the U.S.

Thanks for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm MJ Lee in Washington, D.C. And "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.