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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Israel Plans To Occupy Gaza City; U.S. & Russia Remain At Odds Ahead Of Talks; Texas Democrats Face Redistricting Deadline. Aired 5- 5:30a ET

Aired August 08, 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. Thanks so much for being with us. I'm MJ Lee. Rahel Solomon is off.

It's Friday, August 8th, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington, D.C.

And straight ahead on EARLY START.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: The prime minister's office says Israeli troops will soon take over all of Gaza City.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Many Israelis believe that any such operation of this scale would put the hostages at risk.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: It is only fair that Ukraine should be a participant in the negotiations.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. and Russia are also far from agreeing on how to end the Ukraine conflict.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: The FBI is involved helping track down Democrats who fled the state to block Trump's redistricting plan.

GENE WU (D), TEXAS STATE REPRESENTATIVE: This isn't my seat. If they want to come take it, they got to go through the people of the state of Texas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

LEE: We begin this hour in Jerusalem, where the Israeli prime minister's office says his security cabinet has approved a plan to occupy Gaza City. It's part of a broader blueprint to end the 22-month war with Hamas. An Israeli source tells CNN the deadline to evacuate Gaza City is October 7th, with the overall plan taking up to five months. It comes despite strong objections from the Israel defense forces

chief of staff, who warns that it will put soldiers and hostages at risk.

But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he's not planning to stop at Gaza City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL HEMMER, FOX NEWS HOST: Will Israel take control of all of Gaza?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We intend to. In order to assure our security, remove Hamas there, enable the population to be free of Gaza and to pass it to civilian governance. That is not Hamas. And not anyone advocating the destruction of Israel. That's what we want to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: A hostage families group is criticizing the Israeli decision as a colossal catastrophe for both hostages and soldiers. Members say the only way to bring their loved ones home is through a comprehensive deal. People across Israel turned out to protest expanded military operations in Gaza. They gathered outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem and his Likud party headquarters in Tel Aviv.

We're starting to see reaction from world leaders as well. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer released a statement saying, in part, the Israeli government's decision to further escalate its offensive in Gaza is wrong and we urge it to reconsider immediately. This action will not bring an end to the conflict or help secure the release of the hostages. It will only bring more bloodshed.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman is live in Rome with the latest.

Ben, what the prime minister is proposing is hugely controversial. Bring us the latest.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is controversial. As you mentioned, MJ, the families of the hostages are strongly opposed to it because they fear that their loved ones could come into harm's way, or even more than they are already. Eyal Zamir, the chief of staff of the Israeli military. Same thing. He thinks that it's going to be a danger to the hostages and a danger to the soldiers who go in.

Keep in mind that Israel, as it is, controls and occupies 75 percent of Gaza. The remaining 25 is where the 2 million plus people currently live. About a million of them, it's believed, live in the ruins of Gaza city itself. So, this involves moving these million people yet again, keeping in mind that 90 percent of the population has already been displaced at least once, many of them multiple times. So that would involve clearing that entire city and moving them into an even smaller area, where, of course, already we know that people are living in horrendous conditions short of food, poor sanitation, diseases are spreading among this population that is crammed into a tiny part of Gaza.

And, you know, I covered Gaza when Israel occupied it during the '90s up until August 2005, 20 years ago, and what we saw was that there was a small number of Jewish settlements that were frequently under attack, tying down thousands of Israeli soldiers to defend them.

[05:05:02]

And that's why Israel pulled out in the first place. And there's no reason to believe that it's not going to be a complete repeat under worse conditions than it was before. Keep in mind also that even though were talking about a lot of the opposition to this move, there are those within the Israeli cabinet and within Israeli society who actually support this move, not just the reoccupation of Gaza, but the reestablishment of the Jewish settlements that were dismantled back in August 2005.

Now it does appear that Prime Minister Netanyahu is completely oblivious to his domestic opponents on this question, and also to international criticism. We are hearing Keir Starmer the British prime minister, opposing this idea, the Turks.

The Americans are rather ambiguous. We heard earlier this week, President Trump, when asked about Israels plans in Gaza, he said it's up to Israel. So it doesn't appear that there's going to be any really strong will on the part of the strongest backers of Israel being the United States and the European Union to stop this move from actually happening, regardless of what will clearly be catastrophic consequences for the population of Gaza, which is already seen more than 61,000 people killed, a huge number -- percentage of that, civilians, women and children -- MJ.

LEE: Ben Wedeman in Rome with that update, thank you so much.

And UNICEF estimates that 28 children are killed every day in Gaza. One beloved voice is speaking out on behalf of those children and facing criticism for it.

Rachel Accurso is a children's content creator known to most kids as just Ms. Rachel, with 16 million YouTube subscribers worldwide. She spoke exclusively with our Christiane Amanpour about why she's refusing to be silent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MS. RACHEL, CHILDREN'S CONTENT CREATOR AND EDUCATOR: As an early childhood educator, I know what children need. They need food, it's being blocked. And they need water, it's being blocked. They need to be in school, their schools have been bombed. They need medical care.

I know what children need to thrive. And I know what holds them back. And it was very clear to me, along with so many others in our country and around the world, that it's so critical to speak up.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEE: Accurso says she will never understand how content creators can be silent on Israel's treatment of Palestinians. She says she refuses to work with anyone who hasn't spoken out in support of Gazans. Just days before the U.S. and Russian presidents are likely to hold direct talks about a ceasefire in Ukraine, Donald Trump appears to have made a major concession to Moscow, saying the summit will happen without any conditions on Vladimir Putin to sit down for a one-on-one talk with Ukraine's president. The Kremlin says the meeting is all but set for next week. But some U.S. officials suggest nothing has been finalized.

More details now from CNN's Fred Pleitgen in Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): A grand welcome to the Kremlin for the president of the United Arab Emirates, a place Russian leader Vladimir Putin says could be the site of the summit, with U.S. President Donald Trump. I think we will decide later, Putin says. But this could be one of the suitable venues.

But while President Trump says he wants his meeting with Putin to be followed by a trilateral summit also involving Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Putin, who often questions Zelenskyy's legitimacy, not willing to commit.

I've been repeatedly saying that I in general have nothing against it, Putin says. It's possible. But before that, certain conditions should be created and unfortunately, we're still far from creating such conditions.

And the U.S. and Russia are also far from agreeing on how to end the Ukraine conflict. While President Trump says he wants an immediate 30- day ceasefire, the Russians want a comprehensive peace agreement requiring a long diplomatic process, even as the fighting continues. The Putin-Trump summit idea was agreed after presidential envoy Steve Witkoff visit to Moscow on Wednesday. A senior Kremlin aide saying the idea came from the U.S. side.

There was an offer made by the Americans that we consider quite acceptable, he says. That is it.

On Moscow's streets, folks, saying they hope the summit could also be a starting point to mend U.S.-Russia relations. I wish we could travel to the U.S. and Americans could travel to Russia, this man says. I wish we could be friends, and that trade would recover.

And she says, I wish for peaceful skies over everyone's head so that everything is good for everyone.

[05:10:03]

Vladimir Putin always says the right things, this man says. You should listen to him and respect him.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEE: They're some of the top figures in President Trump's administration, and a source tells CNN that they met this week at the White House to talk about how to handle the Jeffrey Epstein case. What we've learned just ahead.

And Texas Democrats are facing a Republican imposed deadline to return to the state. We'll have the latest on the bitter battle over redistricting.

And plus, the products that are getting pricier under President Trump's new trade policies and how much they'll end up costing American households each year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:15:09]

LEE: A source tells CNN that a highly anticipated meeting of top Trump officials took place at the White House Wednesday night. Attorney General Pam Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel, Vice President J.D. Vance, and others reportedly focused on potential next steps when it comes to the Jeffrey Epstein case. The source says the meeting was supposed to focus largely on creating a unified response to the matter within the administration.

One main discussion point was reportedly whether to publish an audio recording and transcript of Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent conversation with the Epstein accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. J.D. Vance and his office had denied on Wednesday that a meeting on Epstein was happening.

And this could be a key day in the contentious fight over redrawing the Texas congressional map. The Republican speaker of the Texas state legislature said today, as the deadline for Democratic House lawmakers to return to the state, dozens of Texas Democrats fled the state last week to delay a vote that would redraw electoral maps to favor Republicans. State officials, including Governor Greg Abbott, have waded into the controversy, with Abbott pledging to punish Democrats for leaving the state.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: The Democrats always come back. It could be tomorrow. It could be next week. It could be next month. They're going to come back or well be able to track them down one way or the other. They're coming back. And its going to end with these maps being passed.

And you know what I'm thinking now is if they don't start showing up, I may start expanding. We may make it 6 or 7 or 8 new seats. We're going to be adding on the Republican side.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEE: Senator John Cornyn says the FBI has granted his request for federal assistance to help Texas law enforcement bring Democrats back to the state. But the absent lawmakers fled to Democratic led states, which are beyond the jurisdiction of Texas authorities. And it's not clear exactly what the FBI can do.

Texas Democrats, meanwhile, are not backing down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENE WU, TEXAS STATE HOUSE DEMOCRAT: We know that the governor has no power outside of the state, and we know that the federal government cannot get involved in this unless there is a legal reason why they are allowed to get involved. And frankly, you know, this isn't my seat. I mean, it sure as hell not. Governor Abbott's seat. And if they want to come, take it, they got to go through the people of the state of Texas, because this is who seat this belongs to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: And let's get more now from Mariana Alfaro. She is a politics reporter at "The Washington Post". And she joins me live from Washington, D.C.

Mariana, good to see you.

As we were talking about, today is a key deadline on the Texas redistricting fight. The state's attorney general, Ken Paxton, said that Texas Democrats who left the state need to come back by today before he starts removal proceedings.

Where do things stand with Republican efforts to force these Democrats to come back?

MARIANA ALFARO, POLITICS REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yes. As you mentioned, the legal validity behind all of this is questionable, I think. You know, the post has spoken to several legal experts who say that the -- it's going to be hard for Republicans to show that Democrats are in any way doing anything illegal.

This is not the first time that this situation, I mean, not this situation, but certainly this has happened in Texas, where, Democrats -- you know, left the state in order to block Republican moves. Last time around, I think that they did come back and ultimately things moved along.

But, you know, Republicans also threatened to send someone to arrest them. They also threaten legal action. But even back then, it was also questionable what legal basis they had to pursue any of these.

And even if they do get to the point where they go for legal action, it's going to take months, you know, to try to prove again that something they did was illegal. And again, it's also a question of whether the FBI can even get involved. Because, as you mentioned, they're also Democratic districts right now. But there is not really evidence that they are handling anything that they shouldn't be doing. LEE: Yeah. I mean, it's not clear what exactly the FBI could do in

terms of the tools that are at their disposal. But let's talk about the political optics there, because President Trump has already been criticized for trying to weaponize that bureau and other parts of his administration to go after people, individuals that he considers his enemies. What do you think?

ALFARO: Yes. I mean, it was pretty surprising. I would say, to see that it was specifically Senator John Cornyn who initiated this call. And, you know, the other Republican lawmakers in Texas followed up and also called for the FBI to step in. President Trump said that the FBI should do it, too.

It would be very unprecedented, I would say, to see the FBI step in and pursue aggressive action against these lawmakers, because it really blurs that line between, you know, a law enforcement agency and an agency that's become political.

[05:20:00]

And again, we haven't seen the FBI really do that yet. And I know that the president has tried in other ways to get the Justice Department to do his bidding, but it would really be unprecedented to see agents come after lawmakers who, again, are not really doing anything illegal.

LEE: Yeah. And all of this is having ramifications well beyond Texas. Weve seen a number of Democrats in other states saying they are now going to pursue whatever strategy they can to beat Republicans at their own game when it comes to redistricting.

What are you seeing?

ALFARO: Yes. I mean, it's not only been Republicans. Now we see, Gavin Newsom in California. We're seeing, folks all over the country and the Democratic led states saying that they will do anything they can to even out the map if Texas does get away with its five new districts.

Again, it's a very thinly divided house. And right now, every seat matters. Specifically, Speaker Johnsons been having a really hard time getting legislation through with a very small majority.

But all of this off-cycle redistricting again, is not -- it's not common. It's definitely would be pretty unprecedented to have all these states draw districts.

And you know, now we're talking about, you know, President Trump wanting to do a new census. All of these things are not usual. All of these things are usually done with a date in mind calendar.

So, to see both states kind of come through, and again, Democrats saying that they're fighting fire with fire, it's pretty. Again, I hate to say unprecedented again, but it does throw you know, previous standards out the window. LEE: And I want to quickly circle back to the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Our reporting, as we mentioned before, is that top administration officials have been discussing possible next steps, including potentially releasing an audio recording of Todd Blanche's recent conversation with Ghislaine Maxwell.

How is the White House trying to navigate this controversy, which is definitely not dying down?

ALFARO: Yes, and I think the presidents already noticing that his base is not very happy with how everything's been handled. But yes, I think we've seen a lot of talk about whether, that conversation with Maxwell has led to any potential deals that she was, you know, put into a position that's a little bit less restrictive as to what she was in before.

And all of these things, I think are not really helping the president with his base. A lot of people were upset to see that she got moved. And perhaps they're trying to dispel some of that tension by releasing these tapes. But at this point, it's become very clear that a lot of the president's base are not happy seeing this you know, Maxwell, be benefited in any way, shape or form.

LEE: Mariana Alfaro in Washington, good to see you. Thank you.

ALFARO: Thank you.

LEE: And just ahead, how world markets are reacting to the most dramatic shift in global trade since the Great Depression. Plus, the consumer goods that will soon cost you more now that the Trump tariffs have kicked in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:27:21]

LEE: A slew of new U.S. tariffs has brought mixed results to world markets. In the Asia Pacific, Japan's Nikkei enjoyed some gains, but the other main indices ended the week in negative territory.

And let's see how stocks are faring over in Europe. The FTSE and the Dax are both trending down, while France's CAC 40 is up as trading gets underway.

And the Dow shed hundreds of points Thursday, while the Nasdaq closed at a record high and ahead of Wall Street's opening bell today, all three of the indices are trending upward, with the Dow, S&P and Nasdaq futures all in the green at the moment.

And U.S. efforts to punish India for buying Russian oil appear to be driving the two countries closer together. Senior Indian and Russian officials have celebrated what they call their strategic partnership and very special relationship. This comes just hours after the Trump administration imposed a 25 percent tariff on India, which is set to double in a few weeks. And President Trump now says he's not talking to India anymore, quote,

"Until we get this resolved". The U.S. accuses India of fueling Russia's war in Ukraine by purchasing Russian energy.

And meanwhile, these new U.S. tariff rates are the highest since the Great Depression. Inflation had already been creeping up, and Americans could now see even steeper prices on many goods like electronics and clothing.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, these are the highest tariff levels in almost a century. The last time we saw tariffs, even close to this was in the 1930s, when the Great Depression then followed. But this is President Trump's big bet on shrinking the U.S. trade deficit and bringing manufacturing back to the United States.

Now, tariff rates start at 10 percent, but then increase all the way up to 50 percent. Just look at Brazil at 50 percent and other nations with the steepest tariffs are Syria at 41 percent and Laos and Myanmar at about 40 percent. In Switzerland at 39 percent, you have Iraq, Serbia and South Africa all above 30 percent.

But it is U.S. retailers, businesses, importers that ultimately will pay those higher tariffs that bring those goods into the United States. They will then have to choose whether to eat the cost or to pass it down to you, the consumer.

So, you will likely see higher prices on heavily imported items like clothing, shoes, watches, alcohol and furniture. And we've been hearing from companies since April about how tariffs are affecting their bottom line. On Thursday, Japanese automaker Toyota said they were expecting a $10 billion impact from tariffs and elf cosmetics, which sources its products from China, said profits fell by 30 percent in the second quarter because of tariffs.

And by one estimate, according to the Yale Budget.