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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Global Outrage Over IDF Strike Killing Five Journalists; Trump Unveils Federal Takeover Of D.C. Police; Taylor Swift Announces New Album "The Life of a Showgirl." Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 12, 2025 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:32:27]

MJ LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Global outrage is growing over the killing of five journalists in Gaza by an Israeli airstrike. Large crowds gathered in Gaza City on Monday for the funeral of Al Jazeera correspondent Anas al-Sharif and four other journalists killed in that strike. The IDF said it targeted al-Sharif after previously accusing him of leading a Hamas cell. This is an allegation al-Sharif and Al Jazeera had denied.

The U.N. secretary general, Amnesty International, and others are all calling for an independent investigation into the strike.

For more I'm joined by CNN's Nada Bashir from London. Nada, is there any sense that the international outrage will lead to anything tangible?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well look, MJ, this is not the first time that we have seen Palestinian journalists in Gaza being targeted by Israeli strikes. We've seen health care workers, paramedics, aid workers being targeted in previous Israeli attacks over the past 22 months.

And all of these attacks have triggered similar outrage and condemnation from world leaders. Calls for investigations from bodies like the United Nations and other human rights organizations. And yet, we haven't seen any sort of tangible change in the situation on the ground in Gaza.

And, of course, the situation is growing more desperate was we continue to hear warnings of potentially famine now in the Gaza Strip. We've heard those warnings once again from U.N. officials that some 300,000 children are now at risk of severe malnutrition in the Gaza Strip as a result of the limited amount of aid being allowed into the Gaza Strip. So this is across the board a desperate situation.

This particular attack that we saw on Sunday night really has sparked condemnation and outrage not only in the Arabic speaking world where these journalists -- including Anas al-Sharif, a very prominent and well-respected Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera and was, of course a household name -- but also beyond. This was someone whose name had become highly recognizable on social media for sharing those day-to-day accounts of what is happening on the ground in the Gaza Strip.

And, of course, important to remind our viewers that international journalists, like myself and colleagues at CNN, have not been permitted by the Israeli authorities to access Gaza just yet independently. So the world is heavily reliant on these Palestinian journalists to document what is happening on the ground.

And, of course, as you mentioned, MJ, we have heard from the United Nations secretary general calling for an independent investigation. Those calls have been echoed by officials at Amnesty International. We've heard words of condemnation from officials from the United Kingdom and from France as well.

[05:35:05]

But what we've also seen in the past when these situations do happen is, of course, mounting pressure but little actual diplomatic action or changes really in a tangible sense. We've seen resolutions at the U.N. Security Council time and time again, which have been blocked by Israel's allies, including the United States and at times, the United Kingdom as well.

Just in the last few days, of course, we've heard from the Israeli officials, including the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussing their plans to double down on their military operation on the ground, including taking control of parts of central Gaza -- trying to essentially more formally occupy parts of Gaza.

And what we haven't seen is any sort of condemnation from Israeli's strongest allies, including the United States. The U.S. has actually remained quite steadfast in its support. It is growingly -- increasingly isolated on that front in showing that steadfast support.

But again, we are seeing that pressure mounting somewhat from world leaders now. And, of course, what we've also seen over the last 22 months is continued protests taking place across the world, including in Israel where we are seeing Israelis still taking to the streets calling on their government to bring an end to the war and to secure the release of the hostages held captive in Gaza as well -- MJ.

LEE: Nada Bashir in London. Thank you for that report.

Madonna is using her star power to raise awareness about starving Palestinian children in Gaza. She took to Instagram to urge Pope Leo to intervene saying in part, "Please go to Gaza and bring your light to the children before it's too late."

Since his papacy began in May, Pope Leo has been an outspoken critic of Israel's war in Gaza and consistently voiced his concern for Palestinian civilians facing bombardment.

CNN has reached out to the Vatican for comment.

And more reaction to the targeted killing of a Palestinian journalist in Gaza. When we come back, I'll speak to a representative of Reporters Without Borders. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL)

[05:41:47]

LEE: The killing of five Al Jazeera journalists in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza has prompted condemnation from rights groups. Reporters Without Borders says this incident is just one of many that have taken place in the enclave, and the U.N. is calling for an independent investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANE DUJARRIC, U.N. SPOKESPERSON: These latest killings highlight the extreme risks that journalists continue to face when covering this ongoing conflict. The secretary general calls for an independent and impartial investigation into these latest killings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: I'm joined now live from Paris by Louise Alluin Bichet. She is the projects director for the organization Reporters Without Borders. Louise, we really appreciate your time this morning.

I want to start with --

LOUISE ALLUIN BICHET, PROJECTS DIRECTOR, REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS: Thank you.

LEE: -- what your organization has said in response to the Israeli strike that killed these five members of Al Jazeera.

Here is what RSF's director general said. "This massacre in Israeli's media blackout strategy designed to conceal the crimes committed by its army for more than 21 months in the besieged and starving Palestinian enclave must be stopped immediately. The international community can no longer turn a blind eye and must react and put an end to this impunity."

So Louise, will this be a turning point moment or will it turn out to be another blip?

BICHET: It must be a turning point. It must become at least being a part of a wakeup call for the international community. Something has to change. This cannot continue to happen. We know this tactic. We know -- and you're referring to the statement of our director. I think it reflects pretty good what we are feeling right now.

It's -- we are outraged, we are furious, and we are bitter as well because we communicated -- we published -- I'm thinking of last October '24 the risk that we're waiting on Anas al-Sharif because he was a victim of an information campaign by the Israeli army, and we know how it ends.

We are now at 200 -- more than 200 journalists killed -- targeted -- specifically targeted by the Israeli army since the seventh of October '23. This is again part -- and again, I'm referring to the statements of our organization Reporters Without Borders because we feel that it's part of an overall strategy of organizing an information blackout inside the Gaza Strip by killing journalists -- Palestinian journalists and by restricting or closing the access to the Gaza Strip by the international journalists that cannot record and enter the Gaza Strip to report since almost two years now.

[05:45:00]

LEE: So I want to be clear. The IDF accused Anas al-Sharif of leading a Hamas cell in Gaza. As we said, al-Sharif had denied this, and CNN has not verified the documents that the IDF released purporting to show al-Sharif and his affiliation to Hamas.

Is your group aware of any instances where there were Hamas militants masquerading as reporters?

BICHET: No, we don't. We do not. And we do not have access to any solid, reliable -- any sort of document or proof that could be seen as proof. So we are not seeing any of it. And again, this is why I'm referring to the fact that it -- we are considering this as a tactic to justify the killing and the targeting -- systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists by the Israeli army. This is a baseless accusation.

LEE: And any reporters that are currently in Gaza -- you know, they are working to be the rare eyes and ears and historians for the world right now because, as you said, Israel has banned international media from reporting freely inside the Strip.

I wonder, Louise, whether you think there are ways in which this conflict might have unfolded differently over the past almost two years if journalists had been free to fully cover the situation on the ground with no limitations.

BICHET: We think, indeed, at Reporters Without Borders that having independent, reliable journalists -- either nationals or internationals -- contribute to have -- to be able for the international community to make enlightened choices, enlightened decisions. How can you end up with rights and justified decisions and political decisions if you are not clearly aware about what is happening? And this is the crucial role of journalism and information, and reliable information.

So yes, I deeply think that it could have turned up differently if at least international journalists could have entered the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian journalists being protected. Because I recall that they are and they must be protected in terms of -- I mean, during armed conflict, journalists are protected.

There is legal framework -- very clear legal framework. I'm talking about resolution 2222, for example, that really specifically protects journalists during armed conflict. So they must be protected. This is the obligation of the Israeli government and Israeli army.

LEE: Louise Alluin Bichet, thank you so much for this conversation.

BICHET: Thank you.

LEE: And we'll be right back.

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[05:52:30]

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

Donald Trump is deploying hundreds of National Guard troop to Washington, D.C. to fight what he calls "out of control crime." The U.S. president is also placing D.C. Metro Police under federal control. The unprecedented moves come despite falling crime rates in the city.

Authorities are investigating the cause of a deadly explosion at a steel plant near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Two workers are now confirmed dead and 10 people are injured. U.S. Steel says the blast involved at least two coke oven batteries. Nearly 1,300 employees work at the Clairton Coke Works plant each day.

And Taylor Swift is officially in her showgirl era. The pop superstar announced her upcoming 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl" at 12:12 a.m. Eastern time. The pre-pre-order of the album is now available. No word yet on the release date.

And as the U.S. enters the heart of hurricane season several storm systems are drenching parts of the southern and midwestern U.S.

The video you are seeing was captured by a police dashcam in South Carolina showing the moment a lightning bolt struck an intersection. The impact scattered live wires into nearby roadways halting traffic and triggering a widespread power outage for several hours. Luckily, no one was hurt.

This follows torrential rain across the Midwest resulting in record flooding in parts of Wisconsin over the weekend. Milwaukee County issued a state of emergency on Sunday after the Milwaukee River rose above 11 feet. Floodwaters clogged roadways with hundreds of submerged vehicles, prompting dozens of water rescues.

By Monday morning more than 10 million people were under flood alerts. Many of those flood warnings have since expired as the Midwest expects a cooler, dryer forecast later this week.

And up next, more on the uproar over TS12 and the big announcement from Taylor Swift.

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[05:59:05]

LEE: Taylor Swift is entering a new era.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TAYLOR SWIFT, SINGER-SONGWRITER: So I wanted to show you something.

JASON KELCE, FORMER NFL PLAYER, CO-HOST, NEW HEIGHTS PODCAST: OK. What have we got?

SWIFT: We got, uh --

J. KELCE: A briefcase.

SWIFT: Yep.

J. KELCE: Mint green with T.S. on it.

SWIFT: Yep, yep.

J. KELCE: What's in it?

SWIFT: This is my brand new album "The Life of a Showgirl."

J. KELCE: Aaaaaggghh.

TRAVIS KELCE, TIGHT END, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, CO-HOST, NEW HEIGHTS PODCAST: TS12.

SWIFT: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: You heard right. The pop phenom has announced her upcoming 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl." She made it official just after midnight with a countdown clock on her website ticking down to 12:12 a.m. Eastern time. The website actually crashed potentially with Swifties around the globe flocking to the site in anticipation of the surprise announcement.

No word yet on when the album will come out but it's now available for the pre-pre-orders. Fans can also hear more about the album Wednesday on the podcast that is co-hosted by Swift's boyfriend and NFL star Travis Kelce.

[06:00:05]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SWIFT: That's such a nice color on you.

T. KELCE: Yes, I know. It's the color of your eyes, sweetie. That's why we match. Oh, wow.

SWIFT: (Bleep) podcast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: All right, and that does it for us. Thanks so much for joining us here on EARLY START this morning. I'm MJ Lee in Washington, D.C. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.