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Trump: Working To Arrange Meeting Between Putin And Zelenskyy; Hamas Says It Has Agreed To A New Ceasefire Proposal; Hurricane Erin Prompts Evacuations On North Carolina Coast. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired August 19, 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]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following all the developments from the White House.

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JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So at the end of a long day of meetings here at the White House the bottom line is there could be more meetings -- this time potentially with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

That is what President Trump announced on his Truth Social media account at the end of the day. He said he is working to arrange a meeting. Less clear, however, is if Putin is interested in what the timeframe is and what conditions this meeting would take place. That would Zelenskyy agree to that as well.

So after meeting one-on-one with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Monday afternoon, really a much warmer meeting than the one that six months ago ended with Zelenskyy effectively being thrown out of the White House, the leaders then went on to meet in the East Room here where all European leaders visiting here -- some seven of them -- sat down with President Trump and talked about some specifics.

But it was clear divisions also exist, like on a ceasefire, for example. The German chancellor said he believes a ceasefire must be in place before any peace discussions can begin. French President Emmanual Macron also echoed that, saying a truce must happen first.

So it's an open question here actually how much progress was made. That is going to be determined in the hours and days, and perhaps the weeks to come. But what we do know is that President Trump is trying to drive toward a process -- trying to accelerate a process, if you will. It is less clear how fast President Putin would like to operate on this because even as the Ukrainian president was here in Washington bombs were still falling in Ukraine.

So now the ball is in Putin's court and Zelenskyy's court, but President Trump said after they meet one-on-one, if that happens, he would join them for a trilateral meeting. So clearly, he signaled some progress to come but we will certainly see how all parties see it and if that Putin-Zelenskyy meeting ever takes place. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Jeff, thank you for that.

Coming up, a new Gaza ceasefire proposal gets the green light from Hamas, but what is Israel saying about the plan? We're live in London with those details just ahead.

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[05:32:00]

FREEMAN: Hamas says it has agreed to a new ceasefire proposal in the war in Gaza. Now it's similar to the plan that was on the table when negotiations fell apart last month.

A senior Hamas official says it calls for the release of 10 living and 18 deceased hostages in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners. Now, a regional source says Hamas also wants written American guarantees for a ceasefire after 60 days. But an Israeli official says the government's position has not changed. It wants all hostages released, the disarming of Hamas, and security control over Gaza.

Meanwhile, Egypt and Qatar are looking to restart negotiations in Cairo.

CNN's Nada Bashir is following these developments live for us in London. Nada, could this ceasefire proposal actually help get these parties back to the negotiating table?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well look, Danny, we have been in this position time and time again it seems over the last 22 months where we have heard from diplomat sources familiar with those ongoing discussions and negotiations that there has been movement and so- called breakthroughs in these negotiations and deals.

But what we've been hearing from officials both familiar with the talks from the perspective of Hamas and as well with Israeli officials it seems as though there was still some daylight in the positions of both parties with regards to what is currently on the table.

Now as you mentioned, Danny, we've heard from officials familiar with these discussions and the mediation efforts of both Qatar and Egypt to have brought Hamas to this position, according to Hamas officials, where they have agreed to a proposal that is currently on the table.

They have said that they have agreed to a deal which is much like the deal that was put forward by U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff back in June when we saw those ceasefire negotiations breaking down once again. One diplomat saying that they are around 98 percent similar in terms of the terms that are currently on the table.

And we've heard from one Hamas official who detailed the terms that Hamas appears to have agreed to at this current point in time, including the release, as you mentioned, of 10 hostages -- 10 living hostages, rather, and 18 deceased hostages currently held captive by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, including those serving life sentences and women and children currently held in Israeli detention centers.

Now, of course, what we saw previously was a major disagreement around the redeployment of Israeli troops around the Gaza Strip in the case of a ceasefire at this stage looking like an initial 60-day truce. And what we've been hearing from the Israeli side -- two Israeli

officials have spoken to CNN, as you mentioned Danny -- is that there still appears to be some sticking points on that front as well as other areas, including, of course, one Israeli official telling CNN that their position hasn't change on calling for the release of all hostages at the same time as opposed to this staggered release that we seem to be seeing from the Hamas side.

They have also called for the complete and total disarmament of Hamas as well as Israeli security control of Gaza.

[05:40:00]

Now, of course, we are seeing mounting pressure on both sides. This comes as the Israeli military doubles down on its offensive in central Gaza as we continue to see simply not enough aid being allowed into the Gaza Strip and acute malnutrition spreading across the civilian population.

And, of course, this comes off the back of a weekend of largescale protests, rallies, and strikes being held across Israel calling on the Israeli government to do more to secure the release of hostages and to agree to a deal that will ensure that release and bring an end to the war -- Danny.

FREEMAN: Nada Bashir in London for us. Thank you so much as always. Appreciate you.

All right, coming up in just a moment, Democrats are on the verge of losing the redistricting battle in Texas but they're pushing ahead in the wider war. We'll have reports from the state capitals of Texas and California after a quick break.

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[05:45:15]

FREEMAN: Welcome back. I'm Danny Freeman and here are some of the top stories we're watching today.

Donald Trump says he's working to arrange a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia. Now that word came as the U.S. president hosted Volodymyr Zelenskyy and key European allies for talks at the White House amid a push to end the war in Ukraine. The German chancellor said Putin agreed to hold such a meeting within the next two weeks during a call with Trump. And six states have now deployed members of their National Guard units to Washington, D.C., including Louisiana. It comes after President Trump placed the city's police department directly under federal control. Louisiana's governor says he's happy to support the president's mission to "return safety and sanity to Washington."

And SoftBank is set to invest $2 billion into American chipmaker Intel. It's the latest bid from Intel's new CEO to catch up to its competitors. He met last week with President Trump whose administration has also expressed interest in taking a stake in the company.

After years of railing against mail-in voting, falsely claiming it was a source of fraud during the 2020 election, President Trump now says he's going to try to move to get rid of it for good ahead of the 2026 midterms. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Mail-in ballots are corrupt. Mail-in ballots -- well, you can never have a real democracy with mail-in ballots. And we, as a Republican Party, are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots.

We're going to start with an executive order that's being written right now by the best lawyers in the country to end mail-in ballots because they're corrupt. And you know that we're the only country in the world, I believe -- I may be wrong but just about the only country in the world that uses them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: The president is wrong on this and let us count the ways.

First, dozens of other countries use mail-in voting, including Canada, the U.K., Germany, Australia, and Switzerland. Plus, mail-in ballots are not inherently corrupt. Election experts have been clear there is no evidence of widespread mail-in ballot fraud or widespread voter fraud period. The incidence of fraud of with mail-in ballots is tiny, not to mention President Trump likely won the election in 2024 due in large part to mail-in ballots.

But that's not all that President Trump wants to change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: So the other thing we want changed are the machines. For all of the money they spend it's approximately 10 times more expensive than paper ballots. And paper ballots are very sophisticated with the watermark paper and everything else. We would get secure elections. We'd get much faster results. The machines -- I mean, they say we're going to have the results in two weeks. With paper ballots you have the results that night.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: We'll continue to keep an eye on and fact-check that story.

Turning now to this. Texas Democrats were greeted by cheering supporters at the Statehouse on Monday after fleeing the state for 15 days to stall a Republican redistricting effort ahead of the midterm elections. The return of the Democrats allows Republicans to push ahead with their Trump-backed plans to potentially gain five congressional seats there.

But California is moving forward with its own plan to try and neutralize what's happening in Texas.

CNN's Steve Contorno reports from the California state capital, but we go first to CNN's Arlette Saenz in Austin, Texas.

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ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Texas Republicans are moving one step closer to passing those new congressional maps after Texas House Democrats returned to the state capitol on Monday. These Democrats had spent over two weeks outside of the state, mostly in Chicago, as they tried to block this redistricting bill from moving forward.

But they decided to come home once they were able to thwart a vote on that redistricting bill during the first special session, and then also as California had announced that they would introduce their own congressional maps to try to offset the maps that are being considered here in Texas.

These Texas maps could potentially net Republicans as many as five U.S. House seats in the midterm elections, while Democrats have countered with their own measure to try to pick up more blue seats in the state of California.

But all of this comes with major implications for what the makeup of the next U.S. Congress will look like. These Texas Democrats had very few options to try to push back and stop this bill from moving forward. But now they say they are making their way -- they have come back to the capitol to try to wage the legal fight to try to block these maps in court.

Here is what State Rep. Gene Wu, who leads Democrats in the Texas House, had to say on that matter.

[05:50:00]

GENE WU, TEXAS HOUSE DEMOCRAT: We are coming back to fight on our own terms, not on their terms. We are coming back to pursue the legal option now that we have an extra bit of safety with California coming on board and with other states potentially coming on board soon.

SAENZ: The Texas House is set to reconvene at 10:00 a.m. Central time on Wednesday.

The House speaker had said that the Democrats who had returned today -- they would only be allowed to go home if they signed a written permission slip that approved being escorted by a law enforcement official until they return back on Wednesday. There is at least one Texas House Democrat who has refused to sign that and plans to spend her time in the next two days on the House floor.

There are still big questions about when exactly this measure could get passed. GOP leaders have not outlined that. But there is a potential that these new congressional maps could be approved here in Texas as soon as this week.

Arlette Saenz, CNN, Austin, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: California state lawmakers returned to their capitol on Monday to advance new congressional maps that could potentially net them five additional seats in next year's midterm elections. This is all in response to Texas' move where Republicans are also pushing ahead their own congressional map to give them a five-seat advantage in the Lone Star State.

Democrats in California, in a press conference on Monday, saying this was a necessary response to an unprecedented power grab from those Republicans.

ROBERT RIVAS, CALIFORNIA HOUSE DEMOCRAT: As Californians, we have a message. We have had enough of this nonsense and we're not going to allow these abuses of power to go on unchallenged any longer. These redrawn districts that we're putting before our voters are a temporary response -- a temporary response to Trump's power grab. They are designed to even the playing field until this threat to our democracy ends.

CONTORNO: Unlike in Texas, California Democrats have some additional roadblocks. They will need their own voters to approve of this plan, and that is because there is an independent redistricting commission in California that is mandated by the state constitution. And lawmakers will essentially be asking their voters to temporarily disband that constitutional amendment and let them choose the maps up until 2030.

Now, Republicans are planning a response. We've already heard from some of the opposition, including former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

House Speaker Mike Johnson also saying that he intends to put to House resources to fight this plan, saying "I have instructed the NRCC to use every measure and resource possible to fight the California Democrats' illegal power grab."

California lawmakers will have to act quickly. The Secretary of State in California gives them until Friday to make sure this is on the ballot in November. We expect them to hear these bills in committee this week and with final passage slated for Thursday.

Steve Contorno, CNN, Sacramento, California. (END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Steve and Arlette, thank you so much.

All right. The Atlantic hurricane season is starting to pick up and just ahead we have the latest on Hurricane Erin, the category 3 storm that's prompted tropical storm watches in the Bahamas and the U.S.

Stay with us.

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[05:57:47]

FREEMAN: The U.S. National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm watch for much of North Carolina's Outer Banks region. The category 3 storm could bring large waves and coastal flooding to parts of the coast this week and has already triggered rip current warnings along the Eastern Seaboard.

Amy Kiley has the latest on the first storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

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BOBBY OUTTEN, DARE COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA MANAGER: It's going to be a problem.

AMY KILEY, CNN NEWSOURCE JOURNALIST (voiceover): Some areas along the East Coast are bracing for Hurricane Erin. Today, forecasters predict it will stay offshore. Tomorrow, towering waves and local flooding could impact North Carolina. Evacuations are underway in parts of the Outer Banks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know the drill and it's probably better to be safe than sorry.

KILEY (voiceover): Dare County is in the hurricane's crosshairs and it's under a state of emergency. Officials say some beach houses there are at risk.

OUTTEN: We needed to get the visitors and get our public out of there before those events occurred.

KILEY (voiceover): County officials say this evening's high tide could impede travel along the main highway of the island chain. They say hurricane waves could be worse.

DREW PEARSON, DARE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR: If the water doesn't roll back it's going to push up into our communities and up onto our infrastructure -- our highways, our roads.

KILEY (voiceover): Officials say that could cut off people later if they don't evacuate now.

OUTTEN: It could take out pavement and breach the road anywhere along Highway 12, then anything to the south of the breach you can't access.

KILEY (voiceover): A high risk of rip currents will continue up the Atlantic Seaboard through Thursday. Parts of Maryland could see 11- foot waves. Officials in New Jersey say water conditions there are dangerous already.

ED SCHNEIDER, WILDWOOD BEACH PATROL: We have a rip current warning, we have rough surf warning, we have storm warning, and conditions are bad.

KILEY (voiceover): I'm Amy Kiley reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: All right. Thank you, Amy, for that.

And finally this hour, some church members in Sweden will soon have to relocate. But not to worry. Their church is moving with them. This -- get a load of this. I love this story. This 600-ton, 113-year-old church in Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost city, is on a two-day journey to a new home.

[06:00:00]

On the left, that's some extra footage, and on the right, that's actually a live picture right there. A local mine operator organized the move using a specially built trailer.

Now, the city is home to the world's largest underground iron ore mine and as that mine expands, buildings like this one right here -- this church -- will need to move to keep them intact. In all, about 3,000 homes could be relocated as part of this project. And just look at how massive that is and it's on the move -- incredible. I hope it gets there safely.

Thank you so much for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Danny Freeman in Atlanta. "CNN THIS MORNING" starts right now.