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Isa Soares Tonight

Famine Officially Declared In Gaza; FBI Raids Former Trump Adviser Bolton's Home And Office; FBI Searches Home Of Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton; Soon: Congress To Receive First Jeffrey Epstein Files; Trump Says He'll Fire Fed Governor Cook If She Doesn't Resign; Canada Removing Many Retaliatory Tariffs On U.S. Goods; Trump Expresses Frustration At Progress Of Peace Efforts; Colombia: At Least 19 Killed In Bombing And Attack On Chopper. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired August 22, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

PAULA NEWTON, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: And a very warm welcome, everyone, I'm Paula Newton in for Isa Soares. Tonight, we are following two major

stories here. Famine has been officially declared in Gaza city. The U.N.- backed initiative says it's a direct result of Israel's actions. We'll have a live interview with a spokesperson for the U.N.'s Office of Humanitarian

Affairs inside Gaza. That after these headlines.

Plus, the FBI searching the home of Donald Trump's former National Security adviser, John Bolton, he's been a vocal critic of the U.S. President, and

it's the latest example of the Trump administration targeting perceived enemies. That story in just a moment. But we do begin tonight with only the

fifth official declaration of famine this century.

A man-made famine that the world watched unfold as warning after warning went unheeded. A U.N.-backed food security group says more than a half

million people in Gaza are now affected by famine, warning they face starvation, destitution and death. It's the first time the IPC has ever

declared famine in the Middle East.

The group says famine is present in Gaza city and its surrounding areas, warning it could spread south by the end of next month. Gaza's Health

Ministry says 273 people have died from starvation and malnutrition, and that includes 112 children. The U.N.'s top humanitarian official calls the

famine predictable and preventable, accusing Israel of systematically obstructing aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM FLETCHER, UNDER-SECRETARY FOR HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS, UNITED NATIONS: It is a famine in 2025, a 21st century famine watched over by drones and the

most advanced military technology in history. It is a famine openly promoted by some Israeli leaders as a weapon of war.

It is a famine on all of our watch. Everyone owns this. The Gaza famine is the world's famine. It is a famine that asks, but what did you do? A famine

that will and must haunt us all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now Amnesty International is calling on the world to block Israel's planned siege of Gaza city amid the famine, saying it would exponentially

intensify the suffering. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls the famine report an outright lie, saying Israel has no policy of starvation. The

U.N., though, says the evidence is irrefutable.

It's urging everyone to read the report, quote, "not as words and numbers, but as names and lives". Our Paula Hancocks shows us some of the lives

affected by starvation in Gaza, and of course, we warn you, her report contains extremely disturbing images, but this is a necessary report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Confirmation of what residents of Gaza already knew. This is famine.

FLETCHER: It is a famine. The Gaza famine. It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet, food stacks up at borders

because of systematic obstruction by Israel.

HANCOCKS: The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, says famine is confirmed in parts of Gaza including Gaza city, the site of a

major new Israeli offensive. The report says quote, "malnutrition threatens the lives of 132,000 children under five through June 2026."

The Israeli agency tasked with distributing aid into Gaza rejects the report as, quote, "false and biased", accusing it of relying on data from

Hamas. This family in Gaza city currently lives on the outskirts of a tent city. Confirmation of famine will come as no surprise to them.

Ali Salam al-Jidi(ph) is injured and cannot move easily. He fears the expected evacuation orders from Israel. "Where am I supposed to go?" He

says, "I don't even have a tent. I'm in the street. My son has to beg for a piece of bread to feed his siblings."

[14:05:00]

"There's nothing to eat", his daughter says. "When we go to the charity kitchen, they tell us the food is only for camp residents. My sisters cry

from hunger." Salam al-Jidi(ph) says her husband cannot walk without the help of her eldest daughter. They do not want to be forced to move yet

again. She says it is impossible for things to get worse than this.

(EXPLOSION)

The Israeli military is intensifying strikes on Gaza city ahead of its planned takeover. This strike, on a school filled with displaced, Friday.

The head of the emergency services in northern Gaza says at least a dozen were killed, many of them children. We have asked the IDF for comment.

Israel's Prime Minister says Gaza city is one of the last strongholds of Hamas, and occupying the city is the fastest way to end this war. But this

is one of the areas hundreds of thousands from Gaza city will be forced to move to. An Israeli airstrike hits a displacement camp in central Gaza just

30 minutes after the military issued an evacuation order.

As emergency crews rush in, people are still packing up, trying to escape. Mohamed al-Kahlout(ph) pulls a bag of flour from the debris of where his

tent once stood. "I have to start all over again", he says. In one or two months, the same will happen. You live somewhere, you think you are safe

and you get struck again.

A rare protest in Gaza city called for Israel to abandon its planned takeover. This man called on the U.S. President to intervene. "We say to

Donald Trump", he says, "if you care about the Nobel Peace Prize, you must stop all the wars, starting with the war on Gaza, which has claimed

thousands of our lives."

SAMI ABU SALEM, JOURNALIST: We are ordinary people. We are facing several wars, war of rockets, war of bombs, war of hunger, war of thirst and war of

displacement.

HANCOCKS: A desperate appeal to the world to wake up and break their silence. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now, we will, of course, get back to that story in a moment, and we will try and connect with the United Nations in Gaza. But in the meantime,

more on the stunning court ordered FBI searches in the home and office of former Trump National Security adviser John Bolton. Sources tell CNN, the

searches are part of an investigation into whether Bolton disclosed classified information in his book, "The Room Where It Happened", released

in 2020.

Now, at the time, the President threatened to jail Bolton over that book. Earlier, President Trump told reporters, he, quote, "knows nothing about

the search". Since leaving the administration in 2019, Bolton has been a frequent and vocal critic of the President, including here on CNN. Earlier

today, Bolton slammed the stalled talks between Russia and Ukraine, and wrote that the meetings will continue because Trump wants a Nobel Peace

Prize.

CNN's senior justice correspondent Evan Perez is outside of Bolton's home in Bethesda, Maryland for us. Evan, can you bring us right to date -- right

up to date? Because as I understand it, the FBI has been out there for several hours already. And of course, this is, you know, a court-sanctioned

event, right? They went to a judge before they went in there to make sure they had the legal authority to do so.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. They have a court -- they had a court order to conduct this search. And now, we're at

hour seven of this search by FBI agents. And we just saw a few of the agents leave the home. There's still a couple of people here, and it's not

clear what else is happening here.

We saw earlier during this -- during the activity, we saw agents going in with boxes, document boxes, as if to retrieve items from the home. We've

also seen them reposition some of these vehicles. Let me just give you a little bit of a look at the house here, we are outside of Washington. This

is a suburb of Washington in Bethesda, Maryland.

And what we've seen agents do come in and out of the home again. They've been here for seven hours already. There is a separate search also ongoing

in downtown Washington, where Bolton maintains a private office. Agents showed up there sometime a couple of hours after they started doing the

search here.

Now, as you pointed out, this is all a national security investigation. What agents are doing, we're told by sources, is looking into whether John

Bolton mishandled national security information, classified documents which would have been related to the 2020 book that he published near the end of

the Trump administration.

You remember, of course, that this was part of a criminal investigation at the time, it ended early in the Biden administration. I was told at the

time that officials viewed it as a very difficult case, as a very weak case. But that ended with no charges. Now, what we don't know is whether

there are any new allegations, whether there's any new information that has come into the FBI, that has prompted this renewed interest in this issue.

[14:10:00]

Now, it is one possibility that the materials that are in question, if John Bolton still possesses them, that would continue to be a legal violation,

at least, on the -- in the view of the Justice Department. So, it is possible that even though it's five years since that first investigation

occurred, that they still viewed this as something that is a legal violation.

Again, very little information from the government as to exactly what specifically they're looking at. But again, the search has entered into

seventh hour, we believe Bolton was not here when this first began. He was downtown at his office where agents later met him. Back to you.

NEWTON: OK, and Perez there still on the scene for us as that search continues, we will get updates from you in the coming minutes and hours.

Now, we though, we do want to go to all of the issues that this brings up. Joey Jackson; CNN legal analyst is with us. I mean, Joey, let's start from

the beginning, right? In terms of the legal documents you have to have, the authority you have to have to go in there.

What happened there, and what kind of evidence would they have to show to prove that they had a right to go in and search both the residence and the

office?

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Paula, good to be with you. The answer is not much. Remember that in any criminal investigation where

you're looking for a warrant, the standard is very low. It says probable cause. Now, many have heard of what that is. Probable cause is just legally

sufficient information that there has or may have been or could be a crime that was committed, and that the subject of the warrant committed it.

And so, it's not as if, for example, you have beyond a reasonable doubt there's any type of crime that there is absolutely a crime, but just that

you're looking into that, that gets you the ability to have a court sanctioned warrant. And so, we should hasten to say that there are many

warrants that are issued by magistrates and judges on a daily basis to investigate crimes.

Many lead to criminal prosecutions. Many do not lead to criminal prosecutions. And so, if this all stemmed from a book that, of course,

Bolton; the former National Security adviser may have written, then you could go to a magistrate and swear out an oath or affirmation indicating

that this information had to come from a particular place, particularly some kind of private document.

And based upon that, you could convince a judge that maybe there's something there, and that would then allow the FBI to go in and make the

search of his home and his office as we're seeing done here.

NEWTON: Stand by for us, Joey. We do want to go to CNN senior national security analyst now, Juliette Kayyem. Juliette, I'm sure you've been

watching this quite closely, and I'm wondering what your thoughts are from a national security perspective here. Again, he was a high ranking national

security official.

There's already been a case that has investigated whether or not he leaked these documents. What would be the purpose of this now, in terms of again,

safeguarding America's intelligence?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: It's hard to see what the harm would be if it has to do with publication of a book that's

already been wildly popular, that people have read. And so, in terms of -- are there national security secrets that I, as someone in the field, would

be nervous about at this stage?

It's a couple years later if there was any harm. Arguably, we would have known about it by now. I think the national security implications are two-

fold. One is clearly, this is an intimidation tactic, that this is just something that whether true or false, it is no surprise to anyone that it's

John Bolton, a frequent critic of Trump.

Trump is a frequent critic of his. And even if Trump didn't direct this investigation, certainly, we know his people at the FBI, leadership at the

FBI and Pam Bondi; the Attorney General, certainly know what Trump wants. He may not have to direct it, and Trump almost said as much in his press

conference this morning.

The second is just the unreliable -- I want to make this clear for our allies and for CNN International. The madness that seems to be surrounding

national security right now with this, giving and taking of security clearances, is sort of -- part, you know, part of like, what is the

strategy with Ukraine? You know, the back-and-forth, all of it, right?

And this now in terms of this unreliability of what used to be viewed as a relatively stable national security apparatus in the United States, we did

not used to have this of Democrats -- and Republicans would serve presidents in different terms. Career civil servants would not have their

national security clearances taken away as we've seen.

[14:15:00]

Tulsi Gabbard; the head of the -- of our Intelligence do, and that I think from the -- from the -- what does this mean for the United States? That's

my biggest worry, is we look unstable as a security apparatus, and that is because of moves like this by the Trump administration.

NEWTON: Yes, and you point out that all of these moves, you said it before, it takes resources and those resources may be taken away from other files

that are of critical importance here. You mentioned the FBI Director Kash Patel, he did put out a statement on social media, almost as the FBI was

arriving at that house that you see right there.

He said, no one is above the law. FBI agents on mission. Juliette, though, reviewers will remember, the President just mentioned it himself last hour,

his home, Mar-a-Lago, was also searched. Joe Biden's home was also searched. There is a precedent here in terms of really trying to assure

that national security documents, national security secrets are held as they should be.

KAYYEM: Yes, and that's why I think both of us right now are sort of like, we don't -- we haven't seen the elements of what it is that they're

alleging. But I will say this, if you're the Trump administration, you would probably want to put your best foot forward at this stage, knowing

that people would be skeptical of an indictment or an investigation of John Bolton, given how much we know the President has weaponized it, and nothing

I have seen so far would suggest there was anything new or pressing in the allegations.

This is a couple years old book. It was a closed investigation. He had gotten authority and approval to publish the book. Look, I want to say one

thing, people make mistakes, too. Let's just assume something happened where John Bolton made a mistake. And maybe he took a file or is still in

possession of a file he shouldn't be.

You would -- in most instances, especially for national security adviser, you would -- you would call them and say, what about this document? And

generally, they would say, oops, I have this document and there wouldn't be a televised FBI raid -- you know, hinted by the FBI director in the moments

after for TVs to see.

I mean, this is -- this is done in daylight for a reason. And so, the performative nature of this allows me and others who certainly, you know,

we weren't born yesterday to raise healthy skepticism about the merits, the objectivity and the -- and the strength of whatever case the administration

is going to come up with.

NEWTON: Yes, and to make a fine point of it, it must be chilling in the sense of anyone thinking of serving at this level, right? I mean, Juliette,

I look at you, if someone called you back into government right now, what would you say at this point?

KAYYEM: Right, well, I mean, you know, part of it is just -- your tolerance level for something like this. We've all -- I mean, all of us on TV are

constantly attacked about, you know what -- you know what we say and our children are mentioned online and we've all changed the way that we -- you

know, I don't put my kids anywhere.

Things like that, that you're learning in terms of what it means to be in this world. But I think that, that is the long-term consequences of this,

is that, you're going to get people who now view going into national security or intelligence akin to running for office. Well, there's a reason

why they chose not to run for office, is because they want to -- out the public scrutiny.

And I think that, that will change. And you're kind of seeing it already. I mean, the FBI has already admitted it's lowering its standards for new

people coming in. ICE is paying people to join ICE, that's our immigration agency. I mean, you're starting to see the impact of attacks on civil

servants and career servants in the safety security space.

NEWTON: Joey Jackson, in terms of the legal issues here, we heard Evan Perez say that, look, this investigation before about his book did

continue, but he -- John Bolton submitted this book to National Security officials. Apparently, there was a discrepancy as to whether or not it was

actually cleared. Joey, do you believe that they would have had to show new information, new credible information on this issue in order to even get

permission to search these two properties?

JACKSON: So, Paula, in normal times, I would say yes, to that. We are not in normal times. And what do I mean by that? You know, we have a situation

where you have the head of the FBI tweeting, right? We haven't seen that before. And although, he didn't mention Bolton by name, it certainly was

often concerning him.

There's this doctrine of law called often concerning. And so, I was on CNN International, the time was 2:19, this gentleman was on -- well, you may

not call me a gentleman, but it was 2:19 and et cetera.

[14:20:00]

But the point I'm making, right? And I was with someone else who was an esteemed national security expert, you don't have to mention Juliette

Kayyem. You don't have to mention me. We know who you're talking about. Then you have the Vice President that's re-tweeting it. That smacks of

politics. That's a problem.

Why do I say that? Because, generally-speaking, when you have investigations, they're insulated. Everything's done above board. You're

not looking to mug for the cameras so that everyone could be seeing an actual search go through and an embarrassment and humiliation associated

with it.

And by the way, he happens to be a critic of the president, a major critic, and he was fired about six years ago in September of 2019. And so, this

just smacks of just political, right? Just political gamesmanship and retribution against the enemies. Now, again, a lot we don't know,

potentially there is new information. Potentially, they brought that information to a judge or maybe they're being overly cautious, and there's

some kind of new founded really focus on national security information.

And we should hasten to add, they looked into Biden as well. His place was searched in Delaware. There were no charges brought. President Trump was

certainly indicted for this classified information. But at the same time, I just think that the look of it is horrific. And I'm just hopeful that

that's not the case, that they do have this information.

They're looking into it, and they're being extra cautious that we can protect the country. Safety is a very important thing, and perhaps that's

what they're doing. I pray that's what they're doing. It certainly just doesn't look like that.

NEWTON: Yes, and we will wait to see how this unfolds. Joey Jackson, you are a wise gentleman, in fact, and Juliette Kayyem, always grateful for

both of your insights --

JACKSON: Appreciate it --

KAYYEM: Two-twenty one, it's 2:21 --

(LAUGHTER)

NEWTON: Exactly, thank you both as we --

JACKSON: Thank you --

NEWTON: Continue to follow this story. Now, after a federal takeover of the Washington D.C. police force, U.S. President Donald Trump says Chicago is

next, and then New York, in what he's calling the administration's crackdown on crime. Now, critics say the militarization of America is now

underway.

The President says it's all about making the streets of these cities, these Democratic cities safer after.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: After we do this, we'll go to another location and we'll make it safer also. We're going to make our

country very safe. We're going to make our cities very safe. Chicago is a mess. You have an incompetent mayor. Grossly incompetent, and we'll

straighten that one out, probably next. That will be our next one after this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: We should say the President is also threatening to declare a national emergency, so he can keep troops in Washington D.C. for as long as

he wants. It comes on the same day the Pentagon announced that National Guard troops currently on the streets there will be armed. OK, still to

come to -- for us, we continue with our top story here.

An official declaration of famine in Gaza. We'll speak with the spokesperson for the U.N. Humanitarian Affairs Office, to tell us what they

are going through on the ground. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:00]

NEWTON: And we do go back to our top story now. An official declaration of famine in Gaza. U.N.-backed food security group says more than half a

million people in Gaza city and its surrounding areas are affected by famine. It's the first time the IPC has ever declared famine in the Middle

East.

The U.N. Human Rights office says what's missing is not the ability to respond to this famine, but the political will to allow it. And we want to

go live now to Gaza, where we're joined by Olga Cherevko is a spokesperson for the U.N. Humanitarian Affairs Office in Gaza. We had some connection

problems earlier.

We go to her now, though, she is on the phone, and I want to ask you, what is so alarming about this report is the fact that they say this will get

worse in the coming weeks or months. What are you seeing there already on the ground?

OLGA CHEREVKO, SPOKESPERSON, U.N. HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS OFFICE IN GAZA (via telephone): Thanks, Paula. That's exactly it. You know, as horrifying as it

is, this confirmation, it is not surprising. And this is something that we have been warning about for many months. And we are just seeing the

situation unravel and deteriorate to the point as unprecedented levels.

And of course, every possible worst scenario has played out so far in the way that we have said that it will play out unless the situation changes,

and it continues to really spiral downward. And it will continue to do so unless, as we said, we are enabled to deliver ample assistance to the

people in need using our community-based mechanisms, using -- being able to deliver it at scale, and increasing really, the volumes of supplies that

are entering.

NEWTON: Olga, you know, the aid, as CNN saw earlier this week with Becky Anderson on the ground, the aid is a mere few miles away from you right

now. There is a there -- with this declaration, is there any hope that perhaps you will get more attention and be able to bring in that aid, where

before it has been held up really at checkpoints, and many times just rejected and sent back through to Egypt?

CHEREVKO: That's exactly it. You know, I think if this doesn't, I don't know what will, because we have been shouting from every rooftop to change

the situation, and we have been doing everything in our power to make sure that we're picking up the supplies that we can, and bringing it to the

people.

But the problem is, we are still far below the levels where we need to be, and we are still facing massive impediments. I was just on a mission two

days ago, and you know, it was the shortest mission I believe that I've had so far in this war, and it took 12 hours. So, it's 12 hours. Most of the

hours are spent waiting for an authorization to move.

And this is day-in-and-day-out. So, unless these impediments are removed and we're able to deliver it in a safe and sustained and predictable

manner, we are just going to continue seeing the worsening of the -- of the situation.

NEWTON: Yes, and as you said, a long mission of danger to you and others. I do want to ask you, what do families tell you at this point about even

trying to get to some of these community food collection points?

CHEREVKO: You know, everyone is terrified about what is happening, what will happen, what could happen. And of course, this looming offensive with

the strikes already intensifying and more displacement taking place. Really, people are at a loss. I was actually just speaking to a friend of

mine just before this interview, and he was telling me how he's trying to figure out how they're going to survive, he and his family.

And how he's going to continue feeding them and finding food for them because everything is just out of reach, and just it doesn't seem to have a

limit in how bad it's going to get.

NEWTON: In terms of -- you had said, if this doesn't do it, what will? What would be your message now to the allies? The allies that have in the face

of Israel have said to them, look, you must allow aid into Gaza. You know, there is another organization there backed up by Israel and the United

States that said that they want to work with the U.N. to continue to try and bring food there.

[14:30:20]

CHEREVKO: Well, our message is clear, and that is let us work. Let us bring in aid and supplies through all crossings, through all the corridors and in

with conditions in place that allow us to deliver it at scale. And again, this is something that we have been appealing all along. And of course,

ultimately it needs a permanent ceasefire and of course the release of all hostages and anyone arbitrarily detained immediately and unconditionally.

NEWTON: Olga Cherevko, we will leave it there. We thank you for your perspective tonight.

CHEREVKO: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, still to come for us, U.S. markets reacting to a potential interest rate cut. We'll tell you what Fed Chair Jerome Powell is saying.

Plus, Canada's prime minister delivering some good news for many U.S. goods. But American steel and aluminum, not on the list. We'll explain

next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:02]

NEWTON: And we return now to a developing story we're watching this hour. The FBI executing search warrants at the home and office of former National

Security Adviser John Bolton. Bolton working alongside President Trump during his first term, but was fired in 2019. Sources tell CNN the searches

are connected to the scathing book Bolton wrote after leaving the White House.

The President has repeatedly claimed classified information was revealed in that book, and that is entitled The Room Where It Happened. Addressing the

searches earlier, President Trump made his feelings about his former adviser quite clear. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm not a fan of John Bolton. He's a real -- sort of a low life. When I hired him, he served a good

purpose. He's a not a smart guy, but he could be a very unpatriotic guy. I mean, we're going to find out. I know nothing about it. I just saw it this

morning they did a raid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, of course, we'll continue to follow this story. You see there, John Bolton returning to his home. Not exactly sure how many FBI personnel

was already on hand. He declined to comment as you can see there, but we will continue to update you if there are any more developments.

Now, anytime now, the U.S. Justice Department is expected to hand over to Congress some records related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Justice Department missed a deadline earlier this week after a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee, saying it needed more time to redact

sensitive information. Chairman James Comer says his goal is to release the files quickly, and he says he'll be working with the White House.

One of Epstein's most prominent vocal accusers, Virginia Giuffre, has died by suicide earlier this year. Giuffre's brother and sister-in-law told CNN

how she fought for so many survivors. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANDA ROBERTS, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: I think that's her legacy, right? It wasn't just, you know, the exposure, but then beyond

exposure is accountability. And one of our very last conversations, she told me like, my files are sitting at the Southern District Courts right

now waiting to be unsealed. And that was her fight. And that is the fight of all survivors, right? Let's expose these monsters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And it is some of those very documents right now that are -- that Democrats and Republicans are fighting to be released.

Now, we turn to U.S. markets and they're reacting positively over the possibility of a rate cut in September. This comes after Fed Chair Jerome

Powell suggested cuts could be on the way. Powell warns this ultimately depends on a few economic reports. That's ahead of the Fed's next meeting

in mid-September. It would be the first cut since December if it happens. As you can see, the Dow there reacting positively.

Also making headlines though, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has been accused of illegally claiming two homes as her primary address. President

Donald Trump is now speaking out about her future. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to fire Lisa Cook, the Fed governor, over her --

TRUMP: Yes, I'd fire her. If she doesn't resign, yes. She's -- she -- what she did was bad. So, I'll fire her if she doesn't resign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Canada now seems to be backing down faced with pressure over U.S. tariffs. On Thursday, President Trump spoke with Canadian Prime Minister

Mark Carney. And just a short time ago, Mr. Carney said he is lifting retaliatory tariffs placed on several U.S. goods. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: I'm announcing today that the Canadian government will now match -- we will now match the United States by

removing all of Canada's tariffs on U.S. goods specifically covered under CUSMA. Canada currently has the best trade deal with the United States. And

while it's different from what we had before, it is still better than that of any other country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: The move is seen as a goodwill gesture to jumpstart stalled trade talks. However, the 25 percent tariff on U.S. steel and aluminum as well on

American cars, that remains in effect for now.

Joining us with the latest is CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich. I do want to turn to this issue of the Fed first, right? I mean, certainly you know, a speech

that was well-received, but it was glaring to me that President Trump didn't make a comment on the fact that perhaps finally there would be the

interest rate cuts he's been looking for, but instead really took shots at a woman who, you know, Fed governor there who's been accused of something,

but she says that she will continue to fight those charges.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's sort of like better late than never is not good enough. That is the indication

that President Trump gave in the Oval Office just a short time ago. But really for the first time, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome

Powell, signaling that a rate cut could be on the horizon. You saw the Dow just really, really spiked today, up more than 900 points at one point.

Really well on its way to its first record of 2025.

Investors loving that. And investors now pricing in that rate cut coming as soon as September. About 90 percent chance that a rate cut is coming in the

month of September at the Fed's next meeting. That's up dramatically from the 58 percent chance that we saw a month ago that investors were pricing

in.

[14:40:22]

In this speech, Powell very much talked about the fact that tariffs were having an impact on prices. And he talked about the labor market and

described it as curious and unusual because there was both a lack of demand and supply of workers. He said that inflation has likely -- has largely

rather been steady but still far away from that two percent target rate.

And then he went on to remind the audience he was speaking to in Jackson Hole about the Federal Reserve's independence. Listen to what he said about

that potential interest rate cut and that Fed independence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEROME POWELL, CHAIRMAN, FEDERAL RESERVE: With policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may

warrant adjusting our policy stance. Monetary policy is not on a preset course. FOMC members will make these decisions based solely on their

assessment of the data and its implications for the economic outlook and the balance of risks. We will never deviate from that approach.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YURKEVICH: And as Jerome Powell was speaking in Jackson Hole, President Trump was speaking to reporters and as you mentioned said that he would

fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook if she did not resign. The DOJ currently has a probe looking at whether or not she committed mortgage fraud. For her part,

she said that she's gathering the accurate information to answer any legitimate questions and provide the facts.

But of course, Paula, President Trump has kind of backed off going after Jerome Powell. He said he will not fire him. But clearly the board is open

game for the president.

NEWTON: Yes. And again, as you've pointed out me many times, it's the politicization of something that is supposed to be completely independent

that people fear here.

Vanessa, before I let you go, look, Canada, basically this was a climb down on retaliatory tariffs. The President has said, look, if you don't take

these off, we are not discussing anything anymore. But it is interesting because it is also an admission by Canada and Mark Carney that look tariffs

in the United States are here to stay. And one of the reasons might be the Congressional Budget Office, right, that just came out today saying that

while average tariffs are around 18 percent, they say the United States is going to take in even more money than they thought by charging these

tariffs.

YURKEVICH: Yes, certainly. And this is something that we heard the president really sort of talking up is that he believes that tariffs are

going to be quite beneficial for the United States in paying down the federal deficit. We know according to this CBO report that over the next 10

years tariffs are essentially going to raise about $4 trillion towards the federal deficit every year. And currently, the federal deficit is $1.6

trillion. So, obviously it's much smaller than the ballooning deficit over 10 years. But just worth pointing out, Paula, that all of this money coming

into the United States collected by Customs and Border Protection is being paid for by U.S. importers and U.S. businesses.

So, while yes, the U.S. is raising money to try to bring down the deficit, it is at the cost of businesses and ultimately their decision about whether

to pass those costs down to the U.S. consumer, Paula.

NEWTON: Yes. And important that you mention that because a tariff by any other name is actually a tax even though Donald Trump has promised no new

taxes. Vanessa Yurkevich for us in New York, I really appreciate it.

OK, still to come for us tonight, one week later and still no Putin- Zelenskyy meeting. Details ahead on why the Kremlin will not commit to any high stakes summit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:46:32]

NEWTON: Hard to believe, right? Exactly one week ago, U.S. President Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin down a red carpet in Alaska.

Despite all the diplomatic talks in the days that followed, peace efforts still appear to be going absolutely nowhere. In the last hour, Mr. Trump

spoke on his frustrations over this war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I thought this would be in the middle of the pack in terms of difficulty. Now, I'm not happy about anything about that war. Nothing. Not

happy at all. We'll see what happens. I think over the next two weeks, we're going to find out which way it's going to go, and I better be very

happy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, Russia's foreign minister says no bilateral meeting has been lined up between Mr. Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The

Kremlin says the Russian leader is willing to meet with Mr. Zelenskyy, but only under certain conditions which have not yet been met. The Ukrainian

leader now urging Western security guarantees to be similar to NATO's Article Five, which says that an attack on one member of the alliance is an

attack on all.

Now, with the path to peace seemingly far out of reach, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting back against potential Russian advances. Ben Wedeman is

tracking the story from Southeastern Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): A Russian train full of fuel goes up in a blaze of fire and smoke struck by Ukrainian

drones. This new era of warfare combines high tech with close quarters combat harkening back to the First World War. The same brigade that took

part in the train strike is also fighting in the trenches.

Infantry squad commander, Yevgeni, returned at 5:00 in the morning from a deadly six-man attack on a Russian position.

One of my men was killed, he says. Two took shrapnel. Two of us got concussions from drone attacks and mortar fire.

His men managed to kill a Russian soldier, then had to withdraw and came here well underground where the war is barely audible. This complex of

bunkers and trenches is not the front line. It's well away in the rear. The purpose is that they will be ready in the event the Russians push forward.

And what we're hearing from senior Ukrainian officials is that they fear that the Russians are preparing for a major push in the Zaporizhzhia area.

Until then, this is where troops from the 65th Mechanized Brigade rest and recuperate. Cramped and stuffy yet safe. The cats welcomed company, also

keeping the mice at bay.

They're resting up for their next mission, defending the town of Orikhiv, or what's left of it. Only 800 of its original 14,000 residents remain.

Olexander is the only handyman left. Theres plenty to keep him busy.

Windows, doors, roofs. You can see for yourself. Everything needs repairs, he says.

In the town's post office, the last vestige of normalcy, we meet Ludmila, who lives alone with her two dogs. Her day started with shelling.

When it hit, I thought that was the end of everything, she says.

To lighten her mood, I share pictures of hobbies and pets.

[14:50:11]

WEDEMAN: These are my potatoes.

WEDEMAN (voiceover): Communicating in a linguistic hodgepodge.

WEDEMAN: Not too bad.

WEDEMAN (voiceover): We shared a laugh. Her dog, Alpha, shell-shocked, was unmoved.

Far away as the powerful talk war and peace. Here the powerless can only hold on and hope to live another day.

Ben Weedman, CNN, Orikhiv, Southern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And we'll be right back with more news in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: In Colombia, at least 19 people are dead after an attack on a police helicopter and a suspected car bombing near a military base. Now,

both attacks happened Thursday. Officials say the helicopter was hit by a drone in the Antioquia region, killing 13 people. Now, the bombing happened

in the city of Cali, killing six. It's unclear if the two attacks are actually related. Authorities are describing them both as terrorism.

I want to bring in CNN Espanol's Juan Carlos Lopez who joins us now from Washington. I know you've been following this story closely, but it is

stunning to me the way drones were involved in at least one of these attacks.

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN ON ESPANOL U.S. AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR AND ANCHOR: It's just a technology that reached this conflict. And even though these

are large-scale attacks, the helicopter was aiding the fight on coca eradication, the Air Force base is in the middle of a city. Now, it's

interesting, the current Minister of Defense is a recently retired Air Force general. So, many signals, many signs could be sent with these

attacks, but they're all part of the same conflict.

In recent weeks, there have been all kinds of lesser attacks, but similarly violent. And it has to do with the 2016 peace process, which saw FARC, who

was of the largest rebel group, disarmed, but many splinter groups remained. And now they control the drug trade. Apparently, these groups are

fighting the government for attention, apparently for concessions, and Colombia is in the middle of an electoral year.

Now, remember, not too long ago, senator and presidential hopeful Miguel Uribe was assassinated. It seems that this is all part of that same

process, Paula, of looking for concessions from the government. President Petro declared these as terrorist attacks and he's asked his government and

the world to declare these splinter groups as terrorist organizations to fight them. He was trying to negotiate peace with them recently.

So, it's just part of what could be a very complicated upcoming year in Colombia hearkening back to very violent times two and three decades ago.

[14:55:25]

NEWTON: Yes, very disconcerting especially when you see the type of violence. It's really terrible there right now. Juan Carlos Lopez for us in

Washington, thank you.

And we have some information just into CNN. We are learning that the Justice Department has released a transcript of the interview that Deputy

Attorney General Todd Blanche conducted with Ghislaine Maxwell. Now, she will at this point in time, you'll remember, she was transferred to a

minimum security prison in Texas, and there are a lot of questions about that as well.

We will cover all of this in the next hour. Stay with CNN. What we know with Max Foster is next.

END