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One World with Zain Asher
Diplomatic Efforts Punctuated by Acute Famine; Ukraine: At Least 33 People Injured after Strike on Kharkiv; Trump Was Told His Name Appears in Epstein Files; Israel Recalls Negotiations to Discuss Hamas Counterproposal; Death Toll from Texas Floods Rises to at least 136; Secret Tunnel City Found Under Rome. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired July 24, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: There is growing optimism for a Gaza ceasefire deal today. We'll fill you in. "One World" starts right now. A
possible ceasefire deal can't come soon enough, as starvation is rampant and new scenes of utter devastation are emerging in Gaza, with the U.N.
describing the population there as walking corpses.
Plus, with the threat of U.S. tariffs looming, two world powers who have yet to reach new trade deals with the Trump Administration, are holding
their own summit today. And the push to protect people from the next severe flooding event in the U.S. We'll look at what scientists are doing to get
ahead of a future deadly storm.
Hello, everyone. Live from New York. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching "One World". There is a flurry of diplomatic
activity this hour, all in hopes of ending the bloodshed and dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. A source tells CNN there's growing optimism
that talks between Hamas and Israel will progress.
Hamas just submitted what the source calls a positive response to Israel's latest ceasefire proposal. In fact, Israel has recalled its negotiating
team from talks in Qatar to discuss this Hamas counterproposal. And U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, is in Italy for talks there as well.
A diplomatic source says that they could include a new mechanism to deliver aid, and it can't come soon enough. Famine in Gaza grows worse every day.
The health ministry there warns that 900,000 children are going hungry, and the Head of the World Health Organization calls it a man-made mass
starvation.
Israel denies creating the famine in Gaza. Israeli President Isaac Herzog was in Gaza earlier and puts the blame on Hamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAELI PRESIDENT: We are acting here according to international law. We are providing humanitarian aid according to
international law, the ones trying to sabotage this aid are Hamas and its people who are willing to do everything to prevent our forces from
dismantling infrastructure that could harm us and our citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Meanwhile, refugees who were forced to evacuate their tent camps in Deir al-Balah returned to find nothing left after an Israeli military
assault there. Jeremy Diamond joins us now live from Tel Aviv. Also, obviously, the families of those hostages are also quite concerned about
the state of these ceasefire hostage negotiation talks.
Jeremy, as we noted, Israel has recalled its team there from Qatar, perhaps an optimistic sign, as they're evaluating Hamas' latest proposal, and Steve
Witkoff in Europe on these talks as well. What is the very latest?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the latest, Bianna, is that there is a sense of optimism still from sources who we're talking to
about the state of these negotiations, but it's also very clear that these are fragile talks, and there has been a lot of start and stop momentum in
these negotiations.
The latest indeed, is that the Israeli Prime Minister's Office has announced that the negotiating team in Doha, Qatar has been called back to
Israel in order to engage in further consultations. It wasn't clear initially whether this was a positive or negative indication, but I've now
spoken with an Israeli source familiar with the negotiation says that the decision to recall this team is not an indication of a crisis in these
talks.
But rather that certain decisions need to be made about the state of negotiations that can't be done remotely, and so that negotiating team is
coming back to Israel to engage in further discussions. I spoke with another official with knowledge of these talks, who characterized Hamas'
response last night to this latest ceasefire proposal as positive.
And that this individual, this official, said that there is a growing sense of optimism that while there still are gaps between these two sides, that
those gaps are narrowing, and that the Hamas response may allow these two sides to actually close them. But it is also clear, Bianna, that there are
still a number of issues that keep coming back into the discussions, even when we think that you know, the issue of humanitarian aid, for example,
has been resolved.
We're now learning that, once again, it is a subject of conversation with discussion centering around a potential new aid mechanism for Gaza that
would allow the United Nations to bring that aid in, but that would also address some of the security concerns that the Israelis have raised in the
past.
[11:05:00]
And that's just a reminder that, you know, until there is an agreement on all of the above, until there is a ceasefire deal that has actually been
reached, everything remains up for negotiation, and that is indeed what we are witnessing right now. We also know that there are still discussions
around the movement and the withdrawal of Israeli troops during that 60-day ceasefire period.
And of course, the fact that Steve Witkoff is in Italy now set to meet with Qatari and Israeli officials is an indication that they are trying to now
close those gaps with quite a senior push from the Trump Administration. We will see whether they can get there. But there's no question that there is
so much riding on the line right now, Bianna, as you well know.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, so two tracks going forward there simultaneously in Doha and also in Sardinia and Europe there with Steve Witkoff leading the U.S.
during these negotiations. And Jeremy, as it relates to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, you had mentioned even yesterday that there were some 900
trucks at the border waiting to go with much needed aid and food supply. What is the status of getting more aid into the enclave now?
DIAMOND: Yeah, that's right. There are some 900 trucks on the Gaza side of that Kerem Shalom crossing, according to Israeli officials. The Israelis
have pointed that out as a way of trying to shift the blame of this starvation crisis that is happening in Gaza right now to the United Nations
and humanitarian aid organizations, rather than on themselves.
And it is important to note, before we get into those claims, that pretty much everyone who has studied this issue closely, who has been involved,
including Israeli allies, such as Canada, the United Kingdom, France, et cetera. They all place the blame for what we are seeing in Gaza right now
at the feet of the Israeli government.
The months of policies that we have seen that have restricted the type of aid that can go in, where it can go in from in Gaza. And then there is this
issue of the internal coordination within the Gaza Strip for the movement of these trucks. And that's what we heard the U.N. spokesman Stephane
Dujarric address yesterday, following these claims from the Israelis about these 950 trucks at Kerem Shalom.
He said that it's true those trucks are there, but he said Kerem Shalom is not some McDonald's drive through where we can just go and pick these up.
And he said that instead, what he and the United Nations are confronting is a very onerous system, a very bureaucratic system with a number of checks
that the Israelis want to go through.
And the lack of coordination is what we have been hearing repeatedly from a number of humanitarian aid organizations, not just the United Nations who
say that the Israelis aren't providing sufficient safe routes to be able to go and pick those trucks up and then distribute them inside of Gaza.
And as these meetings are happening between U.N. officials and Israeli officials, as these ceasefire talks are happening, we are watching more
people continue to die of starvation in Gaza in just the last 24 hours, two more Palestinians died at Al Shifa Hospital.
And we are also hearing from doctors on the ground who say that they themselves are struggling to get food to be able to treat patients with one
vascular surgeon saying he collapsed as he was doing surgery due to exhaustion, hunger and low blood sugar.
The way that he kept going, Bianna, he found a spoonful of sugar, stirred it into tea, and kept going.
GOLODRYGA: Wow. I mean, just these stories and these headlines. We'll be speaking with a doctor in Gaza in our next hour as well, to just give us
more sense of what this unfolding tragedy is like for them. On the ground, it's one thing to collect 900 trucks worth of food, it's quite another to
be able to distribute them to everyone who needs it.
Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much. And we'll have much more on this developing story later in our hour with our Political and Global Affairs
Analyst Barak Ravid. And let's turn now to tensions that are escalating between Thailand and Cambodia. Clashes broke out this morning in six
locations along their shared 800-kilometer land border.
Thailand has also launched air strikes against Cambodian military targets. Thai officials say at least 12 people have been killed. Both countries have
recalled their ambassadors and are urging citizens near the border to return home as soon as possible. Now this violence marks a significant
escalation, following brief clashes and land mine explosions along the border since May. Our Will Ripley has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rocket slams into a 7-Eleven near a gas station in Thailand's Sisaket Province.
The Thai military says it was fired from Cambodia, just miles away. Local officials say the number of dead is expected to rise.
In Thailand's nearby Surin province gunfire, families, children scramble. An eight-year-old boy killed. The Thai military says this is the deadliest
day of fighting between Thailand and Cambodia in more than a decade, a border skirmish now spiraling into a larger regional crisis fighting up and
down the border between the two countries.
[11:10:00]
Thailand's military accuses Cambodia of deploying heavy weapons into civilian areas, rocket launchers, artillery hitting villages, homes and
public buildings. In response, Thailand sealed off all 508 miles of its border with Cambodia raising fears of prolonged conflict. Diplomatic ties
are unraveling.
Ambassadors recalled. Cambodia calling for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting accusing Thailand's far larger and better equipped army of
brutal, barbaric aggression. Thai F-16s bombed Cambodian military outposts Cambodia responding by attacking a Thai Army base.
Thailand insists it's acting in self-defense. They say a Thai soldier was wounded in a land mine explosion. Cambodia claims it's only responding to
Thai provocations. Thailand's military is more than triple the size of Cambodia's its air force among the most advanced in Southeast Asia.
Cambodia has no fighter jets at all, complicating matters political turmoil in Thailand, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended last month for
a leaked phone call with Cambodia's ex leader Hun Sen, a longtime ally of her father, the former prime minister.
In the call, she called the Cambodian strongman uncle, and even appeared to criticize her own country's powerful military, that triggered anti-
government protests and accusations of undermining national sovereignty. On the streets of Bangkok, many don't want war. They also say Thailand needs
to show strength.
I want it to end, but if we don't retaliate, they'll think we're weak, he says. Hospitals are evacuating, civilians are dying. Thailand accuses
Cambodia of planting fresh mines at the border in a place, where stepping off the trail can cost you a limb or your life. Cambodia denies adding to
the millions of mines that already blight the region.
RIPLEY (on camera): This latest clash began near a sacred temple, one of many sites along a colonial era border drawn by France, which both
countries have laid claim to for more than a century, and with no ceasefire in sight, you have two nations armed and angry on a collision course that's
getting harder to reverse. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Well, the Kremlin says the Russian military is taking all necessary steps to establish buffer zones along the border with Ukraine.
Those comments follow a third round of peace talks in Istanbul, where both sides agree to a prisoner swap, but not much else.
Last week U.S. President Donald Trump gave Moscow a 50-day deadline to make peace or face, quote, very severe tariffs. Russian President Vladimir Putin
has not publicly acknowledged the ultimatum. But Moscow has escalated air strikes in recent weeks, pummeling Ukraine with drones and missiles nearly
every night.
Ukraine's Emergency Service says at least 33 people, including children, were injured in the latest strike on Kharkiv. Joining us now from Kyiv,
Ukraine is CNN Chief International Security Correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh. And Nick, going into these talks, the expectations were quite low
this week, and perhaps rightly so, as realism has set in that any chances for a ceasefire or peace deal are not imminent at all.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. I mean, look, a meeting that lasts just over 30 minutes really tells you
exactly how little both sides had to say to each other. And I think there are many here wondering quite if there's any further diplomacy to follow,
and indeed, whether this third round of Istanbul talks was agreed to by Moscow because they needed to sow some sort of performative effort to be
seen to be functioning diplomatically ahead.
As you mentioned, of that 50-day President Donald Trump deadline in which he said he would impose sanctions on Russia's main energy customers, a 1200
prisoners swap agreed to the possibility of talks about maybe Zelenskyy and Putin meeting together, but that's really it, and frankly, that's possibly
less than the bare minimum you might expect.
Prisoner expect prisoner exchanges having happened over the past months outside of any Istanbul negotiation form. I think many in the capital and
across Ukraine are concerned the potential, as you've seen in the past, when diplomacy ends, the aerial assaults intensify, and while there's been
no letup.
Particularly in the daylight hours around the second city of Kharkiv, where there are now 40 people injured, including a 28-day old child, a 10-year-
old child. There are concerns, and we may see an intensification in the nights ahead. 100 drones launched overnight, last night that a year ago
would have been a horrifying number.
Now it's very low on a scale where records are 7 to 800 particular nights. Concerns also too, that as we see Russia continue to try and buy time for
diplomacy, they're waiting for their summer offensive on the front lines that is making incremental progress.
[11:15:00]
But incremental progress that's beginning to mount up into somethings substantial, particularly around the three Eastern towns of Kupiansk,
Kostyantynivka, and Pokrovsk. On top of that, to add to the woes of President Zelenskyy's government here.
They've just endured days of the first real protests against their administration since the war began, this against a series of measures and
laws put in place by the administration against an anti-corruption Bureau, something that the Western backers of Ukraine had urged them to put in
without any oversight, with complete independence.
Those new laws reduced that and put the Ukrainian prosecutor overseeing their investigations. Zelenskyy has clearly seen the protests here and
possibly, indeed heard from European leaders too, and now introducing new laws to potentially remove this crisis here, one indeed that fuels a
Russian narrative that there is corruption in Ukraine, and that ultimately that means the west shouldn't be giving the level of aid they are indeed
giving.
But that uncomfortable, unhelpful backdrop, as we go into a summer months here where the ground is clearly hard and the progress being made by Russia
is turning from minor and incremental into something which is beginning to look like it could indeed reshape the map of the front lines in the weeks
ahead.
GOLODRYGA: We'll be watching closely Nick Paton Walsh from Kyiv for us. Thank you. Well, European Union leaders are in Beijing, meeting with top
Chinese leaders and then a high stakes summit over tariffs and Ukraine. Frustration is high on both sides as Trump's August deadline for a trade
deal is looming.
Now, Beijing opposes the EU's decision to raise tariffs on its electric vehicles. And according to China's state media, President Xi Jinping has
urged Europe's top officials to make quote the right strategic choice and increase their cooperation with his country for global stability.
Now, Europe has been frustrated with the flood of cheap Chinese goods into European markets and China's support for Russia. Commission President
Ursula Von Der Leyen says EU, China ties are at an inflection point.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: For trade to remain mutual and official, it must become more balanced. Europe welcomes
competition. We like competition, but competition has to be fair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Joining us live from New York, CNN's Global Economic Analyst and Financial Times Associate Editor, Rana Foroohar. Rana, it is good to see
you. And this comes as the EU has reported a records good trade deficit with China from last year. How sustainable is this imbalance for Europe
right now, and what leverage if any, does this bring them as they walk into these negotiations?
RANA FOROOHAR, CNN GLOBAL ECONOMIC ANALYST: Well, it's definitely not a sustainable imbalance, Bianna, you know, one of the really interesting
things, and I think it hasn't gotten across in the media yet, is that what Trump has done in the U.S. with higher tariffs, really rerouting Chinese
trade and in many cases, Chinese dumping of cheaper goods, all that has gone into Europe.
So, it's put a lot more pressure on Europe in areas like electric vehicles, clean tech, you know, things that simply can't come into the U.S. from
China anymore at low rates. So, Europe is under a tremendous amount of pressure. Now the big question has always been Europe, the EU in general,
Brussels and certainly von der Leyen are, you know, they don't like Donald Trump.
They're upset with the way that the U.S. has handled the global trade situation. So, some folks have thought for a long time that was going to
push them more towards China's worldview. The problem is that von der Leyen in particular is defense hawk, and she really sees China as a threat to
Europe, not only economically, but potentially politically, and also in terms of security, espionage, trade, you know, these sorts of things.
So, I think what you're seeing is an interestingly hawkish position here from the EU. And it is an inflection point, because, frankly, if Europe and
China grow closer, then we're going to have a fundamentally different world than if Europe moves more towards the U.S. orbit. I mean, it's going to be
a bipolar, if not a tri polar world, no matter how you slice it.
GOLODRYGA: And you hear President Xi's cautioning against, quote, building walls and fortresses, is the EU's recent approach verging on protectionism?
Or do you think that this is viewed as a positive position for them at this point?
FOROOHAR: You know, the word protectionism is funny. It's very politicized. What I would say is this, if I'm sitting in a European capital right now,
and I'm looking at a flood of cheap Chinese goods, and I'm thinking about my next election, you get a very similar dynamic to what we've seen in the
U.S., where it's simply politically unfeasible to say, yeah, we're going to go back to 1995.
[11:20:00]
And we're going to pretend like it's, you know, the end of history and globalization is booming. People are down on globalization. They're down on
free trade. Because there's a perception, sometimes correct, sometimes incorrect, that it's taking their jobs.
You know, we know that the China shock as well as technology disruption, has taken a lot of jobs in the manufacturing sector. But be that as it may,
perceptions are what they are, and I think it's very politically difficult for any European leader to get elected on a free trade agenda right now.
GOLODRYGA: Paint the economic position that Europe finds itself in right now, because I think this is a really important issue. You had Russia
really a source for much of their energy and commodities for so many years, and they got hit in the face with that following the invasion of Ukraine.
Obviously, close ties over the last several years with China as well has led to some of the tensions that we're talking about now. And even the
dependence that they had on the United States is in question. You have President Trump saying, oh, look, we need a new Fed Chair here in the
United States because the Europeans are lowering rates and we're not, but they're doing so for a reason.
Their economy is in a much more fragile state. I mean, it's a number of countries so but collectively, even than the United States is right now.
Tell us more.
FOROOHAR: Yeah, so great point. Europe is starting from a lower base of growth. For the last 20 years or so, they've really lagged behind the U.S.
So, they find themselves in a difficult position right now. Demographics aren't as good. Europe doesn't have its own tech giant at a time where you
know, both the U.S. and China really have strong tech orbits.
So, there are a lot of downsides here. That said I was at a European conference recently with a bunch of global CEOs, and the level of political
risk and concern about the very things you're talking about Trump, politicizing the fed, the sense the U.S. is acting more and more like an
emerging market, or like emerging markets used to.
You know, firing, potentially threatening to fire the Fed Chair, that has made a lot of people say, well, I want to look more closely at Europe and
if there were more integrated capital markets, if there were euro bonds, for example, I did a little show of hands with these CEOs, and I said, how
many of you, if there were euro bonds right now?
How many of you would pull money out of the U.S. and put it in Europe? And about 75 percent said, yes. So, in some ways, it is really an inflection
point. The game right now is Europe's to lose. If they could come together as a block, I think they would have a lot more strength and a lot more
positive growth trajectory.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, I think you're on to something. We look at some of the headlines out of countries like Germany, for example. I mean, really
investing in defense spending as well. This is a wakeup call for a number of those countries, seeing what's happened to long standing relationships
and countries they've depended on for so many years. Rana Foroohar, thank you so much. It's always good to see you.
FOROOHAR: You too.
GOLODRYGA: And still to come on "One World". The story that Donald Trump just can't get rid of what the president has been told about his connection
to the Epstein files.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
GOLODRYGA: The second most powerful official at the Justice Department is expected to meet with Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice at the federal
courthouse in Tallahassee today. Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's Former Criminal Defense Attorney, is set to speak with Ghislaine Maxwell, who is
currently serving a 20-year sentence on charges of sex trafficking and the abuse of underage girls.
Now it comes after a House Subcommittee on Wednesday officially subpoenaed Maxwell to appear for a deposition next month. The House Committee went
even further, voting to subpoena all of the Epstein files. Meanwhile, we're learning that Attorney General Pam Bondi told Donald Trump back in May that
his name does in fact, appear in the Epstein files.
Shortly after, the DOJ wrote a memo saying the files would not be released. But we want to be clear, there are thousands of names in the FBI reports on
Epstein, and we have no indication that Trump was tied to any illegal activity. But have a listen to what the president said when asked directly
about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On Epstein, on the review of the files. Attorney General Pam Bondi briefed you on that.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: A very quick briefing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she tell you, what did she tell you about the review? And specifically, did she tell you at all that your name appeared
in the files?
TRUMP: No, no. She's given us just a very quick briefing, and in terms of the credibility of the different things that they've seen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Now, this is all turning into a giant headache for the White House. Let's bring in CNN's Kevin Liptak with more. And Kevin, again, it is
important to stress there are thousands of names in the Epstein file. We also know that Donald Trump has acknowledged and there's videos of him
having a multi-year relationship, years ago before they severed ties between him and Jeffrey Epstein.
The question is, why is he approaching this issue in the way he has been thus far? Because it only seems to be making it worse for him.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, and I think the president is aware that just having the information out there that his name
is contained in these files is an inconvenient political fact who is for someone who, one, is trying to move on from all of this.
But two, whose own supporters have been sort of riled up around this conspiracy, you know, for many, many years, and you know, without more
context about how his name appears, where in these files, what part of Jeffrey Epstein's life, kind of the president's name is associated with?
It's really hard to tell what the significance is. We know that he's sort of brushed shoulders with Epstein in the 1990s like a lot of celebrities of
that era who Epstein was trying to cultivate, in part to further his business interests. And so, without that information, it's very difficult
to ascertain what exactly the implication is.
But what we do know is that in the briefing where Pam Bondi informed the president that his name appeared multiple times in these files. She also
told him that the Justice Department did not plan to release any information, more information publicly about them.
So, I do think it does give some more context and texture to that decision by the Justice Department not to sort of proceed any further with the case,
which, at the end of the day is what has led to this fear among Republicans about the Justice Department's lack of transparency in all this.
And of course, we also saw President Trump himself deny that he had ever been told that his name appeared in them. So, I think sort of taken
together, it is a significant fact, even if it doesn't necessarily advance our understanding of his own relationship with Epstein any further.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and notable that there are Republicans, obviously, who took part in agreeing to that subpoena for Ghislaine Maxwell. That will
happen, I believe, August 11, when the House will be in its summer recess. Nonetheless, we should also note they also voted to subpoena the Clintons
as well.
LIPTAK: Yeah.
GOLODRYGA: So, this is an example of the MAGA base and even some Democrats now actively involved in this and the politics is at the forefront here.
Kevin Liptak at the White House for us. Thank you so much.
LIPTAK: Sure.
[11:30:00]
GOLODRYGA: Well, as the world watches famine unfold in Gaza, the U.S. Special Envoy is again in Europe, hoping to bring Israel and Hamas one step
closer to a ceasefire. We'll have an update after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. Here are some headlines we're watching today. Thailand has launched air
strikes on Cambodian military targets along the country's disputed border. Armed clashes have also broken out as tensions escalate.
This latest flare up began this morning at an ancient temple site along the border. Both countries accuse each other of opening fire first. Some 50
people are feared dead after a plane crashed in Russia's far eastern Amur region. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the Soviet era passenger
plane while it was attempting to land.
State media reports the crew did not issue any distress calls. The plane was operated by a Siberia based airline called Angara. President Trump will
be joining a tour of the U.S. Federal Reserve's $2.5 billion renovation of two historic buildings today. It's an unusual move for a president, but
escalates his pressure campaign to undermine Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
And it comes after Powell paused interest rate cuts amid uncertainty over Trump's trade policy. We have new developments in the Israel-Gaza war.
Hamas has just submitted a response to an Israeli ceasefire plan. Israel has recalled its negotiating team back from talks in Qatar to discuss this
proposal.
A source tells CNN talks may include a new aid plan for the thousands of starving Palestinians. Let's get some perspective on these developments.
We're joined by CNN Political and Global Affairs Analyst Barak Ravid. And Barak, you're also reporting on talks here in Doha, where Israel has
recalled its envoy to these negotiations in Doha, and this can be viewed potentially as a positive sign. Talk about the latest headlines.
[11:35:00]
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Hi Bianna, I think that what we see right now is could be the final stages of negotiations
over a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal. The Israelis did recall their negotiation team from Doha. The negotiation team was there for more than
two weeks.
And on the one hand, this is a negative step, because it's a sort of a shake up for the Israelis to say to Hamas, listen, you're not really making
enough progress over we're calling our negotiators back. But on the other hand, it's the kind of shake up you see in the kind of step you see in the
final stages of a negotiation when both sides are trying to get the last achievements in the negotiation.
So, I think that while the talks are now look like they're in limbo or in crisis, it does not mean that a day from now, two days from now, the
parties will go back to the table and you'll see progress that could lead them to a deal.
GOLODRYGA: What are the current sticking points, Barak?
RAVID: So, what happened was that the Qatar and Egyptian mediators gave the parties a proposal last week, exactly a week ago. Israel accepted the
proposal, gave its response quite immediately, and Hamas delayed its response. It gave an initial response to the mediators on Tuesday.
The mediators looked at the response and said, this is not what we were looking for. We wanted a clear yes with, you know, comments or
reservations, but a yes. So, they sent Hamas back to the drawing board to give a new response, that happened last night. Hamas came back with a very
detailed response that, on the one hand said yes, on the other hand, laid out a long list of reservations.
And I think the main sticking point at the moment is the position Hamas gave on the issue of what's called, quote, unquote, the keys, meaning the
ratio between the number of Palestinian prisoners that will be released by Israel for every live hostage. And the Israeli proposal was to release, in
return for 10 live hostages, to release 125 Palestinian prisoners who are serving life in Israeli prisons, in addition to another 1200 Palestinian
detainees from Gaza were detained by the IDF after October 7th.
Hamas came back and said, no, we want 200 prisoners who serve life sentences and 2000 detainees from Gaza. So, the gap is big, but it's not
unbridgeable. There are several other reservations Hamas had, but I think that at the moment, the big sticking point is this, the number of prisoners
that will be released for every hostage.
GOLODRYGA: There had been some reporting that Hamas feels emboldened and that it has more leverage given the pressure on Israel from these scenes
that we're seeing out of Gaza, the chaos, the headlines from a number of humanitarian sites about the impending starvation, the humanitarian
catastrophe.
How is the Israeli government responding to this? We've talked about those 900 aid trucks just sitting there at the border with Gaza and Israel
saying, now this is on the U.N. and Hamas to distribute this aid, but the majority of the global world's outrage, you know, the United States has
clearly been supporting Israel here.
But you have 28 countries assigning the blame, basically to Israel, saying they're not doing enough to distribute this aid. How is Israel responding?
RAVID: Yes, Bianna, I'm sure it's even many more countries, much more than only 28 countries. I think, it would be if you, if you do a vote at the
U.N. General Assembly right now on this issue. I think you'll see that 150 countries will say that Israel is not doing enough to make sure that people
in Gaza have food.
While it is true, the U.N. is not picking up some of the food supplies from the border. It is also true that for months now, I think since, more or
less, since President Trump assumed office, the Israeli government, more or less suspended most of its contacts with the U.N. and try to, you know,
build its own aid mechanism through this Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
That has obviously failed, because while some aid was distributed in Southern Gaza, most of the people in Gaza did not get enough food, and I
think there's no argument about that. You know, we can argue about whose fault it is, but there is no argument that Israel is responsible for what's
going on in Gaza.
[11:40:00]
And that right now, people in Gaza do not have enough food. And I think that this would -- this is definitely something Hamas is using in the
negotiation as leverage. But at the same time, the mediators Qatar and Egypt and also the United States are conveying the message to Hamas that it
is also responsible for what's going on in Gaza.
Because if there was a ceasefire tomorrow, the humanitarian situation would definitely improve dramatically. And I hear that from Egyptians, Qataris,
Americans. They all say that every day, Hamas continues to negotiate. It's not that less Palestinians are released from Israeli prison, is that more
Palestinians are killed, either from the war and from the fighting, from the Israeli bombings, or from the humanitarian crisis.
So, I think this is something Hamas hears from a lot of people in a lot of channels. So, it's while it uses it to leverage it's also something that is
used by the mediators to press Hamas to.
GOLODRYGA: Yeah, and perhaps they are now on to Plan B, C or D, in terms of how to additionally pressure Hamas, as well the families of those hostages
also, in addition to those civilians in Gaza desperate for a ceasefire and the release of their loved ones. All right, Barak Ravid, thank you so much.
Appreciate the time.
RAVID: Thank you.
GOLODRYGA: And a quick programming note. Christiane Amanpour will have an exclusive live interview with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad
Mustafa later in the day. You can watch that live at 01:00 p.m. in New York, that is 06:00 p.m. in London, right here on CNN.
And still to come for us after the deadly flooding in Texas, other areas across the country at risk are preparing for what could happen to their
community. Our Bill Weir looks at how one town plans to deal with it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: The death toll from the huge recent floods in Texas has risen to at least 136. The Acting Leader of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
was asked yesterday about its response during a congressional committee hearing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. LAURA FRIEDMAN (D-CA): So, is that the benchmark now we're looking for?
[11:45:00]
For FEMA to answer their calls 15 percent or in one case, 35 percent in a day in the middle of this disaster, this huge disaster.
DAVID RICHARDSON, ACTING FEMA DIRECTOR: I would have to agree with Secretary Noam, that's fake news. The majority of the calls were answered.
There was never a lapse in contract.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The state legislature also held a special hearing on the deadly flooding Wednesday, scrutinizing the state's safety preparations and the
events leading up to the tragedy. Meanwhile, the Texas Governor called a special legislative session that began Monday to address flood warning
systems, emergency communications and relief funding for victims.
CNN's Bill Weir visited an area in Georgia at high risk of flooding. The question, how are emergency officials preparing for the next big weather
event. It turns out wireless alerts on mobile devices are part of the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a hot day in the mountains of North Georgia, few places are more inviting than the
Chattahoochee River and tubing the hooch on days like this makes it easy to forget that the same waterway providing so much joy can take life and
property in a flash.
And when the Chattahoochee turned deadly 16 years back, it changed both Georgia and Laura Belanger, one of the top hydrologists in the south.
LAURA BELANGER, SENIOR SERVICE HYDROLOGIST AT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTA: So, I am in the position I'm in today because of the September
2009 floods. I was young in my career at the time, and there were 10 fatalities in the State of Georgia that left a lasting impression on me.
And wanting to kind of see how we could do better with our hydro services and getting those warnings out, that's what helped be a catalyst for those
flash flood warnings to be included in wireless emergency alerts.
WEIR: Today in the tourist town of Helen, Georgia, those wireless alerts weather radios are the only sources of flash flood warning, because in a
place like this, sirens might confuse people to run for low ground from a tornado instead of high ground from a flash flood.
Been a long time since the water topped that 10-foot marker. It hit 12 feet back in 67 and while there have been some swift water rescues in recent
weeks, most people don't remember really high water. That's the thing that struck me in Texas there. It was -- it reminded me more of covering a
tsunami in Japan, where children were swept away while they debated what to do, because no one could imagine the worst.
BELANGER: Yeah.
WEIR: And when you're watching tubers here, you can't imagine that water turning deadly.
BELANGER: It's hard to get especially with how shallow it is at the moment. It is hard to digest what a big amount of water coming through here would
look like and how it's inundated.
WEIR (voice-over): And she is especially worried about enchanted valley just over the hills. The folks living in these permanent trailers sit smack
dab on the Hiawassee River next to one of the flashiest river gages in the nation.
BELANGER: And so those are the places that keep me up at night, regardless of the amount of readiness or preparation, the fact that there are people
in property that close to the river, that's what the concern is. The biggest question we get is, when we see 100-year flood plain, and maybe the
water level has risen to this point.
And someone says, oh, thank goodness we don't have to deal with this for 99 more years. And it happens. The reality is, what that means is that there's
a 1 in 100 chance of occurrence in a given year of that happening again.
WEIR: Right. But that math is changing, right?
BELANGER: But that math changes over time.
WEIR: Yeah.
BELANGER: As you see flooding occur more frequently.
WEIR: What were once one in a century flood could become once a decade events, the expert tells us. And with the help of the first street
foundation, this is a nonprofit that maps flood risks. We found five examples, Helen, just one of them across the country, from Santa Barbara,
California to the Catskills of New York.
Of communities like this, where the topography lends itself towards fast moving water and the visitors, the tourists, may not understand the risks.
You can find all of that@cnn.com and as the country sets records this summer for flash flood watches and warnings, knowledge could be the
difference between life and death. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: Really important reporting there from Bill Weir. And still ahead, it's not a surprise when you hear about secrets coming out of Rome,
but our Ben Wedeman is checking out an incredible discovery that was hidden beneath the city's ancient heart. You'll want to stick around to see this.
[11:50:00]
GOLODRYGA: Archeologists are learning more about Rome by walking under the Eternal City. The secret tunnel city, hidden under what was once at the
heart of ancient Rome has now been found as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is the Rome above its ruins, teeming with tourists in the midday summer sun.
And then there's the Rome below, a sprawling network of tunnels, tombs, catacombs and caves. Chief Archeologist Ersilia DAmbrosio gave us an
exclusive peek at a part of that cool, dark underworld, still off limits to the public.
ERSILIA DAMBROSIO, SITE SUPERINTENDENT: We're --
WEDEMAN (voice-over): We're 20 meters below the surface, she says, and it goes deeper still.
WEDEMAN: We are underneath the Capitoline Hill, the Mons Capitolinus says it's known in Latin, one of the seven hills of ancient Rome. How ancient?
Well, you get an idea, because if you look up there, that white stone is the foundation to the Temple of Jupiter that was built in the sixth century
BC.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Chiseled out of the soft volcanic stone known in Italian as Tufo, these corridors in the rooms off of them were an integral
organic part of the city with shops, storerooms, workshops and taverns. Some of the old wine jugs are still here. The parts where you see bricks
are from the 1800s intended to shore up the structure, Ersilia says.
Clearly, the tunnels in the Tufo are much older, starting in Roman times. This was a hive of activity until early last century. Between the 20s and
1940 during the fascist era, Ersilia tells me. The old working-class neighborhoods around the Capitoline Hill were demolished as part of an
effort to modernize the city. And when war came to the capital, this subterranean world served another new purpose.
WEDEMAN: Yeah, have a look at this here, Gabinetto a toilet. This was done during the Second World War, when this entire complex was used as a bomb
shelter while Rome was being bombed by the allies.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Now, some 80 or so years later, this underground warren is being prepared to welcome visitors sometime late next year or
early in 2027.
[11:55:00]
The eternal cities still hold many secrets above and below. Ben Wedeman, CNN, under Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GOLODRYGA: And finally, this hour, Superstar Taylor Swift is being honored 13 times over. Madame Tussauds is commemorating Swift's record smashing
eras tour. The chain of wax works museums has immortalized the star in wax, not once, but 13 times, a nod to Swift's lucky number.
Each of the new figures has its own look from the eras tour, and each will appear in a different location across Madame Tussauds global chain. It is
the first time that the museum has launched so many figures of the same person in one go. It took 40 artists 14 months to recreate Taylor in wax.
All right, do stay with CNN. I'll have more "One World" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
