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One World with Zain Asher
Trump Sets Friday Deadline for Putin to Make Peace in Ukraine; Israel Considers Expanding Gaza War as Ceasefire Talks Falter; Uncertain Deal; Trump: Will Hire New BLS Commissioner in Next "3 to 4 Days"; Spain Braces for a New Heat Wave; "Parody Principal" Keeps Classes Fun with Pop Tunes. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 04, 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)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: A critical phase, Russian-Ukraine peace efforts. "One World" starts right now. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff
heading to Russia this week as President Trump puts pressure on Vladimir Putin to reach a ceasefire deal in Ukraine.
Plus, outrages growing in Israel over the condition of hostages held in Gaza and the starving children, as Benjamin Netanyahu faces mounting
pressure to end the war. And the White House defends the firing of the Labor Statistics Chief. We'll look at the concerns about her removal and
the questions it raises about data integrity.
Live from Atlanta, I'm Lynda Kinkade. Good to have you with us. This is "One World". Well, it could be an important week when it comes to
developments in Ukraine. President Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to travel to Moscow this Wednesday.
That's according to Russian state media. The planned trip announced by Trump last week comes amid a Friday deadline for Russian President Putin to
make peace in Ukraine or face new U.S. sanctions, according to President Trump.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Well, there'll be sanctions, but they seem to be pretty good at avoiding sanctions. You know,
they're wily characters, and they're pretty good at avoiding sanctions. So, we'll see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the Kremlin said Monday that everyone should be careful with nuclear rhetoric in its first response to a statement by President Trump
that he had ordered a repositioning of U.S. nuclear submarines, that in response to inflammatory comments from Former Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev.
Well in Ukraine over the weekend, officials say Russia again targeted civilian infrastructure with a missile strike in the Southern City of
Mykolaiv, at least seven people were injured. Our Nick Paton Walsh takes a look at this consequential week.
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: An absolutely pivotal week in the conflict in Ukraine, one that will
increasingly define it as President Donald Trump's war. Look, we had extraordinary rhetoric on Friday.
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a man who's at times aggressive, threatening, social media posts have just been tuned out by Western leaders
as not reflective of Kremlin policy being responded to directly by President Donald Trump, who took his suggestion of a nuclear threat towards
the United States as a reason to post that he was repositioning American nuclear submarines.
Later saying that they will be closer to Russia that is responding to nuclear saber rattling with nuclear rhetoric, a remarkable change for the
United States, two weeks ago, may have thought about stopping military aid to Ukraine and then found themselves exchanging nuclear military threats
with their Former Cold War Adversary, Russia.
Words, certainly, but so many Western leaders in the past have been very reticent to even indulge in that kind of rhetoric because of the potential
consequences it might indeed have. And so, with Trump's Envoy Steve Witkoff potentially headed to Moscow in the coming days, he will face complicated
decisions.
Does the Kremlin present an off ramp of sorts to Witkoff? I don't know about bilateral meeting between Putin and Trump or something which will
allow Trump to avoid the complicated decision he has to make later on in the week, and that is, does he impose secondary sanctions against China and
India, the customers of Russian energy products, essentially, the financiers now of Russia's war effort.
If Russia doesn't sell to those two countries. It can't pay for the war. It's currently edging into its fourth year of fighting India. It's unclear
what they're unnecessarily going to do. They've been allowed to buy Russian oil through complex mechanisms to stop oil prices globally going up,
because if they don't buy it from Russia, they're going to buy it from someone else, and that's going to raise prices by changing the demand
scale.
China, frankly, are unable to tear themselves away from Russian energy products. They're basically symbiotic. So, Trump has to inflict economic
pain on China and India that will also impact inflict economic pain on America too. So, a very complicated decision ahead of him, but one that
will essentially restyle this war as one in which the key decisions have been made by him.
He thought he could end it in 100 days. He's tried diplomacy. He's tried being nice to the Kremlin head. He's tried being nasty to Ukraine's
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in that Oval Office blowout.
[11:05:00]
And has essentially found himself coming back, round to a position quite similar to his predecessor President Joe Biden that he needs to support
Ukraine, forcing his European allies and has to be tougher on Russia. It's a big week for Trump, a huge week for the war in Ukraine, and a very
important decision for the most powerful man in the world to make in the coming days. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
KINKADE: Well, let's get some perspective on Russia's next steps. We're joined by Jill Dougherty, CNN's Former Moscow Bureau Chief and Current
Georgetown University Professor. Great to see you, Jill.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CONTRIBUTOR FOR RUSSIAN AFFAIRS: Hi, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, President Trump is growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress towards any sort of deal. He gave Russia a 50-day deadline
to get to a peace deal. Then he reduced that even further. It's now just days away. Is Kremlin taking this ultimatum seriously?
DOUGHERTY: You know, I think one of the problems here is that President Trump has used unpredictability to his advantage sometimes, but sometimes
it backfires. And I think right now, the Kremlin is looking at this. And alternately, I mean, if you look at lower officials, who sometimes give a
fuller explanation of how they're looking at this.
They're saying it's theatrical, bombastic rhetoric and so on the one hand, I think they say, well, he's done this before, he set a deadline, then he
changed, and he went back, then he changed. And on the other hand, I think they are taking it seriously. But the point, Lynda, here is what is
serious.
If you look at the two threats, tariffs on Russia mean almost nothing, because the United States essentially does not really do much trade at all
with Russia, so that's really not effective. Number two, these secondary tariffs, as Nick, was talking about in India and China.
India and China at this point are indicating that they're just kind of going to go ahead and try to do what they think is in their interest, which
is at this point, as they proceeded, continuing to get energy from Russia. So those threats that President Trump had are weaker than they were before.
And that's where we're kind of it's -- in this dilemma, and then the drama of having Steve Witkoff going to Moscow, and we don't really know, will it
be an ultimatum, or could it be a new deal for Putin? It's unclear.
KINKADE: Yeah. Of course, Steve Witkoff went to Russia back in April and was criticized for pretty much narrowing some of the Kremlin talking
points. I just want to play some sound from that last visit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: The two sides have we've narrowed the differences between them, and now we're sitting at the table. I was with
the president all day yesterday. I'll be with him today. We're sitting with him discussing how to narrow it even further, as the president said he
really expects there to be some sort of deal in the coming weeks, maybe. And I believe that that's the case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: So, he was speaking that there might be a deal within a few weeks of that last meeting, and it hasn't even got close to that. Is it likely,
with just a few days to go until this sanction's deadline, that Witkoff will potentially move the needle?
DOUGHERTY: Well, it depends on what President Trump has said he is supposed to say to President Putin. I mean, you know, I think one of the problems
for Witkoff is the last time he was in Moscow, and he's been there several times. He's usually very complimentary of Putin.
He has said he's, you know, a smart person, a kind person, et cetera. And now he has to go where, in a situation where his president, Mr. Trump, is
saying the complete opposite, that he doesn't trust Putin. So diplomatically for Witkoff, this is difficult, but the Russians understand
that Witkoff is a messenger.
So, what is Trump thinking today? What's the message? And that's what the Kremlin will have to be prepared for. It could be more pressure, or it
could be something else. There's a lot of unpredictability here.
KINKADE: And Trump is finally conceding that Russia is pretty good at dodging sanctions. As you have also noted, can the U.S. actually close the
loopholes especially when it comes to oil?
DOUGHERTY: It's very, very difficult, Lynda. There are a lot of ways, and I think President Trump was correct. There are a lot of ways and loopholes
that can be used. There are a lot of indirect ways of selling oil, selling energy, getting money, evading sanctions. I mean, that is what Russia does.
They are sanction busters because they feel that, that is in their interest.
[11:10:00]
And so, it's extremely hard, but I think secondary sanctions, if they were carried out, could be effective. But again, you have this change by or
maybe lack of change from China and India, who say, we need the oil. We're going to continue to buy it.
KINKADE: And of course, Ukraine's Leader Zelenskyy has repeatedly said that he wants direct talks with Vladimir Putin. Is he likely to get them?
DOUGHERTY: Well, now that's another wrinkle, because that is one indication that's coming from the Kremlin that yes, President Putin could be open to a
direct meeting, however, and that's a big however, there would have to be preparation and agreements and things before that would happen.
So, in other words, everything is open at this point, but in the same breath. And this is, I think, the bottom line. Putin has said that he is
going to prosecute this war to the point that he wanted to, you know, 3.5 to 4 years ago achieve and he insists he's going to stick with that goal.
So, what does President Trump do to jar that move it so far, nothing has worked.
KINKADE: And Jill, in the midst of our conversation, President Trump has just taken to social media about this issue, saying India is not only
buying massive amounts of Russian oil. They are then for much of the oil purchase, selling it on the open market for big profits.
They don't care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian war machine. Because of this, I will be substantially raising the tariff
paid by India to the U.S.A. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President D.J. Trump. So, we will continue to see how this plays out over
the coming days in the lead up to that meeting, when Steve Witkoff goes to Moscow. Jill Doughty, we live it there for now, but thanks so much.
DOUGHERTY: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, as a hunger crisis deepens and claims more Palestinian lives in Gaza, a new video of Israeli hostages is sparking outrage and an appeal
from the Israeli Prime Minister. And a warning the image you are about to see is disturbing. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad released
propaganda videos showing two hostages looking weak and emaciated.
Benjamin Netanyahu is asking the International Red Cross to deliver food and medicine to the remaining hostages. The ICRC says it is ready to help,
but would need a ceasefire first to operate in the volatile enclave. Outraged Israelis protested over the weekend demanding that their
government reach a deal to free the hostages.
Hostage families are also warning the government against expanding the military campaign in Gaza. An Israeli official says Netanyahu is pushing to
free the hostages through the military defeat of Hamas. For more now, I want to welcome CNN's Ben Wedeman, who joins us from Rome.
Good to have you with us, Ben. I want to ask you first about that plan by Benjamin Netanyahu to push through with this major military operation. He's
framed it as this all or nothing approach to bring the hostages' home. How is that message being received, both within Israel, amongst the families of
the hostages and also against a key ally, like the U.S.?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been met with a certain amount of alarm, because there's a basic, simple fact that since
October 7th, 2023, around eight hostages have been released through military means. 140 approximately have been released through negotiations.
So clearly, negotiations is a much safer, much more successful means to get hostages released. But I think, as we've seen reporting in "The New York
Times" and elsewhere, Prime Minister Netanyahu is more interested in pursuing this war than he is, perhaps releasing or winning the release of
the remaining hostages.
In fact, today, we saw an unprecedented statement being issued by more than 600 Former Senior Israeli Security Officials. This includes this group of
603 Chiefs of Staff, former four Former Heads of the Shin Bet, three Former Mossad Chiefs, five former police commissioners and four former heads of
military intelligence.
They came out with this statement that says it is our professional judgment that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel. They want
President Trump, the United States to exert pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu to reach a deal. Now, at the moment, Hamas is saying that they're
not going to negotiate as long as this starvation crisis persists and it's still is indeed a serious crisis.
[11:15:00]
We understand from medical officials in Gaza that today, five more people, all adults, died from either malnutrition or hunger. But the fact remains
that there has basically been a deal on the table for well over a year, first put out by the Biden Administration then agreed to right when the
Trump Administration took power back in January.
But both -- certainly the Israelis have reneged on it after agreeing to it back in January, and they're at a deadlock as more and more people die as
those remaining hostages who are still alive in Gaza, estimated about 20 clearly are at risk. But there is a political logjam that the United States
doesn't feel obliged to end, and neither does the Israeli Prime Minister, and to some extent it appears neither does Hamas.
KINKADE: Yeah, and Ben, we have been speaking about those airdrops. We are seeing more airdrops of aid into Gaza. But as we've heard many times from
aid groups, they say trucks are the only real way to deliver medicine and food at scale. Why is the most effective form of aid delivery still falling
short?
WEDEMAN: I think politically, it's too high. It comes at too higher price to Prime Minister Netanyahu, of course, whose government includes some of
the most extreme, hard right ministers who basically have said, we want to eradicate the Palestinian population in Gaza, either through warfare --
where warfare or forced departure.
And so, they're coming across with these halfway measures by allowing some more aid to go in, these theatrical air drops that, according to the U.N.
are 100 times more expensive than simply trucking it in. The U.N. has more than 6000 trucks fully loaded, full of food ready to go into Gaza, the most
cost-effective way.
There is a system already in place in Gaza that is not functioning since Israel closed off the Gaza Strip in March, that system could provide
immediate relief to the people of Gaza. Instead, you have this horrific Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has just a handful of distribution
points, which are very difficult to reach if you are unwell, elderly or young.
And where we've seen more than 1000 people being killed, either by Israeli forces or the GHF. And these airdrops, which, as I said, are dangerous and
not cost effective at all. It's political theater, but it appears that the Israelis are insistent that the relief that the people of Gaza so
desperately need. Israel is not going to allow that to get in, Lynda.
KINKADE: All right. Ben Wedeman, for us in Rome. Good to have you with us. Thank you. Well, still to come on "One World". It is a basic principle of
democracy. You can't make new laws without lawmakers to vote on them. We'll explain why Democrats in Texas have fled their state to avoid a
controversial vote.
Plus, Donald Trump versus the statistician the impact of the president's bases claim that the employment numbers are rigged against him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
KINKADE: The Governor of Texas has a warning for Democratic lawmakers who left the state, show up for work today or face being removed from office.
Democrats fled the state to protest Republican plans to redraw congressional districts in Texas. A move championed by Donald Trump, which
could result in Republicans gaining five congressional seats in next year's midterm elections. Without the Democrats present, the state cannot hold
that vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. GENE WU (D-TX): We will not be complicit in the destruction of any communities in Texas. We will hold people accountable, and we will defend
our state to the absolute best of our abilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: The Texas Democrats taking refuge in Illinois, New York and Massachusetts, all democratic states with governors who have protested the
redistricting efforts in Texas, with the U.S. Congress, almost evenly divided, Democrats say the move could determine which party controls the
House after next year's midterms.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. J.B. PRITZKER (D-IL): You are answering one of the most challenging calls of public service that has ever been asked of you, and you've had to
leave behind your families, your full-time jobs, your communities, and you did it to protect the voting rights of the people that you represent and
voters all across this nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, CNN's Ed Lavandera has the latest from Austin, Texas.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The political rhetoric over this redistricting fight here in the state of Texas is only
continuing to intensify. The Governor of Texas, a Republican, Greg Abbott, is threatening to remove the Texas Democrats who have left the state from
office.
You have the attorney general saying that these Democrats should be arrested and urging the Speaker of the House to issue civil arrest warrants
to bring them back, but Texas Democrats say they are not coming back. They're supposed to be here in the next few hours to continue conducting
business in one of the primary pieces of legislation under consideration is this redistricting bill that has been pushed by President Trump and agreed
to by Texas Republicans that would create five more congressional seats in Washington for Republicans.
The Democrats feel that they accuse the Trump Administration. They accuse Governor Greg Abbott and Republicans here of trying to steal democracy.
They believe that they are on the high moral ground in all of this fight, and they will continue to stay away from the state, which essentially
brings the legislative process to a grinding halt.
Right now, Texas lawmakers are in the middle of a special 30-day session, but Democrats ultimately will not have the votes to stop this. If
Republicans continue to push the bill, the governor of Texas would have the ability to continue calling special session after special session.
It's very unlikely that Democrats would stay away for months and months at a time. So, Democrats know that what they are using this time for is to try
to ratchet up pressure and try to get the word out and try to increase the pressure on Republicans here in Texas to make this process as difficult for
them as possible.
But that fight continues to escalate and will really intensify here in the next few hours, when the Texas House will reconvene, more than 50 Democrats
will not be there, and everything will come to a halt. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Austin, Texas.
KINKADE: Well, still to come, global markets bracing for a new round of U.S. tariffs. Will discuss what's in store for several countries as Trump
defends his massive hike in tariffs. Plus, the clock is ticking for America and China to make a lasting trade deal. Details ahead on what setbacks
could happen if an agreement is not reached soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back to one world. I'm Lynda Kincaid live in Atlanta. Here are the headlines we're watching today. Israel is considering expanding the
military campaign in Gaza. A ceasefire and hostage release talks are at an impasse. An Israeli official says the Prime Minister is pushing to free
hostages through the military defeat of Hamas, 50 hostages remain in Gaza.
At least 20 are thought to be alive. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is headed to Moscow this week. The Kremlin says it's open to him meeting with
President Vladimir Putin. U.S. President Trump says the Kremlin requested Witkoff. All this comes just days before Trump's deadline for progress on
the war in Ukraine.
Boeing is facing its second labor strike in less than a year. More than 3000 machinists went on strike at midnight. The workers-built fighter jets
at three plants near St. Louis, Missouri. The strike comes after union workers rejected a four-year labor agreement on Sunday.
And this week, Trump's tariffs are just about every country in the world are set to take effect. The plan includes a 10 percent or 15 percent
baseline tariff, depending on the country's trade surplus or deficit with the U.S. The president claims the tariffs will not lead to higher prices
for Americans.
Inflation is slowly creeping up. Well, uncertainty looms over a possible trade deal between the U.S. and China. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson
Greer says the August 12th deadline could be delayed for more on the negotiations. Here's Kristie Lu Stout.
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The U.S.-China trade truce could be extended beyond the August 12th deadline. That's according to the U.S.
Trade Representative Jamieson Greer. After reaching preliminary deals in May and June, the U.S. and China now have just over one week to get an
extension or a lasting trade deal. If there is no agreement here, tariffs are going to snap back up to those ultra-high levels.
[11:30:00]
In an interview with CBS that aired on Sunday, Greer was asked whether the deadline of August the 12th would be extended. He said, quote, that is
something we're working toward. Greer also said that recent trade talks to China going in, quote, a positive direction, and that they focused on rare
earth magnets and minerals. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: We talked about, and I won't go into detail because they're, you know, confidential conversations between
two governments. But they really focused on rare earth magnets and minerals. China has put a global control on the world.
And so, for the United States, we're focused on making sure that the flow of magnets from China to the United States and the adjacent supply chain
can flow as freely as it did before the control and I'd say we're about halfway there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STOUT: Last week, U.S.-China trade talks in Stockholm ended without a deal. There are a number of contentious issues in the U.S.-China relationship,
including China's export controls on rare earths. China's purchase of sanction Russian and Iranian oil fentanyl, particularly the flow of
fentanyl precursor chemicals from China and the fate of TikTok.
Now, by Friday, August, the first, the Trump Administration imposed tariffs on scores of countries, and Greer says that those tariffs will likely stay
in place. But analysts say trade talks between the U.S. and China are far more complex, and they can turn on a dime. Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong
Kong.
KINKADE: Well Donald Trump says he will name a new person to run the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the next few days. On Friday, he fired Dr. Erika
McEntarfer, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, claiming that she was rigging economic data to make him look bad.
He offered no evidence to back up that claim, which came after weak jobs numbers, which he didn't like. The collection and reporting of economic
data are traditionally a non-partisan activity. And critics are now accusing Trump of injecting politics into the process. I want to bring in
Alayna Treene, who is at the White House with the latest.
Great to have you with us, Alayna. So, President Trump has accused the Bureau of Labor Statistics of orchestrating a scam with these jobs'
numbers. Is there any evidence to support that claim?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: There hasn't been, and he hasn't provided any. I think really the issue, Lynda, that the president is really
focused on here, and what's really angered him in my conversations with officials here at the White House, is the idea that we saw in the most
recent job report, which, of course, came out Friday.
It was worse than expected. They revised down a lot of the numbers from previous months, from May and June, where they had showed it was, you know,
the economy was doing better, the jobs that were being added to the economy better than expectations. They ended up revising that data to show actually
there weren't as many jobs added as they had previously reported.
Now, I would note that that's actually something the agency, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, does often. You know, they put out job reports, and then
they go back, they check their work and they revise some of that data. It has been happening long before the President Donald Trump was in office.
But that's really what angered him, and that's what we're seeing a lot of the focus from the administration here beyond. I mean, we heard from the
Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, today, arguing that he believes some of the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is
unreliable.
But again, no one really providing evidence for why that means that they had to replace and fire Dr. Erika McEntarfer, who was the Head the
Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But Lynda, I do want to also point you to what we're now hearing from the president as well, which
is that he's expecting to try and find her replacement, or name her replacement, I should say.
At some point this week, he made those comments yesterday when boarding Air Force One. I want you to take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: We're seeing phenomenal numbers in terms of the business we do with other countries and the business we do within our own country. I mean,
really phenomenal numbers. We'll be announcing a new statistician sometime over the next three, four days. We had no confidence. I mean, the numbers
were ridiculous, which he announced, but that was just one negative number.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: Something that's also interesting, I think, to point out here, Lynda is that we've actually seen the president himself, his White House
Press Secretary, many other economic officials here at the White House celebrate the job data number, celebrate what the Bureau of Labor
Statistics had been putting out when the job reports were good.
We saw that earlier this year, repeatedly them pushing that. You know, we're doing. The economy is running great, and the jobs report shows that.
So, we're now hearing this president shipped his tomb because that most recent jobs report showed that the economy was slowing.
All to say we're staying tuned to see who he may announce next to replace McEntarfer, and also whether or not, of course, that person would be
considered some type of loyal as someone who you know the president would think would do better by him.
[11:35:00]
KINKADE: All right. Alayna Treene outside the White House, good to have you on the case. Thank you. Well, my next guest is a Financial Writer for "The
Washington Post" and the author of the forthcoming book, "The World's Worst Bet, How the Globalization Gamble Went Wrong and What Would Make It Right".
David Lynch joins us now from Washington. Great to have you with us, David.
DAVID LYNCH, FINANCIAL WRITER FOR "THE WASHINGTON POST": Good morning.
KINKADE: So, the job market is flashing warning signs. We've seen these huge downward revisions of the market's vote for May, for June, and of
course, the weaker numbers we saw in July. The White House Economist Kevin Hassett claims this data is unreliable. Just want to play some of his
sound.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEVIN HASSETT, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL DIRECTOR: They could be politically manipulated because they're so untransparent. There's a black
box system out there making the jobs numbers that needs to be improved. Indeed, the UK saw similar circumstance like this, a few years ago.
They actually shut down the data agency for a month or so, until they got their ducks in a row. The fact is that we had these blockbuster numbers for
Joe Biden last year that suddenly we lost about a million of them after he dropped out of the election. The fact is that, you know, I'm an economist,
I'm not a politician, but when politicians look at numbers that make them wonder, then that suggests that there needs to be more transparency.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: David, is there any evidence of manipulation? Is there anyone cooking the books in a political vendetta?
LYNCH: The short answer is no, and I think if there were evidence, the White House would have presented it by now. I'm unaware of any serious
professional economist who does not work for the administration who has any concerns about the reliability of the data coming from the BLS.
The jobs numbers, the inflation reports, everything that comes out of that agency is prepared by non-partisan career civil servants who collect the
data by surveying private sector companies, and the response rate from those companies, just like in public opinion polling, has gone down in
recent years.
That's made the first estimate of these numbers typically a little bit less reliable than in the past, but the process of updating and revising these
numbers utterly routine, happens all the time. It's supposed to happen, and it's the data that investors and policymakers rely on all over the world.
KINKADE: And of course, Trump's move to fire the statistics chief has been heavily criticized. We even heard from William W. Beach, the Former
Commissioner of Labor Statistics, and Former Head of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, he had this to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BEACH, FORMER BLS COMMISSIONER: I don't think there's any grounds at all for this firing, and it really hurts the statistical system. It
undermines credibility and BLS, suppose that they get a new commissioner, and this person, male or female, are just the best people possible, right?
And they do a bad number. Well, everybody's going to think, well, it's not as bad as it probably really is, because they're going to suspect political
influence. So, this is damaging. This is not what we need to have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: David, what are the risks if Americans or global markets stop trusting the economic data?
LYNCH: Well, the risks are that it will freeze activity. If you're the CEO of a company, how do you make a decision about investing in the United
States if you don't have reliable information on the state of the economy, on how many people are working, on what products they might demand, on what
your tariffs are going to be for the inputs that you bring into the country to make your product.
It's like driving a car without a speedometer or a fuel gage. It's like trying to lose weight and keep track of your diet by throwing the scale out
the window and guessing. No serious economy can possibly operate without reliable data.
And one of the great things about the United States, one of the things that's made us the richest economy on the planet, has been that government
data, by and large, has been the gold standard over time. And these kinds of political charges coming out of the White House put that at risk.
KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. And of course, in other big economic news this week, tariffs on more than 60 countries and the EU are set to take effect
this Thursday. Trump has postponed them before. Could he delay them again given the market volatility?
LYNCH: He certainly could. I'm trying to get out of the business of predicting what the White House will do, because I'm usually wrong when I
try to do that. What's worth noting, though, is that we are in the midst of a historic sea change in the U.S. approach to other economies, to
integrating the U.S. with other markets.
[11:40:00]
And we now have are on our way to having, if these tariffs go into effect on Thursday, the highest trade barriers since the 1930s. And you know, the
United States came out of the great depression, having learned the lesson, members of both parties believed that high trade barriers made the great
depression worse.
And in the aftermath, helped to bring on World War Two, and then the aftermath of that war, we spent decades leading an effort around the world
to lower trade barriers. It was difficult. Wasn't always successful, but where it worked, it's credited with spreading prosperity around the world
and certainly helping the United States.
The president views it as an unfair system that has put U.S. workers at disadvantage, and there are manufacturing workers who've suffered over
time, but this approach is really quite dramatic and quite historic.
KINKADE: David Lynch, great to get your perspective and analysis. Thanks so much for your time.
LYNCH: Glad to be here.
KINKADE: Well, still to come scorching heat in Spain, since temperatures sky high. Just ahead, our folks are handling the dangerous heat wave there.
Plus, the air quality is plummeting across parts of the U.S. because of the smoke from the wildfires in Canada. What you need to know, when we come
back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Volcano on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula has erupted after being dormant for centuries. It sent an ash plume nearly six kilometers, almost
four miles high into the air. A tourist group caught mother nature's impressive display on camera. Russian state media says the eruption could
be connected to the massive earthquake that rocked the region last week.
Another volcano near the epicenter also began erupting right after the quake. Well in Europe, the summer sizzle is gripping Spain, sending
temperatures soaring to dangerous levels, and it comes as Australians are dealing with the opposite conditions. Some parts of the country seeing the
most snow they have in decades. CNN's Ben Hunte breaks it down.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN HUNTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Spain in August. It's not surprising that it's hot, but when temperatures are expected to reach 42
degrees Celsius, or almost 108 degrees Fahrenheit, in some places, that's not just hot, it's dangerous.
[11:45:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't imagine they had told me, but I could imagine that it was so hot.
HUNTE (voice-over): Spain's weather agency says the heat wave could continue at least a week. The environment ministry reports there were
nearly 1200 heat related deaths in the country from mid-May to mid-July, a sharp increase from the same period last year, when there were 114 deaths.
Many people say they are taking precautions when going outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take a break, cover your head, especially if you have little hair, and keep drinking plenty of water. It is very important to
stay hydrated to withstand the seat.
HUNTE (voice-over): It's also brutally hot in Japan, where forecasters say the average temperature in July hit a record high for the third year in a
row, and in many regions, there's less rainfall, which is impacting rice production. Some tourists in Kyoto say it's been a challenge to stay cool.
ANNA KRZEMINSKA-KACZYNSKA, KYOTO TOURIST: I've been to India so and other places in Asia, so I have the understanding of this heat, but this
experience is really, really amazing, in a sense that I am sweating from top down.
HUNTE (voice-over): It's just the opposite down under, in Australia, parts of the Eastern country were turned into a surprising winter wonderland. As
much as 40 centimeters, or about 16 inches of snow fell in northern New South Wales on Saturday, the most since the mid-1980s.
Emergency services say they were called to help more than 100 vehicles stuck in the snow, but many others made the most of the snowy conditions.
BRENDAN GOUGH, TRAVELED FROM QUEENSLAND TO NEW SOUTH WALES TO SEE SNOW: This actually, it's a very surreal experience. I've always dreamt about
going to the snow. I've never seen snow before in my entire life, and it really is a surreal experience. And yeah, it's awesome.
HUNTE (voice-over): Ben Hunte, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Parts of the United States are grappling where the smoke is summer due to hundreds of Canadian wildfires, smoke is drifting across the
Northern U.S., with air quality plummeting in several states, cities like Chicago and Milwaukee are seeing some of the worst conditions.
Hazy skies are stretching more than 1600 kilometers right across the U.S., from the Midwest to the Northeast. Well, from all that, screams CNN.
Meteorologist, Derek Van Dam, great to see you, Derek. So certainly, the fires are in Canada, but we're feeling the effects here in the U.S., which
areas are the worst affected, and how long could this last?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Great to see you, too. Now, if we were located in Detroit, it might be a little on the tricky side to actually see
each other because of the quality of the air. Right now, you're looking at a live shot of this is Cleveland, so we're talking about the Great Lakes.
But I brought up Detroit for a reason, because they have some of the worst air quality in the entire planet. I'll show you that in just a moment. But
I mean, this air just looks suffocating, right? You don't want to really go outside. It is particularly hazardous to vulnerable people, elderly
children, people with upper respiratory problems.
And there are ways you can actually protect yourself if you are encountering this type of wildfire smoke, which originates across our
northern friendly neighbors in Canada. So, let's talk about the U.S. impacts right now. All of these red dots you see from Green Bay to Detroit
to places like Ontario, Canada.
These locations all have very unhealthy readings in terms of the Air Quality Index and AQI that's this number you see right here. So, the
current values that you see for the Bahrain, Detroit into Toronto. These are the top five largest cities in the world that have the worst air
quality.
And you can see Detroit in the United States, my home state of Michigan, at number three, not something we necessarily need to be proud of, but that's
the way it is. And it's also reducing the visibilities in the sky. It's tough to see through the hazy smoky skies. Eight-kilometer visibility right
now in Detroit, Green Bay across Lake Michigan at six kilometers.
So, what in the world is going on? Why do we have these air quality alerts across much of the northern tier of the United States? Well, it's all
because, just like Lynda, mentioned, the fires Manitoba, Alberta, we have hundreds of out-of-control fires across northern Canada, and because of the
weather patterns, it's drifting this smoke into the Great Lakes and the northern portions of the U.S.
So just some tips, maybe if you're encountering this wildfire smoke, it's a good idea to stay inside, especially if you're vulnerable to smoke, you can
maybe hit that recirculate button in your vehicle if you're driving around, that's something to consider. You could even use a N-95 mask.
Considering using an air purifier if you're indoors, closing your windows. The bottom line here is that, unfortunately, this quality of the air is not
really going to improve anytime soon, because the wildfires, they're still going to burn.
[11:50:00]
This smoke and the weather patterns in the upper levels of the atmosphere will keep the smoke in place across the Great Lakes and the Northeast. And
with no foreseeable rain in the future, we're not going to extinguish these fires anytime soon, Lynda.
KINKADE: Not good news. Give me some better news tomorrow.
DAM: Right.
KINKADE: Derek Van Dam --
DAM: Come back tomorrow --
KINKADE: Exactly. Good to see you. You might want us to ground for this next story. It is, of course, back to school time for our kids, and this
creative principal is using pop music to pump up his pupils. We'll give you a taste of it after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KINKADE: Well, finally, students in parts of the U.S. are headed back to school today, including two of mine and one school superintendent is
getting ready for the new school year by preparing his new set list of pop music parodies. CNN's Jeremy Roth sat down with the Parody Principal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's back to school season, and for most administrators, that means prep work, planning and oversight,
but for one super creative Southern Indiana School Superintendent, it also means turning school business into show business.
MIKE ALLEN, SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT: I tell people all the time, you know that I can't believe that I get to do this as a part of my job as a
superintendent. My name is Mike Allen, and I am the Superintendent of Evansville Christian school, but I'm also known as the Parody Principal.
ROTH (voice-over): For more than a decade in educational administration, Allen has written and produced elaborate YouTube videos performing popular
song parodies to keep his students, parents and staff informed and entertained.
ALLEN: I try to choose ones that are fun, that are recognizable and that work for telling the story, trying to tell, snow days two-hour delays.
Christmas breaks, spring breaks.
ROTH (voice-over): Not to mention COVID closures. Parent teacher meetings and even winter safety. It seems no school issue or musical genre for that
matter, is safe from Allen's punchy parodies and while his videos provide this natural showman, a creative outlet.
[11:55:00]
Allen says the biggest reward is the engagement with his students and staff.
ALLEN: It's not separate from my work. It's for my work. It's a part of what I believe is part of my role, which is to encourage and inspire and
affirm.
ROTH (voice-over): So, for now, it's back to school for superintendent Allen, and back to the old drawing board for the Parody Principal. I'm
Jeremy Roth report.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: How do I sign up for classes at that school? I love that story. Stay with CNN. My colleague, Bianna Golodryga has more of "One World" in
just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
