Return to Transcripts main page
One World with Zain Asher
House Committee Subpoenas Clintons, Others in Epstein Case; CNN Speaks to Author of Letter Signed by Former Israeli Officials; Texas Redistricting Idea Spreading to Democratic States; Trump Says he will Raise Tariffs on India "Very Substantially Over the Next 24 Hours"; Survey: 50 Percent of Parents Unsure of New Government Healthy Child Vaccine Recommendations; "Marriage Story" Movie Being Used to Scare Wolves. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 05, 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: Live from Atlanta, I'm Lynda Kinkade. This is "One World". We begin with breaking news right now, some of the
biggest names in American politics are being dragged into the Epstein investigation. Bill and Hillary Clinton are among a large group of people
who have been subpoenaed today by the House Oversight Committee as it looks into who knew what about Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation.
Swath of subpoenas also includes six Former U.S. Attorney Generals and two Former FBI directors. The House Committee also subpoenaed all the
Department of Justice's records on Epstein. And sources tell CNN that the Trump Administration is considering releasing audio files and transcripts
from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent interview with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who's currently serving 20 years behind bars.
The White House has been trying for weeks to come growing cause for more Epstein information. For more on all of this, I want to welcome Former
Federal Prosecutor, Gene Rossi. Great to have you on the program. Thanks for joining us on what is this incredible news we're hearing right now.
So, you've got the Former President, Bill Clinton, Former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, and all these former top officials from the FBI and
the DOJ speak to the significance of this moment.
GENE ROSSI, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Well, this is very historic and very significant. I do want to say a House Oversight Committee, or any
committee in Congress, has broad powers to issue subpoenas, but this may be a bridge too far. You can't issue subpoenas if it's just a dragnet, a
fishnet and it's wholly unrelated to the purpose of your subpoena.
So, although this is making a big splash, I'm sure that the attorneys for all the people subpoenaed, including Bill and Hillary Clinton, are going to
make a motion to quash civilly these subpoenas because they're not relevant or they're too broad, it'll be tied up in the courts probably for several
months, in my view.
But here's the punch line for me, the House Republicans are basically thumbing their nose at President Trump because he wants to put this fire
out. No pun intended, given all the fires we have from Canada, but he wants to put this political fire out. And I think the issuance of this surface --
or plethora of subpoenas, is just going to raise the thermometer.
So that in September, Lynda, you're going to have one heck of a floor fight on the release of the entire Epstein file with redactions of victims' names
and a people alleged to have committed crimes to protect their constitutional rights. But you're going to see a Waterloo, I think, in
September on the House floor to release the Epstein files in its entirety.
I did want to say one thing. I noticed that no subpoena was issued to Former U.S. Attorney Acosta, and also the AUSA is the federal prosecutors
who worked out this, what I think is an embarrassing and egregious plea deal with Jeffrey Epstein back in the day.
KINKADE: So, talk to us, given that we're just now hearing about these subpoenas, about the process and the timeframe, especially when it comes to
gathering records and deposition.
ROSSI: Well, when you issue a subpoena, you have to give them a reasonable amount of time to comply with the subpoena if it seeks production of
documents, and then the subpoena can also ask for testimony. If you make a motion to quash, you can quash the production of documents, the testimony
on the basis that it's too over broad.
It serves no legislative purpose, and it's just aimed to gather attention and to cause harassment. So that would be your basis in defeating a
subpoena. If it runs its course in a civil avenue, then there could be a referral to the department justice for criminal action.
KINKADE: So, talk to us about the sort of moves that people like Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton will be taking right now if they do indeed go
down that path to quash this.
ROSSI: Well, the first thing I would do, if I'm representing him, and I'm not, is I'd file a motion to quash.
[11:05:00]
But first I would try to negotiate with the House Committee, with Chairman Comer's Committee, to see if we can work out some tailoring of the
subpoena, or modification of the subpoena so there could be a voluntary disclosure or some type of accommodation. But short of that, you have to go
into court, you have to move the cautious subpoena.
KINKADE: And of course, this is all part of a congressional probe that some lawmakers, believe may show links to the current president, to President
Donald Trump and other top officials. Could this potentially all backfire? What are the risks?
ROSSI: Well, here's the thing, there are a lot of R's and a lot of D's, maybe independents who may have their name cited in these files. And I
don't care whether you're Democrat or Republican or independent, if there's an allegation that you are aided and abetted, condoned or participated in
Jeffrey Epstein's perversion, criminal perversion, then American public probably should know about that.
But once again, Lynda, you have to protect the victims at all costs. Always protect the victims, and you protect individuals' rights. If allegations
are made that are just over the top and unfounded, but if there is significant evidence that certain individuals, Democrats or Republicans are
up to no good, then the American public should know that and forget the statute of limitations.
The American public should know that, because this case was charged in 2019 in the Southern District of Newark. And there's some debate, Lynda, there's
some debate as to whether Jeffrey Epstein took his own life or there was a homicide.
KINKADE: Yeah.
ROSSI: Dr. Michael Baden says it's extremely unlikely that Jeffrey Epstein took his own life. And Dr. Michael Baden is a pretty good doctor with a lot
of experience on forensic analysis,
KINKADE: Yeah, we certainly have heard the questions around that. I do want to just go back to the victims though, because we have heard from victims'
advocates urging lawmakers to proceed cautiously with this process. They don't want them to relive the trauma of what they've been through. What
legal rights do victims have when it comes to such high-profile congressional inquiries like this?
ROSSI: Well, victims have a legal right to contest a plea offer, that goes back to 2008 where the victims were basically kept in the dark and they
went ahead with a plea offer that was incredibly embarrassing, in my view. But victims always have rights.
They're not as fulsome as we would like, but if there's going to be a release of any documents from the Department of Justice, it behooves the
attorneys in the Department of Justice to hear from the victims as to whether they want to let their name out there, whether they want their name
out there, even by a redaction, because people will put two and two together and figure out who it is, but the victims always have a right,
even if it's not statutorily.
Lynda, I got to say this, even if it's not statutorily, prosecutors should bend over backwards to protect the safety and the reputation of victims,
because it takes a lot of courage, a lot of courage to come forward, especially in a case like this.
KINKADE: Yeah, absolutely everything should be done to protect the victims in the midst of all this. Former Federal Prosecutor Gene Rossi, we
appreciate you, joining us for this breaking news, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, many other top former senior law enforcement officials are now
being subpoenaed over the Epstein investigation.
We will continue to follow this throughout the hour. Thanks so much. Well, the full conquest of Gaza, an Israeli media reports the prime minister will
push for this strategy after 22 months of war. Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet with senior members of his security cabinet today.
Senior officials close to him say, quote, the die is cast, even though there is dissent among the ranks. A source says the defense establishment
opposes an expansion of ground operations in areas where hostages are believed to be held. This all comes amid pressure and protests to end the
war, including from the families of hostages, who have warned against expanding a military campaign in Gaza.
[11:10:00]
And take a look at this, the scene from Gaza on Monday, captures the desperation of hundreds of Palestinians as humanitarian aid is air dropped
into the enclave. Well, Hamas is demanding the dire humanitarian situation in the enclave be addressed before it returns to the stalled ceasefire and
hostage release talks. The Israeli Prime Minister had this message on Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We must continue to stand together and fight together to achieve all our war objectives, the defeat
of the enemy, the release of our hostages, and the assurance that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel. Later this week, I will convene the
cabinet to instruct the IDF on how to achieve these three objectives, all of them without exception.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now live from Jerusalem. Good to have you with us. Matthew so full occupation of Gaza is what the Israeli
Prime Minister wants. We have heard widespread condemnation of this proposal. What sort of case is he going to make to his security cabinet?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a good question, because that security cabinet may not be unanimous in supporting
further military action in Gaza, and that cabinet meeting, or rather, the small security forum that it will be consulting with over the next few
hours.
We're expecting them to have some pretty intensive discussions about what exactly it is that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, has in
mind when it's floated out there from sources close to the prime minister's office that he wants to take over full control over the Gaza Strip.
Currently, the Israeli military have operational control of about 75 percent in three quarters. There's another quarter which they don't have
full operational control over. But it's that area of Gaza, around Gaza City, and places in the center of the Gaza Strip, where the majority of the
2 million residents of Gaza are located, and crucially, where it's believed, the majority of the of the hostages.
Israeli and other hostages that are that are still being held captive in Gaza are located. Remember, there are 20 hostages, it's believed by the
Israeli authorities, who are still alive and being held inside the Gaza Strip. And so, any kind of military operation to target those areas and to
establish Israeli military control over them would have two major risks.
One of them the death of more Palestinian civilians, and we've already seen tens of thousands of people killed so far in the military campaign in Gaza.
But also, it would crucially risk the lives of the hostages as well. There's a risk they could be executed by their captors, the risk they could
be killed by kind of friendly fire that's happened before as well in Gaza as Israeli troops sort out the locations where the hostages are being held.
So, it's an immensely risky strategy. It's also one that will be intensely unpopular among the vast majority of people in Israel who are exhausted,
overstretched, tired with the ongoing, incessant military campaign, which, as I say, has been underway, really, since the appalling attacks on
Israelis in October the seventh in 2023.
And so many people in this country, the majority of people in the country, they simply want this war to end, and they want their hostages back home.
KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. Matthew Chance for us. Good to have you on the story. Thanks so much. And we are going to stay on this, on Monday,
hundreds of retired Israeli security officials signed a letter urging U.S. President Donald Trump to increase pressure on the Israeli Prime Minister
to end the war in Gaza.
The Former Chief of Israel's Internal Security Agency was among them. Ami Ayalon tells CNN that Israel's military goals have already been achieved.
AMI AYALON, FORMER SHIN BET DIRECTOR: Our message is that this war must end, and this is the only way that we can see a better future for Israel.
This war started two years ago as a just war. It was immediate result of massacre and horror of Hamas, but after 12 months, we achieved all our
military goals.
Netanyahu is, you know, acting against the will of the Israeli people. 70 percent of the Israeli people are demanding ending the war and bringing
back all our hostages. We understand today that it is a total contradiction. You know, we understand that our hostages are dying as a
result of the continuation of this war.
[11:15:00]
KINKADE: Well, I want to welcome Nimrod Novik, the author of that letter, which was signed by some of -- some 600 Israeli officials. He's a Former
Foreign Policy Adviser to the late Shimon Peres and a Fellow with the Israel Policy Forum. He recently wrote an article in Time Magazine about
the major uptick of violence in the occupied West Bank.
He joins us now live. Great to have you with us. Appreciate your time. I want to start first with that letter Prime Minister Netanyahu, of course,
is calling for a full takeover of Gaza, even in areas where hostages are being held.
You wrote a letter signed by hundreds of security officials on all sides of politics, including Former IDF Generals, Heads of Mossad, diplomatic
leaders, essentially saying the war is dragging on for political reasons. Explain Netanyahu objective and the reason for your letter.
NIMROD NOVIK, FORMER FOREIGN POLICY ADVISER TO SHIMON PERES: The reason for the letter is that we believe that the Trump Administration on several
occasions, managed to steer policy here in directions that we believe are in line with Israeli national security.
Even before taking office, President Trump managed to get the prime minister to accept a ceasefire hostage deal in January, which he had
rejected for months. The same goes for the war in Lebanon, where the Trump Administration managed to forge a ceasefire, and we believe that the time
has come for that administration to do the same in Gaza.
There are all kinds of considerations as to why the prime minister issued the threat of conquering the whole Gaza Strip, occupying it. We are hopeful
very much that this is intended in order to soften Hamas position and bring about the ultimate deal that brings the hostages' home. But with this
government, nobody knows.
KINKADE: And speak to us, Nimrod, about Netanyahu's objectives, why you believe this war is continuing to drag on?
NOVIK: Well, I find myself, for change in the majority of Israelis, overwhelming majority of Israelis who poll after poll are not just against
the continuation of the war and calling to end it and bring the hostages home, but when asked again in the polls, what drives the prime minister, is
it the national security considerations or personal political ones?
And I never believed that I would live long enough to see the Israeli public considering a prime minister running the war primarily on the basis
of his political and personal considerations. Most Israelis believe that the prime minister refused to risk his coalition.
And given the fact that his coalition that he chose to associate himself with the most extreme elements in Israeli society from the margins of
society, and they now hold the majority and can bring him down that consideration of the durability of his tenure Trumps national security
consideration, this is an awful thought.
I never thought that I will reach it, and I never thought I would utter it aloud. But when I thought so myself, it was one thing when the overwhelming
majority of the public thinks so, this is even more alarming.
KINKADE: And Nimrod, you wrote an op-ed in Time Magazine about the rising violence in the West Bank and the fact that the world's fixated on Gaza
right now. What are we missing in the West Bank, and what are the long-term consequences?
NOVIK: Yeah, when all eyes are on Gaza and previously were on Lebanon and Syria and Iran, under that cover the most the same extremists in our
government who are Jewish supremacist and messianic annexationists and are determined to take over the entire West Bank, including its 3 million
Palestinians.
And other make their lives so miserable so that they choose to leave, or otherwise they will force them to and these are public positions, written
and reiterated in public by those individuals.
[11:20:00]
With their support, under their encouragement, Jewish extremists on the West Bank have been making Palestinian lives miserable. Jewish terrorism
has spiked to unprecedented degrees. Some of their acts reminds us of what our forefathers experienced when before the state existed in Eastern Europe
and elsewhere.
It's not Jewish, it's not moral, it's certainly not the Zionist vision and the values enshrined in our Declaration of Independence. Their violence, as
well as the 22 months war in Gaza and the images from there, have dream of driven Palestinian youth to radicalize and take to arms and join terrorist
groups or form their own.
And we are now at the point where radicalized young Palestinians and Jewish extremist terrorists are feeding on each other, using each other as an
excuse to commit violence, killing innocents, destroying property and risking a major conflagration in the process.
KINKADE: So much more to discuss, but we've run out of time. I will hope to have you back again soon. Nimrod Novik, thanks so much. We appreciate your
perspective.
NOVIK: Thank you.
KINKADE: In just the last few minutes, we learned that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke by phone to President Trump. Zelenskyy posted to
social media that the two spoke about sanctions against Russia and defense cooperation. He is making a new accusation against Russia, saying that
Russia is using mercenaries alongside its fighting forces in Ukraine.
And after visiting soldiers along the front lines in Kharkiv, the president wrote this on the social media platform X, our warriors in this sector are
reporting the participation of mercenaries from China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and African countries in the war.
He adds that we will respond. Now this comes just a day before the special U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to touch down in Moscow. It's also
just days before Donald Trump's deadline for Russian President Vladimir Putin to make a peace deal with Ukraine or face more sanctions.
Witkoff's trip comes at a time of heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S.. Russia says it's no longer bound by a moratorium on firing medium
and short-range missiles. And this follows President Trump ordering submarines to deploy what he calls appropriate regions.
Still to come on "One World", the war over congressional maps. Texas may be in the spotlight, but now more states are talking about remaking their
congressional delegations. Plus, the latest in Donald Trump's tariff war, what he now says about the timeline for India to make a deal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
KINKADE: You're looking at live pictures right now there of the Illinois Governor, JB Pritzker, speaking in support of his Democratic colleagues in
Texas. Of course, many, many Democrats and many Democratic Governors are rallying around their colleagues in Texas as Republicans there try to
redraw the state's congressional map.
It is an effort to give Republicans as many as five more U.S. House seats. Moments ago, we heard from other top Democrats in support of those Texas
Democrats who fled the state to prevent a vote on the Republican plan. Republican officials are vowing to arrest the Democrats and bring them back
to Texas. Well, the Texas Democrats and the Allies say they are ready for a long fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RAMON ROMERO (D-TX): So today, we Texans, we're doing something we don't normally ask for. We're asking for help, maybe just as they did back
in the days of the Alamo when they asked the rest of the country to come and join in on this fight. So, we do ask you to join this fight, because
we're defending the rights of all Americans to value their vote and never be discouraged by way of a map drawn to say that your vote doesn't matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Our Reporter, Ed Lavandera has more.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In just a few hours, the Texas House of Representatives will once again, try to reconvene, but all
indications are that Democrats remain outside of the state of Texas, and there will not be a quorum to conduct business, so the session will be
gaveled in for just a few minutes, and it will then come to a grinding halt.
This as the escalation and the political rhetoric of this continues to intensify, Democrats say they have left the state to block this
redistricting bill because they see it as a threat to democracy. They're trying to spread the word, not just here in Texas, but to other states,
urging democratic, friendly states like California, Illinois and New York to also do the same redistricting efforts that Republicans are leading here
in Texas.
All of this started with President Donald Trump's urge to Texas lawmakers to redraw the congressional maps and try to find five more Republican
friendly districts, and that is what Democrats say they are fighting. They believe that they have the higher moral ground here, but Republicans say
Democrats are cowards for fleeing the state.
It is intensified and the threats and the possible punishment for these lawmakers, Republicans are trying to make it very difficult for them. The
governor is threatening to remove the lawmakers who left the state from office. Democrats say he doesn't have the authority to do that, and also
threatening investigations on possible criminal bribery charges.
So, all of this continues to intensify. We are about halfway through this special legislative session. And Democrats are saying today, here on the
second day of the quorum break, that they have no intention of coming back, and they will stay out as long as they possibly can to block this
redistricting bill.
But ultimately, Republicans do have the votes here, and the governor also has the power to continue calling special sessions to get the redistricting
bill through the legislature. So, this is a process that could take a very long time, but Republicans feel like they have time on their side to
ultimately win this battle. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Austin, Texas.
KINKADE: Well, still to come on "One World", Donald Trump's Attorney General turns her gaze to one of Trump's original rivals. Details about a
probe into Barack Obama and his top intelligence officials, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta. Here are some of the headlines we're watching today. The Israeli Prime Minister
is convening a meeting with his security cabinet today. Israeli media report that Benjamin Netanyahu will push for a quote, full conquest of Gaza
after 22 months of war.
This as Mr. Netanyahu faces increasing pressure, both internationally and inside Israel, to end the war. A new report says the deaths of five people
on board the OceanGate Titan submersible heading to the Titanic were preventable. It blames the June 2023 implosion on inadequate design and
maintenance and inspection.
The report from the U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation also points to ocean gates, quote, toxic workplace culture. Well U.S. Special
Envoy Steve Witkoff is expected to touch down in Moscow in the coming days. His task will be to bring some kind of progress and peace talks between
Russia and Ukraine for the Friday deadline set by Donald Trump.
The Kremlin says a meeting between Witkoff and President Vladimir Putin is a possibility. CNN has also just learned that Russian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy spoke with Donald Trump on the phone about sanctions and defense cooperation a short time ago.
Well, the Justice Department is opening a grand jury probe into allegations that the Obama Administration manufactured intelligence about Russia's 2016
election interference. A source telling CNN that Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered the probe into allegations that democratic officials tried to use
the Intel to smear Donald Trump.
Obama's office quoted a weak attempt at destruction. President Trump says he will most likely have a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping before
the end of the year, unless they fail to reach a trade agreement. He says he's optimistic about making a deal with China, but that it's not
imperative.
Meantime, Trump says he'll increase tariffs on India, quote, very substantially in the next 24 hours, a firmer timeline then he has
threatened previously.
[11:35:00]
Last week, Trump said he'd impose a minimum 25 percent tariff on goods from India, set to take effect by the end of this week. Earlier, on CNBC, he
voiced his displeasure with India buying Russian oil.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We do very, very little business with India because their tariffs are so high. So, India has
not been a good trading partner, because they do a lot of business with us, but we don't do business with them.
So, we settled on 25 percent but I think I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they're buying Russian oil.
They're fueling the war machine. And if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, let's get to CNN Business and Politics Correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich, great to see you, Vanessa. So, Trump there, of course,
threatening secondary sanctions on India if it continues to buy Russian oil, but also saying that he's very close to a trade deal with China. What
can you tell us?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. And he says that if a trade deal is reached with China, then he will meet with the
Chinese President later this year, but saying, if there's no deal, that meeting is off the table, but certainly signaling that there has been
progress.
He says they have a good relationship with China. You know, if you remember, we are coming up on that 90 day pause expiration on August 12th.
We started 90 days ago with the U.S. and China, lowering tariff rates to 30 percent and 10 percent respectively, and there was that meeting last week
between U.S. and Chinese Trade Representatives in Stockholm, no details in terms of inching closer to a deal.
We did hear from U.S. Trade Representatives who said that there's still more work to be done on rare earth minerals, making sure those are coming
out of China. China controls about 95 percent of production, and they're used for things like computers, electric vehicles, military aircraft.
Also, they're wanting to make sure that China moves away from being a manufacturing economy. So, talking about exports and moving towards a
consumer economy moving closer to imports, but that August 12 date is obviously coming up very soon. Listen, tariffs could certainly rise
dramatically, but all indications are that deadline actually may be moved yet again. So, there's more time, Lynda, for the two sides to work out a
trade deal.
KINKADE: And of course, Vanessa, Donald Trump is again attacking the Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell, saying he should be put out to pasture. But can a
president actually even fire the Chairman of the Fed Reserve? And kind of what legally and political can he do here?
YURKEVICH: Yeah, well, the president has indicated that he wants to fire the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell. But the question
legally is, can he, and that is a big open question, he has sort of backed off of that, saying that he does not plan on firing the Head of the Federal
Reserve Jerome Powell.
But he does have some names lined up of people that he's looking for to replace Jerome Powell next year, when his term ends in May of 2026. But one
of those names that just came off the list was the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who was a leading member of his group of people that he was
looking to replace Jerome Powell with.
Earlier this morning, President Trump on CNBC saying that he was considering a few other people, including Kevin Hassett, his Economic
Adviser, but Secretary Bessent saying he's not up for the job. Listen to what Trump said earlier this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: -- the two Kevin's are doing well, and I have two other people that are doing well. Look, it's in the end, there are numerous people that are
qualified. I love Scott, but he wants to stay where he is. I'll take him off the because I asked him just last night. Is this something you want?
Nope, I want to say where I am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: So, Secretary Bessent, not wanting that high profile job of leading the fed. The two people that President Trump also mentioned in that
interview with CNBC are Kevin Moore. She's a Former Fed Board Member. And also, you had Kevin Hassett, who I mentioned, the economic adviser to the
president.
There are also two other names that the president is considering. We don't know exactly who they are. Also, in that interview, you had President Trump
saying that in the next couple of days he's going to be making an announcement about who he's going to replace outgoing Fed Governor Adriana
Kugler with, in the next couple of days.
That person, he says, will be in place for about four months, just a short time. And that person, he said, could actually be the next Fed Chair. You
have Kugler, who is leaving the position, resigning from that position, she's one of those 12 members of the board that can vote on interest rates,
so a critical position being filled in the next couple of days by the president, Lynda.
KINKADE: All right, Vanessa Yurkevich, covering all the angles for us. Good to have you with us from New York. Thank you. Well, like an unwanted guest
that keeps showing up, COVID-19 is back. After the break, we'll show you why current U.S. vaccine policy is adding confusion to an already scary
situation.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:40:00]
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. A new survey shows most adults in the U.S. don't plan to get a COVID-19 vaccination this fall. That's despite
an uptick in transmission. Recent changes to federal vaccine guidance may have left many Americans confused about the latest policies and concerned
about access to shots.
That survey by KFF also found that only 37 percent of adults have a great deal or fair amount of trust in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert
Kennedy Jr. to provide reliable information on vaccines. The group found about half of parents are not sure whether federal health agencies are
recommending that healthy children receive a COVID vaccine.
Well, let's get some perspective on the current state of COVID. Dr. Peter Hotez joins us now. Thanks for being with us, doctor.
DR. PETER HOTEZ, CO-DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR VACCINE DEVELOPMENT OF TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Thanks for having me, Lynda.
KINKADE: So, I want to start off with the news that 10 leading medical societies, including the American Medical Association, the American
Academic of Pediatrics, and the Infectious Diseases Society of America were removed from the CDC. Can you make sense of that, and what impact does it
have on vaccine policy?
HOTEZ: Well, it certainly makes no sense from a scientific and medical perspective. These are some of our oldest societies, and what they do is
they're conveners of all of the expertise in their respective fields. So, for instance, IDSA is Infectious Diseases Society of America brings
together all of the infectious diseases' clinicians and physician scientists, American Academy of Pediatrics, similar with all the
pediatricians.
And so, it increases efficiency by bringing those societies in, because they can help facilitate the guidelines and if there's any confusion, help
clarify it. So, this is self-defeat, more self-defeating activity on the part of Department of Health and Human Services.
KINKADE: Robert F. Kennedy has discontinued COVID vaccination recommendations for healthy children and pregnant women. And the FDA is now
only recommending booster shots for people over 65 and high-risk individuals. What decision, how is that decision based on any new
scientific information, if at all?
And what's driving this shift in policy and how could it potentially affect insurance coverage?
[11:45:00]
HOTEZ: Well, we're all trying to figure out, first of all, the scientific basis for the decision and then the practicality of it. So, while I'm sure
all of us agree on the importance of vaccinating those 65 and older, they're often the highest risk group. There are two other considerations.
First of all, pregnant women throughout this pandemic, have done horribly if they're not vaccinated and they get COVID, very high rates of morbidity
and mortality. And anyone who's worked in an adult intensive care unit over the last five years has tragically had to take care of an unvaccinated
pregnant woman with COVID.
And the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, ACOG strongly recommends vaccinating pregnant women. So, by withholding, by recommending
pregnant women not getting vaccinated, that makes absolutely no sense. There's a 94 percent reduction in hospitalization for pregnant women if
they get vaccinated against COVID.
That's just as clear cut as you get. But even the children you know they look at hospitalization and death rates among kids with COVID, and sure,
it's lower than adults, but it's still significant point, 1.2. Now there's been some really exciting and important information coming out of the
University of Pennsylvania, showing that kids who keep up with their immunizations, and their annual immunizations and booster have a great
especially adolescents have a greatly reduced risk of long COVID.
And the FDA and CDC seem completely tone deaf and oblivious to long COVID. So I don't understand where HHS is coming from, and that and kicking out
the societies just is very concerned.
KINKADE: Yeah, Dr. Hotez, I want to ask you about long COVID, because some 400 million people globally have experienced long COVID. That's according
to a report published in Nature Medicine. We all know someone suffering from long COVID, whether it be friends, family, work colleagues. What does
the latest research tell us about long COVID and about the recovery timelines?
HOTEZ: Yeah, it's a fascinating subject, and what we're seeing is trying to understand better the mechanisms by which it's happened. There's still some
discussion whether it's due to persistence of the virus, although increasingly it looks like it's a very vigorous host inflammatory response
to the virus that's prolonged.
But the bottom line is, you want to do everything possible to prevent recurrent infections or reinfections that seems to add to long COVID. And
so one of the ways to do that is to keep up with your immunizations. And now the data that's coming out, it takes a long time to do these studies,
and also is complicated by different case definitions of COVID.
But the overwhelming information that we're learning is, if you keep up with your vaccinations and your boosters, you have a greatly reduced
likelihood of getting long COVID. It doesn't protect it against 100 percent but that message has not really gotten out, especially to the American
people.
And one of the aspects of long COVID is not only the brain fog and some of the neurologic complications, but also by keeping up with your
vaccinations, it actually protects your heart health, and that's because this virus is a thromboembolic virus, and it causes clots that forms in
your coronary artery and the blood vessels going to your brain.
So, by reducing the likelihood of infection, you reduce likelihood of getting that thromboembolic virus, and you protect your heart health as
well. We need to do a better job messaging that. And of course, having so much anti vaccine activism now pervading the Department of Health and Human
Services, it makes our job even tougher.
KINKADE: Yeah, certainly does. We appreciate you providing us some excellent advice. Dr. Peter Hotez, thanks so much for your time.
HOTEZ: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, still to come, lots of buzz in the beehive over Beyonce's new collaboration with Levi jeans. We'll show you the video ad that's got
everyone talking.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
KINKADE: Well, the beehive is buzzing over a new collaboration between Beyonce and Levi jeans. Here's a clip of the music video style ad that was
posted on social media.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby, let me rattle that snake with my venom, denim on denim, on denim, on denim. Give you high fashion in a simple white tee.
Give you these blues, it's in my jeans. And on my sister, on Celestine. God light shining through the in-between. Thigh gap saddles his leather seats.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: That features Beyonce wearing plenty of denim-on-denim outfits as the song Levi jeans plays over the top. But what is catching a lot of
attention is the last shot. Queen B is seen driving off on a motorcycle, which fans are seeing as a possible hint that her next album might be a
rock style one.
Well, Lisa Respers France joins me now for more. We love sort of cryptic messages hidden in all sorts of places, don't we? So, is it possible that
Beyonce has been working on an album in the middle of a world tour?
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it's more than possible, because she's Beyonce, and she doesn't have the same amount of 24 hours
that we have in a day. I feel like her 24 hours is more like 72. But it's funny, because it's easy to forget that she's actually selling jeans with
this.
This is a partnership that she has. But people are really focused on the fact that in the beginning of this ad, we see her come on a horse, and then
by the end, as you pointed out, she leaves on a motorcycle. And people feel like it's been a little bit that Beyonce has been maybe dropping some
potential hints that her third album in the trilogy, Act III, is going to be rock, because just last Halloween, she dressed as Betty Davis, who was a
famous and iconic rock funk diva.
And so, people were like, hmm, maybe she's trying to tell us something. And then if you attended the Cowboy Carter Tour, you got to see her pay homage
to African Americans who were very important in the rock movement, like Chuck Berry and Little Richard. She wore Tina Turner t-shirt.
She has worn some outfits that made people think of Tina Turner. So, people feel pretty safe and secure that they think that the third album is going
to be a rock album. And I've been telling everybody my fingers are crossed, because I think if you think about it, Lynda, its, pretty genius, because
what Beyonce is doing is she is reminding people of the importance of black people in the music industry for genres that you may not necessarily
associate them with.
So, for Renaissance, which was Act I, it was dance music. For Act II, which was Cowboy Carter, it was country music. And so now people are firmly,
firmly believing that Act III is going to be rock. And it's really smart of Levi's to jump on the bandwagon and have this partnership with her --
Lynda.
KINKADE: I mean, I love how she's getting paid to market Levi's while also marketing her own music.
FRANCE: Exactly.
KINKADE: It's quite impressive. We have been talking a lot about jeans lately.
FRANCE: Yes.
KINKADE: And we'll have to leave it there for now. Lisa Respers France, thanks so much.
FRANCE: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, finally this hour, farmers in western parts of the U.S. are using a scene from a movie to scare away wolves who threaten their
livestock. Take a look about what the wolves are being exposed to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I may be like my father, but I am not like my mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are and you're like my father. You're also like my mother. You're all the bad things about all of these people, but mostly
your mother, when we would lie in bed together, sometimes I would look at you and see her --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: It's an intense scene from the movie "Marriage Story" starring Scarlett Johansson and Adam driver.
[11:55:00]
According to the "Wall Street Journal", the Department of Agriculture has been blasting that famous argument over loudspeakers throughout western
parts of the U.S. One agricultural official says we need wolves to know that humans are bad and to stay away. Intense.
We'll leave it there for now. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Great to have your company. Stay with CNN. My colleague, Bianna Golodryga has much more of
"One World" in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
