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One World with Zain Asher
FBI Searches Home of Former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton; Famine Declared in Parts of Gaza by U.N.-Backed Group; Ukrainian Troops Defending Town of Orikhiv in the South; Lyle Menendez, Convicted of Murdering Parents with Brother Erik, Faces Parole Board; Iran: U.S. Threatening Military Force on Venezuela; Pumpkin Spice Season is on. Aired 11-12a ET
Aired August 22, 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)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: Right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher, and you are watching "One World". We are following breaking
news stories today about a Former Trump Adviser who has turned into a fierce critic of the president.
FBI agents are currently conducting a search of the home and the offices of John Bolton. Bolton was Trump's National Security Adviser during his first
term, but was forced out in 2019. He went on to write a scathing attack on Trump's foreign policy in his book, "The Room Where It Happened".
Sources tell CNN that today's court authorized search is connected to that book and whether or not it contained classified information. The
information in Bolton's book had been looked at in the past, but no charges were filed. Just a short time ago, the president commented on today's FBI
search, and he did not hold back on his criticism of Bolton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't know about it. I saw it on television this morning. I'm not a fan of John Bolton. He's
a real sort of a low life. When I hired him, he served a good purpose, because, as you know, he was one of the people that forced push to do the
ridiculous bombings in the Middle East.
Bolton, he and he wants to always kill people, and he's very bad at what he does, but he worked out great for me, because every time he doesn't talk.
He's like a very quiet person, except on television, he could say something bad about Trump. Will always do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: CNN's Evan Perez is outside of John Bolton's house, and he spoke to our Wolf Blitzer earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: This is the home of John Bolton, and what we've seen in the last few minutes, we've seen FBI agents
come out, go into a couple of these vehicles and retrieve boxes, which they then took back into the home.
Now, over the last few hours, again, they've been here for about three hours now. Wolf and we've seen them come out of these vehicles take in
boxes, what appear to be document boxes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Let's get some more perspective now with CNN's Betsy Klein, who's joining us live now outside the White House. So, Betsy, what's interesting
here is that despite the fact that these two men have had a really tumultuous relationship, and certainly publicly tumultuous relationship.
You had, President Trump speaking about half an hour or so ago and saying that he knew absolutely nothing about this search on Bolton's home. What do
you make of that?
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right, really notable comments from the president just a few moments ago, a few steps away from
the White House, he went to visit an exhibit called the people's house that's run by the White House Historical Association, and while he was
there, taking a few questions about this search on John Bolton's home.
And now we are learning as well his office nearby in Washington, D.C. But President Trump continued to lash out at Bolton. He called him a low life.
He said he's very bad at what he does. He also kind of threw him a bone, Zain, at one point, saying that he was able to give him some leverage with
foreign leaders who were concerned about Bolton's more hawkish policies there.
But the president saying that he learned about this raid on television, was not briefed beforehand. He said he expected to be briefed a little bit
later today, but then later suggested that he told Attorney General Pamela Bondi that he'd rather not know. So, we'll see what more he learns about
that and what more we can learn about his understanding of what's going on here.
But Bolton served as Trump's National Security Adviser for about 18 months. He was fired by a tweet back in 2019, officials told us at the time, it was
because his priorities and policies were not aligned with the president. And subsequently, Bolton became a very strong and aggressive critic of the
president and his foreign policy.
He wrote a book back in 2020 that detailed his time in the Trump Administration, when, again, he was one of the president's closest
advisers, and he really took aim at the president in that book, saying that Trump requested Chinese help, allegedly, to win the 2020 election.
He said Trump argued that Venezuela is part of the United States. He said the president had offered to intervene in the criminal justice system for
other foreign leaders. He also called President Trump's policies, quote, a danger to the Republic. He said at the time he wouldn't be voting for
President Trump in 2020.
And Trump, at the time, threatened to jail Bolton, even before that book came out. Now we are learning that this search marks resumption of an FBI
investigation into Bolton and whether that book included classified information that Bolton took.
[11:05:00]
Our colleague, Kristen Holmes also reports that they are also looking into whether Bolton shared any classified information with clients or members of
the media after leaving the White House. But Bolton continued to be a very high-profile critic of the president's foreign policy, even in recent weeks
heading into the president's meeting in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He really criticized and questioned the intent of that meeting, and afterward, told our colleague Anderson Cooper, quote, Trump did not lose,
but Putin clearly won. He also said that he thought that Trump looked, quote, very tired up there. Not disappointed, but tired.
Again, so many questions Zain now about what the White House knew, what their involvement was. We do expect the president to be seen at the Kennedy
Center just a few moments from now, where he's overseeing some renovations there, we'll see if he stops to take additional questions then.
ASHER: And Betsy, the issue of John Bolton's book has faced a lot of scrutiny, especially by Trump himself. In the past, Trump has talked about
this idea that perhaps there were, there was classified information released in John Bolton's book. We know that John Bolton would have had to
go through various security clearances to get this book released in the first place. Walk us through what those were.
KLEIN: Yes. So anytime anyone leaves the White House, and then writes a book about their time in the White House. There are national security
officials who have to comb through all of the details in that book to make sure, as you mentioned, there's not classified information, anything that
could be damaging.
And certainly, they can't control the tone and tenor of what is said, but they have some ability to say, oh, you can't say this. You can't say that.
And at the time that this book came out, again, back in 2020 it was Trump's own administration that cleared this book for publication, but again, at
the time, they also tried to halt the publication of this book.
Ultimately, it published in June of that year, just months before the presidential election, and really a scathing testimony of Bolton's time in
the Trump Administration.
ASHER: All right. Betsy Klein, live for us there. Thank you so much. With some additional perspective on what is happening here, let's bring in David
Weinstein. He is a former state and federal prosecutor. David, thank you so much for being with us. I think my first question to you is, really, what
must the FBI demonstrate here?
What must Kash Patel, the FBI demonstrate in order to secure a court authorization for this type of search of John Bolton's home?
DAVID WEINSTEIN, FORMER STATE & FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Very good question, Zain, and it's a question that's at the heart of this entire matter. They
have to show a judge that there's probable cause to believe that there are, in this instance, classified documents that have been retained unlawfully
by John Bolton.
And that they are being kept in one of the two locations that they have received authorization to search, whether it's his home or his office. And
so there has to be an affidavit. It has to be sworn to, and a judge has to review it. So, if we're going to look at the first step, they've
established that somehow or another.
John Bolton has retained, without authorization, classified documents and that they believe that they are going to find them either in his home or
his office. We've seen this before over the course of the last five or six years.
ASHER: So just in terms of the specifics, just to kind of help our audience, understand. What are the kinds of documents and the kinds of
materials that the FBI would likely be trying to look for here?
WEINSTEIN: Well again, drawing a comparison to two other incidences, perhaps three, that we've seen before, they're going to be materials that
were classified in one of many different classification categories. And that they are going to either be still within those packets that are handed
out, and that they exist in their complete form, not redacted and not unclassified.
And so, they're going to be looking for specific documents and items that were classified retain classification and should not have been taken out of
an area that protects their classification. And so, they're going to have to outline some of that in this affidavit, and that's what they're looking
for.
We've seen examples of this before. They're going to be in those white folders with the red writing on the outside, that say classified. They may
be documents, they may be pictures, they could be maps, but that's what they're looking for.
ASHER: It's interesting because I was just having this conversation with a reporter outside the White House, Betsy Klein, this idea that you know John
Bolton's book has faced previous scrutiny. In the past, Donald Trump had talked about potentially jailing John Bolton over potentially classified
information that may have been released in his memoir.
Just walk us through how previously investigated and dropped matters tied to a previously published book could now sort of warrant renewed scrutiny.
WEINSTEIN: Zain, I don't think we're going to see any renewed scrutiny about what was in that book.
[11:10:00]
You discussed it with several people already before that, that book was vetted. That book was scrutinized by national security advisers. They
combed through that book and they determined there was nothing classified in that book. That's why it was released in the form it was released.
And so, I have to believe that this is new information about new documents that were retained when they shouldn't have been retained, and that haven't
appeared anywhere before, because whether it was this administration or a prior administration, somebody has already looked into all of this.
And determined either that there was no classified material in the book, that John Bolton didn't retain any classified information, and that those
investigations were closed and finished. So, this has to be related to the ongoing retention of classified documents.
ASHER: Interesting sir. It has to be something not related to the book, something altogether different. Just in terms of John Bolton's legal
recourse here, just how can his own legal team essentially challenge the validity and the breadth of this search warrant? What sort of recourse does
his legal team have in all of this?
WEINSTEIN: Well, there's the way that it usually proceeds, which is, you have to wait until a presentation is made to a grand jury and an indictment
is returned, and then you move to suppress evidence that was obtained pursuant to these search warrants, because you believe there was either no
probable cause, there was information that was left out.
It was over broad in the search that's the way it usually proceeds. Now we have seen it proceed in a different fashion. And if his lawyers choose to
follow that pattern in practice, they will move to have some sort of injunction put in place in some sort of parallel civil court saying that
there was no authorization for this information to be obtained, that there was no probable cause.
That didn't work out well before, and I'm not sure that it's going to work out well now. So, his lawyers are simply going to have to put themselves in
a position where they sit back, they listen, they cooperate. One of the things we didn't talk about was, was there a prior request for this
material to be returned? And if so, when was that request made?
Was it made back in 2020? Did he not comply with it? And if so, then you're dealing with some sort of obstruction. Again, we've seen this all played
out. So, there's several different roads that we could go down here.
ASHER: Yeah, and still so much, of course, that we just don't know. Former Federal Prosecutor David Weinstein, live for us there. Thank you so much.
WEINSTEIN: You are welcome.
ASHER: And we'll have much more on the story throughout our show. Right for the first time, famine has been officially confirmed in parts of Gaza,
including Gaza City, in what the U.N. Chief is calling a failure of humanity itself. The troubling report comes from the IPC, United Nations
backed group that monitors food security.
And it warns that famine is expected to spread to other parts of the enclave without a ceasefire and an end to the restrictions on humanitarian
aid. The IPC says currently, over half a million people in Gaza are now facing catastrophic conditions characterized by starvation, destitution and
death.
Israel, meantime, is rejecting the findings, calling them quote, superficial information originating from Hamas, but the U.N.'s Emergency
Relief Coordinator is urging the world to take note.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FLETCHER, U.N. EMERGENCY RELIEF COORDINATOR: Please read the IPC report, cover to cover. Read it in sorrow and in anger. Not as words and
numbers, but as names and lives. Be in no doubt that this is irrefutable testimony. It is a famine, the Gaza famine.
It is a famine that we could have prevented if we had been allowed. Yet food stacks up at borders because of systematic obstruction by Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Meantime, a stark warning from Palestinian officials, they say a looming Israeli invasion of Gaza City is in effect, a death sentence for
the more than 1.2 million people who are living there. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has indicated he will give final approval to plans for a
military takeover of Gaza City.
And he has ordered immediate negotiations to release the hostages on terms acceptable to Israel without offering further specifics. CNN's Nic
Robertson is live for us in Jerusalem. I mean, this is exactly Nic, what everyone has been fearing. You think about the fact that the IDF is their
takeover of Gaza City is imminent.
Obviously, they have called for an evacuation, trying to sort of move people west of Khan Yunis. But there are, of course, going to be people who
end up being trapped in Gaza City. And on top of the limited food, you also have not enough fuel, not enough water, medical shortages, all of that is
going to exacerbate the food insecurity.
And not to mention the really vulnerable groups who always end up being women, children and the elderly in all of this, Nic.
[11:15:00]
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, and as the war progresses deeper into Gaza City, it's right on the extreme fringes, and
the Israeli government says that there are more steps to take before the full-scale invasion of Gaza City goes ahead. But the prime minister is
calling for it to be fast, and that implies that there will be a lot of rockets, artillery bombs used to clear the way as the troops move forward.
And that means, there high level of destruction, which means any sort of remaining shattered infrastructure that there has been for distribution,
dissemination of the amounts of aid that have been getting in will be completely shut down to people. It won't be safe for them to move around,
though they'll have to hunker down.
And those who can't heed the warnings to move south, don't feel that it's safe to move south or they can't, will really be caught in the twin vice of
sort of fear and famine and the famine that the IPC is describing right now, 132,000 children under the age of five in Gaza government who are at
risk of dying through malnutrition.
40,000 they say, have severe malnutrition, are doubling over their previous month's data on that. And they say that this is entirely man made, and that
it is reversible. But starting a military, a massive military operation in Gaza City is amounts to, the opposite of reversing a dire humanitarian
situation.
It will likely make it much worse, and that's what the British Foreign Secretary is calling for. He calls this a horrible situation that Israel
must -- that is preventable, that Israel must allow and get the aid in. But the pushback from the Israeli government, as you mentioned, it's been
incredibly strong.
The prime minister's office is saying it's an absolute lie that they are intending to starve the people of Gaza, that there is a policy of
starvation man made, of course, is how the IPC described the famine situation at the moment. COGAT, the government body that oversees getting
aid into Gaza, has said that the information used in the report is partial.
It's biased. It comes from Hamas. It doesn't use information that COGAT say they provided the IPC before the publication. So, the difference of opinion
on what has caused and the nature of this famine situation, it pulls apart. And even though we heard from people like the British Foreign Secretary
saying that Israel and the U.N. saying that Israel must reverse this situation.
There are no mention of sanctions or what pressure they can bring to bear on the Israeli government to change their position. So, you know the short
answer to your question is, does the situation for these very vulnerable groups get worse in Gaza City? Yes, it looks like it absolutely will.
ASHER: Yeah, especially because that takeover by the IDF is imminent. Nic Robertson, live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, peace or
procrastination coming up, why Ukraine's President says that Russia isn't ready to end the war. Plus, some really scary moments during the NATO
Secretary General's visit to Kyiv.
Plus, California Governor Gavin Newsom going up against President Trump in the battle over congressional districts. The fight that will shape the 2026
midterm elections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:20:00]
ASHER: Air raid sirens screamed in Kyiv earlier during a visit from NATO's Chief. That's according to local media, Mark Rutte was discussing security
guarantees with the country's president when the warnings reportedly went off. The main guarantee, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is for
Europe to treat an attack on one as an attack on all.
No word if missiles were, in fact, headed towards Kyiv at that time, but overnight, the onslaught continued. According to Ukrainian officials, four
people were killed in just the past 24 hours. That's why President Zelenskyy says his Russian counterpart is not ready for talks, much less
peace.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: Right now, the signals from Russia are, frankly, obscene. They're trying to wriggle out of the need to
hold a meeting. They do not want to end this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: The Kremlin says that President Vladimir Putin is willing to meet with Zelenskyy, but only under conditions which have not yet been met.
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Southern Ukraine with a look at how Ukrainian soldiers are fighting back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Russian train full of fuel goes up in a blaze of fire and smoke struck by Ukrainian
drones. This new era of warfare combines high tech with close quarters combat harking back to the First World War.
The same brigade that took part in the train strike is also fighting in the trenches. Infantry Squad Commander Yevgeny (ph) returned at 5 in the
morning from a deadly six-man attack on a Russian position. One of my men was killed, he says. Two took shrapnel. Two of us got concussions from
drone attacks and mortar fire.
His men managed to kill a Russian soldier. Then had to withdraw and came here, well underground, where the war is barely audible.
WEDEMAN: This complex of bunkers and trenches is not the front line. It's well away in the rear. The purpose is that they will be ready in the event
the Russians push forward. And what we're hearing from senior Ukrainian officials is that they fear that the Russians are preparing for a major
push in the Zaporizhzhia area.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Until then, this is where troops from the 65th mechanized brigade rest and recuperate, cramped and stuffy yet safe. The
cats, welcome company, also keeping the mice at bay. They're resting up for their next mission, defending the town of Orikhiv, or what's left of it,
only 800 of its original 14,000 residents remain.
Oleksandr (ph) is the only handyman left with planting to keep him busy. Windows, doors, roofs, you can see for yourself, everything needs repairs,
he says. In the town's post office, the last vestige of normalcy, we meet Ludmilla (ph), who lives alone with her two dogs. Her day started with
shelling.
When it hit, I thought that was the end of everything she says. To lighten her mood, I share pictures of hobbies and pets.
WEDEMAN: These are my potatoes.
WEDEMAN (voice-over): Communicating in a linguistic hodgepodge. We shared a laugh, her dog, alpha, shell shocked was unmoved. Far away is the powerful
talk war and peace.
[11:25:00]
Here, the powerless can only hold on and hope to live another day. Ben Wedeman, CNN Orikhiv, Southern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right, still to come here on "One World", a former Trump aide turned fierce Trump critic is now being targeted by Trump's FBI. The latest
on an investigation to John Bolton, when we come back. And U.S. markets are -- bad way up, almost up 900 points, and talking about the DOW there up on
news from the Fed Chair about a potential rate cut. We are live in New York with the details.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World". I'm Zain Asher in New York. Here are some headlines that we are following for you. Today, the FBI is
conducting a search of the home and office of Former U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton. Bolton was part of Donald Trump's first
administration, but has become a fierce critic of the president in recent years.
Sources tell CNN, the search is related to an investigation into whether Bolton may have revealed classified information when he wrote a book about
Donald Trump in 2020. Famine has also been officially declared in parts of Gaza, including Gaza City. That finding comes from the IPC, a U.N. backed
global monitoring group on food security.
It says that famine is expected to spread to other parts of the enclave. Israel is rejecting the report. A federal judge has essentially shut down a
controversial Florida Migrant Detention Center, at least for now. The judge ruled that no new detainees can be brought to the detention camp known as
Alligator Alcatraz and she said the Trump Administration must half any construction.
The state of Florida is planning to appeal the ruling. Donald Trump announced new plans to expand his law enforcement crackdown in Washington,
D.C. to other American cities. The announcement came during Trump's visit to National Guard troops and police in the capital last night.
[11:30:00]
But the crackdown is unlikely to be duplicated in other cities because of legal restrictions. All right, as we just mentioned, the FBI is searching
the home and the offices of Former U.S. National Security Adviser, John Bolton. CNN's Katelyn Polantz joins us live now from Washington.
So, Katelyn, Donald Trump, spoke about, I think it was like an hour ago or so, where he said a number of things that certainly raised eyebrows. The
first was that he knew absolutely nothing about this FBI search of John Bolton's home. And the second was that he referred to himself as the
nation's chief law enforcement officer, which is, that's a title that is actually reserved for Pam Bondi the AG. Just walk us through the reaction
to that.
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, that is a political reaction, given that Donald Trump also said, in right before
calling himself the chief law enforcement officer. He said that I could be the ones -- like this. That isn't how historically, the Justice Department
-- relations with lawyers primarily working very separately from politics.
And having some distance between the department's activities and what the White House wants, even leaving the White House in the dark on things like
this. What Donald Trump said this morning, he said that he had not been briefed yet by the Justice Department, that --Attorney General Pam Bondi,
you have to do, what you have to do that he did expect to be brief -- of happening in a circumstance like this.
What we know, though, Zain so far, is that this would be a criminal investigation where the FBI has received court approval from judges to go
to the home of John Bolton in Maryland and go to the office of John Bolton in Washington, D.C., search -- that they had probably -- described in
court, already under seal, that they would expect to find evidence for use in this investigation.
The investigation as we know as of now, according to sources that we are talking to, that it is about Bolton's retention, potentially, of classified
information following the publication of his book in 2020. A book that he wrote extensively about Donald Trump and the work that he did as national
security adviser during that term.
Also, that there are -- of classified or national security in material that Bolton may have made after the publication of that book to others, no
charges. Have -- no comment yet from John Bolton.
ASHER: Katelyn, we actually had a lot of trouble hearing you, because I think your mic was going in and out, although I do trust that everything
you said was relevant and very interesting. But apologies to our audience for that. I caught about 70 percent of it --
POLANTZ: Thanks Zain.
ASHER: OK. Katelyn, thank you so much. Right anytime now, the Justice Department is expected to begin handing over to Congress some of the
records related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, but it's unclear just how much they're going to be getting to see. The DOJ missed its Tuesday deadline to
release all of the files after a subpoena from the House Oversight Committee saying it needed more time to redact sensitive information.
Committee Chair James Comer said his goal is to release the files quickly and that he'll be working with the White House. President Trump, who had
repeatedly promised to declassify the files, as a candidate, has been trying to shift attention away from the case for weeks.
And to the redistricting battles gripping California and Texas that could shape next year's midterm elections. The Texas Senate is expected to vote
today to approve controversial new congressional maps requested by U.S. President Donald Trump. It's the final legislative hurdle for state
Republicans hoping to win five Democrat held House seats.
In response to that, California Democrats passed a trio of redistricting bills on Thursday designed to help their party pick up five congressional
seats next year. Governor Newsom said it's time to fight fire with fire when it comes to dealing with a president who doesn't fight fair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSON (D-CA): He is failing. He recognized that. That's why he made a phone call to Greg Abbott asking for five seats. Can't win by
playing by traditional sets of rules. He plays by no rules.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: California's plans will need to go before the state voters in a special election on November 4th. Right, after more than three decades in
prison, Lyle Menendez is facing the California parole board, he was convicted, alongside his brother, Erik Melendez, of murdering their parents
back in 1989.
The brothers had claimed the killings were in self-defense, alleging years of abuse by their father. A day ago, just yesterday, Erik was actually
denied parole.
[11:35:00]
The board decided he would still pose an unreasonable risk to public safety. Lyle has similar rehabilitation factors as Erik, but Lyle has a
lower number of prison rule violations. But the brutality of the killings, which involved Lyle firing a shotgun in close range at both of his parents
in 1989 may work against him.
On Thursday after the parole board's decision, CNN spoke to Neama Rahmani, a Former Federal Prosecutor and President of West Coast trial lawyers,
about the significance of the parole board's decision and how it came about. You should listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER U.S. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I've never covered a case in more than 20 years where every single living family member of murder
victims support release. It's really unprecedented, and really this result today is surprising for this reason. The brothers had a lot of momentum,
and obviously Lyle has his hearing tomorrow.
But in terms of overcoming Nathan Hockman's objection, even getting to the resentencing. Obviously, all the broad public support after the Netflix
series "Monsters" and other documentaries. And the fact that they've already served an additional 10 years, more than the 25 years, which would
have made them parole eligible.
Obviously, that's the result of the resentencing, so most of the folks who were watching were very surprised by this result. And obviously the parole
board talked about the drug use, the gang affiliation, the cell phone violations. But usually, when you're talking about convicted murderers
serving time in Donovan state prison for three decades, those types of violations are going to be more significant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Right, still to come here on "One World", the ongoing battle over interest rates between Donald Trump and the Chair of the Federal Reserve,
we'll tell you what Jerome Powell said just minutes ago about the outlook for the U.S. economy and what that's doing to markets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, it appears Donald Trump could soon get his wish for lower interest rates here in the U.S. Stocks here are rallying today after a
closely watched speech by Fed Chief Jerome Powell just moments ago. Powell spoke about weakness in employment and gave hints that he could be in favor
of a rate cut at the fed's next meeting in September.
The Fed Chair has been under a lot of pressure to cut rates from President Trump, with Trump even talking about perhaps taking the unprecedented step
of ousting Powell before his term ends. CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has been watching Jerome Powell speech.
[11:40:00]
So, as I mentioned Vanessa, he talked about the idea that inflation still poses a risk. Obviously, the labor market as well. We saw what happened
with the last jobs report. He intimated that, yes, he is open to cutting interest rates in September, but made it clear that it's not because he's
being pressured by the U.S. President.
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, this was really a speech that was a traditional Jay Powell speech, right? He was
really sort of neutral in his tone about whether or not there would be a rate cut, but he did signal that it could be coming, that there could be
some change in monetary policy coming.
As you mentioned, he did say tariffs were having an impact on prices. And he did say that the labor market was going through an unusual or curious
moment, saying that essentially, the demand for workers and the supply of workers, we're both really not there, and that creates an unusual moment,
and puts the fed's dual mandate of full employment and price stability in tension.
But he did say that it might be an opportunity for a rate cut coming up. And look at that, the DOW up, wow, 900 points as investors really are
cheering this potential rate cut. Jerome Powell very much setting the scene about just how tariffs have impacted the U.S. economy. Listen to what he
said a little while ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEROME POWELL, U.S. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR: The effects of tariffs on consumer prices are now clearly visible. We expect those effects to
accumulate over coming months with high uncertainty about both timing and amounts. The question that matters for monetary policy is whether these
price increases are likely to materially raise the risk of an ongoing inflation problem.
A reasonable base case is that the effects will be relatively short lived, a one-time shift in the price level. Of course, one time does not mean all
at once. Nonetheless, with policy in restrictive territory, the baseline outlook and the shifting balance of risks may warrant adjusting our policy
stance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Now, there is a lot of economic data that the Federal Reserve will still look at before they meet later in September about whether or not
to cut interest rates. You have consumer prices, producer prices, and also the key jobs report for September that will give us an indication about
what August looked like on the labor front.
As you mentioned in the previous month, there was a weakening in the labor market, and that was a signal to investors that may be a rate cut is
coming. Investors now at last check where pricing in. 91 percent of investors were pricing in a rate cut as soon as September. But of course, a
lot can change in the next couple of weeks, still awaiting key data that will be a reflection of really where this economy is going, Zain.
ASHER: Yeah, and it wasn't just a week of jobs report.
YURKEVICH: Yeah.
ASHER: It was also the revisions that we saw as well that were part of the problem too, and also in other news that we are watching here, Trump is
threatening to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook if she doesn't resign. I mean, this is part of Donald Trump's attempt to kind of reshape
the board here. Walk us through that.
YURKEVICH: Yeah, so President Trump has said that he's not going to fire Jerome Powell, but that very much leaves board members open to being fired,
and essentially the Department of Justice has a probe going on with Fed Governor Lisa Cook about whether or not she allegedly committed mortgage
fraud.
And we see that President Trump has zeroed in on this and has said that he will fire her if she does not resign. This is really just a culmination of
all the pressure that's been put on Jerome Powell and the Federal Reserve, really starting with the fact the president wanted Jerome Powell and the
Federal Reserve to lower interest rates much sooner.
They have not lowered interest rates all year. The last time was in December. Jerome Powell today made an a really subtle, subtle note to
anybody who was criticizing the independence of the Federal Reserve. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: Monetary policy is not on a preset course. FOMC members will make these decisions based solely on their assessment of the data and its
implications for the economic outlook and the balance of risks, we will never deviate from that approach.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YURKEVICH: Remains to be seen. What happens with other members of the Federal Reserve's board, but Jerome Powell has indicated, Zain, that he is
going to be staying on through the end of his term in May of 2026. We do know that there is a robust search underway, a very public search underway
for the fed -- next Fed chair.
But Jerome Powell very much committing to being the Chairman of the Federal Reserve until his time is up in May of 2026, Zain.
ASHER: Vanessa Yurkevich live for us there. Thank you. All right. Iran is criticizing the U.S. for what it says is the threat of military force
against Venezuela. The U.S. is deploying three Navy destroyers off Venezuelan waters for what are being described as counter narcotic efforts.
Iran says that it's in violation of the United Nations Charter and has alerted U.N. Security Council to what it calls a potentially dangerous
situation in the Caribbean.
[11:45:00]
Patrick Oppmann has the latest on tensions between Venezuela and the U.S.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major show of force in South America, at least three U.S. Navy destroyers, attack aircraft,
amphibious landing vehicles, more than 4000 marines. The Trump Administration says it's meant to crack down on drug smuggling from the
region to the U.S. and intimidate Venezuela's embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, who has responded by calling up more than 4 million militiamen to
defend against any possible U.S. aggression.
The White House alleges Maduro is the Head of a Shadowy Cocaine Trafficking Empire known as El Cartel de Los Soles, a criminal organization secretly
operated by Venezuela's military. This month, the administration doubled the reward for Maduro's capture to $50 million.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco-terror cartel. In Maduro
it is the view of this administration is not a legitimate president. He is a fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in the United States
for trafficking drugs into the country.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Now U.S. Navy ships approaching Venezuela are putting Maduro on notice. The deployment may just be a show of force, but one that
Venezuela's leader vows to resist. Maduro denies the drug smuggling accusations and says his government will fight into the last bullet.
NICOLAS MADURO, VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT: We must defend Venezuela because they want to turn us into slaves of supremacists due to the racist contempt they
have for us.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Maduro, who counts Russia and Iran as allies, say he's mobilizing his military and militia across the country, to ensure any
U.S. action would be drawn out and bloody.
MADURO: No Empire is going to set foot on the sacred soil of Venezuela.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Despite the saber rattling on both sides, it's clear the U.S. forces deployed would not be sufficient for regime change, says a
former U.S. official who has studied what an invasion of Venezuela would look like.
FRANK MORA, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES: We're talking about 200, 250,000 troops, because it's not just a question
of bringing the regime down. That would not be that difficult. The invasion becomes an occupation, and that gets very complicated, because how do you
maintain social order in a country where the government has collapsed?
OPPMANN (voice-over): This is not the first time the U.S. has vowed to oust Maduro. 2019 during the first Trump Administration, a U.S. backed uprising
of dissident Venezuelan soldiers led to fighting in the streets of the capital Caracas, between pro in anti-government forces.
But that would be coup failed, and Maduro emerged with a tighter grip on power, and even more defiant of U.S. attempts to end his rule. Patrick
Oppman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Right, still to come, it may feel like some outside, but autumn flavors are on the menu. That's right. It is pumpkin spice season. Find out
why some people love it ever so much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
ASHER: It smells like Thanksgiving, cool nights and pumpkin pie. While autumn won't start for a few weeks, pumpkin spice lattes are already on the
menu. That sweet, spicy, toasty beverage is coming to a coffee shop near you. In the U.S. Dunkin Donuts rolled out its autumn menu on Wednesday,
while Starbucks fans will have to wait until August 26.
That's Tuesday. Regardless of whether or not your team pumpkin or not. Just want to get your spice on. We've been wondering what is with, what is up
with pumpkin mania? Alice Gray is a Science Journalist. She joins us live now from Cardiff, Wales. So, Alice, why are people so obsessed with this
particular drink?
Especially because it is Starbucks' most popular seasonal drink. Just walk us through what is up with pumpkin mania.
ALICE GRAY, SCIENCE JOURNALIST: It's quite interesting, because pumpkin spice actually helps us describe and explain some of the brain's functions
in quite an interesting way, because the sugar in pumpkin spice gives us a good dopamine kick, but also it helps to describe some of the connections
between smell, emotions and memory.
Smell, emotions and memory are really deeply connected in the brain, and smell can trigger vivid memories really easily. And the spices in pumpkin
spice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg have strong associations with festive holidays. So, when people smell something like pumpkin spice, it can
immediately transport them to very cozy, happy memories.
So that's very rewarding in our brain's chemistry as well. But also, because it's a seasonal item, it's -- gives it a scarcity mindset, which
hacks into some of our sort of intrinsic behavioral and psychological aspects of our brain and drives us towards us to seek them out, because you
can't get your hands on them all the time. So, it's not just a clever marketing technique.
ASHER: Yes, I was literally just saying to my team in the commercial program, why can't we have it all year round, since it's so popular? But
yes, to your point, it's obviously, you know, the sort of people in charge of marketing at Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts, they're very donuts, they're
very smart.
Once you make it scarce, it drives up demand. You talk about the sugar and the dopamine hit. That's an important point. And also, this idea that you
know, you drink one of these beverages. And it does bring you back to these memories of Thanksgiving, of fall, of the holiday season, or sort of
cozying up by your fireplace in the evenings and weekends.
Just explain to us, though, there are some people who feel the exact opposite, some people who really cannot stand this particular flavor. So,
explain the dichotomy there.
GRAY: Well, I'm personally someone who doesn't particularly feel fussed about a pumpkin spice latte. But I think it just comes down to personal
preference, how you take your coffee, we all have different taste buds and different tastes. But as I say, some people might be particularly driven by
the sugar.
Some people might be particularly vulnerable to the scarcity mindsets of only being able to get their hands on it for a few months of the year. So,
yeah, it just comes down to our own personal chemistry, as well as generally, how our brains behave too.
ASHER: Yeah, I'm definitely a sugar addict, so that part of it appeals to me for sure. Do people get the same sensation when they say, you know,
taste or smell peppermint, for example, cinnamon and nutmeg during the Christmas season, does it have the same effect?
GRAY: Well, yeah, seasonal items like you just described, they do have that connection, but it's very interesting, different flavors will have
different impacts in the brain. There's been a lot of research around smell and how our brains respond to them. So yeah, there is that seasonal link
with peppermint, but actually, peppermint has some other impact on our brain.
Peppermint can help calm you can help relax. You obviously, if you drink peppermint tea, it can have benefits of you as well. So, smell and the
brain are very, very interesting. You can even use smell to kind of influence people's decisions when buying in shops and things like that.
[11:55:00]
So, this is a whole sort of visual marketing element to smell and how we respond to smell too.
ASHER: That's very interesting. All right. Alice Gray, I take it you're not going to be lining up next Tuesday because you said that you don't have
strong feelings one way or another. Alex Gray, Alice Gray, rather, live for us there. Thank you so much. Appreciate it. And stay with CNN, I'll have
much more "One World" after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
