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One World with Zain Asher
Committee Votes To Hold Fauci In Contempt Of Congress For Invoking The Fifth; J.D. Vance Says Iran Negotiations Will Take "Some Time"; Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Now Includes 15 U.S. States; Mexican Tiktok Influencer Shot And Killed During Livestream; El-Sayed Stuns Dem Establishment With Senate Primary Win; Rebuilding Amid Renewed Israel Airstrikes In Lebanon; High Prices Fueled By Iran War Are A Boon For Oil Exporters; CNN Asks: Is It Ever OK To Wear Shorts To The Office?; Aired 12- 1p ET
Aired August 06, 2026 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[12:00:39]
ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. The second hour of "One World" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. RAND PAUL (R-KY): Dr. Fauci faced no risk of federal prosecution. All he had to do is tell the truth. So help you God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: A Senate committee votes to hold Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress. What it means and what happens next?
Also ahead, yes, they're close to a deal, but it's not the one you're thinking about. Iran negotiates with others and claims there are no direct
talks with the United States right now.
And later, are shorts in the office, ever OK? Our style expert have the last word.
All right. At this hour, Dr. Anthony Fauci could be one step closer to being charged with a crime. That's after a Senate committee voted along
party lines in full -- in favor, excuse me, of holding him in contempt of Congress for not answering questions about his time helping lead the U.S.
COVID-19 response.
Dr. Fauci invoked his Fifth Amendment rights more than a hundred times during last week's hearing. Committee chair Republican, Rand Paul, is
vowing to send the recommendation directly to the Justice Department despite a preemptive pardon from former President Joe Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MAGGIE HASSAN (D-NH): The goal was to wait for Dr. Fauci to make any kind of misstatement and then have a weaponized Department of Justice file
criminal charges for that new statement that would not have been covered by the pardon, leaving Dr. Fauci little choice, but to invoke his
constitutional right to not walk directly into a trap.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Fauci's lawyer has called the Senate contempt to vote a crude political stunt. He accused Rand Paul of trying to weaponize the Justice
Department against an honorable public servant.
While today's vote was a legal question, lawmakers have raised a number of scientific questions as well.
Let's bring in our medical correspondent Meg Tirrell. I mean, one of the most important questions that lawmakers have raised is really about the
origins of COVID-19 and -- and obviously some lawmakers believe it was a lab leak. Just walk us through that, Meg.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's what Senator Rand Paul has been saying. He's been trying to figure out the origins of the
pandemic. He believes it was accidentally leaked from a lab in Wuhan. He has also been focused on what's known as gain-of-function research, which
is a kind of research that really came into light about 15 years ago, which in the virology sense involves altering a virus or perhaps another pathogen
in a lab in order to be able to better understand how it might spread, how it might work.
Also, in order to do preparedness work, vaccines, countermeasures, therapeutics, things like that. So typically, you think about this as a way
to get us ahead of potential pandemic-causing pathogens, but there's also worries about risks associated with those.
Now, Rand Paul has said that he believes that the NIH-funded research that would be counted as this dangerous gain-of-function research in that Wuhan
lab. He has accused Dr. Fauci of knowing about that and lying about it, including to Congress.
Now, Dr. Fauci has testified to this effect on these questions a number of times, including as recently as 2024, where he said that, of course, there
is a grant that the NIH provided to one group that then was funding some work going on in Wuhan, but Dr. Fauci says that the work that that grant
covered did not fall under the definition of dangerous gain-of-function research that was restricted.
Moreover, he says that the preponderance of evidence suggests that the virus actually spilled over from animals into people in a sort of natural
spillover event, instead of certainly not being engineered in a lab.
There are some people who do believe this could have been a lab accident that it came out of a lab, perhaps was being studied there and came out.
But the World Health Organization has said at this point that all options have to remain on the table until there is more evidence, including, they
say, they've asked China for more evidence about this.
But these are the kinds of scientific questions that folks would like to discuss more, but when you have this kind of circumstance where, obviously,
a scientist doesn't feel they can answer those questions, it makes it difficult to have those conversations, Zain, and people say we need to have
them to be better prepared for potential future pandemics.
ASHER: All right. Meg Tirrell, live for us there, thank you.
[12:05:01]
Let's get legal analysis of what Dr. Fauci is facing. Elie Honig is a former state and federal prosecutor and a CNN senior legal analyst.
I do want to go back a bit just to last week, just in terms of Anthony Fauci invoking the Fifth Amendment. You have a lot of lawmakers saying that
he was ineligible to invoke the Fifth Amendment because of the fact that President Biden did a sort of preemptive pardon. What's your legal take on
that?
ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Zain, Republicans are arguing exactly that. So first of all, here in the United States, any person who's being
questioned in any official proceeding, including in Congress, has the right to take the Fifth if their testimony might be used to incriminate them.
Now, Republicans, Senator Paul and others have said, well, OK, but Joe Biden pardoned Dr. Fauci on Biden's last full day in office, January 19th,
2025, for anything from 2014 up through that date in January 2025.
Therefore, he cannot be prosecuted. Therefore, he has no right against self-incrimination. You can't incriminate yourself if you can't be
prosecuted.
But the counter to that, which Dr. Fauci's lawyers have argued and some Democrats have argued is, yes, but even given the existence of that pardon,
Dr. Fauci, they argue, still has potential exposure to things not covered by the pardon.
For example, presidential pardon only covers federal crimes. However, Dr. Fauci's lawyers say he could still be charged in a state. In fact, there
are various ongoing state level investigations of Dr. Fauci.
So on that basis, they argue, he still does have the right to take the Fifth, even given the existence of the pardon. And frankly, I think that's
the best of the legal arguments that we've heard here.
ASHER: So, what are the potential ramifications of him being held in contempt of Congress by this committee? As I understand it, what is
supposed to happen is that they're supposed to be a wider vote with a full Senate, but Rand Paul apparently now wants to walk these charges over
straight to the Justice Department.
A, what do you make of that? This is sort of circumventing the political process. But really, what -- what Anthony -- Anthony Fauci could be facing
as a result of being held in contempt of Congress by this committee?
HONIG: So the typical political process when there's a contempt in the House or the Senate is first the committee votes on contempt. And if it's
approved, then it goes to the full body, the full House of the Senate. That's not a legal requirement. That's a political tradition.
And here Senator Paul, I think quite clearly understanding that he would not get enough votes in the full Senate has decided to do an end run and
say, OK, the committee voted, good enough, we're not going to take it to the full Senate.
In any event, the ultimate decision about whether to proceed with the contempt now sits with the Justice Department. Contempt of Congress is
nothing but words. It's just a mark of, I guess, shame in some cases, but there's no consequences to it.
The consequences come in next where the U.S. Department of Justice will have to decide whether to criminally prosecute Dr. Fauci for contempt of
Congress. That is a crime here in the United States. It's a misdemeanor, meaning, the max penalty is just one year, but people do get prosecuted and
occasionally even imprisoned for contempt of Congress.
Two of Donald Trump's close allies, Steve Bannon and Peter Navarro were both prosecuted and convicted for contempt of Congress a few years ago,
different circumstances, and they serve four months each in prison.
So, the make or break decision here is going to sit with the U.S. Justice Department, specifically, by the way, with the U.S. Attorney for
Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, who has made a lot of headlines on other cases, lately, including the reflecting pool case.
ASHER: I think what's so tricky in a -- in a case like this is that it's so hard to sort of separate the legal versus the political, because obviously,
you have, you know, his diary entries. I mean, you know, his political views were quite clear. You know, you have public opinion. A lot of people
feel as though, you know, certain school lockdowns were unnecessary.
But at the same time, you have sort of legal issues as well. And we've seen this time and time again with this administration.
How hard is it, just as a legal expert looking at this, to sort of separate the political side of this from -- from the legal?
HONIG: Well, great question. And let me put it this way. There are vast questions that need to be answered about Dr. Fauci, about COVID, about the
way we handled it. All of those are political questions. All of those are medical and public safety questions.
But the legal analysis really stands separate and apart from that. This, in a way, is the cost of the Fifth Amendment. It is great. It is very valuable
and important for the person who's invoking it, but it often leaves us, as the body politic, lacking answers and wanting answers.
And a lot of people, by the way, across party lines have taken the Fifth. And I've stood up for those people regardless of who they are.
For example, four years ago, almost to the day Donald Trump took the Fifth when he was being questioned by the New York Attorney General in a
deposition. He said, I'd be crazy to answer questions because this person is hell-bent on prosecuting me or coming after me.
Dr. Fauci, essentially, is saying the same thing now. Members of Jack Smith's prosecution team, not Jack Smith himself, but two of his senior
prosecutors, have taken the Fifth. Senior advisors to Joe Biden and Jill Biden have taken the Fifth.
[12:10:59]
And so the way I would recommend people look at it is try to separate the legal from the politics. The Fifth Amendment's never fun, if you're out
there looking for answers, but it protects Donald Trump just the same as it protects Dr. Fauci and it could protect any of us.
So, I think there is an important dividing line there between the legal questions around Dr. Fauci's invocation of the Fifth and the broader
political and legal and medical questions that I think still remain very much in question.
ASHER: All right. Elie Honig, always good to have you. Thank you so much for that.
HONIG: Thanks, Zain.
ASHER: All right. Now, to the latest on the war with Iran, while Tehran denies it's even talking to Washington, it says that it is close to
finalizing a proposed framework with Oman for commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but Tehran says it requires a number of guarantees
from the U.S. -- from the U.S., rather.
Iran's deputy foreign minister spelled out some of those demands while speaking to state-run media. They include ending the U.S. naval blockade on
Iranian ports, addressing sanctions that were re-imposed on Iran when the truce collapsed, especially on the oil sector, and resuming negotiations
over Tehran's frozen assets.
In the meantime, the U.S. vice president also has the same cautions that any negotiations with Iran would take time, and in his words, be messy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I do think that where we will ultimately land, it's going to be messy and it's going to take some
time to get there.
Where we will ultimately land, as you see, oil, I think, was at $79 today. Those oil prices are going to come down and stay down. Iran will never have
a nuclear weapon, and the United States will be in a stronger position.
But we're kind of in the middle of the game. And I think people are trying to -- to prejudge exactly how this is going to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: This is the U.S. President, Donald Trump, takes social media to insist the U.S. has, quote, massive amounts of munitions following reports
that the Pentagon's stockpile of some key missile defense system has been depleted.
CNN's Kevin Liptak joins us live now from the White House.
When you hear the vice president's words there, that at the end of all this, the U.S. is going to be in a stronger position. That's not entirely
clear if that will be the case. I mean, a lot of analysts predict that at the end of this war, Iran will have a much tighter grip on the Strait of
Hormuz than it ever has before, primarily because that's the lesson that it has learned. Your take on that, Kevin.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes. I think the vice president's description of all of this is messy is something that I don't
think anyone would deny. This has been a process that has not been smooth going for the administration.
And when you think about the way that Iran has, I think, come to the determination that its ability to close the Strait of Hormuz going forward,
in a way that -- that was not the case before the war began, is only going to, I think, make it more difficult for President Trump to proclaim this as
a victory.
And it does seem as if that is what he is in search of at the moment, is a way out of this conflict, some sort of diplomatic avenue that would allow
him to tout this as a win while also not going back to full-scale war, which is something that neither he nor the American public wants to see.
And so it will be messy and it will be a challenge for him, both politically but also diplomatically, to come up with that sort of
arrangement.
Now, when it comes to the munitions, the president seems, I think, very wary of this narrative that is emerging that suggests the U.S. essentially
doesn't have what it needs to continue fighting this conflict. And you see him pushing back on that very vehemently online and even suggesting that
the people who are leaking that information are guilty of treason.
So, I think, in a way, confirming that there are concerns about the diminishing stockpiles of weapons at what is a very critical moment for
him. And I don't think he wants to project any sort of weakness as he tries to get Iran back to the negotiating table to come up with a more certain
end to the conflict.
Now, we did hear from the president earlier this week suggesting that there would be a diplomatic resolution fairly quickly. Listen to what he said on
that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The Strait's going to be open very soon or they're going to get hit very hard and then the Strait's going
to be open.
We were going to a tremendous attack, the biggest since World War II, and they called me and said very politely, please can we talk? Can we talk?
They didn't want. And I said, yes, we can talk. Let's get it done.
If they back out again, they're going to get hit really hard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIPTAK: So, that's the threat that the president has made over and over again over the last several months or so, but he continues to sort of
waffle between both threatening major escalation, but also saying that diplomacy should be able to prevail.
When it comes to the diplomacy, the Iranian saying today that they are finalizing this deal with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Our
understanding is that it would be sort of a scheme where the incoming traffic would go along the route that's closest to the Iranian coast, the
outgoing traffic would go along the route that's closest to Oman.
[12:15:04]
And those provisions that the Iranians are mandating that you laid out, you know, that the blockade be lifted, the American blockade be lifted, that
sanctions that were re-imposed on Iran after the MOU fell apart be lifted again.
Those do seem like items that the president will be open to just given how eager he is for this conflict to be over and for the straight to be
reopened.
I think the bigger question is whether this arrangement includes any fees or tolls on ships that are going through the Strait. The president has said
that that will be a non-starter. And it remains to be seen whether the fees are disguised as something like an environmental fee or some sort of
service fee that will be charged on these ships that are going back and forth.
But clearly, the president on the lookout here for some sort of diplomatic arrangement that will allow him to put this conflict in the rearview
mirror.
ASHER: All right. Kevin, Liptak, thank you for that.
All right. Gianni Infantino is facing fresh scrutiny over his leadership of FIFA. It comes after a controversial proposal to sell off the commercial
rights of the World Cup. The plan was quickly abandoned after several football confederations, including UEFA, rejected the plan, but questions
over how the plan was handled continue to mount.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is now opening the questioning Infantino's leadership. Here's what Carney had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: The idea that proper governance is not to disclose to your closest advisors, your chief operating officer,
your fellow board members, something of consequence that you're even considering, let alone proposing, that, you know, that -- that's fatal,
should be fatal.
And you lose confidence in that individual. They have their own procedures for making those determinations. But certainly, I don't have confidence in
Mr. Infantino, after this point, I, given -- given what transpired and given the nature of what transpired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: European soccer's governing body, UEFA, has threatened to take legal action against FIFA over Infantino's proposition.
All right. Health officials say the outbreak linked to the cyclospora parasite in the U.S. has now spread to at least 15 states. The multi-state
outbreak has been tied in part to shredded lettuce supplied to restaurants like Taco Bell and some grocery stores.
CNN's Reed Binion has the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to stay away from the, you know, any kind of vegetables at, you know, restaurants and stuff like that.
REID BINION, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Consumers expressing concerns about where they get their fresh produce, amid a growing outbreak of
cyclosporiasis tied to lettuce.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just try to watch what we're eating. Make sure we're washing everything.
BINION (voice-over): Health officials have linked the outbreak of the intestinal illness to lettuce sold at restaurants such as Taco Bell and
some grocery stores.
According to federal health officials, the outbreak now accounts for cases across 15 states. This after six states were added to the list. After lab
testing showed illnesses there were likely caused by the same strain of the tiny cyclospora parasite.
The parasite burrows into the lining of the small intestine. It can cause weeks of severe debilitating gastrointestinal symptoms if left untreated.
Some consumers are opting for alternatives when it comes to where they get fresh produce.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel more comfortable taking from a local farmer than from a supermarket.
BINION (voice-over): Local farmers tend to agree.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Growing local and having it directly fresh out of the ground here. We don't -- we're not shipping it, so it has no contamination.
BINION (voice-over): The CDC has tallied more than 6,000 cases in the outbreak. Nearly 300 of those cases resulted in hospitalization. Two people
have died.
I'm Reid Binion reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Still to come, a social media influencer was killed while streaming live. Mexican authorities are investigating his posts.
Also ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He's a man of hate. And now he's going around saying, no, I love everybody. I love -- he doesn't love everybody. Put him in office. You're
going to find out what he loves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Coming up, President Trump's scathing message for his new target, Abdul El-Sayed.
Plus.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY STORY, GRANDMA: Why, hello, Michael.
MICHAEL B. JORDAN, AMERICAN ACTOR: What's up? How you doing?
STORY: This is your granny.
JORDAN: I see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: This grandmother added Oscar winner, Michael B. Jordan, to her family photo gallery and he responded with a gift. Details, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:20:16]
ASHER: Authorities in Mexico investigating the murder of a social media influencer who was shot and killed during his TikTok livestream. They're
also looking into whether Cesar Gastelum's death was cartel-related -- whether it was a cartel-related execution.
It happened Tuesday outside of a fast food restaurant where he was shot by two people on a motorcycle. Police say the attack may be related to social
media posts about criminal groups.
CNN's Isabel Rosales has the details. And we want to warn you that some of the content in her report is indeed disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is 23- year- old Cesar Gastelum, streaming live on the social media platform TikTok with two friends. They're all dressed as delivery drivers outside a fast food
chain for what seems like a benign prank.
Seconds later, this motorcycle stops near the group.
The shooting took place in Culiacan, the capital of Mexico's Sinaloa State. Authorities there say Gastelum was killed in the incident and that a large
police operation is underway.
Gastelum had nearly 600,000 followers on TikTok and was known mostly for his comedy videos. Fellow social media star Alejandro Fierro was one of the
two friends with Gastelum when he was shot.
He'd been posting on his own Instagram ahead of the livestream and was among the first to pay tribute to Gastelum.
In a powerful message, he said he couldn't make sense of it and was heartbroken. Gastelum's case is not unique in Mexico.
Little over a year ago, another influencer, Valeria Marquez, was also livestreaming when a man entered her beauty salon, shooting and killing her
live on social media moments later.
Authorities said at a press conference they believe her murder was possibly linked to Ramon Angel Alvarez, known as El R-1, who was arrested last week
in an unrelated drug case. He's the leader of Los Rs, a criminal group linked to the Jalisco New Generation cartel.
Mexico's attorney general's office said he has an attorney and has not been charged in connection with the murder.
It's unknown if the cartels are behind Gastelum's assassination. Multiple groups are extremely active in Sinaloa.
The actual perpetrators and, if applicable, the mastermind must be arrested and the reason behind this tragic homicide must be uncovered.
Isabel Rosales, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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[12:25:46]
ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.
Michigan has a new democratic senate nominee, and he's already facing harsh criticism from both President Trump and members of his own party.
Abdul El-Sayed is running on a message to get big money out of politics, part of the campaign focused on his frustrations with being significantly
outspent by the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC.
In response, AIPAC has bound to stay involved in the general election and are rejecting what they call a radical anti-Israel agenda.
Now, President Trump is using this tense environment to unleash a scathing attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Abdul El-Sayed, lovely gentleman. He's a man of hate. And now he's going around saying, no, I love everybody. I love. He doesn't love
everybody. Put him in office. You're going to find out what he loves.
He doesn't love Israel. He doesn't love Jewish people. He hates them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: On Wednesday, El-Sayed offered this clarification of his views on Israel and AIPAC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ABDUL EL-SAYED, MICHIGAN SENATE NOMINEE: I will always stand with the Jewish people against any anti-Semitism in any type, just like I understand
the experience of being discriminated against for how I pray. I don't want anybody discriminated against for how they pray, but that's not the same as
AIPAC or Israel.
I'm opposed to unconditional military aid for any country. That is Israel, yes, but that's also Egypt where my family immigrated from. That's
Pakistan, that's Saudi Arabia, that's UAE. And that's not because of a focus on what's happening anywhere except for a focus what's happening
here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: Michigan is a must-win for Democrats as they battle for Senate majority.
Time now for The Exchange. Joining us live now is Toluse Olorunnipa, who is a staff writer for "The Atlantic." Tolu, thank you so much for being with
us.
El-Sayed was on -- with Caitlin Collins. And one of the things that he was saying to her was she asked the question, you know, a lot of people, a lot
of Democrats, moderate Democrats don't necessarily believe that you can win against Mike Rogers come November. They're worried about it.
And his response was, don't worry. Work. If you're worried about it, do something. Don't just stand there and say, oh, my God. I'm so worried that
you're not going to win. Actually do something to support me.
What can other -- because I mean, he is the nominee now. So, what can other Democrats, moderate Democrats who want the party to come together, who
don't want Mike Rogers in that Senate seat come November? What can they actually do to unify the party and get out the vote for November?
[12:30:14]
TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Well, they have to speak to their other moderate members and tell them that this is the nominee and
just like Republicans did.
Well, they have to speak to their other moderate members and tell them that this is the nominee. And just like Republicans did when Donald Trump became
the nominee, both in 2016 and in 2024, even though a lot of moderate Republicans did not want Donald Trump, who was seen as a little bit more
extreme than other options to be the nominee, he became the nominee.
And a lot of those moderates, suburban voters, ended up voting for him. And Democrats are trying to learn how to do that with their left flank, because
in many cases, the people that are progressives are winning these primaries and are becoming the nominees.
And Abdul El-Syed is the highest profile example of this in a purple state, in a state where Democrats need moderate voters, they need independents in
order to win.
And some of the other cases where progressives have won in places like New York and New Jersey, there's no likelihood that Republicans would win those
seats. The mayor of New York, for example, was never going to lose for a Republican. And so it didn't really require the party to come together and
-- and -- and win over moderate Democrats in order for him to win.
But in a place like Michigan, you definitely do need all parts of the party and some independents who are not necessarily traditional Democrats to vote
for -- for the candidate. And so that's the big challenge ahead of Democrats, getting everyone to coalesce around this candidate, who is seen
as more extreme than other options, who's seen as further to the left than some voters are comfortable with.
But the alternative for -- for many Democrats is much worse. Having another Republican in -- in the Senate would be worse for Democrats in many -- in
the -- in the opinion of many of Democrats and having someone so far to the left. And that's the big argument that a number of Democrats are going to
be trying to make over the next 13 weeks to get moderate voters, independent voters, and skeptical Democrats to vote for Abdul El-Sayed,
even though a number of them did not vote for him in the primary.
ASHER: And the primary was a very close call. I mean, they were neck and neck for the longest time. It was too tough to call even the next morning.
But the polls told us a different story. I mean, even as recently as last week, you know, a lot of us thought that based on what the polling
suggested, it was going to be an easy, not necessarily easy, no race is easy, but a sort of slam dunk for El-Sayed.
What's going on here?
OLORUNNIPA: Well, the polls are -- are difficult there. It's hard for the polls to capture what's happening in this country. And we've seen this over
the last decade with voters on the right and with Donald Trump often outperforming the polling.
This was a big warning sign for the El-Sayed campaign. They need to get some of those voters that maybe told pollsters they were going to vote for
him and then in the -- in the privacy of the voting booths decided not to, or people that were not captured by pollsters who were not a fan of -- of
his kind of politics. They need to appeal to those kinds of voters because those are the voters that are going to decide this election.
And the polling and the general election is not something that they can rely on at this point. They may show them up against the Republican
candidate, Mike Rogers. They may show that Donald Trump is highly unpopular in Michigan and in the 30s when it comes to his approval rating.
But the polling has not been reliable in the primary and they cannot rely on the polling or rest on their laurels if they're going to try to win this
race in November.
And so the polling is a little bit difficult to do. And there are a lot of voters that are hard to catch and hard to capture in -- in the polling.
And one thing that is more reliable than the polls are the actual votes. The primaries showed the places where the El-Sayed campaign are weak. And
the voters that have not yet come on board, a lot of those cases are actually the lower class, working class voters that El-Sayed talks about on
the campaign trail. They have not yet been convinced that he is their champion.
A lot of them voted for his opponent. A lot of black voters voted against him as well. And so he has a lot of work to do to try to win over those
voters to get them all to coalesce around his campaign ahead of the general election where, as he talks about getting money out of politics, there's
going to be a lot of money spent against him, including as you mentioned, AIPAC, which spent tens of millions of dollars against him in the primary
and has assumed an alleged that they're going to continue to spend that money in the general election.
And so he's got an uphill fight against a pretty well-funded opponent. And he's got a lot of work to do to build a coalition that includes, not only
his base voters, the young people, the progressives that support him, but also a lot more moderate, black, and working class voters that voted
against him in the primary.
ASHER: Yes. And from the perspective of the Republicans, I mean, obviously they want Mike Rogers to win. A lot of people thought that Haley Stevens
would have an easier time. We'll never know if that's true or not, but a lot of people did think that Haley Stevens had an easier time beating Mike
Rogers.
[12:35:12]
Trump has obviously been very vocal about his feelings about El-Sayed. I mean, he obviously he's made fun of his name. He's talked about the fact
that this is a somewhat who hates -- let me tell you, he hates Israel. And -- and he said all sorts of things about his opinions on Jews, et cetera.
There is no better way, arguably, to force Democrats to coalesce around a single candidate than having Trump weigh in on that candidate. I mean, you
know, the enemy of my enemy, essentially, is my friend in this case.
You know, so whether or not Trump should weigh in even more if you're a Republican, what is your perspective on that?
OLORUNNIPA: Well, Trump will definitely be weighing in and he can't help himself in these kinds of races. I don't think Mike Rogers wants to hear
much from Trump in this race, in part because the president is so unpopular in Michigan right now. And this is likely to be a very close race and the
fact that, as you mentioned, Trump is a big motivator for Democrats.
Even Democrats that don't necessarily support everything that Abdul El- Sayed is saying, they do not like Donald Trump. They have been waiting to send a message to Donald Trump for the last two years.
And the enthusiasm in the democratic side has been through the roof, through this primary season. And so every time Donald Trump comes out and
tweets or talks about Michigan, it's a motivational force that's going to pull more Democrats into the polling booth and -- and get them to not
necessarily vote because they are so supportive of Abdul El-Sayed, as we saw in the primary, he -- it was a narrow victory for him and there are a
lot of Democrats that are skeptical about him.
But many of those Democrats are eager to send a message to Donald Trump when we saw that -- that coalition building, as we saw, you know, Haley
Stevens, El-Sayed's primary opponent, come out immediately and endorse him.
We saw people like Chuck Schumer who -- who came out against him in the primary, come out and endorse him after he became the victor.
And it's clear that Democrats are seeing this race as incredibly important to their hopes of taking back the Senate. And they're putting aside some of
their differences in order to try to build a force that can stand up to Donald Trump.
Even if it's not the kind of candidate that all of them wanted, they are coalescing around this idea of sending a message to the president and
saying that what he's done over the past couple of years has not been in -- in their favor and has not been something that they approve of. And even if
it means voting for someone that they don't necessarily like.
It's a matter of sending a message and -- and choosing in the -- the case of several voters, the lesser of two evils and choosing to send a message
to Donald Trump, even if it means voting for someone that they don't support on a number of different policies.
ASHER: Yes. All right. Tolu, thank you. Always good to see you. Hope to have you on. I'm sure we will have you on many times between now and
November and beyond. Thank you, Tolu.
All right. An Israeli official says a third round of talks in Rome with Lebanese official has now concluded. It comes after the Israeli military
ramped up strikes on Iran-backed, Hezbollah, in Lebanon over the past few days.
CNN's Nada Bashir reports on how the renewed air strikes affect civilians trying to rebuild their lives after months of conflict.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clearing the debris of a home now turned to rubble, the result of a month's long Israeli military assault
on southern Lebanon.
When the shelling started, my family fled about, Abuwali (ph) says. And when I returned, everything was destroyed.
His family fled the village of Zawtar, which overlooks the Litani River in February and have only now been able to return following the withdrawal of
Israeli forces.
Inside what remains of their home, the remnants of this war least scattered. Israeli bullets, he tells us.
Walls completely blown out. Bullet holes above where his grandchildren once slept.
"We want calm. We want security. We want a state," he says. "We want to be protected by the military. We don't want to fight. But if Israel attacks
us, we will attack them."
Abuwali is far from alone, among the more than a million people displaced from their homes by the war in Lebanon.
Hisam Hashem (ph) says he and his family of four returned to their village as soon as the military gave them be all clear, after months spent
sheltering in a school in Beirut.
"Take a look at the scene, the destruction. The Israelis were sleeping here in this room," Hisam says. They even left behind their food and water.
Through shattered glass and concrete, Hisam takes us to what was his children's bedroom. Out in the distance, he says, Israeli tanks are still
positioned.
[12:40:02]
"You can see them right front of us, just a few hundred meters away," he says.
Across Zawtar, the scars of this deadly conflict remain. Homes left crumbling, neighborhoods deserted. This monastery now bullet ridden and
desecrated.
The scale of the destruction here is reflected across southern Lebanon. And the recovery process could take years. While members of this community work
to rebuild homes and restore critical infrastructure, some wounds are more difficult to heal. Many have lost their livelihoods.
"Most of the residents here depend on agriculture. There was a harvest season right before the war started. People fled and left it behind," Abed
Ezzeddine, the mayor of West Zawtar, says.
"I believe there is big percentage of farms that are not fit for farming anymore due to shelling and airstrikes."
For many, this is not the first time they have been forced to flee their homes, nor the first time they have returned to find utter destruction.
Locals here know just how fragile a ceasefire can be and how quickly everything can change.
And while some say they are putting their trust in the Lebanese army to protect them, others say they remain faithful in their support for another
military force, Hezbollah, the Iran-backed political and military group has long dominated in the south.
"I'm proud that my husband, a fighter who defended his land, was martyred in his village," Israr Soor (ph), a mother and now widow, tells us. She and
her children fled the border village of Tair Harfa in October 2023. Their community coming under intense Israeli bombardment after Hezbollah launched
a series of attacks on Israel in solidarity with the people of Gaza.
War with Israel, she says, has impacted generations of her family. No stranger to Israeli occupations of the past. They killed my grandfather. My
father was a prisoner of war, she says. All my uncles were tortured. My entire village suffered.
Now, Israr says, she is determined to carry on the struggle. Eventually, we will return to our village. And if we don't, then our children will return.
And if they don't, our grandchildren will.
Nada Bashir, CNN, in London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:45:08]
ASHER: All right. The oil industry is seeing blowout earnings and U.S. President Donald Trump certainly doesn't like it. The world's biggest oil
exporter, Saudi Aramco, is celebrating a 33 percent surge in its second quarter profit boosted by the war with Iran. And it's not the only oil
giant reporting bumper results, more fueled high prices are a boon for oil exporters.
But that translates into high costs for American consumers. And many of them will be voting in the midterm elections.
CNN's Anna Cooban joins us live now from London.
This is why President Trump has such a problem with these high earnings from oil companies around the world. But, you know, their high earnings,
despite the fact that the Strait of Hormuz, is effectively closed.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER: Yes. And that's really because oil prices have risen because of the -- the fear and the scarcity
of oil in -- in the global market and -- and the volatility of these price moves over the past few months.
Many oil traders have been able to take advantage of that, basically. But - - but it's not a good look. You know, Trump is looking down the barrels towards the midterms in November. Democrats are across many polls out ahead
of Republicans.
And let's remember, this is a president that's regularly touted his ability to try and bring prices down for Americans. We heard a lot about, you know,
the cost of eggs over the past couple of years. And his war has really sent prices through the roof, global oil prices.
And then also, you know, just to take one example, the average price of a gallon of gas across the U.S. is now up over 36 percent from before the
war. And so that's happening. This long-running affordability crisis.
At the same time, as you've got these bumper results. So you mentioned Saudi Aramco, but, you know, ExxonMobil up over 50 percent in the second
quarter to $15 billion in profit. Chevron, $12 billion. Shell, a U.K. oil company, posted its second highest quarterly profit in history during the
second quarter.
So, these are the kind of results we're seeing from them. And it makes sense that Trump would -- would express his ire towards this.
And it's also familiar territory. Rewind four years, President Biden, at the time, was also criticizing oil companies for what he called war
profiteering. He touted the idea of bringing in a windfall tax on these profits.
So, Trump is finding himself in a familiar holding pattern during these times of war. But, of course, that is cold comfort. That really means
nothing to the average Americans who are still dealing with this long- running crisis.
ASHER: Anna Cooban, thank you for that. Appreciate it.
All right. Much of Europe has been suffering through some brutally hot weather this summer. And when the temperature goes up, the bare legs come
out. But are shorts appropriate at work? It's an issue that has divided offices around the world, including, by the way, this -- this one. I've
been known to wear shorts to the office many times during the summer.
All right. Anna Stewart hit the streets of London to take the temperature of shorts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Something's got the city hot and bothered.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel strongly that that should be allowed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just feels a bit odd. A bit unprofessional.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
STEWART: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Why not?
STEWART (voice-over): In a heat wave, is it appropriate to wear shorts in the office? There's one way to find out.
Welcome to the CNN catwalk, where the commuters are the models, and the judging is ruthless.
STEWART: Tailored shorts. I think this works for the office.
DANIEL JOHNSON, STYLIST: We're going to disagree all day.
STEWART (voice-over): Daniel Johnson is a stylist specializing in menswear.
Next up, we have Hayden. Thankfully, only sightseeing today.
JOHNSON: A little too short for the office.
STEWART: Not for the office.
STEWART (voice-over): Hubert gets a big thumbs up for his Gordon Gekko style. But is he suffering in trousers and socks?
STEWART: Hubert says he's too hot.
JOHNSON: It's going to be the case for anyone in this heat, is it not?
STEWART: But you'd rather he suffered?
STEWART (voice-over): For this stylist, the rules are quite simple.
JOHNSON: No shorts whatsoever.
STEWART: What if they're tailored?
JOHNSON: Not even if they're tailored, I'm afraid. Legs are not for the office.
STEWART: OK. How about should you show your toes or not?
JOHNSON: Not at all.
STEWART: Never show your toes?
JOHNSON: Never show your toes.
STEWART (voice-over): Fashion is subjective. And on London's famous Savile Row, hemlines are rising.
DOMINIC GAMER, STORE MANAGER, CAD AND THE DANDY: Something like this. This is sort of a mid-thigh kind of short, slightly higher-waisted with a pleat.
STEWART (voice-over): At Cad and Dandy, short sales are up 200 percent compared to last year.
STEWART: Does it matter how short the shorts are, in terms of the workplace?
GAMER: I think so, yes. I think there comes a point. You don't want something that looks like, you know, your dad would wear, you know, on a
weekend sort of below the knee, but at the same time too short is too short.
STEWART: What are the rules for women?
GAMER: I think the general sort of rule of thumb is that something elegant, something discreet, something tailored. I'd say as much so for women as for
men, something that doesn't come up too, too high in the leg.
[12:50:03]
STEWART (voice-over): But even here, a line is drawn for feet.
STEWART: Should you ever show your toes?
GAMER: I'd probably say no.
STEWART: Well, the verdict is in. It is a yes for tailored shorts, but noes for toes.
With temperatures like these, more and more city workers are taking short positions.
Anna Stewart, CNN, Savile Row, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: All right. Happening now. Live pictures, by the way. NASA astronauts are taking a walk in space to give the International Space Station a bit of
a power boost. They're preparing the station for new solar panels that will generate more electricity, helping keep critical systems running and
support the station through its eventual return to Earth slated for early 2031.
Scientists are also getting a whole new look at the sun and it is scorching hot. Researchers captured the sharpest ever view of the sun's surface while
testing a telescope revealing giant swirls of superheated plasma. The close-up view could help scientists understand how the sun stores and
unleashes its enormous energy.
All right. Finally, on "One World." While everyone probably wants Oscar winner Michael B. Jordan in their family, one grandma did just that by
simply adding the actor's picture to her family photo wall, despite him obviously not being in her family.
CNN's Ivana Scatola has more on the grandmother and the actor's surprise.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVANA SCATOLA, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): Story of how a grandma in Tulsa claimed Michael B. Jordan as one of her grandchildren.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Scan our grandma's picture wall. And to the right. Whoa, see my brother. Whoa. Who -- this? Not a cousin.
SCATOLA (voice-over): Mary Story decided to adopt Michael B. Jordan after she saw his picture in a magazine and added it to her family wall.
NATALIE SIMS, GRANDDAUGHTER: Could you tell me you got this picture from? Do you remember his name?
STORY: That came in the mail and his name's on there.
SIMS: But do you know him? Like, is he our cousin?
STORY: Oh, no, no, no. Just in movies and the things.
SIMS: Oh, you just wanted to put him up there?
STORY: Yes. I just -- I hate to throw it away. It was such a nice pic.
SCATOLA (voice-over): Her granddaughter, Natalie Sims, told CNN-affiliate KTUL, that she wasn't expecting the video to go viral.
[12:55:01]
SIMS: So by day two, his team reached out and said, Michael has seen the video. He will respond, but he is on a promo run in like London, but we
want to send granny something special.
SCATOLA (voice-over): The gift was jewelry and a FaceTime call from Michael B. Jordan himself.
Why, hello, Michael.
JORDAN: What's up? How you doing?
STORY: This is your Granny.
JORDAN: I see.
STORY: I was shocked to death. He sent me this necklace and this bracelet. It's my birth stone. And guess what.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What?
STORY: My birthday is February the 3rd and his birthday is February the 9th.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow.
STORY: Yes.
JORDAN: Thank you so much for all of the love you've been doing.
STORY: Thank you for the love you showed me.
JORDAN: Yes, ma'am. You have a beautiful family. Thanks for -- thanks for including me in the -- in the collage and the family pictures. I appreciate
that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ASHER: Michael B. Jordan, what a sweetheart for him to do that.
All right. That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Thank you for watching. Bianna hosts "Amanpour," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
