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U.K. to Recognize Palestinian State; Tsunami warnings Across Pacific; Gene Wu is Interviewed about Redistricting; U.S. Economy Rebounds in Second Quarter. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 30, 2025 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[08:31:47]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, with Gaza on the brink of famine, Senator Bernie Sanders is going to try and force Congress to act today to force a vote to block U.S. arms sales to Israel. Sanders put out a statement saying this, "we cannot continue to spend taxpayer money on a government," which he goes on to say, "has blocked humanitarian aid, caused massive famine and literally starved the people of Gaza."

Pressure from around the world on Israel is also mounting. Fifteen countries, including France, Australia and Canada, just signed on to a joint statement calling for a broader recognition of Palestinian statehood. It comes just after the U.K. announced yesterday it will recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel changes course immediately.

Listen.

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KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I want to ensure that this plays a part in changing the conditions on the ground and making sure that that aid gets in, making sure that there is hope of a two-state solution for the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, responded to the British prime minister, saying this announcement, quote, "rewards Hamas' monstrous terrorism."

Joining me right now is CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier for much more on this.

Kim, what are you hearing about, from all of your sources, the impact is that this building pressure campaign from countries around the world will have on the situation?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, it has been enough for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to order a return to aid deliveries inside Gaza, though Israelis have contended that the U.N. has aid inside Gaza, that it's not delivering because it has been asking for more security, which the Israelis have not permitted. So, that spat continues.

But Netanyahu has taken a lot of grief from the more ultranationalist parts of his governing coalition for returning to deliveries of aid. So, that shows you that, at least within Israel, it has had some impact. It'll take weeks of deliveries, though, to catch up with the stalls in trucks going into Gaza and entering various Palestinian areas, because 2 million people have been without supplies for a couple of months.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I want to play what President Trump said yesterday about this, about what we heard from Keir Starmer.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You could make the case that you're rewarding people that, you know, you're rewarding Hamas if you do that. And I don't think they should be rewarded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Seeming to take some of the same line that we heard -- that we've heard from the British prime minister on this. I mean, I have seen some criticism that British -- sorry, the Israeli prime minister against Britain's move.

I've seen some criticism that Britain's move shouldn't -- about this, that Palestinian statehood should not be used as a bargaining chip, should not be used as leverage in trying to change, change, tip the scales here. Change -- to change the course of where this is headed.

[08:35:02]

But what impact will this international push have if the United States, as it seems, isn't backing it?

DOZIER: Well, at this point its symbolic. And the British prime minister is taking grief from the left wing of his party that he should just be recognizing a Palestinian state right now, as France says it will do in September without any conditions. But Starmer does seem to be trying to use this to get some sort of change in Israeli behavior on the ground.

The next step, though, what -- that the EU could take and Britain could take is the investments and trade with Israel. The EU is Israel's largest trading partner and investor. So, the combined might of Britain and Europe could really put Israel in a lot of pain. At this point, though, all the EU is doing is threatening to ban Israel from one of its scientific investment and funding programs. But that is a tool that could be used down the road. But, of course, that would hurt Europe as well. Europe really depends on Israel for things like vegetables and flower exports and high-tech exports, of course.

BOLDUAN: The -- I was seeing some announcements that Germany, Spain and France are some of the countries saying that they're going to be starting airdropping aid into Gaza soon. I think -- you and I have discussed this in the past, but this is controversial because it's dangerous. I mean people have died on the ground in previous attempts to deliver aid in this manner and just how much would actually be needed to alleviate any of the famine that is setting in. What will this do at this point?

DOZIER: It just brings more pressure to bear on Israel, showing that these international -- these various western powers are saying, you are not doing enough. But let's be clear that each one of those pallets dropping, they're around eight tons. And a single truck can carry almost double that. So, it's a very inefficient way to deliver aid, but it is a way to put pressure on Israel and make a big, public spectacle, further embarrassing the Israeli government. At least that's what these western powers seem to hope.

BOLDUAN: Yes, well, let's see.

Kim, thank you very much for coming in this morning. I appreciate it.

Coming up for us, several luxury watches stolen from Keanu Reeves home will soon be returned to the actor. How they turned up in Chile almost two years later.

And the top Democratic leader in the House headed to Texas, where Republicans are pushing to redraw the state's congressional map there in, well, their favor.

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[08:42:17]

BOLDUAN: So, officials are now saying that the worst part is over, as tsunami warnings are starting to be downgraded after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake in Russia. Tens of millions of people were impacted. In Japan, at one point, nearly 2 million people across 21 prefectures were told to evacuate as waves reached Japan's northern and eastern coastlines overnight, though Japan lifted all tsunami warnings, advisories do remain.

CNN's Marc Stewart is live from Beijing for us.

What's the latest you're hearing there now, Marc?

MARC STEWART, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right, Kate. Within the last hour, we have now received word that the tsunami warnings that were in place in the northeastern part of Japan, along its coastline, they have now been dropped. But there was a lot of concern earlier today, and for good reason, as it is perhaps the closest landmass to where this earthquake first struck off the far east coast of Russia.

It's well after 9:30 in the evening now in Japan. But earlier there was a lot of -- there was a lot of worry. We have some images from the Hokkaido region, that's in northern Japan, where we saw people going to the roof of a fire station once those emergency orders were issued. And you can see people there, it looks like someone's carrying a child, on the top of that roof.

We also have some pictures more from the ground level. And you can see the waves crashing along the Japanese coast. This is a part of the world that has always been on guard for whether it be an earthquake or a tsunami.

I lived in Japan for much of 2023. I can tell you that the alert system, the warning system, it is sophisticated. It is top notch. And for good reason. If you look back in history to 2011, when there was the massive earthquake that caused the meltdown at a nuclear power plant, it was a moment of reckoning. Japan has learned its lessons about how to respond to something like this.

Let's also take you to Russia, where the earthquake hit. This off the far east coast of Russia. This is video we want to show you from inside an operating room at a cancer center. When this was taking place, we saw doctors holding a patient down who was under surgery. They held the equipment. They tried to steady themselves. A real dramatic example of just how intense this quake was. You see the pictures from inside the room from the minister of health. That's not something we typically see when an earthquake strikes. We're so used to damage on the ground as there is across Russia.

Kate, the concern, though, has been far reaching, all the way up to British Columbia, as well as to Latin America.

[08:45:05]

So, luckily, right now, no major reports of injuries at this point.

BOLDUAN: And thankful for that.

Marc, thank you very much.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is traveling to Austin to meet with Texas House Democrats as Republicans there work to redraw the state's congressional lines. They think it could get them anywhere from four to eight seats. It's very rare to redraw maps in the middle of a decade. It's part of an effort to hang on to Republican control of Congress in 2026.

With us now is Texas State Rep. Gene Wu, the leader of the Texas House Democratic Caucus.

Representative, thank you so much for being with us.

You're meeting with Hakeem Jeffries today. What will you discuss?

GENE WU (D), TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: Well, first of all, we have to acknowledge that it has been three weeks since the central Texas, Kerrville disaster that's claimed over 130 lives of -- of Texans, many of them little, innocent lives. And as we predicted, the Texas Republicans, the legislature, has done nothing. Not a single thing to help them. Not a single hearing. Nothing to do what they have promised to do and to provide relief and to prevent future disasters. None of that has happened.

BERMAN: That is not what you will be discussing with Leader Jeffries today, though, correct?

WU: No.

BERMAN: On the plate today are the redistricting efforts.

WU: No, absolutely. And, you know, we have to discuss what is going on, what we're doing. And I -- I'm sure that Leader Jeffries is going to talk to us and remind us how vital this is for us to defend against it and how vital -- how urgent this is for the whole nation.

This is an extremely unusual act. Donald Trump has asked Governor Abbott to give him five more congressional seats in the U.S. Congress. And no matter what they do, the only way that they can accomplish this is through illegal, racial gerrymandering that our maps are already gerrymandered and they want to take communities that are already split up and split them up more, destroying the voices of black, Latino and Asian communities.

BERMAN: What recourse do you have in Texas?

WU: Look, you know, I think Democrats here are prepared to do whatever it takes. That these are extraordinary times that call for extraordinary measures in response. We -- we're going to do what it takes to protect this country.

BERMAN: What does that mean? Does that mean walking out? In the past -- and things like this have happened before on -- on other issues, and Democrats have -- have left. So, there's no quorum there. Is that something you might try this time?

WU: You know, breaking quorum is a nuclear option, but it is something that Democrats have left on the table, that we are willing to do, that -- it is an extraordinary measure that requires great sacrifice or members that are extreme penalties to come on this. The possibility of being removed from the body. But these are sacrifices that we are willing to make because we understand how important this is. And if this is allowed to happen unchecked in this state, in Texas, this will happen everywhere across the nation. And Donald Trump will have unlimited power to continue tearing our country apart piece by piece.

BERMAN: You may have limited recourse in Texas. We'll see. Because Republicans have so much power there and the law is what the law is. What's your message to Democrats in other states if they do, Republicans do, you know, get this redistricting there. What do you want to see from California, from New Jersey, from New York, albeit they have different rules and it may be difficult, but what do you want to see?

WU: So, I -- look, I mean, this is what -- you've seen our members do this entire week. We have traveled to multiple states to not only talk to those governors, but really to warn their entire state that this is coming -- it's not just affecting red states, this will affect blue states just the same because when Donald Trump just has two seats in the U.S. House, with just two seats, he is able to slash Medicaid, Medicare, Social Security, cut jobs for hundreds of thousands of Americans, and basically set our country back by 20, 30 years. Imagine what he can do with even more seats.

This is going to affect everyone. This is about the systematic dismantling of everything that made us great. Everything that (INAUDIBLE) torn apart piece by piece. And we wanted to make sure that those governors knew and that whatever they do, it is a measure, it is a response that is appropriate for the level of attack against our democracy.

[08:50:10]

BERMAN: Texas State Rep. Gene Wu, we appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And the breaking news coming in right now, the U.S. economy rebounded sharply in the second quarter. The latest GDP report in just moments ago.

CNN's Matt Egan joining us right -- back with us now.

Matt, tell us about what you're hearing in these numbers.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Kate, GDP, it's the broadest measure of the U.S. economy. And the good news is that, yes, it did rebound to an annualized rate of 3 percent during the second quarter.

Now, this is a significant shift from the contraction of half a percent we saw during the first quarter. The first contraction in years. But you got to really dig in here to understand what's actually happening. And what we've seen is that there's something called core GDP in this report. And it strips out some of the distortions caused by the trade war and shifts in government spending. And core GDP increased by much, much less, just by 1.2 percent during the second quarter. And that is actually a slower pace of core GDP than during the first quarter. And so that does suggest that even though headline GDP rebound, this economy has actually started to lose some momentum.

One of the very significant numbers in this report is consumer spending. And we saw that consumer spending increased by 1.4 percent. That was an improvement from the first quarter. But this is a relatively weak pace of growth for people spending. And consumer spending, of course, is the biggest driver of this economy. So, I do think that this report does show how the trade war is causing distortions.

In the first quarter, a lot of companies, they were trying to beat the clock on tariffs, so they were scrambling to import goods from overseas and avoid those big tariff hikes. We saw a reversal in the second quarter. We saw imports actually plunge. And that is a major reason why GDP improved here. So, I think that what you really have to do is take an average of

these two numbers. And I think when you do that, you do see an economy again that has lost some momentum. And a lot of this, Kate, is being driven by the trade war.

BOLDUAN: It's great to see you, Matt. Thank you so much for jumping on.

John.

BERMAN: All right, the most advanced radar system ever just launched into space. We've got new reporting on what it can do for you.

And an American cyclist pops the question in the final stage of the Tour de France. What we want to know, what was the answer?

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[08:57:15]

BOLDUAN: "The Good Stuff." American cyclist Quinn Simmons did not win the Tour de France, but this morning he is celebrating nonetheless. Feast your eyes. Minutes after crossing the finish line in Paris, he got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. I think we can guess what she said. She did say yes, and the crowd behind them erupted in applause. There's a tight shot of the ring. He told Eurosport, I finished the tour in the best possible way. I don't think anything will ever top this.

Jonathan.

BERMAN: I've got to say, if that wasn't yes, I'd be nervous to figure out what yes looks like, right?

BOLDUAN: Yes, exactly.

BERMAN: That was --

BOLDUAN: I want to see it.

BERMAN: Yes, that -- oh, OK.

All right, this morning, Chilean authorities say they have given the FBI six luxury watches stolen from actor Keanu Reeves. The watches, which included an engraved Rolex worth at least $9,500. They were recovered in a police raid months ago. They were actually stolen from Reeves in 2023 during a string of high-profile burglaries. The FBI will arrange for the watches to be returned.

Three people are unaccounted for this morning after an explosion at a plant in Fremont, Nebraska. The mayor said those people were inside the wood pellet manufacturing plant when it exploded. Officials say first responders have not been able to get inside the building yet because of all the damage. The cause of the blast has not been determined. All right, happening now, a funeral procession underway in Birmingham,

England. That is Sharon Osborne. Of course, Birmingham, the hometown of Ozzy Osborne. Sharon there, along with the children. Now, this procession there is headed to Black Sabbath Bench and Bridge, where thousands of fans have left tributes. There's going to be a live performance to honor the legacy of the prince of darkness. That name itself is quite a legacy. Ozzy Osborne died last week at the age of 76.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: So, it is a first of its kind satellite that could change the way that we see earth. And it was just sent into orbit. It's also an historic joint mission between NASA and India, and it will scan nearly all of the earth's land and ice surfaces two times every 12 days.

CNN's Tom Foreman has the details.

I'm trying to wrap my mind around this one, Tom. This seems fascinating, but I still do not understand. Please help.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the most important story of the day. And it's the last thing in your show. Big mistake right there.

Look, imagine this. This satellite goes up there with this unique radar. It can look through clouds. It can look through tree cover. It's about the size of a pickup truck. And as it orbits around the earth, what's going to happen, imagine, you know how you take your phone and you take a panoramic view? What this is doing is basically taking a panoramic view with these radar of what's happening on earth.

[09:00:02]

What does that allow us to see? The way land is moving, the way the polar caps are degrading, the way coastlines are changing.