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Trump Fires Labor Stats Chief after Weak Jobs Report; Trump Raises Tariff Rate on Canada from 25 Percent to 35 Percent; Ghislaine Maxwell Moved to Minimum Security Prison Camp; U.S. Officials Visit Aid Site as Starvation Grips Gaza; Kyiv Reels from Russia's Deadliest Strike in a Year; Angry Voters Confront Republican Lawmakers at Town Halls; Trump Demands Drugmakers Lower U.S. Prices in 60 Days; Chess Included in 2025 Esports World Cup for the First Time. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired August 02, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching here in the United States, Canada and around the world, I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Donald Trump has fired the messenger after a less than sparkling jobs report. We'll look at why some economists are raising alarms.
And a convicted sex trafficker moved to a low security prison. What we know about Ghislaine Maxwell's transfer to Texas.
Plus, the president is sending a new warning to Russia. What Trump is saying about where two nuclear submarines are headed.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: U.S. President Donald Trump heads into the weekend fuming over an alarming new jobs report. It said only 73,000 jobs were added in July and revised numbers for May and June down sharply.
The president fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner, accusing her without evidence of manipulating the report for political purposes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Mr. President, why did you fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics?
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Because I think her numbers were wrong, just like I thought her numbers were wrong. Look at the jobs report today. They were rigged.
(CROSSTALK) TRUMP: Oh, yes, I think so. I had -- I think you'll see some very interesting information coming out. But we got rid -- you have to have honest reports. And when you look at those numbers or when you look at just before the election and then after the election, they corrected it by 800,000 or 900,000 jobs, yes, I would say so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The president also called on Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell to step down after a member of the Fed's Board of Governors said she's retiring early. Trump claims she's quitting due to disagreements with Powell over interest rates.
President Trump's new tariffs are shaking up global markets. U.S. stocks suffered from selloffs on Friday following the trade announcement. The Dow closed 1.2 percent lower, while the S&P 500 fell 1.6 percent and the Nasdaq composite dropped nearly 2.25 percent.
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq posted their worst day since May and April, respectively. Meanwhile, stocks across Europe were also closed lower on Friday, with Germany's DAX index dropping 2.6 percent and France's CAC 40 falling almost 3 percent.
This comes after Trump announced his revised tariff plan, which hiked rates for most countries. Come Thursday, countries with a trade surplus will face a 10 percent tariff rate. And about 40 countries, with which the U.S. has a trade deficit, will pay 15 percent.
And any goods transshipped through other jurisdictions to dodge U.S. duties will get walloped with an additional 40 percent tariff.
One of the many countries facing a hike is America's northern neighbor, Canada. For more on that, I want to bring in Andreas Schotter, who's a professor of international business at the Ivey Business School in Canada. He joins us now from Munich, Germany.
Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it.
So president Trump just bumped tariffs on Canadian goods from 25 percent to 35 percent. We're hearing numbers like 1.5 million Canadian jobs at risk. But many goods are actually still protected under the old trade deal that Trump himself negotiated.
So what's actually getting hit here?
Is this as bad as it sounds?
ANDREAS SCHOTTER, PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS, IVEY BUSINESS SCHOOL: No, it's not as bad as it sounds. It's actually -- Canada is still in a comfortable situation.
First of all, thank you for having me, Kim.
The situation with the USMCA, with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement, exempts many, many goods through the direct hit is mainly on steel, copper, aluminum, certain car parts, certain cars that do not comply yet with the USMCA rules. Certain produce items that are -- that fall under this.
So it's not as bad as it seems. The biggest problem is that, over the years, USMCA compliance has been applied fairly loosely in Canada.
And not every company, particularly small and medium-sized companies, that manufacture things like large snowplows or small snowblowers, they have used their products in the spirit of USMCA but haven't filled the entire paperwork. So this has to happen, so will further the hit.
BRUNHUBER: OK. So Canada has been hitting back with its own tariffs on American goods.
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I mean, is this elbows-up strategy, as it's known, just escalating a trade war Canada can't win?
SCHOTTER: So the U.S. administration currently is unpredictable. I do not think that even the deals that have been made and they are not fully ratified yet -- they are basically intentions at this point in time -- that they will be as stable as regions like Europe or countries like Japan.
Hope they will be. I do think that the slight elbows-up by Canada right now is a good thing. What is unfortunate is that the geographic proximity and the actually very productive integration of both countries has been working for many, many years and the trade surplus comes about mainly due to energy.
And you have to neutralize the energy part out of it because Canadian oil, its heavy crude is -- needs a certain refining capacity. Canadians have relied on Louisiana and Texas refineries for that one. We do not have in Canada the refining capacity.
And for that reason, we sold our oil at a discount to the United States and gain an advantage to the U.S. and we bought back the gasoline at practically market prices. So I think we need to we need to have a level head on this one.
The elbows-up piece on the Canadian side, I don't think it's as bad on the U.S. as it is on auto for 100 percent sure. But the other items, not such a big deal yet.
BRUNHUBER: Yet is the key word there. As you touched on there. I mean, the relationship had been so good, it had been really beneficial for both sides. Now Donald Trump says all of these measures are about stopping fentanyl and illegal border crossings and so on.
But I mean, less than 1 percent of fentanyl comes through Canada. Canada seems to be singled out here, especially when you compare to Mexico, for example.
Why is that?
What's really driving this trade fight, do you think? SCHOTTER: Yes, I think this is a -- this is almost an "Apprentice" performance show that we are seeing. The fentanyl argument, also, the illegal immigration is baloney compared to other entry points. And also the reverse trafficking of drugs across the Canadian border.
Is this a problem in general?
Drugs, 100 percent.
Is fentanyl a big problem?
One hundred percent; not the Canadian side. It's so minuscule. It is -- it is ridiculous. But Canada has little to do here to counter this, other than, you know, providing data. But they are being ignored right now by the one person who brings it up and the administration behind seems to fall in line.
We will see what's going to happen in the near future on this one. But what I said before, the real trade hit will start in September, October, when stocks of goods are depleted enough that it may trickle down to the American consumer.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, as you said, the president is unpredictable but who knows. Certainly a deal could be made before then. Andreas Schotter in Munich, thank you so much for speaking with us. Really appreciate it.
SCHOTTER: Thank you for having me.
BRUNHUBER: Ghislaine Maxwell, accomplice of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been transferred from a federal prison in Florida to a lower security prison camp in Texas. The move comes a week after she met privately with the deputy attorney general as the Epstein files fallout intensifies.
Neither the Justice Department nor Maxwell's attorney have explained the transfer. In a statement, Epstein accusers and the family of Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in April, said the treatment, quote, "smacks of a coverup."
CNN's Ed Lavandera visited the facility in Bryan, Texas and had this report.
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ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of the first things you notice when you arrive here at the federal prison camp in Bryan, Texas, is that much of it is not surrounded by tall fencing with razor wire.
Most of it is surrounded by a simple black metal fence that you would see in many residential neighborhoods across the country. And that kind of gets to the point here, that this is a minimum security facility.
We are told that there are more than 600 female inmates at this facility. And it's also, we should point out, very unusual that Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred here. This is a facility, a prison camp, that usually houses inmates that are considered to be low risk, not a flight risk and also be nonviolent.
But there are a number of high-profile inmates at this particular location in Bryan, Texas. One of them, including Jen Shaw, who was a cast member of "The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City" and also Elizabeth Holmes, who was executive in the blood testing company Theranos and part of a high-profile criminal trial just a few years ago.
But this facility has areas for outdoor recreation. There's an area underneath some oak trees in the shade, where inmates can sit in benches and chairs.
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They're simply surrounded by one chain with signs that say "out of bounds" if you go beyond that area and it literally sits right at the entrance into the prison camp.
Federal prison officials have not explained the details and the specifics of how Maxwell was transferred from a facility, a more secure facility in Tallahassee, to this one here in Texas. They have not explained that.
But for the moment, Ghislaine Maxwell is one of the most high-profile inmates here at this prison camp -- Ed Lavandera, CNN, Bryan, Texas.
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BRUNHUBER: President Trump says he wants to release everything in the Epstein files. In an interview with Newsmax on Friday, he was asked whether clemency was possible in exchange for Maxwell's testimony. The president said he's allowed to do it but nobody's asked him.
Trump was also asked about pardons for other high profile convicts like Sean Diddy Combs. Listen to this.
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TRUMP: It's hard, you know, like you, we're human beings.
ROB FINNERTY, NEWSMAX HOST: Right.
TRUMP: It's -- and we don't like to have things cloud our judgment, right?
But when you knew someone and you were fine and then you run for office and he made some terrible statements. So I don't know, it's more difficult. It makes it more, I'm being honest.
FINNERTY: Yes.
TRUMP: It makes it more difficult to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: And here's what the president had to say about a possible pardon for former congressman George Santos, who was convicted of defrauding donors.
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TRUMP: He lied like hell, I have to tell you. And I didn't know him but he was 100 percent for Trump. But I didn't, you know, I didn't -- I don't -- I might have met him. Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know. But he was a congressman and his vote was solid. Nobody asked me. But it's interesting.
He is at seven years?
FINNERTY: Seven years. He just went away.
TRUMP: That's a long time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld a lower court's order that blocks the Trump administration from carrying out indiscriminate immigration sweeps and arrests in California.
The Trump administration had asked the court to overturn that order, arguing it hindered their enforcement of immigration law. The judge in the earlier ruling said there was a, quote, "mountain of evidence" that the federal enforcement tactics were violating the Constitution.
Immigrant advocacy groups accused the Trump administration of systematically targeting brown-skinned people in Southern California. The judge says the government can't use factors like race, language, presence at a location and occupation as the only criteria for reasonable suspicion to stop someone.
Authorities have found a possible clue in their search for a man accused of killing four people at a bar in Montana. Investigators say Michael Paul Brown entered The Owl Bar in Anaconda Friday morning, shot and killed four people, then escaped in a white truck.
One of the bartenders says Brown lived next door to the bar and was a frequent patron. Authorities have found an apparent getaway truck. Law enforcement is now focusing their search in the mountains west of the shooting scene. They believe Brown is armed and dangerous.
The FBI and Denver ATF are helping local and county authorities with the investigation.
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BRUNHUBER: After a visit from top U.S. officials, Israel's prime minister has postponed making a decision on military operations in Gaza until next week. That's if Hamas doesn't agree to a deal.
A source tells CNN there have been disagreements within the Israeli government about what they should do next, as Hamas has reportedly withdrawn from ceasefire and hostage release negotiations.
U.S. President Donald Trump says he's working on a plan to get people fed as starvation grips Gaza. Israel and the U.S. back a controversial group called the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
President Trump says he spoke with Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff after Witkoff and the U.S. ambassador to Israel visited one of the group's aid sites in Gaza on Friday. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Jerusalem with more on their visit.
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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the focus of this five-hour Gaza visit by the U.S. Mideast Envoy Steve Witkoff and the U.S. ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee was a controversial U.S.-backed food distribution center in Gaza run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.
The GHF set up to sideline the United Nations role in distributing aid after Israel complained that U.N. aid was reaching Hamas. Ambassador Huckabee praised the GHF, saying that it distributed more than 100 million meals and prevented Hamas from getting their hands on it.
But that's not as good as it sounds; 100 million meals between 2.1 million Palestinians is about a meal a day for 47 days. And it's been in operation for 70 days. The organization has been criticized for failing to effectively tackle the hunger crisis in Gaza, which has been devastated in Israel's war on Hamas.
It's also unlikely that GHF meals have been unable to reach all Gaza's residents. I mean, you've got three distribution sites in the whole territory compared to the hundreds previously operated by the U.N.
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The other issue is that this visit, which Steve Witkoff said was intended to better understand the humanitarian situation in Gaza so it could be relayed to President Trump.
Well, that visit was carefully planned and it was a highly sanitized event, which did not capture the chaotic and deadly scenes that have led to more than 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza being killed by the Israeli military as they tried to get food in recent months.
Hundreds of them, hundreds of them near GHF distribution points, according to the U.N. The GHF disputes this.
But to illustrate the point, eyewitnesses in Gaza tell CNN that Israeli forces fired on people waiting near the same distribution site visited by Witkoff and Huckabee. Palestinian medical officials say at least three people were killed. The Israeli military says it fired warning shots to prevent the crowd advancing toward its troops.
And so, it's also unclear how much of that grim reality of Gaza that the U.S. envoy or the U.S. ambassador really witnessed -- Matthew Chance, CNN, Jerusalem. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: I want to show you some live pictures now. The International Space Station is welcoming four astronauts who boarded a short time ago. So we're getting a live look on the station where those astronauts are being welcomed.
They took off from the Kennedy Space Center on Friday aboard a SpaceX rocket. They docked with the ISS about two hours ago. The newcomers are NASA astronauts Zena Cardman and Mike Fincke, Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Oleg Platonov of Roscosmos, the Russian space agency.
And they're planning to spend six months on the space station performing science experiments involving moon landing simulations, eyesight testing in 0 g conditions and stem cell research. The four members of Crew 10, who have been on the station, will return to Earth.
A Russian missile plowed into a building, blowing up homes while residents were still asleep. Coming up, we'll take you to the scene where many have died and survivors are trying to find a way to move on.
Plus, the U.S. president sends a new message to Russia with nuclear submarines. Those stories and more coming up. Please stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Russia's warning some of Ukraine's allies that they could become targets of its new intermediate range hypersonic missile.
President Vladimir Putin announced on Friday the missile has entered production and will be deployed in Belarus. It's the kind of weapon once banned under a defunct Soviet-era treaty.
He also said Moscow could use it against the countries that gave Ukraine their longer range weapons for strikes on Russia. Now the missile has already been battle tested in Ukraine, where Russia used it to strike the city of Dnipro last November.
The weapon is believed to have the range of up to 3,400 miles or 5500 kilometers. Putin claims it flies 10 times the speed of sound and can carry multiple warheads.
Moscow and Washington are engaging in some nuclear saber-rattling amid a verbal spat between their current and former presidents. Former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev recently brought up Russia's nuclear strike capabilities as part of a back-and-forth with U.S. president Donald Trump. They were arguing after Trump shortened his deadline for Russia to
make peace with Ukraine. But as Natasha Bertrand reports, Trump answered by redeploying some of his own nuclear fleet.
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NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: President Trump, on Friday, announced that he is ordering two nuclear submarines to be deployed
closer, potentially, to Russia, following remarks by former president, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on social media alluding to
Russia's nuclear capabilities.
President Trump essentially said that the reason why he is deploying these nuclear submarines is because, "Medvedev has made foolish and inflammatory
statements," and he wants to have these nuclear submarines available in the region. Should those statements be, "More than just that."
President Trump said, "Words are very important and can often lead to unintended consequences. I hope this will not be one of those instances."
Now it's unclear at this point just what kind of nuclear submarines are going to be repositioned. The U.S. has nuclear powered submarines.
Essentially all of its submarines are nuclear powered but only about 14 of them are actually capable of carrying nuclear weapons. And it is the
longstanding policy of the United States to neither confirm nor deny when its submarines that are capable of carrying these nuclear warheads are
actually carrying them.
And so, at this point, it's not clear what kind of submarines are being repositioned and just what they're carrying.
However, it's worth noting that it is very extraordinary for the U.S. to reveal at all where its nuclear submarines actually are in the world, these
nuclear capable submarines, they routinely patrol near U.S. adversaries, including Russia and China, for example. But it is very, very uncommon and
very rare for the U.S. to say anything about. Their particular whereabouts, because, of course, they are meant to operate in extreme secrecy.
So what this is essentially doing is sending a signal to the Russians that the U.S. has these capabilities and that they're nearby. We should also
note that as of right now, the Kremlin has not responded to President Trump's announcement that he would be deploying these nuclear submarines.
Natasha Bertrand, CNN, in Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Residents are trying to pick up the pieces after Russia's deadliest attack on Ukraine's capital in a year.
At least 31 people were killed in Kyiv on Thursday morning, with almost 160 others injured. Most of the casualties came from a residential building that partially collapsed after taking a direct hit from a Russian missile.
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Nick Paton Walsh went to the scene.
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NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The night terror was commonplace blasts. The buzz of drones across the capital skyline but the impact on the city's northwestern edges was not.
A Russian missile hit number 12 Juby (ph) Street at about 4:40 am Thursday. Dawn met with devastation and neighbors carrying their pets out. The force of the blast, huge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): God it is awful.
WALSH (voice-over): This drone shot shows just how. The entire side torn away, floors collapsing on the sleeping. Officials said six dead at first but the gruesome task of unpacking the rubble got underway.
The limp body of a boy carried out. Rescuers cutting through wires, breaking through walls to get this man out about 5 hours later. But if they dug deeper, the numbers of dead shot up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): Our light just turned on.
WALSH (voice-over): Dozens injured but a total of 28 dead here and the panic came back to another air raid siren. Survivors here running to the shelter again. Some overwhelmed.
Others explaining they thought the air raid all clear was given the night before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translation): We woke up because of the explosion. We're on the eight floor and the explosion wave hit us, everything was blown out.
WALSH (voice-over): Over 24 hours later, they could safely clear the rubble away.
WALSH: It's really hard to reconcile the sheer scale of the destruction here. I mean, the whole side of this building just torn off. You can see how so many died. Floor collapsing on floor to reconcile the scale of the damage of the tiny little fragments of personal lives that have just been blown out across the dust here.
People coming back in to the neighboring block, taken out while they can. Hard hats, mandatory. The whole lives here completely upturned in a matter of seconds.
WALSH (voice-over): Killed by the Kremlin here, 6-year old Matvii Marchenko, who loved karate with his elder brothers. I.T. Specialist Vitaliy Raboshchuk with his daughter, Vlada, 18 and Iryna Humeniuk with her two daughters, Anastasiia and Alina.
One miracle here, too, blown out of the ninth floor, was Veronika, aged 23, who landed with only a broken leg.
VERONIKA, MISSILE HIT SURVIVOR (through translation): I was just sleeping, I woke up on the rubble. Most likely I glided down. I don't know what happened. It was a levitation.
WALSH (voice-over): Both her parents died in the attack. No bright spots here, just the hope it might somehow stop -- Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.
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BRUNHUBER: Ukraine is getting more air defenses that will give it a better fighting chance against Russian strikes like those. Germany says it will provide two more Patriot defense systems in the coming days and several more in the coming months.
The weapons will come from Germany's stockpiles but the U.S. will quickly sell replacements to Berlin. Ukraine has been pleading for more Patriot batteries as Russia ramped up its aerial attacks.
U.S. President Donald Trump has been pushing Europeans to send more of their weapons to Kyiv while buying new ones from Washington.
U.S. lawmakers are back home on their summer recess but their constituents aren't giving them a break. Coming up, we'll hear from angry voters, who are confronting lawmakers at town halls.
Plus the Corporation for Public Broadcasting announces it is shutting down after being defunded. We'll have details when we come back, please stay with us.
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(MUSIC PLAYING) BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's
check some of today's top stories.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): U.S. president Donald Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner after Friday's weak job report. The president, without evidence, claiming the report was rigged.
It said U.S. job growth stalled in July, with just 73,000 jobs added, while May and June totals were revised down sharply.
U.S. markets tumbled after president Trump announced his new tariff plan, set to take effect on August 7th. These are the highest tariffs America has imposed since the 1930s. The Dow had its worst week since early April and the S&P 500 posted its worst day since May.
And no explanation from the U.S. Justice Department and the attorney of Ghislaine Maxwell about why she's been moved from a prison in Florida to a minimum security prison camp in Texas. The transfer comes a week after the accomplice of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein met with the deputy attorney general.
The Epstein files have consumed Capitol Hill for weeks and American voters across the country are angry. But they seem focused on other issues, including Donald Trump's economic and immigration policies, as well as the war on Gaza. And Republican lawmakers are feeling the heat at town hall meetings. CNN's Tom Foreman has more.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump seems to run southeast Wisconsin through you.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Republican Congressman Bryan Steil was hammered at a town hall style event back in Wisconsin, over foreign affairs --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two million people in Gaza are starving.
FOREMAN: Immigration, consumer prices, tariffs --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was always under the impression that Congress was responsible for issuing the tariffs.
FOREMAN: And his party seemingly ceaseless bowing to the will of President Donald Trump.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see no leadership. I see following Trump 100 percent of the time and Trump's --
FOREMAN: Steil pushed back but with limited success.
REP. BRYAN STEIL (R-WI): We'll probably agree to disagree on some of my answer here but what I view is the moral hazard created by the Biden administration by allowing the U.S. -- FOREMAN: Before Congress gaveled out for the summer break, some analysts predicted a possible pounding back home for the GOP, in part over the largely unpopular funding bill just passed.
REP. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-GA): If you want to shout and chant, we will have you removed.
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FOREMAN: After all, Republican lawmakers caught hell in the spring break, too, as Trump's second term was just picking up steam.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would like to know what you who are supposed to rein in this dictator, what are you going to do about it?
FOREMAN: Back then, the president's party dismissed many of the loudest voices as Democrats, rabble rousers.
REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: They're doing this for the cameras. We all know it. And I think it's wise not to play into it right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are all immigrants.
FOREMAN: To be sure. It's often hard to know the precise motivation for anyone at these meetings and some Democrats are getting grilled as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have done nothing. You have done nothing.
FOREMAN: But with polls now showing Trump's approval ratings considerably down and disapproval rating up since the start of the year, some Dems like Congressman Mark Pocan, are ready to take a little fire, even holding a town hall in a Republican lawmaker's district.
REP. MARK POCAN (D-WI): He's simply missing in action once again.
FOREMAN: If that will keep turning up the heat on the GOP.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am so disappointed.
FOREMAN: The real challenge for Republicans, however, is not how much heat they feel this summer but how much of the sizzle remains among voters in the midterm elections next year -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. Corporation for Public Broadcasting is shutting down. This follows a long and ultimately successful Republican Party effort to defund public broadcasting stations and National Public Radio, PBS and NPR throughout the country.
Donald Trump signed into law a bill that defunded the corporation, hampering its ability to continue its work. The president has alleged public broadcasters are biased against conservatives. But CPB officials called public media one of the most trusted institutions in American life.
The decision could impact some local stations, especially in rural areas, which may face closing due to lack of funds.
The Smithsonian has removed references to Donald Trump's two impeachments from an exhibit on the presidency. The group removed a board with information about the impeachments last month.
The Smithsonian tells CNN the decision was made after reviewing the museum's legacy content. One of president Trump's executive orders calls on the Smithsonian to downplay parts of American history and to, quote, "remove improper ideology" from such properties.
When asked about the removal, the White House said the Smithsonian has highlighted divisive DEI exhibits, which are out of touch with mainstream America.
President Trump is ordering drug manufacturers to lower drug prices within 60 days or face consequences.
But will they comply?
Can they?
That story and more ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: President Trump is putting new pressure on drug companies to lower the prices Americans pay for medication. He sent a letter to 17 pharmaceutical company CEOs on Thursday. He wants Americans to pay the same that people do in economic peer countries like the U.K. and France.
Trump also wants Medicare, Medicaid and commercial market insurers to pay those lower prices for all new drugs. The president signed an executive order in May threatening consequences if drug companies don't offer Americans lower prices.
The order says he will, quote, "deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices."
Now Trump is giving the companies 60 days to comply but some experts say he doesn't have the authority to implement such an order.
All right. For more on this, I want to bring in from Munich Dr. Mariana Socal. She's an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Thank you so much for being here with us.
So president Trump's demands that companies lower prices within 60 days, I mean, is that realistic?
Can drug companies actually slash prices that quickly?
DR. MARIANA SOCAL, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: That's a great question.
And another question is, do we even know how much they should lower prices?
On average in the U.S. we pay three to four times higher prices than other industrialized countries. However, manufacturers in the United States, they often give confidential price reductions through rebates and discounts that these manufacturers argue lower prices often much more significantly than we think.
And so the part of the question is, what is real?
What is the real price of the drug and how much should these manufacturers lower the price so we can compare it to other countries?
BRUNHUBER: But certainly, you know, anecdotally, when you talk to people who are forced to take drugs and they have to go to other countries, you know, Canada, Mexico, for example. And I mean, they're paying radically lower prices than you do for the same pharmaceuticals here, right?
So you know, what can be done about that?
I mean, president Trump says, you know, he wants Americans to pay the same prices that Europeans do. He says prices could go down by up to 80 percent.
So to emulate other countries' pricing models, is that possible?
Can you can you close the gap by doing that?
SOCAL: It's -- I think it's -- the president's question is very well grounded because the U.S. consumer does not benefit from those confidential discounts and rebates. So consumers really do face higher prices.
It is, year after year, about one in every four Americans cannot afford their drug because of the cost. So there is a real problem there. But part of the problem is, one, transparency, the fact that we don't know how much it costs in the U.S.
Part of the problem is the middlemen that help. They make a profit off these higher prices.
And then it's the question of, if everybody in the drug supply chain is benefiting from high prices, can we really bring prices low? And why can't manufacturers -- you know, it's the same drug, it's the same product.
Why can't they offer here at a price comparable to other countries?
BRUNHUBER: Yes, I mean that's the question.
I mean, is there a simple answer for why prices are so much higher here in this country than comparably, given everything you've said about the lack of accountability and transparency?
SOCAL: There's certainly multiple factors. Part of the lack of transparency is the fact that we have more intermediaries in the pharmaceutical market in the U.S. than in other countries.
Part -- another part of the problem is that our market is more fragmented. We don't have a single payer system. We don't have a single purchasing system.
But at the end of the day, I think the big problem here is that the U.S. consumers are really hurt by these higher prices, even if often we have some discounts and rebates. But those don't directly benefit the consumers. And that's a big, big problem in our country.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
[05:45:00]
And that's why it's so hard to compare, I presume, to systems like Canada and the U.K., which have that single payer system.
Here what's even more confusing though, about this ask from the president. I mean, the president wants lower drug prices but he's also threatening tariffs up to 200 percent on imported pharmaceuticals.
So how can you have both tariffs and lower drug prices?
SOCAL: Yes. And tariffs, the problem with tariffs is that we already pay so much higher prices than other countries. Right. But in addition, U.S. drug makers, they depend on products produced abroad as well.
And so if you include tariffs in the picture, we're not only, you know, raising prices for everyone but also making it harder for U.S. drug manufacturers to be competitive in the global market.
Because when they buy these products that they need, to produce drugs from abroad, automatically, they're going to have higher costs and their products will be less competitive in the global market.
BRUNHUBER: The Budget Lab at Yale found that a 25 percent tariff would raise drug costs by about $600 for the average American household.
Is that what you find as well?
And will it depend on whether you're taking generic drugs or other drugs?
Because I understand the margins are different there.
SOCAL: Yes. Well, the -- one part of the question about how much prices would increase is the question about how much can drugmakers absorb and how much can the supply chain absorb.
How much do they need to pass through to the consumer?
What we do know is that we already face problems, like drug shortages, for example, in this country. And we do know that global manufacturers, they manufacture to other countries as well.
We as purchasers, we have competition when we try to buy drugs. And it was never more evident than during the COVID pandemic. We had many shortages because we only had one supply to the entire world.
So on the one hand, we could have higher prices. But on the other hand, drug manufacturers could choose to sell to other markets and not to us if they have limited inventory.
Because if prices here are higher or if the demand goes down, they may choose to sell to a different market. And we may see shortages as well being exacerbated.
BRUNHUBER: All right. So higher prices and losing access. We'll have to see how the drugmakers respond to, on one hand, the call from the president to lower the prices and, on the other hand, these increased tariffs.
Dr. Mariana Socal, thank you so much.
SOCAL: Thank you.
BRUNHUBER: U.S. health officials have sidelined another group of vaccine advisers. A memo obtained by CNN tells liaison members for the CDC Advisory Committee on immigration (sic) practices that they can no longer take part in the committee's work groups.
The committee reviews evidence and effectiveness of vaccines, then makes recommendations. The liaison members couldn't vote on those vaccine recommendations but they could ask questions about presentations.
In June, Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy removed all 17 voting members of the committee. Many people he chose to replace them are considered vaccine skeptics.
Well, chess is evolving and has joined the Esports World Cup. We hear from Grand Master Magnus Carlsen about why that's good for the game when we come back. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: The International Space Station has four new crew members. They were welcomed aboard a short time ago. The four left Earth on Friday aboard a SpaceX rocket.
The commander of the new crew said the flight to the station was the journey of a lifetime. The four new astronauts will spend six months on the space station. They'll perform science experiments involving moon landing simulations, eyesight testing and 0 g conditions and stem cell research.
Four other astronauts will leave the station and return to Earth.
Chess was included in the Esports World Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the first time this year. Chess Grand Master and five-time world champion Magnus Carlsen has won the inaugural competition. Before the game, he spoke with CNN's Eleni Giokos about how chess is evolving and what lies ahead.
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MAGNUS CARLSEN, CHESS GRAND MASTER AND FIVE-TIME WORLD CHAMPION: I think this is a massive moment for chess. Chess has become more and more online over the last few years, especially since COVID, when we couldn't host live tournaments and online was what we had.
Those online tournaments became bigger and bigger. And it feels like this is the next step, to have these hybrid events. We've had a couple of little test runs, where we've had chess events in esports settings. But this is obviously going to be for much bigger stakes, for a bigger audience, for different audience.
So I'm really, really excited to be part of this and to bring chess to a new audience.
ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Do you think that this is a turning point for chess in a big way, that has become a lot more digital now?
I mean, this is a game that's over 1,500 years old and it's like firmly into the digital arena now.
CARLSEN: The funny thing about chess is that it is, as you said, a bit of an ancient game and an analog game. But it's also kind of made for the digital age because it's so simple to kind of -- kind of translate.
Chess has also become faster and faster over the years. And this kind of reflects that as well. So I think it is just a perfect fit.
GIOKOS: You became a Grand Master at the age of 13. It's incredible to think about your trajectory over the years. And I wonder what you think of this new generation that's so firmly into esports and other games and where chess fits into all of this. CARLSEN: It's a fantastic thing that we have this new digital age,
where information is so easily available. It means that the game is much more accessible to fans. You have engines that can show you how the games are going and it demystifies the game. but it also makes it a lot more accessible.
[05:55:00]
It also makes all these tools makes it so much easier for both kids and adults to improve on their chess a lot. And I think that's part of why you're seeing a lot of kids these days. They become very, very strong at a very early age.
I became a Grand Master at 13. Now kids routinely become Grand Masters at earlier ages than that. You've seen 3-year old rated chess players as well and 9-year olds and 10-year olds gaining titles. So certainly chess players are getting young. The audience is getting younger as well and more and more digital. So it's really an exciting time.
GIOKOS: The Esports World Cup inaugural event was last year here in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, second year. And you know, the Saudis really want to build a legacy around this.
Do you believe that esports includes chess as the new frontier of the sporting world?
CARLSEN: I think that the organizers definitely believe a lot in esports. And I'm happy that chess is part of that as well. I think esports are becoming more and more the choice of entertainment for kids, both to play and to watch. So it's definitely in keeping with the time. And then I think this event will only grow and grow as time passes fascinating.
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BRUNHUBER: All right. That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber for our viewers in North America. "CNN THIS MORNING" comes next. And for the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
