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Donald Trump Threatens High Tariffs On India For Buying Russian Oil; The Daily Struggles Of A Palestinian Girl In Gaza; 80 Years Since U.S. Dropped Atomic Bomb On Hiroshima, Japan; U.S. House Panel Issues Nearly a Dozen High-profile Subpoenas; Sources Say Trump Administration May Release Maxwell Transcripts; Sean "Diddy" Combs' Attorney Says They Have Approached Trump Administration About a Pardon; U.S. Coast Guard Report on the Investigation of the Titan Submersible Incident Says Deaths of Five Men Was Preventable. Aired 2- 2:45a ET
Aired August 06, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[02:00:37]
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world, and to everyone streaming us on CNN Max. I'm Rosemary Church.
Just ahead, a top U.S. envoy arrives in Moscow ahead of a deadline for a Ukraine ceasefire.
Also:
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Parents here say they are keeping their children indoors, no play or any movement that could stop the little energy they have.
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CHURCH: Not enough energy to play as children are deprived of their childhood, Israel considers a full conquest of Gaza.
Plus, remembering the atomic bombings in Japan 80 years ago with renewed warnings about the dangers of nuclear weapons.
And the series of preventable mistakes that led to the tragedy of the Titan submersible on its journey to the Titanic.
ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.
CHURCH: Thanks for joining us. Donald Trump's foreign envoy Steve Witkoff is on a trip to Moscow, where he's expected to meet with Russian officials, including possibly Russian President Vladimir Putin. We are told, the Kremlin requested this meeting ahead of the U.S.
president's Friday deadline for Russia to reach a peace deal with Ukraine or face punishing new sanctions.
CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now from Moscow.
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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Just hours ahead of the arrival of President Donald Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, Russian state T.V. trying to make sense of the visit.
It can be expected that Witkoff will strive to achieve a solution that will suit Donald Trump, this reporter says, because otherwise he risks returning from Moscow with nothing, and this would be a blow to the position of the American leader's Special Envoy.
But with Trump's ultimatum to Moscow for a cease fire in Ukraine drawing closer, the president piling on more pressure, threatening additional tariffs against India if they don't stop buying Russian oil now.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, we settled on 25 percent but I think I'm going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they're buying Russian oil. They're fueling the war machine. And if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): The Kremlin is very unhappy about Washington's threats of secondary sanctions against its main oil and gas customers, threatening to derail the warm relations Moscow felt it had with the U.S. president.
We hear many statements that are, in fact, threats, attempts to force countries to cut trade relations with Russia, the Kremlin spokesman says. We do not consider such statements to be legal. We believe that sovereign countries should have, and do have the right to choose their own trading partners.
PLEITGEN: Outside the U.S. Embassy here in Moscow, already, months ago, the Russians put up this sign in the colors of the Russian flag, saying, Mbibmecte which means we are together. Now, it's unclear whether they mean they stand together with the United States, or whether it means Russians stand united against pressure from the Trump administration.
Folks around here telling us they hope their trading partners won't buckle under American pressure.
I don't think that India and China will directly stop and back down, he says, at least China is a power that claims to be a sovereign state on which no one imposes their will, and I don't think it will easily surrender at the behest of some third country from outside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wouldn't like India and China to have sanctions against them from the United States. But if Trump's -- if Trump wants it, it's his choice.
PLEITGEN: But you think Russia can withstand American sanctions?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I'm pretty sure that Russia can withstand.
PLEITGEN: How do you think the relations are between President Trump and President Putin now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, all I have to say that I hope that their relationship will be great. I hope, really.
PLEITGEN: Now difficult at the moment?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so, yes.
PLEITGEN (voice-over): And solutions seem hard to come by, as the Kremlin has already made very clear, Vladimir Putin will not back down in the Ukraine conflict.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.
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[02:05:05]
CHURCH: The Ukrainian president says he had a productive conversation with Donald Trump on Tuesday about the possibility of more sanctions on Russia, which Volodymyr Zelenskyy believes could further weaken Moscow's ability to fund the war.
Mr. Zelenskyy also thanked NATO allies for pledging more than a billion dollars to buy U.S. made weapons for Ukraine. The money will come from Denmark, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands. Some of it will go toward munitions for Patriot missile defense systems.
Well, this could prove to be a consequential week for the war in Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is gearing up to meet with his security cabinet amid reports that he's leaning towards expanding military operations in the Enclave.
Netanyahu huddled for three hours Tuesday with close security advisers with the prime minister's office saying options for continuing the military campaign were discussed. This follows reports that Netanyahu is pushing for a full conquest of Gaza, but a full meeting of the Security cabinet on Thursday will likely shed more light on what exactly the government plans to do, the U.N. offered this warning.
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MIROSLAV JENCA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR EUROPE, CENTRAL ASIA AND AMERICAS: Prime Minister Netanyahu's possible decision to expand Israel's military operations through the entire Gaza Strip, if true, are deeply alarming. This would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
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CHURCH: That concern from the United Nations coming amid a deepening hunger crisis in Gaza, and that crisis has led to scenes of desperation as Palestinians rush to grab whatever aid they can among the crowds are young children.
CNN's Abeer Salman brings you the story of one 12-year-old girl and her daily quest to find food for her family.
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ABEER SALMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the summer heat, the walk to the soup kitchen gets longer and more tiring, especially with the lack of food. Parents here say they are keeping their children indoors, no play or any movement that could sap the little energy they have.
Everyone is exhausted. The choices for children like Jana are to wait at the back or get squashed at the front.
JANA AL-SKEIFI, GAZA RESIDENT (through translator): If we have lentil, we can at least move. We have five children in the family, and I'm the sixth.
SALMAN (voice-over): She says they haven't eaten since yesterday. Most people here are clamoring for their only meal of the day.
The soup kitchen might not be open tomorrow or the day after. It's already serving much less food than months before. And there is no guarantee everyone here would get a serving of soup and carry it back.
The blisters and scars tell of how many times boiling soup has burned these hands, stoking disappointment and frustration among the weakest in the crowd. Returning home with a bowl of lentil soup is an achievement, no matter how small.
AL-SKEIFI (through translator): I went so the young children would eat and me too. It was difficult. People got burnt. People were throwing rocks and attacking the place.
SALMAN (voice-over): We first met Jana in May, when she stepped up to take care of her ailing parents and siblings after an Israeli soldier shot her brother dead.
Back then, Israel had just ended a total blockade of Gaza that lasted 2.5 months. Under international pressure, Israel has allowed a trickle of aid, that remains out of reach for families like Jana's, who cannot fight over aid trucks or afford to buy the looted food.
They've grown weaker over the past two months, like those around them in Gaza City, where the U.N. says the famine threshold for acute malnutrition has been reached. And like thousands of children across Gaza, these kids, too, have visited clinics due to malnutrition several times. Jana's mother fears for her daughter's life.
UM AHED, JANA'S MOTHER: She has lost a lot of weight. She gets dizzy if she walks a little bit.
SALMAN (voice-over): Jana feels the weight of this responsibility to keep her family alive.
AL-SKEIFI: It's been difficult. We wake up hungry, and go to sleep hungry. My mom sends me to get water. If I try to carry two buckets, I fall. If I stay in, no one will bring them water. It has to be me.
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SALMAN (voice-over): Abeer Salman, CNN, Jerusalem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHURCH: Joining me now from London is Jasmine El-Gamal, Foreign Affairs analyst and former Middle East advisor at the Pentagon. She is also host of the podcast The View From Here. Appreciate you joining us.
JASMINE EL-GAMAL, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST: Good to see you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: You too. So, Prime Minister Netanyahu is reportedly considering getting approval from his security cabinet on Thursday for a full conquest of Gaza. What would be the geopolitical ramifications of Israel doubling down and expanding military action in Gaza if that indeed happens?
EL-GAMAL: I mean, on one hand, this is -- it's huge -- it's a huge development, and it sounds surprising, but actually, Rosemary, if you look at statements that have been coming out of the Israeli cabinet and senior Israeli officials over the last few months, they have basically been saying that this is their preferred plan all along, that they want to go back into Gaza, take it over, push Palestinians out, and resettle Gaza.
Primarily people like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, who so far, both the international community and journalists have been dismissing as fringe voices or extremists.
But if you look at actually what's been happening on the ground, you'll see that everything that they've been saying and everything that they've been calling for has actually been happening on the ground, despite the objections of the Israeli security and military establishment, including hundreds of former security and military officials who've come out in a letter and publicly said, This is A disaster. A reoccupation of Gaza would have grave consequences for Palestinians living in Gaza, as you've just been showing, they've already been squeezed into a tiny portion of their territory over the last two years, starved and essentially being forced to leave Gaza, which is also something that these Israeli cabinet officials have been saying over the last several months. We want them to leave.
Not to mention, of course, the hostages and the danger that they're being put in because of the increased chance of clashes between Israel -- between IDF forces and whatever remnants of Hamas and other groups that are there. All in all, it basically puts everyone inside of Gaza at a huge risk
of danger, not to mention threatens pushing out Palestinians further into neighboring countries like Jordan and Egypt, which would destabilize those countries, as well as the heads of those countries have been saying.
CHURCH: And Jasmine, what role should U.S. President Donald Trump play at this time, given he's now saying that the decision to occupy all of Gaza lies with Israel?
EL-GAMAL: Yes, Rosemary. It's a really -- you know, if we look at Donald Trump's trajectory since he came into office, and even before that, he was talking about ending wars. He was talking about forging peace. He was talking about putting pressure on the parties to come to the negotiating table. And he did do just that in the early days of his presidency, when we saw that cease fire being pushed by his envoy, Steve Witkoff, between Israel and Hamas, that resulted in some respite for people living inside of Gaza, as well as a release of hostages on both sides.
So, we have seen him go from that basically to less and less pressure on the Israelis, which, of course, the U.S. has leverage over, which is why I mentioned the Israelis, going from we're going to end the war to basically Israel, you can do whatever you want. It's quite disappointing to see from a U.S. president who had pledged to end this horrific war.
And without pressure from the international community, Rosemary, Netanyahu, continues to run unabated, without any -- without any ramifications, full impunity, to execute these plans, really to the detriment, like I said, of every single person inside of the Gaza Strip who's been suffering immeasurably for the last almost two years now, and at huge risk of destabilizing the region.
So, one would hope that the international community, the E.U. which has a role to play and the U.S. Steve Witkoff is now returning from a trip to the region, one would hope that they come to their senses and see what a disaster this is, just as hundreds of Israeli security and military officials have been saying for many months now.
CHURCH: And Netanyahu met for three hours with his security advisers on Tuesday to discuss this doubling down of military options in Gaza, that's according to his office.
[02:15:05]
So, has he given up on negotiations for a cease fire and hostage agreement, or is this perhaps negotiating tactics?
EL-GAMAL: I'll tell you what, it could be a negotiating tactic. I mean, we can't -- we can't push anything off of the table. I do tend to think that, because of what Israeli officials have been saying for months about this being their vision. I somewhat am skeptical of this being a negotiating tactic. But you're right, it could be.
On the other hand, Rosemary, if we just look at this big picture. I mean, what we've been seeing over the past few months is a slow encroachment of Israel into the Gaza Strip, a creeping annexation of the West Bank and increasing settler terrorism there that has resulted in multiple deaths, not only of Palestinians, of American citizens as well, something that Trump hasn't seemed to be bothered by.
So, the facts on the ground that we're seeing are telling us that this is just a reoccupation by Israel of Palestinian land in contravention to international law and to the negotiations that now two U.S. administrations have been unable to finish to get to the finish line.
When you say that Netanyahu might have given up on these negotiations. That implies, perhaps that Netanyahu had been negotiating in good faith. We also know that that hasn't been true from Israeli officials, from Israeli media, and from Egyptian and Qatari negotiators as well, who have been saying that Netanyahu has not been negotiating in good faith, that he has been unwilling to commit to ending the war permanently, and that his vision has always been to regain some control over Gaza.
So, all in all, this has just been, I feel, a failure on the part of the U.S., which has leverage over Israel to move things in a different direction, and the wider international community, Rosemary, as we have watched helplessly over the last 22 months, as this war has gotten to the point now of famine, displacement, ethnic cleansing and more.
CHURCH: Jasmine El-Gamal, our thanks for your analysis. Appreciate you being with us.
EL-GAMAL: Thank you so much for having me.
CHURCH: Well, it has now been 80 years since the U.S. dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan, and some warn the world is once again moving dangerously close to nuclear war. We're live in Tokyo.
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CHURCH: The world is marking the 80th anniversary of the first time a nuclear weapon was used in warfare with the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima in Japan near the end of World War II. Three days later, the U.S. dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. Japan is holding a somber ceremony at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park with dignitaries and the dwindling number of survivors. Eight decades on, experts and survivors are warning the world is closer to seeing nuclear weapons used again.
And CNN's Hanako Montgomery is covering this live for us from Tokyo. Good to have you with us, Hanako. So, 80 years after the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the anniversary comes at a time of escalating tensions between the U.S. and Russia, both nations now engaging in pointed nuclear rhetoric. How is this moment being marked in Japan?
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rosemary. I mean, this is a very significant anniversary for Japan, but really for the entire world to mark. The city of Hiroshima is only one of two cities to have ever been hit by an atomic bomb during wartime, and this nuclear weapon killed tens of thousands of people, many of them civilians. The repercussions of that bomb are actually still felt to this day, and it's forever changed our world political structure.
Now today, the city of Hiroshima held its peace ceremony and we saw dignitaries from about 120 countries and regions attend. We also had some local politicians deliver speeches. Atomic bomb survivors also were in attendance.
We also heard from the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who delivered a speech about the importance of peace. Here's part of what he said earlier today.
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SHIGERU ISHIBA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): The current security environment is becoming increasingly severe. However, it is precisely because of this that we must make every effort to realize a world without nuclear war, and ultimately a world without nuclear weapons.
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MONTGOMERY: And the security environment that Ishiba is referring to, Rosemary, I think, has a lot to do with the events that we've seen simply in the year 2025 we've seen conflicts arise between Israel and Iran, between India and Pakistan, all four powers that possess nuclear weapons.
Now during these conflicts, some experts feared that the nuclear weapons could actually be used, and fortunately, it didn't come to that.
But this anniversary, this 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, really serves as a stark reminder as to what's at stake here, the complete and total devastation of a city, of a people, of an entire community. And it really is a devastating moment in history that many of the atomic bomb survivors hope the future generations will continue to remember, Rosemary.
[02:25:12]
CHURCH: Hanako Montgomery with that report, live from Tokyo, appreciate it.
Still to come, a damning new U.S. Coast Guard report details the many issues that led to the implosion of the Titan submersible and the deaths of five people.
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CHURCH: Investigators with the U.S. Coast Guard say the deaths of five people in the 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible could have been prevented in a more than 300-page report released Tuesday. They found the sub's operator, OceanGate had a toxic workplace culture plagued by, what they call, critically-flawed safety practices and that the company falsified data on the craft's reliability. More now from CNN's Jason Carroll.
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JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A preventable tragedy, that's how a scathing new report from the Coast Guard describes the 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible that instantaneously killed all five people on board. The report also stating the Coast Guard believed former OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush was criminally negligent.
JASON NEUBAUER, DEPARTMENT CHIEF, OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS & ANALYSIS, U.S. COAST GUARD: If Mr. Rush had somehow survived, we would've made a recommendation that the Department of Justice do a separate, inquiry criminal investigation into the matter.
CARROLL (voice-over): What led to the implosion, the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation finding the primary contributing factors were OceanGate's inadequate design, certification, maintenance, and inspection process for the Titan. In one example, the board found OceanGate ignored warning signs and did not bother to investigate safety issues with Titan's hull after an incident in 2022. During that previous incident, a loud banging noise was heard during Titan's ascent, a possible sign the hull was not structurally sound.
The report's findings echoing accounts from OceanGate's former employees, several of whom testified last year about cutting costs and safety issues, issues they say Rush ignored.
DAVID LOCHRIDGE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MARINE OPERATIONS, OCEANGATE: There was a big push to get this done and a lot of steps along the way were missed.
STOCKTON RUSH, FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, OCEANGATE: I've broken some rules to make this.
CARROLL (voice-over): Rush was a highly controversial figure among deep sea explorers well before the catastrophic implosion.
RUSH: I have no desire to die.
CARROLL (voice-over): A recently released Netflix documentary explored his vision for Titan and its eventual demise. Submersible experts were critical of Rush's approach to building Titan, saying its construction was not founded in tested science. The Coast Guard accused Rush of gross negligence in its report saying his company did all it could to avoid oversight by the scientific and maritime community, saying he exhibited negligence that contributed to the deaths of four individuals.
NEUBAUER: I think it was very serious. The fact that the vessel was operated, in our opinion, illegally with paying passengers, with no certification, not even registration for the vessel itself, really I haven't seen that before. CARROLL (voice-over): In addition to Rush, the four others who were killed included famed deep-sea explorer Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British adventurer Hamish Harding, and businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19- year-old son Suleman.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
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CHURCH: Still to come on "CNN Newsroom," an exclusive interview with an attorney for Music Mogul Sean Combs. What she has to say about a possible pardon from President Trump?
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[02:38:02]
CHURCH: U.S. House Republicans are keeping the Jeffrey Epstein case in the spotlight with nearly a dozen new subpoenas. They're asking the Justice Department to turn over any files on the late sex offender with victims' names redacted. They also want to hear from six former U.S. attorneys general, former FBI Director James Comey, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller, and Bill and Hillary Clinton. The move by the House Oversight Committee goes against Speaker Mike Johnson's efforts to delay the release of the Epstein files.
Meanwhile, sources tell CNN the Trump Administration is also considering releasing audio files and transcripts from the Deputy Attorney General's recent interview with Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.
An attorney for music mogul Sean Combs confirms his legal team has spoken with the Trump Administration about a potential pardon. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister sat down for an exclusive interview with Nicole Westmoreland and here's part of their conversation.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Have people in Sean Combs' orbit, have they had conversations with the Trump Administration?
NICOLE WESTMORELAND, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS: Yes. My understanding is that we have reached out.
WAGMEISTER: Reached out is one thing; having a conversation is another. Do you know if there have been active conversations about a pardon?
WESTMORELAND: Yes. We've -- it's my understanding that we've reached out and had conversations in reference to a pardon.
WAGMEISTER: President Trump, when he was asked about this pardon, he said, "I was very friendly with him. I got along with him great and he seemed like a nice guy. I didn't know him well, but when I ran for office, he was very hostile." And the president indicated that a pardon is likely not on the table because of that break in his relationship with Mr. Combs years ago. How is he feeling now about the chances of a pardon given the president's commentary?
[02:40:00]
WESTMORELAND: I think that Mr. Combs is a very hopeful person and I believe that he remains hopeful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Combs faces up to 20 years in prison for his conviction on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking. A White House official tells CNN they won't comment on any clemency request.
CHURCH: I want to thank you so much for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. "World Sport" is coming up next. Then, I'll be back at the top of the hour with more "CNN Newsroom." Do stay with us.
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