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Trump's Tariff Rates Now in Effect; Trump Could Meet Putin for a Ceasefire Deal; Estonia gets a Heavy Duty Theatrical Spin on Romeo and Juliet. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 07, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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.

New tariffs are now in effect on dozens of America's trading partners. We'll discuss how Donald Trump's latest escalation in trade tensions could reshape the global economy.

Plus, President Trump suggests he could meet face-to-face with Vladimir Putin as soon as next week, as he touts great progress toward a ceasefire in Ukraine.

Then CNN goes to Southern California to speak to farmers and migrants impacted by Trump's immigration crackdown.

And finally, one of the greatest love stories ever written brought to life by big rigs and buses. One theater company's heavy take on "Romeo and Juliet."

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us.

Well, after months of false starts and extensions, the Trump administration's historic new tariffs are now in effect and could mark the biggest change to the global economy in nearly a century.

If the U.S. has a trade surplus with a country, it's now facing a universal 10 percent tariff. And dozens of countries with which the U.S. has a trade deficit are dealing with 15 percent levies.

Those marked in dark blue on the map have been hit with the highest tariffs. They include much of Southeast Asia as well as Brazil, which is at 50 percent, Switzerland at 39 percent and both Libya and South Africa at 30 percent. India is facing 25 percent tariffs for now, but they're poised to double by late August as punishment for purchasing Russian oil.

We now want to go to London and Paul Donovan, chief economist with UBS Global Wealth Management. I appreciate you joining us.

PAUL DONOVAN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, UBS GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: So President Trump's new tariffs just went into effect with everyone across the globe set to pay more for goods at some point in the future. India will be hit, as we mentioned, with a whopping 50 percent tariff by the end of the month for buying Russian oil and a 50 percent tariff will also be applied to Brazil. What's your response to this tariff war on the world?

DONOVAN: Well, it's not really a war on the world. At the end of the day, importers in the United States are liable for these taxes. It's the rest of the world isn't paying this.

This is U.S. companies that are importing and ultimately, if they are passing on the tariffs down the supply chain, it will be the consumer in the United States that's paying this tax. This is a sales tax on American consumers which goes to the U.S. government.

Well, I think it's very interesting. And we saw this today with trade data from both China and Germany. The rest of the world is just getting on with trading sort of around the United States isolationism.

We've seen stronger than expected exports, both from China and from Germany in today's numbers, because they're trading with everybody else perfectly normally. The U.S. and its desire to tax consumers in the United States is something of an anomaly.

CHURCH: Interesting. So when do you expect consumers then in the U.S. to feel that extra pain of these trade taxes? And who will carry some of that burden: manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, consumers, all four perhaps?

DONOVAN: So I think that because of the very universal nature of the tariff, and because it's what economists call a dominant narrative, for you guys it's the leading story in media, that means I think that it will actually be quite easy to pass these taxes right the way down the supply chain to the end consumer.

But that doesn't happen immediately. So the taxes that President Trump imposed at the start of April, those started, just started to show up in June pricing, and they will hit with full force by probably September of this year.

But the taxes that are being imposed today, consumers will see it in certain items over the coming months, but it's really only going to be January, February of next year that they get the full force. And that's because it takes quite a long time to get a product from the Port of Los Angeles to the shelves of Walmart.

[03:05:05]

And that time delay is a big part of why we won't see the full effect on U.S. inflation, which is what we're talking about, until early next year with the tariffs that happened today. CHURCH: And as reported, those countries that haven't yet reached an agreement with the U.S. will now face the highest duties. How will they negotiate a deal going forward, given these newly imposed tariffs are now in place? And why do you think markets appear unmoved by all of this? Is it because it's going to take some time?

DONOVAN: Well, I think there are a number of uncertainties still, and actually, this is probably one of the bigger problems that comes out of this. So are these taxes legal?

They've got to be tested before the courts. I think there are expectations that some of these taxes will be reversed.

And if that happens, if the taxes are ruled illegal, then the U.S. government will have to pay back money to U.S. companies, U.S. importers that have been paying taxes which aren't actually legally valid.

So that's a whole debate, that's where the focus is going to be. President Trump has alluded to that in some of his social media posts. So that's, I think, one issue that the markets are looking at.

The other thing is that we will see the rest of the world carrying on more or less as normal. Consumption elsewhere in the world is doing okay, we're not seeing inflation shocks in the rest of the world. In fact, disinflation forces outside the United States are still in place.

So all of that means that while the U.S. economy, I think, unquestionably is going to experience a growth slowdown, this is the largest tax increase on U.S. consumers in three generations. So you're not going to avoid a slowdown with that.

But the rest of the world perhaps sort of maintains a more steady state as far as growth is concerned. Markets are perhaps reflecting that.

CHURCH: Right. And the Trump administration is also imposing a new 100 percent tariff on all imported computer chips and semiconductors as a way to pressure companies to manufacture these chips here in America and avoid the tariff if they do that. So how viable is that at this point?

DONOVAN: Well, I think that it is viable if the President wants to do this. And if the courts will let him do it, then we can go ahead and charge this tariff.

But of course, what's happened is that with the exemption you've mentioned, huge swathes of the industry are exempt from these particular taxes. So it's not so much a retreat from taxes, it's more of a pirouette. There's a lot of spin here and not so much substance.

What I think is going to happen is that companies will dust off existing plans to expand capacity in the United States or maintain capacity in the United States and present that as being something new in order to gain exemption from their customers having to pay these particular taxes.

We've seen that with a lot of other stuff. We're getting a lot of commitments from the European Union will invest in the United States. Well, who's going to enforce that? Not the European Union. They can't do that.

You know, we're getting these various pledges come out. And once the pledge is made, it seems the issue sort of fades away fairly quickly within the White House and things settle down.

CHURCH: All right. Well, so what happens, Paul Donovan, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your analysis on this. I appreciate it.

DONOVAN: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, U.S. President Donald Trump says there's a good chance he will be meeting very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting with Ukraine's president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We had some very good talks with President Putin today, and there's a very good chance that we could be ending the round, ending the -- end of that road. That road was long and continues to be long. But there's a good chance that there will be a meeting very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the news of potential talks, but offered words of caution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): It seems that Russia is now more inclined towards ceasefire. The pressure on them is working. But the main thing is that they do not deceive us in the details, neither us nor the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: President Trump's comments about possible ceasefire talks followed a meeting in Moscow between Russian President Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff. Mr. Trump says they made, quote, "great progress, but no breakthrough at the meeting." He declined to comment about the timeline for a ceasefire deal.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has details now from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As Russian President Vladimir Putin welcomed U.S. presidential envoy Steve Witkoff to the Kremlin, Russian state media with special wall-to-wall coverage. [03:10:09]

We begin with urgent news, the host says. Just at this moment, President Putin is meeting with U.S. special envoy Witkoff.

One expert warning not to make the U.S. President into an adversary.

We need to avoid getting Donald Trump in the ranks of sincere enemies, he says. He himself does not want to be our sincere enemy. Trump is saying, dear Russia, let's do something so that I don't look like a loser.

Russia can give him this and not force him to introduce these sanctions he himself does not need them.

President Trump is demanding serious movement towards a ceasefire in Ukraine and threatening major sanctions against Russia by the end of this week if there's no progress.

But while the Russians were laying on the hospitality, the head of Russia's direct investment fund taking Steve Witkoff for a walk in a Moscow park after earlier picking Witkoff up from the airport and then posting this photo on social media after an almost three hour meeting with Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin framing the talks as little more than an exchange of positions.

On our part in particular, some signals were transmitted on the Ukrainian issue and corresponding signals were also received from President Trump, this Kremlin aide says. The situation now is that our president has full information that is our signals from President Trump.

PLEITGEN: Both the Kremlin and the White House say they understand just how important today's meeting is. The Russians, of course, want to prevent any massive sanctions against their economy by President Trump. At the same time, they are still eyeing generally improved relations between Moscow and Washington.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): But the trajectory seems to be heading in the opposite direction. The Trump administration announcing new tariffs against India, one of the main clients for Russian oil, shortly after Steve Witkoff's motorcade left the Kremlin for the journey back to the U.S.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Last hour, I spoke with Anne Applebaum, staff writer for "The Atlantic" and author of the book "Autocracy, Inc." And I asked her about Witkoff's meeting with President Putin and what was actually accomplished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNE APPLEBAUM, STAFF WRITER, "THE ATLANTIC", AND AUTHOR OF "AUTOCRACY, INC.": So of course, I don't know what was said in the private meetings. So stipulate I didn't have access to that.

I would be very careful though, because remember, Vladimir Putin has never said in public that he wants to end the war now. In other words, he's never said that he's given up on his main goal. And his main goal is the destruction of the incorporation of Ukraine into some kind of Russian empire or state, the removal of the Ukrainian government and changing it for a pro-Russian government.

And he's never given up those goals. In fact, very recently, in the last month or two, he said once again, anywhere where there has ever been a Russian soldier, that territory belongs to Russia or could belong to Russia again and of course, that includes Berlin. So he hasn't made any public gesture at all.

And in fact, at the same time, the United States has had a very uneven and unpredictable policy, which from the Russian point of view, looks unserious. So for example, even while President Trump is talking about new sanctions, the old sanctions, the sanctions that were laid on by the Biden administration that were designed to prevent parts and components for the Russian weapons industry from getting into Russia.

These are being gradually lifted because they require constant updating and constant renewing. There was a congressional report earlier this week pointing out exactly that.

So it's a -- it's actually fairly murky. It's not clear whether the Russians think there's a real challenge from the United States or not.

CHURCH: Right. And as we just heard, of course, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy responded to these developments by saying that Russia seems more inclined toward a ceasefire and that the pressure on Moscow is working. But Zelenskyy warned not to be deceived by Russia. What do you say to all of that?

APPLEBAUM: Well, I mean, of course, Ukrainians and not just Ukrainians have a lot of experience of Russians saying one thing or Putin in particular saying one thing and then doing something else. So any, you know, any public statement would have to be taken with a grain of salt.

Any announced ceasefire would have to have some kind of enforcement mechanism. And any plan to end the war would also have to include some kind of security guarantee for Ukraine. Some, you know, because the Ukrainians know that the war could start up again at any moment.

But again, you know, Putin has not said that he wants the war to end. And certainly he has not said that he wants it to end on the current, you know, the current front line.

[03:15:03]

He's still he and people around him are still repeating their main goals as they have done for the last three years.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: Benjamin Netanyahu prepares to meet with top officials as the Israeli prime minister considers expanding military operations in Gaza. More in a live report just ahead.

And France is seeing its biggest wildfire in 80 years. Flames have scorched acres of land near the Spanish border, torching an area bigger than Paris. That story and much more, straight ahead.

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[03:20:03]

CHURCH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to meet with his security cabinet today. Reports say he plans to urge them to back a full conquest of Gaza.

But the idea of expanding Israel's military campaign is facing growing opposition. Sources say the country's military chief is warning against a full takeover of the enclave and Israel's opposition leader calls it a bad idea. All this as health officials in Gaza report the highest death toll in weeks.

CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has reported extensively from Gaza for decades. But right now, the Israeli government has banned international media from the territory. So Ben joins us live from Rome. Good to see you, Ben.

So what is expected to come out of Netanyahu's cabinet meeting in the coming hours?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know at this point, Rosemary, but certainly there, as you mentioned, there are divisions within the government and Israeli society at large about what the next steps will be.

Now, we've heard, of course, that Prime Minister Netanyahu wants to do this full reconquest of Gaza. But Eyal Zamir, the chief of staff of the Israeli Army, is worried that it's going to be a trap, that basically Israel controls 75 percent of the Gaza Strip as it is.

The remaining 25 percent is where almost the entirety of the population of more than two million people of Gaza live. And going into that remaining 25 percent could lead to extremely high civilian casualties, as if they're not already too high as it is. And, of course, it may endanger the lives of the hostages.

Now, what's interesting is this comes almost exactly 20 years after the so-called Gaza disengagement, which took place when Ariel Sharon was the Prime Minister.

Benjamin Netanyahu at the time was strongly opposed to that. There are elements within the Israeli government who want to reoccupy Gaza, reestablish Jewish settlements there. And, of course, many of those extreme elements want to expel the population, the Palestinian population of Gaza.

So this move is very problematic in terms of casualties and the long- term plans Israel has for Gaza. Rosemary?

CHURCH: And, Ben, what more can you tell us about this new Human Rights Watch report that says Israel is attacking schools in Gaza where Palestinians are seeking shelter?

WEDEMAN: Yes. This is a report they just put out today. It was embargoed until now, which focuses on the fact that as Israel's operations in Gaza have escalated, more and more people have gone to schools thinking that they are safe shelters where Israel will not strike them.

However, according to the Human Rights Watch report, more than 500 school buildings have been struck by Israel since October 2023, and that as of the 18th of July, 836 people were killed in those strikes and more than 2500 injured.

Now, the Human Rights Report points out that Israel claims that they are going after militants who are embedded in these schools, but they say they've only found seven instances where the Israeli military documented that there were militants killed in these strikes. Beyond that, the Human Rights Watch is urging the United States and other countries that have been providing weapons to Israel during this war to stop that, to impose an arms embargo on Israel.

But as we've seen over the last 22 months of this war, the United States and other countries have not really taken much action in terms of Israel's use of these weapons provided by the United States and others in cases where, according to Human Rights Watch and other human rights organizations, that there have been war crimes committed by Israel.

But Israel continues to act largely with impunity in Gaza, and there doesn't seem to be any inclination or tendency or leaning by, for instance, the Trump or the Biden administration before it to really use its leverage on Israel to put an end to this sort of -- these sort of strikes that have left so many people dead in Gaza.

[03:25:02]

CHURCH: Our thanks to Ben Wedeman bringing us that live report from Rome, I appreciate it.

Still to come, why the streets of the Ukrainian city of Hafsan have become a hunting ground for Russian drone operators. Back in just a moment.

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[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: A warm welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

The new and long-threatened U.S. tariffs kicked in just a few hours ago. Dozens of trading partners will now face levies anywhere from 10 to 50 percent on their exports to the U.S. India is facing a 25 percent tariff that's poised to soar to 50 percent in three weeks.

Five soldiers are in stable condition following a mass shooting at a U.S. Army base. Authorities say they were wounded after an Army sergeant opened fire at Fort Stewart in Georgia on Wednesday. He was later subdued by other soldiers and taken into custody, investigators are still looking into his motive.

U.S. President Donald Trump says there's a good chance he'll be meeting very soon with Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by a trilateral meeting including Ukraine's President. This comes after President Trump says there was progress but no breakthrough during a meeting in Moscow between Putin and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.

While President Trump talks about peace, the reality on the ground is very different. That includes the city of Kherson, the only regional capital initially occupied by Russia but later liberated by Ukraine. Russian troops are still bombarding the city, and as Nick Paton Walsh reports, they have new goals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Russia is moving to cut off and cut up the city of Kherson, claiming its drones would hit all cars on this road into a city occupied from above where Russian attack drones haunt your every move.

PATON WALSH: Incredible damage being done to the city, clearly Russia trying to force normal life out of there and even as large-ditch peace talks are happening in Moscow, drones circulating around ordinary people trying to live here.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): But this weekend the occupier went further still, moving to split the city in two, trying to cut off its southern island still home to about 2000 people by blowing the bridge. Drone footage caught the moment but it was only partially successful, shredding nerves as much as concrete and sparking a sudden evacuation effort during which oddly the Russians seem to be letting hundreds of civilians out.

PATON WALSH: And there seems to be some kind of pause in drone activity from what we can make out enabling some of these evacuations.

PATON WALSH (translated): Are you happy you left?

NADIYA, KHERSON EVACUEE (translated): Of course, they are shelling so hard since morning. When is all of this going to end?

We've already been crazy by all this. When will they ever come to their senses? Causing such horror, killing everyone for "peace". When is Trump going to come, or anyone?

At our age we don't deserve this.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): They lived alone with almost nothing, so have even less to go to.

NINA, KHERSON EVACUEE (translated): I am so tired of the shelling, my nerves can't take it anymore. There is no plan, I will live where they put me. I am one leg, on a crutch.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): 925 evacuated end Wednesday, but don't try suggesting here this is Russian mercy.

UNKNOWN (translated): They absolutely do not care what the targets are. Talking about humanity from the Russians is absolutely pointless.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Russian drone operators post images of their hunting people in the city. The gaudy music as if it is sport. Wherever we go, anxiety, our cameras might reveal locations to the Russians, especially at this hospital.

Three injured from drones and shelling already and two more once we leave. Oleh, 62, ran outside to help after one drone blast that was hit by a second.

OLEH, KHERSON RESIDENT (translated): Another one came flying, I couldn't even notice where it came from. I fell behind the fence.

[03:35:02]

But I didn't swing my legs over, they stayed outside. My torso was hidden, and that's when it hit my legs.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): But many are stuck here, unable to fend for themselves.

PATON WALSH: Because on release at home. So there are three drones over the hospital.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The buzz and gunfire we heard outside moments earlier, just how life is here.

PATON WALSH: The all clear is being given after the three drones overhead and now we have to go quickly.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Hours after we leave, the city and island are hit hard. Russian bloggers giving all civilians a week to leave the island. Talk of mercy here, short-lived, short-sighted too.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kherson, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Some 2000 firefighters are struggling to slow the biggest wildfire to hit France in 80 years. More than 15,000 hectares have already been scorched, an area bigger than Paris. The country's interior minister says it's equal to the total area that has burned across all of France in the past several years.

The fire started Tuesday. Since then, it's spread quickly through forests and villages, killing one person and destroying at least 25 homes; some 2500 homes have been left without electricity.

Music legend Ozzy Osbourne passed away last month. Born in England, Osbourne gained fans around the world through his music and later as a reality T.V. star in the U.S.

As Stefano Pozzebon reports, he's even being remembered by fans in Colombia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: In Bogota, the Ozzy's pub, it's almost like an institution. It's where the rock and in particular the metal music scene gather almost on a weekly basis. It is of course named after Ozzy Osbourne, the English rock legend who passed away just 16 days ago.

And please come inside. We're here tonight on Wednesday for a special night, a tribute to Black Sabbath and to Ozzy Osbourne. You can see here there is a small altar with candles, an image of Ozzy and some of the messages that people here have left to the Prince of Darkness: Ozzy Pure Rock and Roll, for example, or Ozzy Forever You'll Be in our Hearts.

Bogota has one of the liveliest and best known music scenes in South America when it comes to rock and roll and in particular to hard rock and metal. The Black Sabbath, for example, performed here in Bogota in 2013.

Some of the people that we spoke with tonight told us that has to do sometimes with the conflict in Colombia, with the amount of violence that took place here, especially in the 1980s and 90s and with a generation that was looking for a way to escape, to rebel themselves from society and from the oppression that the war in Colombia brought.

And the concert here is just about to start. We can probably get inside because it's not too loud yet, but even already from here you can feel that there is a link between Birmingham and Bogota this month and that the influence of the Prince of Darkness has reached far and far away.

For CNN, this is Stefano Pozzebon, Bogota.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Undocumented farm workers usually picking crops in the U.S. are dodging federal agents instead. The toll of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is criticizing the arrest of 16 day

laborers outside a Home Depot. Video shows ICE agents getting into a yellow box truck in the store parking lot. The "L.A. Times" says the driver had pulled up to the group and offered them work, then ICE agents sprang out of the back of the truck and detained the group.

As CNN's David Culver reports, the Trump administration's crackdown is taking a toll on farm owners.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SR. U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are any of them still salvageable or not?

IAN CHANDLER, FARMER FACING WORKER SHORTAGE: No, there's not really anything you can do with them at this point.

CULVER: You've got more than 30 acres of this farm with rotting fruit. I mean, these are cherries that at one point were pretty appetizing, but right now are more than two weeks past their prime.

CHANDLER: It's also lost revenue for the workers that would have been able to pick them had they been here.

CULVER (voice-over): Oregon farmer Ian Chandler says about half his usual crew didn't show up this season.

CULVER: You're calling them, I assume, individually and saying, what's going on?

CHANDLER: Yes.

CULVER: And so what did they tell you?

CHANDLER: Well, in the beginning of the season, it coincided, unfortunately, with a lot of really strong immigration enforcement down in Southern California, where our workforce comes from.

[03:45:01]

CULVER (voice-over): While Ian says his workers are hired with what seemed to be a valid I.D. and work papers, fear of ICE raids kept many of them from traveling north this year.

To understand why, we head south to Central California.

CULVER: So we're hoping that one of those farm working families will actually talk to us here and give us a sense of what life is like in hiding.

I think you're good. No names or anything there.

Behind closed doors, making dinner with her mom, we meet "Lisa."

LISA, MIGRANT FARMWORKER IN HIDING: Like every single summer, we will go up there. My parents or myself will pick cherries. But this year we decided to stay home just to be safe.

CULVER: Because you're living essentially as though you're going to be targeted at any moment.

LISA: Yes.

CULVER: You've got to buy food.

LISA: Yes.

CULVER: You've got to go shopping. You do leave for that.

LISA: Yes, I have to. I mean, someone has to in the house.

CULVER (voice-over): Lisa's here under DACA, a program that gives temporary protection to people brought to the U.S. as children. Her three young kids, all U.S. citizens.

CULVER: You can tell they get kind of bored, like cooped up inside, spending hours in front of the T.V. and on their phones, tossing a Frisbee with himself.

UNKNOWN: It says life is good.

CULVER: Life is good.

CULVER (voice-over): Lights stay off to keep cool. Shades down for privacy. Her husband and dad, undocumented, but working to keep money coming in as they're out.

CULVER: Is that your phone?

LISA: Yes, that's my phone.

CULVER: Go ahead if you want to get it.

CULVER (voice-over): Every alert from her phone sparks a brief panic.

LISA: It's OK. I'll call him back.

CULVER (voice-over): But it's her mom she thinks about most, still picking crops in her 60s.

LISA: I would like to point that out. My mom is not a criminal, and it hurts. Sorry.

Back in 2020, when the whole pandemic happened, my parents were being considered essential workers.

CULVER (voice-over): And now they have to hide. Back north in Oregon, farm manager Manuel Nava also noticed several no-shows this year.

MANUEL NAVA, CREW SUPERVISOR: Just last year, we probably had like five farmers coming from California to do the picking, and this year we missed them.

CULVER: They didn't show up?

NAVA: They didn't show up.

CULVER: Others continue working. There's one woman, 75 years old, and determined to keep working, even once the hour has stopped, asking, can I just collect two more buckets?

CULVER (voice-over): She says she doesn't find the work too difficult compared to jobs she had in Guatemala. Workers here earn about $5 a bucket and average anywhere from $15 to $35 an hour.

KATIE BOLTON, FARM OWNER: We hire them just like any other employee. We have an I-9 and W-4 filled out for every employee.

CULVER: Are they paying taxes?

BOLTON: Yes. All of that is taken out of their checks.

CULVER (voice-over): While some may be using false I.D.'s, others here have legal status. But it doesn't matter. Fear runs deep.

CULVER: Katie started to post more and more signs making it clear this is private property, this one even requesting that anybody who comes onto property, visitors and vendors, must go through the office here to sign in. She's done this as a way to reinforce to her workforce that they're in a safe space to try to protect them and to be a barrier of anyone who might come in and target them.

NAVA: You can see 84 people watching what's going on.

CULVER (voice-over): Manuel says WhatsApp is just one piece of a growing underground network that many migrant workers rely on.

Francisco Aguirre is one of the voices behind those warnings. From the basement of a Portland church, he's getting the word out.

FRANCISCO AGUIRRE, ACTIVIST AND ASYLUM SEEKER: We are okay with the government enforcing the law and detaining those who come and do bad in the country. But that's not what is happening. We are detaining families who sustain this country.

CULVER: I was noticing on my Ring app that there are now notifications about where ICE may or may not be. And then people on Waze, the app, will even choose icy conditions on the road to signify that there's some sort of federal operation going on.

AGUIRRE: We have our own ways to communicate that we don't disclose.

CULVER: You won't tell me some of those ways?

AGUIRRE: We won't.

CULVER (voice-over): Francisco has lived in the U.S. undocumented since the mid-90s, fleeing violence in El Salvador. Despite prior arrests, he says he's not interfering with ICE, but rather trying to clarify what's really happening amid rumors and fear. And he is not hiding.

AGUIRRE: I mean, I'm afraid. I will lie if I say no, I'm not afraid. I'm trying to do the right thing.

CULVER: What do you say to folks who say just by you talking about this, you're attracting potential ICE attention?

[03:50:03]

CHANDLER: Well, they are part of our community. Just like my arm is connected to my body, they are part of us. So it's not just a matter of just like cutting them off and be like, all right, see you later. If we lose them, we lose part of who we are as well.

CULVER: One of the things that stood out to us in speaking with those farmers is that they point out this could go well beyond agriculture impact. They say that these workers that follow the fields all the way north, following the crops to work throughout the season, will move from farm to farm and then into other industries, construction, landscaping, even making Christmas wreaths for the holiday season.

They say if the workers aren't going up there to pick the crops, then they're not going to be in place to then help those other businesses.

David Culver, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: The Trump administration is apprehending undocumented immigrants every day across the country, but a silent victim of some of these arrests are their pets. Los Angeles County officials say they're caring for dogs and cats whose owners have been detained or deported.

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CHRISTOPHER VALLES, LOS ANGELES COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL WELFARE AND CONTROL: The animals have become sort of a victim in this situation because to no fault of their own, they're finding themselves in their care centers.

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CHURCH: Officials are encouraging pet owners to have a plan in place for their pets in case they're detained by ICE.

Still to come, it's a heavy metal spin on a Shakespeare classic, literally. We will show you a take on "Romeo and Juliet" you have to see to believe.

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CHURCH: Hawaii's Mount Kilauea erupted on Wednesday for more than 12 hours, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It's had periodic activity over the last few months and has become one of the world's most active volcanoes. Scientists took samples of the magma for chemical analysis amid the dangers of the eruption; experts warned of what's called Pele's hair, that sharp strands of volcanic glass which can puncture the skin and can be launched up to three kilometers or around two miles away.

Well Britain's Royal Ballet and Opera is cancelling its planned production of "Tosca" in Tel Aviv next year. Nearly 200 staff members wrote an open letter rejecting the project, accusing Israel of engaging in crimes against humanity in Gaza. Last month, an RBO dancer held up a Palestinian flag during a performance at London's Royal Opera House.

[03:55:04]

The RBO's chief executive says the decision to cancel the production in Israel was made before the protest letter was received out of concern for the safety of its members.

Well one production that has gone on as scheduled is an offbeat take on Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" produced by a theater company in Estonia. But their unique spin on the classic tragedy is unlike anything you've seen before. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has details.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a limestone quarry in the Estonia countryside, Shakespeare's most famous tragedy is getting a heavy duty makeover. This is "Romeo and Juliet" reimagined with buses, excavators and trucks taking center stage.

PAAVO PIIK, CO-DIRECTOR, KINOTEATER: It's basically a big experiment about what it means to do Shakespeare today and whether we can find new ways to do it.

KINKADE (voice-over): And a Juliet, a red 4x4 pickup truck, small in size but bringing big emotion.

PIIK: We kind of had this, instantly this emotion, okay this could be Juliet. When we saw this kind of very vain looking semi-truck, this was Paris for us.

KINKADE (voice-over): Romeo is played by a speedy rally truck and Mercutio and Tobold are two excavators able to duel with their mechanical attachments clashing like swords.

In this version of the forbidden love story, the Montagues and Capulets are transformed into the motor-ready and carburetor families, a few told by concrete mixer, semi-trucks and city buses.

But finding the right actors was only half the challenge. Directors had to find a way to express emotions, love, grief, anger through the machinery.

UNKNOWN: I would still say that even though it was cars it felt really sweet and cute, like when you had the scene where the cars were kind of probably kissing you would assume, it was the energy was captured really well. KINKADE (voice-over): The show sticks to the same beloved storyline

known around the world and audiences seem to approve.

UNKNOWN: I think they did a great job, a lot of great humor as we know from Kinoteater, quite a few nice little tweaks and surprises so I think it was great.

KINKADE (voice-over): Complete with fireworks, music and a car falling off a cliff, this new version of Romeo and Juliet might not end well for the star-crossed lovers, but it seems this mechanical tragedy has driven straight into the hearts of the audience.

Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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CHURCH: Fascinating. Thanks so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Have yourselves a wonderful day.

"Amanpour" is next, then stay tuned for "Early Start" at 5 a.m. in New York, 10 a.m. in London.

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