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Netanyahu, Trump Discuss Israel's Plans to Expand Gaza War; Europe Rallies Behind Ukraine Before Trump-Putin Summit; Texas Governor Abbott Warns GOP Standoff with Dems Could Last Years; The Economic Impact of Trump's Megabill in Battleground Arizona; California Trial Over Use of National Guard Starts Tomorrow; Hostage Families Call for Nationwide Strike as Israel Prepares to Escalate War in Gaza; Public Interest in Epstein Seems to be Dwindling. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 10, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. And I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

We begin this hour with breaking news. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office saying that he's spoken with President Trump about Israel's plan to expand the ongoing war in Gaza and to take control of Gaza City. It's a major escalation by Israel at a time when there's major pressure both at home and abroad, to end the conflict.

Let's bring in CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak, who has more on this.

Kevin, the president clearly focused on Russia and Ukraine this week. But what more are we learning about the Gaza situation? And are we expecting a readout from the White House on this call?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the White House hasn't said anything about this particular conversation, but it has been interesting just going back over the last week as Netanyahu previews this plan to take over Gaza. The White House and President Trump have really kind of shrugged. They've given essentially a tacit green light for Israel to proceed with those plans.

The president, when he was questioned about it last week, said that it would pretty much be up to Israel to make those decisions. So hearing virtually no pushback from the president or other senior administration officials at this new war objective that you've seen now Netanyahu and his cabinet approved, which is in some ways a difference from the past when President Trump has spoken out against some of what Netanyahu has been doing there. Now, the president both saying that it would be up to Israel, but also

trying to put some distance between himself and this plan, saying that this is an Israeli plan essentially declining to take ownership of it whatsoever. What the president has appeared to be quite focused on is the humanitarian situation there. He said last week that his primary objective was getting more humanitarian aid into the strip, saying that the U.S. would be providing it and that he hopes that Israel, as well as potentially some Arab nations, would help on the ground with distributing it.

You know, we're told behind the scenes that the president has been quite moved by the images that you've seen coming out of Gaza, particularly of women and children suffering from starvation, malnutrition. The president urging Netanyahu and Israel to do more to alleviate that particular crisis. Of course, the president, just at the start of July, had seemed optimistic that a ceasefire and hostage deal was potentially in the offing very quickly. But obviously that optimism waned over the concluding months of July.

Now, the president and his officials are talking about more of what they call a comprehensive plan instead of, you know, this phased approach that would see hostages come out sort of in waves in exchange for a halt in the fighting. What they're looking for now is something a little more permanent, essentially a permanent end to the fighting. All of the hostages come out, and we heard earlier last week, the president's foreign envoy, Steve Witkoff in Israel and as well as in Gaza, talking about some of these renewed plans with Israeli officials, but also touring some of the aid distribution sites that the U.S. has backed there in Gaza.

And so, the president, I think, clearly frustrated that this is a conflict that he has so far not been able to resolve. It's one of two foreign wars that the president once said would be quite easy to conclude, but has now still struggling to come to any kind of resolution. The other one, of course, being the war in Ukraine. And we'll obviously see the president sit down with Vladimir Putin at the end of this week in Alaska to try and bring some resolution to that conflict there.

But clearly, these two wars are outstanding issues for the president as he works to maintain his foreign policy legacy -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Kevin Liptak at the White House with the latest reporting. Thank you so much.

Also new tonight, European leaders pushing for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to be included in Friday's talks between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Germany's chancellor saying it's unacceptable for the talks to be, quote, "decided over the heads of Europeans and Ukrainians." One European diplomat telling CNN they fear becoming a, quote, "footnote in history." Zelenskyy has already flat out rejected Russia's reported proposal to take over two key areas in Ukraine.

[18:05:03]

CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh now has the latest reporting on this -- Nick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Clear pressure from European leaders to ensure not only the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, could potentially take part of the Friday summit in Alaska between Presidents Trump and Putin, but that Ukraine is in the middle of any deal that could be hatched.

A statement from them suggesting that they would like to see a ceasefire first before any meaningful negotiations begin. A reminder that's not new. That's something the U.S. and Ukraine first pushed months ago after talks in the Gulf, again pushed by European leaders in a visit to Kyiv in May. Trump at that point seemed to suggest he backed sanctions against Russia if it didn't implement the ceasefire.

That wasn't the case and we entered into more diplomacy. But a ceasefire immediately happening seems to be the European plank for meaningful talks to begin. And their statement, too, also said that the current line of contact should be the start point for negotiations, essentially freezing the front line. Their retort to suggestions that U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff was presented an idea by Russian president Vladimir Putin that in exchange for a ceasefire for Russia stopping its war and invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine would give Russia the remainder of the Donetsk region that it currently still has under its control. without a fight basically.

There have been lots of different permutations. It seems some misunderstandings potentially, as to exactly what the Russians had proposed, but that appears to be the core of what has had the Europeans most deeply concerned. And indeed, it's toxic to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to suggest that he might indeed give up parts of Donetsk that are still being fought over and defended by Ukrainians losing their lives.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy using the 19 people injured in a Russian strike on a bus station in Zaporizhzhia on Sunday as another example of Russia's brutality, saying how Russia doesn't want peace and his nightly address emphasizing how Ukraine is constantly talking to American officials. But we're into a complex few days ahead certainly. The Europeans want their version of events or potential peace plan to be at the core of what Trump put to Putin in Alaska.

But the Russians are proposing this meeting more as a bilateral improvement of Moscow and Washington's relationship. It's going to be tough to see those two sides reconciled, but ultimately, meetings between European and Ukrainian officials and U.S. Vice President JD Vance have tried to bridge that gap but five days away until Alaska, so much has happened in the last five days, so much can still change again.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Nick, thank you so much. And still to come this evening, Republicans facing a redistricting

arms race as Democrats vow to fight fire with fire. The threats the so-called runaway Texas Democrats are facing and how blue states are now planning to fight back.

Plus.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED), oh, my (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

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DEAN: Extreme flooding in Wisconsin turning streets there into rivers. Look at that. More on this straight ahead.

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DEAN: Texas's Republican governor today is warning there may be no end in sight to the standoff with Democrats.

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GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R), TEXAS: This could literally last years because in Texas I'm authorized to call a special session every 30 days. It lasts 30 days, and as soon as this one is over, I'm going to call another one, then another one, then another one, then another one.

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DEAN: Nearly a week after Texas Democrats fled the state, they're showing no sign of backing down. Former Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke said Texans wont bow down to President Trump's effort to add more GOP seats before next year's midterm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETO O'ROURKE (D), FORMER TEXAS CONGRESSMAN: He thinks -- he thinks that we are going to take it right here, but he doesn't understand, in Texas, our knees do not bend. That doesn't work here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Joining us now is Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia. He's also the co-author of "Campaign of Chaos: Trump, Biden, Harris and the 2024 American elections."

Larry, great to have you here. Listen, you hear Beto O'Rourke there trying to rile, you know, rile everyone up. But the bottom line is what options do Texas Democrats have? LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA:

Not a whole lot. They are probably, very probably going to lose this in the end. However, they've done their party a big favor. Normally, voters' eyes glaze over at the very mention of the word redistricting. Well, it's now topic A on the political table at least. And it has spread to quite a number of other states, both Republican and Democratic. So they've done that favor for the party. The party has a chance, only a chance of matching what the Republicans in Texas are going to do, which is probably to add five seats to their total in the U.S. House of Representatives.

DEAN: And amidst all of this, the attorney general, Ken Paxton, is kind of like zooming out is running to unseat Senator John Cornyn, who's been in that Senate seat for a long time in next year's Republican primary. Paxton has said he wants the Texas Supreme Court to remove 13 of the absent House Democrats from office altogether. I don't -- TBD on if that's even possible.

[18:15:09]

Cornyn is asking the FBI to track down the Democrats. How much of all of this, in addition to having a real impact for the balance of power, but is about political theater?

SABATO: Well, it's definitely political theater. You know, what's the FBI going to do once they locate them? And I kind of suspect that most of us know where they are or have some general idea at least. What are the FBI going to do? Are they going to arrest them for standing up for their principles? I mean, look, this is -- it's getting silly, but these things always do. And it's -- Texas is a mega state, and it's heavily Republican.

Democrats are doing this because they have no other option. They're losing salary, although not all that much. You know, Texas pays $7,200 to each legislator annually. That's one of the lowest in the country even though they're a mega state. You know, New Hampshire, OK. Texas, that seems awfully low to me. But there are real sacrifices being made by these Democrats who have regular jobs and families in Texas, and they're living out of a suitcase. And it isn't all that much fun. I don't think.

DEAN: And look, and you mentioned California is potentially going to do redistricting as well. The governor there, Gavin Newsom, trying to get his voters to approve this mid-decade redistricting to counteract what's going on in Texas. So as this kind of this redistricting arms race, as we've been calling it, is playing out across the country, I think the other question is, is this just what American voters get now, just really gerrymandered districts?

SABATO: Yes, they get gerrymandered districts and as usual they get hyper partisanship. You know, Jessica, just what we needed, another topic to divide people by party and to start arguments. It was bad enough when you redistricted once a decade, right, after the decennial census. Now, apparently, at least in some states, will be redistricting throughout the entire decade after the 2030 census. This makes -- it makes no sense for the country, for the political system, and for the American republic. That doesn't mean it won't happen. Lots of things that make no sense are happening.

DEAN: Well, yes. And look, if this continues, if we continue to go down this road because out of the over 400 seats in the House, there is a tiny little portion of them that are actually truly competitive as we sit here today. If we move more toward less competitive seats, what does that look like? And does either party truly get the upper hand at any point?

SABATO: Well, you know, Russia used to have a parliament that was pretty much set unless you had your head cut off or you were sent to a gulag. I'm not going to say it's that bad here yet, but you're absolutely right. Out of 435 seats, if you're generous and I mean really generous, you can find 40 semi to very competitive seats. Think about that, 40 out of 435.

DEAN: It's a remarkable statistic.

SABATO: That doesn't sound like good politics to me.

DEAN: Yes. Yes, it is amazing. Larry Sabato, always good to have you. Thank you so much. We appreciate it.

SABATO: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: President Trump is being taken to court by the state of California. This lawsuit will determine how much power the president has when it comes to deploying a state's National Guard.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[18:23:05]

DEAN: While the president is focused on foreign policy this week, the White House is also looking ahead to next year's midterms and the road to control of Congress could run through the southwest.

CNN's John King traveled to a key congressional district in Arizona to see how voters there feel about President Trump's first 200 days in office.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A scorching summer in the Arizona desert, a risky time to open a new restaurant, add in higher beef prices, and an unpredictable economy.

RAY FLORES, ARIZONA VOTER: Confident, hopeful, I believe a lot in this brand. I believe a lot that what we do is different.

KING (voice-over): Charro Steak North is just about ready. The bar is stocked, supplies delivered, the team is hired, and for that, Ray Flores gives President Trump some credit, specifically the new law lowering taxes on tips and overtime. FLORES: We had a really robust hiring fair, lots of applicants, way

more than we've had in previous hiring fairs, a lot of quality applicants, a little higher quality. I do believe that those messages of some kind of tax relief created some of this.

KING: This is Arizona's Sixth Congressional District, one of the battlegrounds that will determine whether Republicans keep their House majority after next year's midterms elections. It is a district that covers a ton of ground. This is the edge of Tucson, but the district stretches 110 miles that way. That's east to the New Mexico state line. And 60 miles, my right is south, that's the U.S.-Mexico border, 60 miles that way.

The district is a battleground because it is evenly divided politically. And because of that, it offers a great test of the big midterm questions.

(Voice-over): Republican Juan Ciscomani is the incumbent. Charro Steak North is in his district. And Flores, an independent, has supported Ciscomani in the past.

How they sell that bill, whether that bill actually improves the economy because of the tax cuts or the no taxes on tips or overtime, that's a big deal for his political fate.

FLORES: Yes.

KING: What do you think at this moment? Got a ways to go, but what do you think now?

FLORES: I mean, I think unfortunately for them or for us, to give a good answer right now, we're in the middle of the off season.

KING: Right.

[18:25:05]

FLORES: I think it's probably a question that needs to be asked, you know, a year from today.

KING: Here's another big test. 25 percent of the residents here in Arizona Sixth are Hispanic and Republicans are hoping in next year's midterms to continue their recent important gains among Latino voters. It makes a big difference. Take a look.

(Voice-over): Here in Arizona, for example, Donald Trump won 37 percent of the Latino vote in 2020. He lost here and statewide.

But in 2024, Trump's share jumped to 44 percent. He not only carried this district, he won statewide in Arizona on his way back to the White House.

(Voice-over): Fifteen months still to the midterms but we will get a clue about Latino sentiment next month. There's a special election in the neighboring Seventh Congressional District. It is overwhelmingly Democratic, but also 60 percent Hispanic. CLAUDIO RODRIGUEZ, ARIZONA VOTER: So welcome back to Sun, Arizona.

KING (voice-over): This food bank serves both the Sixth and Seventh Congressional Districts, and is already dealing with some Trump changes.

RODRIGUEZ: I believe these are from Mexico right now.

KING: Right. You are correct.

RODRIGUEZ: That's going to change pretty soon with the tariffs and all that. So we are -- we're going to be definitely seeing less produce come in.

KING (voice-over): But the biggest test is down the road. The Trump agenda bill makes big changes to Medicaid and food assistance programs critical to the working families who come here for help. Claudio Rodriguez wrote Congressman Ciscomani on behalf of the food bank, urged him to vote no, but he voted yes.

So when you say, you know, "Sir, with all due respect, we think that's going to hurt people," what does he say?

RODRIGUEZ: He believes that it won't, that he's attacking the fraud, the abuse, the scam. But I don't know. When we come here every day on the line, we don't really see any of that. And if it is, if it is one or two people that do do that, why punish the rest? Why punish the seniors? Why punish the kids? The veterans? We have a lot of veterans that come through here.

KING (voice-over): The food bank served 171,000 people last year and projects that number will jump significantly as the Trump changes kick in. But the timing there is noteworthy. The politically popular tax break on tips and overtime takes effect immediately. But the biggest and politically risky changes to Medicaid and food assistance don't take effect until 2027, after the next election.

RODRIGUEZ: I know some things are going to roll out after the midterms, which is a -- it's a very nice play, you know, for some folks to wait until after that.

KING (voice-over): That timeline just one of the Trump agenda flashpoints in a place far away from Washington, yet critical to the Republican grip on power there.

John King, CNN, Tucson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Tomorrow, a federal judge will hear arguments in California's lawsuit over the legality of President Trump's use of the state's National Guard troops for law enforcement back in June. You'll remember the president activated the National Guard during anti-ICE raid protests in Los Angeles despite the objections of the governor there, Gavin Newsom.

CNN correspondent Julia Vargas Jones is joining us now with more on this.

Julia, what can we expect tomorrow?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it's a crucial moment for testing how far a president can go over and how the power that they have over the military inside national territory. The White House cited a rarely used law that allows federalizing the Guard during a rebellion, invasion, or if regular forces can't enforce U.S. law. It's the only -- it's only the second time in history that a president has used a statute in this manner.

Now, Judge Charles Breyer, who is overseeing this case, ruled back in June already that the protests didn't quite meet the legal definition of an insurrection and that Trump exceeded his authority in this case. He also said that the president's initial memo instructed Secretary Hegseth to coordinate with governors, which he did not do, so he ordered the federal government to return the state's National Guard to the governor.

But an appeals court paused that order that same day, allowing the deployment to continue. But the lawsuit names not just Trump. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, also the Defense Department. And it's arguing that the president had no legal authority to federalize the California National Guard. The complaint asks the court to block any future deployments without a governor's consent.

And Newsom's legal arguments are centered basically on three claims. The first one is that sending in the National Guard violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the military from acting as civilian police, that it infringed on California's rights under the 10th Amendment, and that the Defense Department's actions broke the administrative law by bypassing the governor entirely.

Now, Trump's lawyers say that the troops, along with the small number of Marines that were sent here to Los Angeles, were just limited to guarding federal property and personnel, and that never engaging in policing. And that that means that the president acted squarely within his powers.

Now, almost two months after that federalization, Jessica, most of the soldiers are now gone, but there are still about 300 National Guard members still on duty in Los Angeles.

[18:30:09]

DEAN: All right. Julia Vargas Jones, with the very latest for us. Thank you very much for that.

The White House may be ready to move past the Epstein files controversy. The question is, do Americans feel the same way? Harry Enten running the numbers for us when we come back.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[18:35:00]

DEAN: Turning back now to our top story this evening and the conflict in Gaza. Families of the remaining Israeli hostages kept captive in Gaza are calling for a nationwide general strike next Sunday to protest the decision to expand that war. Just yesterday, tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets of Tel Aviv, calling for Israel to end the war and get a ceasefire and return the hostages.

The decision to occupy Gaza City comes despite fears at home that the operation could further endanger the hostages, who have now been in captivity for almost two years. Just last week, Hamas releasing a video of one hostage, Evyatar David, 24 years old, looking emaciated and digging what he said was his own grave.

We're joined now by his brother, Eli David.

Eli, thank you so much for being here with us. I'm very sorry it is under these circumstances and I think I speak for everyone when we say we saw those videos and they were absolutely horrific. You've told -- you've called it the greatest cruelty. Tell us more about your reaction to seeing those videos of your brother.

ILAY DAVID, BROTHER OF ISRAELI HOSTAGE: To be honest, I couldn't watch. Me and my mom, it was too much for us. We knew that we will collapse if we'll watch it after so many days to see him like that. My father and sister, they felt they have to watch this video. And my father, he cannot sleep since. But we saw his situation. We saw that he was brought to the point where he may be dead only because his captors decide to starve him in use of the twisted propaganda.

So we are trying to show all those images of my emaciated brother, a human skeleton, only because his captors decide to do so in that twisted mind of theirs.

DEAN: It is so stunning, while you're talking, we're looking at a previous photo of your brother, the one that you have over your shoulder where he's young and healthy, and then the video -- and then a picture from the video where he doesn't even look like the same person.

DAVID: Yes. We saw in that video the hand of the terrorists and he's -- it's well-fed. It's masculine, and it's much wider than my brother's legs for an instant. He was -- it's a proof that those terrorists, which are much worse than al Qaeda, much worse than the next door. And we also heard the testimonies of hostages that stayed with Evyatar in that tunnel. And they say to us, the terrorists were enjoying the food loudly right next to us.

So they are intentionally taking my brother as a human experiment of starvation. Again, just to use him as propaganda. And it's, I think all the world should stand on the back feet right now and say, Hamas, this is enough. This is enough. You need to bring Evyatar and the other hostages, you need to bring them food. You need to bring them the humanitarian aid that got into Gaza. You have to make sure that they live and that they live with dignity.

And the next step will be to demand Hamas go back to the negotiations table to bring back ceasefire and bring back the hostages.

DEAN: And look, I mentioned when we were coming to you that some families of the hostages are calling for this strike next week to demand and bring attention to all of this and protest the decision to expand this war because some of them are very concerned about what it might mean for the hostages who are still being held.

Are you worried about that? I don't imagine how you could be even more worried. But are you worried about that?

DAVID: Yes. I mean, I am worried all the time. I am worried all the time that Evyatar will lose faith. Just, you know, if he loses hope, that's it. It's the end. He's in that point that he's so starved that he's probably having tremendous pain all over his body and his systems may collapse one after the other, but because he did not give up, he -- and we believe that also his friend guy that was kidnaped with him and he's in that tunnel, they don't give up.

So we cannot give up. And of course, of course I'm worried that the military operation is expanding, but I mean, eventually pulled out of the negotiations table and to be honest, I don't know what will help to bring back Evyatar eventually.

[18:40:02]

And right now, Hamas is not pushed enough to be serious at negotiating about the hostages and hopefully it will bring us the hostages sooner. I mean, I can only pray that will happen.

DEAN: Of course. And I know your brother, he was taken at the Nova Music Festival. I think he loved music. Loves music. What -- tell us, tell us a little bit about your brother.

DAVID: Evyatar is 24. He was kidnaped from the Nova Music Festival when he was 22. And he's -- he has the soul of a musician. He's the kindest person I know. He's the best son to my parents, although, I mean, I learned how to be a good son from him, although he's four years younger than I. He plays the guitar since he's 10, and we used to play music and sing together every week. You can see my piano right behind me. We used to sit right here. He plays the guitar. I play the piano.

And I know that he's also dreaming about traveling the world and becoming a music producer to help others make music. And he has the most beautiful smile and that the warmest hug. And I just -- I just miss him. I just want him home, and I want him to stop that -- I want him to stop suffer and be here, be here with my younger sister and my parents.

DEAN: Of course you want him home. And I hope, I hope for that. And I hope that he is home with you all very, very soon. But in the meantime, you are -- you are an amazing brother to continue speaking out on behalf of him when he can't do it for himself.

Ilay, thank you so much for being with us.

DAVID: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Up next in the CNN NEWSROOM, a state of emergency in Milwaukee tonight as historic rainfall slams the city with flash flooding, completely covering roads and leaving dozens of people stranded.

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[18:46:56]

DEAN: Much of the country has been fascinated by the controversy surrounding the Epstein files for more than a month now. The Justice Department now saying it wants to release grand jury exhibits from the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, in addition to transcripts.

President Trump has faced backlash from his own party, from Democrats and the public on the lack of transparency over the files.

CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten is joining us now to run the numbers on this.

Hello, Harry.

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Hello.

DEAN: Happy Sunday to you.

ENTEN: You as well.

DEAN: Where does American interest in this whole Epstein case stand?

ENTEN: Yes, it is absolutely plummeting, Jessica. It is plummeting. What are we talking about here? Well, why don't we look at Google searches for Epstein? Get this, down 89 percent versus three weeks ago when, of course, it was shooting up like a rocket. And it is no longer the top topic searched alongside Donald Trump's name which it had been for weeks. The bottom line is interest in the Epstein case is no longer the top thing that's going on in this country. It's absolutely falling through the floor.

DEAN: And Harry, has it impacted Trump's popularity?

ENTEN: OK, so, you know, we've been talking about this story. It feels like forever now. Right? And it was a very -- a very interesting topic in terms of what Americans were searching for on Google for a long period of time. But in terms of its impact on Donald Trump, it, simply put, hasn't been there. What are we talking about? Well, his overall approval rating now is at 44 percent. In my aggregate of polls, it was 45 percent a month ago. That's a change. That's well within the margin of error.

Compare this to where it was in term number one at this point, where it was 37 percent. So Donald Trump's approval rating is considerably higher than it was in term number one at this point. It's basically where it was a month ago despite all the news of Epstein breaking in of course the media ecosphere. And among Republicans, it's still at about 90 percent. So the bottom line is the interest in the Epstein story is falling and despite the fact that there was a lot of interest in it over the month of July, Donald Trump's approval rating has basically stayed about the same and significantly higher than it was in term number one at this point.

DEAN: Yes, it's certainly holding steady, it appears. Any reasons as to why you think that is?

ENTEN: Yes. Why is it? Well, I think this sort of gives the whole game away right here. Nation's top issue is the Epstein case. This is the number of respondents. Normally we talk about the percentage of Americans who view an issue as the top one. This is actually the number of respondents in our last CNN poll. Among Democrats, it was zero respondents, independents, it was zero respondents. And among Republicans it was one respondent.

One respondent in our entire poll said that the nation's top issue was the Epstein case. And that, I think, is the big reason why Donald Trump's approval rating has stayed so steady on is, despite all of the hoopla, despite all of the news stories about it, the bottom line is the American people don't think it's a top issue, even if they're interested in it is high, and that is a big reason why Donald Trump's approval rating, as I mentioned, has stayed very steady at 44 percent compared to 45 percent last month, and again, way above where it was at this point in August of 2017.

[18:50:06]

The bottom line is this has fallen like a dud, at least with concern to Donald Trump's approval rating. It's turned into at least as far as the American people are concerned with its connection to Donald Trump a big nothing burger.

DEAN: Mm. Now, another topic before we let you go, I hear you're very excited about something that's coming closer to reality. What might this be? I don't know the answer to this question.

ENTEN: OK. Hold on. I'm going to get it right here. We always talk about it at this time of the year. What are we talking about? We're talking about the Buffalo Bills, baby. My Bills only four weeks away from opening day. A Sunday night game against the Baltimore Ravens. Our long national nightmare is nearly over. We're finally going to be in the NFL season, and my boredom, which is creeping ever higher, is about to go adios, amigos.

And I'm going to tell you this, Jessica Dean, this is finally the year where we go all the way. Where else would you rather be than right here, right now? Because the Bills led by Josh Allen, who of course is now a married man, breaking my heart and a lot of hearts of a lot of people of western New York, will never be able to get with him. But he's a married man and hopefully a happy man, and therefore leading our Buffalo Bills to our first ever Super Bowl win. 2025-2026 is the season we go all the way.

You heard it here on CNN first. Facts matter.

DEAN: Wow. A bold prediction indeed.

ENTEN: A bold prediction.

DEAN: A bold look. A bold prediction. OK, Harry Enten, we're going to check in with you on that in a few weeks, and then a few weeks after that and all the way through the season. Thank you so much.

ENTEN: See you later.

DEAN: Record rainfall swept through parts of Wisconsin this weekend, triggering flash flooding. Take a look at the scene in Milwaukee where the flood waters rushed through streets covering roads, stranding vehicles. Milwaukee saw a month and a half worth of rain in just a few hours, and that forced organizers to shut down the Wisconsin State Fair a day early, canceling a performance by the famed rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The rain also hit Milwaukee's airport, flooding runways and taxiways there, and the area remains under a flood watch until Monday.

A CNN analysis found that June through July marked the muggiest start to the season in more than 40 years. Did you feel that? A lot of us did.

Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is here to explain what's behind the summer's especially soupy start -- Allison.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're all used to summer being the hottest time of year, but humidity has made this summer in particular feel a bit more unbearable than usual. New data shows a warming climate is to blame. Now a warm atmosphere soaks up water like a sponge, driving humidity higher than they'd be in a cooler world. For nearly half the U.S., this summer's humidity has been record- breaking so far.

June through July marked the most humid start to the season in more than 40 years based on a CNN analysis. It's been the second most humid start to summer since 1981 for the U.S. as a whole. But some states from the Mississippi Valley to the East coast have actually achieved their most humid start to summer since the data collection of dew point temperatures began. That's not exactly a victory most people would want to achieve.

Now, another reason for the increase in moisture is due to geography. All of these areas that had very high dew points are also close to a warm moisture source. The Atlantic Ocean. For much of the summer, the Atlantic Gulf and Caribbean have been dealing with above average sea surface temperatures. The warmer oceans get, the more moisture evaporates into the atmosphere, and a warmer atmosphere behaves like a sponge, soaking up and then transporting what moisture released the ocean releases.

Now the biggest concern is when it's too humid, it's much harder to cool off naturally. Really humid heat cancels out the benefits of sweating and puts a much higher strain on the body. This leaves people, especially ones without access to air conditioning, much more susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

DEAN: Allison, thank you.

And tonight, on "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," CNN's David Culver looks at a South American country once popular with tourists and now plunged into violence and drug wars. It is an extraordinary report on how cartels work and what Ecuador is doing to fight them. Here's a preview.

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DAVID CULVER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ecuador is not a cocaine producer, and yet the blood spills here. Cocaine is flooding into these streets, and with it, an explosion of brutality. You might think you know this story. Gangs, drugs, corruption. But what we find here may surprise you. Because this isn't just about cocaine. It's about a system. One that pulls in the poor, empowers the brutal, and protects the powerful.

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Oh, my gosh, there's blood on the ground. Careful with your step here.

To understand, Ecuador's unraveling, we follow the chain to see who moves, who profits, and who pays.

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DEAN: An all-new episode of "THE WHOLE STORY WITH ANDERSON COOPER," "Ecuador, the Narco Superhighway," it's one whole hour, one whole story, it airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

Up next, though, in our next hour, President Trump's feud with the nation's capital is set to escalate this week as he prepares to share new details about his plans for a crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C.

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