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Prime Minister Netanyahu to Approve Gaza City Takeover, Palestinians Protest. Russia Strikes Ukraine with Largest Drone Attack; Ukraine Bracing for Russian Push Near Orikhiv; Erik Menendez Denied Parole; Venezuela Calls Militia for Possible U.S. Attack; Day Laborers Targeted at Home Depot Parking Lots; Firefighter Survives Flames Engulfing Vehicle; Storm Moves Away From U.S., Coastal Flood Threat Remains; TikTok Employees Concerned About App's Impact On Young Users. Aired 2-2:45a ET
Aired August 22, 2025 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[02:00:00]
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Welcome to all you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is "CNN Newsroom." Palestinians fleeing Gaza City ahead of a looming Israeli invasion. Could renewed ceasefire talks provide an 11th hour deal to stop a full takeover of the enclave?
Russia launches one of its largest waves of strikes in weeks as hopes fade for a one-on-one sit-down between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
And the president of Venezuela is readying four million militiamen as the U.S. deploys military forces off Latin American waters in its fight against the cartels.
Palestinian officials are warning that a looming Israeli invasion and occupation of Gaza City is, in effect, a death sentence for more than 1.2 million people living there. Some residents and displaced people are already fleeing northern Gaza's largest city out of fear of what may come. Officials are calling on the international community to step in before it's too late.
Fearing further displacement and escalating bombardment, Palestinians gathered in Gaza City on Thursday to protest, carrying signs reading, "Stop the Genocide" and "Gaza is Dying." An Israeli source says the military will give Palestinians approximately two months to evacuate Gaza City before the new assault begins. They've set a deadline of October 7th, the two-year mark of the war.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed on Thursday that Israel is now at a critical juncture. He indicated he will approve plans for a military takeover of Gaza City, a major escalation of the war, and he instructed Israeli officials to resume negotiations with Hamas. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translation): I came to approve the IDF's plans for taking control of Gaza City and defeating Hamas. At the same time, I instructed to begin immediate negotiations for the release of all our hostages and the end of the war under conditions acceptable to Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Aid groups are warning against the mass forced displacement of Gaza city's residents. Medical aid for Palestinians says people already exhausted by war and hunger now face a horrible decision, either stay and risk annihilation or flee to uncertainty and risk being driven into exile. Israel's military said Thursday it had begun warning medical officials and international aid groups to plan for mass evacuations and displacement in northern Gaza.
The U.N. warns the military operation against Gaza City could cause, quote, "massive death and destruction." The U.N. says that after nearly two years of war, many people in Gaza simply don't have the ability to evacuate yet again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILIPPE LAZZARINI, COMMISSIONER-GENERAL, UNRWA (through translation): So we have a population that is extremely weak that will be confronted with a new major military operation. We thought we had already said everything when it comes to Gaza. We had described Gaza as hell on earth. But yes, if this scenario comes true, even if we talk about the evacuation of people in Gaza toward the south, many will simply not have the strength to undergo a new displacement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: All right, for more on all this, want to bring in Amir Tibon, a journalist with Haaretz. He's also the author of the book, "The Gates of Gaza" and he joins us live from Haifa, Israel. Thank you so much for being here with us. So, Prime Minister Netanyahu just announced he's ordering immediate negotiations for the hostages' release, but at same time, he's also approving plans to capture Gaza City. I mean, isn't this a contradiction? How do you negotiate while expanding the war?
AMIR TIBON, JOURNALIST, HAARETZ: If there were real negotiations, maybe it would make sense as a tactic to try to impact the outcome of the negotiations, but Netanyahu is not really negotiating. A few days ago, we had an announcement that Hamas has accepted a proposal by Egypt and Qatar for a temporary ceasefire along the same lines that Netanyahu had been advocating for many months. Some temporary two- month ceasefire, a release of half of the hostages.
[02:04:59]
This is something that Netanyahu himself drew up at the time. This was his plan and Hamas said they prefer a comprehensive agreement, all the hostages to end the war. He rejected that demand because he wanted to continue fighting after the ceasefire. Now Hamas have changed their mind and they're willing to go along with this kind of plan. But Netanyahu says, I want to negotiate something completely different.
It's a tactic to play for time. We saw it last summer when the Biden administration was trying to reach a ceasefire. We're seeing it now when the Trump administration is -- well, at least some parts of the Trump administration are interested in a ceasefire. It's not actually an attempt to reach an agreement because if there is a will for an agreement, the contents are clear to everybody. That there isn't much to negotiate here.
There is going to be a release of all the hostages and there needs to be an end to the war and the other parameters are solvable, but the real question is do you want to solve it or not?
BRUNHUBER: You mentioned President Trump so I want to look at the wider international context here on both the war in Gaza and the war on Ukraine. President Trump said he could end them quickly and easily, obviously. He hasn't done that and he's admitted that ending the war in Ukraine is a lot harder than he thought, but you've argued with the war on Gaza, Trump could actually end it quickly, but he hasn't used his leverage. So explain this to us. What leverage is that and why hasn't he done it?
TIBON: President Trump is very popular here in Israel. Israelis appreciate the fact that he took action against Iran's nuclear sites. Israelis appreciate the fact that he moved the American embassy to Jerusalem. Israelis remember that around the time he entered the White House, there was the last temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire and with it the release of 33 hostages, 25 of them alive.
And so Israelis have a sense of appreciation and gratitude toward President Trump. He is much more popular in Israel than Prime Minister Netanyahu, who in most public opinion polls loses the next election and Israelis blame him, rightly so, for the failures of October 7th, the worst day in the history of our country. The worst day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust.
If President Trump came forward and said, it's time to end the war, we need to prioritize saving the hostages, returning all of them to their families and the situation in Gaza. It would be extremely difficult for Prime Minister Netanyahu to oppose him. Because again, President Trump is much more popular here than Prime Minister Netanyahu. But the real question is what does President Trump want?
Up until now, he's been doing the opposite at every turn and every opportunity to end or limit the war. He chose instead to trust Netanyahu and give him a free hand to continue. And I framed it at the time as choosing between Bibas, which is the name of Yarden Bibas, one of the released hostages, a man who lost his wife and two children. They were kidnapped and murdered by Hamas. And he has advocated to continue the hostage deal, to continue the ceasefire, to end the war so that all the other hostages can remain.
Between Bibas or Bibi, which is to continue the war as Netanyahu nicknamed Bibi Netanyahu wants to do. Trump so far at every turn chose Bibi over Bibas. And the real question is, will that change? Will he say at some point it's time to end the war? If he does, it will be very easy for him to bring this to a conclusion, much easier than Ukraine.
BRUNHUBER: Yeah.
TIBON: But again it requires a decision on his behalf.
BRUNHUBER: Right, exactly that, but all the decisions he's made and he just literally said the other day that he'll leave the decision on the deal in Israel's hands. So, is Trump's unwavering support for Netanyahu basically the main obstacle to a deal here?
TIBON: I wouldn't call it the main obstacle. There are many obstacles and we have to remember Hamas at the end of the day is the terror organization that murdered and kidnapped these people in the first place. But at this point in time, Hamas seems to be under great pressure from Egypt and from some, you know, Qatar, other mediators are trying to apply pressure on the organization to make a deal. Hamas was willing to do a comprehensive deal. Now it's talking about a partial deal like Netanyahu had demanded before.
It's not clear if there is any American pressure on Netanyahu to also say, let's finish this nightmare. Remember, it's almost two years now, two years that we've had our people over there in those tunnels being tortured and starved by Hamas, two years of a war, great suffering on all sides.
[02:10:00]
Trump is the only person who can end it.
BRUNHUBER: And we'll end this interview there. Really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Amir Tibon with Haaretz. Thank you so much.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia isn't ready for talks or for peace after launching its largest attack in more than a month. Ukraine says at least nine civilians were killed in those strikes overnight Thursday. The attack comes days after U.S. President Donald Trump met first with Vladimir Putin, then with Volodymyr Zelenskyy and European leaders amid a push to end the war.
Moscow accuses Kyiv of not being interested in a fair and long-term settlement. But Ukraine's president says it's Russia that's putting the brakes on any progress. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE (through translation): Right now, the signals from Russia are frankly obscene. They're trying to wriggle out of the need to hold a meeting. They do not want to end this war.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Trump appeared to show sympathy for Ukraine, posting on social media, "IT is very hard, if not impossible, to win a war without attacking an invader's country. It's like a great team in sports that has a fantastic defense but is not allowed to play offense. There's no chance of winning."
CNN's Ben Wedeman is in southern Ukraine with a look at how Ukrainian soldiers are fighting back as Russia intensifies its attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A Russian train full of fuel goes up in a blaze of fire and smoke struck by Ukrainian drones. This new era of warfare combines high-tech with close quarters combat harking back to the First World War. The same brigade that took part in the train strike is also fighting in the trenches. Infantry squad commander Yevgeny returned at 5:00 in the morning from a deadly six-man attack on a Russian position.
One of my men was killed, he says. Two took shrapnel. Two of us got concussions from drone attacks and mortar fire. His men managed to kill a Russian soldier, then had to withdraw, and came here, well underground, where the war is barely audible.
(On camera): This complex of bunkers and trenches is not the front line. It's well away in the rear. The purpose is that they will be ready in the event the Russians push forward. And what we're hearing from senior Ukrainian officials is that they fear that the Russians are preparing for a major push in the Zaporizhzhia area.
(Voice-over): Until then, this is where troops from the 65th Mechanized Brigade rest and recuperate. Cramped and stuffy, yet safe. The cats welcome company, also keeping the mice at bay. They're resting up for their next mission, defending the town of Orikhiv or what's left of it. Only 800 of its original 14,000 residents remain. Oleksander (ph) is the only handyman left with a (inaudible) to keep him busy. Windows, doors, roofs. You can see for yourself. Everything needs repairs, he says.
In the town's post office, the last vestige of normalcy, we meet Lyudmila (ph), who lives alone with her two dogs. Her day started with shelling. When it hit, I thought that was the end of everything, she says. To lighten her mood, I share pictures of hobbies and pets.
These are my potatoes.
Communicating in a linguistic hodgepodge.
(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
We shared a laugh. Her dog, Alpha (ph), shell-shocked, was unmoved. Far away is the powerful, talk war and peace. Here, the powerless can only hold on and hope to live another day. Ben Wedeman, CNN, Orikhiv, Southern Ukraine.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is flexing its military muscle, saying it wants to slow the flow of drugs from Venezuela. But Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro says it's a threat to his government. We look at the actions he's taking in response next here on "CNN Newsroom." Please stay with us.
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[02:15:00]
BRUNHUBER: A parole board in California denied Erik Menendez parole on Thursday after 10 hours of virtual hearings. Erik was convicted alongside his brother, Lyle Menendez, in the notorious 1989 murders of their parents. They were originally sentenced to life in prison without parole but became eligible for release after a judge re- sentenced them in May.
The board said Erik Menendez continues to quote, "pose an unreasonable risk to public safety." Now the decision doesn't bode well for Erik's brother Lyle who has a parole hearing today. Regardless of any parole recommendation, California's governor has the final word on whether they'll be released or stay in prison.
Venezuela is mobilizing millions of militia members as the United States deploys more military forces to the region. The U.S. has the increased military presence as an attempt to crack down on drug trafficking. Patrick Oppmann has more.
[02:19:58]
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A major show of force in South America. At least three U.S. Navy destroyers, attack aircraft, amphibious landing vehicles, and more than 4,000 Marines. Major show of force in South America. At least three U.S. Navy destroyers, attack aircraft, amphibious landing vehicles, and more than 4,000 Marines.
The Trump administration says it's meant to crack down on drug smuggling from the region to the U.S. and intimidate Venezuela's embattled leader, Nicolas Maduro, who has responded by calling up more than four million militiamen to defend against any possible U.S. aggression. The White House alleges Maduro is the head of a shadowy cocaine trafficking empire known as El Cartel de los Soles, a criminal organization secretly operated by Venezuela's military. This month the administration doubled the reward for Maduro's capture to $50 million.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The Maduro regime is not the legitimate government of Venezuela. It is a narco terror cartel and Maduro, it is the view of this administration is not a legitimate president. He is a fugitive head of this cartel who has been indicted in the United States for trafficking drugs into the country.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Now, U.S. Navy ships approaching Venezuela are putting Maduro on notice. The deployment may just be a show of force, but one that Venezuela's leader vows to resist. Maduro denies the drug smuggling accusations and says his government will fight until the last bullet.
NICOLAS MADURO, PRESIDENT OF VENEZUELA (through translation): We must defend Venezuela because they want to turn us into slaves of supremacists due to the racist contempt, they have for us.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Maduro, who counts Russia and Iran as allies, say he's mobilizing his military and militia across the country to ensure any U.S. action would be drawn out and bloody.
MADURO (through translation): No empire is going to set foot on the sacred soil of Venezuela.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Despite the saber-rattling on both sides, it's clear the U.S. forces deployed would not be sufficient for regime change, says a former U.S. official who has studied what an invasion of Venezuela would look like.
FRANK MORA, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ORGANIZATION OF AMERIKAN STATES: We're talking about 200, 250,000 troops because it's not just a question of bringing the regime down. That would not be that difficult. The invasion becomes an occupation. And that gets very complicated because how do you maintain social order in a country where the government has collapsed?
OPPMANN (voice-over): This is not the first time the U.S. has vowed to oust Maduro. In 2019, during the first Trump administration, a U.S.-backed uprising of dissident Venezuelan soldiers led to fighting in the streets of the capital, Caracas, between pro- and anti- government forces. But that would-be coup failed, and Maduro emerged with a tighter grip on power, an even more defiant of U.S. attempts to end his rule. Patrick Oppmann, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: A household name in the U.S. is caught in the middle of President Trump's immigration fight. Still ahead, how Home Depot parking lots became hot spots for border control agents targeting undocumented migrants.
Plus, wildfire in Portugal suddenly shifted direction and engulfed a vehicle with a firefighter inside. We'll share a story of survival just ahead. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[02:25:00]
BRUNHUBER: Home Depot stores are becoming a hot spot at the Trump administration's controversial immigration policy. Border Patrol agents have been detaining people in the parking lots of the stores. CNN's Gonzalo Alvarado brings us the story of one man caught up in the raids.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GONZALO ALVARADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been four months since Jesus Domingo Ros was picked up by U.S. immigration authorities outside a Home Depot in Southern California. Now he says most of his time is spent cooped up in his apartment, hesitant to go out.
JESUS DOMINGO ROS, DETAINED IN IMMIGRATION RAID (through translation): With what's happening, one is afraid.
ALVARADO (voice-over): Ros is a jornalero, a day laborer, who was detained by Border Patrol agents at the Home Depot parking lot in Pomona in April, accused of illegally entering the U.S. in 2022. He tells us he was released on bond and is now waiting for his next immigration court hearing in March of next year.
Afraid to look for work, Ros keeps busy by cleaning his home, calling his three kids in Guatemala with the promise of better days. His one and only responsibility, a daily check in with ICE through this wrist monitor.
Ros agrees to go for a walk. It's sunny, a typical California summer day. It's the busiest season, he says. He spots a yard and is quick to point out one of many jobs he used to do as a day laborer.
ROS (through translation): For example, this. Look, this old grass, it needs to be replaced. Take out the old and replace it with the new.
ALVARADO (on camera): Is that what you did?
ROS (through translation): Yes, that's what we did.
ALVARADO (voice-over): This father of three is one of many day laborers round up by ICE officials in recent months outside Home Depot stores, known as unofficial hiring spots for this type of workers and easy target for ICE. The wave of arrests sparked national protests in June.
Twenty-one-year-old Guatemalan Johnny Garcia was among those picked up outside the Pomona Home Depot.
(On camera): Did they say anything before arresting you?
UNKNOWN (through translation): No, they didn't ask me anything.
ALVARADO (voice-over): He was also released on bond and is hoping for an immigration judge to grant him permission to stay in the U.S.
[02:30:00]
Ros and Garcia were both detained during a targeted operation for a known fugitive according to a statement from Customs and Border Protection sent to CNN.
Alexis Teodoro is the worker rights director for the Pomona Economic Opportunity Center. His office is assisting Ros and Garcia with legal help.
ALEXIS TEODORO, WORKERS RIGHTS DIRECTOR, POMONA ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY CENTER: They are workers, sons, parents, brothers, hardworking people who earn their daily bread.
ALVARADO: And though Home Depot has said they aren't notified when ICE operations will happen or involving coordination, and they are required to follow local and federal laws, Teodoro has a request for the retailer.
TEODORO: We are asking Home Depot for something very basic, to not allow immigration authorities to enter their parking lots.
ALVARADO: As more day laborers gather at the curve, another day in the shadows, life goes on for most. But for Ros, Garcia and many others in parking lots across the country, their future is uncertain.
Gonzalo Alvarado, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Flames from a wildfire in Portugal suddenly changed direction on Thursday and engulfed this vehicle with a firefighter inside. Authorities say the firefighter suffered severe burns but survived.
More than 1,600 firefighters are battling several wildfires in central and northern Portugal. The fires have killed at least three people this past week. European officials estimate about 274,000 hectares, or 677,000 acres of vegetation, have burned. This is southern Europe's worst fire season in 20 years.
Heavy rain left some farms completely submerged in India's western state of Gujarat. Rainstorms are common during the monsoon season, but climate change is making the rains more extreme. Earlier this month, monsoon rain triggered landslides that killed more than 400 people in India, Pakistan and Nepal.
Hurricane Erin is moving away from the U.S., but along more than 1,000 miles or 1,600 kilometers of the East Coast, the danger isn't over. Now, even though it didn't make landfall, the massive storm stirred up life threatening rip currents that prompted dozens of rescues, especially in North Carolina's outer banks.
The National Weather Service says parts of southern New Jersey and southern Delaware could see major coastal flooding through Friday, a higher risk of rip current will likely remain through the weekend, and a tropical storm warning is still in effect for Bermuda.
Some TikTok employees have apparently been worried that the app is addictive and could hurt young users' mental health. All the details coming up after the break.
Stay with us.
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[02:37:10]
BRUNHUBER: TikTok has often claimed that its platform is safe for young people. But now, we're learning from new video evidence in a North Carolina court case that current and former TikTok employees have raised concerns about how the app's popular algorithm could impact the mental health of teenagers.
CNN's Clare Duffy has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: This video is part of a lawsuit that was filed by North Carolina last year against TikTok, accusing the company of designing the app to be, quote, highly addictive for young people, also accusing it of misleading parents and young people about the safety of the platform. A judge ruled on Tuesday that this video should be unsealed, and that the public should be able to see it. And I want to play for you a clip showing just a few of these employee comments, because I think it's really striking to hear it directly from them. Take a listen.
BRETT PETERS, EDUCATION & PHILANTROPHY LEAD: We all have these really lofty goals of getting people to be on the app longer. Like literally like, that's like why we're all here is to help continue to diversify the content ecosystem, to make TikTok a place where you can get so much different types of content that you never want to leave.
NICHOLAS CHNG, ISSUES PROGRAM MANAGER: Unfortunately, some of the stuff that people find interesting are not always the most healthy. So, I think we do have we do, in a way encourage some of this content being put up.
ALLY MANN, CREATOR LEAD MARKETING: We obviously want people to spend as much time as possible on TikTok, which is can be in contrast to what is best for your mental health.
DUFFY: Now, it's worth noting that we don't know exactly when these comments were made, and it's also not totally unusual for internal teams at tech companies to have conversations about how to improve their platforms. But North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson said he thinks this underscores the claims that they're making in this lawsuit. He tells me these videos prove what we've argued in court. Social media companies are keeping kids hooked to maximize profits, even at the expense of their health.
Now, TikTok has pushed back against the claims in this lawsuit and is also pushing back against the attorney generals characterization of this video and these comments. A spokesperson told me, the AG's civil sizzle reel is a shameful attempt to distort an open internal conversation about making the platform safer when TikTok was just beginning five years ago. This manipulation relies on conversations taken out of context with the sole purpose of misleading the public and grandstanding.
The spokesperson also pointed to some of the youth safety features that TikTok has rolled out in recent years, everything from parental oversight tools to a meditation feature. The platform, recently introduced to try to keep young people from scrolling so much on the platform. [02:40:02]
But I do think it's going to be interesting to watch how this plays into this North Carolina court battle, but also a number of lawsuits that have been filed against the company in states across the country.
Clare Duffy, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: All right. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber.
"WORLD SPORT" is next, and I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM at the top of the hour.
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[02:45:00]
(WORLD SPORT)
