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Scenes of Desperation in Gaza as Crowds Race for Aid; Texas Governor Orders Arrest of Lawmakers who Fled State; U.S. Condemns Brazil Court for Bolsonaro House Arrest Order; Beyonce Rocks Double Denim in New Ad; Both Levi's and American Eagle Jeans Have Ads Going Viral for Different Reasons. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired August 05, 2025 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Benjamin Netanyahu looks to expand Israel's offensive in Gaza as ceasefire talks with Hamas

collapse. This is the scene in Khan Yunis, where it is 04:00 p.m. and it is 02:00 p.m. here in London. I'm Christina Macfarlane. This is "Connect the

World".

Also coming up, the countdown is on for the Kremlin as President Trump's ceasefire deadline draws closer and his special envoy prepares to head to

Russia. U.S. Democrat lawmakers declaring war over Republicans effort to redraw the congressional map in Texas. We are live in the capital, Austin.

Watch out. Sydney Sweeney, it's Beyonce's turn to make jeans. Glam Queen Bay wows fans with her Levi ad. And the stock market in New York opens in

about 30 minutes from now, and it looks like it's going to be another good day. Investors are feeling positive and waiting for this week's wave of

corporate earnings.

Now a full conquest of Gaza. That is what Israeli media say the prime minister will push for in a meeting today with the security cabinet.

Whether or not Benjamin Netanyahu gets full support from the cabinet is unclear. A source tells CNN the Israeli defense establishment opposes an

expansion of ground operations in areas where the hostages are believed to be held.

The prime minister is facing increasing pressure to reach a deal with Hamas, both internationally and inside Israel, from the families of the

hostages and their supporters, Hamas says it won't return to negotiations until conditions inside Gaza improve.

We've got Ben Wedeman following this for us back for a stay from Rome, as Israel is restricting international reporting from Gaza. And Ben, it

appears the prime minister doesn't intend it about a pressure to reach a deal with Hamas.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, in fact, that pressure is coming from the highest levels within the Israeli government

itself. We understand that the Chief of Staff is not happy about this planet. What does it mean to reconquer Gaza? Does this mean an occupation?

This obviously means that the lives of the hostages of the approximately 20 who are believed to still be alive could be at risk. That's a major concern

of the relatives of those hostages. Plus, the fact that any such operation would incur massive civilian casualties.

Already, the number of dead in Gaza, according to the Ministry of Health there has topped 61,000 almost 20,000 of them children, and expanded

military operation of the kind that we believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is pondering would involve massive additional casualties.

On top of that, we understand that the Israeli army is exhausted after 22 months of this war. And that exhaustion can be seen in the fact, for

instance, that in the month of July, seven Israeli soldiers who had served in Gaza committed suicide. So, there does seem to be rising opposition to

this idea.

But Prime Minister Netanyahu, as we've seen in reporting on CNN, "The New York Times" and other places, has had the opportunity time and time again

to bring this war to an end, but he continues to pursue it.

MACFARLANE: He does. And Ben, stay with us for a second. We'll come back in just a moment. I want to show our viewers first. Well actually, to hear

from a UNICEF spokesperson who has been working in Gaza about the harrowing conditions and massive destruction she's witnessed there as people risk

their lives to get food. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALIA BOLLEN, UNICEF SPOKESPERSON IN GAZA: There's been a tsunami that has just wiped buildings, life, infrastructure, really off the face of the

earth in that part of the world, the children that you see outside, they look dirty. They're often barefoot, they look emaciated, they're all

hungry.

The entire child population, under five inside, the Gaza Strip and that's more than 320,000 children are at acute risk of becoming acutely

malnourished. So, everybody is hungry. More than one in three persons go for days without eating.

[09:05:00]

And what we need is really a ceasefire for the civilian population and for the hostages and the entry of humanitarian assistance at scale.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Ben, that's a pretty bleak assessment there by the UNICEF spokesperson. I mean, we know this aid drops have been happening with

multiple nations taking part. But has there been any improvement really, in the overall conditions?

WEDEMAN: Well, it disappeared that somewhat more food is getting into Gaza than, for instance, two weeks ago, but it's still really a drop in the

bucket of the needs that exist there. We understand that yesterday, the Israeli authorities allowed 95 trucks inside, but keep in mind, in better

times, around 600 trucks were going into Gaza every day.

So essentially, we're talking about 1/6 of the needs of the people in Gaza are being met. Now, there are continuing to be these air drops, which most

state officials consider to be more sort of theater pictures for the TV, rather than actual providing aid. Now, the Jordanians, the UAE, France and

Germany, dropped about 35 tons of relief supplies into Gaza yesterday.

But at the same time, we understand, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, eight people died yesterday, seven of them adults, want children from

hunger and malnutrition. And of course, then there's the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that U.S. and Israeli backed food distribution system that has

been called highly flawed by other NGOs.

We're saying that, and we understand that as a result of the chaos that occurs around those distribution sites, the Ministry of Health in Gaza is

saying that 52 people were killed yesterday trying to get to that aid. So, if to, just to sum it up, if there's one place on earth that's closest to

hell at the moment, it's Gaza.

MACFARLANE: Ben Wedeman, there from Rome. Appreciate it, Ben. Now the White House says President Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will arrive in

Moscow on Wednesday. That's just two days before Mr. Trump's deadline for Russia to agree to a peace deal with Ukraine or face more sanctions.

This time, the president is also threatening secondary sanctions on countries like India and China who buy Russian energy. Earlier, Mr. Trump

spoke about the impact he's hoping U.S. sanctions will have on Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If energy goes down low enough, Putin is going to stop killing people that will be nice,

even though they're his own people that are dying him and Ukraine, but Putin will stop killing people. If you get energy down another $10 a

barrel, he's going to have no choice, because his economy stinks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: The Kremlin is expressing its anger at Washington's attempt to stop India from using Russian oil. On Monday, Trump said he would

substantially raise tariffs on India due to its imports of Russian oil. The Kremlin says that move isn't legitimate, and India's Foreign Ministry also

slammed the move, calling it unjustified.

Stephen Collinson is joining me now to discuss. So, Stephen, let's start with that visit by the U.S. Special Envoy, Steve Witkoff this week, and

what the Trump Administration are hoping and what we are likely to see come out of this trip?

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah, this is the problem here, because it's not clear exactly what Steve Witkoff is going to Russia

for. All along in this process, the Trump Administration's diplomatic strategy seems to have been just to ask Russia for a ceasefire to stop

fighting, and the assumption was that Trump's personality, the strength of it, would create the opening for that to happen.

Obviously, that has not taken place. Is Witkoff going to Russia to deliver a threat that Trump is really serious about these secondary sanctions,

putting more tariffs potentially on Russia? That's possible, but if you look at the evidence of his previous trips, he's often come out of his

meetings with top Russian officials and Vladimir Putin singing from their song sheet, if you like.

So, it doesn't seem like he's a particularly credible messenger. If the U.S. now is trying coercion against Moscow.

MACFARLANE: So, Stephen, it kind of comes back to that question once again, as it did with tariffs on TACO you know, will the president follow through

on this step to apply secondary sanctions? We have heard a hardening of rhetoric from the president. We heard it just then in that sound bite from

CNBC, if he pulls the trigger, though.

I mean, what impact is it really likely to have a meaningful impact on Russia's ability to, you know, survive economically and to further their

war effort?

COLLINSON: Well, the Russians have been very successful in creating work around some a lot of sanctions.

[09:10:00]

If you did have really tight secondary sanctions on sales of Russian oil to India and China, and it was causing pain for India and China. I suppose

that could be a viable way forward, but I think it's quite questionable about whether that would happen. Everyone I speak to in Washington is very

doubtful that Trump would harm his own priorities in order to improve Ukraine's position.

For example, he's locked in very intricate trade negotiations with China. It looks like he wants to go to Beijing earlier this year, slapping a

massive tariff on China that could hurt Chinese industry and oil imports. Doesn't seem like it would be a very good way to push that forward from his

point of view.

And with India, it seems like the threats are a little bit more serious, but I think there's a great deal of skepticism about whether he would go

ahead, just because of the impact on the global oil markets. U.S. gas prices in the summer, at a time when the U.S. economy is showing a little

bit of weakness.

Perhaps Trump's threats to tariff India over Ukraine a more leverage to try and get that trade deal with India over the line. Trump has been quite

frustrated with Prime Minister Modi and his government over their failure to give concessions to United States on that.

MACFARLANE: But it is true that this war is becoming more and more personal for Donald Trump. We're seeing him really begin to own this war after being

very dismissive about it at the start of his presidency. What has forced that change? And can Trump and his administration really afford to look

weak here in this moment?

COLLINSON: Yeah, I think the weakness point is key, and it's less the administration, I think, and more Trump himself. Everything is personalized

in his foreign policy. You saw that exchange over nuclear weapons with the Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who's not really, a really senior

person in the Russian infrastructure right now, but it was personal.

And that was what motivated Trump to say he was repositioning U.S. nuclear submarines. It's true that Trump is getting more ownership of this war, but

I think the ownership is being thrust upon him by circumstances, by the passage of time since the end of the Biden Administration and the failure

of his ceasefire push and leaders in the conflict.

I think it's still an open question of whether he's willing to fully accept ownership of the war. Is he really committed to Ukraine in the long term,

if that causes him to have to spend political capital and American funds to support Ukraine. I think that still is very much up in the air.

And I believe that's one of the reasons why the Russians have been stalling, because ultimately, they seem to believe that not just Trump, but

the west itself will tire of Ukraine and will not see it as the same kind of existential national interest as Moscow does.

So, the chances that Trump could simply get fed up of this whole situation, walk away and move on to something else, and leaving Ukraine in a not much

better position, I think are quite high.

MACFARLANE: Stephen, always appreciate your analysis. Thank you. We're keeping a close eye on a political standoff in Texas that could ultimately

impact the balance of power on Capitol Hill. The Texas State House is set to convene later today, after Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered

arrest warrants for Democratic lawmakers who fled the state on Sunday.

The governor says they're avoiding their responsibilities by not doing the job they were elected to do, and is demanding they return to Texas.

Democrats say they fled in order to block a crucial vote on congressional redistricting that could allow Republicans to gain as many as five U.S.

House seats away from Democrats.

The Texas Democrats say they're outraged over what they see as a power grab. Politicians in a number of Democrat led states have vowed to support

them amid their arrests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIANA STRATTON, ILLINOIS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR: The Texas Democrats have said that they are willing to do whatever it takes to protect democracy,

protect the voting rights of the people that they represent, and we've said here in Illinois that we welcome them here, and we stand with them shoulder

to shoulder, to do whatever we can to support them and protect them.

What I think this is an example of that Governor Abbott clearly is losing, and he recognizes that. And so, all he has is threats, and we're going to

stand with the Texas legislators. And we'll make sure that we do this, not just for the people of Texas or the people of Illinois, but for Americans

all across our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACFARLANE: Well CNN's Ed Lavandera is following this story for us from Austin, the state capital of Texas. And Ed, things have been really moving

faster the last 24 hours. So just bring us up to speed, where things stand now in this political fight in Texas?

[09:15:00]

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it continues in the political rhetoric is only continue and to escalate, but yesterday, it

became official that there were not enough Texas House lawmakers here in Austin at the state capital you see behind me to conduct business.

Escalate. But yesterday it became official that there were not enough Texas House lawmakers here in Austin at the state capitol, you see behind me to

conduct business, about 56 Democrats, by our count, left the state or did not show up yesterday here at the capital, and that brought everything to a

halt.

And what they are trying to do is block this redistricting bill that would give Republicans an extra five or believed to give Republicans an extra

five seats in Congress during the midterm elections coming up next year, obviously the margins in the U.S. House of Representatives very close.

Every seat matters. And that is why Republicans feel it is incumbent upon them to protect the majority and go after this redistricting effort in the

middle of the decade. And just so viewers know around the world is that the way redistricting generally works is that it's done at the beginning of a

decade after the U.S. census count, and depending on those based on those population numbers, that's how they handle the redistricting situation

decade by decade.

So, this happening in the middle of a decade is very rare, and why Democrats feel that this is simply a threat to democracy. And hear from one

of those prominent Democrats here right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JAMES TALARICO (D-TX): Ideally, we want citizen led, redistricted conditions in every state, because voters should be picking their

politicians, not politicians picking their voters. But if one side is intent on cheating, then the other side has to respond, because I remember

when I was younger and there was a bully on the playground, I figured out that you can't just lie down and play dead.

You've got to look that bully in the eye and you can't blink. That's exactly what happens here, if one side cheats, all bets are off. I hope we

don't get to that point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: And so, you know, as I mentioned off the top, the political rhetoric very much escalating, Republicans describing the Democrats who

left the state as cowards for not staying here and fighting for their side. The governor's promises are threatening to remove these lawmakers from

office.

And you also have threats of potential criminal charges of bribery if these democrats accept donations to pay for the fines for missing legislative

days or for traveling away from the state, and all of this for political purposes. And so that is the scene that we're kind of seeing at this

moment, as the Texas House here, in a few hours, once again, is going to try to reconvene, but it's not expected to have the necessary number of

lawmakers.

So once again, they'll call the House into session, and probably a few minutes later, they'll be forced to shut everything down because there

aren't enough lawmakers here to conduct the business of this special legislative session, Christina.

MACFARLANE: And Ed, we heard a little hint of it there in that sound bite you just played from the Democrat. But Democrats have now been threatening

to retaliate with redistricting of their own. Just talk to us about the sort of wider national consequences of this and how it's going to play out.

LAVANDERA: Well, Democrats did this, leaving the state as they one of them described it to me as, like, you know, the nuclear option in terms of

fighting redistricting. But one of the things that other Democrats have told us is that they wanted to raise awareness about what was happening in

Texas and push that to other states.

And one of their goals is just very much that if that their Republicans going to redraw maps and get five seats here in Texas, they would like and

to convince other states, like Democratic leaning states like California, Illinois, New York, to essentially retaliate and do the exact same thing.

Republicans say that those states are already gerrymandered in Democrats favor. And so, you know, do you hear? You just have this continuous loop of

both sides going round and round over the over this issue, but this is the state where it is on the agenda at this moment, and that's why this is

ground zero for this fight right now.

MACFARLANE: All right, and it's good to have you there. Ed Lavandera from Texas, appreciate it. All right, still to come, the Trump Administration

has a new way to tighten requirements for foreigners to enter the United States with a hefty price tag. A live report ahead.

And Beyonce don's double denim in a new Levi's ad. As more hints are dropped towards the much-anticipated Act III.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:20:00]

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. The U.S. State Department has announced a new pilot program that may present a challenge for some visitors to enter the

United States. The 12-month pilot program would require bond payment of up to $15,000 for both businesses and tourist visas.

It would apply to people from countries who tend to overstay their visas and lack sufficient security documents. CNN U.S. Security Correspondent

Kylie Atwood joins me now with more on all of this. So, Kylie, just walk us through the purpose of this program.

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So, the State Department is essentially saying that they're trying to push down these

visas overstay rates for people who come to the United States and stay over beyond the duration of the visa they have been approved for.

And so, this pilot program, which is set to go into effect later this month will apply to people who are coming from countries who have actually had

those high visa's overstay rates. However, we don't know exactly what those countries, which countries are going to be included.

The State Department is set to announce that list of countries later this month, but as you said, the people as part of their application coming to

the United States for business or tourist visas, will have to pay bonds of 5 to $15,000 as part of their application process, not even after they

receive their visa, but effectively even before, to make sure that they are vetted properly as part of that new process that they're putting in place.

It's important to note that this obviously means there is a higher financial burden on the people coming to the United States from these

specific countries yet to be determined. I spoke with a senior State Department official about this yesterday. They made the case that from the

perspective of the Trump Administration.

This is a pilot program that will be beneficial to the American taxpayer, because of the high cost that is associated with what the Trump

Administration is doing now, in deporting people who have come to the United States and overstayed their visa or in the United States illegally.

MACFARLANE: And just to be clear, this wouldn't actually apply to countries enrolled in the U.S. visa waiver program for 90 days, right, for businesses

and tourism visas, most of whom come from, I believe, Europe and Asia.

ATWOOD: Yeah, that's exactly right. So presumably, most of these countries are going to be in Africa. Those are the countries with the higher visa

overstay rates when you look at those statistics. We should also note, however, that students are not going to be impacted here.

Obviously, this administration has gone through great lengths to do increased vetting of students coming to study here in the United States

from overseas, but those students are not going to be part of this pilot program, meaning, if they're coming here to study. They don't have to post

that bond of 5 to $15,000.

MACFARLANE: Certainly, be a relief to students worldwide.

ATWOOD: Yeah.

MACFARLANE: Kylie Atwood, appreciate it. Thanks. Now, let's keep up to speed on some of the other stories that are on our radar right now. A new

deal between the UK and France will allow for the return of migrants within days. The one in, one out pilot scheme will see France accept the return of

undocumented people arriving on small boats in exchange for the UK accepting an equal number of legitimate asylum seekers.

The U.S. State Department has condemned a ruling by the Brazilian Supreme Court ordering house arrest for ex-President Jair Bolsonaro.

[09:25:00]

Posting on X, the State Department called of ruling a threat to Brazil's democracy. Bolsonaro is on trial for an alleged coup plot staged in 2022.

Central California's Gifford fire has burned more than 29,000 hectares, and so far, is only 3 percent contained. Three people have been injured, 115

fire engines and nearly 2000 personnel have been deployed.

This is California's second largest fire this year. Meanwhile, more than 700 wildfires are raging across Canada, causing thousands of residents to

evacuate their homes and creating hazardous air quality for millions. Officials say nearly 200 blazes are considered out of control.

On Monday, the City of Toronto was deemed high risk on the air quality health index, a day after IQAir ranked Toronto third among the most

polluted cities in the world. Officials say so far this year, 1000s of wildfires have scorched Canadian land larger than the size of West

Virginia.

OK. After the break, the U.S. Department of Justice wants to make public, some of the grand jury testimony in the Jeffrey Epstein case, but victims

are calling the move political what warfare.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MACFARLANE: Welcome back. I'm Christina Macfarlane in London, and you are watching "Connect the World". These are your headlines this hour. Israeli

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is convening a meeting of the Security Cabinet today to push for, according to Israeli media, a full conquest of

Gaza.

Negotiations to end the war have stalled out, with Hamas demanding improved conditions in Gaza before resuming talks. Texas State House is set to

convene later today, after Republican Governor Greg Abbott ordered arrest warrants for Democratic lawmakers who fled the state on Sunday.

Democrats left to deny Republicans the quorum necessary to vote on the redistricting plan. That plan could allow Republicans to sway as many as

five U.S. Congressional House seats away from Democrats. The U.S., Attorney General is ordering federal prosecutors to start a grand jury investigation

into President Obama era officials claiming that administration made up intelligence about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

A source tells CNN a grand jury will look into claims that officials tried to smear Donald Trump by falsely claiming his presidential campaign

colluded with Russia. And we're just about to have the opening bell on Wall Street.

[09:30:00]

There it is. It's officially Tuesday, August 5th on Wall Street, and the Justice Department is seeking to publicly release transcripts from five

days of grand jury testimony of alleged sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his Former Partner, Ghislaine Maxwell. But victims are pushing back,

calling it quote, political warfare, and demanding their identities are protected.

Additional filings are expected today from victims and alleged co- conspirators weighing in on the decision to release the sealed documents. For more, let's bring in CNN's Crime and Justice Correspondent Katelyn

Polantz. Katelyn, just bring us up to speed. What you're hearing about the release of these specific files.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is going to be in the judge's hands ultimately, but two victims have so far, written

letters to the judge. We see these letters in the federal court in Manhattan and the victims, they are frustrated.

They want transparency over the Epstein files, and very likely with the release of the grand jury transcripts, but they also are very unhappy how

the Justice Department has handled this, belaboring the debate over the release of the Epstein files. One of the victims writes in a two-page

letter, dear United States, I wish you would have handled and would handle the whole Epstein files with more respect towards and for the victims.

I am not some pawn in your political warfare. What you have done and continue to do is eating at me day after day as you help to perpetuate this

story indefinitely. There is another victim who writes to the judge that there is fear that the victims are not the highest priority.

That high profile individuals whose names may be mentioned in the Epstein files, including Donald Trump himself, that those are the people that

federal government officials are trying to protect. That second victim is asking the judge over the Jeff Epstein case, where some of those grand jury

records exist in the federal court.

That victim is asking the judge to appoint a third-party person to look over the documents to make sure no victim names and likenesses are

revealed, if the grand jury transcripts are released.

MACFARLANE: It does feel like the victim's very much been forgotten in all of this. If those files were to be released, though, how potentially

consequential could they be to the case?

POLANTZ: Well, I think that's part of the frustration here that the victims are articulating. The Justice Department is making clear that what these

grand jury transcripts capture is things that are already public in this case. They wrote to the judge as well. This is the prosecutors writing to

the judge asking for the release of the grand jury transcripts.

Just last night, they said that these grand jury transcripts are just from five days of grand jury testimony in 2019, 2020, and 2021, during that

testimony, the transcripts capture information that was provided to the grand jury, but that ultimately was public at the trial of Ghislaine

Maxwell, where she was convicted of sex trafficking minors.

And that there is other information in that grand jury transcript, or the set of grand jury transcripts that already is public because of victims,

witnesses and other public documentation. So that grand jury matter, what has been confidential, what the Justice Department is seeking to release

here in court.

It's only a small sliver of the whole host of filings and the victims here, they want full transparency, but protection for their own names, that is

something that the judge is not able to have control over ultimately. It's just Grand Jury transcripts that we're talking about here that could be

released.

MACFARLANE: All right. Katelyn, appreciate you breaking it down for us. Thank you. Now Victoria Mboko is rising through the ranks and taking names

in Montreal. The Canadian teen already knocked out Coco Gauff and is now semifinal bounds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:35:00]

MACFARLANE: Now the hive is buzzing following the latest Levi's ad starring Beyonce. In a clip posted to social media, Beyonce wears plenty of denim-

on-denim outfits into her songs, Levi jeans, which plays over the top. But what caught Beyonce's devoted fans, nicknamed the beehive attention, was

the last shot.

She's been driving off a motorcycle, a possible hint towards an Act III. I don't know if we're going to show you that motorcycle here, the much-

speculated rock album. Oh, we did OK. That follows Act I, which was Disco, and Act II, which was Country. So, for more to tell us what all of this

means is Lisa Respers France joining us from Atlanta. So, what do you read into that, Lisa?

LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It feels like she's giving us yet another hint. This has been going on, actually, for a while, people have

believed that Beyonce has been trying to tell us that Act III is going to be a rock album for a minute. Like, you know, last Halloween, she dressed

as funk rock icon Betty Davis.

And so, people were like, hmm, that feels like a pretty big hint. And if you attended the Cowboy Carter Tour, you saw her pay homage to some of the

great African Americans who are a part of the rock scene, including Chuck Berry and Little Richard. She even wore some Tina Turner outfits.

And we know she's a big fan of Tina Turner. I believe it was in London. She wore an iconic Tina Turner throwback t-shirt from one of her tours. And so,

people feel like she's definitely giving us major hints as to what the Act III album will be. And people are very excited. We knew it was going to be

a trilogy.

We know that she seems intent on reminding people of the place that black people have had in the music industry. You know, in having them in

renaissance, really examine the place in dance music, and then, of course, Cowboy Carter, the place in country music. And so, it feels right,

Christina, that the third album would be a rock album. So, fingers crossed.

MACFARLANE: Yeah indeed. Listen, the timing of this campaign has sparked much debate, certainly in our office this morning, following, of course,

that Sydney Sweeney American Eagle launch yesterday. Is there anything to do with the timings for both of those campaigns? And which campaign would

you say is creating the most stir?

FRANCE: You know, I think they both are creating equal stir, but for very different reasons. Now, to answer the first part of your question, I

believe that it is just about the timing, given the fact that Beyonce's campaign comes on the heels of the American Eagle campaign.

But Beyonce has very clearly been connected with Levi because, you know, Levi jeans actually changed some of their social media when she dropped the

Cowboy Carter album with Levi's jeans on that. That single, they changed it because in her song title, it's Levi with two eyes.

And so, for a little bit, they had their social media with the two eyes. So, I think that they have a longer standing relationship, because

something like this you can't just whip up in a matter of days. It's not been that long since the Sidney Sweeney controversy.

[09:40:00]

So, I do believe that this is not in response to it, but it very much shows the very two different Americas, because the Sydney Sweeney ad, of course,

is very controversial, because people believe that it's pointed to eugenics and that it's trying to really pull in a conservative base by, you know,

talking about the blonde hair and the blue eyes.

But when it comes to Beyonce, she's working with a company that has been very vocal about the fact that they're not stepping down from DEI, that

they're very proud of, the fact that they have, like, their pride collection and things like that. So, in a way, it feels like it's very much

showcasing where we are as a country, and that's what pop culture does.

And interestingly enough, Christina, people were using pictures of Beyonce wearing Levi's to say, well, how are you mad about Sidney Sweeney's ad, but

not mad about Beyonce being blonde, even though it's two very different messages.

MACFARLANE: Yeah, it's a good point. And as you put it, kind of reflects two very different Americas. Lisa, appreciate you bringing it, breaking it

down for us, and we'll keep our fingers crossed for number three. All right, good to see you. Now, Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko is making a

name for herself in Montreal.

She's advanced to her first career WTA Tour semifinal just days after ousting number one seat, Coco Gauff, no mean feat, Amanda.

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: No, if people are split about Jean adverts, this there is no debate about Victoria Mboko is a super talent, who very

much people are talking about as one of the big names to watch in terms of the future of tennis. This time last year, she was well number 333.

MACFARLANE: Wow.

DAVIES: She's currently 85th in the world. And this runs in Canada, we'll see her next week enter the world's top 50. And she only joined the WTA

Tour in March. And she seemingly, you know, we've been talking about Alex Eala, the 19-year-old Filipino, Mboko seems to be very much in that mold,

18 years of age, and embracing the stage and putting on a show.

And, yeah, she's first WTA, 1000 events, semifinal. And of course, the timing here is everything, because, yes, we're in Canada at the moment, but

the hardcore series. And then looking ahead to the U.S. Open as well, where there's a lot of excitement about what she might do there.

MACFARLANE: -- timing it just right, potentially, isn't she? Amanda, more on that, of course, with Amanda in "World Sport", after this quick break.

Stay with us.

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[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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