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Early Start with Rahel Solomon
Texas Democrats Leave State; Canadian Officials Confident U.S. Trade Deal will Be Reached; Montana Manhunt Quadruple-Murder Suspect Enters Day Three. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 04, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
MIN JUNG LEE, ANCHOR, EARLY START: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world, so glad you're with us, I'm MJ Lee, Rahel Solomon is off. It's Monday, August 4th, 5:00 a.m. here in Washington D.C., and straight ahead on EARLY START.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENE WU, TEXAS DEMOCRATIC STATE REPRESENTATIVE: We will hold people accountable and we will defend our state --
GOV. JAY ROBERT PRITZKER (D-IL): We will not let power go unchecked.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): We will stop him from cheating, from lying, and from stealing the election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The candidate is strong. We can give ourselves far more than anyone can take away.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm looking for fairness. The world treated us very unfairly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By all indications, this is an unstable individual who walked in and murdered four people in cold blood for no reason whatsoever. He is alive, well armed and extremely dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: House Democrats in the Texas state legislature are making a last ditch effort to fight Republican plans to redraw the state's congressional map. Some have now left the state, traveling to Illinois, New York and Boston, denying the House the minimum number of members needed to advance the redistricting plan.
Republicans claim the current maps are unconstitutional and racially gerrymandered, but Democrats argue this is nothing more than a political power grab which could cost them five U.S. House seats ahead of next year's midterms. They say they are simply defending their constituents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WU: We will not be complicit in the destruction of any communities in
Texas. We will hold people accountable and we will defend our state to the absolute best of our abilities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: Democratic leaders nationwide say they will fight back with their own redistricting efforts in other states if Texas moves forward. Illinois Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker has met with some of the Texas Democrats and are encouraging them to keep fighting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRITZKER: You are answering one of the most challenging calls of public service that has ever been asked of you, and you've had to leave behind your families, your full-time jobs, your communities, and you did it to protect the voting rights of the people that you represent, and voters all across this nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: And the former Attorney General under President Obama, Eric Holder, says Democrats would be justified in redrawing their congressional maps.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC HOLDER, FORMER U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: This is an authoritarian move by the White House to try to make sure that they can rig the election, the midterm elections in 2026. And so, I think that a Democratic response that is responsible, that is responsive, and that is temporary is appropriate given these -- given these facts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: And now, Texas Governor Greg Abbott is lashing out at Democrats for leaving the state, accusing them of abandoning their offices. In a statement, Abbott threatened the missing lawmakers with removal from office if they do not return by 3:00 p.m. local time today when the House reconvenes.
State Attorney General Ken Paxton went even further, posting on social media that the lawmakers should be arrested. He also added, quote, "we should use every tool at our disposal to hunt down those who think they are above the law." CNN Steve Contorno has more from Illinois, where some of the Texas Democrats are right now.
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STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER (on camera): In a stunning move on Sunday, Texas Democrats fled their state in hopes of blocking Republicans there from passing new congressional maps. These district boundaries that Republicans have proposed could potentially net them five additional seats in Congress in next year's midterm elections. Democrats saying that this extraordinary step was necessary to stop a Republican overreach. WU: The tool they're using is a racist, gerrymandered map. A map that
seeks to use racial lines to divide hardworking communities who have spent decades building up their power and strengthening their voices. And Governor Abbott is doing this in submission to Donald Trump.
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CONTORNO: By leaving the state, Democrats believe that they can block a quorum, that is the necessary number of legislators present in order to conduct legislative business. Now, in Texas, the state constitution says you need two-thirds of a legislative body in order to have a quorum. There are 150 members of the Texas legislature.
That means 100 have to be present, 62 of them are Democrats. That means that if 51 leave the state, well, Republicans can't pass their maps. And that means that legislative business will be stalled. It's unclear how long Democrats in Texas intend to leave the state. They tried this in 2021 and they were gone for 38 days.
But as long as they are outside the state, they may be fined and face other repercussions. We'll have to see whether or not they are willing to suffer those consequences. Steve Contorno, CNN, Carol Stream, Illinois.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEE: And as Democrats nationwide try to figure out their path forward, one of their most powerful voices in the U.S. Senate, Cory Booker, is urging his colleagues to fight fire with fire when it comes to redistricting. He spoke with our Manu Raju.
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BOOKER: I'm sick of the gerrymandering, but if Donald Trump is going to push to gerrymander Texas, he's going to break the rules in order to win. He can't win by the rules they are right now. So, he thinks you should break the rules. For Democrats to sit back and just say, OK, we're going to play by the queen's rules.
No, I'm telling you right now, we need to win in the midterm. We need to stop him from cheating, from lying, and from stealing the election. And if they're doing something to add their congressional seats, we need to look at our ways of doing that right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: New U.S. tariffs on just about every country in the world are set to take effect this week, and the impact will be widespread, with President Donald -- Donald Trump, excuse me, imposing the highest tariffs since the 1930s. The Trump administration is warning that the rates are final and will not change again.
The White House says a 10 percent tariff will apply to most countries, and others will face at least a 15 percent rate if the U.S. has a trade deficit with them.
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TRUMP: We're seeing phenomenal numbers in terms of the business we do with other countries, and the business we do within our own country. I mean, really phenomenal numbers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could a market reaction prompt President Trump to change these tariff rates again?
KEVIN HASSETT, DIRECTOR, U.S. NATIONAL ECONOMIC COUNCIL: The markets have seen what we're doing and celebrated them. And so I don't see how that would happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, but not ruling it out.
HASSETT: No, I would rule it out because these --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK --
HASSETT: Are the final deals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: And let's take a look at where the U.S. markets stand ahead of a busy week at the moment. The Dow, Nasdaq and the S&P futures are all pointing to a higher open just several hours ahead of the opening bell. CNN's Julia Benbrook has more.
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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): There's no doubt that this week was a big one when it comes to trade, and that this upcoming week will be as well. President Donald Trump promised on the campaign trail that he was going to take an aggressive stance when it comes to tariffs, and we are seeing that play out.
The administration says that his moves aim to even the playing field for American workers and businesses. But they've also created uncertainty. Really, the one constant in all of this has been to expect to see changes. We have seen tariffs turned on and off. Just a few days ago, dozens of countries were expecting to see those higher tariff rates go into effect early Friday.
But hours before the deadline, Trump announced some new guidelines and pushed the implementation date to August 7th. Now, that gives Customs and Border Security sufficient time to prepare to apply these new rates. It also potentially gives some wiggle room to countries that are looking to continue to talk trade.
But in an interview with "CBS" that aired over the weekend, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer was asked directly if Americans should expect to see some of these announced rates negotiated down in the coming days, he said he doesn't think so. Take a listen.
JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: I don't -- I don't think they will be in the coming days. I think a lot of these -- well, I know a lot of these are set rates pursuant to deals. Some of these deals are announced, some are not. Others depend on the level of the trade deficit or surplus we may have with the country. So, these tariff rates are pretty much set.
BENBROOK: Separately, conversations with China are ongoing. Back in May, both countries agreed to temporarily bring down historically high tariff rates, but that pause is expected to expire on August 12th. Greer suggested that there could be an extension to that date. He and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently met with their Chinese counterparts, and both spoke positively about the meeting.
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But that meeting ended without a resolution. Now, if there's not an agreement or an extension in coming days, we could see those rates go historically high once again. Traveling with the President in New Jersey, Julia Benbrook, CNN.
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LEE: And President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney are expected to talk in the next few days. That's according to Canada's Trade Minister who says he believes the two sides can reach a deal to lower tariffs. The U.S. has slapped a higher 35 percent levy on Canadian goods that are not covered by a pre-existing trade agreement. Prime Minister Carney seemed optimistic about the negotiations when speaking to reporters on Sunday.
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MARK CARNEY, PRIME MINISTER, CANADA: Canada is strong. We can give ourselves far more than anyone can take away. We're building this great country. I just met with the Premier building, B.C., building Canada, building in a Canadian way, building sustainably, building together, building positively, and that's what we're going to do.
And yes, we will -- we'll come to something with the Americans, something constructive with the Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: As Julia reported, the U.S. is signaling that the deadline for a trade deal with China could be delayed. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer failed to reach an agreement with their Chinese counterparts in Stockholm last week. But Greer says their conversations have been very positive and the deadline may be pushed back from August 12th.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREER: We talked about, and I won't go into detail because they're -- you know, confidential conversations between two governments, but they really focused on rare-earth magnets and minerals. China has put a global control on the world. And so, for the United States, we're focused on making sure that the flow of magnets from China to the United States and the -- and the adjacent supply chain can flow as freely as it did before the control. And I'd say we're about half-way there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEE: China's export controls on rare-earths is just one of the sticking points in the trade talks. Others include China's reliance on Russian and Iranian oil, the flow of fentanyl and the fate of TikTok. And still ahead, a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. What some countries are doing now to help get more aid into the enclave.
And the Vatican's jubilee of youth reached a high point with Pope Leo celebrating mass with an enormous gathering of young people in Rome. And what's behind this viral food craze? We speak to one New York company that's making its own version of the Dubai chocolate.
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LEE: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking the International Red Cross to bring food and medicine to the hostages held in Gaza. A warning, the images you're about to see are disturbing. His request follows outrage in Israel over the release of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad propaganda videos showing two emaciated Israeli captives.
The anger spilling over onto the streets of Tel Aviv on Saturday night, where large crowds called for a deal to free the remaining hostages. Hamas now says it is prepared to, quote, "deal positively with any requests by the Red Cross to deliver aid to Israeli hostages, but only if humanitarian corridors are opened up in Gaza amid a deepening hunger crisis in the enclave."
On Sunday, Israel's military says six countries, including Jordan, France and Belgium airdropped 136 aid packages into Gaza. However, health workers have said these efforts are not enough to reverse the crisis. And CNN senior international correspondent Ben Wedeman has reported extensively from Gaza for decades.
But right now, the Israeli government has banned international media from the territory, so Ben joins us live from Rome. Ben, so tell us more about the additional aid that has gotten into Gaza, which humanitarian workers say is only a drop in the bucket.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, the aid, MJ, is coming in the form of these airdrops in addition to the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation that U.S. and Israeli-backed operation, which involves just a handful of distribution points to which people must travel and queue up for hours under very difficult conditions, and around which at least, a thousand people have been shot dead as a result.
So, it's clearly not enough, the amount of aid getting in, and it's also only really available to those who are in good enough shape to fight their way to the place where the food is distributed or it falls to the ground. The airdrops are really just political theater, perhaps to address rising concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. But really, it's very ineffective. In fact, the U.N. says that it is
-- the airdrops are 100 times more costly than delivering it by land. Israel is not allowing, for instance, thousands, as many as 6,000 trucks that are waiting just outside of Gaza, full of aid. The Israelis are simply not allowing them in. If they could, if they would, the situation would be dramatically better.
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Keeping in mind that in starting -- I think on the 20th of January until the 2nd of March, during a ceasefire, Israel did allow in somewhere between 500-600 trucks a day. But in the absence of that, this piece feel -- piecemeal, very flawed system simply isn't working. In fact, according to health workers in Gaza, in the last 24 hours, five people have died either of hunger and malnutrition.
And clearly, if you aren't strong enough to fight your way to get food, you are probably going to be very hungry or worse under these circumstances. And there doesn't seem to be the political will among the friends, so-called of Israel in Europe and the United States to simply bring this war to an end, which many Israelis are calling for as well to improve the situation in Gaza, bring the hostages home and end this war. MJ?
LEE: Ben Wedeman in Rome, thanks for that update. TikTok has taken down an inflammatory anti-Israel video by celebrity beauty mogul Huda Kattan. In the video, the founder of billion-dollar brand Huda Beauty spread conspiracy theories about Israel to her more than 11 million TikTok followers. She accused Israel of orchestrating both world wars despite the wars occurring before the state of Israel was established in 1948, as well as the September 11th terrorist attacks and Hamas' October 7th attacks.
Some Jewish groups are now calling for retailers like Sephora to cut ties with Kattan's brand. And Pope Leo is showing Gen Z appeal as a massive crowd of young people are turning out to worship with him in Rome. Details when we come back.
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LEE: Pope Leo capped a week-long gathering of Catholic youth in Rome with a mass attended by an enormous crowd. The Vatican's jubilee of youth attracted pilgrims from countries around the world. CNN's Christopher Lamb was there.
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CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rock star's welcome for Pope Leo, greeting an endless sea of crowds from every corner of the globe at a mega youth gathering in Rome. The first American pontiff facing a big test whether he can inspire the church's future generation.
(on camera): Well, Pope Leo, has arrived on the main stage at Tor Vergata. People are giving him a rapturous welcome cheering.
(voice-over): Leo, both embracing the young people's enthusiasm, but also ensuring moments of quiet contemplation, talking directly to them.
ROBERT FRANCIS PREVOST, POPE, CATHOLIC CHURCH: Dear young people, Jesus is the friend who always accompanies us in the formation of our conscience. Seek justice in order to build a more humane world.
(CHEERS)
LAMB: For the young pilgrims, it's been a week-long jamboree of music and fellowship in a festival atmosphere, and the excitement was contagious even for the cardinals. The Vatican says people from 146 countries flocked to the eternal city from as far as South Korea, where the next big youth meeting will take place.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to meet a lot of people from around the world who believe in the same religion as me, and do pray together. The religion brings people together and some came from New Mexico, one of the frontline states of U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. They want the pope to stand with immigrants.
DAMIAN HERNANDEZ, U.S. PILGRIM: I think that's very important for him to welcome many new people from many new countries, many new places, so they can come and experience it.
LAMB: Particularly given what's happening.
HERNANDEZ: Oh, yes, particularly from what's happening in the United States with other deportations and all of that.
LAMB: But connecting with young people today means the church must reach beyond the pews, with some research showing Gen Z are interested in Catholicism. Theology student Nicola Camporiondo says his mission is to help make faith more visible online.
NICOLA CAMPORIONDO, CATHOLIC INFLUENCER: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE) --
LAMB: Many camping out under the stars at the site so they could catch another glimpse of the pope in the morning.
PREVOST: Good morning (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
LAMB: With more than a million turning out for Sunday mass with Leo, this was the largest event of his nearly three-month papacy.
PREVOST: God bless you all --
LAMB: And his authenticity and quiet charisma helped him connect with the crowd. As they prepared to go home, Leo urged them to remember those suffering, stressing that the young pilgrims are a sign a different world is possible.
PREVOST: We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of Ukraine.
LAMB: Leo, chosen as pontiff at a turbulent time in history, and while still adjusting to the limelight, seems to enjoy being pope. Christopher Lamb, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEE: The TikTok that launched a viral food trend. We speak to one company that's making its own version of the Dubai chocolate. And kids in some southern states are getting ready to head back to school today, and one school principal is getting his playlist ready. We'll explain ahead on EARLY START.
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