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One World with Zain Asher
Russian State Media: Witkoff-Putin Meeting Lasted Three Hours; Trump: "Up To Israel" Whether To Occupy All Of Gaza; Fort Stewart: Casualties Reported In Active Shooter Situation; Attorney: Combs Hoping For Pardon From Trump; HHS "Winding Down" Funding For MRNA vaccine Development; U.S. Coast Guard: Deaths Of Five Men "Preventable"; Visitors From Zambia And Malawi To Pay Visa Bonus Up To $15,000. Aired 12-1p ET
Aired August 06, 2025 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Double or nothing, Donald Trump punishes India with yet another 25 percent tariff. The second hour of "One World"
starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I stopped five wars in the last five months, actually. And I'd like this to be the sixth, frankly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Constructed and useful, Steve Witkoff meets with Vladimir Putin face to face, why the timing is so critical.
Also ahead, funding slashed. Millions meant for a technology that was used to develop COVID vaccines will be moved elsewhere. Robert Kennedy Jr. says
he's just following the science. But is he?
And later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILLY MILES, ARMY RANGERS VETERAN: I cannot tell you what it means because it's -- it's that powerful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: A sign of respect. How an 11-year-old is bringing this Texas veteran to tears. Touching moment you won't want to miss. That's coming up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
Hello, everyone. I'm Bianna Golodryga in New York. Zain is off today. You are watching the second hour of "One World."
And we have breaking news out of Georgia. Fort Stewart Army Base is under lockdown because of an active shooter, that is according to police. The
Facebook page for Fort Stewart says there have been casualties as well. The situation is ongoing.
Fort Stewart is about 40 miles southwest of Savannah, Georgia. We'll have much more on this developing story in just a moment.
Also this just in to CNN. We are learning that President Trump is speaking with Ukraine's president today, following U.S. Special Envoy Steve
Witkoff's trip to Moscow. And we're already beginning to see the fallout from Witkoff's meeting with the Russian president take shape.
Shortly after he left the Kremlin, the White House announced that it will move forward with an additional 25 percent tariff on India for buying
Russian oil.
To be clear, this is on top of Trump's 25 percent so-called reciprocal tariffs set to go into effect tomorrow. U.S. President Donald Trump had
threatened more direct and indirect sanctions on Russia, including those tariffs on India if a peace agreement wasn't reached by this Friday. The
Kremlin, for its part, is describing the talks as constructive and useful.
Meantime, Russia is pushing forward in its offensive in eastern Ukraine, claiming that it has captured another settlement. It also unleashed attacks
across the country, killing at least six people in the last day.
CNN's Kylie Atwood is in Washington with us with the latest.
Kylie, so Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin for about three hours, the readout that we are seeing is only coming out of Moscow, nothing yet from
the White House. Moscow calling this constructive and useful, but we're seeing additional retaliatory sanctions announced against India from the
White House, suggesting that perhaps news didn't come out, that Donald Trump had been hoping to hear.
What more are we learning?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. That -- that initial response from the White House saying that they would move
ahead with those additional tariffs on India indicate that the Trump administration didn't get everything out of this meeting that they wanted.
However, the Secretary of State, just here at the State Department, was careful not to box President Trump in either way when it comes to these
sanctions that he has threatened against Russia if Russia does not agree to end the war in this meeting.
He effectively said that there would be discussions today, that the Secretary and presumably the President had just gotten off the phone with
Steve Witkoff who is now on his way back to Washington. And it said that there would be announcements fairly soon.
Listen to what he told me just moments ago here at the State Department.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATWOOD: Mr. Secretary, will Russia sanctions still go into effect later this week after the Witkoff meeting with President Putin?
MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Thank you. One more to say about that later on, working for (INAUDIBLE). Ambassador Witkoff is on his way back
now. We just got to call him a few minutes ago about some other discussions throughout the day and then hopefully there'll be some announcements
(INAUDIBLE) assume it may be positive. We'll see.
ATWOOD: Did Russia agreed to a ceasefire?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ATWOOD: Now, obviously, that readout is not decidedly negative or positive, really, Bianna. So it's hard to know exactly the decision that is going to
come from the Trump administration following this meeting.
But as you said earlier, President Trump is speaking with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy now, we're told. And we should also note that he spoke
with President Zelenskyy yesterday before this meeting occurred.
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It's very clear that the Trump administration is now coordinating with the Ukrainian government in a much more real way than they were before. Of
course, during the beginning of the Trump administration, Trump was much less responsive to Ukraine's concerns about the ongoing war.
Now, President Trump has been much more critical of President Putin, calling all of the attacks that Russia continues to carry out on Ukraine
all saying that they need to be able to defend themselves in just last month, signing off on a new effort to get American-made weaponry to
Ukrainians that, of course, we paid for by NATO allies.
GOLODRYGA: Right. And it is notable. I don't remember the last time we saw President Trump speaking with President Zelenskyy two days in a row,
especially without a conversation with Vladimir Putin as well.
So that -- that is something that -- that is a bit of a difference in the president's tone and posture towards Russia right now.
Kylie Atwood in Washington for us. Thank you.
Well, now to Israel where anger erupted on the streets of Tel Aviv as protesters called for an end to the war in Gaza.
Scuffles erupted between police officers and protesters at one point. Demonstrators want the Israeli government to facilitate a hostage deal.
About 50 hostages remain in Gaza. About 20 are believed to still be alive.
The brother of the now 24-year-old hostage, Evyatar David, made an emotional plea to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, calling
for an urgent international action.
Video has emerged recently, showing his emaciated brother inside a Hamas tunnel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ILAY DAVID, BROTHER OF HOSTAGE EVYATAR DAVID: Your silence is the face of this monstrous cruelty is complicity. I urge you, do not let them die. We
don't have time. Do not let them spend another minute in darkness suffering beyond imagination. Act now before it's too late. Save Evyatar David. Bring
my little brother home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: And, of course, you'll recall I spoke with Ilay David earlier this week as well.
This as Gaza today, nearly two years of war, you see this video here, devastation as far as the eye can see, neighborhoods reduced to rubble. The
health ministry there in Gaza says more than 61,000 people have died so far, 138 of them in the past 24 hours, the highest death toll in weeks,
according to the ministry.
And that toll could get even higher as Israel considers intensifying its military campaign in Gaza. The security cabinet is set to meet Thursday to
discuss a full takeover of the enclave. The U.N. says any such move could have catastrophic consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIROSLAV JENCA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL FOR EUROPE, CENTRAL ASIA AND AMERICAS: Prime Minister Netanyahu's possible decision to expand Israel's
military operations through the entire Gaza Strip, if true, are deeply alarming. These would risk catastrophic consequences for millions of
Palestinians and could further endanger the lives of the remaining hostages in Gaza.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: The U.S. President is also weighing in. Donald Trump says his focus is on humanitarian aid, and that whatever happens next in Gaza is up
to Israel.
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TRUMP: We are there now trying to get people fed. As you know, $60 million was given by the United States fairly recently to supply food and a lot --
a lot of food, frankly, for the people of Gaza that are obviously not doing too well with the food.
And I know Israel is going to help us with that in terms of distribution and also money. We also have the Arab states are going to help us with that
in terms of the money and possibly distribution. So that's what I'm focused on.
As far as the rest of it, I really -- I really can't say that's going to be pretty much up to Israel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Let's bring in CNN's Kristen Holmes who is at the White House for us.
And, Kristen, we've heard the president over the past few months also say that Prime Minister Netanyahu should do whatever he can to get the job
done. I mean, no specifics in what the U.S. President is hoping Prime Minister Netanyahu does when he says get the job done.
But the fact that he's now saying it's up to Prime Minister Netanyahu in terms of what happens next in Gaza is notable, because as we all know, if
there is one international leader that does have influence over the Prime Minister, it is President Trump.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And it was interesting how he kind of punted on this question. He was asked
specifically about these reports that Benjamin Netanyahu was going to urge a conquest of Gaza and essentially said he didn't know anything about that.
But he was just focused on the humanitarian part of all of that.
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Of course, we previously reported that President Trump and the First Lady have seen images coming out of Gaza that have sparked him to ask for more
action in terms of United States aid into Gaza.
But when it came to anything else, and he going a step further, talking about occupying Gaza, talking about this full conquest, he said it's up to
Israel after that humanitarian aid. He just simply focused on what was going on in terms of bringing in food. That is something we've heard from
the administration.
Now, we also know that we have seen months and months of conversations between Israel and Hamas and the United States trying to come to a
ceasefire agreement, trying to have some kind of negotiation that would also return hostages. They have continued to go just so far and fall apart.
So, clearly, here he is avoiding any conversation about any kind of ceasefire instead of focusing just on the humanitarian part instead saying
Netanyahu, Israel, they'll have to decide what they want to do down the road or how they want to handle this situation.
As you noted, Bianna, that is quite interesting and remarkable, just given it's farther than we've heard him go before.
Now, of course, just to be clear, he has said Netanyahu should do whatever he can to get this done. And we also know that he's complained about the
optics of this ongoing situation in Gaza. And that's one thing that he has said why Netanyahu needs to get this done because it wasn't going well for
him. It didn't look good.
But this him saying that it's up to them if they want to do a full occupation, if they want to do a full conquest, that was really the
furthest he's gone almost specifically, while still keeping it Trump vague.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Kristen Holmes at the White House for us. Thank you.
I'm joined now by Brett McGurk. A CNN global affairs analyst and former Middle East and North Africa coordinator on the National Security Council.
He has just written a new analysis piece, crisis in Gaza seems hopeless: There is a potential pathway for a 90-day solution. That can be found on
cnn.com.
Brett, it is always good to see you.
And wow, what a few weeks it has been tragically taking a turn for the worst you write just two weeks ago. There was hope that Israel and Hamas
mediated by the U.S. Qatar in Egypt were close to a 60-day ceasefire.
Now, you are saying the best solution is involving a unilateral 30-day pause in Israeli military operations with an ultimatum that will, by the
end of these 30 days, Hamas must release half of the living hostages.
If Hamas refuses to release the hostages, Israel can resume military actions with international legitimacy for its objectives.
We instead are hearing the Prime Minister give an ultimatum that if Hamas doesn't disarm right now and release all of the hostages, Israel could
likely go in and reclaim control of the entire enclave.
Your reaction to that threat followed by President Trump's remarks that it's up to Israel what happens next.
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes, Bianna. Thank you. What -- what I try to do in that piece is go through all the potential options and
focus on, you know, what is -- what is realistic here, given that we have the Israeli government, we have -- we have the Hamas demands or what they
are. And we have irreconcilable positions.
Israel's position is Hamas must disarm. Its leaders must leave Gaza. And you have a new reality in Gaza with all the hostages coming home. Hamas'
demand and it's been this way since October 7th.
In the early negotiations, and I was a part of those negotiations all through about 18 months leading to two hostage deals. They will not disarm
under any circumstances.
You also in the background, Bianna, have the Arab League calling on Hamas to disarm. You have France, the U.K., other European partners saying Hamas
must disarm.
Well, how do you -- what do you do in this situation, this awful, horrific tragic circumstance?
And what I would recommend sometimes in a crisis, focus on the immediate and the immediate. Focus on the urgent with urgency. What is the immediate,
acute, urgent crisis?
Number one, it is the humanitarian situation in Gaza. We've had a cataclysmic set of events, a chain reaction that I believe stemmed from a
decision Israel made back in March when the ceasefire broke down, that promising ceasefire that was in place starting in January.
Israel blockaded Gaza for almost 80 days and changed the mode of distribution after that blockade for humanitarian aid delivery. That did
not work. It led to this crisis.
Secondly, in Gaza, you have the plight of the hostages and these horrific videos that Hamas has put out over the last week.
So, in the immediate term, a -- a 30-day humanitarian pause, that means you alleviate the humanitarian situation and you also demand ICRC access to the
hostages. It has to be a demand because these hostages might not have long to live based on those images.
You would also, at the end of that period, Bianna, have a clear demand at the end of those 30 days to extend that ceasefire by another 60 days, Hamas
has to release 10 hostages.
Now, that is the deal that's been on the table. That's the deal that was almost concluded two weeks ago. It's my understanding, there's a real
division within Hamas. The outside leadership, supported going ahead with that deal. The Hamas guys inside Gaza holding the keys to the hostage.
Hostages said no, put new demands on the table, and the talks collapsed.
[12:15:22]
I think you can get back to that with some pressure. Ten hostages, extend the deal by 60 days. You're then in a 90-day ceasefire.
And within that period, Bianna, I do think that is the period in which you can negotiate this final comprehensive deal that everybody wants to see.
And now that the Arab League has come out very clearly and said Hamas must disarm, must relinquish control of Gaza, you could really use some
multilateral diplomatic pressure on Hamas, which ultimately is needed.
So bottom line, in the immediate, stop the war, humanitarian pause, alleviate the humanitarian situation, and get the ICRC in to see the
hostages that's critical.
And the Israeli military in any case, they're already in a pause, because the Israelis have announced a pause to fix the humanitarian situation. So
take 30 days, reset, do some diplomacy, address the humanitarian situation, which is acute, and then work to ultimately end this war and get all the
hostages out.
GOLODRYGA: Yes. I mean, you look at these hostages. You look at the situation there with civilians in Gaza. So many of them not having access
to the food and necessities that they require. And all of a sudden 30 or 60 or 90 days sounds like an eternity. And that is why time really is of the
essence.
I do want to turn to the other major news story we are following overseas. And that is this meeting between Steve Witkoff and Vladimir Putin. They met
for three hours today. As you know, the Kremlin described this as constructive and useful.
Of course, it followed with President Trump announcing an additional 25 percent sanctions on India and anger over their continued purchase of
Russian oil and gas.
I'm just wondering, what exactly do you read the U.S. demanding that Russia do right now, given that this ultimatum, this window is vastly approaching?
MCGURK: Well, the U.S. demand, Bianna, remains what it was all the way back in February and March for a ceasefire. And the Ukrainians signed up to a
ceasefire in March. And at that time, Secretary Rubio said Russian reciprocity is now the key to peace and to a ceasefire. And since then,
you've had nothing but escalations from the Russians and the escalating war. The diplomacy has not worked.
So, you've seen an adjustment in the U.S. position now to announce new sanctions, secondary sanctions on purchasers of Russian energy products.
That matters. That seems to be getting into place.
And through NATO, ensuring the Ukrainians have a pipeline of military supplies. That is basically to tell Putin who has lost. He's taken a
million casualties in this war, maybe 250,000 killed military casualties. His economy is suffering.
But he's also all in. He's shown no indication he's ready to back off. What I see the White House doing is saying, look, we want to get to a ceasefire.
We are actually going to support the Ukrainians. And this is going to continue. You are not going to achieve your objectives. The only way out is
a diplomatic resolution. So let's try to get to the table.
Like Gaza, let's stop the war and try to get diplomacy going. That is the objective. I don't think it's going to work in the near term. I think
you're going to have to build up more cards and leverage in order to get there.
But I hope that path that the president laid out about 10 days ago or so with new sanctions and military support through NATO to Ukraine is the path
to remain on as you continue to work on the diplomacy as Steve is doing today in Moscow.
It's tough. It's tough. But you got to have leverage to the diplomacy. Diplomacy without -- without leverage is basically, I think, a -- a famous
European diplomat of the 19th century said, it's like music without instruments.
GOLODRYGA: Yes.
MCGURK: You have to have leverage for the diplomacy. That's what they're trying to put together. But it's going to be a long road.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Brett McGurk, thank you so much.
Again, you can read his pathway to peace on our website, cnn.com.
Let's now return to the breaking news out of Georgia. Fort Stewart army base is under lockdown due to an active shooter. That is according to
police. The Facebook page report Stewart says there have been casualties. We've just learned that the FBI is now responding to the situation.
Isabel Rosales has the latest. Always tragic to hear that there are casualties here. Isabel, what more are we learning?
Isabel, can you hear me?
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm sorry. We're having some audio issues.
GOLODRYGA: All right. Isabel Rosales, can you hear me?
ROSALES: Sorry. I can't hear you right now. But let me be able to -- let me -- let me give you a little bit about what we do know right now that Fort
Stewart is under lockdown. This is according to the police spokesperson there.
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The incident really centering around the second armored brigade combat team area where the spokesperson, again, to their police department is telling
us confirming to CNN that there is an active shooter but was not able to give us any additional details beyond that.
Now, we have this video up right now where we witnessed a U.S. Army emergency medical service ambulance with its sirens on, with its lights on
speeding away past this area at high speeds.
All of the gates to Fort Stewart have also been closed during this incident.
Now, the Fort Worth (ph) Facebook page they posted on there that -- that casualties have been reported and the situation obviously still very active
and ongoing.
Let me give you a little bit of background as to Fort Stewart. This is the largest Army installation east of the Mississippi. Over 280,000 acres. More
than 10,000 soldiers, family members, Army civilians reside at this post. This is a huge area we're talking about.
This is also an installation that employs over 25,000 people, making it one of the largest employers in coastal Georgia.
Fort Stewart trains and deploys active and reserve Army units. This is the home of the third infantry division. And all of this is located, as you can
see on this map just about 40 miles southwest of Savannah, Georgia.
We know from the governor, Brian Kemp, that he is aware of the situation. He's keeping the victims or families, and he says all those who answer the
call to serve in our hearts and prayers. Back to you.
GOLODRYGA: All right. We'll be paying close attention to this story and any developments there. Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.
And we'll be right back.
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GOLODRYGA: Well, the defense team for Sean "Diddy" Combs has reached out to the Trump administration about a possible pardon.
Last month, a jury convicted the hip-hop mogul on two charges of transportation to engage in prostitution. He was acquitted of more serious
charges, sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
The pardon discussions were confirmed by a member of his defense team who sat down with CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister for an exclusive interview.
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ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Do you know if there have been active conversations about a pardon?
[12:25:00]
NICOLE WESTMORELAND, ATTORNEY FOR SEAN "DIDDY" COMBS: Yes, we've -- it's my understanding that we've reached out and had conversations in reference to
a pardon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: A White House official tells CNN they will not comment on the existence or non-existence of any clemency request. If convicted on the
more serious charges, Combs would have faced life in prison, but now, he faces a maximum of 20 years.
Here's more from that CNN exclusive interview.
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WAGMEISTER: This verdict was, in no uncertain terms, a victory for the defense. Talk about that strategy from day one to come out of the gate and
say he is a domestic abuser, but that is not what he is on trial for here.
WESTMORELAND: So, you know, the strategy was to just tell the truth. That's really what we decided to just tell the truth. We didn't -- we didn't need
a creative story. We didn't need to overreach. We knew that telling the truth meant not guilty.
We knew that he had not sex trafficked anyone and we knew that RICO was absurd. So we figured, hey, we'll tell the truth and that will pay off. And
I believe that for the most part, that strategy worked.
WAGMEISTER: He is still facing around 70 civil allegations from men, from women, from people who alleged that they were minors at the time across
decades with horrific accusations of being drugged, of being sexually assaulted.
Each of those cases does have to play through the courts individually. So I understand that he denies them, but those are still active cases.
WESTMORELAND: True. But let me -- let me -- let me say this to you. We are talking about the United States government. This is the federal government.
All right. It doesn't really get any stronger than that.
And so they obviously fully investigated Mr. Combs, and obviously, through the book at him, right? And so if you think for a second, if the government
really thought that there were minors out there hanging in the balance, if the government really thought that there was drugs and the baby oil or
something of that nature, do you -- you think the government just wouldn't have brought that up in a full-fledged criminal trial? Absolutely not.
Right?
So that's not even logical. And so if the government had -- if there was any real evidence of those allegations, we would have heard all about it in
the criminal trial.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Combs is currently awaiting sentencing. Prosecutors have not formally said what sentence they are going to pursue.
Our thanks to Elizabeth Wagmeister for that exclusive.
Coming up for us, why Donald Trump's top health official says his agency is slashing funding for the technology that gave us some of the most effective
COVID vaccines.
And we've got details from the U.S. Coast Guard scathing report on the Titan submersible tragedy. Why investigators say that it was completely
preventable?
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GOLODRYGA: Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.
We've got an update on that breaking news out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. The army base there has been under lockdown due to an active shooter.
Now, according to law enforcement officials, the shooter is no longer a threat. Officials there say there have been casualties. The base is home to
more than 10,000 people, soldiers, family members, and army civilians.
We'll have much more as we get the information into us.
Meantime, the COVID vaccine was developed using a revolutionary medical technology known as mRNA. But now, the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services says that it is terminating funding in 22 separate mRNA vaccine projects and studies.
HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. says mRNA vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections like COVID, despite
numerous studies showing mRNA vaccines developed under Operation Warp Speed under President Trump, we should note, were highly effective in preventing
severe disease from COVID and were demonstrated to be extremely safe. Kennedy says his agency will instead focus on vaccines with a longer safety
record.
Time now for "The Exchange." Joining me is Michael Osterholm. He is the Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the
University of Minnesota. Michael, it is good to see you.
Scott Hensley, who is an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, has been working to develop an mRNA vaccine against influenza. The -- the -
- the same logic that HHS Secretary Kennedy used for dismissing this $500 million now in cut -- cutting for contracts said that this is a bad day for
science.
What is your reaction to this news? Is it scientifically motivated at all?
MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR OF THE CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: Well, first of all, let me just say at
the outset that people like Scott have really been on the frontlines of trying to bring us better vaccines for influenza and for diseases like
COVID.
And let me just say that I've been in this business 50 years now. And I've been involved with a lot of major international crises. I don't know of
another time that we've made a more dangerous decision than what was made yesterday by Secretary Kennedy and reported as such.
Let me just set the table, for example. Right now, if we were to have an influenza pandemic, the current vaccine manufacturing capacity we have
globally would allow us to make enough vaccine for about a quarter of the world's population in a year to 15 months. That obviously would be a
failure in terms of the overall response because of just the time it takes.
With a mRNA technology vaccine, which would perform similarly to what we see now with the current egg-based chicken vaccine that we use, would
actually be able to produce enough vaccine for the world within the first year.
We now are going to be and continue to be highly vulnerable to an influenza pandemic we wouldn't have to be. And it's work like Scott and others that
are doing that is now going to suffer miserably from this, what I would call totally a political non-scientific decision.
GOLODRYGA: Is there any precedent that you know of in halting contracts already placed for vaccine R &D like this?
[12:35:01]
OSTERHOLM: You know, we are in totally uncharted waters than we have been basically for seven to eight months. It is just a situation where every
day, we can anticipate a new YouTube or an ex -- expose will come out making some new claim and then putting that forward as policy. This is not
the way to protect the public.
And unfortunately, even one of the challenges yesterday was not just the fact that they stopped these programs, but it was left with the idea that
the secretary said that they're taking this research offline because of the fact that the risk outweigh the benefits. What are the risks they are
talking about? Where did that come from?
Well, if I'm a consumer, I hear this, I am thinking, wow, I have no way I want to take this vaccine.
Remember, vaccines are only as good as vaccinations, only when people use it. So, I'm worried that even if we had vaccines today, there will be this
ongoing concern about, well, maybe I shouldn't take this one.
This is absolutely wrong and it's dangerous. And it's putting many, many, many people's lives at risk by doing this kind of action.
GOLODRYGA: And we are hearing Kennedy say that he wants to focus more on whole virus vaccines. How do those compare to mRNA vaccines in terms of
effectiveness, safety and speed? Because remember, the name of this operation that was penned here in the United States was Operation Warp
Speed.
OSTERHOLM: Well, first of all, we've been working with wholesale vaccines for influenza, dating back more than 50 years. This is not new. And we've
been unsuccessful in making these vaccines effective in the ways that Secretary Kennedy is talking about.
So, you know, what's new about this? What is new is the kind of technology that mRNA vaccines provide.
And let me be really clear, mRNA vaccines for influenza and for COVID are good vaccines, but they're not great. I wish they provided better
protection against all infection, against, you know, even mild illness. They don't.
But what they do, do is they provide incredible protection against serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths.
And I think in the end, we'd all accept that type of outcome as opposed to one where we just didn't prevent us from getting sick.
Against Secretary Kennedy continues to misrepresent that information and make it sound as if somehow the vaccines themselves are driving the viruses
to change. There is absolutely no data to support this. This is absolutely erroneous.
And this is one of the challenges we have right now is, how do you take on someone who comes forward with such authority and makes it sound as if he's
there to protect the public's health when, in fact, it is all an ideology- based decision that is gutting the very best of science.
GOLODRYGA: You have been on this program before, and you are not one to sound the alarm unless it is warranted. And you have said that we will
inevitably have another pandemic that -- that is going to grip the country, the world.
When you hear these type of announcements from the United States, from the HHS, does that worry you even more so knowing that that next pandemic could
be around the corner?
OSTERHOLM: Absolutely. But I think there's also another perspective here. We enjoyed being at the front of the line for getting COVID vaccines during
the recent pandemic, and it saved millions and millions of lives in this country.
Now, I can tell you by us stopping this kind of research, other countries around the world will continue to work on mRNA vaccines. We are now going
to the end of the line.
So, we will watch the world get vaccinated in the next pandemic for influenza, for that matter, maybe even COVID, and we will not be there.
Think what that's going to look like. Think how that's going to unfold. And right now, that is just an obvious, obvious outcome of this kind of policy
and -- and what this administration is doing to science.
GOLODRYGA: I'd say that's the complete opposite of America first, what you just described.
Michael Osterholm, thank you so much for joining us.
OSTERHOLM: Thank you.
Well, U.S. Coast Guard investigators call the 2023 implosion of the Titans submersible preventable. That's the conclusion in their blistering 300-page
report on the incident.
They found the sub's operator OceanGate had a toxic workplace culture plagued by what they call critically flawed safety practices.
Jason Carroll has the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A preventable tragedy, that's how a scathing new report from the Coast Guard describes
the 2023 implosion of the Titan submersible that instantaneously killed all five people on board.
The report also stating the Coast Guard believed former OceanGate CEO, Stockton Rush, was criminally negligent.
JASON NEUBAUER, DEPUTY CHIEF, OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS AND ANALYSIS, U.S. COAST GUARD: If Mr. Rush had somehow survived, we would've made a
recommendation that the Department of Justice do a separate inquiry criminal investigation into the matter.
CARROLL (voice-over): What led to the implosion, the Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation finding the primary contributing factors were
OceanGate's inadequate design, certification, maintenance, and inspection process for the Titan.
[12:40:03]
In one example, the board found OceanGate ignored warning signs and did not bother to investigate safety issues with Titans hull after an incident in
2022.
During that previous incident, a loud banging noise was heard during Titan's ascent, a possible sign the hull was not structurally sound. The
report's findings echoing accounts from OceanGate's former employees, several of whom testified last year about cutting costs and safety issues,
issues they say Rush ignored.
DAVID LOCHRIDGE, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MARINE OPERATIONS, OCEANGATE: There was a big push to get this done and lot of steps along the way were missed.
STOCKTON RUSH, FORMER CEO, OCEANGATE: I've broken some rules to make this.
CARROLL (voice-over): Rush was a highly controversial figure among deep sea explorers well before the catastrophic implosion.
RUSH: I have no desire to die.
CARROLL (voice-over): A recently released Netflix documentary explored his vision for Titan and its eventual demise.
Submersible experts were critical of Rush's approach to building Titan, saying its construction was not founded in tested science.
The Coast Guard accused Rush of gross negligence in its report, saying his company did all it could to avoid oversight by the scientific and maritime
community, saying he exhibited negligence that contributed to the deaths of four individuals.
JASON NEUBAUER, DEPARTMENT CHIEF, OFFICE OF INVESTIGATIONS AND ANALYSIS, U.S. COAST GUARD: I think it was very serious. The fact that the vessel was
operated, in our opinion, illegally, you know, with paying passengers with no certification, no even registration for the vessel itself, really, I
haven't seen that before.
CARROLL (voice-over): In addition to Rush, the four others who were killed in included famed deep sea explorer, Paul-Henri Nargeolet, British
adventurer, Hamish Harding, businessman Shahzada Dawood, and his 19- year- old son, Suleman.
Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GOLODRYGA: And another update to bring you on the breaking news out of Fort Stewart, Georgia. Five Soldiers have been shot in an active shooter
situation at the army base there.
The base says that the shooter has been apprehended and injured soldiers are being treated at a local hospital. The base is home to more than 10,000
people, soldiers, family members and army civilians. The incident remains under investigation.
[12:45:00]
Well, the Trump administration is changing the requirements for some visa applicants from Africa. The State Department says it will soon start asking
applicants from Zambia and Malawi to pay bonds of up to $15,000 for some tourists and business visas.
The plot program is set to launch just two weeks from now and is raising concerns that many visitors simply will not be able to afford such high
figures.
I want to bring in CNN's Larry Madowo with more on this. So, we heard about this announcement from the State Department a few days ago.
Now, we know some of the first countries that will be impacted here. And a lot of controversy stemming about this beginning with African countries in
particular.
What more are you learning?
LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bianna, many people in Zambia and Malawi see this as an effective visa ban. A lot of people in these two Southern
African nations cannot afford $5,000, let alone $15,000 as a deposit just to get a U.S. visa.
The way the State Department explains it, this is a refundable fee if the visa applicant leave the United States before the expiry of their time or
they don't travel during the visa duration or they apply for entry at a port of entry and are denied entry.
And they also have to show up in the U.S. using only three airports, Boston, Logan, New York's JFK or Washington Dulles. So those are the only
three ways that they can get in and out of the United States. And this is a huge burden and some are already calling it unfair in these countries.
But listen to how the State Department explains why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMMY BRUCE, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: This targeted common sense measure reinforces the administration's commitment to U.S. immigration law
while deterring visa overstays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MADOWO: Zambia and Malawi don't even have the highest visa overstay rates in Africa. There are nine countries ahead of them and some of these are the
poorest nations on Earth. Malawi is the world's poorest nation and it's also already suffered another visa hitch. They can only get one month
single entry visa for tourists and business. So this is an extra roadblock for them, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: An extra roadblock -- block, of course. And then, Larry, while I have you yesterday, we got the news that Rwanda will now accept up to 250
migrants from the United States. What more are we learning about this development?
MADOWO: Rwanda will become the third African country to accept migrants from the United States besides South Sudan and Eswatini.
And Rwanda has something -- is something of what we call a market leader in something known as migrant offshoring.
When rich Western nations don't want certain migrants, they can send them to a safe third country and Rwanda has done similar deals in the past with
the U.K. and with the U.N. But this is the first time that it's doing this massive number, 250.
We don't know when it will begin and what are the details. But this is a statement that the Rwandan government spokesperson gave us about how this
would work, which is maybe slightly different from what you've seen in the case of El Salvador.
And he said, according to the statement from the Rwandan government spokesperson, "Under the agreement, Rwanda has the ability to approve each
individual proposed before resettlement. Those approved will be provided with the workforce training, healthcare, and accommodation support to
jumpstart their lives in Rwanda, giving them the opportunity to contribute to one of the fastest growing economies in the world over the last decade."
So, this appears to be that there will not be the criminals who already have -- the barbaric criminals that the -- the U.S. has described them who
are being sent to a Salvador or to a Eswatini or to South Sudan. They're likely just people who are out of status in the U.S. and Rwanda still has a
right to say yes or no. So, they seem to have worked with a better deal than everything we've seen so far, Bianna.
GOLODRYGA: Still raising a lot of eyebrows though. Larry Madowo, thank you so much.
Well, while the controversial Florida immigration facility dubbed Alligator Alcatraz continues to spark backlash, the Trump administration has
announced another new detention center in Indiana.
The so-called Speedway Slammer is expected to expand space by a thousand beds according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, though it's not
clear exactly when it will start housing migrants. And DHS Secretary Kristi Noem says there's more to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KRISTI NOEM, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We've got several of these facilities that will come online soon and it really is meeting a need that
our country has to clean up our streets. We also have others will announce in the future.
Alligator Alcatraz was the first model and the Big, Beautiful Bill provided us the resources that we need to get these beds online so we can continue
to do our work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Noem says the Speedway Slammer will house, quote, some of the worst of the worst criminals detained by ICE.
Ahead on the show, a small gesture made at the door of a U.S. military veteran is caught on camera. We'll tell you what this 11-year-old did to
earn this man's respect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[12:50:23]
GOLODRYGA: A National Hockey League player and his team's mascot had a close encounter with a bear while fishing in Alaska.
John Hayden of the Seattle Kraken and Buoy, the mascot, were fishing when a bear ran toward them. And it was time to put their athletic skills to the
test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HAYDEN, AMERICAN ICE HOCKEY PLAYER: I want to blame it on Buoy. They're pretty interested in his -- his whole look. So, we got out of it
okay, but it was -- it was a -- a close call.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That last little sprint I was working.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOLODRYGA: Oh, my gosh. I can laugh because no one got hurt. But just looking at Buoy, I can understand why the bear was even a bit confused.
In the end, the bear accomplished its goal, scaring them away from the fish.
All right. Turning to Midland Texas now, a small gesture made by a child who was captured on video and it went on to capture a military veteran's
heart.
Mary Kate Hamilton with CNN affiliate KOSA brings us the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY KATE HAMILTON, KOSA REPORTER (voice-over): A simple sign of respect captured on a Ring door camera captured one Midland veteran's heart.
MILES: I just couldn't believe what I was seeing from an 11-year-old child. And it's a lot of respect and it means a lot to a veteran.
HAMILTON (voice-over): Zaireaa Robertson just 11 years old was in the neighborhood passing out business cards for her father's lawn care company.
That's when she came to Billy Miles store and paused.
The gesture took just a couple of seconds, but the effect, impossible to measure.
MILES: I cannot tell you what it means, because it's -- it's that powerful for a small child to understand what she's saluting. And it made me proud.
HAMILTON: After checking his Ring camera footage, Miles knew what he had to do.
MILES: When I saw her salute and I said, I've got to get a hold of these people.
HAMILTON (voice-over): With the business card Zaireaa left, he was able to find Zaireaa's dad. And then Zaireaa.
MILES: I hugged her neck and told her how proud I was ever while I was (INAUDIBLE), so.
HAMILTON (voice-over): It's a story that shows sometimes the smallest gestures made by some of the smallest people have the biggest impact.
MILES: There's great in everybody. And there's a whole lot of great in that young lady right there. A whole lot of great. And I hope she maybe one day
can salute the flag in a uniform.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[12:55:09]
GOLODRYGA: And finally, today I am thrilled to announce that my first book, "Don't Feed the Lion," co-authored with Israeli journalist, Yonit Levi, is
coming out this fall. It's a middle grade novel that begins when a star athlete makes an anti-Semitic remark that goes viral and things escalate
when the adults don't step in forcefully enough to address it. That leaves the burden of response on the kids.
We wrote this story because as anti-Semitism reaches record highs around the world, we search for books to help our own children make sense of
what's happening and found very few for their age group. So we decided to write the one that we couldn't find.
"Don't Feed the Lion" is for readers ages nine and up but also for parents, teachers and anyone who believes kids shouldn't have to face hate alone.
It's a story for both Jewish and non-Jewish readers because standing up to anti-Semitism is a shared responsibility.
The book is available for pre-order now and will be released on November 11th. Thank you so much for your support.
And that does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks for watching. "Amanpour" is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:00:00]
END
