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One World with Zain Asher
Opposition Leader Yair Lapid Calls Gaza City Takeover Plan a "Disaster"; Israeli Security Cabinet Approves Plan to Control Gaza City; Texas Legislature to try to Reconvene in Hours; Preparations Underway for Possible Trump-Putin Meeting; Firefighters Battle Wildfires in Western Colorado; Entertainment Memorabilia Auction Could Fetch Millions. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired August 08, 2025 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: The Israeli Security Cabinet green lights Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to occupy Gaza City. "One World" starts
right now. There's growing condemnation from world leaders over Israel's new plan to take control of Gaza City.
I'll get reaction this hour from my guest, the Former Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. Plus, today is the deadline President Trump put in
place for Russia to move towards peace with Ukraine. We'll take you live to Moscow for the latest. And the California wildfires are exploding, forcing
thousands to flee this as new wildfires in Colorado burn through tens of thousands of acres.
Live from New York. I'm Paula Newton, and this is "One World". Now, a decision by the Israeli Security Cabinet to take control of Gaza City is
sparking outrage within Israel and condemnation right around the world. Egypt says the decision will eliminate the Palestinian cause.
Germany has halted arms exports to Israel that could be used in Gaza. Now, the five-month plan would take place in several phases, beginning with Gaza
City. That's according to the prime minister's office. An Israeli source says Gaza city and its nearly million residents would be evacuated by
October 7th.
Of course, that's the two-year anniversary of the Hamas led attack on Israel. This social media video shows an explosion in Gaza City. That was
just hours after the plans were approved inside Israel. Meantime, thousands have been demonstrating against the escalatory move.
A hostage families group calls the decision a colossal catastrophe. Palestinians in Gaza, meantime, who have you'll all remember 22 months now
of war. And of course, the continuing hunger crisis. They say conditions right now are so horrific, it is hard to imagine how things could possibly
get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD AL-QURASHLI, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN: Netanyahu's decision to occupy Gaza. It's like there's nothing left to occupy in the first place. We're
already dying. At this point for the people. There's no difference anymore whether he occupies it or not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now our Jerusalem Bureau Chief, Oren Liebermann, is here with us, and you've been following all of this hour by hour. How soon could this new
military action be rolled out? And what does the Israeli government hoped to achieve. Given, as you have told us, Oren, Israel's own military
commanders are incredibly skeptical.
OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, it appears this could start quite soon. It certainly takes some organization and planning for a
new and expanded operation, but the Israeli military, the IDF, already said it's working on advancing those plans to put them into action.
The first phase of this, which has a deadline of October 2nd, October 7th, is to evacuate Gaza City and force the Palestinians there to move to
Southern Gaza. At the same time, Israel will expand the distribution of humanitarian aid. But crucially, the prime minister's office says none of
that distribution will be within Gaza City, which means that Palestinians who want food, who need aid, who need that humanitarian assistance, have to
leave Gaza City.
And that leaves the question of whether they'll be able to get back in, because the next phase would be declaring Gaza City a combat zone, and
that's where the military side of the operation would begin in earnest, in earnest. In terms of what Israel says it's trying to achieve, according to
the prime minister's office, it's the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza.
And several other goals, including an alternative governance for Gaza that is neither Hamas nor the Palestinian authority, and that sense, it's much
of the same stated goals we have heard for nearly two years now. The question really is, how does this advance those goals when they've been the
stated goals for so long.
And Israel has been unable to achieve the release of hostages in Gaza through military pressure, or been able to get more concessions out of
Hamas through military pressure. And that is one of the questions that everyone looking at this is asking at this point.
NEWTON: You know, I do wonder as well how this is playing out with Israelis, who have been concerned, of course, about the fate of the
hostages, but also themselves suffering such war fatigue. Right, there are reserves right now who are leaving their families and their jobs and headed
for yet another risky operation.
[11:05:00]
LIEBERMANN: Exactly. And that gets to that last point I made, just the anger that we're seeing. It was major protests across the country,
especially in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem last night as the security cabinet meeting was going on, and there are calls for even larger protests tomorrow
night, on Saturday night, those are the weekly protests, and we anticipate they might be even larger than usual and the usual is tens of thousands of
people protesting.
At least one reservist organization is calling on soldiers to decline orders if they get call up orders. So, you're seeing the anger play out
very quickly here. Polls have repeatedly shown a majority of the country supports a comprehensive deal to end the war and to return the hostages.
This decision from Netanyahu and from the security cabinet moves the country in the exact opposite direction. And that's not to say anything for
the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza and the effect that an expanded military operation would have there, with everything we're seeing
unfolding.
NEWTON: Indeed, Oren Liebermann for us, who continues to follow the breaking news from Israel, appreciate it now. We do want to bring in Former
Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Olmert. He joins us now live from Tel Aviv, and good for you to be with us as we continue to parse the breaking news
here.
Now we do see the security cabinet backing Netanyahu on this. There is an aggressive military push now on in the cards for Gaza City. What do you
believe this will mean for Israel, and crucially, for the hostages still in Gaza?
EHUD OLMERT, FORMER ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Well, as you all say, it's going to be the unfortunately this verdict for the hostages. This is the
assessment of the Israeli Chief of Staff who opposed this plan on the basis of a very thorough analysis of all the General Staff of the Israeli army.
The truth is very simple. For 22 months we were fighting. We destroyed most of Gaza anyway, more than 60,000 people were killed. Many of them were
Hamas fighters, and they deserved a punishment, but many were not. And now we are going to embark on a military operation, expanded military
operation, which is not going to save the hostages, which is going to cost the lives of many soldiers, and which is going to cause the lives of many
non-involved Palestinians.
There will be a natural, inevitable victims of this operation. And no one really believes that there is any chance that this operation will help save
any of the hostages. We haven't been able to do it in a military operation, the only way that we, except for a couple, that we did, all of the hostages
that were released as part of an agreement.
Some of them were brokered by Qatar and Egypt. One of them was brokered by President Trump. And this is the way to do it now, to end the war and to
bring back the hostages.
NEWTON: And Ehud, that's not the way the Netanyahu government sees it. You've been categorical, right? You have said the Israeli government, you
say, is now committing war crimes in Gaza. How will this new military operation escalate those crimes in your opinion?
OLMERT: It will increase the number of crimes which will be committed not as part of a policy. There is no policy of committing crimes or genocide or
anything like that. But this is the nature of this operation, when there is not any goal which is acceptable, or any goal that can be practically
achieved, and there is a consensus that it is not likely to achieve anything.
And then, when there are so many soldiers killed and hostages that may be lost, and many thousands of Palestinians that may be killed, this is crime,
by definition, this is a crime. This is something which should be avoided when the majority of Israelis, 70 percent according to all the polls, are
urging the government, including, by the way, all the former commanders of the Israeli army and the senior generals and the commanders of Mossad and
the commanders of the security service.
All demand the government to end the war now, in order to save the hostages and in order to save the unnecessary victims that will be killed as a
result of an operation which no one needs and which no one believes can achieve anything of any significance.
NEWTON: And Ehud, all those protests, all those opinions that you have written, that letters that others have penned, is had no influence on the
Netanyahu government itself. Why not, do you think?
OLMERT: Well, because the government is the government the Prime Minister personally is captive of a group of Messianic partners in the coalition
government, which holds the tide, and they threaten that if the decision will be different, they will break down the government.
[11:10:00]
NEWTON: So, you believe this is politically expedient then, you believe that's why the Prime Minister Netanyahu is doing this.
OLMERT: Is -- this is the universal concerns in Israel today that this is a political expediency. There is no question about it --
NEWTON: And if what you say is true, why do you believe the Trump Administration appears willing to go along with this new plan and escalate
the war on Gaza? I note that Vice President Vance just said moments ago that he confirms that President Trump is moved by the humanitarian, the
dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. So why hasn't he done anything to stop Prime Minister Netanyahu?
OLMERT: You are asking me, I am here in Tel Aviv. You are in America, and I think you should know better. What motivates President Trump. I, by the
way, I agree with Vice President Vance that the president cares. I have no doubt about that. The president cares for the victims, the humanitarian
needs, the suffering of all sides of our side, as well as the Palestinian side.
He cares for human lives, which we all do. Question is maybe that the president is somewhat influenced by this argument that this is the only way
to get rid of Hamas. I don't think so, quite frankly, and I've been dealing with Hamas myself in different occasions throughout my career as prime
minister.
And I can say this that most of what can be achieved by a military operation was achieved by Israel in 22 months. We are not talking about a
day or two. We are talking about the longest ever war that Israel was engaged in 22 months. We have eliminated most of the leadership of Hamas.
We have eliminated the higher ranks of the military command. We destroyed tunnels, we destroyed the launchers, we destroyed the rockets, we destroyed
the command positions. And more than 60,000 people were killed. OK, let's say that half of them were fighters of Hamas, and they deserve the
punishment, there was no question about it, for what they did.
But there are 30,000 that may not be involved, were not involved at all in terror, and they are victims. So how many more there should be in order for
the Israeli government to understand that this is not the way to achieve the goals --
NEWTON: Yeah, and hundreds of thousands more at this hour without food or medical care. But I do have to ask you, if not the United States, then what
about those countries, those allies that agree with you? What should they do now? Some have been standing up to Israel.
We just heard what Germany was going to do. There has been this recognition of a Palestinian state. What advice would you give them in order to
prevail, in order to have some leverage over the Netanyahu government?
OLMERT: Well, first of all, I'm not an advisor for foreign governments to start with, but I can say this, I've been fighting and I've been advocating
and I've been campaigning for political solution that the essential part of which is a two-state solution. I proposed it in 2008, 9 when I was my
minister to the Palestinians, a comprehensive peace plan that includes Palestinian state on the base 67 borders with.
The Arab side of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine. And unfortunately, regrettably, they didn't sign. At that time, they didn't agree to do it,
which was a historical, tragic mistake. Now, and I've been campaigning in the last year with a partner of the Palestinian Dr. Kidwa with me, who was
a Foreign Minister of the Palestinian Authority and a major person in the Palestinian community.
Together, we campaigned all across Europe, in the world, and met with political leaders, foreign ministers, presidents, trying to advocate a two-
state solution. Now I think that the two-state solution is the only political solution. There is nothing else, but it is presented in the wrong
way.
It is presented as a punishment to Israel, as a threat. If you will not behave yourself, we will recognize the Palestinian state. I mean, we should
pursue every possible effort, every possible avenue, to impose on the Israeli government and the Palestinian government to embark negotiations
for a two-state solution, not as a punishment, but as a solution.
And this is what I would expect President Trump to do. You asked me about President Trump. President Trump is an enormously powerful leader. He has
this power in order to use it in a way that can make a difference.
[11:15:00]
Now he set a deadline for the Russia and Ukraine. He should set a deadline, the same deadline for Israel in Gaza. Stop it now. End the war. Embark on
negotiations, establish a security force made of Palestinians, of Egyptians, of Emiratis, of Jordanians, of Saudis that will take over Gaza
and will allow Israel to pull out altogether, and, of course, bring back all the hostages and the only way to do it.
NEWTON: And Mr. Olmert, we will wait to see what the White House reaction is in the coming hours, the vice president says he is expecting the
president to say something. Again, we thank you for your time. Appreciate it.
OLMERT: I hope, that the president is watching CNN, and this is my personal request from him, take the leadership and force the Israeli government,
because you are the only person that can force the Israeli government to do what needs to be done, and you are the only one that can do it, with all
due respect to President Macron and Prime Minister Carney and Prime Minister Starmer, all of them.
You are the one that can do it, and when you will do it, you will make the lives of millions of people in our region, in our country, much happier and
much safer. So, it's about time that you, president will do it.
NEWTON: All right, Mr. Olmert, then we will leave it there as we await that White House response. Appreciate your time. Now, it is just after 06:00
p.m. in Moscow, and there's still no word on potential new U.S. sanctions against the Kremlin. President Trump had threatened severe economic
consequences if Russia did not react, reach a ceasefire with Ukraine by today.
But when asked whether that deadline still stands, Trump would only say it's going to be up to Putin. In the meantime, the White House appears to
be moving forward with plans for a face-to-face meeting between President Trump and President Putin, possibly as early as next week.
And Trump now says he will meet with Putin, even if Putin doesn't agree to a trilateral summit with Ukraine's President. Now, in addition to sanctions
on Russia, the U.S. has promised secondary sanctions on those countries buying Russian oil. It's already announced plans to impose those new
sanctions on India.
Meantime, in Ukraine, the onslaught there continues. CNN has learned Russia has deployed jet powered drones now against Ukraine. Ukrainian officials
say Russian attacks have killed three people in the last 24 hours alone. Fred Pleitgen joins us now live from Moscow. Good to have you again.
Fred, what more do we know about that potential meeting when it could happen? But also, crucially, what the parameters could be, if there are
any?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When it could happen with the parameters to be also where it could happen. Those are all
things that still seem to be very much up in the air. What we're hearing from the Kremlin is that preparations before this meeting are already well
underway from the Kremlin side.
But of course, they also understand that there's a lot of complicated issues at hand. And the Kremlin also saying that meetings like this simply
take a little bit of time to prepare. Nevertheless, the Russians continue to say that they believe it's going to happen within the next couple of
days, and they're sort of aiming for this coming week, but not clear what day this coming week.
And also, there's been a lot of speculation, Paula, here in Russia and state media about where exactly this meeting could take place. It seems as
though some believe it could be somewhere in the Gulf region. But at this point in time, it simply officially has not yet been announced.
It's unclear whether or not the U.S. and the Russians have actually agreed upon it as well. And that's where we also get to the difficult topics at
hand. Of course, one of the ones that's been very publicly debated is that possible trilateral meeting that President Trump also wants, also involving
a lot of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, including Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, and, of course, President Trump as well.
The Russians seem to be very cool to that idea. They don't seem to be wanting me moving forward with that in the next period of time, senior
Kremlin aid, Paula, came out and said that the idea was floated by the Americans, but that the Russians really didn't react to it at all.
And as far as the conflict in Ukraine is concerned, we know that President Trump wants an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine, that he's gunning for that
when he meets Vladimir Putin, but the Russians are continuing to say, they want a longer diplomatic process with a peace agreement, a larger one at
the end, even as the fighting still continues.
And the word from the Kremlin right now is that Russia has fundamentally not changed its position on the Ukraine conflict, Paula.
NEWTON: Yeah, and Fred, as you have reported really in depth in the last few months, you again are stressing that, look, Russia wants sanctions
relief here, that this is something the Kremlin is expecting if it does any kind of a deal with the Trump Administration in Ukraine.
How will they stick to that in terms of, what will it mean in terms of informing any ceasefire talks?
PLEITGEN: Well, you know what I think it's a really interesting and important question, because if we look at the messaging here in Russia,
it's completely different than the messaging that we're seeing in the United States.
[11:20:00]
For instance, when we're seeing President Trump in the Oval Office talk about this, he talks about this as trying to end the conflict in Ukraine,
trying to get a ceasefire in Ukraine going. From the Russian perspective, it's completely different. Of course, they also talk about Ukraine, but for
them, this first and foremost is about a reset of U.S.-Russia relations, not just sanctions relief, but possibly also business deals as well.
Business deals, for instance, possibly in the Arctic, but then also things like relations to make it easier, for instance, for Russians to travel to
the United States and vice versa. That's the messaging that's coming from the Russians. Yesterday, the Head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, he
was all over Russian state media talking about the possibility of Russian U.S. business cooperation in the future, if there is a deal between
President Trump and the Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
At the same time of course, those possible secondary terrorists that President Trump have been talking about, those are looming as well. And of
course, the Russians understand that it's very important for them to be able to keep selling oil to countries like India and China, who by far
right now are the biggest buyers.
I think it's no coincidence that on this day, Vladimir Putin has already had two high level phone calls, one of them with Xi Jinping of China, the
other one with Narendra Modi of India, assuring both of those countries that the relations remain stable and will remain stronger, will get
stronger, but also informing both of them about his discussions with Steve Witkoff on August 6th, and his possible meeting with President Trump as
well.
The Russians are saying that, the very least the Chinese have said, or Xi Jinping said that he is very happy that this diplomatic process is now
taking hold. Of course, all of those countries would like all of this to get toned down somewhat, and certainly none of those countries wants those
secondary sanctions to really hit their economies hard, Paula.
NEWTON: Fred Pleitgen for us just outside the Kremlin walls, as we await more news on a possible meeting, appreciate it. Now up next on "One World"
deadline day in the Texas redistricting battle, Republicans say that if Democratic lawmakers don't show up today, they will be removed from office.
More on that, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: Now, in about 2.5 hours from now, the Texas State Legislature will try to reconvene. Now if Democrats don't show up and they won't, Republican
officials say they will take steps to remove them from office. Texas has already suspended the direct deposit for the absent House members if they
want to get paid, they'll have to show up and collect their paycheck in person.
[11:25:00]
Legal scholars say such a move is unlikely to succeed, but it is one-way, Republicans are trying to pressure Democrats and force through a rare mid-
decade redistricting plan. Now, Republican Senator John Cornyn, meantime, from Texas, is also joining the effort to remake the Texas congressional
map.
He has formally asked the FBI to help locate the Democrats who fled the state, though the FBI is not yet being asked to make any arrests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R-TX): I wrote a letter to Director Patel of the FBI and I asked him to look into the matter, and he responded to me directly,
saying that he had assigned agents in both the San Antonio and Austin office to meet my request.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, CNN's Ed Lavandera has been tracking the historic redistricting fight, and he has the latest.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Almost a week into this political saga in Texas, and once again, the Texas House of
Representatives is going to try to gavel into session during the special legislative session where they are considering this controversial
redistricting bill.
But by all indications, once again, a more than 50 Democrats will not be here, and that the House will not be able to reach a quorum to do business.
So, everything will once again come to a grinding halt, and that is sparking more intense political rhetoric once again. One of the things that
we are monitoring is how this is playing out and will play out in the courts.
The Texas Governor and Attorney General, both Republicans are asking for these Texas Democrats to be removed from office. Democrats say that this is
just two politicians using the legal system as a way of punishing their political opponents, and they do not feel that the Governor and Attorney
General have the law is on their side.
But the Governor of Texas is also saying that if these Democrats do not return to Texas, he will also start begin pushing for new maps that add
even more Republican seats here in the state of Texas. All of this continues to set off another round of fireworks after fireworks between
both sides here.
And it's not exactly clear how all of this is going to end just yet, Democrats know they can't stay away forever, that ultimately Republicans
will have the votes to pass this redistricting bill, but they are using this moment to really garner attention for what they describe as a threat
on democracy.
So that's why you're seeing later today that some Democrats will be meeting with California Governor Gavin Newsom as well. And it's not exactly clear,
as I mentioned, how this is going to going to come to an end, but for the moment, Democrats are saying they are still willing to stay away from the
state of Texas to fight this redistricting bill. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Austin, Texas.
NEWTON: And we'll continue to follow that story in the coming hours. Now it is deadline day in Moscow, but Russia seems to have made no moves towards a
peace deal with Ukraine. Will the U.S. follow through on its sanction's threats? We'll have the view from the White House coming up.
Plus, President Trump set to host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan today for what he calls an historic peace summit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:30:00]
NEWTON: Welcome back to "One World". I'm Paula Newton in New York. Here are some of the headlines we're watching today. Israel's Security Cabinet has
voted to adopt what it calls the five principles for ending the war in Gaza. Now the five-month plan would take place in several phases, beginning
with a takeover of Gaza City.
The source says the first phase, which includes the evacuation of Gaza City, will happen by October 7th. Later today, President Donald Trump is
expected to host the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan for what he calls an official peace signing ceremony. The neighboring countries have had a
decades long conflict over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The White House says economic agreements will also be signed, including one that grants the U.S. exclusive rights to develop a transportation route in
Armenia, which will be called the Trump route for international peace and prosperity. Now we are, of course, watching for President Trump to announce
his pick for Bureau of Labor Statistics Chief.
That's after he fired the last commissioner over jobs numbers he didn't like. Separately, he has nominated Council of Economic Advisers Head
Stephen Miran to temporarily fill a vacancy at the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors. Now, the U.S. deadline for Russia to make peace with Ukraine
or face severe new U.S. sanctions is here without any clear progress in efforts to end the conflict.
A possible meeting between President Trump and Vladimir Putin is on the table, though, both sides saying that could happen as soon as next week.
Alayna Treene is, in fact, at the White House covering that story for us. Alayna, yesterday, we heard the president would not be setting any
preconditions for this meeting. So, what does the White House expect to get out of this exactly?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I think that's still being worked on behind closed doors. Obviously, if this summit does go forward
between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump, they need to have something that they you know, they need to be working
behind the scenes here on something that they want to bring to them.
Because really, for the last several months now, the president has had very different rhetoric toward Russia than he has previously. I mean, it's clear
that he is growing frustrated, not just publicly but privately, over his failure really to get Russia to come to the table and really to listen to
him. And you've heard him now say publicly repeatedly that Putin will say one thing to him directly on the phone and then do something else with his
actions.
Now, I think one of the key things, and you mentioned those conditions, key question that had been debated here at the White House, Paula, was whether
or not having Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wherever they end up, having this potential meeting, having him on site there to either meet
with them, meet with Putin directly, have a trilateral meeting.
A lot of people thought that might be a potential condition for having Donald Trump go and attend this, but the president said yesterday that
that's not necessarily something he thinks needs to happen. Listen to what he told our Kaitlan Collins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Sir, for you to meet with him, he doesn't have to agree to meet with Zelenskyy. Is that what
you're saying?
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: No, he doesn't. No.
COLLINS: So, when do you think that meeting will happen?
TRUMP: They would like to meet with me, and I'll do whatever I can to stop the killing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TREENE: I think it's also important to note here, Paula, that to have a meeting of this level one between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin happen as
early as next week. I mean, that is a major logistical challenge, one that many people had questioned whether or not would actually be possible on
such a short timeline.
But what we are hearing is that as soon as the president had brought this up with European leaders earlier this week, Zelenskyy was on that call as
well.
[11:35:00]
White House officials here began, kind of working to see how they could put this into motion, and those discussions are ongoing. What is still unclear,
though, is you know when this would actually happen, if it will happen at all, where it would take place? We've heard the Russians say potentially
the United Arab Emirates, or somewhere in the Middle East.
And really, again, who would be there? And I think all of that is still kind of being determined behind closed doors.
NEWTON: Yeah, the fact that there's even a meeting that could happen at all within the next week is still extraordinary. Alayna Treene for us at the
White House. Appreciate it as we wait to hear more. We will bring in Steven Erlanger. He is Chief Diplomatic Correspondent for "The New York Times",
covering Europe.
Sitting where I am right now, I fail to see what the administration could possibly get out of this meeting, they obviously feel differently. Do they
know differently? What am I missing here?
STEVEN ERLANGER, NEW YORK TIMES CHIEF DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT IN EUROPE: Well, Donald Trump has a belief in his magical powers of negotiation. This
he said over and over again he wants to get into a room with Vladimir Putin. He thinks he can end the war. That's what he wants to do. The
details, I think, are not big in his mind.
I think he's after a big media event. I think he wants a ceasefire. I don't think he cares so much about the war ending so much as it's stopping. And I
think Putin, you talked about this deadline, Putin, very cleverly, as usual, has bought himself more time by raising this question of a meeting.
He's put off any question of more sanctions on Russia. We don't know exactly what Steve Witkoff discussed with Putin last week or earlier this
week that caused this meeting to happen, but clearly, Putin thinks he can get something from it. The discussion may be about lines of defense.
If you're going to have a ceasefire, you need to have pullbacks. Russia still wants to take over parts of Ukraine. It hasn't won by military force
yet. Ukraine wants to get back parts of its territory, like this operation nuclear power plant, where Russia's occupied the territory.
So, there's stuff to change, but I mean, already Donald Trump, even before this, had pretty much conceded to Putin, that he could keep the territory
that he has right now, and that he could keep Crimea and that Ukraine wouldn't join NATO. So already, lots of concessions were made.
The worry, obviously, that Zelenskyy has is that Putin and Trump will come up with something that they will try to impose on him, and he will be in a
very uncomfortable position.
NEWTON: And you can understand why that worry is warranted. You made an interesting point there that Putin may be interested in stopping the war,
but not ending the war, and that's when I turn to sanctions. Do you think the Trump Administration will give any teeth to any of the sanctions going
forward, whether they are secondary sanctions, whether it's going to be against India or China?
ERLANGER: I don't really, I mean, I'd like to be wrong. The Trump people haven't even renewed the sanctions on Russia that are preexisting to make
them more up to date. Trump's angry at India anyway, so he's imposed big tariffs on India, partly because it buys so much Russian oil.
He won't do the same with China, because tariffs on China are already 50 percent. So, I mean, it's very hard to imagine them going up more. So, I
think his leverage on Putin is pretty minimal, frankly. But Putin sees Trump as an instrument to get what he wants, which is pressure put on
Zelenskyy, because I don't think Putin's main aims for the war have changed.
He wants a Ukraine that is more of a vassal state, that it has less military, that won't join NATO, that is much more like Belarus, which he
kind of controls than it is like Poland, and I think that is something Vladimir Putin isn't going to give up on.
NEWTON: Steven, before I let you go. You are sitting in the heart of Europe. Clearly, European allies, this is not the outcome that they want.
What power can they possibly have to make sure that this does not happen? This war has been conducted in their backyard and has completely upended
geopolitics there, and yet they have an American President who actually is not listening to their advice about how to go forward with this.
ERLANGER: Not really. You're right, but the Europeans have been very public in their commitment to a Ukraine that remains sovereign. Foreign and free.
Now that doesn't have to be a Ukraine in its pre-invasion borders.
[11:40:00]
It means a Ukraine that is independent, that is strong enough to keep Russia at bay, that makes its own decisions. And I think that is possible.
I mean, it is possible to have a free sovereign Ukraine, even if it gives up some of its territory, at least in principle, not forever.
The important thing, and I think this is what the Europeans will stress, is that the United States has to keep up intelligence cooperation with
Ukraine. It has to keep providing weapons, even if Europe pays for them, so that Ukraine doesn't collapse. And they will stress to Donald Trump that if
Ukraine does collapse, it will be a big stain on your presidency. And I think this will matter to Donald Trump.
NEWTON: Well, this will certainly firm up the defense posture that Europe has been getting ready for that new reality, and it continues. Steven
Erlanger, as we continue to watch these negotiations, appreciate it.
ERLANGER: Thank you.
NEWTON: And we have some breaking news just into CNN, the U.S. Justice Department is opening an investigation into New York Attorney General
Letitia James. Now James' office sued Trump his adult sons and the Trump Organization alleging they inflated the value of its properties to mislead
lenders and insurers.
Now a judge found Trump liable and ordered him to pay more than $450 million Trump is appealing. Trump and James have long had a hostile
relationship. CNN's Brynn Gingras joins us now with this breaking news.
And Brynn, bring this into context for us, because this is truly unprecedented, and certainly the action by the DOJ leads us to believe that
they believe they have cause for this.
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and in some ways, right. Paula, it's par for the course. We have seen Trump go after some of
his adversaries. And when it comes to New York, Letitia James, the Attorney General here is along that, or in that list, maybe at the top of that list,
quite frankly, because of that civil lawsuit that you were just referencing for the viewers.
If you remember, during that time, while that trial was actually going on, Trump himself, his adult sons would come out in front of the courtroom, and
they would just rail against Letitia James, and then she would come out and go against them. I mean, it was pretty heated battle between the two of
them.
As far as the news today, what we're understanding is that there is a grand jury seated in Albany, according to sources telling our Kara Scannell to
basically look into was, there sort of any criminality in the investigation of that lawsuit that Letitia James filed? Did her office basically violate
the civil rights, the, sorry, the constitutional rights, rather of Trump, anyone in his family, his organization.
That is what sources are telling us. With the subpoenas that are filed, we're also learning that a subpoena has been filed in the investigation
that James brought against the National Rifle Association. That was a different trial that actually ended really in James' in the state's favor,
basically dismantling the NRA in some ways, making it restructure itself.
So, both of these are very clear sort of to the pattern of President Trump. We have seen him take action against people that he has openly gone
against, and that is what we are seeing now, according to sources, are these subpoenas looking into any criminality that maybe he could pursue
further, or the Justice Department could pursue further against James herself.
NEWTON: Yeah. And to underscore again, this is completely remaking the relationship between the Department of Justice and the executive branch.
Brynn Gingras, thanks for the update.
GINGRAS: Yeah, all right.
NEWTON: I appreciate it. Now ahead on the show for us, wildfires rage in California and Colorado. The latest on the evacuation orders in place near
Los Angeles and the hot and dry weather still fanning the flames in Colorado.
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[11:45:00]
NEWTON: An explosive wildfire north of Los Angeles has prompted authorities to order thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Now it started in a
mountainous area and has scorched nearly 2000 hectares. The rate of spread would have burned through an area the size of New York's Central Park.
Get this in less than 25 minutes. As of late Thursday, the fire has displaced at least 2700 people in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. That's
in addition to the Gifford Fire in central California, which has so far burned through 40,000 hectares and is still only 15 percent contained.
Now also in the Western United States, fire crews are fighting dangerous weather conditions as they try to contain the Lee and Elk fires in Western
Colorado. Much of the region is facing a major heat wave, which authorities warn could cause extreme fire behavior in the days ahead, meaning a
wildfire can be harder to predict and faster to take hold.
CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins me now from the CNN extreme weather center. You have been following all of this, and I guess the risk
here is the fact that there doesn't seem to be any relief, right? The weather not really giving firefighters a helping hand.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That is. That is certainly one aspect. The other aspect is the speed that you talked about. The problem is because
it moves so fast like that, it makes it so incredibly difficult for those firefighters to get a hold on those containment numbers.
Behind me this is a look at that fire, the Canyon Fire in California. Again, you can see the flames right there along the ridge and all of that
incredibly intense smoke, that is kind of infiltrating across many of those areas. Now here's a look at some of the air. It's not just the Canyon Fire.
We also have the Gifford Fire across portions of California. So, we're keeping an eye on both of these fires. Right now, the Canyon Fire 0 percent
containment. The Gifford Fire only at about 15 percent containment. When we take a look at some of this area, just in general, around the Canyon Fire,
here it is on the map.
Now, again, you can notice over here, Santa Clarita, the town that's right through there. It's just to the north and west of it, but it is close
enough, and because of the spread, we are already starting to see evacuation orders take place in some of these areas.
That's indicated here by these yellow and even the pink shaded areas that you see here, again, as a precautionary measure, because of where they
anticipate the rest of the flames are expected to spread as we go through the next several days. One thing that is not working in their favor is the
intense heat in these areas.
Again, Santa Clarita, the high temperature getting awfully close to those triple digits for today. Other areas also going to see highs in the 90s and
into the triple digits, not just today, but also as we go into the weekend. In fact, in some of those the temperatures are actually expected to peak
over the weekend.
So, this is why you have all of these heat alerts, not just in Southern California, but it also spreading into portions of Arizona, New Mexico,
much of the central U.S., and you even have some across portions of Northern California and even into Oregon. So really, much of the Western
U.S. as a whole is going to be dealing with those temperatures that are well above average.
So now you take those very hot temperatures, you mix them in with incredibly low humidities, and then also, on top of that, some wind gusts.
Keep in mind, these wind gusts don't have to be very strong. You could be talking 15, 20, even 25 miles per hour.
That's enough to take those embers and begin to either spread them and make the fire much bigger or begin new fires, maybe even as much as a few miles
away from the original fire. So, these are all going to be concerns. This is why a lot of these areas, you see the pink color here.
This is a red flag warning. This is to tell you that we do anticipate having very poor fire weather conditions. Again, California is a big
concern. But also, other states. Take a look at Colorado. We have two fires that are also here in the western portion of the state, both of which are
also 0 percent contained.
[11:50:00]
The concern for a lot of these areas is that you need those weather conditions to be good, meaning you need high humidities, low temperatures,
maybe even a chance of rain, something like that, to really help out those firefighters. And unfortunately, we simply just are not going to get that,
not just today, but even into the weekend.
The focus for that fire weather concern for today is detailed here on this map, where you see the yellowish orange color and that bright red color.
And as I mentioned, too, this is likely going to linger through the weekend and even into early next week.
NEWTON: And Allison, if I may, I see on that map it says dry thunderstorms. What does that mean? And it sounds dangerous.
CHINCHAR: Right. So, you would think thunderstorms would be a good thing. That's what you need. You need rain. The concern here is dry thunderstorms
are basically where you have the storm, but the rain evaporates before it ever reaches the surface, so you get the problem of having lightning, which
could cause more fires, but you don't get the benefit of having the rain, since it all evaporates before it makes it down to the ground.
NEWTON: Yeah, dire, indeed, we are unfortunately getting used to this in North America with these wildfires. We will, though, pray for some better
conditions in the days ahead. Allison Chinchar for us, thanks so much. And we'll be right back with more news in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: So, a man who spent decades collecting dog figurines, now he's got that Guinness World Record. Maria Gabarro had more than 5000 dog related
items, including miniature figurines, plush toys, walking sticks, Cologne bottles and more. The Spanish man started collecting figurines from markets
in his 60s, and continued until he passed away last year at 94 that's when his children decided to do something to honor him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIC GABARRO, SON OF MARIA GABARRO: When my father died, we decided that as a tribute to his obsession for collecting dogs, we would try to find out if
it was the largest collection of dog-related objects in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, Gabarro's treasures were awarded the Guinness World Record for the largest collection of canine related items. Gabarro's children say, get
this, their father didn't really care for real dogs, only dog themed items. Now it's a movie buffs dream auction.
Darth Vader's lightsaber, Indiana Jones' whip, Harry Potter's Platform nine- and three-quarter sign and Steven Spielberg's Jaws props are just a
few of the pieces available in an upcoming entertainment Memorabilia auction is taking place next month in Los Angeles.
[11:55:00]
Now the priciest item is Darth Vader's saber. I'm not surprised by that, which is expected to fetch up to $3 million that does surprise me. The UK
based auctioneer will offer more than 1000 collectible items valued at about $10 million. And finally, for us this hour, the UK's Royal Mail is
releasing a stamp collection next week honoring the comedy troupe that gave us the Ministry of Silly Walks, the lumberjack song and the movie Monty
Python and the Holy Grail, which came out 50 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are indeed brave Sir knight, but the fight is mine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, had enough?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You stupid -- You haven't got any arms left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Course I have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What. Just a flesh wound.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Always a live, the Monty Python collection includes 10 stamps, with a sheet of them costing as little as six pounds, 80, or about 9 bucks. The
cult classic TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus, aired from 1969 to 1974. Royal Mail says the collection quote, honors a body of work that has shaped
the comedic landscape for nearly six decades.
A cultural icon, I would say. Stay with CNN. I'll have more "One World" right after the break.
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