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The Situation Room

Five Journalists Killed in Israeli Strike; Protests in Israel; U.S. Cities Sinking?; New Weight Loss Pill?; Right-Wing Backlash Continues Over Cracker Barrel Logo Change. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired August 26, 2025 - 11:30   ET

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

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: And while officials say firefighters now have protective lines of some sort around the entire fire, the threat remains, at just 5 percent containment.

[11:30:05]

And over in California, the Pickett Fire has charred 10 square miles of remote Napa County. It was 13 percent contained as of yesterday. And luckily there have been no reports of damage to any vineyards in that area.

And new this morning, look at this. A massive dust storm engulfs Phoenix. It's known as a haboob. And you can see it sweeping across the area, turning day into night and on highways dangerous near zero visibility. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And can't see anything.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in the middle of the haboob.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Severe thunderstorms soon followed. Look at these huge lightning bolts streaking sideways across the Arizona sky. More than 60,000 homes and businesses in Arizona were left without power. And this right here is from Burning Man in neighboring Nevada, people at the festival donning goggles and struggling to keep tents down.

Well, new this morning, a promising weight loss pill may be a step closer to reality. The pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is making this major announcement about its GLP-1 pill. This is the same company that makes the injectable weight loss drug Zepbound and the diabetes drug Mounjaro.

CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: The big announcement from the company Eli Lilly is that its GLP-1 pill was found to be safe and have compelling efficacy results in a phase three trial.

The company says, based on this positive data, it plans to move forward with filing for regulatory approval. Now, what we know about the trial, it included people with diabetes who also had obesity or were overweight. Some of them were given the GLP-1 pill. Some were given a placebo.

Eli Lilly says, after 72 weeks went by, those who were given the GLP-1 pill once daily at its highest dose lost 22.9 pounds on average. The people who were given a placebo during that same time only lost about five pounds. Eli Lilly also says that its pill lowered A1C levels on average by 1.8 percent.

Now, there were some side effects in the trial. They were very similar to the side effects we tend to see with the GLP-1 injections. These are gastrointestinal, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain. But Eli Lilly says overall, based on its trial results, it plans to apply for regulatory approval. It wants to make its GLP-1 pill available to the public.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: All right, Jacqueline Howard, thanks so much.

Just ahead: tires burning and traffic blocked in Israel as nationwide protests erupt over the war in Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:36:40]

BROWN: All right, so you can follow this under things I would never do. Take a look at this daring stunt by skydiving athlete Sean MacCormac. He jumped from a helicopter flying more than 5,000 feet above San Francisco Bay and then sky-surfed on the suspension cables of the Bay Bridge.

After a three-minute flight, he landed on a floating platform, becoming the first person to sky-surf the Bay Bridge. And for a man who is no stranger to adrenaline-rushing jumps, he says this one really stands out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN MACCORMAC, SKYDIVER: Man, I got over 22,000 skydives, gold medals. I have been to the X Games. I sky-surfed a lightning storm. There's been no shortage of wildness, and this was probably the most intense, wildest project I have ever done.

Like, I have never had that view before, and I'm pretty sure no one else has either.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Pretty wild indeed. MacCormac is clearly an adrenaline junkie. And we will all be holding our breath for his next adventure.

Well, a shocking report shows 25 of 28 major U.S. cities are sinking, with Houston leading the pack.

CNN's Boris Sanchez has this SITUATION ROOM special report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Imagine this. You buy a home and soon get a sinking feeling that something isn't right. This slow and gradual sinking of an area of land is called subsidence, and it's putting a strain on the very foundation of infrastructure around the world.

One of the most extreme cases in the United States was in California's San Joaquin Valley, where, between the 1920s to the 1970s, the ground in certain areas dropped up to 30 feet.

Here, subsidence was due to the booming growth of agriculture in the valley. The aggressive pumping of groundwater known as aquifer depletion removes water from the ground, resulting in open pore spaces that caused the sediment to compact and the ground above to sink.

So, say your new home is in this subsidence-affected area. The value of it likely just sank too. A study from U.C. Riverside estimates the cost could have dropped over $16,000. You add up the lost aggregate housing value across the Central Valley, and that is nearly $2 billion.

And subsidence isn't just affecting rural areas. New research finds that 25 of America's 28 biggest cities are sinking. Of these, the fastest-sinking city in the U.S. right now is Houston, Texas.

Houston is dealing with severe depletion of groundwater, like parts of California. But, here, oil and gas extraction adds another layer to the problem. Some parts of Houston are sinking by as much as two inches a year.

And while other areas are sinking slower, that uneven subsiding puts major stress on roads, buildings and other parts of the city's critical infrastructure. The process happens slowly, often invisible to the human eye, but it has the potential to impact infrastructure in nearly 90 percent of America's largest cities.

Over time, subsidence is literally reshaping the ground we live on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[11:40:00]

BROWN: Our thanks to Boris Sanchez for that report.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROWN: This just in to THE SITUATION ROOM. President Trump is now weighing in on the Cracker Barrel logo controversy.

Let's go straight to CNN business writer Clare Duffy.

What is he saying, Clare?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Yes, Pamela, after we just talked a short time ago about how Cracker Barrel has acknowledged the backlash over this logo change, but doesn't seem to be unwinding any of this rebrand, President Donald Trump is now weighing in.

I'm going to read you what he said on TRUTH Social. He says: "Cracker Barrel should go back to the old logo, admit a mistake based on customer response, and manage the company better than ever before. They got a billion dollars worth of free publicity if they play their cards right. Very tricky to do, but a great opportunity. Have a major news conference today. Make Cracker Barrel a winner again."

[11:45:13]

And, of course, this comes after even his own son Donald Trump Jr. weighed in on this controversy, calling this rebrand woke, pushing back on the company's decision to try to modernize this brand.

And this is the kind of thing that no company wants right now. Nobody -- no company wants to come become the target of President Donald Trump and receive the kind of pushback that this company has already received so much. It is affecting the stock. Now Donald Trump weighing in is going to bring a whole new level of attention to this issue.

But it is going to be interesting to see how Cracker Barrel responds and if they do decide to walk back this new logo or any of the other changes that have been made as part of this rebrand, because this was all intended to bring in new customers, something the company really needs, especially in the wake of tariffs that have taken a hit to the company's bottom line, because these retail stores in its restaurant locations import many goods from China.

So the company is really counting on being able to bring in new customers. And it's not clear that that is going to happen if they sort of unwind this rebrand and respond to this backlash.

BROWN: But at the same time, they could be losing old customers. You have actor, for example, James Woods, who came out and said, look, I loved going to Cracker Barrel, and now I'm not going to, right?

So you have prominent people who are coming out saying that they're now boycotting Cracker Barrel because of this logo change.

DUFFY: Yes, I think it really points to this challenging moment that companies in America face right now, where consumers are so divided, and they're trying to walk this fine line of kind of representing consumers on both sides of the aisle and not alienating anybody, while at the same time you have a company that sort of has recognized a need to evolve and grow and change in order to bring in new customers. BROWN: All right, Clare Duffy, thank you so much.

And happening now: a day of anger and protest in Israel. Some of the protesters blocked a highway right near Tel Aviv by lighting tires on fire. You see it right here. They are demanding an end to the war in Gaza and the release of the hostages still being held there.

The father of one hostage vented his anger at the Israeli prime minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YEHUDA COHEN, FATHER OF HAMAS HOSTAGE: Another day for protests, another day to make sure the issue of the hostages stays in high priority, another day to pressure Netanyahu and force him to end the war and get a hostage deal.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Just a short time ago, Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Israel has yet to respond to the latest cease-fire proposal on the table.

So let's go straight to CNN Jerusalem bureau chief Oren Liebermann.

Oren, Netanyahu's Security Cabinet is meeting today with these protests as a backdrop. What is being discussed there?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that Security Cabinet meeting started just a short time ago and has been ongoing. We have got no indication that it's concluded yet.

But on the agenda, according to Israeli sources familiar with the plans there, is the military operation to take over and occupy Gaza City, not, at least as far as we understand, any discussion about the latest cease-fire proposal that's currently on the table, the one Hamas said it accepted more than a week ago.

And that is driving a lot of the anger and a lot of the frustration we have seen, calling on a government that seems to be ignoring the calls we see on the streets here to engage in a cease-fire negotiations process and to accept the deal on the table, one that would see a 60- day cease-fire, the release of 10 living hostages over that period of time and the release of 18 of the deceased hostages.

That's about half of the 50 remaining hostages that are still held in Gaza. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not issued a response.

His position has been that Israel, after only being willing to consider a partial deal for much of the past -- many of the past months, is now only willing to consider a comprehensive deal that reaches and fulfills all of Israel's demands, including the demilitarization of Gaza, the disarmament of Hamas security control over Gaza, and a ruling government in Gaza that's not Hamas or the Palestinian Authority, many of which are poison pills to Hamas and critics say are simply designed to make sure that there is no deal. Again, that drives a lot of the anger we have seen throughout the

course of the day, the protests we have seen blocking streets across the country. And although much of that was more in the morning, we have seen some major highways blocked throughout the day. And that will all lead to the culmination of this Tuesday evening protest, which is Hostage Square here behind me.

There are already hundreds of people here, and more are coming by the minute. There is a march from one of the nearby train stations to here that should take place in just about an hour. That's when this place will really fill up, and you will see the anger, the frustration of the crowd, and the calls for a cease-fire deal to bring the hostages home and end the war.

[11:50:00]

BROWN: Right, because, as we know, Hamas has agreed to the cease-fire proposal.

What more do we know about Netanyahu and whether he's going to address that?

LIEBERMANN: We haven't gotten any indication that he intends to address the deal that's on the table, a partial deal. He is sticking to his position that Israel will now only consider a comprehensive deal.

Now, that's despite the fact that, one month ago, when the U.S. and Israel surprisingly withdrew from what were considered fairly optimistic cease-fire talks, they blamed Hamas for not negotiating in good faith. But the deal that was considered a month ago is virtually the same deal that's on the table right now that Hamas had accepted.

In fact, a couple of the positions on the prisoner exchange numbers, the security buffer Israel will have on the edge of Gaza, those terms are actually even more favorable to Israel. And yet, to this point, at least, Netanyahu has refused to engage.

Now, it was just yesterday that President Donald Trump said there could be a conclusive end to this war in two or three weeks. We have heard that a lot. That is not something I think this crowd is inclined to believe at this point.

BROWN: Yes, President Trump did say that, and it left a lot of people wondering, for sure.

Oren Liebermann, thank you so much.

And, as Oren mentioned, President Trump says he expects the war in Gaza could be coming to an end soon. So, let's actually listen to the sound.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think, within the next two to three weeks, you're going to have pretty good, conclusive -- a conclusive ending.

And it's a hard thing to say because they have been fighting for thousands of years, if you want to know. That's a -- that's been a hotbed forever. But I think we're doing a very good job. But it does have to end. But people can't forget October 17.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Meanwhile, Israel is facing backlash after a strike on Nasser Hospital in Southern Gaza that killed at least 20 people, including five journalists.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has that story.

And a warning for you: Some of the images you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A rush towards Gaza's Nasser Hospital after an Israeli strike Monday morning.

Emergency response crews, health workers and journalists can be seen on live television on a damaged staircase. A television camera is held up. Reuters says a photojournalist working for them is killed. A white body back is carried away, and then a second Israeli strike.

Smoke hides the staircase from view. When the dust settles, five journalists and four health workers are among more than 20 killed, Palestinian journalists who form the backbone of international coverage of this war working with AP, Reuters and Al-Jazeera, among others.

Israel does not allow international media to enter Gaza beyond restrictive embedding with its military, a double strike just minutes apart, the second impact killing workers rushing to help casualties from the first.

JODIE GINSBERG, CEO, COMMITTEE TO PROTECT JOURNALISTS: Just to be clear, if it is a double tap, that is considered to be a war crime. This attack, which we believe was deliberately intended to take out the camera, the camera being used by Reuters' cameraman. He was killed in the first attack.

HANCOCKS: Israel's military says it -- quote -- "carried out a strike" in the area of Nasser Hospital, but does not target journalists or civilians. The chief of staff has ordered an inquiry into the attacks, the IDF adding it -- quote -- "acts to mitigate harm to uninvolved individuals while maintaining the safety of IDF troops."

An Israeli security official with knowledge of an initial inquiry says forces identified a camera on the roof of the hospital they claim Hamas was using to monitor Israeli forces. Authorized to strike the camera with a drone, the IDF instead fired two tank shells, the source says, the first at the camera, the second at rescue forces. Mariam Abu Dagga, 33 years old, worked for AP and other outlets

throughout the war, most recently highlighting the impact of famine in Gaza. In this recent video, she says: "I can't describe how tired people are, how sad or how hungry they are. It's been two years of this war on Gaza. They can't handle anymore."

She spoke to CNN last year about her concerns for her safety, saying, when a journalist is targeted, all other media question when it will be their turn.

At her funeral Monday, her family mourns a death they had feared for the 22 months of this war. Mariam has a son, her cousin says. He went abroad with his father at the start of the war. She was waiting for the war to end so she could see him again. An injured journalist working for Reuters says he went to check on his colleague after the first strike, but saw he had been killed.

[11:55:03]

"There were journalists, patients, nurses, civil defense on the stairs," he says. "We were directly targeted."

A 22-month war which has been the deadliest ever for journalists.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: So sad.

Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

"INSIDE POLITICS," today with Manu Raju, is next right after a short break.