Tuesday, August 5th, 2025 - Netanyahu’s Gaza takeover push; TX gerrymander standoff; Grocery prices stress; Elon’s $23B ego boost & more

Today’s Headlines: Netanyahu is pushing his cabinet to green-light a full takeover of Gaza, though the Israeli military says it could put hostages in danger. His cabinet also tried to fire the attorney general prosecuting him for corruption, but the Supreme Court shut that down almost instantly. Over in the U.S., the Trump administration briefly floated the idea of cutting disaster aid to places that boycott Israeli companies, then quickly backpedaled. India dismissed Trump’s threats of even bigger tariffs for buying and reselling Russian oil. In Texas, Republicans called a special session to ram through a new, super gerrymandered map, but Democrats literally left the state to stop it. GOP leaders are fining them and issuing civil warrants, while Democratic governors in Illinois, New York, and California are now talking about redrawing their own maps. The DOJ’s also been quietly asking at least 15 states for voter data. Bloomberg says the FBI blacked out Trump’s name in Epstein files before deciding not to release them, while two Epstein victims told a court they still want the docs public, even if it’s ugly. Meanwhile, a new poll says 86% of Americans are stressed about grocery prices, and 14% are using buy-now-pay-later just to eat. Finally, Tesla’s board just handed Elon Musk a $23 billion “interim” stock award—because apparently $50 billion getting tossed by a court last year wasn’t enough. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: The Times Of Israel: Netanyahu said set to order full takeover of Gaza, despite IDF qualms, risk to hostages Axios: Netanyahu moves to fire attorney general prosecuting him for corruption Axios: States that boycott Israeli companies will lose disaster relief funds, DHS says Axios: Trump threatens higher India tariffs, accuses nation of funding war in Ukraine CNN: Live updates: Texas Republicans push ahead with redistricting after Democrats flee state WSJ: Absent Democrats Block Texas House From Moving Ahead in Redistricting Fight Axios: GOP effort forms to shut down Texas vs. California redistricting war AP News: The Justice Department seeks voter and election information from at least 19 states, AP finds Bloomberg: Epstein Files: Trump's Name Was Redacted By the FBI  Bloomberg: Epstein Victims Express Disgust, Fear at Handling of Files Axios: Most U.S. adults stressed by grocery costs: poll WSJ: Elon Musk Gets $23.7 Billion Stock Award From Tesla to Stay Focused Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices