Kushner Tries to Revive Mideast Peace Talks.
ROMANS: Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, is in Israel leading the U.S. effort to revive long- stalled Middle East peace talks. Kushner set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. On Wednesday, he met with the president of Egypt as a new sore spot in U.S./Cairo relations emerged. I want to bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann. He is live in Jerusalem. Good morning, Oren.</s>OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Christine. And there may have been some very awkward moments in that meeting because the U.S. administration just cut $100 million from its aid to Egypt. But that wasn't what the meeting was all about. Kushner and the allegation are here to re-establish some sort of framework for an Israeli/Palestinian peace process. They visited other Gulf leaders as well. From that perspective, it's smart to get a regional backing for a peace initiative here. But now that Kushner's in Jerusalem set to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, he faces a completely different set of challenges. Netanyahu is under criminal investigation, and in response to those investigations, he has shifted sharply to the right to shore up his own voter base, attacking previous Israeli-Palestinian accords and leaving himself very little room for flexibility on concessions with the Palestinians. Meanwhile, from the Palestinian perspective, Trump and the White House have yet to commit to a two-state solution. The international consensus on what the future of the region should be, a state of Israel and state of Palestine. That means the Palestinians aren't sure what it is they're trying to establish, what it is the Trump administration is moving towards. If not a two-state solution, the Palestinians see little reason to be involved in this entire process. But the fact that Kushner is still here is indicative of the fact that Trump sees this as important. It's Kushner's third visit to the region. He brings with him some high-powered players from the administration. But this needs to be more substantive than just statements on trying to make some sort of progress here for there to be a real initiative -- Christine.</s>ROMANS: All right. Oren Liebermann for us in Jerusalem with that complicated tapestry there. Thank you so much.</s>BRIGGS: A new arrest overnight by Dutch authorities. After a terror threat forced a cancellation of a concert by American band in Rotterdam. The suspect is a 22-year-old was arrested in his house in the southern part of the Netherlands. Asked if the terror threat was connected to the attacks last week in Spain, Dutch police said not directly, but the investigation is ongoing. Rotterdam police also now say the driver of a van found carrying gas cylinders near the concert venue had no connection to the threat. Officials say he was driving erratically, under the influence of alcohol.</s>ROMANS: The white supremacist who organized the Charlottesville rally earlier this month has turned himself in to University of Virginia police. Chris Cantwell facing arrest warrants on two counts of illegal use of teargas and one count of malicious bodily injury in connection with the August 11th march. He is being held, awaiting transport to Charlottesville. Meantime, monuments of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson have been covered up in Charlottesville. A city official tells CNN the tarps will remain on the statues until further notice. All right. It looks like someone, someone beat those long one in 292 million odds to win the Powerball lottery jackpot. Massachusetts lottery officials say a ticket sold at the Handy Variety store in Watertown is the lone winner of a $758.7 -- $758 million lottery Powerball jackpot. This is the largest lottery prize with a single winner ever in North America. The winning numbers, by the way, 6-7-16-23-26, and Powerball 4. Your chances of win, you have a better chance of being struck by lightning while drowning than winning --</s>BRIGGS: Don't be a party popper.</s>ROMANS: I am a lottery party pooper. Take $20 a week and put it in savings, investments, or 529 for your kid's college.</s>BRIGGS: I'm still playing every time.</s>ROMANS: Wah, wah, what.</s>BRIGGS: Whoa, it's a no, no, turned oh no. Dodgers pitcher Rich Hill throws the nine inning no hitter against the Pirates, but neither could score. So, game with extras. Bottom of the 10th, this happened --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The drive to left.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, baby --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toward the wall --</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, baby!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And -- the Jolly Roger, no hitter, gone! Josh Harrison homers, 1-0, in a classic.</s>BRIGGS: Aw! Heartbreaking end to an almost perfect game by Rich Hill. First time in Major League history that a pitcher has lost a no-hitter by giving up a walk-off home run. Congrats to the Pirates. Just a tough, tough loss for Rich Hill who deserves the no-hitter.</s>ROMANS: All right. Tropical Storm Harvey taking aim at the Texas coast, expected to bring dangerous flooding. Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the latest.</s>PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Dave and Christine. Big story developing in the weather center -- three, two. Good morning, Dave and Christine. Big story developing here in the weather center. Tropical Storm Harvey has now just formed across the Gulf of Mexico. This storm system has everything it takes to develop into a menacing disturbance across the region. In fact, some 10 million people underneath a tropical storm watch, about 2 million people underneath a hurricane watch, as well. So you know the National Hurricane Center taking this seriously. All indications are we will have a first hurricane of 2017 approaching the United States. And, of course, the storm system could in sometime Friday night into Saturday morning. And when you look at the model depiction, we think with the high pressure centered across the Southwest, also a high pressure off the central area, this may stall across south and central Texas. You put this together, could easily see seven to ten inches, some areas potentially up to 20 inches of rainfall when you look at the next five days. So, certainly, a big story developing across parts of Texas that have been very drought stricken. This is way too much to handle. And that is certainly a story to follow as we go into the weekend and early next week, guys.</s>ROMANS: All right. And you've got a little sneak peek of how we really work around here -- three, two, one.</s>BRIGGS: Go.</s>ROMANS: Let's get a check on CNN "Money Stream" this morning. Global stocks are higher today, brushing off the worries of Wall Street. The Dow fell nearly 90 points after the president threatened to shut down the government it they don't fund the border wall. This is just the day after its best session in months, because there were rumors that tax reform is moving along. Tax reform, yay one day, the next day, shutting down the government for the border wall. Wall Street doesn't like it. Tax cuts had fueled tax rise since the election. Some big banks think the rally may be over. Analysts from, you know, HSBC, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, all see evidence the bull market end is near, including a breakdown in the traditional relationship between stocks and bonds and investors ignoring economic data. After a series of terror attacks scared visitors away last year, tourists are returning to Paris. The city is on track for its strongest tourism year in a decade. Hotel stays jumping 10 percent in the first half of 2017. France has been in an official state of emergency since the November, 2015, attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 130 people. Since then, Paris has worked hard to counter the tourist slump, including reducing attraction wait times and introducing discount passes. I love France. I love Paris. I'm so glad to see those numbers turning around. The government is giving the Amazon/Whole Foods merger a green light. A deal that may change the way Americans shop for food. The FTC approved Amazon's $13 million takeover bid, saying it will not hurt competition. But Amazon is a disrupter. And with 465 physical Whole Foods stores, the merger gives Amazon a piece of the $700 billion U.S. grocery market, which could allow customers to buy groceries on line and pick them up. In fact, the company is already experimenting with a click and collect system. Cool, huh?</s>BRIGGS: Is it likely to change how we buy our groceries?</s>ROMANS: I think how we buy our groceries is changing no matter what. And Amazon buying Whole Foods wants to be in there shaping how it happens.</s>BRIGGS: It's a little scary how they've taken over our buying habits.</s>ROMANS: Yes.</s>BRIGGS: But we shall see.</s>ROMANS: Convenience. It's all about convenience.</s>BRIGGS: No question about that. EARLY START continues right now.</s>TRUMP: It is time to heal the wounds that divide us and to seek a new unity based on the common values that unite us.</s>ROMANS: The same President Trump less than 24 hours after an angry rant in Arizona, back on prompter and on message. Is there any chance he'll stay there?</s>BRIGGS: If the president wants to heal wounds, he might start with his Senate majority leader. Discord with Mitch McConnell threatened to derail the Republican agenda. Can they get on the same page or in the same room? Still about ten days left in the congressional recess. Time to talk. Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm Dave Briggs.</s>ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is Thursday, August 24th, 5:00 a.m. in the East, noon in Moscow and Jerusalem. President Trump effecting a new and drastic shift in tone after a rally Tuesday that many say incited conflict. The president issued a call for national unity less than 24 hours later at the American Legion Convention in Reno.