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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Trump Threatens Oman As U.S.-Iran 60-day Agreement Expires; Interview With Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ); Dem Sen. Ossoff Attacks Trump On Ballroom, Stock Trades; CBP Pausing Plan To Build Border Security In Big Bend National Park; CNN First To See Ukraine's Empty Patriot Missile Launchers; Suspect In Tupac Shakur's 1996 Killing Now On Trial; Trump Meets With 16-Year-Old Lifeguard Who Saved Boy's Life; Hayden Panettiere, "Heroes" & "Nashville" Actress, Dead At 36; Remembering CNN Special Events Producer Alec Miran. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired August 17, 2026 - 20:00   ET

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

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Look, she came out with a memoir just three months ago, Erin. So, we saw a lot of her and she was very open and honest about her struggles, but she seemed to be doing very well. She said that she was doing the best that she had been in a while, but Hayden had said at one point, doctors told her if she didn't stop drinking, she would be dead in five years. So again, a very tragic ending to this young woman's life.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: So tragic, my gosh. All right Elizabeth, thank you very much. And thanks to all of you for being with us. AC360 starts now.

[20:00:37]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening, thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with the President of the United States taking aim on several fronts at friends of the United States and cozying up to long-standing adversaries.

Now, it's nothing new, perhaps, but notable tonight, because one of the places it's happening is in the Persian Gulf, with the agreed upon 60-day period for negotiations to end the war with Iran now expired, the country of Oman has been providing logistics and naval support facilities for America since 1980, and has been helping the Trump administration in the effort to reach some kind of agreement on the Strait of Hormuz.

So naturally, the President today threatened to bomb them, in a conversation with Fox News reporter, Trey Yingst.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRAY YINGST, FOX NEWS CHANNEL CHIEF FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT: Now, I asked the President about these parallel talks that are taking place between Iran and Oman about control of the Strait of Hormuz and the President told Fox News, if Oman gets in the way, "We'll bomb the 'S' out of them."

(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: The President also threatened Oman over the Strait back in

May, telling reporters, "Oman will behave just like everybody else or we'll have to blow him up."

The President continues to say the Strait of Hormuz is open. Ship tracking data shows that just three vessels transited the Strait over the last 24 hours or so. The pre-war number often topped a hundred.

As for one ship in the region, the carrier Abraham Lincoln, the President today cast doubts on reports, including from families of crew members of poor conditions and low morale on board after months at sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I was at a group meeting in an admiral came up to see me over the weekend and it was at a big group and he happened to be an admiral retired. He said, I've been on ships that are out there much longer than that, sir, and I know people on the Lincoln, they say it's beautifully maintained and beautifully taken care of. And other people went out and they found out to be true. It was fake news reporting from CNN.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, Friday, you'll recall, he said the Lincoln had not been deployed, in his words, nearly long enough. The effort to end the deployment also leaves other allies in another part of the world in the lurch. That's because the carrier, en route to take the Lincoln's place, the USS Gerald R. Ford, is coming from the Western Pacific, leaving countries like Japan, Taiwan and South Korea without an American carrier group in the area.

Now, compounding that, the President today scaled back U.S. Military exercises with our close ally, South Korea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: When I called recently, President of South Korea, who I like, I think he's very nice, actually, but I called him. I said, would you like to give us a little hand? We don't need help with Iran, but if you'd like, give us a hand with Iran. He said, no thanks.

And I said, wait a minute. We have 39,000 soldiers over there guarding you from Kim Jong-un, your next-door neighbor. And I said, well, why are we involved in helping you? They get 50 percent of their oil and they don't want to get involved. Why are we doing it?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, that was just one reason he gave for backing away from the joint exercises. The other, he said, was, "... based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong Un of North Korea," which he said has been, "unthreatening and respectful."

CNN's Kristen Holmes asked him today about whether Kim directly asked him to do what he did. The President answered by doing that other thing he does with reporters, especially women who are doing their jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, to scale back on those.

TRUMP: Quiet, you're very disrespectful in front of this young man, okay. Don't you find her disrespectful? He understands, quiet. Who are you with?

HOLMES: I'm with CNN.

TRUMP: Fake news.

HOLMES: I just wanted to follow up on the South Korea question.

TRUMP: You're a loud, boisterous person. You're fake news, be quiet.

HOLMES: I was trying to find out if you had been talking to Kim Jong- un, if he had asked you to scale back on those military exercises?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, it was certainly not an unreasonable question to ask. Did North Korea's brutal dictator somehow talked to the President of the United States into acting against the interests of a longtime, democratically governed ally, South Korea, not to mention against the U.S.'s own interests in the region, after all, Kim did once talk the President to believing he'd fallen in love.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I was really being tough, and so was he. And we were going back and forth, and then we fell in love, okay. No, really. He wrote me beautiful letters, and they're great letters.

We fell in love. But you know what? Now, they'll make they'll say, Donald Trump said they fell in love. How horrible! How horrible is that? So un-presidential.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:05:13]

COOPER: Joining me now for more on the President's attacks on U.S. allies and praising adversaries, CNN White House correspondent Alayna Treene.

So, Alayna, President Trump also said North Koreas Kim Jong-un responded to his request for talks. What more did he say?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, I think it was and to your point, a great question from our colleague Kristen Holmes, who I should just point out is an incredible reporter, pressing the President on this idea: Did you speak with Kim Jong-un directly about this?

Well, another reporter interjected later on and said, asked him about correspondence he has had with Kim Jong-un specifically, if the North Korean leader had responded to any communication. And the President said, yes, he has.

Now, one thing I want to reference here is that as you played in that clip, the President, at least back during his first term, used to exchange letters with the North Korean leader. We had reported our colleague, Kylie Atwood and I actually, back in the fall, that the President had been continuing to send correspondence to Kim Jong-un, asking to continue talking about a potential meeting around the President's October trip last year to Asia.

We reported at the time that there had been no response from the North Koreans. So, I think that's where this question centered on. But the President argued, yes, he has responded, didn't get into the substance of it, which I think gets right back to Kristen's question is, did you talk about the scaling back of exercises with the North Korean leader, especially given of course, all of the geopolitical impacts of that decision?

One thing I want to mention here as well, Anderson, is this isn't something that we haven't seen before with the President. I reminded you that a couple months ago, when the President had at first once offered the potential of having Patriot missiles be sent to Ukraine during that war, well, then he spoke to the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and later pulled back from that statement. So, this is something we have seen in the past.

Another thing is just to draw the parallels to what we're seeing happen in the Middle East right now. I think North Korea, you know, is a nuclear state. it's almost the exact picture of what people in this administration, in this White House don't want Iran to become. If you look specifically at how North Korea becoming a nuclear state has changed the relationships between the U.S. and how it's been acting in the Indo-Pacific region, but also U.S. allies. Not to mention, of course, how it has changed the relationship with a near seven-decade ally, South Korea.

So, a lot of questions really, about what the communications between the President and Kim Jong-un have been and whether or not they centered on this decision by President Donald Trump -- Anderson.

COOPER: Alayna Treene, thanks very much.

Joining us now is Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, who serves on the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees. He's also a retired navy pilot who flew dozens of combat missions during the first Gulf War.

Senator, what does the President's threat to bomb the "S" out of an ally accomplish in the middle of a war with no seeming end in sight?

SEN. MARK KELLY (D-AZ): Well, I mean, Oman has been a security partner of ours and are critical in any kind of negotiation were going to have with the Iranians. So, if Donald Trump thinks he's going to find a way out of this, and I certainly hope that he does, I think Oman is a critical negotiator with Iran. So, it doesn't make a ton of sense. I mean, it looks like he's trying to just make more enemies, and that's not a strategy.

And that's part of the problem here is the President got into this without a strategy, without any kind of strategic goal, without a plan, without a timeline. And now he's stuck and can't find a way out.

COOPER: Do you think, I mean, the President has said he's not in a hurry to reach a deal to end the war, as the 60-day window for peace talks closed today. Obviously, you know, there's no reason to let Iran know one way or another whether or not you're in a hurry or not, so, it's understandable he would say that.

But is this, I mean, open-ended timeline? Is it sustainable? When you look at the little traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, which the President continues to say is open?

KELLY: Well, it's not open. You look at the traffic is, you know, eight ships instead of in a period of time, 130, right? And prices for energy are skyrocketing. And the American people are paying much more than they used to. And it's not only for gasoline and diesel. Farmers are paying more for fertilizer. Food costs are going to go up. And if he doesn't find a way out of this, that's going to continue.

You know, the problem is that he thought because he thinks he's great at military strategy, he said at the beginning that this was going to take two or three days. We're going to bomb for two or three days, and then there's going to be a regime change.

So, these guys like Donald Trump that think air power and dropping bombs on things is the solution to a problem.

I fought in the first Gulf War. Air power is part of a bigger strategy in any military effort. It's not the whole strategy. And he failed to see that. And he's made a lot of mistakes along the way. And now the American people are paying the price of his mistakes. And so are service members that are in the region. Whether you're on the USS Abraham Lincoln or any other ships in either the Persian Gulf or the Gulf of Oman or the Red Sea.

[20:10:45]

You're starting to feel the effects of a President who, in my opinion, has no idea what he's doing. And he put an unqualified person in the office of Secretary of Defense in Pete Hegseth. And that's why we are now starting to see larger problems, mental health issues, supply issues. I was just speaking to the parents of another service member who was saying that it is really challenging out there. The conditions are challenging.

You know, she's eating, you know, just rice and a biscuit in multiple meals in a row. We should do better for our service members who are putting their lives at risk in defense of this country. COOPER: You think that's a direct result of lack of preparation? Because obviously, I mean, if some of it may be having to do with Iran hitting, you know, some of the bases, supply bases in the region.

KELLY: Well, yes, that's part of it. But that's because they couldn't know what the Iranian response was because of, in my view, you know, because this President puts a lot of yes, people around him, he says, this is going to take two or three days. And the people around him say, well, of course, Mr. President.

You know, you remember Donald Trump when he was running for President the first time, said he knows more about military strategy than all the admirals and generals. That is not true. That is a lie and, you know, I think this President has just made a number of bad decisions.

He hasn't been able to articulate to the American people what this is all about and how this is in our best interest as a country. The Iranians were not racing to get a nuclear weapon. After the regime change didn't work he then changed the goal here, it became about nuclear weapons, and it was about ballistic missiles, and it was about sinking the Navy and the strategy has been a moving target.

So, I think until he figures out a way out of this, we are going to just see a compounding number of problems and we have 18 dead service members. We have over 150 dead Iranian kids and the American people haven't gotten anything out of this.

COOPER: What message do you think it sends U.S. allies that the President reduced the military exercises with South Korea based on, he says his, "very good relationship with Kim Jong-un."

KELLY: Well, Kim Jong-un is getting certainly getting what he wanted. He doesn't like the U.S. Military on the Korean peninsula. He has a much larger force, together with the South Koreans. with us, we can defend the Korean peninsula against the North Koreans. His participation in Russia's illegal war against the Ukrainians is giving them experience.

The Russians are also transferring military technology to the North Koreans. So not only are on our side, we will become less effective over time in a partnership with the South Koreans, the North Koreans will become stronger because of their partnership with Russia and Donald Trump doesn't seem to get that, or possibly he has such a close personal relationship with him that supersedes the National Security interest of the United States. That's my biggest concern.

I mean, he just has this odd relationship with dictators around the world, whether it's Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Orban or I mean, he's gone now but the, you know, Duterte in the Philippines, his fascination with strongmen and dictators in a way that's unhealthy for us as a country and I do think it puts our National Security at risk.

COOPER: Senator Kelly, I appreciate your time. Thank you.

Just ahead tonight, we have breaking news. A House Democrat under investigation for sexual misconduct allegations. Next, though, the feud between the President and Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. What Ossoff said about the President's priorities, including, he says, the ballroom and traveling with a close female aide. How the President responded and the profane responses from two White House officials.

And later, decades after the killing, day one, for the prosecution in the Tupac Shakur murder trial.

We'll be right back.

[20:19:25]

COOPER: Both the President and White House escalated a war of words today with Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff. At issue, the senator's remarks about the White House Ballroom and a devoted Presidential aide known by some as the human printer.

Senator Ossoff, who is seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, is currently running for reelection and said this at a campaign appearance yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the President sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trade stocks because he doesn't want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:20:29]

COOPER: Well, Natalie, is Natalie Harp, a close White House aide who often stays up late with the President, helping him post on social media. She also spends her time printing up flattering mentions of the President for him, sometimes with a portable printer on the golf course.

She was one of only a few people the President took with him aboard the secret plane when he left the NATO Summit in Turkey, while others, including Secretary of State Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, rode on the decoy plane.

Today, CNN's Kristen Holmes asked the President about what Senator Ossoff said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: What is your response to Jon Ossoff?

TRUMP: You mean, Pee Wee Herman? Pee Wee Herman look alike? No, I would much rather do other things. it's a -- we're building a great facility here. The whole building, the White House was let go. The exteriors were falling apart. The columns were falling apart; the whole place was a mess. In addition, they've been trying to get a ballroom for the last 150 years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: So, to a question about Senator Ossoff's criticism of his preoccupation with the ballroom, the President steered his answer, which went on for several minutes longer back to the ballroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We've been trying to do this at The White House for many, many years, and they've been trying to have a ballroom at the White House for many, many years now. What happened is we used to use tents, and the tents are usually made of either plastic, a plastic material or canvas. And they wouldn't stop a .22 caliber. They wouldn't stop anything in terms of safety, be very dangerous. And they haven't used the tent for years.

They haven't had any big, like we have President Xi coming on September 24th or so. I think it's September 24th, and we'd love to have 2,000 people coming to dinner and celebrating a nice evening, et cetera, et cetera. But we only have a room that's going to hold 89 people, and 89 people is not appropriate.

So, maybe more importantly, it's totally secure with bulletproof windows, bulletproof sides, it's drone proof, it's missile -- very top of the line and we need it. And especially with what's happened, unfortunately, to the world, you could say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: You know, you could say and he did say, in addition to calling Senator Ossoff, Pee Wee Herman. His White House Communications Director, Stephen Cheung, also went after Ossoff, as did another White House press official who posted this on social media.

"Jon Ossoff is a cringe worthy feminine theater kid cosplaying as Barack Obama. Nobody gives a 'S' what this lightweight loser says." Nobody cares, allegedly, but they all made sure to respond.

Joining us now, "New York Times" White House correspondent Maggie Haberman, coauthor with Jonathan Swan of the bestseller "Regime Change".

So, Maggie, you've reported extensively on the President's working relationship with Natalie Harp in your book. How do you see this reaction from him and the White House Communications Team?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, I didn't see the President actually respond to this at all, in terms of the White House Communications Team, I think that there's two, you know, potential ways to look at this. One is that Ossoff actually is a talented politician. It doesn't hurt Democrats to be compared to Barack Obama. You know, he's still a pretty popular politician, particularly among Democrats, number one.

But number two, Ossoff is both in the lead in Georgia, which is a key state in terms of his reelection and separately, he is seen as a front potentially for 2028. It depends on who you talk to in The White House as to how much any of them are actually focused on what could advance 2028, but they do seem happy to have something to try to rally their own voters against and are taking any opportunity.

The separate piece on Natalie Harp, look, we reported in our book that she is completely devoted to Trump. She left letters in his personal spaces during the campaign, one of which said, you are all that matters to me. She -- you know, her interest in him and those letters alarmed the Secret Service at the time, as we reported.

Trump has told people around him that, you know, she's the only staffer who loves him as much as his wife and children. You know that you'll all go off and leave me and make money, and she'll never leave me. She's a taxpayer paid staffer in The White House.

So, you know, I'm not going to get into what Ossoff insinuated about her. That goes beyond our reporting but it is certainly legitimate to ask about staff in The White House.

COOPER: What is the President's attitude toward who comes next in the White House? I mean, you said there's sort of seemed to be an open question.

[20:25:01]

HABERMAN: Well, I think if the President had his way and he's been a little bit candid about this, he described, at least for the midterms, that he was, we have this in the book, that he is, "proud" that Republicans don't do as well when he's not on the ballot. That is empirically true, Republicans have not done as well as he has. He tends to poll a little better than his party historically. We'll see if that holds up this fall.

Look, if J.D. Vance is the clear prohibitive favorite for the nomination, which most people in the party think that he likely will be at the moment, it's hard to see Trump not ultimately getting behind him. And, you know, Jonathan and I have both heard from multiple people that that seems likely, that said, Anderson, you and I have both covered this President a long time. He doesn't really enthusiastically endorse somebody who could come after him at all.

So, we have scenes in the book about how he's been setting up this competition between J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio inside the White House. Regardless of the fact that there's no evidence Rubio is running. I don't expect him to make life easy for Vance, even if he does endorse him.

COOPER: Ossoff was alluding to the fact that Harp traveled with the President when he made that secret plane swap in Turkey last month. Even members of the Cabinet like Rubio were left on the original. What questions do you still have about that whole saga?

HABERMAN: Well, there's a lot and there's a lot that The White House hasn't said. And I understand that The White House cannot get into everything in terms of threats to the President, but they certainly can be honest about where the President is and they can be honest with the people who are on the other plane about what is happening, which is how this has been done in the past.

How quickly they scrambled, Anderson, indicates, based on our reporting and this was our understanding of the time, it is our understanding that there was something that they were taking seriously as a threat. It is not this purported, you know, information from Israel.

Our reporting is not that the CIA gave an assessment in real-time that they had low confidence in it. They might have later. There was something they were taking seriously, and they don't take threats with this President. He does get a lot of threats from Iran.

I still don't know exactly the nature of the threat beyond what we've reported about Iranian proxies and other intel streams that they had going.

We don't know how they decided who was going on what plane. We don't know exactly what the time frame was for, how this came together. There are a lot of unanswered questions.

COOPER: The Memorandum of Understanding with Iran expired today with no real progress toward any kind of end. The President threatened to bomb the "S" out of Oman, as we were talking about, which is an ally. They've downplayed concerns about, you know, gas prices.

Behind-the-scenes, is there any strategy to this or are they just I mean, is there a strategy?

HABERMAN This is a White House that is built around one person. So, if you look at last term and you and I both covered this pretty extensively, there were still systems in place that reflected either institutional Washington or institutional politics and Trump's team decided that they were going to give him, you know, stop impediments to what he wanted. There was a belief that too many people who he didn't know in term one worked to stop him. And there certainly were people who viewed him as dangerous in term one.

The reality is, though, that there are reasons that certain systems are in place. Often, you know, systems and rationales get built around this President that aren't necessarily strategy or rationales. You know, every advisor who Jonathan and I speak to would like him to be talking differently about the economy than he is. And they would like the Iran war to be over. And neither of those things are happening.

So, we will see where things are in a few weeks. But right now, this is not where they would like to be.

COOPER: Maggie Haberman, thanks very much.

More breaking news from Washington tonight to tell you about the house ethics committee is confirming what CNN first reported back in June, that it's investigating California Democratic Congressman Jimmy Gomez over allegations of sexual misconduct. According to the committee, the allegations involve, "engaging in inappropriate sexual contact with a staffer," which is against House ethics rules.

Gomez said in June that he made, "personal mistakes outside his marriage." He said his actions were, "consensual in nature and did not violate the law or House Ethics rules."

Much more ahead tonight, including what is behind the sudden stop today in the administration's hotly disputed border construction project in a Texas National Park.

Also, Ukraine giving CNN exclusive access to some of its most closely guarded military facilities, highlighting one of its severe shortcomings when it comes to fighting the war and protecting Ukrainians from Russian ballistic missile strikes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:33:43]

COOPER: We have more breaking news tonight and an update to a story we first brought you last week. The Trump administration has announced it is halting, at least for now, controversial border security construction in Texas's Big Bend National Park. The government had been using heavy machinery to bulldoze and excavate areas within the park in order to build patrol roads and vehicle barriers, a move that prompted bipartisan criticism, including from outgoing GOP Senator John Cornyn.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is following the latest developments tonight. Ed?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, we know that Commissioner Rodney Scott of Customs and Border Protection is going to meet with various officials from border counties all along the Big Bend border region. Many of these people have been very critical of the Trump administration's plan to build these border barrier systems in various different ways all along the river, the Rio Grande, in the Big Bend region.

And this comes the day after the commissioner announced that he is pausing construction work inside Big Bend National Park. We spoke with various people, residents, local business owners in the region who have been protesting and pushing back against the administration on these plans. They say that while they welcome Commissioner Scott's visit, they are very cautious and apprehensive about what it will ultimately really mean for these border barrier system plans throughout the region.

[20:35:02]

One person said that if Commissioner Scott doesn't alter any of the plans, people will go absolutely, quote, "nuts." Another person said that it reeks of irresponsibility that just now someone like Commissioner Scott is coming down to the region to talk to residents and business owners and local officials, given that the construction inside Big Bend National Park started almost two weeks ago.

So there's a great deal of apprehension and uncertainty about what this ultimately will really mean. And we should also point out that after our reporting last week and the reporting of others that the Department of Homeland Security went out of its way to say that the mainstream media was fear-mongering what was happening inside Big Bend National Park.

They said that it was not construction work, that it was survey work being done inside Big Bend National Park. But Commissioner Scott, in his own words, in announcing the pause of the work inside the park, described it as construction work. And I point that out because it's the kind of details and the kind of conversation that has really created a lot of distrust among residents and business owners in the Big Bend region with the Trump administration right now.

Anderson?

COOPER: All right. Ed Lavandera, thanks very much. Appreciate the reporting.

In Ukraine, Russian missile attacks have made July the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since May of 2022. Now, a big part of the problem is the shortage of Patriot missile interceptors because of the war with Iran. Now, Ukrainian officials are pulling back the curtain exclusively for CNN, hoping to call attention to their dire need in the face of deadly Russian ballistic missile attacks.

CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is in Ukraine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out in the quiet corn, a moment of absolute desperation. Ukraine's never shown anyone these before, an American-made Patriot air defense launcher. The interceptors they fire, the only thing that can take down Russian ballistic missiles that rain down on Ukraine, are under a huge global supply shortage.

But these here are sitting idle, doing nothing, when in Ukraine they could be saving lives almost nightly. Why? They're empty, out of ammo.

WALSH: This tube being empty is a sight really that would spark fear for ordinary Ukrainians, and is the product of dozens of phone calls to any ally, all sorts of deal-making President Zelenskyy told me to try and find the interceptors to fill this up. An extraordinary step they're taking by showing us the fact this particular Patriot battery is essentially out of action until interceptors arrive, a sign of desperation.

WALSH (voice-over): Chief Engineer Dmytro says it is two and a half months since this one fired, and six weeks since he saw one fire at all.

DMYTRO, CHIEF ENGINEER, UKRAINE'S PATRIOT SYSTEM: You know, actually, this is a really heartbreaking sight, when you have equipment, but you're not able to intercept any missile. This is very sad. When you know that ballistic missiles are flying over your head and you are not able to do anything with it, and you know that behind you there are citizens.

WALSH: And how does that make you feel, knowing that you should help, but can't?

DMYTRO: Like, you learn how to walk, but you're not able to walk. Or you are able -- or you know how to breathe, but you're not able to breathe.

WALSH (voice-over): He knew the global supply crunch was coming.

DMYTRO: When we saw how many interceptors were launched in the Middle East, we predicted that we will be in trouble.

WALSH (voice-over): Ukraine has been reluctant to admit if they have zero interceptors left, President Zelenskyy telling me every morning he begs allies for more.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I do some things which I can't even share. It's not -- it doesn't mean that it's out of the law, no, but it's -- I can't speak about it.

WALSH (voice-over): Kyiv is rocked by a massive ballistic attack normally once a week, racing to the subway and shelters where before, they felt protected, they are not anymore. It is America first in the queue and Ukraine left to anxiety in the rubble.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Kyiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Up next, a long-awaited trial is finally underway. Opening statements began in the Tupac Shakur murder trial nearly 30 years after the iconic rapper was killed.

Plus, she grew up in front of the world. She talked openly about the problems that spotlight led to as an adult. Next, the latest in the life and death of actress Hayden Panettiere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:44:04]

COOPER: Today, opening statements were delivered in a Las Vegas courtroom. In the trial of a man, authorities say orchestrated the 1996 killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. His name is Duane "Keffe" Davis. His motive, according to the prosecution, was retaliation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Duane Davis did not pull the trigger. But what he did do was plan the retaliation for the beating of his nephew. What you'll notice is a constant thing that always goes through these statements is Duane Davis's visceral anger at Tupac Shakur for putting hands on his nephew.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, for its part, the defense tried to poke holes in the prosecution's case by claiming that their client, Duane "Keffe" Davis, is a known liar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, what the state has just told you what they believe to be the evidence of this case. But really, at the end of the day, you have to ask yourself if what they're saying is really truth or fiction. When we get fact versus fiction. Really, at the end of the day, what you're going to hear from witnesses that will testify to this is that Keffe D was known to do this. That's the testimony you're going to hear in this case.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:45:25]

COOPER: That's the word they put up in the courtroom. Davis has pleaded not guilty.

Joining me now is CNN Anchor and Former Federal Prosecutor Laura Coates, who's covering the trial in its entirety for CNN All Access. So what struck -- stuck out to you from the opening statements?

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR, LAURA COATES LIVE: Well, it's a really interesting spot for prosecutors to be in, because normally a prosecutor is going to tell you, look, don't believe a word the defendant is telling you. This person is a liar. Only trust the evidence before us is coming through us. But now they have to say, don't believe him when he tells you he's a liar. He's actually a truth teller.

And they're trying to prove the timeline of the killing of Tupac Shakur extends even beyond that Las Vegas trip that night and extends to gang retaliation in Compton, that 10 square mile area at the time known for 30 plus gangs. Now, on the defense side, they are attacking law enforcement, shoddy detective work, saying investigators have unreliable witnesses that the 30-year period of time between the shooting and, of course, a trial means that everything is B.S. unreliable.

And most importantly, don't believe my client. They're saying he is a B.S. artist and you cannot believe what he says.

COOPER: So who took the stand today? Because they heard testimony from a few witnesses.

COATES: They did. You heard from two law enforcement officers at the very least. You heard from an eyewitness as well. Somebody who was in a car who pulled up besides Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur, along with her girlfriend, planning to go and follow them to a nightclub where Tupac Shakur was going to perform later that night. Remember, Anderson, this all happened the night of a huge Mike Tyson fight. This happened at a time when the Las Vegas trip was all abuzz with celebrities and athletes and everyone else who were there to see Mike Tyson fight. And so it was a really important moment that she wanted to talk about being an eyewitness to a shooting when she pulled up near the car.

Also, though, you heard from an officer who was a bike cop on the strip who actually rode in the ambulance with Tupac Shakur. And he actually asked him, you know, after he realized he was shot, tell me who did this to you. What was the moment that it happened and who did it? And at that point in time, Tupac Shakur apparently said, no, we'll take care of it.

Harkening back to what the prosecution wants you to believe has been street and code and gang warfare. But what's really important here as well, Anderson, is I think the star witness, whether he takes a stand or not, whether he testified today or not, is Keffe D., because his own words are being used against him. It's his own words through a book that was written as a memoir, through interviews, through podcasts and the like, where he says I was there. I orchestrated this killing. I didn't fire the shot, but I was the shot caller in retaliation for a beating up of my nephew at that Las Vegas casino by Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight.

COOPER: Why would he admit that in, I mean, in like a self-published book? I mean, what was he thinking?

COATES: Well, what was he thinking? Indeed, he's thinking of immunity because when he first told officers who were part of a federal task force investigating the murder of Biggie Smalls, a.k.a. Christopher Wallace, Notorious B.I.G., he thought he had some kind of immunity to tell them everything that he was involved in in order to get away from a separate narcotics incident.

But he mistook, it seems, that immunity for that conversation for a get-out-of-jail-blanket immunity for the rest of his life, and he kept talking. He says, I was just bragging. Prosecutors say he was telling the truth.

COOPER: Yes. Laura Coates, thanks very much.

Coming up, you've likely seen this remarkable video, 16-year-old lifeguard Ryder Williams rescued a 10-year-old boy in rough surf in California. Today, Ryder and the boy he saved came to Washington to meet the President. We'll show you how that went.

Also, remembering the life and career of actress Hayden Panettiere, who died Sunday at the age of 36.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:53:25]

COOPER: A 16-year-old lifeguard, Ryder Williams, and the 10-year-old boy he rescued from rip current were honored by the White House today and met with the President in the Oval Office. Video of Williams pulling the child out of heavy surf went viral, prompting President Trump to invite the lifeguard to Washington. The President congratulated him on his bravery, called him a real hero.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What you did was incredible. And everybody saw it. And you'd watch it over and over. I know when I first it, I said, roll that back, I want to see that again. Is that really happening? And both of you people have to be very proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, Ryder Williams was stationed at Seabright Beach in Santa Cruz, California on July 25th when he saw a boy swept off his feet by the waves. Today, he was asked about that rescue and what was going through his mind when he leapt into action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYDER WILLIAMS, LIFEGUARD WHO SAVED BOY'S LIFE: In those dangerous moments that we have, we always try to fall back on our training. We were trained so well by many to handle that situation as best as we can. So I really was thinking about how to get the boy out of the water as fast as I can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: As for Ryder Williams' future, he said today he wants to become a firefighter.

Authorities in South Carolina say tonight there is no sign of foul play in the death of actress Hayden Panettiere. The 36-year-old actress, who starred in "Heroes" and "Nashville," was found unresponsive in a Greenville apartment complex yesterday afternoon.

Randi Kaye has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HAYDEN PANETTIERE, ACTRESS: I'm still working on myself all the time. I had a great therapist, and I'm better, healthier than I've been in a long time.

[20:55:02]

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That was Hayden Panettiere on CBS in May this year. Now, just a few months later, plans for her funeral are underway. The Golden Globe-nominated actress was found in cardiac arrest inside a residence in Greenville, South Carolina, Sunday afternoon.

According to the Greenville County Coroner's Office, efforts to resuscitate her failed. The coroner says an autopsy showed no signs of trauma that would have contributed to her death. But the investigation is ongoing.

Panettiere's father released a statement describing his daughter as "An incredible light and a force of nature who brought immeasurable love and joy to all who knew her."

PANETTIERE: It's amazing what you can do with special effects these days, huh?

KAYE (voice-over): Hayden Panettiere's TV and movie career spanned more than three decades. She was perhaps best known for the TV series "Heroes," in which she played indestructible cheerleader Claire Bennett.

PANETTIERE: The thought of living forever and never being able to die is kind of a scary thing.

KAYE (voice-over): In Nashville, she played a young country music star.

PANETTIERE: From the door, Charlie.

KAYE (voice-over): Panettiere's movie roles included the "Scream" franchise and "Remember the Titans," "Bring It On: All or Nothing," and "I Love You, Beth Cooper."

PANETTIERE: He still love me.

KAYE (voice-over): Her stardom took a backseat to her own personal struggles, addiction, loss, and depression. In her recent memoir, "This Is Me: A Reckoning," she opened up about all of it.

PANETTIERE: I decided to write it because there was so much stigma. I really wanted to share with the world that they don't have to be afraid, that they can live their truth, that they can be imperfect.

KAYE (voice-over): Panettiere told People magazine in 2022 that doctors told her that her liver was, quote, "going to give out" when she was hospitalized with jaundice. On her book tour in recent months, she discussed her postpartum depression. She'd had a baby girl with her former partner, a Ukrainian professional boxer.

PANETTIERE: There I am with this beautiful, healthy, beautiful baby girl in this very fortunate life, and I could not for the life of me be happy. I was so depressed, and I just couldn't find my way out.

KAYE (voice-over): Her daughter, now 11, lives with her father.

PANETTIERE: I'm so blessed to have a great relationship with her. I'm on FaceTime with her all the time. She's calling mommy more and more.

KAYE (voice-over): Panettiere's younger brother, Jansen, died in 2023 at just 28 years old from an enlarged heart. After that, she took a break from acting.

PANETTIERE: Heartbreaking doesn't even begin to cover it. Losing him and realizing how much of life I was going to have to go through alone and without him, when I always saw him as being there. He was my, you know, best friend. And like when he first died, I just remember screaming, I don't want to live in a world where he doesn't exist.

KAYE (voice-over): Over the years, Panettiere advocated for mental health awareness and animal rights. And in 2022, launched a relief fund for medical supplies for Ukrainians following Russia's invasion. She was also known for supporting environmental issues, saying she wanted to leave the world a better place in her brother's name.

Hayden Panettiere was just 36.

Randi Kaye, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Before we go, I want to take a moment to remember a longtime colleague and a friend to many of us here at CNN. His name is Alec Miran. He was a legend in this business. Alec was a key member of our special events team. When something big happened anywhere in the world, Alec was the guy who made sure we got on the air.

For four decades, he rode the breaking wave of history. When major news happened, Alec ran point, ensuring CNN viewers could see it unfold in real time. Tiananmen Square, 1989, Alec was face to face with Chinese officials trying to take CNN off the air in a tense moment that was broadcast around the globe and narrated by anchor Bernard Shaw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm being told that the government officials are coming into the CNN control room now. This man with a piece of paper in his hand, I'm certain that is not a party invitation. It seems to me this official has come in, officially told CNN, and he has a piece of paper.

Alec Miran is appealing to this official, and this official is calling his bosses.

ALEC MIRAN, CNN SPECIAL PRODUCER: The government has ordered us to shut down our facility. We are shutting down our facility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The span of Alec's career is incredible. The Berlin Wall, debates in town halls, royal weddings, September 11th. I worked with him a lot during Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Anywhere I'd show up, Alec was always there, calm, even when things got crazy. He made the impossible possible again and again, over and over. Away from work, Alec absolutely loved sports. He was a part of a regular Saturday morning basketball group.

And after he retired from CNN, he became an usher of the Baltimore Orioles' home games. But nothing could match the love he had for his family. And we're grateful to them for sharing him with us for so many years. Our thoughts are with Alec's wife, Debbie, his kids, Brett, Mark, and Blair, and his grandkids, Alexander, Vivian, Ingeborg, and Bertrand.

Alec Miran died unexpectedly last week. He was 69. All of us here who are lucky enough to stand with him documenting some of the biggest stories of our time, we will never forget all that he was and did.

That's it for us. The news continues. The Source starts now.