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Hurricane Erin Threatens East Coast With Rip Currents, High Surf; Russia Strikes Ukraine Overnight as White House Says Putin, Zelenskyy Will Meet; DOJ Probing D.C. Crime Stats Amid Federal Police Takeover. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired August 20, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, Hurricane Erin is churning up some life-threatening rip currents along the East Coast, North Carolina now under a state of emergency. The latest on the storm's path.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The president suggests there is too much focus on how bad slavery was at the country's preeminent museum. A new salvo in the battle to control history.

And breaking overnight, Russia launches an attack on a Ukrainian fuel and energy infrastructure facility, as the Kremlin does not appear any closer to the Putin-Zelenskyy Summit that President Trump has promised.

Sara is out. I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: The breaking news this morning, coastal communities are preparing as Hurricane Erin churns along the East Coast, threatening the region with dangerous storm surge. Giving you a look, we're going to show you a live look at what -- not a live look necessarily -- what the Category 2 storm looks like from the International Space Station.

Erin is not expected to make landfall in the United States, but it's already causing life-threatening rip currents and dangerous surf. North Carolina's governor declared a state of emergency yesterday as evacuations there continue. 15 people were rescued from the waters in Wrightsville Beach yesterday. That's a after 60 rescues at the same place on Monday.

And other popular beaches in Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, as well as public beaches in New York have all issued no swim advisories. As Hurricane Erin's impact moves north, another potential named Storm is brewing right on its heels in the Atlantic.

CNN's Allison Chinchar joins us now, she's watching all of this very closely. And what are you seeing? What's the big focus this morning?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, the big focus, even if there is something out behind Erin, the big focus is actually Erin itself for this morning because of the impacts that it is expected to bring up and down the eastern seaboard. Again, behind me, you can see some video here, this is of North Carolina. You can see those waves crashing in, obviously making it farther inland than they normally would just for your standard high and low tides.

But the thing is, a lot of that water is going to continue to surge in, not just in North Carolina, but in some of the other eastern states, like South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, all the way up the eastern seaboard, as the storm itself continues to slide into the north.

So, here's a look at what we have right now, sustained winds, a hundred miles per hour, but it's also growing in size. It's already bigger than it was on Saturday when it peaked as a Category 5 storm. Even though this storm itself is a little bit weaker, the size is expected to continue to grow.

The reason this is important is the larger the storm gets, the wider that wind field becomes, and so the farther some of those outer bands can stretch, meaning places like Bermuda, places like the Carolinas can start to see some of those stronger thunderstorms impacting these areas.

Now, it is expected to slide between Bermuda and the East Coast over the next few days, really coming at its closest point to the U.S. likely in the next 24 hours, very early, morning, even into late morning on Thursday. You can see we've got these tropical storm watches and warnings in effect, not just for the U.S., but also into Bermuda. Again, because as we anticipate that it grows in size, it's going to expand the potential impacts there.

Now, the earliest time in which we could see some of those really strong wind gusts for a lot of these areas, you can see it timed out here some as early as later on this evening, the bulk of them are really going to be Thursday as it spreads up the North Carolina coast into Virginia, Maryland, and eventually into states like New Jersey.

Here's a look at those. Again, you're talking winds of 55, 60, 65 miles per hour. That's the same that you would have if you had just a severe thunderstorm warning from a popup summertime thunderstorm. So, you're talking a pretty high criteria here that you're going to have with those very gusty winds.

It's also not just the winds that are going to be an impact for a lot of these coastal communities. You're looking at beach erosion from not only the winds bringing all of that water in, but, again, look at some of the storm surge numbers you're looking at two to four feet where this yellow highlighted area is and even the blue shaded areas, that's about one to three feet.

And I know that may not sound like all that much, but these areas are very prone to beach erosion. They're very prone to a lot of the impacts from a lot of these waters. So, it doesn't take much to cause some issues right there along the shore.

[07:05:03] BOLDUAN: Allison, thank you so much, a lot to keep an eye on this morning, for sure. John?

BERMAN: All right. Breaking news this morning in Ukraine, flames erupting at a fuel facility in Odesa after Russia launched a new wave of attacks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia fired more than 60 drones, 1 ballistic missile, and that rescue operations are underway after a glide bomb damaged five apartment buildings, Zelenskyy added, quote, all of these are demonstrative strikes that only confirm the need to put pressure on Moscow, the need to impose new sanctions and tariffs until diplomacy is fully effective.

Now, the White House maintains that plans are underway for a meeting between Zelenskyy and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, despite the Kremlin refusing to commit.

Let's get right to CNN's Betsy Klein at the White House this morning for the latest on what you're hearing now. Good morning, Betsy.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER AND WRITER: Good morning, John. Well, the president's goal heading into that meeting on Monday was to get to a place where President's Trump, Putin, and Zelenskyy could hold a trilateral follow-up meeting, but the plan distinctly shifted after that. Then they were saying that the goal now is for President's Putin and Zelenskyy to meet together.

And the White House claims that there is some progress toward setting up that meeting and that the U.S. national security team is going to be involved in those preparations. We have learned, according to three White House officials, that there are a number of sites under consideration for a potential meeting between those two leaders, including Budapest and Switzerland. Those sources caution that nothing is finalized.

But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claims that President Putin has committed to going through with this meeting and it will happen in the coming weeks. The Kremlin, so far, non-committal. But listen to how President Trump talked about why he thinks it's better that they meet without him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I had a very successful meeting with President Putin. I had a very successful meeting with President Zelenskyy. And now I thought it would be better if they met without me just to see. I want to see what goes on. You know, they had a hard relationship, very bad, very bad relationship. And now we'll see how they do, and if necessary, and it probably would be, but if necessary, I'll go and I'll probably be able to get it closed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KLEIN: Now, the Kremlin, making clear that while there is openness to a meeting, it really isn't imminent at this point. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying that any plans for a meeting must be made with, quote, the utmost care. But the more time this takes, the better it is for Russia, allowing them to cement some of those gains on the battlefield, shore up control over those occupied areas. And we saw that as Russia launched those airstrikes after President Trump met with Zelenskyy, clearly no goodwill gesture there.

So, the question now is how long President Trump is willing to wait and what pressure he can put on Russia in the meantime.

BERMAN: We'll be watching these next two weeks to see if that meeting comes together, to be sure.

Betsy Klein at the White House, thank you very much.

So, the numbers don't lie or, or do they? Trump's Justice Department launches a probe into Washington, D.C., police crime statistics.

And too much focus on quote, how bad slavery was. That's what the president says. So, what does he want to say about slavery at the Smithsonian?

And a sky high explosion after a car crashes into a building.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BOLDUAN: Right now, West Virginia National Guards troops are on the ground in Washington, D.C., and set to begin taking to D.C. streets as early as today. West Virginia is one of six Republican-led states that are sending their National Guard to the nation's capital to support President Trump's ongoing federal takeover.

This surge in military personnel comes also as the Justice Department says it's investigating Washington, D.C.'s own police, the Metropolitan Police Department, over whether they manipulated crime data to make it appear that crime rates were going down, that they were lower. President Trump now says that D.C. Police, quote, gave fake numbers to create a false illusion of safety.

CNN's Brian Todd following this for us from Washington. Brian, what are you learning about this?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, this is another escalation in this nasty political fight between the Trump administration and D.C. officials over crime in the nation's capital. Two sources telling CNN this morning that the Justice Department is investigating whether the Metropolitan Washington Police Department manipulated crime data.

Now, this investigation follows reports that a commander in the Metropolitan Washington Police Department was placed on administrative leave amid accusations that the department was falsifying crime data in one district of the city, marking offenses as lower level offenses than they might otherwise be.

Now, here is the overall crime data in the city according to the Metropolitan Washington Police. They say that violent crime in the city is down 27 percent from a year ago. Other -- when we break down the numbers even further in other categories, assault with a dangerous weapon down 19 percent, robbery down 30 percent, violent crime, as we said, down 27 percent, and property crime is down 4 percent.

The Justice Department has declined to comment to CNN on this investigation into the D.C. crime stats.

[07:15:04]

CNN has also reached out to Mayor Muriel Bowser and to the Metropolitan Washington Police Department for comment on the Justice Department investigation into the crime data. We have not heard back from them.

Kate, it's really extraordinary that this is going on. As you mentioned, this influx of National Guard troops, thousands of them arriving on the streets, this political battle between Washington, D.C.'s officials and the Trump administration just keeps escalating. And when you think about it, it's extraordinary in that all of this started, all of it started just a couple of weeks ago, early on the morning of Sunday, August 3rd, when a former DOGE employee, a 19-year- old named Edward Coristine, was attacked in a failed carjacking attempt.

Ever since that day, Donald Trump has gone on, you know, a tear on just how violent crime is just out of control in the district, district officials pushing back, and now you've got this influx of National Guard troops and this latest Department of Justice investigation, just an extraordinary kind of escalation in a couple of weeks. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. I mean, six other states now joining in the effort. I mean, that's -- it's escalating, It's not leveling off.

It's great to see Brian. Thank you.

TODD: No, it is not.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much.

TODD: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Also this just in, Target's CEO, Brian Cornell, is stepping down after 11 years with the retailer. The company has been facing slumping sales and ongoing backlash since it decided to eliminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. He will be replaced by Target's current chief operating officer on February 1st.

Massive fireball burns after a Russian attack on a Ukrainian fuel facility. Just look at that happening, as President Trump says, it's better if Putin and Zelenskyy meet without him. But what's not known is will Putin show up for any of it? And the White House joins TikTok, creating an account on the same platform, as you well know, the president once called a national security threat.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: All right. The New York Yankees having a hard time with runners in scoring position, going just 1-6 last night.

Let's get right to CNN's Andy Scholes for the latest. Now, I was struggling for the right headline here, but no lies detected there. What I just said is completely accurate and probably the most important thing from last night.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: John, I am impressed you found a way to negatively talk about the Yankees hitting nine home runs, but props to you because you did find a way to do it.

But last night, it was a little deja vu for Yankees fans because they also tied a franchise record with nine home runs in their second game of the season. They're actually the first team ever to have multiple nine home run games in a single season. They were taking on the Rays, who were playing this season at the Yankees Spring Training Ballpark because of the damage to Tropicana Field, and all the Yankees fans attendants. They certainly had a fun night.

Aaron Judge, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton, they went back-to- back-to-back in the first inning, but that was just getting things started. Bellinger and Stanton both hit two home runs in the game, as did Jose Caballero in his first game against his former team. This was only the fourth time ever a team has hit nine or more homers in a game. The record tilled by the 1987 Blue Jays who hit ten in a game,

Yankees beat the Rays in that one 13-3.

And it was a good night all around for New York fans. The Liberty coming up with their first win of the season against the Lynx. They had been 0-3 against the team, they beat in the finals last season. And Sabrina Ionescu, she put this game away with a three right here from way downtown. She was also fouled on that shot as well. Sabrina, she had 17 in the game. They got to win 85-75.

All, right, finally, see this 2025 Masters flag I got right here? It's a popular item patrons purchase when attending the masters. But one guy, he's cornered the market on these.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RORY MCILROY, 2025 MASTERS CHAMP COMPLETED CAREER GRAND SLAM WITH WIN: they had 1,100 extra, and like they had 1,100 left in the merchandise facility at the end of the week, and we took all 1,100. So -- but it's been a lot. But I'll never get sick of signing them. I've waited 17 years to sign that flag in the middle, and I will never complain about doing that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yes. So, Rory McIlroy has 1,100 of these sitting somewhere, maybe in his garage or something, Berman. He's teeing off tomorrow down the road at East Lake for the Tour Championship. Maybe I'll go down there and see if I can get him to sign my master's flag since he said he'll never get tired of signing these.

BERMAN: Yes, he's got a few extras. No, I love that. Even Rory McIlroy, it's like when your parents buy up like a thousand copies of the local newspaper, you know, when you're mentioned in it. That's awesome.

Andy Scholes, great to see you this morning. The Yankee's inefficient, how do you score only 13 runs with nine homers, right? I mean, it's hard to do. It's hard to do. They have to work on that.

SCHOLES: I guess. Yes.

BERMAN: All right. Too much focus on, quote, how bad slavery was, inside the president's latest attack on the most prestigious museums in the country.

Hurricane Erin unleashes life-threatening rip currents along the East Coast. We've got new details about the storm.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:25:00]

BERMAN: This morning, officials in North Carolina's Wrightsville Beach have a message for anyone wanting to get into the ocean. Don't. Hurricane Erin is churning about 500 miles offshore, threatening dangerous storm surge, rip tides and waves that could reach 20 feet. There have already been more than 70 rip current rescues at Wrightsville Beach alone.

CNN's Michael Yoshida is there this morning. Michael, what are you seeing?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, John. You talk about all those rescues that have already happened. Well, the big reason for them, the surf that we've seen here already this morning, and the rip currents that are in and around those waves, officials telling me that even though Erin well offshore, they've been dealing with the impacts really in the danger the last few days.

Monday, they had around 60 water rescues here, yesterday, more than a dozen. And officials saying this really is sort of a perfect storm for them, if you will. The head of ocean rescue saying people are showing up at the beach and they were hearing, oh, well, Erin is well offshore. It's not going to make landfall, it's sunny, it's hot, we want to get in the water, when in reality these rip currents happening.