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Trump Orders Scaled back Exercises with South Korea; Tupac Shakur Murder Trial Begins Today; Florida Congressional Candidate Elijah Manley is Interviewed about his Primary Race; Hawaii Reels from Tropical Storm Lala. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired August 17, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

ALLISON JANNEY, ACTRESS, "THE DIPLOMAT": Always is a great backdrop for a good drama.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: At the time of "The West Wing," could you have seen a female president being written into a show?

JANNEY: I don't know if I thought about it then, but it certainly resonated being sworn in as Grace Penn, president, on "The Diplomat." It was a very -- I think when I -- when we filmed that scene, too, people were coming up after and saying, everyone was crying in the -- at video village seeing you sworn in as president. And when I saw it after, I got emotional too. It was just beautiful with all the music and the writing and the, obviously, the, you know, what's not happening in our country today and what we haven't been able to do as a country, to elect a female president. That's pretty -- I feel that, that history, and it feels pretty great to play Grace.

WAGMEISTER: Do you think that you'll see a female president in real life in your lifetime?

JANNEY: I really think, yes, I will. I have, I have hope that there will be.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: Now, Allison Janney is nominated for an Emmy for that role of playing the president on Netflix's "The Diplomat." And get this, it is her 16th. Yes, 16th Emmy nomination. She has won seven Emmys in her career and also an Oscar. Pretty impressive.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, President Trump threatening to bomb one ally while suddenly ordering the U.S. military to cut down on its military exercises with another. All of it relating to the war dragging out in Iran.

And nearly 30 years after music legend Tupac Shakur was fatally gunned down in Vegas, opening statements start today in the trial of the only man who is going to trial accused of orchestrating his death. What the jury is expected to hear in court. And the tragic death of a Hollywood star. Hayden Panettiere, known for her hit shows like "Heroes" and "Nashville," dying at the age of just 36 years old. The details we are learning about her passing.

I'm Sara Sidner, with Kate Bolduan and John Bberman. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, the president ordered the U.S. military to scale back military exercises with South Korea just hours before they were set to begin. The president cited his, quote, "very good relationship" with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and said the drills send a, quote, "totally inappropriate and hostile signal" to the North. He also implied that South Korea's refusal to help with the war in Iran was a factor in this decision. South Korea says the drills are proceeding as planned. They are reviewing, they say, the president's comments.

Now, South Korea, that's one ally. The president is also threatening to bomb U.S. ally Oman in the Persian Gulf. Bomb them, quote -- well, "bomb the spit out of them," except he did not say "spit." He threatened to bomb Iran -- Oman if it gets in the way of U.S. designs in the Strait of Hormuz.

Let's get right to CNN's Betsy Klein, live at the White House this morning.

I think many countries are asking, with friends like these, Betsy.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I was just about to say exactly that, John. President Trump extending what could be perceived here as an olive branch to the North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un, as he says, the U.S. is scaling back these planned exercises with key ally South Korea.

Now, these annual exercises began Monday as planned. It's unclear at this stage whether they have been pared back substantively. But this is a move that the president actually made back in 2018 when he was trying to get denuclearization talks with Kim off the ground. And they met three times during his first term, but there has been no known correspondence during his second. The president saying in that post to social media, quote, "based on my very good relationship with Kim Jong-un of North Korea, I am not happy with the fact that the United States has long ago agreed to participate in joint military exercises with South Korea." He goes on to say that, "those exercises send a signal that is totally inappropriate and hostile."

But it's not clear at this point what exactly he is basing that very good relationship with Kim on. If there has been any diplomatic movement here. Of course, we've asked the White House. But since the president's first term, North Korea has significantly scaled up its armed forces, as well as its illegal nuclear weapons program. They've also been getting that practical experience on the battlefield, serving alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine.

[09:05:00] Now, some experts have warned that this move could lower coalition readiness and put the U.S. military at risk, as South Korea says that they are reviewing President Trump's statement.

Now, we have seen President Trump's war with Iran really upend these global alliances. And we've seen that with this. The president also saying in that post on social media, "while somewhat unrelated, question mark, I recently asked the president of South Korea if they would like to join us in the denuclearization of the Islamic Republic of Iran. And they said, no thanks."

Now, today actually marks the end of that 60-day period in that memorandum of understanding that the U.S. signed with Iran. Those talks have completely collapsed. The president calling into Fox News, where he was asked about control of the Strait of Hormuz as Oman has been negotiating with Iran. He warned, as you mentioned, "if Oman gets in the way, we'll have to bomb the shit out of them again." His words. But the president, again, calling into question a key alliance there, John.

BERMAN: Yes, hide the kids on this one, Betsy, with language like that. Thank you so much for your reporting on this. Significant developments with the White House attitude toward countries around the world.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, John.

In just a few hours, the only person ever charged in the 1996 killing of hip hop legend Tupac Shakur set to stand trial in a Nevada courtroom. Sixty-three-year-old Duane Davis has pleaded not guilty. He's accused of orchestrating Tupac's murder in retaliation for a fight involving his nephew. Prosecutors are expected to focus heavily, though, on Davis' own words, including a memoir that he wrote, admissions he now claims he only made for financial gain and that they weren't necessarily true.

CNN's Jean Casarez following all of this.

Lots of twists and turns. What are you expecting today in opening statements?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We want to hear what the evidence is, what they have. I mean, we've heard the rumors. We know the stories. But now, for the first time ever, in a courtroom in las Vegas, Nevada, you're going to begin to hear the evidence that law enforcement has compiled together for 30 years.

Now, Keffe D, that's a defendant right there, he was the head of the South Side Compton Crips. And this was back in 1996. He was a leader. Everyone knew it. And you had The Bloods in Los Angeles. And they were rivals. And they were stark rivals at the time.

But they all, in September of 1996, were going to go to Las Vegas to the Mike Tyson fight. And they did. And the fight occurred. And it was fine. But after the fight, in the lobby of the MGM Grand, you're watching it right there, was a brawl. And the victim was Orlando Anderson, who was Keffe D's nephew, who was also a Crip. But it was The Bloods that were attacking them.

Well, not only that, but Tupac Shakur was right in there. He was kicking him too, along with Suge Knight, of course, the head of and the founder of Death Row Records. And so, because of that, that night it got back to Keffe D, the defendant, and he got his guys together, according to his own words, in law enforcement statements, in a book, in a documentary. And according to what Keffe D says, that night someone by the name of Zip, z-i-p, gave him a gun and he said, look, take this gun. You might need it tonight.

This is all about gang life. This trial is going to be focused in on retaliation. That was so important. So, the end all was that that white Cadillac, and there is -- we know that it was a white Cadillac, pulled up next to Tupac Shakur and Suge Knight, who was driving. Somebody from the back seat had a gun out the window, multiple shots. Tupac lived six days, but then he was dead. And there you have the car. Someone shot that photo shortly before it all happened.

And so the question is, can you say someone who did not pull the trigger, because they're not alleging that, they're alleging that someone in the back seat, but that Keffe D got the gun. And the question is, how much will Suge Knight come into this? He's on the witness list. How much will Sean Combs come into this? Because, according to the statements by Keffe D, Combs was an arch rival against Tupac Shakur.

SIDNER: So much has been said about this particular case over this almost 30 years. Now we're going to see it all play out in court. I know you'll be watching. Thank you so much for your reporting there, Jean.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Joining us right now is CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Joey Jackson for more on this.

Jean gives a good background on kind of what happened back then. Let's break this into two parts, if you will. If -- what you think of what we're going to hear in opening statements, because if prosecutors are going to get a win, where do you think their win focuses in?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Kate, good morning.

I think they have to lean in on the motivation that Jean Casarez was referring to.

[09:10:03]

Was it gang retaliation? Remember, they're going to show that surveillance tape, prosecutors, at the MGM Grand at the Tyson fight where there was a beating of Orlando Anderson, who happened to be the nephew, right, of the person on trial, Keffe D. So, they will lean into the motivation. You don't have to establish motivation, Kate, but inquiring minds are going to want to know.

What do I think opening statements will be like. The battle of the narratives, as they always are.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

JACKSON: From prosecutors' perspective, you know what, he's told you, referring to Keffe D, right, he's told you he was guilty. How? Because he sat down with law enforcement in 2008 and chapter and verse. He talked about the white Cadillac, right? He talked about the fact that he handed over a weapon to the back seat. He talked about procuring the weapon. He talked about being the, you know, big baller shot caller. He's the guy.

And what else did he do? He didn't only do it in that interview, but he said it over and over again. 2019 he writes his memoir where he's bragging about it. He goes on YouTube and podcasts. You're going to hear from him, right, the defendant, that he's guilty, and you're going to trust it and believe it.

Well, the defense will say --

BOLDUAN: That's what I was going to say, so if the -- if the defendant -- what's their narrative and if they're going to secure a win, where's their win?

JACKSON: So, I think their win has to be, can you show me a murder weapon, please? Can you show me the vehicle that was actually the getaway car or anything else? Can you show me fingerprints? Can you show me anything in the variety of forensic evidence at all? You have no physical evidence. They have no case.

And by the way, you want to talk about this podcast and YouTube, he's making money. This is fiction. Oh, the 2008. Oh, you want to talk about that? The confession. It wasn't a confession. My client was actually under investigation by federal law enforcement. And he said that if he gave information about this, he would be cut free. That's exactly what he did, telling them what they wanted to hear. He is not guilty. Those are the narratives, for sure.

BOLDUAN: What role does the passage of time play in this? It's a -- I mean, you have to --

JACKSON: Yes.

BOLDUAN: There's a jury here. And it's been nearly 30 years since Tupac was killed.

JACKSON: Absolutely. I mean, it -- everything, right? The reality is, is that when you prosecute cases closer in time, what does that do?

BOLDUAN: Yes.

JACKSON: It gives you more witnesses. Those witnesses are available. Remember, the people who were in the car are dead. Would that have happened if it was prosecuted right then. The actual evidence is fresher, right, and everything else.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

JACKSON: And so I think there are challenges associated with a case like this where it's been so long. So, it's going to be up to prosecutors to lay out the timeline and say, regardless of the time frame, there's no statute of limitations on murder for a reason.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

JACKSON: It took us time to get here, but we're here and he's guilty. The defense will say, why are we even here? They got nothing. And so, it's a -- it depends upon the jury and how they process that. Twelve unanimous, right --

BOLDUAN: Yes.

JACKSON: They have 16 because you have alternates, et cetera, in the event that there's an illness or an emergency with a juror. But 12 jurors have to unanimously agree, Kate, that he's guilty. Let's see whether prosecutors can convince them to come to that conclusion.

BOLDUAN: So interesting.

It's good to see you, Joey. Thank you so much, as always.

JACKSON: Always.

BOLDUAN: And full coverage of the trial with Laura Coates starts today at noon Eastern. Watch on cnn.com/tupactrial and the CNN app.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead, Hawaii reeling from floods and high winds after Hurricane Lala. We're tracking where the storm is now and taking a look at the damage there where thousands do not have power.

And several renaissance paintings worth millions of dollars are swiped from a museum. The latest on the search for the thieves responsible.

Plus, will A.I. run our entire lives one day? Take away all those chores, give us free time? An inside look at how an award-winning tech journalist put that exact question to the test, spending an entire year trying to make her whole life surrounding and using A.I., including robots.

That story and more ahead.

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BERMAN: Tomorrow is primary day in Florida. And a new test for progressives in one of the races. Several candidates are running against Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz. The former DNC chair is in a new district after Republicans in the state scrambled the Congressional map. One of her challengers is a 27-year-old progressive organizer and substitute teacher Elijah Manley, and he joins us now.

It's great to see you. Thanks for coming on.

This is an intra-party struggle, right? Democrat on Democrat in a primary. So, one of the questions I think Democratic voters tend to ask is, how would Elijah Manley vote differently than Debbie Wasserman Schultz in Congress?

ELIJAH MANLEY (D), FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: Well, good morning, John, and thank you for having me.

You know, I think it's important for us to look at Debbie Wasserman Schultz's past, how she's voted in Congress. She's voted against Medicare for all. She's voted to send unlimited money to Israel as they commit a genocide. And to me, I think, in this moment, we need Democratic members of Congress who are going to be strong, who are going to listen to the base of the party. And she is not that individual.

BERMAN: So, you would vote to not sell arms to Israel?

MANLEY: Yes, I think we should enforce American laws, including the (INAUDIBLE) law, as well as international laws.

Of course, we want the people in Israel to be safe, but we also want Palestinians not to be killed and bombed. And we want this war to be over. But we cannot continue to sell weapons to a country that's not following international law.

But that's only one area where I think me and the Congresswoman differ. We also differ on health care. I'm a strong proponent of Medicare for all. She thinks that a for-profit insurance system is the right way to go. We differ on housing. We differ on -- in many other areas about the direction of which the Democratic Party should be heading.

[09:20:06]

And I think this is an important moment for south Florida so we can leave the past behind and move to the future. This is an individual that, in the past, has supported ICE detention facilities and has taken money from private -- from payday lenders, private prisons, any corporation you name.

BERMAN: Well, we will speak to her office and get a response on some of these specific suggestions you are making there.

One of the issues has been that with the redrawing of the maps, right, Debbie Wasserman Schultz is running in a different district than she has represented before, and she is a white candidate in a district that has been represented traditionally by an African American representative. You are one of, I think, four now African American candidates running in the primary.

MANLEY: That's right. BERMAN: There are -- some have suggested that someone needs to drop out, that in some ways you may split the vote against Debbie Wasserman Schultz. What's your concern on that front?

MANLEY: You know, I'm concerned about it. But, you know, I think that ultimately it's up to the voters. And not every voter is going to vote, you know, on racial lines. You know, I enjoy a lot of support within the white community, and the Hispanic community as well. So, I'm definitely competing with the Congresswoman there. But I think, you know, it's cynical for the Congresswoman to carpetbag into a district and take -- try to take away black representation in a split field (ph).

You know, everybody has the right to run. You know, myself and the other candidates, I do wish we had consolidated behind one person. But that's very hard to do when you have a lot of candidates running and everybody has their, you know, their dreams, their ambitions, their ideals.

And we're not all a monolith in the black community. There are conservative people running and there are people like me who are progressive. So, it was very hard to make that happen. But ultimately, Debbie Wasserman Schultz made the decision to run in this district when she should not have.

BERMAN: I'll just note that one of the comments she's made on that, this was to the 'Associated Press," she said, "I'm not air dropping myself into this district. I have represented diverse communities. I know how to tailor my service to them and represent a district more broadly."

One question about Congress should you serve there. Obviously, you would have the power to vote on war powers resolution. The United States engaged in this conflict with Iran and trying to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This morning, the president threatened to bomb the spit, except he didn't say spit, out of Oman, a country on the Persian Gulf. What would you do in Congress if you -- to stand up to President Trump as a Democrat?

MANLEY: Well, I mean, I have to say, this president is out of control. This is a warmonger. He came into office saying that he was going to stop all of these wars. We need to restore Congress' power to declare war. That is a power Congress has. And we cannot allow him to engage in unilateral military action without the approval of Congress. So, I expect us to put our foot down there in Congress, whether it's a war powers resolution that we ae going to push through the House in a majority and hopefully through our Senate majority as well.

And then we're going to have to tie up the budget as well. I think we should tie up the budget. Because the only way to stop this administration, who does not follow law, is the power of the purse, which is Congress' responsibility to say, no, we're not going to fund your, you know, your ability to carry out these unilateral, executive actions and military attacks without the approval of Congress.

BERMAN: Elijah Manley, from Florida, Election Day tomorrow, thanks so much for being with us.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, this morning, the Hawaiian islands are reeling from devastation left behind by Tropical Storm Lala. At least 100 homes have been damaged or destroyed. Some 100,000 homes and businesses without power at this hour. And landslides and storm debris have left some roads inaccessible.

CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam joining us now.

What is the status of the storm? And give us some sense of just how powerful it is. You can see, wow, that raging river next to you.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: This is -- this is behind somebody's house.

SIDNER: Yes.

VAN DAM: So, the storm is pulling away. That's the good news. But the damage has already been done.

We know this part of the world. It receives a lot of rainfall. But when you start measuring it in feet, multiple feet, you got some problems, especially with all the terrain.

Look at these rainfall totals. That's in excess of three feet. It's got to go somewhere. So, it tumbles down what is normally a very casual stream, turns it into a raging torrent. And that's where we see the destruction and overtopping some of the bridges, even washing away roads there.

So, this is interesting as well. They had some unusual snowfall at the Mauna Kea Summit. That's roughly about 13,800 feet in the air. That's where they had the highest reported wind gusts. But it was so cold at that altitude that a hurricane brought snow to that mountain peak. Incredible.

Now, this is the area that took the brunt of the storm. This is the main island of Hawaii. And, you know, this area, still, we're talking 100,000 customers without power. And that extends up the island chain as well. But the good news is that the flood alerts have been allowed to expire here.

[09:25:03]

They continue for places like Oahu into Kauai to the north and west. That is because the outer rain bands are still impacting this area. But there goes Tropical Storm Lala away from the Hawaiian islands. Goodbye and good riddance, right? Notice it didn't ever actually make landfall, but we don't need a landfalling hurricane to see the destruction. And that's obviously evident with what's happened.

It's going to restrengthen across the central pacific. That will be fish food. Not impacting any land. So, here's a look at the rainfall forecast. The highest elevations

could pick up another inch or two. We don't want to see additional flooding, but it certainly won't be like what we experienced this past weekend.

Check this out. Inclusive of the western U.S., we have 90 million Americans under heat alerts right now. Head outside. You need to take the precautions necessary. And please, I said it earlier today, Sara, so important, don't leave your pets or children unattended in vehicles in this type of heat.

SIDNER: You were showing us the heat index, 110 in Jackson. That is crazy. Hard to deal with.

VAN DAM: That's rough. It's dangerous.

SIDNER: Yes. Thank you so much, Derek Van Dam. Appreciate you.

VAN DAM: All right. Thanks, Sara.

SIDNER: Kate.

BOLDUAN: The search for answers now after the sudden death of actress Hayden Panettiere. She was just 36 years old. The latest now that we have learned about this situation this morning.

And a New York -- a New York Rangers, New York Knicks split. What does this mean for the sports world and how much money is at stake?

We'll be right back.

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