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Trump Signs Order to Rename Lake Ontario to Lake America; 350+ Killed, 1,300+ Missing After Catastrophic Nepal-China Floods; U.S. State Department Says 90 Americans Unaccounted for After Nepal Floods; Jury Deliberations Begin in Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial; Trump Heads to Texas as Paxton Faces Tough Senate Race. Aired 2-2:30p ET

Aired August 27, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And when athletes and other celebrities start to utilize it, you get to see certain parts of their life that you would never get to see before it. What they like to do, who are they as people. So I can invest in them more as a fan now and it just makes you feel closer to them. You can really support them because not only do I love the way that they play the game, I think they are a cool person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": I thought this clip was going to be about the heat and LeBron going to Miami. Still, you should watch "Decades in Sports." A new episode airs Sunday at 9 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on CNN.

A new hour of "CNN News Central" starts right now.

Name change. President Trump signs an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' as he again criticizes Canada and the handling of negotiations over a trade deal.

Plus, hundreds killed and the disaster may not be over yet. Nepal and China reckoning with the aftermath of catastrophic flooding, as officials warn torrential rains could be on the way.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CO-ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWS CENTRAL": And guilty or not guilty, a jury is deliberating the fate of Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts mother who killed her three children. Her attorneys argue she should not be held criminally responsible for their deaths.

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to "CNN News Central."

I'm Brianna Keilar alongside Boris Sanchez, here in Washington. And moments ago, President Trump signed an executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. And this is effective immediately, he says.

SANCHEZ: Of course, the order comes amid a tense trade war with Canada. It is worth noting President Trump can't force Canada to go along with the name change. And the name Ontario of the Canadian province was actually taken from the lake, not the other way around.

Let's go to the White House now with CNN's Alayna Treene. Alayna, President Trump has been telegraphing this move. Remind us why it's coming now.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yeah, look, this is really a taunt toward Canada specifically and of course, their Prime Minister Mark Carney, after we saw negotiations between the two countries really deteriorate and ultimately collapse over the weekend on a new potential trade deal. And then of course, we saw the U.S. argue that they're going to put tariffs, 50 percent tariffs on $20 billion of goods from Canada. And then Canada responding in turn with dollar for dollar tariffs.

The president then has been very frustrated in the days since, criticizing Canada repeatedly over this collapse in negotiations. He's been arguing that they're entitled to claim he made again this afternoon in the Oval Office when talking to reporters. And then his last thing he said was now he wants to change the name of Lake Ontario to the Lake of America.

I should note, Lake Ontario is actually bordered by both Canada and the U.S. And as you both mentioned, this is not something Trump can unilaterally do. Sure, he can try to have Americans refer to it as the Lake of America, but it's not something that Canada has to go along with.

I want you to listen though, to what he said about this new measure that he put forward today.

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DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: -- the lake change, Lake of America was something I've been thinking about for a long time, actually. As you know, we took something called the Gulf of Mexico, we changed it, and now it is very routinely the Gulf of America.

So if you think about it, we have a gulf and we have a lake, now all we need is an ocean. So maybe we'll have to change the name of the Atlantic and/or the Pacific, maybe we'll change them both.

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TREENE: You can see the president really enjoying that taunting as well, that perhaps now the U.S. needs to name an ocean.

Look, I will say one of the interesting questions just to follow up on all of this was from our colleague, Kristen Holmes, who asked the president about some Republicans who are concerned about the new reopening of a trade war, particularly with one of America's closest allies of the past, their northern neighbor, Canada.

Their concerns about this impacting in a negative way the affordability issue, which of course is one of the key concerns voters have ahead of the November midterm elections. The president kind of dismissed it and he argued, ultimately, it's going to be very good for us. That was a quote from him referencing the new tariffs that have been placed on Canada and the retaliatory tariffs we're seeing from them.

All to say he touched on a number of issues, but this was something he has been thinking about, the name change for some time, moving ahead with it as he continues to really try to criticize Canada as much as possible and show this aggression in this way.

SANCHEZ: Alayna Treene, live for us of the White House, thank you so much.

With us now is former Trump administration official, Matt Mowers. We're also joined by Rob Flaherty, Deputy Campaign Manager for Vice President Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign. Matt, I want to start with you.

Other than a distraction, what does this do for negotiations between the U.S. and Canada?

MATT MOWERS, FORMER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Don't forget that Donald Trump is the brander in chief, right? I mean, he has often used branding to draw attention to a larger issue.

[14:05:00]

You know, the administration has been looking to renegotiate a trade agreement with Canada ever since they've been expressing displeasure with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada agreement. You know, I was in the first Trump administration at the State Department when that agreement was negotiated. It made progress, but it didn't go necessarily far enough.

You have a lot of American manufacturers, whether it's in steel, whether it's in aluminum, even dairy producers who don't have access to Canadian markets, who are deeply concerned about that trade imbalance. And so there are things that need to happen. And look, the president's going to do whatever it takes to dial up the rhetoric and the, you know, political capital in order to try to push something over the finish line there.

KEILAR: I do wonder, Rob, if Americans are paying more to blow their nose for tissues. We were just talking about this. Paper products affected, you know, the car industry affected here, fertilizer affected here -- the raw materials for it. A lot of raw materials coming from Canada into the U.S. Down coats, as we look to buy new jackets for our kids, we're going into that season, right? I mean, how do voters look at this kind of thing?

ROB FLAHERTY, DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER, VP KAMALA HARRIS' 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN: Yeah, listen, it's the art of the deal, baby. You know, Americans get higher prices and a name change that no one's going to listen to except his weirdo super fans. I mean, at the end of the day, you know, while Americans are struggling, they can't afford things, he's focused on stuff like this. I think that does not play well politically.

I think it's a huge advantage for Democrats, the ways in which he has materially made prices go higher and the stuff that he's focusing on that is not fixing that in ways that people can understand.

SANCHEZ: So after Trump suggested renaming the lake earlier this week, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell of Michigan, a Democrat, said, quote, "Let's just call it Lake Natalie so we know you'll start protecting our great lakes." A reference to White House Executive Assistant, Natalie Harp, the president's aide who has been in the headlines lately, who's been frequently attacked by Democrats.

I wonder whether you think that messaging needs to change, whether it should sound more like what you just said a moment ago about affordability.

FLAHERTY: Yeah, listen, obviously, the fact that a lot of intelligence, foreign leader conversations are routing through, you know, a person who may not have even had a security clearance, that is concerning. But really, this election is going to be about what people are feeling when they go to the grocery store and they go to the gas pump.

And so that's what people are hearing about. And that's what they're thinking about. And I think that's where Democrats should be focused.

KEILAR: What do you think? Because when the president is trying to tell Americans that America doesn't need Canada, and it's actually very clear economically that America, these are -- these are just very linked to obviously, both paying the price on products that they normally enjoy. I mean, how do Republicans approach that in a midterm election?

MOWERS: Well, we still have a $50 billion trade imbalance on manufacturing with Canada. And that's what the president's ultimately trying to address. And so if you're a, you know, a dairy farmer in Wisconsin, or if you are a steel fabricator in New Hampshire, like folks I know, this is of great importance, a great issue to you because you don't have the same type of fair and equitable treatment in Canada necessarily and market access that you do. That's what the administration is trying to get to the root and cause that.

Now look, they've got to balance those concerns and those needs for our manufacturing base, our agricultural base with those of consumers. And that's what they've been working, that fine line they've been trying to walk. Unfortunately, the Canadians, based on reporting, kind of walked away from the latest set of negotiations. And that's why the administration is now dialing up the rhetoric to try to bring them back and try to get something done.

SANCHEZ: There were some demands that the Canadians found insulting. They feel as President Trump is trying to treat them as sort of a vassal state, as less than a sovereign country. I want to talk about domestic politics, specifically Texas, where President Trump said he is headed later today. He's trying to boost Ken Paxton in a race that Republicans outside of the administration warned President Trump would be needlessly competitive had he backed John Cornyn. How are you feeling about this race now as we get closer to the midterms? And it seems like Paxton, at least in terms of fundraising, is lagging behind James Talarico.

MOWERS: Well, the Republicans need to focus on Texas and they are focusing on Texas. But the difference is Ken Paxton has a resource problem and James Talarico has a record problem. And one is fixable and one isn't. At the end of the day, there's going to be plenty of money for Ken Paxton. He's been getting outspent dramatically the last several weeks by James Talarico. But that amount of money can introduce James Talarico to voters, but it's not going to be able to actually hide the entire rhetoric that he had been utilizing previously. Everything he had been talking about on issues around trans issues, everything he had been talking about aligning closer with the progressive left, that's not going to sell for Texan voters.

I mean, say what you want about Ken Paxton, he's been elected statewide three times. He just won a primary by 27 points. The folks in Texas know him. I think he's going to win pretty convincingly on Election Day at the end of the day. He just needs some resources to get there. I'm confident he will.

KEILAR: The polls are close, right? Too close for comfort, though, if you're Ken Paxton. On the flip side of that, when you talk about Democrats trying to win a Senate seat in Texas, it often looks like someone chasing a rainbow, right? And I wonder, there's no pot of gold at the end, it turns out, right? That's what we saw.

[14:10:00]

Beto O'Rourke came not too far away. I mean, that was the closest, but in the end, like, Democrats can't get there in general. So do you see this differently? What do you think?

(CROSSTALK)

MOWERS: I'll put it in a better way (ph).

FLAHERTY: Yeah, I was going to say. Well, listen, here's what I'd say. This race is incredibly close. The polling indicating that it's good for Talarico. I think there's something that he is speaking to that is resonating with voters and you want to talk about a record problem. I think Ken Paxton's record problem is significant.

I mean he's a philandering crook and so at the end of the day, voters don't like that and you compare that or you add that to the fact that the midterm electorate is so favorable for Democrats, you know, it does seem like there's something that we can make happen here.

KEILAR: But this is Texas. Why is it different, do you think?

FLAHERTY: Yeah, I mean I think part of it is because of Ken Paxton's record. I mean a part of it is because of who he is much as who Talarico is. But even if we force Republicans to spend a lot of money in a state that they shouldn't have to be spending money on, that's a win. It just happens to be that, you know, the polling indicates that we might be able to win this.

MOWERS: I'll just say right now, Democrats are the ones wasting a lot of money in Texas, so I'm happy to see them spend it there and on states like Michigan, as well as maybe, you know, Ohio, New Hampshire and other states that are possible good Republican wins.

I will say the one big difference, James Talarico's liberal record from when he was a state representative has never stood up or been tested statewide. Ken Paxton's record is well known by everyone in Texas. He's won anyway.

SANCHEZ: Last word, Rob.

FLAHERTY: Listen, I will -- I will -- I hope that Republicans spend a lot of time talking about who Ken Paxton is and I hope Donald Trump spends a lot of time reminding voters just how much they are -- these Republicans are supporting him and that he goes state to state and tells people about that.

KEILAR: Rob Flaherty and Matt Mowers, thank you so much to both of you.

Still to come, a mother accused of intentionally killing her three children, now waiting to learn her fate. The jury is currently deliberating. They just got started on this. We're watching closely for a verdict in the Lindsey Clancy trial.

SANCHEZ: Plus, the Trump administration still hoping to get the president's name on the Kennedy Center or possibly to demolish the historic building completely. We've got new reporting on those efforts. That and much more coming up on "CNN News Central."

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KEILAR: We're following Breaking News. The judge in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial has now turned the case over to the jury. The panel of nine women and three men has been deliberating for just under two hours. Our team inside the courtroom says that during closing arguments, they saw a woman on the jury wiping her eyes. They also observed a male juror yawn during the prosecution's closing argument.

Lindsay Clancy is charged with three counts of first-degree murder after she killed her three young children at their home and then attempted to take her own life. The former labor and delivery nurse's mental health has been a central issue throughout this entire trial. Her defense claims she was experiencing postpartum psychosis, that she had been overmedicated leading up to that tragic day.

The prosecution has pushed back on that narrative, claiming Clancy could distinguish between right and wrong when she strangled her kids.

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KEVIN REDDINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: How does this turn into this? How? Because of the damn medicine and the lousy medical care that she got.

SHANAN BUCKINGHAM, ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: She had more access to treatment and care and support than a lot of people do. This wasn't a woman suffering from a lack of care, a lack of resources. She had an abundance of help, an abundance of care. She had all of that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We're joined now by Dr. Sheila Shanmugan, who is a Reproductive Psychiatrist and Director of Research at the Penn Center for Women's Behavioral Wellness. Thank you so much for being with us. I know you've been paying attention to this.

In their closing argument, the prosecution said the failure of Clancy's suicide attempt shows there was no voice in her head. Quote, "if this voice is making her do it, she would just do it. There would be no fight. There would be no struggle. There would be no resistance to dying." How do you hear that? I mean, what's your reaction to that?

DR. SHEILA SHANMUGAN, REPRODUCTIVE PSYCHIATRIST, PENN MEDICINE: So thanks so much for having me. My reaction to that is I don't completely understand it. It seems like sort of an argument made after the fact. Someone is jumping out of a window, and it's obviously not an attempt that someone would make if they weren't trying to hurt themselves.

So I'm a little confused by it. I think she's obviously suffered permanent injury from it. So it's not the typical thing that you would think with if they weren't trying to kill themselves.

KEILAR: The prosecution says her medical providers could only treat Clancy based on her self-reported condition and that she wasn't always honest. The prosecution claims Lindsay didn't tell any of her health care providers of her thoughts to harm her children because they're mandated reporters and the police might take away her kids.

She did tell her husband. She told her mom. You know, what do you think about that argument?

SHANMUGAN: It's understandable from both sides. So clinicians can only do so much. If they're not given the information, how are they able to make an appropriate diagnosis and treatment plan?

[14:20:00]

On the other hand, we do see this a lot where patients are more hesitant to disclose some of these symptoms, where they think that they're going to be reported or their kids are going to be taken away, or it's going to be starting some sort of legal battle, and so I do get that. What I do think is that this really calls for more research into biomarkers in psychiatry. Right now, it's all based on clinical judgment. What does the patient tell us? What is our interpretation of what the patient is telling us and that's how we come up with our diagnosis and treatment. We really need things like lab work, MRI.

KEILAR: Sorry, go on. The lab work and MRIs, I didn't mean to interrupt you there.

SHANMUGAN: Oh no, no, no, you're good. Yeah, I really think in psychiatry, we need to be doing more research to have objective markers of what psychiatric conditions are. I want to be able to see a patient in my clinic, order a lab, order an MRI, have that confirm the diagnosis and I really think that's the next step in psychiatry and can help with trying to disentangle some of this ambiguity that we have right now.

KEILAR: As you heard some of this testimony and you were paying attention to it from the perspective of someone who provides psychiatric care to patients, were you seeing missed opportunities on the part of professionals? Were you seeing where they weren't perhaps seeing the entire picture, they're just kind of getting part of the elephant in a way? How are you viewing that in this trial?

SHANMUGAN: I do think that that's a significant part of what happened, right? So seeing different health care providers and different health systems where the medical records are all completely separate. Each provider gets a glimpse of what's going on but doesn't really get the full picture and I think that can definitely contribute to not reaching the accurate diagnosis, particularly when you don't have some sort of lab or MRI.

You're really relying on seeing this patient over time. How does it change? How does their mental status look day to day, week to week when you see them? And if you see a different provider every time, that's going to be hard to track over time.

KEILAR: This is a trial that has caused a considerable amount of conversation around postpartum psychosis, postpartum health. For people out there who, you know, at some point in the future, they may be experiencing issues themselves or people around them, is there a particular symptom that should be the ringing bell, like the red flag, when it comes to knowing that something is an emergency or not in a situation of postpartum mental health?

SHANMUGAN: Yes, I think there are actually two. So one of the earliest signs you typically see with something like postpartum psychosis is this severe persistent insomnia and of course, lack of sleep, sleep deprivation, super common in the postpartum. But normally, that's because mom is trying to be awake to take care of baby and she's usually pretty tired, if not completely exhausted.

And the difference with postpartum psychosis is that this insomnia is not related to taking care of baby and she's not tired. So if you have that combination of symptoms, so not sleeping and not tired, that's an early sign that something is wrong.

But then one thing about postpartum psychosis that's a little bit different than other types of conditions where you see psychosis is they have this confusion, disorientation, not really knowing what's going on, not knowing where they are, and it has this waxing and waning component.

So you can have these periods of confusion and disorientation and then there are periods where you seem almost completely normal. And that's part of what makes it both so hard to recognize and also dangerous. And so I think if you're someone or have a family member in the postpartum period who's experiencing these kinds of periods of fluctuating confusion, disorientation, that's when you really should be a little bit more concerned and seek help.

KEILAR: An important warning for people to heed. Dr. Sheila Shanmugan, thank you so much for being with us.

SHANMUGAN: Thanks so much for having me.

KEILAR: Still to come, rescue efforts underway in Nepal after catastrophic flooding leaves hundreds missing, including dozens of Americans. We have the latest on this tragic disaster next.

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[14:29:20]

SANCHEZ: We're getting some Breaking News in that devastating flood disaster in Nepal and China. Officials right now are warning there is a high risk that a dam created by a landslide yesterday could soon burst and trigger new flooding. Search and rescue operations have been going nonstop to find any survivors trapped in the mud and debris that buried entire villages.

Officials say the fast-flowing onslaught of water killed over 350 people. Another 1,300 are still missing. The U.S. State Department says 90 Americans are among those still unaccounted for.

CNN Meteorologist, Allison Chinchar is with us now. So, Allison, this area is bracing for storms, and it could make the situation, obviously, even worse.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yeah, for multiple different reasons. So let's take a look at the forecast. Again, we haven't really had all that much so far today. A few scattered showers --