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High Risk New Debris Dam Could Burst, Trigger New Flood in Kathmandu, Nepal; Hearing on Bid to Block Trump's Name on Kennedy Center; Two Air Traffic Controllers Left Work Early Before Deadly Collision at LaGuardia Airport; Largest Ever Map of Autism May Hold Clues to New Treatments. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 27, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The 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: Yes, 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 and thunderstorms.

It's really more looking at the forecast. And one of the reasons why that's a concern is so right back here, you can see what looks like a brand new lake that has formed. Now, this had been a river valley prior to the landslide that we had yesterday.

But now you have all of these rocks, boulders, and you can see trees down here that once used to be up on the side of the mountain that fell down when we started getting the shaking and everything moving through. Well, the problem is it's damming up that river, creating the lake. But as that lake begins to fill back up with general flow of the river but also added water from the rain showers that are anticipated, it's going to fill up to the point where it will finally burst through this area that has dammed.

We don't know if that will be a few days from now, a few weeks from now. That's one thing we don't know. And one of the questions related to that is it's going to depend on how much rain we get over the next several days and weeks.

Here's a look at the forecast again. You can see showers not only today into Friday, into Saturday, all of this area could be looking at showers, some of which could be very heavy. So while widespread totals expected about 50 to 100 millimeters, some could get upwards of, say, 150 millimeters.

We're talking four to six inches at that point over the next few days, especially in those higher elevations. This is not uncommon for this area this time of year. We are in the middle of monsoon season.

August is the second rainiest month out of the year. So they normally get rain. It's just it's not going to help with rescue and recovery efforts, not just because it's coming down and it makes it difficult to see when you get heavy showers, but also this area, which is now covered in the mud and debris.

When it dries, it turns into almost like concrete like material. It's very, very strong, stronger than what would just be normal water that would flow through under normal flash flooding circumstances. But it's also very unstable underneath.

And that's what makes it even more dangerous for rescue and recovery crews. For example, you can't exactly land a helicopter on it because it could begin to shift. The helicopters could get stuck.

Same thing for a lot of equipment and vehicles. You know, if you've got other things that are trying to come in, bulldozers, for example, they can get stuck in this type of material, but they can also shift around again because the ground is so unstable. So it's making it very slow for a lot of these crews that are trying to come in for rescue and recovery efforts just because of not just what has been left behind but also knowing that we're going to have more rain showers, some of which could even be thunderstorms.

The lightning and thunder adds another dangerous component to it as well. So this is going to be something we have to keep a close eye on in the coming days and weeks.

SANCHEZ: Many dangerous components at play. Allison Chinchar from the Weather Center, thank you so much.

Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, new details on the administration's threats to completely demolish the Kennedy Center if renovations aren't allowed to go forward.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

[14:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Happening now, a hearing is underway in an effort to keep President Trump's name off of the Kennedy Center. We're waiting to see if a federal judge will grant an emergency order to block the president's plans. Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty of Ohio, who is leading the charge, argues if Trump's name is put back on the building, it would violate a federal law and defy an earlier court ruling.

We're joined now by Dave Aronberg, who is a formerly state attorney in Palm Beach County, Florida. Dave, what are you watching for? Does the congresswoman have a case here?

DAVE ARONBERG, FORMER STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: I think so, Brianna. I think she's going to win. She won before in front of the same judge.

And here you've got to prove the legal standard for an injunction, likelihood of success on the merits, irreparable harm, balance of equities and public interest. All these things are in favor of the request for the injunction because if it's not granted, then the court's original order will be essentially reversed by Donald Trump because the court said it can't put Trump's name on the front portico. And what they're doing is putting Trump's name on the front portico twice, just in a different space than the title.

That, to me, is a blatant violation of the court's order. I think the court is going to rule with Congresswoman Beatty.

KEILAR: OK, so you don't see any distinction of it saying restored and renovated by President Donald J. Trump because it doesn't just say -- it's not just saying his name.

ARONBERG: Right, but, you know, Judge Cooper ruled that the law that created the Kennedy Center designates it as the sole national memorial to President John F. Kennedy. And that means that only Congress has the authority to change its name.

And what the court is going to see this as, as an end around, around his ruling. You know, the board's attempt to brand the plaza and facade is an obvious end run around its ruling. And federal judges who have lifetime appointments and get to wear those cool black robes and carry the gavel, they don't look kindly on parties who use clever relabeling to get around a direct order.

KEILAR: So the administration strategy on some of these projects is sort of, you know, just go ahead and do it, right? And worry about the problems or challenges it causes later. They, you know, demoed the East Wing.

It was gone. And then they started ballroom construction. So the whole thing was gone before really objections could be raised in a fulsome way.

[14:40:00]

How big of a risk is that strategy here since there is a threat to raise the building?

ARONBERG: You bring up an important point, because I've been debating people online. When I say that Trump has no legal authority to demolish the building, they say, yes, well, look what happened to the East Wing. He does it and doesn't matter.

But that's different because this is active litigation. You have a court order in place. With the East Wing, it took everyone by surprise.

When it comes to the Kennedy Center, you have a judge who's involved with this day-to-day litigation. And we've seen that Trump will go up to the line about evading court orders. But right at the point of getting called out for contempt, he pulls back.

And that's why I don't think they're just going to send the demolition trucks in direct contravention of the court's order. But Congresswoman Beatty is so worried about that that she's going back to the court to get an emergency order just to make sure.

KEILAR: So why should people care about this legal fight? You know, if they aren't personally affected by this, I would note there's like a big commute route in D.C. that goes under the Kennedy Center. I would suspect even including members of Trump's cabinet who use it.

Why should people care about these construction projects in D.C.?

ARONBERG: It's about separation of powers. I mean, do we have three co-equal branches of government? Does Congress still exist? Or can the executive branches do things that they're not supposed to do because might makes right?

I mean, when it comes to the Kennedy Board, it's a statutory trustee of public property. It does not own the land or the building. It has zero statutory authority to demolish or decommission a congressionally created national monument.

Only Congress can repeal or fundamentally alter that statutory mandate and be destroying the Kennedy Center would be like destroying the Lincoln Memorial. You just can't do it just because the president gives it the OK.

KEILAR: Dave Aronberg, thank you so much for being with us to talk about this.

Next, we do have some breaking news. CNN has just learned that two air traffic controllers left work early on the night that a deadly crash occurred at New York's LaGuardia Airport.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Mexican officials say a five-year-old boy and his father, who were detained by ICE last week, have now been sent back to Mexico. A family spokesperson tells CNN that Victor Martinez Nieto and his son, Liam, were on their way to a soccer game in Austin, Texas when they were taken into custody.

The Department of Homeland Security says Liam and his father have been living illegally in the U.S. since 2022.

Also in the coming weeks, the USS Theodore Roosevelt is expected to set sail for the Middle East. Top Navy officials say the deployment will last at least seven months. The Roosevelt is expected to relieve the USS George Washington, which arrived in the region last week, to take over for the USS Abraham Lincoln after its lengthy deployment raised concerns about the mental health of sailors on board.

And CNN has obtained audio of the moment a Delta pilot told air traffic control mid-flight he needed to land because someone on board was sick. The sick person?

Just listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PILOT: This is the captain. I'm the one that's ill. I'm going to taxi the jet to the gate, and then I need to go to the hospital.

AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLER: Roger.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: The plane was heading from Los Angeles to Boston when the pilot said he was ill and asked to land. The flight wound up being diverted to Detroit Metro Airport, where it landed safely late Tuesday afternoon. The pilot was able to get off, and the flight re-crewed before making its way to Boston.

The pilot's condition at this time remains unclear -- Brianna.

KEILAR: We do have some breaking news in the investigation into that deadly crash between an Air Canada jet and a fire truck at LaGuardia Airport back in March. Two pilots were killed, 43 people were injured in this collision, and air traffic control audio revealed both the jet and Port Authority fire truck had been cleared to be on the same runway.

CNN Aviation correspondent Pete Muntean is with us now on this. What are you learning?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have just confirmed these new developments first reported by The Wall Street Journal, and they are huge because the NTSB said shortly after the crash that the LaGuardia Tower was fully staffed at the time. Now CNN has confirmed that two air traffic controllers had left the LaGuardia Tower early the night of March 22, and now the FAA is considering disciplinary action. A source familiar with the investigation tells me these controllers did not leave early by just a few minutes.

Both are now on leave and are currently not controlling traffic. But these are major new developments because the air traffic control audio captured a controller in the LaGuardia Tower urgently trying to stop an airport fire truck that pulled out in front of Air Canada Express 8646 as it was landing. Remember, the fire truck had been responding to an earlier incident on another part of the airport, was crossing the runway to go back to the airport firehouse.

Two of the plane's pilots were killed. Dozens more on the flight were injured. Now we don't know exactly how the controllers leaving early fits into the sequence of events that led to this collision.

It's not clear if the NTSB ultimately determines if this played any role, but we do know that the FAA is coming down very hard on this. And here is the new statement from the FAA. The FAA is quote, "committed to holding employees accountable, and we will not compromise the safety or efficiency of the National Airspace system."

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy also weighing in here with a statement saying, "We will not tolerate fraud, and we're taking appropriate action to hold folks accountable and prevent unlawful practices from disrupting the traveling public."

[14:50:00]

The union that represents controllers says it's discussing these allegations with FAA leadership. One more important note here. The NTSB investigation is still going on, and a final report and a finding of probable cause not due out for another six months.

The FAA and the union are both considered party to this investigation. That means they're typically not allowed to comment publicly as this investigation is going on, which makes these new details even more extraordinary.

KEILAR: And there was also no transponder on the fire truck. That was an issue. I think maybe people who don't realize how these things work, it's important for them to know that in a lot of cases on ground vehicles, there are transponders so that air traffic control knows where they are.

MUNTEAN: Oftentimes, yes. And the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has said they will retrofit their trucks. By the way, it's not an inexpensive thing to buy one of these trucks.

And this is a relatively inexpensive option to tack on when you buy one of these new. And these trucks weren't all that old, which makes that finding all the more interesting. The big thing here, though, is that there is a major chain in an accident like this, and there are often contributing factors.

And so we will see where this new finding about air traffic controllers leaving the tower early fits into the rich tapestry that's ultimately the final probable cause that the NTSB puts out. And whether or not this was a contributing factor, of course, they have already come down pretty hard on the fact that there was no transponder on the truck at the time, essentially cutting the controllers out of the loop other than by using their eyeballs.

If they had more technology, if they had more fidelity into what was taking place in front of them, the question is, could they have potentially been able to stop this? And investigators seem like they're leaning towards yes.

KEILAR: That is sad. Pete, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

Still ahead, how artificial intelligence and tiny lab grown brains are bringing scientists one step closer to figuring out how autism develops.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Scientists are taking another step closer to understanding exactly how autism develops in the brain, and this could pave the way for the development of aggressive treatments. In a new study, they've created the largest map to date of certain pathways in the brain that may drive autism. CNN Health reporter Jacqueline Howard is here with more on this.

All right, Jacqueline, how was this done?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: It was really fascinating, Brianna. Researchers used AI and they studied tiny lab-grown brains called organoids, and to build this map, what the researchers did, they really zeroed in on how certain genetic mutations that we know are associated with autism can rewire the brain and influence how proteins in the brain interact with each other. So on this map, researchers mapped out 1,800 protein interactions in the brain that they tied back to autism, and 87 percent of those interactions had never been seen before.

That's why this is a big deal. And the researchers say in the future, this map could help inform the development of treatments if those treatments target those protein interactions on the map. And when I say treatments, Brianna, this is in reference to potentially treatments for profound autism.

So we're talking about the most severe type of autism where people may need 24-hour care. That's also why this is a major, major deal. This map can help develop and drive that type of research -- Brianna.

KEILAR: So obviously developing these treatments or drugs will take some time, but how hopeful are scientists about this work?

HOWARD: You make a good point. It can take years to develop a treatment, but researchers are so hopeful that the scientists who built this map, they told me, Brianna, that they're already looking into development programs based on their work. And advocacy groups also told me that they're excited about this and the potential here. But I spoke with the president of the Autism Science Foundation, Alison Singer, and she told me that while she's excited, she also hopes that this will encourage the administration to look into and invest in this type of research. Because we know the second Trump administration has turned a spotlight on autism, and she said that she hopes they don't redirect funding or investments away from this research and instead focus on this type of research. She told me in an email, quote, "Redirecting limited federal research investments away from the strongest biological evidence will slow scientific progress precisely when these types of unprecedented opportunities for therapeutic development are emerging," end quote.

So, Brianna, she really says this type of research can drive the potential advancement of therapies in the future.

KEILAR: All right, Jacqueline, thank you so much for that report.

And just into CNN, Tropical Storm Dolly has formed in the Atlantic. There are currently no coastal watches or warnings in effect, but National Hurricane Center forecasters have advised people in the Leeward Islands to monitor the storm's progress.

On Sunday and Monday, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Hispaniola could also be affected by heavy rain. The National Hurricane Center says the storm is not named after Dolly Parton, despite this coincidence. Storm names are selected well in advance.

They are not chosen to be named for specific people.

And a new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

END