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Source: Trump Discussed NATO Like Security Deal Guarantees For Ukraine In Event Of Peace Deal; Hurricane Erin Quickly Grows Into A Category 5 Storm; California Democrats Ready For Redistricting To Counter Texas; Russian Foreign Minister Wears Sweatshirt With "USSR" In Cyrillic; Russian Media Hails Alaska Summit; Govt Orders Air Canada Flight Attendants Back to Work; Vigil For Man Killed On Freeway Fleeing ICE Agents In L.A. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired August 16, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:35]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN HOST: Good to see you all. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM, everyone. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

New tonight, Russian President Vladimir Putin laying out his demands for land swaps with Ukraine, at least according to European officials familiar with Trump's accounting of his high stakes summit with Putin. Trump reportedly telling his European counterparts that Russia wants the entire Donbas region in exchange for freezing the current front lines in the rest of Ukraine.

Now, Putin also said he would promise not to attack Ukraine or other European nations again, the official said.

Now trump is set to meet with Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C. on Monday. Ahead of that meeting, I want to bring in CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak, who joins us now.

So, Kevin, what else do we know about what President Trump told European leaders following his meeting with Putin?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, one of the big points of discussion was this idea of security guarantees for Ukraine, and that's something that the Europeans and the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are very interested in hearing about.

They have said that it is a necessity of any final peace agreement, that there is some sort of backing to assure that once the war ends, Vladimir Putin isn't able to regroup and go after the rest of Ukraine after a few years. And in this conversation, the President, according to European officials, did sound open to the idea of providing some sort of U.S. guarantee going forward.

What precisely that looks like, I think, remains a little unclear. And in fact, President Trump has ruled out certain factors. For example, he says that Ukraine shouldn't be allowed to join NATO. He said that that is something of a nonstarter, and he said that the Europeans will have to take the lead in guaranteeing Ukrainian security going forward, that the onus will be on them to, for example, provide troops that would go into Ukraine and prevent Russia from further invasion.

But he does sound open to, for example, financial assistance, military assistance outside of the country going forward. And so we will have to wait and see what more we learn about that.

One idea that he has appeared open to, and this is a measure that has been raised by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, is the idea of a NATO-like assurance for Ukraine, essentially some kind of collective defense agreement that would stop short of full NATO membership, that's something Trump has ruled out, but would provide some kind of pact that would allow other nations, sort of a coalition to protect Ukraine if Vladimir Putin does go ahead and try and invade further.

And so that was something I think provided a hopeful aspect of President Trump's viewpoint in all of this, amid some negative reports from the President about what Putin is thinking about in terms of land concessions and the view among Europeans is essentially that Trump is trying to put together the puzzle pieces here.

If Zelenskyy is, you know, thinks that these concessions in some ways are a nonstarter, that perhaps these security guarantees could make him more willing to agree to a peace deal once the negotiations begin.

JIMENEZ: And, Kevin, you know, Fox News is also reporting that President Trump hand-delivered a letter from Melania Trump to Putin. What more do we know about this? What did this letter say?

LIPTAK: Yes, and it is interesting because Melania Trump, of course, she was born behind the iron curtain in the former Yugoslavia, now Slovenia. And she does seem to have a viewpoint about this particular issue of children in Ukraine.

And remember, Russia has been accused of abducting thousands of children from Ukraine. This is the basis of the warrant that's out for Vladimir Putin's arrest from the International Criminal Court.

In this letter that she has written, she doesn't reference that issue specifically, but she talks about some of the plight that the children are facing and some pretty dire circumstances. And she says, addressing the Russian President directly, that Mr. Putin, you can single handedly restore their melodic laughter. She goes on to say, in protecting the innocence of these children, you will do more than serve Russia alone, you serve humanity itself.

Such a bold idea transcends all human division. And you, Mr. Putin, are fit to implement this vision with a stroke of the pen today. It is time.

And so I think really trying to instill in Putin from not necessarily a counterpart, but someone who has an interest and a viewpoint in all of this, and trying to instill in him the importance of bringing peace to this country without any specific details, but certainly an impassioned plea from the First Lady.

[18:05:24] JIMENEZ: Kevin Liptak at The White House, appreciate the reporting, as

always.

We are joined now by "New York Times" opinion columnist, M. Gessen, who wrote the book "The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin." And I want to read something you wrote earlier this week: "Donald Trump wants the war in Ukraine to end, Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants the war in Ukraine to end, many other Presidents and Prime Ministers want the war to end. Vladimir Putin is not one of those Presidents. The war in Ukraine has become the political, psychological and economic center of Putin's regime."

From what you've seen in the last 24 hours, do you believe that's still the case or has anything changed?

M. GESSEN, OPINION EDITOR, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": I do believe that's still the case, and that gives him an infinite upper hand in all negotiations. Everyone else is, at least to some extent, motivated to try to end the war in Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, because people are dying; Donald Trump because he wants the Nobel Peace Prize; and the Europeans because they are terrified.

And Vladimir Putin is the only one who just wants the negotiation. He wants to show that he got in Alaska, the red carpet, the limo ride, the two presidents standing side by side. He got to give an eight- minute speech on how bilateral relations are being restored with just barely a mention of Ukraine, and that's exactly what he wanted.

JIMENEZ: You know, some people looked at this summit and said, okay, immediate results or not, if so much is riding on this war for Putin, maybe this was -- and for President Trump, I guess in this case -- this is a first step, I guess in the beginning of a process.

From your perspective, what can Trump do actually to make progress here on the Russian front, on the Putin front, in a way that actually is actionable for either the United States European allies or Ukraine?

GESSEN: There is only one thing that can force Putin to negotiate, and that is the threat of military defeat, and this round of talks took us further from that threat, not closer to that threat.

Basically, for the entire three-and-a-half years of this war, the United States and NATO countries have aided Ukraine in enabling it to keep the war going, but never in creating the possibility that Ukraine would actually defeat Russia in this war. That would require an entirely different level of help and require actual military help, not just sending arms with all kinds of restrictions on them.

And so, now we have Trump doing Putin's bidding, talking to Europeans about possibly talking Ukraine into surrendering territory that Russia does not actually occupy. You know, that's places where people live, that's handing those people over to an indicted war criminal. That's what the United States is now proposing to the rest of the world.

And so we are moving farther away from any kind of solution. JIMENEZ: Sorry, I didn't mean to cut you off there, a little bit of a

delay, but we are getting this just in to CNN that a White House official is telling CNN that multiple European leaders have now been invited to President Trump's meeting with Ukrainian President Zelenskyy in the Oval Office on Monday.

Do you think that will change the dynamics -- I mean, certainly from the last Oval Office meeting we saw, but I guess what do you think the change in dynamic will be having those European leaders there alongside President Zelenskyy?

GESSEN: Well, I think that this is long overdue. I am not going to make predictions. That is the curse of our profession. But I will certainly be watching.

JIMENEZ: You don't say. No, no, no. Continue. Sorry. I was just say I was making a joke.

GESSEN: No, no, I was saying that I am going to be watching on Monday. I mean, this is something that should have happened a long time ago. There should be no negotiations about Ukraine without Ukraine, and there should be no negotiations about Ukraine without the Europeans, because really, Putin's war, you know, it is on (AUDIO GAP) if Ukraine loses this war, all of Europe is threatened, so of course, the Europeans need to be included.

JIMENEZ: And M, I think we lost your visual there, but I could still hear you. So I am just going to ask this question. If I can hear a response, I am going to take it as you're still here.

GESSEN: Yes. I am still here.

JIMENEZ: All right, there you go.

You also wrote about how sanctions are not necessarily an effective method for dealing with Putin. I know you talked about, I guess the only thing that moves him is military defeat.

[16:10:10]

But can you just walk us through what you believe the United States' options are here if sanctions wouldn't work. Is it secondary tariffs? What do you see as the U.S.' options here.

GESSEN: Secondary tariffs are sanctions by another name, right, and sanctions don't work because they're based on a very faulty theory that popular unrest will result if people are immiserated economically or that the elites will rise up if the pie gets smaller. None of that works because then the elites just fight each other harder for the share of the pie, and in a totalitarian state, people do not rise up.

The only way to get Putin to negotiate is to threaten military defeat and that means actually aiding Ukraine, possibly with boots on the ground. The United States has always had the military capability to bring Putin to his knees on the battlefield, and it has chosen not to do that. JIMENEZ: M. Gessen, appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for

being here.

GESSEN: Thank you for having me.

JIMENEZ: All right, when we come back, efforts to reshape who controls Congress. We are taking to the maps now spreading to California as both parties do whatever they can to gain or keep control after next year's midterms. We will bring you into the battle coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:10]

JIMENEZ: We are tracking Hurricane Erin in the Atlantic, where the storm has intensified to a rare Category 5 with 160 mile per hour winds. Erin is now one of the fastest strengthening Atlantic hurricanes on record and is incredibly rare for a storm earlier than September.

Now, this video shows the eye of the hurricane, it is always fascinating to look at as the hurricane hunters gathered weather data on the storm yesterday. And then, we want to show you some video of Hurricane Erin today as it became a Category 5 storm. Look at that eye there.

As we've talked about, yes, the storm has strengthened significantly, the hurricane has, but it is expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents along the beaches of the Bahamas, much of the U.S. East Coast and Canadian coastline next week. You can see some of the path here according to the National Hurricane Center, not forecast to hit the United States, but again, still a threat of those currents to keep an eye out for.

All right, to -- let's just call it a political storm. Texas Republicans are not stopping their push to get congressional lines redrawn in their favor ahead of the 2026 midterms, as California is now fighting back. It has become a battle between the nation's two most populous states.

Democrats in California, led by Governor Gavin Newsom are unveiling a new map that would strip republicans of five of the nine seats they currently hold in the deep blue state, which would offset any potential changes in Texas, which are forecast to get five more GOP seats. The political makeup shifts in ratings shown on this map. You can see the current districts and proposed districts, but the political makeup shifts in ratings are based on one analysis of the proposal shared with state lawmakers and obtained by CNN.

I want to bring in CNN's Julia Vargas Jones, who joins us now.

So, Julia, what is the latest that we are hearing about? I mean, what is expected to be a fight here to bolster Democratic ranks in Congress?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you put it right, it is a political storm, Omar and Democrats are defending this staunchly. They are saying that, yes, this is a retaliation to what is happening in Texas, but at the same time, they are saying that here in California, the map will allow for more compact districts, that it will fix some of those cities that were split in half and they are saying that this will be better for voters.

But unlike Texas, where that GOP can pass new maps as soon as those Democrats come back to Austin, here, voters will have a say. They will need to get the approval of voters in November at a referendum. But Republicans in California, they're saying that their already not accepting this and they will put up a fight, particularly, of course, those five Congress members who are risking losing their seats. They are saying that this is a partisan effort, and it is an attempt from Governor Gavin Newsom to raise his profile for a potential presidential run.

One of these, Doug Lamalfa of the first district of California, slammed the proposal on X. He called it, "How on earth does Modoc County in Nevada, in the Oregon border, have any common interest in Marin County and the Golden Gate Bridge? This is naked politics at its worst."

All of this for just five seats of more than 400, Omar, but the majority in D.C. is so thin that these seats in California, they will matter. President Trump has made it so clear that he wants to do more. He wants to enact more legislative wins for his agenda, and he will need that majority to do so.

JIMENEZ: And we will see where the GOP efforts go beyond Texas as California puts this map forward and as Republicans explore other states to potentially launch a similar effort.

Julia Vargas Jones, appreciate the reporting, as always.

When we come back, we are going to talk with a presidential historian to get a little context on the significance of Friday's Summit between President Trump and Putin. The latest chapter in a relationship that's often defied what's been considered the norm. Well talk about it, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [18:24:41]

JIMENEZ: CNN is learning multiple European leaders have been invited to the White House for a Monday meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That meeting, happening after President Trump welcomed Russian President Vladimir Putin onto U.S. soil yesterday for the first time in a decade and it was the seventh face-to-face meeting between the two leaders, but the optics were significantly different this time around.

I want to bring in CNN presidential historian, Tim Naftali.

So, Tim, let's talk about the significance of this Summit. I mean, for one, Putin has met with other U.S. presidents from Clinton to Obama and Trump several times during his first term. How was this summit different -- was it different in your eyes?

[16:25:25]

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, it was very different because unlike previous Summits, which were designed to address primarily bilateral issues between the United States and Russia, this Summit ostensibly was set up in order to move forward President Trump's effort as a mediator to end the war in Ukraine.

So it was different and for that reason, the way in which we should assess success or failure is different from previous efforts at U.S.- Soviet Summitry.

Let me give you an example. In past efforts, the United States might have been seeking to improve relations with the Russians or the Soviets by finding concessions that the United States would make that were consistent with American interests.

In the case of President Trump, he was thinking about concessions that another country, Ukraine, could make. There weren't any concessions by the United States. So the whole nature of the discussion was different.

I want to mention one other thing since we are discussing history, two American presidents have won Nobel Peace Prizes for their efforts at mediation: Theodore Roosevelt in 1905, and then Jimmy Carter, he won it for a number of reasons, but primarily because of the role he played in the Camp David Accords of 1978.

Both Theodore Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter were successful because they could put themselves in the shoes of both sides. They coaxed both antagonists into concessions so that what emerged was not a capitulation by either side, but a true peace, an honorable peace.

What we saw yesterday was, and more even today, discussion of concessions by primarily one side. It is not clear that Vladimir Putin has been asked by our government to concede anything, whereas all of the pressure will be on Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday to provide concessions to seek and achieve a peace accord.

So again, the nature of these discussions are historically different from efforts at presidential mediation in the past. And of course, they are different from bilateral discussions between American presidents and Kremlin leaders.

JIMENEZ: You know, one of the things that was interesting, a lot of people pointed out in the lead up to the start of this summit was Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was seen arriving in Alaska in the morning wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with "USSR." And can you just explain the significance of this? And do you believe this was sending a message?

NAFTALI: Yes, yes. President Putin has been crystal clear about his strategy. He is trying to reconstitute a sphere of influence. He is not going to recreate the USSR, he certainly doesn't want a command economy, but what he wants is he wants the neighbors of Russia to be as subservient to the Kremlin as they were in the Cold War. And he doesn't want Ukraine to have freedom of movement.

His pressures on Ukraine really started when the Ukrainian people overthrew a corrupt pro-Russian government and installed a Democratic administration that was thinking of Ukraine first.

So the fact that the Soviet Foreign Minister, who is a longtime Foreign Minister, was wearing the SSR or CCP, was a way of saying we are back and the United States, throughout the Cold War and well into the post-Cold War period, stood up for the rights and obligations of the free world.

The U.S. was against territorial expansion and imperialism, whether it was Soviet or Russian. By not pushing back against Putin yesterday, our President at least has given the initial signal that the United States' position about imperialism is changing and that the United States no longer sees itself as the defender of those countries that are threatened by imperialists.

So when Lavrov wears his imperialist jersey, he wears it proudly because he probably thinks the United States isn't going to push back anymore.

JIMENEZ: And you know, when you think about the optics, if we want to dive deeper into that, look, this is a situation where there literally is a red carpet rolled out. Yes. You know, you're trying to negotiate with the other side, but you've got fighter jets, B-2 bombers flying overhead. You have Vladimir Putin in front of the press.

Were the optics of this meeting alone a win for President Putin? And why would that be relevant to someone like him?

[18:30:23]

NAFTALI: There is always a balance that you have to strike when you're meeting an aggressive nation with which you want decent relations. You don't necessarily want to be friends. And that balance involves showing respect. But showing respect doesn't require a red carpet. Showing respect doesn't require that you invite them to your home, that you invite them to Alaska, which is part of the United States. There could have been just as easily a meeting in a neutral capital in Europe.

But no, the President of the United States decided to honor President Putin by inviting him to our country. Let's keep in mind who Vladimir Putin is. He is a man who started a war. His forces have kidnapped 19,000 Ukrainian children and only 1,500 or 1,600, according to Yale scholars, have gone back to Ukraine. He is currently occupying a sovereign European country and has no intention of returning that territory back to the Ukrainians. That's who Vladimir Putin is.

As Americans, we have to ask ourselves, is this the person for whom we want to unroll a red carpet? If President Trump had achieved some concessions, gotten some concessions from Putin, it would have been all worth it. Okay, then you could say, showing Putin respect got us something in return. But it looks like the only side that made concessions yesterday was our side. So why the red carpet? JIMENEZ: And Tim, as you've been speaking, we're just - we're putting

up a photo that the White House just put out showing President Trump speaking with Vladimir Putin, pointing to Putin, essentially, chest to chest.

Tim Naftali, really appreciate the time and perspective.

NAFTALI: Yes.

JIMENEZ: I've got to leave the conversation there. But thanks for being here.

NAFTALI: Thanks. Thanks, Omar. My pleasure.

JIMENEZ: All right, of course. Right now, thousands of travelers across North America are stranded tonight after Air Canada canceled all operations. The bitter contract dispute that caused 10,000 flight attendants to walk off the job, we'll bring you the details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:37:16]

JIMENEZ: Right now, more than 10,000 striking flight attendants at Air Canada are being ordered back to work by Canada's jobs minister. But so far, they're still not on the job. The flight attendants walked off the job earlier this morning, bringing Air Canada's fleet to a grinding stop and stranding about 130,000 travelers. I want to bring in CNN's Paula Newton, who joins us live from Ottawa.

Paula, what is the latest on this walkout right now?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The latest, Omar, unfortunately, is that many travelers remain stranded and will be so for the coming days at least. And here's the reason, the flight attendants, even though they've been ordered back to work, they're not actually going back on the job today and perhaps not even tomorrow. And Air Canada has been warning for weeks that once they made this almost complete shutdown of their airline, that in fact, it would take them up to a week to really get capacity back where it was in terms of a normal schedule.

Now, the jobs minister, as you mentioned, really taking what is an extraordinary move, right? Most people want to try and settle these issues, especially these significant issues, not just about higher pay, but the fact that flight attendants, even in the United States, some of them are not paid for the work that they do on either side of a flight, right? They're only paid in some cases when they're in the air. And that has been a key issue of debate among - with Air Canada and its flight attendants union.

But look, the jobs minister saying, we, this economy in Canada, cannot handle this kind of a strike. Listen to her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY HAJDU, CANADIAN MINISTER OF JOBS AND FAMILIES: Canada's economy has seen unprecedented attacks on trade and significant tariff actions. In a year where Canadian businesses and families have faced too much disruption and uncertainty, they shouldn't have to shoulder another blow. We will not leave them behind. This is not a decision that I have taken lightly, but the potential for immediate negative impact on Canadians and our economy is simply too great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: You know, pretty blunt there. And certainly, Omar, a lot of that has come from the recent trade war with the United States. And for that reason, this economy really cannot handle a lot more adversity. I'm sorry. I have a warning for travelers. It is going to continue to be rocky.

If you're traveling Air Canada, in some cases, even if you're not, just if you have a look at the schedules or the prices depending on the route, especially if it's going in and out of Canada, things are not going to get better in the short-term. But hopefully, by the end of next week, things should look a lot better.

JIMENEZ: Such a major impact here.

Paula Newton, really appreciate the reporting.

Still to come for us, the number of ICE deportation flights is surging under Trump 2.0. But keeping track of them is getting harder and harder. CNN's Rene Marsh shows us why just ahead.

[18:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a plane that we've been tracking all morning. This is it. And we just saw, like, more than 30 detainees handcuffed, walk up those steps, and get on board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:44:51]

JIMENEZ: In Southern California, a vigil was held to mourn a man killed on a freeway while running from ICE agents. The National Day Laborer Organizing Network identified the man as 52-year-old Roberto Carlos Montoya Valdez of Guatemala.

Now, Valdez fled as an immigration raid took place at a Home Depot in an L.A. suburb. He ran onto a freeway as federal agents moved in and was hit by an SUV.

Meanwhile, attorneys for the families of migrants who have been taken into custody say it's been difficult to track their loved ones. And an investigation by CNN's Rene Marsh found the companies who operate ICE deportation flights are making it harder to track their path.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: More than 30 migrants, detainees, handcuffed, walk up those steps and get on board. One, two, three, four more detainees. You can tell that their hands are restrained.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (voice over): This is one of about 6,000 ICE flights since President Donald Trump took office. We were able to find this plane here in Richmond, Virginia, but most of them are hidden from the public and operating with little transparency. Virtually every ICE flight carrying detainees blocks their tail numbers from flight tracking web sites, making it nearly impossible for families and advocates to find their loved ones once they're in ICE custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (on camera): This is one of the tail numbers that we think could possibly come here, and right now it's in Youngstown. Oh, look, I think it's taken off because the altitude is increasing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it rising?

MARSH: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (voice over): We studied months of flight paths. Got a tail number and made an educated guess about which flight would arrive in Richmond. Then, using a crowdsourced database that monitors aircraft radio signals, we tracked the suspected flight, revealing every city and state it stopped in within 24 hours.

This is the plane were tracking, a Boeing 737 operated by Eastern Air Express, with the tail number N668CP. It has up to 148 economy seats, a bathroom in the front and the back, but it's unclear how many people are on board this flight or any other ICE flight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tyson 51, continue on.

MARSH: Okay. Tyson 51 is this one right now. That's the call sign that they're using for this flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (voice over): Many ICE flights go by Tyson. The same call sign used to identify Trump's personal plane after he was elected in 2016. Here's the flight path it took on August 6th: Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania to Louisiana, back to Ohio, then New York, picking up and dropping off detainees at every stop. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (on camera): If it's actually coming to Virginia, it should be here very soon.

It's on approach. It's on approach right now. Its altitude is like literally 50 feet so ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. I think over there. Over there. Go, go, go.

MARSH: All right. I think -- I think that might be it. This is the plane. This is the plane that we've been tracking all morning. This is it. And we just saw, like, more than 30 detainees handcuffed, walk up those steps and get on board. There's one, two, three, four more detainees. You can tell that their hands are restrained. Another one. Another. Okay, so they're unloading another vehicle here. Multiple detainees walking up to get on board this Eastern Air Express flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (voice over): The Trump administration has used more than 70 airports across the country for domestic shuttle flights so far. Moving ICE detainees between detention centers before deportation. In the past three months, the number of these flights spiked 90 percent compared to the same time period last year, according to an immigrant rights group. And that trend is expected to continue after the Department of Homeland Security recently earmarked $14.4 billion for ICE flights.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (on camera): We know that the tail number of the flight that we've been tracking today is N668CP. And we want to see if this public tracking site that gets its data and information from the FAA has any record of the flight. Nothing comes up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (voice over): But we were able to track the flight as it made its way back to Alexandria, Louisiana, the busiest hub for ICE deportation flights. At this point in the journey, some of the first detainees on board were possibly on this plane, handcuffed for nearly 10 hours. As this ICE flight completes its 24-hour trip, Louisiana is likely the last stop in the U.S. before the people on board are deported.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH (on camera): Well, the reality is it was not very simple to track this ICE flight. We weren't even sure we had successfully done it until it was coming in for a landing at Richmond's airport. And the point is, these flights really have virtually no eyes on them. Families and advocates have no idea where their loved ones are going once they are in ICE custody.

Now, one of the airlines flying the flights for ICE, Avelo Airlines, told CNN in an email, quote, "flights operated on behalf of the United States government are often unidentified at the government's request."

[18:50:08]

So, we reached out to the Department of Homeland Security. That's the agency that oversees ICE to get a better understanding as to why these flights are blocking their tail numbers. But the agency did not comment.

Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, Rene, thank you for that reporting.

For months, we've heard dire concerns from tech CEOs about the potential impact of A.I. on society. But next, we're going to hear why one tech head is throwing some cold water on those ominous warnings, even calling them absurd. We'll explain coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:55:20]

JIMENEZ: The so-called godfather of A.I., Geoffrey Hinton, the man who helped build artificial intelligence, is warning that technology could wipe out humanity. He's worried that, quote, "tech bros in charge of A.I. are not doing enough to have controls in place."

But earlier this week, he actually revealed a fascinating way he thinks humanity could survive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEOFFREY HINTON, "GODFATHER OF A.I.": I think people have been looking at this all wrong. So, people have been saying because their tech bros, they've been saying we have to stay in control of these A.I.s. We've somehow got to be stronger than them. We've got to be dominant and they've got to be submissive.

That's not going to work. They're going to be much smarter than us. They're going to have all sorts of ways of getting around that.

So, we need to reframe this problem. It's not that we have to be stronger than them in staying control of them. We have to make it so that when they are more powerful than us and smarter than us, they still care about us.

So, the right model is the only model we have of a more intelligent thing being controlled by a less intelligent thing, which is a mother being controlled by her baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Hey, maybe it's a mother's love A.I. needs. That's right, A.I. moms, robots built with maternal instincts. And Hinton says researchers should start working on this as soon as possible. Hey, I'll take whatever we can get.

But not everyone is so worried about artificial intelligence. One prominent tech executive is actually pushing back on warnings that AI could take over millions of entry-level jobs, leaving humans on the sidelines. CNN's Matt Egan explains why this tech leader isn't really losing any sleep over the doomsday scenarios.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Yes. Omar, here is a tech leader rejecting some of those doomsday warnings about A.I. and jobs. I asked Jeetu Patel, the president of Cisco, to respond to this argument from the CEO of Anthropic that eventually A.I. could wipe out a big chunk of entry-level jobs and spike unemployment. And even though Cisco has invested in Anthropic, Patel, he pushed back pretty strong. He said that it would be just a terrible strategy for companies adopting A.I. to stop hiring entry-level workers. And that's because, he said, they really benefit from the perspective and technology know-how of those younger workers. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEETU PATEL, PRESIDENT & CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER, CISCO: I just refuse to believe that humans are going to be obsolete. Like, it just seems like it's kind of an absurd concept. We are far too creative for us to be obsolete, you know? And so, if you just say I'm going to eradicate all entry-level jobs, that's the stupidest thing a company can do in the long-term. Because what you've done is you've actually taken away the injection of new perspective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

EGAN: Now, he went on to say that in some jobs, having a lot of experience can actually be a liability because it might mean that people are holding on to assumptions that are now outdated. And he added that he learns a ton from his company's younger workers and interns. He said that they're mentoring him as much as he's mentoring them. Still, though, some of the economists that I talked to have really studied this. They do suspect that A.I. is already having a negative impact on entry-level jobs. Just look at the class of 2025. It's entering the worst job market in years for college graduates.

In fact, for the first time since 1980, when tracking began, the unemployment rate for recent college graduates is significantly higher than the national unemployment rate. Now, this could be happening for a number of reasons. Some of them may have nothing at all to do with A.I.

Still, though, Oxford Economics found that employment of younger workers in the fields of computer science and mathematics, two fields that are vulnerable to A.I. disruption, employment of those younger workers is down by 8 percent over the last three years. Employment of older workers in those fields is little change. And so that's something we're going to have to pay very close attention to as A.I. gets faster and smarter. One last point from the Cisco executive, even though he's more

optimistic than some of his colleagues, he did acknowledge to me that A.I. could cause some significant growing pains for workers. And he said it's the responsibility of the tech industry to help reshore and reskill workers whose jobs could be impacted. Back to you, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Matt Egan, appreciate it.

A new hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

[19:00:00]

Good to see you all. Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York.

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