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President Trump's Meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Ukraine War May Lead to Trilateral Summit Involving Ukrainian President Zelenskyy; European Leader States Trump Administration May Support NATO Style Protection for Ukraine as Part of Peace Agreement with Russia; Attorney General Pam Bondi States Washington Police Chief Pamela Smith Back in Charge of D.C. Police Department After President Trump Ordered Federal Takeover of D.C. Police Force; Air Canada Cancels Flights after Flight Attendant Union Goes on Strike; Hurricane Erin in Atlantic Ocean Threatening to Become Category Five Storm. Aired 10-11a ET.

Aired August 16, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:56]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to this special edition of CNN Newsroom. I'm Victor Blackwell in Atlanta.

And we're following breaking developments after President Trump's summit with Vladimir Putin in Alaska. This morning we've learned President Trump believes Putin is amenable to a trilateral meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Now, that's according to a European official familiar with ongoing talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Trump and Putin met Friday in Anchorage, the first time Putin has been on U.S. soil in ten years. While that meeting ended with talks of progress and no specifics, we've learned several new details this morning. The biggest development is an official tells CNN that Trump is talking about NATO style security for Ukraine with a peace deal. Now, that would not mean membership to NATO. That is off the table. But that security measure, known as Article Five, says that collective defense means an attack against one ally as an attack against all.

We're also hearing from Ukrainians this morning for their reaction to the summit. Here's what one Ukrainian soldier told us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR CHESLAVSKI, SERVICEMAN (through translator): As for Trump, I don't know his plans, but trading land for Ukrainians is unacceptable. This land is soaked with our blood. I am currently undergoing treatment and plan to return to the front. A ceasefire would be a win for us. Unfortunately, it would only be temporary, and we would want our prisoners back in exchange of all for all.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BLACKWELL: European leaders are also weighing in. Most have applauded any sort of progress, but both Zelenskyy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer suggest further sanctions if Russia does not agree to a trilateral meeting.

We have team coverage of this important summit. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh and Alayna Treene are breaking down the latest details. Let's start with the new reporting from CNN's chief international security correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh. In the hours after the summit, focus has shifted to talk of potential security guarantees for Ukraine. Talk to us about that, and this trilateral meeting, potential.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes, I mean, a lot of this morning has been Europe and here, Ukraine, trying to get their head around about exactly what the conversation between Trump and Putin yielded.

Now, there are three important strands in all of this. One uppermost, and we have to be cognizant here of the fact that European officials are trying to pull positive strands out of what happened, trying to give Ukraine a boost. One of the things a European official told me that was discussed in their call with Trump was the possibility of Article Five security guarantees for Ukraine that the United States would back. Now, that's important because, as you mentioned earlier, Article Five is the part of the NATO charter that's basically about an attack on one of them being an attack on all of them. Not entirely clear how this would be applied, and it certainly wouldn't involve Ukrainian membership of NATO, but it's potentially a key sweetener, and even French President Emmanuel Macron posted today that he believed there would be a contribution from the U.S. to security guarantees. Trump has mentioned them. The specifics, though, quite heavily leant upon by this notion of Article Five, a European official talks to me about.

The second element, too, is less good for Ukraine, and it appears, according to a separate European official I spoke to -- well, actually two of them -- that Putin was insistent on one of his more maximalist demands in that meeting with Trump, which is that Ukraine should voluntarily give up the remainder of the Donetsk region, which it currently holds about a third of, the rest occupied by Russia. That's a nonstarter for Ukraine, repeatedly saying they don't want to do it. I mean, of course, in certain circumstances they might be forced into it, they might lose it militarily if Russia keeps making progress on the front lines in the months or even years ahead. But a down part of the discussion, certainly in a sign that when we heard Putin's maximalist rhetoric about the root causes needing to be fixed, et cetera, that that is a sign of where his mindset is.

[10:05:00]

The third part, though, interesting, too, another European official saying to me that their understanding of Trump's mindset during the call between European leaders and Trump, they felt that Trump believed that Putin had assented, had agreed, that seemed positive towards the idea of a trilateral summit between Zelenskyy, Ukrainian president, Putin, and Trump. Now, that is something that Trump talked about last night in his

interview with FOX News in Alaska. It's something which Zelenskyy proposed back in May, and Trump supported, but that Putin thoroughly rejected. So that would be a significant shift if Putin is now agreeing to that kind of meeting.

But we've been here before. There's a possibility that Trump overestimated Putin's willingness. Putin's team could throw a ton of logistical and timing and preconditional roadblocks in the way of that. But all eyes really on the Oval Office meeting on Monday. There will have to be a massive sea change from the horrific events that many Ukrainians witnessed happening to their president, the dressing down he got there earlier on this year with J.D. Vance and President Trump.

And on the way, Zelenskyy will stop off in Paris for a meeting with the coalition of the willing. That's France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. They are ultimately the forces who have said they will potentially use military assets to provide a reassurance force here in the event of a peace deal. They have Ukraine's back the strongest, and it will be interesting to see how they try and bolster Zelenskyy and influence Trump ahead of Monday.

BLACKWELL: Nick Paton Walsh with the reporting. Thank you, Nick.

Let's go now to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House. The next chapter of all this will be the meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskyy on Monday. Tell us what you know.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, and I think that will be such a crucial turning point for these talks and really whether or not we do see a potential second meeting. And obviously, it's what the president wants. President Trump here wants to get the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Russian President Vladimir Putin in the room together. Unclear if they can actually get to that point, though, Victor.

And one thing that's still, of course, unclear is we don't really know the extent of the conversations. I mean, Trump and Putin met yesterday for roughly three hours. They did have some aides there as well. And the president did say during what was supposed to be a press conference, I'll just call it remarks, because they didn't take questions despite a lot of people expecting them to. What he said during those remarks was that they had some agreements. But there was one big thing that they don't agree on, and he refused to divulge any more details.

Now, we did see there was that interview with FOX News right afterward where the president was still in Anchorage, and Sean Hannity asked Donald Trump, can you divulge any more? Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: In your press conference you talked about a lot of things that you agreed on, and maybe one big issue you don't agree on. Are you prepared to go public with that? DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: No, I'd rather not. I guess

somebody is going to go public with it. They'll figure it out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So as you can see, there, Trump not really taking the bait there and not wanting to say more. And that leaves a lot of questions.

Now, of course, he did speak with European leaders and Zelenskyy when he was on his way back to Washington. We've been getting little trickles out of those conversations. We've heard from Keir Starmer, the U.K. prime minister, for example, saying that he appreciates the United States openness to security guarantees, meaning that potentially we could see the U.S. moving closer to that despite having heard the president in the past argue that he wants it to be up to Europe to guarantee some of those the security measures that would need to be in place in Ukraine.

All to say, the meeting on Monday is going to be very, very key to what this all potentially looks like moving forward, and whether Zelenskyy is on the same page as this Trump administration about where these talks will go.

One other thing, though, Victor, that is so important as well, is very notable that the president said today that he believes they shouldn't worry about what he called a mere ceasefire agreement in the short term. Instead, they want to move directly toward a longer term peace deal, something that, of course, is probably welcome to Russians who want to continue the fighting right now and avoid sanctions and other consequences. But very different, as well, from what we heard the president say yesterday when he was heading into the summit, his goal was to get a ceasefire. All to say, we have to see how this all shakes out on Monday.

BLACKWELL: Alayna Treene at the White House. Thank you.

Joining me now, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, John Herbst. Mr. Ambassador, let's pick up where Alayna left off. Your reaction to this shift from the president of first going into this meeting, wanting a ceasefire deal, coming out of it, hoping for a peace agreement? And is a peace agreement likely if the president couldn't get a 30-day ceasefire?

[10:10:04]

AMB. JOHN HERBST, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Very good questions. My view is the following. If President Trump uses the strong advantages we have across all aspects of power, military, economic, political, we can make it extremely uncomfortable for Putin to continue his war on Ukraine.

Last night, after that very brief press event following the summit, I was concerned because there was no -- there were no real details regarding the optimism or the positive description by both Trump and Putin of their meeting. But as your reporter just pointed out, Trump is talking about NATO

style security assurances for Ukraine. That's an extremely important step forward by the administration, which has been very cautious on issues like that before that statement.

If Putin clearly wants all of Donetsk back, even though he doesn't control two-thirds of it, I believe he's dreaming. And that's a serious obstacle to peace. But if we proceed along this route and Putin continues to be obstinate, then the real question is, will Trump be willing to use the levers of American power? If he is, he can make sure Putin cannot win in Ukraine, which might give Putin reason to make a real peace deal.

BLACKWELL: I want to play something that you said Friday -- this was hours before the summit -- about your degree of optimism. So let's play that right.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMB. JOHN HERBST, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: If Trump allows Putin to establish an insecure ceasefire and then breaks to take the rest of Ukraine, Trump will look like a very weak leader indeed. And I think he understands that. And that's the principle reason I think we'll wind up seeing a sound policy in the end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So you believe that ego would drive the U.S. to a sound policy. Not only did the U.S. not get a weak ceasefire agreement, the president adopted the line of Vladimir Putin. So are you as confident now that the U.S. will reach a sound policy in the end?

HERBST: I'll start by saying that Aristotle will say honor drives men to do the right thing, as opposed to merely ego. But I take your question as a serious one. As I said, I was concerned last night, and I'm still not without concerns.

But to me, the key has always been, to Trump's stated goal of a durable peace, the key has always been the willingness to ensure Ukraine's security, as Ukraine makes some territorial adjustments. And now we're seeing for the first time Trump saying something along those lines. Now, there are a great many details here that have to be handled correctly. But I was a little bit concerned when I went to bed over after midnight. Hearing what I've heard this morning, I am less concerned. But still, this could come out badly. But we also see things that suggest it could come out right.

BLACKWELL: Well, I just want to be clear that the sourcing for that Article Five style security guarantee is a European leader.

HERBST: Correct.

BLACKWELL: It didn't come directly from the president. And so you say that if the U.S. then employs the levers of U.S. power militarily, economically, you acknowledge there's been no evidence of that yet. The president said there would be very severe consequences, and then hours later backed off of that. He's blown through his own deadlines, blown through his own ultimatums. So what, in this scenario, is the value of a U.S. security guarantee if up to this point, the president hasn't held himself to his own red lines?

HERBST: You can never exclude the worst outcomes. And you can never exclude people breaking promises. So your question is a legitimate one. But if there's going to be real security for Ukraine, it will probably involve, in some sense, European forces on the ground in Ukraine to deter future Russian aggression.

I've been saying for many months now that that's a plan that could work if Europe gets U.S. backup. And now we're seeing the first indications that they may yet get that backup. It doesn't mean, as you point out, that a commitment can be made that will not be kept. But it doesn't mean that the commitment can be made will be kept -- it could mean it could be made, will be kept.

So looking and coming back to honor or ego, I believe that President Trump really would like to have a Nobel Peace Prize.

[10:15:05]

I am confident that there's no way he could get that unless he brokers the durable peace he talks about. So that, to me, is an incentive. And we do know that in the Trump White House, going back to the first days of the new administration, people talked about on the upside of Trump, of negotiating that durable peace, or the downside for negotiating a weak peace, which allows Russia to take over Ukraine. And it would dwarf in reputational damage Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan. So there's recognition in the White House of that danger.

BLACKWELL: Well, the next chapter --

HERBST: It doesn't mean we get the right policy, but that pushes the --

BLACKWELL: Next chapter as it relates to the president himself is Monday when Zelenskyy comes to Washington. Ambassador Herbst, thank you so much.

HERBST: My pleasure.

BLACKWELL: Our coverage of the Trump-Putin summit will continue after the break. Also ahead, the latest on the Trump administration's attempt to take over Washington, D.C., and that's next in that fight.

Plus, Air Canada cancels all of its flights as flight attendants walk off the job. We'll break down the latest on negotiations and its impact on travelers.

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[10:20:54]

BLACKWELL: We're getting more reaction this morning from European leaders on the phone call they had with Trump and Zelenskyy after the summit with Putin in Alaska. Both British Prime Minister Starmer and French President Macron praised Trump and welcomed his openness to security guarantees for Ukraine. European leaders say part of the conversation with Trump included Article Five type security guarantees for Ukraine if a peace deal is made.

Ukraine President Zelenskyy is set to meet with President Trump in Washington on Monday. Trump is now pushing for a peace deal rather than a ceasefire agreement between the two countries. In an interview after the summit, Trump said it is up to Zelenskyy now to make the peace deal with Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: Now it's really up to President Zelenskyy to get it done. And I would also say the European nations, they have to get involved a little bit. But it's up to President Zelenskyy. I think we are -- and if they'd like, I'll be at that next meeting. They're going to set up a meeting now between President Zelenskyy and President Putin and myself, I guess.

SEAN HANNITY, FOX NEWS HOST: What would your advice, based on today, when you talked to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whats your advice to --

TRUMP: Make a deal.

HANNITY: Make the deal?

TRUMP: You've got to make a deal, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Joining me now is CNN's senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. Ron, good morning to you. What do you make of this, I don't want to call it a 180, but dramatic change in the U.S. policy on what's next for Russia's war in Ukraine. They went in saying they wanted a ceasefire deal. And not only they want it one, the president said there would be very severe consequences if they didn't get it. And now they're going in a very different direction.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, I think the 180 itself is the most important point. As you note, I mean, on the way to the summit, the president could not have been more explicit in his interview where he said, I won't be happy if I walk away without some form of a ceasefire. And then not only did he walk away without some form of a ceasefire, he joined, accepted Putin's position that a ceasefire at all was the wrong way to go.

And I look at that as really indicative or emblematic of the larger course we have watched over his presidency on Ukraine, which is that -- which is that nothing is very stable. It's been very erratic. Maybe the most revealing thing he said in all of his interviews yesterday was this is not my war. He said that, you know, that's an exact quote. And I think it reflects the larger reality that he does not feel a great stake in what happens here, except for how it may redound to his kind of personal aggrandizement, maybe with a Nobel Peace Prize, as you were talking about earlier. And so I think nothing is written in stone. I mean, whatever, whatever

we're discussing today could look very different on Monday. And the European leaders are trying to encourage him in the right direction by sending flattering signals, but I don't think any of them have a lot of confidence about where this can go in the next few days and weeks.

BLACKWELL: The analysts that I've heard from, and the pieces that I've read, many of them have said that this could have been worse for Ukraine. At least he's not coming out of this meeting trying to horseshoe Zelenskyy into some deal. However, now that there is this meeting on Monday and the discussion of security guarantees that potentially would come with some concessions from Ukraine, is that what is happening now? I mean, is this a potential offramp for the White House to say, hey, listen, we brought them a plan. It's one that Zelenskyy won't accept because it will give away portions of his country. But that was our best. And now we're off.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I go back, I go back to the thought that the president expressed on the way to the summit. This is not my war. This is Joe Biden's war. And I don't think he feels a great deal of commitment at all to Ukrainian independence and its cause. He does not want Ukraine to fall on his watch.

[10:25:00]

You look at the way he criticizes, and the world criticized Biden for what happened in Afghanistan. I think the president and his advisors have always somewhat underestimated the risk of what similar images in Kyiv would mean for him in the long run.

So I don't think he wants the worst-case scenario, but he doesn't really feel a great U.S. commitment, he doesn't see it as a as a core national interest to prevent the kind of aggression, to send a signal against the kind of aggression that Putin has unleashed. I mean, the fact that he welcomed him onto U.S. soil at the time that he is viewed as an international war criminal is indicative of that.

So I think the ultimate answer to your question is, we don't know. There certainly are signals, exactly what you suggest, that he may view this as a way of kind of stepping back, but he's done that before and then come back into it. I don't think we can have any certainty about where he is going to go, except that he is willing, I think to hold, to make sacrifices on Ukraine's behalf, in effect, to get this resolved.

BLACKWELL: Zelenskyy will be in Washington on Monday to meet with the president. We of course, remember February 28th, the last that Oval Office blowup where the president repeatedly shouted at President Zelenskyy. Let's watch a portion of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We're not playing cards. TRUMP: Right now, you don't have -- you're playing cards.

ZELENSKYY: Mr. President.

TRUMP: You're playing cards. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War III. You're gambling with World War III.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Now, Zelenskyy might be better prepared for this one. They've met since at the previous Pope's funeral at the Vatican. What do you expect on Monday?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, the editor, Michael Kinsley, the famous editor is quoted about Washington, a gaffe in Washington is when you say what you really mean. And I think in that exchange, you saw what Trump really believes, which is that Ukraine is a weaker power. Trump believes in kind of a great power world, and he thinks they should accept a deal that would give away a lot of their territory as a way to get this war, at least formally stopped. And because the president views it as an inconvenience to his larger project of kind of reestablishing great power dominion or carving up of the globe into spheres of influence.

And I think what you saw in that exchange and what he said is this is not my war, and now it's up to Zelenskyy. I mean, it all is consistent with his worldview about this. I don't know if we will see -- I doubt -- I would think it would be unlikely we would see anything as confrontational as we saw earlier this year. But his fundamental view, I think, is that Ukraine is the weaker power and it has to accept terms from Russia as a way of stopping the fighting. And if he has to throw in a security guarantee of some sort to do that, he will. But ultimately, that guarantee, as you say, will come attached to a poison pill, a degree of territorial concession that Ukraine is very unlikely to accept and that no democratically elected leader could impose on their own country.

BLACKWELL: The juxtaposition of what we saw there with President Trump and President Zelenskyy with what we saw yesterday in Anchorage, the kind of deference to allow Putin to speak first in Russian for 10 minutes, and then President Trump wraps up in two-and-a-half minutes, it is stark.

Ron Brownstein, always good to talk with you. Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right, up next, we have the latest on the attempted federal takeover of our nation's capital and that's next in the legal battle.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:33:07]

BLACKWELL: We'll have more on the Alaska summit in just a few minutes.

We're also, though, following developments out of Washington, D.C. Attorney General Pam Bondi has scaled back her order on Washington's police department. She says Chief Pamela Smith is back in charge, but the city must still answer to the Trump administration. The change follows a federal court hearing where a judge made clear the DEA chief tapped to run the department has no power to act alone. D.C. leaders called this a win for home rule, but the fight is far from over, with lawsuits already filed, sharp warnings from the police chief about the risk of a federal takeover. Here with me now is trial attorney Kelly Hyman. Thanks for coming in.

KELLY HYMAN, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Great to see you.

BLACKWELL: So let's just start by reminding people that this has never happened. So a lot of this, although there's statute that dictates what happens next, it's never been executed.

HYMAN: It's never been executed like this before. So it's groundbreaking. So when we talk about this act, this act gives the president authority, limited authority only for 30 days to request police assistance and services for a federal purpose. So the Trump administration has said basically that there's a lot of crime going on in D.C. However, statistics say that's not actually accurate.

BLACKWELL: A 20 percent drop in violent crime.

HYMAN: Yes. And so that he is going to take charge of this. And Bondi issued an order. She's the attorney general, and she basically said that she was going to put the DEA Commissioner, Cole, in charge of the police, in charge and basically take out the police chief and so that she cannot perform her duties. They had a hearing in the court. The judge basically said that, hey, you can't do this. And so they tried to reach some type of agreement and issued another order where the police chief right now is still in control.

[10:35:04]

BLACKWELL: Yes, the attorney general for D.C. filed that lawsuit right after the new order from the A.G. And I think there's an important distinction here in the act says that the president can employ local police for a federal matter, not take over the department. So that's the distinction between what the A.G. says that she is doing and what the local police say is allowed by law.

HYMAN: Control is key in this case, because what exactly -- now, we've never had a situation like this.

BLACKWELL: Right, first time.

HYMAN: This is groundbreaking. But what exactly does that control have, and what exactly the president can say and not say in regards to what the police can do? The judge said that as she interpreted this statute, that the president can ask for something for the police to do something, that the police must act. But the president does not have the power to control it. BLACKWELL: And so, how long can this go on?

HYMAN: Based on the act, the president has 30 days, and after 30 days, he needs to go to Congress to have Congress extend it. Now, the president has said that he wants to extend it as well. But ultimately, it will be up to Congress to make a determination of whether or not this should be extended or not.

BLACKWELL: Yes, this Republican led Congress has said no to very few things that the president wants, if any of them. Could this go on for months, for a year or more if Congress decides to repeatedly renew this presidential power?

HYMAN: That could potentially happen. And I see that lawsuits are going to be filed and potentially work its way up to the Supreme Court, where it ultimately would make a determination about the interpretation of this act and what exactly it entails, and what happens with it.

BLACKWELL: And so what can -- probably, let's flip it. What are the federal authorities, the National Guard, who are being employed to join in law enforcement, what are they not allowed to do? What are their limitations as it compares to Metro P.D.?

HYMAN: Usually the National Guard don't have the power to arrest. They're there to assist, to help facilitate as well. When we look at different types of agencies like the FBI, for example, they are federal employees, and they have the power to arrest someone for federal crimes as well. So you have the FBI coming in. You also have the DEA as well to potentially arrest people in D.C.

BLACKWELL: And so for the person who is being arrested, what protections do they have at all? I mean -- go ahead.

HYMAN: The Constitution. I mean, our country is built on our great Constitution, and based on the Constitution, there are certain rights and certain procedures that you have. The Fourth Amendment, unlawful search and seizure. And so those are potential remedies as well. And due process under the law, that everyone has the opportunity to be heard and go in front of the court.

BLACKWELL: All right, Kelly Hyman, thank you.

After the break, we'll have a look at more top stories this Saturday morning, including a deadly outbreak -- excuse me -- that continues to grow in New York City.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:43:10]

BLACKWELL: Here's a look at some of our other top stories today. A deadly outbreak of legionnaires' disease growing in New York City. At least 99 cases are now being reported, four people have died. Officials say bacteria tied to the disease was found on cooling towers for multiple buildings in Harlem. People then likely inhaled it. Legionnaires' disease causes flu like symptoms, including cough, fever, headaches, and shortness of breath.

Texas Republicans are launching a second special session to push new congressional maps that could give the GOP up to five more seats in the U.S. House. Governor Greg Abbott says lawmakers will meet Monday at noon. And this time, Democrats who left the state to block the maps are expected back. They signaled they'll return once California introduces its own map to offset Republican gains. And if passed, the Texas maps are likely to face legal challenges. Hundreds of protests are expected across the country today against redistricting efforts. More than 200 events are planned across 34 states. Organizers say the fight goes beyond Texas. They called it a battle for the future of democracy.

New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell has been indicted, accused of hiding a romantic relationship with her bodyguard. She faces charges of conspiracy, fraud, and obstruction. Prosecutors say her bodyguard was paid as if he was working even when the two met alone. Both Cantrell and Jeffrey Vappie insist their relationship is strictly professional. Here's acting U.S. attorney Michael Simpson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SIMPSON, ACTIN U.S. ATTORNEY: To me, it's irrelevant that it's romance or that it's a female. What is relevant is that it is an incredible breach of the public trust.

[10:45:01]

It's an incredible betrayal of people's confidence in their own government. And it's a violation of innumerable federal criminal laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Cantrell has fewer than five months left in office, but the legal fight could follow her. Vappie has already pleaded not guilty to his own set of charges and is set to go on trial in January.

A federal judge in Florida has sentenced rapper Sean Kingston to three-and-a-half years in prison. Kingston, whose legal name is Kisean Anderson, was convicted in a $1 million fraud scheme in March. Prosecutors say Kingston and his mother, Janice Turner, made fake wire transfer receipts as proof of payments for high end items they never actually paid for. In July, Turner was sentenced to five years in prison.

New this morning, thousands of passengers are making last minute plans after Air Canada suspended most of its scheduled flights. The airline's 10,000 flight attendants went on strike overnight after negotiators failed to reach an agreement. CNN's Paula Newton has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this labor dispute will represent a significant disruption to air travel, not just here in Canada, but beyond. So many people using Air Canada not just to fly in and out of Canada, but to get to places like Asia, Europe, and South America. Right now, Air Canada said it has no choice. It must shut down its entire passenger service. They are in a labor dispute with their flight attendants, the flight attendants saying that they no longer can put up with the fact that they are not paid for things like delays, that they're only paid exactly when they are flying in the air.

Air Canada calling on the government to intervene, to send both parties to binding arbitration. So far, the government has not relented. Business groups say that, look, the economic damage to Canada, already in such a vulnerable position because of the tariff war with the United States, that the damage to the economy here will be extensive. And really, at this point in time, every day that goes on, Air Canada warns, even if there is a settlement here, it will be more difficult to bring the airline back to full capacity. Really, it won't happen in a matter of hours. They're saying it would take at least days. What does that mean? It means that the disruption to air travel, not just here in Canada, but beyond, will continue for the foreseeable future.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

BLACKWELL: Next, we're following breaking news on hurricane Erin. Allison Chinchar is here with that.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That's right. We've started to see another increase in the storm strength just in the last few minutes, getting that latest update in. It is now 155 miles per hour. We'll take a look at whether the track has changed at all, just coming up in a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:52:21]

BLACKWELL: This morning, several developments are playing out just hours after the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Now, that summit did not produce a ceasefire agreement in Russia's war in Ukraine, which is what President Trump said was his main goal. But in an overnight post, Trump said he's now pushing for a peace deal to end the war instead. But a Ukrainian lawmaker says that's Putin's position that Trump is adopting. He's also looking ahead to his scheduled Monday meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington, D.C. Trump suggested that if that goes well, a trilateral meeting with both Putin and Zelenskyy could follow. This morning, European leaders are pushing for security guarantees for Ukraine.

We're following breaking news out of the Atlantic. Erin is gaining intensity. It's now a strong category four storm. This is a look at Puerto Rico. CNN's Allison Chinchar is here tracking it. Moments ago you got a new update from the National Hurricane Center. What did you learn?

CHINCHAR: So we learned that it's still strengthening even more. It was a category four, but on the low end. Now we are at the highest possible end you can be as a category four at 155 miles per hour. For reference, 157 is a category five. And the National Hurricane Center is now explicitly saying it will get to that point at some point here, likely in the next 24 hours.

So here's a look at what we can show you. This is where the storm is, again, kind of just to the north and east of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Those sustained winds of 155, but they are gusting to 190 miles per hour. Again, incredibly strong storm here.

Here you can see those fives. So again, the forecast now definitely calls for this to strengthen even more as we go through the next couple of days.

But it also we are now expecting it to start to veer off to the north and a little bit kind of in between all the bodies are -- in between all of the areas of land. This is what you want to see. We don't want it to hit Bermuda. We don't want it to hit the U.S. or any of these Caribbean islands. So this is the forecast we like to see, with the strong ones just kind of stay out over the open water.

The reason for that further strengthening is because of the incredibly warm sea surface temperatures that it's going to be headed into. Right now, you've got kind of those low 80s. It's going to start to spread into some mid 80s here over the next 12 to 24 hours, again, adding to the fuel for these types of storms.

Now, another thing to notice too, it's a rather small storm, but it's actually expected to grow in size, possibly doubling or tripling in size. The reason this is important is because when it gets larger like that, it can kind of push out some of the impacts a little farther. So say, for example, right here along the U.S. east coast, you are now at a higher risk for things like rip currents and dangerously high surf, not just the U.S., but also Bermuda, too, because the size expands, it kind of pushes those impacts out a little bit more.

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So this is something we'll have to keep an eye on. Again, even though we're not expected to take a direct hit and a direct landfall from Erin specifically, you will still have some of those outlying impacts, especially in the Caribbean, where they're still likely to going to see some very strong gusty winds and also very, very high waves. And also, the other thing, too, is the potential for very heavy rainfall for a lot of those areas, because they are going to be a little bit closer. So the potential for flooding and even some mudslides across the Caribbean nations is going to be a concern.

BLACKWELL: We know you will be watching it. Thank you.

And thank you for watching. There's much more ahead in the next hour of CNN Newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield is up after a quick break.

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