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Canada Plans Retaliatory Tariffs After Talks Collapse; Iran Warns Of Retaliation Ahead Of New U.S. Sanctions; Russia, Ukraine Trade New Strikes As Air Attacks Escalate; Manhunt In Massachusetts For Wife Of Slain Police Officer; Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial Resumes Monday. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired August 23, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:36]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's go straight to those headlines.

President Trump is doubling down on a new tax on Canadian goods. How he's reacting to strong words from Canada's prime minister.

And Iran has some strong words of its own ahead of even tougher sanctions expected from the U.S. in the days ahead.

And start your engines, we're going to take you to the U.S. capital to see how the city is gearing up for its first ever IndyCar race.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Salma Abdelaziz.

ABDELAZIZ: President Trump has broken his silence. This is more than 25 hours after those U.S. trade talks with Canada imploded. Just hours ago, in the middle of the night, the American president posted on social media, quote, "Canada wants the benefits of being a state without being one."

He also accused Canada of imposing, quote, "massive amounts of tariffs on U.S. farmers." And all of this comes as Canada promises a forceful response to Trump's new 50 percent tariffs. Now, in effect, on $20 billion worth of its goods.

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar on September 8th. And he calls the U.S. actions an outright trade attack on his nation, describing it basically as war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Well, we believed earlier this week that we were moving towards, moving towards a mutually beneficial agreement. In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that run economic, unfair, and undermine the net benefits for Canada and called into question the reliability of any deal. In short, they asked too much and they offered too little.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Prime Minister Carney there accused the U.S. of making last-minute an unacceptable request. He said the U.S. created these tariffs to divide and hurt Canadians.

Michael Devereux, an Economist and Professor at the University of British Columbia, gave us his reaction to those comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DEVEREUX, PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA: Prime Minister Carney's actions to pull us out, to pull Canada out of the last-minute negotiations are in general supported by more than, I think, the latest numbers are about 56 percent of Canadians.

Now, we do not know exactly what led to the breakdown, this 11th hour breakdown. There is a bit of a blame game going on. Canada and Prime Minister Carney said that the U.S. brought in some last-minute terms that had not been part of the original discussion and that were a bridge too far for Canada, including issues about Canadian sovereignty, about digital policy, about the distribution of critical minerals and so forth.

On the other hand, the trade representative, Jamieson Greer, as we just saw, argued that these terms had been clear from the beginning. So, we don't know exactly what happened.

But one thing I would note, though, it's very hard to negotiate when you're under a gun. And this negotiation was taking place under the threat of a large and sweeping 50 percent tariff on a very significant number of Canadian exports. This is 20 billion, 28 billion, depending on which number you look at.

I mean, that's still a small fraction of Canadian exports, but it's going to severely hurt a small number of sectors and a small number of geographies in Canada. So, you know, the discussions and the negotiations were fraught right from the beginning.

ABDELAZIZ: Iran's president declares the country is in full-scale war. This is as the U.S. threatened to unveil unprecedented sanctions. Tehran's security chief reportedly vowed to neutralize the economic war with Washington and even threatened to halt all oil flows out of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's top negotiator was weighing in as well, saying in part the United States put the security of every single one of its allies at such risk through bullying and pure disregard for their interests for the sake of Israel that they briefly saw their entire existence on the line.

[05:05:19]

The U.S. Treasury Secretary will hold a news conference on Monday after vowing to unveil the toughest sanctions in history against Iran. Also on Monday, Iran's state media reported Pakistan's army chief is set to meet Iranian officials in Tehran. Islamabad has emerged, of course, as a key mediator between Tehran and Washington during this conflict.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem and gave us the latest updates.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration realizing the ineffectiveness or the inability of continued strikes on Iran to get to either a nuclear deal or the collapse of the regime. So, now it's this new approach that we should really call an old approach, almost the maximum pressure campaign that we saw in President Donald Trump's first term. That also didn't lead to a nuclear deal with Iran.

And crucially, at least from the perspective of Trump's politics in the upcoming midterms, economic sanctions aren't an immediate effect. This is something that the U.S. believes and hopes will pressure Iran, Iran's economy, Iran's regime in the medium and the long term and bring it to its knees. The key question here is, of course, what happens with the Strait of Hormuz?

Now, there is reduced traffic. Iran has threatened to reduce that to zero. We've seen that again. There is a trickle going through. According to what we can see from the U.K. Maritime Tracking Organization, it's about 20 percent. But the U.S. Navy and the military there are trying to create a separate route to bring more oil through by sending ships through the crucial passageway dark, having them turn off their transponders and getting an escort from the U.S. military. The question is, how effective is that and is that sustainable in the long term? And that's what we're seeing play out here.

The U.S. will unveil more sanctions to sort of increase what is already, frankly, a sort of maximum pressure campaign, as well as try to get other countries on board with pressuring Iran economically. That may be quite difficult because Iran appears to have given passage to some countries, Iraq, Pakistan, China, for example, to ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz. So, that will play into this question.

Meanwhile, Iran's president, according to Iranian state media, said the country is at full-scale war. According to Iran's state media, he said, we are apologetic that these problems exist as we find ourselves in a full-scale economic, military and security war. So, very clear there what the approach of the Iranian government is.

And listen to this from a top national security official there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSEN REZAEI, SECRETARY OF IRAN'S SUPREME NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (through translator): If President Trump decides to take further action, our response, our retaliation, will be seismic.

Any country that takes part in imposing economic restrictions on us will be regarded as an enemy. Of course, we will first negotiate with them. We will hold talks and tell them to step aside and distance themselves from the United States. But if they do not act, we will strike. We will target that country's interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: The real question is, who wins an economic war? The Strait of Hormuz, the pressure that puts on President Donald Trump himself and how that affects U.S. voters heading into the midterms or the effect on Iran's regime.

Salma.

ABDELAZIZ: Russian and Ukraine are not only ramping up their attacks, but both sides appear to be expanding the reach of their strikes. A Ukrainian official says Russian drones hit a railway station. This was in the Odesa region on Saturday.

Video you see there shows crews clearing broken windows and debris. And it comes after a brutal Russian double tap strike on a shopping center that was just a day earlier and killed at least 16 people.

Meanwhile, Russian officials say a wave of Ukrainian drones hit a retail warehouse and an industrial facility in the Samara region. This killed at least six people. In a new interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Kyiv has opened Pandora's box by hitting economic targets in Russia.

We're joined now live by Sebastian Shukla. He is coming to us from Berlin. So, yet another day of these back and forth strikes between Ukraine and Russia. What are you learning about the attacks and how they're testing both nations?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN INTERNATIONAL PRODUCER: Well, Salma, the attacks are testing both nations. And I think it's testament to the damage that is being caused that both President Zelenskyy and President Putin find it necessary to say that each side will respond to each other's attacks. We see President Zelenskyy making these statements about promising reprisal attacks on Russia for anything that is damaged in Ukraine.

[05:10:06]

But we hear quite rarely from President Putin addressing attacks very specifically. But he did speak yesterday evening. We don't know when exactly this interview was shot, but portions of it have now been released.

And he specifically, but he did speak yesterday evening. We don't know when exactly this interview was shot, but portions of it have now been released. And he's spoken about this Pandora's box, which you mentioned. That is bellicose rhetoric, big, grandstanding terms that President Putin uses quite often.

But what he appears to be saying is that he wants to double down now on Ukraine and that they will not get away with the damages that they have been inflicting on Russia's gross domestic product when it comes to things like oil and gas refineries, but even military industrial complexes that have been hit. And more recently, the slightly softer targets, which would include those warehouses for e-commerce sites like Ozon and Wildberries, often equated to Russia's equivalent of Amazon.

Take a listen to a larger portion of that Pandora's box comment he made.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have stepped up our attacks on Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, including those in Kyiv, and have begun to respond to the enemy's actions against our civilian industrial and logistic facilities. The Kyiv regime has set out to damage our economy. What has it done? It has opened Pandora's box itself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA: The damage that Ukraine has managed to inflict on Russia is extensive, and I don't think the Russian president would ever go on public or state TV and say that his country is reeling. But, Salma, Russians wake up most days of the week right now with smoke billowing out of windows in lots of Russian cities, including the Russian capital. But the converse part to all of this is that the Russians and the Ukrainians are seemingly skirting around the edges of a widening of the scope of this conflict, which is moving attacks away from purely logistical or military connected with, we saw with the Ozon and Wildberries attacks, but also this double tap strike that happened last week in Kryvyi Rih as well on that mall.

Those are civilian targets by and large, and I think it's a very dangerous escalatory phase that we are in. And the Russians, for their part, know at the moment that they have an upper hand here. The Ukrainians are reeling without their supplies of Patriot missile systems to be able to combat ballistic missiles that are hurled at Ukrainian cities on a near daily basis.

And those are the things that are really causing the economic hardships for the Ukrainian people, which President Zelenskyy is begging allies to try and resupply him.

Salma, it's -- we're not any closer to reaching a conclusion to the end of this war. And I'll conclude by just reading a few very interesting comments from that interview President Putin gave about the ending of the war and proposals for a ceasefire.

He said proposals reaching Russia are exotic and unacceptable, and we are always ready for dialogue on peace, but only on the basis of realities on the ground.

Salma, President Putin has always remained maximalist in his proposals. And if we look at all of the images and now all of the rhetoric coming from both sides, this war does not seem any nearer to conclusion.

ABDELAZIZ: Very interesting words from President Putin describing peace proposals as exotic. Thank you so much, Sebastian Shukla there.

Record-breaking heat is yet again possible in the U.S. as parts of the South face another round of scorching temperatures. Roughly 50 million people are under these extreme heat risk in areas including Texas and Louisiana, while a prolonged heat wave is expected to take hold for the beginning part of the week. Many of these cities are 5, 10, or even 15 degrees hotter than the average temperature at this time of the year.

Meanwhile, another tropical storm is heading for Hawaii and following a very similar track as the hurricane that hit just a few days ago. Tropical Storm Oki is expected to strengthen as it moves northwest towards the islands, and it is likely to bring more heavy rain and wind to the Big Island.

No power, spoiled insulin, closed schools, empty grocery shelves, nearly two weeks of dark after a devastating storm. That is the grim reality for more than 30,000 people in northern Indiana, many of whom are now relying on food banks for their essential supplies.

[05:15:04]

The World Central Kitchen is on the ground serving meals to families in need. Food blogger Keith Lee announced he's partnering with the Salvation Army to hold an event to support the community there.

Officials say power is expected to be back on by Tuesday, but residents have already joined a class action lawsuit against northern Indiana's utility company over alleged negligence. The utility provider says it strongly disagrees with those claims.

CNN's Fredricka Whitfield spoke to the city of Gary's mayor about why it's taken so long to get that power back on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDIE MELTON, GARY, INDIANA MAYOR: The city of 50 square miles, Gary, is probably the largest geographic area throughout New School's footprint from a city's perspective. And we believe that we didn't have enough electrical alignment on the ground, vegetation crews on the ground to address this issue. Right now we've requested, as of yesterday, more alignment, and we're starting to see that come in now.

So, right now we have about 430 electrical alignment, another 200 to 300 vegetation crews helping to detangle the trees out of the electrical lines so power can be restored. It's going to take time, I understand that, I get it, but it has to take the manpower with boots on the ground to get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Nevada's governor has now declared a state of emergency in Washoe County as fast-moving wildfires force evacuations around Reno. The Hawk Fire has now expanded to more than 10,500 acres. It is worsened by gusty winds and dry brush, and it is burning uncontained as of now.

Residents are being urged to stay vigilant. And officials say some structures have already burned. There are some 400 firefighters that are battling the blaze. They are aided by aerial support overnight.

Fans are pouring into Washington, D.C., to watch the Freedom Grand Prix. Ahead, we speak to some of those fans as the final race is scheduled for later today.

Plus, a Texas lawmaker is calling for the release of a 5-year-old boy in ICE custody. Ahead, details on that story and what the lawmaker has to say about that case.

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[05:21:10]

ABDELAZIZ: Even more race fans are expected in Washington today to witness the first-ever Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race. Preliminary races were held yesterday and the main race happens in the coming hours. IndyCars are going to speed across the capital city past landmarks like the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building. CNN's Brian Todd was at Saturday's races and has the story for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's an exciting two days of racing here at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. We're at turn four, one of seven hairpin turns on this course. We're going to raise the camera and you can see some of these guys coming around the corner here at amazing speed.

Look how tight these turns are. Really impressive the way they take these turns. Again, this is turn four and there are seven total turns on the course. It's a 1.7-mile course. They have to do that 147 times on the main race day to get to 250 miles. So, an exciting two days of events.

On Saturday, you have these qualifying segments. Sunday is the main event at 1 p.m. Eastern Time. Again, it's a 1.7-mile course and they have to do it 147 times to get to 250 laps. About 100,000 people are expected to attend this on each of the two days according to race organizers. We spoke to several fans who are here, some of them for the first time, about the experience overall.

TODD: What's your impression of this? First time here?

BRAD HAUN, FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX FAN: Impressive. Blown away. Speechless.

TODD: Well, in what way? What really strikes out?

HAUN: The sound, I love it. The speed, the crowd, everything about it.

KRISTIN HAUN, FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX FAN: Getting away from work and getting to experience this kind of once-in-a-lifetime event for us has been great. Wanting to get out and have those experiences and coming here, very worth it.

TODD: So, lots of fan excitement here for the Freedom 250 Grand Prix. On Sunday for the main event, President Trump is expected to attend. He'll drop the green flag, but before that, he's going to take a ceremonial lap around the course.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: A U.S. congressman is now calling for the release of a five-year-old boy who was detained by ICE alongside his father in Texas. This video obtained by CNN shows the little boy crying and clinging on to his dad as federal agents take him into custody. The boy, named Liam Tadeo, was supposed to start kindergarten next week. His father, Victor Martinez Nieto, is a Mexican national and, according to U.S. authorities, entered the country illegally. U.S. Congressman Greg Casar is calling for the boy's release along with other children in ICE custody.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG CASAR, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: His name, just like the name of the little boy from Minnesota, is Liam. And Liam should be starting kindergarten this week, but instead he's sitting in a trailer prison right now in Dilley, Texas. I'm calling for the immediate release of Liam, the immediate release of all of these kids, and for the closure of the Dilley trailer prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: As the U.S. immigration crackdown continues, a Venezuelan journalist is now back with his family. This is after being detained by ICE. CNN's Carolina Peguero has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wilmer Solano Davila can't contain the emotion of being back home with his daughter and his wife.

WILMER SOLANO DAVILA, VENEZUELAN MIGRANT DETAINED BY ICE (through translator): I love them so much, being with them, talking to them before bed, and when you wake up, it means everything. And the pressure in there is incredible. It was very difficult.

PEGUERO: Solano Davila, a well-known Venezuelan journalist with more than 25 years of experience, spent nearly three weeks at the Krome ICE detention center in Miami, Florida.

DAVILA (through translator): Beyond the conditions I experienced, I met many hardworking people there who loved their families. We are always praying.

[05:25:08]

PEGUERO (voice-over): He was detained on July 26th.

DAVILA (through translator): I was driving through sunny aisles when I noticed an unmarked patrol vehicle behind me, a large SUV. The agents got out, and I could tell they were Border Patrol from their uniforms. They asked me, "Are you from Venezuela?" I said yes. Then they told me, "Well, we have to take you because you overstayed your visa."

PEGUERO (through translator): He was then released on bond on August 14th. The journalist says he was forced to flee his country after receiving multiple threats from the government of Nicolas Maduro.

DAVILA (through translator): The Venezuelan government has never liked independent journalism, and the aggression was always present.

PEGUERO (voice-over): His case is still pending and has no criminal record. He is now, however, required to wear an ankle monitor that tracks his location.

ARON LEMUS, WILMER SOLANO DAVILA'S ATTORNEY: With Wilmer, we were able to prove to the judge that he's going to -- that's he's on the positive side of those factors, and he's not like a risk. So, he was given the opportunity to continue his process in a non-detained setting.

PEGUERO (voice-over): We asked the Department of Homeland Security for information about his case, and in a statement it said, "Solano Davila does not have any status that would allow him to remain in the United States. A work authorization or a pending application does not confer legal status in the United States."

While this father and husband waits to learn what will happen with his case, he's doing everything possible to make up for lost time with his family.

DAVILA (through translator): It's about moving forward so that, God willing, we will never have to be separated again.

PEGUERO: Carolina Peguero, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: A manhunt is now underway in Massachusetts. Authorities are looking for this woman who is suspected of involvement in the death of her police officer husband. We're going to bring you the latest.

And the Lindsay Clancy murder trial enters its final stages on Monday, while supporters of the mother accused of killing her young children speak out about postpartum mental health. Stay with us.

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[05:30:34]

ABDELAZIZ: Welcome back. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. Let's check some of today's top stories. The U.S. president says Canada, quote, "wants the benefits of being a state without being one." That comes after Canada said it will match President Trump's new 50 percent tariffs dollar for dollar starting September 8th. Prime Minister Mark Carney says trade talks with the U.S. fell apart on Friday night after the White House made, quote, "unreasonable and last-minute demands." Iran's security chief is vowing to neutralize the economic war with

the U.S. and has threatened to halt the flow of all oil out of the Strait of Hormuz. It comes as Washington says it is preparing to unveil the toughest sanctions in history against Tehran.

Scorching temperatures are coming to parts of the southern U.S. This week, temperatures are expected to soar into the triple digits, with some areas experiencing record challenging highs and leaving around 50 million Americans under extreme heat risk.

A manhunt is underway in Massachusetts now. This is for a woman that authorities say is connected to the death of her police officer husband in Worcester. Police have issued an arrest warrant for Karen Solomon, who they describe as both armed and dangerous. Her husband, Kurt Solomon, was found dead in the home that they shared. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is following the updates for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, let's start with the search because it's been going on for more than four days now, and police have deployed several resources, including marine and air units. They have deployed canine units, and officers have been searching on foot, scouring the area, looking for evidence. They have also closed down public beaches in the area and recreational areas as they look for Karen Solomon, the woman who appears to be at the center of this mystery.

Here's what we know about Karen Solomon. She is known in the community as an advocate for mental health for first responders. In fact, she has authored books on that subject, and she led a non-for-profit that focused on that subject and that work. But she's now facing an arrest warrant after her husband, Wooster police officer Kurt Solomon, was found dead inside his home on Tuesday.

We have images of Karen captured by doorbell camera and released by police showing her walking in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops early on Tuesday morning. Police say that this was minutes after police responded to a call from the home where her husband was found dead. We have also obtained audio dispatch of that call where you can hear officers responding to the home and trying to get in contact with the person who placed the 911 call. You can hear the officer identify the person as Karen Solomon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it the caller a male or a female?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a female. Her voicemail on her phone says it's Karen Solomon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's visible blood inside the building, inside the bathroom in the back.

PAZMINO: Now, police have declined to discuss the details of that call, but Solomon in the meantime has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. She is 58 years old and is considered armed and dangerous. Police are asking anyone in the area who may know anything or may have seen anything or may know any information about Solomon's whereabouts to get in touch with their local police department.

Take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not stop until we find her either way here or somewhere else and we want to bring closure to the Solomon family. Kurt was a hell of a guy. He was an awesome police officer and an awesome person and he's going to be truly missed.

PAZMINO: Officer Solomon was a 31-year veteran of the force. He was also an army veteran and a father to two children. Police say that he suffered a fatal injury with a sharp object. However, they have not released any other details about what they think happened at that crime scene. In the meantime, they say the investigation is still underway.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:35:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Tomorrow, prosecutors are expected to continue introducing rebuttal witnesses. This is after the defense rested in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. The Massachusetts mother has admitted to killing her three young children. Her lawyers argue, though, that she should not be held criminally responsible because she suffered from postpartum psychosis. That is a very dangerous and reality disturbing condition that can occur after childbirth.

The trial has ignited conversations about postpartum mental health and the insanity defense that Clancy's attorneys are making. On Thursday, a group of women rallied in front of the courthouse to support Clancy and criticized the lack of help she received leading up to those killings.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEBBIE BUTTERS, CLANCY SUPPORTER: Lindsay Clancy was begging for help from everything we can see. And I don't think she got it.

SOPHIA REID, CLANCY SUPPORTER: I believe that women deserve support and Lindsay didn't receive the support that she deserved.

NICOLE CORREALE, CLANCY SUPPORTER: I'm here supporting Lindsay because I've been through what Lindsay's going through and been filled with mental health. It means a lot to me because I can -- I can feel that pain and that disparity as a mother to a mother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: I want to bring in now Colleen Cronin. She's a reporter for the "Boston Herald" and she's been covering this trial.

Thank you, first of all, Colleen, for joining us. I know it is extremely early in the morning for you and you have been covering this from inside the courtroom where, yes, of course, Lindsay Clancy is on trial. But ultimately, this is a gut-wrenching case about three beautiful young children who were killed. Is the loss of those three children, Cora, Dawson and Callan, at the heart of this trial? What is the atmosphere like inside that courtroom? And can you feel the enormity of the loss?

COLLEEN CRONIN, REPORTER, BOSTON HERALD: You know, I think that it is an incredibly intense experience covering this trial to have family members in the courtroom, Lindsay Clancy herself, of course, but also her parents have been going every day. You know, Patrick Clancy testified first in this trial. His family have been there. His mother and father also testified. It's incredibly intense. Those moments have been so intense.

Moments when they've showed autopsy photos to the jury. There have been jury members crying. And Lindsay Clancy at one point had to ask for the proceedings to pause because she was so emotional and had been, you know, so -- so upset by the testimony that she was hearing.

I think by far the most emotional day was when we heard Patrick Clancy's 911 call. He at first was calling because he found his wife, you know, from outside from an apparent suicide attempt. And then he stayed on the phone, he said accidentally, and he found his children. And it was -- it was one of the most horrific things I've ever heard. And, you know, I'm not sure that there was a completely dry eye in the courtroom. I think everybody was shocked. If you weren't shocked, you were incredibly sad to hear that, to have that experience. So, it's been -- it's been very intense.

ABDELAZIZ: I can only imagine how intensive an experience it is inside that courtroom. But there's also been so much happening outside the courthouse. This trial has garnered so much attention. We were just playing video of women who were dressed in pink. They'd gathered to support Clancy. Some were saying, we're behind you.

How has that response, that empathy, if you will, for Lindsay Clancy, how has that been received by both those inside the courtroom and the community at large, her own family?

CRONIN: You know, after a particularly difficult moment of testimony when Lindsay had said, you know, please stop, I think was something to that effect in the courtroom, because she couldn't handle listening to a medical examiner talk about the kids' autopsies. There have been members of the public coming almost every day, you know, not necessarily in the big show of pink that we saw on Thursday. And someone came up to her family and said, I'm just so sorry that you have to go through this and you have to experience this.

So, I think that there is a feeling of empathy very much for her family, who sit there every day, for Patrick Clancy's family. And I think a lot of empathy for her, it seems, from some of the folks who are choosing to come out every morning, every day for the trial.

ABDELAZIZ: And beyond those, of course, that we see on the lawn there right outside the courthouse, there's been such a response online. So, many women who can relate to that, that lack of support, that lack of care, the lack of sleep, the crushing weight of PPD. But it still just boggles the mind, right?

[05:40:07]

How can a woman who admits to killing her three children draw so much empathy? Have you had an opportunity in your reporting to speak to those who support Lindsay Clancy? And what do they tell you? How -- how do they justify it?

CRONIN: You know, there were a couple people who showed up early on in the case with signs outside with frustration for the district attorney feeling that this case isn't a case that should be prosecuted. And those people had had very intense experiences with mental health, either their own mothers, family members who, one man who said that his mother had very severe postpartum, another woman who had a family member kill another family member, she said, because during a mental health crisis. So, you know, I think those were extreme examples.

But I think that one thing that I saw, you know, for example, after we heard some of Lindsay Clancy's journal entries read out in court, I saw a lot of women posting those quotes and saying how much they identified with them. Maybe women who didn't go so far as to have postpartum psychosis, but may have been suffering from postpartum or something even lesser than that baby blues.

And so, I think that while not everyone can -- not everyone has had such an intense experience as what's happened to the Clancy's or, you know, had such a potentially severe mental health crisis as Lindsay Clancy did, I think a lot of mothers are identifying with some of the more general struggles that she had, the lack of sleep, like you're describing, the struggle to try to get back to work, the guilt about feeling sorry that you can't get back to work, you can't give your children what you need, which was a lot of what she was describing in her own journal entries.

ABDELAZIZ: Colleen Cronin there, who has been inside the courthouse on a trial that has hit a nerve across the country. Thank you so much for joining us.

There is much more to come on CNN, including perspective from an expert on Yemen's escalating conflict with Houthi rebel groups. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:27]

ABDELAZIZ: Fighting has flared in and around Yemen. This is since the country's Houthi rebels declared a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping in the Red Sea in late July. This week, Yemen's military said it conducted some 81 operations targeting that rebel group during a 24- hour period. A short time later, Houthi said they carried out drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting an airport and an oil facility. Houthi rebels also attacked a strategic Yemeni port city in recent days, along with Saudi military vessels and a refinery in southwestern Saudi Arabia. Yemen's Houthi rebels are just one of several regional groups with very close ties to Iran and the IRGC.

I want to welcome now Farea Al-Muslimi. He is an Associate Fellow with Middle East and North Africa program at Chatham House and Chairman and Co-Founder of Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies. He joins us now live from London.

Good morning, first of all. Thank you so much for being on the program again.

I want to begin with the latest when it comes to the situation on the ground. We saw the Houthis carry out these very devastating attacks on the ports in Makha that forced its closure. The Yemeni government responded with dozens of counterattacks. Has that weakened the Houthis? Has that escalated the conflict? Talk to me about the lay of the land right now.

FAREA AL-MUSLIMI, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: I mean, the bad news is this actually could have been worse. Today, the Houthis are 150 kilometers away from Bab el-Mandeb. Imagine if that was under their control. I think we were going to see another closure similar to Hormuz. That doesn't mean they will not continue to do that.

But I think since the last recent round of war between Iran and the United States, obviously Iran has activated its proxies across the region and its allies everywhere it can, and the Houthis have become a significant member of that.

However, their fight is not going to be exclusive to the sea or to the Saudis or to the international shipments. Clearly, as you mentioned, they have launched various ground attacks across different front lines to their opponent governments inside Yemen. That's to say the least is a crisis in which is going to escalate in the land, in the sea, and most likely in the air in the long term.

ABDELAZIZ: But this is, of course, as you just mentioned, not solely an internal Yemeni conflict. The Houthis are backed by Iran. The internationally recognized government is supported by Saudi Arabia. Yemen runs along the very critical Bab el-Mandeb strait. As you mentioned, of course, how much of this is being driven by Yemen's factions within the country and a reigniting of that civil war, and how much of this is simply a proxy battlefield for a much wider regional confrontation?

AL-MUSLIMI: Definitely. The war in Yemen started first and foremost as a civil war, after the group took over the capital by force in 2014. But as you mentioned, I think conflicts in the region and across the globe have been interconnected more than we imagined, and October 7 reminds us of that very carefully.

Today, the war in Yemen is influenced highly between the Houthis in coordination with Shabaab group in Somalia. It also is connected to what's happening in Palestine and Gaza. It's connected to what's happening in Lebanon.

But even, and this was probably the strategic mistake of the West, specifically is ignoring the Houthis for too many years, because they did not send refugees like in Syria or Libya, but ignoring them for that long, and basically laying dead ears into what's happening in Yemen. Today, we have a brutal reminder of that, not just in the scene, not just in Bab el-Mandeb, but in fact, all the way to Ukraine. Today, the Houthis fight alongside the Russians in Ukraine, and the Iranians are activating that front line with support of drones and different weapons and militias across different front lines.

So, absolutely, there is a part of it in which is a Yemeni conflict, a Yemeni-Yemeni one, but there is a part of it in which the conflicts across the region have become, and the world has become very connected in different ways. And I think the national security of the West or of the United States or the United Kingdom is not just in its borders, but as we have seen, it is all the way to Bab el-Mandeb and all the way into a different remote conflicts that usually did not impact these countries and spared them a lot of headache.

But so far, we have seen that's no more the case. And I think the Houthis are a good reminder of what non-state actors can do across borders, but also globally.

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And I do not think we have seen yet the full damage they can do. We have not seen them attacking the internet cables in the Red Sea. I think that's a matter of time. I don't think we have seen them activating their different cells across the West. And I think also their economic ties, which now they run a huge fundamental financial empire, even in crypto.

ABDELAZIZ: Farea Al-Muslimi there on one of the critical trigger points and a chokehold in this conflict where the Yemeni civil war lies. Thank you so much for those updates.

We'll be right back after a quick break.

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ABDELAZIZ: China's second world humanoid robot games are underway in Beijing. There are more than 2,000 robots that are competing for teams from 16 different countries to showcase their abilities. A Chinese robot beat Usain Bolt's 100-meter sprint world record during Saturday's opening. It finished in 9.39 seconds, about two-tenths of a second faster than Bolt's 2009 performance.

Beijing is also hosting its World Robot Conference where a firefighting robot dog was debuted. Reports say it's equipped with a water cannon that can spray up to the seventh floor of a building. The technology advancements come as China aggressively invests in its robotics industry.

[05:55:10]

Rui Ma, the founder of Tech Buzz China, takes a closer look at the robots.

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RUI M, TECH BUZZ CHINA FOUNDER: They are fun to watch, but they really demonstrate functionality, right? So, running is about -- so first of all, this is the first year that these runners are doing so autonomously. So, perception is part of it, also speed. And this is a short meter run, but there are longer runs that show off endurance. And of the 50-plus games that are available, many of them are functional, right?

Some of them actually involve picking beans from a restaurant counter or folding clothes, things you would expect a robot to do. Even last year, when, you know, we were taking investors to visit some of these robotic companies, many of the robots couldn't stand too well. And if you pushed them, they would tip over.

But starting at the end of last year, you could already see a ton of the robots had really superb balance. And of course, if you guys have seen the Unitree robots with their dances, they can do back flips and, you know, continuously, right? So, I think for what's next is hopefully robots that can do many more tasks autonomously, and then also more useful robots.

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ABDELAZIZ: The Esports World Cup is coming to an end in Paris. More than 2,000 players from over 100 countries attended the event in France, with thousands of fans watching the competition. The players take home millions of dollars in prizes if they win.

Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is expected to attend the closing ceremony alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. "CNN This Morning" is coming up next.

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