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780+ Dead, 3,000 Missing After Floods Along Chinese-Nepal Border; Girl Rescued In Dramatic Video Days After Flood Reunited With Family; U.S. To Send $3.6M In Aid For Nepal Flood, Landslide Victims. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired August 30, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and we're following breaking developments on that desperate search and rescue effort underway on the Nepali-Chinese border following those catastrophic floods. Today, the death toll has risen to more than 780 people. Some 3,000 remain missing, including almost 1,000 workers at various hydropower projects in Nepal. Emergency workers are now pumping air and dropping food onto one tunnel, but have yet to establish communication with anyone inside.

U.S. officials say at least 85 Americans are still unaccounted for. One Virginia woman, whose husband was there for a hiking trip, is desperate for any details on his fate.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNEHA SUDHIR, WIDE OF MAN MISSING IN NEPAL: It's been beyond 80 hours that I haven't heard. The families have not heard anything from them, and we do not have any help where anybody else is also trying to tell us what is happening. So, I don't know. That's where we are trying to reach out to everyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Today, displaced survivors are facing new concerns after another landslide formed a new barrier lake that officials fear could lead to more flooding. Help continues to arrive in the flood zone. A shipment from China has landed in Kathmandu, and the U.S. is sending more than $3.5 million of aid.

CNN's Will Ripley joins us now from Nepal. Will, what is the latest on the ground there?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, we continue to hear stories from people who just barely survived this massive flood, perhaps by just seconds. And one of the couples that I spoke with today is an Italian couple who actually were at that border checkpoint that saw some of the most severe damage. They saw tour groups, other tour busses full of people, essentially just wiped away, and we're now learning that bodies have been turning up, sometimes hundreds of miles from the initial spot where they were initially washed away, just to show you the strength and the violence of the water. Authorities also believe there are many bodies yet to be discovered that are buried beneath multiple layers of quicksand all along the flood route.

So, it's a very grim situation with so many people, 3,000 people missing. But there are some here who believe that the number of missing could actually be far higher than that because a lot of cases have been so far unreported.

But I want you to hear about this couple's story, Stefano and Valentina. They talked to me earlier about how they managed to survive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENTINA PICCININI, ITALIAN FLOOD SURVIVOR (on camera): Everybody turned right, only me turned left. So, that's the point. I don't know why, but in my mind, I can -- I don't know, I cannot explain. I cannot see anything, anybody around me. I cannot hear my name because they are only -- everybody is saying my name. But I was not able to hear them. So, I just following Hernan and he showed me the only way I could follow to survive, the only way, because if I'm going straight on, for sure I would not be here.

RIPLEY (on camera): Did you know it was water that was coming when you saw the big black --

STEFANO LUTUMOLO, ITALIAN FLOOD SURVIVOR (on camera): No, we couldn't know. Like I have seen the immigration point. It was the beginning. And we just saw something crashing into buses 30 meters in front of us. It was very big like it was crazy. The sound, it was unbelievable.

PICCININI (on camera): I felt that everybody of them, they were alive. I don't know why, but my heart can tell me, OK, don't worry. They are all alive. So, first, start to think about you, start to run. Think on survive. And then somebody somehow, universe. God, Shiva, whoever, will find a way to bring you back to them or bring them to you.

RIPLEY (on camera): And you said the healing power of the Nepali people has kept you here and helped you heal from this experience.

LUTUMOLO (on camera): We were together. They were not different between Italians, Nepali. We were just human beings, survivor, and we just try. Also the night time celebrating life. And they lost everything. They lost everything. People, houses. They had nothing left.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: And Fred, they know they are the lucky ones when there are just so many people and so many families who are wondering what happened to their loved ones who were also lost in this flood and have yet to be seen or heard from.

WHITFIELD: I mean, it's extraordinary, just really hard to believe all these stories, but they describe them so well and just put you right there.

[13:05:00]

So, I also understand that you have an update on that six-year-old girl who was rescued in that collapsed building?

RIPLEY: Yes. Her name is Manisha, and she is, again, one of these rare stories that have really sparked joy in the hearts of people and hope as well in finding more survivors. She was rescued from the rubble of a collapsed building 60 hours after the flood, and we've learned just in the past several hours that she has been airlifted to a hospital, the Teachers Hospital here in Kathmandu. We've been reporting outside of there many times over the past few

days, and we also just learned this evening that Manisha has now been reunited with her mom and dad, and all three of them are now back together. They all survived the flood.

The parents said that they had actually given up hope that their daughter was alive. They were just hoping that her body could be recovered, but everybody was gripped by this video of the release by the armed police force of rescuers digging through that building and delicately bringing Manisha out, and she is now said to be doing just fine. She is getting treatment from doctors, and she is back with her parents.

So, a piece of good news that is much needed amid all of the horrific news here in Nepal.

WHITFIELD: Among the very lucky, fortunate ones to now have a family reunited through all that.

All right. Will Riley, thank you so much.

All right. Let's get more now on what's happening in Nepal in other directions. With us now is David Fisher. He is head of the Nepal delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross. He is in Kathmandu. David, glad you could be with us. I mean, give us an idea of what is happening on the ground there, as it pertains to offering assistance and being able to meet the needs of so many right now.

DAVID FISHER, HEAD OF NEPAL DELEGATION, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS: Well, we've been able to reach some of the people who have been affected in Nuwakot and in Dhading districts, and many of them are desperate. Still, they've escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Many are children who have lost their parents. Many are older people who have lost their families. They also are happy to be alive, but they need everything.

And so, the Nepal Red Cross has worked with authorities to find temporary shelter for them in religious buildings and community buildings, very temporary setting for them. And the really good news is that a road has been opened now between Nuwakot and Rasuwa, which is the area that was hardest hit by the flood and has been completely cut off from road traffic and has only been accessed by helicopter till now. So, a team from the Red Cross spent 12 bumpy hours to get through there today, and we'll start doing assessments and try to bring in some additional aid. The armed forces have been doing rescue, bringing in some aid, but there is so much more that's needed.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. So, starting with that temporary shelter that you described, in some cases you're able to create something like that in some of these buildings. Paint a picture. What does it look like? Are there cots, or is it a matter of people sleeping on the floor? What kind of meals are they able to get? I mean, bring us there.

FISHER: Yeah. So, we provided these very thin mats, a little bit like yoga mats, and with blankets and hygiene kits, and we are able to provide hot food and a couple of items here and there, but it's not much, to be honest. There are hundreds of people like that even in Bidur. And what's going to be important is that we start to register these people and provide them not just these items, but cash, so that they can go and buy what they need and travel if they need to and make the solutions.

But what's most pressing also are all the people who haven't received much of anything yet in the areas that were inaccessible, and that's why we're so happy now that there is at least a road, even if it's very difficult to pass.

WHITFIELD: My goodness. David, earlier, the director of a water aid agency told CNN that there is an urgent need for clean water in the area. Are you hearing that as well? And what can be done? What are the options?

FISHER: It's absolutely true. So, in the first instance, we just have to bring in bottled water, but soon that has to be replaced by something that's more manageable, large bladders of water, and as soon as things -- we can very rapidly fix the water sites here, so that people can have access to clean water.

[13:10:00]

But if they don't, if they start using flood waters, there is a very, very high risk of disease.

WHITFIELD: All right. I mean, so many potential dangers still existing while the search is ongoing for potential survivors, or even in the recovery efforts.

David Fisher at Kathmandu, thank you so much. All the best in your continued endeavors.

Still ahead, a manhunt is underway right now in Switzerland after a deadly shooting at a rave. What we're learning about the attack and the victims. Plus, disaster at sea. A ferry carrying hundreds of people capsizes off the coast of Cyprus. We'll have the latest on the rising death toll and the scramble to find survivors. And a $4 billion look into the unknown. The space telescope that scientists call the "discovery machine" is officially on its way to the cosmos to unlock the secrets of our invisible universe.

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WHITFIELD: A manhunt is underway after a deadly shooting at a rave in northern Switzerland. Police say one person was killed and five others injured when shots were fired around 02:30 in the morning. CNN affiliate Sky 24 reports that the woman who died was an Italian national. The five wounded people are being treated for injuries ranging from minor to severe. Local officials say the shooter or shooters' motive is unclear. Police are patrolling the scene, and the investigation is ongoing.

At least seven people are dead and nearly two dozen are missing after a ferry capsized in the Mediterranean Sea. A search and rescue effort is now underway off the coast of Cyprus. Officials say the boat was carrying nearly 270 people and was headed from northern Cyprus to Turkey when it began taking on water.

CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau is joining us right now from Rome. Barbie, what are you learning?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. That search and rescue operation is going on, but of course night is falling in this part of the world, and that was going to hamper the activity. Now, we understand that this passenger ferry, it wasn't a car ferry, so there is no complication of vehicles there, we understand that the passenger ferry started taking on water shortly after it left Kyrenia, Cyprus, that's a very popular holiday spot, of course, the last weekend of summer here in the Mediterranean, and it started taking in water in what was being described as bad weather.

And you see these images of people standing with their life jackets on top of that overturned vessel. You see people in the water. 237 people were brought back to Cyprus. We've seen images of ambulances waiting for them, but we don't have any reports of serious injuries of those survivors. Now, those over 20 people who are still missing, of course, they'll be searching inside that vessel. This is a difficult rescue operation or difficult search operation, and of course, as the hours go on, there is little hope, I suppose, for anyone to still be found alive. But there could be air pockets under that overturned vessel. We've heard of miracles like that before.

But the tragedy, end of summer, holiday island, really couldn't be more stark here, and they're going to be looking for these remaining 20 or so people who have not yet been accounted for, and then there'll be some trying to understand exactly what led to a vessel this size with this many people on it capsizing like that. How rough was that weather? Should it have taken off from the shore at all? And so, all those questions will be answered later. But right now, those survivors, 237 people, brought to shore, very, very thankful at this hour. Fredricka. WHITFIELD: My goodness, yeah, and this is a kind of nightmare many

people think about on a ferry, and now these folks are actually living that nightmare.

All right. Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you so much.

Coming up, more than 3,000 people are missing after that catastrophic flooding in Nepal, and at least 85 of them are Americans. We'll hear from their loved ones who are desperately waiting for news from across the globe, next.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Welcome back. There are now at least 85 Americans who are unaccounted for after that flooding. The U.S. State Department says nine Americans have been safely evacuated.

CNN's Rafael Romo is following this for us, and he has got more on how people are desperately searching for their loved ones who might have been in Nepal in that area during the flood.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That word, Fred, desperate, is --

WHITFIELD: Yeah.

ROMO: -- something that unfortunately can describe a lot of these families. It's just very hard, as you can imagine. And the tragedy at the Nepal-China border has directly impacted many families across America. On Saturday, we learned about five American men who live in Northern Virginia and were part of a tour group hiking the Himalayas, who are among the missing people after the devastating flood. Earlier today, we learned about a woman from Lexington, Massachusetts, who was on a spiritual pilgrimage in Nepal for her 50th birthday when the disaster hit.

A CNN affiliate WCVB in Boston reported, Jyoti Rai's family told WCVB that they had just spoken to her minutes before the flood, and the woman told her husband that she was getting ready to go through the Chinese immigration. Manmeet Singh Meet, a close friend of the woman and her family, made the decision to fly to Nepal with the goal of trying to help find her. Before his flight, they learned the hotel where she was staying had been washed away.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANMEET SINGH MEET, FRIEND OF MISSING WOMAN: I think then that's when we start realizing maybe she is not there, and a miracle. But I was thinking everyone must be expecting a miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMO: Meet also told WCVB that Sanjeev Rai, the woman's husband,

traveled to Nepal to find his wife and is now among the thousands of people searching morgues and hospitals for loved ones.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MEET: He is overwhelmed. He has been breaking down like many times. You call him and you just -- you hear him crying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Earlier today, a U.S. State Department spokesperson said there were 85 Americans in the disaster area that were unaccounted for as of 06:00 this morning. Tommy Pigott also told ABC News that nine Americans have already been safely evacuated. As to the United States being unable to send any rescue teams to the area devastated by the floods because Nepal is not allowing it, Piggott said the U.S. government is exploring different options.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY PIGOTT, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESPERSON: Well, right now we're in communication with them directly to assess those needs. We have a disaster area response advisor actually on the ground right now in communication to see how best we can offer assistance. The situation on the ground, as you just saw, in terms of the mud and other things, means that we have to get the right assistance in there. Nepal government, we're coordinating with them on what they need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Pigott also said the State Department has made available $3.6 million in emergency humanitarian assistance. It includes up to three months of emergency food for up to 10,000 flood-affected households. So, that's definitely going to make a difference there. But again, the emergency and the uncertainty that really has been so difficult for all of these families.

WHITFIELD: Oh my God, this is agonizing. Well, thank you so much for bringing all that to us, Rafael. Appreciate it.

And of course, for more information about how you can help Nepal flood victims, go to cnn.com/impact or scan this QR code right there on your screen.

All right. The quick deportation of right-wing firebrand Milo Yiannopoulos is raising questions about whether he received preferential treatment. The British citizen who supported President Trump's immigration policies was detained in New Orleans by ICE on Thursday and deported to the United Kingdom on Friday for overstaying his visa. He was processed far more quickly than many people facing deportation. White House border czar Tom Homan was asked about it today on CNN's State of the Union.

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DANA BASH, CNN HOST: Was he given preferential treatment to leave instead of remaining in an ICE detention facility longer?

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: No. We've been working steadily the last few months on getting people out quicker, that way, save the taxpayers money and detention space. The quicker we -- a judge orders them out, rather than being in detention, waiting for travel documents and flight arrangements, we -- ICE, along with the CBP and Department of Homeland Security is working really good on the efficiencies of the removal process. Get him out quick. Open those beds up for more detainees to be held.

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WHITFIELD: Homan said political affiliations are not a factor in deportation, and that the goal is to remove anyone who is ordered deported as quickly as possible.

All right. Still ahead, we could have a verdict as soon as tomorrow in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial. We'll discuss the critical pieces of evidence the jurors are weighing, as they decide her fate.

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WHITFIELD: Deliberations in the Lindsay Clancy triple murder trial are set to resume tomorrow morning. The former Massachusetts nurse, who tried to take her own life after she killed her three children, pleaded not guilty to three counts of murder. Clancy was prescribed about a dozen different medications in 2022 and 2023 to treat her mental illnesses and disorders. Her defense team argues she is not criminally responsible because she was suffering from postpartum psychosis.

I want to bring in now criminal defense attorney Elyse Hershon for more a legal perspective. Elyse, great to see you. So, jurors began deliberations on Thursday, deliberating three hours that day, all day Friday, and then now resuming on Monday. So, what do you think they've been assessing all weekend long?

ELYSE HERSHON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Good afternoon, and thank you for having me back on your show. So, essentially, we know that they're looking at the physical evidence because on Friday they asked to see two pieces of evidence, a knife and a bottle, or some bottles of pills that they made a big thing about during the trial. So, that shows that they're taking it seriously. Thursday, likely there is over 200, 300 exhibits they probably were organizing for a lot of that time, and then Friday they hunkered down and started going through it. This really all comes down to state of mind. But they do have to go back and see what physical evidence supports and whether the prosecution has proved that. WHITFIELD: Right. Now, this was not a sequestered jury either. So,

they were able to go home. Of course, instructions from the court, not likely to be allowed to read or even communicate with anybody about this case. But does this kind of time individually for two days allow them to better assess things? Do they come back and -- together on Monday and kind of share thoughts, as they resume deliberations?

HERSHON: It's a great question. Essentially, this time over the weekend, they're instructed not to go on social media, not to discuss the case, but they can't shut their brain off and their thoughts off. So, sometimes, over the weekend, they can either affirm the position they were taking, or going towards the -- on the Friday before, or maybe they start to see another point of view, and they're into more of a compromising mindset when they come back Monday.

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We've seen, like in several murder trials in the Brian Walshe case, they come back on a Monday morning with a verdict. So, it is possible they come back tomorrow refreshed and ready to make a decision.

WHITFIELD: As you reflect on this case, were there any particular testimonies that you think were particularly resonating that you think were persuasive either side?

HERSHON: Oh, this is -- how much time do I have? Yeah. So, the first witness is the husband, and I think this -- as the trial went on, we realized that Patrick Clancy's testimony had a lot of inconsistencies in it. But strategically, I think the prosecution put him on first because as they called the rest of the witnesses, then they couldn't go back and say, well, how come your testimony doesn't line up with this? He was kind of one in and one out, and he went back out of state to New York.

So, he really stood out, and as the expert testimonies came at the end, three rebuttal witnesses from the prosecution, three on the defense side. I think it was really telling. They all recognized that Lindsay Clancy had mental illness, that she was suffering, but to what degree the three prosecution experts say, nope, she is criminally responsible. She knew what she was doing. She could have stopped herself. She did plan this and made decisions along the way, and the defense witnesses saying -- one of them having worked with Jeffrey Dahmer, very, very well reputed, world-renowned, and they said, no, she is not criminally responsible.

So, it's up to the jury who they credit. I thought the defense witnesses were very credible. But remember, the prosecution is required to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt. If you're weighing two sides, that's the definition of reasonable doubt.

WHITFIELD: OK. All jurors have to be in agreement with the outcome. But if it's a hung jury, where would this case, in your view, go?

HERSHON: I think all sides would be frustrated with a hung jury, and if there was a mistrial declared, it's so much work, so much emotion that went into this case. So, essentially, the prosecution can decide to try this case over and over again until they get to a verdict. We saw it with Karen Read. They tried that case again. It actually lost public support for that prosecution as it went along, and I imagine if they decided to retry this case, I think the global support for this would be even more eye-opening, and they should really decide not to re-prosecute.

She is either going to end up in a psychiatric hospital for the foreseeable future or state prison if they decide on a verdict here. Very unlikely they acquit her all across the board. So, it's really just a question of where is she going to go after this.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Elyse Hershon, appreciate you. Thank you so much.

HERSHON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead in the CNN Newsroom, a thousand still missing, a rising death toll, and a race against time in Nepal. I'll speak to a daughter who is still searching for her missing father.

And a movement for change six years after a 25-year-old young man jogging was chased down and shot dead in a heinous hate crime in South Georgia. Runners in Atlanta take on a 5K in his memory. It's bittersweet for Ahmaud Arbery's mother, who joins me right here in the CNN Newsroom.

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WHITFIELD: Six years after Ahmaud Arbery was shot and killed while jogging in his South Georgia neighborhood, walkers and runners took part in the annual "Run with Maud's 5K" race to honor his memory here in Atlanta. Ahmaud Arbery was just 25-years-old when he was murdered in a racially motivated hate crime back in February of 2020. Ahmaud loved to run, prompting people around the world to walk and jog to show solidarity against racial injustice in the wake of his death. And now, this race is organized each year by the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation and raises money to support young people in so many different ways and inspires.

And joining us right now is Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud Arbery's mother, and the founder of the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation. So great to see you.

WANDA COOPER-JONES, MOTHER OF AHMAUD ARBERY, & FOUNDER, AHMAUD ARBERY FOUNDATION: Yes, ma'am. Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: It's tough, even six years later, of course.

COOPER-JONES: It is.

WHITFIELD: How is this run, the foundation that you have helped build helped in your healing, and really help a community heal as well? COOPER-JONES: So, as we know, that we lost Ahmaud very, very

tragically, and to know that something so powerful can come from a thing that was so tragic, it really makes me think that we should love instead of hate. I mean, in the last minutes of Ahmaud's life, he was faced with tragedy. He was faced with fear. He was alone, and just to know that we can take that feeling, and six years later, we are experiencing people coming together in support, community, and love.

WHITFIELD: He was a runner --

COOPER-JONES: He was.

WHITFIELD: -- and running was something that I've read that you've described really made him feel alive.

[13:45:00]

COOPER-JONES: Yes, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: And it's so fitting that this 5K run, a lot of people turned out --

COOPER-JONES: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: -- for it in Atlanta. It grows every year.

COOPER-JONES: It is.

WHITFIELD: This is the fourth year?

COOPER-JONES: The fourth year, yes, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: It grows every year. Do you see it as kind of an extension of his aura, of feeling alive when running and seeing people smiling? People remember his beautiful smile and the photographs we've seen of him.

COOPER-JONES: Yes.

WHITFIELD: How do you see this as emblematic of him?

COOPER-JONES: This morning was really amazing because everyone who came and greeted me, they had these smiles on their face. It was full of energy, and that was Ahmaud. Ahmaud was that same guy who had a beautiful smile and full of energy, and to see people to come in unity and share that same energy, it was everything.

WHITFIELD: That's wonderful. Three men were ultimately convicted. They faced state, local charges. They were convicted of federal hate crimes. When that happened in 2020, it was such a heinous crime, the hunting down of your son and shooting and killing him. And I wonder in your feeling that have evolved over the years, in 2020, if you were feeling like, oh my gosh, what does this say about America in this time of six years passing, have you felt like there has been a reckoning, an evolution of the state of America, or are you still seeing vestiges of the same kind of hate that spurred that crime as being problematic today?

COOPER-JONES: The same things that we're dealing with in our community is still happening here in 2026. Some of the stories that I've heard, they don't make the headline news, but they're still happening. And I was talking earlier about the Nolan Wells. I mean, things are still happening, and over and over again.

WHITFIELD: What allows you to be hopeful? What allows you to smile? I mean, you have beautiful smile --

COOPER-JONES: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: -- and you are exuding an amazing energy, excited about the 5K run, your Ahmaud Arbery Foundation. How do you do that?

COOPER-JONES: It's the foundation, and knowing that I am putting good back into our community, and when people think of Ahmaud Arbery's name, I won't even think not the way that he was killed, but after he was killed, the work that we're doing in our communities in his name.

WHITFIELD: And through your foundation, you're helping to raise money for scholarships. You are raising hope. You are inspiring young runners who are also part of the 5K.

COOPER-JONES: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: I mean, how do you summarize all that has now come from this Ahmaud Arbery Foundation and the 5K run?

COOPER-JONES: Just to be able to give out academic scholarships to young students who are hoping to go to college is amazing, because I had two boys, and they had a dream of going to college, and they did attend college. And to be able to assist any family in that endeavor, I mean, it feels good.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful work.

COOPER-JONES: Yeah.

WHITFIELD: Wanda Cooper-Jones, thank you so much.

COOPER-JONES: Thank you. You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Thank you for being in here today --

COOPER-JONES: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- and continued best endeavors through the foundation, through the run, and really through the heart that you are sharing with so many.

COOPER-JONES: But can I add something?

WHITFIELD: Yes.

COOPER-JONES: To tell the audience that we -- they can still register for the run. We do have a virtual run that's going to continue until the Labor Day weekend. So, they can still register and receive a beautiful shirt.

WHITFIELD: Wonderful. That's very good.

COOPER-JONES: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Thank you.

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[13:50:00]

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WHITFIELD: All right. New today, NASA launched a massive telescope that scientists are calling a discovery machine.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five, four, three, two, one, ignition and liftoff. Go Falcon Heavy and go Roman Space Telescope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff of NASA's Roman Space Telescope on --

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WHITFIELD: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope could answer questions about some of the universe's biggest mysteries, including dark matter and dark energy. It could also enable astronomers to look at previously unseen galaxies and planets. The observatory has been in development for about a decade and is set to orbit around Earth for about five years.

All right. It's a diplomatic trip unlike any other. The American ambassador to Italy is wrapping up a coastal diplomacy tour along the coast of Italy. He is traveling on his $450 million mega yacht, as he tries to strengthen ties between the two allies. But his efforts have been made for -- more challenging after President Trump sparked a heated feud with the Italian prime minister.

Here is CNN's Becky Anderson.

[13:55:00]

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TILMAN FERTITTA (on camera): I've always been a little humble, and I don't like using the word yacht. So, I just say my boat.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): In the industry, they call it a gigayacht. This vessel with swimming pool, spa, putting green, and two helipads, worth $450 million.

ANDERSON (on camera): Hello. Becky Anderson. Lovely to meet you.

FERTITTA (on camera): Nice to meet you.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Its owner is Tilman J. Fertitta.

FERTITTA (on camera): How often do you get to have a playroom in a boat?

ANDERSON (voice-over): And this summer, the boat is his family home and office.

FERTITTA (on camera): It's kind of funny when people think, oh, all you do is shake hands. It's a real busy job.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Fertitta is a new face in American diplomacy, owner of the NBA's Houston Rockets and a sprawling hospitality empire. He is one of America's richest businessmen.

FERTITTA (on camera): I always said, by the time I was 35, I wanted to have my first jet. By the time I was 40, I had already taken the company public and rang the bell of the New York Stock Exchange.

ANDERSON (on camera): How long have you known Donald Trump?

FERTITTA (on camera): Believe it or not, our first deal was in 1999, when I did a rainforest cafe in the Trump Plaza casino. Then the Trump Marina came due, and I bought that property from him in the early 2000s.

ANDERSON (voice-over): In the past, the ambassador has donated to Republicans and Democrats.

ANDERSON (on camera): What are your personal politics?

FERTITTA (on camera): I'm definitely a conservative, and -- but if you go back and you look at Bill Clinton back then, he would have been a conservative. Politics has gone too far to each direction, but I'm very happy with a lot that our president has done.

ANDERSON (voice-over): Missives from President Trump are often hard for America's allies to hear.

GIORGIA MELONI, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER (on camera): So, we are trying to do our best, but I think we can --

ANDERSON (voice-over): After an initial love in with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni --

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (on camera): She is a beautiful young woman.

ANDERSON (voice-over): -- world politics and a personality clash have brought the long-standing alliance back down to earth.

[02:45:00]

FERTITTA (on camera): He doesn't look at it as, well. I don't want to ruffle anybody's feathers in NATO. I want everybody to love me. He is looking at it as a business guy and saying this isn't right.

ANDERSON (voice-over): When Meloni joined other E.U. leaders in refusing to join the U.S. war on Iran, Italian front pages spoke of a rift, even a divorce between Italy and the United States. But Ambassador Fertitta says their partnership is as robust as ever.

FERTITTA (on camera): There has not been one thing between Italy and America that has been strained while all this is going on. We have an unbelievable military relationship with America and Italy. But our president is very upset with the majority of the NATO nations for not doing what he wanted them to do in this war. I think that if the United States calls, they should be there, because you know what, President Trump would be there for them.

ANDERSON (voice-over): In June, the spat got personal. Trump claiming Meloni begged for a photo with him at the G7 summit, two weeks later, suggesting he needed a, quote, "restraining order" against her.

FERTITTA (on camera): The president has a great sense of humor. When your family, and that's what we are with NATO nations, families bicker, and that's OK. But Italy is there for us, and America is there for Italy, and that's just the way it is.

ANDERSON (voice-over): This summer, Fertitta is on, quote, "a coastal diplomacy tour". The cruise around Italy's shores has included a stop in Cefalu, in Sicily, where his great-grandfather lived before emigrating to the United States.

ANDERSON (on camera): Most people, at least, will perceive you as a pretty unconventional ambassador, and perhaps his sort of coastal trip has sort of fed into that narrative, and you seem quite unapologetic about the sort of quite lavish lifestyle that you run.

FERTITTA (on camera): But I'm not doing this to show off. I'm doing this because it works for American and Italy relationships, and it works for Ambassador Fertitta's relationships with all the people in these little towns. And Italy loves having an ambassador that has a little cachet that can get things done and is different and has an Italian heritage. I mean, they love that.

ANDERSON (voice-over): In choppy political waters, getting this job done could be for Fertitta's toughest gig yet.

Becky Anderson, CNN, Livorno.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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