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U.S. Providing $3.6M Of Humanitarian Aid To Nepal; At Least 37 Dead After Russia Hit Ammunition Warehouse; Israel: Airstrike In West Bank Kills Hamas Member & Two Others. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 30, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

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BEN HUNTE, CNN HOST: Hello, and welcome. I am Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

Ahead here on CNN Newsroom, rescuers in Nepal are urgently trying to save workers who may be trapped in tunnels, while the death toll from the floods continues to rise.

A criminal investigation after one of the deadliest attacks on the Kyiv region since the war began, why Ukraine's president is taking that step.

And honoring a country music legend, the Grand Ole Opry pays tribute to Dolly Parton.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Ben Hunte.

HUNTE: Welcome. We begin with fears of further flooding along the Nepal-China border. Officials are warning that water levels have surged in a river near the area where flooding hit earlier this week. They sent a text to residents asking them to be alert, but did not ask them to evacuate. Right now, an urgent search is underway for workers who may be trapped in hydropower tunnels. Rescuers are pumping air into one of the tunnels and plan to drill a manhole, hoping to send teams inside to find any survivors. Officials say they are already sending in oxygen and food. Specialized teams from India and China have now arrived in Nepal to help.

The U.S. is significantly expanding its support, pledging $3.6 million in humanitarian aid, as communities grapple with the devastation left by the floods. That is a sharp increase from the $500,000 the U.S. first announced days ago.

About 3,000 people are still missing, but a sweeping rescue effort has saved the lives of nearly 3,000 more. Dramatic new video shows just one of those rescues, a young girl trapped under a collapsed building.

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HUNTE: Joining me now is CNN's Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong. Kristie, what is the latest over there? KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ben, days after the disaster, the

death toll is climbing, and thousands of people remain missing. The search operation is continuing in the disaster zone. Authorities are struggling. They are struggling to reach remote areas, including those tunnels under hydroelectric plants, where scores of workers are believed to be missing. They're also struggling with difficult weather conditions and terrain, as well as the sheer scale of it all. Again, 750 people are dead. 3,000 people are missing. 900 of the missing are hydroelectric workers.

I want to show you this video that was released just today by the Nepali Army, and in this video, it shows rescue work underway in one of the tunnels of one of these hydroelectric plants. This plant is in the Rasuwa district of Nepal.

Now, elsewhere, in other tunnels and other hydroelectric plants, we know that rescuers are trying to pump air into the tunnels in order to create a manhole to drill that in to get rescue workers in to locate any possible survivors. There is a statement that was released late on Saturday. Let's bring it up for you. And according to the statement that was released by Nepal's Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, saying this, quote, "There have been some success in the ongoing rescue efforts in the Trishuli-3 'A' Hydropower Project tunnel, which was buried under mud and sludge following the flood." So, reports of progress at one hydroelectric plant, but they have yet to establish any sort of communication with anyone inside.

Now, meanwhile, families of the missing continue to wait in this agonizing limbo for answers for closure, some gathering outside a morgue to get any information on their missing loved ones, and survivors, they are desperately waiting for aid to arrive.

[02:05:00]

Remember, many of the roads there are impassable. They're covered with mud and debris. Some of the survivors have been able to return to what's left of their homes to retrieve any belongings that are there, only to find for some nothing is left. I want you to listen to this, this testimony from a 43-year-old survivor, who says everything is gone.

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SARASWATI GHALE, 43-YEAR-OLD VILLAGER (Interpreted): What am I feeling? Looking at everything. It's like there is no world. What is left? It's like I am dead. What to do now? I don't have anything. What is there that is worth living? Now, what will happen? Who knows? I am saved, but how things will pan out? Who knows? That's it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: (Inaudible) like her, they now face the very dark task of finding a way to rebuild their lives, and for Nepal, this already impoverished country, faces the task of rebuilding vast parts of the country, according to an interview that the finance minister of Nepal gave to Reuters. Nepal needs some $4 billion to $5 billion in foreign aid, aid that it needs to rebuild bridges and transport links, aid that it needs to rebuild communication lines, as well as experts in tunneling, experts, and also providing information on how to identify the remains of those recovered bodies, as well as cold storage, to be able to properly store the remains that they're collecting.

Back to you, Ben.

HUNTE: It's absolutely awful. And what can you tell us about the fears of more rain and more flooding to come?

STOUT: Yeah. There are acute fears about that. In fact, there was a message that was sent out earlier today, 04:30 a.m. local time, by authorities in Nepal to residents, saying that river flows are getting higher in the disaster zone, and many people there are heading to higher ground. They are on alert at the moment. We've also heard from Chinese authorities on Saturday, keeping an eye on that barrier lake, as you recall, a barrier lake formed as a result of that disaster that took place on Wednesday. We did hear, according to authorities on Saturday, that the size of that barrier lake has diminished slightly. You remember, they had to, on Friday, suspend rescue efforts with fears of an overflow of that barrier lake.

So, welcome news from Chinese authorities on Saturday. The barrier lake is diminishing in size, and yet, the official adds this, the situation remains very fluid because of ever-changing weather conditions there. Ben.

HUNTE: OK. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, thank you for joining us.

STOUT: Thank you.

HUNTE: U.S. aid is up significantly, but thousands of people still remain missing, putting strain on official responders and groups.

Let's get more on the massive challenges that are following this flooding. Mike Ball is the Chief Operating Officer of the disaster relief organization All Hands & Hearts, and he joins us from one of the worst affected areas in Nepal.

Firstly, thank you so much for your work and for being here with us. What are you seeing on the ground at the moment, and how difficult is it to reach these worst hit communities?

MIKE BALL, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, ALL HANDS & HEARTS: Yeah. Thank you for having me. It's a really, really challenging -- excuse me, challenging situation here. Essentially, the worst affected communities are being reached by the Army in search and rescue. I think this is the biggest challenge of Nepal and the terrain. As you've seen from the event and the footage, roads are destroyed. Bridges are out. So, it's incredibly difficult for anybody to get to the truly affected areas where search and rescue is happening.

Where we are at the moment is by the Army barracks in Bara, and in Nuwakot, and the devastation we've seen here is also unbelievable. So, the area that we've been to Devighat, which is near here, is completely decimated. So, this is 50 kilometers downstream from where the flooding started, and it's like a tsunami has been through. In all honesty, it must be 20 to 30 feet of water coming through, 200, 300 meters wide. So, we've spoke to people here about the devastation, and -- yeah. So, this is just a snapshot that we're seeing to what'll be 100 times over, as you keep going up the river.

HUNTE: Your team is supporting the Army's search and rescue operation. What are the rescuers experiencing, as they search for people that are still missing?

BALL: It's just an incredibly difficult situation, I think, for everybody, again, if you imagine what's being left here with the size of the water and the mud and the debris. It's monsoon season. So, you still have the rain. You have the threat of potentially more flooding coming later. So, it's incredibly challenging conditions to try and find people there and people trapped in the inside buildings full of merge and rocks. We heard about the hydro plant and people trapped in the tunnel. So, it's a real mix of, I think, of conditions.

[02:10:00]

But the level of mud and debris, and trying to rescue people from inside buildings in these conditions, is incredibly, incredibly challenging.

HUNTE: You have now got aid trucks reaching you. What are the most urgent supplies that you're getting into these affected communities?

BALL: So, at the minute, we're focused on with the Army supporting search and rescue. They're actually moving people to Bara and then they're putting them into holding centers or displacement centers at the moment. So, one of our key focuses is making sure that we can get sanitary items, hygiene products, clothing, food, water, anything that people need when they've lost everything. They've been relocated. They've lost their homes. We've heard stories of people about to walk five or six hours out of the affected area to reach a center to get to the Army to then be relocated here.

So, this area is growing in the number of centers and the number of people who are being placed here. So, there is a humanitarian crisis, I guess, around here in terms of making sure that there is enough supplies for everybody here, which is separate to the search and rescue, and everything happening further north as well. So, this is on a massive scale in many different contexts, areas going on.

HUNTE: What's your reaction to the attention and support that this tragedy has been receiving around the world? Has it met your expectations, or do you think there is still more that world leaders could be doing to support this?

BALL: I mean, I think this is a tragedy, which, sadly, if you look over history and events, when you can think and name them, from the 2004 tsunami, 2010 in Haiti, 2014 in the Philippines, it goes on, I think this is one of these events, which is it's not weeks to repair. It is years and years and years of recovery. So, I think the -- I know governments are stepping up now with a level of funding. This will need years and years and years of support by the Nepali government and by international community to help. So, it's coming in.

But again, I think we're only seeing a snapshot of what's happening, and I think until we can really reach the affected areas, until everybody can get in, it's hard to see exactly what's needed at the moment.

HUNTE: OK. We'll leave it there for now. But Mike Ball, Chief Operating Officer for All Hands & Hearts, we are so grateful for your work, and my team wants to say thank you as well. Thank you for joining us.

BALL: Thank you.

HUNTE: And for more information on how you can help the victims of this disaster, you can visit cnn.com/impact.

There is much more to come here on CNN Newsroom, including an attack near Kyiv that killed more than three dozen people, but much of the damage appears to not be from Russian drones or missiles.

And voters in Iceland are weighing whether they want the country to restart E.U. membership talks. All the details just ahead.

See you in a moment.

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[02:15:00]

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HUNTE: Welcome back. Ukraine's president says a criminal investigation is underway after one of the deadliest attacks in the Kyiv region since the war began. A Russian drone strike targeted an ammunition warehouse near the city on Saturday morning, killing at least 37 people and wounding dozens of others. It led to a huge fire and triggered explosions of the ammo stored inside that rang out for hours. Dozens of buildings were damaged, including a home for the elderly and people with disabilities.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the ammunition should never have been stored so close to civilian homes, and he wants those responsible held to account.

For more, Barbie Latza Nadeau joins us from Rome. The president says ammunition should never have been stored so close to homes. So, what happens now? What have you heard about the investigation?

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. This is really kind of an interesting situation because it is the second time that we've seen one of these deadly attacks due to the fact that this ammunition is stored in these residential areas, and what we've got is the Ukrainian president not saying he is going to take retaliation against Russia, but he is opening a criminal investigation into his own military or whoever it was who decided to house this ammunition so close to homes. Let's listen to what he had to say on Saturday. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (Interpreted): It is a horrific situation, and there has been an appalling negligence by those who stored explosive materials right next to where people were living. My condolences go out to all the families and loved ones. The rubble is still being cleared. The death toll, unfortunately, may rise. Dozens of people have been injured, including locals and rescue workers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: And Ben, this comes amidst just an incredible two, three days now of attacks, jet-powered drone attacks, and missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital and those surrounding areas, and they've had multiple air raid sirens and alerts, sending people down into those subway shelters, stopping people dead in their tracks, really, closing schools, closing malls, closing businesses, putting people very much on edge, as this war just continues to go on. Ben.

HUNTE: OK. Barbie Latza Nadeau reporting from Rome, thank you very much.

An Israeli airstrike reportedly has killed three people in the occupied West Bank. The IDF says it was targeting a Hamas militant who was joined by two accomplices in the northern city of Jenin on Friday. Israel claims the militant had international ties with Hamas members and was linked to attacks on Israeli citizens and security forces. Hamas condemned the attack but did not claim the alleged operative who was targeted. Palestine Red Crescent medics say they were briefly detained when Israeli ground troops later raided the strike zone, and they were prevented from transporting victims to the hospital. The IDF has not yet responded to those statements.

[02:20:00]

Washington and Caracas are hailing a landmark new deal on oil. It gives the U.S. control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan reserves. Venezuela says the deal will help revitalize its economy.

Julia Benbrook is at the White House with more.

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JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): President Donald Trump says the United States has secured a large stake in the Venezuelan oil industry. He says that this move more than doubles American oil reserves and that it will lower gas prices, of course, a big emphasis there with the midterms quickly approaching. It is important to note, though, that it would likely take some time for Americans to feel the impact of this.

He made this announcement in the form of a social media post. I want to pull that up for you now. He said, in part, "At my direction, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, working closely with Highly Respected Interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodriguez, and, through a partnership with private business, have secured majority U.S. control of more than 65 BILLION BARRELS of proven Oil Reserves in Venezuela, at no cost to the American Taxpayer."

There are still a lot of questions about this, and we have reached out to the White House for more details. But here is what we do know. A U.S. official tells us that the deal negotiated gives the United States majority control of 65 billion barrels of proven oil reserves in Venezuela. The United States takes 55 percent in joint venture with private Venezuelan company, and Trump says that the 100-year oil field lease more than doubles U.S. controlled oil reserves.

Shortly after the deal was announced, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that this was a win both for the American people and the Venezuelan people. For the Venezuelan people, he said that this would create nearly $100 billion worth of private investment and that it would support thousands of high-paying jobs.

Now, a little bit of background here, at the beginning of the year, there was a large-scale military operation that led to the capture of Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro, who is now in New York and faces criminal charges. Shortly after that military operation, Trump said that American businesses would help rebuild Venezuela's oil industry. In January, Venezuelan lawmakers did approve a law change backed by Rodriguez that makes it easier for foreign companies to take part in Venezuela's oil industry.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: And now to Iceland, where the voting is too close to call in a referendum that could reshape the island nation's future. This asks whether voters want to restart talks to join the European Union. The Icelandic national broadcaster is tracking early results that show the no side has a slim lead, but election officials say it will take more time to get a reliable result, as ballots come in from towns and rural polling stations. Those in favor say E.U. membership could offer more security, especially against Donald Trump's threats. Opponents argue it would threaten Iceland's sovereignty and fishing too.

There is much more to come here on CNN Newsroom, including the latest on the recovery efforts in Nepal and China, after raging flood waters ripped entire villages from their foundations. That's next.

Plus, the wife of a hiker missing in Nepal speaking to CNN. Why she says it's crucial that her husband and the men he was with are found quickly. See you in a moment.

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[02:25:00]

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HUNTE: Back to our top story. 750 people have now been confirmed killed by the terrible flooding along the China-Nepal border. Rescue workers are searching for any survivors. More than 3,000 people are still missing. The vast majority of them in Nepal. Hundreds of those unaccounted for are foreigners. Crews from India, China, and South Korea are joining the search efforts there.

The already challenging search and rescue of conditions in Nepal will likely be complicated by more rain. The region is in the middle of its monsoon season, with thunderstorms possible across the flood zone over the next couple of days.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar has the latest for us.

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ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): The last thing this area needs is the potential for additional flooding. Unfortunately, there are rain showers expected in the forecast over the next several days. You can see through Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening we get another round of showers that makes its way through. Same thing for Monday and even into Tuesday. Both of those days are likely going to have breaks in the morning before we start to see activity pick back up in the afternoon and evening hours, which is really kind of the main timeline for this general area because we are right in the middle of monsoon season. August is the second wettest month of the year, and for many of these areas, they'll likely pick up 50 to 100 millimeters a day over the next few days. That's roughly two to four inches.

So, again, you're talking about a lot of rain, and a lot of that starts to build back up, bringing more rain to a lot of those river valleys that you've seen in many of the images and videos. The big concern too is also where a lot of the mud flows have occurred. That area, when it hardens, turns to an almost concrete-like material. But once you add water back into the mix from rain showers, it liquefies, making it very unstable and very dangerous for a lot of the rescue and the recovery crews to come in. Not to mention, it just continues to cause more messes and potentially increase the likelihood of additional flooding.

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HUNTE: The U.S. State Department says around 90 American citizens are unaccounted for in the disaster. One of them is Anil Goel, an avid hiker from Virginia. He had joined a tour group for a multi-day hiking trip on Mount Kailash. His son Anurag told CNN that the family has not heard from Anil since the day before the flooding. Anurag Goel says the last communication from the tour group came less than an hour before the flooding began.

There were 10 men in that hiking group. The wife of one of them spoke to CNN earlier about why it's crucial that rescuers find her husband and the others quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNEHA SUDHIR, MISSING HIKER'S WIFE (on camera): The minute I got the news, of course, the first thought was, of course, it's not us. So, I would start hearing from him in some time. Of course, the connectivity is lost, but the minute I would start sending him a message or start calling him, so probably next hour or so I should start hearing them.

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So, it's going to be coming soon. Just not us, or these guys are not in the place where all this thing is happening. So, that was my initial thought. And -- but then yes, it looks like -- I don't know where they are. It's a family that's out there. It's 10 boys who are stuck there. Everyone is a great human being, a great dad, a great husband, and I'm talking on behalf of the entire family of 10 that I'm representing here.

We want to seek help from public, government, military, I don't know who is going to help me, but if you guys can start looking for them, because there are some of them who needs their medical attention on a day-to-day basis. I also have one of my elderly brother who had joined there, and he is 70 plus, super fit. Many of them run their marathons. But of course, see, they are not ready for something like this, and as I said, yes, they need their medications on a timely basis. They, of course, need to take their food. I don't know what not, but 80 hours is way too long for them to be somewhere where they are not taken care of.

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HUNTE: There is much more to come here on CNN Newsroom.

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HUNTE: Welcome back. The flood disaster along the Nepal-China border was not caused by infrastructure, but it is highlighting a stark reality in the Himalayas. The risks of natural disasters in the region are growing due to climate change. At the same time, the countries have been ramping up infrastructure projects. They have been rapidly expanding dams, tunnels, highways, railways, and bridges too, as they aim to harness the region's vast hydropower potential and resources.

[02:35:00]

Joining me now is CNN's Senior China Reporter Simone McCarthy. Simone, there has been a lot of misinformation claiming that infrastructure caused this disaster. But what do we actually know about what happened, and where did those claims come from?

SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER: Well, exactly. Certainly, the disaster that we're dealing with on the China-Nepal border was not caused by infrastructure. There were certainly rumors that were circulating at that time. The Chinese embassy in Nepal has come out and said that's fake news, and the scientific community has said that this disaster was caused by a glacier which broke off and then triggered a massive landslide as well as flooding. So, that is what we know about how this incident happened, this absolute catastrophe at the border.

But what this is shining a light on at the same time is that there has been this real buildout of infrastructure across the Himalayas, and that's led by China, in many respects, in terms of the most ambitious and kind of engineering -- complex from an engineering perspective projects, but also India and as well as Nepal. A lot of this is about hydropower. Countries want to wean off of coal. They have increasing demand for electricity. And so, they're looking to those high-altitude rivers in the Himalayas in order to be able to harness electricity power there to really electrify their countries, but at the same time, having more projects in the region, especially at a time when there is so much volatility there.

This is really one of the most seismically active parts of the world. It's a place that's prone to natural disaster, as we've just catastrophically seen in recent days. And climate change is really raising those risks, and it's also making them more unpredictable. And so, that's raising a lot of questions about, OK, well, if we have more infrastructure projects in the region, what can we do to mitigate those risks? Certainly, today we've seen a lot of rescue efforts in Nepal are focused around workers who are working in hydropower projects that are now missing, and that really highlights just what we're talking about here, Ben.

Now, the sense is it's hydropower. There is also economic development that's driving some of this infrastructure boom, and certainly frictions along the China-India border, where those two countries have a long simmering border -- excuse me, long simmering border frictions, and that's also encouraging both countries to ensure that they're able to mobilize there. So, that's roads. We've seen new tunnels being built out on the Indian side.

And so, while, of course, we know that this disaster was not caused by infrastructure, having more projects in the region raises questions about, OK, well, when there are these kinds of natural disasters which are becoming more unpredictable, are these projects really equipped to be able to handle that?

Now, Chinese engineers are seen to be among the best in the world, and they really focus on mitigation and surveillance. But a number of the experts that I've been talking to in recent days, Ben, what they're saying is so much is changing so quickly in the region as a result of climate change that, yes, we can plan for the reality that we know now, but are we going to be able to plan for the risks in the future, and what happens when these projects perhaps aren't able to hold up to that risk, and then put people and the projects themselves in harm's way.

HUNTE: OK. CNN's Simone McCarthy in Beijing, thank you very much.

There is much more to come here on CNN Newsroom. Country music's biggest stage is paying tribute to Dolly Parton. We'll have more on the Grand Ole Opry's dedication just ahead.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HUNTE: Last year, a new U.S. ambassador to Italy was appointed, 69-

year-old Texan billionaire Tilman Fertitta. He is the owner of the NBA team the Houston Rockets, as well as being a reality TV star.

Becky Anderson traveled to Italy to meet him on his $450 million yacht called The Boardwalk.

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TILMAN FERTITTA, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ITALY (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 pools, 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, ITALING 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)

HUNTE: Nashville's Grand Ole Opry is honoring country music icon and humanitarian hero Dolly Parton. The venue says Saturday night's show was dedicated to Dolly's life, legacy, and contributions to country music. Several country artists performed, including Carly Pearce, who began her career at Dollywood Theme Park. Parton was 13-years-old when she made her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry stage in 1959, introduced by the legendary Johnny Cash. She became an official member by age 23. Following her passing on Tuesday, her name was placed front and center on the venue's outdoor marquee.

Joining us now is Lydia Hamessley. She is the author of "Unlikely Angel: The Songs of Dolly Parton", and is professor of musk at Hamilton College. Thank you so much for being with me. Tributes to Dolly are happening across the country and all around the world too. But what is it about her music that makes it resonate with so many people?

LYDIA HAMESSLEY, PROFESSOR OF MUSIC, HAMILTON COLLEGE: I think it's probably that she is such a great storyteller. She pulls you in right from the very beginning of a song, and she also has the gift of melody and very catchy tunes. And so, when you combine the great songs -- excuse me, the great stories with the melodies that people can sing along with so easily, like Jolene, you can't help but connect with people. I think it's her storytelling, though, most of all.

HUNTE: The Grand Ole Opry dedicated an entire show to Dolly. What does the Opry mean to her legacy, and what does it mean to see the country music community come together like this?

HAMESSLEY: Well, it's really terrific, and of course, it means so much to her legacy because it meant so much to her as a kid dreaming of being on the Opry, and the way that she kind of managed to even talk her way onto it when she was technically even too young to appear. It sort of puts her in perspective of that. That's the kind of ambition that she had, that she was just going to get out there on that stage no matter what.

[02:50:00]

And of course, they just did the 50th anniversary of her having joined the Opry a few years ago, and did a big show for that. And this evening, at the end of the current dedication, they played the ending of that 50th anniversary of hers, in which she sang "I Will Always Love You. So, that closed out her own celebration for 50 years, but it closed out this dedication, which was really poignant to see her singing that about, please don't cry and I have to go. I mean, it really resonated so differently now in light of her passing.

HUNTE: You have written an entire book about Jolene. Why has that particular song become such a massive piece of American music?

HAMESSLEY: Well, partly what I said about the story and the catchiness, but I think also because it's kind of different. It's in a minor key. And so, it's got a little bit of a haunting quality to it. Dolly was asked the question herself. What's up with Jolene? Why is that such a great song? And she said, well, because it's so simple that anybody could sing along with it. She sang the first Jolene, Jolene, Jolene, Jolene. She said even a baby can sing that. I'm not a genius.

But the other thing that she said about that song was that it was about feeling inferior, and that everybody could relate to that, that everybody has the sense that somebody else has something on them, or they could take away their partner, or they're better than them somehow. And so, whether it's the situation that's specific to Jolene, or it's just the sense of feeling insecure, there is a way that that song captures that, and yet I think in that chorus with the name going over and over, it also feels a little bit confident. Like, yeah, I'm worried about this, but I also am coming to you face-to-face and singing your name and challenging you a little bit.

HUNTE: Dolly built an incredible career in an industry dominated by men. How much did she change the possibilities for women in country music?

HAMESSLEY: Well, I think quite a bit. She always said that -- growing up in a family, she had three or four older brothers, three older brothers, and a bunch of younger brothers, and lots of uncles, and she said, I grew up around men. I understood men. I knew how to handle them. So, when she got the inevitable misogynistic sexist stuff that she would have gotten back in the 60s and 70s, she knew how to disarm it without being -- making people feel bad about what they had been doing. So, there is that part of it.

But I think also she has often reached a hand out to other women and helped them along the way. And of course, tonight's celebration was initially the show to celebrate Carly Pearce's fifth anniversary on the Grand Ole Opry, and they showed the clip with Dolly entering, much to Carly's surprise, to be a part of that invitation for her to join. And Dolly has helped women many times along the way; reaching out; singing with them, doing duets with them. There was a recent one, I'm sorry, I can't remember the artist's name, but she wrote a song that was kind of riffing on the idea of Jolene, Jolene's son, and Dolly heard that and said, wow, that's a pretty cool idea. I'll sing that with you. I mean, that certainly didn't help someone's career.

HUNTE: Absolutely incredible stories. Lydia Hamessley, thank you so much. We appreciate your time. Thank you for being with us.

HAMESSLEY: Thank you.

HUNTE: People who worked with Dolly in her movies are also talking about the impact that she had on their lives. Actress, producer, and New York Times best-selling author Danica McKellar is looking back at her time on set with Dolly in the 2019 movie "Christmas at Dollywood."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANICA MCKELLAR, ACTRESS, PRODUCER & NYT BEST-SELLING AUTHOR (on camera): There is a documentary made about the Imagination Library, and I was asked to narrate that earlier in the year. And at the recording session, who stops in to surprise me? But Dolly Parton herself. I was floored. I was just -- my -- I was gobsmacked. My mouth dropped open. There she was, head to toe, black leather with grommet holes and like a big chain cross, and just her hair, and all her glory. It was an amazing moment that I'll never forget.

And then later that year, we did this movie together.

[02:55:00]

Working with her was incredible. She has a really strong work ethic. She wanted to rehearse, and I would love to rehearse. Let's rehearse all day. She was just a sparkling ball of light. We were all -- I was nervous about doing this big scene with her. I hadn't been nervous about doing an acting scene. I've been acting for like 40 years, but I had all these butterflies, and she walked on the set. We were all just so nervous. She walked on the set, and she goes, Merry Christmas, everybody. And we all just -- it just diffused all of the tension and the nervousness we all had. She put us all at ease immediately. She is wearing head to toe silver sparkles with these six-inch heels platform, just incredible, and she was amazing.

And no matter what she said, it sounded good. I still remember that the director of photography said, Ms. Parton, you're going to be stepping over some cords here, and she is wearing these tall heels, right? I don't want you to trip over them, and she goes, no, you don't, honey. It was just so charming. And so, she knew how to deliver any kind of message with charm. She makes everyone feel good about themselves. She knows exactly what to say.

I think it was the wardrobe woman who made a self-deprecating remark about how she can ever be as beautiful as Dolly, and it's kind of an awkward position to be in, right? Well, Dolly looked at her and said, Honey, you are beautiful inside and out, and the woman just beamed. Dolly just knew what to say. She just knew what to say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Some beautiful stories there.

And that's all I've got for you for now. Thanks for joining me and the team here. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and I'll be right back with so much more on CNN Newsroom after this very quick break. See you in a moment.

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