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U.S., Iran Trade Strikes for the First Time in a Month; Death Toll in Nepal and China's Catastrophic Flooding Breached the 900 Mark; Trump Hits NBC News' Kristen Welker to Face Rebuke or Punishment from FCC. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired August 31, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:32]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: New York, and ahead here on CNN Newsroom.

The U.S. and Iran trade attacks in the first major military escalation in a month. I'll tell you what brought on the strikes.

And rescue efforts continue in Nepal, as thousands remain missing after catastrophic flooding. We'll be talking to an expert about the role of climate change in this tragedy.

And Trump says he doesn't want Canadian anything. Trade war tensions heating up between the U.S. Presidents and Ontario's Premier.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: We want to begin with the new strikes near the Strait of Hormuz that broke a tense quiet between the U.S. and Iran. It was the first escalation in the region in a month, as the White House says that there are currently no ongoing talks between both the U.S. and Iran.

U.S. Central Command says that the military struck Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island early on Sunday after observing Iranian forces preparing to fire rockets with mines into the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded with its own strikes against two U.S. air bases in Jordan. A spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps calling the U.S.' actions, quote, "a strategic and deadly mistake," and that's according to state media.

Let's get the latest now and go to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who joins me live from Abu Dhabi with more. So, Paula, what are we hearing from inside Iran about this new exchanging of strikes?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, what we've heard is the Revolutionary Guard saying that it was a grave mistake for the U.S. military to begin targeting the Iranian forces. Once again, we also have just heard from the UAE here, from the defense ministry, confirming that they intercepted a drone that they say was approaching from Iran over its territorial waters. Earlier today, we heard Tehran saying that they had targeted a base here in the UAE that was hosting U.S. troops.

Now, Jordan says that it intercepted and destroyed eight missiles which were fired towards its territory. The Revolutionary Guard saying that they had been targeting two U.S. bases or two bases in Jordan. But the Jordanian defense ministry said that all of the projectiles were destroyed before they posed a threat to any property or civilians within the country.

Now, what we're hearing from state media in Iran is that they claim that there have been casualties among both Iranian forces and also civilians after this strike. It's the first time in more than a month that we have seen military action from either side.

It had been relatively calm. It would certainly seem to be a stalemate. But there hadn't been kinetic activity in recent weeks.

Now, U.S. Central Command says the reason that they carried this out, they called it a limited precise action, is because they struck two rocket launchers on Larak Island just off the coast of Bandar Abbas. They say that they believed there were mine laying activities that were about to be carried out.

CENTCOM says that they cleared the mines out of the Strait of Hormuz, out of that critical waterway last week. And they believe that Iran was trying to lay more mines to disrupt the traffic, the maritime traffic in the critical waterway. So that is what they say was their reason for this limited action.

Now, it's unclear at this point whether that is the end of it, whether the U.S. has carried out this attack. Iran has responded. And we will be seeing in the coming hours whether that is the extent of this kinetic activity.

We had heard from the Trump administration, though, that they were focusing more on economic punishments for Iran. We heard from the Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, calling it an economic D-Day. And he also told Reuters that their first focus is going to be on banks.

[03:05:06]

So trying to create a stranglehold on Iran's ability to do business, its ability to fund its military. The Trump administration saying that they will be going after individuals, after other countries and entities in other countries that are trying to facilitate Iran's ability to do business. But as of now, we do see this kinetic activity sparking once again, an escalation for sure.

We'll have to see in the coming hours whether it is an isolated attack. Polo?

SANDOVAL: An escalation after that approximately month-long pause. Paula Hancocks, thank you so much for that update.

Now to the death toll that continues to rise following the devastating flooding that swept across parts of Nepal and China last week. Nepal's disaster authority now says that more than 900 people have been killed. In the scale of the disaster, it is straining medical resources to preserve victims' remains for DNA testing.

India has deployed more than a dozen forensic scientists to Nepal to try to help speed up that forensic analysis, but officials in southern Nepal have already been forced to bury nearly 200 unidentified bodies. And the number of missing, that also continues climbing as families are desperately searching for any clues as they hope to find their missing loved ones. Officials in Nepal now saying that more than 4,000 people are still unaccounted for.

In urgent search and rescue efforts, those continue to reach hundreds of workers trapped in tunnels in Nepal. The country's Minister of Energy says that the effort is the highest priority for authorities there on the ground. Specialist teams from China and India are joining roughly 10,000 Nepali troops to help there.

Families of the missing are still holding on to their hope as officials say that emergency workers have been able to rescue more than 10,000 people so far, but many who survived are still trying to process just how much they lost in these floodwaters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISHNA PRASAD BHATTA, RELATIVE KILLED IN FLOODING (through translator): This is a very sad matter. In my family, it's not just this one person who died. Others are still missing. There are about eight of them.

Right now, only this one person has been found, and we still don't know the fate of the other seven. This is a very sad matter. What should we do?

The pain is deeply overwhelming. Whether the government steps in tomorrow to make things easier for us or not is something we will find out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN senior international correspondent Will Ripley is in Nepal, and earlier he spoke with two Italian tourists who narrowly escaped those floodwaters that overtook a border checkpoint that we've all seen in that harrowing footage. Take a listen to how they managed to reach safety.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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 buses 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, 3000 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.

VALENTINA PICCININI, ITALIAN TOURIST WHO SURVIVED FLOOD: Everybody turned right, only me turned left. So that's the point, I don't know why, but 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's saying my name, but I was not able to hear them. So I just followed an ant 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: Did you know it was water that was coming when you saw the big black?

STEFANO LUTUMOLO, ITALIAN TOURIST WHO SURVIVED FLOOD: No, we couldn't know. Like, as you've seen in 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: I felt that everybody of them, they were alive. I don't know why, but my heart can tell me, okay, don't worry, they are all alive.

[03:10:10]

So first start, think about you, start to run, think and 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: And you said the healing power of the Nepali people has kept you here and helped you to heal from this experience.

LUTUMOLO: We were together. There were no difference between Italians, Nepali, we were just human being, survivor. And we just try also the night time, celebrating life and they lost everything.

They lost everything, people, houses, they had nothing left.

RIPLEY: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And joining us now is Arbindra Khatka, joining us live from Kathmandu, a glaciologist and also a research scientist at Tribhuvan University. Dr. Khatka, thank you so much for joining us again.

DR. ARBINDRA KHATKA, GLACIOLOGIST, AND RESEARCH SCIENTIST, TRIBHUVAN UNIVERSITY: Thank you for the invitation.

SANDOVAL: Of course, before I ask you about the science behind this tragedy, Dr. Khatka, I'm wondering if perhaps you've received an update on your end. We know that this is personal for you, as you previously shared with us. You have friends and relatives who are still missing in the aftermath.

Have you heard any new information about their whereabouts?

KHATKA: It's very devastating. We tried our best to figure out what happened with our brother, along with other people. And then the only hope left is he's still inside the tunnel and he's alive.

But outside, we could not find him and he's still missing.

SANDOVAL: We're still thinking about them. And as we do that, tell us about how this tragedy is highlighting the dangers of vanishing ice due to climate change. How much higher are the chances of seeing more glacial lake outburst floods in cold mountain zones, you think?

KHATKA: So if you go back last few years, like last year or since 2020, every year there are different kinds of cryospheric hazard or the hazard we started from the cryosphere or the Himalayas, we have seen that. So we can say that this decade is the decade of the cryospheric hazard or the cascading hazard. And it's all because of the, we can clearly say that these all are because of the climate change.

Because in the last decade, the glacier melt is almost one and a half or two times higher than the early 2000s. So this is increasing every year and the glaciers are unstable after that. So these kinds of things are happening every year and we need to do lots of science behind this very tough and remote area.

So what we can do, whatever we can do, we need to do the scientific study behind these kind of events and like how it's occurring and where it's the most rigid.

SANDOVAL: Yes. I read a "New York Times" opinion piece essentially describing it as termites gnawing away at the frame of a structure just like that. These warming temperatures are essentially gnawing away at these ice coats, at this permafrost that is essentially holding these mountain sides, frozen mountain sides together.

So do you think that these risks extend beyond the Himalayas? What other regions are closely being watched by geologists right now?

KHATKA: So as a glaciologist, we need to think about the glacier physics here. Our glaciers are temperate glaciers.

We used to say it's a temperate glacier, the temperature of these glaciers are always near to zero. And in the lower part of the glacier, it's much warmer than the upper part of the glacier. So in the summer, our glaciers, the second part is our glaciers, are accumulating and ablating during the summer monsoon.

So in the summer monsoon, the lower part is melting very fast, around four to five meters minimum, and then it's only stabilized the lower part of the glacier. And secondary thing, there is the permafrost, or we can say the top layer of the frozen ground is melting during the summer. So these two things, like when it comes together and the slope of this kind of hanging glacier comes together, then this kind of hazard can come very frequent.

And in the last five years, we have seen like not exactly the glacier collapse, but different kind of this kind of atmospheric hazard are seen. And then I think with this climate change, every year it will occur. And then we will suffer much more than every season, every year.

SANDOVAL: Dr. Arbindra Khatka, thank you so much for your expert analysis. And again, we're certainly continue to think about you and those who are still waiting for answers on the whereabouts of over 4200 people. Thank you so much for your time and we'll stay in touch.

KHATKA: Yes, thank you.

[03:15:04]

SANDOVAL: I want to bring things back here to the United States, where at least one person has died and about 15 others may be missing after a flash flood hit Grand Canyon National Park.

The body of a 46-year-old man was recovered near Crystal Rapids, which is along the Colorado River. And earlier, we did hear from former FEMA external affairs officer and active first responder Jason Pack, and he had this update.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON PACK, FORMER FEMA EXTERNAL AFFAIRS OFFICER: So I think what's important, though, is unaccounted for. We heard that term used by officials today, and that doesn't necessarily mean the worst. And at least that's certainly what we're hoping for.

That could mean that hikers don't have communication, as we heard that the footpaths were mostly washed out. So hopefully they will be able to locate those things with aircraft, with technology like thermal imaging, these types of things to be able to find where these missing hikers are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Park officials are saying that the flooding has also knocked out a water pipeline serving tourists in the area. And the limited water resources will likely hurt tourism ahead of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

Starting on Monday, Grand Canyon Park will be implementing stage four water restrictions. All park concessions and overnight accommodations will be closed starting on August 31st. South Rim campground water spigots will also be turned off, and wood burning and charcoal fires are prohibited on the South Rim and in the inner canyon.

And visitors and residents are being asked to limit their water use with short showers and limited toilet flushing.

Well, so much more on the way here on "CNN Newsroom," including Canada that's ignoring Donald Trump's provocation over Lake Ontario's name. And the nation's leaders are demanding that he come back to the negotiating table and make a fair trade deal. More on that ahead.

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[03:20:00]

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SANDOVAL: President Trump is accusing Canada, one of the United States' top trading partners, of being a, quote, "abuser and harming the U.S. auto industry." The U.S. President claiming that he, quote, "saved American automakers with his tariffs." The Trump administration recently said that it would double duties on Canadian cars to 50 percent after trade talks collapsed this month.

He posted on social media, quote, "I don't want Canadian cars, I don't want Canadian parts, I don't want Canadian anything. They've been ripping us off for decades and it's going to stop."

But the President's comments aren't backed by facts. You see, the U.S. has a trade surplus with Canada when it comes to American cars. And Canada imported more than $30 billion worth of U.S. cars in the first half of this year alone.

And Canadian leaders are calling on the U.S. President to focus on building a productive trade agreement built on respect for national sovereignty. Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke out about it. He's urging the Trump administration to focus on making deals with Canada instead of the, quote, "unstable government in Venezuela."

Well Ford has been the target of Donald Trump's personal attacks in recent weeks. He's also calling on the U.S. president to behave in a civil manner.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG FORD, ONTARIO, CANADA PREMIER: Tariff on Canada is nothing more than a tax on the American people. And it's probably the worst move it could ever do.

You got to eventually stand up to someone that just continuously attacks our country and insults our country. We believe in Canadian sovereignty. And I know Americans believe in having a sovereign Canada as well.

It's unfortunate that he stoops down to that level. And unfortunately, I did that day. But I just think that we need to focus on a free trade agreement that will create more jobs, more opportunities on both sides of the border. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: You heard the premier there acknowledging he too had some colorful comments directed at the White House.

Let's go to Richard Johnson now, he's a senior lecturer in U.S. politics at Queen Mary University of London. He joins us now from Oxford. Richard, it's always great to see you, thanks for joining us.

So you just heard from Ontario's premier there, Doug Ford. He's basically calling for the U.S.-Canada trade differences to be worked out, but at the same time remaining quite critical of President Trump because of his trade policies. Where do you see these renewed trade tensions headed long term?

RICHARD JOHNSON, SENIOR LECTURER IN U.S. POLITICS, QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Well, I think the politics of this is really interesting because if you look at the reactions of the publics in both the U.S. and Canada, the Canadian government, Mark Carney's government, has had a lot of public support for his moves at the moment to resist the demands of the United States and to, in effect, to stand up for what he sees as Canadian sovereignty.

So over 70 percent of Canadians have supported the Prime Minister and his approach. And that includes a majority of people who voted conservative in Canada at the last general election. So there is, at the moment in Canada, pretty broad, you might even say bipartisan, support for Premier Carney's moves.

Whereas the United States' approach, putting tariffs against Canada, is unpopular. Significant majorities of Americans are opposed to the president's moves, with the exception of the MAGA base, where there is, as with pretty much all policies that President Trump approaches, he does still have strong support from the MAGA base. But even among Republicans who say they're not MAGA, the president doesn't have support for this.

And so although there's an economic picture, which is Canada exports a very, very significant amount of its trade to the United States, the political picture, I think, is more favorable to what the Carney government is doing than what President Trump is doing from the U.S. perspective.

[03:24:50]

SANDOVAL: And so with all this in play, as you point out, with the domestic support in Canada for the way that this is being handled, and then across the border with the strong, with the growing opposition of the way that the Trump administration is handling it, do you think that this might be resolved before Canada's dollar-for-dollar tariffs kick in in about a week?

JOHNSON: Yes, I mean, there is that looming deadline just after Labor Day weekend. And it's hard to predict these things. So much of it is happening behind the scenes. But one area of potential pressure that may be relevant, of course, is

to think about the midterm elections. The border states are in play here in the midterm elections. And I'm thinking particularly of the state of Michigan, which has high-profile gubernatorial and senatorial contests at the moment.

And these tariffs are not popular in Michigan, particularly because of the intertwined nature of the U.S.-Canadian auto industry. In some ways, it doesn't even really make sense to talk about a separate U.S.- Canada auto industries.

They're really so intertwined and have been since a pact back in 1965. And so these moves are not popular in parts of, electorally significant parts of the country, particularly in Michigan. And I just wonder if there will be Republican senators and political officials from the Great Lakes states going to the Trump administration saying, hang on a second, this isn't the best story to be having just a few weeks before people start sending their ballots in for the midterm elections.

SANDOVAL: Yes, they're certainly facing that growing pressure from their constituents. And speaking of pressure, maybe we can close on the war with Iran, Richard. Based on this latest development that we saw play out over the weekend, do you think that President Trump is under new pressure after Iran fired missiles at U.S. military targets to potentially escalate the situation beyond the exchanging of fire that we saw and then, of course, the economic sanctions that were recently announced?

JOHNSON: Well, what I can say from the political science standpoint on here is that the President really has got himself into a pickle because, again, thinking about the midterm elections, midterm elections are base elections where your party base, you need to mobilize your party base to come out and vote for you.

And President Trump energizes the Republican base really by saying he was different from previous Republican political leaders in being anti-war, no forever wars. And ever since he got involved in this Iran conflict, he's completely sort of lost the high ground on that particular stance. And I just think that now he's stuck because there's a geopolitical reality on the ground.

The U.S. has obligations, particularly when it comes to international trade in that part of the country, that part of the world. And at the same time, he has a base, which is, I think, feeling at least some parts of feeling somewhat betrayed from the promises that he made in his last presidential campaign. So he's not looking in a good way on either side of that particular question.

SANDOVAL: It's a dilemma that's now extended beyond six months of this conflict. Richard Johnson, as always, it is a pleasure getting your perspective. Thank you for your time.

JOHNSON: Good to be with you.

SANDOVAL: There's still a lot more ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," including an ongoing search for 18 people still missing after a deadly ferry disaster off the coast of Cyprus. The very latest on the search for efforts and the investigation into this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: All right, welcome back. You are watching "CNN Newsroom."

We are continuing to follow the very latest on the Cyprus ferry situation here. Officials saying that eight people have been detained, including the captain, after a passenger ferry capsized just off of Cyprus's northern coast. We know that at least eight people were killed and more than a dozen are still missing.

The latest now from CNN's Barbie Latza-Nadeau.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBIE LATZA-NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: A passenger ferry with nearly 270 people capsized off the coast of Cyprus on Sunday, killing several.

Now, the vessel was carrying 259 passengers and eight crew members when disaster struck. Survivors were seen wearing life jackets, standing on top of that overturned vessel. Around 237 people were brought back to Cyprus, and there were ambulances waiting for them on shore.

Now, the Turkish Interior Ministry says that the vessel started taking on water shortly after it left Girne in Cyprus, and it was headed to southern Turkey. It encountered bad weather at that time.

Barbie Latza-Nadeau, CNN, Rome.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And there is still much more ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," including the U.S. and Venezuela striking a landmark oil deal. We'll get some expert insight into what it could mean for both countries. We'll be right back.

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[03:35:00]

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," and here are your business headlines.

Hundreds of passengers traveling through Nairobi's international airport facing significant delays as workers go on strike. Some of the stranded passengers have even been sleeping on the floor, as you see here, and this comes after negotiations failed between labor unions and the Kenya Airports Authority, as well as the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. Airport officials are saying that they're working on restoring operations back to normal.

A Hong Kong bookstore closing its doors following a police raid. Customers had to bid farewell to the bookstore called Have a Nice Stay on Sunday. National Security Police targeted the shop back in July, accusing it of having seditious publications, which include politically sensitive books about Chinese leaders.

And oil prices jumped on Sunday after news of strikes launched by both the U.S. and Iran, both Brent Crude and U.S. Crude, rising nearly three percent in. It comes as the Strait of Hormuz has been effectively blocked by Iran.

And Washington and Caracas are hailing a new landmark oil deal, giving the U.S. a 55 percent stake in a new joint venture with a private Venezuelan operator. The White House says that the 100-year oil field lease would create the world's second largest oil company with access to more than 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil reserves. And the deal is expected to bring nearly 100 billion dollars in private investment to Venezuela.

Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez stressing with the agreement will not give up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DELCY RODRIGUEZ, ACTING VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think President Donald Trump, Secretary Rubio and their administration for the effort made by your government and our government, as well as the entire Venezuelan team that dedicated time to achieving this agreement.

But there's something that must be absolutely clear. Venezuela retains ownership and sovereignty over its resources while utilizing capital technology in operational capacity to support the recovery of a strategic industry that has been severely affected by sanctions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And here's what one economist told me about this announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: And certainly it's a very large deal. It involves 65 billion barrels of reserves and it involves a 25-year agreement in which the U.S. is reportedly, and I say reportedly because very few details are known yet about it, but the U.S. is reportedly going to hold a 55 percent stake in joint ventures that are going to be producing 11 billion barrels over the next 25 years. So it's definitely a large deal.

But as I said, the details are not yet well known. There have just been a few figures that have been given by President Trump and mostly by Interim President Delce Rodriguez. This involves about 20 percent of Venezuela's oil resource.

Remember, Venezuela has the largest oil resource in the world. And if the numbers hold up, then this would have the potential to form a remarkable turnaround in Venezuelan oil production. Venezuela's oil production has declined from three million barrels to its current level of around a million barrels, this would bring it up to around 2.5 million barrels a day.

SANDOVAL: As you point out, few terms have been released. So are the essential details that you would like to see in order to get a better understanding of sort of the mechanics of this?

[03:40:09]

RODRIGUEZ: Well, first of all, it's puzzling that this has not been taken before the Venezuelan National Assembly. There's an article in Venezuela's constitution that says that all national public interest contracts have to be approved by the National Assembly.

So there is a risk that these contracts will be deemed illegitimate by a future government and possibly invalidated. So we need a clear explanation of why that has been the case. Or if they're taken before the National Assembly, which there's time to, then while the National Assembly should discuss it, see the substance of the contracts.

We don't even know if the numbers that are being thrown about, for example, about revenue to Venezuela, $209 billion of revenue sounds like a lot, but it's really spread over 25 years. So we're talking about $8 billion a year. It's not even clear if that's a nominal or a real value.

But the real question that I have is there's $100 billion in investment that is supposed to be part of this program. However, President Trump has at the same time said that U.S. taxpayers are not going to pay a dime for this.

So if U.S. taxpayers are not going to pay and Venezuela doesn't have the money, where are those $100 billion coming out of? That's really the big question here. And until we have clarity with respect to that, we don't know whether this is a viable plan or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: For our international viewers, "World Sport" is next. And for those of you watching in North America, I'll be right back with more of your headlines right here on "CNN Newsroom."

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[03:45:00]

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SANDOVAL: Jury deliberations in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial will be resuming in the coming hours. Both prosecutors and defense attorneys agree that Clancy fatally strangled her children in 2023. But a panel of nine women and three men will decide if she's

criminally responsible for the killings. The jury ended deliberations on Friday without reaching a verdict.

And closing arguments will begin on Monday in the trial of a former gang member accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Prosecutors say that 63-year-old Dwayne Keffe Davis acquired the gun and directed the attack that killed Shakur nearly 30 years ago.

Well they called 25 witnesses and built their case largely on the defendant's own words. Davis has pleaded not guilty to murder with the use of a deadly weapon.

The U.S. President is also taking aim at an NBC anchor for reporting news that he personally disagrees with. Donald Trump is calling for NBC host Kristen Walker to face rebuke or punishment by the Federal Communications Commission. And this for, as he put it, for making a fact-based observation about the primary elections.

CNN's Brian Stelter walking us through this case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: Hey there. Yes, it seems like President Trump is treating the FCC like his own personal enforcement squad. The FCC is the main media regulator in the U.S.

Historically, it has been independently administered. But Trump has taken action at the FCC in the same way he has across the executive branch, trying to take control and install people who will carry out his wishes. With the FCC, the agency that licenses the public airwaves for local T.V. and radio stations, we have seen several aggressive actions against media companies.

So that's the backdrop for Trump's posts on Sunday. He wrote on Truth Social that NBC's moderator of "Meet the Press," Kristen Walker, would be, quote, reported to the FCC for rebuke or punishment. He also separately complained in all caps about fake polls and said something must be done about it, adding FCC to the rescue.

I reached out to Trump's FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, about those posts, and I didn't hear back. But I did hear from Anna Gomez, the sole Democrat left of the commission. Now she said this about Trump's posts about Welker.

She said the FCC has no authority to punish journalists this administration doesn't like. These threats to press freedom are dangerous. They undermine the foundation of our democracy, and they have no place in it.

Historically, the notion of punishment for Welker would be a total nonstarter. The FCC has limited power. It has no power over what a journalist reports on the air.

Its own website says the agency cannot prevent the broadcast of any particular point of view. But in the past 18 months or so, Carr has been quick to respond to some of Trump's other requests or his other posts about news organizations. This also includes the broader entertainment companies that are owners of these news organizations.

For example, in April, one day after Trump complained about ABC comic Jimmy Kimmel and demanded that ABC fire Kimmel, Carr took an unusual action against ABC, calling up all of its local stations for early license renewals.

Earlier this month, ABC's parent company Disney filed a First Amendment lawsuit against the FCC, charging the government with violating its free speech rights. So, because Carr has taken aggressive action in the past, there's curiosity now about whether he will follow up on Trump's demand to punish Welker in some way.

So what made Trump mad on Sunday? Well, he said he was watching, or apparently he was watching, NBC's local station when Welker made a comment about his endorsement record.

Welker said that Trump has had mixed results with his endorsements. Trump says his record is at 100 percent for the U.S. Senate and 98 percent for the U.S. House. But that overlooks the fact that several of his chosen candidates, especially for governor, recently lost their primaries.

As CNN's "Inside Politics" recently said, Trump has had a mixed endorsement record this primary season. So Welker was right, but much more importantly, there is no history, no precedent for the idea of an American President saying he's going to report a journalist to the FCC over a T.V. segment he didn't like. There's just nothing like that in the past.

And if you go on the FCC website, FCC.gov, you can see there's not even a way to lodge a complaint like that.

[03:50:06]

You can complain about indecency, you can complain about the ads, but not about the journalism that's being broadcast.

So there is no action the FCC could take against an individual, never mind what an ethical and legal travesty that would be. But the FCC does have some power against the parent companies. In ABC's case, that's Disney; in NBC's case, it's Comcast.

And Carr does have an open investigation into Comcast over its diversity practices. So that's what to watch out for next.

Back to you.

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SANDOVAL: Thanks, Brian Stelter.

So anyone in the United States who searches for Lake Ontario on Google Maps, they're not going to be able to find it, at least not labeled that way. So users will now see the smallest of the Great Lakes labeled Lake America.

President Trump issued an executive order on Thursday mandating the name change amid this trade war with China. And Google says users in Canada will continue to see it as Lake Ontario. Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney says that that's what his country will continue to call it.

On Sunday, Trump administration officials celebrated this change on social media. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung posting, it's official, Lake America on Google Maps.

Other online maps, including Waze and Apple Maps, still label it as Lake Ontario as of Sunday afternoon. As for MapQuest, they said in a Thursday social media post, we're not changing it.

And on Tuesday, Apple will have a new CEO. John Ternus will be replacing Tim Cook, who has transitioned to the role of executive chairman after 15 years. Ternus is currently the company's senior vice president of hardware engineering.

He also played a major role in developing new product lines for the Mac, AirPods, and the iPhone. He'll be taking over that top job just days before Apple is set to launch its latest iPhone model.

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And with that, NASA's new Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on its way to uncover the universe's deepest mysteries. And this includes how the universe has evolved and whether humans are alone. It features a 300 megapixel infrared camera that will gather data a thousand times faster than the Hubble telescope.

NASA says that the telescope will be taking the lead in exploring dark energy and dark matter, and will also help search for planets beyond our solar system. Plus, take some amazing photographs.

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Seeing red? That is the beauty of the Redhead Days festival in the Netherlands.

It's estimated that less than 2 percent of the world's population has naturally red hair. And attendees say it's a rare chance to be surrounded by people with similar roots.

JONI VIITALA, FESTIVAL ATTENDEE: I feel, of course, connected to the redhead community. And I don't see that many redheads in Finland. So it's good to see all of the people here right now.

HUNTE (voice-over): Every year, the Dutch city of Tilburg turns into a sea of ginger, copper, and strawberry. The three-day event draws thousands of redheads from all around the world for a chance to show off their locks.

MATILDA HOLBOROUGH, FESTIVAL ATTENDEE: It's just a really cool thing, seeing so many people. It's just really cool. HUNTE (voice-over): And enjoy music, food, and specialized workshops that cover everything from skin cancer prevention to makeup tips.

EVA RENG-ANDERSEN, "HEY REDHEAD" MASCARA: I was inspired to create a product for redheads because we can't find redhead mascaras and for brows. So we made a little makeup booth.

HUNTE (voice-over): Though red is the star of this show, organizers say everyone is invited. Because the camaraderie and positive energy of the event is enough to make anyone blend in.

SOFIE DE BEIJER, FESTIVAL ORGANIZING TEAM: You don't have to be a redhead to be welcome because we just celebrate the humanness and the unique points of a human being. We just celebrate it. Yes.

HUNTE (voice-over): Ben Hunte, CNN.

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SANDOVAL: And tennis star Novak Djokovic out of the U.S. Open. And this after a brutal five-set match against Mariano Navone. The first round defeat marking the earliest Grand Slam tournament exit that we've seen for him in 20 years.

It was a grueling marathon play between the two, lasting 4.5 hours. Djokovic made it to the end despite getting sick mid-match and receiving medical attention at other points. And this all happened 21 years to the day of his U.S. Open debut.

Quite the shocker.

Thank you so much for watching, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. "World Sport" is coming up next, and I'll be right back with you with more of your headlines -- actually in a few minutes right here on "CNN Newsroom."

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