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CNN Visits What's Left Of Market District In Nepali Town; Ukraine Races To Counter Threat From New Russian Drones; Duane Davis Found Guilty Of Orchestrating Tupac Shakur's Murder; CNN Granted Access To Key Island In Bab al-Mandab Strait; Settler Violence Against Palestinians Surging In West Bank; DHS to Launch Voter Fraud Investigation Surge in Nine States; Supreme Court Lets Trump Keep Building White House Ballroom; Jets Make Dramatically Low Stadium Flyover in South Africa; Lionel Messi Retiring From Argentine National Team. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:36]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, days after the catastrophic flooding, survivors in Nepal looked to aid groups for help. An official from the World Central Kitchen is live this hour.

Russian strikes pound Kyiv overnight. At least nine people are dead. A member of parliament joins me live from the Ukrainian capital.

And a flyover at a rugby match barely clears the top of the stadium. How people there reacted and the response from the airline.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Appreciate you joining us, and we begin this hour with the mounting death toll in Nepal and China following last week's devastating floods. Authorities now estimate at least 987 people have been killed. Those who survived are still trying to process just how much was destroyed by the floodwaters. Many have had their entire homes and livelihoods swept away. An assessment by the United Nations suggests tens of thousands of people in Nepal currently require emergency aid.

As search efforts expand, police announce that 24 bodies were recovered from a house in one of Nepal's hardest-hit regions. According to local officials, morgues and hospitals are running out of space to store bodies, forcing some areas to begin digging mass graves for unclaimed victims.

Nepal's prime minister says more than 11,000 people have been saved so far, but more than 3,900 people remain unaccounted for across both countries. Urgent international rescue efforts are underway to reach buried hydropower tunnels in Nepal. About 900 workers are believed to be trapped inside.

CNN's Anderson Cooper is on the ground in Nepal on Monday. He visited the site of one of the first towns hit by the devastating floods.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: This is the town of Syapru Besi, or what's left of the town, I should say. This is all that's left of the once bustling market district in the town. All of this area, and all the way down to the river down this hill, would have been businesses and homes. People lived here. There was a lot of commerce.

The border with Tibet is just about 18 miles from here, and there was a very important road from that border area all the way down to Kathmandu that ran through this town. But that road now is wiped out. It's stunning to see it up close. I don't even think the camera can really capture just the scale of this. It looks probably just on camera like some dirt field.

But this isn't -- this isn't --you know, we talk about water and this flood that came down. And yes, there was a lot of water in it. But look, this is -- there is rocks in this. There is boulders. There is vehicles. Everything that the sludge picked up from further upstream. It's like -- it's like -- it's like concrete essentially. And it just covers everything.

If you walk out into this area, you can tell by my shoes, you will just sink in it. It's like concrete quicksand.

This was once a destination spot for Hindus and Buddhists on religious pilgrimages. They would come here. Also, trekkers from all over the world.

There is 15 Australian trekkers who are have been reported missing in this area, as well as dozens of other foreigners. It's not clear how many people died here in this town,

Anderson Cooper, CNN, Syapru Besi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Russia has launched a sixth straight day of strikes on Ukraine's capital, killing at least nine people. Explosions from Russian missiles rocked Kyiv early Tuesday. Russia's defense ministry says it used, "Precision-guided weapons and long-range strike drones against what it claimed were military and energy targets." Three children are among the more than dozen people wounded in that attack.

[02:05:01]

Russia's relentless air strikes and evolving weapons technology are putting Ukrainian civilians at risk every day. Ukraine's government is now racing to develop interceptors to counter a new generation of Russian jet-powered drones, which have been used to strike warehouses, gas stations, postal facilities, and other civilian targets.

Oleksandr Merezhko is a Ukrainian lawmaker and serves as chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Ukrainian Parliament. He joins me now. Thank you so much for being with us.

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIR, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Thank you for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. So, Ukraine is racing against the clock to develop new interceptors after Russian drones and missiles struck the country, and after Russia's defense ministry announced its forces had, "Begun preparations to launch massive strikes against Ukraine's energy facilities." So, how would you describe the state of this conflict four and a half years into this war, and how has it evolved?

MEREZHKO: Well, right now Putin is trying to double down, and he has substantially intensified the strikes against Ukraine, against our critical infrastructure, against our business facilities.

For example, if before we would usually have strikes overnight, fifth day in a row, Russia is bombing us non-stop, and practically each hour we have sirens, air lord -- air lord sirens going off, and Russia is deliberately trying to destroy our economic base, it deliberately targets, for example, today, Russia targeted railway depot, railway station, as a result of -- as a result of which several people were killed.

So, Russia is targeting warehouses, trade centers. Its goal is to erase us completely, so we don't see any end in sight. We only see escalation on the part of Russia.

CHURCH: And meantime, Iran's president is attending a summit with Russia's President Putin and China's Xi Jinping in Kyrgyzstan after new attacks were traded between the U.S. and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz. What message does this meeting send the United States and indeed Ukraine at a time when an end to the war in Ukraine is being pursued?

MEREZHKO: The message is very clear because these countries, including of course Russia as an aggressive state, Iran which provides military aid to Russia and China, which is providing lifeline for Russian war machine, they stick together. Their goal is to destroy American-led world order, rules-based order, and they are helping each other. They have their own solidarity between dictators, and unfortunately, we don't see much leadership on the part of the United States in trying to counter this war, which is waged by authoritarian totalitarian regimes, not only against Ukraine but also against all democratic states, including the United States as the leader of the democratic world.

CHURCH: And just days ago, Russia was ready to test NATO with an attack on a member nation, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe had to fly to Moscow to warn Russia against attacking NATO allies and helping Iran. And just days after that, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was meeting with Russia's finance minister at the G20. What do these meetings indicate to you? MEREZHKO: There is still an illusion that you can talk to Russia, to Putin, that somehow they might change their opinion and stop aggression against Ukraine. It's very naive because, in reality, you can deal with Russia only from the position of strength, only by exerting maximum pressure upon Putin, upon Russia. It's the only way how you can achieve any tangible result.

But if you communicate with, for example, Russian minister, finance minister, it only emboldens Putin. They take it as a signal that they are right, and they continue -- they continue, and even double down on aggression and atrocities committed against Ukraine. It's a huge mistake to believe that you can somehow deal with Russia or you can make a deal with the Kremlin dictator.

CHURCH: Oleksandr Merezhko, chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee and member of Parliament in Ukraine, want to thank you so much for joining us.

Well, as we mentioned, the Russian president met with his ally Xi Jinping on Monday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit, during the talks in Bishkek. Vladimir Putin, and Chinese leader talked about the war in Ukraine, but did not let it dominate their discussion. That's according to the Kremlin. They also agreed to deepen ties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:10:08]

XI JINPING, CHINESE LEADER (through translator): I believe, under our strategic guidance and joint efforts, foundation of China-Russia relations will be more solid. Our pace will be synchronized, and prospects will be brighter.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Today, amid a complex geopolitical environment, the comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation between Russia and China serve as a role model of a relation between two countries. They are founded on strong traditions of friendship, respect for sovereignty, equality, and mutual benefit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: During the summit, India's prime minister also spoke with President Putin about Ukraine. Narendra Modi said India supports an end to the war, calling that extremely important for all of humanity.

But keep in mind, India remains one of the biggest buyers of oil from Russia, which helps the Kremlin fund its war effort.

European officials are pushing back against the Trump administration's surprise move to invite Russia's finance minister to this week's G20 meeting. It marked Moscow's first appearance at the gathering since Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Many European leaders say the move is troubling after they've spent years trying to isolate Russia. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARS KINGBELL, GERMAN VICE CHANCELLOR AND FINANCE MINISTER: However, the mere fact that the Russian finance minister is back after, I believe, four G20 meetings without Russian participation indicates an attempt at normalization, and that makes it all the more important for us to push back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: European officials also refused to take a group picture with the Russian minister, and while Moscow's representative was allowed in, several U.S. journalists were shut out. The U.S. Treasury denied credentials for certain reporters from news outlets, including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, discussions will continue through Tuesday.

A Las Vegas jury has found Duane Davis guilty of first-degree murder in the death of rapper Tupac Shakur. It took the jury just three hours to come to that decision after weeks of testimony in the 30-year-old case, Davis is the only person ever charged in Tupac's death. The rapper died after fatal shooting near the Las Vegas Strip in 1996. CNN's Josh Campbell has more on what comes next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nearly 30 years after legendary rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and killed not far from where we are here in the city of Las Vegas. There is now a verdict in the case involving the man who prosecutors alleged had been involved in the murder.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The verdict reads as follows: We, the jury in the above-entitled case, find the defendant Duane Keith Davis as follows: Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon dated this 31st date of August 2026.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is this your verdict as read, so say you one, so say you all?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

CAMPBELL: Now, in closing arguments on Monday, prosecutors had essentially made their strategy to focus on Duane Davis's own words. The defendant here pointing to past interviews that he gave with police, with the media, he wrote a book on this topic in which he described his role that night, being inside of a vehicle whenever people that he was with pulled alongside Tupac Shakur. He described handing a firearm in the back seat to his nephew, who ultimately pulled the trigger, allegedly opening fire on Tupac Shakur. The strategy again was to focus not on just what other people were saying, who might have been witnesses, but things he said himself. MARC DIGIACOMO, PROSECUTION: Do we honestly think a guy who's dumb enough to write a book could keep this story straight this many times, this many times over? Mr. Davis is attempting to escape responsibility for a crime everybody knows he committed, even him, and he admits to it for seven, eight times over the course of 30 years, and there's no evidence contradicting that fact.

CAMPBELL: Now, for their part, the defense strategy was obviously quite different. His attorney was asking the jury to believe that, look, despite comments that were made in the past by his client admitting to certain aspects, despite the interviews with police, the media interviews, and the book, he wanted the jury to believe that all of that was nonsense, saying that his client made up those admissions essentially for profit.

MICHAEL SANFT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You're reading a book that is fiction and not fact, but the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession that he was there in prison at the time of the shooting. Questions always going to be asked. Why would he say these words? Well, obviously it was because he wanted to protect himself, he wanted to protect his family, and he wanted to make money.

CAMPBELL: Now, there was a question all along about how long jury deliberations would take. We've seen trials where it's gone on for days and days. Here, this verdict coming very quickly, within a matter of just a couple few hours. The jury again rendering a verdict of guilty for Duane Davis. Sentencing in this case is set for October 13th. Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:15:00]

CHURCH: New York police shot and killed a woman after they say she stabbed two people in Times Square, one of them fatally. Police say it started Monday afternoon when a woman threatened. People with two knives and stabbed a man and a woman. Officers say they first used tasers after she refused to drop the knives, but eventually opened fire. The man who was stabbed is in critical condition. Authorities say the suspect has a documented mental health history with the NYPD.

There is much more to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. President Trump is commenting on the latest flare-up in tensions between the U.S. and Iran after strikes over the weekend.

And later, CNN travels to Perim Island, which overlooks a vital strait between Yemen and Africa, in an area where fighting has ramped up in recent weeks. Nic Robertson shares details in an exclusive report.

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[02:20:25]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. President Donald Trump says U.S. action in Iran will be, "Very limited after tensions flared over the weekend." That's when the U.S. and Iran traded a tax for the first time in more than a month. When asked by a reporter on Monday, President Trump says he would rule out using a nuclear weapon on Iran since the country is, "Defeated militarily." He also dismissed concerns the war has depleted much of the U.S. munition stockpile.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Number one, we have nothing else in mind. Number two, we're very respected. Nobody else would be crazy enough to do it. Number three, we have so much ammunition and munitions, as they like to call it, all over the world that we can always take from if we want, and this is a relatively little war for us. This is not a big war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Iran's president says Tehran is still pursuing a path toward an agreement with the U.S. saying continuing the war benefits no one. Masoud Pezeshkian's comments, reported by state media, came on Monday on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, where he's meeting with other leaders, including Pakistan's Prime Minister.

U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is stepping down from his post. Sources say Driscoll submitted his resignation to President Trump after months of friction with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. A White House spokesperson said Driscoll has provided, "Outstanding leadership during historic military operations." His departure comes six months into the Iran War.

Well, all eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz and the struggle over who will control it amid the U.S. war with Iran, it's brought heightened attention to another key shipping choke point in the region, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. CNN's Nic Robertson gained exclusive access to Perim Island in the Strait and gives us a first-hand look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Right now, we are standing on Perim Island, also known locally as Mayyun Island. And what you're looking at behind me there is the Bab El-Mandeb Strait. And what I can see looking out, looking over that shoulder, is Eritrea and what I can see looking out over that shoulder is Djibouti. I see the mountains rising up out of the sea. It is the African continent.

And that tells you just how narrow the Bab El-Mandeb Strait is. It is about 10 miles or so across to Africa, 15 kilometers, something like that. What's happening here? Theres been a little-known war that has been simmering here in Yemen for over a decade, between the Yemeni government and the Houthis.

And I think a lot of people don't know much about this conflict. They kind of think that the Houthis are a ragtag force, but they're not.

They are Iran's strongest proxy at the moment. They've got hypersonic missiles. They've been hitting Israel. They've got ship seeking sophisticated missiles that can target them from a long distance and they've been hitting international shipping, Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea here, Bab EL-Mandeb, Red Sea up there. So you've got the Houthis with their Iranian sponsors that have been ramping up the war here in recent weeks and they are turning what was a local war into a geopolitical one, if you will, that has global consequences.

A few years ago, 10 percent of the global oil trade came through here, vital for commercial shipping to, now, it is down to about half of that.

And if Iran continues to push its proxies here and they continue in their operations to try to take the rest of the Red Sea coast, then they would take this place here, Perim Island, Mayyun Island, they would take it.

That would make shutting off this strait the Bab El-Mandeb Strait much, much easier for them, that Bab El-Mandeb Strait that potentially has political consequences for President Trump. Because, of course, if you shut off this route for oil, getting to global markets, particularly Asia, then that's going to drive up the price of oil and that makes -- that gives President Trump political vulnerability, politically, particularly going into the upcoming U.S. Midterms. And this really appears to be what Iran is doing at the moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is condemning new settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, even while insisting only a handful of rioters are violating the law. This weekend saw more attacks targeting Palestinians, including the storming of the village of Qusra, where dozens of settlers seized a home with people inside. The home owner says soldiers, "Watched and did nothing before firing tear gas." No arrests were made in a separate incident. Settlers attacked a T.V. news crew and injured a Palestinian woman they were interviewing. CNN's Jeremy Diamond has more from Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[02:25:34]

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was only a couple of weeks ago that we brought you the story of a home in the village of Qusra that was besieged by Israeli settlers trying to take it over. We reached that home and found the situation that is underway. But now in that same village of Qusra, dozens of Israeli settlers mounted yet another attack on a Palestinian home, pelting the owner and several other people who were inside that home with rocks. Storming the house itself and attempting to seize it, the owner of the home told us that it was -- this attack went on for about an hour until the Israeli military showed up, but when the military showed up.

This man and several others say that it was the Palestinians who were ultimately detained, blindfolded, and even beaten by Israeli security forces before ultimately being released. The Israeli military in a statement spoke about the dozens of Israeli rioters who they said had attacked this home. And yet, neither the Israeli military nor the Israeli police at this point have arrested any of those rioters, even though some of them are identifiable on camera while they were inside that house.

And this wasn't the only incident of settler violence this weekend. Israeli settlers in the neighboring town of Jalud also attacked an NBC News crew and a Palestinian woman they were interviewing, beating them with sticks and rocks. The Palestinian woman was even rendered unconscious by that attack.

Now, we have heard from a number of senior Israeli officials with varying degrees of severity in terms of the statements they're putting out. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has repeatedly downplayed the phenomenon of settler violence, said in a statement this weekend that he condemned the violence but once again attributed it to a, quote, "handful of rioters", who he said are violating the law. He said that he expects Israeli authorities to arrest the rioters and bring them to justice.

The Israeli military, meanwhile, said last week that it was preparing to potentially send additional battalions of troops to the area to reinforce the security there. A notable statement given that the Israeli military quietly is recognizing more and more the danger that these Israeli settlers are posing not only to Palestinians but to security in the area.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: We have more ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, including an interview with a family whose daughter was found alive after days under flood debris in Nepal. More on that story after a short break. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:48]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. International search efforts are expanding after floodwaters devastated parts of the Nepal-China border last week. Despite poor weather conditions and heavily damaged infrastructure, some families with missing loved ones are holding out hope.

CNN's Will Ripley spoke with one family about the miraculous rescue of their young daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Foreign Language)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At first, rescuers thought the faint cries coming from beneath the wreckage might be a cat.

But under all the mud and debris between two battered buildings, they found a little girl, alive. Five-year-old Manisha, trapped here in the ruins of flood-ravaged Timure, Nepal, for nearly 60 hours. They lay her on brightly colored blankets. Rescuers crowd around her.

And after nearly two-and-a-half days trapped amid the destruction, they begin feeding her, one spoonful at a time.

LOK BAHADUR UCHAI MAGAR, FATHER OF RESCUED GIRL: Her face was not recognizable. She had injuries. Her condition was serious. Had multiple injuries and blood all around.

RIPLEY: What is it like as a father to look at a video like that and see your daughter in that condition?

L. UCHAI MAGAR (through translator): She's my child. That's all I have to say. I have no words.

RIPLEY: And this is Manisha now. CNN exclusively obtained these first images of her at a children's hospital in Kathmandu, battered and bruised, but alive, and back with her mom and dad. They thought she was gone. But all that time, she was waiting for them to find her.

GITA UCHAI MAGAR, MOTHER OF RESCUED GIRL (through translator): She says to me, the flood came and swept me away. She says, I called for mummy and baba. Why didn't you come to save me?

RIPLEY (voice-over): The flood came without warning. Manisha was eating breakfast. Her mom, Gita, was at work. Her dad, Lok, was in the vegetable garden.

[02:35:00]

RIPLEY: What did that feel like? What did that sound like when the water hit your house?

L. UCHAI MAGAR (through translator): At the time, there was no sound coming. All of a sudden, it came like a tsunami. It came from the top. As it was coming, we were able to save nothing. The difference was five seconds. I was running and within two seconds, the house was toppled and was taken away.

I very much tried to save my child, but I could not.

RIPLEY: So where did you end up after the flood? How were you rescued? And when did you reconnect with your wife first?

L. UCHAI MAGAR (through translator): After running from there, I had headed towards the jungle already. I met my wife around 2 p.m. After running up to the forest, we met. Then my wife asked me, where is the child? She started crying. She became unconscious for five, six minutes. She lost consciousness.

RIPLEY: Did you have any hope at that point that Manisha was alive?

L. UCHAI MAGAR (through translator): No. At the time, I did not feel that Manisha was alive.

RIPLEY (voice-over): They searched desperately, hoping to find her body. All that time, Manisha was alive downstream. RIPLEY: It's miraculous that given the force of that water, that she was able to have a place where she could survive.

G. UCHAI MAGAR (through translator): It was miraculous. When the child was found, it felt like a miracle. I thought, there is a God.

RIPLEY (voice-over): But their house and everything they own is gone. Amid so much pain and loss here in Nepal, they know they're among the lucky ones.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: An incredible rescue story there. And joining us live from Kathmandu is John Torpey, Response Director for World Central Kitchen. Thank you so much for talking with us at this time.

JOHN TORPEY, RESPONSE DIRECTOR, WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. World Central Kitchen responded swiftly to this disaster, as it always does. Your organization has been set up for days now, providing much-needed meals to survivors. What were your thoughts, though, when you first arrived and saw the extent of the devastation? Of course, the urgent need for food, water and shelter there.

TORPEY: Yes, it's overwhelming. When you get to kind of the area where the evacuees were coming in, in Bidur, Nuwakot. You saw the helicopters on the landing pads. You saw all the soldiers there collecting people as they were being evacuated. And in some case, you know, bringing people back. That's heartbreaking.

And we immediately started bringing food in, setting up kitchens in the area to take care of the evacuees. But we also thought ahead. There's areas that are cut off. Bridges have been torn apart. The road going through the Trishuli River Valley is cut off. There's still people up there that need our help, that need hot meals, that need pretty much everything.

So right now, we've already set up two kitchens, one in Betrawati and another one in the Uttar Gaya area, really kind of pushing north, finding trekkers that can bring food in, setting up supply lines for food as much as possible.

We've been thinking ahead for a while now on how to get up there once the search and rescue is over, to make sure that we're taking care of those people that are really cut off right now.

CHURCH: Yeah. And John, how challenging was it initially to set up kitchens and get meals made and distributed to survivors? And what more do you feel needs to be done? I mean, you mentioned -- touched on some of the things you want to be doing outside of this.

TORPEY: There's still a lot to be done. It was -- we arrived in Kathmandu, immediately started shopping for equipment, looking at groups. We're working with Nepal Scouts, fantastic organization. They have thousands of members in the area.

It was about three nights ago, we had packed a truck full of kitchen equipment, you could see it there on the picture, and they set off on an eight-hour journey through goat roads and however they could get there. They had to get front-end loaders to bring the truck uphill in some cases. It was a massive operation.

And now, you can see the fruits of that labor right, there where they set up a kitchen. They're feeding 200 people at a school right now. And we're not done yet. We're still setting up. We're still purchasing pots. We're still purchasing food, and we're getting it in trucks as fast as we can. And with the help of these Scouts, there's another community self-reliance centre that we're working with. They want to be involved.

They want to start setting up kitchens, and we're giving them the resources to be able to do that. So there's still lots to do in these areas.

CHURCH: Totally understood.

[02:40:00]

And, I mean, it's an extraordinary operation that you pull together here, and you have been involved in setting up World Central Kitchen meals in war zones and disaster areas all around the world. How different is this situation, do you think, to what you've been involved in before?

TORPEY: This one is, you know -- every one's a little bit different. This one is very -- it's very remote, it's very cut off, it's a valley. There's still threats of additional floods, so we have to make sure that we're taking care of the safety of our teams.

We want to make sure that, you know, as soon as we can start flying, we want to start getting helicopters to be able to drop off food if we can. In the meantime, we're not waiting. We are sending -- we're working with trekking organizations to see how we can backpack food, backpack equipment in, and then keep resupplying them for as long as needed.

So every one, again, is quite challenging. This one, with the remoteness, with the roads cut off, it's just a massive challenge of logistics, and the Nepali government has just been, in my opinion, super here. The search and rescue operation is top-notch, and I've got to tip my hat to the teams here for all that they've done.

CHURCH: And John, I mean, you said you'll be doing this for however long need be. How long do you think you'll have to keep these operations ongoing there in the region?

TORPEY: It's really hard to say. It's still quite early. We're only five days into this so far. There's still a lot of work to be done. We'll be here for -- we'll be here until people get back on their feet. We're not -- we have no exit date right now. We want to make sure that people are taken care of, and that's our main goal right now.

CHURCH: What your team does always amazes everyone across the globe. John Torpey, Response Director at the World Central Kitchen, joining us live from Nepal. I want to thank you and your team for the incredible work that you do and continue to do. Thank you.

TORPEY: Thank you so much.

CHURCH: Of course. Still to come here on "CNN Newsroom," wild video of an extremely low flyover. The two jets clear a packed stadium by just about 50 feet. Was it an unnecessary danger? We'll take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:47:15]

CHURCH: Well, now to a CNN Exclusive. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is getting ready to launch a surge in efforts to investigate alleged voter fraud in nine states. That surge will start in the coming day -- among the affected states, Wisconsin, Georgia, California, Pennsylvania, Nevada, and New York.

Keep in mind, experts insist there's zero evidence of any widespread voter fraud in recent elections. The investigative action is expected to last from early this month to mid-October. The Trump administration is defending data centers as the issue takes on new importance ahead of the midterm elections.

The facilities are increasingly unpopular. A recent Fox News poll found 70 percent of respondents do not want a data center built in their area. New York and Texas have both passed temporary moratoriums on their development.

In a post on Truth Social, the president wrote the communities opposing data centers risk becoming "backwards and poor." He added, if they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let data reign.

Well, the Supreme Court's conservative majority has given Donald Trump the green light to keep building his White House ballroom. The $400 million project and other pricey construction efforts around Washington have sparked outrage, especially with the U.S. national debt now exceeding $40 trillion.

Critics, including Chief Justice John Roberts, insist the U.S. president had no business messing with property that does not belong to him. But President Trump has said the ballroom is necessary for national security reasons because it will include state-of-the-art features intended to protect the White House.

Two planes flew just above a stadium full of rugby fans ahead of a match in South Africa. The viral moment has left some praising it as a brilliant publicity move, but others have raised concerns about safety. CNN's Pete Muntean reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're so low. Whoa! Whoa!

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a stunning stadium flyby, over 56,000 people. Two jets from South African regional airline, Airlink, only feet from the top of Cape Town's DHL Stadium, one of the empty 98-seat passenger planes low enough to fly through smoke from fireworks launched from the roof.

Data from Flightradar24 shows the lead jet's lowest altitude reported at roughly 210 feet.

[02:50:00]

The stadium is about 164 feet high, putting the jet maybe only 46 feet above it. Peter Goelz is the former Managing Director of the National Transportation Safety Board.

PETER GOELZ, FORMER MANAGING DIRECTOR, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: It is an unnecessary danger in part because it leaves no margin for error. You got to fly it right. You can't have any mistakes.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The airline celebrated the flyover in a post online calling it spectacular. Airlink insists the flyby was carefully planned, rehearsed and approved by South Africa's Civil Aviation Authority.

GOELZ: This looks like a stunt planned by the PR department and signed off of inappropriately by the Civil Aviation Authority. It looks like the PR people ruled the day and that's not the way aviation safety ought to be run.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): And this wasn't a one-off. Airlink staged a similar formation flyby over Johannesburg's Ellis Park one week earlier using the same specially painted jets. Low-flying airliners are part of South African rugby history.

In 1995, a South African Airways 747 famously flew over the Rugby World Cup final, a flyover featured in the film "Invictus." And in 2024, an Emirates A380 flew over the same stadium, though a few hundred feet higher. Saturday's flyover in Cape Town punctuates a summer of low flyovers.

In July, a pilot from the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels flew low over the crowd during the Pensacola Beach air show, sending tents flying and military leaders scrambling to defend the maneuver. A month before, a Boeing 777 on a test flight passed as low as 25 feet over a runway at Horseshoe Bay, Texas, triggering a federal investigation.

GOELZ: A flyby at 1,000 feet is already impressive and people enjoy it and there's no reason to lower it other than unnecessary risk taking.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): Pete Muntean, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: You are watching "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead here on the show, we will bring you the latest from the U.S. Open as two defending champions' battle for their chance at another title. Back with that in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. The legendary Lionel Messi, often considered the GOAT of world football, is retiring from Argentina's national team, meaning this past World Cup will be his last.

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And there probably won't be many more opportunities to see him in action. The decision follows back-to-back heartbreaks for the soccer superstar, which include the recent death of his father. Here's World Sports, Don Riddell.

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: I don't think this was a big surprise, but that doesn't mean it wasn't easy for his fans to take. Lionel Messi marked the end of an era on Monday, as he announced that he was retiring from international football. He says he will no longer play for his beloved Argentina.

What he achieved, though, for his country is just phenomenal. Let's talk about it. He won the World Cup in 2022, twice he finished as a runner-up. He won two Copa America titles, and he was named as the best player twice in each of those two competitions. It was a career that spanned 21 years. He played 207 games for Argentina and scored 125 goals.

But what's really fascinating is that his best days with his country came after he retired from the international game in 2016, after years and years of frustration and unfulfilled dreams. And he was criticized by a lot of Argentina fans at the time, who thought that he was putting more into his club team, Barcelona, than he was to his country.

But when he returned, and by the time he was in his mid-30s, that's when everything started to click. He appeared to address his critics when he wrote that he had always given it his all, saying, quote, "I always fought and left everything on the field for this jersey to bring you joy and make you feel proud to be Argentine through football. It was a decision that hurt and still hurts deep down, but I understand that the time has come. Thank you, God, for making me Argentine," he concluded.

But we should state that this isn't quite the end of the road. Messi is still playing for Inter Miami, his club team in Major League Soccer. Clearly he's still got a lot to offer. Get this, over the weekend, he scored four times in Miami's MLS win against Montreal, so his fans can still enjoy this magical football player for hopefully a bit more time still to come. Back to you.

CHURCH: All right. Well, Carlos Alcaraz is back and off to a winning start in defense of his U.S. Open title. The 23-year-old Spaniard won in straight sets Monday. It was his first singles match in 139 days. Alcaraz had been sidelined since April with a wrist injury, forcing him to miss the French Open and Wimbledon, but he showed no signs of trouble Monday, saying he felt great after the match.

And on the women's side, world number one Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the second round. The two-time defending champion from Belarus advanced in straight sets, a strong launch to her bid for a third consecutive U.S. Open title.

I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next, after a quick break. Do stay with us.

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