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CNN International: U.N.: Tens of Thousands of People in Nepal Need Urgent Aid; Thousand Plus Dead, 4,400 Plus Missing in Catastrophic Flooding Aftermath; Iranian President: Tehran still Pursues Agreement with U.S.; Zelenskyy: Russian Air Attacks Kill at least 12 People; Davis Says He'll Appeal Guilty Verdict in Tupac Murder Trial. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York, and ahead here on "CNN Newsroom", we give you a firsthand view of a village that was wiped out in Nepal. And this as a death toll from the devastating flash flood nearly a week ago continues climbing.

And we'll hear from a hiker who was evacuated just minutes before flood waters took out the bridge that he used to escape in the Grand Canyon. And the verdict is in for the only man ever charged in the 1996 murder of Rapper Tupac Shakur. Our legal analyst weighs in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: And we do want to begin with the mounting death toll in Nepal as well as in China following last week's devastating floods. Authorities in Nepal now estimating at least 987 people have been killed, with more than 3,900 still unaccounted for. But a sharp contrast in China, where state media says that at least 16 people have died and just over 540 people are missing.

While updates on the numbers of those rescued or killed have been frequently released on the Nepal side, information has been much more slowly to come from China, prompting questions about transparency. Beijing defending its release of information from its remote disaster area is open and timely.

And those who survived are still trying to process just how much was destroyed by the flood waters. Many of them had their entire homes and livelihoods swept away. An assessment by the United Nations now suggesting that tens of thousands of people in Nepal currently require emergency aid.

And the Prime Minister of Nepal now says that more than 11,000 people have been saved so far, and this comes as urgent international rescue efforts are under way to reach buried hydro power tunnels in Nepal, where it's believed that about 900 workers are still trapped inside. CNN's Anderson Cooper is on the ground in Nepal, and on Monday he

visited the site of one of the first towns that was hit by these devastating floods.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: This is the town of Syabrubesi, 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 yeah, there was a lot of water in it. But look, this is there's rocks in this. There's boulders. There's vehicles, everything that the sludge picked up from further upstream.

It's like concrete essentially, and it just covers everything. If you walk out into this area, you can tell by my shoes, you'll 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's 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, Syabrubesi.

SANDOVAL: Continuing our coverage now. In the last hour, I spoke with Sudarshan Neupane, he's the Country Director for WaterAid Nepal, and I asked him how he's able to cope with seeing a place where he grew up virtually unrecognizable. Here's what he told me.

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SUDARSHAN NEUPANE, COUNTRY DIRECTOR, WATERAID NEPAL: We have seen a lot of different type of disasters in Nepal. This one in particular caught me deep. And as you said, it hit me very differently. As the places I would go, such as Betrawati, which is only a couple of kilometers away from the village called Betini, where I grew up.

And I have been in touch with my immediate family members. One of my brothers live in that village still, and rest of the other extended family members who are still missing some members of their family and in different places.

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It's not in one particular location, but they might have gone for either work or study, or for other trade and tourism purposes. So, it's really heartbreaking, and personally, so since I come from that area. SANDOVAL: Of course, communities along the river's edge always live under the constant threat of flash flooding. But in growing up there, Sudarshan was a tragedy of this magnitude ever something that people could have ever imagined was even possible?

NEUPANE: Well, I don't think people would have ever thought a disaster of this magnitude and intensity was going to hit us at any moment in time. That being said, Nepal being vulnerable to different sort of climate disasters, definitely one of the other type of disasters, be it earthquake or flood or different kind of landslides occurring.

Those were recurring phenomenon, but disaster of this intensity, where the entire villages and could get swept away like it did, was beyond anyone's comprehension, I suppose.

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SANDOVAL: And President Donald Trump says that U.S. action in Iran will be quote very limited after tensions flared over the weekend. And that's when the U.S. and Iran traded attacks for the first time in more than a month. And when asked by a reporter on Monday, President Trump said that he would rule out using a nuclear weapon on Iran since the country is, as he put it, defeated militarily.

And Iran's President says the Tehran is still pursuing a path toward an agreement with the United States, 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 currently meeting with other leaders, and that includes Pakistan's Prime Minister.

Joining me now is CNN's Paula Hancocks, so she's closely following developments out of the Middle East. So, Paula, what else are you hearing?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, we did hear the U.S. President speak a couple of times on Monday. Now he did say that future actions against Iran would be quote very limited, but also said that he could still quote smack them if necessary.

He's basically been saying to reporters that Iran is in a very dire situation economically; that it's economically isolated. It's having trouble with inflation, with its currency not being able to pay its soldiers. But then he also went on to say that the situation in the Strait of Hormuz was very good.

He said it's in a very good shape and was pointing out that the U.S. Navy has been helping vessels transit the Strait of Hormuz. He claims that there is something like 30 ships a night on average that the Navy is facilitating to be able to go in and out of the Strait of Hormuz, saying that they have done a very good job.

Now, of course, we know that many ships are still not willing to take that route at this point. In fact, we have just seen in the past 24 hours more vessels being targeted by projectiles. Now, we've heard from the UK Maritime Agency that there was one just off the East Coast of Oman that was hit by three projectiles.

They say there have been no casualties and no environmental damage. And we've also heard from MaRisk, the security group, that they say two crude oil tankers were hit within minutes of each other on the 31st of August. So, what this is showing is that there is still a very real threat to maritime security, despite what President Trump is saying at this point.

When it comes to Iran itself, we have heard from Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian giving a fairly positive outlook on potentially getting back to negotiations, saying that we continue to pursue a path towards agreement and understanding, pointing out the war is not benefiting us, nor the region, nor humanity.

He is, though, far more optimistic towards potential negotiations than we have heard those who are truly in power in Iran. The Revolutionary Guard is certainly not giving such a rosy outlook. And we've heard from the Trump Administration that there are no negotiations ongoing with Iran at this point.

Now we had been hearing from President Trump that the economic isolation was going to be their focus going forward.

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But we did see that strike by U.S. Central Command on Sunday against two rocket launchers in Larak Island, as they believed that there were going to be mines laid back in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran retaliated against the UAE and Jordan, Polo.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Paula Hancocks with that live report from Abu Dhabi. Thank you so much, Paula. Let's say now to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's condemning new settler attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank, even while insisting that only a handful of rioters are violating the law.

And this weekend saw more attacks targeting Palestinians, including the storming of the village of Qusra. CNN's Jeremy Diamond with more from Tel Aviv.

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.

SANDOVAL: All right, thanks to Jeremy Diamond for that report. And there's still much more ahead in this hour of "CNN Newsroom", including Russia using its new drone technology to widen the field of war, striking Ukrainian gas stations, postal facilities, and other civilian targets. Just how Ukraine is working to counter that, we'll discuss.

And a Las Vegas court handing down a verdict in the man accused of organizing the killing of Rapper Tupac Shakur. That verdict coming from a jury. I'll tell you what else was decided.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that at least 12 people have been killed in Russia's overnight strikes in Kyiv. Russia's Defense Ministry says that it used quote precision- guided weapons and long-range strike drones against what it claimed were military and energy targets.

But Zelenskyy says that the attack damaged homes, businesses, and other civilian infrastructure, and dozens of people were injured, including three children. Zelenskyy says that Russia used a quote significant number of jet-powered drones and ballistic missiles in its assault, while Moscow has been employing its new generation of jet- powered drones to deadly effect in recent weeks.

And Ukraine's government is now racing to develop interceptors to try to counter that technology. More on that and more now from CNN's Clare Sebastian, who joins me live from London. So, Clare, I also understand you have a fresh update from Ukrainian officials.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Good morning, Polo. As you said, Zelenskyy has now come out and said that at least 12 people were killed in that overnight attack. He said that it targeted mainly Kyiv and Odessa, both of which have been under regular attack recently.

Kyiv, in particular, over the last five or so days, with those attacks that, as we know, have been sort of back-to-back, lasting day and night. Today, September 1st, of course, is back to school day for children in Ukraine, which is looking like it's going to be pretty different this year. Schools having to modify safety regulations and all of that.

But as you say, this was a combined attack, a significant number of missiles, according to Zelenskyy, and those jet-powered drones that have been wreaking havoc over the last few days and weeks. Seven people were killed in a strike on a rail depot in Kyiv. Six of them employees of Ukrainian railways.

Among the other targets, there was a residential building in a suburb of Kyiv that Zelenskyy says was evacuated. Industrial facilities, many in Odessa, now left without electricity. And Zelenskyy is also accusing Russia of deliberately damaging a border crossing with Romania in this attack, so very widespread, a broad range of targets characteristic of what we've been seeing recently.

In terms of what Ukraine was able to do, the air force does say that it was able to shoot down five Iskander M-ballistic missiles. That is a relatively high number given its recent track record. But of course, they now no longer publish the total amount, so we don't know how many that five is out of, and they do say that 28 hits were recorded from missiles and drones.

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So, look, as you say, the race for interceptors is now on. When it comes to ballistic missiles, that race is happening with international partners, of course, especially the Europeans. But when it comes to the jet-powered drones, this is something that Ukraine is looking to do domestically.

Four companies are now developing interceptors for these jet-powered drones, which can travel three times faster than regular Shahed drones. Field trials are underway with a handful so of successful interceptions, but they are not doing this at scale as of yet, and this is in real time.

We're now watching this sort of cat and mouse arms race that has become such a significant part of this high-tech war. At the same time, I just want to mention that efforts to restart the diplomatic process are also underway. Just hours before this overnight attack, Zelenskyy wrapped up a call with the U.S. Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

He continues to push for them to visit Kyiv, which they haven't done yet, despite multiple trips to Russia. And he said September could bring about significant change. So, of course, we hope to see what that could mean.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Clare Sebastian, with that live update from London. Thank you so much, Clare. We do want to continue our coverage now with Las Vegas jury that has found now 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 this 30-year-old case.

Davis is the only person ever charged in the death of the rapper. He died after a fatal shooting near the Las Vegas Strip in 1996. CNN's Josh Campbell has more on what comes next in this case.

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.

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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. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is this your verdict was read? So, say you one. So, say you all.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMBPELL: 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.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CAMBPELL: 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.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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. The question is always going to be asked, why are we saying these words?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, obviously, it was because he wanted to protect himself, he wanted to protect his family, and he wanted to make money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMBPELL: 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.

SANDOVAL: With me now is Attorney and Legal Affairs Commentator Areva Martin. Areva, thank you so much for joining us.

AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY & LEGAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Thanks, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Areva, I wonder if I can get your immediate reaction. Is this the verdict that you expected after hearing all the evidence presented in court over the last several weeks?

MARTIN: I'm not surprised by the verdict. I am surprised, though, how quickly the jurors came back with the verdict. I thought they would be out at least a day or so, but they were able to reach a verdict within three hours after getting the instructions from the judge and starting their deliberations.

This was a trial that involved about 24, 25 witnesses put on by the prosecution, three put on by the defense over a two-and-a-half-week period, but it all came to an. Today, after just three short hours of deliberation.

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SANDOVAL: Next is punishment, and as we know, Davis is a Former Leader of the South Side Compton Crips. Areva, explain how that gang element in this case could lead to a maximum sentence?

MARTIN: The prosecution had made it clear to the judge that they were going to request a gang enhancement in terms of the sentencing. They would have to prove that the murder of Tupac Shakur was part of a larger scheme to further the gang's motives, their purpose as a gang retaliation to get back at someone that had harmed one of their members.

But we learned today that the prosecution plans to drop the gang enhancement. Now they didn't say they gave up you know belief in the case that he was a gang member that this was somehow related to gang activity, but they said it had to do with witness logistics.

Apparently, one of the police officers, retired police officers that they plan to call for whatever reason, was not able to give testimony, so they are going to move forward without that gang enhancement.

SANDOVAL: And we know that the defense now plans to file an appeal. When that moment comes, Areva, what do you expect to be the foundation of that of Davis's appeal?

MARTIN: The biggest issue, Polo, is going to be that proffer, that 2008 conversation that Davis had with law enforcement agents in Los Angeles. There was an audio play during the prosecution's case of him basically telling the same story about orchestrating the murder, similar to the story that he tells in his 2019 memoir.

But you also could hear on that audio one of the law enforcement agents saying that this is a confidential conversation, and that nothing you say, being Duane Davis, nothing that he says will be used against him. And we know that defense lawyers filed multiple motions before the trial began.

They renewed their objection during the trial, claiming that he was subject to immunity. That this prosecution should not have even gone forward based on that representation that the proper would not be used against him. So that's going to be the basis, I believe, one of the biggest claims for the appeal.

SANDOVAL: It is a significant moment too, Areva, as an attorney who closely watches cases like this. I wonder if you could just help me really highlight the significance of this. I mean, three decades later, after Tupac Shakur gunned down in Las Vegas, here we are, not only the first person charged, but now the first person convicted. So, if you could just speak to how this pretty much closes at least one of these chapters.

MARTIN: Yeah, Polo, many people believe that when Tupac Shakur, who was just the tender age of 25 or 26 years old when he was killed, that he, though at that age, was one of the most influential African American men in the United States at that time. He grew up in a household with an activist mother in Oakland, California.

He said his mom would punish him by making him read the newspaper. So, he was ahead of his times in terms of how he thought about politics? How he thought about the community? Even though he had explicit lyrics in his own rap music, he was talking even at that time about how rap artists should organize in their community? How they should give back to their communities? How they should mentor young kids in their community? So, he was a cultural icon even before he died, and then after his death, he became even more important to the rap culture, to hip hop culture, and some would say to the social justice culture.

So, finding ourselves 30 years later, with a conviction, for many is justice that they've been waiting for these three decades.

SANDOVAL: And finally, Areva, what do you think this conviction does to Tupac's legacy? I was looking over a 1995 interview that he did with CNN, in which he said that I had made peace with death a long time ago. To your earlier point, losing him at such a young age, and now somebody convicted in his murder.

MARTIN: I know for his family because they've been quoted as saying that this was so much relief for them, that this is justice that they've been waiting for, for three decades. For many in the community, this is a verdict that they had hoped to see, you know, months if not years after his murder.

But for it to come almost 30 years to the day later, for many people, it is the justice that he and his family so rightfully deserved.

SANDOVAL: Areva Martin, we leave it there. Thank you so much, as always for your legal analysis and for your time.

MARTIN: Thanks, Polo.

SANDOVAL: And there is still much more to come here on "CNN Newsroom", including an update on the devastating floods along the Nepal-China border. Up next, CNN speaks with family members still desperately search for any sign of the missing loved ones.

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