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Trump Opting For Direct Peace Deal Versus Ceasefire After Alaska Summit; Ukraine: Five Killed, 11 Injured From Russian Attacks In Last 24 Hours; Zelenskyy, At Least One European Leader To Meet With Trump At White House Monday; Multiple European Leaders Invited To Trump, Zelenskyy Meeting On Monday; European Commission President To Attend Zelenskyy-Trump Meeting; Protesters Flood D.C., Confront Guards Over Federal Takeover; Three GOP Governors To Send National Guard Troops To D.C. In Trump's Federal Push; Erin's Rapid Strength Increase Shows Storm's Power As It Spins North Of Caribbean; New Orleans' First Female Mayor Indicted; Ghislaine Maxwell's Arrival At Texas Prison Sparks Tension. Rulings On FL Everglades Detention Center Expected This Week; ICE Transfer Flights Now Becoming Harder To Track; California Coffee Farmers Hope Tariffs Will Boost Business. Aired 6-7a ET

Aired August 17, 2025 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:43]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: We made it to a brand-new week. Welcome to CNN THIS MORNING. It's Sunday, August 17th. I'm Victor Blackwell.

Here's what we're working on for you this morning. There are new details about tomorrow's Oval Office meeting between President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Who else is expected to attend and what lessons have been learned since that infamous February blow up in the Oval Office?

President Trump is getting reinforcements in his takeover of the Washington, D.C., police force. Three Republican governors are now planning to send hundreds of their own National Guard troops to the nation's capital.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And Hurricane Erin is a Category 3 storm right now. But we do anticipate more restrengthening as we go through the day. We'll detail that timeline coming up.

BLACKWELL: Ghislaine Maxwell is not receiving a warm welcome at her new federal prison camp. Inmates say things have gotten a lot more tense since she arrived. And apparently, she's barred from the service dog training program. We'll explain why coming up.

We're starting this morning, though, with the new developments in President Trump's attempt to end Russia's war on Ukraine. A little more than 24 hours away now from a critical meeting in the Oval Office, this is between President Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a White House official confirms that several European leaders have also been invited to the meeting. It's unclear which will attend. Ukraine's European allies are meeting in just a few hours, though. That's according to French President Emmanuel Macron. This is the second meeting of the week for the European coalition. It was originally set up to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine if a ceasefire agreement was reached.

But President Trump said that he wants to bypass that ceasefire agreement and he favors a direct peace deal. Experts say that Trump has adopted Putin's position, which allows the Russian leader to continue the war.

And just the last 24 hours, Ukrainian authorities say at least five more people have been killed, 11 injured across Ukraine as Russia continues its assault on the country. CNN's Jenn Sullivan has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENN SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): All eyes will be on the White House Monday as President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in hopes of finding a path to end Russia's war in Ukraine.

Saturday morning, Trump posting this on social media, saying in part, the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a peace agreement. His post, coming just hours after Trump held a summit in Anchorage, Alaska, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But no ceasefire or peace deal was struck.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've made some headway, so there's no deal until there's a deal.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Few details were released about the meeting. Both leaders, though, appeared optimistic.

PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIA (through translator): I would like to hope that the agreement that we've reached together will help us bring closer to that goal and will pave the path towards peace in Ukraine.

SULLIVAN (voice-over): Missing from the summit was Zelenskyy, who was not invited. The last time Zelenskyy was at the White House was in February, when Trump berated him.

TRUMP: You don't have the cards right now. With us, you start having cards.

PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINE: I'm not playing cards.

TRUMP: Right now, you don't have your playing cards.

ZELENSKYY: I'm very serious, Mr. President. I'm very serious.

(CROSSTALK)

TRUMP: You're playing cards. You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. SULLIVAN (voice-over): During that meeting, Zelenskyy said he did not want a ceasefire deal, fearing Russia would not honor it. It's been nearly three and a half years since Russia launched a full-scale invasion into Ukraine. This map, showing the areas now occupied by Russian troops.

Ahead of the summit in Alaska, Russia continuing its missile strikes against Ukraine. Many European leaders putting pressure on the U.S., saying they want to see strong security guarantees for Ukraine. I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: CNN's global affairs analyst Kim Dozier. Kimberly, good morning to you. So, let's start with the new development about the European leaders who've also been invited. Talk to me about the significance of having them join this conversation. Although, we don't yet have confirmation of which will accept the invitation.

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think the most important thing of having them in the room, hopefully, Finnish President Stubb will come because they are more trusted by Trump and Zelenskyy than the two men trust each other.

[06:05:08]

I think also having them in the room to interject, instead of having Zelenskyy have to defend his own position, could be a key way to avoid another Oval Office blowup. So, hopefully there will be as many of them in the room as possible, in a sense as a buffer between the two men. And also, as a way to point out to Trump gently that he lost in Alaska, though he doesn't seem to realize that he did.

BLACKWELL: Yes. This adoption of wanting to move to a peace deal, as analysts say, gives Putin more time to execute this war. There doesn't seem to be any incentive that wasn't present. 24, 48 hours ago for Putin to end the war, does there?

DOZIER: Absolutely. You know, one of the signs of a great negotiator is to get your opposition to adopt your position and your language as if it's their own and that is what Putin succeeded in doing with Donald Trump in Alaska.

On the way to that summit, Trump was telling reporters that he would be disappointed if there wasn't a ceasefire. He came out of the meeting, which was shorter than expected, saying that there was only one matter that wasn't resolved, but that it was really best to go to directly a peace deal rather than the ceasefire first. Abandoning his own position and trying to make it sound like a win.

Trump watches the media a lot. So, I do think he will be going into this Oval Office meeting bristling at the media labeling this summit as failed when, from his perspective, he's -- he's trying to see it as a win. Or at least he has convinced himself that it's a win.

BLACKWELL: We just got confirmation that Ursula von der Leyen of the European Commission, she will be in attendance at the meeting tomorrow. Let's talk about what we've heard from some of these European leaders. There's a long, you know, list of statements that are optimistic. Even the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, said that President Trump is creating the opportunity to end the war.

Optimistic in the statements and on social media. You're always clued in behind the scenes. Are they as confident, kind of, off the record?

DOZIER: Not at all. They know, however, how to handle Donald Trump. And that is, always lead with praise. And realistically, the only way this war was going to end was with everyone at the negotiating table. And Donald Trump is the only one who didn't have the history standing up to Putin. Therefore, able to get Putin into a negotiating room.

But what the Russians are asking for reportedly, going into this summit and since are large parts of eastern Ukraine that they haven't yet captured in the grinding fight on the battlefield. That's a nonstarter. From the Ukrainian position, it leaves Russia able to just restart this war after Donald Trump is out of office with even more territory in its hands in which to position troops.

So, Ukraine is not going to say yes to that. The Europeans will have to back them up and also provide the security guarantees that if the U.S. pulls out, they'll help Ukraine keep on fighting.

BLACKWELL: Yes, it seems like the offers or the requirements for one side or the other are existential threats to the other. I mean, --

DOZIER: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- security guarantees, Article 5 style, Putin is seen as an existential threat for Russia. And to give up a portion of Ukraine to end the fighting is not only anathema to Zelenskyy, it's unconstitutional in Ukraine.

Let me ask you this. The president -- President Trump says that if tomorrow goes well, he wants to get Zelenskyy and Putin at a table together within the week. Do you think it's probable, even plausible, that those two will sit down at a negotiating table together as equals?

DOZIER: I think they'll both show up. I don't think enough advance work has been done diplomatically to produce results. Getting them together at this early stage, with the position so far apart could be an equation for fireworks and a confrontation and possibly for Trump to walk away saying, see, I tried.

[06:10:07]

But, you know, in negotiations, you got to try. So, anything moving forward is a possible step towards a peace solution even though I'm skeptical of the results.

BLACKWELL: All right. Meeting is tomorrow. Kimberly Dozier, thanks so much. Protesters fill the streets of the nation's capital yesterday. They pushed back against President Trump's federal takeover of Washington. D.C.'s law enforcement. The group Refuse Fascism, confronted National Guard members parked on Constitution Avenue near the White House, and they chanted and surrounded military vehicles.

Meanwhile, National Guard troops from three Republican led states are now heading to D.C. West Virginia, sending up to 400 members. South Carolina about 200. One hundred fifty coming from Ohio. The governors say this is at the request of the Trump administration. It, of course, is escalating its federal takeover. But of course, there are some people who disagree with what's happening in the Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUCHA BRIGHT, ORGANIZER, "REFUSE FASCISM": Trump has just done a fascist takeover of Washington, D.C. The takeover of the metropolitan police and the putting of National Guard troops on the street. The fact that they've put other federal agencies on the street to patrol. You see that on the street at night.

The -- this is a takeover. And it's not just something that's affecting D.C., it's something that's a model that he's promising for New York, for Chicago, for Baltimore, for Oakland. It's part of a fascist takeover of the whole country. And this is an emergency.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: The White House says that extra troops will help protect federal property and boost patrols. We're keeping a very close eye on Hurricane Erin, a storm that exploded into a rare Category 5 over the weekend before quickly losing strength. It's now back to a Category 3 storm spinning in the Atlantic.

This is video of hurricane trackers flying straight into the eye of the storm yesterday when it became a Cat 5. For the latest, let's go now to CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar. I mean, it's no longer a Cat 5, but a Cat 3 is nothing to sneeze at.

CHINCHAR: It's still a major hurricane. Yes.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

CHINCHAR: Yes. I mean, I think that's the key thing is, yes, it's not as high as it was yesterday. But part of that is because it's going what's called an eyewall replacement cycle. So, it's shrinking back down only to grow much bigger. And that's the thing, when it completes this eyewall replacement cycle, it's not only expected to strengthen, it's actually expected to expand in size. In fact, by the middle of the week, we're talking doubling or maybe even tripling in size.

So, here's a look at what we've got for right now. Again, we've got those winds that are on the high end of Category 3 status. It's going to continue to strengthen here over the next couple of days. You can see we've got that Category 4. And notice how many times we have a Category 4 in here. It's not out of the question that it could get back to a Category 5 in between some of these fours that you see, especially because there's nothing really in its path except very warm ocean temperatures. And that is fuel for these types of storms.

Now, it is still expected to kind of curve back a little bit here. But again, focusing its path between Bermuda and the United States, that's exactly what we like to see on these maps, where it doesn't actually directly impact anything.

We talked about those nice warm temperatures, though. Again, this is what's really kind of keeping the hurricane center on anticipating this storm will continue to intensify.

Here's where it is now. Again, notice on the map it's not very big storm. Now as it starts to slide up here between Bermuda and the U.S., it really starts to grow in size. The reason this is important is because if its wider, that wind field is wider, it's able to push more of the impacts closer to the U.S. east coast, like things like high surf as well as rip currents.

BLACKWELL: OK. Allison, thank you. A decades old murder case is now back in focus this week. The final decision that could set the Menendez brothers free.

Plus, the New Orleans' mayor is facing serious allegations of trying to hide a relationship with her bodyguard and making fraudulent payments to him using city funds. We'll dig into the indictment that was handed down on Friday.

And Ghislaine Maxwell's new life at a Texas prison camp is drawing some scrutiny from her fellow inmates. She went from high profile crimes to being denied puppy privileges behind bars. We'll explain that one.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:19:03]

BLACKWELL: Thanks for staying with us on CNN THIS MORNING WEEKEND. Here's what to watch this week. The California legislature scheduled to convene tomorrow to begin the process around its new proposed congressional maps. This is an effort to offset planned GOP redistricting in Texas by adding up to five new House seats for Democrats.

Now, a series of hearings will be held this week over two separate lawsuits that could halt operations at Florida detention centers facility known -- at Alligator Alcatraz. Now, the first lawsuit was filed by the ACLU. It alleges detainees have been denied access to legal counsel. The second focuses on environmental concerns. We'll have more on that in just a few minutes.

Also, this week, the California parole board will meet to decide whether to grant parole to Erik and Lyle Menendez. You'll remember there the two brothers who admitted to murdering their parents in 1989. Could they finally walk free after nearly 30 years in prison?

[06:20:02]

Our legal analyst will weigh in next hour. Also, Fed chair Jerome Powell will give the keynote speech at the annual Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. That's Friday. Analysts will, of course, be watching closely to see if he signals an upcoming interest rate cut, which President Trump has been calling for.

The very first female mayor of New Orleans faces a federal investigation. Mayor LaToya Cantrell was indicted Friday on federal conspiracy, fraud and obstruction charges. She's accused of trying to hide a romantic relationship with her bodyguard. He was paid like he was working, even as they allegedly met alone in apartments and went out for wine tastings. CNN's Rafael Romo breaks down the story.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Local media reports about the relationship and the couple's alleged conduct began circulating in November 2022, but it was not until Friday that a federal grand jury indicted New Orleans' mayor LaToya Cantrell on 18 counts, including conspiracy to commit fraud, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

According to Michael Simpson, acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, Cantrell and her former bodyguard, identified as Jeffrey Vappie, engaged in a nearly three-year fraud scheme that, in his words, exploited their public authority and positions.

The city of New Orleans told the "Associated Press" in a statement that it was aware of the indictment and that the mayor's attorney is reviewing it. Until his review is complete, the city will not comment further on this matter, the statement said.

Cantrell's attorney, Eddie Castaing, later replied to her email saying that, quote, "It's too soon for a comment. Still studying the indictment." According to Simpson, the couple took many steps to hide their alleged scheme and perpetuate their fraud, including using WhatsApp to exchange over 15,000 messages, pictures and audio clips in an eight-month period. Using the platform to intimidate subordinates, harass a citizen and lie to colleagues and associates. They are also accused of lying to FBI agents and giving the government an affidavit with false statements.

According to the indictment, the scheme started as early as October 2021, when the relationship began, until June 2024, when Vappie retired from the police department. Simpson said he wanted to make it clear that the indictment does not allege that a relationship constitutes a crime, or that the alleged criminal activity occurred on merely a handful of days, or involved discrete actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SIMPSON, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA: Rather, it reflects the prosecution of two public officials alleged to have engaged in a yearslong, continuing fraud scheme that used public money for personal ends by exploiting their power and their authority.

JONATHAN TAPP, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, NEW ORLEANS FBI OFFICE: The citizens of New Orleans work hard to provide for their families, and they expect their public officials to be honest stewards of those funds. And today's indictment outlines a betrayal of that trust by Mayor Cantrell and Mr. Vappie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Vappie, who retired from the police department in 2024, was already facing charges of wire fraud and making false statements, and as the "Associated Press" previously reported, has pleaded not guilty. Cantrell was known for being the first female mayor in New Orleans' 300-year history, and was elected twice. With this indictment, she has also become the first mayor to be charged while in office less than five months before her term comes to an end.

Lastly, Cantrell was listed as a guest speaker at an event launching new Amtrak service to New Orleans on Saturday, but did not show up. Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

BLACKWELL: Jeffrey Epstein's coconspirator Ghislaine Maxwell she was moved to a new prison facility in Texas this month. Her arrival is not sitting well with some of her fellow inmates. You see, most of the inmates are there for white collar, nonviolent crimes. Some of them are just not OK with sharing a space with someone who conspired with a sex trafficker, a convicted sex trafficker herself.

CNN's Katelyn Polantz has more on what's happening inside the prison. Katelyn, good morning.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Good morning, Victor. The atmosphere inside that all women's prison camp in Bryan, Texas, where Ghislaine Maxwell, the Epstein conspirator, where she now is, it's tense and things have changed since she arrived about two weeks ago.

Victor, what has happened is that the inmates, they have been warned by prison officials in recent days that they should use their discretion if they're going to talk about Ghislaine Maxwell outside of the prison. There was one inmate, I was told, a woman named Julie Howell, who provided a quote to a newspaper saying she was disgusted with Maxwell being there, Maxwell, a convicted sex trafficker, while all of these women in this prison essentially are white collar nonviolent defendants of crimes.

This woman, Julie Howell, she provided this quote, and then prison officials pulled her out of a puppy training class at the prison camp and sent her away to a detention center in Houston, moved her out of the Bryan prison camp which -- it is prison.

[06:25:14]

So, it is a difficult place to live, but it also is much more comfortable than other types of facilities across the federal prison system for the inmates who live there. The lawyer of this woman, Julie Howell, Patrick McClain, he told me in talking about what happened here, nobody is going to say anything about Ghislaine Maxwell now. Are you kidding me? So, that's just a glimpse of what it's like inside that prison.

One thing that I have learned as well is that Ghislaine Maxwell may not be eligible for all of the programs that women in that prison camp are able to participate in, or at least apply for. One of those programs, puppy training. Just mentioned Julie Howell was in that puppy training class.

Puppy training is something that people in that prison can apply to do to train service dogs for people when they're puppies, in their early moments of life as dogs. The CEO of the group Canine Companions, told me this week that Ghislaine Maxwell, as someone convicted of sex trafficking minors, minor girls, she would not be eligible to apply for that program and be able to have a puppy inside the Bryan, Texas, federal prison camp.

There still are a lot of questions, Victor, on exactly why Ghislaine Maxwell was transferred there from a low security prison in Tallahassee, Florida, that would house violent offenders, even gang members. But there isn't a lot of answers, none coming at this time from the Justice Department or the Bureau of Prisons.

However, Ghislaine Maxwell's attorney this week did post on social media that she is in a safer facility now in Bryan, Texas, and faced serious danger at the correctional institution in Tallahassee, Florida.

Previously, she was moved, I should note as well, after she spoke to federal authorities in a limited immunity agreement. So, a lot of questions still around this situation and what's happening inside the prison in Bryan, Texas. Victor, back to you.

BLACKWELL: All right. Katelyn, thank you very much. Detention center deep in the Florida Everglades is at the heart of a legal firestorm. Alligator Alcatraz, you've heard of it. Critics say detainees' civil rights are being violated there. After the break, we're speaking with a legal expert about this week's federal hearings that could decide if it can stay open.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:31:51]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: This week, two lawsuits threatened to shut down the Immigration Detention Center known as Alligator Alcatraz. A federal court in Florida will hear a lawsuit over denied legal access at the Immigration Center and a federal judge who paused further construction on the controversial, Florida Everglades Detention Center will make a decision that could decide its future.

Environmental groups say the facility threatens critical wetlands, civil rights advocates claim detainees are denied legal access and basic sanitation. Governor DeSantis and former President Trump back the center. They call it a key to immigration enforcement. Joining me now CNN legal analyst Michael Moore. Michael good to see you.

All right, so let's -- let's separate these because that was a lot. There is a case filed first by the ACLU and other groups and this focuses on access to legal counsel and violations they say of due process.

So, let's talk through that one because that's first. And the --

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST (on-camera): Sure.

BLACKWELL: -- vulnerability that places on the facility. Explain the merits.

MOORE (on-camera): Sure. I'm glad to be with you.

The ACLU case has some significant impact or is likely to have some significant impact on the facility and primarily it's because the case focuses around due process and whether or not people have a right to have counsel and the argument that the -- the petitioners are making is basically look by not allowing these detainees to have access and easy access to their counsel. You are in fact prohibiting them from the rights they're entitled to under law. That's met some support in appeals courts and certainly in the Supreme Court recently.

So that case has some merit. The question will be how much would the -- this now, you know, swamp prison or whatever it is Alligator Alcatraz, how much would that have to -- how much they have to fix in order to comply with the law? So, can they provide places for the detainees to be with their lawyers? Can they provide more access and easier access, telephone calls with counsel those types of things?

And if they can do that, then I think they can survive the case. If they cannot do it or are unwilling to do it and I think they're really facing uphill battle because it's that -- it's that argument about due process that the constitution gives and that is it, you know, if you're detained you have certain rights. And as I say even -- even the Supreme Court as lax as they have been on many of the Trump administration's policies. They -- there's they found a footing in this argument about people having access to counsel.

BLACKWELL: And so, would this mean that they would have to -- and of course this assumes that the judge sides with the plaintiffs here that they would have to shut down the facility at least temporarily while they create this environment for access to counsel?

MOORE (on-camera): I think -- I think it's more likely that the court would say, look I'm going to give you, you know, X number of days and I need a status report on where we are before I decide whether or not, you know, I'm going to permanently enjoin any further activities there at the prison for you to come back and give me a report.

[06:35:05]

So, I think you'll see this probably in a staged process. Unfortunately, the wheels of justice sometimes move slowly. And I think, you know, it's quite possible that the court says, I'm going to give you 30 days. And in 30 days, I want you to come back and tell me what you've done. I want you to come back and tell me, you know, show to me those things that will be in compliance with this order that you provide access to counsel and other due process concerns for the detainees.

During that time, I expect they would let the facility open, remain open. Some of the arguments like, you know, look, there are worms in the food. There are, you know, toilets that are overflowing. There's not access to a shower. But once a week, I think those will be met while with disdain by most judges. I think it's unlikely that those things are not.

But they put the heat, frankly, on the argument for access to counsel and other due process concerns.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MOORE (on-camera): You can imagine that they'll say if you don't care enough to keep the toilets working, we know that your argument that you're going to now give a telephone call to lawyers is probably, you know, not -- not to be believed.

BLACKWELL: Talk to me about this environmental lawsuit. The -- the appeal to those who support Alligator Alcatraz is that it is remote, that it is in the middle of the Everglades, that it is surrounded by these native snakes and alligators as well.

MOORE (on-camera): So, the environmental lawsuit really says that they fail to follow some of the procedures that would have required certain environmental studies to be done to show how much of an impact the prison would have on -- on the environmental surroundings. Sometimes that deals with endangered species. We hear a lot of people who get up in arms about, well, because we've got a certain kind of fish, we can't have a pipeline or an industrial complex. That's a little bit of a similar argument.

But here, I think because the wetlands have been a protected area for so long, there's a general consensus that they need to remain protected. And so what you've seen is you've seen in order to build a facility, they've come in and dumped asphalt to make landing strips, widen their air strips, roads. That creates problems with water runoff and chemical runoff, things like that into the into the swamp --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MOORE (on-camera): -- that can't yet be detected. And that would be the purpose of those studies. But since they didn't do the studies, now you've got the groups coming in saying, well, they need everything needs to be paused --

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MOORE (on-camera): -- until we're certain that they won't have any problems. BLACKWELL: All right, Michael Moore, thanks for helping us understand them.

There's a hidden network of deportation flights crisscrossing the country. Question, why are these planes so hard to track?

A CNN investigation takes a look at the surge in secretive ICE flights and why it's worrying advocates and legal experts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENE MARSH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a plane that we've been tracking all morning. This is it. And we just saw like more than 30 detainees handcuffed, walk up those steps and get on board.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:42:48]

BLACKWELL: L.A. County's top judge and other immigration advocates are condemning tactics from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after a new video shows a man being taken away from the L.A. courthouse.

Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why you got me?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys have a word?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you got me. Please. Yes, you got me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told CNN the man is Steve Reyes-Luna. She said he was arrested after a preliminary hearing on drug trafficking charges. It's unclear where Reyes-Luna was taken, and that's a problem for so many caught up in Trump -- the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. It's becoming more difficult for families and lawyers to contact those being detained and deported.

CNN's Rene Marsh has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: More than 30 migrants, detainees handcuffed, walk up those steps and get on board. One, two, three, four more detainees. You can tell that their hands are restrained.

MARSH (voice-over): This is one of about 6,000 ICE flights since President Donald Trump took office. We were able to find this plane here in Richmond, Virginia, but most of them are hidden from the public and operating with little transparency.

Virtually every ICE flight carrying detainees blocks their tail numbers from flight tracking websites, making it nearly impossible for families and advocates to find their loved ones once they're in ICE custody.

MARSH: This is one of the tail numbers that we think could possibly come here. And right now, it's in Youngstown.

Oh, look, I think it's taken off because the altitude is increasing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's arising?

MARSH: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

MARSH (voice-over): We studied months of flight paths, got a tail number and made an educated guess about which flight would arrive in Richmond.

Then using a crowdsourced database that monitors aircraft radio signals, we track the suspected flight, revealing every city and state it stopped in within 24 hours.

This is the plane we're tracking, a Boeing 737 operated by Eastern Air Express with the tail number N668CP. It has up to 148 economy seats, a bathroom in the front and the back, but it's unclear how many people are on board this flight or any other ICE flight.

[06:45:12]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tyson 51, continue on.

MARSH: OK. Tyson 51 is this one right now. That's the call sign that they're using for this flight.

MARSH (voice-over): Many ICE flights go by Tyson, the same call sign used to identify Trump's personal plane after he was elected in 2016.

Here's the flight path it took on August 6. Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania to Louisiana, back to Ohio, then New York, picking up and dropping off detainees at every stop.

MARSH: If it's actually coming to Virginia, it should be here very soon.

It's on approach.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's on approach right now.

MARSH: Its altitude is like literally 50 feet. So --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I think over there, over there. Go, go, go.

MARSH: All right. I think -- I think that might be it. This is a plane. This is a plane that we've been tracking all morning.

This is it. And we just saw like more than 30 detainees handcuffed, walk up those steps and get on board. There's one, two, three, four more detainees. You can tell that their hands are restrained. Another -- another one. Another.

OK, so they're unloading another vehicle here. Multiple detainees walking up to get on board this Eastern Air Express flight.

MARSH (voice-over): The Trump administration has used more than 70 airports across the country for domestic shuffle flights so far, moving ICE detainees between detention centers before deportation.

In the past three months, the number of these flights spiked 90 percent compared to the same time period last year, according to an immigrant rights group. And that trend is expected to continue after the Department of Homeland Security recently earmarked $14.4 billion for ICE flights.

MARSH: We know that the tail number of the flight that we've been tracking today is N668CP. And we want to see if this public tracking site that gets its data and information from the FAA has any record of the flight. Nothing comes up.

MARSH (voice-over): But we were able to track the flight as it made its way back to Alexandria, Louisiana, the busiest hub for ICE deportation flights.

At this point in the journey, some of the first detainees on board were possibly on this plane handcuffed for nearly 10 hours. As this ICE flight completes its 24-hour trip, Louisiana is likely the last stop in the U.S. before the people on board are deported.

MARSH: Well, the reality is it was not very simple to track this ICE flight. We weren't even sure we had successfully done it until it was coming in for a landing at Richmond's airport. And the point is, these flights really have virtually no eyes on them. Families and advocates have no idea where their loved ones are going once they are in ICE custody.

Now, one of the airlines flying the flights for ICE, Avelo Airlines, told CNN in an e-mail, quote, flights operated on behalf of the United States government are often unidentified at the government's request.

So, we reached out to the Department of Homeland Security. That's the agency that oversees ICE to get a better understanding as to why these flights are blocking their tail numbers. But the agency did not comment.

Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: Higher prices may be coming for coffee drinkers thanks to tariffs. Now, there's a push to increase the number of domestic coffee farms. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE ARMSTRONG, COFFEE FARMER: Brazil has been hit very hard with tariffs (INAUDIBLE), but they're looking at somewhere around $4 a pound for coffee. And we're in the hundreds of dollars a pound.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Next, the challenges these U.S. farmers are facing to keep up with international farms.

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[06:53:18]

BLACKWELL: Coffee prices are climbing as tariffs hit top-producing nations like Brazil. The U.S., I didn't know this until today, is the largest importer of coffee in the world, and some farmers say that the new tariffs could help open the door for U.S.-grown coffee. California growers, they hope that they can make it work, even at a steep cost.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones takes us to a coffee farm.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Against all odds, 100 percent American-grown coffee.

JONES: It's like a cherry.

ARMSTRONG: I believe we're the largest farm in California, coffee farm, and, you know, if the experiment works, I'd love to expand.

JONES (voice-over): David Armstrong is part of a group of farmers trying to make California a synonym for specialty coffee.

ARMSTRONG: We're in Ventura County, so we're going to go up to the foothills. We have multiple canyons where we grow coffee.

JONES (voice-over): This is part of the only 1 percent of coffee consumed in the U.S. grown domestically. Thirty-five percent of what coffee is imported comes from Brazil, now slapped with tariffs of up to 50 percent on some goods, including coffee.

You would think it would be a great opportunity for all American beans, but other nations can deliver a product just as good for a fraction of the cost.

ARMSTRONG: Brazil's been hit very hard with tariffs, but they're looking at somewhere around $4 a pound for coffee, and we're in the hundreds of dollars a pound.

JONES: You want Ventura County to be the next Napa Valley, but for coffee.

ARMSTRONG: Correct. That's a great way to put it. [06:55:00]

JONES: And could California ever produce a product that could be competitive with Brazil, with Colombia, Ethiopia?

ARMSTRONG: I think that our costs of production, our labor, our water, everything else mean that we can never get to that point where we could be a worldwide competitor.

JONES: For 23 years, Jay Ruskey has been challenging the norm of where coffee could be grown by championing California. All of this was his vision.

JAY RUSKEY, CEO, FRINJ COFFEE: In terms of growing locations, wherever avocados can grow, we have a good chance of growing coffee. And so there's over 45,000 acres of avocados, last I heard, in California. But even if we planted all that, just be a drop in the bucket in the whole coffee industry globally.

JONES (voice-over): Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Ventura, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: There's much more ahead on the next hour of "CNN This Morning Weekend," including what we can expect of President Trump and Zelensky's meeting at the White House tomorrow.

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