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Erin Burnett Outfront

At Least 47 Americans Missing After Flash Flood In China, Nepal; WSJ: CIA Director Visited Moscow To Warn Against NATO Attack; Bessent's Mentor Publicly Criticizes Bond Market Intervention. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 26, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:21]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, a massive disaster unfolding at this moment. Deadly flooding, walls of water taking out bridges, buildings, towns, washing away scores of people as they desperately run from the roar of water to safety. The death toll growing. Nearly 50 Americans are missing.

And more breaking news, "The Wall Street Journal" just this moment reporting that the reason Trump's CIA director made a secret trip to Moscow, a very rare visit from the top spy of the United States.

And an active-duty army sergeant, spent nine months in the Middle East fighting for this country -- his wife, though, just deported to Honduras. He's our guest.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the tragic breaking news. At least 47 Americans among hundreds missing after a massive wall of water, mud, debris sent people running for their lives. We're showing you the unimaginable video of the deadly flood.

That looks like, what, a seven-story building along the border between China and Nepal, like a bomb hitting it. You see it just completely coming in, a black wall. Dozens of people seen running as the water comes crashing down.

The death toll is totally unknown right now. We know at least 150 people have been killed. Hundreds more are missing. That includes tourists and Americans in the August high season.

The sheer force of that water, so powerful, buildings, bridges just completely wiped out like Tonka toys. And the motorcyclists that you see here captured the moment the water and debris overwhelmed a riverbank. Now, frankly, it was miraculous. They were among the lucky ones able

to get to higher ground. So many villages along the water, towns, you can see just wiped out suddenly. Look at this video. This is unforgettable. You can't unsee that. You see that black wall of water that looks like a bus depot of some sort.

And it rolls through and then just as if they're Matchbox cars. We don't even know how many people, innocent lives were lost in that instant.

China's Xi Jinping tonight calling for a, quote, "all-out search effort". And we're learning now what may have been the cause. Experts believe an enormous piece of ice, possibly half a mile wide, broke off a glacier and then tumbled thousands of feet into a river valley. And that is what began it.

Earlier, we spoke to Roshan Panday. He runs a tour company there. And he told us why they are just unable right now to even try to find so many of the missing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROSHAN PANDAY, OWNER OF TOUR COMPANY WITH 27 MISSING, INCLUDING 3 AMERICANS: The road is completely swept away because of the flash flooding, so there is no any land access. Only the aerial thing can be done. It's devastating right now. It's very unbelievable, hard to believe. We never expected something like this before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Roshan had three Americans in a tour group that they were leading right now in the area. Those three Americans are missing tonight.

And to just understand the scale of this, which those videos make clear, but look at these before and after satellite images that show the simply incomprehensible scale of destruction that you can see.

And Will Ripley is OUTFRONT in the region for us.

And, Will, you see that wall of water, six, seven-story building along the border, right? And in the regular security camera footage of that, you can roll that back a minute or two. There's a lot of people. It's a border. They're coming, they're going.

That's just one spot along what this essentially bomb of water was. How much higher is this death toll expected to go?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well I think it could go considerably higher, Erin, and conversations I've been having with people in Nepal who I met covering the 2015 earthquake were saying they would feel lucky if the number of missing and presumed dead stays in the hundreds. And the reason why they're thinking it could go much, much higher than the current number is because of something that you mentioned -- the fact that this is a very popular pilgrimage route for Hindu pilgrims and it's also very popular with tourists, including at least 47 Americans who are now among the missing, hundreds of tourists from all over the world missing.

This is the time of year that they want to go see it and it was a beautiful day. You can see in the video, the skies were blue. There were -- there were, you know, puffy clouds. It was like a picture perfect day to head into this area and nobody expected this. Nobody saw this coming.

And they're not going to get a sense really of how many people died until they can reach some of these extremely remote areas that even on a good day, it takes five to six hours by Jeep to drive from Kathmandu to some of these places.

[19:05:12]

And now the roads are washed out. Some areas only reachable by air. Helicopters can't even land in a lot of places because the water levels are still too high. So, it's going to be a very difficult task just to get into these areas to begin to assess just how bad this was. And we have all seen the video, we see how bad it was, how fast that water was moving, how cars were tossed around like toys, bridges were just snapped in half, buildings just crumbled in the force of this.

And the fact that at the China-Nepal border, that one piece of video you showed, you know, a building that looks to be about seven stories tall there were people running on the ground who probably heard the waves but couldn't even see them because the building was so tall it was blocking their view that building just reopened to passengers a few years ago it was rebuilt and reinforced to protect it from earthquakes after the 2015 Nepal quake.

This building was supposed to be a symbol of the strength and resilience of this region. And it was just inundated by that massive wave of black water and all of those people running on the ground and perhaps even people inside the building just would have had nowhere safe to go when that wave hit, Erin. Speaker 1 Yeah. I mean, just the power of that, if you're throwing, you know, buses and cars and bridges like toys, like matchsticks, obviously we know what that means for human life, for human bodies. There was little warning. I mean, it's obvious from looking at this, Will.

I mean, I know it's a flood-prone area. But they would have heard it, I guess, the roar, right? The roar of something incomprehensibly loud, something terrible about to happen. You can see them start to run in advance, right?

So, we know that, but that sounds like about all of the warning. And it sounds like that this may have come from something related to the glacier, just a chunk of glacier coming out, you know, in a sudden, there's the butterfly's wing, and then this is what happens downstream. I mean, there was no warning.

RIPLEY: Yeah, and this was not a typical monsoon flood. People, if there's rain in this area, people know to expect the possibility of flash flooding, obviously not at this scale. There are a couple different things that scientists at Kathmandu

University and international experts as well are looking at. You did mention that piece of a glacier that possibly broke off. It was described almost as an avalanche of ice and rock that could have lodged itself into the river that then started to accumulate water over a period of time.

Apparently that avalanche meteorologists are saying was so large it actually triggered an earthquake. It measured anywhere from 4.4 to 5.0 on the Richter scale in terms of magnitude. But then for some reason that they still need to assess, this -- if it is indeed this this ice and rock avalanche if the water broke through it broke through it's such a tremendous force that this river rose by about 30 feet in 30 minutes.

And there was a helicopter pilot flying overhead that we spoke with who said he from his vantage point thought the waves were maybe 15 or 20 feet tall but they kept getting higher and higher because as this water was moving it was picking up with it rocks and mud and debris from houses and cars and those buses that you saw picked up and the bridges that were torn apart.

So, there was this massive wall, not just of black water, but also, jagged pieces of rock and building and metal and cars. And of course, also people caught up in that as well. Just absolutely devastating.

But there are some incredible survival stories. We've seen helicopters doing these daring rescues, plucking people off the roofs of houses. They're going to be continuing that work in the coming hours and days ahead. But also, there was one worker who was actually swept downstream in this who says that he survived by clinging to a mango tree.

So somehow, even after getting caught up in that black water, he found a mango tree he held on for his life. He was able to survive. And obviously the families of the scores of people, hundreds of people who are missing, possibly many more, they're going to be hoping for similar miracles involving their loved ones who may have been there.

They don't even know necessarily how many people were there at this time. It's not like people have to register when they go to this particular area. But now, people are going to be hoping that there are other survivors that stories that will emerge in the midst of this just awful, unspeakable tragedy, Erin.

BURNETT: Yeah, unspeakable. Thank you very much, Will Ripley.

And of course, as Will gets more, if we learn more here now that it's morning hours there, we're going to break in and bring that to you on this obviously terrible breaking developing story.

[19:10:03]

Also breaking this hour, just a few moments ago, "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting why the CIA director made a mysterious trip to Moscow. John Ratcliffe meeting with Russian officials early this morning. And let's show you video of what's believed to be his plane landing in Latvia shortly after that visit. We are now learning what those discussions were about, according to "The Wall Street Journal".

They report that Ratcliffe was there to deliver a warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries, which is obviously a significant meeting, a message that could have been conveyed in many different ways. It didn't require the CIA director taking the sort of risk of going in there and having Ukraine not have to bomb Russia during that, given that CNN reported about two weeks ago that U.S. intelligence assessments indicated Putin could try to test NATO's resolve by launching an attack on a NATO member.

Now earlier, Trump downplayed the significance of the visit. Here he is.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's there, you know, very sort of semi-routine. I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: The comment there about the CIA director is false. The CIA director's secretly flying to Moscow is anything but routine. This was Ratcliffe's first known visit to Russia since the start of Trump's second term. It's been five years since a CIA director has stepped foot in Russia.

I've spoken to a former CIA director who went there when times were much less fraught, who would have described it at the time as an incredibly security risk and anything but routine.

Lara Seligman broke the story for "The Wall Street Journal" and she is OUTFRONT tonight.

So, Lara, okay, you obviously significant new reporting here, so let's just start with what can you tell us about this trip and what triggered it?

LARA SELIGMAN, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, WSJ: So, what prompted this surprise visit to Moscow by Ratcliffe was new U.S. intelligence assessments that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch a limited assault on an allied country likely a Baltic nation in the next few years. We reported this a few weeks ago. So, Ratcliffe was dispatched by the Trump administration to Moscow yesterday. He arrived in military aircraft kind of surprise and the intent was to deliver this message to Putin not to attack NATO countries.

So, this is really significant and really signifies that the administration takes this Intel seriously. He arrived there on a military jet. He met with Russian intelligence officials, not Putin himself, although Putin was briefed on the meeting.

So why would Putin go and attack a NATO country, especially while his military is stretched so thin in Ukraine? Well, according to intelligence officials, the idea would be to test NATO's resolve and try to fracture the alliance. What we know is that U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that Putin is backed into a corner, and the thinking is that a cornered Putin lashes out.

BURNETT: Yeah, I mean, you know, so much of this is so fascinating that if you know, the reporting is obviously stunning, your reporting, that Putin would be -- considering an attack like this. But if it's within a couple of years, why this now? And also why this administration, which has had, frankly, such disdain for its own intelligence assessments on things like Ukraine or Iran, took this one seriously?

I mean, there's so many questions from all of this. But, you know, among them, Lara, is this -- hours ago, Trump was asked about a possible Russian attack on NATO, right? Was that the reason for the trip? Somebody asked him and this is what he said.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

GLENN BECK, RADIO HOST: The CIA director, ours, is in Russia. Rumors are saying Putin is going to test NATO resolve, all the way to speculation that is crazy. He's going to strike England. All the way to this is maybe the U.S. telling them about the Iranian sanctions, saying we're serious about them.

Can you tell me why our CIA director flew in the middle of the night to meet with the Russians?

TRUMP: Yeah. Well, none of the above. He's there, very sort of semi- routine. I hate to disappoint people. We would like to see the war with Ukraine end.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, among the things Glenn Beck lists there is Putin is going to test NATO resolve. Trump denies it. Obviously, your detailed reporting contradicts what he said.

What do you make of his denial?

SELIGMAN: Well, I think it's kind of embarrassing for the administration. I mean, I think he was meant to go there covertly and have this meeting with Russian intelligence officials. Potentially, they even asked to speak with Putin himself, and they did not actually meet with Putin. And it's possible that Russia rebuffed their request, and they went home empty-handed.

So, my thinking is potentially they're embarrassed and don't want to admit what they were doing. But what we do know is that Putin is in a very difficult situation right now. He is being squeezed on the battlefield in Ukraine, and he's under domestic pressure at home. And he may -- he may see an opening as well, since there is, as we've reported, a shortfall in critical Western munitions that's been driven by expenditures in the Iran war. So that could also factor into Putin's thinking here.

[19:15:00]

BURNETT: Yeah, yeah, absolutely amazing. And amazing they would have thought no one would have noticed. I mean, anybody who was up in the early hours of the night saw it on the Flight Radar Twitter feeds that this plane was going in.

All right. Lara, thank you very much. I appreciate your time and all this fantastic reporting that you shared with us.

I want to go OUTFRONT now to Democratic Congressman Seth Moulton in Massachusetts because he's on the House Armed Services Committee, served four tours of duty in Iraq with the Marines, and is now running for U.S. Senate.

So, Congressman, you hear Lara Seligman's new reporting there, and she's got a lot of detail.

So, what do you make of it? You know, the conversation we're having is that John Ratcliffe, the CIA director, goes to Moscow, and what does it say to you that he would go if it's for this reason to warn Putin about a NATO attack, that Ratcliffe chose to do that now, that that was this rose to that level and that Putin didn't actually meet with him? What does all this mean to you?

REP. SETH MOULTON (D-MA): Well, Erin, as you pointed out, this is nothing routine at all. And so, it suggests to me that this is a serious emergency. And it's yet another example of how the Trump administration fundamentally puts our national security at risk every single day.

You know, the conservative guy, Glenn Beck, says Putin might want to test NATO's resolve. But fundamentally, what Putin might want to do is test Trump's resolve because a lot of people question Trump's resolve when it comes to standing up to our NATO allies. He's repeatedly undermined our NATO allies.

A lot of people question Trump's resolve when it comes to standing up to Putin himself because he's always praising Putin, blaming Zelensky for war criminal Putin's criminal war in Ukraine. So there are really legitimate concerns about the resolve of the president of the United States, and that's dangerous for us and for our allies.

BURNETT: I want to play something else that Trump said in that same interview with Glenn Beck about the supreme leader in Iran, who obviously hasn't been seen, as you know, Congressman, since he formally assumed power. And let me just check here to make sure we all understand. That was about six months ago, okay? But here's Trump to Glenn Beck.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BURNETT: I don't think he's dead. He was very seriously wounded at the left side of his body. The arm, the leg, the whole thing. He was very seriously wounded, but I don't think he's dead.

(END AUDIO CLIP) BURNETT: So those comments, Congressman, come as "The Economist" has some really important new reporting. They are saying that there are new billboards showing up in Tehran. And on the billboards, and you know, in the billboards there, I've seen them when they put really, really big.

And these apparently show seven men who have taken power in Iran since Khamenei was killed, and seven people, okay? The billboard calls the men. So, on the billboard, it says top of the country's security and defense. So, you'd say, okay, these massive billboards are going up, seven guys top of the country, and it says so on there.

But the Supreme Leader is not on there. He is actually not one of the seven, according to "The Economist's" reporting, which is incredible. What does this tell you?

MOULTON: It tells me that Iran has a more military-controlled regime. And that probably makes them more effective at standing up to Trump's war. And so, frankly, it's not a surprise that Iran would have a more military-focused leadership when they've been so effective at controlling the entire world economy here through this war that Trump started and has totally backfired.

I mean, to connect these two things, let's not forget that Trump promised -- he promised he would end the Ukraine war on day one. He's now promised about 40 different times that the Iranians are begging to come to the negotiating table and they're going to end the Iran war. He hasn't -- he hasn't fulfilled any promise to end worse. He's done nothing but start wars on his watch.

And the wars are backfiring on him, and it's incredibly dangerous for our national security.

BURNETT: So, Congressman, you've made generational change a key focus of your Senate primary, which you are running against Senator Ed Markey.

Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez is one of the top younger voices in your party, and obviously a possible 2028 candidate as well. She actually endorsed Markey a few days ago, and she said when she did it, quote, "His work is an inspiration to many of us who are committed to building a better future for all, and that's why I'm proud to endorse him."

I wanted to give you a chance to respond to that.

MOULTON: Well, look, I have a great relationship with her and she even gave me a heads up that she was going to endorse him as she did before. As "The Boston Globe" said when they endorsed me in this race, a change for them because they endorsed Marky last time around. Marky's running the same campaign that he did in 2020 with all the same endorsers and the same lines and everything else.

But the world has changed. As "The Boston Globe" said, the future is now. And that's why it's time for next generation leadership.

[19:20:00]

Just over the past few days, Senator Markey has made it very clear that he doesn't even understand what A.I. is. In the debate last week, he said that he doesn't understand which apps on his phones do different things and which use A.I.

On this network earlier today, he was asked a question about A.I. and started talking about Facebook. And posting pictures on Facebook is not the same technology that's taking away jobs from college graduates right now.

So how can we have a generation that doesn't even understand this technology, possibly regulate it and make it safe? And that's what my case is about. I think it's time for the generation that grew up with the internet and is going to have to live for decades with A.I., a generation that understands this technology.

We're the ones who should be charged with regulating it, with making it safe, with charting a way through when it is a brave new world and we need new ideas to meet these challenges and opportunities.

BURNETT: Congressman Moulton, I appreciate your time, and thank you so much for being with us tonight.

And next, we have more breaking news. I'm going to speak to an Army sergeant who spent nine months in the Middle East fighting for the United States. His wife was targeted, they were pulled over, and has now been deported.

Plus, is Wall Street turning on Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent? Einstein and Ives are OUTFRONT with an incredible embroglio going on on Wall Street.

And British actor Tim Curry, who commanded the screen. in a very special way, has died, known for his roles in cult classics like The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:54]

BURNETT: Tonight, Trump's immigration crackdown hitting American military families. The latest example, an active-duty Army member's wife deported to Honduras just this week. Cristy Villafranca was detained last month in El Paso, Texas, as she was leaving a Walmart.

Her six-year-old daughter and her husband, a U.S. Army sergeant, who I'll be speaking to in just a moment, were there. They witnessed the entire thing.

Villafranca has no known criminal record. She's lived in America for a decade. Her husband attended high school here, became a citizen in 2024. As I said, active-duty army served a nine-month deployment to the Middle East.

And this story is not isolated. According to "The Associated Press", at least seven military spouses and parents have been deported under Trump. More than 50 have been detained.

OUTFRONT now, Sergeant Hedar Turcios.

And Sergeant, I appreciate your time very much. Obviously, these past few days I know have been incredibly difficult.

I just want to start with where your wife is right now. She was taken, deported to Honduras on Monday. I understand you have been able to speak to her.

What can you share with us about how she's doing?

SGT. HEDAR LEONEL TURCIOS JUAREZ, ACTIVE-DUTY U.S. ARMY: Well, she's okay, she's not doing good. She's you know away from her family from her kids. We never been like separate this long before, like without knowing that we -- without knowing that what was going to happen. We just -- is a really hard moment for her and for all of us.

BURNETT: It's really hard to imagine. Can you try to tell us what happened? I know this was in July. You were driving your wife and your daughter, six years old, home from Walmart, and you get pulled over. So how did all of this happen, from the pullover to Cristy being taken away?

TURCIOS JUAREZ: So, yes, when I got pulled over, I only saw one car, but then behind that one, it was like two or three more cars. can't remember exactly how many cars it was, but they start knocking on the passenger side windows. So, my daughter, you know, they started like hitting the windows, telling me to roll down the windows like multiple times.

Of course, my daughter is only six. She got so scared that she -- you know, she started crying and all that stuff and that's when they told me about like -- oh, we have a order to like arrest your wife and that's how it happened.

BURNETT: And then, I mean, what did your wife do? And at that point, did you ever -- did you say anything or they know? I mean, you know, you're an active-duty American citizen, member of the U.S. Army, right? You've served this country, put your life on the line. Did any of that matter?

TURCOS JUAREZ: No, no, I didn't. And we told them that we have a like -- my wife case is still pending because ever since we found out about her like the issue, we did everything like through the government with the follow all the legal steps through, you know, fix her situation and as of today, the appeal is still pending and also the like the military parole place that we submitted is still pending and they knew about it since like I told them about it and they still like, you know, took her into custody.

BURNETT: So I know your wife fled Honduras a decade ago at the time in fear of the violence there. And she was pursuing her U.S. citizenship, as you just mentioned, right? There was an appeals process, and you were pursuing that. You've done everything right. So I'm just wondering, Sergeant, even in

-- I know in a sense you're still stunned of what you're dealing with here, but how do you feel as someone who has served this country, nine-month tour in the Middle East, your life in the U.S. Army, you risk your life knowingly for this country.

[19:30:00]

Does this change how you feel?

TURCIOS JUAREZ: No, it's just-- it's not-- it doesn't change how I feel about, like, you know, the Army. I love what I do, and I want to keep doing it.

It just -- I feel like it's not fair for us to be going well, not just for us because there's a lot of more people going through the same situation where they have family members that has been detained and we're not like criminal record. They don't -- they're not a danger to the community just like my wife. She don't even have like a criminal record or like not even a traffic ticket.

So -- and we did everything the right way and we still, you know, being treated like we are criminals.

BURNETT: It's, I think, hard for anyone listening to hear this. I know your daughter is starting first grade, and you're also a stepfather to Cristy's son, who is 12. How are the children doing right now?

TURCIOS JUAREZ: My 12-year son, he knows what's going on. He's older, so -- I told him, we told him about it before like he knew about it by social media. So -- he knows all what's going on, but my six-year-old daughter. I still don't know how to tell her like what's going on.

The only thing I was able to tell her like we are trying to fix your mom's paperwork so she can like, you know, fly with us on planes and that's the most that I have told her to this point.

BURNETT: Sergeant Turcios, I appreciate your time, and thank you so much for being willing to talk about this. I know it's incredibly difficult personally, also, of course, with your job, but it's so important and grateful to you for doing it. Thank you.

TURCIOS JUAREZ: Thank you guys for reaching out and trying to help.

BURNETT: Next, one of the world's best-known investors writing a scathing op-ed targeting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He got called out for using A.I., and he says he's proud of it. A lot of important layers of this one.

And it's the race that a top Fox News anchor warns Republicans could lose. A special report, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:35:26] BURNETT: Tonight, is Wall Street turning on Trump's treasury secretary, one of America's most prominent investors, and Scott Bessent's former mentor, right? So doubly significant, slamming Besant's intervention in the bond market after the 30-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a nearly two-decade high.

Now, that's a really big deal. It's really a bet on, does the rest of the world think America is going to be able to pay off its debts? And how much are we all going to be paying on interest from mortgages and credit cards and everything else? And that number just keeps stubbornly going up. It's a big problem.

And Stanley Druckenmiller writes in "The Wall Street Journal," "Every basis point of artificial yield," meaning every one-tenth of a percentage point that the interest rate goes up, "is a subsidy to procrastination," basically putting off dealing with the real problem that America spends so much money, even warning that Bessent is risking the Treasury market's credibility, which really is crucial, the full faith of the U.S. government.

So as Druckenmiller points out, the long-term Treasury yield is the most important price in the world. So, when interest rates go up on that 30-year, there's massive implications for all of us. I mentioned the higher mortgage rates, costlier loans, credit card debt, all of those things.

But it's also a way for the rest of the world to say they don't think America may be good to pay off its debts. And that is a problem.

And Bessent has been struggling with this problem.

OUTFRONT now are regulars, Peter Tuchman and Dan Ives are, of course, as you all know, who watch regularly, Einstein and Ives.

So, Peter, can I just start with you on this? Stanley Druckenmiller is somebody, he's a sage. People listen to him, okay? This is a guy who, if he's not a household name, it's not because he doesn't have the influence in the markets, right? He also happens to be a mentor of Bessent, right?

So, to speak out for him is very out of the ordinary and extraordinary. How do you view his warning about the bond market?

PETER TUCHMAN, TRADER AT THE NEW YORK STOCK EXCHANGE: You know, look, the market has become very complicated. There are so many different components moving everything around. And obviously with the new Fed chairman, which is obviously, the ultimate -- the ultimate -- it's hard to say.

DAN IVES, PARTNER AND SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, YORKVILLE IVES: (INAUDIBLE) market.

TUCHMAN: Yeah, no, but look, the bottom line is, he's basically saying that by -- that by him buying those bonds, okay, we talked about it the other day, that's basically where he felt it really necessary to have some inventory on the bonds. We do not know. We are now in sort of this corridor where we're not really sure what the Fed chairman's going to do on the next move. We don't have a clear view of what's going on with inflation, and the bottom line is, yes, we always say -- you have to listen to the bond market.

IVES: You can't -- look, as we were talking about, Erin, you cannot scare the bond market. I think that's sort of the main issue here that Bessent is trying to do. And that's what Druckenmiller is talking about in terms of this tug of war.

TUCHMAN: But also, it's a matter of you giving -- there are a couple of tools that these people, that Bessent and also Walsh are given to adjust and keep the economy in its way. Think about if we had been putting that -- I know the president put pressure on Jay Powell, but if Jay Powell had not followed his ground and had done and cut rates when he shouldn't have, we would have been in a deep stagflation mode and we would have been in a problematic one. There are certain levers that need to be put --

IVES: And I think that's sort of the key is that right now we're in a tug of war and that's what Druckenmiller was talking about, especially going to Jackson Hole this week.

TUCHMAN: Right, because we are going to hear something about interest rates.

BURNETT: Jackson Hole, of course, yeah -- right, right, and kind of the center. Everybody in the world watches Jackson Hole in August because all the Central Bank chiefs, right, that's a very important meeting that you're referring to. So that's going to be crucial.

Dan, I got to ask you something else because you cover the entire world of A.I., all the companies that make the chips with their big numbers after the close today. So, enter Stanley Druckenmiller, who writes this op-ed, and I think I actually said something untrue, apparently he did not write it. It gets a lot of attention.

But it turns out people were saying, hey, hey, it was written by A.I. It looks like it. It's got all the trademarks.

And Druckenmiller doesn't deny it. He embraces it. He says, "There's a reason I moved from being an English major to being an econ major. I'm not embarrassed by it. I write everything using AI now for the same reason I use a calculator when I do math problems.

Okay, that's an interesting analogy. I am curious what you think about that. I don't know. I guess I'm a fuddy-duddy on this. To me, I'm thinking, fine, you're Stanley Druckenmiller. I know how your brain works. You can get away with this.

But if you're not doing the thinking and you're a younger person, it's really risky. What do you think about this? Given these A.I. companies that you cover, that you know more about the capabilities that they're about to throw at us than anyone else?

[19:40:05] IVES: Look, I think Druckenmiller, obviously, the legend he is in the market, just like you said, investors understand who he is. But I think it's part of the danger with A.I. if it's not used correctly, especially when you get to younger generations' cognitive ability. the ability for critical thinking.

And I think that's something with A.I. There's so many opportunities, the fourth industrial revolution, but this also, I think it's some, it casts a negative shadow in terms of some of these areas, especially for younger generations, because where was Druckenmiller 40 years ago or 50 years ago? And I think that's sort of the issue here.

TUCHMAN: And we've also never heard --

BURNETT: Right, he wasn't having -- yeah.

TUCHMAN: Go ahead, sorry.

No, we never heard Jay Powell say that his decision-making in the most complicated last six years of this market, his decisions -- with A.I.

IVES: Exactly.

BURNETT: Well, yeah, none of us want to hear that. I don't want to hear Kevin Warsh saying, oh, you know what, I stuck it into Claude, and Claude said this is what I should do with interest rates. No, I don't care how great Claude might be. I don't want him to do it.

Okay, so you have a lot of fans on this show, both of you. I guess you dressed up for this moment, Dan Ives, but Peter was officially immortalized. Okay, the Einstein of Wall Street, which I'm so proud of calling you Einstein all these years.

TUCHMAN: You're the one who gave you that name. You're the one who gave you that name.

BURNETT: I know, and I wonder why nobody thought of it until I did, because you scream it. But here's your statue, gets unveiled at the New York Stock Exchange this week. You have 41 years as a trader.

What does it mean to you, Peter, to have this happen?

TUCHMAN: You know what Erin I think it goes back to what we were just talking about A.I. The bottom line is there three things where I don't really want A.I. involved or I want a robot involved in. When I'm on a plane and I run into turbulence going across "The Atlantic," I want to know that if I go into the cockpit there's a pilot there if I get into a car --

IVES: And not Ted Striker.

TUCHMAN: And not Ted Striker.

If I get into a car driving around Manhattan, I don't want to be in a driverless car, and when it's about my money, whether it's being traded or invested, I want a human -- I want a human involved in that. And so, the New York Stock Exchange's most defining differentiator is

the human element in this marketplace. And we started in 1903 with 1,300 and some odd traders, brokers, people who had the right to trade stock.

Now we've got a lot less due to technology, but I'm one -- I'm the most well-known one that fortunately I've built this amazing platform. And Dan and I have also gotten amazing global exposure thanks to the year we spent with you.

And the bottom line is the human element, as far as investing and trading goes, is more important and relevant now than ever before. When we run into volatility, when we run into markets, where it even had -- that Bessent had to go or Druckenmiller had to go into A.I. to come up with an answer or come up with some kind of an attack on Bessent, that the human element is more important, more relevant, more important as I motivate and inspire --

IVES: Can I also say, he'll be modest about it, but like Peter's a legend, what he's created around the world. And he's one of the best people I've ever met. And what he's created in New York Stock Exchange, I think also it's so many brokers that have filed, that have been both for him and it's just an unbelievable achievement. I'm just happy to call my friend.

TUCHMAN: Thank you.

You know, Erin, before me --

BURNETT: Look, I am, too. I am, too. And congratulations. Yeah.

TUCHMAN: No, I just want to make it -- you know, look, there were lots of people who came before me, right? I was reading online today, people were talking about it. Arthur Cashin, you were on the floor for so many years, Erin. There were so many people who traded before me and were on the floor.

IVES: And you started working with Thomas Jefferson. He started with Thomas Jefferson, and that was the early part of his career.

TUCHMAN: And I was at George Washington's inauguration. There's a statue of him up in the corner. But there were people that came before me, and I've taken on this role that I want to inspire and motivate the next generation of investors. And so, I'm thrilled, and you've been a big part of it.

BURNETT: Well, that's great. And you will -- well, I'm grateful for that, and I'm grateful to still be a part of it. Thank you so much.

And by the way, thanks for bringing up Art Cashin, someone I know we all think so fondly, a legend in his own right.

Thank you both so much.

IVES: Thank you. BURNETT: And next, a crucial race that seems to have caught Republicans off guard. The Democrat now trying to do something that no one in his party has been able to do for 20 years.

Plus, Dolly Parton's influence felt around the world, literally. Why did a federal judge just invoke her name today in a key role on top of that?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:13]

BURNETT: Tonight, a warning to Republicans from Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA INGRAHAM, FOX NEWS HOST: I think there are a number of states that Republicans better get their act together. Iowa is one of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: This is one of America's top political forecasters has moved the Iowa's governor's race from a toss-up to lean Democrat, which would be the first time in 20 years a Democrat won a governor's race there if that happens.

Jeff Zeleny is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB SAND (D), CANDIDATE FOR IOWA GOVERNOR: Someone over here, kick us off. Pick a note and go.

Beautiful for spacious skies, forever away the grave.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rob Sand is asking Iowans to sing --

(SINGING)

ZELENY (voice-over): -- in one town after another.

(SINGING)

ZELENY (voice-over): An act of patriotism to soften the partisan divide.

SAND: Wouldn't that be what politics is like all the time? You get Democrats, Independents, Republicans in a room together, and you say, we agree.

ZELENY (voice-over): He's trying to do what no Democrat has done for two decades in Iowa, win a governor's race.

ZELENY: Do you have to distance yourself from your party to win in a state like Iowa? SAND: I don't know. I just tell people what I think. Sometimes I agree with my party, sometimes I disagree. They might not like Democrats in general, and many Iowa Democrats don't like Republicans in general. But at the end of the day, again, they're willing to hear you out.

ZELENY (voice-over): Just how willing is the question. But as Sand nears his goal of hosting 100 town halls across Iowa, one thing is clear -- he has plenty to say about both parties, little of which is good.

SAND: I'm not really a big fan of either political party. I don't know why we have to be Democrats or Republicans. Has anyone ever given you a good answer to that? Says who?

ZELENY (voice-over): Sand, the state auditor, is the only Democrat to hold statewide office in Iowa. He's pushing for an end to one-party rule. He faces Republican businessman Zach Lane in November.

SAND: A water quality crisis, a cancer crisis, an education crisis, an income crisis, a corruption crisis, and a crisis of high costs.

ZELENY (voice-over): In a hyperpartisan, loud summer, Sand's attempt to turn down the temperature is drawing notice from some Republicans seeking change.

JOHN FISH, IOWA REPUBLICAN: Politicians all kind of say the same thing. We got to come together. We got to do this thing. But for some reason, he seems a little bit more believable than most.

ZELENY (voice-over): And several Democrats said it was a welcome break not to hear a single mention of President Trump.

ELOISE DILLAVOU, IOWA DEMOCRAT: His approach is quite refreshing. It's what we need right now is to bring people together instead of trying to hate.

ZELENY (voice-over): Sand said he doesn't dwell on the president because he's not running against him.

ZELENY: Are you hoping to rely on some of that anger out there among the American people, among Iowans for the call for change?

[19:50:06]

SAND: You know, I don't want people to have to be angry at politics, but I'm also not going to invalidate anyone's feelings about what their view is on the world.

ZELENY (voice-over): Yet he also knows the most plausible path to victory is by winning over some disillusioned Trump voters.

SAND: This system is broken, and it's leading us to hate people that we used to love, and then we need to change it. And that resonates not just with independents and Republicans, but it resonates with Democrats, too. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY: And Sand is trying to capitalize on that anger that we've seen in state after state, city after city, but in a very different way, Erin. He's encouraging voters to move beyond it to come together. So, it's post-partisan, yes, but it's also pragmatic. And here is why -- there are about 200,000 fewer Democrats registered than registered Republicans in Iowa. That has changed over the years here.

But when you add the independence into it, Democrats and independents far outweigh Republicans. Now, as for the Iowa Republican Party, they say that Sand is simply a liberal with better branding -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Jeff Zeleny, thank you very much in Des Moines tonight.

And next, country music star Lee Ann Womack remembers her friend, Dolly Parton.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Tonight, it's all about Dolly.

(VIDEO CLP PLAYS)

BURNETT: That's the king's guard outside Buckingham Palace with a special rendition of "9 to 5" in Dolly Parton's honor.

And in Toronto, fans gathering at Dolly Parton's star on the Canadian Walk of Fame. Across Australia, stores playing Dolly's greatest hits. In Japan, Dolly remembered as a singer whose voice shone like the sun.

And a development in the U.S. today, a federal judge in Texas invoking Dolly while striking down the state's ban on drag performances as a First Amendment violation. The judge pointing out that by the law's logic, even Dolly could be considered problematic, writing that people, quote, "Chastise Dolly Parton as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes, and breast exposure."

Well, the world is talking and the world is mourning and the world is also celebrating. And as you can see, her impact felt even though she is no longer with us.

Grammy-winning country music singer Lee Ann Womack, who we all know for the huge hits "I Hope You Dance," and "A Little Past Little Rock" and so many more is with me now.

And, Lee Ann, so as a country star yourself, I know when you grew up, you lived and breathed it. Your dad was a country DJ. You grew up in Texas. So you hear Dolly Parton on the radio. You hear him in your own -- in your own life.

What do you remember about that time?

LEE ANN WOMACK, COUNTRY MUSIC SINGER & SONGWRITER: Well, I remember some of my earliest memories are of Dolly because I would watch her on "The Porter Wagoner Show" and I just remember, she -- she had such a light. You know, I grew up in rural East Texas. There wasn't a lot to be excited about when I was a kid, you know, in my surroundings, but I would watch her and she just lit up the screen.

And I think some of that, of course, obviously is due to rhinestones and her platinum hair and her just beauty. But I think also Dolly just had an inner light. And I think that's why everybody loved her so much.

She carried that light with her everywhere. And it came out in her music and in just her interactions with people. And Dolly was the great unifier. I mean, everybody can agree on Dolly.

BURNETT: And so, you know, you think about it in your childhood. Years later, at this time, you're starting to be a star yourself. You're a young artist. And this happens. Dolly surprises you, Lee Ann, while you're singing one of her songs on stage in 1998.

We've got the image, and you look, I mean, overjoyed, shocked, all of it at once. I mean, can you tell me about that moment?

WOMACK: Yeah, growing up and watching her from the time I was probably three or so, and watching her on TV and hearing her records and everything, and then always wondering, am I ever going to make it? Am I ever going to get to Nashville? Am I ever going to have hits on the radio and that sort of thing?

My first big performance in Nashville, and she did this for a lot of young artists, she was there on the side of the stage, and out she came, and we sang together, and it was one of the highlights of my career. those moments, if you can get Dolly's stamp of approval, that went a long way for me. It really did help launch my career.

BURNETT: That's really amazing to think about, right, that she helped launch her career. It's funny, I think about Eminem posted a letter that she had sent to him, and she's sort of like, I don't know anything about rap, but you have talent.

Just that ability to reach out and touch so many, that there's so many of you who are stars who felt that about her. She also chose you, Lee Ann, to be part of her album, "Those Were The Days" and you seeing "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" with her along with Norah Jones.

So, you know at that moment she chose you right? She chose you. What did that mean to you?

WOMACK: I cannot even tell you it was just such a big deal. So special and we have these big moments. You know where Dolly comes out on stage and sings with you or you win an award and the whole world gets to celebrate with you in those moments and it's huge and then you have these personal moments where like I said, when you get Dolly's stamp of approval, it's one thing for her to pat you on the back and maybe tell everybody, oh, you should buy her record. But it's another thing when she asks you to come put your voice on her record.

And so that was a big moment for me. And I really felt like -- I really felt like maybe I was doing something right. And she had that ability to make people feel special and celebrate other people's successes and other people's talent. And I loved her for it, and everybody does.

BURNETT: Well, thank you for celebrating her with us and sharing those -- those memories, because I think all of us, everybody sort of clings to them now to hear about them and to realize that the woman that we all saw from afar actually is the real woman, the woman that people like you knew and loved.

So, thank you so much, Lee Ann. I appreciate it.

WOMACK: So happy to do it. Thank you.

BURNETT: And thanks, of course, to all of you, as always, for being with us tonight.

"AC360" starts right now.