Return to Transcripts main page

Quest Means Business

Trump Signs Order Renaming Lake Ontario "Lake America"; CIA Chief Travels to Moscow; U.S. State Department Mobilizes Disaster Relief to Nepal; Closing Arguments Wrapped Up in Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial. Nepal Police: At Least 389 Dead After Massive Landslide; NVIDIA, CrowdStrike, Okta Shares Up After Strong Earnings; Gates: There's Big Risk of People with Ill Intent Using Artificial Intelligence. Aired 4p-5p ET

Aired August 27, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:20]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: There is the closing bell ringing on Wall Street. The Dow ending the day with modest gains, but that does not tell the whole

story. Take a look at the NASDAQ, up nearly 1.5 percent, thanks in part to a strong session for NVIDIA. More on that later in the hour.

Those are the markets and these are the main events.

In Nepal, the death toll from devastating floods is rising by the hour. Thousands remain missing.

President Trump is firing off another shot in his trade war with Canada, saying he is renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.

And OpenAI and Anthropic are among the 100 companies signing an open letter calling for a cyber defense surge in the age of A.I.

Live from New York, it is Thursday, August 27th. I am Jim Sciutto, in for Richard Quest and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Well, the sad news to begin. Police in Nepal say at least 389 people are now confirmed dead after Wednesday's devastating landslide and flood that

hit the country's border with China.

Now, there are fears of a secondary disaster. Chinese authorities warn there is a high risk that a dam created during that initial landslide could

burst, sending millions more cubic meters of water cascading downstream toward areas already hit by catastrophic flash flooding.

That includes Gyirong Port, a major land crossing between Nepal and China, which in these just shocking images, was completely wiped out by that

flood.

The news comes as rescuers are desperately searching for any survivors amidst a staggering level of destruction. There is one of them. More than

1,300 people remain unaccounted for some 700 foreign nationals, among them from two dozen countries.

Those whose loved ones are among the missing are still hoping for a miracle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): His phone was unreachable. Then we heard that a landslide had come down from that side. We still don't know

whether he is alive because we haven't been able to reach him.

My brother has also gone there by car to see if he can find our father. We have hoped that our father may be alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Hanako Montgomery is in Nepal. This is her reporting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the moment flood waters tore through Nepal's valleys.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God! Oh my God!

MONTGOMERY (voice over): A furious wall of water, mud and debris swallowing everything in its path forcing Nepali workers to run for their lives.

The flash flood rushed through communities along the Nepal-China border, submerging homes, ripping through roads and vital infrastructure.

Even bridges were no match for the water's force. Some were torn clean in two severing roads and cutting off some of the worst hit areas.

The destruction stretches for miles. Homes sit buried beneath thick layers of mud, while entire communities were ripped apart by a torrent that left

almost nothing in its path.

MONTGOMERY (on camera): We are just driving to one of the worst affected areas right now, which is a couple hours northwest of the capital,

Kathmandu, and we are taking the main highway.

This is where a lot of supplies go towards the capital, but you can see there are hardly any cars on the road, which goes to show just how badly

damaged this highway is because of the massive flooding we've seen.

So I am walking down one of the main roads in Nepal, and this entire place used to be covered in mud. They've cleared part of it now, and I want to

show you some of the damage that we've been seeing.

This house, I mean, its first floor is completely submerged in flood water. You can see some of the windows and doors just caked in mud.

This house over here, I mean, its walls have completely collapsed. It is unlivable.

And down here is a gas station. And again, just completely inaccessible and totally destroyed by this flood water and the mud and debris that have

brought with it.

And this village that we are currently in is actually several dozen kilometers away from the worst of the damage. So, you can imagine if you

get higher up in the Himalayan mountains, just how many people have lost their homes, their livelihoods, and their loved ones.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Hanako Montgomery on the ground there in Nepal.

Several dozen Americans are among those missing in Nepal. They include 14- year-old Rashi Shashi Duran (ph) and her mom, Rekha (ph). You see them there.

[16:05:08]

The family has not heard from either of them since early yesterday morning, just about an hour before the floodwaters struck.

Shekhar Agrawal is Rashi's uncle, Rekha's brother, and he joins me now from Mumbai, India.

It is so good to have you, Shekhar, and let me just begin by saying, I am so sorry you're going through this right now.

How are you and the rest of the family doing as you wait for any news?

SHEKHAR AGRAWAL, UNCLE OF U.S. TEEN MISSING IN NEPAL WITH HER MOM: Well, it has been an indefinite wait. All of us are just praying and hoping that a

miracle happens and we hear the good news that they have been rescued. They have been located.

We haven't heard from them for about 40-odd hours now. And yes, we are worried.

SCIUTTO: When was the last time you were able to speak to them? It was right before the flood struck?

AGRAWAL: We spoke to them by about 7:30 in the morning, when they were supposed to go and have breakfast, and the flood struck around 8:45 in the

morning, between 8:45 and 9:00. And after that, around 8:50, the signals were all off -- the cell signals.

So technically, after 8:50, there has been no communication.

SCIUTTO: Now we know there are many hundreds of families right now in the sad situation that you're in, the highly stressful situation that you're

in, trying to find news of their missing loved ones. Do you have the resources you need? Are there numbers that you can call? Is it clear to you

where you can get any news?

AGRAWAL: Lots of numbers have been coming in. People have been sending out numbers. Numbers have been flashed on the television. Yesterday was a bad

day because most of the numbers either were very busy or were not working. People didn't have any news on that.

Today has been relatively better in terms of responsiveness. People are coming out with news, but unfortunately, even the rescuers don't have too

much of information to share as of now.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

AGRAWAL: This is where I believe a very mighty country like the U.S. can step in and do some fantabulous work. A lot of people there from the

States.

SCIUTTO: Yes, so many Americans. We will be speaking later this evening to someone from the State Department. I know that President Trump has said

that he will offer Nepal any help that he can. The State Department apparently involved in that.

Can you tell us what your plans are next as you seek news of your sister and your niece?

AGRAWAL: We wait for the time being and wait for some conclusive kind of news, but then it is getting kind of restless now and the wait is very

painful. So we plan to go down to Kathmandu and maybe do some survey over there and some research, meet some people, go to some centers, do some fact

finding.

SCIUTTO: For sure.

Well, what kind of help --

AGRAWAL: -- here now.

SCIUTTO: What kind of help are you looking for? What would be most useful to you and other families like you right now just desperate for any

information?

AGRAWAL: Some clear information, some clear feedback, as in what is the actual position on the ground? Because we know that the group is located --

was the last seen location was Rasuwagadhi in Nepal and we know the locations of almost all the groups because that was a fairly planned kind

of itinerary that they had.

So if you could concentrate on those areas first and maybe try and expedite the rescue and the feedback to the relatives, I think that would be more

appropriate at the time.

SCIUTTO: Well, Shekhar, we wish you, we wish your family luck in the coming days, and we hope that you are able to find some relief and some news.

Thank you so much for sharing your story.

AGRAWAL: Thank you, sir. Thank you so much for the opportunity to air on a platform like this. I hope everybody is safe and they come out safely out

of the situation.

SCIUTTO: We do, too. We do, too.

They are one of the many families now searching, hoping for news of their loved ones.

Well, when we return, FIFA's President is facing a new challenge from the governing body of European football, UEFA is readying a criminal complaint

against Gianni Infantino over his failed World Cup investment scheme, the very latest after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:12:35]

SCIUTTO: The governing body for European football, is preparing to launch a legal challenge against FIFA and its embattled president, Gianni Infantino.

UEFA announced that it is drawing up a criminal complaint in connection with Infantino's failed attempt to allow private investment in the World

Cup. UEFA calls the move "criminal mismanagement" and says it could target other FIFA officials and FIFA advisers as well.

UEFA says it is making the move because of the "secretive structuring, valuation, financing and marketing of a transaction that inflicted direct

and concrete injury on FIFA's reputation to the detriment of FIFA, as well as its 211 members."

Infantino is facing calls to resign before FIFA presidential elections in March because of that scheme. One high profile figure who has continued to

support him is that man there, U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has said Fifa would be making "a terrible mistake" if it considered replacing him.

Don Riddell joins me now.

And, Don, we already saw Infantino survive one revolt, if that's not too strong a word, at least to continue on to those elections in March. This

one sounds more serious, right? Talking about criminal charges.

I mean, are they going to get there?

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT HOST: Well, we will see. But this certainly increases the pressure on him for sure, Jim.

You know, I mean UEFA is accusing him of criminal mismanagement following the aborted plan to sell off parts of FIFA's competitions to private

investors. And as such, UEFA, which is the governing body for Europe's 55 member nations says it is preparing for those criminal proceedings in

Switzerland against Infantino and possibly other FIFA officials and advisers, as well.

As part of the discovery, they've applied to a court in Florida hoping to access the files held by two FIFA businesses there known as FIFA Americas

and FIFA World Cup 2026. They are also applying to courts in New York and in Colorado for discovery pertaining to the other figures involved.

The Manhattan Court request relates to the involvement of Thrive Capital Management and Joshua Kushner, who is the brother of President Trump's son-

in-law, Jared Kushner. And now UEFA believes that the FIFA Forward Enterprise, which was quickly scrapped, remember, valued the stakes too

cheaply and says the whole thing was being fast tracked before anyone really had a chance to fully vet it and stop it.

Part of the application reads, "... under the terms Infantino announced, those investors stood to acquire a permanent financial interest in FIFA's

commercial arm for $4.2 billion, implying an absurdly low enterprise value of only approximately $20 billion, a figure that was neither the product of

an open competitive auction nor tested by any independent valuer."

UEFA said that the proposed sale was, "fraudulently off market price" promoted by Infantino for his own benefit.

Now, wherever this may lead, it is a development which heaps further pressure on Gianni Infantino, who just a few months ago was widely expected

to win a fourth consecutive term as FIFA president next March.

SCIUTTO: Don Riddell, we will have to see where this one goes. Thanks so much.

Well, more than a hundred companies have signed an open letter calling for collective action on cyber security in the age of A.I. The letter reads in

part, "... we have a limited window to strengthen cyber defenses in the coming months. A.I.-enabled cyberattacks will become far more widespread

and sophisticated as models around the world become increasingly capable."

Safety concerns aside, the A.I. boom continues on Wall Street unabated. Shares of NVIDIA jumped nearly nine percent a day after the chipmakers'

earnings beat expectations once again. Its quarterly revenue doubled from a year ago, and NVIDIA also projects 70 percent sales growth in its next

fiscal year.

Cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike gained more than 20 percent after its earnings topped the estimate, and identity management form, OKTA soared

almost 30 percent following a better than expected result.

Anna Stewart joins me with more. And Anna, listen, you and I have talked about this, talked about this with lots of folks who are market watchers,

investors, about concerns about a fluffy, right, A.I. market here over valuations, really high stock prices, questions about whether they can back

these earnings, rather these stock prices with actual earnings, and yet they keep going up.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: And I keep waiting for the day that NVIDIA disappoints. You know what? There was a little bit of anxiety I think going

into the earnings report yesterday. People wondering whether this was going to be the moment where perhaps not for the quarter just past, but you know,

for expectations for the next year, perhaps it would look soft. No! Not only did it beat, it really kind of smashed expectations.

Some of the key lines from NVIDIA saying that it expects revenue to grow around 70 percent next year. That is far beyond what people were expecting.

And actually, I think one of the more interesting lines in the call was the fact that they could have grown even further. The expectations could be

even higher if it weren't for the fact that supply chains mean there are some constraints.

And actually it said there will be perhaps a little bit of a shrinkage on the profit margin due to memory chip shortages. Essentially, they cannot

get enough memory chips. This is a huge part of the A.I. story, and this is something that is made by Samsung Electronics, Micron, SK Hynix that are

ramping up capacity, but they just can't make them quick enough, frankly.

So yes, crazy amounts of demand, particularly for data centers. Some questions, Jim, on the call, of course, about circular investing. NVIDIA

isn't just making chips. It is also really investing in all of the A.I. companies, many of which are customers buying its chips. So there have been

questions about that.

But, you know, on the call, NVIDIA said, we recognize the scale of the support. We know some will call this circular financing, but we see it

differently.

SCIUTTO: We will see if that arrow keeps pointing up.

Anna Stewart, thanks so much.

Well, Microsoft co-founder, Bill Gates sat down with CNN to discuss his stark warning this week about A.I. He told Anderson Cooper that the

technology is unlike anything that has come before it, and that the world remains unprepared to mitigate the risks of economic impact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Bill, you said that there is no plan to ease the entry into the A.I. era and that we

underestimate the impact of A.I. In what way?

BILL GATES, MICROSOFT CO-FOUNDER: Well, over the last year, these A.I.s have gotten dramatically more powerful, even faster than I expected and

they are now capable of causing cyberattack risk, bioterrorism risk, psychosocial risk. And I have to say, I am kind of shocked that the exact

criteria that we review these models with and the actions we take to minimize the harms, are really completely missing and the broad dialogue,

we get all of society talking about the tradeoffs here. That's just not taking place.

And so, you know, we've got to minimize these harms through careful review and criteria and we have to accelerate the good stuff or else you know, we

could have a complete backlash that A.I. would suffer from.

COOPER: I talked to Dario Amodei last May. He was estimating 50 percent of all entry level white collar jobs could be eliminated in the next one to

five years, 10 to 20 percent unemployment, possibly in the next five years.

[16:20:10]

You write about what you think are the three big risks that come with the transition to A.I. Can you just go through them?

GATES: Yes. So there is a big risk of people with ill intent, either defrauding people cyberattacks or in the extreme case, bioterrorism. And

so, you know, these negative uses, we need to monitor things like creating a dangerous virus to see if that's happening.

Another problem will be the job market change, which has not happened yet, but because the A.I.s are getting so reliable now, they can be used for a

variety of well-defined jobs. And, you know, that would be a tough thing to adjust to.

And finally, just the psychosocial effect that a kid might have all their friends be A.I.s and not be pushed to deal with real humans. And, you know,

all the learnings and joy you get by being engaged socially.

And so every one of those things, I am very concerned and I want to slow down or eliminate those negative effects.

SCIUTTO: Well, I mean, is that possible? I mean, on the job loss, you know, the counterargument that some people make is, look, you know, at every

technological change, there has been job losses, you know, with the electric light bulb, lamplighters lost their jobs. You in this essay make

the argument that a lot of past technological changes, the job losses have taken place over a longer period of time, even several generations, in some

cases, these job losses will come much quicker and all at once.

GATES: Yes, it is across every sector of the economy, initially with white collar, but then as the humanoid robots come along, blue collar as well.

You will have for the first time the equivalent of human cognition. So that past history misleads people because there, we were richer, and so jobs

like, you know, designing rides at Disneyland, having more psychiatrists, we were rich enough to create those additional jobs.

Here, as the machine gets better than human for well-defined jobs that works 24 hours a day, it is going to be a bigger deal. And so the bar for

somebody coming along and saying this time is different is very high. But I am staking my reputation completely on the fact that in terms of the impact

on the job market, this is very different than any technology that I've been involved in or that has come across in human history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: In human history. Listen to that warning.

Ahead on the show, the U.S. President tries to rename another international body of water. Does it stand? We will have the latest escalation amid a

tense trade war between the U.S. and Canada.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:30]

SCIUTTO: Hello, I am Jim Sciutto. There is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when we will tell you why U.S. President Donald Trump just signed an

executive order renaming Lake Ontario as Lake America.

And the director of the CIA just paid a surprise visit to Moscow. I will be speaking to Ukraine's former Economy Minister about his thoughts on that

visit.

But before, this is CNN and on this network, the news always comes first.

There are concerns now that a dam created during that deadly landslide in Nepal could collapse. That would then unleash more catastrophic flooding in

the same area already hit by raging water. There are still some 1,300 people missing, including 700 foreigners. Rainfall for the next three days,

as expected to impact search and rescue operations.

European officials, football officials are ramping up a campaign against FIFA President Gianni Infantino. They are preparing a criminal complaint

now against Infantino for mismanagement. They accuse him of trying to privatize and sell part of the World Cup without approval. Infantino is

also accused of offering it at a fraudulently low value.

The former Bosnian Serb General who orchestrated the massacre at Srebrenica, has died in prison at the age of 84. Ratko Mladic, known as the

butcher of Bosnia, was serving a life sentence in The Hague. He was convicted in 2017 of genocide and other atrocities, including the slaughter

of thousands of Muslims during the 1990s Bosnian War.

Well, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order, which he says renames Lake Ontario as Lake America. It is the latest salvo in a widening

trade war with Canada. He made the announcement this afternoon. Here is how he explained it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: So this is Lake Ontario, in Canada and in the United States. But we are going to make

a little change. We are going to call it something different than Lake Ontario. We are going to call it Lake America and all it takes is a good

pen and some intelligence.

So Lake Ontario, that's gone; Lake America.

So now we have a lake and now we have a gulf because we have the Gulf of America and now, we have Lake America without the "of."

Thank you very much, everybody.

Enjoy Lake America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Kevin Liptak is at The White House.

Kevin, does The White House believe this has any legal or constitutional standing?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I mean, I think what the President signed today, when you read through the text of it, it instructs

the Interior Department to change the name in the official register of geographic places. But that obviously only applies to the United States. It

doesn't mean anything for Canada.

And as we've seen with his name change in the Gulf of Mexico, no one else in the world is calling it Gulf of America, and so it seems to be more than

anything, a way to troll Canada. But even that, you know, doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

The word "Ontario" is not a Canadian name, it is an indigenous name and the concept of Lake Ontario predates both the United States and Canada.

[16:30:18]

And so this really seems to be mostly the president's way of trying to jab the Canadians and the Prime Minister Mark Carney at a moment when it

doesn't appear as if trade negotiations to try and figure out this tariff war are going anywhere.

You know, you heard this week the Treasury secretary, the vice president, both say that they were willing to go back to the table with the Canadians

to get these negotiations back underway. But what Carney has said is that he won't do that unless the U.S. shows that it's changing its attitude. And

obviously the president now signing this executive order today wholly designed to try and jab at the Canadians doesn't show any signs that his

attitude is changing.

You know, my big question is whether you're going to hear any support for this from Republicans. You know, a year and a half ago when he changed the

name from Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America, you saw Republicans kind of getting in line saying, yes, this is a great idea. This is going to be

something completely different, just given how, one, unpopular the tariffs are among the American people, but also among Republicans who worry that

this could undercut their message, particularly on the economy in the midterms, but also the fact that two of the most vulnerable Senate

Republicans or Senate races in the midterms this year are states that border Canada, Michigan and Maine, but also a number of other states who

are very competitive this year, who rely on trade with Canada to bolster those states' economies.

And so this is something that the president is doing that has no widespread support among the American people, or even his fellow Republicans. He's

doing this clearly as a way to kind of own the Canadians at a moment when some very serious trade issues are yet to be resolved. And so I don't know

how much support he's going to find even among his own party for this kind of stunt. And that is, I think, what it is. It's a stunt.

It will be changed, the name will be changed in official government documents. But I don't know that that reflects the very complex trade

reality that is underway right now.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Before we go, Kevin, President Trump dispatched the director of the CIA to Moscow. That hasn't happened in five

years since Bill Burns went in 2021, when the U.S. was alarmed that Russia was preparing to invade Ukraine. When you speak to White House officials,

what is their level of concern that Putin, that Russia is about to expand this war up to and including attacking Europe, attacking a NATO nation?

LIPTAK: There is concern that that is in Putin's playbook. I don't know that they believe that that is happening imminently. They do see it as a

possibility over the next several years, certainly, that he could try and test the NATO alliance by making some sort of limited incursion, for

example, into one of the Baltic States or into Poland. And I think Putin certainly can hear as well as anyone else the president's own statements

about NATO, questioning whether the alliance is good for the United States and offering no robust backing of Article Five.

And so Putin can hear that as well as anyone. And I think the fear among American officials and European officials is that he would use that

opportunity to try and test the resolve both of the United States and other NATO countries if that incursion sort of stopped short of an invasion, if

it was some sort of something less than a full scale invasion of those countries, whether that would actually trigger a robust NATO response.

And so there are fears that that could be in the offing. President Trump today, when he was asked about this, said that he had talked to Putin and

that he stated very explicitly that he didn't think Putin would do that in the future. But obviously, you don't dispatch the NATO or the CIA chief to

Moscow to warn against that unless it is a real fear that people have behind the scenes. There were other things that they talked about,

including Iran, including the war in Ukraine, but clearly this was something that was on the top of mind, at least for American intelligence

officials, if not for President Trump himself.

SCIUTTO: Right. Well, Trump often has a friendlier view, it seems, at least based on public comments as to Russia's intentions than even his own

intelligence agency -- intelligence agencies.

Kevin Liptak at the White House.

All right. So let's go to Ukraine now for their view. Tymothy Mylovanov, the president of the Kyiv's School of Economics. He is also Ukraine's

former economy minister.

[16:35:04]

Tymothy, good to have you back.

TYMOTHY MYLOVANOV, FORMER UKRAINIAN ECONOMY MINISTER: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: So there is a lot of concern swirling now, some in public comments from European officials, some even demonstrated by this trip of John

Ratcliffe to Moscow about what Russia might do next up to and including attacking a NATO ally, but also expanding the war in Ukraine. Perhaps

another mobilization. What is your level of concern about an escalation coming?

MYLOVANOV: So today, throughout the day, there have been explosions in Kyiv. Actually, I've been today to the prime minister's office and spoke in

fact with his staff and himself. And they showed to me videos of drones exploding over the Cabinet building. So, you know, that's actually a clear

escalation. And I also have seen some attacks during the day, which is very rare. And they have been continuing throughout the entire day.

So, you know, for Ukraine, it feels for me personally that there is a clear, clear escalation. Overnight, over the last night, there have been

jet drones over my house and ballistic missiles exploding all over Kyiv. And if it used to be maybe every fifth day, every seventh day, now it's

daily. We had a little pause when foreign officials were here in Ukraine, but it was just a break of three days. So, yes, I think it's escalating.

SCIUTTO: Given President Trump's own reduction in U.S. support for Ukraine. And just the way he talks about the war, right? He will not place blame on

Russia for the invasion. He always splits it up and says it's a problem between these two countries. There's a lot of hate, et cetera. He's raised

questions about NATO.

From your point of view, is Putin likely to listen to a warning, if we can call it that from the CIA director? Or does he listen more to what

President Trump says and does?

MYLOVANOV: I think, you know, President Putin responds more probably to the remarks by President Trump. And I also have heard some officials, including

military leaders in Europe and, you know, around the world, having a reasonable, you know, concern much more serious than I would have expected

that President Putin can misread the public remarks of the U.S. American -- of the U.S. presidential administration and think of this couple of years

that are remaining until the elections as an opportunity of a lifetime or century time opportunity for Russia to test NATO because the NATO's resolve

and the support from the United States could be at its lowest.

Now, again, this officials and, you know, you know, experts who I've talked to they think they are wrong. Russia would be wrong at this. Actually,

whatever are the public remarks of President Trump, there is strong unity and support behind NATO, but President Putin can misread it that way.

SCIUTTO: Before we go, given where you are and concerns every day, every night, and now daytime, it sounds as well, about Russian attacks, has there

been any improvement in Ukrainian supplies of air defense missiles? Has any help arrived from Europe or for the U.S.? There were some videos

circulating last night of some Patriot missile interceptions. Are you seeing any improvement?

MYLOVANOV: Well, I've heard Patriot interceptors last night. You know, I cannot guarantee it is. But that's -- you know, my house shook and we now

can distinguish the sound based and it did look that Ukraine now at least around where I am in Kyiv has interceptors. They do not fire all the time

for every ballistic missile, but they at least are firing because a couple of months ago, they have been silent.

So I think there is improvement. There's also domestic innovation in interceptors. I think we will be OK. But we are bracing ourselves for

another very tough winter.

SCIUTTO: Tymothy Mylovanov, we hope you have a safe and quiet evening there.

Well, coming up, we're going to hear how the U.S. State Department says it is helping recovery efforts in Nepal after those devastating and deadly

floods.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:42:15]

SCIUTTO: "Call to Earth" is CNN's commitment to reporting on the environmental challenges facing our planet, together with solutions. In our

continuing series as part of the Rolex Perpetual Planet initiative, CNN's Bijan Hosseini returns to a conversation between two leading voices in

ocean conservation as they share why they believe there is still time to change the future of our oceans.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: One of the biggest global conservation targets is what's known as "30 by 30." It's an ambitious goal to protect 30

percent of the world's land and oceans by the year 2030. So with just a few years left to go, the clock is ticking.

Here on the island of Moorea in French Polynesia, conservationist Titouan Bernicot and his team of coral gardeners are doing their part to help

rebuild and protect coral reefs. And across the globe, oceanographer Sylvia Earle's Mission Blue is working to protect some of the ocean's most

critical places through a network of hope spots. The two of them sat down recently to discuss what it will take to make "30 by 30" a reality.

TITOUAN BERNICOT, FOUNDER AND CEO, CORAL GARDENERS: So, Sylvia, we are in 2026.

SYLVIA EARLE, FOUNDER AND CEO, MISSION BLUE: Four years.

BERNICOT: Yes, we have four years left. Do you think we're going to reach it?

EARLE: It depends on how you count. From my standard, we have about 3 percent of the ocean that is really protected.

BERNICOT: Right now.

EARLE: Now there are places called marine sanctuaries where you can drag a net across the bottom. But it's still called a protected area. I don't know

why anybody would think that's a sanctuary or a protected area. We don't have parks on the land where you can go cut the trees and shoot the birds.

So why would we call a place in the ocean a sanctuary if you can go fishing there?

So if you include areas that are called sanctuaries, you can say there's about 10 percent of the ocean. If we do take serious action in the high

seas, there's now a treaty that really provides a framework for protecting at least 30 percent of the high seas by 2030 is an ambitious goal. But

suppose, like you, you had an ambitious goal.

BERNICOT: Yes.

EARLE: You didn't let people tell you that it's impossible.

BERNICOT: Yes. You know, when I started Coral Gardeners, the goal was to revolutionize ocean conservation and try to create that global movement all

around the planet to revive the reef.

EARLE: And you're fortunate, I think, to be in French Polynesia, where there's a government in place.

BERNICOT: Oh, yes.

EARLE: That seems to be determined to expand protection even beyond the goals of many, to have at least 30 percent of the land and sea by 2030.

[16:45:01]

And if you get this level of realizing we can do this, and, OK, can we get to 30 percent by 2030? Almost it doesn't matter. If you can get people on a

journey 30 percent is a milestone, but it's not the end point.

BERNICOT: But you know, that's the biggest challenge. It's that for the moment saving the planet like conservation is too niche. It doesn't reach

enough people. And this has to change. A lot of people don't care, but I'm sure there are ways. I'm going to try to find them in order to make that

movement more insightful, more exciting, more fun, like saving the planet. They -- if not, they are not going to do it. We need to create an emotional

connection between people and the thing we want to protect.

EARLE: If you can get enough people to really understand that it's our life support system and that it's the best chance we will ever have, it's about

protecting the ocean but that means it's about protecting us. We have to live our lives in greater harmony with nature.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: While the window for action is closing, there is still reason for hope. For more, head to CNN.com/CalltoEarth. And we'll be right back with

more news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Back to our top story now. Police in Nepal say 389 people are confirmed dead after that devastating landslide and flood along Nepal's

border with China. Rescue crews are still searching for survivors, but more than 1300 people remain unaccounted for. Among them are more than 700

foreign nationals from two dozen countries, including 90 Americans.

Joining us now is Tommy Piggott, principal deputy spokesperson for the U.S. State Department.

Tom, it's good to have you. I mean, this is just an awful, awful story. I mean, the images were shocking, like out of a movie. And now you have this

staggering number of hundreds of people missing. Tell us what you're finding on the ground now. I mean, are there resources, sufficient

resources getting in there to search and rescue?

TOMMY PIGGOTT, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Well, the United States has immediately activated $500,000 in humanitarian

assistance, meaning emergency food, water, shelter. It is a difficult place to reach in most times and made even more so by this catastrophe, with

routes to get in and out of this area being cut off by this flood.

[16:50:04]

But we're working to get that assistance and working, communicating directly with local authorities. We have a disaster response adviser in the

region now who is communicating on how best and working on how best to get this humanitarian assistance in. And we've seen rescue efforts. We can

confirm three Americans, for example, have been rescued. This, of course, is tragic. It's heartbreaking. Our prayers are with those affected, but so

are our actions. And that's demonstrated by the assistance we've mobilized.

SCIUTTO: What resources are there for Americans whose loved ones are still missing there? I spoke to an uncle, well, whose niece and his sister are

still missing. He's not an American, but one struggle he's had is that a lot of the numbers that have been distributed, you just can't get anybody

on the phone.

PIGGOTT: Well, it's a very dynamic situation. I can say for those that are abroad and if they're in need of assistance or trying to contact the State

Department can call plus one, 202-5014444. We have our embassies both in Beijing and Kathmandu who are working on this 24/7 in close coordination

with local authorities in terms of contacting Americans and trying to locate Americans.

We're also in close contact with trekking companies. This is obviously an area with a high degree of tourism. So we're working with trekking

companies to try to locate Americans as well. So we have the assistance that's been mobilized, a 24/7 effort to offer assistance to the American

people, our highest priority. And we're working very closely with local authorities every single second to locate Americans and get assistance to

those that are in need of assistance.

SCIUTTO: This is an area, of course, well, it's on the border between Nepal and China. You have Americans missing, but a dozen countries with missing

people in there. Is there coordination among those various countries? Because it's kind of a, you know, it's a smorgasbord, right, of aid

agencies and governments that are involved right now.

PIGGOTT: Well, certainly getting humanitarian assistance and other services and rescue efforts into this area, like I mentioned, is incredibly

difficult. We stand ready to help in any way, as requested, as the president said just a few hours ago. For those requests for assistance, we,

of course, have that humanitarian assistance being activated.

We have seen other international partners that have been stepping up and offering assistance as well. So we're working through these efforts. Part

of the reason why we have that disaster response adviser that is in the region is to help work through how best to get assistance into this area.

So we remain committed. Our hearts break, but our actions are backing up the fact that we are here.

We are here to help. We have that assistance that's been mobilized, and we're continuing to work with local authorities to assess continuing need.

SCIUTTO: The U.S., as you know, cut a great deal, vast majority of its foreign aid and some of that impacted disaster relief resources. Has that

reduction in aid and that reduction in resources impacted the ability to respond to these floods?

PIGGOTT: Not at all. There's actually been the movement from USAID to a new bureau that's been set up here at the State Department in order to respond

to disasters. We saw similar disaster responses in terms of the mobilization of assistance to earthquakes recently. For example, in

hurricanes. We have the ability under the State Department very importantly to have our consular officers that are working to help Americans in the

same room as our disaster response experts.

So we saw the immediate activation of that assistance, partly because we have those disaster response programs that have been brought underneath the

State Department and are able to respond forcefully. So we're going to continue responding. We've seen the activation of that assistance. We

continue to assess need, and we are here to help.

SCIUTTO: Well, Tommy Piggott, we wish you and your teams the best of luck in responding to just this awful, awful disaster. Thanks for joining.

Well, jurors have now ended their first day of deliberations in the murder trial of Lindsay Clancy. She is the Massachusetts woman who has admitted to

killing her three children. Just before deliberations the prosecution and defense delivered closing arguments.

Prosecutors said Clancy had planned her husband's absence, sending him on an errand to give herself enough time to carry out the murders. This back

in 2023. Her defense attorney attorneys argued she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This young lady is not guilty of the killing of her children because she was suffering from a disease and defect as his honor

instructed you. And they're not going to be able to prove otherwise. And it's their verdict, not us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Brynn Gingras has been covering the trial, and she joins me now live from New York.

You know, just this story is just awful, right? On so many levels, the details. Tell us what has stood out to you from the trial so far.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I mean, it's ignited a conversation about postpartum care in this country. That's one of the

positives possibly to come from it. As far as the trial, I mean, there was so much evidence, so many expert testimonies, so many witnesses that these

jurors listened to for four weeks, Jim, that they have a lot to consider.

[16:55:09]

Now, they didn't do a full day of deliberations today. Of course, they had the closing arguments, but tomorrow will be their first full day. And when

they went back to the deliberations room, we got a look at the fact that it is nine women and three men deciding the fate of Lindsay Clancy. There were

18 jurors in whole that listened to all of the testimony, but of course only 12 will be deliberating her fate.

Now, look, as you said it, the defense throughout this entire trial has tried to say that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis. She was not

in her right mind essentially, when these killings happened. Well, the commonwealth has basically said she knows the difference from right and

wrong, and she knew it in that moment, so much so that she planned all of these murders to happen.

And then she planned to take her own life. And one of the things that they've had to kind of really explain to jurors while they sort of, you

know, have this burden of proof on them, is a motive. And take a listen to what they say to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER SPRAGUE, PLYMOUTH COUNTY ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY: So why did she specifically do it? She was depressed. She was exhausted. She was done.

She didn't want to try anymore. She felt damaged. But those kids, those kids were her protective factor. Those kids were keeping her from ending

her misery. And so she had to remove the protective factor. And I'm not saying she was happy about it. I'm saying that it was what she had to do to

end her misery. But it was a choice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Full day of deliberation starts back up tomorrow, Jim. Quick note that they are considering first-degree murder. They can also consider

second-degree murder or even manslaughter in this case if they choose a guilty verdict. So a lot again to consider for these 12 jurors, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Brynn Gingras, thanks so much.

A quick programing note before we go, tomorrow Richard will be hosting the program live from New York Harbor. He'll take a boat out to see all the

sights, including the Statue of Liberty. Here's a quick look at his recent visit to Lady Liberty's crown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Obviously you now mean business because you've removed your hat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is correct.

QUEST: Oh, look at this. You can see the folds of the cloaks now from the inside.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is where the technical majesty really becomes apparent. That really is that thin of copper. And it's really all just

being held together by these iron support systems that reach this big central iron pylon, almost like a dressmaker's dummy. And the copper is the

dress.

QUEST: Oh, wow. When they said it was narrow, off we go. Continuing up. Oh, my goodness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: They used to let you go up there.

Well, that's QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Jim Sciutto. Up next "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END