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CNN Headlines: Prince Harry & Meghan To Return To United Kingdom In Shock Move; U.S. Debt Hits Record $40 Trillion As Treasury Boosts Bond Buybacks; Trump Threatens "Economic D-Day," After Calling Stalled Talks "So Good"; Former FBI Agent Details 1998 Interview with Tupac Murder Suspect Duane Davis. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired August 20, 2026 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:28]
BRAD SMITH, CNN ANCHOR: Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan are packing up and moving back to the U.K. The details on the big move and when his dad, the king, found out.
Plus --
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DARYN DUPREE, FORMER LAPD DETECTIVE: They came up on the passenger side of Suge Knight and Mr. Shakur's vehicle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: That is a former police detective on the stand in the Tupac murder trial. What he claims the defendant said about that 30-year-old shooting.
And a new twist in the Hayden Panettiere death investigation. Who may be getting involved now?
Good morning, everyone. I'm Brad Smith. This is CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS. Glad that you're with us this morning. Let's get started.
Our top story this hour. Prince Harry and Meghan are getting the moving boxes ready and heading back to the United Kingdom. The shock move comes six years after the duke and duchess of Sussex ditched their royal roles and fell out with members of Buckingham Palace.
As CNN royal correspondent Max Foster reports, the move was kept so secret not even King Charles knew it was in the works.
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MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Prince Harry and Meghan, the duke and duchess of Sussex, are moving back to the U.K. and they're bringing their children. My understanding is that they won't be living in a palace or a royal residence. They'll be living in a private residence. We don't know exactly where that is. And the king has made it clear that they won't be coming back to their full-time royal roles either, so they'll be expected to carry on the kind of work that they were doing in California.
But over here in the U.K., and they will be here full time because the children have been enrolled in British schools, according to U.K. media reports. And those schools would start in September.
Why are they coming over isn't entirely clear. We know that Harry has wanted to spend more time here, but the whole family coming is quite a surprise, even to the king, who was only told on Sunday despite meeting Harry over the summer in July. Harry Meghan, the king and queen, had a meeting in Gloucestershire. I'm told that this move wasn't discussed, although it must have been planned. The Sussexes have incredibly managed to keep this secret until now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Thank you, Max.
The nation's debt has hit a new record, $40 trillion and counting. Experts point to higher spending on programs for older Americans, along with tax cuts and pandemic aid. The Treasury says that it will step up its purchases of long-term government bonds in the months ahead.
Meantime, President Trump took reporters on an impromptu tour of his latest White House renovations.
CNN's Betsy Klein takes a look at the construction projects.
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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They can have events on it. They can have people go there for cocktails and then walk to the ballroom after that's finished.
BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That was President Trump laying out his artistic vision for his new helipad during a tour with reporters, showcasing a series of active construction sites, including one, a new White House driveway, that hadn't been previously reported.
TRUMP: This was always asphalt, which is very basic. We got rid of the asphalt here, and this is granite.
KLEIN: With the crews building it looking on, Trump also suggested that he was personally involved in the decision to disassemble progress made on his new helipad earlier this month.
TRUMP: And I felt it was too much slope. It's a slope for the rain, but I felt it was too much. So, it's now dead flat.
KLEIN: He invited the workers to join him in signing a piece of stone. That will be part of that project when it's finished.
TRUMP: This. Anywhere you want. Better be under my name. No, I'm only --
KLEIN: At one point, he paused his tour to direct attention to the White House facade.
TRUMP: If you take a look at the stone, look how perfect the stone is. If you would have looked at it, if you noticed. Some people notice. I noticed it every time I walked in.
KLEIN: His flagpole.
TRUMP: This is a great pole. This is the top of the line. It's tapered. This isn't a straight up and down job.
KLEIN: And new topsoil and grass.
TRUMP: If you're grass, you're very happy.
KLEIN: This tour comes as the Trump administration is taking legal challenges to the president's ballroom project all the way to the Supreme Court. A new court filing says that construction has been moving rapidly, with a 250-person crew working 20-hour days, seven days a week, and that its now 65 percent done.
TRUMP: One thing I know how to do is build.
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SMITH: So good and economic warfare, those are two phrases that President Trump used Wednesday to describe the stalled situation with Iran. Yesterday threatening on social media an economic D-Day for Iran, adding it would be, quote, "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country".
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Yet earlier Wednesday, he had this exchange with reporters.
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REPORTER: Mr. President, when do you plan to formally reopen talks with Iran?
TRUMP: About what?
REPORTER: Reopen negotiations with Iran?
TRUMP: Maybe at some point, but right now, I think the situation is so good. But maybe at some point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Of course, this follows the president telling his envoys to halt any talks with Tehran earlier this week. Meanwhile, global oil prices, they remain high and the naval blockade is having an impact inside Iran. The foreign ministry there telling state media it has led to shortages and price increases.
And new information is out about U.S. casualties in the conflict. Since February, more than 750 U.S. service members have been wounded. That's according to a new Defense Department data, which was released yesterday. Now, 18 service members have also died.
Heartbreaking scenes from Kyiv, Ukraine, this morning after another night of deadly Russian attacks.
A woman breaking down after learning that her grandson was killed in the latest strikes.
Officials say at least 14 people died in the overnight missile attacks, and dozens more were wounded. We're also getting reports of damage and fires across the city.
Five Americans are among seven people killed in a helicopter crash that took place in Kenya. Now, investigators are working to determine what exactly caused the crash.
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REPORTER: The director general of Ecuador's intelligence agency and five Americans, including a Telemundo executive, were among those killed in a helicopter crash in central Kenya on Wednesday. The country's civil aviation authority and Ecuador's state media said. The civil aviation authority says seven people were on board. The helicopter operator has not determined the cause of the crash, and Kenya's transport ministry is investigating the incident.
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SMITH: We take you now to Las Vegas and the murder trial over the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur, a former FBI special agent, took the stand yesterday and testified about a 1998 deal for information with Duane Davis. He's accused of facilitating the murder of the rap legend nearly 30 years ago. The ex-agent said he spoke with Davis about gang activity as part of a separate investigation, adding that the deal is often used in criminal cases as a starting point in a plea agreement.
The court also heard from a former LAPD detective who was part of a 2006 investigation into the killing of rival rapper Christopher Wallace, the Notorious B.I.G.
The detective said Davis denied any connection with Biggies murder, but did volunteer information about the Tupac shooting
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DARYN DUPREE, FORMER LAPD DETECTIVE: Mr. Davis had the gun at first. But they came up on the passenger side of Suge Knight and Mr. Shakur's vehicle, so he couldn't shoot across the driver, so he handed a gun to Dre in the back seat, Andre Smith. He was afraid to shoot.
Mr. Anderson grabbed the gun and shot across Mr. Smith into Mr. Knight's car that Mr. Tupac Shakur was in with Mr. Knight.
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SMITH: Tupac Shakur was 25 years old when he was shot and killed in a drive by shooting near the Las Vegas Strip. The trial is expected to resume later today.
And in another high-profile case, a dramatic turn in the trial of Lindsay Clancy. She is the Massachusetts mother accused of killing her three children, a social worker who posted a viral TikTok about the case took the stand.
CNN's Jean Casarez explains what happened.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You came out with a TikTok or --
EMILY THORNDIKE, SOCIAL WORKER: I did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A reel or whatever you call it.
THORNDIKE: Yeah, TikTok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And would you agree with me that you were pretty angry when you did that?
THORNDIKE: Yeah. Definitely emotional. I was emotional because I felt like, what was discussed in court was not aligned with what my experience was.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Emily Thorndike, a social worker who previously worked at a psychiatric hospital where Lindsay Clancy was treated, she took the stand with no jury present. She felt Clancy's treatment was likely not sufficient for her case.
THORNDIKE: The prosecution is trying to say that if Lindsay really wanted to get better, why didn't she engage in treatment more?
CASAREZ: Clancy's defense team, hoping she would testify in the murder trial after Thorndike's 10-minute TikTok about her time working at McLean Hospital went viral.
THORNDIKE: We need to correct the misinformation that this prosecutor is saying about McLean and what the stay there is like.
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CASAREZ: Clancy's defense team wanted Thorndike to describe the conditions Clancy likely would have experienced while she stayed at McLean Hospital over new years of 2023. That was just weeks before she killed her children.
Thorndike stopped working at McLean Hospital more than a year before Clancy was a patient there.
KEVIN REDDINGTON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I'm bringing her in, just have evidence as to what Patrick's testimony was relating to what his wife went through when she was in McLean.
CASAREZ: Her prosecution telling the judge jurors can determine that from the evidence. SHANAN BUCKINGHAM, PROSECUTOR: The best evidence of what the
defendant was provided by way of care treatment, however you want to call it, is the record in and of itself.
CASAREZ: The judge ultimately deciding, Thorndike was credible, but she would not testify before the jury.
WILLIAM SULLIVAN, TRIAL JUDGE: So there's at least a gap between when she worked there and when the relevant time period is here.
CASAREZ: Lindsay Clancy has sued her medical providers, including McLean Hospital, claiming she received inadequate care. The hospital has denied the allegations.
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SMITH: All right. Thank you, Jean.
We've got lots more to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS: police chopper and a small plane collide at an airport. Details on what caused the crash later on in the hour.
And dozens gathered to protest the building of a border wall near a national park in Texas. Why they say the project will harm the environment, and a moving vigil on what would have been the 19th birthday for Mississippi teen Nolan Wells as his parents continue to seek answers for his death.
Stay with us.
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[05:16:15]
SMITH: Just weeks after his tragic death, Nolan Wells' family honored his 19th birthday yesterday with a heartbreaking message.
CNN's Sherrell Hubbard has more for us.
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SHERRELL HUBBARD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than six weeks after Nolan Wells' body was recovered, loved ones marked what would have been his 19th birthday with heartfelt messages, prayers and a rally in Biloxi, Mississippi, about five miles from his hometown of Ocean Springs.
Nolan went missing after he went to Horn Island on a July 4th boating trip with friends. His body was recovered two days later in the water near the island. Two autopsies have not provided a definitive explanation of what caused his death. Authorities continue to investigate the teen's unexplained death, but have given no public indication that a crime occurred dividing communities and fueling heartbreak and speculation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God always reveals the truth. HUBBARD (voice-over): Earlier Wednesday, his family shared a touching
birthday letter. They wrote saying, "You are our angel. You will be missed every second of every day and you will never be forgotten. Our sweet sunshine, happy heavenly 19th birthday. No, no. Remember, don't eat too much Oreo cake and hug grandma for us."
In an online vigil Wednesday, they said they are thankful for the joy he brought them while he was alive and promised to protect his legacy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nolan was an incredible person. Just keep us in your prayers. Just keep sharing his story. Keep saying his name.
HUBBARD (voice-over): I'm Sherrell Hubbard, reporting.
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SMITH: Thank you, Sherrell.
We'll take you to Texas now, where opponents of a border wall project are urging local officials to block the Trump administrations actions. The plans call for a 30-foot steel walls and patrol roads in Big Bend National Park. Bulldozers started clearing the land just last week, but protesters say the public should have had a chance to weigh in first, raising both environmental and economic concerns at a Texas parks and wildlife commission meeting yesterday. Now, amid bipartisan pushback, the Trump administration has put construction on hold.
Still to come on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS: after a dramatic rescue, new details are emerging in the case of an 11-month-old and a toddler that police say were kidnapped by their babysitter. We've got the details for you.
Plus, later, law enforcement serving a warrant find themselves in a heap of rubble after an apartment deck suddenly collapses. We've got the details on that and more, coming up.
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SMITH: We're tracking new details this morning in the rescue of two young children kidnapped in the Atlanta area over the weekend. Newly released body camera video shows the moment that police officers rescued a four-year-old girl and her 11-month-old sister.
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POLICE OFFICER: Don't move or I will shoot you.
POLICE OFFICER: I got the baby.
POLICE OFFICER: Don't move.
POLICE OFFICER: You got the baby?
(END VIDEO CLIP) SMITH: An officer says he heard the baby crying from inside that trailer at an apartment complex. And with sweltering temperatures, getting them out was critical.
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INVESTIGATOR SHERROD STANCIL, ATLANTA POLICE DEPARTMENT: I heard what I knew was the sound of a child crying at that point in time, given the situation. One of the hottest days of the year. It was indeed active kidnaping. We have children that are away from their mother. We recognize that we needed to get inside and we needed to rescue those children.
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SMITH: According to CNN affiliate WXIA, the babysitter, who was also found inside the trailer, had apparently worked to gain the trust of the mother over the last year and is wanted in another kidnapping case in Alabama.
Today, a judge will consider whether Karmelo Anthony should get a new trial. He's the Texas teenager who was convicted in the fatal stabbing of a 17 year old athlete at a track meet last year. In June, Anthony was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The judge overseeing his case was removed because of concerns over his public comments after the trial. A new judge will be assigned for today's hearing.
In today's weather express a close call for an Illinois State University police officer watch as storm blown glass comes crashing down just inches from where he's standing.
[05:25:08]
CNN's Jeremy Roth has the dramatic video.
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JEREMY ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Illinois, one campus police officer just narrowly avoided falling glass as storms battered buildings at Illinois State University. The video shows the officer hunkered down amid intense rain and wind when the glass comes crashing down just feet from his feet. The officer later shared the video featuring his understandably shocked expression and equally understandable gratitude to still be alive.
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SMITH: Gratitude indeed.
Straight ahead on CNN HEADLINE EXPRESS, Harry and Meghan leaving the U.S. with their children and heading back to the U.K. More on the move coming up.
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