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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

165 Killed, Hundreds Missing After Floods Hit Nepal Border; Trump Claims Cia Director Ratcliffe's Surprise Trip To Russia Is "Semi-Routine"; Prince Harry And Meghan Land In U.K. Days After Announcing Move; Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies At 97; Democrat Charts His Own Course In Iowa Governor's Race; U.S. State Department Pauses Immigrant Visa Appointments Worldwide; Rescue Operations Underway in Nepal after Catastrophic Floods; Former Israeli Hostage Speaks to CNN about Digging His Own Grave; Closing Arguments Set to Begin Thursday. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired August 27, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Live in Los Angeles. And coming up here on The Story Is, rescue efforts underway in Nepal where hundreds are unaccounted for after a devastating landslide. We're live in the country next.

The story is visa appointments on hold. The State Department has paused immigration visa appointments worldwide as they conduct what they call in depth training. We'll discuss what's really going on.

And the story is a major loss in the art world. Yayoi Kusama, one of the world's most celebrated and bestselling artists, known for creative pumpkins and polka dots, has died at the age of 97.

But we start with that breaking news from the Nepal-China border where catastrophic flash floods have killed at least 165 people. Officials fear that number is going to rise fast, hundreds still missing after massive floods tore through that region, swallowing bridges, roads and homes. Hundreds of foreign nationals are also unaccounted for, including at least 47 Americans.

Across the border, Chinese state media report at least three people have died. More than 550 others are still missing. The video is very dramatic as you can see here. Rescue operations are underway right now, but crews are facing dangerous conditions to even get there with so many of the roads and bridges blown out.

And forecasters say the flooded region could see more rain, more rain coming and more thunderstorms in the coming hours, making it even harder to try to get these people out.

The U.S. state Department says it is aware of Americans who are impacted by the floods and is closely tracking the situation. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sending prayers for the, quote, Nepali people following the devastating floods. The U.S. now rushing assistance to Nepal. The State Department says

it's sending a disaster assistance response adviser to the region, providing $500,000 in emergency aid. As we know, it's going to take a lot more money than that. The International Red Cross is sending $1.2 million while the World Health Organization has sent emergency medical supplies, including medicines and tents.

The disaster zone includes a popular route to Mount Kalash, a Tibetan mountain near the border that is revered by pilgrims of several religions. CNN's Will Ripley has more. And a warning. Some of the videos you're about to see are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A bridge snaps before being swept away as floodwater pours into Nepal's Trishuli River. Video shared on social media shows people running and riding away on motorbikes, realizing how little time they have to get to safety.

At this Himalayan border crossing, people on the street could probably hear the danger coming before they could see it. A recently rebuilt earthquake resistant building blocked their view of the monster wall of water and until it was too late.

From this view, you can see the floodwater's ferocious speed and massive scale. People desperately running for their lives have nowhere safe to go. In what appears to be about 20 seconds on video, the flood consumes everything in its path. A row of buses, a four story building, a bridge gone, buried beneath a black wall of water.

From the air, a helicopter pilot watches the disaster race through the valleys below, sweeping away homes, trees and roads.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole scenario, it was horrendous. It was uncanny. Anything like you've ever seen before.

RIPLEY (voice-over): On this bus in Nepal, passengers spot the giant waves crashing into the bridge behind them. The streets are full of people trying to get away. Panic fills the bus as passengers look out the windows at the horror unfolding. In the same town from the safety of a hillside temple, people watch helplessly as the deluge of dark water breaks apart a bridge like a toy dragging it downstream.

This video from the Nepal Red Cross captures the speed and strength of the water whipping around cars and tearing down power lines in its path. The flood came crashing down from high in the Himalayas. Scientists at Kathmandu University believe an avalanche of ice and rock may have blocked a river until the water broke through. A torrent of water, mud and debris forcing its way downstream, submerging or destroying buildings, tearing villages apart.

Mile after mile of these majestic mountain valleys, a dark scar carved into the landscape. Foreign tourists, including Americans, are among the missing at this vital land gateway between China and Nepal. The mudslide ripped apart roads, knocking out power and communications, leaving communities on both sides of the border cut off.

On the ground, people get their first look at what little the flood left behind.

[01:05:02]

And amid the horror, hope a helicopter makes a daring rooftop rescue, one of many in the hours and days ahead. Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEAOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Let's bring in right now Suraj Sigdel, the Nepal country director for Mercy Corps. Thanks so much for being with us. Can you describe what you're seeing, what you're hearing from folks on the ground?

SURAJ SIGDEL, NEPAL COUNTRY DIRECTOR, MERCY CORPS: It was unexpected, it was unprecedented. Even though Nepal has the history of getting flood, flash floods regularly, but this was unprecedented. You know, like nothing worked. So early warning systems or any mechanism that were built in that reason did not work.

And you can see in the videos that you showed recently the towns and the, you know, like highway and everything is swept away by the -- by the flash flood. And you know, it doesn't look like just a flash flood, it looks like a tsunami. And many families have lost their belongings, many lost their family members, many are still unaccounted. How many they lost.

So we are in a deep grief in Nepal. It's just been two days, but it feels like we are leaving it for a long time. And this disaster is one of the worst that we have seen in Nepal.

MICHAELSON: What's happening right now in the hospitals?

SIGDEL: In the hospitals, basically the relief and rescue mission has been started and it is led by the Nepal government itself with support from army and different agencies. So people are being air evacuated from different areas where they are from and they are bringing to Kathmandu. Most of them are brought to the capital city of Nepal and they are being treated there.

So yes, that's how the first rescue mission is going on at this moment.

MICHAELSON: What's the need right now? How can the rest of us help?

SIGDEL: First thing, yes, prayers for Nepal. I think that's what we need at this moment because people lost their lives and it's gone in seconds. You know, like if you see in just in 5 minutes, 10 minutes, people lost their everything. So the prayers first.

And from the humanitarian side, first thing is to find out we were still -- still alive or like they need some rest. So relief and rescue is the -- the first thing on day two that is going on and that's what we are looking at. But now gradually people are like -- they are out of their home. They have not eaten for like more than 24 hours now. And they are like out of their communication with the family members and the relatives. So that's the need.

So for now it's more about safe water, emergency shelters, food and medical care of course.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

SIGDEL: And then we have to look at the longer term support to those who lost everything.

MICHAELSON: Yes, so much need and such dramatic images. Suraj Sigdal with Mercy Corps coming to us live from Kathmandu, Nepal. Thanks so much for the work your organization is doing and thanks for being with us.

SIGDEL: Thank you, Elex. Thanks so much.

MICHAELSON: President Trump is downplaying the significance of CIA Director John Ratcliffe's visit with Russian officials in Moscow. Here's some of that. Hopefully.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: 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)

MICHAELSON: I'm going to hopefully show you some video believed to be Ratcliffe's plane landing in Latvia shortly after the visit. Despite Mr. Trump's denial, the Wall Street Journal reports that Ratcliffe went to Moscow to deliver a warning to Russia not to attack NATO countries.

This was Ratcliffe's first known visit to Russia since the start of President Trump's second term, and it has been five years since the CIA director had stepped foot in Russia. That means that Wednesday's meeting is very significant, given that CNN reported about two weeks ago that U.S. intelligence assessments indicated that Putin could try to test NATO's resolve by launching an attack on an allied country.

Here's what the Wall Street Journal's national security reporter told CNN earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARA SELIGMAN, NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER, THE WALL STREE JOURNAL: So what prompted this surprise visit to Moscow by Radcliffe was new U.S. intelligence assessments that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch a limited assault on an allied country, likely a Baltics nation, in the next few years.

[01:10:10] 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 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Iran and Oman are one step closer to a deal on a potential reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. They have outlined a proposal to set up a temporary shipping route and clear mines from the waterway. That is despite the fact that President Trump has threatened to strike Oman if it continued its talks with Tehran. Iran says the idea is to close the existing shipping route along Oman's coast.

Instead all vessels would go through Iranian waters in both directions. That's according to Tehran state media. Oman says it hopes that the final agreement is worked out soon.

A royal relocation mystery is fueling fresh speculation that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are reportedly back in the U.K. with their kids, even their dogs. That's raising new questions about where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may be putting down roots. CNN's Anna Stewart reports from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are back. Where and why is anyone's guess, but the dogs are here, too. According to British media, the Sussex family landed at Birmingham airport on Wednesday, having flown in from California on a private jet. None of that is confirmed by the Sussex team.

However, a spokesperson has confirmed to CNN that their dogs have joined them, too. The chickens, though they are being left behind. Now, no foul play. As we understand it, they will be looked after back in Montecito.

Flying into Birmingham, not London is fueling further speculation about where the Sussexes will be living. There have been suggestions it could be the Cotswolds, an affluent rural area home to celebrities like Kate Moss and the Beckhams. The children are due to start new schools in England, and schools actually start early September, so they may not have much time to settle into British life.

Prince Harry and his family do not have an automatic right to taxpayer funded security that was downgraded when they stepped down as working members of the Royal family and as far as we know the situation hasn't changed on that. It's an issue Prince Harry has previously said prevented his family from even visiting the UK.

The palace has made clear Prince Harry and Meghan will not be working members of the Royal family. However, we will likely see plenty of them at charity engagements in the weeks ahead and on social media as Meghan continues to work on her lifestyle brand as ever. And who knows, there are also talks she could return to acting. So perhaps one day we'll see her back on the big screen. Anna Stewart, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: The bestselling artist famous for washing the world in polka dots has died at the age of 97. Japan's Yayoi Kusama was famous for her pumpkin sculptures, polka dot paintings, an infinity mirror and some great hair too. She had installations that drew millions of visitors around the globe. She was one of the world's most celebrated artists with her work fetching nearly $200 million at auctions in the year 2023 alone.

Kusama was also known for a splashy collaboration with French fashion house Louis Vuitton, and a 2018 documentary saw her face plastered across billboards and movie theaters. She had little formal training, spent much of her childhood in a military factory sewing parachutes for Japan's Imperial Army. 97 years old, a life well lived.

Pop star Miley Cyrus is paying tribute to the late queen of country music Dolly Parton, who was her godmother. Parton died on Tuesday at the age of 80. Cyrus reflected on their special bond, writing on Instagram that the loss is beyond what feels right to share. She continues, quote, what I know is Dolly would want me to feel about it, write a song about it and then continue on and be strong.

Cyrus says her heart breaks for the world and Parton's friends and family following the singer songwriter's death on Tuesday at the age of 80. Cyrus writes, I will always love her and want to make her proud.

Meanwhile, a state senator in Parton's home state of Tennessee is proposing legislation to designate September 25th as nine to five day in honor of one of her biggest hits.

[01:15:04]

And just across the state line in Georgia, Parton married her longtime husband Carl Dean in 1966. The governor has ordered flags on all state buildings lowered to half-staff for the next week in honor of the beloved musician and philanthropist. President Trump doing something similar around the country.

Still ahead on The Story Is softening the partisan divide. Democrat Rob Sand is taking his own approach to reaching voters in Iowa, where he's hoping to be the next governor. Hear from him and what he said about Kamala Harris and Joe Biden also making news, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:03]

MICHAELSON: We are just weeks until crucial midterm elections. One Democrat is charting his own course in the state of Iowa, making appeals to Democrats, Republicans, and certainly independents in his quest to be the next governor there. CNN's Jeff Zeleny caught up with Rob sand at one of his many town halls.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB SAND, STATE AUDITOR OF IOWA: Someone over here. Kick us off. Pick a note and go. Beautiful for spacious skies forever ways of rain.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rob sand is asking Iowans to sing. In one town after another, 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 in a crisis of high costs.

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

JOHN FISH, IOWA REPULICAN: 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. What we need right now is to bring people together 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?

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 why their -- 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.

ZELENY (voice-over): Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Independence, Iowa.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Let's bring in my panel now. Jennifer Horn is host of "The Morning Answer" on 870AM here in Los Angeles joining us on the right and on the left, Bobby Nunez, the founder and managing partner of Actum. As the Democrat here, as a strategist who tells people how to run campaigns with, what do you make of that, of that strategy?

BOBBY NUNEZ, FOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER, ACTUM: I love it. It's a great strategy because I think what it -- what it the fundamental basis of that platform is not based on what the polling says. I guarantee you this is not a polling led campaign. This is a campaign based on a young man who has a sense of what's wrong in the country and really believes he can fix it.

And he believes so strongly that he can fix it and bring people together that he's been able to build a vast coalition in a state where Donald Trump won in 2024 by double digits. You know, he's up six points right now. And, you know, he could -- he could very well win by 10 to 12 points. And Iowans are very interesting, you know, as a population, because they're always interested in politics. They pay attention.

And obviously, you know, the primaries that happen there in New Hampshire, the caucuses, they always have an impact. But what's really striking to me is the fact that Trump is nowhere in the conversation. And he comes after the political class and he says what he agrees with them on and what he disagrees with them on, but he doesn't discriminate between Democrat or Republican. And I think that is fundamental to the kind of change that this country needs. [01:25:02]

People want to trust leadership.

MICHAELSON: Right.

NUNEZ: And they don't trust people in government because everything is a canned response or a canned answer or a canned statement. And this is, I think, a new way, and I like it.

MICHAELSON: Is it appealing to you as a Republican?

JENNIFER HORN, HOST OF "THE MORNING SHOW" ON 870AM IN L.A.: If you like Opie? No. I don't know. Look, I think that it's appealing to me because it's not all about Donald Trump. I do think, strategically, he knows who his audience is, and Iowans are, by and large, still Trump fans. I mean, Trump won the state by 13 points.

I think he is not going to go after Trump. I think he's also distancing himself from his own party. He knows that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are not necessarily popular there. So when he's been asked if he would like them to come in and campaign, he says no.

MICHAELSON: Well, let's show that.

HORN: OK.

MICHAELSON: So this is Jonathan Martin "On The Road" with him for POLITICO. And watch the way he answered. Talk about to the point. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JONATHAN MARTIN, "ON THE ROAD WITH JONATHAN MARTIN" HOST: Would you want to have Joe Biden here campaign for you?

SAND: No.

MARTIN: Can you even do that right now?

SAND: Sorry.

MARTIN: How about Kamala Harris?

SAND: No, thanks. Let's move on. We need some new leadership.

MARTIN: You don't think Harris should run in 2028?

SAND: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Hey, I mean, pretty we agree.

HORN: We agree. No, but I don't think he wants the party attached to him. So I think he understands that in Iowa, he has to position himself as an independent. Now, do I trust everything that he is saying? I do not. I don't also think that he's going to win by 10 or 15 points. I think this is still a pretty red state. And while he's ahead in the polls, I think we still have a few days to get there.

I don't know that I'd bet my bottom dollar that he's going to take it. But you know what? This is the best a Democrat has done in this position in a long time. And so there's lessons to be learned here about a strategy. Certainly.

MICHAELSON: Does that hurt Kamala Harris's feelings, hearing that?

NUNEZ: I don't think so. I mean, you know, she probably, you know, saw the clip and thought, OK, this is all he needs to do to win that race. And look, the voters of the state are the ones who are going to make the decision who's going to be the next governor.

But what I like about what he's doing is he's distinguishing himself from the rest, and he's been able to amass something like 35 to 40 percent of that independent vote that went to Trump of those non- declining state independent voters to his side of the aisle.

And he has some Trump Republicans --

MICHAELSON: Yes.

NUNEZ: -- that are also supporting him. So he's been able to build a vast coalition.

MICHAELSON: Yes.

NUNEZ: Democrats, Republicans, independents, declining state. It's very interesting.

MICHAELSON: And it's interesting how in some Democratic districts, Democrats are going way to left with the Democratic socialists.

HORN: Yes.

MICHAELSON: But in a place like Iowa that the real success is going to the middle. Let's talk about an issue that sends people back to their camps, immigration.

So, there is some news today when it comes to visas and news that the Trump administration is ordering a pause for immigration visas for an unknown amount of time in order to train visa officers on new guidance to ensure that applicants have enough financial means to support themselves after they arrive.

Not clear how long this is going to last for. Your take on this and how this impacts the system.

NUNEZ: Well, I'm not surprised of this new initiative on the part of the Trump administration. It's sad to see that this is happening, but I'm not surprised because we're seeing the beginnings of this in the last year as folks were coming into the U.S. from different countries, Latin American countries, Middle Eastern countries and other countries and, you know, INS officers or customs officers are going through their phones trying to see if they said anything bad about the president, what their politics are to determine whether they're going to get questioned.

That's the kind of thing you see in a communist country. Hopefully the kind of training that they're talking about giving these individuals that are vetting the process for visas are not going to have that political inclination because that's where you really start losing the wheels on the democratic form of government that we have.

I think it's very dangerous to go down that path. Let's see what they come up with. But certainly, you know, this is a country of immigrants. You know, one you say people should come in here the right way. And now when people are coming the right way, now you're saying you're going to put the brakes on that as well.

I mean, I think we, you know, we can't speak out of both sides of our mouth. We don't like illegal immigration, but we do like legal immigration. But then we don't want legal immigration. So what is it? What do we want to do?

HORN: We like legal, we like legal immigration. We just want to make sure that the system is working. Right now they're investigating 200,000 people that have came this gain the system or gain the system to have these visa overstays or who have come in here and not gone back.

And so when you have a problem, it's like a bathtub. Before you can start cleaning up the flood, you actually have to turn the water off on the spigots. Right.

[01:30:03]

And so, the Trump administration putting a hold on things to make sure that these are people who are not coming in here to cause us harm. Because obviously, the world is a hot spot right now for people that would like to do harm to America, that are coming here for birth tourism, which of course, we have a huge problem with, especially from China. And then who are coming in here with the intention to overstay their visas.

Look, if they're not getting it right, you have to fix the system. This doesn't mean we don't want people to come in the right way. It just means if we know there's a problem, and we do, and we know that the system is broken, we have to take the time to fix it or we can't expect different results.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think that they legitimately are going to reopen the system anytime soon?

HORN: I do. I do --

(CROSSTALKING)

MICHAELSON: Because the last time that they stopped something like this, it went for eight months. And the only reason that it restarted was because the judge issued a court order saying, you're dragging your feet on this. And that's the fear for some people.

HORN: And I'm sure that fear is out there for some people. And again, politics always slips in. But I would say this is another one of those issues just like voting, that should not become political.

We should all care about the safety of our country. We should all care about protecting our borders, our own people, and protecting our system for both the people in the country and for those of the people who are trying to come in legally and do it the right way. We want to make sure it's fair for them, too.

MICHAELSON: That's going to be the last word.

Jennifer, Fabian -- great to see both of you. Thank you so much.

HORN: Thanks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: When we return here on THE STORY IS a torrent of flood water leaves, a trail of devastation along the Nepal-China border. We will head to China for the latest there, next.

[01:31:28]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Back now to our top story -- that deadly flash flooding on the Nepal-China border. This drone here captures just some of the catastrophic damage left behind when a landslide sent a wall of water and mud sweeping through towns and villages. The death toll now stands at 165, but unfortunately, it's expected to rise and could be significantly higher than that.

Search operations are ongoing for more than 1,300 people who are missing. Check this out. Some people literally being pulled from the mud. More than 300 foreign nationals among those unaccounted for, including at least 47 American citizens.

The region could see the last thing they need, more rain in the hours ahead. Showers, thunderstorms possible, which could make this even harder to get people out.

CNN's Mike Valerio is live in Beijing. And Mike, let's talk about what's happening on the China side of this as well, because that's another big part of this story.

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And a couple of minutes ago, Elex, we just got the breaking news that China's first rescue team from outside the region has reached the disaster zone, specifically Gyirong Port, which is that seven-story building that you see in the most -- some of the most dramatic footage with that wall of water and debris careening towards it and people running.

So that certainly is one of the epicenters of this disaster zone. You're seeing video that is the latest piece of video that we've been

able to get from drones -- and again, drones and helicopters from the site as of today.

But that is certainly good news. 141 rescuers arriving at Gyirong Port and a high altitude-capable ME-171 helicopter reaching that disaster zone.

There are also additional plans to be able to charter a civil aviation flight for a 111-member China rescue team to reach that area that you're seeing on the screen as well.

Now, Gyirong Port, it's incredibly isolated. The primary goal of rescue teams coming from Beijing, coming from Chongqing, all other parts of China, is to restore road access to this area.

Customs and immigration officials were certainly working inside of that building. A key land bridge between China and Nepal for trade. Millions and millions of dollars between those two sides.

We also additionally have helicopter video that came in from the Nepali army, where you could see people who are being pulled from the mud, their entire bodies caked with mud, with just about a handful of soldiers on board these helicopters reaching these very isolated areas.

So certainly some small moments of good news in terms of these incredible rescues that are unfolding.

But as you mentioned, we have thunderstorms that are in the forecast for later today.

And we heard from members of Chinese state media that as they reached the front areas of the landslide, mud was up to about five feet, up to their chests, 1.5 meters.

So it just shows you how much debris there is. But getting to this -- these areas is such an incredibly difficult task.

MICHAELSON: Yes, it is. And we are thinking about them and rooting for them in the hours ahead.

CNN's Mike Valerio, following the latest developments from Beijing. Mike, thank you for that update.

Now to a situation so horrifying it's almost impossible to imagine. But a former Israeli hostage kidnaped by Hamas on October 7th and held for more than two years, was asked to dig his own grave.

In an exclusive interview with CNN's Bianna Golodryga, Evyatar David takes us back to that moment of sheer terror and describes the surreal experience unfolding all around him.

[01:39:46]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN HOST: There were far too many days, however, that you weren't fed. And that brings me to that video that the world saw of you emaciated, forced to dig your own grave.

You've said that it was the commander, the Hamas terrorist commander who picked you for that video because you looked worse than everyone else that was there with you. Just talk about that moment.

EVYATAR DAVID, FORMER HAMAS HOSTAGE: When telling me like to go with them for the grave when they wanted me to dig. So they took me like 50 meters --- 50-meter walk. And for me, it was almost -- I almost collapsed. It was almost impossible for me to do.

And I'm telling them that it's very hard. But they didn't really listen, didn't really care. And we also, when they take me inside their room, the terrorist room, I can hear them laughing and eating cakes and drinking tea.

Like there's -- there's, like there is no person that walks like next to them and it looks like a skeleton. It's surreal. And it was very frustrating. But this is how they are. They're very cruel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A reminder of how horrible that situation was. Our thanks to Bianna Golodryga for that. You can watch her full exclusive interview on CNN.com.

Thanks so much for watching THE STORY IS.

For our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is up next. For our viewers here in North America, I'll be right back with more news.

[01:41:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Closing arguments are set to begin in the next few hours in Lindsay Clancy's triple murder trial. An FBI psychiatrist was the last witness to take the stand. He testified that Clancy was able to tell right from wrong when she killed her three children, a key question for the jury when deliberations starts. The 36-year-old former nurse has pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutors and her defense team will have up to an hour each for closing arguments before the case is handed over to the jury. Jurors will then consider charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder or manslaughter.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani is joining me now live. He is the president of West Coast Trial Lawyers. Welcome back.

We followed sort of every step of this together. Let's start and hear from that FBI guy we were talking about. Listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. GREGORY SAATHOFF, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: The day was really one of significant control. The activities that she engaged in that day, spending time with her children with Play-Doh, taking them outside to build a snowman, sending photographs of the children to her mother, to her husband on Instagram.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Why end with that?

NEAMA RAHMANI, PRESIDENT, WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS: I think you ended with this forensic psychiatrist, Elex, because you really have to walk back some of the overzealous prosecution arguments.

So in their opening statements, for instance, they argued that Lindsay Clancy manipulated her doctors. Then they argued that the suicide was either exaggerated or even fake.

You have this particular expert saying, you know what? Mental illness is real. Clancy was mentally ill, but that doesn't mean she was legally insane.

And he was able to distinguish between the two in a very effective way by saying the voices she heard were intermittent. That's not typical. And she was able to control her behavior. So we hit both prongs of insanity under Massachusetts law.

MICHAELSON: So, you obviously are an attorney. You've tried a lot of cases. You know what it's like the night before a closing argument. What's going on in the minds of these attorneys right now? How are they thinking about this?

RAHMANI: So they're practicing in the shower. They're practicing on the drive to the courthouse. I mean, you really got to memorize it. You don't want to be reading because you want to connect with the jurors. This is your last chance to speak to them.

And you got to make your argument. If you're the prosecution, you really got to focus on that planning, that premeditation, those Internet searches, sending Patrick off to get takeout in the CVS. That's not an insane person.

Of course, if you're the defense, you're going to focus on the psychiatric meds, the suicide attempt, the voices to really focus on those jury instructions that, look, this isn't someone that really knew right from wrong or could control her behavior.

MICHAELSON: When this thing started, you thought she was going to be convicted, right?

RAHMANI: I thought this was a layup for the Commonwealth. Three kids killed under the age of five.

The defense has really done an outstanding job, not just in the courtroom but the court of public opinion. I mean, you look outside and you go on social media, the majority of people believe that Lindsay Clancy is not criminally responsible.

If you asked me this, a month ago, I would have said, you're crazy. No pun intended.

MICHAELSON: Yes, but so you think that she -- this is going to -- the insanity defense is going to work.

RAHMANI: I do I'm going to shoot my shot, go on record and say, I think Lindsay Clancy will be acquitted or there's a possibility of a hung jury, but it's going to be significantly in favor of the defense, maybe a few holdouts for the prosecution.

MICHAELSON: We'll see what happens in the coming days on that.

We also could have a decision soon on the Tupac Shakur trial. A big development's on that front today.

RAHMANI: No question. The prosecution today abruptly stopped. They asked for a month for their case, and all of a sudden, eight court days they're wrapping.

The problem is they're basing their case entirely on Davis' own words. They don't have any corroborating evidence, no DNA, no fingerprints, they don't have the murder weapon. They don't have the getaway car.

So this is another case that the evidence is favoring the defense. The defense says they only need two hours for their case-in-chief tomorrow.

Guess what -- that means that they're that confident. And I also predict in that case that they'll get an acquittal.

MICHAELSON: Wow. So this is -- this is of course, Duane Davis. The charge is that he was sort of leading the charge and the man behind the shooting, even though he didn't pull the trigger.

[01:49:50]

MICHAELSON: He says yes, I admitted to that, but don't believe what I had to say. I'm a liar and a BS artist. And you say that that's actually going to work?

RAHMANI: I think so, and the reason is he has given previous interviews to law enforcement. Back in '97 when Biggie Smalls was shot here in L.A., he said he had nothing to do with Tupac's murder.

And then he also said, really, without any reason or evidence whatsoever that Diddy offered him $1 million to kill Suge Knight and Tupac. No evidence of that. So he's been caught in lies.

And I think one of the defense's best arguments, Elex, is this. For 30 years, no one prosecuted Keffe D. Davis because they knew he was a liar. They knew he wasn't credible.

The whole case is political. I think it's going to resonate with the jurors. MICHAELSON: We'll see. Neama Rahmani, thank you for coming on. We

appreciate it.

We'll be back with a look at the stories of the day ahead, next.

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MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.

Let's take a look at the top stories for the day ahead.

People here in southern California will have a front row seat for Thursday night's partial lunar eclipse. The main stage will begin at 7:34 p.m. Pacific time, when the moon will fall under the core earth's shadow.

It will gradually turn a reddish copper color, but it is not considered a true blood moon because it is only a partial eclipse.

Nearly a billion people in the Americas will be able to see the entire event.

A desperate and difficult search is underway for catastrophic flash floods swept through villages along the Nepal-China border. More than 1,300 people are missing after a landslide triggered a torrent of water and mud.

At least 300 foreign nationals are among those unaccounted for, including at least 47 Americans. 165 people have been killed. That death toll is expected to rise.

And military personnel on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt are getting a better sense of their mission in the Middle East. Top Navy official says the warship will spend at least seven months in the region.

The Roosevelt and its company of 5,000 expected to relieve the USS George Washington, which replaced the USS Abraham Lincoln just last week.

Thanks for watching THE STORY IS.

Tomorrow, we will have the peak best part of that lunar eclipse happening live during our show. We hope you'll join us for that special event. See you then.

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