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What We Know with Max Foster

Zelenskyy: We Need 10 Percent Of U.S. Patriots To Beat Russian Strikes; Japan Protests Putin's First Visit To Kuril Islands; Iran Wants Compensation For Pollution In Strait Of Hormuz; Concerns Mount Over USS Abraham Lincoln's Living Conditions; U.N. Warns Situation In West Bank "Beyond A Boiling Point"; Video Of ICE Agents Conflicts With Government Account; Who Will Replace Karoline Leavitt? Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 13, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:35]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN HOST: I'm Paula Newton in for Max Foster. This is WHAT WE KNOW.

It's a big ask from Ukraine's president to the U.S. He wants five percent of the U.S. Patriot missile stockpile, and that's just to get through the

end of this year. And here's why. Over the past few months, we've seen a sharp rise in Russian missile attacks, which have claimed hundreds of

lives.

If Ukraine buys 10 percent of U.S. Patriot missiles, then the president says he could destroy all of Russia's ballistic missiles. His frank request

comes amid a global shortage due in part to America's ongoing war with Iran.

Now, President Volodymyr Zelensky tells our Nick Paton Walsh, who is in Kyiv, that Ukrainians are resilient people but are, of course, growing

weary of living with war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, Kyiv feels very different than it has over the last few years.

People used to just walk calmly during air raid sirens. Now we see them run to the subway to shelters.

How do you prepare a city of this size for the extra shock of this new wave of Russian ballistic missile attack?

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Each night, you have attacks. And four, five times per month, we have massive attacks. People live --

people try to have some sun. And try to spend, of course, because of terrible nights, very heroic, very resilient people, really. But they

tired, understandable.

WALSH: Are you out of interceptors now? Do you have none left?

ZELENSKYY: No. I will explain to you how it works. So this year we have 2 1-2 times less interceptors than we had in 2025, first. Russia has two

times more ballistic missiles per month than they had before. We pay 100 percent to America. I have the package from the United States and then my

personal involvement. It doesn't work the other way.

It's my personal talks, meetings and phones -- phone calls each day with everybody. I try to exchange something to missiles.

This year, I'm asking American partners to sell me five percent -- five percent of missiles. What they have in their stocks. If they sell us five

percent, we will go through the winter and save people's lives. If they can sell us 10 percent, we will destroy all the Russian's ballistic missiles.

WALSH: And has that request been answered yet? Have you had a clear indication as to whether --

ZELENSKYY: The answer is, for today, is next. I have one percent. This is in what I live each day.

From one percent to five percent, I have some months and million phone calls and anything else.

What can I do?

I do some things which I can't even share. It doesn't mean that it's out of the law. No but I can't speak about it.

WALSH: Have you picked up the phone to President Trump and asked for that assurance since you met in Washington?

ZELENSKYY: To be honest, I'm asking him through -- directly. I'm asking him when I have meetings, when we have phone calls and be sure. I'm asking

him through different other people also.

WALSH: You suggested yesterday that you made new proposals to the American side for a peace deal. Were there specific new ideas in this?

ZELENSKYY: No, I don't want now to go to some details. Yes, we -- first, my opinion that we need more involvement of the American side to the peace

plan. I know that they have some dialogue with Russians. I don't know details really but it's normal. Putin doesn't want to stop this war now.

[15:05:05]

And not enough pressure on him now.

WALSH: But there was one idea that was floated in earlier versions of the peace talks where, potentially, you might cede the remainder of Donbas in

order to get a more lasting peace.

And a year later, lots of those areas of Donbas are very hard for Ukrainian civilians to live in from drone attacks increasing. Does that concession

seem more possible to you at this stage than it was a year ago?

ZELENSKYY: No, the problem is security for Ukraine. We always speak about territory. Russia begins to speak about this war and they speak about

territory. The key question is why he will not come again with one, two additional million soldiers after the big pause or small pause, why he will

not come again to occupy us.

What security guarantees you have?

And this is -- there is no answer, there is no answer, clear answer for us that he will not to try again to occupy Ukraine.

WALSH: Do you feel there is a risk that he may escalate against NATO or is he too weak for that at this stage?

ZELENSKYY: He doesn't know how to end this war without big occupation or big victory for his society. He doesn't understand how to do it. It's more

simply to find some smaller country. For him, it will not be important this country in NATO or not in NATO.

He wants quick victory, 100 percent be sure that he will win, occupy or destroy, all control. It can be any country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: And Nick Paton Walsh joins us now from Kyiv.

I mean, Nick, such a great interview there because he was so candid and really went to the heart of so many issues. You have been in and out of

Ukraine so many times during this conflict. Going into the winter, he really put a few key points on the line there in terms of having a

dialogue, in terms of what he thinks Putin's conditions would be, but also in terms of what allies, especially the United States, could offer in terms

of security guarantees.

Is it apparent to you going into winter that he is optimistic?

WALSH: I think the shortest answer is really no. And it's a stark change from three months ago when we were here essentially to report on how

Ukraine had managed to harness technology to get over its manpower shortages and to get the upper hand on the front lines, but also with

longer range strikes hitting Russian refineries and infrastructure and the damage that was causing.

Now the narrative has unfortunately, here swung back three months later. Zelenskyy himself has said the war seems to change dynamic every three

months and now it's Ukraine desperately in need of interceptors to stop Russian ballistic missiles, must have been surging in production for years,

months now, but are now at a peak and look likely to continue to increase, possibly far outside of whatever interceptor capabilities Ukraine may

eventually get.

And that appeal from Zelenskyy was directly at one man, really, President Donald Trump. And we asked the White House for a response to it, and an

official from the White House said, well, not what Zelenskyy wants to hear ultimately that the exquisite weapon near the United States is something

they were looking to make more of for U.S. warfighter, but for partners and allies to echoing what we've been hearing that there is no guarantee or

decision made about future co-production or decisions to allow Ukraine to produce interceptors for themselves.

A key thing Ukraine wants the license to do that. Trump said he would give it to them. Then the manufacturers appear to have shown some concerns and

then Trump wavered later on. That's still undecided, not happening and two echoing that the White House said that any future activity had to keep the

security of U.S. technology paramount.

So, no good news from that plea. And clearly a global shortage now as the result of the conflict with Iran, meaning that every night here. When the

sirens go off and the Telegram channels that often warn about are suggesting the possibility of that again tonight. It's long since a last

massive attack against Ukraine that we could hear the sirens causing people to know they have to sleep underground again because the safety they'd

enjoyed for years because of the interceptor program, well, it's now in doubt, if not non-existent.

And so, a real sense, I think, this ballistic threat can damage infrastructure, morale, and potentially cause extensive damage in Ukraine's

cities, hitherto now pretty safe comparatively compared to the front line.

[15:10:08]

And that, together with Ukraine warning of North Korean troop involvement, the possibility of a mass Russian mobilization after Russia's local

elections in September, and the slow erosion of their positions along the front line. It's not been a good summer for Russia there at all. Massive

losses, very little progress, but we're seeing slight signs they may be edging forwards that we're looking at a bleak winter indeed.

NEWTON: Nick Paton Walsh, it is good to have you on the ground there. And again, you do know, given the time that any moment now Ukrainian civilians

feel that they are at risk and that is a quite different feeling than they had in years past.

Nick Paton Walsh for us in Kyiv, appreciate it.

Now, Japan is angry about a trip taken by Vladimir Putin today. The Russian leader visited the disputed Kuril Islands, which are also claimed by Japan.

It is Putin's first-ever trip to the Kurils.

Russia seized them at the end of World War II, and the two sides have never formally signed a peace treaty over the dispute. The Russian embassy in

Tokyo says the islands have become Russian territory on, quote, "legitimate international grounds".

Now, Iran has a new demand as part of negotiations with the U.S. aimed at ending the war in the Gulf. Tehran says it should be compensated for

pollution that is collecting in the Strait of Hormuz from oil spills during the conflict. On Wednesday, in fact, this thick oil slick washed up on an

Iranian beach near the Strait of Hormuz. You see it there.

Now a U.S. sailor went overboard and was quickly rescued last month on the USS Abraham Lincoln. That's according to three U.S. officials. This as

concerns mount over the living conditions of military members aboard the warship. Some U.S. lawmakers are demanding answers after reports of food

shortages and worsening mental health aboard. and that is among some crew members.

A U.S. official tells us the USS George Washington is currently headed to the Middle East to replace the Lincoln, this after it wrapped its port

visit in Vietnam last week. The official says the swap had been previously planned.

Now, last month, CNN received a firsthand look at the living conditions on board the Lincoln. Our Pamela Brown spent a few days aboard the aircraft

carrier as it sailed to the Arabian Sea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AIRMAN BRIAN SCHOENBORN, CREWMMEBER, USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN: There's different challenges. You know, first appointment is about 8 1/2 months. We

didn't have Wi-Fi at first, right? We hit four ports. Second deployment we got Wi-Fi, but no ports and this one's been kind of the same. Each

appointment, like I said, different challenges.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: It's been the longest appointment in terms of consecutive days, I'm told. So very short court

visits not equaling a full day means all of these days at sea. What has that been like?

SCHOENBORN: Yeah, just getting a brief stop in Guam early on in deployment and then this last stop, I had duty the first day, so I need to get off the

first day. Second day just had a handful of hours. So, it felt like the first court visit, but it's been, it's been, I think, an okay deployment

for the most part.

BROWN: CNN's Brian Todd joins us now from Washington.

I mean, Brian, look, this war has gone on a lot longer than even the White House thought it would. And we see very clearly there the toll that it is

taking on some members of the U.S. military.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Paul, this aircraft carrier experiencing its issues. And just a couple of months ago, we reported on

the USS Gerald R. Ford and its record-breaking deployment for almost 11 months and the toll it took on its sailors.

But as for this news story, this is new reporting from our colleagues, Pamela Brown and Ross Atkin. They cite three U.S. officials saying a sailor

on board the aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, went overboard on August 3rd. Two of the officials tell CNN the sailor was quickly rescued

and was medically evaluated.

One sailor said the safe -- excuse me, one official said the sailor went overboard wearing a life vest and was not injured. The official added that

the Navy considered the incident a mental health episode.

Now, it's not clear whether that sailor returned to duty or was evacuated from the ship. This incident, which has not been previously reported, adds

to growing concerns, as Paula mentioned, about the crew of the USS Lincoln.

The news outlets "The Stars and Stripes" and "The Navy Times" reported this week that there had been multiple attempts by crew members on board the

Lincoln to jump overboard. Those outlets cited interviews with sailors and families of those on board who described the impacts of a very lengthy

deployment. Since the Lincoln left its home port of San Diego, and that was last November, it's been deployed for more than 250 days after being

redirected to the Middle East to take part in the war with Iran.

According to Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, the USS Lincoln has not made a port call in more than

200 days. That's about 6-1/2 months. "The Navy Times" and "Stars and Stripes" report that about a week ago, around 200 family members of the

sailors on board the Lincoln voiced concerns over the sailors' mental health and safety conditions when they met at a town hall meeting in San

Diego with Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao and other senior military officials.

[15:15:13]

"The Stars and Stripes" reported that during that town hall, one spouse was in tears when she said she had received a message that same day from her

husband saying, quote, "He hopes he doesn't wake up tomorrow," end quote.

Democratic lawmakers now demanding answers from the Defense Department over all of this. Senator Blumenthal has written a letter to Defense Secretary

Pete Hegseth and the acting Navy secretary relaying what Blumenthal called widespread reports of shortages of basic supplies, water contamination,

plumbing issues, deteriorating mental health, and deck safety concerns.

Now, in a statement to CNN, the U.S. Navy said this, quote, "We have not observed an increase in suicidal ideations or attempts aboard the ship. We

take every service member's well-being seriously and have religious, medical, and mental health professionals available to address and -- excuse

me -- assess and address concerns as they arise," end quote. One U.S. official told CNN that the Navy's internal tracking of reports of suicidal

ideation on board the Lincoln had actually gone down in recent months.

But, Paula, clearly just a very, very concerning set of reports there about the mental health of the sailors on board the Lincoln.

NEWTON: Yeah, quite a bit of anguish there, not just among crew members, but of course the families waiting back home. We will wait to see how

quickly they will get some relief in the coming months.

Brian Todd, for us, appreciate it.

Now, if you or someone you know is struggling with mental health issues, help is available. In the U.S., call or text 988. The International

Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers right around the world.

Now, two people were seriously hurt after a passenger train derailed in southern England. It happened near Lewes, which is about 110 kilometers

south of London. Emergency officials on the scene say nine others sustained less serious injuries. You can see there are several train carriages on

their side. One witness said there was banging and then everything went, in their words, topsy-turvy. It is not clear what caused the incident.

Okay, still to come for us, CNN visits a Palestinian community under siege by settlers in the West Bank. Up next, we will speak with an Israeli

government spokesperson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:20:31]

NEWTON: Beyond a boiling point. That's how the U.N. Human Rights Office describes the situation in the West Bank as Palestinian communities

increasingly come under attack. The U.N. says the town of Qusra, where some 15 Palestinians, including two children, were trapped in their homes in a

state of terror after settlers cut off electricity and water and blocked nearby roads.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond visited the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The view from this Palestinian home is the same from every angle. Israeli settlers

everywhere you look. For days now, they've set up camp and surrounded three homes on this hilltop in the occupied West Bank in a bid to force the

residents out and take over.

They've cut water and power lines and have tried to stop anyone from approaching. All of this is illegal and yet this is what happened when

Palestinian residents first called the Israeli military. The soldiers joined the settlers in prayer.

LOUI RIDI, PALESTINIAN AMERICAN: They start hugging the settlers and they start praying with the settlers and absolutely did nothing to protect my

brother and his son.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Loui Ridi owns one of those houses. A Palestinian American, he's watched all of this unfold from Ohio. And this is what he

saw on Wednesday, Israeli military trying and ultimately failing to remove the settlers from the area.

Hours later, we drive up the hill to see if anything has changed.

DIAMOND: So these are actually the three homes that have been besieged by these settlers for four days now. We're going to try and climb up this hill

and see if we can get past the settlers who are blocking the area.

DIAMOND (voice-over): The settlers are still there and so are two Israeli soldiers who order us to stop and turn off our vehicle.

The soldier tells me this is now a closed military area and that we're interfering with military activity.

DIAMOND (translated): Why are we interfering and not them? I don't understand.

SOLDIER (translated): You can contact the military spokesperson. This is a closed military area.

DIAMOND (voice-over): An IDF spokesperson said the order does apply to the settlers but it's clearly not being enforced. The IDF said it would soon

deploy more troops to the area to restore order.

DIAMOND: They're telling us that it's a closed military zone that we're not allowed to be here but at the same time, we're seeing multiple Israeli

settlers who are here, who are not being made to leave and who are continuing to block the access to these homes.

DIAMOND (voice-over): Down the hill, we call Loui's brother, Qusai, who's been staying in his home.

DIAMOND: Qusai, this is the closest we're able to get to your home, unfortunately. How are you doing? Do you still have supplies?

"The food I have is going to run out in two to three days. Beyond that, I have no food, nothing," he says. "But at the same time, even if I run out

of food, I will not leave the house."

DIAMOND: So do you have any hope that these settlers are actually going to be kicked out of this area?

"Honestly, from what I saw today, the settlers were monstrous," he explains. "They even attacked the Israeli army, forcing them to fire sound

grenades and tear gas. They have their eyes set on the house and this hilltop. They want to take it."

DIAMOND (voice-over): The next day, Israeli soldiers temporarily order Qusai out of the house, leaving him to move in with his neighbor. The

soldiers say they will use it as a base to operate against the settlers.

But Qusai's fears aren't abstract. In recent weeks, settlers in this area have set fire to a mosque and besieged this home.

DIAMOND: This right here is why those families are afraid to leave their home. You can see Israeli settlers on the rooftop of this house here. Three

weeks ago, Palestinians were living in that house but it's been taken over by Israeli settlers.

DIAMOND (voice-over): With a messianic flag now flying above it, these settlers want their presence known from one hilltop to the next.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Our thanks to Jeremy Diamond for that report, and we do want to get the Israeli perspective now.

We're joined by Doron Spielman. He is a spokesperson for the Office of the Prime Minister of Benjamin Netanyahu. I want to welcome you to the program.

And I'm wondering if you can bring us right up to date here. Has the IDF managed to remove these Jewish settlers from Qusra? And if not, why not?

DORON SPIELMAN, SPOKESPERSON FOR OFFICE OF ISRAELI PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Paula, thank you for having me.

Yeah, at this point in time, the situation has changed. It's an incredibly unfortunate situation. I would say everybody is certainly in the upper

echelons in Israel, including the people that are living in Judea and Samaria, which is this area. What you call settlements is really the

historical area of the Jewish people, have outright condemned this. It's deplorable.

By this point, it's stopped that the damage has been done. I mean, the family has already been communicated with the top general in the area. The

army is there. The outposts have been taken down.

And it doesn't matter whether this home was built illegally or not illegally. Israel is a state of law. And when Israel finds that people

break the law, whether there's Jews carrying out violence against Arabs or Arabs carrying out violence against Jews, it's enforced.

And it's incredibly, incredibly upsetting. But this is done because what this really serves to do, Paula, is it takes a very limited event from a

small number of people who aren't even from that area --

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: So I think many in the community -- Mr. Spielman -- so, Mr. Spielman, so first I just want to get straight. Are you saying that the

situation is over and that those -- the owners of those homes can return to their homes in peace and that they will be protected?

SPIELMAN: Yeah, of course, I already verified that with the army there were already arrests were made. The two outposts were taken down, and that

area is under control. However, what I'm trying to explain here, and we are dealing with this problem, it's clear to everybody on the Israeli side that

this is a problem.

We understand that even though it is a limited problem, people aren't even from there, is being magnified, and the magnification is really creating a

very bad image for a community of people. who are half a million Jewish people who live in Judea and Samaria, who are of the most law-abiding

people in Israel. And they are being thrown in with this mess --

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: Mr. Spielman, I'm going to interrupt there. So, the U.N., the U.S., many of your allies do not think this is, you know, an isolated

situation. I'm going to quote the U.S. ambassador to Israel now, Mike Huckabee, saying that the actions of those who carried out this horrific

act of terror meant to intimidate and harass this family are disgusting. They said that they were in contact with you.

So, my point is, okay, so you say the situation is under control now. What will happen going forward to make sure that those families are not

intimidated and that they're able to be in their homes and live in peace there? Because we've seen for several days now that the IDF and the Israeli

police were unable to dislodge people from those areas.

NEWTON: Well, they've dislodged them now. And as I mentioned to you, and that's the third time I'm explaining to you that they've already been

distanced from the area. Their outposts have been taken down, and now there's an enormous amount of military there. And as I'm trying to explain,

Israel is a nation of law. Israel has laws. This isn't the Wild West, and Israel has publicly come out and condemned this and made arrests.

What there is no symmetry for is the much larger violence that takes place in this area that isn't making the headlines, and that I'm not being

interviewed for, which are the Palestinian terror attacks. It does not make this correct.

(CROSSTALK)

NEWTON: I think we covered, we certainly, no, Mr. Spielman and I -- I'm going to stop you there. We do cover that. This is the issue at hand now.

And I do want to go back to something else that we saw in Jeremy's report. And that was the fact that we saw the Israeli soldiers in that report

praying with the settlers at the site.

Do you regard that as inappropriate? And will they be punished? Have they been punished?

SPIELMAN: Again, I'm not going to, if you're asking me to condemn prayer, I'm not going to condemn prayer. People can pray.

NEWTON: It's not about condemning prayer. It's not about condemning prayer. It's about certainly showing --

SPIELMAN: This is -- we don't arrest people for praying. As a matter of fact, this is the only place in the Middle East where Arabs are able to

pray freely, Christians are able to pray freely, and Jews are able to pray freely.

There's not a single other country in the entire Middle East where that takes place. And so, this is not the point at hand. What I am trying to say

to you --

NEWTON: So, they won't -- they won't -- they won't be punished.

(CROSSTALK)

SPIELMAN: You want to go back -- if you're asking me to condemn prayer, you bring back the same.

NEWTON: I'm not asking you to condemn prayer. I'm asking you so you believe -- I just want to get your definitive answer on -- so you do

believe it was appropriate then what those Israeli soldiers did to pray with those settlers that it was appropriate?

SPIELMAN: As I'm trying to explain to you, there is as Jews, we believe there's a single God. He's the God of all of mankind. How people pray

together where they pray together whether there's criminals in the police whoever they're looking up in the heavens I'm not going to judge people

whether they're Christian, Jewish or Muslim for praying.

What I am going to judge and what is the point in hand is the deplorable acts of violence that you mentioned leading up to this and that is what

Israel's thinking extremely seriously. There are administrative detentions and arrests and I do want to contrast this with what you say is not the

point but it is connected, which is the Palestinian --

NEWTON: I want to return to the issue at hand. So do you have any idea --

SPIELMAN: I just want to finish one 10-second point. I'm sorry.

NEWTON: Go ahead.

SPIELMAN: I actually think it's part of your story to understand the context. The Palestinian Authority is paying terrorists to go after Jews

every time they kill a Jew, and therefore, in the same way we are condemning this, and we are trying to deal with this -- I certainly hope

that we're going to see the same pressure on the Palestinian Authority to condemn the terrorists and not pay them their carrying out attacks against

Jews.

NEWTON: So we have not heard from Prime Minister Netanyahu on this. I'm not exactly sure why. Does he categorically condemn the violence there? And

what more do you expect to hear from him if those settlers return to those homes and to those sites?

SPIELMAN: First of all, I was with the prime minister today, and I spoke to the prime minister about this directly. The prime minister is sickened

by this, and he has publicly condemned this. He has gone on television and publicly condemned this. This is not the first time, unfortunately, and he

has said absolutely clearly the state of Israel condemns these acts.

Any unlawful acts, whether it is Jews against Arabs or Arabs against Jews, are not to be tolerated, and when we find the evidence, we prosecute them.

Many have been arrested. Just today they were arrested. This is a country of law, and therefore Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East we

want to stay as much. And I am agreeing with you, as is the prime minister of Israel, that this is deplorable.

And I am also saying that we have to take a step back and understand that this is an area where it cannot just be the state of Israel and the

international community that is coming down on us when there are unlawful youth that are carrying this out, juvenile delinquents that deserve to be

arrested and ignoring a terror phenomenon that has left 25 Jews killed this year. I think we need to deal with the entire situation.

NEWTON: I believe that the U.N. has been categorical about this as saying that it is not sporadic, it is not isolated, and that, in fact, the

violence in the West Bank is, in their words, a dramatic -- has taken a dramatic turn in recent months.

Doron Spielman, I really do appreciate you being with us. Thanks so much.

SPIELMAN: Thank you for having me.

NEWTON: Still to come for us, new questions around Homeland Security's account of an incident with an ICE protester. We'll show you the video of

what the protester says happened.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:26]

NEWTON: Now, there are new questions over the actions of ICE agents and a Virginia woman protesting their presence. Here is the video of the woman in

question there, Carolina Molina, captured on her dash cam. The Department of Homeland Security says Molina drove her car in circles around the agents

and then tried to use her car against them. However, Molina says she was just protesting, and as soon as she tried to leave, an agent pulled a gun

on her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ICE AGENT: You almost ran us over.

CAROLINA MOLINA, VIRGINIA RESIDENT: I didn't almost run you over.

ICE AGENT: You almost ran us over. Stop playing.

MOLINA: You are full of (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

ICE AGENT: Stop playing.

MOLINA: You are full of (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!

ICE AGENT: Right? You're not funny.

MOLINA: You're not funny.

ICE AGENT: I will arrest you. Keep it up.

MOLINA: I'm a legal citizen. I don't care.

Oh, my goodness.

ICE AGENT: Keep it up like you were.

MOLINA: OK, for what? Ran you over when?

I got dash cam. I got dash cam.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: In a news conference, Carolina Molina says she feared her for her life and believes the fact that she was recording is exactly what saved

her.

Joining me now is CNN senior law enforcement analyst and the former deputy director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe.

I mean, look, the details of what unfolded in Virginia, I find it so chilling, given the deaths of the two Americans, right? Renee Good and Alex

Pretti. This is not to even talk about all the incidents that we've had since then. Those are just the two Americans that we're protesting.

Does it seem to you that ICE in any way has changed how it functions here?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Not from this video. Absolutely not from this video.

This video, you know, it's almost a great training video that you should show people should show in police academies and aging academies and things

like that as a perfect example of what not to do. I mean, this is, you know, kind of we've come to expect this from these ICE encounters with

citizens and immigrants and particularly citizens who are not happy with ICE and, you know, and decide to exercise their First Amendment rights by

interacting with them, screaming at them, cursing at them, whatever, all of those things may be unpleasant, but they are violations of law.

So, this is, you know, classic escalation of force and really pushing things very quickly to an almost lethal encounter.

NEWTON: Yeah, and you say almost lethal encounter. I have been confused about whether or not there have been any changes to how these officers

interact with the public, because when we look at that video, it clearly -- there was no reform, even though you had two Americans that died. And, of

course, there are so many other cases under investigation of people who've been apprehended and the manner in which they've been apprehended.

MCCABE: That's right, but let's remember that the only public effort that we're aware of to take a pause to stop any vehicle interdictions and street

arrests, to take a training pause. occurred shortly after Secretary Mullin took the office of DHS secretary and was almost instantly countermanded by

President Trump.

So, the only time that we know that DHS actually tried to rein in their agents for a couple of days and put out some guidance about what to do and

what not to do in these situations, the president countermanded that -- that decision and said keep going. And we also know that they are still

saddled with this enormous burden of trying to reach a politically mandated number of 2,000 arrests or detentions a day. That is an incredibly large

number of people to be to be detaining day in and day out.

And the pressure that comes on these officers, many of whom are poorly trained, many of whom don't have the sort of backgrounds that we typically

require from federal agents, this is -- this is a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately, it's happened a few times already, and I think we

should expect to see more of this.

NEWTON: Yeah, which is an absolutely sobering comment here.

Before you go, I want to ask you about these so-called shock gloves, and we're going to show them now. They're gloves that appear to, when ICE

agents would wear them, which is proposed, that they would put their hands on someone, we're looking at it right now, and that they would collapse and

have the effect of almost like being tased.

Why would ICE agents need these, and would you think this is a good idea?

MCCABE: I think it's a terrible idea.

[15:40:01]

I think, you know, first of all, these gloves have a designed use, and that's for use in prisons and other detention facilities where officers

have to get control of somebody who is being violent or non-compliant, and they're in a very small space. You can't use typical less than lethal

weapons because of the space restrictions and not wanting to hurt anybody else that's around.

To take those gloves and give them to the ICE agents that we've just been talking about, who struggle with the pressure of too many arrests, who are

not particularly well trained, maybe not particularly well selected, certainly not well led at the moment, and to give them another tool that

will enable them to render punishment essentially on citizens and immigrants that they encounter, knowing they have kind of a predisposition

to kind of rush to these very physical encounters, I think it is -- it's a terrible idea.

It's the last thing that these ICE agents need right now. What they need is some training. They need some direction. They need some accountability. And

these gloves are not going to get them any closer to that.

NEWTON: Yeah, and it's clear that what we have noted and have seen in so many examples is not de-escalation on these issues at all.

Andrew McCabe for us, thanks so much.

Now these are the final moments of trade on Wall Street and stocks are about flat today I would say. They've been up and down but barely moving at

all. The S&P climbed to an intraday record high though and that was powered by gains in tech stocks.

This is our Business Breakout.

The U.S. Labor Department says prices from producers and manufacturers were nearly 5 percent higher in the 12 months that ended in July. That's mainly

due to gas prices dropping after increases caused by the conflict with Iran. That was compared to June, though July's prices actually fell by 1/10

of a percent.

Oil prices are falling despite the U.S. and Iran being at a stalemate over the Strait of Hormuz before the war between the two countries, the Straits

saw 130 to 140 transits per day. All last week, they saw just 84 in total across the Strait of Hormuz. However, flows may be higher than official

numbers suggest.

One lucky winner, just one, is now a billionaire. A winning ticket for the Powerball lottery was sold in Quincy, Illinois, on Wednesday. The perfect

six number jackpot ticket was bought, you guessed it, at a gas station. Can't wait to figure out who's got that.

Now, one of the greatest trophy assets in U.S. sports, the Los Angeles Lakers, are being sold for a record $12.5 billion. Former Disney CEO Bob

Iger and venture capitalist Josh Kushner, he is the brother of Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, confirmed the deal for the iconic

basketball team.

Now, CNN's Matt Egan takes a look at the staggering numbers behind this deal. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: $12.5 billion, this is more than some major public companies are worth. In fact, it's more than Macy's, Harley-

Davidson, and JetBlue are worth combined, and this is just the latest mega transaction in the sports world. The biggest deal ever was the one just

last year with the Lakers at $10 billion. But you're also talking about major sales in recent years for the Boston Celtics, the Washington

Commanders at $6 billion a piece, also the Broncos, the Portland Trail Blazers at more than $4 billion.

So, look, it is a surprise that the Lakers are being sold again. What's not surprising to me is the fact that these valuations just keep going higher

and higher.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Still to come for us, she staunchly defended President Trump, patrolled some reporters, and made history.

Karoline Leavitt's surprising resignation and who may be chosen to fill her spots behind the White House podium. We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:01]

NEWTON: So, U.S. President Donald Trump is now looking for a replacement for one of the most trusted aides he has ever had on staff. That's just

three months before those crucial midterm elections.

In a stunning move, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced she will leave her post to spend more time with her young children. Leavitt

has been a Trump loyalist through and through, and often scolding and ridiculing seasoned reporters who question the administration's policies or

actions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Of course, the president supports peaceful protest. What a stupid question.

President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell.

Whether or not this happened, frankly, it does not really matter.

It has rave reviews because the president just tells it like it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: So, what we want to know is who will replace Karoline Leavitt.

Joining me now is CNN's Stephen Collinson.

Look, she gave as good as she got, and regardless of what anyone's opinion is of her, you point out to us that replacing her will be quite difficult.

STEPHEN COLLINSON, CNN POLITICS SENIOR REPORTER: Yeah. Karoline Leavitt was so trusted by Trump that she was in a lot of very high-level meetings.

including with foreign leaders. That is something that gives a press secretary authenticity with journalists, even though she spends most of her

time berating them.

And she was a very valuable messenger to the Trump base. She was almost an unfiltered vehicle to get Trump's thoughts to his most loyal supporters.

She is the personification of his insurgency in Washington. and repeatedly, I think, replenished that brand every time she was on camera. What is quite

unusual is that White Houses generally groom deputy press secretaries for the job because it's a very tough job and people generally don't last more

than a few years in it.

There's somebody called Anna Kelly who's the deputy press secretary in the White House. But when Karoline Leavitt was on maternity leave recently, she

didn't hold briefings. They had Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance to hold briefings on several occasions. So, there's

not really a made-to-measure successor. A lot of people are thinking about, well, do they go for someone from Fox News, obviously a place that Trump

has used repeatedly for members of his cabinet like Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, for example, or is there somebody in his inner circle

that could take on the job?

But I don't think we're going to see somebody like Karoline Leavitt at least immediately step into the role who has that kind of credibility

because she is seen basically as the voice of the president himself. And that, I think, was something that the president can't replace, in fact,

going up to a very difficult period, as you say, ahead of the midterm elections.

NEWTON: Yeah, it'll be interesting to see if his daughter-in-law, though, Laura Trump, decides to step into that role.

Stephen Collinson for us, thanks so much for the analysis. Appreciate it.

[15:50:01]

Still to come for us, heat waves, wildfires, torrential flooding. Get ready for a year that could be unlike any other in history. The wild weather

forecast is coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: So, yet another heat wave is scorching Western Europe. In fact, the first two months of summer have been the hottest on record. That's

according to the E.U.'s Climate Monitor.

Now Londoners are facing high temperatures of 38 degrees Celsius as others across Southern England and East Southern and Eastern England, pardon me.

Romania was forced to temporarily shut down its last nuclear reactor, which is cooled by the Danube River, which has experienced, as you can see there,

extremely low water levels.

The successive heat waves across Europe helped spark wildfires in France, Greece, and Spain. And weather forecasters say, yeah, get ready for more

record-setting heat waves. The top forecasting agency in the U.S. said today there is a 70 percent chance we are about to experience the strongest

El Nino in recorded history. Forecasters say 2026 could be the hottest year ever, and then 2027 will almost certainly top that.

CNN's Bill Weir has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: This is a big deal, and this one could be the biggest humanity has ever experienced right now. It's a

natural phenomenon, but of course, with global warming, we just had the hottest month in recorded history in the United States, July. It's almost

like we're on an escalator that's going up and then an El Nino year comes along and we jump. We start running up the up the escalator, hitting those

higher temperatures much faster.

What could this could mean in the United States is a lot of rain and snow in the Rockies and in California and down across the South into Florida

this winter. The El Nino will peak this winter and then continue or in the fall peak over the winter and continue into next year. But the good news in

that is the last time Lake Mead was full was after Super El Nino in the `80s, so they need desperately need snow in the Rockies for that.

But it could be marine bombs that wash out entire communities. As we've seen now, the average summer rainstorm is much more intense because the

warmer atmosphere holds all that. So, there's so many unknowns here, but it is worth being aware. You know, knowledge is power when it comes to

protecting yourself, depending on where you live, looking at the patterns historically and making sure you can fortify best you can.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Thanks to Bill Weir there.

Now, finally tonight, the world watched with wonder yesterday as an eclipse made its way across the planet.

[15:55:04]

Among the truly stunning images was this shot of the Louvre in Paris, the home of human works of art becoming part of nature's canvas. That is indeed

stunning.

Humans were not alone in admiring the eclipse. This horse in Bavaria, Germany, and this bull in Spain were no doubt amazed when day briefly

turned into night.

Now while clouds are eclipse watchers' worst enemies, sometimes a few wispy clouds can create a magical image like this shot from Mallorca, Spain,

where the sun seems to be melting as it crosses the sky. Oh, that must have been amazing to see in person.

And how about an eclipse combined with a sunset? This breathtaking image was shot in St. Petersburg, Russia.

All right. I want to thank you for watching. I'm Paula Newton. That is WHAT WE KNOW.

Stay with CNN. We'll have more news after a quick break.

END

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