Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

State of Emergency Declared in North Carolina as East Coast Braces for Hurricane Erin; Erin is a 110 MPH Cat 2 Hurricane and is Strengthening; Clashes Over Congressional Maps Reaching Fever Pitch in TX & CA; TX House Reconvenes, Moves Closer to Passing Redistricting Bill; Ukraine: 5 Civilians Killed in Russian Overnight Attack; White House, Kremlin Give Mixed Signals on Putin-Zelensky Meeting; Goods Containing Steel, Aluminum Could Get More Expensive Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired August 20, 2025 - 15:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:52]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: North Carolina right now under a state of emergency with evacuations ordered in parts of the Outer Banks as Hurricane Erin tracks along the East Coast. The unusually large storm expected to strengthen to a Category 3 later today.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: And Republican lawmakers in Texas locking the statehouse door and promising to keep legislators there until their newly drawn congressional map gets passed. Democrats can protest but they can't do much more to stop the process.

And a near-death experience for these two influencers just as they were filming a food review at a Houston restaurant. They will join us live after suffering injuries in that.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SANCHEZ: We begin with breaking news. Hurricane Erin stirring up nearly 30-foot waves in the Atlantic as the storm continues to climb up the East Coast. Erin remains a Category 2 hurricane with winds tracking at nearly a hundred and ten miles an hour. But forecasters do expect the storm to intensify in the coming hours.

North Carolina is under a state of emergency right now. First responders are preparing for the worst expecting some roads to become impassable because of coastal flooding. Officials are urging some areas of the Outer Banks to get out now before it's too late. CNN's Dianne Gallagher is on the scene for us. Diane, are people heeding warnings from officials?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Boris, I was going to tell you yes up until about three seconds ago when you're now seeing the people here on the beach lifeguards and such going and getting people out of the ocean. Honestly, this is the first time today and even parts of yesterday that I've seen people try to swim in these waters. We have talked about just how fierce these rip currents are. I have not seen anybody with the exception of surfers who are allowed to be in the ocean right now although the waves are pretty choppy it's not great surf, but they're the only ones allowed to be in.

So, this is the first time I've seen swimmers -- they're asking people not to get in the ocean because of those dangerous rip currents. We're also seeing -- look you can see it's starting to get a little spicy out there, starting to get a little choppy again and we have high tide coming in at about three hours and that's when we expect things to really start to go south here in the Outer Banks. We're in Nags Head. There was not a mandatory evacuation of this part of the Outer Banks. It's a little further south in Ocracoke and Hatteras Islands.

Those people for the most part especially the visitors have been leaving according to the governor of North Carolina Josh Stein. More than -- around 2,300 individuals have evacuated Ocracoke Island on that ferry already. Ferry service is going to be suspended temporarily today starting at 5:30 just before that high tide comes in.

So, once people are there, if they haven't gotten off the island yet, they're probably stuck there and the big concern we've talked about this for a couple days now is those big waves the storm surge potentially washing out or damaging North Carolina Highway 12. It is a road that runs through the Outer Banks. They are not able to get on or off these islands if they cannot get past that road, so you're stuck there at that point.

Again, right now you see people enjoying the beach. It's a nice day right now as long as you're not getting in the water. That'll probably change in a few hours.

SANCHEZ: Yes, a good idea to enjoy the beach just from the sand today.

Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much for that update.

Let's go to meteorologist Derek Van Dam now.

Derek, when are we expecting to see the worst from Erin?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, conditions will go down from this evening's high tide at 6 P.M. through the overnight hours and into the day tomorrow. I mean, this satellite loop is jaw-dropping, to see this expansive of a hurricane just parking itself off the southeast coast of the U.S. is -- it just brings back a lot of memories, right?

[15:05:07]

Think about Hurricane Sandy. The fortunate part about this is that it's going to stay offshore at least the worst part of this storm. We do know, though, that impacts will be felt all along the coastline. That's why we have these tropical storm warnings in place for North Carolina into Virginia, coastal areas of the Delmarva Peninsula, stretching northward all the way into South Carolina.

So, Atlantic City to Virginia Beach, Cape Hatteras, these areas anticipating getting the outer rain bands overnight tonight and into Thursday morning of this expanding storm system. It is ballooning in size, still a Category 2, but we're just shy of that major category status and it is really getting its act together. Of course, the core of the strongest winds remaining offshore. We're kicking it between the uprights here, between Bermuda and the eastern seaboard, but with the expanding wind field we're going to push up a lot of water from the Atlantic Ocean, so let's time this out for you.

Hatteras this evening and into the early morning hours, that's when we expect the tropical storm force winds. Atlantic City by Thursday afternoon and then just don't forget about Nantucket and the outer reaches of Massachusetts could experience some tropical storm force winds late Thursday into Friday. Check out these wave heights, Boris, this is not something we want to mess around with.

SANCHEZ: Derek Van Dam, thank you so much for that. Brianna?

KEILAR: Now to the redistricting fights in Texas and California, lawmakers in both states escalating their battles today with Texas Republicans now barreling towards a vote on their GOP friendly congressional map. It's a map that could add five Republican House seats in Congress. Democrats are still trying to delay matters today, but options and time are running out. And that is where California comes in, Democrats who control the legislature there are taking action to counter Texas' plans if they go through.

First, let's go to Texas and CNN's Arlette Saenz.

Arlette, what's happening this hour?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, Texas House lawmakers are on hour four of their debate over this redistricting bill. Once that debate and amendment process is complete, they could proceed to the first vote on these new congressional maps. But some of the timing there still remains in flux.

Now, Democrats have exhausted all of their legislative options to block this bill from moving forward. Instead, what they're doing on the House floor now is introducing some of the legal arguments that they will be able to make when they begin to file lawsuits against these maps in courts in the coming weeks and months.

But there has also been quite a few moments of frustration between both Democrats and Republicans. Here was one moment where Republican Representative Todd Hunter expressed his frustration with Democrats who had decided to leave the state for two weeks and prevent them from considering this in the first special session.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TODD HUNTER (R-TX): Hold it, let me finish. You want to be fair, let me finish. You opened up the questions. You own the walkout. You said you did that, but don't come into this body and say we didn't include you. You left us for 18 days and that's wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SAENZ: Now, right now it's not a matter of if but when these GOP maps will pass. First, it will need to make its way out of the House before going into the Senate. And then, once it's approved in that chamber, the Texas governor can sign it into law.

KEILAR: Arlette, thank you so much.

Let's bring in Steve Contorno now who is in Sacramento for the latest on the battle in California.

And Steve, Governor Gavin Newsom just spoke out again. Tell us what he's saying.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yes, Brianna. Governor Newsom just moments ago making clear that California Democrats did not start this fight but they will be responding in kind saying, quote, "They are putting a stake in the ground and we're going to punch this bully in the mouth," take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D) CALIFORNIA: Yes, we'll fight fire with fire. Yes, we will push back. It's not about whether we play hardball anymore, it's about how we play hardball.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now, for Newsom, this is not just rhetoric around what's happening right now in the California legislature, this is also the pitch that he will be making to voters unlike in Texas where Republicans can just change the map mid-decade if they're -- using their majority. In California, there is a constitutionally mandated independent redistricting commission that Democrats are trying to get around this week and they will have to ultimately ask voters in November to override this constitutional commission and instead put in these maps that would give Democrats a five-seat advantage going into next year's midterm election.

[15:10:05]

So, when you're hearing Newsom talk about Donald Trump, they very much want to make the President the center point and the focus of their campaign to try to get 50 percent of voters in support of their plan. Now, the action this week in Sacramento is moving quickly we saw the legislation introduced on Monday. They have been quickly heard in committees yesterday and today and we expect final passage as early as tomorrow.

A lot of the debate today focused on the cost of a statewide election which one bill analysis said will be several hundred million dollars, Republicans saying that is way too much to force on California taxpayers, Democrats saying this is a price worth paying.

KEILAR: Steve Contorno live for us in Sacramento, thank you.

And still to come, Russia launching a new round of strikes on Ukraine as the White House insists plans are underway for a meeting between Presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Plus, hundreds of products just got more expensive to import into the U.S. now that President Trump's tariff on steel and aluminum has kicked in.

And then later, we will talk with those two food influencers here. They were filming at a restaurant when that vehicle smashed through the window and right into their table. We'll have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:15:48]

KEILAR: President Trump says that he's trying to arrange a meeting between Russia's Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But today, the Kremlin is again downplaying the prospect of a face-to-face between the two leaders. The White House has said that plans are underway for a meeting, but Russia's top diplomat is indicating that Putin has not agreed, saying instead that Putin supports sending more high-level officials to talks with Ukraine.

The back and forth comes as Ukrainian officials say at least five civilians were killed after a new round of Russian strikes overnight. We have Leon Panetta with us now. He served as Defense Secretary and CIA Director under President Obama.

Mr. Secretary, how do you read this? Because already we've seen these high-level officials talking ahead of these principal leader summits, so what do you take that to mean what you're hearing from the Kremlin?

LEON PANETTA, WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF, CLINTON ADMINISTRATION: Well, there's been a lot of motion in these last number of days with the summit in Alaska and then the summit in Washington. And a number of people have been talking some past each other.

But I'm worried that in terms of real progress, the ability to actually come together and resolve some of the issues that you have to resolve, that we're not making much headway. And part of the problem frankly is the lack of a ceasefire. If Russia can continue to blow the hell out of Ukraine and still pretend that they're serious about somehow negotiating, that's just a non-starter and it undermines the ability frankly for any of the parties to establish any kind of trust that party is truly willing to try to negotiate for peace.

KEILAR: President Trump backed off of his demand for a ceasefire coming out of the Alaska meeting, but he's getting a lot of pressure from European leaders. I wonder if you think he's getting enough pressure and what it would take for him to get Russia to a ceasefire?

PANETTA: The President by now he ought to have a pretty good understanding of Putin. And the reality is Putin cannot be trusted, and Putin made very clear particularly in Alaska that unless the root causes of this war are eliminated that Russia is not coming to the table. Well, the root causes of the war are the fact that Russia invaded Ukraine because it does not believe Ukraine is a separate country from Russia, period.

So, if that's where Putin's coming from that he basically wants to win this war, I think the most important thing for president Trump if he really wants to advance some kind of progress here is to make very clear to Vladimir Putin that he will not win this war, he will not win this war under any circumstances.

And if that means that the President has to ultimately implement sanctions and continue to provide weapons to the Ukrainians, I frankly think that that is probably the only way you're going to convince Putin that he cannot succeed and he has to negotiate.

You heard that hot mic moment, which always is instrumental in telling us where a leader is -- where their mind actually is, right? And so, what we learned was Trump was telling -- I think it was Emmanuel Macron in this case, but nonetheless what he said was that Putin, you know, he thought wanted to do a deal for me -- for him. He thought that Putin wanted to do it for Trump. What do you think about him holding that belief? What would you caution him against holding that belief?

[15:20:04]

PANETTA: I think the President is being -- if he really believes that -- is being incredibly naive about Vladimir Putin. Putin does not take actions because somehow he's trying to please you, that's not what Putin is about.

Putin is about Russia, Putin is about winning, Putin is about killing people in order to be able to succeed in this war, that is who Putin is. And you cannot just simply sit back and hope that maybe deep down he's a nice guy. We've made that mistake in the past with Putin. He cannot be trusted and therefore the only way to get Putin to the table to really negotiate on the issues that have to be negotiated is if he knows there is no alternative here that he's not going to be able to play for time, that he's not going to be able to continue this war and that he's not going to win period. He's -- but he's got to be convinced of that if we're going to make any progress.

KEILAR: How does the U.S. do that? How do they make sure, you know, that they're in a position to ensure that Russia cannot win this war in a way that is palatable to the American public when it comes to anything that might have economic blowback on Americans?

PANETTA: I think that if the President of the United States asked Putin to meet with Zelenskyy, which is obviously what they're trying to do now, and Putin keeps playing for time, dodges it, doesn't want to show up, I think the President has to say that the only alternative we have here is to make Putin understand he's got to pay a price. I think the President frankly has made a mistake by saying he wanted a ceasefire and then he backed away, that he wanted to make sure that Putin would agree or he would suffer consequences and then backed away.

That that process of backing away from the threats that the President makes creates a sense of weakness on the part of the President and Putin takes advantage of it. I think the President has to make clear if Putin does not meet with Zelenskyy, and they do not make progress, we are going to implement strong sanctions and we're going to continue to provide weapons to Ukraine so that they can continue to fight this war.

KEILAR: Secretary Panetta, great to speak with you about this. Thanks for being with us.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

KEILAR: After months of slumping sales and a boycott, Target CEO is stepping down. So, what's next for one of America's favorite big box stores? We'll have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:27:54]

KEILAR: The Trump administration has quietly moved to put new tariffs on hundreds of items including many that you use every day from butter knives to spray deodorants and even some furniture all these items contain steel and aluminum. They were previously excluded from Trump's 50 percent tariff, but that is now changing. CNN's Matt Egan is with us now.

So, Matt, what more do we know about how this is going to impact us and also why it changed?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Brianna. Look, this is a major expansion of tariffs and it's one that impacts items on store shelves across the country. Now, as you might remember, a few months ago the President slapped a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum. Originally, this massive tariff applied to just the raw materials, but now it is going to apply to a wide range of goods that contain steel and aluminum. This impacts more than 400 product categories that you might be thinking why should I care about steel and aluminum tariffs. Well, it turns out a lot of the items that we all own contain a lot of steel and aluminum. This is going to impact everything from as you mentioned butter knives, but also baby strollers spray deodorant, fire extinguishers and furniture, all of these items are now going to be more expensive to import into the United States but also some industrial items are impacted too.

Wind turbines, cranes, bulldozers also rail cars and it does make you sort of wonder how massive tariffs on all of those industrial items are going to impact the President's goals of trying to have American energy dominance and also to try to help it become more affordable for people to achieve the American dream of home ownership. We also know that a wide range of companies have already warned that they've planned to raise prices because of tariffs or they already have, right, everyone from Procter & Gamble and Nike, to Best Buy, toy makers Mattel and Hasbro, Adidas, Wal-Mart and the latest being Home Depot.

[15:30:05]

Now, the Trump administration, they say that the goal here is to try to ...