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Vance: Russia Made Significant Concessions to Trump on Ukraine; Heat-Fueled Wildfires Grip Parts of the West; FEMA Workers: Agency at Risk of Hurricane Katrina-Type Failures; FAA Warns of Uptick in Lithium Battery Fires on Flights. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired August 25, 2025 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: President Trump today revealing that he has spoken yet again with Russian President Vladimir Putin following their conversation last Monday. Trump says he made it clear that he's frustrated with Russia's continued attacks on Ukraine. Overnight Russia launched more than a hundred new drone strikes toward Ukraine killing at least three people in the last 24 hours according to Ukrainian officials.

Firefighters battled flames following Russian shelling in Ukraine's northeast as well. The attacks come hours after Vice President J.D. Vance said that Russia has made significant concessions aimed at ending the conflict.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins us now live from Moscow. Fred, what is the Kremlin saying about these significant concessions?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, significant concessions and flexibility was actually quite interesting because the Russians actually haven't been speaking about concessions but they have been speaking about being flexible on certain issues. And I think one of the things the Vice President was speaking about and also Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was speaking about as well, is those security guarantees for the Ukrainians. Where the Russians have now acknowledged, as the Trump administration says, that Ukraine is going to need those security guarantees. That, of course, also something that Vladimir Putin said after his summit with President Trump in Alaska.

But as far as what those security guarantees could look like there is still a lot of discrepancy it seems between what the Russians are feeling and what the U.S. and certainly the U.S.'s European allies would like as well.

Of course, the U.S.'s allies are saying they want something like Article 5 guarantees or similar ones for the Ukrainians which could mean European boots on the ground. Could mean the U.S. providing air support for that as well.

Whereas the Russians are saying that they actually want a say in those security guarantees for the Ukrainians that even themselves want to be a guarantor of Ukrainian security. Of course that's something where the Ukrainians, Boris, have been saying is an absolute no-go for them.

The Russians are also saying that they believe Ukraine security cannot come at the expense, as the Foreign Minister said, of Russia's security. It's unclear how all that is going to play out. The Russians are saying that they are very flexible but they clearly also have a lot of red lines. And the Russians also acknowledging that as of right now a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by no means a sure thing -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Fred Pleitgen live for us in Moscow. Thank you so much, Fred.

Extreme heat is fueling intense wildfires in Oregon and California forcing thousands to evacuate we have the very latest coming up.

[15:35:00]

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A dry late summer scorcher is fueling raging wildfires out front. Parts of Central Oregon and California's Napa wine country are being ravaged by flames that have forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes.

CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is following this from the CNN Weather Center. Allison how widespread are these fires and when are we going to see cooler temperatures starting to arrive?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's that latter question that is so incredibly important for the firefighters because they need that relief with those cooler temperatures.

[15:40:00]

Looking behind me, you can see a lot of these images here of Oregon from those fires. You can see the flames off in the distance, kind of coloring the sunrise and sunset into those orange and looking behind me, you can see a lot of these images here of Oregon from those fires. You can see the flames off in the distance, kind of coloring the sunrise and sunset into those orange and red hues that are there.

The concern has really been that the containment numbers really have not been able to go up, and that's what you like to see. Right now, still zero containment for the fire in Oregon and only about 11 to 13 percent containment for portions of northern California.

So again, the concern is going to be the heat. It's expected to stay for at least the next several days. That's why you have all of these heat alerts in place, and it's not just for California and Oregon. It stretches into Washington. Same thing over in portions of northern Idaho.

Now, one bit of good news. As you can see here, we've got some moisture on the radar, and this is fantastic news. The only unfortunate part is not all of this is actually reaching the surface. A lot of it is actually evaporating simply because the atmosphere is so dry in a lot of these areas. But I think at this point, any any little bit that they can get in terms of rain is helpful.

The flip side, though, is some of these are thunderstorms, and if they're dry thunderstorms, meaning the rain element of it doesn't make it to the surface, but you get the lightning, then you get an added threat of potentially triggering new fires from some of the lightning that may be nearby.

Now the heat itself is here right now, and it's expected to stay for at least the next several days. You look at some of these cities, Seattle, Portland, even down to Medford. A lot of these areas are 10, even 15 degrees above where they normally would be.

Again, we get it. It's August. It's supposed to be hot, but this is extremely hot for some of these areas, and that makes it incredibly difficult for a lot of the firefighters that are out there trying to battle the blaze with all the equipment they wear again, having those temperatures be so warm. The bit of good news, though, is we will finally start to see a lot of these temperatures coming back down by the time we get to the end of this week.

KEILAR: Yes, 88 degrees in Seattle. I mean, wow. Allison Chinchar thank you so much for that report -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: So just days before the nation marks the landfall of Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf Coast two decades ago, more than 100 current and former FEMA employees are sending an urgent warning, saying the Trump administration is gutting the capabilities and the authority of the agency.

CNN's Gabe Cohen joins us now with this story. Gabe, tell us more about what's being described as the Katrina doctrine.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, Boris, first I want to take you back 20 years because if you remember after Katrina, Congress investigated and felt there had been this major federal failure, both local, state and federal failure when it came to the response to Katrina. So they passed these reforms because they wanted to strengthen emergency management in this country.

And so they did several things. They set higher standards for FEMA leadership. They aim to strengthen FEMA's autonomy so that it could function on its own and function capably when it mattered most.

Now you talk about this letter. This is about 180 current and former FEMA workers who essentially say that this overhaul of FEMA that we have seen at the hands of the Trump administration in recent months really is reversing, is rolling back a lot of the changes and what they see as progress over the past couple decades. They point to a couple things specifically.

We talk about FEMA's autonomy. Well, we know Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose department oversees FEMA, she's implemented at least one policy that essentially says any payments, any grants, contracts over $100,000, they now need her approval. We saw it hamper FEMA's response during the Texas floods. There was a lot of concern that that is violating the changes that were put in place after Katrina, that FEMA is supposed to have autonomy. And yet we're seeing the DHS secretary say, no, no, no, you go through me if you want to spend a serious amount of money even during a disaster.

Then there are questions about FEMA's leadership. Acting Administrator David Richardson came in with no experience managing natural disasters appointed in May by Secretary Noem. And that again is what these employees are saying goes against what was put in place after Katrina to make sure it doesn't happen again. They want experienced leaders at the top, but that's not what they're seeing right now with either Richardson or the front office at FEMA, which at this point is just about all DHS officials.

SANCHEZ: Gabe Cohen, thank you so much for that reporting.

Next, it's a problem that's quietly reshaping some of the biggest cities in the country. How it could also end up hurting your bottom line. Stay with us.

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SANCHEZ: Cracker Barrel is now responding after getting backlash from its controversial logo change.

Last week, the restaurant chain unveiled this new logo, dropping the barrel and the man sitting next to the barrel, which had been a part of it since 1977. At the time, the company says the makeover was part of an overhaul of the entire company and its casual dining establishments. But a lot of people said the changes drifted too far from the restaurant's roots.

In a statement the company said, in part, quote, If the last few days have shown us anything, it's how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. The things people love most about our stores aren't going anywhere. While our logo and remodels may be making headlines, are bigger focus is still right where it belongs in the kitchen and on your plate -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Dumplings going nowhere, most importantly.

All right, ahead of the busy travel holiday, the FAA is warning that a common item, one that you're probably holding right at this moment, is causing more fires on airplanes. We are, of course, talking about lithium ion batteries, which are in phones or in laptops or in so many other devices. But they can lead to catastrophe is something goes wrong, which it does on occasion.

We have CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean here with us. Walk us through these concerns.

PETER MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is especially pertinent right now because it's about to be a record breaking Labor Day travel rush.

[15:50:00]

And there was just one of these incidents involving an American Airlines flight that had a divert into Washington Dulles because one of these fires over the weekend.

The big thing here is that these incident are happening all the time.

The new data says that lithium ion battery fires on planes are happening twice a week. The issue is the cases involve so many devices that you and I have on us right now. We're talking phones, laptops, e- cigarettes, tablets, e-readers. Power banks are the biggest device driving their -- of these cases. They're the top cause of these cases.

And I went to the Federal Aviation Administration's battery test facility in New Jersey and the team there rigged up a portable power bank with special heating tape to simulate what's called a thermal runaway. And the result here was pretty shocking. Watch.

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MUNTEAN: Wow, that was big. I did not realize and it took me by surprise.

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MUNTEAN (on camera): The issue here is fighting these fires and the FAA had their own firefighter there on staff. First used the fire extinguisher that's typically available to flight attendants in the plane. But the fire you can see they're reignited.

So the FAA says water is really key to stopping these thermal runaways -- cooling the thermal runaway and stopping the flames. Sounds kind of counterintuitive because we all know water and electronic devices don't mix. But the FAA told me this is essentially no longer an electronic device when one of these fires happen.

This has become such an issue that airlines are really taking this into their own hands. And Southwest Airlines recently announced that people should keep their portable batteries in plain sight on the flight. We're talking in the seat back pocket, not in the overhead bin, not hiding away in your bags.

The stats say the average passenger carries about four devices using lithium ion batteries with them at any one given time. I counted. I carry six. So I'm a 50 percent higher fire risk.

The big thing here is to really know where these devices are. Inventory them. Don't put them in check baggage, which is against the rules anyway, although plenty of people still admit to doing that. I know that water can stop one of these fires. It's not a fire extinguisher.

KEILAR: Yes, I totally travel with that power bank, but maybe I won't anymore because I don't want that even in my seat back pocket. I just want a barf bag in my seat back pocket. That's it. That's all I want.

MUNTEAN: I couldn't believe, you know, if you're in that seat and you think about that explosion happening right there in front of you and what could happen to you, it was just really sort of eye opening to see this live.

KEILAR: Yes, I'll just be more efficient about charging when I travel.

MUNTEAN: That's right.

Hey, thank you so much for that.

MUNTEAN: Anytime.

KEILAR: Boris.

SANCHEZ: There's a surprising new study that finds that a vast majority of the country's largest cities are sinking, putting major stress on roads, buildings and critical infrastructure. We took a deeper look at what's causing this groundbreaking problem and how it's quietly reshaping our country and the planet.

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SANCHEZ: Imagine this. You buy a home and soon get a sinking feeling that something isn't right. This slow and gradual sinking of an area of land is called subsidence, and it's putting a strain on the very foundation of infrastructure around the world. One of the most extreme cases in the United States was in California's San Joaquin Valley, where between the 1920s to the 1970s, the ground in certain areas dropped up to 30 ft.

Here, subsidence was due to the booming growth of agriculture in the valley. The aggressive pumping of groundwater known as aquifer depletion removes water from the ground, resulting in open pore spaces that caused the sediment to compact and the ground above to sink.

So say your new home is in this subsidence affected area. The value of it likely just sank to a study from U.C. Riverside estimates the cost could have dropped over $16,000.

You add up the lost aggregate housing value across the Central Valley, and that is nearly $2 billion.

And subsidence isn't just affecting rural areas. New research finds that 25 of America's 28 biggest cities are sinking. Of these, the fastest sinking city in the U.S. right now is Houston, Texas.

Houston is dealing with severe depletion of groundwater, like parts of California. But here, oil and gas extraction adds another layer to the problem. Some parts of Houston are sinking by as much as two inches a year.

And while other areas are sinking slower, that uneven subsiding puts major stress on roads, buildings and other parts of the city's critical infrastructure. The process happens slowly, often invisible to the human eye, but it has the potential to impact infrastructure in nearly 90 percent of America's largest cities.

[15:55:00]

Over time, subsidence is literally reshaping the ground we live on.

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SANCHEZ (on camera): Still to come, a first of its kind contest to celebrate and find the baldest baddies. We'll be right back.

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KEILAR: It is a question that has plagued mankind throughout history, right? To go bald or not to go bald. We all know that bald is beautiful. I mean, right, right.

Yes, you're so welcome. And over the weekend there was a celebration of the smooth headed.

SANCHEZ: There are dozens of us. Dozens of contestants showed up and showed out for the inaugural bald off in Chicago, some wearing their wackiest hairless homages. Some just turned up as themselves. And of course, all were welcome.

They competed to see who is the baddest baldy. And in the end, a man dressed as Mr. Clean took home the top spot.

There he is right there. His prize was a Pitbull greatest hit CD, a DVD of the movie Megamind and other gifts to maintain his stunning, shaven self.

I got to admit, if we had a bald off here at CNN, I don't think I would win.

KEILAR: Really?

SANCHEZ: Oh, no. Victor Blackwell, Michael Smerconish. Gosh.

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KEILAR: I sometimes think it would be lower maintenance.

SANCHEZ: It would. It'd be -- it'd be a look.

KEILAR: Yes.

SANCHEZ: You would, --

KEILAR: I mean, this is a lie because it's a lot of straightening here. So I don't know.

I'm shaving. I imagine is kind of like if you have to sort of high maintenance, but --

SANCHEZ: I've gotten used to it. Forget about it. Just like brushing your teeth. You just do it and forget about it. KEILAR: All right, yes. I'll just try it out. Maybe I'll just be in tomorrow with a little different look.

SANCHEZ: Don't miss it. Don't miss it.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

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