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Navy Weighs Renaming Carrier that was Set to honor Black WWII Hero; Daily Beast: Natalie Harp's Personal Letters to Trump Revealed; Duane Davis Told Police Combs Offered Him $1 Million to Kill Shakur and Suge Knight; Deadly Collision Between Plane, Pennsylvania State Police Helicopter. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired August 21, 2026 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

BERMAN: Naming it after President Trump.

You are all that matters to me. I don't want to ever let you down. For the first time, the full letters aide, Natalie Harp, sent to the President of the United States.

And then speakers, soda, booze, all stolen from a wedding site just hours before the ceremony. Why it helps to have several cops on the guest list?

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner.

This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with a CNN exclusive report, sources telling CNN that the Navy is working to rename an aircraft carrier set to honor a black war hero and instead considering possibly naming it after President Trump. The ship was set to be named after Doris Miller, a black mess attendant who, with no training at all, manned an anti-aircraft gun and helped save his wounded commanding officer during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was portrayed by Cuba Gooding Jr. in the 2001 movie.

Now, two sources say there have been internal conversations about renaming the USS Doris Miller to honor Trump instead, an unprecedented move for a sitting president. One source says the Navy has stopped calling it the USS Doris Miller, now only using its hull number. We're told the Navy tells now there are plans to name a different ship for Miller and recommended him for the Medal of Honor.

CNN's Haley Britzky has this reporting, helped break this story. She joins us now to walk us through what she has learned. This would be an unprecedented move if they were to name a ship after the president, correct?

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, it would be, Sara. I mean, there's obviously carriers named after presidents, but not a sitting president. So it would be a really unprecedented move to name this ship after President Trump. You know, as we reported, the Navy is looking at updating the internal guidance of who carriers can be named after. There is, of course, a large swath of people who think that carriers should only be named after presidents. But that's not a hard and fast rule right now for what these carriers can be named after.

So a lot of questions here of how the Navy could progress with this. It has not been decided yet what they will name -- rename this carrier, but certainly something that they're discussing and that sources say has come up in a serious way.

SIDNER: When you started this, what else are your sources telling you about how this is all going forward?

BRITZKY: Yes, well, I spoke with the great nephew of Doris Miller yesterday, who said that the family had not been informed of this yet, nor had they been informed of the Navy's intention of putting him in for the Medal of Honor. Doris Miller was the first African-American to receive the Navy Cross, which is a significant honor in itself. Of course, the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award for military valor.

So they have been pushing for him to receive that Medal of Honor but had not been informed yet that the Navy had resubmitted him. And that is currently with Congress. It would need approval by Congress and the president to award him that medal.

But you know, it's something that the ship, the carrier, is not going to be ready until roughly 2034 now. So still many years out for when this carrier will actually be commissioned into the U.S. Navy. As you mentioned, the Navy is looking to name instead a different warship after Miller and continue honoring him in that way.

But when we asked the Pentagon about this and asked the Navy about this, they said they had nothing to announce. So still something, of course, to watch and see how the Navy navigates this. There's been a lot of outcries, specifically among the black military community and among naval veterans and African-American veterans, because this is a very important figure to that community.

It's an important figure to the military community. And so there's a lot of feeling and emotion around this, of course. Something to consider as the Navy is kind of navigating what they're going to do here with this carrier.

SIDNER: Yes. And certainly with all the talk from the head -- sorry, the defense secretary about DEI erasing sort of the name of someone who was supposed to be named for a ship, moving it to another ship, a lot of questions are left to be asked. Thank you so much for the great reporting that you did, Haley -- John.

BERMAN: All right. This morning, a first look at full, very personal letters written to President Trump by one of his closest aides. The Daily Beast obtained two letters that Natalie Harp wrote in 2023.

One of them was first reported by The New York Times, Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in detail in the book "Regime Change." Now the Daily Beast printing them in full.

[08:05:00]

In one, Harp writes, "I never want to bring you anything but joy. I'm sorry I lost my focus. You are all that matters to me. I don't want to ever let you down. Thank you for being my guardian and protector in this life."

And then she signs off, "With all my heart, Natalie". Now the White House responded to the Daily Beast report, calling Harp one of Trump's quote, "... most loyal and hardest working aides." CNN has not independently confirmed that Natalie Harp wrote or sent these letters to the president.

Want to get to CNN's Alayna Treene live at the White House for the latest on this. And this has been a week of focus, I think, on this aide to the president. Jon Ossoff, the senator from Georgia, may have started this round by mentioning her, you know, in a speech.

But the week ends with the Daily Beast putting out pictures of these full letters, Alayna.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And there's been, of course, so much attention on this relationship, I think in part because when you see these letters, you know, as you mentioned, John, some of the excerpts from these letters have already been previously published. I think the personal nature of them is what is kind of capturing a lot of the attention this week.

But I'd also know something else. And it's a conversation I've had with some officials here at the White House, is that in the immediate aftermath after Jon Ossoff made some of these comments when he said essentially the president wants to travel with Natalie and other things like that, there was such an aggressive defense from so many people in the president's orbit, many of his allies, people here in the White House itself, people like the White House communications director Steven Cheung, the aggressive and sharp criticism they leveled at other people. Some aides acknowledge that perhaps that has given more attention to this story. It had the adverse effect of drawing even more eyes to the relationship between Harp and the president.

And then, of course, more reporting like these letters has come out to further highlight it. But I think there's an important couple of things to point out here. One, I think, I mean, these are very personal letters, and I think they show the extent of really the deep connection that Harp feels to the president.

I'd remind our viewers that she credits President Trump with saving her life. She has said in the past that she has suffered from bone cancer and that it was legislation that Trump signed back in 2018 that gave her -- allowed her to have experimental treatments. I should note she's never said what those treatments were, but that's part, I think, of this undying loyalty that many aides describe Harp as having to the president. I'd also point out that she has -- she's omnipresent in the president's orbit. You know, unlike past secretaries, you know, I'm reminded of Madeline Westerhout. She's actually was the personal secretary to Trump back during his first term.

She was someone who sat outside the Oval Office, and Trump would normally lean back in his chair and shout to her. Harp is different. She's not outside the Oval Office, but in it.

She is with the president through many of the meetings throughout the day, and she's also in contact with her -- with him, John, late into the night often to discuss his social media posts. So she's always around, and she also serves a specific person for Trump. You know, she is a channel which foreign leaders will reach out to her if they feel like they can't get in touch with the president.

She's someone that Trump often asks to reach out to people that he's watching on television, and he likes what they are saying. She's the one who reaches out to them or will send notes to others when he doesn't want to reach out personally. So that's part of this relationship as well.

Look, as for a lot of these statements, I think one of the key things we've seen in all of them this week is, again, that loyalty to the president. And it's very clear in some of these letters. But I think this is a story that isn't dying down.

There's a lot of attention on how close they are, in part because she travels with him a lot. She is his body man. So we'll see where this goes.

But I do think it's a story the White House would like to move away from.

BERMAN: Alayna Treene at the White House, thanks so much for all of that context. Really filling in, I think, some of the information there and remarks. Really appreciate it -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: New overnight. We are learning at least eight people have been killed after a charter plane crashed in Alaska. We have the latest details on what happened here.

And the man on trial for allegedly orchestrating the killing of Tupac Shakur is now saying that Sean Diddy Combs offered him a million dollars to kill Tupac.

And a worker rescued after falling almost 20 feet down a manhole, now how he is doing this morning.

[08:10:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: Some explosive allegations and new audio played during the trial of the man accused in the murder of Tupac Shakur. Duane Keffe D Davis told the FBI that another hip-hop star, Sean Combs, offered to pay him $1 million to kill Tupac and the former CEO of Death Row Records, Suge Knight.

In court yesterday, the prosecution played the hours-long audio tape of the defendant, talking with FBI investigators as part of a plea deal in 2008. That's where this all came out. In that recording, not only does Davis detail his own involvement, he says, in Tupac's murder, also describing personal conversations with Sean Combs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFFICER: What did you actually hear? What was the words ... the best you can remember what he says?

DUANE DAVIS: Sh*t, he said he would give us anything for them dudes heads. You know, yeah.

OFFICER: Now, on all four of those occasions, there's San Diego, Anaheim, Irvine, and Vegas, which ones do you actually talk to Puffy at?

DAVIS: Every one of them.

OFFICER: Every one of them.

DAVIS: Yes.

OFFICER: Which ones -- which of those four is it when you talk to him about murdering Tupac?

[08:15:00]

DAVIS: It was really about both of them, either one of them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Joining me now, CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Joey Jackson. What does this do? I mean, Sean Combs is now like part of this whole conversation and trial.

I mean, is he going to have to take this stand?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: We will see. Good morning, Kate. Right.

So, just for context, this is a 2008 investigation, and they are, they being law enforcement, there's this task force, and they're investigating Biggie, Chris Wallace, and Notorious B.I.G., his murder. In the context of that, they need to leverage information. Enter Davis.

Why? Because he's wanted in connection with a federal racketeering case that could put him in jail for life. So, he's got no choice but to speak.

OK, now that we get that out of the way, we get to the meat and potatoes. So, in speaking to them, he gives up information, a lot of it, much of which relates to Sean Combs, Diddy, Puffy, whatever he was known by at that specific time. And essentially, what he describes is a murder-for-hire plot where Diddy says, hey, a million dollars, I need to get rid of those dudes.

Who are those dudes? Suge Knight and Tupac. And then there's some indication that the money was sort of filtered out.

It never got back to him as in Davis, but it was given to some other guy by the name of Zip who didn't spin it back to him. So, to your question, what does it do?

In the event that Mr. Combs is called to testify, I always felt, right, many would say he'd plead the fifth and have nothing to add. I just wonder, in light of this, may he want to clear his name? May he want now, in the event he's called by prosecutors, to clear the air?

May he want to say any number of things, which I thought before he'd say nothing of the sort, right? But remember, this trial's about Davis, not about Combs.

BOLDUAN: It's still wild. I mean, so, you hear Davis laying this out. Is there a world or a possibility that Combs could actually face legal exposure?

JACKSON: Let us see and let us find out. It depends upon how far they go. That is, authorities with this information, do they deem it more credible?

They didn't then, for whatever reason. Perhaps now it changes the equation and changes the story. Of course, defense says this is all a lie.

But this is part of what Davis said. Him, in terms of implicating himself, wow! Puts himself there.

Puts himself in the car. Puts himself as looking for Tupac. Puts himself as doing all those things that prosecutors said you did, which is to aid, abet, facilitate, counsel, and encourage the actual killing of Tupac Shakur, which is what he's on trial for.

BOLDUAN: It's hours of audio tape. I think it was like about three hours that they played just yesterday in court. Why so much?

I mean, I always kind of think about it. I'm like, do you lose the jury here? Why do this?

Is this a problem for the defense?

JACKSON: You know, I thought about this when they were starting to play it, Kate. And I said, wait a minute. You're playing tape.

Now, in a trial, the jurors generally like the dynamic. The dynamic of what? There's a witness.

There's an exchange. There's a back and forth. Prosecution asks direct questions to lay the foundation. Defense gets up and tries to shred you apart. That was lost. But based upon the nature of what was said, I think it really puts what I was thinking to shame.

It was actually very interesting, substantive material concerning Davis's involvement, concerning what he was doing with the other gangs, giving context to what was going on. And here's what troubled me from a defense perspective. Prosecutors are happy about this.

Defense attorneys are not. It was the way in which the information was communicated. Right.

The demeanor, the comportment. The defense will argue, hey, it was coerced. This was in the context of a 2008 situation where what else is he going to say?

He needed to give them something. He's joking with them. He's jovial.

They're going back and forth. He seemed calm. He seemed relaxed.

He seemed put together. That is Davis did. And so it kind of defeats or cuts against the defense argument.

He was coerced to do it. And the light was shining on his head. And water was beating against his forehead.

So the context in which it was stated gives it even more credibility based upon how calm Davis seemed to be during the exchange with authorities.

BOLDUAN: Fascinating. It's good to see you, Joey.

JACKSON: Always.

BOLDUAN: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Joey joins our live coverage of the Tupac murder trial starting today, 11:30 Eastern. You can stream it all. CNN ALL ACCESS at CNN.com/watch and also streaming on Amazon Prime and HLN. Sara?

SIDNER: All right, thank you, Kate. We are seeing harrowing new video of a deadly collision between a plane and a helicopter in Pennsylvania. The latest on this deadly crash.

And Flock surveillance cameras are leading to protests and vandalism in dozens of states. Those are those cameras that look at license plates and track them.

More on the growing outrage over privacy concerns. Those stories and more ahead.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: New video this morning of a small plane crashing into a state police helicopter at a Pennsylvania airport. Oof. The plane's pilot was killed.

The two state troopers in the helicopter were injured. We're also learning new details about the moments before the impact. CNN aviation correspondent Pete Muntean joining us now.

That is hard to watch, seeing that video of the actual crash. What are you learning about what happened before this moment?

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: You know, Sara, now we have this clearer picture of the final seconds before this collision. From that new video and these new details from the National Transportation Safety Board. But we still do not know why this happened.

[08:25:00]

The NTSB now says there is strong evidence that the Cessna pilot knew the Pennsylvania state police helicopter was there. And that the pilots of the two aircraft had communicated before the crash over the radio. Using what's called the common traffic advisory frequency.

That's what pilots use to announce their positions over the radio on and near an airport with no control tower like this one. Investigators say the two man helicopter crew was on a training flight and doing what's called a hover taxi. That's when a helicopter is flying only a few feet above the runway while moving forward.

Pretty standard maneuver for helicopters, so nothing really unusual there. But the NTSB says the Cessna's flight path approaching Carlisle Airport was unusual. And that new video shows only the last second before the collision.

So still unclear if the Cessna pilot, 57-year-old Paul Sokoloski, was out of control here. And I want you to listen now to how NTSB investigator Aaron McCarter describes the sequence leading up to the crash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AARON MCCARTER, NTSB INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE: The Cessna came in, straight level, suddenly increased its pitch, severe nose up, did a left turn, leveled off again and then flew into the back of the helicopter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: Investigators are not saying whether the pilot was trying to avoid the helicopter, lost control of the airplane or whether something else happened. One thing investigators may examine here is the helicopter's wake. A helicopter and a hover taxi like this one can generate powerful downwash from its rotors, creating what's called wake turbulence.

It's been shown to be very dangerous to a light airplane like a Cessna 150. It weighs only about 1,400 pounds, by the way. That's about half the weight of a Honda Civic. So there's no real evidence just yet that's what happened here. But investigators also want to know about what has happened to the airplane. They say the Cessna was being worked on earlier that day.

But they stress that nothing so far is tying this to maintenance leading up to this crash. We expect to hear more from the NTSB in a news conference at the top of the hour, Sara.

SIDNER: Wow. All right. Pete Muntean, thank you so much for walking us through that -- John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, new CNN reporting on how some immigrants are now going into hiding after being stripped of their legal status.

And they planned their wedding for months. More than 250 people invited. But hours before the ceremony, someone stole the booze, the soda, even the speakers. So who would step in to save the marriage before it even began?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)