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Trump Administration Threatens To Demolish Kennedy Center Over Renovations; Canada Hits Back With 50 Percent Tariffs On Hundreds Of U.S. Products; Huge Wave Of Floodwater Engulfs Nepal-China Border Crossing. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired August 26, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So the saga continues over the Kennedy Center in Washington. The Trump administration now threatening to demolish the building if renovations are not allowed. In a new court filing, the Justice Department argues that without the renovations the center will "deteriorate further into an unsafe, decrepit structure." And that will need to be taken down and replaced.

But this all comes amid the ongoing fight over Trump's name, really. Trump wanting to add his own name to the building. He added it. It was then removed by court order in June and, of course, he wants it back on.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House with much more on this. What's going to happen here, Alayna?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: I think it's very much unclear. And I like that you have in big words over the screen "Kennedy Center Saga" Kate because this really has been a saga. This is the latest in a series of fights that the president and his administration have gotten in with different judges and the Kennedy Center itself over different changes that they want made.

I'm going to walk you through some of this, though. As you mentioned, the Kennedy Center -- they're arguing -- these lawyers -- made need to be demolished or recreated into an openair performance center if some of these proposed renovations aren't done.

Now, this was -- this all came in a Monday court filing. And essentially, it comes days after the center's board, which we should note is stacked with the president's allies, had voted again to try and close the center down for a series of renovations. 'I'd note that those votes have faced a lot of scrutiny in the past. We know that a federal judge had stepped in earlier this year and essentially blocked those renovations from happening. Unclear what's going to happen if this faces another legal battle.

Now I will say in the filing, the lawyers did not say whether such a plan had already been discussed by the board. Instead, it was mentioned alongside other notes and arguments defending the board's decision to vote once again on readding the president's name to the facade of the Kennedy Center.

I will note there is going to be a hearing on Thursday. The U.S. District Judge Casey Cooper is set to hold a hearing over this bid by the Democratic Congresswoman Joyce Beatty to stop the center from inscribing the president's name into the outside of the building.

This a long fight. We're not exactly sure how this is going to lead. But the argument here is that the building's interior -- some of the structure is deteriorating. They argue that's why these renovations are necessary despite some others arguing it might just be to elevate the look of it.

So I think a lot more to come on this, Kate.

BOLDUAN: I think that is certain in uncertain times. A lot more to come.

It's good to see you, Alayna. Thank you very much -- John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. With us now, Tia Mitchell, the Washington bureau chief for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Shakespeare asked what's in a name? Kind of a lot here. I mean, here is a picture of the tarp covering up the names the White House apparently doesn't want anyone to see. Donald Trump's name was taken down, at least temporarily, from the Kennedy Center here.

Is this a case, Tia, if the president's name can't be on it, they don't want the building at all?

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION (via Webex by Cisco): I mean, that's kind of how I read it. The president wants this. The president wants his name on things, especially his name on things that he thinks the American public currently revere or could revere in the future. He wants that to be his legacy -- actual structures and landmarks.

And so I think that he and his allies in the White House and beyond are looking for ways to make it happen. And if they can't make it happen with the current building, I think their thinking is maybe if there's a new building some of the current laws may not still apply.

BERMAN: Yeah. Sort of take your marbles and go home in a big, big expensive way here.

Let's move this out and talk about the big events overnight, which was Darline Graham winning the runoff there to get the Republican nomination for the full six-year term -- Senate -- in South Carolina here. And President Trump went to campaign for her in Myrtle Beach just the other night. And you can see she won that county by a lot -- almost the entire margin of her victory in South Carolina.

The president wanted this. The president got it. What does it mean going forward?

MITCHELL: So I think it was a really good night for President Trump. Every primary night has not been a great night for him but last night was. I think it shows that he's going to continue to support candidates that he feels have been loyal to him and he wants to show that loyalty in return.

They're not always the candidate who has the most experience or, you know, has the most groundswell of support, but he thinks he can come in and help change things. Help build support.

He literally told the voters in Myrtle Beach it's not -- don't think about it as Darline Graham on the ballot; think about it as if my name is on the ballot. And it seems to really have had impact.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Again, I mean, as long as we're just talking about Myrtle Beach here. We can push in there and you can see the margin of her win in Myrtle Beach was about 17,000 in Horry County, you know. You push back overall, the entire margin in the state was 18,000. So you can see that visit may have made a big difference there.

Tia Mitchell, thank you very much -- Kate.

[07:35:00]

BOLDUAN: This morning Canada strikes back, and now the big question is what will these retaliatory tariffs mean for the United States? In less than two weeks Americans are going to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRANCOIS-PHILIPPE CHAMPAGNE, CANADIAN FINANCE MINISTER: Today I'm announcing that Canada will match the United States' tariffs dollar- for-dollar, rate-for-rate. Effective September 8, Canada will impose counter tariffs of up to 15, 25, or 50 percent on $27.6 billion in imports from the United States of America. For each product our tariff would match the American tariff on the same type of Canadian good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Canada, as part of this, doubling tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum to 50 percent -- the same rate the U.S. is now charging on Canadian steel and aluminum coming in.

There are lots of other new tariffs that are about to set in as well, as Canada is now responding. Paper products, construction materials, home appliances, dairy, and other agricultural goods as well.

Canadian officials have also unveiled at the same time a $5.4 billion package to try to help businesses and workers in Canada impacted by this new trade fight.

Let's talk about where things stand and where things are going. Joining me right now is the mayor of Toronto, Olivia Chow. Mayor, thank you for being here.

The prime -- the prime minister -- well, the --

MAYOR OLIVIA CHOW, TORONTO, CANADA (via Webex by Cisco): Good morning. BOLDUAN: -- Canadian government laid out the response yesterday. Doubling tariffs on American steel and aluminum to 50 percent is the most significant.

Do you think this tit-for-tat dollar-for-dollar approach is the right one?

CHOW: Well, until President Trump's attack for generations of close relationships created prosperity for all of us. So I truly don't understand why President Trump is bound and determined to raise the price for everyone -- both sides of the border. So it's going to hurt and it's going to be painful. But we have to respond. We have to defend and protect ourselves.

And look, we are best partners. We are best neighbors. My brother, my cousins are all Americans. And we're supposed to love our neighbors but instead, we're getting brutally and viciously attacked. I just don't understand it.

BOLDUAN: Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario, has come out very hard against the President of the United States here.

The Wall Street Journal did a profile on him this morning and writes that he's clearly getting under the skin of the president and the White House but also writes this. "His [Ford] -- his unpredictability complicates Prime Minister Mark Carney's negotiating stance, but he also provides a useful foil, a kind of bad cop for which Carney can offer his more measured good cop approach."

Do you think Doug Ford's approach complicates things for the prime minister in negotiating?

CHOW: Well, that's a very good question. Look, this uncertainty is costing us. It's costing everyone and when the price goes up no one is exempt.

And I think what we should do is follow Dolly Parton's ways. She lived her life full of love and joy and generous. And President Trump could reflect on that instead of these midnight schoolyard bullying. And they're vicious. Just take a -- just take a breather.

And my message to American viewers is this. Just this is senseless. There's no reason for this kind of attack. Our economy, our auto parts are so integrated and that's why we're prosperous. So give your elected -- local elected rep a call and say come on, we're supposed to love your neighbors as yourself. But stop the attack and let's negotiate. Let's talk because we are always stronger together.

BOLDUAN: Let me ask the question then this way because I didn't hear an answer there. Doug Ford also told the Associated Press that if this fight gets worse -- the way he put it is everything --

CHOW: Yes.

BOLDUAN: -- is on the table, including cutting off electricity from Ontario going into the United States. Do you support that move?

CHOW: Well, whatever it takes. Whatever it takes -- upping the price of electricity. We have to get attention because this cannot continue. The uncertainty is costing everyone.

And I have this -- and we -- us Canadians are having a buy local, love local campaign. There will be two outposts, one from America and one from Canada. We're going to buy Canadian. I think it's important --

BOLDUAN: Right. But proactively cutting off electricity going into the United States. You would -- you would support that move as a measure -- as a measure to get the U.S. to the negotiating table.

[07:40:00]

CHOW: Well, I think whatever our premier needs to do. We cannot continue this way because our economy is quite integrated. If you think about the cars -- how they're being built. Because of this integration we are more efficient. We have good cars coming out because of integration. So we cannot continue to fight and destroy each other's economy.

And the prices of everything is going up. It's painful. So we have to stop this.

BOLDUAN: Yep. It's going to -- well, it's going to some -- it's going to go some direction. Stop or go is yet to be determined much further.

Mayor, thank you very much for coming in. I appreciate your time. The mayor of Toronto with us this morning.

Let's get back to Sara now in Nashville -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Thank you so much, Kate.

You were the barometer. Tributes pouring in this morning for Dolly Parton who died at 80 years old after what we are learning now was a brief battle with cancer.

We're hearing from Taylor Swift who said in part, "A world without Dolly doesn't feel possible. It doesn't feel real or right."

Beyonce calling her the barometer, the North Star, the bold and brilliant, talented and tenacious. She said, "You taught us so many lessons on how to be uniquely oneself."

Paul McCartney, who first met her here in 1974 here in Nashville, said "Her songwriting, her singing, and her philanthropy were unrivaled in the world of country music and it's hard to imagine living in a world without Dolly."

We also heard from Mick Jagger and Barbra Streisand -- all of them honoring her incredible legacy and many, many more who played with her, who knew her, who befriended her, along with her "9 to 5" co- stars Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. Tennessee's Sevier County -- where Parton grew up as one of 12

children in utter poverty but learned to sort of tell -- use music to tell songs -- they've declared a day of mourning.

Her theme park that she created, and people didn't believe that it could be a hit, and it was -- well, Dollywood says it's going to be open today. The park saying that is exactly what Dolly would have wanted.

We also know that, for sure, there was a tribute here at what is known as the Mother Church of Country Music, the Grand Ole Opry. They had a beautiful tribute to her after everyone learned just yesterday that she had passed away here in Nashville.

Joining me now is Martha Ackmann, the author of "Ain't Nobody's Fool: The Life and Times of Dolly Parton." Also joining me is Chris Willman, the senior music writer and chief music critic of Variety.

Look, Martha, I want to start with you. Give me some sense of what today means for you because the world really has lost an incredible person. Not just a performer, not just a singer and songwriter, but a human being that touched so many people across so many genres. You really can't find a person in this country that doesn't feel like they know her and love her.

MARTHA ACKMANN, DOLLY PARTON BIOGRAPHER, AUTHOR, "AIN'T NOBODY'S FOOL: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DOLLY PARTON" (via Webex by Cisco): Well, it's a very great loss, isn't it? You know, I think your point about everybody feeling like they're part of her family is very well taken.

It's often asked why is Dolly the great unifier? Why is she one person that everybody seems to agree on? And I must tell you that in writing my book I talked to hundreds of people from her -- members of her family to high school classmates, teachers, musicians, bandmates -- and as a biographer you always have to ask, are there any shortcomings? And I was hard-pressed to find anyone who had anything negative to say about Dolly.

I think the worst comment that I -- that I ever heard was from people who said that she tried to do too much. You know, that she spread herself too thin.

She was the great unifier, and I think that had to do a lot with what was at her core.

SIDNER: Yeah. I mean, just her persona and the incredible way in which she dealt with people, you know, of different walks of life, it strikes a lot of us almost impossible and yet she did it.

Chris, give me a sense of what this means to the world of music because she collaborated with so many people across music genres. You know, everyone can sing a song that Dolly Parton either wrote or sang herself or did both.

[07:45:00] CHRIS WILLMAN, SENIOR MUSIC WRITER, CHIEF MUSIC CRITIC, VARIETY: Yeah. You know, I can just speak for myself personally, but I think a lot of people this kind of impact.

I was trying to think of the last time I felt that -- instantly crestfallen when I heard someone had died in entertainment and I think back to John Lennon and George Harrison, major figures in my life. And I think Dolly, in some ways, means more to people. I mean, you know, The Beatles changed the world, but no one felt they knew them like we think we know Dolly.

And having met her on a number of occasions and talked to her, I can certainly say that the world did know Dolly. She was the same person behind the scenes, everyone will say, that you saw on camera. It wasn't something she turned on and off.

And she had this quality that I call messianic almost. I hate to use that word. But I used, when I wrote an appreciation for her, I called her a flirty Jesus. And that sounds a little sacrilegious but I think that kind of gives it the quality that, you know -- she was mischievous and fun but also just brought joy and light to every room she in, whether that was literally or whether that was to the world that was kind of in the room she created.

SIDNER: Chris, you know, some people might say that is blasphemy -- a flirty Jesus -- but I think Dolly would have laughed at that one. She's said a lot of funny things in her time --

WILLMAN: I hope so.

SIDNER: -- and that is a really, really clever way to describe her.

Martha, when you wrote this book what did you -- what sort of stood out to you as you were going through and telling her story, her biography? This is a person that came from absolute extreme poverty. One of 12. Her daddy wasn't able to read and write. They lived, you know, very, very, very poorly but she used her music as a way to tell stories, which is what you did back in the day where they were.

ACKMANN: That's right. I think the thing maybe that struck me the most was how early on Dolly knew what she wanted to do. I think she was about four years old when she -- well, didn't exactly write but recited lyrics to her first song. It was about a little corncob doll that her father made for her. I think the first lines were "Tiny little tasseltop, I love you an awful lot."

And what is remarkable about that, besides just the fact that she was already imagining songs, and she said she had a gift of rhyme -- but what was also notable was that her mother noticed it. And her mother, you know, eventually had 12 children. Dolly was number four. It was very easy to get lost in the crowd. But her mother wrote that lyric down and put it in a box and saved it as she did so many of Dolly's compositions.

So early on Dolly knew what she wanted to do and as she grew older, she began to realize how she wanted to do it. So that competence, that sense of purpose.

I was struck also by how often Dolly used the word "proud" to describe her work. You know, and that's not a word that women growing up in this society and culture -- not a word they use lightly. But Dolly knew her own worth and I think that was also something that certainly women musicians weren't from but women all over the world took note of.

SIDNER: I mean, she was a juggernaut of so much.

Martha Ackmann and Chris Willman, thank you both so much for having this conversation with me. I mean, a lot of us who have been listening to her our whole lives are devastated but we also realize we have such a deep well of beautiful music to be able to remember her by for the rest of our lives and we're so thankful for that. Thank you both for talking to me -- John.

BERMAN: She left us her songs.

New this morning, SpaceX announced plans to build a $100 billion spaceport on Louisiana's southern coast. The site is to be called "Starbase Louisiana." SpaceX said the campus will serve as a hub for its huge Starship rocket.

CEO Elon Musk says "Starbase Louisiana will ultimately have over a dozen launch towers enabling more than 30 Starship flights per day and making it the biggest launch site on Earth."

SpaceX says the new site will add more than 3,000 jobs to the region. Construction is expected to begin next year with the first launch set for 2029.

All right. A man with a guillotine arrested near the Supreme Court. A guillotine for real.

[07:50:00]

And then crews battling wildfires in Nevada say it could be days before they get it under control.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:55:00]

BOLDUAN: We have some breaking news. A disaster is just unfolding in Nepal right now. Hundreds of people are missing, and it is not known but feared how many are dead after massive flash flooding near the Nepal-China border. And we are just now starting to get the first images to come out of there and they're heart-stopping.

A video just in shows people fleeing for their lives as a huge wall of mud and water crashes through a border town. A warning as we show you this -- it may be hard to watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Huge wall of mud and water crashing through border town.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: It is, yes, almost unbelievable to see what has -- is unfolding there.

Nepal's foreign minister said an earthquake triggered a large landslide, which then in turn blocked a river sending what we are looking at that appears right now a torrent of water downstream. A wall of water that just engulfed that entire building and border crossing as you see people desperately trying to find some sort of safety, which it seems was impossible to find.

We are going to have much more on this. We are just starting to get -- this is truly some of the first images we're getting out. We're going to continue to follow this and bring you as many details as we can this morning -- John.

BERMAN: That's just stunning.

All right. This morning authorities say the man accused of terrorizing people in Philadelphia while wearing a mask has been arrested in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old suspect is wanted in connection with a series of encounters in Philadelphia's City Center -- Center City, I should say. Investigators tracked him from Philadelphia to Orlando and then to Las Vegas where they say he was hiding in an apartment. He is now being held in Nevada awaiting extradition to Pennsylvania.

Firefighters say they're making progress battling blazes near Reno, Nevada but officials say evacuated residents are not able to go home just yet. About 15,000 acres have burned so far. Authorities say the fire was human-caused but have not said whether that was intentional -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Testimony is going to pick back up soon -- again soon in the landmark trial against Meta. Now Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri is expected back on the stand to -- again to defend the company's record. This trial is a long time coming and has been very closely watched.

A group of 29 state attorneys general sued back in 2023 saying that the company intentionally has designed its platforms to be addictive, especially to get young users addicted.

If Meta loses here, the proposed financial penalty could be more than $1 trillion.

CNN's Clare Duffy is tracking this one. Clare, what is expected when the head of Instagram gets back on the stand now?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN TECH REPORTER: Well, yesterday we heard from Adam Mosseri only for about 45 minutes before court wrapped for today -- for the day. And questions really focused on the state's allegation that Meta has misrepresented or hid internal research that it had about the risks to children and also about the ineffectiveness of its safety tools.

He was asked, for example, about a public statement that he made at one point promoting the "Take a Break" feature --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

DUFFY: -- on Instagram where he said 90 percent of teens that use this feature don't turn it off. At the time, Meta had internal research showing that only a tiny percentage of teens had turned that feature on in the first place. He did acknowledge that the feature had slower uptake than the company had hoped but ultimately said a few years later in 2024 the company made that feature default for all teens as part of its teen accounts rollout.

So we expect that the questions today will focus along similar lines contrasting the public statements that he's made about the company's efforts to keep teens safe with the internal research that Meta has had about risks to teens. And some of those documents are pretty striking, showing that Meta has had an awareness that teens, for example, have a more troubling experience on Instagram and Facebook than adults do.

And, of course, Mosseri is just the latest of the --

BOLDUAN: Right.

DUFFY: -- internal Meta employees that we are hearing from.

We also heard yesterday from Instagram's director of product design, Francesca Fogu. We heard from a former Meta data scientist George Volichenko who said he left Meta because he felt like the company didn't really want to invest in effective safety measures for young people. Also, of course, former Facebook engineering director Arturo Bejar who then blew the whistle on the company.

BOLDUAN: Right.

DUFFY: And Kate, just a reminder of the stakes here. You laid them out in the intro. But this case could really change how Meta's platforms operate because, of course, the states are seeking anywhere from hundreds of billions of dollars to potentially more than a trillion dollars in financial penalties. But also, an order that would force the company to make changes to how its platforms operate in hopes of keeping kids safer. That is what is on the line for Meta here.

BOLDUAN: This could be a -- landmark is appropriate here because --

DUFFY: Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: -- it could bring about fundamental required change in this massive company with such far reach with their platforms.