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Trump Rejects Iran War Concerns, Relatively Little War for Us; Death Toll in Nepal-China Flooding Tragedy Tops 1,000; Duane "Keffe D" Davis Found Guilty in Tupac Shakur's Murder. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Tension clashes, infighting after months of butting heads with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and in the middle of a war with Iran, the Secretary of the Army is stepping down, accusing Hegseth on his way out of blocking efforts to keep the Army ready for war.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking overnight, the death toll from the flash floods in Nepal tops 1,000. New focus this morning on construction tunnels with as many as 900 people trapped inside.

And the man accused of orchestrating Tupac Shakur's murder found guilty nearly 30 years after the shooting. Now, the question turns to the sentencing, how much time will Duane Keith spend in prison? And is the case of Tupac's murder finally truly closed?

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman, this is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: This morning, let's get to the major shakeup that's happening at the Pentagon in the middle of the war with Iran. Sources tell CNN that the Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has now submitted his reg- resignation to President Trump. He is the service's top civilian leader, and now after months of tension with the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, he is on his way out.

When handing in his resignation, one source says that Driscoll spoke to the president about the Army's transformation and its readiness, and accused Hegseth of blocking those efforts by firing the generals responsible for them.

Driscoll's a longtime friend of Vice President J.D. Vance. They were Yale Law School classmates. And CNN has reported that Hegseth viewed Driscoll's relationship with Vance, and even his relationship with the president, as a way of going around his authority.

This comes, of course, as the U.S. and Iran renewed attacks on each other Monday, six months into a war that shows no signs of ending. The president yesterday once again downplayed the ongoing concerns about dwindling munition supplies in the midst of this war. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Number one, we have nothing else in mind. Number two, we're very respected. Nobody else would be crazy enough to do it. Number three, we have so much ammunition and munitions, as they like to call it, all over the world that we can always take from if we want. And this is a relatively little war for us. This is not a big war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: CNN's Alayna Train is live at the White House for us. Alayna, what are you hearing about Driscoll's resignation from there today?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kate. We've actually been reporting on this tension for roughly a year now, and I would tell you, when it started, it was almost entirely one-sided. We had reported that the Defense Department, specifically Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, did not like the close relationship that the Army secretary, Dan Driscoll, had with the White House.

And I'd remind you that he had a very close relationship with the vice president, J.D. Vance. As you mentioned, Kay, they were classmates at Yale, and we know that Driscoll would often go to him and speak to him privately, but he also had a close relationship with the president. He came to develop one over his time here in the second term.

And that's something that frustrated Hegseth. He was distrustful, really, of many people who had their own relationships with the White House and the president, and distrustful that perhaps those people were trying to undermine him.

So, this is something that has been going on for quite some time now. And that's exactly why I think, you know, if you remember the secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, he was also ousted earlier this year over similar circumstances. But it did seem, though, as if Driscoll had a longer shelf life, particularly because of that close relationship with Vance and others in the White House who kind of saw him as part of their inner circle.

We know Driscoll was, of course, a key part of many of the insider conversations that were happening around the -- on the Iran war, about readiness, and that is something that Driscoll, we're told, cited when he left, that he did not feel like military readiness was at the standard it should be, was also frustrated, Kate, over how Hegseth has kind of pushed out some of the people within the Defense Department and within, you know, senior military positions in recent months who Hegseth felt like wasn't totally loyal to him and on his side.

Now, I will say we do know that some of these tensions have grown to be two-sided, as I mentioned, Driscoll really feeling in recent months that he would not be able to stay in his position.

[07:05:05]

But from some of the people we talked to in the Trump administration, they were hoping that this would be dragged out a little more, that Driscoll would remain, particularly, of course, that the U.S. remains at war with Iran. But it does seem that Driscoll made the determination that that would be untenable. And I will say a lot of these tensions were about the gutting of key military officials that Hegseth has overseen.

So, look, I think the bottom line here, though, is there's, you know, seemingly now kind of this vacuum that is left. They don't have the Army secretary or Dan Driscoll now anymore. There is no undersecretary of the Navy. That was John Phelan. And at a time, of course, when these tensions with Iran are continuing and it doesn't seem like the end to this war is anywhere near in sight. So, a lot to look through when it comes to this departure. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. Let's see what we get more from the White House today on all of this.

It's great to see you, Alayna. Thank you so much. John?

BERMAN: Breaking overnight, the official death toll in the flashflood disaster in Nepal and China now tops 1,000. There are still more than 4,500 people missing, with the focus this morning deep inside Nepal's hydropower tunnels, with as many as 900 workers missing in tunnels that stretch several miles long.

Now, there are, in theory, rooms and resources inside the tunnels, but even if the tunnels have not flooded, air supply could be an issue at this point.

Let's get right to CNN's Gage Goulding for the latest on all of this. Gage, what are you learning this morning?

GAGE GOULDING, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we have to think that it's been almost a week. It was last Wednesday whenever this flood hit. And if there was a space for these workers to go, there's some 900 workers across these more than a dozen different tunnels, was there enough resource in there? And now it's at the point where it's getting increasingly harder to survive without water.

I mean, the human body can go weeks without food, but without water and this was not an anticipated event, this was construction still happening. The question is whether these workers could still be alive. And it just puts even more added pressure and stress to the rescue workers that are working nonstop around the clock to get to those people.

And overnight, the grim news that the number of those killed has now surpassed 1,000, Nepal officials reporting 1,003 deaths confirmed. But the even staggering thought is there're still 3,900 people that are missing. Of that, 583 are foreign nationals. And, again, you look at Wednesday being one week, the one-week mark is just around the corner, and they are still searching for so many people.

And also, as we reach the one-week mark, it's incredible that we're still seeing and receiving new video of this wave of water that comes down. This video just coming into the CNN Newsroom, and it may be one of the most shocking and astonishing angles that we've seen of this flood.

I want to pause here and just give you a moment to watch and listen to this.

It's just absolutely incredible. You saw what looked like just a totally normal river, right? And then out of nowhere you can see and then you can hear the roar. It just turns into almost a Niagara Fall in a matter of seconds.

And it kind of really paints the best picture that I've seen of how quick this water is moving, meaning that if you were down there, if you were in the path of this water, you really had a 0 percent chance of surviving. If anything, it would be a miracle at that point. But I think this video really illustrates how quickly things were moving. And currently mass burials are taking place.

But I do want to end on a rather I guess, lighter note, that we're understanding from Chinese government officials that the barrier lake that formed, that there were concerns over additional flooding as a result of that lake letting loose as, you know, from all of this, the good news is at this point they're saying that it is under control. John?

BERMAN: Yes, and, Gage, I'm just transfixed by that new video of the water rushing down the side of those hills and then just, you know, into that riverbed. And it's not just that it's water, right? It's thick with debris. It's almost like this -- Anderson was describing yesterday as liquid concrete. And you can see it as it's coming down there. Just imagine the force of that wall of liquid concrete hitting your town or village, just extraordinary.

All right, Gage Goulding, thank you so much for your reporting this morning.

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I appreciate it. Sara?

SIDNER: Gage Goulding, thank you so much, John.

All right, guilty, a verdict 30 years almost in the making. What happened in court when a jury found Duane Keffe D Davis guilty in the murder of rap legend Tupac Shakur?

And one witness said the floodwaters racing through the Grand Canyon sounded much like a train. Search and rescue efforts for the missing set to resume very soon after the deadly flash flooding there.

And it's primary day in Massachusetts, Democrats battling it out for the Senate nomination. How 80-year-old incumbent Senator Ed Markey is pitching himself as the revolutionary candidate.

Those stories and more ahead.

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SIDNER: All right. New this morning, three decades nearly after legendary rapper Tupac Shakur was gunned down near the Las Vegas Strip, a Nevada jury found the man accused of orchestrating his death guilty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury in the above entitled case, find the defendant, Duane Keith Davis, as follows, count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon, dated this 31st day of August, 2026.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: The jury reached their verdict after just three hours of deliberations.

The prosecution's entire case really hedged on words from the defendant himself. Duane Keefe D Davis spoke about his role in the shooting in documentaries and to police, even writing about it in a memoir.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC DIGIACOMO, CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Because this case is not about provability. It is a slam dunk, absolutely, totally no defense to murder case. It's about admissibility, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Davis could face life in prison.

CNN's Josh Campbell is live for us in Las Vegas, Nevada. Davis is the only person ever charged in Tupac's murder after nearly 30 years since the shooting. Give us some sense of what the reaction was in court yesterday.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, how many cases have you and I covered where you have prosecutors saying, look, this is maybe a he said, she said, that one person is saying one thing, another person is saying another? As you mentioned, the prosecutor in this case said, look, don't listen to us. Listen to the defendant in these interviews that he gave over the years with the police, interviews that he gave with the media. As you mentioned, he even wrote a book about this topic. Prosecutors saying he has implicated himself all along.

Of course, after that verdict was read in court, there were members of Tupac Shakur's family who started to embrace each other. As you noted, we're talking about nearly 30 years after the shooting of the legendary rap singer, not far from where we are here in Las Vegas. The man the prosecutors claim was responsible for orchestrating the killing now found guilty.

Take a listen here to the prosecutor in closing arguments imploring the jury, Look, again, don't listen to me. Listen to the defendant himself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIAGIACOMO: Do we honestly think the guy who's dumb enough to write a book could keep this story straight this many times over?

Mr. Davis is attempting to escape responsibility for a crime everybody knows he committed, even him, and he admits to it for seven, eight times over the course of 30 years, and there's no evidence contradicting that fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, for their part, what the defense had tried to do was essentially say, look, yes, our client may have spoken in all of these interviews, but they told the jury, please do not believe him then, saying that he made up all of those stories in order to try to profit from this incident.

Take a listen here to the defense trying to make that argument. This was right before the trial was about to wrap up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SANFT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You're reading a book that is fiction and not fact, but the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession, that he was there in person at the time of the shooting.

Question's always going to be asked: Why would he say these words? Well, obviously, it was because he wanted to protect himself, he wanted to protect his family, and he wanted to make money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, of course, the jury didn't buy that argument. And, Sara, going back to what I was saying, you and I, you know, we've covered so many of these trials where sometimes the deliberations will go on for several days, sometimes even longer. Here, we're talking about three hours, the jury wrapping this up saying, no, we believe that this person is guilty.

Sentencing in this case, Sara, is set for October 13th.

SIDNER: What is so unusual about this case is he convicted himself, but he never actually testified in court. This was all things that he said that were taped that people could listen to, and the jury believed what he said then, as opposed to what his attorney is saying now.

Josh Campbell, thank you for covering this trial for us. I appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: 30 years in the making.

SIDNER: Yes. BOLDUAN: Let's see where this goes now.

SIDNER: Yes.

BOLDUAN: So, we are getting some new video of the Nepal flooding disaster as it was just beginning to unfold, almost this explosion of water. Another view of this horrible tragedy, showing just how little warning anyone had that it was coming.

And soon, jury deliberation resumes in the trial of the woman accused of killing her three children and the new insights we're getting from court as we head into day four of deliberations there.

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BOLDUAN: Search efforts are set to resume in the Grand Canyon this morning. Officials believe that the number of people still missing is now down to just one after the dangerous flash flooding hit the national park Saturday. Park rangers, though, also have sadly confirmed a second death from this.

Let's get to CNN's Maribel Gonzalez. She's at the Grand Canyon. Maribel, what are you hearing about where the search effort's focused today?

MARIBEL GONZALEZ, CNN REPORTER: Hi, Kate. Good morning. Well, we know that that one person is still unaccounted for, weather was not great yesterday, that search is continuing and resuming today.

Now, that number is based on the park's permitting system. Officials have been able to cross-reference this number also with the license plates. They're resuming that search today, and they're bringing in drones to help track that person down. They're also looking to pick up any sort of Bluetooth devices that may be left behind, and that can help them in their search today.

Let's take a listen to how they were able to dwindle that number from 15 people unaccounted for yesterday to just that one person that they're hoping to find today.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE BLACK, INCIDENT COMMANDER: Our number, it was much higher at the beginning. And through the work of our NPS Rangers here, they have dwindled that number down through hundreds of calls checking license plates on cars, both on the north rim and the south rim. It's a massive place with people parked across miles of -- and so we had cars that we had to figure out who they belonged to, whether they had a permit in the back country, where they were staying, all those kind of things. So, it's very time-consuming.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GONZALEZ: Now, of course, they say they don't have reasons to believe that there's more than that one person unaccounted for, but they are urging people who may have known day hikers who were here on Saturday to contact them if they have not been able to get in touch with those people.

Now, the victims, we're learning more about who they are, the people who have died. We're talking about John Gusty. He is a 46-year-old chiropractor from Texas. We know from his family that he was here on a two-day trip fishing and exploring the canyon, his first time here, with two friends.

The second victim we now know is Brent Rosenkraz. His wife, Alicia, confirmed on Facebook of his passing, posting a picture of him, thanking the public for the outpouring of love and support that they've received over the last couple of days. She says they had just celebrated their 21st anniversary. They share three kids together.

And, of course, now, another thing, another challenge to park officials is the water lines that have been severely damaged today. That will take some time to repair. And let's just keep in mind that is the water that is supplied to hikers here as well as is used for water -- for fire suppression. Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes. All right, the search continues today. Maribel, thank you very much. John?

BOLDUAN: So, two political movements collide in the greatest state in the union, the progressive shift versus the generational divide, the major test for the Democratic Party today.

And can the attack of the robot wolves fend off the attack of the wild bears? We might be about to find out.

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