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Landfall Imminent as Edouard Nears Texas-Louisiana Coast; House Passes Short-Term Government Funding Bill; Speaker Johnson Defends Trump's Handling of War in Iran; Teams Race to Find Workers Believed to be Trapped in Tunnels in Nepal-China Disaster; Back-to-School Support for Military Kids. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is getting very, very close and we can analyze a lot on this radar and satellite imagery. Right now, the Calcasieu Pass, this is in western sections of Louisiana, reached sustained winds of 44 miles per hour, higher gusts above 50, so some areas have reached tropical storm force status. Remember, we need 39 mile per hour winds or greater sustained for that to actually be -- that criteria to be met.

So there's the center of circulation right there. In order for National Hurricane Center to call landfall, we need that center point to cross over land. So more than 50 percent of the radius of that eye needs to move over land and it hasn't quite done that yet, but it is very close.

Now notice the heavier rainfall, indicated with that dark shade of red and yellow, that's on the southwestern kind of semi-circle of this approaching tropical storm. That's why we're going to see the heaviest rainfall here across Jefferson County, so we're talking extreme eastern sections of Texas and far southwestern Louisiana. These outer rain bands here, they've been known to spin up isolated tornadoes, so we have a severe weather threat component with this as well.

So moving this inland, we're going to lose the moisture source, lose all the energy from the warm bathtub waters of the Gulf. That means we'll zap all of its energy, and it will start to dissipate as we head into the overnight period and into the day on Wednesday. Look at the wind gusts here.

Again, we run about 31s near Beaumont, Lake Charles at 32, but that sustained winds, well below tropical storm force criteria for those particular locations. Weather Prediction Center issued this. This is a level three of four for excessive rain that could lead to localized flash flooding.

Remember, Texas, eastern Texas specifically, very susceptible. It's a low-lying area. When we're talking about two, three-inch rainfall rates per hour, that's a lot to handle and that means we could see some localized urban flooding, especially east of Houston.

That's where we're expecting anywhere from six upwards of 10 inches locally with these rain bands that are going to move through. I showed you that on the radar just a moment ago. But notice into the future as we head into tomorrow.

Yes, things are going to change dramatically across the area. We could see some sunshine and actually have a pretty decent Wednesday once tropical storm Edouard decides to move on. Remember, we are at or nearing the peak of the hurricane season, but this is the latest storm that we've seen so far this year. I mean, this is just incredible to think that we're only four storms in.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Wow. Derek, thank you so much for taking us through that.

Still to come in Nepal, hundreds of people may still be trapped in sludge-filled tunnels. CNN's Anderson Cooper joins rescuers racing to find survivors six days after the catastrophic flooding.

[14:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Just into CNN. The House passing a short-term funding bill that could help avoid a government shutdown before the midterms. That election, of course, is just over two months away.

The bill now heads to the president's desk for his signature. CNN's Manu Raju is with us now. So, Manu, what happened here?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, overwhelmingly the House passed a bill to keep the government open up until December 11th. This already passed the Senate just a few weeks ago. In fact, last month, right before the Senate left for its summer recess.

That bill just passed in the House. 370-48. Now, this is something that is a bit unusual here, Brianna, in Washington.

Congress actually avoiding a last-minute positioning and brinksmanship that has led, particularly in recent years, to a government shutdown that could last for a significant period of time. In fact, in this Congress, there have been three government shutdowns. Full and partial government shutdowns.

Which is more than there's ever been in American history in a single Congress. And here this time, both sides recognizing that they don't want a damaging pre-election government shutdown. So they took it off the table.

They negotiated a deal. They decided to essentially kick the can down the road and fight this fight again after the election. So we'll be back here again come December 11th, which is the new deadline to fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year, Brianna.

KEILAR: And, Manu, the Speaker held his first news conference in about six weeks this morning. You caught up with him afterwards. How did that go? RAJU: Yes, the Speaker has been on the President's side over the Iran war really since the very beginning. He actually echoed a lot of the claims. Very rosy assessments early on that came from this administration.

The Speaker oftentimes said that this was a war that would be over in short order. He would call it a skirmish. He said it is not actually war.

At one time, he actually said that the price increases in gasoline that the American public was feeling would be a short-term blip. That was in March. Now we are more than six months into this war.

And just earlier today, I asked him about some of those very rosy projections that he himself had made in trying to convince the American public about this war and to get the American public behind this war and whether the public should judge him by those remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: On Iran, you said repeatedly that this war was going to be over soon. You said that this would be a temporary blip on gas prices. It has been more than six months.

People are getting hurt still at the pump. Should the American people not also judge you on your projections here that were clearly off- base?

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), HOUSE SPEAKER: Manu, that is one of the stupidest questions you've ever asked.

RAJU: Why is that stupid?

JOHNSON: I have nothing to do with the prosecution of the war across the globe.

RAJU: You are responsible. You are selling this to the American public, are you not?

JOHNSON: So should the House speaker be held responsible for the duration of a military conflict around the globe? You answer that question.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:40:00]

RAJU: Of course, the House and the Senate both do play a role here in how a war is being waged. One, they have to approve funding for a war. The president himself has asked for tens of billions of dollars to provide money for the Iran war.

There's also a huge debate that has been happening here on Capitol Hill about whether there should be Congress should play a check, if you check the president's war powers when it comes to Iran. The Speaker has steadfastly opposed efforts, mostly by Democrats, some Republicans, to try to check the president's war powers, and also the Constitution giving the president, the Congress, the authority to declare war. That is something that the speaker says, we're not in a war, so we don't have to go down that route.

It's not like this. He said there's a lot of constitutional debate over that issue about whether the Congress should be tying the hands of the commander in chief. But you can hear from the Speaker they're very much still in line with the president.

KEILAR: Yes, the thing about choosing not to be responsible for a conflict, though, is that you actually can still be held responsible for it, certainly, and we'll see. It's obviously a big election coming up. We'll see how voters feel about it.

Manu Raju, thank you so much -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: It's now feared the death toll could soon rise by the thousands in Nepal and China after last week's devastating flooding. Officials say more than 1,000 people have died, with more than 4,000 others still unaccounted for. Today, the U.N. estimates more than 2.4 million tons of debris were left behind after a glacier collapsed and triggered this terrifying wall of water. Rescuers are remaining hopeful they can safely find as many as 900 workers they believe are trapped.

Just moments ago, CNN obtained this new video of a rescuer sliding on what appears to be a surfboard, you see it there, to avoid getting stuck in the mud. CNN's Anderson Cooper recently visited two rescue sites similar to this one.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): We've seen remarkable rescues of workers stuck in sludge-filled tunnels. But six days after the flood, hundreds may still be trapped. Hope is getting harder to hold on to.

In Syabru Besi today, we came across an Indian Army colonel leading his specialized troops in rescue operations in two nearby tunnels with Nepali forces.

PARIKSHIT MEHRA, INDIAN ARMY: We hope that we find somebody alive, otherwise we should be able to at least recover the remains of those people.

COOPER: And did you have any communication from them?

MEHRA: We tried to communicate, voice communication, so we couldn't because there were a lot of debris in the tunnel, in the small tube, and so we couldn't make any visual communication. But we tried to shout and things like that, but nothing. People who are stuck tend to panic much more than when they're outside in the open, and at least they can breathe fresh air.

Getting stuck in a tunnel, you can't see anything, generally if you stay in the dark you get disoriented about 24-25 hours. COOPER: That fast?

MEHRA: Yes, so 24-25 hours in the dark you tend to, normal average untrained human being would start losing balance, you know, because you lose orientation. So that happens and then beyond that, say anything, 48 hours, you start hallucinating.

And then, I think from there on, it's always a fight, so I think the first 48 hours is the most crucial. But there have been miracles and we're expecting miracles everywhere.

And the Nepal government is doing a fantastic job wherein they're sending teams to all parts. The Nepalese army is just everywhere.

COOPER (voice-over): Further down river, at the Trishuli 3A hydropower plant, we find another rescue operation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Multi-forces here, from APF, Nepal police, Nepalese army and special force, and even the sleeper dogs here. So, you can see here, this is a cable tunnel, so 170 meters inside, there is a powerhouse. So, I think there are about 45-50 people inside the powerhouse.

COOPER: That many? 45-50.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, because they are the working team inside the powerhouse.

COOPER: And they were here when the flood came?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the flood hit this area, they were inside, right? So, we are trying now to excavate all this along the way. And you can see the guys, they are drilling there.

COOPER: Do you have any sign that they're alive?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, earlier we tried a vertical drilling there, so that there might be some presence of oxygen, so that we can send some oxygen there. I hope, I don't know, I hope they are.

COOPER: But you haven't had signs of life?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have nothing yet.

COOPER: So, this was completely submerged, this tunnel was completely.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See, you can see this. It's about 10-15 meters deep. All the debris there, just on top of the tunnel.

So you could see the road was there and it's all, so we have to, it was all the splashes. It was, it came down rolling through the downstream, you know. So it just buried all the whole damn thing.

COOPER (voice-over): Anderson Cooper, CNN, Nepal.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Anderson for that report.

Still to come, back to school for military kids. The unique challenges they face and the support that is available.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: It is back-to-school time for kids across the nation, and on today's HOMEFRONT, we're focusing on the millions of military- connected children who are facing their own unique set of challenges. Children of active-duty service members often have to navigate frequent moves, new schools, new friends, new doctors, and long separations from their mom or dad. It's a whole lot to handle, so the Kids Mental Health Foundation is stepping in to help offer support and guide communities and schools on how they can do their part.

[14:50:00]

Dr. Whitney Raglin Bignall is the associate clinical director of the Kids Mental Health Foundation. Dr. Whitney, thank you so much for joining us to talk about this really important issue. Can you tell us a little bit about how these challenges that are pretty specific to military kids can affect them, and what some of the clinical signs that you might see are that we can all be on the lookout for?

DR. WHITNEY RAGLIN BIGNALL, ASSOCIATE CLINICAL DIRECTOR, THE KIDS MENTAL HEALTH FOUNDATION: Yes, thank you so much for having me. We know that these youth are very resilient, but they are vulnerable because of the frequent changes, uncertainty, depending on if parents are going to be deployed across the country or around the world. And they struggle with things such as belonging and connection, which we know can cause them to have increased symptoms, things such as anxiety, depression, and especially for younger kids, more of those externalizing, acting out, tantrum-type behaviors.

And so some of the warning signs we might be looking for are a child withdrawing, not wanting to connect as they used to, tearful, things like that we know can be really, really challenging.

KEILAR: And there's physical symptoms too, right? I mean, if you're hearing complaints of certain physical symptoms, there could actually be some other reasons behind it. What would you be looking for there?

BIGNALL: For sure, child complaining of stomach aches, headaches, or avoiding or not wanting to go to school are often the challenges we see that can frequently come up.

KEILAR: So what can community members, teachers, what can they do if they're seeing military kids struggling?

BIGNALL: The first thing is we want to connect with them and build relationships. They struggle many times because they have to start over many, many different times as a part of their lives. And so building healthy relationships with them is really important. And then frequently checking in with how they're doing, how they're settling, because once you build that relationship, they're more likely to open up with you regarding how they're actually feeling and how they're doing. And then really getting them to the supports that they may need. So that might be the school counselor or school social worker too who may be able to help them as they're dealing with these transitions.

KEILAR: We are a nation at war right now, right? There are kids who have a parent who is in harm's way. There are kids who have heard the even unmistakable sounds of pre-deployment training or preparations that are going on bases here in the U.S. How do kids respond to that kind of anxiety? How can that affect them long term?

BIGNALL: Honestly, I think it's really dependent on the child, but oftentimes it can lead them to feel more anxious, more stressed. We know with any type of possible change, there could be more stress. And so we would want to really make sure that we're talking to them, that they're not just overhearing these conversations, but we're preparing them as much as possible about the possibilities of what could happen and what that's going to look like, because we know that that can help their mental health over time the more prepared that they are.

KEILAR: And Dr. Whitney, what about the fact that if military families are on the move so much and let's say they do need resources or they are switching mental health providers, I think a lot of us have called to get a doctor appointment sometime only to find out, oh, this doctor isn't taking new patients. How do they handle that? How can they handle that?

What do providers need to know?

BIGNALL: Number one, they definitely need to know that you are a military family, and I think the best thing to do is talking to your current providers and seeing if they can provide you with information like a letter or something like that to have it readily available, like your records, to be able to pass to the new provider so they're not starting over, because I think the hardest thing is to have to start over. And so if we can make sure that the records are going along with the child, can speed things up definitely.

KEILAR: All right. Dr. Whitney Raglin Bignall, thank you so much. Really appreciate you being with us.

BIGNALL: Thank you.

KEILAR: And ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, new U.S. strikes on Iran and a warning from President Trump to the leadership in Tehran. We'll have that next.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Police in New York are investigating a deadly stabbing attack, and an officer-involved shooting that took place in the heart of Times Square. Police say a woman stabbed two people Monday afternoon, killing one woman and injuring a man in what appeared to be a random and unprovoked attack.

Officials say when she refused to drop the knives, police discharged tasers, which were ineffective, before turning to their firearms. The police commissioner said the woman had a documented mental health history with the NYPD.

KEILAR: Also, a new study finds that a growing number of women have never been screened for cervical cancer. Research published in the JAMA Network Open shows in 2023 nearly one in three women ages 21 to 29 have never been screened. That is up from one in eight in 2005.

Among women ages 30 to 65, the share who had never been screened also rose from about 5 percent in 2005 to nearly 15 percent in 2023. Researchers say they found substantial ...

END