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Zelenskyy Set to Visit Trump in Washington; Three GOP Governors Sending National Guard Troops to D.C.; Crowds Protest National Guard Deployment in D.C.; Newsom Mocks Trump Using President's Social Media Style; Nationwide Strike in Israel; Nationwide strike underway in Israel to support hostages. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired August 17, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN ANCHOR: Will announce some new stunning findings, something like software duplication in the Environmental Protection Agency, which might save the federal government $100 million or 0.001 percent of the 2025 budget. Thank you for watching the Special Hour. I'm Fareed Zakaria.

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is likely to have company when President Trump hosts him at the White House on Monday, we'll have the latest on high stakes peace talks. Protestors push back against the Trump administration's federal takeover of the nation's capital as concerns grow that other blue cities will be next. Plus, California Democrats face off against Texas Republicans in an escalating redistricting battle.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.

BRUNHUBER: Ukraine's European allies are expected to hold a virtual meeting in the coming hours as the U.S. president works to make the final push to reach a peace in Ukraine. President Donald Trump told European leaders he wants to hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts by Friday, that is if his talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday go well.

Now, that's happening on the heels of Trump's summit with Russian leader of Vladimir Putin in Alaska. In his statement after the talks, Putin stuck to his standard talking points about the conflict. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We talked about almost all areas of our cooperation. But first of all, of course, we talked about the possible settlement of the Ukrainian crisis on a fair basis. And of course, we had the opportunity, which we did to talk about the Genesis, causes of this crisis, and it is the elimination of these root causes that should be the basis for a settlement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, European leaders say Putin spelled out his conditions for peace to the U.S. president at the summit. And as Kevin Liptak reports, the Ukrainian leader will have his work cut out for him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump invited his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to the Oval Office when the two of them spoke as President Trump was returning from Alaska from his summit with Vladimir Putin. And I think the real objective for Zelenskyy in this meeting on Monday will be to try and suss out more details of what exactly President Trump spoke with Putin about over the course of their nearly three-hour meeting. We've got bits and pieces of what that discussion entailed, but we really haven't gotten a full picture.

One thing that President Trump told European leaders as he was landing back here in Washington was that he, in his view, Putin, has not backed off some of his maximalist demands for this war, namely that Ukraine give up the entire Eastern Donbas region as part of a peace settlement. And certainly, Zelenskyy will want to hear more about that, so too will he want to hear more about the president's view of a U.S. security guarantee that would form a part of a peace deal. European officials say that President Trump did seem open to such guarantees, but what exactly that would look like remains somewhat unclear.

The president has been clear about what it won't look like, which is Ukraine being allowed to join NATO. He has also said that European countries will have to take the lead in that, but remaining open to the possibility that the U.S. would provide either financial assistance or military assistance outside of the country. And so, Zelenskyy eager to hear more about that.

You know, the last time Zelenskyy was in the Oval Office was back in February, and we saw that somewhat ugly scene play out between the president, the vice president, kind of berating Zelenskyy, and then essentially kicking him out of the White House. Since then, Trump and Zelenskyy have gone to some length to try and repair their relationship. Zelenskyy has kind of been coached by other European leaders about how better to approach the president to improve their ties.

And so, it'll be interesting to contrast how that meeting compares to this meeting on Monday. So, too, it'll be interesting to compare the reception that Zelenskyy receives to the reception that Vladimir Putin received in Alaska. You know, he had the red carpet rolled out. He was allowed to ride with the president in the armored limousine. You saw the flyover as the two presidents were meeting. So, contrasting how Zelenskyy has received and how Putin is received will be very sort of notable as we sort of track how President Trump is working to end this conflict.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:05:00]

BRUNHUBER: All right. I want to bring in Oleksandr Merezhko, who leads the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Ukrainian Parliament, and he joins me now from Kyiv. Good to see you again. So, you and I spoke before the summit, and you were worried that President Trump might want to make a quick deal to end the war, which in that case would've been at Ukraine's expense. So, after the summit, I understand you initially thought it didn't go as badly as it could have because Trump and Putin didn't strike a deal behind Ukraine's back. So, is that still how you feel?

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIR, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT AND UKRANIAN PARLIAMENT MEMBER: Well, in the beginning I felt that it is better not to have any agreement between Putin and Trump than to have agreement be between them to pressure Ukraine into submission. And in the beginning, yes, it looked like that, that initially I thought that since there is no tangible outcome situation is not that bad. But unfortunately, the things have changed dramatically when President Trump has issued this on Truth Social post with regard to peace treaty instead of ceasefire.

And from our perspective this is something which indicates or looks like President Trump aligning with. Putin because the idea about a peace treaty instead of ceasefire is Putin's idea and what it means in reality, it means surrender or capitulation for Ukraine. And when the American president sides with our enemy and enemy of the United States and agrees actually that Ukraine should capitulate according to Putin, it raises lots of concerns and situation right now looks really dangerous, not only for Ukraine, but for the European security and for the national interests of the United States.

BRUNHUBER: But I'm curious, what is the straight line to you between the idea of a peace deal and capitulation? Surely you could have a peace deal without that.

MEREZHKO: First of all, the initial idea by President Trump was idea about unconditional or instant ceasefire. And it might work. As for peace treaty, which is offered by Putin, he's talking about so-called root causes. Root causes as he calls it of the conflict. By root causes, he means actually absolutely unacceptable for Ukraine demands, including recognition of the annexations and military occupation committed by Russia, including some other demands which are unacceptable for Ukraine like demilitarization and neutrality status, which means that Ukraine will become vulnerable without NATO membership and it'll create conditions for Putin to destroy us and to subjugate us.

So, in reality, this peace treaty idea is about capitulation of Ukraine, and I believe that President Trump should understand it very clearly. BRUNHUBER: Presumably that is what President Zelenskyy will be communicating to him when he sits down with the president on Monday. What is Zelenskyy biggest priority in that meeting, do you think?

MEREZHKO: The biggest priority as of now is to defend our national interest and not to agree to territorial concessions and to avoid the risk of being pressured by both Trump and Putin into capitulation. This is the biggest risk. Also, I believe that to talk to Trump, right now we need European solidarity. We need to engage, to include in this delegation all our European partners, including the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, France, secretary general of NATO I believe should be also present, and the representative top diplomat of the European Union.

Only such kind of collective actions of the Western European leaders can make the difference and can change the stance of Trump who is leaning towards Putin right now.

BRUNHUBER: President Zelenskyy has been fairly diplomatic so far. Of course, it's, you know, impossible not to think back to that disastrous meeting between the two last time at the Oval Office. I mean, so much here depends on soft factors, on people getting along. I mean, how difficult a situation is Zelenskyy having to do that balancing act of, on one hand, being firm with President Trump while also presumably playing to his ego?

MARTIN: Yes, exactly. Unfortunately, it's difficult to be -- to continue to be diplomatic and to be firm at the same time when you are dependent on the military support of the United States. But we should be aware of the fact that. The United States as a state, as a country, continues to be our closest ally and our closest friend. We have lots of friends in the United States, and we appreciate your support, your help, including support of your people, including bipartisan support, which can -- we continue to enjoy bipartisan support in the Congress.

[04:10:00]

And there are also, I believe, people in the Trump's entourage who understand what's going on and who understand how dangerous it is to give into Russia and to Putin's demands.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, but really good to speak with you again. Oleksandr Merezhko in Kyiv, thank you so much.

MEREZHKO: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Republican governors of three U.S. states are sending hundreds more National Guard troops to the nation's capital, an escalation of Donald Trump's federal takeover of Washington, D.C. Law enforcement troops from West Virginia, Ohio, and South Carolina will join D.C. National Guard forces in providing what the White House calls a visible presence to deter crime.

This week, President Trump declared a crime emergency in Washington, insisting violent crime in the city is getting worse. Now, that is despite police statistics showing a drop in crime in the district over the past year.

On Saturday, protestors gathered near the White House to voice their outrage over the federal takeover. They surrounded guard members in a military vehicle chanting, Trump must go now, and carrying signs reading no troops in D.C. and stop the military takeover.

Now, Trump says the takeover of D.C. policing is part of a crackdown on what he calls bloodshed and bedlam in the nation's capital. And he's warning that other Democrat led cities could face similar treatment. CNN's Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein suggests it's part of a bigger plan by the president. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST AND OPINION COLUMNIST AT BLOOMBERG: It's hard to imagine that crime in D.C. is really, I think, the driving force of what we're seeing here, because there's certainly higher murder rates in multiple cities in red states.

You know, Donald Trump is not a person who often publicly admits to regrets, but he has said repeatedly after 2020, that one of the few things he regretted about his first term is that he did not send federal forces more often into blue cities over the objections of mayors and governors. And in that 24 campaign, he explicitly said he wanted to send in the National Guard into big cities to participate in mass deportation, to clear homeless encampments and to fight crime. And he is explicitly now moving down that checklist and implementing it.

I think the goal here above all is to numb Americans to the sites of heavily armored federal forces in the streets of what are blue cities in blue states. And, you know, this is a radical change in the way the military has been used. Obviously, we have seen the military deployed at moments of, you know, great crisis. You know, this enormous civil disturbances in the '60s and so forth. But I think what we are seeing now is the attempt to build a template first in L.A. then in D.C., very little indication that it will stop in those places.

The president talks about multiple other cities, all the ones he mentioned, you know, probably not coincidentally, with African American mayors. And you know, when Gavin Newsom said the other day, watch what's happening in Washington, D.C. and in Los Angeles because it may be coming to a city near you soon, I think there's a lot of evidence to support that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Texas Republicans aren't stopping their push to get congressional lines redrawn in their favor ahead of the 2026 midterms. And now, California is fighting back led by Governor Gavin Newsom. Democrats have a new map that would strip Republicans of most of the seats they currently hold in the deep blue state. The political shifts shown on this map are based on one analysis of the proposal shared with state lawmakers and obtained by CNN. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What California's redistricting effort is a direct retaliation to what's happening in Texas. But even so, Democrats here are defending the new map. They're saying that it allows for more compact districts, fewer cities being split in half in minimal disruptions to the existing map. Currently, California has 43 Democratic and nine Republican seats, and that would go up to 48 to four. That is a five-seat difference, matching the exact number of seats that Texas Republicans want to add there.

But unlike in Texas where the GOP can pass new U.S. house maps, as soon as enough Democrats return to Austin, California Democrats will need to get approval of voters in a November referendum. And Republicans here are already saying that they will put up a fight, particularly, of course, the five Congress members whose seats are at stake.

One of them, Doug Lamalfa of the First District of California, slammed the proposal on X saying, quote, "How on earth does Modoc County on the Nevada and Oregon border have any common interest with Marin County and the Golden Gate Bridge? This is naked politics at its worse."

And you may say, well, all of this are only five seats, but out of more than 400, but the majority in D.C. is so thin that these California seats will matter. And President Trump has made it clear that he wants to do more, that he wants more legislative wins to enact his agenda in that he needs that majority to do so.

[04:15:00]

Now, another interesting development that we are following as these redistricting wars unfold is that for months now, Governor Gavin Newsom has tried to position himself as the anti-Trump on a national stage, but more and more we're seeing him using the president's very language, talking about Trump trying to, quote, "rig" the election with these redistricting maps, telling his fellow Democrats to stop being, quote, "weak" and then posts like these on X, clearly, tongue in cheek, but still remarkable. Where he says in all caps, many people are saying, and I agree that I, Gavin C. Newsom, America's favorite governor, deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. Why? Because of the most incredible maps in the history of mapping. Now, clearly tongue in cheek there.

But also, there is another opponent that the governor will have to face. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He's entered the chat, posing a photo of him wearing a t-shirt that reads, quote, "F politicians and terminate gerrymandering." Now, Schwarzenegger is a longtime advocate of nonpartisan this -- redistricting, and he says that he's ready to fight gerrymandering from Democrats or Republicans.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Hurricane Erin exploded in intensity on Saturday strengthening into a category 5 storm for much of the day. It currently is a category 3 with sustained winds of about 125 miles per hour or 205 kilometers per hour. Erin's rapid intensification makes it one of the fastest strengthening storms in Atlantic history. On Friday, the Air Force's Hurricane Hunters flew through the eye of the storm and recorded this amazing video. The National Hurricane Center says Erin is undergoing an eyewall replacement cycle, which will make it Windfield grow in size. Now, Erin isn't expected to make landfall, but Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are getting heavy rain and wind from the outer bands of the storm.

Hundreds of thousands of Israelis are expected to join nationwide rallies today. We'll get a live report with the latest details after the break.

Plus, Russian state media are welcoming the site of their president embraced by President Donald Trump. We'll have more on the reaction for the Trump-Putin summit ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:20:00]

BRUNHUBER: Officials in Gaza City are urging the United Nations and other countries to step in as fears of forced displacement grow. Israel says it will hand out tents and shelter supplies as its military prepares to relocate up to a million Palestinians to Southern Gaza. The Israeli security cabinet approved to plan last week to take over Gaza City and eventually occupy the entire Strip.

Meanwhile, the fighting rages on. New video shows Palestinians surrounded by rubble after an Israeli hit a school -- a strike hit a school on Friday. Gaza's Health Ministry says several people who were sheltering at the school were killed or injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABDEL RAHIM THERA, DISPLACED PALESTINIAN (through translator): We were playing in the square and there were children playing, women sitting. We were having fun and everything was fine, and people were having fun between each other until suddenly, a strike on the square on all the people, children, and there were injuries and women injured lying on the ground, and this is what happened. They hit us and there was nothing. They hit us on the square without any justification, neither resistance nor anything. They hit it without any justification.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A massive strike is underway across Israel right now to demand the government reach a deal with Hamas to release the remaining hostages. Organizers say hundreds of thousands of business owners and private citizens are expected to participate. 20 hostages out of the 50 that remain in Gaza are believed to be alive. Some of the hostages family members joined protests on Saturday night ahead of the nationwide strike.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ITZIK HORN, FATHER OF HOSTAGE EITAN HORN (through translator): Israel comes to a halt and I call on everyone to join. This is not a day off for shopping at malls, it's a day of protest. It is not only a day to show solidarity with the families of the hostages, but a civic demonstration to preserve the moral character of the State of Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: All right. I want to go to CNN's Larry Madowo live from Nairobi, Kenya. So, Larry, take us through what we're seeing right now and what we're expecting.

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kim, we're expecting a whole day of protests across Israel. Their intention is to try and force the Israeli government to stop this plan to occupy Gaza City and instead, do a deal with Hamas that will bring the hostages home. We're already starting to see some crowds gathering in Tel Aviv at Hostage Square. The whole day of Nationwide strikes is supposed to culminate in this major rally at 8:00 p.m. local time, that's just after 1:00 p.m. Eastern. And it -- the organizers say they expect hundreds of thousands of people to gather across the nation.

People from businesses and organizations, universities, tech companies, other national and regional bodies to push the Israeli government to try and get this deal done. They worry that if they go ahead with this deal announced last week to occupy Gaza City and eventually the entire Strip to demilitarize the strip that this will endanger the lives of the 20 hostages who are still believed to be alive and bringing back of the about 30 or so who are believed to be dead to a dignified burial in Israel.

There's likely to be a big crowd for this. But one Israeli commentator told us a few hours ago that this will not necessarily be as effective as they hope. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, THE JERUSALEM POST: I think they're going to get to hundreds of thousands definitely. The challenge here being that a lot of people in the country are skeptical that even such a mass demonstration and protest and disturbance would be enough to wake up and shake this government to its core to get it to do what's necessary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:25:00]

MADOWO: And officials in Gaza City, the city municipality there, say that there's a threat of mass displacement, destruction if this goes ahead, and they're calling for the U.N. and other international bodies to push Israel, not to do this. They worry that if this does go ahead as, for instance, some regional bodies have called it, Saudi Arabia's called it ethnic cleansing, that this will have devastating consequences in a Strip already that's suffered through 700 days of war.

Israel has said that it'll continue to allow humanitarian aid into the strip, even if this plan goes ahead. But these aid distribution points would be outside combat zones. So, essentially some critics say it would force starving populations to have to leave Gaza City to try and access aid outside of the areas that Israel has embarked for this occupation in Gaza City. So, that is a big problem here, that if they do go ahead with it and they allow aid to come in the U.N. and other international bodies that it will not be in Gaza City and they will already be displaced just to try and find food to survive. Kim.

BRUNHUBER: All right. Appreciate that. Larry Madowo in there Nairobi, thank you so much. Ukrainians are coming to grips with the outcome of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Still ahead, people in Kyiv react as the future of their country could be hanging in the balance.

And later, high-speed rail keeps Americans moving quickly on the East Coast. But what about the rest of the country? We'll give you an update as to what's happening and what's getting shut down. That's coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN Newsroom.

A quick update on diplomatic efforts to reach peace in Ukraine. Kyiv's European allies are expected to hold a virtual meeting just hours from now, that's ahead of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's talks with President Trump in Washington on Monday. Several European leaders have reportedly been invited to join.

[04:30:00]

Now, if those talks go well, President Trump told Europeans he wants a trilateral meeting with Russian and Ukrainian leaders by Friday. All this is happening after Trump's summit in Alaska with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump later told Europeans that Putin demanded the entire Donbas region in exchange for peace.

Now, in just a moment, Ben Wedeman will bring us reaction from Ukraine. But first, to Russia where state media is cheering Vladimir Putin's trip to Alaska. Fred Pleitgen has the perspective from Moscow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Russians seemed to be pretty happy with the way the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska went down. Russian media celebrating the way that Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, was received by U.S. President Donald Trump, calling the handshake between the two leaders, quote, "historic." Also, the spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, she came out and said that for three years the west has been telling people that Russia is isolated on the international stage, and now, they see Vladimir Putin on the red carpet on U.S. soil.

Another person who also talked about this was the former Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and he said, first of all, the Russians are quite happy that it seems as though that threat of massive sanctions by President Trump, at least for now is off the table. Medvedev also saying that he believes there is now a mechanism in place for Russia and the United States to speak to one another without any threats or pressure. But most importantly, he says, he believes that right now the door is open for negotiations even as what Russia calls its special military operation continues.

That is, of course, the position that Russia has had for a very long time where they have said they are against an immediate ceasefire in the Ukraine conflict. Instead, what they want is longer-term talks towards a wider agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: To gauge reaction to the Trump-Putin Alaska summit, we went to Kyiv's iconic Maidan Square to an ad hoc monument to the growing ranks of Ukraine's war dead. The verdict here, negative.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't talk about Ukraine without Ukraine, you know, that's my position. If you want to sound -- if you want to address, resolve some problems, especially war in Ukraine, you need to talk with Ukraine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their meeting was really for nothing, no results, and even some shameful situation with a (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I'm deeply outraged that America is welcoming an international war criminal who is killing an entire nation with a red carpet and military honored.

WEDEMAN: Ukraine and its European allies were hoping and pushing for at least a ceasefire, that didn't happen, but there was relief that Presidents Trump and Putin didn't reach an agreement without involving Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy burned once already in the Oval Office earlier this year decided to look on the bright side, saying in a statement issued by his office that Ukraine reaffirms its readiness to work with maximum effort to achieve peace, adding it's important that America's strength has an impact on the development of the situation.

He also readily accepted President Trump's invitation for another Oval Office meeting scheduled for Monday, possibly to be attended by European leaders. And he said he's ready for a trilateral meeting with Trump and Putin. But he warned that if that trilateral meeting doesn't take place and peace efforts come to not, sanctions on Russia must be tightened. Zelenskyy also made clear his concern that while Ukraine's allies give diplomacy a chance, Russia will take the opportunity to double down on its summer offensive, which has already succeeded in breaking through Ukrainian lines in the east.

Now, the optics of the Alaska summit, the jet flyover, the red carpet, the warm words of welcome didn't go down well here, yet the worst was averted, and an effort, albeit less than perfect is underway to bring this three-and-a-half-year-old war to an end.

I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Kyiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, here in the U.S. attorneys, for the families of migrants who have been taken into custody say it's been difficult to locate their loved ones. A CNN investigation found that companies operating deportation flights are making it harder to track them. CNN's Rene Marsh has.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: More than 30 migrants, detainees, handcuffed, walk up those steps and get on board. One, two, three, four more detainees. You can tell that their hands are restrained.

[04:35:00]

MARSH (voiceover): This is one of about 6,000 ICE flights since President Donald Trump took office. We were able to find this plane here in Richmond, Virginia, but most of them are hidden from the public and operating with little transparency. Virtually every ICE flight carrying detainees blocks their tail numbers from flight tracking websites, making it nearly impossible for families and advocates to find their loved ones once they're in ICE custody.

MARSH: This is one of the tail numbers that we think could possibly come here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-huh.

MARSH: And right now, it's in Youngstown. Oh, loOK. I think it's taking off because the altitude is increasing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it rising?

MARSH: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

MARSH (voiceover): We studied months of flight paths, got a tail number, and made an education guess about which flight would arrive in Richmond. Then using a crowdsource database that monitors aircraft radio signals we tracked the suspected flight revealing every city and state it stopped in within 24 hours. This is the plane we're tracking, a Boeing 737 operated by Eastern Air Express with a tail number N668CP. It has up to 148 economy seats, a bathroom in the front and the back, but it's unclear how many people are on board this flight or any other ICE flight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tyson 51, continue on.

MARSH: OK. Tyson 51 is this one right now. That's the call sign that they're using for this flight.

MARSH (voiceover): Many ICE flights go by Tyson, the same call sign used to identify Trump's personal plane after he was elected in 2016.

Here's the flight path it took on August 6. Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania, to Louisiana. Back to Ohio, then New York, pick up and dropping off detainees at every stop.

MARSH: If it's actually coming to Virginia, it should be here very soon. It's on approach. It's on approach right now. Its altitude is like literally 50 feet. So --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I think over there -- over there. Go, go, go.

MARSH: All right. I think that might be it. This is the plane. This is the plane that we've been tracking all morning. This is it. And we just saw, like, more than 30 detainees handcuffed walk up those steps and get on board. There's one, two, three, four more detainees. You can tell that their hands are restrained. Another one, another -- OK. So they're unloading another vehicle here. Multiple detainees walking up to get on board this Eastern Air Express flight.

MARSH (voiceover): The Trump administration has used more than 70 airports across the country for domestic shuffle flights so far, moving ICE detainees between detention centers before deportation.

In the past three months, the number of these flights spiked 90 percent compared to the same time period last year, according to an immigrant rights group, and that trend is expected to continue after the Department of Homeland Security recently earmarked $14.4 billion for ICE flights.

MARSH: We know that the tail number of a flight that we've been tracking today is N668CP, and we want to see if this public tracking site that gets its data and information from the FAA has any record of a flight. Nothing comes up.

MARSH (voiceover): But we were able to track the flight as it made its way back to Alexandria, Louisiana -- the busiest hub for ICE deportation flights. At this point in the journey some of the first detainees on board were possibly on this plane handcuffed for nearly 10 hours. As this ICE flight completes its 24-hour trip, Louisiana is likely the last stop in the U.S. before the people on board are deported.

MARSH: Well, the reality is it was not very simple to track this ice flight. We weren't even sure we had successfully done it until it was coming in for a landing at Richmond's airport. And the point is these flights really have virtually no eyes on them. Families and advocates have no idea where their loved ones are going once they are in ICE custody.

Now, one of the airlines flying the flights for ICE, Avelo Airlines, told CNN in an e-mail, quote, "Flights operated on behalf of the United States government are often unidentified at the government's request."

So, we reached out to the Department of Homeland Security. That's the agency that oversees ICE to get a better understanding as to why these flights are blocking their tail numbers. But the agency did not comment.

Rene Marsh, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, it's good news bad news for Air Canada travelers. Striking flight attendants are back on the job, but many flights are still grounded. We'll have an update on the situation after the break. Please stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRUNHUBER: In the coming hours, Bolivians will cast their ballots in what's sure to be a pivotal election. Amid ongoing economic turmoil, nearly 8 million eligible voters will choose a new president and vice president and fill all legislative seats. If either of two conservative presidential candidates were to win, it would mark the country's first right wing victory in nearly two decades. A new vote tally verification system will be used after fraud claims following the 2019 vote. If no candidate wins more than 30 percent, a runoff election will be held in October.

Wildfires in Southern Europe turn deadly as sweltering temperatures continue. At least seven people have died in Spain, where 14 major fires are burning high winds and extreme heat are driving the blazes. So, far this summer, fires in Spain have burned through almost twice as much land as the annual average. The National Weather Agency says the heat isn't going away and temperatures may reach 40 degrees Celsius in parts of the country. And in Portugal. Some residents say they had to fight the flames themselves. They report that no one came to help, but thousands of firefighters are battling huge blazes. Wildfires across Southern Europe are some of the worst in 20 years.

A strike by more than 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants barely got off the ground. Less than 24 hours after they walked off the job, the Canadian government ordered them back to work, but as CNN's Paula Newton explains, disruptions won't go away immediately.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Air Canada's flight attendants may be going back to work, but that does not mean things will be going back to normal, especially not in the short-term. Now, Air Canada has already said that it would take several days for them to get their schedule back up to capacity, and the union itself is saying that they are not comfortable, that they are in fact quite angry with the government's decision to send the flight attendants to what they call binding arbitration. That means that this will be negotiated by what is supposed to be a neutral party that looks at the issues from both Air Canada and the flight attendants, most of those being about pay and unpaid work, and will then impose some type of a settlement. In the meantime, they return to work under the old contract.

I want you to listen now to Canada's job minister as to why she felt this move was necessary.

[04:45:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATTY HADJU, CANADIAN MINISTER OF JOBS AND FAMILIES (through translator): Canada's economy has seen unprecedented attacks on trade and significant tariff actions. In a year where Canadian businesses and families have faced too much disruption and uncertainty, they shouldn't have to shoulder another blow. We will not leave them behind. This is not a decision that I have taken lightly, but the potential for immediate negative impact on Canadians and our economy is simply too great.

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NEWTON: What's interesting here is that this is about unpaid work. Traditionally, flight attendants are paid when they're in the air, and there's a lot of time on either side of that they usually are not paid for. Now, a couple of airlines in the United States have changed those regulations and do have some compensation for that. Air Canada flight attendants were also looking for that type of compensation.

Now, what does it mean for travelers? Look, things are not going to change dramatically in the next few days. This is going to continue to be very frustrating. A lot of flights canceled, upwards of tens of thousands of people, not just in Canada, but international travelers will continue to be affected. But I think people are hoping that as Air Canada gears up, that the impact will diminish day by day.

Paula Newton, CNN, Ottawa.

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BRUNHUBER: In just a couple of weeks, high-speed Amtrak trains will be getting a major upgrade on America's East Coast, but it comes after the federal government pulled funding for a major rail project on the West Coast. Though there are still hopes for a proposed cross country rail network before the FIFA World Cup next year. Brian Abel has a look at the state of high-speed rail in the U.S.

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BRIAN ABEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The East Coast corridor route getting that major upgrade is the Acela Line. It connects some pretty major cities, Boston, New York, as well as Philadelphia, Baltimore, and D.C. But what's missing from the bigger picture is a connection to other major cities across the country, like Chicago, Kansas City, Dallas, Denver, all the way to California. That may be changing. But if it does, will anybody ride it?

ABEL (voice-over): A long awaited upgrade will roll out on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, August 28th. Modern interiors for 28 new Acela trains running from Washington, D.C. to Boston at a top speed of 160 miles per hour. The Acela Line, a rare success story for high-speed rail not seen elsewhere in the U.S.

DR. STEPHEN MATTINGLY, PROFESSOR OF CIVIL ENGINEERING, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON: It's in a market where trains can definitely be successful. That's not necessarily the same when we start looking at some of our larger population centers throughout the rest of the United States.

ABEL (voice-over): like on the West Coast, former California Governor Jerry Brown pushing for high-speed rail back in the '80s, despite voters approving roughly $10 billion in '08, it's yet to be built.

DR. MATTINGLY: Once you make the commitment, it then becomes a question of, do you have the political will to see through the investments?

ABEL (voice-over): At a national level that will appears to have jumped the tracks. Just this year, the Trump administration pulled the plug on both $4 billion in funding for California's rail project and $63 million for a project connecting Dallas and Houston. And experts are skeptical a proposed cross-country line from New York to L.A. will ever gain steam.

DR. MATTINGLY: I struggle with believing that we can build out a rail network that competes effectively with air.

ABEL: And that cross-country route would take about three days. And that is why Mattingly says it'd be good for tourists, but maybe not other travelers. We should note that California is suing the Trump administration, saying that they are illegally pulling out of their obligations with the rail project there.

In Washington, Brian Abel reporting.

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BRUNHUBER: To Mexico now where the police in the western State of Jalisco added three Tesla cybertrucks to its fleet. It's part of an effort to beef up security ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Police plan to use them as mobile units for intelligence, operations, searches, criminal containment and security tasks. The state has spent $60 million to buy nearly 700 vehicles.

All right. More to come here on CNN Newsroom, we'll introduce you to a group of indigenous women in Malaysia who care for trafficked and traumatized primates. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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BRUNHUBER: A new initiative in Malaysia is helping both the community and an endangered species. Now, wildlife sanctuary has a team of indigenous women looking after some of the country's gibbons. CNN's Lynda Kinkade explains.

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Malaysia's first all-female ranger unit cares for these tree-dwelling apes, which are known for their singing. The job empowers the indigenous women and protects this endangered species.

SUNNYDA YOK NUN, WILDLIFE RANGER: The first time I entered the gibbon area, I felt happy and excited to see them with my own eyes. Their voices were so powerful, especially when they sang. It was as if they overpowered the sound of the river.

KINKADE (voice-over): Malaysia's home to five of the 25 species of gibbons in Southeast, according to the Gibbon Conservation Society, which cares for dozens of the apes. The illegal wildlife pet trade is a major factor causing a decline in numbers.

The GCS estimates that traders will kill an entire family just to get one gibbon baby to sell as a pet. And many of those infants later die while being transported.

MARIANI RAMLI, FOUNDER, GIBBON CONSERVATION SOCIETY: We are working with traumatized GI here. You know, they will not easily trust human. But when they -- when it told me they're able to transfer like Pablo to another cage without any like aggression from Pablo.

So, I think the way they handle the gibbons is with love and passion.

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KINKADE (voice-over): Although the work is important, the GCS founder says, some people in the community look down on the women and the work they do.

RAMLI: They bully them, you know? Like if they said, oh, you work with the gibbon project? No wonder your face is like monkey. And then when they ask them how many -- how much they got paid, and then they will say, oh, why you put them so like that much? They don't know how to use money. So, all of that, people should be ashamed now of themselves before they give comments. Like this is like really stupid comments.

KINKADE (voice-over): The rangers are undeterred. This unit is a chance to both empower the women on the team to become more independent while also creating a deep bond with these endangered creatures. NUN: I wanted to show that women can work too. We don't have to rely solely on men to provide for the family. There's no difference between men and women. We can work too.

KINKADE: Lynda Kinkade, CNN.

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BRUNHUBER: A recent celestial discovery has astronomers excited, they say they discovered what appears to be a new type of supernova, which is a powerful, stellar explosion. Now it happened when a massive star at least 10 times the size of our sun tried to swallow a black hole. The events giving scientists new insight into how some stars in their lives. The explosion occurred around 700 million light years away from planet Earth.

In tennis, top seed in defending champion Jannick Sinner marked his 24th birthday with a win at the Cincinnati Open semifinals on Saturday. He defeated France's Terence Atmane in straight sets. 7-6, 6-2 to reach the finals. The Italian world number one maintained his lead throughout the match, winning 91 percent of his first serve points and not facing a single break point. Sinner will now face second ranked Carlos Alcaraz in Monday's finals.

All right. that wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back with more news in just a moment.

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