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Appeals Court Strikes Down Many Trump Tariffs; Chicago Mayor Plans To Resist Trump's Immigration Plans; Trump Tests The Limits Of His Presidential Powers; Russia Slams Ukraine As Trump Casts Doubt On Leaders Meeting; Group Calls For Ban Of Horse-Drawn Carriages In Central Park, Atlanta Journal-Constitution To Discontinue Its Print Edition; Remembering Hurricane Katrina. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired August 30, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:37]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jessica Dean in New York.

And tonight, a legal roadblock that could strike at the heart of one of President Trump's signature policies, tariffs. A federal appeals court ruling last night Trump overstepped his presidential authority when implementing many of his tariffs. The ruling said the tariffs could remain in place for now, giving Trump and his White House the chance to appeal it to the Supreme Court with the newest ruling set to go into effect in October.

Let's bring in CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein.

And Betsy, this is certainly significant for the president and his agenda. How are they reacting? What's their thinking around this?

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it's certainly a significant moment and a ruling on the limits of executive authority. And we saw President Trump take steps to really reimagine the global economic world order and reshape global alliances as he imposed these tariffs in the process setting up so much uncertainty and that uncertainty is unlikely to go away anytime soon, raising major questions for American consumers.

But what was at stake in this legal lawsuit was whether the president acted unlawfully when he used his emergency powers to impose those tariffs. And a federal appeals court ruling late Friday that he did overstep that power. This court says that the ability to impose taxes, including tariffs, is a core congressional power. It lies with the legislative branch of government.

Now, notably, these tariffs are still in effect. This is -- a court has delayed implementation until October. That gives the Trump administration a little bit of time to appeal this case to the Supreme Court, which is the next likely step here. But tariffs are certainly a cornerstone of President Trump's economic agenda. And this marks a major setback -- Jessica.

DEAN: And Betsy, what about the plans to challenge this ruling? What do we know about that?

KLEIN: Yes. So we are already starting to see top Trump officials warning of the consequences of this ruling. We heard from Secretary Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, saying that suspending tariffs would, quote, "lead to dangerous diplomatic embarrassment." Attorney General Pam Bondi echoing that. She says it undermines the U.S. on the world stage. But we also heard from President Trump really flipping to a familiar playbook as he attacked the judicial branch, but also previewed some next steps.

He said, quote, "All tariffs are still in effect. Today a highly partisan appeals court incorrectly said that our tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end. If these tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the country." The president going on to say that, "Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our nation."

But certainly a blow to the president's trade policies. For now, setting up some major questions about some of those ongoing trade negotiations with other countries. And this is very likely to become a bigger battle at the Supreme Court in the weeks and months ahead -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Betsy Klein, thanks so much for that.

And just moments ago, President Trump, in a new post on Truth Social, calling Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, quote, "the weak and pathetic governor of Illinois," adding Pritzker, quote, "just said that he doesn't need help in preventing crime."

The president has repeatedly gone after that region on both crime and immigration. He's gone after local officials there. He has threatened to send the National Guard in. Chicago's mayor is laying out plans for how his city will resist that effort.

Let's bring in CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook.

Julia, we have the mayor's executive order. Talk us through that. And at the very time we are expecting in just the number of days that perhaps the Trump administration could move on some of this, we get these posts just moments ago from President Trump.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And according to multiple sources familiar with the planning, the Trump administration is preparing for a major immigration enforcement operation in Chicago as soon as next week. So then we have the Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, he is pushing back. He has accused Trump in recent days of stoking fear. And he signed this executive order where he laid out the initial plans for how the city would try to resist a potential crackdown.

Now, here's what he said before he signed the order. As he explained his reasoning, he said that he would prefer to collaborate, but this feels like the option.

[19:05:05] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BRANDON JOHNSON (D), CHICAGO: I do not take this executive action lightly. I would have preferred to work in a more collaborative approach, but unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of time. We have received credible reports that we have days, not weeks, before our city sees some type of militarized activity by the federal government.

This is an erratic, impulsive administration and it is not always possible to understand and know exactly how he will move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: So let's take a look at some of the key takeaways from this order. It says that police will not collaborate with federal agents on immigration enforcement. It urges federal officers to avoid wearing face masks and to identify themselves to members of the public with names and badge numbers. It also directs city departments to resist any efforts that violate the rights of Chicago citizens.

Now, we did reach out to the White House for a comment on this. We received a statement and in part, the spokesperson said this, quote, "If these Democrats focused on fixing crime in their own cities, instead of doing publicity stunts to criticize the president, their communities would be much safer."

Now, as Trump has taken aim at Chicago specifically, we've seen Johnson and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker really criticized the lack of communication from the administration to their local teams, to the people on the ground.

In that post, though, Jessica, we see Trump really placing all the blame there as he criticizes Pritzker and says that he better get things under control or, quote, "we're coming."

DEAN: All right. Julia Benbrook in Washington, thank you for that reporting.

And from the National Guard to the Federal Reserve, President Trump is testing the limits of his executive power. Tonight, at least eight EPA employees have been fired, who signed a letter criticizing their agency's policies under Trump.

This week, workers from FEMA and the CDC were fired, put on leave or resigned after they spoke out against policies at their agencies. And the president also appears to be turning the powers of his office on perceived political enemies as well.

We're joined now by Miles Taylor. He served as chief of staff to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen during Trump's first term. He's also the author of "Blowback: A Warning to Save Democracy from the Next Trump."

Miles, thanks for being here with us on this Saturday evening. You were among those who have been investigated at President Trump's direction. We do want to get to that in a moment, but I first just want to zoom out for a moment and just get your assessment of what you're seeing play out right now broadly and across the entire federal government.

MILES TAYLOR, FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF TO THEN DHS SECRETARY KIRSTJEN NIELSEN: Yes, Jessica, it's truly extraordinary. I mean, it is without precedent. And I know we say that a lot. I mean, people are hearing that terminology a lot, but we've got to take a step back and really appreciate here. Never before in the history of the American republic have we seen such a concerted effort to, one, gut the federal government and the civil service that's executing the laws. And then two, replace that civil service with people who are considered deep loyalists to the president.

Now, why does that matter? Well, because the founders who designed the way our republic operates intentionally wanted to avoid that. They wanted to make sure that the laws were faithfully executed, regardless of who was in the White House, and that in fact, you didn't have public servants that did things out of fear or favor for the president of the United States.

And Jessica, you mentioned some of the places where folks have been fired, namely, you know, CDC and the Fed, and some of these other places where the president has been keen to get rid of folks, where he's supposed to have the advice and consent of Congress. And that's a worry here. And we've seen that with U.S. attorneys, for instance, is the administration trying to put loyalists in and try to do an end run around the United States Senate.

And that's problematic because that's exactly how you end up with people who do things out of fear or favor for the president, rather than for the good of the American people. So I think it's important to key in here that this is truly unprecedented. And the consequences that I think we're going to see the Oval Office become an echo chamber, which is bad for everyone.

DEAN: And the courts have curtailed some of Trump's policies. He's won in a lot of cases. In other cases, like the ones we were just talking about, with the tariffs, with immigration, the courts have curbed some of his policies.

Congress has certainly shown it's willing to cede a lot of power to the executive at this point, with Republicans controlling both chambers. Do you think -- how do you think he -- what is the check and balance like here?

TAYLOR: Well, I don't think it ends well. I mean, I'm going to be honest with you, and I don't want to be the sky is falling guy, although I always end up in that sort of space. And then the sky does start falling.

[19:10:03]

And I will tell you from my experience with Trump in the first administration, he talked not infrequently about ignoring the judges, defying the judges, or in some case, you know, in one instance in the Oval Office, he told us we should, quote, "get rid of the judges."

I didn't even know what to make of that when the president said that. He doesn't have respect for the rule of law and the judiciary. And so far, you know, eight months into this administration, yes, courts have ruled against him consistently. The courts have found that the president has been essentially engaged on an illegal policy spree. I mean, constantly decisions are being ruled illegal or unconstitutional.

And yet, I think a lot of these justices know that at the end of the day, they are going to have a hard time enforcing their decisions if the administration defies them. I mean, the courts don't have their own enforcement mechanism, and that's what I worry about. That's the constitutional crisis I'm concerned about. And I'm willing to put a marker out there. Unfortunately, I do think somewhere in the next three and a half years, we are going to see a high-profile moment where the courts tell Donald Trump, no, this is unconstitutional.

And he says, I'm going to do it anyway. And that's the point at which we don't have a whole lot of recourse and certainly the courts don't.

DEAN: You've previously been investigated at Trump's direction as I noted at the beginning of the interview. John Bolton was also previously investigated. We've seen that attention has turned back to him with raids on his home and his office. Are you prepared to be a target again?

TAYLOR: Well, look, as prepared as you can be. I mean, I'm sitting in a place right now that very well could be raided like John Bolton's home was. And -- but I would say this, you know, the American people, they don't have to care about John Bolton and Miles Taylor and Chris Christie, and these other folks who might be investigated. They should care about themselves because the misuse of these investigative powers puts everyone at risk.

And most importantly, Jessica, I really think that it's putting the First Amendment at the gravest risk it's ever been in, in the modern era. I mean, just the executive order Trump issued against me in April was the first time in American history a president had ordered an investigation into a critic for First Amendment protected speech. And the last time I checked, it was not illegal in this country to criticize the president.

And yet he's declared that I am guilty of treason, and he's directed his staff essentially to go find the evidence to fit the crime that he's called out. That's scary stuff. That's the type of stuff we've talked about in Soviet republics. And if it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone else. And already those threats from the White House, I think are reshaping entire sectors of our society. He's using the same threats against business leaders and members of the press and educational institutions.

It is changing the country Americans live in. So again, they don't have to have to have sympathy for John Bolton and Miles Taylor, but they need to know that the tactics the White House is using against people like us put all Americans and their rights to free expression at risk.

DEAN: Yes. And so on that note, you know, I'm thinking about, obviously, the people who are politically inclined and plugged in really come down one way or the other on this. Then there's the rest of the country that's like trying to take their kids to school and trying to make sure they can pay their mortgage, and trying to make sure that, you know, they're doing -- they're doing all right by their family and the people around them.

And if they're worried about making ends meet and doing all of those things, you know, and they think it might be a luxury to be able to sit around and think about democracy and the goals of democracy and what might be happening. What do you say to those people who say, look, I hear you, but look, I just got to get through the day. And this is, you know, this is something we can -- we can worry about maybe later. The sky isn't falling right now.

TAYLOR: Yes. Well, look, I would say it touches almost every aspect of American life. And we are only -- we're not even a full year into this administration. So, you know, Donald Trump's threats against the free press have already affected the news that Americans consume. Hs threats against businesses and levying of tariffs against foreign countries have increased the price of goods that they have to purchase at the grocery store.

His threats against legal institutions have made it harder for people to go find legal representation if firms won't go represent folks who might be on the wrong side of the president. His firings at places like CDC and FEMA and the EPA mean that the services Americans depend on are now being politicized. I mean, if a flood hits your house, you don't want to worry about whether or not your area is going to get emergency relief funds based on whether you have a Democratic governor or not.

But that's the type of thing that Donald Trump wants to do. And during the first administration, those are the things we had to tell him no, all the time, as he wanted to deny Democratic areas emergency assistance as a form of retribution. He was stopped then. Now he's not being stopped. That affects everyday Americans and it literally puts lives in danger. And that's the reality I think folks need to wake up to.

[19:15:02]

DEAN: All right, Miles Taylor, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

TAYLOR: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: And tonight, President Trump is casting doubt on the possibility of a meeting between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia as Europe continues to push for a ceasefire. But despite those diplomatic efforts, Russia isn't letting up on the battlefield, slamming Ukraine with massive attacks involving hundreds of missiles and drones. We'll have more on this when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [19:20:05]

DEAN: We have breaking news out of Ukraine, where the country's air force says Russia unleashed another massive strike of more than 500 drones and 45 missiles overnight. Officials say at least three people were killed, 37 others wounded in the attack. Video shows several buildings engulfed in flames.

As CNN's senior international correspondent Melissa Bell reports tonight, it comes as President Trump's push for peace seems to be stalling.

MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jessica, it was another night of aerial bombardments across Ukraine. Three people were killed. Several dozen wounded as well in the latest series of mainly drone attacks by Russian forces on Ukrainian soil. Another sign said President Zelenskyy this morning that Moscow is simply not interested in peace.

We are just a couple of days away, of course, from that deadline that had been fixed by President Trump for Vladimir Putin and President Zelenskyy to begin their talks. No sign of that happening anytime soon.

On Friday, the French president met with the German chancellor. They spoke to this nearing deadline and the fact that it was likely to pass without any talks, beginning with President Macron saying that it showed once again that Trump had been played by President Putin.

President Putin himself is on his way to China, where he'll be holding a summit with Xi Jinping and then a military parade as well. But certainly no suggestion either from the -- from Moscow's military actions on the ground or indeed from anything we've heard from the Kremlin that they are interested in sitting down around the table with President Zelenskyy anytime soon -- Jessica.

DEAN: Melissa Bell, thank you so much.

And we're joined now by former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Steven Pifer.

We thank you so much for being here, Mr. Ambassador. Russia this week launching the second largest aerial attack of the war on Kyiv. And now more attacks overnight. What do you read into this, the timing of this escalation?

STEVEN PIFER, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE: Well, I think unfortunately we're seeing Putin really kind of mock President Trump and what they thought was achieved in Alaska. Remember two weeks ago, President Trump and his chief negotiator with Russia, Stephen Witkoff, said that the Russians had agreed that the West could provide security guarantees to Ukraine and they said that Putin had agreed to meet Zelenskyy.

And then for the next five days, Moscow spent that time denying all of that. And then you've seen this real uptick in the last couple of weeks of missile strikes on Ukraine. It doesn't look like Mr. Putin is somebody who wants peace.

DEAN: The Trump administration has approved the sale of more than 3,000 extended range attack munition missiles to Ukraine. It's paid for by funding from several European countries. In your opinion, is this a sustainable way of supplying Ukraine in the face of these increasing attacks?

PIFER: Well, the burden is now on Europe. I mean, a year ago you had both Europe and the United States using their own funds to arm Ukraine. The Trump administration at this point has not asked Congress for new money for Ukraine, but they have said that they will sell weapons to Europe, that Europe can then pass on to the Ukrainians. So thus far, the Europeans seem to be stepping up to the task.

But this is really, I think, a critical point. We want the Russians to understand that Ukraine will have the weapons it needs to continue the fight, because that's the kind of thing that changes Vladimir Putin's calculation. Right now, he thinks he can win on the battlefield. We need to change that and make him understand he cannot achieve his goals on the battlefield and that continuing to try will only drive up his costs and making sure that the Ukrainians have the weapons they need is a big way to do that.

DEAN: Yes, and administration officials tell CNN that the president is growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in ending this war. I know you've said Ukraine needs to be thinking about a plan B that doesn't rely on the U.S. What might that look like?

PIFER: Jessica, first of all, let me say I very much hope that the United States does stay engaged because I very much believe that what happens between Russia and Ukraine that will have an impact on key American interests. But I also think that given what we've seen by President Trump over the last six months, comments, for example, by Secretary of Defense Hegseth, when he went to Europe back in February, that the Ukrainians need to be thinking that maybe the United States will not provide any more funding.

It may sell weapons that the Europeans pay for. And that the United States may not be the kind of player that I hope it would be. Again, I hope I'm wrong here. I hope that the Trump administration stays engaged because I do believe that if Mr. Trump would take a tougher stand against Putin, he could actually have an impact and perhaps actually bring the Russians down to a more reasonable approach to the negotiation. Thus far, though, unfortunately, he hasn't tried that.

DEAN: And it sounds like what you're saying, and I've heard others say this as well, but it sounds like what you're saying is if the president would just really take the, you know, the punishment to Putin and really try to force him to the table, that if there were sanctions and additional sanctions in place or things like that, that might actually be the difference maker here.

[19:25:15]

PIFER: I think so, but we've seen in the last five months, I believe, that the president has set five deadlines for Russia to change course. And when that deadline hits, Russia has not changed course and there's no penalty. But I think if President Trump were prepared to really take a tougher stand, he could greatly tighten the economic pressure on the Russian economy by tightening up sanctions, but also by taking steps to make clear that the Ukrainians will have for as ever long they need it, that they're going to have the funding that they need, the resources to keep their military equipped with modern weapons, things like these cruise missiles, the air launched missiles that the United States has now announced it will be sending. That the Russians, if they see that, the Russians may rethink, is the economic pain worth it? But more importantly, are they prepared to continue a war that's already cost more than one million Russian casualties, dead and injured on the battlefield? And we have to, I think, do that if we want to change Putin's calculation.

DEAN: All right. Ambassador Steven Pifer, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.

PIFER: Thank you.

DEAN: Straight ahead, a tight knit community in Minneapolis coming together tonight for their first mass since a gunman attacked the Annunciation Catholic School and church, killing two children and injuring 17 others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:32:24]

DEAN: Horse-drawn carriage rides have been a staple in New York City since the 19th century, but that Central Park fixture may soon become a thing of the past. In a rare move, the Central Park Conservancy is backing a bill that would ban horse drawn carriages from the park, saying the practice no longer fits the reality of today's busy shared space.

CNN correspondent Leigh Waldman joins us live from Central Park with more on this. Leigh, tell us about this proposed ban.

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, the topic of banning these horses has been around for a long time, really ramping up within the last decade or so. And it usually stems around animal rights. But after two instances where these carriage horses actually got loose in Central Park, now for the very first time, the Central Park Conservancy is adding its voice to this fight, saying they support banning this practice.

Now, we do want to warn you, some of these images you're about to see are graphic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINA HANSEN, CARRIAGE HORSE DRIVER, CHIEF SHOP STEWARD TWU LOCAL 100: Hey, hey, good morning, good morning.

WALDMAN (voice over): It's a familiar sound in Central Park. The carriage horses and their drivers welcoming tourists and locals into the heart of the city.

HANSEN: I think it's a misconception that, you know, oh, we are just a holdover from when everybody had horses. Now, this is something that's always been special.

WALDMAN (voice over): For more than a decade, Christina Hansen has been a carriage horse driver in New York City. She also sees herself as an advocate for the working animals that are under a new wave of scrutiny.

HANSEN: The conservancy is sort of taken sides with the animal rights activists because their timing was clearly designed to help push this carriage horse ban bill that we've got.

WALDMAN (voice over): The nonprofit that maintains New York City's iconic green space, the Central Park Conservancy is pushing for a ban on the carriage horses, but not for animal rights reasons.

BETSY SMITH, PRESIDENT CEO CENTRAL PARK CONSERVANCY: The horse carriages have been an ongoing issue, and really, it was a couple of safety issues in May that really brought it again to the fore.

WALDMAN (voice over): In her letter to the mayor's office, Betsy Smith described two instances in May. Where carriage horses broke loose from their handlers riding the risk to public safety can no longer be responsibly overlooked.

SMITH: We have 40 million people use the park. Things like that are very, very unsustainable and worrisome to people.

WALDMAN (voice over): The conservancy also points to damaged infrastructure from the horse carriages and sanitation issues, from what's left behind by the animals.

It's the first time the Central Park Conservancy is adding its voice to the fight over the decade's old tradition.

SMITH: There is something iconic about the horses in the park. We feel sympathetic to that but actually trumping that is our feeling that we have to manage the park to make it safe for everyone. And these issues really together made it really the point.

WALDMAN (voice over): Ultimately, it's not up to the conservancy or the Carriage Horse Union, the decision on whether or not to keep horses strolling through Central Park lies with the mayor and the city council.

ROBERT HOLDEN, NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: You can't think of a worse place to be for a horse than on the busy streets of Manhattan.

WALDMAN (voice over): Councilman Robert Holden introduced a new piece of legislation hoping to ban the practice by next June. For him, it's an issue of animal safety.

HOLDEN: Day in and day out, when they're pulling carriages and they're suffering. And that's why you see horses drop. WALDMAN (voice over): His bill, Riders Law, is named after a horse that collapsed in Hell's Kitchen in 2022 and was later euthanized. Earlier this month another horse collapsed and died on the street after working in New York City for less than two months. Drivers like Hansen, say these. issues are isolated. That their horses are cared for and have strict safety regulations.

HANSEN: It's my hope that this is an opportunity for the city council, for New Yorkers or whatever, to remember, like what we're actually all about here and what kind of protections that we have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALDMAN: Now, Holden, would like to see these animals replaced with electric carriages. But the union who represents the carriage drivers themselves, say their animals pose no public safety risk and said they say the electric bikes and scooters that you see going down here in Central Park all pose a greater risk to pedestrians. We spoke with Mayor Adam's office and he says that they're evaluating this issue to determine what's best, not only for the animals, but also for the people -- Jessica.

[19:35:14]

DEAN: All right, Leigh Waldman there in Central Park, thanks so much for that.

And still to come, a major American city is about to lose its only daily printed newspaper. Why a publication that's been around since the 1860s is moving to digital only. And what this says about the state of American journalism and the media.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:40:10]

DEAN: For the first time in more than 150 years, "The Atlanta Journal- Constitution" will stop printing newspapers. The storied paper announced its final fiscal paper edition will come out December 31st, and after that, beginning New Year's Day 2026, the AJC will be digital only. It is the latest and reportedly the largest newspaper to discontinue its physical paper.

And joining us now, CNN media analyst and media correspondent for AXIOS, Sara Fischer.

Sara, it's great to see you here. This is a sad moment for print readers and anyone that's used to holding a newspaper in their hands. What do you make of this transition for the for the AJC?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: I think it's a very necessary transition, Jessica. If you keep holding onto the print past. You're not going to have the ability to invest in the digital future. And if you just look at the numbers for the AJC, of the 115,000 subscribers, the vast majority, 75,000 are digital only subscribers. Their publisher, Andrew Morse, a former CNN executive, said that that shift is only going to continue. And so, it makes sense to pull the plug on print now so that they can start investing in new digital products. I should also note that the AJC is owned by Cox Enterprises, a very, you know, family committed to journalism.

They also own my company, AXIOS. One of the reasons that I think AJC can make this transition is because they're owned by Cox, which is very, very dedicated to helping them move into this new digital world.

DEAN: Yes, I mean, look, as we've all learned, like who's in charge really makes a big difference in this landscape for sure.

I do want to switch gears a little bit to a trial that has gone viral. The civil trial against rapper Cardi B, a former security guard, is suing her for alleged assault seven years ago. She says she didn't touch the guard and was on her way to a doctor's appointment and trying to keep her pregnancy secret at the time. But it's her moments on the stand that have a lot of people talking. I will just play a clip for everyone.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDI B, RAPPER: I was more on a high level of concern, very concerned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And why were you concerned?

CARDI B: Because I'm pregnant and this girl is about to beat my (bleep). Hello?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you disabled? Yes or no?

CARDI B: At that moment, I when you're pregnant, I'm very disabled. You want me to tell you the things I can't do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, fine. What was your --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Sarah, there are clips of this all over the place. Why do you think this is catching fire like this?

FISCHER: Because it's so authentic. You know, when it comes to big celebrity court cases, one of the reasons we see them get so much media attention is because we get to see these iconic celebrity figures who are normally so performative, just be themselves. And Cardi B, in this example is the perfect witness.

The prosecutor is trying to get her to crack. She's being true to herself, but she's answering these questions with accuracy and she's taking them pretty seriously. You know, they ask at one point whether or not she had been calling that security guard overweight. And Cardi B answers very quickly with no hesitation. No, I didn't say she was overweight, I called her a -- and then used an explicit term, the jury starts laughing.

And so. This is going viral because: One Cardi B is doing an excellent job on the witness stand. But two, we're getting to see a really saucy side of her that we know exists but we usually only see on stage.

DEAN: Yes, it is something to see for sure. Sara Fischer, always good to see you as well. Thanks so much for your time.

FISCHER: Thank you, Jessica.

Still ahead is the City of New Orleans reflects on 20 years since Hurricane Katrina's destructive impact. We're looking back at the role music played in helping the city heal both then and now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:22]

DEAN: New tonight, the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis just wrapped up its first mass since the deadly shooting there three days ago. The church itself remains a crime scene. Tonight's mass was held in the school auditorium instead. Two children were killed when they were in that church, 18 others were injured in that shooting.

Twenty years ago, Hurricane Katrina swept through New Orleans, bringing devastation and leaving thousands of people without a home and shattering that community. Decades later, many are retelling their stories of survival and CNN's Randi Kaye shows us how music played a critical role in rebuilding and uniting people in the years after Katrina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Music is part of the soul of this city and when Katrina flooded New Orleans, the music stopped.

MICHAEL HARRIS, MUSICIAN AND NEW ORLEANS PRESIDENT: It went silent for a minute. It did, it did. Who had money to go to the club or whatever?

KAYE (on camera): It wasn't even open.

HARRIS: Really, really, there was no place to go.

KAYE (voice over): Musician Michael Harris grew up in New Orleans, in the city's lower Ninth Ward. He plays bass and acoustic guitar. He was out of the country touring in August 2005 and came home to find his house had been destroyed.

HARRIS: I was like about three or four blocks from where the levee actually broke and that barge came through and my house wasn't where I left it.

KAYE (on camera): Did you find any belongings?

HARRIS: I found one piece of paper, I don't know how paper survived -- a piece of paper and a license plate from a vehicle that we had.

KAYE (voice over): Still today, the memories of Katrina remain.

[19:50:25]

HARRIS: It's still there, it still lingers, you know, we're coming up on the 20th anniversary, and it's still -- those memories are fresh, you know. One of the things I really remembered that really shocked me was the smell of death in the air, you know, that -- I don't know about the body and the mind or whatever, but it's still there.

KAYE (on camera): How much did music help you through some of the really the darkest times after Katrina?

HARRIS: That was my therapy, the music was therapeutic because, there were so many mixed emotions and everything, and that was my release. It helped me to be even more grateful and appreciate music even more.

KAYE (voice over): Music was medicine in a city blessed with such rich history. The sounds of Louis Armstrong, Fats Domino and Louis Prima, to name a few.

So for Michael, there was no doubt music would bring the community together.

HARRIS: I think that the music has helped the city to recover because, it's like they sing Psalms in the Bible, you know, make a joyful noise unto the Lord and that's what that was, making a joyful noise.

KAYE (on camera): This is Musicians Village, it's a neighborhood located in the Upper Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Musicians Branford Marsalis and Harry Connick Jr. partnered with Habitat for Humanity to build this and provide housing for musicians who had lost their homes in the storm. The goal was to preserve the city's unique musical culture. The first keys were given to homeowners in 2006.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go over to the car.

KAYE (voice over): Today, Michael Harris lives in Musicians Village.

HARRIS: New Orleans is home. I just knew that for me and my heart, it was here in New Orleans, in this city. I had to come back and this is pretty much the story of my life since Katrina.

KAYE (voice over): As the city continues to bounce back, so has the music.

HARRIS: We are recovering. We are resilient and this too shall pass.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Randi Kaye, thank you so much for that report.

Some of the other top stories we're looking at tonight in Kerrville, Texas, the site of the devastating and deadly flooding on July the 4th, there was a little semblance of life getting back to normal.

The first high school football game of the season played under Friday night lights at Kerrville's Antlers Stadium. And the game as you can imagine, more than a game. It was a tribute to the first responders, complete with a military flyover. Some of the first responders who helped rescue people who were swept away in those floods were made honorary captains for the coin toss before the game. Kerrville went on to win it big 41 to 20.

Employees at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta have been told to return to the office September 15th. Now, this is just a little over a month after a gunman attacked the headquarters, firing almost 500 shots and killing a police officer. Many people have been working remotely since then. Those with offices impacted by the shooting will be assigned alternate workspaces.

You could become America's next billionaire by the time you wake up in the morning. The Powerball jackpot has soared to a staggering one billion dollars ahead of tonight's drawing and it makes it one of the largest in the game's history. No one has hit the prize since May. The drawing streams live at 10:59 P.M. Eastern. Tickets are $2.00 and your odds of winning that billion dollar prize are one in 292,000,000.

We'll be right back.

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[19:58:48]

DEAN: How did Spain become such a culinary powerhouse? Eva Longoria uncovers how the cuisine transformed on a special night of "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain," back to back new episodes starting Sunday on at 8:00 P.M. on CNN. Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVA LONGORIA, AMERICAN ACTRESS AND FILM PRODUCER (voice over): To make offal more appealing and contemporary, Javi uses El-Bouie (sp?) style visual trickery.

LONGORIA (on camera): See, I don't know if that's a mushroom or a kidney.

JAVI, CHEF: We need to offer this to young people so we need to make it funny.

LONGORIA (on camera): Accessible, yes.

JAVI: Yes. We have many people in our restaurant that come and they don't want to know --

LONGORIA (on camera): Don't tell me what I'm eating.

JAVI: Yes, yes.

LONGORIA (on camera): Yes, yes, yes, I might sometimes be one of those people. What herb is this?

JAVI: Yes, it's from -- it's carrot, because --

LONGORIA (on camera): Carrot. JAVI: You know the rabbit, eats carrot.

LONGORIA (on camera): Pretty poetic.

JAVI: Yes, no but our grandfathers and grandmothers eat that food but not like that.

LONGORIA (on camera): So this is a traditional dish with a modern twist?

JAVI: Yes. That's it.

LONGORIA (on camera): The mashed potato, carrot leaf, and rabbit kidney is the perfect combination.

JAVI: You don't know what is kidney or mushroom.

LONGORIA (on camera): I don't know, yes. Because they have the same exact texture. The texture of the mushroom -- it's all mixed in my mouth I don't know, that's lovely. Also, this meat sauce.

JAVI: Yes,

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in, "Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain." It's back to back new episodes airing Sunday 8:00 and 9:00 P.M. only here on CNN.

Thanks so much for joining me this evening. I'm Jessica Dean, I'm going to see you right back here tomorrow night, starting at 5:00 Eastern.

AC360 weekend is headed your way next. Have a great night, everyone.

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