Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Appeals Court Strikes Down Trump's Sweeping Tariffs; Missouri Aims to Become Latest State to Redraw Maps; Russia's War on Ukraine; U.S. Refuses Visa for Palestinian Authority President; Details of Pressure on CDC Director before Firing; Leadership Crisis at Top U.S. Public Health Agency; U.K. Court Ruling Prevents Eviction of Migrants from Hotel; Modi, Putin and Xi to Meet in China; Bookie on Ohtani Gambling Scandal. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired August 30, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
The Trump administration, facing two major setbacks in court. We'll explain how the new rulings could be a significant blow to its agenda.
Missouri is the latest state to join the escalating redistricting battle. We'll look at what's ahead for the Republican-led state's special session.
Plus an upheaval of key positions at the CDC. We'll look at what the turmoil means for both the medical industry and everyday Americans.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump is waking up to two major legal setbacks within just a matter of hours. The first is regarding his tariffs. A judge shut down many of them, saying he overstepped his authority. We'll have more on that in a moment.
The other major loss has to do with the president's deportation efforts. Late Friday, a federal judge blocked the administration's speedy deportation of many migrants. The judge said, unlike migrants detained at the border, those who have long since entered the country must be afforded due process.
That right is guaranteed in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution. Without it, the judge said, the government could accuse anyone in America of entering unlawfully and immediately remove them.
A U.S. federal appeals court on Friday struck down many of the president's sweeping tariffs on goods from other nations but the ruling won't take effect until October. The court said Trump unlawfully used emergency powers to impose the import taxes and the court noted that the power to tax belongs to Congress.
The president posted on social media, quote, "All tariffs are still in effect." He added that if these tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the country and if allowed to stand, would literally destroy the United States of America. Attorney general Pam Bondi says the administration will appeal. More now from Katelyn Polantz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: A federal appeals court has decided that the tariffs that Donald Trump issued toward Mexico, China and Canada at the very beginning of the Trump administration, those are illegal.
This is a big ruling against the Trump administration saying that Donald Trump just did not have the authority he thought he at that time to issue the sweeping tariffs that he did.
That's because at that time he said that the U.S. was under a national emergency because of fentanyl and drug trafficking and organized crime across the southern border at the United States.
And that was the impetus for tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico.
The Federal Circuit Court of Appeals that's based in Washington In a 7, 4 decision on Friday, they said that is just far too much of magnitude in issuing tariffs under this particular emergency authority that Donald Trump said he had at the time, it was not done correctly by the White House.
They do note that the president does have emergency powers around financial restrictions toward other countries and they were even used at times like after September 11, 2001, those terrorist attacks in the U.S. But this, what Donald Trump was trying to do this year, it just doesn't fly with this federal court.
Now it doesn't mean, though, that all of the tariffs are blocked. There are many tariffs that this court is not striking down at this time. They weren't part of this court case.
And there isn't a resolution right away on whether all of the tariffs from the beginning of the Trump administration will be blocked, the ones that were under these emergency powers responding to drug trafficking coming into the United States.
What happens next is very likely appeals. We do expect there to be a push by the administration to continue to argue for the tariffs and especially for the presidential authority.
And this court said that a lower court will have to decide whether there needs to be a more restricted view of what would be blocked. Whenever they look at this case, it will go back down potentially to the lower court as well. Back to you. (END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The Treasury and Commerce Secretaries are warning that the ruling against Trump's tariffs will lead to diplomatic embarrassment and cause irreparable harm to the U.S.
The appeals court said that, when Congress passed the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, it didn't use the word "tariffs" or "duties" or any similar terms like "taxes."
[05:05:00]
Here's what a former Trump White House attorney had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TY COBB, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE LAWYER: So I think it's very significant. The, you know, the judges who have considered this issue and there have been three or three courts have all ruled that this is just not consistent with the law under the IEEPA statute that Trump invoked.
You know, which was, silent, never mentioned the word tariffs, had nothing to do with tariffs. And given Article I of the Constitution, which puts tariffs within the purview of Congress, it's pretty clear that it was unlawful throughout.
And even under IEEPA, Trump contrived another controversy, just like he did with Lisa Cook, you know, these alleged emergencies that he relies on for everything.
So I'm not surprised that the decision -- it's very -- it's very important, though, because it certainly will put the Supreme Court in a difficult position, given their, you know, quick retreat from, you know, from the -- from the, you know, multiple opinions that they have used to expand the president's power.
You know, they're going to have to stand firm, I think. But I think they will, because I think, legally, this court was so clearly correct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: An emergency court hearing was held on Friday in the legal fight over the limit of president Trump's powers. At the center of the case is his attempt to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook.
The firing marked a significant escalation in the president's feud with the Federal Reserve, which usually remains shielded from political pressure. Cook is suing to keep her job on the board. And Friday's emergency hearing was over her request to stay the firing while her legal challenge plays out.
U.S. District judge Gia Cobb (ph) held off on a ruling during the hearing but she pushed back on the White House's claims that the courts have no authority over who a president fires. White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller doesn't agree.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN MILLER, WHITE HOUSE DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: The president's authority, as the head of the executive branch, to terminate executive branch employees, is a plenary authority. That is the -- it is fundamental to our constitutional order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, the Fed is having to navigate a full-scale pressure campaign by the president and his allies. If Cook is successfully fired, it would leave only two Democratic appointees on the seven-member board.
Missouri is the latest state to enter the redistricting race amid pressure from president Trump. On Friday, state governor Mike Kehoe announced a special legislative session next week to redraw Missouri's congressional map. The proposal puts Republicans on track to win seven of the state's eight U.S. House seats.
This redistricting battle began in Texas, with Republicans redrawing their map to give themselves a five-seat advantage, aiming to protect the GOP's slim majority in the U.S. House.
But California countered that effort, advancing a map that would give Democrats five more seats if voters approve it in November. Now other states are considering redistricting efforts. But Republicans hold an advantage over Democrats because they control more governors' offices and state legislatures.
All right. Joining us now is Savannah Hawley-Bates, Missouri government and politics reporter at Kansas City's NPR affiliate, KCUR.
Great to have you here. Thank you so much for speaking with us.
So why Missouri and why now?
SAVANNAH HAWLEY-BATES, MISSOURI GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS REPORTER, KCUR: Yes. Thank you so much, Kim.
Donald, president Donald Trump has been putting on pressure on Missouri's governor, Mike Kehoe, and the state legislature since July to start this redistricting battle. It wasn't until, though, the Texas legislature went through with theirs.
And we had these political games between Texas and California that governor Kehoe decided to call the special session.
BRUNHUBER: All right, so walk us through what the what the GOP is actually trying to do here, so who they're trying to squish into what district.
HAWLEY-BATES: Yes. So it's important to note that Missouri's map has already been redistricted so much that Democrats can only win two seats, the site -- the seat that has Kansas City and the seat that has St. Louis, the state's two biggest cities.
What Republicans are trying to do here is to create a 7-1 map instead of a 6-2 map, which would split up Kansas City, essentially, and partner it with other rural areas in the state to weaken the city's voting power.
Right now in the congressional map Missouri's Fifth District, which includes Kansas City, goes pretty soundly just around the metro area. Under this new map, the 7-1 map or what governor Mike Kehoe was calling the Missouri first map, it would split Kansas City down the middle.
Take the northern edge and some of the eastern edges into District Four, which is -- or, sorry, District Six, which is represented by Sam Graves. And then take other parts of Kansas City down to District Six. And then District Five, which is held by representative Emmanuel Cleaver.
[05:10:00]
One of the two Democrats to represent Missouri would include only Western Kansas City, a few of its suburbs and stretch all the way to mid-Missouri into another, smaller Democratic stronghold, Columbia, which the map would also split up.
BRUNHUBER: I mean, you mentioned how much things are already gerrymandered.
The strange thing is, if you look at the actual number of Democratic voters in the state, I mean, there's quite a few, right?
A majority and they have such little influence in the state house.
HAWLEY-BATES: Yes, this is true. Democrats represent about 55 percent of Missourians. And yet Republicans have had a supermajority in Missouri for decades. You can see this when it comes to voting behavior.
Districts will often vote in the Missouri state house, will often vote Republican. We have -- all statewide offices are held by Republicans.
But when issues are put before the voters, things like recreational marijuana, overturning the state's abortion ban or allowing workers paid sick leave, they're usually pretty resoundingly accepted and voted in by voters.
That's something else that governor Kehoe is targeting in the special session is what's called initiative petitions, voter-led petitions, to change things either in the state's constitution or in the statutes.
We -- again, voters pretty resoundingly overturned the state's abortion ban last year. And Republican lawmakers in the state are trying to overturn it again and, once again, ban Missouri.
And when voters approved paid sick leave, that actually was rescinded the day before governor Kehoe called the special session. And so Republicans in the state are trying to make it harder for voters to do those voter-led measures.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. Interesting. I saw people showed up to protest before this was even announced. Labor groups planning another protest on Monday for Labor Day.
I mean, more broadly, what's been the reaction to this move?
Does it -- does it just break down predictably along partisan lines?
HAWLEY-BATES: Yes, I -- since, again, this redistricting has been rumored and pushed by Trump in July and other Republicans, other people have been pretty soundly against it. Obviously, Cleaver has come out against it. Not only is his seat up for, you know, he could potentially lose his seat but he's also saying this is a problem for democracy.
And this could hurt, you know, the republic. Mayor Quinton Lucas, who represents Kansas City, has said that, you know, Kansas City will fight redistricting at every level to make sure the city stays intact in its own district.
And, of course, workers' groups and unions have come out against it and have been protesting it since before it was even announced. It is fairly along partisan lines. I will say most all voters' groups and Democratic nonprofits that are just pushing democracy have also come out against it.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, as you can imagine. Listen, we'll watch to see how this plays out. Really great to get your insights on this. Savannah Hawley-Bates, thank you so much for joining us.
HAWLEY-BATES: Yes. Thank you. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Iowa Republican senator Joni Ernst won't seek reelection, leaving an open seat in 2026. Ernst was first elected on her, quote, "make him squeal" pledge to cut government spending. She later went viral after telling a constituent, worried about Medicaid cuts, that, quote, "we are all going to die."
Iowa, once a battleground state, has recently trended red, with Trump winning by 13 points in 2024. But Democrats point to recent special election gains as evidence that the tide could turn.
Now her retirement sets up a battle over the seat that could help decide control of the Senate.
And we're learning more details about the deadly shooting at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. The shooter was reportedly wearing a mask and body armor during the attack on Wednesday that killed two children and injured 18 other people.
That was revealed in a search warrant application. It also outlined that more unspent ammunition rounds were recovered as evidence. We also know that law enforcement officials have been communicating with the shooter's parents. We have no details about those conversations. They haven't been made public. The Church of the Annunciation has announced that worship services
will have to be held in the school's auditorium for now.
Ukraine is fending off a barrage of new Russian attacks. When you return, a live report on the latest strikes and efforts to reach a peace deal.
And Israel is carrying out new strikes on Gaza City. More than a million people are there wondering when the Israeli military will start its takeover operation. We'll have the latest next on CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Ukrainian authorities say Russia launched a large-scale attack overnight. Video shows crews fighting fires and destroyed buildings and paramedics rushing to care for injured residents in Zaporizhzhya. Officials say at least three people have been killed and 37 wounded in the last 24 hours.
It comes as top Ukrainian officials say they met with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, to, quote, "push forward real diplomacy." At the Friday meeting in New York, Witkoff also briefed on the massive Russian attack on Kyiv earlier this week.
Ukraine's president says the death toll from that air assault has now risen to 25. World leaders and officials are denouncing the strikes as Kyiv calls for direct talks with Vladimir Putin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KELLEY, ACTING U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TO THE U.N.: The latest drone and missile attacks on Ukraine, which resulted in numerous civilian casualties and damage to residential areas, the offices of the E.U. delegation in Kyiv and the building which houses the British Council, cast doubts on the seriousness of Russia's desire for peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Joining me live from Paris is CNN's Melissa Bell.
Melissa, let's start with those latest strikes.
What are we learning?
MELISSA BELL, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that most of those drone attacks were intercepted by Ukrainians. But nonetheless, this was another night of aerial attacks across the country.
[05:20:03]
Coming in a week when we saw the second largest aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital since the start of the full-scale invasion, Kim. Listening there to the assessment from the United States representative at the U.N., that is the conclusion that everyone else has come to.
That we've been hearing from the Ukrainian president, of course, but also from European leaders. President Macron and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, were meeting on Friday.
Speaking to the fact that they believe that, as this Monday deadline comes and goes -- and it looks as though it will now come and go -- that was the self-imposed deadline for this trilateral meeting to take place, bringing the two leaders, the Ukrainian leader and the Russian president, together for these talks.
It is expected now this will come and go. The point, says president Macron, is that, as it does, it will be once again a sign that Vladimir Putin has played president Trump.
The question, then, how president Trump reacts, does he back off entirely from trying to broker any kind of peace deal or not?
What we know also is that the Russian president is heading now to China for a series of summits and military parades, so that will very much be the focus for him in the next few days.
In the meantime, President Zelenskyy really calling for much greater action and greater sanctions and pressure to be brought on Russia, even as Ukraine has carried out strikes across the Russian border, taking on -- attacking rather, overnight, two oil fields that are said to be burning still.
So no sign of any imminent peace talks. And indeed, if anything, really an escalation in what we've seen in cross-border violence. Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, peace far way away, as you say. Melissa Bell in Paris, thank you so much.
Israel is carrying out strikes on the edge of Gaza City. The Israeli military has declared it a dangerous combat zone. Israeli troops are expected to move in and take over the city in the near future.
The new strikes have many Palestinians fleeing for safety. Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter says Israel is preparing to stop humanitarian airdrops over Gaza City and reduce the number of aid trucks entering northern Gaza. CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, Israeli military bombardment and artillery shelling of Gaza City is indeed ramping up as Israel prepares for a full-scale invasion of Gaza City, where nearly one million people live and are now at risk of being forcibly displaced.
The Israeli military indeed carrying out a number of strikes that have set off huge plumes of smoke, particularly in the northern part of Gaza City, much of this seems to be a precursor for ground troop movement into that city.
As we know right now, there are Israeli troops that are operating just north of Gaza City in Jabalya, as well as in the southern Gaza City neighborhood of Zeitoun. It's not clear how close we are to that ground troop movement actually happening in Gaza City.
But the Israeli military now declaring Gaza City a, quote, "dangerous combat zone," ending the temporary 10 hour per day tactical pauses that were meant to allow humanitarian aid to flow in. In terms of that part of Gaza City, those tactical pauses effectively over now in Gaza City.
As an Israeli military official tells me, these are the initial stages of this Gaza City operation. 59 people have been killed over the course of the past day, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
But, of course, there are the broader risks of exacerbating the already awful humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of this military operation with nearly a million people at risk of being forcibly displaced and Gaza City, of course, already gripped by famine, according to U.N. experts.
Now Israeli troops also operating elsewhere in Gaza and have recovered the bodies of two Israeli hostages. We only know the identity of one of those hostages so far.
His name is Ilan Weiss, he is 56, years old. He was killed in Hamas attack on October 7th on kibbutz Be'eri and his body was then taken into Gaza and has been held as a bargaining chip until now. But his body has now been returned to his family and will finally be able to get a proper burial.
The fate of so many other hostages still hangs in the balance, though, there are now 48 hostages remaining in Gaza, 20 of whom are believed to be alive. But we know, of course, that the conditions in which they are being held in are desperate -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The U.S. says it won't grant a visa to Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas for September's U.N. General Assembly.
[05:25:00]
A State Department official says Abbas and about 80 other Palestinian officials won't be allowed to enter the country. The move will severely limit the Palestinian presence at the assembly.
A number of countries said they'll use the event to recognize a Palestinian state. The Organization of Islamic Cooperation called the move discriminatory and called on the United Nations to take urgent action.
Turmoil at the top of U.S. public health agency could have global consequences. Just ahead, how the dismissal and departure of leaders at the CDC could impact public health around the world.
And hundreds of unaccompanied migrant children in U.S. custody could soon be sent back to Guatemala. Why critics call it an unprecedented and dangerous move. Those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check some of today's top stories.
A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's plan to speed up deportations of migrants already living in the U.S. The judge said the policy violates due process and slammed the government's argument that undocumented migrants have no constitutional rights.
The Trump administration plans to appeal a federal court ruling that struck down many of those sweeping tariffs president Donald Trump imposed on goods from other nations. The ruling won't be implemented until October. The court said Trump unlawfully used emergency powers that belong to Congress.
Missouri is the latest state to enter the redistricting fight amid pressure from president Trump. The state's governor has announced a special legislative session to draw new congressional maps. If successful, Republicans could potentially win seven out of Missouri's eight congressional seats.
[05:30:00]
We're learning more about some of what led to the removal this week of the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People familiar with the situation say, during meetings in recent weeks, top health officials repeatedly pressured Dr. Susan Monarez to commit to supporting potential new vaccine registrations.
But she refused to bend to pressure. Four other senior CDC officials resigned after Monarez was ousted. On Thursday, health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced the appointment of the agency's number two, Jim O'Neill, as acting director.
Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo is director of the Pandemic Center and Professor of Epidemiology at the Brown University School of Public Health and she's in Providence, Rhode Island.
Thank you so much for speaking to me about this really important issue. So Dr. Monarez's lawyers say she was fired for refusing to rubber-stamp unscientific, reckless directives.
What kind of directives could we be talking about here?
DR. JENNIFER NUZZO, DIRECTOR, PANDEMIC CENTER; PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY, BROWN UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH: Well, I mean, I think in the short term, the question is about getting access to the vaccines we use seasonally, like COVID vaccines.
But in the long term -- and this is the most terrifying -- is the Secretary of Health and Human Services, RFK Jr., has signified an intention to relook at childhood vaccine schedule. This is a well- established, well-proven schedule that keeps kids safe, that prevents outbreaks from occurring that could harm us all.
And so any attempt to relitigate that schedule is deeply concerning. But it's also concerning because the secretary's views on vaccines are not based in evidence. The secretary doesn't look at evidence when making statements about vaccines. The secretary continues to push lies about vaccines and the diseases they prevent.
And so it is deeply worrisome that what this, you know, what is planned for CDC is basically an effort to undo decades' worth of evidence.
BRUNHUBER: Yes. And I mean, we saw, you know, this week we had the CDC director essentially fired; four top officials resign in protest, now a tech investor with no medical background is running the nation's top health agency.
So you've outlined some of the dangers there.
I mean, how worried should Americans be then, now, about their family's health and safety?
NUZZO: I don't like to scare people but I have to say we have entered a dangerous time for U.S. health and security. You know, Susan Monarez is a long time public servant. She has demonstrated over the span of decades that she is a scientist who's been guided by evidence.
She has worked successfully for multiple presidential administrations. She has never given any signal that she would be driven by dogma or, you know, conspiracy theories. They knew that when they hired her.
And then she went through a long and expensive confirmation process. And Susan then got into the job just a few weeks ago as exactly who she's always been.
I don't understand why, suddenly, a few weeks into the job, they decided that this was not working. In my view, it was not because of what she was doing; it was because of who she is.
I don't know how you govern that way but I think it signals a larger problem, which is that we are entering an era in which you may not be able to get the vaccines that your family needs.
BRUNHUBER: More immediately, in terms of guiding that new era, the new acting director, during confirmation, told senators he's very strongly pro-vaccine. But I guess there are still serious questions around whether he would follow the science or follow what he's told by his bosses.
NUZZO: Nobody who has been watching secretary Kennedy's career for the past few decades, the career that he has made tens of millions of dollars every year by spreading lies about vaccines online, earning clicks and likes because outrage earns clicks and likes.
The career that he has made by filing frivolous lawsuits against vaccine manufacturers, he continues to profit by spreading lies about vaccines and by not even looking at the evidence that proves otherwise.
I don't see any reason to think that he would change and certainly his actions as secretary demonstrates that he is absolutely committed to continuing to push those lies.
And what he's doing in the process is basically exploding the jewel of public health. The world's crown jewel of public health is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Now I've not always agreed with everything they've done.
But there is no mistake that the CDC is the world's top jewels. And we are now losing some of the world's top experts in some of the worst diseases possible. It is a deeply troubling time that can't easily be rebuilt.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, the officials who resigned said they feared children could be hurt by poor vaccine decision making.
[05:35:00]
Leaders echoing, you know, the fears you just expressed there. So this is an important message here for families who are watching this, who are saying, well, where do I go then?
Who should I trust for vital information about my family's health?
Where can they turn to?
NUZZO: Well, I think what you're going to see is a more active role by the professional medical societies, the people who care for your kids; for instance, the American Academy of Pediatrics.
They have put out a statement that, for instance, very young children, infants and toddlers would benefit from getting COVID vaccinations. That's -- does not agree. The Secretary of Health and Human Services does not agree. He's got, you know, a thing against all COVID vaccines and is eschewing all nuance related to that.
And he got very angry when the American Academy of Pediatrics put out their statement, which is rooted in evidence. And so I think what we're going to have to see is people going to their state health departments and people going to their clinical providers for this.
But this is deeply unfortunate. I mean, there is no U.S. security, no American health without a strong, vibrant and evidence-based U.S. Centers for Disease Control. We're already seeing the impacts of not just these departures but also the issuing of evidence and the hemorrhaging of talent that's occurred since January.
Three people have died from measles. That is more than have died in the past 25 years. This year, we saw the deadliest flu season for kids. More kids died from flu this year than in any non-pandemic year since we even started counting. And we just lost some of the nation's top experts on those diseases.
BRUNHUBER: Yes.
One wonders what will happen if another serious health crisis hits the country. Really appreciate getting your expertise on this, Dr. Jennifer Nuzzo, thank you so much.
NUZZO: Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: Hundreds of Guatemalan children in U.S. custody may soon be sent back home to their home country under a new Trump administration plan. Critics and immigration advocates warn the move puts vulnerable children in greater danger. CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The Trump administration is planning to send back hundreds of Guatemalan children in U.S. government to their country of origin, what sources have described to me as an unprecedented move.
Now the children that we're talking about here are those who arrived to the United States unaccompanied, meaning that they, for example, arrived to the U.S. southern border without a parent or legal guardian.
When that happens, they are put in the care of the Health and Human Services Department. And while they're in care, officials work to place them with U.S.-based family members while those children go through their immigration proceedings.
And an immigration judge determines whether they are afforded special protections in the United States. What this program does, however, according to the sources I've talked to, is send back more than 600 children who have been identified to their country of origin; in this case, Guatemala.
Now according to sources, these children are believed to not have a parent in the United States, though they may have another family member. They do have family in Guatemala.
Now this has raised alarm among advocates who work with these children because they say that the United States law does provide special protections for these children and that the process does need to run its course.
By plucking them out of government custody, they may not get protections that they might otherwise be afforded. They also note that, in some cases, children are fleeing conditions at home; for example, with their parents or because their parents can't keep them safe from worsening conditions at home.
So there are multiple factors that play into this, which is stirring concern. Now in some cases, there are children who do choose to voluntarily depart the United States but, even in those cases, immigration judges are involved to help the children, help a child understand what decision they're making to leave the United States.
Now the administration did not respond to requests for comment. The senator, Ron Wyden, has been asking the administration to immediately cease the program, citing whistleblower accounts.
But for now, the sources I've spoken with say that the plan is full steam ahead, a plan that, again, has not been done before -- Priscilla Alvarez, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: On Friday, a British court handed a victory to the Labour government, overturning an injunction barring asylum seekers from being housed at a hotel in Essex. The Bell Hotel has become a focal point for sometimes violent anti-immigrant protests after an Ethiopian migrant living there was charged with sexual offenses.
Immigration continues to be a dominant political issue in the U.K. The country has seen a record rise in asylum seekers. Currently, the British government is housing over 32,000 migrants in more than 200 hotels across the country.
[05:40:04]
The leaders of three of the world's most powerful countries will meet this weekend in China and each is under pressure from the United States. We'll have the story just ahead. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: We'll be watching as a key gathering at a summit in China brings together three major world leaders this weekend, each under pressure from the U.S. Chinese leader Xi Jinping will host more than 20 world leaders, including Russian president Vladimir Putin, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It begins on Sunday in Tianjin.
President Trump will be absent but the U.S. is likely to be very present in conversations. Indian leader Narendra Modi is expected to attend just days after the Trump administration imposed a 50 percent tariff on Indian goods.
The summit is seen as an opportunity for the three leaders to strengthen ties amid tariff threats and other political pressures from the U.S. CNN's Ivan Watson has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three world leaders whose countries dominate the map of Asia are about to meet in China for a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. But looming over this Eurasian gathering will be the elephant not in the room.
YUN SUN, CHINA PROGRAM DIRECTOR, STIMSON CENTER: For this particular summit, U.S. may not be at the table but U.S. is always present.
WATSON (voice-over): India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will make his first trip to China in seven years.
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: We did it with India.
WATSON (voice-over): Days after Trump slammed a 50 percent tariff on Indian exports to the U.S.
China and India's relationship cratered after a series of deadly clashes first erupted along their disputed border in 2020.
JOE BIDEN (D), FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Welcome again, Mr. Prime Minister. We have a big agenda.
WATSON (voice-over): For decades, Washington has been grooming India as a democratic counterbalance to China. But that suddenly changed in July, when Trump called India a dead economy.
[05:45:00]
And announced his punishing tariffs, insisting it was a penalty for buying Russian oil.
SUSHANT SINGH, LECTURER IN SOUTH ASIAN STUDIES, YALE UNIVERSITY: India needs the support of the United States. And with that support no longer assured or in fact almost gone, Mr. Modi had no option but to go and cut a deal with President Xi.
WATSON (voice-over): Meanwhile, Russia's president will stand with his old friend Xi Jinping again shortly after Trump rolled out the red carpet for Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
TRUMP: Thank you very much, Vladimir.
I'm very disappointed with the conversation I had today with President Putin.
WATSON (voice-over): But Trump's on-again, off-again overtures to the Russian strongman unlikely to impact Russia and China's so-called no- limits partnership. Analysts say the glue that binds these once hostile neighbors ever closer is their shared perception of the U.S. as a threat.
SUN: For Washington, the traditional term that has been used is, how do we break the Russia-China collusion?
Well, it's a catch-22, because your desire to break their collusion is the reason that they collude in the first place.
WATSON (voice-over): In 2022, just days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Putin and Xi called for the creation of a new world order. The U.S.' biggest global competitor is now capitalizing on Trump's chaotic diplomacy.
SUN: The message here that we have seen China emphasize is China represents credibility, it represents stability, it represents policy predictability.
WATSON (voice-over): Expect Xi to use this summit to present a Chinese-led alternative to a world long dominated by the U.S. -- Ivan Watson, CNN, Tianjin, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: Still to come, we'll hear from the bookie at the center of the baseball betting scandal that victimized L.A. Dodgers' superstar Shohei Ohtani. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:50:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
BRUNHUBER: Another chapter of the baseball betting scandal that victimized Shohei Ohtani was closed at a courthouse in Santa Ana, California. The interpreter for the L.A. Dodgers star stole nearly $17 million from him to secretly pay off some of his own sports gambling debts.
Ohtani was in the dark about the entire operation. The bookie of that interpreter has now been sentenced to a year in prison and two years of supervised release. CNN's Nick Watt spoke to him before the sentencing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shohei Ohtani is among the greatest baseball players of all time. This had the makings of baseball's biggest scandal.
MATHEW BOWYER, FORMER BOOKIE FOR OHTANI INTERPRETER: The first time I saw the wire was Shohei Ohtani. It was a holy moment for me.
WATT (voice-over): Ohtani's name on the wire, his interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara's name on that account. Deeply in debt at Matt Bowyer's illegal sports book.
BOWYER: Made me think was they're partners in an account, which is common, by the way or it was Shohei. And I clearly was starting to think it was Shohei. Stealing never really crossed my mind.
WATT: It would be natural to think it was Shohei.
BOWYER: Well, I mean, truthfully, I did but I wasn't sure. And, you know, sometimes in life you have a question that you really don't want to know the answer, that's where I was.
WATT (voice-over): The interpreter later admitted to stealing and wiring nearly $17 million from Ohtani's account to cover his own astronomical losses. Bowyer pleaded guilty and was sentenced today for money laundering, tax evasion and running an illegal gambling operation.
BOWYER: You do a crime, you got to do it in time. So at the end of the day, I was doing something illegal.
WATT (voice-over): Which helped fund his lovely lifestyle.
BOWYER: This is a movie theater room I put in. We've watched a lot of games here. Big, big money games.
WATT: And betting on it didn't ruin your enjoyment of sports?
BOWYER: No, just added to it.
WATT (voice-over): The bookie business also funded Bowyer's own massive gambling habit.
WATT: What's the most you've won in a single bet?
BOWYER: $4.6 million.
WATT: Just most you've lost in one bet?
BOWYER: Well, on the casino trips, I've lost over $2 million multiple times. But on a particular wager, I lost $2.5 million once.
WATT (voice-over): Casinos gave him a lot of free stuff.
WATT: They would send their jet to pick you up to bring you?
BOWYER: Almost all of them. Like Monte-Carlo, we'd fly first class. They'd pay for our seats, $30,000 tickets.
WATT: You're going from flying first class to Monte-Carlo to taking a drug test and peeing in a cup in a courthouse in Santa Ana.
BOWYER: Yes, it's a wild turn, there's no question. It's definitely been humbling.
WATT (voice-over): And began early one morning in the driveway of his home here in Orange County, California.
BOWYER: I heard FBI freeze and I literally turned this way and there was eight red dots on me and they were in full tactical gear.
WATT (voice-over): Now he's not allowed to take bets or make bets.
BOWYER: Do I miss it?
Do I want to gamble?
Sure. I love gambling and I will probably until I'm dead.
This is definitely where the action took place.
WATT (voice-over): He says he gambled every day for maybe 35 years and got very used to risk. Bowyer just wrote a book about his life of hustle, selling newspaper subscriptions as a kid, trading commodities and all that gambling.
BOWYER: Morally, I felt 100 times better being an illegal bookmaker than I did as a commodities trader because 95 percent of the people that invested in commodities would lose their money. And it wasn't like we were saying that, disclosing that statement.
When I was a bookmaker, you decide what you bet on. You decide how much money you risk.
WATT (voice-over): Remorse, he has a lot.
BOWYER: I do have remorse. I have remorse for EPA being in prison. I have remorse for anyone that I aided and abetted in their gambling addiction and didn't know I was doing that. So I have remorse for many things. I have remorse for what I put my family through.
WATT (voice-over): And remorse, he says, for bringing America's pastime into a little disrepute and also almost tarnishing one of the goats.
BOWYER: Thank God, he had the best year of his life. 50-50, won the World Series, MVP. I mean, that's --
WATT: Did you win any money on that?
BOWYER: No, because I was out of business.
[05:55:00]
WATT: So Matt Bowyer is facing a year in jail. He's also 2 million bucks in the hole between restitution and the cash that was seized from his house.
But he seems 100 percent confident that he's going to bounce back in life through legitimate business, speaking engagements, books, movies. Here's a guy who clearly thrives on stress. He plays better at golf, he told me, when he has money, a lot of money on the game, when most of us would shank it.
The stress works for him. He says he's going to bounce back and he says he is remorseful -- Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: The skies over southwestern Paraguay are alive with color this weekend. For the first time, the South American nation is hosting a world championship for hot air balloons. More than 30 pilots from some 20 countries are taking part.
The competition runs through Sunday as long as wind conditions cooperate. Organizers hope it will spur tourism and become an annual event.
Archeologists have found pieces of the past they believe could link climate change to an ancient civilization's decline. They found a small sculpture of two toads and other figures near the Peruvian city of Caral.
Archeologists say the figure date back 3,800 years and appear to be in a state of malnutrition because of climate change. They say climate change eventually caused the decline of ancient Caral and other civilizations.
All right. Well, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For our viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
