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U.S. and Iran Give Conflicting Accounts on Negotiations to End War; CNN's Will Ripley Reports on Taiwan-China Tensions; British Columbia Faces Raging Inferno; Nanny Detained by ICE; Moscow & Kyiv Trade Deadly Strikes As Civilian Tolls Mount; WFP: Strengthening El Nino To Worsen Food Insecurity; Study: Argentina Landfill Is World's Top Methane Emitter. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired August 10, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

[02:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all our viewers watching in from around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Ahead here on "CNN Newsroom:" U.S. President Trump says Washington is semi- negotiating with Iran while Tehran lays out its own set of demands for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. A fast-moving wildfire is carving a path of destruction through Canada's west, forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. Plus, El Nino is strengthening and the U.N. warns it could push millions of people closer to hunger as early as next year.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is "CNN Newsroom with Lynda Kinkade."

KINKADE: We begin in the Middle East where the U.S. and Iran are giving conflicting accounts of where negotiations stand to end the war. In a phone interview with Axios, President Trump says the U.S. is low-keying negotiations. He also suggested the U.S. is increasing economic pressure, but Tehran says it will not engage in direct talks until the U.S. honors key parts of the memorandum of understanding signed back in June.

All these playing out amid a major shake-up within the Iranian government. Iran's supreme leader has replaced his representative to the country's Supreme National Security Council. Mohsen Rezaei is a senior military adviser and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Before the appointment, his predecessor published a list of demands that included lifting the U.S. naval blockade and a permanent end to the war.

CNN's Julia Benbrook has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iran has issued a list of demands that says the United States must fulfill before it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz, that critical waterway that has been a key area of focus during this now nearly six-month long conflict. This list underlines the perception that Tehran believes it has the upper hand in some of these negotiations. It appears to go even farther than the memorandum of understanding, that agreement that was signed by both sides back in June, but has since been suspended.

This list came in the form of a statement and it called for an end to attacks on Iran and its regional allies, the removal of the U.S. naval blockade, compensation for war damages, lifting of all U.S. sanctions, as well as unfreezing Iranian assets. This comes as there have been reports of a dwindling munitions supply. This was a key topic at a recent cabinet meeting that took place at Camp David, and as we are learning that the defense department has urged U.S. military contractors to ramp up weapons productions amid these concerns.

In a memo that went out on Wednesday from Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg, this called for industry leaders to have up to 21 days to submit plans on increased production and a more aggressive delivery schedule. This was first reported by "The Washington Post" and confirmed by CNN.

And in a statement, a Pentagon spokesperson said this: Quote -- "Deputy Secretary Feinberg is a generational leader in that effort, driving the hard work of fixing our broken, antiquated, and immensely complex acquisition system so we can actually produce the weapons our warfighters need at the pace the threat demands."

While Trump has in recent days admitted that certain munitions are -- quote -- "tighter," he has also been adamant that the United States has what it needs to continue fighting if that is what he deems necessary. He has said that he has massive amounts of ammunition at his disposal.

Reporting in New Jersey, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: The Iran-backed Houthis are threatening to escalate the conflict in Yemen. The militant group has claimed a deadly attack on the Saudi-backed forces and weapons depots in the port city of Mokha. The Red Sea port is controlled by Yemen's government and is close to the strategic Bab-el-Mandeb Strait. If that port were to close, it would cut off Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter, from an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz.

[02:04:55]

In a rare public break between Trump and Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister is rejecting the U.S. president's 15-point Gaza peace plan, saying Israel will not withdraw until Hamas is fully disarmed. Netanyahu also says that as long as he's prime minister, a Palestinian state will not be established.

A senior official for Hamas says the group remains committed to the roadmap set out by President Trump's Board of Peace, and they're asking the U.S. to freshen Netanyahu and his government to stick to the plan. I want to welcome Negah Angha. She is a visiting fellow at King's

College in London and a former senior advisor at the U.S. State Department and National Security Council under the Biden administration. Great to have you with us.

NEGAH ANGHA, VISITING FELLOW AT KING'S COLLEGE LONDON, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR AT U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT AND NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: So, President Trump says talks with Iran are continuing, but Tehran says there are no direct negotiations and is demanding a long list of major concessions. Are these actually negotiations or are we still looking at two sides fundamentally in incompatible positions?

ANGHA: Look, I think, you know, where we are right now is we may be getting closer to some sort of technical maritime arrangement, which is quite important. But that's happening through intermediaries. That is happening in conversations between the Iranians and Oman, in conversations with the United States.

But the reality is, as you sort of laid out in the previous package, is that the opening of the Hormuz Strait is really going to depend from the Iranian perspective on American concessions. Washington essentially is saying the reverse. You know, there needs to be more demonstration of, you know, free movement of commercial passage through the strait and, you know, then Washington will be willing to talk about easing the blockade.

So, there is definitely a wide gulf between their various perspectives. Both sides continue to increase their various demands on each other. So, the gulf continues to widen.

I think, you know, seeing President Trump's, you know, interview yesterday, talking about low-risking this, you know, Washington right now seems to be really betting on sort of the economic pressure on Iran to bring Iran closer to the table in negotiations. The sad part is I think that's a bit of wishful thinking.

KINKADE: I want to get your perspective on the words that Donald Trump used. He described the talks as only semi-negotiating. What does that tell you about where diplomacy stands right now?

ANGHA: Look, I think diplomacy right now continues to be on track to a certain extent. But the reality is you have all of these various other components surrounding that conversation that's not giving diplomacy a chance.

You have, again, you know, this continued sort of attempt to start, you know, potentially regional wars. You have, you know, what happened in Saudi Arabia just yesterday, the Houthis struck the Jazan refinery. And again, we're seeing a lot more evidence of Iran's regional proxies getting more and more involved in creating more havoc in the region. That doesn't give diplomacy a chance. Diplomacy continues to get bogged down as you have these constant various attacks happening. And again, that means the negotiations continue to become even more complex, and the list gets wider. So, it's going to be a very complicated situation for the diplomats on the ground trying to negotiate this, even for the mediators, because, you know, there isn't a very clear sort of defined objective of what we're trying to negotiate.

KINKADE: I want to step away from the Iran war for a moment and turn to Gaza. Donald Trump's 15-point Gaza plan has been accepted by Hamas, but Netanyahu has rejected it. How significant is this very public break between Trump and Netanyahu?

ANGHA: I think it's quite significant. I think, again, a lot of it is messaging to be able to show to the domestic audience that Prime Minister Netanyahu is trying to address, that he still has, you know, control, he still has his own agency in decision making process. But it is a very loud statement of discontent. Both sides have been projecting that to their domestic audiences, that there is a slow sort of discontent about the engagement in the region to the state.

So, we're going to have to see. Right now, I would really base it more on rhetoric and not actual actions.

[02:10:00]

We're going to have to see sort of how those negotiations privately between the U.S. and Israel play out over the next few days.

KINKADE: Negah Angha, we appreciate your perspective and analysis. Thanks for joining us.

ANGHA: Thanks for having me.

KINKADE: Well, turning to Taiwan, which is in the midst of a 10-day long annual military drill preparing for a potential Chinese invasion. Part of Sunday's activities included a decontamination exercise with soldiers, tanks, and armored vehicles put through a simulated nuclear biological and chemical attack. They've also practiced repelling an air landing assault on the strategic Penghu Islands and later in a civil defense drill. Officials will slow down mobile internet speeds for the first time to test communications in the case of a disaster or an attack.

CNN's Will Ripley joins us now from Taipei. Great to see you, Will. So, Taiwan, conducting what is considered the most realistic war preparations today. How seriously should we read these drills as a warning about the threat from China?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Lynda, you're right. There has been a really a noticeable shift that I've seen here in Taiwan in recent years of trying to make these drills not only more realistic, but also to put them right in front of the Taiwanese people.

And so, the fact that now they're doing this internet disruption drill about 20 minutes from now in central Taiwan, people are going to be receiving a very loud mobile alert on their phones, letting them know that the drill is about to begin. And then, if they're not connected to indoor Wi-Fi, essentially, their internet service, anything that requires significant data is going to slow down to almost a halt for 30 minutes. That could be pretty disruptive if somebody is trying to call an Uber to get somewhere or if they're wanting to watch video on their phone or if they're doing anything other than basically phone calls or very rudimentary text messages, old school-style text messages.

But the reason why they're simulating this first in central Taiwan today, just minutes from now, and then here in northern Taiwan, including Taipei with an even larger population base on Thursday, is because they want people to understand what it could actually feel like if there was, for example, an attack from China where they conducted a major cyberattack or they cut undersea cable simultaneously, and all of the internet connectivity that this highly- connected island of around 24 million people relies on, probably more than they realize, if that were to just go away, what would happen next?

Now, obviously, they're not cutting off all internet. So, offices, indoor Wi-Fi, that all works. It's part of the reason why we would be doing a live shot inside to tell you about this because if we try to do a live shot outside using cellular signal, which is what we often rely on, that wouldn't work during this half-hour internet drill. This is all an attempt, Lynda, to try to let people in Taiwan know that their lives could be very, very directly impacted even as these military drills, which happen every year, are ongoing.

People are obviously used to rhetoric. They're used to threats across the Taiwan Strait. They're used to seeing images of soldiers preparing for war as they have been for the entire lives of people who live here in Taiwan. They've lived with this threat.

But the hope of the ruling government, the DPP, is that by cutting off people's internet for a while, they're going to give them a little bit of a taste of just how difficult things could get, and very quickly, if there was this sort of attack to take place.

And, of course, we've seen that on top of all of the other drills, whether it's laying barbed wire on fences to try to stop potential routes into the capital for invaders coming from the coastal areas here in northern Taiwan to a whole host of other carefully- photographed events, including a simulation of what would happen if China tried to assassinate the president of Taiwan, where they evacuated him during the overnight hours into an underground bunker to try to show that they would be able to keep government going even during an attack.

So, this happens every year. And, as you said at the top, Lynda, it does get more realistic every year as the government hopes that this will hit home for the Taiwanese population about the threat from China.

KINKADE: Yeah, certainly looks that way, just watching those pictures. Will Ripley for us in Taipei, appreciate it. Thank you.

Well, I want to turn now to Thailand. The mother of the 14-year-old accused of last week's deadly shooting near Bangkok is apologizing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I want to apologize to society for what my son did. We are truly devastated because no one thought this would happen. No one knew at all. I apologize to all the victims. I apologize to society. We know, we know that -- I don't know what to say. If I've said anything wrong, I apologize for that, too. There were no signs at all. He was a bright, cheerful person. He behaved normally.

[02:14:58]

I always told him that if there was anything, he could tell me, not to hide it. He always said there was nothing wrong.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: Investigators say they discovered the shooter had watched violent content online. They also say that a teacher had confiscated a BB gun the teen took to school last year. Police say the boy shot and killed his grandparents at home before killing another six people at his high school, and then taking his own life. Five of the victims were teachers and faculty, and one was a 12-year-old girl.

Funeral services were held Sunday for the shooter's grandparents and for one of the teachers who was killed. That victim's mother said she forgave the teen's parents because the actions couldn't be undone. The attack was Thailand's worst mass shooting since 2022 and has reignited debate over gun control.

Typhoon Dolphin has made landfall in eastern China, marking the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the country this year, receiving China's highest red alert threat level on Sunday. Some coastal regions face 93 mile per hour winds or 151 kilometers near the storm's center at landfall. Torrential rain is forecast through Monday, prolonging the risk of widespread flooding and landslides. A rescue operation is ongoing in one coastal town after a nine-year-old boy was swept into the sea.

Canada is battling more than 100 wildfires across British Columbia. One of the worsts, the Bald Range Fire, has reportedly burned tens of thousands of acres since Friday, forcing the evacuation of more than 20,000 people so far. Reporter Andrew Johnson from CTV spoke with some of those residents as they shared what it was like to flee their homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW JOHNSON, CTV NEWS BC BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Just west of Summerland, Danielle Patterson's (ph) husband was one of the first to see it coming and sound any alarm bells he could. Quickly, what started as a puff of smoke became a giant fireball. The race was on to pack what they could.

DANIELLE PATTERSON (ph), RESIDENT AFFECTED BY WILDFIRE: And he's like, Danielle (ph), it's time to go. And I was like, just one more thing, just one more thing, just one more thing. Like, where do you stop?

JOHNSON (voice-over): They were getting in the car when she estimates the fire was 200 meters from their home. Patterson (ph) tried to shield her 10-year-old daughter from the destruction.

PATTERSON (ph): Eyes closed, baby. Eyes closed. OK. Promise.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

PATTERSON (ph): Promise.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

PATTERSON (ph): Promise.

JOHNSON (voice-over): Today, they are set up in neighboring Penticton, in an arena parking lot turned R.V. park. Everyone is accounted for except for one cat. They say a neighbor who stayed behind has shared devastating news about their home.

PATTERSON (ph): He said it's all gone. I have so many emotions, right? At this point, right now, I'm just thankful that God is watching over us.

JOHNSON (voice-over): An estimated 20,000 others were evacuated in Summerland and Peachland. Some driving through a hellscape of fire and ash. Others leaving hours later, crawling in bumper to bumper highway traffic. Ten of thousands have now packed Penticton, which was in the middle of holding its biggest event of the summer, Peach Fest. The city is full and wasting no time stepping up. Donations are turning up by the truckload for people and pets, and so are helpers spending their Saturday trying to make their displaced neighbors comfortable.

UNKNOWN, RESIDENT AFFECTED BY WILDFIRE: I still have my house and some people don't. So, I want to try and help them get whatever they need.

JOHNSON (voice-over): Paul Horace (ph) delivering coffee and doughnuts and says even the worst hit are staying strong.

PAUL HORACE (ph), RESIDENT AFFECTED BY WILDFIRE: They're still hopeful. They're still keeping their chin up like good Canadians, right? What else can they do other than, you know, accept the cards they've been dealt, right?

JOHNSON (voice-over): People like Gordon Gunningham (ph).

GORDON GUNNINGHAM (ph), RESIDENT AFFECTED BY WILDFIRE: That's pretty scary, but I think level headedness is really important.

JOHNSON (voice-over): And Isabel McKelvey (ph).

ISABEL MCKELVEY (ph), RESIDENT AFFECTED BY WILDFIRE: We've got the most important out. We got the pets, the kids.

JOHNSON (voice-over): Six pets, in fact, including 14-year-old Ellie's (ph) rat.

ELLIE (ph), RESIDENT AFFECTED BY WILDFIRE: Can pet it. Everything we need is here.

JOHNSON (voice-over): The important stuff?

ELLIE (ph): Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Pennsylvania nanny was detained by ICE while on her way to a World Cup match. Still to come, her boyfriend speaks to CNN about her case. We'll have that story and more, next.

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[02:20:00]

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade. Hundreds of residents of Ceuta are asking the Spanish government and European leaders to find lasting solutions for the latest migrant crisis. As many as 72,000 people illegally crossed land and sea borders into Spain's tiny North African territory late last month. Dozens of people were killed in the rush. Spanish officials say the vast majority of migrants quickly returned to Morocco, but some remain, including more than 1,300 unaccompanied minors. Protesters say they celebrate Ceuta's diversity and multicultural makeup, but they warned that the sheer number of migrants arriving at once is too much.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMUEL LEVY, DEMONSTRATION ORGANIZER, SPOKESPERSON FOR "FOUR CULTURES" (through translator): Ceuta cannot tackle on its own a situation that far exceeds its capabilities and which affects the whole of Spain and Europe. For this reason, through this peaceful civic gathering, we call on the Spanish government, the European institutions, and all public authorities to urgently address the reality our city is facing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: A Pennsylvania nanny is facing possible deportation after ICE detained her last month while she was attempting to travel to Missouri to watch her native Argentina play in the World Cup. CNN's Rafael Romo spoke with her boyfriend and has their story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Pennsylvania nanny Iliana Noeli Lick was detained early on a Saturday morning in July as she was about to take a flight from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri to watch a World Cup game between Argentina, her native country, and Switzerland.

This is according to her boyfriend, Steven Melchiorre, who told CNN he dropped her off at the airport. Later at home, Melchiorre says, he realized he had missed a phone call from her, and as he heard her choke back tears, he realized she was in trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ILIANA NOELI LICK, NANNY ARRESTED BY ICE (voice-over): Hey, Steven! I'm Iliana. ICE took me in the -- in the airport. So, I'm in detention. Please call me. I need to call an attorney. Please answer my phone. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:25:00]

ROMO: According to immigration authorities, Iliana Lick arrived in the United States in 2023 and overstayed her visa, but her boyfriend says she extended her travel visa before it expired, and then applied for asylum, and was granted work authorization.

Melchiorre says she had been working as a nanny in Philadelphia for two families who lived near the home they shared. Since she had no criminal background, neither of them thought Lick would be targeted for detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVEN MELCHIORRE, BOYFRIEND OF ILIANA LICK: No. In fact, she has been complying with immigration every step of the way. In fact, about six weeks ago, she went on there and paid a mandatory $100 fee to keep her application current.

ROMO: What do you make of this case, Steven? What -- what comes to mind when you think about the way this happened and where she is right now?

MELCHIORRE: It is -- as far as I know, this is an immigration civil type of case. And the fact to see her being treated in a criminal way, being detained in a prison, is tough for her. That's frustrating and hard to see. I feel really bad for her, that she has been in there for 28 days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: In a statement to CNN, the Department of Homeland Security described Iliana Lick as an illegal alien from Argentina who was detained during a targeted arrest operation at Philadelphia International Airport on July 11.

The statement goes on to say that Iliana Lick entered the United States on March 17, 2023 and overstayed her visa. Lick will remain in ICE custody pending the outcome of her immigration proceedings. To be clear, work authorization or a pending application do not confer legal status in the United States.

According to Melchiorre, Lick has been moved four times in the 29 days she has been in detention and is currently being held at a detention center in New Mexico. Melchiorre told me he believes there's a good possibility his girlfriend will be granted bond, but that doesn't mean she will be allowed to stay in the country and has no idea what will happen to their dreams of having a future together.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: Well, the Russian-Ukraine war is inflicting an increasingly heavy toll on civilians caught in the crossfire. Coming up, I'll speak with an expert about the current state of the conflict.

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[02:30:00]

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[02:30:30]

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back.

Civilian death tolls are mounting in both Russia and Ukraine as the two sides continue trading aerial attacks. On Sunday, Russian authorities said five people were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike in the city of Belgorod. More than 20 others were said to be injured, including two children. A Russian strike on a residential building in Kharkiv reportedly killed two men and injured 27 people. And this coming after Ukraine's president announced an agreement with the U.S. for monthly supplies of anti-ballistic missile systems.

On Saturday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also called on allies in Europe, Japan and South Korea to help boost Ukrainian air defense capabilities.

We're joined now by Evelyn Farkas. She's the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia during the Obama administration. She's also the executive director of the McCain institute.

Great to have you on the program.

EVELYN FARKAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE MCCAIN INSTITUTE: Thank you. Thank you, Lynda.

KINKADE: So, you recently said that Ukraine has the upper hand and that Russia is back on its heels militarily and economically. Since then, we've seen Russia dramatically increase its ballistic missile attacks while Ukraine is expanding its deep strike campaign. Do you still believe that Ukraine has the momentum

FARKAS: Well, Lynda, I do believe that Ukraine has the momentum, certainly strategically, there is no way that Russia is going to control Ukraine. Russia lost with the full-frontal invasion, if not with 2014. Ukrainians were never going to let themselves be ruled by Moscow again. So that -- that part there, they continue to have the momentum tactically and operationally, I believe they still have the momentum in the sense that they are still succeeding at taking out key Russian oil facilities and attacking the Russian logistics chain to Crimea.

But unfortunately, because they rely on the United States and other allies for the interceptors and for the patriot missiles. The air defenses against the ballistic missiles that the Russians have been employing with greater volume. The Ukrainians now are finding that they are more vulnerable.

So -- but again, the reality is also to leave the nonmilitary equation for a minute. The Russians also are very weak economically and politically inside Russia. The war is not popular. So there those weaknesses remain on the Russian side.

KINKADE: Right. Of course, Ukraine remains dangerously short of the interceptors that it needs to defend itself against Russia's ballistic missiles. Is that becoming Ukraine's biggest strategic vulnerability?

FARKAS: Well, it has become its greatest vulnerability operationally, tactically, you know, in terms of everyday survival and politically for President Zelenskyy. The fact that they have struck Odesa, which is a beautiful city, a jewel of a city that I visited myself, that's historic, you know, with such force, I believe it was last night, but in the last days is heartbreaking.

So, you know, this is -- this is a weakness for Ukraine. I am not sure if I would say its strategically a weakness, because I do not think the Ukrainians will cave, even if they take even more, you know, even worse bombing of their civilians. And let's remind our audience, what are the Russians bombing? Civilian. You are seeing apartment buildings, civilians.

KINKADE: Yeah, exactly. The Ukrainian president said in Serbia that Ukraine and the United States have agreed to monthly deliveries of the patriot interceptors, but that the quantities are still insufficient. If that agreement is implemented, is it enough to stabilize Ukraine's air defenses in the short term? If not, what else can Ukraine expect from Europe, Japan, South Korea?

FARKAS: Yeah, it's probably not enough, which is why you mentioned South Korea, President Zelenskyy appealed to the South Korean government, saying essentially, we knew already publicly it had been discussed in the media that about 30,000 North Korean troops were going to head to Russia soon if they are not there already, and that they were going to join the fight. President Zelenskyy said he thinks it could be up to 50,000, and he told the South Korean government that they should help Ukraine with air defense.

The Ukrainians are not waiting to see whether the United States provides them with enough of these interceptors. Of course, they are pursuing the joint production with Lockheed Martin and with RTX, the U.S. companies.

[02:35:04] But they are also looking at what they can do with European companies to come up with a kind of system that is similar to patriot, the, you know, the Ukrainians don't give up. They keep looking for another way. For them, this is existential, which is very different, of course, from the Russian side of the war.

KINKADE: Yeah. And President Zelenskyy did say that its own home built ballistic missiles could be combat ready within a few months. Could Ukraine's ability to produce its own long-range missiles fundamentally change its dependance on the U.S.

FARKAS: Yes, and this could also help them with the ballistic missile attacks that they are unable to sufficiently defeat against right now, Lynda, because if Ukraine can reach really far back, they can take out all of the first of all the factories manufacturing these weapons. They can take out the airfields that are required, you know, to deploy them. So there -- there is a lot more that Ukraine can do in terms of targeting. If they had access to, you know, reliable quantities of these missiles.

KINKADE: Always great to have you on the program. Evelyn Farkas, we appreciate your analysis. Thank you

FARKAS: Thank you.

KINKADE: Controversy is growing in Russia around so-called black widow scams. Women allegedly entering sham marriages with soldiers to claim death benefits if they are killed.

CNN's Matthew Chance has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mass wedding of Russian soldiers before they're packed off to the front lines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I want to shake your hand and thank you for not running away, for not being scared.

CHANCE (voice-over): But not all marriages offer love. Russian military wives get thousands of dollars compensation if their husbands are killed in action. And officials say ruthless scammers dubbed Black Widows now tricking vulnerable recruits into wedlock.

The father of Maria from St. Petersburg died after being shot in Ukraine last year. She told me she only found out her dad had joined the army after he was killed, and only then did he had a new wife.

CHANCE: How did you feel when you found out that your dad had got married just days before he went off to war?

MARIA, DAUGHTER OF RUSSIAN SOLDIER (through translator): It felt unreal. When I was being issued the death certificate, they asked if he was married. I said no, but they told me he was. I never even managed to contact the woman. I simply didn't know what to say to her because I suspected it was a scam.

CHANCE (voice-over): It's just one suspected case in a growing number scandalizing Russia.

CHANCE: With the war in Ukraine now in its fifth year, and casualty rates at catastrophic highs, it's hard to imagine there are people out there marrying vulnerable men and encouraging them to join the military just so they might financially benefit if they're killed on the front lines. No wonder there's outrage across Russia at the spread of these Black Widow scams.

CHANCE (voice-over): There are numerous allegations of recruits honey trapped before dying on the front lines, even marrying on their deathbeds in hospital. This woman who married a soldier 10 days after meeting him, then posted images of herself with other men, was branded a black widow in the Russian media and denied compensation when her husband was killed before their divorce went through.

She denied any wrongdoing, saying the allegations had blackened her name.

But there's growing public anger at how cynical some Russians have become about the war, which the Kremlin calls its special military operation.

"If I want an apartment, where am I supposed to get the money?", the host of this podcast asks. "It's simple," the guest, who's a real estate agent, responds. "Find a man serving in the special military operation, and when he's killed, you get eight million rubles," she laughs.

The podcasters were prosecuted and forced to apologize, a rare intervention by the Russian courts.

Back in St. Petersburg, Maria takes us to the block where her dad's old apartment has now been sold off, convinced he was also scammed out of his home.

CHANCE: Do you know who the new owner is? How long, how many years did your dad live here? Five years. This is it. It's open.

CHANCE (voice-over): Behind the broken door.

MARIA: What's your name?

CHANCE (voice-over): The new occupants insist it was a legitimate sale and that they never even met the seller.

[02:40:03]

It means the money and the widow, just like Maria's dad, are now long gone.

Matthew Chance, CNN, in St. Petersburg.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KINKADE: Still to come, a severe weather system can make it harder for millions of people to have access to food.

After the break, I will speak with someone from a humanitarian group working now to lessen the impact.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

The World Food Programme warns that a strengthening El Nino system could push tens of millions of people into acute hunger. The United Nations group says the weather pattern could worsen food insecurity in some of the world's most vulnerable countries, as well into next year.

This El Nino system is expected to peak between September and the end of the year. Humanitarian groups are jumping into action right now to try to get ahead of the problem. The World Food Programme says it and its partners are preparing for storms, droughts and floods before they hit. They've already provided more than $14 million worth of assistance since May.

Well, joining me now is Jean-Martin Bauer, the director of the World Food Programme's food security and nutrition analysis service.

Thanks so much for your time.

JEAN-MARTIN BAUER, DIRECTOR, WFP FOOD SECURITY & NUTRITION ANALYSIS SERVICE: Thank you.

KINKADE: So you have said that the prospect of a severe El Nino should keep us up at night. What is the biggest risk you see right now?

BAUER: History teaches us that a severe El Nino can have devastating consequences for food security. In the past, El Nino events have triggered mass hunger. That is what were worried about right now. A very strong El Nino is forecast for later this year. That is always hard to predict.

What we're seeing going on in the simply in terms of climate is something that we have not seen since the 1950s. There is no recent analog for El Nino that is taking place right now. So, we need to prepare.

[02:45:03]

At the World Food Programme, we've run a projection of estimated impacts. We believe that this El Nino could possibly push at least 49 million people into acute food security insecurity next year. That means droughts. You talked about the floods in your introduction that would drive higher levels of food insecurity at a time where the world is already reeling from very high levels of hunger.

KINKADE: And so, we keep hearing this term, Super El Nino. Is that actually an accurate description of what we're seeing, or is it more nuanced?

BAUER: What scientists are talking about right now is a very strong El Nino. That is the wording for it. And the probability of a very strong El Nino is quite high for the end of the year. So that is what we're going to face. We have not seen an El Nino this strong this century.

And just remember that the El Nino of 2015 impacted 60 to 100 million people in terms of food security. So, this El Nino is a very strong it has already started. We are seeing impacts in some countries in the forms of drought, in the forms of flooding. And we expect those impacts to carry on into next year.

This is going to be a slow burn. There is not going to be one single moment, but the highest period of risk will be at the end of 2026 and start of 2027. In terms of meteorology, but in terms of food security, those impacts carry on through time.

KINKADE: And you have warned that the most vulnerable countries are already close to the edge, which populations could be pushed into acute hunger first?

BAUER: Well, we need to know that overall worldwide, 266 million people are acutely food insecure, usually because of conflict and violence. That is the number one reason behind acute food insecurity worldwide. Some countries are already facing climatic impacts. In addition to what I have just described, you would also need to know that there are countries facing a risk of famine. According to the IPC, which is the system we use to monitor food insecurity worldwide.

There are people in risk of famine in Sudan, in South Sudan, and also in Somalia right now. And these are the places where the attention and where the eyes of the world need to be on to ensure that the El Nino does not aggravate an existing food crisis.

KINKADE: And, of course, you have also warned that the Middle East conflict and the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz are already putting additional stress on global supply chains. If shipping costs, fuel prices, fertilizer costs remain elevated, while agricultural production is hit by droughts or floods, how quickly could that translate into higher food prices for ordinary people?

BAUER: Well, that's a one two punch what you are describing. So first, the impacts of the closure of Hormuz and then an El Nino feeding into local systems. So, these are shocks that affect two different things. First, the international shock to the energy markets that has already translated in some cases to higher domestic food prices in the world's most fragile countries. But what you would have with an El Nino is a shock to smallholder food production.

So, energy first and then smallholder food production. And that could be devastating when you combine both when you have first -- the first and then the other. That's the very definition of a compounding crisis of a crisis that, again, would be a slow burn from now until, in some cases, early 2028 for some very vulnerable communities. KINKADE: And of course, you have said a food crisis is not

preordained. What can governments do right now to prevent this from becoming a humanitarian disaster?

BAUER: So, a food crisis is always a choice. And in the case of El Nino, we know that this is coming in a few months. We have time to prepare. We can act now. And what needs to be done is acting early. There are things we can do right now, like early action, anticipatory action, to position resources ahead of time to send resources early.

And when we do that, we know that a dollar spent averts $3 worth of damages. So, it's really up to us in a resource constrained environment that were in right now to act early and invest early. We've issued an appeal with our sister agency, the FAO, for about $200 million to protect about 8 million people from the impacts of the El Nino. If that is funded again, it would allow us to really mitigate some of the impacts.

So let us think ahead. Let us act early and let us prevent these -- these impacts.

KINKADE: Definitely. We'll have all your contact details on our website.

Jean-Martin Bauer, we appreciate your time. Thanks so much

BAUER: Thank you.

KINKADE: A new study identifies a massive landfill on the outskirts of Buenos Aires as the world's top emitter of methane, a powerful gas that is driving climate change. But the operator of the site disputes the findings.

CNN's Ivan Perez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN PEREZ SARMENTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the largest landfill in Latin America, receiving over 400,000 tons of trash every month.

[02:50:06]

Nearly a half of all the waste generated in Argentina. Now, a study by UCLA reveals it is also the highest methane emitting landfill in the world, based on satellite data collected throughout 2025.

JUAN PABLO ESCUDERO, RESEARCHER, UCLA & UAI: Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas with over 80 times the heat trapping potency of carbon dioxide, and its responsible for roughly 30 percent of global warming. So, it's a big deal.

SARMENTI: Finding over 1,200 acres, almost one and a half times the size of New Yorks Central Park. This place, the north three facility, processes waste for 14 million people. Satellites from planet labs and NASA have detected significant methane plumes over the site, occurring more than 21 times in a single year.

SARMENTI (voice-over): CNN reached out to the state-owned operator CEAMSE. While declining an on-camera interview, they released a counter report questioning UCLA's methodology, arguing that satellite readings ignore the sites daily operational scale and its bio gas to energy conversion plant. The ranking focuses on absolute emissions rather than relative intensity per volume processed. It fails to account for critical variables like daily tonnage, site capacity, and biogas capture systems, the company stated.

ESCUDERO: The main problem is how much organic waste and how we dispose that waste. We need to address that if we need to have less methane emissions, we need less organic waste and less waste in general. So that is a cultural problem. And Latin America is particularly bad at that.

SARMENTI: Ivan Perez Sarmenti, CNN, Buenos Aires.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE; Stay with us. We'll have much more news just ahead.

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[02:55:40]

KINKADE: Welcome back.

Italian divers have discovered a Roman era shipwreck just about five kilometers off the coast of Sicily. While inspecting it, they found hundreds of well-preserved ancient wine jugs. Officials say the wreck most likely dates back between the second and first centuries B.C.

Sicily was once a major hub for ancient trade. Italy's minister of culture says this is one of the most significant underwater archeological discoveries in recent years.

Well, move over Formula One. One of the most unusual races in motorsports took place in England Saturday, but it was not on asphalt. Thirty teams raced on modified riding lawnmowers in the grueling nine- hour event. Each team had three drivers reaching speeds of up to 80 kilometers per hour.

And just like any endurance race, there were pit stops for refueling, driver changes, and mechanical repairs. It actually looks like a lot of fun.

Thanks so much for joining us. I am Lynda Kinkade. There is much more CNN NEWSROOM with my colleague Salma Abdelaziz in London next. Don't go anywhere.

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