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U.S. War On Iran; Earthquakes In Indonesia; Border Wall Battle In Big Bend; Lala Strengthens To A Category 4 Hurricane. Aired 3-4p ET
Aired August 15, 2026 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:01:29]
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitefield.
And we begin this hour with a new attack in the Strait of Hormuz less than 24 hours after President Trump said he plans to declare it a US territory once Iran is defeated. The UAE is now reporting Iran targeted a ship as Tehran says the key waterway "cannot be seized with a tweet." All of this is happening as President Trump is facing new fallout over his dismissal of concerns about US troops on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
CNN's Julia Benbrook is standing by live for us in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, near President Trump's Bedminster estate. Julia, first, what is the latest on the strait?
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Strait of Hormuz remains a key area of focus during this now nearly six month long conflict. Over the last couple of weeks, Iran has laid out a list of demands that it says the United States needs to fulfill an order to fully reopen the strait. At the same time, President Donald Trump has been adamant.
He has insisted that the United States is already in full control of that critical waterway, so some conflicting messaging there. Now, I was at that event yesterday where Trump made these remarks about making the Strait of Hormuz a US territory. He said that he wants to do that after the United States is finished defeating Iran. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: And after we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated. Pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States. Essentially, that's what it we have the blockade. No ships get through unless we want him to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BENBROOK: We do know that at least some within Trump's inner circle have been looking for ways to bring this conflict to an end. Recent CNN reporting found that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine, had been privately speaking with other top officials and making it clear that he believes that they need to find an off ramp from this conflict. Those recent comments from Trump, though, don't suggest that that's where he' right now. He continues to kind of escalate that rhetoric.
And then in recent days, the secretary of defense, Peter Hegseth, has said that the United States military is prepared, is able to maintain a naval presence there in the region as long as possible. Fred?
WHITFIELD: All right. Sorry about that, Julia. It seems like they decided to do a little lawn work right near you while you're talking, but you're doing great. All right. So what more can you share on the state of the USS Lincoln today?
All right, sorry. You can't hear me. Understood. Julia, we'll check back with you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Breaking news right now, a third earthquake has rocked Indonesia, this one with a 5.7 magnitude. It hit just hours after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the island of Flores in eastern Indonesia, and another 6.9 magnitude quake rattled a northern region of the country.
[15:05:06]
New video showing that some of the devastation from the first and strongest quake is pretty devastating, at least 47 people were killed.
CNN's Gage Goulding has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GAGE GOULDING, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just minutes before the sun rose over Flores Island Saturday morning, a major earthquake shook the northern Indonesian island. Registering 7.7 magnitude, the quake crumbled buildings and sent local residents screaming, running for higher ground. Many of them still sleeping.
NONA, VILLAGER IN INDONESIA (through translation): The quake was massive. The shock was so strong we were resting at home with family. There were 13 of us inside the house and we all ran to save ourselves.
GOULDING: From a ship docked at the port, you can see a building collapsing. In town, the walls of a local hospital were damaged and tourists climbing to a peak in Komodo National Park on Padar Island. You can see them sway as the earth is shaking beneath them.
Now, rescue crews are facing the dangerous and daunting task of digging out those trapped in the rubble.
SPOKESMAN FOR BASARNAS: The Basarnas Special Group is also prepared to deploy an advanced team using Indonesian air force facilities to carry out necessary measures on the ground and rescue lives affected by the disaster.
GOULDING: Their work is no easy task, grinding through steel and moving concrete debris. But there's another threat, aftershocks. In the hours after the quake, more than 37 aftershocks were recorded, some as strong as 6.2 magnitude. All while the 48 hour timeframe known as the golden window to get to victims is slowly ticking. Gage Goulding, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Gage, thank you so much. Turning now to Hawaii where they are bracing for what could be the state's first hurricane landfall in decades. Tropical Storm Lala is strengthening as it approaches the Big Island where it's expected to bring dangerous surf and torrential rainfall of up to two feet. And you can see in this video right here the massive waves already churning.
Storm alerts are in effect for several islands including Hawaii, Maui and Oahu. Meteorologist Melissa Nord brings us the latest updates on the storm's path.
MELISSA NORD, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We are watching Lala's movements hour by hour as it gets closer to that landfall later on today. And if it does indeed the center of it pass over the Big Island, the southern tip of it, it will be the first time ever to see a hurricane landfall on the Big Island of Hawaii and more than three decades since we've seen any hurricane landfall across the state of Hawaii.
And as we get closer to landfall, the winds increase and also the rainfall amounts are really picking up as well, especially across the elevation driven topography where we can see on the windward side of some of these islands, really the moisture getting squeezed out. So you can see Lala very close to the southern tip of the Big Island later this evening. And then for Sunday, passing south of the other islands, but still dropping some pretty good rainfall amounts, over 6 inches, half a foot in those islands.
Elevation plays a role in those rains as well. The eastern side of the Big island, easily 10 to 20 inches of rainfall that will lead to life threatening flash flooding. And also that could lead to mudslides as well. So we're watching that and watching the wind.
In some of these highest elevations, we can see some of the wind speeds. The max wind gusts be up to 30 percent higher than those right along the ocean, right along the ocean front. So here in that red dot, that'll be close to where landfall is, where the hurricane force winds will stay contained.
But you can see the yellow circle on the map, that's the wind field of all the tropical storm force gusts of at least 39 miles per hour or higher. Sunday throughout the day, easily getting to tropical storm force gusts along the other islands.
WHITFIELD: All right. Melissa Nord, appreciate that, all right. Coming up, Republicans could be headed toward a tough midterm fight as they try to hold on to their majorities in the House and Senate. The growing concerns that President Trump's personal projects from the White House ballroom to the Kennedy Center are becoming a major distraction for the GOP. Plus, Luigi Mangione pleads guilty to federal charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, but his legal fight is far from over. We'll explain what happens next and the strategy of his defense team.
[15:09:44]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: A shocking end to a scandal rocking one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Police say they found the body of former Cambridge professor, Jason Arday, in London on Friday, a death they say is not believed to involve foul play. The 41-year-old sociologist was the university's youngest ever black professor, but he abruptly resigned amid intense public scrutiny after allegations surfaced last month of plagiarism in his academic work and questions about his athletic and fundraising accomplishments.
In a statement, his family said the campaign of misinformation was just too much for Jason. British Prime Minister Andy Burnham described our day's death today as a tragedy on so many levels, all right.
[15:15:07]
Now to new details in the case of Luigi Mangione. Friday, he pleaded guilty to federal stalking charges in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. He addressed the court saying in part, I shot Mr. Thompson in Manhattan and he died. "I knew what I was doing was illegal."
Sentencing is set for December 18th. His attorneys are now asking a judge to throw out the second degree murder and weapons charges in his state case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN FRIEDMAN AGNIFILO, MANGIONE'S LAWYER: It was a single tragic event, yet he's being prosecuted twice for the same conduct. He's been treated differently from every other defendant charged with this offense in New York. However, thankfully, New York law does not allow this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Manhattan District Attorney's Office signaling Friday that it would fight to see its prosecution proceed. Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani is joining me right now. All right.
Neama, so, you know, does this guilty plea in federal court make it harder, if not impossible, for New York State to pursue its case against Mangione?
NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Fred, it does. And this may ultimately go down as one of the most botched federal prosecutions in American history, and this is why. Normally there is no prohibition on separate state and federal prosecutions. We've seen it time and time again.
Recently Derek Chauvin for the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery there in Atlanta, going back to the officers who beat Rodney King. But New York is unique. New York has a specific state law that prohibits a second prosecution in New York State court for the same criminal act or occurrence.
So if the federal stalking is part of the same criminal act as the state murder, guess what, those state murder charges go away. Really, the defense set a trap for the feds here and they walked right into it. I can't believe they did this. And then really went to the public yesterday and did a victory lap when they may have completely undermine the state case.
WHITFIELD: So New York prosecutors say they're going to fight this. They want to proceed. How will they carry out this battle?
RAHMANI: Well, they're going to fight it. And as soon as Luigi Mangione pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday, without a plea agreement, by the way. Karen Friedman and Marc Agnifilo, two of the best, they filed a motion to dismiss in state court. Now, that motion will be heard and likely will push the September 8 state trial date back, because obviously there's been opposition, a reply, oral argument. This is a dispositive motion.
But, Fred, even if the motion is denied by the state judge, now there's an unnecessary issue on appeal if Mangione is convicted in state court. And there are so many mistakes made by the feds here. First, they filed this case after the state, in violation of their own internal policies, called (inaudible) policy. They tried to seek the death penalty.
Pam Bondi came out and had a press conference. That didn't work, the death penalty was struck down. Then they had the federal murder charges dismissed, the federal firearms charges dismissed. Had they just appealed to the Second Circuit and put the federal case on hold, we wouldn't really have an issue here.
Because the bottom line is this, if the feds go second, there's no double jeopardy issue. If the feds go first, there is a potential double jeopardy issue that they created. If I was the Manhattan DA, I would be furious here.
WHITFIELD: Yes, all right. We'll leave it there for now. Neama Rahmani, always great to see you. Thanks so much.
RAHMANI: Talk soon.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Has the deployment gone on too long? Are you worried about the mental health concerns?
DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: No, no. Not nearly long enough. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That comment from President Trump saying a 250-day deployment was not long enough for the USS Abraham Lincoln. That despite growing concerns over the toll of these extended deployments on sailors, ships and American military stockpiles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:19:22]
WHITFIELD: We've got some breaking developments off the coast of Hawaii right now where Lala has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane. The storm is tracking along the south, the Big Island, where it's expected to bring dangerous surf and torrential rainfall of up to 2ft. It's unclear if the storm will actually make landfall on any of the Hawaiian Islands.
President Trump is dismissing growing concerns about the conditions and the mental health of the crew on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. The ship is in the midst of a record setting deployment and has been at sea for more than 250 days, with no port call for more than 200 days. At least one crew member has gone overboard in what the Navy calls a mental health episode.
Take a listen to the President's response about the length of the Lincoln's deployment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Has the deployment gone on too long? Are you worried about the mental health concerns?
TRUMP: No, no. Not nearly long enough.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: We get more now from CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptak.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: After President Trump dismissed some of the concerns about the USS Abraham Lincoln on Friday, I asked the White House whether they wanted to add any context or clarification to what the President said.
[15:20:00]
And they replied that they were going to let the President's words stand on their own, which is kind of remarkable. And it was clear as the president was answering these questions that he was frustrated by them. He kind of snapped at the first question.
And after his last answer that he thought that the deployment of the Lincoln did not last long enough, he very abruptly turned and walked back towards Air Force One, which isn't his normal mode. He usually answers more than one question in these gaggles. And the backdrop, of course, to all of this is the growing concerns that you hear inside the administration at just how long this conflict with Iran has lasted.
These historic deployments of these aircraft carriers only underscore to the American public that the President's initial projection that the war would last only six weeks has been wildly wrong. And it's not the only example we're seeing of the war's length and intensity, raising some questions about the American military's ability to carry it out much longer. You also hear concerns about the stockpile of munitions.
And the worry that you hear from military officials is that the longer these deployments last, the greater the toll they will take on both the people aboard, but also the ships themselves. You know, the gears start to wear out. Replacement parts are hard to come by. And even in a statement on Friday from the Navy secretary, Hung Cao, that was intended in some ways to diminish some of the reporting about the USS Abraham Lincoln.
He also acknowledged that there had been a small number of mental health cases, that some of the meal plans had to be adjusted. And that at points a calls home had been limited because of operational security. And all of this, I think, contributes to the reason you hear some American officials now start to talk privately about the need to find some sort of off ramp to this conflict.
That's something that, for example, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, has been talking about privately with other officials inside the administration. But there really isn't much indication that President Trump is looking to take that off ramp at the moment. He said at an event in New York on Friday that he planned to soon declare that the Strait of Hormuz was territory of the United States.
You also heard Pete Hegseth say this week that the US was prepared to enforce the blockade of Iranian ports "indefinitely." Of course, all of that would require sustained American military presence in the region, which would be quite a shift for a president who once promised never to enter a forever war. Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.
WHITFIELD: All Right. Kevin, thank you so much. That's a lot there. Late last night on CNN, retired Major General Randy Manner shared his take on President Trump's words. Take a listen to his reaction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY MANNER, FORMER DEPUTY COMMANDING GENERAL: I will tell you unequivocally that all my 36 years of service, if any Navy chief or non-commissioned officer or officer, or admiral, or general had ever said those kind of words, they would have been relieved when within minutes. And I mean that literally.
It is totally inappropriate that the commander in chief of all military show continued disdain and disrespect for our military members and for their family. This is unacceptable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: With us now is Tia Mitchell. She is the Washington bureau chief for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, great to see you. Clear outrage and shock, you know, from that major general, you know, to the commander in chief sounding dismissive as family members and see personnel, you know, speak of these kind of hardships. So could that potentially have an impact on Election Day midterms just 81 days away?
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: I think it could because our military families are universally, you know, I think everyone agrees we look out for our servicemembers. We listen to their needs, we try our best to take care of our servicemembers, and we don't want to lose more servicemembers. And we have families sounding the alarm that there are -- there is the potential for people in mental health crisis who could be lost as this deployment goes on.
WHITFIELD: This is just one example why, you know, many Republicans feel like they're kind of, you know, between a rock and a hard place. You know, he is the leader of the party, but he's also kryptonite these days. You know, during a very unpopular war and rising prices, he has been stumping in New York this week. Is this welcoming?
MITCHELL: So I think the, even the remarks about the deployment on the USS Lincoln, the reason why there's outrage is that there's this perception that President Trump is not listening to the concerns that are raised by people and he's not being considerate at all of how some of his policies and decisions are playing out to different segments of the population.
So whether we're talking about his message on affordability, his message to military families, his message to families that are concerned about the toll of the Iran war and its effect on prices, there are -- all of this -- all these examples that makes it seem like he's not listening and that quite frankly, it's the perception is he doesn't care.
[15:30:20]
And that's what could really hurt him and therefore hurt Republicans at the polls.
WHITFIELD: And you've heard the terminology, some, you know, some -- even Republicans saying tone deaf, is that what's going on? So while campaigning in Nassau County, New York last night, Trump again repeated his argument that higher gas prices are a small price to pay for Iran not having a nuclear weapon. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: So for you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have a country, really, it's the number one state sponsor of terror in the world. We don't want to have them have a nuclear weapon. So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you're at $4. It's OK. I mean, it's -- I'm not -- I'll never apologize. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So when he says this at a rally like that, there is rousing applause. I mean, he is surrounded by his supporters. However, quietly, many Republicans are saying, quit saying that.
MITCHELL: Yes. I mean, I think --
WHITFIELD: So, is that part of the explanation for the tone deafness? I mean --
MITCHELL: I think even when you watch that clip, though, there wasn't a lot of applause at that line, and I think --
WHITFIELD: Not at that moment, but at the --
MITCHELL: Right.
WHITFIELD: Territory, you know --
MITCHELL: Yeah.
WHITFIELD: -- being declared the Hormuz.
MITCHELL: I think if you ask people, they'll say, yes, we don't want Iran to have nuclear weapons. But if you say, are you OK with paying $4 a gallon indefinitely? They'd say, well, hold up now. I don't know about that.
So I think there's nuance in the conversation that is not often acknowledged by President Trump. Because he says, yes, the people are with me. They want to, you make sure that Iran is not able to do us harm, but to what cost to American voters? That doesn't seem to be part of the conversation.
WHITFIELD: All right. Tia Mitchell, always great. Thank you so much. Thanks for being in the studio, too. All right.
Coming up, after massive earthquakes rocked Colombia and Indonesia this week, aid agencies around the world are scrambling to get help to those who need it most. We'll talk with the leader at the Red Cross about the race to get relief to them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:37:05]
WHITFIELD: All right, back to our breaking news out of Indonesia. A third earthquake has hit the country, this one with a 5.7 magnitude. And it happened just hours after a 7.7 magnitude quake struck off the Island of Flores in eastern Indonesia and another 6.9 quake rattled a northern region. New video shows some of the damage from the first and strongest quake. Officials said at least 47 people were killed.
Meantime, in Colombia, there is a desperate mission to find hundreds still missing following an earthquake there that struck the country earlier in the week. At least 265 people were killed when buildings toppled in what was the strongest quake to hit Colombia in over a decade. Recovery efforts are underway to sift through debris in hopes of finding another 500 people who are not accounted for.
But the focus is also turning to the tens of thousands still suffering from the disaster. International aid is slowly making its way into the country. Joining us now, Loyce Pace. She is the Regional Director for the Americas for the Red Cross. Great to see you.
So, I mean, tell me what your teams are up against, how they're able to help people and, you know, what kind of resources might they be lacking.
LOYCE PACE, REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR THE AMERICAS, RED CROSS: Yes. Thanks for having me, Fredricka. Certainly good news to hear and see the aid actually reaching these communities in Colombia. I should first just step back and acknowledge how devastating it is to see yet another earthquake hit around the world, halfway around the world in Indonesia, and of course, our colleagues there are responding just as readily and just as mightily.
But here in the Americas, we faced our second earthquake in just as many months. And yes, in Colombia, it's hitting these communities that are frankly, historically left behind, don't really have access to a number of health and other resources. And so we're able to get in there with health support, such as primary health care, psychosocial support and the like, basic needs as well, such as food and clean water.
And just really sitting beside people as they really deal with the aftermath of what happened this past week.
WHITFIELD: Yes. It is disturbing, unsettling that so many earthquakes are happening near simultaneously. Southeast Asia, South America, all at once, you know. And I know you've got resources all over, as you just said, but, you know, there in Colombia, near where you are, I mean, the newly installed president has only been on the job for about a week. Has that brought about unique challenges for the Red Cross as well?
PACE: You know, we're really lucky at the Red Cross. We are a very long standing network. The Colombia Red Cross, for example, has been in place for over a century. It's the same in places like Venezuela, Cuba and elsewhere.
And so, it's one of the reasons why we have so much faith in our network. We have these volunteers who have been doing this work literally for generations. And they know these communities, they know what to do when disaster strikes. They can flex this muscle pretty easily.
[15:40:12]
It doesn't make it easier to do at times when it's so devastating. But what we can do in our role, we call it an auxiliary role we have with the government is we can actually sometimes guide them in what to do. And so, given our long standing history and relationships in the country, including with the authorities, we've had an OK time actually understanding the needs on the ground, and then responding side by side with those authorities.
WHITFIELD: How long do you expect this recovery, you know, and rescue missions to take and your role in it?
PACE: You know, longer than people realize. This is years. This is going to be years you have in Colombia. Fortunately, not as many deaths as we saw in a place like Caracas. But these communities, as I said, really require more resources at baseline. And so, then to have something like this hit affecting thousands of people, about 100,000 people were affected, and we're plucking maybe about 40,000 families who require support, thousands of homes and other facilities lost.
It's just really going to be a long road. We're there on that road with people, but we're hoping to continue having these resources available for them as long as they need.
WHITFIELD: If people want to help, how can they?
PACE: Thank you for asking that. Yes. We launched an appeal this week. It's a public appeal, it's a global appeal for about 25 million Swiss francs. And we're on our way to reaching that goal. We're about 20 percent through. And so, if people want to log on to ifrc.org, they'll see on our homepage ways to support the crisis in Colombia.
WHITFIELD: Wonderful. All the best in that continued endeavor. And, you know, be safe to all of your team out there. Loyce Pace, thanks so much.
PACE: Take care, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming up, a new fight over the border wall. This time, it's happening inside one of America's national parks. Why critics say a Trump administration project could alter this pristine landscape forever.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say it is one of the most insane and destructive and, yes, ridiculous ideas I have ever heard. I never thought anything this absurd would happen in any national park.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:46:36]
WHITFIELD: As the Trump administration continues to crack down on immigration, critics say the President's border wall plans are a threat to preserved areas around the country. A federal judge on Friday rejected a request to block border wall construction along parts of a Native American tribe reservation in Arizona. The tribe claims the wall would trespass on its lands and diminish its boundaries without congressional authorization. And in the Big Bend Region of Texas, Republicans and Democrats are uniting against building a border security project in the national park. They don't see the necessity of a wall in such a remote area. Ed Lavandera is following this story for us from Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Raging anger is echoing off these canyon walls.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has nothing to do with border security, and everything to do with corruption.
LAVANDERA: Protesters gathered in one of the most iconic spots in Big Bend National Park. They're horrified by the Trump administration's border security construction efforts, which is now being unleashed in this patch of far west Texas.
JEFF RENFROW, RESIDENT OF TERLINGUA, TEXAS: We are at war with these people. It's a peaceful war. But if you think what we've seen so far is bad, you wait until they unleash holy hell on this place next week.
LAVANDERA: Last week, crews started carving through the pristine wilderness of Big Bend National Park for what's being described as a surveillance road. The site was captured by a 27-year-old activist trying to stop what she calls this needless destruction.
NATALIE NEWMAN, ACTIVIST: Yes. More than anything else, I feel heartbreak over all of this.
LAVANDERA: Natalie Newman navigates the roads in Big Bend armed with her camera. She takes us to where construction crews have started their work.
Do you feel like you're just fighting a giant beast?
NEWMAN: Oh, yes. This thing is so much bigger than us. And that's why I'm glad it's fighting finally getting out well beyond just West Texas, because there's not many of us out here and this is huge.
LAVANDERA: The Trump administration's plan threatens to dramatically alter the landscape of not just Big Bend National Park, but much of the region surrounding it, stretching roughly 500 miles. The plan involves five different projects costing more than $7 billion. The Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection will build nearly 200 miles of border wall, install steel vehicle barriers and carve hundreds of miles of new roadways through part of the park's 800,000 acres and beyond.
All of this in a sector that officials say only accounts for about 1 percent of all illegal border crossing apprehensions. The early plan unveiled by the federal government included a border wall inside the national park. But now DHS and CBP say that's not happening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not the end. This is the beginning. LAVANDERA: That hasn't the tensions, the anger over this plan is
visible all over the area. Banners blasting the border wall have popped up everywhere. Local Republicans and Democrats are unified in their opposition to what's happening.
THADDEUS CLEVELAND, TERRELL COUNTY, TEXAS: I'd be all for it if it was necessary, but it's not necessary.
LAVANDERA: Thad Cleveland is the Republican sheriff in Terrell County. He was also a border patrol agent for 26 years.
They want to put in vehicle barriers in a lot of this.
CLEVELAND: Yes, sir.
LAVANDERA: In his office, he showed us a map of where the plan in his county is to put about 160 miles of steel vehicle barriers along the Rio Grande. There's only one problem.
[15:50:03]
And these are places where it's physically impossible --
CLEVELAND: To drive a car through, a hundred percent. Makes no sense at all to put a vehicle barrier.
LAVANDERA: Must be scratching your head, going like, what are we doing, folks?
CLEVELAND: Definitely, very disappointed.
LAVANDERA: At the beginning of the first Trump administration in 2016, we came to the Big Bend Region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to tell Donald Trump that we already have a wall. Thank you very much.
LAVANDERA: And reported on what many feared the new president might bring to this area. And asked this question, how in the world do you build a wall in this kind of terrain?
Ten years later, we're sitting down with the former superintendent of Big Ben National Park, Bob Krumenaker. He says the more pressing question is not how, but why the Trump administration is doing this.
BOB KRUMENAKER, FORMER SUPERINTENDENT OF BIG BEN NATIONAL PARK: I would say, it is one of the most insane and destructive and, yes, ridiculous ideas I have ever heard. I never really thought anything this absurd would happen in any national park, let alone the one I know so well.
LAVANDERA: Most statewide elected Republicans here in Texas, like Governor Greg Abbott, have said very little about the controversy. In Big Bend. Senator John Cornyn has written a letter to the Department of Homeland Security urging the agency to listen more closely to the fears and concerns of residents here. But there are also a number of lawsuits in the works that have already been filed to try to slow these projects down, but that will take time to work its way through the courts as well. Ed Lavandera, CNN at Big Bend National Park in Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Ed, thanks so much. All right. In Mongolia, some of the world's oldest traditions are still part of everyday life. Nomads live off the land, eagle hunters roam the mountains, and a centuries old musical tradition known as throat singing still echoes across villages. CNN's Will Ripley takes us to one of the most remote corners of the world where a song can carry the history of an entire people.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is western Mongolia, home to one of the world's oldest musical traditions, throat singing.
RIPLEY: I got goosebumps.
Mongolia's Wild West is one of the most remote places on earth where eagle hunters roam, and China and Russia meet. People here are still living as nomads, just like their ancestors.
Even in this day and age of AI and the internet, and social media, you have so many people here in Mongolia that are choosing to continue to live off the land and live in a simple way. It's really beautiful and incredible, but this is something I've never heard before.
The last song you sang was about this, this river behind us. Can you tell us the meaning behind that song?
GANZORIG, MONGOLIAN THROAT SINGER (through translation): The meaning of this song is about our Altai heritage. It's our hymn.
RIPLEY: This beautiful famous song is praising this river, and it has been sung for 75 or 80 years now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Tomorrow night on CNN SPORTS in the '90s. In that decade, scandals fueled the headlines. Athletes became superstars and new dynasties were built.
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JOE POSNANSKI, SPORTS WRITER: Who the biggest stars were in the late '80s? Tyson, obviously Magic and Bird, Bo Jackson, Joe Montana. They tried to hang on but the '90s wasn't their decade. So there was this changing of the guards.
I mean, when the Cowboys played the 49ers in the NFC championship game in '92, that wasn't just for going to the Super Bowl. That was the epic starting point of like, who's going to be the team in the '90s. That was for the future. The 49ers were there to make the argument that we're still the dominant team, and the Cowboys were there to make the argument that no, your time has passed.
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WHITFIELD: Be sure to tune in. A new episode of "Decades in Sports" airs tomorrow night, 9:00pm Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.
Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
The ARENA SATURDAY starts next, but first we do want to leave you with these live pictures about Hurricane Lala kind of on the horizon there. Even these pictures are really beautiful from Hawaii, this storm has strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane.
It's currently moving by the Big Island and is expected to bring dangerous surf and torrential rainfall of up to two feet to that island. Others are also expected to be hit with significant rainfall. The islands of Hawaii, that is. Lala still has the potential to be the first hurricane to make landfall in more than 30 years there.
