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U.S. and Canada Escalating Trade Tensions; U.S. Threatening Further Economic Pressure on Iran; Russia, Ukraine Trade New Strikes as Air Attacks Escalate; Record-Challenging Heat to Continue in Southern U.S.; Search for Wife of Slain Police Officer; Ukraine's 35th Independence Day. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired August 23, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London. Let's get into those headlines.

President Trump is now weighing in on that renewed trade war with Canada. We're going to have the latest on escalating tensions between what are supposed to be strong allies. And the U.S. is threatening further economic pressure on Iran. The Tehran is making new threats of its own. We're live in Jerusalem with an update. And frustration grows as tens of thousands of residents of northwest Indiana are still without power nearly two weeks after a storm swept through.

ANNOUNCER: Live from London, this is CNN Newsroom with Salma Abdelaziz.

ABDELAZIZ: President Trump has broken his silence more than 25 hours after U.S. trade talks with Canada imploded just hours ago. In the middle of the night, the American president posted on social media, quote, "Canada wants the benefits of being a state without being one." He also accuses Canada of imposing, quote, "massive amounts of tariffs" on U.S. farmers.

It comes as Canada promises a forceful response to Trump's new 50 percent tariffs. They are now in effect on $20 billion worth of its goods. Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada will match those tariffs dollar for dollar on September 8th. And he calls U.S. actions an outright trade attack on his nation, describing it essentially as war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: Well, we believed earlier this week that we were moving towards, moving towards a mutually beneficial agreement. In recent days, the United States proposed new terms that run economic, unfair and undermine the net benefits for Canada and called into question the reliability of any deal. In short, they asked too much and they offered too little.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Our Julia Benbrook tells us more about the state of this trade war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The big takeaway here is there is no deal. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, as well as top trade officials from both countries, had been in direct contact over the last week after Trump had placed a three- day delay on those tariffs.

Both sides had expressed some optimism that they would be able to reach an agreement before that new deadline. In fact, just hours before everything fell through, Trump said that talks with Canada were moving along and that the United States and Canada should be able to come to a deal. There is now, though, a 50 percent tariff on roughly $20 billion worth of Canadian goods and Canada has vowed to match that tariff dollar for dollar starting September 8th.

Both sides are looking to place blame on the other and both say that some changes, some disagreements at the end of these talks are really what unraveled it all. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said that there were some new demands and some walk backs on other commitments by Canada. And in an interview with Fox News, he said that as of right now, there are no plans for more talks to start up. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMIESON GREER, U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: We don't have new talks planned with the Canadians. We're moving forward with measures that respond to Canadian retaliation. Remember, as President Trump has introduced a trade policy to re-shore American production, protect American jobs. Two countries have retaliated against the United States, the People's Republic of China and Canada.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: For his part, Carney said that there was not an agreement between the two countries because the United States failed to meet Canada's objectives and that some last-minute changes put into question the reliability of any sort of a deal. All of this injects more uncertainty when it comes to the relationship between these two countries. And there's no sense right now of when the two sides could come back to the table.

Julia Benbrook, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Michael Froman, who served as the U.S. Trade Representative under former President Barack Obama and who is now the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, offered his perspective on the matter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL FROMAN, FORMER U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE AND PRESIDENT, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: I think we ought to keep this in perspective. This is one of the deepest trade relationships in the world. But we've had our trade tensions going back to the founding of the country. I our first lumber conflict with Canada goes back as far as 200 years or so.

[04:05:00]

I think it's also important to note this is $20 billion of Canadian exports. That's about 5 percent of Canada's exports. And when the tariffs are implemented, it will raise their tariff level to about 6 percent, which, you know, it was about 4.5 percent before. Now, it'll be about 6 on average on Canadian products.

So, it's important to keep it in perspective, but it does show just how far the bilateral relationship has declined and how difficult it is to get anything done. And at a time when the USMCA is to be reviewed year by year rather than extended for the next decade, the U.S. is proceeding with Mexico in talks, is not proceeding yet with Canada for talks. And this makes that more difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Full-scale war is what Iran's president declared as the U.S. threatened to unveil unprecedented sanctions. Tehran's security chief also reportedly vowed to neutralize the economic war with Washington and threatened to halt all oil flow out of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's top negotiator saying in part, the United States put the security of every single one of its allies at such risk through bullying and pure disregard for their interests for the sake of Israel that they briefly saw their entire excess existence on the line.

The U.S. Treasury secretary will hold a news conference Monday after vowing to unveil the toughest sanctions in history against Iran. Secretary Scott Bessent is also expected to urge China to cooperate with the White House's pressure campaign.

Our Jerusalem Bureau chief Oren Liebermann joins me live now. Good morning to you, Oren. So, now we're getting Iran responding to President Trump's threats of an economic D-Day, and it says it will not allow a single drop of oil to pass through that critical strait if any of its neighbors engage in President Trump's economic war. It doesn't seem his threats are working. It seems to be escalating the situation here, Oren.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, now that we appear to be past a military conflict, we are very much in an economic conflict. The Trump administration realizing the ineffectiveness or the inability of continued strikes on Iran to get to either a nuclear deal or the collapse of the regime.

So, now it's this new approach that we should really call an old approach, almost the maximum pressure campaign that we saw in President Donald Trump's first term. That also didn't lead to a nuclear deal with Iran. And crucially, at least from the perspective of Trump's politics in the oncoming midterms, economic sanctions aren't an immediate effect. This is something that the U.S. believes and hopes will pressure Iran, Iran's economy, Iran's regime in the medium and the long term and bring it to its knees. The key question here is, of course, what happens with the Strait of Hormuz? Now, there is reduced traffic. Iran has threatened to reduce that to zero. We've seen that again. There is a trickle going through. According to what we can see from the U.K. Maritime Tracking Organization, it's about 20 percent.

But the U.S. Navy and the military there are trying to create a separate route to bring more oil through by sending ships through the crucial passageway dark, having them turn off their transponders and getting an escort from the U.S. military. The question is, how effective is that? And is that sustainable in the long term? And that's what we're seeing play out here.

The U.S. will unveil more sanctions to sort of increase what is already, frankly, a sort of maximum pressure campaign, as well as try to get other countries on board with pressuring Iran economically. That may be quite difficult, because Iran appears to have given passage to some countries, Iraq, Pakistan, China, for example, to ship oil through the Strait of Hormuz. So, that will play into this question.

Meanwhile, Iran's president, according to Iranian state media, said the country is at full-scale war. According to Iran's state media, he said, we are apologetic that these problems exist as we find ourselves in a full-scale economic, military and security war. So, very clear there what the approach of the Iranian government is. And listen to this from a top national security official there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHSEN REZAEL, SECRETARY OF IRAN'S SUPREME NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (through translator): If President Trump decides to take further action, our response, our retaliation, will be seismic. Any country that takes part in imposing economic restrictions on us will be regarded as an enemy. Of course, we will first negotiate with them. We will hold talks and tell them to step aside and distance themselves from the United States. But if they do not act, we will strike. We will target that country's interests.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIEBERMANN: The real question is, who wins an economic war? The Strait of Hormuz, the pressure that puts on President Donald Trump himself, and how that affects U.S. voters heading into the midterms, or the effect on Iran's regime? Salma.

[04:10:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Oren Lieberman there on a new technique of war that may be an old technique of war, economic warfare. Thank you so much.

Russian and Ukraine are not only ramping up their attacks, but both sides appear to be expanding the reach of those strikes. A Ukrainian official says Russian drones hit a railway station in the Odessa region. This was on Saturday. The video you see there shows crews clearing broken windows in debris. And it comes after a brutal Russian double-tap strike on a shopping center just a day earlier that killed 16 people.

Meanwhile, Russian officials say a wave of Ukrainian drones hit a retail warehouse and an industrial facility in the Samara region, killing at least six people. In a new interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that Kyiv had opened Pandora's box by hitting economic targets in Russia.

I want to bring in now Sebastian Shukla. He's live in Berlin for us this morning. Good morning to you, Seb. So, we're getting this response from President Putin, this comment about opening Pandora's box. Is Ukraine's campaign to put economic pressure on ordinary Russians working?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, good morning, Salma. Well, the message from President Putin is one that we hear quite often. It's often bellicose, but also thinly veiled in its meaning. It's quite hard to unpack exactly what he's alluding to. But what he appears to be saying is that Ukraine is not prepared for the level of fury and retribution that Moscow is prepared to unleash on Ukraine, across Ukraine and on the Ukrainian people, for the attacks that have been leveled on Russia's economy.

Whether the economic damage that has been sustained and wrought by Kyiv on Moscow is really being felt by regular Russians is slightly unclear. And what President Putin said in this interview was that actually the Ukrainian attacks have not really had an effect and that what they are going to do is because Ukraine has been targeting Russia's key GDP exports, whether that's oil and gas, that Russia will now target the same back towards Ukraine, which is largely on Ukraine's grain exports. It's the breadbasket of Europe. It is the main source of income for the Ukrainian economy.

But Salma, whether the economic impacts are being felt or not, the visual devastation that is being wrought by the Ukrainian armed forces attacks across Russia is clear to see. Plumes of smoke almost every morning across different cities around the Russian capital or around Russian cities. And that does have an impact and it hits people in their pocketbooks the most.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHUKLA (voice-over): A second wave of summer fuel shortages is hitting Moscow and its surrounding areas. Many motorists are waiting in long lines only to leave with a limited supply of gas after many stations reinstated strict caps on petrol purchases.

ARTUR, MOSCOW RESIDENT (through translator): This is my second attempt. First time I reached the pump, but they said there was no fuel left. Then I made another circle and petrol became available again.

SHUKLA (voice-over): It's similar to a gas crunch earlier in the summer that spread throughout Russia and showed signs of stabilizing. But Moscow is once again feeling the pinch as Ukraine continues its targeted strikes on Russia's oil refineries during the peak summer travel season. Many gas stations were also closed or only selling diesel, with some witnesses describing wait times as ranging from annoying to intolerable.

IGOR, MOSCOW RESIDENT (through translator): I drove through many regions and fuel was available in each of them, but not in Moscow. It is not completely absent here, but there are queues like this. I think 20 to 30 minutes of waiting time is OK because when I drove through the Moscow region, I saw lines stretching for kilometers.

SHUKLA (voice-over): The Russian government is taking steps to try to offset the shortages. It's importing fuel from Belarus, Kazakhstan and India, while expanding bans on the export of gasoline and diesel and rolling back some fuel quality requirements. Despite the queues, some people downplayed the shortages, saying the lines were moving and they expected the measures to kick in soon.

ANTON SKIEVSKIY, MOSCOW RESIDENT (through translator): I do not see a big problem here. If you want to refuel, you need to choose the time carefully. You can always refuel.

SHUKLA (voice-over): Relief could be coming, but with no end in sight to the Russia-Ukraine war and the inevitable fuel disruptions that come with it, there's little these motorists can do but wait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SHUKLA (on camera): Whether in Russia or Ukraine, Salma, the aims of these aerial bombardments are very simple, to degrade the lives of ordinary Russians and Ukrainians in order to result in capitulation and the ending of this war.

[04:15:00]

But at the moment, Salma, as we've seen over the last few weeks and days, that shows very little signs of happening.

ABDELAZIZ: Sebastian Shukla there on the impact of Ukraine's strategy on ordinary Russians. Thank you so much.

Soaring temperatures take aim at the southern U.S. and challenge records along the way. We'll tell you where the heat is headed when we come back. And it's been nearly two weeks since a devastating storm hit Indiana, but tens of thousands of people are still struggling without power. We're going to check on their current situation when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABDELAZIZ: Nevada's governor has declared a state of emergency in Washoe County. This is as fast-moving wildfires force evacuations around Reno. The Hawk Fire has expanded to more than 10,500 acres. It is worsened by gusty winds and dry brush. As of now, it is burning uncontained. Residents are being urged to stay vigilant, and officials say some structures have already burned. Some 400 firefighters are battling the blaze, aided by aerial support overnight.

[04:20:00]

Record-breaking heat is again possible in the U.S. as parts of the South face another round of scorching temperatures. Our Allison Chinchar has more for us.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Roughly 50 million people are under the extreme heat risk you can see by all the purple color on this map. That includes New Orleans, stretching back through Houston and Dallas. And for a lot of these areas, it is going to be a prolonged heat wave across the southern tier. So, 108 is the forecast high Sunday in Dallas, 100 in Houston, even 100 in Oklahoma City.

But again, as we fast forward into Monday, you can see those temperatures still very, very hot. Even going into Tuesday, Dallas still looking at a high temperature of 107. And to put this in perspective, the average this time of year in Dallas is 95 degrees. They will spend every single one of the next seven days at least five, if not 10 degrees above that number.

And they're not the only spot. Oklahoma City, their average this time of year, 91 degrees. They are also going to spend every single one of the next seven days above that temperature some of those days by 10 to 15 degrees.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: No power, spoiled insulin, closed schools, empty grocery shelves, nearly two weeks in the dark after a devastating storm. That is the grim reality for some 30,000 people in northern Indiana, many of whom are relying on food banks for essential supplies. The World Central Kitchen is there serving meals to families in need. Food blogger Keith Lee announced he's partnering with the Salvation Army to hold an event to support Storm the Community.

Officials say power is expected to be back on by Tuesday, but residents have joined a class action lawsuit against northern Indiana's utility company over alleged negligence. The utility provider says it strongly disagrees with those claims. CNN's Fredricka Whitfield spoke to the city of Gary's mayor about why it's taking so long to get that power back on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EDDIE MELTON, GARY, INDIANA MAYOR: The city of 50 square miles, Gary, is probably the largest geographic area throughout New Mexico's footprint from a city's perspective. And we believe that we didn't have enough electrical alignment on the ground, vegetation crews on the ground to address this issue.

Right now, we've requested, as of yesterday, more alignment, and we're starting to see that come in now. So, right now, we have about 430 electrical alignment, another 200 to 300 vegetation crews helping to detangle the trees out of the electrical lines so power can be restored. It's going to take time. I understand that. I get it. But it has to take the manpower with boots on the ground to get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABDELAZIZ: Joining us now is Courtney Page-Tan. She is an assistant professor of public affairs and community resilience at Indiana University, Indianapolis. First of all, thank you so much for coming to us in the middle of your night, Courtney. Could you begin by taking us inside your community this morning? It's been nearly two weeks. Thousands are still without electricity. What are the conditions like? How are families managing the basics? How do they keep food fresh, their phones charged, care for their vulnerable and sick?

COURTNEY PAGE-TAN, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND COMMUNITY RESILIENCE, INDIANA UNIVERSITY INDIANAPOLIS: So, good morning. Thank you so much for having me on. So, I'm based in Indianapolis. I'm at IU, Indiana University. We're about two hours south of where the communities are experiencing some power outages in Indianapolis. So, we've also seen kind of our fair share of flooding as well.

So, first, I want to say that extreme weather events are arriving in more frequency. They're hitting communities harder. And communities that plan for last century storms are planning for a climate that no longer exists. And so, I think most importantly at this moment to answer your question is just to remember to check in on your family, your friends, your neighbors, especially those who are most vulnerable. Coordinate with local organizations.

But I think also importantly, our public officials should be working closely with those community-based organizations, supporting them. Those community-based organizations know their communities the best. They understand the need of their community. And so, really supporting them, ensuring they have everything they need to meet the need of the communities who have been facing now 11 days of power outages is the most important priority right now.

[04:25:00]

ABDELAZIZ: And I want to specifically ask you about community resilience, of course, because that is your area of expertise. And I want to talk about Gary, which is a predominantly black city. About one in three there live in poverty. Half lost electricity during the storm and many have yet to see it restored. Is that a community that's simply being left behind? Do wealthier communities appear to be receiving help faster?

PAGE-TAN: So, what I can tell you is that community resilience is really the ability to absorb shocks and stressors, to maintain function, and continue to thrive. And so, across the literature, researchers time and time again do see that minority communities are disproportionately impacted by a lot of these issues, environmental issues. And so, it's not surprising to see that some of these communities are some of our minority communities in the Gary area.

And so, I think that when we're thinking also about how these events impact our infrastructure, I think one thing that people may overlook is just how incredibly important our social infrastructure is. That the social ties that we have when government fails, when institutions fail, when our energy grid fails, we still have our social connections, we still have our community-based organizations, our food pantries, our temples, our mosques, our churches that we are a part of.

I think most importantly is that we should all remember that we have agency to at least check in on each other, to remember that we're not going through this alone, and that we should not be going through it alone. Individuals should really be relying on one another to really kind of overcome, and hopefully, we'll go from that response to recovery phase soon.

ABDELAZIZ: Courtney Page-Tan, what a beautiful reminder of the power of social infrastructure at this time when it feels like government infrastructure, other infrastructure has failed these communities nearly two weeks without power. Thank you so much.

A manhunt is now underway in Massachusetts. Authorities are looking for this woman who is suspected of involvement in the death of her police officer husband. We're going to bring you the latest after the break.

Plus, a Texas lawmaker is calling for the release of a five-year-old boy held in ICE custody. Ahead details on the story and the phone call his mother made to him in detention.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Salma Abdelaziz in London.

A manhunt is now underway in Massachusetts for a woman authorities say is connected to the death of her police officer husband. Boaster police have issued an arrest warrant for Karen Solomon, who they describe as armed and dangerous. Her husband, Kurt Solomon, was found dead in the home that they shared. Now, Karen is the co-founder of a group that helps police officers and their families deal with mental health issues. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is following the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, let's start with the search because it's been going on for more than four days now, and police have deployed several resources, including marine and air units. They have deployed canine units, and officers have been searching on foot, scouring the area, looking for evidence. They have also closed down public beaches in the area and recreational areas as they look for Karen Solomon, the woman who appears to be at the center of this mystery.

Here's what we know about Karen Solomon. She is known in the community as an advocate for mental health for first responders. In fact, she has authored books on that subject, and she led a non-for-profit that focused on that subject and that work. But she's now facing an arrest warrant after her husband, Wooster police officer Kurt Solomon, was found dead inside his home on Tuesday.

We have images of Karen captured by doorbell camera and released by police showing her walking in shorts, a t-shirt, and flip-flops early on Tuesday morning. Police say that this was minutes after police responded to a call from the home where her husband was found dead. We have also obtained audio dispatch of that call where you can hear officers responding to the home and trying to get in contact with the person who placed the 911 call. You can hear the officer identify the person as Karen Solomon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it the caller a male or a female?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a female. Her voicemail on her phone says it's Karen Solomon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's visible blood inside the building, inside the bathroom in the back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Now, police have declined to discuss the details of that call, but Solomon in the meantime has been charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. She is 58 years old and is considered armed and dangerous. Police are asking anyone in the area who may know anything or may have seen anything or may know any information about Solomon's whereabouts to get in touch with their local police department. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will not stop until we find her either way here or somewhere else and we want to bring closure to the Solomon family. Kurt was a hell of a guy. He was an awesome police officer and an awesome person and he's going to be truly missed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: Officer Solomon was a 31-year veteran of the force. He was also an army veteran and a father to two children. Police say that he suffered a fatal injury with a sharp object. However, they have not released any other details about what they think happened at that crime scene. In the meantime, they say the investigation is still underway.

Gloria Pazmino, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: A Texas judge has denied Karmelo Anthony's request for a new trial in the deadly stabbing of a teenager at a high school track meet.

[04:35:00] Anthony was convicted of murder in June and sentenced to 35 years in prison. The victim was a fellow 17-year-old, Austin Metcalf. The two had a confrontation in the bleachers. Anthony claimed he acted in self-defense, but jurors rejected that argument. The case gained national attention after social media cast the killing in racial terms, although lawyers on both sides said race had nothing to do with it.

Anthony's attorneys sought a retrial, saying a strict courtroom rules limit public access to the proceedings. The judge denied that request on Saturday, but Anthony's legal team say they plan to appeal.

A U.S. congressman is calling for the release of a five-year-old boy who is detained by ICE alongside his father in Texas. Video obtained by CNN shows the young boy crying and clinging to his dad, as you can see there, as federal agents take him into custody. Rafael Romo has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A spokesperson for the family told CNN the father and son, who are both undocumented, said they were on their way to a soccer match in Austin, Texas, when they were pulled over. In a video that has gone viral, the five-year-old boy, identified by his family as Liam Tadeo, appears to be crying as he tried to hold the hand of his handcuffed father, being escorted to an unmarked vehicle.

According to family spokesperson Zaira Garcia, Liam was getting ready to start kindergarten this week in Austin. She also said that both the father, Victor Martinez Nieto, and his son are undocumented immigrants from Mexico and remain in immigration and customs enforcement detention. The case is drawing comparisons with another detention that also impacted a five-year-old boy in suburban Minneapolis in January.

Liam Conejo Ramos was wearing a blue-knit bunny hat when a masked federal agent held the handle of the boy's Spider Man backpack before he and his father were transported on a plane to the Dilley Detention Center in Texas, the same facility where the other boy is now being held. In an interview with CNN affiliate, Univision, the mother of the boy detained with his father Sunday in Austin and who asked not to be identified, said she remembered that Minneapolis case after her own son was detained. Univision was at her home when she spoke with her son who remains at the Dilley Detention Center.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LIAM (through translator): I love you so much and I miss you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I love you so much too and I miss you so much, my love. Don't despair, my love, OK?

LIAM (through translator): OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I love you so, so much, my love (END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: Texas Representative Greg Casar, a Democrat, spoke about Liam's case in a video posted on his Facebook account.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. GREG CASAR, (D-TX): His name, just like the name of the little boy from Minnesota, is Liam, and Liam should be starting kindergarten this week, but instead, he's sitting in a trailer prison right now in Dilley, Texas. I'm calling for the immediate release of Liam, the immediate release of all of these kids, and for the closure of the Dilley trailer prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said that Victor Martinez Nieto, whom it called an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested last Sunday during a vehicle stop in Austin, Texas, and had illegally entered the country around March 2022 near Laredo, Texas. The statement goes on to say that on November 15, 2025, ICE arrested Martinez Nieto in Hutto, Texas. He accepted voluntary departure and was removed from the country on February 12, 2026. Martinez Nieto illegally re-entered the country at an unknown time and place after being removed.

Martinez Nieto and his son will remain together in ICE custody pending removal. DHS also said that the Dilley Detention Center is retrofitted for families and that children held there have access to teachers, classrooms, and books.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Ukraine's 35th Independence Day celebrations begin today, but they will be overshadowed by the war Russia started more than four years ago. We're going to go live to Kyiv right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:40:00]

ABDELAZIZ: As Ukraine prepares to mark its Independence Day, the nation remains locked in a battle to defend its freedom against Russia's ongoing war. The 35th anniversary of Ukraine's Independence is on Monday. It commemorates its split from the Soviet Union in 1991 and it comes as Kyiv continues to fend off relentless Russian attacks that are growing in scale and scope since Russia launched its full- scale invasion more than four years ago.

I want to welcome to the program now Ukrainian Parliament member Alexander Moreshko He's coming to us live from Kyiv and is the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Good morning, first of all to you.

I was speaking to our producers who told me that you were about 20 years old when Ukraine declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Do you remember that day? Where were you? What did it feel like and did you immediately understand just how momentous that moment was?

OLEKSANDR MEREZHKO, CHAIR, FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE, UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT: Thank you for having me. Yes, I vividly recall the historic events which were unfolding 35 years ago and it was a truly historic moment which I will remember for the rest of my life because it was a crucial make-or-break moment in the whole history of Ukraine, Ukrainian nation. We managed to break away finally from Russian empire after hundreds of years of struggle for our independence.

And I was a student at the time. I was just 20 years old, but for me, it was probably the most important event in my whole life. But now, we continue this struggle. And we rely on your support and support, of our American friends. And it's very symbolic that we can draw lots of parallels between our struggle for independence and American revolution, revolutionary war for independence. We fight for the same values like liberty, like pursuit of happiness because we also want to be happy, happy without Russia's aggression and interference.

ABDELAZIZ: And what was so extraordinary, of course, about Ukraine's independence is that it was achieved without the kind of bloodshed that we often associate with the collapse of other empires, it was a bloodless coup. And you must have, as a young person, because we were just playing some images from that period of time, and you can see so many young faces in the crowd. Your generation must have known that it was setting up to build a new Nation, what was your vision? What was your dream for that new country?

[04:45:00]

MEREZHKO: Yes, it might seem that in 1991 when we have declared our independence it looked like a miracle, but it was preceded by a heavy struggle of Ukrainians, many generations of Ukrainians for independence and just a few years before the proclamation of independence there was a student's protests in Kyiv. And so -- and unfortunately, we continue our struggle in this regard.

ABDELAZIZ: And in those 23 years between independence and Russia's seizure of Crimea in 2014 Ukraine of course created its own national identity, its own democratic institutions, its own outlook which was very much more European than it was Soviet of course. Tell us about the Ukraine that emerged during those years and how it became different, differentiated itself from the shadow of the USSR.

MEREZHKO: Yes, absolutely. We have changed a lot and we have very strong national identity and national culture, but at the same time, our cultural national identity is closely related to family of European nations. We have included in our constitution as a goal, strategic goal to join the European Union. We also have included in our constitution our goal to join transatlantic community, I mean by that for example NATO, which makes us closer to the United States.

But in the final analysis it's about freedom, it's about our dream to become fully independent, free from war, country, society, developing close to the West and having excellent friendly relations with all European countries and with the United States whom we view the leader of the free world.

ABDELAZIZ: And you said it's about freedom. Did you ever imagine when you were 20 years old as a student celebrating that day of independence that you would yet again be fighting for independence but this time of course in a very bloody and extraordinarily long war with Russia. Did you ever perceive of that?

MEREZHKO: Of course, at that time it was inconceivable. The situation was different and there was a wave of democratic revolutions going on at that time and we were confident that future will be bright. But after that we had several revolutions, right, like Orange Revolution, which is also a symbol of our struggle for freedom and our fight for European future.

We had Revolution of Dignity, which was another attempt to sever relations with Russian Empire and to become absolutely free from Russia, from Russian aggression. And at that time, yes, it was difficult to imagine that we will have full-scale war and it was inconceivable that time.

ABDELAZIZ: Oleksandr Merezhko on Ukraine marking its 35th Independence Day as it yet again fights for independence from Russia. And as you said it is your freedom that is at stake. Thank you so much. We'll be right back after the break.

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[04:50:00]

ABDELAZIZ: Garretts, those tiny spaces in the attics of buildings that have been romanticized in film and literature as the lodgings of starving Parisian artists, actually many of them were built centuries ago in the French capital to house the hired help. CNN's Saskya Vandoorne introduces us to some tenants who now call these very cramped quarters home.

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ANATOLY NOVIKOV, STUDENT: So yes, the entrance here, that's small, yes, like entrance area.

SASKYA VANDOORNE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These are some of the smallest apartments you'll find in Paris. Some measure less than 100 square feet.

NOVIKOVA: private shower.

VANDOORNE: Wow. Can you open both doors at the same time?

NOVIKOV: I've never tried, but I guess you could-ish.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): They're called chambre de bonne, maids' room, hidden at the top of some of Paris's grandest buildings. Built for domestic servants, they were notoriously cold, with toilets often shared between tenants. As of 2022, there were still more than 90,000 of these tiny apartments across Paris. NOVIKOV: The view from the rooftop is just amazing. Like you see pretty much every big Parisian monument. My friends commented that, like, oh, my gosh, you got to have a depression in like one month's time because it's so tiny, like it's a prison cell. And technically, I guess prison cells are bigger.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Anatoly is an engineering student who's called this place home for the past year. He pays about $800 a month in rent, expensive by the square foot, but still cheaper than most Parisian apartments.

NOVIKOV: It's not a sacrifice; it's a trade-off. In engineering, you don't have good solutions. You only have trade-offs, so, yes.

VANDOORNE: What's the trade-off here?

NOVIKOV: The space for the location, pretty much.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): And there's another price to pay for living in Central Paris, lots and lots of stairs.

VANDOORNE: You do this every day.

GLADYS MAGNAN, STUDENT: It's terrible. Oh, I know, it's a sport.

VANDOORNE: Lovely to meet you.

MAGNAN: Love you to meet you too.

VANDOORNE: I need a minute.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): This is Gladys, and she lives right at the top on the seventh floor. Unlike in the 19th century, when the problem was the cold, today its relentless heat waves turning these tiny apartments into furnaces, with temperatures climbing above 40 degrees Celsius, that's more than 104 Fahrenheit.

MAGNAN: I was also taking like ice during the night, all the ice next to me.

VANDOORNE: Like a pillow?

MAGNAN: Yes, exactly. That was terrible, and also, I slept to my sister's house, so that was better to my friend's house.

VANDOORNE: So, you actually have to leave.

MAGNAN: Yes, yes.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): It's not just Parisians willing to squeeze into these tiny homes. Tourists do it too, paying as much as $140 a night to stay in the heart of Paris.

[04:55:00]

And whether they're here for a night or a year, perhaps this is part of what they're paying for.

VANDOORNE: Wow.

MAGNAN: You can see the view.

VANDOORNE: Yes. The Eiffel Tower?

MAGNAN: Yes, the Eiffel Tower.

VANDOORNE (voice-over): Saskya Vandoorne, CNN, Paris.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABDELAZIZ: Fans began pouring into Washington on Saturday to witness the first-ever Freedom 250 Grand Prix Indy car race. Preliminary races were scheduled on Saturday. With the main race today, Indy cars will speed across the capital city past landmarks like the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building. This is part of the celebrations for America's 250th anniversary. The Grand Prix is backed by President Trump and was fast-tracked in January by an executive order. The event is expected to draw more than 300,000 people over two days.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your impression of this? First time here.

BRAD HAUN, FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX FAN: Impressive. Blown away. Speechless.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well in what way? What really strikes out?

B. HAUN: Just the sound. I love it. The speed. The crowd. Everything about it.

KRISTIN HAUN, FREEDOM 250 GRAND PRIX FAN: Getting away from work and getting to get to experience this kind of once-in-a-lifetime event for us has been great. Wanting to get out and have those experiences and coming here, very worth it.

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ABDELAZIZ: China's second World Humanoid Robot Games are now underway in Beijing. Over 2,000 robots are competing for teams from 16 different countries to showcase their abilities. A Chinese robot team beat Usain Bolt's 100-meter sprint world record during Saturday's opening. It finished in 9.39 seconds. That's about two-tenths of a second faster than Bolt's 2009 performance.

Beijing is also hosting its World Robot Conference where a firefighting robot dog was debuted. The technology advancements come as China aggressively invests in its robotics industry.

Thank you so much for watching. I'm Salma Abdelaziz. I'll be back with more news right after a quick break.

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