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U.S. Treasury Secretary Vows 'Economic D-Day is Coming for Iran'; Ukraine Prepares for Massive New Russian Mobilization; Chinese Humanoid Robots Surpass Human World Records at Robot Olympics; Iranian Women Defy Efforts to Enforce Wearing of Hijab; Kyle Kirkwood Wins First IndyCar Race in Washington, D.C.; North Korean Flight Attendants Seen in Rare Moment; Lions, Tigers Rescued from Notorious Argentina Zoo. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 24, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello from Hong Kong. I'm Will Ripley, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:00:39]

Economic D-Day. New threats from a top U.S. official as Washington is set to slam more sanctions on Iran.

Russia could be drafting thousands more to fight against Ukraine. Where will Vladimir Putin find the new recruits he needs for the war he started more than four years ago?

And the mission to relocate rescued big cats to a sanctuary in a whole different continent.

We begin this hour in Washington, where the White House is expected to announce new sanctions on Iran. The U.S. treasury secretary is vowing an economic D-Day is coming for Iran.

In a "Financial Times" Sunday op-ed, Scott Bessent wrote, "The world should understand that our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone." He says Iran won't be the only target, but would impact anyone working with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: If you insist on doing business with them, either transferring money, buying their oil, doing seaborne ship transfers, then the U.S. treasury and the U.S. government, they will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Meanwhile, Tehran's leadership appears to show growing differences over negotiations with Washington. Iran's president says the country, quote, "cannot continue with war forever." But the foreign minister insists U.S. sanctions and pressure campaigns are nothing new for Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): This is a repetitive scenario: from the crippling sanctions imposed during the Obama administration to the maximum pressure campaign during Mr. Trump's first administration, and now to the latest sanctions.

All of these measures have been introduced under different titles, but they represent the same kind of bullying that we have always seen in American policy. In other words, it's the same movie they keep playing over and over again. We know this movie, so we know how to confront and deal with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Iran is also warning that ships accused of violating its transit rules in the Strait of Hormuz could be penalized or even seized.

Iran's already hard-hit economy is suffering from a new blow. Iranian media reports that the country's currency, the rial, sunk to a record low against the U.S. dollar.

It's not just Tehran's economy that's hurting. American consumers have been paying more at the pump and just about everywhere else since the start of the war nearly six months ago. One Fed official says the longer the war goes on, the less confident he is that inflation will return to target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOEL KASHKARI, PRESIDENT, FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF MINNEAPOLIS: For five years, we've been saying inflation is going to return to target in the next year or two. It just keeps getting pushed out.

Eventually, we're going to have to do more, and I'm not sure if were there yet. We need to see more data, but I don't want to prejudge the next meeting. But I'm not feeling confident right now that inflation is heading back down to target in a short period of time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: Meanwhile, crude oil prices dipped slightly on Sunday after Iran's top security chief threatened to halt all oil movement through the Strait of Hormuz.

Recently released footage of Iran's supreme leader is prompting more questions about his condition and whereabouts. An Iranian news site posted a short clip of what's believed to be archive footage of Mojtaba Khamenei.

He's not been seen in public since being appointed to the role following his father's death in the U.S.-Israeli attack that launched the war with Iran.

Earlier this month, Iranian state media shared another undated video of Mojtaba, apparently taken before the war. Tehran insists security considerations are the primary reason for Mojtaba's absence in public.

Joining me now to bring their insights and analysis are Miad Maleki, former senior official at the U.S. Treasury; and Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute, responsible for statecraft.

So, I want to start with you and talk about sanctions, because you helped design sanctions against Iran when you were at Treasury. What can Treasury actually do now that it hasn't done after years of sanctions, besides go after China, Turkey, Iraq, other buyers of Iran's oil?

MIAD MALEKI, FORMER SENIOR OFFICIAL AT THE U.S. TREASURY: Thanks for the great question. And thanks for having me and also your guest, Trita.

You're right. I mean, the gap isn't really the authorities the president has. Iran's economy has been subject to very comprehensive, I would say the most comprehensive sanctions in the history of sanctions.

[00:05:10]

So, it's not -- it's not the authorities that the Treasury Department is going to expand. It's really the enforcement. I would say we're at maximum designation capacity, but we're -- there's -- there's -- this is not maximum pressure.

And I think what President Trump and Secretary Bessent are really focusing on right now is really focusing on the oil ecosystem. Remember, Iran already has -- Iran managed to move a lot of oil out of the Strait of Hormuz before the blockade. And when the blockade was -- was put on pause. So, that oil is available to buyers in China and elsewhere.

So, yes, there will be some, probably, pressure on small, medium-sized teapot refiners in China who are purchasing Iranian oil. That will put more pressure on Iran's revenue generation.

But also, the banks that -- banks and exchange houses, that allowing Iranian regime to repatriate some of those revenue and get access to foreign currency.

So, there is an enforcement that we're going to see happening right now. There's specific authorities that Treasury Department has to -- to put pressure on banks in UAE, in China, and elsewhere, to -- to really cut off the regime's access to also formal financial system. Indirectly, that they have maintained through some of these exchange houses.

So, it' s more of an enforcement posture, not really an expansion of existing authorities. And just very quickly, I think it's also the diplomatic pressure that, that I think we're seeing secretary Bessent really putting on Iran through cases such as UAE cutting off ties with Iran economically.

You probably are seeing some more information sharing that is happening between the Gulf nations and the U.S. and elsewhere. But you also have U.N. and E.U. sanctions that -- that are biting against Iran's economy right now.

RIPLEY: Trita, do you think all this pressure -- diplomatic, economic, -- do you think it's going to work? Just keep squeezing until Iran gives more?

TRITA PARSI, EVP, QUINCY INSTITUTE: Well, judging by the track record of the last four decades of more and more sanctions, there's really no reason to believe that this time around is going to be dramatically different from the previous times.

All the previous times undoubtedly had put pressure on Iran. There's no doubt about that. And it has devastating impact on the Iranian economy.

It has not, however, translated into the Iranians giving up, capitulating, or surrendering as Trump wants them to do right now, or even necessarily becoming more flexible in the negotiations.

Oftentimes, what the Iranians have done when faced with this type of pressure, particularly if it's stinging, is to counter escalate. And that's the story we've seen for the last couple of years in particular.

And the risk here is, of course, that if there isn't a diplomatic path combined with this, that the Iranians believe, and their perceived -- perception will be that the U.S. is doing this in order to force their surrender, and that's when they will lash out, as they have done in the last couple of months. And their targets will be countries in the region, or other slightly outside of the region.

So, I think this is a very dangerous gamble. I can understand the frustration of the administration in terms of some of the challenges in the negotiations.

But putting all of their eggs in this basket is the same thing that was done four months ago when the blockade of the blockade was put in place. And then the administration was promised that the Iranian economy would collapse within 13 days. And here we are 4 or 5 months later, and it still hasn't happened.

RIPLEY: So, Miad, if the pressure is up, then the enforcement is upped. How can you target the regime without inflicting enormous cost and potentially suffering for ordinary Iranians?

MALEKI: Well, just very quickly, you know, the challenge that the regime is facing today is that if they want to escalate, that escalation is going to have to run through the Gulf states, Iran's neighboring countries. Meaning if they want to put pressure on the U.S., they're going to have to target, as Trita correctly said, the regional partners, their regional partners and our regional partners, such as in UAE, Oman, and elsewhere.

And what that really means, that's going to translate into more diplomatic isolation and economic pressure on the regime itself.

So, they're having this challenge of how they can escalate in a way that they can't -- they don't end up facing a situation that they're facing with UAE right now, where they get 80 percent of their foreign currency. It's really a lifeline economically for the regime. And that's being cut right now.

As far as sanctions, how they would work, I think historically, the regime changes course when the cost becomes unbearable. We've seen that, you know, in 2003, they suspended enrichment in 23 days. You know, they accepted to -- to sit down and negotiate over the JCPOA.

[00:10:07]

Just very recently, a year after Qassem Soleimani, the closest commander to -- to the supreme leader, was killed, only a year after they were back in Europe negotiating over a deal.

And then the MOU, only shortly after a war that -- that led to the killing of their most important political figure, and the IRGC leaders, they came to the table to negotiate over a memorandum of understanding.

And that's really the result of the sanctions and economic pressure.

The most threat to this -- the strongest threat to the regime's survival is really internal. It's domestic. And they understand that's the clock that is -- that is ticking. And at some point, they're going to have to deal with -- with -- with the situation they're in economically.

So, I think once again, if -- if there is an opening, they're going to come to negotiate, but the obstacle to a deal right now isn't that pressure wouldn't work. It's really dynamics internal to Iran.

This regime, the regime in Iran really needs to sell this package as a win domestically. They have a core supporters that they have radicalized for years. The over-promised victory to this ten, 15 percent, 20 percent of the supporters that they have. And they ended up facing a major defeat.

Layers and layers of the Araghchi leaders, the supreme leader dead, the nuclear program damaged. You know, U.S.-Israeli fighter jets flying all over the country without any air defense.

So, they -- they also have the domestic challenge right now that they're facing, that they need to sell this as a win. Otherwise, the regime is going to be facing not just the 80 percent of Iranians that have moved on with this regime, but also their own core supporters that have been radicalized.

RIPLEY: You mentioned the supreme leader. Trita, we've just seen another undated video of Mojtaba. Unclear when it was taken. Who do you think is actually in charge right now? Why is state media just releasing this old footage? Is there any credibility problem from the fact that we haven't seen him?

PARSI: If I could just quickly comment on what Miad said earlier on, you know, listening to that, it sounded as if this war has been quite a success.

And I think the overwhelming majority of Americans, according to polls, have the right conclusion about this war, which is that it's been an utter disaster.

So, it has not achieved a single one of America's strategic objectives. Just imposing damage or destroying things in Iran is not the strategic objective. These are tactical wins, perhaps, if they can be translated into strategic win, but they have not. And there's nothing that suggests that they will be anytime soon.

So, I think the United States itself would have been much better off having not started this war in the first place.

So, I don't buy this narrative that someway, somehow, the Iranians have been defeated. If they were six months into this war that was only supposed to last four days, I hate to see what the administration or supporters of this war would actually call a defeat, because this has clearly been defeat so far.

In regards to the supreme leader, it is really a mystery. I have no idea where he is. I don't think anyone really knows exactly what the situation is.

I think we're seeing more and more evidence that he is alive and that he is involved. Whether he is entirely in charge or not, we don't know, because the opacity in which this system, this theocracy, is working is far, far deeper now than it was before the war. we already back then had limited insight into the exact mechanisms of the theocracy. Now it's even more mysterious than it was before.

But it is, indeed, a very interesting thing that, for months now, he has not been seen. Even the statements that he is issuing is read by someone else on TV. And it's becoming increasingly a question mark amongst the population, as well, who's actually running the show.

RIPLEY: Trita Parsi and Miad Maleki, we have to leave it there. But I really appreciate both of your perspectives. Thank you very much.

MALEKI: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSION)

(END VIDEO CLIP) RIPLEY: Well, this explosion ripping through a building in central Gaza. People said an Israeli strike hit this property when its owners were warned to leave the area.

Palestinian health officials say at least two people, including a young boy, were killed in two separate airstrikes in Gaza just on Sunday. One Palestinian man described the ongoing desperation in the territory.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): There is no ceasefire. There is nothing. There is nothing. Our lives are destroyed. Our youth are destroyed.

What can we do? We want solutions. We want to live in peace. This does not make sense. This does not make sense.

[00:15:02]

It's true these things are happening to other people. But I am also human. I see these things. People torn into pieces. We die. Our morale is destroyed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: The European Union is speaking out against the Israeli government's move to advance an internationally condemned settlement plan in the West Bank.

The E.U. warns this fundamentally harms the prospect of the two-state solution.

Israel has issued a notice inviting bids for the construction of more than 1,200 housing units, with the project aiming to create a contiguous block of Jewish settlements from East Jerusalem to the West Bank. The E.U. is urging Israel to halt the project.

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to sit down with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Paris in the hours ahead, one day after the two attended the closing ceremony of the Esports World Cup at the Grand Palais.

They're expected to oversee the signing of agreements before attending a French-Saudi business forum on Monday.

The Trump administration is blaming Canada for the collapse of trade talks, with the transportation secretary, accusing Canada of, quote, "taking advantage of the U.S."

Canada walked away from the negotiations late Friday. Prime Minister Mark Carney said the U.S. had introduced last-minute demands that would have harmed his nation's economy.

He's promising to match the United States' new tariffs on Canadian goods, dollar for dollar. Despite the standoff, White House officials say they expect talks to

resume soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: We want fairness for the American worker, and some of our best friends are -- are the worst offenders that treat us the worst. And the fact that we provide their security for them, and they take advantage of us.

I think President Trump was the first one to go, you know what? That's not the kind of relationship that friends should have. And so, the president is calling them out.

I think you're going to see Mark Carney come to the table very, very quickly, because it's going to be devastating for his country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: So, let's take a look at the global stock markets and where things stand right now.

The news is certainly not good across Asia Pacific markets, all of the indices down. Not dramatically yet, but it's still early in the trading day.

Here's a look at U.S. futures as Wall Street looks to rebound from a losing week.

We will continue to monitor all of the financial markets that have been responding negatively to all of these developments, from Iran and elsewhere.

But let's switch now to the weather, and let's talk about the heavy rain that's triggering floods in several parts of India.

Flooding in eastern India is keeping people there from accessing food and other supplies. Locals say they're just trying to keep what's left of the food they have in their homes safe from the rising waters.

Meanwhile, flood waters have also inundated homes and farmlands in Northern India, damaging crops and feed for livestock.

A wildfire that's uncontained and growing quickly near Reno, Nevada, is prompting widespread evacuations there.

This is the Hawk Fire. It's grown to more than 15,000 acres. Nearly 90,000 people are being told to leave their homes or to prepare to leave as crews try to get the flames under control.

Officials say the fire appears to be human-caused, but there's no indication it was intentionally set. Earlier, CNN spoke with Reno's fire chief, who explained why this Hawk Fire is so challenging to contain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CHIEF DAVID COCHRAN, RENO FIRE DEPARTMENT: We're seeing some incredible erratic fire behavior. That behavior that you, well, many have never seen before.

The other thing that's happening is it's extending for longer periods. We're getting that erratic fire behavior into the nighttime and into the early morning hours, which is unusual. And that's what's making this so hard to control and so hard to contain.

Because typically overnight, especially in Nevada, where I'm working, you get the temperature drop, the winds will drop, and the fire kind of settles down. And that allows us to really get after it. Because it's very hard to attack the fire when there's high winds, high heat in the middle of the day.

But when it settles down, we can get after it. That's when we can ramp up that containment.

But if the winds don't drop, the temperature doesn't drop, and you're getting that erratic fire behavior, it just makes it hard to get your arms around a fire of this size and this magnitude.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: This is CNN NEWSROOM. We are live in Hong Kong.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is gearing up to send hundreds of thousands more troops into its war with Ukraine. How Kyiv is preparing as it looks to shore up its allies and defenses.

Plus, humanoid robots are being put to the test in Beijing. Some of them are even exceeding human world records. Hello, Usain Bolt. A look inside China's Robot Olympics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:24:00]

RIPLEY: Newly minted British Prime Minister Andy Burnham is making his first trip abroad, traveling to Kyiv for Ukraine's Independence Day celebrations.

While there, Burnham will chair his first meeting of the Coalition of the Willing: the group of countries working to bolster Ukraine's security and defense.

On Sunday, President Zelenskyy met Nordic and Baltic leaders in Kyiv, some of whom will also attend Monday's coalition meeting.

This diplomatic push comes as Mr. Zelenskyy issues a stark warning that Russia could mobilize hundreds of thousands more troops this year.

CNN's Sebastian Shukla reports on the challenges Ukraine faces as Russia steps up its war efforts. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: President Zelenskyy has said that Russia could be planning to mobilize some 300,000 people following parliamentary elections in mid-September, with the aim of still capturing all of Ukraine's Donbas region.

SHUKLA (voice-over): The Ukrainian president was speaking to reporters over the weekend and also said he thought Russia was capable of producing 1,300 ballistic missiles a year, roughly 100 a month, a doubling from their current capabilities.

SHUKLA: In order to counter those ballistic missile attacks, President Zelenskyy is still hunting for around 300 Patriot missiles to replenish his dwindling stockpiles, but appeared to admit that no agreement seemed imminent.

SHUKLA (voice-over): Russia is exploiting this chink in Ukraine's armor and is pounding it with waves of ballistic missiles, causing catastrophic damage.

Meanwhile, the fighting and the aerial attacks continue unabated from both sides. And in an apparent widening of the scope of targets to slightly softer ones, including malls and e-commerce facilities, is a potentially dangerous escalation, with President Putin saying on Saturday night that Ukraine's attacks on its energy infrastructure has unleashed a Pandora's box.

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We have stepped up our attacks on Ukrainian defense industry enterprises, including those in Kyiv, and have begun to respond to the enemy actions against our civilian industrial and logistics facilities.

The Kyiv regime has set out to damage our economy. What has it done? It has opened Pandora's box itself. Well, get an answer about your most sensitive economic sectors, which, frankly, are already on their last legs.

SHUKLA (voice-over): The president added that he saw no serious versions of a peace agreement, calling ideas exotic and unacceptable. And he seems to be showing no signs at the moment of backing down from his maximalist demands, or even being open to talking.

We appear to be in a rather fraught phase of the war right now, and rhetoric and actions from both sides seem to show no signs of relenting.

The British prime minister, Andy Burnham, will make his first visit to Ukraine since his election, along with other members of the Coalition of the Willing, to hold talks with President Zelenskyy with Kyiv on Monday, which is also Ukraine's Independence Day.

SHUKLA: Sebastian Shukla, CNN, Berlin.

(END VIDEOTAPE) RIPLEY: Joining me now is Jill Dougherty, former CNN Moscow bureau chief and affiliated scholar at the Georgetown University Center for Eurasian, Russian and East European Studies.

Jill, it's really great to see you again. Thank you for sharing your expertise in all of this.

What do -- what do you think Ukraine needs to get out of this, this meeting between Zelenskyy and the U.K. prime minister as part of this Coalition of the Willing, as they say?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, I think there are two things.

One is certainly what is going to be said, because this is a big anniversary. It's happening on Ukrainian Independence Day, 35 years. So, it's a big deal. And they certainly want condemnation of Russia's most recent attacks on civilians.

And that, I think, will be the recurring theme: to get condemnation from the United Nations for that. Of course, Russia is a permanent member, and we'll have to see what Russia says.

They are also going to talk about attacks on exports of agricultural materials, because, you know, grain getting out. Of course, Ukraine is a major producer of grain. And this could have an effect on the developing world.

There have been Ukrainian attacks on Russian exports, as well. So, it's a serious problem. But I think that condemnation is going to be very key.

RIPLEY: Are you concerned about this escalation in brutality? You have that horrible double-tap strike on a shopping center. We have word Russia could be drafting some 300,000 additional troops. Where do you see this going? And where is Putin getting all the people from?

DOUGHERTY: Well, to take that question first, he's taking them from wherever he can get them. And up to now, it really has been people who live in less developed parts of Russia, who really need money; and also North Koreans, as you know very well. They've brought in North Koreans to fight. And there's an expectation that they will be asking for more from North Korea.

But I think that mobilization is a real problem for Putin, because if he does what President Zelenskyy of Ukraine is saying -- ask for, mobilize 300,000 more -- that is a political issue.

That is very unpopular, mobilization. It happened, remember, back in the beginning of the full-scale invasion, when they did mobilize; and men fled Russia.

So that, if Putin decides to do that, it will be because of necessity. And the question would be, would he do it in the big cities? The big cities, for the most part, do not want to support this war. Now, you know, in terms of where we're going on this, I think the --

the danger here is that it's quite obvious -- and we can talk about this more. It's quite obvious that Russia has taken the approach right now of striking, actually, sometimes individual civilians.

And the toll, according to the United Nations itself, has risen astronomically just in the past month. So, this is of high concern. And I think you're going to hear some statistics at the United Nations on this.

RIPLEY: You touched on the mood inside Russia a bit. Obviously, people in the city don't want to be conscripted, because it seems like they're just taking everybody they can out of the countryside.

Also, everyday Russians hadn't really been feeling the effects of the war as acutely. But now, you have these strikes very close to Moscow. You have these fuel shortages.

What is the mood inside Russia? And could the mood, if it was changing, be a problem for Putin?

DOUGHERTY: Yes. You know, that's a little difficult to judge, because it's pretty obvious, if you look at social media and things that Russians themselves are saying, there's concern. I mean, they have several concerns.

One would be these gigantic gas lines, long lines at petrol stations, not only in Moscow but in other cities in Russia, across Russia. That would be one.

No. 2 is these recent attacks on the retailer that's called Wildberry. And there's another one called Ozon, ozone. And, you know, they have been hit several times, many of them, the outlets by the Ukrainians. Russians know that.

So, when they're trying to order something on their version of Amazon, they're not able to get it. That's a big problem.

But I think also, the -- the hits on the city of Moscow and other major cities in Russia that are quite far away from Ukraine, you can't hide this.

The Kremlin cannot hide the gas lines. The Kremlin cannot hide the Wildberry attacks, and the Kremlin cannot hide these drone attacks that are striking cities.

So, again, this is -- what people do with that information is a question. But you can definitely say they are concerned. Do they blame Putin? Some do, some don't.

RIPLEY: You know, obviously Putin has basically re-engineered his economy to support this war machine, some might say indefinitely. But you do have to wonder, if the Ukrainians keep hitting where everyday people are hurting, if that could change the equation in some way. We'll have to leave it here for now. Jill Dougherty, really appreciate, as always, chatting with you. Thanks for your time. DOUGHERTY: Sure.

RIPLEY: Chinese robots are breaking human records at this year's World Humanoid Robot Games. It's the second year China has hosted the competition as it very assertively invests in its robotics industry.

And CNN's Mike Valerio is on the ground in Beijing with the robots to give us a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE VALERIO, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some astonishing and not so astonishing feats in one of the Olympic stadiums here in Beijing.

VALERIO (voice-over): The humanoid robot named Lightning ran the 100- meter race faster than Usain Bolt's world record.

But you know, these competitors, they don't need protein drinks. They need batteries.

Here at the World Humanoid Robot Games, robo-athletes are being tested like never before.

More than 2,000 robots from 16 countries are registered for this year's games, and we have kickboxing, football, table tennis. And some of these events are getting much harder.

VALERIO: The 400-meter race, for example, is now totally autonomous, meaning these robots need to see the track, navigate it, and cross the finish line without anybody guiding them by remote control.

VALERIO (voice-over): And this is actually part of the point. When a robot falls, gets confused, or manages to recover on its own, engineers get a real-world test of technology they ultimately want working outside the arena.

VALERIO: China's made embodied A.I., which is essentially A.I. in a physical body, a national priority. And the government has backed research, training centers, and real-world testing, as so many Chinese universities and companies have raced to build better robot bodies and even smarter robot brains.

VALERIO (voice-over): So, the real competition here isn't just robot versus robot. It's how quickly China can move these machines from spectacle to something a little bit more useful.

And judging by what we're seeing here, there are both some amazing achievements and a little bit more training to do.

Mike Valerio, CNN, Beijing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Hong Kong. As the Iranian regime focused on the conflict, enforcement of hijabs

had eased. But now that's changing. Hardliners are cracking down on women's dress codes again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:39:34]

RIPLEY: We're getting these pictures coming in from West Africa, where rescue efforts are underway in Guinea.

Heavy rain triggered a landslide at the capital's largest landfill, killing at least 30 people. Several others were critically injured, and many homes were destroyed.

Authorities say the site was scheduled to close, and locals were given evacuation orders, but many were still there when the disaster hit.

Government officials said they're making sure surviving families will be relocated elsewhere.

[00:40:05]

Iranian photojournalist Yalda Moaiery has been told by courts in Tehran that she has one final chance to defend herself as she fights a 15-year prison sentence.

Her lawyer wasn't allowed to speak at the hearing on Sunday to determine his client's fate. The court had ruled that her work is hostile to Iran's government.

Despite the ongoing legal challenge, Moaiery says she has no plans to stop working, and she welcomes international media coverage about her case.

Also, hardliners in Iran are once again enforcing mandatory dress codes for women, but many women are choosing not to wear headscarves.

CNN's Jomana Karadsheh shows what's happening to them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: What you're doing is disgraceful. Even in Turkey, you can't go out like this.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This woman is being publicly shamed by another woman for showing her bare legs in Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: How dare you come out looking like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE; (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE) GRAPHIC: Enough!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: Don't let it happen again.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Eventually, officers arrive and make her put on pants.

KARADSHEH: This scene is being played out in cities across the country. The focus seems to be turning back to how women are allowed to dress.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): At the height of the war, women without headscarves were even seen at pro-government gatherings. The regime seemed to have bigger priorities.

But now, hardliners are pushing the hijab back on the agenda. Cafes, restaurants, and shops are being shut down for failing to enforce mandatory dress codes.

KARADSHEH: Hardline clerics are demanding tougher enforcement.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): This cleric, speaking directly to President Masoud Pezeshkian.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GRAPHIC: To what extent do they have to take off their clothes for it to be a red line, so you say: "Ah, this must not be done anymore."

KARADSHEH: But there's a problem for the regime.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Iranian women are not backing down.

Four years ago, the death of Mahsa Jina Amini, in custody after being detained by the so-called Morality Police, ignited the Woman, Life, Freedom protests.

The uprising was brutally suppressed, but widespread acts of defiance survived. Today, women walk through Iranian cities without headscarves and ride motorcycles through Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan. As the war with the U.S. seems to stall, an old confrontation is bubbling up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RIPLEY: This is CNN NEWSROOM, live from Hong Kong.

Up next, could you call it the Trump Grand Prix? It's the first ever IndyCar race on the streets of the U.S. capital, now in the books. We will tell you the winner of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, and we'll hear from some of the fans who turned out for this unique event.

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[00:47:16] RIPLEY: The first ever IndyCar race in the U.S. capital is now in the books.

President Trump, along with thousands of fans, watched Kyle Kirkwood win the Freedom 250 Grand Prix on Sunday. The special event commemorating the nation's 250th birthday saw racers zipping past some of Washingtons most iconic landmarks and museums.

And CNN's Brian Todd was at the race.

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BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, a successful conclusion to the Freedom 250 Grand Prix, won by Kyle Kirkwood. They're breaking this track down already here in the aftermath of the race.

Some of the equipment being lifted and then loaded to be taken out. But it's going to take a while.

This was turn four, one of the tightest turns of the race. And this came down here on Seventh Street. Then they would take a left on Independence Avenue.

We'll show you some of the grandstands. These were packed during the race. That grandstand was full of fans. And then to your left there you've got the suites, which each cost about 200 to $250,000 for each suite. There are about 80 suites total, and we were told they were sold out, as well.

The organizers said they expected about 100,000 people each day of this race, Saturday and on Sunday. We talked to several racegoers about their experience overall.

I'm here with Liz Eustace and Chris Richardson, race fans here. You -- Chris is -- you've been to several races, you said. OK?

Liz, you have not? OK. Got to get your impression. First time. How do you -- how do you like it?

LIZ EUSTACE, WATCHED RACE: This -- I saw the warm-up, and it was so cool. I didn't think -- I was kind of like, oh, they're just cars running. But the speed they're going. It was so freaking cool. And I got goosebumps. I got all shaky. It was really cool.

TODD: And now you're a veteran, Chris. You've been to some of these races. What do you think? What stands out to you about this particular one?

CHRIS RICHARDSON, WATCHED RACE: It's a road course, and that's always fun. You know, a road course on my own home roads. I definitely love that. And just having a point of reference for how fast they're going on these city streets is insane.

TODD: Now, one of the biggest questions coming out of this is could this happen here again? The mayor of Washington, D.C., Muriel Bowser, has said she hopes that

they can bring it back here. But Ms. Bowser is actually going to be out of office as of January. She's serving out the last part of her term.

So, let's see if the city powers that be here can coordinate with -- with IndyCar and with Penske racing to maybe bring this race back.

I think by most measures, it was a success. We talked to so many people coming here who said they had a really good fan experience.

What we are told, though, is it's going to -- all told, it's about a two-month operation to set everything up, which they started in mid- to late July. And in order to break everything down, it's going to take probably at least until the end of the first week in September.

So, all told, about a two-month operation to set everything up and then break everything down.

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Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

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RIPLEY: You know, we rarely get to see what life is like for everyday North Koreans. But there's this recent video that's going viral of a North Korean flight crew posing for pictures before takeoff. And it really gives us a brief glimpse into an other -- otherwise ordinary moment.

And it really reminded me of my own experiences, meeting crew members for North Korea's only airline, Air Koryo.

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RIPLEY (voice-over): Look closely at this video. These are flight attendants in North Korea, getting together for a selfie with their pilot before a flight.

It's such an ordinary little moment, but that's what makes it so rare to see.

I've made 19 trips to North Korea, and I've flown its national airline, Air Koryo, many times. And watching these women reminded me of this North Korean flight attendant I met.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have been working as an air stewardess in Air Koryo company for five years.

RIPLEY: How do you like it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I like it very much. My job is the envy of all my friends.

RIPLEY (voice-over): She told me becoming a flight attendant was highly competitive, with about a year of training, and the job gave her something extraordinarily rare for a North Korean: the chance to travel abroad for work.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have flights to Beijing and Shenyang and Vladivostok.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: JS-152 to Pyongyang.

RIPLEY (voice-over): In one of the world's most isolated countries,, her work took her beyond its borders and brought the outside world directly to her.

Because Air Koryo's flight attendants don't just serve passengers. For many foreign visitors, they're among the first North Koreans they'll meet.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They ask us, what are the famous buildings and they ask us about Pyongyang. And we always tell them about Pyongyang.

I always tell them Pyongyang has many buildings for the people, and it is just the epitome of socialist Korea.

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RIPLEY: Just a little snapshot of life inside North Korea. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Were live in Hong Kong.

Neglected animals from an abandoned zoo have new homes. We are taking a closer look at this international effort to rescue these big cats.

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RIPLEY: Dozens of lions and tigers have been rescued from a long- abandoned zoo in Argentina. These animals were removed from their overcrowded enclosures and then transferred to animal sanctuaries around the world, as CNN's Isabel Rosales reports.

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ISABEL ROSALES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A chance at a new life. That's what these big cats now have after being moved to new sanctuaries across the world.

AMIR KHALIL, VETERINARIAN AND LEADER OF FOUR PAWS EMERGENCY MISSIONS: At first, we try also not to make radical change, but the quality of life will change. They will have hundreds of square meters. They will have proper food, proper medical care. They were forgotten for many years, and I think now it will be a new life for them.

ROSALES (voice-over): The lions and tigers were rescued from a former zoo near Buenos Aires, shut down by Argentine officials in 2020 over safety concerns. The zoo was known for letting visitors handle the animals. In 2025, global animal welfare organization Four Paws took on

responsibility for the animals. Veterinarians brought in to treat the big cats said they found many injuries, like deformed paws from declawing, kidney disease and open wounds.

FRANK GORITZ, HEAD VETERINARIAN, LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR ZOO AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH: So, we found various injuries on the skin, on the tail, on the ears. So, we have some broken canines, which is very common in big cats when they do this bar biting.

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ROSALES (voice-over): Now, Four Paws sent 30 of them to sanctuaries in the U.S. and South Africa to start their new lives.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When we started with the complete medical examination of all these animals here in Lujan Zoo. Based on this examination, we evaluated that there are several animals that need urgent attention, and they need to be moved to sanctuaries and places where this is possible to be ensured.

ROSALES (voice-over): This week, 15 of these tigers and lions were taken to Lionsrock Big Cat Sanctuary in South Africa, which is owned by Four Paws, while the other 15 were transferred to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado.

KHALIL: I feel well when I reach to my destination with the animal, and when I see them, I feel, how is this valuable to save a life?

ROSALES (voice-over): Whether they're in Colorado or South Africa, Four Paws says these big cats will get to experience life as close to their natural habitat as possible, tailored to their specific needs, and that family groups and lifelong companions will remain together in their new sanctuary homes.

But most importantly, they'll finally be able to get the care they need.

Isabel Rosales, CNN, Atlanta.

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RIPLEY: Sweltering temperatures across Japan pose a threat not only to humans, but also to pets. And now there's a clothing maker who has come up with a creative solution to help some pets beat the heat.

It's a suit with built-in fans. I think this is very Japanese, to be honest.

The idea inspired by air-conditioned vests that many construction workers wear to stay cool. The vest has two battery-powered fans. They bring in air that's been cooled by an ice pack in the collar.

One dog owner says this vest is ideal for walking her dog in the summer.

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YUKINA KITHARA, DOG OWNER (through translator): With this, the ice pack can be placed inside the jacket, and the built-in fans can keep the dog cool, so I can head out for a walk much more easily without having to carry too much. It's really convenient.

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RIPLEY: Try to put that on my dog, and there would be drama. Not fun.

Norwegian football star Erling Haaland is starting the new soccer season with a new look. The Manchester City striker has chopped off his famous blond locks. Wow, look at that. Now he's got a buzz cut.

He revealed the transformation in a now-viral social media post, one of many viral social media posts from Haaland, whose long blond hair made him one of the most recognizable players during Norway's run at the 2026 World Cup.

And that's it for CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Will Ripley in Hong Kong. We're back with more news right after this.

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