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Kyiv Endures Fourth Straight Day Of Russian Drone Attacks; Eight Killed And 18 Missing After Ferry Capsizes Off Northern Cyprus; Iceland Rejects Restarting Talks To Join E.U.; Deliberations Continue In The Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial; NASA Launches Powerful New Space Telescope; Notting Hill Carnival's 60th Year Celebrated On Family Day. Aired 4:30-5a ET

Aired August 31, 2026 - 04:30   ET

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

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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- about eight, nine months later. And now the U.S. on the verge of entering into this, what appears to be a significant deal is the president saying that this could more than double American oil reserves.

FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTER FOR ECONOMIC AND POLICY RESEARCH: Yes. Well, this is a remarkable turnaround for the government of Delcy Rodriguez. This is a government that had opposed U.S. involvement in the Venezuelan oil sector. It's a government that had been very hostile that, I mean, Nicolas Maduro's government and in fact had very strongly attacked the opposition because it said that the opposition was trying to sell out Venezuela's oil well to the U.S. and now they've entered into an agreement which will essentially make Venezuela a subordinate state to the US.

I mean, the reality is that the U.S. is coming in -- the U.S. is going to own a significant fraction of the most important part of Venezuela's oil reserves. And part of what's happening here is that investors from other countries are being shut out.

SANDOVAL: Yes. But we'll have to see if this goes before the General Assembly, as you pointed out there. Francisco Rodriguez, a pleasure. Thank you so much for your analysis.

RODRIGUEZ: Pleasure.

SANDOVAL: And there's still much more ahead here on CNN Newsroom, including a deadly ferry disaster just off the coast of Cyprus. Right now, there's a desperate search for more than a dozen people, people who are still missing.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Firefighters in Kyiv have put out a large warehouse after a Russian drone attack on the Ukrainian capital on Sunday morning. Kyiv and its surrounding districts have endured four straight days of drone attacks and officials are urging residents to pay attention to air raid alerts due to the ongoing threat.

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We know that at least 38 people have been killed by Russian attacks since Thursday with dozens more injured. And one of the deadliest attacks happened on Saturday. That's when a Russian drone hit an ammunition warehouse in a residential area and that triggered a massive fire and a series of explosions that destroyed several homes.

For the latest on all of these developments out of Ukraine, I want to bring in now CNN correspondent Clare Sebastian with more.

So Clare, in the face of these ongoing Russian strikes, our leaders in Ukraine getting a better sense or better options when it comes to bolstering their air defenses which they've really been desperately trying to secure for a while now.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, look, I think the big picture at the moment, Polo, is that Russia does appear to have the upper hand in this war despite the fact that Ukraine continues to carry out effective long range strikes on oil infrastructure, on warehouses within Russia. Russia is not just escalating but it's innovating in Ukraine.

This is now day five for the key of in the Kyiv region of not just repeated drone and missile attacks, but sort of long drawn out attacks back to back air raid sirens. Our team on the ground are reporting there were 11 separate air raid alerts on Sunday, four more so far this morning. This is day five of that.

And as I said, it's not just escalation, it's innovation. A key part of these barrages over the last few days have been jet powered drones, essentially Shahed drones equipped with jet engines that fly at least three times faster than regular Shaheds. Take a listen to President Zelenskyy on how they're dealing with this new threat.

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VOLODYMYR ZELENSKKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): The most difficult task is shooting down jet powered drones. At present our combat aviation is carrying out the bulk of the defense against them. We are working to secure necessary interceptor systems. Four companies have developed suitable interceptor drones and one company's technology has proven to be the most successful.

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SEBASTIAN: So they're working on it but they don't have the interceptors for these jet powered drones as of yet. They are also still very short of interceptors for ballistic missiles. So Ukraine finds itself in a very vulnerable position going into winter. And we had a new threat over the weekend from the Russian Defense Ministry saying that they have begun preparing what they called massive strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities.

This will raise more fears of what the fifth Winter War will look like. And meanwhile these ongoing drawn out attacks are disrupting the usual pattern in Kyiv and other cities of sort of dealing with the overnight strikes and then returning to normal life. And this of course, just a day before children are expected to go back to school for the new school year. So it is a pretty difficult moment for Ukraine as we see this escalating our war. Polo.

SEBASTIAN: Clare Sebastian reporting live from London. Thank you, Clare.

I want to go now to the search for -- this ongoing search after this ferry incident where at least eight people are dead and more than a dozen missing after a passenger ferry capsized. It happened just off the northern coast of Cyprus while traveling to Turkey.

The ferry was carrying nearly 270 people. The Turkish Interior Ministry saying that the vessel started taking on some water just a few miles off the coast of Cyprus. You see people having to stand on that haul. Joining me now is CNN's Nada Bashir, who's tracking this closely from London. So what is the latest on the search, Nada?

SANDOVAL: Well, search and rescue operation is still underway. As you mentioned, we have lengthy tragic news from officials that at least eight people are believed to have been killed, but some 18 are still considered missing. 241, at least according to officials, were rescued. But of course, this is being treated as a serious maritime disaster by officials in the region who are carrying out an investigation into what exactly led to this disaster.

We have, of course, been seeing video from the scene, hearing from eyewitnesses as well survivors who managed to reach life jackets and be rescued off of the capsized ferry. But of course, as you mentioned, we have seen that video showing some people managing to get onto lifeboats and rafts, others clinging onto the side of the ferry as it did capsize.

And we have been hearing from some eyewitnesses who have accused crew members of not taking the situation seriously enough at an earlier stage when many of the guests and travelers on board began to notice that things weren't exactly going as planned, that there was water seeping into the lower cabins of the ferry.

Some have even said that there weren't enough life jackets available to the passengers on board the ferry, that some were even having to jump into the sea without life vests out of fear that they would, of course, capsize with the boat. And of course, this is all going to be a central point of investigation as the police officials and other investigators continue to look at what exactly causes ferry to capsize.

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And of course, their primary focus, according to officials at this point, continues to be that search and rescue operation, at this point, according to officials, mostly a search and recovery operation. As I mentioned, at least 18 people now believed to be missing still. SANDOVAL: Yes, of course, that remains a priority. Getting those families closure before they get them the answers they need. Nada Bashir, thank you so much for that live report from London.

And so a lot more ahead here on CNN Newsroom, including the jury deliberations that are expected to pick up in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial. It's actually scheduled to resume in the coming hours. An update on this trial in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: Iceland has voted against reopening talks to join the European Union. Voters sided with opponents who warned E.U. membership could put Iceland's fishing waters at risk. The referendum was held under the shadow of President Trump's threats to acquire neighboring Greenland.

Following the votes, Iceland's prime minister said that the country will instead focus on strengthening its existing ties with the E.U. through the European Economic Area Agreement. The issue has divided the island of 400,000 people for more than a decade.

Swiss police are conducting a manhunt following a deadly shooting at a rave in the northern town of Aarau. A 22-year-old Italian woman was killed and five others were wounded. Italy's Prime Minister says that two of the wounded were Italian citizens.

Investigators have recovered two different types of ammunition at the scene. They say that it's possible more than one shooter was involved. Police also saying that several motives are being investigated and they have not ruled out terrorism. Deadly shootings are extremely rare in Switzerland, making this attack all more shocking for this resident.

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JULJA LUDVIGA, LOCAL RESIDENT: Switzerland and this area in general is like a safe place where usually like we are absolutely safe when we go somewhere. And when you hear like something like that happens, it's like -- it's like completely not understandable for me how something like that can happen.

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SANDOVAL: Closing arguments will begin on Monday. The trial of former gang a former gang member accused of orchestrating the murder of rapper Tupac Shakur. Prosecutors say that 63 year old Duane "Keffe" Davis acquired the gun and directed the attack that killed Shakur nearly 30 years ago. They called 25 witnesses and built their case largely on the defendant's own words.

Davis has pleaded not guilty to murder with the use of a deadly weapon. And jury deliberations in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial will be resuming in the coming hours. A panel of nine women and three men will decide if Clancy is criminally responsible in the killings of her three children. The jury ended deliberations on Friday without reaching a verdict.

Here's CNN's Jean Casarez.

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JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Judge William Sullivan Friday afternoon told the jury you are excused for the weekend, but asked them to come back to this courthouse in Plymouth, Massachusetts Monday morning at 9 am. Our producer in the courtroom noted that several of the jurors were speaking to each other as they walked into the courtroom, as they walked out of the courtroom. But that is to be expected because they've gotten to know each other. They have sat listening to the testimony for several weeks.

Now as far as the evidence, the juror asked for two pieces of evidence on Friday. One prescription pill bottles from Lindsay Clancy, the other being the knife. Prescription pill bottles were entered into evidence by the prosecution. Patrick Clancy was the first witness on the stand. He had a paper bag of pill bottles and he wanted to take them after the event to law enforcement and officials.

The jury saw those pill bottles and it was learned that only a few pills out of every prescription were actually out of the bottle. The defense showed the jury during closing arguments a drawer from the nightstand next to the bed with a plastic Ziploc bag filled with prescription bottles. And law enforcement had never collected that.

Secondly, the knife, the knife is truly not an issue in regard to the suicide attempt because both sides believe this was a very serious suicide attempt. But there was blood on the knife, blood in the bedroom. As we know, the jury did a jury view where they went into that bedroom now and so but they wanted to see the knife up close. We do not know why, but it is something that they wanted to see.

In other news, Dr. Avram Mack, who was a prosecution rebuttal witness, CNN has confirmed that he has resigned from a children's hospital in Delaware. We do not know why he has resigned. CNN has reached out to Dr. Mack, but he was a board certified forensic psychiatrist that testified that he did not believe Lindsay Clancy had bipolar shortly before she killed her children. He thought it was an episode of depression and also anxiety.

The reasons why he is no longer with that children's hospital remain unknown in Plymouth, Massachusetts. I'm Jean Casarez for CNN.

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SANDOVAL: And we're back with more of your headlines in a moment.

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SANDOVAL: How's this for a stunning day one of the U.S. Open? Tennis star Novak Djokovic out of the U.S. Open after a brutal five set match against Mariano Navone. The first round defeat marks the earliest Grand Slam tournament exit for the tennis player in 20 years. And it was a grueling marathon play between the two lasting four and a half hours.

Djokovic making it to the end despite getting sick mid match and also receiving some medical attention at other points. And this all happened 21 years to the day of his U.S. Open debut.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five, four, three, two, one. Ignition and liftoff. Go Falcon Heavy. And go --

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SANDOVAL: And with that, NASA Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is on its way to uncover the universe deepest mysteries. And this includes how the universe has evolved and whether humans are alone. It features a 300 megapixel infrared camera and will gather data a thousand times faster than the Hubble telescope.

NASA says that the telescope will be taking the lead in exploring the dark energy and dark matter as well as helping search for planets beyond our solar system.

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JARED ISAACMAN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: Over the course of the next several months, Roman will travel nearly 1 million miles away from Earth to Lagrange Point L2 and begin transmitting imagery and data back home that will contribute to world changing science, along with all the captivating imagery that like we see from Hubble and James Webb.

I have no doubt that Roman will become a household name alongside those great instruments of discovery.

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SANDOVAL: And the Notting Hill Carnival, Britain's biggest celebration of Caribbean culture, kicked off on Sunday in London. The carnival, which is second only to Rios in size, traditionally takes place on the last weekend in August in London's diverse Notting Hill neighborhood. Here's CNN's Charline Bou-Mansour reporting.

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CHARLINE BOU-MANSOUR, CNN CREATOR: So it's the 60th anniversary of Notting Hill Carnival. Today is Sunday, the 30th of August, and it's day one of the celebration. It's Kids Day. It's where you'll see kids in the street dressed up with beautiful costumes, colorful feathers, and there will be some duvets where people throw paint and powder in celebration of the 60th anniversary.

[04:55:05] Tomorrow will also be another day of Carnival. So it's over the course of two days. There's approximately 2 million people that fill the streets of Notting Hill every year. And it's important to say that an event like this, of a scale like this generates approximately 400 million pounds to London's economy. That's according to stats from last year.

Now you can see around me, people have been here since the early morning around 6:00 am. People are covered in paint. You can see them walking past me. You can also see people dressed up in jab, jab costumes. And that's from Grenada. So every island in the Caribbean has their traditions, has their festivities that they bring here to the streets of London.

So it's important for everyone here to celebrate and be a part of something that's much bigger, part of emancipation, part of freedom, celebrating unity. That's essentially why everyone is here today in London.

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SANDOVAL: Thanks Charline. And anybody in the United States who searches for Lake Ontario on Google Maps won't find it labeled that way that says of this weekend. You see, users will now see the smallest of the Great Lakes labeled Lake America. That's because President Trump issued an executive order on Thursday mandating the name change amid his trade war with China. Google says users in Canada will continue calling it Lake Ontario.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says that that's what the country will continue to call it. On Sunday, Trump administration officials celebrated that change on social media with White House communications director Steven Cheung posting its official Lake America on Google Maps. Other online maps, including Waze and Apple Maps, still label the lake as Lake Ontario as of Sunday afternoon.

With that, thank you so much for watching. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Our live coverage continues with CNN Headline Express in a moment.

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