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U.S. And Iran Launch New Strikes Amid Tensions Over Strait of Hormuz; Germany Blames Russia For Drone Attack On Leipzig Airport; CNN Joins Search For Flood Victims Along Nepal's Riverbanks; Judge Directs Jury To Continue Deliberations After Impasse; 1,100+ Dead, 4,500+ Missing in Nepal Floods Amid Ongoing Search Efforts; Wong Pleads Guilty in Second National Security Case; Edouard Weakens to Tropical Depression; Massachusetts Sen. Markey Wins Democratic Nomination; MapQuest Tops App Charts After Refusing to Rename Lake Ontario; Coco Gauff Tops Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez 6-3, 6-4. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 02, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:32]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, tensions flare up again between the U.S. and Iran. President Trump is warning of more strikes while refusing any negotiations.

It's been one week since the devastating floods in Nepal and China. Nepal's foreign minister speaks to CNN about why his country deserves compensation for the disaster.

and the jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial is set to return for another day of deliberations. What the judge told them when they said they were deadlocked.

ANNOUNCER: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Good to have you with us, and we begin with new developments in the Middle East. The U.S. president is warning Iran to consider its next moves carefully as it trades a new series of strikes with the U.S. Those attacks come amid a threat from Donald Trump warning Iran that if it retaliates, "They will be hit again at a much harder and higher level."

Now, that threat, just one of multiple messages posted online by President Trump. He later wrote that he couldn't care less if Iran signs a, "Worthless agreement over the Strait of Hormuz and urged Iranians to rise up and fight."

Iran vowed retaliation for the U.S. strikes, according to state media, the country's armed forces central headquarters said they would, "Deliver crushing and devastating blows against the American enemy." Well, multiple strikes from Iran were reported Tuesday. The Jordanian Armed Forces confirmed it has intercepted at least 10 missiles launched from Iran, and another three fell in remote locations. Bahrain and Kuwait also reported intercepting Iranian drones.

U.S. Central Command released this video with a list of Iranian targets it had hit in its strikes, including air defense sites, radar systems, and communication sites. But Iranian officials claim one of those attacks hit a wedding celebration in the southern part of the country, killing at least four people, including a child. CNN geolocated this video to the same neighborhood where the officials say the wedding was taking place.

Dr. Adel Abdel Ghafar joins me now. He is a senior resident fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute in Canberra. Thank you so much for talking with us.

DR. ADEL ABDEL GHAFAR, SENIOR RESIDENT FELLOW, AUSTRALIAN STRATEGIC POLICY INSTITUTE: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, the U.S. and Iran are trading retaliatory strikes again. What does this exchange of fire signal to you? And does the renewed military activity change the direction of this war in any way do you think?

GHAFAR: No, it really highlights that we will continue to see this low level of conflict. It's becoming more like an insurgency from the Iranian perspective. They know the Iranians understand that they cannot really win the war against the U.S. So, it's not really about firepower, but more about staying power.

So, the Iranians are betting that the U.S. will either lose interest, will not -- does not want to stay there for the long term. You know, so they want to dictate conditions in the Strait of Hormuz and are happy to wait out the U.S.

I think they understand that the U.S. does not want to have a major operation, and perhaps President Trump's attention is elsewhere, you know, Lake Ontario to Lake America, the ballroom in the White House, and others.

So, I think they're making a bet that the U.S. president will lose interest, and there's no clear outcome for the U.S. out of this conflict.

CHURCH: Now, at a regional summit in Kyrgyzstan, Iran's president indicated that he is willing to return to the memorandum of understanding agreed to with the U.S. back in June if the U.S. agrees to meet those same conditions, and he made that statement in front of Russia's President Putin and China's President Xi. What does that indicate to you?

GHAFAR: Well, it indicates that Iran, despite pursuing this insurgency strategy, is of course hurting economically. Its infrastructure has been hit. Its economy is decimated, and I think the president and others in the administration have made some of these pronouncements. But it also highlights that there is internal disagreement within the Iranian establishment, and more hardline approach from the IRCG and others are wanting to extract more from perhaps the control of the Straits of Hormuz, while others such as the president and the speaker want to find some sort of accommodation.

[02:05:23]

I think what is needed now is a return to this MOU. But the problem with the initial MOU that it was quite vague and not time sensitive.

So, I think there is a need now for the mediators to step in, and that's why we've seen Qatar, Pakistan, and other countries step in to attempt to mediate and bring both sides together as this conflict grinds on September and potentially into October.

And keep in mind, of course, Rosemary, that we're getting closer to the midterm elections. President Trump's own approval rating is historically low at 33 percent. The war is very unpopular at home at 36 percent, and the Republicans are looking shaky as we enter to the midterm elections.

So, I think there's a domestic angle here in the U.S. and this increasingly unpopular war.

CHURCH: But how likely is it that President Trump will agree to return to the June Memorandum of Understanding conditions with Iran, given he is now saying that he doesn't care to negotiate with Tehran, and he's urging Iranians to rise up and fight.

GHAFAR: Well, if you follow President Trump, I think his pronouncements over the war have went from conciliatory to wanting to meet Khamenei, to more aggressive and so on.

I think if there is a path presented and it really sticks down to the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranians want to maintain some sort of control, a tolling system. There's an agreement being discussed with Oman. I think the U.S. administration does not like this agreement.

So, I think if the Iranians moved or budged a bit on the Hormuz issue, then there was going to be movement because ultimately this war is showing that there's no military outcome to it. It has to be negotiated by both sides, and it will continue to grind on in this low-level conflict that we're seeing here.

And actually, if President Trump escalates against Iran with major strikes against infrastructure, what the Iranians have said is that they will retaliate against regional countries. We've seen attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, and potentially others as well. That's why regional countries are trying to stabilize the situation and stop it from getting out of.

CHURCH: Dr. Adel Abdel Ghafar, senior resident fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, want to thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

GHAFAR: Thank you. CHURCH: The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is now in Thailand. Its first port of call in more than eight months at sea. Its long deployment in the Middle East raised concerns about the crew's well- being. CNN has reported it led to morale issues and supply shortages. There was at least one possible suicide attempt among the crew of 5,000. President Trump had dismissed concerns about the lengthy deployment, saying it was, "Not nearly long enough."

Oil prices are surging amid the new U.S. strikes in Iran. Oil futures climbed another two percent on Tuesday morning after a jump on Monday. So, let's take a look at where the oil markets are trading right now. You see Brent crude oil 95 and 53 there, WTI crude oil at 90.74.

Well, the U.S. Treasury Secretary is downplaying Iran's hold on the Strait of Hormuz. At the G20 meeting on Tuesday, he insisted that efforts to establish new oil shipping routes will ultimately make the critical waterway redundant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: We could see the Iranians are trying to use the Strait of Hormuz as a choke point. It's not a choke point for the U.S. but it is a choke point for many other countries. And -- but that will be bypassed in two years. In two years, the Strait of Hormuz will be like a worthless piece of water. That oil will be going on pipelines across land.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping to Cairo on Tuesday. She is the first Chinese president to visit the Arab world's most populous nation in a decade. Countries across the Middle East are reassessing their security and economic ties amid the Iran War. Xi's visit comes after he attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Kyrgyzstan, which was also attended by leaders from Iran, Russia, India, and other countries in the region.

[02:10:04]

Russian President Vladimir Putin claims Moscow is open to what he calls concrete peace talks. He says he wants to end the war and achieve, "Lasting and complete peace throughout Ukraine and Europe." He says this as Russian forces continue their deadly bombardment of Ukrainian cities.

Ukraine's president is warning that its drone strikes on Russian targets are making Russian airspace too dangerous for air travel. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukrainian drones do not threaten civilian aircraft, but is warning international airlines and insurance companies to stay away from Russian airspace. Russia's president denounced those comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Listen, I haven't heard these statements, but if it was said out loud, it borders state terrorism. Also, I draw your attention to the fact that they ask us to resume talks with them, to meet them in person. Well, there can be no talks with terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Putin's talks of terrorism come as Ukrainian children begin the new school year in bomb shelters under air raid sirens. One school in Kyiv has even moved its classrooms underground so students will no longer have to run to safety during Russian air assaults. Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited another school where children had to rush to a shelter. He says it shows that Russia has no qualms about involving children in war.

Germany says Russia is responsible for a drone attack against Leipzig Airport last month. In August, a drone was discovered inside a secure area of the airport. U.S. officials had assessed that the explosive- laden drone belonged to a Russian intelligence service.

Later, another flying object hit a cargo plane near the airport, and authorities are investigating a third drone incident. In response, Germany has ordered the closure of Russia's consulate in Bonn and Russian Cultural Center in Berlin. Russia says claims that it was responsible are absurd, but German officials say they are responding to a real threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER DOBRINDT, GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER (through translator): The federal government sees the need for appropriate and necessary action in this regard. The federal government is responding to this hybrid attack in Leipzig in a proportionate and measured, yet equally resolute manner. Let me make it clear, we are not at war, but we are the daily target of hybrid warfare.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Alexander Gabuev joins me now. He is the director at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center. Appreciate you talking with us.

ALEXANDER GABUEV, DIRECTOR, CARNEGIE RUSSIA EURASIA CENTER: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Of course. So, with Germany accusing Russia of being responsible for the attempted drone attack on Leipzig Airport last month, what impact could this have on Europe's posture toward Moscow and overall Europe-Russia relations going forward?

GABUEV: I don't think that it changes much. In the Ukraine war, we are in relation phase. Vladimir Putin sees no reason to stop his ugly war against Ukraine. He sees a window of opportunity with Ukrainian stockpile of Patriot interceptors being drawn down because of U.S. involvement in Iran, and he sees that as window of opportunity. So, he intensifies his pressure campaign against Ukraine, but he also wants to extract the price from Europe that is enabling Ukrainian resistance through supply of weapons, paying Ukrainian war bills, and massive economic assistance.

So, incidents like the one we've seen in Leipzig are likely to continue, unfortunately.

CHURCH: Even as Russia continues its assault on Ukraine, though President Putin is now saying that Moscow is open to concrete talk seeking to end the war in Ukraine, though he accused Ukraine's leadership of being terrorists. What do you make of that sudden change in sentiment, where he is now saying he wants lasting and complete peace throughout Ukraine and Europe, given what Germany is accusing Moscow of doing in Leipzig?

GABUEV: I think that we've heard Vladimir Putin saying that he wants peace for almost five years, but we need to remember that he said that he's no intention of invading Ukraine in the first place before he actually invaded.

So, all of this is providing him cover of somebody who is actually a victim of expansion of NATO or Western hostility towards Russia, and he is ready to end the war immediately after Ukraine simply surrenders. This is obviously not an option for Ukrainian leadership. Both President Zelenskyy and anybody in Ukraine, and this is why the war is unfortunately very likely to continue through this year and maybe going into 2027.

[02:15:16]

CHURCH: And meantime, European leaders were outraged when President Trump invited Russia's finance minister to the G20 meeting. Why would Trump extend an invitation to Russia after efforts to isolate Moscow because of its war in Ukraine?

GABUEV: I think that President Trump is pretty inconsistent on this. On one side, he wants to build leverage, but he's failing to do so. And on the other side, he seeks pragmatic engagement with Russia, particularly around business matters. So, inviting the Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov falls into the second category, and this inconsistency obviously irritates a lot of European leaders and Ukrainian partners.

CHURCH: Alexander Gabuev, director at the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, want to thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

GABUEV: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Of course. More than 1,100 people have been killed, with thousands more still missing after floodwaters overwhelmed the border region between Nepal and China last week. International aid agencies are racing to reach flood zones that have been cut off by the damage to major infrastructure. Chinese state media insists relief efforts are likely to expand now that a vital road leading to a key border crossing has been restored.

Rescue teams are being improvised or using improvised floats to search for hundreds of workers trapped in Nepal's buried hydro power tunnels. Nearly 12,000 people across the country have been rescued so far, according to local authorities, including 119 people saved by the Nepali army on Tuesday.

The United Nations estimates the disaster has left behind more than 2.4 million tons of debris. The scale of destruction is making it difficult for many families to learn the fate of their missing loved ones. CNN's Hanako Montgomery joined Nepali police as they search for victims along the country's flooded riverbanks, here's her report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Down in Nepal's plains, the river gives up its dead. Floodwaters carried them far from where they were last seen, scattering them along the riverbanks.

MONTGOMERY: Right now, we're on a search and recovery mission with the Nepali police, they've found hundreds of bodies that have washed downstream from the Himalayas in this river. So, we're just going to go and see if we can find any more human remains that might need recovering.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Using sticks to probe the tall grass, they search for what the floods left behind. They find nothing, so the search continues downstream.

MONTGOMERY: They say they found something. Just going to put on my mask here in case it's a body. We found an animal carcass, and you can tell that it's been here for a few days. It's pretty badly decomposed.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The police tell us the same is happening to human remains.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These scenes are very heart- wrenching, but we're keeping strong and working.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The places to search seem endless, and what they do recover, they bring here, a center where photographs of the found dead flicker across screens. Families stare at image after image, looking for a brother, a son, or for this man, his sisters.

KUMAR POKHAREL, BROTHER OF MISSING WOMAN (through translator): I'm still hoping that they come back. We're looking for them and contacting all possible places, but we haven't found any leads.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): The police tell me over 800 people were reported missing at this center alone. Just 12 were returned to families. Some, he says, are so badly decomposed they're unrecognizable.

SUB-INSPECTOR HARI SHARAN DHAKAL, POLICE OFFICER (through translator): This situation is very challenging. We're getting dead bodies, body parts, and we don't have enough people who are able to do this work.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Reunited holds a different meaning here. Finding remains confirms an unbearable truth, but an end to the search for some families, allowing them to lay their loved ones to rest.

But they're considered the lucky ones, the hundred who can't be identified are brought deep into the forest to a freshly dug mass grave. Numbers are assigned for the unnamed, with the bleak hope that using collected DNA samples one day, someone will come looking for them.

[02:20:13]

Back at the river, the police find what they're looking for.

MONTGOMERY: When we were with the Nepali police, we didn't find any remains, but the same team they called us and they told us they found two bodies in the river, and now begins the really painful process of identifying these people and then reuniting them with their families.

MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Behind every missing person is a family still waiting, and behind every recovered body, the enormous task of learning who they were.

Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Nepal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM, the latest on the Lindsay Clancy trial and what could happen if the jury does not reach a verdict.

Plus, a crazy crash caught on camera will show you the moment a motorcyclist slammed into a bus and walked away.

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[02:25:35]

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. A warning, this next story may be disturbing to watch. Authorities in Colombia are searching for the motorcyclist involved in this astonishing collision. A surveillance camera captured the man crashing into a bus and falling inside of it before getting up and leaving the scene. He hit the bus at a very high speed and was not wearing a helmet. This footage has gone viral, and here is the view from inside the bus, which fortunately appears to be mostly empty. The man appeared stunned but seemed to shake it off. He left the motorcycle behind at the scene. Authorities told local media that he ran a red light, and they are trying to track him down.

A U.S. district judge has ruled there is sufficient probable cause to move the case against Tyler Robinson to trial. Robinson is accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus last September. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and witness tampering. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty if Robinson is convicted. Following Tuesday's closing arguments, Kirk's family called the court's decision an important step toward justice.

Jurors in Lindsay Clancy's murder trial are expected to start their fifth day of deliberations on Wednesday after failing to reach a verdict on Tuesday. Clancy's defense argues that she was suffering from postpartum psychosis and is not criminally responsible for killing her three children in 2023. Jean Cazares brings us the latest from the courtroom.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEAN CAZARES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: On Tuesday morning, the jury had been deliberating for about 45 minutes when Judge Sullivan, in open court, made the announcement that the jury had a note. As jurors filed in, our producer in the courtroom noted that a female juror was looking at the defense table and the defendant, and then the prosecution table. One male juror was rubbing his face with his hands. The judge proceeded to read that note and to talk to the jurors, saying, I understand you cannot reach a verdict. Let's listen to that moment in court when Judge Sullivan addressed the deliberating jury.

JUDGE WILLIAM SULLIVAN, PRESIDING OVER LINDSAY CLANCY TRIAL: Members of the jury, I've got your question, and the question is: After many hours of deliberation, we are unable to come to a unanimous decision. I brought you back out because I know that this was a long trial. All right, I know there were over 80 witnesses, there were over 300 exhibits, and but because of that, I'm going to ask you to go back out, keeping in mind all of the instructions that I gave you, to go out and to continue your deliberations at this time, all right.

And so, with that, I'm going to ask you to go back out. Like, I said, keep in mind the instructions I gave you, reviewing the evidence, and I'd ask you to resume your deliberations at this time.

CAZARES: At that point, the jurors were excused. They went back to the deliberating room, they deliberated for the rest of the day. There was not another note. There was no communication that we know of from that jury, but they did ask to leave at 3:30 in the afternoon, which was a bit earlier than yesterday and actually one hour earlier than they can deliberate.

Tomorrow, they will reconvene in court right here in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, for more deliberation.

In Plymouth County, I'm Jean Cazares for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Tiger Woods is expected to appear in court Wednesday for a change of plea hearing in his DUI case. In March, the golfer was arrested after a rollover crash in Florida, and charged with driving under the influence. Woods pleaded not guilty and said he was seeking treatment after the incident. It's unclear how Woods may change his plea or if he has reached a plea deal with prosecutors.

Still to come here on CNN NEWSROOM. CNN is on the ground in Nepal speaking with survivors of last week's deadly floods. We will bring you the latest after the break.

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CHURCH: Terrifying scenes there. One week has passed since deadly flood water washed away entire communities along the border between Nepal and China. [02:35:00]

For many, including these women and children, narrow escapes to safety were decided by just a few split seconds. Authorities say more than 1,100 people have been killed between the two countries. Urgent international efforts are underway to locate at least 4,500 people who remain unaccounted for.

CNN's Anderson Cooper is in Nepal and spoke with the country's foreign minister about the role climate change has played in this disastrous flooding.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST OF "ANDERSON COOPER 360": There's been a number of people who have remarked that your carbon imprint as a country is minimal. You are feeling the effects of climate change in ways that maybe some other country have not yet.

SHIRSIR KHANAL, NEPALI FOREIGN MINISTER: If you look at data, our overall carbon footprint greenhouse emission is less than a tenth of a percentage. The glaciers are melting, the permafrost are thawing, and there is a risk of glacier flood, at the same time, this was a glacier collapse.

So given all that, what we are telling to the world is, look, our contribution in this changing climate is almost negligent. And even then, we're trying to work to save the Himalayas, but saving Himalayas has to be part of a global effort because, today, it's impacting Nepal but it also impacted China.

But you know, if you look at our geography, eventually all our rivers end up in India and then even just some of them to Bangladesh as well. So these river system that originate in Himalayas are also source of freshwater for agriculture, for drinking water for over two billion people.

Global communities has to come together and this cannot be seen merely as a charitable giving, but has to be part of a compensation process as well.

COOPER: You're not -- you don't want foreign governments to look at this as giving aid to Nepal. You want this to be compensation?

KHANAL: Exactly, this would be seen from the perspective of justice and fairness. How fair is it for Nepali people and people of Himalayas to bear the burden of the climate change where we have had very little contribution to it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Those who survived the flooding are still dealing with a devastating aftermath. Anderson Cooper brings us a closer look at the reality people are facing while visiting some of Nepal's hardest-hit regions in Nepal.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

COOPER: It's been one week since disaster struck and in Trishuli, this is the end of the road. Once a bustling market now soggy and cement-soaked, it looks like a wasteland. The river is running fast, the water is still high. Residents and visitors stand and stare.

BIBHU RAJ ACHARYA, NEPALI RESIDENT: This water source has been a life for people living here and by that I mean they've been living here for generations and generations.

COOPER: Looking at the water today, does it look different to you?

RAJ ACHARYA: Yes, it does.

COOPER: In what way?

RAJ ACHARYA: Well, it makes me sad -- it makes me sad and emotional as well because this is one of the sacred water resources that we have and you know, when you mourn for somebody in your family, once they have died, people go up across this river and then they do all the rituals over there. So this is kind of like a holy river for us.

COOPER (voice-over): Buddhist monks came from Kathmandu to pray and offer blessings. Traffic snarls on broken roads. A jackknifed truck is hardly noticed.

COOPER: A local school bus driver Chhiring Tamang saved the lives of some 50 children, picking them off just before their school was destroyed and crossing a bridge before it was washed away.

CHHIRING TAMANG, BUS DRIVER (through translator): After two minutes of me crossing the bridge, the flood came on my side. Kids started screaming after seeing the flood. They were shouting. One kid fainted inside the bus. They were asking me to drive faster.

On the road, there were people running like ants to save their lives. After I drove near the uphill, I could see the flood is already ahead of me. I reached a higher location and I felt safe with the kids.

I took a long breath and then I continued my duty of dropping the kids, came back and parked the bus at the police station.

COOPER (voice-over): I asked him what it feels like to be a hero.

[02:40:00]

TAMANG (through translator): It's a sad time for me. I have lost my nephew. He was working in the same school. I'm very sad that my nephew is dead. My nephew called me before I crossed the bridge. This was right after I informed the principal regarding the flood.

He told me, Uncle, where are you? There's flood coming in the river. He was a helper at the school. He informed me to not go to the school.

He lives in the same school with his family. He has a daughter and his wife is disabled. They are safe now. They have nothing left as my nephew was my only breadwinner of the family.

COOPER: (voice-over): Later, he showed us a photo of his nephew. His name was Tridam Lama (ph). There are many heroes here, but even they have heavy hearts.

Anderson Cooper, CNN, Trishuli.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Hong Kong activist, Joshua Wong faces more time in prison after pleading guilty to foreign collusion in his second national security case. The 29-year-old was a leader in Hong Kong's 2019 pro- democracy protests. He is already serving nearly five years in prison after pleading guilty in a landmark subversion trial in 2024. He could face an additional three to ten years behind bars or possibly life in prison.

Our Ivan Watson is in Hong Kong with more.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Joshua Wong was a poster boy for Hong Kong's now all but gone pro-democracy movement. He was a teenager who founded organizations and led protests in the streets of the city in years past.

But he's been behind bars for years, as have his colleagues and many opposition politicians, those who haven't fled this city as a result of a crackdown on these types of activities that began after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city in 2020.

Now, a judge in court announced that Wong would be pleading guilty to the crime under the national security law of collusion with foreign forces. The prosecutors accused him of meeting with foreign officials, including then U.S. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, and then Senator, Marco Rubio, and lobbying them not only in these meetings but also on social media to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and Chinese government officials.

The U.S. did, in fact, impose sanctions on some of these officials. The defense attorney, the lawyer, made the case that Wong has been behind bars for years now. Also that he effectively has learned from his mistakes and argued that the judge should reduce a potential 10- year sentence to half of that, so that this man who's turning 30 soon can have some hope for the future.

The crackdown on Wong and many of his former colleagues came after a year of real turbulence here in Hong Kong in 2019 when huge pro- democracy protests often then devolved into weekly clashes between demonstrators and police with clouds of tear gas on the streets.

Again, the Chinese government imposed a national security law and that has been used to round up lots of these former activists and opposition politicians. Most of them are either behind bars right now or have fled into exile.

Now, the crackdown has been criticized by Western governments, including the U.S. government, as well as human rights organizations. The Hong Kong government put out a statement saying that, quote, "Freedom of commenting on and criticizing government policies remains uninhibited as long as they do not violate the law. The lawful exercise of free speech must not be conflated with taking actions to collude with a foreign country to impose sanctions to harm one's own country."

The Chinese and Hong Kong authorities, they argue that they've brought stability back to this international finance hub. However, as a result of that, we do not see any longer the protests and demonstrations that used to be ubiquitous in this city prior to 2020. And much of the free press that had once existed here has been shut down by the local authorities.

Ivan Watson, CNN, Hong Kong.

CHURCH: We have more coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," including results from a closely watched Senate primary in Massachusetts.

[02:45:00]

It was branded as a generational battle, and this time the older candidate is progressive. Back with that, and more in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Storm Edouard has weakened to a tropical depression, but it's still dumping heavy rain on parts of Texas and Louisiana.

[02:50:00]

When it made landfall, it was packing sustained winds of about 60 miles per hour, but right now, the winds are at about 35 miles per hour and all coastal tropical storm warnings have been discontinued. According to PowerOutage.com, power is still out for more than 72,000 homes and businesses in Texas.

Well, now to the Massachusetts primary. CNN can project 80-year-old incumbent Democratic Senator, Ed Markey will once again get the nomination after defeating moderate Congressman, Seth Moulton. Markey has served in Congress since 1976 and described his victory as a testament to the power of the progressive movement. He's predicting a so-called blue wave in the November midterms.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin says he expects all federal immigration and customs enforcement agents to have body-worn cameras by the end of this month. The effort has been months in the making.

Body cameras have drawn broad support across party lines, particularly following the aggressive and sometimes deadly confrontations between federal agents and public citizens over the past year. ICE previously said it expected all field officers to have body cameras by the end of August.

Well, the Trump administration is adding another renovation project to the White House as many Americans are dealing with inflation and the economic fallout from the war with Iran. Now, the White House bowling alley is set to undergo a $250,000 makeover. CNN's Tom Foreman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's a White House, it's got to look incredible.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Another day, another renovation at the White House. This time, it's the historic bowling alley in the old executive office building. Opened for play in the 1940s and updated many times over the years, Politico says taxpayers are now footing the bill for a $250,000 update amid scathing headlines.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To what extent are Americans' financial situations motivating you to make a deal?

TRUMP: Not even a little bit.

FOREMAN (voice-over): With so many voters worried by inflation, the cost of fuel, housing, groceries and more, the president has already been taking heat for his expensive spate of refurbishing and rebuilding from the Kennedy Center to the Reflecting Pool, from those gold horses to his proposed arch.

On the White House grounds, the new helipad, the paved-over rose garden, the walk of presidents, the huge flagpoles, all that gold trim and of course, the ballroom, have also drawn sharp complaints even as the president and his party have brushed them aside.

TRUMP: This is for future presidents. This isn't for me, this is for future presidents and it's a gift.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON, (R-LA) HOUSE SPEAKER: I can tell you the president thinks about Americans financial situation.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The White House insists much of the tab for all of this is being paid by private donors and the bowling alley redo is a routine upgrade that does not involve the president. But a recent Washington Post analysis put the bill for everything, including a new visitor center, at around $900 million with taxpayers covering most of it.

FOREMAN: And it's worth noting when President Barack Obama proposed renovating the bowling alley, the GOP howled about his misplaced priorities and quickly spiked the plan.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

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CHURCH: And coming up here on "CNN Newsroom," the classic app that's back on the map after refusing to go along with President Trump's latest executive order. We'll have that and more in just a moment.

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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, the app that revolutionized road trips in the '90s is now officially back on the map. MapQuest is now the most popular iPhone app after refusing to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America.

President Trump's executive order rebranding the great lake comes amid a tense trade war between the U.S. and Canada. MapQuest officials say app usage is up roughly 50 times compared to a week ago, overtaking ChatGPT and ESPN Fantasy Sports in the Apple App Store.

Well, home favorite Coco Gauff is off to a winning start at the U.S. Open. The 22-year-old defeated Turkey's Zeynep Sonmez in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday. The 2023 U.S. Open champion is chasing her second title in New York and her third Grand Slam despite the defeat. World number 53 Sonmez produced a string of winners, including a blistering backhand that even drew applause from Coco.

And what a way to bring in 40, France's Gael Monfils marked his milestone birthday by winning a match at the U.S. Open. Monfils defeated opponent Adolfo Daniel Vallejo, becoming the oldest player to win a main draw singles match at Flushing Meadows in more than three decades.

Well done. I want to thank you so much for your company this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval is next, after a quick break. Do stay with us.

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