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Witkoff, Kushner Meet Ukrainian and Russian Leaders, Breakthrough Yet in Sight; Amazon Cargo Plane Overruns Miami Airport Runway, Five Dead and Five Injured; German Far-Right AfD Almost Made a Majority Win in the Parliament Elections Despite Historic Win in the Eastern Region. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired September 07, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:32]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hey, welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York, and ahead here on "CNN Newsroom."

President Trump's envoys say that they had substantive discussions in Russia and Ukraine. Will they lead to an actual end in the fighting?

An investigator searching for a cause in a deadly runway incident involving an Amazon cargo plane in Florida.

And A.I. was in control of a driverless Formula One-style race. How teams use the technology to satisfy their need for speed.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): Live from New York, this is "CNN Newsroom" with Polo Sandoval.

SANDOVAL: And we do want to begin this hour with the high-stakes meetings in Kyiv amid renewed efforts to end the war in Ukraine. U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, they said they had substantive discussions with President Zelenskyy and officials in Kyiv on Sunday.

And all this comes after the U.S. delegation also met with Russia's Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday. And while we are not hearing of any major breakthroughs, Witkoff appeared optimistic following the talks with both sides. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WITKOFF, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: We came to see President Putin first. We needed to hear where he stood. We had good, concrete conversation with him, which we advised President Zelenskyy and his team about.

Both sides have to come to a resolution here. My job and Jared's job together is to bring the parties together, to narrow the issues between them, to create good communication channels.

And hopefully we began that process constructively in the last 48 hours. And we're confident that there will be a good resolution here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And the end of this stage of peace talks likely signals the end of a temporary truce that was struck between Kyiv and Moscow. A 72-hour pause in strikes have protected only the two capital cities for the duration of the U.S. diplomatic visit.

Elsewhere, officials say that Russian airstrikes have killed at least 10 Ukrainians and injured 65 others, and that just in the last 24 hours. And while this weekend's talks were taking place, CNN's Julia Benbrook, who's been traveling with President Trump in New Jersey, reports on the current diplomatic talks after previous attempts at peace have stalled.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a busy weekend of diplomacy for Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. The two said they had substantive discussions and that there is hope for trilateral talks in the future involving the United States, Russia, and Ukraine.

Now, the envoys, they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday. They thanked the Ukrainian leader for his hospitality.

And Witkoff said that he believes that there could be a good resolution coming out of all of this. Their visit to the Ukrainian capital comes as the city has faced a barrage of Russian missiles in recent weeks.

JARED KUSHNER, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: One thing Steve and I really thought would be productive is to go back to the trilateral format, which we were able to do about six months ago, and we've spoken with both parties, and so hopefully we'll have progress on that very soon. I think that's important to talk about the big issues, obviously, but also some of the de-escalatory issues that could be done as well.

BENBROOK: The day before, the U.S. delegation met with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow. That meeting lasted for roughly three hours. Prior to this trip, President Donald Trump, who's spending his weekend here in New Jersey at one of his properties nearby, he said that he was sending over great negotiators to essentially see what they can get done. Previous attempts at coming to an agreement for lasting peace stalled last winter, and some of the key areas of focus, the key sticking points, were big issues like territory as well as security guarantees.

Now, the White House did say that next steps were discussed and that there should be an update in the coming weeks.

Traveling with the President in New Jersey, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: At least five people are dead and five others are injured after an Amazon cargo plane overran the runway, and this was during an attempted landing at Miami International Airport on Sunday.

[03:05:01]

I want you to see some of the footage of that incident, but first a warning that the video is disturbing to watch.

You may be able to see here that Boeing 767, it landed after flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico, but this video is showing the aircraft actually left the end of the runway and then crossed two roads before eventually coming to a stop. Now the plane struck several vehicles on the ground and caught fire. Listen to some of the dispatch audio as first responders were headed to the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Guys, the plane's on fire. Plane's on fire. Put your gang faces on.

UNKNOWN: Heavy fire load on the right side.

Fire command and control, copy. You're going to do water supply at the box.

This aircraft overrun a runway, it crossed 67th Avenue. It struck a truck. We do have a patient on the ground, we're looking and serving the area for more patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The delays continue for flights headed to Miami International Airport due to the disabled aircraft. CNN's Carolina Peguero has more from Miami.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROLINA PEGUERO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A cargo plane flying for Amazon crashed right after landing here at the Miami International Airport, and that was coming from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Responders say it struck several vehicles, causing a fire and heavy flames and smoke.

Five people have been confirmed dead and three are in critical condition, while the other two have been transported to local hospitals. The airport closed all runways and instituted a ground stop, according to an airport spokesperson, while Amazon in a statement says, we're working closely with local authorities and officials to understand exactly what happened.

Now, the Miami-Dade Fire chief says that it would take several days for the FAA and local authorities to continue on to this investigation and know exactly the cause of the incident.

Carolina Peguero, CNN, Miami.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Iran plans to announce a new restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days, and that's according to the country's top national security official and adviser to the Supreme Leader. The zone would also include areas in the Gulf, and any ship entering that zone would be added to a sanctions list. And all of this as Tehran warns of retaliation in the wake of recent hostilities in the area.

Let's get more now and head over to my colleague, CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's following this from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, what are Iranian officials continuing to say?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, at this point, we have a lot of threats from Tehran. Certainly, that threat that you suggested there that we heard from the head of the Supreme National Security Council, that there is going to be the restricted area in the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, it's not clear exactly how this would work, but what he has said is that this would go from the area where the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports and ships starts through the Strait of Hormuz and then into the Persian Gulf further west as well, saying that if there were ships that did not have permission that were going through that area, they would be added to a sanctions list.

Now, of course, the details of exactly how that would work, whether it is even sustainable or implementable by Tehran, put those points aside. It just shows how the focus is still very much on the Strait of Hormuz. As we saw last week, we saw the most significant escalation in more than a month between the U.S. and Iran, and then Iran retaliating against a number of countries in the Gulf and also Jordan.

But what we've seen over the weekend is really this focus on the Strait of Hormuz. We saw the U.S. military targeting three Iranian crude oil carriers. They say that two were outside the Persian Gulf, sorry, two were inside, one outside.

And they said the reason they did that is because the Revolutionary Guard had targeted two U.S. Navy ships. So what we're hearing from Central Command at this point, and I'll read you part of the quote, this is from the Central Command commander, Admiral Brad Cooper.

He said, quote, "Let the message to the IRGC be clear. If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost. Taking out three of yours, we will not hesitate to defend American forces and if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet."

Now, CENTCOM has said that this is really part of this multi-million dollar shadow fleet that Iran is operating at this point. And they have targeted that really in keeping with what they have said, which is trying to push this economic isolation of Iran.

[03:10:04]

Turning to the naval blockade as well, CENTCOM saying that almost 100 ships at this point have been redirected as part of that blockade. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Paula Hancocks with the latest from Abu Dhabi, thank you.

And as the war with Iran continues, for Americans, they continue to pay the price at the pump. You see, gas prices are expected to hit a record $4.03 a gallon on average across the country this Labor Day. And that's according to a GasBuddy analyst.

Here's CNN's Leigh Waldman with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the official end to summer and millions of Americans are feeling the heat from high gas prices as they travel this holiday weekend.

PATRICK DE HAAN, HEAD OF PETROLEUM ANALYSIS, GASBUDDY: The national average at $4.12 a gallon, that is the most expensive Labor Day that we're going to see this year. So a lot of Americans hitting the road seeing rising prices.

WALDMAN (voice-over): That price is nearly a dollar more than what Americans were paying this time last Labor Day weekend. And drivers are feeling the pain at the pump.

UNKNOWN: Oh God, have mercy. Too expensive as of right now.

UNKNOWN: I look for the cheaper ones, yes. I have to. But yes, you have to try to save a little here, save a little there.

WALDMAN (voice-over): The main contributor to record high prices is the Iran war. And on Saturday, the U.S. military says it struck three Iranian crude oil carriers after Iran launched ballistic missiles toward U.S. Navy warships in the region.

The U.S. warships were not hit. These fresh exchanges threatened to heighten the conflict in the Persian Gulf as oil supplies remained snarled. On Friday, Vice President J.D. Vance said gas prices shouldn't be expected to drop anytime soon.

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I'm not going to make a promise about when it's going to return to $3. What I will say is that we have to remember why are we doing this.

Number one, it's so that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. And number two, what we're doing right now is protecting commercial shipping in order to ensure that we don't have a worldwide energy crisis.

WALDMAN (voice-over): I'm Leigh Waldman reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Hawaii now bracing for a powerful Hurricane Lowell. In fact, there's a state of emergency that's in effect as that storm, currently a Category 3 storm, takes aim at Hawaii's western islands.

Right now, tropical storm warnings and hurricane watches are in effect for the islands of Kauai and Niau. Lowell is expected to fall to a Category 2 storm when it makes its closest approach to the islands. It will stay offshore, but it is forecast to hit the islands with some heavy rains, possible flash flooding, and some dangerous surf conditions.

And it's been a soaker of a summer. In fact, this is going to be the third storm in just three weeks to target Hawaii. And all this has El Nino supercharges in the Pacific, or at least supercharges the Pacific hurricane season.

So much more on the way here on "CNN Newsroom," including stunning election results in Germany, where the far-right AfD party has surged to a first-place finish in a statewide election. I had to be speaking to a Berlin-based journalist about the effect that this may have on Germany's politics.

And search and rescue efforts continue at the site of a deadly building collapse in New Delhi. Stay with us. More on this in a moment.

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[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Now to preliminary results that show that the Alternative for Germany, or AfD party, has won state-level elections. Early vote counting shows that AfD won 44 percent of the vote in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. And that means that they'd hold 39 of 83 seats in the state.

That's just short of the 42 needed for an absolute majority. AFD's surge in this election reflects deep dissatisfaction with Germany's current ruling coalition, which is currently run by Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

And for protesters against the AfD party, you see some of these protests. They sprang up in several German cities, including in Frankfurt and in Berlin. Slogans on some protesters' signs recalled Germany's darkest days, such as Never Again 33, which is a reference to the year the Nazi party came to power.

We'll be in our coverage with CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The far- right Alternative for Germany seems to have won a landslide victory here in the East German state of Saxony-Anhalt. And that could put them in a position to, for the very first time in post-World War II Germany, put in place a governor from a far-right political party here in this country. That person would be Ulrich Siegmund.

I spoke to him earlier, and he told me that he believes that he should become governor of this state, and that if he does become governor, that he is going to put in place what they essentially call a Germany- first policy, but that they also want better relations with Russia as well. Here's what he had to say.

ULRICH SIEGMUND, GERMAN POLITICIAN (through translator): The development now is that we want our national sovereignty back, that countries have politics in the interest of their people, their own nations, and not try to save the world. And so I want to emphasize, both in the direction of Russia and the United States of America, we need both of them if Germany is going to be successful, if we want to have politics in the interest of our country, and that is the only benchmark that drives us.

PLEITGEN: Now, coalition building is extremely complicated here in Germany, and most of the other political parties have said that they are not going to cooperate with the alternative for Germany, with the AfD, and therefore it's not clear whether or not Ulrich Siegmund is actually going to manage to become governor.

Now, one of the most controversial policies of the AfD is something that they call re-migration, which is essentially the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and also those who have committed crimes. I was also able to speak to the chairwoman of the AfD, and she flat out told me she believes that this is a slap in the face of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, that his days in office are numbered and that there are going to be mass deportations from Germany.

ALICE WEIDEL, MEMBER OF GERMAN BUNDESTAG (through translator): We stood for election very clearly to represent the interest of our country, not Ukraine's, not any other countries.

[03:20:02]

And I can tell you what happens once we get the mandate to govern at the federal level and take on governing responsibility. We will cut all unnecessary spending, we will control our borders, we will deport everyone obligated to leave the country.

PLEITGEN: Now, while that is pretty tough talk coming from the alternative for Germany, it's very much unclear whether or not they are going to be able to get the governorship here in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. But certainly one of the things that we can already see is that this is causing shockwaves in political Berlin, where many of them are asking what sort of changes are needed in the policies of this country.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Magdeburg, Germany.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right, let's get you more reporting now on these election results and head over to James Angelos. He's the Germany editor for Politico.

James, thank you so much for joining us. Good morning.

JAMES ANGELOS, GERMANY EDITOR, POLITICO: Good morning. Thanks for having me. SANDOVAL: Let's pick up on a word that my colleague just used there, a shockwave. I wonder if you could expand on that for our viewers outside of Germany who may perhaps not following this election as closely. Break down these regional election results and what do they mean for Germany and really the region?

ANGELOS: By itself, Saxony-Anhalt is a state in the former East Germany, in the east of the country, that is a bit more than 2 million people. On its own, it's not normally the most consequential election in Germany, but given the fact that the AfD has had its best performance on record since the party was founded in 2013, given the fact that it's a far-right party and there's been in Germany a post- war taboo on the far-right, and this is the first time that they've won to this extent, and that has shocked Berlin, has shocked the political establishment in Berlin.

SANDOVAL: And because AfD failed to secure that majority, as we were hearing, even with its win, what happens next?

ANGELOS: Well, the fact that they -- I mean, they're going to try to get in government despite that. That's their next step.

So they were saying last night Ulrich Siegmund was the head of the party, or at least the person who stands to become the governor of the state for the AfD. He was saying specifically that he's going to try to peel off parliamentarians from other parties, needs three of them to get an absolute majority, and he's going to try to convince the party's going to try to convince individual lawmakers to come to their side. He's going to try to take advantage of the division within Friedrich Merz's conservative party about how to approach the AfD to get that, you know... yes.

SANDOVAL: I mean, even the most right-wing parties consider AfD too extreme, so the likelihood that they will have support from other sort of political factions, that'll be interesting to see how that plays out. Curious what this means for the more sort of conventional parties now as they were certainly watching this election play out.

ANGELOS: I mean, you make an interesting point there. If you look at the far-right parties in Europe in general, they are, a lot of them, Le Pen in France, Meloni in Italy have attempted to track towards the center, and in Germany that has not been the case.

The far-right here has gotten more extreme with time. They started out in 2013 as an anti-euro party during the debt crisis, and they have steadily become more radical with time.

And so that does differentiate the AfD in Germany. And all other parties have essentially refused to govern or cooperate with that party. And so this is creating this dynamic in Germany where if you look at the election results yesterday, it's the AFD and almost virtually every other party.

So neither of them have enough. If the AfD doesn't have enough to get an absolute majority, then all other parties combined don't have enough for an absolute majority, exempting this small party called the AFD, this, let's say, far-left party, populist party, that has been the one party that's said it's been willing to work with the AfD in some fashion. So they're in this far-left upstart party has become kind of the kingmaker now.

SANDOVAL: What are the general feelings among voters, James? I mean, how do they see this party and really the rest of Germany's political system altogether right now?

ANGELOS: This is not so much a vote in favor of the AfD as much as it is a vote against the political establishment, against Friedrich Merz. Polls last night showed that only 9 percent of the people wanting to vote approved of his performance.

[03:25:05]

And if you look at what they said they're most worried about, it is always with the AfD. It's always migration as a top issue. But also the AfD has been very successful at pounding away on the economic concerns of voters.

And given Germany's perpetually stagnating economy, its declining industry, there is this sort of diffuse economic anxiety that the party has really been able to take advantage of.

And combined with the cost of fuel, the cost of energy, that has created this insecurity that the AfD has been able to capitalize. And also, especially in eastern Germany, the issue of Russia. In eastern Germany, you know, 4 million behind the Iron Curtain, there is a more likely tendency to want a conciliatory approach to Vladimir Putin.

So the AfD has been pushing their kind of solution to a lot of Germany's economic problems is to reestablish ties with Russia. That means reestablishing natural gas flows, which they say will, you know, cheap energy will revitalize German industry. So a lot of their solution to the economic woes gets tied to its Russia policies.

And they also say they don't want to support Ukraine anymore. They don't want to send money to Ukraine.

SANDOVAL: Politico's James Angelos, we have to leave it there. Thank you so much for all your reporting and all this really critical context as we continue to follow the situation there in Germany.

ANGELOS: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Well, here in the U.S., police in Ohio are getting ready to charge an individual who reportedly lunged at the state's Democratic nominee for governor. A campaign spokesperson for Amy Acton says that it happened at a fair that she and her husband were attending.

Police found 2 firearms on the suspect and that they say they expect the person to face 2 charges of assault and 1 count of disorderly conduct. However, no details about the individual have been released by authorities so far.

Now to the Trump administration that has filed a new emergency appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court to speed up approval of a controversial mail-in ballot rule. And the rule would require state and local election officials to upload lists of mail-in voters to an online portal. It would also require new envelopes with a barcode to track those ballots.

The administration is arguing that the changes are needed to guarantee a safe and secure election but with less than 60 days until the midterms, at least one state has already started mailing out those ballots without these measures. A U.S. district judge has temporarily blocked the rule from going forward.

Now the U.S. Justice Department has issued subpoenas to Nevada's Secretary of State regarding voter information. Officials there say that they've received seven different requests in the past three months and it's unclear what specific information has been requested but Nevada's Secretary of State has condemned the move. He says that it's a tactic by the federal government to overwhelm states ahead of those approaching midterms.

And a special midterm edition of the Republican National Convention is set to be held in Texas this week. Speakers will be including President Trump and other top party leadership as well as some elected officials and other hopefuls of other folks there.

The President has touted the convention as just what the party needs to re-energize voters ahead of the midterms. They'll need full party support to keep their majority in Congress and continue pursuing the President's agenda. Organizers are being very blunt that the event is all about the President and putting him front and center.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE GRUTERS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION CHAIRMAN: It's going to be a Trumpapalooza. It's going to be an amazing opportunity for us to basically go out there and tell the American people all the great things this President has done and all the great things that we're going to continue to do over the final two years of this administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: But not everyone is on board with this Trumpapalooza, that it's a good idea. In fact some fear that it may promote the President more than candidates actually on ballots across the country. And other critics have noted the extravagant budgets as well as other major events happening at the same time, such as the start of the NFL season as well as September 11th commemorations.

And there's still much more on "CNN Newsroom," including CNN on the ground at the crossing at the China-Nepal border, which is completely washed away by the recent floods. We'll bring you some of this reporting from Nepal in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and these are today's top stories.

Five people are dead and five others injured after an Amazon cargo plane overshot the runway at Miami International Airport on Sunday. The Boeing 767 struck multiple vehicles and then caught fire. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Authority arrived at the scene on Sunday evening, they will determine the cause of this accident.

And former Cuban President Raul Castro, brother of revolutionary leader Fidel, is dispelling rumors of his death. The 95-year-old's making this public appearance on Saturday during a ceremony for the security agency responsible for protecting Cuba's political leaders. Castro was accompanied by Cuba's Presidents and members of the armed forces.

The U.S. pushing to resume trilateral talks to end Russia's war in Ukraine. The announcement coming after special envoys visited Kyiv and Moscow over the weekend. Steve Witkoff says that he and Jared Kushner are confident that there will be a good resolution. This following talks with both President Zelenskyy and President Putin.

CNN's John Laurence taking a closer look at what emerged from the latest diplomatic talks.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN LAURENCE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): The first round of talks between U.S. and Ukrainian officials ended Sunday evening local time.

KUSHNER: These are some of the hardest problem sets in the world. And I think that you have to try.

LAURENCE (voice-over): Special peace envoy for the Middle East and son-in-law of President Donald Trump, Jared Kushner and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff made their first trip to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv since the start of the war with Russia.

WITKOFF: We've had very meaningful discussion, substantive, important, and we're very encouraged.

[03:35:00]

LAURENCE (voice-over): Prior to this weekend visit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked President Trump for allowing these talks and in a social media post added quote, "we are interested in bringing the end of the war closer."

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: We will answer on all the questions.

LAURENCE (voice-over): On Saturday, Kushner and Witkoff had a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov called the three-hour sit-down useful, saying the U.S. is offering quote, "A whole series of considerations regarding possible paths to a settlement."

Russia, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, is demanding major land and military concessions and the Ukrainians stand resolute in protecting their freedom and territory.

WITKOFF: My job and Jared's job together is to bring the parties together to narrow the issues between them, to create good communication channels and hopefully we begin that process.

LAURENCE (voice-over): I'm John Laurence reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And at least three people are dead after a five-story building collapsed in New Delhi and people have been rescued from the rubble so far and crews are currently searching the debris for anyone who may still be trapped. Police say that the 40 to 50-year-old building was being used as student accommodations and was undergoing some repairs to the basement at the time of the collapse. Delhi's Chief Minister said an investigation is underway and those responsible will be held accountable.

It's now been nearly two weeks since catastrophic flash flooding swept through the Nepal-China border region, killing more than 1300 people and more than 5000 others are still missing. CNN's Simone McCarthy saw firsthand some of the devastation in the border area as part of a rare trip organized by the Chinese government. I want to clarify that CNN still has full editorial control of the coverage in this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIMONE MCCARTHY, CNN SENIOR CHINA REPORTER: So we're walking into the main hard-hit port area. Even just some of the ground here is incredibly unstable. It feels like it's almost hollow underneath.

You can see there's quite large rocks here. There's also excavation going on behind us. A number of workers are actively in the midst of some of the response and repairs here.

We've been told as well as we were walking over that there are the risk of loose rocks. I'm standing in the location that was once a five-story border checkpoint. This used to be a bustling hub of transit between Nepal and China with travelers, travel agents, people involved in trade coming over that border, moving through what was once a huge building here.

This is the spot where a huge wall of water washed over a five-story building in video that was captured on surveillance footage on August 26 when devastating floods and landslides hit the China-Nepal border.

I'm standing now in the area where that building was. This is Gyirong Port in Tibet where CNN is part of a small group of foreign reporters who've been given access to this site the first time that foreign media have been allowed entry. And now to see what the impact of that was here where there's just, I

mean you would never know that there had been anything here at all. There's actually a sign which is indicating that this was a foundation. You can still see some rebar, but that's really the only thing that remains.

There have been no survivors found in this location. And right now the rescue teams are just contending with this heavy mud. The road that we took to get in here was actually layered in some places with five feet of mud, it took the better part of a week for emergency workers to be able to enter via road.

One of the other things that we can notice is that the floodwaters actually reached so high up onto the mountain. You can see some of the greenery has actually been scraped away there as a result of just how high those floodwaters came as they barreled through this area.

We asked one of the responders how long he thought the operations would continue and he wasn't able to give an answer. They've put up a Chinese flag to memorialize what was here but there's just absolutely nothing left. This area has also been a focal point for families who are desperate for information about what happened to loved ones that they believe were at this border crossing at the time when that landslide and flooding hit this area.

They're still waiting for answers. The government has yet to publish publicly a list of who was at the border crossing at the time. Families are really desperate for more information about what happened here and looking around it's -- you can see that there's no answers immediately visible.

Simone McCarthy, CNN, Gyirong Port.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:40:08]

SANDOVAL: A volcanic eruption in Indonesia is sending this massive plume of ash into the sky. It's reaching as high as 50,000 feet or about 1500 meters in some parts.

No evacuation orders have been put in place yet but officials are urging people to keep their distance and certainly to keep watch. And this latest eruption, it has caused some massive travel disruptions in the region.

Eight airports were closed down by Sunday evening and more than 170,000 passengers have been impacted by more than 1500 flight cancellations.

That's an explosion at a church in central Mexico which killed at least 10 people and injured more than 60. The blast happened in the church atrium as worshippers were gathering for evening mass. Authorities say that the cause of the explosion is under investigation but fireworks were being prepared for display at the time of the incident. Just ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," could Cuba have prevented its

current energy crisis? Just ahead we take a look into the once promising future of the island nation's nuclear ambitions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Here are your business headlines.

Americans are wrapping up the summer holidays with a hefty price tag as they face record high gasoline prices during Labor Day weekend. The U.S. national average price per gallon is at $4.15 and that's according to AAA's latest figures. The U.S. Energy Secretary told CNN that gas prices are more likely to go down amid an effort to ramp up gasoline production.

The FCC may soon issue new guidance to broadcasters about airing accurate polling data.

[03:45:05]

And it comes after complaints from President Trump about an interview with NBC. The President said the journalists should be reported and punished after she said that his endorsements in some political races had "mixed results." This isn't the first time the President has spoken out against polling that's not in his favor, it's also not the first time he's requested the FCC take action against the media.

Pumpkin Spice may be losing its place as America's favorite fall flavor McDonald's announcing plans to drop the Pumpkin Spice Latte this year for the first time in a decade replacing it with Caramel Apple Pie Latte. Data is showing that more coffee shops are adding apple-based flavors while Pumpkin Spice is seeing slower growth.

Cubans have been forced to come up with new ways to adapt to an ever- worsening energy crisis sparked by the U.S. imposed oil blockade. But could any of this have been avoided? CNN's Juan Carlos Lopez takes a closer look at the collapse of Cuba's nuclear ambitions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUAN CARLOS LOPEZ, CNN EN ESPANOL ANCHOR (voice-over): Blackouts aren't new to Cuba. They've been a part of life since at least the 1980s. Although not at the scale of the current crisis triggered by the Trump administration's ban on the sale of oil to the Cuban government.

In 1982, Fidel Castro made a bold move.

UNKNOWN (translated): The Juragua nuclear power plant has been the largest and most complex construction project undertaken by our country.

LOPEZ (voice-over): The nuclear plant at Juragua would be the first step of a plan to wean the island off oil with the help of the Soviet Union which would build and finance the project. Driving down the coast, we spot the concrete giant. Long abandoned, it

was once expected to provide at least 15 percent of the island's electricity needs.

LOPEZ: Now that was back at the end of the 80s, beginning of the 90s. It wasn't the best moment for this type of project so close to the United States.

A project that took too long, cost too much, and at the end ended up just being what it is today. Just ruins.

LOPEZ (voice-over): That's because Havana bet everything on being in the Soviet Union's sphere of influence during the Cold War and on Moscow's assistance for ambitious projects like the Juragua power plant which sat under 200 miles from the Florida Keys and sent Washington into a tailspin over national security even though the Turkey Point nuclear plant in Homestead, Florida had been operating 200 miles from Havana since 1972.

NICHOLAS BURNS, THEN-U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: We've had long standing concerns about the quality of the plant's construction and about Cuba's ability to operate it safely.

LOPEZ (voice-over): Fears of an accident stemmed largely from the world's worst nuclear disaster in Chernobyl in 1986. But the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission reported that same year to Congress that even though they had reservations about the project, Juragua resembled Western nuclear plants and was not considered a threat.

In the end, when the Soviet Union collapsed, Havana came up dry and this now eerie monolith was left unfinished.

This is Ciudad Nuclear, built to house the plant's workers. It's where I meet Luis Vargas, an electrician who was involved in the project.

What do you feel when you see the structure? I ask him.

I don't know, Luis says. I feel a deep sorrow inside because many things were ruined. It's a shame that it ended up this way because unfortunately millions were invested and we weren't able to finish it.

Francisco Perez, who also worked at the plant, remembers when Fidel Castro came to tell them it was over.

He told us the truth, Francisco tells me. He explained the situation, the problem they faced, and that they had to shut the plant down.

Juragua was the first of three nuclear plants that would help Cuba overcome a monumental challenge the island faces to this day. A growing demand for electricity and a lack of capacity to produce it. This fading sign, in Russian and in Spanish, reads "May the atom be a worker and not a soldier."

In Juragua, it was neither.

Juan Carlos Lopez, CNN, Uruguay, Cuba. (END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And there's still much more on the way here on "CNN Newsroom," including the speed of Formula One without a driver in sight. Autonomous cars are now taking on one of Italy's most famous racing circuits. CNN is there for a look at what may be part of the future of motorsports.

[03:50:10]

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SANDOVAL: Two defending champs are through to the U.S. Open quarterfinals.

Carlos Alcaraz, who won the men's singles title last year, made some quick work of American Tommy Paul, winning in straight sets. This is a Spaniard's first tournament after nearly five months off with a wrist injury.

But if he's feeling any sort of discomfort, it certainly is not showing, as Alcaraz has dropped just one set through all four rounds of the Open, so far at least. Alcaraz will now be facing American Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals.

And on to the women's side, top-seeded Ariana Sabalenka overcame an early challenge from American Taylor Townsend as she strives for her third consecutive U.S. Open title. The defending champion from Belarus recovered after some pretty shaky starts, quickly finding her footing to take both sets. Sabalenka will now face Wimbledon champ Linda Noskova in the quarterfinals.

[03:55:01]

The speed, the competition, the split-second turns, it looks a lot like Formula One, but one big difference. No drivers at the wheel. Autonomous race cars are putting artificial intelligence to the test at speeds that leave very little room for error.

Here's CNN's Ivana Scatola with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVANA SCATOLA, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): It's like Formula One but without human drivers. Instead, the cars are entirely driven by A.I.

SCATOLA: I'm in Imola, Italy to watch the A2RL, a motorsport competition where fully autonomous cars go head-to-head.

SCATOLA (voice-over): The cars have no cockpits or steering wheels, just supercomputers, GPS, radar and optical cameras.

MATTEO, ENGINEER, UNIMORE RACING: The actual weight, it's a fun fact, is quite similar to a human driver, so the weight of the car is quite similar to a real one. There's no driver, there's no seat, there's no steering wheel, but we control it as a human would do. SCATOLA (voice-over): Engineering teams say they've spent months

writing custom code for the cars and on race day, they press go and hope for the best.

SCATOLA: Each team races identical super Formula cars. The only thing that sets them apart is the coding.

SCATOLA (voice-over): This is the third year of the competition, but the first time that the race has been held abroad outside of Abu Dhabi. The Imola circuit, famous with Formula One fans, is known to be a challenging one.

MARKO BERTOGNA, TEAM PRINCIPAL, UNIMORE RACING: Imola is a non- forgiving track. Let's say you achieve a very high speed and there are very little room for errors, so any time you take a wrong turn, you risk really crashing completely your cars.

SCATOLA (voice-over): While the autonomous taxis that are common in American cities prioritize safety and predictability, these autonomous race cars are at the opposite end, optimized for speed and split- second maneuvers.

SCATOLA: The cars are programmed not to collide into each other, but the technology isn't perfect yet. The winning team this year was Kineta's, which started out as a rookie team and now has come first.

UNKNOWN: It's overwhelming. I am still processing all the emotions. This morning, before the race started, I was telling myself, it's not how you start, but it's how you finish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: A fascinating look at A.I. behind the wheel.

Thanks so much for watching, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I'll be right back with you in a few moments with more of your headlines here on "CNN Newsroom." Don't go anywhere.

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