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Connect the World

Supreme Court Allows Trump to Continue Building Ballroom; U.S. Energy Secretary Due in Venezuela After Oil Deal Struck; U.S. To Access 65 billion Venezuelan Oil Barrels in New Deal; Jury Convicts Ex-gang Leader Hours After Closing Arguments; Trial Begins for Man Accused of Drugging and Sexually Abusing Wife. Aired 9-9:45a ET

Aired September 01, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST, CONNECT THE WORLD: Well, you're looking at live pictures of the White House today, Donald Trump's Treasury Secretary Scott

Bessent hosting the G20 finance meetings in the U.S. urging allies to put the financial squeeze on Iran. It is 09:00 a.m. in Washington.

It is 05:00 p.m. in Abu Dhabi. I'm Becky Anderson. You're watching "Connect the World". Also coming up, more than 1000 people now dead after those

devastating floods hit Nepal and China, with thousands still missing. A 30- year wait for justice in Tupac's killing ends with a murder conviction in under three hours.

And Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigns after tensions with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth over the current state of the U.S. army. We are 30

minutes away from the open on Wall Street. Futures looking decidedly weak ahead of the start of Tuesday's trading session.

Amid concerns, of course, about what happens next in the U.S.-Iran conflict, that and other issues worrying in investors, including global

bond yields, which have surged to multi-decade highs, as inflation fears are reignited. Well, the death toll from the devastating flash floods in

Nepal and China now topping 1000.

And the desperate search continues for thousands of people still missing. Right now, rescue crews are scouring Mud Rock and Debris, searching for any

sign of survivors, and as that search continues, rescuers are facing another potential threat. According to China's Ministry of Water Resources,

glaciers in Nepal could still collapse, raising the risk of yet another disaster in a region already devastated, of course, by these recent floods.

CNN's Will Ripley is in Kathmandu as families across Nepal grapple with the devastation. He spoke with a mother whose child survived. Their story, one

of hope amid the destruction. Have a listen.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a pretty significant emotional milestone on the ground here to have the number of

deaths officially cross 1,000, but the reality that people are starting to process and wrap their heads around is it's going to be a question of how

many 1000 are dead by the time this is all said and done.

And the reason for that is simple. When you see a giant wall of water traveling at such a fast speed, obliterating buildings in a matter of

seconds, it's unsurvivable for most people who are in the path of that. Now there have been some exceptions to that. We met the mother of a young girl

named Manisha (ph), a five-year-old girl who -- her parents thought she was dead when the flood swept their house away in about five seconds.

And yet rescuers found her 2.5 days or 60 hours after the flood between two batter buildings wedged in an air pocket that allowed her to survive. I

spoke with her mother exclusively. Here's a piece of what she had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: It's miraculous that, given the force of that water, that she was able to have a place where she could survive.

GITA UCHAI MAGAR, MOTHER OF RESCUED 5-YEAR-OLD-GIRL: It was miraculous when the child was found. It felt like a miracle. I thought there is a God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: They are exceedingly lucky, even though they lost their home, they lost all of their possessions. They know that many, many people here in

Nepal have lost so much more. And I have to say, from my trips to Bidur and other areas really heavily impacted by this flood, everybody who I met who

lost family members.

I met a young woman who lost 17 family members. I met a young man who lost eight family members. None of them have seen a body of these family members

that they know are lost, that they are grieving. And some of them hadn't even been recorded on the official list of the missing by the time that I

spoke to them.

[09:05:00]

So, I think the reality that everybody needs to mentally prepare themselves for, is that the numbers from this tragedy, as horrific as they are now,

are likely to get even more horrific in the days and weeks and months to come, and there is a very likely scenario that many, many people who are

relatives of victims will never get closure in terms of a body.

They're trying to do DNA testing, but that's pretty limited. And but the fact that bodies are now decomposing so rapidly that they're having to bury

them in mass graves, hundreds of miles from where they were washed away is a sign of just how grim and dire this situation is.

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Anderson Cooper on the ground in Nepal as well. On Monday, he traveled to one of the town's hardest hits to view firsthand the

destruction left behind, and he filed this report.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Is the town of Syabru Besi, or what's left of the town, I should say. This is all that's left of the once bustling market

district in the town. All of this area, and all the way down to the river down this hill, would have been businesses and homes.

People lived here. There was a lot of commerce. The border with Tibet is just about 18 miles from here, and there was a very important road from

that border area all the way down to Kathmandu that ran through this town. But that road now is wiped out. It's stunning to see it up close.

I don't even think the camera can really capture just the scale of this. It looks probably just on camera, like some dirt field, but this isn't, you

know, we talk about water and this flood that came down. And yeah, there was a lot of water in it. But look, this is -- there are rocks in this.

There are boulders. There are vehicles. Everything that the sludge picked up from further upstream. It's like concrete essentially, and it just

covers everything. If you walk out into this area, you can tell by my shoes, you'll just sink in it. It's like concrete quick sand. This was once

a destination spot for Hindus and Buddhists on religious pilgrimages.

They would come here. Also, trekkers from all over the world. There are 15 Australian trekkers who are have been reported missing in this area, as

well as dozens of other foreigners. It's not clear how many people died here in this town. Anderson Cooper, CNN, Syabru Besi.

ANDERSON: And as Anderson reported, in some of the hardest hit areas, reports suggest contact has still not been established. All major road and

bridge damage, which may take weeks to fix, is also restricting access, and that damage making an already desperate situation even more urgent, with

aid workers struggling to reach tens of thousands of people who need water, food, sanitation, and other support, and more, of course, as we get it.

Well, for the second time in as many days, Iran's President says his country is ready to resume negotiations with the United States. Masoud

Pezeshkian spoke on the sidelines of a summit in Kyrgyzstan, where he is due to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin.

He said Iran will restart talks if the U.S. returns to its commitments, stated in that memorandum of understanding. Well, in Washington, U.S.

President Donald Trump said he would never use a nuclear weapon on Iran. When asked about that possibility by a reporter on Monday, he ruled it out,

insisting that Iran is totally defeated militarily and calling the question stupid.

Well, marine monitoring groups, meantime, report at least two tankers were struck by projectiles whilst moving through the Omani corridor in the

Strait of Hormuz. No casualties reported. Commercial tankers have increasingly shifted to using that route instead of the route that hugs the

Iranian coast in that strait.

Well, multiple sources tell CNN, U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll has submitted his resignation to President Trump. One of those sources says the

decision is not surprising given tensions between Driscoll and the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. It's unclear when Driscoll will officially leave

the post.

I want to get you more on this. Haley Britsky joins me. Just explain who Dan Driscoll is, what his role is, and about these reported tensions

between him and Hegseth.

HALEY BRITZKY, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yeah, Becky. So, Dan Driscoll, the civilian head of the U.S. army, he's an army veteran

himself. He's been in the office since last February, and we've long heard from sources that there have been these tensions between him and Secretary

Hegseth.

Dan Driscoll is close to Vice President J. D. Vance. They were classmates at Yale Law School, and he has sort of had his own relationships through

that with the White House.

[09:10:00]

We've heard that Trump likes him, has referred to him as his drone guy, because Driscoll was so focused on sort of this emerging technology and how

best to implement it into the army, but we've also heard from sources for months now that Secretary Hegseth is increasingly distrustful and

suspicious of both military and civilian leaders and sort of their loyalties.

And if they're loyal not just to the administration but specifically to him and that he has seen Secretary Driscoll's relationship with the White House

as sort of a way to go around him. And so, a source familiar telling us yesterday that when Secretary Driscoll submitted his resignation, he

brought up concerns with the administration surrounding army transformation and readiness, meaning his efforts to sort of update the army, get new

technology in, make sure that the army is best prepared for wars, not only right now but in the future.

And the source continues saying Hegseth blocking those efforts, specifically by firing generals who were responsible. We've seen a number

of firings of promotion blocking by Secretary Hegseth in a way that is pretty atypical for a Secretary of Defense to be sort of involved at that

level.

And so, Secretary Driscoll clearly frustrated with the way that this has been happening, with the way that Secretary Hegseth has reached down into

the army and impacted that General Officer Corps who take forward a lot of those policies. One General Officer in particular in Europe, General

Christopher Donahue, was really in charge of a lot of the bringing drones into the force.

He worked with the Ukrainians quite heavily and other European partners, and just recently was sort of forced to step aside by Secretary Hegseth and

officially retired last week. So, something that has been a concern within the Pentagon and outside of the Pentagon.

The White House saying that Secretary Driscoll has been very effective and provided outstanding leadership as Secretary of the Army, Becky.

ANDERSON: Significant news. Thank you. Well, the U.S. Energy Secretary is traveling to Caracas today, following what the U.S. and Venezuela see as a

landmark deal, granting Washington control of 65 billion barrels of the country's oil reserves. But President Trump conceding that the impact of

the agreement could take several years.

Speaking on Monday, he noted U.S. gas prices likely won't budge ahead of November's midterm elections. That's because Venezuela's oil reserves are

underdeveloped and hard to extract. Still, Mr. Trump insists the U.S. will reap a large windfall from the deal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're making a fortune, and they're making a fortune. They're starting to make real money,

and we have Exxon going in, we have Chevron going in, we have our big oil companies going in, and everybody's bidding.

And you know, there are those that say it was the greatest deal ever made. Let's see what happens. But you know, I have to stress, it was also a very

good deal for Venezuela, because you have the most powerful, the richest companies in the world going into Venezuela, where before it was just

unbelievable value that was sitting dormant, but we're going to be taking all of that. We're going to be taking that oil out. It's all coming to the

U.S.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Mary Triny Mena has the view from Caracas.

MARY TRINY MENA, JOURNALIST: And here in Caracas, we've been talking to people to really know what they feel about this oil agreement between

Washington and Caracas, and for the majority of people, it was a surprise. They were in awe when they heard about the words of President Donald Trump

first of all, and then the local authorities that confirmed this agreement, oil agreement with the oil research of Venezuela about 22 percent of the

entire oil reserve of the country.

We need to remember that Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserve in the world. According to Delcy Rodriguez, this is a unique agreement that

will bring prosperity to the country, and also that it's not quite important to have those reserves underground if they are not serving the

country.

So, she says Venezuela will provide the workers, the fields. Some of them are green, they need investment and technology, and the U.S. will bring

that to Venezuela. She was pleased. She thanked President Donald Trump, but there are three main focus is here, according to experts.

First, the legal standpoint, and that is why many experts are highlighting that Delcy Rodriguez has not the ability to sign these long-term

commitments with on behalf of Venezuela. Considering she is an interim president she was first appointed by Maduro. She was not elected by votes.

Unlike the U.S. that the vice president is elected by votes, she was appointed by Maduro. Then, back in January, when Maduro was taken into

custody, she was back for the U.S. to hold the presidency of Venezuela.

[09:15:00]

And she's been doing that since January this year. So, signing these long- term agreements for about 25 years could pose a risk, especially if they are not consulted by all the institutions. Also, the technical standpoint,

and that is the condition of the Venezuela's oil industry that is in bad shape, considering years of mismanagement and corruption.

This is according to experts, but of course, the government of Delcy Rodriguez blames the sanctions on the shape, the current shape of the

Venezuela's oil industry. She says it is expected to rise the production of the country. Venezuela used to produce $3 billion, 2 million barrels per

day, and now is producing a little over than 1 million per day.

So right now, the concerns are those, and of course the transition, the political side of this agreement that could delay an eventual presidential

election for the country. These are the main concerns here in Caracas. For CNN, Mary Triny Mena.

ANDERSON: Watching "Connect the World". Still to come. We'll explain the latest U.S. Supreme Court decision that green lights President Trump's $400

million White House project. That and more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Well, construction of Donald Trump's somewhat controversial White House ballroom can continue thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court. Monday's five

for majority ruling came from the court's conservative justices, with one notable exception, the Chief Justice John Roberts.

Trump says he's pleased with the result. The preservation group that brought the case says it agrees with the chief justice's dissent and calls

the construction unlawful. This report from Betsy Klein.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: This lawsuit over President Trump's sprawling 90,000 square foot ballroom project began last year and

made its way all the way to the supreme court. The challenge came from a preservation group, the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

They wanted construction to halt, and the crux of this legal issue here isn't the ballroom structure itself or even the demolition of the East Wing

last year. It's the processes that President Trump ignored along the way, namely securing approval from Congress.

The Supreme Court ruling on Monday that President Trump can proceed with the construction. This marks a major victory for President Trump and will

likely give him the time he needs to largely complete construction on this project, even as the litigation continues.

It was a 5-4 ruling, and notably, the court's conservative Chief Justice John Roberts penned the dissent along with three of the court's liberal

justices. He wrote that the construction is quote, likely unlawful, but the court is not opining here on whether the ballroom itself is legal.

[09:20:00]

A majority says that the National Trust for Historic Preservation, likely cannot sue over this project, but this is not yet over. The litigation is

going to continue to play out over months. Now, for President Trump, he views this as a foundation of his legacy as president. He's a former real

estate developer.

He's made this a major priority. He has also said that this project is a national security imperative. This site sits atop a six-story deep bunker

that he says is going to be state of the art. Now, work we have seen move at a remarkable speed. The superstructure is expected to be completed in

the coming months in November, according to court filings.

Those filings also say that a 250-person crew has been working 20-hour days, seven days a week, and it is now 65 percent of the way done. So,

we'll have to watch how all of this plays out. Betsy Klein, CNN, in Washington.

ANDERSON: Right. I want to get you to a murder conviction nearly three decades in the making. Lead prosecutor in the Tupac murder trial calls it a

slam dunk. Jurors in Nevada handing down the very first conviction in what was the 1996 killing of the rap icon.

After lightning-fast deliberations, it took less than three hours for them to make their decision on Monday. They found Duane "Keffe D" Davis guilty

of first-degree murder, largely on his own past statements and on a memoir written by the ex-gang leader in 2019. Well, as the verdict was read,

Shakur's family members wept and embraced the conviction, putting to rest a long search for accountability.

CNN's Josh Campbell is in Vegas, where the trial and indeed the shooting just about 30 years ago took place. After 30 years, this was a very quick

verdict. What were the key arguments this jury may have found so convincing?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, quick verdict indeed. And you know, as you mentioned, the prosecutor in his closing argument said

that this was a slam dunk case, which you know, covering a lot of trials, you have to wonder how that resonates with the jury.

That kind of confidence on display. But here, he was right, as you mentioned. It didn't take days in order to deliberate and eventually come

up with a decision by this jury. It was just a matter of, as you said, less than three hours, which itself is pretty stunning. As far as the key

evidence in this case, what prosecutors had focused on, it was the statements of the defendant himself.

He had given numerous interviews in the past to the police that were recorded and played for the jury. He spoke to the media. He even wrote a

book in which he described his own involvement in that case. Again, the prosecutor was telling the jury, don't listen to us.

Listen to what he said. Take a listen here. More what prosecutors said in the final hours of this trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARC DIGIACOMO, CLARK COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Do we honestly think a guy who's dumb enough to write a book could keep this story straight this many

times, this many times over? Mr. Davis is attempting to escape responsibility for a crime everybody knows he committed, even him, and he

admits to it for seven, eight times over the course of 30 years, and there's no evidence contradicting that fact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: So, it's incredible. He wrote a book saying, yes, I was involved in this. I was there. I didn't pull the trigger 30 years ago, but I handed

a firearm to the back seat of a vehicle that pulled along Tupac Shakur, and it was my nephew that opened fire, shooting him.

Again, that very strong evidence that the jury considered here. For their part, what the defense was trying to do was to implore the jury and tell

them, look, yes, he may have made these past comments, but don't believe him. He was essentially trying to profit off of this story.

Becky, obviously the jury didn't buy it. He is now convicted of murder, the only person to ever be charged in this case. Also worth noting, the only

person that was in that vehicle but still alive today.

ANDERSON: Fascinating. Josh, good to have you there. Thank you. Josh Campbell, in Las Vegas for you. Let's get you up to speed on some of the

other stories that are on our radar right now. And one person killed, another injured, in what is being called a random and unprovoked stabbing

in New York's Times Square.

It happened Monday afternoon on Seventh Avenue, one of the busiest pedestrian areas, of course, in the world. Officials say the attacker, who

had a mental health history was shot dead by police following a standoff. Well, today the trial begins in Manchester, in England, for a man accused

of drugging and sexually abusing his wife.

Also on trial are a dozen men accused of taking part in the abuse or helping to facilitate it.

[09:25:00]

They deny the charges, but the husband pleaded guilty to some of the 48 counts against him dating back to 2004. Andy Burnham met with his cabinet

this morning and will shortly make his first statement to the House of Commons as British Prime Minister. As Parliament returns from summer

recess, he will also face questions for the first time on Wednesday.

More as we get that. Well, let's get you to space now, where a spacewalk has just gotten underway. Two astronauts, one American and one from the

European Space Agency, are outside the International Space Station, doing a little bit of maintenance and making some upgrades we're told.

Let's have a look at some of these live pictures always remarkable, of course. This is the seventh spacewalk for NASA's Jessica Meir, the third

time for Sophie Adenot of France. They are scheduled to be out there for about 6.5 hours. We'll keep an eye on those for you and keep you updated as

they tinker away.

Up next on "Connect the World" with me Becky Anderson, inflation worries doing a number on U.S. stock futures and bond yields this Tuesday as Wall

Street gets ready to kick off September trading. Investors also watching a gathering of G20 finance ministers, and so are we. Expert insight on that

is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. You are watching "Connect the World". These are headlines this hour. And the death toll in

Nepal and China has now risen to more than 1000 after those flood waters devastated the Himalayan region last week.

Authorities also estimate more than 4,400 people are still missing across both countries. Well, multiple sources tell CNN, U.S. Army Secretary Dan

Driscoll has submitted his resignation to President Donald Trump. One of the sources cites tensions between Driscoll and Defense Secretary Pete

Hegseth.

Another says Driscoll opposed Hegseth's firings of army generals. Well, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is due in Caracas. Today's visit comes

days after Washington struck what they see as a landmark deal with Venezuela, granting the U.S. control over 65 billion barrels of the

country's oil reserves.

A jury in Nevada has found a former gang leader guilty of first-degree murder for the killing of rapper Tupac Shakur. The conviction comes nearly

30 years after the fatal drive by in Los Angeles, sorry, in Las Vegas.

[09:30:00]

Sentencing for Duane Davis is set for next month. He has requested an appeal. Well, let's get you to the opening bell on Wall Street. Just a

couple of minutes, sorry, seconds, seconds away from that open, and futures markets were indicating a weaker open. Bond yields on the rise

significantly.

This after oil price rises, sparking inflation fears, and we've got, you know, a new Fed Chairman whose comments are seen as more hawkish than

expected, raising the specter of a U.S. rate rise. Well, that's the bell on Wall Street. We'll let these markets settle in just a little bit.

Suffice to say that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is out of the gate this first of September and down by about two thirds of 1 percent.

Controversy has erupted as the U.S. hosts finance ministers and central bank governors from the group of 20 major economies. Russia's Finance

Minister has put in an unexpected appearance at the gathering in North Carolina in the states, where he met with the U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott

Bessent.

EU countries taking part in the summit not happy about that. Keep in mind, they are trying to isolate Moscow over its war against Ukraine, of course.

Well, this comes as the U.S. is trying to focus these talks on global economic growth in the shadow of America's massive debt and the ongoing

Iran war.

Right now, I want to bring in William Lee, who's Chief Economist at Global Economic Advisors. He joins us today from Henderson, Nevada. And I want to

concentrate on this G20 meeting for a moment and the sort of context, as it were, the financial context for this.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary trying to keep President Trump's economic agenda and the global economy to the fore. There are, though, of course,

worries over the Iran war and America's ballooning debt. We've seen yields at a you know relatively sort of recent historic highs.

Just walk us through, you know, what you see going on here.

WILLIAM LEE, CHIEF ECONOMIST AT GLOBAL ECONOMIC ADVISORS: We have a situation in the global markets where runaway deficits and record issuance

by sovereigns is already set the scene for high rates. On top of that, we have central banks around the world trying to fight inflation and becoming

much more strident about it, especially here in the United States with Washington's last speech.

So, we have a situation that's really set for rates to go up. The Iranian war and the rise in oil prices is just another match that was thrown into

the tinder box, and it took hold. And so, we have a setting where the G20 countries are meeting, and at a time when their debt structures have to be

redone, they're suffering under very heavy interest payments, and we have a situation where global rates are going up.

So, it's a very difficult tension where the macro forces are pushing onto geopolitical forces and putting a lot of pressure on the United States to

try to be a leader in this environment. And I think the message from the United States, especially to Russia, is there'll be no economic relief at

all until you have a permanent peace and a sustainable peace.

And that I think is a clear message that's being delivered by Secretary Bessent. And he wouldn't do it in person. And I think that was what's

useful about having the Russians there. Whereas other countries that are also in a typical situation, wanting to have debt relief, I think are

looking to the U.S. and other countries to find way out.

And for the global south, one way out is let's get rid of the dollar.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

LEE: And so, you have that tension as well.

ANDERSON: Yeah, which is very likely, you know, to be at least a topic of discussion, if not a priority, at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

summit, which is happening sort of at the same time as this G20 sort of Western finance ministers meeting, and you've got Xi, you've got Putin

there, you've got Modi.

What do you believe Washington is watching out for from the meeting in Kazakhstan?

LEE: I think what the Chinese and the Russians are doing is to try to form a coalition among the emerging market countries, and to say we're offering

you an alternative. Russia has got energy, China's got technology, and China has got a model of development that's very different than what the

West offers.

[09:35:00]

And we are here to help you, but that's almost like saying you know, we're here to help you by putting you in an enormous amount of debt through our

Belt and Road strategies, and with global rates going up, that might make you even worse off. But they haven't quite come out with that message.

Instead, the very positive image of having a new growth model is one where they are trying to sell very hard. And the United States, I think, is

offering a reality check on that and asking, do you really want to be in a situation where a growth model puts you in an enormous amount of debt

because that has been the traditional way by which the Chinese have propagated their Belt and Road strategies of infrastructure building,

heavily loaded debt, and then countries are unable to pay off that debt.

And then suddenly the Chinese own whatever they're building. So, that's a tough choice, I think, for a lot of countries -- but I think U.S. choice is

fairly clear.

ANDERSON: Yeah, but that U.S. debt at the moment -- that U.S. debt at the moment. Yeah, U.S. debt though at the moment is certainly, you know, not

necessarily where all the action is. Government bonds jumping as we've been discussing across major markets, touching multi-decade highs on these

yields.

And investors are concerned about that, and they have seen a U.S. Treasury Secretary sort of you know, intervening recently, trying to sort of tinker

around with at least the long end of the bond yields has -- clearly what the U.S. Treasury Secretary thought he might achieve, which is lowering

yields, certainly isn't working at this point.

At what point does what we are seeing here today on these yields on bond prices become a problem for the U.S. economy.

LEE: Becky, let's make clear to your listeners what Secretary Bessent did with the 20-year bond was a technical move. At this time of year, it's

traditional that a lot of the issues of treasuries are illiquid, and the 20-year is especially well known to be illiquid because there are a lot of

previously issued 20 years that are called off the run, and they're heavily discounted, and that doesn't have a lot of liquidity.

So, what Secretary Bessent did was to say, all right, I want to supply some liquidity into the market where there's very little liquidity. With bad

liquidity, there's bad pricing and much more volatility. So that technical move of trying to liquefy certain segments of the market is something

that's normally done this time of year.

Only he came in with a big message saying, hey, I'm doing this big time because I'm watching the bond markets. I'm watching you guys' price. Don't

play games with illiquid markets and try to make more volatile the environment and more difficult the environment for global investors.

So, I think that's the main message. Now you're right to say that Secretary Bessent also increased the issuance of a lot of treasuries because our

deficit is, as I said, getting way out of hand, and the political forces are cleared of restraining expenditures or raising taxes to finance that

deficit.

So, issuance of bonds is about the only way to go. But he's told markets, I am watching the pricing of these markets carefully. I don't want any kind

of mispricing or gains played by institutional investors and hedge funds. And he -- yeah, I think he's doing a fairly good job of trying to explain

that.

Unfortunately, much of the media has got the message saying that he's trying to lower rates by these technical operations, and he's not. He can't

do it. He knows he can't do it. He's the pro who actually took advantage of what the government can and cannot do in the bond market and made a fortune

doing that.

So, he knows exactly what can be done, and he was very clear. It's a technical liquefying of illiquid markets at this time of year, but he's

going to extend that operation that observation period into November just to make sure that there's no excess volatility in these markets.

ANDERSON: OK. Well, that's a that's a different view of Scott Bessent's actions of late. We will continue to monitor this. Thank you, at least for

your view. It's good to have you on. Thank you. Well, up next in sports, Lionel Messi hangs up his boots from action on the national team at least,

Will discuss his legacy up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:40:00]

ANDERSON: Just six weeks after losing the World Cup final, Lionel Messi has finally decided to retire from the Argentinian national team. The 39-year-

old led Argentina to three World Cup finals and famously won it in 2022 in Qatar. He is continuing to play his club football in the MLS with Inter

Miami.

Amanda Davies is here. You and I were there in Qatar for that World Cup back in 2022, and you were in the States, of course, this year for the

World Cup final, which the Argentinians, of course, sadly lost, or sadly on their -- to their mind, sadly lost to the Spanish. What do we make of this

decision by Lionel Messi to finally hang up his boots?

AMANDA DAVIES, CNN WORLD SPORT: Yeah, I mean, I don't think it's a surprise, is it? I think a lot of people were expecting him to walk away at

the highest of the highs after that final in Qatar, which, without doubt, will go down as one of the greatest World Cup finals of all time.

ANDERSON: Amazing. Yeah.

DAVIES: But he came back and was hoping to be able to successfully lead his side to back-to-back World Cup trophies. And I took a moment after that

full-time whistle in New Jersey, what just a couple of months ago, to look at him amid the crazy and the Spanish celebrations, and you could see him

just stand there, look around.

There'd been all that emotion that he was experiencing on the world's biggest stage, as we now know his father, you know, who sadly passed away

just a couple of weeks ago, at the same time as the tournament was playing out, and you wondered how he would make the call.

ANDERSON: Yeah.

DAVIES: You expected it would happen. And now people rightly paying tribute, talking about his legacy, and asking what next for that iconic

number 10 shirt, and that's what we're talking about in just a couple of minutes in "World Sport", Becky.

ANDERSON: That's right. OK. Well, that is after the break. Thank you, Amanda. I'll be back with more "Connect the World" in 15 minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)

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