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Isa Soares Tonight
Zelenskyy in Canada for Talks on Ukraine's Air Defenses; Securing New York Ahead of 9/11 Anniversary; Rayburn: U.S.-Backed Board of Peace is "Failing" in Gaza; Darkness in Havana as U.S. Oil Blockade Continues. Yemen's Houthi Rebels Moving Closer to Controlling Critical Bab al-Mandab Strait After Capturing the Port of Mocha; U.S. President Donald Trump Promises a Big Check to Americans If Republicans Win the Midterms; Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Travels to Canada to Meet Prime Minister Carney to Seek Further Military Support. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired September 10, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, Yemen's Houthi rebels are moving closer
to controlling the critical Bab al-Mandab Strait after capturing the Port of Mocha.
The U.S. President Donald Trump promises a big check to Americans if Republicans win the Midterms in an effort to sway voters. And then
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Canada to meet Prime Minister Mark Carney and seek further military support.
But first, tonight, we start with breaking news out of the Middle East. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi fighters have taken control of the Red Sea Port
of Mocha. Now gaining control of Mocha basically means more leverage over the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is crucial to the flow of oil.
The waterway has taken on major importance since the war with Iran effectively shut down, as you can see in your map, the Strait of Hormuz. It
is important to note the fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia has been ramping up, as we've been showing you here in recent days.
This comes as CNN's Nic Robertson and his team gain exclusive access to Perim Island, the new flash-point in this escalating regional conflict.
Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR (voice-over): Yemen's Navy is taking us to Perim Island, the heart of a little-known local war
that's getting pulled into America's war with Iran.
(On camera): So, what happens here next could affect us more than the Iran war already has. These islands, this vital waterway, the price of oil, it
is all vulnerable right now. And what happens here could impact President Trump's political fortunes.
(Voice-over): In recent weeks, Iran-backed Houthis have hit several Saudi oil tankers on these waters. They're a bypass to the Strait of Hormuz, as
we find out, Houthis are a constant threat here.
(On camera): Suddenly, we just had to turn around. We're told it's because drones have been reported. In the end, this is a hot war, and this is one
of the epicenters of that war.
(Voice-over): Our second attempt getting closer.
(On camera): This here that you're looking at out across the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The narrowest point on that Red Sea. Those ships out
there, that's what this is all about.
(Voice-over): Commercial shipping, critical for the global economy. Eventually, we make it, are greeted by Yemeni government forces keeping the
vital waterway open. Not many outsiders make it here, with a first international journalist they've seen in years. But we're not going to have
long. The Houthi drone is still a threat.
(On camera): And it looks for all the world like the place that time forgot. It is really stuck out here in the middle of the ocean, looking out
across the ocean this way --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON: Yes, Bab al-Mandab --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
ROBERTSON: Bab al-Mandab, I'm looking across out there. You can see Africa across there. Djibouti, literally just across the sea there.
(Voice-over): Perim is at the Strait's narrowest point, just 12 miles from Africa. Since Iran blocked shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi diverted
its oil exports through the Red Sea, helping keep global oil prices down.
[14:05:00]
Ten percent of global oil used to flow through here.
(On camera): It's down to about less than half of that, or about half of that now. And if the Houthis get control of the Red Sea, if the Iranian
proxies, the Houthis get control of the Red Sea, they can shut the oil flows here down to almost nothing.
(Voice-over): What we don't see on our short visit is a military force that measures up to the scale of what's at stake for the rest of the world.
For the commander in charge of this region, that's a worry.
(On camera): Because the Houthis would try to kill you, right? The Iranians would love to have you dead --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So many times.
ROBERTSON: So many times, I know.
(Voice-over): Vice President Tareq Saleh is a rarity at the moment. A political leader still in Yemen and still fighting the Houthis.
TAREQ SALEH, VICE PRESIDENT OF YEMEN (through translator): We told the world that this is an Iranian plan, but no one listened to Yemenis back
then, that this is a battle that would not only affect Yemenis, but the region and international community.
ROBERTSON: This is Iran trying to put pressure on President Trump.
SALEH: Exactly.
ROBERTSON: Are you getting any support from the United States?
SALEH: Just talk.
ROBERTSON: Just talk. How do you feel about that? "Disappointed", he says. Even so, Saleh is bullish about his troops claiming gains on the
battlefield with new equipment and new tactics hitting Houthi hideouts with quadcopter drone attacks similar to those used in Ukraine.
But it won't be easy. After years of fighting, the Houthis are well dug in, control the capital, the northwest of Yemen, including much of the Red Sea
coast. The government has the east and the south, with the Houthi attacks pressing towards the last stretch of Red Sea coast under government
control. What Saleh's troops organize for us next is a hard reality check about what they're up against.
(On camera): So, right now, we have just got into a big armored vehicle. Interestingly, it's all blacked out. The windows are blacked out, so we
don't know where we're going.
(Voice-over): It's here to a highly secret and secure stash of Iranian- made Houthi weapons snatched, the Yemeni military says, from smugglers at sea. This sophisticated anti-ship missile capable of hitting tankers from
hundreds of miles away, cutting edge anti-aircraft missiles, ultra-high spec optic radar. They readily admit more gets through to the Houthis than
they can catch.
(On camera): What's Iran's strategy with the Houthis?
ABDEL NASSER EL-MARNIOUH, DIRECTOR, NRF MEDIA (through translator): The U.S. siege on Iran in the Strait of Hormuz has made Iran look at its
options and activate the strongest one, the Houthis to close Bab al-Mandab. They're saying if our economy collapses in Iran, so will the world economy.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): In recent weeks, the Houthis have been stepping up attacks on Saleh's forces in Mocha. It's a vital trade port. A regular
Houthi target hit multiple times. So much so, the harbor walls are littered with sunk and sinking ships.
(On camera): And here, this is a piece, the tail fin from one of those Houthi missiles, see it, a heavy ripped into the ground, splattered across
here and the port all across this boat here. So many missiles landed. The port authorities had to shut the whole port down.
(Voice-over): Sixteen people lost their lives, the port director tells me, and 1,500 employees are now without work. The Houthis, he says, are trying
to kill their economy as well as the people. More than ten years of civil war have all, but broken Yemen.
Humanitarian groups say more than half the population need their help. But now, Iran's war with the U.S. threatens to push Yemen over the edge. Saleh
has a salutary warning for Trump. Yemen's losses could be his economic pain.
SALEH (through translator): We see the high cost paid by international community to secure the passage of fuel ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
If the Yemeni forces were supported right now, they will make more achievements with a much lower cost than the Strait of Hormuz.
ROBERTSON: Trump's Iran legacy is getting more complicated. Nic Robertson, CNN in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:10:00]
SOARES: Powerful piece there from our Nic Robertson and team. And Nic joins me now. So, Nic, I mean, let's talk first of all -- you talked about
the port, the vital trade port city of Mocha there. Explain to us and to our viewers what we know so far, what has happened in the last 24 hours or
so.
ROBERTSON: Yes, going into last night after darkness in Mocha, there were increasingly alarming reports that the city was coming under heavy Houthi
attack, that a lot of Houthi forces were being mobilized towards it.
There was a period in the night where the communications went off, was cut. Sources I was speaking to, who were trying to connect with field commanders
and officials inside of Mocha couldn't reach them.
When the sun came up this morning, it appeared that the government still had some vestiges of control in Mocha. But within a few hours, it became
very clear that the Houthis had taken control. By late afternoon, I spoke with the Information Minister of Yemen, from the internationally recognized
government, and he said, Mocha has changed hands.
The Houthis have it. It's very sad, he said, because of the suffering that's going to bring to the people there. And I heard from another source
as well who was involved in trying to sort of help in the defense of Mocha.
And he said, look, we were speaking to CENTCOM in the U.S. about the situation on the ground. Speaking directly, this source said to Admiral
Cooper, trying to get the U.S. attention, he said, several days before Mocha fell about what was happening.
And he said, you know, he was being told from U.S. officials that the Saudis are watching. The U.S. is watching, and there'll be Saudi air
support. And he said that didn't come. What did come, he said, were what he described as wave after wave of Houthis.
He said thousands upon thousands. You know, I -- we have no way of verifying that sort of number, but I think that wave upon wave is what the
defenders of Mocha felt was happening, that they were overwhelmed --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: By the Houthis. And I have to say, the road south along the strait, that's not well defended.
SOARES: Yes, and look, let me ask my producer, Vicki(ph), to bring the graphic up of what we're talking about. Of course, the Mandab -- Bab al-
Mandab Strait because this is important here. If the Houthis then -- rebels managed to gain control of Mocha, the port city of Mocha, and how strategic
it is -- given how strategic it is, speak to this significance and how much leverage that gives them, then.
ROBERTSON: It gives them maneuverability as well as leverage. That's a port on the Red Sea that they now control. That would be somewhere that
they can launch boats out of, you know, whether it's their sort of uncrewed boats, explosive boats -- so, they've -- I've got a lot of skill with
against tankers that are passing by as we talked about in that report, the Bab al-Mandab Strait really narrows down there.
Mocha is close to where it narrows. It's going to give the Houthis a big advantage in trying to sort of interdict shipping there as well. As, you
know, the expectation at this stage that they may take Perim Island, and that the road route from Mocha to Perim Island is flat. It's desert.
There are no major towns on it, and there are a couple of checkpoints. I drove up there 10, 11 days ago. The only thing that actually physically
stopped us in the road was a camel that had wandered onto the road and didn't want to wander off again.
There will be nothing in terms of sort of massive firepower or men and materiel that can get on the road to stop the Houthis from moving from
Mocha further south all the way so that they control the whole of the Red Sea coastline within Yemen.
All the way up to and including Perim Island, which again, as we mentioned in the report there, didn't -- we didn't see a force there big enough to
manage the scale of importance. It's hard to imagine that if wave upon wave of Houthis arrive there by boat, that they'll be able to hold on.
And we know as well that the Houthis have taken another major and important island further north up the Red Sea, and that will give them, again,
further ability to interdict shipping, should they so choose which they have chosen to do against the Saudi oil exports.
SOARES: Yes, Nic Robertson there on this new flashpoint in what is an escalating conflict between the U.S. and Iran, this time focusing very much
with the Houthis in Yemen. Nic, really appreciate it. And thank you for that excellent report from you and your team.
Well, global oil prices are rising, as you can imagine, the latest numbers, unfortunately, are not encouraging. For the first time since May, Brent
Crude hits $105 per barrel.
[14:15:00]
Both the U.S. and global benchmarks are trading above $100. These costs will likely rise as fighting intensifies, as you were hearing there from
Nic in the Middle East. Beyond crude oil, stressed from the Iran war showing up in other markets, diesel prices, which are essential power
trucking and shipping, have surged this year to record highs.
Let's begin with Anna Stewart. And Anna, look, I'm not going to question you about the Bab al-Mandab Strait, but I was looking, you know, pre-war,
around 10 percent of the world's oil trade transited through the strait.
That's now up -- down to 5 percent. But that speaks really to just these jolts that the energy market keeps getting, given what we have been seeing
and the escalating conflict with -- between the U.S. and Iran.
ANNA STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and now we're seeing, I think if we get the oil price back up again, incredibly high above the $105 mark that
we were very excited about earlier in the day, now, I think it was $107 a barrel. S&P global energy has said today that they don't expect --
SOARES: Yes --
STEWART: Middle East oil production to return to pre-war levels until the end of next year. Essentially, traders at this point, economists at this
point are all pricing in a -- you know, prolonged conflict, not just, of course, in the Strait of Hormuz, but also, as you were mentioning with Nic
there, the Houthi attacks on refineries.
The attacks in the Red Sea, the attacks when it comes to the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This is critical for getting oil out, particularly for a superpower
like Saudi Arabia. This is something President Trump is, of course having to defend at this point, particularly with the Midterms, you know, on the
doorstep.
He said yesterday that, you know, prices were back to normal essentially once the Midterms end, suggesting that this is all to do with Iran putting
on political pressure on the U.S., escalating these attacks, pushing that price up to make a sort of political point here.
Clearly, that is not what traders believe. They don't see the oil price coming down much in the next few months. Really interesting, Isa. There was
a report out today from OPEC, the monthly oil report.
Now, this shows that Saudi Arabia produced 23 percent less oil in August versus July, which I think really goes to show the issue we have, not just
with the Iranian attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, but also the issue of the Houthi attacks and the risk around, you know, their other export route,
essentially.
SOARES: Yes, 23 percent less. That is significant. Anna, thank you very much, really appreciate it. Well, Anna was mentioning there, President
Trump and really an extraordinary and some say even dubious offer from the President of the United States.
At the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump offered to pay every adult in the U.S., all 270 million of them, by the way, $5,000
each. But that's only if Republicans maintain control of the House and Senate in the upcoming Midterm elections.
And that, as you can imagine, sparked questions over the legality of the pledge, not to mention the optics of it. The President will speak again in
just a few hours in Dallas, as he tries to single-handedly boost Republican candidates to victory in November. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot, I'm on the ballot, I'm on the ballot. Just one more
time. The ones we need are the ones that you've heard. The ones that are very close.
They might be winning by a little or losing by a little, or tied. We can win every one of those races, but I'm going to go to every one of those
states for Congressman and for Senators. Food prices and almost every other item are rapidly going down.
And by the way, oil would be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran, which is taking place right now.
(CHEERS)
TRUMP: We'll win it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, as we heard from our Nic Robertson, it doesn't seem like anyone is winning as we see this escalating conflict. Well, always happy to
have Larry Sabato as you can see him there with us. He's Director of the University of Virginia's Center for Politics.
He's also the co-author of "Campaign of Chaos: Trump, Biden and Harris and the 2024 American Election". Larry, you are just the person I need to speak
to, to try and make sense of this Republican Convention.
And let me start, first of all, with that extraordinary offer to pay $5,000 to every American adult if Republicans retain the House and Senate
majorities in November's Midterm elections. I mean, how -- were you surprised?
Does that stink of desperation, and more importantly, viewers will be asking around the world, is that even legal? Because, I mean, essentially,
it's a bribe.
LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA'S CENTER FOR POLITICS: Yes, Isa, the lawyers as we speak are arguing about whether or not this
constitutes a legal bribe. I can't tell you that, I'm not a lawyer, but I can tell you this much. It smells to high heaven. And second, it isn't
going to happen. He's done this before, twice before.
[14:20:00]
Not a penny was transferred to Americans. He lets it drop after the election is over, and comes up with ten excuses about why it can't happen.
But it's bold. It suggests to people he is very worried and should be about losing the Midterm elections.
The latest polls have come out in the last 24 hours, and he is now below 30 percent on the war in Iran, on the Russia-Ukraine war, on the economy, and
also on even trade with Canada. People seem particularly furious about how he has alienated our closest ally.
So, this is a President in deep trouble and having a pep rally for two days in Dallas, Texas, is not going to rescue him.
SOARES: Well, it seems like you have more -- he's going to have more pep rallies from what he said yesterday. But it was interesting. I think it's
important to bring the attention, Larry, of our viewers around the world, is that several Republican senators in competitive races skipped the
convention, right?
To kind of really showcase their independence from the party and indeed from the President. But a swing state Democratic senator, you will know who
I'm talking about, John Fetterman, made a virtual appearance. I want to play this sort. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): Yes, I'm a Democrat. Why am I here talking to you today? Because, well, I'm a common-sense Democrat. I'm always going to
stand with America. I'm always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Larry, what did you make of his appearance? I mean, significant at all, do you think?
SABATO: Well, it is significant in one way. He's been sidling up to the Republicans for some time now. It could be because -- and also the cause of
the fact that he is below 20 percent with Democrats in Pennsylvania.
Isa, you or I have a better chance of being nominated for the U.S. Senate when his seat comes up in 2028 than John Fetterman does. The significance
of it is that Democrats now arguably don't just have to win four net seats in the U.S. Senate in November, which is tough enough.
The states that are up are very Republican. They're going to have to win five, because they've got to be concerned that John Fetterman, on frequent
occasions, will probably defect to the Republicans. So, it's just one more headache for the Democrats.
The good news is that while for months, they were ahead of the Republicans in terms of voter choice to control Congress by 6 or 7 points, now they're
ahead by 10 or 11. So, they're moving up, the Republicans are moving down, and all the pep rallies in the world aren't going to change that.
SOARES: Look, there were a continuous besides all the numerous claims we heard, Larry, there were continuous attacks we heard yesterday on
Democratic socialists describing them as terrorists, describing as communists and terrorists, terrorist sympathizers. Listen to what Tim Scott
said about this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): This Midterm, we face the most dangerous radical, and frankly, weird Democrat candidates in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: I mean, how will that resonate across the U.S.? And what does it tell you about the attack here from the Republicans?
SABATO: Again, it seems desperate, doesn't it, Isa? To hear someone, say that, I wasn't sure whether I was watching Senator Tim Scott or Senator Joe
McCarthy from the 1950s. But that's another subject.
You know, it is very odd to hear President Trump and the other Republicans call the Democrats communists, and say they're standing out, heading out,
spending time with socialists and communists. There's only one person I know who's having a love affair with a communist leader, and that's Donald
Trump with Kim Jong Un, the dictator, the communist dictator of North Korea.
SOARES: Look, I read an interesting comment from Venezuelan politician -- well, former politician who commented on the $5,000, saying, that's very
Chavista, which says a lot. Great to see you, thank you very much, Larry. Appreciate it. And still to come on the show tonight --
SABATO: Thank you, Isa --
SOARES: Ukraine's President makes his first visit to Canada -- you're very welcome -- in nearly a year. What's on the agenda as he meets with top
leaders. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
SOARES: Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Canada where he's meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney. He's also -- he'll also
address cabinet members at a forum in Banff. Mr. Zelenskyy and first lady Olena Zelenska arrived on Wednesday.
Talks will focus on Ukraine's air defenses, this of course, as Ukraine's military faces more Russian assaults and what could be another tough
Winter. And this is the Ukrainian President's first visit to Canada in nearly a year.
The trip is set to last through Friday. Our Paula Newton has been covering it and joins me now. So, Paula, talk us through what we could expect. I
imagine security, I imagine drones. What is he asking of Carney at this moment?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, just in the last hour, Isa, in fact, we've had really heart of this already transpire. So, they signed what is a
100-year pact on defense and security. I mean, look, I would hope in a century we're actually not fighting wars anymore. But at this point in
time, as you --
SOARES: Yes --
NEWTON: Said, they mentioned drones. That is significant because Carney meant to be flippant, but he basically said that the Canadian Army had
about 2,000 drones at its disposal right now. Didn't make me feel any better and said that Canada actually needs millions.
As we've covered here before, Ukraine now expert in these drones, millions of drones will be manufactured in Canada, and about a third of them will
now go to Ukraine. What is also truly significant here, though, Isa, is that Canada will contribute to Ukraine's defenses.
That is about $250 million towards interceptors. But Canada will also join what is called Project Freya. And that is Ukraine's Pan-European effort to
make those crucial interceptors on their own. And look, I have been following the timeline of this for a few months now.
This could possibly be an operation by early next year, mid next year. It's not sure what the capabilities will be, but that will mean that Ukraine
does not have to rely so heavily on the U.S. interceptors, which, as you know, have in fact been, you know, really low.
Very interesting news here, though, on the issue of whether it involves Canada on trade or Canada on Ukraine or Zelenskyy with Trump on Ukraine, is
that both of those leaders say they continue to have very frequent and productive discussions with President Trump.
And, you know, as I've reported here before, I mean, look, Prime Minister Carney and President Trump go back and forth, you know, several times in a
week, whether they are at odds over trade or not, and we heard today that they are trying to make progress on a ceasefire on the Black Sea.
So, hear more on that in the coming weeks. President Zelenskyy making it perfectly clear, he does not expect any movement until those elections go
through in Russia at the end of September.
But I'm going to go back to what Anna Stewart was talking about in terms of oil prices on our shows in the last few days. Oil is up 6 and 7 percent
today, Isa. And you and I both follow the money.
SOARES: Yes.
NEWTON: If you want to follow that, that means that, look the pr- the presidential administration here, Trump -- the Trump administration, will
indeed be needing to do something about this. And solving the issue in Russia and Ukraine, even if the Iran war can't be solved, will help those
numbers right there. I want you to listen now to President Zelenskyy just now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: Now, we raise the topic of potential outcome on energy and food security. And I think that we can have
-- and I can be more open after New York meeting with President Trump. I hope that we will find opportunity to do this. I hope so, but knowing
Russia, when they hear that we have somewhere negotiations with Europeans, with Canadians, with Americans, when they hear, they try to intensify
attacks on us. So, just to break any kind of negotiations, just to break any kind of dialogue.
But, I mean, we believe in peace, and we will move in such direction. There's only one way to stop the war, no other way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Isa, the point is that Zelenskyy was very clear. In order to break that cycle of violence, in order to convince Russia that it is better to
negotiate than continue war through this winter, he needs the help of President Donald Trump. And without the United States unfortunately,
Ukraine is likely in for another hard winter.
SOARES: A very harsh winter, that's what many are expecting. Paula, good to see you. Thank you very much indeed.
And still to come tonight on the show, New York City on high alert for the 25th anniversary of 9/11. A massive security operation is underway to keep
the commemoration safe, as you can imagine.
And as the crisis in the West Bank deepens, I'll be talking to an aid chief who says the board of peace is failing Gaza. That story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:35:00]
SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. New York is preparing a massive security operation for Friday's 25th anniversary of 9/11. Officials said it's the
city's largest police deployment in years. Terrorism specialists, heavy weapons and counter drone teams will all be in play. There are no specific
or indeed credible threats. The security will be tight across lower Manhattan.
CNN Law Reporter Mark Morales joins us now. Mark, look, we're really looking at two events happening. We've got Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New
Year, and of course marking the 25th anniversary, 25 years since 9/11. So, how concerning is this from a security point? Walk us through it.
MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: Well, in New York City over the last few months we've had a lot of high-profile events that the NYPD
and other federal law enforcement agencies have had to secure.
So, in a way we're seeing the playbook unfold the way we have before and that involves restricting pedestrian access, closing some of the roads to
vehicular traffic and in a sense making sure that that area that's in question is as controlled as you could possibly do it. And that's why we're
going to be seeing one of the largest deployment of NYPD officers for this event.
Now, you mentioned about the job of securing these two events and it's something that ends up becoming difficult once you start putting in the
current threat climate, right? Because people that we've spoken to, people in law enforcement community, intelligence analysts, all say that this is a
dynamic threat environment, meaning that the threats could come from any number of ways, which is a little different than it was 25 years ago.
Now, I sat down with the head of the Joint Terrorism Task Force here in New York, Andrew Pachtman, and he explained to me that this difficult job is
really more of a no-fail mission, that there's zero margin for error. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW PACHTMAN, SPECIAL AGENT, NEW YORK JOINT TERRORISM TASK FORCE: The threat is evolving. There are actors who are inspired by different elements
of domestic terrorism ideology, international terrorism ideology, a confluence of both. So, I would say it's the ability to adapt and to detect
and to get in front of those subjects.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MORALES: So, we're also talking about violent homegrown extremists, people becoming radicalized on the far-left or on the far-right, people that are
unhappy with the government at the time, and all this happens under the umbrella of the anniversary of 9/11 and the Jewish holidays happening,
because there is a place where both of those events are potentially attracting bad actors that are now looking to zero in for any number of
reasons, but that's what is so hard about being in law enforcement right now.
And that's one of the key differences between now and security 25 years ago. 25 years ago, it was mostly centered around Al-Qaeda, ISIS. Now, it's
those groups, but it's more affiliates of those groups, plus a lot of what else is going on with those other smaller groups, but this is the task for
law enforcement right now, is recalibrating the needs based on what's happening around the world. Isa.
SOARES: Mark, really appreciate it. Thank you very much. Mark Morales there for us.
We're going to leave the United States and turn our attention to the Middle East, the absolute breaking point. That's how a top U.N. official is
describing the situation in Gaza. She says Gaza is being failed by a U.S.- backed team that's supposed to help end the suffering and hostilities over the occupied Palestinian territories. That's what we're hearing from an aid
chief who says humanitarian groups are being heavily restricted there.
She's my next guest and she helps represent dozens of humanitarian NGOs and recently spoke at a Security Council meeting on the Middle East. She says
the U.S.-backed Board of Peace is failing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ATHENA RAYBURN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES (AIDA): Since the ceasefire was announced and the
Board of Peace was created, in addition to the barring of many international aid organizations, it has overseen the deaths of over 1,000
Palestinians reported to have been killed by the Israeli military. Continued rejections of medical items considered dual use, including basic
medical items such as scissors, crutches, wheelchairs and prosthetic limbs. Continuing an arbitrary restrictions on engine oil, forcing the cost of
engine oil up to 45 times its normal price, bringing the humanitarian response today to an absolute breaking point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[14:40:00]
SOARES: Well, Athena Rayburn runs the Association of International Development Agencies overseeing a coalition of aid groups working in the
occupied Palestinian territories and she joins me now, as you can see, they're from Brussels. Athena, great to have you on the show.
Look, we'll talk -- we mentioned the Board of Peace, we'll talk about it in just a moment. I do want to address what your address really at the U.N.
two weeks ago, which was both powerful and alarming. And you said in that speech, I'm going to read out to our viewers part of what you said. You
said in that speech that you won't remark on the number of trucks, pallets and tonnage of aid that has entered Gaza or even the numbers that have been
denied.
This is because regardless of the volumes of assistance, metrics of aid getting into Gaza do not negate the abhorrent and more relevant reality
that we have normalized a situation in which 2 million people are trapped and dependent on humanitarian assistance that is controlled and restricted
by the state that has designed this scarcity. So, speak to that scarcity and speak to that reality.
RAYBURN: I mean, the reality is, since the October 2025 ceasefire announcement is still Israel's control of everything that enters Gaza,
which means we continue to face these extremely arbitrary restrictions. We mentioned on engine oil, this is something that the average person will
never have to think about. But it has been so restricted. We're paying up to a thousand dollars a liter.
And now, as a humanitarian response, we're looking at having to decommission almost half of the vehicles in our fleets, including
ambulances, because we don't have engine oil. And then you look at the fact there's no mains electricity, for example, it's still not been repaired.
The hospitals in Gaza run on generators which require engine oil -- ICU and operating theatres because they cannot keep the generators on and preserve
the engine oil.
SOARES: And the list, from what I heard, and I heard your entire address at the U.N. goes on and on. And you accuse, Athena, Israel of deliberately
restricting humanitarian assistance, basically engineering scarcity. So, for our viewers right around the world, what is being denied entry? Talk us
through what you have seen.
RAYBURN: So, I'll give a recent example. We have children's clothing kits for winter clothes and also for summer. There was a recent rejection, for
example, of children's clothing kits for the summer because they contained sun cream, which is considered a dual use item. I think because of some of
the ingredients inside, we've had similar rejections for things like shampoo. Tape is considered dual use.
One of the huge challenges we have in preparing for winter. We're already now in September, and very often we'll see tents denied because of the
thickness of the tent poles are considered dual use. And this is when we have 94 percent of the population in need of shelter support, and we are
being routinely denied basic shelter materials.
You know, things like timber, any kind of tools because these are perceived as threats, and the result is that the population doesn't get anywhere near
what they need. And we're now facing a winter where most of them will probably be sleeping outside and amongst the rubble.
SOARES: Yes. And look, in the meantime, so much said about the Board of Peace, which was proposed by President Trump in 2025. So, much said as
well, Athena, about a ceasefire. I mean, what -- first of all, on the Board of Peace, what, if anything, has it achieved from what you have seen and
the and the many NGOs you work with?
RAYBURN: You know, Isa, it's a tough question to answer, because as humanitarians, our job is to meet the needs and observe the situation on
the ground. So, I'll say, there has been more food entering, there has been a reduction in famine, this is something we welcome massively. And we're
talking about a scale up of assistance and a ceasefire, a ceasefire to us to the world legally, there should not be regular daily deaths of
civilians. Just last week, we saw four children killed in airstrikes, along with the destruction of hundreds of thousands of dollars of humanitarian
supplies, including nutrition supplies.
So, we look at what the Board of Peace has achieved. For us, it is an abstract thing to even think about when we can't even talk about a
ceasefire that maybe exists in the Security Council in New York. But on the street in Gaza, in the homes in Gaza, we can't see a ceasefire anywhere.
SOARES: Yes. And look, I know that you call for the U.N. Security Council to send an urgent mission to Gaza. I mean, do you think, Athena, do you
think it's -- it will happen? Have you had a response critically?
RAYBURN: We've had some engagement with council members, and there is definitely interest. The challenge with Security Council visits is it is
subject to a veto. So, this will be something we probably imagine a challenge with the U.S. And of course, it has been three years with the
Israeli State denying access, not just international journalists, this has been well publicized, but also to member states that have made repeated
requests to come and see.
[14:45:00]
And it's difficult for the Board of Peace and the U.S. to maintain a narrative that it is delivering aid is scaled up, there is a ceasefire, and
at the same time say, but we don't want you to come and come and visit.
SOARES: Yes. It's so important to have you on the show and to hear from you and the work that your teams on the ground are doing. Athena, really
appreciate it. Thank you very much. Athena Rayburn there joining us from Brussels.
RAYBURN: Thank you.
SOARES: And still to come on the show tonight, much of the world is feeling the heat. We'll have more on the United States hottest summer ever
recorded. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, new details are emerging about Sunday's crash that killed five people after a cargo jet overran a runway at Miami International
Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board, the NSTB, shared -- excuse me, information from the plane's cockpits, voice recorder and flight
data recorder known as the black boxes. Although they warned it was subject to change, one of them shows that a pilot's raised concerns about excessive
speed and the cockpit was warned that the plane was dropping too fast.
Well, you don't need us to tell you it was a hot August. In fact, Earth just had its hottest August on record. The records really don't stop there.
The summer as a whole, tied with the summer of 2024 as the hottest season on record globally. Europe's climate monitoring agents Copernicus blames
two factors human caused global warming and the strengthening El Nino in the Pacific Ocean.
And Rome is revealing for the first time the biggest Roman war mosaic ever found. This colorful fresco was painting it on 2,000-year-old wall now on
display after a 14-year restoration project. It depicts a walled in port city from a bird's eye view. Absolutely stunning. The intricate details
include blue and terracotta colors which are faded, of course, over time or various scenes playing out almost like a theatrical performance. Experts
are unsure whether the scenes represent a utopian port city or a real place in the ancient Roman world. I'm sure we'll get lots of books about this.
[14:50:00]
And still to come on the show tonight, darkness in Havana as U.S. imposed all blockade in Cuba really grinds on. We'll take you to streets of the
capital where blackouts are now really a part of everyday life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, in Cuba, the U.S. imposed oil blockade is showing no signs of stopping. The country is facing its worst energy crisis in living
memory, with rolling electricity blackouts and fuel shortages becoming really the norm.
CNN's Patrick Oppmann takes a drive through the dark streets of Havana, where Cubans are facing hot and sleepless nights, nights, pardon me,
without power. Have a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN HAVANA BUREAU CHIEF: This is one of the issues that a lot of intersections, their traffic lights are no longer on anymore, and so
it becomes very dangerous to drive at night.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Here's what Cuba looks like as the island's failing energy infrastructure nears total collapse. Aging power plants with no
access to fuel as the U.S. oil blockade turns the lights off longer and longer. Cubans have lived with power cuts all their lives, and now they
have to pay for them. Most of their lives. But this is the worst they can ever remember it.
OPPMANN: We stopped here because I'm actually shocked to see this. This is Havana's central park. We're surrounded on all sides by hotels. They're all
in total darkness. We've arrived where there's a blackout. You can actually look up and see the stars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taxi. Taxi. Taxi.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Taxi driver Yasmani (ph) tells me there are few tourists to drive. And blackouts every night, all night.
How do I pass the time, I play dominos or sit on our porch and fan my daughter so she can sleep and go to school the next day.
Power is off now in most of Cuba most of the time these days. And Havana, a city famous for its nightlife has become a city of shadows.
As we drive around in the dark, the only large gathering of people we see are Cubans waiting in a bread line that is fast being depleted.
OPPMANN: The other thing you hear now is that life has just become more and more unaffordable. So, if there's any food product that's on sale,
people immediately get in line and try to get it because it is going to run out.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Anger boils over in the nighttime heat.
You wait for them to put the light on, he says, and for them to take it away.
[14:55:00]
There's nothing else to do. It's criminal to go to sleep without power and then wake up without power. It's too much.
Even if their leadership blames a crisis on the U.S. pressure campaign, many Cubans tell me they are furious at how the government distributes the
little power there is.
OPPMANN: So, you can see we're kind of at the edge of where there's power and then you look over here and the power cuts out. This is what they call
circuits. And so, some people's power will be on and then you can almost look across the street and the power will be off. And the frustrating thing
is it's not divided equally.
OPPMANN (voice-over): Cuban officials say they've been forced to prioritize power for certain areas and industries as the U.S. wages what
they call an economic war against their country. But as the U.S.-Cuba stalemate drags on and negotiations are at a standstill, regular people say
they're the ones paying the price.
A few blocks further on, we find residents playing dominoes under light provided from batteries. Blackouts now last more than 24 hours in this
neighborhood, they tell us.
Every day we are too tired, she says, to go to work, to take kids to school. We're all exhausted.
Life feels like it has ground to a halt, increasingly unlivable. But there's nothing left for people to do other than fan themselves as they
face another long night in the dark.
Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: And that does it for us. Do stay right here. "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:00:00]
END
