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The Situation Room
Canada Trade War Escalates; Chinese Cyberattack?; Deadly Flash Flooding in Nepal; Remembering Dolly Parton. Aired 11-11:30a ET
Aired August 26, 2026 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:02]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: That happened in the northern part of the country along its border with China. The Nepalese foreign minister says an earthquake triggered a landslide that blocked a river and sent a wall of water downstream.
Viewers may find the next video very disturbing. Surveillance cameras captured people running away just before that water reached their village, just an astonishing and horrifying scene. Officials say at least 400 tourists in the area are now missing, and Chinese media says there are -- quote -- "major casualties" on its side of the border.
I want to bring in CNN meteorologist Derek Van
Derek, these images are so horrifying. What else can you tell us?
DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's just the rate of that water coming down the hillside. You can imagine that these mountains, which tower over 7,000 meters across the Himalayas, can be so catastrophic when water rushes down the mountainside.
So we want to tell you what we know, what we're still trying to find out. This is monsoon season. Rivers could have been swollen from recent river -- recent heavy rainfall events. But this is an area that is warming about twice as fast as the global average throughout the entire planet.
So the glaciers that are locked within these hillsides are becoming destabilized over time. In fact, the Himalayan glaciers here have actually seen ice melt double since the year 2000, putting nearly two million people at risk of what could be known as a glacial lake outburst.
We have seen these happen before. We're not saying that this event was caused by that, but what we're noticing is that, if there was indeed an earthquake, which has been reported, it could have sent a -- some of the destabilized land and into the valleys below, kind of damming up the rivers across this area.
This is one of the ports that we have been showing videos of near the border of China and Nepal. And the video here is just absolutely terrifying, very astounding. But you can see just how steep the terrain is across this area, allowing the water to funnel down in such force that it wipes out everything in its path.
We go a little bit further downstream, and you can see buildings that line this area. This is a popular tourist destination, people processing goods between the borders. So there are thousands of people that could potentially line that region.
We go further downstream where some of our geolocated and geotargeted videos that we have seen right along this riverbed here that overspilled its banks. Well, this is the area that we saw the debris and the mud that was been left over by this. Was it a glacial lake outburst? Was it an earthquake that triggered this debris to jam up the river, building up the water behind it, and then ultimately a large deluge of water bursting its banks outside of it once it freed itself?
The water nonetheless was rushing down at quite the force, that we have seen the videos, destroying bridges, taking away complete buildings and upending people's lives at a moment's notice. This kind of puts it all into perspective.
We have analyzed so many different views and angles of these videos, but the weather here doesn't seem to be a factor in terms of the heavy rain that the monsoon typically brings this time of year, although previous rain events from the past few weeks may have, again, added to the amount of water that is within these local tributaries and rivers that rushed down the mountainside.
So, Wolf, we're still piecing together all the details here, but one thing's for sure. This is a terrifying scene that we see unfolding here.
BLITZER: It's horrific, indeed.
All right, Derek Van Dam, thank you very much.
The images of the water leveling buildings and smashing everything in its path is hard to even fathom. The sheer scale is overwhelming, as you can see. And we want to warn you, you may find some of the upcoming video very disturbing as well.
CNN's Hanako Montgomery walks us through the truly terrifying moments when this flash flood struck. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dozens of people begin to run. What comes next in this surveillance video is hard to imagine.
A mountain of mud and water taller than the building crashes down, wiping out everything in its path, like something from a disaster film. But this is a border crossing between China and Nepal. It's the result of a deadly flash flood that swept through Himalayan villages on the Nepal-China border on Wednesday, its enormous force destroying homes and buildings, including in Nepal's Rasuwa District. Aerial footage captured from a helicopter over the district shows the
immense barrage of water flooding the valley below. It's a popular area for hiking holidays. Hundreds of tourists, including foreign nationals, have been reported missing, according to an initial assessment by Nepal's tourism board.
[11:05:00]
Nepalese army helicopters are helping rescue citizens from rooftops in the flood-affected areas. The Red Cross is also deploying an emergency team with relief supplies.
And in Tibet's Gyirong Port, China's President Xi Jinping has ordered all-out search-and-rescue efforts to find those who are missing after a mudslide caused major casualties, China's state news agency, Xinhua, reported. The mudslide has cut off the region's roads, communications, and power, Xinhua said.
Nepal's foreign minister said the deadly flash flood was caused by an earthquake, triggering a large landslide, which blocked the Bhote Koshi River. The full scale of the devastation is yet to become clear.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: And a special thanks to Hanako for that report.
And there's more breaking news we're following right now, a major cyberattack targeting major government agencies, including NASA, the Justice Department, and the Federal Reserve.
CNN cybersecurity reporter Sean Lyngaas just broke this story for us. He's here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
How widespread, Sean, is this hacking campaign?
SEAN LYNGAAS, CNN CYBERSECURITY REPORTER: Well, Wolf, this has been going on for several years now.
The Justice Department alleges that the Chinese government, the military and its intelligence agency, used a front company essentially, a tech company in China based in the Eastern city of Nanjing to cover their tracks, to try to make it look like it was normal Internet traffic that the hackers were doing.
Eventually, the FBI had figured out what was going on, and, today, they seize those Internet domains, try to take them offline to put a dent in the spying operation. But this is pretty expansive. It covers some of the major federal agencies. Like you said, the Federal Reserve, the Department of Energy, NASA were all breached, according to court documents.
And so the damage from this, we might not know for a while how bad it was in terms of what the hackers were able to get, but it's something that's been going on behind the scenes for years in the U.S.-China relationship.
And Attorney General Todd Blanche was asked this morning on FOX News whether President Trump would bring this up with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, in their meeting next month, and he didn't really directly answer the question and says: It's not my job to tell the president what to say. However, we are having these conversations.
So it's very much a flash point in the relationship between the superpowers, and that's what we saw this morning with what was announced.
BLITZER: So, basically, what I hear you're saying is, the U.S. government's got to do something to try to prevent these kinds of cyberattacks.
LYNGAAS: Well, it's really hard, Wolf, right?
And China has the advantage of numbers, and they have these vast intelligence services that are able to burrow into U.S. networks pretty easily. The trick is to catch it relatively early in the process and then to warn the public, and that's what you're seeing today.
BLITZER: They have work to do, to be sure.
All right, thanks very much, Sean Lyngaas. Excellent reporting. Appreciate it very, very much.
And still ahead: She changed the world with her iconic voice and her massive heart, and Dolly Parton's impact will be felt for decades to come.
As we go to break, here's how she described her years of philanthropy just a few years ago. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOLLY PARTON, MUSICIAN: I'm very proud and honored to be a part of anything that is going to make the world a better place. And I just give from my heart. I never know what I'm going to do or why I'm going to do it. I just see a need. And if I can fill it, then I will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[11:13:11]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON: Think of me when I'm gone. I'd like you to smile, to think, oh, she was funny, or, oh, she had a good sense of humor.
QUESTION: Yes.
PARTON: Even when she was sad, she would make a joke about it or... QUESTION: Yes.
PARTON: So I just want to be -- I would just like to be known for what I think I am, which is just a regular person.
QUESTION: Yes. Yes.
PARTON: I always say I'm a workhorse that looks like a show horse, but I'm a -- I work. I work for what I do, and I love my job, love that I can make a living doing it, but I just hope I leave something good behind for other people to enjoy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: This morning, we're still remembering the rich life and generous legacy of Dolly Parton.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Dolly's family announced she died peacefully in Nashville yesterday after a brief battle with cancer. She was 80 years old.
Here she is with her husband, Carl Dean. They were together nearly six decades before he passed away last year. Dolly was known not only for her legendary music career, including songs like "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You," but also for her classic roles on the big screen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON: Oh, Ed Earl, I like a lot of things, but these afternoons with you have got to top the list.
BURT REYNOLDS, ACTOR: Yes? Well, sing it to me, honey.
(LAUGHTER)
(SINGING)
REYNOLDS: Well, I like...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Dolly's career span nearly seven decades, with her first Grand Ole Opry performance when she was only 13 years old.
[11:15:06]
Her death has tributes pouring in from around the world, a window into just how many people Dolly touched, the White House ordering flags to be flown at half-staff in her honor. Dolly had a way of uniting folks from all walks of life.
As "The New York Times" put it back in 2019: "If there's one thing we can all agree on, it's Dolly Parton."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON: My joke is that my daddy was a Republican, my mom was a Democrat, and I'm a Hypocrat.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Here's a live look at flowers and balloons surrounding the Dolly Parton statue outside a courthouse in the Sevier County, Tennessee, where Dolly was from.
CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister takes a look back at Dolly Parton's rise from very humble beginnings to a beloved global presence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A beloved country queen known for her vulnerable and poetic lyrics, like in her classic hit "Jolene."
Dolly Parton's music was as popular as her bold style, composing and performing booming anthems like "9 to 5" that resonated with office workers everywhere.
(MUSIC)
WAGMEISTER: She ranks among the most successful country recording artists of all time, with nearly 50 albums and more than 25 number one hits, a superstar who often sang about her humble small town Tennessee roots.
(MUSIC)
WAGMEISTER: The fourth of 12 children, she started singing hymns in church. Dolly moved to Nashville after high school graduation, aiming for work as a songwriter.
PARTON: I was just trying to make a living, trying to find what I wanted to do, to have my songs recorded.
WAGMEISTER: The petite singer modeled her signature style after a woman known for her promiscuity in her hometown.
PARTON: She was the prettiest thing I would ever seen. I was very impressed by the big hair she had, the lipstick and the nails and the high-heeled shoes.
WAGMEISTER: Dolly got noticed quickly, scoring a recording deal and a regular gig on "The Porter Wagoner Show."
(MUSIC)
WAGMEISTER: Their collaboration lasted seven years. She wrote a song about parting ways with Wagoner, and it became a smash, first in 1974...
(MUSIC)
WAGMEISTER: ... and again when Whitney Houston recorded it nearly two decades later.
(MUSIC)
PARTON: Her version of that was spectacular. I always think of it as being our song.
WAGMEISTER: Dolly said music made her a crossover success.
PARTON: It was a song that got me everywhere I have ever been.
(MUSIC)
WAGMEISTER: She wrote the theme to "9 to 5" and landed a lead role in the movie.
PARTON: And I shot a hole clean through my purse.
(LAUGHTER)
WAGMEISTER: Some of her other films include "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas"...
PARTON: There's nothing dirty going on.
WAGMEISTER: ... and "Steel Magnolias."
PARTON: Young lady, you've just landed yourself a job.
WAGMEISTER: Her many job titles included author, theme park owner and philanthropist,from setting up a literacy program for impoverished children to funding research for a COVID vaccine.
PARTON (singing): Vaccine, vaccine. I'm begging of you, please don't hesitate.
WAGMEISTER: She stayed low-key about her charity work, insisting she saw herself as a musician first.
PARTON: My music is everything to me, and I just -- that is what I grew from.
WAGMEISTER: Dolly said her career was shaped by her family, faith and ambition.
PARTON: God first, me second, and I have been able to maneuver and live my life based on that, and use my talent to the best of my ability.
WAGMEISTER: Indeed, she did, writing an estimated 3,000 songs, and earning countless awards and honors, including a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an event Dolly dominated, even outranking the rock stars in 2022.
(MUSIC)
WAGMEISTER: She released her first rock album at the age of 77, and often collaborated with younger singers. It all helped make Dolly Parton one of America's most beloved artists, with fans and admirers that spanned generations.
(SINGING)
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Special thanks to Elizabeth Wagmeister for that report.
One of Dolly's most iconic songs is her 1974 hit "I Will Always Love You." To date, the song has more than 168 million streams on Spotify. It's been recorded hundreds of times by other artists, but the most popular is Whitney Houston's 1992 version that went diamond.
[11:20:08]
Dolly spoke with CNN's Larry King about the meaning behind the song and the moment she heard Houston sing it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PARTON: One day, I was riding along in the car and had just turned the radio on, and I heard her start that a cappella, like, "if I should stay."
And it took me like a few seconds. I thought, what is that? That's so familiar. And then when she went into like the "I will always love you," I just about had a heart attack and died. Just about wrecked. It was a great feeling, though. What a great record she did on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:37]
BLITZER: Happening now: Canada is striking back.
As the trade war with the U.S. intensifies, Ottawa now announcing dollar-for-dollar retaliatory tariffs on billions of dollars of U.S. imports into Canada, including steel, dairy products, household appliances, farm equipment, paper products, and electronics.
The response follows 50 percent tariffs imposed by the U.S. on imported Canadian goods after trade talks collapsed over the weekend.
Let's bring in the CEO of the Canadian American Business Council, Beth Burke.
Beth, thanks so much for joining us.
How badly are these tit for tat tariffs going to hurt American and Canadian businesses?
BETH BURKE, CEO, CANADIAN AMERICAN BUSINESS COUNCIL: Yes, I think it's really important to remember that American and Canadian business relationships, it's not a traditional trading relationship. We build and make things together.
And so we need to de-escalate the situation. Businesses need certainty. This has real impacts on both communities.
BLITZER: You're making a very important point, because even cars manufactured here in the United States rely on various key parts that are made in Canada.
BURKE: Yes.
BLITZER: And if those parts are going to be more expensive, it's going to wind up costing Americans more to get a car.
Canada also announced, as you know, a $5.4 billion support package to try to protect workers and businesses in Canada affected by the trade dispute. Does that give Canada any negotiating leverage over the U.S. now?
BURKE: Well, look, I think it's really important for us to not think of this as Canada versus the United States.
As I said, we make things together. You made a really important point, but 65 percent of bilateral trade is inputs. So that -- you can't just tariff an input and not expect costs to move through. Tariffs don't stop at the border. They make their way to kitchen tables through supply chain disruptions, increased costs, investment in security.
We need an environment where businesses can prosper and focus and plan. We need to be looking at an opportunities to get conversations back to a productive space.
BLITZER: Let's hope that happens.
You're calling on both countries to return to the negotiating table as quickly as possible. Canada's retaliatory tariffs won't take effect until September 8.
BURKE: Yes.
BLITZER: Is that enough time, you think, to get talks back on track?
BURKE: I always love to be optimistic. I think we need to be realistic right now.
Politics on both sides of the border are challenging, but uncertainty and this escalation has to stop, because this has real impacts. The Canadian American Business Council commissioned an economic report with Oxford Economics, and it breaks down in very great detail the real dollars and cents on the line.
One of the interesting facts is 1.4 million American jobs and 2.5 million Canadian jobs are dependent on this trade. At a time where affordability is front and center for both countries, we really have to find a path. Maybe formal negotiations might not reignite immediately, but I think quiet conversations and level heads getting to a table could make a real difference.
BLITZER: On Monday, President Trump posted on his social media site, he said this -- quote -- "We don't need Canada. They need us. They do 95 percent of their business with the U.S., with us, the exact opposite" -- end quote.
What's your response to that?
BURKE: Well, I think it's important to know that Canada's one of America's largest customers. We sell a lot of goods and services to Canada.
In fact, more than 30 states call Canada their number one trading partner. So it is very critical for us to be encouraging job growth and dynamics at a time where we really need to put businesses and people front and center.
BLITZER: Good point, very, very important.
Beth Burke, thank you very, very much.
And just ahead: The power of President Trump's endorsement passes another crucial test. How his support helped propel Senator Darline Graham.
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