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The Situation Room
"Butcher of Bosnia" Ratko Mladic Dies in Prison at 84; DOJ: Kennedy Center May Be Torn Down If Renovations Blocked; Americans Missing in Nepal Flood Disaster. Aired 11:30a-12p ET
Aired August 27, 2026 - 11:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:30:00]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Nic Robertson, to you as well, appreciate your excellent, excellent coverage.
Up next, the Kennedy Center conflict here in Washington, the latest effort to put President Trump's name on the venue, and who's now fighting it in federal court.
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BLITZER: Happening now, a judge in Washington is set to consider an emergency request to block President Trump's name from being etched back onto the Kennedy Center building here in Washington. This comes after U.S. Justice Department lawyers claimed that the venue might need to be demolished and even replaced if a two-year renovation plan can't be completed.
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CNN Washington correspondent Sunlen Serfaty is here with me in the Situation Room. Tell our viewers what else you're learning.
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is certainly a very high-stakes moment for the Kennedy Center. Really, the predominant and perhaps most controversial issue, which has fueled this month's long drama over the institution, is whether President Trump's name can be on the side of the Kennedy Center. And we saw that play out over the summer when the president put up his name and then the judge ordered for it to be removed. And it led to that really shocking moment where they took down the letters, put up the tarp beforehand.
And this month, essentially, a very important move was made by the Kennedy Center board, where they voted to say, essentially, find a workaround here and say, OK, if you won't let us have the name on the building, we're going to go ahead and etch on the side of the building. Etch on the side, renovated and restored by President Donald J. Trump. Also renamed some other parts of the building in his name, the plaza out front.
So, this is a provocative move by the Kennedy Center board, of course, that is stacked with Trump loyalists and President Trump as a chairman. So, that's what this emergency hearing is about. A Democrat, Joyce Beatty, basically wanted this to stop this, to stop the center from closing, stop the name from going up in the side, whether it's etched in the side, inscribed in the side or whatnot. But certainly, one more chapter in this very long drama over the Kennedy Center.
BLITZER: It's a very long drama indeed. There's another legal fight over what officials now say are badly needed renovations for the Kennedy Center, which I love, by the way. They say it needs to be closed for those repairs. The move to close the center has also met major legal challenges. So, where do things stand now on that front?
SERFATY: That's right. This is really part and parcel, really at the heart of a lot of this legal battle. The administration and the Kennedy Center board, they want this center to be closed for two years. They are arguing that the renovations are so extensive that they must close completely. Of course, Democrats and others have challenged that. But the court -- and the court has repeatedly said that they need to remain open.
And it was interesting this week in court papers that were filed by the Department of Justice lawyers. They essentially threatened, look, if you are going to let this center stay open and command us to stay this open, the center to stay open, we might need to demolish it completely, tear it down, take it all down and put an open-air amphitheater instead. That's a huge threat, something that we would be watching today, how the judge responds to. And certainly, Democrats are very annoyed with that response as well.
BLITZER: A lot of people are annoyed by that. The thought of demolishing the Kennedy Center is just awful. All right. Thanks very much. Sunlen Serfaty, reporting for us.
And coming up, there's more breaking news, new details about the Americans missing after a massive wall of water decimated villages in Nepal and China, killing hundreds of people.
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BLITZER: Happening now, we're learning more and more about the California man arrested for bringing a guillotine to Washington, D.C. Police found him Tuesday near the U.S. Capitol building. Investigators say he drove from California with it in his pickup truck. According to court documents, he told officers it was, quote, "The real deal," end quote. And that he didn't have a specific reason for coming. He's pleaded not guilty to having a dangerous weapon.
Later today, attorneys for Duane Davis will present their case in the Tupac Shakur murder trial. The prosecution rested yesterday after calling 25 witnesses. The state is arguing that Davis, also known as Keffe D, orchestrated the 1996 shooting of the famous rapper in Las Vegas. Davis says his previous claims of being involved were just lies to promote himself and his book.
Plus, there's dramatic video out of Georgia right now. A firefighter repels to the rescue after a man tried unsuccessfully to free climb a mountain. He was rescued after about 45 minutes.
And we're following other major breaking news near Nepal's border with China. Rescuers are searching for survivors after that truly devastating flash flood wave.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
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BLITZER: Take a look at how fast that water is moving. We now know the wave crashed down at an average speed, get this, of 120 miles per hour. And that means it traveled nearly 14 miles in less than seven minutes. The U.S. State Department has just confirmed that 90, yes, 90 Americans are among the missing. Three have been rescued.
CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar is joining us right now. Allison, put that astonishing speed into perspective for our viewers.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. I mean, 120 miles per hour. We all know that's very fast, but it's also the equivalent of the sustained winds in a category three hurricane. Really, the takeaway here is that it's faster than any human could actually outrun. So, in all of those videos where you see these people trying to run away, that wave is going to catch up with them. Even if they were in a vehicle, a bus or a car of some sort, most cars cannot go that fast. So, again, it is just moving at incredibly racing speeds as it was coming through.
Again, you can see through this video just how quickly it takes out some of these buildings, wiping out the cars along with it. Again, just not just the speed, but also you have to understand what it's bringing with it. It's bringing boulders, rocks, a ton of water, huge amounts of sediment. And all of that makes it even stronger as it kind of moves through these areas again.
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Now, this would be much farther downstream. So, it's probably not moving as fast at this point, but even noticing the video, look how fast the water is going. Even if this is maybe only 60 or 70 miles per hour, that is still more than enough to sweep people off their feet as it continues to make its way down through the river valley and into some of these towns and the communities that are there.
The other thing to note, too, is that it's mixed with sediment. That makes it much stronger than, say, if it was simply just flood waters like you get in a weather storm. And that makes it much harder for things to move through. It also makes it much more difficult for rescue and recovery efforts because once it dries, it is not stable ground for them to be on.
BLITZER: Allison Chinchar, thank you very, very much. Coming up, shedding light on caregivers. Dolly Parton's very honest comments about her health before she died are raising a lot of awareness right now about the role of caring for a loved one and the potential toll it takes. More ahead.
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BLITZER: Happening now, just days after her death, Dolly Parton's previous comments are raising new awareness right now and the toll taking care of a loved one potentially can have. Dolly's death comes a year after her husband of nearly 60 years, Carl Dean, passed away. She shared that while he was sick and after he died, she neglected her own health. Here's a message that Dolly shared with fans last year. Listen.
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DOLLY PARTON, SINGER AND PHILANTHROPIST: I've got some problems, as I mentioned, back when my husband, Carl, was very sick. That was for a long time. And then when he passed, I didn't take care of myself. So, I let a lot of things go that I should have been taking care of.
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BLITZER: Her death is now shining a light on the often too common reality that caregivers face when a loved one falls ill. Joining us now is Dr. Neetu Abad. She's the director of the Rosalynn Carter Mental Health and Caregiver Program. Dr. Abad, thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for all you're doing. What's your reaction to what Dolly said there about her own health when her husband was sick?
DR. NEETU ABAD, DIRECTOR, ROSALYNN CARTER MENTAL HEALTH AND CAREGIVER PROGRAM: Thank you for having me, Wolf. We were not at all surprised. This is such a common experience that we hear about when we work with caregivers all over the country, all over the world. It's really why former first lady, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter, championed this group for over 50 years, from the White House to the work that we do today.
Caregivers, they often neglect their own physical health. They miss screenings. They forget to take their medication. They may not engage in prevention, treatment, because they're so dedicated to the folks that they're caring for. And so, we were not at all surprised to hear about how Dolly's life was so impacted.
BLITZER: So, I take it, Dr. Abad, it's pretty common for caregivers to stop taking care of themselves when they're looking after someone else, someone they love so much. So, what kind of resources exist for people who might be struggling right now?
DR. ABAD: It's a great question. It's not just the physical health. It's also the mental and emotional burden. It's the social aspects. It's the financial health. There are local resources that can help. I encourage any caregiver today to look into what kind of local resources, like respite care, might be available for you. Organizations like the Caregiver Action Network run a 24/7 help desk that can be tailored to your specific needs.
If you are in a workplace, what does your employer offer? If you're an employer, what are you offering the caregivers who work for you? If you're a legislator who's listening to this, what are you doing to protect the protections that we have in place to defend those and to look for other ways that we can champion policy that makes caregiving easier?
BLITZER: What does it tell you, Dr. Abad, that even Dolly Parton, one of the most famous people in the world, experienced this?
DR. ABAD: It's incredible, right? With all of her resources, she's still facing circumstances that caregivers all over the country, even me in my own life with my two young kids, can forget to take care of myself. And I can forget to reach out or think that maybe I shouldn't reach out because maybe my caregiving is my primary responsibility.
So, we want to tell any caregiver watching today, pick up that phone, call somebody. Don't internalize that guilt. Don't feel that guilt. It's not selfish. You taking care of yourself helps the person that you're caring for.
BLITZER: What should we all be aware of when it comes to what caregivers go through? Is there anything more that can be done to support this community?
DR. ABAD: It's an excellent question. We can do so much, actually. Caregivers, their job is complicated. Maybe somebody is living with multiple health conditions. Maybe they have to call several numbers to try to find the care that they need. You know, our systems are still quite fragmented on the caregiver perspective. Sometimes we don't see them as the essential partners in care that they really are.
So, our program here at the Carter Center, we're doing everything we can. We're pulling out all the stops, talking to everybody that we can about, how is it, the singular question, how is it that we can make the lives of caregivers easier and improve health outcomes for everybody?
BLITZER: Dr. Neetu Abad, thank you so much for all you're doing. We are really, really grateful.
DR. ABAD: Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure.
BLITZER: Thank you. And to our viewers, thanks very much for joining us this morning. You can always keep up with us on social media, @wolfblitzer and @pamelabrowncnn. We'll see you back here tomorrow morning, every weekday morning for two hours, 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
Inside Politics with our good friend and colleague, Dana Bash starts right after a quick break.
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