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What We Know with Max Foster

Nepal, China Floods Leave At Least 570-Plus Dead, 1,900-Plus Missing; Trump Signs Order To Create A U.S. Space Academy; Judge Pauses USPS Plan To Implement New Mail Voting Restrictions; Jury Deliberations Underway In Lindsay Clancy Trial; Norway Mourns King Harald As His Son Ascends To Throne. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired August 28, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:24]

MAX FOSTER, CNN HOST: The death toll climbs in Nepal as rescuers race to find any survivors from a deadly mudslide.

This is WHAT WE KNOW.

Nepalese authorities say nearly 600 people are dead. More than 1,900 are still missing. In contrast, the confirmed death toll on the Chinese side of

the border stands at five. Beijing has been restricting the flow of information coming out of the Tibetan region. Search and rescue teams are

working around the clock but are facing washed out roads buried by mud.

Ninety Americans remain unaccounted for, according to the U.S. State Department. The Red Cross says at least 93,000 people have been impacted by

the flash floods.

Will Ripley spoke with one Indian-American family who narrowly survived when disaster struck.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Just really difficult to describe this scene here, but there's a woman who just came and looked

at a list of people who are being treated and also a list of people who are confirmed dead. We don't know the specific details of what she saw, but you

can see on her face just how anguished she is right now. And we've seen this type of scene just repeated over and over and over again here in the

capital of Nepal. This is the Teachers Hospital. It's one of the busiest medical centers in this city.

And let me show you this way. Let's just walk through the crowd here, John, because there's a whole wall of people here. And then the number of

pictures have kind of been increasing throughout the day. Photos of people who are missing family members who are waiting here, hoping that their

loved ones are going to end up on this list here. This is a handwritten list of names of people who are confirmed survivors who are being treated

right now at this hospital.

All day people have been hearing that there might be more survivors brought in, but as of the six hours or so we've been out here, still only 31 names

on this list. But if you look at this table over here. The number of people who are now registered as missing has grown from 1,200 when we arrived here

this morning to now more than 1,600 people.

All these people who are here gathered at the table are adding the names of their loved ones to the list. And about a five-minute walk from here,

there's a morgue with a much larger wall of photos of dead bodies and a much larger crowd of people looking at these photos of dead bodies, trying

to see if they can identify their loved ones there.

And I saw people, bodies of all ages. There were men, there were women, there were children. There were also photographs of body parts. They

actually were trying to photograph arms and legs that might have had tattoos on them, hoping that family members might be able to help identify

these remains. Now the worst of it is the video that you've seen now undoubtedly at the China-Nepal border crossing that large concrete

structure that looked to be about seven stories tall with that giant black wave crashing over it and another angle that showed rows after row of blue

buses that were just washed away like toys.

Within the last couple of hours, we have spoken with the only two known Americans who survived from that border crossing they were sitting on one

of the buses Their names are Pattabi and Anjana. They're from Northern California from the Bay Area. They said they were sitting on the bus just

chatting with some other tourists from Italy and all of a sudden, they looked outside the bus and saw people running and they knew that something

was wrong. Then they looked up the hill, and they saw a massive wall, a black cloud as they described it.

They didn't know if it was water, they didn't know if it was smoke, but they knew that it was moving very quickly down the hill towards their bus

and the other buses that were all parked in a row. They had had breakfast at the hotel with members of tour groups that were inside that building,

getting their visas processed to cross from Nepal into China, into the Tibet region of China.

Those people have disappeared, presumed to be gone. Even people on their own bus, when they saw this black wall approaching of water, they ran to

the right and other passengers ran to the left and they'd never seen them since. But they ran up a hill and they were able, just sparing a matter of

seconds to be able to get to a vantage point where they could then turn around and watch the horror that was unfolding beneath.

Here's a portion of that interview that we just did. Please take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANJANA RAJA, SURVIVED FLOOD DISASTER: So, the way it came is came just like a tsunami. It just came going all the way up, and just like a tsunami, the

how it sweeps, going like a row.

It just took the busses, the vans.

PATTABIRAMAN VENTAKASSEN, SURVIVED FLOOD DISASTER: Houses.

RAJA: Houses, people, everything. We saw people just getting sucked in the water. It was so traumatizing to see that. People are screaming, but of

course, water doesn't hear anything.

[15:05:00]

It just kind of sucked them in.

I don't know if they were thrown away somewhere in the shore, but then this happened.

It was just a span of 30 minutes. In 30 minutes, everything was swept and gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIPLEY: They don't know exactly how they did it, but they crawled and climbed and ran their way up that hill along with a small group. And a

local tour operator who they say really saved their lives because he told them where to go higher and higher up the hill. They didn't have a cell

signal. So, they had no idea what was happening until at one point they did briefly have a cell signal. And at this point, they still didn't know if

the flood was over, if there was going to be another event.

But what they did when they had a brief cell signal is they picked up the phone and they called their daughter And in that 60-second phone call while

they had a cell phone signal, they gave their daughter all of their passwords for their accounts because they thought that they might not

survive. And they wanted her to have all the information that she needed so that she could do what needed to be done if they didn't make it home.

And they told her they love her and to please take care of their younger son, her brother, who's in the Boy Scouts. And then the call got cut off.

But they've now survived, and we have much more of this interview with them. We had a long conversation with them, and we'll be sharing that with

you throughout the day here.

But it was just extraordinary and harrowing to hear the details of how they survived.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Will Ripley in Kathmandu, there are fears as well tonight of another potential disaster striking a barrier lake, which was created by

debris which was damming up a river, has begun to overflow along the Nepali-Chinese border. That could lead to another massive flood or

landslide.

Here's the moment a large portion of a glacier broke off, plunging it into the river below. The CNN Weather Center team says that more storms could

potentially pop up as well over the weekend.

Dhruba Gurmachhan is the programme readiness and integration manager at World Vision International Nepal.

Thank you for joining us because I know that you've been to the disaster area.

Let us know what you experienced there.

DHRUBA GURMACHHAN, PROGRAMME READINESS AND INTEGRATION MANAGER AT WORLD VISION INTERNATIONAL NEPAL: Actually, I went yesterday evening there in the

Nuwakot Trishuli market, which is the second districts of the downstreaming after Rasuwa district. The flood had swiped away everything there and I saw

people had a huge agony. They had a kind of trauma and I've seen many childrens, womens.

And I've gone to that river, the breeze was swiped away, and the other side of the river, the market, the houses, everything was swiped away, like a

very small thing.

And I've seen, I've met one girl. It's a seven, eight years old girl with a dark blue T-shirt. Her dad, mom and brother, siblings, everyone had gone

with that river and she was alone, survived there. And she hadn't anything to talk. She was only staring to the towards the house. The house was not

there and she was thinking it could be appeared again there.

Now I've also met one of the women who survived there. She told that how people were screaming, how people were terrified like in that moment. She

had a tear on her eyes and she had a her eyes was red. Even she can't weep, but only she can say, like, we survived at the moment. So this was the

horrific situation at the moment in the ground.

World Vision is now supporting those kind of impacted population because World Vision is reaching the unrest area at the moment. Yeah.

FOSTER: Yeah, and it's so tough for you, isn't it? Because the mud is so difficult to get through.

But you've also got the threat of this new lake that's appeared and it seems to be breaking up. You've got to be careful about your teams going

into the area as much as you want to help, haven't you? Because you don't want to put more lives at risk.

But how are you considering the risk of this second disaster?

[15:10:02]

GURMACHHAN: Actually, we have been hearing there is one lake which is the debris has blocked that river and being a kind of the water is storing

there. And recently, we have heard at around 8:45 p.m., my mobile has received one message from the government, the lake is there, the newly

developed lake. But it is releasing little by little.

Still, we don't know how many things will going to happen, like how many flash floods will be going to happen. But my wish for my team is to be safe

for themselves first and to support the survived communities, survived people at the moment. The accessibility issue is at the moment is very

challenging. Like we cannot cross the river and we cannot go to the other side of the river.

At the same time, we cannot go to the Rasuwa district because it is disconnected. But we are hearing that roads are clearing up and they are

clearing the roads. and the track is being met. So I'll be ensuring that every protocol of my team is there. The security protocol, safety and

security, safeguarding, everything should be there. And without those kind of things, my team cannot survive in the field.

FOSTER: Yeah, okay. Dhruba Gurmachhan, thank you so much for bringing those terrible stories, and good luck with your work with that continuing threat

there. I appreciate your time.

President Donald Trump has his eyes set on the moon, meanwhile, and beyond. Right before awarding the Artemis II crew the Congressional Space Medal of

Honor for their successful 10-day mission around the moon, the president signed an executive order to create a space academy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Given the rapid growth of the Space Force the commercial space industry and the expansion of our

ambitions to the moon and far beyond the moon, far beyond the moon will someday be thought of a close location, like in the old days, the subway,

the first stop. The moon will be a close location. But it's clear that we will need to educate and train an entire generation of skilled service

members, engineers, and civil operators and everything else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Back on Earth, though, a federal judge has temporarily blocked the U.S. Postal Service from carrying out a plan that could limit mail voting.

The new rule required states to submit lists of their mail-in voters to the Postal Service on Monday. The Supreme Court removed a previous court order

blocking U.S. agencies from carrying out parts of an executive order. That's President Trump signing it back in March.

The White House says it'll appeal this latest ruling. There are less than 70 days to go until the midterm elections.

I want to bring in Alayna Treene. I mean, it's very -- he cares a lot about the mail-in voting, doesn't he? Just explain why it's so important and how

it might affect the midterms.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's definitely something that the president cares about. If anything, that's even an

understatement, Max. This is something the president has railed against, dating back to his first term. He believes that mail-in ballots and mail-in

voting overall is rife with fraud and allows people to cheat on the elections. I should note, there's really no widespread evidence of that.

And the president himself has just recently, in recent months, voted twice in Florida through mail-in ballots. But look, this has been a lot of twists

and turns with this executive order that the president issued back in the spring, essentially directing the Department of Homeland Security to make

up a list of eligible voters and then give that list to the United States Postal Service and tell them that essentially that the Postal Service could

only mail ballots to those peoples on that list and they could only get them back.

The problem with this, and this is why we saw it actually go before the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court actually ruled on Monday that they could

keep this law in place, but then a federal judge in Boston yesterday said that they are temporarily striking it down for now is because this is we

are 70 days roughly a little less actually 70 days to the November midterm elections and the judge yesterday essentially argued that there is not

enough time for states to try and comply with this order to figure out how to get these new names to the Postal Service in time to get them to send

these new different ballots to that certain list of people and have that all sorted by the midterms.

Now I should note, as I said on Monday, the Supreme Court actually upheld this law temporarily.

[15:15:02]

They did not say that it was legal. They did not rule on whether it was constitutional or unconstitutional. They simply said it was premature to

try and strike down this new order permanently.

But I will argue that what we are hearing, and part of the reason there's been so much outcry in addition to the timing, is that a lot of states

actually sued the administration as well as Washington, D.C, I should note, arguing that essentially, it's not up to the federal government to decide

elections. It's up to the states to determine how they run elections. And so, it should be unconstitutional.

So that's something that still needs to get decided, very much unclear at this point what is going to happen. Obviously, the midterms are very close.

That makes this a complicating matter. But even if not, all of this is implemented, Max, by the midterm elections, 2028 is not far away. And this

is something, of course, the Trump administration and the White House very much want to be in place by then.

So, the stakes remain very high, regardless of what we see happen in the next couple of months before the first elections in November.

FOSTER: Alayna, as ever, thank you so much for joining us with that.

Now, also in the U.S., the jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder case started their day of deliberations with a request to see evidence. Clancy's

attorney Kevin Reddington said the jury asked to see the kitchen knife that Clancy used to cut her wrist and her neck. They also asked to see Clancy's

prescription pill bottles. Lindsay Clancy is the U.S. woman charged with the murder of her three children in January 2023.

And Brynn Gingrass, of course, has been following all of this.

We were waiting to see what sort of questions they might ask whilst they were out.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right, Max. It's 3:15 Eastern Time here. Typically, these jurors go home when it was

during the trial, about 4:00. So, we'll see in 45 minutes or so if they want to stay longer or if they want the weekend and start again on Monday.

So that's kind of what we're standing by.

But like you said, they did ask for some evidence today. This is probably good news for either side because it just shows that these jurors are

really methodical going through all of the evidence, hundreds of pieces of evidence in this case, three weeks of testimony, 90 witnesses. I mean,

there is a lot to consider, let alone the fact that they are considering five different possibilities for an outcome of this case, three dealing

with a guilty verdict and two with a not guilty verdict, which each results in different punishments for Lindsay Clancy or lack of punishments.

So, again, a lot to consider here. And we're really just standing by waiting to see what happens. The big question is, will they see Lindsay

Clancy criminally responsible for the acts that took place on January 24th, 2023, the killings of her three young children?

FOSTER: Okay, Brynn, thank you so much for that as we go into the weekend.

Now, coming up, tributes and condolences are pouring in from around the world as the oldest monarch in Europe passes away at the age of 89. More on

the death of Norway's beloved King Harald.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:21:12]

FOSTER: Norway is in mourning after King Harald V, Europe's oldest monarch, passed away today at the age of 89.

Mourners in Oslo turned out in the rain for the king's solemn funeral procession today. Crowds also gathered at the palace to lay flowers and pay

their respects. King Harald was widely beloved. And known as a reformer and a unifying figure for the country, he'd been on the throne for 35 years.

The crown has already passed to his son, King Haakon VIII.

We're joined now by senior reporter Tove Bjorgaas, former Washington bureau chief with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.

And you got a real sense today, didn't you, about how the nation feels about the late king. There were so many of them standing in silence just to

see the coffin go by.

TOVE BJORGAAS, SENIOR REPORTER, NRK: Yes, and in the pouring rain, people turned out by the thousands tonight here outside of the royal bathroom.

They're still behind me here, lighting candles for the king. And they followed the car with his caskets coming down from the hospital about two

miles away from here. So, there has been a very, very strong showing of support. It started even 24 hours before he passed away when the people

learned that he was terminally ill in the hospital.

FOSTER: Yeah, and the new king, you know, it is the nature of royalty, isn't it, that the new king has to get straight to work, doesn't get much

time in mourning, went straight to the cabinet, addressed the cabinet. Is he equally as popular?

BJORGAAS: Well, I think time will show. His family, the new king, King Haakon VIII, his family has been through a lot of difficulty and scandal

over just the last year with his relations about the now incoming queen being in connection, having been friends with Jeffrey Epstein, and then her

son from a previous relationship was convicted of rape. that he has appealed his sentence.

I think that people need to support him into office, but the King who passed away today, King Harald, always kept his popularity through all of

this turmoil. But I think that people today feel that King Hochul has entered his new role. He met with the cabinet today. He's going to make a

speech to people probably tomorrow here, and I think people are awaiting that, also understanding that he has been going through a difficult time

losing his dad and having so much going on in his family. Also, his wife just went through a lung transplant.

It has been a very difficult year for the former crown prince's family.

FOSTER: What role do you think he will give her? Will she be a full working queen or will she be a queen who doesn't have the same number of official

duties because of the sensitivity about her background?

BJORGAAS: Well, she was just released from the hospital after having gone through a lung transplant for very serious operation. So, it's unclear when

she can resume her duties, but she has been styled as her majesty the queen today. So, she will have the same title as she will be the queen, also the

widow of the former king, Queen Sonia, who also -- she's 89 as well, but she will probably keep performing.

She will be the queen. Also the widow of the former king, Queen Sonia will also, she's 89 as well, but she will probably keep performing some of the

duties.

[15:25:00]

But there are still questions surrounding this. There's a lot of work for the royal family and the new crown princess, Crown Princess Ingrid, will

probably also enter into more activities as a working royal now. She just returned has set first studies in Australia and will be in Oslo for the

coming year just before the sad news now is the panel.

FOSTER: Yeah, you mentioned the crown princess. Of course, Haakon had an older sister, but because male heirs were the priority, under the system,

it would only be male heirs that would go on to the throne. But that changed, didn't it? But not in time for this generation. But Haakon's

daughter will indeed be the first female monarch for Norway when her time comes.

BJORGAAS: That is correct. Yeah, so in 1990, the Constitution was changed, and she will be the first queen of Norway if monarchy remains since the

1300s, actually, when she becomes queen one day. So that is quite a historic development. But the current king's older sister, Martha, she does

not have any royal duties now, and she is not really a part of the royal family, the royal house anymore. So, she will not be helping out in this

time.

So there's a lot of we're entering into a new era, I think, now in Norway. And that is also what people are feeling tonight, coming out to support and

remember in Harald, who was so present with the Norwegian people who traveled to every corner of the country and who had his motto was all

everything for Norway, all for Norway. And people are also discussing now, but maybe he was more ill. He was more frail at the end in his last months

when he was still performing his duties until the very end.

FOSTER: Tove Bjorgaas, really appreciate you joining us tonight from Oslo on that moment in history today.

BJORGAAS: Thanks.

FOSTER: Thank you for joining us.

The king of the Uganda's -- a king of Uganda, Touro, has died as well at the age of 34. Oyo Nyimba became the world's youngest reigning monarch when

he took the crown in 1995. He was just three years old. The prime minister of his kingdom did not reveal the cause of death, though. Uganda is a

republic with an elected head of state. However, it still does have several traditional monarchies with largely symbolic powers, but quite symbolic

culturally within those communities.

Serbia's justice minister says a former Bosnian Serb general convicted of genocide will be buried with the highest military and state honors. Radko

Mladic was serving a life sentence when he died on Thursday in U.N. detention at The Hague. Known as the Butcher of Bosnia, he orchestrated the

massacre at Srebrenica during the Bosnian war and oversaw the two-year siege of Sarajevo.

Serbia's president is accusing The Hague of, quote, "uncivilized behavior" by rejecting Mladic's request to die in Serbia. He says Serbia will

organize his burial if the Mladic family requests it.

Coming up, rescue efforts intensify in Nepal. That's as desperate families search for any information about missing loved ones three days after

catastrophic flooding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:32:03]

FOSTER: Nepal's National Disaster Agency says more than 1,900 people remain unaccounted for following the deadly landslide along the country's border

with China. And as search and rescue crews sift through the mountains of mud and rubble, they may soon be facing a new danger. Another flood threat

has emerged after a lake formed by the buildup of debris along Nepal's border with China threatened to unleash more flooding. Nearly 600 people

are confirmed dead and that death toll is expected to rise. Emergency workers have still not been able to reach parts of the remote region even

now.

Without anywhere to turn, desperate family members are lining up to register the names of missing loved ones.

CNN's Hanako Montgomery is part of our team on the ground in Nepal and she filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nepali army barracks right now, and we've just seen another helicopter. I mean, one of dozens that have arrived

over the past 30 minutes. And it looks as though people are getting off right now holding some kind of luggage. We can't tell if these people are

survivors or whether these are people of loved ones who are trying to find any remaining survivors.

KAPUR SINGH TAMANG, LANDSLIDE SURVIVOR (through translator): In our village, there are no people left. It's a very difficult situation. The

villagers were scared and ran to get to safety, but didn't know where to go. There's no food or drinkable water, all swept away by the landslide.

MONTGOMERY: These are all relatives of people still missing, and because they can't get in contact with them, they've come here to the army barracks

to give their contact information, their names, trying to see if the people that the army are finding are the same people as their loved ones.

GENERAL RAJARAM BASNET, NEPALI ARMY: Yesterday only, we rescued 900 persons from the most affected area. We are trying to intensify the social and

rescue operations, but due to some, you know, the heavy mud, due to the flood. And another, you know, the challenging factor here is the weather

itself.

MONTGOMERY: The rain.

BASNET: Yeah, rain and weather.

MONTGOMERY: Have you seen anything like this? How are you feeling about this disaster?

BASNET: I haven't seen this kind of disaster in my life.

MONTGOMERY: So these people here, they're looking for the names of their family members on these pieces of paper here. And there are hundreds of

names.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Hanako Montgomery there.

Now it's the final moments of trade on Wall Street and stocks are ending the week pretty flat today. The Dow barely moving really after a week of

gains.

This is our Business Breakout.

A federal judge has ruled the Pentagon's decision to blacklist A.I. company Anthropic was illegal. The Defense Department labeled Anthropic a supply

chain risk after it refused to remove safeguards that would prevent the military from using it's A.I. model in autonomous weapons. A judge has now

ruled that decision violated the First Amendment.

[15:35:00]

Japan has spent a record $96.5 billion in the last month to prop up the yen. Authorities are trying to pull the currency up from four-decade lows.

Its weakness is threatening profits at Japan's heavyweight exporters and pushing up import costs, particularly for energy.

A federal appeals court has ruled states can regulate prediction markets like gambling. dealing the industry a major blow. But there are still

multiple lawsuits pending across the country with legal experts believing the matter will go to the Supreme Court. Prediction markets are booming.

Young adults between 18 to 21 traded more than $5 billion this year on the predictions market at Kalshi.

Marshall Cohen has more on Kalshi's growing popularity and the push for regulation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARSHALL COHEN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Five billion dollars, that is the estimate for the trading volume on Kalshi from users 18, 19, and 20. And

I'll tell you why that is such an important cohort. It's because most people don't realize that prediction markets aren't treated as gambling

under the law as it stands right now. They're treated more like the stock market and other financial markets that are 18-plus, while sportsbooks and

casinos in most states are 21-plus.

Critics call that a loophole. Public health experts have spoken out about this and said that they believe it puts younger adults at risk for

addiction and to take riskier behaviors that could lose them their money.

So here are the numbers: $5.4 billion in estimated trading volume this year so far on Kalshi for these 18 to 21 users. And $4 billion of that is from

sports and parlays, which are incredibly popular with sports. And everyone I spoke to has said that is going to explode in the coming weeks and months

because the NFL season is right around the corner.

So, for its part, Kalshi insists that it takes this very seriously and that it is always looking out for its younger users. They say that they have

safeguards that they impose voluntarily on the platform to make sure that those traders are protected. Things like deposit limits and warnings on the

app if the system identifies of problematic trading patterns.

Kalshi also donated $2 million to a group that combats addiction on gambling and trading platforms. However, the states just aren't buying it.

Look at this map: 44 states across the country have banded together to push for more regulation in these prediction markets.

Like I said, they're currently regulated by the federal government, and that means they're 18-plus. The states want this to be treated like

gambling, like casinos, subject to state laws, state taxes, and that would be 21-plus. And these are blue states, red states, battleground states, it

really spans the entire political landscape.

By the way, CNN has a partnership with Kalshi. We use its data to cover some major events, but editorial employees like myself and others are not

allowed to use prediction sites.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: True story.

Coming up, the new Fed chair breaks tradition. In his first keynote speech, he touted employment, but withheld on the updates investors were expecting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:42]

FOSTER: In Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh's biggest speech yet, he said that inflation is the reserve's biggest problem, but he stayed quiet on interest

rates in a break from tradition from most Fed chair keynotes, leaving traders used to getting insights from the Fed pretty much in the dark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN WARSH, FED CHAIRMAN: We should not indulge a regime in which market participants are looking primarily to the Fed for their next trade, a

quieter Fed, a more purposeful Fed in its communications is better able to meet its objectives. And we can be held accountable for delivering on our

remit, the only true test of our credibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: Richard Quest also has to digest these speeches, so he's not getting the inside track either. So he's going to explain what that means

to him and why he's on a boat.

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR AT LARGE: But let's start with why I'm on a boat. Tonight's "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" comes from the New York Harbor.

We're going to be celebrating the Statue of Liberty, and that's why we're on a boat.

Now, by the way, that of course is there's the Brooklyn Bridge. We are going under the Brooklyn Bridge at the moment, Lower Manhattan. And down

there in Lower Manhattan, down around Wall Street, that's where they will have been trying to interpret what Chair Warsh said. And the reason is he

basically admitted, Max, inflation had been too high for too long. It was the Fed's responsibility to deal with it. And that's why the markets are

interpreting it widely as being that there's likely to be an interest rate hike in September.

And the reason, Max, you cannot have the Fed chair saying inflation is too high for too long, and it's our job to deal with it. and then not do

anything about it.

So this whole side argument of forward guidance, dot plots and everything, I think it ignores the point. This was a hawkish speech by a new Fed chair

who's determined to prove his inflation credentials. That's why the market didn't rally particularly. That's why everybody's saying there's probably a

rate rise on the cards.

FOSTER: Richard, looking forward to the show. Thank you so much.

Voters in Iceland getting ready to weigh in on a nationwide referendum on whether to restart negotiations to join the European Union. Right now,

Saturday's vote is considered too close to call. Iceland first applied to become a member in 2009, but a few years later a new government suspended

the process, raising concerns about Iceland's territorial fishing rights and sovereignty.

Now, while much of the referendum debate is about the economy, U.S. President Donald Trump's aggressive moves towards Greenland have brought

security concerns to the forefront in Iceland. and beyond. Still to come tonight, though, a CNN investigation into two women with severe brain

injuries. Neither have been involved in a crash or a fall. They had, though, ridden a world-famous roller coaster in California.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:47:21]

FOSTER: A new CNN investigation reveals an alarming trail of severe brain injuries tied to a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in

California. In less than a week, two women were rushed into emergency brain surgery after riding the park's famous X2 roller coaster. Court filings and

internal records show a years-long pattern of trauma, comas, and even deaths, raising urgent questions over why officials allowed the ride to

keep running.

CNN's Kyung Lah has more on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Six Flags calls this their cutting edge, break all the rules roller coaster. But these two

riders never imagined minutes after getting off the ride this summer, they would end up in the same hospital the very same week with similar brain

hemorrhages. And they're not the only riders who say they've been hurt.

A CNN investigation finds more than a dozen people who rode the X2 roller coaster at California's Six Flags Magic Mountain suffered serious injuries

and hospitalizations over nearly two decades, including a 22-year-old who died. And the latest cases happened just weeks ago.

PAMELA GUILLEN, INJURED ROLLER COASTER RIDER: It was seconds. You go in as yourself, and then when you come back, you're a medical emergency.

LAH: This was from a roller coaster.

GUILLEN: Exactly.

LAH: Pam Guillen was at Magic Mountain with her daughter, Camille, celebrating her 16th birthday on July 5th. They boarded X2.

CAMILLE MARQUEZ, PAMELA GUILLEN'S DAUGHTER: We got off the cart, and we saw my mom. She looked lifeless, not a thought behind her eyes, nothing. I was

talking to her, Mommy, please wake up. Mommy, mommy, it's OK over here.

She had a brain bleed. Her mom had a really bad brain bleed.

LAH (voice-over): An ambulance rushed Pam from Six Flags to the hospital, where surgeons discovered what's called an acute subdural hematoma with

brain compression. Surgeons cut her skull open to relieve the pressure on her brain.

MARQUEZ: I was shocked. I was just, this is not OK. It wasn't OK for me to see my mom like that. It's like, it's my mom.

LAH: How large is the incision?

GUILLEN: It's pretty long.

LAH (voice-over): While Pam Gillen fought in this hospital bed, X2 kept running. 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson had no idea what had just

happened. Six days after Pam's injury, Naomi got on the X2 roller coaster. She collapsed after she got off the ride.

LAH: What had happened to her brain?

JOSHUA WILKINSON, FATHER OF HOSPITALIZED RIDER: The jarring had damaged part of her brain and it had begun to bleed.

LAH (voice-over): She was rushed to the same hospital. Joshua Wilkinson and Artemis Greer are Naomi's parents.

ARTEMIS GREER, MOTHER OF HOSPITALIZED RIDER: I do remember one of the surgeons storming through the ER and yelling, "How many is it this month?

They've got to shut that ride down." He was furious.

LAH (voice-over): This is Naomi and just like Pam Guillen, she had emergency brain surgery.

GREER: They sat us down and said she is at the end of life. And. I just -- I didn't have any thoughts. I have was totally blank, we leaned over her

and said, "Naomi". And she fluttered her eyelid.

WILKINSON: We looked at each other like she's in there like she's there.

LAH (voice-over): Naomi, a healthy, vibrant young woman who loves cats and the arts, remains in the hospital with an uncertain future.

GREER: Naomi should have never ever in a million years even had the option to get on that ride. It's absolutely insane.

LAH: Why did they leave it open?

WILKINSON: Revenue. There's no other explanation.

LAH (voice-over): Six Flags says what makes X2 different from other roller coasters is this. The seats spin 360 degrees forwards and backwards

independently around the track. Riders plummet 200 feet at speeds up to 76 miles per hour with two so-called Raven turns or half loops that turn into

sheer drops.

Doctors who treated both Naomi and Pam say the severe brain injuries were the result of a traumatic rapid acceleration deceleration event experienced

while on the X2 ride. Court cases alleging serious brain injuries from X2 date back years.

Christopher Hawley died after riding the X2 four years ago. A coroner's report found he died of blunt head trauma during a park ride accident. Six

Flags didn't answer CNN's questions, but the company's court filings have stated the ride went through daily inspections, and a normal rider using

the ride as instructed would not have traumatic brain injury.

CHRISTOPHER BULONE, ATTORNEY FOR INJURED RIDERS: It's greed that Keeps this thing going.

LAH (voice-over): Lawyer Christopher Bulone represents both Naomi and Pam's families.

BULONE: No ride should ever be dangerous enough for anyone that they're coming off of it with severe intracranial bleeding.

LAH (voice-over): More than 3 million people visit Magic Mountain each year. But on this day, we find X2 is temporarily closed. Six Flags tells us

it hasn't run since shortly after Naomi Greer-Wilkinson was hurt.

LAH: You're looking at a very long road.

GREER: It could be six months. It could be two years. It could be five years. I don't know. This is the hardest thing a human being could go

through.

GUILLEN: I remember everyone so excited that I could walk. I have headaches every day, fatigue. After doing simple things, I won't be 100 percent

because it's brain damage. Sometimes I just feel really down because I'm not me anymore.

LAH: Multiple lawsuits we've reviewed have settled before going to trial, and that includes the wrongful death suit of 22-year-old Christopher

Hawley. California's Occupational Safety and Health Division oversees amusement park ride operations, but did not respond to our questions about

X2's history and did not say how it was allowed to reopen.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOSTER: Kyung Lah reporting on that incredible story there.

Now, in Kenya, a team of students have developed a solar-powered mobile clinic bringing vital medical supplies to remote communities. The vehicle

is designed to carry ultrasound scans, portable X-rays, vaccine refrigeration, and basic diagnostic equipment. It successfully traveled

more than 800 kilometers on rough terrain and generated more solar energy than it actually consumed.

A colorful phenomenon is starting to take shape. in the Atacama Desert of Chile. It is typically known as the driest place on Earth, but seasonal

rainfall brings the famous desert flowers to life. More than 200 species are starting to bloom in yellow, pink, purple, red, and white hues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CESAR PIZARRO-GACITUA, BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION SECTION, CONAF ATACAMA (through translator): From a climatic point of view, although this is

causing negative effects in many places on the planet, we see that here in the Atacama region this event is occurring that is beginning to dazzle us

with these small and first patches of flowers.

[15:55:06]

But as the weeks go by, we're talking about September and when we reach October, we will be able to have the greatest territorial reach, density

and richness of species.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOSTER: And finally tonight, TACO Avenue or Obama Avenue, which one would you pick? Well, the Canadian City Council is considering renaming a street

named after U.S. President Donald Trump, and those are just two of the contenders. Wednesday's vote in Ottawa was unanimous, marking a first step

towards renaming Trump Avenue. It's been called that for roughly 25 years, in a neighborhood full of references to New York City.

President Trump recently signed an order to rename Lake Ontario. Lake America over the trade fight with Canada.

TACO Avenue is a reference, of course, to the Trump acronym, Trump always chickens out.

If he decides to roll back his new tariff threats at the last minute, it wouldn't be the first time.

I'm Max Foster. That's WHAT WE KNOW. Do stay with CNN.

END

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