A Plea for Help 

0:00Every day, animals across the country face abuse and neglect. And every day, the ASPCA shows up to rescue animals in crisis. But they can't do it alone. Visit ASPCA.org slash need. Become a donor today to provide the care and shelter these animals urgently need. And for a limited time, the ASPCA will send you a free gift as a special thank you.

0:26Wolf Blitzer: Visit ASPCA.org slash need. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify. They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. Happening now, breaking news, a plea for help of Florida families playing vanishing over the Bahamas.

1:08We're asking for everyone out there to please help, whether it's by plane, by boat, any signs that you've noticed to help us find them and bring them back alive. The urgent search 15 miles off the nearest coast and the question, did thunderstorms play a role? Trade war escalation, Canada's new retaliatory tariffs now taking effect. what could cost you more and will President Trump strike back? Also, stunning art heist. Four famous paintings taken from a French museum. The one thing that might help investigators find the thieves. Plus, ground zero air. New questions this morning about what people were breathing in the days after 9-11.

1:51New York City's mayor revealing new findings. And inside the storm high above Hawaii, we're with hurricane hunters. The storm striking the islands this morning. Plus, Long Beach blasted. Hurricane Marie slamming the California coast. Huge waves crashing against the seawall. Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Pamela Brown. Wolf is off today and you're in the Situation Room.

2:30Happening now, Canada's sweeping retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods are in effect this morning. The country has doubled its taxes on American aluminum and steel to 50 percent, matching the rate the U.S. charges on metals from Canada. Other products facing higher taxes include paper products, construction materials and home appliances. The new tariffs cover roughly$20 billion in goods. President Trump is escalating his threat to hit back, threatening to ban the sale of Canadian jets in the states, unless they're built in the United States. CNN White House correspondent Elena Treen is on the North Lawn for us, and CNN senior reporter Matt Yegan is standing by.

3:08Elena, first to you. The president is threatening to ban these Canadian-made jets. What more is he saying? How big of a deal is this? It's a very big deal, and it's just the latest escalation, as you mentioned, Pamela, in what is growing to really become this trade war between the United States and Canada, one of the United States' closest allies and top trading partners. And this is all kind of a reaction to what we saw take place last month when talks between the U.S. and Canada really broke down. There were negotiations trying to avoid any type of new tariffs to ensure the strengthening of trade in the relationship between the U.S.

3:45and its northern neighbor. But those fell apart. And ever since then, the president has continued to use very aggressive language, aggressive threats against Canada. And of course, we did see them implement their own 50 percent of tariffs on 20 billion dollars of Canadian goods. I do want to walk through some of the things we've seen the president react with. One, we saw him rename Lake Ontario to Lake America. I should note, of course, Canada doesn't have to recognize that. But in the U.S., he says it is Lake America now, not Lake Ontario. He's also threatened to double auto tariffs to 50 percent starting on January 1st.

4:17And now, as you mentioned, he's now threatening to ban Canada's top aircraft companies. One of them, I should say. I want you to listen, though, to a lot of what we've heard the president argue in recent weeks as this trade feud has really escalated further.

4:33Wolf Blitzer: Canada has taken advantage of us. They have ripped us off for years. And now we're turning the tables, very easily turning the tables. We're going to be changing the name of Lake Ontario, effective immediately to Lake America. They don't pay for anything. And they want to be treated like a state, but they're not a state. But they want to be treated like they're a state. And so we just can't do that anymore. Canada gets a lot of freebies from us, by the way. They should be grateful also, but they're not. I watched your prime minister yesterday. He wasn't so grateful. But they should be grateful to us.

5:08Wolf Blitzer: Canada. Canada lives because of the United States. Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements. Now, Pamela, what you heard there in those different comments that the president has made against Canada is exactly how I'm told he views this behind closed doors. He believes that Canada is ripping the U.S. off, that despite them being one of the U.S. closest allies, he feels like the U.S. is getting taken advantage of. Of course, Carney hitting back and arguing that that's just not the case and that this isn't serious. And you kind of saw the president really further embody that in a further post yesterday, saying that they need to stop, Canada needs to stop treating the U.S.

5:50like a piggy bank. All to say, unclear where the way out is here, because when I talk to administration officials, they say no talks are ongoing with Canada negotiations to find an off-ramp to this escalating trade war. So we'll have to see whether or not these retaliatory tariffs put Trump on edge further. All right. So let's talk a little bit more about these tariffs and what they mean for Americans. Matt, you have 20 billion dollars worth of retaliatory tariffs on American goods. They've gone into effect this morning. How is this going to impact Americans?

6:20Wolf Blitzer: Well, Pamela, Canada is firing back in this trade war. And the risk for Americans is that workers, they could just get caught in the middle, right? If these retaliatory tariffs from Canada, if they hurt American businesses that normally sell to customers north of the border, those companies, they could be forced to cut back worker hours or even lay off some of their employees. Now, as you mentioned, this is a tariff of 15 to 50 percent on American goods, and this is impacting about$20 billion of goods that Canada imports from the United States. Now,$20 billion, that is a large number. But remember, this is a massive trading relationship.

6:59Wolf Blitzer: So this only represents less than 10 % of what Canada buys each year from the United States. Still, though, that leaves Ottawa room to ramp this up further if they want to. Now, what is being targeted here? Well, these retaliatory tariffs, they're impacting a range of U.S. industries. Everything from steel and aluminum to dairy, agricultural equipment, electronics, paper, appliances as well. And Canadian officials, they have said that they calibrated these retaliatory tariffs to, quote, put political pressure on the Trump administration. It is not lost on Canada. The midterm elections here in the U.S., they loom.

7:38Wolf Blitzer: Now, it's absolutely true the United States economy is much, much bigger than Canada's. However, Canada does have some leverage here because Canada is the number one foreign buyer in a number of U.S. states. And that includes some politically sensitive states in the upcoming midterms, such as Maine and Michigan. And so, again, the risk is that if Canada's demand goes down, then some of these companies, they could be forced to lay off workers. So, look, bottom line here, Pamela, this trade war, it continues to heat up. And the longer it lasts, the greater the risk that it does real damage to consumers and to the economy.

8:14Wolf Blitzer: Back to you. All right, Madig and Elena Train, thank you both so much. And breaking news, a frantic art heist in France this morning as thieves made off with four paintings from the Renoir Museum, but dropped two as they fled. The mayor says the two bandits were well-equipped and well-prepared for the theft using an electric saw to cut through the frames. Let's go live now to CNN's senior international correspondent, Melissa Bell, in Paris with more details. What's going on with all these art heists, Melissa? It's a pretty tough year here in France for its museums, Pamela. It was just before 6 a.m.

8:50This is a museum not very far from Nice in the south of France that houses 12 of August Renoir's paintings, that impressionist painter. Now, what we understand happening just before 6 a.m., these thieves managed to cut through the fence of the garden, went through the garden, made their way into the museum, used an electrical saw to cut through the fixtures that were holding the paintings to the wall, securing them to the wall, made off with these four paintings, dropping two as they fled. What authorities say is that the sound of the alarms had them flee very quickly, and in their panic, in their haste, they dropped two of these paintings.

9:28Still, there are this afternoon two Renoir paintings still at large, and the thieves have yet to be caught. We heard a little while ago from the town's mayor. Here's what he had to say.

9:45Wolf Blitzer: They were equipped with, if I may say so, an electric knife or a metal saw, whatever you want to call it. They cut through the bolts holding the frames of Renoir's paintings in place. The arrival of the municipal police, along with the sirens from the museum and the police, caused the burglars to rush off. They stole only four of the 12 works in the Renoir Museum. They fled by running through the gardens and, it seems, dropped two works along the way.

10:18Now local authorities are now calling Pamela for Paris to step up its security, or the money that it provides, rather, for security at French museums. And that comes just a month after we had this report from Europol pointing out that these heists are getting not just more frequent, but more violent, with criminal activity, criminal gangs targeting museums, recruiting people to carry out these specific acts on social media, and that security needs to be stepped up to protect them. It's been less than a year, after all, that the Louvre heist saw those more than$80 million worth of jewels stolen.

10:53and none of which, by the way, have yet to be recovered, Pamela. All right, Melissa Bell, thank you so much. Solhead here in the Situation Room, desperate search, a family pleading for help after losing contact with four relatives while they were flying from the Bahamas to Miami. And up next, the latest on the investigation into the deadly Amazon cargo plane crash. Our Pete Mantine is live from right outside Miami International Airport. Pete?

11:21Wolf Blitzer: This investigation is just beginning, Pamela, but even at this early stage, investigators are mentioning a type of technology that could have prevented this very type of crash. Why it was not in place here in Miami. Next.

11:53Wolf Blitzer: We'll see you next time.

12:04Wolf Blitzer: even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want... Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for a 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only. Greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Breaking news. A desperate search is underway for an American family after their small plane vanished near the Bahamas yesterday.

12:4280-year-old Mario Lamar's niece tells us that he has 40 years of flying experience and was piloting the two-engine aircraft with his wife and two grandchildren on board when air traffic controllers lost contact. And now she is pleading for help in finding her loved ones. On the flight this morning was my uncle Mario Lamar, his wife Lily Lamar, and two of his grandchildren, Christian Sosa and Sophie Sosa. We're asking for everyone out there to please help, whether it's by plane, by boat, any signs that you've noticed to help us find them and bring them back alive. Authorities were alerted to the missing plane when police received a report that an aircraft may have gone down right near Andros Island.

13:22And you can see right here Lamar's plane circling off the coast before completely dropping off of flight radar. While there were heavy thunderstorms in the area when the plane disappeared, officials haven't confirmed that weather was a factor. The U.S. Coast Guard has deployed a surveillance plane to scour the waters for the aircraft, and they're assisting Bahamian authorities in finding this family. Happening now, investigators say all five people who died when an Amazon cargo plane skidded off the runway in Miami were in vehicles on the ground, including an aircraft cleaning crew driving in a van.

13:57We're also seeing new video that shows one of the plane's crew members, you see it right here, escaping just moments after the crash. CNN's Pete Muntean asked the NTSB chair to describe the scene on the ground. I would describe it in one word of devastating,

14:16Wolf Blitzer: utter devastation. I mean, you can see on the paved surface tire marks that continues through the grass. There's debris everywhere. All right, let's go live now to CNN Aviation correspondent Bea Muntean right outside Miami International Airport. What more are you learning about this investigation, Pete? Well, we'll hear more from police, Miami-Dade police at the top of the hour. They'll provide an update on the latest here, likely to find out more about the victims. We'll also hear this afternoon once more from the National Transportation Safety Board after they gave us the initial broad strokes of what they have found after about 30 investigators toured the crash site yesterday.

14:59Wolf Blitzer: Today we will likely get bullet points from the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder. Those were both recovered here at the scene and taken to the NTSB's recorder's lab in Washington, D.C. on a 7.22 p.m. flight last night. We are also hearing from investigators about a type of technology that could have potentially prevented this crash, designed to prevent these types of crashes known as runway excursions. And I got a closer look at that system with the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this year. And I want you to look at that story now. From Virginia. We just had an alert three on the airfield aircraft accident.

15:39Wolf Blitzer: To California. We literally like, and so we were all like, whoa. An airport safety system is saving lives. Called Engineered Materials Arresting System, EMAS is a bed of lightweight, crushable cement placed at the end of runways to stop an airplane that's about to careen off the end. I like to think of it, it's like a runaway truck stop, but for airplanes. Here at its facility in New Jersey, the Federal Aviation Administration has been testing EMAS, which in the last year has stopped a record four planes from running into highways, hills, even homes. This material is soft enough that a heavy airplane will sink into it, but dense enough that a person can stand on it.

16:19Wolf Blitzer: I can even jump on it, and that's key in an emergency. The system is installed at 70 airports across the country, including Roanoke, Virginia, where last September, husband and wife Steve Harrison and Deborah Tater's United Express flight skidded off the end of the runway. The National Transportation Safety Board said the plane's approach was too high, and the first officer twice told the captain to abort the landing. And I thought, you know, this better stop pretty soon. And then I remembered seeing that device at the end of the runway and thinking like, that's supposed to stop airplanes, and that's when we hit it.

16:55Wolf Blitzer: The couple says the plane would have tumbled down an embankment were it not for EMAS. There were probably other things that should have happened differently before we got to that point. All we know is that that was the last point. And that's what saved us. For Tater, the incident carried a poignant reminder. Good evening. There was an air disaster today in Boston. As a teen, a friend was killed when the flight she was on crashed into a seawall at Boston's Logan International Airport. The airport is installing more E-mass pads to prevent planes from skidding into Boston Harbor. The more than$100 million project could delay flights for two and a half months.

17:35Wolf Blitzer: Worth it, says Tater and Harrison, whose first grandson was born only weeks after their crash. We would not have seen him born. There's a very good chance that we would not have survived. One of the main reasons EMAS is not installed here at Miami International Airport is that this airport has what's called a runway safety area, meaning a clearing of about 1 ,000 feet beyond the runway conceivably for an airplane to stop in the event of an overrun like this one. In this case, not enough. It was about 1 ,300 feet between the end of the runway and the perimeter road. The plane hit that van inside the perimeter road, went through a fence and over four lanes of Northwest 67th Avenue here before stopping in a parking lot.

18:22Wolf Blitzer: One issue that airports has is it just really comes down to dollars and cents. It's expensive to put in place EMAS, and many airports are considering replacing their old EMAS installations, some of which are 20 or 30 years old. It's a tough proposition when there are lives on the line. And NTSB Chair Jennifer Hummende says it's long been a recommendation of the NTSB for more airports to install these EMAS systems and that they have investigated about 3 ,000 so-called runway excursions since 2008. and eight, she says one of those crashes is too many. Yeah, absolutely. All right, P. Muntean, thanks so much.

19:01And actually coming up in our next hour, we'll be joined by the NTSB chairwoman, Jennifer Amundi.

19:13Coming up, massive waves slam the California coast, the water completely engulfing homes and forcing dozens to evacuate. We are tracking what's behind the waves up next.

19:35Happening now, nearly two dozen homes in Southern California are under evacuation orders after massive waves from Hurricane Marie damaged a seawall in Long Beach. City officials say the powerful surge of water may have cracked the foundation of some houses right there on the boardwalk area. So let's go live now to our Derek Van Dam at the Weather Center. Is the danger over Derek?

19:57Wolf Blitzer: Well, it's hard to believe that the danger has actually been posed by the remnants of a hurricane several hundred miles offshore, well away from Southern California, but still sending swells that are creating these large waves that are breaking along the shoreline, sometimes as high as eight feet tall, of course, bringing water inundation to some of these buildings, but also some of the localized structure that has been compromised because it's impacting the seawalls there. So check this out. This is the dual hurricanes we have across the Pacific. We've got Lowell that was impacting Hawaii early this morning.

20:31Wolf Blitzer: This is the remnants of Marie. This is the storm that's provided the swells that have propagated into Southern California. In fact, they have been noted all the way across the coastal areas of California, as far north as the central parts of the state. Right now, there are coastal flood alerts as well as high surf advisories in place for this area. So I want to stress a few important things here. Not only will the rip currents be a significant factor here, but we could get some of these rogue waves that come in up and over the coastal seawalls here that can actually destroy buildings, take out infrastructure.

21:08Wolf Blitzer: They come without a moment's notice. A lot of times there will be that rogue wave associated with a larger swell that's built up across the ocean. Again, thanks to the remnants of a departing hurricane. And yeah, that can cause significant problems if you're a beachgoer or if you live or reside along the beach. The other situation here that we're monitoring from the remnants of Marie are an influx of very humid environment across Southern California. We're not really used to that in this part of the country. with temperatures skyrocketing into the 90s and lower 100s. With a high humidity value, if you don't have ways to cool yourself down, it is going to feel downright oppressive the next few days across southern and central California, even into portions of Arizona, where Phoenix to Los Angeles have heat alerts in place.

21:58Wolf Blitzer: It's not just the southwestern U.S., it's the central parts of the country as well, where our heat wave conditions continue. Blazing hot. Look at Dallas, 102. Yeah, that's well above average for this time of year. Yeah, it is. Derek Van Dam, thank you so much. Happening now, President Trump is hosting first responders at a Tunnel to Towers event on the Ellipse. The president is expected to speak at any moment and will bring that to you live. Plus, New York City is now admitting that officials knew that the air quality around Ground Zero was unsafe. We are live with more on Mayor Mamdani's announcement and the tens of thousands of records being released.

22:37And a close call caught on camera in Mexico how a tragedy was avoided thanks to a quick-thinking supermarket worker. We'll be right back.

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23:25military officials say they destroyed an alleged refueling boat in the eastern Pacific. The strike, which happened yesterday, is the fifth such strike against these types of alleged vessels, which officials say supports drug trafficking operations. U.S. Southern Command says it removed the crew members before sinking those boats and will transfer them to Ecuador. Convicted child sex abuser Jerry Sandusky made a virtual appearance in a Pennsylvania courtroom today. The 82-year-old former Penn State University assistant football coach recently withdrew his request for a new trial, which was based on one victim recanting his testimony last year.

24:00Prosecutors demanded the hearing proceed so Sandusky could go on the record about dropping the petition to focus on a federal appeal. He's currently serving a 30-year sentence for sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. And in California, Eric and Lyle Menendez have been granted an early parole suitability hearing by the California Board of Parole Hearings and could appear before a panel next year. The state parole board and governor must still decide whether to grant parole. The brothers who were convicted of first-degree murder for the 1989 killings of their parents in the living room of the family's Beverly Hills home received three-year parole denials last year.

24:40And in Mexico, a close call caught on camera. You can see the small child run from her mother and towards the road. Her mother slips trying to run after her, but it's a supermarket worker who pulls the child out of the way just in time as a van breaks just a few inches away from that child. Oh, my goodness. Well, happening now, New York City Mayor Zohar Mamdani is making a staggering announcement about the aftermath of 9-11 ahead of Friday's anniversary. He says the city is releasing more than 170 ,000 pages of previously undisclosed records that allegedly show city officials at the time knew that air quality near Ground Zero was far more dangerous than they let on.

25:249-11 families joined Momdani for this announcement along with comedian John Stewart, who has been one of the most outspoken advocates for transparency and resources for 9-11 first responders and survivors.

25:36Wolf Blitzer: What we all knew who live in downtown Manhattan is that there was poison in the air and on the ground and in the windowsills and in your air conditioners and covering your pets and your clothes. And it stayed there for months. Everyone knew. And now it's very clear that the city knew as well. And rather than take the steps to ameliorate the damage that that would cause to its citizens and to the people that were down there, they instead covered it up to get back to business as usual. All right, let's go live now to CNN's Gloria Pasmino, who was at the mayor's announcement. So what does Mamdani say these documents show, Gloria?

26:27Well, Pamela, frankly, a remarkable revelation by the city today. Not only did city officials know at the time that the air near Ground Zero was toxic in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, but they took proactive steps to reassure the public that it was safe, that the air was clean, and that it was okay to be near the Ground Zero area in the days after the attack. In fact, the documents show that it was by October, so nearly a month after the attacks, that the city had collected enough information showing that the air was toxic. Now, for so many years, there's been a push here to have these documents released.

27:07There is a lawsuit at the heart of this that has been settled as a result of the documents released today. And we know that many more people have died from 9-11 related illnesses since the attacks. More people have died than those who were killed on that day. It is a staggering number to think about just how many people have been sickened. And for years, we've heard about first responders, right? The people who were down at the pile helping in the days after 9-11. We know that they got sick. But, you know, this was also lower Manhattan. There were hundreds of thousands of people who lived and worked there, children who went to school.

27:47And the mayor said today that those people, if they have not been able to get resources and apply for the federal programs that exist for people who have 9-11 related illnesses, they will be able to do so now. And he expects that many more people will come forward. I want you to take a listen to the mayor talking about this document released today.

28:10Wolf Blitzer: It would be one thing if government had stood alongside survivors and provided them with everything they needed at every step of the way. And yet we know that could not be further from what actually happened. People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air. And then when they began to contend with the symptoms of the illnesses that followed, the government that had not hesitated to send them into harm's way was nowhere to be found. Now, among the documents, Pamela, I think it's important to highlight, There is a memo known as the Harding Memo.

28:48We have known for years that this memo existed, but we could not get our hands on it. And what the memo outlined at the time was that the findings had concerned city officials that the city was really legally exposed, that there was liability to be concerned about. And city officials discussed legislative strategies to counteract that possible liability. So it just really shows you that city officials were concerned about the legal exposure that the city had at the time, despite knowing all of the exposure that so many New Yorkers had to the air back then. Pamela. Gloria Pasmino, thank you so much.

29:28And happening now, President Trump is hosting first responders and officials for a Tunnels to Towers event at the Ellipse to commemorate 25 years since the 9-11 attacks. Tunnels to Towers is a nonprofit that offers mortgage and housing assistance to gold families and families of fallen first responders. As part of their Steel Across America campaign, a 17 ,000-pound beam recovered from the World Trade Center South Tower was brought to this event. And we're also expecting to hear from Tunnels to Towers chairman and founder Frank Siller, whose brother Stephen was a New York fireman killed on 9-11.

30:01So let's go live now to CNN's senior White House reporter Betsy Kline at the Ellipse. What more can we expect at this event, Betsy? Well, Pamela, President Trump will be making his way soon here to the Ellipse for this very solemn event where he is going to be joined by first responders from New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania, as well as Gold Star families here in the audience, service members, as well as families of fallen first responders. And very emotional on the entrance to this event. They had images of more than 400 first responders who lost their lives that day. September 11th as the nation prepares to commemorate that 25th anniversary.

30:42And behind me, this very powerful reminder of that. This is that 21-foot-long, nearly 17 ,000-pound steel beam that was recovered from the South Tower. This piece of metal has been traveling across the country starting in May in lower Manhattan. It has made stops at key sites, including Emma Booker Elementary school. That is the school where President Bush was reading with second graders when he got the news that the second tower had been struck, along with a stop at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Mount Rushmore now landing here at the White House. President Trump is expected to speak.

31:21We're hearing right now from Frank Siller of Tunnel to Towers, who lost his brother, a firefighter, on September 11th. We also heard from a White House official named Brad Blakeman who lost his nephew and was serving under President Bush on that day. President Trump himself is a New Yorker but he is not expected to travel to Ground Zero on Friday that 25th anniversary. Instead he will be at the Pentagon and that is because President Trump according to our sources wanted to deliver remarks on that day and politicians have been prohibited from doing so since 2012. But as time goes on there are so many Americans who are too young to remember 9-11 or weren't born on that day.

32:01This today is a powerful reminder, this beam behind me, an educational effort to remember that service and sacrifice and never forget, Pamela. So important, never forget. Betsy Kline, thank you. And coming up here in the Situation Room, a number of young engineers say they were recruited from Mexico with the promise of good-paying jobs in the U.S., but when they got here, it was a much different story. That story, coming up.

32:33Wolf Blitzer: This holiday, all plans, even unlimited, are just$15 a month. A holiday deal this good obviously deserves an enormously expensive holiday song, like All I Want. Right. Okay, we can afford that. You know what? Forget the music budget. We're going to stick with whatever's in the public domain. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Upfront payment of$45 for three months,$90 for six months, or$180 for 12-month plan required,$15 per month equivalent, taxes and fees extra. New customer offer for initial plan term only greater than 50 gigabytes may slow when network is busy. See terms. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task, unless you have a partner like Shopify.

33:09Wolf Blitzer: They have the tools you need to start and grow your business. From designing a website, to marketing, to selling and beyond, Shopify can help with everything you need. There's a reason millions of companies like Mattel, Heinz, and Allbirds continue to trust and use them. With Shopify on your side, turn your big business idea into... Sign up for your$1 per month trial at shopify.com slash special offer. Happening now, hundreds of Mexican workers sued auto industry giants for what they say was a bait and switch. Skilled engineers were allegedly lured to the United States to work professional jobs.

33:45But when they arrived, they were forced into 12-hour assembly line shifts with low pay. In a Situation Room special report, CNN's Rafael Romo spoke with one young man whose dream job turned into a nightmare. You are like 24, 25 years old and you see an ad that says, hey, you can go to work in the United States.

34:05Wolf Blitzer: Obviously, it's going to sound like, I don't know, like a dream job, like an amazing offer. Isidro Arellano says he was in his last year of engineering school when he saw an ad at his college in Mexico. He says the ad was for engineering jobs at car factories in the United States. The ideal candidate, young engineers or technicians from Mexico willing to work north of the border. Can you tell me what happened after you applied? They called me and they told me that they have a job opportunity to work in a plan that makes parts for the automotive industry. Full of dreams, Arellano says he traveled to the United States in 2021 for what he describes as a quality engineering job whose duties included taking precise measurements for auto parts.

34:57Did you at any point feel like this was a little too good to be true?

35:04Wolf Blitzer: Yeah, it crossed my mind like a couple of times. A class action lawsuit filed in 2022 in federal court in Atlanta alleges that Arellano and about 600 other Mexican workers were induced to move to the United States with false promises of a skilled job, but relegated to performing assembly line work subjected to six 12-hour workdays per week with mandatory overtime while American-born workers were not and paid half of what American-born workers earned for the same job in the same location. We're receiving calls from workers talking about issues that they were having in the auto supply industry in Georgia and Alabama.

35:48Wolf Blitzer: Julia Solorzano is the legal and policy director of an organization that advocates for migrant workers. These workers alleged that they were recruited for professional jobs doing engineering and technical work in auto supply plants in Georgia. And so these are workers who had degrees and professional qualifications to do that kind of work. In fact, the terms of their visa required them to do that professional work. According to the class action lawsuit, the workers came to the United States with what is known as a TN visa, which, according to the U.S. State Department, allows eligible Canadian and Mexican professionals to work in high-skilled jobs in the country under the free trade agreement between all three countries known as the USMCA.

36:32Wolf Blitzer: What it turned into, as is claimed in the case, was a bait-and-switch. The workers ended up, these engineers ended up in the United States working at these plants and were doing manual labor. They were not working as engineers. Just before trial last month, the defendants, including Hyundai Mobis and Kia Georgia, as well as Georgia-based staffing agency SPJ Connect and Georgia recruiting firm Alswell, reached an$11.5 million settlement. In a statement to CNN, Kia says they resolved the matter, saying the court made no finding of liability of wrongdoing by Kia and no fines or judgments were entered against the company.

37:15Wolf Blitzer: Kia denies the allegations and denies it played any role in recruiting the claimants. CNN reached out to Hyundai, Mobis and Allswell, but got no response. SPJ Connect appears as dissolved in state of Georgia documents. The allegation is that they used the TN visa program to provide a supply of labor at their plants. And the way they used the TN visa program, according to the lawsuit, was to circumvent the immigration laws. What is the message that this case sends to foreign workers in general, workers who may be in the same situation these Mexican engineers and technicians were? Even in this environment, we have this group of workers who stepped forward and decided that they were wronged and did something about it and achieved justice.

38:19Wolf Blitzer: Isidro Arellano returned to the United States and is legally working as an engineer. Other workers in the class action lawsuit who left jobs and family have not been as fortunate. Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta. And our thanks to Rafael Romo. Now let's head over to the Ellipse in Washington where President Trump is speaking ahead of 9-11. Statues and fountains, all they're back in shape. Some of them haven't worked in 45 years. But the nation's capital, it marks 25 years since a day that was etched forever into the memories of Americans. On 9-11, nearly 3 ,000 precious souls were stolen from us, killed by evil terrorists at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and on Flight 93.

39:08All of these years later, we gather on another Tuesday morning in September to reaffirm the sacred vow.

39:14Wolf Blitzer: we made a quarter of a century ago. We will never forget. We say it and we mean it. We will never forget those we lost. And we will never forget the immortal heroes of September 11th, 2001. And I will tell you, we're right now fighting because we have a certain nation that wanted a nuclear weapon. They were very close to getting it. And now they have no chance of getting it. They will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

39:59Wolf Blitzer: And they've been punished greatly. As you know, we've really taken it to them. I want to compliment our military. The job they do is unbelievable. The blockade has been so powerful, so effective. Nobody thought it could go so well. I want to just thank our military. I want to also thank the man who I just said hello, who introduced me. He's a special guy. He really is. He's done so much to help the families of 9-11, first responders, and our great veterans. And that's Frank Seller. He really is. He's a fantastic man. And he's a great friend. that we all know the story of his wonderful brother, Stephen.

40:44Wolf Blitzer: And we know it well, how brave he was going into the center, probably knowing that it was coming down. He didn't care. It was an amazing act of bravery. I also want to recognize Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, who lost his brother and 658 employees. He was the head of Cantor Fitzgerald, one of the most successful firms on Wall Street. They were the top three floors of the World Trade Center. It's an amazing story. You know, Howard was always there at six o 'clock in the morning, always, without fail, because in that business, you get there nice and early, the financial business. He was one of the biggest anywhere in the world at finance.

41:25Wolf Blitzer: Cantor Fitzgerald was one of the hottest firms. And for years, he'd be there at 6 in the morning, but he had a child, and his wife would always be screaming at him, You never have taken our child to school. You've got to take, someday you've got to take, and this went on for years. After four years, he said, All right, I'll take him to school. I'm going to bring him to school myself. He wasn't so happy about it. He brought that beautiful boy, who's now a grown person, brought him to school. and he arrived at the school at 8.30 and he was on the West Side Highway at 8.45 and he watched that whole thing.

42:05Wolf Blitzer: This was the first time in years that he wasn't there early in the morning. So you could say he owes a lot to his son and he owes a lot to his wife. But he brought his son to school and because of that he got to see it from the West Side Highway. He saw the planes go into the towers And he said, oh, my God, my people, my people. And he's done an amazing job. He's rebuilt Cantor Fitzgerald, and he's given much of the profit to some of the families or the families of the people who perished. They all died. 658 employees. He started the firm all over again. So Howard's here someplace, I think. Howard?

42:49It's, where are you, Howard?

42:51Wolf Blitzer: You deserve to stand up, Howard.

42:57Wolf Blitzer: He's got some faults, but overall, he's excellent. He's a great guy. I know he went through a lot, didn't he? Had to build. Who could do that? And now the firm is bigger, stronger, better than it was even at the beginning. The job he did, he's Secretary of Commerce. He's been fantastic. Thanks as well to Attorney General Todd Blanche, who's doing a phenomenal job, wherever you may be. Hi, Todd. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Doug Collins, 92 % approval. You have a 92 % approval rating, Doug. Stand up, you two guys. I want to make sure that Todd gets a 95 % approval. Maybe 100. How about 100 %?

43:38Wolf Blitzer: Secretary of Homeland Security, Mark Wayne Mullen, who has really taken over and done a job. That's been great. Thank you very much, Mark Wayne. One of our real superstars, EPA administrator, Lee Zeldin. He gets it approved, and he gets it approved fast. They like you, Lee. Done great. And MVP, the OMB director, Russ Vaught, who is watching the costs, and he's watching them better than anybody knows. He knows more about that than anybody, along with representatives Mike Lawler. They call him Mr. Salt, Mike Lawler. stand up Mike Dan Muser and we have other congressmen and senators I just want to thank you all for being here too many to mention but thank you these two guys have been very special in the course of history there are a few moments that divide time into really what came before when you look at what took place that day nobody will ever even think of such a thing being able to happen again and we're going to do everything in our power to make sure it doesn't.

44:47Wolf Blitzer: That was a day like no other. September 11th was one of those moments in time where you always, everybody knows exactly where they were. I know exactly where I was. I was watching and looking and it was a beautiful, beautiful morning and I looked out and then all of a sudden I saw an alert on television. I looked out my window and I saw things that I never want to see again. we're never going to see them again. But in just over 100 minutes, 175 ,000 tons of steel and concrete were reduced to ruin and 3 ,000 lives were extinguished, immediately extinguished. The world we knew and the nation that we loved have had changed.

45:31Wolf Blitzer: I said it to myself. And I looked and I said, well, the world has changed forever. So many things have changed because of that day. Yet this battered piece of steel here today on the ellipse is a reminder that America is blessed with a strength no fire can consume, no evil can conquer, and no terror can destroy. For three months after September 11th, the flames raged in the rubble of ground zero. For nine months, rescue and recovery crews worked day and night on the site. I want to just thank I was building a big building in New York and I took the whole crew down there right after this happened and they had no hesitation.

46:16Wolf Blitzer: Everybody went down with me. We went down as a big group of people. It wasn't too much we could do, I'll be honest. It was raw. Nobody's seen anything like it ever. We had other buildings. The United States Steel Building was creaking, really creaking. We thought it was going to fall down. The truth is it creaked a lot. it creaked. There's still creaks. But it never came down. And I'll never forget two firemen. We thought it was coming down on top of us and two firemen, big, strong guys. And I'm not the smallest guy in the world. They grabbed me under the arms. They got to get out of here. And they literally lifted me up.

46:55Wolf Blitzer: This is not easy to do. I'm big. They lifted me up and they started running with me. I said, fellas, I can run myself. But they were amazing. But they thought it was coming down. It didn't come down. U.S. Steel. The 16 ,000 pound beam lifted from the records of the South Tower will forever testify to the courage and resilience and spirit of a city and a nation that saw our homeland struck, our towers knocked down and stood back up stronger, more determined and more united than ever before. And I'll tell you, I have to give New York a whole lot of praise because they started that, you call it demolition.

47:36Wolf Blitzer: The demolition had taken place, but you call it demolition. They had the best demolition contractors anywhere in the world. I know all of them from being in the business. And I've never seen such an unbelievable mass of steel and, And unfortunately, bodies and everything you can imagine, the job they did on cleaning up the site, they wanted to do it fast. They wanted to get it done. And I don't think there's any other place in the world that could have done the job that was done by the people, the construction workers, demolition experts, the police, the military. Nobody could have done the job that was done on getting it started.

48:15Wolf Blitzer: And the first thing to get it started, they had to clean it up. And this was a it looked like it was a mile high. The rubble looked like it was a mile high. That's a piece of it. When we see this deal, we're reminded that no matter what threat or challenge comes our way, America will fight. America will endure and America will prevail. And nothing can keep our country down and our country is stronger today than it's ever been before. We have the highest stock market that we've ever had. We have the most people working that we've ever had. We've never had employment like it is right now. We have the most people working today that we ever had.

48:53Wolf Blitzer: And when you looked at something like it took place on September 11th, you'd say, I wonder if we could ever get back to a level of greatness. Well, we've done it. For the past few months, Tunnels to Towers has taken this deal across the nation to remind Americans of what we overcame that day and what our heroes did. and on September 11th, 23 members of the New York Police Department, 37 members of the Port Authority Police, three court officers, and 343 members of the New York Fire Department made the ultimate sacrifice and they knew what they were getting into. They saw it. They knew what was going to happen.

49:32Wolf Blitzer: They were running up those stairs and they knew what was going to happen. There wasn't one of them that thought otherwise. The bravery is really incredible. But their photos are all around us today of these incredible people, men and women, but just incredible brave people. You never know about bravery until you really test it. You don't know. We're deeply honored to be joined this morning by more than 150 first responders from New York, along with dozens more from Washington, D.C., Arlington, and Pennsylvania, who carry on the mission of their fallen comrades. I've been to all three. I speak to all three on every we pick one or sometimes two and we speak on that very special day and we're also joined by more than 200 proud members of the United States military who were there and some were not there and some are here just because they want to honor the people that were would you all stand up please everybody please stand up that's great anybody that was there Great.

50:42Wolf Blitzer: Thank you very much. Thank you very much. But these are the men and women who lifted our country from the rubble. Every day they go to work knowing that they might not come home. Think of it, for 25 years since 9-11, and they've kept us safe and free. And we thank you and we salute you. Our law enforcement is so incredible. law enforcement holds our country together in light of some threats. We have some very real threats right now. We have people that want to go a different way. They want to go a communistic way. Well, that's not going to work. Number one, we're not going to let it happen, but that's not going to work.

51:20Wolf Blitzer: One New York firefighter at ground zero was Jeffrey Palazzo, a member of the elite rescue squad five from Staten Island, a place I love Staten Island, and a U.S. Coast Guard reservist. Before September 11th, he had already saved many lives. That day, he had 10 other members of the Rescue Squad. That's what he did. He rescued people. And he was a legend before September 11th. But him and the other members of Rescue Squad 5 died at the World Trade Center while fighting to rescue fellow New Yorkers. And today, I'm proud to announce that this weekend in New York, the Coast Guard will commission a brand new, beautiful — I bought it myself.

52:06Wolf Blitzer: I've negotiated the price. It was very expensive. I didn't want to negotiate too hard in honor of him. But a brand new Coast Guard will — they're going to commission a beautiful, brand new — it's called Fast Response Cutter, the most incredible kind of ship you'll ever see. It can go through anything. They go out into waves that are five times bigger than it. And they come back. I don't know how they do it, but they come back. But this is the U.S. Coast Guard cutter, Jeffrey Palazzo. So we honor him with this very important tribute to me. Very important. Where is the family? The family? The Palazzo family is here.

52:53Wolf Blitzer: Thank you. Thank you very much. Incredible. Today, we also remember another hero of 9-11. After the plane hit the South Tower, a group of people on the 78th floor were trapped with broken bones, charred skin, and eyes and lungs filled with black smoke. Death was all about them. It was certain. They were sure they were going to die. Then suddenly, a rescuer appeared. They call him the man in the red bandana. Have you heard that term? The man in the red bandana has become more famous than me. I don't like it. Very unhappy, but he's become much more famous than me. Now, as the man in the red bandana, he had found the only stairwell that barely survived.

53:40Wolf Blitzer: The stairwells were all knocked down. You couldn't get by. Impassable. He found an opening in one of the stairwells. And the impact was so great, there was no other way down. But this one little opening, this one little hole, and traveled down from the 104th floor to look for those trapped and dying. When he heard cries for help on the 78th floor, he began extinguishing the fires, blocking the exit, directing survivors who could walk, of which there weren't that many. He helped some out physically. They literally pulled them out toward the only working stairwell and carried those who couldn't walk.

54:21Wolf Blitzer: And he just did things that people said were not even imaginable because they knew they were dead. They said, we're goners. One guy was screaming, we're goners, we're goners. He didn't know that those he helped, and nor who would have known, but he willingly made all of these trips up and down, up and down, up and down, over and over again, saving life after life. that rescuer was a 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer firefighter from Rockland County named Wells Crowther. And Wells's father, also a firefighter, great firefighter, had given him that bandana as a very special tribute when he was a boy.

55:05Wolf Blitzer: He probably knew something about his son. When asked why he always kept it, Wells replied, with this red bandana, I'm going to change the world. I'm going to change the world with this bandana. Little did he know, on September 11th, well saved. Many, many people, before losing his own life in the South Tower lobby, when the building came down. It was in the lobby, and that building came down thousands of tons of steel. Today, in honor of his incredible bravery and all of the other countless unknown acts of heroism that day, it is my privilege to award the very special, the highest honor that we give, highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

55:53Wolf Blitzer: We want to award that to Wells and Wells' family. Wells is up there looking down at his mom and his sister's family. So I would ask his mother Allison and sister Paige, if Paige and Allison came up, we will present them with not only the medal but we'll also present them with a very important designation. Very, very important. Please.

56:40Wolf Blitzer: Thank you so very much, Mr. President, for this enormous honor that you've bestowed upon my son, Wells, in remembrance of his selfless actions on September 11th. This means the world to me, my daughter's page, and honor, and our entire family. This will be treasured for generations to come. Over the years, we have been blessed by the love and support of family and friends, many of whom are with us this morning. I would also like to thank Rachel Ducci, whose concept it was to prepare a proposal to bring to the president for this honor, and for Congressman Mike Lawler, who did so much to keep the energy going and bring it to the attention of the president.

57:28Wolf Blitzer: Really, thank you.

57:33Wolf Blitzer: Walking into this site and seeing all the faces of the firefighters lost is really just so powerful and moving. And the work that the Siller Institute does through Tunnel to Towers is so important to keep knowledge going of what happened on September 11th. So we really salute you, Frank, and your organization for this great work. that Wells' light still shines brilliantly today, even after 25 years, is testament to his legacy of courage, compassion, and love for humanity that continues to inspire and uplift others. Wells, however, would not have been able to do what he did as effectively on 9-11 if it had not been for the training and experience he gained as a member of Empire Hook and Ladder Company, number one of Upper Nyack.

58:29Wolf Blitzer: Empire is a volunteer company, and the members are fully trained firefighters. They have other jobs and responsibilities, businesses to run, and their own families. But when the alarm goes off at any time, day or night, they respond to the call to save life and property. This is a calling, and Wells, following in the footsteps of his father, Jefferson, joined Empire at the age of 16. He was no longer an equities trader on 9-11. He was a firefighter. Members of Empire Hook and Ladder Company have joined us today, and I would like to recognize and thank them. If you would please stand where you are.

59:09Wolf Blitzer: There they are. Wonderful. Thank you, gentlemen. Such a support. My family has grown over the years, not only my own family, but the family of friends. Wells grew up with Boston College friends and the fire department. We're all like one big family, and it's such a beautiful thing. Wells continued his spiritual growth in service at Boston College, whose motto is men and women for others. In the months that followed 9-11, we established the Wells Remy Crowther Charitable Trust and continue with our work today, both charitable and educational. Over 10 years working with a team of distinguished educators led by Vernoy Paolini, the Red Bandana Project was created.

59:58Wolf Blitzer: Social and emotional learning lessons on leadership, caring for others, team, the power of one, bridging divides, forgiveness, and carpe diem were the subjects for elementary through high school students. This year, the Red Bandana Project has been updated and digitized by Dr. Kevin Holbrook, who is here today as well. Thank you, Dr. Holbrook.

1:00:26Wolf Blitzer: These lessons are available for downloading free of charge on our website, wellscrowthertrust.org. As I travel around the United States speaking at schools, I see firsthand how young people are impacted and inspired by Wells, his example and legacy, to be better, kinder, and more caring of others. 25 years after September 11th, his life continues to remind us of something very simple. In moments when others need us, each of us has the power to choose courage, compassion, and service. That's the real meaning of the red bandana, to be courageous, to find the good, to be the good. Again, thank you, Mr.

1:01:12Wolf Blitzer: President. We are profoundly grateful for your very special honor of Wells. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

1:01:33Wolf Blitzer: So, a while ago, years, I promised mom and sister that Wells was going to get the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And we didn't forget. So, we didn't forget. We never forget. So, it's good. And really deserves it. Again, this has been an honor to be involved with Frank and the whole group that does such an incredible job of helping so many people. And it's very special. On the ellipse, very few things are allowed to be touched. I don't know if you know, this is very important soil. They don't allow things like this to happen except for very special events. And this is a, to me, this is a very special event, Frank.

1:02:16Wolf Blitzer: And the job you've done is great. The job your people have done is amazing. And even the proficiency, they were saying how well everything was run, and it has been. And you even worked out great weather. I think Wells gave us the weather, right? Wells is looking down. He gave us the weather. So I just want to end by saying God bless you. Our country is bigger, better, stronger than ever before. We have a great country. We're going to keep it that way. And we appreciate it. It's my honor to be with you. And we'll see you again soon. Congratulations. Thank you very much, everybody.

1:02:52We just heard President Trump speaking at the Tunnel to Towers event on the Olymps, honoring 9-11 first responders. And as you just saw there, saying he is following through on a promise to give the Presidential Medal of Honor the highest civilian award to Wells Crowther, that 24-year-old equities trader and volunteer in that famous picture with the red bandana going to save many lives on 9-11. He died, but he's being honored here today. You heard from his mother there speaking at the podium. I want to go now to CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Kline, who was at the Ellipse. And that's the President Trump seemed to really stick to the script for the most part in his speech.

1:03:34Yeah, he did stay remarkably on script during this event. President Trump honoring the sacrifice and service of those lost at Ground Zero and here at the Pentagon, nearby at the Pentagon on September 11th as the nation prepares to commemorate that solemn 25th anniversary. Now, the president recognized members of his cabinet, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who was working at Cantor Fitzgerald. He lost 650 colleagues as well as his brother. He was actually taking his son to school that morning and was not there when the tower was struck. He said the president reflecting on that day himself, he said he looked out the window and I saw things I never wanted to see again.

1:04:17He also reflected on personally going to ground zero. And then he also referenced this steel beam behind me. This is a 21-foot long, nearly 17 ,000 pound of metal from the South Tower that has been traveling across the country to key sites, including here on the Ellipse, as well as Emma Booker Elementary School, where President Bush was reading with students on that morning, as well as the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The president's saying that that steel beam is a testament to the courage and resilience of New York and the country. He praised New York's response and recovery.

1:04:56He also talked about the very emotional images that we saw as we walked inside this event, honoring each of the nearly 400 first responders who lost their lives on that day, calling them brave people. He honored law enforcement and first responders. And then he referenced the man in the red bandana. That is Wells Crowther. He is a young man who wore a red bandana in the South Tower as he worked to rescue people who were trapped in a lobby on the 78th floor. He made three trips back and forth to make sure that they could be guided to safety before the tower collapsed. Crowther himself died. President Trump honoring his sacrifice as he presented the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, to his family.

1:05:41We heard from his mother honoring his sacrifice there. and all of the people that he helped. But again, this is a moment that is, as time goes by, we are seeing that so many Americans weren't yet born or do not remember September 11th. So this event and the steel beam behind me both meant to honor the service sacrifice and make sure that we never forget Pamela. Salma Vint there, Betsy Kline. Thank you so much. And we'll be right back.

1:06:14You're listening to a quick ad. You know what else is quick?

1:06:17Wolf Blitzer: Selling your car on Carvana. Just put in your vehicle information and we'll give you an offer. Done. No hassle, no negotiation, no guy from an online listing lowballing you. Which means by the time I'm done explaining this, you could have basically done it.

1:06:37Wolf Blitzer: Still haven't started? Hey, better late than never. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply. Happening now, tariff retaliation. Canada's$20 billion worth of tariffs on American goods is officially in effect this morning. And those taxes are expected to impact everything from steel and aluminum to everyday goods like paper products and home appliances. President Trump is hitting back, posting on social media a threat to ban the sale of some Canadian jets in the U.S. unless they are built in America. Last week, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney accused the U.S. of not negotiating seriously, just days after President Trump renamed Lake Ontario to Lake America.

1:07:18Carney said in part, quote, when the Americans stop doing memes, stop throwing shade, stop trying to be tough and start being serious about having those discussions, we can have those discussions. With us now is former Quebec Premier Jean Charest. Good morning to you. Thanks for coming on. So these new Canadian tariffs are in effect today. Thank you. Would you consider the U.S. and Canada at this point to be in a full-blown trade war right now?

1:07:43Wolf Blitzer: Well, it's close to that. But I want to take a moment. I listened to President Trump about 9-11. I just wanted to add that Canadians have a great deal of respect and admiration for the character of the American people and those who lost and gave their lives. And we will grieve with you on the anniversary in a few days from now. So back to the tariffs. It is an unusual situation. We're doing counter tariffs because we feel that we have to respond to an administration who seems to think that Canada should not exist. And it's not because we want to do it. And we hurt ourselves, by the way, when we do this, Pam.

1:08:25Wolf Blitzer: as the American administration hurts their own consumers when they impose tariffs on Canada. So hopefully we'll get past this and avoid escalation and get back to the negotiating table. But one interesting episode in this is that the president yesterday talks about Canadian jets, the Bombardier jets, which are, without exaggeration, they're certainly among the best in the world. Did you, I mean, very few people know that Bombardier has 4 ,500 suppliers, 2 ,800 of them, the majority are in the United States, that there is more American content in a Bombardier jet than there is in a Gulfstream jet.

1:09:09Wolf Blitzer: And so, yes, these jets are made in America, to answer the question. And they're done with the best talents from both countries, which explains why they're the best airplanes in the world. So you're saying that if the U.S. bans these jets, it would hurt Americans as well? Well, think of Wichita, Kansas, 3 ,000 employees of Bombardier. I think Bombardier has suppliers in over half of the American states. And it's an illustration of our relationship. What is different between Canada and United States is that our economies are very, very integrated, unlike it is with the United States and Europe or Japan or South Korea.

1:09:51Wolf Blitzer: And it does not make sense if you're that integrated and making things together to tariff one side because you're tilting the playing field in one direction. So we are not responding because we think this is a good idea. We're faced with a lot of bad choices, but we're doing it because we feel we have to stand up for our own businesses and our sovereignty. and our hope though, Pamela, is that both sides will climb down from this tree and return to the negotiating table as rapidly as possible. We continue to do all the great things we've done together over the last 20 years, which is to build a competitive economy that is going to allow us to face the rest of the world.

1:10:37Wolf Blitzer: I mean, the issue isn't between Canada and the United States. It's between other countries, not to name it China, with whom the toughest competition is. But how do you climb down from this tree when you have both countries exchanging threats? You have Ontario Premier Doug Ford saying recently that Canada should be prepared to cut off electricity exports to the United States. I mean, is Canada actually prepared to use its energy supply as a geopolitical weapon in response to these tariffs? Well, in this environment in which it's been tariffs and counter tariffs, and we did not, by the way, we did not start this conflict.

1:11:12Wolf Blitzer: We did not start this. We've left everything on the table, Pamela. We're not taking anything off the table, but we don't want to go there. You know, we are the biggest supplier of oil, foreign imports of oil into the United States, four to five million barrels a day. 100 % of what you import in natural gas comes from Canada. 80 % of what you import in hydro comes from Canada. Potash, we supply 80 % of it, whether it's uranium, critical minerals that goes on and on and on it speaks to how we work together to build our economies so the sooner we're able to move on to uh to working together and having a trade relationship and by the way everything that comes from the tariffs on the american side are contrary to an agreement that the american and the trump administration had signed in 2018 i mean it's It's not legally what they should be doing.

1:12:12Wolf Blitzer: I mean, they committed the government of the day to this trade agreement. And now it's just being set aside. So sooner we get back to negotiating, the better we will all be on both sides. What would it take to get back to where we were and for Canada to pull back on these tariffs? And as you look ahead to the next two and a half years of Trump being in office, what does that relationship look like between the two countries? I think we have to have a very hard look with fresh eyes of what the economic relationship is between both countries. Take the automotive industry as an example of that. President Trump has said he would like to see cars built only in the United States.

1:12:55Wolf Blitzer: Well, there is no complex product made in the world today, Pamela, that is made in a single country. It does not exist. That world is gone, whether it's a bicycle or a car. And in the case of Canada and the United States, imposing tariffs, as the president is doing, is going to hurt the American industry. And even if, let's say, he wanted to do that, it would take years and cost hundreds of billions of dollars to redo that, when in fact we are very competitive together. it. So what we need to do, and do it on both sides, is look at what our real economic relationship is, maybe go beyond that, or defense relationship, or how we deal with the Arctic.

1:13:42Wolf Blitzer: You know, Canada, President Trump was right to say Canada and other countries are not living up to their responsibilities on defense. We are doing that now. I mean, the government of Canada, Mr. Carney's government is now investing billions of dollars in defense. Here are areas in which we should have broad cooperation. And if we have that fresh look, take a moment to look at where we are. I think we're going to come to better answers and solutions than the ones that are on the table now. All right, Jean Charest, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it. Thank you. And still ahead, one-on-one with the NTSB chair, Jennifer Homendy.

1:14:19She will join us live on the investigation into the deadly Amazon plane crash. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

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1:15:24Happening now, investigators say all five people who died when an Amazon cargo plane skidded off a runway in Miami were in vehicles on the ground, including an aircraft cleaning crew driving in a van. A short time ago, the Miami-Dade sheriff said three people injured in the crash remain at the hospital. Two of them are in critical condition. And the sheriff also announced the names of those who were killed. Orlando Aleman Leon, 55 years of age. Yoel Rodriguez Naranjo, 53 years of age. Julio C. Pineda, 75 years of age. Carlos Acosta Fajardo, 53 years of age. Javier Reyes Quevedo, 47 years of age.

1:16:11With us now is the chair of the National Transportation Safety Board, Jennifer Homendy, thank you so much for being here with us. First of all, what is the status of the investigation into the probable cause of this fatal crash?

1:16:27Wolf Blitzer: Well, today is really our first full day on scene. I stated yesterday that we needed to make sure that the scene was safe for our investigators and for all those involved in the investigation as the debris field is pretty large. Also, they were removing, there's fuel on the ground and removing fuel from the aircraft and there were still recovery operations continuing through the evening last night. That has now been completed and so this is really our first full day on scene for the investigation. Our focus will be documenting the scene for most of the day, including the runway, to make sure that we can do that as expeditiously as possible so that we can turn that property back over to the airport so that they can resume operations.

1:17:19Have investigators been able to speak with the plane's pilots and crew?

1:17:26Wolf Blitzer: We are in the process of scheduling interviews. We have a number of interviews that we're going to work through everything from dispatchers to the pilots to the air traffic controllers and more. Those are being scheduled. We do not we we do not we have not completed interviews with the pilots yet, but that will be in the process. What about the air traffic controllers or anyone else who may have witnessed this or was part of this? Have you done any interviews with them yet? Yeah, again, this is our first full day on scene. So our team is working through scheduling the interviews and making sure that they get to those that will probably continue throughout the week.

1:18:11So when the plane finally came to a halt, it was almost 1 ,300 feet past the end of the runway. As you know, Miami International Airport doesn't have this, it's what's called E-mass runway buffer system that's installed in dozens of other airports across the country. It's basically meant to make sure a plane doesn't go off the runway. Is there a plan in place to get more airports to use this system? Do you think if it had been in place, lives would have been saved?

1:18:37Wolf Blitzer: Yeah, well, certainly that's something we're going to look at in our investigation. We have had recommendations in the past for EMAS, but that has to be something that we look at in the investigation to see if that's something we will recommend. It's too early to tell. Today, our team will look at the runway safety program at Miami Airport. So we will have more information, but too early to tell. Just to be clear, when you say you have made recommendations for EMAS in the past, does that mean you've made recommendations specifically to this airport or other airports across the country? Airports across the country, and only those recommendations were to the Federal Aviation Administration.

1:19:21Wolf Blitzer: And they're pretty dated. They are from years ago. So we have to look at what the current program is, and we'll have to look at this accident with a renewed focus. Before we get to that, any sort of conclusions on EMAS. Again, we're going to have to look at the runway safety program. It's much too early to draw any conclusions, including on EMAS, on whether that would have made sense or made a difference or not. But that will be something that we look at as part of this investigation. Given that all five fatalities occurred in people who were on the ground, does this crash raise broader questions about protecting workers and motorists near airports?

1:20:04Wolf Blitzer: Well, our aviation system is incredibly safe. This is a significant tragedy. Clearly, we had ground injuries and fatalities here. We had that in the UPS crash that we're currently investigating out of Louisville, Kentucky. Kentucky. It's a significant concern and something we'll look at on this investigation and that investigation. It's, you know, our hearts go out to all the families and friends that lost loved ones in this terrible tragedy. I said last night, we can't imagine what they're going through. We have an excellent team on scene, the Transportation Disaster Assistance Team that works for the NTSB that works with the families after tragedies like this, but it's certainly something that gives everyone pause.

1:20:54Wolf Blitzer: But at the same time, you know, we are going to work diligently to make sure we understand how this happened and prevent it from happening again. As you know, the aviation analysts we've spoken to, and I know you're very early on in the investigation, but they point out that the plane was going faster than it should have been going at certain points on the runway. Do you have any better understanding of why that was, whether wind could have played a role in that? Well, you know, aviation analysts, I would ask everyone to pause and give it a moment. The real data that we need is on the flight data recorder, which is being analyzed right now, Both the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder were transferred to the NTSB headquarters to our labs last night in D.C.

1:21:49Wolf Blitzer: They're being analyzed this morning, and we hope to have all that information today, including speed, flight control inputs, engine parameters. We should have all that data, hopefully, to provide later today. But I would caution everybody to hang on until we have the actual data in hand before drawing any conclusions. That's fair. You want to wait for all the facts to get in. Just one other question. Was there any indication from the pilots before this crash that there was something wrong? Did they radio in to say anything? Our indication yesterday was that there was no evidence of that. But I wonder if you have learned any more information.

1:22:37Wolf Blitzer: Well, that is exactly the type of conversation we want to see if we can see if there was anything on the cockpit voice recorder or anything that might come from an ATC transcript or air traffic control transcript. We're also looking to interview or get information from pilots, flight crews that may have landed just before this plane landed to see what they experienced. And, you know, we hope to interview those. We have gotten some witness statements and some additional photos, additional videos at witness at NTSB.gov that has been helpful. If anyone watching this believes that they have information that could be relevant for this investigation, please, I would encourage you to send that to witness at ntsb.gov.

1:23:34In what way has that been helpful?

1:23:39Wolf Blitzer: It's helpful. For example, I saw some emails coming in from other flight crews that had landed at the airport just prior to that and said that they would be willing to be contacted by an investigator if they wanted to talk to them about anything they could have seen or heard or experienced. I thought that was extremely helpful. Certainly, videos are always helpful. They are a little more challenging because when you're watching a video, it really depends on the angle you're looking at. So, you know, but footage can be very helpful, which is why we're looking for surveillance videos today on buildings that might have been in the area to help us in our investigation.

1:24:23I just want to ask you, when you look at the ownership of the operator of this aircraft, it's had foreign ownership, including Russian ownership and its corporate history. Does that raise any concerns for you?

1:24:36Wolf Blitzer: Well, we'll always look at the organization itself. We will look at the relationship certainly between Amazon and 21air, and we'll look at 21air's policies, procedures, how they are set up, you know, any sort of training that pilots would get. That is in the normal course of any investigation that we conduct. So we will look at operations and see if there's information that we want to dig in on that. All right. Final question, too. You had mentioned earlier that UPS crash in Louisville, Kentucky. And I'm wondering if you can give us any update on that and what what investigators have found into the cause.

1:25:24Wolf Blitzer: Yeah, so we on the investigation, that UPS investigation, it is ongoing. We had a public hearing not too long ago where we were able to question Boeing, UPS, and others about some of the safety deficiencies over time, about the MD-11 in particular, and about certain components on the aircraft and how those are flagged when problems are reported. to Boeing. And so we're analyzing some additional documentation that we received after that public hearing. And that so that investigation continues. All right. NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy. Thank you very much.

1:26:18Breaking news. We are learning now that a body has been discovered in this search for four missing Americans who vanished in a plane right off the coast of the Bahamas. We have a live update next.

1:26:38All right, we're following some breaking news in the search for an American family whose plane went missing off the coast of the Bahamas Monday. One of their relatives telling CNN that a body has been recovered. Let's go live now to CNN's Ryan Young. What more are you learning, Ryan?

1:26:52Wolf Blitzer: Pamela, some breaking news here. And obviously it's upsetting for this family who's dealt with so much over the last few hours. A statement that was just released to CNN says at this time, one of our family members has been found deceased out of respect for our loved one and our family's privacy. We are not releasing the individual's name at this time. What is especially devastating is that the civilian, one of our own family members, was a person who located our loved one and had to bring their deceased relative onto the boat. You can only imagine what the pain this family is dealing with seeing that discovery just alone.

1:27:24Wolf Blitzer: this plane dropping from the sky yesterday just after 11 o 'clock. But listen to one of the family members talk about this desperate search that is still ongoing. This morning, as of 10, 12 a.m., my uncle's flight took off from Great Harbor K in the Bahamas. And moments later, it lost complete signal and complete connection from all towers and authorities. We're asking for everyone out there to please help, whether it's by plane, by boat, any signs that you've noticed to help us find them and bring them back alive. Yeah, the pilot was Mario Lamar. He was known as a expert flyer. He's 80 years old.

1:27:59Wolf Blitzer: His wife was on the plane with him as well and two grandchildren. From what we're told, that plane dropped like she talked about there. Now there's an all-out search with the U.S. Coast Guard and other naval officials from the Bahamas. But as you can imagine, Pamela, there is so much grief right now in terms of trying to figure out where these loved ones are and trying to get this wreckage so they can figure out exactly what took place. But something that no family wants to deal with. This family apparently traveling there all the time. They were flying back toward Miami, and now they're having all this surge going on.

1:28:30At one point, the family was sort of upset.

1:28:33Wolf Blitzer: They wanted more resources in that area. Right now, obviously, a gruesome discovery that's already been made. Heartbreaking for this family from what was, it sounds like a routine flight for them to go back and forth. Ryan Young, thank you so much. And joining us now is Lieutenant Darius Adams with the Royal Bahamas Defense Force. Lieutenant, thanks for coming on. So first off, where do search efforts for the remaining family members stand right now? So what I can tell you is I just came off the phone and it was confirmed that four bodies are recovered. Right now we can't get the status of whether they're deceased or they're alive.

1:29:08Wolf Blitzer: But search efforts are continued for the actual aircraft that was overdue. So that's new information. Four bodies have been recovered. And is it clear that this is from, these bodies are from the plane that went down? Yes, it would have been recovered from the same said family member that would have put out the statement of them recovering that first family member that was deceased in that initial press briefing. Very sad. Do you have any more information about what happened to that plane when air traffic control lost contact? So our initial investigation that came into our search and rescue operations team is that they left that area of the Berry Islands and they wanted to divert from inclement weather.

1:30:00Wolf Blitzer: And due to that factor, they would have ended up on that side of Andres as opposed to going a different direction heading to Florida. So tell us a little bit more about this area and the island where the plane vanished. Well Andres is one of our largest islands and the water surrounding it, especially on that west side of it, is extremely shallow. So you have to use good boating skills to make sure you get on that side of the water. One thing we did is we sent our vessels out last night and I know that also the family member would have sent some stuff out, vessels out this morning. We sent the aircraft out first thing this morning.

1:30:38Wolf Blitzer: They spent hours canvassing the area to see if they could see any sort of debris or any sort of life. And then we also coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard, and they sent their vessel, they sent their aircraft up an hour after us to ensure that we have our continuity going ahead. So what happens now? You say that the four bodies were recovered. Can you just walk us through what goes on now? So the next step is to rendezvous with the captain of the vessel. And right now we're looking to rendezvous with them at Bimini. That's another island that's not too far from Andres. And we like to rendezvous with them.

1:31:16Wolf Blitzer: And then we love to bring in our authorities as the Royal Bahamas Police Force. They would love to get in on the investigative side when we're dealing with bodies that are recovered. Is there anything else you would like to add before we let you go? You know, at this time, we're still sending our divers to canvass the area to ensure that we bring some sort of closure and some sort of relief to the family to bring in a full investigation to ensure that they know that everything that we needed to do was completed lieutenant darius adams thank you you're welcome thank you well happening now at least three people are dead after russia attacked kiev overnight this was the scene right here in the Ukrainian capital just one day.

1:32:04After U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner left the city, Russia said it attacked Ukraine with ground and air-based precision-guided weapons and attack drones. Witkoff and Kushner met with both Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky over the weekend. And Witkoff lauded, quote, substantive progress, though no major breakthroughs were announced. At least 11 people were killed in an avalanche in western Russia.

1:32:40the avalanche hit a group of climbers and emergency officials are now working to rescue six people who remain missing and we're getting some shocking video of a race car driver saving his competitor during a race. After the fiery crash, a Dutch racer rushed over to save the British racer whose car had crashed and then helped rescue him before emergency officials arrived. The British racer was injured but is expected to fully recover and he credits his Dutch competitor with saving his life. Well thank you all so much for joining us this morning. You can keep up with us on social media at Wolf Blitzer and at Pamela Brown CNN.

1:33:22We'll see you back here tomorrow morning inside politics with our friend and colleague, Dana Bash starts right now. Have a great rest of your day.

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