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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees

Hurricane Erin's Intense Waves Slam NC Beaches; Justice Department Plans to Begin Sharing Epstein Files with House Committee on Friday; Roughly eight in ten D.C. Residents Oppose Trump's Police Takeover; VP Vance Derides Protesters While Visiting National Guard in D.C.; Detailed NASA Images of Mars Show What Red Planet Would Look Like Under Clear Blue Skies; NASA's Perseverance Rover Captures One of the Sharpest Panoramas Yet of Red Planet; Parents of Girls Killed in Texas Camp Flooding Say Common Sense Measures Were Absent as Lawmakers Consider Safety Bill; Doubts, Misgivings Among Reservists Called Up for Gaza Offensive. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired August 20, 2025 - 20:00   ET

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

BILL BROWDER, FORMER FOREIGN INVESTOR IN RUSSIA: ... to people trying to kiss up to him. There's no such thing as appeasement with a dictator and certainly not with Vladimir Putin and so what he needs is somebody to -- somebody tough to say, okay if you're not willing to negotiate, then were going to make you negotiate. And there's no explanation for trying to be nice to him to get him to the table.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: And make you negotiate is not something that were hearing, relying from -- coming from the summit that we heard from Anchorage, that's for sure.

Bill Browder, thank you so much.

BROWDER: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: And thank you for joining us. AC360 starts now.

[20:00:42]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Tonight on 360.

This time close really does count as Hurricane Erin misses making landfall, but is still hitting the East Coast hard, what a new storm bulletin just out has to say.

Also tonight, a federal judge calls out the Justice Department for requesting a few dozen pages of Epstein material when it has 100,000 pages, but won't release them. That, and my conversation with the survivors family.

And later, Vice-President Vance visits the National Guard patrolling Washington, gets heckled by people a top White House aide calls stupid White hippies.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

(PROTESTERS chanting)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: What new polling reveals about what Washingtonians think of what the administration is doing in D.C.

Good evening, thanks for joining us. We begin tonight with breaking news and what could become one of the most damaging hurricanes not to make landfall. Hurricane Erin is already causing destruction and creating dangerous conditions along the North Carolina coast. We've learned that at least 50 miles of State Highway 12 have now been closed, with officials warning conditions are too unsafe for people to be driving in. If you come across any floodwaters, turn around, don't drown.

Derek Van Dam is in the CNN Weather Center. Going through a new update out just moments ago from the National Hurricane Center. Before we go to him, I want to go to CNN's Dianne Gallagher in Nags Head, North Carolina as night is falling.

So, what's the biggest concern where you are right now? And are people heeding the warnings?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, Anderson, the biggest concern is what you just mentioned there, N.C. 12 that highway. I do want you to see, we're starting to see the waves pick up. You can see plenty of people sort of sitting here getting their own video of it.

This is Jennette's Pier in Nags Head, and the height there is about 25 feet above mean water. So, effectively over between high and low tide, it's about 25 feet above. We are seeing those waves start to kiss the bottom of the pier here.

Overall, the conditions have been honestly pretty breezy today. People have been out with their families as long as they're staying out of the ocean because of those dangerous rip currents, it's not been a problem. But the warning is over the next 12 to 15 hours, they are concerned about that potential of up to four feet of storm surge and those big waves. This is a essentially sea level.

Many of the places in the Outer Banks are basically sandbars and N.C.12 connects each one of them. Many of these islands are one way on, one way off, and it is that highway. It has broken up in past hurricanes, it has been completely washed out before and we are already starting to see over wash from these tides coming in over some of the areas a little closer down to Hatteras Village. We're talking about Ocracoke Island, Buxton, North Carolina, all in a bit more of the southern parts from where we are here.

We actually drove down N.C. 12 just a bit ago, and we got to a few, been to the outer banks, Oregon Inlet, right before the Basnight Bridge. It is shut down at that point. You cannot go any further because they are concerned about those conditions. We were there today when NCDoT was actually out there taking sand from the sound side, putting it on the ocean side. They were trying to basically fortify those dunes to prevent that over wash because now, people who are south of here are stuck. They can't get back out. The ferries have stopped running at this point because it is just not safe.

They did evacuate about 2,200 people from Ocracoke Island to get them to safety -- that mandatory thing. Again, the next 12 hours, we're expecting a rough morning we're told. With that surge, that is their biggest concern, though, Anderson, making sure that road is okay and they keep people out of the ocean.

COOPER: Dianne Gallagher, thanks very much.

For more on the hurricanes path, we're going to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam. So, what's the latest on how the storm is impacting the U.S.? Where is it?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Anderson, the 8:00 P.M. advisory from the National Hurricane Center talked about how the outer rainbands of Hurricane Erin are now scraping the Outer Banks. You and I have been through so many of these types of storms. We know that how quickly things can deteriorate and right where Dianne is located, the Outer Banks here, starting to see those first rainbands. But of course, we need the sustained winds to reach 39 miles an hour or higher for it to be considered tropical storm. We're not quite there yet, so when will it happen?

Here's the forecast: We're expecting the winds to really pick up in intensity across the outer banks, especially by tomorrow morning. Erin makes its closest path towards the east coast, and it's also going to coincide with high tides, some of the highest tides of the month as well. Then into Virginia, the Delmarva Peninsula, and potentially into southern portions of New Jersey with tropical storm force conditions. And then Friday morning, as the system pulls away, Cape Cod, Nantucket could feel the force of tropical storm force winds.

This storm could potentially restrengthen into a major hurricane. So what that's doing is its agitating the ocean waters over the Western Atlantic. Look at that two-story high sea breakers right along the coastline. And we're going to point this out, the high tide tomorrow morning when the winds move basically across the Outer Banks of North Carolina, that could push up the storm surge. Couple that with the high seas, and that is going to cause some serious concerns for that region, Anderson.

[20:05:58]

COOPER: All right, Derek Van Dam, thanks very much. We're going to Michael Yoshida, who's reporting for us from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. How are things there?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Anderson, tonight you can see the waves crashing here in Wrightsville Beach. These are some of the largest waves we've seen during our few days here. And unfortunately, tonight were still seeing some swimmers, some surfers out in the water. Obviously, that's not what local officials want. This is one of many beaches up and down the East Coast which have issued those no swimming advisories here in Wrightsville Beach. Earlier in the week, we saw some 60 water rescues as a result of those dangerous rip currents. The director for ocean rescue telling me these rip currents, they're unprecedented in their strength. Also there, with some block or two blocks wide. So, when they hit, they're taking not one or two, but six or seven or eight swimmers out at a time. That's why they're asking everyone, please stay out of the water. Don't be like those we see here tonight. Listen to the advisories and even though this storm is way offshore, the threats are real, so stay onshore, at least for the next few days -- Anderson.

COOPER: Michael Yoshida, thanks very much, appreciate it.

Now, the Epstein case today, for the third time, a federal court has declined to release grand jury information related to the dead sex offender and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. In this latest ruling, New York District Judge Richard Berman calls the government request a "diversion."

He writes that the grand jury material would add little or nothing new, and notes that it is dwarfed his word, dwarfed by what the Justice Department already has, if it's ever released.

Today, Sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister in law of the late Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre, posted a statement praising Judge Berman's decision and adding this -- "It is our strong belief that Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein did not act alone and the DOJ is fully aware of this fact. We call for full transparency from the administration and insist that the DOJ release all documents related to this case."

After years of fighting for justice and working as an advocate for sex trafficking survivors, Virginia Giuffre died by suicide in April. Her family at the time said she was the light that lifted so many survivors. I spoke with Amanda and Sky Roberts yesterday,

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

COOPER: Sky and Amanda, thank you both for joining us tonight. Sky, we learned that the House Oversight Committee intends to make some Epstein files public, with redactions to protect victims' identities after they start receiving materials from the Department of Justice on Friday. I'm wondering what you make of that. And do you trust that this will provide some kind of transparency that you've been calling for?

AMANDA ROBERTS, SISTER-IN-LAW OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: Yes, first, Anderson, thank you so much for having us tonight. It really means a lot to us.

I would say that certainly it seems as though it is movement in the right direction. And I do want to actually thank Representative Comer for actually making sure that the survivors information is redacted. That's definitely a concern of ours. On the same hand, you know, we're very wary that this may be just another move of the Department of Justice, right? Where they're saying they're going to do one thing, but then their actions are showing a completely different thing. And so, to kind of leak these documents where people are implicated that are heavily redacted you know, one time or another that's not really full transparency.

COOPER: Are you both concerned that the third party names who were complicit in Epstein and Maxwell's crimes may also have their names redacted?

SKY ROBERTS, BROTHER OF VIRGINIA GIUFFRE: Yes, I think, unequivocally, yes. We are very concerned that the names that are that are implied in there. I think it's important that we protect survivors, that the names redacted for the survivors are for the utmost protection. But, you know, let's be clear. The people that are involved in this and that are in these files are monsters. They're predators, they're, you know, they're people that have created sexual abuse against young women, children. And so, no, their names should not be redacted out of these files. I think it's important that they are held to the highest form of law and justice. And that's what people are looking for.

[20:10:19]

COOPER: Virginia fought for transparency, for accountability for a long time. I know, Amanda, you said -- she even called for the release of documents in one of your last conversations with her. Is that right?

A. ROBERTS: Yes, I think that's her legacy, right? It wasn't just, you know, the exposure but then beyond exposure is accountability. And one of our very last conversations, she told me, like, my files are sitting at the Southern District Courts right now waiting to be unsealed and that was her fight. And that is the fight of all survivors, right. Let's expose these monsters and hold them accountable.

COOPER: Sky, when you heard about the transfer of Ghislaine Maxwell, I'm wondering what went through your mind?

S. ROBERTS: I'm not quite sure why we're -- why we continue to negotiate with somebody who is a known perjurer, as well as someone who's sex trafficked and was convicted of sex trafficking children.

And so, for her to be put up in what I would call it, a posh prison a minimum security prison is an insult. And quite frankly, it absolutely shows that there's some sort of negotiation going on. I mean, let's be real, Anderson we're not stupid, right? I mean, people are smart here. I think you can see between the lines that there's some type of negotiation going on. And so, you know, for her to just moments after speaking to the Department of Justice to be transferred to a prison that would again be labeled to me as a posh prison would be -- it's an insult.

And so, she needs to be immediately transferred back to a maximum security prison held to the highest standards and I think the last part and the last point here is that, you know, President Trump himself stated that people that have sex trafficked across borders should be held to the harshest penalties. And yet we're seeing the exact opposite right now in the sense that she's being transferred to a minimum security prison, which I'll just state as "The Real Housewives" prison.

So, it is -- it's an insult to us. It's an insult to survivors and she should be immediately transferred back to a maximum security prison.

COOPER: Sky, I want to just ask you, and if it's too personal, you don't have to answer. But you're emotional, and I understand that and I am wondering, I mean, this is really hard. You know, people appear on T.V. and talking about this stuff and people at home kind of think, okay, you're another person appearing on television. This is your sister, Virginia is your sister and is your sister and this is hard -- I mean, the emotion of this, even though this has been going on for a long time, it's got to be extraordinarily hard for you.

S. ROBERTS: Yes, I think it's important. I'll crack a quick joke in that's it, I'm the crier of the family, so.

COOPER: So am I, It turns out, actually, so.

S. ROBERTS: Well, good. We have something in common.

COOPER: I didn't cry until I was, like, 50, and now I can't stop, so.

S. ROBERTS: I want to show it as a sign of strength, though, in this, and the strength that she had and the amazing person that she was and still is. She fought for so many survivors out there and you know, I think if she were with us today, I mean, she'd be -- she'd be screaming, Anderson. She'd be screaming from a mountaintop, you know, and, you know, yes, we're still dealing with grief. I think that's important to know is that this just happened in April, okay? We're not far removed. And, you know, immediately, obvious.

You know, there's this spotlight on the current situation, which really, to me feels like an injustice because all we're asking these people to do is the right thing. That's all that she ever asked for was just to do the right thing.

So, yes, I'm a little emotional about it. I've been emotional about it. But it's for all the right reasons and because we're asking for one simple thing, which is accountability. I think they just -- the survivors deserve that, my sister deserves that and she'd be screaming that from a mountaintop right now.

COOPER: What more do you want people to know about your sister -- Amanda, about your sister-in-law?

A. ROBERTS: Wow, I think everyone sees her as like this, strong, fierce lion And she was that. And she was formidable. And she fought every day of her life to survive everything that she had gone through and that she was still going through.

But, man, she was joy. She was someone that could come into the room and just light it up and instantly give you strength and power and love and her capacity for love was just outstanding after everything that she had gone through in her life. COOPER: Jeffrey Epstein didn't take that away from her.

[20:15:31]

A. ROBERTS: No.

S. ROBERTS: No, she was still ready to fight this fight. She was proud of what she did with her survivor sisters. She, you know, she was -- she was ready to keep the battle going if she needed to. She still has battle going -- battles going on. You know, as Amanda mentioned in the southern district courts to release her own files. And I think at the end of the day, you know what my sister wanted and what I believe a lot of, you know, survivors would perceive as justice here would be that, you know, were looking for accountability, like its far removed, Anderson, to say that these people acted alone, right.

Epstein and Maxwell did not act alone, whether it was rich and powerful men, whether it was banks or lawyers or doctors, it doesn't matter, right? Like these people deserve to be held accountable.

And, you know, it's a known fact now. And it's publicly known that JPMorgan Chase did a multi-million dollar settlement with survivors because of, you know, potential red flags that they might have missed.

And so, I think that's what we're asking for, is that anybody that's involved in this to be fully held accountable, that the survivors get the foremost respect. And, you know, to redact their names if that's something that they would like to be given to them, but to also not give the additional respect to the people that are involved, that are in, you know, people that basically were implicated in this. And those people should be should be known and we should be investigating this to the full extent possible.

COOPER: Sky and Amanda Roberts, I really appreciate you talking with me tonight. Thank you so much.

A. ROBERTS: Thank you.

S. ROBERTS: Thank you, Anderson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COOPER: Coming up next for us tonight, Vice President Vance and others get an earful on the federal takeover of D.C. law enforcement and whether claims like these stand up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JD VANCE (R) VICE-PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Let's free Washington, D.C. from one of the highest murder rates in the entire world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: And later, demands for action and deeply moving testimony from parents who sent their little girls to Camp Mystic in Texas and lost them to the floodwaters when the Guadalupe River swept over its banks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:22:20]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Booing)

VANCE: This is the guy who makes people don't deserve law and order in their own community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Vice President Vance, Defense Secretary Hegseth and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller today at Washington's Union Station, they came to visit members of the National Guard. They heard from some of the people the troops are supposed to be protecting, whether they're there or elsewhere in the district. We've seen a number of incidents of people who are not happy for the help. They're questioning why the guard and other federal agents are setting up checkpoints, which legal analysts on our program have questioned the lawfulness of.

Speaking at a Shake Shack on the station's second floor, here's what the Vice-President had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANCE: We hear these people outside screaming free D.C., lets free D.C. from lawlessness. Let's free Washington, D.C. from one of the highest murder rates in the entire world. Let's free Washington, D.C., so that young families can walk around and feel safe and secure. That's what we're trying to free D.C. from.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: The Vice-President said the station had been taken over in recent years by drug addicts and vagrants in the chronic homeless, all of which is certainly disturbing for many reasons. None of it, though, is criminal.

D.C.'s vagrancy laws, like many around the country, were repealed in the wake of a 1972 Supreme Court ruling. As to the claim, the district has, "one of the highest murder rates in the entire world". It doesn't even have one of the highest in the entire country. But crime certainly is a problem for people in D.C. and many major cities.

The Vice-President also correctly stated that violent crime is down 35 percent in the last nine days. Both the Vice-President and Stephen Miller today also made claims about the protesters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN MILLER, DEPUTY CHIEF-OF-STAFF FOR POLICY AND HOMELAND SECURITY ADVISER: All these demonstrators that you've seen out here in recent days, all of these elderly White hippies, they're not part of this city and never have been. We're going to ignore these stupid White hippies that all need to go home and take a nap because they're all over 90 years old, and we're going to get back to the business of protecting the American people and the citizens of Washington, D.C.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Miller also had this to say about the protesters, but also the possibility of the federal presence in D.C. would be growing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MILLER: For too long, 99 percent of this city has been terrorized by one percent of the city and the voices that you hear out there, those crazy communists, they have no roots, they have no connections to the city. They have no families. They are raised in this city. They have no one that they are sending to school in this city. They have no jobs in this city. They have no connections to this community at all.

But they're the ones who've been advocating for the once percent. The criminals, the killers, the rapists, the drug dealers. And I'm glad they're here today because me, Pete, and the Vice President are all going to leave here and inspired by them, were going to add thousands more resources to this city to get the criminals and the gang members out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:25:14]

COOPER: Now, as much as Washingtonians might like to see the criminals gone, they're already overwhelmingly negative about federal forces and Guard troops on their streets. That violent crime statistic we mentioned, notwithstanding new polling from "The Washington Post" shows, just 18 percent feel safer now because of it, 61 percent say they feel less safe, 20 percent say it's made no difference.

But the policy itself an overwhelming 79 percent, oppose what the President has done, only 17 percent support it. What the President is saying lately may not be helping the cause.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We went from the most unsafe place anywhere to a place that now people friends are calling me up, Democrats are calling me up and they're saying, sir, I want to thank you. My wife and I went out to dinner last night for the first time in four years, and Washington, D.C. is safe and you did that in four days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Well, the President added that restaurants in D.C. are "busier than ever." "The Washington Post" headline says otherwise. It reads, the city is dead. D.C. Restaurant reservations drop amid federal crackdown. Local restaurant owners hope for a restaurant week boost, but the heavy law enforcement presence in the city is keeping some diners away.

Joining us now is CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe and CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten.

So what more can you tell us about what residents feel?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes, I would say that residents absolutely hate this new policy. You mentioned it. You know, were talking about four and five who disapprove of federalizing the D.C. Police force. And more than that, Donald Trump is just historically unpopular in Washington, D.C., right? His disapproval rating is north of 80 percent and none of this to me is a big surprise, given what we saw in the 2024 election, right?

If you look at all the counties 3,000-plus nationwide or county equivalents, Donald Trump did worse in Washington, D.C. than any other county, getting just six percent of the vote. So, I don't know who those folks who actually showed up to protest Vance today, but I can tell you that they are emblematic of the city at large. They do not like this policy, and they do not like this President.

COOPER: Andrew, are you concerned about the tension between Washington and the White House, especially with the majority of the city's residents seeming to oppose the Presidents crackdown if the polls are right?

ANDREW MCCABE, ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I think it's an unhealthy situation for the city. Certainly to have -- to feel like they have been kind of bigfooted by the federal government to have federal resources brought in that they didn't ask for, and to have their city misrepresented as some crime ridden hellhole. Certainly not that, the way that the Vice-President discussed D.C. today and the remarks that the President made about D.C. and his big press conference a week or so ago announcing this policy, are just absolutely inconsistent with the numbers, with the statistics, the crime statistics.

D.C. in fact, is a fairly safe city compared to other American cities of similar sizes. It's safer this year than it was last year. It was safer last year than it was in 2022. It's much safer than it was in the 90s or the early 2000. So, if we look at the data, we've exposed the fact that the administration is grossly overstating the crime problem in D.C. I would suspect, probably to justify this policy, which clearly is not wanted by the residents of the city.

COOPER: Well, the other thing now they're doing, Harry, is and the Vice-President said this today, the crime statistics across the country are underreported. The police union official or an official for the union for the police in Washington had made the claim also without really presenting a lot of evidence, but made the claim that that the stats are basically rigged in D.C.

ENTEN: Yes, I don't think that the stats are necessarily rigged, but I think it's absolutely the case that crime, violent crime specifically is underreported nationwide. We know that from survey data. We know that the majority of violent crimes, in fact, nationwide, actually go unreported. And more than that, we know it's a problem in urban areas as well. But Washington, D.C. is no special case in this. This is something that is true nationwide. People don't report crimes for any number of reasons. Maybe they're -- they don't think the police will actually solve it. Maybe they fear some sort of retribution. But the bottom line is the Vice President is correct on that.

COOPER: And Andrew, what do you make of the optics of all this in general? The Vice President, Defense Secretary, top White House aide visiting National Guard troops at a burger joint in Union Station?

MCCABE: I think it's pretty awful. I think it looks terrible. I think the comments that they made today are really regretful to be, you know, nobody likes to be booed when they go out for a burger. The Vice-President or anybody else, I'm sure. But nevertheless, you know, that's the role they're in. They're the politicians. They're supposed to have the thick skin to respond to aggressive comments, I think was really regretful. Not a great look for them.

I think at the end of the day, in terms of this underreporting issue, I think Harry's right. You know, we know that the statistics, you know, not all crime gets reported period, everywhere, not just in D.C., but all around the country.

The crime statistics don't purport to tell you the exact number of crimes that happen. They are simply the best, reading of crime that we can assemble from the data that we have. You can take any city and subject them to, you know, academics have different ways of thinking about this. Maybe you assume, based on those surveys, Harry referred to, that 20 percent of crime is not reported or 15 percent. So, you have to know that there's that variance there, but there's absolutely no reason to believe that the statistics are in D.C., are deliberately underreported by the city or engaged in some sort of fraud. That's just not a thing.

The National Incident Reporting System, NIBRS, which is instituted by the FBI in 2022, is much more detailed and complete in its reflection of the true crime problems around the country. It's there for anyone to look at who wants to see it on the internet and I would -- if people are really interested in this, that's what they should be looking at and not necessarily listening to the politicians.

COOPER: Andrew McCabe, Harry Enten, thanks so much.

Still ahead, incredible new images of Mars released by NASA offering some extraordinary perspective and the raising new questions about the faraway planet. We will talk about that.

But before that, parents of little girls killed in flashfloods at a summer camp in Texas want answers from lawmakers on why safeguards were not in place and they want change to happen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CECE WILLIAMS STEWARD, CILE STEWARD'S MOTHER, AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD CAMPER WHO HAS YET TO BE FOUND.: Obvious common sense safety measures were absent. Protocols that should have been in place were ignored. As a result, my daughter was stolen from us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:36:07]

COOPER: Very moving testimony today from the parents of some of the little girls killed at Camp Mystic during the catastrophic flash flooding in Central Texas back on July 4th when the Guadalupe River crashed over its banks. The girls were attending summer camp at Mystic, which sits in a flood prone area. At least 27 children and counselors were killed when floodwaters ravaged the camp. Several of the girls' parents went before a Texas State Senate Committee today calling for accountability, urging state lawmakers to pass a law that would require a number of safety protocols to be put in place. They don't want this to ever happen again.

And I want to show you some of the girls whose parents spoke today. This is eight-year-old Cile Steward in the pink shirt in this photo. She died in the flood. So did Mary Grace Baker. She was eight. So did Hadley Hannah. She was also eight-years-old. And 8-year-old Linnie McCown, her father spoke today as well. I want you to hear some of what their parents had to say, starting with Cile Steward's mom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWARD: Obvious common sense safety measures were absent. Protocols that should have been in place were ignored. As a result, my daughter was stolen from us. Cile's life ended not because of an unavoidable act of nature, but because of preventable failures.

CLARK BAKER, FATHER OF MARY GRACE BAKER: My daughter should still be here. Her death was 100 percent preventable. Complacency, among other things, led to the deaths of 27 amazing, innocent, beautiful girls. We can't let complacency claim the life of another child. We simply ask for mandatory common sense state-regulated safety protocols for camps.

CARRIE HANNA, MOTHER OF HADLEY HANNA: I promised her she would be safe and OK. I told her camp was the safest place she could be and she would make new friends and learn new things. I lied to her. She not only wasn't safe, she died.

MICHAEL MCCOWN, FATHER OF LINNIE MCCOWN: We did not send any send Linnie to a war zone. We sent her to camp. We trusted she would be safe. No parent should ever again face what we are living through now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Cile Steward still has not been found. She's one of two people still missing in Kerr County according to local reports. The families of these little girls have set up a joint foundation to accept donations at saafdn.org. I'm putting it on the screen here. Now that money, any money that is donated doesn't go to them. They say it goes to causes close to each child's heart. For one family I talked with, whose daughter died, that money will go to animal rescue, homelessness, learning difficulties like dyslexia.

CNN's Arlette Saenz joins us now from Austin. Arlette, what is it these families are calling for? What specifically are they hoping? What safety regulations can be put in place?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, these families are arguing that if there were common sense measures in place, that this whole situation could have been avoided. So what they are doing is trying to drum up support for a camp safety bill that is currently winding its way through the Texas House and Senate. They want to see more improved warning systems for potential of flooding or other weather disasters. There's also an element of that bill that would require there to be emergency ladders on the rooftops of any cabins that are located in the floodplains. They also want to have better evacuation plans for flash flooding.

There's some discussion about potentially moving cabins that are currently in the floodplains. These parents have said that so many children had been at risk during this flood. They don't want to see that happen again.

[20:40:00]

Now, this camp safety bill was actually a new addition to the Texas special session that is underway. That was not included in the first special session, but when lawmakers were called back on Friday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott added that to the agenda. These families have been up here in this public hearing, but also in very private meetings. They've met with the Texas governor; they've met with the Texas House speaker, sharing their own accounts, asking for greater action. In addition to the camp safety, there is also -- there are also a host of flood relief measures that they're hoping to push through. But clearly these families don't want to see this disaster happen again. And they are demanding that state lawmakers make some changes to ensure that doesn't happen.

COOPER: I mean, it is stunning the lack of safety measures that were in place at this camp, which had built in this flood zone.

SAENZ: Yeah, there really were. And you heard these families detail a lot of their concerns, but also the personal stories about their children who they had lost, kind of recounting what they might have experienced in these moments. Their testimony really moved these lawmakers, many to tears. There were some you could see, puffy faces, after these listening to this testimony from the family, one of those state Senators said that they will never be able to unhear the things that they heard today. And that they want to ensure that there will be changes going forward.

COOPER: All right, Arlette Saenz, appreciate it. Thank you.

Up next, some of the extraordinary new images from Mars, how this stunning enhanced color panorama of the red planet came to be showing it with a clear blue sky.

Later, Israel prepares to send tens of thousands more troops into Gaza. The question is, will some of them say no?

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[20:46:27]

COOPER: NASA has released new photos of Mars that showed the red planet with what looks like a clear blue sky. The image you're looking at is actually a mosaic of 96 images that were taken by the Perseverance rover on Mars. The photos were then enhanced by NASA to increase their clarity, giving them an almost earth-like blue hue. As you can see in a natural color version, Mars maintains its reddish tint. Joining me to talk about the remarkable images is former NASA Astronaut and Columbia University Professor, Mike Massimino.

So Mike, when I saw these images from Mars, I mean, I was blown away. Have you seen Mars quite like this?

MIKE MASSIMINO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: It's a pretty cool image there, the way they've done that mosaic to get everything together. And it's -- I thought it was interesting to see that whole landscape, to see the mountains in the background. The way they showed it in different colors, different filters. It tells a story. You can see the abrasion that the rover made in one section. You see a rock kind of sitting there in another -- in another section of that mosaic. So it kind of tells a story of if you were on Mars and could look around, that's the kind of landscape you would see.

COOPER: Some of the details that caught NASA's attention are the white circle, which is an abrasion patch made by the rover's drill that allows scientists to see what's below the surface. And also, the buoyant boulder, which according to NASA more than likely formed somewhere else and was transported there. What did you make of those details?

MASSIMINO: I think it's pretty cool. The abrasion shows the work that the rover has done, taking samples, digging in a little bit, scarring a little bit of the surface, but doing it for scientific reasons. That rock that you mentioned, I was looking at this image today. I'm at the Johnson Space Center today, and one of my crew mates Drew Feustel, we flew in space together as a geologist, and we were looking at what -- what do we think this is? We read the little report on it and it could be that that rock was transplanted there.

Rock -- you know, there's less gravity on Mars. So even though it might be a fairly large rock, it doesn't take as much gravity to -- it's going to be easy to move because it's going to -- it's going to weigh less, but still, who knows? Was it -- was it water that took it there? That'd be pretty cool. Was it wind that blew it there? That's kind of interesting. Another thing might be, it's kind -- it's surrounded by sand, so that -- maybe that rock was there and the sand filled in around it somehow. We don't -- don't really know. I mean, it's a very interesting photo. There's different theories of how it got there. It'd be nice to send a person there to do a little more exploring to maybe answer those questions.

COOPER: The rover, has it already taken samples and if so, is there a chance those samples will be brought back to Earth? I know there was a -- had been a plan, I wasn't sure what the latest on, is there actually a mission yet to bring those samples back? Or is that still kind of in limbo?

MASSIMINO: That's a -- that's kind of in limbo, unfortunately. But that's an interesting question because the plan was, one of the capabilities you mentioned of the rover is to take these samples and then kind of package them and then allow for another spacecraft to go to Mars, pick up those samples and then bring them back to Earth. So those samples can be brought back. But I think it's a -- really it's a funding issue and hopefully, we'll be able to --

COOPER: Yeah.

MASSIMINO: -- in the future, send a spacecraft to go get them.

COOPER: And those samples would maybe give some hint on any kind of life forms or anything that, or exactly what rover actually found in the soil, in the rocks on Mars. How long do you think it'd be until a human might actually step foot on the red planet?

MASSIMINO: I think it's a while until we get people there. I think -- when I think of Mars, I don't know if it's a place where we're going to go and live like, hey, this is a better option for us.

[20:50:00]

Because even though we look at those images, it looks -- it looks really cool to explore. That is really an inhospitable place. And some of the things that the rover might find underneath the surface with those samples, for example, is the existence of liquid water. There may be some fossilized microbial from billions of years ago, life form like a little microbe. They might find those interesting things.

But to send people there is going to -- not going to be easy. It's a long distance away. You're going to have to be really independent. But I do think that's going to happen. I look at it as a place, not necessarily to say, well, this is going to be a better option than Earth, but I think it certainly would be a great place to explore. That rover has been here 13 years, it's covered about 22 miles. In 13 years, can you imagine how, if we had people there -- if you had people there, 22 miles, we'd probably cover that in a couple weeks and learn a lot more by having people there.

(CROSSTALK)

COOPER: You think sending people back to the moon is critical. You think sending people to the moon is critical to the success of ultimate human exploration on Mars?

MASSIMINO: Absolutely. I think it is. There's a crew here getting ready at the Johnson Space Center to orbit the moon hopefully, in the next -- in the next year or so. I think that what we would learn on the moon is dealing with rocks and dirt and exploring with a little bit of gravity, if there's maybe an energy source we can use there, looking for water. Things that we would want to do on Mars, I think we can work all that out in a closer location on the moon. And I think in -- I think, Anderson, doing that might get us to Mars more quickly than if we tried to make a direct route there right now. So I think the moon is a great stepping stone for what we -- what we want to do on Mars.

COOPER: Yeah. Mike Massimino, it's such a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you so much.

MASSIMINO: You bet.

COOPER: Coming up next, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speeding up his timeline for his new offensive in Gaza. But some of the reservists he's calling up to serve say they will not show up.

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[20:56:35]

COOPER: The Israeli military said today it is set to call up 60,000 more reservists ahead of the planned takeover and occupation of Gaza City. One official tells CNN the first sets of letters will likely go out in the coming days. With the additional manpower, the IDF will have a total of 120,000 reservists on active duty. That said, even Israel's military chief acknowledges that after more than two years of war and with no apparent end in sight, fatigue is setting in among the forces, and some reservists are resisting. More tonight from CNN's Oren Liebermann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): The drums of war are pounding Gaza City. A new Israeli military operation has been targeting the largest city in the Northern Strip, one that will require a surge of reserve soldiers to go back to fight again. Avshalom Zohar Sal is a reservist who documented his time in Gaza in these photographs. He says he spent more than 300 days in Gaza on four different deployments. The last one ended one month ago.

AVSHALOM ZOHAR SAL, ISRAELI RESERVIST (through translator): I'm a little in shock that we're still in this thing, he says. I'm a little in shock that we're still talking about this war that was supposed to end a long time ago. And I think if you were to ask everyone in my unit, it's hard for everyone. The doubts he says began creeping in one year ago, and they've only grown. This month, Israel's Security Cabinet approved the occupation of Gaza City, a major escalation that could take five months or more. Zohar Sal says he's not going back.

I think this decision is a death sentence for the hostages, he says. The government talked and said all the time that we're talking about two missions for this war, to return the hostages and to defeat Hamas. Now, it's telling us there's only one goal which I believe is not achievable, to destroy Hamas, and even this won't destroy Hamas.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Amidst some of the largest protests Israel has seen since the beginning of a war, families of the hostages are calling the planned operation a deception, an unforgivable moral and security neglect. A recent study of reserve soldiers suggested approximately 40 percent were slightly or significantly less motivated to serve. The military's top general warned the security cabinet of the burden on manpower, an exhausted army in a war that won't end. Israel's military relies on reservists to keep fighting and the military said Wednesday that the takeover of Gaza City will require up to 60,000 more troops.

Dan Halutz is the former Israeli military chief of staff.

DAN HALUTZ, FORMER ISRAELI MILITARY CHIEF OF STAFF: I believe that some of them will stay home. When something is coming to an end, you feel it. And it comes to an end.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised the intense fighting would be over by now.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Once we begin the Rafah operation, the intense phase of the fighting is weeks away from completion, not months, weeks away from completion.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): That was February 2024. 18 months later, Netanyahu says a new operation is the fastest way to end what has long since become Israel's longest war.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LIEBERMANN (on camera): The military says the new operation to take over and occupy Gaza City will require 120,000 reserve troops in total. 20,000 of whom they say will have their time in the reserves extended as part of this operation. And that's in addition to the active duty troops required for this new fight. And there you see the burden on the military after two years of war.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Jerusalem.

COOPER: A report from Jerusalem. Tonight, we will continue to follow developments with the hurricane or tropical storm Erin. That's all for us. --