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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Trump Signs His Mega Bill Into Law During July 4th Ceremony; At Least 20 Children Missing From Texas Summer Camp After Flashfloods; New Book Examines Our Food's Impact On The Environment; Veteran Asks For Cards To Mark His 100th Birthday. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 04, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jim Sciutto in today for Jake Tapper.

[18:00:01]

A very happy July 4th to you.

President Trump just signed his mega bill at the White House, a big legislative win for Trump and Republicans, as lawmakers tucked a long list of measures into a massive tax and spending package. Now, what does this mean for the rest of the country and how will Democrats respond? I'll ask one lawmaker about the battle to sway voters, particularly before the midterms in next November, next.

Plus, evacuations underway in Central Texas where a month's worth of rain fell in just a couple of hours triggering deadly flash flooding, like you see there. The Texas governor says the state is using every resource now to save lives.

While America celebrates its birthday with fireworks, this World War II vet has just one request for his. We'll tell you what it is, ahead.

The Lead Tonight, President Trump signing his so-called one big, beautiful bill into law, his first major legislative achievement of the second term.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is at the White House. Kristen, I wonder what the president is saying about how this bill will impact the country, especially given on a poll show and even some Republicans said, voters are concerned about the cost of this.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, that's right. And remember one of the things that we've been hearing from Republicans is that they are losing the messaging war when it comes to this bill. So, we do expect to see a ramp up of Republicans going out and outside groups pouring money into actually trying to highlight the positives that they believe are in this bill.

And one of the things that President Trump said when he was talking just moments ago was he said that he believed this was the greatest victory yet of his second term. But when I talked to other administration officials, White House officials, they believe that this might be the greatest victory that they have had across both terms that President Trump has been in office.

This was so key to this White House, to this administration, to President Trump. They believe it's not only just the cornerstone of his time in office the second term, but also part of his legacy, that this is going to cement his legacy. And there are things in that bill that they say he promised voters on the campaign trail. That includes things like giving more money to ramp up deportations as well as no tax on tips, as well as no tax on overtime.

As you noted, there are still a lot of concerns with President Trump out here today clearly hearing what people are saying, at one point saying, don't believe anything you hear about this bill. It's a great bill. He also said this bill was the most popular bill ever to be signed.

Now, of course, we know because we've seen the polling that voters do not believe that this is the most popular bill, that they are not supportive in huge numbers of this bill. But there is a belief among Republicans that they can actually try and shift the narrative, at least a little bit, to point out some of the things that they believe will be positive.

And one of the most interesting things I heard him say was this idea that perhaps he was able to get it through Congress because it was such a large bill, meaning that there were lawmakers who wanted parts of the bill, but not others. But in order to get what they wanted, they had to vote it through. It's an interesting concept when you think about the fact that, generally, these kind of bills are split up for that very specific reason because it's harder to get them through in these big chunks, they want to focus on things one at a time. But President Trump clearly believes that was to his benefit, that this was such a huge sweeping agenda bill.

SCIUTTO: A big moment before the signing, of course, was the flyover a B-2 that was not accidental. The B-2s, of course, were central to those U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. The president enjoys military displays. We saw that with his military parade last month.

Does it get concerned at all that voters will be concerned about the cost of this, that B-2? It had to fly from Whiteman in Missouri.

HOLMES: And he said that as well. Look they obviously don't have that concern right now. I mean, President Trump, as you said, loves a military display of force and they were going to do this regardless of whether or not the bill ended up on his desk today.

Just to be clear, they had already invited the pilots of those B-2s to come here. And they had already planned for a fly over as kind of a tribute to what we saw those strikes in Iran by the United States. He believes that this is quintessential America. Obviously, there are likely voters who are going to be concerned about the cost of this, but it's not something that President Trump or his team are concerned about, as far as I can tell.

SCIUTTO: No evidence, at least. Kristen Holmes at the White House, thanks so much. No visible evidence. Well, meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is already making it clear, Democrats will attempt to make Trump's agenda the centerpiece of their drive to try to flip the House next November. Democrats plan to hammer how the bill will slash federal dollars, in particular for Medicaid, potentially jeopardizing health coverage for some 11.8 million Americans, as well as cuts to the nutritional aid program, SNAP, often known as food stamps.

[18:05:10]

I want to bring in now Democratic Congressman Adriano Espaillat of New York. Congressman, a very happy July 4th to you, and thanks so much for joining.

REP. ADRIANO ESPAILLAT (D-NY): Happy July 4th to you and to all America.

SCIUTTO: Your district includes Upper Manhattan, parts of the Bronx. There's been a lot of talk about the impact on rural hospitals of cuts to Medicaid, but fact is city hospitals use Medicaid funds to serve and I imagine many of your constituents. How many New Yorkers do you believe will lose access of care because of this?

ESPAILLAT: Well, just to give you an example, I have 488,000 Medicaid recipients in my district. I have New York Presbyterian Hospital, Mount Sinai Harlem Hospital, and, of course, Montefiore Hospital. Some of these are safety net hospitals, like Montefiore, that will lose tremendous amount of funding for Medicaid.

Now, you may think if you have a private insurance that that will not hurt you. But, in fact, the services all around the hospital will be crushed. If you cut funding for Medicaid, the other services that are provided to people that have private insurance will be adversely impacted. And you'll have a significant number of Republicans, 60 House Republicans that have a significant number of Medicaid enrollment in their district.

For example, Valadao in California has 495,000 people. The speaker himself has 264,000 people enroll in Medicaid, and he will lose 43,000 of them. Hal Rogers from Kentucky, 392,000, and you go on and on. This is not a beautiful bill. This is a gut punch on July the 4th to the American people.

SCIUTTO: I've spoken to doctors at one of the hospitals you mentioned in Upper Manhattan, who said they've already begun cutting staff as a result of Medicaid cuts. Your Republican colleague out of New York, Congressman Mike Lawler, he spoke with my colleague, Dana Bash, earlier in the day. He contested the argument that this will lead to cuts in Medicaid benefits.

I want to play his answer and get your response. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Now, understand, with all of these changes, Medicaid spending is still going up 24 percent over the next decade, 24 percent. So, when Democrats say they're gutting Medicaid, no we're not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: What's your response to that, which is a talking point I've heard from Republicans a number of times last several days?

ESPAILLAT: Well, they will try to justify it in which, whichever way they can. But the fact of the matter is that for Lawler, who has two campuses for New York Presbyterian in his Westchester County, you know, that will be directly impacted. When New York Presbyterian gets hurt with Medicaid, it's not just exclusively the Washington Heights campus that gets hurt. It is the entire hospital, including two of its campuses on Westchester County.

And, yes, in addition to healthcare, those hospitals are part of our local economies and they will see major, major shifts in employment that will hurt our local economy. If people are laid off because there's no Medicaid funds, then obviously our local economies will also be hurt.

So, this is a devastating blow, that and food stamps. What a 4th of July gift from the Trump administration. Unbelievable, you can't make this up.

SCIUTTO: Are you confident in current Democratic leadership in making this and other arguments in advance of next fall midterm elections? Do you believe that Democrats have the leaders they need to win back the House?

ESPAILLAT: Well, Hakeem Jeffries took that up for over eight hours just this week to show the American people in detail what an impact is going to have across the country and the members, the Republican members that are betraying their constituency.

This is not a beautiful bill. This is a betrayal of the American people. When you talk about healthcare, you are talking about life and death. If I don't have the services that I need, and I'm a diabetic, if I don't have the services that I need and I have cardiovascular problems, or I have a kidney tumor and I don't have the Medicaid funding that I need to survive, ultimately, I could die.

And so this is the ultimate betrayal on July the 4th by the Trump administration. And, yes, our leadership is going to make the case district by district, all the Republican, all 60 of them that has significant numbers of Medicaid patients in their district.

[18:10:00]

SCIUTTO: Before we go, this bill also includes an enormous boost in funding for ICE, for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. If you begin to see frequently in New York ICE agents arresting people, detaining people in the streets in New York, what's going to happen? How will local authorities respond?

ESPAILLAT: I wish I could tell you that. ICE is only engaged in deporting, arresting, convicting, and deporting violent criminals, but that is not the case. Green card holders are being detained and are deported, people that have work permits that are an intricate part of our economy are being held, detained, and deported.

And even U.S. people and children are being deported. I met with four of them in Monterey, Mexico. Who were deported with their parents. And other children, U.S.-born children, and other U.S. citizens are being detained by masked ICE agents that are unwilling to give their first name and their last name. They want to enforce the law anonymously.

SCIUTTO: Congressman Adriano Espaillat of New York, we do appreciate you joining on this holiday.

ESPAILLAT: Thank you. Happy 4th of July.

SCIUTTO: To you as well.

Well, coming up just catastrophic flooding in Central Texas, where the governor has now called out the National Guard to help. Major evacuations, water rescues underway as well. We're going to bring you the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:15:00]

SCIUTTO: Torrential rains turn deadly across Central Texas as evacuations and water rescues are still underway. According to the lieutenant governor, there are currently more than 20 children unaccounted for from Camp Mystic, which is located right along the river, the Guadalupe River. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK (R-TX): I want all of you to know we will do everything humanly possible, 24/7, looking at every tree, turning over every rock, whatever it takes, if your child is one of those truly missing and not just out of touch to find your daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Those parents must be in agony. Well, law enforcement has reported at least 13 fatalities across Kerr County.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is on his way to the scene in Kerrville there. Ed, as you get closer, I wonder what you're seeing.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are making our way from Kerrville to a little town of Ingram, which is just upstream along the Guadalupe River here. And this is where we're starting to see a great deal of activity.

In fact there's -- one of the local schools is being used as a reunification center with families gathering. We've seen staging ground with state helicopters and boats that are launching into the river as well. So, a great deal of activity that you can really get a sense of just how active the situation continues to be. As you mentioned, at least 13 confirmed dead so far, more than 20 kids from Camp Mystic that are still missing. So, you know, you can imagine the horror that people are dealing with here today in the Texas Hill Country.

SCIUTTO: No question. Have there been any more update on those missing little girls from Camp Mystic?

LAVANDERA: No, we don't have any more confirmation on, you know, who they might be or if any of those have been found and what condition and they might be in. So, we can continue to wait on information on that front right now, Jim.

SCIUTTO: And tell us what response you're seeing around there as well in terms of -- the lieutenant governor described helicopters, drones. I mean, they're really throwing everything at this they can, even looking for people that they rescued in trees?

LAVANDERA: Yes. You know, it's a very widespread area from Kerrville down to Ingram and another town, Hunt, where there was Camp La Junta, which is the all-boys summer camp. And then down river from that is Camp Mystic. And many of the roads are closed. I was just looking at our map to try to gauge how long it would take us to get there, a drive that appears it would normally take us about 20, maybe 25 minutes is showing that it will take us an hour and a half.

So, clearly, the conditions along the river are still, you know, very limited and because of places we've seen just how high the river has gotten here in the last 12 hours.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, listen, gosh, our thoughts are with those parents waiting for news of their daughters missing from that camp.

Our Ed Lavandera and his team, thanks so much to them. Please stay safe as well.

Also in our National Lead today, you are looking at new video from the citizen app taken when four homes were engulfed in flames simultaneously as fireworks, and you can see them there were going off in Los Angeles last night. More than 130 firefighters raced to the scene to put out the flames. One person was killed, at least two people injured.

CNN's Veronica Miracle is live in Los Angeles. Veronica, what are authorities saying about the cause of this and do they have everything under control now?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, they're still investigating how this explosion happened. But they said when they arrived on scene, fireworks were raining down on homes. Witnesses described an explosion of fire and then fireworks going in all directions.

So, the firefighter itself was incredibly difficult last night. Now that the fire is out, they have discovered, as you said, one person who died. One woman was taken to the hospital with critical injuries, multiple people had smoke inhalation, and multiple animals were also injured in this fire, according to the LAFD.

[18:20:04]

And city officials are stressing the dangers of fireworks, rather, both illegal and not illegal, asking people to go to shows, let the professionals do their work. And, Jim, this was the second deadly house explosion house fire with fireworks involved in the last 24 hours in this area. There was another one where about 30 miles away, a man was killed and a house was set on fire after a fireworks explosion. Back to you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Veronica Miracle there in Los Angeles, thanks so much. And we will be right back after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:25:00]

SCIUTTO: Of course, the holiday weekend means lots of Americans are grilling hamburgers and hotdogs, myself included, to celebrate with friends and family. But before you fire up the grill, our next guest hopes that you will substitute some of those beef patties and hotdogs with chicken, fish, or even plant-based meats.

Jake Tapper speaks to a journalist who says the food on your barbecue plate has a huge impact on the climate.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: A provocative question posed by the book title of my next guest, which is We are Eating the Earth, the Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate.

Joining us now is the author, Michael Grunwald. He's an award-winning journalist, and author's been covering climate for the last two decades. Michael, congratulations on the book. It's full of stunning, eye-popping information and some nuanced arguments that aren't thrilling. Everybody, even on your side of this environmentalism versus let's destroy the Earth debate.

Let's start with your outlook on the future. The United Nations projects that the world's population will reach nearly 10 billion by 2050. Now, in the book you laid out what that could mean writing, quote, if current trends hold the world's farmers will need to clear at least a dozen more California's worth of land to fill nearly 10 billion human bellies by 2050. Is that even possible?

MIKE GRUNWALD, JOURNALIST: Well, current trends better not hold, right, because we don't really have 12 Californians to spare. But right now, you know, like it says on the cover, we are eating the Earth, and, really, it's agriculture that's eating the Earth. Two of every five acres of this planet are now cropped or grazed, and we are losing a soccer field worth of tropical forest every six seconds. So, yes, something's got to change, Jake.

TAPPER: So, lots of July 4th barbecues. There are probably a lot of meat eaters watching right now. Now, you detail the negative impacts of cattle farming in the book but you stop short of calling for an all-vegan or all-vegetarian diet. Instead, you suggest cutting back on meat, quote, the average American ate three burgers a week and replacing one of them with an Impossible Burger could save a Massachusetts-sized landmass every year, unquote. Impossible Burgers, for people who don't know, are quite delicious non-meat hamburgers. What impact do you see these alternative proteins or plant-based meats having on the climate?

GRUNWALD: Well, if a lot of people were buying them, they could have quite a lot because they reduce land use by like 90 percent and emissions by 95 percent. So far, they don't seem to taste as good and they aren't as cheap as meat, which is a problem. Because like you suggested, beef is really the baddie. Even switching to chicken would make a big difference. Beef has -- uses about ten times more land and generates about ten times more emissions than chicken or pork.

So, I know I'm like a buzz kill for July 4th, but even if you could have, you know, a little bit less burger, a little less steak, and a little more chicken and pork dogs, that could make a difference.

TAPPER: But I'll say like, I've had an Impossible Burger and I'm very skeptical of any meat substitute that they throw at me and like it tasted absolutely delicious. Now, it's not necessarily healthier for you and it's not necessarily cheaper but it tasted the same.

GRUNWALD: That's interesting. I mean, so far, the taste test fine that for chicken nuggets, the plant-based versions actually win in blind taste tests. I mean, who even knows what's in those chicken nuggets anyway, right?

TAPPER: Right.

GRUNWALD: But for burgers, I mean, some of the thin ones where you can kind of slather it in sauce and not so much know the difference, they seem to do okay. And I think Impossible Burgers are pretty good.

TAPPER: Yes.

GRUNWALD: But certainly on steaks and in general, people have -- you know, consumers -- the dogs just haven't loved the food.

TAPPER: Yes.

GRUNWALD: But the good news is that this is -- it's biotech. This is technology. It's already as healthy as beef. And, presumably, it can keep getting healthier and it can keep getting tastier. And with -- you know, as they reach economies of scale, they can start getting cheaper as well.

TAPPER: And they're going to have to do it, based on what you write in your book.

Now, you have received some criticism from some environmentalists, not all, but some who don't like that you favor industrial agriculture over regenerative agriculture or organic farming, which you argue can actually be more harmful to the environment. Explain.

GRUNWALD: Yes. I mean, again, like since we are eating the Earth, I'm for high yield agriculture, agriculture that produces more food per acre, because then you need fewer acres to make food, right? And, unfortunately, in general, organic agriculture has a 20 to 40 percent yield drag, which needs -- you need 20 to 40 percent more land.

I went down to the Amazon and I saw cattle ranches where you had like, you know, one acre for ten cows, and then I saw one -- you know, a couple of ranches where they had a cow on every acre.

[18:30:09]

And so, again, that's ten times as efficient. People don't like it. It's feedlots. It's industrial agriculture. It's big ag, but it uses a lot less of the Amazon and therefore a lot less of the Earth.

TAPPER: The book is, We are Eating the Earth, the Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate. It's available now. Mike Grunwald, thank you so much. Happy 4th.

GRUNWALD: Thanks for having me on, Jake.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Coming up, The Lead continues its small business series. We're going to speak to one woman about how tariffs are making it difficult for her to run her third generation luggage business.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: It is time now for our Business Leaders series, where we hear from small business owners across America about President Trump's tariffs.

[18:35:02]

Some say they support them, but many say they are struggling.

The Luggage Shop in Lubbock, Texas, is a third generation family-owned business that launched in 1951 and remains dedicated to bringing West Texas the best in travel products.

Owner Tiffany Zarfas Williams joins me now. Tiffany, thanks so much for taking the time on this holiday.

TIFFANY ZARFAS WILLIAMS, OWNER, LUGGAGE SHOP OF LUBBOCK: Well, thank you so much for having me, and we appreciate you guys continuing to give small businesses voices, especially on this day when we celebrate our great nation.

SCIUTTO: No question. And you guys tend to see things early. Your business, as I understand it, it's been feeling the impact of terrorists since 2018. Can you tell us though why this round, this trade war is different? WILLIAMS: I think it is, you know, because we've weathered it -- we've been weathering it for so long that we already kind of, you know, know some things that are going to happen, but it continues to be such great uncertainty. And I feel like that's a word we use so much, but it really does make it very difficult to plan, you know, for the days ahead and to know how the customers are going to respond as prices may have to increase.

SCIUTTO: Have you already had to raise prices?

WILLIAMS: Well, you know, at this month, the month of July, three of our major brands have announced price increases. So, unfortunately, yes, and it's become a big part of, you know, my staff's daily chores. I mean, we are all about customers and we want that to be our main focus when we're here. But I do have to say, you know, price changes have become a big part of our daily jobs as well.

SCIUTTO: No, I get it. So far, headline economic figures, you know, you look to GDP growth, job figures, certainly the markets, have not shown a broad based economic slowdown. But from where you are sitting, do you see signs of reduced consumer confidence, consumer spending where you are?

WILLIAMS: Well, I mean, I will have to say, you know, travel has stayed strong. People, you know, post-pandemic has not really slowed down. So, we are in an industry that has been really positive and we've seen a lot of great business in the last year or two. And for that, we're incredibly grateful.

Again, it's just the uncertainty of what happens going forward when, you know, a suitcase you've sold day in, day out, you know, goes up in price. Again, how is our customer going to respond to that? Does that change what we carry in our store? How do we know what to do going forward as far as, you know, do we bring a lot of inventory in right now? Will there be supply chain issues in the fall? Those are things we don't know.

SCIUTTO: Yes. That uncertainty, it's something I hear from so many, I mean, from CEOs of major corporations to small business owners like yourself is they say they don't know what something's going to cost tomorrow or next month or six months from now, which must make it very hard for you to make plans for how to price stuff or just what the year's going to look like for you.

WILLIAMS: Correct. It makes, you know, the end of the year very challenging. I mean, I do feel for -- you know, we're an indirect importer, just that, you know, we buy from U.S. brands who do buy their, you know, products from overseas. So, you know, we're not -- I'm not having to deal with that on a daily basis as far as the unknowns of how much that product's going to cost coming in. But it still turns back to me in that I don't know what the price of, you know, what the cost of that good, you know, what were the retail prices going to be of the products in fall.

SCIUTTO: Well, Tiffany Zarfas Williams, we wish you and your business good luck this year and a happy July 4th. WILLIAMS: Thank you. We appreciate it so much.

SCIUTTO: Well, turning now to our World Lead, you are looking at the aftermath of a massive Russian aerial assault on Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, early Friday launched just after President Trump said he had made no progress and was very disappointed with his phone call with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin.

Today, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, also spoke with President Trump, said he was, quote, very well-informed of the current situation. One Ukrainian compared the horror of the Russian drone attack to swarms of bees.

Well, joining me now is someone who witnessed it, lived through that attack, Sergiy Koshman. Thanks so much, Sergiy, for joining.

And I understand you were telling me in the break that there's another assault underway right now?

SERGIY KOSHMAN, DEFENSE INNOVATION EXPERT: Yes, we're actually in the middle of another large scale assault. It's already like almost four hours in the making. Yesterday, it was around ten hours. So, we are like almost getting used to this nightmare of, you know, millions of people experience in those brutal attacks for many, many hours with missiles, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, hundreds of drones. So, it's happening as we speak.

[18:40:01]

SCIUTTO: You've been involved in the defense industry. From where you sit, is Ukraine running out of the air defense missiles it needs to shoot down those ballistic missiles and drones?

KOSHMAN: Yes, of course we've made a huge leap forward in terms of developing our capabilities and, you know, the story of Ukrainian drones and Ukrainian innovators. But, of course, there are capabilities that we are really lacking and especially anti-ballistic missiles. And this is where Patriot missiles are extremely valuable for us.

And we are grateful for the support from American people. And actually on the -- we, unfortunately, on this occasion of your Independence Day, and congratulations, this is what we are fighting for. And with your help, I'm sure our fight could be much more, you know, if I may say so, productive, but we need to save really many lives and defend our sovereignty and independence.

SCIUTTO: So, tell me your reaction then just in the last several days to President Trump delaying, stopping, in fact, the delivery of some of those heir defense missiles. They were already in Poland. They were right across the border ready to come in and help shoot down those Russian missiles. And now NBC News is reporting today that that happened despite the fact that a Pentagon review found U.S. supplies are okay, that the U.S. is not running out of such missiles. What's your reaction to that? KOSHMAN: Yes. Of course, we were absolutely perplexed by such sudden changes of, let's say, you know, attitude and the policy. And, of course, we assumed that there are important negotiations going on behind the closed doors. And we have to be patient. Of course, we're losing people, but we have to be patient and all the possible scenarios have to be explored.

And I really hope that once there is an understanding in the White House that the only way to stop this brutal, unprovoked aggression is to become strong and to defend, you know, our way of like living together. You know, we have to really then show some teeth and strength. Otherwise we will be just, you know, overwhelmed.

SCIUTTO: Do you believe the U.S. is showing that strength to Vladimir Putin? President Trump has spoken for weeks, for months of adding new penalties, new economic sanctions. It hasn't happened. And in the midst of that, he has imposed penalties on Ukraine. Does Vladimir Putin, in your view, view that as strength from the U.S.?

KOSHMAN: Of course, I think all those calls and, you know, approach of trying to appease him and find it can compromise is just a sign of weakness. And this is what Russian propaganda portrays that whatever we do, the west would have to talk to us because we're like invincible and we are doing the right thing, and this is our sphere of influence on this kind of cold war mentality.

And we'll bring back our territories, we'll kind of get back to the Eastern Europe and drive back NATO, kind of. And, of course, in this paradigm, it is really hard to find a quick, negotiated settlement because this whole drama was unfolding for years and they were getting ready to attack us. And this is, unfortunately, I don't see any way to stop it in a really comprehensive and immediate kind of negotiated settlement.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, Sergiy, given that you and the residents of Kyiv are going through yet one more Russian air attack, we appreciate you joining and we wish you safety tonight.

KOSHMAN: Thank you. Thank you for all American people for supporting us.

SCIUTTO: Coming up just after the break, a sneak peek at CNN's 4th in America Party. It's going to be something you don't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:40]

SCIUTTO: We are getting close to CNN's "Fourth in America" special with musical performances from some of the biggest stars and fireworks from coast to coast.

One of the cities will be going to is Nashville, where Dierks Bentley will perform and will celebrate the Grand Ole Opry, 100th anniversary.

Country music star Ashley McBryde, who is an Opry member, gave us a special performance to celebrate the Opry. Let's go to Nashville now, where Ashley McBryde is on stage.

ASHLEY MCBRYDE, COUNTY MUSIC STAR: Standing on this stage, y'all, it never, ever, ever gets old. One of our favorite things to do when we get to stand on the Grand Ole Opry stage, especially when we're closing out the night, is to make sure that we honor the music that shaped us.

So, tonight, we're going to do some Hank Sr., this is country music, y'all, where sad songs make us happy. The cheating songs keep us faithful. Here's "Your Cheatin' Heart".

(ASHLEY MCBRYDE PERFORMING AT THE GRAND OLE OPRY)

[18:53:22]

SCIUTTO: Quite a track there. Hank Williams' original. More from Nashville and other cities as they celebrate the Fourth. You don't want to miss CNN's "Fourth in America" celebration coming up right after THE LEAD.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

SCIUTTO: Birthday this World War II veteran only wants this one thing for his 100th. That's coming up right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:58:30]

SCIUTTO: Before we go, turning a century old is a monumental moment and one World War II veteran in California has just one birthday wish. Frank Wright hopes people around the world will mark his 100th birthday with cards. He's hoping for 100,000 of them to be exact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Frank, hey. So what were you telling me you want for your birthday?

FRANK WRIGHT, WORLD WAR II VETERAN: Well, I like to have -- I like to have 100,000 postcards or birthday cards. And if it gets up to a million, I've got a guy here that can post them all here. Oorah!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: A lot of postage.

Wright, who is a marine corporal, fought in the battle of Iwo Jima. And his bravery, there was recognized with two purple hearts. If you are interested in sending him a birthday note, we're going to post the information on our social media.

Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

Thanks so much for joining us. And a very happy Fourth of July to you. CNN's "Fourth in America" starts right now.