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Two Idaho Firefighters Killed in Deadly Ambush; Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) Says, Senate Bill Betrays Trump's Promise Not to Slash Medicaid; Alligator Alcatraz Draws Fire from Native Americans, Activists. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired June 30, 2025 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking this morning, a call for help turns into a deadly ambush in Idaho. Two firefighters are killed. The suspect found dead overnight. And the fire the sheriff says was intentionally set as bait is still burning. So many questions this morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A dramatic split overnight, a Republican senator breaks from the President on his huge tax and spending bill and seemingly breaks from the president politically, saying he won't run for reelection. Is the signature legislation in jeopardy as soon as today?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And it's full of alligators, pythons, and now protestors. The so-called Alligator Alcatraz Detention Center in Florida is sparking outrage as Governor Ron DeSantis says the first migrant detainees could arrive as soon as tomorrow.

I'm Sara Sidner with John Berman and Kate Bolduan. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: The breaking news, a suspected sniper found dead, and now a massive investigation is really just getting underway after what the sheriff has started as an emergency response to a brush fire turned into an ambush on first responders in Idaho. Two firefighters were killed. The sheriff says a third firefighter was also shot and is still fighting for his life.

Calls into emergency dispatch in the midst of it paint a terrifying scene of the moments they realized that they were under attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send law enforcement right now. There's an active shooter zone. They're shot. B.C.3 is down B.C.1 is down. Everybody's shot up here. Law enforcement, code three now up here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The ambush sparked a huge response from law enforcement. More than 300 officers from various agencies and neighboring counties were all called up to help. At one point, officers exchanged gunfire with the suspect, but it was more than six hours after that first fire call that his body was found.

This morning, fire crews are still working to contain the fire that he allegedly started still burning on Idaho's Canfield Mountain.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with the very latest. What are you learning?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kate. Well, the plan today from authorities is to go back to that location where the body of the shooter was found for further investigations. What are they looking for? They're looking for more weapons and more ammunition that gunman may or may not have had with him.

Now, they had to remove the body from the location relatively quickly they said last night in a press conference because of the threat of that fire. So, we have not learned any further details about who this gunman was or what were the weapons that he had with him. But we did hear from the sheriff of Kootenai County here in Coeur d'Alene talking about the very nature of this attack and what that was like for the firefighters that were responding on the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROBERT NORRIS, KOOTENAI COUNTY, IDAHO: This was a total ambush. These firefighters did not have a chance.

When you have an environment where you don't know where the bullets are coming from because of the trees and the shrubbery and what have you, it is daunting for police officers, let alone firefighters who are there just to put out the fire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Unimaginable, Kate, what these firefighters went through. And now this community is also left with so many questions as the investigation continues in the coming days.

Now, I do want to share with you one interesting detail is that authorities did use his cell phone, the shooter's cell phone to ping his location, and as you mentioned, they had exchanged fire with him, but that for another 90 minutes is how they tried to triangulate him until he eventually was neutralized. We don't know how he died at this time but that fire in the location continues to burn.

[07:05:00]

It is now called the Nettleton gulch fire and authorities will be going up today as daylight breaks here.

BOLDUAN: Much more to learn. Julia, thank you so much for being there for us. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Kate. Joining us now is CNN Senior Law Enforcement Analyst Andrew McCabe. There are a lot of questions. I'm curious from your perspective of law enforcement, what questions do you have as you hear this laid out where there was an ambush, according to authorities, there were shots going off constantly from the suspect as firefighters were trying to put out a fire that he allegedly caused?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Sure, Sara, there's, as you referenced, a million questions here, and most of them right now for me are focused on the shooter himself. It is not -- that person has not been identified. But one of the first things investigators who now are taking kind of the lead with this investigation, since the tactical response has been resolved, investigators are going to try to determine not just who this person was but what got him to this point. They're probably preparing to execute search warrants at his residence, maybe on to locate vehicles that are registered to him and search those as well. They want to identify family members, friends, work associates, whoever they can to share insights about this person and to shed light on the motive of how he got into this or provoked this deadly shootout with firefighters.

And, of course, hovering in the back of their mind is the question, was there anyone else who helped with this? Could there have been another shooter present at that location and participating in the attack? Or could somebody have simply helped him prepare for it arm himself, you know, that sort of thing, because you want to know, is there someone else out here who might be like-minded and who might try to stage a similar attack in the future?

SIDNER: Yes, I mean, that's always the big fear, or if there are people that see this and decide to be copycats.

I am curious if you have ever, in your history in law enforcement, seen something like this? One of the investigators had said, the sheriff actually had said, look, we have seen at times in urban settings, firefighters coming under fire during, you know, huge protests or huge riots, but had never seen something like this. Do you recall anything like this ever happening before?

MCCABE: No, not at all. I mean, I think those observations are accurate. I think in large metropolitan areas, sometimes when there's a, when there's a large fire response in an area that's experienced some sort of disruption, protest activity, things like that, every once in a while you'll have someone takes an opportunistic shot at responding officers that might include firefighters. It's really exceedingly rare, and it doesn't come off as a planned attack. It's just somebody who is angry and doing something stupid, essentially.

This is the exact opposite attack of that. This person -- if the facts are, as they've been laid out by the sheriff, this person deliberately set a brush fire for the purpose of attracting firefighters, not police officers, but firefighters to that scene. And then laid in weight for them, using some sort of a high powered rifle, hunting rifle, sporting rifle, something like that, to try to kill as many of those firefighters as he could. I mean, that is -- in my experience there, that's unprecedented certainly in recent law enforcement history.

SIDNER: Yes, that's a really good way to put it. And there are two firefighters who have been killed, one injured in all of this as police continue to figure out exactly what the motive was behind this, why this person ended up doing this horrible, horrible crime.

Andrew McCabe, thank you so much for your expertise. I really appreciate it. John?

BERMAN: All right. Breaking overnight, a key Senate Republican announcing he will not seek reelection as he splits from the president on his signature legislation.

And if you are one of the millions of people gearing up to hit the road for the 4th of July, you could be in for a surprise at the pump.

And a midair stunt goes wrong, leaving Beyonce hovering high above the crowd in a flying Cadillac. Find out what happens next.

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BERMAN: New this morning, the Senate is set to begin a marathon series of votes on President Trump's sweeping domestic policy agenda, as Republicans race to get it done by his July 4th deadline. The measure would extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts and reduce spending on social safety net programs, including Medicaid among the host of other policy goals.

Today's votes will come after a weekend filled with arm twisting side deals, and at least one career-altering decision. North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis was one of only two Republicans to vote against advancing the president's signature legislation. And after he drew the wrath of the president, who threatened to primary him, Tillis announced he would not seek reelection.

Now if the Senate version becomes law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says it will result in nearly 12 million more people becoming uninsured and add more than $3 trillion to the national debt. Tillis said he could not stomach the hit to Medicaid and issued a warning in a fiery speech on the Senate floor overnight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): Now, Republicans are about to make a mistake on healthcare and betraying a promise.

[07:15:03]

It is inescapable that this bill, in its current form, will betray the very promise that Donald J. Trump made in the Oval Office or in the cabinet room when I was there with finance, where he said, we can go after waste, fraud, and abuse on any programs.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BERMAN: Sounds very much like a senator not running for reelection.

Let's get right to CNN's Arlette Saenz on Capitol Hill for what we're about to see. Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, good morning. The Senate worked through the weekend and they will be back at it this morning. We anticipate that around 9:00 A.M., they will begin their voterama. This is a process where senators can bring up amendments to the bill. And it follows a weekend of deal-making and cajoling to try to get Republican senators on board. This bill clear that key procedural hurdle over the weekend with only two no votes, Rand Paul and Thom Tillis. And as you mentioned, Thom Tillis stunned many up here on Capitol Hill by announcing that he would not seek reelection.

Now, he told reporters yesterday that he respects President Trump, but he believes that this bill specifically the concerns about Medicaid are a mistake. Take a listen to more of what he said in that fiery speech last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TILLIS: I believe that we can make sure that we do not break the promise of Donald J. Trump that he's made to the people who are on Medicaid today, Mr. President. But what we're doing, because we've got a view on an artificial deadline on July 4th, that means nothing but another date and time, we could take the time to get this right if we lay down the House mark of the Medicaid bill and fix it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, this voterama that will kick off at 9:00 A.M. here in the Senate could extend for several hours. We anticipate the Democrats who have railed against the bill, they will present their own amendments, but then there are also a number of amendments. That the Republican side will present to try to keep some GOP senators on board.

One of those amendments comes from Senator Rick Scott of Florida, who is suggesting reducing the federal matching rate for Medicaid for states that have expanded Medicaid under President Barack Obama. Senator Susan Collins of Maine is also expected to present some amendments, and then there will be a lot of eyes on Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. There were two provisions that would have benefited her state that had been introduced to try to win her over, and the Senate parliamentarian ruled that those could not proceed.

So, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done in the Senate. They can only afford to lose three Republican votes, and then there's still all the work that would need to happen in the House as that they would also need to clear conservatives, moderate Republicans all across the spectrum to try to get this bill passed by that July 4th deadline that the president has set.

BERMAN: All right, a lot of activity. Arlette Saenz on Capitol Hill, where we're about to see, a lot of arm twisting, thank you very much, Arlette. Kate, nothing more charming, and you've been there. Nothing more charming than the senator is working out a little sleep.

BOLDUAN: Well, I was saying voterama almost sounds fun, but that depends on your definition of fun.

BERMAN: That's, you know, as long as you haven't been there, which you have and then you know the truth.

BOLDUAN: But, I mean, it's just uncertainty abound now after what we're going to be seeing. It's all going to start playing out in the 9:00 hour.

And then there's also this, they call it alligator Alcatraz, a small airstrip in the middle of the Florida Everglades turned into a migrant detention center. Now, hundreds of protesters are showing up to try to put a stop to it.

And raining cash in Detroit, a helicopter dumps thousands of dollars from the sky after a man's funeral. His family says it was his way of giving back.

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[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: This morning, activist groups are trying to block a new migrant detention center in Florida, dubbed Alligator Alcatraz. The governor though has no plans to slow or stop, saying that the first detainees could arrive as soon as tomorrow.

Environmental activists are protesting warning that the site threatens fragile ecosystems. A Native American tribe says the construction's encroaching on sacred ancestral lands and the mayor of Miami-Dade County also. Not on board.

CNN's Isabel Rosales is following this one for us, and she joins us now. Isabel, what are you learning about this?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, good morning. This marks the latest push by the State of Florida to aggressively support the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration. Now, it was the state attorney general, James Uthmeier, who coined the name Alligator Alcatraz. And as you mentioned, the plan here is for detainees to arrive to the facility as early as tomorrow.

Now, we have some aerials from our CNN affiliate, WSVN, where you can see heavy equipment, dump trucks. Also right here, trailers and tents. The site is set to hold more than 5,000 detainees. And the detention facility is located at a small airstrip in the Everglades owned by Miami-Dade County, but commandeered by the state, citing an executive order granting emergency powers to address illegal immigration.

Now, a senior DHS official says that it'll cost approximately $450 million every year to run the site. The governor, Ron DeSantis, says this will be fully paid for, he says, by the federal government. This, of course, has drawn intense criticism, not only from immigrant rights groups and advocates, but also environmental groups, two of which have sued the state of Florida and the federal government alleging that this really puts the Everglades at risk and endangered wildlife as well.

Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters crowded right in front of the site stating that this does not belong here. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FMR. STATE SEN. JOSE JAVIER RODRIGUEZ (D-FL): What we see here is an effort to say that the Everglades are not a backdrop for a political theater.

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GIANCARLO CASETLLANOS, PROTESTER: They're using sacred land for such a sinister and vile, you know, goal, end goal, which is not okay, right, in any sense of the word. And on top of that, it's just the environmental impact that this will have as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And state officials have said that this Alligator Alcatraz will be, quote, efficient and low cost because Mother Nature will provide most of the security via pythons and alligators.

And I want to quickly show you this post by DHS an A.I. picture that they posted on X showing an alligator with an -- right there in front of a jail facility. Of course, Kate, extremely offensive to immigrants rights groups.

BOLDUAN: Isabel, thank you so much. Let's see what happens with this. Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Breaking overnight an ambush like law enforcement has not seen before. Firefighters lured out to attack a brush fire ending up under attack in Idaho. What we're learning about the hours- long shootout that ended with two firefighters killed and one fighting for his life.

And Republican lawmakers facing mounting pressure to pass President Trump's mega bill, one GOP Senator, who voted against it now says he's not running for reelection. Why GOP Senator Thom Tillis refused to support the bill. Those stories and more ahead.

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