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FBI Agents, Protesters Clash During Raid at California Cannabis Farm; New Audio of Dispatch Calls as Deadly Texas Flooding Began; Trump Travels to Texas to Meet Flood Victims, First Responders; Interview with Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI): Democrats Demand Answers on National Weather Service Vacancies; Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Order to End Birthright Citizenship. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired July 11, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

CARRIE CORDERO, CNN LEGAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Career attorneys who actually have to go before the court. And when they go before the court, it's their professional reputation, their professional integrity, really their entire livelihood if they're lawyers because their reputation before a court and their candor to a court is part of their professional ethics. And if they feel like the political leadership is not giving them enough information to be able to make factual accurate -- provide factual accurate information to the court, that puts them in incredibly difficult position.

And that's a lot of what I see in some of these communications.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, well, let us see what happens because it is kind of all unfolding right before our eyes in this moment. Carrie, it's very good to see you. Thank you so much.

A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A dramatic standoff between federal agents and protesters.

And this morning, the FBI offering a reward for a man who appeared to fire a gun at ICE officials.

We're standing by to see President Trump depart for Texas to survey the damage from the floods there as new audio gives insight into mis- warnings the night those floods struck.

And an incredible rescue caught on camera the moment deputies saved an elderly couple and their dog from their home as it was engulfed in flames.

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: So breaking overnight, a standoff between federal immigration agents and protesters outside a cannabis farm in California. The raid happened in Ventura County. The video shows agents clashing with protesters, deploying what appears to be tear gas into the crowd.

The fire department said that it responded to reports of people suffering with breathing trouble. Here's Border Czar Tom Homan speaking on Fox News about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: People are welcoming to protest. They have their first amendment rights, but they can't cross that line. They can't impede us from doing our job. That's a felony. They certainly can't put arms -- put hands on an agent. That's a felony.

So what happened in California is just another example of protesters becoming criminals. ICE agents are simply enforcing the law that members of Congress enacted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And we are now learning that the FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information on a man who they say appeared to fire a gun toward the immigration officers.

CNN's Veronica Miracle is following this one for us. What's the latest you're picking up?

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, we're learning this morning that 10 people under the age of 18 were found at that farm, eight of them unaccompanied. And so now the Customs and Border Protection Commissioner, Rodney Scott, says this is also turning into a child labor violations case. A spokesman for Homeland Security said that they were conducting criminal warrants at Glass House Farms.

There's a marijuana facility. They had two different locations and there were raids happening at both of those locations. And then what happened is protesters quickly descended upon those farms when word got out.

This lasted for hours. There were people who were well into the night being taken away, detained. We don't know at this hour how many people have been arrested.

But here's what protesters had to say about what unfolded at the scene.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They started throwing pepper balls, tear gas, smoke, everything, just trying to disperse us because they're scared. They know that we're going to push back against it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're here united. We're not letting ICE agents in. We're not letting ICE agents out. We've been trying to block in since we're not giving them what they want.

(END VIDEO CLIP) MIRACLE: And this devolved very quickly. It got out of control. The FBI says that a man is actually, they're looking for information for a man who may have fired a gun towards officers.

They're offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of this person. And there were all kinds of chaos. At one point, protesters actually blocked the entrances into the farm.

And so there was a massive standoff. This went well into the night. We're still waiting to learn exactly how many people were arrested.

But we did see from aerial footage, busloads of people being taken away. We saw people lined up, detained at the facilities. So as soon as we get more information, we'll bring it to you -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes, there's a lot more to learn about this situation, how it unfolded, what they -- why they were going to that cannabis facility as you were laying out. Much more to come. Hopefully we'll learn more this morning.

Veronica, thank you so much -- John.

BERMAN: All right. We are standing by to see President Trump leave for Texas to survey the damage from the catastrophic floods there. He will meet with victims, first responders, and local officials. At least 121 people have now been killed, 160 still missing.

[08:05:00]

New this morning, CNN has obtained dispatch audio that sheds new light on how the tragedy played out in real time. The first call you hear is from a firefighter at 3:37 a.m., a half hour before the emergency warning was issued.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am. Just before 3:43, the Guadalupe is starting to come up and Shoemaker is no longer passable at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So he's describing the rising waters from the Guadalupe River flooding one of the main streets. And things only got worse when the water reached homes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Respond to 2029 Highway 39, 2-0-2-9 Highway 39. It's going to be for a water rescue. House caller's house flooded.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're getting multiple calls off of 39. People are stating their houses are flooding. We're trying to advise them to get to a higher area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The area is home to many lodges and campgrounds. You also hear a report of children in danger.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We received a phone call at our fire station. We have a lady, she's frantic. She's at Casa Bonita 117 Corto Way. Or Casa Bonita Lodges, and she said her children are on top of one of the cabanas and they're trapped.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: As we all now know, there were many children's camps in the pathway of these floods.

A photo from a boys' camp in Hunt, Texas shows campers clinging to the rafters of their cabin to survive. We're told a counselor helped kids climb up once the water reached the top bunks.

Camp Mystic, the all-girls camp, was hit the hardest. And a new image shows part of the evacuation effort there, at least 27 campers and counselors were killed.

CNN's Julia Vargas Jones is in Kerrville this morning with the latest. Good morning, Julia.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Yes, I just wanted to start by setting the scene here, what the president will see when he gets here later with the First Lady. This is the Guadalupe River.

Just past, we're between the Guadalupe River and Route 39, which is what we heard in that dispatch there. This entire area where we are standing now, John, I could not have been standing here just a week ago. All of this was submerged.

And this is one of those vacation destinations that you were just talking about. There was an RV park here. Now, this park, the owner also owns a restaurant here.

It's become a bit of a spot for first responders to collect and collect the materials and dispatch from here. But this is also someone who lost not only their source of income, she also lost an employee who worked here.

Now, just if you understand how high the water came here, these trees that you see behind me, those notches on those trees, that is where cars were hitting as the floods reached their peak here, John.

Now, the question that we're looking forward to understanding today is whether the visit from the president will actually help this community heal, this community come together. You know, there has been growing criticism about the response, both on the federal level with how long it took for FEMA to authorize certain responses here, but also at a local level.

You know, we're hearing about a report that was sent by Kerr County authorities to FEMA back in October that already was raising alarms about exactly this kind of situation.

Now, we know that the president will be, as you mentioned, meeting with those local officials and getting briefed by them, but also he will be meeting with families, John, who have lost their loved ones, some of those 121 people.

Now, to date, the efforts here on the ground, they remain on those 160 people who are still missing. Now, we're not sure if that number will continue to go up or not, but what I'm hearing from one of the volunteer rescuers that we spoke with this morning is that now, after that first pass of searches, they're going back and looking deeper, removing some of the debris, looking under some gravel as the currents have really pushed rocks around here.

That search effort now doubling down, getting even more difficult as time goes on -- John.

BERMAN: And those floods struck one week ago this morning. Julia Vargas Jones in Kerrville, thanks so much for being there for us -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, thank you, John.

Joining me now is Democratic Congressman Gabe Amo of Rhode Island. He serves on the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee, which oversees NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Thank you for being here this morning.

You wrote a letter over your concerns about the role cuts to the National Weather Service played in this Texas flooding disaster. What were your concerns?

[08:10:00]

REP. GABE AMO (D-RI): Well, first off, I want to extend my condolences to the families of the victims, to the survivors, and gratitude to all the first responders.

And the letter that I wrote alongside colleagues on the Committee of Jurisdiction, including those that oversee FEMA, are to essentially get down to the nitty-gritty information that we need to know about the impact of cuts to the National Weather Service.

We've seen at NOAA and the National Weather Service severe cuts to personnel, 15 percent, making a real big impact because these are career people, scientists, meteorologists, folks who have a capacity to predict, help us prepare, and respond to these situations. And so I want to get answers. I want and am demanding that Commerce Secretary Lutnick show up in front of our committee and give us a robust explanation about how the operations are running.

Now, while we cannot prevent the tragedy that we saw in Texas, we can avert others around the country. And I want to make sure, especially where we have a forecasted busy and severe weather season, that we have the people in place to predict and prepare. SIDNER: Are you saying you think that the Weather Service, because of the cuts, is partly to blame for not getting the warning out soon enough to people?

AMO: No, I can't say that definitively, but we need answers. And we need to understand the impact of those cuts when you see personnel moved around, terminated in a really haphazard fashion, as we've seen over the last several months. We don't have a full reading and understanding, and I don't mean to ascribe blame, but what I want to understand is how the operations are working and how we can be prepared for what could happen across this country later on during this storm season.

SIDNER: The potential impacts those cuts have made, understood.

I want to move on to some other subjects. President Trump and now Russell Vought, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, are going after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. They are saying he broke the law now when it comes to renovations to the department. What do you see happening here?

AMO: Look, I find this a distraction. The President and the OMB Director going after the Fed Chair because he won't arbitrarily follow their desire to lower rates while they create chaos and confusion in our economy, challenges to our ability to maintain strong economic relations with our allies. I just find this really absurd and not in the focus of what our officials should be worried about as it relates to our economy.

Because when I look at the actions of the Trump administration over the last several weeks and seeing the levers of tariffs arbitrarily raised and lifted, August 1 deadlines, all sorts of chaos. I talk to manufacturers in my home state of Rhode Island and they say, I can't make plans, I can't predict.

So I'm not going to focus on furniture and decorations when we need to focus on the economy and how people are experiencing high costs and what the administration should actually be working on.

SIDNER: I want to ask you about Republicans on the House Oversight Committee. They are leading an investigation into Joe Biden's mental fitness while he was in office. Jill Biden's former press secretary was on Fox News this morning. And here's what he had to say about that case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL LAROSA, FORMER PRESS SECRETARY FOR JILL BIDEN: They should be taking the air or the wind out of the sails of this story.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I agree.

LAROSA: But instead --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So to that point though, Michael, can Ashley Williams or any of these witnesses credibly deny that they did not see Joe Biden's mental decline?

LAROSA: If they saw -- I don't see how that's possible given how close they, in proximity and access they had.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Are Democrats concerned about what this committee finds and what they might do with those findings?

AMO: Well, again, this is a partisan exercise from Republicans on the Oversight Committee. Rather than focus on the needs and priorities of the American people, they are again focused on someone who isn't the president anymore and are going down this road for the partisan battle that they're waging on behalf of President Trump. And that frankly is unfair to the American people. This is not getting answers on the priorities of the day.

And so I, again, I don't think the Democrats are going to spend our energy here.

[08:15:00]

We're going to focus on how we can hold this administration accountable for the actions of the past several months that have caused real challenges to our economy, to costs, to the things that people are telling us when we're at home in our districts.

I'm not hearing about Joe Biden in Rhode Island. I'm hearing about energy costs. I'm hearing about the one ugly bill and what that will do to healthcare. So anything that's not focused there, I think is a distraction.

SIDNER: Congressman Gabe Amo, thank you so much. I do appreciate you coming on this morning live for us from Chicago, bright and early. Appreciate it -- John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning after the Supreme Court ruled a district judge could not block the president on ending birthright citizenship, a judge blocks the White House. So what makes this case different?

New overnight, a maternity ward evacuated after a new round of strikes on Kyiv. This as President Trump says he struck a new deal to get weapons to Ukraine.

Plus a fiery rescue. An elderly couple and their pet pulled from a burning home. How they're doing this morning.

[08:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So this morning, a new phase in President Trump's effort to end birthright citizenship. A federal judge just issued a new nationwide injunction blocking the president's executive order ending the longstanding policy. That policy says if you were born in the United States to anyone, you were an American citizen.

Now the Supreme Court just ruled that a district judge could not issue an injunction blocking the president on that in a different case. With us now, Michael Moore, CNN legal analyst, a former U.S. attorney. And Michael, this case is different because it's a class action suit.

Let's take this step by step. First, what exactly is a class action lawsuit?

MICHAEL MOORE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, well, good morning. I'm glad to be with you. A class action is a well-recognized tool, and it's actually spelled out in federal law, which allows a court to consider the claims of many people.

It's almost like a tool of efficiency. So when you have a number of people who have the same types of claims or the same types of defenses or the same types of injuries, a judge can listen to one case or two cases and say, OK, I see how this now has affected me and it affects the entire group of people, the entire class of people. So instead of having, for instance, a million trials or two million trials that are out there, the court can make a decision on one.

And it's important to note the Supreme Court did not do away with class actions. In fact, in their recent, you know, opinion, they sort of noted that this is a way to go forward. And a court considers various factors in deciding whether or not a class action is appropriate.

So, you know, are there numerous people? Are the claims typical of each other? Are there common questions of law and fact?

And so that's what this judge did. And he said, look, this applies to everybody across the country. And so I'm going to let everybody who suffers or may suffer under this ridiculous idea that the 14th Amendment doesn't mean what it says it says, I'm going to let them all be members of this class and have the same protection.

BERMAN: So you passed over something very quickly there that I think is important. When the Supreme Court very recently blocked a district judge, the nationwide injunction on any birthright citizenship, you said the Supreme Court did allow for the possibility of class action lawsuits. So in their mind, what's the distinction there and what exactly did they say?

MOORE: What was happening, what you were seeing, and frankly, Democrats and Republican administrations have complained about this, what you were seeing are judges around the country and oftentimes people would pick and choose what court they were going to file in because they thought they'd get a favorable judge that would see their side of the case. This judge would have a plaintiff or two in front of him or her, and they would have a particular question or challenge to something that had happened, some executive order, some law or some policy that the administration was pushing forward. And instead of ruling solely on those named individuals' claims, the court would say, well, I find this affects everybody in the country and I'm going to stop this action.

And the Supreme Court said, wait a minute, you can't do that. It's got to deal with those plaintiffs, those individuals in front of you. Well, that's what class actions then allow.

And a class action says, look, those named plaintiffs are just representative of the entire group of people. And if the court, the trial court, decides that those named individuals have the same claims as all these other individuals that may be affected, at that point, the court can say, I find that these named individuals, that they adequately represent the interest and concerns that would be raised by every proposed member of this claim.

So the Supreme Court basically said, look, that's the way around it. And frankly, that's in federal law. It's not an overstep of judicial authority. And we're going to we'll have to take those as it comes.

And this judge just simply said, I find that this this this action is subject to a class certification.

BERMAN: All right. So we'll take this as it comes. The question now is, how can the White House challenge this ruling, this injunction?

MOORE: So just like the federal law gives and creates this structure for class action cases, which this judge has now recognized, the law also says that there can be an appeal from a class certification decision. So now you're going to see the administration appeal this judge's decision to expand these claims to the entire class of individuals, the purported or putative class of individuals across the country.

[08:25:00]

And so the law, the law makes room for an appeal. And that's frankly so that you don't get through a nationwide case and then have some appellate courts say, well, I wish you all had come to me first. We've got to go redo it.

So it appeals -- that class actions are appealed sort of in stages, I guess is a fair way to say it, as opposed to just at the end of a case. And so so that's that's what they'll do.

They'll say, look, Supreme Court, surely you didn't mean this. Surely you didn't -- you know, in the case, we'll get to the Supreme Court. Let's just call it like it is.

But they'll be arguing that the class shouldn't apply here. The class cases shouldn't apply. And certainly you can't amend all these individuals. I think that's that's a mighty uphill battle. They've already sort of twisted this argument.

I can't hardly believe we're having a legitimate discussion about the due process clause in the 14th Amendment of dealing with citizenship as we go. But these cases are -- the Supreme Court will probably make short work of this and say, no, this can go on if the judge followed the outline that we've set forth and that the law set forth in Rule 23 of the federal rules.

BERMAN: We could see soon what the Supreme Court or what higher courts think of all this. Michael Moore, thanks so much. --

MOORE: Sure.

BERMAN: Appreciate it -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right, ahead next hour, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are headed to Texas after the devastating floods there. As we're getting new, revealing audio from emergency responders in the minutes the flood struck.

Also, disappointment and frustration. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, quote, frank messages to his Russian counterpart as President Trump makes a new deal to send more weapons to Ukraine.

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