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Trump Plans to Send Ukraine Wearpons Through NATO; Trump Travels to Texas; Cam Srivastava is Interviewed about Harvard. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 11, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:30:57]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, breaking overnight, another Russian strike. This one hitting a maternity hospital in Ukraine's second largest city. The attack shattered windows and forced staff and patients to flee. Officials say Russia launched its largest drone and missile attack on Ukraine since the beginning of the war -- since the beginning of its invasion also this week with now consecutive days of hundreds of Russian drones attacking the country. At least ten people have been killed in just the last day or so.

This latest attack came hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Russian counterpart. And Rubio told reporters afterward that he relayed a message essentially -- relayed the Trump's, quote, "disappointment and frustration" with Russian President Vladimir Putin in that meeting.

And President Trump himself actually said in an interview yesterday that he is disappointed in Russia and that he has now struck a deal with NATO to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through the alliance.

Joining us right now is CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk for much more on this.

Let me read you, for everyone, just two of the things that the president told NBC in this interview yesterday, Brett. He said, "I am disappointed in Russia, but we'll see what happens over the next couple weeks. I think I'll have a major statement to make on Russia on Monday." And he also said, "we're sending weapons to NATO, and NATO is paying for those weapons 100 percent. So, what we're doing is the weapons that are going out are going to NATO, and then NATO is going to be giving those weapons to Ukraine, and NATO is paying for those weapons."

What do you think of this -- I guess this agreement or kind of what he could be setting up for here?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Kate, it's great to be here.

I think to kind of make sense of where we are, it's important to step back.

So, actually, four months ago today, on March 11th, Secretary of State Rubio, who you just mentioned, was in Saudi Arabia with the Ukrainians. And the Ukrainians signed up on March 11th to an unconditional ceasefire. That has been the White House's objective.

We're now four months later and all that the Russians have done is escalate the war. And Rubio actually said on March 11th, four months ago today, Russian reciprocity is now the key to peace.

So, what has happened in that -- those subsequent months, there's been no Russian reciprocity. The Russians have only escalated the war. So, basically, the approach is not working. So, the administration faces an inflection point. Either they can step back and say, we're just not going to succeed, as the president has said earlier some weeks ago, maybe let them fight it out. I think that would have led to a catastrophic escalation of the war. Or change your approach. The objective is still a ceasefire, but actually we have to put some leverage into the diplomacy. That means we have to support the Ukrainians with some more weapons. That means perhaps letting this bipartisan bill in the Senate, which would impose very biting sanctions on the Russians, actually letting that bill get a vote on the floor of the Senate. It looks like that is going to happen. And participating in these international meetings. There's a meeting in Rome today where the U.S. is represented by the president's Ukraine envoy, General Kellogg, with 60 countries talking about economic support for Ukraine.

So, I see a policy that is shifting. The goal remains a ceasefire, but the tactics are changing. And I actually think it's the right approach. So, I think -- I hope they follow through on this.

BOLDUAN: That's really interesting how you put it all together like that.

When it comes to the actual weapons portion of this, the president is talking about patriot missiles. Zelenskyy has been asking for more patriot missiles. How -- how much of a stockpile does the U.S. and NATO have? How much is that a consideration in this? And is it clear, Brett, what it will -- what will actually help Ukraine end this war in terms of the weapons aspect of what they say they need?

MCGURK: Yes, Kate, patriot missiles are one aspect of a multi-layered air defense system. The patriot missiles take out the ballistic missiles. Just to put it in context, you mentioned this huge attack earlier this week, the largest on record. There were about 400 drones from Russia, about a dozen or so missiles. So, you need the patriot system to do that.

[08:35:05]

Those interceptors are in short supply, no question. And you have to be very careful with how they're distributed. There's about six batteries or so in Ukraine now according to public reports. Each battery has about 100 interceptors. We make about 500 to 600 interceptors a year. That is going up. But that is kind of the -- the limitation.

But trying to get those interceptors into Ukraine from allies, from others around the world, from stocks is important. But it's only one piece of the -- of the air defense system. There are other systems that we have helped provide the Ukrainians. The Ukrainians also have a very good -- their own industrial base in which they produce their own systems.

So, I would just say, patriots are important. It gets a lot of attention. But they're not the only system the Ukrainians need. And if you can keep the supply up and if the Ukrainians can keep their industrial production going, you can limit the damage from these missiles, because the Russians also have a limited quantity of missiles. There's kind of missile math that you and I were talking about in the Israel-Iran context a few weeks ago. Same thing applies here.

Bottom line, you got to help the Ukrainians with air support. We have a lot of allies, NATO, the Europeans, and things that we can do. I think it's good. It looks like we'll be doing that through NATO. But we have to follow through.

BOLDUAN: I really find it interesting, your perspective on how a shifting policy really is kind of taking shape this week, kind of before our eyes. It will be interesting to see, the president said he's going to have a strong statement to say on Monday. Let us see what that -- what that entails.

It's good to see you, Brett. Thank you so much.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, still ahead, will the Supreme Court gut the Voting Rights Act? Something that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has been pushing for years. We will see what happens. There is new CNN reporting on how it could impact the next election.

Plus, a Colorado museum makes a major discovery under their own parking lot. What they found 70 million years later.

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[08:41:10]

SIDNER: Next hour, President Trump leaves the White House and heads to Texas to tour the devastation there from the flash floods, with at least 121 people dead and about 160 people still missing. The tragedy is renewing questions about how people can prepare for natural disasters as climate change ushers in more severe storms.

CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir is in Hunt, Texas, for us this morning.

What are you seeing there, and how are communities dealing with this right now? BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, it's really

still so raw for people, especially the families of the missing, as you can imagine, now a week beyond. But there's just mile after mile of riverbank down the Guadalupe that looks like this, just tangled debris and who knows where those folks remains will end up in places, but the search is -- is just enormous, that -- that sort of idea.

And then we're -- this horrible tragedy is also casting fresh light on how prepared Americans are for flooding. If they're even aware that they're living in a 100-year or a 500-year floodplain where these sorts of devastating events have a chance of happening.

FEMA officially says, according to their maps, only about 13 million Americans live in these places, but they don't account -- FEMA maps don't account for rain bomb events, for the -- for the new kinds of storms that come on an overheated planet right now. So, the real number is probably closer to 60 million.

Take Camp Mystic, for example. We know that about eight structures there were inside the 100-year flood plain. But if you use other maps from like First Street Foundation, non-profits that do take into account modern climate problems, that number jumps to 17 buildings that are at risk there.

But here's the interesting thing, Sara. You know, today, President Trump, Kristi Noem is here, and she's doubling down on the vow to just destroy FEMA as we know it. But they're not just there with cots after a storm. FEMA is responsible for mapping the hill country of Texas and so many watersheds around the country and letting people know their risks. Now, is that the state's responsibility? Is that Kerr County's responsibility now to figure out the hydrology in a changing climate, when so many state and federal leaders don't even want to acknowledge climate change? So, that's just one big picture question.

But down at the family level of the -- of those who are stricken by this. It is still just the five stages of grief. You can just imagine the pain they're suffering.

SIDNER: Yes, it is horrendous. And everywhere you look, for miles and miles and miles, it looks like what you're standing in front of, just to give the breadth of this storm.

I do want to ask you about how people should be preparing. Even new numbers have come out, Harry Enten telling us, look, climate change isn't on the minds of Americans. And, in fact, they're -- it's waning, the idea of climate change in their head. And so, what should people be doing to -- and thinking about when there is the possibility of these kinds of storms hitting many, many, many parts of this country?

WEIR: Well, for the families who have kids at the many camps along the Guadalupe, I'm sure they're thinking about evacuation plans. That instead of getting on a bus when a storm hits, climb a hill. It's almost like a mindset shift. People familiar with floods in this part of the -- the country, of course, but these are different kinds of floods. These are the kinds people have never seen before, that take away homes that people thought would never see a drop of water come from this river now. So, it takes a mindset shift that past is no longer prologue and knowledge is power at the community level. What is our elevation and what is our plan if things get as bad as they did down in Texas on the Fourth of July?

SIDNER: Yes, something to think about.

Bill Weir I'm glad you're there. Thank you so much for that reporting this morning.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, CNN Heroes is back celebrating outstanding and innovative acts of courage and giving, and the people making it all happen.

[08:45:06]

To kick off its 19th year, we caught up with 2024's Hero of the Year, Stephen Knight. Stephen and his non-profit are changing lives by fostering pets while their owners focus on addiction recovery. His lifesaving mission has spread from Texas to all around the world.

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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: And the 2024 CNN Hero of the Year is --

LAURA COATES AND ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHORS: Stephen Knight.

STEPHEN KNIGHT: When Anderson and Laura announced it, I just -- I got emotional.

To be able to help others and have a purpose now, I'm so overwhelmed.

I feel like I kind was crowed like a Miss America. We'll call it Mr. America or Mr. Universe, because it's been a global thing.

I've had opportunities to talk about dogs matter, from Dubai, to Australia. We had 150 percent increase of applications. We were able to bring on two more recovery coaches.

It introduced us to the Elevate Prize Foundation. And we became part of their family, changing the world with these leaders.

Thank you for talking about that.

It's perfect timing. We're looking to scale up.

DR. KWANE STEWART: It's no secret I was rooting for you.

KNIGHT: Dr. Kwane, from the year before me, our missions are so complementary. We're in the beginning stages of planning a Project Street Vet in Dallas. And Dogs Matter in L.A.

Hi, guys.

How cute are you? The other thing is more recognition. We've got treatment centers in

Texas, said, hey, we'll take dogs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By, Jack.

KNIGHT: A lot of those dogs, all they need is a second chance, just like I was given.

One of my favorite programs that we have now is called the Bark Dorm, where these kids that are serving time have an opportunity to work with one of our dogs. And it's really been life changing for some of the kids.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It motivated me to be better.

KNIGHT: OK. Yes, that's what it's all about, man.

Dogs Matter, we're in our 10th year. We've saved thousands and thousands of lives. It's been incredible.

You're celebrating. You're sober.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a night and day difference.

KNIGHT: This is a picture of sobriety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very few people in this world have inspired me the way that Stephen did.

KNIGHT: Isn't it cool?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's awesome.

KNIGHT: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love paintings.

KNIGHT: Yes.

To be able to know that this little program that I did in my backyard ten years ago is now being considered worldwide and people are going, I need this, we need this, that's the best thing ever. It's just like, what a privilege and an honor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Stephen visited us the day after he won. He brought a dog. And the dog stood right on our table. No chairs, even, for the dog.

Next week we introduced you to the first 2025 CNN Hero. And for more stories or to nominate someone you think should be a CNN Hero, go to CNNheroes.com.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Still ahead for us, a daring rescue captured on camera. Deputies running in to save an elderly couple trapped in a burning -- well, just look at it, engulfed in flames. A burning mobile home. We'll be giving you an update on that.

And a new report this morning that Harvard University is scrubbing websites meant to serve women, minorities and LGBTQ students.

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[08:52:15]

BOLDUAN: The Supreme Court is signaling it may be ready to consider a major change when it comes to voting rights protections. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has long fought against a key part of the Voting Rights Act that bans voting practices that are racially discriminatory, long saying it needed to be reassessed. Now, a new order in a Louisiana case having to do with congressional redistricting offers this an opportunity for the court to reassess and potentially gut the landmark voting rights law.

CNN's chief Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic has new reporting on this. She's here with us now.

Talk to me about what you are hearing about all of this and what this could mean for the next session.

JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN CHIEF SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Sure. It's good to see you, Kate.

As you know, the 1965 Voting Rights Act is an iconic law, part of our civil rights era back in the '60s, and it protects voters to ensure that in redistricting, for example, that they're not -- minority voters are not going to have their power diluted by voting rights maps that do not -- redistricting maps that do not give them the power to elect a candidate of their choice.

And Justice Clarence Thomas, since he came on the court in the 1990s, has complained that that remedy of trying to build stronger voting districts for minority residents in a state takes too much account of race. And instead of easing racial tensions, it exacerbates them. And let me tell you what he said back in 1994 that has since been adopted by some of his colleagues, this view. He said, "the statute was originally perceived as a remedial provision directed specifically at eradicating discriminatory practices that restricted blacks' ability to register and vote in the segregated south. We have converted the act into a device for regulating, rationing and apportioning political power among racial and ethnic groups."

And the -- the situation here, especially as it played out in Louisiana, Kate, is that once a court found that Louisiana had drawn discriminatory lines, it had the state legislature go from just one black majority district of the six congressional districts in the state to two black majority districts to try to enhance, as I said, black voting power in that state.

And now the justices have said in this new order that they're going to rehear this case. And when they rehear a case, they often add new, broader questions to it as they -- as they've done in the past. And we're expecting a new order soon that will kind of show us how expansive this could go. But once upon a time, Justice Thomas' views were seen as, quote, "radical" as his colleagues said in the '90s.

[08:55:00]

He seemed like an outlier. But since then, many more conservative justices have joined the bench, and they have shown an openness to restricting this key part of the Voting Rights Act that has enhanced the power of minority voters and ensure that their votes are not diluted, and that they can still have a chance to elect the candidate of their choice.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Joan, it's great reporting. Thank you so much for that.

BISKUPIC: Sure.

BOLDUAN: John.

BERMAN: All right, body camera footage captured the moment two Florida sheriffs' deputies rescued an elderly couple and their dog from a fire in a mobile home. Deputies responded after learning the couple and their pet were trapped inside. The deputies rushed into the burning home and carried all three to safety.

So, a dinosaur museum in Denver just got a surprise, a dinosaur bone buried right under its own parking lot. Imagine the luck. The bone was found during tests to see if the museum could switch from natural gas to underground heat. It is the oldest and deepest fossil ever found in the city. Experts think it came from a small plant eater who lived more than 67 million years ago.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, website serving Harvard's undergraduate women, minorities, and LGBTQ students have been taken down. That's according to "The Harvard Crimson," the university's student newspaper. It's the latest change at Harvard that comes after the Trump administration began its crackdown on diversity initiatives at the university.

CNN has reached out to Harvard for comment.

Joining me now to discuss this is Cam Srivastava, the reporter for "The Harvard Crimson" that -- that wrote -- co-wrote this piece. The White House welcomed this development, viewing it as, it put it, "a goodwill gesture" when officials described as good news. How do students see it generally?

CAM SRIVASTAVA, REPORTER, "THE HARVARD CRIMSON": Yes, I mean, well, I think students are actually quite wary of the changes that we saw on Wednesday when Harvard College decided to scrub its diversity web page and, you know, remove these -- these websites that you mentioned.

Back in April, when Harvard first announced that it was renaming its diversity office at the university level, students actually protested against that action and strongly denounced it.

And I think we're seeing more of the same now, especially amid the news that Harvard is in talks with the White House about a potential settlement to one or both of its lawsuits right now, Sara.

SIDNER: In this battle between Harvard and the Trump administration that has gone on for quite some time now, what are you learning this has done to the morale of faculty and the students there?

SRIVASTAVA: Well, I think it's having quite a large impact. You know, we've seen many students who have called on Harvard not to capitulate to the Trump administration's demands. You know, faculty are doing the same. And even an alumni group, Crimson Courage, which has come to the forefront of organizing against the Trump administration, has also denounced these changes and called on Harvard not to accede to any demands that are unconstitutional or unlawful.

And so, I think we're having -- we're seeing a ripple effect across the university, especially amid the Trump administration's multifaceted attack on Harvard. You know, international students are still in limbo. Federal funding is in limbo. So, this is just one part of a multifaceted attack of the White House onto Harvard.

SIDNER: You write that the Trump administration has repeatedly and explicitly included an end to DEI at Harvard among its conditions for restoring federal research funding. How is that working out, and how much is that potentially hurting the ability to do research there at Harvard?

SRIVASTAVA: Well, I think what we're seeing is, Harvard is not usually publicly making statements about, you know, the reasons for renaming its diversity offices. Harvard Medical School, actually, there was an announcement for the dean -- from the dean that the diversity office would be renamed, but it didn't specifically cite anything from the Trump administration as the motivation for doing so.

So, we are seeing some changes starting to take place at Harvard. Of course, you know, with federal funding not being restored yet, researchers are immediately seeing those effects. So, all these things are starting to take their toll on affiliates across the university.

SIDNER: Can you give us a sense of the feeling of those students who are in the LGBTQ community, who are from diverse backgrounds and diverse races, what -- what they are sort of thinking about all this as they are on campus?

[08:59:56]

SRIVASTAVA: Well, these centers, you know, the women's center, the office for BGLTQ (ph) student life, the Harvard Foundation for Intercultural and Race Relations, these are offices that have a central role in many students' lives.