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State Department Begins Firing More than 1,300 Employees; Trump Says He Will Send Weapons to Ukraine Through NATO; 2 Prison Workers Fired After "The Devil in the Ozarks" Escapes; Wildfires Force Evacuations from Grand Canyon to Utah Border. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired July 11, 2025 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: In an address to his nation today, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says U.S. military deliveries have been restored after a temporary pause that comes as President Trump says he's also struck a deal to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine through NATO. Trump told NBC News that NATO will pay for those weapons 100 percent. The president also said he will have, quote, a major statement to make on Monday as it pertains to Russia.

So all this comes as Ukraine says Russia launched another large-scale drone attack overnight in a mounting offensive. Ukraine says 10 people were killed and dozens wounded in the strikes. A maternity hospital in Kharkiv had to be evacuated after it was struck during the attacks.

I'm joined now by retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. He's a CNN military analyst. Always great to see you.

Before we talk about NATO, I would love to get your point of view on this State Department reorganization, some 246 Foreign Service officers who will get notice today that they are being fired. I mean, it's quite stunning, and I wonder if you can, you know, help people understand how important this diplomatic leadership is in helping to maintain world peace.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, it's absolutely essential, Fred. And one of the key things about this is that if you have diplomacy, you can avoid war.

[14:35:00]

And really, the military works hand-in-glove with the Foreign Service officers and the other State Department employees to not only avoid war, if at all possible, but in the aftermath of a conflict, to really make the peace work.

Everything that we did in Europe after World War II was based on diplomacy. Everything that happened in the run-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall, based on diplomacy, plus a military presence that ensured that we could back up diplomatic moves with military strength. So gutting the State Department is definitely not the answer to the problems that we have today.

WHITFIELD: Yes, really a stunning news.

OK, now as it pertains to the President saying NATO is going to be playing a part in the supplying of weapons, it'll be paying for it 100 percent to Ukraine. What does that mean?

LEIGHTON: So what that means, Fred, is that actually we pay about 16 percent of NATO's budget, right? So we'll be paying everything, you know, that pertains to that, approximately 16 percent. The rest of the NATO nations, from Germany down to Slovenia, will be paying their portion of that for these Ukrainian weapons -- or these weapons designed for Ukraine.

The idea here is to, in essence, do some burden sharing, which is not a bad thing. The idea is also to basically streamline the logistical process of getting weapons systems that are already in Europe, and getting them basically with, I guess, implicit U.S. permission to the battlefield in Ukraine. So that's important, and that might actually make things go a little bit quicker than they have in the past.

So in that sense, that's a good thing.

WHITFIELD: Does Trump's acknowledgment of NATO in this manner send a different signal? Because for a very long time, he was very dismissive about NATO, and now it's as if there's credence now being offered.

LEIGHTON: Yes, in essence, yes. I think there are big differences because of the president's change in tone. I think he realizes that the NATO alliance is actually a lever of strength that the United States has, and really that the Western world has.

If NATO is weakened, that really presents the U.S. with some incredibly bad choices, and those bad choices could lead to further conflict in the world, and especially with Russia. So the key thing here is a strong NATO is really in the U.S. interest, and it seems like the president is recognizing that fact.

WHITFIELD: What kind of signal might it be sending to Russia? We know that a NATO alliance means an attack on one, means an attack on all. Ukraine is not a NATO member. However, it's being supported now wholeheartedly by NATO nations.

LEIGHTON: Absolutely. So when you go back, you know, a few months ago, NATO basically said that Ukraine is on a path to NATO membership, same with the EU, with the European Union. But what you're seeing here is a change in tone, not only here in Washington, but also in European capitals.

For the first time, we've had a German chancellor basically say that their country is on a war footing vis-a-vis Russia. So the West is basically saying, look, we need to prevent Russia from encroaching on NATO territory. Ukraine is not NATO territory, but it is basically the gateway to NATO, at least that's how the West sees it.

The Russians, of course, see it differently. They see Ukraine as being part of their territory. We disagree with that because sovereignty is key. Since 1991, Ukraine has been independent, and we want an independent and sovereign Ukraine.

WHITFIELD: Ukraine wants in, too.

LEIGHTON: Yes, it does, soon.

WHITFIELD: Quite soon. All right. Colonel Leighton, good to see you. Thank you so much.

LEIGHTON: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Straight ahead, the raging wildfires that have people evacuating from a popular area at the Grand Canyon. Stay with us.

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: There's new fallout from the escape of convicted murderer, rapist, and former police chief Grant Hardin, the so-called devil in the Ozarks. Hardin escaped from an Arkansas prison in May and wasn't captured for almost two weeks. And now the Associated Press reports two employees at that prison have been fired.

We're also getting details about how Hardin made the fake police uniform he used to walk right out of the prison and how he took along a supply of peanut butter sandwiches.

Joining us now is the AP correspondent behind this story, Andrew DeMillo. Andrew, and I go way back to Arkansas. It's always good to see a friendly face here. Andrew, tell us what happened here. What did you find out?

ANDREW DEMILLO, GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS REPORTER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Yes, thanks for having me. The legislature -- there was a legislative hearing yesterday where officials from the Department of Corrections basically gave the most details that we've heard so far of what went into the planning and carrying out of this escape by Grant Hardin. We learned about the two employees who had been fired for policy violations that basically allowed him to escape.

There was an employee in the kitchen. As you know, Grant Hardin was assigned to the kitchen. An employee in the kitchen had allowed him to go onto an outdoor dock, unsupervised.

There was a tower guard who allowed him to go through a gate without verifying who he was. You know, as you had mentioned, he was wearing that makeshift law enforcement uniform. As you mentioned, we learned a little bit more about how he was able to construct the uniform. He basically had a black marker and was able to color his uniform and a kitchen apron black to make it look like a law enforcement uniform. He used other materials, even used a soup can lid to make a fake badge.

[14:45:03]

DEAN: Wow. And I thought it was interesting in your story that they said that had those people done their jobs properly, he wouldn't have been able to escape. DEMILLO: Yes, you know, the phrase that we heard a lot during yesterday's committee hearing was the phrase the stars aligned. That basically if these two people had done their job, he wouldn't have escaped. There was some pushback though from lawmakers who seemed really frustrated by that characterization and really seemed that, you know, wanted more answers on how systemic of an issue this was.

They pointed out that this went deeper than two people not doing their job. He was able to put together this fake uniform, put together these supplies. Even one detail that came out was that he was able to fashion a ladder that he planned on using to scale a fence if he was not let out through the gate.

DEAN: Wow. What more do we know about Grant Hardin? Obviously now he's back in custody.

DEMILLO: Well, he's now been moved to maximum security facility and that was one of the other issues that came up. You know, lawmakers said that they want more details about the classification system that allowed him to be at what was primarily a medium security prison and for him to be able to have a kitchen job. He is, you know, now in maximum security, he faces an escape charge, which he's pleaded not guilty to, and he's set for trial in November.

DEAN: All right, a fascinating story. Andrew DeMillo, thanks so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

DEMILLO: Thank you, Jessica.

DEAN: Coming up, details on the intense standoff between federal agents and protesters outside a California farm. More on that when we come back.

[14:50:00]

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WHITFIELD: All right, we're following breaking news out of the Grand Canyon. The wildfire that is forcing tourists to evacuate the canyon's popular North Rim during one of the park's busiest times of the year is now expanding north to the Utah border. This is happening as much of the southwest is under an extreme heat warning.

Let's get right to CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam in the CNN Weather Center. So what is the latest?

DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Fredricka, we've been monitoring this with a white sage fire and another fire close to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. It has grown in size here over the past 24 hours or so. You're looking at a live view of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

This is the Grand Canyon Conservancy, Coconino County. And right now, earlier this morning, actually, we could see this smoke-filled canyon, but it has since cleared out. This is more representative of a quieter day within this region. But on the ground, this is what it looked like yesterday with the white sage fire that produced a thick, billowing cloud of smoke into the sky. And because of the fire growth that has happened over the past 24 hours, that is why the National Park Service continues to evacuate this region.

Now, it's interesting because there's actually 99 large active wildfires across the United States. That includes Alaska, where a large majority of these fires are taking place now. But about a third of the wildfire activity is still located over the west. And we've seen this marked increase in wildfire activity, especially over the past 24 to 36 hours, because as we've been reading some of the descriptions of these fires, dry thunderstorms, meaning thunderstorms that don't produce any rain, but they do produce lightning, have started these fires.

And white sage fire hasn't been conclusive just yet, but that's what they believe took place here about 36 hours as it spreads across the Coconino County. A thousand acres burned with zero percent containment. There are some higher numbers than that that we've seen reported, but we still have not yet to been able to confirm them.

Let's talk about if there's any rain in sight. Unfortunately, there is not. So this is not going to help the situation.

You can see the bulk of the rain to the east, but any thunderstorms that develop across northern sections of Arizona, unfortunately, could produce that dry lightning effect that I talked about just a moment ago.

And on top of that, not only the drought, but there's excessive heat alerts in place across the Grand Canyons, the actual base of the Grand Canyon, some of the lowest parts of the canyon, they could reach 115 degrees Fahrenheit today. So couple that with the ongoing severe drought across portions of Arizona and really the Great Basin, this, of course, is a recipe for additional forest fires to spread.

So really interesting to see this. And by the way, Fredricka, we are above our year to date average number of wildfires for the western U.S. just at over 37,000 so far this year. And we're just getting started.

WHITFIELD: Goodness, it's just a tinderbox. All right, Derek Van Dam, thanks so much -- Jessica.

DEAN: 40 years ago this Sunday, rock stars Bob Geldof, Bono, Sting and more performed at a landmark music event to raise money for famine relief in Africa. See how the legendary concert came together and how the movement continued in the new CNN original series, "LIVE AID, WHEN ROCK AND ROLL TOOK ON THE WORLD". Here's a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two, three, four.

[14:55:00] GARY KEMP, SPANDAU BALLET: This was 25-year-old kids, working class kids, trying to change something so huge, intercontinental. And that energy was naive in many ways.

MIDGE URE, ULTRAVOX: There's something about pop music, rock music, whatever you want to call it. It is inherently working class because it comes from nothing. I was born in a tenement slum in the outskirts of Glasgow.

That element doesn't go away. We have empathy. You know, we feel things. That's why we write things. That's why we create things.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: Be sure to tune in, "LIVE AID, WHEN ROCK AND ROLL TOOK ON THE WORLD". It premieres this Sunday at 9 p.m., only here on CNN.

Still ahead this afternoon, President Trump is visiting Central Texas one week after catastrophic flooding hit that region, killing more than 120 people, more than 160 still missing.

Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL for updates.

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