Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Farmworker Dies after ICE Raid; Tim Love is Interviewed about Helping Flood Victims; Wildfires at the Grand Canyon. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired July 14, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:31:54]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: This morning, a new twist in the MAGA fixation with the Jeffrey Epstein case. President Trump is coming to the defense now of his attorney general, Pam Bondi, against major MAGA backlash still playing out over her decision to not release documents from the Epstein sex trafficking investigation. Sources tell CNN, the president is going as far as to putting in calls now with MAGA influencers asking them to back off their calls that Bondi be fired.

CNN's Donie O'Sullivan was at a conservative conference this weekend in Florida, hearing from some Trump supporters about their take on all of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the first topic that all of us, as Americans, not as Democrats, not as liberals, not as Republicans, are actually lining together and saying, we all want the Epstein files. And I say, come on, Donald, give us those files.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are here at the Turning Point USA Summit in Tampa, Florida. It is a big gathering of Trump supporters. And one thing everybody seems to be talking about here this weekend, Jeffrey Epstein.

STEVE BANNON: We need to get to the bottom of Epstein, because Epstein is the key that picks the lock.

MEGYN KELLY: Let me just ask you, make some noise if you care about the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

O'SULLIVAN: What do you think is going to happen?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're going to maybe give us pieces and maybe not the whole thing, and think that that's going to suffice. And I don't think people are going to be quiet about it until they really do it. But who knows if we'll ever know the true story.

O'SULLIVAN: Can't Trump just say, look, release everything? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I -- he -- if you know anything about him, he can do and say whatever he wants. Do they have to listen? I don't know the legalities of that or the policies and procedures.

O'SULLIVAN: This is Turning Point USA's Student Action Summit. It's an event aimed at mobilizing young conservatives.

Ultimately. I mean, how bad do you think it would be for the MAGA movement, for young people's trust in Trump if, by the end of his term they don't release everything they know about Epstein?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think that if they don't release his -- the Epstein files, whatever J.D. Vance says then is irrelevant, because it's like everybody's going to take it as like a lie.

O'SULLIVAN: Really (ph)?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because of what Donald Trump did. But I think J.D. Vance wants these files released as well. And I think that Donald Trump, he promised them, so he needs to do it. No matter who's on them, we need to release the Epstein files.

O'SULLIVAN: Because right now the whole debate is about Bongino versus Bondi. But ultimately it's Trump's decision, right? I mean he has the power.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's Trump's decision. It's Trump decision. I think -- I think, again, and I'm not going to make the decision for the president. It's not my job. It's not my place. But I do think the way that I'm seeing it played out is that Bongino will be here and Pam Bondi will be the fall guy.

O'SULLIVAN: Do you think that's fair?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anything's fair in politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Our thanks to Donie for that.

This morning we're learning that a farm worker who fell from a greenhouse roof during an ICE raid in California last week has died. This is the first known person to die during one of the Trump administration's immigration crackdowns.

[09:35:02]

Let's get the latest from CNN's Rafael Romo.

Good morning, Rafael. What are you learning about this?

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

The man was identified by his family as Jaime Alanis. He was 57 years old. According to his family, he had been working for ten years at the California cannabis facility in the city of Camarillo that was targeted by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid on Thursday. His niece, Yesenia Duran, told the Associated Press, the farm worker died of his injuries after falling from a greenhouse roof on Saturday. As his remains are being prepared for repatriation to Mexico, "his wife and daughter are waiting for him," Duran said on a GoFundMe page created for her uncle's family. "We're still looking for justice, as he died due to the reckless ICE raid. He suffered a broken neck, fractured skull and severed artery. He was his family's only provider. They took one of our family members," Duran added.

Alanis is the first known person to die during one of the Trump administration's ongoing immigration enforcement operations, John. In a statement, Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs, said Alanis was not in CBP or ICE custody when he fell, "although he was not being pursued by law enforcement," she said, "this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30 feet. CBP immediately called a medevac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible."

Four U.S. citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly assaulting or resisting officers, according to DHS, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents. In an interview with CNN, White House border czar Tom Homan spoke about some of the tactics used by agents when conducting raids, and specifically what legal basis agents use to detain a given person they suspect to be in the country illegally.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, WHITE HOUSE BORDER CZAR: Let me be clear, physical description can't be the sole factor to -- to give you reasonable suspicion. As I said in an interview, it's articulable facts with an "s." So, appearance can be just one. For instance, if someone has an MS-13 tattoo on their face, that may be one factor to add to other factors to raise reasonable suspicion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMO: And, John, back to the raid in Camarillo and another site owned by the same company. According to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, 319 people were arrested on suspicion of being in the country illegally and 14 children were found to be working at the site.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Rafael Romo, thank you for bringing us up to speed on what's happening there. Appreciate it.

All right, a huge plume of smoke after a plane crashes at a London airport. What we're learning this morning.

And a new possible casualty in President Trump's tariff wars. One that could hit you right where it hurts, your pizza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:42:34]

BOLDUAN: Very shortly Kerr County commissioners are set to meet for the very first time since the catastrophic flash floods hit Texas, killing at least 132 people. And the search for at least 150 people are -- who are still missing continues, of course, again this morning.

Now, among the army of volunteers who we have seen jump in to help in every way they can, is Texas chef and restaurant owner Tim Love, now working with the relief agency World Central Kitchen to provide meals to families and first responders in the area. And World Central Kitchen says it has delivered thousands of meals since that horrible tragedy set in on July 4th with those floods.

Joining us right now is Chef Tim Love to talk more about it.

Chef, thanks for being here. I mean, this is not your first time jumping in to help your Texas community after disaster. Tell me about your efforts to help and how does this one compare to what you've seen in the past?

TIM LOVE, CHEF & RESTAURANT OWNER: Well, Kate, I have to say, well, I appreciate you recognizing me for what I'm doing. It needs to be said that there's hundreds, if not thousands of people down here doing everything they can to help out this situation of what's happening down here in the hill country. And I -- I just left there yesterday early in the morning. And I'm sure you're aware that it started raining again at 12-foot -- 12-foot rivers in the Guadalupe yesterday.

Some of my friends that were down there with me had to turn around and go back to Fredericksburg. They couldn't really get out of the area. So, for those of you out there, I don't realize it's -- it's a dire situation still.

And with the amazing people that are down here doing this search and recovery it's just great to see how many great people come together and do everything they can to help out these families and communities that are down here. And I'm just a small part of that working with World Central Kitchen. You know, as a chef, the number one thing we do, and I say we because everybody in my community does the same thing and their specific areas is that, we always -- we always know one thing we can do is feed people and keep them fueled and have the ability to go do the great things that they do, like rescuing people and things like that.

So, World Central Kitchen has been an amazing organization over the years, you know, started by Jose Andres, a very good friend of mine. And anytime anything happens in Texas, we always get connected and I try to do everything I can with my team and connecting with the local restaurants nearby, different food trucks and things like that.

[09:45:05]

And we help organize that with all these great people that are volunteering their time.

BOLDUAN: I was very sad to hear that this is also quite personal for you. This tragedy, close family friends passed away in the floods.

LOVE: Yes. You know, it's -- it's tough to talk about really. But my kids went to camp in the hill country, all three of them. And to know that you have family and friends that are involved in this is one thing. But then to know that you have some tragedies involved, there's another. I'm facing three funerals this week, and it's not fun.

But, you know, what we can do is figure out ways to help people get through these hard times. And it's not only the families, but also their friends and these young kids that were at camp. We're going to be facing a lot of -- a lot of things in the future.

And that's what I'm trying to do now is raise a little money for that, too. We raise money for -- for to go to World Central Kitchen, but also raise some money for the mental health that we need to deal with in the future, which is not going to be just one week or two weeks or a month. You'll be talking about years down the road when these young eight- and nine-year-old kids or, you know, when I have a giant thunderstorm in Texas, which we have a lot of. I can't imagine what's going through their head every day when they hear those types of things.

BOLDUAN: I mean, it's just an absolute punch to the gut that you said you have three funerals to attend just this week. I mean, that speaks to the enormity of the trauma that will be setting in for so long, and you're just mentioning it there. But tell us more about the work that you're doing now with -- with Hats With Heart and what you're trying to do with it.

LOVE: Well, it is a little bit of a glowing light, hopefully, for those of you who can see this. We call it "Hats With Heart," something I came up with because I had so many people call me saying, "Hey, I want to help." And if you've never been down to the area right now, it's tough to even get in and out of the area.

You know, they -- the professionals there trying to do their work. And while there are a lot of people who want to help, it's hard to get down there and actually do physical help. So, even the servers at my restaurants and the kitchen teams at my restaurants like they want to help. That's just kind of what we do. And so we created this Hats With Heart words. It's $30. So, anybody can feel like they're a part of it. Wear the hat with pride and 50% of all the proceeds go to World Central Kitchen to help us continue to do our efforts for feeding the first responders, the volunteers and all those people that are helping the people do the work. And the other 50% is going towards our mental health initiative with a company called M2G Ventures, which is my girlfriend's company.

And they started this mental health initiative about four or five years ago, and they wanted to do something with us. So, we partnered together. And we're taking 50% of those proceeds and putting it towards counseling and things like that in the future for all these parents, kids, friends, all those types of people we know have a lot more to face in the future, especially with such a week like we got coming up. BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Well, you're a good man, Chef. Thank you so much for what you're doing and putting the spotlight on it. Really appreciate it.

Wow.

Much more to come for us. We are standing by for what President Trump promised will be a major announcement on Russia. Could it help Ukraine turn the tide of this war? We're going to bring you that, live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:53:11]

BOLDUAN: This morning, investigators are trying to figure out what caused a small plane to crash just after takeoff from London's Southend Airport. The plane was heading to the Netherlands, and witnesses say that the plane suddenly turned and then said to have crashed headfirst, bursting into flames. I mean, just look at that. Authorities have not said anything yet about deaths or injuries, and there's still no official word on how many people were actually on the plane at the time.

Also, happening today, you could start seeing higher prices for tomatoes and anything made with tomatoes. Think pizza. Think salsa. Today, the Trump administration is pulling back from a decades old agreement with Mexico over tomato prices, paving the way for a nearly 21 percent tariff on most Mexican tomato imports, which means higher prices at the grocery store are coming. About 10 percent more according to one expert. The United States is the top market for Mexican tomato exports, according to the Department of Ag.

John.

BERMAN: All right, this morning, wildfires raging out west at the Grand Canyon. Really destructive wildfires.

Let's get right to CNN's Derek Van Dam for the latest on this.

Derek.

DEREK VAN DAM, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, John, there's been erratic fire behavior noted across northern Arizona. Even a few fire whirls that have popped up.

Now, this is bad news for the north rim of the Grand Canyon, which is now closed for the entirety of the 2025 remaining season because of the damage from the recent wildfire activity that really flared up through the course of the weekend. You can see some of the lodges here that have been burned to the ground, several dozen structures have been destroyed or damaged because of the ongoing wildfire.

So, we're zooming in to northern Arizona. We have the White Sage Fire near the border of Utah. But the Dragon Bravo Fire, which caused the destruction across the north rim, is really being fueled by dry vegetation, extreme heat, and some winds that have funneled across the canyons and over this particular region.

[09:55:08]

Now, the western U.S., we have millions under these heat alerts, but that includes the Grand Canyon because of this critical fire danger that will spread further south as a cold front moves across the region and helps pick up the winds. This is where we anticipate the critical fire danger conditions for northern Arizona and the border of Utah for the day tomorrow.

Now, switching gears to the flood threat across Texas. We had to halt our search and recovery efforts across Kerr County yesterday. There are still additional showers and storms firing up across this region, with flash flood warnings included for western and central Kerr County as the potential for, get this, between two to five inches of rain with locally higher amounts, up to nine inches, possible today across some of these hard hit areas. It's been a week.

BERMAN: Yes, they certainly don't need it there.

All right, Derek Van Dam, thank you very much for that.

BOLDUAN: And thank you, John Berman, for being here today.

BERMAN: Thank you, Kate Bolduan.

BOLDUAN: Thanks so much for being with us today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "SIT ROOM" is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)