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Officials: At Least 50 Dead, 29 Missing In Texas Floods; Israeli Protesters Push For "Complete" Hostage Deal; State Media: Iranian Supreme Leader Makes First Public Appearance Since Star Of Israel Conflict. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired July 05, 2025 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:22]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN HOST: Welcome into the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brian Abel in Washington.

At least 50 people confirmed dead from massive flooding in Texas, and at least 15 of them are children. Officials say 29 people are missing.

We are told all but two of the missing are children from Camp Mystic, a girls summer camp in Kerr County, Texas. It's one of the areas hit hardest by the flooding. The parents of two young girls confirming to CNN that their daughters have died, 13-year-old Blair Harber. You see him here, and 11-year-old Brooke Harber.

Other campers confirmed dead, including nine-year-old Janie Hunt, who you see here, and nine-year-old, Lila Bonner. Sarah Marsh, an eight- year-old Renee Smajjstrla seen in this photo. Her family confirmed her death to CNN. Her uncle telling us it's truly devastating.

Camp Mystic is near the Guadalupe River in the town of Hunt, Texas. Its near Kerrville and Northwest of San Antonio. Torrential rains caused the river to rise more than 20 feet in less than two hours.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says emergency crews are working nonstop to save people.

And let's go there to Texas now with CNN's Marybel Gonzalez joining us live from Kerrville.

Marybel, just terrible loss. What have you seen and heard there?

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, terrible. And tragic, Brian. This devastation is just so widespread across the county, especially in areas that are right by the river where we're standing is one of them.

We are at the Blue Oak RV Park. And the owner, Lorena Guillen, describes July 3rd as the perfect day. It was a hot day. It was warm. It was -- everybody was excited to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend. She had even purchased $1,000 worth of fireworks that she was planning on setting off to celebrate the holiday.

But unfortunately, things changed and they changed very quickly. Brian, in just a matter of hours, she said it started raining and then that rain just got heavier and heavier.

And we are -- you can see why it became so dangerous in the situation. We are just steps away from the Guadalupe River and this here, this land that you see here was filled with RVs. However, she says all of the RVs on her property were swept away. And in this area, they also saw some devastation. One of those families, the families of a family of five, including three children, the oldest that looked to be no older than six years, six years old, according to Lorena, were swept away in the water when the flooding started to happen.

She initially heard the screams coming outside her window because she also lives on the property, and she said she heard people trying to help this family that were clinging on to a tree as their RV washed away. A lot of people trying to help them out, but unfortunately, they were also swept away in the current.

It's unclear, Brian, if those -- if that family is among those who have been found. It's also unclear if they were able to survive this terrible, terrible tragedy -- Brian.

ABEL: Just horrible to think about people experiencing that.

Marybel, I know that there's some concern about the forecast ahead, but how has it been there today? Has there been any reprieve?

GONZALEZ: Yeah. So earlier today, we did get some emergency alerts to our phone about potential flash flood areas, especially near Austin. That rain has subsided here in Kerr County. However, we are -- we are expecting more rain throughout the night and going into tomorrow. And of course, that is concerning because of the conditions right now. The Guadalupe River is still pretty full. The water is still at pretty high levels. Theres downed trees in the area.

All of the rain could, of course, make those search and rescue efforts that much more difficult. And that is what people are bracing for. But they're hoping that those conditions don't get any worse.

ABEL: Marybel Gonzalez, really appreciate your reporting. Marybel from Kerrville tonight, thank you.

With rescue efforts still underway, local officials are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast over Texas.

Meteorologist Chris Warren has been tracking the storm system and brings us the latest on what to expect in the days ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS WARREN, METEOROLOGIST: This whole disaster unfolding in a matter of hours during the overnight Friday into Friday morning. So Thursday night into Friday morning with areas receiving more than a foot of rain. But widespread over several counties in this orange and red color here, which is 4 to 6, even 6 to 10 inches of rain.

[23:05:07]

This is how it played out on radar from overnight Friday to 5:30 in the morning. Here's Kerrville and Kerr County right here. Getting so much rain it just continued throughout the mid-morning and into the early afternoon. So, several hours of nonstop and occasionally intense rain leading to serious fast flooding here along the Guadalupe River in Kerrville.

Most of the week, the water level was under a foot, 0.7, and then in a matter of hours, it goes up a little bit to three feet and then jumps to two stories high, or about 23.4 feet. So it's about two stories high. Just so quickly. Thats something you just do not see very often at all. It's hard to imagine that happening. That wave of water. Meanwhile, flash flood warnings were being issued between midnight and noon 24. More than 24, more than two dozen issued by the National Weather Service. Highest level flash flood emergencies. And that was some through here near Kerrville as well.

Here's the high resolution future radar through time. More rain is expected some overnight, but really going to pick up tomorrow morning into the afternoon and evening hours. Not seeing some of the heaviest storms right over Kerr County. However, with the high-resolution future radar, you have to give a little bit of wiggle room here. It could drift a little bit farther to the south. So, just a big heads up there for the search efforts ongoing there as well.

So, the forecast rainfall, the amount that were expecting generally about 2 to 4 inches in the highest amounts, nothing compared to what we saw the past couple of days.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: When we return, well bring you the latest on the tragedy in Texas, including the tactical challenges faced by search and rescue teams.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABEL: Now back to our breaking news out of Central Texas, where at least 50 people have been killed due to catastrophic flash flooding. Search and rescue missions are ongoing right now.

[23:10:00]

And at the moment, 29 people are still missing and that includes 27 children from a private girls summer camp in Kerrville, Texas.

The camp is located along the Guadalupe River, which rose more than 20 feet in less than two hours Friday. The Kerrville city manager says they have been evacuating hundreds of people from other campsites by the river.

And let's bring in Jason Pack, now, a former FEMA official, also a retired FBI special agent. He's joining me from Knoxville, Tennessee. Jason, thank you for your time. First, can you just give us your take

on the challenges that recovery agencies are facing at the moment.

JASON PACK, FORMER FEMA OFFICIAL: Good evening, Brian.

There are several challenges. There are two main challenges. The first one, as you mentioned in your last block, is the weather. The rescuers have to deal with. They have to keep their eyes to the sky and plan for what the weather is going to be. So, that's going to hamper aircraft operations.

They're attacking this on a three-pronged effort. They have air, they have ground searches, and they have water. So, the weather can affect all three of those, and you have to be able to plan accordingly.

We also heard last hour from the colonel of the Texas Department of Public Safety. They're bringing in extra aviation units. And you saw earlier in the press conference with Governor Abbott and Secretary Noem that those assets from the Customs and Border Protection with the thermal imaging, hopefully will be flown around at night. I'm sure they also have drones up, too.

All of that, though, weather-dependent, right? So, you want to make sure that you're keeping rescuers safe, but they're going to work as hard as they can to try to do anything they can to find these young girls that are missing. And the rest of the folks who are missing there.

ABEL: And with your FBI background, can you -- can you give us any sense of how long they have for this to still be a rescue effort before it turns into a recovery effort?

PACK: Oh, that's an interesting question, Brian. I think every rescuer will tell you they're always going to hope for the best, and they're always going to go out looking for survivors. Now, they may come across people who have perished in this disaster, but they're always going to go out and try to find hope. They want to make sure hope is alive. Eventually, this will turn to a recovery operation.

But for the families out there who are grieving tonight and who still don't know where their loved ones are, the men and women behind the badges of all agencies are working as hard as they can to make sure that they can find these folks and bring some kind of resolution to, you know, the situation. Hopefully, you know, you go to Summer Camp, Brian, you want to build memories and not live nightmares.

It's just so, so horrific. You know, you drop your kids off at camp. My daughter was just at camp a few weeks ago, and you never expect something like this to happen. The safety of a church camp and those types of things where you're building memories, making friends for the summer, and then, all of a sudden, two stories of water come at you. Just unfathomable.

ABEL: It absolutely is. And what does it look like initially once agencies like FEMA arrive on the ground to this horrific scene? Walk us through the various levels of help people can expect the outreach, and what will people there in Texas need in the following days and weeks?

PACK: Sure, we're still under the search and rescue efforts here, so disasters are coming. Several phases. The search and rescue phase is what we're in now. We saw Governor Abbott's expedited request it looks like through Secretary Noem to President Trump. So, I expect to see in the near future a disaster declaration declared.

Usually, you go through the process of what's called joint PDAs or preliminary damage assessments, and you gather all that information, you send it through FEMA's office there in Denton, Texas, in region six. And then that goes up to FEMA headquarters and then over to the president for signature. So, you can see what a bureaucratic process that can be sometimes. And when you're in the middle of an emergency, you want to make sure that you get as much help as quickly as possible.

We have seen the direct federal assistance that can be used by the president's order when there's life and limb, and we certainly see that in this case. Youve seen the Coast Guard helicopters, the Customs and Border Protection, aviation assets and ground search units. And then there's also the Army Corps of Engineers, which handles the flooding.

So once this declaration is declared by the president, you're going to see individual assistance and public assistance come into play.

ABEL: Okay.

PACK: Individual assistance is for people. Public assistance is for communities like bridges, roads and overtime.

ABEL: Well, Jason, you mentioned bureaucracy. And I do want to ask you about that. You know, because people keep on saying that nobody could have expected this. That means that people aren't always taking pictures of the items, storing documents safely or digitally to be able to access them after a flood because they didn't expect this.

So, without those pictures and documents, how can people impacted still receive the full extent of FEMA's help once there's that declaration?

PACK: Well, FEMA is just a helping hand. It's to get you back on your feet and not make you whole again.

So, you want to make sure that go -- the first thing to do is register.

[23:15:02]

And you want to go through the Texas Department of Emergency Management has their iSTAT on their web page. So, if you live in Texas and you've been affected by these disasters, you want to go to that particular website. It's called iSTAT, and it's on the Texas Department of Emergency Management website.

So go fill that out. But your local emergency managers will likely know the most affected areas. They'll compile all that information, and they'll definitely work with FEMA and the Texas Department of emergency management to make sure you get all the help that you're eligible for.

ABEL: All right. Former FEMA official Jason Pack, thank you for your time and expertise. Appreciate it.

PACK: Thanks, Brian.

ABEL: Our breaking news coverage continues after a short break. And when we return, hear from one man who helped save his neighbor, swept away by the floodwaters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABEL: Back to our breaking news now. Communities in Central Texas devastated by catastrophic flooding, and they are bracing for the possibility of even more rain. At least 50 people have died, including 15 children. Officials say there are still more than two dozen people missing.

Ella Cahill's family says they're still searching for her and three of her friends. The vacation home they were staying in has been swept away, according to the family. Their car is in the river and some of their belongings have been found miles away.

Now to Sarah Acosta with our affiliate KSAT. She is taking a closer look at the destruction left by flooding in Kerrville.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH ACOSTA, KSAT REPORTER: This home floated about the length of a football field down the Guadalupe River when the flash flood rose quickly into the homes on waterfront drive in Kerrville, along Bandera Highway and Loop 534. And this is what's left of that home, completely leveled by the river behind it. And the neighbors tell us they fear that the people who lived here may have not survived. And we spoke with the people who live next door, and they walk us through what happened.

SCOTT WELDON, KERRVILLE, TEXAS RESIDENT: I had no idea that something like this could happen.

[23:20:03]

And then holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED) stuff started to hit the walls. And my wife jumped up and looked out the back porch. And it was a river.

ACOSTA: Scott Weldon and his wife say the water came in so fast there was no time to evacuate.

WELDON: By the time I went to get my keys to move my truck out of the way to just back up across the street, the water had risen and flooded my truck. The water got up there in the door about this high and I looked at my wife and it was like, we need to get out of here.

ACOSTA: That water too strong and fast, sweeping them down the river.

WELDON: We went ahead and jumped out and we got washed down three houses. And we finally ended up snagged on a -- on a big bush. So, we hung onto the bush until we got rescued.

ACOSTA: They hung onto a crape myrtle tree for about 30 minutes before they were rescued by police officers, who formed a human chain.

WELDON: We were kind of going, we hope this isn't it.

ACOSTA: Weldon says they are grateful to be alive, saying his destroyed home and cars are just material things.

WELDON: This is stuff.

ACOSTA: Neighbor Emma Cantu (ph) says they live a couple of houses over, fortunate their home is safe and they were able to evacuate quick enough. Feeling overwhelmed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A feeling of sadness because -- I mean, even the people that were here weren't expecting this to happen.

ACOSTA: As they pick up the pieces and continue to look for neighbors and loved ones, she hopes it's a time where the community can stand strong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Helping each other is this is when we need to come together and help each other out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: And our thanks to Sarah Acosta with our affiliate KSAT there.

As search efforts continue for those missing in the flash flooding in Texas, we are hearing stories of bravery from everyday folks who stepped up to help people in need.

CNN's Erica Hill spoke to one man who saved a woman trapped in a tree. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL JETER, RESCUED WOMAN FROM TEXAS FLOODS: We had kind of stepped away from the house a little bit because it was flooding. It almost went in our house. We're high in the air. We're 25 feet above the -- above the ground. And we -- when I figured out that the floodwaters had quit rising, and were -- maybe beginning to recede, I waded over and went up on my deck, which is behind me, and Devin saw me and she began to scream. And I thought, somebody I thought she was in the water. I didn't know that she was in a tree. But as it turned out, I finally spotted her in the tree.

And I began to yell back across to her that, hey, I see you! I'm going to get help. Hang tight. We're going to make sure we get you out of there. And so, then it was just a matter of trying to get authorities and what have you here to -- ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: I understand.

JETER: Get her out of the tree.

HILL: Yeah. Not easy to get those first responders, the rescue -- the rescue folks to the area, although you did manage to do so.

JETER: No, I called -- yeah. I called 911. And after about 30 minutes, they hadn't responded. So, I got in my vehicle and went over just down the road, a piece where I knew they were going to be authorities at, and I flagged down a DPS officer. And told him what was going on, and he then got on the radio and, and eventually we got some folks over here and they sent a swift water team said they couldn't get the helicopter in the air because it was still raining.

And so, they sent a swift water boat over and we helped them put the boat in the water. It was kind of difficult to get in there, but we finally got it in, and they were able to go over and secure a life vest on her. And then she had to drop out of the tree into the boat and then brought her back over to -- to dry land and.

HILL: Yeah, and you actually brought her -- yeah, I understand it. You and your family. You brought her into your home. You know where she had a little, little time to recover? Of course, before you brought her to the hospital.

She -- she told you, it's my understanding a really remarkable and, frankly, heart wrenching story about how she ended up there in that tree near your house. She had come from some 20 miles away and was separated from her family. Is that correct?

JETER: Yeah, we don't know for sure how far she traveled, but I mean, it was it was many miles down the river in in debris with said there were RVs, fastener, you know, in the water. There was trees, debris refrigerators, just any number of things that were floating, you know -- not floating, but raging down the river with her.

[23:25:06]

hey had been camping up on the river down in above Ingram and gotten there the night before. And they said they woke up, got in the car, were kind of resting and they finally saw the tent going away and they tried to tried to drive out. At that point, it was too late. Floodwaters swabbed through so she said they pulled themselves from the -- through the -- through the sunroof on the car and entered the water.

They were all three together to start with, but they soon were separated and said she went over four dams to get here and she went under a road in town, Sydney Baker, we call it. It's sorry the mosquitoes are bad and you know, she could see cars going by and she was hollering and screaming and, you know, obviously no one saw her. And that was another -- that's another ten miles down the river from that point.

And so she's I mean, somehow she garnered the strength to, to grab on to that tree and pull herself up into it. I don't know how she did it because she was in the water at that point for some four hours. You know, treading water. And yeah, she was beat up, scarred up, you know, she's still in the hospital right now. After we have you -- she was at our house for about three hours before a family member came and got her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: When we return, we'll have the latest on the catastrophic flooding in Texas that has left dozens dead and dozens more missing. Our coverage continues with much more straight ahead.

Plus, CNN speaks with a father searching riverbanks for his missing 21-year-old daughter. More on the desperate situation families in Texas are facing right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:19]

ABEL: Welcome back into the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Brian Abel.

An update now on the deadly flooding in Texas. At least 50 people confirmed dead, at least 15 of them are children, 29 more are missing.

The disaster stems from torrential rains that caused the Guadalupe River to rise more than 20 feet in less than two hours. One of the areas hit hardest is Camp Mystic. It's a girls summer camp in Kerr County, Texas. Twenty-seven other missing are children from that camp.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has asked for federal assistance. President Trump says the White House is working with state officials.

Earlier, CNN senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera spoke with the father of a missing 21-year-old in Hunt, Texas. Ty Badon says his daughter and her three friends were swept away by flood waters during a Fourth of July weekend trip. He describes the search as he scours the area near their last known whereabouts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Your daughter was here with two friends.

TY BADON, SEARCHING FOR MISSING DAUGHTER AND FRIENDS: Yeah, three.

LAVANDERA: Three friends.

BADON: You know.

LAVANDERA: And four of them?

BADON: Correct.

LAVANDERA: And she and the young man they went to elementary school and high school together. And the young -- one of her friends, Ella Cahill, that's her boyfriend, Hayden (ph) is, they went to school -- through high school. So they've known each other a long time. The other girl, her name is Reese -- I can't remember her last name right now. She is Ella's roommate at UTSA, so we've never met her or her parents. But God bless her. And we pray that all four of them are still alive.

BADON: All four are missing.

LAVANDERA: Yes, yes, they're all missing. And, you know, it's been 4:00, yesterday morning that we were told that, you know, they were on the phone with Aiden's (ph) dad, who -- they owned the house where they were. It's a very nice house. No longer there. And Aiden said, hey, you know, I've got to go. I've got to help Ella and Reese. So he gave the phone to Joyce Kathryn (ph), Joyce Kathryn said, they just got washed away. And then a few seconds later the phone went dead. And that's all we know.

So, we presume that she got washed away as well. And if you go back to where the house is, it's not a good sign. And that's why I was telling you, my son and I are walking and I thought it was a mannequin. It was a little boy about 8 or 10 years old, and he was dead. So, we just --

LAVANDERA: You saw that this morning?

BADON: Yes. So we, you know, were just walking and doing the same thing we were doing. Look, you know, when we stumbled across him. But hopefully we can find our children, our daughter and her friends alive. So anyway, I ask you if you would pray. And whoever watches this thing pray.

We got together and picked up our son and came over here and we waited around at a center and God bless them, they're doing a great job. It's in Ingram, Texas, at the elementary school, and they're kind of like the place where all the survivors are brought.

And we were hoping that we would hear our daughter and friends' names call, but they never did call. So, we said this morning, we're going to come out and try to find them ourselves.

LAVANDERA: I mean, you're walking through this mess hoping for a miracle.

BADON: Amen. Keep the faith. It's all we can do. So that's all I got, Ed, thank you.

LAVANDERA: Tell us about your daughter.

BADON: Yes. She's a beautiful girl, and I think I sent you a picture just a wonderful girl. And couldn't ask for a better daughter all through school. She's just easy, you know? No, no shenanigans or anything like that.

I mean, she was -- she was a normal girl. Would have fun. But, yes, we loved her dearly.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ABEL: Just heartbreaking. And our thoughts are certainly with him.

Ed Lavandera has more on Camp Mystic and what happened there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Just beyond the Guadalupe River over there is Camp Mystic and these are the cabins where so many young people were swept away by the flood waters, 27 by last count, still missing. And at this point is every hour that has gone by, it becomes harder and harder to hope that these children can still be found alive.

But I have talked to a number of people who had children or were counselors at the camp, and they describe these cabins that you see here in the distance, this is where the younger children would stay.

[23:35:08]

This is kind of where you start out, and then you graduate your way up through the ranks here as you -- as you get older.

But several people tell us that as the flood waters came up in the middle of the night, the children couldn't get out this way toward us because that's where the flood waters were coming from. The water had them pinned inside that it was the young counselors. And by young -- I mean, these are just 18, 19-year-olds who were inside the cabin with those children unable to get out, get away.

Several people tell us that a lot of those counselors were breaking windows in the back of those buildings, and then pulling kids through the windows and in their pajamas, making their way up through the hillside there to get to higher ground and to safety.

That is some of the heroic work that these young people managed to do to help save as many lives as possible. There were some 750 kids at this camp, and you can see how extensive the damage is. First of all, just look at the ferociousness that these flood waters came through, uprooting massive trees and just decimating the river -- the riverbed here is everything was rushing downstream.

When you look at the campground here, you can see the recreation hall is still standing for the most part, but part of the wall there ripped apart. You know, all of this was under water. And that is the one thing that has been really hard to kind of describe in all of this is just the amount of water that these floods brought, where we're standing was underwater at some point, and consider how high above the river we are at this point gives you a sense that all of this was barreling downstream. People were just simply unable to get out of the way as these flood waters went up as fast as they did.

And that is why this situation has been so extremely deadly.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, near Camp Mystic, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ABEL: Let's bring Scott Dance into our coverage now. He's the global weather reporter for "The Washington Post", joining me from Baltimore, Maryland.

And, Scott, first tell us about how much warning people had here, the ramping up of the severity of the forecast. And when.

SCOTT DANCE, GLOBAL WEATHER REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Yeah, this really developed very quickly in the overnight hours. On Thursday, the National Weather Service told me they had had briefings in the mornings with emergency managers on Thursday, knowing that there was a slight risk, maybe of some flooding.

But at that point, they were predicting, you know, at the high end, like 5 to 7 inches of rain. So, you know, it wasn't until after midnight that they started to see this intense level of moisture developing and just the -- this sort of low probability, high impact scenario that they had known was possible start to develop. It was after 1:00 a.m. that they issued the first flash flood warnings, and then not until and then basically so three hours for people to start to react. And then at 4:00 a.m. is when the most intense flooding started to occur. And so that's when people, you know, at this camp or campgrounds along the river, the Guadalupe River when they really started to face this situation where they had no time to react.

And so, you know, there were cell phone based alerts that would have gone out that the National Weather Service sends out, and those would have gone out as early as 1:00 a.m., but, you know, it's not clear in a -- in a place like this, a rural area, did they have service in a campground, you know, with eight-year-old children? Did they have cell phones? We don't know.

ABEL: And, Scott, one forecast was worded like this leading up to this event, it said, quote, rapid runoff is expected with locally considerable flash and urban flash flooding possible. The nocturnal timing will also enhance the hazard potential and impacts.

Are we potentially in a place where forecasts have become too technical for the layperson like myself, to fully understand them? Because I'm not fully sure what all of that said there.

DANCE: Yeah, it's something that, you know, we are looking at in our coverage and that we've discussed with other storms. It's something that social scientists who work for the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration look at, like, what sort of words and phrasing do people respond to? What mode of warning do they respond to the best?

It's something that with many past storms, has taken a lot of after action review to look at, and that clearly were still needing to work on.

ABEL: Yeah, as high as 23 feet is what the Guadalupe River hit in this disaster, second highest crest on record.

[23:40:06] What does this the intensity of it say in your estimation about flooding moving forward?

DANCE: Yeah, this is also something were really trying to look at more in our reporting that, you know, we know the basic physics are that a warmer atmosphere holds. It's capable of holding more moisture. And then you're getting these flows and atmospheric setups with, you know, a stationary system like this one where they can just funnel moisture and, you know, it's like wringing a sponge over and over again over the same area. And, and this is something that, you know, for years scientists have been saying is a potential you know, side effect or consequence of the warming of the planet.

And we're seeing it in action. I mean, I've heard from scientists who are saying, you know, at this point, it's not necessarily a question of what role did climate change play in this or whether it played a role, but sort of how much. And, you know, there are studies where they look pretty rapidly at they can say, you know, a baseline level of moisture from, you know, decades ago would have been this much, but here's how much moisture there actually was in the atmosphere. And then, you know, how that translated into this crazy amount of rain that, that even a day before just did not seem possible.

ABEL: Yeah. And hopefully, the forecasting, everything that goes along with that is adapting to this change as well.

Scott Dance, appreciate your time. Thank you.

DANCE: Thanks.

ABEL: CNN senior White House reporter Betsy Klein has more on the federal response to the disaster.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: What local officials are expecting that this is going to be a marathon of search and rescue and search and recovery efforts, and it is going to take the close coordination of state, local and federal governments together to get that done.

So, here's what we know so far about the federal response. The U.S. Coast Guard is helping with those rescues, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem says that she has requested additional fixed wing aircraft with thermal imaging. That is something that is going to help in the overnight hours as it gets dark and they continue to search and rescue.

Separately, FEMA is engaged, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with the Army Corps of Engineers, as well as U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Noem says that Border Patrol agents are stepping up. They've been tapped in with certain expertise and skills that they can use to help in this situation.

But so far, state and local officials say that they are getting what they need from the federal government. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says that he has submitted a federal disaster declaration request to the White House. It is awaiting President Trump's signature at this time.

But President Trump has spoken with Secretary Noem several times today. Noem was expected to visit Camp Mystic, where dozens of girls remain missing. But we still don't know the extent of the federal resources that are going to be needed here, whether Congress is going to have to step up with additional aid.

But there are two other things to keep track of as we continue to track the federal response here. Number one is that President Trump has been sharply critical of FEMA and says he plans to phase out that agency by the end of the next hurricane season. That is something we'll be watching closely for how the federal government coordinates with the state of Texas here.

And separately, the president's fiscal year 2026 budget has steep cuts to some of these weather research labs that are vital to improving forecasts. These are the tools that can help detect these types of storms better. They are currently experiencing cuts.

DOGE also has cut hundreds of staffers at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as well as the National Weather Service. But Secretary Noem was really pressed on some of the alerts at the National Weather Service.

Here's how she defended the Trump administration.

KRISTI NOEM, DHS SECRETARY: That is something and one of the reasons that when President Trump took office that he said he wanted to fix in is currently upgrading the technology and the National Weather Service has indicated that with that and NOAA, that we needed to renew this ancient system that has been left in place with the federal government for many, many years.

But I do carry your concerns back to the federal government, to President Trump, and we will do all we can to fix those kinds of things that that may have felt like a failure to you.

KLEIN: Of course, this storm was truly unpredictable. The water rose so fast. It was really unprecedented. We also have a little bit of good news, and that is that Congressman August Pfluger, who represents Texas Hill Country in Congress, says that he and his wife have been reunited with two of their daughters who were campers at camp mystic.

[23:45:03]

He said, "Please join us as we pray for miracles."

Betsy Klein, CNN, traveling with the president in New Jersey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: We are also following other news this hour. Israel sending negotiators to the new round of cease talks with Hamas. But some Israeli protesters who've been demanding a hostage deal for many months are still out on the streets. We'll explain why after the break. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ABEL: Search and rescue operations are continuing for those still missing after flash floods devastated parts of Central Texas and Kerr County. At least four months worth of rain fell in just a matter of hours, causing the Guadalupe River to swell more than 20 feet high. Fifty people have died, including 15 children.

Officials say 29 people are missing, including 27 of those being from a private girls summer camp in Kerrville. Texas officials say they will not give up until they locate every missing child.

We are going to turn now to the Middle East, Israel says its negotiators will be headed to Qatar on Sunday for a new round of ceasefire talks with Hamas, the militant group said it responded positively to the U.S. truce proposal on Friday, but it also requested some changes, which Israel says is a nonstarter.

Meanwhile, officials in Gaza say more than 50 people were killed from Israeli strikes and gunfire on Saturday. Dozens more could be trapped in a collapsed four-story building near Gaza city, and two U.S. aid workers were injured when someone threw grenades during food distribution in southern Gaza. U.S. aid officials say preliminary information suggests it was a targeted attack by Hamas.

Protesters in Israel have been pushing for months for a deal that would bring hostages from Gaza back home, but now that the agreement is closer than it's been in a while, they're turning the pressure up.

Oren Liebermann explains why.

[23:50:04]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Here in Hostages Square, the crowd of thousands knows the significance of the moment. This is a crowd that's been out here week after week, almost every week, for more than the past year and a half since the war has started. But they know that this moment is different.

This is critical. With a new proposal on the table from Qatar that was put forward earlier this week. Israel accepted that proposal on Tuesday, a major development late Friday night where Hamas said they responded positively and were ready to enter proximity talks.

And then on Saturday night, ahead of a full cabinet meeting from the Israeli government and Israeli official tells us, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu authorized an Israeli delegation to go to Doha in Qatar for proximity talks. And that's one of the last stages before a deal where negotiators shuttle back and forth between Israel and Hamas to get those final details done.

It's not a final deal right now, and there could still be challenges ahead. But this from the expectations we have seen, is the most positivity in the highest expectations we've seen in about half a year, and the crowd here knows it.

ORLY EREZ-LIKHOVSKI, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ISRAEL RELIGIOUS ACTION CENTER: It's too bad that it's not going to be a deal that brings everyone back. I think the fact that those are, you know, sort of dividing to steps that are going to take for so long, that's very dangerous. But obviously, it's better than nothing.

LIEBERMANN: The crowd here, thousands of them, are calling for a complete deal. All of the hostages home for a complete end to the war. But they know realistically, that's not what's on the table.

This is a partial deal for about half the hostages and about half the deceased hostages over 60 days. Still, it's what's right there on the table and it's what they're pushing the Israeli government to take. That's what we've heard from all of the speakers here, and from all of the attendees we have spoken with.

Those who've been out here over and over again trying to get to this point and trying to do what they can to push it, to make sure that ceasefire deal comes into effect and as quickly as possible.

Oren Liebermann, CNN, in Tel Aviv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: And Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his first public appearance since the start of the conflict with Israel. Iranian state media broadcasts Khamenei attending a religious gathering in the capital Tehran on Saturday.

Worshipers who were there observing Ashura, the holiest day of the Shiite Muslim calendar, stood and cheered the supreme leader as he entered the hall. Khamenei had reportedly been in a, quote, secure location at the onset of the air war with Israel.

Still to come, search and rescue efforts still underway in Texas after catastrophic flooding devastated that area. We have the latest ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:55:38]

ABEL: We are following breaking news tonight as search and rescue operations are underway in Texas after devastating floods. At least 50 people are dead, including at least 15 children, and crews are looking for 29 missing people, 27 of them children.

The kids went missing from a girls summer camp near Kerrville, Texas, when flash floods swept through the area, turning the nearby river into a torrent. Kerrville officials say rescue efforts will continue through the night into Sunday until they find every single person.

The Trump administration says it will honor the disaster declaration that Texas Governor Greg Abbott recently signed.

Another weather situation, though, that we are tracking. It's named Tropical Storm Chantal. Strong winds are expected through Saturday night and into Sunday morning along parts of South and North Carolina. This will make for a soggy remaining holiday weekend.

Flash flooding could occur in some areas. Beaches can also expect dangerous surf conditions and rip currents. Rain is expected to spread to the mid-Atlantic in the early part of next week. Chantal is the third named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.

Thank you for joining us. I'm Brian Abel. CNN NEWSROOM continues after a short break.

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