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Officials: At Least 51 Killed in Texas Floods; Immigrant Communities Stay at Home Amid Fear of ICE Raids; Israeli Protesters Pushing for "Complete" Hostage Deal; Pope Leo XIV Resumes Papal Summer Vacation Tradition. Aired 5-6 am ET

Aired July 06, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

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[05:00:33]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.

At least 51 people are confirmed dead from massive flooding in Texas, and at least 15 of them are children. Officials say 27 other children are missing 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 confirmed to CNN that their daughters have died. 13-year-old Blair Harber and 11-year-old Brooke Harber. Other campers confirmed dead include 9-year-old Janie Hunt, who you see here, 9-year-old Lila Bonner, Sarah Marsh, and 8-year-old Renee Smajjstrla, seen in this photo. Her family confirmed her death to CNN. Her uncle told us that it's truly devastating.

The destruction in the area has been widespread. Texas Governor Greg Abbott visited Camp Mystic on Saturday. He says it's horrendously ravaged, and he also says emergency crews are working nonstop to save people. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG ABBOTT, (R) TEXAS GOVERNOR: My instruction to every state agency involved in this is to assume everybody who is missing is alive, and there's a need for speed, not just every hour, every minute counts, which is why there's people in the air, people in the water, people on the ground right now, because they're -- they're looking to save every last life, and we will not give up that effort.

JOE HERRING, JR. KERVILLE, TEXAS MAYOR: We will rescue those in peril, and we will find those who are lost. I continue to ask everyone who sees this today to pray for Kerrville and Kerr County. We need your prayers.

ROB KELLY, KERR COUNTY JUDGE: It's going to be a long time before we're ever going to be able to clean it up, much less rebuild it. But there's nothing on the other side of Crider's. It's just hill country. And we didn't know. We know we get rains. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Camp Mystic is near the Guadalupe River town of Hunt, Texas. It's near Kerrville and northwest of San Antonio. Torrential rains caused the river to rise more than 20 feet in less than two hours.

CNN's Marybel Gonzalez has more on the damage and the rescue efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARYBEL GONZALEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The damage across Kerr County is just so widespread. We're here in Kerrville, Texas, on the side of the Blue Oak RV Park. Now, this is an RV park that was gearing up for the Fourth of July celebrations. It was a perfect day, the property owner, Lorena Guillen, tells us. It was sunny. It wasn't too hot. She had purchased $1,000 worth of fireworks to set them off to their visitors that were here, some of whom were long-term RV visitors. Other ones were just here for the holiday weekend.

However, she tells us that quickly changed going into the night. It was around 2:30 a.m. when she noticed it was raining heavily. And before she knew it, the river, the Guadalupe River that you see behind us, had just completely swelled up. There were people that were frantic on this property.

And one family of five, she describes, were screaming for help. They were clinging to a tree as their RV got swept away by the current. Eventually, and even though people were trying to help that family, that family was also swept away from the current.

And it is unclear if that family is among those who have been found. This is a tragic story that we've heard over and over again in different parts of the county. We know even on this property, earlier, there was a group of volunteers searching a mangled car along the river that crashed into a tree because they believed somebody could potentially be in there. Sheriff deputies were called to the scene, but fortunately, nobody was inside the car.

Now, Lorena Guillen says the focus is on helping this community that has been completely devastated and will continue to be for the foreseeable future. She says that here, her RV park, everything is completely gone. 200-year-old trees are uprooted. Concrete slabs and pieces of metal are really all that remain. But she says she's hopeful that this community will move forward.

Right now, they need all the help that they can get, and we know that more federal resources could be on the way, with Governor Greg Abbott issuing a state of disaster declaration to help get some resources here on the ground.

[05:05:11] And while they wait for that to happen, she says volunteers have rallied to help this community bringing in donations as needed and also helping with the search and rescue efforts.

We're in Kerrville, Texas. I'm Marybel Gonzalez.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: And for more on the search efforts at Camp Mystic, here's Taylor Whartnaby with our affiliate KABB.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAYLOR WHARTNABY, REPORTER, KABB: So, we did travel up here. This is as far as we could get to Camp Mystic, which is right behind me as you can see the Guadalupe River. We went a little further and we were met with first responders. But again, we couldn't get any further than that. They are up there less than a mile, I would say. They were up there. We've seen some helicopters above us that were flying. There's also a drone. Again, if you take a look, you can see Camp Mystic right ahead. That one building really stands out. The whole front is completely missing. You know, we've seen some people walking around in that area.

Again, there's some debris that we're seeing. But also, I want to mention that I've seen a lot of people just walking through here with their orange vest, doing some searches. We've also seen some more first responders down further.

Looks like they had some canine dogs as well. So, a lot going on over here. Again, we are seeing first responders. I want to mention again, like that helicopter that was surfacing in this area. Again, and this is as far as that we could get to Camp Mystic, where over 20 girls are unaccounted for at this time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in Joe Etheridge, who's the father of a child who was at Camp La Junta near Camp Mystic. Now, his son swam to safety. He joins us now from Cat Springs, Texas.

Thanks so much for being here. I just have to say off the top, I'm so thankful that your son is safe. It must have been just absolutely terrifying, not just for him, but for you as well as a parent.

So, just to start, take me back before the flood, when the first flood watches were issued, did you have any worries?

JOE ETHERIDGE, SON WAS AT CAMP LA JUNTA AND SWAM TO SAFETY: Actually, no. I mean, I went to bed on Thursday night. I was actually staying with my parents. My mother had hip surgery, so I was -- I was kind of there taking care of her. Early Friday morning, six o'clock or so, our time, central time, both my wife and I received a text from the camp. Kind of giving some instructions and talking about the rains and the flood. And prior to that, we really didn't -- I had no knowledge of it. So, we frantically began to make some phone calls and kind of look online to see what we could see. And that's when we realized just how serious it was. I mean, I was actually a camp there -- I was a camper there as a child and very familiar with what that river can -- can do. So, as soon as I saw that they had received 13 inches of rain, I knew that that river probably couldn't take much more.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah. So, what did your son tell you then about the moment he realized that the flooding was becoming dangerous?

ETHERIDGE: Sure. Yeah. So, I mean, the time -- it's interesting. There were a bunch of different stories, right? Because each camper had a different experience. But my son was one of the older campers. He was in a cabin called Hillside there at Camp La Junta. There are two cabins there, Hillside and Hilton, that were habitable. And that's where I think most people went.

Basically, the way he described it was that he woke up at 11. It was raining really hard. There was water coming in places that it probably shouldn't. But he said it just felt like a torrential rain. And then by 1 o'clock, the water from the lower cabins, I guess, had encroached into the cabin and they were lapping on beds. And so, I think those kids were getting to safety and then started to go to Hillside cabin and Hilton cabin to seek refuge.

And so basically, what he said, he opened up the door, it was pitch dark, no lights. They couldn't see anybody. All they saw were just flashlights of the kids coming up there. And he said they basically hunkered down there until six or so in the morning when it started to get light. And by that time, more campers had come up to their cabin to seek refuge.

BRUNHUBER: So, he just stayed in the cabin? Did he have to exit the cabin or swim elsewhere?

[05:10:00]

ETHERIDGE: He did. And I don't really have all the details on that. He was a little shell-shocked along with most of those boys. But -- but basically, I guess at light, somehow they managed to get from their cabin and everybody that was in the cabin, they got to a service road, kind of up on the -- it's kind of on the south side of the camp. They were able to muster at the service road.

And there they waited for emergency personnel to come in and grab them. I really don't know how they made it to that service road. He did mention that one of the things that was concerning was when they looked back behind the camp, it kind of sits in front of a hill, the main hill there, that water was swiftly moving down the hill and sort of converging at the base of their camp.

And he said they were concerned about getting swept away even from that. He said it was raging to the point where it was concerning.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, well, concerning, I mean, to say the least. I mean, did he tell you sort of what was going through his mind? How frightened he must have been at that time as he watched the waters rising?

ETHERIDGE: Sure, I mean, it's interesting because he -- you know, we were seeing stuff online, receiving texts and things and pictures and videos. And of course, all of the news that was coming out of Camp Mystic. And my daughter actually goes to Heart of the Hills. She didn't go this year, but she's normally a camper there. So, when I heard about what was going on upstream of it, I was -- I was very, very upset. The camp was really good about sending out updates. They were good about communications. The pickup was great. But as far as my son's concerned is he really didn't know all this stuff was going on.

So, it was kind of weird when I was telling him what we were seeing, especially there was this one cabin that floated past the mess hall. I couldn't quite orientate myself to where that was. And he filled in the gaps for me and told me where it ended up.

And that those people in that floating cabin, once the cabin sort of got lodged between two trees, then everyone in that cabin was able to jump out and swim to the shore. So, there's a lot of little stuff going on at the same time. It was a bit overwhelming.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. Just a miracle that those boys were able to make it. You talk about your son being shell-shocked by this. I mean, how is he processing this traumatic experience, especially knowing how lucky he was and also how many other children weren't so lucky?

ETHERIDGE: Sure. I mean, you can really see there was the initial trauma when we picked him up. We met him at a Presbyterian church there in Kerrville, along with all the other parents. They bused them in there. They were kind of wandering around at first. You could really tell that they -- they probably hadn't had much sleep. Most of them were wearing other people's clothes.

Some had bigger shoes on. Some had mismatched pair of shoes. I mean, you could tell that what it was just frantic, trying to grab whatever they can. And so he was really -- really, you could tell that really impacted him. Not as bad, though, is when we started to kind of talk through the damage and look at the news. And he saw firsthand exactly the impact, how widespread it was. And of course, with the children missing from Mystic, that -- that I saw kind of two waves of emotion there.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, so tragic. Last question for you, of course. The concern is obviously for those still missing. But people are asking questions about what might have been able to prevent this. Do you think anything could have been done earlier? Warnings, for instance, because you said that this area has been known to flood?

ETHERIDGE: Sure, yeah. So, the year before I was -- my first year there, which was in 1987, there was a pretty serious flood that happened. I think several campers lost their lives. There's even a bus, I think, that was washed away. The camp did a really good job of, I remember, putting that fear into our minds about the river. Just, you know, respect it. It can -- it can kind of flood at a moment's notice. We always knew that.

And I've seen that river rise before on other occasions. It is -- it is unpredictable, and it's kind of hard to forecast. There's -- there's kind of a small stretch in there between the headwaters and -- and where those camps are. So, even if you had warnings up on that headwaters of flow and rain, I don't know if there's very much you could do.

[05:15:20]

Also, considering there's one -- basically, one road in and one road out. It's a two-lane road. And so I don't know how much egress you have in that. I don't know, even if you did know that a wall of water was coming down, how you could have even prepared and evacuated that whole area, especially with all the children there and buses.

But having said that, I mean, I think that, you know, my son was riding horses on Saturday afternoon, or excuse me, Thursday afternoon. And then this happens at 11, you know, one o'clock in the morning. So, not much time to prepare. And it's just something that a lot of those folks there kind of deal with. They just kind of, you know, kind of like building a beach house on the -- on the coast. I mean, that's how it is, you know.

BRUNHUBER: Well, listen, they'll be looking into all these questions in the next days and weeks to try and prevent this from happening again. But boy, as a parent, I can imagine just the incredible sense of gratitude you must have felt as you had your son safe in your arms again. Really appreciate having you speak to us today. Joe Etheridge, thanks so much.

ETHERIDGE: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate it.

We'll have more breaking news coverage of the fatal flooding in Texas when we come back, including a look at the path of the storm system so far and the forecast projection in the days ahead, plus how the Trump administration is responding to the tragedy. We'll have the latest from the White House next.

Stay with us.

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[05:20:46]

BRUNHUBER: Following breaking news in Central Texas, where communities devastated by catastrophic flooding are bracing for the possibility of even more rain. At least 51 people have died, including 15 children. Some residents were caught off guard by how quickly floodwaters rose.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT WELDON, KERRVILLE, TEXAS RESIDENT: But I had no idea that something like this could happen. And then, holy (bleep), stuff started to hit the walls, and my wife jumped up and looked out the back porch, and it was a river.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: More than two dozen missing children from Camp Mystic, a girls' summer camp in Kerr County. The Kerrville city manager says search and rescue operations remain the priority. He said crews plan to work through the night to find any survivors.

So, 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 coming days.

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.

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, about 23.4 feet. So, it was about two stories high just so quickly. That's 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 something 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 we're expecting, generally about two to four inches in the highest amounts. Nothing compared to what we saw the past couple of days.

BRUNHUBER: The Trump administration says it will honor a federal disaster declaration signed by the Texas governor to help direct relief to the state. CNN Senior White House Reporter Betsy Klein has more on the federal response to the disaster.

BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, 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.

[05:25:01]

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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: That is something, and one of the reasons that when President Trump took office that he said he wanted to fix and 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 may have felt like a failure to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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. He said, please join us as we pray for miracles.

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right, another weather situation we're tracking right now is Tropical Storm Chantal. The National Hurricane Center says the storm has made landfall. It's now weakening as it moves inland into South Carolina. Strong wind and rain are also expected to impact North Carolina. Flash flooding could occur in some areas, and 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.

All right, when we come back, we'll bring you the latest on the tragedy in Texas, including the tactical challenges faced by search and rescue teams. That and more coming up. Stay with us.

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[05:31:16]

BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. Let's check some of today's top stories.

An update now on the breaking news in Texas. At least 51 people have confirmed dead from massive flooding, and at least 15 of them are children. Officials say 27 children are missing from Camp Mystic, a girls' summer camp in Kerr County, Texas.

Search and rescue efforts are still underway in Texas, as the search continues for the 27 missing children. Kerrville officials say rescue efforts will continue through Sunday until they find every single person. Kerrville's city manager says search efforts remain a top priority.

The Secretary of Homeland Security is defending the government's response to the disaster in Texas. Kristi Noem says President Trump is, quote, "currently upgrading technology at the National Weather Service." But the president's mega bill, which he just signed into law, makes cuts and even closes some weather research labs that help make forecast improvements.

I want to bring in Jason Pack, who's a former FEMA official and is a retired FBI special agent, and he joins me now from Knoxville, Tennessee. Thank you so much for being here with us early this morning. So, first, can you just walk us through what's happening in these hours when children go missing in a flood scenario like this? Because you know what it feels like to be out there searching for a child when the clock's ticking.

JASON PACK, FORMER FEMA OFFICIAL: Good morning, Kim. Yes, priority one is really the safe recovery of the children that are missing out there. And I think overnight, you've seen these crews out and about, even though the weather is probably not bad and it's dangerous out there. We think that just because when people go looking or searching these ground crews, the air crews and the crews searching by water really have a very difficult task.

So, it's buggy out there. It's humid. It's hot. It's sticky. The terrain has changed because of the floods. And so, they're having to comb through every inch of the debris and the path of the river, you know, that's gotten out of its bounds that really hasn't probably been that high ever. So, they're forging new territory there. But I'm telling you that they're always keeping hope alive.

Like, you've heard just overnight here in your coverage, all these just remarkable stories of heroism. There's people that have been washed down the river, 12 miles or so. So, I think today, amid these rescue efforts and some of the recovery efforts, you're going to hear more of these stories. And conversely, you're going to hear more of just that same level of tragedy for these 51 families whose folks are not coming home, whose relatives, children and loved ones are not coming home.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, absolutely. Listen, the National Weather Service sent out early morning warnings about life-threatening flooding, but local officials say they couldn't have known how serious the threat would be. And of course, you know, in rural areas like these, it's hard to get warnings out. But do you think there was a breakdown between forecasting and local preparedness? Should there have been more urgent warnings, even evacuations, for instance?

PACK: I think that's too early to tell in the midst of the rescue and recovery operation here. Certainly, those are questions that will be asked and answered as the days progress, as they're able to complete the rescue efforts. The disasters come in several phases. The first is search and rescue, and then they move into the recovery operations. We're still in the middle of the rescue and recovery operations. So, those are important questions. But I think the answers will come later when the focus is off of the human life safety efforts here.

BRUNHUBER: Yeah, and those are certainly ongoing and facing so many challenges, as you've mentioned there. Give me a sense of what exactly is being deployed right now as we speak, because certain things can't be done during darkness. But, you know, even now, what is actually being mobilized to try and find those who are missing?

[05:35:17]

PACK: Well, I think overnight you had the -- Kristi, Secretary Noem mentioned that she was bringing in some Customs and Border Helicopters with night vision capabilities. So, that's probably been going on all night.

On these larger deployments, you have these shift changes around 6 or 7 a.m. So, the overnight shift will come in and brief where they've searched. And I'm sure they're mapping this out very thoroughly to make sure that no stone is left uncovered. There's about 1,000 or 1,500 rescuers in there. So, that could provide some logistical concerns.

So, you have all these coordination cells like this Joint Operations Center that goes on -- on the ground level. And that also trickles up to the state level, the Texas Department of Emergency Management is constantly on the phone with the local counties there assessing needs and providing the needed resources. And that's where FEMA comes in.

You've seen the direct federal assistance already that the federal government can provide in the form of these Coast Guard helicopters, the Customs and Border Patrol helicopters and ground crews. And then you also have the Army Corps of Engineers, which handles a lot of floodways and waterways throughout the country. So, the direct federal assistance is already there.

A lot of people think FEMA comes in. There are no FEMA fire engines. There's no FEMA people rappelling out of helicopters. They're a coordination agency and the coordination has already begun, has been evident so because you had the Secretary of Homeland Security at the press conference yesterday, which is a little unprecedented in these days and times. You don't see that early on. Usually these disaster declarations will take a few days to a week, but it seems like today we might see an expedited declaration based on what Governor Abbott signed yesterday and the request that's being taken to the president today. So, those will continue to flow in.

BRUNHUBER: The focus, quite rightly, as you said, is on the search and rescue. But I do want to broaden this out and take advantage of your expertise with FEMA and sort of look at the big picture here, because we are learning about staffing shortages at forecast offices, including a missing warning coordination meteorologist who serves as sort of the direct link between forecasters and emergency managers. It's, you know, maybe simplistic right now to point blame at any specific cuts to staffing and say, well, that's, you know, what directly led to a disaster like this. But how critical are these gaps when disaster strikes? And what do you think sort of these cuts might mean for real-time response?

PACK: Well, early warning certainly is important. You know, people used to say we didn't hear the sirens and those types of things. And then we've improved technology to these personal devices in your electronic wireless warning system.

So, as technology improves, then hopefully the warnings will. We encourage people in the emergency management industry to take personal responsibility and listen. But sometimes if you don't get the warning, then you don't know. It doesn't know -- and, you know, in this situation, your meteorologist just said it was like two stories worth of water. So, I don't even know any amount of warnings that could have made a difference here.

I mean, you're just still too early to tell. Hopefully they'll go back and look and see what things you can always learn lessons from a disaster. So, you can go back and look and see what things may have been improved. But in this case, it just seems like it was just a perfect storm, unfortunately.

BRUNHUBER: We'll leave it there. Jason Pack, really appreciate it. Thank you so much.

PACK: Thanks, Kim.

BRUNHUBER: Now, if you'd like to help those affected by the tragic flooding in Texas, you can go to CNN.com/impact. And there you can find resources for donations. And you'll be connected to charities that are on the ground in Texas. And you can all find that at CNN Impact Your World.

All right. Coming up, Israel is sending negotiators to cease fire in hostage talks with Hamas. But witnessing death remains a way of life in Gaza, despite the prospect of a truce. That and more coming up. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:42:16]

BRUNHUBER: We're following breaking news this morning as search and rescue operations continue in Texas after devastating floods. At least 51 people are dead, including at least 15 children. Crews are currently looking for 27 missing kids after a flash flood swept through a girls' summer camp near Kerrville, Texas.

Kerrville officials say rescue efforts will continue until they find every single person. The Trump administration says it will honor the disaster declaration recently signed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

In a move that some attorneys call unprecedented, eight migrants who were held at this U.S. military base in Djibouti have been deported to South Sudan. Now, that's despite warnings they could be arbitrarily detained, tortured or killed in the war-torn country. The Trump administration has been working to send some migrants to countries that are often far from safe. Now, many immigrants and some U.S. citizens are afraid to even go to public places, and it's leading to the cancellation of events in cities like Huntington Park, California. Julia Vargas Jones is there and has this report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It wasn't just the 4th of July celebrations. The mayor said they had to postpone now indefinitely a drone show planned for Friday night. A whole series of events that were going to take place throughout the summer were cancelled, movie nights, concerts, a community fair.

All of this because, according to the Huntington Park mayor, the community is just too fearful to gather outside and to celebrate. They say even those who are U.S. citizens in this community feel they could get caught up in ICE raids and immigration enforcement raids that have been going on since mid-June and haven't really stopped just two weeks ago. June 28, a door was blown out of a residence in Huntington Park as ICE was looking for a man who was accused of damaging a Border Patrol vehicle.

It is also here in Huntington Park that Secretary Kristi Noem attended a raid with ICE, as she embedded with ICE and attended a raid here in Huntington Park. Now, the mayor says that this has deeply changed the community, has made people fearful in a way that he wasn't expecting and had never seen before. Take a listen.

ARTURO FLORES, HUNTINGTON PARK MAYOR: Let me just clarify, you know, Huntington Park does have a community that is, you know, of undocumented individuals. But you have to understand the fear that's being gripped here, it's not only, you know, by individuals that are undocumented. You know, we would have movie nights, we'd have two, three hundred families. Majority of them were, you know, are American citizens. And that's the families that are fearful. Those are the ones that are not participating. They would rather not come out and not even risk a run-in, even if they're U.S.-born citizens.

JONES: Are they right to not show up? Is there an actual threat to the people who live in your community?

FLORES: I think, I think they are, rightfully so.

[05:45:01]

JONES: Now, the city is taking action. They are launching a legal defense fund and also a fund to help those people who can't or feel too fearful to go get their own food, their own groceries. He is also calling for an investigation into that one raid that Secretary Noem participated in.

Julia Vargas Jones, CNN, Huntington Park.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Elon Musk's feud with Donald Trump appears to have sunk to a whole new level. The world's richest man announced yesterday he's creating the America Party. That would be a direct challenge to the Republicans. Musk took to his social media platform X to reiterate his criticism of the president's mega-bill, which he says would bankrupt the country with, quote, "waste and graft." Musk had pledged to form a third political party if the president signed his mega-bill into law, as he did on Friday. But it's not clear what official steps, if any, Musk has actually taken to legally form the party.

Israel says its negotiators will be headed to Qatar today 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 non-starter. Despite the prospect of a truce, officials in Gaza say more than 50 people were killed by Israeli strikes and gunfire on Saturday. And two U.S. aid workers were injured after someone threw grenades during food distribution.

Protesters are still on the streets, despite the prospect of a hostage deal they've been demanding for many months. The reason, they say, they want a complete deal.

All right, for more, Paula Hancocks joins us now from Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, still plenty of optimism about a potential deal, but still some major disagreements between the two sides. Where do things stand?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, the process certainly has progressed further than it has done for many months. We're hearing from Israel's prime minister's office that he will send a delegation to Doha. They will enter these proximity talks, which is effectively when both sides, Hamas and Israel, are in the same building.

So, a mediator can go from one to the other to try and hammer out those final details. It is one of the final stages before a ceasefire could be -- could be declared. But we have heard also from the prime minister's office that some of the changes, the amendments that Hamas has suggested are, quote, "unacceptable."

We did hear, though, a positive response from Hamas on Friday. So, it does feel as though there is momentum and that the fact that this is in, as I say, the final stages of many months of negotiation. There are some concerns, though, when it comes to what exactly is in the proposal.

We understand that there will be 10 living hostages, according to a source familiar with this deal, that will be released within this 60- day ceasefire. Eight at the beginning and two towards the end of that time. There will also be 18 remains of deceased hostages for an undisclosed number of Palestinian prisoners.

But overall, there are 50 hostages that are still in Gaza. So, there are some concerns that this first stage or this ceasefire does not include everybody. Let's listen to some responses.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're very concerned that it's going to be only the partial deal, that they're going to bring 10 hostages alive and 18 deceased hostages and then finish with it. That's not good for us and that's not good for the hostages that will stay behind.

DALIA CUSNIR, SISTER-IN-LAW OF HOSTAGE EITAN HORN: We are afraid, but we understand that if this is what we have and this is how we can save lives, so we will embrace it and hope and keep working so all the hostages are back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: And one of the key assurances that Hamas wanted from the U.S. was that even if there isn't a deal after 60 days of a temporary ceasefire, it doesn't automatically go back to war, which we believe from sources is included in this latest deal.

Kim?

BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate the updates. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Thanks so much. All right, we'll be right back here on CNN NEWSROOM. Please stay with us.

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[05:53:20]

BRUNHUBER: Well, apparently Pope Leo needs some downtime. So, he's going to the town of Castel Gandolfo, Italy for a break from his official duties. As CNN's Vatican Correspondent Christopher Lamb explains, it's a familiar vacation destination for past leaders of the Catholic Church.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTOPHER LAMB, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Do popes take a summer break? Well, yes, they do. And for centuries, they've been escaping the Roman heat and coming to this hilltop town, Castel Gandolfo.

Now, Pope Leo has decided to restart the tradition of popes coming here to Castel Gandolfo. And his presence is the town hope going to be a boost for tourism. Behind me is Villa Barberini, where Pope Leo will stay, surrounded by beautiful grounds.

And if you come along now, you'll see the view that Pope Leo will have from that terrace of Lake Albano. It's not a bad sight to wake up to each morning. Indeed, some people who have looked over Lake Albano have described it as an antechamber to paradise.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We hope that he doesn't stay only on his property, but that he comes to visit the town, comes to find his shopkeepers, his fellow citizens, that he comes to eat with us.

LAMB: This town, of course, relies on people visiting. When the pope comes, it's a chance for people to see him up close, because Pope Leo, on the Sundays in July that he's here, and also when he comes back in August, will lead the Sunday Angelus Prayer from the spot where I'm standing on. And people have a chance to have a much closer encounter with the pope than they would in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican.

[05:55:12]

And of course, by coming here, Pope Leo will raise awareness of the Vatican gardens here at Castel Gandolfo, which Pope Francis opened up to the public, and which he decreed should be utilized for an environmental project, which is named after his encyclical on protecting the planet Laudato si.

You might recognize it as the setting for the movie "The Two Popes," the 2019 film dramatizing a conversation between Popes Francis and Benedict on their differing visions of the church.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Perhaps we'll find God over there on the journey. I'll introduce you to him. LAMB: Leo is already showing he wants to have his own style. Leo is expected to live in the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican rather than the guesthouse. After the whirlwind of his election and a grueling schedule of meetings and audiences, he feels it's important to come here and to get away from the Vatican to have some time to recharge his batteries.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A big celebration in India for the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday. Thousands of well-wishers gathered on Sunday to honor the spiritual leader and Nobel Peace Laureate. In his birthday message on the Platform X, the Dalai Lama spoke about achieving peace of mind through cultivating a good heart and by being compassionate.

And after Richard Gere, oh, there he is. He was among those in attendance for the birthday festivities. Longtime supporter, Gere spoke at the event honoring the life and work of the Dalai Lama.

All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. CNN THIS MORNING is coming up after a quick break.

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