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Trump Signs Executive Order Extending Tariff Deadline To August 1; Trump Announces 25 Percent Tariffs On Japan And South Korea; Death Toll Rises To At Least 104 In Catastrophic Texas Flooding; Netanyahu Plays Into Trump's Hopes For Middle East Peace; Trump Says U.S. Will Send More Weapons To Ukraine; Death Toll from Catastrophic Texas Floods Rises To 104; Swiss Alpine Town Braces For Disaster After Glacier Collapse; Ireland Set To Excavate Mass Infant Graveyard Next Week; At Least 11 Killed In Anti-Government Protests; Russian Transport Minister Dies After Being Fired By Putin. DOJ: Epstein Died Of Suicide, There's No "Client List"; Woman Awaits Sentencing For "Mushroom Murder" Conviction. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired July 08, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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[01:00:25]

JOHN VAUSE, CNN HOST: U.S. President delays reciprocal tariffs again, a warning time is running out to let's make a trade deal ahead on CNN Newsroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Some of them wanted to make a deal and want to be fair. Others perhaps got a little bit spoiled.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Just two countries have made new trade deals with the U.S. so whatever happened to 90 deals in 90 days?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNDIENTIFIED MALE: We had reports, we had first responders that were getting swept away, actually responding to the first areas of rainfall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: In Texas, dozens of children are among those who did not survive the flooding. Many swept away from summer camp by a surging Guadalupe River.

And anger boiling over again in Kenya with almost a dozen anti- government protesters killed in clashes with police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from Atlanta, this is CNN Newsroom with John Vause. VAUSE: President Trump's on again, off again reciprocal tariffs which

were meant to go into effect this Wednesday will remain on hold. The president has extended a 90-day long pause which he announced in April with a new deadline to lock in a trade deal with the US. .now, the first of next month. Even that date is not set in stone with the president hinting at some flexibility.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is the August 1st deadline firm now? Is that it now?

TRUMP: I would say firm, but not 100 percent firm. If they call up and they say we'd like to do something a different way, we're going to be open to that. But essentially that's the way it is right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And on Monday, as promised, Donald Trump sent letters of warning to 14 trading partners. They face punitive tariffs up to 40 percent if they don't make a deal. Even higher tariffs on any country which tries to retaliate.

For Japan and South Korea, both longtime allies and major trading partners, if they fail to reach an agreement, their exports to the U.S. will be tariffs at 25 percent. All of this not liked by Wall Street. The Dow shedding more than 420 points. All three major indices posting their worst day in weeks.

So let's go live now to Beijing. CNN's Marc Stewart is standing by. And Marc, these letters, these trade letters from Donald Trump and warnings of punitive sanctions. I meant a down day on Wall street, but not so much in Asia. So what's happening there, which is really a barometer of how the region sees this latest tariff move.

MARC STEWART, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's interesting I think American traders, at least according to what analysts felt that the tariff rates that were released were higher than expected. Yet here in Asia, it's being viewed as almost the doors open to future negotiations based off of those remarks we heard from President Trump.

What is iron is that Japan and South Korea, as you rightly said, are longtime allies of the United States. They are having a hard time reaching a trade deal. Yet it appears that there is some success now with the United States in China, which has a much more tenuous, frosty relationship with the United States. But we are seeing gains across the board. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong, as well as the Cosby in South Korea and the Nikkei in Japan, they're all seeing gains. Perhaps there is optimum optimism that a broader agreement can be reached.

But South Korea and Japan have a lot at stake. Not only are these nations that make a lot of cars, but the amount of consumer products that Americans use every day, the list is long. Flat screen TVs, washing machines are a big part of those electronic products that we're talking about. So these economies are going to obviously be thinking about

negotiation, but they also have to balance the reality of the United States as well as their own domestic audience, and that can be a real challenge. In Japan, for example, there is a very complicated political landscape. Let's listen to some remarks just made recently by the Japanese Prime Minister.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIGERU ISHIBA, JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER (through translator): At the current time, there are some points on which the United States and Japan cannot reach agreements still remaining, and therefore no agreement has yet been made. This is because we, as the government of Japan have avoided making easy concessions and have pursued robust talks seeking what we ought to seek and defending what we ought to defend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: I was hearing from an economist here in Asia, based in Hong Kong, who brought up the point that Asia very much is viewing this as a glass half full as opposed to half empty approach.

[01:05:06]

So, the feelings of optimism for agreement are strong. But there are going to be some very complicated points. One thing, John, that the president has brought up to many of these nations in these trade letters is the fact he feels that America is buying more than they are buying from America.

So, in addition to something that just makes financially set -- financial sense, there's just going to be these philosophical need to have agreement of some kind of equity. And that can be very complicated, John.

VAUSE: It's very complicated. There's also that island of penguins which is talking about. Marc Stewart in Beijing. Thank you. Peter Morici is an economist and emeritus professor at the University of Maryland. He is also a columnist for the Washington Times. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

PETER MORICI, ECONOMIST AND EMERITUS PROFESSOR, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND: Well, it's been real pleasure to be with you.

VAUSE: Thank you. Now, President Trump shared on social media the letters which are being sent to 14 trading partners, the ones in Japan reads in part, it's a great honor for me to send you this letter in that it demonstrates the strength and commitment to our trading relationship. It goes on. We invite you to participate in the extraordinary economy of the United States, the number one market in the world. A little further down it writes, our relationship has been unfortunately, far from reciprocal.

Then there's a letter to South Korea. As you see, we've highlighted the very same language in that letter. In fact, all 14 tariff letters have pretty much the exact same language in many places. So, I also now want you to listen to Donald Trump speaking about those letters just a few hours ago. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tariff letters that you said today, final offers or are they negotiable?

TRUMP: Final offer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So South Korea, Japan should take it or leave it?

TRUMP: Subject to negotiate something. That's fair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So as a former director at the U.S. International Trade Commission, would you describe the president's approach here as trade negotiation or just simply demands using kind of standover tactics?

MORICI: I kind of think it's demands. In trade negotiations, there has to be some give and take. It is fair to say that the relationship has been unequal, but it is also a function of the fact that we have the reserve currency we need to run a trade deficit to supply the world with the dollars that it needs to do business.

With Japan it's probably been more exaggerated than it should be. I don't know that's the case with regard to Korea. As for all those other countries, they're poor victims to big power diplomacy.

VAUSE: Yes. Yes, right now they're, what, I think there's two new trade deal in place. There's one with the U.K. which had been in the works for a while, a long while, and a tentative agreement with Vietnam. And this administration is talking 90 deals in 90 days. But when you look at these very blunt demand letters, does it beg the question, what has this administration been doing during that 90 day pause?

MORICI: Well, the reality is the U.S. administration doesn't have the resources to negotiate all these trade agreements in 90 days. The U.S. Trade Representative, where you have your trade negotiators principally domiciled, only has about maybe 110 employees. And not all of them are negotiators. Some of them are administrative assistants and things like.

VAUSE: So I want you to listen now to a spokesperson for the E.U. on trade talks so far. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLOF GILL, E.U. SPOKESPERSON: We want to reach a deal with the U.S. we want to avoid tariffs, we believe they cause pain. We want to achieve win outcomes, not lose outcomes.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: So right now, as you say, pretty much every U.S. trading partner in that position of ongoing deals or making a deal, if you like, 88 deals. But you know, when you look at the demands that we've had from the President and what these tariffs are all about, it just keeps shifting. Now they've got another extension here beyond the 90 days. What does this do for the credibility of the United States in these talks?

MORICI: I don't know that we have a lot of credibility because Trump has not laid out what his objectives are, what his bottom line is. Neither is Stephen Mirren, his principal adviser on all of this, or Peter Navarro. In reality, you've got people who are financial players, people who work in derivatives and options and things like that, trying to deal in real trade, which is the stuff of automobiles and semiconductors and so forth.

And frankly, they're out of the depth. Donald Trump wants to win on every front. He doesn't want to give. So it's kind of a standoff. You know, he's in a dangerous place because they all could get together and decide to tell us to go summit.

VAUSE: There is always that option. And, you know, it seems that it is more likely now than it has been in the past. Brazil's president, for one, was not impressed with Donald Trump's trade talks via social media. Here he is.

[01:10:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): I think it is not responsible for a president from a country like the U.S. to threaten the world with tariffs on social media. Honestly, there are other forums for the president of a country the size of the United States to talk to other countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So back in the day, as in before the Trump White House, how were trade deals actually negotiated and over what period of time? I think the fastest trade deal ever done was with Jordan. It took four months.

MORICI: Well, that was exceptional. In reality, they take many months, even years. And I think the representative from Brazil is quite correct. The United States is demanding that we reach agreements with many, many countries, 18 to start and hundreds beyond that in a very short period of time on very complex issues where even if people agree in principle as to what's is to be accomplished, getting the details down on paper takes time, effort, precision that we cannot deliver in such a short period of time. This is all very irresponsible.

VAUSE: Peter, good note to end on. Thank you for being with us. Peter Morici there, professor of economics at the University of Maryland. Thank you, sir.

MORICI: You're welcome.

VAUSE: Four days after deadly flash flooding swept through parts of Texas, the Trump administration is now under scrutiny for recent budget and staff cuts to the National Weather Service and what impact, if any, those cuts may have had in issuing flood alerts and warnings ahead of the storm.

Search and rescue operations are still underway for at least 24 people who remain missing, including 10 girls and a counselor from an all- girls camp which sits along the Guadalupe River, which began rising rapidly early Friday morning.

Hundreds of young girls were able to escape, including these campers and a counselor evacuated to safety by helicopter. However, 27 others at the camp did not survive. They're among the 104 people now confirmed dead by Texas officials.

Dozens of children are believed to have died in this tragedy, including twin 8-year-old girls, a high school soccer coach and his wife also among those who did not survive, and a father who gave his life rescuing his family.

President Trump is planning to visit the disaster area possibly by week's end. But for now, the White House is dodging questions about the president's plans to phase out the Federal Emergency Management Agency, known as FEMA.

Many survivors say they received no weather alerts, no flood warnings in the hours before the storm. CNN's Isabel Rosales reports now how this tragedy played out hour by hour with surging flood water catching many off guard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Texas is grieving right now.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Grieving and bracing for more rain as urgent rescues are still underway for dozens who are missing after the devastating floods that ravaged central Texas over the holiday weekend, bursting the seams of the Guadalupe river and taking the lives of at least 104 people, including 27 campers and counselors from a summer camp in Kerr county.

CRUZ: There's still 10 girls and one counselor from camp mystic that are unaccounted for. And the pain and agony of not knowing your child's whereabouts, it's the worst thing imaginable.

ROSALES (voice-over): Four months of raid fell in a matter of hours. The destructive and fast moving flood water beginning just before sunrise on the Fourth of July. The river rising 22 feet in just 30 minutes, taking everything in its path with it. And many are asking why alerts weren't received and evacuations didn't take place.

DALTON RICE, KERRVILLE CITY MANAGER: Well, evacuation is a delicate balance because if you evacuate too late, you then risk putting buses, you know, or cars or vehicles or campers on roads into low water areas trying to get them out, which then can make it even more challenging because these flash floods happen very quickly. It's very tough to make those calls because what we also don't want to do is cry wolf.

ROSALES (voice-over): But many families wishing they had taken that chance. The timeline as we know it now, the first flood watch was issued on Thursday in the afternoon and in the early evening at 6:30 Central Time. Then the first emergency alert came out at 1:14 the morning of the 4th, and then again at 4:03 in the morning just an hour before the river bursts at around 5 in the morning.

Then a second emergency alert was issued for Kerrville at 5:24 a.m. and then at 5:34, an emergency alert was issued for the Guadalupe River area.

But phone alerts were reportedly not received by some people in an area known to have spotty cell service. 19 different local and state agencies are working urgently to find those still missing. Some rescue teams using the aid of cadaver dogs in their search.

A man in Centerpoint, Texas, ran heard the screams of a young woman who was clinging to a tree after being swept away in floodwater from a camping site miles away with her family.

CARL JETER, CALLED FOR HELP FOR A STRANDED WOMAN: 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.

ROSALES (voice-over): And many others have come out to volunteer their time in the search before the next rainfall comes.

[01:15:02]

MICHAEL GUYER, VOLUNTEER: I figured I can at least come and help relieve them of some stress and exhaustion. Now I know that up towards Hunt and everything, they're still expecting possibly more storm surges. So we have to be --

ROSALES: That's a big problem.

GUYER: Yes. And we have to be on the lookout for that, too.

ROSALES: This is rough and rural terrain that volunteers and first responders are having to go over. Also, dangerous debris at points. If it's not the heavy tree limbs, then it's down barbed wire that people are stepping over, even fire ants that I have seen biting up the volunteers.

And take a look right over there. You see that? That is a paddle boat all the way up on that tree, a reminder of just how powerful these flood waters were and a reminder also to look up. Isabel Rosales, CNN, Centerpoint, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Richard Spinrad is a former head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service. Richard was appointed in 2021 under President Joe Biden. Richard, thank you for taking time to speak with us.

RICHARD SPINRAD, FORMER NOAA ADMINISTRATOR: Of course. Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: So one of the big questions about this disaster is were lives lost as a result of budget and staff cuts at the National Weather Service. If so, is it possible to get that down to a specific number? Do we know that much or is this still unknown at this point?

SPINRAD: Well, it's probably too soon to give a definitive analysis of where things broke down, if you will. But as I looked at the development, a few things are clear. One is that the weather service did their job. They provided the watches and the warnings. The forecast was good and they got the emergency alerts out in time and in an accurate manner.

But what seems to have happened is that there was a breakdown in communications in the last mile. That is to say, the alerts went out, but nobody seemed to pick up on it and they weren't able to get people out of harm's way to evacuate. And the relationship between that and cuts is one that's going to have to be assessed in the final analysis.

But we do know that one of the cuts in personnel that happened that was critical in this case was to the position of warning coordination meteorologist in the weather forecast office in Austin, San Antonio. Now, that position is an important one because it serves as that liaison, that connection between the weather service and the emergency managers.

Since there was nobody in that position, they're going to have to look carefully to see if that was one of the sources of the disconnect in getting word to the people who suffered and unfortunately, those who died as well.

VAUSE: Back in February, CNN reported Trump officials fire 800 employees at Weather Forecasting and Oceans Agency. There it is. There's the headline. And then in April, CNN reporting again, Trump's budget plan eviscerates weather and climate research, and it could be enacted immediately.

In many ways, it seems the Trump White House has been gunning for NOAA, especially in relation to research on climate change, even if it's too early to tell if you know, death -- if the death toll could have been lower if there hadn't been these budget cuts. Is this tragedy a canary in a coal mine? It's a reminder of why these services are so crucial in the first place.

SPINRAD: Absolutely. And let's keep in mind that this was a flash flood in Texas. We're in the middle of hurricane season. We're in the middle of tornado season. We're going to be seeing wildfires in the Pacific Northwest. We'll probably see extreme heat events in the Southwest. So we may see this whole scenario play out several times again. And, you know, the fact of the matter is, with these kinds of cuts,

more than half of the weather service offices around the weather forecast offices around the country are operating at less than 80 percent staffing. And even those, these people are extraordinarily talented at what they do, they are real heroes. If you don't have a full team playing the game, you're not going to be able to play the full effect. And that's what I worry about. What things will slip, what services will be degraded, and what are the consequences going to be in terms of lives lost, in terms of property damage?

VAUSE: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied budget cuts had any impact. She says the system worked perfectly, but added the system urgently needs an upgrade. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURTY SECRETARY: It's ancient system that needed to be upgraded. And so President Trump recognized that right away and got to work on it when he came into office in January. But that installation is not complete and that technology isn't fully installed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: She also went on to say that the National Weather Service was neglected under previous administrations, which I guess that means you were neglectful in any way. And is there an urgent need right now to upgrade the technology there?

SPINRAD: Well, I would like to think that what we did was very effectively argue for increases in capabilities. We were able to apply new resources towards developing new satellite programs, new radars, a whole new generation of radars, and basically position the agency to dramatically improve technology, technology which was working and is working quite well.

[01:20:07]

So I'm not sure what the secretary is alluding to when she talks about antiquated systems. IT systems were being upgraded. We made the argument, and we're seeking to get additional employees. So we are aggressively doing some hiring now with the firings, with the terminations, with the, if you will, coerced reassignments and separations, we have just added insult to injury in terms of the ability to do the job at the National Weather Service.

So, no, I don't think there was any degradation of services by any metric. You could look at what happened during the Biden administration and performance increased in terms of the quality, the accuracy, the timeliness of forecasts that came out of the weather service.

VAUSE: Richard, thank you so much for being with us. We really appreciate your time and your views and your. Your insight. Thank you.

SPINRAD: Thank you very much. VAUSE: In a moment, the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at

the Trump White House again. But why this time? It might mean a ceasefire with Hamas is finally within reach. You're watching CNN. Back in a moment.

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[01:25:35]

VAUSE: Welcome back. Still no breakthrough in negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza, but there appears to be new momentum after the Israeli prime minister met with President Trump on Monday at the White House. Another possible sign of progress, Trump's special envoy will join negotiations between Israeli officials and Hamas in Qatar later this week. Here's CNN's Kristen Holmes with the latest details from the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOSUE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu answered questions from reporters at the start of a dinner that they were having behind closed doors. President Trump said that he was looking for a cease fire deal in Gaza. And Netanyahu said that underneath Trump's leadership he believed there could be broad peace between Israel and the rest of the Middle East.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I think Palestinians should have all the powers to govern themselves, but none of the powers to threaten us. That means that certain powers, like overall security, will always remain in our hands. We want life. We cherish life for ourselves, for our neighbors.

And I think we can work out a peace between us and the entire Middle East with President Trump's leadership. And by working together, I think we can establish a very, very broad peace that will include all our neighbors.

HOLMES: And now one thing to note is that some White House officials had hoped that there would actually be a ceasefire deal on Gaza before for this meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. That, of course, deadline has come and gone. However, as we know and have reported, Hamas has responded positively to the proposal that was agreed upon by the U.S. and Israel. So still waiting to see what the next steps are there.

Now, the other point that they had discussed during this dinner when they were taking questions was the next step in negotiating conversations on a nuclear deal with Iran. President Trump saying that he was originally skeptical about sitting down with them again, particularly because the United States had bombed those nuclear facilities, but adding that Iran had requested these meetings.

No details yet on what those meetings are actually going to look like or when they're going to take place. U.S. Special envoy Steve Witkoff was also sitting there in the dinner and just noted that they were going to be happening quickly and in a very short amount of time. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: President Trump appears to have had second thoughts on supplying weapons to Ukraine on Monday, telling reporters he plans additional shipments of defensive weapons. Last week, the White House announced a pause in military assistance while an inventory of existing weapons stockpiles was underway.

On Monday, the U.S. President also said he remains far from pleased with Russia's Vladimir Putin and that phone conversation last week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I'm not happy with President Putin at all if I can stop a war, you know, because I have an ability to do. So I'm disappointed, frankly, that President Putin hasn't stopped. We're going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Still to come here on CNN, at least 28 children have died in the flooding in Texas, what's believed to be one of the deadliest disasters involving children in American history. A closer look at the lives lost in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:34:07]

VAUSE: Welcome back everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

The flooding tragedy playing out in Texas is notable for so many reasons. The incredible rate at which the water was rising, the widespread destruction, the high death toll. And among the 104 people confirmed dead are at least 28 children.

So many dead children is especially heartbreaking. All but one of them attending a summer camp. And the number killed in Texas makes this disaster one of the deadliest for children in U.S. history.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In the wake of the rising Texas floodwaters, the list of victims is growing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

FOREMAN: Especially at Camp Mystic, where more than two dozen campers and counselors died. [01:34:48]

FOREMAN: Lila Bonner was there, enjoying the summer before third grade. Her parents wrote, "We ache with all who loved her." They say she was killed with her cabin mate and best friend, Eloise Peck. Her family says she loved spaghetti, dogs and animals.

A vigil was quickly called for Linnie McCown and Mary Stevens, two elementary school aged victims from Austin. While elsewhere, families are mourning Renee Smajstrla, Janie Hunt and Hadley Hanna, who was enjoying her first year at the camp. Her mom said she was the most joyful, happy kid.

Anna Margaret Bellows came from Houston. Sarah Marsh came from near Birmingham, and camp owner Dick Eastland came to the rescue as hundreds of campers were pulled to safety. His grandson says Eastland lost his life trying to reach more, noting on Instagram, "If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way -- saving the girls that he so loved and cared for."

JOE HERRING JR., KERVILLE, TEXAS MAYOR: I've lost two friends. We love them. And they're gone.

FOREMAN: The search for the flood victims is stretching over dozens of miles along rivers and creeks, through valleys and trees.

LOUIS AMESTOY, EDITOR & PUBLISHER, THE KERR COUNTY LEAD: You've seen the debris fields here. I mean, there's probably people possibly buried in some of those debris fields. And it's going to take a long time to get those folks out.

FOREMAN: Anywhere anyone might be.

TONIA FUCCI, FLOOD WITNESS: You just want them to be found for the sake of the families. But, you know, it's not going to be a good ending.

FOREMAN: It was not good for the Harber family. Blair 13, and Brooke 11, disappeared along with their grandparents. The family says the girls were found holding hands in death. No word on the grandparents.

Jane Ragsdale was the owner of another nearby summer camp. It was empty, but she died there just the same.

GREG WHITE, FRIEND BILL HOUSTON MISSING IN FLOOD: The RV park was just gone. Everything. It was, you know, it's -- it wasn't on this earth anymore.

FOREMAN: Greg White's friend Bill Houston is nowhere to be found. Although White says the body of Bill's dog, Sage, was discovered in the debris.

High school soccer coach Reece Zunker and his wife Paula were swept away. Psychologist and college professor Katheryn Eads too.

And even as some campers have ridden away from the calamity singing songs of faith, the sad search for more victims goes on.

Tom Foreman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Parts of Europe are facing new wildfires fueled by hot, dry conditions in recent days. Crews in Spain have been battling a fire in the mountains of the Catalonia region. High winds hampered firefighters on Monday. And while better conditions are forecast for later today, nearby towns have been evacuated as a precaution.

Another wildfire burning out of control in the hills of southern France near the Spanish border, reportedly burning at least 1,400 hectares. Residents have been forced to evacuate, at least one highway has closed.

And in the Swiss Alps, one village on high alert as a towering mountain peak threatens to set loose a dangerous rockslide.

CNN's Allison Chinchar has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Nestled in the Swiss Alps, the village of Kandersteg lives under a looming threat. The peaks around them are shifting. And as permafrost melts and rocks weaken, Kandersteg waits, preparing for a potential collapse.

And their fears are not unfounded. Take a look at this. In May, a neighboring village, Blatten, experienced a rockslide that covered the town in rocks and debris. Residents had been evacuated although authorities say at least one man died.

RENE MAEDER, MAYOR OF KANDERSTEG (through translator): We have people here who work in Kandersteg and who come from Blatten and have lost everything they owned.

It really gets under your skin. Your speechless when you see those images of the violence of nature.

CHINCHAR: But Kandersteg's residents have managed to stay calm.

CELIA HILL-MCFERSEN, KANDERSTEG HOMEOWNER: They've made good preparations, I feel. So, you know, it's one of those things you don't know when and you don't know how much. So I don't worry too much.

CHINCHAR: Kandersteg, which has a population of about 1,300 has spent nearly $14 million on disaster prevention according to its mayor.

Researchers use drones, radar and GPS to check up on the peaks. And in the event of a major rock movement, residents should receive warning, at least 48 hours in advance. But the risk goes beyond just rock and ice.

[01:39:45] YVES BUHLER, HEAD OF THE ALPINE REMOTE SENSING TEAM: The risk is that. We have a big rockslide. And the rockslide could go also into the lake and produce a big flood wave which could produce then a large debris flow going down to Kandersteg.

CHINCHAR: And the mayor of Kandersteg warns that their nearby mountains are just one part of a much larger issue.

MAEDER: This problem will concern us in the coming decades throughout the Alpine region, from Austria to France, across the Alps, and also in other mountain ranges. And we have to think about how we want to deal with it. And this is clearly a result of global warming, for which we ourselves are responsible.

CHINCHAR: Allison Chinchar, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In Ireland, forensic archeologists will begin excavations at a church-run home for unmarried mothers next week. A ten-year-long government investigation uncovered evidence that around 800 infants and toddlers were buried at the home between 1925 and 1961, and in an unmarked mass grave. This dig is expected to take about two years to complete.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANIEL MACSWEENEY, DIRECTOR OF AUTHORIZED INTERVENTION, TUAM: We have to first of all see whether or not DNA is actually recoverable from these human remains. We'll only be able to see that after we recover the remains.

But there's also information from other sources, like the archives from this institution. And there's also information that may come from families.

There's other information that will be discernible, I think, from the human remains. So the gender, the age, things like that. So it's really a cross-checking of all these different sources of data.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Four years ago, researchers revealed that at least 9,000 children died in Ireland's so-called mother-and-baby homes throughout the 20th century. It's an alarming trend that was largely hidden from society for decades. Relatives of the deceased are hoping this effort brings some closure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA CORRIGAN, SISTER OF TWO BROTHERS BORN AT THE FORMER HOME: There's 9,000 children lost in the homes in Ireland, and that's only the ones that were examined. So the tomb is the tip of the iceberg, and we do hope that every child's voice is heard.

They were sentient beings. They got no dignity in life. They got no dignity in death. So hopefully now when their voices are heard --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: At least 18 people have been killed and hundreds arrested in anti-government protests in Kenya, police clashed with protesters on the anniversary of a major pro-democracy rally.

Back in June, 16 people died during anti-government demonstrations and dozens were also killed during anti-tax protests last year.

CNN's Victoria Rubadiri reports now on what's fueling this unrest across Kenya.

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VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Video shows police using tear gas and water cannons on demonstrators in Kenya where protests turned violent.

The demonstrations marked the 35th anniversary of a pro-democracy rally known as Saba Saba. They come amid an ever-growing anti- government resentment among young people in Kenya following an unpopular finance bill presented and later withdrawn by the government last year.

Protesters are outraged over corruption allegations, alleged police brutality and the recent death of a teacher in police custody.

RAILA ODINGA, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF KENYA: We have a rogue police force that shoots people with impunity and this is a force that we inherited from the colonialists.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Kenya's national police are reporting a death toll of 11 and more than 500 arrests. And in a statement say each reported incident will be subject to further investigation in accordance with the law.

Donald Trump is speaking up for former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro on trial over an alleged coup attempt after he lost the 2022 election. In a post on Truth Social, the U.S. president claims Bolsonaro is not guilty of anything, calls the prosecution a witch hunt, precisely what Trump said about his own legal battle (ph).

Brazil's current president, Lula Da Silva, who defeated Bolsonaro in that election, responded with his own social media post, writing this. "No one is above the law, especially those who threaten freedom and the rule of law." Bolsonaro was known as the Trump of the tropics.

Still to come, Russia's former transport minister found dead just hours after he was fired by the president. We'll have the latest on the investigation.

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK) VAUSE: Air travel in Russia has been hit by major disruptions over the past few days after Moscow and Saint Petersburg were targeted by Ukrainian drones on the weekend. More than 2,000 flights have either been canceled or delayed, dozens more were diverted. And all this chaos has cost Russia's transport minister his job, maybe his life.

CNN's Matthew Chance has details.

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MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, a Russian politician has been found dead with an apparent gunshot wound hours after he was unceremoniously fired by a presidential decree, according to Russian investigators, who said their main theory is suicide.

The former transport minister, Roman Starovoit's body was recovered from his personal car outside of Moscow on Monday. The Kremlin gave no reason for the transport minister's dismissal, but denied it was down to a lack of trust.

[01:49:45]

CHANCE: But it came amid a serious bout of disruption to air travel in Russia, linked to the Ukrainian drone threat.

Previously Starovoit had been governor of Kursk, the Russian region where Ukrainian forces later staged a humiliating military incursion and where he had been linked to security failures.

Matthew Chance, CNN -- London.

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VAUSE: Donald Trump's return to the White House brought new hopes by some supporters of new evidence being released from the Jeffrey Epstein files. There were hopes a new attorney general and new FBI director, hand-picked by President Trump would somehow reveal that Epstein was murdered, or that the accused sex trafficker kept a list of high-profile clients.

But on Monday, the Trump Justice Department burst that bubble, debunking those conspiracy theories as CNN's Evan Perez reports.

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EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: The Justice Department says it won't be releasing more documents from the investigation of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, announcing that an exhaustive review found that Epstein committed suicide in jail in 2019 and that there was no evidence that he kept a so-called client list.

None of this is a surprise, except that for months, prominent MAGA influencers and Trump allies have fanned conspiracies about whether there was a cover up, keeping secret a list of prominent people who were possibly involved in some of Epstein's crimes, and whether Epstein was murdered.

But now, in an unsigned memo, the Justice Department says, "This systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. There's also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. We did not uncover any evidence that would predicate an investigation against uncharged third parties."

President Trump vowed that his administration would make public more documents from the Epstein investigation, as well as on the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and the Reverend Martin Luther King.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, weeks after being confirmed, went to the White House for an event with MAGA influencers, where they were given binders full of documents, most of which had been public for years.

And the blowback was fierce, and Bondi ordered more documents would be released. FBI agents spent weeks working overnight shifts to review documents. And officials realized that much of what was being reviewed cannot be released under federal law, in part because it would revictimize some of Epstein's victims.

Evan Perez, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: The woman convicted in Australia's mushroom murder trial is now awaiting her sentencing and the possibility of an appeal. Erin Patterson was found guilty Monday of murdering her in-laws two years ago with a lunch containing poisonous death cap mushrooms.

CNN's Ivan Watson has more on the case that made headlines around the world.

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IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Australian mother of two, Erin Patterson, killed her estranged husband's parents and his aunt, and hospitalized his uncle -- all with a meal of Beef Wellington containing toxic death cap mushrooms.

And now, after a ten-week trial that captivated Australia and the world, a jury has decided she poisoned them on purpose. In July 2023, Patterson hosted four people for lunch at her home in the Australian town of Leongatha.

[01:54:48]

WATSON: Don and Gail Patterson, her former in-laws, died in the days after. Gail's sister Heather Wilkinson also died. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, spent weeks in a hospital fighting the poison and survived. Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, had turned down the invitation.

Erin Patterson took herself to the hospital after the meal, but was never as sick as the others. In court, she said it was because she didn't eat much of the lunch and threw up afterwards because she binged on dessert.

Lunch that day was individually-portioned Beef Wellingtons, steak and mushroom pate wrapped in pastry. Patterson says she flavored the food with dried mushrooms, which she thought had come from a grocer, but might have collected and dehydrated herself as part of her hobby of picking wild mushrooms.

The dehydrator machine was later found in a dumpster with Patterson's fingerprints and traces of the death caps inside. Patterson admitted she had disposed of it in a panic and lied to police about ever owning it.

The court heard evidence that in the months before the meal, Patterson may have been in a location where death caps grow. The defense argued the poisoned meal was a terrible accident and that Patterson had no motive to kill the victims on purpose.

Ultimately, prosecutors were able to convince the jury with their argument that Patterson purposely hunted for death caps and then cooked them with the intention to kill her children's only grandparents and her ex-husband's aunt and uncle.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: It is that time of year when fortune favors the brave, or more likely, the foolhardy, with the annual running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain. On Monday, hundreds raced through the streets. They felt the warmth of an angry bull not far behind them.

Emergency services though report only six people were actually hurt and taken to hospital. And on Monday, no one was gored during the run.

In Pamplona right now, where it's coming up to 8 a.m. In the morning, the festival continues and so do the running. The competitors, if you like or the runners, are getting ready for another day of fun and excitement, with angry bulls trying to gore them to death.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm John Vause.

Please stay with us. My friend and colleague, Rosemary Church is up after a very short break.

See you back here tomorrow.

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