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Hegseth Speaks Amid Growing Scrutiny On Boat Strikes; Interview With Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA); D.C. Pipe Bomb Suspect Makes First Court Appearance; Senate Holds Hearing On Ukrainian Children Abducted By Russia; U.S. And Ukrainian Teams Meet For Third-Straight Day Of Talks; 911 Calls From Deadly Texas Flood Made Public; 18-Year-Old Accused Of Setting NYC Subway Passenger On Fire; National Parks Adding Trump's Birthday To Free Admission Days While Removing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day And Juneteenth; 2012 CNN Hero Using Fitness To Help Others Overcome Addiction; New Episodes Of Variety's Interview Series Streaming On CNN App. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired December 06, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

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[18:00:30]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I am Jessica Dean here in New York.

And tonight, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would not commit to releasing the full video of that controversial follow-up strike against an alleged drug boat that took place in September.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So Mr. Secretary, you will be releasing that full video.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SECRETARY: We are reviewing it right now. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that a yes or no?

HEGSETH: That is for -- the most important thing to me are the ongoing operations in the Caribbean with our folks that use bespoke capabilities, techniques, procedures in the process. I am way more interested in protecting that than anything else.

So we are viewing the process, and we will see.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Hegseth was also asked about the strike in the corresponding video when he was speaking at the Reagan Presidential Library. There has been intense scrutiny on this strike in particular because two people who survived were then killed in follow-up attacks. CNN correspondent, Julia Benbrook has been following this.

Julia, we heard, as we said, from the Defense Secretary today at that event, what else was he saying?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That secondary strike that took place on September 2nd continues to draw scrutiny. As many question the legality of what Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth referred to tonight as a reattack. Now, he made these comments in the question and answer portion of his remarks, and he was pressed on exactly what took place that day and his role. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEGSETH: So I was satisfied with the strike criteria, yes. Saw the strike itself, which all of you have seen. There was probably 30 or 40 minutes is what I've been told of dust and it was on fire for a long time after that. I stayed for probably five minutes or so after.

But ultimately, at that point, it was a tactical operation, and so I moved on to other things. I shouldn't be fighting tactics as the Secretary of War. So I moved on to other things.

Later on, a couple of hours later, I was told, hey, there had to be a reattack because there were a couple folks that could still be in the fight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: Now Hegseth said that from what he understood then and what he understands now that he fully supports the way the strikes were handled and that he would have made the same call. His remarks come just days after Admiral Frank Bradley briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the strikes and sources with direct knowledge of remarks say that it was revealed that the alleged drug traffickers were -- that were killed by the U.S. military were headed to link up with another larger vessel that was bound for Suriname.

Now, this adds more questions related to the argument that striking the boat multiple times and killing the survivors was necessary in order to protect the U.S. from an imminent threat. Now, I want to go through a couple of other things that were revealed from those meetings. The video shows men clinging to wreckage. Survivors appear to have no radio to call for backup. Military officials discussed options for 41 minutes, second strike ordered because the boat still held cocaine.

So we continue to get a few more details. There are still a lot of questions. And one big thing is, will the public see this video? Trump has signaled in recent days that he would be open to releasing that video. But when Hegseth was pressed on this tonight, he said his team was reviewing it, but would not commit to doing so.

DEAN: Julia Benbrook for us with the latest at The White House, thank you so much.

And we are joined now by Democratic Representative Adam Smith from Washington. He is the Ranking Member on the House Armed Services Committee.

Congressman, thank you so much for joining us tonight. We really appreciate your time. I know you were briefed this week on the September 2nd strikes by Admiral Frank Bradley. Now, we are hearing from the Defense Secretary today. I am curious if you're satisfied with the Secretary's explanation.

REP. ADAM SMITH (D-WA): I am not, and I've seen the video, and it should be released to the public so people can see it. The way it is being described, even in your report there, was wildly misleading and inaccurate because what happens, so the boat gets hit and we've all seen the video of the boat catching on fire. But the second video, which they have not released shows the remains of that boat, and it is capsized, and the two men are clinging to the bow of the boat.

It is hard to tell because the rest of its underwater. It is pretty clear, I think that the boat had been broken in half at this point, and they were clinging to what remained of it, which, like I said, had been capsized.

[18:05:10]

They were not armed. They did not have any communications devices. They were sinking -- clinging to the top of this boat, and the idea that the cocaine had survived, there was no evidence of that.

I mean, I suppose it is possible that it was tucked underneath that small, remaining piece of the boat after the fire, but it seems highly unlikely.

If the public can see that video, they're going to be every little bit as troubled as I am by the decision to make that second strike.

DEAN: And so the President says he supports releasing the full video. The Defense Secretary, as we noted at the beginning of our show, has not. He just keeps saying they are reviewing it because of ongoing operations. He wouldn't commit to releasing the full video.

We've seen, as you know, video of multiple strikes, some released on the same day. Why do you think they won't release this one?

SMITH: They won't release it because it looks bad for them. Period. Full stop. There is no sources, there is no methods, there is nothing revealed by this.

You know, certainly nothing more than what is revealed by all of the footage that they have released to date on multiple different strikes. So, the only reason they won't release it is because it directly contradicts what the Secretary has claimed.

And if the President wants to release it, last time I looked, his job is -- he is the President. He could go ahead and release it. So I urge them to do so, and I also urged to have a public hearing where Secretary Hegseth comes in and answers questions from congressional oversight hearings like House Armed Services and Senate Armed Services to get an explanation on this because this seems like a clear violation of the rule of law.

And, look, you know, the Secretary just doesn't seem to think that the law applies to him, let's start with the fact that he calls himself the Secretary of War. The law says he is the Secretary of Defense. You can't just ignore the law because you feel like it. It should matter to people, regardless of party.

DEAN: And the Secretary did say that the reason he -- that they are looking into this, he didn't commit to releasing the whole thing is because it could threaten the administration's ongoing operations. Again, reiterating you've seen the full video.

SMITH: That's nonsense.

DEAN: What do you say to that? Nonsense.

SMITH: Yes, Now, look, it is ridiculous. I mean, compared to the videos, I mean, how many -- I don't know how many videos they have released. It is over a dozen at this point of similar strikes. And look, the video shows clear as day, by the way. There is no fog of war.

You can clearly see the two gentlemen in question on top of the remains of this boat standing there. There is nothing that is going to be revealed by leaking this video -- sorry, leaking -- releasing this video, and I think it should be.

And, look, I understand the need to stop drugs coming into the U.S. I question whether or not this mission is really accomplishing that, but all Americans should want the United States to follow the law.

You know, at the Reagan Defense Forum, and we heard Secretary Hegseth and others talk about how the United States is the greatest country in the history of the world, you know, all of that. Well, if we are going to make that claim, we have to work hard to live up to that claim.

DEAN: Do you plan to call Secretary Hegseth to testify before your committee?

SMITH: Again sadly, it is not my committee at the moment. I am in the minority.

DEAN: That's true!

SMITH: Mike Rodgers is the chairman. I absolutely would if I was the chair, and that is another problem and this is a bipartisan concern. The Defense Department has not been responsive to Congress. Just to give you one example, the execute order that authorized this mission was released, sorry, was made on August 5th. The White House tasked the Department of Defense with basically blowing up these boats.

By law, that execute order is supposed to be released to Congress within 30 days. They haven't released it. They have no intention of releasing it. That oversight is crucially important -- it is crucially important in a Representative Democracy.

If you don't have a totalitarian government, if you have government of the people by the people, for the people, then the people have a right to exercise oversight. And the Department of Defense has not been responsive to that right. So I think we need to continue to press, and I will do so from my current position, and I will urge the majority to do so as well.

DEAN: Have you had conversations with Mike Rodgers or others of your Republican colleagues on your committee? Do you know where they stand on that?

SMITH: I have. I mean, where we stand right now, so we -- a few of us got this brief from Admiral Bradley, gosh, when was it -- a couple days ago now.

DEAN: Right.

SMITH: And now the next step is we want the full committee to receive this brief. So last I checked, we are going to have a classified briefing, and there is classified information contained in this, so it is appropriate for the full house committee. I think we should have it for the full Senate Committee.

After that, I think we should continue this investigation to talk to more people in the chain of command. What were the factors that led to making this decision and what's the legal justification for it?

There are all kinds of problems that I think it really stems from the fact that Secretary Hegseth doesn't feel like the law applies to him. He should be able to do what he wants to do, and we need to dial that back not just because of this instant, but because of what it can mean going forward.

[18:10:07]

DEAN: And just generally, before I let you go, in terms of an effective strategy to stop drugs coming into the U.S., I have you say you believe that we need to stop drugs coming into the United States. Do you think this is an effective way to do it? And if not, what is the alternative? SMITH: I do not, and also, I think there is reason to believe, is the President committed to this? He said he is going to pardon the convicted drug dealer, former president of Honduras, and he is doing that to gain political advantage in the Honduran elections for the side that he thinks is more sympathetic to Trump.

I mean, if you're pardoning convicted drug dealers, how can you be screaming about, oh, my gosh, Maduro is an indicted drug dealer. Yes, but convicted is worse. He has pardoned other people who have been connected to drugs, including the Silk Road crypto guy, Ross Ulbricht.

So if we are committed to stopping drugs, we shouldn't be pardoning convicted drug dealers. So there is a lot more that goes into this and then overlaying on top of this is the President's stated desire for regime change in Venezuela and his continued threats to use military force to do this. So is this about drugs coming into the U.S. or is it about regime change?

The more effective way to do this, by the way, is to work with partners. Twenty years ago, we did a thing called Plan Colombia where we worked with the Colombian government, and it had a major significant impact on stopping a lot of the narco-drug traffickers. Work with partners to stop it, don't just come flying into other people's countries and blow stuff up without having cooperation and a clear idea where you're going.

So I think there are better ways to do that and I question this strategy, and of course, the legality of the strategy as well. Remember, Congress hasn't authorized any of this.

DEAN: All right, Congressman Adam Smith, thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

SMITH: We authorized Plan Colombia, by the way. Thank you.

DEAN: Yes, there you go.

All right, thank you so much.

Still ahead, the man officials suspect of putting pipe bombs outside the DNC and the RNC back in 2020 could soon face more charges. Plus, we are hearing the phone calls from a Texas girls' camp made to emergency workers right after devastating floods ripped through their camp this summer.

And MLK Day out, July 14 in. Why National Parks are changing the days you'll be able to get in for free. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:16:58]

DEAN: The man charged with leaving pipe bombs in Washington, D.C. ahead of the January 6 riots in 2021 appeared in court for the first time, Friday. Brian Cole, Jr. is now facing federal explosive charges, but officials say the investigation is still ongoing and more charges could follow.

CNN's Brian Todd has more on this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Wearing a tan jumpsuit and glasses as he made his first court appearance, 30-year-old Brian Cole, Jr., was read his rights on Friday by a federal judge.

Six members of his family visibly emotional stood up at various points in the hearing, then shouted, "We love you, Brian. We are here for you, baby."

Cole faces two federal explosives charges connected to two pipe bombs left at Democratic and Republican Party headquarters in Washington, nearly five years ago, the night before the January 6th attack on the Capitol.

One of the charges states: He allegedly had the intent to kill, injure or intimidate.

Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News, the legal case against him could build.

PAM BONDI, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Hundreds of agents are on this case because this is a very dangerous person. And again, I believe there are more charges to come.

TODD (voice over): Cole did not enter a plea. People briefed on the matter tell CNN during interviews with the FBI, Cole told investigators he believed the 2020 election was stolen. Perhaps providing the first indication of a possible motive.

BRADLEY MOSS, NATIONAL SECURITY ATTORNEY: It certainly seemed like an effort to disrupt things to prevent the certification of the electoral slate that next day and to somehow prevent Joe Biden from becoming President two weeks later.

TODD (voice over): But sources tell CNN, Cole made multiple statements with FBI investigators over a period of hours, and officials are being cautious about discussing a definite motive.

Investigators say they used Cole's cellphone data to track his location the night the bombs were dropped, and they traced purchases he made of the bomb components, including galvanized pipe, timers, and batteries, and new details from neighbors and officials of a reclusive suspect who kept a low profile in the Woodbridge, Virginia cul-de-sac where he lived.

JEANINE PIRRO, WASHINGTON D.C. U.S. ATTORNEY: His closest friends are his family. He lives with his mom and his sisters. He would go to work for a few hours a day. His father had a bondsman company.

TODD (voice over): Neighbors told CNN they'd often see Cole walking his chihuahua in the neighborhood. He had quirks like wearing shorts and red Crocs, even on the coldest days of winter they said, and they said he was anti-social.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He never interacted, never made eye contact. Always kind of kept to himself, often would be wearing headphones and just seemed like he was either listening to something or just kind of wanted to stay by himself.

TODD (on camera): Officials tell CNN this nearly five-year investigation is still ongoing with more search warrants being executed. The criminal complaint against Brian Cole says that in the days after he allegedly planted the pipe bombs on the night before January 6th, he continued to buy components used in bomb making.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe is joining us now.

Thanks for being here with us. This has been a cold case. It was kind of a cold case for a while. It just went on for years and years. Obviously, the FBI was working it, but it had kind of fallen off, I think, kind of the public's radar for a little bit.

[18:20:08]

And then we get this news this week. What do you think caused them to move on this now? Was it a certain piece of information that came together?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: You know, Jessica, I would guess that it was more a level of confidence that they were looking at the right person. And obviously, once you reach that point in an investigation that you believe you've identified a person who has engaged in potentially incredibly violent activity, there is enormous pressure on law enforcement agents to take that person off the street before they do something else.

So my guess is that they had finally -- you know, it took a long time, many years of continuous effort. I don't believe the narrative that this case became cold and was ignored and sat on the shelf. That is not something that happens at the FBI. But I think it took a long time to do the sort of analysis they did to start with basically very few leads and ultimately narrow it down to one person.

DEAN: And you talk about the analysis in this criminal complaint that came out on December 3rd, they go through just the detail of what the pipe bombs were made of. These certain pieces, how many of those pieces were sold that year at which Home Depot, they say that he purchased this piece of equipment and really, there is a lot of detail in there.

How long does it take to put something like that together?

MCCABE: Well, you can imagine the enormous amount of data, that kind of work creates. And it is interesting to remember that the fact that the bombs did not destruct and were left intact at the scene, that's the greatest source of evidence for the investigators and it is a very tedious process. You have to break those things down into their very small component parts. You have to identify the creators, you know, the manufacturers of all those parts. Then you have to identify where those things are sold.

Now, you have to figure out how many sales took place and who did they go to? So every level of this you are getting through layers and layers of massive amounts of information, and it is only after you take that information from each different part and stack it on top of each other, cross-correlate all of those populations of potential subjects and that is how you narrow the population down to a very -- you know, to a workable group of people that you can actually surveil and start investigating. It is a very tedious process and it takes a while.

DEAN: Yes, it certainly seems that based on that information. The suspect we know also told investigators he believed the 2020 election was stolen. We don't -- you know, I think a lot of times in these -- in all cases, people want to know why would someone do something? Why in this case would this person put pipe bombs at the DNC and the RNC? What does it tell you that little piece of information that we are getting right now?

MCCABE: Yes, it is a really fascinating piece of information, partially because there has been so much speculation about whether or not the person who committed this offense was a supporter of President Trump or a supporter of President Biden and it is reasonable that people are trying to kind of decode that for themselves. So this gives us a little bit of insight into that, although it is not entirely conclusive just yet.

The reason it is important to the investigators and prosecutors is because it informs what sort of additional charges he might face if he committed this act for some political purpose and it seems from initial statements that he did. He was upset about the results of the 2020 election, then that could lead to additional charges, terrorism- related charges that would really start to send him, you know, the conviction on those charges carries enormous sentencing.

DEAN: Yes, that was my other question to you is that they have been saying, as Pam Bondi was saying, there could be more charges down the road. And so it sounds like, based on what you are saying, it is those types of terrorism charges that get at the motivation of all of this.

MCCABE: Yes, I think so. I think it is likely that he will end up getting charged with use of a weapon of mass destruction. That charge itself can also be the predicate or the foundation for an additional charge of material support to terrorism.

So once you start to build -- put those building blocks together, a defendant can be facing enormous sentencing time. If the evidence in the case is sound, we don't know that yet, they have executed search warrants, and a lot will depend on whether or not they recover evidence that actually physically ties him to those bombs, but if it is sound and he is facing significant sentencing, you know, the chance of going to trial becomes unlikely.

DEAN: All right, Andrew McCabe, good to have you. Thank you for that context. We really appreciate it.

MCCABE: Thanks.

DEAN: Still ahead, another round of talks to end the war in Ukraine as Russia strikes yet again.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:29:22]

DEAN: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a long and substantive phone call today with U.S. officials in the ongoing negotiations to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Zelenskyy says he spoke with the American envoy, Steve Witkoff and also Jared Kushner. He said the conversation was around avoiding a full-scale Russian invasion and the risk of Russia failing to honor its promises as has happened repeatedly in the past.

It comes after Russia launched one of its largest drone and missile attacks overnight in Ukraine, killing five people and targeting energy infrastructure, leaving people without power in the bitterly cold winter temperatures.

And as talks aimed at ending that war continue, a Senate panel heard testimony this week on the abduction of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children by Russia. One witness telling that panel some of the children have been sent to re-education camps in North Korea to be "Russified." An independent research group says they are tracking more than 30,000 cases of Ukrainian children who have been taken by Russia.

[18:30:25]

One witness telling that panel some of the children have been sent to reeducation camps in North Korea to be, quote, Russified. An independent research group says they're tracking more than 30,000 cases of Ukrainian children who have been taken by Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATHANIEL RAYMOND, YALE'S HUMANITARIAN RESEARCH LAB: Those groups are kids in the camps, kids who have been taken from the battlefield after their parents have been killed in bombardment, kids who were taken from filtration camps when their parents were sent for interrogation after the fall of Mariupol. And the fourth group that I want to go in depth quickly on here are kids from institutions that have been basically hidden in plain sight on Russian adoption websites and in Russian databases as if they were Russian orphans.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: We are joined now by staff writer at The Atlantic, Simon Shuster. He's also the author of "The Showman: Inside the Invasion That Shook the World and Made a Leader of Volodymyr Zelensky." Simon, thank you for being here with us. This is a story ...

SIMON SHUSTER, STAFF WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Thank you.

DEAN: ... I think is so important to keep in the spotlight. And you've -- you've done a lot of reporting on these children who have been taken by Russia. So, where do things stand and how does this factor into these negotiations to end the war?

SHUSTER: Well, you remember President Zelenskyy was presented last month with this 28-point peace plan that the Trump administration endorsed. The point about the missing children, the abducted children was in there. And I think the Ukrainians were somewhat gratified to see that among the much more onerous conditions that were in those 28 points, the children were mentioned. And that was at least an acknowledgement by the Russian side and by the Trump administration that they want to see that issue resolved as part of the negotiations.

But what we're seeing now is the Russians seem to be returning these children in small groups. We're talking about 10s of thousands and little by little they are coming home. But it seems like President Putin is trying to use them to delay and buy himself time to continue the war on the battlefield.

DEAN: And help us understand the scale of these abductions and what we know about where they are, where they've been taken, what they've been experiencing.

SHUSTER: Sure, well, these children were taken from frontline regions of Ukraine, from the east and the south, essentially as the Russian forces swept in early in the invasion in 2022. And as they've made advances over time, they essentially take control over orphanages. Many times, the parents of these children are killed during the fighting and the children are then taken to the rear, either into Russia itself or into parts of Ukraine that are occupied by Russian forces. And they undergo a process of assignment either to foster families or various institutions that try to re-educate them and make them feel a deeper connection to Russia and to sever their connection to Ukraine as much as possible.

Now, this is a very large-scale phenomenon. We're talking about, again, 10s of thousands. The Ukrainian authorities have put together a list of nearly 20,000. And the Russians have returned dozens or a couple hundred by various counts.

So, it's -- it's still a massive problem that has not even come close to being resolved.

DEAN: And why -- why do they -- why take these children?

SHUSTER: It's a fair question. It fits into the almost genocidal approach that Russia is taking in this war. They claim in their propaganda, the propaganda that underpins the war on the Russian side, that Ukraine doesn't exist as a nation, that they are just Russians that have been led astray by the cunning West. So, of course, when you -- when you have a child, a Ukrainian child, and you live in that Russian ideology that rejects the existence of Ukraine as a state, it fits into that ideology to take those children and teach them, no, you're not Ukrainian, you're really Russian. And now you're going to -- to be taken from your country, your home country, and often relatives who are waiting for you there, and you will be placed with a Russian family that will teach you how to be Russian. So, it fits into the broader and quite sick ideology that underpins this war.

DEAN: And the U.S. and Ukrainian teams we know met again today for this third straight day of talks after ...

SHUSTER: Yes.

DEAN: ... Witkoff and Kushner returned from Moscow. They met with President Putin. At this point, it doesn't seem like a ton of progress has been made at that -- was made at that meeting. We're hearing Putin kind of repeated these demands, these maximalist demands when it comes to land and other things.

As, again, as someone who's covered this extensively, do you see a pathway to a deal here? And I'll put an asterisk next to that, and a pathway to getting these children back.

[18:35:01]

SHUSTER: I mean, broadly, there's one key ingredient that is missing in this negotiating process, and it is the will of Vladimir Putin to end the war. He does not want to. He -- his demands are completely unacceptable to the Ukrainian side. They amount to total capitulation for the Ukrainians. And he says, if I don't get that -- Putin says -- if I don't get that through negotiations, then I will continue pressing the case on the battlefield, even if it costs untold thousands of Russian soldiers' lives. He has shown a willingness, even a desire, to continue conquering land through fighting.

So, without pressuring Putin to come to the negotiating table and talk in good faith and engage at least with the Ukrainians on some of these points and try to find common ground, you're not going to make any progress. That is the missing ingredient that President Trump has not gotten out of Putin. He has not gotten a will to -- to negotiate. He has not applied the pressure that is necessary to get Russia to negotiate in good faith. And until we get that, they're just going to be talking in circles, these negotiators.

DEAN: Right. And we've seen that Putin just -- continues to play for time in all of this, to your point. All right. Simon Shuster, thanks so much. We really appreciate it.

SHUSTER: Thank you.

DEAN: After the break, newly released audio captures the minute-by- minute devastation and desperation. Some of the very heartbreaking 911 calls made during that Texas flooding, that deadly flooding that happened this summer. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:41:15]

DEAN: We now have recordings of all the 911 calls made as deadly floods swept across the Texas Hill Country in the early morning hours of July 4th. Those calls revealed a chaos and growing alarm as the catastrophic flooding threatened youth camps and private cabins all along the Guadalupe River. More than 130 people were killed in those swift-moving waters, among them dozens of children at a girls' summer camp.

And a warning to you as we do listen to these calls, the desperation is really difficult to listen to. I want to bring in CNN's Julia Vargas Jones who -- who has been reviewing these -- these tapes. Julia, what stands out to you?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are indeed very difficult to listen to, Jessica. It is really that desperation and the fact that these people were making calls sometimes not quite aware of the gravity of the situation yet, you know, 435 calls in the first six hours. As we listen to hour by hour, you see that desperation getting more and more intense, people understanding what is happening there, but we're also able to piece together, Jessica, a little bit of what happened in some of these places.

You know, the first call that we reviewed coming from Camp Mystic, which you mentioned there, comes at 3:57 A.M., and it's a fairly calm caller. She says, we're stranded here, we're separated from the other side of the camp by a bridge, the bridge is now flooded, we can't get into contact with the main office, everyone is getting out of their cabins, and some -- there's some water coming into the cabins, and the operator there says, try to seek higher ground, can you get to a place that is safe, and then another call comes at 7:11 A.M. from Camp Mystic that paints a completely different picture. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this referencing the flooding?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it is. We are missing a whole cabin.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're missing -- you said you're missing an entire cabin full of girls?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, I'm going to go ahead --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're missing 14 (INAUDIBLE) 14 and 20 total. (INAUDIBLE) What does that add up to? Yes, 30 -- about 30 -- about 30 girls.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: About 30 girls?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: Jessica, aside from these, we also hear calls from people who are stranded in their cars and don't know what to do, they can't open the doors from RV parks, people not familiar with the area saying, where do we evacuate? We're being told to leave, but where to? And finally, one very distressing call of a caller saying he watched an infant being taken by those floodwaters, just seeking some help and some hope from that dispatcher.

DEAN: So, horrific, Julia. When it comes to Camp Mystic, that's that girl's camp, is there a plan to reopen?

JONES: Yes, they did announce that last week, that they are planning to reopen with some changes specifically to those systems, safety measures, they will be installing flood warning monitors designed to have an earlier warning for those high flood events as well as high- capacity generators and two radios in every single one of those cabins precisely to prevent, Jessica, another event like this one.

DEAN: All right. Julia Vargas Jones with the latest reporting, thank you very much for that.

Federal arson charges have been brought against a high school senior accused of setting a New York subway passenger on fire. Authorities say the 18-year-old suspect allegedly lit a sheet of paper on fire and left it near a 56-year-old man who was sleeping before fleeing. The victim is now hospitalized in critical condition. The U.S. attorney's office releasing surveillance images, one of which they say shows the suspect with a paper in his hand on the subway.

[18:45:04]

Changes ahead for which days National Parks will offer free admission. Beginning next year, national park visitors will receive free admission on President Trump's birthday, June 14th. But the parks will no longer waive admission fees for Martin Luther King Jr. Day or for Juneteenth. Of course, both of those are federal holidays. The changes come as Trump has made eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts a centerpiece to his administration.

A big surprise for an 88-year-old grocery clerk working to make ends meet in Michigan. Ed Bambas was handed a check Friday for $1.7 million. That check, a result of a remarkable GoFundMe account by a young Australian man using his huge social media following to spread kindness. He recorded a TikTok video with Bambas, who explained how he didn't have enough income following the death of his wife and a chronic illness.

More than 15,000 people responded. He says he was overwhelmed and he'll probably shut things down after working another month or two.

Still ahead here, critics say it's a move that will make America sicker. The latest from Friday's CDC vaccine vote. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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DEAN: Tonight, we honor the best of humanity at CNN Heroes: An All- Star Tribute. But before we celebrate this year's top five heroes, we are checking in with some from the past whose impact continues to grow, like Scott Strode. The 2012 CNN Hero has dedicated his life to helping others overcome addiction by turning to health and fitness. And Anderson Cooper shares how Strode and his organization are moving onward and upward.

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SCOTT STRODE, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: So, I get on my bike and go ride up in the mountains. It really just brings peace, and in my drug and alcohol use, it was the opposite.

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360" (voice over): Scott Strode started using drugs and alcohol when he was 15. But through sports, he found a way out and overcame his addiction.

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STRODE: When I got sober, I lost my group of friends because they were still out drinking and using. I got into boxing, triathlon, climbing. I had this new group of friends. I had completely redefined myself. So, I thought, how can we give this to other people?

Welcome to Friday night climbing. It's good to see all you here.

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COOPER (voice over): Strode wanted to help others facing addiction, so in 2006, he started a nonprofit now known as The Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STRODE: We have this common connection, so it's easy to make new friends. We do bike rides, hiking, triathlon training, strength training.

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COOPER (voice over): In 2012, Strode was honored as a CNN Hero for his efforts to provide free fitness programs to people in recovery.

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STRODE: It really is just a new community of folks to hang out with.

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COOPER (voice over): Today, the organization has grown to serve one million members, and they're not stopping there. The Phoenix hopes to reach 10 million people by 2030, thanks to their new app, NewForm. The app brings addiction recovery and mental health support together in one place, making it easy for people to connect with recovery and wellness communities wherever they are.

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COOPER (voice over): We're having fun, and we're proud of being sober. So, come out and go climbing with us.

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(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And stay with us tonight for CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. It's going to be a great show. Gather the family around. Get ready to be inspired. It starts at 8 Eastern and Pacific. And to learn more, you can go to cnn.com/heroes.

And now streaming, candid conversations between Hollywood's hottest actors on their craft, the process, and the work driving this awards season. Our Elizabeth Wagmeister has more on this. Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Jessica. I am so excited that we now have "Actors on Actors" here at CNN, because it is one of the biggest franchises in the entertainment space. Everybody loves watching these conversations, because it's the only time that you get an actor on actor. Meaning, peers sitting down with one another, really letting the walls down for candid and raw conversations. It's also the highest caliber of star that you can get.

I'm talking major A-listers. In this season, we have everyone from Ariana Grande with Adam Sandler, Leonardo DiCaprio with Jennifer Lawrence. And the episode that drops today is Sean Penn and Julia Roberts.

They talk about their careers. They talk about their latest films. But in this preview, they also talk about the first time that they ever met each other.

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JULIA ROBERTS: How many years do you think we've known each other? I think I know the answer.

SEAN PENN: It's -- it's easily -- well, oh, no, it's going to -- yes, no, I'm thinking now back in New York, Mayflower Hotel during the shooting of "The Pope of Greenwich Village."

ROBERTS: Oh, okay. Oh ...

PENN: Yes.

ROBERTS: Okay. So, this is over 40 years.

PENN: This is over 40 years ago. Yes. ROBERTS: Wow.

PENN: Yes.

ROBERTS: That's crazy.

PENN: You were Eric's little sister.

ROBERTS: Yes, I still am.

PENN: I remember exactly the things I'd heard about you.

ROBERTS: Oh, God. Okay.

PENN: And, yes -- but you must have been about -- about, like, a teenager.

ROBERTS: Sixteen, I think.

PENN: Yes. Something like that. Yes. So, it's been a while.

ROBERTS: Here we are.

PENN: Yes. Here we are.

ROBERTS: Buds ...

PENN: Neighbors, buds.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[18:55:07]

WAGMEISTER: As you see, these conversations get very personal. And I was on set to watch the production of all of this. And the actors truly have so much fun with one another.

Now, this is really the start of the Oscars campaigning season. And Sean Penn is in the award season conversation for the film "One Battle After Another." Julia Roberts in the conversation for "After the Hunt." Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Great stuff, Elizabeth. Thank you.

And you can catch new episodes of Variety's "Actors on Actors" now streaming exclusively on our CNN App.

Ahead here, the next hour, growing scrutiny over the so-called double tap boat strike that killed survivors. What Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have had to say about releasing that full video of the strike? You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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