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Deadly Texas Flood; Trump's Agenda Bill; Detained By ICE; Aired. Tropical Storm Chantal Forms Off South Carolina's Coast; Major Climate Change Reports Vanish From U.S. Federal Websites; Florida State Lawmakers Denied Entry To "Alligator Alcatraz" Immigration Jail; Texas Flash Flood Death Toll Rises To 24. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired July 05, 2025 - 08:00   ET

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

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[08:00:53]

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN HOST: Good morning and welcome to CNN THIS morning. It is Saturday, July 5th. I hope you're all having a lovely 4th of July holiday weekend. I'm Danny Freeman in for Victor Blackwell. First of all, we'll be back next week. And here's what's happening this morning.

Search and rescue teams in Texas have been working through the night to find people still unaccounted for after deadly flooding hits parts of the state.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GREG ABBOTT, (R) TEXAS: We will stop at nothing to ensure that every asset and person and plane and whatever is needed is going to be involved in the process of rescuing every last person.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: At least 24 people are dead. Several young girls from a sleepaway camp are missing. We have the latest in a live report from Texas coming up. And President Trump's big beautiful bill is now law. The president signed it during a ceremony at the White House surrounded by Republican leaders. What the president had to say to Democrats who have been slamming the bill.

Plus, a Texas woman is back home after she was detained by ICE for more than four months after returning from her honeymoon. Her experience while in custody and the response we're getting from ICE officials. And we're watching a new tropical depression off the southeast coast that could become a named storm at any moment. We're tracking the potential impacts.

And we speak to the cast of the new movie Superman. The justice gang is here and weighing in on their co-star who plays Superman. That conversation coming up a little later.

We begin with the breaking news on that deadly flooding in Central Texas that have taken the lives of at least 24 people so far. Rescue crews worked nonstop overnight to locate those left stranded or swept away by the catastrophic flooding that began early on Friday morning.

Now, more than 20 girls who were at a private Christian summer camp near the Guadalupe River are still unaccounted for at this time. Officials say 237 people have been rescued so far, with the majority of the rescues conducted by helicopter. Texas Governor Greg Abbott briefed the public on Friday on the ongoing rescue efforts.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ABBOTT: They will continue in the darkness of night. They will be taking place when the sun rises in the morning. They will be nonstop seeking to find everybody who is unaccounted for.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN: Now, even though this area of Texas is used to seeing flooding, residents said they were caught off guard by the amount of rain they saw and how fast the waters rose. Officials in Kerr County say weather remains a concern through the weekend and that any additional rain would cause more flash flooding.

Now we have seen CNN senior national correspondent Ed Lavandera. He's live in Ingram, Texas, this morning. Ed, tell us what you're learning about these just unbelievably catastrophic floods.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, an absolute nightmare scenario unfolded early Friday morning in the darkness. This is the Guadalupe River, and you can see just how intense the flow is right now. But look at the damage as all of this water was moving downstream. The intensity that and the force of the water just really just ripping trees apart.

Massive trees, we should say, too. These are not small trees. And we were able to go upstream a little bit yesterday and see some of the destruction, the damage. The water, you can see how high we are above the river here as it goes over this crest, you know, but all of this water rushing out this way got above the road here, wiping out an RV park across the highway here.

And just look downstream, you can see all of the trees out there in that floodplain in the river plain there that have been just ripped to shreds there by the floodwaters that barrel down through here. Early Friday morning and most of the day yesterday, people who were along the banks of the river described having just moments to react. We spoke with one couple, Danny, who said they were in their home at about 3:00 a.m. when they noticed water starting to come into their home that was just about 200ft off the river.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FELIPE TAPIA, SURVIVED FLOODING IN HUNT, TEXAS: No warning at all. So that's why everything was so quick. And the water was really quick. You know, almost all the top by my side, you know, the water went all the way, but this high in our house. [08:05:14]

LAVANDERA: So you're swimming in the water?

TAPIA: I was swimming.

MARIA TAPIA, SURVIVED FLOODING IN HUNT, TEXAS: And as soon as we got out, we can hear the glasses and trees and all that.

LAVANDERA: Oh, no, (inaudible).

TAPIA: We got it on time, you know.

TAPIA: We got right on time. We got out right on time.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: So, Danny, that is what so many people had to deal with. And obviously, the efforts today about the efforts to continue getting into these places where there might be some people who are hopefully are missing. State officials don't know exactly how many people are missing, and those search efforts will continue throughout the day today.

FREEMAN: Ed, along those lines, what can you tell us about the efforts to find the more than 20 girls that are suspected missing from their summer camp?

LAVANDERA: Well, this has really been one of the most intense part focuses of these search and rescue efforts. And that Camp Mystic is down, is upriver this way from where we are. The road is closed off. It's a very difficult area to get to right now. But Camp Mystic had probably, were told, about 750 girls at the camp.

This is a popular summer camp destination. We witnessed many of the people and the girls that were being brought out of the camp by school buses and reunited with family members. Parents drove from all over the state to pick up their daughters yesterday, and that will continue as well today. Danny, I can't even begin to describe the sheer look of terror and trauma that so many of these young girls had on their faces as they were being dropped off here.

You can just imagine the ordeal that they went through. And obviously knowing that there are about 23, we are told, young girls that are still missing, many families holding out hope that somehow these girls might have been swept away and were able to cling to a tree or to some of the areas around here and might just be sitting there waiting to be rescued. But as more time passes by, you know, that hope starts to dwindle a little bit, and that is part of the painful process that so many families and friends of these young girls are dealing with today.

But those search efforts will continue, and that camp, you know, is really one of the main focuses of the search and rescue efforts today.

FREEMAN: Yes, of course. Certainly holding out hope and thinking of all of those families impacted. Ed Lavandera on the ground in Texas. Stay safe. Thank you very much.

FREEMAN: And joining me now is meteorologist Chris Warren. Chris, you saw the intense images out there with Ed. What's the latest on the situation in Texas right now?

CHRIS WARREN, METEOROLOGIST: Well, I'll tell you, when you see something as heartbreaking as that, you got to ask yourself, how can something like this happen? An unimaginable amount of rain and then floodwaters inundating the Guadalupe River. And it's just a remarkable amount of water falling from the sky. A summer's worth of rain happening in a matter of hours.

So several counties, well over a dozen counties in this orange and red color here. So that's in that 4 to 6, even up to 10 inches. And a lot of that water draining into the drainage basin that caused that extreme flooding, that river that caused that extreme flooding. This is how it all started late Thursday into Friday. The heavy rain persistent and intense as well. Not just the amount but the rate and just how fast it came down and how long it lasted, all combining to create that catastrophic situation we saw unfold.

Still flood watches posted for these areas. But new this morning, watching these areas in red and the white outlined area, flash flood emergency area in effect right now because of the rain from overnight. And this morning with rescues needing to be done earlier today with more rain expected. The heaviest stuff a little bit farther away from the devastation. But still more rain where there is the ongoing flood watch currently posted by tomorrow morning, it's going to pick back up again. More rain, more thunderstorms going to last for a big part of the day before once again, Danny drying out later on tomorrow night when it's all said and done near us in some areas could pick up to about 10 inches.

FREEMAN: Oh man. A lot of rain still to come. Hoping people stay safe. Chris Warren, thank you very much.

Moving to D.C. now, it's the celebration President Donald Trump has been waiting for. He signed off on his so called big beautiful bill on July 4th, complete with a bomber jet flyover and a fireworks show.

And that's despite lingering concerns over Medicaid cuts and deficit expansion, the president nonetheless touted its success.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: What we've done is put everything into one bill. It's never happened before. It's the biggest bill of its type in history. We've never had anything like that before. Nothing like that they thought would be possible to get passed. And actually I liked it because we had so much in there that no matter who you are, there was something in that bill that would make your congressman or your senator or your congresswoman, much more importantly, raise their hand and support.

[08:10:18] FREEMAN: Now, the measure cuts a trillion dollars from Medicaid and other programs, but analysis from the Congressional Budget Office estimates it will add more than $3 trillion to the federal deficit. CNN's Camila DeChalus joins me now from Washington, D.C. Camila, what else is the president saying about this bill?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Danny, President Trump is hailing this as a major victory for him in his second term serving in office. And it's pretty notable for days the White House applied intense pressure to a group of Republican holdouts after some Republican lawmakers made it very clear that they were willing to block the bill from even getting passed because of their concerns to its cuts to Medicaid and its impacts to rural hospitals. But after these Republicans got on board with really pushing the president's agenda forward, it's pretty notable that now that the bill is passed, that now Republicans are really crafting their messaging around how they want to sell this bill back to the American public now with just only months ahead of the midterm November elections.

And it's pretty notable how they're even anticipating some of the backlash of this bill and just really trying to craft their message around it. Take a listen to what President Trump just said the other day.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: They've developed a standard line, and we can't let them get away with it. Oh, it's dangerous. Oh, everybody's going to die. It's actually just the opposite. Everybody's going to live. This is just the opposite. And I just want you to know, if you see anything negative put out by Democrats, it's all a con job.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

So as you can see there, Danny, Republicans are really anticipating that this is going to be a messaging line that Democrats are going to focus on, that this bill and its impact to the American people. But it's what we're told by some Republicans is that they want to focus on two things when they're trying to sell this message to the American people. It's that this bill includes language for tax cuts and that it also includes provisions for more funding for border security.

FREEMAN: Camila DeChalus, thank you very much for breaking it all down. Appreciate it.

And President Trump says he's considering Ukraine's request for more Patriot missile defense systems. He says he called Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday to talk CNN's Kevin Liptak details that call.

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Good morning, Danny. A White House official said that phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky was a good one. And I think that barrage of missiles and drones coming from Russia towards Ukraine was an important backdrop to the conversation. President Zelensky very much wanting to use that as an example to President Trump of why Ukraine continues to require those American defensive systems to protect itself. And Zelensky, I think his objective in this call was to try and get some clarity from President Trump about what the status of those weapons actually is.

Remember, just last week at the Naito summit, President Trump, President Zelensky met the President Trump emerged saying that he would be willing to send new Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine. Then this week, the pendulum seemed to swing in the other direction.

The administration deciding to put a halt on those weapons, citing what it said was dwindling U.S. stockpiles. And then just on Thursday evening, the president signed, saying, no, the halt wasn't in place, that he continued to send these weapons. He wanted to help Zelensky protect Ukraine from Russia. And so this conversation, I think, was an important moment for Zelensky to sort of touch base with the U.S. leader about where things precisely stood.

And at least according to his own readout of the call, he did seem to make some progress with President Trump. He said that the U.S. President was very well informed about the situation and in Ukraine, and that they had agreed that they will work together to strengthen protection of our skies. So President Trump seeming to say that he is willing to help Ukraine defend itself going forward.

I also think it's important to note that the President Trump, that is, spoke this week with the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, the French President, Emmanuel Macron, and there does appear to be a discussion underway about Germany potentially buying some of these U.S. Patriot missile batteries and then transferring them to Ukraine. And so you can see how all of these leaders are working on the diplomatic aspect of this conflict.

Now, the call with Zelensky came a day after President Trump spoke with the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin. President Trump did not sound all that optimistic after that phone call. He said it was disappointing, said he had made virtually no progress with the Russian leader about trying to bring this conflict to an end and saying that he did not think that Putin was actually interested in resolving this war, which I think kind of underscores the point that for all of these successes that President Trump has had over these last few weeks, whether it's in the Middle East or at the Supreme Court or with Congress, the conflict in Ukraine remains a glaring example of an area on which he has not been able to make progress since taking office. Danny.

[08:15:15]

FREEMAN: Kevin Liptak at the White House, thank you very much for that report.

Still ahead, a woman returning from her honeymoon gets detained by ICE and held for more than 140 days. Well, she's now out of and speak about her experience with us coming up next.

Plus, why the disappearance of legally mandated U.S. climate reports have scientists so concerned right now. And coming up later, more of our interview with the stars of Superman, why they think now is the right time to reintroduce the hero to a new generation.

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[08:20:27]

FREEMAN: Mourners gathered earlier today for the funeral of Liverpool soccer star Diogo Jota and his hometown in Portugal. Mourners, including his family, attended the wake yesterday for the star forward and his younger brother. Both were killed in a car crash in Spain on Thursday. Jota got married just two weeks ago. He leaves behind his wife and three children.

President Donald Trump says the U.S. will not allow Iran to restart its nuclear program. He made the comments aboard Air Force One last night reiterating his claim that the U.S. Strikes destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities last month. Early intelligence assessments suggested the strikes on Iran did not destroy the country's nuclear sites, but instead set the program back.

Trump said he will be discussing the strikes with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is set to visit Washington on Monday.

And the champ makes a triumphant return to the Nathan's famous International Hot Dog eating Contest. Joey Jaws Chestnut dominated the annual 4th of July competition in New York on Friday, winning his 17th mustard belt. He devoured 70.5 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes. The next closest competitor had no chance, downing just 24 fewer hot dogs. Congrats, Joey.

This morning, a woman is finally home in Dallas after spending 140 days in ICE custody. Ward Sakeik was born in Saudi Arabia to Palestinian parents. She's lived in the United States since she was 8 years old. She was arrested by immigration officials back in February. She was returning from her honeymoon to the U.S. Virgin Islands with her new husband when she was taken into custody.

Now we reached out to the Department of Homeland Security who said in a statement in part, the arrest of Ward Sakeik was not part of a targeted operation by ICE. She chose to fly over international waters and outside the U.S. customs zone and was then flagged by CBP trying to re-enter the continental U.S. Following her American husband and her filing the appropriate legal applications for her to remain in the country and become a legal permanent resident, she was released from ICE custody.

Well, joining me now is Ward Sakeik, and her attorney, Eric Lee. Thank you both so much for joining us on this holiday weekend. Ward, I want to start with you. Can you please just tell me about your experience being detained and how you're feeling this morning?

WARD SAKEIK, RELEASED FROM ICE CUSTODY AFTER 140 DAYS: Thank you. First of all, I feel good this morning. I feel amazing being back home, and I'm super grateful to be here.

The entire detention process was not great. I wouldn't wish this upon anybody. It was very hard, very traumatizing, and very difficult is what I would say to that.

FREEMAN: Well, Ward, can you describe a little bit more? I mean, just what it was like inside while you were detained for so many, so many weeks?

SAKEIK: Yes, absolutely. There was not a lot of things for us to do. It was a very lazy -- each day was lazier than the next day. You will, like, run out of energy. I didn't have much energy to do pretty much anything. All I had was my husband sending me books, and I would be reading. Once these books were done, send them back, get more books. We did have some Zumba and some dancing classes provided to us. It wasn't a daily thing, but it was. It was pretty. Pretty nice. In the second facility that I was in.

There wasn't a lot of people that spoke English in there. There was a lot of Latin women. So it was very hard for me to make a lot of friends. So often I just felt like I was a little isolated because I didn't really speak the language. So, again, I was in an environment where I wasn't fully comfortable.

And not only that, I was also very scared because it was very different to me. I didn't know why I was there specifically, even though I was asking and I really wanted to speak to my deportation officer and all that, because I've been abiding by everything, and I was complying. And I was just very confused on why I was there, especially when I report every year and they congratulate me on everything I've done or any new updates in my life. So it was just very confusing for me.

FREEMAN: Eric, I want to bring you into the conversation. Your client's circumstance, very unique. I understand that Ward does not actually have citizenship anywhere. Is that correct? And how does that make this whole case more challenging?

ERIC LEE, ATTORNEY, LEE AND GODSHALL-BENNETT LLP: Right. Ward is a Palestinian. The United States government does not recognize Palestine as a country. Her family, like the families of so many Palestinians, were kicked off of their land many decades ago and forced essentially into international diaspora.

[08:25:15]

The government cannot deport her to any country. She has been, as she just indicated, complying with all of the supervisory demands that ICE has placed on her over the last years. I just want to say since you started by reading the statement by the Department of Homeland Security, they also issued a statement yesterday to Newsweek saying that what Ward said about her conditions of detention, including regarding food, including regarding water, mistreatment by guards, the violation of her religious right, was false, DHS said. They called it a sob story.

I guess what we would ask the American people is who are they going to believe? Their lying eyes or the statements of the people who are responsible for carrying out what are really crimes against humanity here in the United States. On Monday, when Ward was brought out of the -- almost out of the

facility for her second deportation attempt, that was in violation of a federal court order saying that the ICE was prohibited from trying to remove her from the United States. This is a government which is actively undermining and violating the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. And the case that Ward. Ward's case exemplifies the basic question that everybody should be thinking about on this 4th of July weekend, which is whether we live in a democracy or whether we live in a dictatorship.

FREEMAN: Well, to your point, Eric, I mean, tell me, what is next in Ward's case? Is it pretty much over or is there more coming now?

LEE: Well, there's going to be more coming. I mean, what that -- how that develops not only for Ward, but for the tens of thousands of people who every night in this country go to sleep in the conditions that Ward was forced to endure for five years simply for the crime in most cases of having been born in another country and trying to come here for a better life.

I mean, this is America. There's a network of internment camps across the United States set up by Democratic and Republican administrations where families are detained, where parents are taken from their children.

They just built something that they call Alligator Alcatraz, which is as horrific as it sounds. There's Marines in Florida helping ICE attack the rights of immigrants in that state. And they've just passed a bill in Congress which is not beautiful, which is going to fund ICE to the tune of having more resources at its disposal than many militaries across the world.

This is an extraordinarily dangerous situation. We have to really make the point that the situation Ward confronts shows that nobody is safe. They're talking about denaturalizing American citizens. They're trying to enforce what types of speech immigrants can engage in and what types of speech American citizens can listen to immigrants engage in. That is totally outside the American democratic tradition that was embodied in the Declaration of Independence, that was signed almost 250 years ago.

FREEMAN: Well, Ward, glad you're back home. And please stay in touch with us to keep us abreast of just how you're progressing in the weeks and months to come. Thank you both. Ward Sakeik and Eric Lee, for joining us this morning. Appreciate your time.

LEE: Thank you.

SAKEIK: Thank you.

FREEMAN: And there's a tropical system we're tracking off the coast of the Southeast. The possible impacts to brace for this holiday weekend. That and more is coming up.

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[08:33:00]

FREEMAN: We're also following breaking news off of the southeastern coast of the United States. Tropical Storm Chantal has just formed. It is the third named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season. Meteorologist Chris Warren is back with us. Chris, what can you tell us about this new form storm?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is a newly formed storm that did get better organized during the overnight hours and tonight it will be making landfall tonight into the overnight hours. Here it is right now. And you can see with all of the storms just offshore, this will be moving onshore. Here's a little bit of the rain that's moving into South Carolina at the moment. At times it is heavy.

There are now tropical storm warnings. Tropical storm conditions expected here in blue, possible in yellow. Those are the watches. It will be onshore by tomorrow morning or early tomorrow afternoon.

Rain will be moving out of South Carolina by late tomorrow and into early Monday. North Carolina and Virginia still expects expected to see some pretty heavy rain associated with this.

It's going to be the rain, the flood threat, the winds for parts of the South Carolina, North Carolina coastlines, and then also, Danny, got to be careful at the beaches even though it won't be a great beach day. Rip currents, also the potential for some very rough surf as well.

FREEMAN: Chris Warren, thank you for keeping an eye on that evolving situation in the Southeast. Appreciate it.

Now the very reports designed to warn us of these extreme weather risks have seemingly disappeared. Legally mandated national climate assessment, long used by state and local officials to prepare for climate impacts have been quietly removed from federal websites. The White House says the info will now be housed within NASA.

Joining me now, the man who helped build this very system that's now being taken apart, John Holdren. He's the co-director of the Science, Technology and Public Policy Program at Harvard University's Belfer Center and a former science advisor for President Obama. Thank you so much for being with us on this holiday weekend. Let's start here for viewers who might just be hearing about this.

[08:35:00]

What exactly are these national climate assessments, and what does it mean that they've effectively vanished from federal websites?

JOHN HOLDREN, CO-DIRECTOR, SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND PUBLIC POLICY PROGRAM AT HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Well, the National Climate assessments of climate change impacts on the United States were mandated in a 1990 act of Congress, the U.S. Global Research Act of 1990. And they are supposed to be produced roughly every four years. Some have been slow, but on the whole, there have been five such reports produced. The six was recently cancelled in midstream by President Trump, and

the five previous ones, which were all posted on the U.S. Global Change Research Program's website, have disappeared for the moment. They may show up on the NASA website. We can hope so.

But the whole fiasco is simply one aspect of a campaign by the Trump administration to dismantle large parts of the U.S. research establishment, and in particular to dismantle every effort to better understand and predict what climate change is doing in the United States.

FREEMAN: Well, John, help me understand this a little bit more. You've warned that suppressing this kind of information could actually increase the danger Americans face from climate impacts. How does that work?

HOLDREN: Absolutely. The national assessments have provided information about how climate is affecting every region in the United States and every sector of our economy. It's the only set of reports that are sufficiently detailed in those respects to be useful to decision makers, to city planners, to mayors, to governors, to tribal leaders, so that they can understand what steps they need to take in their domains to reduce the impacts of climate change on people, on property, on ecosystems, and on their local economies.

FREEMAN: Now, John, you've called this just one front in a much broader assault on scientific analysis, as you were saying earlier, across climate, medicine, pollution, in even public education. What's your sense of what's really driving this and what might the long term consequences be if this continues?

HOLDREN: Well, it's of course, very hard to see into the minds of the people, starting with President Trump, who are orchestrating this campaign against science and reason. But one has to assume that it's some mixture of a desire for total control, a desire to eradicate sources of independent analysis and opinion that might provide information counter to the policies that President Trump is trying to advance.

FREEMAN: Well, it's fascinating and I just appreciate you taking the time, especially out of a holiday weekend, to break all of this down and to really illustrate the importance of talking about this issue. John Holdren, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

HOLDREN: Thank you.

FREEMAN: There are concerns about conditions inside an Everglades detention facility dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, but lawmakers say they aren't being allowed to see it for themselves. We'll tell you what they're alleging is inside. Coming up after the break.

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[08:42:53]

FREEMAN: A group of state lawmakers in Florida are now raising humanitarian concerns about the controversial new migrant detention center in the Everglades. The five Democrats say they were refused entry and denied the opportunity to inspect the facility nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz. CNN's Rafael Romo has the latest.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Danny, good morning. The lawmakers say they were worried about humanitarian concerns at the new detention center in Florida, and that's why they wanted to assess conditions inside by personally visiting the site. But they didn't get too far.

The lawmakers say they weren't even allowed to see the outer perimeter of the tent facility known as Alligator Alcatraz, only hours after the arrival of the first group of detainees. A lawyer with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which oversees the detention center, later cited a safety concern for the denial without offering specific details, according to one of the lawmakers.

CNN, of course, has reached out to the office for comment. President Donald Trump toured the facility on Tuesday, along with his Homeland Security secretary, Kristi Noem, and their host, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. Shortly after their visit, summer storms flooded part of the facility.

Video from CNN affiliate shows wires submerged in pooling water across the floor. High winds made the floor and walls of the facilities tremble. Florida said that vendors went back and tightened any seams at the base of the structures that allowed water intrusion during the heavy storm, calling it minimal.

Florida State Representative Anna Eskamani, one of the lawmakers trying to visit the facility, referred to the detention center as a political stunt.

ANNA ESKAMANI (D) FLORIDA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Based on reports that we've been able to glean, the site is already experiencing flooding. The first individuals who have been detained with no due process have arrived and it's so essential when you have hundreds of millions of public dollars being spent on a political stunt, that we have the ability to see for our own eyes what is happening and to be the voices of our constituents.

ROMO: Publicly on Tuesday, federal and state officials said they were working together on this.

[08:45:00]

But in a court filing submitted the following day, the Department of Homeland Security said it has not been directly involved. The court filing says, in part that, quote, DHS has not implemented, authorized, directed or funded Florida's temporary detention center. An official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement also said that the agency's role has been limited touring the facility to ensure compliance with ICE detention standards. Danny.

FREEMAN: Rafael Romo, thank you very much for that report. All right. Coming up tonight on "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper," a look at the dramatic end of the trial of Sean Diddy Combs. Laura Coates examines how we got here and what's next for the disgraced hip hop mogul. "The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper: The Case Against Diddy" airs tonight at 8 Eastern on CNN.

And still ahead for us, part two of our interview with the cast of "Superman" is coming up next. We have what they have to say about the new actor picked to play the title role and the director bringing the upcoming film to life.

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[08:50:16]

FREEMAN: We're staying on top of breaking news out of Texas this morning. At least 24 people have been killed. Dozens of others are still unaccounted for. Officials say they're conducting search and rescue operations nearly nonstop and will continue until everyone is accounted for. We have calls out to officials across Texas for updates. We'll bring you any new information as we get it.

On this Fourth of July weekend, let's talk about truth, justice, and the American way. That classic Superman motto is getting new life as a new film about the hero soars into theaters next week. Now, earlier this morning, we shared some of Victor Blackwell's conversation with the actors playing Superman's Justice gang scene right here. Metamorpho Anthony Carrigan, Hawkgirl, Isabela Merced. And Mr. Terrific, Edi Gathegi.

Now here's part two on why this is the right time to revisit the story of "Superman."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: This is being introduced to a new generation of "Superman" fans, and there might have been some who expected an origin story to start at the very beginning at krypton and coming to earth. Why is this the point to start at in the story?

EDI GATHEGI, KENYAN-AMERICAN ACTOR: Well, I think we've seen words and stories for superman and Batman ad nauseam.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

GATHEGI: So, I mean, if you want to bring the audience in right away, you know, start in the middle of the -- hit the ground running. Hit the ground running.

BLACKWELL: And of course, there are some elements that are kind of harkening back to the golden era of "Superman." The dog is back.

GATHEGI: Robots.

BLACKWELL: Yes, robots. We saw Christopher Reeve and Dean Cain, and now we have David Corenswet. And so why is he the Superman for the moment?

GATHEGI: I mean, have you met him? BLACKWELL: I haven't met him, no. But I saw him on screen.

ANTHONY CARRIGAN, ACTOR: When you meet him, and when you meet him, you get it. You know.

BLACKWELL: What is it about?

GATHEGI: I dare you to understand this guy Kent will be Superman one day.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

GATHEGI: And then it happens. He is the embodiment of this character.

CARRIGAN: He's got such a big heart. You get it immediately once you meet him. He's just a sweetheart. He's so down to earth. But he's a good dude, you know, it really shines through.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

ISABELA MERCED, AMERICAN ACTRESS: Very pure.

GATHEGI: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MERCED: Yes.

CARRIGAN: David, if you're listening, you know, we love you, bud.

BLACKWELL: Very pure. You know, back to James Gunn and this kind of creating the universe of these characters. Are we going to see Hawkgirl and Mr. Terrific and Metamorpho back in stories and other places? You know, give us spill a little tea, something.

MERCED: I'm not opposed in this scenario. I'm not like, less is more. No, I'm like, hey, give it to me. More is more.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MERCED: Yes. I'm just excited because I grew up with the series. The JLU on Cartoon Network loved that. And also there was a "Superman" animated series as well that was really near and dear to my brothers and me. And so this feels a lot more like that, I guess. And for that reason, I myself want to be involved as much as possible.

GATHEGI: I feel like we're only scratching the surface with all of our characters, all the characters in the film, because we're starting to build a universe. So there's a lot of potential for new characters to be introduced, for us to be in different stories, to cross pollinate.

I don't know. It's a big, beautiful world out there.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MERCED: Just one more. BLACKWELL: Edi, you've got Mr. Terrific. I've got the Green Lantern here, but --

GATHEGI: I like this one.

BLACKWELL: You like that one?

GATHEGI: I like this cute bubblehead. What is this?

BLACKWELL: The Funko Pop.

MERCED: Can I hold you a child, please?

CARRIGAN: Yes.

MERCED: I really want to hold your child.

CARRIGAN: Of course.

MERCED: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: And, Edi, on my eight o' clock show, I deal specifically with stories that focus on people of color, communities of color, and the representation of Mr. Terrific. What consideration was that for you in creating the character and for what you wanted to portray on screen?

GATHEGI: What's extraordinary about this character to me was that his superpower was intelligence. So this is a character who understood that you don't have to be superpowered. You don't have to have powers in a universe with gods and monsters to make a difference.

So there's a potential to inspire a lot of kids through this character. You know, my dream is that kids want to pursue science arts stem more because they watch what Mr. Terrific is capable of doing in this film.

BLACKWELL: Yes. And for those who are not lifelong fans of the DC Canon or Superman, what's the draw to come out and see this movie?

CARRIGAN: James Gunn.

GATHEGI: I mean, James Gunn. Have you seen Guardians of the Galaxy?

CARRIGAN: Honestly, it's got everything.

MERCED: That was the draw for me. I liked Batman more.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

MERCED: I love James and his work.

GATHEGI: Yes.

MERCED: He's just got such a clear vision, and he's got a great team that helps him execute because they know him so well because they've worked with him for like 30 plus years.

GATHEGI: Everything great in life comes from imagination.

MERCED: Yes.

GATHEGI: And this guy has an imagination.

[08:55:02]

CARRIGAN: And passion too. He's got such passion. He really cares because he's such a fan himself. So he wants to do it justice, right? And this movie's got everything. I mean, it's got humor, it's got action.

GATHEGI: Love.

CARRIGAN: It's got love and heart. And I think it's a return to what Superman's really about, you know, back into the comics, you know.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Well, Anthony, Edi, Isabela, thank you so much. I saw the movie. It was great. Thank you for your time. "Superman" flies into theaters July 11th. Thank you all for coming in.

MERCED: Thank you, Victor

GATHEGI: And I have the toothpaste that you have.

BLACKWELL: I'll tell you --

MERCED: Million dollar smile.

GATHEGI: I want that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: Yes, we all want that to be clear. Thanks to Isabela, Edi, Anthony and of course, Victor for that great conversation.

And we must note Warner Brothers Discovery, also the parent company of CNN. Thank you so much for joining me this morning. First of All returns next Saturday at 8:00 am. Smerconish is up next after a quick break.

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