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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Two Fatally Shot While Responding To Brush Fire In Idaho; Senate Braces For "Vote-A-Rama" On Trump Agenda Bill; Netanyahu: Israel's Priority Is Now To Rescue Hostages. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 30, 2025 - 4:00   ET

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

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[04:00:35]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world, I'm MJ Lee in Washington.

We are following breaking news out of Idaho where authorities say they've recovered the body of a man they believe unleashed a deadly attack on firefighters. It happened on Canfield Mountain in the northwest city of Coeur d'Alene.

The local sheriff say they believe the suspect intentionally set a brush fire and ambush those who responded, and that he acted alone. He also explained how they found the body.

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SHERIFF BOB NORRIS, KOOTENAI COUNTY, IDAHO: We had a cell phone activation that was in the same spot since about 3:16. And that it was in the same area. And we honed in on that cell phone, and we saw that there was a male appear to be deceased with a weapon nearby.

Based on the preliminary information, we believe that is the only shooter that was on that mountain at that time. So, there is no threat to the community at that -- at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: The terrifying first minutes of Sunday's attack were captured on a dispatch call. Here's a part of that audio.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Send law enforcement right now. There's an active shooter zone. They're shot. BC three is down, BC one is down. Everybody shot up here. Law enforcement, code three now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's an upper parking lot -- there's an upper parking lot up on the dirt parking lot. We need law enforcement up here immediately. Law enforcement up here immediately.

We've got two unresponsive battalions chiefs, gunshot wounds, multiple gunshot wounds. Two Coeur d'Alene firefighters are down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Police and fire trucks with the Spokane Valley Fire Department held a procession honoring the two firefighters who were killed. A third firefighter was injured and is in stable condition.

Earlier, we heard from CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore, he spoke about how police used the suspect's cell phone to neutralize the threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: If you think about it, they said at two o'clock, the firefighters called and said that they had been ambushed. And for the next 90 minutes, an hour and a half, according to the sheriff at Kootenai County, they were responding and engaging the shooter in -- with firearms.

And that's about the time that this phone stopped moving around in the woods. And so either the -- the responding officers or agents, whoever it was, they neutralized it. Or they caused this person to realize there's no way out. And at that point, they took their lives.

Either way, they had actually resolved this within 90 minutes. I'm very impressed. And the rest of the time was determining a safe way to clear that mountain, to get to their -- to the suspect or get to the location of this cell phone, which they thought correctly, was important evidence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Earlier, we also heard from Jason Pack, a retired FBI supervisory special agent, former firefighter and current first responder. He shared his perspective and his reaction to what unfolded in Idaho.

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JASON PACK: RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: I don't know if you've been around fire stations, particularly on a Sunday afternoon. It's a pretty chill environment there. I grew up in the firehouse. My dad was a career firefighter. And I left to be an FBI agent for 21 years, but still run calls here in Knoxville today.

So, the firefighters, you know, they're likely sizing up the call. It's a brush fire, 1:41 in the afternoon. They probably just finished lunch. And they're headed up. It sounded like three engines were headed up to the scene. You're sizing up the situation, trying to figure out your resources, your manpower, those types of things.

And then you pull up and you start taking live gunfire. And you're -- it's just got to be surreal. I can't imagine what they were feeling or what they were going through. And just listening to the audio from the firefighter, the radio traffic there, talking about his two colleagues, likely with whom he had just been earlier that morning since the start of the shift at the fire station before these last tones went off to a situation where we're in the middle of an international incident now.

[04:05:02]

It's just surreal out there. And certainly our hearts and definitely the prayers with the Coeur d'Alene and the (INAUDIBLE) County Fire Rescue Departments tonight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Authorities say water tankers, aircraft and firefighting crews are among the resources set to begin work on tackling the fire. It's burning in deep -- in steep, rugged terrain and has grown to an estimated 15 to 20 acres.

We're also following breaking news in Washington where President Donald Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill is inching closer to the finish line.

The U.S. Senate adjourned about three hours ago after debate on the package of tax cuts and spending priorities. Senators are now bracing for a marathon voting session on the amendments known as vote-a-rama after they convene at 9:00 in the morning.

Several Republicans have raised concerns about the bill's spending levels. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate version of the package would cost far more than the House approved bill, adding more than $3 trillion to the deficit.

CNN's Kevin Liptak has more on the president's push to get the bill to his desk by July 4th.

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KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump is under pressure to get this massive bill passed. Remember, it contains almost the entirety of his domestic agenda, whether it's immigration enforcement or an extension and expansion of those tax cuts that he passed during his first term in office.

And it is clear that the president now views this bill as essentially a loyalty test for Republicans. You saw that in how the White House messaged this bill to Capitol Hill as lawmakers were working to pass it on Saturday evening. The White House saying that Trump was committed to keeping his promises and that failure to pass the bill would amount to what they say is an ultimate betrayal.

And you see how President Trump is going after Republicans who opposed this measure essentially as a cautionary tale for some of those Republicans who may be still considering how they will vote on the final passage. For example, Thom Tillis, the Republican senator for North -- from North Carolina, the president threatened to back a primary opponent to Tillis if he voted against this bill, which he ultimately did.

Now, Tillis on Sunday said that he would not be running for re- election in North Carolina, essentially opting out of this loyalty test altogether and saying that his decision to step down to retire would now allow him to call balls and strikes as he sees fit going forward.

But it is also clear that the president recognizes the political stakes in this bill. And in fact, he talked a little bit about that in an interview that aired on Sunday morning.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's see, we're cutting, yes, $1.7 trillion. Think of it. I think I just saw the number a little while ago, $1.7 trillion. But we can grow our country so much more than that and we're not going to have to do.

You also have to get elected, you know, when you do cutting, you have to be a little bit careful because people don't like necessarily cutting if they get used to something. And what I want to do is do it through growth. We're going to have growth like we've never seen before.

LIPTAK: So, you hear the president there saying, you have to be careful with what you cut, essentially lending voice to some of these concerns, including among Republicans that this bill might do too much to cut some of the social safety net. In fact, that's exactly why Thom Tillis voted against this procedural measure in the first place.

Now, the president is dealing with a whole other contingent of Republicans who are concerned that this bill doesn't cut enough, that it expands the deficit, that it spends too much money. You saw the president addressing some of those concerns on social media on Sunday saying that for all cost cutting Republicans of which I am one, remember, you still have to get reelected. Don't go too crazy. We will make it up times 10 with growth more than ever before.

And so you see the president has to deal with both those who want to cut a -- a lot out of this bill and those who are concerned that this bill might go too far.

He does have to contend with all of those competing factions, including in the House. And we saw on Sunday the House Freedom Caucus, that group of ultra conservative Republicans voicing concern on social media that the bill, the Senate version of it, at least, would expand the deficit, would explode it more than what they voted for in the House.

And remember, once the bill passes the Senate, it will have to go back to the House to secure a passage again on that side of Capitol Hill.

In order to do that, the president will need some of those House Freedom Caucus members to come on board. And he has set a very ambitious deadline for getting this done. He wants the bill on his desk by July 4th. That's Friday, but it still is evident that the president may need to continue doing some arm twisting before this makes it to the White House.

[04:10:16]

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

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LEE: And joining me now from Colchester, England is Natasha Lindstaedt. She's a professor of government at the University of Essex. Natasha, it's great to have you.

You know, as of this moment, we don't know for sure how Monday morning is going to unfold on Capitol Hill with the Big, Beautiful Bill.

Republicans have really had their work cut out for them as they've tried to build support for the legislation, but they also have very little room for error. And we should just remind everyone, you know, this is not a popular bill.

Tell us why this has been so unpopular and so difficult for the Republicans to rally support around it.

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Well, it's been really, really difficult because on the one hand, it's going to add some $5 trillion to the national debt limit, $3.8 trillion to the national deficit over 10 years. So, it's completely irresponsible to go ahead with this. So, you have fiscal conservatives that are concerned about this.

And actually, there's somewhere around a third of the Republicans of the voting public are concerned about the -- the national debt and -- and deficit and so forth.

So, it's irk -- irksome to -- to these groups, but at the same time, you're making huge cuts to -- to Medicaid, to nutritional programs, to other social safety nets, to clean energy credits. And -- and they're trying to do it so rapidly that it could create huge problems for those that have already invested. Well, at the same time, you're adding 75 billion a year to border security.

So, there's a lot of reasons why this isn't going to be popular. And we've seen in the polling, I mean, there have been all kinds of different polls looking at this.

And at best, this receives 38 percent support from a Fox News poll, but some other polls have support for this bill somewhere around 23 percent.

So, it's not popular with the public. It's not popular with Republicans. And I think Thom Tillis of North Carolina, the senator who is -- who is stepping down, not going to run for reelection, he's right that this is basically a huge political liability for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. But they have to contend with the fact that if they don't agree with what Trump says, that they could face his ire on social media and also him funding their opponents in primaries.

LEE: And, Natasha, what do you make of the way that Republicans are trying to downplay estimates of how this bill would add more than $3 trillion to the deficit? I mean, essentially, they're using an accounting gimmick to say, actually, since we are extending tax cuts that are already in place, we're not really adding to the deficit.

I mean, this could end up potentially upending in a really significant way how legislating has taken place in Washington for years and years.

LINDSTAEDT: Oh, exactly. I mean, this is really concerning. This sets a new precedent. The -- the Congress has never done anything like this before, where they're engaging in such creative forms of accounting. They're -- they're doing bad math there, as you said. They're pretending as if this is not new. This is just an extension of the 2017 tax cuts. And that there isn't anything being added to the deficit.

But then that's going to push things further in a really dangerous direction as we have to keep lifting the debt ceiling.

And what if we get to the point where we can't pay off our debt? I mean, that will create an enormous economic crisis, not just in the U.S., but around the world, of course, because so many countries are -- are dependent and interdependent with the U.S. It's -- it's going to shatter our credibility rating, our credit rating, and we can't really afford that.

LEE: And where are Democrats right now? I mean, if this bill were to pass, how does that end up shaping their strategy heading into next year's midterm elections?

LINDSTAEDT: So, Democrats should do what they can to prevent it from passing. And I think they're trying to engage in some kind of delay tactics and hoping that there are a handful of Republicans that defect so that the bill doesn't get passed.

But the bill being passed might actually benefit Democrats in the long term if we look ahead to the 2026 midterms, because it's going to be unpopular.

If you look at the Congressional Budget Office's report, it says basically that 80 percent of Americans are not going to benefit from this bill. It's really only the top 10 percent in particular and the top 20 percent.

In fact, for the poorest families, it's going to add an extra cost of $1,600 per year. So, this is something that Democrats can capitalize on if they're effective in their media strategy and -- and communicating to voters that the reason why things don't -- the economy isn't going well is because of policies such as this Big, Beautiful Bill.

[04:15:12]

LEE: Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much for joining us.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

LEE: And weeks after the attacks on Iran, Israel says getting back the hostages held by Hamas is now its top priority. What could be behind this change of focus and how families of those still missing are reacting? Next on CNN.

Plus, the on again off again U.S. Canada trade talks are back on. Ahead, what Canada did over the weekend to get them back on track?

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[04:20:15]

LEE: Iran's ambassador to the U.N. says his country's uranium enrichment will never stop because Iran has, what he calls, an alienable right to do so for peaceful activity.

The comments on CBS News' "Face the Nation" came one week after the U.S. launched strikes on several key Iranian nuclear sites.

Now, despite Donald Trump's claims that those attacks set back Iran's nuclear ambitions by decades, the head of the U.N. watchdog agency says Iran could begin enriching uranium again in a matter of months.

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RAFAEL GROSSI, IAEA DIRECTOR GENERAL: Frankly speaking, one cannot claim that everything has disappeared and there is nothing there. It is clear that there has been severe damage but it's not total damage, first of all.

And secondly, Iran has the capacities there, industrial and technological capacities. So, if they so wish, they will be able to start doing this again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: President Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. strikes, quote, completely and totally obliterated Tehran's nuclear program.

Following its attacks on Iranian targets, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says rescuing the hostages held by Hamas is the country's primary goal.

The comments came during a visit to a Shin Bet facility in southern Israel where he praised the security agency for its role in removing two lethal threats to Israel's existence.

Netanyahu says Israel now has the opportunity to focus on other priorities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): First and foremost, to rescue the hostages.

Of course, we will also need to resolve the issue of Gaza to defeat Hamas, but I believe we will achieve both missions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: The Hostage Families Forum released a statement reacting to Netanyahu's statement saying, we welcome the fact that after 20 months, the return of the abductees has been set as a priority by the Prime Minister.

Our Paula Hancocks is following the story and joins me now with more.

Paula, what can you tell us about Prime Minister Netanyahu's apparent change of focus?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, MJ, we're certainly seeing him focusing more now on the hostages, as you say, has been welcomed by those families, still waiting for their loved ones to come back from Gaza.

And there are a number of factors that -- that play into this, a number of pressures, if you like, that have been put on the Israeli Prime Minister. Most notably, of course, that the U.S. President Donald Trump has been saying that he wants the war in Gaza to end.

Just on Sunday morning, he posted on social media, make the deal in Gaza, get the hostages back. And he said something very similar when he was at the NATO meeting last week, saying that -- that there should be some good news soon.

So, this kind of -- of pressure from the U.S. President is not insignificant when it comes to what the Israeli Prime Minister will decide to do.

We know that there was a high-level meeting on Sunday night with Netanyahu and his closest advisers, one of those advisers, Ron Dermer, will be heading to Washington this week to -- to talk with Trump administration officials.

And so there does appear to be some kind of momentum towards trying to secure a deal with -- with Hamas to stop the war in Gaza.

Now, the latest proposal that has been put forward by the Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, is that there would be a 60-day temporary ceasefire. Within that time, there would be 10 living hostages and 18 deceased hostages released for an undisclosed number of Palestinian prisoners.

And during that 60 days, this is when there should be the -- the ongoing negotiations to make that temporary ceasefire permanent.

Now, we have been hearing from Hamas that they want a permanent end to the war. It's something that Israel has been resistant to. So far as -- as the Israeli Prime Minister has -- has said he doesn't believe the goals have been met of completely destroying Hamas up until this point. That appears to be changing, though, his -- his rhetoric and his focus.

We've also heard from a security source that the military is recommending that there should be a diplomatic push now, a diplomatic outcome. We've been hearing that for months as well from the military, that they believe the military objectives have been met, that they believe they have done all they can in Gaza. And there has to be a political solution now.

Of course, all this talk about a potential ceasefire in Gaza has not changed things on the ground. There are fresh evacuation orders in parts of northern Gaza. There have been dozens of deaths since just Sunday morning.

[04:25:07]

And there have been hundreds of deaths of those waiting for humanitarian aid to get into the Gaza Strip. Humanitarian aid groups, the United Nations, still saying it is woefully short of -- of food, water and fuel for hospitals. So there is a -- a push from those groups to -- to open the borders to get more humanitarian aid in.

But certainly what we are hearing from the political side, from the diplomatic side in Israel, appears to show some kind of momentum towards a possible deal. MJ.

LEE: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thank you so much for that update.

Still ahead, the very latest on the shooting in Idaho, where two firefighters were killed and what police are calling an ambush.

Plus, President Trump teases a potential new buyer for TikTok. We'll tell you what he's revealed about them so far.

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