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Camp Mystic: 27 Campers And Counselors Killed In Flooding; At Least 89 People Killed In Catastrophic Texas Flooding; Today: Trump To Meet With Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu; Brother Of Hostage Taken By Hamas Fights For His Release; Musk Vows Third Party Launch As Trump Say He's "Off The Rails". Aired 12:30-1p ET
Aired July 07, 2025 - 12:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[12:30:08]
DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR: Camp cots, pink trunks, stuffed animals, blankets -- these are the remnants of Camp Mystic, where rushing floodwaters overtook the girls' camp on Friday. This morning, Camp Mystic confirmed at least 27 campers and counselors were killed. And the camp's director and owner, Dick Eastland, also lost his life while trying to save campers, that's according to his grandson.
The camp released a statement saying, quote, "Our hearts are broken alongside our families that are enduring this unimaginable tragedy. We are praying for them constantly."
I want to bring in my colleague Pamela Brown in Kerrville, Texas. Pam, you not only are there as a reporter, you're there as a former camper. You were there at Camp Mystic, what, about 30 years ago. So you know what it was like. You know why this is such a special place to people, not just in and around Texas, but around the country who have gone to this camp for, what, almost a century. And so, talk about --
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT & ANCHOR: Yes.
BASH: -- what you are seeing from that perspective and as you're trying to get answers.
BROWN: Yes, it is a delicate balance, trying to absorb and, you know, understand what happened here and be there for the grieving community, but also press for those answers. And there is that personal tie, of course. And I just look at what you were talking about, the pink trunks and the stuffed animals, those are the remnants of some of the little girls that were washed away.
And I can't help but think, you know, I was a camper in one of those cabins 30 years ago, and that river was the source of so much joy, and now it's the source of the devastation. And all of the lives lost here and the innocence lost, too, from those young campers who were there to have the time of their lives, a life-changing experience where you learn sportsmanship and bonding. You make friends of a lifetime, and now they are bonded by sorrow and grief. And I think about the parents. You're a parent, Dana. They just dropped their kids off a little over a week ago and gave them that hug. And now for some of those parents, they won't see their child again, and they're going to a funeral home to potentially identify their child.
You know, everyone here has a story to tell. Even the mayor of Kerrville, Joe Herring, I interviewed him earlier, and he got emotional as he talked about those close to him who he has lost. Here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
MAYOR JOE HERRING, KERRVILLE, TEXAS: It all happened upriver at the worst possible place. And I thank everyone in Kerrville, everyone in Kerr County. Wishes of God we'd had some way to warn those people. I've lost two friends.
We left them. And they're gone. They're gone. Everyone here, if we could have warned them, we would have done so. And we didn't even have a warning.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BROWN: And so I asked the mayor whether he received a warning on his phone from the National Weather Service, and he said he did not, Dana. He said he found that very concerning and that he's going to try to get to the bottom of it and remedy that situation. But that's also a theme here of people not receiving that warning that they should have about the potentially deadly flooding.
And, of course, there's the other layers of the bad cell service, no warning system for flooding. There's a myriad of factors here, Dana, at play.
BASH: Pamela, I was watching that interview live during your show, and I stopped in my tracks, not just because of the raw emotion, but because of the reality that the mayor of that town didn't even get a warning.
In your quest for answers while you were there, you were also at the press conference that happened last hour. What happened there?
BROWN: So I asked Senator Ted Cruz and the City Manager Dalton Rice about this tragedy. I asked Senator Cruz about whether he thinks there should be maybe some second thoughts about cuts to the National Weather Service and FEMA, and he didn't directly answer it, but he did say that he, you know, it's too early to tell whether the cuts had anything to do with this.
And I asked the city manager what the emergency managers and the officials in the city were doing leading up, in the day leading up to that horrific overnight event with the deadly flooding as the warnings from the National Weather Service were escalating. And I asked whether there were any plans activated or any discussions about earlier evacuations, and here's what he said. (BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
[12:35:05]
DALTON RICE, CITY MANAGER, KERRVILLE, TEXAS: There's been the other question, and I'll just give this one out. Evacuations, well, why don't we evacuate? Well, evacuation is a delicate balance because if you evacuate too late, you then risk putting buses or cars or vehicles or campers on roads into low-water areas trying to get them out, which then can make it even more challenging because these flash floods happen very quickly.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
BROWN: So then the obvious follow-up question I asked him there, Dana, well, then, knowing what the warnings were and the dire river reports at 6:30 p.m., was there any discussion to evacuate before it got to that point, before it got so dangerous to evacuate as we saw in 1987 when kids did die during the evacuation? And he said, well, we didn't want to cry wolf.
Of course, Dana, the parents who have lost their loved ones would say, well, I wish you had done that. I wish you had cried wolf, taken that risk, because there was a wolf, that deadly flooding that took so many lives, lives cut too short.
BASH: And, yes, it's very true. And Pam, just for the sake of our viewers, you are immersed in this, but, you know, there's a lot of interest in this and kind of the timeline. So let's just take through some of what we know. There's a lot we don't know, but here's what we do know.
The warnings of flash floodings were first issued in the afternoon and evening before the heavy rain started. Then there was an emergency alert at 1:14 a.m. in Kerrville, 4:03 a.m. in the broader Kerr County. Then around 5:00 a.m., the river began flooding homes and streets, and additional emergency alerts went out.
At that point, how much time did people actually have to evacuate, even if they did receive the text?
BROWN: Yes, you know, it's interesting. I mean, there is that big question about that gap of time between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. when most of the activity was happening. But you have to remember, Dana, a lot of people were asleep, and a lot of people didn't get the warnings on their phone.
As you heard the mayor himself say, he didn't get that warning, and it wasn't until he got a call from the city manager. He said he thought it was about 5:30 in the morning when he got that call. Think about that.
The mayor of Kerrville, during all of this -- that was after the flooding was taking over Camp Mystic and these other areas along the Guadalupe River. So I think there are some very serious questions to continue to be asking, to try to get answers to about what, if anything, were officials doing in that critical gap of time. Dana?
BASH: And as you said, this all goes back to parents who want their kids and are privileged enough for their kids to go away and be kids at camp. And you have a sense of trust when you drop your child off that not only are they going to enjoy their time, that they're going to be safe. And that is why these answers are so critical.
Pamela, I, you know --
BROWN: Yes.
BASH: -- I feel lucky to call you a friend, and you are just a stellar reporter. Thank you so much for bringing us all of the conversations that you've been having.
BROWN: And can I just quickly say one more thing?
BASH: Please.
BROWN: I just want to say one more thing. I think it is important in times like this, too. I mean, we're journalists, we want to get those answers. But I do think it's important to have patience and humility that those answers may not come as quickly as perhaps we want. And it was a once-in-a-lifetime flood.
I mean, everyone we've spoken to here --
BASH: Yes.
BROWN: -- Dana, they said, yes, I mean, we know the river can act up and cause harm, but this was crazy.
BASH: Yes.
BROWN: And as one person I spoke to today said, you know, there's a lot of people of faith in this community. They said that this was an act of God. A lot of people relying on that faith in this trying moment, Dana.
BASH: Yes, as they have to. And I'm glad that you added that. It is very important to have humility when you are battling Mother Nature, no matter what technology those of us humans have been able to benefit from.
Thank you so much, Pam.
We'll be right back.
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[12:43:19]
BASH: Today, President Trump is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu here in Washington. The key question is whether they can iron out an agreement to bring the remaining hostages home and end the war in Gaza. One of the hostages still being held in Gaza is Evyatar David, who was taken by Hamas terrorists when they unleashed a deadly rampage on the Nova music festival in Israel, 639 days ago on October 7th, 2023.
Evyatar's brother, Ilay David, is still fighting, consistently fighting for his brother's release and joins me now from Jerusalem. Thank you so much for being here. First, what do you hope will come from this meeting that President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu will have today?
ILAY DAVID, BROTHER KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: Thank you, Dana, for having me. First, I really hope that one of the top things they're going to speak about is the hostages, the hostages' crisis. And hopefully, Trump will suggest some kind of a bigger, a tremendous Trump deal that will end the war and bring back all the hostages in one face. That's -- those are my hopes.
BASH: And what is your message to your prime minister, Prime Minister Netanyahu, ahead of this meeting?
DAVID: Again, I believe that it's in his mind and that he, as much as all the Israeli people want to end the war and bring back the hostages, but he has also other things that he needs to make sure that will happen in that kind of war ending.
[12:45:05]
So my ask from him is to make sure he will do anything he can to bring back the hostages as soon as possible, to save the lives, the life of my brother, to save the lives of dozens of others. They are suffering and it's time to bring them back home immediately.
BASH: It's 639 days, which is almost so long it's hard to wrap your mind around. But that's how long you've been fighting for the release of all the hostages, including your brother. And you actually saw Evyatar, along with his best friend from childhood, Guy Gilboa Dalal, in a Hamas propaganda video in February.
They were brought to watch -- looking at a photo of that video right now. They were brought to watch while their fellow hostages, who they were held with, were released.
DAVID: Yes, that's right.
BASH: What was that -- I'm sure it was kind of a combined feeling because you were happy to see that they were alive, but then, of course, they weren't released.
DAVID: Yes, seeing that after more than 500 days, from October 7th, it was -- it really injected energy again and focus. It was the first time I've heard my brother's voice after more than 500 days. It's crazy. Most people don't understand that.
And I could actually see him in front of the camera, moving, speaking. And it really -- it was the first time of life. I mean, it was amazing at the first minute, but then we saw it again and again and again, we saw how pale Evyatar is. We saw the starvation in his face. We saw his desperation --
BASH: Yes.
DAVID: -- in his eyes. He looks tremendously depressed and ill. And that's -- then we understood that it's only a glimpse. The tourists showed us only a glimpse of the emotional abuse the hostages are going through every day, especially Evyatar, especially his friend Guy that was right next to him.
BASH: Ilay, real quick, he was captured at a music festival for peace. He is a musician. Tell us something about your brother.
DAVID: Evyatar is the best guitar player I know. He has the kind soul of a musician. He's the best son to my parents. He's my younger brother, but I actually learned from him how to be a good son, a better son.
We play music every week together. It became a tradition many years ago. We meet at my parents'. I play the piano, he plays the guitar, and we sing together.
And actually, it really -- when I try to think about the day that that comes back, I manifest this tradition to continue.
BASH: Yes.
DAVID: And, in fact, I know that he manifests the same thing.
BASH: I'm sure he does. It's probably what's carrying him through these many days, more than 600 days in captivity.
Thank you so much for being here and sharing thoughts about your brother and the rest of the 50 hostages who are still in captivity by Hamas, but also what you hope that this meeting here in Washington today, the productivity that you hope that we see. Thank you so much.
DAVID: Thank you, Dana.
BASH: We'll be right back.
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[12:53:07]
BASH: Elon Musk's feud with President Trump is growing. Over the weekend, Musk promised a new third party called the America Party saying, quote, "When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy."
President Trump had a response. He said, quote, "I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely off the rails, essentially becoming a train wreck over the past five weeks."
My smart reporters are back at the table. So let's just zero in on this notion of a third party and talk about the viability of -- never mind a third party, but an Elon Musk --
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Yes.
BASH: -- led third party. And just real quick, a statistic. We're going to put up a graphic that shows 4 percent. And this 4 percent is -- represents the number of people who say that they like Elon Musk, but not the party. So that doesn't seem like a percentage of people that will make a very viable --
MITCHELL: Move the needle. Yes.
BASH: -- third way.
MITCHELL: I mean, I think that what Elon Musk has going for him is money and a willingness to spend a lot of it. And perhaps he can be influential at smaller races. And --
BASH: Like how small?
MITCHELL: Yes, I would say like your school board races --
BASH: OK.
MITCHELL: -- your county commission races. You've got to start small. Maybe a swingy congressional race, but perhaps -- and even like a swingy congressional race or a state house race, more as a spoiler. I also think, you know, maybe a nonpartisan race where the D and the R doesn't matter as much. Maybe he could look at that as a potential way to get in.
But in these more prominent races that are partisan, it's just very hard for voters to go with someone who's not a D or R.
BASH: Yes.
JACKIE KUCINICH, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: And it's hard to get on the ballot. I mean, like, look at the -- I mean, and I feel like the political system over the last how many years has littered with third party attempts. I mean, Ross -- from Ross Perot's --
MITCHELL: Yes.
KUCINICH: -- Reform Party to the Forward Party of the last two years ago.
[12:55:13]
So getting on the ballot, because it is kind of -- it's really, really hard for a third party to get on the ballot. And, you know, Elon Musk does have the money to do it. That is the difference between him and some of these other parties.
But I will say also, during -- he made these threats while members were trying to decide how to vote on this bill. They don't --
BASH: They didn't listen.
KUCINICH: -- fear him.
MITCHELL: Yes.
BASH: That's such a good point. Real quick, the Ross Perot, I want you to talk about that analogy. And I'm going to put up on the screen the difference in favorability, or in this case it's unfavorability, between Ross Perot back then when he was a juggernaut in 1992 and Elon Musk right now.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, an entirely different moment. I mean, one thing, Musk cannot be the candidate, at least for president, because he was not born in the United States of America. So that is one thing. But I think one thing we do know, Elon Musk, for him, politics has not been good for his business.
He spent nearly $300 million. It's hurt his business. The bigger question is, is he actually going to move ahead with this and go forward with it? I'm very skeptical that he will, but we shall see. There's certainly an appetite out there in the American public for, you know, an alternative, but is he it?
BASH: All right, thank you all very much for a very busy hour.
Thank you for joining Inside Politics. CNN News Central starts after the break.
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