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Isa Soares Tonight
President Trump Heads To Texas To Tour Flood-Devastated Areas; Trump Announces Striking A Deal To Send U.S. Weapons To Ukraine Through NATO; Carlos Alcaraz Secures A Place In His Third Straight Wimbledon Final; Iran Forces Out Hundreds Of Thousands Of Afghan Migrants; Sources: Deputy FBI Director Mulls Resigning Amid Epstein Fallout; State Department After Strike On Clinic: We Stand By Israel; Trump Threatens Canada With 35 Percent Tariff; Bad Bunny To Begin 30-Date Concert Residency In Puerto Rico; Inside Look At Celebrity Impersonator's Routine. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired July 11, 2025 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
CHRISTINA MACFARLANE, CNN HOST: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Christina Macfarlane in for Isa Soares. Tonight, President Trump heads
to Texas to tour flood-devastated areas as the death toll continues to mount. Meanwhile, President Trump says he struck a deal with NATO to get
weapons to Ukraine.
We'll have the details. Plus, Carlos Alcaraz secures a place in his third straight Wimbledon final. We'll speak with legendary coach Patrick
Mouratoglou about the action on and off the court. Just moments ago, U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump touched down in Texas.
This marks their first visit since catastrophic floods killed more than 120 people and left several communities devastated. President Trump is expected
to meet with the families of victims, first responders, local and state officials. A massive search effort is still underway to find the dozens
missing in central Texas, including at least 150 people in Kerr County alone.
A makeshift memorial has sprung up in the hard-hit town of Kerrville, and across the state, vigils are being held as people unite in their grief all
week. Gustavo Valdes has been tracking the aftermath of these deadly floods, he joins us now live in Kerrville, Texas. And Gustavo, as President
Trump touches down there in Kerrville, how likely is it that he's going to receive a warm welcome with so many still missing there, and amidst the
growing questions about the federal response to the disaster?
GUSTAVO VALDES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, let me tell you that all week we've been talking to the local people who are aware of the potential
failures of the system, but they say that they are willing to wait until the search for the victims is over. They understand the need. They
understand the question, but they think, at least locally, that this is not the time to be raising those concerns.
They know that they will deal with it with the local officials when time comes. But now, they want people to focus on the victims. As you can see, a
week ago, the level of the Guadalupe River would have been way over my head, and that is many meters, about 30 meters from where the normal
current of this river would have been.
That gives you an idea of the devastation. This was all concrete. There were RVs parked here ready to enjoy the 4th of July. All of them were
swept. Many people died in this place up the river in Hunt, Texas. We talked to the daughter of a man who died in the middle of the flood, trying
to save his wife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LIDIA OLIVERA, HUNT, TEXAS RESIDENT: He said my dad was getting ready to come out with his wife, and they came out holding hands, trying to walk on
the water. He said the water was about 1-2 feet, and in about a minute or two, the water went up to here --
VALDES: To 4 feet high --
OLIVERA: Yes, and he said he turned around, coming to seek for my dad and his wife, and the last thing he saw was that his wife was already half in
the water --
VALDES: She kind of fell over --
OLIVERA: She fell on the water, and that my dad was bending down to pick her up --
(CROSSTALK)
OLIVERA: I'm sure he tried -- he changed his mind. Instead of going that way, he decided to seek for the highest hill. He probably holding onto a
branch as much as he could. I think he didn't want to let her go from all the way here. But at some time, he had to let her go. It's a pain, although
it's not -- it's on my whole body.
I don't have words to explain it. I just know it hurts. But he told me he knew I was very strong, and I'm going to stand up on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALDES: They are grateful that they were able to find the body of her father and his wife, and that's why it's so important for volunteers to
continue their work. You can see as the level of the river goes down, more debris is exposed. But the other challenges is the change that the current
did to the river.
[14:05:00]
We have this picture that was shared from the group of Mexican rescuers that are assisting, and you can see how there is a vehicle that got buried
under the river rock. So, they didn't find this on the original search. But as the levels of the water are falling, you can see how now they are going
back to spots they had already checked to see if they can find other victims.
Thankfully, they didn't find anybody inside that car, but they said that it is very challenging and they know that they're racing against time.
MACFARLANE: Yes, that buried vehicle just gives you a snapshot of just how difficult the rescue operation has been and continues to be for those
emergency teams. Gustavo Valdes, for now, we appreciate your reporting. Thank you. Let's take a closer look now on how climate change is altering
weather patterns. And bring in Rick Spinrad; he's a former administrator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, as we
familiarly call it.
Richard, it's hard in moments where like we've just heard an account there of someone close to one of the victims of this disaster to really kind of
take a step back and look at the bigger picture. But with Donald Trump arriving in Kerrville today, I think there are still growing questions
about accountability here and learning from this moment so that something like this cannot happen again.
And the government have pushed back very hard to the suggestions that its cutbacks to your organization and others, such as the National Weather
Service, have weakened the states defenses when it came to this disaster. What is your view on that?
RICHARD SPINRAD, AMERICAN OCEANOGRAPHER & FORMER NOAA ADMINISTRATOR: Well, first, let me just say how heartbroken I am, along with the rest of us,
with the loss of life and damage. It's a horrible story that developments in this particular case were such that the weather service called in
additional personnel and were able to get the forecasts and the early warnings and the watches out to people in an appropriate time frame.
But there seemed to be a disconnect between when the forecasts went out and how they were received. So, just because I send out a forecast and a
warning, even if I use words like considerable and catastrophic, does not necessarily mean that, that warning is received, and it appears that there
were gaps in terms of receiving the warnings and acting on those.
The fact of the matter is, the weather service has undergone almost 20 percent reduction in staffing over the last six months, and so, well, it's
too soon to give a definitive analysis of where things might have broken down, but it's pretty clear that some of these staff cuts were likely a
contributing factor to that disconnect between emergency managers and the weather forecast office.
MACFARLANE: One of those gaps, I understand, was in the form of a warning coordination meteorologist that was not in place at the time of the
disaster. How crucial is that particular role in times of crisis like this? And had there been a warning coordination meteorologist in place, what
would their role have been?
SPINRAD: Well, we'll never know what the difference might have been if that position had been filled. But we do know that, that position is the
critical connective tissue, if you will, between the forecast office and the emergency managers. Warning Coordination Meteorologist, as the name
indicates, is the person who is, if you will, hardwired with emergency managers, with sheriffs offices, with police departments, and is there to
make sure they've received the critical warnings, but also to answer questions, where are we going to see the greatest rainfall?
When are we going to -- are we out to have the most significant flooding? Are there areas that you think are more vulnerable than others? That role
is filled by people who often times have decades of experience. In fact, the person who was in that particular position in the San Antonio weather
forecast office had over 30 years of experience, half of it in this capacity as a warning coordination meteorologist.
So that years of experience knowing the area, having the connectivity, being on a first name basis with the emergency managers, I believe is a
critical component of a successful response to this kind of an emergency.
MACFARLANE: I mean, we know that Texas experiences this extreme -- these extreme kind of weather events on a very frequent basis. But it does appear
that climate change is now turbo-charging these events. What is the likelihood of this kind of disaster event happening again? I mean, the
frequency -- do you have any projections as to, you know, what we may see in the near future?
[14:10:00]
SPINRAD: This part of Texas has seen these kind of floods. In fact, in Kerrville, and going back in 1978, '87, 2002, similar not necessarily as
devastating as these. So, these events will happen with some regularity. What's happening with climate change is basically, we're putting more
moisture, more energy into the system.
So, all of these severe storms, including tornadoes, hurricanes and flash floods, extreme precipitation events are apt to be a lot more dramatic, a
lot more intense in the years to come.
MACFARLANE: I mean, you've already touched on this already with the cutbacks from the government. Donald Trump has proposed cutting NOAA's
budget, I believe, by 27 percent next year and eliminating your research wing. What would that spell for the country's ability to get out ahead of
this type of disaster again in the future?
SPINRAD: Well, without research, you can't improve your capability. So, if the research investment at NOAA is eliminated, you are guaranteeing that
you will never see an improvement in any of the services that the weather service specifically, but NOAA in general will provide. Research is how we
have been able to improve all of our forecasting capabilities for major storms, hurricanes, heat waves, wildfire, all of these. So, basically,
saying we're ready to stop improving our capabilities is what would happen with the elimination of research.
MACFARLANE: Rick, thank you. As we're speaking to you, we're actually seeing images here of the President and the first lady who have arrived in
Kerr County and are speaking here to first responders, I believe Governor Greg Abbott is also on the ground as well. I mean, Rick, we heard earlier
this week from the Governor Greg Abbott, basically pushing back against the idea that there needed to be an investigation into this, talking quite
strangely about a football analogy that he used when asked about whether there should be an investigation into this.
How important is it, though, for that to happen, and for, you know, everyone here to critically learn from any mistakes that were made?
SPINRAD: It's a matter of standard procedure at the National Weather Service that after any storm like this, there is an assessment of post-
storm evaluation. I think in this case, many of the questions with respect to emergency response demand that we start looking not necessarily at
identifying blame, but at identifying how we can prevent this from happening in the future.
Remember, this is not unique to flash floods. The same kind of scenario could play out with tornadoes or extreme storms in the northeast in the
Winter, or heat waves in the southwest. So, getting an understanding of where there were weak points, there may have been inadequate redundancy in
the warning systems, so they can look into how do you make sure that if one system fails, there's a backup that's working?
So, the lessons learned from the assessments from the analysis are going to be critical for moving forward in every aspect of the weather.
MACFARLANE: Have you, Rick, at NOAA, and other federal agencies already been approached to try and compile an analysis of what may have taken place
here? Has there been any steps from the government to move this forward?
SPINRAD: I've not been involved in those since I've left the federal government, but I can guarantee you that the hardworking people at the
National Weather Service have already begun acquiring the information, doing the retrospective, analyzing the timelines, assessing how each piece
of equipment, each computer model, each forecaster performed their duties. I'm sure that's already well underway.
MACFARLANE: All right, Rick, and as we're speaking to you here, we are seeing images of the President and the first lady on the ground here in
Kerrville, Texas, having just arrived in the last couple of hours, speaking here, it seems to first responders on the scene, no doubt asking questions,
looking closer and speaking to families as well of those affected in the hours to come.
You can see him there shaking hands with a first responder. And we know, of course, there are still at least 150 people in Kerr County still missing,
and it will be interesting to see the President and the first lady meet with those families later today. That is it for now, though, Rick, we
really appreciate your comments, Rick, and for you being here and giving us your analysis in this moment. Thank you.
[14:15:00]
SPINRAD: Thank you.
MACFARLANE: The U.S. State Department has started mass layoffs, and official says the agency is firing more than 1,300 people today. That
includes civil servants and foreign service officers. As part of the layoffs, hundreds of officers and bureaus will be eliminated or altered. An
official says there are no plans to cut overseas posts at this point.
The re-organization is part of the Trump administration's efforts to drastically shrink the federal government. Well, President Donald Trump
announced he struck a deal with NATO to send U.S. weapons to Ukraine. He told "NBC News" that, quote, "we are sending weapons to NATO and NATO is
paying for those weapons a 100 percent."
Adding that we're going to be sending Patriots to NATO, and then NATO will distribute that. This comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said
today, deliveries of U.S. Military supplies have resumed. Zelenskyy added that his military will work with Trump's Russia-Ukraine envoy Keith Kellogg
in Ukraine next week.
All the while, Russia's intensifies its aerial assault across the country, local officials say at least 10 people were killed over 24 hours. A
maternity hospital in Kharkiv was struck, no injuries were reported, but vulnerable mothers and children were forced to evacuate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OLEKSANDR LAVYRENKO, FATHER OF AF NEWBORN (through translator): When the first explosion happened, I ran to the baby. My wife stood up and I moved
our son straight away into the corridor. Then there was a second impact, it blew windows off, the glass shattered, so we ran to the shelter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Well, meanwhile, Russia is attacking the capital, Kyiv, from all directions. But one doctor didn't let that stop him from delivering
precious cargo and performing life-saving surgery. Here's his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE (voice-over): Under the cover of dark and a sky swarming with attack drones, a desperate attempt to save a child is underway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are transporting the heart, transporting the heart.
MACFARLANE: Surgeon Borys Todurov is exposed, racing for the capital Kyiv for 15 dangerous minutes to deliver this precious cargo. A tiny heart for a
12-year-old girl. The transplant happening while Russia unleashed an onslaught, more than 400 missiles and drone attacks on the country
overnight Wednesday into Thursday, amid the terror, some hope.
BORYS TODUROV, DIRECTOR, HEART INSTITUTE OF KYIV (through translator): We have just completed the transplant. The heart is working and the pressure
is stable.
MACFARLANE: The donor, a four-year-old girl whose injuries became too severe, now giving life to another after two days of tireless work by the
transplant team. In the operating rooms here, as much as on the front lines, the battle for Ukraine's heart and soul goes on.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: Still to come tonight, in a dramatic escalation, Donald Trump is once again threatening Canada, this time with a 35 percent tariff. What
Canada's Prime Minister said just ahead. And later, the matches are now set for this weekend's finals at Wimbledon. We'll have a preview and speak to
Serena Williams' former coach.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:20:00]
MACFARLANE: After spending more than a 100 days in ICE custody without charge, Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil is speaking out. Now back at
home with his young family, Khalil has just filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Trump administration for false imprisonment. He spoke with my
colleague Christiane Amanpour about his harrowing experience. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I just spoke to Mahmoud Khalil in the first interview he's given to CNN since being
released from detention. He was arrested in March, as you know, as part of the Trump agenda against elite universities, against freedom of speech,
also its immigration and deportation agenda, all couched in combating anti- Semitism.
Khalil told me about the conditions of his ICE detention cell in Louisiana, and they were pretty bad. He also told me about what it was like to miss a
key moment in anybody's family life.
MAHMOUD KHALIL, DETAINED BY ICE FOR 104 DAYS: The moment you enter such facilities, such ICE facilities, you would -- your rights literally stay
outside. On the inside, as you would expect, the food was as close as it could be to inedible. I had to switch to vegetarian because the meat was --
I threw up like after I ate -- I ate the meat there.
It was so cold. We had to ask for more blankets, but no one would answer our requests.
AMANPOUR: You missed the birth of your first child, a boy. Everybody was very concerned about your wife, who is an American citizen, there, without
you. What was that like? And then what was it like when you were first able to hold your child for the first time?
KHALIL: Missing the birth of my child, I think that was the most difficult moment in my life especially because like, this could have been avoided. We
put so many requests to be able to attend that moment. And I will not -- I don't think I would be able to forgive them for taking that moment away
from me.
AMANPOUR: So, Khalil was never charged. He is concerned about his future, of course, but he keeps talking up for the rights of Palestinians,
especially with the focus of what is happening and has been happening in Gaza. He also insists that amongst the protesters that he was with, there
was a Jewish contingent, of course, based on what he said there, Jewish values.
He denied absolutely any charges of anti-Semitism. You can watch the full interview online at cnn.com/Amanpour. Back to you guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: All right, still to come tonight, a new warning about acute malnutrition in Gaza. Doctors Without Borders say its teams are reporting a
short -- sharp and unprecedented rise.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:25:00]
MACFARLANE: You are looking at live pictures from Texas where U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting currently with first responders and
officials as well as meeting with families affected by the catastrophic flooding that hit the region. Here, the pictures you see coming from
Kerrville, from Kerr County where at least, 155 people still remain missing.
We will continue to bring you up-to-date on the President's movements. But next, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is back home after a trip
to Washington with no Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal in hand. Israeli attacks on Gaza have been relentless this week. A Palestinian man says this
deadly strike in Gaza city mutilated some people, leaving them without feet or hands.
Gaza's Health Ministry says ten people waiting for aid were also killed today northwest of Rafah. The U.N. says it's an unacceptable choice that
Palestinians must decide between being shot or being fed. It says nearly 800 people have been killed while seeking food since May.
Last month, Israel said it had re-organized aid sites to, quote, "improve operational response in the area". Well, that aid is critically needed.
Doctors Without Borders warns that its team are seeing a sharp and unprecedented rise of acute malnutrition in Gaza. It says injured patients
are now begging for food instead of medicine.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says under the world's watch, Gaza has become the graveyard of children and starving people. It says
international inaction and silence are complicit in attacks like the horrific one we saw Thursday near a medical clinic. And we warn you, the
next images are graphic and extremely disturbing.
Medics say children and their mothers were queuing for nutritional supplements when a strike hit, 15 people were killed in Deir al-Balah,
eight of them are children. Israel says it targeted a Hamas militant. The clinic run by a U.S.-based partner of UNICEF calls it a bloodbath and a
violation of international law.
UNICEF says it's unconscionable. It says the mothers there were just simply seeking a lifeline for their children after months of hunger and
desperation. The U.S. State Department was asked about the attack on Thursday.
[14:30:11]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMMY BRUCE, SPOKESPERSON, U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT: Decry the death of innocents. It's why we do what we do in so many countries around the world.
It's part of what informs our action. And at the same time, we know that it's a war and we stand by Israel, to say the least. And we also know that
Israel, when it is due, investigate. And we will wait to see what their action will be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACFARLANE: Now, hundreds of thousands of Afghans are being expelled from Iran in one of the largest force migration efforts in decades. According to
the United Nations, more than half a million Afghans have been sent back to Afghanistan. Many of these migrants have spent years in Iran, which leaves
them asking the question, why now?
CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has our report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): One of the largest forced migrations in decades. Afghan migrants pushed out of the rock of Iran and its menial low paid labor to the hard
place of Taliban, Afghanistan, and the economic horrors they fled in the first place.
Half a million in just 16 days, according to U.N. figures. A peak that began at the end of the conflict with Israel. And 88,000 in just 48 hours
of the past weekend before a deadline to leave expired on Sunday. You can see the scale here, but not feel the heat.
MIHYUNG PARK, MISSION CHIEF IN AFGHANISTAN, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MIGRATION: There are thousands of people under the sun. And you know how
hot Harat can be is quite dire. Last week it was about 400 separated unaccompanied children.
WALSH (voice-over): Parisa is 11, but this year was told she couldn't go back to school. We spent six years in Iran, she said, before they told us
to apply for the exit letter and leave. We did have a legal census document, but they told us to leave immediately.
They're often arrested on the street and deported without a chance to collect their belongings, sometimes from years working in Iran for better
wages.
Bashier is in his 20s and was removed from Tehran. First, they took about $200 from me, he says. Then they sent me to the detention center where I
was kept for two nights, and they forced me to pay another $50.00. In the detention center, they wouldn't give us food or drinking water. There are
about 200 people there. They beat us up and abuse us.
For Iran, it's a matter of pride. The music here sets the mood of how state TV presents the expulsions. And Thran police release images of the manhunt,
chasing Afghans, interrogating their employers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Why did you hire the Afghan? It's against the law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): I know. But I have to pay them so they can go back. They want to go and waiting to get paid.
WALSH (voice-over): The answer to why now -- why, when Iran should be recovering from a brutal 12-day conflict with Israel, would it choose to
focus on undocumented laborers? Well, there have been accusations Afghans spied for Israel, like these alleged confessions in state media. The
evidence may be lacking here, but the messaging is clear.
That person contacted me and said he needed information on certain locations. He asked for them and I provided them. I got $2,000 from him.
Iran decided to do this months ago but perhaps never imagined this pace. And Afghanistan already struggling perhaps never imagined this new
challenge of returnees.
Nick Payton Walsh, CNN London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MACFARLANE: And this just into CNN. Sources say Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino is considering resigning over the continued fallout from the
Jeffrey Epstein files. CNN's Evan Perez is live from us in Washington. Evan, what are you learning?
EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR U.S. JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we have a -- this is part of the fallout that is happening over the handling of the Jeffrey
Epstein files. As you remember, on Monday, the Justice Department announced that they were not going to release any more documents from this
investigation, this yearslong investigation. And they said that the conclusion was simply that Epstein committed suicide and there was no
indication that he was blackmailing anybody. And there was no list. There was no client list, which is something that Pamela Bondi, the attorney
general, had promised was actually on her desk some months ago during an interview on Fox News.
And so, Bongino, who is, you know, if you remember, he is a former podcaster. He was a very successful disciple of Donald Trump online, on
social media, and is now the Deputy FBI Director. He has told people that he's considering resigning because of the handling of this entire matter.
And part of this came to a head on Wednesday, we're told, during a meeting at the White House where he and Kash Patel, who's the FBI Director, were
confronted about a news article that appeared recently where it appeared that they were trying to draw some daylight between the FBI and the Justice
Department about how unhappy they were about how the Justice Department was handling all of this.
And so, what you have today is suddenly Bongino decided not to show up to work today. And he's told people -- sources have told our Kaitlan Collins
that he is considering resigning. So, just to pull back a little bit, this is a matter that is consuming MAGA World.
The President's supporters on social media, they view this as a to be a really important matter. They want to see these files. They think certainly
that there's a bunch of conspiracies in here, that there is secrets in here that the deep state has been keeping. Donald Trump himself previously
seemed open to releasing the files, but this week when he was asked about it at the White House, he told reporters, I can't believe anyone's even
asking about this. He wants people to move on.
What is clear, however, is that you know, certainly in the President's supporters, the world of the President's supporters, they're not ready to
move on. They think there is more here, that there is more information that should be released. And it appears Bongino and others at the FBI agree with
them to a certain extent. They want to see more of these files released. And so, that's where you have this essentially a contretemps that's going
on behind the scenes between the FBI, between the Justice Department, and the White House, which really wants this story to go away.
Back to you.
[14:36:55]
MACFARLANE: Yes, all of this no doubt ramping up more pressure on A.G. Pam Bondi as well. Evan Perez, we appreciate it. Thank you.
PEREZ: Sure.
MACFARLANE: Right, returning now to Gaza. Our Jeremy Diamond has been covering the devastating strike that hit a medical facility yesterday. He
has more now on the day's developments from Tel Aviv. And we warn you, his report contains some disturbing images.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now returned to Israel after a week of meetings in
Washington, D.C. with senior Trump administration officials, including two meetings directly with President Trump. And despite the fact that President
Trump had said he believed a ceasefire deal could and would be reached by the end of this week, the Israeli Prime Minister has now returned from all
of those meetings with no ceasefire agreement reached.
Prime Minister Netanyahu has said that he believes a deal can be reached within the coming days. And yet, at the same time, the fact that there
isn't a deal raises questions about President Trump's ability and how far he's willing to go to pressure Netanyahu to get this deal.
And I say that because Prime Minister Netanyahu in recent days has been emphasizing that Israel will return to the war in Gaza if the goals of this
war can't be reached through diplomacy. Meaning during this 60-day ceasefire, if it is agreed to, Israel and Hamas are supposed to negotiate
an end of the war in Gaza. But Netanyahu is maintaining that those negotiations must lead to Hamas's total surrender and a demilitarized Gaza
strip. If not, he says Israel will return to war in order to achieve those goals. And that could undermine those U.S. assurances that have been
provided to Hamas that this temporary 60-day ceasefire is designed to lead to negotiations that will end that war in Gaza.
There are still a number of sticking points, but one key sticking point in these negotiations, I'm told, is the timeline and where Israeli troops
would withdraw from in Gaza during this 60-day ceasefire. With a particular emphasis in the negotiations right now over the Morag Corridor, which
separates the southern city of Rafah from the rest of the Strip, questions about when and whether Israeli troops would withdraw from there during this
60-day ceasefire.
Now, as these negotiations still continue in Doha, Qatar to reach this ceasefire agreement, we are seeing Israeli strikes continuing unabated in
the Gaza Strip. And it was a particularly harrowing day on Thursday as we saw a strike outside of a health clinic in central Gaza that was actually
run by an American nonprofit. This strike killed 15 people. Of those 15, eight of the victims were children.
And the aftermath from this strike is absolutely harrowing. As you can see, the bodies of very small children splayed on the ground where the strike
took place, and then also inside of the morgue at this hospital. The victims included a 4-year-old girl named Aya who was impossible to miss in
her white dress that was smeared with blood. Her mother was also wounded in that strike.
[14:40:08]
And UNICEF's executive director is also saying that the youngest victim was a baby named Muhammad who had just uttered his first words hours before
this strike, hours before he was killed. UNICEF is now calling on Israel to investigate this strike and saying that it should "urgently review its
rules of engagement to ensure the protection of civilians including children."
The Israeli military has said that it will review this incident. It claims that it was striking a single Hamas militant, but it declined to name who
that militant was other than to say that he participated in the October 7th attacks on Israel.
Jeremy Diamond, CNN, Tel Aviv.
[14:45:50]
MACFARLANE: Those images remain difficult to watch, but still important to see. And our thanks to Jeremy for that. We'll be back after this short
break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Canada's prime minister says he's holding a cabinet meeting next week to discuss ongoing trade talks with the US. This as U.S.
President Donald Trump threatens a 35 percent tariff on Canadian goods starting August 1st. It's all part of Mr. Trump's on-again off-again trade
war with America's northern neighbor. It wasn't clear whether the new tariff threat would apply to all goods from Canada.
Well, joining us now live from New York, CNN's Paula Newton. And Paula, I'm sure all of this must be feeling very much like Groundhog Day for Canadians
on that last point. Do we know anything more about whether it will be all goods imported from Canada or something more limited?
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, so firstly, President Trump himself said, Look, we'll see. He's continues to negotiate. So, we don't know
exactly what this will look like or what will happen before the August 1st deadline. But back to your question, you know, things that comply with the
original trade agreement, the White House is saying, will in fact not be subject to tariffs. That this applies to things that are not compliant with
that trade agreement.
So, before it was 25 percent, now the White House is saying it may be 35 percent. All of this to say that you can imagine the confusion with
businesses, Christina, and it adds a heck of a lot of friction, especially for small to medium-sized businesses that had counted on the United States
as being a trusted and very lucrative trading partner.
Now, look, this negotiation has been incredibly difficult for Canada and the economy there remains vulnerable. But Christina, it also speaks loudly
and very clearly to anyone negotiating with the United States right now, including Europe, which was supposed to be having a deal. We had heard by
the end of the week, we don't see one yet. That this will continue to be a difficult negotiation with the United States. And more than that, highly
unpredictable.
Even if you do have some kind of a framework agreement, it doesn't mean it will stay in place for very long or that the White House, President Trump
won't change his mind. Again, look, as long as the White House believes that they have leverage. And they have leverage right now because the
president believes the American economy is in a good place. Stock Markets are at record highs. And if not at record highs, very close to it. That
gives him a lot of wind in his sales to negotiate for more with these trade deals. And that leaves all the trading partners including Canada in a very
vulnerable position.
MACFARLANE: Yes, that August 1st date that Trump has spoken about so much in the last week seems to be sticking for now, doesn't it? We'll wait and
see how this transpires. Paula Newton there live from New York, thank you.
All right, still to come tonight, exciting semi-final matches at Wimbledon on Friday. We'll have a preview of the finals with one of tennis's greatest
coaches.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MACFARLANE: Welcome back. There's a national contest in the U.K. to elect Tree of the Year. Yes, you heard that right. The contest held by Woodland
Trust is meant to "highlight and appreciate how vital trees are for our landscapes and our lives."
Check out the 10 inspirational trees their expert panel picked as candidates. And you can head to the Woodland Trust site where you'll see
the Borrowdale Yews described by William Wordsworth in his Yews trees poem. Or maybe you like a thousand-year-old oak king of the limbs, such as
Radiohead, as they named their album King of the Limbs.
But if you're a Beatles fan, drop your vote in for a cedar of Lebanon at Chiswick House and Gardens. That's where the Fab Four sat and recorded
their two films. Voting is open until the 19th of September. I love that.
Now, Bad Bunny's 30-day concert residency in Puerto Rico is set to begin just hours from now in San Juan. Only residents of the U.S. territory have
the chance to catch the Puerto Rican superstar in the first nine shows. All 30 shows are all sold out. It's being reported that Bad Bunny's residency
should bring anywhere from 100 to 200 million tourist dollars to Puerto Rico.
[14:50:10]
And staying in the world of music. Canadian pop-star Justin Bieber appears to be making a comeback, dropping a surprise album titled Swag. His much
awaited seventh studio record features 21 tracks. Bieber welcomed his first child with wife Hailey Bieber last year, who both feature on artwork
alongside the album cover.
Swag spotlights themes of mental health and Christian faith, ending with a gospel song called Forgiveness, which is performed by a pastor.
Now, Elliot Rentz, better known as Alexis Stone, has become one of the world's most famous impersonators. His uncanny impersonators regularly
trick the press and public. CNN's Anna Cooban got an inside look at how Rentz transforms into some of the world's most well-known people and
characters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELLIOT RENTZ, DRAG QUEEN: The guest bathroom always makes people smile. We have Madonna, Meryl Streep, the very sad-looking Lana Del Rey.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS REPORTER (voice-over): This is the work of transformative makeup artist Elliot Rentz, better known as Alexis
Stone, or any number of the hundreds of celebrities he's impersonated.
RENTZ: I think that was 250 we did before we moved on to the 2.0 version of these transformations. People have an idea that we sort of go to a
Halloween shop and we buy these things over the counter, but everything is handmade and takes decades of experience.
COOBAN (voice-over): Working with a team, he takes the discipline of movie makeup and prosthetics into the real world, collaborating with fashion
houses and celebrities. Although he's perhaps best known for his ongoing partnership with Balenciaga's creative director, known only as Demna, whose
couture show will be his last collection for the brand.
At his home and studio in Scotland, Rentz showed us what goes into his shape-shifting practice.
RENTZ: I do have to warn people before they come over because out of context it is a little Jeffrey Dahmer. But it's really important for me to
be surrounded by things that visually stimulate me, work experiences or muses. We have me as Cruella de Vil. This is the wig that Glenn Close wore
in her original makeup test. I got to keep little remnants of it, pieces of her costume.
If we can unlock some of the props from the films, I like to do that just because if I can submerge myself as close to what they were around, it's
only going to lean into a better performance from my end. Even for example, with Jack Nicholson, we worked on having a fragrance made that was just
pure tobacco. So, when we were walking around, the whole room just ended up stinking.
It's normally like a FBI's most wanted in terms of visuals on the wall here. This is basically a sculpting block. We would do an initial sculpt of
the makeup. We would take those pieces off and then transfer them onto separate molds. It's almost like a factory in here. I have everything I
could potentially need.
And then we have the little museum of artifacts. So, this was the plastic surgery mask that I wore when I convinced everyone that I got a new face
that got the attention of Demna and all of these other fashion houses.
We have dental impressions from Robin Williams. We wanted to make sure that we had as close to the original. I do have a deep connection to Robin. Yes,
Doubtfire was my first transformation, and it was sort of an apology to myself. I got diagnosed with autism during COVID and I thought I'm not
going to suppress these weird urges that I want to do anymore, and I'm going to spend all my money on dressing up as Mrs. Doubtfire.
Balenciaga was the first brand and from that my life literally changed. This was me as Jennifer Coolidge in Milan for Diesel. We did Lana Del Rey
for Jean Paul Gaultier. It's so uncomfortable in the moment, but when I get to reflect on the visuals like this, it like makes it so worth it.
Everyone's sort of like figuring out at their own sort of pace what's going on. You get to literally see it from an outsider's point of view looking
in.
I think when it comes to picking who we're going to do, there are lots of moving factors. There has to be some personal element to why I'm connected
to that character. If I'm spending three months studying them with the fashion houses, it also needs to make sense as well. So, this summer I'm
transforming into Angelica Houston as Morticia Addams in the Adams family. When you're a young gay guy, you do empathize with these sort of
misunderstood characters, whether it's these villains or just beautiful women.
These are the original Polaroids from the Angelica Houston makeup test for referencing really and just to set the tone, but we'll also have access to
the original wig that she wore in the film.
I'm often asked what's next, what happens after Balenciaga. I do always think of that Linda Evangelista quote where she said, "The goal is to get
out of fashion as quickly as you got into fashion."
I will pull this table a jar though so you can see what's inside. I think we've all at some time in our lives or some time in our lives wanted to be
a fly on the wall at our own funeral. And I also thought it was symbolic now that my relationship with Balenciaga is coming to a natural end. So
yes, it's cute, right?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[14:55:23]
MACFARLANE: Now, the hot weather is no match for the heat on the courts at Wimbledon. Jannik Sinner will be taking on Carlos Alcaraz in the finals on
Sunday. The world number one beat Novak Djokovic just a couple of hours ago in straight sets, no less. Spain's Carlos Alcaraz will go for his third
straight Wimbledon title. He beat out American Taylor Fritz, who couldn't capitalize on two set points.
And in the women's final, American Amanda Anisimova shocked the world number one. Aryna Sabalenka. She'll take on Iga Swiatek in Saturday's
final.
I know what I will be doing all weekend. Thank you so much for watching us tonight. Stay with CNN. "WHAT WE KNOW" with Paula Newton is up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
