Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

Trump to Send Patriot Missiles Through Allies; Mother and Daughter Killed in Kentucky Church Shooting; More Heavy Rains in Central Texas; Wildfire Destroys Historic Grand Canyon Lodge; Trump Defends Attorney General Bondi. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 14, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, (RET.), HEAD OF GEOPOLITICAL STRATEGY, ACADEMY SECURITIES: -- have that have been used not only in what we've been doing in the Mideast, but certainly in Ukraine as well. I think what the administration is trying to do is making this a transaction in that this is now a sale process. So, the proceeds from that sale go back into the development and replenishment of those supplies.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. General Spider Marks and Jill Dougherty, to both of you, thank you very, very much. Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf. And coming up, tragedy in Kentucky after a gunman opens fire at a church, killing two people. The latest on the investigation. Up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

BROWN: Developing this hour, we're learning some new details on chaos in Kentucky that ended with a mother and a daughter dead. A gunman tore through Lexington yesterday after a pair of shootings ended at the Richmond Road Baptist Church. The gunman was fatally shot by police. A state trooper was shot and injured, and two women were killed in the rampage, 72-year-old Beverly Gum and 34-year-old Christina Combs. Combs was a mother of five, including a six-month-old baby. Police have yet to publicly identify a motive, but they are clearly struggling to put the impact of the episode into words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF LAWRENCE WEATHERS, LEXINGTON POLICE: Sometimes things happen. We just don't have a reason why. But we're going to be here for the people of Lexington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Darrin Porcher joins us now. He's a criminal justice expert and a former lieutenant in the NYPD. Really awful with what happened here. And as we always do, you try to make sense of something like this, even though it's really almost impossible to make sense of it. But the motive is a focus right now. What's the -- what are the steps right now for Lexington Police in determining why this happened?

DARRIN PORCHER, FORMER NYPD LIEUTENANT AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR, PACE UNIVERSITY: Well, good morning, Pam. This is a very challenging narrative to say the least, because the state trooper attempted to pull the car over by the suspect, Mr. House, near the airport. The officer is shot by Mr. House and then drives upwards of 15 miles away to the small church and shoots and executes two individuals, and injures two others. This is a person that experienced tremendous mental health issues coupled with him being diagnosed as a drug abuser.

And so, we looked through the lens of there was a restraining order that he had -- or I should say his significant other had against him. And so, we wonder, was she in fact a patron to that church? That information has yet to be introduced.

BROWN: Yes. You know, and I'm from Lexington as a reporter for so many years. You know, you talk to people when tragedies happen, they say, well, this doesn't happen, and where we're from, and I really feel that way. When this was unfolding, I thought, this is happening in Lexington? You know, the shooting by the airport and then at this church.

And the sister of one of the victims told the Herald leader, a local paper there, that the suspect was looking for her sister and said, aloud, someone is going to have to die. What does that comment tell you?

PORCHER: Well, I think that runs in tandem what I mentioned earlier in that there was a restraining order by a significant other against him for domestic violence. And I believe that he was actually in search of the significant other when he went to this church.

This is a very small, tight-knit community that attends this church. There's not a lot of parishioners that go to this church. So, apparently, the social connection was strong. So, I genuinely believe that this was the preface as to why he was coming to this church to look -- and looking to take an action of violence against his significant other who had the standing order against him.

BROWN: But you have to wonder if he hadn't been pulled over by the trooper, if this would've happened? I mean, what do you make of that element of all this and the fact that this spans multiple crime scenes?

PORCHER: The challenge is why was he pulled over? Was it a routine traffic stop, or did the trooper receive information that stated that this individual had propensity for danger against another? That's something that we don't have. And I'm kind of surprised that this hasn't been introduced at this point, as to what the reason for this traffic stop was.

So, we're still piecing this together and the narrative is somewhat fractured. And we're going to have to wait at a further date to get more information approved, why, in fact, the initial traffic stop occurred. BROWN: All right. Darrin Porch er, thank you so much.

PORCHER: Thank you, Pam.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And still ahead, commissioners in Kerr County, Texas are meeting now for the first time since the deadly flooding devastated the area, killing more than a hundred people. We're keeping an eye on it. We'll update you as we get information.

BROWN: And next, firefighters are battling a raging wildfire threatening a section of the Grand Canyon. You're in the Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

BLITZER: We're following the latest out of Central Texas where slow moving thunderstorms are now bringing more heavy rain to a region as it grapples with the fallout of the deadly July 4th floods. Search operations for the more than 150 people still officially listed as missing are back underway after being suspended briefly yesterday due to the weather. But they could be in jeopardy of against stopping today as the National Weather Service warns of a quote, "dangerous situation" in the region.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Leigh Waldman had been in Kerrville, Texas for us. Leigh, where do things stand this morning?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, if it's good to be with you. You can see the river yourself raging behind us. This is significantly higher than it was last week around this time, whenever we were out here following the devastating flood that came through, and you can see just how quickly that river is flowing here. It's been constant rain this morning. Thunderstorms overnight. Adding to that dangerous situation now.

[10:45:00]

We have seen rescue crews, search and rescue crews coming through this area with their canines to assist them as they search through the debris piles that are left behind. This is a part of that effort to try and recover the victim's bodies. We know it's been more than a week since a live victim has been found, but the search efforts have been relentless.

Now, the federal response has been under criticism. People saying that the urban search and rescue crews weren't sent out as quickly as they have in the past, sent out on Monday when the flood waters came through on a Friday. But the secretary, Kristi Noem, she addressed this over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: You know, those claims have -- are absolutely false. Within just an hour or two after the flooding, we had resources from the Department of Homeland Security there helping those individuals in Texas. It was a heartbreaking scene. And I think it's been well covered about what the Coast Guard did, how they were deployed immediately and helped rescue so many individuals from those flood waters. And we had Border Patrol down there with their tactical teams and FEMA was there just within a few hours as well.

So, those claims are false. They're from people who won't put their name behind those claims. And those call centers were fully staffed and responsive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: And, Wolf, we know that there's a county commissioner's meeting happening right now here in Kerr County. The commissioners addressing people's concerns, hearing from members of the community, and they're reassuring people that these search and rescue efforts is what they're continuing to call this, they will continue on day and night like we have seen over the past more than a week now. They said that will continue for at least a month. And after six months, we'll start to see that start to wind down and slow down.

We also heard from commissioners expressing concerns over threats that they have received in light of the response here.

BLITZER: All right. Leigh Walman reporting for us. Leigh, thank you very, very much.Pamela.

BROWN: All right. Wolf, new this morning, a fast-moving wildfire is raging on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The blaze destroyed the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and dozens of other structures in the area. Just look right here at the before and after pictures on your screen. Nothing is left standing. Arizona's governor is now calling for an investigation into the National Park Service's response. The Grand Canyon's North Rim has been closed for the season. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported.

BLITZER: Thankfully indeed. Coming up, Wimbledon rematch. But this time with a different ending. How the defending champion was dethroned. We have details. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BROWN: From the Grass Court of Wimbledon to the pitch for FIFA. It was a packed weekend of sports on Center Court. It was a thrilling win for Jannik Sinner who became the new men's single champion at Wimbledon.

BLITZER: Congratulations to Jannik. Plus, Chelsea was dominant in their FIFA Club World Cup Final victory over Paris-Saint Germain. Let's go live right now to see then it's Don Riddell who's in Atlanta watching all the action for us. Don, update our viewers.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi, guys. Yes, there is no question that we have a compelling new rivalry in men's tennis, and Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are just head and shoulders above everybody else right now. Alcaraz arrived on center court in the form of his life. He'd beaten Sinner in the French Open and final last month, and he was riding a career best 24 match winning streak. Sinner in unfamiliar territory, a first Wimbledon final appearance, but he began well. And with an early break, he had the driving seat. But Alcaraz broke him twice to win the set.

And as we've come to expect from these two, the standard of tennis was exceptionally high. But Sinner brought his A game. He was more focused. He was hungrier, fighting back to win the next three sets to become the first ever Italian singles champion at Wimbledon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JANNIK SINNER, WINS 4TH GRAND SLAM TITLE, 1ST AT WIMBLEDON: We were talking actually before the match, we would never have thought to be in this position. Back in the days when I was young, this was only a dream, a dream of the dream because it was so far away where I'm from. So, it's all -- I'm just living my dream. So, it's amazing. And -- yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Meanwhile, FIFA's newly expanded Club World Cup tournament ended with Chelsea beating Paris-Saint Germain at MetLife Stadium. Cole Palmer was the star of the show, scoring twice and making a third goal. But he wasn't the only man in the spotlight, U.S. President Donald Trump was booed by some of the fans. And then, after presenting the trophy, some might feel as though he kind of outstay his welcome on the stage, sticking around to make sure he was in all of the photos.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLE PALMER, CHELSEA FORWARD: No, I knew he was going to be here, but I didn't know it was going to be on the stand when we lift the trophy. So, I was a bit confused. Yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Chelsea enjoying the day though, and enjoying their victory. They can now say they are champions of the world. Back to you guys.

BLITZER: All right. Don Riddell, thanks very, very much.

BROWN: Yes, congrats to them. All right. Coming up after the break, President Trump is defending his attorney General. How the Jeffrey Epstein files are causing division in the MAGA world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:00] BROWN: Happening now, we're waiting for President Trump to make what he calls a major statement on Russia and the war in Ukraine as the head of NATO visits the White House.

BLITZER: We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown. And you're in the Situation Room.

This morning at the White House, President Trump has been meeting with the NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte.

BROWN: And it comes as the president says, the U.S. will send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine through NATO allies. And he voices growing frustration with Russia's leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I'm very disappointed with President Putin, and I thought he was somebody that meant what he said. And he'll talk so beautifully and then he'll bomb people at night. We don't like that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Let's go to CNN Senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes.

[11:00:00]