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Lawmakers Target UNRWA; New Jersey Election Investigation; Tropical Storm Bertha Threatens Coastal Flooding. Aired 10:30a-11a ET

Aired July 22, 2026 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:02]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: In New York, meanwhile, the mayor, Zohran Mamdani, now says he does not -- repeat -- not have the legal authority to arrest the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, if he comes to New York to address the United Nations. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZOHRAN MAMDANI (D), MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: My administration has reviewed every avenue available under applicable law to determine whether New York City could execute the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant if Benjamin Netanyahu came here.

It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant. The federal government, however, does. And I call on them to join the ICC and execute this warrant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Yesterday's post comes days after Mamdani told "The New York Times" that he was working with his administration's legal team on how to execute the arrest of Netanyahu for what are called alleged war crimes.

In France, lawmakers have voted to ban social media use for children under the age of 15, becoming the first E.U. country to do so. The new measure also prohibits cell phone use in schools. The French president, Emmanuel Macron, says he will sign the bill into law.

And, in Kentucky, the FAA is now investigating what caused a cargo plane to scrape a runway on Sunday. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Golly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: You can see those sparks that were flying as the plane skids while trying to land. The man who shot the video says he watched the plane fly around before landing safely again.

And there's breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. Central West Virginia is now reeling after severe thunderstorms this morning delivered catastrophic, life-threatening flooding to parts of the state. Overnight, the West Virginia governor, Patrick Morrisey, issued an emergency for all 55 counties in the state.

And this allows state agencies to coordinate and deploy resources. Take a look at this. A home security camera captured a large storage shed floating past a house after floodwaters hit the area. The same storm system also produced multiple tornadoes in other states, including Kentucky, Ohio, and New Jersey.

And we're tracking breaking news in the South. The Tropical Storm Bertha is making its way along the Gulf Coast and could make landfall off of southeast Louisiana by this afternoon. This is only the second named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, at least so far. This season has gotten off to a slow start compared to recent years.

Let's go live now to our meteorologist, Chris Warren.

Chris, what can people in the Gulf expect from this storm?

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wolf, as you were just showing, for the most part, a bad day at the beach where you get the worst of it, really overall catching a bit of a break.

Here's the center of the low. The worst of the weather is down here, so well away from land. Now, if this was here, they were together, then we could have some serious issues, but, at this point, the rain not super heavy. That's mostly offshore. It's that persistent onshore flow that at times will bring some gusty winds, but also some water rises, some surge of possibility, especially at high tide.

The center of this is expected -- of Bertha is expected to go over land. The southerly track where it could strengthen does not look like the most likely scenario. That's a low, low chance of that happening. And you can even see hurricane hunters are flying in this and they're well away from the bad weather, because this is where the center of the storm is right in there.

So, again, it is showers, it is stormy activity, Wolf, but generally that is offshore as it continues to push into Texas.

BLITZER: And how about New Orleans? Because a lot of us remember, of course, Katrina as the storm was moving towards Louisiana. What's that like now?

WARREN: Well, for the most part, in New Orleans and much of Louisiana, not going to notice much. I mean, you can have some strong thunderstorms in any spring day that will be worse, I think, than what we're going to see with Bertha.

The bigger issue is just how hot it is. And the irony here is, Wolf, the fact that there's not a lot of cloud cover as well. So the main thing is it's going to be the areas at the beaches could see some water level rises, again, mainly at high tide.

But, again, the biggest issue is not a lot of cloud cover, so it's going to be a really hot day throughout much of South Louisiana. BLITZER: All right, Chris Warren helping us understand what's going

on, thank you very much.

Coming up: New Jersey uncovers thousands of noncitizens mistakenly registered to vote. What the governor is saying led to the error and the breakdown of how many actually wound up casting a ballot.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:39:19]

BLITZER: Happening now: The matchup is now set in one of the year's most closely watched governor's races. Congressman and Trump-endorsed ally Andy Biggs has won the Republican nomination for Arizona governor, marking the latest test of the president's power in GOP primaries.

Biggs, a former head of the House Freedom Caucus, will now face sitting Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, setting up what's expected to be one of the midterm's biggest clashes.

Let's discuss this and more with CNN political commentator Karen Finney and former aide to the late Senator Lindsey Graham T.W. Arrighi.

Karen, let me start with you.

Hobbs is seen as one of the most vulnerable Democratic governors in this year's midterm elections coming up in November. But Biggs will have to face many of the past -- of his past stances, including his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election.

[10:40:08]

Is having Biggs as her opponent a shot in the arm for the Hobbs campaign?

KAREN FINNEY, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Absolutely. I mean, remember, Arizona is -- occupies this very interesting space where it's Republican, Democrat, but also very independent.

And so -- and there are a lot of independents who were are tired of talking about 2020, did not like the -- what was going on around that. And so it gives her an opportunity to talk about transparency. It gives her a chance to talk about essentially this is someone who is more beholden to Trump than to the state.

And she has a record to run on as well. She -- I mean, I know she's seen as vulnerable, but she also has a really strong record. And she is seen vulnerable because Arizona is a tough state. But I think she's got a strong record to run on.

BLITZER: We will see what happens at that front.

T.W. -- turning, let's turn to another critical race this November. Democrats in Maine, state of Maine, have released a ballot for their nominating convention this weekend to pick a new Senate nominee. The former state lawmaker Troy Jackson is set to appear on it, alongside two other longshot candidates.

Republicans were eager to face scandal-plagued Graham Platner. Is Troy Jackson, who has a history of conservative stances, including opposing abortion, for example, a more formidable challenger to Senator Susan Collins?

T.W. ARRIGHI, FORMER AID TO LINDSEY GRAHAM AND MIKE POMPEO: Not really.

You have to remember that this is a candidate who stood with Graham Platner until the bitter end. So he has to answer for a lot of that. Yet he's also been a powerful Democrat in the state and needs to answer for Susan (sic) Mills' policies.

We also -- it should be noted Jackson just came in third in a gubernatorial primary. He's not an outsider like Graham Platner, but he's been running for office since 2000. And we're getting close to game day here. We only have just about four months.

So he has an uphill climb against a very formidable opponent. I would like to remind everybody that Susan Collins led in exactly zero polls during her last reelect and won by a sizable margin. She is incredibly formidable. The people of Maine know her, and I think anybody, whether it be Platner or Jackson, whomever, would have an uphill battle.

BLITZER: So you think she is the front-runner?

ARRIGHI: Absolutely.

BLITZER: What do you think?

FINNEY: I don't disagree that she is the front-runner, but she is also seen as a very vulnerable Republican.

And she has two very important tests coming up, number one, the vote around Todd Blanche for A.G., particularly given that he is seen as protecting pedophiles at this point because of his role in the Epstein file debacle and the way that women's names were -- I mean, he handled it poorly.

Pam Bondi told us he's the one who oversaw it. And given the way that she is so vulnerable in the state, that is a critical vote for her in terms of -- she can't claim to be a moderate if she then votes for him, because it goes along with the Democrats' narrative there, which is, she's not really a moderate, and she votes with Donald Trump a majority of the time.

ARRIGHI: Her voting record is clear. She is by far the most independent member of the United States Senate. She votes against Donald Trump frequently. She voted to -- for impeachment, votes different ways on judge judicial picks.

She has always been seen as an independent-minded senator. That's why the people of Maine keep sending her back there. The girl from Caribou is going to win again in...

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: She's always been seen as a moderate Republican in the state of Maine.

FINNEY: You know, actually, in talking to Mainers in the last few weeks, they have said actually it's like Lucy with the football. That's how they feel about her, that actually that's how she portrays herself, but what they have seen is a 96 percent voting record with Donald Trump at a time when people are furious most importantly about costs and the war in Iran.

ARRIGHI: We need to also remember the flip side of this, that the Democratic Party is not your grandfather's Democratic Party. This is a party controlled by its far left flank.

Susan Collins is not extreme in the least. And Jackson is going to have to answer for the slew of bad policies that Graham Platner championed, that socialist candidates around the country are going to champion, and I don't think he's cut out for it.

BLITZER: Quickly, while I have you, T.W., I want to ask you about this announcement made by the New Jersey governor yesterday that the state's Democratic -- we're talking about the state's Democratic governor announcing about 6,600 noncitizens were accidentally added to voter rolls, and they -- and citing a serious software glitch.

The governor says there's no immediate proof that any of the roughly 400 noncitizens who wound up casting ballots impacted the outcome of any election in New Jersey. Does this lend credibility to the president's argument of election integrity issues?

ARRIGHI: It undermines faith in our elections. The software company is blaming...

BLITZER: Even though it's a relatively small number?

ARRIGHI: Sure, because the DHS is saying that there could be up to 35,000 people illegally on the rolls in New Jersey. The president cited a far higher number nationally. We don't have full data because some states do not share that information.

[10:45:03]

But it undercuts -- one illegal vote negatives out a legally cast vote. That is incorrect. That's inappropriate. If the number is significantly larger, that poses a huge problem.

The American people can't wrap their brain around why you have to show I.D. for never-ending pasta at the at the Olive Garden, but you don't have to, to vote, that you can't prove what the Constitution dictates, which you have to be a legal citizen to register to vote.

Those are baseline things we all should be able to agree on and pass into law. FINNEY: Can I just, though, mention Democrats were talking about

voter I.D. in 2021 and 2019 around two pieces of legislation? We couldn't get Republicans in part to come with us.

Part of the issue around voter I.D. is cost, because we don't want to make people incur cost to have to then vote. That's a poll tax. But, number two, the support for the voter I.D., for the SAVE Act, it's not just about voter I.D. That's the talking point Republicans are using because it's so popular.

It would also shift power from the states, as the Constitution lays out, to the federal government and force states to provide the federal government with sensitive voter information -- data information. The administration has lost 16 cases. Of 30 cases that are active right now in the courts,they've lost 16 of those with judges who've been appointed by all sorts of folks.

So I want us, when we hear the SAVE Act and voter I.D., that's not the only reason they're for it.

BLITZER: To be continued. We'll continue this analysis going down the road. The subject is clearly not going away.

FINNEY: A hundred percent.

BLITZER: Guys, thank you very, very much.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: An update now to a story we have been tracking here in THE SITUATION ROOM.

A bipartisan group of lawmakers is proposing to dismantle and replace the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, also known, of course, as UNRWA. The organization was established back in 1949 to help provide humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees during the Arab-Israeli conflict.

But co-sponsors of this congressional bill to dismantle UNRWA now say it does not serve its mission and alleges that some employees at UNRWA have actual ties to terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah.

Joining us now is Bill Deere. He's the director of the Washington, D.C., office for UNRWA.

Bill, thanks very much for joining us.

As you know, last week, I spoke here in THE SITUATION ROOM with the Republican Congressman Mike Lawler of New York and Democratic Congressman Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey. We spoke about their proposal to replace UNRWA.

[10:50:08] What is UNRWA's response to this bipartisan effort?

WILLIAM DEERE, D.C. OFFICE DIRECTOR, UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES: Wolf, thanks for the opportunity to come on and respond.

These two members leveled some very serious allegations against the agency, including incendiary remarks that are simply not supported by the facts.

During that interview, you drew upon your own personal experience that UNRWA does good things for Palestinian refugees. And you are correct. We continue to. In Gaza alone, the humanitarian needs are vast. But, despite the challenges, UNRWA is still on the job, and not without cost, Wolf; 392 of my colleagues have lost their lives in Gaza working to help their fellow Palestinians.

So, every week, our staff provides 80,000 medical consultations. Nearly 300,000 children are receiving education. More than 1.5 million people rely on us for water, hygiene, sanitation services. They're not just statistics. They represent lives sustained, children that are being given hope, and communities that are holding on by their fingernails under unimaginable circumstances.

BLITZER: It's a very tough situation indeed.

Let me play a quick moment from my interview with those two lawmakers last week and get your reaction on the other side. Listen. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOSH GOTTHEIMER (D-NJ): Nine members of UNRWA have been fired because of their ties to Hamas, despite knowing that hundreds, if not thousands, have ties to Hamas, that one in 10. So they haven't done anything about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, is that true that United Nations investigations found that nine UNRWA employees may have been involved in the October 7 terror attack against Israel and they were all terminated?

These lawmakers and other UNRWA critics alleging that these ties to terrorist organizations still remain embedded currently in the agency. Can you say with certainty, Bill, that Hamas is no longer operating within UNRWA?

DEERE: Well, I couldn't say that any more than you could say that anyone at CNN is not doing something criminal or illegal.

Here are the facts, though. The United Nations does not tolerate that kind of association amongst its employees. When it's discovered, employees are terminated. What the gentleman were referring to was a list of 19 names that were given to the United Nations and UNRWA by the government of Israel that were investigated. Out of the 19, nine may have been associated with information or

evidence.

BLITZER: And did you...

DEERE: But we still terminated their employment.

So, Wolf, what's going on here is, we have asked on multiple occasions, the Israeli government to supply us information and evidence to support the allegations. They have not provided the information. We cannot simply fire people based on a list.

We need information and evidence. In fact, Wolf, shortly after Israel made their initial set of allegations, Secretary-General Guterres issued a -- launched an independent, outside-of-the-U.N. review of UNRWA and their neutrality practices.

What came back from the independent outside review was that UNRWA, in fact, does more than any other United Nations agency when it comes to neutrality. And, nevertheless, you can always get better. This independent outside review gave us 50 recommendations. As of today, 80 percent of them have already been implemented, and we hope to have all but one or two done by the end of the year.

We take allegations of employee misconduct extremely seriously. But we have to have information and evidence to back it up. We simply cannot work from just a list of people that someone says may be associated with Hamas.

BLITZER: Well, do you have an internal process, Bill, within UNRWA itself to monitor the employees and make sure they're not actually aligned with Hamas or Hezbollah or any other terrorist organization?

DEERE: Wolf, of course we do.

But something else that came out of this independent review I want to draw to your attention. The United Nations does not have intelligence services. It does not have a police force. What that means is that we rely on the host countries, including Israel, to provide us information and evidence about potential employee misconduct.

[10:55:18]

We do check, but there's only so much you can do without information and evidence. Now, Israel has been given our employee list for decades. And we have not heard from them until January of 2024.

BLITZER: As I have said on the air a few times, and you have probably heard me, I have seen -- in all my years covering the Middle East, I have seen the good work that UNRWA has done while I was reporting from the Middle East, particularly the important work for these Palestinian refugees.

Do you believe it's possible to separate the good that UNRWA does from some of the controversy it's been embroiled in, as reflected by that interview last week we did with those two members of Congress? DEERE: Wolf, that's the heart of the question.

And let me say this. Our commissioner general has made a point of highlighting the areas of agreement between UNRWA and the United States. He agrees the paradigm in Gaza just has to change. And it's critical that the member states collectively move toward a just and lasting solution to the plight of the Palestine refugees.

And, indeed, we have to find a way forward so the Palestinians can have a place they can call home. As a result, the agency stands ready to support the Board of Peace and the National Committee for Administration of Gaza in implementing the U.N. Security Council resolution.

We have an 11,000-person work force in Gaza, Wolf, that will jump- start this organization. It's doctors. It's nurses. It's teachers. It's administrators, social workers. And we have a presence that reaches every part of Gaza and a level of trust that you just cannot recreate overnight.

No other organization has the infrastructure, the expertise, the community acceptance that this talented work force can bring to the NCAG. It's something that can shave, frankly, decades off the recovery process.

BLITZER: Bill Deere of UNRWA, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

DEERE: Appreciate the opportunity. Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up: President Trump takes part in the dignified transfer of four U.S. service members who lost their lives in recent Iranian strikes.

We will bring that to you in the next hour.

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