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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Urgent Search For Survivors Ongoing After TX Floods Kill 104; Trump Says He Will Send New Weapons To Ukraine; MAGA World Furious After DOJ Finds No Epstein "Client List." Aired 9-10p ET
Aired July 07, 2025 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: --yes, Anderson, I spoke with the former Sheriff, Rusty Hierholzer, and I wanted to ask him about his push, over the years, for a flood warning system. He didn't want to talk about it today, given all that his community is going through.
But he did refer me to the 2016 meeting notes of the County Commissioners, and it is all right there. There, you can see that he was telling them about having to pull children from trees, in previous flooding situations in that region. And he also told them that this CodeRed system, which is this system that--
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Yes.
KAYE: --that residents sign up for, is just not enough, that they need sirens. But as you heard in our story, Anderson, some just don't want to pay that.
COOPER: Right.
Randi Kaye, thanks very much.
The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: It's just past 08:00 p.m., in Central Texas tonight, where rescuers are facing the possibility of more rain, this evening, as they're continuing to search for any remaining survivors, after this weekend's catastrophic flooding.
At least a 104 people have died, including dozens of campers who were sound asleep in their cabins, at Camp Mystic, when water surged through in the blackness of a night -- of night, early Friday. An entire summer's worth of rain fell, in just a matter of hours, giving rise to a 20-foot wall of water, that survivors have described as a pitch-black wall of death, down the Guadalupe River.
There's still a desperate search for survivors, including 10 campers and one counselor, who is still unaccounted for, from that all-girls summer camp tonight.
There was also major questions about whether or not people were given enough warning to get out in time, and whether those warnings reached them at all.
Even the Mayor of Kerrville says that he was caught off guard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JOE HERRING JR., KERRVILLE, TEXAS: I think everyone in Kerrville, everyone in Kerr County, wishes to God we'd had some way to warn them.
To warn those people.
I have lost two friends. We loved them. And they're gone. You know, 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 VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And as we continue to hear more devastating accounts, like that, from those who survived, and those they know that did not, we do know this.
That the National Weather Service issued a flood watch for parts of Central Texas at 01:18 p.m., on Thursday afternoon. But as officials have pointed out, the forecast was for five to seven inches of rain in areas that ultimately got more than 15 inches.
By 06:30 p.m., forecasters warned considerable flash flooding was possible. They also noted the potential for a historic rainfall event, though it's unclear if that message reached emergency managers.
And local officials say that at this point, they didn't expect what was to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB KELLY, KERR COUNTY, TEXAS JUDGE: We didn't know. We know we get rains. We know the river rises. But nobody saw this coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: It was at 01:14 a.m., early Friday morning, when the first warning for life-threatening flash flooding in areas along the Guadalupe River was issued.
The Weather Service triggered its emergency alert system, which would mean that every phone in the area, including those at the summer camp, should have gone off. But that's assuming people had cell service and were awake to hear it. The next emergency alerts came at 03:35 a.m., 04:03 a.m., and 05:34 a.m.
One of the counselors who was at Camp Mystic, told CNN in the last hour, that those alerts didn't reach her because she didn't have her phone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Were there any kind of alerts or warnings that you were aware of?
CAROLINE CUTRONA, CAMP MYSTIC COUNSELOR: No. As camp counselors, we turn in our phone when we don't have our time off. And so there was no alert or anything that I heard, no signal, to know that anything was happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The worst of the flooding came, as that counselor and those in her cabin, around 05:00 a.m., when the river burst from its banks. It took just 90 minutes for a wall of water to move down the river, sweeping homes, cars, cabins and, devastatingly, campers along with it.
Records show that officials in Kerr County, Texas had considered funding an early warning system with emergency sirens, so residents could be better alerted about floods. But that effort didn't come to pass before the devastating flooding that happened this weekend.
And tonight, as he was hosting the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, President Trump confirmed he's planning to visit Central Texas on Friday.
[21:05:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That was a terrible event. Terrible event. You saw that maybe where Texas was just absolutely so badly hurt by something that was a big surprise, late in the evening. So, we'll be working with the Governor, and all of the people of Texas.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: We'll be going on -- we'll be going on Friday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I want to get straight to CNN's Boris Sanchez, who is on the ground in Kerrville, Texas.
And Boris, obviously, this question about the alert systems has been a pervasive one, just in terms of how people were warned, if they got enough warning. What are you hearing, as you've been on the ground, speaking with officials, but also residents and people who were there.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Kaitlan, at this point, we're still working to find out exactly what kind of warning that folks got here.
Keep in mind, this central part of Texas is known as Flash Flood Alley. So, folks here have seen devastating flooding in the past. Something of this scale? Not for at least nearly 40 years. Nevertheless, as you pointed out, officials confirmed today that an emergency alert system was activated, sending signals to cell phones in Kerr County, which would include an area that included Camp Mystic, which you pointed out, where dozens were lost, and where at least 10 campers and one counselor still remain missing.
That emergency alert system was activated about 01:14 a.m., as you said. Then again, three or four hours later. And at 04:03 a.m., we know that that flash flood emergency was issued for the entire county. Of course, there are circumstances in which either folks didn't have cell phones, or they didn't have cell service. Remember, this is a very rural area, so it's possible that the cell towers that send these signals didn't actually reach these phones in time.
On top of that, you have a community that had, in the past few years, explored the potential for installing some kind of a siren alert system, something that was eventually shelved. Sadly, we often see that communities take on those measures after a catastrophe.
Today, we heard from local officials saying that they will explore every possible avenue, to making sure something like this does not happen again. Many of them also vowing that they would look into the circumstances around this flood, this wall of water, as you put it, and whether or not more could have been done to save lives.
COLLINS: And so, as they're still searching and trying to get the answers to those kinds of questions, what does the rescue effort look like, at an hour like this, Boris?
SANCHEZ: Kaitlan, we're now watching the sunset on a fourth day of search and rescue operations, with not much in the past 24 hours or so in the way of positive news about finding survivors. Tomorrow, we're going to be entering a fifth day.
Folks that we've heard from are clear-eyed about the chances of finding survivors at this point. Nevertheless, folks are looking for signs of hope. They're looking for anything to give a tragedy, like this, meaning. And often, that means looking at folks who commit heroic acts, and are courageous in what they do, trying to put others even before their own safety.
Earlier today, I had the chance to speak to a Coast Guard official, Scott Ruskan, who was actually on his first Coast Guard mission, flying a helicopter, straight into Camp Mystic, where he was deployed to try to help people.
He shared with us that it took several hours to even get the helicopter to land, because the weather was so difficult at that time. He shared with me the experience of actually getting to that camp, and trying to help the young women that were there.
Here's some of what he said on CNN, earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT RUSKAN, U.S. COAST GUARD RESCUE SWIMMER: There's going to be a lot of heroics from this, not only from like first responders, but just the people that were, the survivors, right, like, caught in the flood.
Hearing stories from some of the camp counselors, when I was on the ground with them, just telling them, like, Hey, I was -- I was throwing kids out the door just to get them out of the flood water, grabbing one Croc for them, like a lot of the kids didn't even have shoes on, I was just carrying for the helicopter because they're stepping on wet rocks and feet might be cut up and stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Yes, he actually shared that he stayed behind as the helicopter left, in order to make room for more kids on that flight. In all, he rescued some 165 people from Camp Mystic. It's stories like that, that bring hope to a community that right now is on the mend.
Again, we should point out, officials maintain this is still a search and rescue as opposed to a search and recovery operation, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yes. And so grateful for the work that he did, and all the first responders who were there, still searching tonight.
Boris Sanchez, thank you so much. We'll check in with you throughout the hour, as the news warrants.
And I also want to bring in tonight, Nick Sortor, who is with the United Cajun Navy, the volunteer group that aids in disaster relief and emergency response.
And Nick, it's great to have you here tonight. And we're also really grateful for the work that you and your team are doing.
We've been talking about Kerr County. That's where you are with a team of 25 people. What can you tell us about the latest that you're seeing on the ground tonight, and the status of the rescue efforts that you're doing?
[21:10:00]
NICK SORTOR, PARTNER CORRESPONDENT, UNITED CAJUN NAVY: Well, honestly, Kaitlan, the weather had gotten significantly better here today. You can finally see, it's light out, lot of -- lot less cloud -- clouds in the sky. Helicopters have been much more abundant today, especially.
Luckily, the weather has been cooperating. Versus yesterday, even we saw more reports of a possible another wall coming down the river, prompting more residents to evacuate. And obviously, first responders and rescuers also heeded those warnings, and had to pull back for a while, yesterday. Nothing like that today, luckily, and I'm hoping that it stays that way.
COLLINS: And can you just tell me what you've seen on the ground? What did it look like when you -- when you -- when you got there? As we've been watching. I mean, just the devastation and the debris that you've had to deal with while searching for people must be so incredibly challenging.
SORTOR: Yes, definitely, the varying water levels made it difficult. Because obviously, the lower the water goes, the more obstacles that are going to be exposed. There was a lot of chainsaw action the first several days, trying to get boats, airboats and inflatable boats down the river. You can -- keep taking them out, putting them back in, in a lot of places. That was very, very challenging.
Luckily, there were still over 800 rescues here, which brings a lot of, you know, it really shows the fortitude and the bravery of the first responders that came here, in those initial treacherous conditions, low cloud cover, high winds, torrential rain, going out there and still getting the job done. And they did -- they did a hell of a job.
It's, obviously we're approaching day five at this point. We're at the Emergency Operations Center here. And it's still around-the-clock work, inside there, is hopping all-day long. And from people, all around the country, not even just the state.
And Kaitlan, the response to this disaster has been much better than a lot of the disasters we've seen, like western North Carolina, for example, that had similar flood conditions. And that initial response, the quick government deployment here, from state, local and federal, really helped to save a lot of lives in those first crucial few hours.
COLLINS: Yes.
SORTOR: So, we're grateful for that.
COLLINS: How's the team holding up? I mean, just, these are such young campers that -- that have been the focus of a lot of this. Obviously, there's so many people missing tonight. How are they -- how are they holding up, as they're searching through all of this?
SORTOR: I'm telling you, it makes this so much more different than a lot of other disasters. When we're talking about -- you know, you hear it over the radio and you see it. You hear a young blonde girl identified that was found. You hear it, you know, all day. That's the sad part. It's like, it's, you think of these innocent children, these helpless children that had no shot.
I don't know if you -- if you've looked at the images of Camp Mystic, and where it's located. But you've got the river on one side, and you've got a cliff on the other side. As soon as that water was higher than the bridge to get to Camp Mystic, there was nowhere they could go.
Luckily, some of the ones that survived, they were just high enough above that watermark that they made it out. But if that water came a few more feet up, it would have been even worse than it was.
And of course, this happened at about 4 o'clock in the morning. And there were little that could be done at that point. It's really sad. Everything that really could have gone wrong at 4 o'clock in the morning seems to have done. COLLINS: Yes, it's just devastating to hear the stories, and to think for those families and the parents.
Nick, thank you for what you're doing on the ground, and thank you for coming on to talk about it tonight.
SORTOR: Thank you, Kaitlan. And keep the story alive.
COLLINS: Yes, we will.
And also joining me is the El Paso Fire Department Battalion Chief and Water Rescue Team Coordinator, Kris Menendez.
I know your team is out on the ground, right now, assisting with search and rescue efforts as well. I mean, as Nick was just alluding to there, this is an all-hands-on-deck kind of issue.
What can you tell us about the latest on where the search and rescue operation does stand, this evening?
KRIS MENENDEZ, BATTALION CHIEF & WATER RESCUE TEAM COORDINATOR, EL PASO FIRE DEPT.: So, thank you, Kaitlan.
So, this morning, our team was in Burnet (ph), assisting with search and rescue efforts, and they were looking for five individuals that had been swept away. And so, unfortunately, the mission, at that point, ended. And so, they were reallocated to a different area to assist with, again, search and rescue efforts throughout that part of all this devastation.
COLLINS: And so, when they're sent out and they're searching for five people, I mean, how do you decide how much time you're dedicating to a certain area? Because I know it's extremely difficult to get through the debris, or the water lines changing, and you're kind of keeping your hands on a very fast-moving environment right now.
[21:15:00]
MENENDEZ: Definitely. And what they do is they have a certain area that they have to search. And so, they pretty much do a grid. And areas that are identified that could have, what we call, strainers, which is a lot of debris in certain parts of the river, they mark them, and then they're bringing another team to really search in those particular parts that have heavy debris.
And so, they're searching on both land and water. And so, they're using paddles to search the areas. They're on land, on the -- on the levees, on the sides of the rivers. And so, it's both, you know, not just walking and doing grid searches, but it's also working the water and having to work through the streams.
COLLINS: We were just talking to Boris, who's on the -- Boris Sanchez, who's on the ground, and he was saying it's still being called a search and rescue operation, not search and recovery, at this point. There's a lot of loved ones, who are watching and hoping for really good news, as they're keeping an eye on this. How does that -- how do you make that determination, as we do stretch into day five, tomorrow, of this search effort?
MENENDEZ: We are told, to keep on searching, and we're going to keep on looking in hopes that someone is alive, right? And so, at some point, the administration decides that, You know what? We've gone to that timeframe, where we need to make it not a rescue anymore, but more of a recovery. And so, the uppers are the ones who make that final decision.
But as of right now, it is still a rescue, as was mentioned earlier, and we are still looking in hopes of finding someone alive.
COLLINS: Your team has responded to a lot of incidents, over the years. I wonder what they've said about what they're seeing on the ground, and what they're going through, and how that -- how that compares to other flash flooding incidents or moments. Just seeing how this happened, middle of the night, questions about the warning system, and what that means for what's happening on the ground right now.
MENENDEZ: It is very emotional. A lot of us have kids. And the team members out there, think back of, what could have happened if their kids were in a situation like this. And so, it can be hard.
But we are -- we do a lot of training. We focus on situations like this, and so. And there are methods to assist those team members. And again, we still have hope that there's somebody out there that's still alive. And so, that helps out tremendously, when we're doing that search.
COLLINS: Battalion Chief, Kris Menendez, please tell your team our thanks for the work that they're doing. And we're just, everybody's thinking of them and praying for them tonight.
MENENDEZ: Thank you.
COLLINS: And for everyone watching, there's been so many questions from people who feel helpless, watching this devastating news coming out of Central Texas.
For more on how you can help the flood victims, in Texas, and what we are seeing play out, you can go to CNN.com/Impact. There's a list of vetted organizations that are helping, on the ground, in Central Texas that you can donate to there.
Up next here. You heard the mayor of Kerrville saying that he did not even get an alert about that torrential rainfall. There's questions about the warning systems that were in place, and whether others or more advanced systems would have made a difference. I'm going to speak to experts on that, right after this.
[21:20:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Back now with our breaking news coverage of the deadly floods in Central Texas, and the devastation from them, as CNN is learning tonight, the critical flood warnings were transmitted to mobile devices, in key areas, during the early morning hours of July 4th.
Those alerts hit devices near the Guadalupe River between 01:14 a.m. and 5:34 a.m. But they may not have been received by some phones because of bad cell reception.
As CNN is also reporting that two National Weather Service offices, most involved with forecasting and issuing flood warnings, in the region, did release a slew of watches and warnings in the lead up to those flash floods. But those offices are also missing some key staff members.
According to the NWS website, several leadership roles and meteorologist positions in those offices are vacant. And according to Reuters, the meteorologist, who was in charge of coordinating warnings with local officials, at the San Antonio National Weather Service Office, Paul Yura, accepted an early retirement offer from the Trump administration, earlier this year.
That has led to the top Democrat in the Senate, calling for an investigation, tonight, into federal staffing cuts and shortages at the National Weather Service, which has been hard-hit by personnel cuts, under the Trump administration. Though, there are questions and it may not have significantly affected the forecast and the warnings for this historic and deadly flooding.
In the letter to the Inspector General, overseeing that agency, this is what Chuck Schumer writes. The Senate Minority Leader, saying, he wants to know, quote, "Whether the staffing shortfalls at National Weather Service offices in Texas - and across the country - played a role in exacerbating the impact of this deadly flooding event."
The White House pushed back on the notion that it did today, saying that the federal government did its job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, the alerts imminently were sent out before the flood, when people were sleeping, because the flood hit in the very early hours of the morning. So, people were sleeping in the middle of the night when this flood came. That was an act of God. It's not the administration's fault that the flood hit when it did. But there were early and consistent warnings. And again, the National Weather Service did its job.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I want to bring in Avantika Gori, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Rice University.
And also The New York Times' Jesus Jimenez.
And Jesus, you're on the ground, in Texas tonight, as there's been a ton of scrutiny on the emergency preparedness there, and whether or not people got enough warning. What have you been learning on the ground?
JESUS JIMENEZ, REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Yes, we've been learning that it's unclear whether or not people, because service is so spotty, were able to get their notices in time.
[21:25:00]
We've heard from folks that didn't get an alert until 07:00 in the morning, when we know that the flooding happened far earlier than that. And we also know that there is no system in place that gets notifications out quickly, when it comes to river flooding, especially for those who live close to the banks of the river.
COLLINS: Yes, and amid the questions about that, Professor, I want to bring you in on this. Because you're leading a federally-funded project to help improve flood resistance in Texas.
I do think there's a question of whether or not there was any system that was ready for the amount of water that came down. I mean, we were hearing, earlier, about how a lot of these camps, it was camps that were upriver that would basically warn others that were down from them, if there was flash flooding, and just how bad it was and what that looks like.
AVANTIKA GORI, ASST. PROFESSOR OF CIVIL & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING, RICE UNIV.: Yes, so certainly, the amount of rainfall that fell, you know, widespread flooding was inevitable. I don't think that the loss of life that was sustained, unfortunately, was inevitable, however.
And I think having better plans in place, that whether that be sirens, or improved communication, rather than just word of mouth from camp to camp, proactive -- proactively evacuating some of the camps could have prevented a lot of the loss of life that we unfortunately saw.
COLLINS: I think there's questions about what that would look like. I mean, would people -- you know, we've been talking about sirens, and having that put in place to where people in these areas would be able to potentially have that. But I think there's questions, would people hear that in the middle of the night, if they're in their cabin, or an RV park, when a storm like this is hitting, and those -- are those early hours of the morning.
GORI: Yes, so definitely sirens are one option.
I think, whatever system would be in place also has to be coupled with kind of robust community planning. So really, whatever kind of notification, or sirens, or system would need to be coupled with really a strong education initiative, because an alert is only as effective as if someone knows what to do, once they get that alert.
So, I know a lot of this happened in the middle of the night. But a lot of residents saw the National Weather Service alerts on their phone, but didn't necessarily know how seriously to take those warnings. So, I think any kind of system, whether it be sirens, or other type of communication radio, is another option, would need to be coupled with a really strong education initiative, so that it's clear to residents where to evacuate--
COLLINS: Yes.
GORI: --how to evacuate, and when to evacuate.
COLLINS: Well, and Jesus, in terms of what this looks like, and those -- the community planning here. I mean, you're reporting tonight about a backlog of flood management projects in Texas.
We were hearing from Boris, earlier, about this being known as Flash Flood Alley. This is no -- nothing new, in terms of flooding in this area of Texas, and that central part.
When it comes to the backlog, what does that that look like? How big is it?
JIMENEZ: Yes, it's unclear. There's -- community officials have known -- I mean, it's well-known that this area is one of the most dangerous river basins in the area.
And for years, public officials, local officials, have debated how, you know, how is -- what's the best way to get the messaging out. How can we invest in a more advanced river or flooding system? But ultimately, it's been the cost, I think, that's largely held people back and without.
But the thing is, even with an advanced river detection system, as we were just talking about, you still need a way to be able to communicate the messaging to people. And as someone who grew up in Texas, it's easy to overlook a flash flood watch or warning, because these things happen regularly.
And so, yes, the backlog is a bit unclear. But community officials have known for years that they needed -- that there needs to be some sort of action, so that people can learn what to do when flooding is coming in the way.
COLLINS: Well, your reporting found that this had been discussed, an advanced warning system, by even Kerr County officials there, going back to 2016. But there were concerns about the cost and what that would look like.
I mean, what did you find about what led to the determination by officials not to move forward with something like that?
JIMENEZ: It was largely cost. But also probably -- one of the things that we looked at is that they knew that even if they implemented some sort of system that would alert people or alert officials, you still need to get the messaging out.
[21:30:00] And there was some debate in County meetings about, Well, what does that look like? Is it sirens? Is it a cell alert? Is cell service effective? Because we don't know -- we know that cell service is spotty out there. And so, there's -- it seems like there's a lot of debate. I took to one former County Commissioner, who said that the plan just evaporated, and that was in 2016, 2017.
And so, this has been well-known, but there hasn't been a solution implemented, and we don't know if it could have saved more lives.
COLLINS: Yes.
Jesus Jimenez, great reporting.
Avantika Gori.
Great to have you both here tonight. Thank you for joining us.
JIMENEZ: Thank you.
GORI: Thank you, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: And up next. The search is continuing for survivors, as we're learning heartbreaking details about the victims, many of whom were little girls attending summer camp along the river.
My next sources are State Representatives who, tonight, are leading a bipartisan effort to raise funds for flood relief. We'll speak to them about that ahead.
[21:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, rescuers are desperately searching for dozens of people missing, after a catastrophic flash floods in Central Texas.
As we're also learning new details from Camp La Junta, where counselors were trying to get anything to get campers out of harm's way. The mother of one of those campers explained to Jake Tapper, earlier, how her son survived.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELI RABON, SONS SURVIVED TEXAS FLOODING: So once the water came into his cabin, they moved the boys from their lower bunks to then the upper bunk, and then ultimately hoisted them up into the rafters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Hearing those rogue stories, as they're pouring in tonight, it still comes as right now, at least a 104 people are confirmed dead. It's a number that officials fear will continue to rise.
At Camp Mystic, an all-girls summer camp located right along the Guadalupe River, 27 campers and counselors were among those who were killed. That includes 9-year-old Janie Hunt. Her family tells CNN that she died after being swept up in the rushing waters. Also, Hadley Hanna, an 8-year-old with that bright smile that you see there, has also been confirmed dead by her family. Her mother says that she was loving her first year at the camp.
The owner who ran Camp Mystic, Dick Eastland, that you see here, also died while trying to rescue his young campers. His grandson paid tribute to him this way, saying, If he wasn't going to die of natural causes, this was the only other way - saving the girls that he so loved and cared for. That's the kind of man my grandfather was.
As those search and rescue efforts are continuing tonight, 10 campers and one counselor are still unaccounted for, this evening.
I want to bring in Texas State Representatives, Jared Patterson and Joe Moody, tonight, who are leading a bipartisan effort to raise flood relief funds, and are joining me now.
And Representative Patterson, let me start with you, because you've been calling on your fellow Texas lawmakers to donate a $1,000 to the relief efforts, or more, each. Obviously, no amount of money is going to be able to fix and bring back what so many of these families have lost here.
What do they need the most though, right now, that you've heard?
JARED PATTERSON, (R) TEXAS STATE HOUSE: Well, Kaitlan, thank you for covering this.
And I want to say, right off the bat, that the number one thing that folks can give is their prayers. Remain in fervent prayer for these families, this community, for these first responders that have answered the call of duty. The number one thing that we need are prayers.
And yes, we have -- we have asked our colleagues in the House. We're all wondering what it is that we can be doing, right now, while the first responders are still there, searching and trying to rescue these children, and these -- and these folks.
And so, look, Texas is in an unimaginable pain and loss. But we also have an unbreakable spirit. We have been tested again and again, and we're going to make it through this again.
COLLINS: Well, Representative Moody, let me -- let me get your response on that, in terms of, there are questions of what officials in Texas could have done differently here. We talked about the considerations in Kerr County about installing flood warning sirens along the river.
What do you believe needs to be done?
JOE MOODY, (D) TEXAS STATE HOUSE: Look, in your prior segment, you really covered the why and the how, right? And those are questions that we're going to have to continue to ask, and look into what we -- what we can do better. When the tragedy took place in Uvalde, a couple years ago, I was one of two legislators tasked to go look at the failing in that -- in that horrific tragedy. It's something that we're going to have to do here as well.
But the here and the now, as Representative Patterson talked about, is getting on the frontlines of helping the communities in need, with what the -- with the rescue efforts, with recovery efforts.
These families have an enormous amount of need. There are a number of vetted charitable organizations that are helping, from the Chamber of Commerce, to the Community Foundation, to the local Red Cross. There are a number of ways that you can engage and help these folks.
I remember very well, when the shooting happened here in El Paso, on August 3rd, 2019, strangers from all around this state, they wrapped their arms around our community with love, with caring, with compassion. And that's what we need to do here.
[21:40:00]
These are our neighbors. These are our neighbors, and they need our help. We know that our help can't heal all the wounds that are being -- that are being ripped open, right now. But we need to do our part, to step into that.
And the answer to those questions that you asked in the prior segment, are the work that Jared and I have to do, going forward. But in the here and now, it is up to us to lift up this community, to wrap our arms around them, and to give them the love and the compassion, the care that they need, so that we can help bring them through what is an unimaginable circumstance.
COLLINS: Well, Representative Patterson, I mean, in terms of the actual state legislature, and what you're going to be doing here. I want you to listen to what the Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, had to say about that today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. GOV. DAN PATRICK, (R) TEXAS: The Governor and I talked, this morning, at length about it, and he said, we're just going to do it. And I agreed with him. And we have a special session coming up, two weeks from today, as a matter of fact, and that's one of the issues that we'll take up.
It's just clear, those sirens need to blast. And we have a lot of these kind of camps within Texas along the rivers. We need to be sure we do that. And if the cities can't afford it, then we'll step in. If the cities don't want to do it, we'll step in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That special session is scheduled to start on July 21st, as he mentioned there. When that -- when that happens and when you meet, will you ensure that this is fixed and addressed, so this doesn't happen again to families that are suffering, like so many are tonight?
PATTERSON: Well, Kaitlan, I mean, it's just hard to put into words, and you can't even put yourself in the position of these families, and the loss that they're experiencing.
But I want to assure you that the work has already begun. There is already work happening, behind-the-scenes. From the legislative standpoint, I've spoken with Speaker Burrows, our leader in the Texas House. And certainly, you've heard from Lieutenant Governor, Dan Patrick, and Governor Abbott. And we are at work, trying to identify every possible option, that we have at the table, to make sure that something like this never happens again.
At this point in time, and over the next two weeks, we are seeking contributions. We have identified the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country. We have more than half of the Republicans, so far, on a holiday weekend, when they are out of town, or out of the community, over half of them have already responded, in a matter of hours, that they're going to contribute. And I know many of my Democratic colleagues have as well. That is first.
And then, yes, you're right, July 21st, we will get to work on the next phase of this, which is putting our plans into action, to once again pay tribute to these families, to these children, and to make sure that something like this never happens again in Texas.
COLLINS: Texas State Representatives, Jared Patterson, Joe Moody, thank you both for joining me tonight.
PATTERSON: Thank you.
MOODY: Thank you.
COLLINS: Still ahead here for us. We heard from President Trump tonight, at the White House, as there are questions about his tariff threat that was expected to happen, and have a deadline of this week. There are questions about what that looks like tonight, including a growing number of countries, including allies, as he is extending that deadline. What the President's top trade adviser said today, about those 90 deals in 90 days.
[21:45:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, less than 36 hours before it was set to hit the deadline, President Trump extended his reciprocal tariff deadline to August 1st. As he fired off a flurry of new tariff threats against countries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Is the August 1 deadline firm now?
TRUMP: I would say firm.
REPORTER: Is that it or could you move it again?
TRUMP: No, I would say firm, but not a 100 percent firm. If they call up and they say, Would like to do something a different way, we're going to be open to that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That answer tonight, after the White House paused the so- called Liberation Day tariffs in order to secure trade deals, they said, that would be favorable to the United States.
It's a pause that was set to expire on July 9th, this week, as the Trump -- as the President and his officials, said that they expected to have 90 deals within 90 days. But then, few have been announced.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: You personally said, 90 deals in 90 days.
PETER NAVARRO, TRUMP TRADE ADVISER: 90 days and 90 deals--
COLLINS: And we're not even close to that.
NAVARRO: I'm very happy -- I'm very happy--
COLLINS: So what do you say to voters?
NAVARRO: I am very happy with where we're at. We have had a global baseline tariff in place, 10 percent. We're collecting billions of dollars of tax revenues--
COLLINS: But it's not 90 deals in 90 days.
NAVARRO: --that are going -- that are going to pay down for tax cuts.
COLLINS: So, what do you say to people--
NAVARRO: We've got continuing notion -- negotiations. And I think this is great.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: My White House insiders are here.
Reuters' Jeff Mason.
And Semafor's Shelby Talcott.
And it's great to have you both.
Jeff, I mean, just in terms of the White House's expectation setting here. It's not 90 deals in 90 days. They say they've been making progress. But now they're at this point where the President is kind of just firing off these threats to countries, saying, This is what you're going to pay if we don't come to an agreement. JEFF MASON, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: And yet continuing to give mixed messages, like he did in the meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu just now, by saying, These are firm, and yet I'm still open to more negotiations, if countries come in with a different or better offer.
So yes, they didn't get the 90 deals in 90 days, which is what they promised. And I think markets, the reaction today in the stock market suggested that people in the financial world were thinking they would get a longer reprieve. And that turned out not to be the case.
COLLINS: And the President fielded these questions during this dinner tonight, with the Israeli prime minister, which is another entire focus of what he's doing.
He was also asked about the war in -- Russia's war in Ukraine, and whether or not he's going to continue sending weapons to Ukraine, after the Pentagon confirmed some of them were stopped. And this is what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: I'm not happy with President Putin at all.
You know, I can stop a war, because I have an ability to do so. I'm disappointed, frankly, that President Putin hasn't stopped.
We're going to send some more weapons. We have to. They have to be able to defend themselves. They're getting hit very hard now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That's a notable answer there, saying that he will send more weapons to Ukraine.
[21:50:00]
SHELBY TALCOTT, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, SEMAFOR: Yes, it's a little bit of whiplash and confusion, from the administration, over whether or not they're going to send weapons. Now the President is saying they're going to send weapons.
And I think this goes back to the fact that the President has been continuously sort of shifting his view, when it comes to this specific war. He has said, multiple times, that he is frustrated with Putin. He has also said multiple times that he is frustrated with Zelenskyy. So it's kind of this dual, I think, fight.
And I think part of the reason we're seeing this shift is because the President is kind of frustrated with both countries, equally at times, and at the same time, he still wants to get an end to this war.
But there's a realization, inside the administration, that at some point, there's only so much that the White House and the administration can do. Ultimately, it's going to be up to Russia and Ukraine. And at some point there's been talk -- I mean, there's been talk publicly, but also privately, about whether or not to step back, and when to do so.
COLLINS: Yes. Jeff, what do you make of that?
MASON: Well, I think it's significant that he's saying that the United States is going to send more weapons, because I don't think he necessarily wanted to. That's not the overall thrust of the Trump administration's policy since he came into office. So I think, yes, it does underscore the frustration that he has, certainly with Putin, which he keeps verbalizing.
And even if he's frustrated with Zelenskyy, he's willing to give him some ammunition.
COLLINS: Yes, it was quite notable.
Jeff Mason. Shelby Talcott. Great to have you both here with our inside reporting inside the White House.
Up next. The President's base is having a meltdown of its own making, after the Justice Department now says it is case closed when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, as some right-wing influencers are now calling for the Attorney General to be fired.
[21:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Tonight, there is widespread disbelief, anger, and even demands for Attorney General Pam Bondi's firing, spreading throughout the MAGA universe, after the Department of Justice issued an unsigned memo that stated what has been widely believed for years. that convicted child sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein, was not murdered, and did not keep a list of high-profile clients.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE BANNON, EXECUTIVE AND FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: This was supposed to be about the most transparent administration ever.
LIZ WHEELER, HOST, "THE LIZ WHEELER SHOW": What on earth is going on? Was Pam Bondi set up by Deep State FBI career officials?
Is she stupid? Is she so click-thirsty that she got out over her skis, trying to make news, being a Fox News star?
ALEX JONES, AMERICAN RADIO HOST: Pam Bondi, all of it, all those videos were saying, Yes, she's seen the videos, it's all coming out. And then now it doesn't exist? I mean, What? What?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: With this memo, the Trump Justice Department has undermined and contradicted the speculation and conspiracy theories that have run rampant, for years, inside the MAGA orbit, about smoking guns and influential figures that were pushed by the very officials who are now running the DOJ and the FBI. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN BONGINO, UNITED STATES DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION: The Jeffrey Epstein case - you do not know all the details of this thing. I promise. There are a lot of really obviously powerful people. This part, you know, but the specific names we may not.
ALINA HABBA, COUNSELOR TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There were so many individuals that were hidden and kept secret and not been held accountable.
PAM BONDI, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY GENERAL: What you're going to see, hopefully tomorrow, is a lot of flight logs, a lot of names, a lot of information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Pam Bondi is facing most of the blowback, after drumming up speculation and promising the public, the release of more documents, for months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, FOX NEWS CHANNEL HOST: The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?
BONDI: It's sitting on my desk right now to review. That's been a directive by President Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: But her department now says that that list that she said was sitting on her desk for review doesn't exist.
Asked about the contradiction today, at the White House, the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said that the Attorney General was talking just generally about paperwork.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER DOOCY, SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, FOX NEWS CHANNEL: So what happened to the Epstein client list that the Attorney General said she had on her desk?
LEAVITT: Well, I think if you go back and look at what the Attorney General said in that interview which was on your network, on Fox News?
DOOCY: I've got the quote.
LEAVITT: Go ahead.
DOOCY: John Roberts said, DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients? Will that really happen?
And she said, It's sitting on my desk right now to review. LEAVITT: Yes, she was saying--
DOOCY: Well--
LEAVITT: --the entirety of all of the paperwork, all of the paper, in relation to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes. That's what the Attorney General was referring to, and I'll let her speak for that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Tonight, some of the same right-wing influencers who were invited to the White House, back in February, you'll remember this moment, with the promise of new information, only to be given a lot of stuff that was already publicly-known, are now calling for Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to be fired.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHEELER: This seems like unforgivable behavior. How could she give us those phase one binders that contained nothing, while bragging about the cover sheet that she made, The most transparent administration in history, and tell us that the SDNY had the real goods? The binder was just proof of a Deep State coverup. That was the real story, she told us. Only to now say, Sorry, there's nothing.
If I'm President Trump, I wouldn't tolerate it. She's a liability to him. She's not worth it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Another ally of the President's, Laura Loomer, suggested that Bondi should, quote, "Resign for lying to the American people."
And Elon Musk, who claimed, then deleted, that the President himself was included in the so-called Epstein files, wrote, It's no-one-has- been-arrested-o'clock again.
Of course, Jeffrey Epstein himself was arrested.
[22:00:00]
But this comes as comments like this, from the FBI Director, Kash Patel, where he once vowed that there would be no coverups, no missing documents, and no stone left unturned.
The Justice Department now says they don't plan to release any new documents on the Epstein matter. Top officials are now trying to quell a conspiracy that they once perpetuated themselves.
This memo that was issued states, One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends.
Thanks so much for joining us.
"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" is up next.
