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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
CNN International: Trump Threatens 50 Percent Tariffs on Brazil; Trump Threatens More Countries with 30 Percent Tariffs; Trump Considers Sending More Patriot Missiles to Ukraine; Top Senate Republicans Aims to Pass Russia Sanctions by August; Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X; At Least 119 Dead and 160 Missing in Texas; Gaza's Hospitals' Fuel Crisis Reaches Critical Point; Red Bull Fires Christian Horner. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired July 09, 2025 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. And you're watching
"The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, Donald Trump threatens to put tariffs of 50 percent on Brazil. The party says in retaliation for the ongoing trial of the
country's former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Russia has launched its largest drone attack on Ukraine as President Trump continues to voice his own
personal frustration with Vladimir Putin. And after 20 years and multiple titles, Formula 1's Red Bull Boss Christian Horner has been fired by the
team.
First, though, President Trump now threatening Brazil in just the last several hours with a severe 50 percent tariff that will kick in, he says,
August 1st. He is tying that threat to the way Brazil has treated its former president and longtime Trump ally, Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro is
facing a trial for allegedly trying to stage a coup against Brazil's current president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Trump said in the letter, quote, "I knew and dealt with former President Bolsonaro and respected him greatly as did leaders of other countries. The
way Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro is an international disgrace. The trial should not be taking place. It is a witch hunt that
should end immediately." Of course, which hunt is language he's used to describe investigations in his own -- into his own attempts to overturn the
U.S. election.
We should note as well that the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil, not a trade deficit, which President Trump has regularly cited as the
justification for tariffs, making this an apparent instance of using tariffs for political reasons.
Other nations he sent letters to today got off lightly, at least compared to Brazil. Most hit with 30 percent tariffs. Still quite significant in
economic terms. The president threatened the Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally with a 20 percent tariff.
Kristen Holmes joins me now from the White House. And, Kristen, President Trump has cited a number of reasons for his tariffs, ending trade deficits
being one of them, trying to bring U.S. manufacturing jobs or manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. This seems to be the first time where he's used it
for political reasons. Is the White House attempting to justify that in any other way?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I mean, Jim, this letter came from the White House. This came from President Trump. It's not
as though some sources told us about this. They are openly saying that this is because of the treatment of Bolsonaro, who is a Trump ally. Someone who
came and visited President Trump when he was at Mar-a-Lago. Someone who has been close to him. Who some of President Trump's previous advisers also
advise as somebody that he has remained close to.
And as you said, this is clearly political. One, the tariffs are much higher than he has instilled on any other country. But in addition to that,
he is essentially walking through why he believes that they should take the charges away from Bolsonaro who has said that he did not do anything wrong.
And President Trump has at times compared himself to Bolsonaro, in this situation, saying that the same thing happened to him.
And this is really the latest in what we've seen as a number of posts of President Trump defending Bolsonaro, but also defending some other leaders.
We saw him posting about Netanyahu, saying that the trial against Netanyahu was also a witch hunt, that Netanyahu was being treated unfairly in Israel
and they should delay or deny or end the trials there as well.
So, this is the first time, as you noted, that he's actually put on paper that there's a political reason for it, but it's not the first time he's
threatened using political reasons for various tariffs. It's something that he is done on a number of occasions. And we also know that behind the
scenes that there's so many negotiations going on at one time with these various countries that he has, in those conversations, threatened to hang
tariffs over them. Things that have nothing to do with the actual trade negotiations.
But again, this is pretty striking given what we've seen, one, from President Trump in the last several days of these different defenses of
different leaders, but also, two, the fact that he is blatantly saying here, this is for political reason.
And it's unclear what the end game is here. Is the end game to get them to drop the charges so that he then reduces the tariff? Because he also
threatened that if they retaliate, he'll make the tariffs even higher. So, again, unclear where they go from here as everyone moves forward.
[18:05:00]
SCIUTTO: Kristen Holmes at the White House, thanks so much. Joining me now is Sarah Bianchi, former deputy U.S. trade representative, currently senior
managing director at Evercore ISI. Thanks so much for joining.
SARAH BIANCHI, FORMER DEPUTY U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE AND SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR, EVERCORE ISI: Thanks for having me.
SCIUTTO: So, the president, as you know, has used a number of justifications for tariffs, have just been noting with Kristen there,
bringing back manufacturing jobs, no evidence of that, and trade deficits. So, here he's saying quite publicly and clearly, this is about politics. He
doesn't like another country trying a former president in its own system, interestingly, for an attempt to overturn the election there. Does this
expose tariffs for Trump as really a tool of influence or even a tool of extortion?
BIANCHI: Well, as you mentioned, President Trump uses tariffs for all sorts of reasons, whether it's reshoring, the trade deficit, fairness, but
definitely this is different. Right. This is the first time he is gone after for a particular political reason.
So, he certainly has tariffs on the mind. He's been talking a lot about it in the last couple of days, but I think this is definitely, surprising and
it is hard to know where the end game is. Brazil, as you know, had only 10 percent from this president only a couple months ago. So --
SCIUTTO: And we should note, as I noted, the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil, unlike many of the other countries targeted. Is there any evidence
to date that tariffs purely as a pressure tactic are working, or at least working in the way or with the speed that President Trump imagined?
BIANCHI: Well, I wouldn't say it's working with the speed he imagined. We did see Canada pull down their digital services taxes. So, sometimes it is
effective. We're seeing some agreement in the E.U., it sounds like, to get to a 10 percent tariff. So, people are moving. But trade is really
difficult. It is lots of parochial political issues depending on the country. That's why I think instead of seeing 90 days and 90 deals, so far.
we only have a couple.
And by the way, some of them are quite vague. With Vietnam, for example, we haven't seen any paper. So, I think this is proving to be a lot harder than
the president thought.
SCIUTTO: They don't seem like back of the envelope deals as opposed to long trade agreements with all the fine language. Is there any evidence
that tariffs have led to or will lead to a significant movement of manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., as the president has claimed they
would?
BIANCHI: The challenge for manufacturing is it's such a long-dated process. You have to really -- if it's a pharmaceutical industry, you have
to get approval from the FDA. You're making a long term multi-billion- dollar commitment. We don't know how long these terrorists are going to be on. Look at Brazil. They were at 10, now they're at 50.
It's very, very difficult for -- even though the markets are starting to adjust to this style of negotiating, it seems like, companies really
aren't, they're really having challenges and the uncertainty is a huge factor. So, I don't think it's going to lead to the manufacturing.
SCIUTTO: Are the markets, in your view, and I'm not asking you to be a market analyst, but someone who's dealt with trade negotiations, are they
underestimating the economic costs of these trade wars? I mean, do you think that the costs are brewing below the surface and just haven't risen
to the level of top line economic indicators?
BIANCHI: I think the markets are a little bit complacent right now. They see him wanting to deescalate to some degree, certainly from where we were
on Liberation Day. But we're at about 15 percent weighted average tariff. And at the beginning of January, we were at two. That's a big deal for the
economy.
And when we look at it, we see, even though a lot of this is deal making and bluster from the president, we see the next moves on tariffs up,
whether it's copper, whether it's Vietnam and some of these ASEAN countries. So, I think we're going to have to see the impact on the
economy. I don't believe we've seen it all yet.
SCIUTTO: Is there evidence, in your view, that this is going to accomplish another of the president's goals of tariffs, and that is to, in a lasting
way, reduce trade deficits, which many economists have noted are because some countries are just better or more efficient at making some things,
right? Do you see that long-term change coming as a result of all this?
BIANCHI: Certainly that could happen in the short-term, particularly, I know the president is enamored with purchase agreements. So, if you
purchase something right from the United States, your trade deficit a will go down.
I think the trade deficit issue is very hard for countries to get their heads around. Korea likes to make the point that, you know, they've made a
lot of investment in batteries and other things in the last year, and maybe that's why their trade deficit's going up. But you just have to take the
president at face value. He does care a lot about that topic. And I think but no, I mean, we haven't seen, based on Trump 1.0 what we saw with USMCA,
what we saw with Korea, it didn't lead to that.
[18:10:00]
There certainly are possibilities for improvements. I don't want to dismiss them, but trade deficits aren't particularly one of them.
SCIUTTO: Sarah Bianchi, thanks so much for joining.
BIANCHI: Thank you for having me.
SCIUTTO: Well, President Trump says he is now considering sending more Patriot missile systems to Ukraine. This comes a day after the president
said the U.S. will resume shipments, weapon shipments to Ukraine. Sources tell CNN Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House
before he, Hegseth, halted that military aid last week. Listen, what to what the president had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I haven't thought about it because we're looking at Ukraine right now and munitions, but I have -- no, I have
not gone into it. I would know if a decision was made. I will know. I'll be the first to know. In fact, most likely, I'd give the order, but I haven't
done that yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: Not quite an answer there. On Capitol Hill, Senate majority leader John Thune says his chamber could take up a bipartisan Russia
sanctions legislation, new sanctions, that is, before the August Senate recess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN THUNE (R-SD), U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: We've also made substantial progress on Senator Graham's overwhelmingly bipartisan Russia
sanctions legislation to enhance President Trump's leverage at the negotiating table and help end the bloodshed in Ukraine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: And yet, Moscow continues to escalate its attacks on Ukraine, including civilian targets. Kyiv says Russia launched its largest drone
attack since the beginning of the invasion going back more than three years, more than 720 drones.
Natasha Bertrand joins me now. And, Natasha, you've been reporting on the decision making behind that pause in weapons shipments. Have you gotten to
the bottom of it? I mean, the president says he would know, but didn't seem to answer quite clearly there. Who then made the call?
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It is all very confusing, Jim. I mean, ultimately, we are told that Secretary Hegseth is
the one who authorized the pause on that weapon shipment to Ukraine following a recommendation by the undersecretary of defense for policy,
Elbridge Colby.
But the White House, as you note, has been extremely cagey in talking about this and President Trump still, after days of being asked about this, will
not say whether or not Pete Hegseth told him that he was going to be pausing these weapon shipments. The president did say that if a decision
had been made, he would know about it. But it's worth noting that the White House confirmed on the record last week that amid this Pentagon review of
all of the stockpiles and weapons -- U.S. weapons that were going to other countries, they were going to be pausing this particular shipment of
weapons to Ukraine.
And so, the White House confirmed at one point that this pause was in fact happening. But the question now, of course, is what happened here to cause
this breakdown in communication? Because we are told that after authorizing this pause, Secretary Hegseth did not tell President Trump and really it
caught the White House off guard. He also did not tell the national security adviser, Marco Rubio, who also of course is the secretary of
state. The State Department was also very much caught off guard by this, as was Congress.
And we are told that the White House told the Department of Defense, you need to explain this to Congress because this is your decision and you
essentially have to own this and explain why you felt the need to pause this weapon shipment.
And as we saw, President Trump ultimately reversed it just days later. And in a phone call with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, downplayed his role in
the decision to pause the weapon shipment. And now, has been saying consistently that he does plan to send those defensive weapons to Ukraine.
So, another example here of Pete Hegseth, you know, getting out ahead over his skis. He did this once in February before where he also at the time
paused a weapon shipment to Ukraine and that caught national security officials off guard. It seems to have happened again. And much like the
first time, it was reversed very, very quickly. Jim.
SCIUTTO: Natasha Bertrand, thanks so much. For more. I'm joined by Democratic Congressman Mike Quigley of Illinois, co-chair of the
Congressional Ukraine Caucus, member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence as well. Congressman, good to have you back.
REP. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-IL), CO-CHAIR, CONGRESSIONAL UKRAINE CAUCUS AND U.S. HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you. Glad to be back.
SCIUTTO: So, first question is simply this, do you believe that the president didn't know about this aid pause or that a defense secretary
would make such a decision given how top heavy this White House is without consulting the president?
QUIGLEY: Look, I'm starting to think it's possible the president didn't know. There's such a dysfunction going on, you know, and we've lost so much
of the National Security Council apparatus. I don't know who's talking to whom and when, and none of it makes sense, particularly if you're trying to
work with Congress to get the things you want. And the votes are so close.
[18:15:00]
Why alienate them? We've certainly lost credibility with our allies and the rest of the world, with Ukraine, and probably with Putin as well. So, for
them to say that they're going to do anything in the coming days or weeks, I'm not sure anyone would believe them or believe any commitments they
make, just because it's so dysfunctional right now.
SCIUTTO: In the moment, those weapon shipments are back on. And the president is saying he's considering sending not just further missiles to
supply the Patriot systems but also perhaps new Patriot launchers systems themselves. I know you support such support. Can you say that -- does it
seem to you that this president has finally run out of patience with Putin?
QUIGLEY: Well, maybe he's figured out that Putin doesn't care about somebody -- the president posting on Truth Social some strong rebuke. And
what it was, six weeks ago, he gave Putin two weeks to get to the negotiating table. Putin understands strength. He understands -- I think
these new sanctions bill will have some value in bringing him to the table. Making him realize we're serious. Clearly the Russian economy has adapted
to the existing Western sanctions. So, not only do we need to pass this, we need to direct our attention to those countries that are helping Russia
evade those sanctions.
And we need to do another supplemental. The president has finally got that. Putin understands strength. If you want to show him who's going to be tough
here, it goes beyond just some more Patriots, it goes to doing another supplemental. That's what Putin will understand.
Putin can win a game of attrition because he treats his troops like cannon fodder and he's got a dramatic increase, advantage in manpower over
Ukraine. But I think there are limits to his economy and what he can do if President Trump were to show this strength.
SCIUTTO: You have backed these bipartisan sanctions bill for some time. Do you believe that the Stars have now aligned with further GOP support and
perhaps the president's support to get it passed?
QUIGLEY: You know, I do. And I'm pleased to see people like Mr. Fitzpatrick, who's been a long supporter, a fellow Ukraine caucus co-chair,
you know, help lead the effort on the Republican side to get this done in the House. But with every step forward, there seems to be a step backwards.
We're now understanding that if this passes, they're going to provide language, giving the president full waiver authority. In other words, yes,
we're going to show how tough we are. But at any one point in time, the president can decide, nah, I don't want to do that, and Putin wins again.
At this point, the president hasn't even said which side he wants to win the war. If he were to do this without the full waiver authority and to do
a supplemental, he'd show the world and he'd show Putin who he wants to win this war.
SCIUTTO: Where does the war go from here then? By all accounts, Putin seems to believe that he's winning. And as you say, he has no hesitation to
throw further Russian soldiers to the front, to die? Stalemate?
QUIGLEY: Look, it can't be a stalemate forever. I have real concerns. And I've been to Ukraine, as you know, five times since the war started. I
think the reason Zelenskyy said, help us win quickly, is he knows that Putin has the advantage in the war of attrition. At some point in time, you
can't -- Ukraine can't keep holding the line. We have to help them win quickly. And this has to happen soon. So, that's why beyond the talk of
sanctions, we have to talk about more direct aid to Ukraine here.
I am concerned that this war will start to slowly turn toward the Russians gaining slowly, but gaining additional land. They've taken over, you know,
certain areas in its entirety. And I see that continuing unless something changes.
SCIUTTO: Final question on another topic. The president today slapping 50 percent sanctions on Brazil, which, we should note the U.S. has a trade
surplus with, because he doesn't like the fact that Brazil is trying its former president for allegedly attempting to overturn an election there in
a stage a coup. Is this a proper use of tariffs to infect -- attempt to interfere in another country's judicial system?
[18:20:00]
QUIGLEY: Typically, tariffs have been used to go after people who are committing unfair trade practices or committing other problems, and to
balance the economic issues that take place, you know, through normal trade wars. I get that stuff, but none of what he's doing is accomplishing that.
It's not going to bring back manufacturing jobs. It's not going to win us any friends. With our allies, it's going to antagonize them.
And this is just one further piece of evidence that this is President Trump acting as a whim. That this is something he personally wants to do because
that's what he cares about.
And to hell for all the other issues that matter here and how it helps our economy. What he said was he was going to grow jobs from day one, and what
he's doing in the -- what he's doing here is the opposite. We're going to move in the opposite direction. We're going to lose jobs. And things are
going to cost more in our country.
At the same time, we're going to be less safe because our allies won't be able to trust us and they're less likely to do something to help us in the
future.
SCIUTTO: Congressman Mike Quigley, thanks so much for joining.
QUIGLEY: Anytime. Thank you.
SCIUTTO: Still ahead, not an excellent week so far for Elon Musk. The CEO of X is stepping down. More Musk executives appear to be leaving other
companies. Plus, reports of an alarming new glitch inside Grok, which is of course Musk's A.I. chatbot.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." U.S. stocks finished Wednesday session higher, despite President Trump's new round of tariff threats to
major trading partners. The NASDAQ hit record highs, amid a new stock market milestone. A.I. Chip Giant NVIDIA became the first publicly traded
company worth $4 trillion. NVIDIA beat out Microsoft with a market cap that is also closing in on the $4 trillion mark. NVIDIA closed below those
historic levels, but still finished up almost 2 percent.
A brain drain appears to be taking place inside some several of Elon Musk's biggest companies. The CEO of Musk's social media firm, X, Linda Yaccarino,
announced her resignation today after two years on the job. All this amid reports that other top executives from X, xAI, and Tesla are also jumping
ship. Yaccarino has not said why she's leaving.
[18:25:00]
However, her resignation comes amid a fresh new controversy involving X's chatbot, Grok. It has been responding to some user inquiries with
antisemitic tropes weeks after Musk said he was fixing Grok because responses, he said, that were too politically correct.
Musk is also facing continued investor blowback following the formation of his new U.S. political party, which he calls the America Party. Lance
Ulanoff joins me now. He is editor at large at TechRadar. Good to have you, Lance. Thanks so much for joining.
LANCE ULANOFF, EDITOR AT LARGE, TECHRADAR: Good to be here.
SCIUTTO: First let's start with the Yaccarino departure from X. There were questions as to whether she was ever truly in control given Musk's outsized
role there. Was she? And do you have any sense as to why she left after two years?
ULANOFF: Well, I don't know that she -- you know, look, she was trying to do her job. She worked for a long time at NBC Universal as head of sales
and really understood how to work in a media business and work with big companies, big partners, to make advertising happen around media. But she
was working with an X factor, and that was Elon Musk.
And Elon Musk was uncontrollable from day one. And I just think she was always sort of buffeted back, never quite sure of how to run a
straightforward standard business and grow it the way it needed to be growing, because Musk doesn't care.
Musk not only will do anything he wants, he doesn't believe in PR and marketing, has no PR department. He just basically says whatever's in his
head and puts it out there, even things that undermine the work that Yaccarino was trying to do.
As far as why she left, well, you know, look, it's been two years. I think that they were go about to report that they had maybe done a bit of a
turnaround on the advertising side, or at least stabilized at some. But, you know, I think just a lot of weight to bear with never knowing exactly
which way the wind was going to be blowing on X, what Musk was going to say next. Now, he's going to do a political party.
And then, you know, the Grok thing is not like an accident. When you take off the guardrails on an A.I., it's pulling from all of this information.
And if you've been told to be less politically correct, well guess what? You're going to do that. You're going to offend people. And so, I think
maybe that was the last straw.
SCIUTTO: I mean, that dynamic you described where she was the CEO in name, but you have an owner who is quite involved, to say the least, I imagine
you could say about other Musk-run companies, and I wonder if you see a connection between her departure and the departures we've seen of other
executives from Tesla and xAI.
ULANOFF: Yes. We hear certainly less about the sort of the inner workings of those companies because they don't have a public face like, you know, X
is a social media network where Musk basically spouts. And in fact, you know, SpaceX, for example, is a very important company. It works with the
U.S. to get the astronauts to the space station. And usually, that's kind of shielded because Shotwell runs that not -- really not Musk. But then,
you know, Musk was sort of saying, well, maybe we won't work with the government. Then the government's saying, maybe we won't work with SpaceX.
So, this uncertainty that Elon Musk creates appears to be infecting his other businesses. You know, this is a guy who was building so many things.
Do you remember when he was compared to Tony Stark, right, of Marvel? You know, he was that guy. He's not that guy anymore. He's just somebody who no
one can predict what he's going to do next and seems to be possibly harming some of the businesses that he owns and runs.
SCIUTTO: Some of the pressure we saw on Musk from shareholders and others to leave his central role with the Trump administration was driven --
perhaps most of it was driven by an interest from shareholders and others in his companies for him to focus on those businesses, right? And also,
perhaps insulate himself from some of the business consequences of his political decisions. So, he is out with Trump, but he is starting a new
political party. I mean, is he going to be truly focused on his companies or just try to keep all those balls in the air?
ULANOFF: I -- you know, I, I don't know, honestly. It -- he's so hard to predict. He -- you know, I remember a time when he was truly just focused
on the businesses. He was an interesting guy. Maybe a little bit quirky, but everything, all of his energy was focused on, for example, getting out
the Tesla Model 3. And now, he split, at least split his attention between the political scene and his businesses. And now, it seems to have been to
his detriment, because whether or not you agree with the Trump administration, you could see during his time with DOGE that Teslas, you
know, were being set on fire. People were picketing his shops.
[18:30:00]
I don't think that his Tesla's brand has recovered from what he was doing. And really, what did it have to do with the Tesla business? In fact, at the
end of the day, it's not as if the Trump administration has said, let's keep EV subsidies in place because Tesla's so important. They're gone.
SCIUTTO: Yes. It's a long time since his guest appearance on "Rick and Morty," right, back when everything Musk related was cool. Lance Ulanoff,
thanks so much for joining.
Still to come, the death toll from the Texas floods continues to rise. We're going to be live there as crews desperately search for the missing
with hope dwindling.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Jim Sciutto. Here are more international headlines we're watching today.
Sources tell CNN that Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth did not inform the White House before he halted weapons shipments to Ukraine last week. When asked
about it, President Trump said he has, quote, "not gotten into who authorized the pause." President now plans to send more weapons to Ukraine.
President Trump is threatening eight more trading partners with higher tariffs. He says in particular he's going to slap a 50 percent tariff on
Brazil. Why? Retaliation for the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro for attempting to stage a coup, allegedly. The Philippines, Sri Lanka,
Moldova, Brunei, Algeria, Libya, and Iraq all face tariffs as high as 30 percent.
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is back in jail over his brief declaration of martial law. A Seoul court approved a new warrant sought by
prosecutors, citing concerns he could attempt to destroy evidence. Yoon was ousted as president in April after a constitutional court upheld his
impeachment. He now faces charges of insurrection as well as other criminal offenses.
[18:35:00]
The death toll from those Texas floods ever rising. Now, up to at least 119. An urgent search is underway to find the more than 160 people still
missing. One official says it could take days, if not weeks, to complete that search.
Families and friends are remembering their lost loved ones. There are so many of them. Among them, Mexican couple, Jose Oliveira and Alicia Ramirez.
Jose described as the heart of a local Texas ranch where he worked.
CNN's Isabel Rosales is in Center Point, Texas. And, Isabel, first if I could ask you the latest on the search efforts there.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jim, you mentioned 160 people at least that are still missing here in Texas. All but 10 of them are out of Kerr
County. That's where I'm at right now. I'm in Center Point, just about 25 miles or so southeast of Hunt where you can see it's rather busy out here
in this RV resort. This is called the Guadalupe Keys RV Resort.
And I spoke to the owner of this camper who told me. He rushed once he saw how bad this thing was coming to try to save his camper. He couldn't make
it here in time. This camper has been here since the '80s. And down there I spoke to Drew, the owner of that trailer that rushed down from the flood
waters right into the banks over here. He said he woke up at 6:00 a.m. to loud knocks from his park manager, not from emergency alerts on his phone
saying they had to get out. He went out there door to door on over 12 trailers on his property, his busiest weekend out of the entire year,
telling these families to get out, Jim. He might have saved their lives. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY LEITHA, KERR COUNTY SHERIFF: Sometimes evacuations is not the safest. Sometimes it's better to shelter in place. The Hill Country is not
a one size fit all place.
ROSALES (voice-over): Local officials defending their team's actions today in flood ravaged Texas before facing heated questions from reporters and
promising that answers are coming.
LEITHA: We're in the process of trying to put a timeline. You know, that's going to take a little bit of time.
ROSALES (voice-over): CNN affiliate, KSAT, now reporting a firefighter in nearby Ingram, Texas requested the Kirk County Sheriff's Office issue a
code red nearly six hours passed until that code was issued. The sheriff asked today about that lapse in time.
LEITHA: I believe those questions need to be answered to the family of the missed loved ones, to the public. You know, to the people that put me in
this office. We're not running. We're not going to hide.
ROSALES (voice-over): Search and rescue teams are in day six of this exhaustive search, focusing now on combing through piles of debris looking
for victims.
KOURTNEY RAND, VOLUNTEER: We're getting down in places that normally people can't get to by foot, more harder terrain.
ROSALES (voice-over): Dozens of volunteers have joined state and local agencies coming out on foot, boat, ATVs, horses, and even mules who can
help carry heavy equipment. This volunteer talked to CNN about his reaction to seeing the damage when arriving to help.
DUSTIN BERTARO, MISSION MULES: The water damage, how high the water got on trees, the debris piles around like bridges and you know, parts of homes
and stuff like fridges or water heaters.
MICHAEL TOBERER, PRESIDENT, MISSION MULES: That amount of people getting taken like that just tells me that just nobody was ready for it.
ROSALES (voice-over): Yet, officials and the governor insists they were ready for it, and nobody's to blame. Governor Greg Abbott comparing it to a
football game when asked about it.
GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): Every football team makes mistakes. The losing teams are the ones that try to point out who's to blame.
ROSALES (voice-over): But some lawmakers disagree with that characterization.
REP. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-TX): This is not a game. People's lives are at stake. And the losers are the ones that don't learn from the mistakes, that
don't hold people accountable. In this case, I think there are accountable issues at every level of government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROSALES (on camera): And, Jim, what's been striking to these families that have been impacted here in Central Texas is the amount of strangers just
coming together here lending their hands, heavy machinery to help them clear out this debris, to help them try to turn a chapter in this horrible
moment. And of course, we can't lose track of the fact that there are so many still missing that they're looking out for, but you're really seeing a
community come together here to help one another.
And you might have rest recognized Mission Mules in our story here. That is the same Christian nonprofit that we saw last year helping out in Western
North Carolina during Hurricane Helene, now carrying heavy equipment to make sure that first responders can easily access this rough terrain and
look for the missing.
I was also taken by volunteers who have found, if not, remains at moments that have gripped them to the point where they're sobbing on their knees.
Also, mementos, pictures of children, of dance recitals, of birthdays and of weddings that they have turning it over to the local fire department,
hoping that the rightful owners of those pictures, of those memories can come back and pick them up and reclaim what is rightfully theirs. Jim.
[18:40:00]
SCIUTTO: Isabel, as you've been speaking to survivors there, do they express frustration with the lack of warning and even beyond that? Some of
the comments you've heard, for instance, from the Texas governor refusing, at least for now to be held accountable, right, for some of those failures.
ROSALES: Yes, and what we saw in the press conference with Kerr County officials yesterday was a deflection when we tried to get an understanding
of what they did in those hours between when the first alert, flood emergency alert came in, when they should have known something bad was
coming. And then when the river actually was started to flood homes, we saw to a total deflection.
But what's important here is that this is not just coming from us, the media. We heard members here, community members asking those very same
questions, could more have been done for those children over at Camp Mystic, for adults, for tourists who were here during this busy 4th of
July? They want an accounting of that timeline that we still don't have firmed up by officials. So, yes, we're going to keep pushing to get those
answers at the local, the state level, the national level. Jim.
SCIUTTO: Isabel Rosales, thanks so much for being down there. Well, President Trump says he believes Israel and Hamas are now, quote, "very
close" to reaching a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Washington met with the U.S. defense
secretary, as well as Republican lawmakers today, that follows two days of talks with President Trump.
Netanyahu pushed back on concerns about Palestinians being forced out of Gaza entirely, insisting they should have freedom of choice to leave.
Hospitals in Gaza warn that fuel shortages are forcing them to shut off lifesaving services there. Paula Hancocks has more. As so often we have to
warn you that this story from Gaza has disturbing images.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Four babies crammed into one ICU cot. The stark reality of trying to keep preterm
babies alive in a war zone where formula, medicine, and fuel have virtually run out.
DR. NASSER BULBUL, HEAD OF ICU, AL-HELOU HOSPITAL: But we have no incubators to keep this baby inside the incubator. So, put the baby for
more than one week in the (INAUDIBLE). Also, this acute baby in risk of complication because of the temperature control and the risk of getting
infection.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): 12 incubators In this ICU with 22 cases of extreme preterm babies. Dr. Bulbul says they have lost babies when the generators
break down.
Baby Asil (ph) was born three months early, weighing half a kilo. She needed two months in an incubator.
We all want our children to be safe, her mother says. If the power is cut off, these children will be in a dire situation. We need electricity to
power the incubators.
Hospitals across Gaza and the United Nations warn fuel shortages are at a critical point. Nasser Medical Complex warns it is 24 hours away from
disaster. If the power goes out, it says, dozens of patients face certain deaths.
This kidney dialysis center has been closed at Al-Shifa Hospital. It can only reopen once more fuel is delivered. We have asked COGAT, the Israeli
agency in charge of coordinating aid deliveries into Gaza, about the acute shortage of fuel for hospitals. And the daily fight for food becomes ever
more desperate.
JAMAL ABU HASIRA, GAZA CITY RESIDENT: Daily, I'm fighting this kind of starvation. And I barely get one meal for two days.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Chaos and desperation is clear to see at this Gaza city soup kitchen fear another day may pass with no food for themselves and
their families.
In the struggle, one girl spills boiling soup on her hands. Screams of shock and pain as she nurses the burns. Beyond her injury, she has lost her
food.
As ceasefire talks continue in Doha, dozens continue to be killed daily across Gaza. This the aftermath of a strike on a tent city in Gaza City.
Talk of progress in Qatar has no impact on life in Gaza.
ABU HASIRA: More than miserable, more than starvation, more than genocide. We are really living in hell. Really.
HANCOCKS (voice-over): Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:45:00]
SCIUTTO: More scenes of desperation in Gaza. We will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: In August, it will have been 80 years since the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima during World War II. Tens of
thousands of people were killed instantly. Many more died later from radiation exposure. As Hanako Montgomery reports, one Japanese researcher
is digging into the past to remind people today of the horror of nuclear weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANAKO MONTGOMERY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the island of Naoshima, researcher Rebun Kayo digs and sifts slowly, uncovering fragments
of human remains from the war that devastated Japan now 80 years ago,
After the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, on August 6, 1945, some 10,000 victims dead and dying were ferried to Naoshima. The
small island in Hiroshima Bay became a field hospital and then a mass grave.
REBUN KAYO, JAPANESE RESEARCHER (through translator): Boats piled with bodies came to the shore here. Then the soldiers dug a hole and buried them
here, one after the other.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): One day, Kayo plans to bring the bone fragments he collects to a Buddhist temple to be enshrined.
KAYO (through translator): The bones in here, they haven't been treated humanely for 80 years. It'll be 80 years this year. They've been buried in
the earth like their objects.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): Kayo has been coming here for years, driven by the loss of three members of his own family killed during World War II,
whose remains were never recovered. Now, he searches through the ground to bring dignity to others and to have a reminder of the effects of nuclear
war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): People today who don't know about the war focus only on the recovery of Japan, and they move the conversation
forward while forgetting about these people here. In the end, it becomes like even if you drop an atomic bomb, you can recover. That's why there
will be people who think it's OK to drop the bomb again. There will always be people who try to justify it in a way that suits them.
MONTGOMERY (voice-over): For Kayo, this is not an act of archeology, but remembrance.
Hanako Montgomery, CNN, Tokyo.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[18:50:00]
SCIUTTO: 80 years since that day. Still ahead, in sports, a big shakeup in Formula 1 racing. Details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: Christian Horner is no longer with Red Bull Formula 1 Racing. He was fired on Wednesday after 20 years with the team. Red Bull did not give
a reason for sacking its CEO and team principal, though it thanked Horner for his work. Under his leadership, Red Bull Racing won numerous titles and
more than 120 Grand Prix. Patrick Snell joins us now. So, tell us what the backstory is.
PATRICK SNELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Hi, Jim. Yes, no reason, but a thank you. Look, I will say Christian Horner's time at Red Bull absolutely dominated
with massive success. No question about that. They did thank the 51-year- old via a statement. He had been in charge since they became an F1 team, really, that was 20 years ago to this year.
During the Brits time in charge, Red Bull massive success, as I said, six constructors championships, eight drivers championships as well. Most
recently with Max Verstappen winning four straight. Before that, Sebastian Vettel earlier during his tenure.
His time with Red Bull, though, I will say, had been controversial, Jim. Red Bull launched an independent investigation in February of last year
after Horner was accused of engaging in inappropriate behavior towards a member of the racing team who was not been identified. Horner was later
cleared of wrongdoing and reiterated his denial of the allegations after alleged leaked messages were distributed to members of the F1 community via
Google Drive. CNN unable to corroborate those messages and their authenticity. Red Bull previously saying it would be inappropriate to
comment further on them as well.
But what's next? What comes next for this story team? Well, Laurent Mekies, the Frenchman who works for Red Bull sister team Racing Bulls will replace
Horner as team principal and CEO. And I think, Jim, one of the biggest things on his entre and his inbox, if you like, will be the future of the
team superstar driver, who I mentioned, Verstappen, Max Verstappen, because there are rumors ongoing that Verstappen could leave Red Bull at the end of
the season. Verstappen has been linked, I will say, with a move to big rivals Mercedes, despite having a contract with Red Bull until 2028. The
Dutch driver though repeatedly turning down the opportunity to comment further on his future. So, we'll see. It's fascinating. We'll see what
comes next, Jim. Back to you.
SCIUTTO: All right. In other sports news, final set now for the FIFA Club World Cup. Paris Saint-Germain booking their spot. I mean, just pretty
dominant over at Real Madrid.
SNELL: Yes, they were. They were very dominant to the tune of 4-nil in New Jersey on Wednesday. Jim, I'm looking forward to going to the final. It
should be a great final. They're taking on England's Chelsea in the final.
But this was just very one sided from start to finish. And that's very, very rare to say that Real Madrid get heavily beaten, but they were on this
occasion.
[18:55:00]
Paris Saint-Germain, the reigning European champions, you know, they won that final against Inter Milan, very emphatically 5-nil. Now, they go and
win this one, 4-nil. They were three 3-up, Jim, within the first 24 minutes of play. Ousmane Dembele has been scoring goals for fun, and he was at it
again there on Wednesday.
So, now it all comes down to the final against Chelsea. This is their fourth goal. This was the pick of the bunch. Any one of a number of PSG
players could have put this one in the back of the net. In the end, it was Goncalo Ramos, the Portuguese, who makes it 4-nil, very close to the end.
And we were all very moved by his celebration there because he dedicates that goal to the late Diogo Jota who passed away last week. So, emotional
scenes there.
But they're through to the final. They'll take on Chelsea, Jim. And I will tell you this, they're going to start take some stopping in that kind of
form. Back to you.
SCIUTTO: And you made us jealous by saying you're going to the final. It's just not fair.
SNELL: Come along as well. We'll get you in, maybe.
SCIUTTO: Patrick Snell, thanks so much. And thanks so much all of you for your company. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. You've been watching "The
Brief." Please do stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
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