At Least 95 People Killed In Catastrophic Texas Floods

25:22We'll take a look. Stay with us.

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26:18Lincoln Rejuvenate does not operate unless the vehicle is in park, when the vehicle is off, or if any door is open. Do not use the feature in a closed garage or in other enclosed areas. See owner's manual for important operating instructions.

26:30And our money lead, the U.S. stock market just had its worst day in three weeks after President Trump announced a 25 % tariff on Japan and South Korea, set to go into effect August 1st. This comes as a self-imposed deadline for a deal was set to elapse this week. Today's announcement was soon followed by a flurry of letters warning of possible higher tariff rates to other countries, such as Myanmar and Malaysia and Kazakhstan and Laos and South Africa, posted on the president's social media account. Let's bring in the political panel to discuss. Scott, today White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt was asked if there's any concern that world leaders will not take these new tariff threats seriously because deadlines keep shifting.

27:13I mean, there was this 90 deals in 90 days thing that is no longer fully operative, not the 90 days part of it anyway. Here's what Levitt had to say. They will take the letters seriously because they have taken the president seriously. And that's why the president's phone, I can tell you, rings off the hook from world leaders all the time who are begging him to come to a deal. And this administration is working hard to ensure those deals are in the best interest of the American people. And this delay, again, is in the best interest of the American people. I mean, he's the one that said 90 deals in 90 days.

27:49It wasn't us in the media. Your take? Well, they have to take us seriously because for all these countries, we're the most important thing they have going. And so they have to take it seriously. And I assume the president here is trying to goose conversations along. And I hope that he does. Some of these countries are basically irrelevant. You know, Kazakhstan, whatever. Some of them are more relevant. But you're going to hear from the Kazakhs on the show. I know. Keep going. Very nice. But look, the president has a theory on the tariffs here, has brought in money into the country. It did create leverage for some other trade deals.

28:24And if you look at the totality of what's happened over the last several weeks and several months, the market's up. We've got a lot of investment flowing into the country. Back in my home state of Kentucky, in fact, GE announced they were bringing a bunch of jobs back because of the policy environment created by the tariffs. So, you know, there's good things going on economically in the country, which is a big part of why I think the president's had a fairly successful six months. So, Megan, you know, we talk to a small business owner every day. We try to. And the one thing we hear all the time is just that this instability and security, the unsureness is just wreaking havoc on the ability of small business owners just to plan.

29:01Yeah, I think we saw that people bought goods in anticipation of the tariffs. And now those goods are eventually going to run out. So prices will start to rise. I think the Wall Street has dubbed him taco, where Trump always chickens out. So I think that that's just more emblematic of this, and it creates chaos. I don't disagree that it does move some talks along, but I do think that it's interesting that we can't seem to get deals done with the bigger countries and our bigger trading partners, and he seems to keep kicking the can down the road. So, and these tariffs are just one of the reasons why there has been this public divorce between Elon Musk, the former first buddy, and President Trump, Shortly after President Trump signed the one big, beautiful bill act into law, Musk said he's trading in his MAGA cap.

29:44He's going to create a whole new political party. He posted on his social media platform, X, quote, when it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom. President Trump responded yesterday saying, I am saddened to watch Elon Musk go completely off the rails, essentially becoming a train wreck over the past five weeks. Scott, yesterday you said that you thought that the America Party, assuming that it actually becomes something, would divide conservatives and you urged the two to reconcile.

30:21You think that's possible? I mean, Musk's still out there tweeting about the Epstein files and such, the insinuation being that Trump is on the Epstein files because he said that a few weeks ago. Yeah, I don't know whether it's possible or not. I hope it is and hope springs eternal where I come from. But I wish they would come back together and I wish Elon, who I admire greatly and I think was a big part of what happened for the Republicans in 2024, would realize we live in a two-party system. And, you know, from time to time, people try to go off and start these third parties and never really works out.

30:53And the best way to affect change in American politics is to participate inside the party that best reflects what you want. As I understand it, Elon wants to save the country from going bankrupt and he wants to save Western civilization from unfettered mass migration. It's the Republicans that best represent him. This is the platform. Musk reposted this from a user who asked, is this the America Party platform? And then listed the following priorities. And Musk replied, yeah. So I assume this is the platform. Reduce debt, responsible spending only, modernize military with AI and robotics, pro-tech accelerate to win in AI, less regulation across the board, but especially in energy, free speech, pro-natalist, which is policy that would promote higher birth rates, and centrist policies everywhere else.

31:39It's a lot of yada, yada, yada. He's a Republican. He's a Republican. He's a Republican. He's a Republican. He sounds like a tech bro is what it sounds like. Yeah, he needs to be focused on his business. I mean, his stock dropped 6.8 % today when he announced this party, or in the last couple of days when he announced this party. I think that I agree with Scott that we are a two-party system. Ask people who voted for Jill Stein and ask people who voted for Ross Perot. Those did not work out in the favors that they wanted them to. And so I do think that he should probably focus on business and not be meddling in politics.

32:02Governing is a lot harder than campaigning. Megan Hayes and Scott Jennings, thanks to both of you. Appreciated the Trump Justice Department back in court today defending cuts to USAID. This is we're getting a firsthand account of the devastating impact of those cuts in one specific war-torn country. Stay with us.

32:20And our world lead, the U.S. Justice Department argued in federal court earlier today that the Trump administration's decision to not spend money appropriated by Congress to USAID contractors is not a sign of a constitutional crisis. The U.S. Agency for International Development officially shuttered last week after Elon Musk's doge stripped its funding. A new study reveals nearly 14 million deaths worldwide could come over the next five years as a result of the agency's closing. The Washington Post's Catherine Harald joins me now to discuss the country that could be extremely impacted, Sudan. Catherine, thanks so much for joining us.

33:01As you dive into your reporting, Sudan, home to the largest humanitarian crisis in the world, according to the United Nations right now, because they're embroiled in civil war. Tell us what life has been like there for the past few years and what USAID has been doing until the recent actions by the Trump administration. Well, the civil war has completely devastated the country. Fighting broke out in the capital city and towns and cities across the nation almost simultaneously. The health care system has been destroyed. They're spreading pockets of famine. You have cholera outbreaks and other communicable diseases everywhere.

33:44And USAID has been providing food and medicine, support for shelter, kits for rape victims to stop them from getting pregnant and getting HIV, support for refugees that were caught up in the fighting. And all of that is in danger. You write about a mother and her seven children who relied on a single meal from a soup kitchen that received funding from USAID. quote, when the stop work order came in January, Fadul said almost all the soup kitchens in her neighborhood shut down overnight, so her children starved, unquote. And in fact, her 18-month-old daughter and her three-year-old son both died of starvation and malnutrition.

34:29Do families who experience these deaths that are obviously preventable, do they see the United States as the cause of their deaths? What do they say about the sudden shift in access to nutrition? They don't always understand that the funding has been coming from the United States. They just knew that the only thing that was keeping their children alive disappeared with no warning. These soup kitchens were right on the front lines across the country, and USAID provided 77 % of their funding. And for a lot of the people that used them, that was the only way that they could get food. And the worst thing was talking to this woman who lost two of her children was that there was nowhere that she could go get food.

35:16Ten children in her neighborhood she knew of died. She said, I couldn't ask the neighbors for anything because they didn't have anything. Sudan, as you noted, is also experiencing a severe cholera outbreak. What are physicians and health officials there saying about the outlook when it comes to the health of the country now that the U.S. has stopped sending medical aid to the region? So unfortunately, the vast majority of Sudan's health care systems have been destroyed. Hospitals have been attacked and bombed, doctors kidnapped, tortured and killed. the USAID was funding things like disease surveillance teams so they could quickly act if cases of cholera were reported those unfortunately have been cut help for things like chlorinating water so that people wouldn't come down with this deadly disease has been cut the cholera wards were overflowing with you know sick people and bodily fluids people on the floor several people to a bed, people hooked up to IVs outside.

36:23Kind of pretty, very disturbing scenes there. Is there any other country that's able to step up to fill this desperate need for aid that has been left by the demolition of U.S. aid? Unfortunately not. Russia doesn't really do humanitarian aid. China does commercial loans. U.S. aid was not the largest donor per capita, but in terms of dollar amounts, it certainly was. And the swiftness with which everything was suddenly cut off meant it was really hard for anybody else to fill the gap, even if they'd been inclined to do so, which unfortunately, a lot of nations have followed the U.S. lead and cut their foreign aid budgets.

37:08Catherine Harald, thank you so much for your time and for your journalism. Really appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up, she was accused of serving a poisoned lunch, and now a jury has served its verdict in the mushroom murder trial. The details next.

37:32In our world lead, we head to Australia for a verdict in the mushroom murder trial. A jury has found Aaron Patterson guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. After hearing nine weeks' worth of testimony, Patterson was accused of deliberately killing three of her relatives with a meal made of, in part, a poisonous death cap mushroom baked into a beef wellington, which you can see being photographed in this newly released court evidence. CNN's Ivan Watson brings us this story. Australian mother of two, Erin Patterson, killed her estranged husband's parents and his aunt and hospitalized his uncle, all with a meal of beef wellington containing toxic death cap mushrooms.

38:20And now, after a 10-week trial that captivated Australia and the world, a jury has decided she poisoned them on purpose. In July 2023, Patterson hosted four people for lunch at her home in the Australian town of Leongatha. Dawn and Gail Patterson, her former in-laws, died in the days after. Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, also died. Heather's husband, Ian Wilkinson, spent weeks in a hospital fighting the poison and survived. Patterson's estranged husband, Simon, had turned down the invitation. Erin Patterson took herself to the hospital after the meal, but was never as sick as the others. In court, she said, it was because she didn't eat much of the lunch and threw up afterwards because she binged on dessert.

39:09Lunch that day was individually portioned beef wellingtons, steak and mushroom pate wrapped in pastry. Patterson says she flavored the food with dried mushrooms, which she thought had come from a grocer, but might have collected and dehydrated herself as part of her hobby of picking wild mushrooms. The dehydrator machine was later found in a dumpster, with Patterson's fingerprints and traces of the death caps inside. Patterson admitted she had disposed of it in a panic and lied to police about ever owning it. The court heard evidence that in the months before the meal, Patterson may have been in a location where death caps grow.

39:52The defense argued the poisoned meal was a terrible accident and that Patterson had no motive to kill the victims on purpose. Ultimately, prosecutors were able to convince the jury with their argument that Patterson purposely hunted for death caps and then cooked them with the intention to kill her children's only grandparents and her ex-husband's aunt and uncle. Jake, in court, the prosecutor accused Erin Patterson of fabricating a pretext for inviting her in-laws to the deadly lunch, basically lying that she had a cancer diagnosis. And the prosecutor also accused her of trying to cover up the poisoning and, in fact, pretending that she, too, had been poisoned.

40:37We don't know what swung the jury, but in the end, it was a unanimous decision by all 12 jurors after six days of deliberations. And now Patterson has 28 days to appeal the guilty verdict. Jake. All right, Ivan Watson, thank you so much. Appreciate it. Questions in Texas over whether warnings were communicated effectively as the death toll from the flash floods there continues to rise. We're going to talk with a former administrator of FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, next.

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42:03Lincoln Rejuvenate does not operate unless the vehicle is in park. When the vehicle is off or if any door is open, do not use the feature in a closed garage or in other enclosed areas. See owner's manual for important operating instructions.

42:16Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. For this hour, Texas is bracing for even more rain as rescuers are still desperately searching for survivors. After those catastrophic flash floods in central Texas that began Friday morning and that have killed at least 90 people, including 27 children at a summer camp. Plus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to arrive at the White House any minute now as the U.S. continues to push for a ceasefire deal in the Middle East, which seems to be closer now than it has been in months, or so we're told. And the Department of Justice and the FBI conclude officially that Jeffrey Epstein did not even have a so-called client list.

42:55Why is the move putting the Trump administration at odds with some of the president's most loyal supporters? This is CNN Breaking News. Our lead tonight, urgent search operations underway right now for at least 24 missing people, almost half of them children in parts of Texas after that disastrous flooding killed at least 95 people over the July 4th holiday weekend. 27 of those killed in the floods. are campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp that sits along the Guadalupe River. This is the threat of more rain and flash floods looms. CNN's Ed Levanderas in Kerrville, Texas, and neighboring Kerr County.

43:38Ed?

43:41Well, Jake, all across the miles and miles of the Guadalupe River search teams continue to fan out across the region, looking for those missing victims of the flash floods from early Friday morning on July 4th. We're here along the banks of the Guadalupe River where there's a team that is out on the water right now doing that painstaking work. We caught up with one of these teams as they talked about how they feel the weight of the pressure knowing that there are so many families counting on this work that's being done right here, Jake, to bring them the answers and the closure they so desperately want.

44:19At this point, I know that the hope of finding someone alive is very, very low. Does that make your job harder? There's always hope. I've done this long enough. I've found people four days later and 20 foot up in a tree, clinging to the tree, dehydrated. It's our job never to assume or never presume that somebody's deceased. We're out here trying to find everybody alive. And if we find them deceased, then we respectfully and with dignity recover them. But we never will presume they're dead. We work the same as if every one of them is alive out there waiting for us to save them.

45:04And Jake Stovall there is with a volunteer search and rescue group. They've got a team of nine people out here with a boat searching. And they said that they will be here until every last victim or survivor is found out here along the banks of the Guadalupe River, Jake. So it is painstaking work at this point because there's so much debris that has been pushed downstream by these floodwaters. And that is what these crews are having to go through to find people at this point. Ed, what are you learning about those who have tragically died in this horrific flooding as well as those still missing?

45:43Well, it's just absolutely painful and gut-wrenching. There are dozens and dozens of victims that we've been able to confirm at this point. And one of the themes, and I think the thing that kind of connects everyone, is that they were all brought to the Guadalupe River because this was a place that so many of them found peace and comfort and enjoyment. The young kids that have spent generations coming to Camp Mystic as well as all the other summer camps that are dotted along the Guadalupe River. Other families that came to spend the July 4th weekend in cabins and campgrounds and RV parks all up and down the river as well.

46:22And that's like, you know, one of the things that kind of ties all of these people together, that it was this river being along the banks out here in nature is one of the things that connects all of these victims. Jake? All right. I love Endera in Kerrville, Texas. Thanks so much. Let's turn now to CNN meteorologist Chris Warren at CNN's Weather Center. Chris, what was the forecast which led to this catastrophic flooding? And when were warnings actually going out to people? Well, the forecast was calling for the potential. It was there for some flash flooding. Now, to see what happened actually happen, that is unimaginable.

46:58And that's really a tough forecast. In fact, the forecast has to be happening essentially while the event is ongoing. It's called now casting. So I want to walk you through, Jake, the timing of this, how it played out. By Thursday, there was enough going on in the atmosphere to say, hey, flash flooding is a possibility. So a flood watch was issued. Conditions were favorable for that. And then 1 o 'clock in the morning, and keep an eye on these times. 1 o 'clock in the morning, a flash flood warning was issued with the language, life-threatening flash flooding. That triggers the emergency alert system.

47:33If your phone had the right checks, able to receive that, and you're able to get a signal, you would get the alert on your phone at that time. Flash flood emergencies issued at 4.03. In that time, between 1 and 3, the water was rising from below flood stage to a two-story house. So that was the time frame right in there. And remember, the National Weather Service has to see enough evidence on radar to issue this, right? Not this, that's conditions favorable, the watch, but to issue this, it's looking at the radar, seeing the rainfall rates are really high. This is not looking good. We've got to issue these warnings.

48:08So it's while it's raining. So while it is happening, they're looking at this. So this is how it played out here in Kerrville. Again, the timing, 11 o 'clock in the evening, okay? It's not quite raining here in the Guadalupe drainage basin, the river here in the South Fork and North Fork. Put this in motion. Now midnight, now it's raining. 1 o 'clock in the morning, life-threatening warning issued. Emergency alerts should be going off at this point. Again, if your phone's dialed in for that and still raining. And you look at the timing here, a few hours later, from around midnight to 4 o 'clock in the morning, oftentimes thunderstorms last minutes, not hours.

48:47And this was an intense storm that lasted a few hours. In fact, it rained for several hours even afterward. This was a system that stalled out, dumped a lot of water very fast, Jake. And you can see right here a huge rise in the river again below a flood stage to a two story house in just a few hours. All right, Chris Warren, thanks so much. We have a tragic update in our breaking news. The death toll in the Texas floods has now risen to 104, 104 people. I want to bring in former FEMA administrator during the Biden administration, Deanne Criswell. Administrator Criswell, thanks for joining us.

49:25So various parts of Texas experienced major flooding during your time as FEMA Administrator. Did you ever have any discussions with officials in Texas or specifically Central Texas about preparedness, about evacuation plans, about mitigation when it comes to these flash floods, which are frequent in the general region? Jake, those are the kinds of conversations that happened with our regional administrator. So region six has Texas as part of its area of responsibility. They work side by side with the state and the whole community to build this preparedness plan. All right, I'm not sure if it's my audio or the audio on your end control room, but I couldn't hear that very well, but in any case, let me move on.

50:16A decorated military leader and leading expert in search and rescue operations, retired Lieutenant General Russell Honore, told CNN earlier today that the language around alert systems and evacuation need to change. Take a listen. We need to improve the communications in those isolated areas, particularly those recreational areas. because the same thing happened in 1987 in the same area where this flood happened, along the Guadalupe, where 10 people died from a flash flood. He referenced the 1987 deadly flooding that also happened along the Guadalupe River. I think 10 campers died. Do you believe that this latest tragedy could have been prevented if steps had been taken?

51:04Jake, I think that what we're seeing is these storms continue to increase in intensity and do things that we have not seen them do in the past. And one of the most important things that communities can do is figure out how are you going to communicate to the communities when one of these threats happen. Time is everything. And sometimes, as you saw here, it's a very short period of time. And so we always have to be working alongside state and local officials to figure out the best way to get these messages out and to get people to safety. And some of the programs that are available are like our mitigation programs that FEMA has to help fund early warning systems because they can be cost prohibitive in some of these smaller jurisdictions.

51:49And so there's going to be a lot of time to look at how we can improve and what things can be done for the future. The focus right now needs to continue to be in that area. I'm trying to find those remaining people that are missing. Those first responders are working so hard day and night to make sure that they can account for everybody in that community. So at least 75 people died in Kerr County alone. And there are a lot of questions as to why Kerr County officials never implemented an enhanced flood warning system with sirens. Did you ever hear any complaints about lack of funding or grants being denied when it came to implementing such measures?

52:26I personally didn't hear any of that. But back to kind of my first question, the first question that you couldn't hear, the regional administrator, those are the regions, those are the ones that are working closely with states, emergency management offices, as well as local on their preparedness plans, understanding what their needs are, and taking and providing that assistance to help them apply for some of these grants. And so they that's why we have 10 regions. And that's why they work so closely with them to help them through all of these preparedness efforts, because the storms are changing.

52:58Communities are going to need this kind of information to be able to protect their citizens. Last month, President Trump said that he was going to phase out the existence of FEMA after this year's hurricane season. A reporter asked him about this on Sunday. Take a listen.

53:14Are you still planning to phase out FEMA? Well, FEMA is something we can talk about later, but right now they're busy working, so we'll leave it at that. What did you make of that? Well, I think what we're seeing in Texas, Texas is a very capable state. I've worked with the governor, I've worked with Chief Kidd, and they have a lot of resources. But when you see something like this, you understand that even a state like Texas can possibly need help. And if this were a smaller state with less resources, you might be in a very different situation. I don't think that you can replicate everything that the federal government brings to the table at every individual state level.

53:59Those economies of scale that you get from a federal coordinated support are really going to be critical to help these states in times like this, when we don't know if it's going to happen every month, every year, maybe every other year. I think the federal government has a role to play. I think the conversation needs to be what problems are we trying to fix and what's the best way to do that. Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, thank you so much. Appreciate your time. Coming up, the dramatic video showing just how quickly these floodwaters rose on Friday morning. I'm going to speak to one woman whose son survived at one Kirk County camp.

54:34And later, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will arrive at the White House soon for dinner with President Trump. Will the two be able to come to terms on a ceasefire deal?

54:48Continuing with our national lead, the updated death toll from the Texas floods now stands at 104. Dramatic video shows just how quickly the normally sedate and quiet rivers turned into raging torrents. Here you see the white leading edge of a surge of floodwaters. This is from Friday in Center Point, Texas. And then look at how quickly the river overflows its banks. And as the water surges on with a force that would be irresistible for anyone on foot or in a car. This is in real time. Now we're going to look at these sped up pictures. In less than 30 minutes Friday, the floodwaters engulf this road and overflowed riverbanks.

55:28The water rising higher and higher. That's in less than 30 minutes. And yet, rescuers ventured out and onto the swiftly flowing water, the rapids in the darkness of night, guided only by floodlights. This video is from Marble Falls, Texas, where a rescue team found two people clinging to a tree, brought them to safety. Even when the water calmed down, it didn't go down. Helicopters had to be called in to lift people off of rooftops. And this has been going on all weekend. These pictures are from Sunday. A helicopter hovering over floodwaters, lowering another rescuer. Among those who are safe today because of the valiant efforts of all these first responders and volunteers are Kelly Rabon's two sons, 9-year-old Brayden, who's joining us right now.

56:12Yes, Brayden, we're talking about you right now. And 7-year-old Brock. They were at Camp La Junta. And Kelly and Brayden join us now. Kelly, I mean, thank God. I'm so glad that your boys are okay. where were they specifically when the flood hit? So when the flood hit, of course, as a parent four hours away, I had no idea at the time, but since I've come to learn that Brock was in the most low lying cabin. So Brock just finished kindergarten and was coupled with probably a dozen other boys his age and maybe two counselors. and they were in kind of a larger cabin separated into three sub cabins.

56:59Well, because it was the closest and the lowest to the river, it took on water quite quickly. And as you saw in those images, when that wall of water came through, it was quite dramatic. 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. So, you know, heroic of those, you know, of those counselors and quick thinking. Meanwhile, the cabin kind of started to deteriorate around them. Where were you when the flood hit and how did you find out they were they were safe? So I was in Houston where where we live and I started to get periodic text messages from Camp LaHunta sent just to all the parents with with children there.

58:04They were brief, but they let us know that there had been a flood and that they had lost power and lost cell service and lost Wi-Fi and water, but were keeping the boys safe. Now, while that sounds promising, it still doesn't give you much detail, especially as it.

58:28Well, we lost Kelly. Well, there's rain in the region. Our thanks to Kelly, our thanks to Brayden, our thanks to them and the whole family. And, of course, our hearts go out to all the families affected by this. Kelly, wherever you are, thank you so much for talking to us. You too, Brayden. Coming up, Prime Minister Netanyahu is set to arrive at the White House any minute now. Will they be able to come to an agreement on a ceasefire deal? That's next.

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59:37Experience a gentle massage, expansive visuals, and digital sense to help you relax in the driver's seat. It's your time for a reset. Visit Lincoln.com to learn more. Lincoln Rejuvenate does not operate unless the vehicle is in park, when the vehicle is off, or if any door is open. Do not use the feature in a closed garage or in other enclosed areas. See owner's manual for important operating instructions. And we're back with our breaking news on those horrific floods in Texas that have killed at least 104 people. That number updated. We have our comms back, so let's continue our discussion with Kelly Rabon and her 9-year-old son, Brayden.

1:00:10Brayden and his little brother Brock were at Camp La Junta during the floods and were successfully evacuated. Kelly, how are you doing? How's your family doing? How's Brock doing? How's Brayden doing? Are you getting everything you need? we're getting everything we need but at this point i think we are still in the early processing stages of just coming to terms with what happened and the gravity of the situation and uh the emotions and the stages that are you know expected in some kind of trauma although it's it's nothing that you can possibly expect or anticipate as a parent you just wing it one day at a time.

1:00:53But we're really looking forward also to being able to utilize some of the amazing resources, therapeutic and counseling resources that have so generously volunteered their services to all of the victims of these floods. Braden, I'm just gonna ask you one quick question. This must have been really scary. You and your little brother, Brock, must be pretty brave. Well, really, I was more worried about Brock than myself because I didn't really know what was going on. I just knew that the Guadalupe Bay River had overflowed a little bit. And I didn't know if my brother was okay. I didn't see him until we met with our parents at a church in Kerrville.

1:01:42And, yeah, I was just more worried about him than myself. Oh, he sounds like you're a really good brother.

1:01:51Well, Kelly, you must be pretty. Yeah, and then actually. Go ahead. Yes, and actually seeing the devastation, I think, as you guys were evacuated out of the camp, that put it into a whole different perspective. It did. Well, God bless you, Kelly, Braden, and to Brock as well. We're so glad you guys are okay. What a horrible, horrible, horrible situation. Thanks for talking to us. Thank you. Thank you. Turning now to our world lead any moment, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to arrive at the White House for a private dinner with President Trump. The visit comes after some positive momentum on a ceasefire and hostage deal negotiation between Israel and Hamas and the joint U.S.-Israeli operation last month that struck Iran's major nuclear facilities.

1:02:39Sinan's, Caitlin Collins is at the White House. And Kaitlin, President Trump promised to be, quote, very firm with Netanyahu. What does President Trump want to get out of Netanyahu's visit? Yeah, Jake, and I should note, we're not actually going to see what happens during that meeting between President Trump and the Israeli prime minister because it's happening behind closed doors tonight. The Israeli prime minister is staying right across the street at the Blair House where foreign leaders stay for visits like this. There's actually some protesters outside a few dozen of the Blair House right now protesting the Israeli prime minister's visit to Washington here right now.

1:03:12But in a few moments, he'll come over here to the White House in a car and have that meeting behind closed doors with President Trump. And of course, we know what is going to be discussed here, Jake. The future of the war in Gaza is top of mind for both parties here. And the president has said he does believe that they are closer to a ceasefire in Gaza than they have been in months. But we've seen these negotiations before get close to the end and then be derailed by something, whether that be demands from Hamas or sticking points for the Israeli government. And so obviously everyone's watching it very closely to see what happens there, because we're already seeing some obstacles be thrown up, some challenges when it comes to Hamas saying they want to have a permanent end to this war.

1:03:51And the prime minister of Israel saying that the IDF reserves the right to try to eliminate Hamas's capabilities, period, at governing in Gaza. So there are real questions about what this is going to look like. And this is the third visit that we've seen from the prime minister, Jake, since Trump took office just for the second term. And obviously just talking about that, talking about Israel normalized relations potentially with other countries. Also the strikes on Iran that were conducted by Israel and then in conjunction with the United States. Those are all big subjects that are going to be discussed as the prime minister is spending several days here in Washington.

1:04:28after getting here overnight at about 1 a.m. That includes a meeting with Steve Whitcoff, the Middle East envoy of President Trump's, and also the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who is also the acting national security advisor. The question is whether or not they get to an agreement and a ceasefire that they could announce while he is still here in Washington, Jake, as there are still hostages who are being held in Gaza. All of that is on the table as these two leaders are going to meet behind closed doors in just a few moments from now. All right, Caitlin Collins, thanks so much. Don't miss Caitlin on her show, The Source, with Caitlin Collins.

1:05:02That's tonight and every weeknight at 9 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now live from Tel Aviv. And Jeremy, what are Israeli officials telling you about the status of any ceasefire negotiations? Well, Jake, even as Prime Minister Netanyahu said over the weekend that the changes that Hamas was seeking to this agreement were, quote, unacceptable, he still sent a negotiating team to Doha to try and iron out those differences. And indeed, Israeli officials are indicating to me that they don't believe that the differences between Israel and Hamas right now are totally something that can't be bridged.

1:05:43In fact, there is there is quite a bit of optimism that those differences can be bridged. But at the same time, it is important to acknowledge that even as Israel and Hamas are closer than they have been since the last ceasefire collapsed to yet another deal, there is still the possibility of talks collapsing. And that's because there are still major differences that do remain between the two sides. We understand that they are discussing everything now from the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza, the timetable and lines to which Israeli troops would withdraw during this 60-day ceasefire, even issues about the swaps of hostages for Palestinian prisoners.

1:06:20But the fact that we now know that Steve Whitcoff, President Trump's special envoy, will be traveling to the region after meeting today with Prime Minister Netanyahu suggests two things. On the one hand, that the Americans are really trying to make an effort here to get this across the finish line this week. On the other hand, it also signals that perhaps there are major differences that require a senior official like Steve Whitcoff to travel to the region and to actually get involved in the negotiations directly. But beyond the negotiations happening in Doha, Prime Minister Netanyahu's dinner with President Trump tonight is going to be critical, not only to this Gaza ceasefire deal, to the release of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza, but of course to everything else that comes along with it that may be necessary for Prime Minister Netanyahu to move towards an end of the war.

1:07:07And when I'm talking about that, I'm talking about everything else happening in the region, the potential normalization agreements that are on the table above all. Jake? Well, Jeremy, there was a ceasefire and hostage deal in January, but it broke down after phase one. Does this moment we're in right now feel any different? You know, it certainly does. And it's not that I can point to anything tangible at this point, other than the sense of momentum and President Trump's real energy behind this ceasefire leading to an end of the war in Gaza. And we have seen President Trump, particularly right as that 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran was ending, really put some pressure on Prime Minister Netanyahu when he felt like he needed to.

1:07:53And so now, as Prime Minister Netanyahu is facing some opposition from right-wing allies in his government towards ending the war, the Prime Minister himself has yet to commit to actually reaching that end goal. There's no question that real pressure from President Trump, if indeed it comes, would be very meaningful in this moment. And just a note about the families of the hostages who are watching this all unfold and watching this temporary ceasefire seemingly in the making. Many of them are also concerned that a partial deal will only bring some of the hostages back. Many of them want to see all the hostages come home and an end to the war in Gaza.

1:08:32Jake? All right, Jeremy Diamond in Israel, thanks so much. Coming up, the Department of Justice and the FBI have closed their inquiry into the affairs of Jeffrey Epstein. They say there's no evidence that he kept a client list, that he definitely killed himself, he was not murdered. Lots of MAGA supporters are very upset. We'll discuss.

1:09:00Back with our law and justice lead and Elon Musk's favorite story, a new Justice Department memo reveals that the Justice Department has no evidence that convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein blackmailed powerful people or kept a client list or was murdered in prison. The memo, first reported by Axios, is a sharp turn from the Trump administration's insistence that there was much more to uncover. Even Attorney General Pam Bondi pushed that theory while in office. Take a look. The DOJ may be releasing the list of Jeffrey Epstein's clients. Will that really happen? It's sitting on my desk right now to review.

1:09:44That's been a directive by President Trump. But today, the White House says she didn't really mean to suggest that the list itself was on her desk. She was saying 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. Joining us now to discuss CNN's Evan Pettis and Axios is Alex Eisenstadt who broke the story on Axios and Alex I have to say I'm with the people that still have questions about this I kind of don't buy the nothing to see here and I don't know that the Justice Department helped their case they released this video let's show it it shows no one entered the area surrounding Epstein's cell in the hours before he died but there's something significant about this videotape.

1:10:38What is it? Well, here's one thing that some people on the internet are picking up on, which is that there is about a minute missing between 11.58 p.m., 58 seconds and 12 a.m., the night that Epstein was apparently killed or died. And so... The official story is that he died by suicide. That's what then-Trump Attorney General Bill Barr said a few years ago. Right. So And so now there are, you know, it's going to intensify more conspiracy theories about what happened the night of Epstein's death. And, of course, you have the DOJ and FBI now, which are trying to extinguish a lot of these conspiracy theories.

1:11:20But that's not happened today online. If you look at the MAGAverse, they're inflamed about this. Well, I mean, no offense to Dan Bongino and Cash Patel and Pam Bondi, but they had a hand in igniting some of these conflagrations. I mean, in February, the White House invited these conservative MAGA influencers to get a first look at the declassified documents related to the Epstein case. Look at that. All those binders. They gave them binders that said Epstein files, phase one. and Evan at the time you wrote that this is something of a self-own for the Justice Department why? It absolutely was those binders those documents in those binders all of that was public for years and that's what the influencers found out when they opened it up they're like wait a minute all this stuff has been out there and the Justice Department could have helped themselves and perhaps reduce the embarrassment if they had just picked up the phone and talked to some of the prosecutors in New York and some of the FBI agents who had done this case, and they could have told them all of this stuff has been out there.

1:12:29But you know why they didn't do that is because they fired all these people. So they didn't have anybody to talk to, right? And so, you know, this is something that they have absolutely fanned. And so now they own this. And that is part of the problem here. And they've been struggling with what to do about this, Jake, for some time, because agents spent overnight shifts redacting these documents. and then what they ended up with were pages that were filled with blackout. They cannot release it because it would re-victimize some of the victims. Under federal law, there's a Privacy Act. So that's what they were facing.

1:13:02They were realizing that they were going to release a bunch of black pages that would have only fanned the conspiracy. And Alex, a lot of people in the MAGA world are very upset, very disappointed with Attorney General Bondi, very upset with the director and deputy director of the FBI, Cash Patel and Dan Bongino. Mike Lindell of MyPillow fame posted on X, as trusted voices like Bongino, Cash, and Bondi align with the official story, many are asking who's still willing to demand real answers. Laura Loomer, who I only cite because apparently she has influence with President Trump. She got National Security Council, people fired.

1:13:42She posted if Attorney General Bondi doesn't get fired over this Epstein memo, people are going to be so black-pilled. They were obviously hoping for a different outcome. And I have to say, Alex, I find it hard to believe that we still don't know so much about this case. Yeah. And I don't think the conspiracy theories are ever going to stop. But big picture, this is sort of what happens when you have the MAGA influencerization of the DOJ and the FBI, right? You put Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, who before going into the FBI were MAGA influencers. Talking about this stuff. Yes. So now they come in and their high expectations, they were going to deliver and they came up empty handed.

1:14:29And so there's a lot of anger about that. And the MAGA universe is not happy today. All right. Thanks to both of you. Really appreciate it. Let's go back to our breaking news at the White House. where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to arrive at any moment for a private dinner with President Trump. The visit comes after some positive momentum on ceasefire and hostage deal negotiations between Israel and Hamas, but nobody should get too optimistic. This is the Middle East, after all, that we're talking about. CNN political and global affairs analyst Barak Ravid joins us now from the White House.

1:14:57And, Barak, you have some new reporting in Axios this afternoon. Your sources are telling you that Israel is considering further military action on Iran if Iranian leaders try to revive the nuclear program and Israeli officials, you say, believe Trump would be on board with this. What scenarios would lead Israel to attack Iran again? Yeah, Jay, good afternoon. I think that one of the issues Netanyahu wants to discuss with Trump in their dinner that is actually starting as we speak is what are the understandings that the US and Israel can get over future developments in the Iranian nuclear program.

1:15:36For example, the Iranians have 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium buried in the nuclear facilities that were attacked. One of the issues that Israel discussed with the US last week when Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer was at the White House is what are we going to do if they move this material. And Dermer came back to Israel, according to my sources, and said that in such a scenario of the Iranians trying to move this material, the U.S. would give a green light to Israel to conduct another strike in Iran. Another scenario that would justify such a move, according to what Dermer understood in his talks in Washington, is if the Iranians will relaunch some sort of an enrichment program, something that obviously they cannot do today.

1:16:26And I think Netanyahu wants to try and anchor down those understandings with Trump about what would justify another Israeli strike on Iran. We just got news that Netanyahu met with the Secretary of State Marco Rubio as well as the President and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff earlier. Are you hearing this visit is going well so far? Well, I think it only started. Those meetings with Rubio and Witkoff, I think, were sort of like preparatory to lay the ground for the dinner with the president. I think the message the White House is trying to send Netanyahu is we want to end the war. Therefore, even if a deal is reached on a 60-day ceasefire, we want you to tell us how do you see the end state, the end state that will allow the negotiation during those 60 days, the negotiation on a day after plan, how do you see this thing happening?

1:17:22All right, Barack Ravid, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Coming up next, President Trump just announced some new tariffs on several additional countries, but it's the small business owners here at home that are feeling the pinch. We're going to talk to one of them ahead.

1:17:38And we're back with our business leaders series, where we talk with small business owners from coast to coast about President Trump's tariffs. Some have been supportive. Many are feeling uncertain. In Denver, Coco Row Restaurant has been serving up casual Japanese cuisine for nearly 40 years. Owner Masiro Torito joins us now. Mas, thanks for joining us. So the restaurant industry can be really sensitive to disruptions in the supply chain or customers not feeling as footloose and fancy free because of stock market turmoil. How have the tariffs impacted you and your businesses? Hi, Jake. Thanks for having me.

1:18:21Yes, the tariffs are just the latest round of challenges that we as restaurant owners are dealing with. And it's a hard one to deal with. The margins in restaurants are raised within 2%, 3%, 4%, and any increase in cost is just really hard for us to bear. Have you been forced to raise prices or make other changes to your menu or anything to handle the increased costs because of the tariffs? Yeah, you know, having been open for 39 years and made it through 9-11 and a lot of other challenging moments in our history, we've made sure we held on to a few pillars of our business. One is high quality food, good portions, and taking care of our staff.

1:19:07And there's no plan to change that. But in times like this, we do have to raise our prices and make other changes, such as online ordering for takeout orders, a few automations here and there, just to try to help us, you know, release some of the pinch points. The Trump administration is about to move into another phase of tariffs with the end of the 90-day pause scheduled for Wednesday of this week. What do you want leaders in Washington to know about how their decisions are impacting small business owners like yourself? Yeah, you know, I think the feeling sometimes we feel as as small business owners is that the approach of the administration is it's a game of chicken or rock paper scissors but the impact that has on us as small businesses it feels like Russian roulette and we're just waiting for the next uh pull the trigger and for it to be the last one uh for all of us to shut our doors so it's a hard time right now what do you say to politicians or even customers who don't understand why businesses like yours can't eat the cost of tariffs or source products like avocados to places here in the United States?

1:20:22Well, we tell them we understand that it's hard. No one wants to see prices increase. But we tell them that if they want to continue having the quality food, we do everything where we can to keep our prices low but eventually some part of those uh increases have to be passed on to customers um but we do everything we can with a new loyalty system um you know an automation we they know we're doing our best well we're running little clips from your from you from coco row and it looks absolutely delicious i'm getting hungry just watching it you you if you if you're in denver uh or you're traveling to denver you can find a coco restaurant masquerito Thank you so much.

1:21:05Thanks so much, Jake. Have a good day. Coming up next, a man with a rifle and tactical gear is killed after exchanging gunfire with officials at a border patrol facility in Texas. We'll bring you the latest next.

1:21:20Our last leads now. The FBI is searching for a motive for the shooter who exchanged gunfire with officers at a border patrol facility in McAllen, Texas. Federal agents ended up killing 27-year-old Ryan Luis Mosqueda after he allegedly arrived at the facility with a rifle in tactical gear and began opening fire. Officials also found a second rifle and ammunition in his car. The suspect injured two officers and a Border Patrol employee during the ambush before he was killed. And a former Russian minister was found dead today after being fired by Russian President Vladimir Putin. officials say transport minister Roman Starovait died by suicide, that's what they say, after his body was discovered inside a car in a Moscow suburb.

1:22:04A Kremlin spokesperson denied any, quote, lack of trust toward the minister, but did not give any other reason for his dismissal. In Philadelphia, this story stinks. Today marks the seventh day of a strike that's resulted in a staggering pileup of trash and debris in the city. Philadelphia Mayor Sherelle Parker instructed residents to drive their own trash to a number of collection sites during the strike. But the community is siding with the workers. Union members and city leaders met to negotiate higher wages and better benefits for sanitation workers. Those talks, however, did not end in an agreement.

1:22:43Get it together, guys. This is not any way to have a city. And our politics lead, the Trump administration is extending a hiring freeze on federal civilian employees within the executive branch through October 15th. Previous order was set to expire on July 15th. This means no open federal civilian positions can be filled and no new positions can be created with a few exceptions for military personnel and jobs related to immigration enforcement, national security or public safety. The executive office of the president, of course, also exempt. You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, ThreadsX, and on the TikTok at Jake Tapper.

1:23:19You can follow the show on X at The Lead Scene. And if you ever miss an episode of The Lead, you can listen to the show once you get your podcast. Darren Burnett out front. Starts now. I'll see you tomorrow.

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