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Texas Officials Deflect Questions; Emily Foxhall is Interviewed about Flood Warnings; Dr. Susan Kressly is Interviewed about a New Vaccine Lawsuit; Flooding at Camp Mystic; Muck's A.I. Chatbot Posts Tropes. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired July 09, 2025 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm just seeing the enormity of this disaster. What are you learning and hearing from folks on the ground there this morning?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sara, it's good to be with you.

You know, people here are not giving up hope. They're remaining hopeful that they'll continue to find survivors. That's given the news -- news we learned yesterday, the heartbreaking news, that there hasn't been a live survivor found since Friday when these floodwaters came rushing into this community. But people are not giving up on those search and rescue efforts.

I've lived in this area for over three years, and I have friends who text me every day asking where they should go, what they can do to try and help this community. It's what people are doing to try and feel safe and secure. But we're continuing to try and press local and state leaders here about what happened in those critical hours between when that first alert came out just after 1:00 in the morning and before those floodwaters came into this area just before 5:00 in the morning on Friday. Local leaders wouldn't answer the question yesterday, wouldn't tell us who was in charge or if that person was even awake.

So, we posed the question to the state officials, to Governor Greg Abbott and to the Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd yesterday. We asked Mr. Kidd, what was the protocol set into place, and when did this start -- start moving -- the state start moving assets and start those communications with the county. Take a listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: So, why was evacuation orders not listed?

NIM KIDD, CHIEF OF TEXAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT: I can't answer the whys. I'm not going to answer the whys. You asked when we were in contact. We started having calls and messages on Wednesday from an area of I-35, out I-10, all the way to where it touches I-20, all the way back over to where I-20 touches I-35 again. That is a large chunk of Texas that was anywhere in the potential area of where this kind of rain could have fallen. It picked this spot right here. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WALDMAN: So, you hear from Chief Kidd right there. He's not answering the why of why evacuations weren't ordered, even though the state moved assets and began communications with Kerr County officials starting on Wednesday, two days before this floodwater moved in here. They said they're focused on the search and rescue effort after more than 160 people are still missing in this county alone, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Leigh Waldman, thank you for your reporting there this morning.

John.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Now, the governor does say that state lawmakers will address the areas emergency alert system during a special session later this month. It does come as local and state officials continue to face these questions you just heard about whether more could have been done to prepare and warn people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDGE ROBERT KELLY, KERR COUNTY, TEXAS: We didn't know this flood was coming. Rest assured, no one knew this kind of flood was coming. We have floods all the time. This is the most dangerous river valley in the United States. And we -- and we deal with floods on a regular basis. When it rains, we get water. We had no reason to believe that this was going to be any -- anything like what's happened here. None whatsoever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, with us now is Emily Foxhall, a climate reporter for "The Texas Tribune."

And, Emily, you've just written a great story. Really extensive. You know, line by line, almost minute by minute about what happened. And everyone should go look at it.

And what you say is that, "the National Weather Service issued its first flash flood warning at 1:14 a.m. on July 4th, three hours and 21 minutes before the first actual reports of flooding." So, what happened during those three hours and 21 minutes? What did you find?

EMILY FOXHALL, CLIMATE REPORTER, "TEXAS TRIBUNE": Yes, that's a question I have been trying to ask these last few days. We've had a lot of trouble getting in touch with local officials, the county judge, the sheriff, the emergency coordinator didn't return our request for comments, but it's been, you know, something I've been trying to look into because the weather experts we've -- we've talked to have said, in this case, you know, you hear these officials say they didn't have any idea this was coming. But the weather experts say the national Weather Service, in this case, from the outside, at least, appear to have done everything they could when it came to issuing this forecast.

BERMAN: Yes, Kerrville's mayor, you write, wasn't even aware of the flooding until, what, 5:30 a.m.? Why?

FOXHALL: Yes. I think, you know, this whole scenario brings up a lot of issues that people who watch emergencies like this have long known. The first thing we looked at was that on Thursday afternoon, early in the afternoon, a flood watch went out. That's different than a flood warning. And the flood watches, you heard the Texas officials say, it covered a really broad swath of the state. And it's meant to give emergency officials or the public a chance to kind of have a heads up that you should be watching the weather. There's a chance that flooding comes together. But it might not happen.

And there's sort of this phenomenon of alert fatigue is how a Rice professor put it to us. People get a lot of these flood watches, and they may not know to pay attention to them.

[08:35:01]

So, that's one issue. And there's also a lack of education, I think, according to some experts between what a watch and a warning meant.

So, we have questions about who saw that watch go out on Thursday, who really understood what it meant and what kind of activation kind of went in place on the local level. Then, of course, there's a lot of issues about at 1:14 in the morning, as you mentioned, when that first flood warning went out, which is to say that, you know, different than the watch, the flooding was imminent or about to happen, that warning should have given a chance for people to respond. And we're just not sure.

You know, the Weather Service has said it -- excuse me, the Weather Service has said that that warning pinged cell phones and would have set off weather radios if people had weather radios. But we're really unclear on who -- who got that warning and who was on the other side paying attention.

BERMAN: Yes, you know, you keep saying -- and in the report you keep writing, you know, it's still unclear. We don't know.

How hard has it been to get answers on these questions? And what does it tell you about maybe some of the questions and some of the answers that are out there ultimately?

FOXHALL: Yes, my colleagues who have been on the ground have been helping with this. They did get a question out at a press conference yesterday, and Governor Greg Abbott sort of repeated a similar sentiment we've heard, you know, which was that nobody -- nobody knew -- basically nobody knew this 30-foot high tsunami ball of water would be coming. So -- so, it's a lot of -- I feel like we keep hearing this idea that -- that people didn't know what was coming.

And, you know, to some extent, like weather experts have said, you really can't forecast heavy rain like this in a specific way. I think that's part of the frustration we're seeing is like, when that flood watch went out, it covered this huge area. And then when the rain fell, it really hit this one specific place. And -- and people want to know well ahead of time exactly where heavy rain is going to fall. And meteorologists say, you just -- I mean, it's not -- the science doesn't allow us to forecast heavy rain that specifically, but it makes a really big difference for river forecasting where exactly that heavy rain falls.

BERMAN: Yes, I mean, one of the things I think you write is that when you give tornado warnings and watches, you don't say this building is going to be destroyed by a tornado. They're given for an area so people can get themselves ready.

Look, these are such important questions. And it's not about pointing fingers, I think, as you note also. This is about getting it right for next time so maybe lives can be saved in the future.

Emily Foxhall, from "The Texas Tribune," great work. Thanks for being with us this morning.

So, new this morning, an unprecedented lawsuit from leading medical organizations over Health Secretary Robert Kennedy's vaccine policy changes.

And just in, we're now hearing from the doctor who treated the woman convicted of killing her family members with poisonous mushrooms. Why he is comparing her to supervillain Lex Luthor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:42:25]

SIDNER: New this morning, in an unprecedented lawsuit, six leading medical groups representing hundreds of thousands of doctors, medical professionals and scientists are suing Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other top administration health officials. The lawsuit specifically calls out the changes that Kennedy has made to the Covid-19 vaccine guidelines. The plaintiffs say Kennedy and the Trump administration acted, quote, "arbitrarily and capriciously when it decided to stop recommending the vaccine for pregnant women and healthy children."

Dr. Susan Kressly is joining us now. She is the president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, one of the groups that is bringing this lawsuit.

You have said that you did not take this step lightly. What was it that was the final straw that made you decide a lawsuit is a must here?

DR. SUSAN KRESSLY, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: So, I'll address that in -- in a minute. But I must lead with the most important fact, and that is that vaccines are incredibly safe and remain one of the most effective ways we have to protect child health. And I have to say that because there is a deliberate effort underway to distract from the facts and frighten parents and mislead the public.

And what happened was a line was crossed with the decision to change the recommendations about the Covid vaccine that was not based in science and did not have the expert-led opinions to the decision.

SIDNER: You have just laid out there the claims. And those are directly going towards the head of HHS. You say that the decisions were designed to mislead, confuse and desensitize the public to anti- vaccine rhetoric. Do you have some examples of what you mean? Some of the -- the ways in which you feel that the HHS secretary has tried to mislead the public?

KRESSLY: Well, we can start with what happened to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. And it was made up of a robust group of experts, 17 of the most brilliant minds in the country who understand vaccines, can look at the data and make recommendations that protect our public health, and by summarily firing all 17 of them and replacing them with eight and then seven people who do not have the similar expertise, nor the experience was frightening to those of us who count on ACIP recommendations.

[08:45:02]

SIDNER: I do want to go back to the top and sort of what we were talking about, that this recommendation from HHS and from the leader of that organization, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., he recommended that, you know, the Covid-19 vaccine is no longer recommended for pregnant women and for healthy children.

You're a pediatrician. Are you seeing the result of these decisions and some of the words and comments coming out of the HHS secretary's mouth?

KRESSLY: Yes. And for us, this isn't just about Covid vaccine. This is sowing doubt in family's minds about all the vaccines and vaccine delivery. A colleague of mine told me the other day that a patient shared with her, I trust you, but I no longer trust vaccines. And we need our leaders and everyone who has any interest in public health to be giving a clear message that vaccines are safe and it is how we protect our communities.

SIDNER: You are sending this message out obviously to parents, but we have seen some of the fallout of this when it comes to -- to measles. What is your greatest concern is going to happen with the messaging that is coming out of HHS to families, to parents?

KRESSLY: It's twofold, one of which is that there is unnecessary doubt sowed in patients' minds, and so that they question their judgment and they question whether they -- what is the right thing to do for their patients. And so we've seen it with measles, but we're about to head into a respiratory season that is weeks away for RSV, Covid and flu. And we need our -- our communities to be protected.

The second thing is, that decisions that are being made completely erode the infrastructure and how vaccines are delivered in this country. And we need to get everyone making sure that they're confidently recommending patients get vaccinated as a way to protect their health and their community's health.

SIDNER: Dr. Susan Kressly, thank you so much for walking us through that. I know your concerns are great here in the capacity that you serve. Really appreciate your time.

John.

BERMAN: All right, new this morning, Mattel just unveiled its very first Barbie with type one diabetes. She even has her own insulin pump and continuous glucose monitor. You can see it right there. Mattel worked with Breakthrough T1D to create the new doll, which was launched at the organization's Children's Congress. Hundreds of thousands of children have type one diabetes. And this year, the group that sponsored this is asking Congress to renew funding for the special diabetes program. Current funding ends after September.

All right, new details this morning about Camp Mystic. What we know about the disaster plan they had in place.

And Elon Musk's A.I. chatbot Grok praising Hitler and making some anti-Semitic posts. We've got new CNN reporting on this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:52:28]

SIDNER: All right, there are new questions emerging this morning about what happened at Camp Mystic, the all-girls Christian camp, where at least 27 people, campers and counselors, were killed in Texas. Just two days before that tragedy, a state inspector certified Camp Mystic's buildings were safe and that it had an emergency plan in place. But when flood waters hit early July 4th, one counselor said power outages and lack of phone access left them unable to warn everyone in time.

CNN's Ed Lavandera has more from Hunt, Texas.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Camp Mystic girls know they've arrived to this tranquil bend along the Guadalupe River when they see the "Mystic" letters greeting them from the sky-high hilltop overlooking the campground. Down below, a few days before the July 4th flooding, 13 girls, some as young as eight years old, and two teenage camp counselors had settled into the cabin known as "The Bubble Inn." Many of those campers in this one cabin remain missing or dead, including eight-year-old Anna Margaret Bellows. Her mother expressed gratitude amid her grief.

DR. PATRICIA BELLOWS, MOTHER OF FLOOD VICTIM (voice over): I have unending gratitude for the brave camp counselors who safely evacuated so many campers. And to the two camp counselors who gave their lives trying to protect my baby.

LAVANDERA (voice over): The Bubble Inn cabin sits among a cluster of cabins that overlook a sweeping green field down to the Guadalupe River bed. This area is where the camps youngest campers stay.

In the early morning hours of July 4th, heavy rains made the river swell. It was dark. The power was out. And the camp counselors didn't have cell phones. So, there was no way for them to receive alerts of the impending danger.

LAVANDERA: The green roofed cabin you see between the trees there is The Bubble Inn cabin. And it sits in a part of Camp Mystic known as "The Flats." And from what we've been able to piece together over the last few days, the girls and counselors inside there faced a terrible decision. Along this side of "The Flats," all of the cabins backed up to a hill. We know that counselors were breaking out windows and running kids up that hill. Other kids in other parts of the camp were moving behind the dining hall, and the other structures you see there, to a two story recreation hall behind there, reaching higher ground there. Ultimately, we don't know what direction the girls and the counselors of The Bubble Inn cabin decided to do, but either way, it was a tragically overwhelming situation for all of them.

[08:55:07]

LAVANDERA (voice over): The body of one of The Bubble Inn counselors, Chloe Childress, just 19 years old and a recent high school graduate, was found after the rain subsided. Her family issued a statement saying, "Chloe Childress lived a beautiful life that saturated those around her with contagious joy, unending grace and abiding faith."

Now, the other camp survivors are left struggling to comprehend the devastation.

VIVIENNE NOBLES, EVACUATED FROM CAMP MYSTIC: Two of my friends died.

LAVANDERA (voice over): Ten-year-old Vivienne Nobles said some of her friends had to evacuate Camp Mystic, still wearing their pajamas. Her cabin was on the hillside.

NOBLES: I couldn't even process how -- how much rain was going down. And I couldn't even imagine how their place was.

LAVANDERA (voice over): Footlockers, mattresses and the remains of the camp are now piled outside as rescuers comb through what the floods left behind.

MCLEAN COBLE, VOLUNTEER FROM DALLAS: You see, like, little kids clothes and stuff just, like, all over the place with, like, names in it and everything and, like, little camp t-shirts. And it's just horrific.

LAVANDERA (voice over): Camp Mystic's co-owner Dick Eastland also died in the flash flooding. One of the camps employees told CNN, he died trying to rescue campers.

Stacey Merchant, a 12-time Mystic camper herself, said she was grateful to be able to evacuate her daughter from the camp, and for Eastland's sacrifice to try to save others.

STACEY MERCHANT, DAUGHTER EVACUATED FROM CAMP MYSTIC: The Eastland family is just like our own family. Dick and Tweety have been like a mother and a father to every single girl that's ever gone to Camp Mystic. LAVANDERA: As the search for the missing girls from Camp Mystic

continues, we've also learned that overall, in Kerr County alone, officials say that there could be as many as 161 missing people. And local search and rescue teams are urging people not to clear out their own debris on their own property. And also issuing a burn ban, because we've seen a lot of people burning debris that they've piled in areas on their own property as well. Local officials urging everybody to be very careful with these debris piles. Obviously, the concern is that there could be some of these missing victims tangled in this horrific mess.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Hunt, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Ed has done such amazing work there.

All right, new this morning, police say soccer star Diogo Jota was behind the wheel and likely speeding when his car crashed in Spain last week, killing him and his brother. As preliminary investigation shows, the brothers died after their car veered off the road following a burst tire and went up in flames.

New reporting on the woman convicted of murdering three of her relatives with poisonous mushrooms. The emergency doctor who first treated her says he knew she was behind the mushroom poisonings and said she was, quote, "evil and calculated." Erin Patterson used death cap mushrooms baked into a beef wellington to carry out the killings. The doctor spoke to our CNN affiliate in Australia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS WEBSTER, EMERGENCY ROOM DOCTOR: When she didn't respond in a way that instantly would have explained it as a tragic accident, yes, that's it. From that moment, in my mind, she was guilty. She was evil. And very, very smart to have planned it all and -- and carry it out.

She's not just evil, but, you know, she's intelligent. She's like Lex Luthor, you know. She -- Lex Luthor takes on Superman. So, I wouldn't be messing with her if I was another inmate, that's for sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right, the doctor was the first to warn police about Patterson. You can see her right there in sort of the red shirt.

Sara.

SIDNER: All right, this morning, Elon Musk's A.I. chatbot Grok is now pushing anti-Semitic tropes in response to some users' questions. This is happening just weeks after Musk said he would rebuild the chatbot because some of the bots' answers were too politically correct.

CNN's Hadas Gold dug into the story.

Are some of the responses still on the site, just sitting there? HADAS GOLD, CNN MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, some of the responses have

been deleted, but others are still there for people to see.

So, around Fourth of July, Elon Musk said that this new version of Grok, after he had been frustrated with it for its liberal biases, was being rolled out and people would start seeing differences to Grok's answers. And, oh boy did they see differences to some of Grok's answers.

I want to show you an example. One user asked Grok on the X platform, "who runs the government?" Just that. And Grok says, "ah, the million dollar question. Based on patterns in media, finance and politics, one group's overrepresented way beyond their 2 percent population share." It goes on to say, "stats don't lie, but is it control or just smarts?" It's very obvious they're talking about Jews. Jews make up about 2 percent of the U.S. population.

Another post used anti-Semitic tropes that -- that claim that Jewish surnames often pop up around people who are anti-white radicals.

[09:00:00]

And then he goes so far as to praise Adolf Hitler. Take a look at this post. He says that, "history's prime example of spotting patterns and anti-white hate, and acting decisively --