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Trump Sues "The Wall Street Journal" for $20 Billion over Epstein Story; Dems Push for Info on Epstein Investigation; Poll Shows Dems More Motivated than GOP for Midterms; Sectarian Clashes amid Shaky Truce in Southern Syria; Gaza Ceasefire Talks Hit a New Snag; U.S. Administration to Work on Flash Flood Risk Database; Mother of Child Lost in Texas Floods Speaks to CNN; Bolsonaro Fitted with Ankle Monitor, Police Raid Home; Married CEO Caught Canoodling with Coworker Placed on Leave. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired July 19, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Welcome to all of you watching us around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. This is CNN NEWSROOM.
Donald Trump sues a major American publication for billions of dollars. We'll bring you the latest on the Epstein files fallout.
And the U.S. is involved in two of Israel's ongoing conflicts. We have new details about the tentative ceasefire in Syria.
Plus deadly flooding in Texas is prompting a U-turn at the White House. Why one program that was discontinued in the latest round of government cuts is back up and running.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Dow Jones, the parent company of "The Wall Street Journal," says it's standing by its reporting in the face of a $20 billion libel lawsuit filed by president Trump.
It's centered on a story about alleged letters given to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein years ago, including a note reportedly bearing the president's name and an outline of a naked woman.
Trump's legal team accuses the journals parent company of engaging in, quote, "glaring failures in journalistic ethics and standards of accurate reporting."
It argues that no authentic letter or drawing exists. Kristen Holmes has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: President Trump promptly filing that lawsuit Friday against "The Wall Street Journal" and News Corp., following that article the day before about a letter given to Jeffrey Epstein, alleged letter, that president Trump denies from him for Epstein's birthday.
And this is something obviously, he said he was going to do. But the timeliness of it, the fact that it happened so quickly, just goes to show you how angry president Trump was about them publishing this story.
But overall, the sentiment inside of the White House has shifted when it comes to this story. They really spent the last two weeks on the defensive. Everything was a pushback to not only journalists and Democrats but also to their own loyalist base, who have been so angry about the way that this Epstein case has been handled.
Now what we're seeing is a slow drip, drip, drip of Trump, kind of trying to appease his base. He obviously asked the attorney general to unseal the grand jury testimony. But there are still a lot of questions, even from some of his biggest supporters, as to what exactly this means.
They still believe there's going to be redactions. And generally speaking, his base believes there is still far more files or information about the investigation that needs to be released.
As of now, we saw president Trump. We tried to ask him questions all day long about this. He ignored any questions about Epstein, clearly not wanting to talk about it. But he did feel free posting about it.
One of the things that he did say put us on Truth Social, "If there was a smoking gun on Epstein, why didn't the Democrats, who controlled the files for four years and had Garland and Comey in charge, use it?
"Because they had nothing."
Clearly this is now a new talking point here. But I will tell you one thing. After that article came out on Thursday, we have seen a coalescing circling of the wagons around president Trump in a way that we hadn't seen before. But whether or not that lasts, that is the question -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
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BRUNHUBER: As Kristen just mentioned, the Trump administration has requested the release of some grand jury testimony from the Epstein case. But a grand jury testimony is just a small part of the information associated with the information and criminal prosecution.
A judge must decide whether to approve the release and it's not clear how long it would take for anything to be made public. The motion was filed by attorney general Pam Bondi. She's long promised to release documents related to the Epstein case.
But sparked outrage among Trump supporters last week when she said there was no evidence Epstein was murdered or kept a list of clients.
Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon says "The Wall Street Journal" story has put the president's supporters back on offense. In a text to CNN, he said the story has united the president's supporters behind him. Some other conservative influencers agreed. Listen to this.
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CHARLIE KIRK, POLITICAL ACTIVIST, AUTHOR, PODCAST HOST: This thing was obviously a hit job, obviously a drive-by shooting trying to go after President Trump.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: -- come after Trump. And last night, they tried to actually destroy him with what looks like a phony and fake letter. President Trump has put him on blast.
JACK POSOBIEC, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: The MAGA hat stays on.
All right?
The MAGA hat stays on. The MAGA hat is fully on. We're locked in.
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BRUNHUBER: Meanwhile, Democrats are intensifying their calls for more information about the Epstein investigation.
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REP. MELANIE STANSBURY (D-NM): You guys are so weak that you won't even vote to release the files.
REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Mr. Speaker, the American people, Republicans, independents, Democrats want the Epstein files released.
REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): We are asking for all of the records, the documents and the investigative materials relating to Epstein and to Maxwell.
SEN. CORY BOOKER (D-NJ): Multiple members of the Trump administration went around and talked about this damning evidence, whipping people up. If they're not lying about that, then, yes, this is a cover-up of very serious allegations and charges.
REP. JIM MCGOVERN (D-MA): Why would anybody want to stop this bill from getting a vote?
What are Republicans so afraid of?
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BRUNHUBER: Democrats are looking to capitalize on any momentum they can find ahead of the upcoming midterms. A new CNN poll shows that their voters are much more energized than
Republicans right now; 72 percent of Democrats and Democratic leaning registered voters say they are extremely motivated to vote in next year's congressional election, according to the poll. That's a 10- point jump from the weeks leading up to the 2024 election.
It's also significantly higher than Republican sentiment right now, which stands at 50 percent. But the poll also revealed deeply negative perceptions of the Democratic Party and its leaders; 28 percent of Americans view the party favorably. That's the lowest mark for Democrats in the history of CNN's polling going back to 1992.
All right. Joining us live from New York is Gevin Reynolds, co-host of "The Lowlights Podcast." He was also a speechwriter to former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Great to see you again. Thanks so much for being on with us. So looking at our recent polling for the Democrats, it's a good news/bad news story. Democratic voters are way more engaged. But the party's image is basically in the toilet.
So how can Democrats capitalize on high voter motivation if people don't seem to like what they stand for?
GEVIN REYNOLDS, CO-HOST, "THE LOWLIGHTS PODCAST": Well, Kim, it's always a pleasure to be with you. It's been a little bit. I think there's more good news than anything in this poll that we're discussing right now.
I think what's clear is that Democrats are fired up about voting in the midterms next year. But Kim, you pointed this out; it's not just Democrats. It's also -- it's also independents. And if you look back at the trajectory of these numbers, there's obviously a spike when president Trump came back into office.
But let's not underestimate the impact of Trump's supposed big, beautiful bill, which I think, for many people, is just further evidence of the danger that Republicans' legislative agenda poses to hardworking Americans. So I don't think it's just Democrats.
But we're seeing that even members of the president's own base are seeing these haphazard spending cuts and our country's continued involvement in these foreign wars and fights over everything besides the things that actually matter to the American people.
And voters are recognizing that they have an opportunity to stop this madness and to imagine a better future, where we can actually tackle the real issues of affordability, expand access to health care and actually bring back some stability to our politics.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Well, I mean, that would be the hope. But you know, Democrats are actually 7 points less likely than Republicans to believe their party's members of Congress deserve reelection.
So that's not exactly, you know, wind in their sails going into these midterms. REYNOLDS: So I think it's critical to recognize that fundamentally
right now. I mean, if you look at the numbers on the on the Republican side right now, I think there's something like 33 percent approval for the Republican Party.
And to me, when I look at all of these numbers, the story that I glean from them is that can't dispute that, right now, people are severely distrusting many leaders right now in our electoral political system.
And I think that says more about our system right now than it does about, you know, as you might suggest, Democratic leaders being potentially, you know, not inspiring confidence among the base.
I think people right now, it's no secret, are preferring to tune out of our politics right now. But if you want to talk about -- if you want to talk about Democratic leaders, let's talk about people like governor Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
Who's, in my opinion, one of the country's coolest Democrats, who's one day, you know, fighting to keep our rural hospitals from closing, to help his people keep their health care and their jobs.
Then talking football with Stephen A. Smith and, you know, Eagles' defensive coordinator Vic Fangio or Andy Beshear, Kim, who, with a 70 percent approval rating in deep red Kentucky, is showing that Democrats can talk like normal people, champion progressive values, all while delivering for your state.
So I push back on the idea that Democrats are struggling to resonate, to cut through right now with the American people.
BRUNHUBER: Well, I mean, that's certainly what the polls suggest. And there is, when you look at the numbers, a striking generational split among Democratic voters. Only 52 percent of Democrats under the age of 45 think most Democrats in Congress deserve reelection, compared to 76 percent of older Democrats.
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So that's a huge divide. It must be a big challenge to find the right message and recruit the right candidates. And we see that schism playing, playing out right now with the, you know, Zohran Mamdani win in New York. Young Democrats are embracing him. But a lot of the older party stalwarts, not so much.
I mean, it's telling; the House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, had a sit-down with him last night and still hasn't endorsed him.
REYNOLDS: So I think fundamentally what this comes down to, Kim, is, you know, you hit the nail on the head. There is a divide by age as there are divides by all sorts of other demographics that we've talked about many times, Kim, on this show.
We've talked about what older voters, what Black voters in particular look for that might be different from what younger Black voters, who weren't around during the Civil Rights Era, might be looking for. But at the end of the day, I think what all voters, especially young
voters, are looking for is authenticity. They're looking for real candidates, who they can trust, because we are in an era in which many politicians are not instilling or inspiring that kind of authenticity or trust.
And when you talk about some of the leaders I mentioned a few minutes ago, you talk about someone like Mr. Mamdani, you talk about even older candidates like Bernie Sanders. It doesn't matter. Right?
These are these are candidates who, time and time again, the polls are showing, are people who voters across all age groups, actually feel, mean what they say. And so I think that's where we are right now, where a lot of people simply don't believe what they're hearing from their leaders on both sides of the aisle.
They don't believe that those people believe what they say. And I'm inspired by some of these candidates who are coming up. And, of course, the Democratic Party is a big tent party. And it can be hard to rally and unify all of our base behind particular candidates. But I believe that, in 2026 and beyond, as we continue to identify those candidates, who voters say, I believe you when you say what you say, I think the Democratic Party will have great success behind those candidates.
BRUNHUBER: All right. Well, you've identified the disconnect there. We'll see what message might resonate for their voters in the upcoming elections. Always great to speak with you, Gevin Reynolds. Thanks -- thank you so much.
REYNOLDS: Thanks, Kim.
BRUNHUBER: Well, the Trump administration is reaching back to the Obama era as it targets perceived enemies.
It all stems from claims that Russia interfered in the 2016 election. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is threatening to refer to the Justice Department for prosecution officials involved in that assessment.
On Friday, Gabbard declassified documents she claims shows how intelligence officials, quote, "manufactured and politicized intelligence" that became the basis of the FBI's investigation.
And in case you need a bit of a road map, this graphic is posted on her verified account on X. Gabbard referenced familiar threats when addressing a conservative conference last week. Here she is.
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TULSI GABBARD, U.S. DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: I can attest personally that, in my work as the Director of National Intelligence, the deep state is fighting us every step of the way and it exists within every single federal agency.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: A bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report in 2020 supported the intelligence community's assessment of Russia's interference in the 2016 election. Democrats are criticizing Gabbard's efforts as an attempt to rewrite history.
Three deputies with the L.A. County Sheriff's Department were killed in an explosion at a training facility on Friday. Investigators say early evidence suggests it could have been an accident.
On Thursday, deputies removed an explosive device at home and took it to the training facility to be safely deconstructed. Well, the next morning, while moving the device, it detonated, killing three veteran deputies. Officials say they don't believe it was constructed for use by a bomber but they're still working to trace its origins.
The Los Angeles County sheriff says this is the department's largest loss of life since 1857.
Across the U.S. more than 15 million people are at risk of dangerous flash floods as they threaten cities from the mid-Atlantic to the Rockies. Here's a look at conditions in the east. Fast moving flood waters have partially submerged cars in Virginia. Another look shows rising water covering streets and blocking roads.
Now this after the region still dealing with damage from flooding and mudslides earlier this year. Forecasters say a combination of heat and humidity is fueling the flood risk as global temperatures continue to rise due to climate change.
After days of violence that saw airstrikes on Damascus, a ceasefire is announced. We'll have details on the agreement hammered out between Israel and Syria ahead.
Plus, a testament to the brutality of the war in Gaza. Civilians scramble to get away as massive explosions go off during an Israeli airstrike. We'll have those stories and more coming up. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: U.S. Ambassador to Turkiye says Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire. Ambassador Tom Barrack made the announcement Friday, calling it a breakthrough that was embraced by other countries in the region as well.
It comes after Israel launched airstrikes on Syria on Wednesday. Israel says they were aimed at protecting the Druze, a minority group. Clashes erupted last weekend between Druze militia and Bedouin tribes, prompting Syria's government to deploy troops to quell the fighting. The U.N. is demanding accountability for human rights violations.
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RAVINA SHAMDASANI, U.N. HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICE SPOKESPERSON: Credible reports that our office has received indicate widespread violations and abuses, including summary executions and arbitrary killings, kidnappings, destruction of private property and looting of homes in the southern city of Suwayda.
Among the reported perpetrators were members of the security forces and individuals affiliated with the interim authorities, as well as other armed elements from the area, including the Druze and Bedouin.
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BRUNHUBER: The reported ceasefire between Syria and Israel follows on the heels of a truce announced between other factions on the ground in southern Syria. More details now from CNN's Ben Wedeman.
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BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A ceasefire was supposed to be in effect Friday between clashing Druze fighters and tribal militias in the southern Syrian city of Suwayda. The ceasefire, mediated by U.S., Turkish and Arab diplomats, is shaky at best, with fighting reported Friday to the north and West of Suwayda.
This latest round of communal violence in Syria has left several hundred dead and, according to the United Nations, almost 80,000 people have been displaced. The fighting has drawn in Israel as well, with Israeli planes earlier this week striking targets in Suwayda as well as in the heart of Damascus.
Israel claimed it was coming to the defense of the Druze, a Muslim minority also present in Israel and Lebanon since the fall of the Assad regime last December. The Druze-run Suwayda military council has been the de facto power in the city and has been hesitant to allow Damascus to extend its authority there.
Many Syrians and not just the Druze distrust a provisional government dominated by figures who, until quite recently, were members of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, an offshoot of Al Qaeda. This week's violence is the latest outbreak of communal fighting in post-Assad, Syria.
In March, around 1,500 people were killed in fighting between pro- government forces and members of the Alawite minority, of which the Assad dynasty were members. May saw clashes between Druze forces and government security, in which more than 100 people were killed.
Now Friday, the U.N. human rights office expressed alarm at credible reports, it said, of summary executions, arbitrary killings and kidnappings by all of them -- government forces, Druze and Druze and tribal fighters. The ceasefire is at best hanging on a thread -- I'm Ben Wedeman, CNN, reporting from Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: Two religious leaders paid a rare visit to Gaza on Friday after Israeli fire struck the territory's only Catholic Church.
The Latin and Greek Orthodox patriarchs of Jerusalem went to the church, where three people were killed the day before. Several others were injured. The visiting patriarchs said they want to remind the congregation that they're not alone.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Pope Leo XIV about the attack on Friday. Netanyahu expressed his regret and he repeated his claim that stray ammunition hit the church.
All right, we want to show you a video that illustrates the terror of the war in Gaza.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): The footage shows two children and a woman running for their lives after an Israeli strike at a refugee camp in central Gaza on Thursday. Health officials say the area was hit twice, leaving five people dead and 20 others injured.
One witness says this footage shows the second strike, which happened after an Israeli evacuation order. The targets included a U.N. school used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians.
This satellite image from Thursday morning appears to show dozens of their tents, all within 100 meters of the strike zone.
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BRUNHUBER: Israel and Hamas are trading accusations of dragging their feet at ceasefire talks in Qatar but U.S. president Donald Trump was still optimistic about the negotiations on Friday. Here he is.
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TRUMP: We got most of the hostages back. We're going to have another 10 coming very shortly. And we hope to have that finished pretty quickly.
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BRUNHUBER: The president has said things like this before, even suggesting recently a ceasefire deal could be just days away. But as Nic Robertson reports, the agreement remains stubbornly elusive.
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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: A couple of weeks ago, president Trump really gave the impression that potentially a Gaza ceasefire deal was getting close. That really seemed to run out of real estate momentum about a week or so ago. Both sides stuck in the negotiations.
Then a couple of days ago, Israel agreed to not position troops on a key corridor inside of Gaza, the Morag corridor. That seemed to breathe some optimism back into the talks again. But now both sides blaming each other.
Hamas saying that they're not seeing Israel talking seriously about a permanent ceasefire. And if they say, if Israel can't do that, then they cannot guarantee pauses in the future. And they cannot either guarantee that, under the current discussions, that 10 living Israeli hostages would be released.
And Israel is saying that Hamas is the holdup right now because they refuse to give key data about how many Palestinians would be released for how many Israelis.
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So the talks again running out of momentum.
And enter that the situation, where the two Christian patriarchs, the Latin Catholic patriarch and the Greek Orthodox patriarch, traveled from Jerusalem into Gaza.
An incredibly rare occurrence allowed by the Israelis because Israel had hit the only Catholic Church, where about 600 people, mostly children, were taking shelter on Thursday.
The prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that, in essence, sorry for this errant ammunition, an indication of the pressure on him to get a ceasefire deal done.
That he would allow these Christian leaders to come into Gaza as such a sensitive time, when malnutrition is up, food prices are up, tensions inside of Gaza are up, the patriarchs coming to that church that was so important to the previous late Pope Francis.
He was in daily contact with the priest in that church during the Gaza conflict. Indeed, the priest was hurt when a piece of Israeli ammunition hit the church, killing three people, injuring nine, including the parish priest there.
The two patriarchs gathering the injured in that strike to take them back to Israel proper, take them back to Jerusalem for medical treatment.
Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also speaking with Pope Leo, who asked him to ease the humanitarian situation inside of Gaza, who asked him to avoid hitting holy sites again, indicative of the pressure on the Israeli leader that he would that he would have these calls with the pope.
That he would offer apologies so quickly, is a resolution to the war close?
It doesn't appear to be so right now -- Nic Robertson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BRUNHUBER: The U.K. is imposing sanctions on three Russian military intelligence units and 18 officers. British officials accused them of carrying out a sustained campaign of malicious cyber activity. The U.K. says one of the units aided a strike on the theater in Mariupol in Ukraine in 2022. More than 1,000 people were sheltering there at the time.
Ukraine says the strike killed hundreds of them. CNN hasn't been able to verify the death toll.
After pausing work on a groundbreaking flash flood risk database, the Trump administration is reversing course. We'll take a closer look at the reason why. That's coming up here on CNN NEWSROOM. Stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Let's check some of today's top stories.
The U.S. ambassador to Turkiye says Syria and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire. The truce comes after Israel launched airstrikes on Syria, which Israel says were aimed at protecting the Druze and Arab religious minority.
Clashes erupted last weekend between Druze militia and Bedouin tribes, prompting Syria's government to deploy troops to quell the fighting.
The Trump administration has asked that some years-old grand jury testimony against Jeffrey Epstein be made public. The Justice Department asked a judge to approve the request. If the judge agrees, it's not clear how long it would take for anything to be made public.
And the president is suing the publisher of "The Wall Street Journal" and several others. He filed $20 billion in a libel lawsuit over a story about letters given to Epstein, including a note reportedly bearing the president's name. Trump denies he wrote the note.
Now, president Trump announced his lawsuit moments before speaking at a White House dinner Friday with his Republican allies. But he didn't mention it once during his speech.
Instead, he praised Senate Republicans for helping advance his domestic and foreign policy agenda. The president said his administration has achieved more in six months than others could achieve in eight years. Here he is.
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TRUMP: And just a few weeks ago, we had the biggest victory of them all when you passed the one big, beautiful bill and I just signed it into law and I call it the great big, beautiful bill. But I got overridden by a couple of my people.
They said, let's go at the one big. But it is really the great big. And we delivered the largest tax cut in American history, the largest spending cut in American history, the most deregulation in American history and the largest border security investment in American history and the biggest success on the border in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: President Trump went on to say that his party will remain strong as long as Republicans continue to keep their promises to voters.
The Trump administration is changing course and now plans to create a new database to give Americans precise estimates of their flash flood risk. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it paused work this summer on the database known as Atlas 15. The pause came as deadly flash floods hit Texas and other parts of the U.S.
But after reporting from CNN and "The Washington Post" this week and discussions with NOAA officials, the agency received permission to work on the project through next year.
Atlas 15 is expected to show how climate change is amplifying flood risks. It's supposed to have applications for everyone, from civil engineers to prospective homeowners.
Want to bring in CNN's senior climate and weather reporter Andrew Freedman. He's in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Thanks so much for being here with us. So the Trump administration initially paused this project. It seems incredible, given all the high profile and deadly flood events, even before what we just saw in Texas.
What did they say was behind that decision?
ANDREW FREEDMAN, CNN SENIOR CLIMATE AND WEATHER CORRESPONDENT: They didn't exactly. The pause seemed to be a review of the scope of the project.
So the pause seemed to be possibly related to some of the climate change implications of the project, given the Trump administration's stance on climate and its suppression of certain scientific reports.
BRUNHUBER: All right.
So do we know what may have changed their minds then?
FREEDMAN: We think the publicity over the past week changed their minds, as well as some meetings that they had internally to try to figure out a way forward on this project. The there is a lot of outside pressure for Atlas 15, which is this database.
[05:35:03] Basically, you can think of it as an update to what is a 100-year flood event to what is a 1,000-year heavy precipitation event and how those events are changing due to climate change.
And we know that the climate is not the same climate that we had decades ago. But we're building bridges and tunnels and infrastructure, other infrastructure, based on a climate that no longer exists.
BRUNHUBER: So take us through -- obviously, basing these decisions on bad information is certainly problematic. So explain to us in terms of individuals as well, why this database is so critical right now, especially given what we saw with, you know, the deadly Texas flooding.
Even what we're seeing right now, 15 million people across this country right now at risk of dangerous flash floods. You mentioned these 100-year floods. I mean, they seem to be coming with alarming regularity now.
FREEDMAN: Yes. This has truly been the summer of the flash flood rather than the, you know, searing heat waves of the last summer. So what the application is for individuals, really, is it'll help people understand their home flood risk.
If you're going to buy a home, if you already live in a home and you are worried about your flood risk, this update will potentially be able to tell you whether you need to buy flood insurance, whether that home that you're looking at is a viable purchase or you need to worry about flooding.
And it will also be really useful for civil engineers, for city managers, for others who are trying to build schools, build roads, build bridges, to be able to better withstand and be more resilient in the face of climate change.
BRUNHUBER: All right. So this project seems to have been saved but, more broadly, there's obvious concerns out there that the Trump administration's cuts to NOAA and the National Weather Service will prevent the country from preparing for and responding to extreme weather.
Are we getting a clearer sense of the impact those cuts could have?
FREEDMAN: Yes. So right now, it looks like the impacts that those cuts could have are it's going to likely manifest itself in a situation where warnings go out too slowly or there are not enough people staffing a weather service forecast office.
Right now we have some offices that are not operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week. They're not setting up their standard number of weather balloons, which sounds archaic but it's actually a really critical source of weather information.
So there's a lot of concern in the meteorology community about how NOAA is going to perform during hurricane season due to the cuts in the National Weather Service personnel.
BRUNHUBER: Yes, there's certainly been a lot of pushback on that. We'll see, unfortunately, what impacts that will have. Andrew Freedman in Silver Spring, Maryland, thank you so much for being with us.
FREEDMAN: Thanks for having me.
BRUNHUBER: Well, that White House decision on the flood database comes two weeks after at least 130 people died in a massive Texas flood; 97 others are missing. Officials say the search for them could take months.
The Guadalupe River in Kerr County, Texas, rose nearly 30 feet in just a few hours. It washed away homes, businesses and campsites; 26 of those who died were young girls and counselors at Camp Mystic, a private religious summer camp.
Among them, 8-year-old Blakely McCrary; CNN's Pam Brown talked to Blakely's mother about how she's coping with this tragedy.
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LINDSEY MCLEOD MCCRORY, BLAKELY'S MOTHER: She was not nervous about going to camp. She loves the outdoors. She loves to fish, horseback ride. So if you can imagine a camp where you can do all of these outdoor activities and be in the Hill Country, we live in Houston where it's flat, that was -- she just couldn't wait. She was so excited.
And it came at such a good time since she lost her daddy. It was a way for her to just heal with that sisterhood and her faith and just all of the fun activities.
It was kind of sad when I pulled away from the Houston bus to Kerrville. I realized that my house was going to be a little bit more quiet. But I knew she would have the best time.
[05:40:00]
Leading up to that phone call, I was actually in Europe. And we were -- and, of course, Europe is seven hours ahead of central time in Texas.
So when we were on a boat and when we docked for lunch, we received some text messages from friends that had their campers at Camp Mystic and they reached out to us, my little sister actually and told them, I'm sure you've heard the news that there's been some flooding at Camp Mystic.
And so, what popped in my mind, because we didn't have all of the full reports of the 30-foot surge, that it was like the flood in 1987 when I was a camper that, you know, you had to stay in your cabin for safety.
They didn't want people walking in the mud and sliding around since there's so many hills and they would bring food to us. And so, that was what I first imagined what it was.
I manually went through the voicemails though since I did learn that Blakely's cabin mate was missing and that's when the dreaded call came. They left me a voicemail. And so, we were inside the boat. I just dropped the phone on the table shaking and I told my little sister she would have to call Camp Mystic.
So we put the phone on speaker so I could listen in but I just -- I was frozen when I heard that voicemail.
She had the best time at camp. She went out on a happy note. She probably looked at that flooding, you know, going out in the night, you know, as an adventure, because you're not supposed to do that as a kid.
And the counselor said that Blakely was encouraging her cabin mates to not be afraid. She was always a leader, encouraging others. So I -- in my heart, I know it happened fast and I'm just so grateful the life that she lived was so happy.
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BRUNHUBER: We'll be right back.
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BRUNHUBER: To South Korea now, where a jailed ex-president Yoon Suk Yeol has been indicted on new charges tied to his short-lived declaration of martial law last year. Those new charges include obstruction of the exercise of others' rights by abuse of authority, ordering the deletion of records and blocking the execution of arrest warrants.
The impeached and deposed former leader is already on trial for charges of insurrection, which is punishable by death or life imprisonment. He's denied all wrongdoing. His lawyers didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the new charges.
The Brazilian supreme court has ordered former president Jair Bolsonaro to wear an ankle monitor, along with other restrictions. He's on trial on charges of plotting a coup against Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. CNN's Stefano Pozzebon has more.
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STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Early Friday, Brazil's federal police came knocking, raiding the home of former right-wing president, Jair Bolsonaro, fitting him with an ankle tag and barring him from speaking to foreign officials and using social media. These measures ordered by Brazil's Supreme Court to prevent him from
leaving the country as he faces trial for allegedly plotting a coup against his left-leaning successor. Bolsonaro lashed out against the ankle tag.
JAIR BOLSONARO, FORMER BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Dammit. I'm a former president. I'm 70 years old. This is a supreme humiliation.
POZZEBON (voice-over): And immediately brought up his close ally, U.S. president Donald Trump.
BOLSONARO (through translator): If I had a passport, I would request an audience to visit Donald Trump.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Trump has a long shadow over this case as he threatens tariffs of up to 50 percent on Brazilian products in retaliation for Bolsonaro's prosecution.
BRIAN WINTER, VP OF POLICY, AMERICA'S SOCIETY AND COUNCIL OF THE AMERICAS: I think this is very personal for President Trump. I think that he believes that what is happening in Brazil right now is political persecution of former President Bolsonaro in a way that reminds Trump of what happened to him.
And the parallels between the 2020 election in the United States and the 2022 election in Brazil.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil's capital on January 8, 2023, in striking similarity to what happened on January 6th, two years before. This week, Trump wrote a letter to support Bolsonaro.
But in the current Brazilian president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Trump has found a formidable opponent. Lula claiming the country's prepared to retaliate with similar tariffs and calling out on Trump directly in an interview with CNN.
LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA, BRAZILIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We cannot have President Trump forgetting that he was elected to govern the U.S. He was elected not to be the emperor of the world.
POZZEBON (voice-over): Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, Bogota.
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BRUNHUBER: The U.S. is revoking the visa of Brazilian supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes due to his part in the trial of former president Bolsonaro. The State Department announced the restrictions on Friday, accusing the judge of carrying out a political witch hunt.
U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio also says the supreme court justice is persecuting and censoring Bolsonaro. Rubio also revoked the visas of an unknown number of court officials with ties to Moraes, along with their family members. U.S. officials say the Trump administration has completed a large-
scale prisoner swap with Venezuela; 252 Venezuelans deported from the U.S. and held in a notorious prison in El Salvador were sent back to their home country.
Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro says two flights carrying the deportees landed there Friday night. In exchange, 10 Americans held in Venezuela were released.
A senior White House official told reporters the operation was, quote, "down to the wire," adding that there's always some uncertainty when dealing with the Venezuelan government.
The United Kingdom could soon become one of the first European countries to allow 16- and 17-year olds to vote in all national elections.
The proposal would bring the national voting age in line with Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, which allow 16-year olds to vote in certain elections; 18 is the current minimum voting age in the U.K. for parliamentary elections. The government says the change is meant to future proof its democracy.
But the proposal has drawn criticism from the Conservative Party, as well as think tanks, who say this is a ploy by the Labour Party to expand its supporter base. If Parliament approves, the plan could be in place for the next general election.
All right. Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, we're learning more about a couple caught cuddling the kiss cam and hiding their faces.
Why?
They lead to the man in this viral video being placed on leave from his job. We'll have that story next.
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BRUNHUBER: It was the snuggle seen around the world. Have a look.
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BRUNHUBER (voice-over): A couple's attempt to hide their faces during a Coldplay concert made this clip go viral. It shows a tech CEO cuddling with his company's chief people officer. So yes. He's her boss and she's the head of HR. CNN's Polo Sandoval reports on the fallout.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What was caught on a Coldplay kiss cam is playing on repeat around the world.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caught out in a moment, these lovers won't ever forget.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody on the Internet talking about.
SANDOVAL: You've no doubt seen that moment captured on a JumboTron during Coldplay's concert near Boston earlier this week. A man and a woman embrace but quickly and awkwardly separate once they realize they're on camera at a sold out 60,000-seat stadium.
The band's frontman, Chris Martin, offered a theory that's fueled speculation and scandal online.
CHRIS MARTIN, COLDPLAY VOCALIST AND PIANIST: Whoa, look at these two.
All right, we're OK. Either they're having an affair or they're very shy.
SANDOVAL: He is Andy Byron, CEO of New York-based tech company, Astronomer.
[05:55:00]
She is Kristin Cabot, head of human resources, according to Astronomer's website.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would HR say?
Oh, hang on, she is HR.
SANDOVAL: Neither Byron nor Cabot have publicly addressed their surprise concert cameo.
The company's Friday statement reads in part, "Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.
"The board of directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been watching it. It's on like every feed of my Instagram, of my Facebook. It's crazy.
SANDOVAL: The viral moment continues to give way to parodies and comical reenactments.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's embarrassing, you know?
It's like nobody's got a private life anymore.
SANDOVAL: And if it's merch you're after, "Rolling Stone" already offering a lampooning list of what to wear to totally blend in at a Coldplay concert, with products including novelty disguise glasses and a camo tee. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The thing is, like, he shouldn't have done it. And that's it.
SANDOVAL: What about you?
What did you think of it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're going to do something bad, do it well.
SANDOVAL: Polo Sandoval, CNN, New York.
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BRUNHUBER: That's --
(LAUGHTER)
BRUNHUBER: -- good advice.
Now to Northern Ireland, where the third round of the Open championship has just gotten underway. The world's number one golfer, Scottie Scheffler, now sits at 10 under par after surging into a one- stroke lead in the second round yesterday.
That was his best round ever at a major tournament, as he carded eight birdies. Scheffler is seeking his fourth career major. England's Matt Fitzpatrick remains close in second place after sinking four straight birdies on the back nine on Friday.
All right, that wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. For our viewers in North America, "CNN THIS MORNING" is next. For the rest of the world, it's "AFRICAN VOICES: CHANGEMAKERS."
