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Isa Soares Tonight

Rescuers Search For Survivors After Deadly Texas Floods; Netanyahu To Meet Trump At The White House; Trump Announces Tariffs On Japan and South Korea; At Least 90 People Dead In Texas Floods; Trump Signs Major Disaster Declaration Over Texas Flooding; Israel, Hamas To Hold Gaza Truce Talks As Netanyahu Due To Meet Trump; Russian Minister Found Dead, Likely Of Suicide; Australian Erin Patterson Convicted Of Mushroom Murders. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired July 07, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

[14:00:00]

ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: A very warm welcome to the show, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, rescuers in central Texas are searching

for dozens of missing people after deadly floods. We'll get an update on the ongoing flood and rain warnings. Then Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin

Netanyahu soon meet Donald Trump at the White House, as the U.S. President pushes for a Gaza ceasefire deal.

And President Trump is reigniting America's trade war, announcing tariffs on two of Washington's allies, Japan and South Korea. We'll have all the

details for you this hour. But first, we begin with a parents truly worst nightmare. Camp Mystic, the all girls Summer camp that sits along the

Guadalupe River in Texas now says at least 27 campers and counselors died in the catastrophic floods.

And here you can see just part, really, of the devastation that has been left behind. Across central Texas, more than 80 deaths have been confirmed

and dozens are still missing. Flood watchers have extended into this evening as rescuers race against the clock. Earlier, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz

spoke on the grief many families are still enduring.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Everyone would agree in hindsight if we could go back and do it again, we would evacuate particularly those in the most

vulnerable areas, the young -- the young children in the cabin's closest to the water. We would remove them and get them to higher ground if we could

go back and do it again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: The weather is still a factor for emergency crews as more rain is expected in the region. Kerrville City Manager Dalton Rice is urging

volunteers to stay safe. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALTON RICE, KERRVILLE CITY MANAGER: They're running into a lot of technical challenges with terrain, with water, even potentially, you know,

with weather, you know, in the rising fields. We've talked about this before. Volunteers stay out of the way because if we start getting weather

reports and all -- you know, and all the other complications that are out there, we then have to pull off of those search and rescue missions to be

able to communicate to those volunteers, to get off -- to make sure that they don't become victims themselves.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: CNN's Isabel Rosales has been out with rescue teams not far, in fact, from where Camp Mystic is located. Here are the latest details from

Center Point in Texas for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Center Point, just southeast of Hunt, about 25 miles away still impacted by the Guadalupe River and the

tributaries there that feed into the river. And what we're seeing out here by a volunteer Fire Department is a lot of activity. We're seeing

volunteers rolling in truck-after-truck-after-truck.

They're bringing in heavy machinery, like you can see over there, they're removing this gravel from what appears to be a boat ramp here just clearing

the way. Not just there, but look at all of this work that they have ahead of them. Heavy tree limbs all over the place.

And the work is not easy for these hundreds of volunteers who are carefully combing through this area, making sure that they're not missing any

victims. And they're searching underneath these heavy piles of debris and into holes exactly like this one. So many areas where somebody -- a victim

might be found.

I want to actually introduce you to Michael, who is a Marine. Michael, you -- tell me about what had actually inspired you to come out here, because

you're from this community?

MICHAEL GUYER, VOLUNTEER: Yes, and honestly, what inspired me is the fact that, I figured I could be prioritizing myself in an important way, even

though I'm not actively involved as a first responder and everything, I figured I can at least come and help relieve them of some stress and

exhaustion.

And also, it's my community. Like my fiancee is from -- she's a nurse over in this community. I work in this community. We have friends and family in

this community. And honestly, my biggest passion that kind of brought me out here is just -- if anything, to find closure for the families because

we don't know what we're going to find, if we're going to find anything.

But at least, the fact that we can find closure for each and every individual and family member, especially for the children that were lost at

the camps and are still missing, I figured I could be doing my part just as much as these first responders and active personnel are doing.

[14:05:00]

ROSALES: Yes, and you're actually out here with your mother, too. You took your entire family out here to help out, and it's incredible seeing the

love from this community to lend their time to search for these missing people. What can we expect to see today out here that we haven't seen for

the past two days?

GUYER: So, honestly, it's really just more search and recovery. Hopefully, people find -- turn up missing, but at the same time, we're prepared for

more of a recovery effort. But at the same time, today's brunt force is going to be more pulling debris.

ROSALES: Actually removing all this stuff out of the way.

GUYER: And I mean, you can see already, there's workers going -- like digging and then also cutting and everything. So, our job is going to be

more of like the heavy-lifting, pulling debris, actually like finding through a lot of this brush.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: So much resiliency and so much sense of community there. Isabel Rosales reporting. Well, my next guest is Texas resident Gavin Walston who

captured this striking footage we're about to show. And here you can see those rapid flood waters from Friday completely engulfing a tree as more

debris swept under a bridge.

Walton joins us now from Center Point. And thank you very much for joining us. I really appreciate you taking the time to speak to us. You have really

captured -- showed one of your videos there, the speed as well as the devastation of these floods. Can you just talk us through what you saw and

how quickly it all unfolded here?

GAVIN WALSTON, RESIDENT OF KERR COUNTY, TEXAS: Yes, thank you for having me. That's the striking of all of this, is it didn't take any time at all.

Most people were under the assumption with a lot of the snippets of videos we've had in the past prior flash floods, you know, we always talk how fast

these are. And then a lot of times don't have the actual grasp of the intensity, the violence and the quickness they overtake and move down our

rivers.

And I was unaware, unfortunately, at the time, whenever I recorded this that morning of the tragedy up-river. And so, I was still scanning the

waters for any possibility, just out of lighthearted chance, again, not knowing what had already transpired up-river. I was under the notion that

this was just going to be, oh, another one of our flash flood events that's -- you know, just might get to see some interesting, fast-moving water for

a brief bit of time.

It's going to slow the mosey its way on up. But that was definitely not the case as things perspired pretty quickly --

SOARES: Yes --

WALSTON: With the turn of --

SOARES: Gavin, at what point --

WALSTON: This --

SOARES: At what point, Gavin -- I mean, first of all, give me a sense of what time did you start filming this? What time was this? And at what point

did you decide, Gavin, that you realized that potentially this was something different here?

WALSTON: So, I woke up, as I normally do, with the way I work, it was about 6:30 or so, I had seen some just weather updates of potential for a water

surge coming down the river, and nothing more than that at that time that I had seen. And so -- and then, it was only 10, 15 minutes for me to get down

to the river after I was ready.

And this took place right at 7:11, whenever I started recording when I got -- I had driven across the bridge, nothing was seen. I got turned around,

threw on some rain gear as it was currently still raining, and then as -- just as I was getting on the bridge, I started seeing the precursor

evidence of the flow at the lower part of the river as I was starting to record.

SOARES: And Gavin, give us a sense, and our viewers, a sense right around the world of how it's looking right now, because as we've been hearing now

from our meteorologists, CNN Atlanta, a flooding threat is still very much looming large. Just speak to that.

WALSTON: We have had additional warnings yesterday. We were out helping, mud-out some houses. The back to the overwhelming volunteer -- professional

volunteers that are doing the search and recovery as previous witnesses describing that, there is a blessed flow of help from Texas

representatives.

Our Texas leaders, our local community, and it's overwhelming. And so, having to stay focused in places that we can help, and that's what our

little church was doing yesterday.

[14:10:00]

And we had an alert go out as we were mudding out a room -- a house, that there was another small wall of water coming down the river --

SOARES: Goodness --

WALSTON: That again, wasn't -- it wasn't major anywhere near to what it occurred the day before. But in all severity of taking things not lightly,

getting the rescuers out of the river and just up out of all abundance of caution, rightly so, and then things resumed pretty quickly after things

were confirmed to only rising a couple of feet.

But we've got so many well-meaning, hardworking volunteers, professionals and local. It's just having to be weary of making sure the help is in the

right place, in the right manner, with the right amount of training that we're not hindering those that can do it efficiently going forward with

this tragedy that we have.

SOARES: Indeed, and there will be time for questions, and many already asking those questions, and some may even be pointing fingers. But for the

time being, you know, and I often find that in moments of crisis, Gavin, that you know, communities do come together supporting each other like

you're saying, cleaning up, having each other's backs.

Give us a sense, really, of what those around you, what they are doing exactly in this challenging moment for so many families and moments of so

much grievance for so many.

WALSTON: So, as we have an overwhelming amount of volunteers on the river, we have those that aren't -- maybe as able-bodied for that type of

volunteering that are providing food. There was, you know, tents every 100 feet along the road offering free food for volunteers, water for victims,

any help, counseling, prayer.

It's quite awesome to see in this tragedy that the quick response, the un- judgmental reaction --

SOARES: Yes --

WALSTON: Of how things transpired.

SOARES: Yes, the resilience, the sense of humanity, the sense of community, so important. Gavin Walston, thank you very much for speaking to us and for

documenting this. Wishing you and your community all the very best of luck. Thank you, Gavin.

WALSTON: All right, I appreciate the opportunity, thank you.

SOARES: Thank you. Well, in the midst of all this tragedy, questions are arising of why this area saw such an unusual amount of rainfall in such a

short amount of time, as you saw there from Gavin's video. Do stay with us, later in the program, we'll be unpacking the role that climate change

played in these devastating floods with the help of the CNN Weather Center.

We may not see much before the cameras today when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the White House. But behind closed doors,

decisions could be made that will reshape Gaza and the broader Middle East, of course. Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu are scheduled to have dinner

a few hours from now.

Yesterday, the U.S. President said he thinks there's a good chance -- his words, that a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal will be reached this week.

Israel and Hamas are now holding a second day of indirect talks in Qatar, but on the ground in Gaza, you wouldn't know a ceasefire may be near.

Israel is keeping up relentless attacks, including a strike on a clinic that was sheltering families. The Palestinian Health Ministry says at

least, 105 people have been killed over the past 24 hours. Let's get more now from our Jeremy Diamond, who joins us now from Tel Aviv. So, Jeremy,

after 21, I think 21 months of war, where are we then on possible signs of a ceasefire here? Just talk us through the differences from both sides and

whether, you know, realistically, they can be overcome here.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Listen, it's important to note right off the bat, Isa, that Israel and Hamas are now closer than they ever

have been since the last ceasefire collapsed to another ceasefire agreement. And yet, it is also true that gaps still remain, and this whole

thing could still very much fall apart.

And so, here's where we stand. They are now in this phase known as proximity talks, meaning that Israel and Hamas are in, you know, very

nearby locations. A messenger is kind of going in between them, sending messages back-and-forth, trying to reach agreement on some of the

outstanding issues, you know, by the minute, by the hour, as things progress, rather than waiting days for a response to come through.

This comes after Hamas submitted what it described as a, quote, "positive response" to that ceasefire proposal, which Israel had already agreed to,

but clearly was suggesting some amendments.

[14:15:00]

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that those amendments were unacceptable to Israel. But despite that rhetoric, he still sent a

negotiating team to Doha. And now, tonight, he's going to be having dinner with President Trump who has been very clear that he wants to see this

ceasefire agreement go through. He believes that it can be achieved this week.

And he has also made clear that he believes that this ceasefire agreement will ultimately lead to an end of the war in Gaza. And so, that will

certainly be at the forefront of the conversation between President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as a range of other regional issues,

including the possibility of Israel carrying out additional strikes on Iran should its nuclear program attempt to be reconstituted, or should the

damage to those nuclear sites not be as significant.

But there's no question that the issue of Gaza and the 50 remaining hostages will be at the forefront of that conversation. And clearly, there

are still gaps that need to be addressed, because we've just learned that Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy, who was set to meet with

Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he will now be traveling to Doha, Qatar, which shows the U.S.' commitment to this.

But it also shows clearly that there are still some major issues that need to be resolved that require the presence of a senior official, such as

Steve Witkoff, Isa.

SOARES: Yes, and as these talks, you know, continue, of course, we'll wait to hear from President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. We are seeing

Israel keep up the relentless attacks on Gaza, as we reported more than a 100 people killed in operations in Gaza. Can you talk us through that? And

what is the latest on the delivering of aid with the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation here?

DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. I mean, we are continuing to see deadly Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. In fact, over the last several days, I mean, we have

seen the death toll numbers, you know, approach 100, almost every day. And this is what we see typically when we get closer to a ceasefire agreement,

is Israel ramping up its strikes.

We've also seen some attempts at Hamas rocket fire in recent days as well. But beyond the strikes, I mean, what's important to note here, and what

needs to be resolved by the ceasefire as well, is that humanitarian situation, is the hunger crisis that is still roiling Gaza. The World Food

Program now says that, according to a recent survey they conducted, 1 in 3 people in Gaza have not eaten in several days, 90,000 children and women in

urgent need of treatment for acute malnutrition. Isa.

SOARES: Thank you very much, Jeremy Diamond there for us on the ground, appreciate it. And we'll have much more, of course, on the Gaza ceasefire

efforts just ahead, as well as the Israeli Prime Minister's visit to the White House now, just hours away, in fact. Plus, President Trump threatens

more levies as his 90-day tariff pause is set to expire. Who is in the crosshairs this time? Anna Stewart breaks it down for us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:00]

SOARES: Welcome back. President Trump has made a last minute adjustment to his self-imposed tariff deadline. Countries looking to do business with the

U.S. initially had until Wednesday, if you remember, to strike a deal. The White House just announced, he will extend the deadline to August 1st.

Before that, the President posted on social media, as you can see there, that tariff letters will be sent out today to all trading partners without

a deal in place.

With that, he also announced a 25 percent tariff on Japan and South Korea, causing U.S. stocks to take a tumble. He also says countries align with a,

quote, "anti-American policies of BRICS will be charged an additional 10 percent." Anna Stewart joins me now. And Anna, just talk us through these

letters because they're practically identical, aren't they?

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: They are. I've got Japan and South Korea. These are the first two, we're told 12 more are to come. These letters are

completely identical other than the country names, 25 percent tariffs for Japan and South Korea starting 1st of August. Now, actually, that is no

difference at all for South Korea, and barely any difference for Japan.

It was 24 percent prior to the pause on Liberation Day. It was 25 percent South Korea then. So, the baseline of 10 percent, where we've been at for

this long pause is going to increase in the 1st of August, but not significantly different to what we were expecting. Also, for both of these

countries, their main export to the U.S. are cars, that already has a 25 percent tariff.

Other exports that are key to both economies are machinery, pharmaceuticals. Those are exempt from tariffs currently. So, actually, the

impact this will have is quite limited. We're talking about 54 percent of exports from Japan to the U.S., and about 46 percent when it comes to South

Korea.

SOARES: How do you think they will react? Again, because I was reading that auto stocks are down on the back of this, even though it's not that

significant in terms of a percentage.

STEWART: Well, I think there was hope --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: Particularly from Japan, that they would be able to negotiate down that 25 percent tariff on cars, and instead, actually tariffs are being

raised up to that level across the board at this stage, apart from those areas that are exempt. There's also a threat in the letter, which is that

if they decide to raise tariffs on U.S. imports, then that will be essentially matched.

So, it's a warning not to bother to do that. And there's also a big warning about trans-shipping, for instance, if something originating in China was

exported through one of these countries with assembly or something, they could face an even higher tariff.

SOARES: And this is one of -- I mean, Japan in particular, one of the U.S.' closest allies.

STEWART: One of the closest allies, and actually, originally, early on in the talks, one of the ones we expected to be signed first. So, in that

sense, it's interesting. This morning, Scott --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: Bessent, the U.S. Secretary -- Treasury Secretary did say that we're going to have several announcements in the next 48 hours. That was

when the deadline was still Wednesday. That was only this morning, it felt like we'd get a flurry of deals. Now, an executive order is being signed,

the deadline is the 1st of August.

SOARES: Keep shifting, very quickly on the BRICS. Bring us up- to-date on that.

STEWART: So, President Trump has had the BRICS in his sight before --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: Early in January, he actually threatened them with 100 percent tariffs. Now most recently, there was a BRICS summit where there was a

joint statement signed by all the leaders denouncing the high tariff rates, denouncing high defense spending, and also saying that they were

essentially opposed to the strikes against Iran.

That did not go down well. They are now --

SOARES: Yes --

STEWART: Threatened with an additional 10 percent of tariffs. And it's important to remember, BRICS is no longer just Brazil, Russia, India, it's

a lot of countries. So, if he were to follow through on that threat, that would actually be quite significant.

SOARES: Anna Stewart, thank you very much indeed. And still to come tonight, it is the worst case scenario. We'll hear from survivors in Texas

and look at how climate change set the stage for these disastrous floods. Plus, a Russian Minister is found dead just hours after President Trump --

President Putin, Vladimir Putin, pardon me, oh my goodness, fired him from his post -- I've corrected myself. What officials are saying happened just

ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:25:00]

SOARES: Welcome back, everyone. Utter devastation and unimaginable tragedy. At least, 90 lives lost and dozens missing. And the threat of more floods

looming over communities that are already vulnerable. This is still the reality for many in central Texas as the search continues for those who

have been swept away.

The girls at Summer camps is at least 27 campers as well as counselors have been killed. Many died with little or no warning of the horrors to come.

The mayor of Kerrville spoke with CNN's Pamela Brown earlier about the losses across the community. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JOE HERRING JR., KERRVILLE, TEXAS: It all happened upriver at the worst possible place. And I think everyone in Kerrville, everyone in Kerr

County, wishes to God, we had some way to warn them, to warn those people. I've lost two friends, we loved them, and they're gone. You know, they're

gone.

Everyone here, if we could have warned them, we would have done so. And we didn't even have a warning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: Mayor of Kerrville speaking there to Pamela Brown. As the search continues for the missing, more stories are emerging from those who have

survived this disaster, with residents sharing the horrors that they have witnessed. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The disaster was horrible. I've been through a lot, but I haven't seen anything like that in my life. It's pretty bad. Just

demolished. Yes, the whole town is demolished.

SCOTT WALDEN, FLOOD SURVIVOR: I grabbed my wife and we literally jumped in the water, and it swept us down to about 200 feet down that way. And there

is a Crepe Myrtle tree that we grabbed hold of, and we waited for rescue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, no, Graynie(ph), I can't get any more -- oh, my God.

TONIA FUCCI, FLOOD SURVIVOR: No warnings at all. They came hours later, which was the most devastating part. We got the warnings on our phones

hours later. Hours later. The destruction had already been done before the warnings came out.

[14:30:14]

It was just something so serious happening. And the swiftness of the water, it wasn't slowing. It wasn't slow. And debris and furniture and RVs were

coming down the river.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm devastated by what's happened to these families, to this town, but I'm also joyful to see the efforts that the community is

all pitching in.

MACON WARE, RESIDENT: A week ago, I had five granddaughters. In Camp mystic, and they finished their first session and they're home now, but

some of their friends were there for the second session. And my heart goes out to all those little girls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOARES: All those kids and all the families. While ahead of his planned trip to Texas, President Trump activated FEMA on Sunday in response to

deadly floods. Just last month, if you remember, he announced plans to phase out the emergency agency, but with at least 90 lives lost. There are

discussions over whether or not a breakdown in emergency warning systems could have contributed to the high number of people killed.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, however, says otherwise, stating earlier than they had not found any evidence of a breakdown so far.

Let me get more from our Kevin Liptak who's at the White House. And Kevin, it's just really heartbreaking to hear the mayor of Kerrville just saying,

speaking to Pamela Brown, you know, pretty distraught, as you can imagine, saying there was little or no warning.

What has this administration be saying in response to that, in response to the whole warning system around it?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and when you listen to White House officials, including President Trump, they are suggesting that

nothing could have prevented the human tragedy on the ground there, that because of the scale of these floods, sort of the surprise nature of the

storm that caused them, that even having, for example, some of the positions that were left vacant at the National Weather Service wouldn't

necessarily have done anything to avoid this massive death toll that we're seeing on the ground there and the enormous amount of devastation that so

many of these families are facing.

And I think at the end of the day, at this point, at this early stage in the game, it is unclear whether having any of these different positions in

place could have made a difference. There are questions about the warning system and including the idea that a siren system could potentially have

been more effective than sending out alerts on phones in an area where there is spotty cell service, where, you know, in the middle of the night,

people not might not have been looking at their phones or might have put their phones on silent.

All of these questions I think, for local authorities to try and grapple with, at least from the federal government's perspective. However, the

White House, President Trump, all insisting that none of the cuts that had been made to federal services earlier this year would have affected what

happened on the ground there.

And just to list some of the positions, the for example, the warning coordination meteorologist, which is a position in the local National

Weather Service branch, that position had been vacant after its occupant took one of the early retirement offers that the administration offered

earlier this year as it sought to reduce the size of the federal government. There was another position, a meteorologist in charge at a

different office that was left vacant as well.

What we heard from an official representing the union for the National Weather Service, which has been opposed to these cuts, is that these

vacancies did not affect what happened on the ground there, that they did have adequate resources and staffing. But certainly all of that is going to

be scrutinized going forward.

SOARES: Kevin Liptak, indeed, I'm sure these are the questions we're already listening to and hearing from residents locally. Thank you very

much, Kevin.

Well, the catastrophic flooding has sparked renewed scrutiny over deep cuts, as Kevin was saying, the Trump administration has made to the

National Weather Service and whether those critical vacancies impacted the government's response as well as warning systems. Four months worth of rain

fell in just four hours across parts of Texas, slashing the amount of time that people could get to higher ground.

I want to go now to Chris Warren who's in the CNN Weather Center. And Chris, just put this in perspective to all of you. It's just the speed. And

we spoke this to one of our guests, Gavin, who filmed some of the earlier footage we saw in which this the flood waters just opened up. Speak to

that.

CHRIS WARREN, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. And Isa, what's really tough about this is that it gets to catastrophic levels very, very quickly. There

really was not a lot of time once you get the warnings, if you got them to react.

But today, still on edge, this is the area where there is excessive rainfall potential once again, a three out of four in the threat.

[14:35:00]

And with that already flood watch is posted. That's the green right here. So that's what's going to be posted a day or two ahead of time. And then

when you get the warnings, which you have right here, these are flash flood warnings in red, that tells us that something's happening or is about to

happen. And you just usually don't have a lot of notice on that because most of the time to get a warning it has to already be raining.

And that's what we're seeing right now. There is rain and some thunderstorms right now that have been going and throughout the rest of

this day it will be more showers and storms, but then an extended dry period is on the way.

But to see the pictures in the video, there's a lot of things that have to come together to create that and this is one of them. There are so many

different factors, but drought for days if not weeks been in drought, you think, well you know what shouldn't a drought be able to absorb the land,

be able to absorb more water?

In fact, when the is very dry, when it's very dry, it gets hard. And along with the stream beds that are the bedrock is limestone and hard anyways,

that water is going to run off and run off in a big way.

Now the atmosphere, with climate change, you have a better chance of having more atmospheric moisture and more intense storms are a possibility with

that. But then you add in this, you add in the fact that there are a couple of remnant tropical systems. So that's even more moisture into this

spelling disaster is when you get this right here, it adds up to these storms that are intense, they last a long time and they're falling in the

exact wrong place you want them to.

Right here, the Guadalupe River, the South Fork, the North Fork. This storm that lasted for hours and the rain lasted for several hours as well,

leading to what we saw. This amount of rain does do this. Now this is not something you imagine usually when there are river rises, it's more of a

gradual slope. But in a couple of hours here this is the point. This was throughout much of last week.

It was below a foot here, the Guadalupe river at Kerrville and then to go up to major flood stage in just a matter of a couple of hours, Isa, is

really unimaginable and hard to even comprehend.

SOARES: Chris, really appreciate it. Thanks for laying it all down for us. Appreciate it. Now two meetings are taking place today that could be

critical to undermining how a cease fire may come about for Gaza and when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will sit down for dinner soon

with President Donald Trump at the White House while Israeli and Hamas negotiators hold a second day of indirect talks in Qatar.

Before he left Israel, Mr. Netanyahu said he remains committed to returning the Israeli hostages and removing Hamas from Gaza. Each day with no

ceasefire, more civilians in Gaza die. A hospital director says at least six people were killed in a strike on a clinic sheltering families. One

father says they were bombed as they slept and children are among the dead. And that attack comes after a weekend of deadly strikes in Gaza.

Paula Hancocks has the details. And we do warn you, her report has disturbing memories.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hamas and Israel may be closer than they've been in months to a ceasefire, but there's no evidence

of that in Gaza. Well over one state killed in the past 12 days, according to Ministry of Health Daily counts.

An Israeli airstrike killed two dozen in this house in the west of Gaza City, including eight children according to hospital officials. The house

was targeted around 2am this neighbor says we got two people out alive after three hours of trying. There were about 35 people in the house.

It is horrifying, another neighbor says. A mother and son was sleeping, then broken into pieces. There's no reason for this. CNN has reached out to

the Israeli military for comment. But in an update Sunday, the IDF said it continued to target terrorist organizations in Gaza and recently dismantled

an observation post in the northeast.

A desalination plant in the Al Ramal neighborhood of Gaza City was hit by an airstrike on Saturday. Funerals held for those killed in Al Mawasi,

southern Gaza. Saturday evening. News of a possible ceasefire edging closer has reached those who stand to gain the most from the guns falling silent.

This woman says, I agree to a 60-day truce, even if it's 50 days or 40 days just to rest a little. We are exhausted psychologically and physically. No

country has endured what the Palestinian people have endured.

The ceasefire at the start of this year lasted just two months before the airstrikes resumed. I hope this truce will be real and not just ink on

paper, this man says. Others call on both Hamas and Israel to agree to the deal. With dozens dying every day in recent weeks, every further day of

negotiation will be a death sentence for some. Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[14:40:09]

SOARES: Look at that report. Let's get some perspective now from Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. He joins us now from

Tel Aviv. Alon, great to see you.

It looks promising. President Trump appears at least optimistic that they're making progress towards a deal. We have been here before, as you

and I well know, because we've discussed at great length numerous occasions. How realistic do you think it is this time, Alon?

ALON PINKAS, FROMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL: Hi, Isa. Look, it seems realistic because the game changing factor appears to be President Trump's

insistence and persistence that this happened now, particularly after he participated in the attack on Iran two weeks ago. And so now he feels that

the quid pro quo would be an Israeli end of the war.

However, while Israel initially said yes to this draft proposal, by the way, parenthetically, Isa, the same draft proposal that was rejected four

times by either or both of those sides. Hamas then came with demands. And rather than make it a ceremonious declaration in the White House, as I'm

sure President Trump would have wanted, this is not going to happen tonight.

How optimistic I am? I think all the ingredients are there, even though Mr. Netanyahu is not enthusiastic about this, even though there are many

questions and if we have time, we can go into them. Up to you, of course, Isa. But there are many questions that makes this very precarious, even if

it's signed, even if it is signed that make it extraordinarily tenuous and precarious. And so I'm optimistic for your question that it would have it

will happen. I am less optimistic that it is durable.

SOARES: Right. Let's talk through some of what is being discussed because there are several sticking points and I'm sure you talk to us, you know,

Hamas wanting the end of hostilities, the Gaza humanitarian foundation, aid distribution as well, which has been marred in controversy, as our reporter

just said, that prison exchanges among others. Right.

Talk us through those and what you think, Alon, the Prime Minister Netanyahu will be prepared to compromise on.

PINKAS: In the long run? Nothing. He will compromise on nothing, which is why I question the durability of this. But going back to your question, the

initial probably, you know, the premise, the underlining question is if you're going to get rid of Hamas politically, then how can you conceivably

give Hamas guarantees on humanitarian aid, on Israeli withdrawal and American assurances that the ceasefire will hold? Because if you look at

the post war Gaza plans, they call for the removal of Hamas. So why would Hamas agree? But Hamas is agreeing, meaning that there is something we may

not know.

Now, as for the sticking points, OK, the first is you mentioned it. Hamas is demanding a more free, a more accessible and a quicker humanitarian aid

entry into New York, claiming that the Gaza Humanitarian Fund, that U.S.- Israeli hybrid organization, is not fulfilling its role.

Israel is saying, and there is proof and evidence attesting to that if you just allow humanitarian aid to go in, it is being confiscated and looted by

Hamas, who then use it to further entrench themselves politically.

The second issue is, OK, let's assume there's a ceasefire. It's called for 60 days. Israel is supposed to begin initial redeployments and withdrawal.

Yet today, the government of Israel, officially the defense minister, among a group of other ministers, came up with this idea that supposedly an

American consulting firm did the drafted a plan that the entire population of Gaza will be evacuated and moved --

SOARES: Yes.

PINKAS: -- into some kind of a humanitarian city in the south. So if that is the case, how could this ceasefire hold? Third, Hamas is asking for a

permanent ceasefire, which is sort of we mentioned that in the last few sentences. That would mean the end of the war.

Mr. Netanyahu cannot allow that, Isa, in that.

SOARES: Yes.

PINKAS: I'll just add one more thing if I can.

SOARES: Yes.

PINKAS: The whole thing goes to the heart, and I think we've discussed this, of how each side respectively defined victory.

[14:45:03]

Israel said many times, annihilation, obliteration, evisceration, destruction of Hamas. Hamas is saying all we need is to stand up. The two

are incompatible. And so this deal cannot conceivably, I'm sorry to say that's my less optimistic side here. This deal cannot stand beyond the 60

days.

SOARES: Yes. The one difference in this time is whether President Trump, of course, has the political will here, right --

PINKAS: Right.

SOARES: -- to push Netanyahu. But we shall see, Alon, maybe not today, maybe Wednesday, Thursday. We are hoping here for some good news for all.

Alon, great --

PINKAS: Using lines from Casablanca now. Yes, I can smell the desperate.

SOARES: Alon, good to see you. Thank you very much.

PINKAS: Good to see you.

SOARES: And still to come tonight, this man here was found dead just hours after getting fired from Russian president Vladimir Putin. What officials

are saying happened to a Russian transport minister. We have the very latest for you.

And then later, there's a verdict in the mushroom murder trial. Do you remember that one? Did the jury believe Erin Patterson's claim she

accidentally killed her in laws with poisonous lunch? We have the verdict next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: We are learning more about a Russian transport minister who died by apparent suicide hours after getting fired by President Vladimir Putin. The

Russian Investigative Committee says Roman Starovoit was found in a car and died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. His dismissal came amid a

multiday disruption to air travel in Russia with hundreds of flights canceled. And Matthew Chance has this report for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, a Russian politician has been found dead with an apparent gunshot wound hours after

he was unceremoniously fired by a presidential decree, according to Russian investigators who said their main theory is suicide.

The former transport minister, Roman Starovoit, its body was recovered from his personal car outside of Moscow on Monday. The Kremlin gave no reason

for the transport minister's dismissal, but denied it was down to a lack of trust. But it came amid a serious bout of disruption to air travel in

Russia linked to the Ukrainian drone threat.

[14:50:00]

Previously, Starovoit had been governor of Kursk, the Russian region where Ukrainian forces later staged a humiliating military incursion and where he

had been linked to security failures. Matthew Chance, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Still to come tonight, it's the case that's captivated the world. The verdict has been reached in Australia's mushroom murder trial. We'll

take a look at the case as millions have been following.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOARES: Welcome back everyone. After a 10-week trial and six days of jury deliberation, there is a verdict in Australia's mushroom murder trial. The

jury found Erin Patterson guilty of poisoning her in laws and a relative with a lunch containing poisonous death cap mushrooms. Ivan Watson takes a

look at the case that captivated the country and indeed the world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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. And 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 town of Leongatha. Don 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.

Lunch 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.

[14:55:00]

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. The 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. Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOARES: Story, of course, that we have been following very closely here on the show. That does it for this hour. I will be back though the top of the

hour with much more news. Of course, don't go anywhere. See you in a few minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:00:00]

END