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One World with Zain Asher

At least 89 People Dead In Texas Floods, Dozens Missing; National Weather Service Offices In Texas Flood Area Were Missing Key Staff, But Still Issued Warnings; Netanyahu To Meet Trump Amid Israel-Hamas Ceasefire Talks; Musk Announces New U.S. Political Party After Trump Fallout; Police Fire water Cannon And tear Gas At Protesters; Australian Woman Found Guilty In Poisoning Deaths; Aired 12-1p ET

Aired July 07, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:29]

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. It is a race against time. Right now, civilians and first responders in Texas are searching high and low for

survivors of the recent floods.

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: The second hour of "One World" starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: New details. Moments ago, we received an update from authorities on the dire situation in Central Texas. We'll tell you what we have

learned.

ASHER: Plus, taking to the streets, protests in Kenya demand change, but police respond with water cannon and tear gas.

And later --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman who effectively served murder for main course.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: It's a case that captivated the world. A verdict is in the so- called mushroom murder trial.

ASHER: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I am Zain Asher.

GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. You're watching the second hour of "One World."

Texas Senator Ted Cruz says the catastrophic flooding over the July 4th weekend has broken the heart of his state.

ASHER: It's just half an hour or so ago, officials updated us on the death toll. They said it was at least 89 people. Dozens are still missing though

and such, and rescue operations continue around the clock.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): Texas is grieving right now. The pain, the shock of what has transpired these last few days has broken the heart of our state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: The weather is still a factor for emergency crews as even more rain is expected in the region. Four months worth of rain in just hours

transformed the Guadalupe River into a raging torrent.

ASHER: Yes. The waters tore through Camp Mystic. That's a nearly century old girl's retreat on the banks of the river. The camp confirmed the loss

of at least 27 people while the survivors are recounting harrowing tales of being rescued.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PIERS BOYETT, FLOODING SURVIVOR: My brother here, he -- he had to swim out of his cabin.

RUFFIN BOYETT, FLOODING SURVIVOR: The floods started getting bigger. And it was going up to -- we had bunk beds in our cabins and it was going up to

the top bunk. And we had one choice and we had this one out of our cabins.

DIANA SMITH, FLOODING SURVIVOR: Open the front door and it sweeps both my dogs different directions and I'm panicking thinking, now what the hell am

I going to do?

I said a prayer when I was standing on my porch. Both my parents are deceased and I said mom, dad, God help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Ooh, boy. CNN's Leigh Waldman is in the hard-hit region of Hunt and filed this report earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some have lost everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've lost dear friends, best friends, my boss, my god children, my house, my car.

WALDMAN (voice-over): Many barely making it to safety.

DAVID FRY, FLOODING SURVIVOR: You know, it was a -- it was very, very close call. And have we been 10 or 15 minutes later, you know, it would have been

too late.

WALDMAN (voice-over): David Fry (ph) and his extended family were staying at the River Inn Resort in Hunt for their annual vacation when the

Guadalupe River began flooding in the middle of the night.

FRY: We went through banging on doors, just trying to notify as many people as possible.

WALDMAN (voice-over): All 33 of them survived by climbing on top of the hotel roof, but it seems that for every story of relief is one of

heartbreak.

As the death toll mounts, dozens of loved ones are still missing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Homes that were staying were gone. They were just leveled. They -- they were no longer there. We haven't heard or seen of

them since then.

WALDMAN (voice-over): Kerr County Sheriff's Office says over 400 local, state, and national first responders and more than a dozen canine units are

helping in a search and rescue efforts. Volunteers are also out looking on foot and horseback.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those babies. If it was my babies, I don't want somebody looking. So that's why I'm here. I couldn't sit back.

WALDMAN (voice-over): Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned that the weather threat isn't over yet.

GOV. GREG ABBOTT (R-TX): There is more heavy rainfall that's expected that will lead to potential flash flooding broadly in these regions.

WALDMAN (voice-over): In Hunt, Texas, I'm Leigh Waldman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: Well, President Trump has released federal disaster funds to help the state of Texas and says that he will probably visit later this

week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: President, are you still planning to phase out FEMA?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, FEMA is something we can talk about later, but right now, they're busy working. So, we'll leave

it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: But there are serious questions being asked about whether the federal government could have handled this disaster better, both in terms

of issuing flood warnings and in rescue and recovery.

[12:05:08]

The floods hit in the middle of the night. The timeline of alerts has raised a lot of questions by critics of the federal emergency response.

GOLODRYGA: Let's bring in CNN's Brian Todd now with more. And, Brian, when we talk about the timeline and -- and how quickly this tragedy unfolded

just within minutes. We had sensor data showing the Guadalupe River swelling some 20 feet in just 95 minutes.

I know you've been focusing on putting a timeline together. What have you learned?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Bianna and Zain. There is a lot of attention being paid right now to that timeline. The timeline of the

rainfall and the flooding and whether the warnings were adequate during that timeline.

Four months of rain came down in just a matter of hours during that time period. A wall of water surged down the Guadalupe River in the overnight

hours Thursday into Friday, limiting the number of people who could get those warnings.

The National Weather Service began forecasting the threat of flooding in Kirk County, Texas as early as Thursday morning, July 3rd with a hazardous

flood outlook.

At 1:18 P.M. Central time on Thursday, a flood watch was issued highlighting Kerrville among other locations as being at risk of flash

flooding.

But local officials have pointed out, the forecast was for a lot less rain than the amount that actually ended up falling. There were several

technical forecasts through Thursday afternoon and evening with increasingly heightened language about the magnitude of the potential

flooding.

However, at 6:30 P.M. Central time on Thursday, river forecasters were calling for locally intense rain rates that would quote, quickly overwhelm

the ground's ability to absorb the water.

Now, we move ahead to 1:14 A.M. Central time on Friday morning. The first warning for life-threatening flash flooding for Kerrville came and was

marked specifically to trigger the emergency alert system.

Now, that would have sounded the alarm on cell phones in that warned area, assuming those cell phones had service and their users had not turned off

the alerts.

At 4:03 A.M. Central time on Friday, a flash flood emergency warning was issued for Kerr County at 4:35 A.M. Central time. The Kerr County Sheriff's

Office sent the first report of flooding at low water crossings.

Then at around 5:00 o'clock A.M. Central time on Friday, a crucial moment. The Guadalupe River burst from its banks, sweeping homes, cars, cabins and

people downstream.

At 5:34 A.M. Central time, a flash flood emergency warning was issued for Kerrville.

Also, a gentleman named Alan Gerard, he's a former employee with the National Weather Services National Severe Storm Lab. He spoke with CNN's

Pamela Brown on Monday morning and talked about just how horrific this rain and that surge on the river really were.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN GERARD, RETIRED NWS NATIONAL SEVERE STORMS LAB EMPLOYEE: This really was a worst-case scenario where you had six to nine inches of rainfall in

just a few hours right on top of that south fork of the river.

And the unfortunate reality is all the soil and hills in that area just funnel all of that rainfall right into the river and you can just get these

tremendous flood waves that develop extremely quickly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: It took about 90 minutes for a flood wave that measured about 20 feet to move down the Guadalupe River overnight on Thursday into Friday morning.

This was that river's second highest crest on record.

Bianna, Zain.

GOLODRYGA: Brian Todd, thank you so much.

TODD: Thank you.

ASHER: Well, President Donald Trump says it's a good chance at Gaza's ceasefire and hostage deal we reached this week.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And in just a few hours, he's meeting with a man who could also help make that happen.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is said to make his third visit to the White House since Trump took office again, but there are signs of

potential problems.

On Sunday. Netanyahu called Hamas' amendments to the U.S. back proposal unacceptable. It's not clear what those changes are, but Hamas has long

demanded a permanent end to the war.

ASHER: It comes as a second day of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas takes place in Doha and as the deadly Israeli strikes on Gaza continue.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us live now from Tel Aviv.

So, Jeremy, I mean, just -- there are a couple of things, more than a couple of things that the two men are set to discuss. But I think the main

one is, of course, Donald Trump calling for an end to the fighting in Gaza.

And, obviously, as we just pointed out, Hamas wants a permanent end to the war. Israel, of course, has been calling for a temporary truce.

On top of that, though, it's important to know this is the first time the two men have actually met since the end of the 12-day war between Israel

and Iran. And one of the things that a lot of people are wondering is just how much damage Iran's nuclear capabilities have suffered in all of that.

Just walk us through what's on tap for these -- these talks.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you're absolutely right, Zain. There is so much for these two men to cover, both in the short-term,

the medium and the long-term. I think obviously the most pressing issue and the one that will be top of mind for both men is indeed these Gaza

ceasefire negotiations.

[12:10:11]

In fact, as they will be meeting, you will have had now the second day of these what's known as proximity talks between Israel and Hamas, meaning

that they are both in the same building, messages are being run from one side to the other in order to try and finalize this agreement.

And those proximity talks are usually the last stage of negotiations before a ceasefire deal can fully be reached.

However, there is still some uncertainty about whether or not there actually is an agreement on a framework for this deal between these two

sides. Hamas, on Friday, delivered a, quote, positive response according to Hamas to the mediators to that ceasefire proposal, which Israel had agreed

to.

Israel then said that the changes Hamas was making were, quote, unacceptable, but nonetheless decided to send a delegation to Doha to

pursue those proximity talks.

And so now the question really is, you know, when Netanyahu said, these are unacceptable changes, is he simply speaking to his domestic political

audience to show that he is playing tough? Or is he truly objecting to some of the changes that Hamas has suggested here, which we have heard from

other officials seem surmountable? Meaning that they don't seem like the kinds of changes that would blow up these agreements -- this agreement at

this late stage of negotiations.

But it is clear that there is still a lot for these two sides to work out, including the timeline and the exact location of the withdrawal of Israeli

troops, which has been a point of contention.

We also understand that the exact ratio of -- of prisoners to hostages being released is also needs to be finalized. So, there is a lot that still

needs to happen. And that obviously means that there is a lot that could still be derailed.

But again, I come back now to that meeting tonight between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump, because President Trump has made clear, he

believes a deal is within reach. He believes it can happen this week.

And he has also made clear that he wants this to ultimately lead to an end of the war. And so, you know, the extent to which he makes that crystal

clear to Benjamin Netanyahu over dinner tonight is going to affect a lot of things going forward.

And Prime Minister Netanyahu is also going to be looking to see what else is he going to be able to get? If indeed he agrees to ultimately end the

war here, how close is normalization with Syria and with Lebanon, which we know have been discussed? How close is normalization with Saudi Arabia? And

what else is on the table, including, for example, the possibility of future strikes on Iran should it reconstitute its nuclear program? Or

should the damage to those facilities not be as total as President Trump has suggested?

Zain, Bianna.

ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond live for us there. Thank you so much.

GOLODRYGA: Well, billionaire Elon Musk says that he is forming a new U.S. political party calling it the America Party amid his ongoing feud with

President Trump.

ASHER: The president on Friday signed into law what he called his Big, Beautiful Bill, which Musk bitterly criticized for the trillions of dollars

expected to add to the federal deficit.

Trump shot back at Musk's latest announcement, calling the idea of a third party ridiculous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Ridiculous to start a third party. We have a -- a tremendous success with the Republican Party. The Democrats have lost their way, but it's

always been a two-party system. And I think starting a third-party just adds to confusion.

It really seems to have been developed for two parties. Third parties have never worked. So, he can have fun with it, but I think it's ridiculous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: But third parties have disrupted. Let's bring in our chief data analyst.

ASHER: We have Enten one way.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Harry Enten to see what the numbers say about this.

And, Harry, I remember one billionaire named Ross Perot from Texas, who, George H.W. Bush, I would imagine, and his supporters to this day continue

to blame for his loss at a second term.

So, how big of a threat is a potential third party from Elon Musk to Donald Trump and the Republicans?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN CHIEF DATA ANALYST: Yes. I think that we have to separate it out, right? If we're talking about Elon Musk and America First party

actually, you know, winning a lot of races, well, I think that idea makes about as much sense as bacon at a kosher deli.

But if we're talking about Elon Musk perhaps interrupting things, well, that might make a little bit more sense. So I'll take it through the

numbers and we'll chat at the end of this, all right?

So here's what I think is so important to first note out, which is that there's a very little base for this idea that Elon Musk's party would be

successful. Why is that? Take a look at the percentage of Americans who view Musk favorably and the GOP unfavorably.

It's only one, two, three, four percent of all voters. As it already turns out, most of the voters who like Elon Musk also like the Republican Party,

which gets right at the idea that Elon Musk couldn't fact be a spoiler for the Republicans rather than being a party that's successful and wins its

own seats, OK? So, it's just four percent here.

[12:15:09]

But you mentioned Ross Perot in your intro. Well, guess what? It turns out I have a little picture of Ross Perot going on here. And I think it's so

important to note that Ross Perot started his race back in 1992 in a very different position than Elon Musk is starting this third party or says he's

starting this third party right now.

Americans with an unfavorable view of Elon Musk. Right now, the vast majority of Americans have already tuned Elon Musk out. His unfavorable

view among the electorate at large is 58 percent. Look at Ross Perot back in March of 1992. His unfavorable rating was just 14 percent. There were

far more Americans who had their ears open were willing to listen to Ross Perot far -- far more Americans than right now who are willing to listen to

Elon Musk.

Now, here's the thing that I think is so important. We're not just looking at the polling data here, right? We actually have real proof that gets at

the idea of what Donald Trump was talking about.

We really are a two-party system. Why do I say that? Well, let's take a look. Elected to Congress from a third party. And this isn't just third

parties. I'm including independents and write-ins as well.

Look at this number on the screen right here. The percentage of independents third party write-ins that have won races, get this, is 0.2

percent since 1970.

We're talking only about 24 winners out of over 13,000. And most of those winners were either named Angus King or Bernie Sanders, two independents

who right now serve in the United States Senate. When you take them out of the equation, this number falls to only about 0.1 percent of all winners

being from a third party.

So the bottom line is this makes very little sense unless, of course, the idea is to spoil things for Donald Trump and make him cry at his own party.

And that may be why Donald Trump is so upset with the Elon Musk at this particular point.

But overall, guys, this idea makes very little sense, almost as little senses the idea that I haven't seen you guys in like a week or so. It feels

like it's been at least a week, right?

ASHER: Yes, but I saw you right because I worked on July 4th unlike you and unlike you. And I was --

ENTEN: Oh, no, no. I worked -- I worked the evening on July 4th. I want to point it out.

ASHER: You worked the evening. OK. Well, we aired your piece on the hot dog.

Listen, I never want to see a hot dog ever again after that. Please. So this guy Joey Chestnut ate 71 hot dogs. This is such an American tradition

by the way, hot dog eating contest. How many did you eat, Harry?

ENTEN: OK. So, on the July 4th special, which if you tuned in, I think was on at seven o'clock, I actually had the same guy with me, the head of Major

League Eating, and I had the women's champion as well, Miki, teach me how to do it. And I tried to stuff as many hot dogs as I could.

ASHER: Oh. Oh, my gosh.

ENTEN: It --it turns out it was only one and I had my mouth so full. I --

ASHER: Just one, Harry? I am disappointed in you.

ENTEN: I mean look at -- I mean look at this body frame. I mean, there's no way that I could have more than one. And besides, my favorite topping is

coleslaw anyway, which is not available at Nathan's. It's only available at a kosher deli.

See how I brought it all back to the kosher piece?

GOLODRYGA: Kosher deli without bacon. We should say.

ENTEN: Correct.

(CROSSTALK)

ASHER: How do you guys feel about just even just watching that contest? Even just -- I --I literally cannot even look at a hot dog after watching

that contest.

ENTEN: This is what I will say is, you know, I was an athlete in my youth. I was actually a pretty gosh darn good baseball player. But as time passed,

the athletics has passed me by. But I do think with enough training, I might even be able to eat three or four hot dogs.

ASHER: Oh, fearful.

ENTEN: And then maybe we can have it at the CNN --

ASHER: You're getting this. You're going to build up your stamina.

ENTEN: I got to build up the stamina.

GOLODRYGA: One of the many reasons. One of the many --

ENTEN: Yes.

GOLODRYGA: -- reasons the Golodryga family moved to America. And I wasn't here because the July 4th holiday is synchronous thing in my family because

we became U.S. citizens 39 years ago on July 3rd.

ASHER: We're both immigrants.

GOLODRYGA: So I take --I take this holiday very, very seriously as a patriotic American who does not eat hot dogs. But does acknowledge Harry

Enten's very handsome haircut. Harry --

ENTEN: Thank you very -- thank you very much. The girlfriend also agrees and so do the women in makeup.

ASHER: The girlfriend.

GOLODRYGA: Fantastic. A plus to the barber.

ENTEN: Thank you.

Harry Enten, always good to see you.

ENTEN: We'll grab some hot dogs around the band.

GOLODRYGA: The band is back together.

ASHER: Yes. Thank you.

GOLODRYGA: All right. Just ahead, the verdict is in in the case of an Australian woman accused of fatally poisoning her family members with death

cap mushrooms. See images of the allegedly poisonous meal, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:24]

ASHER: All right. New protests erupts in Kenya's young people mark the 35th anniversary of a rally for greater democracy. Police in the capital have

been using tear gas and water cannons on the demonstrators.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. The protesters say they're outraged over allegations of police brutality. This African country has been rocked by a wave of deadly

protests that began last year.

ASHER: All right. Let's go live to Kenya now where we find Victoria Rubadiri. Thank you so much for being with us joining us live now from

Nairobi.

I mean, these protests essentially mark the 35th anniversary of another round of protests that took place in 1990. Just walk us through what's

different this time. It appears the protest is a really calling for Ruto to step down. A lot of people in Kenya are very, very troubled by the level of

inequality across the country among other reasons as well.

VICTORIA RUBADIRI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. Certainly, those issues were at the fore of what the protesters were agitating for. Thirty years ago, it

was about multi-party democracy. And now, we're seeing the young people coming back out to the streets saying they want this government to reform.

They want corruption out of the government operations.

But what's interesting, however, is the contingency of security forces were very clear today on what their goal was. And that was to keep protesters

out of the central business district and that was really from the early hours of the day to see the central business district, which is the

financial and administrative hub of Nairobi become a virtual ghost town was eerily, of course, disheartening for a lot of Kenyans to see.

In terms of the death tone now, we see local media reports put that at five. But the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights now says that

could be 10. We are following those reports, of course, for more developments.

But what has been very concerning for Kenyans is the shrinking civic space. But also the slow pace of justice over the last a few months. Just to give

you a few numbers quoted by the Kenyan National Commission on Human Rights, as of last year's protests, 60 people were killed, 85 abducted, and 29

still missing.

Those investigations have not started. Those cases haven't been resolved. And from the last month's round of protests, 19 deaths were reported still

yet to be investigated. And so this is the very reason a lot of young people said, we will not let up the pressure. We'll continue to hit the

streets every chance we get. And that rallying call to see President William Ruto step down and resign until their demands are actually met.

[12:25:18]

ASHER: All right. Victoria Rubadiri, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

GOLODRYGA: Well, the jury in Australia has reached a verdict in the so- called mushroom murder trial. They found Erin Patterson guilty on three counts of murder and the attempted murder of a fourth person.

ASHER: Yes. Jury said that she deliberately killed family members by serving them lunch, containing poisonous death cap mushrooms. The jury was

shown this video showing Patterson discharging herself from hospital against medical advice, just five minutes after being told she may have

been exposed to potentially fatal mushroom poisoning.

Also shown the evidence, this video of a doctor photographing leftovers of the meal. This all happened two years ago in the state of Victoria.

Ivan Watson has more now on a case that has captivated observers worldwide.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

IVAN WATSON, CNN 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 Australian 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 wellington's steak and mushroom pate wrapped in pastry. Patterson says she flavored the food with

dried mushrooms which she thought had come from a grocer but might have collected and dehydrated herself as part of her hobby of picking wild

mushrooms.

The dehydrator machine was later found in a dumpster with Patterson's fingerprints and traces of the death caps inside.

Patterson admitted she had disposed of it in a panic and lied to police about ever owning it.

The court heard evidence that in the months before the meal, Patterson may have been in a location where death caps grow. 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 attention to kill her children's only grandparents and her ex-husband's aunt and uncle.

Ivan Watson, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GOLODRYGA: All right. Well, coming up for us hostage families are hanging on to hope amid renewed negotiations between Israel and Hamas. We'll speak

to the brother-in-law of Omri Miran who is still being held captive in Gaza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:30:10]

GOLODRYGA: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Bianna Golodryga.

ASHER: I'm Zain Asher.

In direct talks between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire in hostage deal are resuming today in Gaza. Those negotiations coincide with Israeli Prime

Minister Netanyahu's trip to the U.S. where he set to meet the U.S. President later on today. Here's what Netanyahu had to say as he was

leaving Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): So far, we have freed 205 out of 255 hostages, including 148 alive. There are 20

living hostages remaining and 30 deceased. I am determined, we are determined to bring them all back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Meantime, this was the scene in Tel Aviv over the weekend. Thousands taking to the streets demanding a ceasefire and the return of all

of the hostages currently held in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GIL DICKMANN, COUSIN OF HOSTAGE CAMEL GAT: We're very concerned that it's going to be only the partial deal that they're going to bring 10 hostages

alive in 18 deceased hostages and then finish with it. That's not good for us and that's not good for the hostages that will stay behind.

DALIA CUSNIR, SISTER-IN-LAW OF HOSTAGE EITAN HORN: We are afraid, but we understand that if this is what we have and this is how we can save lives,

so we will embrace it and hope and keep working so all the hostages are back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GOLODRYGA: Time now for "The Exchange." Our guest is a familiar face to this show, Moshe Lavi. His brother-in-law, Omri Miran, was abducted by

Hamas during the attacks on October 7th. He is still being held hostage in Gaza today, some 640 days later.

Lavi formally served as a captain for the Israeli Defense Forces. He is now working in consulting in the United States and joining us from Chicago

today.

And, Moshe, you have spent every day since this war began fighting for the release of your brother-in-law, Omri Miran, and for all of the hostages. I

just saw a video of your sister, Lishay, speaking directly to President Trump and talking about their two daughters, Roni is almost four, Alma

three, constantly asking about when their father will come home.

You and I spoke just the other day and you said following some recent meetings you had with administration officials in Washington, you are a bit

optimistic that a deal will come out of these negotiations soon. Walk us through why you have that optimism now.

MOSHE LAVI, BROTHER-IN-LAW OF HOSTAGE OMRI MIRAN: Yes. Thank you so much for -- for having me. I'm -- I'm trying to be as optimistic as I can

because this is the source of energy that gives us the -- that gives us the ability to keep advocating.

The -- the sense of optimism that we can see on way home can see, imagining him hugging Lishay, Roni, and Alma being in Roni's birthday at the end of

this month.

[12:35:07]

It seems like there was some sort of a breakthrough over the past few weeks after the operation in Iran. Hamas is isolated more than ever. And perhaps,

there are incentives also for Israel to make concessions now.

And so we hope that the deal is -- is forthcoming. At the same time, we -- we emphasize as families. A deal needs to lay out a plan to release the

last hostage. The -- the 50th hostage needs to know that they -- that they are going to be home.

And -- and as -- as of now, the current reaching agreement doesn't really guarantee it. So, we'll keep pushing for all policymakers to make the bold

decision of signing a deal that bring home all 50 hostages.

ASHER: Moshe, can I just tell you what touches me the most about you? It's not just the fact that you have continued to fight for your brother-in-law

for two years now, pretty much, is that you have been consistent. You have been consistent.

So, whether it's giving interviews to multiple media outlets, whether it's writing op-eds, whether it's standing in front of crowds, no matter what,

even when there appears at times to have been no end to this war in sight, you get up, you keep going.

Even when ceasefire negotiations appear to dip at the last minute, you get up, you keep going. Even when hostages have been released and your brother-

in-law has not been on that list, you still get up and you keep going. It touches me every single time I see your face.

Can you just tell us where you get that strength?

LAVI: Yes, I get that strength from my sister, Lishay, who ever since October the 7th that she survived. After she was rescued by the IDF, stood

up and said, I'm going to fight for Omri and wasn't shy of asking us or our family, I need you in that -- in that fight.

And -- and every day that she wakes up, that we have conversations, whether it's siblings about silly things, but of course on our plan for the day of

what we need to do in order to raise awareness for Omri and all the hostages, that -- that gives me the strength and motivation to keep going.

She's a lioness, my nieces are little lioness cubs. And we're going to keep fighting, no matter what. We -- we need to keep emphasizing that people

like Omri should not be held hostage, that they should deserve to be home, and that we need to hold accountable, both the perpetrators of their

atrocity of October the 7th and who are keep holding the hostages, but also hold accountable our policymakers who are not yet see -- sought through the

-- the decision to bring home everyone, despite all the difficulties in making that decision.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. And some of those policymakers have yet to take accountability for the failures leading up to October 7th, namely Prime

Minister Netanyahu.

As we always note, the onus here is on Hamas. They are the ones who started this horrific war by invading Israel. They're the ones that can end it by

releasing all of the hostages and laying down their arms.

But I do wonder, Moshe, if you can speak to what we saw happen for the first time since October 7th, just four days ago, and that was Prime

Minister Netanyahu visiting, the hardest hit kibbutz on October 7th, Nir Oz, and visiting with that community. It is stunning that a leader of a

country had yet to do so.

But the fact that he did, coupled with other comments from him following this war with Iran that the hostages are a top priority, that there is an

opportunity for a deal, what does that tell you about a man who has been very politically savvy and a survivor for -- for so many years now, the

longest serving Prime Minister, to finally make such a symbolic move and visit that kibbutz?

LAVI: It was long overdue. Nir Oz, as -- as you mentioned, was the worst hit kibbutz. One of four members of the kibbutz was either murdered or

kidnapped or both. And there are still members of the kibbutz who are held in captivity.

I think the Prime Minister and every politician from both coalition and opposition should have visited on all the kibbutzim and the towns on the

border right after October 7th, which shows solidarity then.

Doing it now is -- is not really doing anything, rather than just signaling that perhaps this is the time for -- for a deal in the eyes of -- of the

Prime Minister.

But at the same time, I -- I -- I respect the fact that it happened finally, and -- and that perhaps we can bring some healing from that visit.

[12:40:03]

But we need more action than symbolic gestures. We need accountability. We need responsibility. That's the essence of leadership. Leaders cannot

escape responsibility when they fail and only take it when they succeed. And October the 7th was most possibly one of the greatest failures of any

policymakers in Israel, what led to it and what happened that day.

I -- I -- I keep focusing though on the fact that we need to release the hostages. That's going to be the message of families in Washington D.C.

this week. There are already some of them there today going to meet policymakers, going to echo the voices of the hostages who are held in the

dungeons of Hamas and cannot be heard.

And after this war ends, we will make sure that there's a national inquiry committee that hold accountable everyone who failed, including the Prime

Minister.

ASHER: Moshe, what do you miss the most about Omri?

LAVI: What I miss the most is knowing that he's there because he would spend so much time with Roni and Alma as -- as the main caretaker. My

sister, Lishay, would work long hours in Sapir College and -- and return home knowing that Omri is the father, the devoted father to Roni and Alma,

devoted husband to her.

And so I miss knowing that the sense of security, of knowing he's -- he's there with them. And -- and besides that, of course, all the conversations

about sports, about literature, over a glass of beer or a cup of coffee. And -- and I can't wait. I just can't wait to -- to see him home. And I

keep manifesting it.

Now, a week ago, I spoke at a -- a -- a conference in D.C. and I tried to engage the audience to imagine what will happen when Omri will return home,

when Alma and Roni hug him.

And I think once we keep manifesting it, it will happen and policymakers will keep hearing it. And that's our role as families.

GOLODRYGA: Half of Roni and Alma's lives have been stolen with their father since the war began. And the fact that they keep asking about him speaks

volumes about what kind of mother they have and what kind of uncle they have that keeps talking about to that amazing father of theirs, that one

day you continue to tell them will be home, will be home and wants to be home back with them.

Moshe Lavi, thank you so much for your time. Thank you for your strength.

LAVI: Thank you.

ASHER: All right. Breaking news into CNN. President Trump has issued the first of his promised tariff letters.

GOLODRYGA: Yes. Two of America's top trading partners, Japan and South Korea will face a 25 percent tariff starting on August 1st, if they don't

come to an agreement with U.S. negotiators. We'll have much more on this breaking story in the coming hours.

ASHER: All right. That does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher.

GOLODRYGA: And I'm Bianna Golodryga. Thanks so much for watching. "African Voices Changemakers" is up next.

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(AFRICAN VOICES CHANGEMAKERS)

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