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The Situation Room

Hostages' Families Call on Trump to Secure Their Release; Judge Orders Deactivation Byron Black's Heart Device Ahead of Execution; FDA's A.I. Tool Making Up Studies. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 23, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: This week, the families of hostages held by Hamas are meeting with Trump administration officials here in Washington, and they're asking the president of the United States to broker a deal now that would bring their loved ones home.

I want to bring in two of those families. Lishay and Liran Lavi has worked tirelessly to advocate for her husband, Omri Miran, is the father of their two daughters. He was kidnapped by Hamas on October 7th and remains captive in Gaza. He and other hostages have been held more than 650 days. Liran Berman has also made diplomatic visits to the United Kingdom in Europe asking for international intervention. His younger brothers were also taken hostage back on October 7th, and according to reports from released hostages, the 26-year-old twins Ziv and Gali are being held separately in Gaza.

To help to both of you, thank you so much for joining us. What's the message you want to convey to the Trump administration today?

LIRAN BERMAN, BROTHERS KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: I think the most important message is that time is running out. The urgency is the most important thing. We need the most urgent that the president can do to bring everyone out. And we can see the polls in Israel, they have the backing of the Israeli people. More than 80 percent support releasing all hostages, even if it means to end the war in Gaza.

BLITZER: And is that the message you want to send, Lishay, too?

LISHAY MIRAN, HUSBAND KIDNAPPED BY HAMAS: Yes, and something more. You know, there is a lot of time speaking about 10 people, 18 people. We have just one list. We have 15 hostages over there, and we had 48 families that will live this nightmare for a long, long time. They need to be reunited again. It's one list and we have one chance to bring them all.

BLITZER: Liran, show us your t-shirt and tell us about that.

BERMAN: Those are my little brothers, Gali and Ziv. They were taken together with Emily Damari. Emily came back on the 19th of January just a day before --

BLITZER: He's name is Ziv.

BERMAN: Ziv.

BLITZER: Not Zev. Not Zev.

BERMAN: Not Zev. Not like you.

BLITZER: Ziv. Yes.

[10:35:00]

BERMAN: Ziv, meaning light. And Gali meaning my wave. So -- and they were inseparable until the tunnels in Gaza. Never, never this long without each other.

BLITZER: And show us your T-shirt.

MIRAN: Yes. This is my Omri. And this is --

BLITZER: Omri?

MIRAN: Yes.

BLITZER: And this is Roni our oldest daughter. She's -- on the end of July, she's going to celebrate four years old in this world. The last time that she saw Omri, their father, it's in October 7th, when she was just two years old. And Omri kidnapped informed our eyes after hour that we're sitting together.

And we had another daughter, Alma. She's now two years old. She was just six months. She know Omri just from a poster. She speak with him every time and every night through the poster. And she really want to meet. It's crazy to say this, but she wants to meet and to know their -- her father. It's a long, long time that they are really waiting for him and want to see him.

And, you know, this is how I live my life and I how my children's grow up without their father, that their father is hostage in Gaza.

BLITZER: Do you think the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has done enough to bring all the hostages home?

BERMAN: I think it's done what he can. It's not just on him. There is an opposition. There is Hamas there. And I think the main blame is on Hamas. If they wanted to end the suffering in Gaza and if they wanted to end everything on October 8, they can bring all the hostages back. So, I think Hamas is the main problem. Obviously, it's not been enough by our prime minister because there are still 50 there, but I think the main problem is Hamas.

BLITZER: Who are you going to be meeting with here in Washington?

MIRAN: We will meet with a lot of people from the administration of Trump. I hope we will meet with Marco Rubio at Friday. We speak yesterday with Mr. Witkoff on the phone. And we're here. We're here to try and to continue convince and continue talk about them and about all the 15 hostages and about the situation of our family. And you know, it's about the situation in Israel, because it's not just a private situation. It's not just us, the family. All the crime need to heal from all we have -- yes.

BERMAN: Almost two years.

MIRAN: Yes. And we really need to close this chapter in our story.

BLITZER: That would be important. That would be so meaningful if those hostages could come home. The remains of those who have been killed could come home and have proper burial in Israel and all of that as well. Steve Witkoff, the special U.S. envoy, is on his way to Doha, Qatar now for these talks going on between Israelis and Hamas for that matter, through the offices of the Qataris. Are you optimistic that there will be a deal?

BERMAN: I will never stop being optimistic. It is just taken a little bit longer than I expected, but I can be pessimistic. For the sake of my brothers and for my sake, I can be pessimistic. I think Steve is a little bit too optimistic, but his optimism is what I'm craving for. This is what I need. I need people who are optimistic about the deal and are optimistic about ending this conflict and we trust President Trump and we trust Steve Witkoff, and we hope that they will bring all 50 back home.

BLITZER: Do you think you'll have a chance to meet with the president today?

BERMAN: We hope so. We tried yesterday. We had a meeting with Karoline Leavitt and we asked her, he wasn't available at the moment, but we hope to meet President Trump. And to made him keep his promise to us that he will be with us until the last hostage.

BLITZER: Well, let's hope it works out and your families can be reunited once again. Appreciate it very much. And stay in touch with me and let me know what's going on.

BERMAN: Of course. Thank you so much.

BLITZER: All right. Thank you very much.

MIRAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Pamela.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

BROWN: Tennessee death row inmate Byron Black is set to be executed in less than two weeks. And right now, there is a legal battle raging over a device that was designed to preserve his life. Black has an implanted heart defibrillator. It delivers electric shocks to correct abnormal heart rhythms. His attorneys say it could lead to extreme suffering during a lethal injection. A judge has ruled that the device must be turned off ahead of time, but the legal fight over this appears to be far from over.

Byron Black's attorney Kelley Henry joins us now from Nashville. Kelley, thank you for being here. This is a highly unusual situation. Walk us through where things stand right now.

[10:45:00]

KELLEY HENRY, ATTORNEY FOR BYRON BLACK: Good morning. And thank you so much for having me. Where things stand right now is that Chancellor Perkins and the Davidson County Chancery Court has ordered the State of Tennessee to deactivate Mr. Black's defibrillator the morning of his execution, which is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on August 5th.

The state has not yet indicated whether or not they're going to appeal the chancellor's decision. But it's a pretty safe bet that they will. Their brutal callousness in this case has really been breathtaking.

BROWN: Tell us more about why the state is fighting you on this.

HENRY: You know, it's really difficult for me to understand why they're fighting on this matter at all. We came to them and told them that this defibrillator would go off during the execution, almost like something out of a horror movie, causing Mr. Black to regain life, regain consciousness, and delay his execution, perhaps up to 30 minutes while he was shocked over and over again. And their response was that they had no responsibility to do anything about this situation.

After they refused our request to deactivate the device, we have no choice but to go to court. And as far as I know, this is the first case of this nature that has ever been presented in a court.

BROWN: Yes, I've never seen anything like it. And the state argues that he wouldn't feel any pain or any impact from the defibrillator being in. What do you say to that?

HENRY: Well, the evidence proves otherwise. And the Chancery Court agreed. We had an expert in the field of cardiothoracic anesthesiology who testified over seven hours in court last week, and she explained how Mr. Black, though he may be unresponsive, would feel the pain of the defibrillator, as well as the sense of drowning from the poisoning that is caused by the pentobarbital overdose.

BROWN: And it's interesting because he was put on this defibrillator while he was on death row, right?

HENRY: Yes. Just over a year ago, they implanted this device as a lifesaving device because he does have serious cardiomyopathy. He also is a person with stage four kidney disease. He's had two broken hips for nearly 10 years. After they put the device in, they were finally able to fix one of his hips just three months ago. And four weeks ago, they put a port in his arm so that they could give him dialysis. So, the irony that they've provided him with his medical care just as they are seeking to execute him is bitter sweet.

BROWN: You've also argued that your client has an IQ below 70. There have been several tests done. Tell us more about why that is relevant related to his execution.

HENRY: So, there is no doubt that Mr. Black is a person living with intellectual disability. And he is a person who finds himself in a constitutional catch 22, because he brought his claim at a time when the law had not caught up with the medical community. Every person who has evaluated Byron agrees that he is a person with intellectual disability, including the Davidson County District Attorney General, who stipulated three years ago that Byron should be removed from death row.

Had Byron not brought his claim when he did back in 2003 and instead waited, he would be off death row. There's no doubt about it. Tennessee --

BROWN: But just to be clear --

HENRY: -- has statute in 2003.

BROWN: Really quick, I just want to jump in because I don't think this was laid out properly. He was convicted of killing his then- girlfriend and her two daughters, right?

HENRY: Yes, ma'am.

BROWN: OK. But you believe he shouldn't be executed because of his low IQ?

HENRY: Yes. The Constitution prohibits the execution of people living with intellectual disability. And so, Mr. Black is one of those individuals, and there's no question about his intellectual disability. The only problem is there is no home in the courts to bring his claim, which is why we've requested Governor Lee to grant clemency to Mr. Black. He's the only person in Tennessee -- on Tennessee's death row who is in this position, and he is a person with unquestionable intellectual disability. It's beyond controversy.

BROWN: Kelley Henry, thank you so much for coming on. We'll continue to follow this case. HENRY: Thank you.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up, it's meant to help fast-track drug approvals, but the FDA's new A.I. tool is making up research studies. Yes, making up research studies. New CNN reporting coming up next right here in the Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: The Trump administration is talking up its use of artificial intelligence to help with things like managing databases and speeding up drug approvals. But behind the scenes a very different story is unfolding.

BROWN: A new A.I. tool is raising some serious concerns. This is quite a story. Our CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, A.I. has been a major talking point of Trump administration health officials, saying that it's going to streamline work even at the FDA, increase the speed of drug approvals. And this comes at a time that the Department of Health and Human Services has cut thousands of workers across health agencies. But conversations with employees at the FDA who are familiar with this tool suggest perhaps it's at an earlier stage maybe than is being promised, at least when it comes to using it for things like drug approvals.

[10:55:00]

One FDA employee telling us, quote, "Anything that you don't have time to double check is unreliable. It hallucinates confidently." Another employee saying, quote, "A.I. is supposed to save our time, but I guarantee you that I waste a lot of extra time just due to the heightened vigilance that I have to have." Because it can sometimes hallucinate these fake or misrepresented studies.

And so, what we're hearing is that perhaps it can be useful for maybe summarizing meetings or helping with e-mails. But it's not yet at the point where it can analyze data that's been submitted by a company on a drug or a product, for example. The FDA does say that it's working on updating it.

But we had a conversation with FDA commissioner Dr. Marty Makary about where this stands right now. Here's what he said.

DR. MARTY MAKARY, FDA COMMISSIONER: The main purpose in which it's used according to many of the scientists that I talk to is its organization ability. It is identifying a study in the literature. And so, it's the responsibility of the scientific reviewer to click on that link that Elsa provides and look at the study and read the abstract. You have to determine what is reliable information that I can make major decisions based on, and I think we do a great job of that.

TIRRELL: So, this is a tool called Elsa that was introduced in early June, still clearly in the early days, and the FDA is saying it's working on updating it. But at this point, according to this great reporting from our D.C. colleague Sarah Owermohle, maybe not at the point that it is speeding up drug approvals to a great degree.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Meg Tirrell reporting for us. Meg, thank you very, very much. BROWN: Quite a story. All right. Coming up right after the break, we are just minutes away from the sentencing hearing for the man who admitted killing four University of Idaho students. Their families now have a chance to address Bryan Kohberger.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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