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The Situation Room

U.S. and Israel Withdraw Teams from Ceasefire Talks in Doha; NASA SpaceX Crew-10 Gives Live Updates from ISS; Flash Floods Hits Several States. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired July 25, 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]

REP. DAVID KUSTOFF (R-TN), WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE: -- strike, people shouldn't have to worry about having to report to the IRS, file their returns. They may -- frankly, they may not have the records and the ability to file with the IRS. So, this very important legislation that's bipartisan, that obviously passed the House and the Senate gives the IRS the authority to relieve the responsibility for a period of time that people don't have to worry about reporting to the IRS, it's common sense. I'm proud that it's bipartisan and we're glad that the president signed it into law yesterday.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Very important piece of legislation potentially could help a lot of Americans who are suffering from disasters out there. Sadly, there have been way too many disasters going out across the country. Congressman David Kustoff, Republican of Tennessee, thanks so much for joining us.

KUSTOFF: Good. Thank you for having me today.

BLITZER: And coming up, with the U.S. and Israel now withdrawing their teams from negotiations, what does that mean for the hostages still being held by Hamas and Gaza? I'll speak to the father of a hostage that's coming up next.

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[10:35:00]

BLITZER: Welcome back to the Situation Room. Let's turn now to the Israel-Hamas War and the stalled ceasefire talks in Doha, Qatar. Both the U.S. and Israel have now announced that they're withdrawing their diplomatic teams from those negotiations. This is a significant development.

The U.S. special envoy, Steve Witkoff, says Hamas clearly shows a lack of desire to reach a deal with Israel. Hamas calls those remarks, and I'm quoting Hamas now, "malicious, biased, and dishonest." And says a breakthrough was close. So, what does all this mean for the hostages still being held in Gaza?

Ruby Chen is joining us right now. He's son Itay is an American Israeli hostage who's been in Gaza, what, for 658 days. Ruby, thanks very much for joining us. The IDF, I believe, correct me if I'm wrong, actually informed you sadly that, Itay, your son is dead. Is that right?

RUBY CHEN, SON ITAN TAKEN HOSTAGE BY HAMAS: Yes, but there's no acknowledgement from Hamas and there's no anything physical evidence that alludes to that fact. So, we still have some sort of hope that maybe we have a miracle waiting for us.

BLITZER: And these negotiations that have now collapsed because the U.S. and Israel are with withdrawing from the talks in Doha, Qatar, there was a lot of hope that these talks would lead to at least a 60- day ceasefire, and that a lot of the remaining Israeli hostages would come home and that Hamas would also allow bodies of killed Israeli hostages to be buried in Israel as well. But you must be depressed that these talks, apparently at least are now, are over?

CHEN: Yes. I'm reminding you, Wolf, I come from New York City. I grew up on Coney Island. I'm sure you know the cyclone. You know, it feels like that. You go up and you have these high expectations and then you get down again and it's very difficult. And you know, the president, he has delivered, at least in the Middle East. He's done what he should when it came to (INAUDIBLE). He has so much political capital in the Middle East and I think that it is the time now maybe to look at this negotiation in a different way.

And I would even tell or suggest the president, bringing the prime minister back to the United States, I would even say Mar-a-Lago, bring in the emir of Qatar, do the Camp David thing, negotiate until a deal is done and use that political capital to the interest of the United States, which is peace in the region and in conflict and prosperity also for the U.S. economy.

BLITZER: Well, let's see if that happens. I want you to listen to what the State Department, I know you're getting ready to meet while you're here in Washington with Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, right?

CHEN: That is correct.

BLITZER: I want you to listen to what the State Department spokesman said yesterday. Listen to this and then we'll discuss.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY PIGOTT, STATE DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON: While the mediators have made a great effort, Hamas does not appear to be coordinated or acting in good faith. We will now consider alternative options to bring the hostages home and try to create a more stable environment for the people of Gaza.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, what does that say to you?

CHEN: It says to me that Hamas is to blame, which is what we've been saying for a long time. If we want the suffering of the people in Gaza to end, then it's pretty simple, Hamas needs to give up the hostages and we could have that humanitarian aid coming in. And, you know, there's no competition to pain. And there are still 50 hostages, 49 men, one woman that need must come out.

BLITZER: And you think all 50 are alive?

CHEN: I think all 50 need to come out regardless of their physical status. Because in my book, Wolf, nothing has changed, they're still hostages and they need to come out and then the families will deal with whatever status those hostages come out.

BLITZER: So, when you meet with officials here in Washington, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, for example, and I assume you want to meet with officials at the White House as well, what is your bottom- line message right now?

CHEN: I think that we've been -- this administration inherited a framework for a deal, which is a phased deal. And I think each day we need to wake up and look at those assumptions and say, if this is the best option to move forward with the U.S. strategic interests in the region, and maybe it is time to look at a full deal, because we might be get -- we might be stuck in partial components that are irrelevant if we focus on a deal that ends it all.

[10:40:00]

BLITZER: I want you to show our viewers your shirt that you're wearing, bring Itay home now, and then you have 658. That's the number of days Itay has been missing.

CHEN: That is correct. And my wife is here with me and I don't need to explain to anybody listening to us now what it means that we have not seen our son for more than 22 months. And that is also the status of the other families as well. And we are just, you know, simple people, Wolf, and we got caught up into something bigger, this whole Palestinian and Gaza issue. We just want our kids back. And I think it's about time.

BLITZER: Itay, he grew up here in the United States. He's a U.S. citizen and an Israeli citizen, right?

CHEN: Yes. And at the age of 18, it is mandatory for the state -- in the State of Israel to go to the Army, which he did. We are Holocaust survivor families. And we know what it means to save and protect the Jewish state. He could have gone to college, but he decided to go to the IDF. And he did what he was supposed to. He was protecting those kibbutzes, and it's been too long.

And we say to this administration, President Trump has so much capital with all that he has done, this administration has done in the Middle East. It's time maybe to look at it in a different way and to use that leverage and that political capital and bring a deal, which is what the United States wants and should make happen.

BLITZER: And before we go, very briefly, give us a little bit background on Itay. What's he like?

CHEN: Itay is the middle child. He has an elder and younger sibling. So, that makes him the sandwich. So, he was the more challenging child. He -- I know you're a basketball fan. So, I'll share a little something about that. I'm a New Yorker, proud New York Knicks fan. And my eldest, I gave him my inheritance and he also became a Knicks fan. Itay, as the middle child, needed to be different. You became a Celtics fan, which was very difficult for me. But you know, that's what kids do. They always want to challenge you and be some more. He was a Boy Scout counselor. He loved to climb on walls and just be, you know, life of the party.

And, you know, we have an empty chair at our table for more than 22 months. So, this Friday, when you families are sitting together with your family dinner, please try to think of us, the U.S. hostage families. We want our son back. This administration has brought back many, many dozens of U.S. citizens back from captivity, and he could get the job done and get my son back.

BLITZER: I hope he is alive and I hope he is reunited with you and your whole family and your wife very, very soon.

CHEN: Thank you for having us and God bless.

BLITZER: Ruby Chen, thank you very much for joining us. Good luck.

CHEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: And we'll be right back.

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[10:45:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, more than 250 miles above where we are in the Situation Room. NASA's SpaceX crew is giving an update from the International Space Station where they've been since March. The astronauts are discussing their upcoming return to Earth.

Joining us now is Leroy Chiao. He's a former NASA astronaut. Leroy, thanks very much for joining us. What kind of projects has this crew been working on during their mission on the International Space Station?

LEROY CHIAO, FORMER NASA ASTRONAUT: So, a lot of the research projects we do aboard ISS fall into two broad categories. One is life sciences. We're trying to understand how the space environment affects different living systems, including humans.

And so, we do a lot of experiments on ourselves, collect samples, things like that. The other broad area is material science. In the absence of gravity, it's a great place to study forming new kinds of materials, growing more pure protein crystals, things like that. So, those are kind of the two broad areas of research that are conducted, but of course many other experiments are happening as well.

BLITZER: From your experience, Leroy, what is it like to return to Earth after being on a mission in space for a long time?

CHIAO: Well, sure. Back in the shuttle program days, even after a one- or two-week mission, you come back and it takes you a little bit to kind of get back to your land legs. You know, it's you're very dizzy when you come down. You know, you feel a bit disoriented, a little uncoordinated. And after you -- after a six-month flight, it's the same symptoms, a little more severe, it takes a little longer to get over it, but after a week or two, most crews kind of feel like they're pretty much back to normal.

BLITZER: And explain to our viewers and listeners, Leroy, why space exploration is so important. How does it help us better understand our lives here on Earth?

CHIAO: Well, sure. You know, NASA has a regular publication called spinoffs, and it's all about the technologies developed for space exploration that are helping make life better for people here on Earth. An example from my own expedition on Expedition 10, we did -- we were part of a series of experiments that did remote telemedicine using ultrasound. So, we were able to demonstrate with very minimal training that we could learn to look at what a good ultrasound image is and what a bad one is. And then we would act as the hands of the doctors on the ground, looking at the images coming down and telling us to move the probe this way and that way, and sharpen the image.

And we were able to demonstrate that we could take diagnostic quality images. And so, you know, that will be important in space flight for future missions to Mars, things like that. But also, here on the Earth, the same investigators use that technique to go into rural areas in Central America and Africa -- all kinds of things in remote villages.

And so, it was kind of a great example of something developed for space flight that has made life better for people here on the ground as well.

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: I recently had a chance to interview two women astronauts. We did a live interview. I was here on Earth. They were aboard the International Space Station. And I asked them this question and I'm anxious just to get your thoughts. What's a typical day on the International Space Station like?

CHIAO: Now, every minute, literally is planned for you aboard the ISS. Your whole six-and-a-half-month mission or whatever is planned down to the minute. You are working on a schedule. And then every night at the end of the workday, you know, you're basically on your computer, kind of indicating what you got to head on, what you might've fallen behind on, and then while you sleep, the planning team replants the entire mission and ripples it through and you get a whole new flight plan the next morning on your computer.

So, you've got research work you're doing, of course. A lot of time is spent on logistics and maintenance work aboard the station. You know, think about the station as a large house or laboratory. Things are breaking down or need some maintenance work. You know, you've got to make way and collect stuff that's going to be thrown away to make room for new stuff that's coming up on the cargo ship. You've got rest breaks or, you know, small short breaks built in, exercise sessions, meals, you know, things like that. So, you're pretty darn busy and, you know, you're pretty much scheduled for about 12 hours on and 12 hours off. And then, you know, you go and start over the next day.

BLITZER: Good work, and we're grateful to you and all those astronauts who risk their lives to help us better appreciate what's going on, not only on the International Space Station, but here on Earth as well. Leroy Chiao, thank you very, very much.

CHIAO: Thank you very much. My pleasure.

BLITZER: And coming up we'll have more on the flooding that's hitting parts of the United States right now.

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[10:55:00]

BLITZER: Happening now, more flooding threats in parts of the United States. Heavy rain has been pounding the Kansas City area this morning. Flood watches are in effect until tomorrow. There reportedly have been at least eight water rescues so far. And in New Mexico, flood waters swept away a mobile home in just seconds. The heavy rain Thursday, closed down roads and prompted several rescues. This, by the way, is the same mountain village where catastrophic flooding earlier this month killed three people and damaged hundreds of homes.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is joining us right now. Allison, where is the flood threat now?

Allison, do you hear me?

I don't think she's hearing me. We'll try to reconnect with her in the next hour. We'll get an update on where these flood threats are. But coming up after the break, we're watching Florida for day two of the U.S. Justice Department's interview with Ghislaine Maxwell. This is new video by the way, of her attorney, David Markus, arriving at the Federal Courthouse in Tallahassee that's very close to the prison where she's spending 20 years. Stay with us. You're in the Situation Room.

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