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At This Hour

British PM Fires Finance Minister, Reverses Course On Tax Cuts; Jan. 6 Committee Votes Unanimously To Subpoena Trump; CDC Warns About Potentially Severe Flu Season As Cases Rise. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired October 14, 2022 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

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ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Developing at this hour. British Prime Minister Liz Truss has fired her finance minister and reversed course on her plan for sweeping tax cuts. Truss is trying to hang on to her job following weeks of turmoil in the markets. CNN's Bianca Nobilo is live at the prime minister's residence in London with more. Probably not the Friday she wanted.

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Certainly, not. And times are unprecedented for a number of reasons. First of all, to fire your finance minister or chancellor, as we call them here is a huge move. We've now had four finance ministers in this country in as many months. Usually, that's a figure that will stay around for many years.

[11:35:01]

And this finance minister was the prime minister's closest ideological ally and close friend, somebody who introduced her during her campaign to become leader of the Conservative Party and prime minister. And perhaps that's why we don't detect a trace of bitterness in his letter, which he wrote to the prime minister today after being fired by her. He wrote. For too long this country has been dogged by low growth rates and high taxation that must still change if this country is to succeed. Continuing saying the medium-term fiscal plan is crucial to this end, and I look forward to supporting you and my successor to achieve that from the back benches.

Now, Erica, this is a simply stunning development. Less than six weeks into Liz Truss being Prime Minister having to fire her number two, her closest friend, and ally after their financial plan set the markets into a spiral that precipitated this economic crisis. And now it's got members of her own party plotting at how to oust her just. Six weeks in.

You think that we will be in for a moment of less political turbulence after all of the Boris Johnson years but that's absolutely not the case. And the statement that she gave today in a press conference hasn't seemed to convince any of her lawmakers that she's got what it takes to become a better prime minister, to listen to her party, and to become more competent in her role. Erica. HILL: It'll be interesting to see then how this plays out in the coming days. Bianca, I appreciate it. Thank you.

Former President Trump has not yet said whether he'll comply with a subpoena from the January 6 committee, so what happens next? I'll discuss with the top Democratic lawmaker. Stay with us.

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[11:41:24]

HILL: The January 6 Committee ending their last hearing ahead of the midterms by taking the extraordinary step of voting to subpoena former President Donald Trump. Now, Mr. Trump has not yet said whether he'll comply. The pressure, though, is mounting at Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department in terms of their investigation. Joining me now, Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna. Sir, good to have you with us this morning.

So, the former president's response to this morning, I'm not sure if you've seen the letter, but I can tell you it is a bit of a playlist of things we've come to hear from the president over the last several years, debunks claims of election frauds and outright lies, slamming the committee. I wonder. When we look at some of what we're hearing from Americans and whether or not these hearings have broken through, if these hearings have not broken through for some folks, and we do have that evidence, what do you think will? I'm not talking about the former president here. I'm talking about some of his followers.

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, I think the committee has done as good a job as possible to lay out the facts and now it's for the American people to judge. But the video yesterday that they released was chilling, basically, the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and Chuck Schumer having to plan the protection for the United States Capitol and the president, missing in action from protecting the United States Capitol.

HILL: We are likely going to hear more about that. But I do want to move on because I know there's a lot that you were tackling in Washington this week, specifically you and Senator Blumenthal introducing a bill this week that would halt U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia. This isn't the first time the idea has been floated. But you noted in an op-ed earlier this week, you're citing Saudis -- the blowback rather to Saudis' "collusion with Russia" as evidence that this time you believe is different. So, give us a sense, how is this time -- why is this time different in terms of support for a move like this?

KHANNA: It's the ingratitude, Erica, at a time where Americans are hurting because of the energy challenge at the pump. Saudi Arabia is doing Putin's bidding in cutting production. They're making almost $100 billion dollars Saudi did in 2022 and they're doing this to aid Putin. This, given all of the assistance that America provides Saudi Arabia, it's just wrong, and there are going to be consequences. The president has said that. And there's bipartisan outrage on the Hill. HILL: So you talk about the bipartisan outrage, the president's comments, obviously, where he had said there will be -- there will be consequences. But give us a sense. You've cited -- in that op-ed, you've cited bipartisan support in both chambers, who's on board with you? What will propel this forward?

KHANNA: Well, there are many people who are concerned that the Saudis should not just provide a slap in the face to the Americans. Now, I don't think that anything is going to move before the midterm elections. But after the midterm elections, we're going to be pausing the Patriot Act sale. And I think there's going to be a large conversation about what other arms sales should be paused if the Saudis don't reverse their decision. This is not just about increasing gas prices now. This could have ramifications for the next few months and the Saudis really need to reconsider their decision.

HILL: So, I'm not hearing exact names, but you're telling me you believe that concern will turn into action, in fact, after the elections. When it -- when it comes to what we're looking at here, is there any concern that in pausing those arms sales, this could push Saudi Arabia closer to Russia?

KHANNA: Oh, they're already doing Russia's bidding. They already have made the most drastic cuts. I don't think they can cut any further or the other countries in OPEC won't go along with it. And so we need to, at some point, stand up to them and say we're not going to continue to provide 70 percent of their defense, we're not going to continue to provide technicians to fly their planes if they're going to continue to hurt the American people. And I think if we take that strong action, and I anticipate the president will do something in the next week, then, the Saudis will reconsider.

[11:45:23]

HILL: You've met with the Saudi ambassador, earlier this week you said her government should listen to her more. Is there anything in that conversation that indicated they may change course -- the kingdom may change course here?

KHANNA: Well, I don't want to go into my private conversations with her and I plan to meet with her again. My understanding is she's going back to Saudi Arabia. But I think she understands that this was a strategic mistake, just like the murder of Khashoggi was a strategic mistake. And my hope is that the Saudi leaders will listen to her because she has a pulse on how Capitol Hill feels and how the American people feel about this decision.

HILL: Congressman Ro Khanna, appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you.

KHANNA: Thank you, Erica.

HILL: Coming up. Health officials issue a stark warning about this year's flu season and an alarming new study on the rise in cancer rates among increasingly younger patients, those under 50 really need to pay attention. But first, getting back to real life after a vacation, we know it's never easy. So, here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta with today's "CHASING LIFE."

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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dr. Sanjay Gupta, host of CNN's "CHASING LIFE" podcast. Now coming back from vacation is never easy, but there are ways to ease back into the routine of daily life.

First off, plan a buffer when you come back, try to give yourself a transition day between vacation and work. This can help you avoid the whiplash effect. It's also good to ease back onto the grid says Professor of Psychology Dr. Laurie Santos. What that means is you don't necessarily need to answer all of your e-mails immediately. Also, as best as you can, try and stay in a vacation mindset. That means identifying what made you feel good when you are traveling and integrating those joyful moments back into your normal life.

Finally, practice gratitude. Be grateful for your vacation instead of lamenting it being over. That will help you more easily tap into these positive memories that you've made. Hope you can get a happiness boost not just from being on vacation but remembering it as well.

You can hear more about how to optimize your health and chase life wherever you get your podcast.

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[11:52:27]

HILL: Health officials are warning this year's flu season could be "really, really rough." Flu cases are already on the rise across the country. Look at that jump there, higher than normal for this time of year. CNN medical correspondent Dr. Tara Narula joins me now.

So, every year, of course, we say you have to get your flu shot and doctors say it's going to be bad. I feel like Dr. Fauci was warning us that this was going to be bad even a couple of months ago. What do we need to know about this?

DR. TARA NARULA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think, first of all, we need to remind people that there are hundreds of thousands of hospitalizations every year, and people get the flu, anywhere from 12 to 50,000 die every year from the flu. So we are already seeing cases rise and spread. And there is concern that this is going to be a bad flu year. When you look at the southern hemisphere in the summer, there was a lot of flu activity. And now that we've eased COVID restrictions, the concern is that we are going to see the same thing here.

In fact, in San Diego, there was a high school where a thousand students were absent on Wednesday, many of them with the flu, they're actually investigating that right now. But it's important to remind people please get your flu shot, it's ideal to get it before the end of October, before Halloween, takes about two weeks to build immunity, and really important for high-risk groups so those who are over 65, less than two, pregnant women and those with a chronic health condition.

HILL: And also, a reminder, the flu is serious.

NARULA: Yes.

HILL: It's not just a bad cold, it's worth a shot. It's not going to hurt you. Go get it.

NARULA: Correct.

HILL: So separately, as everybody on this show team knows, I was really struck by a new study that's out, researchers seeing a rise in cancer among young people, specifically, people under the age of 50. Now, I think I like a number of people who are in that age group, I have seen a rise in cancer among my friends in cancer deaths among those close to me, and others around me. And I always say to my mom, I don't remember this when you were in your mid to late 40s and 50s. And she said I don't remember it either. What's going on?

NARULA: Yes, and it's so heartbreaking. I mean these are young people in the prime of their lives with kids and families. So, it has a real personal societal and economic impact. But in this case, researchers reviewed cancer data from 44 countries and they in fact found an increased incidence of cancer in a younger population less than 50 since the 1990s in 14 cancers. Eight of those cancers were digestive cancers.

So, for example, important to remind people that one out of ten colorectal cancer cases are diagnosed in people who are aged 20 to 50. When they looked at the average annual incidence of colorectal cases, in the United States, there was an increase annually of about 2 percent, the UK 3 percent, and Korea 5 percent. Over time, these are big numbers.

HILL: They are as they continue to grow. I know we're tight on time. They don't know exactly what's causing it, right?

NARULA: Right.

HILL: But they're looking at a number of things, environmental factors, even food. When we look at things that are affecting your gut, should we be rethinking what we're eating especially -- I think I've teenage boys right now.

NARULA: Yes.

HILL: Should I make sure they're not eating perhaps as much red meat or processed foods?

[11:55:06]

NARULA: Yes. So, we need to look at everything we're doing in terms of our lifestyle, all these exposures. And that's really what they pointed to that. Yes, some of this is increased screening, better screening technology, but a lot of it is what we're being exposed to in utero at conception and those first 19 years of our life. And that includes things like alcohol and tobacco, processed foods, red meat, sugary drinks, are we getting enough sleep, food, additives, pollution. All of these things that have changed in our society in the last 50, 60 years, may be implicated in some of these rising cancer cases that we're seeing that these changes happen very early.

HILL: Yes.

NARULA: So yes, lifestyle factors are important.

HILL: And interesting too, as you point out the first 19 years of life.

NARULA: Right.

HILL: Thank you. Appreciate it, always good to see you.

NARULA: Thank you.

HILL: Thanks so much to all of you for joining us today. I'm Erica Hill. Stay tuned. "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King comes your way after this quick break.

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