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Soon, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) Lays Out GOP Plan in Wall Street Visit; Teen Shot After Going to Wrong House to Pick Up His Brothers; Dominion's $1.6 Billion Defamation Trial Against Fox News Abruptly Delayed. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired April 17, 2023 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Just moments from now, Washington's critical debt fight headstone Wall Street. In minutes, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy makes his pitch before investors as a high-stakes deal with Democrats stalls. The question at the center of all of this, can Congress avoid economic disaster we might all have to pay for?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The most important defamation trial in generations just got delayed. Word is Fox News may now want to settle with Dominion in this stunning 11th hour twist. The judge just spoke in the courtroom. We will tell you what he said.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, outcry -- an outcry for justice in Kansas City, Missouri, after a black teenage boy is shot in the head. He mistakenly simply went to the wrong home to pick up his little brothers. He's recovering in the hospital now. These stories and more coming in right here on CNN News Central.

SIDNER: Any moment now, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will speak at the New York Stock Exchange. He is expected to outline a new Republican proposal as the U.S. debt crisis looms. In a tweet, McCarthy says he will focus on the urgent need for a responsible debt ceiling increase.

This could set the stage for a fresh round of talks between House Republicans and the White House. Right now, the GOP want major spending cuts in exchange for a debt limit increase. Democrats say that is a nonstarter.

CNN Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is on Capitol Hill for us and CNN Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans is standing by for us as well.

Manu, I'm going to start with you. Why is McCarthy on Wall Street instead of back in Congress? This is the first day after their recess, that they're all back and hopefully going to deal with this debt ceiling.

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Sara, for the last 2.5 months, there's been absolutely no progress in Washington to try to avert the first ever debt default in U.S. history. In February 1st, that's when Joe Biden met with Kevin McCarthy in the White House. There have been no talks ever since, even though the two sides and both say that the debt ceiling must be raised in order to avoid a default as soon as June or potentially as latest September. The exact date is uncertain.

The White House has said all along that they don't plan to negotiate with the House Republicans. They want the Republicans to simply raise the debt limit without any conditions, whatsoever. That's the position rejected by Kevin McCarthy, something he will reiterate later this morning.

And also behind the scenes, Republicans in the House have been trying to draft their own plan to put together roughly $3 trillion, potentially up to $4 trillion worth of budget cuts as well as revenue raisers, to pair that with a debt limit increase. I'm told behind the scenes this proposal could come to the House floor as soon as May.

In this plan, it includes wants to return domestic spending levels to 2022 levels. That would be a significant cut across the board in domestic spending. They do hope to get between $3 to $4 trillion in savings as well as rescinding on COVID-19 money. That's just part of the proposals as well as efforts to try to rein in federal regulations.

Now, this is the challenge for Kevin McCarthy. He needs to convince his own Republican conference to vote for this plan because Democrats are expected to vote against it. That means he would need to limit defections to four Republicans at most in order to get this through the House.

And it still has no chance of passing the Democrat-led Senate. But McCarthy wants to demonstrate that they have their own plan and try to force the White House to the negotiating table before the potential of rattling Wall Street, the potential of economic, gas -- disastrous economic consequences if the debt ceiling is not raised. So, expect McCarthy to lay out the stakes here in just a matter of moments, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Manu. I'm going to go to Christine real quick. You know, you heard Manu talked there about rattling Wall Street. That is where McCarthy is. What is his goal here talking to Wall Street or from Wall Street instead of at Congress?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Trying to say we have a we have a plan here after, really, right, weeks now that the White House, Democrats have been saying, show us the plan. What's the Republican plan here? The White House has been saying, we want to just raise the debt ceiling cleanly here because it's just too dangerous to risk unsettling the rest of the world by the United States playing brinkmanship with its full faith and credit.

Look, we raised the debt ceiling December 2021, Congress did. We probably can get until this summer, but the deadline has already passed. I mean, the debt ceiling has been hit, and now the Treasury Department is moving the money around, quite literally moving the money around accounts so that we can keep the bills paid until this gets settled.

[10:05:08]

So, the deadline is behind us. There's not even a countdown clock here. It's already rung. The bell has rung. So, here's what happens if they don't answer this very quickly here. You could have a debt default. The United States can't pay all of its bills, or even like a partial debt default, where we just pay our foreign creditors but then we're giving IOUs inside the United States. Wouldn't that look really weak for the world's largest economy? You would have a market crash, probably a recession. There is no debate about that, how terrible it would be.

Then those moving -- you know, deciding who to pay and when, you can see delayed pay for federal workers, you could see IOUs going to social security recipients and V.A. benefits. All of that certainly feeding into that worry about a pretty dramatic, damaging recession if the United States were to go down this path and not get the politics of this figured out.

SIDNER: That is terrifying, the thought of IOUs going to such as social security recipients, many people who rely on that money for their day-to-day living. Manu Raju, thank you so much, on Capitol Hill, and Christine Romans. We understand that McCarthy is speaking at this moment. We're going to monitor it and bring you some of what he says in just a bit. John?

BERMAN: Yes. It's like Washington comes to New York Day, Sara. Because happening now, the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee, chaired by top Trump ally Jim Jordan, is here in New York City, holding a field hearing that directly targets Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Republicans say the hearing will zero in on what they call Bragg's, quote, pro-crime, anti-victim policies, Bragg's office calls it all a political stunt.

It does come just weeks after Bragg charged former President Trump with 34 criminal charges in the hush money investigation. Trump, of course, has pleaded not guilty.

With us now is CNN Political Correspondent Sara Murray awfully close to where we're standing now because the Republicans have come here, Sara.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: So close but still so far away, John. Things are already getting underway. We know Jim Jordan has been very critical of Alvin Bragg's investigation and indictment of Donald Trump, and this is an opportunity for Jordan to really take it in Bragg's face here on his home turf. They're featuring victims of violent crime and essentially arguing that Bragg's decisions in prosecutions here are politically motivated. Take a listen to some of what Jordan had to say this morning.

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REP. JIM JORDAN (R-OH): In this country, justice is supposed to be blind, regardless of race, religion or creed. However, here in Manhattan, the scales of justice are weighed down by politics.

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MURRAY: Now, when you look at violent crime here in Manhattan, it's down from its peak in the early 1990s. Year-over-year, there has been a downward trend in some violent crimes, things like murder, whereas you've seen a slight uptick, in things like grand larceny.

And, look, Democrats are here today, pointing out that New York is not the center of violent crime in America, that if Republicans really cared about violent crime, they would be focused on pushing forward more gun restrictions and then also pointing out that what Republicans are really doing here is providing cover for former President Donald Trump. Take a listen to what Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on this committee, had to say.

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REP. JERRY NADLER (D-NY): Jim Jordan gauges in a lot of political theater in Washington, but he should know better than to take his tired act to Broadway. New Yorkers see through this transparent attempt to defend Donald Trump at all costs while ignoring the real public safety needs of our community.

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MURRAY: Now, look, this here is probably going to stretch on for a couple more hours today, and this feud certainly between Republicans and Alvin Bragg is going to continue. Bragg has already sued Jim Jordan and the house Judiciary Committee, as the Judiciary Republicans have tried to seek information from Bragg's office about the Trump investigation, including testimony and documents. John?

BERMAN: All right. Sara, we know you're watching. Keep us posted, thanks very much. Kate?

BOLDUAN: This morning, there is anger and a whole lot of questions in Kansas City, Missouri. A black teenager was shot in the head this weekend while trying to pick up his younger brothers from a friend's house. Police say he simply went to the wrong address. And when he rang the doorbell, the homeowner shot him.

This is 16-year-old Ralph Yarl that we're talking about here. He's still in the hospital right now and in stable condition. And his family, though, is demanding that the homeowner, who has yet to be identified, be arrested and charged. Police say the gunman was taken into custody after the shooting.

But according to the Kansas City police chief, Missouri State law only allows a person to be held up to 24 hours for a felony investigation. At that point, they're either required to be charged or released. And the police chief says this -- they still need a statement from the victim and more forensic evidence before an arrest can be made. There's a lot of moving parts in this, and, as I said, a lot of questions.

Let's get over to CNN's Camila Bernal, who's following all of this. What more are you learning this hour, Camila?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kate. So, thankfully, we know that Ralph is okay.

[10:10:02]

His family is saying that he is well physically and still recovering, though, but also saying that this is going to be a long road in terms of mental and emotional health.

They describe him as friendly, well-mannered. He loves music, plays a number of instruments. The family is saying he always has an instrument in hand. He was dreaming about going to West Africa, wanted to graduate high school. And now the family says all of this is going to be so much harder just because he showed up at the wrong address.

Again, it's so important to point this out here, he showed up at 115th Street. He was supposed to be at 115th Terrace. And so the family now says that they're thankful that he's alive, but they are demanding some answers here from authorities. Here's his aunt.

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FAITH SPOONMORE, AUNT OF TEEN SHOT FOR GOING TO WRONG HOUSE: My nephew is alive and he is healing. It is not the story that that individual intended for us to tell. We are telling a story that is different from the stories that you normally hear.

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BERNAL: And this all happened on April 13th, just before 10:00 P.M. You mentioned the homeowner was arrested. It was a neighbor who called police. He was held for those 24 hours. But because he was not charged, he was released. And that's part of the reason why so many people are angry about this case.

There are now civil rights attorneys representing the family. They say they want swift action because they say, this is unjustifiable. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Camila, thank you very much.

And, Sara, I mean, there's an investigation. Obviously, they're in the midst of it, but thank God he's alive.

SIDNER: Yes, what a heartbreaking story for the family and community. Thank you, Kate.

Still ahead, concerns about another surge of the U.S.-Mexican border, as Title 42 is set to end in just a matter of weeks. We will take you to El Paso live.

Opening statements have been delayed in the high-stakes defamation trial against Fox News. We're outside of court with what we're learning about the 11th hour twist.

And just a bit later, a fungus outbreak linked to Michigan paper mill is now being connected to at least one death. We'll hear from one of the people in charge of that mill where several employees have gotten sick.

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BOLDUAN: On our radar this hour, U.S. helicopter raid in Northeast Syria targeted and killed in ISIS leader early today. Authorities believe that the raid's target was a senior leader responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe.

And we have also learned the identity of a second victim in that mass shooting in Dadeville, Alabama. Family members say Kiki Smith was a senior in high school and was looking forward to attending the University of Alabama.

And more private companies have now announced they're partnering with the White House to expand access to electric vehicles. Uber, Zipcar, there are now among the latest to join. Sara?

SIDNER: And now to the high-stakes media case between Fox News and Dominion. The historic defamation trial was abruptly delayed in the 11th hour last night and is now set to begin tomorrow. But there is rumbling spreading of a potential settlement. Neither Dominion nor Fox nor the judge are commenting on whether that's happening.

CNN's Oliver Darcy is in Wilmington, Delaware, for us. Oliver, has the judge said anything about why there is this delay?

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Yes, some drama leading up to this trial. It was, as you said, expected to begin today in the courthouse right behind me, but it's no longer underway today, the judge delaying it until tomorrow.

Now, the judge, he held a hearing today where he announced this delay formally. And he said -- I want to read to you, he said, it's a six- week trial. Things happen. This is not unusual. This does not seem unusual to me.

But the hearing was delayed or the trial was delayed amid reports that Fox is pursuing a last-minute settlement with Dominion. The first report came in Rupert Murdoch's Wall Street Journal last night, really, at the same time, basically, the judge announced instantly.

So, some speculation, some rumors that potentially there could be some settlements announced at the last minute, which would, of course, would avert a very excruciating six-week trial for Fox News. You would see people like Rupert Murdoch have to come before the court to testify about why he allowed election lies on air in the wake of the 2020 contests when he knew those were not true.

Of course, it's possible that no settlement will happened and we will be back in court tomorrow. That's what the judge said to basically expect today that it will resume tomorrow, with jury selection being confirmed and then the trial moving forward with opening statements. But it does seem right now outside this courthouse that a lot is in the air and no one really knows what to expect in the next 24 hours.

SIDNER: Yes. We've got some reporting, there were 40-plus boxes that Dominion brought into court, and then the case was delayed. So, everyone is sort of wondering what's going to happen next. But the judge is now saying tomorrow is a day. We will wait and see and I know you'll be watching all of it. Oliver Darcy there, thank you so much, live from Wilmington, Delaware. John?

BERMAN: All right, Sara. We are now less than one month away from the end of a controversial border policy, Title 42, the Trump-era border measure, which allows U.S. immigration officials to quickly expel migrants at the border, that's set to expire on May 11th.

Thousands of migrants have already made the trek toward the border and are currently staying in Northern Mexican cities waiting for the policy to end.

CNN's Rosa Flores is live at a shelter in El Paso. Rosa, why don't you tell us what you're seeing and hearing there?

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ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are hearing from communities all across the U.S. southern border that they are bracing for the lifting of Title 42. I want to show you what it looks like here in El Paso right now, because this is a shelter, and you can see that there are migrants waiting outside this shelter. From talking to the priest, he says that the shelters at capacity.

Take a look at video that we shot earlier this morning. You can see that there are several dozens sleeping outside in this El Paso street. Now, this is very near downtown, and you can see all those individuals there. The priest that runs the shelter says that he hasn't seen this since January.

Now, the border patrol chief has been sounding the alarm about this on Twitter. Take a look at some of the videos and still pictures that the border patrol chief posted on Twitter. Those are very large groups of migrants that are turning themselves into border authorities. According to the chief, he said on Twitter that the migrant encounter daily average is at about 1,400. Again, that is the daily average.

Now, we are very close to the end of Title 42. Title 42 is scheduled to end next month. And I've been talking to officials on the Mexican side of the border as well and advocates, and they say that in four northern Mexican cities, there are more than 24,000 migrants waiting for the lifting of Title 42, and that's just in Tijuana, Reynosa, Matamoros and Ciudad Juarez, which is across the border here from El Paso.

I talked to the mayor there, and he says that migrants are arriving every day. Take a listen.

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MAYOR CRUZ PEREZ CUELLAR, CIUDAD JUAREZ, MEXICO: Every day, they're arriving every day. Many of them are arriving -- most of from (INAUDIBLE) train, from train, but also arrive from buses or (INAUDIBLE) and planes.

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FLORES: Now, as we take another live look, this is the alley that's behind that church. You can see that people are still sleeping out here. City officials in the city of El Paso also preparing for the worse. I talked to them. They say that one of their biggest concerns as shelter. Take a listen.

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MARIO D'AGOSTINO, EL PASO DEPUTY CITY MANAGER: We just don't have enough shelter space in our community.

But we know that sheltering is going to be critical because there's just so many people. If you're receiving 1,000 people a day, you can struggle. You start getting above that, it strains our transportation system.

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FLORES: Now, the Department of Homeland Security says that the Biden administration has launched a comprehensive immigration plan that is sufficient, that is fair, that allows for migrants to enter the United States legally, to things like a CBP One app. That's an application that can be used for migrants to set up appointments online, to enter through ports of entry.

But, you know, John, one of the things that I can tell you from reporting from both sides of the border, what the net effect of these policies really look like is a valve. Imagine a valve that allows the federal government to regulate the flow of migration into the United States, and that has thousands of migrants waiting in Mexico for the lifting of Title 42. John?

BERMAN: Rosa, you've done so much wonderful reporting from the border there, and we could be at the cusp of another turning point. Thank you so much for the work that you've done. Kate?

BOLDUAN: A Florida man is headed back to prison today. He was released after serving more than 33 years for a murder he says he did not commit. An appeals court, though, now says that he should not have been let out.

Also ahead, new research is laying out the widespread impact of gun violence on the mental health of America, suggesting the negative effects reach much further than just the immediate survivors, that new study coming up next.

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SIDNER: Welcome back to CNN News Central. Here's a look at some of the stories we're tracking for you this morning.

Happening right now, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy speaking at the New York Stock Exchange, focusing on the urgent need for a debt ceiling increase. His speech could set the stage for fresh round of talks between House Republicans and the White House. Sources are telling CNN House Republican leaders are moving behind the scenes to try and rally their caucus behind a plan that would raise the debt ceiling for one year with a handful of strings attached. John?

BERMAN: A Florida man is expected to turn himself in, heading back to prison today, after serving more than three decades from murder he says he did not commit. 65 year old Crosley Green has been fighting for his innocence since he was first charged with murder in 1989.

Now, Green was allowed to leave prison on conditional release in 2021 after his conviction was overturned. In 2018, a judge ruled prosecutors had improperly withheld evidence and did not explore all possible suspects.

CNN's Carlos Suarez is following this story for us. Now, Carlos, why is he going back to prison?

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, look, the 65-year-old is going to have to turn himself into authorities here in Orlando later today because, essentially, he has run out of an appeals process. The Supreme Court earlier this year said they were not going to take up his case.

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As you mentioned, 65-year-old Crosley Green has been on conditional release since 2021.