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FBI Arrests Alleged Chinese Agents; FOX News Trial Delayed; Mass Shooting at Alabama Birthday Party; Missouri Teen Shot. Aired 1- 1:30p ET

Aired April 17, 2023 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:02]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: Thanks for your time today on INSIDE POLITICS. We will see you tomorrow.

It's a very big day here. CNN NEWS CENTRAL with Boris Sanchez, Brianna Keilar and Jim Sciutto starts right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Shot on the doorstep. A teenager is shot twice, once in the head, after a mix-up over a wrong address. We're learning new details about the homeowner who was then released by police and now the community is demanding justice.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Just shattered.

Dadeville, Alabama, mourns the four victims of a shooting at a sweet 16 birthday party. The number of people injured is just staggering, 28 wounded, but still no announced suspect as a small town waits to learn what could have caused such chaos.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, deal or no deal? A blockbuster trial of Dominion vs. FOX News delayed by one day. So does that mean a settlement is in the works, or are the two sides going to trial with more than a billion dollars at stake?

We're following these major developing stories and many more, all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Just in, we have new details on the man who shot a 16-year- old boy in Missouri, this as calls for justice ring loud on the streets of Kansas City.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PROTESTER: Justice for Ralph!

PROTESTERS: Justice for Ralph!

PROTESTER: Justice for Ralph!

PROTESTERS: Justice for Ralph!

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: Hundreds marching after a 16-year-old boy right here, Ralph Yarl, was shot twice by a homeowner. He has serious wounds to his head and his arm. Police say the team was just trying to pick up his siblings Thursday when he rang the doorbell at the wrong house by mistake.

The homeowner shot him. And they were initially taken into custody, but then released. In a statement, attorneys for the family are now demanding police -- quote -- "identify, arrest and prosecute to the full extent of the law the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting."

CNN's Camila Bernal is tracking all of these developments.

Camila, what more are you learning about this alleged shooter?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so we just confirmed, Brianna, that the shooter is a white man in his 80s, police not identifying him, but this is something that CNN was able to confirm.

And the other thing that just came in to CNN and what's interesting here is that he was only held for about two hours. The chief of police in Kansas City had initially said that there was this 24-hour holding period. So she'd said that he was arrested and there was this 24-hour period where they had to decide whether he was going to be charged or whether he needed to be released.

Well, we're now finding out that he was only in jail for less than two hours. Again, this is very interesting and very devastating for the family, because what they're saying here is that a white man shot a teenager, a 16-year-old, who was simply trying to find his siblings.

He was supposed to go to 115th Terrace. Instead, he went to 115th Street.

Now, the chief of police says that she understands the frustration here. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACEY GRAVES, KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, POLICE CHIEF: I want everyone to know that I'm listening. And I understand the concern that we are receiving from the community.

The information that we have now, it does not say that it's racially motivated. That's still an active investigation. But, as a chief of police, I do recognize the racial components of this case. I do recognize and understand the community's concern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: Now, despite what the chief is saying, there are many who say race is a factor here, and that's why they are protesting, the family really asking and demanding answers, Brianna.

KEILAR: Camila, how is Ralph Yarl doing? What is his condition? BERNAL: Well, Brianna, thankfully, the family says that he is doing

well, he's in stable condition, but the family also saying that he has a long road ahead, especially when it comes to his emotional and mental health.

They describe him as friendly, well-mannered. He loves music. So they say he plays multiple instruments and always has an instrument in hand. They also just say that he had dreams of graduating high school and that wanted to go to West Africa. Of course, all of this is going to be so much harder because of what he is going through. It is going to be long recovery, Brianna.

[13:05:01]

KEILAR: It certainly is.

Camila Bernal, thank you for that report -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: So many questions still need to be answered here, more as we learn more news today. The family of this 16-year-old deserves those answers.

Joining us now, an attorney for Ralph Yarl's family, Lee Merritt.

Mr. Merritt, thanks so much for taking time today.

LEE MERRITT, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF RALPH YARL: Thank you all for covering this important story.

SCIUTTO: Let's begin with what we learned just now from our reporter on the ground.

That is that the apparent shooter hear held by police for less than two hours, though, by local statute, they can be held for up to 24 hours. What's your reaction to that?

MERRITT: Well, I think that's the first clear (AUDIO GAP) we're dealing with a justice system that is not prepared to treat this crime as seriously.

Now, we don't know the reason for that, but there's no way that a man shoots an unarmed teenager and admits to it that this -- you know, that we haven't heard that Ralph posed a threat to this homeowner, shoots him, and then goes home a couple of hours later after giving a statement. That is a clear indication that something is going wrong.

SCIUTTO: Other thing we learned just in the last hour -- and this is through CNN's reporting -- that the apparent gun -- gunman here, the apparent shooter, a white man in his 80s, identified via property records by CNN.

We should note CNN is not naming the man here. You heard the police chief there said -- saying that she understands there are racial components to this. What does that mean to you?

MERRITT: Well, like you are, I can't confirm who the suspect actually is. I know that there's rumor that it's a white male in his 80s. And that's confirmed by the home records that that may have been the suspect.

But we're still waiting for law enforcement to formally identify who this man is. It's an important first step in the investigation, because we will know more about his motivations and his actions if we know specifically who he is.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MERRITT: But there's a racial component in this case, because we see -- we always see a disproportionate use of force and violence (AUDIO GAP) black men (AUDIO GAP) black people in general, black young men specifically.

And then the law enforcement response to justify the shooting, essentially, releasing the shooter, is, again, a pattern that we have seen too often.

SCIUTTO: Let's talk about Missouri law for a moment here.

It has what's known as a stand your ground law, and it states -- I want to quote from it, so we're clear: "A person may use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful force by such a person."

Based on your reading of this law, does the apparent gunman here have any protection under Missouri law?

MERRITT: The use of force statute, the castle doctrine, the stand your ground doctrine under the laws of Missouri are completely inapplicable to this case, because there has been no conversation, not from the suspect, not from the victim, and not from law enforcement, that Ralph Yarl, at 13 -- at 16 years old, ever posed a threat to this shooter.

SCIUTTO: How have courts in the past, in your experience, defined that key term there of reasonably? What is the precedent here for deciding when that force is reasonable, when it's unreasonable?

MERRITT: The court considers what is reasonable according to what an average person in this situation -- and we know that, in your home, your rights are the most elevated.

So, when you're at home, the court is going to say you have the most right to protect yourself. However, at the front door, when someone rings the doorbell, as the evidence has -- demonstrates happen, then you're aware that someone may be out there. You can't just respond to the -- to someone knocking or ringing (AUDIO GAP)...

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MERRITT: ... (AUDIO GAP) deadly force. The knocking or the ringing of your doorbell is not enough force to permit you to respond with deadly force.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

MERRITT: It simply won't be covered under the law.

SCIUTTO: Well, listen, it's developing very quickly.

I'm sure we will be coming back to you as we learn more about the case. Lee Merritt, thanks so much for taking the time today. Please do send -- extend our best to the family.

MERRITT: Will do. Thank you for having me.

SCIUTTO: Boris, as we said, a lot more questions to be answered.

SANCHEZ: Yes. And we will stay on top of that story as we get the latest developments.

Meantime, a tight-knit community in Alabama is reeling today after gunfire erupted at a sweet 16 birthday party leaving four people dead and dozens more injured. It all happened on Saturday night in Dadeville, Alabama.

And, today, we're learning the names of two of the victims killed, both of them just teenagers. Philstavious Dowdell was the brother of the birthday girl. He was a high school senior and a gifted athlete described as a hometown hero. He was actually headed to Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship.

[13:10:07]

Another victim was also a high school senior. This is Keke Smith. She was a student manager on the track team who was set to attend the University of Alabama.

We want to take you live at the scene now in Dadeville, Alabama, with CNN's Isabel Rosales, who is there for us live.

Isabel, police have been begging the community for any information about what transpired on Saturday night. Do we know if they're any closer to zeroing in on a suspect?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Boris, police have been pretty tight-lipped on answering any sort of questions about the suspect or suspects involved in this case.

But let me tell you this, Boris. We did just get off the phone with Tallapoosa County coroner, Mike Knox, and we can now confirm the names of all four victims.

These victims are Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23 years old from Dadeville, Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19, from Opelika, Shaunkivia, known as Keke, Nicole Smith, whom you reported on there, 17 years old, just 17, from Dadeville, and then Phil Dowdell, 18, from Camp Hill.

When it comes to Phil Dowdell, we spoke with his high school football coach, Michael Taylor, who calls him like a son. He's known him and has coached him since Dowdell was just 9 years old. He was on the precipice of turning over this new chapter in his life, a scholarship to go play football at Jackson State University, and now his life taken way too soon.

Here is what Taylor had to say about Dowdell.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL TAYLOR, ASSISTANT FOOTBALL COACH: The biggest thing, she -- she don't understand why. Why did it happen?

We don't have any enemies. Phil just told me about a month ago, said: "Coach, if anything ever happened to me, even when I go to college, take care of my two sisters."

I never dreamed that he was talking about this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And, Boris, you mentioned, this is such a tight-knit community, just 3,000 people here.

It's understandable why the school superintendent of the district here is setting up counselors at every school to help these children go through their feelings, go through their grief, and get to the other side of this terrible tragedy that has occurred in this community.

Now, you were asking about the shooter, Boris. i did speak with Dadeville Police Chief Floyd, who told me in the last hour or so that they have strong leads -- that's a direct quote -- strong leads when it comes to the shooter or shooters.

But they are not giving us any sort of details as to the status of this shooter. And they're not also responding as to why they feel so confident that the public is not in danger. We're going to keep pressing them for details.

SANCHEZ: Yet another mass shooting in the United States, 160 so far this year, a record pace.

Isabel Rosales from Dadeville, Alabama, thank you so much -- Brianna, over to you.

KEILAR: Investigators are still working to figure out what led up to this deadly birthday celebration and who is responsible here.

Here's City Councilmember Teneeshia Johnson, who says she knew three of these young victims.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TENEESHIA GOODMAN-JOHNSON, DADEVILLE, ALABAMA, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER: These children had very bright features, the ones that I knew from Dadeville, very, very athletic, very humble children, very respectful children, smart. I don't know anybody that could speak negative on any of them. They

just wanted to have fun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Let's talk now with Ben Hayes. He is the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dadeville, Alabama.

Pastor, thank you so much for being with us.

We are so sorry for your loss and that of your community.

You are the chaplain for the police department. You're also the chaplain for the high school football team that Phil Dowdell played on. Can you tell us a little bit about him?

PASTOR BEN HAYES, FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH: Yes, Phil was one of those young men that you never forget.

You showed a picture of him a moment ago. That was Phil, always smiling, brightening up a room when he came in. He was respected by his peers. He was loved by his teachers. Phil was just what you call an all-around great guy.

KEILAR: And, at this point, you're hearing I think what we're hearing, which is that authorities have not confirmed who the suspect is, if they have a suspect in custody.

Do you worry that the perpetrator here has not been caught? Or do you think that police know who's responsible?

HAYES: I'm concerned that the perpetrator has not been caught, as any of us would be.

But I will tell you that we have a great group of law enforcement from our city to our county that have done a great job. I think that, if they have leads, they will follow those leads. And I believe that they will have someone in custody soon.

[13:15:07]

Now, I'm saying that as the basis of a citizen, and I have no official information.

KEILAR: What are you learning, Pastor, as you are talking to those who were injured and to family members of victims in the community?

HAYES: We're overwhelmed.

This is not Dadeville. This doesn't happen in Dadeville, Alabama. This is not who we are. We are a loving community. We don't have a lot of the same issues that you will see in a lot of larger towns. We don't have race problems. We don't have gang problems. We have your typical drug issues and petty crimes, those types of things.

But Dadeville is a safe place. And so this shocked us tremendously when we heard of this, and we're grieving. But we will come through this and we will be stronger because of it.

KEILAR: We are -- we don't know these victims. I know, obviously, you do.

But we see them. We see these teenagers with their whole lives, their bright futures that should be ahead of them. And they don't have them because of what has happened in your community. You have the country's attention right now. What do you want people to know?

HAYES: I want them to know that these young people deserve our best, that we would give to them what they need. And what they need is to know that we're there for them, that we love them, that we support them, that they don't have to be afraid.

And I'm not sure how that can happen unless we see some hearts being changed and transformed. And, of course, at our church, we teach and we preach that that change comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ, and only through him. And that's what we're trying to give these young people. That's what we're trying to give our football team.

That's what I do every Friday is, I go in and pray with them, as I just show them that they are loved and that we want to be there for them. They can talk to us. And that's what they need.

KEILAR: Pastor Hayes, we thank you for your time, and we're thinking of you and everyone there in Dadeville.

HAYES: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Boris.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead: an abrupt delay in a highly anticipated defamation trial against FOX News. Is a settlement in the works? We're live at court.

Plus: fight club. A substitute teacher fired after video secretly recorded during her class showed her encouraging students to fight each other. We're going to show you that tape.

And it's the battle that has the world economy hanging in the balance, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy just doubled down on a big demand for the White House. Can they reach a deal on the nation's debt?

We will be right back.

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[13:21:57]

SANCHEZ: One of the biggest defamation cases ever was supposed to begin today,but no word yet from the judge on why he delayed the start of that civil trial that's put FOX News on the defense.

Dominion Sys -- Dominion Voting Systems is seeking $1.6 billion in damages over FOX News' repeated false claims that Dominion's machines rigged the 2020 election.

Let's go outside the courthouse in Wilmington right now with CNN senior media reporter Oliver Darcy.

Oliver, the judge in the case saying that this delay isn't unusual at all.

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: That's right, Boris, an 11th hour twist throwing into question whether this trial will even take place.

The trial was supposed to start, it was supposed to be happening right behind me right now. We were expecting opening statements about this time. But, last night, the judge abruptly delayed this trial, said it's going to happen Tuesday now, at the earliest, and didn't give a reason why.

He said, of course, in court today that it's not unusual for a trial to be delayed, and he didn't give a reason as to why he did it. We know that this is coming, however, amid talks of a potential settlement. Rupert Murdoch's "Wall Street Journal" reported last night at around the same time this delay was announced that FOX was making a last-minute push to settle this case.

And, of course, settling this case would avert a very excruciating weeks-long process for FOX. They don't want to have some of their highest-profile stars, people like Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, as well as executives like Rupert Murdoch, have to be called before the stand, testify about how FOX promoted election lies in the wake of the 2020 election.

It would just be a very uncomfortable several weeks for FOX News. And so you can see why they would want to push to settle this outside of court. Now, whether that settlement happens, we really don't know. And we do know, however, that Dominion and FOX are both preparing for an actual trial if this does not occur.

Dominion, Boris, they walked into the courtroom today with about 40 boxes of evidence that they plan on showing a jury if this does go to trial, as expected tomorrow. So we will see what happens. But, right now, some stuff are up in the air.

SANCHEZ: Yes, perhaps not a surprise that there is talk of a delay, given that FOX lawyers had to apologize on Friday for a misunderstanding, they said, about Rupert Murdoch's role at the network.

Oliver Darcy, thank you so much for your reporting -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: All right, now to some of the other headlines we are watching closely this hour.

Video has now been released that shows a substitute teacher organizing fights between students in her classroom. It happened at Kimbrough Middle School in Mesquite, Texas. Officials say the teacher has now been fired. The mother of the eighth grader who shot the video like that there says she's now scared for her daughter's safety.

And the Secret Service tells CNN that officers responded to reports of a gunshot heard outside Vice President Kamala Harris' official residence overnight. The vice president, we should note, was not at home at the time. This is the Naval Observatory in Washington. She had has been in Los Angeles since last week.

[13:25:03]

And the French president, Emmanuel Macron, is set to address his nation today, this in an effort to calm public outrage over his wildly unpopular plan to raise the country's retirement age to 64 from 62. Macron has faced weeks of widespread protests. Labor unions are planning a nationwide strike on May 1 -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Moments ago, the Justice Department announced major movement on three cases relating to China and the silencing of Chinese dissidents inside the U.S.

This includes the arrest of two alleged Chinese agents linked to what is being described as an illegal police operation run out of Chinatown in New York.

Let's get right to CNN's Evan Perez.

Evan, what more have you learned here?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, this is some very brazen activity by the Chinese government, according to the FBI.

In the case of the two Chinese agents, alleged Chinese agents who were arrested today, they were accused of helping to operate an illegal police department or police station in Chinatown in New York City. This is one of a network that they had operated around the country and around the world, that we have now seen governments around the world trying to shut down some of these -- these police stations that were essentially operating for the purpose of harassing dissidents in those countries.

In the case of the United States, we know that the FBI has been tracking the activity of these -- of these Chinese agents. In some cases, they go to the homes of dissidents, try to persuade them to come back to China to face charges.

In some cases, they are using online harassment threats to try to make sure that these dissidents are not saying anything that is negative about the Chinese government. They're also pursuing people around the country who were essentially activists against -- against the Chinese government.

In this case today, Brianna, there was more than 40 people charged as part of the announcement of these charges.

KEILAR: More than 40.

All right, Evan, thank you so much for that report -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lays down the Republican plan to raise the debt ceiling. How exactly this will impact you.

Plus, all eyes on Capitol Hill, where two senators are returning after health battles, another under growing pressure to resign.

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