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Jury Selected In $1.6B Defamation Trial Against Fox; Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin Cleared To Play Football; Study: One In Four Teens In Some Schools May Be Misusing ADHD Meds. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired April 18, 2023 - 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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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The Trial pitting Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News is now underway. This hour, opening statements could begin setting the stage for this historic defamation case to play out. The 12-person jury has just been selected and officially sworn in. CNN's Danny Freeman is tracking it all for us from Delaware. Danny, what is happening right now?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Well, as you said, basically at 11:00 a.m. on the dot, the jury was sworn in for this historic trial. And I should say that there are 12 primary jurors and 12 alternates as well. Six men, six women, and according to our producers in the room right now, nine of those 12 jurors on that primary jury are people of color.

Now, as you said, we're expecting opening statements potentially in the next hour, but they have not begun at this point. And that's in part because earlier, there were some objections that both sides made to some of the slides that were going to be presented in the opening statements so the judge said that he will take care of that before opening statements officially begin. But we were able to actually get a preview of what some of the arguments will be coming up. Hopefully this afternoon.

Dominion provided a statement this morning saying in part in the coming weeks, we will prove Fox spread lies causing enormous damage to Dominion, and we look forward to trial. Meanwhile, Fox in these dueling statements sent out one earlier this week saying, "Dominion's lawsuit is a political crusade in search of a financial windfall, but the real cost will be the cherished First Amendment rights."

Now at this point, we're looking to see if there will be any witnesses on this particular day. But as far as we know, for now, we should be sticking to opening statements. Again, now the jury selection is complete, they should be happening within the next few hours. Back to you.

BOLDUAN: All right. Danny Freeman from outside the courtroom in Delaware. Danny, thank you so much. John?

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: At this hour, two men are behind bars facing federal charges for allegedly running an undeclared overseas police station on behalf of the Chinese government. Prosecutors say the station which was located in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood was used to monitor and intimidate Chinese dissidents in the United States. The Department of Justice says this is the first known overseas police station in the United States. It has been shut down since a search warrant was executed last fall.

Here with us now is CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller. Can you say I'm glad you're here because I need you to explain to me exactly what these guys are charged with doing and what the law says about this kind of activity?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT & INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, so let's imagine the whole thing in reverse, which is supposing the NYPD or the FBI opened a police station in Beijing and said we're here and we're going to track down Americans in China who are tweeting bad things about the US government. China would have a problem with that. America would have a problem with it. Everybody would.

But in this case, you had this Chinese National Police facility. So, it's part of the Public Security section of the Ministry of Interior, operating in a nondescript building in the outskirts of Chinatown at the northern reaches where you had 34 police officers, you had a couple of supervisors there. And they were tracking down Chinese dissidents that were known to be in the United States, tracking down people who were critical on social media.

And in the background, they were running a troll farm that was pushing anti-American Chinese propaganda. They had an executive at Zoom who was actually knocking off people from the zoom platform who were critical of China. So, you had a multifaceted Chinese counterintelligence operation operating that was not registered with the State Department as being a government operation and hiding in plain sight almost.

BERMAN: And we talked about intimidating dissidents, intimidating them how?

MILLER: So, you would get a visit from a couple of Chinese police officers and they would say we're from the Chinese National Police, and you know there are some problems with what's going on and you need to come back to China. I'm not coming back to China. Well, your family in China could experience problems.

They had an operation where they would try and ingratiate themselves with NYPD officers of Chinese descent within fraternal organizations and get information from them. So, there was a lot of digging to either convince people to go back home or to intimidate them to stop what they were doing here.

[11:35:06]

BERMAN: You worked inside and with the New York City Police Department for some time, there are agreements and cooperations between law enforcement agencies across national borders. This isn't it, right? MILLER: No, no. I mean the NYPD has 13 foreign posts where we have NYPD officers who are embedded within the police departments of the host country in cooperative agreements. Here's the really interesting thing, John. When I was Deputy Commissioner, I had a major push from the Consul General of China in New York to sign a memorandum of understanding, saying that we would simply exchange ideas and training, and thoughts between the Chinese National Police and the NYPD.

And I was warned by the highest levels of the FBI, don't do this because they will take a copy of that letter and they will go around the country saying, we're Chinese police, we're authorized by the NYPD to work on U.S. soil, we're working together and we need you to come with us. So, we didn't sign it and the MOU never got done.

BERMAN: And the people here targeted in general by these officers allegedly, Chinese nationals. Yes?

MILLER: That's right. And you know, the message was always within those two parameters, either stop what you're doing online, or we need you to come back to China or your family could have problems.

BERMAN: Thank you. Thank you for explaining the inner workings here because the headline is big, right? Chinese police arrested here in the United States for running an overseas police station. The details even more interesting. John Miller, always a pleasure. Thank you.

MILLER: Thanks.

BERMAN: Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It was really interesting. This is just into CNN. The U.S. is warning Russia not to touch any of its nuclear technology that's inside a Ukrainian nuclear power plant. CNN's Natasha Bertrand is at the Pentagon with the very latest. You and one of our other colleagues, Tim Lister, put this story out just moments ago. Tell us what you learned.

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER (on camera): Yes, Sara. So, we're learning that the Department of Energy's Office of nonproliferation policy sent a letter to Russia's state-owned energy firm Rosatom in March telling them that essentially, the U.S. has sensitive nuclear technology inside the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, and warning them that Russia does not have the authorization to access it or to touch it at all.

Now, this letter was sent to Rosatom's Director General and it is unclear whether Rosatom has actually acknowledged receipt of this letter or whether they are going to comply. But the U.S. in this letter was very adamant. That's because a lot of this sensitive nuclear technology is subject to export controls, which means that its unauthorized use could undermine U.S. national security interests.

The Russians are not authorized. They're not part of an authorized list of recipients to actually access it, control it, do anything with it in any way. And, of course, the Russians currently are in control of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. They have been for about a year now. And they control the entire area really where that nuclear power plant sits. And Rosatom oversees that entire power plant even though Ukrainian workers are actually still physically kind of operating on a day-to-day basis.

So, the U.S. bottom line here is very concerned about what would happen if Russia got its hands on some of this very sensitive nuclear technology. And they're telling Russia look, you better back off here. But, of course, it is very unlikely at this point that the Russians are going to comply, Sara.

SIDNER: Wow. That is really concerning information. Thank you so much Natasha Bertrand there from the Pentagon. Kate?

BOLDUAN: For the first time since his arrest in Russia, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands before cameras behind a glass cage in a Moscow courtroom. What happens now that the court has denied his appeal?

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[11:43:06]

BOLDUAN: Some key international stories coming in at this hour. In Sudan, a 24-hour ceasefire is set to begin in just a few minutes after two warring generals agreed to it. However, explosions and gunfire have rocked the capital of Khartoum all day. Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke earlier with the generals saying the ceasefire could lead to negotiations and a longer break in the violence which is much needed.

Police in Israel are searching for the gunman in a suspected terror attack that took place near a Jewish tomb in Jerusalem. Officials say the two men shot in the attack are in moderate condition right now.

And this morning, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy visited frontline troops in a hard-hit town in the east. The trip comes a day after Vladimir Putin visited troops at a military base in Russian-occupied Kherson. Sara?

SIDNER: New this morning. Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been cleared to return to the field. The team's general manager made the announcement this morning. Hamlin, as you remember went into cardiac arrest back in January after making a tackle during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now on the phone. I do want to ask you, Dr. Gupta, is this a good idea because the team says he is fully clear to get back on the field.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): Yes. No. I mean, this is obviously good news, and not that surprising. I mean, if you look at this sort of situation where he had a cardiac arrest but had a quick resuscitation, one of the -- one of the ideas was that this was something known as Commotio Cordis which basically is an abnormal heart rhythm that is in response to an impact to the chest wall.

That -- we never heard for sure, Sara, that that was a diagnosis. Certainly, seemed like it was based on what had happened. And in those situations, if someone is -- you know, has normal testing afterward, they typically can be cleared to play.

[11:45:05]

So, I think that was always a strong possibility. It's been about three and a half months since this occurred, I think was January 2nd. So, lots of testing in between, probably stress testing meaning, OK, let's see how the heart reacts under stress, under different types of physical exertion, all these sorts of things.

And the conclusion I guess from all these specialists, I'm sure there are many involved here, was that he should be OK to play. Now, the season doesn't start, as you know, until the fall. So, this is more about off-season training and starting to participate in regular practices for the time being.

BOLDUAN: Wow.

BERMAN: Sanjay, it's John. Christian Eriksen, the Danish soccer player --

GUPTA (on camera): Yes.

BERMAN: -- collapsed on the field a few years ago, people thought his career would be over. But he's been playing ever since and seemingly without any issues. What are the risks for players like Eriksen on the soccer pitch or Damar Hamlin now, as he moves forward?

GUPTA: When you have a situation like this, someone has a cardiac arrest, you have to sort of figure out if was there some sort of underlying abnormality to the heart. Sometimes an anatomical abnormality, sometimes someone could have even been born with this but it never really was a problem until this moment, you know, when they have the cardiac arrest. They didn't know anything about it.

So, what happens, John is you basically chase that down, saying, look, are there underlying abnormalities that could have contributed to this in some way? If the answer is no, then you're basically left with this. This was a rare occurrence.

But right now, there's nothing to suggest that his likelihood of having this happen again is any higher than the general population, which I know again, that's scary to hear about because he went through it. He had a cardiac arrest. And essentially, he had this massive resuscitation on the football field.

And again, lots of testing in the months after. But after doing all that, the conclusion is that he should be clear to play and that his risk isn't really higher than anybody else's. I will say -- I will add that if you look historically -- and Commotio Cordis again, that's the presumptive diagnosis, I don't think we have heard for sure. But if you look at that, even though it's a rare thing, most of those players do -- are cleared to play again.

BOLDUAN: Sanjay, it's Kate. I mean, this is -- as you've laid out, if it is Commotio Cordis, it is rare. But doctors throughout, you know as after this happened, and what they -- and they -- how Hamlin has recovered, have really called his recovery and described it as remarkable. What do you see in this?

GUPTA: Look, I -- it is -- it was a very fast recovery. And you know, one thing I will say is that even though this cardiac arrest we all saw it sort of happen on live television, what transpired in the -- in the seconds or minutes afterward was essentially the equivalent of an in-hospital resuscitation.

BOLDUAN: Right.

GUPTA: You know, if you look at these types of things, you'd say, well, this out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, the data is not great in terms of how well people recover, even survive. But essentially, he had all the -- all the facilities and resources of an in-hospital resuscitation. And I thought that was truly remarkable. I just never seen it take place on live -- you know, in a live setting like that before. I visited some of these doctors and teams afterwards --

BOLDUAN: Right.

GUPTA: -- to sort of see how they organize that -- they do this sort of preparation for every game. They drill -- do drills like this, just like the players are doing drills on the field. These guys are doing drills for what happens in a situation like this. And I think it made a huge difference, the speed of the resuscitation.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

SIDNER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta given us all the goods, although I will say that if I was his mama, I'd have a hard time seeing him back but he's got to play.

BERMAN: That's what he loves to do.

SIDNER: Yes.

BERMAN: It's what he wants to do.

SIDNER: Yes.

BERMAN: Our best --

BOLDUAN: He's got a whole bunch of doctors that are taking care of him all the way.

SIDNER: He does. He does.

BOLDUAN: Great to see you, Sanjay. We're here you.

SIDNER: We'll be right back.

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[11:53:22]

SIDNER: New this morning. One in four teenagers at some middle and high schools say they have misused prescription stimulants for ADHD during the previous year. This is from a new study out of the University of Michigan, which also found that students may also overuse medications or use a pill given to them in order to stay up late studying or finishing schoolwork.

CNN's Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more on the details on this. Elizabeth, can you give us some sense of what researchers found here?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Yes. Sara, it's really interesting, you know. We've all heard that you know, kids share each other's Adderall or other ADHD medication in order to stay up for an all-nighter to write a paper or study for a test. But these researchers said, let's try to quantify that and see how often that's happening.

So, they reached out to about 3200 middle and high schools. What they found is that out of those 3200, there were 58 schools where one in four -- about one in four students was misusing Adderall.

So, it might have been a child who was prescribed it, but they were taking too much of it, taking it when they shouldn't be taking it, or it might have been a child who wasn't prescribed it at all but got a pill from a brother or a sister or a friend or somebody. So, to see this quantified like this is really quite stunning to see how much it's misused. Sara.

SIDNER: This is disturbing. They're so young. Their brains still developing. I do want to know, is -- was there something similar about these 58 schools that indicated anything as to why this is happening there?

COHEN: Sara, there really was. These schools, they -- there were sort of a pattern here. They tended to be white, interestingly. They tended to be white, they tend to be in the suburbs, and one or more parents had a college degree. So, it's -- there seems to be a pattern here.

[11:55:15]

SIDNER: Is there anything that parents can do about this? I mean, obviously, if it's prescribed. The parents are expecting that they take the pills that they're prescribed. What can they do to deal with this?

COHEN: Yes. So, what parents can do is one, if your child's been prescribed this legitimately, you can -- you can just give it out yourself. That is one great way to do it is you give out the pills. Don't give the whole pack to your child. Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you so much, Elizabeth Cohen, coming to visit my friends over here. BERMAN: Yes. Come on over. Just in time to say thank you all for joining us on CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "INSIDE POLITICS" is up next.

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