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Griner Gets Emotional At First News Conference Since Release From Russia; Griner: I'll "Never Go Overseas Again" Unless To Play In Olympics; S. Korean President: Alliance With U.S. Is Stronger Than Ever; S. Korean President Wows With "American Pie" Performance; One Escaped Inmate Found Dead, 3 Others Still Missing; Eli Lilly: Injectable Drug Tirzepatide Can Treat Obesity. Aired 1:30-2p ET
Aired April 27, 2023 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[13:30:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRITTNEY GRINER, WNBA PLAYER: I'm no stranger to hard times, so - see, you crying made me cry.
(LAUGHTER)
GRINER: Just digging deep, honestly, you know. You're going to be faced with adversities throughout your life. This was a pretty big one. But I just kind of relied on my hard work, getting through it.
I know this sounds so small, but, you know, dying in practice, just hard workouts, you find a way to just grind it out. Put your head down and just keep going. Keep moving forward.
You can never stand still. That was my thing. Never be still. Never be too focused on the now and just, you know, looking forward to what's to come.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Here with us now, legendary sports broadcaster, Bob Costas.
Bob, we followed this, her detention through those 10 months. It's so incredibly moving to hear her speaking now.
BOB COSTAS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, it is. She went through quite an ordeal.
One of the things she has said is she and the team surrounding her, not just the Phoenix Mercury, but her wife and others, will continue to use their platform to keep attention on other Americans held without just cause around the world, including Russia, where Paul Whelan still awaits release.
KEILAR: She talked a bit about how she's feeling physically. I want to listen to what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRINER: Am I where -- exactly where I want to be? No, but I'm on the right track to getting there. That's for sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So she's on the right track, she says, Bob.
I wonder just how hard it is. I mean, she is thinking about other people, but she's trying to get game ready. I wonder how difficult that is, but also maybe if that's a respite for her, returning to work that she loves.
COSTAS: I'm sure it is, getting back to something that's part of were identity, something that she excels at.
She's 32 years old, which is young. It's moving toward advanced athletic age. She missed an entire season. And held in captivity, she couldn't work out. She couldn't train.
And when we're talking about athletes, we're not talking about you and I going to the gym. We're talking about nutrition, exercise regimens that are at an elite level. She's been away from that for quite some time.
Diana Taurasi, her teammate on the Phoenix Mercury, says she can see the improvement in practice, little by little, day by day, but she's not yet back to her previous all-star form.
KEILAR: She has a way to go. This is a recovery.
She talked about what led her to being in Russia in the first place. She talked about why she and other players have to go overseas to play. Here's that part.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRINER: I'm never going overseas again to play, unless I'm representing my country at the Olympics. You know, if I make the Olympics team, that would be the only time I leave U.S. soil.
There's a whole lot of reasons we go over -- it's a pay gap. We go over to make an income to support our families, to support ourselves. So I don't knock any player that wants to go overseas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Bob, do you think that this has been a wake-up call to the league? It may be time to raise pay, to try to supplement their incomes here in the U.S.?
COSTAS: It's a matter of how much revenue is available. There's a difference between opportunity.
When the WNBA came into existence, that was a wonderful thing in terms of opportunity, post college, for women's basketball players. Just like Title IX was a wonderful thing back in the 1970s.
But for perspective's sake, the NBA generates $10 billion in revenue each year. The WNBA around $60 million. In fact, the NBA has subsidized the WNBA for a long time.
Are there ways perhaps to raise salaries? The average salary of a WNBA player -- remember, they play half as many games as the NBA, around 40, and the NBA plays twice as many, even prior to the playoffs.
The average, depending on what source you're believing, is between $110,000, $140,000. The entry salary is $75,000 a year. Someone like Brittney Griner or star players would make between $200,000 and $250,000. No one makes more than $250,000.
That's a pretty good wage if you ask the average American. When you think about the salaries we hear tossed around in pro sports, it seems small.
[13:35:07]
But I would also say this. Yes, you can go overseas and you can find other ways to supplement your income, but I wouldn't go to Russia.
KEILAR: No, certainly not.
COSTAS: I wouldn't run that risk.
KEILAR: Nope, she's making that clear. We see what the risk is certainly right now.
Bob Costas, great to have you. Thank you so much.
Boris?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: It seems like we have news just in to CNN. The U.S. has just imposed new sanctions on Russia's intelligence agency. We'll have details on that in a moment.
But we do have some sad news to pass along. Famed TV talk show host, Jerry Springer, has passed away. From the mid-1980s through the 1990s, tabloid talk shows were a dominant TV genre. But even in the crowded pantheon of outrageous programs, "The Jerry Springer Show" stood out.
The former mayor of Cincinnati laughingly embraced the shade that people threw on his show.
Here is how he described it to Larry King back in 1998.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY SPRINGER, FORMER HOST, "THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW": I've become a cliche for crazy, outrageous, on-the-edge television.
I understand -- I mean, people know me because of the show. So I understand, whatever identity I have is because of what we put on the show. Our show is as silly, crazy, outrageous, sometimes as stupid as you can get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BORIS: He was brutally honest about it. Chairs and fists often went flying. Paternity was often questioned. Through it all, Jerry reigned supreme, outlasting most of his competitors.
The show ran for 27 seasons until 2018. Jerry Springer was 79 years old.
Brianna?
KEILAR: He really did leave a mark, didn't he?
South Korea's president on Capitol Hill today addressing a joint meeting, but it's his singing voice that has everyone talking. You'll hear him next.
Plus, the Mississippi prison escape that ended with a deadly fire. Still, three other inmates are on the run.
This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:41:32]
SANCHEZ: A message of unity in a volatile moment. South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol spoke on Capitol Hill just a short time ago. His speech got waves of applause from everyone in Congress, something you don't see often in that building.
Yoon stressed that as democracy faces threats worldwide, the South Korean-U.S. partnership is now entering its eighth decade, stronger than ever.
Let's take you live to Capitol Hill with CNN's Melanie Zanona.
Melanie, you know better than most, Congress is pretty divided right now. It was impressive to see this show of unity for the South Korean leader.
MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: For all the division in Congress, especially over foreign policy, there really was a sense of unity inside the chamber today.
And quite a contrast to the last time Congress was all gathered for a joint address, which was President Biden's State of the Union address.
But today was the first time the South Korean president addressed Congress in 10 years. And it also happened to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the alliance between the United States and South Korea, which was forged in the aftermath of the Korean War.
And President Yoon talked about the war, paid tribute to the men and women who sacrificed their lives in the name of democracy and freedom. And he also talked about how the threats still exist today, whether it
is the aggression from North Korea or the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. So a lot of themes there.
He also talked about economic prosperity and some cultural references as well.
SANCHEZ: Speaking of cultural references, all day yesterday, we only heard from President Yoon through a translator.
And then this happened at last night's state dinner. Watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(SINGING)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(SINGING)
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: That's better than I can do it. Some "American Pie" there for those visiting the state dinner. It seemed like he got a warm welcome from lawmakers across the board.
ZANONA: Yes, he got a warm welcome from lawmakers today, as well as the dinner last night. That moment definitely stole the show.
Apparently, he's a big karaoke fan. President Biden must have been tipped off that "American Pie" was his favorite song, because he presented President Yoon with a signed guitar from Don McLean, who wrote that song.
So it definitely was one of those heart-warming moments and one that certainly stole the show last night -- Boris?
SANCHEZ: He nailed it. I've got to work on my "American Pie."
Melanie Zanona, live from Capitol Hill, thank you so much.
Brianna?
KEILAR: That is a tough karaoke song, I'll tell you. Now to the other headlines that we are watching this hour.
Three-time NBA champion and retired Miami Heat star, Dwyane Wade, is talking about why he's leaving Florida. And he's calling out the state's anti-LGBTQ legislation, saying his family would not be accepted in the Sunshine State.
They became important allies for the LGBTQ community in 2020 when Wade's 15-year-old daughter came out as transgender.
Also the search continuing for a cruise ship passenger believed to have fallen overboard during a trip from Australia to Hawaii.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it received a report from "The Quantum of the Seas" Tuesday night about an Australian man who had got missing about 500 miles south of the big island. The ship tried to find him for two hours but failed and then sailed off.
[13:45:07]
And Carolyn Bryant Donham, the white woman who accused Emmett Till of making advances toward her nearly 70 years ago, has died. Her allegations led to the 14-year-old's murder, which largely shaped the civil rights movement.
Last summer, a grand jury in Mississippi declined to indict her on charges of kidnapping and manslaughter. She was 88 years old.
Jim?
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Well, police in Mississippi confirmed that one of the four inmates who escaped jail over the weekend is now dead. The charred remains of Dylan Arrington were found, pulled from a house after a two-hour standoff with law enforcement.
Authorities say Arrington shot and wounded a detective. He's also suspected of killing a local pastor about two days earlier.
We'll the manhunt meantime is still going on for these three other men, Jerry Raynes, Corey Harrison, Casey Gracin.
CNN's Amara Walker has been covering this story since the beginning.
Do we know how wide an area police are now searching? It's been a number of days. They could have gone a long way.
AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They could have. But right now, Jim, we know that authorities are focused on two states, still Texas and Mississippi, specifically the Houston area and central Mississippi.
In fact, the sheriff of Hinds County released a still image from surveillance video of one of those escapees, 51-year-old Jerry Raynes, at a service station in Spring Valley, Texas, just outside Houston.
This image captured on Sunday at around 11:00 in the morning. You can see in the image he is wearing a dark shirt and jeans and a baseball cap.
Now, authorities believe that Raynes stole a public works truck from an area in Mississippi after his escape from the detention center with the three other escapees.
He drove that truck about 400 miles west to Texas. That truck was later found abandoned in Spring Valley.
You mentioned there are two other escapees being searched for as well. That search being focused in central Mississippi, 24-yeaer-old Casey Gracin and 22-year-old Corey Harrison. Those are the people that the police are searching for.
Police believe these two men may have stolen a red Chevy Silverado after their escape. That truck was last seen on Monday morning, heading into neighboring Rankin County.
The fourth escapee you mentioned, Jim, Dylan Arrington, yes, he has been confirmed dead. His remains were recovered inside a home in Leake County. That is where Arrington had a shootout with police.
A sheriff said something interesting, that in all of his years in law enforcement, he's never seen anything like this, where a gunman, the shooting at officers from inside a home while a fire is raging there.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYREE JONES, SHERIFF, HINDS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: This individual had violence on his mind. I will say that I believe that he did not intend to leave here alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: As the manhunt enters day five, we should mention that the Jackson community is mourning the death of Reverend Anthony Watts. Police believe that he was shot and killed by Arrington -- Jim?
SCIUTTO: Yes. It appears that he stopped to help him, right, and ended up losing his life as a result.
Amara Walker, thanks so much for covering it. Goodness, we hope they track them down.
[13:48:29]
SANCHEZ: Drug maker, Eli Lilly, says it has a weight loss drug that works just as well as Ozempic. But there may be a catch. We'll dive into that, next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[13:53:22]
SANCHEZ: Now, they aren't diabetic, but a weight loss craze has caused some people to take a common diabetes drug called Ozempic to try to shed some pounds.
Today, another drug company says they are going to ask the FDA to approve one of their blood-sugar regulators purely for weight loss.
Eli Lilly claims their injectable drug, Mounjaro, delivered weight loss of up to 34.5 pounds in obese adults with diabetes.
CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, is following this and joins us now.
Elizabeth, what does the data that Eli Lilly is putting out there say?
DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So this data is really interesting, Boris. I want to preface this by saying this is straight from a press release from Eli Lilly, not published in a medical journal, no one's reviewed it, no peer review, so take it for what it is.
In this study, more than 900 people, who had type 2 diabetes and were either overweight or obese. Average weight, they started at 222 pounds. These were people that were quite heavy.
And over the course of the 17-month study, they lost 34 pounds. That is a big weight loss. You don't usually see that level of weight loss with a weight-loss drug.
But it may come at a certain price. What they found is that one in five people suffered from nausea or diarrhea. That's a lot, one in five, nausea or diarrhea.
And also, a fair number of people had vomiting and constipation. I don't mean to get so graphic, but it certainly raises the question of whether people will be willing to take this drug if they're going to feel that way.
And it actually gets even more severe. There were more unusual, but they did warn, the company says that there may be side effects of kidney issues, pancreatitis or thyroid cancer.
[13:55:06]
So definitely -- if this drug gets out on the market for weight loss, you would definitely want to think about whether you want to take it.
If you're morbidly obese and on the verge of having horrible complications like heart disease or high blood pressure, maybe it's worth it.
To lose a few pounds, definitely doesn't sound like it will be worth it and it won't be approved for that anyhow -- Boris?
SANCHEZ: It might be a difficult decision for some folks. Again, important to point out, this is just what the drug company has put out. It hasn't gone through the rigorous testing that the FDA does.
Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much for that update. Brianna?
KEILAR: Boris, there are still Americans stuck in Sudan. So what America's top diplomat just said about these efforts to help them escape the country's violent crisis. We'll have that next on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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