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UC Davis Students Shelter in Place; Writers Go on Strike; Debt Ceiling Fight; Seven Bodies Found in Oklahoma; Border Patrol on Lookout for Accused Gunman. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired May 02, 2023 - 09:00   ET

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

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[09:00:43]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Shelter in place. Students on the campus of California's UC Davis are told to stay indoors until further notice following a third stabbing incident near campus. The latest on the search for a suspect.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: On strike. More than 11,000 Hollywood writers are taking to the picket line today. How long this could last and what it all means for the shows that you watch.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Debt limit showdown. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet with President Biden next week as the treasury secretary warns the U.S. could default on its debt as soon as June 1st.

These stories right here on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

SIDNER: This morning, students and staff and the UC Davis community are being asked to shelter in place because of a string of stabbings near campus. The latest one happened overnight just days after two other deadly stabbings. On Thursday, a 50-year-old man, you see where that happened, the stabbing of David Breaux was found -- he was found dead in Central Park, about a half mile from campus. Then, two days later, and just a mile and a half away, you see there a UC Davis student was stabbed to death at another park. Police have made no arrests and at this point haven't named any suspects either.

CNN's Nick Watt is following the story for us.

Let's begin with this, is there any indication that these stabbings are somehow related?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Sara, the police are not confirming that, but they say that there are a number of similarities. They say these attacks were all brutal and that the suspect used a knife. Obviously, they are investigating whether there's a connection. They say that right now they can't find any connection between the victims.

Now, the latest attack, as you mentioned, Monday night a woman said that she was stabbed through her tent in what police are calling a known transient camp. The latest we heard, she is still in critical condition.

And, you know, state authorities, the FBI, the local police obviously trying to find the suspect. We just heard from the police that they have concluded their search after that stabbing Monday night and did not find a suspect.

Security is up. Patrols are up. This small, laid back college town, on edge.

Sara.

SIDNER: It is such a laid back place. Let me ask you if what you know now about some of these victims.

WATT: Well, the first person killed, Sara, was David Breaux, as you mentioned, 50 years old, killed on Thursday. He was known, according to the mayor, as the compassion guy. He was a well-known figure in the downtown Central Park area. He was an activist. He would walk up to people and ask them for their thoughts on compassion, a much-moved figure, we are told.

The other victim, murdered Saturday night, was a 20-year-old computer science student, six weeks away from graduation, who was stabbed in Sycamore Park, murdered on his way back from an undergraduate awards ceremony. His father said that the family -- the father of Karim Abou- Najim, who's 20, the father said that the family had moved to California in 2018 from Lebanon. He said we came here hoping for safety.

The suspect in that murder described as 5'7", 5'8", 19 to 23 years old, light skin. No suspects have been named. The manhunt continues. Davis and the community on edge.

Sara.

SIDNER: Thank you so much. Our Nick watt there with all of those details.

John.

BERMAN: All right, Sara.

As of this morning, more than 11,000 TV and movie writers are on strike, halting multiple productions and possibly delaying new seasons of some of your favorite shows. There was no deal between the Writers Guild of America and the studios before a midnight deadline. The picket lines are expected this afternoon.

So, at the heart of the negotiations is compensation for streaming shows. Writers are asking for better pay but studios claim this is a difficult economic climate for the entertainment industry. So late night shows, they will see the most immediate hit. Several hosts spoke out in solidarity with the union last night. Jimmy Fallon told one reporter how it will affect his show. [09:05:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there is a strike, do you go dark?

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JIMMY FALLON": If there is a strike, yes, I think we - we will, yes. I think we'll go - we'll go dark. Whatever I can do to support The Guild. I'm actually in the Writers Guild as well. So, yes, I couldn't do the show without them. And I support my whole staff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is outside the Ed Sullivan Theater here in New York where "The Late Show" is filmed.

Vanessa, what are the holdups or what were the sticking points before the midnight deadline?

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the sticking points that existed six weeks ago when these negotiations began are very much the sticking points that we are hearing today. And we're getting a number on just how far apart these two sides are. The Writers Guild saying that they are asking for $429 million in compensation this year, and they're saying that the offer from the studios is $86 million. So that's just showing how far apart these two sides are.

I want to take you through what the studios say that they're offering the writers. They say that they're offering increased compensation, they said that they're increasing residuals for writers, and they say that they're actually willing to even move up on those offers.

However, we are hearing that the sticking points, according to the studios, are that the Writers Guild want more writers in the writers room and they want commitments of employment from the studios which they say they may not need writers for certain durations.

And then we're hearing, of course, from the writers, who are saying, the residuals for streaming still not where they need to be and they really want to get a commitment from the studios to regulate artificial intelligence.

So, still not on the same page here. It's day one, John, but looks like a bit more to go here.

BERMAN: So we just heard from Jimmy Fallon, who noted he is a member of the Writers Guild. And I think all, if not almost all, the late night hosts are members of the Writers Guild. So, what are they saying in addition to Jimmy Fallon about this?

YURKEVICH: Yes, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert, who film behind me, both members of the Writers Guild, and they are standing in support of their writers. Listen to both of them, both these late night hosts, they said something last night ahead of the announced strike in support of their writers. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, HOST, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT": I also think that the writers' demands are not unreasonable. I'm a member of The Guild. I support collective bargaining. This nation owes so much to unions. They're the reason -- unions -- this is true -- union are the reason we have weekends, and by extension why we have TGI Fridays.

SETH MEYERS, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS": No one is entitled to a job in show business. But for those people who have a job in show business, they are entitled to fair compensation. They are entitled to make a living. I think it's a very reasonable demand that is being set out by The Guild. And I support those demands.

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YURKEVICH: And as you heard right there, the writers saying that there is simply not enough jobs right now to make a good living. That's because of the shift in the industry from broadcast to streaming. The studios saying, hey, we have had to make cost cutting measures, too, including layoffs.

But we should expect a couple hundred, thousands maybe across the country of picketers taking to the lines a little later this afternoon. No one out here quite yet this morning. But this afternoon we should see those writers on strike.

John.

BERMAN: Vanessa Yurkevich outside the Ed Sullivan Theater, "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Thank you so much.

Some more context here. Many writers say a lack of job opportunities, combined with the low pay makes the current situation simply unsustainable. For media and tech companies, a weak advertising market, that has driven stocks down and it's triggered deep cost cuts, including layoffs.

Almost all writers say they are on board with this strike. Last month 98 percent of the Writers Guild of America members voted in favor of it. This is the first strike since 2007. That one cost roughly $2.1 billion. It lasted 100 days.

So, as we noted, late night TV, it will see the first impact. All those shows, "Jimmy Kimmel Live," "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," "Saturday Night Live," they depend on writers with fresh material in real time, and they are going to go dark, as you heard from Jimmy Fallon, and we could soon see reruns.

We're also, for better or worse, going to see more reality TV. During the last strike, shows including "Big Brother" and "Survivor," they helped fill the gap of the scripted shows. The big difference this time is the prevalence of streaming services, Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Netflix, Hulu, they have tons of shows and movies readily available. They'll be able to offer new content for quite some time, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Much more to come on that.

Also new this morning, after weeks of staring each other down and months since they've really last communicated, President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, they have announced that they are going to meet one week from today at the White House to talk about the debt ceiling.

[09:10:04]

McCarthy just accepted the invitation and, along with the other three top leaders in Congress, they will be joining as well.

It comes with new urgency. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, she just put out a new analysis warning that the U.S. could default and run out of cash as of June 1st.

CNN's Christine Romans is here with me on much more on this.

Yellen's warnings and raising the alarm have definitely kicked up a notch and gotten more urgent in recent days.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BOLDUAN: She says it's now imperative that they get this done, they do something ASAP.

ROMANS: Yes.

BOLDUAN: Where do things stand, do you think?

ROMANS: So, we already hit the debt ceiling, right, and so now all the tax receipts that are coming in, as everyone pays their taxes, that's being used to pay the bills. And it's not enough. And so -

COLLINS: And it's coming in lower --

ROMANS: Coming in lower than expected.

COLLINS: Right.

ROMANS: So, the Treasury is doing what it can, so-called extraordinary measures to move the money around until it hits the so-called x date, which is now June 1st.

We are sleep walking -- Congress is sleep walking toward a likely recession, a credit downgrade and the unraveling of the American economy and possibly the global financial system. You could see stocks plunge. You could see interest rates spike. The cost of our debt would be even more expensive.

And what would happen if they don't get this resolved quickly is, the United States can't pay all of its bills. As it prioritizes and picks and chooses, it sends a message to the rest of the world that we are not credit worthy. And American creditworthiness is the basis of the entire financial system. You would see jobless rates spike. Even - even a quick couple of days going over the lines, according to Moody's, would be a million jobs lost. Just a million jobs lost like that.

Goldman Sachs says, if we don't get this resolved, a tenth of the American economy just stops on the day that we don't have enough money to pay the bills. You would see benefits be halted. Social Security checks --

BOLDUAN: It's such an unforced error. It's - this is -- this is what Christine's laying out. This is an unforced error.

ROMANS: It absolutely -- and we shouldn't even be here. It's only been in the last decade or so that this has become a political football.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

ROMANS: And there are even those who say we need to take this football completely off the table.

BOLDUAN: Right.

ROMANS: I mean this is the kind of stuff that needs to be negotiated in the budget process and at the ballot box, not when it's time to actually pay the bills. So, that's the political and philosophical conversation that's happening. But the practical conversation for the American people is that a $31.4 trillion debt limit has already been reached. We are walking here toward the brink. And the markets and the global economy could actually react even before we get there. One wonders if it will take some sort of adverse, really big market crash, for example, for Congress to wake up.

BOLDUAN: Because so far the market's been kind of crossing their fingers (INAUDIBLE).

ROMANS: Has been saying that the risk of a default is not zero and it should be. It should always be zero.

BOLDUAN: Right.

ROMANS: Not zero but rising every day.

BOLDUAN: So, all - look, adding to the picture, the Fed's meeting tomorrow.

ROMANS: That's right.

BOLDUAN: What's going to happen?

ROMANS: So, we're expecting the Fed is going to hike and hold, maybe 25 basis points and then stay there. Remember, it's been a year, Kate, of interest rates increases. That would be the tenth if the Fed raises interest rates from going from near 0 percent to all the way up to 5 percent. That's the pressure you've seen on the banking system. The hope is that it slows the economy a little bit. The irony here is that you could be looking at a slowing economy at

the very same time the credit problem, the debt ceiling drama, throws the economy into a recession and undoes all of the careful work that the policymakers have tried to do to slow the economy.

BOLDUAN: You've been warning that -- you've been warning this, that this could just come at such a -

ROMANS: Terrible time.

BOLDUAN: Like the worst -

ROMANS: Terrible time.

BOLDUAN: We've run up - 2011, this is worse than what it could look like because we're at a different time in the economy.

ROMANS: This is - this is a terrible time. Absolutely.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you. Thank you.

Sara.

SIDNER: Coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, where is mass murder suspect Francisco Oropesa? Law enforcement is still on the hunt for Oropesa, accused of killing five of his neighbors in Texas. This morning, CNN has uncovered disturbing details about his previous bouts with the law.

Plus, an Arkansas judge orders Hunter Biden to release personal financial information as part of a paternity lawsuit he's facing. The order is breathing new life into House Republican efforts to get ahold of those same records.

And later we have new information on that blinding dust storm in Illinois which led to a deadly pileup on a major stretch of highway there. A live report straight ahead. Stay with us.

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BOLDUAN: On our radar this morning, an American climber has died while trying to reach the summit of Mt. Everest. Expedition organizers say Jonathan Sugarman started to feel unwell on Camp 2 and then passed away. He was 69 years old. He was a retired physician from Seattle. The Pulse Tourism Department tells CNN that bad weather is hindering efforts now to airlift his body out. Sugarman is the fourth person to die on Mt. Everest this year.

There's also a new poll out that we want to tell you about showing 73 percent of likely Republican primary voters would consider backing Donald Trump in 2024 and a majority say he's their top choice right now. The new data comes from CBS News. It also found that fewer than 20 percent of these likely Republican voters are currently even considering any of the other seven candidates included in the survey. And you'll remember yesterday we showed you this incredible video of a

caring just being tossed around like a toy and flipping over in the midst of a tornado. This was in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. We are now hearing from the man in that car who lived through the wild ordeal, sharing what it looked like from inside.

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ZACHARY MEANS, SURVIVED PALM BEACH GARDENS, FLORIDA TORNADO: When the car started to flip, like I do remember like kind of like a flash of seeing the air bag go off and the glass break, but then, you know, we were back upright and I was just sitting there with my hands on the wheel and it seemed to happen basically instantaneously.

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BOLDUAN: This is so wild. Zachary Means had his dog in the car with him at the time. Both are thankfully OK, almost incredibly, Sara.

SIDNER: Wow, that was nuts.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

SIDNER: Thanks, Kate.

This morning, the remains of two missing teenagers are believed to be among seven bodies found on a rural Oklahoma property.

[09:20:04]

The property was the home of convicted sex offender Jesse McFadden. Investigators say he is also believed to be among the dead. He was under investigation in connection with the disappearance of 14-year- old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov is following this story for us.

Lucy, have officials conclusively identified the remains of these two teenagers, and anyone else?

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They have not, Sara. The sheriff did say that the other family members related -- that their - part of the -- some of the victims were other family members related to one family, but he did not release the names.

But here's what we know so far.

Oklahoma Highway Patrol pushed a missing persons alert for 14-year-old Ivy Webster and 16-year-old Brittany Brewer early Monday afternoon. They were last seen in Henrietta, which is about 90 miles east of Oklahoma City, possibly with 39 Jesse McFadden, who was also included in that alert.

Now, McFadden had been convicted of sexual assault. He's listed on the Oklahoma sexual offender registry. We understand that law enforcement arrived to that property with a search warrant at around 3:00 p.m. local yesterday. They searched the property. They found the seven bodies, not in the residence, but on the property, according to the sheriff. Authorities did not provide details regarding how long the bodies had been there. They did say that there is no suspect at large that they are looking for and that there's no threat to the community.

Now, there was a separate missing persons alert posted by the sheriff's office on Facebook regarding 14-year-old Ivy Webster, which revealed that she went with a friend on Saturday to that area. She was supposed to return home by 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, but contact had not been made with her. Our affiliate did speak to Ivy's brother and the father of Brittany Brewer.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATHAN BREWER, FATHER OF BRITTANY BREWER: I'm just lost. I still -- it hasn't sunk in yet. I still think she's going to walk in right behind me or walk up next to me. It still hasn't sunken in that she's gone.

They're just taking it really tough and hard. I mean there just -- words can't describe.

PARKER WEBSTER, BROTHER OF IVY WEBSTER: A lot of crying. Really sad. I mean, only daughter in a house full of boys. So, obviously, my mom's super upset.

Horrible. Truly tragic, especially because we've known this family for like two years now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAFANOV: So much grief in that community.

And, Sara, another grim twist. Just hours before authorities discovered these bodies, McFadden was actually set to stand trial on charges of solicitation of a minor according to court records. He was scheduled to appear in court at 9:00 a.m. on Monday. He failed to show up, the record said. A bench warrant for failure to appear was issued. The court date actually stemmed from charges filed back in 2017 when McFadden was accused of using a cellphone to exchange nude photos and videos with an underaged girl while he was serving time for a 2003 rape conviction. This is according to a CNN affiliate, KLKI.

Ivy's parents telling our affiliate that they were shocked to learn of McFadden's past.

Sara.

SIDNER: Truly awful. Thank you so much, Lucy Kafanov there, live for us from Denver.

John.

BERMAN: This morning, Border Patrol officers are on the lookout for the gunman believed to have killed five of his neighbors, including a little boy, in a small Texas town. That suspect, Francisco Oropesa, is still at large. He is considered armed and dangerous. More than 250 law enforcement officers are involved in the manhunt and an $80,000 reward is being offered for any information.

CNN's Ed Lavandera joins us now from Cleveland, Texas, outside the suspect's home.

Ed, are police, law enforcement telling you there are any developments?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They were very tight lipped yesterday. They had spoken on Saturday and Sunday, in the days immediately after the shooting that took place at this home outside of Cleveland, Texas. But yesterday they were very quiet. It was Sunday afternoon that they offered that $80,000 reward.

We did see some movement at the suspect's house, which is just right back over here. There was an FBI agent that was inside the home and also looking through various cars on the property, but FBI officials wouldn't explain exactly what was going on. They simply said that they were following all possible leads at this point.

And we've also noticed that in the area around this neighborhood, large poster-sized pictures of this suspect have been put up. And I think all of this kind of speaks to the uncertainty of what investigators are dealing with right now. On Sunday afternoon, FBI officials said that they had no leads. But, you know, this, $80,000 reward we know has generated calls of possible sightings. In a nearby county there were multiple called in sightings of what people thought might have been the suspect. Those didn't pan out. So, this reward is generating calls, but it has not led to any real leads that would pinpoint exactly where Francisco Oropesa is.

[09:25:00]

And as you mentioned off the top there, John, this warning along the border since Oropesa is a Mexican national, obviously law enforcement believes that there is a possibility he may be trying to get back to Mexico. But at this point, as investigators have said, this suspect could be anywhere, John.

BERMAN: Ed Lavandera in Cleveland, Texas. Ed, keep us posted. This is a manhunt that's lasted four days already, Kate, and now going.

BOLDUAN: I know. Exactly right.

There's also this story in South Carolina that's just heartbreaking that we need to bring to you. A bride was killed on Friday just hours after she and her husband exchanged vows. Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchinson, they were literally just leaving their wedding reception when this happened. An alleged drunk driver hit the golf cart that the newlyweds were riding in. According to court records, the driver was arrested and charged, and it is this woman, this 25-year-old woman, who was behind the wheel. They say that her vehicle was going 65 in a 25 mile an hour zone. Obviously, more than twice the speed limit when she hit the golf cart.

The cart was thrown more than 100 yards, rolled multiple times. The groom and two other people were badly injured. His mother shared this heartbreaking detail as he was -- as he's still in the hospital, saying that they handed -- that she was handed Aric's wedding ring in a plastic bag at the hospital, five hours after Sam had placed it on his finger.

Here's what Sam's sister told NBC this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANDI JENKINS, SISTER OF BRIDE KILLED IN CRASH: From the moment she woke up that day, until she left the venue, she told Aric on the golf cart that she wanted this day to last forever. He told us that at the hospital today when we saw him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: The suspect is now charged with reckless homicide and felony DUI.

Sara.

SIDNER: Wow.

CNN's on the ground in Illinois, where a dust storm turned deadly this weekend, blinding drivers on a major interstate and triggering a huge pileup. At least six people have been killed. The challenge for crews working around the clock on the ground, that's coming up next.

And, we are just minutes away from the opening bell on Wall Street. Futures pointing slightly lower this morning. Investors looking forward to the start of the Fed's May policy meeting. A decision on interest rates is expected tomorrow. Markets ended the day slightly lower on Monday with eyes on the banking sector following the failure of First Republic Bank. Shares of JP Morgan Chase, however, ended up higher. Their CEO, Jamie Dimon, saying the banking system is stable.

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