Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Russia Displays Just A Single Tank In Its Victory Day Parade; Putin: West Has Unleashed "Real War" Against Russia; Possible Meteorite Crashes Through New Jersey Home; FDA Considers First Birth Control Pill Without Prescription. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 09, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:34:41]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Welcome back to CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Minutes from now, we are expecting an update about Saturday's mass shooting at an outlet mall in Allen, Texas. Eight people were killed as well as the gunman and at least seven people were injured.

So many questions remain about the gunman's motive and the remarkable police response. An officer on an unrelated call heard the gunshots and ran toward them, neutralizing the gunman.

[13:35:03]

Investigators say the 33-year-old shooter appears to have posted images to social media that reveal a disturbing obsession with guns and mass shootings.

These are posts that include images of his guns, multiple boxes of ammunition, and the tactical vest that he wore during the attack. He also purportedly wrote online of his support for nazi ideology.

A law enforcement source says investigators continue to dig into the gunman's background for a possible motive. Yesterday, the Pentagon confirmed that the gunman had been discharged from the Army for mental health reasons.

We will bring you that news conference once it gets underway.

Jim?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: A single tank, some very young-looking soldiers, not much else. That was Russia's Victory Day parade in Moscow today. Usually, a massive event.

No doubt, Vladimir Putin certainly would have liked to use the occasion to declare victory in Ukraine. That's not the reality.

Instead, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy, in his speech today, reminded Russia that it has not yet taken the city of Bakhmut by today, as Putin had vowed to do. And there's this new reporting today. Despite recent saber rattling by

senior Russian officials, I'm told by multiple officials that the U.S. has detected no signs of movement or change to Russia's nuclear forces.

Russian leaders, you'll remember, have repeatedly raised the prospect of nuclear war in recent months.

And the U.S. and its allies have carefully monitored Russian's nuclear forces for any signs of movement or preparations to deploy them.

A senior administration official tells me that, as a result, the U.S. has made no changes to its own strategic posture.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Moscow.

Fred, this was meant to be a big day for the Russian president. Not the day he imagined. Yet, he did deliver a fiery speech. What was his message?

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a fiery speech, you're absolutely right. Certainly, a speech full of anger as well. It was about 10 minutes long.

And you know, on the positive side, he did say that Russia didn't want bad relations with other countries, whether they were to the east or to the West.

He also praised U.S. troops, other Western ally troops and Chinese troops who fought on the side of the Soviet Union in World War II, but that was about it as far as the positives are concerned.

On the other hand, he accused Western nations, especially the United States, of essentially trying to oppress Russia, saying that they were trying to instill non-traditional values in the world community and obviously in Russia, as well.

And one of main things he did is he essentially blamed the U.S. and its allies for the war in Ukraine.

I want you to listen in to some of what Vladimir Putin had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): The Ukrainian nation has become hostage to a coup, which led to a criminal regime led by its Western masters. It has become a pawn to their cruel and selfish plans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: That's Vladimir Putin there.

I think one of the other things that you said, Jim, that was absolutely remarkable, as well, the complete lack of any heavy armor rolling down Red Square. That's certainly something that we noticed that other observers

noticed as well, that single T-34 tank. That is a model from World War II. Also, not really any other new technology.

If we remember, back in the past, you'll have seen this as well, the Russians usually showcase their new weapons in a parade like this. None of that today -- Jim?

SCIUTTO: And that phrase, "a real war," "a real war" being waged on Russia by the West. Notable, because he has often attached that to the threat of nuclear war. But as we reported, no movement of nuclear forces.

Fred Pleitgen, good to have you there in Moscow.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: It's a bird, it's a plane, actually, it might be a meteorite. Can you imagine this thing crashing through your roof? It happened to some homeowners in New Jersey. We'll tell you their reaction in just a few minutes. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:43:21]

KEILAR: This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. And here's a look at some of the other headlines we're following this hour.

An Army sergeant convicted of murdering a Black Lives Matter protester is being sentenced today, even as Texas Governor Greg Abbott has already said that he will seek to pardon him.

Daniel Perry was convicted of a murder charge in the 2020 shooting death of Garrett Foster. This was at a racial justice protest in Austin, Texas, that followed the death of George Floyd. Perry's legal team argued that his actions were justified as self-defense.

And officials in southwest Louisiana have just charged a 58-year-old man for shooting a group of children who were playing hide and seek.

Authorities say that a group of juveniles were hiding on a neighbor's property when the homeowner fired his weapon and asked them to leave.

A 14-year-old girl was shot in the back of the head. She was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Also, one of the country's largest military bases got a new name today. Ft. Hood in Colleen, Texas, which was named after a Confederate general, is now Ft. Cavazos in honor of General Richard Edward Cavazos, the Army's first Hispanic four-star general.

The central Texas post is one of nine Army locations that will be renamed after a push from Congress to remove Confederate names from military bases.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: A surprise visitor from space crashing into a home in New Jersey. Take a look at this thing.

This suspected meteorite flew through a home in the Hopewell Township. This thing is about the size of an avocado. It weighs roughly four pounds.

[13:44:58]

And the homeowner's daughter saw it tearing through their ceiling on Monday afternoon. She says it was warm to the touch after it landed on the floor. Not sure exactly why she was touching something that went through the ceiling. But thankfully, no one was hurt.

Something like this happening is actually exceedingly rare. Experts say only about 500 meteorites actually reach the surface of the earth each year, and of those, fewer than 10 of them are recovered. Most of them wind up falling into the ocean.

Let's dig deeper on this within an expert now. Adam Frank is a professor of astrophysics at the University of Rochester. He's also the author of the book "Light of the Stars: Alien Worlds and the Fate of the Earth."

Adam, thank you so much for sharing part of your afternoon with us.

I'm curious, when I look at this picture, it looks like a piece of broken asphalt. How do you know it's a meteorite? And also, what are meteorites made out of?

ADAM FRANK, PROFESSOR OF ASTROPHYSICS, UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER: Yes, well, first of all, as a son of the great state of New Jersey, I want to say, of course, it fell in New Jersey, where else, right? I'm just saying.

(LAUGHTER)

FRANK: But you can tell -- well, first, actually, you're going to have to do the study. You're going to have to actually analyze it to make sure it's a space rock.

But metal meteorites are particularly interesting to us, because these are construction debris left over from the assembly of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. And this thing has been floating around in space that long.

And the metal ones are very rare, because they are actually -- this is probably something that almost formed a planet, and so the metal sank to the bottom, just like we have the metal core in the earth. And then there was an apocalyptic impact that broke it up and eventually it reached the earth.

SANCHEZ: That is fascinating.

Adam, of all the places that this thing could have landed, forgive me, with all due respect, why New Jersey? Like, is there specifically a reason that these things fall in certain areas versus others?

FRANK: Well, that's what I was saying. Of course, the space rock went to New Jersey!

(LAUGHTER)

FRANK: No, actually, it's really rare to fall any place where there are human beings. You would think, like, most of the world is ocean, then you have desolate mountains and deserts. So it's pretty rare to actually have one fall someplace where somebody can get to see it fall and get to it.

I was particularly surprised that, you know, it tore through the ceiling, but didn't keep going. Didn't tear all the way and blow a hole all the way to the basement, which shows that the air resistance actually slowed it quite a bit.

Because these things are incredibly -- 400,000 miles an hour or so in space, but once they get to the atmosphere, the atmosphere really slows them down.

So it landed and only punched through the roof and didn't make it any further. You really see the effect of the earth's atmosphere, which usually burns these things up.

SANCHEZ: That's a pretty good hardwood floor, I guess, if it took that impact, too, right?

Adam, what happens to the meteorite now? You mentioned some testing. Does it wind up in a museum? and could these folks potentially see some cash?

FRANK: Well, you know, it depends on this one. I think probably people are going to want to at least -- when you find one of these things, the instant thing -- the first thing they want to do is get it into a refrigerator, right?

Actually, these things have been cold in space, and when they come through the earth's atmosphere, they tend to warm up the outside. But you want to preserve that interior. So you want to keep them cold.

So you can kind of cut them open and see -- these things have hints about the birth of the solar system. This is pristine material leftover from the assembly of the planets.

So probably, you know, someone's going to want to cut these open and do some studies on it.

But it may be that it comes back to the family. And sometimes these things can fetch a reasonable amount of money.

If it goes back to the family, if they want to sell it, they could, or if they want to keep it, they could. Because how many people have space rocks that blew through their roof?

SANCHEZ: That is pretty cool. A reasonable amount of money, a good reason to keep your eye on the sky and potentially also on eBay.

Adam Frank, thank you so much for the time. Appreciate it.

FRANK: It's my pleasure. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: And apparently, keep it in Tupperware in your fridge, so we hear.

[13:49:12]

Another story we're following, a pivotal decision coming on birth control pills. The FDA weighs whether to allow them to be sold over the counter for the first time ever. We're going to explain what advisers are considering today in a key meeting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Happening now, FDA advisors are discussing whether to allow a birth control pill to be sold over the counter for the first time ever in the U.S.

Right now, Opill is FDA approved only with a prescription. If over- the-counter use is approved, it would become as accessible as aspirin.

The drugmaker says Opill is safe and effective for over-the-counter use but some FDA scientists have concerns.

So let's bring in CNN senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, to take us through those.

Elizabeth, tell us what they're worried about.

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, the effort to get this pill over the counter has been going on for years and there was so much hope it would work. But there was an FDA document filed on Friday that listed some very pointed concerns.

So let's take a look at what FDA concerns were. They say 60 percent of Americans are overweight or obese. And when this pill was first tested out 50 years ago, that was not the case.

[13:55:05]

They're worried it's not going to work as well in women that are obese. They're also worried that studies showed that some women had trouble following the instructions.

Now the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Medical Association, they feel good about this pill. And they support an over-the-counter birth control pill.

And they have to reason to think that this pill will work any worse in women who are overweight or obese. And they also believe women can follow directions.

The company that makes this drug had this statement. They said, "Over- the-counter data from our eight-year-development program shows that consumers can use Opill safely and effectively as guided by the proposed labeling."

We'll see what FDA has to say after this hearing -- Brianna?

KEILAR: The first concern, I mean, makes a little bit of sense. The direction following, I mean, there's directions for every drug throughout for dosing, including Tylenol. So that's an interesting one.

Elizabeth, thank you so much for that.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: What happens in Washington, is not going to stay in Washington. Especially this. The debt ceiling impacts everyone. And there's a critical meeting at the White House just two hours from now. We are all over it.

You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)