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Health Task Force: Women Should Get Mammograms Starting At 40; Pentagon: Ukraine Downed Russian Missile With Patriot Missile System; U.S. Crafts New Aid Package Ahead Of Ukraine Counter-Offensive; Lachlan Murdoch Defends FOX News After $787M Settlement; Verdict Reached In Trump's Civil Battery & Defamation Trial, Expected To Be Read Within Next Hour. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired May 09, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:32:30]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: Now to some of the top stories we are watching on CNN NEWS CENTRAL today.

In less than two hours, President Biden meets with Speaker McCarthy and other top congressional leaders for talks at the White House on how to avoid, if they can, a U.S. default and a global economic disaster.

With just three weeks before the country hits its debt limit, as early as June 1st, what happens behind closed doors today could set the country on the path towards a deal to pay its bills or a path towards real financial costs.

And with two days left before a pandemic era immigration policy expires, federal authorities are conducting an enforcement operation targeting migrants in El Paso, Texas.

A Department of Homeland Security statement says migrants with no legal right to be in the United States will be removed. The crackdown aimed at discouraging a migrant surge when Title 42 policy expires on Thursday.

Sources with the U.S. government estimates, in Mexico alone, more than 150,000 people may be standing by to make their move into the United States if they can on Thursday. We'll be watching closely.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Jim, new today, a leading task force of medical experts is now advising all women start getting mammograms at age 40 to reduce their risk from dying of breast cancer.

This is a stark change, right? The group's earlier guidance called for mammograms at 50. Recommendations from the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force helped guide doctors' decisions.

We have CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, with us on this.

Jacqueline, you spoke with one of the task force members. Why are they moving up this recommendation?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, Brianna, the task force told me they have seen each year a rise in breast cancer diagnoses here in the United States, especially among women in their 40s.

And they also emphasize that black women are more likely to die from the disease as well.

So they say that making this update -- it's a draft recommendation update. They say that this will help us to detect cancer's earlier, which will lead to a better chance of survival for women who do have the disease.

Previously, the task force said that women in their 40s had the option, the individual choice, to screen at that age. Now they're coming down stronger saying all women should start to get mammograms at age 40.

We also know, in general, it's estimated for women in the U.S., born here in the U.S., 12.9 percent of them will develop breast cancer at some time in their life. That's the demographic that we're talking about here where there's some concern.

[14:35:11]

This is a draft recommendation. Once again, it's available for public comment from now through June 5th.

But that's where we stand right now, Brianna, as we think about breast cancer screening and when women should start.

KEILAR: We're not all the same. Some people are higher risk than others and should be talking to their doctors about what that means for them.

Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Still to come, a sign of the times. Vladimir Putin's annual Victory Day parade was significantly scaled back with just one tank and no flyover.

Ahead of an expected counter-offensive, the U.S. is announcing another billion-dollar aid package for Ukraine. The details on that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:14]

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines we are watching this hour.

Much of the southeast is bracing for severe storms over the next two days. The threatened heavy flooding and torrential rain, flash flooding likely in southeastern Texas. With a bull's eye on the Houston metro area. Rainfall there could actually top five inches per day. More than seven million people across southeast Texas are under flood watches.

And also, after more than eight days on the lam, the second of two escaped inmates is back in prison. U.S. Marshals captured Bruce Callahan after he approached a student at a college dormitory near the town of Farmville for medical assistance.

The student alerted police by pulling the fire alarm. Callahan was arrested without incident.

And Vladimir Putin marked the country's World War II defeat over Germany with the annual Victory Day celebration, but the military parade was noticeably sparse compared to years past.

Russia seems to have significantly scaled back its typical show of military might. As you can see, there was only one tank leading this year's parade. And that usual flyover you see was canceled without any explanation.

In his speech Putin said, quote, "True war is being waged against Russia." And he said he wants a peaceful future.

Boris?

SANCHEZ: While Russia celebrates its Victory Day, the fighting is intensifying in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Russian-backed mercenaries have threatened to retreat from the fight as they feud with the Kremlin's military leaders.

And as Ukraine's President Zelenskyy reminded Russia's leaders today, they have failed to take this city, despite investing so much blood and treasure.

The U.S., meantime is stepping up with more military assistance to Ukraine. A new aid package worth more than a billion dollars.

Let's take you to the Pentagon and CNN's Natasha Bertrand there live.

Natasha, we just learned that Ukraine downed a Russian missile using the U.S. Patriot system. What more can you tell us about that?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Boris. The Pentagon did confirm, for the first time, that Ukraine did, in fact, down a Russian hypersonic ballistic missile called the Kinzhal missile on May 4th.

Using a Patriot system, that sophisticated air defense system that both the U.S. and Germany have provided to the Ukrainians in recent months.

This is significant for a number of reasons. First, among them being that Ukrainians were able to successfully deploy this very sophisticated system to down a very difficult to intercept Russian missile. This is a hypersonic missile that travels at 10 times the speed of

sound. The Russians had boasted in the past that it was a missile that was very difficult to shoot down and intercept.

So the fact that the Ukrainians were able to do this speaks, according to the Pentagon, very highly of their ability to use this system effectively.

Now all of this comes as the Pentagon is announcing a new $1 billion aid package, or just over a billion dollars, for additional Ukrainian air defense, ammunition, other things that they will need over the course of the longer term.

So the medium and longer term, because this is not coming, this assistance, from stocks that U.S. currently has. It is going to be contracted out so that this assistance can be built and ultimately given to Ukraine to support its fight against Russia in the longer term.

So we will be seeing, you know, moving forward, a lot of the arguments made by the U.S. kind of consistent with their claim that they are going to support Ukraine for as long as it takes here.

And this Ukraine security initiative package they announced today is further evidence of that -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: Yes. That is the long-term picture. In the short term. we're anticipating the Ukrainian counter-offensive set to begin any day now.

We know you're watching closely.

Natasha Bertrand, from the Pentagon, thank you so much.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: As the U.S. continues to send military aid to Ukraine, it's been keeping a close eye on any potential movement of Russian nuclear forces.

I'm told today by multiple officials, that despite recent nuclear saber rattling by Russian leaders, the U.S. has not detected any signs of movement or change to Russia's nuclear posture.

Russian leaders have repeatedly raised the prospect of nuclear war in recent months. The U.S. and its allies have, as a result, carefully monitored Russia's nuclear forces for evidence of preparations to deploy them.

A senior Biden administration official tells me that, as a result of what it's found, the U.S. has made no changes to its own strategic posture.

However, the incendiary rhetoric from the Kremlin continues. Vladimir Putin declared at today's Victory Day parade in Moscow that the West has unleashed, quote, "a true war" against Russia.

[14:45:02]

Brianna?

KEILAR: Jim, ahead, selling cookies for a big cause. We'll introduce you to Girl Scouts living in shelters and experiencing homelessness. We'll have their story just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Don't expect any more major shifts to FOX News' strategy following that $787 million Dominion settlement. That's the word from Lachlan Murdoch, the chief executive of its parent company.

And it comes as the media company posted a loss in the most recent quarter of earnings.

We have CNN senior media reporter, Oliver Darcy, here with the details.

[14:50:01]

Oliver, FOX News cut ties with Tucker Carlson, but it appears they're not abandoning what has made them successful but also vulnerable.

OLIVER DARCY, CNN SENIOR MEDIA REPORTER: Yes, some people might have hoped that this would mean that the network is going to maybe turn away from the right-wing programming that makes up most of the channel.

But Lachlan Murdoch is telling the investors today that is not going to be the case. He said there is no broader programming shift at FOX News following Tucker Carlson's ouster.

It's just that, he says, they are tweaking the lineup, like they normally would.

Of course, Carlson's ouster is a big tweak, but no broader programming changes coming at FOX, according to the FOX CEO, Lachlan Murdoch.

KEILAR: And tell us about these other text messages that have recently surfaced that are kind of dinging FOX News' credibility among the folks that are considered more journalistically moderate or journalists actually.

DARCY: That's right. There's been a lot of focus on people like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity and what the leaked messages have exposed about them.

But there hasn't been as much focus on Brett Baier, who is the chief political anchor over at FOX News.

But leaked messages in recent months have painted a very unflattering portrait of him, something different from the straight-forward newsman reputation that he has really built over the last several years.

I want to read to you some of the text messages that have leaked, according to "The Daily Beast" in the last few days.

In one message exchange with Tucker Carlson, Tucker Carlson says that, "We need to do something to reassure our core audience." And Brett Baier goes on to say that he has pressed them too slow, and they will --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: Oliver, I'm so sorry to interrupt you.

We have some news coming in, and I need to get to Jim.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: We do have breaking news. A federal --

(MUSIC)

SCIUTTO: A federal jury in Manhattan has reached a verdict in the civil battery and defamation trial of Donald Trump brought by the writer E. Jean Carroll. The jury of six men and three women deliberated for not long, just over two and a half hours. The verdict is expected to be read in the next hour.

You'll remember that this case is about civil battery. E. Jean Carroll alleging she was sexually assaulted in the dressing room of a Manhattan store in the 1990s. And then, following that, she was defamed by Donald Trump when he denied those allegations.

We have our Paula Reid outside of the courtroom in New York.

Paula, this came very quickly. What do we know?

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It came so quickly that I had to run about five blocks just to get here.

Look, the jury got the case at noon. I was in the court when the judge went through a detailed description of the task that they have at hand.

As you noted, this is not a criminal case. It is a civil case. So there is no jail time on the line. This is all about whether the jury thinks that Trump is liable for battery and defamation.

E. Jean Carroll alleges that she was raped by Trump in a Bergdorf Goodman in the spring of 1996. And she also claims that he defamed her by saying that this allegation was a hoax and a lie.

But, yes, the verdict came back quickly. They had been deliberating over two hours. And if you look at the questions that they have to answer, this is a lot faster than we expected.

Part of their job is to consider all of the evidence that they have heard, including E. Jean Carroll's case, which included 11 witnesses, including E. Jean Carroll herself, who testified for several days. The former President Trump did not put on any defense of his own. He

did not call a single witness. Though the jury did hear parts of his deposition, and parts of the infamous "Access Hollywood" tape.

So it is going to be interesting to hear the decision they came to. And we should find out in just a few moments.

SCIUTTO: As you note, this is a civil trial. And the question they are considering here is whether he is liable or not liable, not guilty or not guilty.

So you referenced something that Kara Scannell detailed a few minutes ago when she was checking in on this case, and that is that they have multiple questions to answer on each side of this, as you were, both the sexual assault allegation, and the defamation allegation here.

Can you detail some more of those questions?

And I should note to people watching right now, the verdict is going to be read in about six minutes' time, so 3:00 P.M. Eastern time, which is going to bring to you live.

Tell us what we know, Paula, about the questions they are facing.

REID: That is right. Sure. So there's two separate parts of this case. One is battery. The other is defamation.

When it comes to finding out whether he is liable for battery, they have several different potential charges that they could find him guilty of.

[14:55:03]

Obviously, rape is in the headlines. That is her allegation. But the definition, the legal definition of rape is sexual intercourse with another person by forceable compulsion, which can be penetration without consent.

Now, if they find that they do not believe, by a preponderance of evidence, which is not a terribly high standard, which means, more likely than not, that Trump is guilty of rape, they have two other potential forms of sexual assault that they could find that he is liable for.

(CROSSTALK)

REID: And the first is sexual abuse which is sexual contact --

SCIUTTO: Liable is not guilty, correct?

REID: Yes, exactly. Exactly. Yes. They could find him liable of sexual abuse, which is sexual contact without consent.

So quoting the law here, "Touching someone's intimate parts for sexual gratification." If they don't find they reach that standard. One other option is

forceable touching. They could find him liable for forceable touching, which is touching someone for the purpose of degrading them or abusing them, and that is pinching, squeezing, grabbing or rubbing.

And so they have a lot of different things to go over in this jury room. They have gone through it very quickly.

And then after they made a decision on whether he was liable for any of these potential batteries, then they need to go on to question of defamation. Now, that is also a series of questions to determine whether or not he defamed her.

If they find that he is not guilty of the sexual assaults, they would not have to find anything on defamation.

But they could find -- potentially, they could say, yes, he was guilty of one of these, or excuse me, liable for one of the counts of sexual assault and not defamation.

So it is a complicated case, Jim. And they have a lot of questions to go through. And they received 90 minutes of instructions but only deliberated for two hours. So we will find out what they decided shortly.

SCIUTTO: As we said -- and if you are just joining us now -- momentarily, at the top of the hour, 3:00 p.m. Eastern time, we will hear the verdict read. A Manhattan jury, a federal jury has reached a verdict in the civil battery and defamation case against Donald Trump.

And we should note the broader context here. It was only a short time ago that a Manhattan D.A. decided to indict Trump on another case involving hush money payments to an adult film star, Stormy Daniels as well.

While there are other criminal investigations under way both in the state of Georgia, the D.A. there. Also, of course, the DOJ, the D.A. there, I should say -- the DOJ is considering its own case in investigation of the former president and his involvement of January 6th.

You see the pictures there you of E. Jean Carroll who has accused Trump of a sexual assault and defamation in this case, as she arrived at the courthouse.

Again, we have a great deal to consider.

Dave Aronberg joins us now here.

And the first question -- and again, we don't have much time, two minutes before the verdict is read.

Are you surprised how quickly the jury came to a decision here in this case?

DAVID ARONBERG, STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA: You know, nothing ever surprises me about jurors. The only thing predictable about juries is that they are notoriously unpredictable.

The quick verdict shows that Trump is going to be found liable here. Because I can't imagine that, after all of the evidence, and Trump goes to the jury - doesn't even show up -- that they are going to say, no, he didn't do it.

I think they will get him on at least one of those and I think probably the highest charge, which would be rape. Again, it is not criminal. It's liable. And it is never a good look when you are running for president that the jury found you liable for rape.

SCIUTTO: OK. So what would the actual consequences be, beyond reputational and for the former president. And by the way, this is presuming an outcome here that we don't know yet, and we will learn in a couple of minutes' time.

But what would the consequences be if that is what the jury has decided here?

ARONBERG: Well, it is about money. This would be a civil verdict that leads to the payment of money.

Now in her closing argument, the lawyer for E. Jean Carroll did not ask about a specific amount, saying that this is about principle, this is not about money.

But in the end, the jury is going to have to decide how much money Trump has to pay E. Jean Carroll, and not just for the sexual abuse but for the defamation.

So if they find him liable for the sexual abuse, then they will find him liable for the defamation. Because remember, he said, I didn't do it, she's not my type, she's a liar.

And so he will have to pay something in this if he found liable. We just don't know how much yet.

SCIUTTO: To your point, that is one of the many questions here that they have to decide here. It's not just liability here but also then the amount, the penalty.

As I have said multiple times, this verdict to be read in less than a minute's time, 3:00 Eastern time, New York.

[14:59:51]

The jury having reached a verdict in the battery and defamation trial, civil battery and defamation trial of the former president here.

We're also told, a short time ago, E. Jean Carroll, of course, the former president's accuser, the one who brought this case, she has now entered the courtroom where she, among others.