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Immigrants Wait in Line as Title 42 Set to Expire Tonight; End of U.S. COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Today; Extradition of van der Sloot to the U.S. for Charges of Fraud and Extortion; Man Shot 9 Times by South Carolina Deputies Files Lawsuit; U.S. Default Would Lead to Global Economic Downturn, According to Yellen; Bill Banning Bias Against Weight Will Be Voted by NYC Council. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired May 11, 2023 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to CNN "News Central." Hours from now Title 42, that COVID area -- era migrant policy is going to expire. The Biden administration is sending thousands of officials to the border to prepare as the border towns are also preparing and already seeing a surge of people coming in. Right now, more than 26,000 are already in custody. And the Biden administration is preparing for that to spike once again after tonight.
Sara.
SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: It has been a long three years, but today is the official end of the COVID public health emergency in the United States. Dr. Sanjay Gupta who has been here every step of the way throughout this entire pandemic joins us now. My favorite doctor is in the house, does this mean that we are all -- we can relax and we're out of the woods?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL SPECIALIST: No is the short answer. I mean, you know, there is always still the possibility if -- that the patient -- if the country is a patient could be readmitted to the hospital. So, maybe patient is going home today but, you know, you got to be very vigilant.
A couple of things, first of all, you know, we have seen these variants emerge, Sara. You remember Delta came about at a time when we thought, look, maybe this thing is over and then Delta comes in and changes everything. The same thing happened with Omicron right before the holidays, you know.
So, these are obviously still concerns and there's still a lot of COVID out there as well. If you look at the overall number of cases, there are still some 77,000 cases of COVID every week, some 1,200 people in the hospital this past week, 1,100 people died this past week.
So, you know, there's still a significant amount of burden out there. I will say that the trend lines, the direction that we are headed is favorable. I mean, the numbers are going in the right direction. But that's, you know, again, from a medical standpoint, you look at those trends but also, I think become cautiously optimistic. I will say one thing, we have the better idea of who is the most vulnerable, obviously the elderly, people with the pre-existing conditions. If you have immunity and you have access to antivirals, there is no need for you to get very sick or die.
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So, the technology has changed a lot, you know, over the last three years but there's still a lot of COVID out there.
SIDNER: All right. With this emergency ending officially, are there things that are going to change significantly for regular people and patients?
DR. GUPTA: Yes, there is going to be some changes and they may not happen right away. Again, this is a formal end of the public health emergency. When it comes to testing and treatments and vaccines, some of those things that have been covered as part of the emergency will now have to be paid either out of the pocket or by your insurance, and depending what kind of insurance you have, you can find that out.
Testing and all that, you know, you could get free tests for the last couple of years, you know, same thing with treatments. Vaccines, those are still going to be available in large part, Sara, because the government bought so many vaccines and a lot of people still haven't used them. So, vaccines for some time to come will still be free.
SIDNER: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, always lovely to see you. Thank you so much.
John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: So, two years after being shot nine times by sheriff's deputies, a South Carolina man is suing why he claims the deputy's actions were negligent and reckless.
And he was one of the last people to see Natalee Holloway alive before she disappeared in Aruba 18 years ago. Now, Joran van der Sloot will be extradited to the United States on charges they tried to extort thousands of dollars from Holloway's mother.
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BERMAN: So, new this morning, the man who was the last to see American Natalee Holloway alive in Aruba back in 2005 is now being extradited to the United States to face extortion charges. After prosecutors say, he plotted to get thousands of dollars from Holloway's mother by claiming he would tell her daughter -- where her daughter's remains are.
CNN's And now, Jean Casarez joins us now. This is quite a story. Van der Sloot has been imprisoned in Peru. He is being extradited here for what exactly?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is extortion, just as you said, and wire fraud. But it all happened and began in 2010 because the family was desperate. Where is Natalee? We want to find her. We don't believe she is alive, but we're asking if anyone can tell us where her remains are, we will give them $250,000.
Joran van der Sloot heard about that. And so, he contacted someone close to the family and said, look, I will tell you exactly what happened. I will lead you to the body in Aruba, but I want the $250,000 cash. A deal was struck, he agreed to $25,000 cash down payment. And so, an associate with the family went to Aruba and he said that she died because they were together, he wanted to leave, she didn't want him to leave. And so, he threw her to the ground, her head hit a rock, and she died. He secreted (ph) the body, hid it, his father buried it, he took a car and said that's where the body's buried.
He later sent an e-mail saying, I lied. None of that is true. I'm not telling you the truth about Natalee. He then took that $25,000 cash that had been wired to him, he went to Peru, believed he gambled with that money, met Stephany Flores, and I was there in Peru for all of those legal proceedings, and within hours Stephany Flores was dead in her apartment. He was charged and convicted of murder.
While the U.S. charges for extortion and wire fraud -- and while I was in Peru, Peruvian authorities said, we promise that after he serves a number of years, based on our treaty and based on justice, we will send him to the United States, and that is what is beginning right now.
BERMAN: But it's just temporary, he will go back to Peru after --
CASAREZ: He's got more years to serve. So, we will see if the Peruvian authorities will bow to the U.S. to allow him to serve his sentence his U.S., or if they will ask for him back. But this is much more than extortion and wire fraud. This family wants answers. They want to know where their daughter is. And through the discovery, that is what they are aiming for.
BERMAN: So, that might happen through discovery. I just wanted to put a fine point on that. This is for an extortion case. This isn't an investigation into what happened to Natalee Holloway and who may or may not have killed her?
CASAREZ: But I believe her attorneys will get there. They will try to get there every way they can. And remember, they worked with the FBI in all of this.
BERMAN: Thank you so much. That explains it all. Jean Casarez, appreciate it.
Sara.
SIDNER: Like cowboys from a John Wayne movie, that's how a man who was shot nine times by sheriff's deputies in South Carolina. Describes the actions of those officers. Trevor Mullinax is filing a lawsuit against the York County Sheriff's Office citing reckless use of deadly force during what was supposed to be a wellness check back in 2021. The incident was captured on police dash and body cam footage. Deputies responding to a call about Mullinax being suicidal when they shot at him repeatedly after they say he pulled a weapon. Listen to what Mullinax now -- is saying now about the incident.
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TREVOR MULLINAX, SUING YORK COUNTY, SC SHERIFF'S OFFICE AFTER BEING SHOT MULTIPLE TIMES: May is mental health awareness month. I hate that I have to be the face of it this month, but if it helps even one single person in this world to not have to go through what me and my family have, I am OK with it.
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SIDNER: CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins us now with details in this case. Can you walk us through again what happened here? This all started as a call for a wellness check, correct?
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That is right, Sara. On May 7, 2021, two friends of Trevor Mullinax called police, asking them to, basically, do a wellness check. Saying, they just wanted to make sure their buddy was OK. They warned police that he may have a knife in his truck and was concerned and worried, potentially, suicidal about an outstanding arrest warrant. They again, though, reiterated this is just a wellness check.
This video you're about to see is extremely difficult to watch and to hear. It is what happened when the police arrived on scene. The woman standing next to the truck is Mullinax's mother, Tammy Beason.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your hands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands, hands, hands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me see your hands.
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GALLAGHER: Now, police then handcuffed Tammy Beason for about half an hour, according to body cam video we have extensively watched at CNN. Look, they say, according to deputies, that Mullinax pulled a shotgun and pointed it at the deputies there. The York County sheriff addressed the lawsuit yesterday. Take a listen.
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SHERIFF KEVIN TOLSON, YORK COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA: If a suspect pulls a weapon on a man or a woman wearing the badge that says the York County Sheriff's Office, that situation is not going to end well for that suspect.
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GALLAGHER: Now, Mullinax was charged by state law enforcement agents with pointing and presenting a weapon. But according to the lawsuit, they do not dispute the fact that he did have a hunting rifle, they say, in the truck. What they say did not happen was at any point Mullinax raised the gun, pointed it, or threatened anyone there. Look, the lawsuit alleges gross negligence against the deputies and also a failure to de-escalate the situation.
Sara, the attorney's pointing out that from the time they arrived to the time those shots are fired and they are handcuffing even the mother in this situation who was hysterically crying and thought they killed her son, we're looking at 10 seconds to the shot at most and 30 seconds to where she's already being handcuffed. And they say that's not how they believe law enforcement should de-escalate a situation. Of course, the sheriff's office says they will defend their deputies and they think they acted appropriately.
SIDNER: Wow, Diane, that was really hard to watch but it is miraculous that he is still alive.
GALLAGHER: Yes.
SIDNER: Thank you so much for that report. And if you or someone you know needs help, call the National Suicide Prevention lifeline at 9-8- 8.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: Thanks, Sara.
It's a growing movement across the United States. And now, New York could be the latest city to ban discrimination based on weight. Details on how this would work, that's next.
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SIDNER: "On Our Radar" this morning, inflation pressure is easing a little bit more. The Producer Price Index, the key measure of price changes at the wholesale level slowed to 2.3 percent for the 12 months ending in April, that is below economist expectations. And it comes as Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, is urging Congress to raise the debt ceiling. In Japan today, she warned a default which could happen as soon as next month would cause an economic and financial catastrophe.
Minutes from now, closing arguments are expected to begin in the trial of Lori Vallow Daybell. The Idaho woman is accused of killing her two children and conspiring to kill her husband's ex-wife in 2019. Prosecutors say she was motivated by money, power, and sex. She is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy. She has pleaded not guilty. And take a look at this video, dramatic video showing a helicopter rescue in Kenya after a fuel tank drive was caught in rushing flood waters. The wildlife rescue aircraft flying near inches above the man who was stranded for hours after rising water overturned his vehicle. Thankfully he was quickly returned, saved there to solid ground.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: That's some remarkable video, geez whiz.
This afternoon, the New York City council is expected to vote on a measure that could ban height and weight discrimination in hiring. The move is part of a growing trend across the country, really. Madison, Wisconsin, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., already have similar policies in place, and at -- as does the entire state of Michigan.
CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich is looking at this. She's joining us right now. So, Vanessa, what are you hearing about what this ban would actually -- how it would actually work and what reaction is it getting?
VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, New York City would be the seventh city to have legislation, a bill like this on the books. The New York City council voting on this later this afternoon. This would, essentially, ban weight and height discrimination in housing, the workplace, and public accommodations.
Weight discrimination is widespread. One study says that women who are considered obese earn $5.25 less per hour than women who are considered normal weight. We spoke to a woman named Victoria Abraham. She is a self-proclaimed fat activist.
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She just graduated from NYU, and she says that she has trepidations about entering the workforce. Listen.
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VICTORIA ABRAHAM, ACTIVIST: Walking into a job interview as a fat person, I'm already at a disadvantage. My weight is a con, right? And regardless of if it's intentional or not.
YURKEVICH: But there is one thing that will be different if you decide to pursue the job market --
ABRAHAM: Yes.
YURKEVICH: -- this new law.
ABRAHAM: Exactly.
YURKEVICH: Does that make you feel a little bit better?
ABRAHAM: For sure. This bill is so important because we are having this conversation, because we are talking about what it means to be a fat person existing in the world. That we are being reminded that our bodies should never be a barrier to anything.
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YURKEVICH: And this bill has faced some pushback, particularly from the partnership of New York City. This is a group that basically represents small businesses, they say that they believe this bill is very broad and it could bring litigation -- costly litigation against small businesses. But later today, the city council here in New York City is expected to pass this bill. They're hoping that, yes, it puts this law on the books, but also changes, Kate, the culture and conversation around height and weight. Kate.
BOLDUAN: Yes, it's good to see you, Vanessa. Thank you.
John.
BERMAN: So, with Title 42, hours away from expiring, border cities are bracing for a surge of migrants. And we have new reporting over the White House is seeing this morning.
A Major announcement from the EPA, plans to cut emissions at power plants by as much as 90 percent. Is this something they can actually pull off?
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