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Biden's Second Meeting With Congressional Leaders Postponed; Virginia Judge Rules Federal Ban On Handgun Sales For 18 To 20-Year- Olds Unconstitutional; FDA Paves Way For More Gay & Bisexual Men To Donate Blood; Cancer Drugs Among Top 5 Most Affected By Shortages in U.S.; Jury Deliberations Continue In Lori Vallow Daybell Murder Trial; YouTuber To Plead Guilty To Crashing Plane For Views. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired May 12, 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]

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That meeting was really just a reiteration of everyone's positions that they have been publicly putting out there for the last three months.

So the work now of the staff is to decide, what are we talking about? What are we willing to actually negotiate on?

And a couple areas are potential. This is far from being finalized. They are not close to a framework.

But what they are looking at is some kind of budget caps agreement. That is how much money they are going to spend over the next several years. That's potentially on the table.

They are also talking about whether or not to do permitting reform as part of this negotiation. That is something that Republicans and Democrats have both looked at as a potential.

They are looking at clawing back some of the unused Covid funds, given the fact that that declaration has ended in this country. I think there's a question of what to do with some of that unspent money. That could be a way to have some government savings.

So that gives a sense of what they are talking about. But like I said, time is running short. There are about four days when Republicans in the Senate and Democrats -- or excuse me, Democrats in the Senate are all going to be in Washington.

That's not to say that people can't stay behind. That's not to say staff isn't going to continue negotiating until this is done. But that gives a sense of just the timeline that we're operating under.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: The unused Covid funds seem like there could be some agreement there. The money hasn't been used. But I suppose a rule of Washington is once money has been spent, it's hard to get back.

Lauren Fox, on the Hill, thanks so much.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: A federal judge in Virginia has struck down federal laws that prevent 18 to 20-year-olds from buying handguns from federally licensed gun dealers. The judge ruled the laws are unconstitutional and violate the Second Amendment.

He wrote, in part, quote, "Because the statutes and regulations in question are not consistent with our nation's history and tradition, they therefore cannot stand."

CNN security correspondent, Josh Campbell, is joining us now.

Josh, break this ruling down for us.

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bri, this is just the latest flash point in the debate over gun rights and public safety following that sweeping Supreme Court decision last year involving the state of New York.

Now what the high court had ruled then was that any law restricting gun rights must face a so-called historical test, the question being is the law consistent with tradition and law at the nation's founding over 200 years ago.

This federal judge in Virginia ruled that federal laws banning 18 to 20-year-olds from buying handguns from federally licensed dealers is unconstitutional because there was no similar law on the books when the United States was founded.

I'll read you part of what that judge said in his ruling. He wrote, "The government has not presented any evidence of age-based restrictions on the purchase or sale of firearms from the Colonial Area, founding or early republic."

Again, getting to that historical text.

Many gun rights groups have celebrated this ruling. They point to the fact that 18 to 20-year-olds can buy guns legally from private sellers in many states. And they say this ruling will ensure that young buyers go through federal background checks when they buy from a licensed dealer.

But of course, gun safety advocates clearly are disturbed by this ruling.

I'll read you one statement from the group Every Town for Gun Safety. They say, quote, "Not only are guns the leading cause of death for U.S. kids and teens, but research shows that 18 to 20-year-olds commit homicides at triple the rate of adults 21 years and older."

They go on to say, "The court's ruling will undoubtedly put lives at risk. It must be reversed."

Finally, as far as what happens next, the U.S. Justice Department is expected to appeal this ruling. Brianna, we'll wait and see how this hot-button issue plays out in the coming weeks. KEILAR: Yes, we certainly will.

Josh, thank you for that.

Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Up next, just plain scary news if you're fighting cancer. Your doctor could wind up fighting to get you the help you need because of, quote, "really concerning shortages." We're going to explain.

[13:33:48]

Plus, after years of blowback and controversy, the FDA just changed its rules on who can donate blood. A big decision we're going to break down in just moments.

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[13:38:25]

SCIUTTO: This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Here's a look at some of the headlines we're following this hour.

A big deadline today in Hunter Biden's legal fight to reduce his child support payments. The judge has ordered him and the mother of his 4- year-old daughter to provide more information about their finances, including detailed responses from Biden about his art sales and his tax returns.

The case has morphed into a proxy war, pitting the president's son against Republicans who trying to get their hands on his financial records.

Also, a heavy penalty for two men who admitted to cheating during a fishing tournament by stuffing lead weights inside their fish.

An Ohio judge sentenced the men to 10 days in jail and their fishing licenses have been suspended for three years. They must forfeit their boat worth $130,000. Each man has to pay a $2,500 fine.

If the fishermen had not been caught tipping the scales at last year's competition, their prize would have been nearly $30,000.

Kentucky police have captured this man, Kyle Aaron Skaggs. He had been missing since Monday. Described as armed and dangerous after walking out of a home incarceration program in Lexington.

SANCHEZ: Now to the FDA's new rules that pave the way for more gay and bisexual men to donate blood. For the first time in 40 years, the agency is recommending a major change in evaluating the eligibility of donors.

CNN medical correspondent, Meg Tirrell, is here with the details.

Meg, what are the changes? [13:39:58]

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Boris, so these guidelines that focused on gay and bisexual men had been in place since the beginning of the HIV crisis in the 1980s and slowly had changed over time.

What has changed now is that the FDA is recommending individual risk- based assessments that will be the same for everybody regardless of sexual orientation, sex or gender.

This brings the United States into line with other places like the U.K. and Canada.

And this really had been an evolution since going back to 1985 when the FDA enacted a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men from donating blood because of concerns about the spread of HIV through the blood supply.

That changed in 2015. They lightened that up, requiring a period of abstinence before people could donate. Then during the pandemic, when there was a real crisis in the blood supply, they shortened that even further to three months.

Now finally, they are unifying this really across all donors -- Boris?

SANCHEZ: What has the response been to this shift?

TIRRELL: Places like the American Medical Association, which has been calling on this for a long time, have come out in support of it.

You also heard from places like GLADD, which called this, quote, "The beginning of the end of a dark and discriminatory past rooted in fear and homophobia."

But they also point out that there are still things that they don't agree with, like restricting people who use an antiviral drug to prevent HIV infection from being able to donate, that basically that still continues to erect barriers to LGBTQ blood donors.

SANCHEZ: How is this going to potentially affect the blood supply? I imagine it's going to boost it.

TIRRELL: That is absolutely the hope. You know, this kind of shocked me. I looked this up from the Red Cross. They say only 3 percent of age-eligible donors every year in the United States are actually donating blood.

So really opening up the pool to more people could be tremendously helpful.

SANCHEZ: Meg Tirrell, thank you so much for walking us through all of that.

Jim, over to you. KEILAR: As the U.S. continues to face an unprecedented medicine shortage, a new report shows cancer treatments are among the hardest hit. There's an active shortage of about two dozen chemo drugs. Nine out of 10 oncologists say drug shortages left them unable to properly care for their patients.

CNN's Elizabeth Cohen is joining us now on this.

Elizabeth, you have spoken to cancer patients who have needed drugs and then they were not able to get them. That must be devastating for them.

DR. ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. Brianna, I spoke to a mother whose child had cancer, a little girl. She was supposed to get a certain chemotherapy regimen and they said, guess what, we can't do it, we can't do it today, we can't do it tomorrow.

They couldn't do it for a long time. They didn't have the drug.

I spoke to a man with prostate cancer. He got only partial treatment. They said, we know if we could give you the full treatment, it would add years to your life, but we can't do it. So it's obviously very devastating to hear that.

It's not just cancer drugs. If you look at data from the University of Utah, more than 300 drugs have been in shortage in just this year, in the past five months. The last time it was this bad was in 2014.

Now it's interesting. The University of Utah asked pharmaceutical companies, what's the reason for this shortage or that shortage? And 56 percent of the time they didn't give an answer. The answer is unknown.

So here are people who can't get their cancer drugs. Pharmaceutical companies, their response, we don't know why there's a shortage or we won't say -- Brianna?

KEILAR: I'm not sure how you fix the problem when you don't know what it is. That seems essential.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you so much.

Jim?

SCIUTTO: Still ahead, jury deliberations underway in the murder trial of Lori Vallow Daybell. She's the Idaho mom accused of killing her two children. Prosecutors say it was tied to her doomsday cult beliefs.

[13:43:48]

And later, this shocking video of a plane crash is actually more than it seems. Why the pilot is now facing up to 20 years in prison.

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[13:48:39]

SCIUTTO: So this is a crazy case. The jury deliberating in the case of an Idaho mother accused of killing her two children and conspiring to kill her husband's first wife.

Prosecutors say Lori Vallow Daybell, was motivated by, quote, "money, power and sex." And allegedly also followed doomsday religious beliefs to justify the killings, claiming that her children were zombies. She faces two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy.

CNN's Camila Bernal has been covering.

So you've been following this case closely. I mean, can't imagine a parent who would kill their own children. But tell us how we got here.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is such a complicated case, Jim. It is really a tangled web of family death and very extreme religious beliefs here. And now the jury is having to look at all of this.

This is a jury of seven men and five women. And they began deliberating yesterday in the afternoon. They went home and they resumed those deliberations this morning.

This has been about a month of this jury listening to arguments and to witnesses. And what's interesting here is that the prosecution put on about 60 witnesses, while the defense, well, they did not put anyone on the stand.

And so now is jury is left to figure out what exactly they want to do here.

[13:50:02]

It all started in September of 2019, when Lori Vallow Daybell's children were last seen. These were children from a previous marriage. It was 16-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old J.J.

And shortly after the children went missing, she went and got married in Hawaii to a man named Chad Daybell, who is also known for these religious beliefs.

And his wife actually died in her sleep just weeks before these two got married.

The couple vanished and then they were found in 2020. And while the country looked for her children, a reporter was able to ask the questions that everyone was asking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Can you just tell us where they are?

Chad, where are Lori's kids? What happened to Tammy, Chad? Can you tell us what happened to Tammy? Why have you guys been in Hawaii for so long?

Listen, just tell people what's happening. There's people around the country praying for your children, praying for you guys. Why don't you give us answers?

LORI VALLOW DAYBELL, ACCUSED OF KILLING HER CHILDREN: That's great.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That's great? That's great they're praying for you, praying for your kids, what?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: She never had those answers as to where her children were. They were found -- their remains were found in Chad Daybell's property. They were charged with murder.

In this case, she didn't take the stand. They both have pled not guilty. These are two separate trials.

But in terms of her, well, the prosecution here says they used that religion to essentially justify and to encourage those killings.

And so now we'll have to wait to see if the jury does believe them and what they point to in terms of what happened here. But it is a crazy case -- Jim?

SCIUTTO: Awful case, awful story.

Camila Bernal, thank you so much for covering it.

Brianna?

KEILAR: How far would you go to sell something on social media? I hope it is not even close to as far as this guy went.

U.S. prosecutors say a 29-year-old California pilot intentionally crashed his plane so that he could grab a bunch of YouTube views and make some money in the process.

We have aviation correspondent, Pete Muntean, here with us.

You're an experienced recreational pilot here, right? Walk us through how he managed to pull this off.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: This was pretty brazen, because pretty experienced pilots, even not experienced pilots, could tell pretty much right away that this was staged.

This video was called, "I crashed my plane." And 3.2 million views on YouTube. Trevor Jacob is the guy who posted this video.

And now, according to the plea deal with the Department of Justice, he intentionally bailed out of this Taylor craft here wearing a parachute.

But these are sort of the tell-tales, right? Like, he's wearing this parachute that's usually used for skydiving.

"The engine quit," he said in this video. Usually, you glide a plane. You don't bail out right away. And then he bailed out with a selfie- stick, which was a sort of tell-tale, too.

So the Department of Justice says this guy went back to the wreckage of this airplane to retrieve the video. But in the process, he sort of filmed this video on the ground.

And I want you to listen to the sound byte here where he really tries to pass this off as a legitimate emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TREVOR JACOB, YOUTUBER: I'm just so happy to be alive. I'm just kind of taking in what just happened.

Where the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) am I going to land a freaking plane? I'm going to die.

That's why I always fly with a parachute. Thank you, God, thank you, universe, thank you, higher power for watching over me. I'm going to start walking out of here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MUNTEAN: One more thing we've got to point out. This was in all of the YouTube comments when this came out. Is that Jacob appears to have a fire extinguisher back there, tucked into his pant leg. You can see it by his boot.

KEILAR: Wow.

MUNTEAN: Typically, not something you would do in a small airplane.

So the Department of Justice says in this plea deal that Jacob admitted to essentially trying to cover up, that this was an intentional act.

And he misled investigators, sending them on this goose chase, essentially saying he didn't know where the wreckage was, even though it's clear here he did.

And this is in the plea deal. Jacob lied to investigators that he did not know the wreckage's location, according to the plea agreement.

In fact, on December 10th, 2021, just two weeks after this incident took place, this incident took place, rather, Jacob and a friend flew by helicopter to the wreckage site and then they hoisted the wreckage with the helicopter.

And then the plea deal says that Jacob essentially cut up pieces of the airplane and put them in trash bins around an airport. So he really tried to obfuscate this according to the Department of Justice.

He's scheduled to appear in court in about two weeks. It will be his first court appearance. But they say he lied to the National Transportation Safety Board, he lied to the FAA. The FAA has yanked his pilot's license permanently.

[13:55:05]

But the punishment here for this is that he could spend up to 20 years in jail for trying to obstruct this investigation. It's a felony charge.

KEILAR: He disposed of an airplane in different trash bins. I mean, I've heard of cutting up a credit card and one in one --

MUNTEAN: Yes.

KEILAR: -- but it's an airplane. That's different.

MUNTEAN: Yes.

KEILAR: Pete Muntean, wild story. Thank you for taking us through it.

MUNTEAN: You bet.

KEILAR: Boris?

SANCHEZ: Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, charged with manslaughter. The man accused of killing a homeless street artist by chokehold has been arraigned in court. We have the latest on a case that provoked protests in the streets still ahead. Stay with us.

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