Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Feinstein's Office: Senator Developed Complications From Shingles; Colombia Retracts Claim Kids Found Alive After Miscommunication; Smoke From Canadian Fires Pours Into The U.S., Could Linger For Days. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired May 19, 2023 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Things like memory loss, those can be lingering symptoms for a long time.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: I was just going to ask. So, sometimes the symptoms can linger for a long time, even after recovery and other circumstances.

GUPTA: Yes.

BERMAN: And the encephalitis was just one part of the shingles or what the shingles ended up causing. It also led to something called Ramsay Hunt. What's that?

GUPTA: Yes. I mean, first of all, I should say both of these are rare, you know, so people -- you know, shingles is not rare. But the idea that it turns into encephalitis or Ramsay Hunt. That is rare. What that is -- people have heard of, you know, what shingles can do on the body, you oftentimes get a lot of pain and a rash.

Think about that same thing happening, John, but on your face. And specifically, the nerve that it involves is the seventh nerve or the facial nerve. When you're a kid, you have chickenpox.

The virus that causes that sometimes does not go away, gets reactivated, and can affect that nerve, you would develop weakness, even paralysis of the face. You might get lesions on the face, even in the ear and the mouth, and the eye.

It can be super painful as well. And it can be treated the same way that you treat shingles, which is with antivirals, and sometimes steroids. But it can take a while as well for that to go away.

A lot of times people say is this like Bell's Palsy? There are different things but similar except that Ramsay Hunt oftentimes lasts longer, and is more severe.

BERMAN: And then just shingles, Sanjay, I hear more and more about it, I think probably because of my age. But this is something you should take the vaccine, right?

GUPTA: Yes. Look, I -- when I turned 50, I got the vaccine. I think you told me that you did as well. I mean, it's a really effective vaccine.

If you take it earlier between the ages of 50 and 60 or so, you get 96 -- 97 percent protection for a long time. Even if you take it later, you still get a lot of protection but you know you want to -- this can be really protective against a very painful viral infection.

BERMAN: Yes, a lot of bad things can come of it, Sanjay, great to see you. Thank you very much. Sara?

GUPTA: Yes.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning. Attorneys for the Rust armorer have filed a motion to have her case dropped. Hannah Gutierrez-Reed is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter for her part in the onset shooting that killed cinema photographer, Halyna Hutchins. The filing comes a month after prosecutors dismissed similar charges against the movie star and producer Alec Baldwin.

Criminal defense attorney and CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson is joining us now. OK. So, Alec Baldwin had the charges dropped against him. He had claimed over and over again that he did not actually pull the trigger that fired the gun that killed Halyna Hutchins. But she is now asking for the same treatment. Is it going to happen?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I really think so. Sara, good to be with you. I think that it's a motion that's pretty solid. It's predicated upon a number of things like, what? First, going into prosecutorial misconduct, speaking about how the prosecutors completely flubbed the case with respect to the investigation with regard to making public statements which were not authorized.

Prosecutors can be in public, and they can give statements regarding the lawful claims, but not get into the specifics and details, alleging that they did. Alleging so many other things in proprieties with respect to a state representative prosecuting the case, which is unlawful under the Constitution, had to remove him -- remove herself, excuse me from that prosecution. Alleging that the gun was damaged. Alleging that the search warrants were improper, not predicated upon probable cause. So much there.

But the essence of it is the evidence. We know the evidence was damaged, so very difficult for the defense to test it and then contest it.

SIDNER: Right.

JACKSON: And then, of course, the gun modified. And all that leads to not such good news for prosecutors, but very good news for her. Why?

Because it'd be very difficult, Sara, for prosecutors to establish causation. That is the she -- anything she did cause the death or more importantly, that she was in any way reckless, predicated upon the gun being modified, and the gun being down.

SIDNER: Yes.

JACKSON: So, I think it has legs. And even if it's not, I think at trial, certainly she'll prevail.

SIDNER: That is really interesting. When this case first went forward, everyone was paying attention to it and thought that someone would end up in jail for this --

JACKSON: Yes.

SIDNER: -- because someone did die. I want to -- I want to turn to another case that is heartbreaking. You have this bride and groom. They have just done the thing.

First time in their lives, they have married one another and they are leaving the wedding in a golf cart. And suddenly a car speeding with a woman who is accused of being drunk smashed into them and kills the wife. And now, we are hearing that the family of -- the husband is suing --

JACKSON: Yes.

SIDNER: -- her and some of the bars that she went to.

JACKSON: Yes. You know, Sara, as it should be. So, there are these so- called Dram Shop Acts. And they require establishments certainly to not serve alcohol to people intoxicated.

Now, South Carolina does not have one. However, they do something differently. What is that? It's unlawful to serve alcohol to someone who you know to be drunk.

SIDNER: Yes.

[11:35:00]

JACKSON: In the event that you did that, this is clearly a liability. The argument is because we know she was three times over the legal limit, right, which is 0.08. He was three times that by three that's what she was. And so, they're saying you have a responsibility and obligation if you're an establishment to note that she was intoxicated and by virtue of that to not serve her.

And so, I think that two horrific sets of circumstances, and certainly not going to bring her back. But I'll tell you what it would do. And I don't think to them at all, it's about the money.

When you file these claims, Sara, it's about deterrence. Other establishments will be mindful in the future when they see someone who really can't handle their liquor. They serve them anyway. There has to be a liability. I suspect there'll be a liability in this case without a trial.

SIDNER: It's really fascinating. That thing where they all start saying, hey, to remember that case where we lost a whole bunch of money, we need to really pay attention and not do this again.

JACKSON: Exactly.

SIDNER: Really interesting.

JACKSON: Yes.

SIDNER: Joey Jackson, always great to see you in person, live and in person. All right.

JACKSON: Thank you, Sara. Thank you.

SIDNER: John?

BERMAN: We have new details about the airplane that crashed in the Amazon. The single-engine Cessna was carrying seven people when it went down. And it's not the aircraft's first crash in the area. Meanwhile, the search continues for four children who might have survived.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:40:37]

BERMAN: A CNN exclusive. As the Turkish presidential election goes to a runoff vote, Turkey's president Tayyip Erdogan spoke with our Becky Anderson exclusively. He says that if he is reelected, he will work with President Biden or "whoever replaces him." Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Do you genuinely believe as you suggested last Saturday that Joe Biden wants to topple you?

RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKISH PRESIDENT (through translator): How could someone who is going into a runoff election instead of completing the election in the first round, be a dictator? That is the reality. We have an alliance with 322 MPs in Parliament and the leader of this alliance is going to go for the runoffs in the first position. What kind of a dictator is that?

ANDERSON: So, if reelected, are you saying that you will work with the Biden administration -- you can work with the Biden administration?

ERDOGAN (through translator): Without a doubt, I will work with Mr. Biden. And if I didn't go, then I will work with whoever replaces him as well.

ANDERSON: You've said that you don't agree with the attitude of the West towards Russia with regard to the Ukraine conflict. That the West follows a policy based on provocation. I just want to get your sense of where you believe the West perhaps is going wrong here. Is this military and financial aid that we see at present a provocation to your mind?

ERDOGAN (through translator): The West is not leading a very balanced approach. You need a balanced approach towards a country such as Russia, which would have been a much more fortunate approach. For example, the black sea green corridor initiative. We are not only considering the interests and the needs of the Western countries but also that of the African nations.

This green corridor initiative has been extended for another two months beginning on the 18th of May. How do you think it was possible? It was possible because of our special relationship with President Putin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: So, Erdogan also told Becky Anderson, he would not support imposing new sanctions on Moscow. Erdogan, at this point, he did lead in the first round of voting and he is considered at this point the front-runner in the Turkish presidential race. Sara.

SIDNER: Now, to a mystery in Colombia. What was first reported as an extraordinary survival story in the Amazon jungle, now has the nation and the world confused at this point. Wednesday, the President of Colombia tweeted that four children who were onboard a small plane that crashed in the southern part of the country more than two weeks ago were found alive. But then, the president deleted his tweet saying that the information given to him by the country's child welfare agency hadn't been confirmed.

So now, the search is intensifying after the discovery of new findings that could give clues as to their whereabouts. Military force is searching for the children, the youngest just 11 months old, are following a trail of scrunchies, plastic wrappings, and a baby bottle.

CNN's Stefano Pozzebon is following this story every step of the way. What is the latest on the search?

STEFANO POZZEBON, CNN JOURNALIST: The latest unfortunately, Sara, is that we have not heard of a breakthrough in the frantic search and rescue operation which the Colombian Armed Forces have dubbed Operation Hope. And that it is employing over a hundred people to scatter through this vast area of the Colombian jungle to find any sign -- any new sign off of these four children.

Late last night, the Colombian Air Force -- Air Force presented in a statement that they found new footprints that they believe are belonged there and were a sign that the four children are still alive in the middle of the jungle. By this moment, we haven't been able to -- we haven't heard that they've -- the news that it will -- this nation is essentially waiting for, Sara.

To be-- to be frank, it's a harder place to communicate and to reach there at the Colombian Amazon. It's a very sparsely populated and the Colombian armed forces are trying to make contact with the children by blasting off messages recorded by their grandmothers trying to calm them down and to make contact. We will bring you the very latest as soon as a breakthrough is announced in these really frantic searches that is holding a whole entire nation on its breath, Sara.

[11:45:12]

SIDNER: Yes. Looking at this area. That is a dense jungle. Stefano Pozzebon, thank you so much for giving us the details that you have there.

All right, hundreds of wildfires are burning across Canada. And now that smoke is pouring south of the border and affecting air quality here in the U.S. Coming up. The health warnings you need to know about.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:50:01]

SIDNER: Advisories are up a part of the Western and Central U.S. due to heavy smoke from wildfires in Canada. There are over 200 active wildfires burning across Canada, including more than 70 that are burning out of control. Air quality alerts have been posted for Nebraska, Washington, Montana, Colorado, and Wisconsin with a special weather statement in Wyoming. It is a dangerous situation. And you should stay inside, authorities say, if you have heart disease, respiratory disease, and are very, very young or are you know pretty old.

CNN Meteorologist Allison Chinchar is joining us now. Allison, smoke from these fires is just sort of hanging around. I can see it -- that from that video there from Calgary.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. And the worst part is it's going to shift. But then in some cases, it's only going to shift right back a few days later. So, a lot of these areas really aren't getting much of a break in the way of getting that smoke out of the air.

Yes. I mean when you take a look, again, that very hazy orange color just settling in not only over parts of Canada but also even over the U.S. But obviously what we're looking at some of the worst air quality is really going to be across Canada, specifically around the Alberta area where you just have so many wildfires triggering so much widespread smoke.

But again, all of that smoke doesn't just disappear, and in many cases, it can infiltrate down into areas of the U.S. And recently we've seen it mainly focused mainly across the Canadian-U.S. border. But now we're starting to see that especially in the last few days begin to progress southward into areas along the Mississippi Valley area, Ohio River Valley, and even the Midwest.

Take a look. This is what's supposed to be St. Paul, Minnesota. Again, you can barely see this time-lapse video with how thick that smoke is.

And we've really got two main focal points here. Obviously, you've got that area from Calgary stretching down across portions of Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. But this other area across portions of the Midwest where the air quality is intensely, intensely high. Part of that is because of this cold front here, it's pulling down a lot of that smoke from Canada behind.

So, even after the rain moves through, a lot of that smoke is coming back into many of these areas. And going forward. Unfortunately, the smoke while it may change locations, is still going to be impacting much of the U.S. over the next several days.

SIDNER: Those are remarkable pictures and also remarkable that it's Canada. We're so used to talking about it on the West Coast of the United States. Thank you so much, Allison Chinchar for that reporting. John.

BERMAN: All right. The CNN original series, The 2010s, is out with a new episode this weekend. The latest installment focuses on the 2012 election and President Obama's second term.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Reverend Pinckney once said. Across the South, we have a deep appreciation of history. We haven't always had a deep appreciation of each other's history.

HASAN JEFFRIES, AUTHOR: Despite all the things that had happened, Obama connected with people at not just on a human level but at a soulful level.

OBAMA: Clem understood that justice grows out of recognition of ourselves in each other. He knew that the path of grace involves an open mind.

VALERIE JARRETT, FORMER SENIOR ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT: He said to Mrs. Obama and his speechwriter, I might sing and like sing. We said, well, what would be the context? And he said, well, the speech is really about Amazing Grace.

OBAMA: Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.

JEFFRIES: You felt the pain that he was feeling. That is a steady thread throughout his presidency.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: You can tune in for the new episode of The 2010s this Sunday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

SIDNER: OK. Now, for an important update to a story that we brought you a few weeks ago on your favorite thing, Girl Scout cookie sales. Let's take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Had you brought some from my personal stash from Troop 6000?

BERMAN: I will say not a lot from your personal stash. I've been -- I've been critical here.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: I saw Vanessa this morning. If she said she was bringing food, then I -- and I didn't realize it was like free for one and a half people. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: You know, I watched that and I thought you know, John, you were right. You were correct. So, what we did was buy the last cookies available from that girl scout troop that weigh so much.

YURKEVICH: Is this enough for you?

SIDNER: Welcome, Vanessa Yurkevich. It's Friday. Look, John. Is this enough? Is this -- is this --

YURKEVICH: Hold on.

SIDNER: I don't -- I was not sure. John.

BERMAN: I feel like you're rewarding bad behavior here.

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNER: I mean I know that you like Samoa. So, that's your thing. The crew likes the Thin Mints. So, we just figured you know it's a Friday --

YURKEVICH: It's -- people coming -- people are coming.

SIDNER: -- and (INAUDIBLE) you run and you take care of yourself. So, this is a little --

BERMAN: We have the right places for right now.

SIDNER: This is what you did to you, by the way.

BERMAN: This is by your doing. Vanessa, it was -- you deserved better when you -- when you came here for your report the first time around.

YURKEVICH: I did.

SIDNER: She did.

[11:55:05]

YURKEVICH: Those are from my personal stash.

BERMAN: I could say.

SIDNER: But the Girl Scout troop that you -- that you interviewed was doing so much and I thought I'm just going to buy a bunch of cookies. And I wonder who to give them to. Oh, yes, Mr. Complainer.

BERMAN: But it's going to a good cause, and by that, I mean me. No. this isn't -- I know to the Girl Scouts, they -- it's going -- is going to them and that troop.

YURKEVICH: Yes.

SIDNER: Yes. I literally bought these online. She gave me the online thing to order and I ordered them from the troop that is doing all this great work here in New York.

YURKEVICH: Yes. And they raised $1.1 million this year off of cookie sales.

BERMAN: That's fantastic.

YURKEVICH: Thanks to Sara too for making her contribution to you.

SIDNER: Thanks to John.

BERMAN: You say goodbye.

SIDNER: OK. Actually, no. "INSIDE POLITICS," take it away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)