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Doctors Say This Is "The Most important Virus You've Never Heard Of"; Thousands Travel To View Nun's "Incorrupt" Remains 4 Years After Death; Video Shows Shootout Between Charlotte Bus Driver & Passenger; Fraudster Elizabeth Holmes Starts 11-Year Prison Sentence Tomorrow; Queen's Music Catalog Could Sell For More Than $1 Billion. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired May 29, 2023 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:30:24]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: If you recently had really bad cold symptoms but tested negative for Covid, it could have been a little-known virus that causes as much misery as more familiar bugs such as the flu and RSV, except there's no vaccine or drug to treat it.
One pediatrician calls it "the most important virus you've never heard of."
CNN medical correspondent, Meg Tirrell, joins us now with more.
Meg, tell us the name and what symptoms folks should be looking for here.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, it's called Human Metapneumovirus. It can cause similar symptoms to other respiratory viruses, like a hacking cough, fever, stuffy or runny nose and shortness of breath. In more serious cases, it can cause bronchitis and pneumonia.
Like other viruses that we saw get out of whack during the pandemic, we saw a bigger than usual spoke of Human Metapneumovirus in this past spring. According to CDC data, we saw a spike there. You can see, in March, the positive rate was 36 percent higher than we saw in pre- pandemic seasons.
This is a virus that is with us and is kind of shaking out in these interesting patterns, like so much post Covid.
SCIUTTO: We're into May. Is the threat from it gone? Is it a seasonal thing that folks should be looking for at a particular time of year?
TIRRELL: Yes, it is seasonal. Typically, the winter and the spring are the times when we see it. So that's expected to continue to be the pattern.
It can be a tough virus particularly for young kids and the elderly. We saw 14 million, the estimate, for cases in 2018 for kids under 5 globally, causing 600,000 hospitalizations in that group and more than 16,000 deaths.
This is something that drug companies, although very few are looking at creating vaccines for. Moderna is one of them and he told us of the toll it takes, particularly in young children -- Jim?
SCIUTTO: That 16,000 figure, that's globally, that not just in the U.S.?
TIRRELL: Right. Exactly.
SCIUTTO: All right.
TIRRELL: It's worse in developing countries.
SCIUTTO: Understood.
Meg Tirrell, in New York, thanks so much.
Boris?
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: This Memorial Day weekend, thousands of Catholics are flocking to Gower, Missouri, to see the body of a deceased nun who appears to show no signs of decay, though she's been dead for four years.
The Catholic News Agency reports that Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster was 95 years old when she died in 2019. It says her body was recently exhumed so it could be moved inside a chapel at the convent that she founded.
When they opened her wooden coffin, the nun's remains were found to be intact, even though her body had not been embalmed.
The discovery prompting widespread interest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Powerful experience. Very powerful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of the most rare events in the whole United States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not that old but I've never heard of that in my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Visitors are being given limited opportunities to touch and even kiss the deceased nun's body.
Jim?
SCIUTTO: Not touching that story.
Today is Elizabeth Holmes' final day of freedom before reporting to federal prison for defrauding investors. Next, an expert explains what the Theranos founder could expect. It's not good.
[14:33:48]
Also ahead, Asiana Airlines is not taking any chances after, you may remember, a passenger opened the emergency exit door while the plane was some 700 feet above the ground. What they're doing now in response.
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[14:38:26]
SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.
President Biden marked this Memorial Day by honoring our fallen heroes. You see him laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery.
Biden later paid tribute to the nation's military families, recalling the memory of his late son, Beau, who served in the military before dying of cancer.
President Biden and other world leaders, meantime, are congratulating Turkey's incumbent president, Tayyip Erdogan, who won an historic third term after a tightly contested runoff election. Erdogan now enters his third decade in power.
And Asiana Airlines says it will no longer sell tickets for certain emergency exit seats after a man opened a door midflight. The airline says the new measure will apply even if the flight is full.
You may recall, this plane was about 700 feet off the ground on final approach when a passenger swung open the door. He reportedly told police, after he was detained, he was feeling suffocated and wanted to the plane as quickly as possible.
Jim?
SCIUTTO: That was a harrowing event.
Well, security cameras captured a dangerous scene earlier this month on a Charlotte city bus, a shoot-out between the driver and a passenger while the bus was in motion and with other passengers on board.
CNN's Dianne Gallagher is in Charlotte to walk us through this video.
Goodness gracious, I've been watching this. It looks like -- wow. I mean, multiple shots fired by the driver while he's driving down the street. How did this happen?
[14:39:53]
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, according to Charlotte Area Transit System, or CATS, as we call it here, this all stemmed from a two-minute argument, give or take, between that driver, David Fuller, and a passenger, Omari Tobias, over Tobias wanting to get dropped off at an undesignated stop.
You can see in this video the passenger pulls a gun out during that argument. The driver seems to see that gun, pulls out his own weapon, and that is when CATS authorities say they exchanged gunfire in rapid success.
Take a look at this video. It is graphic.
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DAVID FULLER, CATS BUS DRIVER: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(CROSSTALK)
FULLER: (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Now authorities say it's unclear who shot first. But you can see the driver put the bus in park and then sort of followed the passenger down that walkway where shots were exchanged again. They then went outside as well.
There were two other passengers on the bus at the time. We're told they were unharmed.
The passenger, Omari Tobias, was arrested and charged in connection with this. It's unclear at this time, Jim, if the driver will be charged in this incident.
SCIUTTO: As I'm looking at it, the driver is firing backwards, not looking as he's doing it for some of the shots, right? And there's people in the back of the bus. How are transit officials saying they're treating the driver's actions?
GALLAGHER: So the driver has been fired. He's an employee of a third- party contractor, who said he's not allowed to have a gun on him at the time.
Look, the interim CEO also said he simply didn't adhere to any sort of de-escalation protocols. And he didn't use his radio or two silent alarms that would have been available to him.
But look, the driver's attorney also says he's a 19-year dedicated bus driver and that he believes that drivers should be able to do something to defend themselves.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENT CAGLE, INTERIM CEO, CHARLOTTE AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM: I understand everyone's need to protect themselves. I also believe that this incident may have been avoided. KEN HARRIS, ATTORNEY FOR CATS BUS DRIVER: Anyone in the workplace who
is consistently confronted with dangerous scenarios could reasonably be expected to find a way to protect themselves so that they can get home safely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: And again, that driver has been fired. But it's unclear if there are any charges that will be attached to him because of this incident, Jim.
Of course, that video just absolutely harrowing to see. And amazing that those two other passengers on that bus were not harmed in any physical way at least. But very traumatizing to be on that bus and survive that.
SCIUTTO: No question. It could very well have been in the line of fire in the back of the bus.
Dianne Gallagher, in Charlotte, North Carolina, thanks very much.
Boris?
SANCHEZ: Today is the last day of freedom for convicted mega- fraudster, Elizabeth Holmes. She infamously helped found the failed blood testing startup Theranos and was sentenced to 11 years.
For scamming some pretty prominent investors that included veteran statesmen and captains of industry, like former secretary of state, Charles Schultz, FOX media mogul, Rupert Murdoch, and Oracle founder, Larry Ellison.
Holmes tried to delay her prison reporting time but a judge directed her to show up tomorrow.
For a sense of what is ahead for the 39-year-old mother of two, we have Larry Levine with us right now. Larry is the founder of Wall Street Prison Consultants. He's someone you go to if you need help before you head to the penitentiary.
Larry, what should Elizabeth Holmes expect tomorrow? And by the way, I love your shirt.
LARRY LEVINE, FOUNDER, WALL STREET PRISON CONSULTANTS: It's Memorial Day.
Elizabeth should expect to be treated like a scumbag by the staff. I mean, they are going to try to demean this woman, give her the worst jobs they possibly can.
She's going to start in the kitchen. Everyone who goes to Bryant does a 90-day stint in the kitchen. After that, maybe she'll be a groundskeeper, she'll go around as a janitor, picking up the cans and emptying them.
You know, life as this woman knows it, is over. She's used to living a privileged life. Now she's going to be making 12 to 40 cents an hour. They're going to tell her when to eat, to sleep, when to go to the bathroom, when she can shower.
[14:44:59]
She's only going to get 300 minutes a month, starting, I think it's June 20th for the telephone. So she's going to have limited communication.
And a lot of the inmates aren't going to feel sorry for her. I mean, some are going to, like, try to suck up to her and think that Elizabeth can do something for them.
And the other ones are going to consider her a privileged little whiny -- I don't want to use the word but you know where I'm going with this. And they're not going to put up with it.
And if she thinks that people are going to like her, she's mistaken. I mean, I spoke to my colleague who actually spent time there. Turns out that Jen Shaw is there, the housewife.
And now there's a problem there where inmates have cell phones. They've got them all over the country. They smuggle them in.
I venture to say we're going to see in the next few weeks pictures of her pop up in different parts of the institution.
SANCHEZ: Wow.
LEVINE: And, you know, 11 years, it's really not -- I broke it down this morning for the sole purpose of this interview.
She's got an 11-year sentence. She's going to get 20 months of good time. She's going to get another six months of what's called community custody, which is like a halfway house.
She's going to get about a year for the First Step Act, if she takes educational programs and she holds a job.
And then I don't know this for sure, but her lawyer wasn't a moron or anything and she probably did have an alcohol or drug problem, we're going to give her another 12 months off.
What did that come to? That's 50 months off. So out of those 11 years, maybe she'll do, what, six years and 10 months? So it's really not that bad.
Well, OK, I did 10 years in 11 different facilities, but she's going to do 10 years and six months. In the big scheme of things, it's not that bad.
As far as an appeal, she was found guilty by a jury. So this lady is just wasting her time and spending money she doesn't have.
SANCHEZ: Larry, it's so fascinating to get your perspective. She has two young kids, both under the age of 3. How often do you
think she's going to see them? And what kind of special considerations might they give her for being a relatively new mom?
LEVINE: You know, I don't know if they're going to give her any special, special considerations. Remember, she's special. She thinks she's special. She's just another inmate.
And they'll have weekly or biweekly visiting. It's not like something you saw on TV where somebody's picking up the phone and they're talking through the glass. This is a contact visit.
So her and her husband, or whatever he is -- I don't even know if they're married, speculation. He can show up there.
He can bring the kids. They can sit down next to each other. She can give them each a hug and kiss when they get there. Maybe they can spend an hour or two there and then the visit is over. So, yes, she'll have some contact with them.
But, you know, again, she may have staff members of her taking pictures of her with her children.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
LEVINE: I understand from some of the tabloids, there's a big bounty out. They contacted me to see if I could get these. There's a big bounty out right now for people to get pictures of her in the visiting room.
SANCHEZ: That is fascinating.
LEVINE: So --
SANCHEZ: Larry, a quick final question. Today's her last day of freedom.
LEVINE: Sure.
SANCHEZ: What's the most important thing, the best piece of advice you could give her?
LEVINE: Three things. It might get a little crude here. She should spend some time with her kids for sure. She should have a good meal.
And maybe she should have sex with her husband because she's going to be having -- she might end up being somebody's girlfriend in there. Because she's not a bad looking woman, OK?
SANCHEZ: Hey, Larry --
(CROSSTALK)
LEVINE: She's not all tore up like --
(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: Though we appreciate the advice, I'm not sure it's the best --
(CROSSTALK)
SANCHEZ: -- for an afternoon on Memorial Day.
Thank you so much for the time. Again, appreciate the shirt. Thanks for sharing part of your holiday with us, Larry. We do appreciate it.
LEVINE: Certainly. Bye-bye.
SANCHEZ: Take care.
Jim?
[14:49:19]
SCIUTTO: A source tells CNN that Queen is now selling its music catalogue for a billion dollars. We'll have the latest.
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(SINGING)
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SCIUTTO: Just one of so many great Queen hits, from "We Will Rock You" to "Bohemian Rhapsody" to "Another One Bites the Dust." It's hard to add them all up.
Well, Queen's musical catalog has entertained fans for decades and still does today. Now all those hit songs may sell for a staggering sum of money.
CNN entertainment reporter, Chloe Melas, covering this now.
Chloe, we're talking about a billion bucks for this? A lot of money, but a lot of hits.
CHLOE MELAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: You're right, Jim. Let me tell you, their hits got even more of a boost after the 2018 pick movie based on their life and the inception of the band.
[14:55:03]
But I do want to point out, a source is telling me that these conversations are well under way. Disney Music Group owns the North American rights and Canada to Queen's catalog. They have had this since the '90s.
Now, the source telling me that they are actively in discussions with Universal Music Group and that this deal could potentially close within a month. And it would be upwards of a billion dollars, which would set a new record.
Bruce Springsteen made headlines in 2021 when his music catalog sold for a little over $500 million. That was the record at the time. This would be the largest acquisition in music history.
Disney Music Group telling me that, on the record, as of right now, they have no plans to sell the catalog.
But this source is very close to these conversations who spoke with me yesterday telling me that this is well under way and that this is going to happen.
I also just want to point out that this is a growing trend for musicians to sell their catalogs. I mentioned Bruce Springsteen but you have Justin Bieber, the estate of David Bowie, a few others, Bob Dylan for $200 million, Stevie Nicks, $100 million you saw her catalog go for.
And, like I said, Bruce Springsteen holding the record for over $500 million.
This is all because of music streaming. And it's very lucrative right now to sell your catalog and to have that guaranteed amount of money because who knows where the music industry is going to go in the future.
SCIUTTO: Record sales not where they used to be.
Chloe Melas, thanks so much.
Boris?
SANCHEZ: Still to come this afternoon, we have a deal, but can it pass? We're following the latest on the race to get lawmakers behind it.
Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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