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Manufacturers Cheer the Debt Limit Agreement and Call for Swift Action from Congress; Owner of Gas Station Accused of Killing a 14- Year-Old South Carolina Boy; In Exchange For $6B, Court Grants Sacklers Immunity; According to CDC, Many Foodborne Illnesses Caused by Sick Restaurant Employees; Norovirus, Salmonella, The Most Prevalent Infections at Restaurants, According to CDC; CDC: Paid Sick Days Can Reduce Illness and Food Contamination; Wildfires Rage in Nova Scotia, Numerous Schools are Closed; Massive Fires Spread Across Nova Scotia, Thousands Forced to Flee; Prior to Boarding, Air New Zealand will Weighs Passengers. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired May 31, 2023 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:30:00]
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: Like every American, we're going to be impacted by this debt deal, especially if this debt deal would fall apart. It's good to get the prospect of manufacturers across the country on this -- in this moment. Jay Timmons, thank you for your time.
Rahel.
RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: OK. When you're weighing which airline to take, you might want to keep in mind the one that's about to weigh you before you board. Why Air New Zealand is adding another step to check in, we'll be right back.
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[10:35:00]
BOLDUAN: All right. Right now, Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, he is speaking right now in Iowa. His second day in the key caucus state since launching his campaign. The Florida governor has been taking on the Former President Donald Trump as he's going back to Iowa. DeSantis saying last night he believes Trump's constant attacks on him will ultimately backfire and that he plans to counterpunch. We'll continue to follow that.
And in Ukraine, cross-border strikes are increasing. Russian state media says, multiple drones were shot down this morning over the Berdyansk region. And in Belgorod, four people were injured in a struck there.
Rahel.
SOLOMON: And to South Carolina now where a gas station owner was been charged with murder after police say, he shot and killed a 14-year-old boy. Investigators say, the boy was running away after being confronted by the store owner. He was then shot in the back.
CNN's Dianne Gallagher joins us this morning. Dianne, I think it's important to just start with exactly what we know what happened before this shooting.
DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Rahel. What's important here is this is a false accusation of shoplifting that ended in the killing of 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton. According to the sheriff's office, 58-year-old Rick Chow, the convenience store owner, thought that 14-year-old Cyrus Carmack-Belton had taken four water bottles from his convenience store. The sheriff says that's not what happened. The teen just took the bottles out, put them down somewhere else in the store.
But there was a verbal confrontation and then the teen ran out of the store. That's when the sheriff says that Chow and Chow's son chased him out of the store, off of the property. The teen running away from them fell down, got back up, that is when Chow's son told the sheriff they thought they saw a gun and Rick Chow fired, shooting the teen in the back.
According to the coroner, he was shot once in the back. His injuries are consistent with someone running away at the time. Now, the sheriff said they did locate a gun near the teen's body. But say, there's no evidence that he pointed or threatened the shop owner with that gun at all. The coroner, Rahel, says that he didn't have any evidence on his body that suggests there was any kind of physical confrontation, simply an argument, and then running away.
SOLOMON: And then as you say, of course, a false accusation which is important to remember. Dianne, how is the community reacting to this?
GALLAGHER: There is, understandably, outrage right now in Columbia over this killing. And, look, the sheriff said that he respects the fact that there are protests about this. He has encouraged people to stay peaceful. On Monday night there was vandalism, people broke into that store and stole things. And he said that that is not the kind of thing that the sheriff's office is going to stand by for though.
SOLOMON: Dianne Gallagher, live for us --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF LEON LOTT, RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: What does stealing a case of beer have to do with a 14-year-old being shot and the person responsible charged with murder? Somebody explain that. What does that have to do with stealing beer?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GALLAGHER: Now, again, the sheriff's office said that they will prosecute people if they catch them vandalizing or stealing at that location. They say they do understand people who want to protest this, though, Rahel. We have reached out to Chow's attorney but have not heard back.
SOLOMON: Dianne Gallagher live for us there in Charlotte. Thank you.
John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN NEWS CENTRAL CO-ANCHOR: This morning, an appeals court in New York has granted the Sackler family immunity in exchange for a $6 billion opioid settlement. Now, the wealthy family that owns Purdue Pharma will be shielded from current and future lawsuits. The drugmaker called the ruling a victory. Purdue Pharma branded oxycontin as a non-addictive drug when it began selling it in the 1990s. They are accused of fueling the opioid crisis that has killed more than half a million people over the last 20 years.
CNN's Jean Casarez joins us now. So, this deal, this settlement, what does it mean for the Sacklers and what does it mean for victims?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this deal was there from the beginning as the Purdue Pharma was about to enter into bankruptcy. And the way the legal document says, and I was in courts for some of these original hearings, initially before bankruptcy was filed, Purdue Pharma had so many lawsuits against it. The Sacklers as individuals had so many lawsuits against them, $40 trillion worth of lawsuits.
And so, the Sacklers, along with their attorneys I'm sure, said, look, we'll declare bankruptcy with Purdue. We will take it. At that point it was $4.5 billion. We'll put that into the bankruptcy proceedings, our own personal money, now it's $6 billion, but we want it given to victims. We want it for abatement of opioid addiction at the local and state levels and then emergency medications. And so, that was the plan.
[10:40:00]
95 percent of the state signed off on it, but there were some that appealed, believing people should be able to sue them in the future individually. But here is the issue with that, it would take so long and there would be so much money in legal expenses that it would reduce the amount that would be given to the people that really need them. So, it is money that's going to be given over to the states in 16 years. $750 million to survivors and their families. And then the opioid overdoses between 1999 and 2020, 564,000.
Here is a statement from Purdue that they issued once the appellate court made its decision yesterday. Our creditors understand the plan is the best option to help those who need it most. The most fair and expeditious way to resolve the litigation, and the only way to deliver billions of dollars in value specifically to fund opioid crisis abatement effort. But yes, not everyone is satisfied. They still feel individuals should have that opportunity and they do not, civilly.
BERMAN: $6 billion. All right. Jean Casarez, thank you very much.
CASAREZ: Thank you.
BERMAN: Kate.
BOLDUAN: A new report from the CDC laying out one of the major drivers now of foodborne illnesses. Restaurant workers, what you need to know coming up.
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[10:45:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. A new push for paid sick leave this morning, this after a CDC report found that sick restaurant workers are behind many outbreaks of foodborne illness.
CNN's Jacqueline Howard joins us now. So, Jacqueline, what are the -- some of the most common illnesses making people sick at restaurants? Hopefully people aren't eating breakfast right now, but walk us through the details here.
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Exactly, Rahel. This might make some people squeamish. But as for the details in this CDC report, 800 outbreaks of foodborne illnesses were analyzed between 2017 and 2019. And it was found norovirus infections were the most common illness and outbreaks, causing 47 percent of outbreaks in this report.
The second most common illness was salmonella bacteria. But I can tell you, norovirus, it's a very contagious virus. It causes vomiting, diarrhea. And the way it can spread in some instances if an infected person is handling food, beverages, or utensils, that's one way people can be exposed to the virus causing outbreaks like this, Rahel.
SOLOMON: So, Jacqueline, what are the best things to do to prevent this type of outbreaks, to prevent the spread of these type of illnesses?
HOWARD: Yes, that's the interesting thing because in this report, the CDC showed that 41 percent of outbreaks could be associated with an employee who was infectious or possibly sick at the time of the outbreak. So, the CDC really emphasizes the importance of staying home while sick. But on top of that, it also emphasizes the importance of managers and establishments being supportive of that because, it's interesting, Rahel, this report found fewer than half, 44 percent of establishments offered paid sick leave.
So, the CDC says if more sick workers stay home and if employers support that, that will help reduce the risk of these kinds of outbreaks occurring.
SOLOMON: Right, so creating an environment where employees feel safe to stay home if they're not feeling well.
HOWARD: Exactly.
SOLOMON: Jacqueline Howard, great to see you.
HOWARD: Yes.
SOLOMON: Thank you.
John. BERMAN: So, out-of-control wildfires forcing thousands of people to flee. The impact, including smoky and hazy air, felt across the northeast.
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[10:50:00]
BOLDUAN: More than a dozen schools are closed in Nova Scotia today as Canadian officials are battling what they are calling, out-of-control wildfires. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes as the fires are destroying hundreds of buildings across 25,000 acres. And now, smoke from the fire, as you can see it very clearly, it is spreading into parts of the northeastern United States.
Meteorologist Derek Van Dam, he's tracking all of this for us. And we know, Derek, that officials -- Canadian officials are hoping for some rain. What impact would that have considering how big these wildfires are and how soon can it come?
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: OK. Kate, so the rain is coming, but we have to be patient. We have to wait until Friday into Saturday. We still have a few more hours or days or so of erratic fire behavior before the cooler weather and the precipitation settles in. You can see how temperatures spike tomorrow to 88 degrees before cooling off into the lower and middle 70s in the areas worst impacted by the fires over western Nova Scotia.
Now, we've tracked this smoke plume that's just brought the thick, hazy, smoky conditions over much of New England and much of the mid- Atlantic as well. And in fact, the National Weather Service hoisting what is called an air quality alert index for fine particulate matter. And why this matter is because the size of this smoke, right, the actual particulate matter is so small, it's about two and a half microns. For comparison, the average width of a human hair around 50 microns.
So, this has the ability to get absorbed deep within your chest cavity and that makes people who are vulnerable with, let's say, upper respiratory illnesses, the elderly, children, they are more vulnerable to breathing that type of air quality in.
Now, you can see, we have some upsides to this. The beautiful sunrises and sunsets. So, we know what smoke from wildfires can do when it's in the upper levels of the atmosphere. It literally filters out the shorter wavelengths once the sun gets blocked out of it and we're actually seeing what is left over, the red, visible light, the longer wavelengths. But the real problem is when it settles to the ground. Kate, you know, that is the unhealthy air that we all breathe.
BOLDUAN: Yes, it's really good depiction of what you're dealing with. Get out of that smoke now, Derek.
VAN DAM: Yes.
BOLDUAN: Thank you very much. Rahel.
SOLOMON: Well done. Well done.
Well, take off your shoes, remove any liquids, any electronics. And now, step on the scale. That is the change coming to Air New Zealand.
[10:55:00]
New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority is asking the airline to weigh passengers on international flights out of Auckland through July. They say they want to gather data on weight load and distribution for their planes. Travelers will be asked to stand on a digital scale upon check-in and then the information will be sent to the survey. Officials are ensuring that the number will not be on a visible display anywhere, and gate agents won't have access to it either.
But, John, this is a very controversial issue with strong opinions on both sides about being weighed before you step on a plane.
BERMAN: Yes, fast before you fly. Interesting.
All right. A new Republican set to throw his hat into the presidential ring. How Chris Christie swears he can win the nomination.
And new developments in the death penalty trial of a man accused of killing 11 people in a Pittsburgh synagogue.
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