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New GOP Speaker Likely To Need Democrat Support To Pass Government Funding Plan To Avoid Shutdown; Trump Calls Political Enemies "Vermin," Threatens "Radical Left Thugs"; Study: Weight Loss Drug Wegovy Can Reduce Heart Attack Risk; Hollywood Agent's Son Arrested After Torso Found In Dumpster. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired November 13, 2023 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:32:21]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Nine days on the job and Mike Johnson is facing his first major test as speaker of the House. That would be avoiding a government shutdown.

Money to fund the government runs out this Friday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern and the latest informal count of votes for Johnson's proposal is showing he's going to need support from Democrats to stop a shutdown.

CNN's Melanie Zanona is on Capitol Hill to get us up to speed on this.

Melanie, once again, it is the hard-right flank of this party that is standing in the way of a deal, it sounds like.

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Yes. A very familiar dynamic here on Capitol Hill. By our count, there are eight Republicans who say they're going to oppose this bill, which means Speaker Mike Johnson is going to need Democratic support to get it over the finish line.

But Speaker Johnson knew this was a risk, including not to include any spending cuts in this proposal. This was something that the far right had been pushing for.

But he did give the conservatives at least one concession in the way he structured the bill. It's going to be a two-step government funding plan where four agencies will be funded until January. And then the rest of the government agencies will be funded until February.

Clearly, that was not enough for the conservative hardliners. So now the question becomes, what will Democrats do?

Now they did say they do not like this two-step approach. They say it's unnecessarily complicated but, at the same time, recognize they did get a victory here with the fact that there are no spending cuts or additional poison-pill policy riders.

Meanwhile, the White House did put out a statement, very quickly, bashing this proposal, even though some Democrats have signaled they might be open to backing it. We'll see what they end up planning to do.

But in the short term, Speaker Mike Johnson is going to have to overcome a key procedural hurdle here on Capitol Hill. Typically, these procedural votes are done on party lines.

But conservatives this year have been willing to take those procedural votes down if they don't like the substantial of the bill.

So we could see that floor vote tomorrow. And it will offer us a major clue about where this is all headed and whether conservatives will give any extra breathing room for Speaker Mike Johnson to govern Jess?

DEAN: Yes. Good information there as we head into this.

All right, Melanie Zanona, for us on Capitol Hill, thanks so much.

Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: South Carolina Republican Senator Tim Scott surprised even a lot of his campaign staff by dropping out of the 2024 race for president last night.

And that leaves just seven candidates in the race now. But with Donald Trump polling so far ahead of the pack, does it matter? That is a big question now.

This weekend, in a Veterans Day speech, he previewed a dark vision for a second term should he win in 2024 with language evoking authoritarian figures like Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, calling opponents "vermin" and warning that they're a threat from within.

[13:35:03]

Here's some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We pledge to you that we will root out the Communist, Marxist, Fascist and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.

That lie and steal and cheat on elections and will do anything possible, they'll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American dream.

The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: David Chalian here with us. He's CNN's political director, also the host of the wonderful "Political Briefing" podcast.

David, he, Donald Trump, is giving us a glimpse into mind. He is giving us a preview of his plans.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: There's no doubt about that. Nobody should be surprised, if a year from now, we're in the midst of a transition to a second Trump term, and he had won the election.

Nobody should be surprised what that second term will look like because Donald Trump on a near daily basis is telling us what that second term is going to look like and in terms of the tone and tenor of another Trump administration.

You just heard it right there. I mean, really leaning in to those dictatorial, authoritarian tendencies, language that has been associated with Adolf Hitler at times, other authoritarian figures throughout global history.

This is the tone and the tenor of his campaign and it will be the tone and tenor of his administration.

KEILAR: That word "vermin," you can't escape using that and knowing what's harkens back to.

"The New York Times" also reporting on his plans, new sweeping immigration policies that Trump would implement if he's elected again.

Camps to detain migrants while their cases are processed and they await deportation. I think some people might hear that and say, isn't that what it was before?

What are we talking about that would be different or more extreme than his last term?

CHALIAN: His immigration policies from the first term sort of on steroids, if you read the details here.

And his aides, in "The New York Times" piece over the weekend, Brianna, were clear to point out, they're designing most of this to be apart from anything related to legislative work, right, that all within the executive, and sort of pushing the boundaries within the executive.

Obviously, just like in Trump's first term, a lot of this will be tested in court. It's not that he will implement policies that could be crossing legal lines, and it not be brought to a court for adjudication.

But the point is, they are going to try to push every conceivable limit within the executive to accomplish these goals. And it's not just immigration. It's on a whole series of policies.

KEILAR: This was a very long speech, almost two hours. There were a lot of lies to fact-check in this.

And one was a faulty claim, as he took aim at President Biden when it came to his record on veterans. Of course, this was a Veterans Day speech.

This was a lie that Donald Trump told. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Unfortunately, with Crooked Joe Biden in the White House, our veterans are once again being backstabbed and betrayed by their government.

Crooked Joe gutted our historic reforms and fought to reinstate thousands and thousands, as I just said, of fired, horrible employees. These are horrible employees, that when we terminated them --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: All right, just to be clear, V.A. claims are up 39 percent over the last fiscal year. It's a giant sort of record-breaking number. And that's because Joe Biden signed the Toxic Exposure Bill into law.

So there's more claims. There's an increased number of appointments. There's an increased number of disability claims as well.

Trump is lying here. He also told lies about energy. Just quite a few of them.

I guess my question is, what is the backstop when it comes to lies that he's telling over and over, compared to his previous runs?

CHALIAN: Well, I mean, obviously, as you are rightly calling out lies and factually incorrect statements, that's part of our role in the press to make sure that facts are presented, first, to the American people, as they're making their choices.

But also, as we saw throughout Trump's tenure, the 2016 campaign, the 2020 campaign, Brianna, this will be an opportunity for the American people to decide whether or not that's acceptable for them to have a chief executive who is out there telling lies on a whole series of things.

Lying is not new just to Donald Trump, but he's taken it to a whole new art form, unlike any other presidential candidate or president that we've seen.

[13:40:00]

And it's now going to be, you know, our job and others to hold him accountable for his words. But ultimately, to the voters to see if it's OK with them or not.

KEILAR: Yes. And they'll have a year here to go through that and decide. We will see.

CHALIAN: Yes.

KEILAR: David Chalian, thank you so much. Really appreciate it. This was a big speech. Still to come, clinical trial results showing weight loss drug, Wegovy, could do more than just help people on the scale. It could also help reduce the risk of heart disease. We'll have more on that next.

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DEAN: New results from what's being called a landmark trial show the breakthrough drug, Wegovy, can help with more than weight loss. This study finding taking that medication also cut the risk of heart attack, stroke and heart-related deaths in patients with cardiovascular disease.

CNN's Meg Tirrell is here to break it down.

[13:45:00]

Meg, this is the first time a weight loss drug has been shown to help people with serious heart problems. How big of a deal is this?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a major deal and it could really change the way doctors use these medicines.

We hear a ton because of their weight loss. Wegovy in the same class as Ozempic. But we've never seen a clinical trial before show that any weight loss drug actually had a benefit in preventing things like heart attacks and strokes.

So this was a major clinical trial. It enrolled more than 17,000 people and followed them for an average of more than three years.

Everybody in the trial had a BMI of at least 27 and existing cardiovascular disease and already had a heart attack or stroke or peripheral artery disease.

People on Wegovy lost almost 10 percent of their body weight over the course of the study and had benefits in terms of lowering their blood pressure, blood sugar, triglycerides and a marker of information.

That translated into a 20 percent benefit in preventing heart attacks, strokes and heart-related deaths.

This was presented to a giant room of cardiologists at the American Heart Association conference in Philadelphia on Saturday and I was there.

And you know, if heart doctors aren't already using this medication, this may lead them to start prescribing it.

DEAN: Sure. What did the trial find in regard to the safety of this drug?

TIRRELL: That's really important. Of course, because millions of patients are taking these medicines.

They didn't uncover any new safety concerns. What they did find is 10 percent of patients taking Wegovy discontinued the trial because of G.I.-related side effects, like nausea and vomiting, which we know are associated with these medicines. That compared with 2 percent on placebos.

They can be difficult to take, particularly as you're increasing the dose for some patients.

DEAN: What about insurance? That plays a big role any time we're talking about anything related to medications.

TIRRELL: Definitely. These are really expensive drugs. Wegovy costs more than $1300 per month before insurance. And coverage for weight loss alone can be difficult for many patients.

The hope in the medical community is that these benefits for cardiovascular risks, more insurers will start to cover the medicines.

The question is, will it only be covered very specifically for the people like those in the trial who already have cardiovascular disease or will it be more broadly covered for everybody for weight loss and, hopefully, a benefit for heart risk, too?

DEAN: Yes. It's a popular drug on the market right now.

Meg Tirrell, thanks so much for that update.

KEILAR: All right, now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour.

Drivers in southern California are dealing with a huge travel headache this week, no end in sight on this, after a large storage yard fire this weekend shut down part of I-10 in the heart of Los Angeles.

A section of the highway, also known as the Santa Monica Freeway, was heavily damaged after the storage yard with wood pallets, trailers and cars became engulfed in flames beneath the freeway.

More than 300,000 vehicles travel this freeway corridor every day, which is now shut down for an indefinite period of time as it's unclear how long the repairs will take.

Also, students at the University of Idaho will hold a vigil today to honor the lives and memories of four students who were killed on this day one year ago.

Last November, these four students were found murdered in their off- campus home following a brutal attack. A trial date has not been set yet for the suspect. He faces the death penalty if convicted.

And Donald Trump's eldest sister has passed away. Maryanne Trump Barry was a former federal judge and prosecutor. She was the oldest of Donald Trump's four siblings.

And had once told reporters she chose not to go into the family business because she knew better than to compete with Donald. Maryanne Trump Barry was 86. The son of a well-known Hollywood agent is in court today on suspicion

of murder after a woman's dismembered body was found in a dumpster and traced back to his home. His wife and in-laws are missing. Stay with us.

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[13:53:52]

DEAN: A gruesome investigation is unfolding in Los Angeles. Samuel Haskell, the son of a top producer in -- Hollywood agent, is due in court today on suspicion of murder after a woman's torso was found in a dumpster last week.

Investigators say they tracked the body part back to Haskill's home, which he shared with his wife and her parents, and they're all missing. Police say they also discovered blood and other evidence inside that home.

CNN's Camila Bernal is following this story.

Camila, there's a lot going on here. What are you learning about this investigation?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's so much going on. People were terrified just to listen to the details here.

So we know that Haskill was 35 years old, was arrested on suspicion of murder.

And this is after someone here in a Los Angeles neighborhood was looking through garbage bins and he found a bag -- where this person found a bag with a woman's torso inside. Of course, immediately calling police.

And authorities immediately said they were working to identify that torso. Right now, they say they do not have an official identification, so we are waiting for that.

[13:55:02]

But they did say that the evidence that they found led them to the house. This is a house that Haskill shared with his in-laws and his wife. These are three people that are still missing.

Now they also share that home with the children. The children are with family, thankfully.

But authorities saying they did find blood and other evidence in the house.

He is expected to have a court appearance today. That was scheduled for 8:30 in the morning local time. It has been delayed so we are waiting to see exactly what happens there.

We are unclear if he has an attorney at the moment. But we have reached out. We have a team at the courthouse waiting to see what happens.

Of course, the torso being the key evidence here for authorities, as they continue to try to figure out what happened in this case, as they try to find not only the identity, but the people who they say are still missing -- Jessica?

DEAN: Camila Bernal, for us in Los Angeles, thanks so much for that reporting.

Donald Trump Jr is back on the stand today for his defense team in the civil fraud trial against he and his brother and father. We're going to be live outside the courthouse with the latest on their testimony. That's next.

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