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Pressure on UPenn President to Resign; Woman Arrested for Trying to Set Fire at MLK's Birth Home; Victim Impact Statement in Michigan School Shooting Case; New Treatment for Sickle Cell Disease. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired December 08, 2023 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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FREDRIKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, this morning, the pressure is mounting for University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill to resign. She has faced scathing criticism since her congressional testimony about anti-Semitism on campus, most notably failing to explicitly say that calling for the genocide of Jews would violate their code of conduct on bullying or harassment. And now the powerful Wharton Board of Advisors, which leads the university's prominent business school, is calling for a leadership change.
CNN national correspondent Athena Jones is following this story from Philadelphia.
So, Athena, all of this comes after the school's board of trustees held an emergency meeting Thursday. What more are we learning?
ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.
That's right, coming out of that hastily arranged virtual meeting, a spokesperson for Penn said that there's no board plan for an imminent leadership change, but that's exactly what the Wharton Board of Advisors is calling for, sending a letter directly to President Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania, saying in part -- they sent it on Wednesday, saying in part, "in light of your testimony yesterday before Congress, we demand the university clarify its position regarding any call for harm to any group of people immediately, change any policies that allow such conduct with immediate effect and discipline any offenders expeditiously."
[09:35:07]
And this board, which is a who's who of business leaders, Penn alum and donors alike, said that they remain deeply concerned about what they call a dangerous and toxic culture on campus that they say the university leadership has allowed to continue. And so that's just one bit of the voices adding themselves to the chorus of voices calling for President Magill to resign. We also know that another Penn alumni, Ross Stevens, who's the CEO of
Stonebridge Holdings, has threatened to rescind $100 million worth of stock that Penn holds if Magill is kept on.
We've been talking to students and people affiliated with the university here this morning, more than two dozen, and there's a mix of opinions. Nobody wanted to appear on camera, but several students said that they felt that because the President Magill had put the university in a precarious financial situation with donors pulling money and this threat of rescinding $100 million in stock, it was inevitable that she would be forced to step down. But I also spoke with a couple of pro-Palestinian students who felt that they were not being well supported by the president and that they felt that she shouldn't step down because she could be replaced by someone, in their opinion, worse.
So, a lot of pressure building on President Magill here at the University of Pennsylvania. We'll see what happens today.
Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, thank you. Keep us posted.
John.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, developing this morning, an Alabama woman is under arrest, charged with trying to set fire to the birth home of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Now witnesses stopped the woman after police say they watched her pour gas on the national landmark in Atlanta. She faces multiple charges this morning.
CNN's Isabel Rosales is outside the house.
Isabel, what's the latest?
Isabel, can you hear us?
Isabel, can you hear us in New York?
All right, hang on one second, Isabel.
There, go ahead.
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right, Fred -- John, sorry - sorry for that. A couple of audio issues here.
But I can tell you some new information that we got from the National Park Service this morning from an historical architect that says thankfully there is no permanent damage to the property here. It doesn't appear that there's any permanent damage.
However, there is still a strong odor coming from the property that they are allowing that to air out. And then, of course, a big concern is any sparks. So, they're keeping any potential sparks away from the property. I do also have new information from an Atlanta Police Department via
email telling me that this woman that has been charged with attempted arson, that she was transferred first to a local hospital here for a mental health crisis evaluation before then being taken over to the Fulton County Jail.
But witnesses here described an extremely shocking scene, seeing a woman, this woman on the porch here of this federal landmark, the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., where he spent the first 12 years of his life, and then just pouring gasoline all over the porch and on the front door as well.
And then we heard from APD that it was thanks to two -- two tourists from Utah that were paying close attention. They saw the woman in action, tried to converse with her, and then interrupted her. And then two off-duty NYPD officers, who chased after her, and pinned her to the ground until officers could arrive there and then detained her.
But this was certainly a very close call here. A fireman said that these bystanders, these good Samaritans, saved the crown jewel of Atlanta.
Listen to the fire chief.
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JERRY DEBERRY, ATLANTA FIRE DEPARTMENT BATTALION CHIEF: It could have been a matter of seconds before the house was engulfed in flames. It was really about the timing and the witnesses being in the right place at the right time.
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ROSALES: Right. And then the King Center also put out a statement thanking those good Samaritans, saying in part, quote, "fortunately the attempt was unsuccessful thanks to the brave intervention of good Samaritans and the quick response of law enforcement. Our prayers are with the individual who allegedly committed this criminal act."
And that is a 26-year-old woman. She's facing two charges, attempted arson and interference with government property.
And since this is a federal property, this, of course, opens her up to potential federal charges as well.
Guys.
BERMAN: A precious piece of U.S. history right there. Isabel Rosales, keep us posted. Thank you very much.
Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, still ahead, we're watching court in Michigan. Families of the victims of the Oxford High School shooting giving emotional impact statements. We'll go back to the courtroom. And images are circulating of a mass detention by the Israeli
military. Prisoners forced to strip down to nothing but their underwear and blind folds. We're live in Israel next.
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BERMAN: All right, happening now, we are watching the sentencing hearing for the teenaged killer who gunned down four of his classmates in Michigan in 2021. We are listening to the victim impact statements. These are family members who talk about what has been taken from them.
The father of Tate Myre, who was killed, is speaking right now.
BUCK MYRE, FATHER OF TATE MYRE: For the past two years our family has been navigating our way through complete hell. Tears filled with pain, they fall like rain.
[09:45:02]
We wear the pain like a heavy coat. Constant reminders every day. Every hour is the darkest time of the day.
I understand from journal entries this was the desired outcome, for us to feel the pain that you had. I will tell you this, we are miserable. We miss Tate. Our family has a permanent hole in it that can never be fixed, ever.
As we fight and claw our way through this journey, we are realizing that we are completely miserable and there does not appear to be a way out. So, to this day, you are winning.
But today is a day where the tides change. Today we are going to take ours back. We're all cried out. We're all tired out. We need to take this chip off our shoulder. We've been on this island far too long. We are the prisoner, not you. Nobody else can set us free but us.
In life sometimes what you need is exactly what you fear. We fear forgiveness for your selfish acts. So today, how hard it is, we need to find a way to start working our way to forgiveness. Forgiveness to you, forgiveness to your parents, forgiveness to the school. What other options do we have? Be miserable for the rest of our lives and rob our family of normalcy? Be miserable and rob Trent and Ty of a normal life filled with friends, their future wife and kids? Be miserable and rob Sherry and I a happy life that we worked very hard for and earned?
Believe me, we will never forget about you, ever. We want you to spend the rest of your life rotting in your cell. What you stole from us is not replaceable. But what we won't let you steal from us is a life of normalcy. And we'll find a way to get there through forgiveness and through putting good into this world.
BERMAN: All right, that's Buck Myre, the father of Tate Myre, who was gunned down, killed at the age of 16 in 2021 by a mass killer who killed four students at Oxford High School in Michigan.
These are the victim impact statements that we're listening to this morning. Today is the sentencing hearing of legal significance because this killer, who killed when he was just 15 years old, it is possible he could be sentenced to life in prison without parole, which is very unusual. So, we are watching to see what the judge decides.
Stay with us.
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WHITFIELD: This morning, the FDA is on the verge of approving a breakthrough treatment for sickle cell disease. It will be the first ever medicine in the United States to use a technology that allows scientists to modify the DNA of living things.
CNN's Meg Tirrell had a chance to sit down and speak with a young sickle cell patient whose life has been transformed by this new treatment.
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MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Two years ago it was hard to imagine 15-year-old Johnny Lubin for doing this for long. Born with sickle cell disease, an inherited disorder affecting the red blood cells, Johnny has been in and out of the hospital his entire life, dealing with bouts of extreme pain and other serious complications.
JONATHAN LUBIN, CRISPR SICKLE CELL TRIAL PARTICIPANT: It was kind of hard for me to like do things, like have fun and stuff, because I'd always have to be worried about if I'd have a pain crisis or not.
It would mostly be in my back, like my lower back, and it always like -- would be like really - like a pounding pain in my back. So, it hurt a lot.
TIRRELL: How long would they last?
FABIENNE DESIR, JOHNNY'S MOM: Sometimes days.
TIRRELL (voice over): Until now, the only hope for a cure for the estimated 100,000 people in the U.S. with the disease has been a bone marrow transplant. But like more than 80 percent of patients with sickle cell, Johnny couldn't find a donor.
DESIR: We were desperate. At that point you're like, OK, what's going to be next? We thought that we were going the lose him.
TIRRELL (voice over): So, Johnny and his family decided to try something that's almost never been done before.
J. LUBIN: I was worried that I might be - like, get like super powers or something. TIRRELL (voice over): As part of a clinical trial for a completely new
kind of treatment, Johnny is now one of the first people in the world to have his genes edited using CRISPR to treat his disease.
J. LUBIN: And I'm like, wow, that's - that's pretty cool.
DESIR: And scary.
J. LUBIN: And - yes, and freaky.
TIRRELL: Do you feel like a medical pioneer?
J. LUBIN: I don't know. I feel like - I feel like a guinea pig.
TIRRELL (voice over): In sickle cell, a genetic mutation causes red blood cells, which carry oxygen around the body, to be misshapen, like crescents, or sickles. They can get stuck in the blood vessels, causing severe pain and decreased oxygen to organs.
[09:55:01]
CRISPR allows you to make a precise cut in DNA. In this case, cells are removed from the body and edited to turn on production of a different form of the oxygen-carrying protein hemoglobin, a type we have when we're babies, explains Johnny's doctor, Monica Bhatia. Then the edited cells are returned to the patient.
DR. MONICA BHATIA, NY-PRESBYTERIAN/COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER: So in essence it's a fetal hemoglobin induction process.
TIRRELL: And that's good enough?
BHATIA: Fetal hemoglobin, we know, has oxygen - a higher oxygen- carrying capacity then adult hemoglobin or sickle hemoglobin. And so, yes, it is more than good enough.
TIRRELL (voice over): And so far it has been good enough. Twenty-nine out of 30 patients, including Johnny, met the trial's goal, being free from having a pain crisis for at least a year after treatment.
TIRRELL: How long has it been?
J. LUBIN: Two years.
DESIR: Two years.
JR LUBIN, JOHNNY'S DAD: Two years.
TIRRELL (voice over): Now Johnny and his family celebrate his treatment day as his second birthday.
J. LUBIN: October 4th is when I got the infusion. So basically I got the whole new like dose of like cells and stuff.
TIRRELL (voice over): And while Johnny didn't turn into a super hero, what he got might be even better.
JR LUBIN: So, I'm starting to teach him how to drive. So, that's another, you know, thing to worry about. So, yes, so we're stepping into the regular worrisome of, you know, raising a teenager.
TIRRELL (voice over): The chance to be a regular kid.
DESIR: He's a clown. My baby's a clown.
J. LUBIN: Yes, I am.
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TIRRELL (voice over): So, they're continuing to follow Johnny to see how long this lasts. The hope is that it could be lifelong. But, of course, because you have to get the cells removed from the body and then edit them, there's a lot of complications that go along with that. You have to get chemotherapy, stay in the hospital for about a month. So, it's intense to go through. And it is expected to have a price tag maybe of as much as $2 million. So, there will be questions about accessibility. But a huge day potentially for science and for medicine.
WHITFIELD: Oh, indeed. I think Johnny is a super hero with his super human powers -
TIRRELL: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Because, look, he has lived, you know, all this time in pain. He's endured it. He's an incredible musician.
TIRRELL: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And just look at that smile and his optimism and his family, too. So, super hero family.
TIRRELL: Definitely. He's an awesome kid. Awesome for him.
WHITFIELD: Meg Tirrell, good to see you. Thanks for bringing that to us. Thank you so much.
John.
BERMAN: All right, President Biden set to leave the White House any minute. This is his first chance to comment on the new federal tax charges filed against his son, allegations of hundreds of thousands of dollars on escorts, adult entertainment, exotic cars.
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