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Anti-Trans Laws Draw Scrutiny After Teen's Death in Oklahoma; Person of Interest Being Questioned in Death of Student in UGA; Extremely Rare Lake Springs to Life in Death Valley. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired February 23, 2024 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We have some details just in from the White House about the death of a 16-year-old non-binary student from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The White House saying it will be up to the Department of Justice to decide if there should be hate crime charges in this case. The incident has ignited growing concerns about the impact of Oklahoma's controversial anti-LGBTQ plus laws.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: That's right. Nex Benedict died earlier this month after a fight inside of a high school bathroom. A student who claims to have witnessed the incident said Nex's head was twice slammed into a paper towel dispenser. And the family says Nex hit their head on the floor during the fight.
Police are investigating. They have not released an official cause of death. But rumors and speculation about what exactly happened and why have raised tensions.
Trans rights advocates pointing to a heightened and hostile climate against the state's LGBTQ plus community. And the victim's family says Nex had been bullied at school.
Asher Aven is the co-director of outreach at the Trans Advocacy Coalition of Oklahoma. Thank you so much for being with us. And what are you making of the information that we are getting here? Nex's grandmother describing really horrific details that they were badly beaten in the school, in the fight the day before the death here, hitting their head on the floor in the fight. But preliminary information from an autopsy indicating that Nex didn't die from the trauma.
ASHER AVEN, TRANS ADVOCACY COALITION OF OKLAHOMA: Unfortunately, this is a terrible thing to have me on here. But I thank you again for having me speak for Trans Advocacy Coalition of Oklahoma.
Nex, whether or not their death was an underlying medical condition, or a result of the -- a direct result of the beating they took in the bathroom that day, they still died, they were still targeted, and they were still bullied in that high school in Owasso. And that is unacceptable to the community. Everywhere this is happening --
SANCHEZ: Go on.
AVEN: Everywhere this is happening, and we need to save and protect our trans children.
SANCHEZ: Asher, I'm wondering if you think we're getting the full story about what happened here.
AVEN: Honestly, I don't think we are getting the full story. The fact that Owasso has barely said anything about this incident, and that the police has barely said anything about this, we want to call to action the medical records of Nex Benedict to be open under the Open Records Act, because we do believe this was a hate crime.
KEILAR: And we know Nex experienced bullying. That's really come to light here. Can you shed light on the experience of being trans or non-binary in Oklahoma? Because I know there are a lot of people who are looking at some of the facts of their experience, and they're seeing some familiarity for themselves in it.
AVEN: That's true, yes. I'm Indigenous and non-binary, just as Nex was identifying as at the time of their death.
[15:35:00]
And unfortunately, Nex will not get the chance to grow up and speculate more about their identity. And what that meant to them.
Bullying is happening all over the state of Oklahoma, but also all over the country. Especially in Oklahoma, because Ryan Walters, our state superintendent, is pushing hateful rhetoric into our state. And it's unacceptable.
Nex is a jumping off point. It's waking up a lot of people to realizing that this could be your child, this could be your friend that experiences this level of hateful bullying that results in a death.
SANCHEZ: Asher, to your point about protecting trans kids, what more would you like to see, the school, the state, even at the federal level, do to achieve that end?
AVEN: We are calling for, as I said, the medical records to be transparent and open. I would even encourage an independent autopsy. We want the resignation of Ryan Walters, our state superintendent, and we want the removal of Chaya Raichik from our state library committee. And honestly, I don't know why she was even appointed, considering she's not an Oklahoma resident.
As for the federal level, passing the Equality Act through the White House would be amazing, especially lifting bathroom bans and other anti-LGBT bills that are coming through federally or locally.
KEILAR: You talked about rhetoric of public officials. How do you experience that and see that trickling down into the school setting?
AVEN: Well, social media is a big thing now, whether we like it or not. And anything that gets posted, especially on TikTok, so that's including libs of TikTok, it can be -- it could get deep-rooted in our kids and our community, all of this misinformation. And it can perpetuate hatred towards other people for their identity. And I think at the end of the day, people forget that we are all people, whether or not you identify as non-binary or Indigenous or autistic. If you are autistic or if any other label fits you, we are still people at the end of the day.
SANCHEZ: Asher Aven, thank you so much for sharing your perspective with us today.
AVEN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Stay with CNN. We'll be back in just a few minutes.
[15:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: University of Georgia police have identified a person of interest in the death of nursing student Laken Hope Riley. She was just 22 years old. She went for a run yesterday and she never returned. Her body was found near a lake on the University of Georgia's main campus in Athens.
We have CNN's Ryan Young who is there for us following this. Ryan, what are you hearing from officials?
RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was during the show that we found out about that person of interest. And since then, we haven't got any more information about police, about how they were able to develop that part of the clue.
But we have seen more activity here. If you look up here, you can see the active investigation is still ongoing. There's been a lot of focus over here. And we've seen detectives walking in and out with evidence collection bags. It's gotten to the point where if you watch this fence line right here, they've been going back and forth using the canine to see if they can find anything. And they've been talking to the folks there to get video because obviously they're still searching for something.
There's a large lake behind this complex. They've also been going through that wood line. The most active thing that we've seen in the last half hour or so has really centered around a dumpster that's across the street here.
That's where we saw GBI investigators go across the street and start going through that dumpster as we were standing here. We'll show you parts of that video. This remains a very active investigation with at least five to six different agencies involved.
In fact, take a listen as we talk to the university spokesman about everything that's going on since this tragic murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GREG TREVOR, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SPOKESMAN: This is a great university full of faculty, staff, and students and visitors who look out for one another. And one of the things that has struck me in the nearly eight years I have worked here -- and I've been a higher ed communicator for nearly 20 years -- is the way this community is connected and the way that they support one another through any situation that we might face.
[15:45:04]
It's actually one of the reasons I'm proud to work here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YOUNG: Yes, this is all about Laken Hope Riley. She was 22, and she was at Augusta University, a nursing student. And you can understand why people are so upset.
We were actually outside of her sorority today. We saw people delivering flowers there. You could see the young people's faces look heartbroken.
So many people upset and just not knowing what to do with their feelings. This is the first murder on this campus in some 20 years. So this investigation is ongoing.
We still don't have a reason why. And on top of that, this is a very active trail. While we were out there today, we walked parts of the trail, there were still people running and taking their dogs out there, almost unaware of what was going on.
So there's so many more questions about this investigation. They've actually brought in more equipment in the last five minutes or so. Heavy-powered lights. It looks like they're going to be working through the evening here.
We're hoping to be able to talk to officials to kind of gather more ideas about the motive and what actually happened here. But nothing will make sense to a family, a campus, that has been shattered by something that seems so senseless -- Guys.
KEILAR: Yes, it certainly does. Ryan Young, thank you for the latest there -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.
At least 10 people have died in an apartment fire in Valencia, Spain. It broke out yesterday afternoon and quickly spread through the high- rise building, trapping some people on their balconies. There were a number of folks considered missing earlier.
It's unclear if that is still the case, and what caused the fire remains under investigation.
Meantime, women in some cities in the United States can now get screened for breast cancer at Walmart. Radiology company RadNet is partnering with a retail chain to offer mammograms at select locations. They hope this partnership is going to make it easier for women to get tested.
And Olympic champion Gabby Douglas has been forced to delay her return to gymnastics after she tested positive for COVID-19. The 28-year-old hasn't competed since the Rio Olympics almost eight years ago. She was set to take part in three events at this weekend's Winter Cup in Kentucky.
Still plenty more news to come on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, including one of the hottest and driest places in the country getting a change. Mother Nature seems to have a sense of humor. Why there's now a sitting lake in California's Death Valley. We'll be right back.
[15:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: You think Death Valley, you think dry, really dry, right? Now, what if I told you that there is a lake there now? There is, and it's not deep, but it is large. It's 6 miles long and 3 miles wide.
And as CNN's Stephanie Elam reports, tourists are flocking to see it before it disappears.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tourists wading in. Kayakers paddling out. This is, after all, California. But this is not the ocean. In fact, it's 282 feet below sea level.
This is Death Valley, the lowest point in North America and the hottest place on earth, now attracting visitors with its cool lake water. This group of friends drove in from Las Vegas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a Garden of Eden, wouldn't you think? I mean, look at it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can check it off your bucket list and you don't know when it's going to happen again.
ELAM (voice-over): Like the desert oasis it is, the last time the lake appeared was 19 years ago. But things are changing.
ABBY WINES, PARK RANGER, DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK: The climate change models for this area predict warmer temperatures, which we are definitely seeing, and also more intense rainstorms.
ELAM (voice-over): Yet even for park ranger Abby Wines, the massive Lake Manly is a marvel.
WINES: Normally there's a lot more evaporative potential than there is rainfall coming in, meaning that this is usually just a dry salt flat.
ELAM (voice-over): On average, Death Valley gets 2 inches of rain a year. But in the last half year, the park has been walloped with nearly 5 inches of rain, Wines says, including from Tropical Storm Hillary last August.
WINES: It's the rainiest day we've ever had on record.
ELAM (voice-over): This is what Badwater Basin usually looks like. This is what it looks like now. Even I couldn't resist getting out there.
ELAM: It's hard to overstate just how incredibly special and serene it is to kayak in Death Valley.
Right now Lake Manly is about 6 miles long and 3 miles wide, but it's only about a foot deep.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Salty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Salty, yes.
ELAM (voice-over): Visitors are finding out just how salty the water is. Rangers say it's more a sight to see than taste.
WINES: I haven't seen anything living in there.
ELAM: I mean, well, and also, it's very salty. It's extremely salty.
WINES: It's too salty to drink, so it's not going to help the wildlife in the area at all.
ELAM (voice-over): But no one is bitter about getting salt soaked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miraculous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chee-hoo! Surreal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Crazy.
ELAM (voice-over): If it means enjoying the magic of a dreamy lake in the driest place in North America.
ELAM: And if you do want to experience the lake for yourself, time is of the essence, because as it starts to heat up here in the desert and that evaporation rate goes up, the lake will soon disappear.
Stephanie Elam, CNN, Death Valley, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Kind of jealous of that assignment, I'm not going to lie.
This winter has been fraught with Arctic blasts, atmospheric rivers, and unseasonably warm weather.
[15:55:00] But next week, more changes are on the way. Temperatures from Dallas to Minneapolis will feel more like mid-June than late February. We're talking hitting 90 degrees in some places.
More than 400 heat records could potentially be tied or broken, and Monday could be the warmest day of the year so far in some cities. Triple-digit temperatures are possible for parts of Texas near the Mexico border.
And MLB players are concerned about their new uniforms. Their complaint? Their see-through!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Well, it's certainly one way to fill seats. Major League Baseball players say that they have a big problem with their new uniforms. Apparently, you can see right through them.
KEILAR: Yes, some teams had their photo day this week. And you know what? The pants are so shear, you can see the bottom of their tucked in shirts.
SANCHEZ: Nike says it worked with more than 300 players to design a jersey that was more breathable, lightweight, and stretchy.
KEILAR: And see-through.
SANCHEZ: And see -- there's a lot of jokes that we can make but unfortunately, we're out of time.
KEILAR: We're out of time.
SANCHEZ: And we don't want to get in trouble. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
END
