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Decision on Trump's Hush Money Conviction Delayed; Judge Temporarily Blocks Controversial Ten Commandments Law; People May Be Trapped Inside Building After Explosion in Louisville; Online Sales of Emergency Contraceptives Surge After Trump's Win. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired November 12, 2024 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: The President-elect Donald Trump will have to wait at least another week to learn what is next in his criminal hush money case. Today, New York Judge Juan Merchan paused all activity in the case until next Tuesday, giving attorneys on both sides time to make new arguments following Trump's election victory. The judge was scheduled to rule today on whether Trump's conviction would be overturned following the Supreme Court's ruling on presidential immunity.
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CNN's Kara Scannell is with us now on this. And, Kara, he may have to wait a week, but I wonder if that delay could be good news for the president-elect. What does it mean?
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's the big question of what this delay means and how this case will ultimately move from here. Now, as you said, the judge was expected to issue this long awaited decision on presidential immunity and whether Donald Trump's conviction would stand or if it would get thrown out.
But there were talks over the weekend between lawyers for Trump and the district attorney's office. Trump's lawyer said that they were going to ask the judge to pause these proceedings because of questions that they have now that Trump is the president-elect. This is all a result of the election outcome.
The DA's office wrote to the judge and said that they want a week to figure out what they think the best steps forward are. I mean, that could range from anything of them saying that they want the judge to move forward with his ruling on immunity and maybe the subsequent sentencing. It could even be as far as them saying that they agree the case should be dismissed.
But we really don't know what posture they're going to take in this as it unfolds. But Trump's lawyers have made clear that they still want to move ahead. They think that this case should be thrown out because of the Supreme Court's ruling, but also because Donald Trump is now the president-elect and saying that a state judge should not have any interference in his capacity to govern the nation. He does not, of course, become the president until January. And there is still time in the calendar for decisions to be made, but it is shrinking as well. So whether Donald Trump gets a decision on this immunity remains to be seen.
Whether he is sentenced is certainly something that people that I've been speaking to lawyers think is less likely. But ultimately, one week from today, we'll find out what the D.A. recommends. And from there, the judge will make his own decision -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Could this impact his civil cases?
SCANNELL: So this is separate from the civil cases. And while Trump becoming president is having a big impact on criminal cases, the special counsel, which has those two criminal cases against Donald Trump, has signaled that they're looking to wind down those investigations because of the DOJ policy of not investigating a sitting president. That doesn't apply to civil cases.
And in those cases, both the New York civil fraud case and the E. Jean Carroll defamation and sexual abuse cases, Trump is on the hook for over half a billion dollars. Now, those cases are on appeal. So we're waiting to see what the appeals court will do.
But the fact that he is the president-elect will not impact the outcome of those cases. It will purely come down to the legal arguments -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Kara Scannell, thank you so much for the reporting.
And ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, a Louisiana law that requires the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom is temporarily blocked by a federal judge. Stay with us for more.
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BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: New today, a federal judge has temporarily blocked Louisiana's new law that requires the Ten Commandments displayed in all public school classrooms. This ruling marks a win for opponents of the law who argued that these poster-sized displays of religious doctrine is a violation of the separation of church and state.
CNN's Isabel Rosales joins us now live. Isabel, the judge went as far as to call the law unconstitutional on its face. What more can you tell us about that decision?
ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, and that law would have gone into effect January the 1st. It's been touted by Republicans, including President-elect Donald Trump, and it is one of the latest pushes by conservatives to attempt to bring religion into the classroom. But now, this federal judge has temporarily pumped the brakes on this law by putting out and granting a preliminary injunction.
Not only did he say that it was unconstitutional on its face, but that the plaintiffs that brought this lawsuit against the defendants, against Louisiana, that they are likely to win this case based on the fact that it violates the First Amendment.
Now, supporters of this Ten Commandments law argue that this document is not just religious-based, that it has historical value, and because of that, it does belong inside of the classrooms. But opponents argue that it is unconstitutional because it is promoting one specific religion, and this is against the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
Now, the ACLU of Louisiana is one of four civil liberties groups suing on behalf of nine interfaith families that have students enrolled in public schools in Louisiana. Here's the executive director.
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ALANAH ODOMS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ACLU OF LOUISIANA: Our young people experienced a lot of trepidation awaiting this ruling, frankly, because they were waiting to see whether these posters were going to go up in every classroom. Teachers were worried about what they were going to tell their students, how they were going to continue to create an inclusive classroom environment for children that were not Christian or did not follow the Ten Commandments, this decalogue, and so it's a huge sigh of relief.
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ROSALES: And CNN has reached out to proponents of this law, including the governor's office and the Louisiana State Superintendent of Education, for comment. We have not heard back -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Isabel Rosales, thank you so much for that update.
Up next, stockpiling emergency contraception. How demand for morning after pills has skyrocketed since last week's election.
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KEILAR: We have breaking news into CNN. We are tracking reports of an explosion at a building in Louisville, Kentucky, and there may be people who are trapped inside.
Brynn Gingrass is joining us now with more on this. Brynn, what do you know?
BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, and as you're looking at the aerial footage that we're looking at with you, it is quite alarming. You can see where that explosion has basically taken out the center of this commercial building.
[15:50:00] Now, we're still looking and trying to get more information of exactly what happened here, but what we do know right now is this is being called a hazardous materials incident by the Louisville Metro government on their social media. What that means exactly, we're not sure, but that is what it is being called on social media.
What we know is this happened in Louisville, in the Clifton neighborhood of that city, and we're told that that explosion could be heard within a one-mile radius of that area. And like you said, Brianna, we're also learning it's very possible that there are people trapped inside.
Now, it's hard to tell from these aerials, but we know that, of course, there are fire crews on the ground as well as law enforcement trying to get a sort of idea of exactly what happened here.
But yes, look at that image right there. From that perspective, you can see where that explosion has hit this commercial building, again, in the Clifton section in Louisville, Kentucky. And again, we are still working to make our calls and get some more details, but alarming to know that it's possible people are trapped inside this building after this explosion.
And of course, we're going to continue to update you on this.
KEILAR: All right, Brynn. We'll look forward to an update on that. Brynn Gingras, thank you -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Online sales of emergency contraceptives have skyrocketed since Donald Trump's election victory. Women across the country are stocking up, fearing Trump's incoming administration might restrict access.
CNN Health reporter Jacqueline Howard is with us now. Jacqueline, exactly how large a surge are we seeing?
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Boris, we're hearing some companies say they've seen a surge as large as 1,000 percent. So these are huge increases in sales.
I spoke with the heads of two different telehealth companies at one of the companies called Winx Health. They said that they saw an increase in sales of their morning after pill of about 966 percent in the three days after the election results were announced, compared with the three days prior.
And then over at another company called Wisp, they said just one day after the election, they saw an increase in sales of their emergency contraception pills of 1,000 percent. So, again, these are huge increases.
And here's the CEO of Wisp, Monica Cepak. Here she is on why these trends are happening.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MONICA CEPAK, CEO, WISP: Women are concerned and are taking agency over their reproductive health and preparing for whatever outcome the next few years brings.
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HOWARD: So, Boris, the reason why, like she said, these consumers seem to be stockpiling these medications is out of concern as to whether the upcoming Trump administration will place additional restrictions on accessing reproductive health care.
SANCHEZ: So, Jacqueline, what specific products are seeing spikes in sales? And is long term storage a concern?
HOWARD: Yes, so, Boris, we did hear that the emergency contraception pill Plan B has seen huge, huge surges in sales. So that's one example of a product.
And as far as storage, these medications, just like other medications, do have expiration dates. So you can store them in, you know, room temperatures like you would any other medication. But if they're expired, they're less effective. So that's important for consumers to keep in mind.
SANCHEZ: Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much for breaking that down for us.
Next, a Wheel of Fortune contestant is going viral over a hilariously wrong answer. We'll spin the wheel when we come back.
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KEILAR: We do have some breaking news into CNN. You're looking at some pictures live coming to us from our affiliate WLKY. We're tracking reports of an explosion at a building, a commercial building in Louisville, Kentucky, and there may actually be people trapped inside here.
These are live images, again, that we are getting, and there are reports that people in a two-block radius in this part of Louisville are being asked to evacuate and that those in a one-mile radius are being asked to shelter in place. We are expecting an update from officials shortly. We will monitor that and bring you the latest as we get some news.
SANCHEZ: Before we go, we do want to leave you with a much lighter note. A Wheel of Fortune contestant is going viral today for all the wrong reasons.
KEILAR: Yes, the hilarity, well, it played out on Monday's episode of the show, and the contestant thought, you've done this before, where you think you had the answer to a phrase after getting several letters and vowels on the puzzle board, just wasn't sure he had it right, and he ended up missing badly, badly, badly, badly, with a hysterically wrong answer. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to buy a U.
RYAN SEACREST, HOSE WHEEL OF FORTUNE: Well, you're going to get three Us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd like to solve a puzzle.
SEACREST: OK, well, let's hear it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Treat yourself a round of sausage.
SEACREST: I'm sorry, that's not it. Over to Katina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'd like to solve.
SEACREST: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Give yourself a round of applause.
SEACREST: Yes, that's it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Treat yourself --
SANCHEZ: In an Instagram post after the show, the man had a good laugh about his mistakes, saying the pressure of the TV lights and the star power of Ryan Seacrest caused him to go blank. He says he hopes he gave viewers a good laugh. It's an honest mistake.
Who isn't constantly thinking about treating themselves to a round of sausage? I'm a fan of Glizzy's.
KEILAR: Yes, we love hot dogs here on the show. I mean, that's just well established. However, I think you could come up with a really funny reason for why you did that.
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You could say it must have been like all those brats and beer that I had at lunch. That could be a good explanation for that I guess.
SANCHEZ: I definitely relate to his explanation. You've got Ryan Seacrest there.
KEILAR: So much star power.
SANCHEZ: An institution when it comes to TV.
KEILAR: Distracting you.
SANCHEZ: Distracting you. The lights really are intense. You want to make sure you get it right. Yes. A round of sausage to that, gentlemen.
KEILAR: That's right. And now "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.
