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Suspect Charged in CEO Killing; Suspect Held in Pennsylvania Prison; Fires in California; Hegseth on Capitol Hill. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired December 10, 2024 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: At a Netflix comedy special, he revealed he had a brain bleed that led to a stroke. Foxx says he does not remember 20 days he spent in the hospital, but he does recall waking up in a wheelchair and not being able to walk. That's terrifying. He also remembered jokingly saying, Jamie Foxx don't get strokes.

A 35-foot Christmas tree in West Palm Beach, Florida. That's actually made of - wow, it doesn't look like sand - 700 tons of sand. It comes with synchronized lights and music. You can't hear the music, but I'm sure it's very, very good. This is part of a holiday display that features 25 other sand sculptures on the waterfront there.

A brand-new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts right now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new details of the man now identified and in custody and charged in the murder of the CEO of United Healthcare. A ghost gun and manifesto that police found on him.

And breaking overnight, a wildfire explodes near the campus of Pepperdine University in California. Hundreds of students told to shelter in place.

And a family torn apart by Character AI and the second family now suing the company alleging its chat bots poisoned their son against them.

I'm Kate Bolduan, with John Berman. Sara Sidner is out today. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BERMAN: All right, happening now, we're getting new details on the suspected CEO killer now behind bars. This morning, we are standing by to see if 26-year-old Luigi Mangione will be extradited from Pennsylvania, where he was caught, to New York, where he has now been charged with the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. It is believed the police have the murder weapon and new insight into a possible motive, including a handwritten note, some people call it a manifesto. In his writing, the words, "these parasites had it coming."

Let's get right to CNN's Brynn Gingras for the very latest.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, guys, it appears that even friends are questioning what happened to Luigi Mangione. One friend telling us that they never got the impression that this was someone who was going to self-destruct. And if you look at all of his social media accounts, it really paints a picture of someone who grew up in a prominent family in Maryland, went to some of the best schools in the United States, and lived a pretty good life. You know, his social media shows pictures of him on his travels, hanging out with friends.

We know that until recently he was living in Hawaii. And he was part of a co-living space. And he was actually head of their book club. He enjoyed to go on hikes.

But really until about this last summer, it seems that he sort of dropped off. We see people tagging him in accounts asking, you know, are you doing OK? Your family is worried about you. There was a person who questioned, is he still going to honor the RSVP to that person's wedding.

So, it is - appears something switched. Now what that switch is, is what investigators are trying to answer. Now, we have learned, based on those accounts, his X account, it has a picture of a spinal x-ray with some hardware in it. And we have learned that he moved to Hawaii. He had some chronic back pain. He took a surfing lesson and then was bedridden for about a week. Does that exactly point to the health care industry and a motive toward carrying out this act? It's hard to say. But certainly investigators are going to work to connect the dots.

I want you to hear from someone who - who knows him in Hawaii about that back pain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

R.J. MARTIN, SUSPECT'S FORMER ROOMMATE: Before he moved in, I remember he said he had a back issue and he was hoping to get stronger in Hawaii. When he first came, he went on a surf lesson with other members and, unfortunately, just a basic surf lesson. He was in bed for about a week. We had to get a different bed for him that was more firm. And I know that it was really traumatic and difficult. You know, when you're in your early 20s and you can't, you know, do some basic things, it can be really, really difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And CNN also found a Reddit account that appears to belong to Mangione. And it talks also about suffering from Lyme disease and brain fog and expressing, you know, frustration that the medical industry doesn't even understand what brain fog really is.

So again, all of this is sort of part of the investigation. What did - what caused, rather, Mangione to commit allegedly this act. And that's what investigators are trying to ask. Of course, they have scrubbed all of his social media as they work to answer that question.

Guys.

BERMAN: All right, our thanks to Brynn Gingras covering the New York side of this. Let's go to CNN's Leigh Waldman, who is outside the Pennsylvania

prison where Mangione is being held still this morning.

Good morning, Leigh. What's the latest from there?

LEIGH WALDMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, good morning.

So, we know that he was taken here last night after that initial court appearance.

[09:05:03]

This prison is located right in the middle of a neighborhood. It's the oldest state prison in Pennsylvania. We spoke with a source over at the Department of Corrections this morning who told us that Luigi Mangione is being held in isolation here. There was no incident with him overnight and that he is being held at a maximum capacity level here at this prison.

Now, he is also going to be kept here for an indefinite period of time. That judge, at his initial court appearance, did not set a bail for him here.

So, we're just waiting for any further movement with the court system, if he'll be making another court appearance here in Pennsylvania, or if he'll be extradited quickly to New York for those additional charges that were filed late last night.

BERMAN: All right, good, new information. Great new reporting from Pennsylvania. Leigh Waldman, our thanks to you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Joining us right now for more on this is CNN's senior law enforcement analyst and former deputy director of the FBI, Andrew McCabe.

It's good to see you, Andy.

What do you think of everything that's come out overnight? I mean what was found on him, what has been revealed in his online footprint. What sticks out to you?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Boy, I mean, the two biggest lessons, Kate, are the importance of crowdsourcing that information with his photograph very, very early in the case. We've learned this time and time again that the public can often be law enforcement's strongest ally in finding someone very dangerous that we need to get back - get into custody quickly.

And then I guess the second big lesson here, Kate, is like, wow, don't carry the murder weapon with you. I'm stunned that this - this young man, who apparently planned every step of this - of this horrible act, this assassination. And, you know, he's clearly not a professional, but a very kind of meticulous person. Likely, you know, tried out each step of the process of escape to ensure that he could get away with the least possible, you know, raising as little attention as possible. And yet he carried that gun on his person. I mean, that's basically like putting a sign in your pocket that says, I did it. So, the case against him right now is really very, very simple, it's basic and super strong.

BOLDUAN: And, Andy, add to that - because that is obviously a very important question because it seemed - a lot of people thought that, you know, he did so much and so well to plan out this - you know, plan out the murder. And then not only having the ghost gun on him, but also still having the fake ID - still having the fake ID on him, the New Jersey fake ID that was also presented at the hostile where he did check in ten days before the shooting.

Does that suggest that he was not following or not able to follow how the police manhunt was going for him? Because that was one thing that was very obviously out there was the fake New Jersey ID.

MCCABE: Yes, really strange set of circumstances here. As you said, like super careful and meticulous in planning this out and then massive mistakes. That, of course, being one of them.

There's a thousand places he could have gotten rid of those IDs and that pistol, as he was making his escape out of New York. And had he done so, the case against him would be very different. He would essentially be able to put on a defense claiming it wasn't him. If he hadn't left DNA and had those items of evidence on his person when he was arrested, he would have had a pretty good argument saying, it's not me. That guy looks like me but it's not actually me. In a case that would have founded on, you know, a reasonable doubt. Now, really, there's no doubt whatsoever.

Why he did that, it's harder to figure out. He's clearly, it seems, the - the narrative we're getting from his social media is he's somebody who is, you know, not - maybe going through a hard time in his life mentally, maybe struggling emotionally, disappearing from his friends and family, suffering with some sort of illness that might have been the source of his animus towards the health care industry. So, it's hard to say exactly why he was so good in some respects and then in other respects made just really obvious mistakes that led to his capture.

BOLDUAN: He can fight extradition back to New York. I mean not indefinitely, but can fight it. Why would he?

MCCABE: Kate, almost no one ever does because there's no good reason to. Extradition from one state to another on a criminal charge really comes down to just the issue of identification. As soon as the kind of receiving state can prove in court that you are the person that they've indicted, then you're - you're shipped out. So there's really no reason to go through that process. Most people waive it and are quickly transported to the state that wants them.

[09:10:04]

I would expect that will happen here. That's likely what any lawyer will advise him to do. BOLDUAN: Yes.

Andy, it's great to see you. Thank you so much for jumping on.

Coming up still for us, live pictures, we're going to show you, we're going to get there, I promise, out of Malibu, California, where a fire has shut down Pepperdine University for the day and strong winds are expected to pick up once again this morning.

Donald Trump's pick for Defense secretary is back on Capitol Hill today. What senators are saying about his views on women serving in combat in the military.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:08]

BERMAN: All right, breaking news out of California this morning. A wildfire that really just exploded overnight right at Pepperdine University in Malibu, spreading with extraordinary speed, consuming an area equivalent to five football fields every minute. Fire officials say it is so intense it's actually altering the weather there and worsening already extreme conditions. This is all 0 percent contained this morning.

Pepperdine students are sheltering in place. We spoke to one a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIELLE SAIGADO, PEPPERDINE STUDENT: I called my friends, found whatever friends I had in the same residential hall as me, and I just packed a bag. And as soon as things started to get really stressful, I made my way down to my shelter in place order, which is the library. And students here were very stressed because of finals, but also because we look out the window and, you know, the sky is red.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The sky is red.

All right, CNN's Veronica Miracle is live in Malibu this morning.

Veronica, give us a sense of what you're seeing.

VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it's been very chaotic here as we've been coming into Malibu on the PCH.

The good news is, the sun is finally coming up. That's going to help firefighters just a little bit here because they've been operating in total darkness. Even us, we've seen the glow of the flames on the hillside and firefighters all scattered throughout these neighborhoods. But it's been pitch black because the power is out. I don't know if you can see a little bit behind me, the glow from some of the fire right behind us. What's so tricky about these wildfires, especially in these canyons,

is they - the embers will travel and then they'll create these big bursts of flames, it'll die down and then the flame can travel up to a mile and go somewhere else. And so these firefighters have really been chasing this fire through the canyons.

Where we are right now is on a stretch of the PCH with the very high- end restaurants and businesses that line here. The Malibu Pier, the iconic Malibu Pier is right down the street from us. And right behind us here is Nobu Malibu, very high-end restaurant. And some firefighters just pulled in here to kind of monitor all of these restaurants here.

There's also many, many houses scattered throughout here. And then just on the other side of us up here we saw a lot of flames in this neighborhood. These are homes that are overlooking the ocean. The activity with firefighters has died down in this area for now because the flames have jumped to a different part of the canyon. Demir (ph), if we can just move over just a little bit more, perhaps we can see some of the flames here from the distance.

But again, these fires in these canyons are very difficult because these are two lane roads that go up into the hills, making it very difficult for firefighters to get an access to these neighborhoods. And then there's also all of these residents. This is a fire that blew up in the middle of the night. So, we have seen many residents here along PCH just sitting and watching, not evacuating, even though there are evacuation orders. We've also seen a lot of people rushing out.

And then we've heard of stories of animals because they're, you know, deep in these canyons, too. There's a lot of farmland. There are people who, you know, have livestock. They have animals up there and had - having difficulty getting those animals out. We did see a horse trailer racing past a couple of hours ago. So, our goal is to get into the canyons after this live shot to see if we can get better access to see what's happening up there with homes, what kind of damage there is. But it's been very hard for us to tell because it's been so dark.

So, we've seen a lot of flames. But from this vantage point, we cannot say for certain if there are homes that have gone down and are, you know, demolished at this point.

John.

BERMAN: Look, it's been a tough, tough night there. The pictures that you're showing us right now, and the pictures that we've seen are extraordinary. And we know from speaking to students at Pepperdine, they didn't even get the warnings to shelter in place until after 11:00 at night. So, hard, hard for people to evacuate at that hour.

MIRACLE: Right.

BERMAN: Veronica Miracle, we'll let you get back on the road. Get where you can to show us the situation there. Thank you so much for your reporting. All right, new details from a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill.

What was said that has Republican senators now falling in line with Trump's controversial cabinet picks.

And Beyonce shows up on the red carpet in a show of support for her husband, one day after a new lawsuit accused him of rape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:24:06]

BERMAN: All right, this morning it appears some hesitant Republicans are falling in line with President-elect Trump's more controversial cabinet choices. Today, Defense pick Pete Hegseth, he will sit down with Senator Lisa Murkowski. The Alaska Republican has said she, quote, absolutely plans to speak to Hegseth about the misconduct allegations against him, as well as his views on women in combat. Hegseth is now trying to clarify those remarks, which he says were misconstrued.

Let's get right to CNN's Lauren Fox on Capitol Hill.

So, where do things stand this morning, Lauren?

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Pete Hegseth just arrived on Capitol Hill. And we know that he is set to meet today with Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska. Tomorrow he is going to vote with - he is going to join Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine.

But this all comes as there has been renewed focus on - from Hegseth's team on trying to court and win over some of these Republican women senators.

[09:25:03]

Yesterday he met once again with Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, who he met with last week. And the two of them had described their meeting as a frank and thorough discussion. Here's what they said after the meeting yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JONI ERNST (R-IA): He is very supportive of women in the military. It is one thing that we discussed.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: Some of our greatest warriors, our best warriors out there are women who serve, raised their right hand to defend this country and love our nation, want to defend that flag, and they do it every single day around the globe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOX: And just some context. Senator Joni Ernst is a veteran. She is someone who has fought very hard to secure women's roles (INAUDIBLE) the world. And, you know, she's someone who has made that a cornerstone of her time on Capitol Hill. So, obviously, this was an issue that she wanted to discuss with Hegseth. An issue that he is now trying to clarify.

It is probably an issue that's going to come up again with Senator Murkowski, Senator Collins. But again, this all comes as Pete Hegseth began the week last week really embroiled in controversy and ended it with a lot of Republican senators not closing the door to his nomination. So, this is a - yet another critical week for him. But it's just important to point out that the majority of Republicans in the Senate next Congress, it's going to be very narrow. So that means that Pete Hegseth has very little room for error. He can only afford to lose three Republicans. If he loses four he cannot get through as the next leader of the Pentagon.

BERMAN: At least for now, though, it appears as if he is surviving until hearings that will take place, which may be a little different than what it looked like ten days ago.

Lauren Fox, on Capitol Hill for us this morning. Great reporting. Thank you.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: And with us right now is CNN political commentators, Republican strategist Shermichael Singleton and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona.

Thanks, guys, for being here.

Maria, let's just start with you. There seems - it's hard to read into the shift or not shift. It is always very hard. I mean Joni Ernst, essentially, I think I'm reading this as a Joni Ernst no comment when she says, I'm going to support him in the process.

MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes.

BOLDUAN: But if Hegseth has allayed the concerns of Senator Joni Ernst, especially with what he says now about women in combat, what say you?

CARDONA: Well, I think it's more about what kind of threats and bullying and pressure the extremist MAGA supporters of Hegseth and supporters of Donald Trump are now activating against Senator Ernst. And that, I think, is going to be what will tilt one way or the other because, look, Senator Ernst clearly feels very strongly a way about Hegseth. And she didn't try to hide it before. And I think, you know, it's clear that she wants the process to move forward and to see it through, which is good. She should listen to him. But the things that he has said and the things that he has done and the allegations that he has have got to be extremely troubling to especially somebody like Senator Ernst, who is a sexual assault survivor, a combat veteran herself, and we've known what Hegseth thinks about and has said about women in combat, and she is somebody who has fought to allay misconduct allegations or misconduct - sexual misconduct in the military. That is her legacy. We've seen Steve Bannon, Don Jr., and other MAGA extremists go after

her, not just publicly, but privately, essentially saying to her, if she doesn't support Hegseth, they're going to find somebody to primary her and she is up for re-election in '26. And so, I hope that she has the mettle, she has the backbone, she has the spine to stand up to him and to essentially demonstrate what her own values are because if she does that, I think it would be very hard for her to say yes to him.

BOLDUAN: There is - and what this gets down - gets back to, Shermichael, is what we just played, what Pete Hegseth is saying now about - when - in saying his words were misconstrued. But it was very recently that he seemed very clear on a podcast of what he said. I want to play it again for people Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE: I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles. It hasn't made us more effective, hasn't made us more lethal, has made fighting more complicated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: And now he wants to put clarity in context around it, saying his words are misconstrued. Do you believe him?

SHERMICHAEL SINGLETON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, look, from my understanding, I believe he was referencing a question from the interviewer pertaining to some data that came out, I guess, recently about the effectiveness when comparing gender roles in combat. That's up for debate. This data actually came from the Pentagon itself.

[09:30:01]

With that said, however, I understand why Joni Ernst is somewhat moving forward with wanting to ultimately support Pete. She has a constituency.