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HHS Secretary RFK Jr. Faces Lawmakers on Capitol Hill; Trump Announces Nominee for CDC Director; Former Lt. Gov. Justin Faifax Kills Wife, Himself; Medical Cannabis Use on the Rise Among Women. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired April 16, 2026 - 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: It's round two for Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Right now, he's fielding questions at a second congressional hearing after appearing before the House Ways and Means Committee this morning. Lawmakers are grilling Kennedy on his vaccine policies, the increase in measles cases, and rising health care costs.
There was also this exchange about the health effects of environmental rollbacks at the EPA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. STEVEN HORSFORD (D-NV): You don't coordinate with the EPA, Mr. Secretary. Your department is not involved with rolling back protections that would increase exposure to heavy metals, materials, even though it affects people's health? Is that what you're telling me?
You don't coordinate?
ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY: I say calm down, Congressman.
HORSFORD: Don't tell me when to -- look, health care is personal to my constituents like Deja and Richard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your time is over.
HORSFORD: Do not tell me to calm down. Health care is real. And if you can't answer basic questions, then maybe come prepared next time.
KENNEDY: I'm answering the question.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: CNN's Meg Tirrell is with us now. Meg, great to see you in person. It wasn't just Democrats that were asking tough questions of the secretary.
MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there was another exchange this morning with a Republican congressman who certainly phrased his question more delicately, but he expressed some unhappiness with a big issue for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It was his handling of the science behind autism. Take a look at what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. BLAKE MOORE (R-UT): I've mentioned to you in private how much I appreciate the administration's focus on autism. You may recall my 10- year-old Winnie is neurodivergent on the autism spectrum. He's the joy of my life.
That's tenfold for my wife and for his younger, older, and twin brothers. And I want to just highlight that I never had a ton of expectation on what we could uncover from scanning the existing research. I've always appreciated the administration's focus on this, though.
But I was underwhelmed with what we ultimately put out. My wife was hurt, and she felt for a split second, until she came to her senses, and we talked about this, that there was any way she was responsible. We don't even know if she took Tylenol during her pregnancy, but that was a hurtful moment for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TIRRELL: So a kind of gentler reprimand -- may even be too strong -- but really letting him know that that announcement back in September where they tied use of Tylenol during pregnancy to autism, a scientific link that many scientists say is absolutely not proven, that was a hurtful moment for them, and I think a lot of people felt the way at the time.
SANCHEZ: Yes, one of several certainly uncomfortable moments at the very least for the secretary on the Hill. We know you'll keep watching that, Meg. In the meantime, President Trump just made an important announcement on social media regarding CDC director.
TIRRELL: Yes, and so we have been without a permanent CDC director since August, and really that was the subject of the last really fiery RFK Jr. hearing we saw in September. So President Trump now putting out on social media that he has nominated his former deputy surgeon general from his first term. Her name is Dr. Erica Schwartz. She is one of four, a set of leadership that they are trying to install here at the CDC that I think is seen by a lot of folks as a sort of more middle-of-the-road choice. They really started out with somebody who was seen as sort of extreme in terms of his vaccine views. His nomination was pulled.
Then they did get through a CDC director. She only served for a few weeks before clashing with Kennedy over vaccine policy, leaving then in August. Now the NIH director has been serving as both NIH director and sort of the head of CDC at the same time.
So here we are with this nomination. She will have to go through the Senate confirmation process, but it probably does signal what the Trump administration's been trying to do, which is to back off of some of the more extreme vaccine policy views. SANCHEZ: That is notable. We'll see how the confirmation process goes. Meg Tirrell, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Still plenty more news to come this afternoon. Police in Virginia investigating after the state's former lieutenant governor, Justin Fairfax, and his wife were found dead in what appears to be a murder- suicide.
The details in just moments.
[15:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: We are following a tragic story out of Virginia where police say former Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax shot and killed his wife and then himself inside their home. They say the shooting stemmed from an ongoing domestic dispute surrounding a complicated or messy divorce.
CNN correspondent Brian Todd is at the scene there in Annandale, Virginia. Brian, we've also learned that the couple's two teenagers were inside the home when this happened.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica. That's according to Kevin Davis, the Chief of Police of Fairfax County. Chief Davis giving us some jarring details of this incident not too long ago.
Yes, the two teenage children, according to Chief Davis, were at home at the time of the shooting. The teenage son was the first person to call 911. I'm going to get to that audio in just a moment.
But some other just really disturbing details that the Chief gave us of this incident. He said that from what they've been able to piece together, Justin Fairfax apparently shot his wife, Serena, several times in the basement first. Then, he says, Justin Fairfax ran upstairs to a primary bedroom and shot and killed himself.
He said that the couple were separated but staying in the same house but staying in separate bedrooms. Now, again, as far as the 911 call by the son, we have some audio from the 911 dispatcher actually describing what was said to them in the call and what the scene was like. We do have to warn viewers this could be disturbing to some.
But take a listen to the 911 dispatch call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caller stating that his dad might have stabbed his mom, saying that she's laying on the ground, bleeding, can see holes in her shirt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's gonna look like an obvious DOA. I don't have a pulse. We got another subject down in the bedroom upstairs.
I think this is going to be our subject. He's got a firearm with self- inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TODD: Now, according to Fairfax County Police Chief Kevin Davis, the two teenage children are now in the care of their grandparents and other family members with the help from the Fairfax County Police Victim Services Division -- Jessica.
[15:45:00]
DEAN: And Brian, we understand there were cameras inside the house that were put there as part of the couple's divorce proceedings?
TODD: That is correct. And that is actually what Chief Davis kind of alluded to when he said -- when he talked about the details of Justin Fairfax shooting his wife first in the basement and then running upstairs. He basically said we were able to piece all that together by the presence of those several cameras.
And as you mentioned, yes, the cameras were placed in the house as part of the divorce proceedings. There were several cameras inside the house at the time of the shooting. Also, according to Chief Davis, those cameras were able to kind of give them clarity over an incident in January.
In January, Justin Fairfax called police and said that his wife had assaulted him. Well, Chief Davis said they looked at those cameras inside the home and determined that that never happened. So that played into that incident as well.
DEAN: All right, Brian Todd there in Annandale, Virginia. Thank you for that reporting. We appreciate it.
Up next here, we explore the women, moms, fighting the stigma around cannabis.
[15:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: A new CNN special follows the rise of the use of medical cannabis among one group in particular, women. For his latest report, CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta traveled the country to learn why women of all ages are turning to cannabis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Women. Of all ages. Mothers and grandmothers.
Growing. Selling. Using cannabis.
Women searching for a better, healthier, happier life.
APRIL AYERS, OWNER, COWBOY KUSH DISPENSARY: I was a soccer mom. Trust me, if we had all had an edible before those games, we would have been great.
GUPTA (voice-over): From menstrual cramps to morning sickness, to menopause, women in Oklahoma and all over the United States are turning to cannabis for relief, now more than ever.
DR. STACI GUPTA, MCLEAN HOSPITAL MARIJUANA INVESTIGATIONS FOR NEUROSCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY: Women are largely underserved and underrepresented in medicine and for lack of any other option are more than willing to try cannabis and cannabinoid-based therapies.
GUPTA (voice-over): In fact, for the first time ever, women are outpacing men in the use of cannabis. These women say they are changing their lives and their health for the better. But in some cases, also potentially putting themselves in harm's way.
The scientists searching for answers are all research pioneers. And perhaps no surprise, many happen to be women as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: All right, Sanjay, tell us more about what you learned making this documentary and what surprised you -- Sanjay.
GUPTA (on camera): Jessica, I got to tell you, it was such a fascinating documentary to make. And again, this idea that women are outpacing men when it comes to cannabis use. That was, I think, surprising for a lot of people.
But let me just even add another layer to that. It's primarily women between the ages of 45 and 60 that are really driving this growth. That's what's been happening over the past few years.
And I think it's in large part because women are turning to cannabis for things that ail them at that stage of life. Difficulties with sleep, difficulties with pain, difficulties with mood. Oftentimes it's been hard for many of those women in perimenopause or menopause to find products that really help them.
So, you know, while men may be taking it more for recreational purposes, women taking it more for medicinal purposes and using things like tinctures and ointments and even edibles as opposed to smoking it. But it's just transformed very much since we first started reporting on this. So, women and weed, Jessica.
You can learn all about it this Sunday.
DEAN: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you. You can ask Dr. Gupta any questions you might have about women and cannabis using that QR code you see on your screen. He'll be back tomorrow to answer those. And again, you don't want to miss his new special, "WEED AND WOMEN." It premieres this Sunday at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific, only here on CNN -- Boris.
SANCHEZ: Now to some of the headlines we're watching this hour. D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro says that she's opened up a tip line for any information regarding alleged sexual or inappropriate conduct by former Congressman Eric Swalwell. In a video, Pirro says that she believes there could be additional victims in the district.
This week, Swalwell resigned from Congress and ended his bid to become governor of California after allegations of sexual assault and misconduct, allegations he has denied.
Also, WNBA star Asia Wilson has signed the richest contract in league history, according to The Athletic and ESPN. ESPN says it's for three years and worth $5 million.
It keeps Wilson with the defending champion Las Vegas Aces, who she has led to three league titles. Wilson has won four MVP awards and led the league in scoring last season. Both The Athletic and ESPN say that Wilson will earn $1.4 million this season.
And we're getting our first look at an AI-generated Val Kilmer. This is from the new trailer for the film "As Deep as the Grave." The late actor was originally cast in the role but ultimately became too sick and passed away before completing the work.
The director and producer of the film say they worked with Kilmer's family to figure out a way to honor his legacy. This is the result.
Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.
[15:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: This Sunday, we once again wish we could be Eva Longoria.
DEAN: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Because she's --
DEAN: (INAUDIBLE).
SANCHEZ: Yes, she's exploring the lavender fields of Provence and the world-famous wineries of Bordeaux in two new episodes of CNN's original series, "EVA LONGORIA, SEARCHING FOR FRANCE."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVA LONGORIA, CNN EVA LONGORIA, SEARCHING FOR FRANCE (voice-over): While the stock bubbles, it's time for the main event, those famous fish of Marseille. There's one guy I'm most intrigued by. He apparently brings a beautiful flavor to the whole broth but is also legendarily ugly.
Ladies and gentlemen, the red viscous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the big one.
LONGORIA: Ooh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that there's no, no real fish exists without it.
LONGORIA: He looks like a merman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it is the ugly one.
LONGORIA: What do you mean this is the ugly one? He's so cute. I love him.
I think he's handsome. Which one is the poisonous one?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This one.
LONGORIA: Why are we eating it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's so delicate.
LONGORIA: But are we going to die or am I going to go to the hospital?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this fish hides itself in the sand.
LONGORIA: Oh, in the sand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LONGORIA: Oh, and then you could step on it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
LONGORIA: Oh my gosh. So that would have venom in it and this part as well.
Yes, let's get rid of those things.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: Just need some scissors.
SANCHEZ: Yes.
DEAN: Take care of business.
SANCHEZ: That's all it takes.
[16:00:00]
DEAN: Be sure to catch the latest episode of the CNN original series "EVA LONGORIA SEARCHING FOR FRANCE." It airs this Sunday night at 9 Eastern and the next day on our CNN app.
SANCHEZ: Thank you so much for joining us this afternoon. Jessica, we'll see you again tomorrow.
DEAN: Good to see you, yes.
SANCHEZ: Excellent.
DEAN: Close out the week.
SANCHEZ: THE ARENA with Kasie Hunt starts right now.
END
