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Businesses Face Uncertainty Months After Massive ICE Raids; Police Locate 3rd Teen Suspect in Tessa Majors Murder; 2 Women Claim Assault on Frontier Air Flights; Top 9 Health Stories of 2019. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired December 26, 2019 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:30:00]
JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: A new development in the murder that rattled New York City. Police say they now have the third teenager they were looking for in the case of Barnard College student, Tessa Majors.
CNN NEWSROOM continues when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: I'm Jessica Dean. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM. Glad to you have with us.
A Mississippi town is still reeling months after one of the largest ICE raids in U.S. history. Nearly 700 workers, mostly Latino, swept up in that operation back in August. Many families now live in fear another raid is coming.
CNN's Nick Valencia reports.
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[14:35:05]
NICK VALENCIA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Like so many others here, Sofia Hernandez is worried. Three years ago, she used the money she saved while working at the local chicken plants to buy this Mexican market.
But now with business crippled by the ICE raids in August, she doesn't know if she'll be able to keep it open. She's had to cut the hours of her employees.
SOFIA HERNANDEZ, RESTAURANT OWNER (through translation): Thanks to God, I'm surviving.
VALENCIA (on camera): Yes, you're worried? You're worried?
HERNANDEZ: Yes, some. Some because we don't know what's going to happen.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Latinos make up nearly a quarter of the more than 3,600 residents in Morton, Mississippi. But looking at the streets, you wouldn't be able to tell. As rumor spread of another raid, most have chosen to spend their days in hiding.
In the nearly four months since the raids on chicken processing plants across six Mississippi cities, Miguel Tambrez's wife is among the dozens still detained, leaving him to care for their three children alone.
Their daughter was just 4 months old when it happened. She was still nursing.
"She cried and cried," he says of his baby. "There were days when I was in such despair, but I had to keep on fighting for her," he says.
He's physically and mentally exhausted and so is his wife. Recently, while in custody, she signed voluntary deportation orders. Soon, the family will be reunited again, but not in the United States.
"It's not that it was hard for me. It still is hard for me," he says, about the financial burden of being the sole bread winner and now sole caretaker.
(on camera): Those who were released from ICE custody with court dates were let go on the condition that they couldn't work. And that makes it pretty hard to pay the bills, which means they'd have to rely on the kindness of others, including churches like this one. But even they don't know how much longer it will last.
(voice-over): Sheila Cumbest had only been pastor at the United Methodist Church in Morton for four weeks when the raids happened. Her life and her church have been consumed by the event ever since.
SHEILA CUMBEST, PASTOR, UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, MORTON: Just in Morton alone, we're helping 110, 115 families. Paying bills is expensive. So far, the money we've spent is around $151,000 since the first week.
Every day, it's just facing the same sort of despair in people's lives and wondering what's next.
VALENCIA: Even the mayor says the town has changed since the raids. He tells us the plant raided in Morton accounts for 45 percent of the city's revenue. A business powered by Latino labor. Despite what happened, he says, Latinos are still welcome in Morton.
GERALD KEETON SR. (D), MORTON MAYOR: Regardless, I mean, whether they are documented or undocumented, you should have compassion for your neighbor.
VALENCIA: But for the Latinos still left, the life they once saw for themselves here may no longer exist.
Nick Valencia, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DEAN: And initially after the raids, an ICE official told CNN they were a part of a broader criminal investigation going after the companies that employ undocumented labor. That case is now in the hands of the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi.
CNN's made repeated requests to interview U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst. He's declined the requests and given no indication the companies will be charged.
Nick, thank you.
[14:39:22]
Frontier Airlines hit with a federal lawsuit. Two women say their pleas for help were ignored. But they were sexually assaulted during a flight. Their shocking allegations. That's next.
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[14:43:29]
DEAN: New developments now in the murder of Tessa Majors, the 18- year-old Barnard College student who was stabbed in a New York City park December 11th. A 13-year-old has been arrested, a 14-year-old questioned, and now police say they have located a third teenager they've been searching for.
CNN reporter, Mark Morales, joins us now.
Mark, what do we know about this third teenager? Are they cooperating with authorities? They've been looking for this person a while.
MARK MORALES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT REPORTER: They've been searching for this boy and found him early this morning just before 8:00 a.m. He's in custody. In custody right now and speaking with investigators. Got his lawyer present.
This is someone that the NYPD has been very keen on speaking to. Exactly what role he played that day Tessa Majors was killed is what they're trying to determine now. Very much a person they've been looking for.
DEAN: A big effort to try to track him down.
MORALES: Right. NYPD police commissioner recently said there's been around-the-clock, detectives have been looking for, trying to solve the case, looking for these people of interest. Interviewing the one 13-year-old that's in custody. An ongoing effort.
DEAN: I want to ask, what do we know about this second suspect, because the 14-year-old has been charged. Is that correct?
MORALES: The 13-year-old's been charged.
DEAN: The 13-year-old, OK.
MORALES: The one they arrested early on. They're facing three charges. One involves felony murder.
The second boy taken into custody has not yet been charged. Questioned by investigators, released shortly thereafter.
It's unclear what will happen with this third teen that's being questioned right now. As of right now, being questioned by investigators with his lawyer present, speaking to police.
[14:45:10]
And they're going to use a lot of what this 13-year-old had told them in their interviews to try and see what role this kid played.
DEAN: Such a heartbreaking case. And obviously trying to get to the bottom and know, what was the motive, what exactly went on that night in that park.
MORALES: Right. Which is -- there's a lot that happened. Still a lot more to figure out, because they were initially in that park to rob someone and they did spot a man they were going to rob but then didn't. And then zeroed in on Tessa Majors.
Why they did or what their purpose was for wanting to do -- for wanting to rob Tessa Majors for any particular reason, that's not really known yet. But that's what they were in the park to do
DEAN: A lot more to come on that.
MORALES: Right.
DEAN: Mark Morales, thanks for being with us. Good to see you.
MORALES: Thank you.
DEAN: Denver-based Frontier Airlines is being sued by two female passengers who say they were sexually assaulted during their flights. The federal lawsuit also claims the women could not get flight attendants to help them and they were ignored. This is the second suit filed against Frontier Airlines this month.
And CNN's Lucy Kafanov is in Denver.
Lucy, one of the alleged victims is actually a U.S. veteran, right?
LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica. This is a class-action lawsuit. Lena Ramsey, one of the plaintiffs, did a six- year stint in the U.S. Army, including a tour in Afghanistan where she was injured. Since then, she's found solace in travel. That was until this nightmare Frontier Airlines flight she took last year the basis for the lawsuit.
She was resting, she says, in the back of the airplane on a red-eye flight and felt the hands of the man seated behind her reach out and grope her. She said she went to a flight attendant who allegedly told her return to her seat and refused to allow her to move to a seat away from the assailant.
In both her case and an anonymous woman, who is referred to as Jane Doe, in suit saying flight attendants on Frontier Airlines did not report either incident to anyone else. Did not ask that law enforcement be contacted to meet the plane upon landing.
And according to the complaints, in both cases, Frontier Airlines refused to help the women gather evidence for the investigations, for example, providing the names of potential witnesses and the identities of the assailants.
The suit claims Frontier doesn't have adequate policies for preventing or responding to in-flight sexual harassment.
The airline did not issue a statement about this specific lawsuit but did send us a statement. And I'm going to quote from it: "The safety of our passengers and crew members is our number-one priority, and we have strict policies in place to appropriately and proactively respond to misconduct and alleged crimes."
I should add, according -- pardon me -- alleged crimes. Before either of these alleged incidents were reported, Jessica, the FBI actually posted a warning about an increase in these types of sexual assaults, sexual harassments on flights.
Agents say these kinds of assaults generally take place on long flights, three hours or more, when the cabin's dark, wine flowing. Victims in the middle or window seats sleeping or covered with a blanket or jacket.
The women in this lawsuit say this was a much wider problem than just the two of their cases -- Jessica?
DEAN: We know you'll keep an eye on that.
Lucy Kafanov, in Denver, thanks so much.
[14:48:26]
President Trump is back on the attack hours after calling on Americans to, quote, "exemplify the teachings of Christ." Some very hateful words, though, for Nancy Pelosi.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DEAN: From measles to vaping to a shocking decline in the life expectancy of Americans, 2019 saw a lot of medical concerns making the headlines.
CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Gupta, has the top nine health stories of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Some of the hottest temperatures on record and month after month of natural disasters, 2019 also showed us how climate change is directly impacting our health.
It also makes it so these plants have less of the good stuff, like zinc, iron and protein. It's turning some of the best foods we humans have into junkier food.
[14:55:05]
The cannabis craze is here to stay. As we reported in our documentary, this year was all about CBD. While there have been some remarkable stories of success, as we've shown you, no medicine works for everyone, not even CBD.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't the benefit that they were necessarily seeking.
GUPTA: All of it, though, underlining how much we still have to learn when it comes to cannabis.
We also saw some major recalls, including several popular heart medications including one known at Losartan. Also pharmaceutical giant, Allergan, issued a worldwide recall of bio-cell textured breast implants and tissue expanders. They were found to have been linked to a rare cancer.
Some of the best news of 2019 came in our fight against HIV-AIDS. In a January State of the Union, President Trump announced his commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years.
GUPTA: Scientists also discovered a new strain of HIV for the first time in nearly two decades. It doesn't pose any threat but it did prove that the current testing for HIV continues to be effective.
Also good news in New York City. They hit their HIV-AIDS target two years early. Meaning now more than 90 percent of people who have HIV are on treatment.
I still can't believe this one. U.S. life expectancy continues to be on the decline, despite the fact that the United States spends more on health care per capita than any other country in the world. Suicides, alcohol-related illnesses and drug overdoses are largely to blame.
Which brings us to the opioid epidemic. The odds of dying from an opioid overdose in the United States are greater than those of dying in a vehicle crash.
In October, two Ohio counties received a landmark settlement of $260 million from a top drug maker and three major drug distributors.
UNIDENTIFIED COUNTY EXECUTIVE: We need resources from the parties that caused this problem. They need to make it right. And that's the benchmark that this sets.
GUPTA: The spotlight on the importance of vaccines continued to shine as the United States saw the largest measles outbreak since it was declared eliminated back in 2000. There have been more than 1,200 individual cases that have been
confirmed across 30 states, and still, there are people out there's that are not getting vaccinated.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health concerns of our time. Because it's creating these super bugs that have ability to out-smart even our most sophisticated medications.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can pick something up just about anywhere. It literally has the potential to affect every person on the planet.
GUPTA: Now a landmark CDC report shows that a person dies from one of these super bugs every 15 minutes in the United States. That's about 35,000 deaths every year from super bugs.
In 2019, a story that started out as a cause for concern turned into a full-on outbreak.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: The CDC narrowed its investigation into the vaping-linked lung disease.
GUPTA: Since the first report of a vaping-related death in August, all 50 states have been hit by this illness. That includes more than 2,000 hospitalized and more than 50 deaths.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The outbreak of pulmonary injury associated with vaping or E-cigarettes is an emergency. We're seeing young people become critically ill and die.
GUPTA: The CDC has zeroed in on THC-containing products and a more specific culprit, a cutting agent known at vitamin acetate.
I think the larger issue, though, is the staggering rise in vaping among young people.
How would you describe the vaping situation in your school?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It got kind of bad last year. Some people did it too much. Like, a lot too much, and it escalated I think.
GUPTA: The CDC says more than six million middle and high school students used a tobacco product this year. That's up from about 4.9 million last year, and E-cigarettes were found to be the most common.
While many organizations are pushing for a full-on ban now of flavored E-cigarettes, there's others that worry that a ban would hurt those who do use E-cigarettes successfully as a smoking cessation tool.
There have been some big issues in 2019, as you can see, but a lot of possible solutions are here as well.
Here's to 2020.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[15:00:04]
DEAN: And a programming note as you make your New Year's Eve plans. Ring in 2020 with Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen. Two best friends, one epic night. "NEW YEAR'S EVE LIVE" begins at 8:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
