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FBI Issues Arrest Warrant for Petito's Fiancee; Two Hosts Of "The View" Tested Positive Before Kamala Harris Interview; Britney Spears Battle for Freedom; Helping Refugee and Immigrant Women Turn Their Cooking into Careers. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired September 24, 2021 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: Let's get you the latest now on the nationwide man hunt for Gabby Petito's fiancee, Brian Laundrie. The FBI has now issued a federal arrest warrant for him, but it's not related to Petito's death, instead it's for actions allegedly after she was killed, including debit card fraud.
ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: CNN's Amara Walker is in Venice, Florida, where the search continues today. So, Amara, do we know any more about what Laundrie was up to before he vanished nearly two weeks ago now?
AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a source close to the Laundrie family is telling CNN that Brian Laundrie left his North Port, Florida home without his cell phone, without his wallet, and his parents saying to the source that they are concerned that he might hurt himself.
Look, we have no idea why he would leave his house without these items, and of course that raises a lot of eyebrows. What we do know is it was on September 14th that his parents claimed that Brian left the house saying that he was going to go hiking in this Carlton Reserve behind me with a backpack.
And this is why teams are still here, police have descended upon this place, it's the 6th day they have been combing the swampy area, and we actually just got confirmation from North Port Police that the search today thus far has turned up nothing.
So still, the question is where is Brian Laundrie? As all of this is happening, as you mentioned, a federal arrest warrant was issued by the U.S. District Court in Wyoming on Thursday for Brian Laundrie, not in connection to the homicide of Gabby Petito but for alleged activity that happened after her death. The indictment says that he is suspected of using a debit card and pin numbers associated with two bank accounts, none of which belonged to him, charging over a thousand dollars on these accounts. And what's key here are the dates that were given by federal authorities. The timeline, August 30th to September 1st is when these activities
allegedly took place, and when you look at these dates, August 29th, actually, just a day before, that was the last time that Brian Laundrie was spotted by a woman who said she witnessed him trying to hitchhike or she took him in as a hitchhiker, and September 1st was when he suddenly just showed up at the North Port, Florida home without Gabby Petito.
So, when you put this timeline together it places him in the frontend in Wyoming and backend in Florida. So presumably he may have been traveling to Florida from Wyoming as these alleged activities occurred -- Victor and Alison.
BLACKWELL: All right, Amara Walker for us there, thank you.
Well, just minutes before Vice President Harris was set to do an in- studio interview on "The View", two of the hosts test positive for coronavirus.
CAMEROTA: And new revelations about Britney Spear's conservatorship and what she was not allowed to do for more than a decade. Details from our new CNN special report ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:35:00]
CAMEROTA: Look at this drama that played out on "The View" today. Two of the talk show's co-hosts, our friends, Ana Navarro, and Sonny Hostin were pulled off set after they tested positive for breakthrough cases of COVID. It all happened minutes before they were set to interview Vice President Kamala Harris in studio.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": So, since this is going to be a major news story any minute now, what happened is that Sonny and Anna both apparently tested positive for COVID, no matter how hard we try, these things happen. They probably have a breakthrough case, and they'll be OK I'm sure because they're both vaccinated up the wazoo, you know, a lot of vaccines.
And the Vice President is being prepped for her arrival, right, they cleaned the table, we washed the hands, everybody is getting all cleaned up, and she'll be out here in a second.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right. CNN chief media correspondent Brian Stelter joins us now. Stelter, Alyson called it drama. I mean, as quickly as that all happened, good on him for keeping the show on and eventually getting to the Vice President but tell us about what happened there.
BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was one of the craziest moments on live TV in the COVID era, and it was all due to these two positive COVID tests. This was of course a big moment for the Vice President. She was supposed to be appearing for the first time in person on "The View", it was a big deal for her vice presidency and then it was basically scrapped.
She had to appear remotely in a different room, you know, out of an abundance of caution, given that two of the co-hosts were in the studio earlier in the hour when they found out they were tested positive.
Alyson, you texted me earlier, you said how often are the co-hosts of the view tested for COVID.
CAMEROTA: Yes.
[15:40:00]
STELTER: So, I found out the answer, the answer is usually two times a week, but they were tested an extra time this week because of the Vice President's arrival. So, that's why they were waiting on their rapid test results. They suddenly received the results, and they were pulled from the set.
Now I think what this shows is the disparity in rapid testing in this country. If you work on a Hollywood show production lot, if you work at "The View" you're getting rapid tested all the time.
The average Americans who go to CVS or Rite Aid or Walgreens, they're having a hard time finding those tests. They are selling faster than they can be produced. It's a problem for the government because we need more tests to be able to find these positive cases.
But the good news is Sonny and Ana, they are feeling just fine. These are those kinds of examples of asymptomatic cases, that they probably never would have known they had COVID were they not tested this morning.
CAMEROTA: That is so interesting, Brian, well, we're so glad that they're asymptomatic, and thank you for finding out the answer. Because I was curious if it was just because the Vice President was coming or if they were regularly tested. Brian Stelter, thank you very much for all of the reporting.
STELTER: Thanks.
CAMEROTA: OK, Britney Spears' next court date next week could change everything. The judge overseeing Britney's conservatorship will examine all the recent developments, including Britney's father's petition to end this arrangement after 13 years.
So, this Sunday night, our new CNN special report "TOXIC -- BRITNEY SPEARS' BATTLE FOR FREEDOM" dives into her ongoing fight to reclaim her independence.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: There were reports that on the circus tour, she couldn't read certain books, she couldn't have a cell phone, is that true? GEORGE, FORMER TOUR MANAGER: Yes.
CAMEROTA: What books couldn't she read?
GEORGE: She could only read Christian books.
CAMEROTA: Says who?
GEORGE: Her father.
CAMEROTA: She couldn't have a cell phone.
GEORGE: At times she did have a cell phone. Her phone was monitored. The text messages were read. The call logs were there. I don't know whether or not calls were recorded, but the use of a phone was very tightly controlled.
CAMEROTA (voice over): CNN cannot independently confirm these allegations. Britney says her doctors and therapists were also carefully controlled.
GEORGE: The conservatorship dictated to her who her doctors were going to be, which doctors she was going to see. How often she was going to see them. How long those sessions would be. Every aspect of her medical care and not just her medical care was extremely, extremely controlled.
CAMEROTA (voice over): As was who she could see.
GEORGE: Who she could date, who she could be friends with was very, very tightly controlled.
CAMEROTA: The conservatorship told her who she could be friends with?
DAN GEORGE: Yes.
CAMEROTA: Why?
GEORGE: I think there was a concern that a third party might introduce something to the mix that would be detrimental to the overall structure that was restoring order in her life. And I think the conservatorship did a good job of doing that in the beginning.
CAMEROTA: You mean they were trying to keep out the riffraff or they were trying to make sure they were protecting the bottom line and this commodity --
GEORGE: Yes.
CAMEROTA: -- could keep performing?
GEORGE: Well, she was treated as more of an object than a human.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA (on camera): OK, so that was Britney's former tour manager. He has not spoken out this publicly before. So, you'll hear a lot more from him in our special. We want to also say that Jamie Spears who is Britney's father, declined to comment on the record about these specifics but his lawyer did tell us he loves his daughter and dedicated his life to helping her reach her goals.
You can watch the CNN special report "TOXIC -- BRITNEY SPEARS' BATTLE FOR FREEDOM," it airs Sunday night at 8:00 p.m.
BLACKWELL: Looking forward to that. It just never made sense that she was strong enough to perform but not enough to choose her own books.
CAMEROTA: We're going to connect the dots.
BLACKWELL: Good.
All right, "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" now, this week a special series we're spotlighting everyday people who don't make headlines but break barriers and lift humanity up. Today's champion is Sylvia Hernandez, changing lives through food. One of my favorite ways to change a life.
She helped create a special restaurant in Denver, Colorado, where immigrant and refugee women are using their cultural heritage to launch new careers. CNN's Ana Cabrera has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can hire you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, gosh.
ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Sylvia is somebody who's larger than life. She just radiates a spirit that you want to be part of.
CABRERA: Tell me your secret ingredient.
SYLVIA HERNANDEZ, FOUNDER, FOCUS POINTS, FAMILY RESOURCE CENTER: The secret ingredient is love.
CABRERA: Love.
HERNANDEZ: Love and a little bit of passion.
CABRERA: A sprinkle of passion in there.
CABRERA (voice over): This is a woman who works incredibly hard.
CABRERA: When do you ever sleep?
HERNANDEZ: When I have the time.
CABRERA: Sylvia came from Mexico from the Puerta Vallarta area to Denver, she saw more opportunity in the U.S. So, she planted her two feet on the ground and started to try and figure out how she was going to make ends meet. She found Focus Points, Family Resource Center.
HERNANDEZ: And that's when I meet the other ladies. [15:45:00]
And we start talking about what do you like to do here, or what do you do here, and everybody expressed, oh, I would like to have a business, and sell food. And that idea started getting into my head.
CABRERA (voice over): A lot of them have some entrepreneurial background, but they just needed a few more steps in order to put those skills together and really understand what was needed to have a culinary business.
CABRERA: So, you helped create this place?
HERNANDEZ: I think all the ladies including me, create Comal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Comal is a paid training program, and we focus on helping low-income immigrant and refugee women who want to start their own food businesses.
CABRERA: At what level of skills do they enter the program?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as like knowing the food that they cook, they're all experts in their heritage cuisines, they have been cooking longer than I have been alive.
So, the question was, hey, how can we turn this talent, this interest into something more substantial? And that's what we used to help train them in how to work in a professional kitchen, first and foremost, and then how to turn that knowledge plus the knowledge that they already have into a business.
CABRERA: Comal gives them really a training ground and that hands on experience that Sylvia realized that they didn't have.
HERNANDEZ: Most of the ladies feels like they are nothing, but when they come here, and with the talent to create, for example, a dish or something, that impact some other persons, then they say, OK, I am something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are unique in the sense that we are focusing on helping immigrant and refugee women to give people who already have momentum the avenue to go through it.
CABRERA: Olivia came to the U.S. from Venezuela, she and her family are refugees, she wanted to be an entrepreneur here in Colorado. And so that's how she ended up linking up with Comal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I always saw this is a blessing for me.
CABRERA: This is a blessing?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Making me, like, the opportunity to do something I like.
CABRERA: When you look at the people that Comal is serving, what I see in them is part of my own family's story. There's great grandpa. He's in the kitchen with all the pots and pans.
CABRERA: My great grandparents came from Mexico shortly after the Mexican revolution, fleeing poverty, seeking more opportunity. In fact, my great grandfather started his own eatery. When I look at Sylvia, she is a champion for immigrants. She's a champion for Latinas, she's a champion for the community of Denver.
HERNANDEZ: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sylvia is one of many versions of success. She does a lot for herself, but by doing that, she's helping other people.
HERNANDEZ: Without Comal and my idea, my dream, I don't think I would be where I am now. Comal's meals my second home, opportunities, and success.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CABRERA (on camera): First of all, the food they make is incredible.
CAMEROTA: It looks like it.
CABRERA: And also, so they are really enriching the community and giving them this amazing opportunity to taste all of these different cuisines. And beyond that, you know, because these are women and the countries, they come from they just don't have the same opportunities. Sylvia is like a beacon. She's charting the course for a lot of these women, and she's now running her own separate business while still giving back and helping out at Comal. And with these participants who come from nine different countries, in fact. Ethiopia, Syria, even Afghanistan, and so when you think about the current crisis happening in Afghanistan, some of those refugees could find a landing spot at Comal as well in the near future.
CAMEROTA: Wow, what a wonderful mission, and it was definitely making us hungry.
BLACKWELL: It certainly was I mean the idea --
CABRERA: I did a lot of eating on the job.
BLACKWELL: As you should have.
CAMEROTA: Research.
CABRERA: It was really delicious.
BLACKWELL: And she's now created this formula that women who come in, have this skill, and want to move forward, create success for themselves, great thing.
CAMEROTA: Ana, thank you. Very much for sharing that. So, we'll continue to share these inspirational stories today, and be sure to tune in tomorrow night, 8:00 p.m. eastern for the "CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE" one our special that Victor and I are hosting. OK, Arizona's sham election audit exposed for what it is today, but
despite the predictable but embarrassing outcome, President Trump's lie is moving to another state, one that strangely Donald Trump won.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Decades of armed conflict has left Colombia with the largest number of internally displaced people in the world. And when this week's CNN Hero realized so many communities were living in the shadows, she started an organization that goes to the most isolated regions of the country to fill in the gaps. Meet Jennifer Culpas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER CULPAS, CNN HERO: The families that we're working with are living in extreme poverty. These areas are so remote that there is no even roads to get there.
The communities use candles, gasoline lamps. They were spending a lot of money and the smoke of the lamps were negatively affecting their health.
CULPAS (translated text): Oh good, you have the panel here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated text): I hope it works, well.
CULPAS: Our mission is to provide access to basic services.
CULPAS (translated text): Look, it's already at eight.
CULPAS: My biggest dream for the people that I'm working with, that they wake up not just to survive but they can take small steps to fulfill their dreams.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMEROTA: OK, for Jennifer's full story and to see her in action go to CNNheroes.com.
Now to two to four things birthday edition. It's Victor Blackwell's big birthday!
BLACKWELL: Thank you, guys.
[15:55:00]
CAMEROTA: This is so exciting. So, this cake is from me and Christie Paul outdoes me and sends the beautiful cupcakes from Atlanta for you.
BLACKWELL: Well, thank you guys. Thank you, Alisyn, thank you, Christie, you're watching.
CAMEROTA: Make a wish.
BLACKWELL: Confections. My favorite things.
CAMEROTA: How are you feeling on your -- this is a very big milestone.
BLACKWELL: Do you really (CROSSTALK) coughing the whole show, am I supposed to blow all over this stuff?
CAMEROTA: That's a great, great point. That's a great point.
BLACKWELL: Let me make a wish.
CAMEROTA: Stop, do not do that. Good.
BLACKWELL: Wow, that was good.
CAMEROTA: Wow, that's so great.
BLACKWELL: You got a backup talent.
CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh. So, Victor this is a milestone birthday, I don't know how you're so young.
BLACKWELL: It is.
CAMEROTA: But you are.
BLACKWELL: Moisturize.
CAMEROTA: It's beautiful. And how are you feeling?
BLACKWELL: I am looking forward to my 40s. My 30s were so much better than my 20s. I hope my 40s are better than my 30s.
CAMEROTA: I predict they will be.
BLACKWELL: I am hoping so. Thank you, guys. This was very nice to celebrate my birthday on air. I've got cake, I've got cupcakes.
CAMEROTA: Do we have a fork maybe and knife and plates, Jay? Yes.
BLACKWELL: OK, our producer tells me we can do it later.
CAMEROTA: All right.
BLACKWELL: Thank you so much.
CAMEROTA: OK, have a wonderful birthday.
BLACKWELL: Thank you very much.
CAMEROTA: Have a great time off.
BLACKWELL: I'm not here next week.
CAMEROTA: I know, he's really celebrating. He's really taking this seriously.
BLACKWELL: Don't ask any personal questions. See you a week later.
All right. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts after this break.
CAMEROTA: We'll save you a piece.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
