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FBI Issues Arrest Warrant for Gabby Petito's Fiancee; At Least On Dead, 14 Wounded in Tennessee Mass Shooting; Dispute over School Mask Mandate Escalates in Florida; Biden Meets with Democrats As Agenda Thanks in the Balance; leaders of Japan, U.S., Australia, India To Me Today; Millions and Northeast under Flash Flood Watch; Golf's Ryder Cup Just Hours Away. Aired 4:30-5a ET
Aired September 24, 2021 - 04:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[04:30:00]
AMARA WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here at the Carlton Reserve on Friday.
In Venice, Florida, Amara Walker, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Now, CNN spoke earlier with a former FBI profiler about what it means for the investigation now that an arrest warrant has been issued for Laundrie connected to his activities following Petito's death. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM CLEMENTE, FORMER FBI PROFILER: I think they want to lock in two things. An indictment gives them the ability to get an arrest warrant, which is something that they need to actually really kick in a number of resources to try to track him down. The grand jury that they convened gives them grand jury subpoena power so they can get more records and so forth. But it also locks down anybody from helping him now. Once charges are filed, you can file an obstruction of justice charge against those persons that help him continue to be on the lam.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: At least one person is dead and 14 others wounded after a mass shooting at a Kroger grocery store near Memphis, Tennessee. Police say the shooter is also dead, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Some employees hid in freezers or locked themselves in offices when shots first rang out. Have a listen to how one cashier described the chaos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIGNETTA DICKERSON, KROGER GROCERY STORE EMPLOYEE: First started in the deli and I heard some gunshots. We thought it was balloons popping. So, when it kept on going, we said, no, that's gunshots. And he kept on shooting, shooting, shooting. He shot one of my coworkers in the head and then shot one of the customers in the stomach. And then my other customer got kind of like cuts because of the asphalt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Tawana French was in the Kroger parking lot about to walk into the store when the shooting began. She spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper about that terrifying experience.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TAWANA FRENCH, GROCERY STORE SHOOTING WITNESS: I arrived at Kroger during my lunch break, and as I approached the door, before I actually entered the door, a family, a lady with like four children rushed the door, pushing three in front of her and dragging one behind her, falling on the ground and screaming at the children to just run, just run.
And a man out of the door right at the same time that she came out, and in a split second. I hear gunfire, like four shots. That was my key to --
ANDERSON COOPER CNN ANCHOR: And knew right away it was gunfire.
FRENCH: Yes.
COOPER: So, you're standing near the doors. What did you do?
FRENCH: I turn around, go back to towards the parking lot to my car. Before I could get to my car, maybe five or six cars down the parking lot. I hear gunfire again. And it was what seemed like a lot of gunfire in quick succession like pow, pow, pow, pow, pow, pow. And I just wanted to leave that space. I wanted to leave. And at this point I --
COOPER: And that was coming from inside the store still?
FRENCH: Yes, well, I was not inside. I was inside the first doors, and before I actually stepped inside the store, that's when I heard the gunfire. I was on my way inside the store and the gunfire happened, and I immediately turned around.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: French added that this particular Kroger is always crowded. According to police, 44 people were working when the shooting took place.
Now, the U.S. president takes his biggest step yet towards uniting Indo-Pacific allies and countering China. After the break we're live in Beijing with reaction to what's being called a "diamond of democracies."
Also, a mask mandate becomes an explosive issue at a school district in Florida. So much so that some parents had a go at school officials.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Masks are affecting some children mentally and are causing them social anxieties, mental health issues, affecting personal relationships, and romances in older students.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your power-hungry dictatorship has gotten out of control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[04:35:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Updating you now on the breaking news. Pfizer COVID booster shots can now be officially administered to millions of adults in the U.S. Just after midnight, the CDC director approved a booster dose in people 65 and older and residents in long-term care facilities. But also, for those aged 18 and over with underlying health conditions and those at high risk because of their occupation.
Now, as vaccine boosters get the nod from the CDC, face masks remain a big no for some Americans. Case in point. A school district in Florida, which wants to mandate masks for children, but as Nick Valencia reports, that is not going down well with some parents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT ROSETTO, PARENT OPPOSED TO MASK MANDATE: Today was my son's last day in public school with the school district of Palm Beach County. And I couldn't be happier.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Upset parents confronted the Palm Beach County School Board Wednesday night over the district's mask mandate. A crowd of parents, some who sat for hours to be heard, blasted the school board for defying Florida's Republican governor with a no-opt-out mask mandate and instituting scientifically proven COVID mitigation protocols. No one spoke in favor of masking. And some who did speak couldn't contain their anger.
SANDY SULLIVAN, PARENT OPPOSED TO MASK MANDATE: You need to step up and shine your own (BLEEP) light. This is ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn off the microphone. Watch the language, ma'am.
VALENCIA (voice-over): DeSantis issued an executive order earlier this year blocking mask mandates in schools. That order was upheld in a federal court earlier this month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, may I have more clarification? May I speak with you, I have more questions.
VALENCIA (voice-over): At least two people were escorted out for disrupting the meeting, including this woman who says the decision of masking students should be left up to parents.
VALENCIA: Do you worry at all that your children might get the virus, that not wearing a mask might spread the virus?
SULLIVAN: I feel that from what I can gather, that if they did catch the virus, it's not so bad in children.
[04:40:00]
VALENCIA (voice-over): According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, nationwide there were nearly 226,000 new cases of COVID-19 reported among children during the week that ended September 16. Public health officials warn COVID-19 cases could continue to rise now that so many schools have returned to in-person learning.
DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FBI COMMISSIONER: We see more infections, more outbreaks in school settings. And so, that's going to continue to build. Schools will become sources of spread here in the Northeast as well.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Like in New York where public school in East Harlem was forced to return to virtual for more than a week after at least 19 COVID-19 cases were identified among staff.
Districts with no mask mandate are of particular concern to health officials. In Ohio, the governor is urging superintendents to require masks for students and staff after the state saw a 44 percent increase in cases among school-age children in early September.
GOV. MIKE DEWINE (R-OH): There's no place that you can run from the COVID. Every school district is surrounded by numbers of cases that are very, very high.
DR. STEPHEN PATRICK, VANDERBILT CENTER FOR CHILD HEALTH POLICY: We are seeing record cases in children that are school age across the country.
VALENCIA (voice-over): Dr. Stephen Patrick of Vanderbilt University said measures like masking, social distancing, and proper ventilation can all help reduce infections among kids. Something he says should be a top priority.
PATRICK: What we're saying is help us out. Help us parents, help us local school districts protect our kids, protect our communities and take the burden off of our children's hospitals and our hospitals as a whole.
VALENCIA (voice-over): But in parts of Florida, like Palm Beach County, it's not that easy. Especially for these parents who say their children are being bullied and intimidated into following school rules. About 30 police officers were on hand at the meeting, which included comments from some small children in the district eager to return to normal.
EVA SILVESTRI, STUDENT: It's just ridiculous that we shouldn't have to wear if we don't want to. You were all not my parents and you shouldn't be the ones making my health decisions. Thank you.
VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: Well, the U.S. government technically runs out of money at the end of this month unless Congress acts pretty quickly. A U.S. Senate vote is expected Monday to avoid a shutdown, but progressives are getting impatient over the slow pace of their ambitious domestic agenda. The precise details and price tag have yet to be worked out. But Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer says White House and Congressional Democrats at least agree on how to pay for it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY) U.S. SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: The White House, the House and the Senate have reached agreement on a framework that will pay for any final negotiated agreement. So, the revenue side of this we have an agreement on. OK. Thank you. The framework, an agreement of a framework.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The political stakes for President Biden are enormous with that looming shutdown just days away. We get the latest from CNN's Phil Mattingly at the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIL MATTINGLY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: For President Biden's domestic agenda there was no question this was a huge week. Next week is going to be even bigger. What happens in between, very much an open question. The president on Wednesday held nearly five hours of meetings with 23 Democrats, House members, Senate members, the Democratic leaders, trying to at least lay the groundwork for some kind of breakthrough to actually break through on the impasse between moderates and progressives that has been really almost killing this proposal up to this point over the course of the last several weeks.
Now, there is no deal and there certainly wasn't a deal the day after either. What you heard and what you saw was a lot of follow-up, intensive follow-up behind the scenes I'm told from White House officials, and the Congressional counterparts. But also, a public announcement. A public announcement of an agreement on a framework of a menu of options to finance that eventual deal. Now that is a very small step in a process that needs several big steps going forward. But it is a component of the process. Still, White House very clear it's part of a process. Take a listen.
JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Now, I think as you may understand, it's important to have those discussions with the range of important leaders, including Senator Sinema and Senator Manchin, a range of members, about what those menu of options of revenue raisers look like. That's exactly the process that's going to happen over the short term.
MATTINGLY: Here's the reality at least at this moment as the president's the entire agenda really hangs in the balance. House Democratic leaders have promised a vote on the $1.2 trillion Senate passed infrastructure bill on September 27. That's on Monday. That is just a few days away. Moderates want that. Progressives have said they will kill that bill if there isn't significant progress to the point of passing the second piece of the agenda, $3.5 trillion economic and climate plan.
That is nowhere near happening right now, and that is the basis for all of the behind-the-scenes conversations that are happening feverishly at the moment. The goal is to make as much progress as possible before Monday.
[04:45:30]
That is obviously working behind the scenes. The president I'm told will likely be involved again in short order. His staff obviously intensively engaged. There is a lot of urgency right now, but also a recognition -- as one Democratic lawmaker told me earlier today, this is too big to fail. This is too important for Democrats who ran on these issues, who know they're going to have to run for reelection on these issues and don't want to leave with nothing to show for their time in the Senate majority, House majority, and with their president in the oval office.
That is kind of what's looming over everything right now. Even in the rocky moment of these negotiations it's something White House officials believe will eventually carry the day. Still, it's very clear there is a significant amount of work if they want to get things across the finish line.
Phil Mattingly, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, just in a matter of hours, the leaders of the so-called quad countries will converge on the White House. India, Australia, Japan, and the U.S. working to deepen cooperation and provide a counter balance to China in the Indo-Pacific. Steven Jiang is live in Beijing with reaction. This group's met virtually before. This is the first time in person. China at the top of the agenda.
STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: That's right, Michael. And you know, this mechanism really evolved from informal discussions of possible coordination and cooperation on regional policies to this more urgent dialogue on strategic issues in the region involving the highest level of the four countries really is because of China. And even though in a lot of their public statements they don't even mention this country, but Beijing's leadership understands this.
I mean, officially they are still sticking to their talking points, rejecting this so-called closed and exclusive clicks that are products of the Cold War mentality, and saying organizations or mechanisms like this are doomed to fail. But in state media we have seen much harsher language. For example, in the "Global Times," insisting that the quad is incapable of inflicting any real harm to China because, in their words, the U.S. always abandons its allies like trash when it comes to defending its own interests. But also warning the other three members not to go too far in following the U.S. anti-China push or risk becoming in their words again, cannon fodder when China fights back. This kind of rhetoric aside, though, it's really China's increasingly
aggressive policies and actions in the region that have been really pushing these four members closer and closer together. And this is especially true on the security front with the Chinese People's Liberation Army, for example, building all those manmade islands and militarizing them and clashing with Japan in the East China Sea. Increasingly intruding into Taiwan's air defense zone, not to mention these border skirmishes with India and its expansion of influence in the Indian Ocean. So, I think all those developments really means security is likely to be top of their minds when these four leaders meet in the White House on Friday -- Michael.
And all four major trading powers with China that they're trying to reign in. Steven, thanks so much. Good to see you, Steven Jiang there.
Well, heavy rain created flood risks for parts of the U.S. Northeast. The latest on the dangerous weather conditions. People are facing millions of them when we come back.
[04:50:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, evacuations underway in La Palma in Spain in the Canary Islands as a volcano erupts for a sixth straight day. Hellish scenes -- look at that there -- as lava has destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes and businesses along with banana crops. And officials expect it to continue to erupt for days. Experts say the floe has not slowed and hasn't yet reached the ocean. In some places, the lava wall stands as high as 12 meters. That's around 38 feet. So far, no injuries or deaths have been reported, fortunately.
Millions of people, meanwhile, in the U.S. Northeast are under a flash flood watch, and the powerful storm is picking up steam in the Atlantic. Meteorologist Derek Van Dam has the latest.
DEREK VAN DAM, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It has been a soggy past 24 hours across the Northeastern U.S. Look at some of the rainfall totals here, exceeding 2 1/2 inches in portions of Virginia, upwards of 2 inches for Pennsylvania as well as New York. And you can see just on the radar estimated rainfall lighting up like a Christmas tree over the past 24 hours. It's picked up on some of that heavy rainfall as it continued to band in over some of the major metropolitan areas of D.C., Philadelphia, Baltimore as well as New York.
And the threat isn't quite gone just yet. In fact, we still have roughly about 4 million people under a flood watch as we speak. You can see that indicated across southern New York state. Western Massachusetts, into portions of Connecticut. Even into Long Island as well. But these are starting to diminish with time, which is good news.
Because the cold front responsible for the training thunderstorms that brought the flash flooding actually moving offshore here within the course of the day. It's actually going to welcome in some much cooler temperatures behind it as well. We've got another system, potent system moving across the Great Lakes
that will bring showers and thunderstorms to the area. But really the big story here is the cool autumn temperatures over the Eastern U.S.
And then, of course, the tropics. We have to talk about how busy it is. We've just passed the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, but now we focus in on what is tropical storm Sam, and it is gaining intensity and strength very quickly, 70 mile per hour sustained winds. The storm still several hundred miles off the Windward Islands. It is moving west at 15 miles per hour and it is anticipated to continue to rapidly intensify in the coming days. In fact, becoming a major hurricane by this weekend.
And we are going to keep a very close eye on the exact direction of this storm, where it goes, the finer details still need to be ironed out. But this is one to watch for the potential of land falling impacts within the seven to ten-daytime frame. That's it from me.
HOLMES: Derek Van Dam, thanks.
[04:55:00]
The Ryder Cup is just hours away as the United States and Europe prepare to battle it out on the links. And Barcelona's woes continue in La Liga. CNN Sports Don Riddell has that and more in a minute of sports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Michael, the Ryder Cup is almost upon us. In the coming hours, the United States will be teeing off against Europe, at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. It is always one of the most exciting events in world sport. This one should be no exception.
Expect fireworks right from the oft. Europe is sending out their big guns first in the morning foursomes. World number one Jon Rahm and his Spanish compatriot Sergio Garcia, the events record points scorer, and they're going up against Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. Europe are the under dogs. But they have won seven of the last nine Ryder Cups.
And Thursday night's NFL action, the Carolina Panthers beat the Houston Texans. Sam Darnold scoring a couple of touchdowns as the Panthers maintain their perfect start to the season. They're 3-0.
And in La Liga, Barcelona remain unbeaten. But the Catalan giants are having a miserable time. Cadiz had to settle for a goalless draw against the minos (ph) of Fati, and they had a player and their manager Ronald Koeman sent off. And they are tenth in the table. It's not going to be getting easier any time soon. Barcelona played both Madrid clubs next month. Back to you, Michael.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, our thanks there to Don Riddell.
And thank you for watching. I'm Michael Holmes. Have appreciated your company. "EARLY START" is next after a quick break.
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