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Grim Milestone As U.S. Surpasses 700,000 COVID-19 Deaths; New Bodycam Video Sheds Light On Petito-Laundrie Domestic Dispute; Interview With Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) About Infrastructure Bill; Women's March For Reproductive Rights In D.C.; Will YouTube Ban Of Anti-Vaccine Videos Have An Effect? Aired 3-4p ET
Aired October 02, 2021 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:00:04]
JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.
We begin with a growing American tragedy. The United States has now lost 700,000 people to COVID-19. 100,000 of those deaths have come in just the last three and a half months. Despite piles of available vaccine doses that are proven to prevent death. Now vaccines may get a side kick in the COVID fight. Pharmaceutical giant Merck announcing that their antiviral pill cuts hospitalizations and deaths by half, though experts say it won't be a replacement for the vaccines which are even more effective.
It's why vaccine mandates across the country continue to take off literally. Three airlines are adding vaccine requirements for workers, American, Alaska Airlines and JetBlue. And California is now the first state to require COVID-19 vaccination for students who attend classes in person. This comes as the FDA announces it will meet in just a few weeks to discuss data on Pfizer's vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
Let's go to CNN's Polo Sandoval in New York.
Polo, how soon will this vaccine mandate for California soon can take in effect? This could be a big development on all of this.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, especially for parents, too, Jim. And we could see that kick in as early as this fall if all the moving pieces are in place here. One of the big factors here is obviously when we hear from the Food and Drug Administration when it comes to actually addressing the approval or at least the Emergency Use Authorization of some of these vaccines on some of those younger Americans, 11 and under.
So we could potentially see this new requirement be implemented in phases again by this fall when and if that happens. And then we'll see another development here that we're following is Merck's new drug that's been described as a game changer if it is authorized for treatment of COVID patients. This is an oral medication, not a vaccine. This is simply an antiviral that would be meant to administer or at least for some of these patients to take it early after their diagnoses. Scott Gottlieb who's a former head of the FDA calling this not only a
game changer but also extremely promising should it be approved to treat not only fully vaccinated people that experienced those breakthrough cases but also Americans who do not want to get vaccinated. But still when you hear from another expert, Dr. Richard Besser, he's making it very clear, Jim, this is no substitute for getting a vaccine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. RICHARD BESSER, FORMER CDC ACTING DIRECTOR: I'm very excited about a drug going forward to FDA for consideration. We do need better treatments. We do need oral therapy. It's not a replacement for vaccinations. Prevention is the best way to go. But when people get COVID, we need to be able to provide them with better treatments.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: So you have prevention and treatment. Now in terms of prevention, obviously vaccines are critical. This is a snapshot of where the country sits right now. Some of the numbers that we want to show you, this is just -- those Americans ages 18 and up who are eligible for the vaccine, you can see over three quarters are already at least receiving one shot about 67 percent fully vaccinated.
Again, these are American adults 18 and above, and they certainly hope that many of those people that got their first dose will come back to get that second one, which would significantly increase those numbers. Now in terms of hospitalizations, in terms of new cases, all throughout the country we've heard from governors that are sharing reports and numbers that show that they are monitoring a decrease in those statistics. Again very promising here.
Now something to look out for in the coming weeks. The FDA Vaccination Advisory Committee will be meeting in less than two weeks. They'll be tackling a host of different questions here. One of them will be the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 through 11, and then in a couple of weeks here, as you see there, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson boosters. And also most importantly at least one of the other important issues here, so-called mix-and match booster approach.
We're talking, Jim, some of those who have received one vaccine and would perhaps consider another vaccine to boost their protection. These are all big questions that still have to be answered. And it really tells us that you don't necessarily just have to be a parent to have an interest in what's going to be happening among some of these advisory committee members in the coming weeks.
ACOSTA: Certainly a lot of questions on those issues. No question about it.
All right, Polo Sandoval, thanks so much for that important information.
And joining me now is Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dr. Schaffner, great to see you. I want to pause and reflect on the fact that in less than two years, roughly the same number of people have died from COVID in the U.S. than have died in 40 years of HIV and AIDS in the U.S. These numbers are staggering.
DR. WILLIAM SCHAFFNER, PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER: They are, Jim. And then, you know, there are more deaths due to COVID than there were in the famous 1918, 1919 influenza outbreak. So I think it's very important that we continue to work hard to try to curtail this outbreak even more. It's very encouraging that cases are plateauing and going down.
[15:05:03]
But, you know, it's not the same in every state. The states that have high vaccination rates are doing much better than the states with lower vaccination rates. So there are still lots of room for improvement and as Polo said there are lots of things in the works that I think will develop within the next month that will relate both to vaccination, children, boosters for adults, mix and match, and then also this new drug from Merck which will help us on the treatment side.
Prevention is best. But if you happen to get infection, we need better treatments. The monoclonal antibodies that we use now has to be given by injection at certain locations. Here we could actually have patients pick up these pills in their local pharmacies. So much more widely distributed but they're not perfect. At their best, they're 50 percent effective in preventing serious disease. That's an advance. Vaccination, even better.
ACOSTA: Right. I was just about to ask, this is not a replacement for the vaccine, right? I mean, I can see some people, their eyes lighting up with talk of this pill that is being described as a game changer but it's still better to not get COVID to begin with.
SCHAFFNER: Of course. Benjamin Franklin told us that. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
SCIUTTO: Right.
SCHAFFNER: Sure. Much better to prevent the disease than to have to treat it and remember. Treatment is never perfect. There are always limitations.
ACOSTA: And some big news out of California, Doctor. It will be the first state in the nation to require COVID vaccines for students K through 12 to attend schools in person. The mandate will be phased in as the vaccines gain full federal approval for these different age groups. Do you think other states are going to follow suit? I suppose this serves as a reminder that schools require vaccines to begin with. So this is not a revolutionary concept.
SCHAFFNER: Oh, no, the requirement of vaccines has been with us now for decades and decades to attend daycare, school, colleges. If you're in the military, we in healthcare, you know, there are a lot of areas of society where vaccines are required.
This, I think however is a very large step forward. A very large state saying yes, as the FDA gives emergency use authorization to these vaccines, all of the children in the appropriate age groups must then receive the vaccine. That's a giant step forward and frankly has come sooner than I anticipated.
ACOSTA: And Dr. Shaffner, podcaster Joe Rogan, he's once again peddling COVID misinformation to his millions of subscribers. I hate to put this out there but I feel like we put it out there and have you fact check it, it is of great help to us. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ROGAN, PODCASTER: Did you think he got a booster? Do you think that was a real booster?
MIKE BAKER, FORMER CIA OFFICER: You mentioned that before we started talking and I hadn't thought about it before. But you know what, when I watched it on TV, when I watched him, you know, getting his shot and his mask on, all I can think of was this is a performance art. So the next step of the performance art would be like not giving him the booster but just give him a shot. So --
ROGAN: I think if they were going to give him a booster shot, the last thing they would do is give it to him live on television. What if he dies? What if he blacks out? What if he, like, gets it and faints? Because people have had very bad reactions like in the moment for whatever the reasons.
BAKER: Right.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: So, Doctor, these gentlemen are suggesting that the White House faked Biden's booster. What do you think?
SCHAFFNER: Well, I think it's completely incorrect. There were so much confidence in the vaccine that the president himself showed the country that getting a booster is safe and he vouches for its effectiveness and all of us in science stand behind him.
This is a very effective and appropriate thing to do for those who are indicated to get a booster at the present time. And of course, this is a rolling matter because Moderna and Pfizer have their data into the FDA or will be soon in order to get their boosters approved just as Polo said.
ACOSTA: Right. And what's next? They faked the moon landing and everything else, right? I guess that's next.
All right, that's the next week's episode. All right. Dr. Shaffner, thanks so much. we appreciate it. Good talking to you, sir.
SCHAFFNER: Good to be with you, Jim.
ACOSTA: Thanks.
Coming up, President Biden headed to Capitol Hill to save his agenda, vowing he'll get it done and it doesn't matter when. But with no deal on a massive spending bill, should he have gotten more involved sooner? That's next.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: The search for Brian Laundrie is now in week three and authorities seem no closer to finding Gabby Petito's fiance. This as new police bodycam video is lining up with the 911 call made back in August when a bystander called to report a man hitting a woman in Utah. That call is what led police to pulling over Petito and Laundrie. And one of them, that may have been one of the last times Petito was ever seen.
CNN's Leyla Santiago has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEYLA SANTIAGO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Newly obtained video gives insights on the state of Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie's relationship and cross-country road trip.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, we got a call about a male hitting a female.
SANTIAGO: This additional footage from an officer's body camera from an August 12th stop in Moab, Utah, after witnesses reported a fight between the couple.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened here and here?
GABBY PETITO, VICTIM: I'm not sure, it was --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First name Brian --
PETITO: I was just trying to get in the back of the back and his backpack was on the back.
[15:15:07]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the backpack got you?
SANTIAGO: But then their story changed when police brought up witnesses who said they saw Brian hit her.
PETITO: Well, to be honest, I definitely hit him first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he -- did he hit you, though? I mean, it's OK if you're saying you hit him and then I understand if he hit you but we want to know the truth if he actually hit you. Because you know --
PETITO: I guess, yes. But I hit him first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where did he hit you? Don't worry, just be honest.
PETITO: Well, he like grabbed my face like this. He didn't like hit me in the fact, like he didn't like punch me in the face or anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he slap your face or what?
PETITO: Well, like, he grabbed me like with his nail, and I guess that's why it looks -- I definitely have a cut right here because I can it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
PETITO: When I touch it, it burns.
SANTIAGO: Police say the evidence all suggested that Gabby was the lead aggressor in the situation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So at this point you're the victim of domestic assault?
SANTIAGO: Rather than charge Gabby, which both made clear they did not want, officers decided to just separate the two for the night. Criminologist Casey Jordan says that was a bad idea.
CASEY JORDAN, CRIMINOLOGIST AND BEHAVIORAL ANALYST: They have labeled her the primary aggressor. And she is just distraught. She can't stop crying. He's 20 feet away smirking. And obviously, you know, the 911 phone call said that he was the primary aggressor. So there was more that needed to be sassed out.
SANTIAGO: But in Utah, the law regarding domestic violence cases clearly states the primary duty is for the officer to protect the victim and enforce the law.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In no way shape or form that I can perceive what happened here, a little slap fight between fiancees who love each other and want to be together. Can I perceive that this is going to digress into the situation where he's going to be a battered man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But then again I don't have a crystal ball.
SANTIAGO: Two weeks later, Brian returned home to his parents' house in Florida without his fiancee. As seen in this documents obtained by CNN, a day before Laundrie returned home, his mother cancelled a camping trip reservation for September 1st for two people, then made a new win for September 6th to include a third person. But where he is today remains a mystery.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And Jim Clemente joins me now. He's a former FBI profiler, a former prosecutor and writer-producer for "Criminal Minds" on CBS.
Jim, thanks for being with us. This new body cam video that we were just taking a look at, there's been a lot of criticism that the officers may have missed some textbook signs of abuse. When you watch it, what does your FBI training and experience tell you and can we really give these officers that hard of a time when I'm sure they just deal with these kinds of situations all the time?
JIM CLEMENTE, RETIRED FBI PROFILER: Yes, I don't think we need to give them such a hard time. But I think we should use it as a learning opportunity. I mean, there were signs here, nuance signs. Of course, of control, that is that she kind of took on all the blame. He put all blame on her. But there are definitely places where he was caught lying and they didn't pick up on it. The fact that he said she yanked the steering wheel. She actually leaned on his arm.
The fact that he said he was -- they were both going to go for a walk. But actually the witnesses say that he was in the vehicle and locking her out, and trying to get her phone, and hitting her. So all those things add up to me that this is an abusive relationship but he's the aggressor, he's the one trying to control her, and she is actually being controlled by him, which is why she didn't want to call out what he had done to her.
ACOSTA: Yes, I think it's puzzling how the officers just sort of automatically took his word for it in the situation when clearly she looks distraught in that video.
Let me move on to something else. CNN obtained a record showing that Brian Laundrie's mother cancelled a camping reservation made for two people right before Brian returned home without Gabby. She then made a new reservation later than week for three people and Laundrie went with them as to the sister's. How important do you think that camping trip is going to be in all of this? It sounds strange.
CLEMENTE: It does sound strange to me, Jim. Basically, if you know a young lady who lives with you is missing, not missing down the block or missing around the corner, but missing over 2,000 miles away. And then you decide to go on a camping trip, knowing that she's not around, not know what's happened to her, not telling her parents that you don't know where she is. That's some really suspicious behavior to me, and it tells me that either they had no concern at all about her or (INAUDIBLE) what her fate was.
ACOSTA: And what do you make of the fact that Brian Laundrie bought a new phone right after he returned from what we understand but then left it behind? It sounds like he's on the run.
CLEMENTE: Yes. The fact that he bought a new phone, you know, people get burner phones all the time, a phone that isn't necessarily attributed to him.
[15:20:06]
But he went to AT&T to get this phone so it sounds like this is a phone with a plan. The thing is, he could have taken out the SIM card from that phone and left the phone there. And then plug that SIM card into any other phone that accepts the SIM and use that phone wherever the hell he is. And I think that maybe what happened here. The fact that the FBI now
have the phone doesn't mean that he didn't take it with him and leave it in his car, at the preserve where his car was found. I think there's a lot of information that the family isn't sharing and unfortunately it just opens up more and more questions about their behavior.
ACOSTA: And there have been so many theories about where he could be. As a former FBI profiler, how do you narrow these down? Do you have any answers?
CLEMENTE: I do. You know, with the time that's elapsed and the fact that nobody had seen him in a location that they thought he was in, I think he could have made it to the Appalachian trail. That's 2200 miles of trails through mountains and ravines, there are caves, there are valleys, there are thick wooded places where he could hide.
People spend months there on the camping trails. And I think that is probably the kind of location where he will be found. He'll eventually have to come forward to get food or water or he will just be seen by somebody passing by.
ACOSTA: Yes, I would assume by this point he has run across, if he's still alive and on the run, that he has run across another human being and because of the nature of this case and so many people have talked about it and had seen it, I would have to think somebody has recognized him. But what about this search at the Carleton Nature Reserve in Florida? Was that just a waste of time?
CLEMENTE: Well, if it rules out him being there, then it wasn't a waste of time. Because that had to be done. It was the last known place where he was reportedly seen or where he was traveling to. So you have to rule it out. It just happens to be a very difficult place to search.
And there's a lot of perils there, the water, the animals, so we don't know if he was there and met his demise, or if he went -- and if he used that as a diversionary tactic like he did leaving the van where Gabby's body was and then hitchhiking away from it. It could very well be that that Mustang was left there because he actually went in the opposite direction.
ACOSTA: And Gabby Petito's family attorney, they made a direct plea to Brian Laundrie this week. Let's listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD STAFFORD, PETITO FAMILY ATTORNEY: For the Laundrie's silence, the Laundries did not help us find Gabby. They sure is not going to help us find Brian.
For Brian, we're asking you to turn yourself in to the FBI or the nearest law enforcement agency.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) ACOSTA: That attorney also said the FBI had asked them not to discuss the relationship between the Petitos and the Laundries. Why would that be?
CLEMENTE: Well, certain information you want to hold back. If they give all this information out over the air, then Brian or somebody who wants to help Brian will be aware of that. And it's something very necessary to really limit the information out there so you can actually conduct the investigation, have positive results in the investigation, and not taint a further criminal investigation or a criminal case after that.
ACOSTA: All right, Jim Clemente, thank you so much for those insights, that expertise. Great talking to you. Appreciate it very much. Take care.
The infrastructure vote is officially on hold blocked by progressive Democrats in the House, who say they won't pass it until they reached a deal with moderates in the Senate over a second larger spending bill. What are their must-haves, what are they willing to give up. We'll ask the vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:28:29]
ACOSTA: President Biden acknowledging everyone is frustrated amid Democratic infighting on two massive spending bills that are the center piece of his domestic agenda. He made a trip up to Capitol Hill on Friday after progressives blocked a vote on a trillion-dollar infrastructure plan. The president now telling his party to take as much time as they need to negotiate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm telling you, we're going to get this done.
(CROSSTALK)
BIDEN: It does not matter when. It doesn't matter whether it's in six minutes, six days or six weeks. We're going to get it done.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Sticking point is that progressives want action on a larger social safety net first, the plan for that first, and they want to spend $3.5 trillion over 10 years to expand Medicare and other programs. But moderates like Senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, they want nowhere near close to that amount.
And so the question remains, can they meet somewhere in the middle?
Joining me now to talk about this is Democratic congresswoman and vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas.
Congresswoman, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it. As you know the chair of your progressive caucus, Pramila Jayapal, she says progressives are willing to negotiate a lower price tag. What do you think about that? Are you ready to start negotiating maybe middle or closer to the middle?
[15:30:00]
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D-TX): Well, Jim, we're prepared to do what's best for the American people.
But let me, first of all, say to you and the American people what progressives did and have done is to ensure that the agenda of the president of the United States is carried forward.
He reenforced that many times in our meeting yesterday that progressives reenforced, the Democratic caucus reenforced what he committed to the American people which is Build Back Better.
An opportunity to build the economy of people who are all the essential workers and the federal Medicaid program or affordable housing. That's what we did.
In addition, we provided the vote along with Democrats to ensure the debt ceiling and to the extent that we did not get call on our bills, and bipartisan.
And as well, we continue to see that the government operated to what we call a continued resolution.
Democrats know how to govern. That's what we'll do going forward. We are always open to discussion. We don't like numbers but we like to know about program.
If I might, we have priorities, lowering drug costs and affordable housing. It's such a high degree of homeless. People are priced out of housing.
We want to make sure we reenforce fighting the climate crisis, which is really coming down on us quickly.
And so, we want to make sure when we do discuss numbers, we are not talking about a random cut. We can't do that with programs that deals with drug pricing or Medicaid program or housing. You can't do that when you are thinking about ensuring these programs last.
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Can you get anywhere near -- can you get anywhere near the $1.5 trillion figure that Joe Manchin is talking about?
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: Or is he going to have to come up a lot higher than that? JACKSON LEE: Well, what I will say is that we have such great leaders
in the house that we have a commitment and have reality that this will be paid for.
And the numbers are way above $1.5 trillion. In fact, the $3.5 trillion will be paid for. Any numbers under that will be paid for because of the way we orchestrated the pay-for or the ability to ensure that there will be no debt to the American people.
The real question is -- I know everyone wants a number. We want programs. If we get the programs, we'll look at how the numbers fall.
We hope our friends in the Senate, our Republican friends, all of them, will be as concern as their constituents in West Virginia, Arizona, that needs childcare and affordable housing, that need pre-K, that needs lower drug costs.
And we think, if they are, two years of free tuition because Americans most of high school graduates outstanding, and we know they'd like to do that.
If they do that and we know we can find common ground, the Democrats can govern. And just as the president says, it's a great phrase, six minutes, six days or six weeks, we'll get it done.
We'll be working in this time frame, looking at programs, looking at numbers. And we are not going to get the American people down. President Biden won't let them down.
And President Biden --
(CROSSTALK)
ACOSTA: If you don't mind, Congresswoman, I think you all have been working on it for about six months. At some point, you have to get something passed.
And you know, Kirsten Sinema, the Senator from Arizona, she was just putting out a statement a little while ago saying that she's deeply disappointed as to what is happening with this bipartisan infrastructure bill, that that is now being held up in all of this.
Are you worried about perhaps depriving the president of a solid legislative victory by digging in and demanding this much-larger spending bill, while it may include many useful and helpful programs, by demanding that that be passed first?
Why not just give President Biden a win with the bipartisan infrastructure bill? Get that out of the way?
JACKSON LEE: Jim, that's a very question.
Because the deal was, when we started, even with the president, even in his campaign, even when it was presented to us, it was couple and it was a group effort.
It was the infrastructure bill, the investment that all of us want, and it was also the bill, Build Back America.
So we don't think we are in default on any commitment. We are, in fact, enhancing the president's ability and commitment.
What I would like to say is I have not condemned anyone I applauded all of those who have been engaged. I applaud their work. I applaud their work on the investment. It's solid. It's there. It's not going anywhere.
All we need do is to work with the Senate to finalize a Build Back Better and we'll have a pack to serve all of America.
(CROSSTALK)
JACKSON LEE: That, in fact, it will do many, many things. And we'll be good together.
[15:35:18]
ACOSTA: Congresswoman, there are some in your party who are saying the president should have gotten involved sooner, that he should have got involved sooner. Do you agree with that?
And I know you may not directly answer that question. Let me ask you this way.
Is it time for President Biden to get more involved now? Is he going to make repeated trips up on Capitol Hill? Should we see the vice president involved?
JACKSON LEE: Let me tell you this, you know that a man that's spent much of his life in the United States Senate is a friend and not afraid of either House.
So I know the president has been in meetings around the clock. I would like to seven days a week. I don't have his calendar. I know he's been engaged in conversations, meetings, one-on-one meetings in the Oval Office. I think he has not stopped.
Let me say what will come about the next couple days. Everyone will be digging in, making sure we are listening the each other and we got the program that's going to serve the American people.
It does not make sense to shallow out, hollow out the Build Back Better. And then have rigor mortis.
And not having the ability to help people who we have touted during these difficult COVID days, the taxi drivers or the Uber drivers of the assistance, the care workers, the caretakers.
So I think we are on solid ground. I know this looks pretty interesting as it relates to national media. But legislative work and sausage making, when we come out, we'll have a civil right that's like that 1965 Voting Rights Act.
We have Medicaid and Medicare. We have the housing and urban development where we focus on housing. Now, we have to reenforced all of that with a new era 21st century legislation.
As you well know, Jim, you can't come out with a half-baked loaf of bread. You have to have a whole loaf in order for you to enjoy it.
We are not in any way stopping the president's agenda. We are providing and facilitating for it.
I expect the president will be involved and every member of his team as they have been. We'll all be involved. We may take a moment. But all of us are listening and talking about it.
I am on a budget committee. We worked all last Saturday, all day, in order to get this Build Back America out. That's not stopping things. That's helping to move it forward.
Our speaker is constantly engaged and telling us we need to be out there, dealing with the budget last week and we brought it out. We are ready.
Now we must look at a number that we did not expect. We're not saying that we are not going to continue. We are going to continue but we are doing it on programs. We can't do across the board.
So we can't see to the number until we look at the program and work with all the perks.
I would say this to them, let the Senate go and get the program or budget done and let us look at that and go forward.
ACOSTA: All right.
JACKSON LEE: And we'll have the House votes and we'll be ready for the president to move forward.
ACOSTA: All right, and we'll be watching all of those loaves of bread and sausages making.
Congresswoman Jackson Lee, thank you so much. We appreciate it.
JACKSON LEE: Good to be with you. It's going to get done.
ACOSTA: All right, we'll watch.
[15:38:52]
And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[15:43:30]
ACOSTA: Right now, hundreds of marches are taking place all across the U.S. in support of women's reproduction rights. Demonstrations are in response to the new very anti-abortion laws in Texas. And they're happening just two days before the new Supreme Court returns.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is at the women's march here in Washington, D.C., expected to be the biggest rally today.
Susanne, what are you seeing down there?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, this is ground zero. We are in front of the Supreme Court right now. You can see officers protecting the building outside.
The counter protesters have been offering prayers and song.
For some of the Supreme Court justices, you see in front as well.
More of the Capitol Hill police are out there. And essentially, they're out here to separate these two groups. There was no incidents.
But swing your camera over there. About a block over the east capitol, that's where the women's marchers continue to chant and make speeches.
But it's pretty much dwindled down. It's all about abortion rights, reproductive rights, and the Supreme Court rules in all of this as well as that Texas law banning abortion after six weeks.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am dressed up as the late Ruth Badder Ginsburg. I am here today for everything that women have fought for since 1973 when this law was passed, giving us the right to choose.
I am curious what has changed in that time frame that makes our Supreme Court justices think we have changed our minds about that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm Lady Justice. And I believe that it stands for the fact that justice should be blind and without bias. And there's really bias in the Supreme Court, extremely political bias.
[15:45:11]
So why I am here today, the things that's going on in Texas really drove me here today.
MALVEAUX: And the Supreme Court refused to get involved in that Texas law. But they'll be involved in a Mississippi case, Jim. That's what all eyes are on.
The Supreme Court will be back on Monday. And both sides want to make it very clear, their position, their very strong positions on this controversial issue -- Jim?
ACOSTA: They're getting creative to get their point across. That was very interesting stuff.
Suzanne Malveaux, thank you so much for that report. We appreciate it.
Coming up, does the YouTube ban on COVID misinformation comes too late? Donie O'Sullivan talks to a former engineer who worked on their algorithm.
Plus, an all-new season of "THIS IS LIFE," Lisa Ling explores historical events that changed America but are rarely found in history books. "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING" premieres next Sunday, October 10th, only on CNN.
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ACOSTA: Days after YouTube banned disinformation about COVID and other vaccines on the Web sites, there remains the question of what that affect can really have this far into the pandemic.
CNN's Donie O'Sullivan spoke to a former Google employee who worked on the YouTube algorithm about how misinformation spreads and what could come next.
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GUILLAUME CHASLOT, WORKED WITH YOUTUBE: Our main goal was to keep the viewer watching as long as possible, because the longer they watch YouTube, the more ads we can show them.
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER: And it didn't matter if it was B.S. videos about vaccines, it didn't matter if it was disinformation, as long as people were watching videos?
CHASLOT: We didn't really care about information, if it was true or not.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): YouTube announced they would crack down more on vaccine misinformation. But almost two years into the pandemic, the news left many asking, what took them so long?
CHASLOT: Well, it should have been done 10 years ago. I mean, by the design of the algorithm, you could investigate but the company was raising a lot of money.
O'SULLIVAN: The company saying it will now ban well-known false claims about approved vaccines, including that they will cause autism, cancer or infertility, or that substances in vaccines can track those who receive them.
DR. SHERRY TENPENNY: I'm sure you've seen the pictures all over the Internet of people who have had these shot and now they're magnetized. You can put a key on their head and it sticks. They can put spoons and forks all over them and now they stick.
O'SULLIVAN: That's anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, Sherry Tenpenny, who, despite a history of unhinged claims like that, was only recently suspended by YouTube.
RENEE DIRESTA, RESEARCH MANAGER, STANFORD INTERNET OBSERVATORY: It's about content. It's about consequences. These - this disinformation, when it takes hold in communities, it can have a profound impact. O'SULLIVAN: And taken hold it has. Sheery Tenpenny's conspiracy
theories have spread far and wide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My own doctor tried to get me to get the shot. And I told him to go watch Dr. Tenpenny.
O'SULLIVAN (on camera): So you trust this woman on the Internet more than your own doctor?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I do.
O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Another super-spreader of COVID misinformation only found by YouTube this week, Joseph Mercola, who have almost half a million followers on the platform.
DR. JOSEPH MERCOLA, MERCOLA.COM: It's an unapproved vaccine. It's being accelerated and eliminated virtually every safety study.
O'SULLIVAN: Merola has almost two million followers on Facebook and more than 300,000 on Twitter. We asked him about the YouTube ban and he said in a statement, he was being censored, an attack on his freedom of speech.
Plus, the conspiracy theorists had little to say when confronted by CNN's Randi Kaye in August.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you feel responsible for people not getting vaccinated because they got sick and died because of what you've told them about the vaccine?
What do you say to families who lost loved ones?
O'SULLIVAN: Companies like YouTube have spent too much time focusing on growth and not enough on safety, says this former Google engineer, who worked with YouTube.
CHASLOT: When you start with one anti-vaccine, for instance, the algorithm is designed to recognize similar videos that share the same interest and will propose more and more anti-vaccine videos.
When I started to work on YouTube, I thought I would they would help, make the world a better place. And get people to learn more information.
But they have an algorithm that doesn't take into account truths, realizing that sometimes it took people down this rabbit hole of misinformation.
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ACOSTA: Our thanks to Donie for that report.
As "CNN Heroes" marks its 15th anniversary, Maria Rose Belding explains how being named a top-10 hero in 2018 helped her get food to those who needed it most.
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MARIA ROSE BELDING, CNN HERO: I was 14 when I started building MEANS. I was 23 when we were honored and to get this award.
And to have our work shown in its full breadth was just so incredible. And it really changed the narrative that we've been up against that we were just kids. This was just a club.
But no, our entire hearts and souls were poured into what we were doing at MEANS and we were having this large-scale national impact.
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Since then, our budget has more than quadrupled. We were able to, thanks to a pretty great grant, invest more than $4.1 million in small restaurants across nine U.S. cities.
And I'm so grateful for all the opportunities that heroes opened up for all of us. So thank you and congratulations on 15 incredible years.
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ACOSTA: Fifteen years of everyday people making the world a better place. Go to CNN Heroes.com for more information.
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