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President Biden Speaks At National Peace Officers Memorial Service; Democratic Senators Joe Manchin And Kyrsten Sinema Still Holding Up Senate Reconciliation Bill; One Police Officer Killed And Two Others Hospitalized After Shooting In Houston, Texas; British Lawmaker Fatally Stabbed At Meeting With Voters; South Carolina Attorney Alex Murdaugh Facing New Charges Of Embezzling Millions Of Dollars From Settlement; Former President Bill Clinton In Hospital For Treatment Of Urinary Tract Infection; Gas Prices Rise In States Across U.S. Aired 2-3p ET

Aired October 16, 2021 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:00:00]

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Joe Biden as consoler in chief, he's one who knows given the grief he's faced in his own life, speaking to the families and the survivors of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty over the last year.

The president also made a reference to the situation in Houston, Texas, where three sheriff's deputies were shot, one killed, just over the last 24 hours or so. The president also speaking very briefly on policy matters, including gun control, but mostly to the families, and expressing his own concern in a way really only Joe Biden can, Fred.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: And then, tough transition, because the president is moved by what is taking place. But at the same time, perhaps in the back of his mind, or now the front of his mind now that he's made his way back to the White House, is his economic agenda and what kind of obstacles are in his way.

JOHNS: That's absolutely right. And one thing seems pretty clear, the White House, Democrats up on Capitol Hill and the president, are at least prodding if not pressuring those key moderates, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, even Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, to get on board or at least give some guidance as to what it's going to take to get the big social safety net legislation over the finish line.

What seems clear, at least at the moment, is that the $3.5 trillion topline number is going to come down. Not clear exactly what that final number will be, certainly, at this point.

But we do know the president has been trying to reach out, trying to make the point, along with other Democrats, that time is running out, not only because the surface transportation bill expires at the end of the month, but also because of the governors' races in both Virginia and New Jersey, progressive voters might need some type of demonstration of deliverables in order to be energized to go to the polls. Listen to what the president said yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The question is, how much of what is important do we get into the legislation. I'm of the view that it's important to establish the principle on a whole range of issues without guaranteeing you get the whole 10 years. So what happens is you pass the principle, and you build on it, if in fact it either works or it doesn't work.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: There are some on the left who are trying to be a bit more aggressive with these moderate senators than the White House necessarily is being. That of course, would include Bernie Sanders. However, Sanders and others have been in Congress for a while, will remember 2001 when a Republican from Vermont, his home state, Sanders' home state, flipped parties from Republican to Independent and switched the 50-50 Senate to the Democrats. Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Joe Johns, thank you so much, at the White House.

So with President Biden admitting that his spending plan might be smaller than the $3.5 trillion current proposal, Democrats are divided over what programs to cut or, in the view of the president there, trim, how much smaller might this new spending bill be. Eva McKend is on Capitol Hill for us. So Eva McKend, good to see you. What is potentially on the chopping block?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: Fredricka, all eyes now turn to the proposed clean electricity portion of President Biden's plan. That's really the cornerstone of his mission to address climate change. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia indicating he's not comfortable with that provision. That, of course, would transition away from fossil fuels, from coal production, more towards wind and solar energy.

And this really illustrates the latest hurdle for President Biden's domestic agenda as Democrats remain negotiating among themselves on this massive budget bill. That bill originally $3.5 trillion, is now expected to be well beneath that.

But the moderate Democratic senators who are most vocally opposed to the bill, Senator Manchin, as I mentioned, and Arizona Kyrsten Sinema, aren't even agreeing to another topline number. They've both voiced discomfort with $1.9 trillion in spending, because they say that they have yet to see a pared down version of the bill, so a pared down explanation of that bill.

[14:05:01]

Meanwhile, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, he is really frustrated that the realities of the bill are not being spoken about enough, that the provisions in terms of the larger package, like expanding Medicare to cover vision and dental, he wants there to be more focus on the substance of the bill and not sort of these internal politics. And he made his position clear in an op-ed in a West Virginia paper,

message received from Senator Manchin. But he did not -- message received, but not well taken, really pushing back against this, saying in part in a statement, "This isn't the first time an out-of-stater has tried to tell West Virginians what is best with them despite no relationship to our state. Congress should proceed with caution on any additional spending.

And I will not vote for a reckless expansion of government programs. No op-ed from a self-declared independent socialist is going to change that." So House Democratic leadership really marching towards this self-imposed deadline of October 31st. They're still trying to get both of these bills passed by the end of the month.

WHITFIELD: OK, and the clock is ticking, Eva, very quickly. Thank you so much. I think it's my first time talking to you on the air, so welcome.

MCKEND: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, Eva McKend on Capitol Hill.

One police deputy is dead, and two others injured following an attack outside a sports bar in Houston. Investigators say the shooter came out of nowhere and ambushed two of those officers as they tried to detain a potential robbery suspect. The third officer was wounded after running to the scene. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton calls the shooting an evil act and says he hopes the suspects are quickly arrested. A person of interest is in custody, but it's unclear whether that person is the suspected shooter.

CNN's Jean Casarez joining me now. Jean, what more are you learning?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are learning that there is a search going on for whoever shot these officers. And the attorney general is calling it a manhunt. But they have not come out with a description at all of who they're looking for other than about 21 years of age.

But it happened this morning about 2:15 in the morning at a sports bar in Houston, and these police officers were involved in a job adjacent to their official police duties, but they were in full uniform, and they came out of the sports bar because they heard something was going on in the parking lot.

And they get on the ground believing they've got the person involved in a robbery, and that is when it is said by the police that someone came out from behind a car and started shooting with a rifle. I want you to listen to the Houston police department as they describe what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONSTABLE MARK HERMAN, HARRIS COUNTY PRECINCT FOUR: He found out laying, bleeding out on the gurney that his buddy he had just been with was deceased. But I can tell you all three of them, they work the same area, they're good friends. It's just a complete tragedy is what it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And as the constable is saying, one officer that was on top of the suspect died from his wounds, the other shot in the back, in surgery for a lot of today. And as he or the third officer that was shot in the leg with multiple fractures, was on the gurney waiting to go into surgery, he found out that his buddy -- because they all work together -- he had just died.

And so you see there's a human aspect to all of this, too, when you think about it, and all the families are at the hospital of these three officers, and, ironically, on the very same day that in Washington the Houston police chief is there to commemorate all fallen officers, and now he has one of his own.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's unbelievable. Jean Casarez, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Still ahead, a British lawmaker is fatally stabbed at a meeting with voters. We'll have the latest on the investigation.

Plus, the mayor of Chicago and the police union facing off over COVID vaccine mandates. Now up to a half of rank-and-file officers could be placed on unpaid leave. More on that straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:13:20]

WHITFIELD: A horrifying attack in the U.K., police formally declaring the fatal stabbing of British lawmaker David Amess an act of terrorism. He was attacked yesterday while meeting with voters from his electoral district. His death marking a dark moment in Britain's political history as the second slaying of a sitting lawmaker there in five years. Labour member of Parliament Jo Cox was murdered by a man with extreme rightwing views back in 2016.

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz joins me now from the scene in England. Salma, we understand British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has spoken out now. What did he say, and what more are you learning about a possible motive?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Well, Fredricka, Prime Minister Boris Johnson, just to start, he was at the scene earlier today, laying flowers. Yesterday he spoke on the life and work of M.P. David Amess. And regarding the suspect, what we know so far is that this 25-year- old man entered a church just behind me here and stabbed the M.P. multiple times. Of course, the M.P. unfortunately died at the scene of his injuries.

Now, the counterterrorism police are leading the investigation, and according to the authorities, that 25-year-old man potentially has a motivation potentially linked to Islamic extremism. It's a very quiet seaside community here called Leigh-on-Sea. It's absolutely shellshocked. We've spent the day speaking to people who knew Amess directly, and they tell us they want to focus on his life and work. I was at one community center where a young man told me that he remembered -- and I apologize here. We're in the middle of the street, so forgive us for this vehicle.

[14:15:05]

But this young man told me at this community center that his one memory of the M.P. was him coming to the community center where he often worked, where he often spent time, and he was telling this young man, I love the theatre, and started singing "Lady and the Tramp" all the way out of the community center. And that was exactly the type of person that we heard over and over again. I spoke to one priest who told me, if you wanted something done, you would tell David and you could bet your bottom dollar it would be done.

So this community is not mourning just the loss of a politician, but really of someone who led and fought for this community for almost 40 years, Fredricka. And, yes, the conversation is about this very brutal murder that happened here, but it's also turned into something much bigger than that, because, as you mentioned, Jo Cox also murdered in a very similar fashion less than five years ago. Already we're hearing from lawmakers this is an attack on the very nature of democracy here.

WHITFIELD: Salma Abdelaziz, thank you so much. Be careful where you're standing. Appreciate it.

Coming up next, Bill Clinton still in the hospital after a scare with sepsis. The latest on how he's doing next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:20:45]

WHITFIELD: Former President Bill Clinton remains hospitalized in California, recovering from a urinary tract infection that doctors say spread to his bloodstream. The 75-year-old former president spent a fourth night at the University of California Medical Center at Irvine on Friday. Natasha Chen is outside that hospital now. So Natasha, any updates on Clinton's condition?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we haven't seen any change in his condition in the last several hours that we've been told, but we do know that this I.V. antibiotics treatment that he's on is supposed to last generally three to five days, and they definitely want to finish that before he is to get on a plane to go home.

We did see some security action behind us here in the last several hours, earlier this morning. We did see Secretary Hillary Clinton and daughter Chelsea Clinton enter the hospital here in Orange, California. And so it sounds like we are seeing -- hearing reports from doctors and staff that the former president is doing well. His tests are all trending in the right direction, and that he's in good spirits, able to get up, walk around. He's got a couple books with him, joking with the staff, and now we

know he has some family visitors with him today as well. This is the first time that we have seen Chelsea Clinton enter this way. We had not seen her in the last couple of days, while we had seen Secretary Clinton come in and out of the hospital.

So just monitoring to see whether he continues this improvement that we've been told about. And, again, this is I.V. antibiotics treatment that is supposed to go on three to five days. And if you start from Tuesday, when he first arrived here, that fifth day mark is coming soon. It could be within the next day or two that he could be released, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, all the well wishes coming his way. Natasha Chen, thank you so much.

Scandals continue for Alex Murdaugh, the once prominent South Carolina attorney. On Friday Murdaugh waved an extradition hearing in Florida and is expected to return to South Carolina to face charges related to the misappropriation of settlement funds in connection with the 2018 death of his family's long-time housekeeper.

CNN's Nadia Romero joining me now with more on this very tangled story, Nadia.

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There are so many twists and turns, Fredricka. And the more we seem to learn about Alex Murdaugh, the more questions there are.

So as you mentioned, he was in Orlando, Florida, because he admitted that he had an opioid problem and he was undergoing rehab treatment facility there, and he was arrested because of the now death investigation into his former housekeeper, Gloria Satterfield, worked for the family for some 20 years. Alex Murdaugh says that she tripped over the family dogs, tumbled down the stairs, and fell to her death. He says it was simply an accident, or that she died of natural causes.

But the coroner there in South Carolina says that's not natural causes, and we never saw her body or did an autopsy. That raised a lot of red flags. There's now an investigation into her death. But the family of Gloria Satterfield says they were owed a multi-million- dollar settlement and they never saw a dime.

The family's attorney says that this entire experience, learning about Alex Murdaugh, his drug problem, and all the other issues surround his family really came to them as a surprise, not to mention the fact that they have so many questions about the mother of their family, Gloria Satterfield. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC BLAND, ATTORNEY FOR ESTATE OF MURDAUGH FAMILY HOUSEKEEPER: It was surreal. They're shocked. In three weeks, they learned that $4.3 million was stolen from them. They learned that a criminal investigation is opening up regarding their mother's death. And today they learned that somebody that they had great respect for, revered, and thought was a family member, is now criminally charged with stealing their money. So it's like we're in the middle of a three-ring circus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And the circus begins again on Tuesday morning when Alex Murdaugh is set to be back in South Carolina before a judge. Remember, he's from this very prominent family there in Hampton County, a family of lawyers. His law firm says that he stole money from them. They also have these ongoing open cases about his son and his wife who were killed at their family home.

[14:25:07]

And that investigation is still open. They still don't know who killed his son and his wife. And then most recently we learned that Alex Murdaugh admitted to trying to kill himself, committing insurance fraud, that would be a crime, Fredricka, by having a former client shoot him in the head so that his son would be able to collect about a $10 million insurance settlement. But the plot went wrong when Alex Murdaugh survived. He then admitted to the insurance fraud, the whole scheme, and now he's facing even more charges.

Fredricka, we will see Alex Murdaugh back in court on Tuesday as all of these mysterious scandals surrounding him and his family continue.

WHITFIELD: Boy, that one is hard to keep up with, but you did a great job keeping us going, because I saw the beginning, middle, and end there. Thank you so much, Nadia, appreciate it.

Coming up, a showdown between Chicago police and the city's mayor over vaccine mandates. The latest straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:30:45]

WHITFIELD: In Chicago, up to half of the rank-and-file police officers could be put on unpaid leave over a vaccine dispute between their union and mayor, Lori Lightfoot. The mayor yesterday saying the police union president was trying to induce an insurrection by telling officers to defy an order to disclose their vaccine status.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR LORI LIGHTFOOT, (D) CHICAGO: This is a manufactured crisis by the Fraternal Order of Police, same guy that thought that the 1/6ers were just patriots exercising their First Amendment rights. So let's consider the source.

But the reality is, the only way that we can create a safe workplace and maximize that is by getting people vaccinated. And what we've asked our employees to do is two simple things -- say yes or no as to whether or not you're vaccinated.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: The Chicago Fraternal Order of Police filed a lawsuit Thursday, and just last night a circuit judge ruled that the police union president should not make public statements encouraging members to reject the city's policy.

And this may come as a surprise to you, but COVID-19 was the leading cause of death of police officers nationwide in 2020 and 2021, even more than gun violence. This is according to data from the Officer Down memorial page, which looks at the deaths of officers in the line of duty. CNN's Ryan Young spoke with the widows of officers whose lives were lost to the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

KAREN WEISKOPF, HUSBAND DIED DUE TO COVID-19 COMPLICATIONS: This was horrible. This did not have to happen.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Michael Weiskopf was a beloved officer with the St. Petersburg police force for 18 years.

WEISKOPF: He was so strong. He was so healthy.

YOUNG: His wife says she pleaded with him to get the vaccine, but he remained skeptical.

WEISKOPF: I felt like Mike did not get vaccinated because he didn't have all the facts. There was a lot of information just kind of moving around, moving parts. And when that happens, you can see rumors, miscommunication, information, science leaves the picture. It just becomes chatter. It attacked his lungs and made them look like baby Swiss cheese.

YOUNG: Over 1,000 miles away in Massachusetts, Jessica Desfosses lost her husband Stephen in January about a month after he contracted COVID-19 on the job with the Norton Police Department. She says Stephen wanted to be the first in line to get the vaccine, but never had the chance.

JESSICA DESFOSSES, HUSBAND DIED DUE TO COVID-19 COMPLICATIONS: This is absolutely, as you would imagine, to be raising two small girls without their dad. And if he had had the choice to give himself that extra protection so he could continue to serve the public and still come home to his family, he absolutely would have done it.

YOUNG: Jessica shared the final heartbreaking text messages that the couple exchanged on Facebook, hoping to plead with police officers to get the shots.

DESFOSSES: If you are serious about your commitment to protect the public, and if you are serious about your personal commitments to your family, then that should be enough.

YOUNG: COVID-19 is the number one killer of American law enforcement officers over the last two years, taking over 470 lives, according to Officer Down memorial page. Since the start of the pandemic, more than four times as many officers have died from COVID-19 as from gunfire. That memorial page says this, despite being among the first groups to have access to the vaccine.

CHIEF DAN YANCEY, OWASSO, OKLAHOMA POLICE: It's a right to obviously get vaccinated, it's an individual right, and I firmly still believe in that. But I would certainly encourage people to do that.

YOUNG: Across the U.S., some officers remain hesitant to get vaccinated. In Miami, officers are resisting a potential vaccine mandate. In San Francisco, at least 120 officers will be off the street after failing to comply with the city's order that high risk employees be vaccinated. The San Francisco police association said the national police union is encouraging vaccinations but is not in favor of a mandate.

[14:35:00]

JOHN CATANZARA, PRESIDENT OF THE CHICAGO FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: We're going to keep fighting this mandate and this dictatorship. You would think that there's no crime in this city to worry about. You would think that there's no murder, no robberies, no guns being fired.

YOUNG: Up to half of Chicago's police officers could be placed on unpaid leave after this weekend if they don't disclose their vaccine status. The police union is telling officers to ignore the deadline, and Mayor Lori Lightfoot is accusing the union president of trying to induce an insurrection. As Karen Weiskopf watches the battles raging across the country, she hopes her husband's death is a lesson to his fellow officers.

Do you think Mike dying helped other officers in this department?

WEISKOPF: Absolutely. To this day, I still -- I get letters, I get calls. I'll get copies of people's vaccination cards in the mailbox that I don't know.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: Coming up, the September jobs report revealing one of the largest drop-offs of women from the workforce. More than 300,000 women gone. We'll explore the reasons why women are leaving their jobs next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:32]

WHITFIELD: Right now, President Biden is fighting to save the childcare proposals in his Build Back Better spending plan, but he concedes that Congress is unlikely to pass the full $3.5 trillion plan he was originally looking for.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: How can we compete in a world of millions of Americans parents, especially moms, can't be part of the workforce because they can't afford the cost of childcare, or eldercare, I might add. Eldercare, there's a sandwiched generation getting crushed. (END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Joining me right now to discuss is Fatima Goss Graves, the President and CEO of the National Women's Law Center. Fatima, so good to see you. You wrote a pretty powerful op-ed for CNN.com back in June, saying striking an infrastructure deal without investing in child and eldercare is a huge mistake. So what do you worry might happen?

FATIMA GOSS GRAVES, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NATIONAL WOMEN'S LAW CENTER: I wrote this piece with Sean McGarvey, the head of the Building Trades, because even the building trades and employers understand that if we invest in roads and bridges and infrastructure without also investing in our care infrastructure, the first plan will fail. We have to figure out how to get women back into the workforce.

And what has happened is that our care infrastructure, which was already so fragile even before the pandemic, totally crumbled. We have to not only build it back, but we actually have to solve that fundamental problem, which is that care, and especially childcare, is extraordinarily expensive, and we won't be able to have the workers or the supply without changing what's at the heart of it.

WHITFIELD: Earlier today I spoke with Congresswoman Barbara Lee who said they're not at an impasse. This is what negotiating is all about. But as far as the public can tell, Democrats are still pretty far away from a deal on this 10-year spending plan that would expand on education, health care, childcare support, tackle the climate crisis and make further investments in infrastructure. So while the president says he may not get the whole thing, there may be portions that are trimmed, what are your concerns about how much eldercare or childcare can be trimmed?

GRAVES: My real worry is that women have really been the invisible care infrastructure in this country, and sort of trimming the fat can't result in trimming women. We are back to 1988 levels in terms of their workforce participation. And the public in general isn't divided on this issue. They want a major investment in childcare. They want a major investment in paid leave.

WHITFIELD: Yes. I mean, 309,000 women ages 20 and over left the labor force last month, according to the September jobs report. Women lost 26,000 jobs last month, while men gained jobs. Is it more than childcare that has women leaving the workforce, or is there something else?

GRAVES: Well, care is a huge part of it, both the childcare and care for elders and those with disabilities. The fact that we don't have paid leave, but we are still in a pandemic where people are getting ill, that's another significant part of it. But it also is that women have long been dominated in the jobs that pay the least wages and the jobs that were the least fragile, and the jobs that required you to show up in person.

And that story together, the fact that women are the majority of retail workers, the vast majority of health care and homecare workers, and forced to show up in a pandemic at a time where they don't have strong care, the whole puzzle does not work. So the investment that they can make right now is to not only solve the infrastructure problem that will give us the roads and bridges and create a lot of jobs, but to create the jobs where women are and do it in a way where all women can work and thrive.

[14:45:04]

WHITFIELD: The National Women's Law Center put out a report last month which found that women will need nine straight years of job gains to recover the total number of jobs lost in the pandemic based on August jobs numbers. Is it your view that there could ever really be a full recovery?

GRAVES: Well, there can if we make an on purpose investment, we can recover. But I have to say, we're starting from a deep hole. We're starting from the hole that women lost a lot of jobs in sectors where they dominated -- hospitality, leisure, retail.

But women were also leaving the workforce and have continued to leave the workforce and aren't looking for new jobs. We have to solve that last part, that last part around women who felt pushed out of work and aren't currently looking. That's causing economic stress for themselves, for their families, but it also is the drag on our economy.

WHITFIELD: And do you see it as even bigger than the drag on the economy? But then what about psychologically for a lot of these women, as you just noted? There has to be yet another kind of visceral effect that comes from this.

GRAVES: I have to say, you know, this pandemic has created such a mental health toll on all of us, but when I think about the moms and those who are engaged in other sorts of care who had hoped to get relief, it's a strain right now. But it will be a strain going forward. And if we don't pay attention to this primal scream we have been hearing from mostly women to actually bring relief, to actually invest in their lives, their futures, we're all going to be in trouble.

WHITFIELD: Fatima Goss Graves, thank you so much. Really, truly insightful. I appreciate your time. Stay well, stay safe.

Across the country, gas prices are skyrocketing. On average it's costing Americans an extra $16 every time they fill up their tank compared to a year ago. So what is behind the price hike? CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich has more.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: From coast to coast, there's a consensus.

What do you think of the price that you're seeing right there on the pump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's getting pretty high.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gas is bad. The price is really high.

YURKEVICH: The price of gas per gallon, the highest in seven years, topping $4 in some states. The price of crude oil, the largest driver of gas prices, went negative last year, and now over $80 a barrel this week. And it may only get worse.

ROBERT SINCLAIR JR., AAA PUBLIC AFFAIRS: We haven't peaked this year yet. We're seeing the highest price of the year right now.

YURKEVICH: We're not at the peak. What does that mean for you?

GARY CHRISTENSEN, FILLING UP IN NEW JERSEY: That means I might travel closer to home.

YURKEVICH: Gary Christensen stopping for gas in New Jersey while on a road trip to Maine.

CHRISTENSEN: This is another 50 cents higher than what I pay for in Virginia.

YURKEVICH: He says it's only gotten more expensive as he makes his way north.

Do you remember a time in history when gas prices were this high?

CHRISTENSEN: Oh, I remember Jimmy Carter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to have to close earlier than usual.

CHRISTENSEN: Jimmy Carter, you were waiting, even and odd days going in and trying to get gas.

YURKEVICH: That was in the 1970s when an Arab embargo and conflict in Iran led to a shortage of oil, doubling the price of gas from under 50 cents a gallon to over $1 in just a few short years. In 2008, global demand for gas and supply chain concerns sent prices to a record, and in 2014 more global unrest in the Middle East sparked another gas shortage, sending prices sky high.

SINCLAIR: We're in a very different place. There's plenty of gasoline, plenty of product. You just can't get to it.

YURKEVICH: That's because OPEC, the biggest oil producing nations, aren't increasing the amount of oil they release into the global economy, so as demand rebounds in the U.S., Americans are paying about $16 more to fill up their tanks than a year ago.

LEAH LAUBACH, LOS ANGELES DRIVER: It's getting kind of ridiculous because people are trying to get back to work, and it's like all of a sudden, now I have to pay more for gas just to get to work.

YURKEVICH: California leads the way with the highest gas in the country, with rates in Washington, D.C., Kentucky, and Indiana up as high as 17 cents a gallon in just the last week. The pain at the pump is very real.

DAVID ROMERO, LOS ANGELES DRIVER: It's like do you want to eat steak or you want to fill up your tank.

YURKEVICH: Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN, Ridgefield, New Jersey.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

[14:50:03]

WHITFIELD: And coming up, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace made history with his first victory earlier this month. He's also helping shape the sport's future. We'll explain.

But first, a clothing designer in Little Rock, Arkansas, is inspiring others to fashion the life they want, one sketch at a time, in this week's "The Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA ROWE THOMAS, CLOTHING DESIGNER: Once I select that fabric, I sketch it out. I make a pattern. I make the muslin for it, put it on the dress forms and bring it to life. From then it models, and then there's the runway.

When I was two years old, I was standing next to a heater with my six- year-old sister when it exploded. She didn't survive it. I had dressed myself this morning in a little fur coat. That is the reason that I was only burned on my face and hands. On the left hand, my fingers were amputated, and I lost partial digits on the right hand.

The doctors told my mother that I would probably not have a good quality of life. Their prognosis was definitely wrong.

I would take the scraps from my mom's sewing projects to make doll clothes. And so she started to teach me to sew when I was five years old. I opened my showroom and production house here in Arkansas in 2015. The Romas by Linda Rowe Thomas collection specializes in custom couture. My designs have been featured on the red carpet at the Golden Globes, New York fashion week, and so many more.

The name of my non-profit is Designing Hope. It started out with me wanting to help burn survivors. In the process, I realized that not everyone's scars are visible. I'm hoping that my light that my mother gave me gives someone else the encouragement to step out on their dreams.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:56:40]

WHITFIELD: Earlier this month, NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace won his first cup series race of his career at Talladega Superspeedway in Alabama. But it wasn't just a personal accomplishment. In doing so, Wallace became the first black driver in almost 60 years to take a victory lap at the sport's top level. This bleacher report by Coy Wire.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BUBBA WALLACE, NASCAR DRIVER: Sports are tough. Any sport I can imagine at the top level, it is tough for sure. And it took me 143 races, I believe, to get my first win. And that's a long time. I've been winless since 2017. And nothing motivated me more than having a zero in that column.

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: You felt like quitting at times. What were some of the factors that led into that?

WALLACE: Being winless, getting chewed up and spit out each and every weekend. But I appreciate the people who still believed in me. The people that are behind the scenes that are pushing me to be better on and off the racetrack. And then people that are at the shop. And I necessarily didn't have that confidence, but it's nice hearing other people make you feel good, and it brings confidence for you. So surround yourself with the right people, it brings out the best in you.

WIRE: You're not just any other athlete. How heavy has that crown weighed on you?

WALLACE: That's what my pinned tweet is all about. I'm going to be labeled at the black driver. I've accepted it. So I'm telling you, I'm telling the other people that are coming into the sport that are necessarily tired of hearing of the black driver, it's like, it's going to be talked about. So if I've accepted it, I encourage you to accept it and just roll along with it, because it's going to be talked about for a really long time.

WIRE: How do you hope your win, your accomplishment, inspires future generations?

WALLACE: Representation matters. So I hope a little boy or girl will witness what happened and encourage their parents to go out and buy a go cart, go out and compete. That's what it's all about. You start out when you're young, get them exposed. Whether they're at the racetrack or watching on TV, pick a favorite driver, get hooked. Understand the sport, and then eventually become a part of it. We got a lot of positive influences coming and wanting to be a part of our sport, grow our sport, get it out to the urban markets, and show them, like, hey, NASCAR is cool.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: And if you've ever been to a NASCAR race, it is so much fun. Congratulations to Bubba Wallace.

And what a week for space exploration. First, Captain Kirk actor William Shatner went to edge of space. And this morning, the first NASA mission to fly by ancient asteroids successfully launched on its ambitious journey. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, zero, liftoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The Lucy mission will embark on a 12-year journey to explore asteroids that are remnants from the early days of our solar system. This mission will help researchers learn more about how the solar system formed 4.5 billion years ago.

And this quick programming not. In an all new episode of "This is Life with Lisa Ling," she takes a look at conspiracy theories and social media, how algorithms that are designed to make money control the information you receive. The all new "This is Life with Lisa Ling," tomorrow night at 10:00 only on CNN.

And thank you so much for joining me today.