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Investigation into Astroworld Accident; Couple Sues IVF Clinic over Embryo Swap; Rodgers Takes Responsibility for Statement; New Polling on Facebook; Public Allowed Rare Access to Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired November 10, 2021 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Already called three witnesses. They need to prove that Kyle Rittenhouse acted in self-defense when he opened fire. That's why there's this big question looming here today. Perhaps we will get an answer, will Kyle Rittenhouse take the stand. It could happen today. It could happen in the next few days. The defense attorneys are not really tipping their hands, sort of saying yet what's going to happen. But, you know, court getting underway here in just about 45 minutes, we may get some indication.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Shimon Prokupecz, thanks so much.
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Well, in the wake of that deadly concert in Texas, which we've been following, the Houston FBI now saying it's offered assistance and resources to the police department. This as we're learning a federal judge is considering a third party for an independent investigation. The mayor of Houston says they plan to leave no stone unturned.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR SYLVESTER TURNER (D), HOUSTON: We're looking at everything from the very beginning -- the beginning of the day, all the way to the end. We're looking at the roles that everyone played, what missteps, failures, gaps that may have existed.
When you -- there is a venue and you invite people to that venue, they expect to come, participate, be a part of the concert and they don't expect to be killed at the event.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCIUTTO: CNN correspondent Rosa Flores, she is following this story from Houston.
Rosa, any developments in the investigation today?
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the HPD has been very tight lipped since Saturday, not providing any new details. According to the Houston fire chief, there are three people who remain in the hospital. Two of them in critical condition. Now we've learned that the FBI announcing that they are offering resources and assistance to the Houston Police Department.
Now, HPD has received some video from this event. That's according to Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, who also says that everything is on the table. They are investigating everything. They're asking for more video from Live Nation. And they are going to take everything into account.
Now, this also, as we learned, that Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo (ph) is asking for an independent investigation and she is considering hiring an outside law firm or a third party to conduct that independent investigation.
Now, I learned from the Houston firefighter union president that there was no direct radio communication between the primary medical services team that was hired by the organizers and the Houston Fire Department team that was outside of the venue.
Now, those firefighters asked for direct radio communication to Paradox, the company that was hired by the organizers, but they were not given radio communication. They were given cell phone numbers.
And, so, Erica and Jim, you know that cell phones are not reliable in an emergency situation. I should add that CNN reached out to Paradox. They didn't answer our question specifically about that, but sent us a statement saying that they are cooperating with authorities.
SCIUTTO: Listen, that might explain why the former did not know what was happening in the midst of it if there wasn't proper communication from the first responders. We know there's much more to delve into.
Rosa Flores, thanks so much for following.
Coming up next this hour, an IVF nightmare. A mother gave birth to a stranger's baby after being given the wrong embryo. Another couple's embryo. Now, of course, there's a lawsuit. Lots of questions here. Details, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:38:22]
SCIUTTO: Well, just a potentially devastating mix-up. A couple in California suing a fertility clinic claiming that that clinic implanted the wrong embryo into two different mothers in an IVF procedure.
HILL: So, the result, both women unknowingly gave birth to and raised children who were not biologically theirs for several months.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEXANDER CARDINALE, SUING FERTILITY CLINIC: Losing the birth child that you know, for the genetic child that you don't even know yet, it's a truly impossible nightmare. DAPHNA CARDINALE, SUING FERTILITY CLINIC: Instead of breastfeeding my
own child, I breastfed and bonded with a child I was later forced to give away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: CNN's Elizabeth Cohen joining us now.
I mean it's just -- to even think about the two families in this position, right?
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HILL: What gave this couple an indication initially that this may not be their child?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like they knew pretty soon, Erica. They noticed that when this baby was born, this baby was not fair. It was -- this baby was a lot darker than the daughter that they already had. So this baby had darker skin, had darker hair and so they -- it sounds like they sort of suspected that something wasn't quite right.
When the baby was two months old, genetic testing showed that this was not their baby genetically. At three months they found out that their embryo had been used and another couple had given birth to their biological daughter. And at four months those couples met and the babies went back to their biological parents.
This was not just devastating for the parents, they say, but they say it was also devastating for their older child.
Let's take a listen to the parents' attorney Adam Wolf.
[09:40:02]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAM WOLF, ATTORNEY FOR DAPHNA AND ALEXANDER CARDINALE: For the five- year-old that Daphna and Alexander had, this was traumatic. She bonded with her baby sister. That's the baby sister she knew. And at four months old for that baby, she was taken away from their older daughter. All of a sudden she was mistrusting. She was angry. She didn't hug or kiss her parents, right. That is the -- that is I guess an understandable reaction. But for a five-year-old girl, it is just devastating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: Now, to keep in mind, there are tens of thousands of babies born in the U.S. through IVF every year. This is a very unusual event as far as we know. There have been a few other reported cases. But there have been complaints that the fertility industry needs to be better at following their own rules or else they need to face more regulation.
Erica. Jim.
SCIUTTO: Absolutely, it would seem, in this case, warning signals.
Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much for following this.
Other news we're following this morning, some good news regarding the pandemic. Pfizer's CEO Albert Borla tells "The New York Times" that the COVID vaccine trial results show even stronger evidence supporting a booster dose compared to earlier findings. The data they submitted to the FDA in September required only 300 to 400 people studied for a booster dose. The drug maker has since tested its third dose on 10,000 participants. The findings showed 95 percent effectiveness against the coronavirus compared to those who have only had two doses of the vaccine.
HILL: Well, the NFL is fining the Green Bay Packers, quarterback Aaron Rodgers and wide receiver Al Lazard for failing to follow the league's COVID protocol. Sorry if I screwed that one up. A review determined that the two players had attended a Halloween party despite being unvaccinated. Now, in addition, the team failed to report those violations and discipline the players involved.
SCIUTTO: CNN's Andy Scholes joins us now.
Andy, you know, Rodgers made a lot of headlines last week and he, frankly, wasn't honest about this. The fine, not exactly a lot of money given how much money a quarterback in the NFL makes.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly was not a hefty fine, guys. And, you know, Rodgers, he didn't come out and apologize for misleading everyone about his vaccination status. He just said everyone is entitled to think however they want about him.
Now, on the Pat McAfee show yesterday, Rodgers said that he stands by everything that he said last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON RODGERS, GREEN BAY PACKERS QUARTERBACK: I shared an opinion that is polarizing. I get it. And I misled some people about my status, which I take full responsibility of for those comments.
But, in the end, I have to stay true to who I am and what I'm about. And I stand behind the things that I've said.
I believe that people are entitled to their opinion. And even if it's an opinion that's unfavorable of me.
I'm an athlete. I'm not an activist. So I'm going to get back to doing what I do best, and that's -- and that's playing ball.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHOLES: Yes, and Rodgers added that he's feeling better and hopes to be back on the field on Sunday for the Packers. The NFL, meanwhile, completed its review of the Packers COVID
protocols yesterday and handed out its punishment. A league spokesperson telling CNN, the team has been fined $300,000, while Rodgers and wide receiver Allen Lazar were fined nearly $15,000 each for attending a Halloween party despite being unvaccinated.
And as we just mentioned, that fine, not very much, guys. You know, Action Network's Daren Ravell (ph) crunched some numbers. Rodgers making $22.4 million this season. His roughly $15,000 fine, it's the equivalent of fining an average American $33. So, basically -- basically nothing.
HILL: That's going to hit hard. That's going to hit really hard.
SCHOLES: Yes.
SCIUTTO: I mean it gets to how seriously they're taking this. It's a slap on the wrist.
Andy Scholes, thanks so much.
SCHOLES: All right.
SCIUTTO: Ahead, a new poll -- new poll numbers about how frequent users really feel about Facebook. Does the social media giant make society worse? The American people were asked. They weighed in. The answer is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:47:25]
SCIUTTO: A brand new CNN poll shows that a majority of adults thinks that Facebook has a negative impact on society. About half of the population knows someone who now believes in misinformation because of the site.
HILL: CNN's Donie O'Sullivan joining us now.
So, you look at these numbers, right? Part of it is the person. Part of it might be Facebook's algorithms. I'm curious, though, does Facebook really care about polling and surveys like this? Are they going to look at this and say, oh, that's a problem?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, I mean, I think it's important that news organizations like CNN do this polling, right, because Facebook always points to their own internal data where they'll say, well, the reason why we have these algorithms and we have our system built like this, that happens to make us billions of dollars, is because people want to see ads that are relevant to them.
Our polling shows a bit of a different story where people are saying that they're seeing content regularly that they don't want to see, that they don't like. Take a look at some of these numbers.
Something that was quite interesting I think in this is, people were asked, who is more at fault for Facebook making society worse? A lot of people said that it's actually how people use Facebook rather than Facebook itself. Also I think one really important number here is people who know somebody persuaded by Facebook content to believe in a conspiracy theory, almost half of Americans. Almost half of Americans. Some people might say that that's actually a low number.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
O'SULLIVAN: You know, most people know somebody --
HILL: It does feel a little low, I have to say.
O'SULLIVAN: But, if you think about it, I mean that is tens of millions of people. We have spoken to many, many people who have found themselves, loved ones, down rabbit holes of disinformation, whether it's about vaccines, whether it's about the election or something else.
SCIUTTO: Yes. I see it in my own Facebook feed and people I know, right, you know, outright disinformation.
[09:50:02]
OK, so leading up to January 6th, there were a lot of warning signs about the kinds of things that were going on, discussions that were happening. And it seems that Prince Harry -- even Prince Harry spotted this happening and gave a warning to Jack Dorsey.
O'SULLIVAN: Yes, a British prince warning of an attack on the American republic. Who would have thought? Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRINCE HARRY: Jack and I were emailing each other prior to January the 6th where I warned him that his platform was allowing a coup to be staged. That email was sent the day before. And then it happened and I haven't heard from him since.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what would you say to Mark Zuckerberg if you had a chance?
PRINCE HARRY: I think, first off, it would be a conversation in private. But, you know, mainly from my perspective, what I -- what I really worry about is the Internet -- the Internet's being defined by hate, division and lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'SULLIVAN: Now, some folks a bit skeptical of the prince there, that he warned on January 5th how Twitter was being used. Twitter and Jack Dorsey have not responded publicly, by the way.
But, look, a lot of folks also saying, look, there was a lot of researchers, a lot of folks that we were speaking to in those weeks and days leading up to January 6th. It was clear to them that something terrible was about to happen based on what they were seeing on social media.
SCIUTTO: And to be fair, a lot of folks missed it. I mean the FBI missed it, right? I mean there was a lot of warnings but clearly didn't make it to the highest levels.
Donie O'Sullivan, thanks so much.
Well, the man who became the face of the January 6th insurrection for many could spend more than four years in prison. Late last night, the Justice Department ask that the so-called QAnon shaman, Jacob Chansley, be jailed for 51 months. That is the longest sentencing request for any defendant who has plead guilty so far. Prosecutors say that Chansley bears a certain amount of responsibility for the riot because of how he spread disinformation online, as we were just discussing, before January 6th. In September, Chansley pleaded guilty to obstructing congressional certification of the 2020 election. A judge will make a sentencing decision next week.
HILL: We'll be watching that one.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
HILL: Still to come this morning, a major legal setback for Donald Trump. A federal judge denying his claim of executive privilege in an effort to shield records from lawmakers investigating the January 6th attack. We're live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:56:49]
HILL: Hallowed ground for those who made the ultimate sacrifice for this country. For a second day, members of the public have been granted a rare chance to get a little bit closer to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
CNN's Barbara Starr joins us now from the Pentagon.
Barbara, a big change, is it not, because I believe this is the first time in a century they're allowed to do so. Why now and what's the response been?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's really been incredible, Jim and Erica. It is the first time in 96 years the public has been allowed to approach the tomb, lay flowers, pay their respects.
And it's because it's the hundred year centenary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the first unknown laid to rest there in 1921.
We're seeing a long line of people yesterday and today line up to pay their respects with flowers. We expect to see an American veteran of the World War II Battle of the Bulge. The first to pay their respects yesterday was The Crow Nation performing one of their ceremonies at the Tomb of the Unknown. You know, it's worth remembering that this is a place that,
thankfully, is just a little bit outdated because with DNA matching and modern technology, there are no longer any unknowns. But it doesn't matter because, of course, this is a place where America pays its respects at Arlington to all of those who serve, including the fallen, including American military families.
And as people pay their respects at the tomb today, I just want to let people know, they will see the inscription on the Tomb of the Unknown. And what they will see are these words, "here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God," because in 1921, in World War II, and the Korean War, where there are unknowns laid to rest at this site, they could not -- they could not identify everybody. Again, pre- DNA. But it doesn't really matter, of course, because what we know is this is hallowed ground, this is where America has paid its respects through decades of conflict right up until today.
The next ceremony will be tomorrow on Veterans Day. We will see a full honors procession, essentially trying to evoke the memories of the 1921 procession when the first remains unknown were laid to rest at Arlington. The public will be invited to attend the procession, to stand on the sidelines at a special location and watch it pass by. We are seeing so many people here in Washington today take the opportunity to stop and pay those respects.
Jim. Erica.
HILL: Yes, that is really great to see and to see so many people take advantage of that opportunity as well.
SCIUTTO: For sure.
HILL: Barbara, appreciate it. Thank you.
STARR: Sure.
SCIUTTO: A very good Wednesday morning to you. I'm Jim Sciutto.
HILL: And I'm Erica Hill.
This morning, former President Trump looking for yet another out to avoid having documents, White House documents from January 6th be sent over to the House committee investigating the insurrection.
[10:00:00]
Trump says he will appeal, this after a federal judge rejected his claims of executive privilege overnight.
SCIUTTO: It was a scathing decision. In her explanation, Federal Judge Tanya Chutkan
