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Tampa Sees Highest Inflation Rate; Police Find Abducted Six- Year-Old; Baldwin Sued for Wrongful Death; GOP Unveils Russia Sanctions Bill; Russian Skater Takes Lead After Failed Drug Test. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired February 16, 2022 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:19]

BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: Retail sales were higher than expected for the month of January. Now that's despite rising inflation. Americans spent 3.8 percent more last month than they did in December. And it's almost double what economists were expecting.

Along with auto sales, spending was especially strong at furniture retailers, department stores and online.

And all across the country, inflation is continuing to impact everyone's wallets. A recent study from Moody's Analytics found that Americans are paying an additional $276 per month. But in Tampa, Florida, families are paying even more than that.

CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich spoke to those feeling extra stress to make ends meet with no relief in sight.

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VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Across America, families are spending $276 more per month on average because of inflation, according to Moody's Analytics. But here in Tampa, Florida, they're feeling the squeeze even more.

YURKEVICH (on camera): Does that number sound about right to you?

GINA TULLIO, TAMPA RESIDENT: Yes. I mean, I would say in that ballpark is pretty accurate.

YURKEVICH: Do you estimate that you might spend even more some months?

TULLIO: Yes. YURKEVICH (voice over): Gina Tullio and her family of four live just outside Tampa, the metro area with the highest rate of inflation in the country, soaring to 9.6 percent in the last year.

TULLIO: It doesn't seem to be slowing down. That's where the real concern is.

YURKEVICH: She's feeling it with day care.

TULLIO: It went up by like $30 a week.

YURKEVICH: At the grocery store.

TULLIO: My eggs are a dollar more. And then I looked at the milk and I was, like, that's $1.50 more for the same gallon.

YURKEVICH: And at the pump.

TULLIO: I'm like, oh my God, $4, I paid $4.09 today for gas. So --

YURKEVICH (on camera): Is that the highest you paid?

TULLIO: Yes.

YURKEVICH (voice over): But the biggest pain is at the Rita's Italian Ice franchise she just opened.

TULLIO: Have you been to Rita's before? Really? Oh, well, you're in for a treat.

YURKEVICH: She's getting ready for her supply costs to go up on everything from paper goods to sugar.

TULLIO: This price is going to go up by 20 percent.

YURKEVICH: She says she doesn't want to raise prices, but in order to do that, she's cut her entire salary.

TULLIO: It's got to come from somewhere. And so I just -- it's a really tough position, like, to be in as a business owner. So, I just -- I'll take it from me.

YURKEVICH: Millennials, like Tullio, and Latinos, have seen the steepest rise in living costs. And the growing Latino population here in Tampa is outpacing the national average.

In December, Catherine Bayes says her rent went up by $400. What did you think, I asked her? I can't pay it. I can't, she said.

So, she moved, and is now picking up odd jobs just to keep up with rising costs. Her one-woman beauty services business isn't covering the bills.

I've had to clean homes, offices. It's not very comfortable, but it has to be done, she said.

Trying to keep up for her and her son has been hard, she says. I ask her how it's been emotionally.

There is uncertainty because when the date for paying these bills arrives and you don't have the full amount, you feel anguished. As a sole provider, as a single mother, it is difficult, she said.

(END VIDEOTAPE) YURKEVICH: Now, there is an emotional stress that comes along with this rising inflation, especially for low income Americans whose wages may not be keeping up with this rising inflation. We spoke to some residents here in Tampa who say that it should be on the government to fix these rising prices. Some say there's too many factors at play for anyone to do anything about it.

But, Bianna, we are hearing a little bit of fear and concern from residents here who feel like maybe where the prices are now is where there's (ph) stick. It just shows, Bianna, that Americans have so little control over what's happening, but they're feeling the stress with budgeting for these increased costs.

Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: What's really striking is how ubiquitous it really is for families across the country. Something that you really document well in that piece.

Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

And ahead, a little girl disappeared in 2019 without a trace and was just found alive. She was hidden under this staircase you see right there. What one officer noticed that led to her incredible rescue. That's up next.

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[09:39:34]

GOLODRYGA: Well, this is just an incredible story. A six-year-old girl, who was abducted by her non-custodial biological parents over two years ago, has now been found alive in New York. Authorities say they found her hidden under a staircase in the same house that they had previously visited after receiving tips, but the residents denied knowing anything about the girl's whereabouts.

CNN anchor of "EARLY START," Laura Jarrett, joins me now.

This is a bit confusing to make sense of, the fact that these people who owned the house didn't even know that she had been there for so long.

[09:40:04]

Walk us through some of the details you're learning.

LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR, "EARLY START": It's just an unbelievably disturbing case, Bianna. The case had essentially gone cold until this week when police say

they got a tip about this young girl being held at her grandfather's home in upstate New York. Now, police say the suspicion is that she had been taken by her parents because they were set to lose custody of her. As Bianna mentioned, police had been to the house in question there, as you can see, again and again, but they had had no luck. They were told the girl simply wasn't there.

But, this week, authorities finally went in with a search warrant. And after looking around for over an hour, one of the officers on the scene there thought something seemed off about the stairs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOSEPH SINAGRA, SAUGERTIES, NEW YORK POLICE: Our officers were up and down those steps several times and never heard the child, never made a sound. But the detective said there was something odd about the stairs. Just the way they were constructed, the way they felt when he was walking on them. And he said he took a closer look at the stairs and between two of the stair boards there was a crack. He used a flashlight, looked in there, and he saw what he believed was a blanket at the bottom. So, they used a (INAUDIBLE) tool and they started removing the steps of the staircase. And, sure and behold, they found little bare feet.

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JARRETT: Imagine that, those little feet belonging to this girl. She was in there. You can see the squalor, cramped, cold, wet, underneath the basement staircase, unclear how long she had been there.

The couple accused of taking her and the grandfather were all arrested and charged in this case. And they were ordered to stay away from the little girl.

Police say thankfully that the girl is in good health. And one thing gave her comfort after this harrowing ordeal, McDonald's. As she was on her way to the police station, she asked one of the detectives, is that McDonald's? She told them it was a place she remembered but she hadn't been to in a long time. So, they made a stop. She has now been returned, reunited with her older sister and legal guardian.

GOLODRYGA: Listen, McDonald's should be sending her free food for life after hearing that story.

JARRETT: It's just incredible she is OK.

GOLODRYGA: But what -- yes and what intuition on the part of that officer to notice that something was not right with the staircase.

JARRETT: Yes. After going up and down the stairs over and over again. They just knew something wasn't right.

GOLODRYGA: Well, I'm glad she's OK.

Laura, thank you. JARRETT: Sure.

GOLODRYGA: Alec Baldwin is now being sued by the relatives of the woman he shot and killed on a movie set last fall while he was practicing a gun draw. The family of Halyna Hutchins filed a wrongful death lawsuit saying her death was preventable, and accusing producers of cutting corners and hiring unqualified people.

CNN's Natasha Chen joins me now from Los Angeles.

Natasha, what more are you learning?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Bianna, the attorney representing the widower and son of Halyna Hutchins spoke yesterday during a press conference alleging that really Alec Baldwin and a number of key crew members, producers, and the production company here violated a number of industry standards. In fact, in the packet they gave to us, the press, they listed about 15 things they felt were violations of standards, including the fact that the armorer was not in the room, that that should have been the person always handing the weapon to the actor directly. And they also allege that it's industry standard for the actor, in this case Baldwin, to check the gun before it's being used, to never point it at a person, to keep the finger off the trigger, just a number of things that they say went wrong, leading to the unfortunate death of Halyna Hutchins.

Here's their attorney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN PANISH, ATTORNEY FOR HALYNA HUTCHINS' FAMILY: Somebody doesn't get shot on a movie set. I mean when was the last time that happened? This doesn't happen unless people cut costs and engage in reckless behavior leading to a senseless, tragic death.

Matt is grieving. He understands that a lawsuit is necessary to get answers. He wants answers. He wants closure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHEN: The attorney representing Baldwin and a few other producers on "Rust" gave us a statement saying, we continue to cooperate with the authorities to determine how live ammunition arrived on the "Rust" set in the first place. Any claim that Alec was reckless is entirely false. He, Halyna and the rest of the crew relied on the statement by the two professionals responsible for checking the gun that it was a cold gun, meaning there is no possibility of a discharge, blank or otherwise.

Of course, this is among a number of lawsuits being filed by people involved with this production and the criminal investigation continues in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Bianna.

GOLODRYGA: Natasha, I know you'll continue to follow this story for us. Thank you so much.

CHEN: Thanks.

GOLODRYGA: Straight ahead, Senate Republicans unveil their own sanctions bill for Russia after bipartisan negotiations stall, once again. But will it have an impact? We're live on Capitol Hill with more.

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[09:49:25]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: As bipartisan negotiations over sanctions against Russia stall on Capitol Hill, some Republican senators have now introduced their own sanctions package aimed at deterring Vladimir Putin from invading Ukraine.

CNN congressional correspondent Jessica Dean has been following this on Capitol Hill.

Jessica, weeks of failed bipartisan talks here. Could this Republican plan get through, and how soon are we talking about?

JESSICA DEAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. So the questions surrounding this right now, Jim, are, does this signal the end of bipartisan negotiations, which, as you mentioned, have been languishing here for weeks as things have continue to develop where you are in Ukraine and near the Russian border.

[09:50:04]

Senators here trying to come to a conclusion, a bipartisan way forward, and simply have not been able to do so, so far. So, does this signal the end of that, or are Republicans using this new introduction of their version of a bill to kind of gain more momentum, to try to bring people back to the negotiating table? We're waiting to see how that's going to kind of unfurl here. But the fact of the matter is, they need to move quickly. They had wanted to get this done before anything happened in Ukraine. And time is really ticking, as we all know.

Now, here's what the Republican package would do. It would mandate sanction against the Nord Stream 2 pipeline without waver if Russian invades. It also sanctions Putin's, quote, cronies, enablers and major banks, and offers $500 million in foreign military funding for Ukraine. So, again, this is the Republican version of a Russia sanctions package.

But the question you brought up is, can this gain bipartisan support? We haven't seen that so far, but the day is young, Jim, and, of course, things are continuing to develop. As I said, I've talked to a number of senators about this, and they want to get to a resolution. It's just, how do they get there in a way, in a bipartisan fashion. That age old question up here on Capitol Hill.

Jim. SCIUTTO: Yes.

Well, notably, that Republican proposal includes many things that the Biden administration has proposed, such as blocking Nord Stream 2.

DEAN: Right.

SCIUTTO: We'll see if they can get together on it.

Jessica Dean, on The Hill, thanks so much.

Bianna, back to you.

GOLODRYGA: Straight ahead, the head of the International Olympic Committee has met with Team USA figure skaters to discuss the Russian doping scandal. We're live in Beijing with the latest, up next.

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[09:56:09]

GOLODRYGA: Team USA figure skaters met with the president of the International Olympic Committee for some two hours overnight to discuss the ongoing doping scandal surrounding Russian teen Kamila Valieva. Valieva will continue competing for another medal at the Beijing Olympics tomorrow. Now, this despite testing positive for a banned substance, and, as we learned, that the 15-year-old tested positive for at least two other substances that can be used to increase endurance and reduce fatigue. But those substances are not banned by the IOC.

Joining me now to discuss is Christine Brennan, CNN sports analyst and sports columnist for "USA Today."

Now, Christine, you have called the Russian Anti-Doping Agency an oxymoron, but let me tell you what the head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency told CNN earlier today, that the three drugs taken together suggest a, quote, pretty deliberate attempt to use substances in order to enhance performance.

Does this erase any doubt as to the already dubious claims that perhaps Valieva took her grandfather's medication by accident? Does that erase that theory?

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Oh, absolutely. I mean we really shouldn't be believing Russia on anything, only because they've been doing this since 2014 and they got caught at the Sochi Olympics that they were hosting, Bianna. And they keep getting like a hall pass to keep coming back to the Olympics when they should be completely kicked out. So, the punishment doesn't fit the crime. It's too lenient. They keep coming back. And now we have the big one. Now we have this explosion that has just taken over, swallowed up the Olympics, and every athlete is dealing with it.

Here's the U.S. Team as you referred to, the figure skating team, having a two-hour conversation with the president of the IOC. When would that ever happen? It's happening because this is such a crisis. And, in that case, because the U.S. won the silver, may well work their way up to gold, but they're not going to have a medal ceremony.

So, unfortunately, what we're seeing here is really a chaotic mess, a bit of a fiasco as the Olympics come to an end and as this Russian doping story is just, as I said, just taking over everything and threatening to ruin the Olympic experience of some wonderful athletes.

GOLODRYGA: Yes, the major focus going into the Olympics was Covid, right, and whether they could keep that sort of maintained. And here you have this doping scandal that Russia has a legendary history of, and once again we're seeing a situation where athletes are basically put in an unfair situation. As you know, and you talk about this, they are trained for pressure, but this is not the kind of pressure that athletes should be expecting. How is it impacting U.S. athletes in particular?

BRENNAN: What I've seen, Bianna, is these athletes rising to the occasion. For example, about 24 hours ago, Mariah Bell, the U.S. national champion in figure skating, finished 11th in the women's short program. So she's ten places below Valieva. But, my goodness, what a class act and may well have, you know -- I asked in my column, who actually won this competition? Because what happened is, Mariah Bell spoke eloquently about fair play, about clean sport, about what calling or texting a doctor to say, hey, I had a Tylenol PM, is that OK? Missing practice because the drug tester comes and knocks on the door and you have to produce a sample while the tester's there. You can't just leave and come back. In other words, the diligence, the honor, the integrity of someone like Mariah Bell, compare that to what Russia is doing.

So, even though this is difficult, and even though this is a tough time and Mariah Bell would love to just be talking about her skating, she has risen to the occasion, as have her teammates. Vincent Zhou, just out of quarantine from his Covid positive, talking about how tough this is for the women to be competing. These athletes are rising up and they're coming together. And this well may be one of their finest hours in terms of sportsmanship, fair play and fighting for what's right.

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