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Task Force No Longer Recommends Daily Aspirin For Most To Prevent Heart Disease And Stroke; Bank Ramps Up Recession Warning, Expects "Major" Downturn; Home Prices Soar By Near-Record, Jump 19.8% Over Last Year; Ukrainian Paramedics Risk Their Own Lives To Save Others Amid Russian Attacks; Soon, Judge To Decide When Trump Must Start Paying $10k Per Day For Contempt. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired April 26, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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


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[13:32:01]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Millions of Americans take an aspirin a day to help their hearts. But it may be doing more harm than good when it comes to heart disease and stroke prevention.

A panel of national experts has updated its guidance today and no longer recommends a daily aspirin for most Americans.

Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, joins us now.

Sanjay, these recommendations are from the Preventative Service Task force. First, tell us what they recommend and what the concerns are around aspirin.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure. So the headline here really is for people over the age of 60 who are thinking about starting to take an aspirin to prevent the heart attack or a stroke in the future. The new recommendation is they should not do that.

People have heard for some time, look, if I have risk of heart attack or stroke, maybe taking a baby aspirin, low-dose aspirin can be helpful in reducing that risk.

What they're clear about is, if you're 60 or older, you should not start taking an aspirin for that reason.

For people younger, 40 to 59, they're saying it's possibly going to be of benefit if you are high risk. But you should talk to your doctor about this first. It's not an obvious decision.

The real concern here, Ana, is sort of this idea of, even though it's just a low-dose aspirin, it can increase your risk for bleeding. And that risk for bleeding, it goes up as you get older.

So people 60 and older, they say there's really no benefit at all to aspirin anymore. People younger, maybe lower risk of bleeding, maybe an advantage if you're high risk. And let me tell you, Ana, quickly, because people ask me this all of

the time: What does high risk mean, then?

I want to put up this calculator. There's all sorts of different risk calculators you can find online. This one is from the American College of Cardiology.

Basically, you put in your information there and it'll tell you, basically over the next 10 years, what's your risk of a heart attack or stroke? And that helps you balance back and forth the risk versus the benefit.

CABRERA: That's an important tool. And useful tool.

Sanjay, what does this mean for people who are already taking an aspirin a day? Do they just stop?

GUPTA: Yes. No, it's interesting. These guidelines, they didn't address that. And this is significant. Because there's probably 30 million people right now, Ana, who fall into their category, taking aspirin to try to prevent a heart attack or a stroke.

And about a quarter of them when we look at the studies, are doing so without a doctor's guidance. They're sort of doing it on their own.

What I think they're saying clearly is you shouldn't start doing this. You shouldn't start taking an aspirin to prevent a heart attack or stroke if you're 60 or older.

But everybody probably should be talking to their doctor about whether they should continue taking it.

Again, we think of aspirin as a relatively harmless thing, Ana. But even if you are a younger person, it can increase the likelihood of G.I. bleeding. And if you get into an accident or trauma, it can make the bleeding that you might have much worse. So that's the concern.

[13:35:00]

Don't think of this as a totally harmless drug.

CABRERA: That is such important information. News you can use.

Thank you, Dr. Gupta.

GUPTA: You got it.

CABRERA: Good to see you.

One of the biggest investment banks on the planet now says a recession is coming and it will be, quote, "major." As we speak, you can see the markets are firmly in the red. Down more than 600 points right now.

CNN's Matt Egan is with us to talk about what this means. This is coming from Deutsche Bank, this recession warning. Initially,

they said it would be a mild recession. Now they're saying it's going to be even worse. Why?

MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: That's right, Ana. This is about high inflation and what the Fed is going to have to do to get it knocked down to healthier levels.

Deutsche Bank laid out three big reasons here.

Soaring inflation. They're concerned inflation is actually going to be worse than people anticipate, in part, because of the war in Ukraine. And also because of these COVID lockdowns in China.

If they're right, that's a big deal. Because that would mean even bigger rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. Instead of tapping the brakes on the economy, the fear is they could slam the brakes. The harder they hit the brakes, the greater risk of an accident.

The other issue is the jobs market is on fire. Deutsche Bank thinks that only a deep recession will cool it off.

Now, we should stress that no one knows what's actually going to happen. There's no play book here.

Some other economists are more optimistic. Goldman Sachs says a recession is not inevitable, not required to tame inflation.

But still, it is startling to hear a major bank call for a downturn. And the selling on Wall Street suggests investors are getting concerned, too.

CABRERA: If feels like all bad news. I guess if you're a homeowner, there's some good news today.

Let's look at the latest data on home prices. You can see they spiked by a near record in February, jumping about 20 percent, year to year. What's going on here?

EGAN: This is a truly historic housing boom around the country. If you zoom in to 20 cities tracked, you can see home prices really started going up in early 2020 as COVID erupted. This really set off incredible demand. Not enough supply for houses.

Remember, this was when home prices crashed during the Great Recession. Down 20 percent. Now they're up about 20 percent.

In fact, prices are going up basically at a faster pace than we saw during the housing bubble of the early 2000s, which is pretty incredible.

Top three cities for the housing market, not surprisingly, Phoenix, Tampa, Miami, the Sunbelt. Prices are growing rapidly.

The question is, how long can it last? Especially since it's getting more expensive to borrow. Look at this. Under 3 percent to borrow for 30 years for a mortgage. That has shot up. It's gone up really sharply.

We've seen this. Above 5 percent. Highest levels in a dozen years. And that is fueling some demand right now. Some sense of urgency. People want to buy before prices go -- rates go higher.

But at some point, that's going to eat into the affordability. That's going to slow things down.

CABRERA: Matt Egan, thank you so much --

EGAN: Thanks, Ana.

CABRERA: -- for explaining that for us.

Working in a war zone. Ukrainian paramedics fighting to save lives while risking their own. Clarissa Ward's stunning report, next. You don't want to miss this.

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[13:42:57]

CABRERA: They are some of the only people in Ukraine running toward the sound of shelling. They are the country's paramedics.

CNN's Clarissa Ward has their story.

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CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the beginning of a 24-hour shift for paramedics, Alexandra Rudkovskaya and Vladimir Venzel.

They prepare their ambulance for the carnage that Kharkiv residents confront every day.

"We have two tourniquets," Vladimir says.

Alexandra's mother stops by the dispatch center to give her daughter a hug. This is one of the most dangerous jobs. Every moment together is precious.

(EXPLOSIONS)

WARD: A loud stream of booms signals the day's work is beginning.

"That's incoming now," this ambulance worker tells us.

Alexandra and Vladimir answer the call.

(SHOUTING)

WARD: Temperacuda (ph), she says, the code used when someone has been wounded by shelling. Their flak jackets on, they're ready to roll out.

(on camera): So they have said that they have got reports one person at least has been injured in the shelling and they're hearing some rockets as well, so we're going to see what's going on.

(voice-over): The shells hit a residential apartment building. The paramedics need to act fast.

Russian forces are increasingly hitting the same target twice. It's called a double tap, a horrifying strategy to take out rescue workers as they respond.

(EXPLOSIONS)

WARD: As we see for ourselves.

"Get in," Vladimir shouts. "Faster, faster, faster."

We take cover under the stairwell. Alexandra is trying to find the wounded person but there's no signal.

At that moment, another barrage goes off.

(EXPLOSIONS)

(SHOUTING)

[13:45:04]

WARD: We brace for the impact.

(EXPLOSIONS)

(SHOUTING)

WARD: "Is everybody okay?" Alexandra asks.

Our team member, Maria Avdviaba (ph), has cut up her hands on broken glass. Vladimir treats her injuries, as Alexandra calls the dispatch again to find where the wounded are.

"We've got no connection, we're sitting in the entrance," she says, "and they're shelling the shit out of us."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD: The connection keeps dropping.

(CROSSTALK)

WARD: Finally, she gets through to the person who called for the ambulance.

"Tell me your damn house number," she says.

"I repeat, 12G. I told you 1,000 times," he replies. "The man is dying."

We decide to try to make a run for it.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go. Come on. Maria, come on. Come on, Maria. Come on. Go, go. Get in the car. Get in the car. Get in the car.

WARD (on camera): OK, so we were just in an apartment building. They were looking for an injured man. A bunch of rounds came in and hit the next-door building, so now we're getting out as fast as we can.

(voice-over): While we run out, Vladimir and Alexandra run back in. We find them treating the injured man on the side of the road. Their back window has been blown out by the blasts.

He has shrapnel injuries and head trauma. Once they have stabilized him, they rush him to the hospital.

Vladimir asks about his pain. The man has been deafened by the blast.

Arriving at the hospital, they have done their part. It's up to others now to save him.

(on camera): I have to say, I think you guys are like the bravest people I have ever met.

(voice-over): Back at base, we ask them why they continue to do this work --

(EXPLOSIONS)

WARD: -- with all of the danger it entails.

"It's normal. This is our work. Of course it's scary, like for everyone," Alexandra says. "Today, you were with us in the hottest place, in the oven. But we're still alive, thank God."

"You feel it's your duty or obligation," Vladimir tells us, "to help the people who are still here."

(on camera): And what do your parents say? What does your family say? Aren't they wanting you to stop this work?

(LAUGHTER)

VLADIMIR VENZEL, PARAMEDIC: No comment. It's very difficult.

WARD: They must be scared.

VENZEL: Yes. Yes.

WARD: Proud, but scared.

VENZEL: Call all day, all night.

WARD: We saw your mother.

ALEXANDRA RUDKOVSKAYA, PARAMEDIC: Yes.

WARD: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

RUDKOVSKAYA: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

WARD (voice-over): "She's worried to the point of hysteria," Alexandra tells us. "She says you need to leave. You need to go to some safe place. Why are you doing this? I have only one child. Stop it."

And what do you say?

(voice-over): "I have to do it," she says simply.

And with that, they go back to cleaning their ambulance. Their shift only halfway through.

[13:49:06]

Clarissa Ward, CNN, Kharkiv.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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CABRERA: Any minute now, the clock will start ticking and Donald Trump will have to start paying. We're talking $10,000 a day after a judge held Trump in civil contempt for failing to comply with a subpoena.

CNN's senior legal analyst and former federal prosecutor, Elie Honig, is here.

Elie, what are Trump's options?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Ana, so contempt, first of all, is the tool that judges use to punish people if they defy a court's order.

Here, Donald Trump was ordered by the court to produce documents to the New York state attorney general. He did not do so. We'll see the specifics in that order soon.

Trump now has three options.

First of all, he can pay. It's going to get expensive, $10,000 per day. And this is not optional. Trump has a long history of not paying his bills. Here, he has to pay for as long as the order is in effect.

If he does not, the judge has the option of sending him to jail. Not likely, but that is potentially in play.

Second, he can comply. Either he can turn over documents or he can explain to the judge's satisfaction that he searched everywhere and doesn't have any responsive documents.

And third and finally, he can appeal. He has said he will do that.

But it's a serious uphill climb legally to do that. Courts of appeals usually do not overturn contempt orders. CABRERA: So bigger picture, where do you see this investigation and

the criminal investigation going?

HONIG: Well, Ana, given the statements that the attorney general, Letitia James, has made publicly, I think it's very likely she ends up filing a civil lawsuit against Donald Trump for fraud relating to the Trump Organization.

[13:55:04]

On the other hand, I think seeing all the indicators out there, it's very unlikely that we see a criminal charge, an indictment coming out of this.

Just a few weeks ago, the lead prosecutors on the case reportedly resigned because of a disagreement over just that.

So I do think we'll see a lawsuit. I don't think we'll see an indictment.

CABRERA: Elie Honig, good to have you here. Thank you so much.

HONIG: Thanks, Ana.

And that does it for us today. Thanks for joining us. I'll be back tomorrow, same time, same place. Until then, you can always join me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.

The news continues with Victor and Alisyn after a quick break. Stay right there.

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