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Eva Doyle is Interviewed about her Friend Katherine Massey; Key Primary Votes Tomorrow; Baby Formula Shortage. Aired 9:30-10a ET
Aired May 16, 2022 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:30:00]
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to hear about their friendship and their work to make their community better, after a quick break.
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SCIUTTO: We are learning more now about the victims of the racist attack that left ten people dead in Buffalo. Keep in mind, they were killed because they were black. The shooter said so in a manifesto. One woman killed was 72-year-old Katherine Massey, known as Kat.
[09:35:04]
She's known as an ardent advocate for civil rights and education and did everything she could to lift up Buffalo's black community.
So joining us now is a good friend of hers, Eva Doyle, known as Mother Doyle, a retired Buffalo school teacher, long-time friend of Kat Massey.
Mother Doyle, I'm going to call you that because I know that's how you're known there, I'm so sorry you have to go through this.
"MOTHER" EVA DOYLE, FRIEND OF BUFFALO SHOOTING VICTIM KATHERINE MASSEY: Yes. Thank you so much.
SCIUTTO: I wonder if you could tell us a thing or two about Kat Massey.
DOYLE: Yes. Yes. Katherine Massey, known throughout the African American community as Kat Massey. She was a community activist. She was a fellow writer. She often wrote articles about local issues in our community and our local papers. She was a very sincere, thoughtful and honest writer. I've known her a long time, being a writer myself, and was very saddened to hear about her death and this brutal attack on our beloved supermarket.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
DOYLE: I call it our beloved supermarket because it was the only African American supermarket in our community. And everybody just loved it and everybody supported it. And I admired Katherine Massey so much because she always, through her
writings, through her speaking, she often spoke out at our local board of education meetings. She spoke out about the education, the need of improving the education of our students. And she wrote about so many topics that were so dear and close to our community.
And the last time I saw her, which was about -- before the pandemic, she and I attended a rally, a community rally, against the illegal guns in our community. And the rally was attended by state and local officials. And we both walked down to the rally together. And she pointed out the fact that she and her family didn't live far from there.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
DOYLE: She was always concerned about this community. She is going to be so greatly missed. A great loss.
SCIUTTO: I'm sure.
DOYLE: Not only to the African American community, but to the entire western New York area.
SCIUTTO: One of her issues, and you were part of a group called We Are Women Warriors, was gun control, right, trying to fight gun violence.
DOYLE: Yes. Yes. She wrote about it. She spoke out about it. Yet we do have an organization in Buffalo called We Are Women Warriors, which is actually started by former legislature Betty Jean Grit (ph), which pulled in women from all segments of our community, women and leadership roles. Among them, Katherine Massey, who -- and many other black women who spoke out on a continual basis against some of the things in our community that we wanted to make a better community for all, for all those people who resided in the -- on the east side of Buffalo, New York.
SCIUTTO: Yes. Let me ask you this, because I'm sure you've seen quotes from this manifesto of this shooter, and you've heard sitting lawmakers echo some of the rhetoric. This replacement theory. This idea that people like you, that immigrants, are going to replace whites in this country.
I just want to ask, what do you say to lawmakers, members of the media, who repeat that kind of rhetoric. What would you like to say to them today?
DOYLE: Well, first of all, that's absolutely ridiculous. And one of the things I do, it's Mr. Sciutto, right?
SCIUTTO: Yes.
DOYLE: As a writer myself, and as a newspaper columnist, and as a retired teacher for 30 years, I have fought against those kinds of negative ideas for more than 30 years. And so did Kat and people like her. Those things are certainly not true. And, you know, you mentioned that manifesto. And I haven't read it,
but I have been told that not only was the Top supermarket one of the goals of this white supremacist in terms of wanting to attack black people, but I've been told that the street where I live was named in that manifesto.
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Now, I don't know what that means, but its very upsetting. And I'm very concerned. Not only my street, but some of the other surrounding streets, which is populated by 100 percent African Americans.
SCIUTTO: Yes, it's --
DOYLE: We have a great problem. And I say to all of our leadership, we must address these problems and we also must address young people like this 18-year-old who harbors so much hate. Where does he get all -- being 18 years old, where did he get all that hate from? Who taught him to hate like that? So, we have a tremendous job to do. Not only in getting rid of the illegal guns all over this country, but also eradicating the negative ideas and the stereotyped ideas coming from people who don't know us as African Americans. The people who are killed on Saturday were decent, law-abiding people, just doing what normal people do on a Saturday, shopping for groceries.
SCIUTTO: Yes. That shouldn't have to be a dangerous thing.
DOYLE: We have a tremendous job of education to do throughout the United States of America.
SCIUTTO: Well, Mother Doyle, I'm so sorry you and your community have to go through this. And thank you for sharing memories of Kat. An we'll do our best to cover this going forward. Please be safe.
DOYLE: Yes, she's going to be greatly, greatly missed by the entire community.
Thank you so much for inviting me to speak.
SCIUTTO: Take care, Mother Doyle.
Still ahead --
DOYLE: Thank you and have a good day.
SCIUTTO: You, too.
Still ahead this hour, one day until key primaries in five states, including Pennsylvania and North Carolina. A lot on the line for the Republican Party and for Donald Trump. We're going to have a live report on where they all stand coming up.
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[09:46:17] SCIUTTO: It's primary season. Voters heading to the polls for primary elections in several key states this week. Tomorrow, Kentucky, Idaho, Oregon, North Carolina and Pennsylvania will hold nominating contests. They are among the most hotly contested races of this election cycle.
CNN's Kristen Holmes joins us now.
And, Kristen, you know, look, these are primaries, right? This is -- this is Republican versus Republican, Democrat versus Democrat. But it shows real -- some real battles, particularly within the Republican Party here.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely. I mean here in Pennsylvania, the biggest thing that we're watching right now is this Senate Republican primary where essentially everyone was jockeying for former President Donald Trump's support. Now, Trump ended up backing celebrity Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is now in a statistical tie with a former hedge fund CEO David McCormick, as well as Kathy Barnette.
Now, last week Kathy Barnette seemingly came out of nowhere after weeks of mud-slinging between McCormick and Oz. She is a political novice and somewhat of an ultra-MAGA candidate. So eyes are on this. And you can tell how important this is to Donald Trump because he continues to bash McCormick and Barnette. Remember, aides told him not to back Oz. So, obviously, he's going to want to prove them wrong.
Now, on the Democrat side, a lot going on there as well. Lieutenant Governor Don Fetterman has maintained a very substantial lead in his race over his opponents for months. Yesterday, after days of canceling events, he announced that he had suffered from a minor stroke on Friday, that this had been discovered at the hospital. And this has introduced somewhat of a wildcard. While doctors say he is recovering, he says he wants to get back on the trail, he is still in the hospital. So the question being whether or not this news ends up impacting his comfortable lead.
Now, moving to North Carolina, there are two big races that we're watching there. One is a congressman, Madison Cawthorn, who is fighting for his very short, political life. He has the support of Donald Trump. Even moments ago on Trump's social media network he posted that everyone should give him a second chance.
But his colleagues in the House don't feel the same way after a series of bizarre events. There's also the Republican primary in North Carolina, where Trump has backed Ted Bud.
And one thing I want to note here, these two Republican primaries for Senate are incredibly important. You have to keep in mind here that these two seats are seats that are currently held by Republicans but Democrats think they might be able to flip depending on who that candidate is.
Jim.
SCIUTTO: Kristen Holmes, thanks so much. Should the U.S. now import baby formula to help ease the shortage for
parents who are becoming desperate? The FDA could weigh in on the issue by the end of the day. We'll have more on that coming right up.
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[09:53:28]
SCIUTTO: New this morning, the FDA commissioner, Dr. Robert Califf, says that Abbott Nutrition, the company at the center of the U.S. baby formula shortage, should be able to reopen its manufacturing plant in the next two weeks. That's good news. An expected announcement possibly by the end of the day about another option, which is importing baby formula from overseas.
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DR. ROBERT CALIFF, FDA COMMISSIONER: Over time they should have a big effect because we'll have access to a lot more formula from different manufacturers. This will gradually improve over a period of a few weeks. But we really do anticipate that within, you know, a few weeks we'll have things back to normal.
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CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more on this.
So, we see the FDA commissioner there says a few weeks we should have back to normal. You've got two things going on there, Abbott reopening its plant but also the possibly of imports. Should parents expect this to be relatively normal in some weeks' time?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, when the commissioner says in a few weeks' time things will be back to normal, a few weeks. There's a lot of wiggle room there. So, I don't think that parents should count on this ending anytime really soon.
Let's take a look at some steps that Abbott and others are taking to getting more formula out there. Of course, they're trying to reopen the plant, which has been closed for quite some time now. Abbott also says they're air shipping millions of cans of formulas from a plant in Ireland. They're also switching manufacturing lines in the U.S. that used to be devoted to other products, now they're rededicating it to formula.
[09:55:03]
Gerber says they're increasing production of their infant formula, but they also say that they are a small player. They just -- and any parent knows, you don't see a whole lot of Gerber baby formula out there. It tends to be other brands.
Let's take a look at what parents should and should not do in the meantime. Absolutely should not make your own formula, you shouldn't use cow's milk or soy milk or anything if your child's under one. Also, don't water down formula. You can talk to your pediatrician. Your pediatrician doesn't have any secret stash of formula. But if you child has a medical issue, they may be able to help you get a specialty formula.
Also, if you're a mom who's recently given up breastfeeding, they can get you to a lactation counselor to sort of restart that breast milk supply.
Jim.
SCIUTTO: Gosh, can't come quickly enough.
Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
COHEN: Yes. Thanks.
SCIUTTO: We have now learned that the suspect in Saturday's shooting massacre planned to continue his deadly rampage. We've got that and the latest headlines on the investigation in Buffalo, such a sad story, just after a quick break.
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