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Uvalde Native, Matthew McConaughey, Speaks At White House Press Briefing; Shortage Of Contrast Dye Forcing Hospitals To Ration CT Scans. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 07, 2022 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

MATTHEW MCCONAUGHEY, ACTOR & UVALDE NATIVE: And Uvalde called me on May 24th when I learned the news of this devastating tragedy. I had been out of cellular range working in a studio all day when I emerged and messages about a mass shooting in the town I was born in began flooding my inbox.

In a bit of shock, I drove home, hugged my children a bit tighter and longer than the night before. And then the reality of what had happened that day in the town I was born in set in.

So, the next morning, Camila and myself and the kids, we loaded up the truck and drove to Uvalde. When we arrived a few hours later, I got to tell you, even from the inside of our vehicle, you could feel the shock in the town.

You could feel the pain, the denial, the disillusion, anger, blame, sadness, loss of lives, dreams halted.

We saw ministries. We saw first responders, counselors, cooks, families trying to grieve without it being on the front-page news.

We met with the local funeral director and countless morticians who hadn't slept since the massacre the day before, because they had been working 24/7, trying to handle so many bodies at once.

So many little innocent bodies who had their entire lives still yet to live.

That is there that we met two of the grieving parents, Ryan and Jessica Ramirez. Their 10-year-old daughter, Alithia, she was one of the 19 children that were killed the day before.

Now, Alithia, her dream was to go to art school in Paris and one day share her art with the world. Ryan and Jessica were eager to share Alithia's art with us.

And said, if we could share it, that somehow maybe that would make Alithia smile in heaven. They told us that showing someone else Alithia's art would in some way keep her alive.

Now, this particular drawing is a self-portrait with Alithia drawing, with her friend in heaven looking down on her, drawing the very same picture. Her mother said of this drawing, she said, you know, we never really talked to her about heaven before, but somehow she knew.

Alithia was 10 years old.

Her father, Ryan, this man was steady. He was uncommonly together and calm.

When a frazzled friend of his came up and said, how are you so calm? I would be going crazy. Ryan told him, he said, no, you wouldn't. No, you wouldn't. You'd be strong for your wife and kids because, if they see you go crazy, that will not help them.

Just a week prior, Ryan got a full-time line job, stringing power lines from pole to pole.

And every day since landing that well-paying full-time job, he reminded his daughter, he said, girl, daddy's going to spoil you now. Told her every single night. He said, daddy's going to take you to Sea World one day.

He didn't get to spoil his daughter. She did not get to go to Sea World.

We also met Anna and Danilo, the mom and the stepdad of 9-year-old Maite Rodriguez. Maite wanted to be a marine biologist. She was already in contact with Corpus Christi University of A&M for her future college enrollment -- 9 years old.

Maite cared for the environment so strongly that when the city asked her mother if they could release some balloons into the sky in her memory, her mom said, oh, no, Maite wouldn't want to litter.

Maite wore green high-top Converse with a heart she had hand drawn on the right toe because they represented her love of nature. Camila's got these shoes.

Can you show these shoes, please?

Wore these every day. Green Converse with a heart on the right toe. These are the same green Converse on her feet that turned out to be the only clear evidence that could identify her after the shooting. How about that?

Maite wrote a letter. Her mom said, if Maite's letter could help her accomplish their dream, then her death would have an impact, and it would mean her dying had a point and wasn't pointless, that it would make the loss of her life matter.

[14:35:09]

The letter reads: "Marine biologist. I want to pass school to get to my dream college. My dream college is in Corpus Christi by the ocean. I need to live next to the ocean, because I want to be a marine biologist.

Marine biologists study animals and the water. Most of the time, I will be in a lab. Sometimes I will be on TV. Then there was Ellie Garcia, a 10-year-old, and her parents, Steven

(ph) and Jennifer. Ellie loved to dance and she loved church. She even knew how to drive tractors and was already working with her dad and her uncle mowing yards.

Ellie was always giving of her gifts, her time, even half-eaten food on her plate. Around the house, we called her the great re-gifter.

Smiling through tears, her family told us how Ellie loved to embrace, that she was the biggest hugger in the family.

And Ellie was born Catholic but had been going to a Baptist church with her uncle for the last couple of years. Her mom and dad were proud of her because they said she was learning to love God, no matter where.

The week prior to her passing, she had been preparing to read a verse from the Bible for the next Wednesday night's church service.

The verse was from Deuteronomy 6:5, "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy might."

That's who Ellie was becoming. But she never got to read it at the service on the Wednesday night.

Then there was the fairy tale love story of a teacher named Irma and her husband, Joe. What a great family this was. This was an amazing family.

Camila's and I, we sat with about 20 of their family members in the living room along with her four kids. The kids were 23, 19, 15, and 13.

They shared all these stories about Irma and Joe, served the community, would host all these parties. And how Irma and Joe were planning on getting a food truck together when they soon retired.

They were humble, hardworking people. Irma was a teacher, who her family said went above and beyond and just couldn't say no to any kind of teaching.

Joe had been commuting to and from work 70 miles away from Del Rio for years.

Together, they were the glue of the family. Both worked overtime to support their four kids.

Irma even worked every summer when school was out. The money she had made two summers ago paid to paint the front of the house. The money she made last summer paid to paint the sides of the house.

This summer's work was going to pay to paint the back of the house. Because Irma was one of the teachers who was gunned down in the classroom.

Joe, her husband, literally died of heartache the very next day when he had a heart attack. They never got to paint the back of their house. They never got to retire. And they never got to get that food truck together.

We also met a cosmetologist. She was well versed in mortuary make-up. That's the task of making the victims appear as peaceful and natural as possible for their open casket viewings.

These bodies were very different. They needed much more than make-up to be presentable. They needed extensive restoration. Why? Due to the exceptionally large exit wounds of an A.R.-15 rifle.

Most of the bodies so mutilated that only DNA tests or green Converse could identify them. Many children were left not only dead but hollow.

[14:40:07]

So, yes, counselors are going to be needed in Uvalde for a long time. Counselors are needed in all these places where these mass shootings have been for a long time.

I was told by many that it takes a good year before people even understand what to do next. And even then, when they become secure enough to take the first step forward, a life's not going to heal those wounds.

Again, you know what every one of these parents wanted, what they asked us for, what every parent separately expressed in their own way to Camila and me?

That they want their children's dreams to live on. That they want their children's dreams to continue to accomplish something after they are gone. They want to make their loss of life matter.

We heard from so many people, all right? Families of the deceased, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, Texas Rangers, hunters, Border Patrol.

And responsible gun owners who won't give up their Second Amendment right to bear arms. And you know what they all said? We want secure and safe schools, and we want gun laws that won't make it so easy for the bad guys to get these damned guns.

So, we know it's on the table. We need to invest in mental health care. We need safer schools. We need to restrain sensationalized media coverage. We need to restore our family values. We need to restore our American values.

And we need responsible gun ownership. Responsible gun ownership. We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an A.R.-15 rifle to 21. We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need Red Flag laws. And consequences for those who abuse them.

These are reasonable, practical, tactical regulations to our nations, states, communities, schools and homes.

Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals.

These regulations are not a step back. They're a step forward for a civil society and, and the Second Amendment.

Look, is this a cure-all? Hell no. But people are hurting. Families are. Parents are. And look, as divided as our country is, this gun responsibility issue is one that we agree on more than we don't. It really is.

But this should be a nonpartisan issue. This should not be a partisan issue. There's not a Democratic or Republican value in one single act of these shooters. It's not.

But people in power have failed to act, so we're asking you, and I'm asking you, will you please ask yourselves, can both sides rise above? Can both sides see beyond the political problem at hand and admit that we have a life preservation problem on our hands?

We got a chance right now to reach for and to grasp a higher ground above our political affiliations, a chance to make a choice that does more than protect your party, a chance to make a choice that protects our country now and for the next generation.

We got to take a sober, humble, and honest look in the mirror and rebrand ourselves based on what we truly value. What we truly value.

We got to get some real courage and honor our immortal obligations instead of our party affiliations.

Enough of the counterpunching. Enough of the invalidation of the other side. Come to the common table that represents the American people. Find a middle ground, the place where most of us Americans live anyway. Especially on this issue.

Because I promise you, America, you and me, we are not as divided as we are being told we are. No.

[14:45:06]

How about we get inspired? Give ourselves just cause to revere our future again.

Maybe set an example for our children, give us reason to tell them, hey, listen, and watch these men and women. These are great American leaders right here. Hope you grow up to be like them.

And let's admit it. We can't truly be leaders if we're only living for re-election. Let's be knowledgeable and wise and act on what we truly believe.

Again, we got to look in the mirror. Lead with humility. And acknowledge the values that are inherent to but also above politics.

We got to make choices, make stands, embrace new ideas, and preserve the traditions that can create true, true progress for the next generation. With real leadership. Let's start giving us, all of us with real leadership. Let's start

giving all of us good reason to believe that the American dream is not an illusion.

So, where do we start? We start by making the right choices on the issue that is in front of us today. We start by making laws that save innocent lives and don't infringe on our Second Amendment rights.

We start right now by voting to pass policies that can keep us from having as many Columbines, Sandy Hooks, Parklands, Las Vegas', Buffalos, and Uvaldes from here on.

We start by giving Alithia a chance to be spoiled by her dad. We start by giving Maite a chance to become a marine biologist. We start by giving Ellie a chance to read her Bible verse at the Wednesday night service.

We start by giving Irma and Joe a chance to finish painting their house, maybe retire, get that food truck.

We start by giving McKenna, Leila, Miranda, Jose Xavier, Tetro Helio (ph) Eliahna, Annabell (ph), Jackie, J.C., Jayla, Eva, Amerie and Lexi, start by giving all of them our promise that their dreams are not going to be forgotten.

We start by making the loss of these lives matter.

Thank you. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: That was interesting. We have just been listening to well-known actor and possibly more relevant for today, Uvalde hometown boy, Matthew McConaughey speaking about he went to visit there.

And he met with the families and about his takeaway from meeting with them and the devastation and the loss, as well as actual concrete suggestions for what could change things.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: It was, first, a eulogy for the victims of the shooting in Uvalde. And what he did there was weave together the details that many people had not heard about these children.

The red heart on the green Converse. And, you know, Alithia Ramirez's father, Ryan, wanting to take her to Sea World. And weave that together with calling the country.

Believe or agree with the political prescriptions and the legislation or do not, putting them together and trying to call the country to something higher for those children.

And frankly, a eulogy that they deserved two weeks ago.

CAMEROTA: And we had heard some of those details about those children. But hearing it from him, because it's his hometown, and because he met with them, and because he's clearly so emotionally impacted, it was effective.

Let's bring in Abby Phillip and Elie Honig.

Abby, I just thought that that was really interesting. Because he is a well-known Texan. His mother was a kindergarten teacher. He's from Uvalde. He sort of personifies so many of these issues.

Do you think that hearing from somebody like that moves the needle with lawmakers?

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I don't know if it moves the needle necessarily. But you have to think, Matthew McConaughey didn't have to do any of this. He's an actor. He could have put out a statement, made some comments, made a donation, and moved on.

[14:50:07]

He's been in Washington this week on this issue. He's at the White House on this issue. It clearly matters to him. And I think he understands what this is about. Guns and the issue of guns is a cultural issue in this country.

And I think he figures -- he talked about it today. I grew up, I learned how to shoot a B.B. gun, I had to wait until after two years after I graduated to get a shotgun.

He talked about himself as a gun owner, someone who grew up in gun culture, and why this isn't any more about gun culture.

And why, as he said, responsible gun owners ought to be able to come to agree that where the vast majority of this country, is that there are some reasonable things that can be done that don't infringe upon people's rights, but that make communities safer.

I think he understands that his cultural value to this conversation is significant. And people will look at him and say, I get it, he grew up like I did.

Sure, he's a celebrity, but he grew up like they did. He's got the accent and everything. And I think he knows how to communicate that.

BLACKWELL: Yes, delivery matters here, doesn't it?

ELIE HONIG, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Victor, I thought that was a moment. We sat here watching that. It was a moving tribute to the victims.

I also think Matthew McConaughey, maybe in some other world, he could be a law professor. He made a really important and nuanced observation about the Second Amendment.

There's a misperception that the Second Amendment is absolute. You take the NRA's position, which seems to have an awful lot of sway on Republican politicians. They would have you believe it's absolute. Matthew McConaughey said, I believe in the Second Amendment, and the

best way we honor the Second Amendment is by imposing reasonable, rational practical restrictions.

And by the way, Justice Antonin Scalia said the same thing in the Heller decision in 2008, which is one of the most recent, actually, Supreme Court opinions.

So he really knows what he's talking about. Yes, he's an actor but I think he made a smart point. And paid a beautiful and befitting tribute to the victims.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I agree. I think there was something about the way he framed it where it doesn't have to be mutually exclusive.

Often, we hear from politicians that you either love your gun and support the Second Amendment or you're for gun safety, and he made it as though we can do both, we can do this.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PHILLIP: I mean, there's no one solution. The reality is the solution is pretty straightforward. Every -- most Americans believe that not everyone shooting can be prevented by any one thing.

And the only people who don't seem to want to have that conversation are the policy makers. And so can policy makers come to where the country is really what we're asking here.

BLACKWELL: Yes, he said, is this a cure all? Hell, no. But this is essentially a first start. He said, this is where we can start.

Abby Phillip, Elie Honig, thank you very much.

The talks continue on Capitol Hill. We'll see if they can come to agreement on any policy moving forward.

All right, a concerning shortage facing hospitals right now. We're going to move on to that. Our Sanjay Gupta joins us next to explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:52]

BLACKWELL: CNN is learning that supply chain shortages are backlogging a critical aspect of health care, including cancer scans.

CAMEROTA: So here's what happened. COVID lockdowns in Shanghai forced a G.E. health care plant to shut down. And that led to a shortage of contrast dye.

That's what doctors in hospitals use in diagnostic scans, like cat scans. And without those, vital diagnoses and treatments are delayed.

CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has been investigating this. Sanjay, great to see you.

Just explain what the dye does and then how diagnoses can be missed.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: So this is a contrast dye that goes in the bloodstream, just like you mentioned. It has iodine in it, which makes it easier to image.

And then, if you have a stroke, for example, and you're trying to find out where the blood clot is that caused the stroke, you could see that area by injecting some dye into the blood vessels.

Let me show you a couple of examples. This one from my area of expertise. A scan of the brain here. May be hard to discern what's going on. There's no contrast given to this patient.

Now give some contrast and see what happens. Look in the upper right corner and you see a big, bright mass. That's a tumor that's taking a lot of blood flow, which is why there's so much contrast there.

Quickly, I'll show you another scan. This is another commonly used area for contrast dye. Looking for cancer or progression of cancer. And the upper left is the liver. Looks pretty uniform throughout.

Yet contrast, again, areas of cancer, they're taking more blood flow, therefore they take more contrast, and you can see it.

That's why it's so important.

And you know, as a result of this shortage because of that plant in Shanghai, as you mentioned, despite thousands of patients over the past several weeks who have had to delay these types of scans, you can see where that would be critical, especially if you're monitoring cancer.

It kind of points to a lesson that we've seen over and over again, guys. The idea that there's sometimes just one or two places that are the supply chains -- you know, supplying these types of substances.

If one of those goes down, you run into a shortage like this.

BLACKWELL: Yes, certainly critical.

[14:59:57]

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thank you so much.

GUPTA: Yes, thank you.

BLACKWELL: Top of the hour on CNN NEWSROOM. Good to have you. I'm Victor Blackwell.

CAMEROTA: And I'm Alisyn Camerota.