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California Killings Connected?; Oath Keepers Trial Begins; Relief Efforts Continue in Florida. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired October 03, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:01]

JOHN KING, CNN HOST: The all new season of the Emmy Award-winning "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" premieres this Sunday 9:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific right here on CNN.

Thanks for your time staying on INSIDE POLITICS. We will see you back here tomorrow.

Erica Hill picks up our coverage right now.

ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Top of the hour here. I'm Erica Hill. Ana Cabrera is off today.

Desperation and climbing death toll. Five days since Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida, and we now know at least 88 people are confirmed dead. Right near -- right now, nearly 600,000 homes and businesses are still without power, some areas still without water.

Search-and-rescue operations are racing against the clock at this point. More than 1,600 rescues have been made so far, according to Governor Ron DeSantis. And citizens are doing what they can to pitch in, offering up their own boats to help, as people band together in the face of tragedy and begin this daunting task of rebuilding.

Officials in the hardest-hit county under intense scrutiny today over the timing of their evacuation order. We will learn more about that throughout the hour.

First, though, I want to check in with CNN's Nadia Romero, who is in Arcadia, Florida.

And, Nadia, there are still people, as I understand it, who are trapped by floodwaters in that area. What more are you hearing from residents?

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Erica, what we're hearing is -- while you hear the airboats behind me, that's really a sign of progress.

That means that people are being transported, that goods are coming and going. But people are getting so frustrated because it's now day four without having power, without having hot water and hot meals, and without being able to contact many of their relatives. I want you to hear from Tonia Werner. She is a member of this Arcadia

community. She can't go and figure out what's going on with her own father. Her father was taken to the hospital. She received a call from a nurse telling her that he was in the ICU on a ventilator.

But now she can't get in contact with that hospital because their lines are down ever since the storm hit. Listen to her plea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TONIA WERNER, RESIDENT OF ARCADIA, FLORIDA: As on Friday, he was on a ventilator. And that's the last contact. No phones. Nothing. I don't even know if he's alive.

I have reached out every which way I can think of, begging for information because we're stuck. And there's no place -- no way to get to him, none at all. So, if anybody has any information of a contact person at ShorePoint in Port Charlotte, ICU, please, please reach out to me, please. I'm begging. I'm begging.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: And she's just hoping for any information. Because she lives in this area, she would normally take this road right here. It's Highway 70. But you can see it's covered in water.

So the only way to get to the other side of the Peace River that has just expanded and swelled in every direction is by boat. But once you get to the other side, you then have to have a car to continue on for her to figure out what's even going on with her own family.

If you look in this direction, you will see boats here that have just arrived with fuel, with MREs, with water, with generators. This is how people are getting around if they're lucky. Some people will give you a free ride. Some people will charge you this.

This instance here are people who are just trying to figure out how they're going to make it day after day, no electricity, no hot water, no hot meals. And for many of them, they can't get in contact with their closest relatives -- Erica.

HILL: It is -- I mean, really, when we see that road that you showed to us there, Nadia, the fact that, even if you can get somewhere in a boat, as you point out, then you need a car on the other side. I just can't imagine the agony that that woman is going through in trying to just get in touch with the hospital alone.

Please keep us posted if you hear anything more, Nadia. Appreciate it.

Let's turn now to the war in Ukraine, the Russian Parliament today beginning the process of rubber-stamping Putin's illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions. On the battlefield, though, Ukrainian forces are actually making some important gains in at least one of those Russian-claimed territories, liberating the key town of Lyman over the weekend.

CNN international security editor Nick Paton Walsh was in that town just hours after Ukrainian forces regained control.

So, Nick, walk through, what did you see? And how are people coping with all of this?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes.

I mean, I have to say it was extraordinary to see this strategic victory for Ukraine, but also how ghostly, frankly, Lyman is in the moments after it. There are a few locals left, some still hiding in bomb shelters, a number of Ukrainian troops still on the streets, but not the vast numbers we had, in fact, expected, because we were told simply they'd been ordered on to their next objective.

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Obviously, Ukraine is home territory for them, so they don't have to continue to defend places that they have recaptured from the Russians. But those advances eastwards, the issue, of course, for Moscow here being that the collapse of Lyman might have a knock-on effect to its defensive positions towards its own border.

That continued Ukrainian advance, we're seeing some progress today in an easterly direction, leaving many Russians to openly debate what on earth has just happened. It may be that some of their troops did, in fact, according to locals we spoke to, manage to get out of Lyman before they were encircled, though Ukrainian official safe some were, in fact, hit on the way out of that town.

But there's been open public Russian dissent about how disastrously this operation has indeed been happening. One interesting development too, though, today was, as the Russian rubber parliament -- sorry -- as the Russian Parliament is rubber-stamping their way through this legislation for annexation, at the same time, Russia's own spokesperson in the Kremlin has in fact said that they can't quite say exactly where the borders of two of the areas they now say are Russian territories begin and end, that they will continue discussions with the local population about where that would be.

That's a very odd thing to admit, because, essentially, the whole point of Russia claiming this land as their own was to essentially threaten Ukraine that, if they continue to push forwards, that could have consequences. Now, they're basically saying, well, we will just decide where our territory begins and ends in the weeks and months ahead.

A remarkable statement, frankly, to say that you don't quite know where your international borders begin, even though their original claim on that land was farcical, to say the least.

But we're in a very momentous moment here. We're circling in the east of the country. Ukraine is making progress. But they're also too in the south as well, potentially leaving yet more thousands of Russian troops exposed and encircled, a lot of pressure on the Kremlin to try and square their, at times, bombastic and proud version of what's happening with the awful failures they're experiencing on the ground hour by hour. And that continues to evolve in the east away from Lyman -- Erica.

HILL: It is really something. And the fact that they can't even point to what perhaps that border would be is just -- it's sort of mind- blowing, quite honestly.

Nick, appreciate the reporting, as always. Thank you.

We also have some new CNN reporting in today, Ukraine offering the White House a deal. Kyiv says, you give us longer-range missiles, we will give you oversight of the Russian targets we want to attack. When asked about that offer of what is essentially veto power. John Kirby, one of the administration's national security officials, told CNN -- quote -- "I'd rather not get into a hypothetical situation."

Joining us now, CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton.

So, Colonel, perhaps not surprising that officials don't want to talk about this publicly. But, privately, is this something you think is actually being considered? It sounds like it could be a bit of a risky move?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: It certainly could be, Erica, I think very much of a risky move. However, I do also think it's being considered.

And one of the reasons for that is the amazing success that the Ukrainians have had, as Nick mentioned in his reporting. All the areas that you see right here, this is -- these are the gains that the Ukrainians have made recently. And right here, when you look at what is going on in the northeastern part of the country, this is Lyman the area that was just liberated. And see how far the Ukrainians have already extended themselves into this area.

So what that means is that they have the momentum, and they can now start to make even further asks of the administration in terms of weapon systems, in terms of the kinds of things that they believe they may need in order to prosecute the war effort even further into Russian-controlled territory.

HILL: Is that something we would know about, though, because it could potentially be so risky to have that messaging out there that the U.S. had veto power?

Would we know if that was the case?

LEIGHTON: We may or may not. This war has been conducted in kind of a public forum anyways, Erica. And so it's a little bit different from the kinds of conflicts that many of us have been involved in the past, where you find out about things like this about the whole command-and- control apparatus after the war is over.

But I think it's possible that we may know something more about this, because these arrangements have really become quite public. And in some ways, the U.S. may want to say, hey, I'm controlling this, and, Russia, you need to get out of these areas. We will make sure they don't get into any other areas that may be of -- more of a vital national interest to you than the Ukrainian areas are.

HILL: When we look at what is happening on the ground, we just had that reporting from Nick, which I have to say I was just stunned at, as they're trying to figure out the borders of these legally annexed areas and different places.

The answer is basically, well, we will get back to you, this as we're learning, I mean, Russia has at this point less territory, correct me if I'm wrong, that they have occupied than they did in the early days of the war. And we're also hearing that they're actually going knocking on doors of Ukrainians in occupied territory, saying, you have to now come fight for Russia.

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LEIGHTON: Yes. That's a...

HILL: We have talked about how Russia didn't seem to really be prepared for this. This seems to be further evidence.

LEIGHTON: It really is further evidence, Erica. And you're absolutely right.

The Russians' control -- when you go to the entire map of Ukraine once again, you can see that the Russians are actually controlling far less territory than they once did. So they have got these areas basically right in here. And this is what they control right now. They used to have areas that extended all the way in through these areas right here, well, with the exception of Kharkiv.

And you see how much they had, and now how much they have lost. So what they're really doing here is, they're playing for time. And the very fact -- and you said it's stunning. That is absolutely the right word to use, because this area, they have actually said, we're going to control each one of these oblasts, or provinces.

And these borders already been demarcated by the Ukrainians and by -- before them by the Soviet Union. And those borders are now actually not the ones that the Russians are following, apparently, based on this latest news that we're hearing out of Moscow.

HILL: It's really something.

CNN has also learned the U.S. is looking at the potential response for a range of scenarios, including the use of tactical nuclear weapons. Well, you would imagine that planning was there. I'm curious, when you look at what has happened over the last week or so, especially in terms of illegal annexation, what we're hearing from stories on the ground, how do you think the developments of the past week have maybe changed some of these calculations?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think in many ways, the calculations are basically the same for the Ukrainians.

But let's go to the northeast again just for a real quick look here. The Ukrainians are, in essence, controlling these areas right here. They now have borders that they didn't have to control or defend before. The Russians are in a defensive position along these areas right here.

And they are going to be at risk in some of the major cities that they have, like Donetsk, for example, and some of these areas further down to the south. So, the Russians are, in essence, with their backs against the wall. And they're using the possibility of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, but particular emphasis on the nuclear weapons, that they would use these in order to defend what they have got.

Whether or not they actually do that becomes another question. And that really points to the fact that these territories that they have down in the south are also at risk, because the Ukrainians are poised. With these areas right here, they can potentially get into the town of Kherson. And if they do that, then that would be another significant blow to the Russians, and that would even further forced their backs against the wall and forced them into decisions that they perhaps don't want to make at this particular point in time.

HILL: Colonel Cedric Leighton, always appreciate your insight. Thank you.

LEIGHTON: You bet, Erica.

HILL: Opening statements under way in one of the most anticipated trials connected to January 6. Prosecutors say members of the extremist Oath Keepers group spent weeks plotting an armed rebellion to block President Biden's win. We have a live report for you just ahead.

Plus, she gets millions for pushing products on Instagram. Now Kim Kardashian, though, is going to have to pony up for one of those posts.

And new concerns about the NFL's health protocols after Cardinals star J.J. Watt he had his heart shocked back into rhythm just days before a game.

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HILL: Opening statements now under way in one of the most significant criminal trials connected to the January 6 attacks on the Capitol.

Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the extremist Oath Keepers group, and four other individuals are facing the rare charge of seditious conspiracy. The Justice Department prosecutor telling the court just moments ago -- quote -- "These defendants tried to change history. They concocted a plan for armed rebellion to shatter a bedrock of American democracy."

CNN's Sara Sidner has been following this for us and was inside the courtroom as well. So, Sara, to call this a unique moment in history, in many ways, may

be an understatement. What else is coming out of the courtroom so far today?

SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, we all sitting in the courtroom, which is, by the way, completely packed with people that are the members of some of the accused family on one side, a ton of media on the other, including some of the attorneys for other cases going forward.

There is a whole 'nother case that involves Oath Keepers that is also coming in December. So they're all in court watching all of this. But what we heard from the prosecution wasn't just words. He actually played some video and some audio that we had not heard before of Stewart Rhodes talking about this alleged plan to stop the transfer of power here in D.C. on January 6.

You also heard from other members of the group as well. And there was quite a bit of video played. And the prosecutor said, look, the defense made it easy for you. We made it easy for you. The defendants made it easy for you, because there is video, there is audio, there are text messages showing you exactly what they were planning.

Then the defense caught up, the attorney for Stewart Rhodes, who is the founder of the Oath Keepers. And he got up and said, look, this is perhaps the most important jury trial in modern-day history, or at least the most anticipated, as he put it in his words.

And he says, look, you're going to hear all these things from the prosecution. You're going to hear all these text messages and see all these things. Don't be fooled by that. We have the real story. We can fill in the gaps that you are not hearing from the government and said that, by and large, that you have to understand that our clients took no part in the bulk of the violence that day on January 6.

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Now, mind you, the jury had already seen some video of some of the clients saying things like, "We're in the effing Capitol," and hearing things like the words used like civil war, that we need to go forward and take on the government now.

And so it's going to be a really interesting case. But I will tell you this. When the defense came forward -- and this is just the first of several attorneys that will be speaking in defense of the five clients -- they were objected to several times by the prosecution, interrupted up for some of the things that were saying.

And the judge sustained those injections, in other words, said the jury needs to ignore what it is that was said by the prosecution, because some of the details that they had agreed not to talk about, that happened time and again.

And, at one point, the judge stopped everything and made them go off- record, bringing the defense attorney up and the prosecution up to the bench to talk through some issues, because he wanted to make very clear that they could not go down this road, or he warned the defense that, if they did, they may allow evidence they did not want in that has been scrapped from this trial.

So that is what happened today. We are expecting to hear from three more of the defense attorneys in just a bit -- Erica.

HILL: Quite a day one there, Sara.

Sara Sidner, appreciate it. Thank you.

Police in Stockton, California, are warning people they should travel with a friend. That's because they believe someone is targeting and killing men walking alone after dark or before dawn. Why? Well, there have been five fatal shootings since July 8, all of them within a few miles of each other.

CNN's Josh Campbell is following this developing story for us.

So, Josh, what more do you know in terms of some of the similarities that make authorities believe the killings are connected?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica, thankfully, in the modern era, we don't often hear about serial killers.

And that's in part because of several different reasons, first, advancements in technology, cell phone tracking and video surveillance technology and DNA analysis. Now, authorities here in California are not yet prepared to call this the work of a serial killer. And that is because they say they don't know if they're talking about one suspect or multiple suspects, but there are numerous commonalities here that are giving them alarm.

First, as you mentioned, between July 8 and September 27, there have been five men who were shot and killed, four Hispanic males, one white male. As far as the time of day, authorities say that all of these victims were shot and killed as they were alone and shot in the evening or early morning hours.

Now, police say they don't yet know if these were targeted killings or if they were done at random. But the police chief did sit down with reporters and gave us an update on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STANLEY MCFADDEN, STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, POLICE CHIEF: We have a series of homicides that we believe are interconnected.

The problem we have, if -- we have no evidence to tell us that it's one person, two or three. We just don't know that. It wasn't a robbery. Items aren't being stolen. They're not talking about any gang activity in the area or anything. It's just element of surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: And that is what is so concerning here, is, they're saying these people weren't robbed. They were shot and killed. They're trying to determine if that was the purpose solely, was to kill these individuals.

I want to show you what authorities have released. This is a still frame, kind of a grainy image, but came from a surveillance camera from the last shooting that happened just last week. Authorities believe this is a person of interest. Not a lot to go on here. That is why authorities have announced an $85,000 reward.

They're appealing to the public that, if you have information about these killings, they want to hear from you. And just in chilling words, the police chief is warning the community to, in his words -- quote -- "have your head on a swivel." Be alert.

Certainly a frightening situation happening here in Stockton, just 90 minutes east of San Francisco -- Erica.

HILL: It really is.

Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

Staying in California here for a moment, a high school canceling the rest of its football season after some players appear to reenact a slave auction with their black teammates. We have that story for you.

Also, you can forget keeping up. Now she's paying up, Kim Kardashian paying more than a million dollars to the federal government. Why? Well, you will have to stay with us.

That's next.

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[13:29:09]

HILL: A California high school has canceled the rest of its football season because of a racist prank.

A video showed members of the River Valley High School football team acting out a slave auction of their black teammates.

CNN's Stephanie Elam joining us now with details.

I know the superintendent called this deeply offensive. What more are school officials saying and doing about this, Steph?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, already, there's a lot of fallout from this one, Erica, no doubt.

What we understand is that these football players were shown reenacting a slave auction of three black players, according to our affiliate KCRA up in Sacramento.

And according to them, because I have yet to see the video, in full disclosure, but according to KCRA, in this video that has since been deleted, it shows about a dozen students pointing and yelling dollar amounts at three black students standing in their underwear while up against the wall. Obviously, this came to light Thursday.

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