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Walker, Warnock Face Off In GA Senate Campaign Debate; Biden Campaigns In Oregon, Bypassing Some Critical States; Four Bodies Pulled From Oklahoma River As Police Search For Four Friends Who Reportedly Vanished While Bicycling; New Footage Shows Congressional Leadership Scrambling On Jan. 6; Graham Asks Appeals Court To Quash Subpoena For His Testimony Before Grand Jury In Georgia 2020 Election Probe; CNN Obtains 911 Calls Made During Raleigh Mass Shooting; CDC: Early Increase In Flu Activity Sweeping Parts Of The Country. Aired 1- 2p ET

Aired October 15, 2022 - 13:00   ET

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

[13:00:00]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All right. The midterm elections just weeks away and the balance of power in Congress is up for grabs, as only a handful of states could determine which party takes control. In Arizona, it's a tight senate race between the incumbent Democratic Senator Mark Kelly and Republican Blake Masters.

In Nevada, the race is a tossup between Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican Adam Laxalt.

And in Pennsylvania, it's a close contest between candidates Mehmet Oz, a Republican and Democratic lieutenant governor John Fetterman.

Georgia's candidates met in a lively debate last night. Democratic senator Raphael Warnock faced off against Republican Herschel Walker after weeks of bombshell allegations leveled at the former football star. CNN's Even McKend has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER (voice over): Democratic senator Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker are in a contentious Georgia Senate race with U.S. Senate control at stake.

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): It is time to get underway.

MCKEND: The Georgia candidates debated Friday night, Walker running on a family values platform currently involved in a scandal over allegedly pressuring the mother of one of his children to get an abortion.

BUCK LANFORD, DEBATE MODERATOR: The week before this debate, a former girlfriend made public accusations saying you paid for an abortion and that you encouraged her to have another. In an ABC News interview this week you said that the accusations are "all lies." For the voters watching tonight. Can you explain the circumstances surrounding these claims? You have 60 seconds? Well, as

HERSCHEL WALKER (R) GEORGIA SENATE CANDIDATE: I say that's a lie. And, you know, what most thing I put -- I put it in a book. One thing about my life is I've been very transparent, not like the senator. He's hear things. But at the same time, I say that's a lie. And on abortion, you know, I'm a Christian. I believe in life. And I tell people this, Georgia is a state that respects life. And I'll be a senator that protects life. And I say that was a lie and I'm not biting down.

WARNOCK: The patient's room is too narrow and small and cramped a space for a woman, her doctor and the United States government. We are witnessing right now what happens when politicians, most of --most of the men pile in the patient's rooms. You get what you're seeing right now. And the women of Georgia -- the women of Georgia deserves a senator who will stand with them. I trust women more than I trust politicians.

WALKER: I heard about him. I heard he was -- he was -- he's a neat talker. But did he not mention that there was a baby in that room as well. And they also did not mention that he asked him -- that he asked him -- the taxpayer to pay for it. So he bringing the government back into the room.

MCKEND: CNN has not independently verified the allegations about Walker.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Herschel, please say a few words.

MCKEND: Walker was given the opportunity to distance himself from the former president on election denial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did President Biden defeat former President Donald Trump in 2020?

WALKER: President Biden won and Senator Warnock one. That's the reason I decided to run because we need a change in Washington. We need leaders that's going to stand up to foreign leaders. We need people to understand that for people in Georgia

MCKEND: On Friday, both candidates said they would accept the results of this election. Walker was also asked about crime, and took the opportunity to make a string of claims about Senator Warnock accusing Warnock of not supporting the police who gave this rebuttal.

WARNOCK: We will see time and time again tonight, as we've already seen, that my opponent has a problem with the truth. Just because he says something doesn't mean it's true. I have supported our police officers. I've called them and I prayed with their families. You can support police officers, as I've done through the cop's through the invest -- to protect program, while at the same time holding police officers like all professions accountable.

One thing I have not done, I've never pretended to be a police officer. And I've never -- I've never threatened a shootout with the police. WALKER: And now I have to respond to that.

(CROSSTALK)

TINA TYUS-SHAW, DEBATE MODERATOR: We are moving on, gentleman.

WALKER: No, no, no, no. I have to respond to that. And you know what's so funny? I am with many police officers and at the same time --

SHAW: Mr. Walker --

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: No, no, no, no. When he said --

(CROSSTALK)

SHAW: Mr. Walker -- Mr. Walker, excuse me, Mr. Walker. Please out of respect I need to let you know, Mr. Walker, you are very well aware of the rules tonight.

WALKER: Yes.

SHAW: And you have a prop. That is not allowed sir.

MCKEND: Early voting starts Monday in Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCKEND: So that moment with Walker pulling out the badge probably the most controversial of the night. And afterwards he actually doubled down on it. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: When I mentioned the FBI, you know, people know I was joking but I have trained with FBI. I have supported by men and women in blue for years. This is not --

(CROSSTALK)

[13:05:07]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this is what you are --

(CROSSTALK)

WALKER: This is not -- this is not something that I just happen to do. So they lied about.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this was -- this was Johnson County, Herschel Walker.

WALKER: Yes. That's not just one. I have many of (INAUDIBLE) I worked with law enforcement around the -- around the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKEND: So to clear this up, it's possible that Walker spent some amount of time doing something at the FBI Training Center. An old A.P. article said it was a week, but the FBI has never commented on this, regardless. That wouldn't make him an FBI agent, as he claimed in one speech a few years ago or that he had an FBI clearance as he claimed in a previous speech. But nevertheless, this is something that he says for some reason, time and time again.

Kind of curious to me, for his part Warnock again, saying this morning, that Walker has trouble with the truth. But I spoke to Walker supporters today at a rally that Walker held and they are really enthusiastic about last night, they think that he held his own.

WHITFIELD: OK. Eva, so again, you said the FBI has yet to -- they have not commented on what that badge represents.

MCKEND: They've never commented on this.

WHITFIELD: Is it a souvenir?

MCKEND: No.

WHITFIELD: Or is it, you know, a token after you mentioned that he says he's done some training, one week of training here and there, but no comment, not even after the debate?

MCKEND: No, no. It's not -- it's -- what is clear is that he has never been an FBI agent, for some reason he continues to sort of toy with this stream of justice this line of debate for some reason.

WHITFIELD: Yes. All right. Eva McKend, we'll leave it there for now. Thank you so much.

All right. While political sparks flew in Georgia, President Joe Biden is trying to gain traction for Democratic candidates out west hitting the campaign trail in the final stretch ahead of the midterm elections. CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz is covering the president who is in Portland, Oregon right now. So Arlette, Biden is skipping some key democratic states. But he instead is focusing on some other places out west. What's the strategy?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, President Biden has spent the past four days traveling to democratic strongholds, essentially going to places where he thinks he and his policies will be helpful to democratic candidates. He is wrapping up that four-day Western string -- swing here in Portland, Oregon where he is campaigning in part for the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Tina Kotek.

But if you take a look at exactly where the president has traveled over the course of the past week, he's gone to Colorado where Senator Michael Bennet, and is a closely contested race. He also went out west to California, Los Angeles and Irvine area before coming up here to Portland. Notably, two of the states that he skipped on this western string are Nevada and Arizona where two of -- this year's most contested senate races are underway with Senator Mark Kelly and also Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.

The White House has been very keen and aware and careful to try to not to nationalize some of those races as the president's approval rating is still sitting around 44 percent. And both of those candidates are facing tough reelection fights. But here in Portland, Oregon, President Biden stopped to speak with some grassroots volunteers phone banking last night and talks about the stakes of this election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is I think, the most important off year election that we've had in since Roosevelt's time. I mean that sincerely, because so much is at stake. If we are able to keep the House and keep the Senate, we can continue to do the things we've been doing which are really going to make change the country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, the president is campaigning here in Oregon today, a state where he won by 16 points. But if you take a look at the governor's race, it is a very close race. A little closer than Democrats had been hoping. The president campaigning for the Democratic candidate Tina Kotek. There's also Betsey Johnson, an independent -- democrat turned independent in the race and then also Christine Drazan, the republican governor.

Now the president is expected to talk about some themes that we've heard repeatedly from him. Talking about trying to protect Medicare and Social Security and also touting some aspects of that Inflation Reduction Act as he hopes that those are policies that will resonate with voters heading into the midterms just three weeks away.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well -- I'll be watching of course. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much on the trail with the president All right. For more on this I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein. Ron, so good to see you. So, help us understand why is Portland, Oregon a focal point for the president right now?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it's a quirk -- you know, in any election year there are quirky elections and this is certainly want to stay the democrats dominated for decades.

[13:10:01]

But as Arlette said you have a third party, former democrat who is running an independent candidacy splitting some liberal votes and thus, you have the potential of a anti-abortion Republican nominee and a state where, you know, that clearly would not be a majority proposition, possibly winning with as little as 40 -- around 40 percent of the vote. So it is both a reflection of, you know, the dissatisfaction the Democrats are facing with the direction of the country but here magnified by this unusual circumstance of a significant at the moment in the polls, third party spoiler.

WHITFIELD: And then, you know, it's no surprise that Biden's popularity is not always a draws dip, you know, and I guess the question is, does he still have sort of a power of the pulpit to campaign?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, there are a couple of things. First, Democratic candidates are levitating above Biden's difficulties to a degree that is unprecedented in recent political history. And the key question is whether they can continue to do so in the remaining weeks through Election Day. I mean, if you look at these key senate races, polls that have come out in the last 10 days or so, everywhere from New Hampshire and Pennsylvania to Georgia, Arizona, Nevada, in all of those states.

Even Colorado, a state that it is more democratic than any of the ones I just mentioned. In all of those days, Biden's approval rating is stuck at around 40 percent. We don't have many examples in recent political history of Senate candidates from the president's party winning a state when his approval rating is that low. For example, in 2018, Republicans lost every state where Trump was at 48 percent or below.

And in 2010, Democrats lost 13 of the 15 states in the Senate, where Obama is at 47. But those Democrats are exceeding Biden. And the question is, can they continue to do so or escape that undertow? The president's real capacity and which has been successful, I think, is to change the basic frame of the election from a referendum solely on how he and Democrats are doing into something much more of a choice.

And that's a big reason why Democrats are still in a fight -- have a fighting chance of so many of these states despite Biden's weak numbers.

WHITFIELD: And you mentioned Pennsylvania, I mean, that is his home state. He is going to Pennsylvania, you know this coming week, how can he best elevate, you know, Lieutenant Governor Fetterman, who is, you know, facing a lot of questions about his health?

BROWNSTEIN: First of all, I think Pennsylvania is looming as the pivot state in the -- in -- for control of the senate. It's kind of remarkable that we're probably going to see the majors -- the 10 major races consume something like 1-1/2 billion dollars in spending, and there may be virtually no change in the -- in the -- in the kind of disposition and the breakup of the senate. If you look at where we are, Republicans have a very good shot to win in Nevada.

But that's maybe it in terms of beating seats -- taking seats the democrats now hold to offset that, the Democrats' best chances to win Pennsylvania. And what's striking is that in Pennsylvania, John Fetterman is running a little better than many democrats are with blue collar white voters who have been of course drifting Republican for year -- for years, but also are especially exposed to and squeezed by inflation.

So I'm suspecting that we're going to see a very meat and potatoes argument from the president. They're focusing on the steps that they have taken in the climate bill, the chips bill and the infrastructure bill to promote domestic manufacturing, you know, kind of plant openings that we saw in Ohio a few weeks ago with Intel. That really is the margin between success and failure in all likelihood for Fetterman doing a little better than democrats are doing elsewhere among those working class white voters.

WHITFIELD: All right. I also want to turn to Georgia now in the U.S. Senate race. Last night's debate between Herschel Walker and Raphael, Warnock, Herschel Walker had quite the team preparing him for what will be the one and only, you know, debate. So did it pay off for him?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. I think -- I think he came out of the debate. You know, he had a stronger debate in many ways than I think people anticipated. But that doesn't mean he necessarily got what he needed out of it. I mean, you saw in Walker, the core strategy of Republican Senate candidates everywhere. And, you know, what has been really since time immemorial, the strategy of the party out of the White House, if things aren't going well, you basically pointed the president and his party and say they have messed things up.

And my opponent is going to continue going in the direction that you don't like that is producing high inflation and crime and border problems. Warnock chose really not to directly engage as aggressively as he might on that. I think he really focused on maintaining kind of the posture of the amiable preacher that got him elected in 2020. He seemed like someone who believed he was ahead and his job was more to reassure voters to stick with him.

And that he needed to persuade voters. Plus the moderators frankly chose to go into more detail about personal allegations against Warnock while really skating past all of the many charges that Walker is facing and simply letting him in a very airy kind of non- substantive way brush off the charge that he paid for abortion without any meaning for follow up.

[13:15:17]

So overall, it was I thought -- I thought Warnock was kind of skating in some ways. I mean, he seemed like someone whose job felt -- he felt that was his job in order to reassure them persuade.

WHITFIELD: Yes. It did seem absent of that follow up he got to just say it's a lie. It's a lie. Well, which part is a lie? You know, was it the accusation, was it the receipt? What's the abortion? Which part is a lie but yes. All right. It was pretty fascinating. Nonetheless, 24 days to go for election -- midterm election.

BROWNSTEIN: There's a lot of very (INAUDIBLE)

WHITFIELD: That's right. All right. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much. Good to see you.

All right. Next, a gruesome discovery in Oklahoma. Four bodies pulled from a river. And now investigators are trying to determine if these are the four friends who vanished earlier this week.

Plus, chilling new footage exclusive to CNN takes us inside the halls of the Capitol while it was under attack. What lawmakers were doing to escape the violent mob.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [13:20:18]

WHITFIELD: Last night, four bodies recovered from a river in Oklahoma. This comes after four men, all close friends went missing Sunday evening after reportedly going for a bike ride. Police are not saying whether the bodies pulled from the river are these missing men. CNN's Camila Bernal joining me now. Camila, what are we learning about the case?

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fred. So currently we are waiting for the medical examiner's office in Tulsa to identify those bodies in order to get confirmation. And we have reached out to them. But we haven't gotten that confirmation yet. It is the assumption but we have to wait for that official confirmation. Now if it is the case of these four men, they were all friends, as you mentioned it, all between the ages of 29 and 32.

And they were believed to be hanging out on Sunday night, all of them with their bikes, at least two of them had their cell phones on them. So what police did was track that cell phone data and try to figure out where they were or where they could have been. They searched the areas where the cell phone data took them to. Unfortunately, that did not end up in any sort of way that helped the investigation, at least as far as we know.

They were not found in those areas where the cell phone data tracked them. And according to police, in fact, the river where these four bodies were found was not in the area where the cell phone data appeared to show them to be. So it could have been that either they were taken somewhere else, or they left their phone somewhere. Of course, all of this is unknown. At some point though, those phones either were turned off or lost power.

But what happened on Friday was that someone saw something suspicious near the river and told police about this. When they went to the river they in fact found these four bodies, the families of the four men that were missing were notified about these bodies because of course, everyone was going to assume that these four bodies were in fact, the men who were reported missing.

But if they are and once we get that confirmation, of course, there's still so many questions as to how this happened, why they were -- where they were, why they were at the river. Was there someone else involved? But overall, just what happened in all of this. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Oh, is it's -- absolutely perplexing. All right. Thank you so much, Camila Benral. The investigation, you know, of course, is underway. It's intensifying by the minute. So let's speak to the official in charge of all of this. Joining us now is Okmulgee Chief of Police Joe Prentice. So good to see you, Chief. So first off, can you confirm that these four bodies are that of these bikers who were missing?

JOE PRENTICE, OKMULGEE CHIEF OF POLICE: I cannot. I'm currently waiting for official identification from the medical examiner's office. WHITFIELD: OK. What is the -- is the medical examiner's office able to convey to you the condition of the bodies?

PRENTICE I can tell you that all four bodies were submerged in water for what appears to be an extended period of time. And therefore identification will be a little bit of a challenge. And the medical examiner is using scientific methods to make those identifications and they will do them on a case by case basis.

WHITFIELD: Are you able to go as far as submerged? Are we talking about drowning victims? Or does it appear that there was any other trauma on the bodies before being submerged?

PRENTICE Cause and manner of death will have to come from the medical examiner's office. They were submerged. I can't speculate on what the cause and manner of death was.

WHITFIELD: What is the focus of the investigation right now?

PRENTICE: Well, currently, I would have to characterize it as two separate investigations. We still are investigating the case of the missing man. And now we have a secondary investigation based on these bodies that are found because we can't say with certainty that they're connected. But we carry on with both simultaneously.

WHITFIELD: So can you take us back in that that they were out for a bike ride. What can you tell us about the last time they were together or what the expectation was about their activity? What was happening?

PRENTICE: Based on our investigation and information we've received they left a residence on the west side of Okmulgee together early evening on Sunday, the 9th. And I don't know why their intentions were but we were able to track their cell phones to a local salvage yard and then their cell phones left that salvage yard and went to another.

[13:25:13]

WHITFIELD: OK. And then our reporter there was talking about the cell phone activity is a different location from the river. So, is there any explanation thus far about the salvage location that you said that the phone activity was? What's the proximity to where the bodies? And again, you haven't identified them to be that of the bikers. But what's the proximity between those spaces?

PRENTICE: One salvage yard, the first one I visited is approximately five miles from the river. The other is a rough estimate 10 to 12 miles away.

WHITFIELD: OK. And we also understand the bicycles have not been found, or have they?

PRENTICE: No, we have not recovered any bicycles.

WHITFIELD: Do you have any instinct as to what may have happened here? What is this the result of?

PRENTICE: I don't -- I don't want to speculate at this point. And anything that -- any idea I throw it out there will be speculation.

WHITFIELD: You do suspect foul play. Correct?

PRENTICE: Well, in which case?

WHITFIELD: In the case of these missing men.

PRENTICE: I can't say that definitively. Because I don't know that the four bodies that we've recovered are those men. I do suspect foul play in the discovery of the four bodies, what led to them being there.

WHITFIELD: OK. And when do you expect to get a report from the medical examiner? Because I understand that, you know, so much of the connecting the dots is predicated on that information.

PRENTICE: Yes, ma'am. I was told this morning that the first autopsy began about 8:30 this morning. And they were going to work through as many of them as they could and might not get to all of them today. So I would say late today or tomorrow sometime.

WHITFIELD: All right. Okmulgee Oklahoma chief -- Police Chief Joe Prentice, thank you so much for your time and keep us posted. We'll continue to check in with you to find out the advancement of this investigation. Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

PRENTICE: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:32:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. We're seeing powerful new behind the scenes video today showing the threats congressional leaders face as they fled the Capitol during the January 6 riots. The exclusive video is from filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, she's the daughter of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and was shooting a documentary on the day of the insurrection.

The video shows Speaker Pelosi and other congressional leaders as they sheltered at a military base in the Washington area, after being rushed away from the Capitol mob. Pelosi is heard speaking to Vice President Pence, who was holed up at an underground loading dock on the Capitol campus, as they discussed, if and when it would be safe enough to return to the Capitol and certify the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY PELOSI, SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We're at Fort McNair, which has facilities for the House and the Senate to meet as a backup plan should anything like (INAUDIBLE) like this, but anything happen that would warrant that logistically want to bring all the members here, House and Senate, anyway. We're just making a judgment. We'd rather go to the Capitol and do it there. But it doesn't seem to be safe. What do you think? (INAUDIBLE)

PELOSI: But he spoke in terms of going back to the Capitol, which is what we want to do too. But Mitch was talking about going back to the Capitol. Yes.

(INAUDIBLE)

PELOSI: Well, we would like to go back to the -- I - that's would be our hope as well, the security is telling us that it's going to be a while before the Capitol will be able to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: While sheltering at the military base, the lawmakers discussed backup plans, if it was determined to be too dangerous to return to the Capitol.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PELOSI: I think Pence will have an honest estimate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

PELOSI: Now, how long will it take to set up here?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), MINORITY LEADER: (INAUDIBLE) they're trying to gather all the members up. We'll do the same. Load the buses and come down to this building. At that point, we'll see if we want to continue democracy here on base, and get it over with, or if (INAUDIBLE).

PELOSI: We've made that decision.

SCHUMER: I want to ask you another question. How do they all get home? Where do they go? So let's say we finish at midnight or one in the morning. How does

it? You're going to them all back to the Capitol and let them disperse? How would we look out for their safety once we're finished?

[13:35:04]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We will make sure they safe getting back to where they need to be. We will have time as we set up this operation and move forward with this democratic process and we'll adjust accordingly. But obviously the Capitol is, is no condition to go back to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, with me now is CNN Legal Analyst Steve Vladeck. Steve, so good to see you. So this new video, you know, comes after the January 6 Committee held what's expected to be the last hearing. In your view, does this change anything? Does this fill in any gaps?

STEVE VLADECK, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, I mean, Fred, I think it's the whole story. And I think the whole story that the January 6 committee has told over the last few months, has been a story that has put former President Trump's state of mind, front and center. What did he know? When did he know it?

You know, is it really the case, as so many of these video clips we've seen really do seem to suggest that he knew he had lost, that he knew that the violence on January 6 was not in support of a peaceful, legitimate objection to an election. And I think that's why we've seen this move, this dramatic move by the committee to subpoena former President Trump because when you come down to it, if the debate is really over, his state of mind, what he knew, what he thought when, the only person who can really speak to that is former President Trump himself.

WHITFIELD: Yes. That video also demonstrates his absence, right? I mean, his absence in reaching out to the Vice President. It would be the House Speaker who would, you know, care to know about how he's doing, his disposition, his absence in ordering, calling National Guard, because you hear that in the video as well, like, you know, just -- they're surprised. I mean, Schumer is even, you know, shocked, right, that the acting Attorney General doesn't seem willing to tell the president he needs to call people off.

So my point is, it's also demonstrating the absence, the curiosities about what was the President doing if he wasn't engaged, like we see these lawmakers engaged.

VLADECK: Yes, no, I think that's absolutely right. I mean, I don't think there's any question at this point, that at the absolute minimum, President Trump committed a massive indefensible dereliction of duty on January 6, by not speaking up more aggressively, by not sending troops when they were requested, by not telling the rioters to go home.

I think the question that the January 6 committee has set out to investigate and perhaps even prove is whether they can go one step further, and show that President Trump's sins were not just sins of omission, but they were sins of commission, that he was actually, you know, knowingly involved and willingly advancing the violence, the attempt to thwart the joint session, all of these other related things, knowing that he had lost, knowing that this was illegitimate. And this is an attempt to keep them in power through unlawful means.

You know, I think that's the step that I think lots of folks probably have already made up their minds, but where I think the committee do its due diligence says, you know, the best person who can help us get to the bottom of that is President Trump himself. You know, obviously, it raises the stakes, but I think that's where we are. That's where all of these hearings have led us to.

WHITFIELD: Let me ask you about something else. Of course, it's all related, even though we're talking about, you know, different localities and different players here, but it all is rooted in the, you know, the election of 2020 in South Carolina -- or in Georgia that South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, you know, is asking an appeals court to reverse a ruling compelling him, you know, to testify before a special grand jury in Georgia, he doesn't want to do so.

And, you know, Georgia, of course, investigating attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election. Graham's attorneys are arguing that he should receive a constitutional immunity as a sitting senator. But I wonder too, with that, I mean, a, what is that argument? And then, you know, b, does his reluctance only make it look worse for him? I mean, if there's -- if you're not hiding anything, if there's nothing untoward then what's with, you know, all of these motions to say, no way. Do I want to sit and talk to any grand jury in Georgia?

VLADECK: Yes. I mean, Fred, I think the things that these two stories have in common besides the election is delay. And the idea that if you can run out the clock, you know, perhaps you can avoid having to take a position one way or the other. So, Senator Graham's argument is not frivolous. I mean, there is a provision in the Constitution, Article I, Section 6, called the Speech or Debate Clause, and it does create a form of immunity for members of Congress to be not held to account for things that they do as part of their official legislative --

WHITFIELD: Business.

VLADECK: -- capacity.

WHITFIELD: Right.

VLADECK: And I think the -- right, exactly. And I think the problem for Senator Graham is that maybe there are, you know, a couple of questions that the special grand jury in Fulton County wants to ask him that might cross the line into the Speech or Debate Clause.

[13:40:15]

But the notion that he's categorically immune, and having to answer any questions, I mean, his name is not protected by the Speech or Debate Clause. His views on the election are not protected by the Speech or Debate Clause. So, I think the real issue in the Court of Appeals is going to be sort of splitting the difference between whether Graham can be categorically exempt where I think the court is likely to say no, and whether there can be a fairly objective line to be drawn, for which kinds of questions you can be forced to answer, and which kinds of questions you can invoke this constitutional immunity to shield himself from.

WHITFIELD: It is fascinating. Steve Vladeck, thank you so much for breaking it down. Appreciate it.

VLADECK: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up next, so we'll take you to Raleigh, North Carolina, where we're learning new details about the 911 calls during a fatal mass shooting there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:45:11] WHITFIELD: Disturbing emergency calls from the mass shooting in Raleigh, North Carolina revealing the moments a gunman opened fire on an unsuspecting neighborhood. Five people were killed, including an off-duty officer on his way to work. The youngest victim was just 16 years old. CNN's Nadia Romero is following this story. So Nadia, we're going to hear from 911. That's very disturbing, but --

NADIA ROMERO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- do you even we know, what was the motivation here? What -- how did this get started and why?

ROMERO: There's just so many questions about the motivation. We're learning more about the suspect himself. And we know that the name has been circulating on social media, but we're talking about someone who is a minor and who has not been charged so we at CNN are not naming that person. Even though you may see some things on social media.

I want to make sure we focus on the victims. So let's start with with one of the victims of the shooting. Her name was Sue Karnatz. She was an avid runner and her husband, he really left a very moving tribute on social media, a poem about her and the future that was stolen from them. We know that she was at the Boston Marathon back in 2013 when the bombing happened, she survived that, but was later killed just this past week. She leaves behind three boys and so many others who will love and miss her.

I want you to hear just the emotion behind the people who called into 911 after hearing the gunshots. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's people out front. I'm currently in my room. There's people in front. It's like a cul-de-sac. I think someone just got shot. I think I heard three or four gunshots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are people screaming.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMERO: You just never think you're going to have to make that call. I want to introduce you to another one of the victims. Her name Mary Marshall. We were told that she graduated back in 2014 from a culinary arts program. She was one of the few students selected to go to France for her study abroad. She was supposed to get married this coming week.

WHITFIELD: Oh gosh.

ROMERO: And now that will not happen. Her sister releasing this statement saying, "Being a leader is all about leading and making decisions that benefit support and keep our country safe. How many times do we have to hear our leader say we're sorry, and something must be done. We demand action." And that's what so many people are looking for. So many unanswered questions. But how many times do we have to talk about another mass shooting in this country?

WHITFIELD: Yes, it's awful. Yes. No matter what the explanation is, there really isn't a good explanation --

ROMERO: No.

WHITFIELD: -- for any of this. It's horrible. All right, Nadia Romero, thanks so much.

Up next, a nationwide shortage of Adderall, which is used to treat ADHD. We'll tell you when the FDA is predicting the drug will be back in stock, that's next.

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[13:52:41]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. The CDC reporting an early surge in flu cases. More than 1,000 patients were hospitalized by the virus this past week, although, current flu activity is still low overall. CNN's Jacqueline Howard has more on where we're seeing the increases.

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Public health officials already are seeing some flu hospitalizations, possible cases within schools and they are bracing for what could be a rough flu season ahead. And when you look at the numbers, it seems as if we are returning to flu levels that we saw before the COVID-19 pandemic.

When you look at the percentage of specimens from people going to the doctor's office with respiratory symptoms, that percentage that tested positive for flu was 3.1 percent in 2019 before COVID. Then in 2020, that percentage dropped to 0.2 percent. In 2021, it dropped to 0.1 percent. And now, it's up again around 3.3 percent.

And that's likely because we're no longer following COVID measures like masking and social distancing. Those are practices that help prevent flu spread too. And then because the past two flu seasons were very mild, we also might not have robust immunity right now.

Over in San Diego where high schools have many students out sick, County Public Health Officers say they anticipate this will be a rough flu season, quotes, "We're coordinating with local school districts and are checking with other school campuses to try and figure out why so many students have been affected so suddenly. Unfortunately, we anticipated this would be a rough influenza season, and alongside COVID-19 other respiratory viruses are also making a rapid comeback."

And, of course, remember to protect yourself against flu, get your flu vaccine, stay home when you're sick and wash your hands often. Let's remember to practice good hygiene. Back to you.

WHITFIELD: Always. Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.

And this quick programming note join Stanley Tucci as he explores the wild west of Italy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STANLEY TUCCI, " STANLEY TUCCI: SEARCHING FOR ITALY" HOST: Head Chef Francesco Stava (ph) might be known for a sparkling fresh seafood. But at Fridays Menorahs Restaurant, there's one local specialty he can't take off the menu. Fregola flote demarde (ph).

[13:55:09]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So we start from the similar (ph), from the Orosei area.

TUCCI: It all starts with the pasta that looks curiously like couscous.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to put a few drops of warm water and start to create the lumps. It's relaxing.

TUCCI: It is relaxing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

TUCCI: Fregola's origins are difficult to unearth. Some say it was brought here by the Phoenicians, others that it came from North Africa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Supposedly, a woman who could make fregola was deemed to be kind of good marriage material.

TUCCI: Really?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that was her kind of proposition to her potential husband. I can make fregola so I'm going to make you a good wife.

TUCCI: Really? No, I'm going to have to talk to my wife about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Wow, I'm seeing patients in the making right there. Don't miss an all-new episode of "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" tomorrow at 9:00 p.m. right here on CNN.

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