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Americans Can Now Buy Hearing Aids Over-the-Counter; Retailers Start Charging Shoppers For Online Returns; Trump Complains U.S. Jews Don't Appreciate His Moves On Israel; 8 Dead, Dozens Injured Following Fire At Notorious Prison In Iran. Aired 2:30-3p ET
Aired October 17, 2022 - 14:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[14:34:41]
ERICA HILL, CNN HOST: Starting today, for the first time, some adults who suffer from hearing loss will be able to buy hearing aids over the counter.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: So the FDA changed the rule requiring a medical exam and prescription for those devices. Industry experts are calling this a game changer.
CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, is here.
This could have major quality of life impacts for millions of people. Who is benefitting here, Jacqueline?
[14:35:04]
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Absolutely, Victor. Benefitting here includes adults who have mild to moderate hearing loss. That's the group that will be eligible to receive these over- the-counter hearing aids at scores and online.
When you look at the statistics, about 28.8 million adults in the country could benefit from wearing a hearing aid, but not all of them have access or have had the means to afford them.
When you look at older adults, 70 and older, fewer than 30 percent who could benefit from wearing hearing aids have ever used them. Adults aged 20 to 69, about 16 percent who could benefit from wearing hearing aides have ever used them.
So the goal with these over-the-counter devices is to make them more accessible, more affordable. They'll go from costing thousands of dollars with a prescription to costing more in the hundreds of dollars.
And the stores that say they'll have some of these over-the-counter devices include Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Best Buy, Hy-Vee.
So again, this starts today. And like you said, Victor, this is really life-changing for many people. Hearing loss has been associated with poor physical health and even poor mental health.
Some people tend to isolate themselves if they do experience hearing loss. Having access to a hearing aid can be beneficial for both physical and mental health.
HILL: Absolutely. Makes such, such a difference, especially when you factor in how cost prohibitive it's been for some people for so long.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: Jacqueline Howard, appreciate it. Thank you.
BLACKWELL: I usually order the large and extra large because I don't know which is going to work for me --
HILL: I like to do two sizes, too.
BLACKWELL: I can't do that anymore because the days of free online returns may be coming to an end for some retailers.
HILL: And we're not happy about it, quite frankly.
CNN's Matt Egan joining us now.
So I guess, on the one hand, I can understand that there are costs involved, but it's going to make a lot of people unhappy. How widespread is this pending return fee?
MATT EGAN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Yes, Erica and Victor, so much for online impulse shopping, right? We have seen H&M, Zara, and a bunch of other retailers start to charge fees for these shipping back of returns.
And this is one of those weird consequences of inflation. Because the cost for retailers to accept returns has gone up. Most of this stuff has to go back on trucks. But the cost of fuel has gone up. Carriers, like UPS and FedEx, they're charging more for shipping rates.
And the cost of labor, those workers that go through and sort through the returns to make sure they're good quality, that has also gone up. And retailers are also being hit by high inflation, their profits are getting squeezed.
This is, of course, going to be a disappointment to people who like to, as Victor said, buy multiple colors, multiple sizes, you return what you don't like.
But that does add up. Retailers accepted $100 billion of online returns in 2020. That went up to $218 billion last year. It could be even higher this year.
The question is whether or not these shipping return fees annoy customers enough that they end up taking their business elsewhere.
BLACKWELL: So now we've got a -- I guess, to pay for the returns. But unless there are ways, Matt, to avoid these without standing in line, is there a way?
EGAN: Well, I mean, the obvious thing is you can only buy what you need and what you're sure you want, but that's not realistic.
(CROSSTALK)
HILL: Don't know which size is going to fit.
EGAN: Right, exactly. When you're buying online, you don't know what's going to fit. You don't know what the colors are going to look like, if you're going to like it.
The other thing you could do is make sure you make all of your returns in store. A lot of retailers do not charge instore return fees.
Of course, then, they want you to go buy more stuff in the store. Hopefully, you don't have to return that as well.
HILL: Also maybe more stores will start stocking more. I find when I try to go into a physical store lately to buy something, they have few sizes and limited merchandise.
BLACKWELL: Yes. They have it in two colors in store and eight online.
HILL: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Matt Egan, thank you.
[14:39:19]
Former President Trump criticizes American Jews for what he believes is insufficient praise for his past policies in Israel. The response, next.
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BLACKWELL: Kanye West is set to buy alternative social media company Parler. Its CEO, George Farmer, said that West "made a groundbreaking move into the free speech media space and will never fear being removed from social media again."
Farmer is married to conservative commentator, Candice Owens.
Last week, Kanye was locked out of Twitter and Instagram after Anti- Semitic posts there.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump is under fire for criticizing American Jews on his social media platform. He wrote:
"No president has done more for Israel than I have. Somewhat surprisingly, however, our wonderful evangelicals are far more appreciative of this than people of the Jewish faith, especially those living in the U.S."
"Those who live in Israel are a different story. Highest approval rating in the world. Could easily be P.M.," prime minister, he said. "U.S. Jews have to get their act together and appreciate what they
have in Israel before it is too late."
[14:45:03]
CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, Halie Soifer, joins us now.
Halie, thanks for your time.
Your recollection to what the former president posted there on his social media platform?
HALIE SOIFER, CEO, JEWISH DEMOCRATIC COUNCIL OF AMERICA: Thanks, Victor.
Yes, what Donald Trump posted really demonstrates three things. First, Donald Trump doesn't know the first thing about American Jews. We're loyal Americans, which is why we prioritize the future of our democracy. This has nothing to do with Israel.
Second, Jewish voters don't support Trump because he's threatened our community and our democracy. He's aligned with white supremacists and extremists, which has threatened our security.
And, third, American Jews overwhelmingly reject Trump and the Republican Party that he leads because we're loyal to our values. The party under Trump has pursued an agenda that is antithetical to our values, whether on democracy or reproductive rights.
And this is why Jews are overwhelming Democrats. And we're going to show that again at the midterms.
BLACKWELL: What do you -- and again, I point out that you are ahead of a Democratic group. I understand there's some politics here.
But how did you interpret the "before it's too late" element of this?
SOIFER: It's a threat. There's nothing else that can be interpreted there. It is a direct threat to our community.
I don't know what exactly he's threatening. But it's not the first time sadly, and likely it won't be the last.
Also, there's been a silence among Republicans in response to this threat. Not one elected representative, Senator, or candidate on the Republican Party side has said anything to separate themselves from this threat or from Donald Trump.
They continue to cower to him. And their silence is complicity.
BLACKWELL: Let me ask you about one candidate specifically, if this was about Trump or about a specific race.
Just minutes after this post, he posted an endorsement of Congressman Lee Zeldin, who is one of only two Jewish Republicans in the House of Representatives. He's now the Republican nominee for the governor of New York.
Do you think that that played some role in this post, calling out American Jews?
SOIFER: I don't. As I said, this is not the first time. If you recall in 2019 Donald Trump called the majority of American Jews, Jewish Democrats disloyal. Disloyal to him, disloyal to whom, I don't know.
But we're loyal to our values and that's why overwhelmingly American Jews are Democrats because the Democratic Party represents our values.
BLACKWELL: The defense that we hear from former President Trump and some of his defenders is that, of course, he isn't an antisemite because has Jewish grandchildren, he has a Jewish daughter.
To that defense, you say what?
SOIFER: The only thing true about that statement is that he does, in fact, have Jewish members of his family.
But time and again he has repeated anti-Semitic stereotypes. He has refused to condemn white supremacy. And he has emboldened and incited extremists, including white supremacists, to attack our democracy.
So clearly whether he's an anti-Semite or not, anti-Semites believe he is their ally. We have heard them repeat the same negative stereotypes that he has used about Jews.
He's a danger to our community. And the Republican Party that he leads is a danger because he's used extremism to further his political agenda.
That has nothing to do with his family. And frankly, it has nothing to do with Israel.
BLACKWELL: Halie Soifer, thank you.
SOIFER: Thank you.
[14:49:17]
HILL: Anti-government protests growing in Iran as the death toll is climbing after a fire broke out in a notorious Iranian prison, one known for holding political prisoners. How the U.S. is responding, next.
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HILL: In Iran, at least eight are dead, dozens more injured after a fire broke out in Tehran's prison on Saturday. The notorious site is known for housing anti-government activists.
An Iranian official said the incident though was not related to the protests that have been sweeping the country since the death of 22- year-old Mahsa Amini.
BLACKWELL: Amini was detained by the country's morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab correctly.
CNN's Nada Bashir joins us now.
What more do we know about that fire?
NADA BASHIR, CNN REPORTER: Well, Victor and Erica, the details around this fire in the prison over the weekend are still somewhat unclear. We are hearing different accounts from different sources.
But pro-reform groups, including the pro-reform news outlet, Iran Wire, have been sharing accounts from sources and detainees within the prison, detailing what they describe from one detainee as a revolt, which later ensued in a fire.
But of course, the Iranian regime has offered a different version of events saying there was a fire at a clothing warehouse on the prison complex, but it was started by what they described as thugs. And they were quick to assert that the situation was brought under control.
But, look, we have been hearing accounts from detainees speaking to family members, loved ones, former detainees who are now outside of the prison complex describing these forces and authorities within the prison complexes, deploying tear gas against protesters.
[14:55:04]
Some saying they had to break the windows just to be able to breathe. Others saying that some had been taken away to an unknown location. There's still clarity waiting to be confirmed around this incident.
But, look, the Iranian authorities say this has no connection with the ongoing protests sweeping the country. But it is hard to ignore the context here. This prison complex holds in it hundreds of political prisoners.
And as we continue to see those protests gaining momentum, morphing into anti-regime protests, there's of course, growing concern of the regime's crackdown on protests and any dissent could intensify -- Victor, Erica?
HILL: Absolutely.
Nada Bashir, with the latest for us, thank you.
BLACKWELL: Early voting is happening right now in the battleground state of Georgia in the Senate race there. Republican Herschel Walker says, yes, he wrote that $700 check to his ex-girlfriend, but he continues to maintain that it was not to pay for an abortion. The latest on the race, next.
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