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Radioactive Waste At Missouri School More Than 22X Normal Amount; Study: 1.3M Diabetic Americans Rationed Insulin In Past Year; Hair-Straightening Products Tied Of High Uterine Cancer Risk; Person Of Interest In Quadruple Murder Arrested On Unrelated Charge; Judge Rules Spacey Cannot Be Asked About Brother's Book; James Corden Briefly Banned From Popular NYC Restaurant. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired October 18, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

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[13:30:12]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Today, outrage in Missouri after extremely high levels of radioactive waste were found at an elementary school. In fact, the kindergarten playground was found to have more than 22 times the expected amount of radioactive material.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus is live in Florissant, Missouri, just outside of St. Louis.

Adrienne, how did this happen?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, location is part of the problem, Ana. For example, this elementary school and some of the homes in this surrounding neighborhood in Florissant sit near a waterway called Cold Water Creek.

The author of this independent study says that waterway was contaminated by leaking radioactive waste linked to disposal after World War II.

Let that sink in for a second. It has parents furious.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASHLEY BERNAUGH, PARENT & PTA PRESIDENT: We should be thinking about fundraisers and bake sales but, instead, we're worrying about bombs. We're dealing with a mix of emotions that are really centered around how to keep our kids safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: Safety is heavy on the minds of these families because there was more to this report.

And to understand the report, you must know, back in August, there was another test conducted at the school where these environmental scientists went inside and collected samples from the classrooms. And the most alarming thing they found were high levels of radioactive lead. So now the families are wondering if their children have been exposed and what will that mean for the children in the future.

Because the CDC says exposure to high levels of level could impact a child's growth and their overall trajectory.

Parents will get a chance to weigh in tonight at the school board meeting. And they're asking city officials to step in -- Ana?

CABRERA: Very concerning.

Adrienne Broaddus, thank us.

With us now is Dr. Leana Wen, CNN medical analyst and former Baltimore health commissioner.

Dr. Wen, some of these radioactive lead levels found were 22 times higher than expected. Given this amount, what are your biggest concerns?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, there are generally two types of health concerns that we consider with radiation.

First, acute radiation sickness, which is what happens when you get a lot all at the same time. That's not the case here.

Here the concern is with chronic cumulative exposure over a longer period of time, which has been associated with a higher lifetime risk of cancers like leukemia and even health effects such as birth defects.

And so I think parents are right to be concerned here because these children may be touching things, putting dirt or soil or sand into their mouths from the playground.

And I hope that a lot more is done quickly to remediate the situation and do more testing, including of residences, housing that may be affected in the same types of families as well.

CABRERA: Talk to us more about what action could be taken at this point to help keep kids and family safe there.

WEN: Well, there are methods to remove this radioactive waste and that may take some time. And so I think those options should be presented as to how long it might take.

But I think another concern is, if there's this runoff from this creek, then you would also worry about other facilities in the area, whether they are businesses or houses that those same kids may be living in.

And the concern here is with cumulative exposure. How much are these kids exposed to over the course of their daily live.

CABRERA: Let's talk about a few other health topics today and turn to diabetes.

And this new study finds 1.3 million people with diabetes in the U.S. rationed their insulin over the past year, including over 250,000 adults with type one diabetes. Black adults were more likely to ration it than their counterparts.

How dangerous could it be to do this?

WEN: It's very dangerous. And unfortunately, it's something I see with my patients.

I work in a clinic for uninsured and underinsured patients here in Baltimore. And I see this happening all the time where patients are -- they realize the cost of insulin is so expensive that they end taking maybe half of what's required, thinking that may tide them over to the next month.

Then what happens is they may have high blood sugars that lead them to be in comas and having to go to the E.R. and be very ill.

And there's also the chronic effect as well having a high blood sugar untreated diabetes will lead to blindness and kidney failure that may have that same patient be on dialysis.

[13:35:07]

So this is life changing and I think just really tragic because insulin has been around for decades and should not be un unaffordable to patients.

CABRERA: Now there's this about cancer. Another study, this time on hair relaxers, has found that women who have used these chemical hair straightening products were at higher risk of uterine cancer.

The breakdown by age 70 is 1.6 percent among women who never used hair relaxers in the last year. But that jumps to 4 percent in women who frequently use them.

How significant is this?

WEN: Well, first let's put this into context. Uterine cancer is relatively uncommon so talking about something pretty rare.

But at the same time, maybe we should go back to radiation exposure. Everything is about your cumulative lifetime exposure. So If you used those products a few times, not a big deal.

But if you used it multiple times a year for many years in your life and also if you have other risk factors for uterine cancer, for example, if you have a family history, then that's something you should be wary of.

And in the meantime, of course, we need to have a lot more research into which ingredients in the hair straighteners are causing this and can we replace them with something that's safer.

CABRERA: Dr. Leana Wen, great to see you. Thank you so much for being there for us.

They left on bicycles but never came back. A murder investigation is now under way in Oklahoma after bodies of these four men were found in a river -- dismembered. The police chief calling it a very violent event. We'll have more on this case ahead.

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CABRERA: Just into CNN, police say they have now arrested a person of interest in a gruesome quadruple murder case in Oklahoma but add the arrest was for an unrelated charge.

Now, police say the dismembered bodies pulled Friday from a river are those of four missing men. Relatives reportedly told authorities the four friends took off on bicycles early last week and never returned.

Police say they now believe these four men were planning to commit a crime when they were killed.

CNN's senior national correspondent, Ed Lavandera, is joining us.

Ed, what do police think happened?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this mystery is only continuing to deepen here this afternoon. As you mentioned, authorities in this small town of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, 40 miles south of Tulsa, say they have taken or have reported the arrest of a person of interest.

We must make clear that this man is not considered a suspect from what we are being told by investigators at this point.

But a man by the name of Joe Kennedy was arrested today in Daytona Beach Shores in central Florida on an unrelated charge of grand theft auto.

So all of this happening in the days after the bodies of these four men were discovered. They had gone missing last Sunday and they had left a home on bicycles and then they were not seen again.

Investigators started discovering their bodies dismembered in a river in Okmulgee. And it's been over the last couple of days that they had talked to Joe Kennedy, this person of interest, back on Friday.

Police said that he was cooperative. He told them, according to police, that he did not know the four men,

But then this person disappeared. They have been trying to talk to him for the last several days and described him as someone missing, And now we are hearing word of this arrest in central Florida.

But investigators have also said that these four men, who have been killed, they say they have evidence now that suggests that the four men were planning to commit some sort of crime. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE PRENTICE, CHIEF, OKMULGEE, OKLAHOMA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Based on information obtained during the course of the investigation, we believe the men planned to commit some type of criminal act when they left the residence on West Sixth Street.

That belief is based on information supplied by a witness who reports they were invited to go with the men to, quote, unquote, "hit a lick big enough for all of them."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: So even though police in Oklahoma have not really been clear about exactly why Joe Kennedy is a person of interest, we should also point out that he is believed to be the owner of the salvage yard where the cell phones of these four men was last tracked to -- Ana?

CABRERA: Wow, wow. What a story.

Ed, so much more to learn. Thank you for that update.

Just a short time ago, the judge in Kevin Spacey's sexual misconduct trial denied a request to allow questioning about a book written by the actor's brother. There are claims in that book that their father was sexually abusive.

Spacey is being sued by Actor Anthony Rapp. And Rapp alleges, in 1986, when he was just 14, Spacey invited him to his Manhattan home and inappropriately touched him. Spacey denies that allegation.

Let's bring in CNN correspondent, Jean Casarez, who have been keeping a close eye on this trial.

Jean, tell us more about this book and why the judge is saying, nope, can't bring it into the trial.

[13:45:04]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You never know what's going to happen in a trial. And Kevin Spacey is right now on cross-examination.

And Rapp's attorneys, the accuser, argued to the judge outside of the presence of the jury, Your Honor, Kevin Spacey opened up this door because he testified that his own father was emotionally abusive, that he was a Neo-Nazi, that he would make fun of him, so we should be able to go a little further here.

And there's a book Kevin Spacey's brother wrote and, in that book, he said that their father sexually abused Kevin Spacey when he was growing up.

Well, Kevin Spacey's attorneys absolutely objected, saying, Your Honor, this is prejudicial, and they're only doing it to try to argue to the jury that if this was done to him as a minor, then he is now doing it to a minor. The judge said, no, you cannot ask him that question. The door was not

opened -- Ana?

CABRERA: The judge made another important ruling that could benefit Spacey?

CASAREZ: Well, this -- this doesn't happen very often. There were three charges initially this this civil case when it was filed, assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The assault charge was dismissed quite a while ago based on a statute of limitations that had run. But battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress both remained.

Well, Spacey's lawyers argued they wanted all charges dismissed. And the judge said, you know, let me look at this.

But I will tell you that, in both of these charges, they have similar elements, meaning emotional distress, anger, frustration. And that duplication right there's not fair. I dismiss intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Only battery will go to the judge. And Anthony Rapp is asking for $40 million.

CABRERA: Wow. We know there aren't cameras in the courtroom. That's why we have those drawings. There have been tears shed. This is an interesting trial, Jean.

CASAREZ: Yes.

CABRERA: We'll see where it goes.

Thank you.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

CABRERA: He is a famous comedian and the guy behind "Carpool Karaoke." Why did a famous New York City restaurant owner call him a tiny cretin of a man?

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[13:51:28]

CABRERA: We have some entertainment news today. The creator of "Carpool Karaoke" banned from a famous New York restaurant, Balthazar, briefly. The restaurant owner said he had to 86 James Corden because of his, quote, "abusive treatment" of the employees.

The ban didn't last long because the owner says Corden apologized profusely after his alleged bad behavior was outed on social media.

CNN senior entertainment reporter, Lisa France, is joining us live from Los Angeles.

Lisa, fill us in on the details.

LISA FRANCE, CNN SENIOR ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: James Corden apparently doesn't like for you to mess with his food or get an order wrong.

Because McNally, the owner of Balthazar, said he flipped out, said he was one of the worst customers his servers ever had to encounter in the 25 years the restaurant was open.

He said he was abusive. He called him talented, but also called him a tiny cretin of a man.

While James Corden didn't go public with what he had to say, apparently, he apologized to the restaurant tour and the servers. And that was enough for McNally to say, "it's not often I 86 a customer to today, it didn't make him laugh."

After James Corden apologized, he came back and said, you know, if he's good enough to apologize to someone like me, then there's no reason to have his ban.

He said, "Anyone magnanimous enough to apologize to a deadbeat lay- about like me and my staff doesn't deserve to be banned from anywhere, especially Balthazar, so all is forgiven."

So, James Corden, come on back to the five-and-dime.

CABRERA: It's never too late to do the right thing. I'm trying to teach my children about apologizing.

Let's turn to Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis. They just released a joint statement on their split and what they say are false allegations from a former nanny.

What can you tell us about that?

FRANCE: They say these are false and scurrilous allegations that the nanny is making. It's a wild story because it involves a salad, dressing.

And the nanny has been saying that Jason Sudeikis got upset that Olivia was going to spend time with her now boyfriend, Harry Styles, and she had made a salad with a special dressing that was only for the family.

I have to say we have not confirmed any of these allegations of what she said.

They say it's absolutely not true. And that it's part of an 18-month- long campaign to harass them, their family, friends, colleagues. And they want to focus on taking care of their kids in the midst of their split.

CABRERA: This sure makes me feel old. Raper Eminem is 50 today, a milestone birthday for .

What a career in the last several decades.

FRANCE: Such a career. So many Grammys, so many -- I mean, so many awards. He's won an Academy Award. He's the real Slim Shady. How can he be 50 years old?

I mean, 15 Grammys, an Academy Ward, the most gold and platinum singles.

I mean, hip-hop is aging. If Eminem can be 50, how old are we?

CABRERA: We're timeless, Lisa.

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(LAUGHTER)

CABRERA: Actually, I think he is.

(LAUGHTER)

CABRERA: He gets that honor as well.

Thank you, Lisa France. Great to see you.

FRANCE: Thanks.

[13:55:01]

CABRERA: Listen to this. Passengers on a United Airlines flight from Tampa to Newark freaking out during landing, as a snake slithered beneath their feet. This is for real, folks. This went down yesterday.

One passenger telling a CNN affiliate the passengers in business class were shrieking, pulling up their feet. Unfortunately, Samuel L. Jackson was not one of the passengers.

But the port authority said police helped remove the snake. We're told it was a garden snake. No one suffered any physical injury.

That does it for us today. Thank you so much for joining us. I'll be back, same place, same time tomorrow. You can always find me on Twitter, @AnaCabrera.

The news continues right after a quick break. Stay right there.

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