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Gunman Kills Two Employees At Dallas Hospital; Doctors Warn Of Unprecedented Rise In RSV Cases In Children; El Paso To Stop Sending Migrants To New York City; Post-Roe America; January 6 Committee Subpoenas Trump To Testify; Inflation On The Ballot. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired October 22, 2022 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

PATRICK SNELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Vietnam but their third opponent is yet to be determined. One of either Caroon or Portugal or Thailand will emerge from a playoff to complete the group. That playoff will happen in February.

If you're interested in going, then book your tickets early. It's a long way to New Zealand, roughly 16 hours on a plane. But it is a wonderful country and the tournament should be a blast. Team USA will kick off against Vietnam as their first match on the 22nd of July.

Paula, back to you.

PAULA REID, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

Live from Washington, I'm Paula Reid in for Pamela Brown tonight.

The top stories, surging cases of a respiratory illness are forcing some hospitals to create tent cities just to deal with all the patients as health officials say they have seen more cases now than in the past two years.

Plus, an underground network sending abortion pills from Mexico to women in states where the procedure is now illegal.

And China's former president seated right next to the current one is shockingly yanked from the room as the Communist Party Congress Party comes to an end.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

And first tonight, breaking news, a deadly shooting in a hospital in Dallas, Texas. Details are still coming in to CNN, but so far police are confirming that at least two people are dead, both employees at the hospital.

Now I want to get right now to CNN's Camila Bernal and CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem.

All right, Camila, what are you hearing so far? CAMILA BERNAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Paula. So this

shooting took place at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. And according to authorities, no one else is at risk at the moment because that shooter was taken into custody.

Now it is interesting because this shooter was essentially shot by a health system police officer. So this is something that was handled within the hospital, but we know that this suspect shot and killed two of the hospital employees. He was confronted by the health system police officer, and that officer shot. And that's how they were able to arrest the suspect. He was taken into custody and taken to another hospital.

The health system, of course, putting out a statement, I want to read part of it, where they say, "The Methodist Health System Family is heartbroken at the loss of two of our beloved team members. Our entire organization is grieving this unimaginable tragedy. During this devastating time, we want to ensure that our patients and employees that Methodist Dallas Medical Center is safe and that there is no ongoing threat. Our prayers are with our lost coworkers and their families as well as the entire Methodist family."

So of course this is going to be difficult for the hospital system as it is two employees that were killed today -- Paula.

REID: Thank you so much for that reporting.

All right, Juliette, when we have shootings like this, the shooter isn't always captured alive. Sol what's next in this investigation? Of course they're going to be looking at motive, was this domestic, but what's the next step here?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, if he's alive, they'll just determine if he is speaking and whether he's willing to say who he is. They know who he is now. So was he an employee, a former employee, a patient, a family member of a patient, or was there some ideology behind this. We don't know the specifics yet so I'm going to be very careful here but the questions you would want answered are who in fact were the victims, were they known to the suspect or were they random victims, where were they in the hospital.

If they are on the seventh floor and not the first floor, someone was looking for either them or the place where they were working. And that's what our reporters are figuring out as well, as sort of, you know, what's the narrative here behind a very not unusual shooting, that happens a lot in the U.S., but at a hospital where someone is not -- did not just come in shooting. This seems more targeted. The targeting we don't know if it was because of the individuals or something else.

REID: And as you noted, it's not uncommon. We're seeing deadly shootings in schools, supermarkets and at hospitals.

KAYYEM: Right.

REID: Some people may not even realize that a lot of hospitals have their own police force. So is this really just the reality in America now?

KAYYEM: It is. It's absolutely the reality. So it's not surprising to me that it was a hospital police official or an armed officer who was able to stop the suspect alive. So once again, the investigation will continue. Anyone who's been to a hospital lately knows there's a lot of security at the front. There tends not to be the sort of pat-downs or other things like that because hospitals are big. They have a lot of people coming back and forth, so it would be hard to do.

[19:05:06]

Emergency rooms are hard to secure. You also have COVID and most hospitals require masking. And they are still, you know, sort of distance kept at many hospitals. I was in an emergency room, nothing bad, for a child last week. It was all masks and it was still distancing as if it were last year. So there's a lot of security measures in place. This doesn't surprise me. What's just unique about it is it's not your typical mass shooting where someone comes in with a gun and is just sort of spraying, as we see unfortunately in the U.S.

And I am curious what floor it happened and where the employees work. The hospital should be pretty forthcoming relatively soon one hopes about what's the nature of this because they seem confident that the threat is over.

REID: Juliette Kayyem, thank you so much for that analysis.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

REID: And now we turn to this. Unprecedented. That is what some doctors are telling CNN about the rise in RSV cases among kids in the U.S. You can see the numbers skyrocketing over the past several weeks. A single week this month saw more than 7300 cases, more than any week in the past two years. And this number represents less than 10 percent of the total U.S. population, so the actual total is probably a lot higher.

And from New England to Texas we're seeing just how fast these cases and other respiratory illnesses are filling many hospitals. One hospital official says their pediatrics ER is over capacity in a way it never once even during the height of COVID. And in a moment we'll be joined here in studio by two health experts who are just back from an infectious disease conference here in Washington with what exactly parents need to know. But first, CNN's Brian Todd on the toll this is taking on families and hospitals.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

REBECCA, MOTHER OF FIVE-YEAR-OLD WITH RSV: The drive to the emergency room was really scary and really intense.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This mother of a 5-year-old who was hospitalized with difficulty breathing told us of an anxious drive to the emergency room. REBECCA: Things have actually gotten worse since we were admitted. I

have seen starting last night that he is progressively having a harder time breathing.

DR. RUTH KANTHULA, PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES SPECIALIST, MEDSTAR, GEORGETOWN: RSV is one of the scariest infections to see in a child, especially when it's in your baby. So you will see your baby breathing really, really fast, and you feel like there is nothing that you can do.

TODD: Around the country doctors are reporting a spike in cases of RSV, Respiratory Syncytial Virus, a common respiratory illness that is occasionally severe in babies and young children. Pediatric hospital beds are more full now than they have been in the last two years. Some children's hospitals are overwhelmed, scrambling to make space, using tents. And it's only October.

Why is it spiking this year? Experts say one key reason is because kids are back in school after the pandemic. Many children haven't built up their immune systems, and masks and social distancing are a thing of the past.

KANTHULA: So for these kids, this is the first time they are seeing a lot of these viruses.

TODD: RSV symptoms sometime seem similar to cold and flu -- runny nose, decrease in appetite, coughing, sneezing, wheezing, and fever.

KANTHULA: You should think about bringing your child to the emergency room when you notice that your child is having what we call respiratory distress or increased work of breathing. And so that's typically characterized by breathing really fast and a difficulty catching their breath.

DR. JIM VERSALOVIC, PATHOLOGIST-IN-CHIEF, TEXAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: That should be an alarm for any parent. We can see this disease rapidly progress, that children need attention quickly.

TODD: There is no vaccine and no specific remedy, but severe cases can be treated in a hospital with fluids, oxygen, or even a ventilator, and icepacks to bring down the fever.

ZOEY GREEN, MOTHER OF FOUR-MONTH-OLD WITH RSV: I don't know how, but she slept with those icepacks on top of her.

TODD: Four-month-old Lindy Green was taken by ambulance and admitted at Cook Hospital in Houston.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Started running a pretty significant fever, not eating as much.

TODD: Doctors say to avoid RSV, clean surfaces in your home, have kids wash hands, cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing, don't share things like toys and cups, and avoid close contact like kissing or cuddling. For cases that don't require hospitalization, keep a child hydrated and give Tylenol or Motrin if they have a fever. KANTHULA: Day five is the peak of symptoms. So parents will notice

that their child might be more uncomfortable at day five. And then their symptoms resolve and they get better.

TODD (on-camera): Dr. Ruth Kanthula says what worries her about this uptick in RSV cases is that unlike in previous years when the virus was seasonal and predictable, this time, she says, it has the potential to circulate beyond next spring when it might normally subside and extend into next summer or possibly even beyond.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: So with us now Dr. Kevin Messacar, an infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado, and Dr. Amy Edwards, associate medical director of Pediatric Infection Control at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland.

[19:10:02]

All right. Now I want to talk to both of you about what you're seeing at your hospitals with respect to RSV. What are you seeing?

DR. AMY EDWARDS, PEDIATRIC INFECTION CONTROL, UH RAINBOW BABIES AND CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: We're seeing kind of what everybody else in the country is seeing, which is just a significant surge in cases over the last two weeks. And one of the things I want to point out about that fact is how unusual it is that all of us are experiencing this surge at the same time. So I do infection control, which involves epidemiology. And we're used to RSV, and I know you guys see this, too, kind of taking a more wave across the United States.

So these hospitals will peak and then these hospitals will peak, and then these hospitals will peak. But instead, we're all peaking simultaneously. And we don't know what that means as far as what the next eight to 12 weeks is going to look like.

REID: And is that what you've seen as well?

DR. KEVIN MESSACAR, INFECTIOUS DISEASE SPECIALIST, CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL COLORADO: Yes. It's been very busy in Colorado, as it has throughout the rest of the country. And this really comes on the back of a busy late summer to early fall with enteroviruses and as those wane we saw the rise of RSV, which is really early for this time of year to be seeing RSV already.

REID: So we keep referring to the past two years, right. These are the highest numbers in the past two years. Well, over the past two years most people have been trying to keep their kids indoors and somewhat isolated. So has that in any way played a role in making children more susceptible to RSV?

EDWARDS: Well, I think that's kind of an interesting question and one that it's going to take some time to answer. Certainly -- so RSV does not induce what we call sterile immunity. So if I get RSV, I will get it again. But what we do know is that kids who get RSV, then when they get it again the next year or two years later tend to have milder cases. So there is some protection from getting multiple RSV infections back to back to back. And of course we're missing that.

And the other thing is, adults are actually also very dependent on getting multiple exposures to RSV back to back to back, which they haven't been doing. And so we actually expect that what we think is going on as one of the drivers of these higher case numbers might be adults who haven't been getting exposed to RSV in the last couple of years are providing a larger reservoir of symptomatic patients than what we're normally is seeing and so that's driving more infection in kids.

MESSACAR: And it's certainly thrown off the patterns as far as seasons. We used to have very predictable seasons for when RSV would show up. We'd staff for it, we'd be prepared for it. And since the pandemic, those patterns have really been thrown off. It's coming out of season, it's coming multiple times per year, so we really have to prepare for that unpredictable right now.

REID: And you're both in town for an infectious disease conference. Thank you again for coming in studio. What were you hearing from your colleagues? Was there any discussion of strategies to combat this both in the hospital and also in the home and schools?

MESSACAR: A lot of it is preparedness work, being ready for the increased volumes we're seeing in our ERs, on our floors, and on our ICUs, making sure we have the staff and resources to take care for these children the best we can.

EDWARDS: Right. Because you have to remember that RSV, while most kids do make a full recovery, they really do require fairly intensive work in the hospital. The nurses have to keep their noses and mouths suctioned to keep the mucus out of the way so they can breathe. These kids are often in the hospital two or three or four days. Some kids can be in the hospital for one to two weeks. So that takes up a hospital bed for pretty significantly period of time.

We're not talking about in and out overnight with IV fluids. These kids are in the hospital for days, and so staffing really is key with RSV season. And as you mentioned, we just came out of enterovirus season and we saw more enterovirus activity than we were used to. And now with all these RSV and if you look in the southern United States, we're already starting to see flu cases take a really big high jump.

And so we're really a little bit concerned about this overlapping of all these different viruses, because usually RSV comes a little bit later and then flu comes very nicely after. They take their turn. But it doesn't look like they're going to be doing that this year. And so I think we're really worried about pediatric hospital capacity over the next several months.

REID: And to that question of capacity, when do you know it's time to bring your kid into the hospital? Because we have seen some area hospitals say look, if your kid does not have something really serious, potentially life-threatening, don't come in because we are at capacity or near capacity. So when should a parent go to the hospital or when should they maybe just take a pause?

MESSACAR: Sure. Many of these illnesses start with common cold symptoms that can be managed at home. It's really when it starts to impact the work of breathing. So if your child is breathing harder or faster than usual, if they can't drink enough to stay hydrated, those are times we don't want you to hesitate. We want you to bring your child in to be evaluated. That's what we're here for. To take care of kids to get them through these illnesses.

So I don't think the message should be don't bring your child in if they're sick. You can care for a cold at home, but if they're struggling to breathe or not drinking enough to stay hydrated, we want to see them.

REID: And in infants, though, it can be hard to know because obviously you don't give them too many fluids besides formula or breastmilk. They can't clear their nasal passages. Look, they make a lot of strange noises. How do you know when it comes to an infant what to do?

EDWARDS: Well, with infants it can be a little bit harder because they're often lacking some of those symptoms that we rely on, the cough and the really significant runny nose.

[19:15:07]

A lot of times with our youngest babies, especially babies under two months, they're a little bit more lethargic and they'll actually start to refuse their bottle. I mean, infants' number one drive is milk, milk, milk, milk. So --

REID: Tell me about it. I have (INAUDIBLE). Yes.

EDWARDS: So babies should not be refusing their bottle. And that's often one of the first signs we see that RSV is getting out of control when these infants they start to refuse their bottle. You start to have trouble waking them up. And again, any parent of a newborn knows that babies wake up, they wake up crying because they want their bottle. And when you stop seeing that, instinctive need for fluid and the diapers start to dry up, that's going to be a big sign that that bay needs to come into the hospital.

REID: All right. So really quickly, what's your number one piece of advice for parents to keep their kids safe?

MESSACAR: So the prevention of transmission of these diseases is the routine infection control advice, wash your hands with soap and water, cover your sneezes and coughs, stay home from work and school when you're sick, wear a mask if you have symptoms that are in crowded public spaces. And then I think the last point that was made is we're starting to see flu. And that is a preventable disease. We have a vaccine for it.

And because flu season is starting early, we want people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. And really everyone over six months of age that is eligible should be vaccinated as soon as possible against flu. EDWARDS: And I want to make one last point. So I've been seeing a lot

of misunderstanding. This is a respiratory virus. Why do I need to wash my hands? I don't understand. So not all respiratory viruses are spread the same. So influenza, SARS COV-2, these are spread by a droplet. SARS COV-2 can also be spread by aerosol. But some respiratory viruses like rhino virus and RSV really are spread by that close contact with the respiratory secretions. And the virus can live on your hands for 30 minutes, an hour. So it really is important to be washing your hands frequently during RSV season.

And what might be a minor cold to me or maybe I think it's allergies could be a devastating illness in a young infant so we really do encourage people who aren't feeling to keep their hands to themselves and don't kiss those cute babies.

REID: And don't complain about washing your hands. It's just --

EDWARDS: And don't complain about washing your hands.

REID: It's just good sense.

EDWARDS: Right.

REID: All right. Doctors, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

MESSACAR: Thanks for having us.

EDWARDS: Yes.

REID: At times, New York City was receiving eight to 10 buses a day, all filled with migrants seeking asylum here in the U.S. Now New York's mayor says places like El Paso will not be sending any more migrants. Find out why.

Plus, with abortions now illegal in several states, some women are turning to a secret network to get an abortion pill from Mexico.

And later, just how easy is it for hackers to get into your personal accounts? CNN's Donie O'Sullivan already let hackers try once, now he'll let them do it again. Wait until you see what happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:22:18]

REID: Still no let-up in the number of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. Customs and Border Protection just released September numbers last night. They show record high migrant encounters last month, more than 227,000. That brings the total number of land encounters for the fiscal year that just ended to more than 2.3 million. That's the highest on record. White House officials say the increase stems from political upheaval in countries like Cuba, Nicaragua and most notably Venezuela.

In the meantime, New York Mayor Eric Adams says he has been informed that El Paso, Texas, will stop sending migrants to New York. Now this comes just days after Adams opened two migrant relief centers, including a tent city on Randalls Island.

CNN's Gloria Pazmino has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN NEWSOURCE NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And New York City Mayor Eric Adams is certainly crediting the Biden administration, at least for now, for what appears to be a significant decrease in the number of migrants that are arriving here to New York City.

The Biden administration shifted course several days ago and now the policy is that Venezuela migrants will be turned back at the border. Now an administration official tells us they have already seen a significant decrease at the border by 80 percent.

Now the mayor spoke with CNN's Chris Wallace, telling him that even though the numbers may be decreasing, there are still thousands of people here in New York who will need access to resources. In fact, the city of El Paso alone sent more than 10,000 migrants here to the city in the last couple of months.

The mayor says the city is preparing and will need federal resources to deal with people here who will need that help.

MAYOR ERIC ADAMS (D), NEW YORK CITY: We must sit down at the table and have a clear pathway for those seeking to experience the American dream. And I think we have failed to do that for generations. And I'm hoping with the decompressing strategy and the real strategy that the White House has put in place, we're finally going to deal with, number one, allowing those who are here to work, to give the financial resources to those who are really carrying the responsibility of those who are coming here to our country.

PAZMINO: And what the mayor is saying there is also what service providers here in the city have been telling me over several weeks that even as the numbers continue to decrease, there are thousands of people now living here in New York who will need to be connected to legal resources, health care, public education, and who will likely need housing as they move through what are very complicated asylum cases.

So even as the arrivals begin to decrease, still thousands of people here in the city who will likely be in need of help for several months to come.

[19:25:07]

In Randall's Island, Gloria Pazmino, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Gloria Pazmino, thank you.

And a consequence of post Roe months that could complicate Republicans' plans. A covert network of activists moving abortion pills across borders to help women in states where abortion is banned. The "Washington Post's" Caroline Kitchener is here to share her new

reporting next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REID: Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the battle over abortion is being fought in the courtroom and, of course, at the ballot box. The decision also sparked alternative methods for women seeking abortions who live in states where it's banned or severely restricted. One such method involves ordering abortion pills online, which is illegal.

Caroline Kitchener is a "Washington Post" reporter focusing on the politics of abortion. She joins us now.

[19:30:00]

This is a really interesting story, and in your article, you write about a woman who used Reddit to connect with a covert international network and she got a quick response.

So, who are these? What you describe as this growing number of community based distributors, who are these people? And why are they helping women connect with abortion medicines?

CAROLINE KITCHENER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "THE WASHINGTON POST: So this woman, Monica, she is in a State where abortion is banned. She is completely freaked out, doesn't know where to turn, and she writes a post on Reddit saying, "Can anyone help me?" And almost immediately, she hears from somebody who says, "I can send you the abortion pills tomorrow." And from there, she gets them within 24 hours.

And I wanted to know, she was the first person that I spoke to, for this story, I wanted to know, who are these people? And it turns out that there are hundreds, at least hundreds of distributors across the United States that are working with suppliers in Mexico who are sending pills across the border, to these distributors, who then connect with women like Monica through word of mouth or social media, and get those pills to the women in banned States so that they can have an abortion at home.

REID: But on its face, these women are connecting with strangers online and receiving and taking medication from the stranger. On its face, that sounds really risky. How do women know this is safe? I mean, you know, they warn people not to buy makeup on Amazon. So, aren't there some serious risks here?

KITCHENER: Well, Monica was terrified, and I think a lot of women who are getting pills this way are, and I think the first thing to say is that medication abortion is safe. It's FDA approved. But many of these pills are coming unmarked and unsealed.

So the question is, you know, are we sure that they really are -- you know, what they what they purport to be. And in my recording across the board, yes, they were what they purported to be. They were the abortion pills. But I also spoke to experts who were concerned that as these networks

expand to include less credible suppliers than the women that I followed in Mexico, that they don't know, that there could be fake pills that start to circulate and that is a real concern as we go further into post Roe America.

REID: And how safe is it to carry out abortions without medical supervision? And what are the medical risks, and also the potential legal risks for anyone who participates in this?

KITCHENER: Well, really, across the board, the experts that I spoke to said that if these pills are abortion pills, if they are mifepristone and misoprostol, then there is nothing to worry about. This is widely regarded to be an extremely safe medical procedure.

Now, it can be scary, you know, this is happening, you know, you're alone in your bathroom and what I was hearing from women who were taking the pills was that they were too terrified to call a doctor or to go to the ER if they had concerns or they thought that they might be bleeding too much. So, that is -- I think that there is a lot of fear there in not being able to contact a medical professional because of the state of the law.

In terms of legal risks, they are significant. They're not -- they are much more significant for the people who are distributing these pills that the laws don't actually target the women who are taking them. But for the distributors, I mean, they could be facing up to 10 years in prison through much of the South and Midwest.

REID: Well, it was incredible reporting, your story/article, I encourage everyone to read it because you did a great job of telling the stories of everyone involved and really the common factor is, as you said, fear -- the fear for women who are pregnant and can't get an abortion, the fear of what they've gotten online and the fear that those who are participating in this have a potential consequences.

Caroline Kitchener, thank you so much for your reporting.

KITCHENER: Thanks so much for having me.

REID: An unusual situation is playing out in Wisconsin Court. The man accused of killing six people at a Christmas Parade is representing himself and delivered his own opening statement as has disrupted the trial several times.

Now, could his conduct in Court impact justice for the victims?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:38:56]

REID: The January 6 Committee has officially subpoenaed former President Donald Trump after they voted to do so last week. It's a historic move. The first time Congress has subpoenaed a former President since Harry Truman back in 1953. In the subpoena letter, the Committee wrote, "We have assembled

overwhelming evidence that you personally orchestrated and oversaw a multipart effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election and to obstruct the peaceful transition of power."

Now joining us now for more is former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti. He's also the host of "The On Topic Podcast."

All right, Renato, not now that this subpoena has been issued, we've been covering the former President and his legal issues for a long time. It seems unlikely that he would just comply and convey legitimacy to this Committee.

So what do you see happening next? He has options.

RENATO MARIOTTI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: I think he is going to delay this as long as possible, file a Court action that's likely frivolous, but will nonetheless run the clock until the next Congress comes in and then I think he's going to take his chances that the next Congress is not going to push forward with the subpoena.

[19:40:09]

REID: All right, so the January 6 investigation is of course just one of the many legal problems that he and his attorneys are facing, and huge reporting yesterday from "The Washington Post," revealing that some of the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago contain highly sensitive information about Iran and China and could potentially reveal sensitive sources and methods.

Now, this really does increase the seriousness of this investigation, right? Because part of the calculus when deciding whether or not to bring charges when it is related to mishandling classified information is well, what was the information? What was in there? This really raises the stakes, doesn't it?

MARIOTTI: I think so. I mean, first of all, on the one hand, it makes the former President's conduct very, very serious. Right?

So as you're suggesting, I do think it does raise the stakes from that perspective. And also, I think, undercuts any potential defense he has that he was really doing this to get at the truth regarding, let's say, the Mueller investigation or something else, right? This is unrelated any of that.

However, I will say it also raises the stakes regarding what is called in the trade gray mail, where there's a concern that because there is going to be a public trial, the former President could say, "I am going to make all these facts public if we go to trial," which really could create a situation where the Federal government and the Justice Department have to make a very difficult decision: Do we want to protect the secrets? Or do we want to have accountability and justice in this case?

REID: An interesting possibility, if there are charges, and if there was to be a trial. We'll continue to watch that. But before I let you go, I want to get your thoughts on another case

outside Washington. Darrell Brooks, he is the man accused of killing six people in Wisconsin after driving through a Christmas Parade. He is representing himself despite having no discernible legal background, but that is his right.

And so far, he has repeatedly disrupted the Court proceedings by arguing with the Judge, having outbursts and trying to intimidate witnesses. Look, is it possible for a defendant who is representing himself to create a mistrial due to this kind of conduct? And then what happens?

I mean, is there a possibility that he could prevent these victims from actually getting justice here?

MARIOTTI: You know, I have a lot of personal experience with this, because I actually prosecuted a man who did represent himself and did a lot of crazy things in the Courtroom, trying to escape from the Courtroom, scaring the Judges, as he did here.

In that case, though, ultimately, he did not have a mistrial. And ultimately, he was convicted and is serving time in a supermax prison. And I think that that's likely the result here.

There is an old adage that a person who represents themselves has a fool for a client, and I think that that is likely going to be the result here, because he's not going to make objections at the right time. He's going to waive a lot of issues and really the sort of mistrial that he is going to create is a situation where, potentially if the judge shows that she believes he is a danger, she said outside the presence of the jury, she is scared of the defendant.

You know, as long as she is careful about how she conducts herself in front of the jury, I don't think a Court of Appeals is going to want another Judge have to go through this again.

REID: You're absolutely right. I've covered many, many trials and where is it that someone who represents themselves does a better job than an attorney, either one appointed or one hired.

Renato Mariotti, thank you so much for joining us.

MARIOTTI: Thank you.

REID: In Lordstown, once a manufacturing mecca is back on the road to recovering its glory days, but as critical elections in Ohio loom, are the residents there actually feeling that come back?

We'll have more coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS AND POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: How would you describe the state of the economy right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I would say it is bad. You know, gas prices are through the roof. Cost of living is ridiculous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's horrible. Inflation is the number one thing in our house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:26]

REID: Well, Americans everywhere have inflation on their minds as they consider who to vote for this election season, and the people of Lordstown, Ohio are no exception.

Their city may actually be the model for a rustbelt revival after seeing their GM plant shut down just three years ago. But as CNN's Vanessa Yurkevich shows us, they've bounced back with a new industry, but now face a new challenge in the form of higher prices.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YURKEVICH (voice over): Lordstown, Ohio once considered a mecca of manufacturing propped up by a behemoth, General Motors and the 10,000 jobs it brought.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We did have a I'd have to say a monster in the backyard which was General Motors.

(CROWD chanting.)

YURKEVICH (voice over): But in 2019, that monster left town.

YURKEVICH (on camera): When the last Chevy Cruze --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Came off the lot.

YURKEVICH: Came of the lot. What is your memory of that day and that time?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a very somber day.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Lordstown lost millions of dollars in revenue.

EARL ROSS, OWNER, ROSS'S EATERY AND PUB: It's just light switch off.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Earl Ross owns Ross's Eatery and Pub, 90 percent of his clientele were GM workers. With them gone, he didn't know if he'd survive.

But in the last two years, Lordstown in Ohio's Mahoning Valley started blooming with thousands of jobs again, with companies like Foxconn in the old GM plant and Ultium Cells producing electric batteries and vehicles and a TJ Maxx Home Goods Distribution Center.

[19:50:00]

P.J. SIRIANNI, PLANT MANAGER, M&M INDUSTRIES, INC.: This place was available and they purchased and here we are.

YURKEVICH (voice over): This was once a plant that built seats for GM, now it's M&M Industries, a plastic manufacturer that opened a year ago.

YURKEVICH (on camera): How many jobs do you have now? And where is the runway going?

SIRIANNI: So currently we're at 60 with 11 machines. Our goal is 16 machines and 110 employees.

YURKEVICH: And where are these employees coming from?

SIRIANNI: All local.

YURKEVICH (voice over): But despite the local economy on the rebound with new jobs and rising wages, Ohioans in this area don't feel the same about the overall economy.

YURKEVICH (on camera): How would you describe the state of the economy right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, I would say it's bad. You know, gas prices are through the roof, cost of living is ridiculous.

DANIEL WATSON, UNDECIDED VOTER: I think it's horrible. Inflation is number one thing in our house. It costs a lot of money to feed four teenagers.

YURKEVICH (voice over): And roughly nine in 10 voters in the US say the economy and inflation still running hot at 8.2 percent are extremely or very important to their vote in this year's midterm elections.

REP. TIM RYAN (D-OH): My turn, pal. My turn.

YURKEVICH (voice over): It could swing undecided voters in the close Ohio Senate race between Democrat Tim Ryan and Republican JD Vance.

YURKEVICH (on camera): What do you want to hear from either of them that will help inform your vote?

WATSON: Not as much bashing each other. How are going to combat inflation?

YURKEVICH (voice over): For Ross, it comes down to which candidates policies will bring Lordstown and the Mahoning Valley back to its glory days, but with a new name.

ROSS: I just see so many leaders on both sides coming together to try to make Voltage Valley a real thing.

YURKEVICH (on camera): Do you think it's because they want to take credit for it?

ROSS: That's not for me to say, as long as the result is helping me and my family in the local economy, I'm stoked.

YURKEVICH (voice over): Vanessa Yurkevich, CNN Lordstown, Ohio.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: Well, still ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM, a strange end to the gathering of the Communist Party leaders in China. Their former leader seen being unexpectedly led out of a closing ceremony.

More on this unceremonious exit, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:39]

REID: China's Communist Party Congress is wrapping up today with Xi Jinping set to begin a third term. China's President consolidated his power after retiring key party leaders from the top ruling body to make room for his own allies.

Now, in what is normally a highly choreographed closing event, Xi's moved generated some unexpected drama.

CNN's Selina Wang has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SELINA WANG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Xi Jinping's authoritarian rule over China is going to be iron clad well into the future. He's all but assured on Sunday to be re anointed for an unprecedented third term as China's Supreme Leader, setting himself up to be ruler for life.

Today marks the official close at the 20th Party Congress, China's most important political meeting in decades. This is a highly scripted and choreographed Communist Party event that happens once every five years.

But there was a bizarre and astonishing moment that was caught on camera by journalists in that ceremony room.

See in the video, the man seated next to Xi is China's former top leader, Hu Jintao, after several confusing moments, he is led out of the room escorted by two men, a staff member holding his arm.

He appears reluctant to leave. On his way out, he is seen saying something to Xi and then patting, Premier Li Keqiang on the shoulder.

Now Chinese politics is incredibly opaque. We'll never know the true circumstances around this incident and it has not been reported at all by Chinese media.

But this dramatic moment has already set off a firestorm of speculation overseas. People are wondering, was this because of a health issue or was it a political statement? Some analysts are saying regardless of the reason, it is a symbolic

moment. It shows the exit of a man who represented collective rule, while Xi Jinping, well he represents strongman rule.

Since he took over in 2012, he has purged his rivals, he has crushed dissent, and he has reasserted Communist Party control over every aspect of Chinese society.

Tomorrow, we will see who Xi's closest advisers will be, but we already got a lot of hints today.

We learned that Premier Li Keqiang and another top leader who are not seen as having close ties to Xi, well, they are set to retire. What's clear is that Xi is going to stack the top leadership positions with his loyalists.

So in the third term, expect to see Xi Jinping double down on his iron rule over China, that means a more authoritarian China at home and a more aggressive China abroad.

Selina Wang, CNN, Hong Kong.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

REID: A story with massive consequences for countries across the globe. Selina Wang, thank you so much.

And this weekend on "Searching for Italy," join Stanley Tucci as he explores Apulia, the heel of Italy's boot. It's a region known for its fresh and simple food along with its famous olive oil.

Here's a sneak peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

STANLEY TUCCI, CNN HOST, "SEARCHING FOR ITALY": That's fantastic. I love that you made this look --

(STANLEY TUCCI speaking in foreign language.)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TUCCI: Yes, that's amazing.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TUCCI: Beautiful.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TUCCI: Thank you/

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay.

(STANLEY TUCCI speaking in foreign language.)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

TUCCI: That is amazing. I've got to say. Wow.

(STANLEY TUCCI speaking in foreign language.)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

(STANLEY TUCCI speaking in foreign language.)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE speaking in foreign language.)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

REID: That looks delicious. An all-new episode of "Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy" airs tomorrow night at 9:00 PM on CNN.

And the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

[20:00:47]