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Representative Kevin McCarthy Elected Next Speaker of House of Representatives; Buffalo Bills Safety Damar Hamlin Has Facetime with Team from Hospital; New Information Released about Police Investigation into Suspect in Murders of Four University of Idaho Students. Aired 10-11a ET
Aired January 07, 2023 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:00]
MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN ANCHOR: First of all, is California where you go? And do you live up the road from Oprah? And do you sign a six-part Netflix deal, and then a five-book deal with Penguin Random House? That doesn't seem like a couple seeking to evade the spotlight. Harry has got to sell a lot of books. I think he will. I think it's 1.7 million units to recoup what the publisher laid out.
I'll see you next week.
AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Happening now in the Newsroom --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. HAKEEM JEFFRIES (D-NY): The next speaker of the 118th Congress, Kevin McCarthy.
WALKER: After days of drama, 15 rounds of voting, and tense moments on the floor, the House elects a speaker.
REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): I never thought we'd get up here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER (voice-over): How the drama played out and what it means for the future of Kevin McCarthy and the GOP.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got our boy, you know what I'm saying? That's all that matters. We got out boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER (voice-over): Excitement from Buffalo Bills players amid positive updates on safety Damar Hamlin. The latest on his condition and more on that moment when he facetimed his teammates.
California slammed with heavy rain, flooding, and mudslides, and the danger isn't over. We're tracking the next line of storms as millions remain under flood warnings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was really devastating and me not knowing exactly what the situation was, because all I heard was gunshots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER (voice-over): Shock and anger in Virginia after a six-year-old shoots his teacher. What we are learning about the moments that led up to the shooting.
The FDA grants approval for a new Alzheimer's drug, and it's a mixed bag of benefits and risks.
And could Bed Bath & Beyond soon be out of business?
Newsroom starts right now.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is Saturday, January 7th. I'm Alex Marquardt.
WALKER: Hi there, Alex. Good morning, everyone. I'm Amara Walker. You are in the CNN Newsroom.
MARQUARDT: Historic, chaotic, dramatic, all of those things. Congressman Kevin McCarthy of California finally won the race for House speaker after 15 rounds of voting. His supporters erupting in applause after the last vote was cast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Zinke?
REP. RYAN ZINKE (R-MT): The next speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: The deciding vote, also known as the roll call, started last night and ended early this morning. There were some tense moments, though, on the House floor after Congressman Matt Gaetz denied McCarthy the speakership by voting present on the 14th ballot. As the situation heated up, Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers lunged at Gaetz. He had to be physically restrained by Republican Congressman Richard Hudson of North Carolina.
MARQUARDT: Kevin McCarthy engaged in some intense negotiations and did make some major concessions to secure the speaker's gavel. Now he is saying that it's about a commitment to the American people.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCARTHY: A commitment for the future that's built on freedom where children come first and are taught to dream big, because in America, dreams can still come true. A commitment for a government that is held accountable, where Americans get the answers they want, need, and deserve. Our system is built on checks and balances. It's time for us to be a check and provide some balance to the president's policies.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARQUARDT: So will Kevin McCarthy's concessions affect Republicans' ability to govern? His opponents say no.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. DAVID JOYCE (R-OH): And at some point, we all have to hold hands and jump off the cliff together. You either trust the people that you're going to put in place on the committees and the committee chairs to do their jobs and do them correctly, or you don't. And so hopefully, through the resolution of all these issues as we're moving forward, we built that bond of trust, and we should continue to do the things that are in the best interests of our country and move forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WALKER: As you've said, it took some major wheeling and dealing for Kevin McCarthy to become House speaker. CNN national political reporter Eva McKend joining us now from the Capitol. Eva, it took a lot of concessions, some major concessions to the point that Matt Gaetz said he had nothing left to ask for. Tell us more about some of these concessions that were made.
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS REPORTER: So Amara, Boris (ph), I don't know if you were like me, watching that vote into the wee hours of the morning. But my takeaway was, wow, yes, a win is a win for McCarthy. But dang, a look at what it got to get through this week.
So here are some of the key concessions that McCarthy had to make. Ultimately, he had to agree to put some of these conservative members, the initial holdouts on the powerful Rules Committee.
[10:05:03]
We also know now that it will take just one member to trigger a vote to essentially oust the speaker. Other concessions were -- and this is actually something that both rank and file Democrats and Republicans lament up here on Capitol Hill, that there isn't enough time to read the bills. So really holding to that 72-hour rule to review legislation. And then of course sort of a typical ask for many Republicans is a pledge to rein in spending. We will see if he is able to achieve that. Certainly, a rocky start this week.
MARQUARDT: And Eva, Congress is taking a well-deserved break after a crazy week. They are coming back Monday. But what's up next?
MCKEND: So one of the chief tasks now is to vote on the rules. We saw the C-SPAN cameras this week able to get into the chamber and allow the American public to see all sorts of things we don't normally see. That's because this place operates on rules. And now that Republicans have retaken the majority, albeit small, they have to vote on a rules package that essentially guides this place.
Given that Republicans had such a difficult time electing a speaker, I have a feeling that that rules vote may not go so smooth. We will have to see. Already at least one Republican, moderate Republican saying that the rules package that has been crafted, the proposal, he is not OK with it, he is not going to support it. And of course, Republicans would be hard pressed to find Democratic support for that rules package.
MARQUARDT: McCarthy has the gavel, but it is a very precarious position. Eva McKend on Capitol Hill, thank you very much for that reporting.
And just four days after suffering cardiac arrest on the field, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has had his breathing tube removed. What's more, Hamlin is up and facetiming with his teammates, laughing and smiling, we are told, on a call with them yesterday from the hospital in Cincinnati.
WALKER: Such a relief to hear. CNN's Adrienne Broaddus joining us now from outside the hospital where Hamlin is recovering. Hi there, Adrienne. So what are we learning about Hamlin's progress and how he is doing?
ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you both. What a beautiful surprise for him to be able to join that team meeting yesterday via facetime. He is still here at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center under the intensive care unit, so listed in critical condition. Doctors treating him, telling us his breathing tube was removed, and Damar Hamlin is not only talking, but breathing on his own.
And this milestone that was reached yesterday doctors are saying goes back to what happened on the field Monday might. The quick response by that medical team. The doctors treating Hamlin say it is rare for someone to receive CPR so quickly. Here is more of that call where you can hear the audio of those first responders responding.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead and go over to the cot. I don't like how he want down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to need everybody. All call, call call
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, bring everybody. We need everybody. The cot, the medics, all of you and get wheeled out here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Field medic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead for field medic. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need another medic in the back, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need a medic in the back of the bus?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Affirmative. We are right outside the gate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm on my way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROADDUS: And doctors saying the outcome could have been different if things had taken a few extra minutes or even seconds. Amara?
MARQUARDT: Well, Adrienne, I'll pick it up. It is chilling to hear that audio. And of course, we expect that Hamlin will be watching his teammates take on the Patriots tomorrow. Adrienne Broaddus, thank you very much, appreciate it.
The rest of the Buffalo Bills, meanwhile, are trying to prepare to play that game tomorrow, a big one against the New England Patriots.
WALKER: Yes, let's go now to Coy Wire in Orchard Park, New York. Coy, obviously, a great pick me up by seeing Damar Hamlin on facetime. I know you have been hearing some of the teammates. What have they been saying about that call?
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Amara, spirits are high. Spirits are bright. That's what the players are saying. This was the third tragedy this city and this team have endured in the past seven months, deadly mass shooting, deadly winter storm, now their teammate nearly dying on the field, still in critical condition. Yesterday was a good day. Players were back out on the practice field, they were hugging, they were smiling, confident to get back out there and do what they do because they got an incredible video call, a facetime from Damar Hamlin. Here is head coach Sean McDermott with details on that uplifting moment with Damar.
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SEAN MCDERMOTT, BUFFALO BILLS HEAD COACH: The thing that makes me laugh is he did this to the guys right away. He flexed, he flexed on them, I guess. And he's just got some staple things that they know him for and that he does. He made the heart symbol probably more than anything, and he gave them a thumbs up. And then somewhere in the midst of that, and it was a little bit hard to hear, but he, you imagine, he said, I love you boys. And of course, that got the guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Great moment. A lot of flexing, a lot of heart symbols. It was a good day. Damar's childhood friend, Miles Sanders, star running back for the Philadelphia Eagles, he also shared about a facetime moment he had with his friend. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILES SANDERS, DAMAR HAMLIN'S CHILDHOOD FRIEND: I told him, I said you know you're the most famous person in the world right now? He said not for the right reason. But I'm like, you're blessed, bro. You don't know how blessed you are. And honestly, I would love to reach out to the medical people, whoever was there on site to help my boy, because, man, the whole world was scared. But his family and his friends, man, I was terrified, bro. I can't put it put it away. I still don't know what to say. I'm just happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WIRE: Amara, Alex, Damar's story continues to bring out the best of humanity. His Chasing M's Foundation, the GoFundMe, has surpassed $8.1 million. It's going to be an emotional rollercoaster as these games get started back up today and especially tomorrow here at the stadium when those Bills take the field.
WALKER: So uplifting to hear. Coy Wire, thank you very much.
Well, compelling information from police and a crucial witness revealing new details this morning about the brutal deaths of four university students. Yesterday we saw furniture from the crime scene in Moscow, Idaho, being loaded onto trucks and then taken away.
MARQUARDT: And the father of one of the victims believes that his daughter was being hunted, in his words, by her killer. CNN's Veronica Miracle has been on the scene for us as investigators try to work out exactly what happened inside the building.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
STEVE GONCALVES, FATHER OF IDAHO MURDER VICTIM KAYLEE GONCALVES: He was stalking them. He was hunting them.
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The father of Kaylee Goncalves, one of the four University of Idaho students killed, believes his daughter and her friends were hunted after authorities laid out the case against Bryan Kohberger.
GONCALVES: He was just a person looking for an opportunity and just happened to be in that house. And it's hard to take.
MIRACLE: Kohberger, charged with the murders, may have cased the scene of the crime four months before the murders, according to new court documents. An affidavit released Thursday reveals police started looking for a white Hyundai Elantra like this one around Thanksgiving, almost two weeks before asking the public for information about the car.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: On December 23rd, they get the cell phone records showing the owner of that car has been, what appears to be from the records, staked out in the area of that murder house a dozen times since August. MIRACLE: Still, no details about why the 28-year-old suspect chose this house and whether he knew any of the four victims, Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen, and Kaylee Goncalves. The affidavit also revealing around 4:00 in the morning, one of the surviving roommates heard crying coming from Xana Kernodle's room and a voice saying, "It's okay, I'm going to help you." That roommate then opened the door and saw a dark figure in black clothing and a mask walk past her, raising the question, why did no one call 911 until noon on Sunday?
GONCALVES: I do know that she was petrified. And I think people respond a little bit different. I think she was just scared, very scared. And it's not like Hollywood where everyone behaves like people think they would.
MIRACLE: According to the affidavit, DNA evidence also led police to the suspect. A knife sheath was left on one of the victims' beds that contained DNA similar to Kohberger's father's DNA found in the family's garbage, according to those documents.
A law enforcement source tells CNN, as authorities were surveilling the Kohberger family home, they witnessed Kohberger putting trash in a neighbor's bin and were able to extract it for DNA comparison.
MILLER: The surveillance team that is watching from a pretty great distance sees him come out and clean the car from top to bottom inside and out using surgical gloves.
MIRACLE: In court on Thursday, Kaylee Goncalves' father was in the front row. He was pointedly staring at Kohberger.
Since the beginning, there have been a lot of questions about why a 911 call wasn't made sooner, and I think this affidavit certainly raises even more questions. But I do want to mention, I spoke with the Latah County coroner right after this incident happened and asked if a 911 call had been made sooner, could lives have been saved? She said no.
[10:15:03]
Veronica Miracle, CNN, Moscow, Idaho.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MARQUARDT: Thanks to Veronica Miracle for that report.
Now 15 million people are under flood alerts as California braces for more heavy rain and flooding next week, where meteorologists say that we could see record flooding in the coming days.
WALKER: Plus, police say a six-year-old boy shot his teacher at school. What we know about how this started and how the teacher is doing.
Plus, the FDA grants approval for a new Alzheimer's drug. The reported benefits and concerns coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WALKER: And 15 million people across California are under threat of flooding this weekend as another round of storms threaten the west coast. The storm is threatening to dump heavy rain on areas already struggling with flooding.
MARQUARDT: Earlier this week, huge waves and powerful winds slammed into the village of Capitola, destroying the town's historic pier. At least two deaths are being blamed on the severe weather.
[10:20:02]
Nearly 40,000 homes and businesses are still without power, and crews across the state are working to repair damage from that last round of storms, and time may be running out. CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar joins us now from the CNN Weather Center. Allison, we are expecting round after round of rain, it's going to keep coming.
ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think that's just it. It's the fact there really isn't much of a break over the next week or so as we experience multiple waves of moisture pushing along the west coast. So let's take look at where we have got the rain now. You can see pretty much this stretch from Seattle all the way down to Monterey, California, is where we are seeing the rain and the snow in the higher elevations.
The concern is because of how much rain we have already had the last two weeks, any additional rain that comes town is coming down on already saturated ground. So you have this red area, the moderate risk, and the yellow, the slight risk for excessive rainfall in the coming days. This is going to be the focus area today. But still a very similar area Sunday and Monday. It just shifts a little bit farther to the south.
Here's a look at that first wave that's going to come in today and through the evening hours tonight, mainly focused across Oregon and then northern and central portions of California. That wave continues to slide in, and then by Sunday night we start to have our next wave begin to push in, and that's going to continue through Monday as well as Tuesday.
Now, one of the longer-term concerns isn't just the flooding on the roads but a lot of the rivers. All these dots here you see, those are river gages where we expect minor, moderate, or even major flood stage in the coming days. Take a look at this, guys. The numbers, we are talking four to as much as 10 inches of rain in the coming days.
WALKER: That is a lot. Allison Chinchar, thank you very much.
And joining me now to talk more about this event is Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA. Daniel, great to see you again. Look, I'm from out west as well. People in California are just not used to these kinds of deluges. You see, that's not what's not ordinary. It's the back-to-back nature of these storms, correct?
DANIEL SWAIN, CLIMATE SCIENTIST, UCLA INSTITUTE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY: That's right. While some of the storms we have been seeing have definitely been moderate to strong in their own right, the real problem is the fact they are coming back-to-back-to-back in quick sequence, and not really giving the land a chance to dry out in between. So the flood risk is cumulative, and even though the upcoming storms won't necessarily be stronger than the ones we've seen previously in the same sequence, the flood impacts earlier this week are likely to much worse than we've seen so far.
WALKER: Why are we seeing this amount of precipitation?
SWAIN: Well, that's a good question. Right now, there is a very strong jet stream really extending all the way across the north Pacific Ocean ending right near California. And that's essentially a storm delivery mechanism for the west coast, and right now it's aimed squarely at California. So this pattern has been in place since the last couple of weeks in December and looks like it might still be in place at least for the next week or so. So that's a pretty extended period of very wet conditions in a place that could certainly use the rain, but there may be a little bit too much of a good thing given the flood risk.
WALKER: Right. And of course, I have been watching my friends post videos and pictures out west about what they are seeing in their communities, and it reminded me of our conversation a few months back about a study that you were a part of that said the likelihood of a mega storm, which is defined by 30 days of just relentless rain or snow, that likelihood is going up. Is that the case? And is this related in any way?
SWAIN: Just to be clear, what we are seeing this week is not of the magnitude of the kind of extreme scenarios we looked at in our research this past summer. But that said, there are some parallels. This idea that the big risk to California, when it comes to flooding, really comes from the cumulative effect of multiple storms, one after the other, that saturate the soil and then bring further heavy precipitation over days and weeks. So in that sense, this is a similar setup.
And we have seen some places in this storm sequence, San Francisco, for example, that has seen their wettest 24-hour periods in well over century going back to the 1800s. So we are seeing hints in recent years of some increasing precipitation extremes in California, even though this particular event won't be as extreme as the kinds of scenarios we've outlined in our research. It could still have major impacts if week, especially in northern California.
WALKER: Is climate change playing a role, number one, in what we're seeing and will see in the next few days, and out west in California, and also when it comes to the increasing likelihood of this mega storm that you talk about in your study?
SWAIN: We live in a warming world, and so in that context, climate change effects essentially all weather events to some extent. The question is just how and to what degree, really.
[10:25:00] And when it comes to extreme precipitation, we know that warming temperatures bring about an exponential increase in the water vapor holding capacity of the atmosphere. So that rises very quickly even for small amounts of warming. That raises the ceiling on how intense precipitation can become in a warming world.
And so we probably have already seen about a 10 to 15 percent increase in that ceiling on how intense precipitation can become. So while we certainly have seen major storm sequences before we had a lot of climate change, we do believe that the likelihood of these sorts of extreme events is increasing, and that the climate change we have seen so far has probably doubled the likelihood of an extreme flood and storm sequence in California. So this really is an important consideration moving forward in a place that has seen, at least recently, more drought and water scarcity than flood to be circumspect in thinking about the other side of that hydrologic coin as well.
WALKER: That's a very important warning. And when you look at these pictures, the extreme flooding and the infrastructure unable to handle this kind of extreme weather, what should local jurisdictions and states be doing to prepare for repeated scenarios like these?
SWAIN: Well, in the short term there is a limit to how much you can do in the days immediately before an event like this, although there certainly are local agencies putting their flood plans into place right now. I can tell you that much. In the long term, it's really thinking about how to co-manage the risks of both drought and flood. In a place like California, we are likely to see more of both in a warming world.
So it's not just getting drier or it's not just getting wetter, but we're really going to see more of both kinds of extremes. And that sort of requires different approaches than if it were just getting wetter or just getting drier all of the time. And so thinking about how we can strategically leverage the occasional floods when they do occur to recharge groundwater, for example, or operate our existing large dams in ways that maintain safety margins during flood events but also give us more flexibility during droughts, these are the kinds of interventions along with things like restoring natural flood plains and giving rivers some room to roam that are likely to be promising and are consistent with what the research suggests California's future climate is going to look like.
WALKER: Really important conversation. Daniel Swain, thanks for being a part of it.
SWAIN: Thanks again for having me.
MARQUARDT: And coming up, a shooting at an elementary school in Virginia. This time the suspect is a six-year-old, six-year-old student. And why police say that the shooting was not accidental.
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[10:31:58] MARQUARDT: A police investigation is underway after a six-year-old boy shot a female teacher yesterday in an elementary school classroom in Newport News, Virginia. Now, according to the authorities, the student and teacher were in an altercation when the six-year-old student, who had the gun, fired a single shot, hitting her. They say this was not an accidental shooting.
WALKER: The teacher was immediately rushed to the hospital with life- threatening injuries, but officials say she has improved since she was admitted. CNN's Gloria Pazmino joining us now. Gloria, this is simply shocking. What more do we know about what led up to this incident?
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Amara, Alex, shocking, disturbing news out of Newport News, Virginia. This happened shortly after 2:00 yesterday afternoon while school was still in session. Police tell us, as you said, that this was during an altercation between this female teacher and her student, a six-year- old. That means that this was a class of first graders. That six-year- old pulled out a gun and fired a shot into that teacher. The teacher immediately rushed to the hospital, as you said, with life-threatening injuries. And at that moment the school also began lockdown procedures to make sure that no other students or staff was put in danger. Police also explaining yesterday that this shooting was contained to that one classroom and that at no moment were other students at risk during -- after this shooting.
I want you to just hear directly from law enforcement and school officials there in Newport News yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE DREW, NEWPORT NEWS POLICE CHIEF: We have been in contact with our commonwealth attorney and some other entities to help us best get services to this young man.
DR. GEORGE PARKER, NEWPORT NEWS PUBLIC SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: And I am in shock. And I am disheartened, and I really feel that we need to educate our children, and we need to keep them safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: So more questions than answer on that last point from the superintendent. We are still waiting to hear more details of the investigation to learn exactly why and how this child had a gun, brought it to school, and exactly what led to this horrible episode. And of course, a community that is very shaken and wondering exactly how this happened and what can be done to make sure it doesn't happen again or affect any of the students in this community. Amara, Alex?
WALKER: Yes, so many questions. How was this child able to get his hands on a gun and then bring it to school? It's really incredible. Gloria, thank you very much. Gloria Pazmino there.
Well, it's already been -- it's already two years since a violent mob stormed the U.S. Capitol building trying to overturn Donald Trump's election defeat. MARQUARDT: And on the second anniversary of January 6th, President Joe
Biden honored the men and women who stood up to protect democracy on that dark day back in 2021.
[10:35:00]
Jasmine Wright is in Wilmington, Delaware, where the president is starting his weekend before heading it the southern border. Jasmine, who were the people who were honored yesterday at the White House? What was the president's message to them?
JASMINE WRIGHT, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Alex, the president gave 14 individuals he calls heroes one of the highest honors that a civilian can get, the Presidential Citizens Medal. And they really fit into two groups. First, law enforcement officials who responded to the carnage on Capitol Hill on January 6th. And then he awarded poll workers and election officials who in the days and weeks before really upheld election integrity.
Now, that included folks like Capitol police officer Eugene Goodman, who now famously misdirected rioters, luring them away from lawmakers, as you can see on your screen here. Also Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman, election workers who had been singled out and heavily criticized by President Trump and his allies while they were just really trying to do their job.
Now, the president said that the country owed these 14 individuals a great debt while also really emphasizing the point that threats to democracy did not just start on January 6th, but rather, there were constant hits on democracy in the weeks and days leading up to it. Take a listen here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: On this day two years ago, we were reminded about the most fundamental of things -- democracy itself. As I've said before, we face an inflection point in our nation's history. On January 6th, it's a reminder that there is nothing guaranteed about our democracy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: So there we heard from president really trying to get to his bottom line there, that although there has been progress made in this country there are threats to democracy that still exist. Alex, Amara?
WALKER: Yes, and President Biden also announced that he will be making his first trip down to the southern border. What more can you tell us about that?
WRIGHT: Yes, Amara. All eyes will be on the president tomorrow when he leaves Washington, D.C., and heads to El Paso, his first trip to the border as president. Now, it is a stop on his way to Mexico where he will attend a northern American leader summit. But of course, it's a high-profile trip just because when you think about all of the incoming criticism that the president and his administration has really faced from both parties on his handling of the border, that even includes that latest executive action that he's taking increasing migrants to the country every month from certain countries abroad, but also increasing the consequences for those who try to circumvent the rules.
So the officials say that the president wants to talk to Border Patrol agents to see what their experience is like on the border as we see that influx of migrants, also seeing the security situation and talk about fentanyl and other drugs passing over the border. So of course, this will be a very high-profile trip for the president, first trip to the border since he has been in office.
WALKER: And one that many local officials I am sure will welcome as they have been calling for him to go and visit. Jasmine Wright traveling with the president, thank you so much.
So a new Alzheimer's drug is being fast tracked by the FDA, but officials warn it comes with some pretty big safety concerns. We will have the details.
And CNN is looking at how Rudy Giuliani went from America's mayor to facing a litany of legal troubles surrounding election conspiracies. Catch the all new CNN original series "Giuliani, What Happened to America's Mayor?" It premieres tomorrow night at 9:00 right here on CNN.
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[10:42:41]
MARQUARDT: The FDA has greenlit accelerated approval for an experimental dementia drug that appears to slow mental deterioration. But as we so many drugs, there are -- so many new drugs, I should say -- there are some safety concerns about serious side effects. For more on that and the other big health headlines this weekend, we have CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen standing by with her expertise. Dr. Wen, thank you so much for joining us this morning. There is a lot to cover. And I want to start with this new drug. Can you tell us what it does and what some of those concerns are that people have?
DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Most therapies for Alzheimer's disease are targeting the symptoms. And so if somebody has a specific symptom, that's what it helps. But this one is different because it's given to individuals early on in the course of their diagnosis. And the intention is to try to prevent progression of the disease and try to reduce the amount of cognitive decline.
And so it offers this novel therapy. There is a lot of potential for it. But I think there are still a number of unanswered questions, as you mentioned, including about side effects, and specifically, there are some side effects that seem to be associated with this drug, including brain swelling, brain bleeding, which are severe consequences. And the question is, are we able to identify which patients will be eligible for it and which patients for whom the benefits will outweigh the risk. I think another unanswered question thus far is how this drug is going
to be priced and specifically whether Medicare is going to cover it. And that's something that the federal agency has yet to make a determination about.
MARQUARDT: This news could provide a lot of hope to millions of Americans. The Alzheimer's Association says that more than 6.5 million people in the U.S. live with Alzheimer's. Of course, this could give hope to their families. How big a deal is this moment, the potential of this new treatment?
WEN: I think it does offer great potential. But I want to be clear that this is not a cure for Alzheimer's. Also, this is given to people with early onset of their disease. And so if somebody has more advanced Alzheimer's, they are not going to be eligible for it. And so I think there needs to be much clearer definitions of who is going to be able to benefit from this drug, and again, we will have more research and more clarity from federal agencies in the months to come.
[10:45:00]
MARQUARDT: I want to switch to the latest on COVID, and we have this new variant earlier in the week, there was concern about how quickly it was spreading. Now CDC is saying that it's not spreading as fast as they had initially feared. So what more do we know abo the danger of this variant?
WEN: So here we're talking about XBB.1.5, which is a derivative of the Omicron subvariants. All the subvariants that are circulating are offshoots of the original Omicron. And with every new variant, you want to ask three questions. Is it more contagious? Is it causing more severe disease? And is it evading the protection of our vaccines and prior infection? In this case, XBB.1.5 does appear to be extremely contagious, which is a concern and is the reason why it's displacing the other variants.
However, it does not appear to cause more severe disease, and there is no indication that our vaccines are going to stop protecting us from severe illness. And so my takeaway here, again, is that people who have yet to receive the updated booster, especially if they are older individuals, people with chronic medical conditions, really should get that updated booster. It's very worrisome that only about a third of people 65 and older have gotten the updated booster. These are the people most vulnerable. They should get that booster. And then for everybody else, consider what your own risks are and consider taking precautions if you want to keep on avoiding COVID.
MARQUARDT: One part of the world that experts are really worried about right now is China as they drop some of their zero COVID policies, and some countries are restricting travel from China as those cases surge. So how badly do you think the COVID crisis here in the U.S. could be affected by what's happening in China and people traveling from China?
WEN: Well, I think the crisis in China is very bad. There are hundreds of millions of people who are probably infected with COVID right now in that country, and hospitals are getting overwhelmed there, and COVID hasn't really even hit the rural areas hard in China that have very limited health care infrastructure. So I think the problem there is bad.
But I don't think that these travel restrictions really make sense, because we have so much COVID all around the world, and that doesn't make sense. It's really a drop in the bucket to try to restrict what's happening in China from coming here. Really, the issue should be to try to prevent new variants from developing, and also to identify these new variants as they are happening. So I hope that we will do more things like wastewater testing, including on flights that are coming from China, to see what new variants might be identified there. But trying to restrict travel just is not a great policy at this point in the pandemic.
MARQUARDT: Yes, it is a very nerve-racking moment several years into this pandemic. Dr. Leana Wen, thank you so much for your time.
WEN: Thank you.
WALKER: Got a stash of Bed Bath & Beyond coupons? You better use them soon. Details on why the home goods retailer says it may not be able to stay in business much longer.
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[10:52:22]
WALKER: Home retailer Bed Bath & Beyond is warning that it may be headed for bankruptcy court. In a regulatory filing this week, the chain said it's looking at restructuring debt, seeking more cash, and selling assets, but that there is substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue.
MARQUARDT: And after that statement on Thursday, the company's stock dropped by nearly 30 percent.
Joining us now with more is CNN Business reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn. Nathaniel, thanks so much for being with us today. So what's gone wrong at Bed Bath & Beyond?
NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN BUSINESS REPORTER: Right, so we could be looking at a bankruptcy filing for this beloved chain, Bed Bath & Beyond. It's really been squeezed by competition from Amazon, Walmart, Target the past decade. You look at the recent sales numbers, in 2018 it was at about $12 billion in sales. That is that has plunged to $7.7 billion in sales last year. It was hit hard by the pandemic. Bed Bath & Beyond had to close stores, and while it closed those stores, competitors stayed in business and more shoppers shifted to them.
WALKER: I have a lot of those 20 percent off coupons. I have a huge stash in my car. So what will happen to those? And did the coupon policy help or hurt them in the long run?
MEYERSOHN: Right, so we are all familiar with those ubiquitous 20 percent off coupons from Bed Bath & Beyond. We can use them for everything from kitchenware to stuff for our home. But the problem is that they actually hurt the company because people would only buy stuff from Bed Bath & Beyond if they had the coupons. They wouldn't buy at full prices. And so Bed Bath & Beyond tried to get away from them, but they couldn't. They were kind of hooked on them.
So if you have those coupons, use them now. Don't wait for a potential bankruptcy filing and a liquidation. Again, the novelty of the coupons kind of wore off when you could just buy stuff on Amazon for cheaper prices and compare around.
MARQUARDT: This would be -- bankruptcy would be an earthquake in the retail world. They are ubiquitous, they're iconic. You go to any mall across the country, they are there. What would this mean for -- what would a bankruptcy filing mean for the company in particular, but the broader retail industry?
MEYERSOHN: Right. So Bed Bath & Beyond has about 950 stores across the country and 30,000 employees. A bankruptcy would force it potentially to close all of these stores and have a huge impact on employees. There would be layoffs. But it would also really impact the broader retail sector.
[10:55:00]
Over the past few years, we have seen more businesses shift to Amazon and Walmart. And if Bed Bath & Beyond were to close stores, that would just accelerate. And so the big would continue to get bigger while the middle and the smaller companies struggle, and that's really what we've seen over the past decade in retail, the big getting bigger and then everybody else really struggling.
WALKER: That's a shame, because I do appreciate walking into a brick- and-mortar store and actually just shopping around even if I don't actually buy something. Nathaniel Meyersohn, appreciate you. Thanks.
And that's our time. Alex, it was great to be with you. Thank you, everyone, for watching.
MARQUARDT: So lovely being back with you, Amara. And all of you out there, there's much more news ahead in the CNN Newsroom. Fredricka Whitfield is coming up next. Take care.
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