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Ex-GOP Candidate Arrested In Shootings At Dem Lawmakers' Homes; COVID Hospitalizations Far Below Previous Winter Waves; Murder Warrant Issued For Brian Walshe In Death Of Wife Ana Walshe; Cowboys Blow Out Buccaneers, Tom Brady's Future Uncertain. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 17, 2023 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: That's some stats from the federal side. If you take that down to the state side, you've got election workers in Georgia who have been threatened publicly and named. You have secretaries of state who are living in fear.

You have, in Kansas, a door-to-door operation, not election workers, where voters were being door-knocked to say, do you really live here, how did you vote in the last election, we think there was fraud, which is kind of --

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN HOST: Intimidating.

MILLER: From Congress to door to door from voters, it goes from Congress to the grassroots of power.

There's a line of thinking, extremist end of the GOP machinery, that says, if we lost it, it can't be because we lost, so it must be fixed and we must act. This case of gunfire takes it to a whole new level.

CAMEROTA: Yes. I mean, I was so glad you brought that up because the spectrum of election denialism, dangerous, living in your own reality, dangerous, frustrating.

But does it lead to violence? I mean, is that -- are you seeing now a direct connection?

MILLER: So, I mean, if you climb the ladder, you can go from January 6th backwards to the softball game that was shot up by an individual, forwards to Nancy Pelosi's house, an election denier, forward to shots being fired at all of these residences.

You know, it's this case on January 3rd, so State Senator Linda Lopez, bullets come through the house into the child's bedroom, hits the ceiling.

So they're aiming high, which doesn't mean anything to somebody who has bullets coming into their child's bedroom at 1:00 in the morning while sleeping.

They recover a shell casing there, ballistics inside. Half an hour, 40 minutes later, they stop a Silver Nissan. In the Nissan, 800 fentanyl pills and a wanted felon.

In the inventory search, two guns, a Glock with a drum magazine and an A.R. pistol.

That car is registered to Pena. They traced the other registered car as a black Audi, connected to one of the earlier shootings.

And you've got basically drug dealers with guns in cars related to the candidate, stealing other cars to cover their tracks.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

MILLER: It was an elaborate, and yet sloppy scheme towards intimidation.

CAMEROTA: Yes. To your original point, all connected to election denial at some level?

MILLER: Yes.

John, thank you very much. Thanks for letting us know all of that.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN HOST: The last two winters have brought devastating COVID surges but, so far, this season has not. What this could signal for the next few months ahead.

CAMEROTA: Police logs reveal the disappearance of that Massachusetts woman was first reported not by her husband. We have new details ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:37:16]

BLACKWELL: COVID hospitalizations are far below previous winter waves, a welcome surprise for public health officials, for everybody really, who has been bracing for spikes from infections after the holidays.

CAMEROTA: CNN health reporter, Jacqueline Howard, joins us now.

Jacqueline, what do hospitalization rates look like right now?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, I can tell you, Victor and Alisyn, we are seeing hospitalization rates slightly increase. But as you mentioned, Victor, we're far below what we've seen in previous winter surges.

Here's a look at that. We should have a chart looking at the past two years of hospitalization rates.

You see, starting January 27th of 2021, there's a spike right there. And then as we keep going, we enter 2022, there was another spike in the middle of the chart.

But at the end of the chart is where we are today, and you see how we are seeing a slight increase, but we're not nearly as high as those previous surges. That's what's welcome news.

We are seeing this across the country. We should have a map showing all states, here state by state differences and hospitalization differences.

Here's the same map of last year. January 17th of 2022, this same map last year as you see here. There were some high hospitalization rates across various states but the map looks very different today. That's what's welcome news here.

There are still two looming concerns that public health officials are watching closely.

Number one, the risk of a new variant emerging. And then, number two, we're still seeing slow uptake of the updated COVID-19 vaccine, the booster, that was released in September.

So we need to get our vaccination rates up. And we need to continue to monitor for variants. But outside of that, this is welcome news -- Victor and Alisyn?

BLACKWELL: Some concerns, still a little bit of good news.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

BLACKWELL: We will take the good news.

HOWARD: Exactly.

BLACKWELL: Jacqueline Howard, thank you so much.

[14:39:05]

CAMEROTA: OK. Did Tom Brady just play his last football game, but this time for real? Tom Brady talks the possibility of retirement again, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CAMEROTA: We're following breaking news. The Massachusetts Norfolk district attorney issued a murder warrant for Brian Walshe, the husband of Ana Walshe, who has not been seen since New Year's Day.

BLACKWELL: CNN's Jason Carroll joins us from Cohasset, Massachusetts.

Jason, give us the details.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you know, Victor, Brian Walshe was already in custody facing a charge of misleading police in this investigation.

Now comes the news that so many people had feared, but so many people, quite frankly, were expecting here on the ground.

The Norfolk district attorney sending out a statement just a few moments ago saying that, in fact, a murder warrant has been issued for Brian Walshe.

Now, clearly there's been a number of -- a great deal of circumstantial evidence in this case that has been released.

Remember last week, investigators found that hatchet at the trash facility. They found what appeared to be a bloody cloth material at that facility as well.

They were running tests on that, in addition to running tests on blood stains found in the basement of the home.

Then there were all the discrepancies with Brian Walshe's statements he made following the disappearance of his wife.

So many details that had come out, including about an Internet search he had allegedly conducted about how to dispose of a 115-pound body, and how to dismember a body.

[14:45:02]

A lot of gruesome details that led a number of people to suspect, when was this man going to face further charges. Now we have, in fact, the answer to that. Again, he is facing murder charges.

Obviously, we're expecting further details about this case to come out. We are being told from the D.A.'s office that additional details will be presented at his arraignment.

That is scheduled to be at 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. That is, of course, if he can get his attorney, his defense attorney, up and running to defend him in that case.

But sobering news here, but news, again, that a lot of folks were expecting.

CAMEROTA: So, too, Jason, so we understand, this murder warrant, is it your impression, is based on the DNA tests having come back from the evidence they've gathered as opposed to say a body being found?

CARROLL: That's a good question, but we don't know yet.

We know tests, according to forensic experts and the D.A.'s office as well, have been run on a number of items they have found, including the blood stains in the basement, the hatchet found at that trash facility.

We don't know what the results of those tests are at this point. Perhaps we'll get more indication of that tomorrow when the prosecutor presents her case.

But again, a lot of circumstantial evidence in the case. Forensic experts tell us they would expect to see a lot of forensics material that would be presented in court as well.

We do know from the D.A.'s office that they were going to be running tests on some materials. The results of those tests unknown at this point.

BLACKWELL: Jason, in addition to the potential evidence that's been discovered, you mentioned the knife with the blood there at the home and what was found at the trash facility.

There's also the question of the first report of a missing person in this case, and that's new reporting it didn't come from Brian Walshe.

CARROLL: It did not. We took a look at the police log, Victor, which showed that, on January 4th, Her employer in Washington, D.C. -- remember, she worked there in Washington, D.C. during the week at that real estate firm.

It was the head of security from that firm that called Cohasset police and said that she was missing. And so that was the first indication that Cohasset police had that Ana Walshe was missing.

It didn't come from her husband. It came from her employer. Again, another piece of circumstantial evidence that prosecutors are surely going to be adding to their case.

CAMEROTA: OK. Jason Carroll, thank you for this breaking news, the husband of Ana Walshe has now been charged with murder in that case.

Thank you.

BLACKWELL: The Homeland Security secretary is under fire and now House Republicans are laying the groundwork to potentially impeach him. Our new CNN reporting, that's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:17]

BLACKWELL: So earlier this hour, Golden State Warriors star guard, Steph Curry, and head coach, Steve Kerr, stopped by the White House press briefing. They happened to be in the neighborhood.

Curry and Ker thanked President Biden and his administration for the efforts to free WNBA star, Brittany Brittney Griner, and combat gun violence.

In just a few minutes, the two will later be part of a presidential ceremony -- this is really why they're there -- with the rest of the Warriors to celebrate their 2022 NBA championship.

CAMEROTA: This is the first time the Warriors have been back to the White House since 2016, even though they've won two championships since then.

In 2017, you'll remember the President Trump disinvited the team after players said they would not be attending.

And the following year, the team skipped the visit and instead took schoolchildren to the Smithsonian Museum of African-American history. So Tom Brady is once again facing questions about his future after the

Dallas Cowboys knocked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers out of the NFL playoffs.

BLACKWELL: I'm having a sense of deja vu. We've done this before.

CNN's sports anchor, Coy Wire, joins us now.

Brady will be 46 when the season starts next year -- or later this year, actually. What is he saying about his future?

COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: We'll he's not sure. I take his word for it.

First thing's first. The first thing Tom Brady wants to do is make football the last thing on his mind. He told reporters after the game asking about what's next, he said he just wanted to go home and get a good night's sleep.

And that's absolutely true. After the team meeting, after that final game of the season, most guys have their cars running in the parking lot. They want to get out of dodge as fast as they can.

The season is so long, so taxing mentally, emotionally, physically. I would spend a day or two in bed, like doing nothing.

Most guys want to spend time with families, kissing and cuddling kids, and take a trip to get away, and far away.

Tom Brady likely going to be doing the same type of thing.

But he did also respond when further asked about a potential retirement. Let's hear what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM BRADY, SEVEN-TIME SUPER BOWL CHAMPION: This is focusing on this game. So, yes, just one day at a time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Tom Brady does not know what he will do next. And he does have some options.

But before we talk about that, Victor and Alisyn, he took time at the end of the press conference to thank the media. It might be a bit telling about his future, at least there in Tampa. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRADY: Hopefully -- you know, I love this organization. I thank everybody for welcoming me and all the regulars. Just very grateful for respect. And hope I gave the same thing back you to guys.

[14:55:04]

So thank you very much. Appreciate it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIRE: Was this his final press conference as a Buccaneer, as an NFL player? He could keep playing, yes? He finished top three in the NFL in passing yards and completions.

And this guy will be 46, as you mention, for the next season, Victor, in his 24th season. But no one takes care of their body better than Tom Brady.

There are a slew of Super Bowl-contending teams that would love to have him continue playing. But could he step away? Absolutely.

And he has a 10-year, $375 million deal with FOX Sports to be the lead analyst. That is still getting paid like an NFL quarterback without getting hit like an NFL quarterback, Alisyn and Victor.

So we shall see what Tom Brady's future holds.

BLACKWELL: Yes. He has things he can do.

CAMEROTA: Yes. He's not out of options. Not out of options.

BLACKWELL: And I'll believe whatever the decision is, after it actually happens.

(CROSSTALK)

WIRE: For more than 40 days.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Yes.

WIRE: First retirement was 40 days and he came back.

BLACKWELL: Coy Wire, thank you so much.

WIRE: You got it.

CAMEROTA: So a man is in custody after this video shown on live TV of a toddler waving a loaded gun and even pulling the trigger. What we learned about this case ahead.

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