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Fmr. Gov. Nikkie Haley (R-SC) to Hold New Hampshire Town Hall After Kicking Off Campaign; 42,000-Plus People Now Confirmed Dead in Devastating Quake; FDA Advisers Recommend Making Narcan Available Over the Counter. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 16, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

CHIEF ELLERY SOSEBEE, LANSING POLICE DEPARTMENT: But I will share this with you now to hopefully avoid any questions in the future.

[10:30:04]

Starting back in 2005, McRae was contacted for a larceny complaint by the Lansing Police Department, 2006, a traffic violation, 2007 a traffic violation, 2007 again, another traffic violation, and in 2019, he was arrested by the Lansing Police Department for a CCW, which is carrying a concealed weapon, which he was arrested for. And for that case, that weapon is still in the Lansing Police Department custody.

As the lieutenant shared --

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: We have been listening to an update from police in Lansing, Michigan, an update on the investigation into the shooting at Michigan State University. A number of headlines there, that the gunman found with two handguns as well additional magazines. The police say that those guns were purchased legally, though not registered.

They recounted, as you just heard there, a number of previous encounters with police, including an arrest in 2019 for carrying a concealed weapon. Also notable, Erica, he did say that he was found with two bus tickets on his person, potentially they did not say where they were to, but potentially significant given in his letter, he spoke about the possibility of going to other location. We will await more information on that.

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. And in terms of that letter, Jim, he did note the two pages of notes that were found there saying maybe a motive but nothing we can confirm just yet.

CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller is here with us now. So, in terms of that note, I think it's interesting that he said maybe there's a motive in what we saw, but we can't confirm anything just yet. We know what some of the words were in that note. We know that there were locations. How do you, though, based on your experience, how do you read that note?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, in the note, he makes himself out to be a victim. He lists 12 targets he claims to be in charge of a team of 20 shooters. I talked to Mary Ellen O'Toole, the renowned former FBI profiler, who said that is not unusual for a person who is a loner, who is a nobody to want to create this note, this aura that would give him power and create fear if he went on to hit one or more of these targets and left that note saying there's this army of 20 and I'm in command of it.

But other parts of the note, people hate me. They made me what I am today, a killer. No one noticed me. Why do they have me? I am a person. So, he is feeling isolated. He's feeling alone. He's very angry. And when you consider that he did this shooting, escaped the scene, intended to escape the scene and had a potential list of a dozen other targets where he held some grudge against each one of these places, the employment agency, the store, the fast food place, the church, and eight magazines fully loaded with 9 millimeter ammunition, two guns, 50 other bullets, there is a good possibility, a good possibility that he intended to carry forth more shootings until he was captured.

HILL: One important note I want to make there, you said in the note, it mentions, I have a team of 20, important that we did just learn and confirmed in this update that they do believe he was acting alone. There was no -- but just for people who are just joining us, there was no team there.

MILLER: So, there is no team of 20. This is part of his attempt to make himself larger than he is. And all of those places were visited by police who said, you were mentioned in this letter, there is no threat and there is no team of 20, but asking at the same time what is the connection, if any, that you might have had to this individual.

HILL: Right.

SCIUTTO: John, as so often following mass shooting like this, so we learned that the guns were purchased legally, though they noted they were not registered. He did have multiple encounters with police prior, it seemed mostly for traffic situations, although they mentioned an arrest in 2019 for a concealed carry of a weapon. Based on current law, should he have been able to buy a gun legally after an encounter like that?

MILLER: Apparently. And there are two sets of laws here. One is he had to pass the NICS check, the federal background check, to make sure he wasn't a convicted felon, wasn't the subject of any domestic violence, order of protection. But then in Michigan, separately, you have to apply to the state police, give your information. They have to do a separate background check to make sure that there are no prohibitive encounters with the law enforcement, and because, Jim, he was not a convicted felon arrested on a felony, plead that down to a misdemeanor, was sentenced to probation.

[10:35:00]

He was actually with a limited criminal background, still qualified to buy those two weapons, the 9 millimeter Hi-Point, and a Taurus C-3 pistol, semiautomatic pistols.

HILL: And that other gun, they say, from that arrest is still in their possession of (INAUDIBLE)?

MILLER: As ridiculous as it sounds, Erica, part of his sentence was that he had to forfeit the illegal gun to the police department as part of his plea agreement.

HILL: John Miller, I always appreciate it. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Still to come in politics, Nikki Haley is hitting the ground running in her race for the White House. She's making the pitch for a new generation of leadership by, among other things, questioning the mental competency of older politicians.

HILL: Plus, ten days now since that devastating earthquake struck killing tens of thousands in Turkey and Syria, remarkably, miraculously survivors still being pulled from the rubble. And we have a report from Turkey just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

SCIUTTO: Today, Nikki Haley will hold her first town hall after kicking off her presidential campaign. She is facing off, of course, in the race for the Republican nomination with her former boss, Donald Trump. But, so far, she is focusing her attention and criticism on President Biden.

HILL: CNN Political Director David Chalian joining us now. So, David, one day into the campaign at this point, and she is really trying to, you know, kind of have it both ways. She doesn't really want to criticize her former boss. She wants to hold on to the base, maybe win a few more over. Let's take a listen to this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the insurrection, you said, Trump, quote, will be judged harshly by history. He went down a path that he shouldn't have and we should not have followed him. And then later that same year, you said, quote, he has the ability to get strong people elected. We need him in the Republican Party. Can both of those things be true?

FMR. GOV. NIKKI HALEY (R-SC): Yes, except for the media. Because the thing is --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, he can be personally responsible for the insurrection but still be an essential part of the party?

HALEY: I have said that January 6th terrible day. I criticized him for that and I stand by that criticism. I have said he was a good president in the way that he lifted up so many people economically and he did real good in this country. That can be true too. When I see something right, I praise it. When I see something wrong, I criticize it.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HILL: David, how long is this going to last? She has been called out a number times for specifics, and it does not seem we're -- I don't know if she is not prepared for it. I don't know. Play this out for me.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, she is certainly, Erica, not looking to launch term campaign on defining herself on policy differences with Donald Trump, the only other declared candidate in the race right now, that is clear. She is trying to do a broader and, quite frankly, more vague message of the generational change than she is wanting to get into a policy debate on day one.

And I understand that strategy, except that when you come out of the gate, one of the things you want to do is to have a rationale for your candidacy that you can start to explaining to Republican primary voters as to why you are the best of all of the Republicans to be the nominee.

I would just note, you noted she is trying to have it both ways on something like Donald Trump and January 6th. She says two things can be true except for in the media. Well, I think one of the things that this campaign is going to test except, maybe the voters, too. Maybe Republican primary voters are either looking someone to be in the sort of Trump camp or to really try to move the party on from it. And we will see. Maybe it is not just the media, maybe it is also Republican primary voters.

SCIUTTO: And she's not the only Republican who has said they called him out Trump for January 6th, but said he did other good things. One moment we do want to --

CHALIAN: It is such a tough line to walk, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Of course, it is. And, listen, it has not worked for a lot of those Republicans, frankly.

Haley proposed a requirement aiming not just at Trump but certainly at Biden as well, that being an age requirement for older politicians. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HALEY: And the America I see the permanent politician will finally retire. We'll have term limits for Congress and mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Term limits, they have been popular for a long time. The mental competency tests, that's new. Is that a winning political issue for her?

CHALIAN: Yes. Listen, she's not going to win the presidency by just declaring that she is a 51 years old, right? Like that's not going to be a galvanizing message. Yes, she is calling for this new generation leadership, yes, that's a big applause line for Republicans, because it is a clear dig at Joe Biden. But as you also note, it is a not so subtle dig at her former boss, Donald Trump, as well.

She gives the line today, Joe Biden is going for his medical exam today, and we will see if we get a readout on how his health is, there is no doubt that his age is a question and an issue in this campaign. But as Asa Hutchinson said, one of her potential challengers, there is no constitutional requirement for a competency test and I don't think there's going to be some groundswell to get that added.

HILL: We'll be watching. David Chalian, always good to see you, thank you.

Coming up, rescuers in Turkey are not giving up in the search for survivors. A girl pulled from the rubble being called a, quote, miracle.

[10:45:01]

We will update you on the other side of this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: The death toll from the Turkey and Syrian earthquakes continue to rise just beyond comprehension. Now, more than 42,000 people confirmed dead. Much needed humanitarian aid slowly arriving. The challenge now, getting that aid to regions where roads and critical infrastructure have been badly damaged or even destroyed.

HILL: CNN's Jomana Karadsheh joining us now live from Turkey. So, Jomana, give us a sense of where these rescue efforts stand at the moment.

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erica and Jim, we are in the city Antakya in Hatay Province, one of the hardest hit by the earthquake here in Turkey. And as you can see behind me, you have got this constant movement everywhere around this city.

[10:50:04]

I mean, it is so hard to find a single building that has not been impacted by the earthquake in this historic city. You have got constant buzz of the excavators and diggers. They are trying to move the debris out from these sites trying to clear the roads. But they're also still clearing these sites for search and rescue teams that are still working tirelessly around the clock.

Now, most of it has pretty much moved into search and recovery, but there are still those really unbelievable rescues at this point. We were at the site of one yesterday where a woman and two children had been pulled out from underneath the rubble. They were alive. And, you know, we saw families who were out there waiting for their loved ones who were in the building, waiting for any word as to what may have happened to them.

And when you have these sort of rescues that they describe as miracles, it gives them hope that their loved ones may also emerge alive. But, unfortunately, as we have seen over the past couple of days in the city, we're seeing a constant stream of dead bodies being pulled out from underneath the rubble.

SCIUTTO: We are learning now more than 56,000 buildings have been heavily damaged, demolished or need to be demolished. The scale it's just off of the charts. Jomana Karadsheh, thanks so much.

For more information on how you can help the people of both Turkey and Syria, please go to cnn.com/impact. There are a lot of very good and vetted options listed there.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:55:00]

HILL: A potential game changer in the opioid epidemic, two FDA advisory committees voting unanimously to make Narcan nasal spray easier to get. That, of course, could actually reverse an opioid overdose.

SCIUTTO: It could be live-saving.

CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now. So, how do you get these on shelves and quickly?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what, this should actually be relatively easy. Right now, you can get Narcan without a prescription. As we speak, you do have to talk to the pharmacist, though.

What the FDA advisers say is, look, let's just put it out on the shelves with the aspirin and the Tylenol and the shampoo, let's just put it out there.

So, let's take a look at what this would involve. So, again, this would be -- this is the FDA adviser saying, let's do that. The final decision is up to the FDA commissioner. If approved, it wouldn't just be at drug stores, it would also conceivably could be in a gas station, could be in a supermarket.

This is coming at a time when opioid deaths are going up, up, up. It's really so disturbing. So, if you look at 2021, more than 80,000 deaths from opioids. And Narcan is very powerful, very effective at helping people when they have had an overdose. Jim, back to you.

HILL: Such an important development. And I was struck even to hear you say possibly at gas stations, which would really be something remarkable. Elizabeth, thank you.

Thanks to you all for joining us today. I'm Erica Hill.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim sciutto.

At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts right after a quick break.

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