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Today, Ohio Opens Health Clinic After Toxic Train Wreck; Virginia Voters Head to Polls in Special Congressional Election; Authorities Arrest Suspect in Shooting Death of Catholic Bishop in L.A. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired February 21, 2023 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

DR. JAMES KRAVEC, CHIEF CLINICAL OFFICER, MERCY HEALTH YOUNGSTOWN AND LORAIN: They need to have a place to go, to have their concerns addressed. And I think the more help we can get, the better.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: So, it sounds like two things, the people there need information, they didn't know what is going on, but also need to get health care if required. Are you comfortable with, satisfied with the level of support you have seen particularly from federal agencies in the wake of this?

KRAVEC: Yes. I am just so happy with the way our health system has, Mercy Health has our practice and our protocols in place, taking care of our patients. And we just welcome the help from the state and the federal government and continue helping with our patients. We've been there since the beginning and we're glad to have more help (INAUDIBLE).

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN ANCHOR: And, Doctor, what do you do when people come in and say that they are convinced that they are experiencing symptoms from this toxic train crash? What do you say to them? Do you try to look at what else could be going on there, or do you really try to focus on what could perhaps be the toxic effects of that spill?

KRAVEC: I think that the answer is both. It certainly could be the toxic effects of the spill. We don't know for sure, but it certainly could be. But we are seeing the patients who have exposures and then are testing positive for flu or strep or COVID. And so we have to take it case-by-case, patient-by-patient and then treat them with the symptoms they have.

Most times we don't know, so we really look at both. We look at, is this something from the train toxins or is this something from the normal environment. And it is really hard but we go case-by-case.

FISHER: Yes, this time of the year definitely making it all of the more difficult.

KRAVEC: It is.

SCIUTTO: And understandable questions there too from people who are confused and scared. Dr. James Kravec, thanks so much.

KRAVEC: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: In less than an hour, funeral services scheduled to begin for one of the three Michigan State University shooting victims. Arielle Anderson, just 19 years old, and there she is, the youngest of three siblings. Her family said, and you could see it there, she had an infectious smile and was working hard to graduate early as she was studying to become a doctor.

The families of two other victims, Alexandria Verner and Brian Fraser, they're both just 20 years old, held funerals over the weekend. Those poor families. It is still unclear why the 43-year-old gunman opened fire on the Michigan State campus. Five other students, they were injured in the shooting. At least two remain in critical condition.

FISHER: Coming up, Virginia voters heading to the polls today for a special congressional election, one that could elect the state's first black congresswoman. We'll have much more ahead.

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[10:35:00]

SCIUTTO: Well, today, voters in one Virginia congressional district are heading to the polls for an election that could make history in that state.

FISHER: Yes. Democratic State Senator Jennifer McClellan is facing Republican Leon Benjamin. And if McClellan wins, she would become the first black woman to represent Virginia in Congress. A historic first that would be.

CNN's Melanie Zanona is on Capitol Hill this morning. So, Melanie, for those people that do not follow this stuff as closely as you, how did this special election come about?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, Kristin, it did come about under sad circumstances. So, this is special elections is to replace Democratic Congressman Donald McEachin. He died in November following a very long battle with cancer.

Now, the two candidates who are running to replace him are State Senator Jennifer McClellan, she is the Democrat in the race, and the Republican running in the race is Leon Benjamin, he is a conservative pastor. And both of these candidates have run for office before. McClellan, in addition to serving in the state legislature, also ran for primary for governor of Virginia, and Benjamin has ran for this exact seat multiple times, losing each time by double digits.

As you mentioned, McClellan, if elected, would become the first black woman to represent Virginia in Congress. So, it's a really big deal. She has talked about the importance of bringing diverse perspectives to the table. She said her family's experiences of growing up in the segregated south is in part what pushed her to become champion for voting rights and other issues. Now, this is a Democratic stronghold. It's in Richmond. It went for President Biden by over 35 point. So, this special election is likely not going to change the margins in Congress but it is a race with historical implications, nonetheless. Kristin, Jim?

SCIUTTO: No question. Melanie Zanona on the Hill, thanks so much.

We are now less than an hour away from President Biden's speech in Poland, but the 2024 candidates have already started criticizing his response to Ukraine. Republican Nikki Haley claimed that Biden, even with his visit there yesterday, acted too slowly on the war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NIKKI HALEY, REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It started with Obama, Russia go into Ukraine, no one does anything about it. They do it again, Biden slow to the take, does nothing about it, and he is now creeping in to do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: So joining us now is CNN Political Commentator and Spectrum News Political Anchor Errol Louis.

So, the rest of Nikki Haley's speech, it largely mirrored what President Biden has been saying, that the fight for democracy in Ukraine is absolutely critical. She did criticize him saying that he is slow to the take, but the rest of her speech sounded pretty similar to what President Biden was saying. So, how is this issue going to play out in the GOP race?

ERROL LOUIS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: She is going to have a very tough time threading that particular needle.

[10:40:03]

One would almost forget from her speech that she worked for a guy, Donald Trump, who was close to Vladimir Putin, who said that he trusted Putin more than his own director of National Intelligence, who has called the invasion of Ukraine savvy and so forth. And unless she specifically disavows each and every part of that, I think her own position is not going to be terribly clear.

And notice, by the way, she is saying the president -- the current president, Joe Biden, was not strong enough, wasn't quick enough, was slow off the mark and so forth, but she is also part of this Republican stance that says, we are not supposed to write blank checks to Ukraine. We have to fully support the Ukrainian position is what they are saying, but they're saying only up to a point. What that point is, completely unclear.

SCIUTTO: And we should note, she was part of the Trump administration. They had four years to respond to the 2014 invasion of Crimea that she referred to in here speech there. I do want to speak more broadly about the Republican race so far. Because after two years of wondering will anyone challenge Trump, we have the answer, Nikki Haley, served in his administration. She is -- DeSantis clearly toying with the idea of running. Tim Scott, Mike Pence, Trump's former vice president as well. Does this mean folks in his own party are not scared of Trump anymore?

LOUIS: Oh, I don't know about that, Jim. I think they're probably all very wary, they would be wise to be careful about getting singled out by Donald Trump.

If you go back to 2015-2016, what worked for Donald Trump in a crowded Republican field was to have a whole bunch of them. And he would just -- whoever was the closest challenger would be the one he would turn all of his fire on, and then that person would go away, and then he would just move on to the next one. And so, first, he went after Bush, and then he went after Rubio and so on down the line, until he knocked off Ted Cruz at the convention.

I think he probably wants -- if you're a Trump strategist, you'll want all of these folks in. And I think each of them is going to wait and hope that one of the others is going to be targeted first. It looks like Ron DeSantis might be playing that role.

FISHER: So, we know Nikki Haley is in. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, he is going to be in Iowa, a telltale sign that he is at least considering running. But Nikki Haley and Tim Scott, they have pretty similar ideology. So, how do those two differentiate themselves?

LOUIS: Well, look, they are each going to have to hope that one of the others or all of the others just go away or drop out or fade in the polls or prove themselves unable to raise money, but until that happens, each of them has as good of a shot as the next, and they are going to all stay in.

Tim Scott and Nikki Haley obviously cannibalize the same base, because they are coming from the same state. Tim Scott might have a bit of an advantage because he is a sitting senator as opposed to Nikki Haley, who is going to get some but only by kind of amping up and ramping up her rhetoric.

She doesn't have a position of power from which to work right now. She's polling in the low single digits, and she is going to have to work real hard to get those numbers up. That's going to include some pretty harsh statements. And here, again, the person in the background, the first to have declared, Donald Trump, is just waiting to see which of them he should go after first, and I think that's really when the race is going to start.

SCIUTTO: I want to ask you about another development, that is the Republican House speaker, Kevin McCarthy, has now given Fox News Anchor Tucker Carlson access to all Capitol Hill security footage from January 6th. McCarthy is repeatedly focused on Hill security failures more so than the former president's responsibility in his public comments. What do you think is the intention of this and how significant is handing over or giving him such access, giving Carlson such access to this video?

LOUIS: Well, they're certainly going to try and recast all of the findings of the January 6th committee, essentially try to rewrite history and say, well, the Capitol police did not do what they were supposed to do as opposed to dealing with the obvious question of why did they have to do anything, what was that mob there for, who sent them there, who told them to erect a noose outside the Capitol and march through the halls, ransacking it, who led them into the Senate chamber or led them to defecate or spread defecation on the walls. So, we are going to see a massive attempt to rewrite history here, and it will be interesting.

I don't know if they have the goods, but it will be interesting to see whatever footage they have got that maybe sort of cast maybe a different storyline that I doubt the American people are going to buy.

FISHER: All right. Errol Louis, thank you so much.

SCIUTTO: Well, right now, voters are casting ballots in a primary for Wisconsin, the Wisconsin Supreme Court, maybe one of the most pivotal races this year, in that battleground election state.

[10:45:00]

The two candidates who received the most votes in the nonpartisan primary advanced to the general election in April. The court's narrow 4-3 conservative majority is at stake, and those justices could decide several high-stakes issues, those include abortion, abortion rights as well, all of this is ahead of the next presidential election.

FISHER: So, is still ahead, police arrest a suspect in the shooting death of a Los Angeles Bishop. So, what do we know about a possible motive? We are going to have the very latest, next.

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[10:50:00]

SCIUTTO: This morning, investigators in Los Angeles are trying to determine a motive after arresting a suspect in the shooting death of a Catholic bishop.

FISHER: But sheriff's deputies do say that the suspect was married to the bishop's housekeeper.

CNN's Josh Campbell is in Los Angeles. So, there is a connection. What more do we know, Josh, about the man that's been arrested?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kristin and Jim. So, authorities say that 65-year-old Carlos Medina was arrested yesterday by a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department tactical team after this hours- long standoff.

And just to walk you through the timeline here. Authorities say that Bishop David O'Connell, who is renowned for his work as a community peacemaker here in L.A., was found dead Saturday in his home. A church deacon went to check on him after the bishop was late for a meeting.

Now, the sheriff here says that it was a tipster who helped them solve the case. The unidentified person told police that medina had been acting strange and had making comments about the bishop allegedly owing him money. Sheriff's detectives were also able to gather surveillance footage near the crime scene which allegedly showed an SUV similar to Medina's pulling into the bishop's driveway and then departing a short time later.

Now, L.A. Sheriff Robert Luna told us that the motive right now is unclear. And although there have been reports of some type financial dispute, Luna says that his investigators have not yet drawn any conclusion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROBERTLUNA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: I am not standing here in front of you telling you it is a dispute over money yet. It is something that we have heard to this point. And that is something that the detectives will go out and validate and see if it is true or not.

Based on what I know at this time, the suspect had been at the bishop's house before doing work. So, there was some kind of a -- maybe a working relationship, but we are still trying to figure out what that relationship was.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: Now, Medina has not yet been formally charged and CNN is attempting to identify whether he has an attorney. But, guys, as investigators work to piece all of this together, what happened and why, community members of all faiths here in Los Angeles and indeed around the country have been expressing anger and grief over the brutal killing of this beloved bishop.

SCIUTTO: Yes, sad story. Josh Campbell in Los Angeles, thanks so much.

Another story we're following right now, the surviving son of Alex Murdaugh is on the stand testifying in his father's defense. You can see him there. This as Murdaugh's lawyers try to counter prosecutors' allegations that Murdaugh killed his wife and his other son.

Moments ago, the defense asked how he found out they had been murdered.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Buster, when did you first find out that your mom and brother were murdered?

BUSTER MURDAUGH, ALEX MURDAUGH'S SON: My dad called me. I can't remember the exact time, but it was later. And he called me on the phone. He asked me if I was sitting down, and I was like, yes. And then he, you know, he sounded odd, then he told me that my mom and brother had been shot. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FISHER: Alex Murdaugh's defense attorneys have criticized the prosecutors' case as speculative, and then last week, appeared to suggest that the killings could maybe be related to a financial dispute with a drug gang.

So, CNN's Randi Kaye has been following this all for us. She is outside of that courtroom. Randi, what do you make of what we have heard so far this morning from Murdaugh's son?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The defense is doing exactly what they wanted to do. This is why they put Buster Murdaugh on the stand. He is the only surviving son of Alex Murdaugh. He has been on the stand for about an hour now. And they are talking quite a bit about hunting and guns. That was a big portion of the state's case as well. They went turkey hunting and hog hunting on the property. Of course, there were two weapons used in the murders, a rifle and a shotgun.

And the defense was quick to point out that one of Paul Murdaugh's weapons had gone missing and the murder weapons have never been found. Also a ballistics expert has already testified that some of the shell casings found at the scene matched shell casing that would have come from a family weapon, a Murdaugh family weapon. So, that was why it was important to point out that one of Paul's guns had gone missing and raised some doubt for the jury. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How about Paul, how was he about securing guns?

MURDAUGH: Not good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean by that?

MURDAUGH: He would -- Paul left guns probably more on the property than anybody else. Sometimes he would use my gun and then leave it and then I would have to track it down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did Paul carry guns in his truck?

MURDAUGH: He did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would he keep his truck locked up?

MURDAUGH: No, not all of the time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: The goal there seemed to be by the defense to suggest that perhaps someone else got their hands on Paul Murdaugh's missing gun and used it in the murders.

Another goal of the defense, of course, was to paint a picture of a very loving, caring family.

[10:55:01]

They also did that as well. They went on to show family pictures, they showed a birthday party for Alex Murdaugh just a couple of weeks before the murders, where the whole family was celebrating together. They talked about Buster Murdaugh being at sporting events with his father, going golfing with his father, how much he loved his mother, Maggie. And they also talked about whether or not Alex Murdaugh had the potential for violence, did he ever see any violence at home or any type dispute ever turning violent and Buster Murdaugh testified no. Back to you.

FISHER: All right. Randi Kaye, we will let you get back into the courtroom to keep monitoring that testimony from Murdaugh's son. Randi Kaye, thank you so much.

And, Jim, thank you for letting me anchor alongside you in a studio no less. It has been nice.

SCIUTTO: Well, it would be nice to have you here this week. That is Kristin Fisher. I'm Jim Sciutto.

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

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