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Texas Judge Rules FDA Inappropriately Approved Medication Used For Abortions; Biden Administration Criticizes Texas Court Ruling Attempting To Discontinue Availability Of Abortion Medication Mifepristone; New York Governor Kathy Hochul Interviewed On Steps New York May Take In Wake Of Texas Court Ruling On Mifepristone; Republican Supermajority In Tennessee State House Of Representatives Expels Two Black Democratic Colleagues For Participating In Anti-Gun Protest; Pope Francis Leads Easter Mass In St. Peter's Basilica In Rome; Disney Reportedly Outmaneuvers Florida Governor Ron Desantis In Battle Over Its Longstanding Special Taxing District; Authorities In Florida Continue Search For Third Juvenile Suspect In Connection With Murders Of Three Teenagers; Poor Weather Affecting Playing Conditions At Masters Golf Tournament At Augusta National; CNN Hero Provides Resources To Underserved Communities Affected By Autism. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired April 08, 2023 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:24]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me in New York. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and we begin this hour with a pair of dueling decisions, creating a flash point in the fight for abortion rights. In Texas a federal judge is halting the FDA's more than two decades old approval of the drug mifepristone, one of the main medications used to provide abortions.

But less than an hour later, a conflicting court ruling out of Washington state. A judge there ordered the federal government to protect access to the drug in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia. The two decisions are the most significant on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last summer.

CNN's Rosa Flores and Arlette Saenz are following all of the developments. Rosa, to you first. Why did the Texas judge suspend the FDA approval of this drug? Take us through the judge's order.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this judge did not hold back in this order. It's 67 pages, and in those 67 pages he rips apart the FDA's approval of mifepristone, saying that the approval was flawed, that the FDA did not consider the risks to girls and women.

Let me take you through some of what the order says. This judge says that the FDA's refusal to impose certain restrictions on this drug, quote, "resulted in many deaths and many more severe or life- threatening adverse reactions." It goes on to say, "Due to the FDA's lax reporting requirements, the exact number is not ascertainable, but it is likely far higher than its data indicate." It goes on to say, "Whatever the numbers are, they likely could be considerably lower had FDA not acquiesced to the pressure to increase access to chemical abortion at the expense of women's safety."

Now there has been an outpouring of reaction from the medical community, fact checking the statements made by this judge in this order. Let's not forget, this judge is not a doctor. He is not a subject matter expert. So these are the subject matter experts, the scientists correcting the record, saying that this drug is safe. Some of those organizations include the American Medical Association.

The president of that organization issuing a statement saying, in part, this ruling, quote, "flies in the face of science and evidence and threatens to upend access to a safe and effective drug." The statement goes on to say, "The court's disregard for well-established scientific facts in favor of speculative allegations and ideological assertions will cause harm to our patients and undermines the health of the nation."

Now, Fred, one other thing that's clear from this order is that this judge also did not consider some of the arguments from the FDA, which included what these legal -- what these medical experts are saying, and that is that this drug was approved by the FDA back in 2000 that has been used by about five million women, and that this drug is safe. Fred?

WHITFIELD: And then Rosa, what do we know about this judge? And during the preliminary injunction hearings, did he hint that he might rule this way?

FLORES: It's very interesting because during that four-hour hearing last month, he was skeptical, but he definitely was leaning towards supporting the plaintiff. So let me take you through this by starting at the top. Who are these plaintiffs? The plaintiffs are a coalition of antiabortion groups. Who is this judge? Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk out of Amarillo was appointed by President Donald Trump, and before rising to the federal bench he worked for a religious right law firm on antiabortion advocacy.

Now, "The Washington Post" recently did an examination of his advocacy and discovered that he had hostility towards medical abortions -- medication abortion, rather. And so if you look at this order clearly, some of the words that were used by this judge in this order that he issued yesterday shows those antiabortion ties.

Let me share with you some examples. He uses the term "abortionists" to refer to abortion advocates. He uses the terms "chemical abortion" to refer to medication abortion. He describes mifepristone as a steroid used to, quote, "kill the unborn human," or he says that this medication, quote, "starves the unborn human until death." Now, those are terms used by antiabortion groups.

[14:05:02]

I asked the president of Women's March to react to some of the language in this order, the specific language used by this judge, and the executive director of that organization issued a statement saying, quote, "The language that Kacsmaryk uses repeatedly in his disgraceful decision reveals who he is -- an antiabortion extremist who is using his personal beliefs, not the law or science, to set legal precedent."

It's important to note here, Fred, that what's at the center of this case is not the right to abortion. What's at the center of this case is really an administrative law, which is the statue that allows the FDA to regulate medications, which in this case is mifepristone.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rosa Flores, thank you so much.

Arlette Saenz at the White House. The Biden castration is vowing to fight this order in what way?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, the Biden administration had been bracing for this order for quite some time with officials here at the White House meeting behind the scenes, preparing for this possibility of this decision from this Trump appointed judge.

President Biden said they will fight this every step of the way, and that started last night when the Justice Department moved to file its appeal with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which some consider to be the most conservative appellate court in the country.

Now, in a statement last night, President Biden warrant of the national ramifications of this decision, saying, quote, "This does not just affect women in Texas. If it stands, it would prevent women in every state from accessing the medication regardless of whether abortion is legal in a state." He added, "It is it is the next big step toward the national ban on abortion that Republican elected officials have vowed to make law in America."

The president also issued a warning about what this could mean for other prescription drugs which are approved by the FDA, saying that this could potentially, if it stands, put all of them at risk. That was a sentiment that was echoed by Vice President Kamala Harris last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, (D) VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is contrary to what makes for good public health policy to allow courts and politicians to tell the FDA what it should do. This is a drug that the FDA approved as safe 20 years ago and has proven to be safe for 20 years. So this is a dangerous precedent.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, one big question is what the White House can realistically do in this moment. They were only able to take some limited measures on abortion in the wake of that Dobbs decision. So for the time being, they're waiting to see how this appeals plays out over the course of the next few weeks.

WHITFIELD: Arlette Saenz, Rosa Flores, thanks to both of you, appreciate it.

All right, several states say they are stepping up their efforts to protect abortion access. Joining me right now on the phone is New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Governor, glad you could be with me. So first, what is your reaction to this ruling handed down in Texas?

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL, (D-NY) (through telephone): This ruling is simply horrifying. And you just wonder, when will this stop? One year ago, women in this country had a constitutionally protected right to an abortion. Roe v. Wade was the law of the land for half-a-century. And within a couple of months from this time we lost those rights, and now it's the MAGA judges and the MAGA legislatures, the extremists in the Republican Party, they just won't stop. And now they're coming after all other forms, medication provided abortions, which have been legalized, as you just reported, for over 20 years.

So New York state has to step up as we did after the Dobbs decision when we provided $35 million for providers to be able to ramp up their services in anticipation of more women coming to our state. But with this time, we're also concerned about the next phase, and I think they're going to be coming after the secondary drug misoprostol, which is something that is used for ulcers, and I can see them now challenging this. And this is not as effective as the drug they overruled yesterday, but it's one that in New York we want to make sure that that's available.

So I have legislation that's going to the legislature one day, and we'll be talking about requiring insurance companies to cover this as a drug that's used for abortions. So we're trying to figure out all the different ways we can get ahead of this.

But it is frustrating as a woman, the first governor of a state that had legalized abortion three years before Roe v. Wade, so this is part of who we are as New Yorkers. These are rights we cherish, have always taken for granted. And this is an insult to all women, and it has to stop.

WHITFIELD: Just last month, you sent a letter to the CEOs of several top pharmacies asking them to confirm in writing to you that their stores will offer Mifepristone in your state. How now do you think those companies might be responding given this these judge new -- this judge's new decision?

[14:10:06]

HOCHUL: This is challenging for everyone. I spoke to the CEO of Walgreens, who assured me that this drug would be available in New York state. I appreciated that. I appreciate the difficult situation they're in. But now this throws everything up in the air, and we'll have to wait and see what happens after the Biden administration -- thank God we have Democrats in the White House that have the ability to appeal this decision and say, how can one judge in Amarillo, Texas think he knows more than all the scientists, the professionals, the doctors, the researchers at the FDA?

So I'm glad that Biden administration came out so strong. I admire that. We're standing shoulder to shoulder with them, and we're going to let people know that this has to stop.

WHITFIELD: Voters in New York are set to decide soon whether to codify abortion rights in the state's constitution through a ballot initiative. So now with this federal judge's order in Texas, how might that impact that vote?

HOCHUL: The urgency is greater than ever before. We started this at a time when Roe v. Wade was still the law of the land. But we always thought there could be a day, especially after the Donald Trump administration and how he stacked the Supreme Court with extremist antiabortion judges who showed their true hand, despite what they said during the hearings, that they actually were trying to take away women's fundamental rights to have an abortion.

So we've started the first step. We have to get it passed through two consecutive legislatures. We did it just a couple of months ago, and this will be on the ballot in 2024. And this will mobilize women all across the state of New York when we take back the House of Representatives, make sure that President Biden remains our president, and add even more senators to support Chuck Schumer, our majority leader.

So it comes down to how we are going to take back our nation, and it's going to start with the 2024 elections.

WHITFIELD: And Governor, I wonder if I could shift gears because this was a big week in New York with the indictment of a former president. And I'm wondering if you could comment on how you know you are prioritizing protections for the Manhattan D.A.'s office and its case against the former president given that the former president, through his supporters and his attorneys, their strategy is to undermine that office and the case?

HOCHUL: Well, it certainly is their strategy, and that case demonstrates that the law applies to everyone. The district attorney's office has brought many cases that are very similar to this fact pattern. People should not overlook that. And also we did offer, I called the district attorney myself and said if you need any protection, any assistance, the New York City Police Department, NYPD, are the finest in the world. They can handle this. But we wanted to show our support to the district attorney and his staff and his family if there's anything else they need from us.

WHITFIELD: All right, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.

HOCHUL: Thank you very much.

WHITFIELD: All right, and this quote, "a sad day for democracy." Those are the words from Tennessee State House Representative Justin Jones after he was expelled from the General Assembly by Republican lawmakers. He and Representative Justin Pearson were removed for breaching decorum after the two black Democrats led a gun reform protests from the House floor in a response to a school shooting that killed six in Nashville. Representative Gloria Johnson, who you saw there, who is a white woman who helped lead in the demonstration, she was not ousted.

CNN correspondent Isabel Rosales joining me now. Isabel, how are people reacting to what unfolded there this week?

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fred, the expulsion of two out of the so-called Tennessee three is really gripping the nation. We're seeing reactions pouring in from the political world, and now even celebrities are beginning to speak out. Tyler Perry, the filmmaker and actor, going on Twitter and showing his support for these representatives Pearson and Jones who were expelled.

Sheryl Crow, the singer and songwriter doing the same, and also Bernice King, daughter of MLK Jr., saying, "What a blatant attack on democracy in Tennessee today. The vote to expel Representative Jones is political retaliation and a reflection of a severe moral crisis in our state and national governments."

So what happens next? Well, according to the Tennessee Constitution, a special election must happen, and that is because we are over a year out to the next general election happening in November of 2024. So in that gap, the county leaders, legislators for that open vacant positions, they have the ability to elect an interim successor.

[14:15:05]

Now, according to Hendrell Remus, the chairman of the Tennessee Democratic Party, Shelby County and Memphis, these are the districts of former Representative Pearson, they are facing political retribution for simply the idea of reappointing Pearson. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HENDRELL REMUS, TENNESSEE DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: Memphis is in the midst of negotiating a number of budget items with the state, and there are threats of that has been mentioned or talk that has happened and occurred with those county commissioners who will reappoint Justin Pearson that that the state might preemptively decide not to fund those projects in Memphis and Shelby County. But this wouldn't be the first time that this has happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: And Fred, the Chairman of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners Mickell Lowery says that on Wednesday they won't discuss Pearson's situation before that regular scheduled meeting on Wednesday, but then they will attempt to get a quorum and call for a special meeting to address next steps. Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right, Isabel Rosales, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, we're live in Rome where Pope Francis is leading Easter vigil service inside St. Peter's Basilica while questions about his health linger. We'll take you there next.

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WHITFIELD: Tomorrow is Easter Sunday, and Christians all around the world are preparing to celebrate the holiest day on their religious calendar. And happening right now, Pope Francis is leading an Easter vigil service inside St. Peter's Basilica after missing the Good Friday procession due to bad weather.

CNN Vatican correspondent Delia Gallagher joining me now live from Rome. So Delia, what can you tell us about what's happening now and how the Pope is feeling?

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, as you said, this is the Easter Vigil Service, one of the most beautiful services in the whole Christian liturgical year. It starts in darkness and there are candles and the light and so on. It's quite a moving service.

The Pope looks fairly good, as good as you can expect for an 86-year- old who's getting over a bout a bronchitis and has mobility issues. Certainly, the fact that he missed the event at the Coliseum last night would normally be cause for concern, but I think was a rather prudent decision on his part because it has been very cold in Rome, and if you're getting over bronchitis, you don't need to be out at 9:00 at night in front of the Coliseum.

We saw him on Thursday at a juvenile jail, Fred, which was really a lovely event, and he seemed in very good spirits. He was washing the feet of 12 young people in that jail. That's something that they traditionally do on the Thursday before Easter. So actually, we have seen him every, almost every day from when he got out of the hospital on Saturday. I saw him personally on Saturday and spoke to him and heard his voice was a bit low, soft, kind of whispery voice. Well, we just heard him now. It's quite strong, and he seems to have recovered fairly well.

He has one more event to go tomorrow, Easter Sunday in St. Peter's Square. So it has been a challenging week for the Pope. But by all accounts, he's looking pretty good, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Alright, glad to hear that he may indeed be on the rebound. All right, Delia Gallagher, appreciate it.

Joining me now for more perspective is Bishop Robert Barron, who leads the diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota. Bishop Barron, great to see you. So as we watch these live pictures from St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, we also see Pope Francis leading the mass. How important is it for Catholics to see the pontiff lead this week's services?

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON, DIOCESE OF WINONA-ROCHESTER: Well, it's very important. He's the successor of Saint Peter, and Saint Peter's basic job was to witness to the resurrection. Think of all the things the Pope has to do, but his fundamental task is to witness to the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. So that we have the successor of Saint Peter -- the successor of Julius Caesar is long gone, long disappeared.

But strangely, the successor of Peter is still here in the city of Rome, and the Pope is proclaiming the resurrection within a few yards of where the body of Saint Peter lies. I think that's a very powerful witness to the importance of this message.

And so you're right, for Catholics to see the success of Peter proclaiming that message, very important.

WHITFIELD: This is one of the holiest times of the liturgical year for Christians. So how are you preparing for Easter services?

BARRON: Well here in my own diocese I have the Easter Vigil tonight at 8:00, then I have the Easter Sunday mass tomorrow. I had the Good Friday service last night. I had the Holy Thursday service the night before. So for a bishop in his diocese, holy week, we call the triduum, the three days, are exceptionally important because the bishop is also in a way, he's the successor of those first apostles.

And so for the bishop now to be proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus, that's a tradition that goes all the way back to the first witnesses to the resurrection. So that's very important, and I take it very seriously as a bishop.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and Bishop, when we consider the many trials from the past few years, a global pandemic, economic pressures globally, and political turmoil here and abroad, how does Holy Week offer a moment of reflection for those who celebrate it?

BARRON: One thing I'd say, it's very important not to domesticate Easter or to trivialize it. So famously, the Easter bunny, we don't want that. At the same time, we don't want to turn into a Hallmark card about you know the power of optimism or something.

[14:25:02]

The message of Easter is revolutionary. Here's a way to formulate it. Caesar killed them. God raised him. Caesar is standing not just for the emperor of Roma in those days, but for all forms of tyranny and hatred and violence up and down the centuries. Caesar killed them, but God raised him, which means God's love is more powerful than anything that's in the world, more powerful than any tyranny, more powerful than cruelty, more powerful than hatred. That's the great permanently revolutionary message of Easter.

WHITFIELD: Bishop Robert Barron, thank you so much, and happy Easter.

BARRON: God bless you. Same to you.

WHITFIELD: Coming up, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is threatening retaliation after Disney made a maneuver to quietly retain powers the governor sought to strip away. We'll discuss the growing feud next.

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[14:30:08] WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is escalating his feud with the state's largest single employer by threatening to impose new taxes on Disney hotels and toll roads that serve the entertainment giant. The Florida Republican is threatening retaliation after Disney outmaneuvered DeSantis in the ongoing battle over Disney's longstanding special taxing district.

CNN's Steve Contorno joining us now with more on this, Steve. So what more can you tell us about this growing feud?

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Fredricka, this is a fight that many people thought was over, that Governor DeSantis had one in this power struggle. In fact, in February, he declared victory, saying, quote, there's a new sheriff in town. But it turns out the same day where he made those comments, Disney was pushing through an agreement that essentially shifted all of this special test taxing district's powers to Disney.

And the governor's office didn't find out about it for more than a month. In fact, during that entire time he was going across the country holding political events where he claimed that he had put an end to Disney's corporate kingdom.

Now Governor DeSantis has since found out that Disney made this maneuver at the last second, even though this was all done in the public. And when I talked to several long-term Disney historians, they were baffled that DeSantis let this happen. This is a company that he's been fixated on for more than a year, and yet he didn't realize that they were holding these two meetings in the public, where they had shifted the power from the special district to the company.

And did now DeSantis, though, is saying that this is not over yet. He is vowing to continue this fight. And on Thursday, he laid out what that retribution might be. Take a look at what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RON DESANTIS, (R) FLORIDA: The legislature is going to avoid anything Disney did on the way out the door. But now that Disney has reopened this issue, we're not just going to avoid the development agreement they tried to do. We're going to look at things like taxes on the hotels. We're going to look at things like tolls on the roads. We're going to look at things like developing some of the property that the district owns.

And so at the end of the day, I think what Disney has tried to do is they've tried to say that they should be able to operate outside the context of our constitutional system in Florida. No. We took this action prior to the election. We won overwhelmingly. They are not superior to the people of Florida.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: Now it's not clear how taxing hotel guests and forcing people to pay toll roads around Disney will affect the company and not hurt the tourists that are the lifeblood of the state's economy. But nevertheless, it's a sign that DeSantis intends to continue this fight. But we also heard this week from Disney, with new CEO Bob Iger saying for the first time, giving sort of a defense of the company in this entire situation.

He laid out all the investments that the company intends to make in Florida over the next 10 years, $17 billion to expand its theme park and grow its presence in central Florida, and he pointed that out because he wanted to make this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB IGER, CEO, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY: And so our point on this is that any action that thwarts those efforts simply to retaliate for a position the company took sounds not just anti-business, but it sounds anti-Florida.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CONTORNO: So Fredricka, clearly this is not ending anytime soon, and in fact, the governor has also called for an investigation into this deal, and the new board that he has put in place over Disney's special district has also hired a bunch of lawyers to try to claw back some of their powers.

WHITFIELD: And then how does this fight with Disney affect DeSantis politically?

CONTORNO: Well, Fredricka, this is something that he has really made a central pillar of his potential candidacy. It's something he talks about. When he goes all across the country. It's an entire chapter of his book. And so this episode threatens to undermine the image that he has created himself as someone who has gone toe to toe with companies in his quest to fight woke.

WHITFIELD: All right, Steve Contorno, thanks so much.

All right, still to come, a search is underway for a third juvenile sought in connection with the recent shooting deaths of three teenagers in central Florida. Two other juveniles have already been arrested. We'll have details.

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[14:38:47]

WHITFIELD: Authorities in Florida continue to search for a third juvenile suspect in connection with the murders of three teenagers last week. The Marion County sheriff's office is 16-year-old Tahj Brewton remains at large. Earlier today, officials announced a $10,000 reward for tips leading to his arrest. Two other young boys, a 12- year-old and a 17-year-old are already in custody. CNN's Carol (ph) Suarez has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CARLOS SUAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A week after the shooting and the sheriff's office detailed the arrest of two minors, including a 12- year-old boy, in the shooting deaths of three teenagers last week, this morning authorities are still looking for a third suspect in the case. Sixteen-year-old Tahj Brewton remains at large. Authorities said they believe he's in Marion County and is not a danger to the community.

The 12-year-old boy and a 17-year-old are facing first degree murder charges. Authorities said the suspects and the victims were involved in burglaries and robberies in the area, including a robbery on the night of the shootings. Investigators said the shootings took place in a car that belonged to one of the victims, 16-year-old Layla Silvernail.

[14:40:05]

The sheriff's office said Silvernail was found shot on the side of the road and later died at a hospital. The body of another victim was found on a different road, and the body of the third victim was found in the trunk of Silvernail's car. That's according to authorities.

The sheriff's office hasn't said why the suspects turned on the victims. Here now is the sheriff.

SHERIFF BILLY WOODS, MARION COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Basically, simple terms, there is no honor among thieves. And at some point, these three individuals turned on our three victims and murdered them, two of them right there.

SUAREZ: It's unclear if the miners are going to be tried as adults. The state attorney said they will, quote, aggressively pursue the prosecution.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, Carlos Suarez, thanks so much.

All right, joining me right now is Misty Marris, a defense and trial attorney. Misty, one of the suspects arrested, just 12-years-old. So what's the criteria weighed when trying to determine whether a 12- year-old should be charged and tried as an adult?

MISTY MARRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Fred, this case is just tragic all the way around. But you bring up a very good point, because a 12- year-old obviously falls into the category of a minor. So what's weighed depends on the jurisdiction and the state that you're in. Florida actually has some unique laws that allow minors to be charged as adults with more frequency and with more lenient standards than other states.

So in Florida, the state attorney makes the determination about taking a course of action called a direct file. And a direct file means that the case is taken out of juvenile court and put into the regular court system, and they're tried as adults. The criteria that's looked at is the severity of the crime, whether or not there have been past instances with law enforcement, and the role that that individual person played in the crime that occurred. Of course, here you have the most severe, murder, but there might be

different levels of culpability, and a defense attorney will raise that, especially with respect to a 12-year-old who was very young and the context of juvenile court.

WHITFIELD: And then Misty, investigators believe that the victims were involved in burglaries and robberies, and that the victims and the suspects were allegedly affiliated with criminal gangs. And so I wonder, do prosecutors proceed differently when death or killings happen involving people who are allegedly involved in criminal activity?

MARRIS: That's a great question, because really the crime of murder, it does not matter who the victim is. It still would be pursued as zealously as any other crime of murder that didn't have that alleged aspect of being a part of a criminal enterprise or part of a gang. However, there could be more legal repercussions.

And I say that because in general when you do have criminal enterprise of any kind, you have this argument of conspiracy. Does it go beyond the three that were charged, is it a bigger picture type of issue? Are there others who, right now we have someone on the run. Is there someone who is engaging in actively hiding or helping that person evade law enforcement?

So the net could be cast wider, but there's no diminished action on the part of prosecutors just because the victims might have been a part of the criminal enterprise as well.

WHITFIELD: And looking at all the pictures, I mean they're all, all of them are babies, and it's just such a sad, sad case.

All right, so now to another case, this one in southern California. Investigators say a dermatologist, Yue "Emily" Yu is facing multiple felony charges amid accusations of poisoning her husband with a liquid drain cleaner. Yu's husband says he set up a hidden camera inside the home after he noticed a strange taste in his drink.

And according to court documents, the videos show her pouring the cleaner into his lemonade. Yu's lawyer says her husband engineered these events, that they commonly used Drano, this drain cleaner, mixed with lemonade to actually kill ants in the home. So how difficult might this case be?

MARRIS: A lot of twists and turns in this one. I think when I first saw the video, I thought they got her. But then you peel back the onion a little bit, and you see that there's more to it. And one of the main factors that her attorneys are pointing to is that when he discovered and put these cameras in the house, instead of calling law enforcement, he actually called his divorce attorney.

[14:45:03]

So the two are embattled in a very high stakes divorce, and the argument on the defense is that he's actually orchestrated this in order to leverage the whole divorce court situation. So there's going to be a lot more fact finding here, but it appears more complicated than it looks on its face, because once you see the video --

WHITFIELD: Right.

MARRIS: -- there's an explanation --

WHITFIELD: OK, this is clear. But no, it's not clear. You're right. OK, I liked your expression earlier. Got her, but no, not really.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: It's not a funny case, but you just kind of made a little funny.

MARRIS: No.

WHITFIELD: No. All right, Mistry Marris, thank you so much.

All right, a quick programming note. What started with the disappearance of 20 people from a small town in Oregon ended with the largest suicide on U.S. soil and change the face of new age religion forever. "Heaven's Gate, The Cult of Cults," continues tomorrow night at 10:00 on CNN.

All right, coming up, rain and thunderstorms moving through the southeast this afternoon, and it could delay play at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta. The latest forecast straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:38]

WHITFIELD: All right, golfers at the Masters are playing in some very soggy, miserable conditions today as some parts of the south are dealing with heavy rain and cool weather, really cool. As CNN's Britley Ritz is tracking it all, Britley, I'm not there. It's cold where I am in New York, so I know it's cold because we saw Don Riddell who was like, brr, there and Augustus. So a big rain system moving through the south. What's going on? It's nonstop.

BRITLEY RITZ, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. We've got this area of low pressure hanging down to our south. And then of course, we've got high pressure up to our north. It spins clockwise, pulls in that northerly wind. We wind up with all of this cold rain. And it's one band after the next. and we're really starting to set into this nasty, steady cold air and rain right over Augusta.

Widening things out, showing you how it's really filled in from the last few hours, so hopefully we can get this next around done. And behind it, even more rain, so it's not over with. This is going to be the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. And yes, it will get heavy at times.

You'll see the yellows popping pockets of heavier, steadier rain. Unfortunately, there is the possibility of a few lightning strikes as well. Now it's nothing severe, but it's just annoying to get those delays when you're trying to get this thing wrapped up so we don't have to add an extra day.

As for the rest of the evening, here we are increasing the rain chances. You saw it on radar, more and more rain heading in that direction, and it's cold. Our temperatures aren't even breaking 50 degrees. We're in the 40s. On top of it, we add in a northeast wind thanks to that high that's hanging up to the north in the northeast. And it brings it in at about 10 to 15 miles per hour, gusts I saw reaching up to 20 miles per hour. When you factor that in with a 45 degree temperature, it feels like we're in the thirties.

So we do need to be careful as we're out there. Yes, it is really nasty. Sunday and Monday, thankfully, we dry out and there's hope, hope, for a little bit of sunshine to finally crank us back up into the 60s. That's it.

WHITFIELD: OK.

RITZ: We were just in the 80s, mind you.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

RITZ: So it's taking a minute's time to really get there, and again, Fred, it's just really awful for them to be out there.

WHITFIELD: It's very cruel. OK, well, it just means you know, going to Easter service, you're going to have to put a little something extra on your shoulders, and kiddies when they look forward to their egg roll hunts and all that, it's going to be a little brisk. But we'll all get through it, and on the horizon, some warmth, yay.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right, Britley Ritz, thanks so much.

And a big congratulations today in Connecticut. The UConn Huskies men's basketball team is celebrating their hard fought national championship victory. Earlier today, people lined the streets in Hartford to cheer on their squad that just secured its fifth national title. Yes, they're used to this. The Huskies conquered the San Diego State Aztecs on Monday, 76 to 59. Today, it's a full day of celebrations, however, which includes a rally for fans at their home stadium.

And April is Autism Awareness Month, and it's a time of year when 2022 top 10 CNN Hero, Debra Vines' phone just simply rings off the hook with calls from parents impacted by autism. Since 2007 she and her nonprofit have provided thousands of families in underserved communities with the support services and education that they need to thrive. As the mother of a son with autism, she understands the daily challenges facing those that she helps.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DEBRA VINES, CNN HERO: Children and adults, they live with autism, are very repetitive. Everything that they do, it's the same way. But when you have a career or parents that have other children and other responsibilities, sometimes it can be very, very, very, very challenging.

You look handsome.

When Autism Awareness Month comes, we are influxed with so many calls of so many families about the what if, so, what can I do? Do you have more resources? We learn from each other. The community should be more aware of the signs and symptoms of autism.

[14:55:00]

And I believe that Autism Awareness Month is not just April. Autism is every day in so many families. I would like to see them have more resources within the community, within the park districts, within the businesses. With the numbers going up every day we need support every day. So I encourage families not to give up because you never know when that lightbulb is just going to go off and they're going to hit another milestone, right?

My advice, help families that have children and adults with disabilities, be a little bit more supportive, and to the world, open up your heart to autism.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: She is sunshine throughout. To learn more about Debra and her work and nominate your own CNN Hero, go to CNNHeroes.com.

And thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. SMERCONISH starts right after this.

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