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Dozens Dead In Yemen Crowd Surge; Mifepristone Available In U.S. For At Least Two More Days; Two Cheerleaders Shot After One Opened Wrong Car Door; K-pop Singer Moonbin Dies At 25; Smartmatic Seeking $2.7B From Fox In Defamation Case; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Announces Presidential Bid. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired April 20, 2023 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:31]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

Just ahead on CNN NEWSROOM. The U.S. Supreme Court pumps on an abortion pill ruling, leaving women, girls and their doctors in limbo. People in three separate cases across the U.S. this week are proudly made every day honest mistakes momentarily confused about where they were. But in all these cases they will met with bullets.

Plus, tragedy in Yemen. Dozens are dead after a money giveaway turned into a catastrophic stampede.

ANNOUNCER: Live from CNN Center. This is CNN NEWSROOM with Rosemary Church.

CHURCH: Thanks for being with us. Well, for the next two days on abortion drug, the medical community has deemed safe and effective for decades will remain fully available to American women and girls. But after that all bets are off. The U.S. Supreme Court was expected to issue a decision Wednesday on the future of the widely used medication, but instead announced it would weigh the case until midnight Friday, local time.

Earlier this month, a Trump-appointed federal judge in Texas sided with anti-abortion activists to overturn the drugs approval. The Biden administration wants those restrictions blocked. The case is the biggest abortion-related dispute to reach the Supreme Court since last year, when the justices overturned the landmark Roe versus Wade decision that made abortion legal across the United States. CNN's Paula Reid picks up the story.

PAULA REID, CNN SENIOR LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: As of now this commonly used abortion medication will remain widely available. The supreme court is expected to issue another update on Friday. Now at the center of this case is Mifepristone. It is one of two drugs used in a process called medication abortion which accounts for over half of all abortions conducted in the United States.

Several weeks ago, a judge in Texas, though, revoked the FDA's approval of Mifepristone. And now the Supreme Court is mulling what happens to that decision, while this case makes his way through the courts. Now they have several options. One is the Supreme Court could decide that they're just going to take up this case, try to decide it before the term ends in June. They could also allow the case to continue working its way through the appeal system potentially eventually ending up at the Supreme Court.

But eventually, this issue does have to be decided on the merits. And right now, it is up to the justices what will happen to this medication in the interim. Will it remain on the market or will they uphold that Texas decision while this case moves forward? We expect at this point, the Supreme Court will have another update. Though it's unclear if it will be a final answer by midnight on Friday.

Paula Reid, CNN, Washington.

CHURCH: Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz is an OB-GYN and the author of Menopause Bootcamp. She joins me now from Los Angeles. Thank you so much for being with us.

SUZANNE GILBERG-LENZ, AUTHOR, MENOPAUSE BOOTCAMP: Hi.

GUTFELD: So, the U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily extended a pause on restrictions to this abortion pill delaying a decision on future access to Mifepristone until Friday. What does that two-day -- what does that delay signal to you? And how concerned are you that the court might decide to restrict access to this abortion pill in the end?

GILBERG-LENZ: Oh, we're very concerned. Those of us who are practicing medicine and who have been devoting our lives to caring for women and their health are extremely concerned. I mean, I'm not a legal expert. So, I'm not going to comment on what this delay means. But we have all been on pins and needles and it's alarming to say the least, it's confusing. As a physician, I don't understand how the FDA would be overruled by the court when I am expected to follow certain rules and regulations.

It's just -- it's just like an implosion of the entire system. And it's quite obvious to those of us who practice what's going on here. It's -- this is not a bad out medicine and safety.

[02:05:03]

This is about policing women's bodies, period, full stop. This is my opinion. This is the opinion of many of my colleagues.

(CROSSTALK)

CHURCH: And given this abortion pill makes up about 50 percent of all terminations. What impact, what a decision to ban this drug or restricted have on the lives and safety of most women and girls, do you think? GILBERG-LENZ: Massive. We already have a really large problem with access to care for women's health as it is. We know that abortion services over the last several decades have become restricted and shrunk purposefully. And medication-based abortions is one of the few ways that women who have less access to care in their community to an abortion provider to physicians, that they can still access a choice over their body and over their capacity to remain pregnant.

I'd like to also point out that first of all, the fact that only 50 percent of women are getting medication abortions, it's -- that is a very large number. But the reality is that because there have been so many restrictions on how we can provide this medication, this is dispensed directly through a doctor's office only. You cannot get a prescription and go to the pharmacy like any other medication.

So, that's actually created another obstacle and barrier. Despite that, you're right, Rosemary, it's servicing a lot of women. And I'd like to point something out here. When people start looking and talking about safety issues, if you look at the atrocious and rising rate of maternal mortality in the United States, so we hit a record high that we have not seen since the year before I was born, the high maternal mortality rate in 1965 has now been exceeded in 2020, and 2021.

Over 30 per 100,000. And if you're a black woman, it's almost twice that. So, that death rate or complications related to pregnancy. The death rate related to medication abortions, one to five per one million. It's insane. This is not -- this is not about science. It's very, very dangerous.

CHURCH: And if the Supreme Court decides in the end to override science, and the FDA's decision in 2000 to approve this abortion pill, what might that mean for other drugs that may offend judges in lower courts for whatever reason or even research and vaccine development?

GILBERG-LENZ: Because that's exactly right. It's going to have a chilling effect on research and development across the board. Because that's exactly the question that the pharmaceutical companies who really fund the vast majority of our research and development of everything from vaccinations to the medications that we use on a daily basis over the counter. They're going to be very rightfully concerned about where they're going to put their money.

Because if now, if medicine and science is this politicized, and we know that it has been, what will they -- what will they do? So, it's going to impact not just women who want an abortion, it's going to impact everybody. And I think people really need to understand what is going on here. This is a much, much more slippery slope and much more dangerous position than I think people might have imagined.

It's really -- it's insane to me. You know, two decades into my career, this is what's going on. It's crazy, shocking and very, very frightening, actually.

CHURCH: Dr. Suzanne Gilberg-Lenz joining us live from Los Angeles. Many thanks. Well, officials say at least 78 people are dead after a crowd surge during a Ramadan charity event in Yemen. It happened at this school in the capital of Sana'a where local merchants were handing out money to people in need on Wednesday. Earlier a local journalist told us how the incident started.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NASEH SHAKER, JOURNALIST: There were a very long line of people gathering for (INAUDIBLE) the officials concerned with distributing the food arrived to open the door and a lot of people rushed into the school so that only those who are able to enter the school can get these donations. And because there is also a long line, a lot of people try to enter before the -- I mean, so they can get a chance to get the donation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Officials also say dozens of people were injured in the incident and investigation has been ordered and two merchants who organized the event are under arrest. Yemen has been ravaged by nine years of a brutal war which led to what the U.N. considers the worst humanitarian crisis in the world.

[02:10:04]

At least two people have been killed by dangerous storms rolling through the plain states. In Coal, Oklahoma, a large tornado was spotted on Wednesday. Law enforcement says some people are still trapped and more deaths and injuries are possible. The tornado tore off roofs, destroyed homes and downed power lines. Debris is making it hard for search teams to move around and help. There have been 14 tornado reports so far from Oklahoma to Iowa. Half of those were in Oklahoma.

Well, the Missouri man charged with shooting a black teenager who rang his doorbell pleaded not guilty in court on Wednesday. 84-year-old Andrew Lester faces two charges including first degree felony assault. He is out on bond and is due back in court in early June. Lester is accused of shooting 16-year-old Ralph Yarl at point-blank range after young mistakenly went to the wrong house to pick up his siblings.

The attorney for Yarl and his family gave this update on the boy's condition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEE MERRITT, YARL FAMILY ATTORNEY: His recovery is going to be an ongoing process. And so, although he appears to be doing well, it's only by comparison to how he might ought to be doing. But there's still a long way to go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) are you still wanting more charges against Mr. Lester?

MERRITT: We're looking forward to a federal review of this case in federal charges as well.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Civil rights violations?

MERRITT: That's right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: There are growing calls for an investigation into how police handled this case including questions about why the suspect was only held for two hours on the night of the shooting.

The New York man who shot and killed a 20-year-old woman in a car in his driveway will remain in police custody. Kevin Monahan's attorney says his client is remorseful and feels horrible that a young girl's life was lost. Kaylin Gillis was a passenger in one of several cars that turned into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend's house on Saturday. Authorities say Monahan fired two shots as the vehicles were turning around.

One of them hit Gillis. Her father says Kaylin deserves justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY GILLIS, KAYLIN GILLIS' FATHER: For this man to sit on his porch and fire in a car with no threat is just angers me so badly. And I just hope to God that he dies in jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Monahan's attorney says his client felt threatened as several vehicles were revving their engines and coming up his driveway at a high rate of speed. He is now charged with second-degree murder.

And in Texas, yet another case this week of an apparent mistake being met with gunfire. Two teenage cheerleaders were shot after opening the wrong car door after a late-night practice. One is still in the hospital with serious injuries. CNN's Ed Lavandera reports on how it all unfolded and what we know about the suspected shooter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): That's Payton Washington practicing her high-flying acrobatic cheer routines. Three times a week. Washington and three teammates of the Woodlands Elite Cheer Company carpool from Austin to the Houston area for team practices. That's what brought them to this grocery store parking lot in Elgin, Texas, just after midnight Tuesday morning.

One of the girls in the car, Heather Roth emotionally recounted during a vigil at the cheer teams practice facility later Tuesday. How she opened the door to a car she thought was hers when she was shocked to see a man in the passenger seat. She got back in the car with her friends when the unthinkable happened.

HEATHER ROTH, SHOOTING VICTIM: We're backing up. I see the guy get out of the passenger door. And I rolled my window down and I was trying to apologize. And then he -- just halfway, my window is down, he just threw his hands up and then, he pulled up a gun and just started shooting at all of us.

LYNNE SHEARER, MANAGING PARTNER, WOODLANDS ELITE CHEER COMPANY: As soon as they saw the gun, they said go and they drove and they went about two miles down the road and that's when they realized that Payton was seriously hurt and they --

LAVANDERA: Lynne Shearer is the Woodlands Elite Cheer Company manager. She says Heather Roth's suffered a minor leg injury. But Payton Washington was shot at least twice in the back in the leg.

Elgin, Texas investigators say surveillance video at the grocery store helped them identify the shooter as 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. Payton Washington was rushed by helicopter to a hospital. Her team manner just says Washington spleen was removed and she suffered damage to other internal organs but she's breathing on her own again and FaceTiming with family and friends.

[02:15:10]

Even lamenting that she will miss a major cheer competition this weekend.

SHEARER: The realization of the fact that she's not going to be competing this weekend, it was starting to set in. I think so she was extremely, you know, up and down with her emotions.

PAYTON WASHINGTON, WOODLANDS ELITE CHEER COMPANY CHEERLEADER: I'm Payton Washington on Woodlands Elite Generals. Come tumbling down with us at world's best this Saturday. See you there.

LAVANDERA: Payton Washington was born without one of her lungs. But despite that, for coaches say she's reached the top of her sport. She's committed to be a member of Baylor University's acrobatic and tumbling team next year. But for now, four teenagers will have to live with the horrors of surviving such a senseless attack.

SHEARER: It makes me sad for them because I don't think they're ever going to get over this. They're going to have fears that they never thought about in their life that now they're going to think about all the time, which is unfortunate.

LAVANDERA (on camera): The suspect has been charged with one count of deadly conduct and he's been held on a $500,000-bond. Search warrant affidavit documents today revealed that the suspect was actually arrested several hours after the shooting in his apartment where he was already asleep. In court documents also revealed that he was previously known to law enforcement officials from previous encounters.

But officials in Elgin, Texas would not elaborate on what those encounters were about.

Ed Lavandera, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Ukrainian troops are caught by surprise during grueling battles for the city of Bakhmut.

Still ahead. You will see their quick reaction after Russian forces came within 10 meters of their trenches.

Plus, the race is on for locals and foreign nationals to get out of Sudan's capital after the failure of a second ceasefire in two days.

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[02:20:35]

CHURCH: We turn now to Sudan where a second ceasefire in as many days has fallen apart just hours after it started. Witnesses reported more violent clashes Wednesday night, leaving many people in the capital Khartoum afraid to leave their homes. They're worried about dwindling food supplies and a breakdown in medical services. The World Health Organization says nearly 300 people have been killed since fighting broke out on Saturday.

Thousands of people are fleeing the capitol for safer parts of the country. And foreign governments are desperate to evacuate their citizens.

Medical facilities are a major concern. A leading aid group reports half of the hospitals in Khartoum are out of action. Doctors and nurses say it's not safe to go to work as the hospitals are being shelled or bombed. More now from CNN's Larry Madowo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LARRY MADOWO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Smoke billows and plummet Khartoum's sky as the residence woke up to another day of heavy artillery and bombardment. In the wake of the escalating conflict, RSS leader Hemedti is according to multiple sources commanding his forces from one of Khartoum's busiest residential areas, prompting the Sudanese army to accuse the RSF of using civilians as human shields.

What were once bustling with cars and people since Saturday, Khartoum streets have been left deserted, with some residents hiding their homes and fearing for their safety.

Just like Hadeel Mohamed who says since the fighting broke out, she has been housebound and thinks forces my break in to steal supplies.

HADEEL MOHAMED, SUDAN RESIDENT: So, once they run out of food and equipment and what they have and what they need, they're very easily will be able to walk into houses and say give me what you have because they've got a bigger agenda and a war to win.

MADOWO: Other residents took advantage of Tuesday's ceasefire announcement by queuing outside shops. Desperate not to be locked in doors with nothing to eat. In the wake of a broken ceasefire, Kenya's President William Ruto warns that attacks against civilians are equal to crimes against humanity.

WILLIAM RUTO, PRESIDENT OF KENYA: Attacks on diplomatic installations and personnel, as well as targeting of hospitals, hotels and other vital public and social spaces are deliberate, systematic, and tantamount to atrocities against humanity.

MADOWO: As the fighting rages on in today's long struggle, it leaves residents to question when will there be an end to this war or if they will even survive it?

Larry Madowo, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Ukraine says Russia has launched dozens of airstrikes in the past 24 hours using both missiles and drones. And as our Nick Payton Walsh reports one missile landed dangerously close to him and his team.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Close to Ukraine's imminent counter offensive in the south east where Russia has long been brutalizing pain is commonplace and the damage often everywhere and indiscriminate. The quiet is a blessing that rarely lasts.

We're warned of a missile strike incoming and leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (BLEEP)

WALSH: We can feel the pressure wave of the blast just behind our armored car.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right behind us.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nat, can you hear me?

WALSH: Natalie Gallon, our producer is in our second vehicle just passed the smoke with driver Iko Omaglich (ph) and isn't answering.

WALSH (on camera): Nat, can you hear me?

WALSH (voice over): The missile landed right between our cars.

WALSH (on camera): Nat, can you hear me? Nat, can you hear me?

WALSH (voice over): For 10 seconds, we have no idea if they are alive.

WALSH (on camera): She just said something. Nat, can you hear me?

NATALIE GALLON, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, I can hear you.

WALSH: That's them. GALLON: Are you guys OK?

WALSH: We're fine. Just leave. Drive out the way we left.

WALSH (voice over): We leave together. For so many, that choice of leaving is something imaginary that happens above ground. The only power and water in town are down here.

WALASH (on camera): Where life on the ground here has been hard for quite some time. But it will get harder when the counter offensive begins pushing certainly in this direction.

[02:25:07]

WALSH (voice over): If there is space for laughter, it's from this. A screechie slapstick Soviet era comedy about a drunken goofball, briefly bending the fixed set grimaces here.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): Today wasn't quiet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): Morning?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (text): They bomb, planes bomb. With all arms they hit us, they try everything. It's very noisy, day and night.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (text): At home? If I am with God, with Jesus Christ, who protects us, cares for us, with guardian angels, we endure.

WALSH: Guardian angels seem here to flit by in a town where 50 died in the war and 200 were injured. Safety is just a word here. And Rubble is a place.

Nick Payton Walsh, CNN, Orikhiv, Ukraine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come. A tragedy in the world of Kpop. South Korean singer moon being dead at the age of 25. We will go to Seoul for a live report.

[02:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: K-pop singer Moonbin of the boy band Astro has died at the age of 25. His record label confirmed the news early Thursday. South Korean police now tell CNN they believe the singer may have taken his own life. CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul. So, Paula, what more are you learning about this sad and tragic loss of life?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, what we've heard from Gangnam police, the local police where he was found is that about 10 past 8:00 last night so, Wednesday evening. The police were called by his manager because he had found him unresponsive at his home. Now, police tell us they do believe that he has taken his own life and that no foul play was involved. There have been many statements made, many tributes made to this 25-year-old Moonbin was a child actor. He then debuted in the well-known K-pop group Astro back in 2016.

And he also was part of a subgroup along with one of his fellow band members. The two of them had been touring in different countries around Asia recently. They were expected to carry out more tours as well as early as this Saturday and then next month. And he was also part of a K-pop family. If you like his sister is also in a K-pop band, Moon Sua is in the girl pop bands Billlie, and surprisingly that group has cancelled all its upcoming schedules.

Now, we do understand that there has been an outpouring online in social media, there have been many tributes made to Moonbin. We heard that the hashtag Moonbin is trending at this point some 2.6 million tweets and tributes from countries around the world not just being grieved here in South Korea, but in many countries and in many different languages around the world. And the record label itself, as Fantagio has said that suddenly he left us and became a star in the sky and that they are deeply mourning, Rosemary?

CHURCH: It is just so sad and hard to grasp as an actor, Paula Hancocks joining us live from Seoul, Many thanks. We have exclusive details on how Fox and Dominion reached a massive settlement at the 11th hour, avoiding a painful trial and keeping major Fox stars off the witness stand. That report just ahead as a second voting technology firm gets ready to take on Fox.

[02:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Fox News is bracing for its next extremely expensive legal battle over the lies it aired about the 2020 election. The Right-wing network is already coughing up more than $787 million for Dominion voting systems. But the financial penalties could have been so much worse, and they will be if Smartmatic gets its way. The voting company is suing Fox for $2.7 billion, more than a billion more than Dominion sought. CNN's Danny Freeman has details on that and an exclusive look inside the Fox Dominion deal.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After a historic settlement for Dominion voting systems.

JUSTIN NELSON, CO-LEAD COUNSEL FOR DOMINION VOTING SYSTEMS: The truth matters, lies have consequences.

FREEMAN (voiceover): The potential consequences of another defamation case loom on the horizon for Fox News. Even before, Dominion filed its $1.6 billion lawsuit saying Fox knowingly lied about its voting machines. Smartmatic, a different voting technology company filed a similar suit. This one seeking 2.7 billion in damages, accusing Fox News several of its hosts. And Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani of falsely saying Smartmatic rigged the 2020 election. In its complaint Smartmatic alleges Fox knowingly aired more than a hundred false in misleading statements including this one.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have spoken with a few whistleblowers myself this weekend. And one source who was an I.T. specialist told me that he knows the software and specifically advised people in Texas, officials in Texas not to use it. And yet he was overruled.

FREEMAN (voiceover): The company also argued Fox falsely claims Smartmatic was leads to former Venezuela President Hugo Chavez.

SIDNEY POWELL, TRUMP'S LEGAL TEAM (via telephone): Smartmatic agreed to create such a system and produce the software and hardware that accomplish the result for President Chavez. After the Smartmatic electrical managed electoral management system was put in place. He closely observed several elections where the results were manipulated using the Smartmatic software.

FREEMAN (voiceover): Fox denies wrongdoing saying, they were just covering the news and argument the Dominion judge throughout. Smartmatic's case is currently still in the discovery phase at this time. Meanwhile, CNN has learned exclusive new details about how yesterday's $787 million Dominion settlement came to be. Sources tell CNN Oliver Darcy and Marshall Cohen, Fox and Dominion couldn't lock in a deal themselves over the weekend.

So, they called veteran mediator Jerry Roscoe. Roscoe, who's helped resolve wartime disputes in the Balkans, was on a cruise in Europe on Sunday when he was brought in a day before the trial was set to begin. After several zoom meetings and phone calls. The deal was finalized around two Tuesday afternoon and signed just minutes before the judge announced the resolution in open court.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:40:07]

FREEMAN (on camera): Now, since the Dominion settlement came down, we actually have received statements from both Smartmatic and from Fox previewing their own case and what that battle will look like ahead. An attorney for Smartmatic said in part, "Dominion's litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox's disinformation campaign, Smartmatic will expose the rest." Meanwhile, a Fox's spokesperson said in response quote, "We will be ready to defend this case surrounding extremely newsworthy events when it goes to trial, likely in 2025. As a report prepared by our financial experts show, Smartmatic's damages claims are implausible, disconnected from reality and on its face intended to chill First Amendment freedoms." So, you can expect we may be talking about all of these issues again, for the next two years. Danny Freeman, CNN, Wilmington, Delaware.

CHURCH: I'm Rosemary Church for our international viewers, "WORLD SPORT" is next. And for those of you here in North America, I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Do stay with us. [02:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: It's a slogan, we haven't heard in more than 50 years, Kennedy for President. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he is running for the Nation's highest office. But his attacks on corporate America and his controversial stance on childhood vaccines could spell trouble. CNN's Jeff Zeleny reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It was a political rally steeped in Kennedy family history. With one critical missing piece most of the storied Kennedy family. Today in Boston as he announced a longshot presidential bid.

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR. (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am going to take back this country with your help.

ZELENY (voiceover): Robert F. Kennedy Jr. evoked images of his father and uncle, as he bluntly acknowledged his siblings wish she wouldn't be launching a campaign to challenge President Biden.

KENNEDY JR.: Our other members of my family who are not here today.

ZELENY (voiceover): With a famous political name, he plunged into the fringe of today's politics. Railing against the safety of vaccines and what he calls corrupt corporate power in America.

KENNEDY JR.: Many of them also just as plain disagree with me on issues like censorship, on war, on public health, and they aren't entitled to their beliefs, and I respect their opinions on them. And I'm back.

ZELENY (voiceover): He's the third oldest child of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy, who wants to lead crusades to clean up the Hudson and other rivers. But in recent years, he has ventured deep into conspiracy theories, drawing strong rebukes from medical experts for linking childhood vaccines to autism and other illnesses.

KENNEDY JR.: I'm not one of these people who've spent their life saying I got to be really careful because one day I'm going to be in the White House. I actually did the opposite.

ZELENY (voiceover): In a speech that went on for nearly two hours, Kennedy sought to tap into the lingering anger from COVID lockdowns, a pandemic where he too gained new prominence.

JUDY MCINTYRE, MASSACHUSETTS VOTER: Don't fall for the one subject anti-Vax thing. Keep an open mind, listen to him, listen to his message.

ZELENEY (on camera): One of the members of his own family wished he wasn't doing this.

MCINTYRE: Yes.

ZELENY: And they've kind of denounced him. What do you think about that?

MCINTYRE: Well, I come from a big Irish family too. And, you know, I think that everybody's entitled to how they feel, agree to disagree. That's what you have to do.

ZELENY (voiceover): Kennedy's younger sister Rory telling CNN, "This is a difficult situation for me. I love my older brother, but due to a wide range of Bobby's positions, I'm supporting President Biden." His campaign headed outside saying I'm a Kennedy Democrat, but some of the loudest chairs for his candidacy are actually coming from the right, including longtime Trump adviser Steve Bannon.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP ADVISOR: A longer he stays in this, the more his message gets out, it's going to resonate.

ZELENY (voiceover): Kennedy denounced any coordination with allies of the Former President saying, "I have never discussed a presidential run with Mr. Bannon." Kennedy lives in Los Angeles but chose the family's one time citadel of power to make his announcement. Visitors to the Kennedy presidential library in Boston were not moved.

TYSON HUMBLE, OREGON VOTER: They can't stomach the anti-vaccine thing. The Kennedy name isn't enough.

ZELENY (voiceover): For his part, Kennedy wrapped himself in the legacy of his family tree. By doing so, taking great liberty with historical comparisons.

KENNEDY JR.: We need to bring this party back, to the party of FDR, of JFK, of RFK, Martin Luther King and those values. You know, in many ways, I have spent my lifetime preparing for this office.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (on camera): President Biden in the White House declining to offer a comment about this new challenge in the Democratic Presidential race. Of course, it was Robert Kennedy Jr. himself who said that he has a long personal relationship with President Biden and of course, so many Kennedys are members of the Biden administration. But it is the relationships on the right perhaps from Steve Bannon and other allies of Donald Trump that make this so interesting if this candidacy actually takes off. But there is no doubt, with the hundreds and hundreds of people on hand for the announcement, that there is a message for this anti vaccination, anti-corporate movement. It's an open question if that can lead another Kennedy to the White House. Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Boston.

CHURCH: Florida has expanded the ratio of its so called Don't say gay law. Now, lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity can no longer be taught to students through high school. The ban had previously only affected younger grades. But on Wednesday, the State Board of Education extended it through 12th grade. Classes that teach about health or reproductive systems are the only exception. Teachers who violate the new state policy could be suspended or have their teaching licenses revoked.

[02:50:10]

And Oklahoma County Commissioner has resigned over a secretly recorded conversation that appears to include him talking about lynching black people and killing journalists. Mark Jennings' resignation comes after days of protests. Angry residents have also been demanding that several other officials who allegedly participated in the conversation step down as well, including the local sheriff. Here's a portion of the audio, the commissioner who just resigned is said to be speaker one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK JENNINGS, OKLAHOMA COUNTY COMMISSIONER: I'm going to tell you something. If it was back in the day, when that (BLEEP) would take a damn black guy, and whoop their ass and throw him in the cell? I'd run (BLEEP) sheriff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's not like that no more.

JENNINGS: I know, take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

JENNINGS: But you can't do that anymore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'll tell you about it is --

JENNINGS: They got more rights than we got.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Jennings' resignation letter promises a quote formal statement in the near future regarding the recent events in the County. The local sheriff's office as the audio was recorded illegally and may have been altered. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has updated its recommendations for COVID booster shots. The agency is now giving the go ahead to Americans 65 and over and those with weakened immune systems to receive a second by valent booster. That is the vaccine released last September that protects against both the original COVID strain and newer variants.

The CDC now recommends that everyone 60 and older get the updated vaccine, even if they haven't finished the original series of shots. But says that young and healthy people don't need more shots if they have already had their bio valid booster. It's a bird, it's a plane. Well, frankly, they don't know what it is. And there are hundreds of them. The Pentagon says the number of UFO sightings that it's investigating is increasing 650 right now, up from 510 last year. But for those who are worried or perhaps excited, there may be space aliens among us. Well, the Pentagon says this isn't Independence Day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEAN KIRKPATRICK, DIR. PENTAGON, ALL-DOMAIN ANOMALY RESOLUTION OFFICE: I should also state clearly for the record, that in our research arrow has found, no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity off world technology or objects that defy the known laws of physics.

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CHURCH: While the Pentagon acknowledges it doesn't know what many of the images are, there is concern at least some might be tests of advanced technology from a potential adversary such as Russia, or China. Well, it took decades for the American tycoon Erving Wolf and his wife Joyce to put together. But soon their extensive art collection will hit the auction block. Sotheby's says the paintings and art objects are expected to fetch $50 million. As Richard Quest reports, the proceeds will benefit -- not the family. The tax man.

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RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voiceover): It is an exquisite collection of American Art. And it was built and fueled by the oil industry. That's where the Wolf family made their money. And it took half a century to put all this together. There are more than a thousand pieces of art. Their son Mathew walked me through what is truly the collection of a lifetime. And he was very honest about why it was now being sold and broken up.

MATHEW WOLF, SON OF ERVIN AND JOYCE WOLF: A lot of it is being sold to pay a state tax of my mother. It was owned by my father, so, upon my father's death, went to my mother's estate and my mother passed away and now there is various estate taxes to pay. And so, that's a reason why we're selling this.

QUEST (voiceover): Every collection starts with the first piece.

WOLF: In 1970 when they moved to New York City, they just happen to purchase an apartment on Fifth Avenue across from Sotheby's Park Brunette. And this is their first purchase, they paid $2,400 for including the 10 percent buyer's premium.

QUEST (on camera): 1970?

WOLF: In1970.

QUEST: Not bad investment to the estimate is $300,000.

WOLF: And I guarantee you, my mother was behind the purchase. And when my father found out how much you paid for it, he would have said, how much did you pay for that piece? Are you crazy? But now, you see my mother as often was right.

[02:55:03]

QUEST (voiceover): As we walked round all the porcelain for sale, the phrase, bull in a China shop came to mind. Imagine living amongst all of this. WOLF: A lot of this Chinese export porcelain was in my family's dining room, in cabinets, but also on tables. And for some reason, it survived and there really wasn't a fear growing up of breaking anything. And somehow, we made it.

QUEST (voiceover): In our own smaller perhaps ways. We all aspire to be a collector and Mathew has sound advice.

WOLF: This is a window for the Coonley Playhouse done by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1912. It's important to collect something that is globally appreciated, versus locally appreciated. And whatever you do, buy the very best.

QUEST (voiceover): The breakup of this collection may be the end of one dynasty, but Mathew sure, it's the start of another.

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CHURCH: And thank you so much for your company. I'm Rosemary Church. I'll be back with more CNN NEWSROOM in just a moment. Hope you can stick around.

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