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Bluesky User Base Double in Past 90 Days; Laken Riley's Roommate Testifies in Court; Mike Tyson Slaps Jake Paul in Weight In. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired November 15, 2024 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

ANNE BREMNER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: -- thumbprints, excuse me, is on that phone. That's the biggest piece of evidence, I think. She was trying to get help. He disfigured her. Her skull and her body. She was calling 911 and he stopped her and he killed her.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Devastating. It's just devastating evidence. The testimony as well. We're going to continue to monitor all of this. We'll bring any updates as they come in. In the meantime, Anne, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

All right. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: The upstart X competitor, Bluesky, has rocketed to the number one spot on Apple's App Store in the U.S. this week. Many users are fleeing Elon Musk's platform, formerly known as Twitter. Some of the users who joined Bluesky include Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Barbara Streisand, and Mark Cuban. It's estimated that X is worth almost 80 percent less than when Musk bought it as Twitter.

And joining us now to talk about this is former New York Times media reporter Bill Carter, Bill, what's going on here? I mean, is this just post-election blues and people are saying they're tired of Elon Musk and so on, or is this something that might stick?

BILL CARTER, FORMER NEW YORK TIMES MEDIA REPORTER: Well, I think it's a little of both. I think there are people who are tired of Elon Musk and they don't like the idea that he's basically turning the place into a megaphone for one political party.

But I also think, you know -- and like they've been moving on to other sites for a while now. So, this is sort of new. I think Bluesky is getting a little bit more attention from big name users, like the ones you mentioned, but also, I just think it's made itself clear that it's going to be a more comfortable place.

I think -- you think of it -- I think of it like if you always went to your favorite, I don't know, pub, let's say, and you love the conversation and it was something you got information out of, and you got enjoyment out of, but all of a sudden, it was filled with people who were shouting at you and calling your name.

ACOSTA: Oh, yes.

CARTER: You'd probably go to some other place.

ACOSTA: Yes, I don't invite people out there to look at the comments. When I post something on X, it is a total dumpster fire right now of just the hatred and bile. And I use Bluesky now, and I will say it is very refreshing. And what makes it different from Threads? I mean, that's the other one that's out there owned by Meta. Threads is also good to use but people seem to really be gravitating towards Bluesky. Do we know why?

CARTER: I think there's a sense that it's kind of a counter to what's happening on X. And I think they just like the ambience. They happen to like the atmosphere. I mean, Threads is also associated with, you know, Zuckerberg and Facebook and all that. And I think there are people who would rather not then support another big billionaires toy sort of, which is what Musk made out of the X.

ACOSTA: Yes. And I mean, and we can't really emphasize it enough, X has just become just ridiculous. I mean, it -- what -- I mean, what have they done with the algorithms there? I mean, the user experience. When I click on the for you part of X, I mean, it just looks like it's designed in a way to sort of pump right-wing propaganda in your face. It's pretty remarkable the transformation from what Twitter used to be.

CARTER: Yes. And really, Twitter tried to not be that and was trying to control that kind of excessive extremism. And Musk basically welcomed it. I mean, he invited it. He restored the -- you know, the access to, you know, the neo-Nazi white supremacist folks who had not been welcomed there. So, he basically did that consciously. And at the same time, that of course offended advertisers who moved on.

I think one of the big problems with Bluesky or Threads is that there's still a huge base of non-political, nonpartisan kind of posters on there, including, you know, every sports organization, ESPN, et cetera.

ACOSTA: Right, that's true.

CARTER: If you're interested in that's there. So, you don't have to run into this kind of ugliness if you really curate your site. But if you speak up and you say something that is opinionated in that way, you will get, you know, assaulted by these kinds of ugly comments that why would anyone expose themselves to that if they could avoid it? And I think they're thinking of ways to avoid that.

ACOSTA: Yes, there are other things to do in life than to hang around on that particular site. Bill Carter, thanks so much for your time, we really appreciate it.

CARTER: Sure.

ACOSTA: All right. Good to see you. Coming up, starting the fight early. Did you see this? Mike Tyson and Jake Paul facing off tonight in the ring, but they already got into it at the weigh in. Yes, there it is right there. Jake Paul blowing some kisses there. It's going to get interesting tonight, I think. More ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:40:00]

ACOSTA: All right. More now in the Laken Riley's murder trial. Just a few moments ago, we heard from one of Laken Riley's roommates who testified about finding her AirPod on a nature trail. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Also, did she have -- what color were her air pods?

SOFIA MAGANA, LAKEN RILEY'S ROOMMATE: They were white.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So, did you collect it?

MAGANA: Yes, ma'am. I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did you eventually give it to the police?

MAGANA: Yes, ma'am. I did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May I approach the witness, Your Honor?

MAGANA: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm handing you what's been marked for identification purposes States Exhibit 8. And I'm just going to ask you to look inside this bag for me, and I'm going to ask you a series of questions

MAGANA: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look inside that bag. Do you recognize what is inside State's Exhibit 8?

MAGANA: Yes ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is it?

MAGANA: It's her AirPod.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that the one that you picked up on the 22nd day of February, 2024 that you gave to the University police Department?

MAGANA: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And is it in the same or substantially same condition? MAGANA: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: State would move to admit States Exhibit 8, request permission to publish?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Submitted and publish. Exhibit 1. Just one?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one.

[10:45:00]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After you found the AirPod, Ms. Magana, what did you do?

MAGANA: I, well, took the pictures first just to remember. And at that point, I picked it up and I turned around to Lilly and I told her we were going to walk back to call the police because we both didn't have service.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did you all do that?

MAGANA: Yes, ma'am, we did.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then, where did go after the police were called?

MAGANA: I went to go pick up my roommate, Connelly, from her class and then I met Lilly with Connelly at the IM field deck.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we know we're at the IM field deck, did the police respond?

MAGANA: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did you tell them the information that you had gathered?

MAGANA: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ms. Magana, did you receive any text messages, any calls, or any communication with Laken Riley after 9:03 a.m. on the 22nd day of February, 2024?

MAGANA: No, ma'am. My last text from her was at 9:02.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a moment with counsel, Your Honor?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have any questions for this witness at this time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will she be excused?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, sir. And she does (INAUDIBLE). ACOSTA: All right. That was Laken Riley's roommate testifying a few moments ago. I want to bring back Anne Bremner to talk about this. Anne, I mean, obviously, you and I were talking about this case earlier and the fact that there is all of this forensic evidence that is going to be key in this case, and I think we're also seeing another aspect of the prosecution's case, which is this very emotional testimony coming from her roommates.

BREMNER: Well, absolutely. And now, you can just envision in your mind's eye, and I'm sure the judge is doing the same thing, which is her last moments as she was listening to music, enjoying her life at 22 years old with her whole life ahead of her and being confronted by her attacker. And with enough force, it sounds like, that she lost, you know, one of her ear pods.

So, it was a really good way for the prosecution to set the stage for what was a horrific, horrific crime. But to say this is -- she was just doing what she did all the time, what people do every day, but she's thinking nothing. She wouldn't come into harm's way and now this. And, of course, her roommate called right away for help saying that she was missing within a very short period of time. Because it wasn't like her to just disappear or not check in. She was very responsible. So, very emotional testimony. That's for sure.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And they're in the middle of a recess right now. But, Anne, where do you think the case goes from here?

BREMNER: Well, prosecutor likes to just go step by step, usually chronologically. So, we'll start hearing about all of the evidence in this case that I talked about earlier that we discussed. But there were nine search warrants served on his residence. So, we're going to hear about what kinds of things were found there.

And, again, there's been a challenge to the evidence in this case. These challenges have failed and with this judge. And so, we're going to hear about all the physical evidence. And then, I doubt -- I highly doubt he's going to testify. Of course, he has an interpreter in there, but we're just going to see that from start to finish all the prosecution's evidence, putting in the physical evidence and the other evidence in the case.

And finally, with respect to media, you know, we'll hear about this case throughout. I'm sure it's getting a lot of attention, not just today, but has in the past and well in the future.

ACOSTA: All right. Criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor Anne Bremner, thank you very much for your time. Once again, we appreciate it.

BREMNER: My pleasure.

ACOSTA: All right. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00] ACOSTA: All right. It is the slap heard around the world. Have you seen this? Take a look at this, the boxing world, at least that's 58- year-old Mike Tyson, Iron Mike Tyson smacking social media influencer Jake Paul in the face. At 27 years old Jake Paul is less than half the age of the former heavyweight champ who ferociously dominated the sport since the late '80s. Tonight, age goes toe to toe with relative inexperience.

Joining us now to talk about the big fight coming up, joining us is Geoffrey Gray. He's a journalist who has written about Mike Tyson for New York Magazine's Intelligencer other publications. Geoff, I mean, there's one of your stories right there. I mean, what do you make of this matchup? You know, there's a part of me that says, you know, Mike Tyson is too old to be doing this. Is he just being exploited here? But I mean, it's Mike Tyson. So, I mean, what are your thoughts?

GEOFFREY GRAY, AUTHOR, INTELLIGENCER ARTICLE ON TYSON: Absolutely. I'm so excited. To me, my thoughts are this is a great fight. You know, people can pick whether it's boxing when it's not boxing. It's fantastic in my opinion. You have this great story about an aging lion looking to retire with one final victory, perhaps another, who knows, and a young upstart looking to make his name.

So, I think they're like, it's OK to just let it go of what we think about, you know, the tight things we hold and just enjoy this prize fight. And they're both in great shape. It's going to be fast.

ACOSTA: I was going to say, yes. I was just looking at that footage of Mike Tyson. Did I say he is 58 years old? He's 50 -- and I mean, he looks like he's in pretty good shape. Not like the days of fighting Buster Douglas and everything, but you know -- but you said that he does have some health problems.

GRAY: Yes, absolutely. I mean one of the things that we were able to reveal in our story was that his ulcer -- he had a bleeding ulcer that led to a serious medical emergency that required eight blood transfusions, in his words. So, imagine that, you know, coming back where he had lost a lot of weight, near death experiences, he described it. And then, now, going on Netflix, right, which is you know, the biggest platform in the world to prove something at 58.

ACOSTA: Right. I mean, in Jake Paul, who was a social media influencer, I mean, like just -- I feel like half a minute ago, but I guess that's not the case. And now, he's a pretty big dude. I'm not minimizing his ability to fight Mike Tyson at all. Do you think he can take the champ? What do you think?

GRAY: Yes, you know, in a way they're both pushing their boundaries, right? Mike is pushing the test of father time and Jake is pushing his ability to actually have the skill and the talent. I mean, a seasoned mechanic of a prize fighter is something different that he's faced. So, it will be in this other test between skill and will as well.

So, I think anyone -- you never know what will happen when the first bell goes off and anyone has a puncher's chance for sure. ACOSTA: And for our younger viewers, I mean, Mike Tyson, I mean, he is a legendary boxer. I mentioned the Buster Douglas match. I mean, he had -- there were so many fights over the years that made Mike Tyson who he is. I mean, your thoughts on, you know, this chapter in his career. It's extraordinary.

GRAY: It really is. He's not only is the American icon in my opinion, but he's an American tragedy, his story. He came up furious. The youngest heavyweight champion ever. Many of his best years lost to chaos, the inability to control the fame and the pressure put hoisted onto him. And then, now, this -- he gets this final coda, you know, as he says, it's just written for him to actually have a chance at redemption. And it makes it a very sort of unique American story and touching too, with his family around him. He now has a relationship with his wife, which I write about, which is like -- you know, everyone in Tyson's camp talk about how they're family. And I think that's it's touching being around them.

[10:55:00]

ACOSTA: But you know, Geoff, and forgive me for asking this and feel free to knock me back on my heels when I ask it, but is there a part of this that is exploiting Mike Tyson? And I feel like as somebody who, you know, followed his story over the years, I mean, there were chapters where he was exploited, and he's a grown man. He's an adult. He could do whatever he wants. If he wants to do this, go right ahead. But what do you make of that? Is there some part of that?

GRAY: Yes. Absolutely not. There's no exploitation of Mike Tyson, in my opinion.

ACOSTA: OK. All right.

GRAY: You know, Mike has a great agent around him. He's got a great -- a whole company that he's built. He's more cogent now, more thoughtful, more balanced than he's ever been. And this was a great business decision, you know, on his part and on the part of Jake Paul.

ACOSTA: And this is huge for Netflix.

GRAY: You know, Netflix is trying to get into live sports. This is their entree. Mike Tyson is one of the most recognized faces in the world. So, it's just fascinating. Honestly, I can't -- I'm going to meet his trainer right now. I can't wait.

ACOSTA: Yes. I mean, you and I are old enough to remember when we would, you know, get a bunch of guys together and pay for the -- you know, spring the money for the pay per view fees to pay for -- to watch a battle like this back in those times. But this is -- it shows you how times have changed.

GRAY: Yes, absolutely. You know, one thing, Jim, I think that it's so special about Mike Tyson is that he's like a nostalgia time rocket back into time for a lot of people.

ACOSTA: Yes. GRAY: And it's a time pre the internet where everyone would get together and watch a Mike Tyson fight. They were -- the style in which he fought this explosive ferocity. You know, we all -- I think there's a part of us that all yearn to want to see that once again and sort of rekindle with those memories that we have for sure.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. We'll all be watching. Geoffrey Gray, thanks very much. Great stuff as always. We appreciate it.

Thank you for joining us this morning. I did want to take a quick moment, I know I'm running late on time, to thank the team here and the crew over these last couple of weeks. I know everybody's working really hard, really appreciate everybody's efforts these last couple of weeks.

I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of Newsroom with Pamela Brown starts after a short break. Have a great weekend.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: A vaccine skeptic and conspiracy theorists set to oversee the health of 350 million Americans. What RFK Jr.'s assent could mean for your food, vaccines, and medicine? I'll speak to our Dr. Sanjay Gupta about that.

And happening right now, the man accused of killing Laken Riley is on trial. Prosecutors just said he was, quote, "hunting for females" on the University of Georgia campus.

And coming up later --

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