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Supreme Court Hears Arguments on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors; CEO of UnitedHealthcare Gunned Down; Stowaway Enroute Back to U.S. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired December 04, 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]

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... with the children over the course of many, many years. These are not, you know, nilly-willy decisions that they're making carelessly. And for these children, it's a chance to be who they truly are. These 10-year-olds told me they have no doubts about their gender identity. They are exhausted. about having to continuously defend who they are and to argue for their very right to exist, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, your heart goes out to those kids when you listen to those comments. Lucy, thank you very much. Joining me now is Minnesota State Representative Leigh Finke, who is the first transgender member of the state's legislature there. Lee, what does this day mean for you?

STATE REP. LEIGH FINKE (D-MN), FIRST TRANSGENDER LAWMAKER ELECTED TO MN LEGISLATURE: Thank you so much for having me on, first. It's very important to have a trans person here to talk about what this case means, because as we heard, this is the most important case in the history of my community in this country, and we have heard, there's too much emotion involved, and those two things, they can't go together.

What this case -- the stakes of this case are, does the United States government want to prevent children to -- from becoming a person like me? Right? There is no way to separate emotion from this argument. There's no way for us to pretend like what we are saying is that a certain class, a certain demographic of Americans should not have access to the health care that they need because of who they are.

I am incredibly moved to hear the stories like we just did from young people and I hope that people will understand that, that gender- affirming care is healthcare. Healthcare decisions belong in the home, in the doctor's office, not in the courts, not with politicians. We do not do this for other forms of healthcare. We are doing it because trans people are trans and that should be illegal. And I hope that the court will find it so.

ACOSTA: And what -- Lucy talked about this a few moments ago, your thoughts on how your community was really injected into the political process during the last election and how that might be hanging over this case. FINKE: Yes. I mean, it has created a culture of great fear in our community, and we already had it We're about 1 percent of the country. We are about even -- you know, depending on how you measure, $200 million in ads by the Trump campaign against our ability to access health care. There is an outsized political value to what is happening and it does not comport with the risk or I would say the wonderfulness of being a trans person, right? Trying to prevent what we have found simply because of who we are.

ACOSTA: All right. Representative Finke, thank you very much. Appreciate your thoughts. Thanks for being part of our discussion. And as we mentioned earlier, we are following breaking developments out of New York, where police say the CEO of UnitedHealthcare was gunned down outside of a Manhattan hotel. The search now underway for the suspect who may have fled into Central Park, according to our sources. We're following all of this. We're live with the latest next.

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[10:35:00]

ACOSTA: A manhunt is underway right now after a deadly shooting in Midtown Manhattan. The UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed this morning. The gunman is still at large. Let's get straight to CNN's Brynn Gingras in New York for us. Brynn, I understand you're still on your way to the scene, but what more are you learning at this point?

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That's right, Jim. So, on the way. Lots of traffic in New York City, Midtown, that is where this shooting happened about 6:45 this morning, according to police. We've learned that Thompson was headed to a hotel in Midtown for a healthcare conference for UnitedHealthcare when there was a gunman -- sorry, a lot of breath and running there.

ACOSTA: That's OK.

GINGRAS: There was a gunman who -- there was a gunman on the -- waiting, we believe, according to sources for about 10 minutes or so and fired from about 20 feet away as Thompson approached that hotel. Hitting him and killing him.

Now, what police sources are telling me and John Miller is that gunman then fled through a back alley behind a theater. Of course, we're in the theater district of New York City on a bicycle. And then, sources telling me that's led through into New York City. So, you can imagine -- or rather Central Park. So, you can imagine right now, police are pulling video trying to get sort of images of this suspect and then, of course, put together exactly why, a motive and where this person might have fled to.

ACOSTA: Yes. And do we have any sense as to the motivation behind this yet, Brynn? From what we're hearing from our sources, correct, that they believe this is a targeted shooting of some sort, but we don't know more than that. GINGRAS: Yes, that's right. I mean, of course, with that -- that is one of the theories. Of course, we know this is a preliminary investigation at this point, in the early stages, but because they believe this person, through video, was sitting outside this hotel and firing directly at Thompson, that does make them believe, at this point, that this was a targeted attack.

But important to note, Jim. I mean, we're talking about the middle of Manhattan. This is a very busy area, as you can tell, I can't even get there because of all the traffic. This is at about 6:45 this morning. It's the height of rush hour. It's also an area where not too far away is the Rockefeller Tree. That tree lighting expected to happen tonight. So, heavily trafficked by tourists at this point.

So, still incredibly alarming. But that area now a crime scene as they this is piece together this investigation, as you just mentioned, a motive is a big question here, but also, where this suspect fled to and who this person is.

ACOSTA: Right And if this suspect dashed off into Central Park, that person could be just about anywhere at this point in Manhattan. That is a -- you know, a pretty well trafficked area. Brynn Gingras, it sounds like you might have hopped out of that cab and maybe running your way to the scene right now. I don't want to get in the way of that. So, thank you so much. We appreciate the update. Get back to us when you have more information. In the meantime, Brynn Gingras, thanks so much.

[10:40:00]

Coming up, as she is being deported back to the U.S. new reporting about how a woman snuck onto an international flight in the first place. The Delta Stowaway story, the latest on that next.

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ACOSTA: All right. Right now, a stowaway is being sent back to the U.S. after traveling on board in New York To Paris flight without a ticket. Here's new video of the woman on her return flight this morning. It's now been over a week since officials say she snuck on board that Paris flight with Delta Airlines and passengers on the plane with her that day, are now sharing videos of the moment Delta flight attendants started questioning her about her boarding pass. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that boarding pass has a completely different name.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it's not the same. It is not mine, it is my friends.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's your friend? Where's your friend now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE). UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. So, right now, I --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now from New York's JFK Airport. Polo, TSA officials have new details about how they say she got on the plane without a ticket. But putting all that to the side, this is a case of return to sender, as our Elie Honig was just saying a few moments ago. She's on her way back.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right to that point, Jim. She is headed back to where it all started, here to New York's JFK Airport eight days ago when she managed to bypass not one but two layers of security meant to confirm who she was and if she had a boarding pass. We know now, thanks to a CNN presence on that flight, that that plane took off here about an hour and a half ago from Paris and it's now headed here to JFK.

Things so far so good. So far, incident free, that she is currently with two security officials. And things have been calm here. You see that video that it's been sent in where you see her sitting in the center seat towards the rear of the aircraft, that flight expected to touch down later this afternoon, where federal officials are expected to speak to the 57-year-old U.S. Green card holders. So, that answers the question of why she's being sent back to the United States in the first place.

And you recall that this is actually the third attempt to send her back to the U.S. The first happening on Saturday before the plane even pushed back, that's when there was a disturbance that was caused by her and she was escorted off the flight. And then, yesterday, she was again escorted back onto a Delta flight, but that's when the airline said, no, we will not be transporting her back to the United States.

Obviously, a lot of preparations have happened in the last 24 hours. And now, under some highly secure conditions here, she was escorted back onto this flight. Currently, essentially, over the Atlantic and headed here to New York's JFK where investigators are waiting to speak to her.

ACOSTA: Yes, Polo, I would have to think the police will be waiting by the jet bridge as that plane pulls into the terminal. But do we know what happens to her after she arrives? Is she allowed to just go on her way and hop in a cab and head back to the city or whatever?

SANDOVAL: Yes. Yes, I'm not sure if balloons and flowers will be waiting for this. There will be federal agents that will be speaking to her to try to find out a little bit more about how she was able to do this. Now, we do have reporting from our colleagues Pete Muntean and John Miller that really paint a clearer picture apparently, courtesy of some of the surveillance footage that she was able to essentially go around the TSA officer that checks the boarding pass on your I.D. before she then proceeded to actually be screened, not only her baggage, but she was screened, and then made her way into the terminal. And that's where then she was able to blend in with a group, past a Delta gate agent and then onto that flight. So, clearly, there are many unanswered questions about what has to be done to prevent this kind of security breach from happening. Not only the TSA, Delta Airlines, but also even airport personnel as well to try to keep this from happening again.

ACOSTA: Yes, she better not be getting any miles for this. That's for sure. All right. Polo Sandoval live at JFK Airport, thank you very much.

Another story we're closely following this morning, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on gender-affirming care for minors. We're live after the break.

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[10:50:00]

ACOSTA: Right now, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments on a landmark case involving transgender rights. I want to go back to CNN's Lucy Kafanov who is outside the Supreme Court. Lucy, what can you tell us?

KAFANOV: Well, Jim, the mood is calm, but energetic. I want to sort of walk through the crowd and give you a closer look at what we're seeing. People are braving the cold temperatures to have their voices heard. There are a lot of people on this side who are protesting gender-affirming care. They describe it as child abuse. Obviously, a lot of people here who disagree with that point of view. An

I want to introduce you to one person who came here. Melissa, was it?

MELISSA: Yes, hi.

KAFANOV: Yes, I'm Lucy. Hi, Melissa. What brought you here? Why did you feel like it was important to brave the cold temperatures to have your voice heard here?

MELISSA: So, when I was growing up, 40 years ago, I knew I was a trans girl. I did not get to transition until I was 48 years old. I lost half my life not being true to myself. Trans health care for kids is a vital issue for the mental health of trans kids. And, quite honestly, being used as a political pawn, as a scapegoat, a punching bag, whenever anyone wants to make a political point on children, that's disgusting. It's quite disgusting.

So, I'm here to show the support, make sure that the kids these days in the new generation get the care they need so that they can live their lives happy and thrive.

KAFANOV: What kind of a difference do you think it would make for a child to be able to access this kind of care?

MELISSA: So, I do know children that go from being withdrawn and introverted to really coming into themselves, excelling at school, just generally getting onto a path in life where they can have success and happiness. Without that -- I know I was a very sullen teenager. I was like very careful, policing what I did and how I acted. And when you're doing a lot of that, it really bites into the amount of joy you have in your life.

So, I always like to say, trans lives are made of joy. We are joy all the way through. We are happier to be ourselves than anyone else you will find on this planet. And taking that away from children is criminal.

[10:55:00]

KAFANOV: Thank you so much. Thank you so much. And, Jim, you hear this is just one of the many voices, many people who came here who wanted to speak out, who wanted to have their voices heard and not just keep hearing politicians talking about them. Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Lucy Kafanov, outside the Supreme Court during arguments for a landmark case involving transgender rights, an historic day indeed. Lucy Kafanov, thank you so much.

And thank you very much for joining us this morning. A lot of breaking news. We'll be continuing to cover it in the next hour. I'm Jim Acosta. Our next hour of Newsroom with Pamela Brown starts after a short break. Have a good day.

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