Return to Transcripts main page

CNN This Morning

Evacuations In Minnesota After Train Carrying Ethanol Derails, Catches Fire; Musk, Tech Leaders Urge Pause On AI, Citing "Risks To Society"; FDA Approves Over-The-Counter Sales Of Opioid Overdose Antidote. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 30, 2023 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: As far as we know, it's the first time that a transportation secretary has visited a hazardous material derailment site because it was very important for the community to hear the message of support from this administration. But I went the day that the NTSB released its preliminary fact-finding report.

Right now, what the community needs is support from first responders and we'll help in any way we can. I've been in touch with the governor already this morning. And while our department doesn't have a direct first responder role, we do have personnel on the ground making sure that we can provide support.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg, thank you.

BUTTIGIEG: Thank you.

LEMON: We are continuing to follow the breaking news coming out of Moscow. An American reporter from The Wall Street Journal detained in Russia being accused of espionage, something the Journal vehemently denies. We're going to have the very latest on that.

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, former President Trump is appealing to keep his top aides from testifying in the January 6 investigation. That's just one investigation into the ex- president. We have new polling this morning on how Americans feel about all the potential criminal charges against Trump.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:35:05]

COLLINS: This morning we are following several major breaking stories here at CNN.

Russia has arrested an American journalist and accused him of espionage. He is the first U.S. reporter to be accused of spying by Russia since 1986. The Wall Street Journal says they vehemently deny the allegations that are being made and they are calling for his immediate release. Here at home, two U.S. Army helicopters have crashed during training exercises overnight. The military is reporting that there are several casualties. We're expecting to learn a lot more at a news conference that we are expecting just hours from now.

Also, in Minnesota, evacuations are underway at this moment after a train that was carrying ethanol and corn syrup derailed overnight catching fire. Officials say there were no injuries so far, but we will bring you the latest developments as we get them while those evacuations are underway.

LEMON: As we do that, new this morning, the former president, Donald Trump, is appealing a court ruling that would force several of his former aides, including Mark Meadows, to testify before a grand jury as part of a criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the election.

And new polls show how Americans feel about potential criminal charges against former President Trump. A new Quinnipiac poll shows that 57 percent of Americans think criminal charges should disqualify him from running in 2024. But look at the party breakdown here. Only 23 percent of Republicans feel that way. Seventy-five percent don't think charges should disqualify him.

So joining us from D.C. to discuss this and more is reporter Shelby Talcott. She covers Trump and Republicans for Semafor. Shelby, good morning. Thank you for joining us.

What does this poll say about Donald Trump's standing in the party among voters?

SHELBY TALCOTT, REPORTER, SEMAFOR: So it's interesting because as you noted, I think the really important thing about that poll is the breakdown between Republicans and Democrats. So overall, the majority of Americans want to see him -- if he is charged, believe that he should not be able to run for president. But the breakdown with Republicans shows that most Republicans don't feel it should be disqualifying. And so whether or not that ultimately affects him in a primary I think that kind of answers that question.

COLLINS: Yes. It seems like they won't -- they don't believe that. I mean, he said he won't drop out even if he is indicted.

Shelby -- and I'm so glad we have you here because obviously, when you look at polling -- we're looking at polling among these candidates -- Trump, DeSantis, and others that we are expecting to run in 2024 -- you have some really interesting new reporting on DeSantis and how he essentially conducts daily business when it comes to emailing and texting, essentially in the fact that he doesn't do it.

TALCOTT: Yes, he does not text or email in his official capacity at all and it's really interesting, as you said, because he's a potential 2024 candidate. And the reason that DeSantis' team gave me when I asked about it was he just prefers having in-person conversations because the topics are more nuanced and it's difficult to sus out in a text message or email exchange. And while that's certainly part of it, the other part of it, according

to sources I spoke with, is because of Florida's really broad Sunshine Laws. They have some of the broadest laws in the country when it comes to public records. And we've seen former governors in Florida kind of grapple with this as well and DeSantis is certainly taking it to a level that former Florida governors have not.

LEMON: The New York Times is reporting, Shelby, that DeSantis' team thinks that Trump's record on crime could be an opening for them to paint Trump as weak on crime, and they cited the 2018 criminal justice law that Trump signed.

How effective of a strategy do you think that might be?

TALCOTT: Well, I think it will -- I think it will be tough, to be honest, because Trump has always been a tough-on-crime president in terms of his rhetoric. I think it's also interesting -- I believe that DeSantis had voted for that bill. I think this came about after the Rand Paul -- Rand Paul staffer was attacked in Washington, D.C. the other day.

And so it does set up an interesting argument. It's essentially going to be who can get more to the right on the issue of crime.

LEMON: All right, Shelby Talcott, thank you so much. Appreciate you joining us.

And we need to tell you tonight on CNN Primetime former Vice President Mike Pence is going to talk to CNN's Wolf Blitzer as speculation swirls around his political future and he's being ordered to testify about conversations he had with the former president. Hear what he has to say tonight at 9:00 p.m. eastern.

COLLINS: Also this morning, artificial intelligence systems can pose a risk to society and humanity. That is what Elon Musk and other leaders in the technology industry are warning. This is in a new open letter to artificial intelligence labs this morning where Musk and these other leaders are basically asking AI companies to pause development of the most advanced systems, warning that AI tools present, quote, "profound risks to society and humanity."

[07:40:07]

Joining us now for more on this fascinating letter is CNN media analyst and Axios media reporter Sara Fischer. So, Sara, essentially, they're not saying don't do this at all but they're saying there needs to be a pause, essentially, until they can get a grasp on it -- a better handle on it. But I think the obvious question in response to that is isn't it way too late for that?

SARA FISCHER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST, MEDIA REPORTER, AXIOS: It's definitely too late for that, Kaitlan, and that was the pushback from tech veterans yesterday. They cited basically four reasons why it's unlikely we're going to have a pause.

Number one is that it's not necessarily good for innovation here in the U.S. We're competing with China and other countries to be ahead in tech and so pausing puts us behind.

Two, technologically, it's going to be pretty different. This is like trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube. So many of the products that we use every single day, including products that make our world safer, already include AI. And so pausing on the technology is going to be pretty, pretty hard.

And I think the third and final thing is that it would require a lot of sort of inner government and technology coordination that we just don't have yet. Regulators can barely grasp the concept of AI let alone pass any sort of bills that would force anyone and compel them to pause.

So it's unlikely at this point that we are going to take a pause. But what the letter does show is that there is an understanding amongst the tech community that AI poses risks if we don't move carefully when we're creating these algorithms, making sure that we are accounting for things like bias.

LEMON: OK, so let me read some more of the letter. It said, "Should we automate away all the jobs, including the fulfilling ones? Should we develop nonhuman minds that might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete, and replace us?" That's really scary. "Should we risk loss of control of our civilization?"

I mean, it reminds me of a movie where how the computer is AI, right -- back from the late '60s -- and takes over and says basically, I'm going to do what I want and not follow the instructions of humans.

FISCHER: Yes, but the problem with that argument, Don -- and this is what technologists were telling us yesterday -- is that it's way, way, way too far off. This is like saying that the sky is falling. It's really not falling. We're still in a very, very early stage of implementing AI at that level into society.

And one of the things that the letter calls out -- it says we shouldn't be building AI that's more sophisticated than ChatGTP-4, which is the new AI program that OpenAI debuted two weeks ago. I mean, ChatGTP-4 is innovative, it's amazing. It can help generate text from images. But we're nowhere near it replacing all human jobs.

And so I think a lot of folks thought that line, in particular, was a little alarmist.

COLLINS: Yes, and also the idea that Congress is going to address this and they are just still struggling to get their hands around things like TikTok --

LEMON: TikTok.

COLLINS: -- and whatnot.

LEMON: You were reading my mind. How are they going to do this, right?

COLLINS: Yes. Sara Fischer, we know you'll stay on top of it. Thank you.

LEMON: Thanks, Sara.

FISCHER: Thank you.

COLLINS: Also this morning, has America's tipping culture gone overboard or it is just keeping up with the times? We actually want to hear from you on this. Tweet us here @CNNThisMorning. We're actually going to read your responses live on air.

LEMON: Chronic over-tipper here.

COLLINS: As long as they're nice.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:47:26]

LEMON: We are going to discuss now a big step towards addressing America's opioid crisis. The FDA approving the opioid overdose antidote Narcan for sales over the counter. The drug will soon be available on shelves, potentially saving thousands of lives.

CNN's chief medical correspondent, of course, is Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He joins us. Good morning, Sanjay. What kind of impact could this decision have?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, since we've been reporting on this over the last two decades more than a million people have died of drug overdoses and the majority of those are -- have been opioids.

I mean, people have been hearing these numbers for some time and the numbers have been getting worse. I mean, in 2020, you had some 69,000 people who died of opioid overdoses, specifically, and the numbers have gone up since then.

So, I mean, any strategy that could potentially be helpful is what people have been looking for in Narcan is essentially an antidote to an opioid overdose. It can block opioids from actually killing you.

Right now as things stand, Don, you can get Narcan in any pharmacy in the country. There is these access laws that allow you to get that without a prescription. What this is going to do -- and this will be by the end of summer -- is allow the Narcan to be purchased over the counter. So in the same place you buy your Tylenol or allergy medications and things like that you could get it there.

So would it make it more likely for people to buy the Narcan, put it in their medicine cabinet, and have it ready to go should some terrible overdose happen? That's the question. And the idea that could have an impact I think is pretty strong.

LEMON: Yes, but you have to know how to use it, Sanjay.

COLLINS: Yes.

LEMON: Can you walk us through how that works?

GUPTA: Yes. It's -- yes, absolutely.

First of all, you have to recognize when someone is in the throes of an overdose. You want to give this right at the beginning of an overdose. This is a nasal spray so you're just going to put it in their nostril and you're going to squirt the plunger.

But recognizing that someone is in an overdose is pretty important -- so things like small, constricted pupils. That's what opioids do. Other drugs, like stimulants -- alcohol, cocaine, mescaline, things like that -- ecstasy -- that will cause your pupils to be dilated. So small, constricted pupils -- that's a good sign it's an opioid overdose.

Obviously, someone who is falling asleep, who is -- you can't wake them up. They don't -- they're not conscious. The type of breathing may be different. All of those types of signs -- that will give you an indication someone is in an overdose.

And then basically, you put that plunger in -- they don't even have to be fully inhaling -- and you just squirt that in there and it can work very quickly. You still want to call 911 and you still want to get emergency personnel involved.

[07:50:02]

But that is a -- that is an opioid overdose rescue scenario that I've just described and it can be done pretty quickly just, frankly, by anybody.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, and that's something we've seen emergency workers use and people have in different places.

Sanjay, when it comes to drug overdoses what are other strategies and things that people will do when it comes to deaths if they don't actually have Narcan or something available to them?

GUPTA: Well, one of the -- one of the big things that we're seeing -- I visited this DEA lab recently, Kaitlan, and what we found is that they're employing all these different strategies, even in the field.

So someone who is a drug user -- and this is harm reduction, meaning that it's an acknowledgment that these drugs are being used -- let's reduce the harm as much as possible -- they are starting to advocate for test strips, for example.

Ninety-nine percent of the illicit drugs that are currently being seized have fentanyl in them. It's remarkable. I mean, it's something we barely talked about a few years ago and now all the illicit drugs have fentanyl in them. If you're not -- and that could be in your Adderall. It could be in your anti-anxiety medications. Places where you would not expect it all, they could be tainted with fentanyl. So one of the strategies is to allow people to start testing for this

-- test strips. Making them available in the field. So you could test your drug ahead of time for fentanyl and also for other things like xylazine, an animal -- a sedative drug. That is being used now to taint a lot of these drugs. So that's another strategy as well, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Wait, sorry -- can I just follow up on that? You're saying it can be found in people's Adderall and other drugs that people use. These are prescription drugs people are getting from their pharmacy or how is that -- how does that happen? How does that work?

GUPTA: No, no. I want to be clear on that -- illicit drugs.

COLLINS: OK.

GUPTA: So people who are buying those types of drugs on the street. I don't want to frighten people. I think if you're getting your drugs from a brick-and-mortar pharmacy that drug supply has generally been safe -- and luckily, thankfully.

LEMON: It's --

GUPTA: It's the illicit drugs, and there are lots of illicit pills out there.

LEMON: Hey, Sanjay, we're up against a clock. You know how this works. But just quickly, what if you're -- what if I'm wrong. What if someone is -- I think they are overdosing and I give them Narcan and they're not overdosing. Is there a danger there?

COLLINS: That's a good question.

GUPTA: Great question. No, there's not. I'll answer that simply. There's not a problem with giving it. If you're in doubt you should give the Narcan.

LEMON: OK, thank you. Thank you.

COLLINS: All right. We always learn so much. Thank you so much, Sanjay.

All right, it is MLB's opening day today. The league is rolling out big changes though before teams actually start playing ball. Andy Scholes is live with what to expect and what those changes look like.

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:56:57]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Clip from "The Sandlot."

(END VIDEO CLIP) COLLINS: One of the greatest movies of all time. We are just now a few hours away from the first pitch of the 2023 MLB season. The games will look different this year, though, as the league is trying to speed up baseball games by including a 15-second pitch clock that looks like this one.

Andy Scholes has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baseball is back and this year it's a whole new ballgame.

ALEX BREGMAN, THIRD BASEMAN, HOUSTON ASTROS: Well, we're definitely in the entertainment industry. We want to put the best product on the field for the fans.

JUSTIN VERLANDER, PITCHER, NEW YORK METS: If they want a faster-paced game they're going to get it.

SCHOLES (voice-over): In an effort to speed up the game, for the first time ever, Major League Baseball will have a pitch clock.

SCHOLES (on camera): So pitchers now have 15 seconds with no runners, 20 with runners on to start their wind-up before the clock hits zero or the batter gets a ball. Hitters, meanwhile, have to get in the box and be looking at the pitcher, ready to go by eight seconds or they get a strike.

DOMINIC SMITH, FIRST BASEMAN, WASHINGTON NATIONALS: There will be some freaky scenarios where games will be won and lost because of it, and it will upset some people.

HUNTER BROWN, PITCHER, HOUSTON ASTROS: You get a lot less of the batting glove fixing and stuff like that, and guys walking around the mound three times before they pitch. So yes, I'm in favor of it.

VERLANDER: I've been making sure that I'm on time and I think if anything I have a little more time than I thought.

BREGMAN: I've kind of changed my whole routine. I used to step out of the box and, like, look for a sign or something like that. But now I'm in the box the whole time.

SCHOLES (voice-over): Major League Baseball says they tested the clock in more than 8,000 Minor League games and so far, spring training games have lasted an average of 25 minutes less than last year.

SCHOLES (on camera): What are you going to do with your extra 25 minutes you get every night now?

BREGMAN: I don't know. I'm going to get to hang out with my own son. It's going to be nice.

SMITH: I'll get home quicker, so I get to spend some time with my family.

SCHOLES (voice-over): What else is new? The bases are all three inches bigger, which will give defenders more space and should lead to more stolen bases.

SCHOLES (on camera): Have you noticed any difference from the bases being bigger? Because we see a lot of bang-bang plays at first base.

SMITH: Yes.

SCHOLES (on camera): Who's got the advantage now?

SMITH: I think any time you shorten up the distance in between bases it's going to go to the runner.

DAVE MARTINEZ, MANAGER, WASHINGTON NATIONALS: I actually practiced picking it up so I could take it with me in case I have to get thrown out. So it's pretty big -- yes.

SCHOLES (voice-over): And gone is the shift. No longer will the shortstop or third baseman be able to play in right field against left-handed batters. They now have to stay left of second base.

DUSTY BAKER, MANAGER, HOUSTON ASTROS: It's going to cause teams to be more athletic. You won't be able to put just anybody here or anybody there and depend on the shift to make up for whatever deficiencies that they may have.

SCHOLES (voice-over): Fans we talked to say so far, they are happy with what they've seen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baseball is an investment of time. I liked the way it was and I'll like the way it's going to be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young kids aren't fans of baseball anymore, so I get it.

CHILD: It will make more fans come because before, the game used to take too long and people might have left early either because of the heat or it just got boring.

BREGMAN: With young kids being able to watch a full nine innings now, that's one way to bring the younger generation into the game and make sure more kids are going to the ballpark. There's a bunch of ways that we can make a difference in making a lot of kids love baseball and grow up wanting to be big leaguers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCHOLES: Yes, and the pitch clock and the new rules are arguably the biggest changes we've ever seen in baseball history.

[08:00:00]