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Prosecution Argues Shooter's Mother Ignored The Warning Signs; Vince McMahon Accused Of Sexual Assault And Abuse; Alaska Air Resumes 737 Max-9 Flights Today, United On Sunday; Battered New England Coast Part Of Extreme Weather Devastation. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired January 26, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And the jail's psychiatrist said, in an open courtroom -- I was in that courtroom -- that Ethan had said that he lied and that it wasn't true that he had asked his parents for help.

So, that's why the defense wanted Ethan to take the stand. And the judge is having an issue with that, the pleading the Fifth.

But there was even more today because there were texts that were shown to the jury, about on March 17th, that Ethan was at home alone and he was saying, "I feel the house is haunted. The bowls are flying. There's a demon. When are you going to call me back? Can you text me back."

Well, Jennifer was riding her horse at that moment.

And there's been a ruling the judge made that alcohol will not come into this trial. Because the parents did drink. There were alcohol bottles found in the house. But the jury is not to know that.

But the prosecution wanted a text that Jennifer sent to James around this time. Listen to this argument right here. Because alcohol is going to come into this trial.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not objecting to all of the texts. I'm objecting to the portions about alcohol.

MARC KEAST, OAKLAND COUNTY, MICHIGAN, ASSISTANT PROSECUTOR: OK, so the door has been opened. Council specifically said, I think more than once, that her client's a hypervigilant mother.

(CROSSTALK)

KEAST: Hang on.

Nobody says anything about having a cocktail. But when there's evidence to show that they are drinking when the son is texting to the mother, no call back. That's important. And it's important for the jury what they actually didn't spend their time on. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I see the texts?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: So, what the judge is going to allow is for the jury to see the texts where Jennifer is texting her husband, same day, a little earlier, "I'm going to get drunk and ride my horse."

Because the judge believes it shows child neglect. Because she never responded to Ethan when he was so scared as a 15-year-old in that house alone, believing he was having delusions.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: "I'm going to get drunk and ride my horse." Wow.

Jean, this morning the judge told the defense that she is not going to allow the shooter to take the stand if he intends to plead the Fifth. Walk us through that.

CASAREZ: Well, the defense, as I said, once Ethan Crumbley himself to come to this courtroom to clarify some things. Because if he lied on those texts, they want him to admit that in that courtroom for the defense.

ell, the appellate attorneys have made it known that Ethan will plead the Fifth if he comes into this courtroom. That he will not say anything to incriminate himself because there's an appeal on his sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

It's the harshest punishment in Michigan. And his brand-new appellate attorneys are going to fight to get it decreased.

So, the judge says, if we know already he's going to plead the Fifth, I'm not going to allow you to put him on the stand.

So it appears as though that's how it goes right now. We'll see what happens.

Boris, I've seen before that the defendant convicted is brought to the courthouse. The jury goes out of the room. He is put on the stand to see exactly what he will say when he's on the stand, out of the presence of the jury.

But remember, Ethan and his mother, they haven't seen each other in two years. That could impact the whole situation.

SANCHEZ: Yes, the personal dynamics in this family now --

CASAREZ: Yes.

SANCHEZ: -- shown in the courtroom.

Jean Casarez, thank you so much for the update.

Brianna? BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: WWE founder, Vince McMahon, is vehemently

denying some very disturbing allegations from a former employee who claims that he sexually assaulted, physically abused, and trafficked her to men inside and outside the company. The woman has filed a lawsuit.

And this is coming just over a year after McMahon was the subject of another misconduct investigation when he was WWE's chairman and CEO.

CNN business and politics correspondent, Vanessa Yurkevich, has reviewed the complaint here.

Vanessa, explosive allegations here. What more can you tell us about them? And how McMahon is responding to them.

VANESSA YURKEVICH, CNN BUSINESS & POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: Disturbing, graphic, detailed. Seventy pages in this complaint by Janel Grant against Vince McMahon.

She alleges that he sexually assaulted her, that there were physical abuse and she was trafficked to other men inside the company and outside the company.

She says that during her time trying to get a job with WWE, it became very clear that this would be an exchange of a job for a sexual relationship with Vince McMahon.

Later, she says that she was then trafficked to other men inside the company and outside the company.

She details one sexual assault, one alleged sexual assault, where Vince McMahon and another gentleman, who works for the company, locked her in a room and assaulted her.

Now, Janel Grant worked for the company for about a year. But she ended up leaving and signing an NDA in exchange for $3 million. She said she was paid about $1 million of that deal.

[13:35:04]

Vince McMahon, though, we know, is a very powerful individual in the sports world.

He no longer works for WWE as part of an investigation that took place. But he does work for a TKO. And some folks may know that name because TKO is the parent company of WWE. They just announced a lucrative deal with The Rock and Netflix.

These allegations, explosive.

KEILAR: Huge.

All right, Vanessa, we know you'll continue to follow this. Vanessa Yurkevich, thank you.

When we come back, U.S. Olympian Mikaela Shiffrin hospitalized after this scary looking crash. The most successful alpine skier of all-time seen limping before being taken away by ambulance. We're going to update you on her condition.

And Alaska Airlines saying it plans to bring back the 737 Max-9 today. This comes after that horrific mid-flight blowout that forced the FAA to ground it. The president of the Association of Flight Attendants is going to join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:31]

SANCHEZ: Taking off in less than four hours, Boeing 737 Max-9. Alaska Airlines said it has followed the FAA's intensified inspection criteria and now plans for the first Max-9 flight to depart Seattle.

The Max-9s have been grounded, you might recall, since early January when a door panel blew off a plane at 16,000 feet. The fridge-sized hole left behind sucked socks off feet, phones out of hand, even the shirt off a child, according to passengers on board.

Let's discuss now with Sara Nelson. She's president of the Association of Flight Attendants.

Sara, thanks so much are being with us.

What are you hearing from flight attendants for Alaska Airlines about returning to the Max-9?

SARA NELSON, PRESIDENT, ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: Alaska flight attendants are extremely upset with Boeing's executives, that they never should've been put in this position in the first place.

But we are out in the rooms and working with the company to make sure that they have full information about the inspections, about the maintenance updates in order to return these aircraft to service.

This isn't where this ends, obviously. We're going to have to keep working. And we want to make sure that flight attendants have all of the information necessary to explain the safety of these flights, of these planes returning to service to the passengers, and feel comfortable themselves getting back on the plane.

So there's a lot of apprehension that we're dealing with. But we're getting through it with the (INAUDIBLE).

SANCHEZ: Were the flight attendants that are set to fly on the Max-9 today given any extra guidance on how they should comport themselves, what to look out for, what to tell passengers?

NELSON: Mostly what to tell passengers and what was done in terms of the inspections and the maintenance updates as it is required by the FAA.

And I want to commend FAA Administrator Michael Whitaker who's taken a very, very strong approach to this and made sure that he is right on top of it, demanding that these inspections are fulsome and that we -- that we can have a lot of confidence as pilots and flight attendants getting back on these planes to get back in the air.

The flight attendants have to fully understand that so that they can feel comfortable too. And we're making sure that that is happening.

SANCHEZ: What was your message or your group's message to those members that were hesitant to get back on board the Max-9 last night?

NELSON: Well, look, we have been supporting the crew of 1282 who we have to commend. Because no one died here. And this could've been very different if we had not had the professional work of those pilots and flight attendants on board.

And this is an experience that that crew never should've experienced. No should've ever experienced. Or the terrifying moments that those passengers went through on that flight.

So we've had a lot of work to do just to support that crew. But also, the other flight attendants and pilots who could have been working that flight.

And there has been a lot of work to help them understand that we're working very closely with the NTSB, through the investigation, making sure that we're putting forward recommendations to make sure this never happens again.

Working with the FAA very closely to make sure that there is continued oversight, greater oversight in terms of getting these aircraft certified in the first place but also in the production lines.

So, the follow-through here with the FAA and the NTSB in recommendations coming out of this investigation is very important, and an important part of feeling confident about getting back on a Boeing aircraft.

The people at Boeing, the engineers and the maintenance people, those are all wonderful people. And the problem here has been in the C- suite. That needs to be completely replaced along with Boeing's board.

We need to focus on -- we need to focus on investing in that great brand and in the people at Boeing who can create great aircraft but have been unable to do their jobs because of shareholder capitalism.

SANCHEZ: Sara Nelson, we appreciate you sharing your perspective with us. Just watching that video, it's crazy. As you noted, we're fortunate that no one was actually hurt.

Thanks, Sara.

NELSON: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Brianna?

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we are watching this hour.

The winningest skier of all-time losing control and crashing into a fence during a women's downhill event in Italy. We're talking about Mikaela Shiffrin, who was taken by ambulance to a clinic. The U.S. ski and snowboard team says it looks like she avoided a major injury, thankfully.

[13:44:57]

And the parents of a University of Idaho student murdered in 2022 will attend a hearing today for the suspect. Brian Kohberger charged with four counts of first-degree murder for allegedly killing Kaylee Goncalves and three of her roommates.

He's trying to get the indictment dismissed. Kaylee Goncalves' parents telling ABC they want a trial date set as soon as possible.

And the Federal Trade Commission is warning dozens of funeral homes to stop misleading grieving customers or will face hefty penalties. The agency conducted an undercover phone sweep for more than 250 funeral homes across the country.

Some did not answer pricing questions over the phone as required while others gave inaccurate information. The FTC says funeral homes that don't comply could pay more than $50,000 per violation.

We do have some breaking news now. Jury deliberation have begun in the civil defamation trial against former President Trump.

The jurors have to decide the price tag for defamatory statements that Trump made about E. Jean Carroll when he was president. The plaintiffs is seeking tens of millions of dollars in damages.

We're monitoring this. We're going to bring you much more on the case next hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:50:56]

KEILAR: Few places are as beautiful as the rugged coast of Maine, or as vulnerable. Its sea level is set to rise by a foot and a half here in the next 25 years, four feet by the year 2100.

But rising tides are already devastating coastal areas slammed this month by two monster storms.

CNN's Bill Weir is in Portland, Maine, with the details on this.

Bill, what are you seeing and hearing from the people there?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, usually, I'm doing sea level rise stories in the tropics somewhere. Normally, Mainers and especially those who work on the water don't complain about much, especially on days like this.

But things are changing so quickly up here, there's mounting pressures and there's a lot of thought about the future.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WEIR (voice-over): On a planet warmed to record highs by fossil fuel pollution, the Gulf of Maine is among those corners of earth overheating the fastest. This is driving lobster and cod further offshore, making it harder to make a living off of the sea.

But then the warming climate brought another devastating blow this month.

(WIND SOUNDS)

WEIR: Two of them, actually. Back-to-back, freakishly wet winter storms that came not from the typical northeast, but from the south. And at record high tide, a combination that brought down wharves and docks that have been part of the landscape for generations.

WEIR (on camera): So, this is -- was what that was there?

GUY BAKER, HARPSWELL, MAINE, LOBSTERMAN: Yes, the whole building.

WEIR: No way. This is -- that's what's left of it.

BAKER: Yes. Just generations and generations of stuff. And, you know, there's a lot of memory down there.

WEIR (voice-over): Meanwhile, in South Portland, the storm surge took three iconic fish shacks built on Willard Beach 136 years ago.

MAYOR MISHA PRIDE, SOUTH PORTLAND, MAINE: Pretty obvious they're gone, you know. If you've never been here before, you might not have a clue.

WEIR (on camera): Who wouldn't know, right? But that --

PRIDE: And they didn't leave any kind of impression up there either. There's no --

WEIR: No trace.

PRIDE: There's no trace of them whatsoever. So, the only impression we have is an emotional one.

WEIR: It's in here, right?

(voice-over): The storms buried the last high-water record, literally.

PRIDE: Down there in the hull is the 1978 blizzard high watermark.

WEIR (on camera): Is that right?

PRIDE: That's right. It was covered by sand in this most recent storm.

WEIR (voice-over): But all of this is what happens after just seven and a half inches of sea level rise in the last 100 years. And scientists telling Maine to brace for much more in the next 25. HANNAH BARANES, RESEARCHER, GULF OF MAINE RESEARCH INSTITUTE: Maine is preparing for a foot and a half of sea level rise by 2050 and four feet by 2100.

Mainers are resilient. So, there are people who are experiencing devastating intergenerational loss right now.

And almost in the same breath, they are recognizing the realities of climate change and saying, how high and how strong do I need to rebuild, or do I rebuild at all?

WEIR (on camera): Were you insured?

BAKER: No, no insurance. It's so expensive for insurance for anything over the water.

WEIR: Yes.

BAKER: So, like me and whoever, you just can't afford it.

WEIR (voice-over): Monique Coombs advocates for fishermen, which, these days, includes sounding the alarm of a growing mental health crisis.

MONIQUE COOMBS, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNITY PROGRAMS, MAINE COAST FISHERMEN'S ASSOCIATION: You have memories there. You learn to fish there. Your kids learn to fish there. And then these storms come along and it's completely gone.

That coupled with your community changing because now there is more mansions than there are fish houses, that takes processing. That's a sense of loss and grief and a way of life that's, sort of, fading.

And it's -- we're in a precarious position in the industry right now, but fishermen are some of the most resilient people I know. They are stubborn, which is a blessing and a curse, and they are really good problem solvers.

So, if anybody can build back after storms, if anybody can contend with climate change, I think it's those guys and gal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WEIR: Maine is really on the cutting edge of climate preparedness. Hannah, the scientist, was telling me, when she goes to communities to share data, she starts with a lecture on climate change. They're like, we get it, we know, what's next?

[13:55:00]

This state leads the nation, by far, in adapting heat pumps, Brianna. They blew past the record here. So it will be interesting to watch this place as they show us how to adapt to these scary new days.

KEILAR: Yes, take our lessons there from the northeast.

Bill Weir, fantastic report. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.

Jury deliberations in former President Trump's civil defamation trial are now underway. The jury has had the case for about 15 minutes now and we are going to bring you the very latest developments next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)