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Justice Alito and Wife Secretly Recorded; Crime Drops Across U.S.; Testimony in Menendez Trial; RFK Jr. Gains Support in Wisconsin; Endorsement of Early-State Alzheimer's Drug; Animal Rights Group Vandalizes King Charles Portrait. Aired 8:30-9a ET
Aired June 11, 2024 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[08:30:00]
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And she talked about flags. On a secret recording, Justice Samuel Alito appeared to endorse a call to return our country to a place of godliness. A liberal activist and filmmaker presented herself as a religious conservative and secretly recorded the justice and his wife at a Supreme Court Historical Society dinner. The recording comes in the wake of the controversial flags being flown at Alito properties. And this is what Martha Alito had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTHA ALITO, WIFE OF JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO: I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag because I have to look across the lagoon at the pride flag for the next month.
LAUREN WINDSOR, LIBERAL DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER: Exactly.
ALITO: And he's like, oh, please don't put up a flag. I said, I won't do it, because I'm deferring to you. But when you are free of this nonsense, I'm putting it up, and I'm going to send them a message every day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BERMAN: Now, CNN has not obtained the full form of these recordings. We have also reached out to the Supreme Court for comment.
CNN's senior Supreme Court analyst, Joan Biskupic, is with us.
Martha Alito talking about flags on tape.
JOAN BISKUPIC, CNN SENIOR SUPREME COURT ANALYST: Yes, John, good to see you.
And Martha-Ann's comments certainly were provocative given the controversy over the flags that had flown at the Alito home that appeared connected to the January 6th rioters and the stop the steal movement.
But I want to focus on Justice Alito and what he said at this event and also how much it echoes where Justice Alito has been on religion. Justice Alito has acted as if religion is under siege. He's - he's said that in public comments before. He said that in his written opinions.
And, John, let's take a listen now to what Justice Alito said to this woman as she was surreptitiously recording him at the event last week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO, SUPREME COURT: One side or the other is going to win. There can be a, I mean, a way of working - a way of living together peacefully. But it's difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can't be compromised. They really can't be compromised. So, it's not like we're going to split the difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BISKUPIC: Yes, John, so, you know, again, just a little context on Justice Alito. Remember, he was the one who authored the Dobbs ruling two years ago that reversed all constitutional rights to abortion. He has been very outspoken against - especially - any kind of protection for LGBTQ rights. He's been against gay marriage. He has been very strong on issues that have a lot of, as I said, religious themes. So, that's - that's the context here.
And then after - after he wrote the Dobbs opinion, he even said in a speech at Rome that religious liberty is under attack from people everywhere, and especially people in power, which is somewhat ironic since he is in power.
But he - he did not respond to any of our requests for comment last night. But the Supreme Court Historical Society did. And let me just read what Jim Duff, who is head of the historical society, said. "We condemn the surreptitious recording of justices at the event, which is inconsistent with the entire spirit of the evening. Attendees are advised that discussion of current cases, cases decided by current sitting justices, or a justice's jurisprudence is strictly prohibited and may result in forfeiture of membership in the society."
But for us, John, for those of us who live in America under the rulings of the Supreme Court, what's important here is to know that this month the justices are about to issue rulings in so many important opinions and we'll need to - we want to see how Justice Alito's attitudes emerge in those rulings that will now set the law of the land.
John.
BERMAN: And interesting to hear his voice and really how different his voice was than that of Chief Justice John Roberts, who was also recorded. What he reportedly had to say, also fascinating.
BISKUPIC: Yes.
BERMAN: Joan Biskupic, great to see you this morning. Thank you very much. BISKUPIC: Thanks, John.
BERMAN: An historic drop in crime across the board. The brand-new statistics just out. And new hope in the fight against Alzheimer's disease as the FDA is poised to approve a new drug.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:38:46]
BERMAN: So, new data from the FBI shows violent crime in the U.S. is falling. The murder rate has dropped dramatically and could be headed for its largest annual decline ever.
CNN's Josh Campbell is with us now.
And, you know, Josh, crime is a lot like gas prices. We hear a lot about it when it's going up and not nearly as much when it's going down. And it seems to be going down a lot right now.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. I mean this trend that we're seeing now, very promising when we talk about violent crime, when we talk about murders. I'll get you straight to the numbers here. You can see this is based on new preliminary data from the FBI. They found in the first three months of this year murders are down 26 percent, reported rapes decreased by nearly 26 percent, aggravated assault is down, robberies or down. You look at property crimes, the same trend there. Burgers have dropped nearly 17 percent. Motor vehicle thefts have decreased about 17 percent. So, across the board in regions across the United States they're seeing these drops based on this initial data.
I particularly want to focus in on murders. Now, there's a caveat. Obviously, this is preliminary. The year isn't up yet. But murder, right now, is down by 80 percent in places like Boston, over 40 percent in cities like New Orleans, Seattle, Baltimore, and Philadelphia.
[08:40:03]
You know, murder spiked about 30 percent during the pandemic, but then started to fall. I've been talking with crime data analysts who say that if these numbers now hold, we could see a potential historic drop here throughout the rest of this year.
So, as we look at this trend, some - obviously some promising data when you look at crime across the country, John.
BERMAN: Look, this is the type of data that I imagine everyone is - is -
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFF ASHER, CO-FOUNDER, AH DATALYTICS: All of the evidence that we have so far is showing a - basically a double decline relative to what it was last year. At this point last year it was down about 10 or 11 percent. Now we're talking 19 or 20 percent. It's plausible that this will be by far the largest one-year decline in American history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAMPBELL: So that, obviously, one of the analysts that we were speaking with. And, you know, as you were saying there, John, I mean it - we often focused on a lot of different facts and figures in life. Nothing more personal than when we're talking about crime, whether it's crime that's impacting us, whether it's crime that it's impacting members of our community. Of course, we are hearing from people like the attorney general who are now speaking out touting these numbers. The attorney general saying yesterday in a statement that this continued historic decline in homicides does not represent abstract statistics. It represents people whose lives were saved, people who are still here to see their children grow up, to work toward fulfilling their dreams and to contribute to their communities.
We also heard the president come out with similar statements. Of course, this is a topic that can always be improved. You know, when we talk about crime, and so this is not - certainly not something to celebrate when there is work to be done. But when you look at that trend, particularly after the pandemic, when we saw so much violence, it's certainly moving in the right direction. And this is the type of trend that we've all been waiting for, John.
BERMAN: Good to hear. Good to see you. Josh Campbell, thank you very much for that.
Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Democratic Senator Bob Menendez will soon be returning to court where he is facing federal bribery charges. The prosecution's star witness will also then be back on the stand, which is New Jersey businessman Jose Uribe. He delivered damning testimony yesterday about the senator.
CNN's Jason Carroll following all of this. He's outside of the court.
What's going to happen today, Jason?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we're expected to hear more of what we heard yesterday, except the only difference is this time the defense gets its chance to question Jose Uribe. Yesterday he provided a lot of detailed information about conversations he said he had with Senator Menendez directly related to bribery.
Now, remember, Uribe is someone who wanted these criminal investigations in New Jersey to go away because they could have implicated people who he was very close to. He knew Nadine Menendez. He knew she needed a brand new car. And so he says he gave her $15,000 to buy a brand new Mercedes in exchange for the senator's influence. He talked about a dinner, for example, August 2019 where he says, I get to ask him, him meaning Senator Menendez, for the first time and explain what is worrying me so much. I ask him if there's anything in his power that he can do to stop these investigations. He says Menendez answered, he would look into it. Then, September of 2019, he says he was at Nadine Menendez's home. He says he wrote down the names of the people in question related to that investigation. He says he put it on a piece of paper. Senator Menendez folded it up and put it in his pocket.
Then, October 29, 2019, he says he got a call from Senator Menendez. And basically he told jurors that he felt as though that the situation had been settled. And he sort of choked up when he's talked about this, when he testified, because he felt like it was all over finally.
Then, at a dinner, Kate, in 2020, he says Menendez told him, I saved your ass twice. Not one but twice.
Now, Senator Menendez, for his part, has pleaded not guilty. He says there were no bribes that took place here. He says he was simply acting on behalf of his constituents.
So, his attorneys get a chance to cross-examine Jose Uribe later this morning.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: Wow. Good to see you, Jason. Thank you so much.
John.
BERMAN: All right, new evidence that independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is enjoying significant support in one crucial state.
CNN's Eva McKend reports from Wisconsin.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): On a 17-acre tree farm in Sackville, Wisconsin, Dale Stenbroten rides around the land with hope the 2024 election will bring monumental change.
In 2020 -
DALE STENBROTEN, KENNEDY CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: I voted for Trump.
MCKEND (voice over): But now he says the former president sounds like a broken record.
STENBROTEN: It's all about the election was rigged and the court system is rigged.
MCKEND (voice over): This year, the wedding venue owner, who plans to eventually transform his property into a wellness retreat, is all in for independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
STENBROTEN: Bobby's the first candidate who I've actually felt good about. I think a lot of people are very frustrated with voting for the lesser of two evils. [08:45:05]
MCKEND: Is that how you view the major party candidates?
STENBROTEN: Yes, absolutely.
MCKEND (voice over): A self-described conservative independent, Stenbroten shares Kennedy's vaccine skepticism and learned of him through Kennedy's work with the anti-vaccine group, Children's Health Defense.
The 62-year-old typically votes for Republicans, but he's attracted to Kennedy's anti-establishment message.
STENBROTEN: Ending the foreign wars, the financial corruption within our government agencies, and the fact that we can't trust our government agencies to do their jobs because they've been hijacked by corporate interests.
MCKEND: You don't think our government agencies can be trusted?
STENBROTEN: No, I don't.
MCKEND: Why?
STENBROTEN: Because they're bought and paid for.
KATIE ZIMMERMAN, KENNEDY CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: I found a video of RFK Jr. on YouTube.
MCKEND (voice over): Recent college grad Katie Zimmerman voted for President Joe Biden in 2020, but now she spends her Saturday mornings tabling at farmers markets, like this one in Wauwatosa, for the Kennedy campaign.
ZIMMERMAN: He's coming to all voters and saying, like, if you vote for me, like you'll be able to afford like to buy a house.
First is, I haven't necessarily heard Biden say things like that, that appeal to me.
MCKEND: If ultimately Trump gets re-elected, how would you feel about that?
ZIMMERMAN: I would not feel really great about that if he was elected into office. But I - I wouldn't necessarily feel any guilt because I was able to have a choice in who I wanted to vote for.
MCKEND (voice over): Doug DeNicola is a longtime Democrat who never thought he would find himself lobbying Trump supporters to switched to Kennedy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you think this guy's going to do for us?
DOUG DENICOLA, KENNEDY CAMPAIGN VOLUNTEER: Go to 24 - go watch what he's going to do. You haven't even given him a chance, so. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I figure, he doesn't have a chance anyways.
MCKEND: Is it hard to convince Trump supporters to vote for Kennedy?
DENICOLA: You know, I actually just appreciate that he was willing to stop and talk to me.
MCKEND (voice over): Fed up with political polarization, DeNicola thinks Kennedy can bring Americans together, and isn't worried about him taking votes from Biden or Trump.
DENICOLA: A person like Bobby Kennedy, who is really - has a message of unity, a message for all people, I think that's why he's going to actually pull a lot of voters from both sides.
MCKEND (voice over): Back on Dale's farm, I shared desire for unity to address a deeply divided country.
STENBROTEN: If we don't make some changes and find somebody who has creative solutions and somebody we can trust who wants to bring us together, we're going to be in a world of hurt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MCKEND (on camera): And, John, Kennedy's coalition of voters, they really span the political spectrum. Polling data indicates the largest contingent could actually be those who didn't support either candidate in 2020. So he's bringing new voters into the fold.
A lot of his support also comes from so-called double-haters. Those holding an unfavorable view of both Biden and Trump.
John.
BERMAN: All right, Eva McKend for us, fresh back from a trip to Wisconsin.
Eva, great to see you. Thank you.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: So, FEMA helps people in communities pick up the pieces after disaster strikes. But now the federal agency is facing a disaster of its own. The new warning that FEMA's disaster relief fund could run out of money by the end of summer.
And a driver was trapped at the bottom of a ravine. The lengths his own dog went to save him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[08:52:58]
BERMAN: So, new this morning, a panel of independent advisers to the FDA gave their approval to Eli Lilly's experimental Alzheimer's drug that still has to get full approval from the agency, but it has a lot of people excited.
Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, is here.
What are we talking about here, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.
Yes, potentially a big deal here. You know, there are no drugs to cure or to prevent Alzheimer's. So, what we're talking about here are medications that can slow the progression of symptoms once they start. And if this gets approved, this would now be the second drug that could do that sort of thing.
As you know, John, the FDA advisory committee, that's an independent committee, they make their recommendations. They recommended this be approved. The FDA usually follows their guidance. Not always. But this is certainly a good sign. And that approval could come by the end of the year.
So, for this particular study, they looked at 1,700 people, just over 1,700 people, between the ages of 60 and 85, and these were people who had mild cognitive impairment. So, this was early part of their diagnosis, early part of their disease, and they gave them this drug.
Now, what they found was that over time, over 76 weeks, that about a 29 percent reduction in cognitive decline. So, they got worse more slowly. It's not that they reversed the disease. It's not that they stalled the disease. They got worse more slowly, about 29 percent. So, that is the big number in terms of benefit the committee was paying attention to.
On the flip side of that, let me tell you quickly, John, is the risks. And there are risks to these drugs. Specifically something known as ARIA, which stands for Amyloid Related Imaging Abnormality. You don't need to remember that, but basically it's these bleeds that can occur in the brain in response to the drug. And what they found was about 37 percent of the people who were getting the medication, compared to placebo, 14 percent did have evidence of these - these changes in the brain related to the amyloid. Three people did die as well in that trial. So, that was something that committee looked at very, very closely and still determined that the benefits outweighed the risk, John.
[08:55:04]
BERMAN: Sanjay, two very important questions. Number one, how do you say the drug's named, because I can't make it out. I can't make sense of that. And, number two, how exactly does this one work?
GUPTA: Yes. So, Donanemab. And mab, which you hear at the end of a lot of these drugs, stands for monoclonal antibody. The other drug that I was talking about, Lecanemab, also a monoclonal antibody. And a lot of people know monoclonal antibodies because they learned about them during the pandemic. But you're essentially giving the antibodies as part of the drug. Let me show you this quick animation of how it works. You know, amyloid is this protein sort of plaque that builds up in the brain. When you give these medications, it can basically disrupt some of the building blocks of those plaques, not allowing them to form as well, or clearing them after they've already formed. So, that's - that's basically how these monoclonal antibody drugs work. And again, this might be the second one.
What is - I'll tell you one interesting thing about this - this trial. The - Eli Lilly is suggesting that they follow the amount of amyloid that people have in their brain. And if the amyloid clears, they suggest that maybe just stopping the drug. It's a monthly infusion. But they say, if the amyloid is gone, no need to continue taking the drug. When you typically think of the drugs, you think of them as lifelong for the rest of your life. Maybe not the case here. We'll see how the FDA weighs in on that.
BERMAN: Donanemab. Sounds like "Sesame Street" menamena (ph) to me, which is how I'll remember it from now on.
How many people are we talking about that this could benefit?
GUPTA: Hard to remember.
Yes, so you've got about - in the country you've got about 6 million people who - who have Alzheimer's disease, carry the diagnosis. But about a million who fall into that early stage category.
And again, keep in mind, someone goes in, they're now developing early symptoms, sometimes hard to diagnose, but potentially a million people taking the medication. Right now that is the population. We'll see in the future if some of these medications get approved for people who are further along in their diagnosis, who have got moderate or severe.
BERMAN: I know so many people take any promising news when it comes to Alzheimer's. They want it. They take it so seriously.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much for being with us. Appreciate it.
Kate.
BOLDUAN: And this just in, the official portrait of King Charles has now been vandalized. And there's video of it.
CNN's Max Foster, let's bring him in from London.
Max, what has happened? What is this?
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, is a - it's a pressure group and they are against cruelty on farms. So, this is the very famous painting, of course. It was famous because lots of people didn't like it, but lots of people did like it. It's Charles' first official portrait as king.
These activists came along, making the point that King Charles is patron of the RSPCA, as it's called, an animal welfare organization. And they have a assured (ph) farms scheme and the activists say those farms still are cruel to animals, some of them, so they want to get rid of this assured (ph) scheme. So, they're basically animal rights activists accusing the king of being hypocritical, overseeing an organization which isn't protecting animal rights. So, they created this cartoon characters, saying there's - there's cruelty on farms. And they used the British characters, cartoon characters, "Wallace and Gromit" for that. So, it's making lots of headlines.
This is the picture, Kate. You'll remember it. Lots of people describing it as some sort of hellscape or him bathing in blood. But it's become a very famous photo. It's become a really big thing on social media. So, they're getting lots of attention for it.
BOLDUAN: Also, I mean, it is an official portion of the king. I mean, or - is - are people in this group going to get in trouble for this. I mean let's - I think so because from what we can tell there isn't glass along the front of it either, but it does look as though, you know, no paint was used. There's certainly some glue that was used. I think it's certainly going to be seen as an act of vandalism.
And we've contacted the police, but it's only just happened. So, I think they're pretty early on in the investigation.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely.
All right, Max, thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
A new hour of CNN NEWS CENTRAL starts now.
BERMAN: Start the clock. As of this minute we believe the jury in the Hunter Biden trial is back deliberating. A verdict could come this morning.
Breaking this morning, a suspect arrested for stabbing four Americans in China. The video censored on Chinese social media. New questions this morning about what happened and why.
Health experts expressing concern that a bird flu outbreak in the United States could become a much bigger problem.
Sara Sidner is out today. I'm John Berman, with Kate Bolduan. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL.
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