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New CEO of Red Lobster is 35-Year-Old Millennial; Eli Lily Lowers Cost of Popular Weight Loss Drug; Karen Read Sued by Family of Boyfriend She's Accused of Killing; RFK Jr. Had Long History of Attacking Trump Before Endorsing Him; British Rock Band Oasis Announces 2025 Reunion Tour. Aired 3:30-4p ET
Aired August 27, 2024 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[15:30:00]
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Tell us about him.
NATHANIEL MEYERSOHN, CNN CONSUMER REPORTER: Yes, Boris, so we have a fascinating choice here for the next CEO of Red Lobster. Adamolekun is 35 years old, so he's a millennial. And you know, employees are going to have to keep up with him. He wakes up at 4 in the morning every day, has said that his work is his life, which is an interesting kind of sentiment coming at a time when more people are focused on work- life balance. He was also the CEO of PF Chang's and came in during the pandemic in 2020. And we see sales increase the last couple of years. So did a good job kind of turning around PF Chang's. But is going to have his work cut out for him here at Red Lobster.
SANCHEZ: To that point, Nathaniel, do we know what his plans are for the chain?
MEYERSOHN: So Boris, it's still a little bit too early to know. But you know, Red Lobster, they filed for bankruptcy last year. They've been closing stores. So last year, they had about 650 stores. Now they're down to about 540 stores, so nearly 100 store closures. And you know, Red Lobster is about double the size of PF Chang's, so it's going to be a more difficult challenge for Adamolekun.
One thing, of course, though, he's going to have to avoid is the endless shrimp deal, that endless shrimp deal last year, which cost Red Lobster about $11 million in losses. So you know, Adamolekun is going to have to stay away from that. He's got a little playbook to work with.
Customers love the all-you-can-eat shrimp, but certainly very difficult for the bottom line.
SANCHEZ: The endless shrimp fiasco of 2023, a warning for business majors moving forward for generations. Nathaniel Meyerson, thank you so much for the update --Brianna.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Drugmaker Eli Lilly is now offering cheaper single-dose vials of its popular weight-loss drug, Zepbound. This might help with endless shrimp, by the way. This is promising news for anyone wanting to try the drug, but who can't afford it. Eli Lilly says the move to single vials will actually allow for much greater supply of Zepbound amid shortages brought on by its high popularity.
We have CNN's Jacqueline Howard with us now on this story. All right, so how much is this going to cost and who would qualify for a discount here?
JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, Brianna, this is specifically for patients who are paying the full out-of-pocket cost. And these are for patients who did not qualify for Eli Lilly's assistance program. Now, how much these new starter doses will cost?
We know that the four-week supply for a supply of 2.5 milligrams in each vial, that will be $399. A four-week supply of vials containing five milligrams will be $549. These costs are much lower than what the original list price was for Zepbound, which was $1,059.87. So these are the differences we're talking about here.
And with these weight loss drugs, you typically start with a smaller dose. So the 2.5 milligrams would typically be the starter dose, and then you work your way up to a larger dosage. But Brianna, this is Eli Lilly's answer to try to meet that high demand that we're seeing among patients and to make their drug more accessible when it comes to costs specifically for those patients who, again, don't qualify for the assistance program.
With similar weight loss drugs like semaglutides, you see on the screen here, prescriptions for semaglutides, they went up 40-fold in the past five years. That's the kind of demand that we're seeing when it comes to these popular diabetes and weight loss drugs -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Will other drug makers follow suit here? Could you see single- dose vials of Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro?
HOWARD: That's what will be interesting to watch out for, Brianna, in the weeks to come. If this approach, if this model proves successful for Eli Lilly, we might just see other companies, like those behind semaglutides like Ozempic and Wegovy, following suit. Zepbound is a tirzepatide, but again, similar weight loss drugs that fall under the semaglutide category.
That's where we may see similar approaches, but we can't predict the future. We'll have to see what happens in the weeks to come.
KEILAR: All right, this may be a test case. Jacqueline Howard, thank you for that.
And coming up, new legal trouble for Karen Read, the Boston woman who made headlines after standing trial in her police officer boyfriend's murder.
[15:35:00]
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SANCHEZ: A New England woman whose sensational murder trial and the death of her police officer boyfriend ended in a mistrial is now being sued by his family. The family of Boston police officer John O'Keefe filed a wrongful death suit against Karen Read and against two bars where she allegedly was drinking. Prosecutors claim that after leaving the bars, Read ran over O'Keefe in a drunken state, then left him behind for dead.
CNN's Jean Casarez is here with the details. Jean, walk us through this lawsuit.
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a civil suit, and so they are asking for justice, and the only form can be through monetary damages. But they're saying that Karen Read herself, along with two bars, caused the death of John O'Keefe. And it's the whole family that's suing.
[15:40:00]
Including two children that John O'Keefe actually had taken in legally when his sister and brother-in-law died unexpectedly two years before John O'Keefe died. He was raising them as a single dad.
But the facts are very specific, and let's look at some of the facts that they allege in this civil complaint. First of all, they say that the first bar that Karen Read went to was C.F. McCarthy's, and she was there from about 9 to 10:30 at night on January 28, 2022, and they served her seven drinks.
They say she was visibly intoxicated. She walked out of that bar after that with one of those drinks, the last one conceivably, in her hand. She went on to the Waterfall Bar, and John O'Keefe was there. But the bar kept serving her, and she had a shot and another drink. They said she was visibly intoxicated there. She left the bar. John O'Keefe left also. They were separated about a minute from leaving the bar. And she got in the driver's seat of her car, knowing she was intoxicated and shouldn't be driving. John O'Keefe was her passenger.
She drove them to an after-party house. John O'Keefe got out. The complaint alleges that she then hit him and left him for dead.
And specifically, it says here, Read should have known leaving O'Keefe outside in the blizzard would likely result in serious injury or death. And the allegation is intentionally caused the death, negligently caused the death, gross negligence caused the death. But they're asking for compensatory and punitive damages from all three defendants here.
Now, I contacted one of Read's criminal counsels last night, and she does not have a civil attorney yet. She's in the midst of that aspect of this. Now, Read's side has been that it was completely different, that she was framed, that she didn't commit any type of criminal act.
And actually, John O'Keefe was killed by his own friends, police buddies that were inside that after-party house. They were there along with their own families. But as the civil trial is now commenced, the criminal trial looks like it will have a retrial in January.
SANCHEZ: Jean Casarez, thank you so much for the latest from New York. Actually, one quick question for you, Jean. You mentioned that we
should expect charges to start a new trial in January. Tell us more about what exactly she would be facing.
CASAREZ: Well, there's a little bit of controversy here. So the judge has determined there will be a retrial on all of the original charges, but the defense had asked to dismiss at least some of the charges because several of the jurors came up to them following the mistrial that was declared, saying, you know, when we were in that room, we voted as a unit for acquittal on second-degree murder and leaving the scene of a deadly accident. And she shouldn't be retried on this, these jurors told the defense.
And so the defense says she shouldn't be retried, but the problem is the jurors never told the court. There was nothing in writing. They put nothing on the verdict form.
No one, prosecution or defense, asked any questions when the jury came in saying we cannot reach a resolution of unanimity in this case. And so the judge has determined it will go forward with all three charges. Now, the defense can appeal this ruling and all odds are they will appeal this ruling to higher courts in Massachusetts.
So whether the late January date will stand or not, or if it will be retried with all of the counts is left to be determined, but this is an aggressive defense team. And I don't think that they will just allow that trial court ruling to be the final one.
SANCHEZ: Jean Casarez, thank you so much -- Brianna.
KEILAR: We are following some important climate stories from across the globe. First to Sudan where flash flooding has destroyed entire villages, including more than 12,000 homes. At least 132 people are dead, including more than two dozen who died after a dam collapsed. Sudan is considered one of the world's most climate vulnerable nations.
In the meantime, in drought stricken Spain, tap water along parts of the coast has become too salty to drink. Officials say a drop in groundwater in the Alicante region has allowed seawater to seep in and contaminate the area's drinking water. Summer tourism has only exacerbated the problem and for now there is no relief in sight. No rain is in the forecast for the foreseeable weeks.
And in the Pacific, the United Nations warns of a quote, unimaginable catastrophe as sea levels rapidly rise. The rate in the Pacific specifically now outpacing the global average. Two new U.N. reports show oceans have absorbed 90 percent of manmade global heating and if that heating front continues, Pacific Islands could see at least a half a foot of additional sea level rise by 2050 while the Pacific Islands are most vulnerable, they only account for 0.02 percent of global emissions.
[15:45:05]
Just last month, he called Donald Trump a quote, terrible president and said he was incapable of governing. Today, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is being named to Trump's transition team after he endorsed his campaign. So what's behind the sudden reversal?
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KEILAR: Just days after endorsing Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is now joining the Trump transition team. His sister, Kerry Kennedy, had some very critical words on CNN this morning when it came to her brother's endorsement of Trump.
Here they are.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[15:50:00]
KERRY KENNEDY, SISTER OF RFK JR.: Were he alive today, the real Robert Kennedy would have detested almost everything Donald Trump represents. His lying, selfishness, racism, hatred, fascist sympathies, deliberate misinformation about vaccines.
I'm frankly outraged and disgusted by Bobby's, my brother's gaudy and obscene embrace of Donald Trump.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: It wasn't that long ago, just last month in fact, that RFK Jr. himself used to feel the same way about Donald Trump. CNN's Tom Foreman is here with us. Tom, joining the Trump team, a pretty big 180 for RFK Jr., who's had some choice words for the former president.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you can understand the shock of his family. You could even understand the shock of his fans. Look at some of the things that he has been saying about Donald Trump over past years, over past weeks, over past months.
Look at that, bully, terrible president, threat to democracy. He's all about xenophobia. He's bigoted. He's full of prejudice, scary, appalling. He's full of hatred. These are the words, quoting words, that he has used to describe Donald Trump.
And when you put them in sentences, look at some of the exact phrases that he has said about Donald Trump during this period of time, when he has really gone on the attack and said, this is not a man who's suited to be president -- I think we're going to bring those up. Everybody knows the difference between leadership and bullying.
That's what he said back in 2018.
And President Trump has a weakness for swamp creatures, especially corporate monopolies. They're lobbyists and they're money.
He said that in June.
What are you saying? Donald Trump has failed in his mission to drain the swamp and do all of these things. In fact, it is such an about face from where he is that you find yourself saying, yes, I understand the family. I understand anybody saying, how did you get here?
And yet, there he is, standing up saying, Donald Trump stands for freedom of speech and things that I value.
KEILAR: And Tom, what is up with this whale story?
FOREMAN: The whale story, the whale story. The whale story is an old story. It dates back to many years ago.
Back in 2012, RFK Jr.'s daughter, Kick, gave an interview to Town & Country where she said there was a dead whale that washed up on the beach when she was six years old. Her father heard about it. They rushed out to the beach where he chain sawed off the head of the whale, having some interest in skull formation or something, strapped it to the top of their van, and then went riding down the road with, as she described it, this disgusting whale juice running down the car while people rode by flipping them off.
That's the story of the whale. He's got a bunch of peculiar animal stories in his background. Now there are groups out there saying, wait a minute, this should be prosecuted. You can't collect parts of whales and go carrying them around.
The main thing about this is, main thing about this is, whatever Trump's team think they get out of pulling him as an ally and talking about him as maybe a cabinet member, that sort of thing, this does nothing to shoo away that cloud of weird that has been attached to their team. In fact, it just seems to make it a little more dense.
SANCHEZ: Really quick, Tom, let's take a step back. An interest in whale skulls is what they're --
FOREMAN: Well, yes, I mean, look --
SANCHEZ: -- was the motivation here?
FOREMAN: Yes, I guess. I mean, it's kind of like -- maybe it's kind of like when you were a kid and you were fascinated by. You found something, you know, you're like, oh, here's a deer antler out in the woods or something. I don't know, but a whale skull? That's pretty intense.
SANCHEZ: Like a deer antler in the woods? I don't know. I don't know, that's a little different.
KEILAR: Generous Tom, as always.
SANCHEZ: Yes, generous Tom.
FOREMAN: I try to be understanding, but I don't know. Whale skull goes by on the road and you're driving there. I don't know.
KEILAR: The smell, I can't, I can't with the smell.
FOREMAN: Yes, I would guess it's not pleasant.
SANCHEZ: To each their own.
KEILAR: Tom, thank you so much.
FOREMAN: You're welcome.
KEILAR: Backbeat, the word is on the street that the band is getting back together. Next, everything we know about the Oasis Reunion Tour.
[15:55:00]
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SANCHEZ: Wonder no more. After a 15 year hiatus, Oasis is getting back together. So don't look back in anger.
The British rock group posted this video on their website with a slew of concert dates set for next year. Brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher feuded for decades before the band ultimately imploded famously in 2009.
KEILAR: CNN entertainment reporter Lisa Respers France is with us now on what may be our favorite story of the day. All right, Lisa, it appears the pair, they've set aside their differences or they've been compelled to. What are they saying?
LISA RESPERS FRANCE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, if you look at their statement, they're leaning into the fact that we know that they were the Cain and Abel of British pop rock. They say, you know, that the guns have fallen silent. They're getting this kind of war imagery.
The stars have aligned. The great wait is over. Come see, it will not be televised.
So they're getting people super excited. I'm excited. What about you guys? Are you guys excited for it?
SANCHEZ: Yes, it was kind of fun to watch them feud if I'm being honest. They had great music, but the entertaining thing was always like, even in performances, one of them being really angry at the other and like not talking to each other, throwing things. To me, that was the cool part about Oasis.
KEILAR: Yes, but I'm definitely getting some high school vibes that I kind of like. I'm digging it. OK, Lisa, it does have us thinking though, which groups do we want to see getting back together?
What about you?
FRANCE: Oh, for me, it's got to be NSYNC. I feel like Justin Timberlake owes that to us and he needs it as much as we need NSYNC to get back together. What about you all?
KEILAR: I think so. He needs it too, I think.
SANCHEZ: It might be a good time.
KEILAR: We have a joint one actually. Actually I think we agree on these, but we especially agree on --
SANCHEZ: For me, it's the Fugees. They were supposed to actually start on tour like this month and then a tour that had been postponed because of COVID and then postponed and then postponed and then now it just got canceled, but it'd be great to see them back on stage. So much talent there. Yes, it'd be a lot of fun.
[16:00:00]
KEILAR: And Simon and Garfunkel.
SANCHEZ: Yes. A lot of good memories with Simon and Garfunkel.
I remember cruising in Miami with the windows down as a teenager in my car, just trying to get attention. Blasting Sound of Silence.
KEILAR: I am a rock. I am an island.
SANCHEZ: I'm kidding, I'm kidding. That's a total joke.
KEILAR: That is interesting.
SANCHEZ: I know none of their music. I know none of their music.
KEILAR: Oh, really?
SANCHEZ: I just like saying Garfunkel. It's a cool name.
KEILAR: You want to see Simon and Garfunkel, right, Lisa?
FRANCE: Of course. You guys have great taste in music. We have got to party together. That's all I'm saying.
SANCHEZ: You're welcome any time up here to NEWS CENTRAL, Lisa. Always great to see you.
KEILAR: "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.
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