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Syrian And Russian Jets Step Up Strikes On Rebel Forces; Continuous Glucose Monitors Rise In Popularity As A Wellness Tool; Ex- Detective Dies By Suicide Ahead Of Rape Trial; Driver Pleads Guilty To DUI After Killing Bride In Deadly Crash. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 02, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

JOSH ROGIN, COLUMNIST, THE WASHINGTON POST: Right.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: How does she play a role?

ROGIN: It's a complicating factor, to be sure, because not just Tulsi Gabbard, but RFK Jr., they think Assad's the better one. They think that the U.S. interests are served by keeping Assad there, and they think all the rebels are terrorists. Now, neither of those things is true, but you can imagine in a Trump cabinet that they would have an important voice.

So they're going to be telling President-elect Trump, hey, let's support Assad, OK? And then you'll have other people like Marco Rubio and Mike Walter say, oh no, that's crazy, you know, because he's a mass-murdering dictator, and the people don't want to live under a mass-murdering dictator. And I don't know which way Trump is going to go.

I hope he sides with the people who realize that Assad is the problem, not the solution, and that there could be no stability, much less peace in Syria, as long as Assad and the Russians are bombing everybody.

SANCHEZ: One of many foreign policy issues just in that region alone that the new administration is going to have to contend with. Josh Rogin, thanks so much for the analysis.

ROGIN: Anytime.

SANCHEZ: Up next, a new healthy trend that might promote some good habits, why some are voluntarily monitoring their blood sugar levels in real time. We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Continuous glucose monitors have been a game changer for people living with diabetes. It's a device that's used to help them monitor blood sugar levels constantly. Now, though, it's becoming a popular wellness tool for those who do not have diabetes.

CNN's Meg Tirrell wanted to find out what that means, how they work. And, Meg, you tried one out for six weeks. Tell us what you found. MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So, you know, these things are medical devices, typically, for people with diabetes requiring a prescription.

But earlier this year, they've been cleared for people without diabetes, and they're being marketed as wellness tools. So this is something that is attached to your arm, and you wear it continuously. It has a little wire that monitors your blood sugar.

And you can see your blood sugar levels on an app on your phone. The idea is that you can see your glucose reactions to different foods, to exercise, to sleep, to stress. And maybe that can help you make decisions that can make you healthier.

So as I tried this, one of the first things I experienced that surprised me was anxiety. I started seeing my reaction to eating an apple or something like that, and seeing the glucose go up relatively quickly. You can see my graph there. It's the second little purple increase. And I was being encouraged by the app to try to avoid those kinds of increases. And so I started trying to game the system and eat a string cheese first or hard-boil an egg.

And I had several episodes of hanger that my husband had to experience of me waiting for eggs to be ready so I wouldn't spike my glucose. That is not how these are recommended to be used. But I have talked with several experts who say that could be a worry.

If you're somebody who might be anxious around food or particularly have any history of eating disorders, maybe this is not something you should try. For other people, it can provide interesting insights. You know, I talked to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our colleague, and he says he has seen some spikes from certain foods that's made him want to avoid them. So it can be helpful, but you've got to know yourself before you do it, Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. Shout out to your husband. I love that.

So what does it say about whether it is really beneficial for people who do not have diabetes? Obviously, as you mentioned, there are some certain groups who maybe this isn't ideal. You don't want this to be something you're getting obsessive about.

But how could this help?

TIRRELL: Yes. So people have very strong opinions about this, but there's a big gulf in terms of what different sides of medicine think about how useful this is for people without diabetes. Some say, absolutely, you want to avoid those larger increases in glucose.

You want to avoid those long increases in glucose. Others say, well, if it's in the healthy range, what does that matter? It doesn't make you more likely to get type 2 diabetes later in life.

And the data just don't seem to be in on that yet. So it's fairly early. It can be an interesting experiment. But it's also important to note these cost about $89 per month. So it's not an inexpensive experiment to do either.

KEILAR: No, not cheap. But some people might find that to be a good price for this. We'll see.

Meg Tirrell, thank you so much for the experiential reporting. And we'll be right back.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: We have some breaking details on a story we've been following at CNN. The trial of a retired detective accused of kidnapping and raping vulnerable Black women decades ago will not happen after he was found dead in his Kansas home this morning. Sources tell CNN that 71- year-old Roger Golubski died by suicide, he had denied the accusations against him.

Let's go to CNN investigative reporter Scott Glover. Scott, jury selection was supposed to start today, but then obviously the defendant failed to show up.

SCOTT GLOVER, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yes, that's right. Yet another twist in a long and eventful story. I think this shocked everyone involved.

And, you know, this was a long-awaited day in court for Mr. Golubski's accusers. It was his chance if he chose to take the stand to attempt to clear his name. And now none of that's going to happen.

SANCHEZ: So Scott, where does the case go now?

GLOVER: Well, because he's deceased, you know, he's no longer a defendant. So this particular case ends. There is a second case against him, which may go to trial later next year that involves some other people. So some facts may, you know, see the light of day there.

In this one, which was this long-awaited trial where he was accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting two women under color authority, meaning he committed the crimes while acting as a police officer, you know, decades ago, while a detective with the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department. You know, the essence of the charges against him in this case, you know, that ends today in this courtroom.

[15:45:00]

And I think that will be a crushing disappointment to his accusers because, as I said, this was to be their day in court.

And, you know, prosecutors in pretrial motions had said that the sole centerpiece of their case will be victim credibility. These crimes were committed decades ago, typically in isolation. There are no witnesses. And, you know, this was their chance to come forward and say, this is what happened to me.

SANCHEZ: Scott Glover, thank you so much for the update. Quite a twist in that case.

A drunk driver accused of hitting and killing a bride on her wedding night has just pleaded guilty. The victim's widower addressing his late wife's killer in court just moments ago. Those details minutes away.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A crowd crush at a soccer match in the West African country of Guinea has killed at least 56 people. Many others are injured, according to authorities. Social media videos showed fans were scrambling to get out of the packed stadium yesterday.

Local media says that a series of referee decisions led to clashes between fans and security, followed by a stampede as people rushed to escape the stadium. The country's information minister said in a statement that investigations are underway into the cause of the catastrophe.

And this just in to CNN.

A South Carolina woman pleading guilty to driving under the influence after killing a bride and seriously injuring her groom as they were leaving their wedding reception. The judge is expected to sentence Jamie Lee Komoroski shortly. It's a trial that was scheduled to start tomorrow.

Let's go to CNN's Ryan Young, who's been following the case. Ryan, tell us about this.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Brianna, there's a team of us watching this trial as we speak, just trying to see what happens next. The testimony has been just super emotional. All of us have been watching closely.

And tell you, let's look back at April. This is when this happened in April of 2023. This family had just gotten married. It was 10 o'clock at night. They were in a golf cart. And all of a sudden, a car slammed into the back of the golf cart and kills the bride.

The emotion in court was so tough, so hard to listen to. Take a listen to the husband, Aric Hutchinson. Talk about the moment where he kissed his wife, his bride on the forehead before this accident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARIC HUTCHINSON, WIFE KILLED AFTER LEAVING THEIR WEDDING RECEPTION: That night, so she had to go alone. I saw you coming you had jumped off the golf cart so you would only run me over. And pray to god that you'd miss that golf cart. We did not get hit. We got rammed through at 65mph. There's no way any four of us any three of us, should be alive. All four of us should have died that night. But I'm a firm believer of Sam saved us. That's who she is. She really took one for all of us. Said, take me, save these guys. The guilt of that, that I live with, every single second of every day is unbearable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, Brianna, Samantha Miller was killed in that crash. I know the audio was a little muffled there as he was crying in court. But one of the things that we took away from this is they had a wonderful celebration, a wonderful celebration of love.

And as they were in the back of that golf cart, they were slammed into at 65 miles per hour. Only one person died and that was Samantha. The three others did survive.

Now, Aric is still going through a lot of trauma and he's obviously in a lot of pain and he's still getting physical therapy. But as you can imagine, this is really tore the family apart. Listen to Samantha's father talk about the pain that he deals with on a day-to-day basis and the fact that he can't make sense of any of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD WARNER, DAUGHTER KILLED WHILE LEAVING HER WEDDING RECEPTION: For the rest of my life, I'm going to hate you. And when I arrive in hell, if you come there, I'll open the door for you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Yes, tough sound. Jamie Lee Komoroski is being charged with DUI. Again, we thought this trial was going to start tomorrow. We now know she pled guilty. This is ongoing as we speak. So as soon as we find out sentencing, we'll of course tell you all about it.

But just imagine the emotion. All these family members ended up driving up on that scene of that wreck after she was slammed into and killed so viciously back in April of 2023 -- Brianna.

KEILAR: That was horrible. I remember when it happened. Ryan Young, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: After all the turkey and football, a trip to the local movie theater was a popular option this weekend and that led to some box office records being shattered. Disney's Moana 2, Universal's Wicked and Paramount's Gladiator 2 pulled off a holiday trifecta. The three blockbusters led the five-day opening weekend record to pull in $420 million since Sunday.

That destroyed 2018's record of $315.6 million. Moana 2 set the record for the highest grossing five-day opening surpassing last year's the Super Mario Bros. movie.

KEILAR: Yes, I saw that last one and I'll be seeing Moana 2 soon, I'm sure.

So you know it's that time of year, Boris, when dictionary websites tell us what the word of the year is, or in this case, words plural. Oxford University Press is the latest.

They picked a word that has no rizz, it's definitely not demure, but maybe it's a bit brat.

SANCHEZ: We're talking about "brain rot," of course. Oxford defines it as the supposed deterioration of a person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the result of overconsumption of material, now particularly online content, considered to be trivial or unchallenging. Apparently the use of brain rot went up 230 percent this year.

I'm not sure how they tracked that exactly, but it did beat out these other top five finalists.

[16:00:00]

Slop, dynamic pricing, romantasy, lore, and of course, the word you previously mentioned, demure.

KEILAR: Brain rot. Now I get it, because one of my kids used it and I thought, what is he talking about?

SANCHEZ: Brain rot.

KEILAR: I guess the kids are just --

SANCHEZ: Just scrolling and just scrolling.

KEILAR: I think someone at school used it, but you can see how it makes sense. Don't you think that it rots your brain? We always say like, don't watch the TV.

Your parents probably said that it'll rot your brain full circle here.

SANCHEZ: TV outside of CNN, NEWS CENTRAL, 1 through 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. And of course --

KEILAR: THE LEAD with Jake Tapper, which starts now.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much for joining us today.