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New Details on Shooter's Family Emerge as Police Look for Motive; Luigi Mangione Charged With Murder as Act of Terrorism; Parts of Trump's Deportation Plan Echo Obama's. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired December 18, 2024 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: A turbulent family life in a T-shirt with links to the Columbine massacre. New details as police try to answer how a teenage girl became a school killer.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Intended to evoke terror. We have new reporting this morning on the rare first three murder charge just filed in New York against Luigi Mangione as he is getting ready to head back into court.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Waiting is the hardest part, as Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers put it. If that's so, then life just got harder for the two astronauts stuck in space. Their return has been delayed again.

I'm Sara Sidner with Kate Bolduan and John Berman. This is CNN News Central.

BERMAN: We have new details this morning on what is being called the Wisconsin school shooter's apparent turbulent home life. The Washington Post reports court documents reveal the teen's parents were divorced and remarried multiple times, and that a custody agreement sometimes forced her to move between their homes very two to three days. This as we're now seeing the first photo of the shooter posted by her father at a gun range in August wearing a black T-shirt with the name of the band KMFDM. Those song lyrics, whose song lyrics, were cited by the students who carried out the Columbine Massacre in 1999.

Overnight, a vigil was held for the victims. Police so far have not named the student and teacher killed, but CNN did learn this late last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGEL BRUBE, STUDENT AT ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: The teacher, yes, I did know her and she was a really good person.

LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Had you had her as a teacher?

BRUBE: Yes, many times before.

She was always very kind and caring.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. Our Whitney Wild is in Madison, Wisconsin, covering this from the beginning. Whitney, what's the latest on the investigation this morning?

WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as they move into this investigative phase, there are so many more questions to answer and police are really working backward from the incident to figure out how this happened.

As you mentioned, The Washington Post has obtained court records that detail a particularly turbulent childhood. As part of that, John, she -- as you mentioned, her parents had been married and divorced several times. As part of one of the custody agreements, well, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow, who went by Sam, was enrolled in therapy.

And the custody agreements for a child were pretty turbulent, John. What was described by The Washington Post in those court records is custody agreements that sometimes forced Natalie to move between homes every two to three days. So, quite a bit to learn more there, John.

Law enforcement still has not released any details about who the lawful owner of the gun is. They've said that the ATF has traced the firearm but they have not described who -- again, who was the lawful owner and how that 15-year-old was able to obtain that gun.

We are also learning more from fellow students about Natalie Rupnow's time at Abundant Life Christian School. We spoke with one child whose locker was right next to hers and she said this, John, she didn't really have a friend group. She's new this year. She's a freshman. She went by Sam. And this child described as being surprised that Sam was her name and saying she didn't really know that much about her, John.

And so the profile of this child that is coming into clear view is one of, again, a very turbulent childhood and someone who is in this school community, but knew and possibly harboring very, very troubling secrets and what could be, at least described by this child who knew her a little bit, largely alone, John.

BERMAN: And, Whitney, I know you were at the vigil late last night. What are we learning about the victim here?

WILD: There are two victims who continue to fight for their life, John. What we know in total, again, was that there was a full-time teacher who was killed, a teenage student who was killed. There were six others who were hurt. Two people were released Monday. Two are in stable condition. That was the last information we received. And two continue to fight for their lives.

We did speak with a father whose children were inside that building as this horrific shooting unfolded. Here's what he said about his children's experience.

[07:05:00] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KELLEN LEWIS, FATHER OF FOUR STUDENTS AT ABUNDANT LIFE CHRISTIAN SCHOOL: Students knew what to do, and they hid in the corners of their classrooms. My third grade son mentioned that his teacher stood between the door and where the kids were hiding with scissors, ready to do whatever he had to do to defend the kids in that class.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILD: John, that father telling a story no parent ever wants to tell, and yet it was reality here. Back to you.

BERMAN: It is difficult to do this reporting. Whitney Wild, we appreciate you being here. Thank you very much. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Prosecutors in New York branding suspect Luigi Mangione as a terrorist this morning, allowing them to now charge him with murder. It's part of an 11-count indictment against Mangione, who's accused in the killing of the CEO of UnitedHealthcare.

A first-degree murder charge is rare in New York. It requires a special circumstance, like an intent to commit terrorism. The indictment, coming ahead of Mangione's next extradition hearing, that is tomorrow in Pennsylvania.

CNN's Danny Freeman is in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where Mangione remains behind bars. Can you give us some sense of what is in this indictment that has been amended?

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, sure thing, Sara. And I'll say it was an incredibly busy day yesterday in the case of Luigi Mangione, several headlines. But, of course, the blockbuster one, this new indictment that was announced by the Manhattan district attorney, it included that rare first degree murder charge. As you noted, the reason it's rare is because it requires special elements related specifically to the crime, and it also applies to just a narrow list of aggravating circumstances.

And then Bragg also announced that Mangione was indicted by a grand jury for murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism. D.A. Alvin Bragg saying clearly in a press conference yesterday, this was a killing intended to invoke terror.

Now, meanwhile, Sara, we also have some updated information about how the outside world really is trying to communicate with Mangione while he remains behind bars. Not too far from where we are at the courthouse in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, as of yesterday, Luigi Mangione had received 157 deposits into his prison commissary account. And also, as of yesterday morning, he'd received 33 emails and 6 pieces of mail. That's actually up from the just two pieces of hard mail that we reported back on Monday evening. Still, though, the only visitors he has had has been his attorneys so far inside of that prison. But all that being said, Sara, the NYPD, they actually spoke out very forcefully yesterday about this lionizing of Mangione. Take a listen to what the NYPD commissioner had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA TISCH, NYPD COMMISSIONER: Let me say this plainly. There is no heroism in what Mangione did. This was a senseless act of violence. It was a cold and calculated crime that stole a life and put New Yorkers at risk. We don't celebrate murders and we don't lionize the killing of anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FREEMAN: And now, Sara, right now here in Hollidaysburg, at this courthouse, it's pretty quiet this morning, but I think you could expect a very different scene tomorrow morning because that's when these two potentially final hearings in Pennsylvania are going to take place for Mangione. The first one is going to be on those Pennsylvania charges, those lesser charges. And then the second hearing that will come right after is going to be on those extradition proceeding.

CNN's Kara Scannell reporting yesterday that Mangione is not going to fight extradition. That's according to his attorney. And a prison spokesperson says that means that if that comes to pass during that proceeding tomorrow morning, he could leave and head to New York straight from the courthouse. Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Danny Freeman from Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, I appreciate it. Kate?

BOLDUAN: So, President-elect Donald Trump has promised mass deportations to begin as soon as he takes office. Well, a new CNN report out this morning shows that many of his plans look a lot like Obama-era border policies. Why and what that means.

Plus, the Dow's in its longest losing streak since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. What that means for you as the Federal Reserve is getting set to meet again today.

And from the earliest days of movie making to films that boldly go or went where none had gone before, the Library of Congress has out today with its new list of movies it's going to -- it plans to archive for posterity.

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BOLDUAN: President-elect Donald Trump has promised quick action and big changes on day one, especially when it comes to immigration and the U.S. southern border. His promise of mass deportations of undocumented migrants was in your constant refrain on the campaign trail.

But his plans to do all of this have been a big question. How do you pull it off? We now have some experts saying those plans are looking, quote, Obama-esque.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has this new reporting for us this morning. She joins us now. Priscilla, what are you learning?

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, a lot of what Trump and his team have floated are essentially pretty similar to what we saw under the Obama administration.

Now, of course, there are draconian measures that they are baking into this, they say. But the basic elements of the plan, well, we've seen them before. And the person who is charged with leading it, Tom Homan, he's a veteran in the immigration law enforcement space and he was at the immigration and customs enforcement during the Obama era.

[07:15:08]

Now, where is it the same? So, first of all, as Homeland Security officials put it the worst first policy, essentially prioritizing public safety and national security threats, Obama did that and President Joe Biden did that. The difference, however, was that when ICE agents went to pick someone up, they could also potentially take someone else in the household who was undocumented. In the Homeland Security space, they call that, quote, collaterals.

And, eventually, the Obama policy had evolved, but it is a similar concept that the Trump team are considering, not just going after the criminal, but those who may be around him in that household who were not the targets, but are also undocumented.

Another part of this is family detention. Now, President Biden had ended family detention. Obama had expanded family detention when he was responding to a surge of families and unaccompanied children at the border. Now, Trump and his team want to bring that back. So, that is just some parts of the sort of basics of immigration enforcement that the Trump team is considering bringing back that Obama had done.

And remember, Obama was billed the, quote, deporter-in-chief. And there's some numbers to back that up. So, just to walk through that, Obama had about 2.9 million deportations in his first term. He had 1.9 million in his second term. Now, compare that to Trump's first term where he was around more than 1.5 million.

Now, in a given year, former Homeland Security officials tell me that the most that they were able to hit was around 400,000 people, and many of those were recent border crossers, making it a little bit easier to deport them. That's going to be a steep challenge for the Trump administration, because while there are about 1.4 million people that have pending deportation orders, half of those are either still going through some sort of process, or they can't be returned because their country won't take them back.

So, you can see how this can get very complex very quickly. And, of course, we have to leave room for the fact that Trump has said and cited, for example, the Eisenhower administration and that unprecedented sweep of undocumented immigrants. He has also said he wants to bring in DOD resources. So, there's still a lot left to be unknown, but what we do know we've seen before in some way during the Obama administration.

BOLDUAN: When it comes to these border policies, what's old is new, once again, is what it's looking like. Priscilla, thank you very much, great reporting, as always.

And Priscilla mentioned Tom Homan there, who's going to be heading up a lot of this for Donald Trump. He is going to be a guest on The Source tonight with Kaitlan Collins. John?

BERMAN: All right. The message from President-elect Trump overnight, Liz Cheney could be in a lot of trouble, this after House Republicans said their former colleague should face a criminal investigation.

And lost in space, at least that's what it's beginning to feel like. Two NASA astronauts who have been in space for months and months longer than planned just had their trip extended again.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BERMAN: This morning the Federal Reserve is expected to cut interest rates for the third time this year. This will be the last rate announcement of the year, and it could be the final cut we see for some time.

CNN's Matt Egan is here to explain. So, walk us through this, Matt.

MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Well, John, there's really not much drama over what the Fed is going to do today. The real suspense is over what comes next. Now, the market is pricing in a 95 percent chance of a quarter point cut from the Fed today. They almost have to cut because if they don't, it would shock markets and Fed officials do not like to shock markets.

So, listen, if you're a borrower, this is good news because it means rates are coming down. If you're in the market to finance the purchase of a car, you're trying to pay off credit card debt, trying to get a mortgage, this is a welcome sign. Interest rates are still high, but they have started to move noticeably lower since the Fed started cutting interest rates in September. You can see it on that chart still near multi-decade highs, but coming down a bit.

But the bad news for borrowers is that the Fed is also likely to signal today that they plan to tap the brakes on interest rate cuts next year. They're going to release new projections. Back in September, Fed officials were penciling in four rate cuts in 2025. Now the thinking is maybe they'll be penciling in two or three rate cuts.

Listen, it is an awkward time when you think about it for the Fed to be cutting interest rates. There's really no need to come to the rescue of the economy. Unemployment rate is relatively low. The economy is still growing at a rapid pace and the war on inflation has stalled out a bit, right? We know food costs and housing costs remain stubbornly high.

And then there are these risks around the policies of the incoming Trump administration, notably, mass deportations, which you guys were talking to Priscilla about last block. And if you're talking about millions of mass deportations, that, of course, could cause worker shortages in areas like agriculture and construction. And also, there are concerns around a potential trade war.

So, yes, an interest rate cut today looks imminent, John. But, yes, it could be the last one for a bit.

BERMAN: So, what's going on with the markets? Because we've had this really epically good year, yet I keep reading over the last 24 hours that the Dow managed to do something on the downside that it hasn't done in like decades.

[07:25:00]

EGAN: Yes. Nine days in a row, the Dow is down. We have not seen a losing streak like that since 1978, back when Jimmy Carter was in the White House. You can see on that chart how the market had been going straight up. I mean, John, I remember being on set with you in New York after the election, and there was so much excitement in the stock market, but it has come back here.

I would caution though, we're talking about the Dow. It's just 30 stocks. The broader market, the S&P 500, hasn't really dropped nearly as much. The NASDAQ is still near record highs. And, listen, pullbacks in the market are healthy. The market cannot go straight up forever. Despite these losses that we've seen in the last week and a half or so, that was still up 15 percent on the year, the S&P 500 up almost 30 percent, the NASDAQ up more than 30 percent so far this year.

So, you know, we shouldn't overreact to this, but, John, it is another reminder that while the initial focus on Wall Street was about all the positives of the Trump agenda, there are risks as well. And investors are going to start to pay attention to that.

BERMAN: All right, let's hope it's not a ten-day streak today.

Matt Egan, thanks so much for being with us. Sara?

SIDNER: Thank you, John. Donald Trump's threatens Liz Cheney. Now, House Republicans are doing the same thing, saying she should be prosecuted for simply looking into what happened on January 6th. Well, Cheney is firing back this morning.

And two dozen films from 130 years of moviemaking will soon be preserved for future generations. Did one of your favorites make that list?

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's about time. I thought you guys forgot I was done. I was getting hungry I've never been in a cell that had a phone in it. Can I stay for a while because I ordered some pizza? (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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