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Deliberations Resume in Virginia Teacher Lawsuit; Sanna Marin is Interviewed about Ukraine and Her New Book. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired November 06, 2025 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Principal be held liable after a teacher was shot by her six-year-old student.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening today, this morning we could have a verdict in the $40 million lawsuit filed by a former Virginia teacher who was shot by a six-year-old student in her classroom. Abby Zwerner suing the school's former assistant principal. And soon the jury will continue deliberating about whether that assistant principal should have done more leading up to the shooting to stop it.

CNN's Brian Todd has been monitoring the deliberations for us.

Good morning to you.

What have you -- what have you learned?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Sara. We know that the jury has just started resuming deliberations. They started doing that just a few minutes ago. So, we could get a verdict really at any time now.

Now, yesterday, during closing arguments, there were compelling arguments made by both sides regarding whether Ebony Parker was guilty of neglect, as the lawsuit alleges. Now, the attorney for Abby Zwerner, the teacher the attorney named Kevin Biniazan, he made the point several times that the assistant principal, Ebony Parker, had several warnings that day that the boy might have a gun, that he was in a violent mood, that he was acting in a threatening manner.

[09:35:14]

They had searched the boy's backpack. They did not find the gun. But Kevin Biniazan made the point that three times Ebony Parker was asked if they should -- they should search the boy's person for that weapon, and that she neglected to act.

Take a listen to what Kevin Biniazan said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN BINIAZAN, ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF ABIGAIL ZWERNER: That's three times somebody is asking her to do this. Three times. Countless times when we're talking about the boy throughout the day and a gun and where it is. But three times to search the boy. That should be flashing at you. Flashing at you to act.

And the response? Let's hold off. Let's hold off. It's 1:40 in the afternoon. Mom's going to be here at 2:30 p.m. to pick him up. Let's hold off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Now, the attorneys for the assistant principal, Ebony Parker, argued in closing arguments that there were other school officials there that day, including the teacher, Abby Zwerner, who had the opportunity to not only remove the boy from the classroom before the shooting, but also maybe take other mitigating measures to avoid the shooting, and that they did not do that. Those attorneys have argued that this incident was unforeseeable.

Again, we could get a verdict at any moment now, Sara.

SIDNER: All right, Brian Todd, thank you so much for your reporting for us this morning. I do appreciate it.

All right, ahead, at 34 she became the youngest prime minister in the world. Coming up, the former prime minister of Finland will join us to discuss her new book and her experiences as a woman on the world stage.

Also, proof every vote counts. A coin toss and a lucky draw decides an election.

Those stories and more ahead.

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[09:41:29]

BOLDUAN: New overnight, Ukraine has launched a new round of drone strikes on southern Russia today. A critical oil refinery actually was hit, going up in flames. Residential buildings were also struck, with at least one civilian reported killed in this. This is as Russian President Vladimir Putin is now floating the possibility of conducting fresh nuclear tests after President Donald Trump said last week that he is directing the Pentagon to begin nuclear testing programs here in the state. Something not done for 30 years.

And now, this morning, NATO's secretary general is sounding the alarm about the ongoing threat from Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: The danger posed by Russia will not end when this war does. For the foreseeable future, Russia will remain a destabilizing force in Europe and the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: Joining us now is someone who knows that well, the former prime minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, who was leader when Russia launched this war. She also is the author of a new book called "Hope In Action: A Memoir About the Courage to Lead."

It's very nice to have you here. Thank you.

SANNA MARIN, FORMER PRIME MINISTER OF FINLAND: Thank you so much for having me.

BOLDUAN: You write in the book about the morning you woke up to Russia launching its invasion on Ukraine, and about your time then helping usher and lead Finland through its ascension into NATO. What do you think it will take to end this war?

MARIN: We need to leverage Putin and Russia much more. Europe could do much more. U.S. could do much more. We need harder sanctions. We need also financial support to Ukraine and also defense materiel to Ukraine more.

They are coping this war, fighting this war, since 2022. And the situation is still very, very severe, as you mentioned before, and as people can see. So, we could all do much more for Ukraine. But we need to leverage Putin and Russia harder.

BOLDUAN: What do you think of, when you talk about the leverage and how it's the approach in getting -- forcing Putin to the table, what do you think of {President Trump's approach to Putin, rolling out the red carpet for a summit one day, but then slapping major sanctions on Putin and on oil companies and the oil refineries who are financing his war the next day?

MARIN: Well, of course, U.S. is the most powerful country in the world. And U.S. and its president can do many things to also end this war and force Putin into that negotiation table. The one thing that I would say is that not to trust Putin. He has lied so many times. So, we need to learn from this. And Russia don't understand anything else but power and force. So, we need to force them into that negotiation table.

Putin has an interest, an initiative, to continue this war. He has no reason to stop now. So, we need to make sure that -- that there will be the table where we have to force him to sit and participate.

BOLDUAN: The book -- in your book you start -- you open the book essentially by laying out what really I did not understand, but do now after reading it, kind of the wild series and turn of events that led to you even considering running to be prime minister, and then you become the youngest prime minister in the world at 34 years old.

[09:45:04]

And about it all, something that struck me, and I'll read for our viewers one bit is, from it, you say, "the image of Finland that circulated in the international press as a kind of egalitarian, feminist paradise, albeit one with harsh winters, would prove hard to live up to. Of course, Finnish society has problems, and it is not as if having a female leader is a surefire way to solve everything. Moreover, I did not and still do not think of myself as a quote 'female leader'."

Why?

MARIN: Well, I thought myself and think still myself as a political actor.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

MARIN: I joined my party when I was about 20 and run for office because I wanted to change things. I wanted to influence, of course, climate change, loss of biodiversity, human rights, fight for equality and for those basic rights of people. So, of course, those were the things that pushed me into politics, not the fact that I'm a woman or a certain age. But, of course, also those things showed in my politics. And we had a government with five parties in it, all led by women. And I'm so grateful that I was able to work with these amazing women as well.

BOLDUAN: There is -- this actually is front and center today, being a female leader in the world, because I want to show you, and I'll play some of the -- I'll play the video. You have the leader of Mexico, Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, groped on the street by a man as she is just walking down the street. This happened this week. And today she says that she is now essentially pressing charges and reporting it to the police.

What do you -- what is your reaction when you see that?

MARIN: Well, that image, unfortunately, is not surprising. It might be surprising that this happened to a president. But it is not surprising as such. Women everywhere have to face this kind of actions. And not only the physical, but moreover also the violence and aggression via internet that comes straight to their homes.

There's a lot of sexualized content. There's a lot of attacks on women just for them to raise their voices and to participate in political work.

So, this is a matter and a question that we should all worry about. And we need to stop this because women --

BOLDUAN: Yes, I mean --

MARIN: Women has to have a place in the world.

BOLDUAN: You wrote something that any woman who is in public eye will understand, is that you were threatened with sexual assault and rape so many times you had lost count, which is something women in public eye -- men do not suffer from but women do. And I wonder if that -- what then kind of with fresh eyes and time that has passed, what you then make of some of the, as you call them, the scandals that surrounded you during your time. I mean you write about it and said, "what wouldn't have merited more than a mention in the news for any other leaders would balloon into weeks of stories dissecting my appearance, my behavior, my suitability for public office." There were so many of them that your team simply started to refer to them as "the scandals." And you dive into them in the book. Many will remember the video of you -- the dancing scandal, as you call it.

What is the lesson you take from that now?

MARIN: Well, I wanted to include, of course, a chapter of those scandals also in the book, not only because those were the things that I had to face, but also to show that there is a double standard and women are treated differently than men. I don't think any male leader or professional has ever asked, how can you be at work today when yesterday you went to a bar with your friends to watch a football game and drank beer?

BOLDUAN: Yes, how dare you?

MARIN: The how dare you? How can you be at work today after doing that? So, there is a double standard. And of course the images of me dancing looked for some people outrageous and the other, not so much. And there was also a lot of support. And I really appreciate that, that women across the globe supported and wanted to show that support. And I think we need to support women in general because they are facing these kind of double standards and they are facing quite harsh reality. And we have to show them that they have the right to be fully themselves. They can be professionals, leaders, extremely tough at work, but at the same time, they can be mothers and daughters and friends, and they can have a free time and not to question their qualification to do their job.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

Real quick, are you done with politics?

MARIN: I'm not done with political issues. I still have a passion to work for those issues. But right now I'm not in a political position.

BOLDUAN: So, TBD. Never a no, but a possibility.

It's really good to have you here. Thank you very much for your time.

MARIN: Thank you so much.

BOLDUAN: It's nice to meet you.

Jessica.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are following some breaking news as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced she will retire. We've got response from The Hill coming up.

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[09:54:24]

SIDNER: At least seven New York City firefighters are recovering this morning after a car fire ended in an explosion in the Bronx. Look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: You can see there, it sent debris flying onto the streets. Some of the firefighters ended up suffering burns to their hands and their faces. They are all expected to make full recoveries, but officials say it's unclear at this point what started that fire.

Police say a bizarre argument over chickens outside a Florida bar did not go over easy.

[09:55:03]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. DOMINICK MESITI, PORT ST. LUCIE POLICE DEPARTMENT: There was a conversation about how many, I kid you not, how many eggs a chicken can lay. And that conversation got a little heated. And as it went out into the parking lot, the conversation continued. And the shooter became agitated, became paranoid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Florida, why do you do this to me? Come on. I'm from there. No one, thank God, was hit by gunfire. The shooter was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

BOLDUAN: Did they land on the answer? How many eggs can a chicken lay?

SIDNER: Don't start that fight. We could end up --

BOLDUAN: Oh, sorry.

DEAN: That --

SIDNER: I don't know if any of you are armed, but I might be.

BOLDUAN: I mean, I'm looking at those guns every day, sister (ph).

SIDNER: Yeah. OK.

Moving on.

A quick and easy way to decide an election. The luck of the draw decided who would win an election in Reno, Nevada. Two men each got 67 votes in the race last year for a small town's general improvement district. So, what do they do? They made them draw cards to determine the winner. Carl Copek drew a five of clubs but Seth Schrenzel drew a seven of diamonds. So, you know how that works. He won. And he'll begin his four year term next year. Copek will serve out the remainder of his term.

Let's toy -- toss a coin to see who can leave the fastest. OK.

BOLDUAN: No, you're not allowed to leave because I have the answer.

DEAN: Can I be second?

SIDNER: You have the answer?

BOLDUAN: I am -- I am reliably told it's between 200 and 300 eggs a year, says the control room. If I'm wrong, blame Noah.

SIDNER: You know what they did?

DEAN: Check it out.

SIDNER: They checked with their friend, Google.

BOLDUAN: Hey, oh.

SIDNER: I'm just saying.

BOLDUAN: Also, every time you hear -- you said 67 votes. I can only think of the thing the kids say.

SIDNER: Six, seven.

BOLDUAN: Anyway, this is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. You can now stream CNN whenever you want on the CNN app, cnn.com/watch for more.

Thanks all.

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