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Israeli Airstrike Demolishes Media Building; Al Jazeera Acting Director Calls Israeli Airstrike That Destroyed Gaza Office A War Crime; End Of Mask Mandate In Many States Met With Relief, Confusion; House Strikes Deal To Create Independent January 6 Commission; Teen Fact-Checkers Debunk Viral Misinformation; Houston Police Empty-Handed In Search For Tiger. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired May 15, 2021 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: An Israeli airstrike destroys a tower block in Gaza that's home to two major global media outlets. Also tonight, why not all health experts are sold on the new CDC mask guidelines. Should restrictions have been removed without requiring proof of vaccination?

And new video of the man at the center of a missing tiger mystery. You see him playing with the big cat kind of like it's a dog. You're in the CNN newsroom. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean in Washington. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world.

Clashes continuing tonight between Palestinian and Israeli forces, the deadliest confrontations seen in years. Earlier today an Israeli airstrike on a building that housed offices for the Associated Press, and Al Jazeera. Journalists got an evacuation warning an hour before the building was reduced to rubble. And tonight Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying his country's actions are a necessary response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Israel has responded forcefully to these attacks, and we will continue to respond forcefully until the security of our people is reinstated and restored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson joins me now near the Israel Gaza border with the latest. Nic, we are hearing about a new round of rocket attacks on Tel Aviv tonight. What can you tell us about that? Tel Aviv and this city of Ashdod as well, both north of Gaza.

Hamas said that it would respond for that strike on the building where the Associated Press and Al Jazeera were working in Gaza. They said that they would target - that they would target Tel Aviv and then later in the evening, they said that they wouldn't target it between 10pm local and midnight local. And right here in Ashdod and in Tel Aviv, right after midnight, the

sirens went off and a huge barrage of rockets were fired out of Gaza. The Iron Dome interceptor defensive system kicked into gear here and in Tel Aviv intercepting those rockets as they came flying out of Gaza. But interestingly, as well, within 10 minutes or so of that very intense barrage, it has now been quiet here for the past almost two hours.

So Hamas on the one hand, saying essentially that they wouldn't strike until midnight, and then carrying out on that, and then holding off again, it's not quite clear what their intent is by that. But Israeli Defense Forces being very clear about why they targeted the building where the Associated Press were.

They said that Hamas had Military installations there belonging to its Military intelligence units. Associated Press have said they had no idea whether or not those facilities existed in that building. So right now, again, Hamas, Israeli Defense Forces, we've heard Israeli - Israeli aircraft flying towards Gaza this evening.

Still a very tense situation and still the potential for more rounds of rockets tonight, not clear if Hamas intends to fire them.

DEAN: And noting, Nic, it's about 2:03am where you are right now. We know that the sirens went off when you were on TV earlier today. Can you walk us through what happened there?

ROBERTSON: Every time there's rockets fired out of Gaza, they're flying in a specific direction. And the Israeli Defense Forces with their Iron Dome technology can tell where that - where they're located, where they're being fired towards and that at that time they were being fired in our direction. The sirens went off close to us. And we took cover right behind a big dirt berm so that if there was any shrapnel coming down or a rocket managed to get through Iron Dome, therefore we would be safe.

And what's been happening - happened earlier in the day, some rockets did get through that that defensive technology and one rocket landed just outside of Tel Aviv and killed a 50-year old man on the street, damaging shops and vehicles that were - damaging shops and vehicles around there. So you know, where we were located, there was somewhere to go and get safe. And you find that all across the southern part of Israel here.

There are places that people know within a few seconds run that they can get to if they hear the sirens go off, and it's the same - same in this location and the same all across this part of Israel.

DEAN: Wow. All right Nic, we're so grateful for your reporting. We're glad you're safe. Your crew is safe. You guys, stay that way. And again, thank you so much. As Nic just mentioned, journalists from the Associated Press and Al Jazeera were among those forced to flee their offices right before and is really airstrike reduced their building to rubble.

[19:05:00] The Israeli Military claims that building, as Nic said, was being used by Hamas intelligence agencies and the media offices were being used as, 'human shields.' Now take a look at this new video that's just in the CNN that the AP recorded as they cleared out their offices. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Remarkable to see them just gathering as much as they could and getting out as quickly as possible. In the next hour, I'll be getting some more information on that airstrike from Gary Pruitt. He's the President and CEO of the Associated Press that we hope to learn some more details there.

Meantime, the deteriorating situation in the Middle East brings a fresh challenge to the Biden Administration. As Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas asks President Biden to intervene. CNN White House correspondent Arlette Saenz joins me now with the latest.

And Arlette, we know the President spoke directly today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority President. What can you tell us tonight about those conversations?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, President Biden landed in Delaware a short while ago after spending most of the day here at the White House where he was working the phones having separate phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority.

And what the President is trying to do in this moment is really strike a delicate and tricky balance, extending support for Israel's right to defend itself, but also trying to express some concern about the Palestinian people. Now, I want to read you a one of the readouts that the White House provided of the President's phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu.

They said the President noted that this current period of conflict has tragically claimed the lives of Israeli and Palestinian civilians, including children. He raised concerns about the safety and security of journalists and reinforced the need to ensure their protection.

That coming as you and Nic were talking about moments ago, after that Israeli airstrike flattened that building in Gaza that was home to the Associated Press, Al Jazeera and other media offices. Now these readouts do not specifically say if the president raised that exact direct airstrike with Netanyahu, but we also know that others in the administration have also been reaching out to people in the region.

The Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a call with his Israeli counterpart, all of this representing this all hands on deck approach that the administration has been taking, as they are trying to urge for de-escalation in the region as they're dealing with this very tricky political and foreign challenge. DEAN: All right. Arlette Saenz for us live at the White House tonight.

Thanks so much. The CDC's surprise announcement that fully vaccinated people can ditch the mask in most situations has been met with major relief.

It's also caused some confusion. At least 19 States lifted mask mandates for vaccinated people after the new CDC guidelines. Other states are still studying the guidance before deciding and it puts businesses in a tough spot as well. Walmart, Costco, now Starbucks among the store saying fully vaccinated people no longer have to wear a mask while shopping. But Home Depot, the Gap, Target, Walgreens, CVS and Macy's, all businesses that will continue to require masks for now.

These tough decisions are being weighed as about 36 percent of Americans are now fully vaccinated. But one thing that could help increase that number is this. The CDC has now opened up use of Pfizer's COVID-19 Vaccine for children as young as 12.

[19:10:00]

CNNs Paul Vercammen joins us now from a vaccination site in Los Angeles, where he's been around kids who are way past ready Paul, to get back to normal.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You put it so well, so far past ready, but they're proclaiming that they can't wait to get that second shot and get away from their parents and hang out with their friends. They came through here, in Encino, California, got their first Pfizer shot. And get this, there are a half a million 12 to 15 year olds in Los Angeles County.

We talked to one of them, Nathan, he says he looks forward to going and swimming with friends and whatnot. He also described what it was like to get that first shot.

NATHAN CLEMENT: The first shot, it kind of hurt at first, but after a second, it doesn't really hurt as much so but definitely move it around because if you move it around, it doesn't hurt as much.

LAURA FLORES: I'm excited. I can't wait to finally go back to living normal life like going to Disneyland. Number one, go swimming, of course. And just be able to get out of the house. We're you know, social people so we love getting out of the house. So I'm excited.

VERCAMMEN: Yes, those parents excited too and no doubt, some of them will now go off to restaurants. That's been a source of big confusion here in California, with restaurant associations, others wanting a clarification on the mask rules, some customers coming in saying they don't need them. We spoke to the county health director here and what she's saying is, yes, the servers have to keep their masks on and people who are eating or drinking don't need to keep them on.

And here's some more clarification.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARBARA FERRER, PUBLIC HEALTH DIRECTOR, LOS ANGELES COUNTY: As you

know, if you're walking around, waiting on line, going to the restroom in a common area, please go ahead and put that mask on to protect everybody else.

Also, workers who work in restaurants are covered under Cal OSHA, and they do need to keep their masks on.

VERCAMMEN: And so back here live where all of these 12 to 15 year olds started to get vaccinated. I can tell you one thing, Jessica, a lot of parents were very happy. Looking forward to the kids getting out of the house and summer camp and the rest.

DEAN: I think everybody's happy about this new development Paul, parents and kids alike. All right, thanks so much. And coming up your questions answered. Primary care physician, Dr. Saju Matthew is going to join me next help us understand the CDC's new mask guidelines.

And most people certainly didn't think - start their week thinking the CDC was going to tell fully vaccinated people, it's OK to go out without a mask in most situations. But that's what happened. So we're going to have a lot of questions there. We're going to break it down when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:15:00]

DEAN: The CDC's surprise announcement that fully vaccinated people can get rid of the mask in most situations has been met with major relief. But it has brought up a lot of questions for a lot of people and fortunately primary care physician, Dr. Saju Matthew is with us tonight.

We're very glad Dr. Matthew was here. Thanks for joining us. We got a lot of questions from - from viewers. So I want to just go ahead and get to them. Not every health official supports the new CDC guidelines on masks. So one question is should the CVC have removed restrictions without first requiring proof of vaccination?

DR. SAJU MATHEW, PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN: Yes, good evening, Jessica. Listen, that's a really good question, but not the easiest to answer. So this is what I would say. It's going to be really difficult in America to require a vaccine passport. I'm all for a vaccine passport. But if you can't really ask for proof of vaccination, I think at least you should mandate masks.

So let me give you an example like a grocery store, or maybe even a sporting event where there are lots of people clustered together inside for long periods of time, I think that would be the most dangerous situation, especially if you're not vaccinated. So if you can't require vaccination, you can at least make it mandatory that you have to wear a mask to come in.

DEAN: Yes, that's a - that's a possible solution there. Many companies to that end, are quickly dumping the mask requirements, though, and they're moving to this honor system for non- vaccinated people to wear a mask. We've seen Las Vegas casinos doing something similar. Can companies even ask if you're vaccinated, where is that line?

I mean, I know you're a doctor, not a lawyer. But where is that line?

MATHEW: Yes, I've actually looked into that a little bit, Jessica, I've talked to a couple of my lawyer friends. I mean, in the US, I think you're going to see that split between the public entity and the private enterprise. So if you're a Starbucks versus walking into like a public library, I think the regulations are going to be different.

A lot of my patients, Jessica are small business owners, and they are definitely going to require, especially if they have like 20 employees, offer incentives and say, hey, listen, let's go to the Braves game. If all of you are vaccinated, you get free tickets, maybe $100 savings bond.

I think some people will call that a bribe, I call that an incentive. And I think regarding the casinos specifically, of course, it worries me because you're going to have tons of people again, clustered together, close proximity for a prolonged period of time. And if you're not wearing a mask, and you're screaming and shouting, that definitely becomes dangerous.

But I would like to see some level of requirement, whether it's a mask requirement, or in some places making sure that your employees are vaccinated before they can come back to work.

DEAN: Yes, and it'll be interesting to see how that plays out as a lot of people return back to the office in the coming months. I want to go now, these are our viewer questions and our first comes in from a viewer in Virginia and they asked, do I still follow governor Northam guidelines or do I follow the CDC? This was very sudden.

And I think a lot of people are questioning who do I listen to because the CDC said this but maybe in my local community or state, it's different. So who should they be listening to?

[19:20:00]

MATHEW: Yes, you know, unfortunately, Jessica, it's back to the play board, where we're going to be all each person to his own. That's what I mean by that. So I think what you should do is make up your own individual decision. And it's fairly easy. Look at the community transmission in your county, in your state.

So for the state of Virginia, you can pull that up very quickly. If the community transmission is high, then pretty much all activities become more risky. But I think what we should do is keep it very simplistic. If you're going to an indoor facility, like a grocery store, or a coffee shop, you should wear a mask, especially if you don't know the vaccination status of people around you.

If you're outdoors, you can really hang out with people who are not vaccinated because it's 19 times less likely that you will get the virus outdoors than indoors. DEAN: All right, our next question comes from my home state of

Arkansas and someone wrote in, I'm fully vaccinated, is it safe for me to teach my second graders without my mask in my classroom?

MATHEW: So here we go, I hope I'm not going to upset a lot of parents and teachers, but this is going to be the true, correct answer here. Again, if you're indoors, and you're with a lot of kids whose vaccination status is unknown, and of course, if you're less than 12 years of age, you can pretty much assume that none of the kids have been vaccinated.

And if you're teaching, screaming, shouting, being in close contact, even though the teacher is vaccinated to protect the kids, it's best to wear the mask.

DEAN: Wear the mask. All right. And then this viewer asks, when the CDC says fully vaccinated folks can go maskless indoors, how big does the crowd need to be? And do we need to show proof we're fully vaccinated? I know you've touched on that. But I think getting at where is the line with how big the crowd is? And what should people be keeping in mind there?

MATHEW: Right, so there's not really like a magic number of five or 10. But this is - this is what I tell people. If you walk into a crowded space, and you cannot socially distance, then the mask should come on. So if I'm in an exercise class, and I'm, you know, puffing and puffing and I sweat a lot and mask definitely would interfere.

If I cannot socially distance from the person running next to me on the treadmill, you should wear a mask but if I walk into a coffee shop, tall ceilings, people spaced more than six feet apart, then you are definitely going to be safer as a vaccinated person.

DEAN: And here's our last question. And I know this is on a lot of kids' minds and parents minds. How will outdoor summer camps work? Will unvaccinated kids and vaccinated staff have to wear masks? What will the guidelines be? Summer camp?

MATHEW: Summer Camp, let me leave on a positive note here. Summer is going to be a great time for us as Americans. I definitely think that the cases will keep dropping, all of us are going to really enjoy July 4. When it comes to summer camps, if it's outdoors, you're pretty much safe. Now let me put one caveat there. It also depends on the type of activity.

If you're playing tennis, then you're greater than six feet away. You're fine. If it's soccer, wrestling, and you're in close contact again and you don't know the vaccination status, it's always safer, you got it, to wear the mask.

DEAN: All right. Dr. Saju Mathew, thanks for all the answers and a lot of viewers out there also thankful for your answers there. We appreciate it.

MATHEW: Thank you.

DEAN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Congresswoman Elise Stefanik's attention to the number three Republican post in the House is now complete. Yesterday she replaced Congresswoman Liz Cheney as the Conference Chair. Cheney was outed for refusing to pair it or ignore the big lie about the election.

But Republicans peddled false claims of all shapes and sizes this week. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LOUIE GOHMERT (R-TX): There's no evidence, as has been said on January 7, that this was an armed insurrection. Armed remaining with firearms. There were no firearms.

REP. ANDREW CLYDE (R-GA): There was no insurrection and to call it an insurrection, in my opinion, is a bold faced lie. Watching the TV footage of those who entered the Capitol and walked through Statuary Hall showed people in an orderly fashion staying between the stanchions and ropes, taking videos and pictures. You know, if you didn't know the TV footage was a video from January 6, you would actually think it was a normal tourist visit.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): This bill right now automatically registers to vote anyone who interacts with the government. Millions of illegal immigrants fall into those categories. It explicitly sets up a process to register those millions of illegal immigrants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Former Republican Senator Jeff Flake is joining us now and Senator, we're so pleased to have you on tonight. Just watching all of that unfold especially when Congressman Clyde was talking about a normal tourist visit with that video is remarkable. And this misinformation virus of sorts has really moved through all the ranks of your party. Help us understand what's - what's going on here.

JEFF FLAKE, (R) FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Well, we it's been like this for a while. Certainly it was exacerbated by Donald Trump becoming president.

[19:30:08]

He started with the seminal lie of his campaign that Barack Obama was not a citizen, and had moved from there into conspiracy theories and everything else and really culminated on January 6th.

And now, to hear a Member of Congress, who was there, say that that was not an insurrection, that it was a normal tourist visit. I spent 18 years on Capitol Hill. That was not a normal tourist visit. So I don't know who they think they're fooling. It just is so

outlandish.

DEAN: It is. It is remarkable to hear that and then see with our own eyes what January 6th looked like.

You had a similar experience to Liz Cheney and you wrote in "The Washington Post" about it this week, I want to read a little bit from it. "When I became an unwitting dissident in my party by speaking in defense of self-evident truths, I assume that more and more of my colleagues would follow me. I remain astonished that so few did." That is what you wrote in "The Washington Post."

Are Trump's critics in the G.O.P. more isolated now than you think before? Or is this just a continuation like you said, of how it's been for a while? Or do you think it is escalating?

FLAKE: Well, it's tough to say it's not escalating when you see so few willing to come out and publicly support Liz Cheney this week.

This won't always be the case, the President will lose influence. But right now, right now, he is the head of the party and I mean, most of us on the Republican side, would like it not to be so, but that is the case in that too few Republican officeholders, and those who are up for election in two years in particular, are willing to cross it because they know that he can, with a phone call, and not a tweet anymore, gratefully, but with a phone call generate a primary campaign against them.

And so he, for all intents and purposes, is the head of the party, that won't always be the case, like I said, but it is right now.

DEAN: Yes, it certainly is right now. And to that, I guess the question becomes, you know, what is the solution moving forward? I mean, Stefanik said, you know, just on Friday that Trump is a critical part of the party. The Republicans like you and Liz Cheney, Congressman Adam Kinzinger, there aren't -- you guys don't have the majority in your own in your own party in terms of your viewpoint.

So does how does this cycle end? Do you think it cycles itself out in 2022 or 2024? Or do you think it's going to take longer than that?

FLAKE: That's a big question. Usually a big election loss, you know, prompts some kind of introspection with a party. We've had some big election losses lately since Donald Trump became President. We lost the Senate, we lost the House, and we lost the White House. We lost about 400 legislative seats nationwide, in state legislatures. So it's not been a winning formula.

But perhaps it's going to take losing a few more elections before Republicans will say hey, we need to move on and appeal to a broader electorate. This is no doubt a shrinking electorate. There are big demographic groups that are moving against Republicans, millennials, women, anybody in the suburbs, those with college degrees, you just have so many people who aren't going to be part of this big lie, and part of a party like this, that traffics in conspiracy theories. So perhaps it'll take a few more elections unfortunately.

DEAN: This week, we saw Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, reportedly chasing after Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, shouting these falsehoods about her supporting terrorists. And this is one of many confrontations Greene has had on Capitol Hill.

What is your reaction to her behavior? But also, just, there are more interactions like this happening, especially on the House side, these back and forth -- not even a back and forth, I mean, she is chasing her down the hall. What is your reaction to this?

FLAKE: Well, it's just a broader problem we have, a lack of decorum and decency. Marjorie Taylor Greene, this is consistent with her behavior over the last couple of years. She did the same thing to one of the Parkland survivors and so, this wasn't a surprise to see that she had in an earlier time gone after AOC.

But it is not just her, it is others as well, and you're seeing it on the floor of the House and sometimes in the Senate. So we've just got to get back to more decorum. It behooves both parties to do so.

DEAN: Yes, it's certainly not a good look. All right, former Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, thanks again for being with us on a Saturday night. We appreciate it.

FLAKE: Thank you.

DEAN: While G.O.P. lawmakers were trying to rewrite the history of January 6th, the top Democrat and Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee struck a deal on a 9/11 style fact finding Commission on the attack.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux joins me now and Suzanne, walk us through the details of this compromise. This is something that Democrats and Republicans have been trying to figure out for a while. What does it look like now that they've found this compromise?

[19:35:19]

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, it is very significant. And it was somewhat surprising actually, because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was trying to achieve this for some months now. There really was quite a bit of a delay, a stalemate, if you will, as she was trying to compromise with the Republican leadership, Kevin McCarthy as well as Mitch McConnell, but you have the top Democrat and the top Republican of the Homeland Security Committee coming up with this independent bipartisan committee to investigate this attack.

Now what Pelosi wanted was for it to be very narrow in scope to look at the day of the attack and the events leading up to it and Trump's role in all of this. The Republicans were trying to broaden out, expand it, also investigate violence around some of the far left groups, including Antifa, their role in the violence regarding protests around police misconduct. What's interesting here is the language, you don't see language that

deals with violence outside of the Capitol, nor do you have Trump specifically mentioned in this bill. What you do have is you've got a real bipartisan group, a member of 10 -- a panel of 10, appointed half by the Democratic leadership, including who would be the Chair and then the other half by the Republican congressional leadership, who would be the Vice Chair. It also has subpoena power.

But of course, that would have to have the approval of both the Chair and the Vice Chair. So the Democrat, as well as Republican side of all of this, and there's a deadline here. They want to report from this commission by the end of the year, big question whether or not this is really going to be able to get through. Pelosi is going to put it on the floor in this coming week or so. And they don't necessarily need McCarthy for this to go through or the majority of Republicans.

They could push this through the House, but the big question is going to be on the Senate side. They would need 10 Republicans to overcome a filibuster to support this, to get this commission in place. Jessica, a couple of other things that would be a quite a challenge here, having covered the 9/11 Commission and the formation of it in the George W. Bush administration. Two very big differences here.

Back in the time of 9/11, in that particular commission, the country was united, people had a common enemy. They wanted to find out how this had happened and the government failed regarding 9/11. We know that that's not the case, this go round, a very divided country.

And then secondly, you've got Speaker Pelosi introducing this $2 billion supplemental bill to bolster up the security for the Capitol. Well, back in the 9/11 Commission, they almost had an unlimited budget, unlimited amount of time with all of this. It was a frustrating experience for some lawmakers. Nevertheless, this go round, there's going to be a lot less tolerance for that kind of timetable as well as that kind of money -- Jessica.

DEAN: Some great perspective there. Suzanne Malveaux for us on Capitol Hill tonight. Thanks so much.

MALVEAUX: Thank you.

DEAN: And coming up next, a 14-year-old who is personally taking on the fight against misinformation online. That team fact checker, Isaac Harte joins me live next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:42:31]

DEAN: From the big lie about the 2020 election to Fox News hosts spreading misinformation about vaccines, sometimes it feels like we're living in a world where what's true depends on who you ask. But a group of fact checkers is setting out to change that.

In a series of YouTube videos, they separate fact from fiction and give tips to their viewers so they can do the same. Here's the twist though. These fact checkers are teenagers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ISAAC HARTE, TEEN FACT CHECKER: While frozen wind turbines contributed to the outages, they were not the primary cause.

Fact checking these types of videos is actually pretty easy. For this claim, I'm going to be using a tool called the Fake News Debunker by InVID and WeVerify.

While it's true that President Joe Biden did use cue cards during his first solo press conference, the YouTube description doesn't include the fact this is a pretty standard practice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: That right there was 14-year-old, Isaac Hart and you now see him on your screen live from Coatesville, PA.

Isaac, we're so glad to have you with us tonight. I think what you're doing is so cool. Tell us why you decided to become a fact checker.

HARTE: Thank you for having me, Jessica. I decided to become a fact checker after seeing a repost by Media Wise Ambassador. We have an ambassador program that allows journalists to connect with us. And I saw repost and I decided to reply. It seemed like a great opportunity to help my peers get good information and to improve my writing.

So that was a really exciting opportunity. And we do actually have applications opening in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out on your social media accounts for @MediaWise.

DEAN: Oh, for more teen fact checkers, you mean?

HARTE: Yes, to apply for to be part of the Teen Fact Checking Program. We call it the Teen Fact Checking Network. That's the program which you can apply for which we have applications opening in a few weeks.

DEAN: All right, talk me through your process because we live in a world right now, I don't have to tell you, flooded with lies, misinformation, Facebook and the internet. There's so much out there. How do you decide what claims need to be fact checked?

HARTE: So we look for claims that might be trending or viral or super important to the moment and we try to fact check those claims, and we start by looking at the claim and we look for who is sharing the information, what potential bias there might be. And then we see what other sources are saying.

And those are the three primary things that anyone can use and fact checking for us is simple. We do -- we use for example a skill called lateral reading which you open more multiple tabs on your desktop and you look through different tabs instead of reading an article up and down, you read multiple articles across and that's a skill coined by the Stanford History Education Group. And that's a really important way that you can fact check and that's a smart thing. And for more information on that, you can go to our website,

poynter.org/mediawise or to our social channels, as I mentioned earlier.

DEAN: And when your lateral reading, then if I'm understanding it right, you're seeing, you're comparing different headlines and different information. Is that what you're doing when you're doing that?

HARTE: Yes. Oh, yes. From reliable sources. Exactly. Yes.

DEAN: The sources are always really important. Now, I again, I don't have to tell you that. You're the fact checker.

Watching your videos, not only do you fact check, but you're also teaching your viewers how they can, too and I know you just gave us one of your tricks that you use. What else -- what other kind of tips can you tell people how they can become their own fact checker.

HARTE: A lot of people actually don't know this, but it can be as simple as a Google search. A quick Google search, you'll often see results -- that isn't to say that results will always be good. But results from "The Washington Post," "New York Times" or even CNN, you'll see different fact checks and results that come up and can help you get a good source.

And then for something like a viral image, and you're not sure whether it's real or edited, you can do something called the reverse image search. And you can -- there's some more information about that online, but it allows you to take the image and it shows you other instances of that image being on the internet. And that's a quick, easy way to search to see if the image is real.

DEAN: That's interesting, because now we've got these deep fakes, too, which are really confusing because they look so real, right?

HARTE: Yes. Yes. Exactly.

DEAN: All right. One more question before I let you go. There are -- a lot of people out there have family members or friends, people that are close to them that have kind of gotten sucked into this misinformation or to conspiracy theories. What have you found is the best way to approach them and try to kind of help them see that what they're reading isn't true.

HARTE: As I tell everyone, it's super important to be kind and respectful and understand that there are -- it's important that they not be made fun of, they want to be taken seriously for their beliefs. But it's important that we show them ways you can fact check and there's so many resources for fact checking.

And that I would say that's one of the best ways and various states have imposed media literacy requirements in their schools. And I think that's a great way that we can get media literacy education in schools and everyone is more engaged that way. DEAN: Isaac Harte, you're a rock star. It's amazing what you're doing.

We've got the great Daniel Dale here that does fact checks. I think, you know, he would love -- you should be on his team. You've got all the skills there.

Thanks so much for being with us, and thanks for what you're doing.

HARTE: Thank you very much. Have a great day.

DEAN: You too, Isaac.

Well, where is India the tiger? It's been nearly a week since it was last seen in a Houston neighborhood and now, the man last seen with India, the tiger you see there being played like with like it's a dog is back behind bars. We will have the latest.

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DEAN: Texas authorities have had no luck finding a Bengal tiger that's been missing now for almost a week. This is nine-month-old, India, playing with Victor Cuevas. He denies owning the cat, but was last person seen with it.

Hundreds of tips are now pouring in as police try to find India and reporter Shelley Childers has the latest on this wild search.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHELLEY CHILDERS, REPORTER (voice over): Holding, kissing and cuddling a tiger known as India. Today, the attorney for Victor Cuevas released these pictures hoping the public will help find the missing wild animal.

MICHAEL ELLIOT, ATTORNEY FOR VICTOR CUEVAS: Somebody knows where India is at. India is there. India is out there. And I suspect that India is hopefully still safe and still well taken care of.

CHILDERS (voice over): India first made headlines Sunday roaming through a West Houston neighborhood. Cuevas's attorney says he often took care of the animal for days on end several times a month.

ELLIOT: As we've said all along, the cat was not Victor's and he was one that was a caretaker of the cat. You know, on occasion, sometimes even fairly regularly.

CHILDERS (voice over): But when police were called by neighbors, Sunday, he placed the animal in his white Jeep and took off. For that, he is charged with evading police. The charge of breaking a bond condition for a murder case in Fort Bend County from 2017.

And in court today, that bond was revoked for a fourth time. A new bond, his highest yet set at $300,000.00.

BRIAN MIDDLETON, FORT BEND COUNTY, TEXAS DISTRICT ATTORNEY: With the history of this defendant and the circumstances that were presented, it was just for the Judge to revoke his bond and set a new bond.

CHILDERS (voice over): But even as he sits behind bars, again his attorney says Cuevas's attention is on finding India.

ELLIOT: Victor's love for this cat, good, better and different is real and it's sincere. I mean, I can see it.

CHILDERS (voice over): He claims he delivered the big cat to the owner Sunday night, but that owner has now vanished.

ELLIOT: The owner doesn't want this attention, I'm guessing, that's why he went underground. The owner doesn't want the attention, so he is hiding. He's hiding with the cat.

CHILDERS (voice over): Attorney Michael Elliott says they are working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to track down what he believes is likely a larger exotic animal ring.

ELLIOT: These things typically have larger organizations. I mean, you can't go down to PetSmart and buy a tiger.

CHILDERS (voice over): He says Cuevas has received death threats from the owner and they're worried for the safety of the animal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: And that was Shelley Childers from our Houston affiliate, KTRK with that report. Thanks so much Shelley.

Up next, getting a free vaccine shot in a place you might never expect. We'll be right back.

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[19:59:40]

DEAN: Visitors are being lured into Dracula's Castle this weekend, but the motive is less sinister than you might think.

Bran Castle in Transylvania is offering free coronavirus vaccines to all visitors in an effort to boost tourism and promote vaccination.

So those brave enough to offer up their arms there will get a special diploma and then free access to an instruments of torture exhibit, yaiks, so they can see what a medieval jab was really like.

If you're in Transylvania, there you go.

When COVID-19 hit, the race to develop a vaccine began. You can go inside the mission to give the world a shot, a new CNN film, "Race for the Vaccine" premieres tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

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