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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin
Efforts To Contain Coronavirus Intensify; Warren Deciding Next Move After Super Tuesday; Chief Justice Roberts Rebukes Senate Democratic Leader. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired March 05, 2020 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Total in the U.S. among nearly 160 coronavirus cases.
LAURA JARRETT, CNN ANCHOR: California authorities say the passenger who died had traveled on the Grand Princess -- that cruise was back in mid-February -- renewing concern that the virus may, in fact, linger. That same ship is now in the Pacific after traveling to Hawaii and some passengers and crew have symptoms.
California now potentially faces its own version of Japan's quarantined cruise ship, which some described as a floating petri dish.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): We are going to be flying testing kits to the cruise ship and we are going to be sending those quickly back to the state and primarily to Richmond lab where we'll be able to test very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: In Washington State, 10 people are dead. Six of them were residents at Life Care nursing home in Kirkland. Life Care says it still has not been provided with coronavirus testing kits.
JARRETT: One nurse who visited her mother at the facility has self- quarantined after she came down with a fever that spiked as high as 104. She's been told her mother does not have the virus but she has her doubts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN GOHEEN, MOTHER LIVES AT NURSING HOME WITH CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK: I don't know what my options are. I can't go there to verify. But, you know, I have to believe them because she's in their care.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The Seattle area Northshore School District, the latest to close all schools for up to 14 days. And, Facebook is closing one of its Seattle offices for the rest of
the week after a contractor who works there came down with the virus. Facebook urging all of its Seattle employees to work from home through the end of the month.
ROMANS: At least 57 schools are closed today in Washington State, New York, and Rhode Island because of the likely case of the virus. One thousand New Yorkers are being asked to self-quarantine after officials found 11 infected people across Metro New York, while crews are working to sanitize the transit system.
The newest cases are all connected to an attorney. This lawyer's firm is in Manhattan. His family lives in suburban Westchester County. The man's wife, son, daughter, and a neighbor who drove him to the hospital are all infected and they are now isolated at home.
JARRETT: The schools his kids attend and the temple where they worship all shut down for now.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo says don't panic. More testing means more cases will be discovered but there's no reason for undue anxiety.
North of Manhattan, Mount Vernon city schools have all closed until March ninth. That's just four miles from New Rochelle where two families have tested positive for coronavirus.
ROMANS: So, the virus is forcing some big business changes.
Overnight, we learned Amazon recommending all employees in Seattle and Bellevue, Washington work from home through the end of March. That's 50,000 people staying home.
Starbucks told shareholders not to come in to its annual meeting in Seattle. It will hold a virtual meeting, instead.
Netflix and Apple are also pulling out of SXSW in Austin.
United is cutting flights. JetBlue is cutting capacity on U.S. flights as the virus is weighing on demand for air travel. The industry could lose $113 billion because of the virus.
And the movie "No Time to Die" -- the upcoming James Bond film -- is being pushed back to November. The outbreak taking a toll on the global theater marketplace.
Take a look at what it's doing to stocks. In Asia, Chinese stocks closed higher. Here's why. The International Monetary Fund announced a $50 billion aid package to combat the impact of coronavirus.
U.S. stocks had another historically big point gain yesterday. Wall Street sending a message. You know, when you look at politics, it could live with a president Joe Biden. It did not like the prospects of a Bernie Sanders. The Dow bounced back after the former vice president's strong showing on Super Tuesday.
Much of the gains in the S&P 500 were led by health care stocks. Here's why. The conventional wisdom on Wall Street is that Joe Biden's policies would be more favorable to the sector than Bernie Sanders', who wants to completely remake big parts of the economy.
It has been a rollercoaster on Wall Street the past 10 trading days. Election year unpredictability seems to be here to stay. Taking a look at futures right now, it looks like they're going to get back some of those big gains from yesterday.
JARRETT: President Trump appearing, once again, to contradict medical experts -- this time, on the mortality rate of the coronavirus. He even suggested people with symptoms can go to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think the 3.4 percent is really a false number. Now, this is just my hunch, but based on a lot of conversations with a lot of people that do this, because a lot of people will have this and it's very mild. We have thousands or hundreds of thousands of people that get better just by, you know, sitting around and even going to work -- some of them go to work -- but they get better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The president has repeatedly undermined health officials as the virus spreads.
For its part, the World Health Organization says the death rate is likely to change further as more cases are confirmed.
ROMANS: All right. Tonight, a CNN global town hall event -- "CORONAVIRUS, THE FEARS, THE FACTS." Join Anderson Cooper and Dr. Sanjay Gupta, and correspondents and experts from around the world, live tonight at 10:00 eastern, only on CNN.
[05:35:06]
JARRETT: Including our very own Christine Romans.
ROMANS: I will be there, Richard Quest will be there, and we'll talk about this and how it affects business, and your job, and your life.
JARRETT: It's going to be an important event.
Why the shift from caucuses to primaries is hurting Sen. Bernie Sanders. Plus, an Alabama inmate scheduled to be executed today for the killing of three police officers. Just one problem, he did not pull the trigger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JARRETT: All right, welcome back.
New fallout from Super Tuesday. CNN reporting the biggest decision facing Elizabeth Warren is not whether to end her campaign, but whether to endorse Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders or no one. The Massachusetts senator is closer to Sanders on policy issues but those ties are strained. Some advisers believe her best path forward is to be considered for Biden's running mate.
[05:40:04]
ROMANS: Now "The Washington Post" reports her campaign is in talks with both the Sanders and Biden camps about a possible endorsement if she drops out. Those talks are said to be preliminary.
Fresh off his big wins, Biden is making this argument going forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It proves to me that the positive, progressive vision we have been providing for the nation is resonating -- resonating all over the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: Biden's also taking issue with Sanders' constant attacks on the establishment saying, quote, "The establishment are all those hardworking middle-class people, those African Americans -- they are the establishment."
Sanders pushing back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There have been some polls recently that we are running ahead of Biden in the African American communities. It's not that I'm not popular. You know, Biden is running now with his -- with his ties to Obama and that's working well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg pulled out of the race after his lackluster performance on Super Tuesday and he is now backing Biden. Expect Bloomberg to pour a lot of money into the Biden campaign. The Biden camp says it raised more than $7 million online in just the last two days providing a much-needed jolt for what has been a cash-strapped campaign.
And many were saying his big wins on Super Tuesday came despite the fact he didn't have a lot of money --
JARRETT: No.
ROMANS: -- and so that makes it even more remarkable.
JARRETT: In some places, not even boots on the ground.
ROMANS: Right.
JARRETT: Well, joining us here on set, "New York Times" national political reporter Lisa Lerer -- a CNN political analyst, as well. Good morning.
ROMANS: Good morning. Thanks for dropping by.
JARRETT: So nice to have you here in person.
Let's talk Elizabeth Warren. Where does she go from here after obviously, a disappointing string of losses on Tuesday? There's a whole bunch of whispers about whether she could be considered Joe Biden's running mate, whether she should endorse Sanders. What do you think she does?
LISA LERER, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, THE NEW YORK TIMES: I think she's in a really tough spot. I think she needs to figure out how she wants to position herself in this race going forward and where she can be the most effective should one of these people win the nomination.
We're hearing that she -- there could be some action. That she's likely to drop out of the race and that could come relatively soon -- like in the next day, if not today.
But that's why everybody's watching not whether she's going to remain in the race -- it seems pretty clear that she has no path forward -- if you lose your home state that's generally a pretty bad sign -- but where she throws her support, if she throws her support to anybody.
ROMANS: Right. Joe Biden's team -- the Biden team, yesterday, basking actually in their wins, right -- raising money and trying to change -- flip the narrative about the establishment. That the establishment is not a dirty word.
Looking forward now there's still a lot of work to do. What does the calendar look like for Joe Biden going forward?
LERER: Well -- so the calendar is largely favorable to Joe Biden. You have states like Indiana and Ohio, Mississippi -- those are places where he's shown a lot of strength. The real test is going to come in Michigan.
ROMANS: Yes.
LERER: That's a state where Joe Biden seems like a natural fit, but it's also a state that Bernie Sanders won in 2016. So you're going to see a lot of --
The battle is going to be Michigan over this weekend. I'm going to be in Michigan this weekend and I suspect a lot of other people will be there too, along with the candidates. So that is the place to watch if you want to see where this race is going and which one of these guys is going to have the upper hand heading into the next debate, which follows the following weekend.
ROMANS: Looking further out, is there concern that disaffected Bernie Sanders supporters just go --
JARRETT: Stay home. ROMANS: No, go to -- you know, go to Trump eventually, especially in states like Michigan and --
LERER: Disaffected -- that is always a concern --
ROMANS: Right.
LERER: -- whether disaffected Bernie Sanders supporters can get on board with Joe Biden. That's something that everyone, I think, in the party establishment --
ROMANS: Right.
LERER: -- even those as we said in the intro --
ROMANS: Right.
LERER: -- establishment is not a dirty word. The party establishment -- that's something that they're all very concerned about.
And I think a lot will have to do with how this process goes forward --
ROMANS: Sure.
LERER: -- and how cognizant Joe Biden is of the need to keep his supporters in the fold. These are -- you know, some of the people that Bernie Sanders motivates are people -- are groups that Joe Biden has a lot of trouble turning out --
ROMANS: Right.
LERER: -- like young voters.
ROMANS: Right.
LERER: So they need each other. Whichever one of these guys eventually captures the nomination, they have different sections of the party in their pocket and one to win, Democrats need both.
JARRETT: It seems like one of the things that might have helped out the former vice president on Tuesday and looking forward to next Tuesday when we see a string of other states is the switch from caucuses to primaries --
ROMANS: Yes.
LERER: Yes.
JARRETT: -- in certain states. And it seems like that really affected Bernie in a bad way because obviously, caucusgoers -- you get to have a second choice.
LERER: Right.
JARRETT: You get to rabble-rousers who maybe would be a little bit more persuasive.
Do you think that that was a factor here?
LERER: Oh, it's definitely a factor.
So the most interesting number to me was 36 and that is the number that Bernie Sanders -- he -- in the four states he won, he did not crack 36 percent.
JARRETT: Yes.
LERER: So that really raises questions about whether he is expanding his coalition. His whole campaign is premised on this idea that he can expand the people who come out to vote in the Democratic Party electorate and we really didn't get a lot of evidence of that. Turnout was up because they switched to primaries from caucuses.
[05:45:06]
JARRETT: Right.
LERER: But those voters were not Bernie Sanders voters.
JARRETT: Yes, it's interesting. His whole narrative -- his whole theory of the case --
LERER: Right.
JARRETT: -- had been I am the one who can produce this magic turnaround. I know you wrote a great piece in "The New York Times" showing yes, turnout was up but they didn't go to Bernie Sanders.
ROMANS: Yes.
LERER: Right. And the people who did show up were people who went to Joe Biden, so they were black voters and they were suburban --
JARRETT: Yes.
LERER: What do they call them? Whole Foods moms or resistance moms. You know, sort of the women that have been on --
JARRETT: Yes.
LERER: -- the front lines of the Democratic Party --
JARRETT: Who were mad at Trump, yes.
LERER: -- who were mad at Trump.
JARRETT: Yes.
LERER: And that is a coalition that Democrats have put together to flip the House, to flip state legislatures throughout the Trump era. So it's perhaps a good time for Democrats in the general election, but it's not perhaps the best sign for Bernie Sanders. ROMANS: All right, Lisa Lerer. So nice to see you this morning.
LERER: Thanks for having me.
ROMANS: You're going to have a very busy -- just welcome to 2020.
LERER: Oh.
JARRETT: Get those naps in where you can find them is our advice.
ROMANS: From "The New York Times." Nice to see you. Thanks, Lisa.
JARRETT: Nice to see you.
Well, Chief Justice John Roberts issuing a rare public rebuke, chastising Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for comments he made outside of the Supreme Court. At a rally for abortion rights supporters, Schumer appeared to threaten two justices.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): I want to tell you, Gorsuch; I want to tell you, Kavanaugh, you have released the whirlwind and you will pay the price.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JARRETT: The chief justice let Schumer know he had gone a step too far.
In a statement, quote, "Justices know that criticism comes with the territory, but threatening statements of this sort from the highest levels of government are not only inappropriate, they are dangerous. All members of the court will continue to do their job, without fear or favor, from whatever quarter."
ROMANS: Sen. Schumer's office doubled down in a statement of its own. "For Justice Roberts to follow the right wing's deliberate misinterpretation of what Sen. Schumer said, while remaining silent when President Trump attacked Justices Sotomayor and Ginsburg last week, shows Justice Roberts does not just call balls and strikes."
As for the case behind all this, the Supreme Court heard arguments over a Louisiana abortion access law. Critics say it will leave just one doctor in the state to perform abortions. Some of the justices indicated they may uphold the law even though it's similar to a Texas law the court struck down just four years ago.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:51:45]
ROMANS: The Secret Service is reworking its plans to protect the candidates for president after protesters stormed the stage at Joe Biden's Super Tuesday victory rally in Los Angeles. With no Secret Service agents present, Biden was protected by his wife Jill, one private guard, and several top campaign staffers, including Symone Sanders, who took that person right off the stage very effectively, actually.
Before Tuesday, the Secret Service had not been planning to roll out protection until mid-March when the agency expected the field to narrow to two. A spokeswoman denied the agency changed any plans in light of what happened in L.A. Tuesday night.
JARRETT: He did not pull the trigger but Alabama is about to execute a man for the murders of three police officers. Forty-two-year-old Nathaniel Woods was convicted of luring the officers into a home where the shooter was waiting for them. But that shooter, Kerry Spencer, recently wrote a letter from prison stating, "Nathaniel Woods is 100 percent innocent. I know this to be a fact because I'm the person that shot and killed all three of the officers.
Martin Luther King III is among Woods' supporters, calling for his execution to be delayed.
Pamela Woods wants her brother spared and freed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAMELA WOODS, NATHANIEL WOODS' SISTER: He thought it was the craziest thing in the world. He is like how because -- you know, I mean, he didn't do anything wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Woods' attorneys have asked Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to commute his sentence. Family members of the murdered police officers are not commenting. Alabama's attorney general called Woods' punishment just.
JARRETT: Europe just experienced its warmest winter on record dating back to 1855. According to the E.U.'s Copernicus, the climate change service, it was six degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average winter from 1981 through 2010. And it broke the record set in 2016 by 2 1/2 degrees.
Cities in France and Finland also shattered records. And in Moscow, new marks were set for lack of snow.
ROMANS: The devastating fires that burned across Australia this winter were made far more likely by the climate crisis. That's according to a new study which found the risk of fires has grown by 30 percent or more because climate models are underestimating the actual increases in extreme temperatures.
For the first time since July, New South Wales is free from bushfires. Months of devastating fires in Australia left at least 28 people dead, about 3,000 homes destroyed, and up to a billion animals killed.
JARRETT: Well, much of the south has already seen rainfall more than a foot above average since the beginning of the year, but there's some blue sky ahead.
Meteorologist Pedram Javaheri has the forecast for us.
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, good morning, guys.
The flooding concern remaining very high, yet again, across the southeast, and also some severe weather to tell you about across the region. We do have a slight risk in place that includes Panama City and work your way a little farther towards the east -- towards Tallahassee on into Jacksonville -- these areas. Some large hail, some strong winds, a few isolated tornadoes possible.
But it really has to come down with the amount of rainfall that is forecast to fall across this region on top of what is fully-saturated soil. We know the flood watches and flood warnings are widespread. You look back over the past couple of days, we know the rainfall has been tremendous. In fact, in the last four days alone, parts of this region have received upwards of six inches of rainfall and we expect an additional couple of inches throughout this afternoon and this evening.
[05:55:01]
Look at this. Since January first, upwards of 12 or more inches has come down across parts of the southern United States and back towards the west coast. It is the exact opposite across California where a major drought is beginning to develop across that region as well.
Now, here's the perspective. Storm system exits stage-right. As it does, drier weather, milder temperatures prevail. And look at Miami -- how about summerlike heat beginning to build. Up to 90 degrees there.
New York City, not too bad. Around 52 this afternoon -- guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JARRETT: All right.
ROMANS: We'll take it. Thanks, Pedram.
All right, just in to CNN, an evacuation flight has been canceled for foreign diplomats in North Korea. They have been quarantined in Pyongyang over coronavirus concerns. But a source inside the country tells CNN's Will Ripley tomorrow's flight has been called off by the Russians for unknown reasons. It's unclear if or when a new flight will happen.
North Korea's isolation is considered a possible buffer from the virus but also raises concerns that if it spreads is may happen quietly.
JARRETT: An overwhelming majority of schools in the U.S. lack counselors and nurses to help students in need. According to an ACLU report using Education Department data, students to counselor ratios were 250 to one, and student-to-nurse ratios were 750 to one back in 2016.
Those shortages come at a time when students are reporting just as much stress as adults with one in three saying they're depressed.
ROMANS: All right, let's get a check on CNN Business this morning.
Taking a look at markets around the world you can see gains in Asian markets. Chinese stocks boosted after the International Monetary Fund announced a $50 billion aid package to combat the impact of the coronavirus.
On Wall Street right now, looking for a lower open following European shares down. You know, it was another one for the record books, though, yesterday, as stocks rallied back to life. The Dow closed up 1,173 points after Joe Biden's strong showing on Super Tuesday. And because of some more optimism about the coordinated efforts to contain the virus, the Nasdaq also up big.
Stocks are on pace for their first positive week since Valentine's Day but are still well off record highs and have not undone the damage from last week.
Wells Fargo is giving employees a boost. Twenty thousand of its retail bank employees are going to get a raise. The new minimum wage will rise from $15.00 to $20.00 an hour by the end of the year. You know, this follows other increases from its competitors, like Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase.
GM unveiled a broad lineup of electric vehicles. This is a historic shift for GM. The CEO, Mary Barra, said it's investing more than $3 billion a year in electric vehicle research development between now and 2025.
GM also boasted of its ability to adapt its existing facilities to manufacture electric cars. Key for GM, a new battery that will hold enough energy to potentially power a car for 400 miles or more on a single charge. That's slightly more than any car Tesla offers. The battery cells will be used in several of its new fully-electric models, including the self-driving electric Cruise Origin and a new version of the Bolt EV that's going to launch later this year.
JARRETT: Business students at the University of South Carolina are putting their education to good use by trying to raise $75,000 for a Wendy's employee who lost his home in a fire. Malcolm Coleman works across the street from the school and has served the students with a smile for 15 years.
He lost the home he shared with his mother last year and according to his Facebook page, he lost his father shortly after that.
The GoFundMe page, Mission Malcolm, has already raised $15,000.
ROMANS: NASA's Curiosity rover is delivering the clearest, most stunning photos of Mars ever seen. The latest image is a detailed panorama that stitches together more than a thousand pictures into one.
The images were snapped by Curiosity over Thanksgiving 2019 using the telephoto lens on the rover's mast camera. Curiosity has been taking and transmitting photos of Mars back to earth since it landed on the red planet in 2012.
It's really just awesome to see that and amazing that NASA can do that.
JARRETT: It is. It seems like an apt name for that rover.
ROMANS: Exactly.
All right, thanks for joining us. I'm Christine Romans.
JARRETT: And I'm Laura Jarrett. "NEW DAY" starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: The cruise ship with as many as 3,500 passengers and crew is being held off the California coast so authorities can test for coronavirus.
NEWSOM: We are going to be flying testing kits to the cruise ship.
MIKE PENCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you are a healthy American, the risk of contracting the coronavirus remains low.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (D), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Beating Donald Trump starts with uniting behind the candidate with the best shot to do it. That candidate is Joe Biden.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The race is coming down to a choice between Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden.
SANDERS: Joe is running his campaign, which is obviously supported by the corporate establishment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY with Alisyn Camerota and John Berman.
JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. It's Thursday, March fifth, 6:00 here in New York.
And there is major developing news in the coronavirus outbreak. A cruise ship off San Francisco not allowed to dock this morning with more than 2,000 passengers on.
END
